by JoAnna Grace
“Hand ’em over.” Ami held out her palm and wiggled her fingers. “I’m not too proud to say this fucker is about to drive me to drinking.”
Charles almost handed her the pills, but snatched his hand back when she mentioned drinking. “No mixing these with alcohol.”
“Do I look like a complete idiot, Charles?” Ami said, pursing her lips. Charles opened his mouth, but she cut him off. “Don’t answer that.”
Kasey and Vivian chuckled and left them to it. Ezekiel stayed right with her and that pleased her cat.
“Your husband has prepared you a nice meal. I suggest you eat it before taking the meds.”
“We aren’t married.”
“Technicality.” The doctor waved her off.
Ezekiel gave her a sexy grin that spoke volumes. It made her toes tingle and her heart kick into another gear. Husband. There was a word she’d never thought would inhabit her vocabulary.
“I need to see the leg, please.” Charles reached for her sheet.
Ezekiel moved quickly and beat him to it. With tender hands, he lifted the sheet from her right leg and made sure that none of her waist was exposed. Amilynn watched his eyes; Ezekiel’s real feelings were always in his eyes. Those blue-grey globes were skimming over her skin with such warmth, it was almost an intimate caress. When she was modestly uncovered, his hand lingering at the top of her thigh, he looked at her and winked. Damned if it wasn’t the cutest thing in the world when coupled with that mischievous dimpled grin. Amilynn had to give him credit; he was playing to win. Even after her hissy fit earlier, he was right back up to bat.
He kept his eyes on her while the doctor checked her temperature, her blood pressure, and then examined her leg. Charles bent to sniff her injury. “Just as I anticipated. It’s infected. The stitches are loose. You’re going to have a terrible scar if you don’t follow orders. No walking, no shifting, no activity. This isn’t like having a knee replacement or a hip replacement where we want to see you walking within twenty-four hours. You nearly lost your leg, Amilynn. You must allow it to heal properly. Your muscles were ripped apart. That takes time to repair, even for you.” Charles sighed.
“Wow, Doc. You’re really worried.”
He gave Ami a smile that spoke of little sleep and years of exhaustion. “Of course I am. Which is why I could slap someone for bringing you here.”
“I volunteer him,” Ami said, pointing at Ezekiel.
Both men chuckled. Ezekiel rolled his eyes.
Charles stood and retrieved a needle from his bag. “This is an antibiotic injection. It’s twice as strong as what I give my human patients.”
“Oh, goodie.”
“I do have an IV we can insert, if you prefer that.”
“Now that sounds like a party. How about . . . neither?”
Ami groaned and grumbled as Charles injected her thigh. She growled and might have called him a bastard—okay, she did call him a bastard . . . but he asked for it.
Charles dipped his head and huffed. “You’re a terrible patient, Ami.” His words were a mixture of frustration and amusement.
“You’re not exactly delivering presents here, Doc. Don’t expect me to greet you with milk and cookies.”
A genuine smile stretched across his face. “Rest, eat, take the meds. I’ll check on you when I get off shift.”
“Please add sunshine to that prescription. I need some sun-time.” Ami put her hands together and begged.
“That should be fine, especially since you commandeered a wheelchair already. Keep the leg straight, please. Use peroxide when you come back in. Get some rest, Ami. I mean that.”
Ami mock-saluted Charles. He turned to Ezekiel. “You’re responsible for making her behave.”
“Yes, sir,” Ezekiel said.
Ami threw her arms up in the air. “That’s it, Charles. Absolutely no milk and cookies for you, damn it.”
“Goodbye, Amilynn,” Charles said with a sugary sweet smile on his face.
“Good riddance, Doc.”
The two men exited the room, no doubt conspiring against her. Traitorous bastards. Ezekiel came back in with a wide shit-eating grin on his face. “I like him.”
“You would.” Ami rolled her eyes as he placed the tray full of food over her legs.
“I’m not the best cook, but it’s edible.”
Ami noticed the saying on his black shirt: Man Law prohibits me from admitting guilt. “Where do you get those shirts? Is there a special sarcastic-shirt store? I feel like I’ve been missing out all my life.”
