by A. C. Arthur
“I just figured that’s what held you up” was her cool reply.
Nick fixed his drink, lifted the glass to his lips, and let the powerful liquid run down his throat to move in a quick trickle through his body. One sip wasn’t enough; he took another and another. All the while his gaze continued to pierce hers. She was uncomfortable, her fingers twitching at her sides. Then she folded her arms over her chest and let them drop again.
“Is there something you want to tell me about your time with Sabar, Ary?”
Jerking her head back, she looked a little startled at his question. But Nick sensed she was hiding something. He only prayed that something wasn’t going to help Sabar build his army of Rogues.
“Why would you ask that?”
Finishing off his first glass, Nick shrugged. “Don’t know. Just find it strange that he was the first person to come to your mind the minute I walked in.”
“The first thing to come to my mind when you walked in was that you’re too arrogant to even call me and say you would not be taking me out. I could have saved the time getting dressed and primped and all this if I was going to simply stay in this house tonight.” She took a step toward him when she finished, then thought better of it and stopped, just about a foot from where Nick stood at the wet bar.
“My next thought when you said something happened was immediately about Sabar because that’s all I know. Or did you forget you just brought me to your big city last night? If there is something besides Sabar happening, how would I know that when you’d rather fuck than talk to me!”
That was said in a voice much higher than the one she was previously speaking in. So much so that Nick fixed himself another drink and swallowed half of it before putting his glass down. Wiping both hands down his face, he took a deep, steadying breath.
“I’d rather fuck you? Where did that come from?” he asked in the calmest voice he could muster. Even though the last thing he’d say he was feeling right now was calm.
Inside his cat paced and scratched and wanted to break free. It wanted to fight, to find Sabar and kill. The rage inside him was at a bare simmer, only because Rome and X kept telling him that to kill now and ask questions later wasn’t going to work in the States. There was also this infernal heat that cloaked him every second he was away from Ary. It covered him in need, had his dick in a state of perpetual arousal, his nuts bursting to let free his essence.
And here she was, standing in front of him in fuck-me heels with straps that wound their way up her bare legs and a dress that screamed I’m ready! and she could wonder why he wanted to fuck her all the time. Man, he needed another drink.
“It comes from your actions that speak louder than words. Although I don’t get a lot of words from you anyway.”
Nick could only shake his head. He had no idea how this conversation had changed or why it had changed so drastically. And maybe that was the point.
“I asked you about Sabar.”
“No. I asked you about Sabar, Dominick.”
She said his name succinctly, with a click of her tongue and a heated flash in her eyes.
Nick closed his eyes and tried again to take a deep breath because any minute now he was either going to rip that dress off her and fuck her senseless or he was going out to find somebody to pummel. Those were his only options.
“I’m going to shower. We’ll leave in fifteen minutes.”
He walked away before she could say anything and prayed she didn’t have anything else to say.
* * *
Okay, in his defense he did look like he’d had a bad day. Even though for Nick, that meant he still looked damn good. Still, Ary had seen the worry in his dark eyes. The neatly trimmed goatee had masked the tight line of his lips only slightly. He was upset about something. And she’d instantly thought it was Sabar. Considering his reaction, maybe that wasn’t the right guess.
She didn’t want to go to dinner now. Ever since she’d come back from the mall with Kalina, she’d been thinking this was a mistake. She and Nick did not talk, they did not do what Ary supposed was civilized dating. They had hot and passionate sex. That was it.
Companheiro or not, there was nothing else between them but the physical. And, unfortunately, they could not deny the physical if either one of them wanted to function at least semi-rationally. It just wasn’t a choice for shifters.
The simple truth was, Ary wanted more. She wanted so much more than her parents had ever had. The Serinos had a partnership, where Davi gave the orders and Sheena acted them out. Ary knew she shouldn’t be thinking such harsh thoughts about her parents who had just died in a bloody battle of shifters, but she couldn’t help it. She didn’t want to be like them, ever. Alone was a much better option, to her way of thinking.
Sitting on the couch, she tried to think of a way to get out of this dinner, to get out of this dress. While they were out Kalina had also shown her two local colleges where Ary could enroll in something Kalina called pre-med courses. She wanted to be a doctor, and this was the way to go about it: She’d have to become a student. She could do that. Actually, she’d been a student for most of her life, learning from first her parents then from Yuri.
A pang in her chest at the mere thought of the old shaman reminded her that she wouldn’t have her weekly visits with him anymore. He would no longer teach her the art of spiritual healing. She’d miss that terribly.
Ary sat up straight on the couch, her eyes blinking as if something were in front of her and she couldn’t help staring at it. But nothing was there. She was staring blankly because she’d just figured something out, something that might help them discover what Sabar wanted.
Without a second thought she was up and running up the stairs to get to Nick. Entering the bedroom where he slept, she was bombarded with his scent. Strong, masculine, divine. Pushing those thoughts aside, she headed straight to the bathroom, where she could hear the shower running. She stopped only momentarily to catch her breath as his beautifully naked body faced her from the back. Nick had a buttery complexion that ran the entire length of his magnificent form. Strong legs held him as tight buttocks made her mouth water. A slim waist moved upward to splay into perfectly broad shoulders and muscled arms at his sides.
