Chapter One

Nicky sang the lyrics to his favorite Bruno Mars song as he danced his way into the room in front of Marco. He’d been told he had a nice singing voice, and Marco smiled indulgently at him as Nicky swayed his hips and did a little two-step on his way over to Marco to trail his fingers over his broad, muscular chest.

Teasingly, Nicky skipped away as Marco reached for him, humming softly as he pulled off his clothes to get ready for bed. It was late and he needed sleep, but Nicky was still exhilarated and happy because the party to welcome the newcomers to the pack had been such a huge success. Nicky pulled up his shirt and ran his hands over the taut muscles of his abs, moving his other hand down inside the waistband of his jeans, knowing Marco’s eyes were on him. Nicky loved to tease Marco, making the bulge in his tight jeans even larger than it already was.

Marco moved up beside him and brushed Nicky’s hand on his abs impatiently away, replacing it with his own. The larger man pulled him tightly against his body and put his lips to the skin at Nicky’s throat, his tongue licking out causing Nicky to groan and thrust his hips out toward him. Before Nicky quite knew what was happening, Marco had taken over the job of undressing him. He left a trail of Nicky’s clothes on the floor as he walked him backward to the bed, then picked him up and tossed him on the mattress.

Grabbing both his wrists in one of his hands, Marco pulled them up over his head and held them there while his mouth moved to Nicky’s throat, his eyes, and back to his lips. He dipped his head down and took one brown nipple in his mouth, teasing and taunting the sensitive nub with his teeth and his tongue. He dropped his hands down to cup Nicky’s ass and pulled him possessively close to him. The intensity and the desperation startled Nicky. “God, I need you. I love you so much,” Marco whispered frantically in Nicky’s ear. “Love me, baby. I have to have you.”

Nicky laughed, wrapping his legs around Marco’s waist and pulling him even closer. “Then take me! I’m all yours.”

Marco moaned and pulled Nicky’s legs down long enough to reach blindly for the oil on the table next to the bed. Since his hands were trembling with need, he got more of the oil on the backs of Nicky’s thighs than on his ass, but it was enough to get the job done. When he pushed first one finger inside Nicky’s tight hole and then another, stretching him gently, Nicky squirmed in excitement and pleasure. Marco smiled down at him as he rubbed his fingers against his puckered entrance.

“It’s enough, Marco. Please, sweetheart. I need you inside me now. Don’t wait.”

Marco lowered his hips to nudge inside him, and Nicky lifted his own hips in welcome, pushing his head back on the pillows. “That’s it, baby,” Marco murmured. “You’re my sweet love. My only love.” Marco whispered the words in his ear and Nicky twisted his head to capture Marco’s mouth. As he touched his lips to Marco’s, it was as if he ignited a powder keg. Marco took his lips with another groan and surged into Nicky, burying himself to the balls and dragging his cock over Nicky’s prostate again and again. Nicky came with an intensity that surprised him. He couldn’t seem to stop, and for a moment, it reminded him of their first time together, when the knot had caused him to have those unbelievable, endless orgasms. Marco called out hoarsely and followed him seconds later, pulling Nicky to him so tightly he could barely breathe.

They both lay still for a long time afterward, like two survivors in the aftermath of a storm, clinging together, unable to move apart. Finally, Marco shuddered and got up to get a warm cloth to clean Nicky. He cared for his mate tenderly and afterward, stretched out on the bed behind him, spooning Nicky’s body and holding him close.

“Good night, sweetheart,” Marco said softly, kissing the back of Nicky’s neck. Nicky cuddled back into him and sighed, so much in love and so satisfied, he never wanted to move from where he was right that very minute.

“I love you, Marco,” he said. Marco murmured something in reply and Nicky thought idly that he’d never been so happy in his life. Happiness this perfect couldn’t last, could it? A superstitious shiver shook him, and Marco tightened his hold around Nicky’s waist, making a soft questioning sound.

Nicky cuddled back into Marco’s embrace. “Nothing, baby. Someone must have walked over my grave. Go back to sleep.” He sighed and settled into the warmth of Marco’s embrace as he drifted down to sleep.

The next morning, Nicky woke up early and stretched, turning toward Marco, who was still deeply asleep, his mouth slightly open, with soft snores coming from his throat. Nicky kissed his forehead tenderly and slipped from the bed. He pulled on a pair of sweat pants and walked into the kitchen, got a glass from the cupboard, and poured himself some orange juice.

