Chapter Seven
Catherine felt her heart drop when she saw Jacques fall to the floor. She begged her brother to watch after Everett then ran to his side.
The doctor started moving to him about the same time as Catherine. He beat her to his side. “What happened?” she asked as she watched the doctor check him out.
“Not sure,” said the doctor. “Max? Can you give us some insight?”
“I slapped him on the back. Heard a weird noise that sounded like metal cracking and he went down.”
“Did he say or do anything?”
“He moved his shoulder and rubbed his neck. He did try to talk to me, but nothing came out.”
The doctor sat back when Jacques opened his eyes. He tried to sit up, but he couldn’t move. “Max, help me roll him over.”
Between the two of them they shifted him onto his stomach. By this time Patrick had joined them.
“Everything okay?” He put his arm around his sister.
“I don’t know.” She had never felt the fear that filled her at the moment. “Doctor?”
“It’s nothing deadly, Catherine.” He pulled Jacques’ collar down. “What is this?”
“Scar tissue,” she said.
“This isn’t scar tissue.” He gestured Catherine over and pointed to the discoloration that could be seen under the skin. “That is a foreign object.”
The doctor grabbed his bag and went back to Jacques’ side. He gave him a localized numbing cream that worked on werewolves. He pulled out a scalpel and cut a small incision close to the scar he bore and pulled out several pieces of metal. Once he was sure he got it all he used a needle and stitched it back up. With Patrick and Max’s help Jacques was rolled back over.
The doctor checked Jacques’ pulse and his eyes. “Can you move?”
“Not sure.”
Catherine knelt beside him. Ignoring everyone but Jacques, she pressed soft kisses along his jawline. “Talk to me, Jacques.”
His eyes shifted to her. “What the hell happened? My head is pounding.”
“You passed out.” She sat up, knowing everyone was watching.
“I don’t pass out.” He looked at her kneeling beside him.
“She’s not lying,” said Patrick. “We all saw you fall.”
“Can you explain the metal I found near your neck?” asked the doctor.
“Metal?” He looked at Catherine, who nodded her head. “When I got hurt the doctor said she did something to stabilize my spine. Maybe that’s what you’re talking about.”
“I want you in my office at eleven a.m. tomorrow. I want to run a series of scans and tests to see what that was doing in you and what damage it might have caused.”
“Yes, sir,” said Catherine. She helped Jacques to his feet.
“I think it’s time we let the new parents have some time to themselves,” said Max. “We have rooms set aside for you and Everett at our home, Jacques.”
“Thank you.” He looked at Catherine. “Will I see you tomorrow?”
“Catherine will be staying with us as well,” said Max. “I might not approve of the way you two behaved, but I’m not cruel enough to step in between you two.”
“Thank you, Max.” Catherine bowed. She knew Max could have sent her home.
Jacques followed suit. “Thank you.”
Max drove them back to Charlotte. “I know it’s a little late, but none of us ate anything so Jacob is preparing a light meal for us if you’re hungry.”
“That would be great,” said Jacques. “Thanks again.”
“You three come with me.”
Catherine picked up Everett so they could move fast enough to keep up with Max.
“It’s not going to be icky food is it?” Everett asked softly.
“I promise Jacob is making something special for you, Everett,” said Max who’s sharp hearing heard his question. “Your mom asked that I make sure you don’t eat too much junk, but I also know you don’t want to eat something you find boring. Like oatmeal.”
“Blech.” Everett made a face. “Mom makes me eat oatmeal a lot.”
Max smiled. “Let me show you your room first.”
Max opened the door as Catherine put Everett down. The little boy walked into the room and looked around.
“I have this room all to myself?” He looked up at Max. “We always share at home. This is going to be fun!”
“Catherine and Jacques will be right next door too.”
Everett nodded. He went to the big bed and shook his head. Then he headed to the couch in the room and sat down. “Can I sleep here? With the TV on?”
“As long as you don’t stay up all night, you can.”
