Chapter 9.

Tuesday evening, Nila stood in the bathroom off the master and leaned closer, inspecting her makeup. She always wore a little mascara and blush to the office, but she never really wore makeup because she didn't go anywhere. Jack didn't care if she had lipstick on. Tonight, though, Malachi was taking her to dinner for their first official date. Mia and Brynn were sitting in the family room with Jack, waiting for her and Malachi to leave so they could babysit.

She hadn't been on a date in ages. Not since she and Damien had gotten married. He'd decided she didn't need things like dinner dates once they were married.

After work, Malachi had driven her to the daycare to pick up Jack and then to Kammie's to visit with Diane. Then, on the way to his home, he'd asked her to go out with him. She hadn't even had to think before saying yes; it was just automatic. But now, as she looked over her outfit and makeup, she was nervous. She smoothed her hands down the black dress, the silk warm against her palms, and looked into the mirror again. She'd left her hair down, because she knew that Malachi liked to see it that way, the dark blonde tresses falling past her shoulders.

Stepping from the bathroom, she found Brynn sitting on the bed.

"I just wanted to wish you a good night. Mia and I are going to take great care of Jack, and there are even extra protectors here, just to be safe. Although, honestly, that's because Acksel insisted on it, since I wouldn't let him come. Mia and I are going to do girl talk after we put Jack to bed, and I can't complain about Acksel if he's sitting right there. Well, I can, but it irritates him."

Nila smiled. "Thanks for coming. I know you'll take good care of Jack."

"After my little guy is born, you can return the favor. Maybe Jack and my guy will be best friends and rule the pack someday."

Nila's eyes widened. "Would your pack accept Jack? He's not... I mean, his dad is from another pack."

Brynn raised a brow. "But he's your son. Of course he would be welcomed once you and Mal...you know, make things official."

Nila shivered. "He hasn't asked me."

"Well, things are kinda s.h.i.tty right now. Mal is a great guy. I've known him my whole life, and I think of him as a brother. If I thought he was an a.s.shole, I'd tell you, because I consider you a friend, too. He'll ask you when the time is right, although there's no rule against a lady asking her man to be hers forever." Brynn winked with a smile.

Nila hugged Brynn when she stood, and Brynn said, "You look amazing, by the way."

"Thanks. Thanks for everything."

"That's what friends are for."

Nila walked out of the bedroom with Brynn and found Malachi holding Jack and pointing at pictures on the fireplace mantel. "This is my dad and mom."

"Carrot?"

"You got it, buddy."

Jack reached for Nila, and she took him, giving him a hug and kissing his cheek. "Have fun tonight, Jack."

"Mama."

He grabbed a lock of her hair and fisted it, grinning at her. Brynn joined them and said, "Come here, little one, Aunt Mia and Aunt Brynn are going to spoil you rotten."

He went to her easily and Nila slipped into her coat, which Malachi held for her. "You look beautiful, sweetheart," he said into her ear.

"You look pretty good yourself," she said and smiled. He was wearing black slacks and dress shoes with a black dress shirt and a red-and-black patterned tie.

They said goodbye while he pulled on his coat and he escorted her to his SUV and helped her inside.

"I made reservations at the Steak House."

"Sounds great."

He reached into the back seat and lifted a bouquet of roses, handing it to her.

"Um, wow. Thank you."

"I heard that humans like to give flowers on their first dates."

She chuckled and lifted the dark red roses to her nose, inhaling the sweet scent. "Did you?"

He hummed as he turned the SUV on. "Yeah. But I would've given them to you anyway."

"What do wolves give each other on first dates? Rabbits?"

He shot her a grin. "Only if we're really crazy about each other."

Their conversation was light on the way to the restaurant. They talked about his security company and the changes to how he would be guarding Brynn, taking her to work and picking her up, but not sitting around any longer. She felt the little twist of jealousy again, but didn't say anything. What could she say, anyway? Please stop doing your pack job and guard me.

Malachi's warm hand squeezed her thigh. "I'm going to step down from guarding Brynn full time."

"What?"

"I talked to Acksel about it yesterday. When things are settled with your ex, I'm going to stand down from being her personal guard, and someone else will take over. Then I can just guard you and Jack."

"We don't need a guard."

He gave her thigh a light squeeze. "I just mean that I won't be dividing my time between taking care of you and protecting Brynn. As a protector, I have to look out for her like I would anyone else in the pack, but I won't be with her full time. I'll be able to focus on the security company as well as taking care of you both."

"I don't know if things will ever be settled with Damien. Every full moon I kinda wish that he'd be trampled to death by deer."

Malachi laughed. "Death by deer? Sounds painful."

