Emerald: Rare Gems Series - Billionaire Wolf Shapeshifter Romance (3 page)

And Nolan wasn’t backing off, no matter what she did to keep him away. When she’d left this morning, being trapped by Nolan in the hall, it had taken everything she had to get away. Now she was hurting badly for not paying attention to her surroundings. She was careful now, however.

Stripping down to her skin as soon as she moved into her apartment, she let her wolf take her as she moaned through the pain. Not the shift, never that, but the pain of the beating she’d taken that morning. And it had been one hell of a beating.

Wandering around her two rooms, she stretched and let her wolf have her way. It was cramped, yes, but she was feeling better all the time. When she hopped up on her bed and laid out, she wanted to close her eyes and sleep for a month, but there were papers to grade as well as a few loads of laundry to do. But the longer she lay there, the less important those things became.

You’ve been a fool, you know that right?
Her wolf only hummed her agreement to her.
Why is it that I pick the worst guys? And the ones with the biggest fists? Or worst yet, why is it that guys that are horrible just seem to latch right onto me? Tell me that? I’m not a bad person, so why do I attract the bad elements all the time?

Still no answer, but Emerald knew that it was her fault. Not the beatings. She never dated a man more than once if he hit her. But she’d never dated Nolan Bruce…he just had never taken her no to heart. He just would not give up on trying to see her.

I blame it on my family
. She giggled at that.
Not him coming around, but the need to have some sort of love in my life. I just wanted to have a nice night out, and he came barging into my life. But he’s not listening to me no matter how many times I tell him I do not want him near me
.

He wasn’t either. Every day since she’d kicked him out of her family’s house, he’d been emailing or calling her, even texting…and she had no idea how he’d gotten her information. She’d not even invited him to the house that day, but he’d shown up on his own and came in as if he owned the place. It had started even before that, when she’d been out with a friend and he’d decided that she was the one. One what, she’d never been able to figure out. He wasn’t her mate.

Today wasn’t the first time she’d actually seen him since then. Nor was it the first, second, or even third time he’d hit her. She’d been taking beatings from him for about a month now. Anytime she wasn’t paying attention, he’d pop out of nowhere and beat the shit out of her because she wouldn’t sleep with him. Fucking bastard was going to get himself killed if she ever was in a place she could let her wolf tear his ass up.

What is it with men and sex
? Her wolf growled low.
I mean seriously, is it that good
? She’d never know, she thought to herself, because even if the right man did come along that she wanted to get laid by, Nolan would hurt them. He had before.

That poor man
. She’d only met the nice man at the bar to get a drink with him. Shaffer Carlee had met her at the bar in Tenth, a block from her house, when Nolan had confronted them both. The bar wasn’t a place that she went to often, but Shaffer was well known there because he delivered their orders weekly. Nolan had been tossed out almost as soon as he started screaming at her that they were married; which, of course, they were not. Things had gotten ugly fast when he punched her in the mouth for “back talking” him, as he’d told her.

Then Nolan had nearly beaten Shaffer to death when they’d left the bar. He’d told Shaffer to stay away from her, but Shaffer had told him that he needed help and to stay away from them both. The fight was bad and only got worse as Nolan brought out a bat and began beating Shaffer, then her with it. She might have killed him herself had it not been for the crowd of people that had come out to watch them get the shit beaten out of them.

I’m a first-class loser
. Her wolf stretched out, and Emerald pulled her into her, shifting back to herself in a matter of seconds. She lay on her bed naked, wondering what the hell was wrong with her. “I can’t date anyone for fear of Nolan, and I don’t dare tell my family, even though I’m pretty sure they are aware now that he’s hit me and that I’m afraid for my life. It would be funny if it wasn’t so fucking scary. What am I supposed to do now?”

Of course her wolf had no answer. Closing her eyes, she thought of all the crap she had to do and how much she had no desire to get up and do it. But she had to. There were no grandma’s living here to help her out.

