CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER SEVEN

ZAC

I can’t sleep. My mind keeps wandering back to Brook in my bed. I wish I was with her and not on this couch. Seeing her naked is conjuring up images. One of them is me licking every inch of her body. Then there’s my wolf. He wants me to mark her and make her mine. Hopefully, both things will happen soon.

I give up on sleeping around six o’clock and go for a morning run. After that I shower and get ready for work, all without waking her up. I put a note on the nightstand, telling her where I’ll be and that I’ll return home at lunchtime. I also leave my cell and work numbers in case she needs to get hold of me. I watch her before leaving. Her blonde hair is feathered out on the pillow and her mouth is twitching. I’d like to crawl into bed, pull her into my arms, and make love to her. My dick hardens just thinking about it. But I don’t act on my impulses. Instead, I back away and go to work.

* * *

It’s not long before the guys are razzing me about my new roommate. I shut them down and tell them to leave it alone.

Caleb asks, “Is she your mate?”

I can’t lie because she’s that important to me. The amount of time I’ve known her is irrelevant.

“Yeah, she is my mate,” I answer. “But she’s human. How do I go about explaining it all to her?”

“Wait until you know how she feels. You need to be certain about it. Once you are, then you can explain the shifter world and how claiming a mate works.”

“You’re right.”

“Just be patient.”

I can be patient. It’s not like she’s going anywhere. I don’t think.

“I’ve been meaning to have Will check her background.”

“He’s in his office,” Caleb says. “I’m sure he’ll have time to do some digging.”

“You need me for anything?”

“Go ahead.”

“Thanks.”

“You bet.”

* * *

I go into Will’s office. “I need you to look into someone for me. Brook Mathews from Maryville, Tennessee.”

He looks up from his computer. “For work, or is this personal?”

“Personal.”

“Give me a sec.” He taps his keyboard. “What’s the name again?”

I repeat the name and location.

“Hang on.”

Will goes to work and I drop into a chair on the other side of his desk. I pass the time by closing my eyes and thinking of Brook.

“Here it is.”

I open my eyes and sit up.

“Brook is twenty-one.”

“I know. I saw her driver’s license.”

“Oh.” Will scratches his head. “Okay, let’s see. She’s been going to college for an art history and art studies degree for the last three and a half years.” He tilts his head. “Aww. That’s too bad.”

“What?”

“Her parents were killed in a car wreck a couple of weeks ago.”

“Oh, God. Really?” I feel a lump in my throat. I thought her last few days had been bad, but this makes it much worse.

“Does she have any relatives?” Will asks.

“I don’t know.”

Will goes back to work. “Looks like she has an aunt that lives some distance away,” he says while typing. “The parents’ house is up for sale.”

I shake my head.

Will continues, “I don’t know how much her parents were worth, but they had money.” He leans back in his chair. “Doesn’t seem like a poor homeless girl to me.”

My eyes narrow. I don’t recall mentioning she has no money and is homeless.

Will says, “Chris told me.”

“Oh.”

“I have to get back to what I was doing. It’s kind of urgent. You want me to look into her some more later?”

“I don’t think so.” I stand. “Thanks for doing this.”

“You’re welcome.”

I leave Will’s office to get some of my own work done.

* * *

A few hours later, Jake comes into my office and asks if I can help with a job after I get back from lunch.

“Sure.” I look at my watch. “That time already?”

“Yeah.”

I close out what I was looking at and put my computer to sleep. “I’m going to head home for lunch.” I get out of my chair. “Can I meet up with you afterward?”

“That’d be fine.” He tells me where the job is.

We walk out of my office together.

* * *

I stop at my favorite sandwich shop and pick something up for Brook and me. I’m hoping we can talk during lunch.

When I arrive home, Brook looks over her shoulder. She’s on the couch watching TV. “Hi.”

“Hey.”

“I didn’t expect you.”

“Didn’t you get my note?”

“Guess I forgot.”

I hold up the bag of food. “Picked us up something to eat.”

She turns the television off. “Thanks.”

I sit down next to her. “This is my favorite place to eat.” I hand her a meat lover combo without onions. She doesn’t need onion breath.

She unwraps the sandwich and takes a bite. Closes her eyes and says, “Umm.”

I need to get my mind out of the gutter because the way she says, umm, makes me think of sex. And I would love to have sex with her.

She smiles at me. “This is really good.”

“Glad you like it.”

I take a couple of bites and realize we have nothing to wash it down with. “You want something to drink?”

“I’ll have water.”

I put my food down and get us each a bottle of water from the fridge. When I get back, I hand her one.

“Thank you.”

I sit down and we go back to eating. It’s quiet in here. To quiet.

I can’t keep putting it off, but I need to be delicate. I don’t want her feeling like she’s under the bright lights of an interrogation room. “So what made you decide to move here?”

Brook nibbles a chip and doesn’t answer.

I sip my water.

She sets her sandwich on the coffee table and stares at it. Tears fill her eyes. “I didn’t have anywhere to go.” She leans back on the couch. “I’ve lost everything.” She covers her eyes and cries.

I put my arm around her and kiss the side of her head. “What happened?”

She sniffles. “My parents were killed in a car crash and I lost my home. I have nothing.”

Something’s not jiving here. “How did you lose your home? Were your parents in debt or something?”

She looks like she wants to hit me. “My parents had no debt.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to insult you.” That was obviously the wrong thing to say. “I shouldn’t have said that. How did you lose your home?”

“My parents left everything to my aunt.”

My heart sinks. Brook’s been put through the ringer.

“I don’t understand it, either,” she continues. “Karen and Mom didn’t get along at all.”

I hold up a finger. “Karen is your aunt?”

“Yeah, my mom’s sister. The lawyer said everything was hers, or she was in charge, anyway. I went home after the will was read and the movers were cleaning the place out. There was even a “For Sale” sign in the front yard.” She closes her eyes.

It didn’t seem right. How could a parent do that to their only child? I’m going to have to get Will on top of this.

Brook starts crying again and I comfort her some more. When she’s done, I talk about something else. “What did you do before you came here?” I didn’t want to come out and abruptly ask her about college because she had never brought it up.

“I was a college student. This would have been my senior year.”

“You didn’t feel like finishing?”

“No money. Karen got it all.”

I let out a breath. I seem to be reminding her of all the hardships she’s had to endure.

Needing to come from a different angle, I try again. “What did you want to do after graduation?”

“I have a fondness for art. I want to work in an art gallery or a museum. And I love to paint.”

Now I might be able to make her feel better. “Ok, then we’ll find you an art gallery job.”

She blinks. “Art gallery jobs are really hard to get.”

“It might not be as hard as you think.” I go on to tell her about jobs we’ve done in art galleries, museums, and jewelry stores. I don’t know if there’s a profession we haven’t worked with. Brook seems excited, but doesn’t say as much.

“I’ll have to think about it,” she says.

“You do that.” My phone beeps. I look at it. I had set an alarm. It’s time to meet Jake. “I have a job I need to get to.”

“Okay.”

I put my hand on her knee and push myself off of the couch. “Want me to put the rest of your sandwich in the fridge?” There’s over half of it left. She eats like a bird.

“No, I’m going to have some more.”

“All right.” I start cleaning up what little mess there is.

“I’ll get that.”

“You sure?”

“Yes. Go do your work.”

“Thank you.” I stop myself from bending over to kiss her. “I’ll be home around seven.”

She smiles. “Okay.”

I stroll for the door.

“Bye,” she says.

“Bye.”

I walk out and call Will, asking him to gather information on Brook’s Aunt Karen. “I want everything you can find.”