“I want to make it to the end because Colwyn told me you get a sparkly pendant for trying out.” Holly also had a soft spot for sparkly things. “Colwyn said he would swim next to me. Brand could paddle along in the canoe with Hershey and Lindt. That way if one of us gets tired, then he can haul us in.”
“As long as you’re careful, I think Godiva will do fine. Labs love the water, and despite the neglect this poor girl has endured, she’s doing wonderfully since you three adopted her.”
The Lab took that moment to lift her head and give Brenna a slobbery lick on her arm. “Thank you, Godiva.” She scratched her behind the ears and helped her down from the examination table.
“Oh, this is going to be so much fun!” Holly clapped her hands together and hugged her dog. “You and I are going to have an adventure, baby.”
Brand shook Brenna’s hand after grinning at his wife. “Thank you, Dr. Roberts. We’ll make certain they’re safe.”
“I don’t doubt for a second that they’ll all be fine. See you at the dogs’ next checkup.”
The trio and Godiva left the room, and Brenna started cleaning up. River had the day off, and Brenna didn’t mind doing basic housekeeping every once in a while. It reminded her how much River did around here to assist her, and with Carol taking care of reception, her work life was calm and smooth.
Taking care of pets helped her to keep her emotions in check, but her own thoughts were never far away. She could recall with perfect clarity the way Craig’s hands had felt on her skin and the half-smile quirking up one side of his lips as he licked her pussy. That mental image alone could made her body soften and juice collect between her legs. “Hello, Brenna.”
She looked up, and her gaze locked with a man standing in the doorway. The cleaning spray she was spritzing must’ve masked his scent, because if she’d known he was coming she would’ve run in the opposite direction.
“Hello…” She froze as the memory of that day assaulted her senses. What did could she say to the man who’d fucked her senseless and then had walked away like she’d been nothing to him? His dark coloring made his bright amber eyes stand out from his features. His eyes were the first thing she’d noticed about him. He was built strong and lithe with strong hands. Her dreams refused to allow her to forget how those large hands felt on her body. Those beautiful eyes glinted with good humor as she tried to get her brain to work properly.
“Aiden…Aiden O’Reilly,” he said when she didn’t do anything but stare at him. “We didn’t have much of a chance to talk the last time we met.”
Brenna’s voice was trapped in her throat. Is this a dream?
He stepped closer, and his scent slammed against her senses. Her breasts ached and her pussy tingled. Then there was the fact her wolf was rolling around her senses like a bitch in heat. Her wolf might want to fuck him senseless again, but the human side of her wasn’t so agreeable.
“You have no idea how happy I am to see you.”
“Really?” She inhaled deeply, and Aiden’s gaze predictably dropped to her chest. Sucker. She balled up her fist and—
“What the fuck are you doing here?” Craig stomped through the doorway and shoved Aiden in the shoulder. “Thanks for the warning, asshole.”
I need to get a better cleaner. I can’t smell anyone after spraying this stuff. Brenna relaxed her fingers and took a deep breath trying to find a well of calm somewhere inside of her churning emotions. “He didn’t warn you? You didn’t warn me!”
Craig looked over at her, as if he only just realized she was standing there. “Bren, I can explain.”
“Really? You’re going to stand there and tell me you didn’t know he was coming?”
Craig paused, and that was all the information she needed. “Both of you, get out of my office!”
“Brenna, you don’t understand the position I was in the night we met.” Aiden stepped toward her with both hands up. If he thought he could bullshit his way back into her bed… Hell, we never had a bed, so what am I worried about?
“Step one foot closer and I’ll neuter you.” She could feel her upper lip curling and her teeth elongating. Thankfully, her wolf had gotten over her initial overdose of “fuck me now” hormones.
“You don’t mean that.” Aiden’s placating tone rubbed Brenna the wrong way, and she growled low in her throat.
Craig grabbed Aiden by the shoulder. “I can assure you she means it.” He turned his attention to her. “Brenna, Aiden and I need to talk to you.”
