by Lauren Dane
He rolled his eyes. “Lucky me. Now go to bed. You’re all going to be getting on the road pretty early in the morning.”
She jumped down and he hugged her. “‘Night, Cade. I love you.”
“I love you too.” He kissed her forehead. “Eyebrow ring.” He shuddered and she laughed and turned and left the room, that dog of hers following in her wake.
Chapter Two
Nick Lawrence rolled out of his bed at six thirty and stretched. He needed to get a workout in before he went out to meet with the Mediator and the Wardens at ten.
He jumped in the shower and put on jeans and a sweater before going back into the bedroom. Opening the curtains, the room brightened enough to showcase the woman in his bed.
He sauntered over. “Shelley, you need to wake up,” he leaned over and whispered.
She woke up and smiled. “Again?”
Laughing, he straightened. “As good an offer as that is, I need to get out the door. The Mediator is in town and I need to prepare. I’ll drop you at home on my way to the gym.”
She sighed and stretched to entice him. He thought about it for a few moments but pushed it away. He didn’t have time. He wanted to work out to clear his head.
Seeing that he was set on what he had to do, she swung her very long legs out of bed and padded into the bathroom. He knew she’d hurry it up. She wasn’t prone to playing games or being difficult. It was one of the reasons he liked her and took her out from time to time.
Nick liked his life. He was thirty years old and Second in a Pack with excellent territory. Like the Wardens, his family had dominated the Pack leadership for nearly two hundred years. His brother was Alpha and Nick was fine with that. His brother had a mate and two kids, the future of the Pack was assured and that gave him the freedom to play.
At the gym, he did his Krav Maga workout and some boxing before a good swim, all the while working through the issues in his head. Nick didn’t actually think it was a problem. He liked Lex Warden and thought the Cascadia Pack was fair for a much, much larger and more powerful neighbor. It could have been way worse.
At the same time, two Enforcers from different Packs in the same room would be a huge hassle and he knew it. He could feel his wolf pushing at him, competitive and raging to defeat a perceived challenger.
It was a good thing the Mediator would be there. He’d be much higher in rank than either one of them, even though he was Third in his own Pack. The National Pack was made up of the most powerful wolves in the nation and as such, the Mediator would be more powerful than even an Alpha of another territory.
After showering, he put on a suit and tie and headed to the Pack house to speak with Ben and to pick up his personal assistant.
He smiled as he pulled his car into the driveway. He’d grown up in the main Pack house. His parents still lived on the grounds in a house they’d built after handing Pacific over to Ben fifteen years before, when Nick was still a teenager. The main house was a very large Victorian with big trees all around, a big wraparound porch and even a tire swing in the side yard next to Ben’s kids’ huge playset.
“Whoo-hoo! Don’t you clean up nice.” Ben Lawrence looked up at his brother when he entered the room.
“I get by. You got anything else for me? We’re set to meet in an hour.”
The Mediator had chosen a resort-type hotel outside the city that had expansive grounds. The meeting space would be much different there than if he’d chosen a downtown hotel. More relaxed than corporate.
“You can do your job just fine. I spoke briefly with Cade earlier today. I trust you, I trust them. But I would like you to feel them out on the whole Pellini mess.”
“Gotcha. I’m curious myself but guessing that they aren’t happy with it. There was that mess with their demoted Third turning up dead and it looked like a family hit. Can’t imagine that engendered much positive feeling between them and Cascadia.”
“Yeah. Well, we don’t want to go getting in the middle of this situation, Nick. The Pellinis are powerful. Who knows? Maybe when this is over they’ll remember that we didn’t take sides.”
“I’m not sure it’s wise to not take sides. This is the mafia! They’ll bring us all down if we let them.”
“Just feel them out for now.” Ben frowned for a moment and relaxed. “Nina Warden and the youngest sister will be there along with Lex and one of the guards for Nina. How many people are you taking?”
