Badger cautiously eyed him. “Ye all right, lad? No chunks outta yer hide?” Beck tried, and failed, to contain his amused snort.
“I’m fine. She’s asleep upstairs.”
“I’m not surprised. It was vicious.”
“She told me what happened, but I’m guessing she left out some parts.”
Beck patted him on the shoulder. “You don’t want to know. Trust me.”
“How’s Kendra?”
Beck pulled a beer from the fridge and popped the top on it. “She’ll be okay. Looks like the baby will make it, too. Her mother met us and took her home to Ft. Myers.” He glanced at the time and walked over to the small undercounter TV. Picking up the remote, he tuned the channel to the Tampa NBC affiliate.
They gathered around and watched the eleven o’clock lead story about a meth house in Plant City going up in flames. Inside, investigators found the bodies of three men. From the looks of it they suspected a drug deal gone wrong. The spokesman for the sheriff’s office said the gunshots likely triggered the chemicals and fumes to catch fire.
Badger let out a sigh. “Eh, good riddance to three bags of shite.” He waved his hand at the TV. “Yer welcome, State of Florida, for savin’ ye the court and prison costs.”
Beck went and pulled another beer from the fridge and handed it to Badger. “Thanks, lad.”
Beck grabbed another bottle and held it up to Ken.
At first, he considered refusing it. Then he said, “What the hell. Might as well.” As the three of them stood there, Beck held his beer up first, followed by Badger. Ken realized what they intended, and they clinked their bottles together in an unspoken toast.
Chapter Fourteen
Dewi slept through the night. She stayed tightly curled against his side, as if afraid he’d leave her.
Not likely.
He didn’t care what it took, he’d do anything for her to take care of her, to help her, to not be a burden to her. When he awoke before the alarm Friday morning, she was already staring up at him.
He gave her a smile. “Hi, beautiful.”
She offered him a tentative smile in return. “Hi.”
“They did a story on the house last night. Meth lab drug deal gone really, really wrong.”
“That’s what I made it look like,” she quietly replied.
He kissed her, waiting until he had her undivided attention to look at her again. “I’m not scared of you. Not after Beck had to slug you, not after seeing you set a house on fire, not after watching you devour half a cow’s worth of meat.”
Her smile widened a little, so he pressed forward. “Yeah, this is weird and freaky. And I’m sure I’m going to have plenty of ‘oh, shit’ moments along the way. But I’m willing to do it all because you are the prize.”
She snuggled tightly against him. “Sorry I didn’t get to teach you how to swim last night.”
“That’s okay. I think I’m going to need a lot more than just one night to learn.”
“Your brother did something to you, didn’t he?”
He pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Yeah.”
“Okay.” She left it at that
She took him to work that morning. Fridays were a half day for him, and she wore a beaming grin as she walked into his office that afternoon.
“What are you up to?” he asked after kissing her in greeting. It wasn’t just the wolfish smile, but he felt it, a pleased aura that told him she had something up her sleeve.
She handed him a small paper shopping bag with a Verizon logo printed on it. “Here’s the first thing,” she said.
He pulled out a new iPhone. “Thank you, sweetheart. I love it.” He kissed her, enjoying how he felt her joy multiply when he accepted the gift graciously.
He wouldn’t fight her on this. It made her happy to do things for him. He wouldn’t begrudge her that, even if it made him uncomfortable in the process.
“And what else have you planned, my wily wolf?” he asked.
“We’re going shopping.”
“Car shopping?”
She nodded. “Yep!”
“There better be fried mushrooms waiting for me at the end.”
She giggled. “As many as you want.”
They went to a Honda dealership not far from the campus and she gave him free run of the lot. She only had one stipulation.
“I want you to buy something you like. It’s your car.”
When he veered toward the compact cars, she tried again. “I don’t want you in a tiny car,” she said. “They’re not safe.”
“They’re economical.”
