Chapter 4

Four

Chloe

M usic booms through Nate's house when we walk into the sea of red plastic cups.

"Ladies, come in," Nate greets us as we walk into the living room.

"Hey, Nate." Mia and I both greet him and some other friends with hugs.

"There's a keg in the garage, and booze for mixed drinks in the kitchen," he says before he greets more friends coming in behind us.

As we make our way to the kitchen, I'm realizing what a bad idea it is to be here. I know Nick and Ethan have friends on the lookout for me everywhere I go. The chances of contact with him would be far less if I would have just stayed home to lie low.

I turn to Mia, who is already pouring herself a drink. "I still can't believe he told your parents," she says, shaking her head. "Although, it's a little romantic," she says with a shrug.

"It was not romantic. It was controlling. I don't know about this. Maybe coming here was a bad idea. "

"Why? You're allowed to go out and have fun," Mia says as she takes a drink and looks around. "I don't see him anywhere."

"Not yet. You know he's going to show up here, and he's just going to cause a scene."

Suddenly the heat of someone standing behind me spreads across my back. "Who's going to show up and cause a scene? You need me to kick somebody's ass for you?" I know it's not Nick because the scent, while alluring, is totally different. I turn around to see Jay Ellis with a big smile on his face. We went out and fooled around a few times before the prom incident with Nick, but it never went anywhere. "What's up, Chloe?" I laugh as he picks me up in a big bear hug.

"Hey, Jay," I say as he sets me down. "It's so good to see you."

"It's good to see your beautiful face too. How've you been?"

I shrug with a flirty smile. "I'm great."

"Well, you look great, that's for damn sure," he says, pulling my body into his with his hands around my waist.

"Are you back for the summer?" I ask, looking up into his dark brown eyes.

"Mm hmm. Maybe we can get together and have a little fun," he says, and I panic as he lowers his face toward mine. I'm almost certain he's going to kiss me. I can't have a Travis repeat again tonight. I have to stop him.

Jay and I are both distracted from the moment when Mia says, "Uh, Chloe…oh no. Chloe, Chloe, Chloe," she says rapidly as she grabs my arm and pulls me away from Jay, and I scream when he's ripped away from me from behind. Nick's face is red as he takes Jay by the front of his shirt and tosses him to the floor.

"Get the fuck off of her!"

"What the fuck, Hayes?" Jay yells with surprise in his wide eyes.

The next thing I know, Nick is on the ground punching Jay in the face. He gets a few in, but Jay is just as big as Nick, and he manages to get Nick on the ground and throw a couple of punches of his own. Most of the girls in the crowd gasp as the other guys at the party try to separate the two, all while I stand and scream for them both to stop. When they're finally separated, Ethan and their friend Lance hold Nick back, while a couple of Jay's friends restrain him.

"Jesus, guys," Nate yells as he sees blood on the floor. "If you can't keep your shit together, you're going to have to leave."

"Sorry, Nate. I'm getting him out of here," Ethan says as he gives me a pleading look before he and Lance haul Nick out the front door. My heart thunders in my chest and I stand in complete shock as I look at the blood on the floor. Panic hits me in my chest when I wonder which one of them is bleeding so badly. Looking over at Jay, I see he has a couple of cuts on his lip and under his eye. It doesn't look like enough to produce that amount of blood.

"I'm going out to check on him," I say to Mia who is still standing in shock as I run out the front door. Nick is pacing in the front yard as Ethan and Lance try to talk him down. Blood is running down his face from his nose and onto his t-shirt.

Ethan turns and sees me walking toward them. "Chloe, we need your help to calm him down. Please."

I nod and run to them, and Nick stops pacing immediately as soon as I'm in front of him. The torment in his beautiful eyes hits me straight in my chest. "Come with me," I say as I take his hand and lead him out to the street where his Jeep is parked. He follows me without protest, unlocking the doors.

Opening the passenger side door, I point to the seat and order, "Sit." He complies, sitting sideways in the seat.

"There are some gym towels in the back seat. They're clean," he says.

I nod and retrieve a towel. When I come back to face him, he widens his legs so I can stand between them to hold the towel to his nose. "What the hell is wrong with you? You behaved like an animal back there. "

"It is the animal in me, Chloe. Don't you get that? It's bad enough that I have to fight all of my instincts to officially claim you as mine because I know it's not time yet. Do you have any idea how it feels to see you in the arms of another guy?" He looks at me with pain in his gorgeous eyes.

I shrug as I continue to deny the affect he has on me. "Nothing is stopping you from being the arms of another girl."

