I know, I know – I'm not updating quick enough for you guys… but please remember I am still in the process of writing this – so occasionally there will be delays between updates, and hell – I do have a full time job to do you know!

Anyway, I hope his settles those withdrawal symptoms until I upload the next chapter. Enjoy x

Chapter 25

"Nick, there is no way I'm wearing this… no way in hell." I curled by lip as I examined the scrap of material in front of me.

"I don't see anything wrong with it." He shrugged, a smile playing the corner of his lips.

I gave him a look as he sat back in his office chair. "Well you wouldn't would you?"

"Have you seen who it's by?"

"Who?" I sighed impatiently, raising the hanger to eye level. "The President?"

"Herve Leger." He told me pointing out the label. "Don't you know who that is?" He asked.

"Should I?"

Nick clicked his tongue. "And you call yourself a woman." He sighed getting to his feet to walk around the desk.

"I am a woman, what that makes you – I'll never know." I grumbled. "Besides, what's wrong with what I'm already wearing?" I looked down to the blue jersey dress I wore.

"I don't go out with women in ugly outfits." He joked as I felt my mouth unhinge and my cheeks heat. "Put it on." He growled slapping my ass as he pushed me into the en suite of his office.

I examined myself in the full length mirror. "You have got to be kidding." I gritted my teeth as I looked at my reflection. I was wearing a charcoal grey designer 'bandage dress' with such a low cut front that I'd had to remove my bra; not to mention a skirt that barely covered my rear.

A whistle cut me short as Nick leaned against the door frame. "Got to hand it to you Rach, you've got a killer figure." He looked me up and down as I crossed my arms on my chest, realising only too late what it was doing to my breasts as almost immediately his gaze rested there (they were rather on the large size as it was for my frame, and this dress only accentuated that fact). I growled, Nick laughed. He diverted my attention by holding his hand out, dangling from his fingers were a pair of black stiletto Jimmy Choo's.

"Now those, I do like the look of." I purred.

.

Nick was waiting with me outside the building as the car pulled up. There was a cold wind tonight, so thankfully I could cover up the monstrosity of the outfit I was wearing under my knee-length coat.

"Listen, I'll meet you at the restaurant – I've still got some work to catch up on. I'll be half an hour, tops."

"Seriously?" I sighed. I hate walking into bars and restaurants by myself.

"Don't worry, Tonio will be there waiting for you." He said as if reading my mind as he helped me into the car. "I'll see you in a bit." He kissed the back of my hand as I rolled my eyes at him, cringing away from the kiss.

"You know I hate that." I grumbled as he grinned.

His white teeth glowed against his olive skin. "I know, that's why I did it." He chuckled shutting the door and stepping back from the curb to signal the driver onwards.

As the car pulled up outside La Bernadin, I looked up and down the street. There was no sign of Antonio. Typical – they put me under armed guard, going on about my safety and then leave me in a car by myself to go to a restaurant on the other side of town! I bit down on my grumbling and walked over to the hostess as she took my name.

"Follow me please." She asked as my eyes adjusted to the lower lighting of the cavernous looking room. We wound our way through about twenty tables before coming across a table in the corner of the room, where who else but Reese was sitting nibbling on a breadstick.

"What are you doing here?" I asked before I realised the words had even left my mouth. Tonight was just for me and the Sorrentino boys. Wasn't it? I'm sure Tonio made the reservation for three people.

Reese flapped his mouth a little trying to find his words. "Nick asked me to meet the two of you here, why?" He explained getting to his feet.

The hostess ordered one of the wait staff to take my coat. I flushed scarlet as I heard Reese's intake of breath as he caught sight of what I was wearing.

"Sorry… Nick's idea." I mumbled waving my hand at the dress, out the corner of my eye I spotted a couple of other people glance towards our table.

"Um… don't be…" Reese stammered as we sat down. "You look, er, nice – great, actually."

I smiled timidly, averting eye contact as I felt my stomach flip flop.

Eventually I remembered the waiter standing at my shoulder. "What would you like to drink ma'am?" He asked making no effort to show he wasn't looking at my cleavage.

"Cosmopolitan please." I ground my teeth as he continued looking at my chest.

Reese cleared his throat to gain the servers attention. I glanced across the table to see him glaring at the server, and only did he let out a low warning growl did the guy snap out of his daze and fairly tripped over himself to return with my drink.

There was a definite awkwardness to us as I took a long sip of my cocktail, the alcohol burning the tip of my tongue. Over my glass I saw Reese fidget in his seat, before he cleared his throat, and fiddled with his tie. "Look, I just want to say sorry for how I acted the other night."

"Oh?" I asked petulantly. Admittedly I was still annoyed at his behaviour, and had been avoiding him over the last couple of days.

"Just hear me out, 'kay?" He asked leaning forward on the table. I resisted the urge to scoff, and settled for flicking my hair back over my shoulder. "I guess I was just a bit worried about you, and generally I get a bit grumpy when I need to change..." I opened my mouth to say something but he cut me short. "That's not to say it gives me an excuse to take it out on you – I know that. I just want you know I'm sorry."

I gave a curt nod, relaxing my shoulders as I thought of what to say next. "That's what being part of the Pack is for though, right? We're a family unit." I took another sip of my drink. "Can't survive without the odd argument." I smiled, as he opened his mouth to say something else, but settled for relaxing back into his chair and took a few sips of his whisky.

"So… where's Antonio? Nick's got to do a bit more work and he'll be along as soon as he can."

Reese fidgeted a little in his seat. "Um... 'Tonio was meeting with Jeremy, didn't he tell you?" He explained, just as my phone beeped from my purse.

I let out an irritated sigh as I read the new text message.

