The image stayed with him, getting more vivid by the second. Her head thrown back in ecstasy, her long silver hair brushing against his thighs, his cock buried in her wet heat.
Nick clenched his jaw and shoved that vision out of his head, but it was too late. His whole body felt on fire, his balls actually hurt, and he was in serious danger of coming in his jeans without even being touched. Hal and Lucas and Shane were all fucking assholes, going on and on (or, in Shane’s case, saying it once but memorably) about how finding your mate was the best thing that could ever happen to you. What the fuck had they been on? It was fucking torture.
Trying not to move too much, he opened Fiona’s locker and shoved an armful of clothing at her. “Here. Wear this. You’re about the same size. Yell when you’re done.”
Nick ducked into the bathroom, where he gave serious consideration to jerking off while she changed. He’d only have a minute or so. On the other hand, the way he felt, he’d probably explode in ten seconds and have fifty to spare to clean up. And then he wouldn’t be so distracted.
“Why the fuck does she have to be so hot?” he muttered.
Because she’s our mate, growled his wolf. Smugly, he added, She’s the hottest woman in the entire world. And she’s ours.
Shut up about that mate crap, Nick said silently. I fucking hate rich people, and she’s a fucking princess carrying around a backpack full of gold. She’s been handed everything her whole life, without ever having to work or fight for anything. She thinks people like me are the mud under her ruby slippers, and she’s sure as hell not about to get her hands dirty.
“I’m ready,” Raluca called, in her voice like a crystal bell.
Nick pulled his jacket farther down, wishing he’d gotten to business the second the door had closed behind him. Now he’d have to wait for his hard-on to go away on its own. He hadn’t had anything like this happen since he was a teenager.
It’s just because she’s female and practically naked, he told himself. She won’t look half so sexy in workout clothes.
Nick opened the bathroom door. Raluca had stashed her hoard pack in Lucas’s locker. She stood in front of it in her habitual perfect posture, spine absolutely straight without appearing stiff.
She was incredibly sexy in workout clothes. Raluca was slightly taller and fuller-figured than Fiona, so the black fatigues that were loose on Fiona were form-fitting on Raluca, showing off the slim grace of her body. The color contrast, which was also noticeable with Fiona’s pale skin and blonde hair, was even more striking with Raluca’s ivory skin and silver hair.
The princess had switched out some of her jewelry, keeping the silver necklace that drew his eyes to the elegant column of her throat, but changing the rest. Now her hair was
secured with a new pair of clips, butterflies with silver bodies and wings of black and pink jewels sliced paper-thin, so the light actually shone through them. Her rings were silver, two plain with delicate engravings, one a net of silver mesh enclosing seed pearls, and one set with a large black stone with a rainbow sheen. A black opal? Was there such a thing?
Nick cleared his throat. “You need a bulletproof vest. Here. Put it on over your shirt, and then button the jacket over it.”
He held out the vest and jacket. She took them, frowning at the vest’s bulk and heaviness. “I cannot wear this over a ball gown.”
“No,” Nick said. “But wear it when you can.”
She put it on, but seemed puzzled by the straps. Most clients were. Nick was used to showing them how to wear the vest. He’d had female clients before, and had helped them with the vest with the professionalism Hal was always nagging him about. He wasn’t a hound dog like Rafa. Some clients had been pretty, sure, but Nick didn’t flirt on the job. He was there to protect them, and that was all.
“I’ll help you,” Nick said, and stepped forward.
The radiant warmth of her body enveloped him. He and Lucas had sparred together and been jammed together in the back seats of cars on stake-outs often enough for Nick to notice that dragons ran hot. But what was only a familiar nuisance with Lucas, who always seemed to get stuck in close quarters with Nick on the hottest days of summer, was a whole different story with Raluca.
Though there was half a foot of air and a whole lot of clothes between them, she gave off so much heat that it felt as if their bodies were pressed together. He could practically feel the softness of her skin against his, as if they stood naked together, like they really were about to fuck up against the wall.
Why did you have to put that fucking image into my head? Nick demanded of his wolf. It’s not helping.
Raluca jerked backward when he reached out for the vest. Of course she didn’t want his low-class hands on her.
“I’m not going to fucking feel you up,” Nick snapped.
“I thought nothing of the sort.” Raluca drew herself up, her chin lifting arrogantly. “I did not imagine that Hal would hire a common criminal.”
You walked right into that one, Nick thought.
Raluca drove him crazy, and not in a good way — well, not only in a good way — anyway, he couldn’t resist the straight line she’d just fed him.
“You’re wrong about that, baby,” Nick said. “I have a record a mile long. I’m just not the sort of common criminal who’d touch a woman who didn’t want me, that’s all.”
“Don’t call me —” Raluca began, then broke off. Her extraordinary silver eyes widened in a double-take that made him want to laugh. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me the first time.” Nick hadn’t planned to tell her anything about himself, let alone his criminal record, but her reaction was funny enough that he was glad that he had. Let the snob princess know exactly who was guarding her. “Now, do you want to stand there and try to figure out the straps while I watch and you feel stupid, or do you want me to show you how to put it on? They’re tricky if you’ve never worn a bullet-proof vest before.”