Taming The Alpha - BBW Paranormal Romance by Adriana Hunter

sounds, and
particularly the scents around him.
    Last
night, he’d followed Nikki and Lori back to Lori’s
apartment. He’d hung in the shadows, ghosting behind the women,
never letting them know he was there. Once they’d entered the
aging red brick building, it took longer to find which apartment
they’d gone into, as he’d climbed the rickety metal fire
escape, working his way slowly around the building.
    Finally
he’d found her scent and he’d crouched outside the
bedroom window, watching her sleep as sunrise grew closer. He risked
being caught outside the den, barely making it back to his room
before he changed back to his human form.
    Tonight,
the clouds and the impending rain worked in his favor. The air was
heavy, holding scents like a sponge. Nikki’s was there, as
clear as if she was right in front of him.
    It
wasn’t long before he realized he was heading in the same
direction, down the same streets he’d gone the night before.
She was headed back to Lori’s apartment.
    Jax
hesitated outside the building. There was no easy way to do this,
he’d just have to go get her. If she didn’t want to come
with him…he didn’t want to think about that right now.
If necessary, he’d just carry her out of the apartment.
    The
apartment was in an old building, the street door open, two guys
sitting on the steps sharing a bottle. Jax walked between them,
ignoring their comments.
    He
climbed the stairs to the third floor, counted the doors in the hall,
trying to get his bearings, envisioning what the building looked like
from his vantage point on the fire escape. Her scent was so heavy
here, mingled with dozens of other pungent scents, it was difficult
to know exactly where she was. Taking a deep breath, he knocked on
the door he hoped Nikki was behind.
    There
were voices, and he recognized Nikki’s and then Lori’s,
as she undid the multiple locks on the door. It finally opened a
crack, the safety chain still in place and Jax caught a glimpse of
Lori’s face. She looked at him for a moment, then the door
closed. He could hear the chain being pulled back and then the door
opened again.
    “ Come
in.” Lori held the door for Jax. Her face was an unreadable
mask, her voice neutral, but he could sense disapproval in her
posture, in the tension at the corners of her eyes.
    “ Who
is it?” He heard Nikki’s voice from somewhere in the
depths of the tiny apartment.
    “ It’s
for you…” Lori closed the door behind Jax. He let her
walk ahead of him down the short hall, into a dingy living room.
    Nikki
was curled up on the couch, a glass of what smelled like straight
whiskey in her hand. When she saw him, her eyes went wide with
surprise. But her voice was cold.
    “ Well,
I’ll be damned. Look who’s here.” She set her glass
on the coffee table, her hand trembling slight. “How’d
you find me?”
    Her
question caught him off guard and he had no ready answer.
    “ I
came to talk to you.” He took a step toward her. Lori moved to
his left, a not so subtle move that put her between him and Nikki. He
was struck again by her protective nature, the way she instinctively
seemed to be looking out for Nikki.
    And
then it hit him. That strange scent he’d smelled on Nikki the
night before. He glanced at Lori, but she was looking away. He shook
his head, focusing on Nikki.
    “ I went to the club, to see
you.” He gradually moved closer as he spoke, trying to slow his
beating heart, his shallow breathing. “I wanted to see you,
Nikki. See if you were…to see you again.”
    With
all his heart he wanted to scoop her up and carry her away. But he
sensed he still had a way to go to win her over.
    She
frowned at him, clearly confused. “You wanted to see me? Why?”
    Lori
was perched on the arm of the couch now, arms folded across her
chest. Jax glanced at her and then looked back at Nikki.
    “ Can
we go somewhere, talk maybe?”
    Nikki
looked up at Lori and Jax felt his stomach drop, knowing he’d
lost any