My face felt like it was on fire thinking of what Patrick and I had done on that couch just a few hours earlier.
“What the hell did he say to you? Your face is some new shade of reddish purple I've never seen before,” said a deep, sexy voice next to me. I could tell he found it funny as I could feel the rumble of laughter, shaking at my back, as he tried to contain it.
“Ew! Elise. Tell me you didn't do it on Chase's favorite couch?” Liam was practically yelling into the phone. I said a quick prayer that he was in Kyle's office with the door closed at least, so that the entire office hadn’t just heard that. Patrick definitely heard it, though, and started laughing as he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me flush against him, spooning me from behind. I elbowed him in the gut, but he just kissed the top of my head.
“Top of the day to ya, Liam,” he said in a rich accent more reminiscent of the leprechaun on the Lucky Charms commercials than him, and I assumed it was some sort of inside joke with them, ҆cause Liam whooped with laughter.
“I don't even want to know what that was all about.” I dared a look back over my shoulder to find a very happy mate. He thoroughly kissed me good morning.
“Um, guys, I can hear that. Gross! Release my sister and send her back to work already.”
“Fine, she'll be there within the hour,” Patrick assured him.
“Half hour . . . get your ass in here in the next half hour, Elise . . . ” His voice trailed off in protest as Patrick reached over and ended the call.
“I really have to go.”
“I know, but I don't want you to.”
“I can come back tonight,” I offered.
“Ladies’ night. I'm not crossing Lily on that. You're going.”
“But I'd rather spend time with you,” I blurted out, and was shocked to realize it was true. I loved my girls, and I loved ladies’ night, but I wanted to be with Patrick. I really, truly didn't want to be anywhere else. It made me hesitate and my head whirl at the realization. Once I let my guard down and stopped fighting it, being with Patrick was as easy as breathing. There was nothing awkward or uncomfortable about it. I had slept better in his arms than I could ever remember sleeping in my life, and the thought of coming home to him tonight made me . . . happy. Knowing it equally terrified me.
“You are welcome to come back after ladies’ night.” He got up from the bed as I protested the cool air that replaced his warmth surrounding me. He opened his dresser drawer and pulled out something, then walked over and handed me a key. I knew it was a key to his house. I knew I shouldn't accept it. So much had changed in the last few days that I was overwhelmed. “I'm not going to ask you to move in here, though you are certainly welcome whenever you are ready, but I want you to have this and know you can come and go as you please. I will happily take whatever time I get with you. I also want you to understand that for me, there will never be anyone else, Elise. What's mine is yours. I know I don't have much to offer you yet, but I will never stop proving I'm worthy.”
I wanted to protest that he had nothing to prove, but I was too surprised by the tears that sprung up in my eyes, and found myself nodding. At what, I didn't even know. I took the key he offered with a deep, cleansing breath.
“There's always wine at ladies’ night. Even with Kelsey not partaking, that just means more for me and Lily.”
“Are you saying I'm going to be a drunk booty call tonight? You're going to get ossified and take advantage of me?”
The grin on his face told me he was just teasing, but the potential was definitely there.
Liam was waiting in my office when I arrived at work. Several people had stopped me and said hello and tried to catch up. I realized just how out of touch I'd been and vowed to fix it. No more hiding.
“Morning, sunshine. Nice of you to join us before lunch.” He was turning circles in my chair like we did in Dad's when we were kids.
I pulled out the files he was waiting on and dropped them on my desk, taking the chair across from him instead of fighting for my seat.
“Christine? You think Christine Canine would be a good assistant for me? After everything?”
“Yeah, I do.” Of course I knew what he was talking about. Christine had been a huge pain to Kelsey. She had challenged her and shouldn't be alive today. Only thanks to Kelsey's mercy and grace was she still breathing. “Give her a chance, Liam. The challenges, they changed her . . . some. Okay, she can still be a little annoying. She's called every day checking to see if you’ve made a decision yet, even while I was away. I just ignored them, but every day her name flashes across my phone.”
