by Moxie North
“Everyone, this is Quinn Sutton.”
There was a volley of hi’s and hand waves.
Rain walked her up to an attractive older couple. “Mom, dad, this is Quinn. Quinn, this is my mom Ruth and my dad Jeffrey.”
“Mr. and Mrs. Rochon,” Quinn said, holding her hand out.
The woman grabbed her hand and held it to her chest. “Oh please, sweetie. Call me mom and Jeffrey never like his name anyway. Just call him dad.”
The woman had dark hair that looked like it had been dyed, expertly by the looks of it. She had kind eyes and her smile was sweet. Rain’s dad was smiling, but he had tears in his eyes. Quinn didn’t know if they were happy tears or if he was upset by her.
“My sweet girl, welcome home,” Jeffrey said, pulling her into his arms.
“Oh, uh, thank you?” Quinn replied, having no choice but to give herself over to the large man’s embrace.
“Okay guys, let’s lay off on the hugging. She just met you,” Rain said trying to lighten the mood.
“Hey, I’m getting a new daughter, I’m allowed to be happy,” his dad said, but let Quinn go and she stepped back until she was up against Rain again.
“What am I chopped liver?” This came from a woman standing around the island.
“Princess Allison,” Rain said giving a sweeping bow. Quinn stepped aside just in time for the woman with curly dark hair to jump into Rain’s arms and squeeze him.
“You are a terrible brother. I barely get a text from you,” she accused as Rain dropped her back to her feet.
“It’s not my fault you only like to talk to fishes,” he replied.
“It’s just fish and you know it. I can’t help if the spawning cycles of salmon are more interesting to me.”
“How are those salmon? Mom said you were out on the ocean. How do you chase down salmon in the ocean?”
“GPS trackers, like the one I stuck on your car.”
“Haha, you’re a riot. Quinn, this is my sister Allison, the baby of the family.”
“Hardly, I’m actually older than Rain and Fin, I’m just smaller so they think they can boss me around.”
“You’re still the baby because you’re spoiled by the rest of us,” Rain explained.
“That’s very true,” she said with a smile. “It’s very nice to meet you, Quinn. Don’t let this lot scare you away. We really are fairly normal and only slightly overbearing.”
Quinn shook her hand. “Nice to meet you too.”
Rain started pointing out the rest of the room. “Finley you know.” Fin gave her a salute and a smile. “This is my aunt and uncle, Connie and Edward.”
“Our family wanted to come over but they wanted to stick us with the grandkids, so we got here first. You can meet them all later,” Connie said.
“Cashy is behind us, they had some kind of diaper slash poop tragedy,” Rain announced.
“Don’t call him that, it just makes your brother cranky,” Ruth said, slapping at her younger son.
Taking Quinn’s arms and tugging her away from Rain she said, “Come with me, dear. You look like you could use a drink. We have everything. Not that we’re lushes or anything, just well, this lot can lead you to drink.”
Quinn could use a drink and took a glass of wine that was offered.
“Oh, you’ll love this. We know the owners of the winery. It’s ever so good.”
“Mom, they’re family, of course we know them,” Rain laughed.
“Still doesn’t make it taste any better,” Jeffrey commented, taking a swig from a bottle of beer.
“You just have the palate of a fisherman. Too many years smelling stinky fish, it ruined your taste buds,” his mother said with a sniff.
The ladies took their drinks into the living room and sat down. Quinn nervously took a sip of her wine. It was good, not that she was any kind of expert.
“Now, I’m not going to ask you about your life. Nobody likes being interrogated so we will just chat about other things,” Ruth said, patting her hand.
Quinn let out a sigh; she wasn’t ready to spill her life’s story over a glass of wine in front of strangers. Instead, the women started talking about babies, work, and who was working where. The names were rattled off with lightning speed.
“Don’t worry, there will never be a test on names. Our clan is way too big. A snap of the fingers and a “hey you” usually suffices,” Allison said laughing.