His return smile nearly made her choke on the bacon. How could one man be so appealing? She’d never been smitten over a guy before. Something about Ezekiel made her giddy and nervous and stupid. It was like her body reacted independently of her brain when he was around.
“You should see the ones I wear when my mom isn’t around.” He wiggled his brows.
“I can only imagine.”
“What about your mother?” Bianca said as she entered the room with two vases of flowers in her hand.
“Nothing. What are those?” Ezekiel asked, examining the cards on the bouquets.
“They are from members of the Pack. The hospital told the floral shop to deliver them here. I have more.”
Four trips later, Bianca grinned at the way Ami’s eyebrows met her hairline. “Wow. I, uh, didn’t know people cared so much.”
Bianca kissed her cheek. “Of course they care, sweetheart. You’ve made quite an impression on the Pack. People were very upset when they showed up for lessons yesterday and heard what happened. Then, when Martin explained what you did for him, well, let’s just say they won’t forget your sacrifice any time soon.”
Cue the damned waterworks. Ami blinked rapidly, trying to get rid of the moisture in her eyes. People cared. Martin sang her praises. Who would’ve thought? Bianca left her and Ezekiel alone, using some random excuse about laundry to give them privacy.
Ami ate her breakfast and Ezekiel read the pill bottle Charles left. He was stalling because there wasn’t that much text on the prescription. Ami sucked it up and spoke first. “I’m sorry about this morning.”
Ezekiel shrugged it off. “No big deal. I’d be mad as hell too.”
“You were trying to help and I was being a bitch.”
Those sexy eyes and dimples made her squirm. His adorable grin flipped her heart around in her chest. “I’ve seen you be a total bitch; that wasn’t it.”
Ami huffed. “Thanks.”
Tom knocked on the door and the twins poked their heads in, both dressed for school and smelling like cologne.
“Mother trucker, who robbed the florist?” Nate joked when he walked in. He flopped down on the bed and snuck some of her breakfast, not that she minded.
“Don’t you boys have school today?”
“Yeah, but we have to wait for our bodyguards ‘cause we’re cool like that.” Nate sat on the side of her bed. “What’re you doing today?”
“Well,” Ami said, tapping her pursed lips. “I thought I would run a marathon, go for a swim, take up unicycle riding, and then go dancing tonight.”
Nate and Tom laughed.
“Way to be oblivious. Great job, genius,” Tom teased his brother.
Nate waved his hand around Ami’s face. “This is Ami, bro. She’s badass enough to do all that, even with a bummed leg.”
“Aw.” Ami held out her arms and Nate snuggled in for a hug. “You’re so full of crap. I love you. You too, Tom.” The boys both held her tight.
“I don’t see why we can’t stay home with you today,” Tom said.
“For real,” Nate said. “I’m like your protégé. I should totally be allowed to take care of you when you’re down. You’ll be bored stuck here with only Z.”
“First of all,” Ezekiel said, pulling the boys towards the door by their collars. “I’m here, so she doesn’t need more people standing over her shoulder. Second, do not call yourself her protégé. That’s just scary.”
&
nbsp; Ami covered her laugh. Her boys could make her feel better than any meds. “Go on to school, Nate,” she said, “or I’m going to suddenly remember what you’re supposed to be using as a toilet.”
Nate’s eyes widened. He pushed Tom out of the room. “Go, go, go.”
Ezekiel and Ami were left laughing at their antics. She relaxed into the pillow and Ezekiel moved her tray off the bed, then lounged out beside her on top of the duvet. Ami hadn’t noticed the dark circles under his eyes until then. He must be exhausted.
“I have an idea,” she whispered, running a finger down his cheek. “Let’s go lie on the back patio in that really wide lounger. It’s big enough for both of us to sleep on and I can keep my leg straight. We can nap in the morning sunshine.”
Ezekiel propped up on his elbow and looked into her eyes with an intensity she didn’t expect. “That is the sexiest thing you’ve ever said to me.” He held a straight face until Ami cracked a smile.
