Total pages in book: 139
Estimated words: 131137 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 656(@200wpm)___ 525(@250wpm)___ 437(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 131137 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 656(@200wpm)___ 525(@250wpm)___ 437(@300wpm)
“I wish you’d come back home, Nick,”—oh, fucking did she now?—“Jon’s great as Alpha, but it’s not the same there without you. Everyone misses you. You know how much Roni would love it if you came home.”
A short pause. Then he spoke in that same soft, gentle voice again. “So you still like being stroked there.”
A blast of rage exploded in Shaya’s mind and zoomed through her body. Oh, she’d slaughter them both! Amber for being a slut, and Nick for betraying every promise he’d made since he arrived. In seconds, she was up the steps and opening the front door. Stunned, she stopped dead and frowned. Nick looked up at her from his spot on the gray vinyl floor where he was crouched, petting Roni, who was still in her wolf form. And that was when it fell into place. He hadn’t been talking to Amber, he’d been talking to Roni while Amber looked on, chatting away. Relief washed over Shaya, making the rage subside. Her wolf wasn’t totally relaxed—her focus was on Amber, the interfering bitch.
Sensing Shaya’s anger, Nick frowned. “Everything okay, baby?”
Shaya forced a smile, still recovering from her brief attack of panic. “You weren’t outside waiting. I just came to see if something was wrong.” She could tell he didn’t believe her, and maybe Roni didn’t either, because she came to Shaya and rubbed against her leg in a move that felt supportive. She then sat in front of Shaya almost protectively, staring at Amber, as if making it clear exactly where her loyalty lay. Appreciating that, Shaya reached down and stroked the she-wolf’s neck. Sensing eyes on her, Shaya raised her gaze to Kathy and Derren, shooting them both an awkward smile. Had she not been feeling so off-kilter right then, she may have commented on how the motor home was a lot more luxurious than she would have ever expected.
Nick’s eyes danced from Shaya to Roni to Amber and back to Shaya. If Shaya felt slightly threatened by Amber as an unmated female, he wouldn’t be surprised; it was only natural for her possessive streak to trigger a jealous reaction. But he didn’t want Shaya to ever be under the impression that he wanted anyone but her. So, getting to his feet, he immediately went to her. “Come on, baby, I’ll give you a ride to work.” Shaya nodded once but didn’t move, as if to ensure that he didn’t intend to linger.
After nuzzling his hand slightly, Roni then trotted over to the TV, bumping Bruce out of the way. Without a backward glance at Amber, Nick ushered Shaya outside the motor home. It wasn’t until they were in the privacy of the car that he spoke. “You don’t ever have to feel insecure about us. I don’t want anyone but you.”
She almost snapped, “There is no us,” but instead she found herself confessing, “I heard you both talking. I thought you were saying those things to Amber, not Roni.”
Confirming his suspicion and pleased that she’d been honest with him, Nick reached out and kneaded her nape. “There never has been, and never will be, anything at all between me and Amber.”
“She wants you.” Her expression dared him to deny it. To her surprise, he looked genuinely confused.
“I know she’s a little…overaffectionate, but that’s all it is. She’s like that with everyone.”
Shaya snorted. “Trust me, she wants you.”
That made no sense to Nick since dominant females weren’t at all subtle when they wanted a male. “I don’t think so, baby. Amber’s never given me even the slightest indication that she’s interested; dominant females are pretty forward.”
Okay, Shaya could concede that. “If you can think of any other reason why she’s jealous, let me know.”
Nick still wasn’t convinced, but he had no interest in arguing with Shaya. “In any case, they’re leaving today. Unfortunately, they won’t be far. My mother wants to stay in the local shifter motel for a while, but don’t worry, she’ll leave you alone.”
Shaya was actually kind of surprised that he wasn’t encouraging his mother to give him some kind of character reference in the hope of softening Shaya’s response to him. When he suddenly stopped the car after only a minute of driving, she frowned in confusion. Then she realized they were outside Starbucks.
“Wait here while I go get us some coffee. You didn’t get your caramel macchiato from me this morning, and that’s unacceptable.”
She rolled her eyes, though she was touched. “I think I can cope without coffee for one morning.”
“But you don’t want to and you don’t need to, so why should you have to?”
With that, he got out of the car and went inside, leaving Shaya feeling a contradictory mix of happy, confused, and angry. Happy because he made her that way with these little things he did. Confused because although she told herself she didn’t want to be with him, she wasn’t so sure of that anymore. And angry because she didn’t want him to make her happy…or did she?