A Shifter's Healing Love

by T. Cobbin

  She had carefully observed the interaction between him and Prue, looking for any sign that they might be together. She didn’t want to be in the middle of a relationship. When nothing indicated that they were more than mere friends, Danielle couldn’t dampen the small glint of hope that began to bloom in her chest.

  It was about that time when Danielle noticed that Leo showed signs that he liked her. He would wander around the house bare-chested, showing off his body like a peacock. He’d find ways to touch her. Everything from simple finger pokes, trying to find her ticklish spots, while playing around with her and the kids, to sitting next to her closely while watching a movie, even with Prue around.

  Then tonight, Leo had dropped his hand between them to hold her hand in a blatant move. She was surprised it felt comfortable enough to entwine her own fingers around his. When he’d fucked about and ripped his shirt off, she couldn’t help but belly laugh at his antics. But then, for some reason, a flash memory of Master ruined it. Why did that man still blacken her life?

  Now there she was, about to tell Leo about Master, on Christmas Eve for crying out loud. Why did she feel like she had to share? Why now, why today? Was it because Leo had made her feel better about herself in these brief months? Almost protected.

  Lifting her head, she looked up at him before dropping her gaze back down to stare at the fire. She would love nothing more than to sit there cuddling up to Leo for the rest of their lives. She envisioned a lifetime of love with him. She had no idea why she wanted it with this man, but she did.

  Lifting her chin metaphorically, she prepared to share her story with him. If he turned away from her, it would be no loss really as they weren’t in love; they were just friends. Undoubtedly, it would hurt her, being she’d gotten to like him. The one thing Danielle had learned these last three months was that Leo was a good man. What he’d done for the children was amazing. She didn’t think he’d fire her, as it hadn’t been her fault. Right? Suddenly indecision ripped through her heart and mind. Come on, Danielle, she urged herself. Just do it. Trust your instincts!

  “I was twenty-one and out clubbing with a friend,” she started. Her mouth went dry, her heart pounded, and her palms were sweaty, but she continued. “You’re the first person I’ve ever told this to,” she said nervously. She relished the feel of his lips when he kissed her forehead.

  “You don’t have to tell me, sweetheart, if you aren’t ready. But I will listen with all ears if you do. I’m not here to judge you. You’re here, safe with me.”

  She stared up into his dirty green eyes before turning back to the fire. She couldn’t look into his eyes and see his emotions when she needed to control her own.

  Tucking her feet underneath herself, she continued. “My friend had left, so I was sitting at the bar thinking about going home, when a man approached me. He asked if he could buy a pretty lady a drink. He was standing slightly in the shadow the lights created, but from what I could see, he was sharply dressed in what looked to be an expensive gray suit. The top half of his face was shaded, so I couldn’t see his eyes. However, I could tell that he was handsome...a chiseled jaw, clean-shaven.”

  Danielle paused for a moment. The image of Master and the way he made her feel that night was one she badly wanted to forget, but to her sorrow, it seemed to be forever engraved in her memory.

  “Of course, I glanced around, wondering who he was talking to. I was shocked to find it was me. I’m ashamed to say I accepted his offer.”

  “Hey now. Why ashamed?” Leo asked, his voice full of wonder.

  “Because if I hadn’t been so flattered, I wouldn’t have accepted…” She went to withdraw her hand from Leo’s, but he gripped it tighter and pulled it into his lap, his fingers stroking along her skin.

  “Look at me, Danielle.”

  Reluctantly, she did, meeting his green eyes. She saw a whole range of emotions flash in a matter of seconds.

  “I see a wonderful, beautiful person sitting beside me. If you’re about to tell me you accepted his offer because you think you were either ugly, chubby, or anything like that, then don’t tell me. There could be a whole range of reasons you accepted. Perhaps you were feeling lonely after your friend left you, or maybe you were slightly drunk. It doesn’t matter. A man offered you a drink and you accepted. Simple. What happened, happened. You can’t turn the clocks back. If something bad happened to you, something you didn’t want to take place, then, sweetheart, it definitely wasn’t your fault.”

