AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She fell asleep in his arms, feeling safe, feeling content. She didn’t know if they would have this again, not after what she had learned tonight from Aaron; she wasn’t sure he’d want to anymore. Still, it felt good to be with him like this, of her own free will, unaltered by her physiology overriding her judgment.
In a different life, perhaps they might spend an eternity together and, if she was lucky, perhaps they still would. She’d just have to see what happened tomorrow. Right now, she just wanted to enjoy this moment.CHAPTER TWENTY-TWOThad
Three days since she had left his house. Three days they’d spent fucking like wild animals who existed only for one another. It was carnal. It was magical. It was everything a true mating should be.
And it was over.
His rut was passing, and she was falling out of heat. A sense of dread filled him. Was the past few days just a repeat of last time, just extended? Would she leave now that the passion had waned and his hold over her had lessoned? He lay in bed beside her, his arm wrapped around her waist, one hand cupping her breast, and nuzzled his face against her neck.
“Good morning,” she mumbled, half asleep.
“Good morning to you,” he whispered back.
He kissed her on the neck and released her, turning to climb out of bed and head to the shower. He was sore from head to toe. Even in top shape, she had worn him out like no other woman was capable of, and he wasn’t looking forward to losing her again. He pushed it from his mind, already half-expecting her to make excuses to go home.
He had already almost lost her once. He hadn’t told her the worst of Aaron Golding’s history. He hadn’t really been sure if it were true until now. When he had dated Barron’s former wife, she had said he tried to kidnap her. If Barron hadn’t stepped in, she might have been gone, but the whole thing had sounded like a misunderstanding to him.
Now, he knew that was how Golding worked. He was a gas lighter, sending women mixed messages that seemed like concern, when it was really about control. Golding was an anomaly, not quite an Alpha but not just a Beta either. There were a few of them, but Golding was the only one he had ever met. If he’d ever had any doubts about what the man was capable of, they had been laid to rest by the two detectives who returned to his house for a follow up visit.
“Mr. Ulrich, we stopped by to see if you’ve seen Ms. Carmichael. We stopped by her place and they said they haven’t seen her for a few days. Your driver said she was staying with you.”
“Yes. She recently experienced a bit of a traumatic event,” Thad growled.
“We’re aware of that. Why do you think we are checking on her welfare?”
“I’m fine,” a voice said from a nearby doorway.
Thad turned to see Jaycee padding out in one of his t-shirts and a pair of his sweatpants. She looked like a beautiful street urchin with messy hair and the grossly oversized clothes. It was the first time he’d realized she’d been wearing nothing for three days and it made him smile.
“Oh. We didn’t realize the two of you . . .,’ Horowitz started to say, but trailed off.
“The two of us what?” Thad challenged.
“Nothing. Listen, we’re sorry for the intrusion. It’s just, after what happened, we went to do a follow up. We wanted to be certain you were safe,” Horowitz continued, addressing Jaycee.
“She’s in good hands,” Thad told him.
He didn’t like the officers.
“Good. Anyway, your lawyer may have called you already. We’ve dropped the charges against you for the assault on Mr. Nasteau - for obvious reasons, and you’re no longer a suspect in his murder.”
“Oh?”
Obviously, Jaycee had relayed Golding’s confession to them, but that didn’t always result in acceptance. He was surprised they were willing to close the case so quickly, based on information provided by someone who had originally been a suspect and who they now realized was involved with another suspect.
“Mr. Nasteau’s security system captured him approaching the house. He took it out, but not before there were already clear images of him on it. We’re not sure why he didn’t take the time to erase those.”
“Crazy people make crazy choices,” Thad replied, but he knew why.
It wasn’t about protecting himself. It was about protecting his pack. He couldn’t be seen shifting into a wolf for the attack on Nasteau, but it was okay for his human form. He’d never been planning on getting caught, which meant he knew they’d trace him, find out he’d been seeing Jaycee, look for him there - but he and Jaycee would have been long gone. The thought of what he might have had planned sent a chill down his spine.