He stood by the window looking out at the mountains as he drank his juice and thought he’d never get tired of looking at the beautiful vistas he saw from this vantage point on the second floor. From here he could see deep green ridge after ridge fading off to light blue in the distance. When he’d first come to the mountains, he thought the lodge was isolated and lonely, but not anymore. Now he couldn’t imagine living anywhere else.

Finishing his juice, he drifted over to the sofa and lay down on his back with his feet propped up on the back of the sofa. Idly, he picked up a magazine his best friend Logan had given him. He didn’t want to make any noise that would wake up Marco.

Marco had been so tired lately with all the stress of getting the new pack members settled in, Nicky wanted to let him sleep as long as he could. He was worried about him, really. In the last couple of weeks, he’d developed deep shadows under his beautiful smoky eyes and just yesterday, Nicky had noticed Marco’s hands trembling as he drank a mug of coffee. He decided he would push him again to go to the doctor, no matter how much he grumbled about it.

After a few minutes, he pushed the worry from his mind and got lost in his magazine, jumping when he heard a slight noise nearby. He looked up to see Marco looming large at the foot of the sofa, staring down at him, with a cold, almost hostile look on his face.

“Can’t you find something better to do than lie on your ass reading a magazine?” Marco growled as he glared at his mate.

Nicky looked up, his mouth dropping open in surprise. He quickly pulled his feet down from the back of the sofa and sat up. “Sorry! I was just reading this article Logan told me about on martial arts training.” He leaned over and reached for Marco’s hand. “Are you okay, baby? Why are you so grouchy this morning?”

Marco pulled his hand abruptly away and walked to the kitchen. “Who said I was grouchy? Damn, can’t I just be sick of seeing you lying around all the time?”

Nicky’s eyes filled with tears at his harsh tone, even as his lips tightened with anger at the unfairness of the comment. Fuck! He wasn’t being lazy, he was only trying to keep quiet so Marco could sleep.

“Well, excuse the hell out of me,” Nicky quipped. “Who pissed in your cornflakes this morning?”

Marco gave him a frosty glare and then ran a big hand over his face, shaking his head. “God, baby, I’m sorry. I don’t even know why I said that.” In a complete about face, he came over to sit next to Nicky on the sofa, taking him in his arms, and kissing his lips tenderly. “Forgive me, sweetheart?”

“Damn, I’m getting whiplash with these mood changes of yours,” Nicky laughed. “It’s okay. I guess I have been pretty lazy this morning, but I was trying to let you sleep in a little. I haven’t even made breakfast yet. I could fix you something or are you going downstairs to eat?”

“Yeah, I’ll go down to the dining area. Don’t worry about it. Ian’s probably down there and I need to talk to him anyway,” he said, talking about his pack’s beta. “In fact, I’m not even all that hungry—I don’t know what the matter is with me lately. I haven’t had any appetite. I’m sure as hell not sleeping well, and now I’m taking it out on you.”

“It’s okay,” Nicky replied. He’d been worried about Marco for weeks now, but Marco refused to see a doctor. Like all the wolves, he could be stubborn and intractable when he got his back up. More like an old mule than a wolf, Nicky thought.

“No, it isn’t okay. I shouldn’t be taking all this out on you, but thanks for being so understanding. Maybe I’ll stop by the doctor’s office this afternoon, just to check.”

“Would you, Marco? I’d feel a lot better about it if you would.”

“We’ll see. I have so much to do...”

“It’s not good for anybody if you get sick, babe. We all rely on you. Please promise me you’ll go by and see the doctor.”

“I said, I’d see! Damn it, stop crowding me!” He stood up quickly and then flushed, glancing back down at his mate. “Sorry,” he said again. “Maybe I’d better go by and see what the hell’s going on with me. I need to go find Ian, but I promise I’ll go by today.” He dropped a kiss on Nicky’s forehead, and then walked quickly to the door. He stopped and turned to look at Nicky, who was still sitting on the sofa with a frown creasing his forehead. “Don’t worry about me, okay? I’ll be fine—I’ll see you tonight.”

Nicky sat for a long time after he left, staring into space and thinking about the past few weeks since the raid on the Hunter’s compound. Marco had been out of sorts and feeling run down and tired. At first, Nicky thought it was all the added work from the newcomers to their pack. Over seventy of the Hunters had surrendered, begging for assimilation rather than execution, and at least a third of that number had settled in the North Carolina pack. The others were taken to the North Georgia and Tennessee branches of the Werekin, and the remaining twenty-some men were in the process of merging into Marco’s group now. All had been turned at their request, and some had already found mates for themselves. The others were still in the process, and so far it had been going quite smoothly. Marco had done a wonderful job of settling them in, and he and the other wolves were still in the process of training them, so Marco had been running himself ragged.