by RJ Blain
I loved the way he looked at me, his gaze sliding over me from head to toe before moving upward again. I especially liked the way he focused on my lips.
It’d been far too long since we’d had any time together alone, and I shivered from anticipation. Reaching down, I turned off the faucet, contemplating what I would do to and with my mate—and how I’d give him a taste of the benefits of the wolfsbane still in his system.
I smiled. “You’ve been good—mostly. Did you enjoy seeing your wolves this morning?”
“I was surprised to see them all. I enjoyed it very much. It’s been a long time since we’ve all been together like that. Wendy told me you invited them. Thank you.” He brushed his fingers against my cheek, and I closed my eyes and leaned into his touch.
“I just wanted to make you happy.”
“You have. You do. You made them happy, too.”
“I don’t see how,” I muttered. “And if that made them happy, they have an odd way of showing it. They licked me. Gross.”
Leaning towards me, he murmured in my ear, “You don’t seem to mind it when it’s me.”
My wolf’s eagerness infected me, and growling, I scraped my teeth against his throat. “Is that so? I’m not sure what you’re talking about. You better show me,” I suggested.
He needed no other invitation.
I never found out what Desmond wanted to talk about. I fell asleep in the tub and woke when my mate insisted on shoving food down my throat like it or not. Joseph had been right; I was scrawny. It took a week before I felt like I thought I should, although Sanders made disapproving noises each time I weighed myself.
We stayed with the Desmonds for two more weeks, partially at my insistence and partially at theirs.
In truth, I didn’t want to go to Sanders’s house. Between the creaky floors and the reminders of Mary, I wanted to start our new life together in a place belonging to us equally without old memories haunting us. I bided my time, waiting for word our new house was ready.
It was a little after noon when my cell rang. Excusing myself, I headed into the living room before answering, “Hello?”
The Shadow Pope replied, “Good morning, Sara. How are you today?”
“Is it ready?” I demanded.
He laughed. “It’s ready. Eager, aren’t you?”
Glancing over my shoulder, I cupped my hand over the phone in the hope my mate wouldn’t hear me. “I fell through the floor when we stopped by the other house last week. I’m lucky I didn’t break my foot. I sprained my ankle and ended up limping around like a cripple. I wanted to burn the place down, but Desmond wouldn’t let me.”
“Arson is illegal, even if you do own the building you’re burning down, Mrs. Sanders. In the interest of preserving your feet, however, I’ll see about a complete renovation on your other property. I’m certain we can come up with a mutually beneficial payment plan for the work.”
“Don’t you even think of letting him pay for it; I’ll pay for it myself,” I hissed.
“Why are you whispering?”
“If I don’t, they’ll hear me. Where can I get the keys for the house? Where is it? Give me the address!”
“You will find it very easy to get to, Mrs. Sanders. Merely make a left hand turn at the end of the driveway, go to the first four-way intersection, and make a left hand turn. It’s the house at the very end of the street. It’s in walking distance. As for the keys, someone is there with them. Try not to leave them waiting too long.”
I blinked. “You’re joking, right?”
“I thought it might be amusing if you were neighbors—and technically you are. You both own a great deal of forested land, which happens to share a property line.”
Wailing my dismay at our inability to escape the Desmonds, I hung up on the Shadow Pope.
“What’s wrong, Sara?” my mate demanded, hurrying into the room. With their eyes wide, Desmond and Wendy followed in his wake.
“We have a new house—one that won’t eat my feet. There is one very notable problem with this house,” I snarled, glaring at Desmond. “This is all your fault, isn’t it?”
Holding his hands up in surrender, Desmond shook his head. “It is no longer safe for my health to poke the pregnant bitches with sticks. I value my life. What have I done now?”
I sniffed, seeking the sour scent of a lie, but didn’t find even a hint of deceit. “You swear you had nothing to do with this?”
“With this mysterious problem with your new house? What’s wrong with it?”
I grabbed handfuls of my hair and yanked, howling my frustration. “All I want is a single night where the house doesn’t try to eat me and I don’t have to listen to you two compete to see who can scream the loudest.”
“What does that have to do with your new house?” Wendy asked, a puzzled expression on her face.
I sighed, hung my head, and mumbled, “They’re our neighbors, Matthew.”
Sanders sucked in a breath. “Come again?”
“Neighbors. It’s what happens when two households share a property line,” I informed him. “If I hear you two screaming—or making any other noises for that matter—I’m coming over and shooting you, Desmond. Tonight, I am getting a complete and undisturbed sleep. Am I understood?”
“Me?” Desmond blurted.
