by Jessie Lane
“That was a shitty thing you did yesterday.”
Nathan looked from Cruz’s hands up to his face, utterly unfazed by the waves of anger pouring off of him. “Yeah, well, some would say that you losing control like that in my place of business was a pretty shitty thing to do, too. The difference between us is I’m being magnanimous enough to let your shit slide. Since it’s my place, I’m your boss, and you’re the one who’s starting over in a new pack, I suggest you figure out how to do that, as well.”
Cruz slowly straightened up, jaw clenched, hating the fact that he had to admit he was just as guilty in this scenario.
Cracking his neck, he took a deep, calming breath. “All right, so you’re right. I was losing control, but I want you to know that’s not normal for me, and there were extenuating circumstances yesterday.”
Nathan nodded. “I got that, man. You found your true mate. After hearing your story yesterday, I can see why that might mess with your head, which is why what went down in my office is between you and me. No one else needs to know.”
Cruz cocked an eyebrow. “How about the person who drugged me?”
Nathan shrugged. “You don’t need to know who it was, and I’ll never tell you. At this point, I’m wiping the slate clean between us so we can have a fresh start today. In fact, I’m even going to give you a welcome to the pack present.”
Incredulous, Cruz looked at his boss in confusion. “Why would you do that?”
Cracking a big grin, Nathan tossed the papers in his hand to land in front of Cruz. “Let’s just say I want to see you get your chance at happiness.”
When he looked down, Cruz’s entire body froze as he saw a photocopy of two driver’s licenses. One was his mate’s, and the other looked as if it might be her father’s.
Snapping his gaze back up to Nathan, he asked, “How did you get that?”
Nathan folded his hands over his waist and sprawled in his chair as if he were king of the world. “She came to pick up her grandfather’s sword. It was accidentally left here yesterday. I, being the diligent, concerned owner that I am, told them I wanted to copy their identification in case the cops came in here, asking about a stolen sword.”
“You think her grandfather might have stolen that sword?”
His boss’s grin became even bigger. “Nope, but now I can give you her home address, can’t I? It also lets me prove to you that she’s not of my line of Wolfe’s. Check the spelling of her last name. There’s no E.”
Aw, hell, Nathan had done him a serious solid.
Cruz had been on his own for so long he had forgotten what others being there for you felt like. He wasn’t going to get all mushy and shit, but it was something he would never forget.
Feeling all the tension drain out of his body, Cruz looked back down at the paper and stared at his mate’s image. Could he do this? After losing one mate and a child, could he really give in to his wolf’s primitive urge to track down his true mate? He might have survived Lindsay and Laura’s deaths, but if he let himself get attached to Nikki and something happened to her, he would never survive another loss. The cut of that sort of catastrophe would go straight to his soul, destroying him completely. He would either go rogue or literally curl up and let himself waste away until he died. A wolf simply didn’t recover after the death of a true mate.
Nathan’s voice cut through his thoughts. “It’s okay to be scared, man, but don’t let your fear control you. You’ve got a second chance at life and possibly love. There’s a lot of people out there who never even get the first chance. Don’t throw this second chance away.”
Fuck. Hearing Nathan say those words cut straight through his doubts, forcing him to admit the man was right. Well, he would internally admit Nathan was right.
“What are you, a fortune teller now?” Picking up the paper, Cruz gave him a mock salute. “Thanks, boss. Be back for my shift in a little while.”
With those parting words, Cruz walked out of the office and then out of the bar, taking his first steps toward his destiny.
All right, that was some corny shit, but he did walk down the street with renewed purpose. He was going to find his mate and apologize. If Cruz really was meant to have a second chance at life and love, maybe she wouldn’t slam the door in his face.
~~~
“If we break your other foot, you could go back and get another matching hulk cast!”
“Sure, Ivar, why don’t we break my hands, too? Then I can get matching Hulk hands,” Nikki responded. Of course, her satire was utterly lost on the little boy who immediately started giving her ideas on how they could break both her hands and her other foot. Who knew a five-year-old could be so bloodthirsty?
