“Yes, you do.” Mathis turned her to face him again. “Come home with me.”
“Why should I?” Sadie wasn’t usually so confrontational but after the day she’d had, she couldn’t seem to help herself. “You don’t really want me there and I don’t want your pity. I’d rather stay in my car.”
“Goddamnit, woman!” Mathis let out a frustrated breath and scrubbed his hand over his face. “I do want you with me, all right?” he burst out. “More than I should. That’s why I asked you to leave last night. And for the record I did not kick you out.”
“You might as well have,” Sadie yelled over her shoulder, heading for the car again. “You acted like an asshole and your apology is not accepted! Leave me alone!”
“Like hell I will!”
He spun her to face him and then ducked, getting one broad shoulder under her waist. Before she knew quite what was happening, Sadie found herself being lifted high in the air, her head hanging down as Mathis carried her like a sack of grain slung over his shoulder.
“No! No!” she shouted, beating at his broad back with her fists. “Let me go! Let me go!”
“I’ll let you go when I’m damn good and ready,” he growled and tightened his grip on her thighs. It seemed he meant it—no matter how much Sadie fought and kicked, he kept a firm grip on her and continued his steady pace toward his cabin.
At last, Sadie went limp, all the fight abruptly leaking out of her body like air from a punctured tire. Her wet hair slapped her in the face with each of Mathis’s steps and she felt some emotion welling up inside her—a feeling of misery so complete she almost couldn’t breathe past it. What a horrible, horrible day! And now that her huge neighbor had her, who knew what might happen? Sadie didn’t know and she felt so wretched she almost didn’t care.
Finally they reached Mathis’s cabin. Once inside, he slammed the door closed and set her down to drip on the small throw rug that decorated the entryway.
“Now,” he said, glaring down at her from his immense height. “You’re not going to your car, and you’re sure as hell not gonna try getting into your cabin with that damn widow-maker halfway through your roof. You’re staying right here with me tonight—understand?”
“Yes,” Sadie said, and burst into tears.
“Hey—whoa, whoa. What’s wrong?” Mathis was instantly concerned. He leaned down, trying to get a better look at Sadie’s face, but he couldn’t because she’d covered it with her hands as her shoulders shook helplessly with sobs.
“Did I hurt you?” he asked anxiously.
“No.” She shook her head, her voice muffled by her hands. “I’m sorry. I’ve just had such a . . . such a shitty day.”
Oh, okay. Well, at least he wasn’t the source of her pain—or not the main source, anyway. It had been a long time since he’d comforted a female but Mathis found he hadn’t completely lost the knack.
“C’mere,” he said, gathering her, wet and dripping, into his arms.
“No!” At first she fought him, but Mathis wouldn’t let her get away. The pain in her called to him—wringing his heart. He needed to hold her—to make it better if he could.
At last she relaxed against him and sobbed, pressing her face to his soaking shirt as she cried. Mathis wrapped his arms around her and noticed she was shivering—no surprise since she was drenched through. They both were, come to think of it, but his Shifter blood kept him warmer than someone who hadn’t had their first Shift yet. Plus, Sadie had moved here from Florida—she had thin blood to start with from living down south.
“Sadie? Sweetheart?” He lifted her chin gently, trying to get a look at her. “You wanna tell me about it? About your day?” If she was anything like Kathleen had been, she just needed to talk—to get it off her chest. The thought of his lost mate gave him a twinge of guilt but he pushed it away. He was trying to comfort Sadie, not claim her. “Wanna talk?” he asked again softly.
She sniffed. “Well, there’s not much to talk about. Just that I tried to go grocery shopping but everyone was staring at me and then there was this bizarre fight and the manager kicked me out of the Piggly Wiggly instead of the boys that were fighting. And then, when I got to my car, someone had slashed all my tires. All I wanted to do was go home and curl up in bed but now I don’t have that option because my cabin is ruined and I don’t have the money to fix it—that’s all.”