She backtracked to his shoulders and gasped. On his left shoulder was a tattoo. The Topètenia tribal insignia—a paw print with claws that dripped into a swirling circular collage. With shaking fingers she lifted her hand to the glass and touched where the tattoo was in her vision. Water trickled over his downturned head, over his shoulders, and down his back.
In an instant Ary knew they’d never make it to dinner.
Her cat paced and roared, struggling to be set free. The insignia brought home more memories of the Gungi, the scents, the calls of other animals when they needed to mate. Ary’s sharp teeth bared as she pressed closer to the glass. Her breasts imprinted on the cool surface of the door and she let loose a low chuffing sound.
Even through the roar of the water Nick heard her. His cat heard its mate calling to him. He turned slowly, saw her through the steam rising from the marbled floor of the shower. His dick jutted forward, leading him to where it needed to be. She took a step back as he pushed open the shower door.
When he reached for her hand she willingly put hers in his and entered the stall. Her hands moved to his shoulders and turned him so that his back faced her. She licked over his tattoo, her tongue swiping over the symbol that marked the man and beast that he was. It encompassed his entire shoulder, and her tongue touched every nuance of it.
His body tightened all over, his fists clenching at his sides until he thought he would burst. Instead he reached a hand back, cupped her buttocks, and pulled her closer, so that she was pressed against his back. Running his hand down her thigh, he lifted one leg, bringing it around his waist. The four-and-a-half-inch heel of her shoe scraped along the length of his dick and Nick threw his head back and roared, erotic tingles moving through his body like an outbreak.
&n
bsp; Her nails had extended, sharp claws prickling over his skin as she moved her hands around to his pectorals, pressing her center into his back.
“Nick.” Her voice was a raspy whisper that unlocked parts of Nick he thought were cemented closed.
He turned, keeping her leg around his waist, finding her lips like a thirsty man to water. And when their lips collided, Nick proceeded to drink his fill. Her sharpened teeth clashed against his, their lips swiping longingly, then moving as their tongues dueled. One hand cupped her ass while the other yanked at her hair, vaguely realizing he was pulling it down from its style and not caring in the least. Their breathing came in heavy pants that echoed in the acoustics of the shower stall. Warm water ran over their bodies, but they barely noticed.
Desperate need punched at Nick and he pushed that small-ass, tight-ass, sexy fucking dress up over her hips, ripping the small thatch of material that served as a thong, and plunged his dick deep inside her pussy.
Ary gasped then purred, rotating her hips over his length. Nick pounded into her, turning her so that her back was to the wall just beneath the showerhead. He lifted her other leg, locked her ankles behind his back, and fucked her with all the desire and anger and confusion that flooded his mind, his body, his soul.
When she came, she shivered around him, her pussy tightening until he almost couldn’t breathe. Nick pulled out, then sank his dick back inside the drenched depths of her center. She cried out his name and something else in Portuguese. His mind couldn’t translate; nothing existed, no words, no sounds, nothing but his dick inside her pussy. That’s all he could wrap his mind around. The perfect slip and slide of their union. The sound of her voice was there, the feel of her arms tightly wound around him, the clenching of her thighs at his waist, the rub of her water-slicked breasts, and the rasp of the dress material against his chest—all of this barely registered, but was there somewhere in the blurred background.
And as Nick’s hips continued to pump back and forth inside her, there was something else. Home. The word resonated in his mind. Home. Home. He was home.
He buried his face in her neck, felt the wet tendrils of her hair against his face, wrapped his arms around her even tighter as his essence ripped free, bursting inside her, filling her completely with everything he had.
Her name was barely a whisper as his teeth scraped along her collarbone. He didn’t bite down; he licked the spot he’d pricked over and over, not wanting to let her go. Not wanting his dick to leave the warm sheath of her pussy. Never wanting to be without Ary again.
* * *
Forty-five minutes later dinner was delivered to Nick’s condo. The delivery guys moved swiftly to set the table in the dining area with a white linen tablecloth, tall white candles that illuminated the room with a golden glow, crystal and china, and one long-stemmed rose.
When Nick guided her into the small room, he nodded a good-bye to the four guys who’d come in black suits with boxes and bags of food that smelled heavenly.
Ary now wore a lovely hot-pink silk robe that rubbed against her skin like sunshine, with slippers to match. Nick wore boxers beneath his own black robe that to some would look plain, but made Nick look like a god.
He helped her into her chair, pushing her up to the table before moving around to the other side to take his own seat.
“Forgive me for having to eat in tonight. Tomorrow I’ll take you anyplace you want to go,” he said, opening a napkin and handing it to her.
Ary watched Nick open his napkin and place it in his lap. She did the same with the one he’d handed her.
“What are we having? It smells delicious,” she said, clearing her throat. For some reason it was harder to look at Nick now, harder to just sit here with him without feeling … something.
“A little of everything since I don’t really know your likes and dislikes yet. Top sirloin steak, stuffed chicken breasts, roasted potatoes, macaroni and cheese, broccoli and cheese, steamed green beans. And there’s a tossed salad with a variety of dressings in that dish,” he said, pointing at covered platters and bowls on the cart-like table the guys had brought in with them.
