Both boys were nodding and then Doug Junior added in a voice that was almost a whisper, “I think that fox may have been the guy’s pet, Dad.”
Doug Senior let out a long sigh and shook his head. “Well, that’s a shame and I feel bad for the man, but the thing was obviously out of its head and needed to be put down.”
Rin internally cringed a bit at hearing her uncle being referred to as a thing, but these people didn’t know. They saw a wild creature, most probably infected with rabies – a danger to both them and their livestock. She saw a male who was her blood, her family, but also a male who had sacrificed his principles for monetary gain, and was willing to offer her up on that same altar, with or without her consent.
The psychological strain of trying to process such mixed emotions had her eyes welling with tears again and she blinked rapidly to clear her eyes. Seeing her struggle, Doug Senior’s face flushed with discomfort once more, and he popped up to look out the window again. “Your ride should be here any time, girlie, any time now.”
Rin could imagine he was tagging on a mental ‘please’ to that statement and the thought almost had her lips tipping up in a smile.
About five minutes later, Rin’s ears picked up the roar of an engine and she knew, without having to look, that Mike’s Charger was barreling down the drive. A moment later, Doug Senior was opening the door – most likely in relief – while his two boys gathered at the kitchen window to admire the classic muscle car.
And then he was there, bursting through the open portal, the look of concern on his face so touching that Rin again couldn’t hold back the flood gates. She burst into a loud torrent of sobs that had her rescuers looking chagrined, and Mike scooping her up into his arms.
Her head resting against his chest, she could feel the growls he was struggling to contain beneath her wet cheek.
“She should probably see a doctor,” Doug Senior was saying as he held the door wide for Mike to pass through with Rin in his arms.
“I’ll see to it,” Mike clipped out. “Thank you for looking after her.”
Moments later, Rin was tucked into Mike’s car, a blanket wrapped around her trembling frame, while the heater blew warm air on her chilled feet. They had barely left the drive when Mike released the growl he’d been containing. “How bad are you hurt?”
Rin closed her eyes, hot tears still leaking down her face, and sniffed. She lifted her left hand and winced as it throbbed. “I think I broke it.”
Mike snarled viciously, “I’ll kill that bastard. Your uncle is a dead man. How the hell did this happen?”
She wanted to tell him, she did, but the words wouldn’t come, just a ragged draw of air and another sob which had Mike swearing under his breath and his free hand stroking her hair. “I’m sorry, baby, you don’t have to say a word, not right now, not until you’re ready. You rest, and we’ll get you fixed up in no time.”
Keeping his promise not to badger her with questions was torture. It was just supposed to be lunch with the ready excuse that she needed to return to work so that the meeting was kept brief. What the hell had happened? But he’d known something was wrong when a worried Ginny had called the shop. Rin hadn’t returned to work and the older female had a bad feeling. Mike had felt it too after that – the prickles of fear creeping down his spine as he called the diner only to discover that Rin hadn't been there at all.
Cursing the lack of cell service that kept him locked near his phone in case she called, rather than out actively looking for his mate, he was there when the phone rang and heard Rin on the other end, sobbing, trying to get words out as she gasped for breath. His wolf had pushed so hard against his skin in agitation that his eyes and teeth had shifted, and he was pretty sure he’d sprouted some extra body hair. A strange man coming on the line to reassure him hadn’t done much to leash his wolf, but an address had helped. He’d never been more grateful for the power under the hood of his Charger.
Once he’d scented Rin at that farm house, he’d felt a modicum of relief, but seeing the state she was in had nearly pushed him into full shift. Her tearstained face, her coat practically hanging off her in shreds, the smell of her blood… Had they been in a car accident? Where was her uncle? And what the hell were they doing way out there in east bumfuck for her to have taken shelter with the farmer?
So many questions. But right now, Rin needed medical attention, she need comfort and support, not an inquisition.
Night was fully upon them when they finally got back to his loft and Rin was sleeping peacefully in the passenger seat thanks to some pain meds the doctor had given her. She had suffered a broken pinkie, badly sprained wrist, and a multitude of various scrapes and bruises. Rin had claimed a car accident when she’d been questioned at the hospital, but Mike knew there had to be more to the story. Best to let her rest and heal now. He’d have his answers soon enough.
