by Moxie North
“You think that will be enough? Caring about her, loving her?” Cash thought there had to be more to this equation.
“For her, it will be everything,” Connie assured him.
Cash hoped they were right. It wasn’t just about convincing her that he was meant for her. He also had to heal her body along with her mind before she could accept him and everything offered.
“I’m going to head to bed. I don’t think I can get her to move to my house anytime soon. Are you okay with me crashing here for a while?”
“Sweetheart, you are welcome here as long as you need. I think Cassie needs the stability of being here right now. This way when you have to work she’ll still be surrounded by family,” Connie assured him.
Cash nodded to them both, and then stood and went back to the bedroom. He paused and heard Cassie’s quiet breathing. Opening the door, he shut it behind him and stripped out of his clothes, leaving his underwear on. Sliding in next to her, he saw that she had rearranged so she was on her back, pillows under legs and was lightly snoring.
He rolled to his side, trying to get as much contact to her without disturbing her. He let his arm drape over her and then realized even his arm might be heavy on her. He scooted closer, so his arm rested on the bed on the other side. Having her protected under him made his bear very happy. Cash closed his eyes and tried to make a plan of attack for the next day.
Chapter 21
Cassie woke up with a heaviness on her chest and her neck hot and damp. Her brain came awake slowly as she tried to remember where she was. Looking around the room, she took in the lace curtains and rustic charm of the bedroom. Still in the woods, she mused. She also took stock that she hadn’t woken with any nightmares last night. That was a welcome change.
She started to give a languid stretch, then noticed the heat radiating along her side. Waking up to an unknown body next to her had only happened twice when she was younger. Now she was a little pickier about her one-nighters. There were no bars in the woods so who was snuggling so close?
Then she remembered.
Cash. Big, strong, handsome as fuck, Cash Rochon. He’d declared her his mate last night. Not something any shifter would do without knowing for sure. Then he’d kissed her, and that had been nice. Then he’d gotten her off. That had been fan-fucking-tastic. Shit, she was in bed with a bear.
Turning her head to peek at the big guy, she sucked in a breath at how damn pretty he was. No guy should be prettier than his girl, but in this bed, this morning, he won hands down. Cassie couldn’t deny that she had a thing for tattooed, bearded guys. She didn’t see any ink on his arms or chest, which was damn fine by the way. But that close cropped beard did all sorts of things for her girly parts.
Now that he wasn’t breathing on her neck, she could see his soft lips slightly parted in sleep. Her naughty parts were encouraging her to reach over and sneak a kiss. But then she wasn’t encouraging this whole mating thing, she reminded her overly awake parts. Cassie used to joke she woke up with her own version of morning wood.
Because the bed was against the wall, there was no way for her to maneuver herself over this giant man and find her crutches without waking him or causing herself pain.
Stalemate.
Cassie chose not to go with the kiss and instead figured encouraging him by waking him gently was counterproductive.
Pulling back her thumb and middle finger, she gave the tip of his nose a sharp flick.
Bright hazel eyes opened in shock, then warmed to a golden honey color. Damn him.
“Morning, beautiful,” he murmured. Dude, even his morning breath smelled good. Clearly not human.
“I need to pee,” she announced unceremoniously.
Cash smiled even bigger. So much for shock and awe in the morning.
“Aren’t you going to kiss me good morning?” he asked, leaning closer.
“Unlike you, Mister Supernatural, I have normal dragon breath in the morning. Need I remind you, I did not brush my teeth after partially eating a burrito. It’s like Death Valley in here, now scoot,” she said giving him a shove. Totally didn’t budge him.
Cash kept his forward movement and didn’t stop until his lips met hers. Cassie kept her lips tight together; she had some pride. He still managed to make the kiss, hot, wet, and sexy.
Pulling back, he stood up in one movement from the bed, and Cass sucked in a breath. She knew he was fit, but daammmnn. He was wide, thick muscles corded over his shoulders, massive biceps, and forearms. His stomach was a ripple of thick abs that made Cassie want to run her tongue over them.
