For now she was going to have to play by his rules but as soon as she had the chance, she was getting her revenge.
During the drive back to the Robertson's house, she drove extra careful. Making sure she stayed close to jerk face at all times. If she hit a yellow light, instead of rushing through it she would slam on the breaks so the red light wouldn't separate them.
It was the drive from hell.
Once at the Robertson’s she parked her bike in the driveway and they parked in front of the house. Jessica hopped off her bike and strode purposely towards the car. Looking like he had no care in the world, he climbed out of the passenger seat with her backpack slung over one shoulder,. He shut the door and leaned against it. Feet spread apart and arms crossed across his chest.
The sight of his biceps almost made her stumble. The memory of those arms wrapped around her sent chills down her arms. For a few seconds she’d felt protected, cherished but it had been a lie. The reason for his callous overture was currently hanging over his shoulder.
With chin raised and she kept walking towards him and when she was a few feet from him she stuck out her hand. Silently asking for what was hers.
Instead of handing it over, he grabbed her hand and pulled her closer. The move was so unexpected-and fast-she stumbled when he let go of her hand. With lightning fast reflexes she stuck her hands out in an attempt to halt her down fall.
Her hands landed on his chest and for Jessica it was the perfect opening. Taking the necessary steps to stand between his legs, she slowly moved her hands down his chest and a burst of satisfaction coursed through her when she felt his abdomen tighten. To Jessica, revenge was best served hot, very hot.
"Thanks" She murmured in a throaty voice.
Walking her fingers over his washboard abs she felt a shock of heat all the way down to her core every time her finger tips touched him.
"You’re welcome.” He answered her distractedly; all of his attention was on her fingers as they made their made their way up towards his shirt collar. Suddenly, he grabbed her questing hand and held it against him. "Got out with me." he added silkily.
"I'm not sure my parents would be okay with that,”
She bit her bottom lip before licking it slowly and almost smiled when she saw his Adams apple bob up and down.
"From what I've seen, you don't really care much about what your parents say."
"What gave you that idea?"
"I think it’s the fact that you fired the bodyguards they hired for you. Say yes." He added silkily. He dropped his hands to her waist and pulled her closer. Close enough for her to feel the hard length of his desire.
“I don’t know…”
"Come on, go out with me. If for no other reason than to annoy your parents"
"You’re right, I do love to irritate them" She murmured as she slid her hands between them.
She ran them up his stomach, over his chest and down his shoulders, gave her backpack strap a nudge so that it would slide down to his elbows, then switched directions and brought her hands back up to cup his face.
Standing on her tip toes, she pulled his face down slowly and brushed her lips against his. Such a light touch had her feeling like she’d been struck by lightning. Startled she dropped her hands and tried to step back but he would have none of it and held on tight to her waist.
"That’s not a kiss." he murmured low enough that only she could hear. “This is a kiss.”
Nick gently cupped her face and ran his thumb over her bottom lip. Looking into her eyes he slowly lowered his lips to hers. She stood frozen, and watched him like a deer caught in headlights.
He licked her bottom lip with the tip of his tongue and Jessica parted her lips on a soft gasp. Nick buried his hand in her hair and deepened the kiss. Jessica was lost in a powerful maelstrom of passion when she suddenly felt her backpack bump against her leg.
Concentrating on the feel of her backpack, she ignored the sparks of electricity his kiss was generating and focused on the main objective. Determined to get her revenge, she slid her hands to the back of his head and tangled them in his hair.
She kissed him like there was no tomorrow. But she couldn't completely ignore the waves of pleasure his touch sent crashing over her body.
Her only consolation was that he was obviously just as affected.
Jessica flicked his tongue with hers; he released a low growl and pulled her closer. The vibrations of the sound traveled through her body and filled her with a sense of power.
Power that helped her realize that she was almost to the point of no return. It was time for her to end her little charade and not a moment too soon. She felt like she was standing at the edge of some fathomless precipice, ready to jump and expecting to survive.
Things had gone too far and she feared she was close to losing herself, close to forgetting about everything but his touch.
It was time for her Coup de grâce.
She lowered her hand, slid it down his arm in a gentle caress and when she reached the strap of her backpack she pulled it away, transferring it from his hand to hers.
Jessica broke the kiss and tried to step away. He tried to pull her back to him when he finally realized what she'd done. Distracted by the loss of her touch, it took him a second for his mind to register what she’d done.
"Lucky for me I can bug my parents ALL on my own" She told him as she stepped back, regaining her equilibrium.
Nick dropped his hands to his sides and balled them into fists.
As she took another step back, she adjusted the straps of her backpack on her shoulders with one hand and wiped her lips with the other. She couldn't help but smirk when she saw the stunned look on his face.
"Two can play your game" She told him, referring to the trick he'd pulled earlier, and turned to go.
That turned out to be a mistake.
She'd taken two steps when he snagged her backpack and pulled her back to him. He turned her around to face him; ignored her struggles and crashed his lips to her in a bruising kiss. He wrapped one arm around her waist to stop her thrashing and with his other hand he cupped the back of her head to hold her in place.
