Nic fled across the waiting area on the first floor of the hospital. The door leading to the basement was shut. He shoved his key into the lock, turned it, and pushed the metal door open. His first instinct was to rush down the stairs, but caution prevailed. He couldn’t risk startling the intruder and having him react, maybe lashing out at Riley or one of the other patients—his dad or the Tanner protector.
Nic eased down the stairs, inhaling deeply to pick up any clues lingering in the air. No unusual scents or sounds reached him. His wolf would’ve been able to gather more information, but for the moment, remaining in his human form allowed him to think and access the situation with logic instead of embracing his primal instincts. Considering the depth of anger Nic’s wolf felt, he couldn’t risk having the animal assert control. He didn’t have time to wrestle with his baser side, not while lives were in danger.
Sean followed him down, his breathing steady and slow. He didn’t have to worry about his wolf fighting him or taking over. They were one entity, bridged by healing ability of their true mate. Both man and beast would work together, trusting and utilizing the other’s skills without even thinking about it. At the moment, Nic hated his friend for that. He wanted to experience peace too.
At the bottom of the stairs, Nic pointed left, toward the service corridor. It led to the furnace and electrical panels, but the utility room where those were located offered another entryway into the main hospital area, near Riley’s office. Nic doubted she’d be there. She’d most likely be by the patients’ rooms trying to protect his dad. Although human, she’d do everything in her power to save lives.
Sean nodded and jogged down the narrow hallway. Nic punched in the entry code and slipped into the same corridor he’d walked through a couple of days ago. The beautiful paintings didn’t draw his eye, however. The lights above the doors did. Three were unlit, the doors open. The last, the one his dad had been assigned, was locked and secured.
Nic scanned each of the empty rooms, noting the neatly made beds. Where had they placed the Tanner wolf? A room monitored by video feed, maybe? Except he didn’t know what the procedure was for dangerous patients. He’d been out of the loop too long.
He headed to his dad’s door and punched in the code. A darkened room met him, his dad asleep on the bed. He didn’t wake with Nic’s entry. Nic’s heart rate kicked up.
His dad didn’t know what was going on, confirming what Nic had expected would happen to his dad without his wolf—he’d lose his edge. Even if he wasn’t still in the hospital, the other dominants would sense his weakness. The safest thing for all involved would be to keep him here until the night of the full moon. As it was, only Riley’s nurses were allowed inside his dad’s room. His secret was safe, for the moment.
Nic shut and relocked the door, leaving his dad sleeping peacefully, before jogging to the end of the hall. It split. One way led to Riley’s office, the other the operating room. Riley’s muttered curse reached his ears from the corridor leading to the latter. Nic followed it.
Three distinct scents hung in the closed space: Riley’s personal fragrance, shifter blood, and the distinctive musk of a Tanner wolf.
“You need to let me help you.”
Riley’s strained voice gave away her frustration. It should’ve comforted him to know she was alive, but the muttered male groan spiked Nic’s instincts, both protective and possessive. He skidded into the kitchen.
Riley knelt on the floor, her arms wrapped around the large Tanner male. Bandages covered his torso, arms, and legs. Blood had seeped through the white squares of gauze covering his nude body.
She pulled on him, trying to help him stand. The shifter bared his fangs. He shoved at her shoulder, knocking her backward into the spilled contents of the dining cart. Plastic trays, covers, and metal utensils skidded across the floor.
Nic took it all in and rushed forward, placing his body between Riley and the other male. A low growl rumbled Nic’s chest, his own fangs punching out. Sharpened nails extended, along with a dark sprouting of black hair over his knuckles. His wolf was about two seconds away from taking over, and it wanted to feel the hot gush of the other shifter’s blood on its tongue.
Sean ran in, his own baser side transforming him into a werewolf, a modified version of their persona. It was the point between forms, and offered the best of both—incredible strength and human cunning, but it wasn’t a welcome state for man or beast, even for a shifter strengthened by a true mate. Maintaining the form hurt. It wasn’t natural.
Riley laid a hand against Nic’s back. “Wait, please. He’s not a threat. I overreacted. He’s just confused.”