Thankfully, a knock sounded on the front door, giving Nikki a reason to escape the presence of her little brother before he could try out any of his ideas.
She hobbled toward the front door as fast as she could, but with her cast, she was still so slow that even an old man moved faster than she did. Papa Ái beat her to the door, throwing it open without looking through the peephole to see who it was first.
As Nikki rounded the corner from the living room, she took one look at who was standing on the other side of the door and hissed in disbelief.
The bouncer who had thrown her grandfather out of the bar raised his eyebrows in surprise as he shook Papa Ái’s hand. “I didn’t know you were part cat.”
Smartass.
“I’m not, which you damn well know. Why are you here?”
The man let go of her grandfather’s hand, putting them in his jeans pockets. Nodding his head in Papa Ái’s direction, he answered her question, “I was just apologizing to your grandfather here again for what happened yesterday. Thought I would stop by and see how you two were doing.”
Nikki opened her mouth to blast the man with another sarcastic comment, but her grandfather didn’t give her the chance.
“Yesterday?” Looking back at Nikki, he asked, “What happened yesterday, Nikki girl?”
Papa Ái’s genuine confusion broke her heart. Softening her voice, she took a few steps closer and said, “Do you remember going to the bar to look for me?”
The old man looked up, thinking hard, then shook his head. “Did I find you?”
Nikki gave him a gentle smile. “Yes, you did.”
“Did I get an ale and a wench after that?”
Moment ruined.
The sound of a smothered male chuckle came from her left, and Nikki shot a killing glare at the bouncer who had a hand over his mouth, trying to hide his laughter.
“Wait, why are you sorry, young warrior? Did you steal my ale or woman?”
This time, the bouncer didn’t bother to hide his laughter.
Nikki hung her head, deciding that staring at her green cast was better than trying to deal with this situation anymore.
The deep baritone voice that spoke next did something to Nikki that no man had done in quite some time. It made her wet. As in, her thighs tried to clench from the sudden attack of desire that rolled through her as strong as a thunderstorm.
“I promise you, sir, I didn’t take your ale or your woman. You know what did happen, though?”
Nikki glanced up to see Papa lean toward the other man in fascination. “What happened? A raid? A battle? Some sort of glory that will lead us to Valhalla?” With each word, her grandfather got more and more excited until he was shouting in their visitor’s face.
The bouncer smiled but shook his head. “Your granddaughter stole something from me.”
With that accusation, Nikki’s head snapped up, and she shouted, “What?”
Papa was looking at the bouncer warily now. “That’s a grave accusation, boy. What exactly are you claiming my girl stole?”
Dark chocolate eyes looked straight into her own, making her burn with want as much as she burned with anger. Then the jerk said the one thing she never expected to hear.
“My heart.”
For the love of all the corny pickup lines
in the entire universe! Really? Was he serious right now? Lord knew her grandfather found the answer amusing, because he was laughing his head off.
Annoyed beyond belief, Nikki growled at him, “Go away.”
Papa was now laughing so hard he was doubled over, clutching his sides as he tried to breathe through his guffawing. The scene seemed to amuse the bouncer whose smile was huge as he looked from Papa to Nikki.
“Not until you agree to come out here and talk to me, pretty girl.”
“Are you kidding me right now?” Nikki seethed.
Her grandfather was still laughing like a loon, and she couldn’t get this annoying jackass to go away. Could her day possibly get any worse?
Frankly, she should have known better than to even think those words. The minute she did, little Ivar piped up from behind her, “I’ve got it, Nikki! We’ll just get Harald to use Thor’s hammer again to break your hands and other foot. Hey, who’s that at the door?”
Unable to accept her life as it was at the moment, Nikki maneuvered her way past her still cackling grandfather, motioned for the bouncer to step back so she could come out on the porch, and then slammed the front door shut behind her.
