Conner growled. “I won’t have to tell her anything if I can figure out how to break the damn bond.”
They were silent for several minutes, both contemplating this new dilemma when his father spoke. “When I was little,” Tarvahl began, looking sympathetically at his son, “I heard a story of a long ago pack member who found his true mate and she was human. This was before they had decided to experiment with intermingling between the species in hopes of producing more female children. He was forbidden to take her as his mate and he went insane.” His father shrugged. “I don’t know how much of that is truth, gross exaggeration, or if it was just a story someone made up, but once that bond takes hold, Conner, I’m pretty sure there is no breaking it. Not without severe repercussions to you.”
Conner wanted to howl. How had this happened? Why him? Why her? A human who may or may not be still hung up on her dead hero husband. A human who had a life elsewhere and may not stay. A human who knew nothing of his life or pack and who may reject him through fear of the unknown. It all seemed so impossible. “I need to run.” Conner said, feeling his wolf pushing to be free.
Tarvahl nodded, stripping off his shirt. “Then we run.”
Chapter Seventeen
Elizabeth actually felt like she’d had a decent night sleep thanks to the air conditioner Conner had brought. She woke feeling refreshed and ready to start the day.
She had wanted to kick herself the night before for not accepting that kiss she’d so desperately wanted but she had panicked. She did not have a good track record with men and she didn’t want to ruin this time with Jeremy by doing something foolish, and kissing Conner had seemed foolish at the time. Later, as she kept reliving the moment in her head, she began to think differently. She was really attracted to Conner, and now that he had stopped playing the bad boy asshole and started acting naturally, he was really fun to be around. Plus, Jeremy loved him. This was the first time her son had been around a man she was actually attracted to and they were building quite a friendship. Her son would totally accept Conner in their lives.
You don’t live here and long distance relationships don’t work. It was a harsh reminder, but it definitely wasn’t a deal breaker. People move all the time. After all, Conner might decide he’d like to open a pub in Boston and, with her contacts, she could help him achieve that.
Jeremy started playing “Moonlight Sonata” on the piano and Elizabeth smiled. She’d always been so proud of her son’s ability, but having Conner show such amazement, well, she couldn’t deny that she was all puffed up pleased. What Conner had revealed last night though had been a shock. She had seen some of the flyers and notices that had come home: father/son camping trip, donuts with dad, and the like. Jeremy’s decision to quit usually followed one of these events, even though she had told him that his Uncle Edward would be happy to go with him. She should have put it together.
When she mentioned it last night, asked Jeremy why he hadn’t told her, he’d shrugged and said, “I didn’t want to upset you when there was nothing you could do about it.”
Already her son trusted Conner enough to confide in him. A male influence in Jeremy’s life that she couldn’t fulfill and her brother just couldn’t seem to provide.
“Do you think Conner will want to practice more today?” Jeremy asked as he brought the Beethoven piece to a close. And then, before she could answer, he added, “I should probably have my own glove.”
Elizabeth chuckled, pleased to see him so excited to be part of a team. “I suppose if we order one today it’ll be here in time. I don’t know if you’ll be able to get it broke in properly before the fourth though.”
She was just about to open her laptop when the phone rang. Answering the call, she heard Jacob Pierce on the other end. He had her replacement window ready and would be by with his brother in about an hour to install it if that was okay with her.
She felt butterflies dancing madly in her stomach in anticipation of seeing Conner again. And this time, if he tried to kiss her, she’d let him. The thought made her almost giddy. She’d order a new baseball mitt for Jeremy and then shower and dress for the day. She knew just the outfit to wear.
An hour later, Jacob and his brother arrived – right on schedule. The problem was, it was the wrong brother. Jeremy was happy to play with Zack’s dog, Clyde, but Conner didn’t show. Nor did he make an appearance the next day… or the next.
