Bodyguard

ALLIE

When we arrive on campus, we all go our separate ways.

Danielle goes to speak to her tutor about an assignment she’s struggling to complete, and David is swamped by his gang of friends as soon as he steps out of the car.

I’ve decided that if Clara is going to follow me around while I’m at school, I need to start making her familiar with the classes I’m taking and introduce her to the other students.

I don’t expect her to actually complete any coursework or attend exams, but she needs to be capable of sounding like a medical student so as not to arouse the suspicions of the other students.

This turns out to be a lot easier than I expected. It seems that before Clara decided to train as a warrior, she had considered studying chemistry at university.

She loves science and isn’t far behind most of the students on our course in terms of scientific knowledge.

The day goes so smoothly and we have so much in common that I forget Clara is there to act as my bodyguard.

On the way to lunch, I am surprised to notice Callum standing outside the library talking to a couple of students.

It’s the first time I’ve seen him on campus. I had assumed he decided not to sign up for classes after all. He’d been vague about what he was planning to study.

I must have stopped walking because Clara asks, “Everything okay?”

“Yes, I just saw someone I haven’t seen for a while.”

At that moment Callum turns to look at me. Our eyes meet and he nods to me before turning back to his friends. They turn to stare at me, and I shiver.

I haven’t seen them before, but it’s clear that they’re wolves, loners like me but not ones that Danielle and the guys have introduced me to.

They don’t look like typical students. Like the wolf Callum was drinking with in Raffles, these wolves looked rougher. Unkempt and slightly dangerous.

What was Callum hanging around with them? They look like trouble. The kind of wolves likely to follow Ryan.

Is that what Callum is doing? If Ryan can win over even loyal pack wolves, wouldn’t a lone wolf like Callum be an easy target?

I wonder if he’s one of Ryan’s spies, but apart from hanging around with dodgy wolves, I haven’t noticed anything that hinted that he was doing anything wrong.

Should I mention my suspicions to James? He’s keen to find the spies in Linton. He investigated my friends, who have done nothing wrong, merely because they were loners who lived with me.

How much more suspicious would he be of Callum’s actions than he was of theirs?

I don’t want James to go after Callum when I have no proof that he’s up to no good. Can I trust James not to overact?

The thought of him hurting Callum based on my suspicions makes me decide not to tell him.

I’ll keep an eye on him, and only speak to James if I find real proof that Callum is involved in any wrongdoing.

***

At the end of the day, the journey back to the packhouse is made in complete silence. David and Danielle are still not speaking to each other, but it doesn’t bother me as much as it did this morning.

I’m lost in thought, looking forward to seeing James again. I’m surprised at how much I missed him today. He’s never been far from my thoughts, and I can’t wait to spend some time with him alone.

I think back to the time we spent together in his lodge in the woods. How close I had felt to him. Maybe we can try to rekindle some of those feelings tonight.

When the car eventually pulls up at the pack house, I’m surprised and pleased to find him standing outside waiting for us.

He opens the car door and helps me out. “Did you have a good day?”

“Yes, it was good. We didn’t encounter any trouble, and Clara was great. She’s really going to fit in with all the other students on my course.”

“Good. Let’s go inside and head up to your room so we can talk in private.”

David smirks at us. “Enjoy your ‘talk.’ I’ll see you both later.”

“Much later,” James mutters.

James wraps his arm around my waist and quickly steers me across the packhouse hall and up the stairs to his private quarters.

My skin tingles where his hands touch me, and I shiver with desire. My body knows what it wants, and it’s him, my mate. My brain, though, is still not sure about him.

I feel like I’m getting to know the real James, the strong, caring wolf who puts the safety of his pack first. I feel so comfortable in his company.

He’s a person that I want to spend time with. I’m beginning to trust him, but we had such a bad start that I’m not ready to let down all my barriers just yet.

I know that he wants me, but does he expect that now I’ve moved into the packhouse that everything is settled between us? That I’m his?

He guides me along the corridor, and I tense up as we get close to his bedroom.