Miraculously, she slept through his rather clumsy attempt to pick her up out of the car. And she slept through him carefully removing her clothes so that he could tuck her into bed. Seeing all those bruises first hand, sent him into a fine rage; he’d had to count to a hundred – twice – before the amber tint finally faded from his vision. And though Mike laid down beside her and kissed her gently, he didn’t sleep, he was too agitated to sleep. His need to protect was a fierce drive. He would watch over her tonight, every night, it that’s what it took to keep his Rin safe.
Chapter Thirty-Two
“You jumped out of a moving vehicle?!”
Mike’s face was incredulous. Rin had a hard time believing it herself. She had told Mike pretty much everything that had happened the day before, and she was still amazed at the insanity. The whole day felt almost surreal. If she didn’t have the aches and pains, and the lovely cast on her arm, to prove it, she’d have thought she had dreamed the whole thing.
Rin shoveled in another forkful of scrambled eggs. Mike had brought her breakfast in bed. His concern for her so touching she’d almost teared up… again. She would have thought her tear ducts would have been drained dry after yesterday, but apparently, they had rebounded just fine. God, she was starving. Not surprising since she had been too nervous about meeting with her uncle to eat breakfast, too uncomfortable to eat much of the lunch, and then too sleepy to eat after being discharged from the hospital. Her plate was practically licked clean in minutes.
“More?” Mike offered as she drained her glass of orange juice.
Rin shook her head, wiped her mouth with a napkin, and smiled. “Thank you for that. I was famished.”
Mike nodded but didn’t return the smile as he removed the tray. In fact, on closer inspection, he was frowning. As if he was thinking about some complex problem and not liking the result. When he returned to the bed, Rin had every intention of asking him what his brain was chewing so hard on, but her eyes were snagged by the jar in his hand. Recognizing it on sight, Rin’s nose wrinkled before he even unscrewed the top to release the stench of the goo inside. “Nope, no, no way,” she said, shaking her head vigorously back in forth in denial. “I do not want to smell that all over me today.”
Mike set one knee on the bed and crawled closer, waving the jar in her direction. “It’ll loosen up your muscles,” he cajoled in a sing-song voice, “and bonus, it’ll keep any nosy neighbors away so you can rest.”
Rin let out a snort. “Like anyone could sleep through that stench.”
“It’s not that bad,” Mike chuckled, “and you know you’ll get used to it after a few minutes.”
Cocking her head slightly, Rin threw Mike a coquettish smile. “Are you offering to rub my body, Mr. Myers?”
Mike’s return grin was positively wicked, “I am.”
“Allllll over?”
“Absolutely.”
Rin laid back more fully against the mound of pillows. “Ditch the goo and I’m game.”
Without hesitation, Mike threw the jar over his shoulder and carefully leaned over Rin’s body and
gently kissed her smiling lips. So carefully, he pulled the covers back. Starting at her neck and then moving down her shoulders and arms, his hands hesitantly trailed over bruises, to knead her unmarked flesh and loosen the multitude of knots from yesterday’s impromptu work out.
Rin could feel the heat of arousal flushing her skin. Her nipples tightened, and her core throbbed. She didn’t know whether it was the pharmaceuticals coursing through her bloodstream, or just being this close to Mike, but at the moment Rin was pain free – pleasure was all her brain was registering.
With her mostly uninjured hand, she reached out and stroked the line of Mike’s erection that was tenting the front of his sweatpants. He groaned but moved his hips away from her fingers. “Your injuries… I don’t want to hurt you.”
Moving that hand to the back of his neck, she pulled him to her for a kiss. “You won’t” she breathed against his mouth. “We’ll take it slow and easy.”
Mike growled, “Slow and easy,” he repeated before licking his way into her mouth and sealing his lips to hers.
