“Jesus.” Ronan shook his head and opened the door. “Just be here and don’t be late.”
He didn’t wait to see if Steve had anything else to say, but then again, he didn’t have to because Steve followed him inside.
“I can be here earlier, but I’ll for sure be on time,” Steve continued as he walked beside Ronan.
Ronan just nodded as he headed toward the kitchen and the smell of fried chicken. Opening the door, he found the kitchen already full with everyone filling their plates. His eyes quickly found Kira, who was helping Sid. His eyes roamed her face, noticing quickly that she seemed pale. It was unsettling how he could pick that out right away, but what was even more shocking was he immediately wanted to know why. Had something happened? Did he need to kill someone? Holy shit, he needed to step back and get a grip.
Instead, he managed to slip away from Steve, who had continued with questions, and grabbed a plate. Because of their growth in numbers, they had added another table in the huge kitchen, giving everyone a place to sit. It wasn’t often they were all there at the same time, but it did happen. Once his plate was filled, he headed toward an empty seat, his eyes finding Kira who was looking at him. Once caught, she quickly glanced away.
He noticed the way she dressed, long full skirts, with a plain blouse covered with colorful scarfs. It was as if she were trying to hide her body, but she wasn’t keeping anything from him. He had held her body against his, not for long, but enough to know exactly what lay beneath. As he ate, he watched her like a stalker, but he didn’t care.
Jared suddenly appeared in his vision as he sat down directly in front of him and just stared without saying a word. Ronan glanced at him with a nod but kept eating. He was aware of his surroundings and who was next to him, but he would not be the one reacting. Ronan had patience; breaking wild horses all his life had taught him that. He also had the ability to wait something out so if Jared was expecting him to react as his other fellow Warriors, he had a long wait ahead of him.
Finishing his dinner, he pushed his plate aside and took a huge drink of milk. Yes, he drank milk. Did a body good. His gaze went over Jared, who continued to stare, then found Kira sitting with Mira, Steve, and Drew. He had hoped she would sit where Jared sat, but in time, she would be sitting with him always.
“Jesus, Jared.” Sid, who sat at the end of the table finally able to eat, shook his head. “Say something. Ronan isn’t falling for your intimidation shit, which is pretty fucking impressive. You’ve glared at him for near five minutes. I would have punched you in your ugly ass face after one. That shit is just annoying.”
Ronan finally looked at Jared as he leaned back against his chair in a relaxed position, arms crossed over his chest. He still remained silent. Ronan had no problem with Jared, so he had nothing to say.
“Damn.” Sid continued looking between both men. “Ronan, my man, you need to teach me how in the hell you keep your cool. Shit, I want to punch the fucker on your behalf.”
The only emotion Ronan showed that he heard was a small tilt to the corner of his mouth. He had watched all these Warriors, and most of them had a short fuse, especially when it came to their mates. All he was doing was helping Tessa, and he would do it again tomorrow if needed.
“Does the cowboy boots have something to do with it, or maybe the hat?” Sid wondered as he ate between words. “’Cause I sure as shit will go out today and buy me—”
“Will you just shut the fuck up!” Jared finally broke his silence as his head snapped toward Sid. “Damn it, man. As much as you run that pie hole, I’m seriously wondering if you have a vagina.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Jill, who was sitting on Slade’s lap since they still didn’t have enough room with everyone eating, frowned with her fork halfway to her mouth.
“Yeah, Jared.” Sid pointed his fork at him, and Ronan just continued to sit back watching. This should be entertaining. “What is that supposed to mean?”
Jared slapped his hand on his forehead. “Please don’t start saying cock.”
“Then stop saying stupid shit.” Jill jabbed her fork toward him, losing most of the mashed potatoes it held. Jill glanced around, put her fork down then looked back at Jared. “Do you have any idea how much Tessa is struggling? I thought things were worked out between you guys and her training.”
“I don’t want to talk about it,” Jared growled, his eyes narrowing.
“Tough,” Jill growled back, then lowered her voice so only they could hear her. “She wants this so badly, wants to be a part of something, but most of all she wants to make you proud of her, and you throw it back in her face. What in the hell is wrong with you?”
