Savage Awakening (Alpha Pack #2)(76)

"Whoa, don't bite my head off." His shit-eating grin was cute. "Aren't you conveniently forgetting the job offer the team's boss made to you?"

Frustrated, she waved a hand in the air. "Hellooo! Aric is on said team, and he practically shoved me into my car and launched me back to L.A. Unrequited love and work partners don't mix, as you and I well know."

He winced. "Good point. We've both tried that and failed, haven't we? But I think you ought to reconsider, because I get the sneaking feeling he's not as immune to you as you think. Take some time, is all I'm saying. Don't totally rule it out, or you could really regret it."

A recollection of Nick in his office sprang to mind, placing his fist over his heart.

Just listen to what this tells you.

"Okay, I promise I'll give it some more thought."

"Good. Now, what's to eat around here? I'm starved."

Some things never changed. And that was really, really great to know right now.

Familiarity was all she had to cling to.

After Dean left, Rowan got ready for bed and slid under the covers. Almost as soon as her head hit the pillow, she drifted off, sinking into sleep.

Even then, she couldn't stop thinking of Aric. Longing for her wolf.

Reaching across the vast distance, she pictured the field behind the building. Knew that was where she'd find him because she followed the pull. The damned yearning that refused to be denied.

The field appeared, and she found her toes sinking into soft grass. And across the short distance, the man she sought was bathed in moonlight, the glow illuminating his flawless skin, the lean, rippling muscles. He didn't see her, but stood with his head tilted back, dark auburn hair flowing, gazing at the stars. But he must've sensed her, and he spoke in a low voice as she approached.

"Do you believe that's where we go when we die?"

Moving close, she took his hand. It burned with heat but she didn't release him. "I don't know. I've always preferred the idea that we stay closer to earth, guarding the people we love."

He turned to look at her, a sad smile playing on his lips. "Being a creature of the earth, I like that idea better."

"Why would you be standing out here on a beautiful night like tonight and asking something like that?"

"I wasn't, originally. I was really just standing here, hoping you'd use that gift of yours to find me."

Cupping his face, love swelled in her heart against her will. Without her permission.

"And so I did. Make love to me, Aric," she said breathlessly. With him, she wasn't a cop, a protector. She was a woman, stripped to her bare essence, and it felt incredible.

"You don't know how much I want to." Stroking her face with one hand, he seemed to be memorizing her every feature. "But I can't. I have to go, soon, and I-I wanted to tell you good-bye," he whispered.

Fear seized her soul at the way he'd said that. So final. "Where are you going? Is it an op?"

"No, baby."

"Then what? When will you be back?"

"I don't know." He looked away.

He was lying.

"Tell me the truth, damn you! I deserve to know," she cried, grabbing his arm.

Agony lined his handsome face. "Before you left, I lied. I felt it, too, the pull. I never wanted you to go."

"Then why? I thought you didn't want me!"

"Oh, God. Nothing could be further from the truth. But you deserve much more than a loser like me." Before she could protest, he kissed her lips. Tasted with his tongue, delving into the seam as he pulled their naked bodies close. Then it was over and he backed away. Let go.

"Forgive me for what I did to Micah," he choked out. "Don't forget me."

Then he turned and walked resolutely toward the woods, like a man going to the gallows. She cried his name but she began to be drawn backward, the distance widening until she couldn't see him anymore. Fog swirled around her and she sobbed, lost, calling for Aric.

"Aric, no!"

She awoke, trembling, staring into the gloom of her shoebox of a bedroom in her apartment. Raising a shaking hand to her forehead, she rubbed, trying to clear her mind of the awful dream. The terror gnawing at her gut right now, her no-nonsense inner voice whispering what if it wasn't just a dream?

Glancing at the digital clock by the bed, she saw the glowing numbers read three fifteen in the morning. She couldn't very well call Nick at this hour and order him to check on a grown man because she'd had a bad dream.

No. She'd get past this. It was some sort of leftover anxiety making itself known now that she was home. She would call, but she'd wait until the morning and talk to Micah. Pump him enough to hear that everything was all right, and no one would have to know about her little meltdown.

Okay, bad plan. Screw that and go with instinct. That's what good cops did.

Switching on the bedside lamp, she stumbled from the room and went in search of her purse. Inside, she found Nick's card right where she'd put it. Then she retrieved her cell phone from its charger and made the call, pulse racing.

She didn't know whether to be relieved when it went to voice mail, but she left a message just the same. "Nick, it's Rowan. I know it's after three in the morning, but I have this bad feeling something's wrong with Aric. I had this dream and-well, it's stupid, but call me back anyway when you get this message. Doesn't matter what time. 'Bye."