The front door shut, and her aunt tsked. “He’s at work. I’ll give him a call, and he can come home.”
“Oh, it can wait,” she protested, following her aunt into the homey kitchen decked out in red gingham.
“Nonsense! He’s the fire chief, and he can do what he wants. It’s one of the perks of being the boss.” She winked, and picked up her cell, calling Don. After a quick conversation, she set the phone back down and said, “He’ll be home in about ten minutes. Now, I have to say, honey, that you look like you’ve been through the wringer. Are you hungry?”
She definitely was and she knew that Jericho was as well. The few things he’d been able to gather from Brio’s cupboards hadn’t lasted them long, and he didn’t have much cash on him after having to pay for the campsite for the day.
By the time Don got home, she and Jericho were eating homemade mac and cheese with ham and Swiss sandwiches. Lachlyn stood when Don walked in. He really was a bear, even in his human form. All bear males tended to be large in their human form, and Don was tall and broad. Most bear females were fairly large as well, taller than her own five feet six, and more generously curved than her own curvy body.
He drew her into his big arms. She had many fond memories of him from when her parents would take her to visit Don and his den during summer vacations. Emotion bubbled up inside her and she started to cry. He held her, turning to Jericho for answers when she was unable to provide them. Jericho told them what had happened.
Don snarled angrily and released his hold on her, pushing her gently to the chair. He looked at Gwen. “Call Sarah and ask her to bring her bag and come check her wounds.”
“They’re fine, Uncle Don,” she protested, but he wouldn’t hear it.
“You don’t heal as well as we do because you can’t shift, honey. There’s nothing wrong with having a professional look at things. I don’t have a medical bag with me, and I’m sure you don’t want me looking at your bare leg anyway. Sarah will handle properly tending to your wounds.” Turning to Jericho he said, “Your dad is a crazy fuck. We need to keep him from finding out that you guys are here. That means no credit cards and no phone calls home. How are you fixed for money?”
“I have a couple of accounts that he doesn’t know about. I just need a computer.”
Don nodded. “Obviously, you’ll stay here as long as you need to. Gwen can make up the spare room for you two.” He cleared his throat and looked between them. “You two are mated, correct?”
Lachlyn blushed. “Not officially. He just asked me.”
“And you said yes?” Don prodded.
Lachlyn nodded.
“Alright then,” Don said.
Gwen asked, “Do you have clothes of your own, Lachlyn?”
She shook her head. Gwen smiled reassuringly, “I have some old things of Sarah’s upstairs, and I’m sure something will fit. I can take you out shopping in a few days for your own clothes.”
Breathing in a sigh of relief at Don not batting so much as an eyelash at her troubles, she joined Gwen as she walked upstairs, leaving Jericho to speak with her uncle.
Gwen opened the closet in the spare bedroom and pulled the string on a light that illuminated the interior. Clothes were packed tightly from one side to the other. Gwen began to pull out items, shoving and tugging until a small pile of clothes sat on the bed. Gwen sorted through what she’d pulled from the closet. Tucking a strand of graying blonde hair behind her ear, Gwen said, “I remember Jericho from your parents’ funeral. He was very attentive to you. I was surprised that you weren’t mated back then. What happened?”
Lachlyn sat down on the bed, her heart constricting slightly. After a brief pause to gather her thoughts, she told her how they’d always seemed to get pulled away from each other. She’d loved him forever, but her lack of shifting had always made her feel like less of a woman.
“If he did ever talk about a future between us, I always figured he was just being nice. He was meant to be king, Aunt Gwen. I never expected that what we shared would be more than…what it was.”
She nodded. “But you wanted it to be more, right?”
Lachlyn chuckled. “Of course. Have you seen him? He’s sex on a stick. He knows me better than anyone and still wants to be with me.” She explained his thought that they were destined to be in a tri-mating.
“Hmmm,” Gwen said, brushing her knuckles across her cheek in thought. “I didn’t realize his mom was in a tri-mating. Do you know anything about tri-matings?”
Lachlyn shook her head.
