by Lynn Howard
His.
Chapter Four
Ryanne hadn’t seen Daxon all week, but he’d called and texted every day. She loved the sound of his voice. She loved his sense of humor. And she really loved how he checked on Penny every day and asked if they needed anything.
He was so sweet.
And considerate.
And so dang hot.
It was Friday. Exactly one week since she’d met Daxon. Even though she couldn’t see him when they spoke, every conversation made her care all that much more for him.
“I got something for Penny,” he said.
“You didn’t have to get her anything.” She sat on the porch and watched her sister draw with chalk on the tiny square of concrete leading to the steps.
“I didn’t have to, I wanted to. You mind if I bring it over in a bit?”
Ryanne looked down at herself. She was wearing another pair of cut off shorts – way shorter than the ones she’d worn to his friends’ place – and a bikini top. The day had gotten too hot for anything more while Penny was playing outside.
“Uhhh…what time?”
“Are you busy?”
Busy freaking out about him seeing her boobs hanging out of her top. Just because she was uber attracted to him and had fantasized about what he looked like under his clothes didn’t mean she wanted him to see her half-naked.
“No. I want to change before you come over,” she confessed.
“I’m sure whatever you’re wearing is fine.” His chuckle was deep and made her smile.
He made her laugh so much, something she wouldn’t have thought if she had judged the book by the cover. He was all rock and roll and hardcore on the outside, but a big, squishy love bug on the inside.
“Well…I’m hardly wearing anything.”
There was a beat of silence, then a soft growl trickled over the phone. “What exactly are you wearing?” Oh yeah. His voice was definitely deeper.
“Shorts and a bikini top,” she said, smiling. She knew she was playing with fire, but come on…if he could turn her on with only his voice, she wanted to give him some mental images to drive him crazy.
“You’re killing me,” he said with a groan. “Maybe you should put some more clothes on. I really don’t want to walk around with a boner in front of your sister.” He muttered a curse under his breath. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”
It was crass, but it was funny. She didn’t get offended easily.
“You’re fine,” she said with a soft chuckle. “Give me a few minutes and you’re fine to come over.”
Another groan met her ears.
“What?” she asked as she waved Penny inside.
Her sister whined. “I’m not done playing.”
“Just for a minute. I need to change clothes.”
“Can’t I play out here while you change?”
The phone held to her ear, Ryanne scanned the area around her house. She was pretty sure there was no one waiting to pounce on her baby sister the second she was alone. But that didn’t mean it would never happen.
“I’m about to pull into your driveway. I was going to drive around and wait, but I can pull up now and keep an eye on her while you put something else on,” Daxon offered.
With a sigh, Ryanne smiled down at Penny. “Daxon is coming over. He’ll be here in a few seconds. Stay right there until I come back out.”
“Okay,” Penny said, going back to the picture she was drawing.
“I’ll see you in a few,” Daxon said, ending the call.
“Shoot.” Ryanne sprinted into the house and grabbed the first t-shirt she could find. She should probably change her shorts, too, but didn’t want to leave Daxon and Penny alone too long. He was a good guy. She wasn’t worried about him hurting Penny. But she wasn’t his responsibility.
Stopping by the mirror, she took her ponytail down and redid it, making it a little more put together. She wouldn’t bother with makeup. That would be too obvious. At least she’d shaved everything this morning in the shower so she wouldn’t have stubbly legs when she saw Daxon again.
Smiling wide, she blew out a rush of air in an attempt to calm her nerves. She had never been so excited to see a guy. Ever. But the thought of him in her territory, out there playing with her baby sister made her heart race.
Ryanne stepped onto the porch and her smile grew even wider. He’d brought her a turtle shaped sand box and was currently unloading several bags of sand.
“Look, Ry,” Penny said, clapping her hands as she jumped up and down. “Look what Daxon brought. Want to make sandcastles with us?”
“Us?” Ryanne said as she descended the stairs.