“It’s a Honda, not a Hummer.” She pointed toward the SUVs. “How about one of those?”
He warily eyed them, but let the salesman talk him through several models. After test driving a few, he decided on a blue CRV, which got good gas mileage and made Dewi happy because it wasn’t a small vehicle.
She hugged him as the salesman drew up the paperwork. “Thank you,” she said.
Her joy practically radiated off her. Despite the hit to his ego, it was worth feeling how happy she was that he accepted this gift.
He kissed the top of her head. “Thank you, baby,” he said.
She looked up at him with a beaming smile that hardened his cock and nearly broke his heart from its pure, unadulterated joy.
No one had ever looked at him like that. As he nuzzled her neck, he realized he’d easily commit murder to make her this happy.
That thought both frightened and thrilled him.
He tried thinking his next words to her, not wanting any of the nearby staff or customers to hear him. “I can’t wait to get it home and christen it by fucking you in it.”
Her eyes fluttered closed as a soft whine escaped her. She clutched at his arm as if the strength had suddenly left her legs. “Would you like that, baby?” he breathed in her ear.
“Uh-huh!”
They had lunch first, going to a small Italian restaurant between the campus and home. A pizza with meat on only half of it, and two orders of fried mushrooms.
“See?” he said as he drenched one of them in ranch dressing. “We can share some common foods.”
She smiled across the table at him. “You do realize diet has nothing to do with how I feel about you, right?”
“I’m glad. I have a feeling you’d get bored with me pretty fast otherwise.”
* * * *
Dewi reached across the table and took his hand. “One of these days, I’m going to convince you that nothing you say or do is going to change my mind about how I feel about you. I love you, and you’re mine for the rest of my life. Just like I’m yours.”
She didn’t miss how he glanced down at the table as a flit of a frown crossed his handsome face. She forced herself not to compel him to speak his mind. She didn’t want to abuse their connection like that. Not ever.
When he finally met her gaze again, he took a deep breath. “That might take a while. I’ve had a lot of years of practice at self-loathing. Not to mention being loathed.”
“You know, I have a woodchipper at the house. I wouldn’t have any problem running the guy through it.”
That finally earned her a laugh. “No, I’d be willing to bet he doesn’t bother me again after the lesson you taught him. You’re the first person I’ve ever seen stand up to him like that.”
“His father sounds like a real winner, siring a bastard like him.”
She regretted saying it as soon as it left her lips. His expression darkened, bad memories no doubt coming to mind. “Yeah,” he quietly said. “He’s an asshole. Hopefully he’ll die in prison.”
“What happened to Dave’s mother?”
Ken shrugged. “I was told she left him. I never met her or even saw evidence she was alive. Whether his story’s true and she did leave, or Dave’s father had something to do with her permanently disappearing, I don’t know and really don’t care.” He popped another mushroom into his mouth. “Can we move on to happier topics?”
“Yeah
. Of course.”
* * * *
He followed her home. Ken was happy to see Badger and Beck were both gone. When he didn’t get out of his car and left it running, she stuck her head out of the garage to see about the delay.
He crooked a finger at her in a come hither gesture.
She grinned and practically ran over to the car, jumping into the passenger side.
“Did you forget?” he asked.
“No, but I wasn’t sure if you were serious.”
He grabbed her and kissed her. “Absolutely I was serious.” She let out a soft moan of pleasure as he fisted a hand in her hair and kissed her deeply, plunging his tongue into her mouth and giving her a preview of what he had in store.
He lifted his mouth briefly from hers. “Put your seat back,” he said before kissing her again.
She fumbled for the seat lever, then both of them crashed backward as he fell on top of her. “Found it,” she said, giggling.
“So I see.” He pushed her shirt up, happy to find she’d gone without a bra. He cupped both her breasts with his hands and used his mouth to work back and forth between her nipples, teasing her with his lips and teeth, gently grazing them and coaxing sweet moans from her.