She started crying again, her lovely features twisted in pain and Mathis’s heart ached for her. He held her close, stroking her trembling shoulders.
“Hey, it’s okay. It’s all right,” he murmured soothingly. “First thing in the morning I’ll go out and look at the damage—I’m sure it’s fixable.”
“Sure, if you have the money to fix it—which I don’t,” she said flatly and sneezed. “Oh, God—I’m sorry. I’m just miserable and tired and freezing.”
Mathis looked at her again and frowned. She was shivering uncontrollably, and her lips were actually blue. That was no good—he couldn’t have her going into hypothermia.
“Come on.” He took her by the hand and tried to lead her down the hallway but Sadie resisted.
“Why? Where are we going?”
“To warm you up.”
“Wait, my boots are a muddy mess.” She took off her boots and Mathis took his off as well, leaving both pairs on the much-abused entryway rug—he’d have to throw it in the washer later.
When they were both barefoot, he took her hand again and led her into his large master bathroom with its oversized tub.
“Wow.” Sadie’s eyes grew wide when she saw the tub. “That’s huge.”
“Custom built,” Mathis said with a touch of pride as he began running her a hot bath. He added bath salts, which he used when he soaked after a Shift, and then found an ancient bottle of bubble bath he’d kept because the scent reminded him of Kathleen. Pouring some into the tub, he couldn’t help remembering that he’d done this for his mate but again he pushed the memory away. He wasn’t trying to seduce Sadie—just keep her from keeling over from hypothermia.
“Okay,” he said to her, once the tub was mostly full. “I’m going in the other room for a minute. I want you to get in and get under the bubbles.”
Sadie bit her lip, looking at the tub uncertainly.
“I could just take a quick shower.”
“That won’t warm your core temperature,” he said firmly. “Don’t argue, Sadie—just get in the damn bath.”
“Yes, sir.” She gave him a mock salute that made Mathis smile. Good, she was feeling a little better. Or if not, at least a little feistier.
“I’m going to go change—you get in the tub,” he said, heading into his bedroom. As he closed the door, his shaft stirred in his damp jeans, reminding him that when he wasn’t worried about her being ill or injured, the rut came back full force. Her Juvie scent when she was naked and wet in the steamy tub was going to be pure torture to be around.
Mathis didn’t care. He just wanted her near him tonight. Wanted her here, under his roof where he could care for her and protect her and know she was safe.
You want her close so you can claim her, whispered an accusing little voice in his head.
Mathis frowned. That wasn’t true. He’d made a promise to never take another mate after Kathleen died and he didn’t intend to break it. He just wanted to take care of the little Juvie, he told himself. To make sure she was all right. And where was the harm in that?
There’ll be all kinds of harm if your rut gets out of control, the voice informed him. Was it the voice of guilt or the voice of self-doubt? Either way, Mathis pushed it aside. He was pure Alpha—he could control himself no matter how good Sadie smelled or how bad his rut got. He just had to focus his self-control and he was perfectly capable of that.
It’ll be all right, he told himself firmly. It has to be. And if things get too bad I can always Shift later on tonight, after she’s gone to sleep.
Though it seemed counterintuitive, changing to his animal form actually help
ed control the rut rather than adding to it. Possibly because the pain involved in the Shifting process did a lot to dampen desire. It wasn’t something Mathis wanted to do, but he would if he felt it was necessary to control himself.
I’ll be fine—we both will.
Putting any further doubts behind him, he went to get changed.
Eleven
Sadie stared at the huge oval tub heaped high with jasmine-scented bubbles for a moment. Should she really get naked in the house of a man she barely knew? But there was something about Mathis—under his gruff exterior beat a kind and honorable heart, Sadie could tell. Another round of shivers shook her, making her teeth chatter painfully.
“O-okay,” she muttered to herself. “That’s it. I’m g-going in.”
She tugged off the sodden sweater and then peeled off her soaked jeans with some difficulty. The denim seemed to have shrunk and it didn’t want to come off. In the end, she had to sit on the floor and fight with the wet fabric like a little kid. At last she got the jeans off and was down to her bra and panties.
