by T. Cobbin
Her father’s weathered, tanned hand squeezed hers. “Sweetheart, you are newly mated. Your mum is going to be sick no matter where you are. I’m still sturdy enough to take care of her. Do you think your mother would want you here when you should be with your mate?” He winked at both of them. “Get your bag packed and go stay with your mate, dear girl. We are okay. You will come by every day anyway, I know you. Your mother will want this. Believe me.”
Belle shook her head in defiance. “No, I can’t. I don’t—”
“Belle Rosemary Grant, you listen to me.”
Belle felt Shawn stiffened beside her. Her father noticed and sent a stern look his way too.
“Not now, boy, this is between my daughter and me. If you have something to say, I’ll hear you out afterward.” Turning back to Belle, her father continued. “Your mother and I wanted a big family, but when we reached our forties and hadn’t gotten pregnant, we didn’t think we could have any kits. Then out of nowhere you came along.” Her father’s voice began to get softer as he became lost in his memories. “You were our blessing, sweetie. But we also knew we had more years on us than the average parent. We made sure we brought you up well enough to withstand what life could throw at you. That’s including if anything ever happened to one of us.” He motioned to himself then jerked his thumb toward the hallway, indicating her mother. “Now, as I said, I’m still able to take care of your mother. But we want you to live your life. Go be with your mate where you can...” Her father cleared his throat and a tinge of red appeared on his cheeks. “...do what you do without having to worry about your parents’ ears, if you get what I mean.”
It was Belle’s turn to blush. Had her father heard them last night? Bloody shifter hearing. How embarrassing.
She’d tried to be quiet. Shawn had taken her from behind, and it felt like his dick slid even deeper into her than before. He’d placed a palm on the small of her back, pushing her down and then lifting her hips. He’d moved in long, slow strokes until both of their orgasms built to the point she’d slammed her face into the pillow and screamed into it as her orgasm rushed through her.
Her father cleared his throat again, bringing her out of those delicious thoughts. Oh shit, now her father could smell something else.
Chapter 15
Embarrassment wasn’t a strong enough word for what Belle felt right then, standing in her parents’ kitchen thinking about sex. She was turned on, and her father was right there! He cleared his throat and averted his gaze away from her.
“Sorry, Pop,” she whispered.
With a ‘I’ve been there but don’t want to know my daughter is’ smile, he patted her hand and went back to making the two cups of coffee. After a quick stir, he dropped the spoon on the counter and picked up the mugs. He sent her another smile and nodded.
“It’s time, sweetie. Every parent brings their child up to leave the nest one day. You, my dear, need a bit of a push. Your mum and I will be okay, and if not, we will shout. And as I said, I’m sure not one day will go by that you won’t walk through that door while we are here.”
Tears welled up in Belle’s eyes, making everything look blurry. She knew her father was right, but the thought of not being there hurt like hell. “I love you, Pop,” she said, her voice breaking.
“I love you more, my girl. That will never change.” And with that her father walked down the hallway to his bedroom.
Belle stood and started to step forward after her father, but warm arms enclosed around her waist. She wondered how her father could just walk away after saying it was time for her to leave home. Wasn’t he hurting? Did he really want her to go or was he just saying that? She growled in frustration. She wanted to go after him and argue.
“I wish I could climb in his head and know what he’s thinking. He’s telling me it’s time to move out, and yet he knows my mother doesn’t have long to live. How can he tell me to walk away?”
Shawn squeezed her a little tighter. “He isn’t telling you to walk away, sweetheart. He’s trying to make sure you have a life besides them.”
Belle pushed his arms away from her waist and spun to face him, her anger rising like lava out of an exploding volcano. “What if I want to be here? What if I want to be around in case they need something? What if I don’t want to move out?” Her voice rose the more she continued.
She wanted to rant. It was as if everything since learning her mother was dying wanted to break out from her. She paced, turning back and forth, her mind going over everything. She couldn’t seem to stop.
“Belle!” Her father’s shout brought her back to her senses.