Nic reached back, drawing her against his body. The moment her curves pressed into him, he calmed some, not completely but enough to process her words.
“What is he doing up? Better yet”—Nic peered over his shoulder, knowing Sean would act if need be, and captured her gaze with his—“why wasn’t he secured in a room?”
“He was unconscious when I left him. I didn’t want to move him for fear of reopening his wounds. Besides, he should’ve been out for hours.”
He motioned toward where Sean and the Tanner wolf glared at each other, a mini dominance battle, and one Nic was sure Sean would win. “He’s clearly not unconscious.”
Riley groaned, a feminine sound that spoke of her irritation. “I double-checked his dosage.” She looked past him, focusing on the injured shifter. The male broke his stare with Sean and met her gaze. She glanced away. “I obviously misjudged how strong he was. His metabolism has got to be much higher than I’d guessed.”
Was that awe in her voice? Another growl rumbled Nic’s chest. He snatched her hand, standing and pulling her into his arms. The tension in his muscles eased. He glanced at Sean. “Get him secured and put a guard on his door. I don’t want Riley around him anymore tonight. She’s going home.”
“But I can’t.” She tugged on his arm. “Your dad—”
“Jenna will come in. Go. Get some rest.” Sean waved them off.
Nic pressed his lips to her ear. “You come willingly, or I’m carrying you.”
She went limp in his embrace, the smartest choice. The temptation to swing her into his arms and cradle her against his chest rose, but the sight of the other dominants filling the hallway stopped him. Still, he couldn’t just allow her to walk away. He led her, a hand on her upper arm, toward her office.
He ushered her inside, slammed the door behind him, and yanked her close, covering her mouth with his, desperation fueling the aggressive strokes of his tongue. She opened for him and accepted his wild kiss.
Never breaking the melding of their mouths, he walked her backward. Her legs hit the couch. She gasped and tumbled onto the wide sofa. He followed her down, shoving his knee between her thighs. Common sense told him he couldn’t take their kiss too far, not with his pack mates feet away. He couldn’t tear his mouth from hers, though. He needed to reassure himself she was safe, alive—his.
Nic ran his hands over Riley’s sides, pushing her cotton top out of his way. His fingertips brushed over the lace edgings of her bra.
Stop. I need to stop. He repeated the order, but his mind and body weren’t on the same page. The sight of Riley falling backward because of the other shifter’s shove had stirred too many instincts.
She skimmed her fingers down his back and slid them under the waistband of his sweats. A move that wouldn’t help him regain control. He should stop her. That would be the reasonable thing to do, but he didn’t.
Nic touched her, every part of Riley’s body that was hidden by clothes. The parts of Riley other males, including the dominants down the hall, weren’t allowed to see. Touching her wasn’t enough, though.
He wanted her.
Right here. Right now.
He wanted to lay his claim on Riley with his dominants within earshot so they knew to whom she belonged.
His wolf pushed at his psyche and snarled. Its warning reverberated through his soul—don’t do it.
Nic tore his mouth from Riley’s and buried his face against her neck. The thin turtleneck she wore under her scrubs hid her scar, but he felt the raised points under his lips. Need surged. This woman was his. He needed her.
Nic latched on to his mark, despite the increasing growling in his head.
Screw his wolf. Screw everyone. Had the situation been different, Nic could’ve lost Riley.
His wolf didn’t agree. The sensation of claws raking his insides tore a groan from him. Riley pushed at the waistband of his pants, her intent clear. His wolf rammed its head into Nic’s chest, demanding to be released. It wanted Riley to stop.
Groaning, he grasped her hand. “Stop, baby. You gotta stop.”
She nipped his ear. “You don’t want me to stop.”
Half of him didn’t. He eased back anyway, moving to get off the sofa. “Have to. This is wrong. Just going to hurt you again.”
“No, wait. It’s not wrong.” She grabbed his hair, using her hold to pull him back on top of her. “Let me show you how good we are together. Please, Nic. Let me pleasure you.”
She didn’t need to prove anything to him. His wolf, on the other hand, needed convincing. This wasn’t the time or the place for the lesson, but he couldn’t say no to her, not after she used the word, please. They didn’t need to have sex to pleasure each other. They could both do wicked things with their mouths.