“I’ll take one of my men as backup. I have no doubt that the Mediator will have a full retinue of guards and I’m not fooled by how hot Nina Warden is. She’d rip my throat out as soon as look at me if I threatened hers. I haven’t met the youngest sister, is she a guard too?”
“No. Not the youngest one. Cade says she’s just administrative help and he didn’t sound like he was hiding anything. If she’s female, I’m guessing you’ll charm her. But don’t screw this one, Nick. The last thing we need are two angry Wardens down here ready to kill the wolf who hurt their baby sister.”
Nick shrugged. “Like I can help it. But you know, I do have control over my cock, thank you very much. Sheesh.” He grinned at his brother, who snorted. “I’m off. I want to grab some coffee before I get there.”
He saw his personal assistant and one of his guards in the hall and they all headed out.
* * *
“I can’t believe you made us get up at five.” Tracy held on to her latte like it was her lifeline as they drove up the winding drive to the resort.
Nina laughed. “He said early. And you slept for most of the way here.”
“I had to keep my eyes closed to keep from seeing you maul each other. Jeez. The honeymoon is over. I thought you weren’t so hot for each other after the first six months.”
“I’ve got news for you, sweetie, this mate thing is like sexual crack. I think I know why your mom was so unhappy all those years. Your dad was gone so much, she must have gone up the walls. Not being around Lex for long periods of time makes me very unhappy and when I’m with him I just want to touch him, nuzzle and snuggle with him. It’s irresistible.”
“Blech! So I’ll be all horny like you two are all the time?”
Lex chuckled. “Is being horny a bad thing?”
“I suppose not if you have a mate to satisfy your urges. But really, do you have to do it in front of me and Megan?”
“Jealous?” Nina smirked at Tracy over her shoulder and laughed.
“I am!” Megan said and patted Milton’s head.
“Wow, this is some place,” Tracy said as they pulled up to the main building. The drive had taken them up a hill into dense foliage. The grounds were landscaped in a lush manner so that even though it was full winter, it was still green.
There were some lovely water features and what looked to be a hedge maze that Tracy thought she’d take a look at later on.
The main building was done in the Craftsman style of architecture, dominating the grounds with its natural wood beams, and beautiful stained glass in the windows. Tracy loved the signature style, it felt very indicative of the spirit of the Northwest. She saw that there were many small outbuildings in the same style grouped all over the grounds.
“I’m going to check us all in, I’ll be right back,” Lex said and leaned over and kissed Nina. “Stay out of trouble. Megan, shoot her if she looks like she’s going to get out.” Nina sighed and flicked his ear.
Once he’d walked into the building, she turned to look at her sisters-in-law in the backseat. “So, let’s take Milton for a walk.”
“No. We’ll wait. Come on, he’s going to have a stroooohh...” Megan’s eyes glazed over. The other two women followed her gaze and saw the men getting out of the cars just over from where they were parked.
“Holy hot studly dude,” Nina breathed as she watched the man in the dark suit get
out of the Porsche. “Correction, holy hot studly wolf. That’s Nick Lawrence. I met him briefly when Lex and I were on our road trip down to San Francisco this last summer.”
“I’m all sweaty all of a sudden. And we have to sit in a room with him for a day or so? Whew, that’ll be a treat. Maybe we should make up stuff to have to mediate. I bet he’s cute when he’s mad.” Tracy snickered.
“The others with him aren’t so bad either,” Megan murmured, checking out the other wolf she guessed was a guard and one who looked like a sexy accountant. “Man, I need to get laid.”
Nina laughed, surprised. “Well, well, well! All three of them certainly look like prime mattress material. Go for it, Megs.”
Lex walked out of the building and stopped when he saw Nick. Back in the car, the women watched as they talked for a few moments.
“Ugh, I feel like the little woman sitting out here in the car! Gah! Well, at least Lawrence walks like a man with not much to hide. He’s a ladies’ man though.”
“How can you tell? Jeez, you can’t be that good.” Tracy leaned forward between the seats.
