Chapter 11
ELEVEN
Nori
“Come on,” Tucker says, taking my hand and pulling me to my feet.
“Where are we going?” I ask him as he passes me my clothes and starts to get dressed himself.
“Home.”
He grins at me over his shoulder, and I can’t help but smile back. I like the sound of that. I haven’t had much of a home since my mom passed away, and the thought of building one with him is exciting and bittersweet all at the same time. I know that she’s smiling down at me, excited for this new chapter of my life. I just wish that she was still here to share it with me.
I slip on my clothes, a shiver running down my spine when my hand brushes the bite mark that Tucker left on me.
“It will probably always be that sensitive,” he says softly, brushing my hair over my shoulder so he can see the mark.
He takes my hand, kissing the back of it as he leads me out of the cell and towards the front door.
“I’ll get your bags and car later,” he says as we head outside.
The sky is starting to lighten, and I wonder what time it is as he leads me over to his police cruiser and helps me into the front seat. I stare out the window as we drive down the deserted streets towards the north side of town.
It seems crazy that just a few days ago, I was planning on passing through town, and now here I am, starting to put down roots.
“My uncle,” I murmur, and Tucker squeezes my hand.
“What?”
“I should call my uncle and explain what’s happened. He’s probably worried about me.
“I have your phone. We’ll have to charge it at my place,” he says, and I nod.
“Thanks.”
“I also have a surprise for you,” he says as we pull into a driveway.
The trees hide it, and I gasp as the house comes into view. It’s my dream house. A charming white, two-story cottage with a wrap-around porch and black shutters.
“I love it!” I say excitedly, and Tucker laughs.
“I’m glad, but that’s not the surprise.”
“What is then?”
“It’s inside. Come on, I’ll give you the grand tour.”
He parks and hurries around the car to open my door for me.
“I could have opened the door myself,” I point out. “I was in the front seat for this ride, so the doors unlock.”
“Swear that I’ll make up for arresting you,” he promises as he takes my hand. “That’s not why I got the door, though. I like taking care of you. My wolf and I, we need to make sure that you’re safe and happy.”
“Well, I am,” I assure him.
“Good.”
He leans down and drops a kiss on my lips, one that is over way too fast.
“Am I still feeling the mating heat?” I ask him as we make our way up the porch steps.
“Nope, guess you just want me,” he says with a cocky smirk.
I roll my eyes, but I can’t deny that it’s true.
He unlocks the front door and lets me walk in ahead of him. My eyes scan the open floor plan, and I smile. It’s so bright and relaxing in here. There’s a couch and loveseat in the living room, a soft looking dark green rug beneath them. My eyes trail up the staircase and I want to suggest that we start the tour upstairs in one of the bedrooms, but Tucker squeezes my hand and leads me further into the living room before I can.
“So, downstairs, we have the living room, kitchen, and half bath,” he says.
He leads me around the kitchen, and I poke my head into the bathroom.
“Looks nice. I love the tile backsplash in the kitchen.”
“I’m glad. Anything that you don’t like, we’ll change.”
There he goes again, showing me just how obsessed he is with making me happy. I melt a little inside as he leads me out of the kitchen and towards the stairs.
“Then upstairs, we have our bedroom, two guest bedrooms, and an office.”
We walk past the open bedroom doors, and I smile at the guest bedrooms. I assume that he’s leading me to our room, and my body heats, already priming itself for a repeat of last night.
Then he pushes open a door, and my mouth drops open when I see what’s inside.
“What is all of this?” I ask him.
“Recording equipment. I looked it up online to see what all you would need to start a podcast, but if any of it is wrong, or you want something else, just let me know, and we can order it for you.”
“You… You bought me all of this? Why? When ?” I stress.
“The day that you told me that was what you wanted to do,” he says simply, and my heart swells with love for this man.
“Thank you,” I whisper, wrapping my arms around his waist and burying my face in his chest.
“Of course, Nori. Anything for you, mate.”
He kisses the top of my head, and I marvel at how fate brought us together.
“This can be your home studio,” he says once I’ve gotten my emotions under control. “Or if you prefer a different room or space, let me know, and we’ll get it moved there.”
“This is perfect,” I promise him.
