by Lynn Howard
Daxon turned his head and looked at his phone sitting on the nightstand. He wouldn’t call her, not this late at night, not when he just left her house.
That didn’t mean he couldn’t send her a goodnight text.
Goodnight, beautiful.
He set the phone back on his nightstand and climbed under the blankets. He didn’t really need them for warmth, but he loved the weight of his heavy bedspread. It was oddly comforting.
Vibrating on the wood top let him know she’d responded.
Goodnight, handsome.
Setting the phone back down, he sighed. What a sap he was becoming. He had never thought of himself as a romantic person or even an affectionate person. But he wanted to do all those corny things he saw in movies simply to see her smile. And he really wanted to see her blush again. She was so stunning when her cheeks flushed. She looked so vulnerable in an endearing way.
Sleep was surprisingly easy. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d fallen asleep without changing positions fifteen times and dwelling on how little sleep he would end up getting.
He had no idea whether he dreamed or not. If he did, he didn’t remember anything. It was awesome.
Rolling onto his back, he pulled his arms over his head, pointed his toes, and stretched. Wincing at the various pops, he wondered how much longer they could all go the way they were before their bodies gave up in protest.
They hadn’t been hunting lately, yet his body was tired. He would be hitting forty in a few years. Not like that was old, but he sure as fuck was starting to feel every year he had been on this planet.
The first thought to hit his mind as his brain started to function was Ryanne. Damn, that had been one sexy ass night. He would have been satisfied with that hot kiss. But she had wanted more. He would give her anything. Even if she would have gotten off and he hadn’t, he would have been completely satisfied with that.
Okay, that was a bit of a lie. He would have gone home with the worst case of blue balls and would’ve had to take his dick in his own hand to release the pressure.
But he would never push her for more than she was willing to give.
Was she up? It was after nine. Surely, little Penny woke early, which meant Ryanne would have to get up, too.
Should he text her? Or was that clingy as hell? All he knew was he couldn’t wait to hear her voice or see her face again.
Charlie and Campbell. He’d ask the female members of the Pride and get their take on it.
Wait. If he did that, the guys would know how ridiculous he was being and how out of touch with relationships he was.
Honestly, he couldn’t remember a single time he pictured his future with a woman he had dated. They were merely there to help him pass the lonely nights.
But that was before becoming a Ravenwood panther, before he had met Mason and Aron. Before that, Daxon and Brax had been part of their family Pride.
Surely his brother and Alpha would understand. Mason, on the other hand, would be his usual dickhead self.
With a shake of his head and a smile, Daxon headed to the bathroom for a shower. As much as he hated the thought of washing Ryanne’s scent off him, he needed to get the stickiness off his crotch.
He didn’t hear any sounds to indicate anyone else in the Pride was up, but that didn’t mean they weren’t lounging in bed and scrolling through their phones.
The water took a minute to warm up. The faucet was old and squeaked as Daxon adjusted the temperature. Steam began to rise as he stepped under the spray and let the water sluice down his body.
He had always loved showers. The sound blocked out all the other noise his sensitive ears picked up and the heat relaxed his always tight muscles. This time, he spent a little more time in there, lathering and remembering the feeling of Ryanne’s body pressed against his, the way she had tasted, the way she’d sounded when she’d rubbed herself to orgasm against his hard cock.
Damn. Maybe he should have kept those images out of his head because now he was rocking another boner.
He needed to get rid of that before encountering any members of the Pride. They would never let him live it down.
Shit. Charlie. He had hurt her last night with his comment about her and Aron having babies. Was she still mad at him? He could see Aron being pissed but wasn’t sure whether Charlie held grudges or not.
Only one way to find out.
Stepping into his bedroom with a towel wrapped around his waist, Daxon quickly dressed in a pair of jeans and another t-shirt and left his feet bare. He still didn’t hear sounds of life, but he wanted to make coffee in hopes of making amends.
Turned out it wasn’t necessary.
Charlie came out of the room she shared with her mate – and husband – and smiled brightly at him. Apparently, she had been a morning person her whole life, something that tended to grate on the nerves of the panthers who usually ended up staying up late and sleeping in.
They were never mean to her, but it wasn’t exactly easy to be a ball of energy when one lived on three to four hours of sleep every day.
Not lately, though. Since they’d believed they had eradicated the threat in the area, they had all been taking a bit of a sabbatical.
Until they had found Ryanne and Penny. That couldn’t have been a coincidence. No way would there only be a couple of Shifters out there picking up where Talonwood and Black Feather left off.
Not that they had ever been able to prove the crows had been in on it. They would, though. Even if it took years, those assholes would go down for that shit.
“Coffee?” Daxon offered Charlie.
“Thanks,” she said as she waited for him to pour her a cup. “You’re up early.”
He shrugged.
“I mean, you came home pretty late. I figured you would sleep as late as your brother.”
Daxon snorted. He and his brother had always been night owls, staying up late then sleeping even later into the day. They had always had more fun when the sun went down. Then, when Ravenwood took it upon themselves to try to end, or at least slow, the abductions, they’d really began to stay up late, usually into the wee hours of the morning.