“Get your pants off,” he hoarsely said, unable to take the throbbing between his legs any longer. He pushed up with his arms, holding himself off her. When she’d kicked off her shoes, jeans, and panties, he managed to get his jeans unfastened and pushed far enough down she could free his cock.
“Good girl,” he said as she drew her legs up, giving him access. With her lining him up with her pussy, he plunged home and held still for a moment to enjoy it. Staring down into her sweet eyes, he felt himself lost. “I love you.”
“I love you, too. Now please, fuck me!”
He grinned. “Absolutely.” He started slow, afraid he’d pop too soon if he moved any faster. He watched her face, the way her bottom lip caught under her teeth, the way a beautiful pink flush covered her neck and chest, the way the small whines escaped her every time his cock brushed against her clit.
She grabbed his hips and held on, her fingers digging in a little and adding a pleasant bite to the sensation. That feeling came over him again, as if another person had stepped inside his brain. “Look at you, bad girl, getting fucked in the front seat of my car. You like this, don’t you?”
Something changed, softened in her gaze, a soft gasp escaping her. “Yes!”
He wanted to fuck her hard and fast and forced himself to hold back. “You’re my good girl though, aren’t you? Doing what I asked.”
A soft cry escaped her, and he’d swear she just had a little orgasm. “Yes!”
“Are you going to come hard for me like this?” The last part he had to force out through gritted teeth in his attempt to hold back the force of the climax wanting to explode inside him.
Her back arched as she cried out. “Yes!”
“Good girl!” As he fucked her hard and fast, letting go and enjoying the way his balls drew up as his release wound tight inside him, she dug her fingers in and let out another cry as he felt her muscles squeezing him.
Hell, that was three for her!
He dug deep and didn’t stop, waiting until he felt one more tremor wash through her before finally giving in and burying his cock deep inside her.
She wrapped her arms and legs around him, softly sobbing against his shoulder. “Yes,” she whispered. “Yes.”
It was tricky, but he managed to flip them over in the passenger seat and lie there with her cradled against his chest. He gently stroked her back and let her hair brush through his fingers as she shivered against his chest. “Are you okay?” he softly asked.
She nodded, letting out a little sniffle. “Oh, hell yes.”
He laughed. “Okay. Just making sure. You sort of scared me there for a second.”
When she looked up at him he saw she had been crying. She gave him a beautiful smile that, had he not already been irretrievably in love with her, would have finished him off. “Happy tears. I promise.”
* * * *
After dinner, Dewi received a phone call on her cell from Trent. She stepped out onto the lanai to talk to him. When she returned a few minutes later, she didn’t look upset but she didn’t look pleased, either.
“What’s wrong?” Ken asked as she returned to the table.
“Just an update on Alexis Peckingham and her daughters,” she said.
“Are they okay?”
“Yeah, but the oldest is having a hard time, understandably.” She took a sip of iced tea. “The younger three didn’t understand why they had to leave. Alexis finally told them drug dealers killed their father and she worried they were at risk, too. The oldest daughter agreed her sisters didn’t need to know the full truth. None of them had been told about their wolf heritage, which now they have been. Despite being only half wolf, the oldest is showing signs of shifting ability. Probably triggered by the trauma of what happened, if I had to guess.”
“Will she be okay?” Ken asked.
“Aye,” Badger said. “With the strength of the pack to help them. Might have a long road ahead, but they’ll be okay.”
“Does the oldest girl know what really happened to Peckingham?” Ken asked before he could clamp down on the question.
Dewi looked grim as she nodded. “When I rescued her, she begged me to kill him so he couldn’t do the same to her little sisters.”
Badger shook his head “Fecking bastard wasn’t worth the hide, that’s for damn sure.”
“The police tracked them down to Idaho,” Dewi continued. “Asked Alexis why she decided to pack up and leave all of a sudden the afternoon before her husband was murdered. Trent and Peyton helped her through that. She told some of the truth, that she knew her husband was involved with drug dealers and she wanted to protect their daughters.”
