Bridged by Love (10 page)

Chapter Twelve

Nic fled across the waiting area on the first floor. The door leading to the basement hospital was shut. He shoved his key into the lock, turned it and pushed the metal open. His first instinct was to rush down the stairs, but caution prevailed. The emergency beacon Riley had initiated wouldn’t be visible from inside. He couldn’t risk startling the intruder and having him react, maybe lashing out at Riley or one of the other patients—his dad or the Tanner protector.

Nic eased down the stairs, inhaling deeply to pick up any clues lingering in the air. No unusual scents or sounds reached him. His wolf would’ve been able to gather more information, but for the moment, remaining in his human form allowed him to think and access the situation with logic instead of embracing his primal instincts. Considering the depth of anger Nic’s wolf felt, he couldn’t risk having the animal assert control. He didn’t have time to wrestle with his baser side, not while Riley’s life was in danger.

Sean followed him down, his breathing steady and slow. He didn’t have to worry about his wolf fighting him or taking over. They were one entity, bridged by their true mate. Both man and beast would work together, trusting and utilizing the other’s skills without even thinking about it. At the moment, Nic hated his friend for finding his true mate too. Peace was just another damn thing Nic would never experience.

He curled his hands into fists and pushed the anger aside for the moment. It wasn’t the right time or place to give in to it. Riley needed him. He could whine about his shitty life another time. God knew he had centuries ahead of him to do exactly that.

At the bottom of the stairs, Nic pointed left, toward the service corridor. It led to the furnace and electrical panels, but the utility room offered another entryway into the main hospital area, near Riley’s office. Nic doubted she’d be there. She’d most likely be by the patients’ rooms trying to protect his dad. Human or not, she’d do everything in her power to save lives.

Sean nodded and jogged down the narrow hallway. Nic punched in the entry code and slipped into the same corridor he’d walked through a couple of days ago. The beautiful paintings didn’t draw his eye, however. The lights above the doors did. Three were unlit, the doors open. The last, the one his dad had been assigned, was locked and secured.

Nic scanned each of the empty rooms, noting the neatly made beds. Where had they placed the Tanner wolf? A room monitored by video feed, maybe? Except he didn’t know what the procedure was for dangerous patients. He’d been out of the loop too long. He pushed the thought away. He’d find out soon enough.

He headed to his dad’s door and punched in the code. A darkened room met him, his dad asleep on the bed. He didn’t wake with Nic’s entry. Nic’s heart rate kicked up.

The pack alpha didn’t know what was going on. Trepidation settled over him, confirming what Nic had expected would happen to his dad without his wolf—he’d lose his edge. Even if he wasn’t still in the hospital, the other dominants would sense his weakness. Loyal or not, they’d soon feel the urge to take over and protect their pack mates. Sean’s admission about having the same drivers as the alpha would guarantee nature took its course. As it was, only Riley’s nurses were allowed inside his dad’s room. His secret was safe, for the moment.

Nic shoved the concern away. He was here. The bloodbath where the dominants would fight to the death as they each sought to claim the role of alpha wouldn’t happen. His loved ones would not kill each other, driven by their inborn instincts. He’d make sure of it.

He shut and relocked the door, leaving his dad sleeping peacefully, before jogging to the end of the hall. It split. One way led to Riley’s office, the other the operating room. Riley’s muttered curse reached his ears from the corridor leading to the latter. Nic followed it.

Three distinct scents hung in the closed space: Riley’s personal fragrance, shifter blood and the distinctive musk of a Tanner wolf.

“You need to let me help you.”

Riley’s strained voice gave away her frustration. It should’ve comforted him to know she was alive, but the muttered male groan spiked Nic’s instincts, both protective and possessive. He skidded into the kitchen.

Riley knelt on the floor, her arms wrapped around the large Tanner male. Bandages covered his torso, arms and legs. Blood had seeped through the white squares of gauze covering his nude body.

She pulled on him, trying to help him stand. The shifter bared his fangs. He shoved at her shoulder, knocking her backward into the spilled contents of the dining cart. Plastic trays, covers and metal utensils skidded across the floor.

