“What else can we do, Tracy? I’m sorry. I know this is hard on you but we can’t avoid you needing the tri-bond. There’s no way around that.”
“I know.” But she’d have to let another wolf come inside her. That seemed so intimate with a stranger. Yes, wolves didn’t have to worry about STDs and she was on birth control pills, but it made her feel so uncomfortable. She supposed it was also because the anchor bond would be a part of their lives forever. He’d be an honorary member of Pacific and hold a special place of power and honor. Almost like extended family was to humans, or even as an in-law.
Gabe noted Tracy’s distress and felt for her. He also outranked Nick and it certainly wouldn’t be a chore to make love to her. Most wolves at his rank would serve as Anchors at some point and he felt like he could make that commitment to Tracy and Nick without hesitation. “Well—” Gabe cleared his throat. “I’m unmated and I outrank you. If you’d be willing, I’d be honored to be Tracy’s Anchor.”
Tracy looked to Nick and then to Gabe. Relief rushed through her. “You would? You’re sure? Oh thank you!” She felt comfortable around Gabe. Perhaps it was his air of professionalism or maybe it was that he was so debonair. In any case, he may not have been someone they’d known forever but he sure wasn’t a total stranger and with his position in National, he’d be on the other side of the country most of the time, which probably made it easier for Nick.
“Yes, thank you.” Nick inclined his head in thanks. “Tomorrow morning? Would that work or are you on your way out of town today?”
“I’m not scheduled to fly out for two more days. Tomorrow morning would be fine.”
Nick gave Gabe his address and they made arrangements to have a late breakfast and perform the bond then.
Afterwards Nick all but dragged Tracy, who agreed to have Milton stay with Nina and Lex, to his car after grabbing her small suitcase.
* * *
“God, if I hadn’t called my brother already and he wasn’t expecting us, I’d take you home and fuck you a few dozen more times. I need you, Tracy. So much that it makes it hard to think.” He reached out and took her hand, twining his fingers with hers.
“Thanks for telling me that. Now I’ll be thinking of little else until we do get private.”
“Good, I’d hate to be alone in this terrible achy place.”
“I can’t believe that less than eight hours ago, I didn’t even know you and now we’re married.”
“I know. Twelve hours ago... Never mind, so tell me about yourself.” The woman in his bed this morning seemed a million years away. All he wanted was the woman in the car with him.
She flinched. “Twelve hours ago you were with another woman.” Her voice was flat.
“Yes. I won’t lie to you, Tracy. There were other women. A lot of them. But that’s all over now. Now there’s only you.”
“Well, I didn’t expect you to be a virgin. We’re both of age. You’re a very attractive, sexy, powerful wolf with very good taste in clothes. I’m sure that got you laid. A lot.”
“And did you?”
“Did I what?”
“Get laid a lot?” He was suddenly incensed at the idea of any man touching her. And slightly embarrassed that he felt that way like an asshole. But he still felt that way.
“I got my share. Which is, of course, over now. Well, not the getting my share part. Just the part where I get it from anyone but you. I like sex, Nick. I like it a lot. So I hope you take vitamins and work out.”
He laughed, surprised but pleased. “Do you have a boyfriend?”
“I have a husband.” She gave him a grin. “And no. I did, but a few weeks ago I broke it off. I knew he wasn’t my mate. He knew he wasn’t. It was an exercise in futility. Plus, he didn’t like Milton.”
He gritted his teeth thinking about her dog. “About Milton, honey, don’t you think he’d be better off with Lex and Nina? In a house where he can run? An apartment is not the place for a big dog.”
“You’re right. It isn’t.” He smiled at her reasonable response. “Which is why we’re going to buy a house.”
He frowned. This wasn’t going the way he expected. “I’ve lived in my apartment for five years. I love it. It’s a great investment.”
A light came into her eyes that had him wanting to take a step back. His wolf found it painfully attractive.
