Except if that was true, why did it seem there was an invisible bond that stretched and reached for him the farther away I went from the clubhouse?
That night I dreamed of a wolf standing at the edge of the woods staring at me with glowing eyes.
Three days later, I was waiting for my brother to meet me for lunch. As I sat on a bench outside one of our favorite diners, I absently scrolled through my phone.
The sound of an approaching motorcycle had me smiling in anticipation. Yet that feeling dissipated when two bikes appeared, and I watched as they backed up to the curb. My head cocked in curiosity, since he’d told me it would just be the two of us.
When the second rider pulled off his helmet, my pulse raced. The prospect patch on his back barely registered as I looked at the ink on the arm that hung the helmet on his handlebar. He and Angel conversed for a second, then my brother looked up and flashed me a happy grin as he swooped in on me.
Angel embraced me tightly as I stared into Nico’s nearly black eyes.
“Miss me?” my brother asked as he released me and stepped back, tearing my attention from Nico.
I gave him a contemplative look. “Hmmm, maybe just a little,” I teased, drawing a laugh out of him.
The fact that Nico was with him and Angel didn’t seem angry had me breathing a sigh of relief. It was unlikely Nico had said anything, which had me covertly studying him as he approached. The incredible ache between my legs had only gone away that morning, but I still felt like I’d ridden a horse for about a hundred miles.
“Prospect, this is my sister, Jasmine,” Angel said when Nico stopped next to him.
“Nice to meet you,” he said with a curt nod. Our eyes held for a brief moment before he looked away. Though I knew my brother would have had his ass, it hurt that he didn’t give so much as a flicker of recognition.
“You too,” I murmured. We all went inside and grabbed a table. Talk about awkward—my brother motioned for me to slide in, and he dropped next to me. That put me damn near straight across from Nico’s dark gaze. Not that I needed to worry, since it was locked on the menu.
“How’s the job going?” Angel asked as he looked over the options.
“Um, good,” I replied. I’d landed a graphic design job after graduation, and I loved it, but my dream was still to work independently doing website design.One day.
“That guy still giving you issues?” Angel asked, still pressing the menu. Nico’s eyes lifted to mine, and I caught a flicker of irritation before he again dropped his gaze.
“It’s fine.”
Having personal discussions in front of the man I’d recently given my virginity to—who was acting like he’d never met me—was uncomfortable at best. Floyd was one of my coworkers who had been hitting on me pretty insistently. He’d been very careful not to do it in front of any of our bosses though.
“He doesn’t back the fuck off, and I’m gonna kick his ass. You feel me, Jazzy?” Angel set the menu down and stared at me.
“It’s under control. I’ve told him I’m not interested in dating him.”
“You telling him and him listening are two different things.”
“I get it. Are you ready to order?”
“Nice way of changing the subject.” My brother smirked and waved the waitress over. The entire time we were placing our orders, the waitress was incessantly flirting with Angel and Nico. Okay, it didn’t matter that she was flirting with Angel, but she didn’t know if one of them was with me. Not that she was rude to me, but inside, I wanted to claim Nico as mine.
Nico may not have been there with me, but I really hated the smile he gave her as he handed over his menu. I wanted that smile.
As Angel and I chatted, Nico reclined in the booth with one inked-up arm stretched across the back of the bench seat. The sexy asshole didn’t join our conversation and stared out the window like there was something incredibly fascinating out there. It was distracting as hell.
“So who are you exactly?” I asked, tired of him ignoring me.
Slowly, his gaze found mine, and he gave me a smirk that screamedReally? We’re playing it like this?
“He’s our new prospect. Nico officially became a prospect a couple of days ago.”
“He can’t speak for himself?” I asked somewhat snidely.
Angel snorted. “He doesn’t do a fucking thing unless I tell him to.”
My mouth dropped open.