by Lisa Daniels
Ryland stepped into her place and slipped off his shoes. “That’s why you should be in the hospital.”
Serenity was immediately defensive. “You promised.”
“I did, but nothing was said about trying to persuade you to go.”
“Please don’t start right now, Ryland.” He gave her a strange look, then his eyes started moving around her place. “How are things going? Were they able to get the poachers?”
His face snapped back to her. “No, they had already moved on. The dogs brought back… they knew there were people around, so they slipped off. We’ll find them, it’s just going to take a while longer. Why are you packing?” Ryland’s blue eyes bore into her, as the question caught her completely off guard.
“Um, I just…” Serenity sighed. “Would you like something to drink? Have you eaten anything yet?”
“Water, please. And I am fine.”
Serenity gave him a knowing look before directing him to the couch in the living room. “Please sit down. I’ll be right back with your water.”
He nodded, then moved away wordlessly.
Serenity joined him a minute later with a small tray of food and the water. “Eat before you get too hungry.”
Ryland cocked an eyebrow at her, but there was no smile on his face. “What has happened? Why did you decide not to go to the hospital? And why are you packing?”
Serenity ran a hand over her forehead. “I'm not hurt enough to need the hospital. And I’m going to go back to the east coast.”
Ryland clenched his teeth, making his jaw even more defined than normal. “Are you too afraid here now?”
“Not afraid, just…”
He moved close to her and took her hand. “I am so sorry for failing to protect you, but please don’t leave.” His eyes begged her.
Serenity pulled her hand away. “I just don’t know…”
“What’s wrong? What can I do to convince you to stay? The idea of you leaving is…”
Serenity looked at him. “Ryland, what do you do for a living?”
“Oh.” There was an immediate change in his expression as Ryland closed his eyes. “I'm an actor. A fairly successful actor. A job that I did not choose and one I do not enjoy.”
“Then why do you do it?”
“Because what else can I do that will give me the tools to take care of everyone? My parents chose this career, and now it is too late to change paths.”
“No, it isn’t.”
“So you are going to leave just because of what I do?” His expression was slowly shifting into one of anger.
“I'm leaving because–”
His voice was like a low growl, “You promised not to get possessive.”
“I do not want to own you!” She moved away from him. “I wouldn’t even mind sharing you, but I can’t stand the idea of losing you. You are everything that I didn’t think I would find, and a few things that I didn’t want, but there is no way I can possibly keep your interest. How could I?” She stood up too fast, and immediately stumbled.
Ryland quickly stood and caught her. “I don’t understand what you are saying. If you leave you will lose me. If you stay, I… I don’t want to lose you. I have already lost so many people, I don’t want to lose you, too.” His hands were gripping her shoulders, but Ryland’s eyes seemed to be focused on something else. He moved his head and looked at her. “Please, don’t leave me.”
Serenity looked into the clear blue eyes. “I don’t want to be hurt any more. Men who can get someone else always do.”
“I don’t want anyone else. I don’t want to say goodbye. And I want to protect you, not hurt you.”
“But you will get bored of me. I know you will.”
Ryland put his hand under her chin and looked into her eyes. “A woman who can accept that I am a shifter, and prefers the outdoors to stores. A woman who puts more emphasis on her mind because it is more important than her looks, even though she is stunning. The man who thinks he will get better than that is a complete fool.”
Serenity began to fight back tears. “I want to believe you, but experience tells me that isn’t the way life works.”
Ryland let go of her and took a deep breath. “If it is a matter of your heart versus your head, all I can do is tell you that I am not like the men who hurt you before. I cannot force you to believe me. If you choose to leave, I will not stop you, but is that something you can live with? For the rest of your life? Is this something you can throw away without trying?”
“I…” A tear rolled down her face. “I–” The tears began to fall faster.
Ryland looked at her, waiting for her to collect her thoughts. When the tears started flowing, he reached out and pulled her to him. “It’s okay. I promise that it will be okay. Whatever you decide, life will go on. It will just be colorless without you.” The last sentence was said in a hush that she almost couldn’t believe he had said.
Slowly she wrapped her arms around him. The tension in his body was released and he kissed her on the top of the head. “I promise to take care of you. I promise.”
Serenity clung to his shirt. “Ryland, I'm scared.”
She could feel his voice through his chest. “Me too. But I’m also excited in a way I haven’t been in so long.” He stroked her head. “You are worth the risk of getting hurt.”
Serenity pushed into him. “I don’t think I am. I’m so–”
The hand moved from the back of her head to under her chin. Carefully he turned her face toward his. “Human. But I won’t hold that against you if you won’t hold my heritage against me.”
Serenity couldn’t help but giggle. Quickly trying to hide it, she looked away. “The only thing I hold against you is how little you have told me about yourself. If I would have known what you did earlier….”
“Last night never would have happened, and you would have dug further into yourself. My world would have remained nearly colorless and bland. I do not like my job and the rest of the time I am responsible for so many other people. You were the first thing in my life in forever that was not a chore or obligation. You didn’t want me because of a preconceived idea of who you thought I was – you were interested in me for me, and that is nearly impossible.”