He ran over and hugged Max’s leg.
Max looked at Catherine. “Dinner will be served in about twenty minutes.”
“Yes, sir.” Catherine grabbed Jacques’ hand and led him to the room Max mentioned. Their bags were already there, waiting for them.
“That bed sure looks good.” He wrapped his arms around her.
“We have to be upstairs and in the dining room in twenty minutes.”
“And you don’t want to make Max mad.”
She shook her head.
Max took that moment to pop his head into their room. “You two ready?”
Yes, sir.” They said in unison and fell into step behind Max.
Jacques was surprised to see his favorite beer sitting on the drink table. “Thank you.”
“That’s something Max always does,” said Alicia. “He wants you to feel comfortable.”
“Thank you again.”
The rest of the evening went quickly. Everett received a peanut butter and jelly sandwich which brought a big smile to his face.
“How are you feeling, Jacques?” asked Alicia.
“Fine. I’m not in any pain, and I actually have more movement in my shoulder now.” He took a sip of beer. “I wonder how that slipped.”
“So you knew you had a piece of metal in your back?”
“Well, yeah. I mean I didn’t know it was metal, but Doc said she put something where I hurt my spine. She said it was placed there to keep my spine straight. I had done so much damage from my fall she was afraid my spine would curve too much so did what she could to stop that from happening. She wasn’t sure if it would break or slide out as time went on. She did her best to make sure it stayed put and told me it would probably fuse with my spine over the years.”
“Do you think it stopped you from shifting?” asked Alicia.
“Never thought about that,” said Jacques. “I could barely walk in the beginning. I pushed myself to get where I am now.”
Max nodded. “You have an appointment with our doctor tomorrow?”
“He did ask me to stop by in the morning.”
“Okay, good. I’d feel better if he gives you a clean bill of health before you go home.”
***
The moment Jacques closed the door to their room he started to stalk Catherine. He had wanted her since this afternoon and having to wait was driving him crazy. He didn’t have to wait anymore.
Catherine watched him as she moved backwards.
“Where you goin’?” He pulled his shirt over his head.
“I was hoping we could use a bed instead of the wall.”
“You don’t like it up against the wall, cher?”
“I didn’t say that.” She smiled. “Each time has been wonderful.”
“But we’re in your alpha’s house and you want us to be civilized?” He worked on the belt he had on.
“Civilized?” She laughed. “We have been just as wild in bed as we have against the wall. I thought you might want a break from holding me up afterwards because we know my knees go weak and I’d melt at your feet if you didn’t hold onto me.”
“You’re a flatterer, and you distracted me so you could get your way.”
“Are you going to spank me?” She pulled her shirt off.
“I thought I had overstepped my boundaries when I did that.” He worked on his zipper. “You liked it?”
“We had the best sex afterwards, so I’m going to say yes, I do like it. Too much is up for debate.” Catherine stepped out of the pants she wore. The back of her legs hit the edge of the bed.
He leaned her backwards and onto the bed. His lips found hers sharing his desire for her through the kiss. He felt her hand slide over his back. Her legs wrapped themselves around his hips, trapping his erection against her heat. That made him shake. She did things like this unconsciously but it spiked his desire for her every time.
“Have you ever just let go?” Jacques asked softly between the kisses he planted along the column of her throat. “Let someone else be in control?”
“Of course.”
“I don’t think you have.” He eased her legs from around his waist. “You always try to control some aspect of our lovemaking. I want to see what happens when you let go.”
“I can try.”
He lifted himself up to look into her eyes. “Not without a little help, which I wish I had, but I’ll correct that tomorrow.”
“And tonight?”
“Tonight I’m going to try to take your breath away like I have done in the past.”
That made her smile.
