MoonlightBundleSet

by Moonlight Protector, Hero, Guardian, Champion (mobi)

  Michael walked the cops and Stefan to the door. Stefan looked at Marin one last time, but this time there wasn’t quite so much animosity in his face. After they left, Marin sagged against Cole in relief. It was finally over! Hopefully their ruse had fooled Stefan and he would leave her alone.

  Stan Morgan sat on the couch. “Well, young lady. I haven’t had to throw something together that fast in a while, but I’m glad it worked.”

  Marin smiled at him. “I can never thank you enough for what you’ve done.”

  “Don’t worry about it. I’m just glad I was able to help. Now, I really do need an oil change, so I’m going to head across the street. Y’all have a nice day.”

  Stan got up and let himself out. Michael was standing in the doorway grinning at them like a Cheshire cat. Marin wasn’t sure if it was because he was happy they had fooled Stefan or if he knew something was going on between her and Cole.

  “Okay brother. Spit it out. Something has you grinning like an idiot,” Cole said to his twin.

  Michael nodded. “Nothing. Just happy is all.”

  “About what? I haven’t seen you grin like that since you bought the Corvette in the driveway,” Cole told him.

  “Maybe I’m happy that one of us has finally found his mate,” Michael replied.

  Before Cole could correct him, Marin placed her fingers over his mouth. He looked at her in surprise. Had she really picked him? Already? He removed her hand from his mouth.

  “Is that true, Marin?”

  Marin gave him a shy smile and nodded her head. “Yes, it’s true.”

  Cole pulled her head down for a kiss. “You have no idea how happy that makes me.”

  Marin smiled. “Hopefully as happy as it makes me.”

  Cole fingered the ring she was wearing. “I’m happy that you want to be my mate, but I think we should get to know each other a little better before making this engagement real.”

  Marin looked disappointed. She started to take the ring off, but Cole stopped her.

  “Even if we aren’t making it real just yet, I’d like you to keep wearing the ring. If for no other reason than Stefan could be lurking around here still,” Cole told her. “Besides, I’m hoping you won’t change your mind and will still want to marry me when all of this is behind us.”

  Marin sighed and pressed herself closer to him. “Will he ever leave me alone?”

  “Yes. I’ll make sure of it. But for now, let’s go fill Gabriel in on what happened.”

  Marin got up and walked to the door with Cole. She took his hand and they walked across the street together. Gabriel was changing the oil on Stan’s car when they got there. He saw them and quickly came over.

  “Everything okay?” Gabriel asked.

  “Everything’s fine. We just wanted to fill you in on what happened so our stories will be straight,” Cole said.

  “Stan mentioned something about bringing a purse to Marin,” Gabriel told them.

  “He had an ID created for her. It says her name is Marin Thomas and her address is the same as ours. We also told them that we’re engaged,” Cole said.

  Gabriel glanced at the ring on Marin’s hand. “And is it a real engagement?”

  Marin decided to speak up. “No, but I’d like for it to be. Cole thinks we should wait a little while.” She paused, “I hope you don’t mind that I’m wearing your mother’s ring. It was the best we could do on short notice.”

  Gabriel smiled at her. “Of course I don’t mind.”

  “We just wanted to tell you what was up. We won’t keep you from your work,” Cole said.

  Gabriel nodded and went back to working on Stan’s car. Cole took Marin by the hand and they walked back over the house. Michael was in the living room watching TV. He didn’t even glance their way when they walked past him to head upstairs. Cole stepped into Marin’s room and shut the door behind them.

  He looked around the room a minute and then down at Marin. “Would you like to redecorate your room?”

  “My room?”

  Cole smiled. “This is your room. You can do whatever you want with it.”

  “But…”

  “You don’t want this one?” Cole asked, misunderstanding her hesitation. “We have two others you can choose from if you don’t like it.”

  Marin shook her head no. “It isn’t that. I just thought that…”

  Cole waited for her to finish her sentence. “You thought what?”

