City Wolf 3 Read online

  Stacy blinked. She dropped her hands to her sides, realizing that he was emphasizing yet again that his heart wasn’t open to her. How many times did she need him to rub it in, that she wasn’t going to be the one? “I’m sorry. I-I hope you’ll find happiness in some small way in your life, Nash. I really do.” She moved over a little, putting a foot of space between them.

  “You mistake me.”

  She frowned at him. “What are you talking about?”

  He reached out to stroke her cheek. She ached to let herself sway into his touch and resisted closing her eyes to bask in the way it felt to be so close to him. Nash was silent for a moment, and then he heaved a sigh as if he’d come to a decision.

  “I’m not going to make you my mate, but if you want, we can be married in the human sense.”

  “Say what?” She would have moved her face from his hand, but he trapped her in place with both hands.

  “I’m asking you to marry me, Stacy.”

  “In the most unromantic way imaginable! The hell!”

  He dropped his hands to her waist and hauled her onto his lap facing him. A hand snaked around her so she couldn’t get away. Nash found her lips with his and kissed her until she stopped struggling. She couldn’t help herself. Just tasting him was so satisfying and so unsatisfying at the same time. One kiss made her want to do whatever he wanted and to go on kissing him for the rest of her life.

  At last he raised his head, and he guided hers to his shoulder. “Physically, we’re perfect together. I’m not going to deny that I want you all the time. I’m as much into you as a human man would be, and as much as I can be without biting you. Can’t that be enough for us, Stacy? Can’t you accept me as your husband and have my children?”

  It was all she could do not to cry. “But I want to be loved.”

  “You said you didn’t believe in love anymore than I do. You said after your father...”

  She shook her head. “Don’t.”

  “Stacy,” he almost pleaded, making her half believe that he loved her somewhere deep in his heart where he didn’t recognize it. “Don’t deny us the small happiness we could have together for the sake of an antiquated term like ‘love’.”

  “Antiquated?”

  He didn’t respond. She grumbled. What was she going to say? One minute the man had dumped her. The next he wanted to marry her. Even Zandrea and Nita weren’t married yet, and they were popping babies left and right. Brant and Lucas didn’t really believe it was necessary as they considered the mating all the bonding that was needed. Funny, an actual marriage offer made Stacy feel cheated somehow.

  Then she remembered Alphons. “What about your position? Zandrea said you can’t be with a human and keep your job.”

  Nash smiled. In her emotional state, Stacy wasn’t sure if it was genuine or one of his practiced fake ones. “I’ll work it out.”

  “How?”

  “Don’t worry about it. What’s your answer?”

  “Damn it, Nash. Give me time to think about this. You don’t spring this kind of thing on a woman five minutes after you meet her, especially when you haven’t even told her you love her.”

  He seemed about to explain, but she placed a finger over his lips.

  “Don’t even. I don’t want to hear it again. I know how you feel. You’ve made it crystal clear. I need time. Can I get that at least?”

  He kissed her and lifted her up to sit her on the bed. Another kiss, and he stood up straight in front of her. “Okay, take all the time you need. After my business is done, can I come back here tonight?”

  She wanted to tell his ass no, but couldn’t resist him. “Yes, I guess. There’s an extra key on the hook over the kitchen phone. Used to be Z’s. Take that to let yourself in if it’s late.”

  “All right. I’ll see you tonight.”

  “Nash?”

  “Hmm?”

  “Be safe. Please. I...” She swallowed back the tears.

  “I’ll be back. I promise.”

  * * * *

  It was after two in the morning when he came back. Stacy lay in bed waiting for him to join her, but he went straight to the bathroom. The moonlight glistened off his pale skin. He was naked, and she knew wherever he’d gone, he’d been in his wolf form. She wondered if he’d found Alphons and if he killed him. She wondered how he would take what she had to say to him. The shower came on, and she shut her eyes, sniffing up the last tears she would ever again let herself cry over Nash.