Nic took it all in and rushed forward, placing his body between Riley and the wolf. A low growl rumbled Nic’s chest, his own fangs punching out. Sharpened nails extended, along with a dark sprouting of black hair over his knuckles. His wolf was about two seconds away from taking over, and it wanted to feel the hot gush of the other shifter’s blood on its tongue.

Sean ran in, his own baser side transforming him into a werewolf, a modified version of their persona. It was the point between forms, and offered the best of both—incredible strength and human cunning, but it wasn’t a welcome state for man or beast, even one strengthened by a true mate. Maintaining the form hurt. It wasn’t natural.

Riley laid a hand against Nic’s back. “Wait, please. He’s not a threat. I overreacted. He’s just confused.”

He reached back, drawing her against his body. The moment her curves pressed into him, he calmed some, not completely but enough to process her words.

“What is he doing up? Better yet”—he peered over his shoulder, his gaze capturing hers—“why wasn’t he secured in a room?”

“He was unconscious when I left him. I didn’t want to move him for fear of reopening his wounds. Besides, he should’ve been out for hours.”

He motioned toward where Sean and the Tanner wolf glared at each other, a mini dominance battle, and one Nic was sure Sean would win. “He’s clearly not unconscious.”

She groaned, a feminine sound that spoke of her irritation. “I double-checked his dosage.” She looked past him, focusing on the injured shifter. The male broke his stare with Sean and met her gaze. She glanced away. “I obviously misjudged how strong he was. His metabolism has got to be much higher than I’d guessed.”

Was that awe in her voice? Another growl rumbled Nic’s chest. He snatched her hand, standing and pulling her into his arms. The tension in his muscles eased. He glanced at Sean. “Get him secured and put a guard on his door. I don’t want Riley around him anymore tonight.”

“But I can’t.” She tugged on his arm. “Your dad—”

“Jenna will come in. Go. Get some rest.” Sean waved them off.

Nic pressed his lips to her ear. “You come willingly, or I’m carrying you.”

She went limp in his arms, the smartest choice he knew. The temptation to swing her into his arms and cradle her against his chest rose, but the sight of the other dominants filling the hallway stopped him. Still, he couldn’t just allow her to walk away. He led her, a hand on her upper arm, toward her office.

He ushered her inside, slammed the door behind him and yanked her close, covering her mouth with his, desperation fueling his aggressive strokes. She opened for him and accepted his wild kiss.

Never breaking the melding of their mouths, he walked her backward. Her legs hit the couch. She gasped and tumbled onto the wide sofa. He followed her down, shoving his knee between her thighs. Common sense told him he couldn’t take their kiss too far, not with his pack mates feet away. Damn if he could tear his mouth from hers, though. He needed to reassure himself she was safe, alive—his.

He ran his hands over her sides, pushing her cotton top out of his way. His fingertips brushed over the lace edgings of her bra. He tugged the cup and squeezed her plump flesh, tearing a low moan from her. He swallowed the sound and massaged her breast. Her hard nipple poked his palm. He caught it between his index and middle finger and rolled the erect tip. More throaty sounds rewarded him.

Stop. I need to stop.
He repeated the order, but his mind and body weren’t on the same page. The sight of her falling backward because of the other shifter’s shove had stirred too many instincts.

She skimmed her fingers down his back and slid them under the waistband of his sweats, not helping him regain control. She would break it and him. He should care but didn’t.

He pushed his knee harder against her crotch, and she rocked against him. He countered her, rubbing her sex through the barrier of their clothes and tearing more deep sounds from her throat.

The scrape of her nails over his hip warned him of what she planned. Anticipation held him still. She shoved his pants down. Cool air hit his ass. His dick sprang free, and she wrapped her fingers around his cock before he could react, not that he would’ve stopped her.

He wanted her.

Right here. Right now.

He wanted to lay his claim on her with his dominants within earshot so they knew to whom she belonged.

His wolf pushed at his psyche and snarled. Its warning reverberated through his soul. He tore his mouth from hers and buried his face against her neck. The thin turtleneck she wore under her scrubs hid her scar, but he felt the raised points under his lips. It tempted him. He latched on to
his
mark, despite the increasing growling in his head.