  “It’s just that, even if we’re just pretending, everyone else thinks we’re engaged. I had thought that we would be sharing a room. I feel safer when you’re with me. Plus, you’re always down here guarding me. Wouldn’t it be easier if we shared the same room?”

  Cole smiled down at her and briefly kissed her. “I would like nothing more than to share a room with you.”

  Marin looked around her and looked back up at him. “Can I see your room?”

  Cole took her by the hand and they headed up to the third floor. Cole’s room was the first door at the top of the stairs. Michael’s room was next to his and Gabriel’s was across the hall. Pushing open his bedroom door, Cole ushered her inside.

  Marin stepped in and looked around her. The walls were a slate blue, the floor was a dark hardwood and there was a charcoal gray area rug at the foot of the bed. The bed itself was huge; massive king size four poster. There was a matching five drawer chest and dresser. In the corner was a black leather chair.

  She looked up at him. “I love it.”

  Cole looked at her in surprise. “There’s nothing you would change?”

  “Well, maybe one or two things,” Marin answered truthfully.

  “What’s that?” Cole asked, expecting to hear about paint colors and bed linens. His room was rather masculine after all.

  “I’d drape the bed in a pretty gray silk material, a little lighter than the rug to make it look a little softer… and I’d add a better lock to the door.”

  Cole burst out laughing. “A better lock huh?”

  Marin smiled at him. “That way we don’t have to worry about your brothers deciding to barge in if we have another morning like this one.”

  “I think we can manage that. Want to make a trip to the fabric store and hardware store?” Cole asked her, brushing his fingers across her cheek. He couldn’t seem to stop touching her.

  “Just let me brush my hair real quick.”

  “I’ll meet you down in the living room in a few minutes.”

  Marin headed back down the stairs and Cole went into his bathroom. He ran a brush through his hair and splashed a little cologne on. Before he went downstairs, he pulled his cell phone out and called his boss. It was a good thing he had a lot of time saved up. He was definitely going to owe the man a major explanation when he returned to work.

  Bounding down the stairs, Cole found Marin in the living room with Michael. They were sprawled side by side on the couch watching TV. If he hadn’t known better, he would have sworn that they had done this every day of their lives. Marin and Michael seemed completely at ease with each other; it was almost like they were brother and sister. If he had his way, they eventually would be.

  “Ready?” he asked Marin.

  She looked up and smiled. Climbing off the couch, she took his hand and they headed for the door. Cole looked over his shoulder at Michael, who hadn’t even looked up from the TV.

  “We’re going to run some errands. Need anything while we’re out?” Cole asked him.

  Michael glanced up. “No, I’m going to do the grocery shopping in a few minutes. Y’all have fun.”

  Chapter Five

  Cole and Marin walked over to his large black truck and he opened the passenger door for her. The last time she had been in his truck she had been unconscious and lying on the backseat. He tried not to think of seeing her like that… lying on the ground, bleeding.

  Cole walked around to the driver’s side and climbed in. He started up the truck and backed down the driveway. Ashton Grove was a small town so
it didn’t take long to get to the hardware store. Cole parked in front of the store and turned off the truck.

  “I figured we should get that lock first,” he told her with a grin.

  She smiled back at him. Unfastening her seat belt, she leaned across the seat and kissed him on the cheek. Cole turned toward her and pulled her across the seat toward him. Wrapping his arms around her, he bent his head and kissed her on the lips. Marin practically melted into him and gave herself up to the kiss. They both forgot they were in public until there was a tap on the window.

  Started, Cole turned to look out his window. Cassie was standing on the other side grinning from ear to ear. He groaned and opened the door to his truck.

  “Hi, Cass,” Cole said as he stepped out of the truck. He reached in to help Marin get out and stand beside him.

  “Hi Cole, Marin. Nice to see you both.”

  “Cass, you’re going to have to stop grinning like that. You’re going to blow our cover if you keep it up,” Cole told her.