Even his thighs were thick and muscled, shit if she looked she’d probably see muscles in his feet. She managed to take this all in before he scooped her out of the bed. Quickly wrapping her arms around his neck, she held on when he turned her towards the door.
“You’re naked!” she reminded him.
“I’m covered,” he said, opening the door.
Cassie didn’t want to explain to him that boxers and a bare chest was not covered in anyone’s book.
She ducked her head because she didn’t want to see if there was an entourage waiting for them to come out. All she did hear was one voice, thank goodness.
“Morning, dears,” Connie called out from the kitchen.
“Morning, Connie,” Cash called out and walked into the bathroom. He positioned her next to the counter and kissed the tip of her nose. “Be outside,” he said and then left.
Cassie looked into the mirror and saw the hot mess that was her hair. Eye crusties, drool mark at the side of her mouth. Oh yeah, super sexy.
She used the bathroom, washed her face and brushed and flossed her teeth. Making sure to eradicate any trace of burrito breath.
Cassie combed her hair and then spritzed a little hair spray and gave her pink tips a quick ruffle. She resisted the urge to throw on any makeup. She wasn’t encouraging him, she reminded herself.
As she turned toward the door, she knew that sneaky man had left her crutches in the other room on purpose. Pride made her want to hobble or crawl out to show him that she could do it.
But Cassie never crawled for a man and didn’t plan on doing it now.
“Cash Rochon! Get your ass in here!” she yelled at the top of her lungs.
It was about three seconds before the door opened to a grinning lout. “You rang?” He’d thrown on a pair of jeans but left the top button undone. He still wasn’t wearing a shirt. This look was almost better than just the boxers.
“You need to stop carrying me around and leaving me stranded without crutches. It’s rude,” she informed him.
“Well, soon you won’t need them, so this is just practice,” he explained.
“What are you a doctor now?” she scoffed, and he scooped her up.
“No, but I’m attending your PT appointment today. So I will get a timeline from your therapist on what milestones you need to hit to get rid of them. We will also be exercising daily.”
“Thhpptt!” Cassie blew him a huge raspberry.
“I can put that tongue to better use, Sprite,” he growled.
“I’m not kissing your unbrushed mouth. I have standards,” she sniffed.
Cash didn’t say anything, just leaned down and claimed her mouth with his. Her mouth opened under his forgetting to resist. She’d forgotten her damn plan when his minty fresh breath poured into her mouth. His tongue was so forceful, but at the same time wasn’t overwhelming her. He was in control, owning every sensual swipe. He was really good at this.
He broke the kiss and said against her lips, “That’s how you say good morning.”
“No, that’s how you say good morning, you big freak. Normal people grumble until they get their coffee,” she said, crossing her arms over her chest. She figured if he’s big and strong then he didn’t need her to hold on.
“So you’re saying you want coffee?”
“At the very least, please,” she added. She wasn’t encouraging, but she still wasn’t a total b
itch.
Cash nodded and carried her into the great room, got her settled onto the couch and then made his way to the kitchen. Connie was at the stove cooking something that smelled amazing. She turned and gave Cash a smile as he was making a cup of coffee.
Walking over to Cassie, she sat beside her on the couch near her hip. “How are you this morning? Lots of crazy changes huh?”
“You have no idea,” Cassie whispered.
“Well, not from a human point of view, no. But I know what Cash is feeling, I felt the same the first time I saw Edward. Imagine seeing a person that became your oxygen in a blink of an eye. Another person, another soul that becomes the center of your universe. That man over there, watching you so intently,” Connie said with a smile, nodding over her shoulder.
Cassie saw that he was indeed staring very intently at her.
“You just became his everything in a blink of an eye. He will love you, protect you, cherish you, and spoil you. Nothing would make him happier than doing just that.” Connie’s voice was low, but Cassie knew that he could still hear them.
“Why me?” she whispered back.
