by Faye Avalon
It wasn’t that, Nathan thought. If it was that simple and he was reacting to losing Naomi to his friend, then somewhere along the line, he would have wanted to mark Naomi as his. He had never felt the inclination.
He hadn’t felt the inclination with Erin either, so maybe Caleb had a point.
“What the fuck do I do now?”
He said it almost to himself, but Caleb took up the thread. “You make sure you keep the hell away from Erin. False alarm or not. There’s no point courting trouble.”
“That decision’s already made. It was a one-time-only thing.”
He thought of Erin standing in her bedroom with a robe wrapped around her sumptuous body, spouting on about them both getting what they wanted and that it was over. Thanks for the fuck, and there’s the door.
Needing air, he threw open the door and stepped onto his patio. “I’ve got to run,” he told Caleb. “Literally.”
“Okay.” Caleb’s tone held compassion and a tiny bit of suspicion. “I’ll see you at two.”
Nathan tapped end call and tossed the phone on the nearest chair. He wasn’t going to spin this over in his head any longer. Caleb had to have been right, and he was just mixed up about Naomi. That was the easiest explanation, and one he was going to lock into. It made perfect sense, because there was no damn way Erin was anything more than a quick screw while they’d both been in the mood.
She was a human, for pity’s sake. Human males didn’t go around marking their women as their own. They didn’t feel the overpowering need to bite down into their female’s succulent flesh, piercing it with their teeth and leaving a permanent warning to other males not to poach on their territory.
Fire rushed through his body, burning his chest and stealing his breath. Erin’s image flashed in front of him, every bloody detail of her in full Technicolor. Her beautiful eyes, her short cap of hair, those magnificent breasts, her hot and welcoming pussy…
He shook his head violently, trying to clear the image of her writhing beneath him, calling his name as she climaxed. When he inhaled, he scented her, the potent allure of her flesh, the sweet slightly musky scent of her arousal. She was suddenly all around him, everywhere. Even the rustle of the bush along the edge of the patio sounded like her soft laughter, while the gentle breeze coming off the moor carried her name.
What the fuck was happening to him? He was going crazy. Freaking losing it.
He pulled off his shirt, yanked off his shoes and jeans. At the edge of his terrace, beneath the cluster of growing birch and eucalyptus trees he’d planted after he’d built the house three years ago, he closed his eyes and inhaled deeply.
The energy circled in his core, spiraled out to embrace his stomach and chest, then spread through his limbs and out to his extremities. The familiar pulse of primal power engulfed him, making his body throb and sharpening his senses.
His fangs descended, his claws lengthened, and he dropped to all fours. Black fur sprang from his pores, and a low growl emanated from deep in his throat.
Using his back legs, he kicked up dirt, then raised his head and scented his territory. Satisfied that his way was clear, he padded out onto the moor that edged his property, enjoying the feel of solid ground beneath his paws and life-giving oxygen filling his nostrils.
Soon he was pounding across his familiar stomping ground, following the trail he had marked out for himself which circumnavigated his property.
He emptied his mind and just ran, pushing himself to his limits. It usually cleared his head, but forty minutes later, when he shifted back to human again and snatched up his clothes, his head still hammered, his body still buzzed.
He went up to the bathroom and turned on the shower. Pressing his palms to the tiled wall, he leaned into them and dropped his chin to his chest. Tepid water rained down on him, but the run and the shower had done nothing to halt the memories of Erin beneath him, of him tasting her, thrusting into her. His cock jerked, his blood heated. With a vicious curse, he reached out and spun the dial, bracing himself against the subzero temperature now hammering his body.
Last night had meant nothing. He was simply going through some weird shit that was better not to question. Caleb’s theory might not be that far off the mark when he thought about it in black-and-white. He and Naomi had been fuck buddies on a pretty regular basis, and he’d grown accustomed to having her sate his sexual appetite with no strings attached. Then one of his best friends decides it’s time to play happy ever after with her. Their hooking up could be construed as a double whammy of sorts. His relationship with two good friends would never be the same again. It was reasonable enough to think that would leave a guy feeling off center for a while.
It made perfect sense and explained a whole lot about what had happened last night. Maybe it was best not to question it any further but just accept it and move on.
One thing he did know was that Erin meant nothing to him other than a quick lay when they’d both been feeling the need. The shock of his eyes turning gold after he’d shoved himself between her legs could have been caused by any number of things. It was an aberration that he didn’t need to consider too deeply and was merely, as Caleb had suggested, a case of his signals getting crossed.
Erin was in no way the woman he wanted to mark as his. And as for her being the woman fate had ordained to be his chosen mate? The whole idea was fucking laughable.
* * * * *
Putting the fear of God into a couple of moronic kids improved his mood no end, and by the time Nathan got back into his SUV after the Council of Principals meeting, he was feeling decidedly upbeat.
He planned to get back home and work. He’d wasted the best part of a day, and that didn’t sit well with him. As Nathan pulled out of the parking lot, Caleb flagged him down.
