Unleashed Temptation (15 page)

that happened Tuesday night. Thanks to a smoke bomb, her apartment was currently

unlivable and she’d been forced to live with her grandmother. The police thought it was

a couple of kids playing a prank and she was happy to let them think that because she

had more important things on her mind. The past couple days had been horrible and

Nick hadn’t been returning her calls.

It had taken some begging, but she’d gotten Alex to tell her where Nick lived.

Considering that Alex had given that crazy fire-throwing guy Carly’s phone number, it

hadn’t been too hard to convince her.

After a few moments, she banged on the solid wood door again. This time harder

and louder. She still couldn’t believe Nick lived in Key Biscayne. While she’d known he

did well for himself, she hadn’t expected him to live in such an affluent area. Only a few

miles off the coast of Miami, it was like a world away. A virtual tropical paradise.

Nick’s car wasn’t in the drive but he had a garage and Alex had assured her he’d be

here. Plus, there was a Jaguar sitting in the drive. She slammed her fist against the door

again. She’d had the most insane week of her life and still no answers. If he thought he

could hide from her, he was out of his damn mind.

When she raised her hand again, the door flew open. An exotic-looking dark-

haired, slightly older woman stood on the other side.

Unexpected jealousy shot through her veins like hot lava. “Who the hell are you?”

she asked, surprised when her question came out as a shout.

Perfect brows rose in amusement as she held out a slim hand. “I’m Alisha, and you

must be Carly.” There was a slight accent Carly couldn’t place.

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Carly frowned at the woman’s hand and ignored it. “Where’s Nick?”

“He’s on the back porch sulking. I was in the kitchen getting a glass of wine and I

thought I heard some sort of racket,” she said, amusement filling her voice.

Years of manners and politeness had been drilled into Carly. In that instant, she

threw all she’d been trained out the window and stormed past the small woman

without another word. Her three-inch heels clacked down the tiled hallway.

Expensive pieces of art hung on the walls, but she didn’t waste time admiring them.

The hallway ended abruptly and she almost tripped in her shoes. To her right was an

open kitchen area and to her left was what looked like a family room. Through the glass

doors she could see Nick nursing a beer on the back patio.

Her eyes narrowed on his figure. She’d been worried sick about him and he was

hanging out with some slut. Taking a deep breath, she hurried through the open room

and slung open one of the French doors.

Nick turned at the sound and shot out of the striped lounge chair when he spotted

her. He wore casual lounge pants, no shirt, and had a thick bandage running around his

rib cage. “What are you doing here?”

She faltered at his harsh tone.

“Shit. I didn’t mean it like that, Carly. What…well, why are you here?” he asked.

“Are you serious?” She stared at him incredulously. “I saw you turn into a wolf,

your stupid brother gave me some half-assed answers before disappearing, everyone at

work is saying you’re on vacation—
which I know is a lie
—and you won’t return my

calls.”

“You’ve been calling?” The hopeful note in his voice pulled at her heartstrings.

“Well, yeah, but it kept going straight to voicemail. I wanted to make sure you were

okay.”
Screw it, she’d come this far.
She crossed the fifteen-feet divide between them until

they were standing inches apart. His earthy scent immediately enveloped her.

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“That night…you flinched away from me. I didn’t think you’d ever want to see me

again. Hell, I thought you’d be back in Chicago by now.” His voice was a monotone.

“Give me a break, Nick. I’d just had the shock of my life.” She reached out and

traced a finger across his stubbled jaw. “Stephan told me you were fine. Are you sure

you’re okay?” she whispered.

As soon as she touched his skin, he covered her hand with his. “Now I am.”

Heat warmed her blood at the contact, but she shook her head. “I have a lot of

questions.”

“Come on.” He took her by the hand and collapsed back against the chair. When he

did, he pulled her with him.

She squirmed in his lap, not wanting to lean too hard against his ribs if he was

badly injured. “Are you sure I won’t hurt you?”

Nick let out a low groan. “You’re going to hurt me if you keep wiggling around.”

“Wha…oh.” She immediately stilled when she felt his erection pressing against her

butt.

“Why are you wearing a raincoat?”

She could feel her face redden but was helpless to stop the heat creeping up her

neck and cheeks. “Because I’m only wearing a thong underneath.”

His pale eyes darkened and his grip around her waist tightened, but she pulled

back.

“Questions first.”

He sighed and scrubbed a hand over his face. “Okay, ask anything.”

“Who’s the woman who answered your door?”

His head slightly tilted to the side. “After everything that’s happened,
that’s
your

first question?”

She clenched her teeth together and a tired grin lit up his face.

“That’s my mother.”

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Savannah Stuart

Carly snorted. “Yeah, right. Maybe if she had you when she was twelve.” Instantly

she slapped a hand over her mouth and cringed. What if his mother had given birth at a

young age?

“Not twelve, darling.” The silky smooth voice of the woman who’d answered the

door startled Carly.

Carly twisted in her seat to find the woman standing two feet away. The woman

was more stealthy than Nick. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean—”

She waved a fine-boned hand in the air. “You two have a lot to talk about so I am

leaving. Nicolas, I’ll see you tomorrow afternoon. And Carly, I know I’ll see you at my

Sunday brunch.” It wasn’t a question, but a subtle order.

She had no clue what the woman was talking about, but Carly nodded anyway.

“Okay.”

She turned back to Nick after the woman disappeared into the house. “That’s really

your mother? She looks so young.”

“We age a lot slower than humans.”

She bit her bottom lip and tried to formulate her words. Over the past two days

she’d had a lot of time to come up with questions. Now her mind was blank. “So…this

whole ‘turning into a wolf’ is a family thing?”

To her relief, he chuckled lightly. “Yes, my entire pack—family—are shifters.