"You probably think I'm nuts for thinking that."

"Not at all, sweetheart. He's been tormenting you for a long time, but he's not going to get to do that anymore. I want you to think about moving into my home permanently."

She didn't say anything for a long while, and neither did he. Her heart was pounding as she replayed his words in her head over and over. The SUV stopped and she found herself looking at the restaurant.

Unbuckling her seatbelt, she turned in her seat. He did the same, and reached for her hand. "I don't want to rush you but I'm finding it harder and harder to be without you. Your house is fixed; you could go back there, and I'll patrol every night with guards to make sure you're safe. But I don't want you there, I want you with me. I feel like such a d.i.c.k."

"Why?"

"Because I promised myself that I'd take it slow with you, and not push you. Your ex makes my wolf irrational. We both want you with us so we can keep you safe, but I'm trying not to be a Neanderthal about it."

Her heart clenched. He was such a sweet guy. The wolves she'd known in the past wouldn't have cared what she wanted, they'd have just ordered her. Damien's pack treated women badly, a fact she hadn't known until after they were married.

"You watched me, all this time while I was at work."

Even though it was dark in the SUV, the lights from the instrument panel providing only bare illumination, she could see his eyes boring into hers. "I couldn't help it, but I was trying to be subtle."

She snorted. "You're too imposing to be subtle, Mal."

He chuckled. "I suppose. I tried, though. I didn't want you to hate me, even though you hated all wolves."

"I've learned about the differences between your pack and his. You're nothing like him. I'm still scared a little, but I feel like I can trust you."

He swallowed audibly. "Your trust is everything to me. I'd die before I hurt you."

She leaned forward, reaching for him, and he closed the distance until their lips were nearly touching. Just a heartbeat pa.s.sed with them frozen there, and then their lips met. A shiver raced down her spine, and she dropped the roses, wrapping her arms around his neck. His tongue swiped over her lips and she opened them, sighing as he swept his tongue into her mouth and the first, heady taste of him filled her. He tasted as wild and spicy as he smelled, and her stomach clenched as their tongues danced together. He groaned when she sc.r.a.ped her short nails over his neck, and the sound rumbled in his chest like a wolfy purr. He held her close, his touch firm but gentle, as if she were made of gla.s.s and he might break her if he held her too tightly.

The kiss deepened, and a moan caught in her throat as he kneaded her back through her coat. She suddenly wished they weren't in an SUV with a console between them, in a restaurant parking lot.

The kiss gentled between them, and they parted, both breathing hard.

"We will."

"Will what?" He blinked at her in confusion. She thought it was adorable.

"Move in with you."

The confusion swept away quickly and he pressed his lips to hers once more. "I won't ever let you down, Nila. You and Jack will be safe with me, and we'll take our time getting to know each other until you're ready to move forward."

His concern for her feelings made her stomach flutter.

"You're amazing."

"I'm lucky to have you; I don't want to screw it up."

She didn't want to screw it up either. As he kissed her once more and then turned off the engine, she was reminded of her current married status. There had to be a way to divorce Damien and keep him away from Jack, too. For now, she shoved the thoughts of Damien into the far corners of her mind and watched Malachi as he opened her door and helped her out. The scent of grilled meat filled the air, and her stomach growled.

"Hungry, sweetheart?" Malachi chuckled.

"Starving."

By the time Sat.u.r.day rolled around, Nila had moved in with Malachi and they were in the final stages of clearing out her home. He could have had every omega in the pack at her house, packing and cleaning, but he wanted to be part of the process as well. He asked Jeremiah and Adam to help with the heavy lifting, since they were both strong in their human forms. Although Jeremiah couldn't shift, Adam could, but he was an omega because he'd been badly burned when he was young and it had damaged him enough to make his wolf form weak. Nila wanted to help out, but Kammie brought Diane over to visit so Mal left her at the house.

Mia had volunteered to help with the cleaning, so she and several omegas were currently in the bedroom, making sure it was spotless so Nila could get back her security deposit.

The house had come furnished, but Nila had bought a few small pieces of furniture which were currently in the truck, and Jack's baby toys had filled up two large boxes.

Mia came out of the bedroom with a spray bottle of window cleaner and a roll of paper towels under her arms. "That's the last window cleaned. I'm going to clean out the kitchen cabinets since they're empty of dishes now."

"Thanks, Mia."

She smiled. "You're welcome, Mal. I like her and Jack a lot, and I want them to be with you where it's safe."

He picked up a floor lamp and wrapped the cord around the base. "I suppose I owe you dinner for this?"

"You'd suppose right, although I am partial to pretty, sparkly jewelry."

