My Serbian Wolf (7 page)

To them, he was a stranger, but to Rebecca, he was something out of this world. Her cloudy memory fought to recall the dreams of the night before, but could not. Brief images of herself and this man flitted through her mind, and then they became foggier with each passing moment.

The man frowned, and reached out for her. “Are you all right, Miss?”

“Oh.” Rebecca laughed, and held the palm of her hand against her forehead. “Yes, I’m fine.”

“I’m Nicholai Beljoca, and this is my son, Alex.” The man extended his hand as he introduced himself and his son. The girls had become curious about Alex. The boy smiled at Rebecca and ventured toward her daughters.

In an instant, the children began talking amongst themselves. That seemed to bring the sexual tension in the air down a notch or two, but not completely.

Rebecca released a pent up breath and blinked several times. “I’m Rebecca Johnson.” The moment their hands touched, an electrifying aura seemed to surround them both, penetrating their bodies. She felt it, and was sure he had, as well. She could not help but notice the aroused look carved on the man’s handsome features.

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“It is a pleasure to meet you, Nicholai. These are my daughters, Helen and Myra.” The girls and Alex spoke, ignoring the adults, with the exception of saying a synchronized “hi.” The longer they lingered in the aisle, the more of an opportunity the children had to study them, as though they were beings from another planet.

“Mommy, it’s time to go. We have everything we need,” Myra insisted.

Her cute nose wrinkled, and a tinge of red adorned her café au lait skin tone.

She placed her hand on her hip and tapped her foot.

“Um, young lady, take your hand off your hip. I’ll go when I’m ready.”

Rebecca shot her daughter “the look” until Myra dropped her hand from her hip. An innocent smile clung to her features. She was so impatient and eager to take advantage of the beautiful day. Who could blame her? “I promised we’d go to the Inner Harbor, and we will do that as soon as I’m finished here.”

Both girls grinned like Cheshire cats, causing Rebecca to blush. Helen shot her mother an I-told-you-so look.

“
Now, she has everything she needs
.” Helen’s words captured Rebecca’s attention as she glanced at Nicholai, then back at Rebecca. The sassy teenager possessed a smug look about her, and a twinkle danced within the depths of her dark eyes. She smiled and nodded, then turned her back on them as she whipped out her Ipod.

“Are you from around here?” Rebecca’s heart raced, as it became evident to her she needed to know all there was to know about this man. The look emanating in his eyes told her he harbored the same feelings.

“No, we just moved here from Norfolk, Virginia a few weeks ago. My son and I are staying over in Severn, near Fort Meade. This is the first chance I’ve had to explore this area. I’ve been so overwhelmed with work these past few weeks. A few colleagues offered to show us around, but I haven’t seized the chance.” He spoke with his hands, and appeared somewhat shy. His dark eyes twinkled with excitement.

“What branch of the military are you in?” Rebecca shifted her large purse to the other shoulder as she pictured him decked out in a military uniform 44

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while she remained naked, blindfolded, and bent over the small loveseat in her bedroom.

“I recently retired from the Army, and now working at NSA. I needed to become better acclimated with my surroundings. I could have shopped at the Commissary, but wanted to stretch my legs a bit. My son was also looking forward to seeing a movie today.” Nicholai flashed a smile in her direction.

His gaze did not end there. Those curious obsidian eyes continued gracing her body, leaving an invisible trail of fire in their wake. He smiled in appreciation and, suddenly, Rebecca knew that this was not some chance meeting.

“Now, excuse me for just a second, please.” Nicholai lowered his voice and smiled. “You’re making me forget what I came into the store for.”

Rebecca blushed and admired how polite he was. She had something to do with making him forget his necessities? Her heart swooned when he turned his back to her. Her eyes roamed over the ripped muscles that showed off through the black cotton shirt he wore. She gulped as her eyes flashed across his light blue denim-clad ass, and the temperature seemed to rise a few degrees.