Where the previous kiss had been gentle, this one was violent. If the other one had been a battle, this kiss was a war. He forced his tongue into her mouth and she pushed it back out with hers but he wasn't asking he was taking. He bit her lip-not too hard but hard enough to hurt- and she returned the favor making sure she drew blood.
Suddenly he stiffened and released her.
"Didn't I tell you not to mess with armed people?" She emphasized the word 'armed' and pressed her knife a little harder against his nether regions.
He'd been so preoccupied with punishing her. He'd obviously forgotten about her little toy stashed in the side pocket of her backpack. It gave her immense pleasure, seeing him wince, when she poked his precious jewels with the sharp edge of her weapon, reminding him of it.
She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and made sure to let her face to show her disgust. A feeling she wished was a little stronger.
“Now I’m going home and you are going to stand there until I’m inside.” She instructed, “move at your own risk, got it?”
In answer he glared at her but didn't move.
When she was sure he wasn't going to try anything else, she stepped back slowly. Facing him at all times, not letting down her guard or her knife.
"It's Nick, by the way"
She was half way to her front door when his words surprised her. He didn't sound like someone who'd just escaped the monastery.
"And I care why?" She didn't quite manage to keep the irritation from her voice. Even when she beat him, he made her feel as if she'd lost.
He shrugged, "Just thought you'd like to know my name. Don't you think we should be on a first name basis after your marvelous" The sarcasm she heard when he said 'marvelous' earned him a glare "introduction to our future children"
His smirk had her seeing red and she wa
lked quickly to her door without another word.
"I'll see you soon, Jessica."
That was a promise if she’d ever heard one.
The last thing she heard before she shut the door was his laughter.
Chapter 5
His laughter died down as soon as the door closed behind her. He took a deep breath and her superficial scent filled his lungs, it clung to every part of his body that she had touched. It wasn't enough, he wanted to take in her real scent, but it would have to be for now.
Lavender shampoo, that was the main scent and apparently he had a thing for it. If the tightness in his jeans were any indication, he seemed to have a thing for a quick witted-motorcycle riding, armed to the teeth female.
Jessica
Her name flowed through his senses like fine wine. It silently tortured his mind, his taste buds and other parts of his body. It was as if she was still touching him. And as if he didn't have enough problems, it seemed that fate had decided to add its two cents into the pile.
He'd been prepared to grit his teeth and endure life with his mate. After today, it was obvious that wouldn't be the case. Her touch burned him, like flames raging throughout his body waking him from a cold winter, a fire that only she could put out.
He didn’t want to burn for her.
Cold and unfeeling, that’s how he wanted to stay.
He exhaled a breath and her name almost escaped his lips along with it. He snapped his lips shut just in time and balled his hands into fists. If he said her name out loud he would be giving himself away, losing control. He could never allow that to happen.
An Alpha was not allowed to lose control.
If he'd learned one thing from his father, it was that those without weaknesses prevailed. And he needed to succeed; there was no room for failure, too many lives rested on his shoulders. He would do anything to ensure his packs safety.
Even trick her into falling for him.
He knew he was going about it all the wrong way but he was short on time. He could only hide her reappearance for so long. If only she knew what or who she was, then he wouldn't have to waste his time wooing her like a human.
He'd chosen his mate the day he'd learned about the existence of the Lykaon heir and with his future planned, he’d had no reason to play the dating game. Being an Alpha of his own pack and the apparent heir to the Pacific pack-he never lacked for company. Wanted or not, and he'd never had to pursue anyone.
They'd been coming to him for years hoping to land an Alpha without knowing that he'd already had a mate in mind. Now that he'd finally met her, he was proud of his choice. She was going to be a great Alpha.
He just had to make her fall for him. Nick knew it was going to be a challenge but failure was not an option. She would be his and until then, his number one priority was to keep her safe. Safe until she could reclaim what was rightfully hers.
Once that was done, all other pieces of his plan would fall into place. Nick shook his head .Somehow he doubted that it would be as easy as it sounded.
If their only two meetings were any indication of what he could expect, he had his work cut out for him. Trouble seemed to follow her where ever she went-not counting those that wanted her dead- and instead of running or asking for help, she confronted it head on.
It was a great quality in a warrior but a heart attack inducing quality in her. If it was up to him, he'd claim her here and now then lock her up somewhere far from the rest of the world. And she would stay there until the pureblood movement was disbanded.
“Are you ready to go?" Axel suddenly asked out of the car window.
Axel, his bodyguard, was sitting in the car and probably enjoying the show; watching his Alpha make an ass of himself. Nick berated himself for his loss of discipline; he had completely forgotten about Axel and the world around him, all of his concentration had been zeroed in on Jessica from the moment she'd hopped off her motorcycle.
After taking one last look at the house in front of him, he turned and got into the car. Axel drove in silence and Nick was thankful, he doubted he could carry a conversation at the moment. His thoughts were centered on only one person.
"Almost there" Axel told him.
