Pack Justice (Nature of the Beast Book 1) (23 page)

“You were really thinking about me? In the courthouse?”

I liked her smile, but the way her face turned pink also appealed, and unable to resist, I brushed the back of my hand against her cheek. “You, Miss Morgan, put me in an awkward position each and every time you walked into the room. If your intent was to drive me absolutely crazy, you succeeded. You have no idea how many men I’ve wanted to take out back and punch for making you smile when I couldn’t.” I huffed, turning my attention back to my shirt. “Please tell me my pants fared better than my shirt.”

Andrea’s cheeks brightened to a cherry red. “I got a little excited.”

I covered my mouth with my hand so I wouldn’t laugh. “I don’t mind.”

“I was scowling because I wanted to take you out back and have my way with you and couldn’t.”

Her declaration stole my breath, and for a long moment, all I could do was stare at her, my mouth open and my head blank of coherent thought. Avoiding Idette’s wrath had consumed so much of my energy I hadn’t noticed Andrea’s true feelings.

What would have been different if I had known Andrea had wanted me all along?

It probably would have been a lot easier to file the damned divorce papers. Idette’s stranglehold on my life would have been easier to escape with help, although it shamed me to admit it.

Judge O’Mallory had made the ultimate difference, helping me take the first real step to freedom.

Idette, however, had been the one to break the chains binding me. Maybe her actions had forced my wolf to bond with me, but with both of my spirit beasts in my head supporting me, I could choose for myself what—and who—I wanted.

Andrea was all I had imagined and so much more. My spirit beasts were content, as was I.
 

I inhaled, held my breath, and waited until my lungs burned before sighing. “When my head no longer feels like it’s going to split in half, I propose we make up for lost time. If you want to take me out back and have your way with me, I won’t resist.”

“I’ll take you up on that offer,” Andrea warned, narrowing her eyes at me as she looked me over head to toe. I liked the way she smiled. “Surely you have some things you have in mind, too, Mr. Scott?”

I had a lot of things in mind, and only some of them involved taking Andrea to bed with me. Above all, now that I had her, I had to keep her safe, no matter what.

I’d been with Idette long enough to know my soon-to-be ex-wife wouldn’t give up without a fight.

Andrea brought me a new shirt and pair of pants, both of which had her scent all over them. I didn’t mind in the slightest, but I wondered about it, deciding I would ask her after the pain in my head subsided.

While I could have dressed myself, Andrea hovered and made whining noises as I buttoned my shirt. I held my hands up in surrender. “I would have gotten it right this time.”

Narrowing her eyes at me, she huffed and went to work, and I had the feeling she didn’t care about my shirt as much as she cared about being as close to me as possible. The heat in her scent had eased, replaced by the sweeter scent of her contentment.

“Mine,” she hissed through clenched teeth.

“I have no complaints. I will, however, insist you allow me to wine and dine you appropriately.” I lifted my chin so she could fiddle with my collar. “I like this shirt, so if you want me out of it, let me unbutton it first, okay?”

Andrea blushed.

Unable to resist, I wrapped my arms around her and ducked my head so I could rest my forehead on her shoulder, breathing in her scent. There was something wrong with me, because when I touched her, my carefully laid defenses disintegrated.

I needed her to know my fears so I could protect her—and so she could protect herself, too.

“Every time we faced off in court, I was terrified Idette would find out about you,” I confessed in a hoarse whisper. After repressing them for so long, the words came out in a rush, and the anxiety I had lived with for so many years boiled to the surface. “She hated when another woman came anywhere near me. It didn’t matter who or why. I always worried she would know and lash out at someone other than me.”

“I smelled your blood in the courthouse during the trial,” Andrea said, her voice as soft as mine. “It was from her, wasn’t it? You often had a light scent of blood on you, but I never saw anything, so I wondered if I was imagining things.”

“My shoulder.”

“What?”

“She liked to bite. That time, she had gotten my shoulder. That’s what you were smelling. If I didn’t do what she liked, the first thing she’d do was take a chunk out of me.”

“You’re serious. She bit you like that all the time? I thought you flinched because she had gone for your throat during the ritual.”

I snorted. “What you did surprised me but was nothing like what she did. She drew blood each and every time. I was fortunate she decided on my shoulder instead of my neck during the trial. It’s damned hard to hide the type of bruises she’d leave when she was done with me.”

Andrea tensed and clutched my arms, her fingers flexing and digging into my skin. “I’m amazed you’re telling me this.”

An attorney who couldn’t handle the truth and speak with confidence despite the fear didn’t last long—or give clients the strength and courage to brave the witness stand. I sighed, wondering if my secret shame had been part of what made me excel at helping women and men endure the rigors of trial to get justice for the crimes committed against them.
 

I understood them far too well.

“You need to know. When she realizes you’re the reason she couldn’t have what she wanted, I don’t know what she’ll do.”

“She still wants you. I could smell it on her when she was dragging you off. I should have killed her then,” Andrea snarled. “I wish I could have, but I wasn’t going to leave you, not with you like that. She had mauled you.”

Idette had, and my body still ached from being thrown into the tree. All things considered, I was amazed my leg continued to support my weight.

“If I had gone for her instead of Douglass Roberts, a lot of things would be different right now,” I grumbled, turning my head so I could nuzzle Andrea’s throat. She made a contented noise and her grip on me relaxed.

“You left to get rid of her, didn’t you? I thought it was because of me.”

I winced. “At first, I needed to hunt. Then I couldn’t think clearly. All I knew was that I had to get rid of her. She was in the way.”

