Scent of a Mate (8 page)

Her throat closed up on her. Something big was going on here. Great sex did not mean commitment, but he kept saying she was his and she was starting to believe it. How could that be? She wasn’t a shifter. Heck she wasn’t even from a normal family. His words from the truck had been twirling around her brain for days.

But dammit all to hell she was scared. She came from a broken home. Nobody even acknowledged the word love in her family. And here was this tall, dark, and gorgeous man telling her he wanted her long-term. It was unreal.

Other than Ellie, this was the first time something good was happening to her in a long time. It wasn’t a situation she had ever found herself in before. Though she wanted to dissect it, she wasn’t going to question it or go against it. That is, unless things got weird. Life was too short for that crap. Her heart constricted at the emotions she had been fighting for Aric. She wouldn’t be able to fight them much longer. She sighed into his hold.

“Alright.” She yawned.

“Alright?”

“I’m yours…for now,” she whispered.

“No. Forever.”

For as long as things lasted. She drifted to sleep in his arms.

* * *

“I have an idea.” Excitement lit Emma’s hazel eyes.

“Uh-oh.” Nicole dropped on to a wooden desk chair in Jordan’s classroom. She ran a hand over her drooping ponytail. Her usually pretty curly brown hair was frizzing on the sides. Nic’s first grade class was one of the most active. It was clear she was exhausted and it was only the middle of the day.

“The last time you said I have an idea, we almost got kicked out of the school.” Jordan shuffled graded papers together and put them in a manila envelope.

Emma rolled her eyes. “Stop being such wusses.”

“Wusses?” Jordan turned wide eyes to Nic. “Did she just call us wusses?”

Nic nodded with a grin and threw a board eraser at Emma. “I believe she did.”

“Emma, we’re lucky to have jobs thanks to Karla’s brother being the dean at this school.” Jordan reminded her. “Your last idea was to take the kids to clean up the park in a bad neighborhood.”

“Hey, it was a great idea. They got to do some community service.”

True. “But we had no permission to go and paint a private park. You didn’t tell us the place belonged to a church. We’re lucky they didn’t press charges.”

Emma pursed her lips and dodged the eraser Jordan threw her way. “They should be ashamed to have a park looking that way with so many volunteers. We should have gotten a thank you instead of the police called on us.”

Jordan watched Emma search for something on her smart phone before glancing up at her. Emma’s hazel eyes had gone a deep green, which Jordan knew meant high emotion.

“Okay, what’s the idea?”

They were going to find out anyway, so it might as well be now.

“I’ve been thinking of those two wolves you mentioned.”

She’d told her friends the previous day about the white wolves at the clearing. Her new and strange relationship with Aric was not discussed much. It was still in the what-the-hell-is-this phase and really weird for her to think of being involved with him.

“So what about it?”

“Remember how you said the smaller white wolf had distinctive eyes you’d never forget?”

She nodded. Of course she remembered. It was what kept her ass on that branch. The cold hate she’d seen fill the wolf’s eyes had made her reconsider coming down from the tree.

“Mason owns a paranormal club we should check out. I heard that after the Wolfe’s asked everyone to leave, a bunch of them stayed near there and are now visiting his club at night.”

“A paranormal club?” Nic perked up.

Yeah. They were going to get in trouble.

“Not all paranormals. From what I understand, vamps aren’t welcome. But think about it,” she said. Enthusiasm coated her voice. “What if those white wolves are there? We all know that wolves may go back and forth from human to beast, but the one thing that doesn’t change is their eyes.”

“That’s true.” Nic no longer sounded worried about getting into trouble. “What do you say, Jordan?”

“How do you even know about this place?” Jordan watched Emma with interest. She was too familiar with paranormals and shifters. If she didn’t know better, she’d say Emma had been spying on Mason. Not that it would surprise her, since Emma was the nosiest of the bunch.

“Does it matter?” Emma shrugged. “I happen to know that tonight is one of the nights Mason isn’t at the club. He’s off doing something else. Best time to go check it out would be today.”

What could Jordan say? “What time do you want to meet up?”

