Chapter 23
Chapter
Twenty-Three
Cole was back to his old self. Things were getting back to normal in the pack. Nico should have been happy. Instead, he wanted to crawl out of his skin.
Javi was being kind of a dick to him, and it had taken him several hours to realize why.
Javi was pissed because he thought that Nico had killed Elise. Nico couldn't tell Javi that there was no force on Earth that would cause him to harm his mate.
He couldn't even think the M word, even if it was impossible not to.
Nico's wolf didn't like the thought of Javi thinking of Elise, of him saying her name. His wolf didn't want Javi to have any sort of bond with Elise. But Javi just thought she could have been his friend. He thought he could be friends with everyone.
And right now, he was making Nico pay for that.
Reece was even more of a dick to him for the exact opposite reason. He clearly didn't think that Nico had gone through with the murder. Nico couldn't get a read on Hugh.
As for Cole, he seemed to buy it, but Cole hadn't seen Nico and Elise together. He had no reason to suspect that there was anything more between them than captor and captive, and Nico was doing his damnedest to make sure it stayed that way.
But he could only prowl around the house and the woods for so long before he started to draw attention to himself. And that was the excuse that made him get in his truck and start driving.
Pulling up to the zoo, though, was its own kind of madness.
They said that criminals always returned to the scene of the crime, but Nico thought he would be a smarter criminal than that. Apparently not.
He sat in the parking lot for several moments, expecting a dozen police officers to swarm his car, guns drawn, and take him straight to jail. Shockingly, that didn't happen.
When he bought a ticket and walked in, no one gave him a second look. Maybe they would figure it out when they reviewed security footage later. Maybe not. He didn't care.
He was just here to make sure that Elise hadn't gotten arrested.
He had brought enough trouble into her life, and he didn't need to add any more. He walked the public paths towards the center of the zoo, where the wildlife rehabilitation facility had its offices. He heard the cry of monkeys in the distance—though those were possibly screaming children.
Ignoring the cries of some kind of primate, he sat on a bench outside and watched the front entrance.
He could just go in and see if she was there. They offered tours and education and even had a viewing area where zoo visitors could see some of the healthier animals.
Elise could be inside right now, for all he knew.
But what if she had been arrested? What would he do then? Find out where she was being held and break her out of jail?
Go on the run like Bonnie and Clyde? It was fucking ridiculous.
But his wolf knew they wouldn't let his mate be locked in a cage for long.
There was that word again, the one he wasn't supposed to be thinking.
He promised himself he wouldn't try and talk to her.
He couldn't interact with her at all. He'd screwed up her life enough.
They both needed to move on, even if it was impossible.
He could even just call the rehabilitation facility and ask to speak to Elise and then hang up after she greeted him. That would be enough of a check.
But he didn't pull out his phone, and he didn't get up from the bench.
Several minutes later, the door to the facility opened, and Elise walked out. She was wearing a knee-length green dress and a purple cardigan. Her hair was held back from her face, and she was looking right at him with a confused expression.
"The other girl who works the front desk said there was a creepy dude hanging out here for half an hour and she said she was going to call zoo security if he took one step closer to the office."
Nico looked to his left and to his right and then back at Elise with a grin. "I haven't seen any creepy dudes. I think I scared him off."
She pressed her lips together tight, and he could tell she was trying to hold back a smile. "You—" She cut herself off. "Come on." She jerked her head to the side.
She led him down a path where there weren't any other visitors, and he thought it might be a private area, but there was signage that seemed to be there for the public.
They passed a sign that said "Insect House" and then she turned a corner to go behind it where there was a little covered area that didn't look over onto anything in particular.
"No one ever comes here," she said, turning to face him. "Well, except for people who are trying to sneak a smoke. But I thought we could talk."
Nico breathed in deep and mostly caught the scent of lilacs and shampoo and Elise. Under it all there was a lingering odor of nicotine. But it was fairly old. If someone smoked over here, it had been a while.
"What are you doing here, Nico?" Elise looked up at him and rested her hands on her hips.
Of all the people he thought he would have to make excuses to, he hadn't thought about what he would say to her.