Nathan wound down his window. “What?”
“Didn’t get chance before the meeting, so just checking in. Making sure you’re okay.”
“Why wouldn’t I be?”
Caleb shrugged. “Talia’s got a meeting at the paper tonight. Wondered if you felt like hanging out.”
While Nathan appreciated his friend’s concern, he wasn’t in the mood for pool and a beer. “Got work,” he said, reaching for his sunglasses when the sun broke through the otherwise cloudy day. “I’m running security for a French guy and need to pull some data, make plans.”
“Okay. You know where I am.”
Nathan tapped two fingers to his forehead and wound up the window. He pulled away and out into the steady stream of mid-afternoon traffic. It was decent of Caleb to worry about his well-being, but he felt like being on his own. He planned to run that data, confirm accommodations for Paris, and when he was done, stretch out in front of the TV and get quietly drunk.
He had plenty to keep him occupied, to keep his mind off a certain human female who kept invading his head despite his best attempts to the contrary. Apart from work, he could use a little downtime to get started on plans for the garden extension he had in mind. He’d been considering an outdoor pool, and he didn’t particularly want another summer to come and go without getting the ball rolling on that.
He could also head over to Tynan’s place, work some more on holing up that corner of the landing they’d ripped apart.
Yeah. He had more than enough to keep him occupied.
So why in fuck’s name was he making his way down the high street and toward the coffee house on the corner?
The damn woman was like an itch he couldn’t scratch. Niggling away between his shoulder blades, squeezing into the space that connected his thoughts. What had happened between them felt like unfinished business, and for the life of him he didn’t know why she’d turned off the heat when he’d come back into the bedroom last night.
What was her problem anyway?
And what was his?
She might mean nothing to him, but he had the need to
tape up those raw edges they’d left festering, to prove to himself that what had happened to him when he’d screwed her had been nothing more than that aberration, a crossing of wires.
Which meant if he saw her again and tied up those loose ends, he could walk away without a second thought.
He pulled around the back of the coffee shop, turned off the ignition and sat working on his strategy. He’d get himself a coffee. Tell her last night was good, thank her for her company and for a great evening. He’d wish her well and then be on his way.
Everything wrapped up in a tidy bow. Period.
He stepped out of his SUV and walked around to the front entrance. A glance in the window told him the place was pretty full and he almost backed out of his plan to go in. He hovered outside, stuffed his hands in his pockets and walked across the road away from the café.
Cursing himself for being a coward, he walked back. Shit. Anyone watching him would thing he’d lost the freaking plot.
Finally, taking a deep breath, he stepped inside the café and saw Erin immediately. She was laughing at something a customer said, while she stood there in her clichéd black skirt with frilly apron, her waitressing pad in hand.
Taking off his sunglasses, he stuffed them in his jacket pocket, and wondered what was under that skirt. Something flimsy, he hoped, easily disposed of so he could bare her to his gaze…and a whole lot more.
She laughed again, and he noted that the customer was male…and interested.
Fire rose up from his belly to his chest, and he fisted his hands to stop from going over there and ripping the guy’s throat to shreds.
Aware he was drawing curious looks from other patrons, he took a couple of covert breaths and walked to the nearest empty chair.
Erin glanced over and saw him, her smile fading like the sun disappearing behind a cloud. It pissed him off. She was happy to joke with some stranger intent on hitting on her, but all she had for him was a glower?
He made himself settle back in the chair. Assuming a casual look, he leaned his arm across the back of it and stretched out his legs.
She wrote on her pad, flashed the guy a smile, then hiked up that chin and came over to him.
“What can I get you?”
He almost grinned at her haughty tone, but he wasn’t quite ready to forgive the casual and easy way she’d been with that jerk who was still eyeing her up. “Coffee,” he said. “Black.”
She tapped her pen to the pad and started to turn away.
“Don’t I get a smile?”
Her frown was full of irritation. “What?”
“A smile,” he repeated, something inside him wanting to provoke her. “You seem pretty easy with them for everyone else.”
She wore big silver hoops in her ears that caught the light when she moved her head. “It seems I’ve used up my smile quota for the day. Now, if there’s nothing else?”
“What? Did golden boy over there exhaust your supply?”
Her frown deepened, and she shook her head. “What do you want, Nathan?”
“Seems you were getting pretty chummy when I walked in,” he continued with a glance over to jerk-face. “Lining up this evening’s entertainment?”
Her eyes flashed blue fire, but they stayed steady on his. “Well, I figure time’s running out if I don’t want to be on my own tonight. I imagine you got your own entertainment lined up hours ago.”
While he knew she was winding him up, he couldn’t stop the wave of annoyance that rose up on the tail of his earlier anger. “I did,” he confirmed. “Which means you can go tell asshole over there that you’re already spoken for because you’re having dinner with me.”