“You had your chance to talk the other day at the lake. Instead you chose the same route he did.” She jerked a thumb at Aiden, who glared at Craig. “I’m done talking to either of you.”
“Seriously,”—Aiden’s eyebrows rose, astonishment written all over his expression—“all this time and you haven’t claimed her yet. What were you waiting for?”
“An asshole.” Craig shoved Aiden and stormed out of the clinic. Despite his anger, he didn’t whip the glass door open like she expected. Aiden stood there suddenly looking like someone kicked his dog.
“I know you’re angry,”—Aiden put up both hands when she stepped toward him—“and you have every right to be, but let me explain what happened.”
Brenna narrowed her eyes and growled again. “I’m not going to use anesthesia on either of you.”
Aiden must’ve realized that she was serious about neutering them, because he spun on his heel and stomped off in the same direction as Craig.
As soon as he left the building, she dropped down into one of the chairs in the hallway. Running her fingers through her hair, she closed her eyes and tried to get herself under control. It was then she remembered she wasn’t the only one in the building. She peeked open one eye and looked through her fingers.
Carol was standing at the head of the hallway, watching her. There were a couple of people in the waiting room who were trying to peek around the corner. Brenna got up and moved into the examination room she’d cleaned. Her cheeks felt hot, and she wanted to curl up in a ball and cry out her frustration.
She turned on the water in the small sink and splashed her face, hoping to cool her cheeks down.
“Brenna, are you all right?” Carol stepped into the room and shut the door behind her.
“How bad was it?”
“Pretty bad. Your voices carried down the hall, but I don’t think anyone out there understood what was going on.” Carol handed her a soft towel to dry her face. “I don’t have to ask who that was.”
Brenna shook her head. She’d had a conversation with Carol and Jessica a few weeks before and confessed what had been bothering her for months. “I don’t know what I’m going to do, Carol.”
“Take a deep breath and get through your appointments today. Then we can have a talk and figure this out. You’re not alone here, remember?”
Brenna gave her friend a hug. “Thanks. I feel lost.”
“That’s why you’ve got girlfriends.” Carol hugged her back as she chuckled. “I have three husbands, and sometimes I feel completely over my head.”
Brenna knew Carol’s husbands worshipped the ground she walked on. They’d never have fucked her and walked away laughing with their friends.
“One question though.” Carol paused with her hand on the door. “Does your dad know anything about this?”
“Oh, shit.”
* * * *
Aiden followed his friend, not certain if Craig was going to punch him or buy him a beer once Aiden caught up to him. He hated walking away from her again. This is not how he’d had his afternoon planned in his head. She was his Mate, dammit. He could scent her body’s reaction when she turned and saw him in the doorway. She’d been spraying some strange cleaner, so he hadn’t been able to appreciate the full power of her unique scent until he closed the distance between them.
He knew he’d fucked up that day last fall, but he honestly thought he could explain and then she would be fine with it. It’s not like Craig had given him the heads-up on her talent with a scalpel. His
balls still hadn’t dropped from where they tucked up when she mentioned neutering.
Craig pulled open the door to his cruiser, got in, and slammed it with enough force to make the car shudder. He looked furious. Craig spent the majority of his life honing his control over his emotions. Aiden had never seen his friend so open with his feelings. “Don’t say a fucking word, Aiden.” Craig’s words sounded more like a growl than a request. He gripped the steering wheel hard enough to make his knuckles white. “What the fuck were you thinking, surprising her like that?”
Aiden opened his mouth to answer, but the glacial glare from his friend stopped him. Craig looked in the mood to vent and hopefully he’d share some information.
“I’ve lived here for almost a year. I packed up everything and moved out to a different province to help protect her, only to discover she’s my Mate as well. I didn’t want to touch her until you got here. You have no idea how your actions affected her. I’ve heard all the gossip and how she came back from Nova Scotia a different person. What you did…”
“Dammit, Craig, what the fuck was I supposed to do?” Aiden leaned against the window frame of the car and snarled at his best friend. “They were going to gang rape her. I had to stand there and listen to their plan to throw her down on a pool table and abuse her in ways that made me sick.”