Werewolves if you want to get specific.”

“Even Alex?”

He nodded. “Yes, but she truly is twenty-one. She’s just a pup.”

“A pup? Uh, exactly how old are you?”

He cleared his throat. “A hundred and seventy.”

She blinked once but pushed past it. There would be time enough later to digest

that
. “What about silver bullets? Will those kill you?”

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He shifted underneath her, suddenly looking very uncomfortable. “They’re more

deadly than regular bullets. If a werewolf is shot with one and the silver isn’t removed,

we’ll die within hours from poisoning.”

“Wow.”

“It’s not something we advertise—”

She cut him off when she realized where he was headed. “Trust me, it wouldn’t

matter who I told, no one would believe me anyway. So, when were you planning to

tell me… Or
were
you planning to tell me?” She hadn’t thought about that until right

then. What if he’d just wanted a quick affair—

“Don’t even think I wanted an affair,” he muttered.

“Wha… Can you read my mind?” she gasped, as a hand flew to her throat. Had he

been able to read
all
her thoughts? She inwardly groaned. That was beyond

embarrassing.

“Yes, I can.” His deep voice rumbled.

“Oh my—”

“The only reason I can read your thoughts is because we’re mates. And I couldn’t

do that until after we made love the first time. Even then, I blocked you out. Until

today.” He took one of her hands and threaded his fingers through hers.

“Oh, well that’s…wait, mates? What does that mean?”

“Just what it sounds like. You’re my mate. Once I’ve marked you, if you come in

contact with any other shifters or nonhumans, they’ll know you’re taken and they’ll

stay away.”

“What does marked mean? That man from the other night said you hadn’t marked

me yet. I thought you said we were mates.”

“We
are
mates, but we haven’t officially bonded yet. I wanted to wait until you

were ready.”

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Savannah Stuart

She didn’t ask the question, and whether or not he could see her thoughts, she

guessed what she wanted to know was clearly written on her face.

He cleared his throat. “When we bond, I have to dominate you, take you from

behind. While we’re making love, I’ll bite your neck and mark you. We’ll be bonded for

life.”

Bite her? It was a little kinky, but the thought sent a sudden rush of heat between

her legs. Then another thought crossed her mind. “You said you age slower. Does that

mean I’m going to grow old and you won’t?”

Nick shook his head. “Once we bond—if we bond—you’ll develop a similar

immune system. You’ll age at the same pace I do, you’ll heal much quicker, and…if you

get pregnant, there is a chance you’ll change into a werewolf.”

Her throat clenched. “A chance?”

“It’s been a couple hundred years since a werewolf and human have mated. At least

within the Lazos pack. In the past, pregnant human females change when they bond

with their children.”

She pressed her free hand to her abdomen. That was a lot to take in at once. A hell

of a lot more than she’d even contemplated before coming here. She’d never even

thought about having kids.

“I don’t care about children. All I want is you,” he growled, his throaty words

making her pussy clench.

“You’ve got to stop doing that.”

“Doing what?”

“Reading my thoughts. It’s not fair.”

“You should be able to read mine too.”

She narrowed her eyes at him disbelievingly. What was she supposed to do, tap

into her Jedi mind control?

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When he chuckled, she mock punched him in the arm. “I’m not kidding, cut that

out!”

He held up a hand in surrender. “Okay, I promise.”

She was silent for another moment as she tried to gather her thoughts. “I have a lot

of questions. Most of them can wait until later, but a second ago you said ‘if’ we bond.

Do you not want to bond with me?”

He laughed aloud, but the sound was harsh. “It’s not about what I want, Carly. The

answer is yes, but this is your choice.”

She bit her bottom lip. More thoughts and questions assaulted her mind but she’d

asked everything she’d planned. “Okay, I only have one more question. Were you just

going to let me walk away from you?”

His jaw twitched before he answered. “I wasn’t able to get out of bed until a few

hours ago. I was coming to see you after my mother left. There’s no way in hell I’d give

you up without a fight, woman.”

Instead of audibly responding, she shifted until she straddled him. The past couple

days had passed in a blur, but her body had been aching for his touch.

“What are you doing?” His voice was hoarse and scratchy.

“What do you think?” As she spread her legs farther, her coat pushed up higher,

revealing more skin.

She started with the top button, slowly pushing it out of the hole, never taking her

gaze off Nick. As his eyes locked with hers, she made a decision. She’d come to Miami

to mix things up. Of course, she’d never planned to meet a man like Nick, but she knew

what her heart wanted.

There were probably a dozen reasons why this was a bad idea, but a very good one

why it wasn’t. She loved him. No doubt about it. The thought of losing Nick was worse

than the thought of dating someone who could turn into a wolf. That realization had

shifted her entire reality.

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Savannah Stuart

Nick pushed her hands out of the way when she reached the third button. There

were eight in all and apparently she was going too slow.

His hands shook as he practically tore the coat off. When the buttons were undone,

she shrugged it off, letting it fall behind her. It was a perfect spring evening and since

his place was close to the Atlantic, a continuous breeze flowed over them.

He still hadn’t made a move to kiss her or touch her really. Wearing a lacy thong,

she straddled him, but after he’d gotten her coat off, his hands rested gently on her

thighs.

Her skin burned where he touched her. She wondered what he was waiting for. She

opened her mouth to ask but he came at her fast, his mouth devouring hers.

There was no time to catch her breath. His tongue licked hers, fast and furious. This

kiss wasn’t tender or gentle. No, his mouth was demanding complete submission.

Carly clutched his shoulders as he started to move. In the back of her head,

somewhere in the recesses of her brain, she knew what was going to happen tonight.

She wanted it and it was obvious he did too.

As he pushed up from the chair, her legs automatically wrapped around his waist.