Later that evening, they decided to keep Ellie out of the plans. With Jordan and Aric in a brand-new relationship, the last thing she wanted was for Ellie to feel conflicted over taking sides. Jordan was curious to know why the wolf had wanted to hurt her. It could just be something as simple as hating humans, but instinct told her there was more going on.

They sat in Emma’s car. Groups of people entered the non-descript building. Her stomach churned. She turned to her friends.

“Horny Wolfe?”

Emma shrugged and bit her lip attempting to hide her laughter. “I didn’t come up with the name, I just found the place.”

“There’s probably an orgy going on in there. And since I am the one looking for the white wolf, I think I should go inside first and make sure it’s safe before you two come in.”

“What?”

“No”

Nic and Emma replied at the same time.

“If there’s an orgy going on, I want to watch.” Nic stared at the entrance with a frown.

Emma laughed. “Perv.”

“Shut up, you know you wanna watch too.”

“Listen to me. If we all go in there and something goes wrong, who’s going to get help?” Jordan highly doubted that the single wolf, if it were there, would attack her in a place filled with Mason’s guards. Not when the Wolfes’ were known for protecting humans.

“Fine, Nic stays, and I go with you.” Emma pulled out her Taser.

“Emma, no. I am the only one that knows what I’m looking for. One human may be strange in there, but two of us will surely call attention.” Possibly the wrong, growly type.

Something about Jordan had turned that wolf aggressive. She needed to know what.

“Here,” Emma slapped an earpiece into her hand. “Try not to lose this one.”

“We’ll stay in constant communication and if anything happens we’ll come in to get you and get back-up.” Nic held on to her cell phone. “But if there’s no danger and there’s an orgy happening, let a woman know.”

After putting on the earpiece and opening communication with Emma, Jordan stepped out of the car. Her short dress fluttered around mid-thigh, caressing her overheated skin. She wiped her sweaty palms on the sides of her clingy dress. Her heels clicked on the pavement, bringing her closer to the entrance and a club filled with paranormals. Nerves on edge, she smiled at the doorman. The giant bulky man frowned. He lowered to her height and sniffed by her neck.

“Are you sure you should be here?” His low growl made her teeter on the verge of heading back to the car.

She smiled brightly. “Yes. Can I go in?”

He stared at her for a moment. A ring of gold circled his iris. “Seek the bartender if you encounter problems.”

“Are you there?” She whispered.

“We’re here. Are you okay?” Emma was worried.

“Yes. I just wanted to make sure we were still connected.” Jordan shivered down a darkened hallway and stopped at a second door. Her impulse was to turn around. The sound of music and moaning came from the other side of the new metal door. She reached for the handle. Someone turned the knob before she had a chance to grab it. Pulsing beats filled the large space. Bodies swayed into each other, rubbing and caressing. The lights flickered with the beat of the music. She squinted and headed for the bar.

Slipping between couples dancing, groping, and making out was harder than she’d anticipated. By the time she reached the bar she was hot and sweaty. Not to mention she’d swear someone groped her a few times.

“What can I get you?”

She turned to the female bartender. The woman had short dark hair with a purple streak on the side. Jordan didn’t scare easy, but the way the woman smiled at her, as if she could see right into her head made her more than a little uneasy.

“I’m…some water please.”

The last thing she needed was to get drunk in a place filled with paranormals.

“I doubt a pretty little human like you came all the way in here just to drink the water,” she whispered, leaning over the bar.

Jordan glanced around the place, watching the couples gyrating in the dance floor.

“I was looking for someone.” She attempted to evade the all-knowing eyes on the bartender.

There were too many people in the club. It had been a mistake to think she’d be able to recognize the white wolf as a human in the flickering lights of a place filled with shifters and other creatures.

“I’ve seen a lot of shifters in here. The one you seek is gone. You better go before you find yourself in trouble.”

Jordan opened her mouth to question the woman, but a group of patrons asked for drinks.

“Okay, Jordan. We heard that. Come out and let’s go. The longer you’re in there, the more nervous it makes me,” Emma ordered.

“Too bad, I was really starting to like the whole growling atmosphere—” Jordan turned, bumping into someone in the process. Someone way too close. She glanced up into angry—oh boy—grey eyes.