She turned to see her father looking at her, his whole posture showing he was pissed. She hadn’t even heard or seen him approach. Shit, had she been ranting away that badly? Oh God, he would have heard everything too.
Without a word he pointed toward Shawn. She turned, and a gasp left her when she saw her mate standing stiff as a board in fear. His hands were fisted at his side, his face as white as a sheet. His eyes clouded over with pain, he looked lost in the memories of his past. Immediately, she looked around to see what the fuck had scared him; she was ready to beat the shit out of them. A moment passed before she realized it had been her. Her ranting had sent Shawn into the turmoil he was in now. Her anger suddenly abated.
“I... Oh my God, I’m sorry. I…I didn’t…” All she had wanted to do was vent her own anger. It had just happened, she hadn’t planned it, she had just wanted to scream.
Looking at her mate now, her heart filled with sorrow and regret. Was Shawn always going to be like this? Was he always going to be scared when her voice rose?
Mate needs us.
But I caused this, what if he pushes me away?
Just go hug, kiss, or mate him. We will help him get past the bad. Make new and happy memories. Her tiger made it sound so simple.
Belle stepped toward him and gently laid a hand on a tightly coiled arm muscle. He flinched enough that she pulled her hand back, only to replace it again. This time he didn’t recoil.
“Shawn,” she said quietly. “Shawn, I’m sorry.”
He didn’t move, he didn’t even blink. What was she to do? She looked toward her father, seeking his advice.
“Just keep talking to him. Skin-on-skin contact will help.”
She turned back to Shawn, looking up at him. Her mouth felt like it was full of fur. Licking her dry lips, she tried to reach her mate mentally. “Shawn, I’m so sorry. I didn’t think. Fuck, I’m such a screw up.”
He didn’t move.
Belle sighed, but kept contact with him. She couldn’t give up. No, she wouldn’t give up on him. He was her mate. “Shawn? Talk to me, love, please.”
Still nothing, although he did blink a couple of times.
Something niggled in the back of her mind. Earlier, when she had been by her mother’s bedside, he had tried to offer her some kind of strength, but she’d pushed him away. That was until he had curled up with her, using his cat. She looked around to see her father had already returned to his room. She knew he would have stern words for her later. She winced a little, knowing that wasn’t going to be a fun conversation. She started taking her clothes off, then gave her cat full rein.
I take over. I curl up with him this time, her cat said.
One of us has to reach him or his beast.
Watching through her cat’s eyes, Belle saw her feline wrap around Shawn’s legs. She moved around in circles a couple of times before she sat in front of her mate and began licking his hand. She could taste the salt from his sweat. She moved again, going to his other hand and doing the same. Gradually the scent of his fear and pain began to recede. Belle sighed mentally, so pleased her cat was breaking through his walls. As Shawn began to move his fingers, entwining them along and in her fur, she sent her cat a flow of warmth.
I speak to my mate. He says he passes strength to yours. He no happy with you.
Pffft, I’m not happy with me. It was something so bloody
simple and yet so devastating for him.
Shawn lowered his body to the floor and curled up against Belle’s cat.
“I’m sorry, Belle.” His voice came out hoarse, as if he was trying to talk around a lump in his throat. “I don’t know what happened. When you started shouting I was transported back to when Rosie would start. I don’t mean to put you in her shoes. Babe, I’m so sorry.”
She could feel his tears falling on her cat’s pelt. He sobbed gently against her until she couldn’t take his pain any longer. She wanted to wrap her arms around him. Pulling her other half back, she shifted until she lay against Shawn as naked as the day she was born.
“It’s not your fault,” she said, caressing his damp cheek, his head resting against her breasts. “If anything, it was mine. I should have thought…remembered. I’m sorry, my mate.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and placed her nose against his pulse to feel it racing. “Hold me, Shawn. Wrap your arms around me and let me love you.”
He did as she asked, leaving them both sitting in her parents’ kitchen, curled around each other tightly.
“Belle.”
