“Those are crappy options,” Jo muttered, making to bark a laugh.
“When it comes to love, they always are.”
The thought of being with Nick for life was exciting, and enticing, and everything she wanted, but now that she had the full picture, a small part of her understood why Tom reacted the way he did. She was human. Her life would always be one that was easier to take than theirs. If she allowed Nick to love her, she’d willingly be his greatest weakness for as long as she lived.
Was it worth it?
A loud roar sounded not too far from where they were sitting, but Jo wasn’t scared. It was like a part of her knew that it was Nick, her mate, calling out for her, and she found deep down that she didn’t want to be apart from him for a moment longer.
“I guess I’m staying then.”
Chapter Twenty-one
Nick’s throat rattled in warning as Tom placed Dan down on the worn couch. He’s injured, he told his bear. He can’t hurt us.
Jo looked over his shoulder worriedly. “Are you going to call a doctor?”
Tom laughed. “And tell them what?”
“Oh, yeah. Right,” Jo muttered, a bit of embarrassed blush tinging her cheeks.
“No need to be embarrassed,” Nick consoled with a smile. “Who’d expect you to know?” He shot a glare at his brother. “Stop teasing.”
Tom chuckled. “Fine, fine.” Glancing at Jo, he said, “You remember that big nasty cut Nick had on his shoulder?” he asked. “The one I’m told you dressed?”
Jo gave Nick and Tom a confused look. “Yeah.”
Tom clapped Nick on the back where the wound had been, hard. “Notice how I can do that without it spewing blood?”
Nick winced. “Though it’d be much more effective a demonstration if I wasn’t injured in other ways, Tom,” he hissed through gritted teeth.
“No pain, no gain, brother,” Tom said with a grin. “Anyway, I’m sure she gets it.” He turned back to Jo. “We heal faster than humans. Fast enough that, if you had the time, you could probably watch some of Nick’s wounds closing up right before your eyes right now.”
“Let’s not leave out the part where the worse the wound the slower it heals,” Nick added. He looked down at Dan where he lay unconscious on the couch, and felt a bit of pity for him. He’d passed out from the shock and blood loss about half way to the shop. “Dan’s the luckiest bear I know to not be dead right now. Who knows how long it’ll take for him to recover from this, or if he’ll come out of it unscathed for that matter.”
“What he needs right now is rest,” Tom continued. “Then a good cleaning up to assess just how messed up he is, a re-setting of bones, and then I’ll cast him and let his body do the rest.”
Jo’s jaw dropped. “You can seriously do all of that?” she asked, in awe.
Tom shrugged, but Nick could see his slight blush in the face of Jo’s wonder. “It’s no big deal. We’ve been at this a long time. You learn things.”
He shooed in their direction. “Anyway, I’ll see to Dan,” he assured. “I have some locks to secure the door when I leave, not that he could do anything to me in his state, but still. I’ll be safe here by myself. Why don’t you guys go on up to the cabin? Get some rest.”
“What about your leg?” Jo asked.
Nick watched Tom favor his injured leg a little less, feigning nonchalance. “Nothing I can’t take care of,” he replied without missing a beat. “You just go take care of you.”
***
It didn’t really hit Nick that Jo was back, really back until she was in his car going back to the cabin. She’s really here, with me. He couldn’t bring himself to speak, in case it might break some crazy illusion that he’d used on himself.
He pulled up on the cabin and heard her stifle a gasp as she took in the damage. “What happened?” she whispered.
Nick rubbed his chin. “It was a warning,” he said, shrugging as if there was nothing more to say.
“Nick,” Jo sighed. “I’m only going to make things worse for you, aren’t I?”
He nodded. “But not because of the Northern Wind.” He pushed open the front door, stepping inside and offering her a hand.
“You’ll make things worse by drinking the last of the coffee, or taking all the blankets in bed. You’ll make things worse when you eat my fries, or you ask me for fashion advice. You’ll make everything infinitely worse when you leave the room and the light you carry leaves with you. You’ll make my life worst in the best way, Jo.
