Chapter 11
Nicole
I’ve died and gone to Hell, although for the life of me, I can’t think of anything I’ve done that warrants such a thing . As that thought crosses my mind, clarity fully returns, and I realize there’s an arm banded around my waist. And a hard, very hot body is pressed firmly against my back.
“What in the world?” I murmur out loud after looking down and seeing I’m wearing a shirt that’s most decidedly not mine since it hangs down to mid-thigh… at least.
“What do you remember?” a raspy Stealth asks against the nape of my neck. No clue how, in my sleep-addled mind I know it’s him, but there’s a rightness about him being here that I can’t explain.
Shivers course through me at the timbre of his voice; it resonates through me, and I instinctively know that somehow, he managed to save me yesterday. Turning so I’m facing him, I’m once again taken aback at just how handsome he truly is, at least to me. His gaze is penetrating, and normally, it would make me uncomfortable but today, at this moment, it makes me hot.
“Um, let’s see. I went to DeFillippos for coffee and pastries for everyone,” I start off saying. “Then, Jeremy showed up and pushed a gun in my back and told me I was going with him. Well, I think it was a gun, but I didn’t know for sure at the time. I got the treats I’d planned to, somehow managed not to tip off the clerk because he had threatened to hurt them, then we took my car to his place where he tied me up while he asked me some stupid questions about stuff.”
Stopping, I reach out and run my fingers across Stealth’s jaw since he seems to be clenching his teeth. When he relaxes a little, I continue with my story. “Did you know he had made a key to my home? He’s been hiding his ill-gotten gains under the very roof where me and Tressa have lived and slept, and he started doing so shortly after we broke up! Can you believe the gall of that jerk face?” I ask.
“Do you know what he was looking for?” he asks, his hand now clasping mine as he laces our fingers together.
“Some gems and a flash drive. I found the stones, which is why we were back at the apartment, but the flash drive wasn’t in the box that those were packed in, and it wasn’t in my purse either, which was the only other place it could’ve been stashed. I guess the day my purse was dumped at the clubhouse, the flash drive must’ve fallen out or something, and when I told Jeremy that, he said we were coming to the clubhouse to find it!”
“Shhh, it’s okay, Nini,” he soothes. “Take your time. As for the flash drive, it did fall on the floor, and when I found it, I gave it to Popeye to see if he could figure out what was on it.”
“Well, I’m glad y’all have it then. I honestly have no clue what’s on it, but I’m sure, based on the fact he told me he’s hidden everything from stolen jewelry to drugs under my roof, it’s nothing good,” I reply.
He nods at me to continue so I take a deep breath and keep going.
“We were on our way to the clubhouse when he wouldn’t let someone merge over in front of us. The other car clipped his front bumper, and we were forced down the side of an embankment. The last thing I remember was smashing into the boulder and the airbags deploying. After that, I got nothing.”
He chuckles, then leans in and kisses the tip of my nose. I don’t know why that simple gesture has goosebumps rising on my arms, but it does. Maybe because so many of the heroes in the books I adore do little things like that with the women they fall for, who knows? When his eyes darken and he cups my jaw, I feel something inside of me stir, almost as if I’m being scratched from the inside.
“Stealth?” I question, my voice breathless and shaky. “What happened after that?”
As his thumb strokes across the apple of my cheek, I feel myself relaxing against him. Then, he leans in and lightly touches his lips to mine, which ignites a fire deep inside of me to erupt. He deepens the kiss, and soon, I don’t really care what happened after I passed out. No, all I want are his lips on mine as our tongues duel with each other. Holy hell, can he kiss or what?
He finally pulls back, and says, “There’s quite a bit that happened, and I’ll fill you in, but I needed to know how you tasted, Nicole. When I saw the car crumpled, and the condition you were in, that was my biggest regret, that I wanted us to wait until we were here, at home, to finalize our mating claim. That being said, Fox ended up giving you a healing infusion because you were dying when he, Sly, and Ogre arrived on the scene. It won’t bind you to him, but I gave you a mating claim when I got there to save you. If you’re feeling kind of odd, that’s the reason why. You’re now a shifter, sweetheart.”
“Holy shit, just like Tressa!” I exclaim, smiling at him.
“Well, personally, no offense to your best friend or anything, but I think you’re prettier,” he emphatically states, which makes me giggle at his fierce expression. “I forced you to shift last night once I got you cleaned up, Nini, because you had multiple broken bones. You turned into your human form at some point while you were sleeping once the bones were healed properly.”
“Who… wait a second, you cleaned me up?” I ask, mortification causing me to blush profusely. “You saw me naked?” I shriek, overlooking the comments about a healing transfusion and a mating claim completely.
The diabolical look he gives me would probably cause a lesser person to shake, but I’m so embarrassed right now, that it morphs into irrational anger. I feel like a fool, an idiot, and the good sensations from the best kiss I’ve ever had are waning quickly. As tears fill my eyes, he starts to talk, and I can hear the command in his tone, which makes me refocus and take in his words.
