Claiming The Alpha (5 page)

thrust hard into Nikki, his breath rasping from his throat, nuzzling her neck. She had her arms around his neck, her nails digging into the taut skin of his shoulders.

At that moment, Nikki wished she could see them, watch what they looked like moving together. To see

Jax as he thrust into her, see how his thighs flexed and the muscles bunched, carrying his weight and hers, what his shoulders looked like with her legs draped over them. She’d never been into those guys who

filmed themselves having sex, but right now, she had the fleeting desire to have a camera running

somewhere.

Then everything was driven from her mind as her body took over, the building heat inside her spilling

over into a climax that took her breath away. She beat against his back, bit his shoulder, cried out and

thrashed beneath him. But he held her tight, contained the raging fire that threatened to consume her.

And then he joined her, his body on overdrive, slamming into her over and over, filling her with a heat

that matched hers but was so different. Everything was rushing noise and things falling to the floor, the table banging against the wall. She was vaguely aware of an answering knock behind her, dimly realized it was the neighbors, but didn’t even care.

Jax was dripping sweat, his head still on her shoulder, face against her neck. He was breathing hard, his breath stirring the hair by her ear. She held him against her body, feeling his heart beating against her chest, and she turned her head, her breath mixing with his, her mouth on his.

He finally, gradually, pulled away from her, slowly relaxing. One leg was released and she stretched,

then the other, the tension of being held letting go in a delicious flow of loose limbs. She would have slid from the table if he hadn’t had one arm still wrapped around her waist.

“You okay?” His voice was honey, and dark spiced rum, murmured in her ear. She breathed a deep sigh

that started from somewhere around her toes.

“Yeah. More than okay. Beyond okay.” She looked at him, his heavy-lidded eyes, still hot, still carrying

a heavy load of passion.

“Good.” That one word hit her deep, a small wave of happiness expanding outward from her center.

“Bed?” He pulled her upright and she realized they were still in the kitchen in Lori’s apartment, on the

table. She’d had sex on uncomfortable surfaces, tables among them, but this had been so all consuming

she’d lost track of where they were.

“Yeah. Until Lori comes home. Or we could go back to your place.”

“I think I’d like to ravish you in my own bed, at least one more time tonight. And then again tomorrow.

As much as it might be boring to always be there, at least I know no one will wake us up, wanting to kick us out of their bed.”

“But no sleeping late, no more late to work, okay?” Nikki was searching under the table for her clothes,

belatedly remembering there was no underwear involved this time.

“Look, I need some other clothes…like a shirt. I’ll be right back. Make yourself at home for a minute.”

She left Jax in the kitchen and headed down the hall to the bedroom. She unearthed a t-shirt of her own and grabbed a couple clean pairs of panties and headed back to the living room.

She jammed the panties into her purse. “Okay. If you’re ready, we can call a cab, since I know you

didn’t drive here.”

“Already done. They should be here in a minute.” Jax looked around the apartment.

“Are you planning to stay here? Or are you going back to your apartment?”

Nikki shrugged. “I don’t know. After what happened, with Mr. Feldman, I’m not really interested in

being by myself yet. This…” She waved her hand around the tiny cluttered apartment. “It’s not where I

want to be forever, but for now, it’s okay.” She took a deep breath, meeting his eyes.

“I don’t want to be alone.”

Jax was looking at her and she wasn’t sure exactly what his expression said. But then the look passed

and he was steering her toward the door.

“But you did remind me. There’s some stuff at my apartment I want. But I don’t want to go alone.

Would you come with me?”

“Sure, yeah. We can go there now, if you want.”

She nodded, breathing a sigh of relief. “Yeah. I would. Thanks. It’s just…too creepy to think about Mr.

Feldman, and my apartment…and all of it.”

A blaring car horn interrupted Nikki. Jax had his hand on her back and he guided her out the door. She

locked it behind them and they headed out to the street.

“Jax, I have a question.”

“Anything. Just ask.” He opened the cab door, waiting for her to get in. She hesitated on the sidewalk,

looking up at him.

