Wild at Heart
Chapter 7

Nick’s lips found mine in a hunger and devoured my soul. I was lost in the thought of finally being with my mate after spending so many nights without him. My mother may have been talking to me from the grave, or from my grave, but she was right when she told me that he needed me. I needed him. We needed each other.

Before I knew what was happening, my shorts were on the ground and Nick was pulling my legs up around his waist. I wrapped my arms around his neck for support as my legs were lifted from the ground. He slid his hands under my shirt and my skin bubbled with goosebumps. His lips trailed down my neck in passionate soft kisses. I bit down on my lower lip to conceal any noises that may escape. I could not forget that I was still in my place of business. Having sex in my office wasn’t a thought that crossed my mind often, but I definitely wasn’t denying Nick. I leaned into him as he slid inside me. I shoved my face into the cotton of his shirt and let out a muffled moan. Dammit, this was going to be difficult to keep quiet.

“Nick—” It barely came out as a moan, but I knew he heard me. The entire office was coated with a fresh scent of our sex, so there was no way in hell any of the wolves in here didn’t know what was going on. Oh, sweet Moon Goddess, this wasn’t going to last long. His teeth sunk into the soft skin of my neck and I left out another gasp as we both shivered in ecstasy. Nick slowly lowered me back down to the floor and we both adjusted ourselves back into our clothes. I tilted my head and found his eyes as he tucked a strand of my bangs back behind my ear. His lips pressed against my forehead before he pulled me close to his chest.

“Come home with me.” He whispered. I was almost done with Lucas, so I had no reason to stay at the bar. But work wasn’t what had Nick worried I wouldn’t be crawling into his bed tonight. My track record of leaving him lonely was becoming a long streak. But why? I couldn’t replace a reason to stay away from him besides my own jumbled mind of personal loss that has been taking a toll on me. Perhaps because I refused to let my mate in my puzzled mind?

“I have nowhere else I would rather be.” I leaned up and pressed my lips against his and I felt his curl into a smile.

I tried to avoid the awkward stares as Nick and I left the office. I finished up with Lucas and grabbed my dinner Nick packed up for me. I slid my hand into Nick’s and we walked out together to his car. It was different driving home rather than walking home like I was so used to doing, but it was nice. Nick rambled on and on about what happened after I left the training with the East pack. I tried to listen to him, but my mind was running away again.

“Emma?” I turned my head. “Am I boring you?” He asked.

“Sorry.” I turned my head back out the window. “I guess I just got lost.”

“Where’d you go?” He asked.

“I was just thinking about the alliance.”

“What of it?”

“Stefan hasn’t reached out, he hasn’t attacked. Hell, he hasn’t done anything. What if we don’t need the alliance?”

“Even if there is no threat of war right now, there’s no way to be certain war will never come, little wolf. It’ll be good for us to be prepared for the future.”

“What if the future war is with the East pack?”

“Then we will kick their asses like I know we are capable of.” Nick smiled at me, but I was worried about him. He was working so much and I’m sure he hasn’t been able to slow down without Daniel.

Nick walked me to the house and he disappeared for a shower while I ate my dinner. I finally responded to some text messages from Chloe. She was going insane sitting at home and she wanted to make plans, but I couldn’t even begin to think about free time. I needed to get Lucas trained completely so I can take some time off. Dr. Morris was complaining that I missed another appointment with her. I was going to have to stop by and see her, I couldn’t avoid her for much longer.

I cleaned up my dinner mess and walked to the bedroom. Nick was exiting the bathroom with a towel around his hips. His body was still glistening with water and I had to look away before back up again.

“Everything okay?” He asked as he walked over to the dresser and tossed on a pair of briefs.

“Perfect.” I sat on the bed and rubbed my face. I was exhausted. Nick pressed on my shoulders until I was flat on my back in the bed.

“Go to sleep, little wolf.” He whispered. I closed my eyes and let the darkness take me away.

I woke up in Nick’s arms, but to my surprise he was wide awake staring down at me. I smiled at him and rubbed the sleep from my eyes.

“Good morning.” He kissed my forehead gently.

“How long have you been up?” I asked as I sat up.

“Couple hours I guess.” I turned to the nightstand to see the time. It was almost ten o’clock.

“You let me sleep this late?” I asked as I scrambled to get out of the bed, but Nick caught my wrist.

“You’re exhausted and you don’t have anywhere to be. I already called the bar and the shifts are covered. Krista said she would call you if she needed you, but I highly doubt she will since I asked your dad to show Lucas what he needed to do.”

“Why would you do that?” I asked.

“Because I want to be greedy and keep you all to myself today.” I smiled at him. I didn’t know what I did to deserve him, but it must have been something big. “Why don’t you grab a shower while I make breakfast?” He kissed me again as he practically hopped out of the bed. I slid my body off the mattress and found my way to the shower, letting the hot water scorch my skin before getting to the actual washing part of my shower. I dried myself off after I finished and threw on a pair of workout shorts and an oversized t-shirt. If I had nothing to do and nowhere to go, I was going to be comfortable. The smell of bacon and eggs overwhelmed me as soon I opened the door.

“Smells good, Bobby Flay.” I wrapped my arms around Nick’s waist and leaned my head against his back. He smelled like fresh pine and I closed my eyes to get lost in his scent. After a moment, he turned around in my arms and returned the embrace.

“I want to show you just how boring I can be.” He said with a grin. “No talk of alliances, no pack drama. Just me and you stuck in this house watching Netflix movies all day.”

“Yes sir.” I agreed. He kissed me again and turned back around to get back to the cooking. Is this what it feels like to lead the boring life that I always wanted? I thought I wanted to be alone and just work at the bar and go home only to go to sleep and start it all over again the next day. I never imagined Nick would be in this picture, but now that he’s here, I couldn’t even begin to imagine what it would be like without him. As I stood in our kitchen watching him cook me breakfast as he hummed some stupid song I would have stuck in my head all day, I couldn’t help but feel a slight pain in the pit of my stomach. As happy as I was in this moment, I still felt the pain of loss. Not the loss of my friends, but the loss of what could have been the start of a family. The loss of a baby I never had the chance to begin to love. And it hurt like hell.