Charlie took a seat at the table and looked at Daxon expectantly. She obviously wanted to talk. Or maybe she just wanted company.
“So,” she started when he pulled a chair out and lowered into it.
Nope. She had something to say.
Daxon braced himself for the ass chewing. He’d had no right to say that to her, especially knowing it was a sore spot.
“You like her,” she said after a few seconds.
His brows popped up. Not what he expected. Then again, these women were always surprising the guys.
Guess he should’ve known one or both of them would want to gossip about last night. Neither of them would have been able to smell Ryanne on him, but they knew damn well where he’d been last night.
And who he’d been with.
No use lying about it. “Yes.”
“A lot,” she said. Not asked, but said.
“Yes.”
Her smile turned soft. “Her little sister is adorable.”
“Yeah,” he said and felt his heart go all mushy. “She’s pretty cool. And she thinks I’m fun.” He pushed out his chest and preened a little.
Charlie chuckled and shook her head. “Well, that’s one opinion.”
Daxon snorted a laugh as he brought his mug to his lips.
“They’re not going to stop, are they?” she asked.
Daxon looked up at her but she was looking through the front window as if deep in thought.
“Who?”
“The crows. The rogues. And all those other jerks. It makes me think…”
When she didn’t say anything for a few minutes, Daxon leaned forward on his forearms.
“Makes you think what?”
She finally turned her eyes to him. “Maybe it’s a good thing we’re not able to get pregnant.”
“You don’t know that. It d
oesn’t happen right away for everyone.”
Charlie blinked rapidly as tears welled in her eyes and waved him off. “I know that. But maybe it’s good that I haven’t. What if we have a daughter? Then we’ll have to worry about her every single day like my parents did for me. I mean, I guess we could always have a son, but there are so many what ifs and maybes in this conversation. You know?”
He nodded. He wanted to comfort her but had no idea what to say to make her feel better. What was worse? Not being able to live your dream of being a parent or living in fear every day of your child’s life?
The door to Brax’s room opened and Campbell exited with her mate on her heels.
“Good morning,” Charlie chimed, and was answered by matching grunts.
Daxon smirked at his twin, earning the middle finger as he stepped into the bathroom with Campbell.
Being as Campbell had her own place in House Springs, Daxon had no idea why they chose to stay in the cramped trailer so often. It wasn’t like they were getting home late every night anymore.
Or at least they weren’t before. Daxon still couldn’t wrap his mind around the fact Ryann’s attack was a coincidence.
“You think the crows are back to their shit?” Daxon asked Aron as he entered the room.
The Alpha’s dark blond brows dropped and he shook his head. “I haven’t even had coffee yet. Let me wake up before I have to deal with more crap.”
He winked down at Charlie.
“Good morning, husband.”
“Good morning, wife,” he said, pressing a quick peck to her lips as he made his way to coffee maker.
The shower turned on in the bathroom. Looked like Brax and Campbell were going to share the shower this morning. Probably a good idea since they tended to run out of hot water with so many bodies in the trailer.
“Where’s Mason?” Daxon asked.
“Still sleeping,” Aron answered. “Heard that jackoff snoring when I walked by his room.”
Yep. Everyone in the house was a grouch ass first thing in the morning except sweet Charlie.
“What are your plans today?” Charlie asked, propping her chin in her hands as she smiled at Daxon.
He knew exactly what she was fishing for and he had no intention of hiding it. What was the point? Even if she couldn’t smell Ryanne on him when he came home, the panthers would. And Aron would tell his mate.
“Hoping to see Ryanne today. I haven’t talked to her yet, so I don’t know if she has other plans.”
“She’ll want to see you,” she said with so much confidence Daxon believed her.
“What makes you say that?” Aron said as he pulled out a chair and sat beside his mate. “You hardly know her.”
“I know how a woman looks when she likes a guy. And Ryanne definitely likes Daxon. Have you called her yet?”
“Today?” Daxon asked. Charlie nodded. “Not yet. I’ve only been up a few minutes longer than you. I don’t want to wake her up.”
“She’s up,” Charlie said as she lifted her mug.
“And you know this because?” Daxon teased.
“She has Penny. Little kids get up with the sun. She’s probably been up for hours, watching her phone and wondering if you’re going to call her.”
“Is that what girls do?” Daxon asked, leaning forward again.
“We do when you guys make us…you know.”
Daxon’s eyes shot to Aron. “You told her?”
“I don’t keep secrets from my mate. And I’m sure she figured out something was up when you refused to talk about it last night.” Aron looked like he didn’t give a shit whether Daxon was upset about him gossiping with Charlie.
Then he realized his twin probably told Campbell the same thing after they went to bed. The whole house now knew he had fooled around with Ryanne.
But he was still on cloud nine. There was nothing that could knock him down.
****
Ryanne sat at the table while Penny watched a cartoon. She didn’t tend to put her sister in front of the television so early in the day, but Ryanne’s mind was all over the place.
She couldn’t believe what she had done with Daxon last night. Not that she felt guilty or any regret. She couldn’t believe how good he had made her feel with their clothes still on.
