Go Fetch ! (22 page)

He turned and looked at the woman he loved. He didn’t even hide the smile on his face. With Miki he didn’t have to. She leaned against the desecrated dresser, wearing nothing but one of his T-shirts. It reached to the middle of her calves. “I see.”

“You see what?”

“You. You’re a closet Alpha.”

“I’m a what?”

“You heard me. You’re a closet Alpha. You don’t really
wanna
be in charge, but you love to order people around and scare the shit out of them. You’re probably only friends with Zach because he doesn’t scare easy. Probably because he’s not the brightest bulb in the batch.” Zach was a lot brighter than Miki was willing to give him credit for, but other than that she’d hit it all right on the head. The woman was amazing.

“Is that right?”
Conall
walked toward her and immediately she began to back away. He watched her nipples get hard under his T-shirt and he listened to her labored breathing. “What else have you figured out about me?”

“You clearly like to stalk me around this hotel room.”

“Aw, Miki-baby, don’t say that. I’d stalk you anywhere.” She laughed at that as he backed her up to the bed. When her knees hit the mattress, she held her hand up.

“Stay!” He stopped and watched her. “I’ve got to get ready for… uh…
ya
know… that thing I’ve
gotta
do.”

Well, he’d wanted her relaxed.

“We’ve got three hours before your
dissertation
.” He nuzzled her outstretched hand until she gave a little moan, then he sucked her middle finger into his mouth.

“You, Viking…”
Christ, is she panting
? “…are a very bad influence.”

***

Miki looked up at him with those big, beautiful brown eyes of hers. “You know,” she whispered desperately, “if I start running now I can be back at Sara’s by tomorrow night. Afternoon if I don’t get stopped by the cops.”

“You’ll never make it in those shoes.” Amazing. The woman faced down lions, hyenas, wolves. Beings that could rip her apart limb from limb. But four puffed up professors were making her unhinged.

She tugged on her jacket again. “I hate dressing like this. I feel like an idiot.”

“Maybe. But you look like a total
hottie
.”
Especially
with those shoes. She ended up wearing the four-inch fuck me pumps with her prim-and-proper business suit.

“Where’s everybody?”

“I have them around the building.” He brushed her curly hair out of her eyes, then let his palm rest against her cheek. She didn’t push him away. She just let him get close. And it was the best feeling in the world.

“This is just great. My throat’s sore.” She sighed and muttered to herself, “Who knew I was a screamer?”

It took all his strength not to drop to his knees and bury his head between her legs right then and there. And the beauty of it all was that she had no idea what a compliment she’d just given him. He did love this woman.

She nervously glanced back at the room.
Conridge
stepped out and motioned to Miki. “I guess this is it.”

Conall
tugged on her jacket and she looked at him. “You’re going to be great, Miki.”

“You sure about that, Viking?”

“Positive. And as you know my people are never wrong.”

“You know, the Vikings were quite influential…”

He cut her off. “Miki. Go. I’ll be here when you come out.”

“Right here? You promise?”

He stepped back, leaned against the wall, and then crouched down. “I’ll be right here. I promise.” She braved a smile and then headed off toward
Conridge
. He watched her disappear into the classroom, the door closing soundly behind her.

***

Miki figured they’d asked her questions for about two-and-a-half hours before they felt she had proven herself.
Conridge
, of course, was the toughest of the professors. But she’d figured that and was ready for it. In fact, she had been ready for all of them. She was confident, poised, and on point with everything. Even when she screwed up, she made the professors laugh and they let her off the hook.

It seemed that Angie and Sara had been right. Bartender-Miki apparently was the way to go because Normal-Miki would have been crying by now.

When she walked out of the classroom,
Conall
was crouched against the wall exactly where she’d left him. She got the feeling the man hadn’t moved. Just like he’d promised. She was so startled that it took her a second to realize that one of the professors was congratulating her. She tore her eyes away from her Viking and finished off her “thank
yous
.”

Once the other professors were gone,
Conridge
shook her hand. “I knew you’d be fantastic.”

“Thanks.”

“I’m going to my office. I’ve got to get out of these clothes. Stop by before you leave with your burly friend.”

“Yes, ma’am.” She watched as
Conridge
walked off. Then she turned and faced
Conall
. He stood up and took several steps toward her. “Well?”

She’d planned to just say, “I’m done. Let’s go get something to eat.” And maybe give him a thumbs-up. But the way he was looking at her. Like he really cared how she did. Like he really wanted to know and he really wanted her to do well, that just made her feel… special.

Before she knew what she was doing, she’d dropped everything, even her precious briefcase-covered laptop and charged over to him, launching herself into his arms.

“I fucking nailed it!”

Conall
held her tight, “I knew you would, Miki-baby. I had no doubts.”

She pulled back slightly. “They already told me they were definitely signing off on all my paperwork. They didn’t see a reason to make me wait to tell me. I’m going to be
Doctor
Kendrick. Me. How
fuckin
’ cool is that?”

Conall
laughed and squeezed her. “We’re celebrating.”

“Not in these clothes, I’m not.” He was still holding her so that they were eye to eye. “Down Thor.” She pointed to the floor. He let her slide down his body and immediately her breath caught. She had absolutely no control around him. But she shook it off. She couldn’t get all entangled with him now. They’d done enough elicit activity in the biotech school. “Where’s the backpack?”

He grabbed it from the floor and handed it to her. She pulled jeans, sweatshirt, and her steel-toe Docs out of it.

