mine, I will exact
my vengeance. I was tried and then outlawed.”
“What happened to the man, the mate?” she asked.
“He killed himself. If they could outlaw a man for
killing a rapist and murderer, it didn’t leave him much hope. He thanked me in
his final letter for giving him some kind of closure.”
He stormed past her, leaving her alone to dwell in
everything he said. Nick was a good man regardless of the fact he had bought
her.
Chapter Eight
Nick stayed away from Clara after admitting the truth.
For the next week he only saw her for breakfast and dinner. He left for work
early only to return late at night to find his dinner keeping warm in the oven.
The e-reader was in the top part of his desk. He still needed to give it to
her.
His reluctance to be near her was ridiculous. Staring
at his phone on his office desk, Nick wondered if he should call her. At night
he snuck into her bedroom to hold her throughout the night. Come morning, he
left her alone. She never said a word about him staying with her.
She tried to have conversations with him, but he cut
her short, finding peace in another part of the house.
“You know, buying a woman was supposed to mean you’d
stop being so bloody moody,” Dean said, sitting opposite him.
“What?” Nick asked, jerking up to look at the other
man.
“You’re moody. Your employees are afraid to enter your
office in case you have a go at them.” Dean leaned forward taking one of the
sweets, Nick left out.
“What the fuck are you doing in my office?” He wasn’t
in the mood to deal with his friend. The other man’s perky attitude was not welcome.
He needed to think.
“I got a call from your personal assistant, who is
worried about you. She asked for me to come down and see you,” Dean said.
“I should fire the woman.” Mrs. Lambert was amazing.
She put up with all of his quirks and never argued with him even though he
deserved it half the time.
“Trouble in
paradise?”
Glaring at him, Nick turned off his computer and
stood.
“Didn’t the e-reader work?”
Ignoring his friend, Nick tried to think of an excuse
to get rid of him. Even Dean took offence at being used and told him to fuck
off.
“How was your meeting with the alphas?” Nick asked,
getting ready to leave for home.
“Stop dodging my questions. You bought Clara. Why are
you looking moody? I thought the point of her was for you to let off steam.”
Nick didn’t say anything.
“For fuck’s sake, stop cutting everyone off. Talking
actually helps. I know it’s strange for you to even consider shit like that,
but it does fucking work,” Dean said.
“I told her why I was outlawed. I lost my temper with
what she said and told her everything. We’ve not spoken in the last week. To be
honest, I don’t have a clue what to say to her or how to move past what I’ve
said.” He shrugged, feeling lost for the first time in his life. When he was
being sentenced to be outlawed, he hadn’t felt lost. All of his life he’d known
everything there was to know about his pack. Clara made him feel lost at every
turn.
“Shit, what did she say?” Dean asked.
“I haven’t given her chance to say or do anything. I
won’t say anything, and I don’t know what to do in order for us to start
talking.”
Dean was silent for several seconds.
“Where are you going?”
“I’m going home. I try to find ways to break the ice,
but I stop before I get the chance to mend our fences.”
He walked toward the door. Dean was one of the few men
he actually trusted.
“Give her the e-reader,” Dean said, catching his
attention again.
“What?”
“You bought her the damn thing. Give it to her over
dinner tonight and start talking. I don’t know. Sit with her while she
downloads books. Don’t give up.”
Nick would certainly think about it. He’d love the
chance to hold her in his arms before she fell to sleep.
“What happened with the alphas?” he asked, interested
to know what was going
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