Her cute mate stood and positioned the wheelchair by her bed for easy access. Ami threw back the covers and was startled by Ezekiel’s immediate reaction to her half naked body. His eyes traveled up her legs, lingered at the hem of her shirt, and then at her breasts. She might as well have been naked. Ezekiel’s arousal hit her hard and made her cat preen with anticipation.
As if he’d been caught with his hand in the cookie jar, Ezekiel blushed and turned away. “You need pants. Where are they?”
Ami instructed him to get her baggy cotton pants and watched with rapt curiosity. As he turned towards her, his eyes were unable to meet hers. “You’ll have to dress me,” Ami said, letting her seductive nature take over. For the first time in her adult life, she wanted to seduce the male in front of her. She wished to see the desire in his eyes, smell it radiating off his body.
What turned her on the most was the gentle way he maneuvered the cotton over her injured leg. So careful. So diligent. So loving. He barely drew a breath. Men never treated her with such respect and it made her want him even more. Ami knew he could scent her arousal.
Sliding her other leg into the pants, Ami tilted her pelvis forward so he could shimmy the pants over her bottom.
“Amilynn,” he growled, the animal close the surface. “I’m not known for my self-control, pussycat. And you’re challenging what little I have.”
“Does that mean you don’t want to help me with my bra?” Ami lifted one edge of her shirt enough to tease him with a glimpse of her breast.
“Ami.” Ezekiel closed his eyes and clenched his jaws. His hand drummed on his thigh and he bit his bottom lip. “I’m trying to be good, I really am. Please, don’t tempt me.”
She smiled and licked her lips. “Why not?” she purred.
Ezekiel rose and turned his back to her. He put his hands on his hips and hung his head. All her confidence drained away. Was he rejecting her? Didn’t he want her as badly as she wanted him? She was injured, not broken. They could fool around or—maybe that was it. He didn’t want to fool around with her and he didn’t want to touch her.
She felt naked again, in the complete opposite way as before. This version of naked she didn’t like. “Is it because of the others?”
“What?” He faced her, his face bunched up in question.
“Because of the other men. Is that why you don’t want to touch me?”
His eyebrows went to his hairline and his mouth hung open. “You—you think I don’t want to touch you?” His breath left in a gust and he sat on the end of her bed. “Ami, I’ve wanted to get inside of you since the moment you stepped out of that car the first day we met. But everything has changed.”
She knew it. Her heart dropped and she crossed her arms over her chest, as if that could hold her together.
“I don’t want to screw you, Ami. I don’t want to be one of those men who sleeps with you and adds a notch to his belt.”
“So you don’t want me?”
“More than my next breath, which is why I’m trying to control it.” He pounded his fists on his knees. “I don’t want to disappoint you, Ami.”
Maybe she was an idiot, but she didn’t follow him. “Disappoint me?”
“I don’t want you to think that’s all I’m after. You should be loved, Ami; romanced and spoiled until all the other women in the world are jealous of how I treat you.”
It wasn’t about her failures at all; it was about his love, his honor, his desire to be more than a fling for her. He waged a silent war between his attraction and her needs. Why hadn’t she seen that until now?
“Z,” she whispered, tears forming in her eyes.
“Shit, pussycat, don’t cry.” He crawled up on the bed next to her and wrapped his arms around her. “I’m sorry.”
“For what?” Ami laughed through her tears. “For being the most amazing man I’ve ever met? That’s hardly a reason to apologize.” She nuzzled into his chest and drank in the warmth and strength of his body. His mating scent called to her, rich and spicy like pure heaven. She inhaled deeply, letting it pour into her heart and mind.
“It means a lot to hear you say that.” He kissed her hair over and over again; his hand rubbed her back and arms. “It might just be the second sexiest thing you’ve ever said to me.”
Ami looked up into his eyes, so deep in their affection, and smiled. Her wolf, damn his adorable ass, might just change her life.
Kasey found Ami and his nephew lounging on one another in the sunshine. It did his heart good to see them finally connecting. He remembered the frustration and pain of Vivian resisting him for so long and was thankful that Ezekiel didn’t go through nearly that much. She might want to argue the point, but Amilynn needed a mate to calm her down. Once she felt real love, she would be addicted.