He watched his friend’s color pale before anger drove it back. “Please tell me you took care of all of them.”
“All but a couple. That’s why it took so long for me to get back to her. I didn’t know if they might decide to look for her again, and I wanted her safe.” Aiden’s anger battled with the nausea that always accompanied his memories of the weeks she was off their radar.
He wished daily that they had met under better circumstances, or that she’d met Craig first. Craig could’ve protected her and then introduced Aiden. She would’ve been safe from the beginning. Although, he could think of a couple of gang members he’d enjoy watching her threaten with her scalpel.
“Why her?”
“They didn’t know she was my Mate. I fucked her as a show, and then declared her my own personal property. I was high enough in the pack at that point to be able to demand obedience.” He smacked his hand against the hood of the car. “I only had a minute to make a decision, and I couldn’t think of another one that would keep her safe.” If only she’d stayed with her family that night and not gone out walking alone. Craig took a deep breath and let go of the steering wheel. “I would’ve made the same choice you did. Which is the only reason why I won’t punch you repeatedly in the face for making this more difficult for us.”
Chapter Five
“Hi.”
Brenna stood in her doorway, water dripping down her back from her wet hair. She’d gotten out of the shower a moment before rushing for the door. Finding Aiden waiting on her doorstep was the last thing she expected when she heard the knock. Honestly, when she’d ordered him out of the clinic earlier that day she’d thought he’d left for good. After lying in bed unable to sleep because of the barrage of thoughts, she’d shifted into her wolf form and had raced through the forest for the past few hours. “Is there an emergency?” Her heartbeat pounded as she tried to make her voice sound as calm as possible.
“No, I need to talk to you.” Aiden shoved his hands in his pockets and leaned against the doorframe. Damn, he looked so incredibly sexy like that. His black hair was tousled and fell rakishly over his forehead.
Brenna squeezed the opening to her robe, denying him any chance to see her skin. Maybe he wouldn’t scent the moisture his presence was causing to gather between her legs. Her wolf was rolling around in his scent like an oversexed hussy. “You could’ve called first.”
“Brenna, you and I both know you would’ve told me to fuck off, and I’m not saying I don’t deserve it. I want to start over.”
“What do you mean, start over?”
Aiden held out his hand. “Hi. I’m Aiden O’Reilly.” He grinned down at her, but she could see the hesitation in his eyes. He expected her to push his hand away.
Brenna felt a little silly putting her hand in his, but did it anyway. “Brenna Roberts. Nice to meet you. Now, what brings you to my doorstep in the middle of the night, Aiden?”
She wanted to know what was so wrong with her he could walk away like that. He was her Mate, and in that brief moment she foolishly thought all the stars would align and he would sweep her off her feet. And he did, only to drop her back to earth after the most incredible orgasm she ever experienced. The sharp agony she’d felt that day gouged a wound deep across her heart. The man who should’ve protected and cherished her had used her in the most humiliating way and made her feel like a slut afterward.
“I know we didn’t get off to a good start.” She tried to pull her hand away, but he wrapped his other hand around hers, entrapping it in his warm grip. “That came out wrong. Yes, we got off to an explosive start, but the situation surrounding it couldn’t have been worse.”
The aching hurt that never went away intensified. “I thought it was pretty straightforward. You don’t want me for a Mate. We both know we’re fated to be together, but I don’t buy into that crap anymore.”
She tried to pull her hand away, but Aiden wouldn’t let go of it. “Brenna, I wish I could’ve done it all over. I wish I’d never touched you.”
He might as well have slapped her across the face, because the pain from that blunt rejection hurt enough to bring tears to her eyes. “Let go of my hand, Aiden, or I swear I’ll claw myself free.”
“Fuck, no. You’re misunderstanding.” Aiden stepped forward and grabbed her other hand. He pressed both of her palms against his chest. If she decided to shred him, he couldn’t have made it easier for her.