“So I'm supposed to take her, just so she'll stop bugging you?”
I snorted. That would be okay with me, actually, but I didn't say that. “Of course not, just look over her credentials. Both of them. If neither is of interest, I'll start my search back up. You should consider bringing them both in for a trial though, and really, don't discount Christine just because of who she is and what she's done.”
“Okay, thanks for the advice. I can see why you made VP. You're actually good at this stuff.”
Liam left a short while later and I got busy with work, though the quiet and solitude wasn't as comforting as it once had been and I found myself wandering the building, catching up with others, throughout the afternoon.
I didn't even have time to go home to change before Kelsey and Lily descended.
“You ready?”
“Can't I run home and take a shower and change first?”
“No,” they said in unison.
“Fine, what's the plan?”
“Kyle's going out with the boys. I think they're heading over to your new place, afterward hitting the Crate. They'll be distracted and probably called away to handle some chaos or another tonight anyway. You know how crazy New Year's Eve can get,” Kelsey informed.
“By 'my new place'”—I made little air quotes with my fingers—“I assume you mean Patrick's?” They both nodded and I rolled my eyes, not bothering to correct it. “And you guys are okay with missing the festivities tonight? I mean, it is New Year's. Parties everywhere, even in the streets. It's kind of a big night to just curl up with some wine and girl talk.”
“I'm not much into those parties. I have stayed home every New Year's since I got here. Not interested. Especially not interested when I can't drink, and starting to feel like I waddle when I walk.”
“I can party anytime. This is more important, and it'll be fun!”
They wouldn't even let me drive myself, insisting I leave my car at the office. It hit me again just how much I had let them down by my cowardice. The house smelled of delicious food when we opened the door. It made my mouth water.
Kelsey ran to the oven and, looking like Ms. Suzy Homemaker, she carefully removed a casserole. It looked picture perfect and smelled divine.
“Some sort of Mexican casserole. Don't worry, Kyle made it, I just heated it through. Promise!”
We all laughed. Kelsey was a terrible cook, but Kyle was the best. I was suddenly starving and couldn't wait to dig in. The wine came out and we settled down at the table. Before Lily could start, I took lead on the conversation.
“Kels, Liam said you had a doctor's appointment this morning. How'd it go?”
She caught us up on all things baby. She looked so happy talking about it and rubbing her ever-growing stomach.
“Mostly I'm just grateful to eat again. Morning sickness was more like all day sickness and it was the worst.”
We finished eating and made our way to the living room with the bottle of wine.
“Have you started thinking about baby names yet?”
"What do you think of Edward?" Kelsey asked.
"Who's Edward? Do I know him?" Lily asked her, coming in from the kitchen mid conversation.
"No, Lil, for the baby. If it's a boy. What do you think of the name Edward?"
"No, just no! You are not naming my nephew after some sparkly vampire."
Kelsey sigh
ed. "Jacob?" she asked hopefully.
"No. No Jacob, Sam, Seth, Embry or Quill." I chimed in. "What is your hang-up with that series anyway?"
Kelsey shrugged. "I guess it was just nice watching a show of monsters living among humans, when . . ." Her voice trailed off as my heart broke again for the girl so alone in the world that she had once been. Shaking her head to clear the bad memories, Kelsey grinned. “Remus?”
"No."
"Klaus?"
"No!" I said louder, trying not to laugh.
"Roland? Peter? Decebel? Costin? Fenrir?"
"Stop," I said, laughing. "Please, no more fictional werewolf names. Why not just call him Junior? Kyle Alexander Westin, Jr."
"You could call him Alex for short," Lily offered, "or better yet, Zander?"
"Zander. I like it, but no Junior."
“Okay then," Lily said. "How about Alexander Cole? Has a nice ring to it, right?" my sister asked as she grinned evilly and wagged her eyebrows up and down. It was too much, and Kelsey started full belly laughing.
"Dang it, Lil, you can't do that to me," Kelsey said, grabbing her belly with both hands and shuffling to the bathroom while clearly gripping her thighs tight.