He browsed the aisle for a moment, then picked up a large can of coffee from the shelf. “Well, that completes my shopping for the week.” A sensual grin masked his handsome features, muddling Rebecca’s mind. “I ran out of coffee this morning, and I’m such an animal when I don’t have caffeine coursing through my veins.” Rebecca laughed as she studied the smile lines around his eyes. God, how she would love to trace them after a heated encounter.

“I know, me too.” He was a man after her own heart. She couldn’t skip a morning without her coffee.

Rebecca and Nicholai spoke as they paid for their purchases. Sadness consumed her as she realized they were about to part from one another. It couldn’t end now. Rebecca’s mind screamed for her to ask for a phone number, an address, something, anything! An invading force weighed on her like a ton of bricks. Things could not end like this. She knew in her heart if 45

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she ignored the chance to get to know this man, she’d live with regret for the rest of her life. In her book, that was not an option.

She looked over at Helen who was busy talking to Alex and Myra. The girl’s voice echoed in Rebecca’s mind.
“Take a chance.”

Nicholai must have had the same feelings, she thought. The man followed them all to their car. Rebecca noticed the confused look on Alex’s face.

“Where are we going, Dad? Our car is over there.”

Nicholai patted Alex on the shoulder. “We’re just walking the ladies to their vehicle.” His brows knitted together, and it seemed like something was on his mind. “Um—Rebecca.” It appeared he had a hard time putting thoughts into words. Those fine, chiseled features of his held such a confused look. It was hard for Rebecca to believe that this large man had become riddled with fear. She knew what he wanted to say, and a voice screamed inside her,
Ask me! Come on, hurry up!

“Okay, here goes. Look, don’t slap me or anything.”

Rebecca laughed a nervous laugh and cocked her head to the side. “Now, why would I slap you?” She twirled her hair around her index finger, wishing he’d get on with the question already.

“Do you have plans for the day?” Nicholai donned a pair of black sunglasses as a dark eyebrow arched. Rebecca fought the urge to reach out and trace the area with a finger. Had they been alone, she would have, perhaps.

She swallowed hard. “Yes, the girls want to go for a movie, and since the weather is so nice, I was thinking about going to the Inner Harbor today. I love the paddleboats.” She bit her lip as anticipation swelled through her soul. She imagined sharing one of the paddleboats with him. Her patience thinned, and she blurted out the invitation.
“Would you and Alex like to join us?”

She laughed a little in a failed attempt to maintain her composure. She felt the children’s’ gaze on her. Boy, she must have looked like such a dork in their eyes. Surely, she was too old to possess these girlish quirks.

A boyish grin adorned Nicholai’s features. “I would love to go. I mean—

” Nicholai cleared his throat and held his head down for a few moments, 46

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trying to contain his composure, as well. “
We
would love to accompany you and the girls.”

A sharp cackle of a laugh from Helen snagged her attention. “You were right the first time.
You
would love to accompany us.” Her little titan of a teenager was definitely not listening to her Ipod as Rebecca had thought.

Helen had no problems with sharing things on her mind, and at times, could be quite blunt.

Nicholai turned beet red and looked down at Rebecca, then glanced over at the girls and his son. A loving smile embraced his handsome face. “Believe it or not, we have never been to the Harbor, so it would be a wonderful experience for the both of us. I’ve always been stationed in Europe throughout my entire career in the Army. I was so happy to retire. It hasn’t been easy for Alex, you know, with all the traveling. As soon as he made friends, I always whisked him off to another place.”

Rebecca’s eyes grazed his ring finger. There was none, not even a tan line. Why should she be concerned about that?

Nicholai must have been paying close attention, because he glanced at his hand, and said, “I’m not married, and I
don’t
have a girlfriend.”

Flames danced across her face as she cleared her throat. Deep inside, she was jumping for joy, but under the children’s scrutinizing gaze, she felt like quite the nerd.

“I now how that is. My cousin lived in Italy and traveled extensively for quite some time before deciding she wanted to stay with my grandparents. It bothered her so much to leave her friends.” Rebecca looked at Alex and smiled. “Do you like it here, Alex?”

The young, dark-haired boy smiled. “Yes, ma’am. I can’t wait until school.”