He went back to pressing kisses along her throat then her collarbone, working his way down to one of her breasts. His mouth closed around her nipple which he worked to a peak. Once the tip of the first breast was nice and hard, he moved to the second one. Jacques used his hands to give her soft caresses in the places he knew aroused her. He continued down her body to her navel where he swirled his tongue for a moment before he continued pressing kisses down her abdomen until he reached her core. He latched onto her, drawing a moan from her. He swirled his tongue against her, stroking her just the way she liked it. Jacques picked up the slight scent of her readiness and slipped two fingers inside her to be sure. Once he was sure she was ready, he climbed back up her body, centered himself and drove into her. Those luscious legs of hers wrapped around him once again. This time he didn’t try to fight them.
She met him thrust for thrust. Each time inching them closer to their release. A soft growl escaped him as he started to move faster and faster. She kept up with him. Her breath caught in her throat as he brought her to the edge. They hung there on the precipice for a few moments before they free fell through their orgasms. He didn’t stop the howl that wanted to be heard and smiled when he heard her howl as well.
***
“The doctor will see you,” said the nurse the moment Jacques walked into the office. Max had lent him one of his cars to drive to the doctor’s office. He followed her into the office.
“Good morning, Jacques.” The doctor offered his hand. “I’d like to run a few tests to make sure we got everything last night.”
“Sure.”
“Good. I’d like to do a CAT scan and an ultrasound.”
“Ultrasound?”
“There not just for unborn babies anymore,” he quipped. “It just gives me another way to look and make sure everything is okay.”
It didn’t take long before he was sitting back in front of the doctor’s desk. The nurse let him know the doctor would be in once he had time to look at the scans.
He had no clue how long that would take so was surprised when the doctor came in about fifteen minutes later.
“I have the results.” He showed him a computer image that showed the area of his neck from the CAT scan. “All of the metal has been removed from your body and your spine has healed nicely so you don’t need any kind of brace to keep it aligned.”
“That’s good.” He was relieved to hear that.
“I would like to scan you in about six months to be sure nothing strange is happening.”
“Of course.”
“Good.” The doctor stood. “Then I’ll get my nurse to set your schedule.”
***
Fingers snapping in front of her face made Catherine focus.
“Earth to Catherine.”
“Sorry.” She gave Alicia a sheepish smile. “Did you say something?”
“Where are you today? I’ve never seen you so distracted.”
What could she say? She wanted to know how Jacques planned on making her let go when they have sex? Catherine was pretty sure that wouldn’t go over real well.
“There are only two things I can think of that could distract you like this. One is your new nephew.” Alicia watched her. “The other is Jacques.”
She tried to hide any reaction, but when she saw Alicia smile she knew she failed.
“I see. It was the second one.”
“I can’t seem to help myself.” Catherine slipped a piece of hair behind her ear. “I think about him all the time. If I’m not near him I wonder when we’ll see each other. When I am with him I can only think about how much I want him.”
“So that’s all there is to your relationship? Sex?”
“No, well,” she sighed. “I don’t know. We clashed in the beginning, but I think that was because he didn’t know how I would react when I found out he couldn’t shift. Once he realized it didn’t matter to me he relaxed and we developed a relationship.”
“And the fact you two are sleeping together?”
“I knew he would stay with his pack. Trying to find anyone here is impossible. You know that. My last three relationships only happened because the men in question wanted to get closer to Max and my brother. Once they thought they had gotten in with them they ignored me.”
“I know but using Jacques for a good lay isn’t the way you should treat him. That’s not any better than the way those men treated you.”
“I know and that’s not how this started or what is happening now.” Catherine paused. “I don’t really know what is happening.”
“I heard you last night.”
“Excuse me?” Were they that loud?
“I heard you howl. I heard Jacques as well.” Alicia pressed her hands on the table they sat at. “I was told only mates howled during their climax.”
“I heard that too.” She didn’t know where to look. Looking at Alicia wasn’t an option. “But we haven’t talked about anything long term. He’s their sheriff. I have tenure at my college. I don’t see how this would work out.”
