Nic grumbled a sigh. “You’re one very hardheaded woman.”
Barbara’s tinkling laughter filled the quiet store. “Now you really do sound like my husband.” She sobered quickly and frowned. “Am I going to have to pull teeth to get you to tell me what’s wrong with you and Jake?”
Nic blinked. That was so not what she wanted to talk about. At all. Not Jake. He inhabited a place in her head where she didn’t know what to do. “Um…well…”
On their way to Nic’s car, Barbara twined her arm with Nic’s and leaned in. “I can tell something’s wrong. Let me help you.”
Nic slipped into the open driver’s side of her gold Camry with a wince. Should she be talking about her issues with Barbara? She was Jake’s mother for cripes sakes. She glanced at her dashboard, nervous to even turn to Barbara. She wouldn’t be able to open up if she met the other woman’s very intuitive gaze. “It’s not Jake, honest. I just don’t feel comfortable having a…” A what? They didn’t really have a relationship. That’d been the main argument between Nic and her emotions. He hadn’t even bothered to ask her about a relationship. Sort of assumed they were in one. Meanwhile, she didn’t know how to handle the growing feelings that seemed to take hold inside of her. She wanted it to stop. “I don’t think we’d work out. He’s surrounded by women day in and day out.” She growled the words, fingers tight on the leather of the steering wheel.
“You’re judging him based on the clients that visit his establish-
ment,” Barbara said softly.
It wasn’t that she disliked strippers, especially male strippers? No way. But Jake brought out the insecure side of her. Nic knew she had a pretty face. Her full-figure got her more than a second glance. Enough that she’d modeled for plus-sized magazines and designers when she’d been back home in her late teens. But it was her mother and step-father’s thirst for fame, attention and money that had pushed her out of it. She’d been more than happy to leave the drama and the arguments over her money behind.
So here was Jake, Living La Vida Loca. Something she would not normally care about with any man. Except Jake had changed her. And she was having a hard time adjusting. Jake lived a very carefree life. He hadn’t mentioned a relationship to her once in all the years they’d been quietly flirting and hinting at their mutual attraction. He pretty much goaded her whenever they were together and told her how much he wanted her, but never more than that. Sex sounded great. No, sex with Jake sounded awesome!
What woman would say no to sex with one hot as hell shifter? Not Nic, that’s for sure. She wasn’t stupid, but did she want more from Jake? With more came complications, though. There was the fact he seemed to be the only Wolfe brother who wasn’t really interested in settling down lately. Even Mason had the most overprotective streak this side of Blue Creek. Not that Emma seemed to care one way or another. Most of the time she only had complaints about his overbearing ass. So when Nic had finally had sex with Jake during the scenting ceremony, and he’d been all growly and dominant, she’d put her foot down.
No way in hell was he going to start that shit now that they’d had sex when he’d never even asked her out on a date. If he thought she’d be doing what he wanted he could take his furry-ass and go home. Which he had. And now she missed the annoying man-whore mutt.
The problem was, she had to figure out what she wanted before she allowed him back. Would she let herself listen to the emotions that pushed at her heart, or did she want to keep things strictly sexual?
“I’m not judging him. Okay, maybe a little, which I’m not trying to do. But I can’t stop the feelings of insecurity when it comes to Jake, his whole lifestyle and the business he owns.” She sighed and dropped her forehead to the steering wheel.
“It’s okay, Nic.” Barbara’s soothing tone only added to her misery.
“No it’s not. I’ve never been insecure about anything but it seems with Jake…I can’t help it. I’m so confused. I want to figure it out, but my heart is feeling all these weird new things and they scare me. I don’t understand why one minute I think of him and I want to cry and the next I want to smile. I feel like I’m losing my damn mind!”
Her stomach burned with fear of what happened inside her heart. She finally met Barbara’s gaze.
Barbara’s sympathetic nod didn’t help. “It’s called love. Have you ever worried about any prior boyfriend’s communication with other females?”
Thinking back, she’d never been the slightest bit insecure with any previous relationship. Not that there had been many. Especially once she’d met Jake, but the few boyfriends she’d had were very social and constantly surrounded by women. That never bothered her then. So why now? Why him?
