Six Months

by Dark, Dannika

  After five failed attempts to get in touch with Trevor, I called Lexi and barricaded myself in the bathroom for three hours. When she heard how shaken up I was, she insisted on coming to the store to talk to me in person. But I told her I was on the verge of checking myself into an asylum and maybe that wasn’t such a good idea.

  In a calm voice, she explained how she’d gone through exactly the same thing, only her situation had been ten times worse since she hadn’t known she was a Shifter and had to get used to sharing her body with a wolf. While she’d known Austin most of her life, he’d never spoken of his family because it would have opened the door for more questions. In fact, Lexi’s mom thought he might have come from an abused home, which is why she’d always asked him over. In any case, he had been Weston’s friend, not hers. She admitted she’d done the bathroom meltdown too, so that made me feel less crazy.

  Each Shifter was born to one type of animal. Some lived together in packs, prides, or herds. Other animals, such as wildcats or hawks, preferred to live on their own terms. Wolves had a natural instinct to form packs, and each was led by an alpha male referred to as the Packmaster. Shifters had Councils comprised of different animals so there was no favoritism, and they worked to keep the peace. There weren’t just Shifters out there either. I didn’t know what to think when she started talking about the Mage her father had worked for and how they weren’t magicians but creatures who could harness energy. Then she confirmed Vampires were real and started going on about things I’d never heard of, such as Chitahs and Sensors. My head was spinning. Some lived extended life spans, while some Breeds were immortal. Lexi told me about the division that existed among all the Breeds because of wars that had happened in the past.

  She divulged some personal details about their sex life that made me laugh. Shifters are seemingly normal until they go through the change in their late teens or early twenties. That’s the first time they shift into their animal. After that, their bodies acquire built-in immunity and they no longer carry or transmit human diseases. Their children can get sick and die, and she suspected it was nature’s way of controlling the population. Most female Shifters went into their heat cycle once every year or so, and that was the time their bodies were ready for conceiving a child. In fact, she said an unmated Packmaster’s duty was to make sure single women in the pack were kept away from the men during their heat cycle. In some cases, the alpha might help them out in ways that didn’t involve sex in order to speed things up and get them out of heat, but that’s something Austin didn’t know much about firsthand since he hadn’t grown up in a pack. Decisions like that always depended on the Packmaster.

  Lexi empathized with the emotional roller coaster I was on, reassuring me that I had nothing to fear. She mentioned Jericho had been placed on punishment and was temporarily out of the house. With that being said, she had extended an invitation for dinner that evening.

  But I had other plans.

  Reno plans.

  Her efforts were in vain, and after some prodding, it became evident that Reno hadn’t filled her in on his plans to take me out. Suddenly, for whatever reason, I became upset. Was he ashamed of me?

  Two minutes before five, the brass bell on the main door jingled.

  “Welcome to Sweet Treats,” I heard Bethany say in a bored voice.

  I’d changed into a pair of faded denims with a hole in the knee and an oversized black shirt with quarter-length sleeves. He asked for casual, so I was giving him casual.

  “Is April here?”

  “Uh…” I heard Bethany stutter. “April?”

  I peered around the corner and my inner voice did a meow.

  Reno wore a black sleeveless shirt with a pair of black cargo pants. I took a moment to appreciate his firm biceps and his masculine stance because Reno was a man in every conceivable way. The kind of guy that made heads turn when he walked down the street. He looked like he’d just stepped away from fighting street crime, minus the gun holster. A sexy five-o’clock shadow dusted his jaw and his eyes were obscured behind mirrored aviator sunglasses. It had been cloudy all afternoon, so the shades made him look more like a cop.

  Except when he was naked in my bed.

  “Hi…” I greeted him shyly.

  His predatory grin was so subtle I barely saw his lips move. “You ready, princess?”

  I studied Bethany, who lingered behind the register, catching flies with her open mouth, which was full of braces. I’m sure Reno was nothing like the kind of man she’d imagined me with.

  “Where are we going?” I asked.

  He held the door open and we walked out onto the busy sidewalk. Reno stepped up to an oversized blue truck and opened the passenger door.