So sorry I couldn't make it. Order what you want the bill is on my tab. You kids have fun! Nick

"Urgh, I'm going to kill him!" I swore. "Nick's not coming either, so it looks like it's just the two of us."

"Is my company that bad?" Reese chuckled taking a look at my phone.

"No," I smiled coyly playing with the stem of my cocktail glass, watching the condensation run across my fingertips. "It's just…" I flustered. Oh for god sake just spit it out Rachel. "Do you get the feeling we've been set up?"

He shrugged, taking a few seconds to form a response.

"Well, maybe it's just coincidence…" I started to blabber and quickly let the words dry out in my mouth. I took the chance to look around the other people eating, and smell their food as my stomach grumbled.

"At least the bill's sorted though, right?" Reese finally answered.

I didn't miss the fact he tactfully avoided my earlier question. So I did what I normally do when I get the guts to ask him something he declines to talk about, and smiled resignedly, going along with whatever conversation he was changing the topic too.

"Yeah, I guess so." I replied.

We soon settled into our normal routine, steering clear of our little argument from the weekend. I remember my mother saying to me once how you know you've found someone special when you can just sit in silence without the need to fill it with awkward chatter. And even though we saw each other pretty much everyday, I could do that with Reese; and so far we've never ran out of topics to talk about – whether it was hunting techniques or arguments over how we rated or slated the latest films, how the food was – not to mention the portion sizes. The time flew, and before I knew it we were nursing our desserts. Gradually our attention turned to people watching.

With Reese, what the main attraction to him was just how comfortable we were around one another. In this life, he was probably my best friend, maybe more so to what Jessie had been to me when I was growing up.

Jessie… I miss her, maybe once this mutts gone; I could drive down and see her. Let her know I'm okay. It's been too long-

"Give you a penny for them." Reese interrupted my thoughts.

I answered with a; "Hmm?"

He gave me a crooked smile. "You went away there for a second."

"Oh, sorry." I smirked. "I was just thinking."

"About what?" He asked around a mouthful of ice cream.

I shrugged. "Just home. Wondering how Jessie's doing with the farm." He nodded in understanding before branching off in another conversation.

Eventually the meal came to an end, and there was only so long you can talk over coffee in a restaurant before the wait staff ask you to move on as there were other people waiting for tables. Knowing the bill was covered, we grabbed our coats and left.

Reese narrative;

I held the door for her as we left the restaurant. Thanking the hostess as she bid us a good night.

"You know something…" Rachel pulled her coat closer around her neck. "I've actually had quite a good time tonight, thank you."

I couldn't help the smile that pulled at my cheeks. "You're not such a bad company yourself." Jokingly I nudged her arm as she skittered away giggling.

As we walked down the street, our conversation reduced to a silence. The only thing breaking it was the howl of the wind against our backs. I felt my mouth dry out a little – watching for any sign of movement, I scanned up and down the street, checking the faces and smell of every person around. That dog could be anywhere. "You know, you really did do a good job in that meeting last week." Fuck sake – could I think of any more of a lame thing to talk about? "I don't think Antonio will ever get over it. He's seriously impressed." I mentally slapped myself. Christ I sound like a moron.

"Oh my god – Enough, please! You've said that about ten times already." Twice actually. She playfully pushed me, huddling up against my side, just as the wind direction changed.

"Alright, I'm sorry." I laughed resting my hand on her lower back to steer her out the way of a group of partygoers. We waited for them to pass in front of an empty storefront before continuing along the sidewalk, she entwined my fingers in her own and gave them a playful squeeze. "It's only because you never told us you were fluent in German and helped Antonio give the company a huge investor."

"Well, someone's been doing their homework." She smirked. "We don't hand out gold stars in the Pack you know." She joked as I retaliated by taking hold of both her hands and pushed her back against a wall, pinning her. "Oi!" She hiccupped in surprise continuing to giggle, trying to free herself, but I held her fast.

The laughter subsided as she caught my eye, feeling the warmth radiate off of her in waves against the bitter wind. I caught the glowing reflection of light in the back of her eyes, the signature of her werewolf alter-ego. I hissed an intake of breath, filling my senses with her scent, the wolf in me fighting for control as I slid my hands down her arms, under her coat, skimming the fabric of her dress. Her skin fairly glowed in the dark. Jesus, she's beautiful. I heard her breathing hitch in a sharp intake of breath, her dark lips slightly parted.

.

"Your wallets or your life." Came a gruff voice as a needle sharp point was put against the back of my neck. I saw Rachel's eyes widen, hearing her heartbeat quicken and see her nostrils flare as we drunk in the sour smell of the man behind me. "Give me you're money!" He ordered.

"I don't have any money." I fairly snarled in response.

"Reese, don't…" Rachel whispered I felt her muscles tense, expecting trouble as her gaze flicked to the side, over my shoulder.

"Well, look at what we have here... a toy to play with." Another man approached pulling Rachel out from my grip and dragged her away down into the closest alley, as she struggled for a hold on him.

She is mine! The wolf in me roared, as I heard my voice reverberate around us. I slammed my head back, hitting the man behind me and tore after the newcomer. I saw Rachel on the floor; she was cupping her hand to her cheek as a blinding pain to the side of my head sent me flying sideways into some trash.

"NO!" I distantly heard Rachel scream. My ears were ringing as half in a daze I looked up to see her throwing her attacker off of her, get to her feet and kick the 'newcomer' in the stomach. I know what that feels like. She then proceeded to uppercut him in the jaw with one hand, and punch him square in the face with the other.

The ringing in my ears stopped just as I heard the crunch of his nose breaking. I gave her a proud smile for that as she caught my eye. Good girl. Wiping some blood off of my chin I leapt to my feet catching the first guy off guard with a swift kidney punch and tackled him to the ground.