“He has a cocky walk. A loose, self-confident walk. He’s extraordinarily good-looking and well-groomed. He’s got the chick-magnet sports car. It only stands to reason. Plus, he’s the second son. He has the freedom that the oldest one wouldn’t have had. Look at the difference between Cade and Lex. Don’t think I don’t know what Lex was like before he sniffed me.”
Lex walked back to the car and looked suspicious when they all got quiet but for stifled giggles when he got inside. “What is going on?”
“Nothing. I was just saying that Nick Lawrence was a ladies’ man and explaining how I knew. Get us checked in all right?”
Lex narrowed his eyes at her and then handed her a map. “We’re around the corner in a bungalow. The dog will have space and Megan can be nearby to keep an eye on you.”
Nina smiled. She loved how sweet he was under that tough wolf exterior. “Thank you, Scooby. We should get our crap unloaded then. It’s coming up on the meeting time.”
He pulled the car around and they moved the stuff into the bungalow, fed and watered Milton and let him do a quick run.
“Go on, I’ll be up in a second,” Tracy called out. “I just want to let him run a bit more before I go.”
“You know where it’s at then?”
“Yes, Lex. You showed us on the map four times already. And I won’t be late, I promise. And no, I’m not going to change. It’s stupid. He’s going to mediate a buffer and I don’t need pantyhose for that.”
Nina shoved Lex up the walk and Megan waved back at Tracy and then moved to flank Nina.
Tracy let Milton run a few minutes more and took him back inside, made sure it was warm enough, gave him a treat and opened up the drapes so he could look outside. He liked to watch the birds and squirrels. Taking one last look in the mirror, she headed out to the conference room where they’d be meeting.
It was a nice day, crisp but unseasonably warm, and she only needed a light jacket over her T-shirt as she walked along the path. Her heart caught in her throat as she watched a man with caramel hair and a bit of salt-and-pepper at the temples walk into the building in front of her. He had on pants with a pleat so sharp it probably cut paper, expensive shoes and a wine-colored sweater. The perfect mix of formal and casual to go with the perfect haircut. Very attractive in a professorial way. Still, she had the urge to jump on him and muss him up.
The man was in charge. His very demeanor indicated he was self-assured and oh-so-very dominant. Mmm, dominant.
She laughed to herself and went in behind him. He was quite obviously the Mediator. There was a coat rack just outside the door and she took off hers and hung it up. The room was warm enough for humans and definitely warm enough for wolves. She couldn’t resist a quick look in the window to catch her reflection. Her lipstick was still on nicely and she gave her hair a quick finger comb and went into the room.
Nick looked up from the paperwork on the table in front of him and caught sight of the woman that had just entered the room. Shoulder-length, tousled golden-blonde curls framed her face. The sweetheart shape and pixie nose were set off by the ring in her eyebrow. Freckles dusted her cheeks and drew his eyes up past her high cheekbones to the green eyes. They were wide and glittering with hidden mischief. Her lips, stained red with shiny gloss, curved up on one corner like she had a secret.
She reached up and tucked her hair back and more piercings, running the length of her ear, showed. When she turned and waved to Lex he could see the outline of both nipples, each pierced by a ring, through the tight black T-shirt she had on. Her features seemed petite but she was long and lithe and sexy. Her legs were very nice legs, showcased by the worn and faded jeans she was wearing, but her ass was spectacular.
He should be horrified. He should be mentally sneering and looking for the woman in the designer suit and the two-hundred-dollar haircut. Instead, he stood openmouthed and panting over a woman who he wouldn’t pick up hitchhiking.
Tracy nonchalantly looked for the Mediator while pretending to be all business. Waving to Lex and Nina, she did a quick sweep of the room and stopped when she saw Nick Lawrence close up.