“Because you are you. The fates, the universe decided whoever you are as a person, is what Cash needs.”
“But he doesn’t know me. I’m nothing special, not even interesting. He could do so much better than me. Like he could walk into a public place and grab the first girl he sees. I guarantee she’d be a better fit for him. I have no skills unless you count sitting on my ass. I’m pretty good at that. But I can’t cook, I’ve never worked doing anything but basic retail and reception work. My track record on relationships is downright laughable. He’s too good for me,” she said quietly, her eyes filling with tears against her will.
Chapter 22
Cash had heard enough. He pushed away from the counter holding two cups of coffee. He made it to the couch as Connie stood and gave Cass an encouraging smile.
Cash sat the cups down and took her place. He leaned over putting his hands on either side of her head. Bringing his head closer to hers, he stared at her for a moment, letting her see not only him but his animal in his eyes.
“I don’t care if you can’t cook. I can. We already discussed you working; it’s not necessary. As for past relationships? Takes two to fail, any man that didn’t put the effort in for you lost out. You are good for me. I haven’t been this happy in decades. My heart feels like it’s ten feet wide just being around you. Even when you’re sassy, I just think it makes you cuter.”
Cassie gave him a total eye roll at that one.
“Now, today is a new day. You are spending the day out of bed with us in the open. You will have your therapy, and then Effie will be here. You will not talk down about yourself anymore. Cassie Hackett is my mate, and you won’t say mean things about her. Plus, from now on I’m keeping a tally of all the times you say negative things. Once you’re healed up, you’ll get a swat for every naughty thing you say,” he said with a promising growl.
“You can’t spank me! I’m not five you know,” Cassie hissed.
Cash leaned forward closer to her ear. “I’ll make you like it, Sprite.”
Cassie gave a shiver, damn him he probably could. Now she had to decide whether or not to be bad on purpose.
“I know that look. You wanna rack up the count. I’ll totally play along, baby,” he said with a wicked smile.
Hmm, that made her naughty bits shiver. Oh yeah, he was way too much man for her.
Cash sniffed and closed his eyes like he was savoring something. “Don’t tease me, Cass,” he warned.
“Oh yeah right, like I have control over that,” she scoffed.
“Try,” he said, his eyes glowing yellow.
“Bossy,” she whispered.
“Always for you, Sprite,” he said with a smile.
“Who’s hungry?” Connie called from the kitchen. She’d heard their conversation and didn’t want them to have sex on her couch. She figured a healthy dose of pancakes would thwart that.
“I am,” Cash growled. Cassie didn’t think he was talking about food.
“I want food.” Cassie gave him a pointed look.
“Fine, you need to eat. You’re too skinny,” he said, leaning back and giving her some room to take the plate Connie offered.
Accepting the food with a thank you, Cassie kept up her banter with Cash. “Sure, I know your plan. You are going to fatten me up so I’m as wide as I am tall, and I won’t fit through the door anymore.”
“Well, I think the shortest woman I ever dated was six foot. So I’m used to big and curvy. In your case, I can’t have the big, so I’m working on curvy. Twenty or thirty pounds should round you out nicely,” Cash said, forking in a heap of flapjacks.
“Oh yeah, nothing like having a butterball year round. Not just for Thanksgiving anymore! It can be a new slogan,” Cassie said, her mouthful of syrupy goodness.
Cash started laughing. “You think being a smartass is going to turn me off. I love it,” he said shaking his head.
“Uh, most people have a tolerance level for it. I just haven’t hit yours yet. Since you should be leaving for work soon, I’ll have to pick up where I leave off later,” she surmised, still eating way too big of bites.
“Nope, I’m all yours today. Cage and Edward are covering since I was covering for Cage. He’s happy to go back to give me some time off. Until I think you are back on your feet, literally, I’m all yours, baby,” Cash said, his mouth full. He took a drink of coffee and continued his meal.
