by Lisa Emme
Nash shrugged. “I needed to know what happened and I thought I could spare you, so you wouldn’t have to relive it by telling me.” He kissed the top of my head. “I didn’t want to cause you pain.”
I stilled in his arms, biting my lip. “And what did he show you?”
“Everything,” Nash’s voice sounded awed. “I saw everything, like it was through your eyes. I felt everything you felt.”
I swallowed nervously. “Everything?”
“Everything.” He squeezed me tight against his chest. “Oh god, Harry, I’m so sorry for what you had to go through. What you sacrificed of yourself in order to save me. I never would have wanted you -”
I twisted in his arms and scowled at him, putting a finger to his lips. “I didn’t do it for you. I did it for me. I was there too, wasn’t I? I did it to save the both of us.” I turned my back to him again and crossed my arms.
“Harry, I know. I know how you felt when you thought all was lost.” He kissed the top of my head again. “I never want you to have to feel that way again.” He paused, taking a deep breath. “And I know how you feel about the mark and I’m sorry for that. Truly I am. If it was really something I knew you didn’t want I would respect your decision. I would walk away.”
“You’d walk away from your mate even though you’d never find another, could never be with another woman?” I looked at him skeptically.
“Yes, I would. I won’t force this on you, Harry. Even with the mark you could move on, have a relationship with someone else.” He paused as if to let me ponder the possibility and then tipped my chin up to look me in the eyes. “But I know you have feelings for me. I felt them. I have the same feelings for you.” I began to protest but he hurried on, putting a finger to my lips. “I know you need time. I’ll give you all the time you need. Just give me a chance to prove my feelings to you, to prove to you that they are real and not just because of the wolf.” He studied my face, a look of concern in his eyes.
“Okay,” I said quietly. My mind was still in turmoil. Did he know about Salvador or didn’t he?
Nash smiled and kissed me gently on the lips. “Okay, Harry.”
I turned and settled back in his arms, not really watching the meteors any longer but enjoying the feeling of peace that came over me. I’d tell him my secret when the time was right and we’d figure things out, if we didn’t kill each other first. I smiled to myself and Nash, picking up on my contentment, gave me a little squeeze. I leaned my head back against his shoulder, tilting it to the side and he bent his head to nuzzle my neck, sending a shiver down my spine.
“So, if you don’t put out on a first date,” he whispered in my ear, his voice full of mischief, “how far do you go?” He pulled me tight and I could feel his erection against my bottom. He slid his hands up under my jacket to rest at my waist as his lips nuzzled the back of my neck, brushing across the mark. I gasped, feeling the sensation right down to my toes.
“I don’t know, maybe you had better kiss me and find out.” My voice was soft and breathless. I turned in his arms to look up at his face. Nash’s eyes took on a wild gleam and he inhaled deeply. Grasping my chin, his lips descended, latching onto mine. I groaned and leaned into the kiss, turning my body towards his. He slipped his hands under me, lifting me up and I suddenly found myself facing him, straddling his legs. His fingers dug into my hips, pulling me close to grind against him. I gasped and he took the opportunity to thrust his tongue into my mouth, completely ravishing it with his kiss.
After a few minutes, I pulled my mouth from his, panting for breath as he sucked and licked and nipped his way down my throat to my collarbone. His hands found my waist and he tugged my shirt out from where it was tucked into my jeans. He slid his hands up under my shirt, his warm fingers gliding across my bare skin. Taking my mouth again, he tangled his tongue with mine. He growled and I felt the heat rush straight to my core. I sucked in a breath as his fingers brushed across the fabric of my bra, teasing my sensitive nipples. He pushed me back, forcing me to rise up on my knees, opening the space between us as he pushed up my shirt exposing my bare belly. He leaned over, his lips tickling across my skin and I arched my back as he licked a path up to my bra, his hands cupping my breasts. I threw my head back, my chest heaving as I struggled to stay in control. Nash paused, his face against my abdomen, his breathing as ragged as mine. With a little chuckle, he slid his hands from my breasts to my hips, pushing me back down on his legs.