He shook his head at his sister with a smile and carried the lamp out to the truck. "This is the last of it," he told Adam.

"Okay. I'll follow you."

Jeremiah stayed to oversee the clean up, and Malachi got into his SUV, which was full of Nila's things, and drove home. He couldn't help but smile as he drove. Nila was there with Jack, waiting for him. He'd never imagined that something as simple as going home would fill him with so much joy. His wolf was practically doing cartwheels in his head.

Since Jack's crib had been destroyed, he had bought a replacement which was now in the bedroom down the hall from the master. She'd noticed the pale blue walls and the new navy carpeting when he'd given her an official tour of the home. The other bedroom was set up as an office for him. When he and Nila had kids of their own, he'd add on to the house to make sure they had plenty of room.

He stopped in front of his house and carried a large box of dishes up the front walk. He noticed that Kammie's car was gone. Nila, with Jack on her hip, opened the door before he could shift the box to one arm and open it.

"Hey," she said, smiling at him.

"Hey yourself," he said as she opened the door wide and stepped aside. She greeted Adam as he followed behind Mal with more boxes. Malachi directed him to put the boxes in whatever room they were labeled with.

"Ready to unpack some more things, sweetheart?" he called over his shoulder as he carried the box into the kitchen and set it down on the counter.

"Yep."

She put Jack in the highchair that was next to the kitchen table, placed a few toys on the tray, and joined Malachi at the counter. He hugged her and she rested her cheek on his chest with a sigh.

"Is everything okay?"

"You did all that security stuff for me at the house and now it's all wasted time and money."

He tipped her chin until she looked at him. "None of it was wasted time or money; it helped to keep you safe. And besides, this morning I removed all the hardware, and can use it on another job."

"Oh, I guess that's okay then." Her eyes glittered as she smiled at him, and he lowered his head to kiss her. Their lips met for just a bare moment before Jack banged a plastic toy on the tray and broke the mood.

They smiled at each other and she left his arms. He immediately felt the loss of her warmth. It had taken a while for her to warm up to him. The first few weeks that he'd known her, he wasn't sure she would ever give him the time of day, but now she was living in his home and trusted him with her and Jack's safety. It was a heady feeling, but the weight of the situation still sat heavily on his shoulders. She was technically married, although he supposed humans would consider them 'separated,' since they were no longer living together. The strangest thing to him was that she bore no marks on her neck. A wolf who would marry a woman but not mark her must really have a screw loose. Malachi would have marked her immediately. A marriage could be dissolved by divorce, but the markings that bound a couple together in a mating lasted forever. Once Mal's wolf had scented Nila as his mate, he had wanted no one else, and could think of nothing but marking her and keeping her forever.

His gums tingled as he thought about marking her lovely, untouched neck, but he shoved the thought away. For now they were taking things slow physically, and that meant the fangs needed to stay where they were.

By the time his SUV and Adam's truck were emptied, and Jeremiah had called to say Nila's former home was empty, clean, and the keys returned to the landlord, Nila and Jack had become permanent fixtures in his home. He hoped like h.e.l.l that she would want to stay with him forever. While they'd eaten dinner, taking turns encouraging Jack to eat the cut up hot dogs and cooked carrots that he seemed to love so much, Mal found himself falling in love with her. He'd cared about her from the beginning, from the moment he'd laid eyes on her in the storage room, but it had been a superficial affection based on his wolf's instincts. But now, after getting to know her over the last few weeks and seeing her strength and warmth, he'd come to covet her smiles and admire her courage.

He very badly wanted to take her to bed and make love to her for a few days straight to get their relationship started off right, but he knew that wouldn't happen. Slow meant no serious touching, even though his fingers itched to see how soft her skin was, and his mouth watered at the thought of tasting more than her sweet kisses.

Nila dried Jack off after his bath, rubbing a towel through his tawny hair and dressing him in a pair of footy jammies. She found herself thinking often of Malachi, who was cleaning the kitchen up after their meal.

"Ready for bed, Jack?" she whispered as she sat down in the rocking chair from her old house, which Malachi had set in the corner of Jack's bedroom. And it definitely was Jack's bedroom. She could see that Malachi had made the room up for Jack. The walls were freshly painted and the carpeting was new, and it had been empty of furniture, as if he were waiting for them. The new crib Malachi bought looked wonderful in the room next to his dresser and the rocking chair.

"Mama," Jack said as he snuggled closer, his face pressing into her neck. His breath skirted across her skin and the sweet smell of him made her heart ache. She rocked slowly, humming a children's song about teddy bears and picnics, but in her mind she always switched them to baby wolves.