I couldn’t help myself; I smiled and giggled. “I like Wendy, so I can’t shoot her.”
Wendy laughed. “The Shadow Pope finally told you where your house is? Took him long enough.”
“There’s someone there now, waiting to give us the keys.” I headed into the kitchen, grabbed my purse, and dug through the bowl of trinkets on the counter for the keys to my car, which I tossed to Sanders. “Hurry!”
“The house isn’t going anywhere, Sara,” my mate replied, smiling at me.
I headed for the door. “One can never be too careful about these things.”
The house was so new the stench of fresh paint lingered in the air. Like Desmond’s home, it was three stories and was surrounded by a large porch. Empty flowerbeds waited for my mate’s attention. The yard was freshly tilled and also needed a lot of care—and grass.
Dustin, Holly, and Barry were sitting on a porch swing protected from Seattle’s incessant drizzling.
“The love birds arrive with their chaperones,” Dustin said, hopping to his feet. “How convenient. Both bitches I need to check are here. I’m under orders to check all of you over. The Shadow Pope wants to ensure none of you came to any lasting harm. I keep trying to tell him I’m not a vet or a doctor. I do not see any of the Murphys here. Where are they?”
Desmond laughed. “They went home last week. Richard was anxious to return to his pack. There’s an armed guard around, so he didn’t feel like he was needed any longer.”
“I was told they were still here.” Dustin scowled. “He’s going to get cranky, Mr. Desmond.”
“You’ll survive, I’m sure. I’ll even be nice and stand still for you so you can at least say you looked at me. That’s something. Either way, you better deal with the newly mated first. I have a feeling they may join forces and murder us if we don’t give them some space.”
“You are the cause of it,” I reminded him. “Keys, please.”
Holly grinned and tossed me a keychain. “Finally got tired of sharing space with the Desmonds?”
“That was over a week ago,” I informed her. “They’re very nice, but I have plans, and the only person they involve is Matthew.”
“I think you delighted in interrupting us,” my mate murmured, glaring at Desmond. “Go home, and take these three with you when you go.”
“Yes, go home now. Go away,” I said, shooing the Desmonds away. “You can walk that far, I’m sure.”
“We can drop you off,” Holly offered. “When we’re done here, we’re heading to the airport to catch a flight home. Hurry up, Dustin. Do your part so we can get out of here.”
Sighing, Dustin grabbed my hand. He let me go moments later and r
epeated the process with my mate. “They’re fine, let’s go.”
“Did you even check?” Holly demanded.
“Cursory glance. Leave it, Holly. I’m tired, I’m hungry, and I want to go home,” the witch complained.
Clucking her tongue, Holly tapped her fingers at her side where her holster typically would rest. “Whine, whine, whine, Dustin. At least take the time to look Sara over carefully. It won’t take you more than twenty minutes to look them both over. Let’s go inside, then we can take the Desmonds home and head out ourselves.”
Narrowing my eyes, I pocketed the keys, unzipped my coat to draw my Glock, and pointed it at Dustin. “Inside, Dustin. You aren’t going anywhere until you check on my puppy.”
Dustin laughed, held his hands up in surrender, and opened the front door. “Okay, I know when to take a hint.”
Sanders scowled at me, disarming me and returning my gun to its holster. “Our puppy.”
“Possession is nine-tenths of the law, and my puppy is in my belly stealing my food—or making me throw it up. You can have a turn making claims in a few months,” I informed my mate, faking a sniffle.
Catching me in a hug, my mate pressed his nose against my neck. His breath warmed my skin. I pulled away and rewarded him with a kiss before heading inside.
Instead of empty rooms, I stepped into a living room furnished with a couch, armchair, a coffee table, and a love seat. A television hung on the wall, along with a cable box and some other equipment. I twisted around to glare at Desmond before turning to my mate. “Neither one of you will destroy anything. There will be no wild romping in this house. Am I understood?”
Desmond grinned at me. “I will limit my romping to my property, although I’m not responsible for any romping on Wendy’s part.”
The glare Wendy leveled at her mate made me laugh.
At Dustin’s gesture, I sat on the couch. It was made of suede, and I was so distracted by the soft texture I stopped paying attention to the witch.
He tugged on my hand to regain my attention. “You’re terrible at maintaining your weight, Sara. Eat more. Puke less. No more adventures for a little while. Your puppy seems fine to me, and you’re not in too bad shape yourself. Better than before by a notable margin.”
I smiled. “Thanks for coming out, Dustin.”