“But do you know the worst thing I could possibly imagine right now?” She shook her head, eyes filled with admiration. “It’s you, walking back out that door, and leaving for good this time. I don’t think I could survive it.” He slowly raised her hands to his lips and kissed each finger.
“I’m sorry for running away, Nick,” she whispered, breathless and near tears.
Nick kissed her as the first tear fell, tentative at first, but then dipping back down for more. Jo curled her fingers into the chest of his shirt, pulling him closer as his hands slid up the back of her neck and into her hair. When he pulled away, they we both gasping.
“Don’t be sorry, Jo,” he murmured against her lips. “I just can’t believe you came back”
“I can,” she replied, twining her hands around his neck and pressing butterfly kisses along the side of his jaw all the way down his throat.
His bear snapped wide-awake then, urging him to step through the door she’d opened for him. “I can’t, Jo,” he growled, already willing the beast down. “It’s not safe.”
“I’m not scared,” she whispered, her breath tickling his ear. “I didn’t know what you were before, so I could understand being apprehensive of my not knowing what I was getting myself into, but now I do, Nick I know what you are, I know who you are, and I know you’ll never hurt me and I love you for it.”
Nick froze, stunned. “You love me?” he whispered.
Color washed across her cheeks, a sign of how shy her confession had made her, but she smiled. “Of course I do. Can’t you tell?” she asked, almost too soft to hear.
“How can you love someone who could lose control at any moment? The bear inside of me could tear you apart, “Nick warned. “I already hurt you once when I—”
“Have you ever thought that your bear might know exactly what I want because I’m your mate?” Jo asked, interrupting him.
Nick’s eyebrows rose in surprise. “You know what that means?
She shrugged. “Kinda. Tom tried explaining it to me.”
Nick ran a hand through his hair, blowing out a breath in frustration. He had no idea what to do. Of course he wanted to take Jo in his arms and make her his; the thought of her loving and accepting him fully for who and what he was excited him and made him want her all the more. What if she was right? What if the bear knew all the right moves and Nick was just letting his doubt get in the way?
What if she was wrong?
Nick let out a long sigh, catching Jo up in his arms. “I love you too, Jo. I love you so much that it hurts to imagine being without you for even a second, but—”
“Shhh,” she interrupted again, lips dangerously close to his. “Just love me.”
Letting out a groan, Nick leaned down and ran his tongue across her lips and she whimpered in response. He caught the scent of her arousal, and he nipped lightly at the soft flesh of her lips, suppressing a growl. Lifting her body in his arms, he strode up the stair and into the bathroom as she locked them in another hungry kiss.
Nick set Jo down, stealing a final kiss before he reluctantly pulled away to turn on the steamy shower water.
Jo licked her lips, her cheeks already pink with need. I suppose you do need to clean up after all that fighting,” she purred, stepping closer to run her hands up Nick’s shirt. “His breath came out in a hiss.
He held her hands tightly over his heart, stopping her exploration short. “You first,” he breathed.
With a coy smile, Jo stepped away
and pulled her shirt overhead. For once, Nick allowed the bear to take the lead, stepping forward in a frenzy to lay biting kisses against her neck. She moaned in shock and excitement as his hands slid down her back and into her jeans.” “No cheating!” she gasped, dragging his shirt out of the waistband of his pants.
“Call it a draw?” he growled with a glint in his eye, tearing off all of his clothes with vigor. He helped Jo out of hers with equal enthusiasm and she squealed with delight as he pulled her into the shower.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Nick knew Jo was watching him with hungry eyes as he washed himself, letting the blood cascade down his body until the water finally ran clear. The moment he was devoid of red, her hands were all over him, trailing carefully around and gently over the cuts and bruises that he’d sustained.
“Does it hurt,” she asked, fingers circling a large purple bruise at the side of his ribs.
He shrugged, trying to fight past the euphoria he felt when she touched him so he could properly answer her question. “At the time, yes. Now? Sometimes. It depends on how I move.”
“Ah, good to know,” she murmured, voice husky as her hands trailed lower. She grabbed his erect dick giving him one good stroke. No problem here, then?”