He takes my wrist that is holding the towel and pulls it away from his face. "I know how it feels. I would never do that to you." My stomach twists as he looks at me with such sadness in his eyes. "You don't have to keep using other guys to hurt me, Chloe. Trust me, I already make myself feel worse than you could ever make me feel for the way I treated you that night. I'll always regret it, and not just because we're mates now, but because you're you, and you deserve better than that."

We stare into each other's eyes for a moment or two, and then because I can't come up with anything else, I say, "We need to get you a clean shirt."

He nods. "Will you come with me?"

"Yes," I say with a nod, "but you've just been in a fight, so I'm driving."

"I'm fine, Chloe."

Backing away with my hands on my hips, I say, "Do you want me to come with you or not?" He sighs and hands me his keys before swinging his legs around and closing the door.

The house is quiet when we walk into Nick's kitchen after parking his Jeep in the garage. "Are your parents here?"

"Not right now," he says. "They won't be back until late."

"Oh." That doesn't make things feel less awkward at all.

"My room is this way," Nick says, tilting his head toward the stairs. Without thinking about what I'm doing I nod and follow him up. "Sorry, it's kind of a mess," he says, gesturing to boxes and clothes sitting around the room as he closes the door behind us. "I haven't finished unpacking."

"That's right. I heard you aren't going back to school next year."

"Nope." He goes to the bathroom and runs water on the towel to clean up his face.

"Why did you decide not to go back to school?" I ask when he comes back into the bedroom.

He shrugs. "It's not for me. I already know I'm going to be Ethan's second in command when he takes over, and until then, I would rather get my hands dirty and get to work."

"Oh, what are you going to do?"

"I start training with the security department this fall. I'll also be working alongside Alpha Sullivan's second in command a couple of days a week…kind of an apprenticeship." I nod as he studies me. "Why? Do you think less of me for not going back to school?"

"No, of course not. That's not why I think less of you, Nick." It's harsh, and I regret it as soon as I say it.

Turning away from me, he braces himself on his dresser. All the muscles in his arms and back tighten. "Jesus, Chloe. I'm fucking trying here." He turns to face me and shakes his head. "I'll do anything to make this better, but at some point you're going to have to meet me in the middle."

My comment suddenly doesn't feel so harsh, and all the hurt comes rushing to the surface again. "Oh, so you apologize a few times, and I'm just supposed to be over it? Is that what you think?"

"No…I…I don't know. Fuck, Chloe, I don't know what's supposed to happen here," he says as he rips his bloody shirt off over his head and throws it into a laundry basket, revealing his broad chest and chiseled abs. "All I know is that you're all I can fucking think about, and I'll do anything to make this right. "

"That's just it, Nick. I don't know if you can make this right," I say as I feel a tear trickle down my cheek. "This was a mistake. I should go." I turn to grab the doorknob.

"Chloe, wait," he says, placing his hand on the door, keeping me from opening it. "Please. Just wait." He turns me around by my shoulder with his other hand, and he closes in on me as my back presses against the door. "I'm sorry. For everything. I'm so fucking sorry, and I'll keep saying it if that's what you need. Just don't go. Stay with me." He rests his forehead to mine as he wipes away my tears with his thumb.

I'm suddenly realizing how amazing he smells with his bare chest exposed and so close. "Nick, I can't do this."

"We're not doing anything. We're just here. Together." He runs his finger down my cheek and over my jaw.

"I should go home," I whisper, trying to talk myself out of wanting to be here with him.

"You don't have your car."

"I can text Mia and get a ride."

"Chloe, come on. Stay with me. If you stay for a little while, and you still want to leave, I'll take you home. Spend some time with me. Give me a chance." I look up into his eyes and my heart thunders in my chest. He lifts my chin as he says, "I can sense your heart racing. Don't be nervous."

"I can't help it. You make me nervous. I don't know how to be with you, Nick."

"I'm so sorry I hurt you, Chloe. I'll always regret it, and I promise you, I'll never hurt you again."

"I want to believe you," I whisper as more tears fall.

"You can, Chloe. You can believe in me…in us. I know there's a part of you that still feels something for me, even if you don't feel the mate bond yet." He raises my chin to look into my eyes again. "Tell me I'm right, Chloe. Tell me you still feel something for me."

Damn it. I hate it that he still makes me feel like this. "I don't want to feel anything for you. "

"But, you do?" he asks with hope in his eyes.

I finally let it all explode out of me. "Of course, I do! It's always been you, Nick! Don't you get it? I've had to hate you because it hurts too damn much to love you after what you did to me!"

"So, what your mom said earlier…it's true?"

"Nick, please don't?—"

"Tell me, Chloe," he says, closing in on me even more. "Is it true? Did you love me?"

"Nick, don't make me say this," I say, shaking my head.

"I need to hear it, Chloe. Give me something. Please."