Ronan watched as a fleeting show of emotion flashed across Jared’s face before it was gone. With his growing affection toward Kira, he could understand a little better, but still, Jared was taking it too far.
“Jill,” Slade warned, but Jill ignored him.
“If your fear is truly of her getting hurt, then buddy, if something does happen to her, it will be on your shoulders.” Jill stood up from Slade’s lap, grabbing her half-eaten plate. “No one is helping her because of you, and the bro code or whatever in the hell you want to call it, which I think is total bullshit. Ronan steps up to help her and instead of saying ‘thanks, buddy,’ you sit here and glare at him while he’s eating. I’m disappointed in you and with you being my favorite, well that just sucks.”
Ronan glanced around to see everyone was now looking their way listening, Tessa included. He’d almost felt sorry for Jared, until he saw the hurt in the depth of Tessa’s gaze.
Jill walked to the middle of the kitchen with her plate, emptied it, then turned to face the back of Jared’s head. She looked around at every single Warrior in the place before directing her gaze back to Jared. “You all are very lucky we women don’t have a girl code or ho code, whatever it’s being called today, because you fuckers would be so screwed.”
“Guess she told us.” Sid stood, shaking his head with a half grin on his face. “And what the fuck… you’re her favorite? Now that’s some bullshit.”
Ronan watched as Jill left the kitchen with Slade following, a proud grin spread across his face. Glancing back at Jared, Ronan kinda felt for the son of a bitch.
“Part of my job is helping the recruits.” Ronan finally broke the silence as he and Jared now sat alone. “Nothing more, nothing less. Tessa was having problems, so I helped her. I know deep down somewhere beneath all that pride you appreciate it. Make things right with her, Jared. Jill is somewhat right. If something does happen to her, no one will have to blame you because you will blame yourself.”
“And Jesus, dude, we sure as hell don’t want them to get no ho code going,” Sid added, his face a mask of fear. “That would be the end of us.”
Ronan ignored Sid, not really knowing if his words penetrated, but that’s all he had. He got up, taking his plate, his eyes briefly meeting Kira’s, and this time she didn’t look away, he did.
“My office, now.” Sloan stormed in with the order, then stormed back out.
“Here, I’ll take that.” Kira grabbed his plate and glass.
“Thanks.” Ronan nodded, noticing how pretty she looked when she smiled.
“Gives me something to do,” Kira replied, walking away. “I’m already going crazy with boredom, even dishes excite me.”
Her words hit something inside him, his cock taking notice at the word excite. He had plenty of things in mind that would dim her boredom and better things to do than the dishes that would excite her.
“Thanks for helping me today.” Tessa interrupted his thoughts of exactly what he would do to ease Kira’s boredom.
“It’s my job,” Ronan replied, looking down at her. “No thanks needed.”
Tessa nodded, the sadness radiating off her. “If it’s going to cause problems with you and… the other Warriors, I’ll understand if you can’t anymore.”
The near defeat in her voice pissed him
off. “Nothing or no one prevents me from doing what’s right, Tessa.” Ronan tried to keep the anger out of his voice so she didn’t think it was directed toward her. He also wasn’t going to say anything negative about her mate, even if Jared was being a bastard. “If anyone has a problem with me helping you, that’s their problem, not mine nor yours.”
Again, she nodded, and he knew she was holding back tears, because her eyes filled up quickly.
Ronan leaned down. “You just keep doing what you’re doing. If you really want this, then I’m going to help you achieve it.”
Without warning, Tessa quickly gave him a tight hug, then turned away and walked toward Kira, who was staring at him wide-eyed. She quickly took Tessa into her arms as she finally broke down.
When Kira started speaking softly to Tessa, Ronan turned and left the kitchen. He never in his life wanted to kick anyone’s ass as badly as he wanted to kick Jared Kincaid’s. Yeah, his tune just changed. A woman’s tears were one thing Ronan couldn’t stomach.