He didn’t know which one of them was the more surprised, but even though asking her out was the very last thing he’d had in mind, now he’d spoken the words, he wasn’t feeling totally averse to the idea. Dinner was always a nice prelude to dessert. And one more time around the block would really put her out of his system.
She glanced around, obviously checking nobody was eavesdropping on their conversation. It would have been difficult, Nathan thought, considering he could barely hear himself over the animated chatter. When she turned back, her expression was snooty and damn right imperious. “Now, why would you think I’d have dinner with you?”
He kicked back in the chair a little more, forcing himself not to smile. She hadn’t come right out and said no. “Because we had a good time last night.”
“We did,” she agreed, tapping her pen to the pad. “But I thought I made it clear last night that I didn’t plan on repeating the experience.”
Since they were both obviously talking about the same end game, he straightened up and leaned across the table toward her. “How about my place? Seven. You can be there before dark sets in.”
She eyed him with what he thought was curiosity, but there was caution there too. “I’ll get your coffee,” she said and spun away.
She hurried back to the counter, lightly bumping into the edge of a table as she went. Nathan couldn’t stop the smile now. She was still affected by him, which meant all he had to do was push a little more and she’d be at his house at seven. From there, it would be a short walk to his bedroom.
There was a kind of logic in asking her to his place for round two. Having her again would show that what happened last night after he’d fucked her had truly been an anomaly. He could prove to himself that she wasn’t anything special, that she certainly had no power over the control of his instincts.
Tonight he could keep his mind in neutral, and his body wouldn’t react in any way other than an expression of physical release. After which he could safely relegate her to the ranks of past conquests. And all this freaking angst he was experiencing about his loss of control around her would be history.
He watched her preparing two coffees. While he liked the frilly little waitress apron she wore—and fuck, maybe he could get her to bring that along tonight—he didn’t much approve of the crisp white blouse buttoned almost up to her neck. The material was so modest, he couldn’t even see an outline of her bra, let alone the curve of her delicious breasts.
All in good time, he told himself.
She came out from behind the counter carrying a tray holding the two coffees. She turned, heading for dickhead in the corner. Nathan drummed his fingers on the table, forcing himself not to react when the asshole started talking to her again. Erin laughed, said something in response that had the guy putting on a doleful expression which made her laugh again.
Erin turned away from him and made her way toward Nathan’s table. All signs of that laughter she’d so easily shared were now gone. “Coffee,” she said sliding it onto the table in front of him. “Black. Anything else?”
He grinned. “Still no smile for me?” When she only cocked a hip, he reached into his pocket and took out his business card. “Here you go,” he said, scribbling his address on the back. “Take the main road north out of Bodmin, then turn right and follow the road out to Golitha Falls.” He offered the card. “Have you got satellite navigation?”
She took the card, turning it over to look at his address. “It doesn’t matter one way or the other. I won’t be there.”
Since she’d slipped the card in her pocket rather than thrust it back at him or leave it on the table, she was obviously thinking on his offer. He wasn’t unduly concerned. Females often needed to go through the performance of feigning indifference before they did what you knew they’d do in the first place.
“Oh, you’ll be there,” he said with a cocky grin. “And I’m sure, sometime during the evening, I’ll do something that’ll earn me one of those smiles of yours.”
He gave a low laugh when she huffed and turned away. He followed the sexy sway of her ass all the way back to the counter and started counting down to the moment he’d have her naked and beneath him again.
Cha
pter Eight
Erin tried not to clock watch, but she couldn’t seem to help herself. Despite not having any intention of going over to Nathan’s place, she couldn’t seem to tear her eyes away from the hour hand as it lumbered toward seven and then began its journey clockwise again.
By now he’d have some idea that she wasn’t coming. She hoped it pissed him off.
Damn arrogance of the man. Thinking he could come into her workplace and start making demands about where she would be spending her evening. It had reminded her of the early days with Justin, when he would call her and tell her that he’d made plans and that she’d better make herself available to him.
At first she’d found it exciting to have a man so seemingly wrapped up in her. She had basked in his admiration, his need for her. She had never been needed before, and the feeling was intoxicating. However, it hadn’t been long before everything changed and she saw him for what he was.
If she found Nathan sexy and fascinating, if she was drawn to his cocky arrogance and self-assurance, she had to temper that with reality. A man like Nathan was good for a casual fling, but anything more and she would be asking for trouble. It wouldn’t take long before she would find herself trapped in a relationship that was not only one-sided but potentially dangerous. No way did she want a repeat of her time with Justin.
She’d thought it was best to let Nathan realize that she wasn’t interested in taking things any further than the quickie they’d both enjoyed and had agreed was all they wanted. Except the man had appeared to have changed his mind and didn’t seem to be taking the hint.
That afternoon, when he’d made his demands, she had almost gone back to that guy in the corner and told him that yes, she would like to go for a drink with him. Except Nathan was giving him the evil eye as it was, and she didn’t want to stir up trouble. Nathan’s possessive nature, added to his demanding streak, were strong indicators not to get any more deeply involved with him.