“Can’t you keep on the shoes?” He was practically begging.

“Dude, I can’t even walk in these things.”

“Keep them on and you won’t have to walk long.” He took a step toward her and she backed up.

Miki felt her face get hot. “Back off, Viking.”

“Come on. For me?”

“No.” And just like that, his eyes shifted and he growled. She would have tried to run, but she wasn’t going anywhere in those shoes. So she let him pick her up and dump her over his shoulder. “You son of a bitch! Put me down.”

“You do know that I
am
a son of a bitch. Literally.” She knew he was heading toward the bathroom at the end of the hallway in the hopes of having his dirty way with her. And the thought had her tingling from the top of her scalp to the tips of her toes.

He kicked open the bathroom door and walked inside. He lifted her up and gently dropped her to the floor, grabbed the handful of clothes she still had gripped in her hand, and tossed them onto the row of sinks. Then he leaned into her, pinning her against the wall. “I do like when you wear these shoes,
Mik
. I don’t have to crouch as much.”

“Are you implying I’m short?”

“I’m not implying anything.” He pushed the jacket off her shoulders and kissed her neck. “You are short.”

She barked out a laugh and punched his shoulder. “Thank you very much.”

He reached down and tugged her skirt up. He gave a combination growl-moan in her ear. “God, woman. You’re wearing garters again. What are trying to do to me?”

She reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Make you crazy.”

“You get your kicks that way, don’t you?”

“No. I just want you to miss me when I’m gone.”

She was trying to prepare herself for the inevitable. When Sara’s birthday was over, they would both be going their separate ways. And she wanted to be ready for that. She promised herself she wouldn’t become attached. And she was going to keep that promise. But when
Conall
pulled away, the expression on his face shocked her. He looked angry. Viking angry. “And where the hell do you think you’re going?”

***

Okay. He wasn’t being rational, but come on. Miss her when she was gone? She wasn’t going anywhere. Not if he had anything to say about it. And, as far as he was concerned, he had everything to say about it. She wasn’t leaving him. Not now. Not ever. He loved her. And he couldn’t imagine one second of his life without her.

“I just assumed…”

“Well, you assumed wrong. You’re not going anywhere.”

“I don’t like to be ordered around,
Conall
. And I never promised you anything.”

He stepped back from her. He had to. She was in heat. That’s why he hadn’t been able to keep his hands off her in the hallway.

He took a deep breath. “You’re crazy about me, why don’t you just admit it?”

Okay. Where the hell did that come from? That wasn’t what he meant to say. And it was definitely the last thing she wanted to hear.

Her eyes narrowed and she pushed past him. “Oh really?
I’m
crazy about
you
?”

“Miki…”

“No. No. I just want to make sure we have the order of worship down correctly.”

This was getting bad and he was having a hard time concentrating with her smelling like that. All he could think about was bending her over the sink and fucking her stupid.

“I didn’t mean…”

“You know, I’m glad we’re getting this out now before we get back to Sara’s house and we give her and Angelina the wrong impression.”

“What the fuck do they have to do with anything?”

“Well, they said to give you a try… and that’s what I did.”

***

She aimed that one to hurt. Aimed it to cut out his heart and leave it on the ground so that she could stomp on it with her Docs. At first, he didn’t say anything. He just stared at her. Then he pushed her change of clothes at her. “Get dressed. The Pack is waiting.”

She snatched the clothes out of his hand and practically ripped her business suit off and put her regular clothes on. When she was done she moved to the bathroom door and snatched it open. But
Conall’s
big hand was there slamming it back.

“Wait.”

“Why?”

He was so close to her. His body almost, but not quite touching hers. “Because we’re not done.”

“We’re done because we never started.”

Miki pulled the bathroom door open and this time he let her. She marched out into the hallway,
Conall
right behind her.

“What exactly are you scared of Miki? It’s clearly not me. So what is it?”

“We are not about to have one of those bullshit conversations about feelings.”

She retrieved her backpack, shoved her business clothes inside it, and slung it over her shoulder. She took her computer bag and placed that over her other shoulder then headed toward the stairs.

“This conversation is over,
Conall
.”

She walked off. She was about twenty feet from the stairs when she heard him growl. Not his usual “You’re getting on my nerves, Miki” growl either. Something else altogether. She turned and saw that he’d shifted. Not parts of him. All of him. For the first time since the night of the Pride fight, she saw
Conall
the wolf. No wonder he’d been pissed about the Golden. There was no way that little pup could be confused with the powerful predator in front of her.

Conall
shook off his clothes and then he was charging her. Teeth bared. Hackles up. With a tiny squeak that didn’t sound anything like her, Miki dropped to her knees, her arms over her head. She waited for impact but there was none. She looked to see that
Conall
had sailed right over her and right over the stair railing.

“Holy shit!
Conall
!” She dropped her bags and charged over to the railing. She saw him hit two hyenas on the stairs, knocking them down half a flight. But there were six more and they were all looking at her.

Miki didn’t even think about it. She ran.

Chap
ter Twelve

Conall
didn’t know what happened. One minute he was arguing with the crazy woman he was secretly calling “wife” and the next he was wolf and making mad dashes over railings.

As he sunk his teeth into a throat, he briefly wondered what happened to his Pack. But then he heard them. Growling. Snarling. Fighting. It sounded as if they were kicking some ass too, but there were so many of them. As soon as he destroyed one, another two were on his back. Mostly females, but vicious beyond anything he’d ever experienced before.