“No. It’s him. This is the first time this has happened to me and I don’t really know what to do. And I don’t like it.”
A knock sounded at her window. The valet made signals to let her know it was okay to go. She slipped on her sunglasses and then drove them toward Barbara’s house.
“You should talk to Jake. He might come off as a guy who doesn’t want any responsibilities but that’s not the case with any of my boys. They all know when it’s time to stop the games and represent for the women they love.”
Did Jake love her? He’d never spoken of love. In fact, she’d never spoken to any man of love either. Nic wasn’t used to open displays of affection. Hell, she wasn’t used to any kind of affection. Her family didn’t do that. When you had money, you were expected to behave in a particular way. Hugs and kisses didn’t go with the cool composure her family was known for.
“Enough about me and my confused personal life,” she mumbled. “When you said you felt Jordan needed a break, you gave me a great idea. I think I know the perfect place.”
“Oh?” The blue in Barbara’s eyes turned bright with excitement.
The only place she could think of for them to relax, have fun and where she could see her sister at the same time. “Vegas, baby.”
“Yes!” Barbara squealed like she’d just won a prize. “That’s perfect! We can have a whole girl’s week away from here and maybe allow her to relax a little. With Ellie arguing with Caleb over wanting to help him, things are a bit tense all around. I think if we all get her to join us for a few days she might lose some of the anger and frustration from his rejection of her help.”
That’s right. Her friend Ellie had mentioned that she wanted to help Caleb. In the past eight weeks, things had gotten so tense everyone was on high alert. So much had gone on and it didn’t seem to be stopping anytime soon. If shit kept up this way, the next thing she might hear about is Emma turning into the Hulk or something. There was never a dull moment in Blue Creek.
First the scenting ceremony that had apparently given all of her friends the hottest sex of their lives, not that anyone was complaining over that. Then Aric and Jordan mated. Quickly followed by Ellie and Jordan’s multiple attacks. The same that pushed Caleb Rahound to want his uncle Rocco out of the way in order to gain the Alpha position of his pack. Karla and Nate found out Karla was pregnant. Then they mated and nobody knew heads or tails of anything. Life took a one eighty all over.
The Wolfe’s had joined in the fight to help Caleb, but with Karla expecting multiples, Nate spent less time with Caleb’s group’s hunt, and more time with his mate. So it seemed Jake the man-whore was now splitting his time between hunt and the strip joint. Talk about multi-tasking.
“So is everyone ready to listen to our idea?” Barbara asked as she sat down on one of the super plush yellow sofas in Nic’s bright living room.
Nic loved those damn sofas so much. She swore if she had furniture it had to be comfortable enough to sleep in or she’d never buy it. She had a tendency to read on them and fall asleep, so she wanted to be comfortable. Grading papers sometimes took a while and it was better to do it in the living room. For some reason whenever she tried to grade them in her bed she’d get distracted with thoughts of the man-whore mutt.
Man bashing night and w
ine had somehow been turned into man bashing, wine and wedding talk. Poor Jordan had started to look like she wanted the whole thing over and done with already. Her enthusiasm had gone from sky high to non-existent lately.
“What’s your idea, Barbara?” Jordan hugged a decorative gold pillow to her chest, her eyes wide with interest and a spark of curiosity. Then there was that gold ring around her iris. Nic wouldn’t get used to that. Jordan had turned into a shifter. It made her friend powerful and dangerous. Not to mention she was mated to the future Wolfe Pack first born Alpha son, Aric. Jordan didn’t need Aric to be Alpha and save her. She was her own Alpha female with enough sass to string a man by the balls. One of Jordan’s many lovely qualities adored by all in their group.
“Well…” Barbara handed Jordan a glass of wine, her smile wide. “I think you’ve been under too much pressure lately.” She glanced pointedly toward Emma.
“Hey!” Emma stopped her glass of wine mid-flight to her lips with one brow lifted high. “I will have you know I haven’t asked her a single wedding-related question in the past–” she peeked down at her cell phone “–twenty minutes.”