Everything got still and quiet as her attention was drawn to the sable-black hair she just knew was cut to perfection every six weeks. It’d be soft and silky and she clenched her hands at the thought of running her fingers through it. His gaze caught hers and pulled her in. Deep blue eyes. His handsome face was beautiful. Nearly pretty. But the width of his shoulders and the power hinted at in his legs tipped him solidly in the heart-stopping gorgeous camp either way. It was clear he was a big, bad man who could be scary if he needed to be. He wouldn’t be the Enforcer if he wasn’t physically the strongest and most fearsome wolf in the Pack.
She shivered. Confusion poked at her. Why on earth did that matter? She’d never been one to go after the clean-cut, corporate-suit type.
“Tracy? You ready to get started?” Lex asked, jolting her out of her thoughts.
“Uh, yes. Yes. Sorry.” She walked over to their table and sat next to him. Behind them both, Nina watched with a puzzled look on her face.
Professor Studly stepped forward and everyone stood again. “I’m Gabe Murphy, the Mediator for the National Pack. This doesn’t appear to be an overly complicated situation so I’m hoping we can cut the shit and get this thing banged out by the end of business today.”
He held out his hand to Lex, who shook it.
“I’m Alexander Warden, Lex to most people. I’m Enforcer and Second in the Cascadia Clan.” He inclined his head slightly, showing the deference due the Mediator but not an inch more.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Lex. I’ve heard a lot about you.”
Gabe stepped to Nick then, who was still staring at Tracy, but forced himself to focus on the Mediator. “Nicholas Lawrence, Enforcer and Second in Pacific Clan.” He too gave the inclination of his head.
Acting by strict protocol, Gabe moved back to Lex, where Nina stood forward. “Nina Reyes-Warden. Second.”
Gabe couldn’t help but grin. The woman clearly thought the whole thing was bullshit. It showed in her body language and the way she met his eyes. He liked that. “I’ve also heard about you, Nina. It’s nice to finally meet you, your reputation precedes you.”
She snorted. Lex looked horrified and Tracy and Megan kept their gazes down so as not to laugh.
“I’ll take that as a compliment then, shall I, Gabe?”
He laughed. “Absolutely.”
He then dealt with the other members of each group. Despite his normally calm demeanor, his heart sped up when he shook the hand of Tracy Warden. Normally he’d have been none too thrilled to meet someone with a facial piercing, at the very least turned off, but on her it was wicked sexy. Made him wonder if anything e
lse was pierced, and if she had tattoos.
“Okay, do you all know each other?” Gabe asked, looking around at them, forcing his mind off stripping those clothes off Tracy Warden and searching out the answers to his questions.
“I’ve not met anyone from Pacific.” Tracy was surprised that her voice didn’t crack under the pressure of all that testosterone in the room.
Gabe took her hand, led her over to the others and introduced her to Nick. When Nick touched her hand her body tightened and erupted into gooseflesh. Oh shit.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Tracy.” Nick said this in his usual debonair way but he was fighting down panic. Fighting back the urge to push her back to the table behind her and grab the flesh of her neck between his teeth.
She knew she must have mumbled something and met the others. She realized this as she sat in the chair next to Lex and began to take notes. The time began to tick by and she didn’t quite know where it had gone.
The feel of her hand in Nick’s had warmed her. Turned her insides molten. She was achy and her wolf was agitated. Several times Lex had to repeat himself when he asked her a question as she found it increasingly more difficult to pay attention.
Nina watched her sister-in-law with careful eyes. All the fidgeting and distractedness was unlike her. “Excuse me, can we take a break?” Nina asked, standing up.
Lex turned around, concern on his face. “Are you all right?”
“I just need a break. I think I need a piece of fruit or something.”
“Of course, we’ve been at this for a few hours. Let’s take half an hour and then we’ll work through lunch. I took the liberty of ordering in, I hope you don’t mind.” Gabe stood, smiling.
Nina nodded and moved forward. “Tracy, honey, can you come with me, please?” And before Tracy could answer she found herself being dragged out of the room.
Just outside the building, Nina hustled her around the side. “What the hell is going on? Are you all right?” Nina examined her through narrowed eyes.