He shuddered against her, eyes darkening. “None at all.” His hands were moving on their own, working their way over Jo’s breasts and pulling a cry from her lips.
He froze immediately. “Are you okay? Did I hurt you?”
Her chest was heaving, breath frantic. “Why did you stop?”
“I’m not—”
“No, Nick,” she growled, pressing his hand onto her breasts again.
Nick’s chest rattled as he tugged once more, drawing a little whimper from Jo that made him dizzy with desire. “It’s going to be hard for me to stay gentle, Jo,” his voice was husky and low the bear raring for more.
“Maybe I don’t want you to be gentle.”
That was all he needed to hear. With a violent shudder, Nick groaned, pressing his mouth roughly against hers. He allowed his hands to explore every part of her body, fingers sliding in and out of every crevice he could find. Jo tangled her fingers into his hair, tugging roughly as he kissed and bit his way down her neck. He pressed her back to the shower wall, one hand holding her in place. All at once, he drew one nipple into his mouth as he slid two, long fingers inside her.
Jo threw her head back in ecstasy as Nick fingered her. She slid against the wall, writhing in time with his strokes. Everything about her drove him crazy, his bear roaring triumphantly as Jo’s gasps came quicker and quicker. He trailed bites down her torso, a low growl trickling from his lips. Finally, with a satisfying sigh, Nick’s lips closed around the sensitive flesh of her clit. She cried his name to the ceiling as he licked, bit, and kissed her into her first orgasm.
She exploded around him, curling her fingers tightly in his hair as spasm after spasm rocked her. Only when she finally relaxed against the wall in complete bliss did he stand up.
Jo’s eyes were fluttering as she held onto him to keep her footing. As she regained her breath, Nick couldn’t help but grin down at her. “I love you,” he whispered, voice low and husky as he kissed her chin.
He could feel her heart speed up, his declaration undoubtedly rekindling the excitement within her once more. “I love you, too, Nick,” she gasped. “I love you so much.”
Without another word, he swept her up in his arms, listing her up and using his immense strength to prop her easily against the shower wall. She instinctively coiled her legs around his waist, a small noise of surprise crawling up her throat.
Nick’s hands held each thigh tightly against him, and he could see the way Jo reacted to his erection as it pressed roughly against her abdomen. She rolled her hips in anticipation, looping her arms around Nick’s neck and pulling him into a desperate kiss. “Please Nick, please,” she whispered, “I don’t want to wait anymore.”
Nick trembled with a hunger only Jo could sate. The way she begged him to fuck her undid him, every time. Gazing deeply into one another’s eyes, Nick shoved the full length of him roughly into her wet center. The reaction was immediate, Jo’s eyes glazing over in overwhelming ecstasy. She leaned her head back in pure bliss, already contracting and reverberating around his cock in a way that had him struggling to concentrate. If he wasn’t careful, this would be over sooner than he wanted it to be.
To Nick’s dismay, seeing Jo there, propped against the wall, eyes closed tight, throat bare and vulnerable as he sat sheathed deeply within her rekindled some of his old doubt. How far could he go? How much could he do before it was just enough? Too much? Reluctantly, he rolled his hips, and she shuddered appreciatively.
“Don’t hold back,” she whimpered, opening her eyes slightly to give him a heavy look. It was filled with want and need, hunger and heat. And love, more love that he’d ever imagine she could have for him. “Don’t be scared. This is right. You know it is.”
He allowed himself one final moment of gentle admiration—cradling her cheek softly as he laid a tentative kiss on her lips—before doing what he’d wanted to for a long time. He let go.
Drawing almost completely out of her, he slammed back inside, the clap of skin meeting skin singing in his ears with the impact. Jo cried out, long and ragged, and Nick had a moment of terror before she raked her nails across the top of his back, clawing him closer.
“Don’t stop!” she cried. “Don’t you dare stop.” She kissed him roughly, drawing away and catching his bottom lip in her teeth. As she bit down hard enough for Nick to see stars, he rammed her again. And this time he didn’t stop.