“I can’t believe I’m saying this,” he said with a shake of his head, “but we should stop.” He laughed again and tucked his finger under my chin, closing my mouth as I looked at him in disbelief. “This is only our first date after all.”
I groaned and leaned against him, running my tongue up the side of his neck. “Do you really want to stop?” I kissed him behind his ear. Nash growled and shifted positions, pushing my hips tight against him. I nipped at his ear lobe, pulling it between my teeth.
A growl exploded from him and his fingers twined roughly in my hair, pulling my head back. He took my mouth with his in a no-holds-barred kiss. Breathing heavily, he pulled his mouth from mine. “Minx,” he said with another growl, slapping me on the ass.
“Hey!” I protested, the swat still stinging. A wave of lust washed over me.
“Do that again, little minx, and I’ll take you right here, right now, no matter who else is around to see.”
I swallowed with a gulp, my eyes wide. I couldn’t decide if I wanted to push him or if I was too chicken to call his bluff. Nash laughed and kissed me on the nose.
“Sexy little minx. You like that idea, do you?” He grabbed my hips and deposited me on the blanket beside him. He jumped to his feet and held out his hand. “Come on. We had better go before this gets out of hand.”
With a little disappointed huff, I put my hand in his, letting him pull me to my feet. He pulled me straight up into his arms and into his kiss.
I pushed myself away reluctantly a few moments later. “You’re right. We should go.” With a sigh, I bent over to pick the blankets up off the ground and then squealed when Nash goosed me on the bottom. “Hey!” I swatted at him playfully. “Keep your hands to yourself, Nash.”
Nash wiggled his eyebrows at me with a grin. “Never.”
***
I ran out of steam on the ride back into town, my eyes fluttering shut.
“Hey, wake up, sleepyhead,” Nash smiled and gave my thigh a pat. “We’re almost home.”
I looked around and, recognizing the neighbourhood, realized he meant my home. The streets were quiet, the clock on the dash of Nash’s truck read 2:05 AM. No wonder I was tired. Nash had turned on the radio and Adele was crooning softly that she wanted to set fire to the rain. The whole evening felt kind of surreal. Best. First date. Ever.
I let my mind wander thinking about whether Nash would walk me to the door and kiss me, and whether or not we’d behave and leave it at the door or stumble inside to my room. Suddenly, something stepped out in front of the truck.
“Nash! Look out!” I threw my hand against the dash as Nash slammed on the brakes, but it was too late, the truck barreled right through the man standing in the middle of the road. “No!” I braced for an impact that never happened.
“What the hell, Harry?” Nash brought the truck to a complete stop and shifted it into park. He turned to look at me. “Are you okay?”
“He...you…I mean…” I shook my head and turned to look out the back window of the truck. The man was standing in the middle of the road looking back at me. “Son of a bitch!” I huffed out a breath.
“Harry?” Nash eyed me with concern. He grabbed my hand and turned to look out the back of the truck. “Oh, shit.”
About a week ago, we had discovered that if Nash touched me skin-to-skin, he could see what I was seeing when ghosts manifested. It probably had something to do with the mate
bond, although now that I think about it, the first time Nash saw a ghost with me was before he had marked me as his mate. Huh. Interesting, but that thought would have to wait for another time.
“Welcome to my life,” I said, turning my mind back to the present with a wry smile. “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize the guy was already dead. I thought you were about to hit him.” I shrugged.
“It’s okay, Harry. Does stuff like this happen often?”
“Not really. It’s the first time a ghost has ever stepped in front of my car.” I looked back at the ghost standing rather forlornly in the street. “I guess I’d better go see what he wants. I don’t particularly want him following me home.”
I hopped out of the truck and Nash followed. As we approached the ghost, Nash’s hand in mine, the spectre turned and started to walk away.
“Hey! Where are you going?” I hurried after him as he headed towards a darkened alley.