“I’m terrible with names. I guess I figure if I can’t remember your name, I can always meet you again,” Quinn said with a chuckle.
“This family grows at an astonishing rate, so we are all learning new names. What’s your middle name?”
“Oh lordy, here we go,” Allison laughed.
“Actually, I don’t have one. My first name is Quinnlynn. Not exactly my favorite, but it kept me from getting a middle name I didn’t like, I guess,” Quinn admitted.
“Hah, see mom, nobody likes their middle names,” Rain called out.
“Hush, your name is meaningful, like all of my children’s names.”
“So, what’s your middle name?” Quinn asked Allison.
“After mom’s bright idea with poor Cash and the Queets thing, I got saddled with Denali. Mom and Dad were visiting another clan in Alaska and couldn’t keep it in their pants. Not as bad as Fin’s anyway,” Allison called out.
“Hey, don’t start telling lies!” Fin was moving towards them from the kitchen. The men had been pretending to talk, but were obviously keeping tabs on the conversation in the living room.
“It’s not a lie. It’s on your birth certificate, genius,” Rain taunted.
“Mom and dad needed to start acting like normal parents and only doing that stuff at home,” Fin growled.
“Why, so we could all have the same middle name?” Allison mocked.
“Finley Moclips Rochon, you need to take pride in your name. It’s a strong proud name,” his mother chided.
“Mom, I hardly think the Kelpers Parade is a worthy enough reason to name your child after a beach,” Fin said in a slightly whiny voice.
“I certainly had fun,” his father said from the kitchen.
The group burst out laughing at poor Finley’s expense. “Don’t worry Fin-Mo, we still love you,” Allison called out.
“Fin-Mo?”
“You’re family now, Quinn, you can call him that when he gets out of line,” Rain said to her.
“Kinda like Nemo, just less scary.” This came from Cash as he was walking through the door with a baby in his arms.
The family all got up and passed around babies and hugs. Cassie was hidden behind Cash and handed off Jett as soon as she made it past the wall of giants. The whole family was on the tall side compared to Quinn and Cassie.
Quinn found herself being dogpiled by babies since she was the new shiny one to play with. After a little while, she found herself relaxing. The family had wrapped her in a web of love and acceptance that was so light that she barely felt it, but strong enough to lean on if she needed it. The Rochons did this like it was second nature. She couldn’t help but ask Cassie why they weren’t giving her the third degree like any family would about a new girlfriend.
“You’re not a girlfriend. You’re a mate. They would never question or doubt what the Fates were thinking when they picked you. Whoever you are, you are the perfect match for Rain. It doesn’t make sense to us, because we know that too many people out there suck ass and are horrible. The bears? They believe that the Fates have nothing but their best interests at heart.
It’s why Rain would never doubt that you are the one for him. And trust me, as I say this from experience, whatever you think about yourself that is bad or opposite of Rain, you are exactly what he needs. And believe it or not, what he is will make you a better person. You are perfect for him the way you are and he for you. Being mates means you get to grow together, building off of one another.”
Cassie was looking at her so seriously, that Quinn started to feel uncomfortab
le. Mostly because what she was saying was making sense, and what she was saying mimicked what Quinn was feeling.
“Shit, I’m sorry, that was deep. It’s the damn bears, they are always so earnest and forthright that it squashes some of my natural sarcasm,” Cassie said, shaking herself like there was something on her skin.
“It’s okay. I’ve found myself pondering life a hell of a lot more since I met Rain.”
“One other piece of advice and I’ll let you figure the rest out yourself,” Cassie started quietly. The rest of the family had moved off, giving them some privacy.
“You will never regret bonding with Rain. Forget the bite, it’s totally fucking hot, believe me. It may sound creepy, but it’s not. The connection you get with him after, damn, it’s like body snatchers. Sometimes I swear that I can feel what Cash is feeling, and let me tell you, that man loves me something deep.
