Rachel POV
Bella & Rachel's Apartment
The hard rap of knuckles against the front door dragged my attention from the notebook I was trying to compose in. Caution came to me strangely as I looked out the window to see who the guest might be before moving to open the door. I didn't want to be surprised again the way I had been by Art earlier.
I sighed in relief when I realized it was only Nathan.
Unlocking the door, I quickly opened it and waved him in with a smile of gratitude as I saw he'd wheeled a suitcase along with him.
Trust Nathan to be wonderful enough to come packed to leave within hours of being asked to go with me on a fool's errand.
We weren't going into friendly territory either, yet here he was! Ready to go!
I would have hugged him if I didn't worry he'd misinterpret my relief for something deeper. I hated myself for using Nathan as a personal shield when I knew he wanted to have me back as his lover agai
Rachel POVDave's DinerBurgers and fries came fast at Dave's Diner. We had to wait longer for the milkshakes, but they came in giant, old-fashioned milkshake glasses with enough shake for a second pour in the stainless steel mixing cups which came alongside. I'd ordered banana while Nathan had asked for chocolate."Is your phone going off again?"My phone had been buzzing angrily every few minutes since our drinks arrived. I'd seen Tyler's name on the screen; I had zero desire to explain to him I wasn't able to talk because I was having dinner with Nathan."It's Tyler. He's persistent. He will also not be any angrier in an hour than he is right now. We can enjoy our meal in peace.""I don't think you get a lot of that with Wright. Peace, I mean."I knew what he meant and he wasn't wrong. Nathan was, on paper and in person, the more pleasant of the two Alphas, but he wasn't the one who made my heart beat
Rachel POVWright House"I don't like living without you." Tyler had never been a romantic man; hearing him confess he missed me made me hotter than his kiss.I responded to his words as much as his lips as we kissed as passionately as teenagers. I stopped trying to find air when I realized I could steal the breath from his mouth easier than breathing on my own. We kissed so long I was dizzy, swaying on my feet enough for Tyler to finally sweep me up in his arms."Can I take you to bed?"He'd never asked me before."Yes."My words were as breathless as I was and I kissed him everywhere I could reach as he carried me into the bedroom we'd shared during our mating. I saw more signs of life as he brought me to bed. I wondered if Tyler was trying to fill the hole I had left behind with pieces of himself spread throughout the empty house.I wondered if he could chisel away enough pieces of himself to forget what pie
Rachel POVWright HouseI was a quivering, limp mess on the bed as Tyler finally took mercy on me. He turned the toy off and tucked it back into its box before placing the gift bag on the bedside table. I had never seen such a deceptive package. The damned thing looked innocent yet carried pleasure almost certainly too good not to be a sin."Good?""Good?" I echoed in disbelief.We shared a laugh as Tyler moved to lie beside me on the bed. He used a hand to pull my skirt back down my thighs to cover me though I was still sensitive enough even closing my legs caused a residual jolt to strike through me at even that slight movement.Rolling to my side, I said, "I am not sure I'm healthy enough for your gift. I'm pretty sure one more minute? I would've had a heart attack."Tyler and I laughed together again as my body settled down. I noticed Tyler was still aroused and moved to my knees only for Tyler to gently press me back down.
Art POVOutside Bella & Rachel's ApartmentI could tell Wright had taken my advice the moment Rachel got out of the back of his sedan. Her smile was a mile wide and the gift bag at her side was the pretty yet discreet kind which came from an intimacy store. I idly thought about calling him to goad him into talking about it, but discarded the notion as soon as it passed through my mind.No man deserved to be mocked for following good advice, especially not when the advice was related to women.A part of me was amused I could deliver good advice regarding women.My past relationships had all ended badly with my last one resulting in a curse I wasn't sure I could shake. Good luck was not the kind I had and sometimes there was no way to come back from a bad trip.Some decisions couldn't be changed. I had learned all about regrets long before being cursed.I caught a whiff of arousal on the wind as Rachel opened the door to her apartme
Nathan POV The Four Seasons "Who is watching Rachel?" I resisted the urge to grab Charlotte by her shoulders and shake the truth out of her only by focusing on maintaining my calm. The eerie feeling of being watched passed as suddenly as it had swept over me; I focused on Char's face to watch her features for any clues as to her meaning while waiting on my answers. Charlotte played the game as well as any Alpha. Better in some ways because males tended to underestimate their female counterparts in wolfen society. I didn't temper my expectations of anyone based on their gender. After all, the person who'd done the worst hurt to me in my life was a female. Rachel would have been kinder to me if she'd shot me with a silver bullet through the head rather than leave me with a gaping hole where my heart had been. "Father is only being cautious. She comes from bad stock, you know, so it's in our better interests to make
Tyler POVWright HouseI hadn't looked at the phone before answering the caller and, as such, Nathan Lewis's voice came as a surprise to me. I recoiled in my chair slightly as he snapped at me about some hypothetical men sent by my father to follow Rachel.I could believe my father would send men to follow Rachel. She was carrying my heir. Her value had gone up considerably due to her pregnancy alone. My father wouldn't let the fact she was my fated mate slide by either.John Wright was a master manipulator in both his business and his personal endeavors. I might be his son, but I wasn't special to him. He would use his skills on me the same as he would go at a business rival."Charlotte didn't know their names? Two of them?"I tried to recall who my father called on regularly to do what he called 'odd jobs.'I didn't approve of criminal enterprises of any kind so John rarely brought those types of associates into my direct sphere of
Rachel POVBella & Rachel's ApartmentTime flew by until I only had about an hour before Nathan was going to show up for his overnight stay at the apartment. I stripped the bed in a hurry, glad I wasn't too pregnant yet for household tasks to be a bother. We only had two bedrooms in the apartment, so Nathan would have to take the bed I'd been using; the least I could do would be to ensure he had clean sheets to sleep on.I blushed thinking about how he might catch a hint of lingering arousal on my sheets if I let them remain. I had showered after getting back from Wright House, but just thinking about my time with Tyler was enough to make me weak in the knees. What had gotten into Tyler?I didn't know where the sudden urge to please me came from though I did wonder if it had anything to do with a certain Alpha Inspector.Come to that, I hadn't seen Art all day, but I had the feeling he was keeping close to me. I didn't know why I was comforted
Rachel POVBella & Rachel's ApartmentI checked through the window to make sure it was Nathan before opening the door. He looked as good as ever, better even in his jeans and blue Henley which brought out the color of his eyes. I found myself blushing as I ushered him in."Come in, come in! I've changed the sheets on the bed for you. I'll be bunking with Bella tonight so you get to take my room."I went to the hall closet where I put the towels away. I kept up a steady stream of chatter to try to calm the flush in my face. Nathan would have no way of knowing what I'd been talking about with Bella only a minute before, but I was still embarrassed at even the thought of his finding out."Here's the towels if you want a shower tonight. I didn't move your suitcase. It's still by the table in the entryway. Do you want anything? A drink or something to eat?""I want you to breathe," Nathan offered, giving me a low chuckle as he touched my shou