Chapter 6
Kira’s eyes followed Ronan until he disappeared out the door. She then turned her attention to Tessa. “Tessa, what happened?” she asked when Tessa pulled away. Kira knew there were issues with the mates’ training, but Steve had mentioned things had been worked out.
“He’s an asshole.” Tessa sniffed, her eyes narrowed. “And I love him. Isn’t that the dribbling shits?”
“The what?” Kira’s eyes shot open wide, her hand flying to her mouth to hold back her laugh.
“Dribbling shits.” Tessa hopped up on the counter and sat, wiping her eyes. “It’s something my gramps used to always say when things weren’t going right. Nothing worse than the dribbling shits, he would say.”
Kira had only seen glimpses of Tessa’s grandfather, who was in the late stages of dementia. He was a cute old man, lost in his own world. What was amazing was that now Tessa could communicate with him. All the vampires could, but Kira was sure it wasn’t quite the same.
“Well, I definitely haven’t heard that before, but it would so go with a lot of factors in my life.” Kira smiled and touched Tessa on the arm. “I’m here if you need anything at all.”
“Do you know any love potions?”
Surprise flittered through her. “Yes, but none that would help you,” Kira replied, sensing that whatever was going on between Jared and Tessa was much more than her training.
“Yeah, because magic doesn’t work on vampires.” Tessa rolled her eyes. “And once again, isn’t that the…”
“…dribbling shits,” they said at the same time, then burst out laughing.
“That is so gross.” Kira shook her head with a disgusted grin.
“As kids, we thought it was funny.” Tessa’s smile began to fade, her eyes going toward the kitchen door.
“That’s not why it wouldn’t work, Tessa,” Kira added. “Jared is already in love with you. Surely you can see that? I can, and I’ve only been here such a short time.”
“Jared never wanted to change me, even when I wanted it so badly. I wanted to be the one he fed from. I wanted to be his true partner.” Tessa shrugged and looked down at her feet, which were swinging back and forth. “Now it just seems everything has changed, and I don’t know how to go back. One minute I think we’re doing great, the next we aren’t, and I really don’t know what to do.”
Because of her little knowledge of the vampire race, Kira had never thought about how they fed. She wondered who Ronan fed from, then cursed at herself pushing that thought far into the back of her mind. Kira figured she wasn’t one to give out relationship advice since she had never really been in a serious relationship before. Hell, what was she thinking? She didn’t know anything about relationships, but she did know what it was like to be a strong woman.
“Tessa, how important is your life to you?” Kira asked as she hopped up on the counter next to Tessa. She had planned to clean the kitchen for Sid, but this was much more important.
“What do you mean?” Tessa frowned, glancing at her.
“It’s just, to me, it sounds like you’re trying to live your life for Jared,” Kira said, hoping to hell she wasn’t going to make things worse.
“Isn’t that what a relationship is?”
“Listen, I’m going to be totally honest with you here.” Kira came clean. “I personally have never been in a serious relationship, but I would hope that a healthy relationship would be where two people who knew who they were bound, remained individuals. Just because Jared doesn’t want you to become a Warrior shouldn’t be the reason you don’t become a Warrior. I mean, respect his opinion on the matter, even if he doesn’t respect yours, but continue to do what you want. If he truly loves you, which I know he does, he will eventually come around.”
“And if he doesn’t?” Tessa sighed, the fear in her question was heard loud and clear.
“Then you have some hard decisions to make.” Kira’s honest answer made Tessa flinch. “Just stop worrying so much about what Jared thinks. Work on you. You are a strong, independent woman who is in love with a, erm… man who has a caveman mentality.”
“They say they’re alphas.” Tessa rolled her eyes.
“Tomato, tamato… same thing.” Kira grinned, then nudged Tessa with her shoulder. “You’re going to be fine, Tessa. Just do you and the rest will fall in place. We all need to find ourselves, love ourselves before anyone else can find or love us. Know what I mean?”
“Yeah, actually I do.” Tessa nodded as she glanced around the kitchen. “My last real relationship was a joke. He cheated on me with my best friend. He was always telling me that I was worthless, overweight, what to wear, what to eat, and warned me not to embarrass him. I’ve always had low self-esteem, never feeling good enough thanks to my father, and then that mess…. Lately, that feeling has been plaguing me, and I hate it.”