Tracy said, “You can’t honestly mean to tell me that I have to give up my Pack, my city, my business and my home and you aren’t willing to live in a place that accommodates my dog?”
Put that way, it did seem petty of him. But still. His apartment and its trendy furniture, the view. It was perfectly located so that he could walk to all the places he liked to go.
“We’ll talk about it later. This is it,” he nodded with his chin at the big house with the large tree and tire swing and the big cedar playset. The big drive was filled with cars.
“Shit. The whole damned Pack is here. I’m never going to be able to sneak you back to my...our place.”
“I hope they like me.”
Her voice seemed so small and unsure that he looked at her after he turned the ignition off. He touched her chin, running his thumb through the cleft there. “They’ll love you. Even if for no other reason than because I do.”
She took a deep breath. The moment she bonded with Nick, she took on his rank. She was Second in this Clan and she had to hold her head up and own that or the other wolves would see it as weakness. She also knew that, given what he’d said on the way over and Nina’s comments earlier, that there were bound to be females who’d warmed his bed there wanting to check her out and she needed to be every inch Nick’s mate.
She opened the door and stepped out and he came around and shot her a look. “I was going to do that.”
She grinned again. “That so?” She laughed and it shot straight to his cock. Her laugh was deep and sultry. He hadn’t expected that at all. “As it happens, I can open my own door. But I’m not averse to you helping me carry stuff and kill spiders.”
It was his turn to laugh as he pulled her against his body, nuzzling into her neck and breathing her in like a drug. “A tough chick werewolf like you is afraid of spiders?”
“Mmm-hmm.” Her eyes closed as she clung to him, enjoying the feel of his body against her own.
“Hey! Cut it out, we want to meet her!”
Tracy jumped back guiltily and looked up at the porch, where several people were standing.
“That’s Sarah, Ben’s mate,” Nick said, smiling up at the tall blonde waving at them both impatiently.
“And you’re her Anchor.”
He turned to her. “Yes. Is that going to bother you?”
“Would it matter if it did?”
He caressed the line of her jaw and drew his thumb over her bottom lip. “Of course it matters. I love you. You’re my mate and your happiness is very important to me. Not that I can change being her Anchor.”
“I know. Thank you.”
He smiled and leaned in to kiss her.
“Nick! You tease, bring the girl up here so we can welcome her into the Pack!”
Nick pulled back with a groan. “And that is Ben, my brother and the Alpha. He’s...”
“Yeah, I have one too.”
He held out a hand and she took it and he drew her into the yard and toward the porch, where it looked like at least a dozen people were standing.
“Oh jeez,” she murmured under her breath. And damn it, did Sarah have to be so damned beautiful? She was the feminine type, with perfect creamy skin and big porcelain-doll eyes. Knowing how Cade felt about Nina, she wondered just how deeply Nick felt for Sarah and jealousy knifed through her.
Ben came down the porch steps with a big smile on his face, and without a word to Nick, pulled Tracy into a hug. He k
issed both of her cheeks and stepped back, looking between her and Nick.
“Congratulations! And welcome. Welcome to Pacific and welcome to the family, Tracy.”
She couldn’t help but give the man a lopsided grin. He was so not suave like Nick. He wore jeans and a Trail Blazers shirt and his hair was sort of mussed up, but not in the intentional messy way that Nick’s hair was.
“Thank you. I take it you’re Ben.”
“Oh yes. I’m sorry. Tracy, this is my brother, Ben Lawrence, the Alpha of Pacific Clan.” Nick raised a brow as his brother stared at Tracy.
“And I’m Sarah.” She came down the steps and gave Tracy an appraising look that put her on edge.
“Nice to meet you, Sarah.” And she hoped she meant it. She wanted to fit into this family as well as she fit into her own in Seattle. She had a new Pack now and it would be a good thing if she had even a shadow of the connection with Sarah that she had with Nina.
