Primal Heat(Wild Lake Wolves Book 3)(18)

So there it was. He'd danced around it long enough; now it was out  there. A blatant threat. Do what he said, or he'd try to mess with me.

"Oh, I would never hurt you." Dale curled a strand of my hair between  his fingers. I pulled away. "But, you flat out aren't going to be able  to get a job anywhere that matters if I don't want you to. Are we  clear?"

"Mr. Thorp, we are not clear. I've done everything you've asked and then  some. The work I've turned in for you has been top notch. I don't know  why you think that's going to change."

He moved fast. My heart thundered in my ears. Dale hovered over me, one  hand on each armrest of my chair. He bared his teeth and growled, his  eyes pure wolf. Weaker than Bas, but he was still a werewolf. If he  wanted to hurt me, he could do it faster than a blink. His nose twitched  and he inhaled deeply, then moved away from me, sitting back on the  desk.

"I can smell him all over you, and he knows it. I'm sorry to tell you  this, sweetheart, but you've been played. I hope you at least had fun  while it was happening. But, he sent you back here with his scent on  you. You know enough about what we are to realize that wasn't an  accident. So, I'm going to tell you again. Remember where your loyalties  need to lie if you want any hope of a legal career after you graduate.  If you graduate, that is. I don't suppose your dean would think too  highly of you if he found out you started a relationship with one of the  congressman's adversaries."

My blood boiled. A hot blush rose, coloring my cheeks. Dale was a liar. I  couldn't believe Bas would use me like that. He'd opened his heart to  me, shown me something deep inside of him. I couldn't say his intentions  were pure, but they had nothing to do with Dale and everything to do  with the two of us.

Maybe something flickered in my eyes like a window to at least part of  my thoughts. Because, Dale leaned back and crossed his arms, that smug  look back in place.

"I'm glad we got to talk. I'm going to trust that we've come to an  understanding. Now, why don't you take the rest of the weekend off?  Isn't it just about time for your final exams?"

"Y-yes. Monday."

Dale chewed his lip and rose. He moved around the desk and sat in his  leather chair, giving me a dismissive wave. "See you in a week, then.  Congressman Foster is going to take a series of meetings, and we'd like  you to sit in and take notes. In the meantime, yes. I do have another  angle I want you to look at with this little project."

Dread filled me. I wanted nothing more than to get as much distance as I  could from Dale. My skin flamed hot like I'd just spiked a fever. My  stomach rolled, and for a moment I thought I was going to lose my lunch.  Something was happening to me. This was more than just revulsion at who  he was and what he'd said. I was having a distinct, physical reaction  to being this close to him.

Dale cleared a stack of papers from his desk and pulled out a large map  of northern Michigan. He circled a section about thirty miles west of us  and handed the map to me. I took a breath and focused on keeping my  hands steady as I took it from him, careful not to let his fingers brush  mine.

"I want you to look into that property I've marked. It's owned by the  Bonner family. But I want to know more. Pull deeds. Trace the ownership  and zoning as far back as you can. You can take a few days. No more than  a week. It's priority one as soon as you finish your exams."                       
       
           



       

I nodded, but his words barely registered. My head pounded and bile rose  in my throat. The air grew thicker and the room started to spin. If I  didn't get the hell out of here and fast, I was afraid I might pass out.  I needed to get the hell away from Dale Thorp. I rose and lifted my  messenger bag off the floor. I kept my back straight and strong as I  turned on my heel and left his office.

Grace said something to me, but I couldn't hear her past the thundering  pulse in my ears. With each step I took away from his office, the better  I felt. My physical symptoms had all but vanished when I turned the  corner, but his words replayed in my head and caused a new fluttering in  my heart. I didn't want to believe anything Dale had said. Still, he  was right about one thing. Bas had to know that even nearly a week  later, another werewolf would know I'd been with him. Why did he send me  back here like that? I didn't want to even let the words form as  thoughts. But, I couldn't escape it.

My fingers trembled when I reached up to hit the down button on the  elevator. Bas knew. He made me a walking, breathing message right under  Dale's nose. Was Bas using me? Or was Dale?





Chapter Thirteen

Kendra Fletcher had the kind of scream that could curdle blood and  shatter glass. When she let loose in the courtyard after our last exam, I  swear I heard tires screech and cars crash. She threw her Con Law  casebook in the air and planted a slobbering kiss on Darby's cheek as he  caught it.

"I think I could fuck you right here, my love. I'm that excited."

Darby laughed and kissed her back. Then, Kendra stepped in front of me and tried to kiss me too.

"Oh no. Back off, banshee. We're strictly platonic."

She hugged me anyway. It was hard not to let her enthusiasm seep in.  Except, I was just plain exhausted more than elated. But, we'd done it.  No matter what happened when grades were posted next week, we'd all  survived our first year of law school together. It was cause for  celebration no matter how tired I was.

"You sure you're okay to drive?" Darby asked. "I'm late for a job  interview. I don't have Daddy's money like you do, Miss Fletcher, or a  cushy congressional internship like Abby. I still have some pavement to  pound."

Kendra squeezed Darby's cheeks. "You better have some energy to pound something else later."

"Man! Gross, could you not?" I held up two fingers and made a cross with  them to ward Kendra off. She laughed and smacked Darby on the rear end  as he raised a hand and darted across the quad to his car.

"Ugh. I'm going to miss him," she said as she blew him one last kiss when he turned and waved.

"When do you have to be back home?" Home for Kendra was just outside of  Atlanta. She was going to spend the summer clerking at her father's  patent law firm. Darby was right; as long as she actually graduated,  Kendra had it made.

"Tomorrow morning, I'm afraid. Dad's gearing up to go to trial on a  major infringement case. He wants me jumping in to help right away. I'm  kind of excited."

"That's fantastic. You're going to learn so much."

Kendra put her arm around me. "What about you? You've been awfully quiet  for the last few days. Everything okay with Foster's office?"

She drew out the syllables of her last sentence. It wasn't hard to read  what she really wanted to know. The same thing she'd been asking ever  since the scene at the Stacks. She'd left me alone once exams started,  but now that we were clear, her nose was back on the scent about Bas.  The truth was, I didn't know what to tell her. It had been a week and a  half, and I hadn't heard from him. On the one hand, it was a good thing.  It gave me a chance to come up for air and try to think logically about  everything that had happened between us. Dale's words and threats still  nagged at me. On the other hand, I couldn't stop thinking about Bas.  His touch. His whispered words. The power of his wolf and the brutal  beauty of his shift. I missed him. At night, I still craved his touch.

"Come on, Abs. Give me something. I've been good for a week. I haven't  pressed. But anyone can see how miserable you are. Did something happen  with Bas Lanier? Did you hook up? You have to tell me now."

"There's nothing to tell." But, as soon as I started talking, even that  little bit, a dam burst inside of me. We'd made it to the stone benches  overlooking the apple orchard on the north side of campus. We picked a  shaded spot and Kendra put a hand on my arm. When I looked back up at  her, she had me completely figured out.

"I don't know," I finally said. "We had an amazing time together. And I  haven't heard from him since. And it's complicated as hell. I met him  through work, and there's some . . . I don't know . . . stuff between  him and the congressman. It could get messy."                       
       
           



       

Kendra whistled low. "Wow. You never do anything the easy way, do you?"

I had to laugh. "Apparently not."

"Well, I don't know what to tell you. But I know you. Whatever's going on, this guy's got you spinning, hasn't he?"

My breath hitched as I tried to figure out what to tell her. It was hard  not to let her in on what Bas and I shared. But how could I? How could I  explain how quickly it seemed I understood that I belonged with him? It  barely made sense to me.