“That’s because you’ve been busy complaining over Mason.” Ellie snorted. She dodged the pillow Emma threw at her and stuck her tongue out in retaliation.
“Settle down, girls.” Barbara sat down on a matching chair. “Nic came up with a great idea on our last shopping trip.”
“You guys went shopping without me again?” Emma pouted.
Hell yeah they went without her. Just the thought of Emma pointing out how the rows of shoes were not displayed to the ease of the customer. Followed by thirty minutes telling the store owner about it. The thought alone made Nic frown. They so did not want to go through that one again.
“Her idea is that we go away to Vegas for a few days,” Barbara said, skipping over Emma’s question.
“Vegas?” Ellie and Jordan shouted at the same time.
“Vegas, baby.” Nic grinned.
Jordan sat up in her chair, took a sip of her wine and smirked. “I like where this is going. Someone tell me more.”
Nic was glad her idea had given Jordan a smile when referring to her wedding again. Her friend had lost some of the spark for her upcoming nuptials. Nic was sure it had nothing to do with marriage to the love of her life, Aric. Probably more to do with the overwhelming details that went into a massive wedding. Apparently packs from all over wanted to attend and it created the need for bigger and better every day. Something Jordan just wasn’t into.
“Oooh! I know! A Bachelorette party?” Ellie’s blue eyes sparkled with mischief.
“Hang on a second.” Emma waved her glass in the air. “Is this like a girl’s only trip?”
Everyone quieted. Barbara shifted in her seat. “I don’t see why not. I know Karla’s not here and she’s been feeling sick so she probably can’t make it, but Aric would welcome Jordan getting some time away from the tensions between our pack and the Rahounds.”
Ellie pursed her lips. “Yes. Not that Caleb will speak to me. He won’t even see me right now.”
This was the first time Ellie voiced her frustration in front of the group. Nic blinked and glanced at the others. Poor Ellie. Caleb was being very hardheaded about staying away from Ellie. Jordan appeared to be the only one not shocked over her outburst.
“Things are not so simple, darling,” Barbara murmured.
Ellie’s shoulders drooped. Nic’s heart ached for her friend. Ellie reminded her so much of her sister Letty. They were both sweet but so strong and always willing to put themselves out there for anyone. She really needed to go visit her sister. Lately, she missed her more than usual.
It might have something to do with the fact Nic had moved to a stage in her life where she wanted to explore new things. Like maybe having someone long-term. She’d half-assed dated for years. Never giving men a chance to really get to know her. To get to know the real her. All everyone saw was the high maintenance pretty face. But she had feelings. Even if she hid them in order to keep herself from getting hurt.
“I’m sorry, Ellie,” Nic said, patting Ellie’s shoulder, level to her knees. “He is probably just worried about you.”
All the men of the Wolfe pack and even Caleb, from what Nic knew, were very careful when it came to women. They were highly protective and would do anything to keep them out of harm’s way. Sometimes, harm had a tendency of finding them.
Barbara met Nic’s gaze and smiled. “He is very worried and won’t allow anything to happen to Ellie again. So he’s keeping a distance.”
“I understand.” Ellie sighed. “I don’t agree with it, but I understand.” She glanced up. Her gaze collided with Nic’s. “Oftentimes we have to make sure they see us. The real us. Even if it means throwing caution to the wind and going for what we want.”
Nic’s breath pumped hard in her lungs. Her hands turned slick with sweat. She didn’t know what that meant but she knew there was a hidden message there. For her. Ellie knew her reservations about Jake. They all knew. So it was clear she wanted her to do something about it and stop letting her fear of emotions stop her from whatever they could have. Not that she had a frickin’ clue what that was, but shit, at least not let it stop her from trying to figure it out.
“Let’s do this.” Jordan hopped off her chair to sit down on the rug by Ellie. She hugged Ellie to her side, the love for her friend clear for the others to see. “I think we can all use a short getaway. The men are busy and I know Aric would prefer for me to not be near now that tension is that much higher.”