“Well, it sounds like it’s good you got rid of the bastard, and I’m sure karma has already caught up to the bitch who I wouldn’t even say was a friend in the first place,” Kira said vehemently. “As for your father, I’m sorry.”
“Never be sorry,” Tessa replied, once again looking toward Kira. “It’s made me who I am today, but sometimes the old Tessa makes an appearance, bringing back all that baggage.”
“We all have those moments of self-doubt, Tessa. You’re not alone. It’s how you bounce back and, friend, I’ve learned I can bounce.” Kira chuckled as she hopped off the counter. “Now, how about helping me clean up.”
When Tessa just gave her a look, Kira laughed.
“Okay, we aren’t mad at Sid… today. He cooked an amazing dinner,” Kira explained, glancing around. “Plus, all the ‘cavemen’ did clean their plates and put them in the sink, so I think we can do it this once and still be badass independent women.”
“True.” Tessa jumped down with a grin and touched Kira’s shoulder. “Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me.” Kira opened the dishwasher. “We need to stick together, and I’m sure I’ll be coming to you soon for a pep talk. It’s what we do or at least what we should do for each other.”
They started cleaning, quiet in their own thoughts. Kira kept thinking of Lana’s message from her cousin, Emilia. My God, she had never thought about trying to get Lana or Caroline to reach out to her cousin. Obviously, neither had the Warriors, or maybe because of Sid and Jax, they knew that would be a bad idea. Not that she blamed them. The last time was almost disastrous with Lana trying to kill Mira, and Ronan breaking Caroline’s wrist. Yeah, that definitely might not be the way to go. Then again, if she could just talk to Emilia for a second, she may be able to lift the curse. Perhaps then she would be free to have a relationship. Ronan’s image popped into her mind at that thought.
She also wondered what Lana meant by someone was coming? Was Emilia trying to warn them that Orjyll was ready to strike again or something else? Damn, she hated riddles. Mira was good at it, but not her.
Soon the kitchen was done, and honestly, Kira was a l
ittle disappointed. She wasn’t ready to go back to her room and sit. In fact, she really needed to get out of the compound. She wasn’t used to being cooped up for hours. Wiping down the counter, she glanced over her shoulder to see Mira come in with a fussy Drew.
“Feeding time?” Kira tossed the dishcloth in the sink, washed her hands then grabbed for Drew. “You’ve got some appetite, cutie.”
“Tell me about it.” Mira huffed with a proud grin. “She’s eating like a Warrior.”
“She looks so much like you.” Tessa tickled Drew’s chin. “Girl, you are going to be spoiled rotten.”
“Can I feed her?” Tessa asked, looking up from Drew. “I haven’t had a chance to spend much time with her yet.”
“Of course.” Mira warmed the bottle then handed it to Tessa, who was taking the baby from Kira.
Kira watched Tessa walk to the table and sit down. She whispered to Drew as she eagerly took to the bottle.
“So you stopped breastfeeding?” Kira glanced at Mira, who was watching Drew.
“Yeah, I hated to, but Drew just wasn’t taking to it,” Mira said, disappointment edging her voice. “Now I’m a vampire, but I wish I could have breastfed her more before being turned.”
“That’s not your fault, Mira,” Kira reminded her sister. Then kicked herself for forgetting again her sister was, in fact, a vampire. Damn, why that was hard for her to remember, she had no clue.
Mira sighed. “I know. It’s just I really wanted to breastfeed, but she seems to be doing fine.”
“Women bottle feed every day.” Kira wrapped her arm around Mira, giving her a squeeze. “Don’t be so hard on yourself.”
“So, are you settled in?” Mira changed the subject but hugged her back with a look of thanks. A lot of times they didn’t even need to speak to know what each other was thinking.
“In about two minutes flat.” Kira sighed with a roll of her eyes. “You know this is going to kill me, Mira. I’m not used to staying in one place long. I’m used to moving around, and there’s absolutely nothing for me to do here.”
Ronan Page 4