She’d even made an attempt to see him – stealthily of course, with a visit to the grocery store. That hadn’t panned out, though she did get to meet Conner’s father. When she saw the older man who looked so much like Conner, carrying a big box of diapers under his arm, she’d decided rather spontaneously to go over and say hello. The man had shaken her hand with a smile as he’d looked her over and then chatted for a minute with both her and Jeremy. She had to resist the urge to ask him if he had seen Conner, or if his son had mentioned her. Gah! She was thirty years old, not a starry-eyed high schooler. Tarvahl Pierce seemed like a really nice man, but the last thing she wanted was to come off as desperate. He asked how long they would be in the area and what they thought of the town before closing the conversation with a promise to see them again at the Fourth of July barbecue.
When they left the store, Elizabeth had looked down the street toward The Stag and bit her lip in indecision, but finally, got Jeremy and herself back into the car to head home. She had no excuse to go see him at his place and she wouldn’t bring her twelve year old into a bar without very good reason. As she drove out of town, disappointment sat heavily on her shoulders. It would figure that as soon as she had given herself permission to indulge, the man would drop off the face of the earth.
Logically, Elizabeth knew that he was probably busy. It wasn’t his job, after all, to entertain them. He had a life. But the illogical part of her brain couldn’t help but wonder if he’d given up on them just because she had fled from his kiss, and that was just shitty. Would it kill him to try a little harder? She was a catch, dammit! She was certainly worth a little effort.
Three days. That was as long as his wolf would allow. After what his father had told him, Conner had decided to do a little test. He’d stay away from her and see if this need to be around her passed. It hadn’t. It got progressively worse until he was snarling at everyone. He could absolutely see the story his father telling him being truth. Absence from ones mate could certainly lead to insanity.
He’d go out to her place, play ball with J.T and his wolf would settle once he was in proximity of Elizabeth. Maybe he’d invite them to fish with him. The idea had him loading up his truck with rods and tackle box.
Jacob had said he’d tend bar that night so he didn’t have to be back at a specific time. He could spend the day with Elizabeth and J.T. The thought had an immediate calming effect on his wolf and as he drove toward her place, he finally felt like he could breathe.
High pitched shrieks and laughter alerted Conner to Elizabeth’s and J.T’s location as soon as he arrived. Making his way down the slight embankment to the creek, he saw Elizabeth first. She was smiling, her face sparkling in the sun with drops of water, her dark hair pulled up into a haphazard bun. She was wearing a white sleeveless top and a pair of short denim shorts as she stood thigh deep in the water. She let out another squeal and raised her arm to block an arc of water that was coming straight at her compliments of J.T.
Conner let out a chuckle and both Elizabeth and J.T shot him huge smiles. For once they both looked happy to see him. As if they had missed him. The thought filled him with a sense of hope. This just felt right, dammit. In that moment, he made up his mind. This was his mate and his son and he was going to keep them. It didn’t matter what hurdles he had to jump, he would do it. They were worth it.
“I was going to see if you wanted to get a little fishing in today but it looks like you’ve probably scared all the big ones away.” He called out with a grin.
J.T jumped up and down in the water, no small feat considering the slippery rock bottom. “Conne
r! Come in! The water’s great.”
Conner looked down at his jeans – he was not a shorts person no matter how hot the weather – and shrugged. Stripping off his white tee shirt, work boots, and socks, he waded into the water.
“Oh, cool!” Jeremy said pointing at Conner’s chest and Conner glanced down. From pectoral to shoulder on each side of his chest he had a large wolf head in profile facing each other and snarling.
Conner grinned at J.T’s look of awe. “You like them?”
J.T nodded, his mouth still open in wonder and turned to look at Elizabeth. “Aren’t they cool, Mom?”
Conner glanced at Elizabeth and wanted to do a fist pump. Her eyes were moving over him in open appreciation and he wanted to strut, maybe puff out his chest a bit and add a flex for good measure, but he kept it all inside. Incredibly pleased that she actually had to swallow before she tore her eyes from him to smile and nod at J.T. This was definitely progress.