“Have you asked him? Maybe he wants to get away from his pack. Go somewhere where no one knows about his injury. And is tenure that important to you? Can’t you get that at another college? Or do your classes via the internet?”
“And what if he says no? We have something special right now and I don’t want to lose that because I pushed him too hard.”
“You’re in love with him, aren’t you?” Alicia said it more as a statement than a question.
“Please don’t make me look at this too closely right now,” she pleaded. “I’m not ready to do that.”
“I don’t mean to make you uncomfortable,” said Alicia. “So I will let this go, but you do need to face this. Putting it off will hurt both of you.”
***
Jacques climbed into the car and wondered how he was going to find the type of store he wanted. Traveling down the highway he saw the large billboard advertising adult toys and smiled. The exit number shown on the billboard was coming up. He took the exit and looked for the road listed. He could have typed the address into the GPS but he wasn’t quite sure how. They didn’t have GPS’s in their pack. One of Dad’s rules.
The place was quiet when he walked in so the sales associate focused on him right away.
“Can I help you?”
“Um, yeah. My lady has a problem letting go and I want to help her.”
“Does she like it rough?”
“Rough?” He scratched his head. “I don’t want to harm her.”
“I think I have what you need.”
About a half hour later he walked out with his purchase. He knew he couldn’t walk in with the original bag. That would draw attention and probably be questioned. Jacques needed to find something to hide it in. He went to the closest mall and went in. The large anchor stores didn’t really have what he was looking for. He went out into the main section of the mall and walked along all the kiosks there. He found a few that had jewelry. He looked a little more at them. He wasn’t sure why. This one had a bunch of charms. There were hearts, skulls, nothing he wanted. Then he saw a bullet. In silver. Catherine would get that.
“Can I help you?”
“The bullet? The silver one?”
“This one?” She pointed to the one he saw. “It’s twenty percent off. You a cop?”
“A sheriff.”
“I’ve got a few more things like this over here.” She brought him over to a case that had a shield, a billy club and a set of handcuffs.
“I like the handcuffs.” He felt he needed one more charm. But what? There were flowers and hearts, snakes, all kinds of things, but none of them worked. Then he saw it. The fleur-de-lis. “I’ll take the fleur-de-lis.”
“The what?”
“The Saint’s symbol.”
“Oh, sure.” She gathered the three charms. “Do you need a chain?”
“Yes.”
“Our chains are over here.”
“How long does it need to be to be able to slip it over your head without having to release the clasp.”
“Twenty-four inches or longer comfortably. Some can do eighteen.”
“I’ll take the longest silver chain you have.”
He got a nice looking bag when he told her it was a gift. One that he could hide everything else in. Jacques jumped when his pocket started moving. He had forgotten about the phone.
“Hello?”
“Jacques, it’s Max.”
“Max. This damn thing surprised me.”
“Not used to a phone? I thought the police always had to stay in communication.”
“Walkie-talkie. My father banned anything with a GPS in it.”
“Cars too?”
“Yep. Most of our town doesn’t need a car since everyone works in town and they live close enough to walk to work. Sally and I have the only vehicles and they’re over twenty-five years old.”
“Must have a good mechanic.”
“We do. Me.”
“Figures.” Max chuckled. “True alpha. Alicia and Catherine are joining me for lunch, and I thought you’d like to join us.”
“I would. Where?”
“There is an Irish pub near my office. Do you know how to get here?”
“No.”
“Where are you?”
Twenty minutes later he pulled into the parking garage for Max’s office and walked to the pub. The hostess saw him and pointed to the back area. Max had told him he had a booth in the back of the pub. The scents in the restaurant were wonderful. His favorite though was coming from the back booth. Catherine’s scent filled his lungs.
After doing the quick head bow most used around Max he slid in beside her.
“You okay?” she aimed her voice only at him.
“Clean bill of health.” He rested his hand on her leg, sad to find pants. It was probably better though because if she had a skirt on he might get them both in trouble.
She gave him a beautiful smile. One that stunned him for just a moment.