He felt so good. Rin couldn’t get enough of touching Mike. His torso was bare, all of that heated skin hers to touch. Wishing she had use of both hands, she stroked, she smoothed, and she gripped with her good hand, as their kisses grew in intensity, their breath mingling as they both began to pant.
Mike moved from her mouth, to kiss his way to her ear, down her neck and chest, to settle over a nipple, stroking it with his tongue, the already puckered bud tightened even further when he blew a cool stream of air over the damp surface.
Rin’s back arched off the bed. “Please, Mike, please.” She ached so badly to feel him inside of her. Her hand again reached for his erection and this time, he welcomed her touch, his hips tilting forward in encouragement so she slipped her fingers under the waistband of his sweatpants and gripped the hot, hard length. Mike’s growl of pleasure was music to her ears, and she watched his face in rapt fascination as she stroked his shaft. His jaw was clenched, his eyes closed, his cheeks flushed. Rin could have watched him forever, but her body had other ideas. Tightening her grip slightly, she gave him a playful little tug. “I want you inside me.”
Stripping off his sweatpants in what was probably record time, Mike sheathed his erection with a condom and then settled carefully between her open thighs. Rin groaned and closed her eyes in pleasure, loving the feel of his weight. When he went no further she opened her eyes and saw him looking at her intently. He dropped a kiss on her mouth and leaned his forehead against hers, his breath hitting her face in little puffs as he panted. “If you feel the slightest pain,” he said, the head of his erection finding her heat. “Say the word, and I stop.”
Rin nodded, but the only word she could manage was “please.” Mike thrust home, and that was exactly how it felt – like home. Mike filled all of her empty places. And as he brought her to a shattering climax, Rin knew, without a doubt, that she was exactly where she was supposed to be. Not in New York at the helm of some company, but here in this small town, with her wolf at her side.
Passions spent, Rin was feeling sleepy from the combination of the pain meds and the pleasure as Mike stroked a warm washcloth over her skin and dropped ticklish kisses on her belly. She giggled, and though Mike was smiling, Rin could sense that something had him distracted. Gripping his wrist to bring the sponge bath to a halt, she shot his a questioning look. “What’s wrong?”
Mike shook his head, “It’s nothing.”
“You promised no more lies, Mike. What’s wrong? Something is bothering you, I noticed it earlier too.” Rin gripped his wrist harder, her voice pleading, “Talk to me.”
Mike blew out a long breath, his shoulders slumping in defeat. “Aside from the fact that I’m still a little freaked out that you could have died. That I could have lost you…” Mike’s voice cracked with emotion and he let out a hard cough to clear his throat, before running his fingers through his hair in agitation. “It occurred to me that with your uncle’s death, you’ll inherit his company. It’s what he had planned.” Mike shook his head. “I still could lose you. All that money, probably properties, cars, jewels, hell, maybe even the Mona Lisa…” he waved his free hand in the air, “I don’t know.” His eyes clashed with Rin’s and her heart nearly broke at the sorrow in his gaze. “What do I have that could compete with that?”
He thought she was going to leave him Rin realized. Not going to happen. Not for all the tea in China. Taking his hand in hers, she laced their fingers together. “Do you know who I looked up to most growing up?”
“Jackie Chan.”
Rin let out a little snort of laughter. “Well, yes, he’s up there in my top three, but no. It was my parents. They were both doctors. They could have gone on to choose specialty medicine for the money, but they didn’t. They were happy with their tiny little family practice because they built it together. They only ever needed each other. They lived a good life, not because they had money but because they loved.”
Rin’s eyes welled with emotion and she had to clear her throat before she could continue. “I’ve only ever wanted a life like theirs. Some, like my uncle, may think their life was small, but to them it was perfect. To me, it was perfect.” Leaning in close, Rin laid her head on Mike’s shoulder and he nuzzled the top of her hair, breathing in her scent as she continued. “I feel at home here, a small town, a good job, friends… but mostly because I found everything I’ve ever dreamed of in you.”
“Marry me.”
Rin gasped and lifted her head to look at Mike as he rushed on. “I know this probably isn’t your idea of romantic, hell, I don’t even have a ring, but you – you are everything to me, Rin. Please say you’ll marry me.”