He senses my unease. “Allie, I just want to spend time with you. Get to know my mate.”

He steers us past the bedroom and into a cozy sitting room where he pulls me toward a large comfy sofa. He sits and gently draws me down next to him then wraps his arms around me.

“I want to hold you, spend some time alone with you, my mate, but we don’t have to do anything else. I won’t pressure you to do anything that you don’t want to do.

“When I make you mine it will be because you’re one hundred percent certain that it’s what you want. And not just because of the pull of the mate bond.”

I lean into him. “Thank you.” His words reassure me.

“So, tell me about your day. Did Clara blend in with your friends, in the way you wanted her to?”

“Yes, no one guessed that she wasn’t a fellow student. She will easily keep up with the coursework. I think I’ll enjoy having her around.”

“Good. She’s one of my best warriors, but I want to make sure that you don’t feel like you’re being guarded. I don’t want to take over your life. She’s just there to keep you safe.”

He changes the subject. “What about David? Was he being his usual annoying self?”

I laugh. “I don’t know him that well, but I can assure you that when you aren’t there, he isn’t nearly as annoying. He was on his best behavior on the drive to campus.”

“Good. My brother is the most unserious person I know. His life is all about parties and having fun, but he has a good heart.”

“I think there is more to him than you give him credit for. It must be difficult being the younger brother of such a strong and serious alpha.”

“Strong and serious, am I? Is that a compliment?”

I smirk. “Are you fishing for compliments?”

“Of course! I’ll take anything that’s a sign you’re beginning to thaw toward me.”

I sigh. “And there haven’t been many of those so far. I know I’ve been suspicious and wary of you up until now.”

“With good reason. You were right not to trust me. My prejudice against rogues, my cruel reputation. I can’t expect you to just waive that away because I’m your mate.”

“As I get to know you, I realize that isn’t the full story. That you’re kind and honorable, and that you care about your wolves.”

“Thank you. I want nothing more than for you to give me a chance to prove myself to you. Right now though, what I want most of all is less talking and more kissing.” He pulls me closer.

I chuckle. “I could go with that.”

He doesn’t waste another second but crashes his mouth down on mine. I respond instantly. My mouth opens to allow his tongue to dance with my own.

I shiver with desire as his tongue explores my mouth. I feel like he’s intent on claiming every inch of me, and I groan with pleasure.

He maneuvers my body so that we are lying down, and my back is pressed firmly into the sofa cushions. His body is pressed against mine and I can feel his erection pressing against my stomach.

I moan with desire. At this moment I don’t want to go slow. I no longer want to wait. I rub against him. My sex is so wet.

He groans. “You smell so good. It would be so easy to take you right here right now.”

“Well then, why don’t you?”

“Because you would resent me if I did. As much as I want to, I’m not going to make you mine until you’re ready. When I take you, it will be forever.

“There will be no going back,” he warns me.

In this moment, that doesn’t sound so bad. If he can make me feel this good, being with him forever sounds awesome. I feel stupid. Why have I been hesitating when he is my mate?

I grind against him, and he growls, “No. Not like this,”

He pulls back, and I whimper at the loss of his hot body pressed against mine. He grins before his mouth swoops down again to trail kisses down my neck, licking and sucking my sensitive skin.

I spend the next two hours lying in James’s arms. I could stay here forever. I feel so warm and safe and, for the first time since my mother died, loved.

I’m not alone anymore. Finally, I have someone who loves me and will always be there for me.

The lingering suspicions that I’ve felt about James and the mate bond are disappearing.

“What are you thinking about?” James asks.

“How right this feels. How I don’t want to be anywhere else, be with anyone else but you.”

He kisses me, a chaste, fleeting kiss on my lips, so different from the hot passionate kisses we’ve shared over the last few hours. “Good, because that’s exactly how I feel.”

He sighs. “Unfortunately, we now do need to get ready. We need to go downstairs and have dinner with the rest of the pack.”

“That’s okay. I like the pack. Well, most of them. I know that we can’t stay here like this forever.”

“We can pick up where we left off after dinner,” he promises.