Nick blinked and looked around. Amazed to find they'd just turned onto the dead end road to his house. It was a recently paved private road that he owned, along with roughly ten miles of the land on each side of it. His house, the pack house-for the un-mated adults-and five other homes were the only buildings on the property.
Four years ago it had all been nothing but trees; perfect for his young-and small pack. Since then, the pack had tripled in size and it had gotten harder to conceal their presence.
Because the only non-shifter wolves in California were those in captivity, Nick had to make sure there were no wolf sightings out in the wild. None. And wolf form was only allowed at night or on pack property. One sighting and he was sure that hunters would be swarming the area faster than he could say 'full moon.'
Now he understood why there were only two packs in California, the Pacific pack in the south-his fathers- and the Northstate Pack. When the Robertson's had moved here, to central Cal, he'd thought it a blessing because there would be no territory wars. He thought they'd just move in and he'd bide his time until her return.
He had been very naïve.
"We're here" Axel told him, breaking into his thoughts.
They'd reached the house and he'd been spacing out again. What the hell is wrong with me?! He asked himself. He’d lost count of how many times he'd lost his focus today and he could only blame one person for his lack control.
Damn her.
He had to thank his lucky stars that Axel was the only one around to witness his disciplinary lapse.
"Hey Ax, how long did the doc say you were going to be dealing with the residual effects from that concussion?" He asked Axel.
"Concussion?" With his hand on the door handle, Axel paused and looked at him with his eyebrows drawn together in confusion.
"Yeah, I heard something about you hitting your head and left you dealing with short term memory loss." Nick clarified
Axel looked at him for another second and then comprehension dawned on him.
"Yeah, I can’t seem to remember anything about today" He shook his head morosely, playing along, as he opened the door.
Nick released a deep sigh of relief. He wasn't ready for rumors about his explosive chemistry with Jessica to be going around. But his relief was very short lived.
"I'm going to have to ask one Christian to give me a recap." Axels added as he stepped out of the car.
His words, said with barely concealed amusement, had Nick tensing all over again and he slammed his head back against the head rest. He'd forgotten about Christian. No way was he going to be able to gag him. In fact he was pretty sure it was too late to try.
No doubt that by now, everyone knew about his heated encounter with Jessica outside of her house. And if his suspicions were correct about that then he was positive they were adding another subject to the speculation. The one thing he refused to believe in.
Soul-mates.
Nick ran a hand through his hair. He released a deep and weary filled sigh. Feeling older than his twenty-two, he got out of the car and braced himself for the upcoming meeting with Matt. As his enforcer, the man in charge of security, it was more than likely that Matt was the first one to have heard about it all.
With reluctance in his every step he made his way up the porch steps and into the house. Using every ounce of his shifters speed, he made a mad dash for the privacy of his bedroom and slammed the door behind him. He knew it was the coward’s way, but he didn't care. He wasn’t ready to talk about his actions, not when he didn’t understand the reasons for them himself.
Leaning against the door he closed his eyes and he exhaled the breath he'd been holding.
"That was some firework show you put on." Matt commented amusingly.
Nicks eyes flew wide open and he almost
jumped in surprise. From inborn instinct, his eyes glowed from within; his canines extended and his claws extracted. It was a natural reaction to his surprise and it took a moment for him to get himself under control.
“Matt, you know better than to pop up out nowhere like that on me!" He admonished when his canines no longer impeded his ability to speak properly and glared at his best friend as he pushed himself away from the door.
"I didn't pop out of nowhere. I was standing right here," Matt spread his hands out "in plain sight the whole time. Not my fault you were too busy trying to run and hide to pay attention."
A mix of laughter and disapproval laced Matt's last statement and if nick understood why. In Matt’s shoes, he too would be laughing from the knowledge that he-the Alpha was trying to hide. Matt’s disapproval was also understandable, because as the Alpha he couldn't afford to let his guard down, not even in his own home.
Nick gave a slight nod in acknowledgment of the censure and ignored the laughter.
"I wasn't running or hiding," He argued as he made his way to the bed and flopped down on it "Just tired and wanted some time to myself." He finished lamely.
"Fine, I'll leave you alone," Matt conceded, he trailed off for a second and then continued "as soon as you tell me what happened between the two of you." To show that he was serious, Matt crossed the room, sat down on the computer chair and raised his feet to rest them, crossed at the ankles, on the computer desk.
"Nothing happened. I don't know what you're talking about." Nick grumbled and raised his forearm to cover his face.
"Would you like me to refresh your memory? I have the video on my phone." Matt informed him gleefully while digging around in his pocket.
"What video!" Nick asked sitting up, shedding all pretense of being tired.
"The video Christian recorded on his phone."
"Recorded?!" He raised his voice in astonishment. It was just what he needed; a video to feed more wood to the fire. "Why did he do that?!"
"Because I asked him to."
"You asked him? Why?"
"I told him to keep me updated on everything. He called to tell me about your first little interlude by her bike. I didn't believe him,” Matt shrugged, “So I told him to record it if it happened again. I considered it a have to see to believe kind of thing,” He explained, “And imagine my shock when I got the video message and there you were "Ice Cold" Nick heating up with..."
The Heir Page 6