Maybe a small part of him had thought she would be too happy to see him and accept his presence, like he belonged there.
Because he should belong there, and they both knew it.
"I was just making sure you hadn't gotten arrested." He felt the urge to reach out and touch her and forced it down fiercely.
"Is that really why you're here?" she pressed. She crossed her arms under her breasts, and Nico put in a valiant effort not to stare.
"My eyes are up here, buddy," she said after a minute.
Some efforts were doomed to fail.
"You shouldn't be here." She dropped her arms. "My coven sisters barely let me out of the house this morning to come to work, and I'm pretty sure one of them is going to randomly," she rolled her eyes, "drop by and check on me around lunchtime.
If they see you here, if they get any hint that you're here—"
"I'm not trying to cause trouble," he interrupted, taking half a step forward.
"I know that, but it was supposed to be goodbye forever, and it's been less than a week. Are you here to declare war between your pack and my coven or something?"
"That is the last thing I would want." His voice dropped lower, the words a vow.
He hadn't meant to do it, but he had stepped even closer, and Elise was leaning toward him. There was only an inch or two of space separating them now.
The heat radiating from her body called to him, and he could smell the subtle shift in her scent, something sweet and wanting that made his wolf pace restlessly beneath his skin.
He needed to back off, but she was a magnet, and he was steel.
And when her eyes flicked down to his lips, he couldn't stop himself from leaning forward and capturing her mouth in a desperate kiss.
Electricity and need scoured him. Her lips were soft and yielding against his, and the small sound she made in the back of her throat nearly tore him to shreds.
She moaned against him, and he found the clip that was holding her hair back and undid it, his fingers threading through the thick strands of her hair and holding her close like that was some way he could control her.
Her hair was silk between his fingers, warm from the sun, and he tightened his grip just enough to angle her head back, exposing the long line of her throat.
This woman would never be controlled.
This thing between them was completely uncontrollable. His other hand trailed down her back until he found the curve of her hip and pulled her even closer, her body pressed against his from chest to thigh.
She was so soft against his hard body. Her breasts were pressed against his chest, her hips brushing against his hardening cock. It took every ounce of control not to grind against her right there.
She opened her mouth, and his tongue swept in.
He didn't know what he was thinking, but her dress was right there, riding up already, and as his fingers danced up her thighs, she moaned, "Yes, yes, more, please," and he found the fabric of her panties right there, damp between her thighs.
The heat of her arousal soaked through the thin cotton, and when he pressed his palm against her, she jerked in his arms, her nails digging into his shoulders hard enough that he felt them even through the thick cotton of his shirt.
He teased her entrance with his finger. Elise gasped against him and then buried her face in his neck, something that made his inner wolf growl in delight.
Her breath came hot and fast against his throat, her lips brushing the pulse point there, and a possessive surge of need roared through him.
Using her own moisture, he circled that tight nub between her legs and swallowed down every gasp until she panted his name.
Her body was frozen in his arms as she rippled around him and came.
Her inner muscles clenched against his finger, her whole body trembling and tight. He felt each shudder and pulse like it was his own release, his wolf preening at having brought his mate this pleasure.
Sanity did not choose that moment to intervene, but his jeans were just enough of a hindrance that he couldn't shove them down and shove himself inside of her.
He was so hard it hurt, his zipper biting into his erection. It took every shred of willpower he possessed not to lift her against the brick wall and bury himself in her welcoming heat.
Instead, he removed his finger and met her eyes before sticking his finger in his mouth and licking it clean.
Her taste exploded across his tongue. He watched her pupils dilate as she stared at him, her chest still heaving with aftershocks, her lips swollen and red from kisses.
Elise watched him with wide eyes. But after a moment, she shook her head violently and stepped back out of his grasp, righting her dress and adjusting her underwear. She picked her clip up from where it had fallen on the ground and looked at him with a harsh expression that wasn't quite a glare.
"You can't come here again. We're both dead if we get caught." She reached out and trailed her hand down his forearm before grabbing onto his wrist and squeezing once.
And then she walked away, leaving him in that little alcove alone.
He leaned his head back against the brick wall and then thumped it back a second time. No matter what he did, he just seemed to make everything worse.