If you get that with Rain, you will never doubt for a second that he is devoted to you and thinks you are the sexiest woman alive and that he would die for you. It’s not bad for the confidence, let me tell you.”
Quinn looked over her shoulder. Rain was in the kitchen laughing with his brother, his face was so relaxed. Being in the middle of his family was where he seemed to fit in the best. She could see now that college was a means to an end for him. He belonged here.
Quinn felt a light bulb go off in her mind. She wanted to belong here too. To have family surrounding her every day. To have people she could count on no matter what was going on, someone to always have her back. It was like being handed the keys to the kingdom and all she had to do, was accept a man that said he loved her and wanted no one but her for the rest of his life.
Only a sucker would turn that kind of deal down.
Chapter 41
After returning from Rain’s parents’ house, it had been late, and Quinn was stuffed full of a huge meal of enchiladas and rice. She had thanked Ruth for cooking, and she laughed when she said those were Cash’s freezer meals they’d broken out for the occasion. Regardless, it was delicious and it helped Quinn lock in the memory of the evening. In her mind it would always be her first Thanksgiving with the family.
She was thankful there were people like them in the world. People who were kind, welcoming, and loving. She was thankful that she had new friends in Cassie and Allison, and couldn’t wait to meet more of the family. Mostly, she was thankful for the man that no matter where she was in the room, had his eyes on her.
Rain touched her often just to reestablish their connection and let her know she wasn’t alone. He would lean over and tell her how gorgeous she was, making her blush. The man that had told her more times in one day that he loved her than she had heard in her entire life.
They were lying on the futon in the spare room, still fully clothed, talking about the family. Rain kept laughing as he told her what he talked about with his brothers and dad. He liked being home, she could tell.
“So, big question,” he said. “What did you think of them?”
Quinn gave a little laugh. “You know I was the one being interviewed, right?”
“Nope, the Fates picked you. It was everyone else that had to impress,” he explained.
There it was, that absolute certainty that she was perfect for him.
“I loved them, Rain. They were amazing and I already feel like I have new friends. I’ve never been so relaxed around new people. I was comfortable, and I’m never comfortable around people I don’t know.”
“That’s good, baby. It makes me happy that you are feeling at home.”
“I am feeling at home, that’s what’s so weird. I’ve never felt at home anywhere. But here, I feel like I could live outside and still be safe.”
“That’s because outside is full of my relatives, and you smell like me. There’s no safer place in the world that you could be,” he said gruffly.
He was right. She was safe. Safe to be whoever she wanted to be in her life. Safe to make decisions that were scary and uncertain, knowing she had a family to support her. Most importantly, she was safe to love a man without any concern that their love might end.
That kind of safety was a gift that should be grabbed with both hands and held tight.
“Rain?”
“Yeah, babe?”
“Take me to the Four Seasons?”
“You want to go home?” he asked leaning up to look at her.
“No, that’s not home. The dorm isn’t either. I’ve never thought of Yakima as home. But here, this feels like home. This is where I want to come back to when I get homesick. But the hotel? That’s where we were together for the first time. I want it to be the place we make us permanent. Bonded.”
Rain looked down at her, his expression hard. His hand came up to cup her face. “You’re sure? We can wait.”
“Wait for what? I love you and you love me. Waiting is for other people’s rules. I’m making my own rules, our own rules from now on. I want to be with you, I want to spend every day of my forever with you.”
He growled wordlessly, leaning his head against hers. His mouth moved to hers and he kissed her hard.
“And,” she started to whisper when he broke the kiss, “I don’t want to have to be quiet.”
Rain’s growl vibrated through the room and she couldn’t help but giggle. Cassie was right, that was fun.
Never in the history of getting some, and Quinn assumed there was some kind of record book kept, has a man managed to pack, notify appropriate family members of departure, and drive three plus hours to get a woman to a hotel room.