Emerald got up and pulled out something soft and comfortable to put on. Then she went to get her laundry basket. Maybe if she washed enough to get her to the weekend she could finish it up when she had more time. Instead of listening to her reasoning, she knew that she’d end up doing it all tonight and grade all the papers too. Life on your own, she thought, sure was busy.

“I suck.” She grinned to herself as she pulled out the phone. “At least I can have pizza anyway I want it, and no one cares if I have onion breath.”

Emerald was pulling on her sweats as she ordered her extra-large triple meat pizza. And for dessert she remembered her grandmother had sent her some of her lemon cookies in a big tin. She got that down now and started munching on them. She was smiling to herself when she realized her grandmother would have a fit if she could see her now.

“No eating sweets before dinner.” She laughed at her voice as she imitated her grandmother. “And you’ll tie your hair up so that that pizza man doesn’t think you’re a homeless person.”

She had pointed out that homeless people didn’t have pizzas delivered to their homes with an address, and she huffed at her. Grandmother was making a point then and it still made her laugh.

The pizza came about ten minutes later than she had expected it. She was afraid that Nolan had waylaid her dinner, but the elevator wasn’t working again and the guy had had to climb the five flights of stairs to get it to her. Emerald gave him an extra ten bucks for his trouble, and had to nearly close the door in his face to get him to leave. He was nearly drooling on her pie.

“You’d think he’d get sick of pizza working there.” Emerald sat down with her beer and took her first bite. “Man this is good. No wonder he wanted to stay and help me eat it.”

Emerald was talking to herself again. She’d not done it in a very long time, not since her parents had both been killed. But lately she’d been having entire conversations with herself, going as far as to answer her questions too. There was no reason for it. If she needed someone to talk to, she could have simply reached for some family member, but that wasn’t as easy lately as it once had been.

“They have their own families and stuff going on in their lives.” Emerald looked down at her nearly finished dinner. “They don’t need a fifth wheel mucking things up for them. Besides, I’m pretty sure they’re glad I’m not bothering them all the time. Sheesh, I’m boring.”

Laughing, she finished off the last piece and put the empty box in the trash. She was hesitant about taking it out as it was dark now, but she did gather it up to take out in the morning. As she was setting the last of the other trash near her door to take out, someone knocked on her door hard enough to make the hinges shake.

“Let me in, Emerald. I want to talk to you.” Nolan shouted at her twice more before she heard someone tell him to go away. “I’m not talking to you. Butt the fuck out.”

Mrs. Grosshandler, the woman who lived right across from her, shouted at him to go away again, and Emerald almost opened the door to make sure she was safe when her son spoke. He told Nolan to get the hell out of there before he called the police.

“This is all her fault. Tell her to open the fucking door and I’ll go in and talk to her.” She was standing next to the door when he pounded his fist against it again. “Open the door, Emerald, or so help me, I’ll make you pay.”

She wanted to cry. Emerald wanted to tell him to leave her alone, but that would only keep him there longer. Or worse, have him busting down the door again to get to her. She just wanted him to leave her alone. This was simply getting out of hand. What the hell had she done to make him do this to her?

When it finally got quiet on the other side of her door, she moved to her couch and sat down. It was too late for her to grade papers, and she was too depressed to watch television. Instead, she sat there in the dark, wondering why her life was so screwed up…why she couldn’t meet the man of her dreams like her sisters had.

“Because you’re a loser. I think we’ve had this conversation before.” Her wolf growled at her. “Oh, be quiet. You know as well as I do that the only type of men we attract are the kind that hit first and asks questions, if they have any, later. We’re gonna spend our whole lives wondering why we’re alone, too.”

Closing her eyes, she laid down. She really was depressed. Emerald even thought about calling off work tomorrow, but knew that she wouldn’t. Not that she needed the money, because she wasn’t getting paid all that much and what little there was went right back into the class. The volunteers were helping out now. Not just with her class, but all three of the summer classes that were being held. And she was glad for that. But in five weeks the summer was over, and she’d be going back to the pack school. She was already looking forward to it.

