that he was so debonair. In any case, he may not have been someone they’d known forever but he sure wasn’t a total stranger and with his position in National, he’d be on the other side of the country most of the time, which probably made it easier for Nick.

“Yes, thank you.” Nick inclined his head in thanks. “Tomorrow morning? Would that work or are you on your way out of town today?”

“I’m not scheduled to fly out for two more days. Tomorrow morning would be fine.”

Nick gave Gabe his address and they made arrangements to have a late breakfast and perform the bond then.

Afterwards Nick all but dragged Tracy, who agreed to have Milton stay with Nina and Lex, to his car after grabbing her small suitcase.

* * * * *

“God, if I hadn’t called my brother already and he wasn’t expecting us, I’d take you home and f**k you a few dozen more times. I need you, Tracy. So much that it makes it hard to think.” He reached out and took her hand, twining his fingers with hers. “Thanks for telling me that. Now I’ll be thinking of little else until we do get in private.”

“Good, I’d hate to be alone in this terrible achy place.”

“I can’t believe that less than eight hours ago, I didn’t even know you and now we’re married.”

“I know. Twelve hours ago… Never mind, so tell me about yourself.” The woman in his bed this morning seemed a million years away. All he wanted was the woman in the car with him.

She flinched. “Twelve hours ago you were with another woman.” Her voice was flat.

“Yes. I won’t lie to you, Tracy. There were other women. A lot of them. But that’s all over now. Now there’s only you.”

“Well, I didn’t expect you to be a virgin. We’re both of age. You’re a very attractive, sexy, powerful wolf with very good taste in clothes. I’m sure that got you laid. A lot.”

“And did you?”

“Did I what?”

“Get laid a lot?” He was suddenly incensed at the idea of any man touching her.

“I got my share. Which is, of course, over now. Well, not the getting my share part. Just the part where I get it from anyone but you. I like sex, Nick. I like it a lot. So I hope you take vitamins and work out.”

He laughed, surprised but pleased. “Do you have a boyfriend?”

“I have a husband.” She gave him a grin. “And no. I did, but a few weeks ago I broke it off. I knew he wasn’t my mate. He knew he wasn’t. It was an exercise in futility. Plus, he didn’t like Milton.”

He gritted his teeth thinking about her dog. “About Milton, honey, don’t you think he’d be better off with Lex and Nina? In a house where he can run? An apartment is not the place for a big dog.”

“You’re right. It isn’t.”

He smiled at her reasonable response.

“Which is why we’re going to buy a house.”

“I’ve lived in my apartment for five years. I love it!”

“You can’t honestly mean to tell me that I have to give up my Pack, my city, my business and my home and you aren’t willing to live in a place that accommodates my dog?”

Put that way, it did seem petty of him. But still. His apartment and its trendy furniture, the view. It was perfectly located so that he could walk to all the places he liked to go.

“We’ll talk about it later. This is it,” he nodded with his chin at the big house with the large tree and tire swing and the big cedar playset. The big drive was filled with cars.

“Shit. The whole damned Pack is here. I’m never going to be able to sneak you back to my…our place.”

“I hope they like me.”

Her voice seemed so small and unsure that he looked at her after he turned the ignition off. He touched her chin, running his thumb through the cleft there. “They’ll love you. Even if for no other reason than because I do.”

She took a deep breath. The moment she bonded with Nick, she took on his rank. She was Second in this clan and she had to hold her head up and own that or the other wolves would see it as weakness.

She also knew that, given what he’d said on the way over and Nina’s comments earlier, that there were bound to be females who’d warmed his bed there wanting to check her out and she needed to be every inch Nick’s mate.

She opened the door and stepped out and he came around and shot her a look. “I was going to do that.”

She grinned again. “That so?” She laughed and it shot straight to his cock. Her laugh was deep and sultry. He hadn’t expected that at all. “As it happens, I can open my own door. But I’m not averse to you helping me carry stuff and kill spiders.”

It was his turn to laugh as he pulled her against his body, nuzzling into her neck and breathing her in like a drug. “A tough chick werewolf like you is afraid of spiders?”

“Mmm-hmmm.” Her eyes closed as she clung to him, enjoying the feel of his body against her own.

“Hey! Cut it out, we want to meet her!”

Tracy jumped back guiltily and looked up at the porch, where several people were standing.

“That’s Sarah, Ben’s mate,” Nick said, smiling up at the tall blonde waving at them both impatiently.

“And you’re her anchor.”

He turned to her. “Yes. Is that going to bother you?”

“Would it matter if it did?”