She looked up from her mate’s neck to see her father. He must have come back into the room when all was quiet. Shit! She’d missed that again. Bloody good enforcer I make. But then embarrassment again swept through her; what else were her parents going to see and hear today?
“Don’t bother with thinking, girl,” her father warned, shaking his head. “We will talk later when all is settled. Now go get dressed and take your mate home. You two need to talk.”
“Okay, Pop,” she replied, then gasped when Shawn suddenly stood and lifted her in the air, his arms and hands hiding bits of her she knew her father didn’t wish to see.
With her arms wrapped around Shawn’s neck, he carried her to her bedroom. She dressed silently, then begin packing a small backpack to take to Shawn’s. She didn’t agree with her father about moving out, but she wouldn’t disobey him either.
As she moved around her room, Shawn sat on the end of her bed, watching her quietly. The air seemed thick with things they needed to talk about, but she knew this wasn’t the time. Her mind kept going in circles with what had happened to the point she growled low at herself while mentally telling her brain to shut the fuck up.
Zipping the bag, she held out her hand for Shawn to take, and was glad when he did. Taking one last look at her room, as if to say goodbye, she walked down the hallway to her parents’ room. Knocking softly, she waited for permission to enter.
“Come in,” her father said gruffly.
She opened the door. “I’m off now,” she said with tears burning behind her eyes.
Her mother lay in bed, propped up with many pillows, and her father sat at her side, his feet on the floor.
“Come here, love.” Her mother held her arms out to her.
Belle dropped her bag and Shawn’s hand and ran into her mother’s arms.
“There, there, you silly girl,” her mother cooed. “You have a mate now, sweetheart. It’s where you’re supposed to be. We aren’t far, and you can come see us every day.”
Belle lifted her head from her mother’s chest, and her mother wiped away the tears on her cheeks. “I love you, Mum.”
“Aw, sweetheart, I love you more.” With a kiss to her forehead, her mother released her. “See you tomorrow, okay?”
Belle nodded. She placed a kiss on her father’s cheek and walked from the room. Shawn had her bag in his hand, and this time he held his hand out to her. She grabbed it and entwined her fingers around his.
“Another chapter in my book, right?” she asked Shawn.
“Our chapter.” He smiled, placing an arm around her shoulder.
* * * *
Shawn couldn’t believe he had freaked as badly as he had. He was in the kitchen making a pot of tea while Belle unpacked her bag. He was still shaking inside.
At least you aren’t calling yourself all those bad names, his tiger reminded him.
Only because you got pissed off and swiped my insides.
You no idiot. Just remember bad things.
How long is it going to take me to not go there, to not freak over a raised voice or hand? How long ’til the damage I let Rosie do stops affecting me? Shawn sighed heavily, the steam from the boiling kettle billowing outward as he blew through it.
Talk to mate. She feel bad too. His tiger shook his head. Humans think too much. I mate female, get her mind off other things.
Shawn actually smiled at that. Such a primitive thought, and yet he remembered how his tiger had calmed his female when Belle was pissed. It might work with you, buddy, but alas, we humans need to talk things through.
Sex first, talk after. Calmer, his tiger grumbled, trying to get his point across.
Shawn sent his feline a flow of warm, loving energy. He knew that he and Belle had to talk. He had to explain where he had gone mentally when she’d started shouting.
The one thing that had shocked him though was Barry telling his daughter to stay with her mate. He imagined that with his partner dying, Barry would want his daughter beside him. What would he do if, God forbid, anything ever happened to Belle and they had kits? Shaking his head, he stopped that thought before it went further. He didn’t want to think of anything happening to Belle.
He’d just put the top on the teapot when Belle walked into the kitchen. Grabbing two mugs, he placed them on a tray and carried it over to the table.
“All unpacked?” he asked.
“Yeah. Well, I suppose where we live has been sorted,” she said with a chuckle. Her cheeks had a hue of red to them. She seemed awkward, like she was afraid of saying the wrong thing.