“Just don’t shoot me with your cute little toy,” the witch replied. “Your turn, Stud Muffin. The sooner I confirm you’re still alive, the sooner I’m out of your hair until next month. I swear, I’m going to find an actual doctor and make them come with me. This is way over my pay grade.”
My mate didn’t bother replying; he held out his arm to Dustin.
Making a thoughtful noise, the witch examined my mate. “You’re still leaner than I like, Uncle. Your muscle density is even lower than it was after you ran wild for a month. You need exercise, and you need a lot of it. Go to a gym if you can’t find any hard physical labor to keep you busy. Don’t make me ask Mom to come up here and feed you.”
Desmond frowned, watching my mate from the doorway. “I’ll take care of it, Dustin.”
The witch nodded, rising to his feet. “Good.”
Deciding I wasn’t going to interfere with Desmond’s posturing or his bossy ways, I asked, “You’re not a vampire, are you? Are you waiting for an invitation to come inside? Come in or stay out. Don’t hover in the doorway.”
Desmond smiled, stepped inside, and prowled around the living room. He disappeared down the hallway leading to other parts of the house, returning shortly later. “This’ll be a nice place.” After a moment, his smile widened into a huge grin, and he tapped his foot against the hardwood floor. “I don’t think you’ll be at any risk of falling through for at least a few years.”
I pointed at the door. “I changed my mind. Get out of my house.”
He laughed.
After staying with the Desmonds for so long, the house was quiet—too quiet. I struggled to believe the home was ours; while it was furnished with the basics, nothing about the place had our touch, not yet.
Excitement coursed through me. The grief my mate wore like a second skin in his old home didn’t cling to him in our new one. He prowled, and I followed after him, enjoying the way his amber eyes took in every detail as he inspected every last item in every single room.
“He went overboard,” my mate complained, returning to the kitchen for the fifth time since he had started his inspection.
The kitchen connected to the dining room. One of the kitchen walls had a wall to wall window at counter height, overlooking a tilled yard ending in a forest. I pointed at the window. “Excessive.”
“Perfect,” my mate countered, kissing my cheek. “I can keep all sorts of house plants on the counter. A garden in the back would be nice. Maybe I can appease your wretched vegetarian nature that way.”
“Wretched!”
“Terribly so,” he murmured, snaking his arm around my waist to tug me closer to him. “But seeing as you like those horrible vegetables, I will provide them for you. Of course, I will insist you have a proper diet, including a lot of meat. I will even hunt for you in our forest. If you’re really nice to me, I’ll steal prey from Desmond’s territory.”
I laughed. “He’s going to come over here and beat you for your insolence. Haven’t you had enough of him chasing you around his house since I told him you’d call him Dad? You haven’t cracked yet. I have to admit I’m impressed.”
“I certainly have not. He’s going to have to do a lot better than that. Maybe he can trick Alex and Richard, but there’s no way he’s tricking me.” Smiling at me, my mate kissed the tip of my nose. “I’m sorry my house tried to kill you.”
“I’m afraid until you fix every single board in that place, you’ll just have to live with me in this nice house. I’m sure I can keep you amused, somehow. You can make a nice yard for our puppy. It needs to be better than Desmond’s yard. You can do that for me, can’t you?”
“Oh, so when you want me to make a nice yard for you, it’s our puppy? I see how it is. You’re such a naughty little bitch.”
“That’s why you love me,” I informed him.
He laughed. “That’s only one of the reasons why. So, you want a yard for our puppy. What else do you want?”
I considered the tilled soil outside, pulling free of Sanders so I could turn around and take in the kitchen and dining room. In time, our house would become a home. Before I had met Sanders, having a home had been nothing more than a fleeting dream.
The most important thing in my life was right in front of me, and he was mine. “What else could I possibly want? I have you.”
He smiled, caught me in a hug, and said nothing.
No more words were necessary, which made me happiest of all.
Titles by RJ Blain
From the Witch & Wolf World..
Series: Witch & Wolf
Inquisitor
Winter Wolf
Blood Diamond
Silver Bullet (2016)
Series: Nature of the Beast
Pack Justice
Dual Nature (TBD)
Series: Balancing the Scales
Karma (May 2016)
License to Kill (TBD)
Standalones
Beneath a Blood Moon
Shadowed Flame (Coming Soon: May 2016)
Tales of the Winter Wolf
(Short Story/Novella Collections)
Volume One
Volume Two
Volume Three
Volume Four
Volume Five
Omnibus - Volumes One-Five
Requiem for the Rift King (Epic Fantasy)
Storm Without End
Storm Surge
The Tides of War (2017)
The Fall of Erelith (Fantasy)
The Eye of God
Royal Slaves (2017)