Maybe I should leave them on? But that was ridiculous—who took a bath in their bra and underwear? Resolutely, Sadie pulled those articles off too. She left the whole heap of wet clothes in the corner of the shower stall where they could make a puddle in peace.
Then, slowly, inch by inch, she lowered herself into the steaming tub.
At first the hot water actually hurt—her skin was so cold she felt like a lobster being dropped into a boiling pot. But after a minute or two she got used to it. With a sigh of contentment, she sank down in the deep tub, feeling deliciously warm for the first time in what seemed like hours.
Just as she was getting comfortable, a knock on the bathroom door startled her.
“What?” she gasped, sitting up in the tub.
“It’s just me.” Mathis’s deep, growling voice came from the other side of the door. “You decent?”
“Decent?” Sadie looked down at herself—she was naked but the thick covering of bubbles obscured her body almost completely. “I . . . I guess so. Is there something you need in here?”
“Yeah. I’m coming in.”
He opened the door and Sadie saw that he had gotten out of his wet clothing and was wearing a pair of long navy-blue pajama bottoms and nothing else. His bare chest was broad and impressively muscular. Between the flat copper disks of his nipples was a light dusting of black chest hair that matched the hair on his head. A little trail of it ran down his washboard-flat abs into the waistband of the pajama bottoms.
The happy trail, Sadie thought—it was what she and Samantha used to call that little line of curls leading down into a boy’s trousers back in college. The memory made her blush.
“Um, you look like you’re ready for bed,” she said, trying to keep her voice light.
“Yeah, don’t worry about it. I’ll sleep on the couch,” Mathis rumbled.
“Oh, I didn’t mean—”
“It’s all right.” He gave her a level stare. “Just want you to know you’re safe here. I can control myself, no matter how good you smell.”
“Uh . . . okay.” Sadie wasn’t quite sure what to say about that. “Thanks, I guess.”
“You’re welcome,” he said, nodding.
Sadie had thought he might want something from the medicine cabinet—maybe the special pills Fiona made him. But to her surprise, instead of getting something from the bathroom and leaving, he came around and sat on the edge of the tub.
“Um . . .” She sank a little lower in the water, making sure the bubbles covered her completely. “Mathis . . .”
“Relax.” He’d brought a cup with him. Now he dipped it into the bathwater and motioned at her. “Lean your head back against the side.”
“What? Why?” Sadie looked at him suspiciously.
“Because I’m going to wash your hair of course,” he said, frowning. “Why do you think?”
“You . . . want to wash my hair?” Sadie still wasn’t sure what to make of him. “Why?”
He sighed. “Look, we didn’t end on the best note last night and I’m sorry for that.”
“So you want to wash my hair to make up for it?”
“No . . . God, I’m making a mess of this.” Mathis rubbed the back of his neck and then looked at her directly. “Listen, Sadie, you just seem like you could use a little TLC right now. And, well . . . I’d like to take care of you. Will you let me do that?”
Sadie studied his face for a moment. There was sincerity in his forest-green eyes she couldn’t doubt—tenderness just below his rough surface. She had the feeling it was an emotion he hadn’t used in a long time.
“All right,” she said at last. “If . . . if you really want to, I guess.”
“I do.” He gave her a little smile. “I used to do this for my wife, you know. I think I remember how to be gentle.”
“Okay.” Sadie leaned back, letting her head rest against the curved side of the tub. Her hair was already damp so Mathis didn’t have to pour much water over her head.
He got a dollop of shampoo in the palm of one large hand and she sat up a little at his direction to allow him to pull the long strands of her hair out of the water. After he had it all, Mathis rubbed the shampoo in, massaging her scalp in a way that made Sadie bite back a moan of pure pleasure.