"Yes. Okay? I loved you," I say, refusing to look at him.

"What about now? Do you still love me?" he asks, raising my chin again. "Because I love you, Chloe. Tell me there's still something there. God, you have no idea how badly I need to hear it. Tell me you still love me."

"Yes! Okay? Is that what you want to hear? Yes, Nick, I'm so fucking in love with you that I don't know what to do with myself!"

We stare at each other, both of us breathing heavily, and then he crashes his mouth to mine.

Nick

She allows my tongue to pass beyond her lips, and I kiss her with every ounce of love I have for her that's been building within me since we were together over a year ago. Goosebumps race over my skin as she runs her hands over my bare chest and arms, then wraps her arms around my neck as her fingers play in the back of my hair. This is finally the breakthrough I've been waiting on. We can move forward and be happy together now.

I pull her tiny tank top up, and she raises her arms to allow me to remove it completely. Bringing my lips to hers again, I kiss my way down her neck as I remove her bra. I drop to my knees, and she whimpers, hitting the back of her head on my bedroom door. She moans and tangles her hands in my hair when I suck her nipple into my mouth, and then I move to the other breast to do the same. Kissing my way down her flat, tight stomach, I pull her shorts down, leaving her in only a tiny pair of black, lace panties. Standing to kiss her again, I lift her up, and she wraps her legs around my waist.

I turn us around and land both of us on the bed, with her lying beneath me. She reaches between us and starts unbuttoning my jeans, so I stand and tear my jeans down and off of my legs, followed by my boxer briefs. Her pouty lips part as she stares at my throbbing erection as I move forward and drag her panties down her legs, throwing them behind me. Raising up on her elbows she watches me as I drop down to my knees. We make eye contact for several seconds before I spread her legs apart and use my tongue to lick her sweet taste from within her folds. She throws her head back with a loud moan and I growl as I taste more of what belongs to me.

"Oh, God, Nick," she says between moans as she reaches down to pull my hair while I take my time bringing her pleasure. I enjoy the taste of my mate on my tongue until I send her plunging over the edge, and she moans and whimpers her way through her orgasm as her grip tightens on my hair.

Moving up her body, my lips land on hers while I fish a condom out of my nightstand. "You taste fucking amazing," I whisper into her ear as I roll the condom on, and then suck her earlobe into my mouth.

"Oh, God, Nick. This feels so—" She gasps as I thrust into her. I frown a little at how she feels just as tight as she did the first night we were together. It makes me wonder if she's been with anyone else since me. The very thought of her with someone else threatens to send me into a rage, but I look into her eyes and bring myself back to this moment with her.

"Are you okay?" I ask, taking things slow at first.

"I'm amazing," she says, throwing her head back with a moan.

Taking her mouth with mine, I wrap my arms around her and roll us so that she's on top of me. Staying immersed in her, she cries out as I sit up with my back against the headboard. She throws her head back with a loud moan, and I growl as she sinks down onto me. It feels so fucking good to be this deep inside her. Gripping her hips, I use my hands to guide her as I continue to move within her.

Wrapping my arms around her, I lean forward and trace her nipples with my tongue before kissing my way up her neck. She cries out and tightens around me when I suck the sensitive skin of her neck into my mouth and trace it with my tongue. I have to stop to keep myself from marking her, so I kiss my way up her neck, and brush my tongue beyond her lips, kissing her deeply. I can feel her tighten around me, and I thread my hands into her hair, kissing her hard as we both quicken our movements until we come together.

Rolling us onto our sides, I separate from her for just a moment to discard the condom in the trash. Lying down next to her, I look into her eyes and kiss her lips gently. "I love you, Chloe. I love you so fucking much."

"I love you, too," she whispers. I pull her into my chest and she's asleep almost instantly. As I'm enjoying the warmth of her body against mine, I get a text from my parents saying they had a few too many cocktails and decided to spend the night in Denver. Good, because there's no way in hell I was about to let her leave me tonight. I would have found a way to sneak her out in the morning if necessary. Her purse is on my nightstand, so I reach inside to grab her phone.

Even though I'm happy to be able to open it, I shake my head when I see it isn't password protected. I open her text messages and first text Mia to see if she'll cover for Chloe, and of course she says yes. I then text Chloe's parents, and as if I'm her, I tell them she's staying at Mia's tonight. I don't even think they'd care if they knew she was staying with me tonight. They know we're mates, and intimacy among mates is expected right away, but I know she would be upset, so I lie for her .

Keeping her wrapped up against my chest, I reach down and pull the covers over us. I gently kiss her forehead and release a deep sigh as I settle in with her naked warmth against mine. I finally feel settled for the first time since seeing her two days ago. This is it. This is the way it was always supposed to be.