  They proceeded to tell her about their faux engagement, living arrangements, and everything that had happened that morning. Well, minus the part where they woke up in each other’s arms and Cole being completely naked at the time. They told her everything from the point where Stefan showed up with the police to redoing a few things in Cole’s room… well, their room now.

  “Wow, y’all are having an interesting week, that’s for sure,” Cassie said.

  Marin leaned her head on Cole’s arm. “The sad part is that it’s been the best week of my life.”

  Cole put his arm around her and hugged her to him. He looked at Cassie, not quite sure what to say. That the week she was almost killed in a car accident, found out werewolves existed, and had to hide from her captor was the best week of her life spoke volumes about what her life had been like thus far. Cassie looked at Cole and then took Marin’s hand.

  “Come on. Let’s go shopping. Cole can go in the hardware store by himself. There’s a salon a few doors down. I have an appointment to get my hair and nails done. Would you join me?” Cassie asked her.

  Marin looked at her uncertainly, “Oh, I don’t know…”

  Cole rubbed her arm. “I think you might enjoy it, honey. Why don’t you go with her?”

  Marin looked up at him. “But…”

  Cole realized what the problem was. Marin didn’t have any money and she felt strange asking for some. He pulled his wallet out and gave her eighty dollars. She didn’t want to take it though.

  “Honey, please take it and go have some fun with Cassie.”

  Marin felt her face heat up in embarrassment. “Cole, I don’t feel right taking money from you.”

  Cole cupped her face in his hand and briefly kissed her on the lips. He whispered in her ear, “I want to take care of you. Will you please let me do that and take the money? If you want to pay your own way, we’ll figure something out later.”

  Marin looked into his eyes and realized that he was speaking the truth. He really did want to take care of her. She smiled and kissed him on the cheek. Taking the money from him, she put it in her purse and turned toward Cassie.

  “Looks like I’m joining you at the salon,” she told Cassie.

  Cassie smiled and took her hand. “Let’s go. Cole can keep himself occupied for an hour or two.”

  Cole raised his eyebrows, “An hour or two?”

  “An hour for hair and an hour for nails. We have the whole salon to ourselves. It’s the only way that I can get my nails done while I’m pregnant. If it’s full, the chemicals are way too strong; so Matt rents out the salon for the morning when I want to get my nails done and have my hair trimmed.”

  Cole shook his head. Matt would probably have bought the whole salon for her if she had asked him to. That man would do anything for Cassie, which was exactly how Cole felt about Marin. He would give her the moon if he could.

  He leaned down and kissed Marin one last time. “Don’t let her talk you into doing anything you don’t want to.”

  Marin smiled at him. “I won’t.”

  The women walked down the sidewalk hand in hand and Cole entered the hardware store. It was probably for the best that Marin wasn’t with him. He didn’t want to frighten her when he asked for various locks to bulk up the security at the house, as well as motion activated lights for the perimeter of the house. Stefan may have left with the cops earlier, but Cole would bet money that the man would be back. It probably wouldn’t be a bad idea to call their alarm company as well, just to let them know what was going on.

  While Cole was shopping, Cassie was talking Marin into a manicure and pedicure. The women chatted while they had their nails and toes done. Marin hadn’t ever had a manicure or pedicure before and found that she really enjoyed the experience. When their nails were dry, it was time for their hair.

  Cassie was just getting her ends trimmed and having some layers put in. Marin pulled her long hair over her shoulder and looked at it. She didn’t really want to get rid of the length, especially since Cole seemed to like it. The stylist talked her into a trim, layers and some highlights. When she walked out of the salon, her hair was about two inches shorter with lots of long layers and long wispy bangs. It was highlighted with various shades of blonde and brown. Looking at her reflection, Marin almost didn’t recognize herself.

  “What do you want to do next?” Cassie asked.

  Thinking about Stefan and the fact that he was looking for her, she knew that she needed to change herself a little more. If he had been thinking clearly that morning, he would have mentioned her tattoos. Marin didn’t have enough money for cover-up art, but maybe Cassie would loan it to her.