“Glad you could join us,” Max said.
Jacques knew he said it to remind him that he was a guest, or odd man out. He knew he was testing him.
“Thank you for making me feel welcome. This city is amazing. It’s not New Orleans, but it is nice.”
That made Max smile. “I have been to the Crescent City several times. I love it there.”
“Ah, a true boy of Nola, eh.” His Cajun accent more prominent. “Next time I’ll show you real ‘Nawlens. Then we’ll talk.”
“Deal.” Max nodded to the waitress, who brought drinks for everyone. “Do you want a menu or would you like the chef to decide.”
“Really? How would he know what I like?”
“I asked that question when I first started seeing Max,” said Alicia. “All he needs is a little background. What’s your favorite dish?”
“Wow, um, my momma’s etouffee. Nobody makes it better.”
“Anything else?”
“Not really. Mom did try to make sure we had food from all over the globe. I like crawfish more than lobster. Steak is a given. My favorite is filet mignon, but a good burger can make my day too.”
“That should be enough,” said the waitress. She gave a slight bow and headed to the kitchen.
“What do you plan on doing the rest of the day?” asked Max.
“What have you planned?” He knew Max worded his sentence the way he did to see if he would say nothing important. He knew better.
“I want to show you my security. I am serious about you joining us if you wish. I like the way you work and think. Maybe you could give my head of security a few pointers if you see a way to improve something.”
Jacques wasn’t sure that was a good idea. Was it a trap?
***
Catherine walked with Jacques as they headed to the office. Max was saying goodbye to his mate.
“I didn’t expect you to be escorting me,” Jacques said.
“I’m Max’s second right now but even as his third I’m always part of the tours. My presence is supposed to alert our employees our visitor is important and Max is expecting their best behavior. If they step out of line my job is to make sure they get back in. One way or another.”
“Your job isn’t always easy, is it?”
“It depends on what you consider easy.” She gave him a toothy smile. “It can be quite satisfying.”
They went up to Max’s office to wait for him.
“This is amazing.” Jacques walked around the massive desk dominating the office. “I bet people are afraid to be called in here. That damn thing is intimidating.”
“That’s the point,” said Catherine. “Standing in here by yourself, not knowing why you were called and staring at that desk fills the strongest alpha with fear.”
“That wasn’t the reason I chose that desk.” Max’s voice made them spin around. “I liked the look of it. I sat behind that and knew it was the right one.”
Catherine remembered him picking it out. It took him weeks of trying one desk after another before he found this one.
“Have you ever sat behind it?” Jacques asked Catherine.
“Once,” she replied. “It was exhilarating and frightening all at the same time.”
“Ha. If I remember correctly you placed your feet on the top of my desk because you thought you were alone.” Max grinned. “I never saw anyone jump so high when you realized I was in the room.”
“You scared the crap out of me.”
“All I said was what are you doing with your feet on my desk.”
“Yeah, well, it felt right.”
“Come on.” Max gestured for Catherine to go first. “Let’s show Jacques our world.”
She nodded and headed out of the office. Every person who saw them stopped what they were doing and bowed to Max.
They moved to a large row of doors.
“This is security,” said Catherine as she pushed open two large doors. Rows of screens dominated one wall.
“Is this all of your building?”
“The building is a small part. I can see every holding at any given time.” Max nodded to Catherine who stepped up to one of the screens and switched cameras so they could see her brother’s business. Another switch and they could see the main hall of his new pack.
“Another paramour, Catherine? How many is that?”
The voice belonged to one of the many who tried to use her to get close to Max. Ever since she slighted him when she learned the truth he always had a snide remark to make. “Jacques–”
Before she could say anything else Jacques had moved toward the man speaking and shoved him up against the wall. She went to stop him, but Max stopped her.
“No one knows he’s acting on his own. You said his name and he moved like you told him to do this.” Max pitched his voice so only she could hear him. “Let this play out.”