“You are quite charming.”
“You don’t need to lie to me. I know I can be difficult and–”
“Stubborn.” She gave him a slight smile. “Nearly as stubborn as me.”
“Yes, very nearly.” His eyes moved down to her mouth as he brushed away a tear.
Serenity leaned her face into his hand. “Okay. I’ll stay. But don’t hide anything else from me. Please.”
“I wasn’t hiding it. I honestly do not like what I do. Would you want to talk about most of your classes when you didn’t have to?”
Serenity shook her head. “I get your point. It came as such a shock and I just…”
“It’s okay. I should have realized that something like that would be difficult, it’s just that it doesn’t seem that way to me.”
“I understand. I’m sorry.”
“You’ve decided to stay, so it’s okay. Just promise you won’t freak out again. Be more like the brave woman who had no problem dealing with me shifting into a bear.”
Serenity frowned, “Yeah, that’s a good point.” Her cheeks flushed and she began to feel embarrassed. “There was something far more unusual about you than you being a very successful actor.”
Ryland nodded.
“How can I make it up to you?” Serenity looked up at him. “I’ll do anything because I was being incredibly stupid.”
“Go to the hospital.” He didn’t even wait to respond.
“Oh, seriously. You promised not to drag me away.”
“You said anything.”
Serenity groaned, “It’s too late to go tonight.”
Ryland looked over at a clock. “I guess you are right.” He leaned over and picked her up, catching her completely off guard. “If you are really against going
to the hospital, I guess I will need to stay here for a week or so to take care of you.” Before she could answer, he kissed her. “But I think that I want to spend that time in your bed. With you.”
Serenity nodded. “I’ll still owe you then because I want that, too.”
Ryland laughed as he carried her into her bedroom.
The End
Rescued by Emery
Deep River Shifters – Book 2
By Lisa Daniels
Chapter 1
Lingering Guilt and a Loving Deception
Cora tossed her phone on the bed as she hurried into the bathroom. “Of all the damn days to decide that he wanted to act more like my brother.” Cora watched the way her purple hair flipped after batting it with the brush a couple of times in a sad attempt to give the damp strands life. “Of course. Of course! Why would anything go right today?” She was very nearly screaming at the mirror. Disgusted with her failed attempt to fix her hair, Cora knew that there was nothing that she could do with the little time she had to prepare. She yanked the drawer open and threw the brush into a pile of hair bands, clips, and scrunchies. Several of the items flew out as she tried to slam the door shut. With a barely contained yell, Cora spun and hurried out of the bathroom.
“Slow down or you are going to get hurt.” A man’s voice emerged from a bedroom as she passed it on her way back to her own.
“Shut up, Jason. I wouldn’t have to rush if you would have been considerate enough to tell me yesterday.” The words were muttered and nearly unintelligible.
“Are you muttering? Should I not have told you about it?”
With a sigh, Cora stopped and walked back to the door where the voice was coming from. Trying to give him a smile, she responded, “Of course not, Jason, I just wish you would have given me a little more notice than 30 minutes. I mean, you didn’t tell me you were coming to visit either, but it’s not like I needed to prepare for that. Climbing takes a bit of prep time. You taught me that. So not giving me more than a few minutes seems a bit irresponsible. For you.”
“It slipped my mind. Sorry.” The man had short, sandy blond hair that curled, making him look more like a Greek god than her brother. It still took Cora by surprise because for the longest time Jason had kept his hair long. After graduating from college, he had decided to cut it after his long-time girlfriend had dumped him. They had been together for six years, but he had not been ready to commit to marriage. She had dumped him and moved on to some guy who was a few years older and was established in the financial industry. One thing she had always tried to get him to do was cut his hair. Cora approved of his petty vindictive move, partly because she had always hated her brother’s girlfriend, and partly because he really did look a lot better with short hair.
She flashed Jason a toothy grin that could have been interpreted as either thanks or annoyance. “I’ll be ready in a minute, just need to grab some of the gear.”
“Take your time, sis.”
Cora turned to go into her room before stopping and poking her head around the door frame. “It really is good to have you back. It was a little quiet around here without you.”
Jason laughed in response, “I really wish I had gotten you on record admitting it.”
“Yeah, enjoy it while it lasts because that won’t be happening again.”
“Of course not. Hurry, I’m leaving in 5.” As if to emphasize the time crunch, Jason stood up and started heading toward the door. Cora gave a little yelp and hurried into her room. There was no point in pointing out the contradiction – he had just told her to take her time, and then had turned around and told her to hurry up. Then again, that was her brother – and she wouldn’t want him to act any differently now. Throwing some gear into a large backpack, she slung it over her shoulder, catching her short purple hair in the process. “God damn it!” she yelled, trying to yank the bag off of her hair as carefully as she could. It took several seconds and she was near tears from the effort. Cora hurried back to the bathroom and picked up a couple of clips and bands that had flown out earlier. Stuffing them in her pocket and bag, the young woman hurried down the hall. It was more than she could possibly need, but she wasn’t sure how she wanted to do her hair yet – better to have options than to regret leaving any option behind.