She knew that she shouldn’t laugh, but the intensity of Rain’s focus was amusing . Every time he paused to look at her, that yellow glow was in his eyes. This time the glow was almost pulsing, like it was matching his heartbeat.
The drive back to Seattle should have had Quinn falling asleep, but she was too excited and nervous to close her eyes. When they hit Olympia, Rain called the hotel and checked them in, requesting that the key be waiting at the front desk. Being a Rochon, they didn’t hesitate to jump at his request.
Quinn wasn’t sure if she should talk and alleviate some of the tension. But every time she looked at Rain his jaw was clenched and she could see the glow emanating from the side of his eyes. His bear was in full effect.
Using the drive to her best advantage, and being ever practical, Quinn thought through her decision over and over. Luckily for her she got the same answer every time. She loved Rain and wanted to be with him. She had no more doubts.
When they reached the Four Seasons, the car came to a screeching halt in the valet area. Rain popped the trunk and at least this time they had luggage. It was a little easier to conceal their purposes when there were props involved.
Rain tossed the keys to the valet and grabbed the ticket from the man standing at the podium. He looked at the bellhop who was putting their two measly bags on a cart and said, “Hold until I call.”
The man was dignified and nodded. Quinn blushed to the roots of her hair. If that wasn’t code for “we’ll be fucking” she didn’t know what was.
Rain grabbed her hand and she had to trot to keep up with him. The clerk behind the desk recognized Rain somehow and held up a key card. Barely pausing, Rain grabbed it with a nod and took them straight to the elevator.
He seemed stiff, and to an untrained eye he might have looked angry, but Quinn didn’t feel any anger coming off of him. No, it was pure sexual desire, and it was pouring out of him. She’d been in a constant state of readiness since they had gotten in the car. She knew that Rain could smell her because there was no doubt that her panties were damp. She’d resisted the urge to rub her breasts in the car because she didn’t want to distract him and die in a fiery car crash.
Now, standing in the elevator, Quinn could almost feel Rain touching her even though he was standing facing the doors, that muscle in his jaw still flexing.
The silver doors slid open and they fast marched down the hall. They were heading to the sam
e room they had before and Quinn loved that he was being romantic. Not that he wasn’t usually, but the raw heat coming off him wasn’t so much about romance as it was about claiming.
Rain had the key in the slot and the door open in a flash and in an instant, Quinn found herself pressed against the back of the room door, her hands pinned above her head and the only light in the room was coming from Rain’s eyes.
“Oh, boy.”
Rain was trying, seriously trying to slow down. From the moment she had said yes, even though he couldn’t really recall her exact words, he’d heard nothing but the incessant pounding of his bear in his mind.
The animal wanted out, but more so he wanted his mate. He drove fast but carefully, his goal to get her safely in this room. Now that he had her, he needed a moment. If he didn’t, he’d have his cock and his fangs sunk into her in the next minute.
“Rain?”
“Shh, one second,” he begged.
As Quinn waited his eyes dropped down and saw her breasts lifting with each panting breath she was taking. He had smelled her readiness the entire trip. She was wet and ready for him and it had taken hours to get to Seattle. He could have stopped somewhere else, but it was too important, too meaningful to not make this moment together everything it could be.
“Quinn?”
“Yeah?”
“You know I love you.”
“I do, Rain. I really know it because I feel it,” she said.
“I don’t want to scare you. I know I’m being a little… aggressive.”
Quinn giggled and he looked up at her. “Rain, did you ever stop to think I might like it?”
He frowned. “No.”
Her laugh this time was husky. “Well, think again. I want you, Rain. All of you. I want you to make me yours. Show me what it means to be your one and only.”
Rain let out a growl that he was sure the neighbors heard and he didn’t give a fuck.
He kissed her then. Hard and fast, pressing their bodies together and heard her moan. Lifting her into his arms, he strode to the bed, never breaking their kiss. Their mouths fought for control and luckily, no one ever won.