Sadness flickered briefly in his eyes and was gone. “Let’s not worry about that now. You need to get home, and I’d like to come along and give you whatever support I can.”
“I’m not sure that—”
“Let me do this, Nadia. If we have to part ways after it’s over, I’ll understand. But it’s not in my nature to let someone I care about go off alone to face the enemy.”
A lump lodged in her throat. “He is my enemy, and I hate that. Theo and I should be on the same side.”
“Which makes it so much harder to deal with.”
She let out a long, shaky breath and looked into his eyes. She needed him right now, and so she was going to be selfish and take advantage of his offer. “Please come with me, Quentin.”
He smiled gently. “You bet.”
CHAPTER FIVE
As the Learjet took off from LaGuardia, Quentin adjusted his seat belt and wondered if he should have his head examined for inviting himself along on this trip. But he’d told Nadia the truth about his motives.
Letting her go back alone to face her brother would have been torture for him. He couldn’t step in and help her subdue the little creep, because that would undermine her authority. In fact, he wasn’t sure exactly what he could do that would be of help except to be there.
Yet he didn’t underestimate the importance of moral support. His cousin Roarke had never overtly helped him with anything, but Quentin had always known Roarke liked him and wanted him to succeed. That had meant a lot over the years.
Quentin didn’t have to wonder what Roarke would think about this mess in the Henderson pack. If Roarke couldn’t be here to go along to support Nadia, he’d want someone to do it. Aidan would feel the same way. And Quentin happened to be available.
Before they’d left Quentin’s apartment, he’d changed out of his sweats and T-shirt into his preferred choice of jeans and a cotton shirt. Then he’d thrown a few things into a duffle bag. They’d stopped by Nadia’s hotel so she could quickly repack her suitcase.
The private jet was plush, which Quentin had expected. The Wallace pack had a similar plane, and Roarke loved flying it so he’d taken Quentin up a few times as an excuse to play pilot.
On the way to the airport Nadia had mentioned her preference for taking commercial flights. She’d used the private jet only because her dad had complained that he’d lose it as a tax write-off if she didn’t start flying in it more often. Quentin wondered if she’d sell the plane and find other tax breaks once she became the pack alpha.
The cabin attendant turned out to be a young guy who looked all of twenty-two. Clearly smitten with Nadia, he knocked himself out providing food and beverages for her. She made sure he didn’t forget Quentin, and at one point when the kid wasn’t looking, she glanced at Quentin and rolled her eyes.
He swallowed a laugh. He didn’t blame the kid one bit. Any male with a pulse would be attracted to someone as beautiful and sexy as Nadia. Quentin had been amazed when Aidan chose Emma over Nadia and had seriously, but privately, questioned his judgment in doing so.
After Nadia had finished her portion of the meal the attendant had provided for them, she smothered a yawn.
“You should probably grab a nap,” Quentin said.
“Good idea.” She reclined her seat until it was nearly flat. “So should you.”
“Okay.” He did the same, and there they were, lying side-by-side. It wasn’t quite the way he’d pictured they’d sleep together tonight, but at least he was here with her.
She smiled at him. “Sweet dreams.”
“That could turn out to be embarrassing,” he murmured. “Maybe I should throw a blanket over my lap just in case.”
She laughed. “Weren’t you the one bragging about how you’d have no trouble just being friends?”
“I would have no trouble.” He gestured toward his crotch. “He, on the other hand, is unpredictable as hell in these matters. Got a blanket?”
Smirking at him, she rang for the young kid, who appeared immediately, as if he’d been poised in the back waiting for her next summons. “Jared, would you please bring two blankets for Mr. Wallace and me? We’re going to try and catch some sleep.”
“Right away, ma’am.”
Nadia sighed. “He makes me feel ancient when he calls me that.”
“Trust me, he doesn’t think of you as an old lady.”
“Jared? He’s just a kid, not much older than Theo.”
“He’s several years older than I was when you began starring in my fantasies.”
Her eyebrows lifted. “Really?”
“Pathetic, I know.”
“It’s not. It’s flattering.”