  “Whose truck is this? Where’s your bike?”

  “We’ll need the truck tonight,” he said, helping me inside the cab. “It smells like rain.”

  After he buckled me up, Reno slammed the door. I held my breath and squeezed my seatbelt strap as he strolled around the front of the truck, deliberately tracing his finger along the hood. It reminded me of the courtship rituals of wild animals. I usually didn’t pay much attention to a man’s posture, but he stood up straight and walked with his shoulders back, like a man who owned his confidence. I liked that he wasn’t covered in tats, because I wasn’t really into body art. Reno hopped in, cranked on the engine, and a guitar riff blared through the speakers with AC/DC singing “Thunderstruck.”

  “What happened to your face and hand?” I glanced at a small cut on his cheekbone and noticed the knuckles on his right hand were bruised.

  He lifted his shades and his resolute eyes looked sharply at me. “I took care of someone who needed taking care of.”

  Reno pulled onto the street and I shifted my gaze out the window, wondering where he planned to take me. Maybe it would be an outdoor patio at a Mexican restaurant. What did Shifters do for fun? Reno wasn’t human, but it felt wrong to turn my back on him for something he couldn’t help just because I didn’t understand it. Maybe that’s why I had agreed to go—I was curious to learn more about him. I’d known Lexi for over a year and she seemed normal, so maybe I needed to be more open-minded.

  After a short ride, we parked in front of a Target and got out. Well, this is classy, my inner voice remarked.

  Inside the store, I eyeballed him as he pulled out two red shopping carts. “What are we doing here?”

  Reno took off his sunglasses and tucked them onto the collar of his shirt. “I need to buy a few things, and I want you to help me. I have an open credit line, so anything goes. I want you to take one of these baskets and fill it up with decorations. The necessities are full sheets, a comforter, uh… pillowcases and all that junk. Something with a feminine touch. I also need sofa pillows, decorations for a bedroom and living room, and small area rugs. The whole tamale. Don’t look at price tags. Like I said, it’s all taken care of.”

  Wow. They must have really messed up his house. “So I’m basically redecorating your house?”

  “You have taste.”

  “And you got that from my trailer?” I leaned on the cart and glared at him skeptically.

  He rubbed the corners of his mouth. “I saw the little touches in there that were all you.” Then he glanced at his watch. “If I don’t find you first, then meet me back here in an hour. I have to grab some things on the other side of the store. Like I said, go all out.”

  I wondered if they had a new woman in their pack. I’m not sure why, but the thought sparked jealousy in me. How could they live with a single woman in the same house and keep it platonic? Maybe this was for Ivy and they all shared her. I hadn’t thought to ask Lexi every intricate detail about their lifestyle. Reno said they outlived humans and he had seen three wars. Three? I wondered how old that made him. Recent wars, or were we talking Civil War?

  “Don’t let me down,” he said. “We’ve only got an hour to get it all together.”

  This was the weirdest date I’d ever been on. Maybe it wasn’t
a date—had he even used that word? He’d just said we were going out, hadn’t he? Mental eye roll. I was jumping to conclusions again. If that were a board game, I’d be the undefeated champion.

  “Gotcha. Shall I buy her some lingerie as well?” I angrily rolled my basket down the aisle and heard him chuckling behind me.

  At first, I was irritated by the idea of shopping for another woman. But soon it became liberating to fill the cart and not look at the price tag. Reno could sift through my stuff later and decide what he couldn’t afford; my assignment was simply to fill the basket. I picked out a trendy set of lavender sheets that matched a purple and black comforter. After I’d selected the bedroom set, I specially chose accessories so her bedroom wouldn’t look like a purple nightmare. I found two lightweight mirrors that were classy and modern along with candleholders, candles, and a white vase with capiz shell flowers.

  Then I hit the sofa pillows. Without a clue of what color the couch was, I went for neutral browns and a maroon. I also snatched a fuzzy maroon throw that could be put on the back of a sofa to match the pillows.