Nic reached for the phone on the desk next to them and dialed Sean. “Is the shifter secured?”
“Yeah.”
“Send everyone else home. Now.”
“Nic, you shouldn’t—”
Nic ended the call, grabbed the front of Riley’s shirt and yanked her against him. She opened for his kiss. He fed her his groan, swallowed her breathy sigh, and savored her taste.
She sifted her hands into his hair and fisted the strands, holding him close. Memories rushed over him of Riley doing the same in countless hurried encounters exactly like the one they were sharing in her office. He’d used her back then, over and over. Whenever he’d needed her, he’d taken her. She’d accepted him, loved him, and never asked for more.
Maybe she should’ve. Maybe they would’ve worked their problems out, and worn down his wolf’s resistance. Too late for regrets. They hadn’t.
Nic dominated Riley’s mouth, licking her teeth, her cheeks, her lips. And she caressed him, stroked him, and sent him up in flames.
No woman had ever come close to affecting him the way she could. He needed to show her what that meant to him. What she meant to him. Words were beyond him, however.
He reached for the waistband of her pants. She turned her head, breaking their kiss. Hands splayed over his chest, she pushed. He fell back—half-startled, half-eager. The look in her blue eyes was one he remembered. She wanted control. Wanted to take him to heaven.
“Look at me, Nic.”
He thought about denying her, making her beg, but he wanted to stare into her eyes. He lifted his gaze to hers. Desire turned them more black than blue. “You sleep with me, and I’ll smell of you until I can shower. There isn’t one in my bathroom. Let me pleasure you today. Okay? I want this.”
There it was again, the reason he loved her. Well, one of them. Riley sought to be what he needed, no matter what he did to her or how he treated her. His needs. She always put his needs first.
Nic cupped her face in his hands. “I don’t deserve you.”
She covered his fingers and locked her gaze with his. “You deserve love.”
“So do you. You should be with someone better than me.”
“I know what I need.” Riley eased out of his embrace and knelt between his spread legs, her small hands on his thighs. “And I know what I want.”
He ran his fingers through the silky strands of her hair, shoving her golden locks back. The hunger in her eyes was a look he didn’t want to miss. “And what is that?”
“Your passion.”
“Riley.” Her name held everything he couldn’t say.
She glanced at him from under her lashes, letting him see what she felt, what she had only ever told him twice. She loved him. He saw it there in her gaze. Unmistakable. Real. Beautiful.
He wanted to say more, tell her he loved her, but couldn’t. He’d ruin the moment she sought to give him. He gave himself over to the passion, letting his body say what he couldn’t, and groaned her name. He opened his soul and shared his pleasure—the pleasure Riley gifted—with his wolf.
The animal growled and turned away.
Nic’s hands fell from Riley’s head on a wave of frustration, but the soft press of her lips to his stopped it from taking hold. She pleasured him expertly, drawing out his passion and leaving him weakened, shattered…
Broken.
And so lost.
He loved this woman. Needed her. Yet his wolf shunned her.
Riley licked his lips once more, then sat back. Desire burned in her lust-hazed eyes, but it wasn’t the only thing. So did hope. The sight slashed him, ripping him wide open.
Nic was no closer to being able to keep her than he’d been four years ago. All he was doing was widening the gap between him and the obstinate wolf he housed.
He lifted Riley, dropped her bottom on the cushion next to him, and stood. “The Shifter Council has invited me to a special session before I become alpha. It’s not an invitation I can turn down and still remain in good graces with them.”
“How long will you be gone?”
Riley’s carefully neutral tone tempted him to look at her so he could see if her reaction to his announcement showed in her expression. He strode for the door instead. “A few days.” He opened the door. “And don’t take any more foolish chances while I’m gone, Riley. You’re only human, don’t forget. Your life will be over before you know it. You shouldn’t toss it away for a crazed wolf.”
With that, Nic walked out, leaving his love behind.
Again.
And each time he walked away from Riley, he swore she kept another piece of him with her. Soon, he’d be nothing more than a shell of a man.
Might be better that way. Then he wouldn’t feel.