  “Do you know of any tattoo shops in town?” Marin asked.

  Cassie was surprised. She hadn’t expected that question. “Tattoo shop?”

  “I was thinking that my new hair makes me look a little different, but if Stefan gets smart and comes back he’ll ask to see my tattoos as proof of who I am.”

  “I hadn’t thought of that,” Cassie said. “I think there’s one around the corner.”

  The women walked around the corner and sure enough there was a tattoo shop. Cassie had never been to a tattoo place before. Everything was a lot cleaner than she had thought it would be. It was almost like being in a doctor’s office, except the work areas were open where you could watch the artists at work. Marin was looking at the art on the walls when the artist approached them.

  “May I help you?” Dylan asked Marin.

  “I was wondering if you could do some cover-up work for me. I have a dragon on my arm and one on my lower back that I need to cover.”

  “May I ask why you want to cover them?” Dylan asked her. He had no problem doing the work, but he always wanted to make sure the customer knew what they were getting into. Once it was covered, there was no turning back.

  Marin looked at the floor. “It’s kind of complicated.”

  Deciding it would be better to be honest with the man, Cassie walked over to them. “My friend has a man looking for her, a rather unpleasant man. The tattoos are the only way he has of recognizing her right now. If he finds her, she could die.” Cassie pulled out her platinum credit card and handed it to him, “The cost doesn’t matter if you can help her.”

  Dylan looked at the credit card and looked at Cassie. “You must be Matt Spencer’s wife.”

  Cassie looked at him in wonder, “How did you know that?”

  “I’ve wanted to build a new studio for a while, hopefully in the next year. Your husband is the architect I hired for the job. Everyone around here says your husband does excellent work,” he replied. “Besides, the platinum card kind of gave you away. Not too many people around here have one of those, and you’re the only Spencer’s in town.”

  “So you’ll help us?” Cassie asked.

  Dylan nodded. “You bet. Now let’s see those dragons.”

  Marin lifted the back of her shirt so he could see the larger one. Then she lifted her sleeve so
he could check out her armband. He ran his fingers over both tattoos and studied them a minute.

  Nodding his head he said, “We can definitely cover those, but it might be best if we just use solid black. Looks like you’re used to color, are you going to be okay with black ink?”

  “I think so. Do you think you could cover them with wolves?” Marin asked.

  Dylan looked at her strangely. He noted the ring on her left hand and looked at Cassie. Not many people in town knew about the Andrews family, but Dylan did. His father had been friends with Mrs. Andrews. Dylan and the brothers had been friends since birth.

  “That ring wouldn’t by any chance belong to one of the Andrews’ brothers would it?”

  Marin looked at the diamond and ruby ring her finger. “Cole gave it to me.”

  “Does Cole know you want to cover your dragons with black wolves?” Dylan asked her. He knew that Cole turned into a black and silver wolf, but Gabriel was a solid black wolf. If Cole gave her the ring, how would he feel about his fiancé wearing solid black wolves on her body? Dylan didn’t want to be on the wrong side of Cole’s anger, especially over something permanent like a tattoo on the man’s fiancé.

  “No, I haven’t mentioned it to him. Why?” Marin asked him with a puzzled look.

  Dylan sighed. “I’m assuming you know all about the brothers,” he asked with a significant look. Marin nodded.

  “I know about them as well. Cole is black and silver, but Gabriel turns into a solid black wolf,” Dylan said, hoping his words would sink in.

  Comprehension dawned in Marin’s eyes. “Is there a way to make them look black and silver like Cole?”

  Looking at her dragons again, Dylan thought he might be able to pull it off. It would be tricky since the dragons were so vibrant, but do-able.

  “I might be able to do it. Do you want to do this now?” he asked.

  “Yes, the sooner the better. If Stefan comes back …” Marin let the sentence trail off. She looked up into Dylan’s eyes. He was a little shorter than Cole and had blonde hair and blue eyes. He seemed like a nice guy. If Cole trusted him with his secret, then she could trust him with hers.