Jared arrived with the blankets and a couple of pillows. After Nadia and Quentin positioned the pillows behind their heads and spread out the blankets, Quentin made sure Jared had returned to the back of the plane before he spoke again.
Even so, he kept his voice low. No one needed to hear this but Nadia. Fortunately the sound of the jet’s engines helped cover their conversation. “I remember first being sexually aware of you at a picnic on the Wallace estate. You must have been about sixteen.”
“I vaguely remember that picnic.”
“I vividly remember it.” After this trip he might never have the chance to talk with her privately again, and it felt good to confess how much he’d wanted her over the years. He literally had nothing to lose.
“Didn’t the kids all play volleyball?”
“Yeah, and I couldn’t make a single decent play because I kept watching you. You had on a pair of denim shorts, the kind that ride on a girl’s hip bones, and a tight knit top. Light green, like spring leaves. When you jumped to spike the ball, I could see your belly button.”
“Whoa.” She laughed. “Hot stuff.”
“Believe me, for a sixteen-year-old hormonal boy, it was very hot stuff. Your hair was loose, and you had a tan. You became my standard of perfection that day.”
“That’s lovely. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. I thought you should know.”
She gazed at him and sighed. “Sorry, but I don’t remember you at all from that picnic.”
“Ouch.” But he wasn’t surprised. He’d been a gangly teenager tripping over his own feet at the sight of a long-legged, high-breasted, dream girl. An impossible dream—she’d been pledged to his cousin Aidan.
“But the next year, when the picnic was at my folks, I remember you then.”
“Oh, God. You probably remember the beer thing.”
“Uh-huh. You were the ringleader, as I recall.”
“You would remember that.” He’d talked some buddies, including Roarke, into making off with a keg of beer. They’d taken it deep into the woods and proceeded to get wasted. “I couldn’t have looked very good when I came out of the woods.”
Her gray eyes sparkled with laughter. “You looked . . . like you’d be lots of fun to get to know.”
“Yeah, right. I’m sure you wanted to get friendly with the boozed-up troublemaker.”
“I did. You weren’t a mean troublemaker, just rambunctious. My life was so controlled, so completely planned. I envied your spirit. And I . . . thought you were sexy.”
“You’re just saying that to make me feel better. I was drunk, is what I was.”
“Yes, which is probably why you’d unbuttoned your shirt, which gave me a good look at your impressive pecs.”
He felt his face grow warm. “I used to work out like crazy back then. I was kind of a show-off. Not a good thing.”
“Not for a grown man, but it’s wonderful for impressing a seventeen-year-old girl.” Under cover of the blanket, she reached for his hand. “I’m glad you grew out of that phase, though.”
“Me, too.” He laced his fingers through hers, grateful for the contact. It was all they could risk with Jared hovering in the back of the plane. Quentin reminded himself that he was on this trip as Nadia’s good friend. Nothing more. But nothing less, either. He wo
uld stand by her, no matter what happened once they arrived at the Henderson estate.
Holding her hand, he drifted off to sleep.
When they arrived around midnight, no one was awake in the Henderson household except Nadia’s mother, Eunice, who met them in the grand entrance hall. The floor where Quentin placed his leather duffle was Italian marble, and the paneling on the walls featured a blend of exotic wood from around the world. Quentin wondered if Nadia winced every time she thought about the ecological impact of this ostentatious mansion.
Eunice Henderson looked shocked when Quentin walked in the door behind Nadia. He’d expected that she wouldn’t be warm and welcoming, and she wasn’t. His memory of her from other Were gatherings was that of a tall, regal female, a foreshadowing of how Nadia would look in her fifties.
Eunice still had the high cheekbones and elegant figure, but she no longer looked regal. Her black silk monogrammed robe fit the image, as did her mid-length brown hair which looked as if she spent a fair share of time and money at a salon. But she wore no makeup because she’d obviously thought she’d be greeting only her daughter. Therefore nothing disguised her haggard appearance and red-rimmed eyes. Eunice had just been through a very bad day, and it showed.