“Aric, I—”

“Not a word.” The deathly growl made the hairs on her arms stand on end.

She glanced over her shoulder at the smiling bartender. The crowd parted as he dragged her to the other side of the club. She bumped into a couple making out. Aric’s hand tightened on her wrist. Her earpiece fell. Going back to get it was not even a possibility in the sea of bodies.

People moved out of Aric’s way. She wondered how he did that. Hell, she’d had to struggle to get to the bar. After a few steps, she heard some snarling and then he turned to look at her. No wonder everyone was making a path for them. He appeared ready to bite someone’s head off. It was debatable if it was hers or someone else’s.

“Aric!” She tugged on her hand, trying to get loose.

He pushed a door open, shoving them outside in the process. This wasn’t the way she’d come in. The door he’d taken them though led into a dark alley. He let go of her hand and turned to face her, his features tight with anger. She took quick steps back, until her back was pressed on a metal gate.

Someone other than the sexy man she knew was staring back at her. This Aric was angry. This Aric was dangerous. This Aric was damn hot.

“What the heck is your problem?” She complained. Oh hell. She knew what his problem was, but she wouldn’t back down. So she’d gone into a club full of paranormals. His brother’s club. Nothing happened.

His brows dipped low. Fur sprouted from the sides of his face. He fisted his hands and stepped toward her. “My problem?”

She could hardly understand his words from how rough his voice sounded, but she wasn’t scared of him. Maybe her heart raced. A little. Her hands might be somewhat shaky. But she wasn’t scared. He took another step.

She shouldn’t like this aggressive Aric. It was wrong. Yet her pussy clenched at the dangerous look in his eyes. “Yes. What is your problem?”

Another step and he was right in front of her. He gripped either side of the metal gate, caging her head.

“My problem is that you, a human, came into a well-known shifter hangout without back up.”

“I had—”

“Your
human
friends in the car do not count. Somehow Ellie’s conversation with one of them about you looking for answers on who the white wolf was, led her to discuss you being here.” He growled the words out. “Here. Alone. Defenseless.”

“I’m fine. It wasn’t a big deal. And I’m hardly defenseless. I’ve taken self-defense classes, and I can kick ass.”

“You don’t seem to understand all that could have gone wrong.” He lowered his face to inches from hers. “I could have lost you.”

Her heart tripped in her chest. “But I’m fine.”

“Any one of those shifters is ten times stronger than you, not to mention the other paranormals in there. They could have broken you with the flick of a wrist. My brother wasn’t there to offer his help. I wasn’t there.” His eyes glowed bright. He lifted a hand and slid a finger down the side of her face. Clearly it was his favorite move to make, not that she minded.

“I’m fine,” she whispered.

He held her entranced. His lips were so close. There was no willpower in her system when it came to him. The sound of the music inside the building heightened her awareness of her surroundings.

“I have been giving you time to come to terms with who you are.”

She huffed. There he went with the macho crap. “And who am I?”

He slid the finger over her bottom lip. The way he slipped it back and forth, so softly and carefully, made her breath catch.

“You still don’t understand.” His gray eyes flashed with the wolf power. “You own my heart. You're the most important person in my life.” Tenderness filled his gaze, followed by unquestionable determination. “And I won't let anyone hurt you. That includes you. I will do anything to protect you. Even if it means stopping
you
from putting yourself in harm's way.”

He kissed her. Hard. There was no arguing with that kind of logic. After those words she couldn't even remember what the argument had been about.

Soft rumbles sounded in his chest. The kiss turned wild. Tongues mated, hands groped, and bodies pressed tight. He pushed her back against the metal until she stood flush between his sexy muscles and the gate with nowhere to go.

She ran her hands down his chest, to the waist of his jeans, and tugged his zipper down. His hard cock sprang forth. She wrapped her hand, well as much of her hand as she could, around the thick pulsing shaft.

He snarled and lifted the hem of her dress.

Arousal shot through her veins and pooled at her core. Material ripped and he slipped his fingers into her pussy.

“Oh god.”