Soul Mates 04: Secrets(26)

"Not yet."



Surprisingly, he didn't argue. Just tucked his arms up behind his head, sighing . though it didn't seem as if he was annoyed. We lay in silent, peaceful co-existence for a long while until Nikolas cleared his throat.



"Let me go take care of this Jake guy."



"We talked about this, Nikolas. No."



"No, you said I couldn't do it and that was the end of it, but Peter, this is something I need to do."



"Need to? More like you're pissed and you want revenge. I understand that, but goddamn it, Nikolas, I can't just let you go off into another territory looking for some monster."



I started to sit up, but Nikolas grabbed a handful of my hair and jerked me back. "Don't dismiss me!"



On instinct, I snarled and turned into him, baring my fangs. He let go of me and lay back, tucking his arm behind his head once again, his calm expression just a mask.



I glared. "Fuck you."



"Been there, done that." He rolled his eyes. "You know what? Just forget it."



It wasn't like Nikolas to drop anything this quickly. Ever. I lay back with a huff, confused. And I fucking hated being confused. After a short silence, I just couldn't stand the questions running through my mind.



"Why?"



Silence.



"Nikolas?"



He sighed heavily. "He was like a father to me. It's my right to avenge his death."



"And I'm scared that if you go off up there, something will happen and you won't come back home. Let the Council handle it. They at least know what they're getting into."



"Fuck the Council." He sat up quickly. "We should go."



"We're not done talking yet."



"Oh, I'm done," he grumbled.



He shifted and darted off before I even started to my feet. I sat and stared after him, unease filling my gut, tears burning my nose and threatening to fall. Instead of holding them back, I let them fall.



No one would ever see my tears.



Nikolas would never know that I was terrified of losing him.



After a while, I rose to my knees, calling my wolf back to the surface. I could sense the confusion in him. We'd run, we'd mated; the only thing left was to hunt. Man, was my wolf going to be pissed.



* * *



I shifted back just before I reached the clearing. When I emerged from the surrounding trees, Nikolas was leaning against a tall, broad oak, smoking, staring at the ground. I went for my clothes, but they weren't near the tree where I'd left them.



Slowly, I turned back in Nikolas' direction. At his feet lay an odd-shaped bundle.



"Are those my clothes?"



"Looks like 'em."



"Goddamn it, Nikolas." I growled as I stalked toward him. "You know they're mine."



"Yeah," he said after a few moments passed. "I was trying to decide whether I wanted to set them on fire. But you know& I do like those pants."



I gathered my clothes, but realized my boots weren't with them. "Where the fuck are my boots?"



"You think I'd burn a perfectly good pair of boots? They're beside the ride."



"Fucking asshole motherfucker."



I hissed and snapped as I dressed, calling him every goddamned name I could think of. Once I was dressed and had my boots on, Nikolas pushed away from the tree and ground his cigarette butt into the dirt.



"'Bout fucking time."



My fist made contact with his face in a matter of seconds. Instead of walking away like he normally would, he hit me back. Surprised, I stumbled back, hair rising over my body. He advanced toward me, but I lunged and shouldered him mid-center, sending him crashing to the ground.



One of his hands gripped my throat, and the other swung out and belted me on the side of the head. Dozens of tiny little lights sparked before my eyes and I suddenly found myself on my back, staring up at Nikolas. He was totally calm, stroking his thumb up and down my throat. Without a word, he leaned down and kissed me. It wasn't a kiss of a fuck-buddy, or even a friend; it was the kiss of a lover.



Soft and tender were two words I'd never use to describe anything about Nikolas. But his kiss was nothing but. My hands framed his face, fingers sliding into his hair. His body relaxed and a sigh escaped him.



"I'll drop it&for now. But if I don't get some answers soon, I'm going to be asking again. We done fighting about it?"



I nodded as he nuzzled in against my neck, holding him tight to me. "We're done."



We lay there for a few moments before Nikolas' cell phone rang. It vibrated between us as it rang and I gasped. He grinned and ground against me. "How long you want me to let the phone ring, princess?"



"For as long as it'll ring and hope they call back?" I pushed at his shoulders. "Answer it, fool."