I step away from him to explore the setup and get lost in all of the familiar equipment. My mind is already spinning with ideas and all of the research that I’ll have to do. Excitement bubbles inside of me, and I grin as I spin around in my shiny new office chair.
“Here’s your phone. Looks like the battery is still okay if you wanted to call your uncle now.”
My smile drops, and I nod.
“I’m not sure how he’s going to take all of this,” I admit to Tucker. “What do I tell him? I don’t want to tell him about shifters. I don’t trust him with that.”
“Just say that there was a change of plans, that you met someone. You don’t have to tell him anything other than that you’re alright if that’s what you want.”
I nod, turning my phone over and over again in my hands. I don’t see my uncle taking the news well.
“He hated this place for some reason,” I murmur, remembering my last phone call with him.
“Why?” Tucker asks.
“I don’t know. He didn’t say.”
“What’s his name again?”
“Jim Turner.”
Tucker frowns and my heart starts to beat faster.
“Do you know him?”
“The name sounds familiar. He might have lived here a year or two ago, before Griffin and Ryker became our pack’s Alphas and cleaned this place up.”
“Cleaned it up, how?” I ask hesitantly.
“I was only here for the end part, but I guess that it was pretty bad. The old pack had members with…no scruples. They would run drugs, girls, everything. There was a lot of theft and murder, and it was just bad.”
“So, what happened to them?”
“They all left. Some were arrested, some were killed, but most just left.”
“Could it be possible that they didn’t go far?” I ask, a sinking feeling starting in my gut.
“It’s possible. I don’t know if anyone kept track of where they went, just that they were no longer here.”
I can see that he’s worried too, and I stand and make my way over to him.
“I’ll call the Alpha’s and ask. Maybe Crew can look into things too,” he tells me and I nod.
“Okay. I’m still going to call my uncle and tell him that I’m okay. Just on the off chance that he isn’t a part of that.”
He nods, squeezing my hand, and I pull up his number and hit dial.
“Nora!” Uncle Jim screeches as soon as the call connects. “Where the hell are you?”
I can feel Tucker grow tense next to me, and I realize that he must be able to hear what he’s saying.
“Does he always talk to you like that?” Tucker seethes, and I shake my head.
“I barely know him,” I remind him, and he growls.
“He needs to treat my mate with some fucking respect,” he says, and I can hear the warning in his voice.
“What? Who is that?” Uncle Jim asks, and I pause.
“I was just calling to let you know that I’m okay, and that I’m not going to be staying with you. I’ve decided to stay in Twisted Oak,” I tell him.
Silence greets me, and then Uncle Jim starts to speak, his voice low and deadly.
“I’ve arranged things. Now, you will get in your car and drive here, or you won’t like what happens, bitch.”
I’m so startled and caught off guard by this change in him that I don’t react, but Tucker sure does.
“No one talks to Nori like that. She’s not coming to stay with you. If I have my way, she won’t get within a hundred miles of you.”
With that, Tucker ends the call, looking pissed off.
We’re both silent as we stand there, staring at each other and trying to digest everything that just happened. Part of me is still terrified about what my uncle might try to do. He seems like the vindictive type, after all, but as I stare up at Tucker, I can’t find it in me to be scared. I know that he will always protect me.
“I think…that I dodged a bullet when you arrested me,” I say finally, and Tucker lets out a bark of laughter.
“So… you’re welcome?” He jokes, and I giggle.
“I don’t know if I would go that far.”
He wraps his arms around me, and I snuggle against him.
“What now?” I ask, and he holds me tighter.
“I’m going to go grab your things from the station. I’ll call Ryker and Griffin on the way and see if they’ve heard anything about your uncle or the pack up north. Then I’ll be back here, and we can get you all settled in.”
I nod, and he kisses the top of my head.
“I love you, mate. And I’ll never let anything bad happen to you,” he promises me, and I smile.
“I know. And I love you too.”
He kisses me, and then he leaves me in my new home office and jogs back downstairs. I try to get back into the excitement of having the stuff to make my own podcast, but my mind is racing with thoughts of Uncle Jim and our phone call.
I sit there in a daze until my stomach growls and then decide to get started on breakfast for us. When I head downstairs and see the time, I amend that to lunch.