  When he stepped out of the bathroom, she stiffened and waited for him to come to bed. He dried his body and tossed the towel to a chair before climbing up from the bottom of the bed. Hovering over her, he took hold of the sheet spread over her naked body and dragged it downward.

  “I know you’re awake, baby,” he whispered.

  “How do you know?”

  She guessed that he was grinning in the darkness. “By the sound of your breathing. I also sense your fear. You have nothing to fear from me, Stacy. I promised that I wouldn’t hurt you, and I won’t. Our time together will be just as good—no better—than it was that first three days.”

  “Confident, aren’t we?” She smirked.

  “I’m sure we can please each other.”

  He pulled her legs apart and gently settled between them. Stacy moaned at the sensation of having him hard against her core but not slipping inside even though she was soaking wet. Instead, he surprised her by threading his fingers with hers at her sides, and he kissed the tip of her nose with a tenderness she had never seen in him. The ache in her chest threatened to choke her, and she was finding the vow not to cry hard to keep.

  Nash pushed farther between her legs. His hard shaft pierced her moist center. Stacy gripped his arms, gasping for breath. “Nash,” she almost sobbed.

  “You’re...You’re going to leave me, aren’t you?” he answered. Before she could say a single word, he pushed into her. She cried out at the intense pleasure, the perfection of being one with him, even if it was destined to be on a physical level only. Nash pumped deep inside her and pulled back. He glided in again, and she felt herself slipping. Muscles in her core clenched in response to his invasion. The man was everything, absolutely everything. How could they not be mated the way this felt, the way she wanted to die for him, die without him.

  She grasped her knees and hauled them higher so that if possible she could get him deeper still. Let him possess her, take over and make her scream his name. Let her come until she fainted and couldn’t take another second. She even longed to be sore because that meant he’d given her everything he had if not his heart.

  Nash pulled free of her body and turned her to her belly. He followed her down to the bed, trapping her beneath his strong length, and he entered her again while he brought his arms around to crush her to him.

  “Tell me the truth,” he begged while he drove forward. “Tell me, Stacy.”

  “I love you,” she cried out. He drove harder and faster. She whimpered in response. “I need you so much, but I can’t. I just can’t...”

  “Stacy.”

  She was going to come right now. Hard and so good. “Yes! Please, Nash. Please!”

  He filled her, hot and so good she shook all over. His mouth branded her his forever even if they were apart. She cried, and he must have tasted her tears, but he didn’t say a word. For the rest of the night, they made love, until Stacy couldn’t go on. She collapsed in his arms and fell into a restless sleep.

  Chapter Fifteen

  “Who is she, boss?” one of Nash’s men asked him. He didn’t consider these guys friends. They were subordinates in his pack. He was still Alpha, and they did what he said at all times, but he had not allowed anyone to get close to him. He never would again.

  “Who is who?” he responded, knowing who Josh was asking about.

  Josh nodded toward the sexy African American woman nursing a drink at the bar while she watched couples dance. Nash had known the second she entered the club and hadn’t removed his
eyes from her since then. He wanted to tell Josh that she was no one, but he didn’t want to insult Stacy by saying the words. He wanted to tell Josh to mind his damn business, but he couldn’t manage that either. In fact, for a long time now, he couldn’t even slap on a smile to hide his feelings. All he could do was remain silent to keep from biting off everyone’s head.

  After a few moments of deep breathing, he stood up from the stool he occupied. “She’s my daughter’s mother.”

  Josh’s eyes grew round. “What the hell? I didn’t know you had kids.”

  “Correction. Not kids. I have one daughter. Perfect just like her mother. If the elders knew, I’d lose everything, but what do I have? Huh?” He looked at Josh who stood there with a blank expression on his face. “Nothing,” Nash told him. “I have absolutely nothing.”