“It’s more than nice to meet you, Tracy. I can’t be more thrilled that Nick has found you.” With that she leaned in and kissed Tracy’s cheek and stood back, her body against Ben’s. Tracy couldn’t quite get rid of the unease that slid through her stomach but chalked it up to nervousness.
The next hour went by in a blur of activity and new faces. She knew which females Nick had slept with by the looks they threw her. But Nick had eyes for her and her only. Ben and Nick’s parents were so happy to meet her.
“I really need to talk to my brother and my parents,” Tracy murmured to Nick as the evening set in.
“Of course. How long have you been up? You drove down this morning, didn’t you?”
“Just before five,” she said, trying not to yawn. “And I’ll need to talk to Charity, she’s the woman who manages my store, to arrange for some more time, and I’ll have to figure out what to do with it and my house.”
Just how much she was leaving behind hit him square in the face. Her family, her friends, her house, her business, her Pack. All that for him. A wave of tender protectiveness rose in him.
“Come on, baby, let’s get you home.” He stood and helped her up. “Folks, thanks for the evening but Tracy and I are going home now. We’ll see you all tomorrow night for the joining.”
Chris and Haley, Ben and Sarah’s children, got up and latched on to Nick. “Uncle Nick! Don’t go!”
He laughed and swooped both of them up into his arms, kissing them both soundly. “Got to, kiddos. Tracy is tired and it’s my job to take care of her. Like how your daddy takes care of your mommy.”
“Ew! You’re gonna kiss on her all the time then?” Chris asked, disgusted by the very idea.
Tracy laughed. “I hope so!”
* * *
The drive to his apartment was quiet but relaxed. He was a little concerned that his brother had taken him aside and grilled him about whether he was sure Tracy was his true mate but they’d been friendly to her face and that was a relief. Tracy seemed far more at ease now than she had earlier as well.
“Are you feeling better now?”
“Hmm?” She stretched and his heart thudded against his rib cage. “Oh yes. Your family is lovely.” Except for the women who’d hated her on sight and the Fourth who seemed annoyed that a wolf with an eyebrow ring was suddenly ranked above him. Oh, and maybe Sarah, who sort of seemed to like her, but Tracy still wondered about her connection with Nick.
He pulled into the garage of a swank high-rise and up a few levels until he pulled into a spot near the elevators and turned off the ignition.
“Come on, baby. We’re home.”
She bit back her response, not wanting to fight. But he was going to have to accept that they needed a house with a yard for Milton.
He grabbed his briefcase and her suitcase and guided her into the elevator lobby with a hand at the small of her back. She watched as he keyed in a number on the pad near the up button. The doors slid open and they got inside the elevator car.
He hit nineteen and leaned back against the wall.
“So,” she said, turning to face him, “you think this elevator has a camera in it?”
“What? Why...oh.” He raised a brow and she stepped closer.
“I’ve never had sex in an elevator before.”
“Oh, you’re sin on legs, Tracy Warden. Or Lawrence. Whatever.”
She chuckled and reached out, dragging a fingernail up the prominent ridge in his pants.
The elevator dinged and the doors slid open. He sighed. “Next time.”
“Oh yeah.” She sauntered out and he watched her sway. She had quite a lovely ass. In fact, he couldn’t wait to see her naked. To really see her. That interlude in the maze was too brief and he was so crazed with need he didn’t even really get a chance to look at her.
“I’m on the right. 1905.”
She waited for him at the door and he couldn’t unlock it fast enough. She walked in and he slammed the lock home and dropped the bags. One corner of her mouth slowly slid up into a sexy smile.
“Bedroom is right behind you,” he murmured, pushing her with his body.
When they got inside she stiffened and he did too, closing his eyes at his mistake. “It stinks of her in here.”
“I... I’m sorry. I didn’t know you this morning. I didn’t know you last night. I didn’t know.”