I’m just finishing the minestrone soup when Tucker comes back in with my bags.
“Smells good in here,” he compliments, and I smile.
“Are you hungry?”
“Starved.”
I start to ask him about what he heard from the Alphas and then stop. I don’t think that I really want to know. Not right now, anyway. I just want to enjoy my life, with my man and my new house for a bit longer before I have to deal with any problems.
We sit down to eat, and he asks me about anything else that I might need to be comfortable here.
“I don’t need anything else. I have everything that I need. Well…” I tell him, giving him a meaningful look. “There is one thing that I could use right now.”
“What’s that, mate?” He asks, his voice low and filled with heat.
I grin as I stand and make my way around the small kitchen table to his chair, and then I straddle him.
“You.”
He smirks and leans forward, his lips sealing over mine. He wastes no time in slipping his tongue into my mouth to tangle with mine, and I moan and rock against him.
“You know, you never showed me the bedroom on that tour,” I remind him, and he moans, his hands gripping my ass as he lifts me into his arms and starts to carry me upstairs.
“Let me rectify that.”
I grin as I kiss his neck and lick the shell of his ear as he carries me into our bedroom. His scent is strong here, and I inhale deeply, my body heating as I feel the hard planes of his body against mine.
He sets me down on the bed, and I reach for his pants, undoing the button and pulling down the zipper.
“I want to taste you,” I tell him, and he groans.
“Fuck, mate. You can do whatever you want.”
I pull his pants down, taking the boxers with them, and then I’m wrapping my hand around his dick…or trying to anyway. He’s so big that my fingers don’t touch around it, but he doesn’t seem to mind.
His hips jerk forward into my hold, and a drop of clear liquid forms on the tip of his cock. I lean forward and lick it up, moaning at the salty flavor.
“Fuck,” he croaks, and I feel emboldened by his response.
I lick around the tip of him and then open my mouth as wide as I can and try to stuff as much of his cock into my mouth as I can. I only get about half of him in before he’s bumping against the back of my throat.
“Nori!” Tucker chokes, his hips jerking forward slightly before he catches himself.
I moan, my tongue licking up and down the underside of his cock. I reach my hand up, wrapping it around the part of his cock that I can’t fit in my mouth, and I start to work my hand in time with my mouth. I work his cock, licking and sucking as he moans and grits my name out above me.
I can tell that he’s close to coming, and my body heats at the thought of tasting his release. I want to satisfy him. I want to make him come.
His dick swells against my tongue, and I moan as I get ready to swallow his come, but before that can happen, Tucker is stepping back and pushing me onto the bed until I’m flat on my back.
“Wait! I want to make you come,” I protest as he grabs my legs and spreads them.
“You’re about to,” Tucker promises.
“In my mouth,” I clarify.
“Later,” he promises. “I need you to come with me right now.”
I want to protest, but I also want to come, so I spread my legs and let him pull me to the edge of the bed. His cock brushes over my clit, and I arch against him. Then he’s thrusting into me, and we’re both crying out.
I’m close to coming already, and I wrap my arms around my man, holding on as he pounds into me.
“Did sucking my cock turn you on, mate?” Tucker asks as he slides in and out of me.
“Yes!” I cry out.
“Fuck, you were so goddamn good at it too.”
The praise has my pussy tightening around his length and the need twisting tighter in my belly. His hands grip my hips, holding me in place as his thrusts become rough and frantic. I can tell that he’s close to the edge, and I squeeze my pussy, clenching around him.
“Trying to get me to bust already, mate?” He groans, and I nod.
“Come in me,” I beg, and his eyes squeeze shut.
“Fuck, Nori,” he moans, and my body heats at the way he says my name.
I’m balancing right there on the edge with him, and when he leans down to kiss me, the base of his cock presses against my clit.
“Oh!” I gasp against his lips, and then we’re both crying out as we find our release.
“Nori,” Tucker whispers against my mouth, and I wrap my arms around his neck, holding him to me.
“I love you,” I whisper, and he smiles.
“I love you too, mate.”
I never thought that I would be happy that I was arrested, but it turned out to be the best thing to ever happen to me.
I can’t wait to see what my future holds, now that I’m Tucker’s mate. I just know that it’s going to be perfect.