No doubt Quentin’s presence was both surprising and embarrassing to her. He regretted that, but he was more concerned with Nadia’s emotional state than her mother’s. Nadia had told him on the drive from the airport that their reminiscing and their cozy shared nap had calmed her more than anything else she could imagine.
Once Nadia had hugged her mother and asked about her dad, who was sleeping, she turned to include Quentin in the conversation. “You remember Quentin Wallace, Roarke and Aidan’s cousin?”
“Yes.” Eunice summoned a little of her usual gracious manner and extended her hand. “Welcome to my home, Quentin. I regret that you’ve come at such a difficult time.” Her gray eyes, similar to Nadia’s but dull with pain and worry, silently asked why he was here at all.
Quentin planned to let Nadia handle that. She knew her mother far better than he did.
Nadia seemed up to the challenge. Her voice was firm and confident. “I happened to meet Quentin and Roarke at Jessie’s last night,” she said. “Quentin thought I might appreciate having an old friend nearby when I deal with this crisis.”
Eunice turned from her study of Quentin and looked at her daughter. “He’s a Wallace, Nadia. This is a Henderson matter.”
“I almost mated with a Wallace,” Nadia said quietly.
“That was different. Aidan is . . .” She glanced at Quentin and seemed to realize that the rest of her sentence would sound elitist and rude.
Quentin finished it for her so they could get that out of the way. “He’s the alpha’s first-born. I’m not. I have no illusions about my place or my role, Mrs. Henderson. I only care about Nadia’s welfare and she seems to appreciate having my support.”
“That’s right, I do.” Nadia maintained her firm tone. She already sounded like the pack alpha. “Quentin dropped everything to fly home with me, so I expect that he’ll receive every courtesy while he’s here.”
“Of course.” Eunice moved toward the wall and pressed the button on an intercom before speaking into it. “Brianna.” She paused until a sleepy voice answered. “Make up the blue room in the south wing. When you’re finished, come down to the main hall so you can guide our guest to his suite.”
If Quentin had to guess, he’d say the blue room in the south wing was a prodigious hike from Nadia’s room. Eunice might be upset, but she was no fool. And if she had typical mom radar, she knew that Quentin and Nadia had something going on besides plain old friendship.
He was okay with her sensing that, because he wasn’t going to mess up her plans for her daughter. Eunice might not believe that yet, but she would eventually. When the time came, he’d bow out of Nadia’s life.
“Where’s Theo?” Nadia glanced around as if he might round a corner and pounce on her.
Eunice stiffened. “He and the gang of Weres who support his takeover went downtown, no doubt to celebrate their victory. They’ll probably be out all night.”
“Good.” Nadia took a deep breath. “He’ll be hung over and I’ll be rested. Does he know you called me?”
“I didn’t tell him, but he could assume I would. I doubt he cares. He thinks he’s invincible. And he’s talking crazy. He says—” She stopped and glanced at Quentin. “Well, I’ll tell you later.”
“Mom, it’s not a secret that Theo has radical ideas. Everybody knows. But he talks big when he’s in this manic phase, and then he runs out of gas when he falls into his typical depressions. Besides, the Were community won’t let him wage some sort of private war against humans. It’s not going to happen.”
Eunice reached out and clutched both Nadia’s hands. “I’ve told myself that a million times, but then I get scared. I’m so glad you’re here. You’ll fix this.”
“Yes, I will.” She squeezed her mother’s hands. “I promise.”
A young blonde who looked as if she’d hastily dressed came down the sweeping staircase. “I have the blue room ready, Mrs. Henderson.”
“Very good. Please take Mr. Wallace up there and make sure he has everything he needs to be comfortable.”
“Yes, Mrs. Henderson.” She glanced at Quentin. “If you’ll follow me, sir, I’ll get you settled in.”
He picked up his duffle bag. “Before I go, what’s your plan, Nadia?”
“I’ll contact the sentry at the gate around five in the morning to see if Theo’s back yet. If so, I’ll go to his room and call him out. If he’s not home at five, I’ll wait in his room until he gets there. This needs to be dealt with quickly and quietly.”