“That thing…in the alley. Do you have any idea what it was?”

Jax stopped, looking down at her. “I think I do, but that’s a conversation for another time. We’ll talk

about it later.”

She climbed into the cab, wondering exactly what he would possibly tell her.

Chapter Four

The cab ride to Nikki’s was brief. Jax’s body still tingled from being with Nikki, from taking her there

on the kitchen table. She was so incredible, so insanely arousing. No other woman had ever made him feel

this way. It was clear to him, so very clear, that she was the right woman for him, as a mate and as the

partner he wanted for the rest of his life.

Besides the killer sex, she touched a part of him no one else had, opened him up, made him care, made

him want to protect and cherish her. He took her hand in the cab, almost overwhelmed by the love he felt

for her. She held his hand, trusting and honest. His throat tightened for a moment, the sting of tears in his eyes. But he brushed them away. This wasn’t the time or place for this; there would be plenty of time to tell her how he felt, to show her how much he loved her.

He had the cab wait. As they climbed the steps to Nikki’s apartment, Jax could feel her fear rising the

closer they got to her door. There was a bright white envelope taped to the faded and scarred wood and Jax ripped it off, stuffing it into his pocket while Nikki fumbled with the lock. When she dropped the keys, he bent over and picked them up, unlocking the door for her.

“Still locked. Like you left it.” Jax turned the doorknob, Nikki standing behind him. He pushed the door

and it swung open, thudding against the interior wall.

The faded miasma of the wolf-thing washed over him. Even though it wasn’t exactly a fresh scent, the

hackles still rose on the back of his neck, the hairs on his arms bristling.

“Nikki, let me go in first.”

“Gladly. I’ll let you get my stuff, too, if you want.”

Jax took a few cautious steps into the apartment. He ran his hand along the wall, flicking on the

overhead light. The apartment was small, which hopefully meant nothing very large would find a hiding

place.

“What do you need? Where would it be?”

“Bedroom, maybe some stuff from the bathroom.” She stepped out from behind him, walking first to

the kitchen. She opened the refrigerator, leaned forward, then took a step back, grimacing, before slamming the door.

“Nothing here, that’s for sure. It’s all rotten.” She scanned a small shelf above the table, picking up a small round object that she stuck in her purse.

“Bedroom next?” Jax tilted his head and she nodded. He walked down the short hall, flipping the light

on in that room, stopping in the doorway, his arm baring her from coming in.

“It looks like someone trashed this room, Nikki. You should wait…” But she pushed past him.

“No, that’s how I left it.” She stood in the center of the tiny room, looking at the chaos around them.

Sheets were torn off the bed, a pillow was on the floor and clothes dragged across the carpet.

“Oh…okay.” He caught the look she gave him and he shrugged. “It’s kind of hard to tell.”

“I wasn’t expecting company the last time I was here and I made it worse when I came back.” She had

her hand on the closet door, opening it, and had turned to look at Jax as she spoke.

“There are just a few things…” Suddenly she was stumbling back from the closet, her face ashen. The

stench hit him immediately, sickly and pungent, and very fresh.

“Nikki, back up. Now.”

He stepped forward quickly, colliding briefly with Nikki as she backed away from the closet. He took

her by the shoulders, turning her away and pushing her toward the door.

The closet was empty. He could see that immediately. It was far too small to hide anything. But what he

saw on the floor sent a shiver down his spine. Jax could only call it a nest. Several articles of Nikki’s clothing had been gathered into a rough circle, packed down and obviously slept on.

Jax knelt, feeling the clothes. They were cold, so at least whatever had been living here…and Jax was

pretty sure he knew what that was…was no longer around. He ruffled through the clothes and then picked

up something that fell from the tattered fabric.

He turned, holding it out to Nikki. She was sitting on the bed, chewing on a thumbnail. She pulled back,

cringing, visible disturbed by what he held.

“What the hell is that?”

“It’s matted fur…matted with blood, by the looks and…” Jax held it to his nose, inhaling. “And the

smell. Not fresh though…old blood.”

