But she had to be smart. She had a pack, mostly filled with half-breeds. Would he still want her if he knew? Worse, would he attack her and her children? She couldn’t risk it.
Dragging her tattered composure around her, she faced him. “You had your dance. The club is now closed.”
While she’d been standing there dealing with Isaiah and the aftermath of what had happened between them, her family had cleared out the last of the patrons and staff. She sensed concern emanating from all of them and knew Isaiah’s continued presence here was undermining her authority with the pack.
“It’s past time for you to go.” She put on her haughtiest voice and manner as she waved toward the door.
Instead of getting angry, Isaiah gave her a look filled with understanding and a touch of pity. That fired her anger. “And don’t come back. We’re done.”
He started past her, pausing long enough to whisper in her ear. Not that it mattered. With their preternatural hearing and the deathly quiet in the club, the others could hear him as easily as if they were standing next to them. “I’ve told you before. We’re far from done.”
She didn’t turn to watch him leave, but she knew the minute the door closed behind him. The atmosphere was different. The room felt…empty.
Taking a deep breath, she turned to face her family. They were all watching her with varying degrees of concern. There was also a tinge of fear and anger.
She held up her hand. “I’m not talking about this tonight. We’ll take watches again like last night. Michael, you’re first. Work out a schedule amongst yourself and call me if you sense anything suspicious.”
No one spoke as she strode past, but she could feel their gazes on her as she left the room. Isaiah had created this tension in her pack. No, that wasn’t exactly true. She had. She’d allowed this male, this stranger, to disrupt their lives. And it had to stop.
Now if only she could make her body and her emotions listen.
She let herself into her apartment and shut the door firmly behind her.
Chapter Six
Meredith tilted back her head and enjoyed the autumn sunshine beaming down on her face as she meandered down the street. She’d needed to get away from the club, away from the constant tension that seemed to permeate the place these days.
True to his word, Isaiah had come back to the club last night and the night before that. And she had no doubt that he’d be there again tonight. It was enough to drive a woman stark raving mad. And considering how her hormones were jumping around these days, she didn’t have far to go.
So she’d done what any sensible woman in her situation would do. She’d gone shopping. Other than sex, that was the one surefire way to work off some stress.
She’d hit her favorite vintage store and found a gorgeous black dress that shimmered with threads of silver. It was from the twenties and fit her like a dream. The boutique had also had a sexy pair of sling backs in silver. And what do you know? They’d been just her size. Surely a sign that she was meant to buy them.
The walk around her neighborhood relaxed her. It reminded her of why she’d bought property and settled here in the first place. It had been a rough area of the city back in the mid-eighties when she’d purchased the building. Many of the surrounding buildings had been derelict or close to it. But even then she’d seen the changes happening to the area. The artists had been moving in, bringing with them a creative, eclectic vibe that still existed today. She’d hated to leave and had missed the place all the years she’d been away. Coming back twelve years ago had been like coming home.
“Good morning, Miss Meredith.” Ivan Prentski, who owned a local deli, greeted her as she passed. In spite of the fact he’d lived in America for forty years, he still had the accent from the land of his birth. She liked that. He was out sweeping in front of his shop, which he usually did several times a day. Meredith figured it was a way for him to get out of the shop and check what was going on around the neighborhood.
“It certainly is, Ivan.”
He leaned on the handle of his broom. “We have fresh salami and pastrami, perfect for sandwiches.” He paused for effect. “And Mama made fresh pastries.”
Damn him, he knew her weakness. “You’re an evil man,” she groused. His mother might be nearly seventy, but she baked like a dream.
He threw back his head and gave a booming laugh as he held the door open for her. His sheer joy made her smile, pushing her worries aside. What the hell. She’d treat herself to a half-dozen pastries. Maybe even a dozen. Maybe she could eat away the sexual tension that was her constant companion.
Before she hit the counter, she’d been stopped by a local musician trying to book a gig. She’d said hello to a woman she knew and chatted with a local artist whose work she hung in the club. It was something she did with several artists. She liked to support local talent.
Meredith hurried the conversation, not committing to seeing the artist’s new pieces. She knew her body and she was very close to having to shut herself in her room for a day or two. It was dangerous for her to be out on her own with her body emitting such powerful pheromones, but she hadn’t been able to bear being inside. Not this morning.
Ivan stared at her from the other side of the counter, worry in his gaze. “You okay? You look a little flushed.”
Heat rolled over her skin and sweat popped out on her brow. Damn she needed to get home. Now. “I’m fine. I’ve got to go.”
“What about your pastries?” Ivan called as she turned to leave.
“Another time.” She burst out of the store and hurried toward home, ignoring the calls of her name behind her.
Damn. What had possessed her to leave her apartment this morning?
She ignored the trembling in her limbs as her long legs closed the distance to her home. She knew darn well what had made her leave her apartment. Isaiah. Memories of his eyes watching her, his fingers caressing her. That’s what. She’d known she was close, but she hadn’t been able to bear being alone in her bedroom with her fantasies.
She heaved a sigh of relief as the club came into view. She was practically running now, chest heaving, muscles aching.
Hank was outside and saw her. He started toward her, but she waved him back. His eyes widened when she got within ten feet from him.
“Oh, shit.” He might be her adopted son, but he was also a male and this was a difficult time for him as well, as it was for all her adopted sons. Only her biological sons were immune.
Meredith would have laughed at the look on his face, only it wasn’t funny. Her clothing was torture against her skin. She wanted to claw it all off and run naked through the streets. Which would get her arrested and charged with public indecency. And wouldn’t that be fun.
Instead, she raced past him, shoving her bags at him as she went by. She didn’t pause as she hurried through the club and up the back stairs. Michael called out to her, but she ignored him.
She was panting hard and yanking at her shirt by the time she shoved open the door to her apartment. She slammed and locked the door behind her.
“Oh, God,” she moaned as a wave of desire hit her like a bolt of lightning, knocking her to the floor.
Moaning, she waited for it to pass. She pressed her thighs together and wrapped her arms around her body. There was nothing she could do but ride out the ripples of pure, unadulterated lust. It was worse than it had been in years. Yet something else she could blame on Isaiah. Having him around, being attracted to him, made the situation much harder for her to bear.