Letting sleep take her, she thought of her family again before sliding away. Emerald decided that she was going to be the favorite aunt. All her sisters’ children would come to her and she’d love it. Yeah, she thought, I’m going to have a family even if I have to pretend they’re mine.

Chapter 3

The house was huge. No, that wasn’t right, it was monstrous. And it wasn’t a house so much as it was a home. This was just what he’d been looking for when he’d been house hunting a few months ago.

“It’s a bit overwhelming, I know.” He smiled at Blair, who had picked him and his mom up at the airport along with Annabelle. “Sapphire and her family had purchased it before I met her. And I’m glad. It’s perfect for us.”

“It certainly can hold you all.” Blair nodded and got out of the limo on his side. Jul was impressed with the big man. He wore his wealth like a skin. It fit him well and he wasn’t uncomfortable with it. “You’ve lived here since you two got married, then?”

Blair helped him with his luggage and said he had. “As I said, Sapphire lived here first, and when we met, I moved in with them. The house needed some major help, and we’ve had a good time fixing it up.”

It looked it too. Well-loved came to mind as he made his way up the front steps. And upon entering the stately home, he was shocked to see that the inside matched the outside in size and how it was well cared for. He ran his hand over the curved oak stair rail. Jul looked up the double staircase and wondered if any of them slid down it just for fun, and frowned. He had no idea where that might have come from.

“We’ve put you on the second floor. The room is finished with its remodel, and since Emerald isn’t living here any longer we thought you’d like the room.” They entered the room and Jul smiled as Blair continued. “She really liked earth tones, and we were trying to lure her back with them.”

“It’s beautiful.” Blair nodded and put his luggage on the bed. “Why doesn’t she live here? Married?”

“No. She’s the baby of the girls, and wants to…you know? I’m not really sure. Something about us needing our own space. I wonder if she remembers how many people are in and out of here every day.” Blair grinned. “She’s supposed to come down tomorrow for dinner. She won’t stay, but we are looking forward to seeing her. School and all.”

Jul nodded. He remembered going to school and wanting to be independent. He’d had a good deal more fun than he should have, and wondered if this Emerald was as well. Jul thought about having a word or two with her about studying hard, but nixed that idea. He was a visitor, not family.

After Blair left, Jul put his things away. He didn’t live out of a suitcase well, and wasn’t going to do it here. This place screamed comfort and homey, and he was going to enjoy it. Pulling out his computer, he put it on the large desk. The room also had an Internet hook up, Blair had told him, and he had to work hard at not hurting himself while he plugged into it.

The gunshot wound wasn’t bad…not as bad as it could have been, he supposed. But it still hurt. He’d taken a bullet to his ribs, and while it had been a through and through, he’d still gotten two broken ribs from it. Sitting down while things booted up, he looked around the room again.

The spread was a dark brown with gold flecks in it. The shams at the top were gold, with dark brown flecks. The rugs on the hardwood floors were browns and reds, with blue in them as well. The chairs at the fireplace were the same hue of blue as the rug, and all the curtains were dark green and blue to bring it all together. The walls were the most beautiful shade of sunset red he’d ever seen. When his computer signaled it was ready, he opened his email, tearing his eyes away from the soothing tones of the room.

There were three from Colby and one from his lawyer. He opened that one first. Jul smiled as he read his congratulations from him.

“I will buy the person who talked you into going at this alone a case of their favorite champagne as soon as you tell me you’re really going to do this. I’m assuming that you know that things will go very well for you, and you’ll have a great deal of fun getting things going. Your father would be so proud of you. Well done, my boy.”

