But between the party from hell and the murder attempt and all that emotion, Nick was too worn out to do more than kiss. Raluca obviously was too, though he could only tell by the intuition granted to him by their bond and from the faint shadows under her eyes. He’d been taught on the streets and she in a palace, but they’d both learned that showing any signs of weakness could be deadly. It would be a hard habit to give up.
“Ready for bed?” Nick asked.
She nodded gratefully. Nick held her close in one arm and reached up to turn out the light.
As she relaxed into him, his thoughts raced ahead to the next morning. He’d have to take back everything he’d said to Hal. No fucking way was Nick letting someone else protect his mate now. But what should he say?
When other team members had introduced their mates to Protection, Inc., the rest of the team — Nick included — had hazed their mates in various ways, to make sure they were strong and loving and loyal. Shane had used his power to inflict terror to test their courage, and when Shane had found his own mate, Lucas had used his dragon heritage to do the same thing to her. All the mates had passed their tests with flying colors, but it had been no fun for them, and Hal and Lucas and Shane had been furious when i
t was their mates getting hazed. Now that he had a mate himself, Nick knew exactly how they’d felt. Even the thought of anyone pulling that sort of crap on Raluca made him outraged.
On the other hand, maybe the team would skip it this time. Hal had personally saved the asses of everyone on the team, so of course they all loved him and wanted to make sure his mate was worthy of him. Lucas was the newest member, the rookie, so it was his teammates’ job to look out for him. And anyone who knew Shane could see that he’d been through hell, so his friends wanted to make sure his mate wouldn’t add a broken heart to his burdens. But Nick was just... Nick.
All the same, he didn’t want Raluca to face the teasing and provoking and intimidating and weird impromptu tests of strength and loyalty and intelligence that the team had thrown at Ellie and Journey and Catalina. Maybe the best thing would be to hold off on revealing the mate thing for now. Later, when he had more time, he could tell his teammates one by one, alone with them, and make sure they didn’t try anything.
Satisfied with that solution, Nick said softly, “Raluca?”
There was no response. Her breathing was deep and even. She was already asleep, just minutes after he’d turned out the light.
Nick couldn’t help being a bit envious. Even after he’d gotten out of the gang, Nick had a hard time letting his guard down enough to sleep. It often took him hours, and even then he often woke to his wolf’s howled demands to check for dangers which existed only in nightmares that Nick himself couldn’t recall. He’d resigned himself to never being able to convince his body or wolf that he was ever completely safe.
But tonight he lay relaxed, marveling at his good luck. To his werewolf senses, Raluca’s hair and dragonmarks shone faintly in the darkness, like the paper stars he’d glued to his ceiling when he’d been a little boy. He breathed in her scent of steel and roses, and curled in even closer to the heat of her body. This was one night when he’d actually enjoy lying awake.
Go to sleep, his wolf said with a jaw-cracking yawn. No one can hurt you or your mate here.
“Will wonders never fucking cease,” Nick muttered.
But neither Raluca nor his wolf responded; both were fast asleep. A moment later, Nick joined them.
Chapter Eight
Raluca
Raluca awoke to the sweetest sight that had ever greeted her in the morning.
Nick lay beside her, with one arm around her side and the other flung out, his nude body on magnificent display. The defined musculature of his back, its pale skin unmarked except for a few leafy branches dipping over his shoulders, would put even a dragon to shame.
I told you he had a very nice back, her dragon hissed.
And backside, Raluca answered, smiling. It was firm and compact, as fine a sight naked as it was in jeans.
She was tempted to pat it, but Nick was sleeping so soundly that she hated to wake him. His face was turned toward her, his thick black lashes easily visible against his cheeks, his chin roughened with stubble, his lips slightly parted. He looked boyish and, for the first time since Raluca had met him, at peace.
She wondered if that was how he’d have been if his parents hadn’t died as they had, and none of the ensuing consequences had occurred. Maybe he’d have followed in his father’s footsteps and worked in the steel mill. But Nick had too much fire in him for her to imagine him living a quiet life. If he’d grown up without adversity, might he have sought it out of his own accord?
Raluca hadn’t moved, but no doubt her breathing had changed as she’d woken. Nick stirred, blinking his long lashes, then instantly pulled her in.
“Hey.” Nick pressed a kiss against her shoulder, then her collarbone, and finally her lips. “You’re really here.”
“I have no intention of going anywhere without you.”
He kissed her again. Then his bright eyes widened in sudden recall. “Oh, fuck. I have to talk to Hal. I told him last night you were going to get a new bodyguard. I need to head him off at the pass before he assigns someone.”
He sprang out of bed, his lithe musculature flexing beautifully, then held out a hand. “Shower with me?”
Raluca accepted, feeling half in a dream. The bathroom off the bedroom was plain and tiny, with barely enough room in the shower stall for two. But Nick’s agility and Raluca’s trained grace allowed them to move within it without colliding with each other or the walls. Water soaked his hair, turning it to shining sleekness, and streamed down his body, gleaming off his defined muscles and brightening his tattoos. They spent some time simply touching each other, enjoying the feeling of wet skin on skin and the intimacy of soaping each other’s bodies.
But after a while, the warm water began to chill Raluca. She turned the heat up until Nick’s skin flushed pink, then guiltily reached to turn it back down. “I’m sorry. It’s too hot for you.”