She sighed and looked at the big bed, sheets still rumpled, the scent of sex faint in the air. The room stank of this other woman. She inhaled again. The redhead she’d met this afternoon who seemed good-natured enough.
“The redhead.”
He looked at her, surprised. And then he nodded. “It wasn’t ever anything between us. Just sex.”
“Oh, I feel much better now. Gee, let’s fuck in a bed drenched in your come for another woman!”
“I didn’t know! How can you be angry when I didn’t know?”
“It doesn’t have to be rational!” she yelled.
“Well, that’s good, because it isn’t.”
Her eyebrow, the one with the ring, slowly slid up and he wished he could take the words back.
“Okay, let’s just deal with this. I have clean sheets, I’ll change them.”
He bustled past her and went to a closet and came back, arms filled with dark blue sheets.
She wandered out of the room as he worked and he found her minutes later, staring out the windows near the fireplace.
She stared out into the night at the lights of the city and the river reflecting the moon and stars. Her skin itched with need for him, with the desire to touch and be touched by him. But her head, well, that was another story. She felt off balance. It was all happening so fast. She knew how it was, she accepted that he was her mate and most certainly she felt that way. Loved him, needed him, wanted him desperately. But at the same time, she wondered why it was she had to be the one continually giving up stuff.
“I’m sorry. This isn’t how I wanted our first night together to be,” he said, coming up behind her and putting his arms around her waist. “The sheets are changed, I opened the windows to air it out. I’m running a bath, would you like to join me?”
She leaned her head back against his shoulder. “Yeah. And I know. We’ll get past it.”
“I’m going to grab some champagne. Why don’t you call your family while I get everything ready?”
She turned and looked into his eyes. He wasn’t that much taller than she was, just shy of six feet, so all she had to do was ease up on her tiptoes to kiss his lips softly. “Okay. I’ll be in in a few minutes.”
“Phone is right there behind you.” He kissed her once more and left her alone to make the call.
She didn’t bother calling the house, she knew that Cade and her parents would be at the resort by now with Lex and Nina, so she called Cade’s cell.
&n
bsp; “Hey there, I was getting worried about you.” Cade’s voice was a comfort. “Congratulations, sweetie. I’m so pleased for you.”
“Thanks.” Her breath hitched and she held back tears. She was happy, finding Nick was amazing, but she still felt sad at losing her old way of life. “I met his family today and they were all very nice. The joining is tomorrow night at seven at the Pack house.”
“Yeah, I worked out the visit with Ben. We’ll be there. I took the liberty of bringing down some more of your clothes.”
She smiled, knowing that it would have been Nina’s idea. “Thanks, Cade.”
“You want to talk to Mom? She’s over the moon.”
“Uh, yes, but not right now. I’m getting ready to, uh, that is, we’re going to... I just don’t want to right now.” She truly would cry if she heard her mother’s voice, and she didn’t want to deal with that right before being with Nick.
“Gotcha,” he said, laughing. “Please do not elaborate. I’ll tell her you’ll call tomorrow. I love you, honey. We all do and we’re so proud and happy that you’ve found your mate.”
“Thank you. I am too. He’s a good man with a good family.”
“I’ll see you tomorrow then. I love you.”
“I love you too.” Smiling, she hung up the phone and went off in search of her husband.
She found him in the giant bathroom, lighting candles. He was in his shirtsleeves, his tie off and his feet bare. The bathroom smelled of him and only him and she relaxed.
“Hi.”
He turned. “Hello there. Everything fine with Cascadia?”
“Great. They’re all very happy and will be there tomorrow night. But enough about them. I’m so glad you’re still clothed because I want to see you strip for me.”
She stood there in the doorway, watching him, delighting in the way his breath hitched.
“Only if I get the same treat,” he said, walking toward her, hand slowly popping the buttons on his shirt open.
“Oh, don’t worry, by the time you pass out, you’ll know where all my tattoos are.” He stopped for a moment and laughed. “I do like your sense of humor, Tracy.”