The desire to truly be alone with him was so strong. She just didn’t know anyone she could trust to stay with Penny and to keep her safe.
Daxon’s friends seemed nice, but she didn’t know them. Penny was Ryanne’s responsibility. She wasn’t going to pawn her sister off on someone so she could get laid.
Placing her cool hands against her cheeks, she tried to get her mind out of the gutter.
It was nearly impossible.
He had been so sexy. Sexier than anyone she had ever met. And what they had done…it had felt natural.
Sure, it was the first time they had kissed, among other things, but there had been no awkwardness over him seeing her bare breasts. She had a feeling she would have stripped naked if he would have asked. He had that much power over her.
No. That wasn’t what it was, but she couldn’t put a label on it. It was like her lynx was pushing her to mate with Daxon, and in more ways than simply sinking her fangs into his flesh.
Turning to look through the front window, Ryanne narrowed her eyes. There was a flock of birds high in the trees at the far end of her property. She used to wish she had been born a flight Shifter. The thought of turning into a bird and flying away whenever someone scared her was so appealing.
But she was born with a submissive feline. A lynx. One of the smaller of the wild cats.
The birds got noisy, squawking before they burst into the sky like a black cloud and flew away.
Ryanne pushed to her feet and hurried to the window to watch them fly away. Were those hawks? They were bigger than most birds she saw around here. But they were black. She couldn’t remember seeing any black hawks in these parts. Didn’t mean they didn’t exist.
Pulling her phone from her pocket, she Googled what birds were native to Missouri. There were always birds passing through the country, but that was usually in Spring and Fall when they were heading North or South depending on the weather.
No black hawks. Ravens were the only bird that were big enough to possibly be what she had seen.
Regardless of the type of bird, that had been a cool scene. Shame she hadn’t had her phone ready to take a picture before they flew away.
“I’m hungry,” Penny said without turning from the TV.
It wasn’t lunch time, but Ryanne had set a pretty tight schedule when it came to meals and snacks for her little sister. She had always seemed so much smaller than other kids her age and Ryanne was hoping to plump her up a tad.
“After a snack, we’re going to go play outside, okay?” Ryanne said as she grabbed an apple and began to cut it.
“It’s hot. Can we play in here today?”
Turning to frown at Penny, she said, “Yeah. Sure.”
Since when didn’t Penny want to play outside. Even when it was raining, the little girl begged to be out there.
Maybe she was tired. Even kids had restless nights sometimes.
Instead of carrying the apple slices to where Penny sat, Ryanne called her to the table.
As she set the bowl on the table, her phone chimed and vibrated on the countertop.
Butterflies took flight in her belly as she snagged it from the cheap linoleum top and checked the message.
Daxon. He wanted to know if she had plans today. She never really had plans. She spent all her time raising her little sister, teaching her the things she would learn if she went to kindergarten.
Three seconds after she sent her reply to Daxon, he called her. She jumped when her phone rang in her hand and she sounded breathless as she answered the call.
“Hey,” she said, then put her hand against her cheek again. It did nothing to cool them or quell her excitement.
“Can I come over today?” he as
ked. Oh, the things his voice did to her body.
“Of course.”
“Is it rude to invite myself over?”
Ryanne smiled and lowered into the chair beside her baby sister. “Not at all. I would have invited you over, anyway.”
“Is that Daxon? Is he coming to play today?” Penny asked around a bite of apple.
“I thought you didn’t want to play outside because it was too hot.”
Penny shrugged her tiny shoulders. “I will if Daxon is here.”
Ryanne frowned at Penny, but the girl’s attention was already stolen by her snack.
“Guess that makes it two invitations,” Ryanne said.
“See you soon.”
This time, Ryanne didn’t need to change. She was wearing a sun dress that left her shoulders and arms bare but the hem line cut off at her knees. Because she had been blessed – or cursed, depending on who you asked – with larger breasts, she had to wear a bra underneath.
Penny was engrossed in both her snack and her TV show when Ryanne looked back at her.
She only wanted to play outside if Daxon was here? Why? Was she scared? And what had freaked her out enough to not want to be out there without the big, intimidating male?
As Penny dove into her snack, Ryanne stepped to the front door and looked out. She hadn’t heard or scented anything out of the ordinary. And even if she had, Penny wouldn’t have. Her human senses wouldn’t detect the tiny changes in the air.
She could be having a hard time over what had happened a couple weeks back. Ryanne had been surprised her sister had gotten over the trauma so quickly. There was a good possibility it was finally hitting her that she and her big sister had almost been taken by strangers.
Perhaps Daxon coming over would help distract her from that fear. Even if it stung a little that her sister felt safer with someone she barely knew over her big sister who had taken care of her and protected her over the past three years, it was good someone made her feel safe.
Making sure there was no obvious mess and the dishes in the sink were washed and put away, Ryanne talked Penny into waiting outside for Daxon.
“He’s on his way, though, right?” she confirmed as she followed her big sister outside.
“Yes,” Ryanne said with a reassuring smile. “What’s going on with you? Since when don’t you want to play outside?”