“Of what?”

Something about Andrea’s scent lulled me, and I relaxed against her until she supported most of my weight. She tightened her hold on me, and I closed my eyes. “I wanted you, and she was in the way,” I mumbled.

“We’ll deal with her. You’re mine now, and I’m not going to let her take you from me.”

I believed her.

Chapter Seventeen

“Mr. Sean Dale Scott, you have a lot of explaining to do,” Ramirez snarled the instant I followed Andrea out of the bedroom. The police captain sat at the kitchen island, leaning back to glare in my direction. She hopped off her stool, stalking forward with murder in her eyes.

Andrea squeaked, bumping into me in her haste to retreat. Slipping my arm around her waist, I pulled her to my side. “You’re too pretty to kill,” I stated, working my way behind her.

Ramirez came to a halt and crossed her arms over her chest. “She is, but that’s not going to save you. Just what did you think you were doing?”

The undisguised anger in the woman’s voice and expression disturbed me. Idette at her worst had the same sharpness of tone and stiff bearing, and I’d seen Captain Ramirez in action.

If she got a hold of me, she’d flatten me, and we both knew it.

“Mrs. Scott thought she’d get her way by biting him.” Andrea stood her ground while I fought my instinct to make a very hasty exit. Before I could back away, Andrea grabbed my wrists and pulled me closer to her, wrapping my arms around her stomach.

I ducked my head, pressed my nose to the side of her throat, and breathed in her scent until the impulse to escape faded.

Ramirez moved within arm’s length of us and sighed. “That explains a lot. How bad?”

“She liked making him bleed,” Andrea growled, and her rage added a bitter heat to the sweetness of her cinnamon. Purring for her sake as much as mine, I rested my chin on her shoulder and watched the police captain.

“You weren’t kidding about the purring were you, Andrea? Relax, Sean,” Ramirez ordered. “While I should kick your ass into next week, I’ll wait. It’s no fun throwing you on the mat if you’re not able to fight back.”

“Thanks, Captain,” I muttered.

“Come sit before you fall down and take poor Andrea with you. Steven will be back soon and will want to see you for himself.”

“O’Mallory’s coming?” I blurted.

Ramirez laughed. “Of course he is. He lives here.”

“This is their summer house,” Andrea explained, twisting around in my arms. “Ah, you’ve probably forgotten. They’re mates. Anyway, it’s about a two hour drive to the city from here, which makes it perfect for the pack to get together without a lot of Normals around. Go sit before you fall down. I’ll make you some coffee.”

With Andrea in my arms, my spirit beasts and I were content, and I didn’t want to move. Ramirez arched a brow at me. I sighed and let Andrea go, although I indulged in one more sniff of her scent.

She was mine, and I didn’t want her to leave my side.

While Captain Ramirez allowed Andrea by, she intercepted me and pulled me into a hug. “You stupid idiot. I’m not going to hurt you after going through all that trouble to hunt you down and bring you back to where you belong.”

I flushed from embarrassment, returning the captain’s hug before pulling free. “Sorry. I’m a little jumpy.”

“Understandable. You look terrible. What’s wrong with you now?”

“What isn’t wrong with him?” Andrea grumbled from the kitchen. “Ritual sickness is bad enough on its own, but he’s got a headache, probably from those bumps to the head he took out in the woods, and I think his leg is bothering him.”

I meant to head into the kitchen to keep Andrea close, but Ramirez took hold of my arm and shook her head. “No, Mr. Scott. If you go into that kitchen, she’ll never finish making coffee. There’ll be plenty of time for you to get nice and cozy with her later. You’ll survive for a few hours.”

I had my doubts, and I scowled at Ramirez. “The coffee will brew faster if I’m watching it.”

The police captain laughed. “Poor puppy. Leave her alone for a few minutes. Relax. You don’t have to stand guard. There are no unmated males around for you to worry about edging in on your territory. Once Steven gets here, we’ll sort out bringing you into the pack properly, then you and your wolf can lower your guard since he’ll be able to stand watch over your mate.”

I still wasn’t entirely sure what was going on, but I liked the fact Ramirez openly acknowledged Andrea as mine, as did my spirit beasts.

Andrea faced me and leaned against the central island of the kitchen. “She’s right, Sean. I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere, nor will I be going anywhere until you’ve fully recovered from the ritual sickness. I’m on a leave of absence from work for a family emergency.”

My eyes widened. “But your cases. What about your cases?”

“Just like you, I was pretty occupied with the Roberts case. It wasn’t hard to get my upcoming schedule shuffled. Anyway, my firm is flexible, and my boss is aware of our situation. It’s an Inquisition-owned firm, and they know I’ll be useless until you’re safe and fully recovered. I was due for some time off anyway.”

Ramirez tugged me in the direction of the living room, and unable to help myself, I whined at the thought of having risked Andrea’s hard-earned, beloved career.

“Sean,
relax
. I was owed vacation time, as were the Albano brothers. Andrea was overdue for vacation, as she said. The others were already on vacation, so it was easy to pull them in. The only one who had any issues being in two places at once was Steven, but he managed with a few well-timed private flights on the Inquisition’s dime.”

“I’m so sorry,” I stammered, flustered over how many problems I had caused for my friends.

“It’s not your fault, Sean. We should have kept a closer eye on you. We didn’t anticipate the strength of your instincts or your ability to catch onto the trick of shifting so fast. Traditionally, we try to keep the puppies—the new Fenerec, that is—human until the ritual sickness has faded. We were all unsettled by what happened to you, and none of us were properly prepared for how you might react.”