He went on to tell him all he’d have to do, and what was needed from him to get the ball rolling. It wasn’t as simple as him taking off Dan’s name over the door…which, he supposed, he had to do anyway. But he would have to do something with the label as well. Dan had decided, after a long talk with his family, to lend the name to his son-in-law to see about getting his own wines going. But as Dan had said, it would be a short trial; the son wasn’t any good at anything. It was no longer going to be called Whitney and Williams Wines, so now Jul would have to come up with something different. And of course, pay the name change fee.

A knock at the door interrupted him while reading the last email from Colby, telling him that the grapes in France were doing well. And he too talked about what the new label would be. There were five for him to look at that their art department had come up with, none of which Jul cared all that much for. He decided to see if he could find a firm to help him with that, as his department consisted of a single man about seventy years old that thought change was bad for your indigestion. Whatever that meant. Jul was told by the lovely young woman—he thought her name was Jade—that dinner was ready.

Dinner was a big affair at the Henson household, apparently. His mom was there, of course, as was most of the rest of the family. They had said that Emerald should be there, but she was behind in her papers and would be out tomorrow. Saturday, apparently, was her only day off. Jul sat at the end of the table between two men he’d just met, Quentin and Thad, who introduced him to their wives.

By the time the first platter was brought in, Jul felt as if he’d known these men his entire life. Both were successful businessmen, and were very helpful in answering a couple of questions he’d had about going into business on his own. Deciding that they were pretty savvy about such matters, he asked Thad about an advertising firm.

“You’re having dinner with two of the largest. Have you heard of Flair Marketing?” He nodded. “That is the sole owner. And Marketing Gems? That would be his wife. The two of them have made millions off bringing a business out of the toilet and making the owners a hefty profit as well. Those two can make a business more money with just a month of work than anyone I’ve ever used.”

“You use them?” Thad smiled and nodded. “And their fees? Are they reasonable, or now that they’re huge do they charge more?”

“I guarantee you, if you use them, no matter the price, you’ll sing their praises. And no, they are extremely inexpensive. And Josh over there, Ruby’s husband, said that if they just give him the go ahead, he’ll double, maybe even triple, their profit margins. But they want to stay like they are. Hometown friendly with enough money so as not to ever have to worry about it.”

Jul liked that. He even liked the people he would more than likely be working with. They really were down home and extremely friendly. And not a one of them treated him or his mom like they were anything but their family. It was a wonderful feeling, one he was afraid he could get used to very easily.

As they moved from dinner to dessert, he decided that if he stayed here long, he’d weigh a ton and have to resist the temptation of a second piece of cherry pie that was still warm with ice cream melting over it. He groaned when someone suggested they move to the deck surrounding the house. He was nearly too full to move.

“You mending all right there, boy?” He grinned at Allen, the patriarch of the family but not the sole master of the house. Jul had already figured out that Mrs. Erickson ran this place. “Heard you tangled with the wrong sort of element up there in that big city.”

“I did. He jumped me on my way out of my work. I did manage to take him down, despite him putting a bullet in me.” He lifted his shirt up when Allen asked to see it. “It’s the ribs that hurt the most. The wound isn’t so bad.”

“You need to be in a safer environment. People around here would never pull a gun on you. They might jump you and tear into you a little, but they would only be playing.” Jul wondered what he meant by that but nodded. “You have a nice mom. She worries about you too. You shouldn’t make your mom worry about you.”

“I try not to, but there are bad people everywhere.” He looked around. “I bet you guys don’t have a lot of trouble with people trying to rob you. The men in this family are fairly big, aren’t they?”

“It’s the breed. Blair comes from good stock and his animal is master. It’s good, too, for as many people as he has under him.” Jul nodded. The man was very strange, and he wondered if anyone else had any trouble talking to him when he continued. “Thad tells me you’re in the wine business.”

“Yes. I have my own label. And we also have a line of crackers and cheese. I was going to talk to Blair and Sapphire about coming up with a new logo and label. My partner…well, my father’s partner…retired a few months back, and I’m going to keep the business going on my own.”