Trying to regain some of her composure, Nikki took a deep breath then blew it out before she finally looked at her guest. Starting at his overly large feet, she scanned upward, taking in his thick thighs, trim waist, up to his barrel chest with two rather bulging arms crossed over it. By the time she made it to his sinfully good-looking face, she really wished she hadn’t taken the time to check him out. The bastard was wearing a smug grin.
“So, swords and hammers, huh? Any other weapons I should know about?”
Not taking the time to think, Nikki did what she usually did. She spoke with no filter.
“Yeah, my mouth. As in, if you don’t get the hell off my porch in the next minute, I’m going to start screaming for the cops and tell everyone you are harassing me.”
The infuriating man didn’t skip a beat. “Baby, any time you want to use that mouth on me, feel free to do so. But I’d rather you scream my name instead of screaming for the cops.”
Shocked by his response, Nikki’s jaw dropped open. It wasn’t often she talked with someone who could take what she gave them and give her shit right back.
“I can’t believe you just said that to me!” she finally sputtered.
Running a hand through his hair, suddenly seeming more nervous than cocky, he said, “You’re right. I shouldn’t have said that to you yet. Look, I came here to apologize to you and your grandfather for yesterday, not to cause problems. Think we can let bygones be bygones here?”
Slightly amused by the bouncer who had quick wit, Nikki pretended to sniff in disdain just to give him a hard time. “I suppose. Now, on you go. Scurry back to your bar or wherever it is you shifter types like to get furry. As you can see, I’ve got my hands full here.”
He crossed his arms back over his chest and rumbled, “What if I don’t want to go just yet?”
Nikki snorted. “And you want to stay, why? So you can give me some more cheesy pickup lines? Buddy, if I wanted to hear those, all I have to do is go back and visit your bar.”
A growl burst through the air between them, and it took her a second to realize it was coming from him.
This time, it was his turn to take a deep breath. “Look, let’s not talk about you getting pickup lines, all right?” Holding out his hand, he continued, “Your name is Nikki. In case you didn’t catch it yesterday, my name is Cruz.”
Cruz kept holding his hand out in the space between them until she realized he wasn’t going to give up, so she placed her hand in his big one to give him a quick handshake. That handshake turned into something else altogether. What exactly, Nikki couldn’t say. What she could outline was how warm his skin felt against her own and the strength in his fingers as he gingerly brought her hand up to his face and pressed his lips to the back of her hand. Not to mention, the way a slow heat started to move through her entire body.
Instant attraction. Chemistry.
Whatever it was, it damn near knocked her on her ass.
It wasn’t love at first sight by any means, but it was definitely something more primitive or instinctual. It felt like, at the touch of his lips on her skin, Nikki’s entire nerve system lit up like one of those old-time pinball games. If she had lights and music in her system, they would have gone off loudly enough to wake up the neighborhood. It was perhaps the craziest thing she had ever encountered in her entire life, and that was saying something since she was pretty sure her entire family was certifiable.
Apparently, she wasn’t the only one affected by the touch. Cruz’s eyes seemed to glow a bit, making the dark chocolate depths of his gaze molten. Damn, the man was dangerous to her girl parts.
Trying to put her wits back in order, Nikki pulled her hand out of his grip and noticed how Cruz only seemed to let it go reluctantly.
Clearing her throat, she murmured, “Got it. I’m Nikki, you’re Cruz, and yesterday is forgiven. That cover it all?” She tried so hard to make herself sound confident and sure again, but even she heard the little waver in her voice.
Cruz shook his head. “Nope.”
“No?” she repeated, surprised.
He shook his head. “Nope.”
“Well, what do you want now?” Nikki asked, confused as hell.
She watched, rather like a fascinated school girl, as the side of his mouth slowly tipped up into a grin. “I don’t think I can have what I want just yet, pretty girl. Perhaps you can give me what I need, though?”
“What’s that?” she croaked.