  This was fun! Okay, maybe I went overboard when I spotted an adorable little bookshelf table, but it was too beautiful to pass up. I could put Hermie’s bowl on top and fill the lower shelf with my books.

  Except the only problem being it wasn’t my table, and I was buying it for another woman.

  Another woman.

  Then my inner voice said, Wait a minute. Hold the phone. Little decorations with a feminine touch? Missy, I bet he’s seeing how into this lifestyle you really are. Those Shifters probably have harems.

  Had I ever asked Reno if he was married or had a girlfriend? What if Shifters practiced polygamy? I sure as heck wasn’t going to be someone’s second wife if that’s what he had in mind. Or even a girlfriend on the side.

  “April?”

  I whirled around with my arms folded. “Do you have harems?”

  His lips twitched. A slow chuckle rose, growing louder until Reno was rocking with laughter. I’d never seen him laugh and it unnerved me. So much so that I turned around and bumped into a man, causing him to drop an armload of towels.

  “Oh, jeez. I’m so sorry,” I said, bending down to pick them up.

  Reno’s laugh died down and he began clearing his throat.

  The man knelt in front of me and winked. “It’s fine, sweetheart.”

  Then Reno’s laugh cut off and his boots clomped on the floor until he was beside me. The man’s eyes flicked up and he scooped the unfolded towels from my hands and hurried away. I was left kneeling on the floor.

  “You did good,” Reno said, peeking into my cart. “Real good.”

  “You might want to look through it all and check out the prices. I was going to get that table up there, but the box was too heavy,” I said, pointing at the end table as I stood up.

  Reno lifted the box with one arm and slammed it over his cart. “You done? Or do you want me to wait?”

  “No, I got everything and then some.” I reached in the cart and held up a few things. “You weren’t specific, but these mirrors are fifty dollars, so—”

  “Put them back in,” he said. “She needs mirrors. We’re not thrift shopping, so if there’s anything you were holding back on, then grab it. We need to head out.”

  I glanced at his cart and there was a mix of odds and ends. Lots of food, but also a toolbox, sealant or whatever that gooey stuff was that guys liked to buy in giant tubes, a lamp, paint, mops, and even a few small appliances.

  “Let’s go,” he said. “Before the rain starts up again.”

  After we loaded up the bed of the truck, Reno agreed to head back to my trailer. I wanted to check if Trevor had decided to come back home.

  A burden had been lifted from my shoulders after I’d deposited the money back into the business account early that morning. I stuffed Sanchez in my mental closet and locked the door so I wouldn’t let the fear drive me to doing something stupid, like using the money to skip town. It wasn’t worth the risk of hurting anyone else around me. My grandma had raised me to clean up after myself, and Sanchez was going to require a tremendously large mop.

  I dashed inside my trailer and looked around. No sign of Trevor. Disappointed and a little concerned, I took a seat on my sofa and tried calling him again. No answer. He wasn’t even responding to my text messages. It broke my heart because I loved Trevor and didn’t want him to despise me. I couldn’t have imagined Sanchez would hurt one of my friends. I shuddered to think that had I not gone to the party, who knows what would have happened to me.

  Reno walked in with two sacks and set them on the table.

  “Is it raining?” I asked. Reno didn’t have a cover on the bed of the truck and the rain would ruin some of the items.

  He returned with plastic sacks hanging all the way up his arms and set them down on the floor. I got up and reached outside the door with my palm up. No rain, but the clouds were darkening.

  Reno went out to the truck and returned with the shelf under his arm and several more of the larger bags.

  “We can head out now if you want. You don’t have to bring all this inside; it doesn’t look like it’s going to rain just yet,” I said.

  He stepped inside and set everything down. “This is all yours.”

  Hand to God, my heart stopped in my chest and I made a soundless gasp. “What are you talking about?”

  Reno put the flat of his hands on the ceiling, as if he were trying to make more room for his height. His head just touched the ceiling, so he made it a point to lower his chin when walking around. “I’m talking about the fact that I don’t see any need for you to be living in these conditions. You were dealt a bad hand, but I don’t like waking up in the morning and finding nothing in your cabinets but a bag of cheap rice and cereal. I don’t like seeing a blanket on your bed with stains, or a leak in your roof and windows, or one sorry-ass pillow on your sofa—if you want to call that a sofa. As long as you have to live here, I’m going to make sure you got what you need.”

