Unexpectedly Mated

14

Barbara had dressed to the nines. A pretty blue top with what appeared to be a dark set of jeans made up her ensemble. Jordan had a cute tank top with the words hot mama glittering on her chest. And Emma wore what could only be described as a very sexy and daring tiny white top. If her girls could talk they would be saying ‘check us out world’.

The club pumped with music. Kel and Shaari stood off to the right arguing in low voices. Nic couldn’t tell what the problem was but it was obvious that something pissed someone off. The first round of drinks arrived at the table. Nic’s already good mood was getting better by the second. f**k Jake. f**k his sexy body or that tongue that drove her wild. Or the way he made her p***y super wet with just one look. Asshole.

The alcohol shot down her throat in a blazing trail. Before waiting for it to settle she took another shot. What the hell gave him the right to make her heart flip flop? To make her hormones crazy? Another shot. Why did he have to make her wish for things she’d never given thought to before? Why him? And a new shot.

“Take it easy with those.” Barbara pulled Nic to her side. She cupped Nic’s face in her hand and stared worriedly into her eyes. “Feel like talking about it?”

“Not even a little.” She picked up a new shot and winced. Wait a damn minute. Why the hell was she getting drunk over Jake? He wasn’t all that. He was just some guy she’d fallen into lust the first time she met. A guy who she’d sniped with on every possible occasion and a guy who always said things that made her think of the dreaded L word.

A word she’d never been familiar with. She’d never taken him seriously. Those times he gave her the hot growly smiles or whispered dirty things when they weren’t surrounded by the others, those times were the ones that made her giddy. Her once school girl crush had grown. She hated to admit it, especially under the influence of liquor.

“Nic, honey, trust your heart,” Barbara said softly.

Nic’s chest felt compressed with fear. Her fear of love was genuine. She had seen nothing good come out of it and in her household the only person to truly care about her was Letty. Her mother was too emotionally distant to show her any kind of care or concern unless it was to ensure she did the job of good daughter. She inhaled hard and then smiled sadly. “I don’t think I can. I’m scared of being hurt. I don’t want to be another notch on his bedpost. And I don’t want to hurt him by not being the woman he needs.”

Barbara growled.

Nic blinked. She reeled back. Barbara had never done that. Ever. Through the haze of liquor, a different kind of fear formed in her throat. Was she in danger from Jake’s mom?

Barbara’s features had gone from classic beauty to animalistic. “Stop this nonsense. You love Jake. Jake loves you. Get on with the making me grandbabies already!” Then Barbara smiled and handed Nic another shot. “Here. If this is all that makes you feel courage over my son, then have it. But understand something. There won’t be any of it in your system in the morning and you’ll have to face your decisions sooner or later.”

Later sounded good to her.

Jake arrived at the club ready to kill. He fisted his hands at his sides and didn’t bother to stop the growls that emanated from his animal.

“Bro, you’re scaring some of the humans,” Mason whispered. “Tone it down.”

No. He wouldn’t f*****g tone s**t down. He came for her and he wasn’t leaving Vegas or the damn hotel until Nic was officially his with a mate mark on her shoulder and her acknowledgement that she would stop the nonsense about them having nothing. ‘Don’t pressure them’ his mother had said. ‘Make sure you get them to come to you without feeling like you are forcing things.’ He’d listened. He’d joked with Nic. He’d flirted and hell, he’d done what his mother and Ellie had suggested at the scenting ceremony. He’d ignored his instinct to mate her and once again took things casual so he didn’t scare her. f**k casual.

“No. She’s mine. I’m making her mine. Now. Tonight.”

Mason laughed next to him and slapped him behind the shoulder. “This should go over really well.”

Nic’s getting hitched message had fueled his anger already. She’d said there was nothing for them to talk about. He was a man-w***e and she didn’t want to compete with his harem of loyal clients at the club. She wanted a man for herself, not someone to share with a bunch of horny women. When Kel called and told him about Nicole meeting some guy at the lobby, Jake had visualized killing the shifter, whoever he was, in every way possible. All of them bloody.

How could she ever question the connection between them? It wasn’t all s*x either. Nic had stolen his heart from the first time she entered his room, gasped and tried to apologize while staring at his c**k. She’d often given him one of her smiles and his heart had jumped for joy. But when she laughed at something he said or did, that’s when he felt truly happy. He’d wanted to mate her the first day, but his mother and sister told him she wouldn’t appreciate his overbearing ways and to give her time to adjust to the shifter world. He’d given her years.

He clenched his jaw to try to stifle the growl. The club’s flickering lights and loud pumping music guided their way. Bodies swayed in a giant wave on the dance floor. His gaze scanned the room until he found her. She was in the middle of the dance floor, her body sexily swayed to the music. He watched her wiggle her hips, lift her hands up under her hair and dance. She was bold, moving with a sensuality he hadn’t seen in her, ever.

Whenever they’d had parties at his parent’s house, Nic had been the prettiest girl there. She had those gorgeous f**k me lips and sleepy eyes that turned him hard at the drop of a dime. Combining those with that lush curvy body and he was ready to beg her to be his. He’d followed the advice from women who knew more than him. He’d decided to take s**t easy and let their attraction grow.