“Stop. Putting. Yourself. Down,” he demands, his eyes taking on that of his wolf. “First of all, if anyone else talked about my mate the way you talk about yourself, I’d slay and maim them. Since I’m not going to harm a hair on my mate’s head, instead, I’ll have to come up with something else until you grasp the concept that you’re beautiful and you’re mine. I don’t give the first fuck if you think you’re too heavy, you’ll always be perfect in my eyes, do you understand?” He takes a calming breath before he continues berating me. “Not only that, but I was so hard the whole time I bathed you, that if you had been alert, willing, and not in a healing stasis, you’d have been shown how I feel. I’ve never been into extremely skinny women, Nicole. That’s unattractive to me. As a big man, I need someone who can handle what I dish out, if you know what I mean?”
At this point, I’m speechless, so all I can do is nod at him. I’m a bit in shock, too, because what he’s said multiple times, in different ways, is finally sinking into my stubborn head. “You… okay, I don’t want you to get angry at me, alright? But… you’re being serious when you say you’re attracted to me in that way. Is it the mate bond or what? I need to know, Stealth, for my own peace of mind.”
“Doesn’t matter to me, sweetheart. I was attracted when I caught the first glimpse of you, but when I recognized that you were my mate, that was the end of that. You’re mine, I’m yours, and it’ll be that way until we draw our last breaths.”
“Wow. So, what happens now?”
He starts chuckling, so I lightly smack his arm, then I end up stroking it instead. “Is that why I smell peppermint when you’re near?” I ask.
“Since when?” he questions.
“Ever since I woke up this morning. It’s one of my favorite things in the world to smell.”
“That’s how it works, I guess. Nonna would know for sure, and if you really want to know, we can ask her, but right now, I need to feed you because I’m sure you’re starved.”
“Yeah, I could eat,” I tease, giggling. “Wait, I can’t go downstairs just wearing a shirt, Stealth!”
“Don’t worry, we sent the prospects back with the box truck and they got all of y’all’s stuff, including the suitcases you packed. They dropped them off a few hours ago, so you’ve got your wardrobe available, sweetheart.”
“Sweet! I… I know we have more to talk about and stuff, but I’m pretty sure Tressa is beyond freaked out. Can I see her really quick?” I ask.
Part of me wants to stay in bed, wrapped in his arms forever, but if I don’t check on my best friend, she won’t allow me to rest, or do anything else… like finalizing our mating. It’s kind of a self-preservation thing.
“Yeah, we’ve got a lot of things to do, sweetheart,” he replies, his dark gaze making me squirm in place. “But first, you’ll need your strength for those things, so let’s get dressed and head downstairs to eat. I’ll let Chaos know if Tressa wants to see you or talk to you, she should come on down because after that, you’re all mine.”
“Okay.”
* * *
When we walk into the kitchen, Tressa jumps up and rushes toward me, throwing her arms around me and nearly knocking me flat on my ass. If Stealth hadn’t been behind me with his hand on my low back, I’d have fallen over. “Oh, my God, Nini! I was so worried when I saw you yesterday, but look at you! You look like nothing happened. In fact, you seem like you’re even better than you’ve ever been!”
I stop and think about her words and realize that I have an energy level I’ve never experienced in my life. I feel like I could climb Mt. Everest, or swim the English Channel without losing steam. I wonder how much has to do with Stealth claiming me yesterday while I was dying, or if it was the healing, blood transfusion that Fox gave me. Maybe it’s a combination of the two, who knows? I’m still learning about everything wolf-ish.
“I feel pretty good,” I admit. “In fact, I’m starving.” I notice she’s staring at my claiming bite, her eyes knowing, which makes me blush like a virgin, something I’m most definitely not.
“Come on, Nonna put on a spread this morning. You should get some food before the rest of the brothers get in here, because otherwise, you might not end up with much.”
“She’ll have what she needs,” Stealth advises, glaring around the room.
Grinning, I allow Tressa to take my hand and pull me away from Stealth over to where there’s a buffet set up with every imaginable breakfast food. “I see there’s a lot of meat,” I muse, picking up a plate.
“You’ll figure it out for yourself, but your wolf’s metabolism is high, so you want to make sure you get plenty of protein. Otherwise, you’ll feel it,” she warns, taking another plate and filling it up.
Once we’ve got what we want, we sit down at the table where various conversations swirl around us. I’m focusing on eating, since I never got the chance to eat yesterday, until I hear Jeremy’s name mentioned, which sours my appetite.
“Nini, you need to eat,” Stealth says when he notices I’m just pushing my food around and not actually eating any longer.
“I’ve lost my appetite,” I reply.
“Well, eat up, darlin’, because you get to tell that piece of shit how you really feel,” Fox states, shocking the hell out of me. I honestly presumed, even though I haven’t heard it directly, that anything to do with him would fall under the heading of ‘club business’, something Tressa has groused about a few times.
“Really?” I ask.
“Yes, really. You won’t be exposed to him for very long, but we think you deserve the right to speak your mind,” Stealth tells me. Leaning in close, he whispers, “Then, after I’ve said my piece to him, it’s just you and me, mate.”
Delicious shivers course through me at his words, which has him chuckling as he picks his fork up and continues eating. Now that I know I’ll be able to scream out my rage and frustration over what Jeremy did to me, I find myself wanting to finish my breakfast.
“I’ll be ready when y’all are,” I say.