“They’d be good at it. My little Sapphire can take a trash heap and make it shine. Never seen a woman that could come up with more ideas that would make you money. And Blair, he’s got a head on his shoulders about how to put that stuff out there that will make you wonder if he’s not magical. That would be Opal, by the way.” Again Jul was confused as he glanced at the woman. Her belly was round with her and Sloan’s first child, and the man was so besotted with his wife that it was a treat to watch them together. In fact, all of them seemed to be deeply in love with each other.

As the night wore on, so did his exhaustion. Jul stood up when the rest of them did and said he was going to bed. He hurt a little more than he wanted to admit, and as soon as he got to his room, he took the pain pills that he’d been given at the hospital and laid down. He was asleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow.

~~~

Nolan was going to find her if it was the last thing he did. No one was going to turn him out, and that was final. And this bitch had it coming.

As soon as she came out of her work, Nolan stepped in front of her. Before she could scream, he put the gun to her forehead.

“Hello there, sweetie.” Tears streamed down her face and he wanted to lick them off her. But that would put him a little closer than he wanted to be to her. To be honest, he couldn’t remember her name, but she was the most recent one of the bitches that had left him high and dry. “You and I are going to finish what we started.”

“No, please don’t do this. I don’t want you to hurt me again. I called the police because you gave me no choice.” He laughed at that. But he did want to hurt her, and that was the fucking point.

Running the barrel down her face to her mouth, he made her take it. Fucking her with the gun had him as hard as rock, but he needed more before this was finished. Pulling her body to his, he squeezed her breast until she cried out. Then he twisted it hard enough to have her scream. Yes, this was what he wanted. For her to be in so much pain that she cried out for it. As he pulled her shirt up so he could bite her too, a noise behind him made him turn, using her as a shield.

“What the fuck are you doing?” He tried to hide behind the woman, but she was too fucking short, and it was all he could do to hold her still. The man took several steps toward them until Nolan pointed the gun at him. “Let her go and there won’t be any problems.”

“There aren’t any now so far as I can see.” The man moved toward him again and Nolan put the gun to her head. “She and I have some unfinished business, and if you want to live, then I would suggest that you go away and forget that you ever saw us.”

“I can’t do that.” Nolan told him to go away again. “I can’t. She won’t live if I leave here, and I won’t be able to live with myself knowing that I could have done something to save her.”

“Your loss.” He fired the gun to her head and dropped the woman before he shot at the man. He knew that he’d not killed him right away, and walked toward him just as the man pulled his own gun. Nolan stared at him for too long and felt the bite of the bullet before he fired at the man again. Christ, where in the hell had that come from? No one shot him, damn it. After firing for a third time at the ground, he took off. Christ, he’d actually shot him. The motherfucker shot him.

As he limped away, his body burning from the pain, he tried to think what the fuck he was going to do now. He was fucking bleeding all over the place, he hurt like hell, and he’d not had his fun. But that had to be secondary to the fact that the motherfucker had actually shot him. Nolan made his way to his apartment and locked the door behind him before he got a chance to look at the wound.

“Motherfucking cock sucker.” The blood staining the front of his shirt scared him a lot, so he stripped down and went to the kitchen. The bullet had torn into his side and left a long streak of open meat. Running his finger under his bloodied wound, he licked the blood off his finger and hummed out his approval. If he couldn’t have fun with the bitch, then having his fun this way would have to do.

He pulled off his pants and wrapped his bloody hand around his cock. He was painfully hard, yet so excited that he could hardly contain himself. Closing his eyes, he wished that he’d looked back at the bitch at least once so he’d have the image in his mind, but the man would have to do. There he saw what he needed.

The first bullet had hit the man in the chest. He could see the stain on his shirt as if he were there with him. As he thought about how the man was dying, his blood pooling under his body, Nolan fisted his cock harder and faster. As soon as he grabbed his open wound at his side with his free hand, Nolan cried out with the pain and the release. His cum shot out of his dick so hard that he had to hang onto the sink for several moments after.