  Nash strolled across the club’s floor, weaving around swaying bodies and avoiding a few advances from women. He came to a stop in front of Stacy and her fiancé, a human who Nash had checked out thoroughly to make sure he was both strong enough to protect her and good for her. The man had passed every test Nash had thrown his way without knowing what Nash was. At last, with reluctance, Nash had accepted him for Stacy, knowing he had no other choice in the matter. Stacy was stubborn. She had put up with his interference only because of their daughter, but she’d laid down the law right from the start. Now Stacy was getting married in three days, and there wasn’t anything Nash could do about it.

  While he stood over her, she watched him with wide, beautiful eyes that drew him in. “Dance with me,” he commanded.

  Her fiancé frowned. “Hey, buddy, we put up with you because of Stacy’s daughter, but don’t push it.”

  “Our daughter,” Nash snapped, indicating Stacy and himself. “Mine and hers.” He raised an eyebrow at her, and she dropped her palm in his before they stepped onto the dance floor. Nash pulled her close, but she resisted allowing him to crush her small figure to his. His entire body ached to have her under him, longed to be buried to the hilt inside her.

  “Don’t even go there, Nash. Every few weeks, you get all possessive and interfere with my relationship, and it’s not going to work anymore. I’m getting married in three days, and I’m sure you haven’t forgotten that.”

  He sneered. “How could I?”

  “Where’s the nice guy I used to know? You’re all grouchy and mean all the time now.”

  “He’s dead. You killed him.”

  She gasped and would have jerked out of his arms if he didn’t tighten his hold. He was hard as a rock, and with her now molded to his body, he knew she felt it.

  “Asshole! Let me go, Nash. It’s over, remember? I’m getting married.”

  “Don’t remind me. If you think for one second he’ll replace me—”

  “Come off of it,” she snapped. “You don’t give a shit about our daughter, so don’t even go down that road again. I’m tired of hearing it, Nash. The same old bull all men spout when they don’t want the responsibility, but they don’t want any other man taking responsibility either.”

  “I support the both of you.”

  She tried for the hundredth time to put distance between them with her hands pressed to his chest, but he wouldn’t let go, and she gave up. “Yeah, you give me a check every month. I gave in to your bullying and didn’t work for two years, but that’s over now. After the wedding, I’m getting another job.”

  He ignored her declaration of getting a job. She wasn’t tossing his daughter in some stupid daycare whether she liked it or not. He was going about all this wrong, but he couldn’t think straight. Everything pissed him off, Stacy, her fiancé, his pack. Even Lucas and Brant were riding his ass lately.

  The music changed to a faster pace, but Nash’s only response was to flip Stacy around so that he could cup her body from behind with his. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her close while he buried his nose in her hair. From the corner of his eye, he caught sight of her fiancé weaving his way through the dancers with a pinched look on his face. Nash narrowed his eyes in Josh’s direction, and his subordinate moved without hesitation to head off the jealous lover.

  “Why didn’t you choose me?” he demanded of Stacy. “If you were going to get married anyway, you could have been with the man you love and not some loser. Because you can’t convince me that you’ve stopped caring about me and that you love him.”

  She grumbled, struggling against him. “Do you hear yourself? You’re so sure of my love for you, but you’re blind to what you feel for me.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  She forced enough space between them to put her head back so she could look in his eyes. “You love me, Nash. And that’s what hurts me more than anything. You don’t care that you love me. You don’t care that I love you. You just refuse to risk coming to that point again when you have to lose me. And you would lose me. I can’t outlive you not being a shifter. Yes, I would begin to change like Zandrea and Nita are changing, but there’s no guarantee that will include age and healing ability. In life no one has those assurances. But all that doesn’t mean anything because you’re too stupid to realize you’re living through that pain of loss right now instead of years from now when we’ve had a life together.”

  Nash was stunned. So much so, he forgot to hold onto her, to keep her flat against his chest. She wiggled free and faced him.

  “If you won’t accept me, Nash, then let me go. Holding on hurts too, and you promised you wouldn’t hurt me.”

  When he didn’t respond, she turned and walked away. He reached out to grab for her but pulled back just before his fingers made contact. She was right. He couldn’t hold on any longer. He had to let her go.