Shawn sat down in one of the oak chairs that matched the table and pulled his mate onto his lap. Her arms automatically wrapped around his neck. Leaning toward her, he kissed her bow-shaped lips. One kiss wasn’t enough, and he pecked, nibbled, and tasted hers lips.
“We need to talk, big man,” she said, pushing against his chest before the kiss could become any more heated.
“I know, but a little distraction helps, right?” he asked, knowing he had a cheeky smile on his face.
Chapter 16
Shawn and Belle sat at the kitchen table talking for the next few hours. He began telling her how it all started with Rosie and how when she’d gotten the job as manager her moods became worse. He never knew who he would find when he got up or came home from work—Nice Rosie or Bitchy Rosie. By the end of the relationship her moods had grown worse to the point that Bitchy Rosie was much more prevalent.
“When you started shouting earlier, I had a major flashback. It was so real. It was if I was standing in the room with Rosie. I could smell her perfume, hear her screeching voice yelling at me. I froze, waiting for whatever you chose to hit me with. I couldn’t distinguish what was you and here—it all blurred together. I’m sorry.”
Belle was still sitting in his lap, which made him feel worse for telling her that. He hated he’d gone to a place where Belle and Rosie were the same. A part of him wanted to put her on her own chair so she wasn’t touching him, and at the same time another part of him wanted to pull her closer and hold her tight.
“Hey.” Belle’s palm stroked his cheek. He looked up, seeking her eyes. “It’s okay. I know it’s going to take us time to learn things about each other, and this just throws a few fences in the way for us to jump over. It’s the shifter way, we’re mates. We can do this together.” She sounded so sure. Her eyes told him there was truth in her words.
He closed his eyes briefly. “It’s that simple to you? I’m scared my problems will drive a wedge between us. I can’t help it when it happens.”
“Together, okay? We can make a pact. I work on my temper and not ranting when I see red about things and talk to you first. And you work on letting me know what drags you back to the past so we can either work with it or dodge it ’til it doesn’t happen anymore.”
“You know what my tiger suggested?
” He grinned, his cock already hardening under her butt.
“Mmm, I wonder,” she said, copying his smirk, and wriggled.
He covered her mouth with his, slipping his tongue inside when her lips parted for him. “I love the taste of you,” he murmured.
“And I you,” she whispered back, then nibbled on his ear. His cock was now full-blown erect to a painful point. “Move your hands to the arms of the chair.”
He lowered his hands from around her slowly so she could place her feet on the floor. Once she was steady he did as she asked. She moved over to his CD player and turned it on. Justin Timberlake’s Can’t Stop the Feeling sounded through the mini-speakers, filling the room.
She turned her back to him, looking over her shoulder, her face lit up with a sexy smile. She began to sway her hips, then the rest of her body moved to the music. She circled her hips while her hands roamed over her shirt. Her seductive dance had her turning in circles. He could see her nipples sticking out through her clothes. He breathed deeply and caught the scent of her growing arousal. Her fingers edged around the hem of her top and she pulled it up, all the while keeping to the beat of the music.
His cock jerked against the zipper of his jeans. His fingers embedded into the arm of the chair. Her top went flying somewhere across the room, but he didn’t follow it, because his gaze was firmly settled on his mate, her tanned skin rippling and moving as she continued her dance. She turned away from him, her hands dipping low, somewhere he couldn’t see. She must have undone the button of her jeans, because she began to shimmy and they dropped slowly down to her knees. She looked over her shoulder, her smile still bright and sexy. His eyes flickered to her lips when she ran her tongue along them. He groaned, his hands tightening around the arm of the chair, making it creak.
Stepping out of her jeans, she scooted them across the floor with her foot. She danced a little more in front of him in just her lacy underwear. Her hands lifted up to her hair, where she ran her fingers through the short spikes. She twirled until she again had her back to him. This time he watched one of her fingers shift into a single claw, and she lifted it to the back of her bra strap and flicked it until it snapped in half. With a shake of her shoulders, her bra fell down her arms and onto the floor.