“Yeah, Mom, he’s ten, like me!” Myra danced happily. “He’ll be going to my school this year! Say yes, Mom!” She started jumping up and down. “Can we go to The Aquarium, now?”

“No, Hard Rock Café first, brat!” Helen exclaimed.

“Ma!” Myra’s high-pitched voice captured onlookers’ attention while Nicholai chuckled.

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“Cool your heels, ladies! Helen, stop calling your sister a brat. We need to unload these groceries before we can go
anywhere.
”

“We can help.” Nicholai’s brow arched. Just then, the overprotective mother and queen of her castle kicked in. He would have to take his son to McDonald’s or something until she and the girls unloaded and put away all the groceries as planned. She was more than happy about the arrangements, but even so, he was still someone she’d just met.

“Um, if you could give us half an hour or so?” Rebecca searched his eyes, hoping she had not insulted him.

“Sure, no worries. Alex and I can find something to get into, I’m sure.”

Nicholai glanced at Rebecca and smiled. He ran his fingers through his hair in an odd, familiar way. He removed his glasses, and stared into her soul. His squared jaw tightened, and a look of determination smoldered in his eyes.

“Look, Rebecca, I hope this isn’t being too forward, but I really would love for us to take the kids somewhere. It doesn’t bother me that we all just met. I don’t believe in coincidences, either.” Nicholai moved closer to her and whispered in her ear. “Plus, I really would love to get to know you better.”

Rebecca stiffened. His breath was hot, and his voice was tinged with heated arousal. Every nerve ending in her body screamed to have him hold her in his arms for one split second.

“I’d like to get to know you, too.” Again, Nicholai’s gaze captured and drew her into their dark depths. For a fleeting moment, their surroundings didn’t matter and they were encased within their own world. There was no doubt in Rebecca’s mind that, somehow, they knew one another. The children cleared their throats, startling their parents. It was settled.

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Nine months later, Nicholai and Rebecca married. The children bonded well and were, after all, like brother and sisters. Somehow, they were something more than that. Two months after the sacred vows had been spoken, she carefully observed the actions of her family after eating Sunday dinner. Alex and Myra carried on a conversation about the movie they had seen over the weekend, and Helen chimed in occasionally, but watched the clock.

“What are you staring at?” Rebecca sipped her coffee as Nicholai’s intense gaze became almost too overwhelming for her to bear. Once again, history seemed as though it were repeating itself. Those eyes of his harbored secrets, as they once had long ago.

“You.” Nicholai wiped his mouth with a napkin and sipped his coffee.

Rebecca squirmed in her seat as his eyes penetrated her. She loved how the mature features of his face were highlighted whenever he smiled. There was something else she noticed, something in his eyes. He was attempting to tell her something without speaking.

Glimpses of another life flittered through her mind one last time. The details of the past unfolded in her memory. Why had Niko insisted on protecting the three who neglected their duties? Back then, it appeared he had been betrayed, but it dawned on her, the three members of their tribe were Myra, Helen, and Alex.

Rebecca shuddered as some foreign sense of
knowing
forged itself into her brain. Nicholai’s gaze shifted and he leaned his head to the side and smiled at the children the way a loving father did.

Sadness cradled Rebecca at the thought of their children’s’ souls being lost forever. That is what would have happened had they engaged in battle against the Ottoman Empire. Had Niko known of this then? A gasp left her parted lips and those dark eyes released secrets hidden from her centuries ago. Flashes of his calm face pierced her memory as he mentally explained the Tsar’s curse in Serbia.

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It was then, at the dinner table, that Rebecca saw glimpses of her warrior shifter, fighting in countless wars over the ages as a human. He’d died numerous times over the centuries and was always “regenerated” after every battle. Once the wars had been fought, he was then banished to the realm where they once had led their past lives together. Niko never allowed the Tsar’s harsh curse to harm a hair on their children’s head. The entire tribe was never in any danger, only the three defiant young souls.

“Walk with me, Rebecca.” Nicholai rose to his feet, prompting her to join him in the living room. The children were so caught up in their conversation about the occurrences of the weekend, they paid no attention to their parents as they slipped away from the dining area and into the living room.