“Oh yeah,” Daxon said. He pulled a knife out of his pocket and started opening the bags and dumping them into the turtle. “I’m a champion sandcastle builder.”
He wanted to play in the sand with Penny? How freaking sweet was that?
“Oh, it’s on,” Ryanne said, kicking her shoes off when she got to Penny’s side. “We’ll have to use some cups and bowls until we can get to the store for some shovels and stuff.”
“Got ‘em,” Daxon said, reaching into the back of his truck for another bag.
Inside were dozens of outside toys, shovels, buckets, even a few water guns.
“Daxon!” Ryanne said with a giggle. “You really didn’t have to spend money on her.”
“Yes, he did,” Penny said, taking the bag from Daxon to inventory the goodies.
“Yes, I did,” Daxon agreed with a grin.
“What do you say?” Ryanne said as she knelt beside her sister.
“Thank you, Daxon.” It had been a long time since Ryanne had seen such a big smile on her sister. She was so excited about her new toys. And her new friend.
Daxon was true to his word. He knelt beside the turtle and helped Penny build a sloppy, lop-sided castle with all the new sand equipment.
Ryanne glanced up at Daxon. She’d half-expected him to be checking her out. But his attention was on Penny and the task at hand.
One of the reasons she’d had a hard time dating was the fact she was the sole guardian of her baby sister. Because she was trying to keep them off the human grid, Ryanne had home schooled her for the past two years. Eventually, though, she might have to look into a Shifter school for her.
That might be hard for Penny since she wasn’t a Shifter. But those kids were used to hiding. They would understand why Penny didn’t go to a human school. At least Ryanne hoped it would be that easy.
Two hours later, Penny yawned and tossed her shovel down. “I’m hungry.”
They hadn’t stopped for a snack, so she was probably starving. The child was a bottomless pit.
“You guys want to go get something to eat?” Daxon offered. He stood and brushed the dirt and sand from his knees, shirt, and hands.
“Oh. No, thank you. I can’t really afford to feed us both at a restaurant. We’ve got plenty to eat here.”
“I want to go out to eat,” Penny whined. She had always been one of those hangry kinds of kids. She got crabby when her belly was empty.
“I got it. There’s a Shifter bar one of my friends owns,” Daxon said.
“I can’t take her to a bar.” Really? He thought that was a good idea?
“They serve food, too. It’s safe for people like us. And it’s early enough there won’t be a whole of people there.”
Ryanne looked down at Penny, who had her hands clamped in front of her.
“Pleeease? I want to go eat with Daxon.”
Looking at Daxon, Ryanne shook her head. Penny wasn’t overly comfortable around a lot of people. Part of that might have been the way she’d always made sure her sister knew not to trust anyone. It would be too easy for the little girl to slip up about the fact her big sister could turn into an animal with a mere thought. And there were too many psychos out there who would capitalize on the opportunity of selling a pretty little girl.
“I promise it’s safe,” he said. His crooked grin did her in.
“Fine. But only this once.”
It could be good for them both to get back into the world of the living. They’d pretty much isolated themselves since the incident during the camping trip.
Honestly, Ryanne would’ve thought Penny would have been leery around other people, especially males, and especially Shifter males. But she hopped on Daxon’s back without a second thought when he knelt down and turned, offering her a piggyback ride to the truck.
He buckled her in the booster seat he’d purchased and then held her door open for her.
“Thanks,” she said, taking the hand he offered to climb into his big truck. She wasn’t exactly tiny, but the tires on this thing made the truck even taller than a regular truck.
When he rounded the hood, he glanced up at her once, a small smile pulling the corners of his lips up. Ryanne was buckled in and ready by the time he got into the driver’s seat and pulled his own belt into place.
“You ready?” he said, turning to look back at Penny.
“Yeah!” she said in her little high-pitched voice.
He winked at Ryanne before backing the truck up and turning around.