  When her gaze slid down to look at their entwined fingers, Leo lifted her chin with a finger, forcing her to look at him again.

  “I see a beautiful, young lady with a smile that could light up a night sky. I see a woman with the most stunning pair of eyes, that sparkle when she’s happy. Don’t put yourself down, sweet thing.”

  Danielle couldn’t help but smile, her cheeks heating as she did. “Thank you,” she whispered hoarsely. She was barely able to stop herself from crying.

  “You don’t need to thank me, just believe.”

  After a brief pause, they both turned back to stare at the fire, only this time instead of entwined fingers between them, Leo tucked an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close to him. Danielle couldn’t help but curl closer into his chest. The feel of him next to her, holding her, was… She didn’t have the word to describe it. She could only feel it with her heart that seemed to grow in her chest and beat out the unnamed emotion throughout her body.

  After what seemed an age, she took Leo’s words to heart and continued her story. She started from waking up in that room, confused and fighting to be released, up until Kevin committing suicide to help her escape and the money he’d given her.

  “How much was in the bag, and what did you do with it?” Leo asked.

  “Kevin said there was about a quarter of a million, and it’s upstairs, still in the bag he gave me. To be honest, I’m not entirely certain of the amount, because I’ve never counted it. I just used enough to get out of London and hide in the bed-and-breakfast. Then a little more to buy some clothes and to eventually travel here. I kept it in case of an emergency. Who knew how long I could keep this job, or how long I had before I had to re-join society because Ollie would need a proper education.”

  Danielle had no idea how long they sat together in front of the roaring fire while she recounted her tale. All she knew was that Leo listened patiently, only asking a question here and there. She did, however, notice the muscle in his arm behind her neck grow taut every so often, and out of the corner of her eye she saw his fist clench once or twice. But based on what she’d learned about Leo in the last three months, she felt that fist and his anger weren’t meant for her.

  “I was hiding in that bed-and-breakfast when I found the advertisement for this place. When I got the job, it was like a gift from the heavens.” She raised her gaze back up to Leo’s. She was surprised to see tears drifting down his cheeks. “Oh God,” she gasped. Were those tears for her? That huge hunk of a male was crying because of her?

  Leo’s free hand curved around her cheek. “No one should ever be treated as you were. You are more precious than gold to me.”

  Danielle’s heart stuttered in her chest. “I’m nothing, Leo. You don’t have—”

  Leo’s lips crashed down over hers, his tongue licking across her lips. She opened and allowed him entrance. Her whole body tingled as his tongue invaded her mouth. Without thought, she straddled his legs while her hands cupped his damp cheeks. Be it because of Christmas, the roaring fire, or because of her moving story, they both shared their intense emotions in that heated kiss. They drew apart, panting for breath.

  “You have no idea how long I’ve waited to do that,” Leo said as a smile broke out on his gorgeous face.

  “Probably as long as I have,” she replied.

  Chapter 5

  As Leo had listened to Danielle tell her story, he felt as if his heart was shattering into tiny pieces with each word. He’d never imagine in his wildest dre
ams this brave woman, his mate, had gone through such a thing. He couldn’t and didn’t want to stop the tears that fell. If it made him look weak, so be it!

  The surprised look on her face when she turned to look up at him nearly made him smile. How could he not feel any emotion when she told him her tale? It was heartbreaking to hear that she’d been used, beaten, and whipped on a regular basis for a year. To have been kept in a small room and not know if it were day or night. To have not seen anyone in that time besides her attacker. It would have been hell on earth.

  That last day, sitting in that pig’s office, must have been harrowing for Danielle. To be so close to freedom and believe it might only be a ruse for more punishment. And then to be left to lead a half-life, one where she would forever have to look over her shoulder, in case this Master found her.

  Leo’s gorilla dug and scraped along the inside of his skin. He continued to roar inside their mind with unfettered anger. He wanted to seek out this Master, to kill him on the spot for hurting such a precious treasure.

