"I do?" she asked softly as her body reacted to his closeness.
"Yes. Soon, you'll understand why."
How mysterious. She opened her mouth to question him, but he leaned in and kissed her passionately until all coherent thought fled. She leaned into him and moaned. He pulled away, taking his warmth with him, and she moaned again at the loss.
"C'mon." He grabbed her hand and walked them to the top of the stairs that led down to the flat's entranceway.
After one last kiss, he said, "I'll be here tomorrow around noon again."
She nodded. "I'll be here."
Nika followed Garrick down the stairs and locked the door behind him after he left. She went back up to the flat, then went to the second set of stairs near the kitchen that led to the pub below. Only using the light from the stairs to find her way through the darkened taproom, she went behind the bar and grabbed a bottle of white wine from the cooler. She snagged one of the wineglasses as well and returned to the flat.
After opening the wine bottle with the corkscrew in her kitchen, Nika poured herself a glass and sat down on the couch. To fill the silence, she turned on the television. As she sipped her wine, she thought about the hours she'd spent in bed with Garrick. He was everything she could ask for in a lover. Only one thing left her unsettled—what was that thing he did when he came? Each time he'd climaxed, his cock had swelled to the point it became locked deep inside her pussy. Then there was his ability to keep ejaculating long afterward. It wasn't normal. Garrick may not have been too upset by it, but she couldn't help feeling there was something seriously strange there.
Then there was his cryptic remark about her meaning more to him than she thought. She couldn't shake the feeling he wasn't telling her something, something she may have a hard time accepting. If that wasn't the case, why hadn't he just spoken his mind? Even that first night when Garrick had returned to the pub just before closing time, he'd said something about her not being ready to hear something he had to tell her.
She had no clue as to what that something could be. Short of his being married and lying to her about it, Nika figured she could handle whatever he had to say. She wanted things to work out between her and Garrick. Now that she'd caved and slept with him, she had to admit he was getting to her in a good way. In his arms, she felt cherished and taken care of.
Nika snorted aloud. Just listen to yourself. Now she sounded like one of those romance novels she'd taken up reading shortly after David had dumped her. But it was true. Around Garrick, she felt more of a woman, and a sexy one at that. A man with his good looks who wanted to spend hours making love to her until she couldn't move . . .
she'd be crazy to give that up. A few more bouts of sex like that and Nika would become addicted to him.
While she'd been lost in thought, she'd finished her glass of wine. She traipsed back into the kitchen and poured herself another. She'd give this thing between her and Garrick a chance. As long as he didn't get too pushy with her and allowed her to trust him, they'd be all right. And that was the main thing she had to overcome—being able to trust a man to not lie to her and walk out when the going got tough.
Nathan had been getting ready to leave the pack's den when one of the werewolves he'd sent to follow the warriors arrived. Not wanting the other pack members to hear what they discussed, he motioned for the werewolf to follow him to his chamber. He ran his gaze across the other werewolves who were either in their wolf or human forms. They were all male. When he'd become pack leader, Nathan had made sure no females would be brought into their ranks. He wanted his pack strong, not fighting amongst themselves over who had the right to mate. After last night, their numbers needed to be brought back up. That was why he'd decided to go out this night to do a little hunting of his own.
Once they were alone in his chamber, Nathan turned to the werewolf. "What do you have to report?"
The werewolf—Stephen—was a brute of a man. He stood eye to eye with Nathan, at over six feet, but was more muscular. As a mortal, he'd been a drug dealer and a rapist. He wore the evidence of his former shady life in the form of a large scar that ran from his left temple down across his cheek.
"I think I found what you wanted. I followed one of the Anglo-Saxon god's warriors."
"Which one?"
"The one that drives an Audi Spyder."
"That would be Garrick. Go on."
"He went to The Old Sow pub. Even though it was closed, he made quite a scene by yelling up at a woman in the flat above it to let him in. He was rather insistent. She eventually did, and that's where he stayed until a half hour ago. The woman didn't leave with him. I think she's the owner of the pub."
In all likelihood, the woman could be what he'd been looking for. Another warrior could have found his mate, but he had to make sure before he made a move.
There was a chance she could have just been a one-day fling for Garrick. If that was the case, she would be no good to Nathan.
"You've done well," he told the werewolf. "I want you to keep watching the pub during the day to see if Garrick comes back. If he shows up there tomorrow, I'll have to pay the place a little visit."
Chapter Eight
The following morning, Nika woke up a little earlier than she usually did when she didn't have to open the pub. She'd taken her time in the shower, shaving and using her favorite lavender-scented body scrub. Afterward, she'd toweled dry, then liberally applied the same scented lotion.
She now stood in her room in her sexiest pair of panties and bra—both pale pink and sheer enough to see through—looking in her closet to see what she wanted to wear.
She'd already decided on her black jeans since they hugged her curves in all the right places. Nika picked out a couple of blouses, but then decided on the violet, silk short-sleeved one. The material exactly matched the color of her eyes and made them stand out.
Once she was dressed, she went and stood in front of her dresser mirror. She turned this way and that, giving herself a thorough once over. She looked pretty damn good, if she said so herself.
After applying a few squirts of perfume to the hollow of her throat, Nika went to the kitchen to take stock of what was in her fridge, food wise. There ended up not being a hell of a lot of anything. Yesterday, she and Garrick had finished off the last of her cold cuts when they'd come up for air long enough to make a couple of sandwiches. She never kept much food in her flat, because when the pub was open, she usually had Lee whip her up something to eat.
Closing the fridge door, she decided if she and Garrick wanted to eat, they would have to go out for something. Nika never cooked anything in the pub's kitchen.
That was Lee's territory, and he didn't like anyone messing with it. Not that she would.
She wasn't much of a cook and would rather eat Lee's food any day over her own.
That settled, she looked over at the clock on the stove. The red numbers read 11:45. Garrick would be here in fifteen minutes. Her heart picked up its pace at the thought of being able to see him again. She'd done a lot of thinking about him during the night. She'd even dreamed about him, which wasn't surprising, considering his scent still clung to her sheets.
At five to twelve, Nika went down the stairs and unlocked the door to the flat, then raced back up. She didn't want to look too anxious by hanging around the entranceway waiting for Garrick to knock. Moving to one of the windows that faced the front of the pub, she parted the curtains and stood in front of it. From this vantage point, she had a good view of the parking lot below.
At exactly noon, she watched a silver Audi Spyder pull into the lot and park. It had to be Garrick. Nika hadn't known what type of car he drove, but the flashy sports car was exactly what she pictured he'd own. She just hadn't expected it to be quite so expensive. Whatever Garrick's job was, it obviously paid well.