  * * * *

  Nash stood like a statue against the wall during Stacy and her husband’s reception. He held a cup of punch he didn’t remember getting. The only reason he had come was to pick up his daughter. He should have taken her and left so he wouldn’t have to see how happy Stacy was and remind himself that she was about to go away on her honeymoon.

  By now, he was pretty sure that the elders knew about his little girl, but they hadn’t said anything. Probably because he didn’t mate with Stacy and because she was marrying a human. They were ready to sweep it under the carpet as long as Nash didn’t claim his daughter before the shifter public. They would have a rude awakening, because Nash had every intension of doing just that. It was too late for Stacy, but he would not lose his sweet daughter, not for anyone.

  Lucas moved up beside him. “What are you doing, Nash?”

  “Nothing.”

  His friend shook his head. “You’re staring at her. You’re the fool who let her get away. Now it’s too late. Stop tormenting yourself. What you should be focusing on is doubling your efforts to find Alphons. It’s been years, and I can’t believe he’s fallen off the face of the earth.”

  Nash never took his eyes away from Stacy. She was so damn beautiful in that bright yellow dress that hugged her soft curves. The shade complemented her creamy brown skin to perfection. He longed to run his hands over her hips and to kiss her lips. Instead, that bastard would get that pleasure, the sheer privilege of stripping her out of her clothing until he got to feast his eyes on what should be Nash’s.

  A growl ripped from his throat. “He’s here again.”

  Lucas gasped. “You’re serious?”

  “Yes, I got word a couple days ago that he’s been spotted in the area. He screwed up when he killed that human who was trying to defend Stacy. Now, he’s wanted for murder by the humans and the shifters. He’ll never gain an Alpha position. So my guess is he wants revenge even though it’s his own fault. He’ll make his move, and I’ll be ready.”

  Nash watched Stacy pose with her husband behind her. The two of them stood smiling for the camera while holding the cake knife. His gut turned, and he had just spun away, intending to leave, when the sound of glass shattering filled the reception hall. Nash picked up on the scent right away. He was abo
ut to change, when Lucas caught his arm.

  “No, there are humans here. We have to do this as we are.”

  As if in slow motion, Nash watched Alphons come through the window, swipe a clawed hand across Stacy’s husband’s throat, and then grab Stacy. All thought of protecting their secret fled Nash’s mind as he changed, ripping from his shirt, slacks, and shoes, and ran after them.

  “Lucas, protect my daughter,” he called over his shoulder. In full wolf form, Nash leaped over the body of Stacy’s dead husband to follow Alphons and Stacy out the window. This time the bastard wouldn’t get away. Nash would kill him, and Stacy would never leave his side again.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Stacy did a little biting of her own and chomped down hard on Alphons’ cheek while he ran with her. He howled, and when he was distracted, she elbowed him in the stomach and ripped out a chunk of his hair.

  “Damn it, woman, are you nuts?” he yelled.

  “Get your hands off of me, Alphons. I know what you did. I’m not going to end up like Kevin.” She tried to take advantage of his loosened hold and get away, but he wasn’t going for it. His fingers digging into her arms, he lifted her like she weighed nothing and tossed her upside down over his shoulder.

  He doubled his speed, and when Stacy looked back to see where they were going, her heart sank at the sight of the car at the end of the alley they ran down. Nash would never catch them even in his wolf form.

  “Don’t be stupid, Alphons. Nash will kill you. Put me down now, and you can get away.”

  He laughed. “Nash, huh? Funny you didn’t say a word about your husband. He’d dead, you know.”

  Guilt hit her hard. Zandrea and Nita had warned her not to do it, not to get married. Both of them knew she didn’t love her husband, even as good to her as he was. Back on that club dance floor in Nash’s arms, her body had sang, like it had missed its mate and recognized him as Nash, not the man she had said I do to just a couple hours ago. And now, just because she had been selfish, thinking to protect her heart from further damage from Nash’s rejection, an innocent man was dead.