The drive to his friend’s place was only around ten or fifteen minutes. And like he’d said, there weren’t many vehicles parked on the gravel lot. That put her a little more at ease. Penny didn’t need to be around a bunch of drunk Shifters. Or a bunch of Shifters at all. They would know immediately she was human.
Ryanne was out of her seat before Daxon could get to her door. “I was going to let you out.”
“I can let myself out just fine,” she said, turning to open Penny’s door.
“I’ve got it.” He gently brushed her hand away and opened the door, then unstrapped Penny.
Was he trying to earn brownie points by being so attentive? Or was this simply who he was? It would take a lot more than hanging out with his friends and some phone calls to figure that one out.
Daxon took one of Penny’s hands while Ryanne took the other.
“Swing me,” she begged, looking up to Daxon. To Daxon. Not to her big sister who had swung her in circles, played monster, given her horse rides on her back, and every other exhausting activity.
He looked to Ryanne with raised brows, asking if it was okay.
With a nod, Ryanne counted, “One, two, three.” On three, the two adults lifted her arms and swung Penny, eliciting a delighted squeal.
“You’re fun,” Penny told Daxon.
He smiled up at Ryanne and pushed his chest out. “I’m fun. Did you hear?”
Ryanne rolled her eyes but couldn’t hide the smile. Any nerves she’d had about seeing him again were long gone. It was easy to be around him. At least it was when Penny was there as a buffer.
But what about when they were alone? If they were ever alone. She had found a new respect for single parents who were able to actually date. She never seemed to have a second of time to herself. What she wouldn’t give to have a relaxing bubble bath without someone knocking at the door saying they had to pee.
If she couldn’t have a bath alone, how the hell would she ever get to kiss Daxon? Or…have sex? Because she definitely wanted to do both of those things at some point.
How could she not?
As Daxon opened the door of the bar and stepped back to let the two girls inside, she tried to check him out without making it obvious. Tattoos. Multiple piercings in his ears. Dark, shoulder length hair. He looked like he was plucked from the cover of a motorcycle club romance book.
When her eyes moved back to his face, he was watching her with a sexy smirk and a raised brow.
Damn it. So much for trying to avoid being obvious.
Penny’s little hand tightened around hers when they stepped inside. She was staring wide-eyed at the big, surly guy behind the counter. She didn’t blame him. He was huge, radiated dominance, and she was pretty sure he had never smiled a day in his life.
“Who’s this?” he asked, his tone gruff.
Sidling up to Ryanne’s side, Penny hid her face against her big sister’s leg.
“This beautiful woman is Ryanne. And the beautiful little girl is Penny. Ryanne and Penny, this is my friend, Noah.”
A woman with hair so dark it was almost black and the prettiest color of blue eyes Ryanne had ever seen came around the bar and knelt in front of Penny. “Want to see a trick?” she whispered to the little girl.
Penny moved enough to look at the woman with one eye.
The woman looked around the room to see if anyone was paying attention. The three other patrons were across the room, had their backs to her, and were focusing on the food in front of them.
The woman lifted a hand and opened it, palm up. A tiny flame danced. Literally danced. And then she closed her hand around the flame, hiding the light.
“How did you do that?” Penny asked, moving closer to her.
“Magic. I’m Hollyn. And that big guy back there who is trying hard to look scary is Noah. He’s not scary. I promise.”
Noah grunted but was smiling. “I’m not scary,” he repeated when Hollyn shot him a frown.
“Do you like mac-n-cheese?” Hollyn asked Penny, who nodded without saying anything. “Did you know I make the best mac-n-cheese in the world?”
These Shifters in Daxon’s life were all so good with children. It was like they were made to dote on them, to make them happy.
Penny giggled. “No,” she said to Hollyn’s question.
“Go find the coolest seat in the place and I’ll make my world-famous mac-n-cheese. Then I’ll show you how I can blow fire from my mouth.”
“You can blow fire from your mouth?” Penny whispered, her eyes wide as she stared at Hollyn.