God, how long had it been since anyone had taken care of her like this? As a wife and then a mom she was much more used to taking care of other people than getting any care herself. Her twins had been a handful and Jeff hadn’t been much better—she’d often joked that she had three kids instead of two. Sometimes she went and got a massage on her birthday or Mother’s Day but never in her wildest dreams could she have guessed that she would be sitting naked in a bubble bath getting her hair washed by a huge muscular man who was ten years her junior.
And enjoying it, whispered a little voice in her head. Not just enjoying it—getting off on it. Admit it, Sadie—you’re getting hot.
She squirmed uncomfortably in the tub, wishing she could deny it, knowing she couldn’t. There was something about the gentle touch of Mathis’s big hands on her hair that made her nipples feel tight and her pussy feel wet and swollen. She was incredibly glad that her physical responses were hidden by the bubbles on the surface of the water.
Mathis rinsed her hair and asked if she wanted conditioner.
“Sure.” Sadie’s voice came out in a squeak. She cleared her throat and tried again. “I mean, that would be nice. Thank you.”
“Welcome. I don’t use it much but I think I still have some around here.” He got up to rummage in the medicine cabinet, then came back with a small travel-sized bottle. Squeezing a generous squirt into his hands, he rubbed it through Sadie’s hair, his fingers gently untangling her long locks at the same time.
“That’s really nice—you said you did this for your wife?” Sadie asked, trying to make small talk to ease the awkwardness she felt growing inside her.
“Mmm-hmm. Her therapist used to say I was good at it because I’m one of those guys who need to be needed, whatever that means.” He gave a soft laugh. “It was probably his way of calling me pussy-whipped but I didn’t care.”
“Her . . . therapist?” Sadie asked hesitantly.
“Her physical therapist,” Mathis clarified. “She, uh, was in an accident not long after we were mated. It left her almost paralyzed on one side and she had to do a lot of therapy. I came with her, to learn how to help.”
“That’s beautiful that you would do that,” Sadie murmured.
“In sickness and in health, right?” His voice was a low rumble. “I take my vows seriously—very seriously.” He sounded almost as though he was reminding himself of the fact and not just talking to Sadie.
“Was the accident the reason . . . ?” But she couldn’t make herself finish.
“The reason she died?” Mathis’s voice hardened just a little. “Nah. It was cancer.” He fell silent, apparently unwilling to say any more about it.
“Lift up and close your eyes,” he ordered. “Time to rinse.”
Sadie sat up a little, allowing him to rinse the conditioner out of her hair. When it was squeaky clean, Mathis coiled it neatly on the back ledge of the huge tub and went to dry his hands on a towel. Then he sat back down, on the edge of the tub, facing her this time.
“So did you say something about a fight at the Piggly Wiggly?” he asked, frowning at her.
Sadie nodded, feeling embarrassed.
“It was bizarre. The bagboy and another boy who worked there started fighting and then the manager kicked me out instead of disciplining them.”
Mathis raised an eyebrow at her.
“And what were they fighting over?”
“Well . . .” Sadie could feel the heat rising in her cheeks. “It seemed like they were fighting over me—over who would help me out with my groceries. But that’s crazy, right? I mean, I’m old enough to be their mother.”
“You don’t look old enough to be anyone’s mom,” Mathis pointed out, his eyes suddenly half lidded as he studied her.
“Well, I used to,” Sadie insisted. “I’ve been . . . changing a little since I had my divorce, that’s all.”
“Changing a little. Right.” He gave a brief snort of laugher, as though she’d said something funny.
“Look, this isn’t the first time something weird like this has happened to me in Cougarville,” Sadie said, irritated that he would find her problems amusing. “I mean, everyone in the Piggly Wiggly was staring at me. I know I wasn’t just imagining it! And what about the way someone slashed my tires?”
Mathis frowned. “The tire thing is going too far. But they were probably just pissed because you’re an unmated Juvie in a public place with no mate to cover your scent.” He shook his head. “You shouldn’t do that, you know—if you came here looking for a mate, wait until you find him before you start going out in public.”
“What?” Here it was again—the foreign language everyone in Cougarville but her seemed to know. “What do you mean?” she asked Mathis.
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