  What hurt Leo most was the fact their mate had gone through a year of hell and he never had an inkling of it. What if this Kevin had never helped free her? It was said that there was only one soul mate to a gorilla shifter. What if this Master had killed Danielle? He would forever have been lonely, never knowing what had happened to his mate. To never have been able to help her. It made Leo’s anger worse just thinking about that. Danielle was more than he could ever dream of, and he’d been so close to losing her.

  All of Leo’s thoughts flew the nest when Danielle had said “I’m nothing.”

  He cut off her words with a kiss. Her lips were soft as velvet when they pressed against his momentarily before she opened up to him. Fireworks exploded in his mind and loins when her tongue slid along his. When they drew apart it was too soon. He wanted more, so much more. Glancing at the clock, he was surprised to see it was two AM.

  Following his gaze to the clock, she giggled. “Well, that was an early Christmas present for sure, for both of us it seems.”

  He knew as well as she did that the children would be up at the crack of dawn. However, he wanted to spend more time with her, to have her wrapped up in his arms and know she was safe and secure.

  With reluctance in her voice, she said, “We have to get some sleep before the kids wake up.”

  “Well, being it’s Christmas and we have to keep the fire stoked so it’s warm for the children in the morning, you could lay with me on the settee, perhaps sleep in my arms?” he chanced asking.

  He saw the denial before she said anything, so he needed to remind her she’d been brazen enough to straddle his lap not a few minutes ago. Lifting his hips, he saw the moment she realized just that. With his heightened senses, he detected her arousal deepen. As did the pink tinge to her cheeks.

  “I suppose it couldn’t hurt.” She shrugged. “We could tell the children we stayed up to talk to Father Christmas.” She climbed off his lap and stood, leaving the cold to quickly seep into his skin. He instantly missed the feel of her against him. “You stoke the fire and I’ll grab a quilt,” she offered.

  “Sure thing.” He clambered to his feet and made his way to the fire, but only after watching her leave the room. The sway of her backside was a thing of beauty. The last few months had been torture not to put his hands and cock where he wanted to, but after what she’d told him tonight, he was glad he hadn’t pushed her.

  Leo glanced at his discarded t-shirt and thought about putting it back on, but decided not to bother. It wasn’t as if he felt the cold, and if she were to lay next to him, he wanted to feel as much skin on skin as he could.

  After placing enough wood on the fire to keep it going until morning, he lay down on the couch, leaving a small space between him and the back of the sofa. His mate was finally going to be laying near him, on him, or beside him. His gorilla hooted in his mind, as excited as Leo was.

  His heart fluttered when Danielle returned in shorts and a t-shirt, carrying a quilt. She seemed hesitant for a second, standing beside the couch with the bedding in her hand, but eventually she knelt between his spread legs and crawled up over his body, pulling the quilt over top of them both. She lay half over his body and half in the gap. He’d tried hard to hide his erection before she’d returned, but it pushed against his shorts, and with her lying on the side he normally hung, he knew she could feel it. There was definitely no hiding it. But if she noticed, she was either too polite to say something, or too embarrassed to mention it. Together, they lay in comfortable silence, relaxing in each other’s company.

  When he began to stroke his hand up and down her back, she stiffened. He had no idea why until he felt the first raised scar. Her thin t-shirt didn’t hide anything; he felt another and another. Remembering what she’d told him, he understood why she’d stiffened. He continued to stroke, trying to show her that they didn’t bother him, and felt her gradually relax against his body. Leo listened to her breathing slow and become more even, to the point he knew she’d fallen asleep. Only then, after relishing her curves next to his body, did he let sleep overcome him.

  * * * *

  A high-pitched scream followed by another slightly deeper one had Leo bolting up in a sitting position and looking around in a panic. His sleepy eyes eventually focused on two grinning and excited children standing behind the sofa.

  Leo had started awake so quick he’d forgotten that Danielle had fallen asleep on the couch with him until a small movement caught his eye just behind him, reminding him she was there. The children had yet to see her as she was hidden beneath the quilt and the back of the sofa.