“And for dessert—” he continued after taking a deep breath.
Ary laughed.
He glanced at her and smiled, then moved on. “—we have cheesecake, strawberry shortcake, and chocolate decadence cake.”
“Just for the two of us?”
It was Nick’s turn to laugh. Ary found she liked the sound very much. He didn’t laugh enough, she thought, didn’t relax enough. She wondered why.
“We’ll put whatever we don’t eat in the refrigerator. I don’t cook often. Do you know how to cook?”
Ary was already helping herself to one of the rolls that smelled so heavenly. “I can do soups and bake bread. That’s really all I know.”
“Yeah, we’re going to need to keep leftovers from dinners like this. It’s a good thing I have a lot of take-out menus.”
“I think I’d like to learn to cook,” she said.
Then she decided to go with the stuffed chicken because it looked like something tasty was oozing out of its inside. She scooped up green beans—they were easily recognizable to her—and decided to try the macaroni and cheese.
“Really? You don’t strike me as an apron-strings type of woman.”
Nick had steak and chicken on his plate, along with a heap of potatoes and two rolls. She assumed he wasn’t big on vegetables and thought, finally, she knew something about him.
“I’m just discovering the type of woman I want to be,” she said with clarity. “I’m also going to enroll in college as a pre-med student.”
Nick watched her as he chewed then replied, “Now, that, I can definitely see. You’ll make a wonderful doctor.”
“Really?” Ary warmed all over. And it wasn’t the sexual type of warmth that buzzed throughout her body whenever she thought about Nick. It was something comfortable and soothing. She liked it. “You think so?”
He nodded. “Of course. You’re a natural. Besides, formal training, combined with what you already know from being the tribe’s curandero, will give you an advantage over human doctors.”
“They won’t accept my tribal healing in this world.”
“Probably not, but we’re putting the Stateside Assembly together, forming a headquarters for the shifters. I think it would be logical to have our own medical center as well. Humans won’t know how to heal shifters all the time.”
“I guess you’re right. Our genetics are different from theirs.”
“And you could run the medical center,” he told her after filling another plate.
“I don’t know about running it,” she started, then paused. “But I could train other shifters in the tribal and spiritual healings.”
“Like Yuri trained you?” Nick asked.
His question circled back to what Ary had originally gone into the bathroom to tell him. That seemed so long and so many orgasms ago.
She dropped her fork and hurriedly chewed the mouthful of macaroni and cheese she’d eaten—and really enjoyed. “I was coming to tell you what I remembered.”
“What?” Nick asked.
She wiped her mouth with the napkin then continued. “The first thing Yuri taught me about using the leaves and vines of herbs found in the Gungi was that they needed to be cleansed. See, using them in their natural state could sometimes cause side effects that would prevent the healing desired. If they were cleansed beforehand, you could ask the spirits to bless the herbs, make them potent in the area you need them to be, and wash away all the other negative energy.”
Nick sat back, watching her with what Ary could only describe as intent interest. “Go on.”
“Sabar wants to use damiana, I guess for its relaxation and sexual enhancement purposes. But he wants to mix it with some other drug. I heard him talking to Franco about this. That’s what they made me drink.”
“But you said you didn’t feel aroused once you’d taken it?”
&nb
sp; One of Nick’s thick eyebrows raised in question. “No,” she answered quickly, adamantly. “Not at all. But I was angry and ready to fight. To kill. That was the negative energy.”
“Because Sabar didn’t know to cleanse the herb before mixing it,” Nick finished for her.
Ary nodded. “Correct. He cannot know the ceremony that needs to take place to cleanse.”
Nick rubbed the neatly shaved hair at his chin. Ary loved that hair on him, loved the precise way it circled his tempting lips and gave him a more masculine look. No male in the Gungi wore facial hair. Ary hoped Nick would never shave his off.
“We went to see Yuri, and he did something with smoke and sage. Lucas said he was cleansing the air, ridding it of negative energy.”
“Right. There are many cleansing rituals, depending on what you want to achieve. Positive energy is crucial to positive healing.”
Nick looked like he wanted to say something, then shook his head and continued to think about what she’d said.
“If he brought damiana here and is planning to keep mixing it, he will not be successful. It will continue to produce the same negative results.”
Nick’s eyes focused on her and he leaned forward. His brow immediately furrowed, and Ary resisted the urge to reach across the table and smooth out the lines. She wanted his smile back, his laughter. This, the way he looked now, said the rage had returned full force.
“Get dressed. We have to go see Rome,” he said, standing from the table. “I’ll put this stuff away.”
“It is bad, isn’t it? What I just told you means it’s really bad,” she asked him.
“It’s damn sure not good,” he replied.
Then he shocked her by coming around the table and touching a hand to her chin, his other hand wrapping around her waist. “But you did good. You figured out what Sabar’s trying to do. Now we can stop him.”
That warmth was back. Ary smiled slightly up at Nick. “Hopefully, we can stop him.”
“We’ll stop him or we’ll kill him. That’s the bottom line,” he stated seriously.