“Text me when you know what’s happening.”
“I will.” She looked over at her mother. “And once this is handled, I’m hiring Aidan’s security company to figure out a reasonable and humane way to contain Theo. He’s a threat to us all.”
Eunice swallowed. “I know. But he’s—”
“Family. I get that, but he’s dangerous and we can’t pretend he’s not.” She put a comforting arm around her mother. “Go on to bed, Mom. Try to rest. Everything will be fine.”
“How about walking me to my bedroom?”
“I can come and talk to you in a few minutes, if you want, but first I’m going to show Quentin to his room. I have a few things to discuss with him about tomorrow morning. Brianna, you can go back to bed. Thanks for making up the room.”
“You’re welcome, Miss Henderson.” Brianna hurried off, obviously happy to get back to her warm bed.
Quentin hadn’t expected Nadia to make that move, but he liked it. Obviously Eunice hadn’t expected it, either, and he doubted she liked it at all.
She looked at Nadia as if seeing her clearly for the first time. “I always knew you were capable, but I’ve never seen you act so . . . commanding.”
“I couldn’t, Mom,” she said softly. “That was Dad’s job.”
Eunice’s shoulders sagged. “I hope you’ll find a way to help your father feel useful. The way Theo talked to him was humiliating, as if he’s old and used up.”
“That’s nonsense.” Nadia gave her mom a gentle squeeze. “Trust me. We’ll set things right again.”
“I’m sure you will. And you don’t need to come to my room later. We should all get some rest.” She smiled at her daughter, but before she started toward the stairs, she shot a warning glance at Quentin. “I hope you sleep well.”
“Thank you.” He waited until she was out of earshot before turning back to Nadia. “She’s worried about me. She thinks I’m going to convince you to mate below your station.”
Nadia’s eyes sparkled. “Yes, but she doesn’t know you the way I do. She has no idea what a noble, self-sacrificing werewolf you are.”
At the gleam in her eye, his groin tightened. “Not all that self-sacrificing. How remote is your room from the one I’ve been banished to?”
She grinned at him. “Extremely remote.”
“Your mom did that to keep us apart, didn’t she?”
“Yeah.” She linked her arm through his. “But I think her plan is about to backfire.”
CHAPTER SIX
Nadia realized that whatever happened the next morning, it wouldn’t be a whole lot of fun. She’d worked to sound confident and in control for her mother’s sake, but she fought an undercurrent of agitation that meant she wouldn’t get much sleep if she went straight to her room.
However, if she went straight to Quentin’s room, she might, just might, end up relaxed enough to fall asleep.
“You know I’m shamelessly using your hard body to work off my excess tension,” she said as they walked down the long hallway toward the room he’d been assigned.
He laughed. “Yeah, and I’m really upset about that, too. I can’t imagine anything worse than having you use me for sex. Oh, wait, yes, I can. Not having you use me for sex. That would be worse.”
“I wouldn’t put it past my mother to check my room in a little while to find out if I’m in it.”
“And then what? Would she traipse all the way down here to confirm her suspicions?”
“No. She hates embarrassing scenes. She’ll just find a private moment tomorrow to give me a lecture about your unsuitability and my duty to my pack. I’ll assure her that what you and I share is only . . . temporary.” She felt a painful little twist somewhere in the region of her heart.
“Maybe she’ll believe you. She wasn’t about to believe me.”
“She was too secure for too long, thinking Aidan and I would be a couple and she didn’t have to worry about my future. That’s probably one reason she and my dad were so determined that Theo would step up and become alpha material. I wasn’t going to be available to fill that role.”
“So now she has to be the mother tiger, protecting you from the nasty Wallace cousin who wants to get into your knickers.”
“I hope you still do. This is the longest damn hall in the world. But believe it or not, we’re here.” She walked through an open door on their left and swept her arm in a circle. “Behold, the blue room, a.k.a. Siberia.”
Werewolf in Greenwich Village: A Wild About You NovellaAn eSpecial from New American Library Page 5