“They’re not all that common among bears. Bear males can be territorial jackasses when it comes to their females. Does Jericho have any other brothers or male relatives his age?”
“No. His mom has one brother that never mated, and his dad was an only child once he killed his half-brother who mated Jericho’s mom.”
“Perhaps you’ll meet your mate here in Bracks. But regardless, I want you and Jericho to treat our home as your own, for however long you need it.” Gwen hugged her.
The bedroom door opened and her Aunt Sarah, carrying a medical bag, walked in. Lachlyn stood and hugged her, and then Gwen left them alone in the room, shutting the door softly.
“Let me see what your psycho former king did to you, alright?” Sarah said, putting the bag on the bed and opening it.
She wasn’t wearing a bra, so when she pulled the oversized shirt over her head, she kept the material bunched around her breasts. She wore a pair of boxers under the pants, and she kept those on. Sarah pulled the bandages away from her shoulder and thigh and inspected them.
“The prongs didn’t go in deep enough to do any lasting damage, which is a very good thing. They’re healing slowly. Even though it’s unlikely that you’ll get an infection because bears don’t get them, I’m going to give you a course of antibiotics to take for the next five days just to be sure. That prod could have come from some disgusting, filthy barn, so no telling what awful stuff it had stuck to it. I’m going to clean the wounds and put on fresh bandages, and then you can get dressed.”
“Can I take a shower?” Lachlyn asked.
“You can take a bath before bed, but try not to get the bandages wet. Have Jericho help you.”
After her wounds were cleaned and bandaged, Sarah helped her pick out a loose skirt and shirt, and they headed downstairs together.
Jericho’s face lit up when she walked into the kitchen, and he stood abruptly from where he’d been sitting at the kitchen table. He urged her to take his seat and stood next to her, looking at Sarah.
“How is she?”
Sarah smiled. “Good. The wounds should be healed completely in a few days, and I’ve got her on antibiotics for five days, so make sure she takes one pill twice a day.” Sarah fished a yellow plastic bottle out of her bag and tossed it to Jericho, who looked at the label and nodded.
“I’ll make sure she is taken care of,” Jericho said.
Sarah met Lachlyn’s eyes and smiled further, a dimple forming in her cheek. “I need to get back to work.”
Lachlyn thanked her aunt for coming to help her, and Sarah kissed her cheek. “I’ll see you Sunday night.”
“Sunday?” Lachlyn asked.
“Yeah. It’s Don’s birthday, and it also happens to be the monthly Sunday get together with a bunch of his pals from Ashland. Gwen goes all out with cooking, so I definitely make sure to free up my night to come and stuff my face.”
“I’m making Don’s favorite,” Gwen said.
“Pot roast and veggies?”
“Of course.” Gwen winked at Lachlyn and then laughed as Sarah practically swooned.
“It’s my favorite, too. I haven’t had pot roast in far too long. Make enough so I can take leftovers home.”
“Yeah, right,” Don chuckled. “You know those cats are like big furry locusts.”
“Cats?” Lachlyn asked.
Don said, “My friends are mountain lions. You’ll enjoy their company. They’re really great people.”
They sat in the comfortable kitchen and had chocolate chip pound cake with fresh strawberries and talked. Lachlyn had forgotten how good being around family felt. She’d definitely missed her aunt and uncle, and although the circumstances sucked, she was glad to be with them now.
When exhaustion plucked at the edges of her consciousness, Jericho took her upstairs to the bedroom after they both said goodnight to her aunt and uncle.
“I really want to clean up first,” she said as he turned down the bed.
His movements stilled and he looked at her. “Do you need help?”
She flushed and cleared her throat. “Yeah. I’m not supposed to get the bandages wet until tomorrow, but Sarah said I could take a bath tonight if you helped. Would you?”
He nodded and strode past her to the adjoining bathroom, grasping her hand and tugging her with him. The standard-size tub and shower combo had a floral curtain hanging from golden rings that screeched noisily on the bar when he pushed it open. Adjusting the water, Jericho turned and reached for her shirt, and she pushed his hands away instinctively and stepped back.