“Yep.” Hollyn tapped Penny on the nose softly. “Go find your favorite seat and I’ll bring your food out as soon as it’s done.” Hollyn took Ryanne’s and Daxon’s orders and got their drinks before she headed back to the kitchen.
“I can do it,” Noah said.
“Nope. I promised little Penny good food,” she teased as she passed him.
Noah made a grunting sound as he shook his head, but it was obvious by the smile on his face he cared about Hollyn.
Daxon found a booster to sit on one of the chairs and pulled Penny close to his own seat, leaving Ryanne sitting across from him. She was starting to wonder if this whole thing was an act, or if his animal was causing him to feel protective of Penny. And she had no idea whether it was because she was Ryanne’s sister or because she was a young child.
“Are they mates?” Ryanne asked as she lifted her soda.
“Noah and Hollyn?”
“Yeah.”
“Yep. Have been together…” He squinted his eyes and looked off to the side as if thinking. “A year or so, I think.”
“Thanks to him,” Noah said from the bar.
Ryanne looked up to Noah then back at Daxon. “Did you introduce them or something?”
He shrugged and fidgeted with the utensils rolled in a napkin in what appeared to be a nervous gesture. “Yeah. Something like that.” He nodded his head toward Penny.
Whatever it was, he didn’t want to say it front of the little girl.
****
Daxon had caught Ryanne checking out the tattoos on his arms a few times. He only hoped there would come a time when she could see all of them.
He shouldn’t have been thinking like that, especially with a young kid sitting right next to him, but…damn. Ryanne was hot. She was beautiful. Stunning. And so freaking sassy.
When she’d told him on the phone she was only wearing a pair of shorts and a bikini top, his dick had instantly come to attention and thumped the back of his zipper. It had taken so many mental acrobats and every unsexy thing he could think of to get the damn thing to go down. The last thing he needed was to sport a hard-on when he was supposed to be bringing little Penny the sandbox.
She had thrown on a t-shirt while he’d set the plastic turtle up in the yard, but even that didn’t take away fr
om her appeal.
Her tits were big and perky and bouncing all over the place when she walked since she’d obviously slipped the shirt on over the swimsuit top. The shorts were short enough he got a flash of the bottom of her ass cheeks any time she bent over.
And then he’d gone and asked her out to dinner like a dumbass. It wasn’t the going out to dinner thing he was kicking his own ass for. It was the fact she looked fucking edible and now she was where other men could see her.
He had no claim on her. They weren’t mates, even if they’d both admitted they were attracted to each other. He knew his panther purred at the mere thought and wanted to mark her, but that would be her choice.
The fact he’d even made the first move of calling her went against everything his father and the male elders of his Pride had instilled in him since a young age. He would have to make sure he let her set the pace for everything else.
But fuck…that was going to be hard. He wanted to taste her lips and feel her body under his hands so bad.
The other issue with bringing Ryanne and Penny to Moe’s was he didn’t realize how protective he would feel over the little girl. He’d meant to make her feel included in the day and make sure Ryanne knew he was okay with the package deal. But now that she was in the bar, he made sure he sat as close to her as possible.
Daxon had never thought of himself as dating a single mother. He didn’t feel it was right to do that to a woman, wasn’t right to bring his type of lifestyle into a woman’s life who was responsible for young lives.
He couldn’t help himself with Ryanne. She was like a drug and he was already addicted.
Penny came out of the shell she’d hidden in when she had spotted Noah behind the bar. She didn’t blame the kid; Noah came off as an asshole to anyone who didn’t know him. But Daxon had seen how sweet he could be when Hollyn came into his life.
Or rather when the panthers had deposited her onto his porch.
He would tell Ryanne that story, but not in front of Penny. She was too young to have to fear the world around her. It was bad enough she’d already had a crash course in the world of trafficking.
Daxon was still shocked Hollyn had revealed her magic to Ryanne’s sister, and, subsequently, Ryanne. She usually kept that secret pretty close to her chest with strangers.