Chapter Eighteen
Elizabeth couldn’t believe how transparent she’d been. Or for that matter, how transparent her shirt had become. What had possessed her to wear white into the water? A few little splashes here and there had been fine, but once Conner had joined them, J.T had stepped up his game and she was now dripping, her clothes stuck to her as she made her way back to the camp. She had crossed her arms to minimize her exposure but she knew Conner had seen, had appreciated, maybe as much as she had appreciated seeing him strip off his shirt. She had had to blink three times to make absolutely sure she wasn’t hallucinating all of that yummy skin. She had wanted to trace her fingers over those tattoos, and kiss every inch of that exposed flesh. Her preoccupation had been totally obvious. There was no possible way he could have missed it.
Despite her embarrassment, the afternoon had been so much fun. They had laughed, splashed, and played in the water. At one point she had attempted to dunk Conner and launched herself onto his back. Instead of going over as expected, he had caught her, hooked an arm under her thigh and proceeded to treat her to a piggy back ride with J.T hooting and cheering Conner on.
Elizabeth chuckled to herself and shook her head as she mounted the steps to the camp. It was a memory she was sure to savor.
Conner and J.T were making their way over to the side yard, both guys willing to dry off in the sun as they tossed the ball around but she was ready for some dry clothes that you couldn’t see through.
She was just pulling on a fresh tee when she heard her computer whistle at her to let her know she had an e-mail. Grabbing a brush, she pulled the elastic out of hair and started brushing as she opened her mail. A message from the CEO had her frowning. It wasn’t unusual to be included in a message from him, but this one was addressed just to her.
Elizabeth,
I hope you are enjoying your time off. Sorry about the short notice, but I will be in your area this weekend and would like to meet and discuss a few things. Please call when you get this to arrange.
Elizabeth was still frowning when she picked up the phone, dialed reception, and asked to be connected. Walter didn’t answer but his assistant had been expecting Elizabeth’s call. The older woman greeted her warmly and asked about her vacation before getting down to business. “Walter will be in Rochester Vermont this weekend to check out a building we just acquired, in fact, he’s already on his way. He said, and I quote, ‘Elizabeth Larkin being in the area at just the right time is too serendipitous to ignore.’ He wants you to meet him there.”
If possible, Elizabeth frowned even harder. “Did he say why he needed to meet?”
“Sorry, Lizzie, he just wanted me to schedule it and give you the address if you agree. Are you free tomorrow or Sunday for an hour or so?”
Curiosity was eating Elizabeth up. Walter was an extremely laid back man, and an advocate of his employees taking time if they needed it, so his wanting to meet during her vacation – even if it was an exceptionally long vacation – struck her as odd. Especially since a face to face meet could easily be accomplished on video chat. Maybe he wanted her opinion on this building that his assistant had mentioned since Elizabeth was, as had been pointed out, in the area. Satisfied with that reason, Elizabeth picked up a pen. “How does his schedule look for tomorrow morning?”
Jeremy came running in the camp with a wide grin just as Elizabeth was finishing up her call. Conner came in next, his white T-shirt back on but his jeans still damp and his feet bare. Hanging up the phone, she smiled at him. “I’d offer to let you borrow a pair of my shorts but it would be way too depressing if they fit you.”
Conner laughed and looked her up and down, “If I could even get them up over my knees I’d be surprised.”
“Mom, can Conner stay for dinner?” Jeremy yelled from the kitchen. His voice muffled enough that she figured he probably had his head stuck in the refrigerator.
Elizabeth laughed and looked to Conner. “Would you like to stay for dinner?”
Conner was standing next to her at the kitchen counter helping her prepare dinner. Every once and a while he’d nudge her with his shoulder and she’d nudge him back with a smile as she continued to chop vegetables for a stir fry.
“See, if you hadn’t scared all the fish away, we could be grilling up some trout for dinner.” Conner said with another nudge.
“Speaking of fishing,” she began, “I have to drive into Rochester tomorrow morning. Do you think you might be able to come over and take Jeremy fishing or play ball? He doesn’t really need a babysitter, but just to keep him company for an hour or two?” Feeling uncomfortable asking this of him she rushed on, “If you can’t that’s okay. I can take him with me, I just thought he’d have more fun with you.”