She reached the door just as Jason was opening it. “Ah, it looks like you will make it after all.”
Refraining from sticking her tongue out at him, Cora slid her feet into a comfortable pair of sneakers.
Jason frowned, “You can’t wear those to climb.”
Slipping under his arms as he held the door and picked up his wallet, Cora said over her shoulder, “My boots are in the bag.” She gave her shoulders a jolt to emphasize where the footwear was.
“You sure you aren’t forgetting anything?”
“I’m sure I am forgetting something, but I don’t know what. Thirty minutes really isn’t enough time to prepare for a climb. And–”
“Then take a second to think about it.” Cora was about to reply as she approached the car when Jason said, “Alright, time’s up, let’s go.”
Cora was already at the car and pulling open the passenger door when he finished locking the front door. “Shotgun.”
“Really? You are going to make me drive? You know how much time I spent driving over the last week?”
“22.75 hours. You’ve told me several times. But I have to do a few things to prepare for the climb, and I don’t think you want me doing that and holding up the group.”
Jason sighed and slid into the driver’s seat. “Fine, but I want to go on record saying that I am not happy about it.”
“That’s okay, I’m not happy that I barely got any time to get ready. We are both unhappy, which is a very sad way to begin our trip.”
“Honestly, I thought you were going to decline.” Jason looked over at her before backing out of the driveway. “You have turned down three different trips so far. I admit that I am pleased you agreed to tag along for this one. By not giving you much time to consider, you didn’t have enough time to back out of it.”
“Well,” Cora looked down at her hands as images flashed through her mind. Images of being pulled back into the raft only to find that two other members of the group were gone. She closed her eyes. “I have to get over it at some point.”
“Yeah, you do.” He patted her shoulder as they stopped at the stop sign at the end of the street. “You will get there. It just takes time. And getting out of the home a bit for something other than school.”
Cora’s eyes narrowed. “Wait a minute. How did you know that I have been skipping out on the trips? Or that I have been staying home more?”
Jason shifted a little in his seat. “Well, there has been some talk. Some people were concerned about you and how you have been a bit reticent lately. Ryland said that getting you out of the house would help get you back to normal.”
Cora’s eyes narrowed further as she looked at her brother. He was pursing his lips, which showed that he had just said something he wasn’t supposed to say. “Which part did he think would help? The part where you give me no time to plan? Or the part where you take time away from your studies to take care of your sister?”
Keeping his eyes on the road, Jason simply responded, “Yes.”
With a groan, Cora slipped down in her seat, no longer interested in making sure she had everything she needed. “You can just drop me off up here at the light and I’ll walk back.”
“What happened to all of the excitement?” Jason glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. “Everything turned out fine. And if you take a look at Ryland and Serenity, I don’t think that they are at all unhappy with the way things turned out.”
Cora mumbled something unintelligible under her breath.
“Good lord, Cora. Don’t tell me that you still have a crush on him.”
“You know, you can just let me out right here.”
Jason locked the door. “I came all this way up here to spe
nd time with you, and you are going to bail on me at the first sign of something you don’t like?”
Cora looked out the passenger window. “It has nothing to do with that. I’m not 15 anymore, Jason.”
“Oh, right. 20 years old, so much more mature.”
“We are not having this conversation. If you want to talk to me, do it on your own terms instead of doing what your friends tell you to do. Here I thought you were interested in hanging out and having fun, but you are just here to act like a parent because people told you I wasn’t well. Screw that.” With that, Cora pulled the handle on the passenger side and before her brother could relock the door she opened it.
He quickly slammed on the brakes. Jason didn’t even look at her as he said, “It doesn’t matter that you have physically aged. You are clearly still the child I remember.”
With one foot out the door, Cora turned back to look at her brother.
He faced her, a stern look reminding her that this was the man who had been in charge of her most of her childhood. Jason knew exactly how to make her feel like a petulant child. He was only three years older than her, but sometimes it seemed like it was a lot more. His expression softened. “Look, I'm sorry that I haven’t really been there for you over the last few years. I won’t make excuses, but that doesn’t mean that I’ve stopped caring about you. I did come up here because a couple of people were worried about you. Ryland told me what happened, but it was difficult to take his recounting as anything more than an update on you. It was Silas’s begging that I come visit that made me realize it was more serious.”
Cora snorted at this revelation, but she pulled her leg back in the car and closed the door. It was so like Silas to interfere, even though he didn’t know exactly why Jason was so overly protective of her. Her friend had learned when they were 13 to bug Jason when something seemed off about her. Her brother’s reaction was always predictable, even if her friend didn’t know why. It wasn’t surprising considering they had all grown up together – although there were some things that only Jason knew about her.
Her brother gave her a smile. “Thanks. I promise, it’s going to be a memorable trip. And not in the same way your last one was. This time it will be worth it and fun will be had by all.”