  He went out the door and I sank onto the small couch in complete and utter shock. What I had in my cart alone was in the hundreds! Reno hadn’t just taken me out to dinner on our first date—he’d bought me groceries. Just the thought of it brought tears to my eyes and I covered my face. Bags rattled and then he knelt in front of me, spreading his arms across my legs.

  “I’m going to look after you. No more walking to work, because I’m lending you the truck. I bought a strong lock for your door and I’m going to fix the leaks in your roof. It’s a tight space, but I’ll make room for the microwave. This isn’t a bad place; I’ve seen a lot of poverty in my time and this doesn’t even come close. But it’s not safe, and it could be a whole lot better with a little work. So I’m going to make it better, and that’s the deal. I’m also going to stay with you until I feel like you’re not in any trouble.”

  “But Reno—”

  “No buts.”

  Without pause, I held his jaw tenderly and kissed him on the mouth. Our kiss tasted like tears, but it was beautiful. His hands found my hips and slid beneath my shirt, stroking the small of my back. I’d never been so forward with my affection, but Reno did something to me, something I couldn’t explain. Maybe it was pheromones, or maybe it was the fact that he’d bought me a houseful of decorations to make my self-made prison into a palace. My body ignited and I gripped his strong shoulders.

  His mouth scraped away from mine and down my jaw, kissing my neck. I tipped my head up and moaned quietly, my breaths heavy and my body insatiably hungry. Then he broke contact and leaned back.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked.

  He stood up and lowered his eyes guiltily. “I don’t expect payment, April. That’s not why I did this.”

  My eyes widened. “Do you think that I’m paying you off with a sexual favor?”

  “Then why would you kiss me?”

  “Because I’m attracted to you, Reno. No one does stuff like this,” I sai
d, waving my hands around the room. “No one’s ever done anything like this for me before and it shows me what a big heart you have. But you’re right. We shouldn’t do this because it’s all wrong. I can’t keep any of this stuff.”

  “You’re keeping it,” he decided, unloading more groceries and putting them in the fridge. “I’ll stay outside at night so it won’t be weird for you.”

  “Oh sure. There’s nothing weird about you sleeping outside my front door in the mud.”

  He shrugged and put a bag of Oreos in the cabinet. “My wolf doesn’t mind and I can always sleep in the truck.”

  “Can I have some of those?”

  He turned his head and his eyes danced with amusement. “These?” he asked, holding up the blue bag as the plastic rattled.

  I nodded and returned an impish smile. I hadn’t had cookies in forever. “Is there any milk?”

  “Right here, princess,” he said, opening a jug and pouring me a tall glass. He peeled open the bag and sat down beside me, putting the cookies in my lap. “So where do you want the table I’m going to build for you?”

  I twisted the cookie apart and scraped the filling off with my teeth. There seemed little point in resisting his kindness; Reno was dead set on doing things his way and it was hard to stay mad at him. “Right there,” I said, pointing to the left of the door. “I’m going to put Hermie on top and my books on the shelf below.”

  Reno set my glass on the table and lifted up a paperback book with a bare-chested man on the front. “This book?”

  My face turned six shades of red when he began thumbing through it. “Give me that!”

  A laugh pealed out and he leaned to the right, out of my grasp. Then he began reading a passage from the page I had marked. Well, what Trevor had bookmarked.

  Oh. My. God.

  “‘His shaft glided into her velvety canal, exploring deep inside her like a man discovering new depths of passion. She moaned, rocking sweetly against him, their bodies marrying and clashing like waves in a violent storm. He laved her sweet nipples and they hardened against his tongue. His blood heated and his thrusts spiraled out of control…’ Hot damn, April,” Reno said, looking at me with an astonished expression. “You read this?” He glanced over his shoulder and I stuffed another cookie into my mouth.