He knew he wouldn’t last very much longer by going so vigorously, but in the moment, it didn’t matter. He felt the pressure and the pleasure building up inside of Jo, coiling her up tightly like a spring, and all he could think about was making her feel like she’d spontaneously combusted. It was his only goal. His teeth found her neck, grazing not so lightly against her skin, his hand gripped her thigh in a vice that was sure to leave a bruise. Every pinch, scratch and nibble he laid upon her resulted in a gasp or a moan, and it drove them both ever closer to the edge.
Suddenly, his body gave the first violent quake. “Jo, I—”
“Don’t,” she squealed, “Don’t stop, Nick, please. Come for me.”
A snarl ripped through him, and he put every ounce of power he had left into one final thrust, bringing them over the precipice together. Nick bellowed a satisfactory roar that echoed harshly off the porcelain walls, but he was much too enthralled to care. She tensed and tightened around him, pulling all of his attention away from anything that didn’t have to do with this moment. There was only Jo. His human. His mate.
The bear stood tall and broad within him as he orgasmed, like he normally did when he wanted to force a change, but there was no snapping of bone or tearing of muscle—there was only Jo. The bear only looked to her as she writhed and shook, the pleasure spilling over the brim as Nick’s warmth entered her. She was their home.
As they both came down from the high of climax, Nick slid the two of them gently to the floor of the bath. They lay there panting and exhausted for a bit, warm water cascading gently upon their lazed bodies.
When he could find the energy, he laid a tiny kiss on Jo’s forehead. “I love you, so much, Jo,” he breathed into her soaked hair.
“And I love you,” she whispered back, resting her head contentedly on his chest.
***
Tom stopped by a few hours later as planned. He grinned uncomfortably at the picture of innocence that Jo and Nick presented. They were both showered and dressed in comfortable PJs, Nick lying on Jo’s lap with his eyes closed while she sipped a mug of coffee. Her legs were tugged under her on the couch as she read a book from the bookcase.
“Well aren’t you two the perfect picture of domestic bliss,” he quipped, sitting in the soft armchair across from them.
Nick grinned, not bothering to open his ey
es just yet. “Jealous?”
“Not at all,” Tom answered, not missing a beat. “Just making an observation.”
“How’s Dan?” Jo asked, closing her novel with mild concern in her eyes.
Tom shrugged. “Sleeping. Not much has changed in the few hours y’all have been gone. He woke up once, tried to stand almost immediately, threw up everywhere because trying to stand up immediately on a body as broken as his is painful, and then passed back out.” He looked to Nick. “If he makes it out of this without lasting complications, I’ll eat my boot.”
Nick finally cracked open an eye. “That bad, huh?”
Tom nodded. “Definitely. He won’t even be able to attempt to shift for… a few weeks at least.”
Nick sighed, reluctantly rising from the sofa. “That’s troublesome.”
“Why is it troublesome?” Jo asked. She had a feeling it was going to take a while before she didn’t always feel so out of the loop.
The brother’s exchanged a look. “Because he’s the enemy,” Nick finally said, matter-of-factly.
“A month at least before he has the health necessary to not die out there on his own,” Tom added. “Four weeks in our home. Not some secondary hovel that we can use as a decoy.”
“He could learn a lot of secrets about us, even locked up in that room all day,” Nick agreed, nodding. “It could be anything. A note on the fridge, someone leaving a voice mail that we listen to on speaker.”
“He could track when and how we navigate about the shop, getting our move patterns to better understand how we fight and defend ourselves.”
“Also—”
“Okay, okay, I got it!” Jo interrupted. She saw Nick pout a bit before promptly ignoring him. “So, what are our options?”
Tom looked slowly from Jo to Nick. Nick shook his head in silent warning. With a smile Tom looked back to her. “Well, we could always toss him back out on the street,” he answered cheerily.
“I’ll keep that in mind,” Jo replied, face deadpan in mock seriousness. “Anything else?”
Tom sighed. “Not really. If you insist on keeping him until he’s strong enough to go limping back to Lucas, then I know Nick will back you.” He shrugged. “I’m out-voted before it even began.”
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