She returned a few minutes later. "My bladder is like the size of a tic-tac right now. One day soon I know I'm gonna pee myself."
Lily shrugged. "Fortunately for you, wolf pee has lots of great properties, so if that happens just shrug and say, ‘Sorry, my maternal instincts to protect this child just kicked in and I just had to mark this seat in warning.’”
I just looked in shock at the evil genius that was my sister and we all collapsed into hysterical laughter.
Patrick
Chapter 20
It was after eleven. The guys had been over for a while and we'd had a good time, but when they headed off to the Crate, I didn't join them. There had already been a few reports of fights breaking out on Main Street and one wolf got so ossified he was trying to mark every building in San Marco. I just wasn't up for dealing with it all.
I was hoping Elise would come home, but also wished she’d have called to let me know she wasn't coming. Was that really too much to ask? I knew it was still early, especially on a holiday night, but I couldn't help but worry. She had been kidnapped, for crying out loud. I think I had cause for irrational worry.
I debated going for a run, even knowing I'd run right over to Kyle's to see if she was still there. I couldn't help it. I had to know. I headed for the backyard and stripped off my shirt on the back porch. I let the cold winter air wash over me, causing goosebumps to prick my skin. It felt like snow was in the air, and I loved that white stuff. Winter was my favorite time of year, and since my first night ever holding my mate had been in the middle of a massive snowstorm, it was my new favorite thing ever. I hoped we'd get one here soon with enough snow that Elise and I would be snowed in for several days. Undisturbed.
As I reached for the button of jeans, there was movement in the woods that caught my attention. My wolf tensed, on high alert. I sniffed the air, curious at the familiar scent greeting me. My eyes scanned the forest line. It was dark, only a sliver of a crescent moon, mostly obscured by clouds. A dark object was exiting the cover of the trees and heading to me.
Just as I was about to change, the strangest howl I ever heard pierced through the night.
“Aroooooo! Arooo! Aroo!”
It sounded more human than wolf, yet I was quite sure the object now stumbling across the yard was wolf. Most definitely a shifter. I had seen human-like expressions from a shifter in wolf form, but human-like sounds? I had never heard of such a thing.
Stumbling in a crisscross pattern, I watched the dark beast. When the wind shifted and I clearly caught the scent of my mate, my wolf settled. I didn't bother to shift. I just waited with amusement as she walked first the right, then to the left, then back to the right. I thought maybe something was seriously wrong with her, but there was an unusual sweetness mixed with her scent that I couldn't quite place.
I walked out to meet her. “Love, are you okay?”
She quirked her head to the left and looked at me, a slow smile of sorts spread across her face causing a fierce, strange, toothy smirk on her wolf. She leaned and her wolf brushed against me. I heard a small growl, or something like it, coming from her as she pressed further into me. I reached down and felt her soft fur. She nuzzled into my hand and licked it. That was only the start; it was like she was determined to mark me with her scent as she rubbed up against my legs. The soft fur covering her head tickled against my exposed abs.
“Stop that,” I scolded, trying to hold back my amusement.
When she threw her head back and howled, I got a full dose of the scent that was mixed with my mate's. It was alcohol. Elise was ossified. Very drunk, if I wasn't mistaken.
“Come on. Let's get out of the cold. Can you change back?” For a minute I was concerned she couldn't, she was so intoxicated. The smell of alcohol was strong now that she was close.
She struggled in her attempt to follow me back to the house. I picked her up, amazed at how much heavier she was in wolf form. As we reached the porch, a shiver racked her body and suddenly I had a very naked Elise Westin in my arms. She hiccupped and giggled.
“Sorry, I'm okay. I didn't want to stay at Kelsey and Kyle's and they wouldn't give me my keys to drive home, so I ran.” She was slurring her words and had a glazed look in her eyes as she spoke.
I snuggled her close to me and let my body warm hers in the cold night air. I didn't set her down, fearing she may collapse, until we reached the bedroom. I carefully laid her on my bed. She made a strange sound and posed in what I thought was meant to be a sexy position, but she was so trashed it was more comical than sexy. She was definitely going to face the fears in the morning.