Nash put out his arm to stop me from following. “I don’t like this, Harry. Stay behind me.” He pulled his gun out of the holster at his waist. I frowned. He wasn’t wearing that a minute ago. He must have grabbed it out of the truck. Keeping my hand in his left and his gun in his right, Nash led me into the alley after the ghost. About halfway down, we found the ghost staring down at a body, his body.
“Maybe you should go wait in the truck,” Nash said, coming to a halt a few feet away from the grisly sight.
“What? Go back there? All by myself?” I shook my head, but I think my smile gave my ploy away. “No thanks, I’ll stick with you.”
Nash grumbled but didn’t say anything and he stepped towards the body. It was partially covered by a piece of dirty cardboard. He pulled out his phone and snapped a couple of pictures, the flash filling the alley with light, and then he kicked the cardboard to the side. “Shit,” he said. He ran a hand through his hair and then rubbed his forehead like he felt a headache coming on. He punched some numbers into his phone. “Yeah, it’s Nash. I’m going to need a couple of units and the M.E. I’ve got a DB in the alley off of Dempsey, a few blocks east of Miller. Tell them to look for my truck; I’ll throw the four-ways on.”
I stepped closer, taking a look at the body in front of me. “Holy…” I shook my head. The man’s throat was completely torn out. I looked at Nash and he grimaced. “Where’s all the blood?” I asked, looking around the alley.
Nash took a deep breath and scanned the alley. “I don’t know. It could be a body dump.” He tousled his hair again. “Listen, can you run back to the truck and throw the hazard lights on? Maybe wait at the mouth of the alley where I can see you and watch for the uniforms?”
“Okay.” I turned to leave.
“Harry, wait!” Nash grabbed my arm. “What about the ghost? Maybe you should question him before backup gets here.”
“I would, but I can’t. He’s gone.” Nash looked around in surprise, sliding his hand to touch mine as he scanned the alley. “He disappeared the moment we found the body.”
“Do you think he’ll come back?”
“I don’t know.” I shrugged. “Maybe he just wanted someone to find him. That might have been all that was holding him back. It wouldn’t be the first time.” In fact, I needed two hands to count the number of times ghosts had appeared to me with the sole purpose of helping me find their bodies so that they didn’t lie somewhere unclaimed.
Nash nodded absently, his mind already back on the case. I headed back to the truck and flipped on the four-ways, grabbing a flashlight I had remembered seeing in the console. Five minutes later, two police cars pulled up, their lights flashing but no sirens. I waved them down and pointed them towards Nash. A few minutes later, Nash strode out of the alley.
“I’m sorry, Harry, but I’m going to have to stick around. I’ve been assigned the case.” He paused to watch as his partner, Dev, pulled up in their department-issued car. He lifted my hand, turning it palm up and dropped his keys into it. “Take my truck home, okay?”
“Really? You’re going to let me drive your truck?” I grinned at him. “Gee, Nash, you really know how to show a girl a good time on a first date.”
Nash snorted and reached over, his fingers furrowing through my hair at the back of my head. He leaned down and kissed my forehead. “This isn’t how I imagined our date would end.”
“Yeah, me neither.”
Chapter Six
Something tickled my ear. I shook my head in irritation, refusing to open my eyes at whatever ungodly hour it happened to be. It certainly didn’t feel like I had been asleep very long after driving home – very cautiously I might add – in Nash’s big-ass truck.
The something tickled me again only this time it was on the tip of my nose. I wrinkled my nose and gave my head another shake. A familiar scent nudged at my consciousness. Nash! I continued to play possum, keeping my eyes shut. When the tickle struck again, I whipped out my hand, meaning to capture his in mine, only this time it was his lips tickling me, not his hand, and so I clocked him in the eye by accident.
“Ouch!” Nash growled, grabbing my wrist. His body pounced on mine, pressing me into the bed.
“Umph!” I grunted, blinking repeatedly as my eyes adjusted to the low light in the room. “What the hell, Nash? Why are you in my bed?” I struggled half-heartedly under his weight, frowning at him. “You know it’s kind of stalker-y to follow a girl home after the first date and sneak into her bed, right?”