“It looks like that…thing from the alley. Is it? Was that thing living in my closet?” Her eyes went wide

and if anything, her face grew paler. Jax frowned.

“Yeah. I think it is…was…I don’t know for how long. But I’d say it’s been here long enough to feel at

home.”

“But how…the door’s been locked…oh, shit.”

Before he could answer, she slipped off the bed, heading for the bathroom. He heard another muffled

“oh, shit” and he crossed the room in just a few long strides, almost colliding with her as she came back out of the bathroom.

“The window to the fire escape’s in there…and the window’s broken. There’s more of…that…” She

pointed to the stringy mass of fur in his hand. “…on the broken glass. And some blood.”

She shivered and pushed past him to her bedroom. “I don’t think there’s anything I want from the

closet anymore…just…”

Jax watched as she pulled the drawer from the bedside table, dumping it out on the bed, adding to the

chaos. She rummaged through papers, finally coming up with an envelope that she shoved into her purse.

“That’s it. No clothes, no way. I can buy what I need…I’d rather spend the money than try to deal with

that.” She nodded to the closet floor. “Nothing in there interests me in the least now that something’s been living in it.” Her face contorted again in a grimace.

“Okay. Here. This was from the front door.” He handed her the envelope. She looked at the outside,

pulled out a sheaf of papers and snorted.

“I’m being evicted. For not paying the rent and because the neighbors are complaining of the smell.”

She read through a few more pages and then sighed, stuffing them all into her purse.

“I guess that’s it then. No use hanging around, in case that thing decides to come back. And if it’s

decided to live here, it can pay the rent.” Nikki grabbed her purse and walked past Jax into the hallway. He followed her out into through the living room and locked the door, giving her back her keys.

“You’re going to stay at Lori’s then?”

They were on the sidewalk before she answered. “I don’t know. We…had a fight. A bad one. There’s

something going on between her and Ryan, and I think I got put in the middle of it.” She shrugged. He

opened the door of the cab and she climbed inside.

“I guess as long as we don’t see each other, get in each other’s hair, we’ll be fine. And as long as I can pay my way.”

He glanced at her, the frown line between her eyes deepening. “Is that a problem?”

“Ryan’s not so keen on paying, from what I can tell. He said I’d get paid at the end of every day, but

he’s blown me off now every day.”

She took his hand. “And no, before you say it, I can handle it…and him.”

It was dark now and he couldn’t see her face but he sensed a smile lurking behind her words.

“I’m that predictable?” He shook his head.

“Yeah, when it comes to things like this, with me, you are. You’d be all up in his face, demanding my

pay. But that’s not your fight, Jax. It’s mine to deal with. I’ll take care of it. And no…you can’t lend me any money either.”

He laughed. “Fine. You have it your way. But I’m here if you need me.”

The house was bright with lights as the cab pulled up. Nikki got out as Jax paid the driver. She was

staring at the house when he climbed out.

“Are you having a party or something?” Her voice held an edge of anxiety and he realized she’d never

really met any of his pack, besides Finn and his mate, and the unfortunate incident with Bec barging into his room.

“No. This is pretty normal. You’ve always been here when everyone is out or asleep, I guess. Pretty

much like this most nights. It is a big house, with a lot of guys who live here. And their mates.”

She hesitated on steps and he put his hand on the small of her back. “It’s okay. No one bites. At least

not tonight.”

He heard her nervous laugh. “I get it. Werewolf humor. Funny.”

They walked through the front hall to the kitchen. “You hungry? I can fix you a sandwich or

something.”

“Yeah, just a little something. That…thing in my closet kind of ruined my appetite.”

Nikki sat at the table while Jax rummaged in the refrigerator. He pulled out roast beef, a Vidalia onion

and held up a jar of horseradish. She nodded, and he added a dark loaf of pumpernickel bread to the items on the counter.

“So, the thing in my closet. You think it’s the same from the alley?”

Jax spread a layer of horseradish on the bread, adding thin-cut beef on top. He picked up a knife, thinly slicing the onion.