I didn't bother to try and dress her. It wasn't like she had any clothes at my place yet anyway. I just stripped and joined her in bed. Her arms and legs wrapped around me and she started kissing my chest and working her way up, along my collar, and she stopped right where her mark should be. She kissed the spot and licked it. It felt like a bolt of lightning shot through me and I had to remind myself she was drunk and I would not take advantage of it, but my body responded despite my resolve. I was only human, after all—or at least mostly, in this state.
“All I have to do is bite,” she said, kissing my neck again.
My breath hitched. I felt her canines press into my skin, just slightly. I held my breath as blood rushed to my head. A part of me rejoiced. It was finally going to happen and my mate was making the first bite. The other part of me screamed NO! I couldn't let her make such an important decision ossified. It wasn't right. Yeah, I wanted it, but I knew she was still uncertain.
“Love,” I said, my voice barely recognizable as I grasped for the slightest bit of clarity. My wolf instincts were on high alert and pressing me to complete the bond. My head was spinning. “Elise, stop.” I tried gently at first, then I had to physically pick her up and dump her back on the bed as I leapt from it and began pacing, breathing heavily and trying to keep control. My wolf was furious, and Elise was wide-eyed in shock, followed immediately by sadness and regret as she began crying.
“Shit! Love, don't cry. Please don't cry.” I returned to the bed and held her in my arms. Her tears ran down my chest and I felt like a fecking tool. Had I made the right decision? I didn't know.
“You-you don't want me?” Elise sobbed out.
“Of course I want you. I just want you to be sure.”
“I'm sure. I'm ready.”
“You're ossified. You aren't thinking straight.”
“I'm not ossy-whatever you said.”
I chuckled. “You're drunk, love. We aren't completing our bond while you're drunk.”
“I'm not drunk. I'm not.”
I knew better than to argue with a drunk, so I just held her.
“I'm sorry. I'm so very sorry. I never wanted to hurt you, you know. Please tell me you unders
tand. That I didn't mean to hurt you, and I didn't mean to get kidnapped. It was stupid. I am stupid.”
She was rambling and I didn't like hearing her putting herself down.
“Hey, hey, calm down. I'm fine, and we're going to be fine too. I promise.” I wasn't sure if I was trying to convince her or me.
I stroked her hair and her sobbing slowed to a stop. Her breasts rose and fell pressed up against my chest. I dared a glance down. Her face was glistening from the tears streaking down her cheek. Her eyes were closed and her breathing began to level. I stared unabashedly down at my beautiful mate. The next thing I knew, her mouth fell open and she let out the loudest, most unladylike snore I'd ever heard. I stifled a laugh as I transitioned her down to the bed and snuggled in next to her, wondering just wht had happened at ladies’ night.
Kissing the top of her head, I whispered, “Happy New Year's.”
Elise
Chapter 21
My head was pounding and my mouth was dry. I ran my tongue across the roof of my mouth, noting the cotton-like texture. For a moment I didn't know where I was. My eyes were heavy and didn't want to open. A stray piece of hair was plastered to my face and tickling my nose. I reached for it to no avail. My hands were trapped.
Suddenly I realized I was back in the cabin, that sterile room, handcuffed to the bed. My heart was racing and the pressure was pounding in my ears. I jerked my body, trying to free my hands, and a hoarse scream erupted from me. I wouldn't let them drug me again.
Large hands wrapped around me and I jerked and fought back.
“Elise! Elise! Calm down, it's okay. You're safe. Nothing's going to hurt you.”
I calmed instantly at his voice. Patrick. My mate. I panted as his hands wrapped around mine and pulled them to his lips. He kissed them as they trembled.
“Shhh, it's okay. It's okay.”
Slowly I opened my eyes. “Patrick?” I asked, still feeling dazed and confused and gasping for air against the panic that had set in. “I thought . . . I thought I was back there. I couldn't move my arms.”
Fighting Destiny (Westin Pack Book 2) Page 14