Nash’s pupils flared and he took a deep breath, my struggles obviously exciting the wolf. “Mmmm, you smell good, Harry. Good enough to eat.” His eyes burned into me. I felt a wild heat bloom somewhere south of my belly button. I attempted to push him off me again. “Lie still, Harry.” Nash’s voice was rough. “You’re getting the wolf all worked up.” He dipped his head down until his nose was at my collar bone. He took a long, exaggerated breath and then slowly licked up my neck to my ear, nipping at the lobe. The heat at my core burned even hotter. Nash’s eyes gleamed. “You like that, don’t you, little minx?”
“I -” I started to reply, but Nash’s lips captured mine, eating my words.
He kissed me hard, his tongue thrusting into my mouth, owning it. Just as suddenly, he pulled away and looked at me with narrowed eyes. “Why are there vampires watching your building?”
I blinked, feeling a little shell-shocked at the sudden shift in gears. “I guess they’re watching over me?”
“Why? Why do you suddenly need a security detail?” Nash growled out the words.
I gave him a little push and his body slid off mine to lie beside me, his head propped up on his hand. I turned to face him, grabbing at the sheet as it slid down. I looked down at myself and gave a little squeak in surprise. “Hey! What happened to my shirt?” I had gone to bed wearing an oversized t-shirt. After a quick look around the room, I spotted it on the floor beside the bed.
Nash looked at me with a cheeky grin. “I told you, Harry. No clothes in my bed.”
I gave a little huff, pulling at the covers. He was lying on top of them fully clothed. “It’s not your bed, wolf,” I muttered. Nash continued to look at me expectantly, one eyebrow raised. “Didn’t Salvador tell you about the Mariposa’s visit?” I finally replied.
Nash frowned, but nodded. “He didn’t mention that he thought there was a specific danger to you though.” He looked at me speculatively.
“Well, I haven’t exactly managed to keep the whole necromancer thing quiet lately, have I?” I frowned and hurried on. “Maybe he thinks the Mariposa has heard about me.” Since necromancers are a threat to vampires, they tend to have a short life span around them. It was a highly plausible theory. I felt a twinge of guilt at not telling Nash the other reason. I just wasn’t ready for the ‘Darth-Vadar-is-my-father’ reveal.
Nash narrowed his eyes, the mate bond obviously telling him there was more, but he let it slide. He growled, reach
ing out to my raised shoulder, pushing me back down on the bed. “I’m going to arrange some daytime protection as well.”
My argument that I didn’t need additional babysitters was swallowed up by another crushing kiss. He rolled his body onto mine, capturing my hands and pushing them above my head. He grasped both of my wrists in one big hand, his other sliding down across my jaw to my collarbone, finally pushing the sheet aside to cup my breast. I gasped as he pinched my nipple, pulling it hard. My back arched, my hips lifting off the bed to grind into him. I groaned into his mouth and I could feel his smile as he pulled his lips away from mine.
“God, I love how responsive you are, little minx.” He nipped at my chin. “I could play with you all night, coaxing those sexy little whimpers from you.” He bent over my breast, his tongue lapping at the sensitized peak. He released my hands, his other hand joining the first to cup my other breast. He gave it a squeeze then sucked it into his mouth, not just the nipple, but gathering in much of the surrounding flesh, suctioning with his mouth and tongue. I gasped, writhing on the bed. I was so close to coming and he had barely touched me. I brought my hands down to grasp his head on either side, my fingers tugging through his hair to pull his lips back up to mine, kissing him fiercely. After a minute or so, Nash pulled away, the feral look on his face quickly replaced by a more mischievous one. “Too bad we’ve only had the one date.” He kissed me on the nose and then rolled off of me, rising up from the bed. He was still dressed in the same clothes as the night before.
“You’ve been working all this time?” I looked at him with concern, my irritation at being woken and revved up only to have him leave, forgotten. He looked tired.