“I work for the Guardian council. I was in a situation where I’d been trying to take down a band of rogues that were infiltrating the town. Curfews had been implemented to prevent anyone finding themselves in danger.”
But she’d ignored her brother-in-law’s warning. She couldn’t comprehend what danger there could’ve been out there. “I don’t understand.”
“Do you remember the group outside of the pool hall you passed?”
Brenna shivered in memory of that crowd. Their black empty eyes had followed her as she’d passed on the other side of the street. That was when she’d decided to forgo the evening stroll and go back to her sister’s house. The moment she’d seen him, the entire world had drifted away. She’d been overwhelmed, enthralled, and instantly in love. Until the moment after he’d made her body feel the most incredible pleasure. Then the sound of lewd cheering and disgusting shouts of encouragement popped the naïve bubble surrounding them.
He’d pulled up his pants, shoved his hands in his pockets and looked at her with disgust. She’d pulled her skirt back down and buttoned up her shirt as he’d walked away from her without a glance back. Her hands shook, and she’d felt like a dirty slut. The pain of that rejection still managed to pierce her heart with precision. She’d waited her entire life to find her Mate, and he’d betrayed her before she’d ever known his entire name.
“Your friends, I remember.” She heard the brittle tone to her voice. Why had he come back there? Wasn’t her heart shattered enough for him? Had he come back to grind the pieces further under his heel? She stared at her fingers and willed the claws to come forth and tear into his skin. She wanted to hurt him as badly as she hurt.
“Friends?” Aiden’s lip curled in a disgusted angle. “No, no, they weren’t. I swear.” He took his hands off of hers and cupped her cheeks. “I’d been assigned there to break up the gang. To kill the leader and make the members scatter. What I did…I wanted to protect you.”
“Oh, please.”
“Brenna, they’d been planning a gang rape that night. They’d wanted the local shifters to fear them but knew if they attacked a local, it could backfire. Then you walked by. As an out-of-towner, you were their perfect target, but I couldn’t let them touch you.”
“Because I’m your Mate?”
He frowned at her and shook his head as if he didn’t quite understand the question. “Because, it was a disgusting plan hatched by a group of severely twisted minds. It wasn’t until I got closer to you I realized you were mine. I wanted to kill them all at that point, slowly and painfully for thinking of putting their dirty hands on you.”
His gaze fell to where his hands cupped her jaw. She watched as the same disgust crossed over his features as it had that night. “I shouldn’t have my hands on you. I don’t have that right.”
“We’re still Mates.” She surprised herself with that confession, but it came straight from the heart. She could see the true regret in his eyes, and her wolf howled in response. All her anger and aching feelings of betrayal lightened. There was a reason why he did what he did. If she’d known about it sooner, it would’ve changed everything. There was no way to go back and change anything. Anyways it was over, and all they had was now.
“I don’t deserve you, Brenna. Craig would’ve found a way to prevent you from getting hurt.”
“Don’t be so sure of that. I don’t know if I can think of a way out of that situation where there wouldn’t be any injuries.” She closed her hands over his and stepped back into the house, tugging him with her.
“Brenna, don’t invite me in.” His gaze dropped to the V of her robe. It must be gaping again. “I won’t leave.”
“I thought we were starting over.”
Aiden’s eyebrows drew together over his amber eyes at her comment. He must be trying to figure out her angle, and here she thought it was completely obvious. “I’d like that.”
“I’m a pretty fast mover.” Brenna stepped forward and pressed herself against his chest. Reaching behind him, she pushed the door closed. His scent tempted her, and she licked her tongue over the hollow at the base of his neck. His scent brought back memories of that night. The wild look he’d had in his eyes, and now when she thought about it, there’d been desperation and fear in his gaze, only she’d been too naïve to notice. She’d been too caught up in the wonder of finding her Mate where she’d least expected it.
Protect and Fur [3xtasy Lake 5] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Page 5