Cassie was stumped. She needed Effie’s help on how to turn a guy off. True there were some time honored options. Nose picking, releasing noxious gasses, but she had her dignity. Sort of.
She stared at him with a thoughtful expression as she chewed. He grinned back at her like he was having too much fun with their little game.
Cash helped clean up the dishes, and Cassie found the TV remote. She was working on some snappy comebacks for later while she watched her favorite reality show. Cash joined her and slid her into his lap as she watched. She didn’t even protest; it was too comfy.
Her therapist showed up about an hour into her favorite show about people living in Alaska.
Mario was more than thrilled there was someone else to boss her around. Cash asked a million questions and got copies of her exercises that Cassie had been conveniently losing. Cash, on the other hand, would have “Mario” teach him the exercise so he could take over and do them.
Cassie had to admit she didn’t want to look like a wimp in front of him, so she pushed herself. After forty minutes, she was wiped. Her legs were sore, and she’d even worked up a sweat. By the time the therapist left, she was a limp mess on the couch.
The good news was that Mario said she was able to remove her walking cast and move into a much smaller ankle brace. It was still plastic and Velcro but much smaller and lighter. There was a chance she could shove it in one of her combat boots if she didn’t lace it up.
Cash brought her one of her pills and a glass of water without asking. Cassie happily swallowed the pill and drank down the refreshing water. She didn’t even protest when he picked her up without asking. He had her tucked into bed and told her to sleep, that he was going to check in on work. She nodded and fell into a lovely medicated sleep.
Chapter 23
She had assumed that Cash was going into the office. Instead, he parked himself at the kitchen counter and made phone calls to Cage and Edward. They, of course, didn’t need him to come in. It was their company after all. He then checked in with the mill. His brothers and cousins had everything handled.
Then he made a call to his mother.
“Hey Ma,” he said, his eyes on Connie, who was puttering around the kitchen prepping dinner for that evening.
“Cash Rochon, where have you been? I’ve called your house twice,” his mother asked. Cash’s mom Ruth was a lot like Connie, except she’d grown up in a fishing family. She’d married into the Rochon clan and had always been
a hardworking woman. Cash had two brothers and a baby sister. He was the oldest and his mom’s rock when his dad was away.
“I’ve been over at Uncle Eddie’s. I was staying close to help out, but then things changed,” he said cryptically. He thought he would just tell his mom and be done with it, but now he was nervous for some reason.
“Oh, did someone get hurt? Was it that poor girl that’s visiting?” she asked.
“No Ma, I had spoken with her once but hadn’t seen her. Then I saw her…”
Cash let that statement hang in the air as he heard his mom suck in a breath.
“She’s your one?” his mother said, her voice a gasp.
“Yeah, Ma, she’s mine. I never thought it would happen. Then…bam,” he said, with a chuckle.
“You never do, then like lightning it hits you. Oh, sweetie, I can’t wait to meet her. We should probably introduce her to the rest of the family slowly. Just your immediate family first. Let me look at my schedule to see when everyone will be here.”
Cash could hear her rustling around. “Ma, she can’t meet anyone yet,” he started.
“What. She can meet your cousins and Aunt and Uncle, but not us?” his mother’s voice rose.
“She’s human. She is not as on board with the whole mate thing. In fact, she’s adamantly trying to convince me I’ve got the wrong girl. Plus, she is still recovering from her accident. She needs time. I need time to make sure she’s not going to bolt on me. Well, she can’t bolt, but she could crawl,” he amended.
There was silence on the line. He was worried he’d hurt his mom’s feelings. Her new daughter-in-law and she had to wait to meet her. Cash would understand if she was pissed.
“No, of course, you’re right. She is probably still a little gun shy around shifters. She knew about us didn’t she?” his mom asked.
“Well, she knew about the cougars. Not bears. It was a bit of a shock,” Cash added.
“Oh, I bet it was. Recovering from injuries, learning about bear shifters, and then you probably overwhelming her with your claim. Shame on you Cash,” his mother scolded.