“What’s the matter?” he asked, his brow furrowed.
“Nothing. I guess I’m just feeling a little vulnerable, and you’re being very brusque.”
He sat down on the toilet lid and let out a sigh. “I’m not trying to be brusque, Sunshine. I’m trying to keep a tight hold on my emotions right now. So if my actions are coming across as anything but caring, then I’m sorry.”
“Why are you keeping a tight hold on your emotions?” He looked positively calm.
“Because I know that seeing the bandages on your skin is going to make my bear go berserk and want to hunt my father down and tear him apart. So I’m reining him in so I can help you.”
“If you’d rather not, I can manage.”
He snarled a little and his eyes flashed. “I’m your mate, Lachlyn. I can control myself in order to help you. And I want to tend to you, Sunshine. I fucked up by not being there for you in the first place.”
“No, you didn’t.”
He opened and closed his mouth several times before finally saying, “Let’s get you into the water.”
Standing, he helped her undress and then climb into the tub without getting the bandage on her thigh wet, which involved keeping the leg over the edge of the tub in a very unladylike pose. Jericho turned off the water and grabbed the washcloth from the towel rack and dunked it into the water, lathering it with a bar of soap on the edge of the tub and then handing it to her.
She washed her body quickly, hyper-aware of his eyes tracking her movements, which made her skin flush and her heart pound. She wondered if he was as affected by what she was doing as she was.
“Do you want me to wash your hair?” he asked, breaking the silence.
“No, I’ll leave that for tomorrow. Don’t want to go to bed with wet hair.”
He nodded and watched as she carefully washed the leg with the wound without getting the bandage wet, and then he unplugged the tub drain and pulled a large, green towel from the rack. First he patted the wounded leg and arm dry, and then he draped her body with the towel and scooped her up into his strong arms and put her feet down on the plush rug. His movements as he patted the rest of her skin dry could only be called efficient. He wasn’t caressing her like a lover at all. If she hadn’t been able to tell from the obvious bulge in his jeans that he was turned on, she might have been a little miffed at his behavior. She had a feeling that along with keeping his bear under wraps because of his anger towards his father, he was also keeping tight control over his sexual desires.
She tugged a sleep shirt over her head and stood at the sink brushing her teeth. When she was finished, she left Jericho to clean up in the bathroom while she situated herself on the full bed.
The door to the bathroom opened, and Jericho came out wearing only jeans, his shirt in his hand, which he tossed in the clothes hamper next to the dresser. He stopped at the end of the bed and looked at her.
“You’re coming to bed, aren’t you?” she asked, running her hand over the empty place next to her.
“You’re injured, Sunshine.”
“Yeah.”
“We can’t make love right now.”
She hid her laugh behind a tight smile, pressing her lips together. “I said bed, not bed. But I do want you to sleep with me tonight.”
He only hesitated for a moment, and maybe he was remembering the rather uncomfortable-looking couch downstairs, or that it might be embarrassing to tell her aunt and uncle that he didn’t want to sleep in the same bed with her. However he arrived at the decision to climb into bed with her, she was glad he did. He pulled the covers back further and she said, “You’re not going to sleep in jeans, are you?”
His face flushed. “I’m not wearing anything underneath them.”
This time she couldn’t hide the laugh. “I promise not to molest you while you sleep. Come on, Jericho. Nothing has changed. I’m still the same girl, and you’re still the same guy.”
The side table lamp clicked off, and she heard him remove his jeans. The bed dipped as he joined her, his arm sliding around her back and pulling her gently to his chest. With a low sigh, he pressed his lips to the top of her head. “You’re wrong, Sunshine. Everything’s changed.”
Chapter 5
Alek stared out the passenger window of his dad’s sedan as they drove to Don Pope’s home Sunday evening. Alek had tried, unsuccessfully, to find ways to be too busy to go, but his father had been firm in making sure that their entire family was there. Which meant that not only were his brothers and sister-in-law and their three children following in their SUV, but his three uncles, aunt, and six kids were coming along as well. His Uncle John, who was also a police officer, had a fourteen-year-old son named Henry. Both rode in the car with them, John in the front talking quietly with Alek’s dad and Henry in the back seat next to him, busily texting someone.