Fuck his wolf. Fuck everyone. Had the situation been different, he could’ve lost her.

His wolf didn’t agree. The sensation of claws racking his insides tore a groan from him. Riley stroked him harder, swiping her thumb over the head of his cock and spreading his precome over his length. She didn’t understand pain caused the sound, not pleasure. Yet, his dick thickened more, responding to her touch exactly as she’d trained him. She knew how to work him. The rough, short tugs on his cock showed how much. His balls drew up even as his wolf rammed its head into Nic’s chest, demanding to be released.

Fucking hell.
He grasped her hand. “Stop, baby. You gotta stop.”

She nipped his ear. “You don’t want me to stop.”

Half of him didn’t. He eased back anyway, releasing her breast. “Have to. This is wrong. Just going to hurt you again.”

She squeezed his dick. Tingles skipped down his spine. He froze, hovering on the edge.

“Wait, Nic.” She grabbed his hair, using her hold to pull him back on top of her. He went willingly. Mouth at his ear, she whispered, “I need you. Please, let me pleasure you. Your cock in my mouth, that’s all.”

The
please
did it. He shoved his wolf deep with the promise he wouldn’t take it beyond sex. The beast he held retreated with one last growl that spoke of its disapproval. He ignored its judgment of his actions and reached for the phone on the desk next to them.

He dialed Sean. “Is the shifter secured?”

“Yeah.”

“Send everyone else home. Now.”

“Damn, Nic. You shouldn’t—”

Nic ended the call, grabbed the front of Riley’s shirt and yanked her against him, sliding her warm, cotton-covered groin over his thigh. She opened for his kiss. He fed her his groan, swallowed her breathy sigh and savored her taste.

She sifted her hands into his hair and fisted the strands, holding him close. Memories rushed over him of Riley doing the same in countless hurried encounters exactly like the one they were sharing in her office. He wondered for a moment if he were the first to take her here. On a growl, he shoved the jealousy away and focused on her, what they were sharing.

The past, the future—for them it meant nothing. Only the present mattered. They’d never again share it.

He dominated her mouth, licking her teeth, her cheeks, her lips. And she caressed him, stroked him, and sent him up in flames.

No woman had ever come close to affecting him the way she could. He needed to show her what that meant to him. What
she
meant to him. Words were beyond him. Whatever he said ended up hurting her anyway.

He reached for the waistband of her pants. She turned her head, breaking their kiss. Hands splayed over his chest, she pushed. He fell back—half-startled, half-eager. The look in her blue eyes was one he remembered. She wanted control.

He wanted to give it to her. Just not yet. He settled her over his cock, the heat of her sex so close but so far. The barrier of her pants blocked him from heaven. He lifted her. His cock stood tall, ready to sink into her welcoming body.

Once more, he curled his fingers around the elastic of her pants. She grasped his wrist and dug her nails into his flesh. Hard. He tensed, the head of his cock pushing the fabric of her scrubs into her opening.

“Look at me.” The command in her voice was clear.

He thought about denying her, making her work for his obedience, but he wanted to stare into her eyes. He lifted his gaze to hers. Desire turned them more black than blue. “You fuck me, and I’ll smell of you until I can shower. There isn’t one in my bathroom, only a small sink. Let me pleasure you today. Okay? I want this.”

There it was again, the reason he loved her. Well, one of them. She sought to be what he needed, no matter what he did to her or how he treated her. His needs. She always put
his
needs first.

He cupped her face in his hands. “I don’t deserve you.”

She covered them as she often did whenever he cradled her angel’s face between his palms, gaze locked with his. His equal. “You deserve love, Nic.”

“So do you, baby. You should be with someone better than me.”

“I know what I need.” She eased out of his embrace and knelt between his spread legs, her small hands on his thighs. She pushed them farther apart until the waistband of his sweats restricted him. “And I know what I want.”

He ran his fingers through the silky strands of her hair, shoving her golden locks back. The hunger in her eyes was a look he didn’t want to miss. “And what is that?”

“Your passion.”

She slid her free hand around his waist to his lower back and pulled him forward, urging him to the edge of the cushion. With her incredibly soft hands, she fisted his cock. She bent closer, and her warm breath bathed his balls.