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I’m always amazed at how quickly we heal; even as I care for my mate, I see various bruises lighten until they ultimately disappear, and the small superficial cuts and scrapes are almost nonexistent at this point. Even her arm and leg are slowly straightening as the bones realign, but I know once I have her cleaned up and in bed, I’ll need to force her to shift to ensure they calibrate properly.
In no time at all, I have her clean, and while I’ve enjoyed touching her, albeit in such an innocent manner, I honestly can’t wait for the time to come where we can enjoy a bath together in a more carnal way. My dick jumps at the thought, and I can feel precum leaking from the head.
“Now’s not the time,” I mutter as I somehow get up with her situated in my arms. Grabbing the towels, I head into the bedroom, then after I lay her down, I gently dry her off. Her beautiful hair will have to wait; I’m hoping the shift will help with that if I’m being totally honest.
Leaning close, I command, “Nicole, shift.” Even though she’s still unconscious, her wolf will obey my Alpha command, and I watch in fascination as fur extends from her follicles and starts to ripple down her arms and legs.
Within seconds, a gorgeous, auburn-coated, brown-eyed she-wolf is staring at me.
“Nini, it’s me, beautiful. I forced you to shift and I’m sorry for that, but the car accident left you with some broken bones. Shifting to your wolf is the best way to ensure you fully heal. Do you understand?”
A low yip passes through her muzzle as she looks at me. I’m sure she’s confused, because she hit her head hard enough to knock her out, but I’ll explain everything in due time when she’s turned back into her human form. I’m unsurprised when she scoots closer to me, her head nudging my hand.
“You’re stunning, Nicole. Absofuckinglutely stunning. Are you feeling okay?” She yips again so I start stroking her pelt, causing a low, contented growl to emanate from her chest as she closes her honey brown eyes. “The best thing for your healing would be for you to stay in this form for a little while. Don’t be shocked or surprised if you wake up and you’re back to yourself, okay? The first few shifts for a new wolf are somewhat unpredictable, and since I forced this one on you, I don’t know how long you’ll stay in this form. Your wolf will do what’s best for you.”
When she seems to understand, moving over to one side of the bed and then burrowing in after she sniffed the whole area and has accepted my scent, I head over to my dresser and slip on a pair of basketball shorts. I pull out a T-shirt for her because I don’t think she’d be too thrilled to wake up and find herself naked and set it on the nightstand. Confident she’s settling in okay, I go back into the en suite, pull the plug so the tub will drain, and toss all the clothes in the hamper. Satisfied that everything’s as good as it’s going to get, at least tonight, I slip beneath the covers, then send a text to Chaos so he can assure Tressa that Nicole is going to be just fine.
Nicole
I’ve diedand gone to Hell, although for the life of me, I can’t think of anything I’ve done that warrants such a thing. As that thought crosses my mind, clarity fully returns, and I realize there’s an arm banded around my waist. And a hard, very hot body is pressed firmly against my back.
“What in the world?” I murmur out loud after looking down and seeing I’m wearing a shirt that’s most decidedlynotmine since it hangs down to mid-thigh… at least.
“What do you remember?” a raspy Stealth asks against the nape of my neck. No clue how, in my sleep-addled mind I know it’s him, but there’s a rightness about him being here that I can’t explain.
Shivers course through me at the timbre of his voice; it resonates through me, and I instinctively know that somehow, he managed to save me yesterday. Turning so I’m facing him, I’m once again taken aback at just how handsome he truly is, at least to me. His gaze is penetrating, and normally, it would make me uncomfortable but today, at this moment, it makes me hot.
“Um, let’s see. I went to DeFillippos for coffee and pastries for everyone,” I start off saying. “Then, Jeremy showed up and pushed a gun in my back and told me I was going with him. Well, I think it was a gun, but I didn’t know for sure at the time. I got the treats I’d planned to, somehow managed not to tip off the clerk because he had threatened to hurt them, then we took my car to his place where he tied me up while he asked me some stupid questions about stuff.”
Stopping, I reach out and run my fingers across Stealth’s jaw since he seems to be clenching his teeth. When he relaxes a little, I continue with my story. “Did you know he had made a key to my home? He’s been hiding his ill-gotten gains under the very roof where me and Tressa have lived and slept, and he started doing so shortly after we broke up! Can you believe the gall of that jerk face?” I ask.
“Do you know what he was looking for?” he asks, his hand now clasping mine as he laces our fingers together.
“Some gems and a flash drive. I found the stones, which is why we were back at the apartment, but the flash drive wasn’t in the box that those were packed in, and it wasn’t in my purse either, which was the only other place it could’ve been stashed. I guess the day my purse was dumped at the clubhouse, the flash drive must’ve fallen out or something, and when I told Jeremy that, he said we were coming to the clubhouse to find it!”
“Shhh, it’s okay, Nini,” he soothes. “Take your time. As for the flash drive, it did fall on the floor, and when I found it, I gave it to Popeye to see if he could figure out what was on it.”
“Well, I’m glad y’all have it then. I honestly have no clue what’s on it, but I’m sure, based on the fact he told me he’s hidden everything from stolen jewelry todrugsunder my roof, it’s nothing good,” I reply.
He nods at me to continue so I take a deep breath and keep going.
“We were on our way to the clubhouse when he wouldn’t let someone merge over in front of us. The other car clipped his front bumper, and we were forced down the side of an embankment. The last thing I remember was smashing into the boulder and the airbags deploying. After that, I got nothing.”
He chuckles, then leans in and kisses the tip of my nose. I don’t know why that simple gesture has goosebumps rising on my arms, but it does. Maybe because so many of the heroes in the books I adore do little things like that with the women they fall for, who knows? When his eyes darken and he cups my jaw, I feel something inside of me stir, almost as if I’m being scratched from the inside.
“Stealth?” I question, my voice breathless and shaky. “What happened after that?”
As his thumb strokes across the apple of my cheek, I feel myself relaxing against him. Then, he leans in and lightly touches his lips to mine, which ignites a fire deep inside of me to erupt. He deepens the kiss, and soon, I don’t really care what happened after I passed out. No, all I want are his lips on mine as our tongues duel with each other. Holy hell, can he kiss or what?
He finally pulls back, and says, “There’s quite a bit that happened, and I’ll fill you in, but I needed to know how you tasted, Nicole. When I saw the car crumpled, and the condition you were in, that was my biggest regret, that I wanted us to wait until we were here, at home, to finalize our mating claim. That being said, Fox ended up giving you a healing infusion because you were dying when he, Sly, and Ogre arrived on the scene. It won’t bind you to him, but I gave you a mating claim when I got there to save you. If you’re feeling kind of odd, that’s the reason why. You’re now a shifter, sweetheart.”
“Holy shit, just like Tressa!” I exclaim, smiling at him.
“Well, personally, no offense to your best friend or anything, but I think you’re prettier,” he emphatically states, which makes me giggle at his fierce expression. “I forced you to shift last night once I got you cleaned up, Nini, because you had multiple broken bones. You turned into your human form at some point while you were sleeping once the bones were healed properly.”
“Who… wait a second, you cleaned me up?” I ask, mortification causing me to blush profusely. “You saw menaked?”I shriek, overlooking the comments about a healing transfusion and a mating claim completely.
The diabolical look he gives me would probably cause a lesser person to shake, but I’m so embarrassed right now, that it morphs into irrational anger. I feel like a fool, an idiot, and the good sensations from the best kiss I’ve ever had are waning quickly. As tears fill my eyes, he starts to talk, and I can hear the command in his tone, which makes me refocus and take in his words.