With tears overflowing her eyes and a smile on her lips, Rin said the word that made Mike feel like the luckiest male in the world.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Rin felt like a pampered princess. Was it shameful to admit that she took full advantage? Oh, at first, when Mike had insisted on carrying her to the bathroom, or from the bed to the couch, she had informed him that it was her wrist and hand, not her feet, which were injured. His response had been that he liked spoiling her. Who could argue with that? Especially since she rather liked being spoiled by him.
Granted, her injuries had been quite painful – sometimes the bruised areas seemed to hurt worse than the break she’d suffered – but shifters heal fast, so there really was no excuse to indulge… except that she was really enjoying the attention.
He prepared their meals, or at least, he fetched their meals from the diner. He helped her wash her hair, which she loved. He cuddled with her at night and watched Jackie Chan movies despite the fact that he was probably getting sick of them. And when he had to leave to go out on a wrecker call, he checked in by phone every hour.
Several of the pack had stopped by to check on her wellbeing. She’d been able to inform Tarvahl Pierce of her uncle’s involvement with the fur traders, a fact he was going to pass on to the appropriate parties. Margaret and David Tully had stopped by as well and without her having asked, brought several of her things to make her feel more comfortable. Their daughter, Constance Tully, had stopped by as well and had looked her over with a critical eye before saying, “I guess all of that training paid off.”
Rin had nodded, her lips twisting in disgust. “My own uncle.”
Connie’s eyes had met Rin’s and they shared a moment of silent communication before Connie handed over a business card with the new salon logo. “I know you’ve said before that you don’t really want to talk to a therapist, and that’s fine,” she said, taking Rin’s uninjured hand and giving it a little squeeze, “but if you ever do need to talk – about anything, day or night – give me a call.”
Rin had nodded, feeling too choked up by emotion to say anything. Being Kitsune, she’d never realized how nice it was to be part of a pack – the support, both physical and emotional, the sense of community, of being part of somet
hing bigger than one’s self – it was humbling, uplifting, and powerful.
A surprising visit had come in the form of the bear shifter, Christian Black. Mike had come up from the garage, looking both confused and a bit sheepish. “With all that’s happened, I forgot to mention that Christian stopped by to see you the day you went to lunch with your uncle.” Recalling that day had Mike growling, but he quickly brought it under control with a little cough before he continued. “I hadn’t even realized you had met the male since bears tend to give you the creeps.”
Rin cringed, remembering the night that she had pulled the male from his car. The same night that she had been intent on having it out with Mike for lying to her. Was it any wonder she’d forgotten to tell him about that bit of excitement?
She laid out the story for Mike, his eyes widening until they resembled saucers. “Holy shit, Rin. The guy’s got to outweigh you by about a hundred and fifty pounds!” He bent and pecked her on the lips. “You’re amazing. My female is fricking Wonder Woman.” Mike shook his head and let out a little chuckle. “Anyway, he’s here to see you. Are you okay if I send him up?”
Rin had to give it a moment of thought because Mike was right, bear shifters usually did creep her out and send her straight into flight mode. She hadn’t that night, but that may have been because he was injured. What would her reaction be without the stimulus of danger to motivate her?
She bit her lip, “You’ll stay with me?”
“Absolutely.”
Taking a deep breath, Rin nodded.
Surprisingly, the scent that proceeded the male didn’t evoke a reaction. Her stomach didn’t clench or twist, her nerves didn’t tingle, and she didn’t break out in a sweat. Nor did his sheer size discomfit her when he stepped into the loft. Christian Black had probably once been quite a handsome man with his thick black hair and dark eyes. But currently, those eyes looked hollow beneath the stark white of the bandage over his brow. His complexion was a bit gray, and those scars on his neck were disconcerting. He was a big male, tall, muscular, typical of the bear physique, and absolutely capable of doing a great amount of damage, yet she was unafraid – amazing. Somehow, that night she had saved him, a switch had been flipped in her brain, and Rin was grateful.
Small Moments: A Malsum Pass Novel Page 14