“Did they buy it?” Ken asked.
“Yes, thank goodness. Fortunately, Jonathan Peckingham’s younger brother is a good man. He also spoke to the police and told them it wasn’t his brother’s first brush with bad elements. He’s also helping Alexis and the girls get back on their feet. They’re staying with him and his mate for the foreseeable future.”
“When is she coming back for their stuff?” Beck asked.
“Trent’s sending me their keys. Asked me to grab some things from their house to ship out there.”
“I’ll do it,” Beck offered.
“Why don’t we all help?” Badger said. “We can pack their whole house up for them. Mebbe Trent can send someone from Idaho to drive a truck back for them.”
“I’ve never known you to be so…volunteering,” Dewi quipped.
Badger shrugged. “Eh, what can I say. Time has softened me.” His expression darkened. “And I wish I’d been the one to take him out meself.”
“I’ll call him back after dinner.”
Ken hoped Dewi would forget about the swim lesson, but no such luck. After dinner and following another call to her brother, she cornered Ken in their bedroom. “Ready for your first swim lesson?”
“Not really, but do I have a choice?”
She tried a little pouty lip. “Please?”
“Oh, come on. Fight fair.”
“Do you have a swimsuit?”
“Yes, I do have one of those. I used the hot tub at my apartment a few times. And I like going to the beach. Not that I’ve been in a while, because I haven’t had a car.”
Her eyes widened. “Ooh! I know a beautiful beach down in Sarasota County we can go to.”
He tried and failed to keep the frown off his face. “You won’t make me swim, right? I don’t mind wading.”
“No, I won’t make you swim.” She slipped her hands around his waist. “At the beach, that is. Tonight you start learing how to swim.” She kissed the tip of his nose. “Otherwise, we’ll have to put up one of those kiddie-proof fences around the pool to keep you out.”
He laughed at her playful grin. “All right
, all right. Let me get changed and I’ll meet you downstairs.”
She actually wore a one-piece suit for the start of his lesson. He frowned. “I thought you promised me a naked instructor?”
“I did, but later. As a reward. I want you to learn how to swim.”
She led him down the steps into the pool, which at its deepest wasn’t more than five feet deep. “First, you need to get comfortable feeling water on your face.”
“You’re not going to hold me under, are you?”
“No. Why would I do that?”
“Never mind,” he grumbled.
He felt the dark fury building inside her. “Is that what that asshole did to you?”
“I don’t want to talk about it. Let’s get this over with.”
He could tell she did want to talk about it, but she let it drop. “I want you to close your eyes, hold your breath, and sink below the water for a couple of seconds.”
“Why?”
“Because I want you to learn not to panic when you’re under water. Half the battle is learning how not to panic.”
Reluctantly, he did, pinching his nose closed and waiting until the water was nearly to his eyes before closing them.
Almost immediately he felt fear closing in as his pulse spiked. He shot up out of the water, gasping for air.
When he looked, Dewi still stood a few feet away, watching with concern on her face but not making an attempt to approach him. “You okay?”
He shook his head. “Why do I have to do this?”
He suspected she barely kept from rolling her eyes. “You have to learn not to panic,” she gently insisted. “Try it again. We can’t go any farther until you learn this.”
It took the better part of an hour, but he finally got to the point where he could sink below the water and patiently wait there until he felt the need to take a breath without remembering the feel of Dave’s fingers cruelly digging into his scalp and holding him there.
“Good. Now you need to learn to float. For this part, you have to trust me. I won’t let you sink.”
He nervously nodded. She gently coaxed him to lean back in the water as she kept one arm securely under his shoulders, and the other under his waist. At first he wanted to grab onto her, certain he was going to sink. But after twenty minutes of her patience, he realized he was able to float on the water if he relaxed his body and kept his breathing steady. He still felt her arms, waiting, under him, there to keep him from sinking.
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