Page 8 of The Scent of Seduction

“Oh, my God! It has to be him. I can’t believe it! I promised the others that I’d find help, but I never imagined I’d actually find the one person who…”

“I’d like to think that maybe the universe organized our meeting for two purposes. The first, and always most important, is that we found each other. The second is that with your information and my resources, we can finally put an end to the kidnappings.”

Jaryn gave Nicole a hug. “Do you feel better now?” He smiled at her nod. “Good, then why don’t we get back to our meal? They make fabulous food here, and I’d hate for you to miss out on the experience.” He stood and placed Nicole back in her chair. Jaryn slid her closer to the table, kissed the top of her head, and as he moved to the other side of the table, gave Mike—the owner and fellow pack member—a nod showing that all was well and they were ready to continue with their dinner. He settled himself at the table and took a sip of water. “Why don’t we talk about more pleasant things? Tell me more about teaching.”

“How did you know I was a teacher?”

“You said earlier that you had a Master’s degree in education. I assumed that meant you were a teacher. Was I wrong?”

Nicole shook her head and then smiled. “I was a high school teacher. I love working with the teenagers. They can be a real handful sometimes, but every once in a while you see a glimmer in one of the kids’ eyes and know you’ve sparked an interest. Maybe provided them with inspiration for their own career choices.”

The waitress delivered their entrées, and Jaryn’s mouth watered at the delicious smells wafting up from the steak on his plate. “Thank you, Susan.” He saw the pleasure on Nicole’s face at the fare put in front of her and smiled. "Your choice will thrill you. The smoked turkey is excellent." He raised his wine glass. “May I present a toast?” Nicole lifted her glass of wine. “To a future filled with everything we’ve ever dreamed of.”

He clinked their glasses together and took a sip of the Cabernet Sauvignon. He’d purposely kept the toast vague, but Jaryn knew exactly what he dreamed of for his future.

“You love teaching. I can see it in your eyes. They sparkled just now as you were talking.”

Nicole set her wine glass back on the table. “I do. I try to share my enthusiasm with all the kids, those in honors classes, as well as in basic. Teenagers can either be very smart or very stupid, depending on the situation, but it seems to be a universal fact that you can’t bullshit them. The way I look at it is, if they can see how much I enjoy teaching them and how much I love what I teach, then I might have a chance of getting them to pay attention. The more they learn now, the better prepared they’ll be to enter society, whether they ever attend college.”

The steak melted in Jaryn’s mouth and he smiled as he heard a little moan of appreciation from Nicole across the table.

“I really don’t want to go back to the unpleasant topic, but have you contacted anyone from your life since your escape?”

Nicole frowned, and her shoulders fell. She put her knife and fork down and twisted her fingers together. “No. I’m sure my job is gone, and most likely my landlord gave up on me a long time ago. I… I probably have nothing but the clothes on my back.”

Jaryn reached for one of Nicole’s hands. He caressed her knuckles with his thumb. “I’ll help you get everything in order. We’ll make some calls in the morning. I’ll take you shopping and get you a new wardrobe and whatever else you need.”

“But I’m sure Adam is monitoring everything connected to my life before. He has people working for him who can trace any type of communication all over the world.” She toyed with the napkin in her lap. “In fact, he’s probably already aware of the money I withdrew this morning. It’s only a matter of time before he finds me,” she whispered.

“Remember what I said? Our pack will protect you with our lives if need be. I have contacts, too, sweetheart. Don’t worry, nothing we do will trigger anything on Adam’s end.”

“I’d appreciate the help with getting a few changes of clothes and the other stuff, but I promise I’ll pay you back.”

“You’re my mate, Nicole. It’s my job to take care of you, provide for you, and love you. I won’t accept a dime for simply doing what I’m supposed to do.” He could see she was about to argue. “I’m not trying to take over your life. If you want to get another job teaching, and contribute to our home, I’m all for it. If you want to stay home with our pups, that’s fine, too. All I’m saying is, don’t throw my gift in my face, please. Don’t start our mating off with some type of internal balance sheet.”

Nicole took her hand away from Jaryn’s. She took a large sip of the wine in front of her. “Holy crap—you’re moving at lightning speed here. We haven’t even mated yet, and you’re already talking about children.”

Nicole’s words gave Jaryn hope and his pulse raced. “Are you ready to accept the fact that we are mates?”

“I’m still considering all the implications of what it would mean to be your mate. Can…can we just take this slow? I’m a little overwhelmed with everything.”

The excitement of a moment ago shriveled and Jaryn’s heart felt as though it was being crushed in an iron fist. His mate didn’t want him. This was supposed to be the simplest thing in his life. When he found his mate, their connection was supposed to be instant and irrefutable. Jaryn knew Nicole was his mate, and he sensed that deep inside her she knew the truth—so why was she fighting him?

Because she’s been through hell, you asshole. Give her some time to get her equilibrium back.

“Of course. I’m sorry. Tell me how you became a teacher.”

“My first job out of college was working as a patent examiner. I’d review incoming patent requests to determine their validity and cross reference them with current patents on file. It was mostly a lot of clerical and research work. I made a decent income, but bored out of my skull. So ten years ago, I got my teaching certificate. I received my certificate, then immediately started work on my Master’s degree.” Nicole took a sip of her wine and tucked her hair behind one ear. “I was on the track to achieve tenure when Adam kidnapped me.”

Jaryn reached for Nicole’s hand. The freckles he'd observed on Nicole's face and neck even dotted the back of her hand. Her pale skin was proof that she hadn’t spent a lot of time outdoors this past summer, so he suspected that the tiny embellishments graced her skin year round. They gave character to the milky, porcelain skin tone, and he wanted to find each and every freckle on her body. Preferably with his tongue.

Jaryn quietly released a long breath. “You know, we have a pretty excellent school system here for a small town. Mostly because kids from several surrounding areas travel here for their education.” Nicole stiffened and tried to pull her hand away. “Please don’t back away. I know you haven't embraced the idea yet, but every cell in my body is telling me you are my mate. My wolf wants to claim you, then sing to the moon in celebration. I’m telling you this because I want to be honest with you, but you also need to know that I will never force you to complete our mating bond. I would never take away your right to make the choice for yourself. If you were to walk away from all that we could be, my life would never be complete, and that is something I would have to deal with. However, if you agree to become my mate, I would not only make sure that you never again feel alone or scared, I would love you more than the deepest fathoms of the ocean or highest peaks reaching into the sky. Whatever the future holds, we would face it together.”

“Tell me something?”

“Anything.”

“Do they give all you shifters lessons in charm as pups? Why is it that every one of you I’ve ever encountered always knows exactly the right thing to say? I even fell for Adam’s lines without a second thought… before he kidnapped me. Is there a class you take that teaches you how to be suave, romantic and seduce women, or is it something woven into your genetic code?”

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