“Time with you.” His words were firm and unrepentant.
“Why do you want time with me?”
“You want the truth, or do you want pretty words?”
Nikki rolled her eyes. “Pretty words aren’t always true, and true words aren’t always pretty, so hit me with the truth, big guy. I’m sure I can take it.”
“You know I’m a wolf shifter, yes?”
Nikki nodded.
“Do you know what a true mate is?”
She told him no.
At the shake of her head, Cruz began to explain, “Fate, mother nature, God—whoever you want to pin it on—gives each shifter one true mate during their lifetime. As the stories of my kind go, biologically, true mates are perfectly compatible. After they accept one another, they merge on a soul level, becoming emotionally bound to the other. In essence, true mates are what humans call soul mates.”
Perplexed about where he was going with this, Nikki asked, “And …? What does this have to do with me?”
“You’re my true mate.”
Those four words seemed to echo in the air around her, or maybe it was in her head. Nikki wasn’t quite sure, because suddenly, she was a wee bit lightheaded and a whole lot of confused.
Cruz stepped closer to her. “You said yourself that the truth isn’t always pretty. I’m not sure how you feel about what I just told you, but I’m going to be straight with you here. This scares the shit out of me … for very good reasons that are all my own. That doesn’t mean I’m willing to just walk away from the one person who was made for me.”
She started to waver a bit on her feet, and Cruz grabbed her shoulders in a firm hold to help keep her straight.
“I’m not asking for your hand in marriage, Nikki. I’m asking for a fresh start between us and the chance to get to know you.”
Eventually, her brain kicked back on. “Me?” she squeaked. It wasn’t exactly the seriously confident tone she would normally like to display, but hell, she had just been metaphorically knocked on her ass. This was like one of those surreal scenes in one of the paranormal romance books she sometimes liked to read. “I’m your mate?”
Cruz started to travel a consoling path up and down her upper arms with his hand. “Yes, you. So what do you say? Will you let me get to know you?”
Nikki went silent as her mind raced. She must have stayed q
uiet a little too long, because Cruz stopped trying to comfort her and eventually squeezed a little more tightly. The move brought her out of her fog, and she looked back at his eyes and saw there was some sort of fear there. Why would he be afraid?
His facial features turned blank, and then he said in a low, sad voice, “If you want me to leave and never come back, well, I’ll leave, but I can’t promise you I won’t come back, Nikki.”
Her heart fluttered a little in her chest at the raw uncertainty pouring through his eyes. Cruz might think he had a hell of a poker face, but his eyes said it all. What they were saying right now was that he was scared she was going to turn him away.
No matter how they had started, she couldn’t let him go like that. Perhaps Nikki didn’t know what to think about this whole true mate thing yet, but she certainly didn’t want to tell him to leave and not come back. If anything, there was something deep down in her that she didn’t understand that yearned for this man. The only way she was ever going to figure out why was if she did get to know him a little.
Swiping her tongue over her dry bottom lip, she watched as his eyes followed the movement, turning molten again. Nikki had a feeling she could stare at those gorgeous eyes all day.
“Tomorrow,” she heard herself whisper. Clearing her throat again, making her voice surer, she tried again, “Why don’t you come back tomorrow so we can talk and get to know each other?”
Cruz’s lips stretched into a smile that warmed her heart. “I would give you a good-bye kiss, pretty girl, but your grandfather and that little boy are watching us through the window.”
Well, that was like having a cold bucket of water dumped over her head.
“What?” She tried to turn her head to the side to see which window Papa Ái and Ivar were spying out of, but Cruz held her still.
He locked his gaze on hers one more time then whispered as he traced his thumb over her bottom lip, “See you tomorrow.” With that promise, Cruz turned and walked down her driveway, onto the sidewalk, and down the street.
Nikki stood there until he was out of sight. She wasn’t sure what was in more shock: her heart or her libido. Either way, all she could do was hope that neither ended up getting let down.