“Be happy to,” he said. “Did you need to pick up something in Rochester?”
Elizabeth shook her head, “My boss is checking out a building in the area. I think he wants my opinion since I’m so close by.” She shrugged. “I guess I’ll find out for sure tomorrow.”
Conner nodded, seeming deep in thought for a moment before he said, “You really love your job, don’t you?”
Elizabeth moved to the fridge to get the chicken. She had just opened her mouth to tell him just how great the company she works for was, when Conner suddenly spun her around and kissed her. It was so unexpected that she squeaked in surprised before settling in to enjoy the moment. And what a moment it was. Conner Pierce was one hell of a kisser. His lips moved over hers, his teeth nipped at her bottom lip, his tongue stroking the little hurt before he nudged her mouth open with his. His tongue slid against hers and she nearly moaned. It had been so long since she’d been kissed. So long since she’d been held, and Conner’s hands were gliding smooth and firm over her back and sides.
She pressed into him harder, lifting her heels off the floor to get closer and his hands swept downward to cup her backside; squeezing the cheeks firmly in his large hands. Her own hands had moved to knead his shoulders, one sweeping up into his hair, gripping the cool, thick locks a bit harder than she probably should have. A low growl vibrated in Conner’s chest and she broke the kiss with a gasp. The sound had been so primal, almost animalistic, but she wasn’t afraid. Her eyes moved over his face for a moment before she returned her mouth to his.
“Mom, is dinner almost ready?” Jeremy’s voice made Elizabeth jerk away guiltily. She ran a shaking hand over her hair and the front of her clothes to smooth them before she cleared her throat and called out, “A few more minutes, honey.”
Elizabeth wasn’t sure what to say to Conner who was watching her with open appreciation, a small satisfied smile on his face. So she grabbed the chicken out of the fridge and got back to making dinner.
Chapter Nineteen
Conner was snarling as he drove back into town. The evening had looked unbelievably promising. That kiss… It hadn’t been planned. He’d asked her about her career, knowing instinctively that she was truly proud of her work, but wanting her to tell him that it was just a job she’d happily walk away from for him. I
nstead, he hadn’t given her the opportunity to say anything. He sure as hell didn’t regret it though. He’d felt that kiss down to his toes. He would have liked to have been given the opportunity to repeat it after dinner, maybe even expand on it, but instead the phone had rung just as they’d sat down to eat. He’d been surprised when Elizabeth had answered the phone and then handed it off to him.
Fucking Joe Porch. The old bastard was obviously getting senile. According to Zack, who had made the call, Jacob had actually had to restrain Joe to keep him from attacking a human who had come in for a drink with L.J Mason. Now, Joe was refusing to leave the bar until Conner made an appearance. Fucking perfect. Instead of an enjoyable evening making out with his mate and enticing her out of her clothes, he had to go deal with this bullshit.
When Conner walked into The Stag his temper was already high, but seeing Joe Porch in partial shift snarling and snapping at not only L.J Mason but Zack as well, pushed it to the boiling point. Jacob was doing an admirable job of restraining the male; his arms locked around Joe’s beefy upper body in a bear hug. The bar, luckily had been cleared of all other patrons as well as the human that apparently had set the older man off.
“Does someone want to tell me what the fuck is going on?” Conner bellowed.
Joe’s eyes snapped to him and narrowed. “You did this! It’ll spread like a cancer, you mark my words. You need to end it and end it now!” Joe’s face turned almost purple as he strained to break free.
Conner snarled letting his eyes and teeth shift to make his point. “Enough!” Getting into Joe’s face he growled low. “I don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about, but you will calm the fuck down, right now. You ever come into my place and start shit like this again and I’ll ban you for life.”
Joe cowered back slightly, the wolf inside him deferring to an alpha. He lowered his head and whimpered. Conner let out another growl to make his point and then nodded to Jacob to release the older man.
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