“Since we’re pretty sure the men aren’t coming, this is definitely a bachelorette trip. Oh! This is a good time to remind you all that my family has a home out there, but we aren’t on the best of terms.” Nic nodded. “Yes, you remember our conversation about my mother and step-father. They are ass-kissing high society suck-ups.” She downed a gulp of her wine. “On the plus side, my sister Letty just started working at the SAU Hotel.”
Emma frowned. “I don’t recall ever hearing of the SAU hotel.”
“It’s the Shifters Access Unlimited. All shifters, except vamps. They’re not welcome. But yeah, you can find shifters from all over the world in there.” Barbara grinned and placed a tray of mini cheeseburger sliders on Nic’s giant glass and marble coffee table. “That’s where we’re staying. The boys wouldn’t want us anywhere we couldn’t bring our own people.”
“Lovely.” Emma groaned. She licked her lips as she stared at the food. “Oh, well. At least I get a break from Mason and his bitchiness over going to his club.”
Nic picked up a tiny cheeseburger to munch on. She could never decide what to eat, but luckily the small sliders were just one of four items on the menu tonight. If she had more choices she’d probably sit there for an hour trying to figure out what she was in the mood for. “Maybe if he stopped catching you snooping around, he’d actually let you stay.”
Emma sniffed. “I’m doing research. I heard there’s some talk about vamps.”
Nic rolled her eyes. “Whatever. I’m just saying, if you stop fighting the guy already and just give in, we’d all get some peace of mind.”
“Amen!” Barbara chimed in.
Everyone turned to glance at her. Then they all burst into giggles. Emma didn’t appear the least bit annoyed by Nic’s words. She smiled, a devilish brightness entering her hazel eyes.
“I will have you know, the day I stop annoying the shit out of Mason will be the day he wonders what the hell is wrong with me.”
Very probable, considering they all worried when she wasn’t up to something.
“So…” Ellie cleared her throat. “Vegas?”
“I’m in!” Emma mumbled through bites of her small burger.
“Me too,” Barbara said, passing Ellie the bottle of wine.
Jordan twirled a long lock of dark hair between her fingers, light glinting off her engagement ring. “I don’t know. Will there be strippers?” She raised her brows. Curiosi
ty filled her gaze. “I can probably be convinced if we go to one of those shows.”
“There better be strippers,” Barbara muttered. She gave a sheepish grin when they all grew silent and stared at her wide-eyed. “I mean, what’s a bachelorette party without hunky men gyrating in tiny G-strings, right?”
“Right on, Barbara.” Emma laughed.
Ellie chuckled. “Well if there’s hot half-naked or any sort of naked men, I’m in!”
Nic laughed and licked a smidge of mayo from her thumb. “You’ve all been spoiled by Jake’s club.”
“Hell yeah! Have you paid any attention when we’ve gone in there? Those shifters are hot!” Emma shouted and then took a sip of wine. “All muscular and sexy.”
Nic hadn’t really paid any attention to the men stripping because she’d been too busy watching Jake move around the club with a handle of employees and customers following him around. It was damn frustrating. She was turning bipolar. On one side she was fighting her emotions for him. On another, she was angry over his club and all those women. Pretty soon she’d tear her hair out if something didn’t give.
Jordan’s brows dipped and she pouted. “This blows. I haven’t been to the Naked Wolfe yet.”
Ellie patted her leg. “You go to the Naked Wolfe and Aric would probably scare the shit out of every male in there hauling you home.”
“He’s such a party pooper.” Jordan tossed her hair over her shoulder and blew a raspberry.
Barbara chortled and handed Jordan another burger. “Possessive, dear. The word you’re looking for when referring to any of my boys is possessive.”
Nic snorted. Not Jake. He’d been so casual about them it was like…like what? There wasn’t even a them. Maybe that’s what she needed to do. Go to Vegas and find someone who did want to be involved with her.
“Remind me again why I’m marrying him?” Jordan growled and bit down on her food with so much force the entire thing broke into small pieces.
Unexpectedly Mated (BBW Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance): An Alpha male. A curvy but sassy BBW. A trip to Sin City neither will ever forget. (Sassy Mates) Page 3