As much as he hated to, he had to disturb their moment of peace. He approached with loud footsteps, hoping they would open their eyes. Ezekiel was the first to acknowledge his presence. His nephew smiled and rubbed a hand down Ami’s shoulder.
“Uncle.”
“Z.” Kasey winked at him, showing his approval.
Ami opened her groggy eyes and blinked a few times. “What’s up, alpha-man?”
“I need your help with our visitor.” Kasey put his hands in his pockets. “She shifted long enough to say she’ll only talk to you and she means it.”
Amilynn closed her eyes, sighed, and nuzzled into Ezekiel’s chest. “Tell her to leave a message at the beep.” She shot Kasey the middle finger. “Beep.”
Kasey huffed, but grinned. He didn’t know if he should whip her or laugh at her antics. “Amilynn.”
“I’m coming, I’m coming.” She leaned up and motioned for Ezekiel to help her into the wheelchair.
Conall and Sampson waited in the interrogation viewing room. Ami studied the mountain lion for a few minutes before she pinched the bridge of her nose. “I know her.”
“And?” Kasey said.
“She’s a year or two younger than me, one of the girls who constantly tried to impress the bosses. No doubt she filled my shoes after I left.”
“Do you want to talk to her?” Kasey said.
“You don’t have to,” Conall said on the heels of his question. Kasey studied Conall and Ami. What was he missing?
“Give me a gun.”
“Why?” Sampson asked, even as he handed over his pistol.
“She’s feral.” Ami pointed to the motionless cat behind the glass.
Kasey studied the mountain lion. She had barely moved since they brought her in. She didn’t shift, didn’t fidget, or climb the walls. “What makes you think that? She looks completely in control.”
Ami shook her head. “No. She’s broken. Look at her eyes. There’s no humanity there. She stays cat to hide it. She’s crazy.”
“How can you be sure?” Kasey crossed his arms over his chest and narrowed his eyes.
“Because Brian tried it on me.” Ami checked the magazine on the gun. “She knows I’m here.”
Amilynn was right. The cat’s head s
lowly turned towards the one-way glass, her eyes narrowing ever so slightly. Her nose twitched, scenting Amilynn. But how?
“It’s the ventilation system,” Amilynn said, plucking the question right out of his mind. “She’s just learned her way out. Leave her in there for too much longer, and she’ll escape.”
“You shouldn’t go in there,” Ezekiel told his mate.
Ami glared up at him from her wheelchair. “I don’t have a choice. One way or another, she’ll try to kill me. Is that glass bulletproof?”
Kasey nodded. What the hell was this crazy female going to do?
“I’m going with you.” Ezekiel tilted up his chin.
“No. She’ll smell our bond, try to use it against us. If anyone goes in, it should be Kasey.”
“Done.” Kasey pulled his gun from the small of his back and did the same safety check Amilynn had done. “What do you want me to do?” It felt weird asking a female for assistance and direction. But if there was one thing Vivian had taught him about Ami, it was that she could handle herself. If Vivian didn’t question her, neither would he.
“Stand in the corner. Play along.”
Sampson, Conall, and Ezekiel stayed in the viewing room while Kasey wheeled Amilynn into the interrogation room. The mountain lion hissed from her corner, but didn’t move. Kasey took up position behind Amilynn. His wolf snarled at the inferior stance, but Kasey hushed him.
“This is going to be a very one-sided conversation if you don’t go human,” Ami said with a bored sigh. She had a different tone to her voice, something deeper that spoke of power and anger. Ami’s face changed, hardened into a woman who was capable of anything. The transformation peaked his curiosity. This was a new persona of Amilynn.
The other cat prowled over to the chair and leapt upwards. Light shimmered and a mountain lion turned woman. He didn’t flinch when the woman chose to be naked. If she was as broken as Ami suggested, it wasn’t a surprise.
She had blonde hair the color of beach sand and her eyes were still the yellow-gold of her cat, the black on the edges making them cold and unnatural. Her features were nothing spectacular; a woman easily forgotten when compared to Ami’s natural sexuality. She sure wasn’t anything compared to his Vivian—more like a brown paper sack compared to a gift wrapped in glittery paper and ribbons.