Don Pope’s home was a modest house in Bracks, where he lived with his wife, Gwen. The bear den in Bracks had twenty-seven members, but Alek had only ever met Don, his wife, and his sister, Sarah. There was a time, when he first moved to Ashland and met Sarah, that the lions all assumed something would start between them. She’d seemed interested in him, but he didn’t really see the point of dating just for the sake of dating, when he knew very well that she wasn’t his mate.
His dad stopped the car and opened his door, and Alek got out, stretching slightly and re-tucking his dress shirt. Don and his family were a casual bunch, and so were the lions, but the once-a-month Sunday dinner was a special occasion, and he dressed in a button-down and slacks so that he didn’t stick out like an under-dressed sore thumb around his family.
Two of his cousins, Ben and Brian, each grabbed one of his hands, and he smiled down at them in their cute dress shirts and pants, complete with clip-on ties. They didn’t say anything, simply smiled up at him and walked with him to the front porch. He loved his little cousins. They were the best kids in the world.
Ethan, holding the hand of his son Elliott, knocked on the front door. After a long moment, Gwen swung the door open and said, “I keep telling you to just come on in, Ethan!”
Ethan kissed her cheek. “Sorry, Gwen. It’s all those good manners my dad forced on me as a kid.”
She chuckled and hugged Callie who was standing next to Ethan. “Well, I’ll forgive you this time, but next time, you better just walk right in, you hear?”
“Yes ma’am,” Ethan said as he grinned and walked into the house with his family close behind. There were times when Alek envied his brothers and their family, and this was one of those times.
“Good to see you, Alek,” Gwen said. He brushed his lips across her cheek and returned the sentiment.
Stepping into the foyer, he caught the scent of something sweet and inhaled deeply. The scent was like nothing he’d ever smelled before and made his cat sit up and purr in his mind.
“Wow, something smells
good, Gwen,” he said over his shoulder as he walked towards where the scent seemed to grow stronger.
“Oh, aren’t you sweet! I tried out a new dessert recipe for tonight, so I hope you all like it.”
Alek thought it was strange that his body warmed so much at the scent of a dessert. In fact, he was fairly certain that what smelled so good to him wasn’t actually food at all, but when he walked into the big kitchen, the scent vanished, and all he saw in the kitchen was his family, Don, Sarah, and a tall, muscular guy with a frown standing against the far wall.
“Alek!” Don stood from the chair and shook his hand. Alek’s cousins followed Gwen as she ushered them into the living room to play board games until dinner. Alek shook Don’s large hand. “Good of you to come along. Haven’t seen you in awhile. You keeping busy?”
“Yes, sir,” Alek answered. “Happy birthday.” He glanced at the large man against the wall. There was something about him…
A voice called from upstairs. “Jericho? I need you.”
The voice made everything in Alek’s body go still. He wasn’t even sure that his heart was beating. Who was that? Just as fast as he’d asked himself the question, the large, scowling man jerked to attention and raced down the hallway like his ass was on fire.
“Who’s that, Don?” John asked, shaking his hand.
“That’s my niece Lachlyn’s mate, Jericho. They’re in a bit of trouble and came here for help.”
Alek’s ears tuned out as his stomach soured. The woman belonging to the sweet voice was mated to Jericho. Alek was no slouch in the muscles department, but Jericho was at least half a foot taller than him and built like a house. And if he was a bear shifter, he could throw Alek around in his cat form like a football.
His thoughts turned morose. He didn’t know why, but his mind kept trying to connect the delicious smell to the voice upstairs.
So what? If the woman upstairs is the one who smells so good, her mate could snap my spine without breaking a sweat.
His cat howled in dismay, but Alek shut down his emotions the way he’d been doing ever since Callie had come crashing into his brothers’ lives and he’d had a glimpse of what real love was like. He didn’t need to wonder what the woman upstairs looked like, because she wasn’t his.
Loving Lachlyn (Ashland Pride Two) Page 4