  “Father Christmas came.” Gracie squealed and hugged Ollie while staring at the Christmas tree.

  “And look, he ate the mice pie and took the carrots for the reindeers.” Ollie pointed to the small table that now only held an empty plate with crumbs on it.

  “Mice pie, huh?” Leo asked, unable to hide his chuckle.

  “Pops, can we open our presents now?” Gracie asked in a pleading manner, diverting his question from Ollie.

  Her eyes sparkled with Christmas delight and wonder. Why did it feel like this was the first Christmas morning he’d really seen her? Had he been so wrapped up in his work and life that he hadn’t noticed how cute and adorable she was when excited?

  “Oh dear, I seem to be hearing some high-pitched elf voices. Leo, tell them to be quiet or they’ll wake the children.”

  Both children giggled and looked around the sofa toward a now wriggling Danielle under the quilt.

  Ollie dove onto the messed-up bedding. “I hear my mummy. What are you doing down here?”

  “Rawr!” Danielle sat up, roaring at Ollie like a mad woman and reaching for her son from beneath the quilt.

  When her head appeared, her hair was mussed, but the smile on her face matched both children’s. To Leo, Danielle with that look on her face, after seeing so much fear in the last few months, was the best present any man could ask for on any day let alone Christmas.

  “Well,” Danielle said, holding her son against her. “Leo kept the fire going so you wouldn’t be cold this morning, and I stayed up with him to show Father Christmas where to put all those presents.” She pointed to the gifts under the tree.

  “Can we open them?” Ollie asked.

  “Oh, I don’t know, perhaps we should make them eat breakfast first?” Leo teased.

  The children’s faces suddenly looked distraught.

  “Stop teasing them,” Danielle scolded Leo. “You just want to open your presents before they do.” She winked at him.

  Leo tutted then rolled his eyes. “Caught out.” He pretended to pout. “Go on then, go open your pressies.” He smiled.

  With another two excited squeals, Ollie and Gracie were under the tree.

  * * * *

  The morning was lost in a flurry of opening presents, eating breakfast, and then playing with new toys. By the time dinner was being cooked the kids were still dressed in their
pajamas, and Danielle and Leo were still wearing the shorts and t-shirts they’d had on the night before. Leaving the children to play with their toys, Leo went to the kitchen. He moaned at the wonderful aroma filling the air. It gave him a hearty, welcome-home feeling.

  “Dinner smells great,” he said, walking toward Danielle. He stood behind her and placed his hands on her waist. He was pleased she didn’t stiffen, just leaned back against his chest.

  “It does, doesn’t it? I love cooking, but I definitely enjoy eating it more.”

  “I’m glad I decided to come home. This has been the best Christmas yet since my parents went away.”

  Danielle turned in his arms, her breasts pressing against his chest. “That’s the first time you’ve mentioned your parents. Do you not get on with them?”

  Leo chuckled. “Quite the opposite. Couldn’t have asked for better creators. I love the bones of them, as they do me. But since my father retired they have traveled heaps and I hardly get to see them.”

  “They know about Gracie though?”

  “Yes, they tell me how proud they are of me quite often. I do, however, envisage a visit from them very soon.”

  “Oh?”

  Leo shrugged her question off. He couldn’t inform her just yet that his parents would be on the first plane home once he told them he’d found his mate, because Danielle didn’t know herself.

  Leo missed his parents greatly. His father had worked hard his entire life, and provided well for the family. Which made it seem rather odd that he’d never made any updates to the house, such as adding indoor plumbing. But the man had never been great at do-it-yourself projects and he was reluctant to have someone else come onto the island. Leo’s mother had confessed to him that the lack of modern conveniences was one of the things that made her happy about leaving.

  Leo’s father had instilled in his son the importance of working hard. Gorilla shifters’ lifespans were twice as long as human. But this had downfalls being their kind would often become bored in one place, especially those who weren’t mated. Leo knew what was coming when his father started to place Leo’s name rather than his own on letterheads, etcetera. Eventually the business and band were handed down to Leo fully and his parents took off.