The truth was that the thought of spending time alone with Ruby terrified her. But a part of her rose up in challenge of the terror, determination setting in as it had her entire life, to do what was right and to swallow her fears up.
Even if Slate never spoke to her again, she could prove to herself that she was at least worthy of him. That she wasn’t some deadbeat artist who cared little for anyone but herself.
But all of her behaviour lately had fallen into the category of selfish: judging Linda for anything and everything, lying about having a date for the wedding. Misleading Slate. Rejecting the idea of parenthood.
It was time to learn to let others into her life, and that included the little girl who now needed her.
* * *
A few hours later, Angel pulled into her driveway with Ruby strapped into the passenger seat. The young girl had talked her ear off all the way to her house in the country, and Angel had laughed the entire time. Ruby was the best company she’d had in months, with the exception of her handsome father.
“Could we go walk to the woods?” the small girl asked as they got out of the car.
“You really want to go back there?” Angel said, her voice skeptical. Ruby’s head bobbed up and down enthusiastically. “All right. I suppose that’s okay, as long as we’re quick about it.”
The two circumvented the house, romping through the field with their hands clasped as they went. Ruby tried more than once to break free, wanting to run on ahead.
“Nuh-uh,” Angel told her. “I’m not losing sight of you. Your father would kill me.”
“No he wouldn’t. My daddy loves you.”
Angel had to fight to stop a bitter laugh from emerging. “Does he now?” she asked.
“Yes. He’s been sad ever since he saw you on Sunday. He misses you.”
“That’s sweet. But I’m sure he’s not so sad.”
“He is. I know Daddy. Sometimes I wish he had someone like you around. And I wish I did, too. I always wanted a big sister.”
“You did? I have a big sister, you know.”
Ruby’s jaw dropped. “You’re lucky,” she said.
Angel thought about Linda and their formerly antagonistic bond. “I’ve never felt that lucky until yesterday. But you’re right, I am. Tell me—why do you think it’s good to have a big sister?”
“Because you have someone to look up to. And you have another girl around. A friend.”
This little girl had such a positive outlook on life. “I’m a girl. And your friend. And you literally have to look up to me,” said Angel. “Because I’m so tall.”
“You are. But Daddy’s taller.”
“That’s true.”
“I want to see the stream. Can we go there?”
“Sure,” said Angel. “We can take a look.”
She led the little girl through the woods until they heard the trickle of water. The unseasonable warmth meant that the level had risen with the melting of the last coat of snow, and when they arrived she saw that the stream had expanded to something closer to a river, several feet across, its contents flowing rapidly.
“What do you think?” Angel asked, holding Ruby back, afraid to let her anywhere near the water.
“It’s amazing,” she said. “There are fish.”
“Can you smell them?”
Ruby nodded.
Angel had a firm grip on her hand and as she gazed out at the landscape, she felt it again: a bond, like she’d felt with Slate. Something in this little girl was calling out to her, pulling her in, charming her. In an instant the thought flashed through her mind that she couldn’t imagine her life before Ruby had walked into it.
“The bear cub wants those fish.” The words came softly, slowly out of the girl, her eyes fixed on the stream. Angel’s head turned abruptly, looking down towards her in a panic.
But it was too late.
She heard the cracking of bones even as she felt Ruby’s hand disappear, her clothing tearing away from her body. And then a small, brown bear was galloping full throttle at the water as Angel cried out to her. “Ruby!”
But the cub didn’t stop. And Angel could only assume that the water was frigid in spite of the warm air around her. She dashed after Ruby’s bear form, her breath paralyzed in her throat. If something happened to his child…
If something happened, Slate would no doubt hate her. Hell, she would hate herself. But in that moment, all she could think of was Ruby’s father and how it killed her to imagine letting him down. How it killed her to imagine his daughter being hurt. And how it killed her to think of the little girl who’d enchanted her with so much as a scrape on her knee.
And for the first time in her life, she understood what it was to be part of a family—one bound by affection, protectiveness and caring. Over the course of a few days, she’d found herself altered into something she’d never foreseen.
With all her strength she threw herself into the deep stream, ignoring the biting cold of the water as she swam towards the bear cub. She would not fail at this. She would not let Ruby come to harm. And she wouldn’t let Slate down.
Even if it killed her.
* * *
“You can go. I’ll cover for you,” Martin said.
It was 5:15, and Slate breathed a sigh of relief. His friend had finished working on his other contract and headed over after hearing the message on his voice mail.
“I owe you big, Marty,” he said, pulling off his hard hat.
“Get me a beer sometime. I know you have a little girl to look after.”
“I do. And a big one, too. Thanks.”
Slate all but sprinted to his pickup, ignoring the bemused look on his friend’s face as he hopped in and drove his foot into the gas. It wasn’t that he was worried about Ruby so much as the feeling that he didn’t want to be indebted to Angel. Things had ended so abruptly, so awkwardly, and he’d felt sick about it.
She’d been uncertain and confused, and it was no wonder. Thrusting a child at a woman had to be frightening; children were a massive commitment. But in that moment, he’d felt affronted, defensive and protective of his daughter. To reject her, even if it wasn’t a full-on rejection, was a slight that he took personally.
But as he drove he reminded himself to look at things from Angel’s vantage point. She was a good woman and maybe she just needed time. Whatever her preliminary reason had been for seeking out a date, there was no question that a bond had formed between them. Something special, that he shouldn’t have been so quick to dismiss.
By the time he’d pulled into her driveway behind her car he felt quite calm. Ready to talk about this like adults. Maybe they could try again. But first he’d find her and Ruby, and see how they were getting along.
When he knocked on the front door there was no response, so he wandered around to the back field. They weren’t there, either, and yet her car was definitely in the driveway.
A note of panic struck his chest. “Ruby! Angel!” he called towards the woods. Nothing.
He sniffed the air. Both their scents were fresh, a trail leading him through the field, his long legs striding towards the forest. They were back there—they’d probably just gone for a little walk; nothing to be concerned about.
It wasn’t until a few minutes later that he heard the sound that set terror in his chest: thrashing in water. The panicked cries of a female voice.
That couldn’t be good. He sprinted forward to see what had happened.
Angel, her skin icy blue, was immersed up to beyond her waist in the frigid water, a bear cub in her arms as she tried to wade through the stream. The cub thrashed, attempting escape, and Angel’s arms were cut up from the claws, though that was the last of Slate’s worries. The cuts weren’t deep. But the cold, he could tell, was crippling her.
“Shit!”
In a flash, he stripped off his clothing and shifted, his massive grizzly form leaping into the water, taking Ruby by the scruff of the neck and pulling her onto land before turning bac
k to Angel. He could see that she was weak, ready to collapse, and with his long teeth he gingerly took her by the sleeve of her coat and pulled her to him. Her fingers wrapped themselves weakly in his fur, her body draping itself over him.
The bear eased his body down into the water and Angel seemed to understand, slipping onto his back, her face buried in his fur.
He stepped onto the shore, Angel astride him, his mouth taking Ruby once again by the scruff of the neck. She was no longer resisting, now caught up in the jaws of a very large bear. One who would no doubt have something to say about this when they got home.
Chapter 12
When they’d entered the kitchen through the unlocked back door, Slate, still in his grizzly’s form, padded towards the living room. Behind him Ruby shifted, shivering a little as she rubbed her shoulders. But Slate knew that she wouldn’t be affected by the cold; not like Angel had been.
Once he’d reached the couch and bent down so that Angel could slip weakly off his back he shifted as well, wrapping her in warm blankets.
“Ruby!” he shouted. “Grab yourself a big towel. The bathroom’s down the hall. And run a hot bath. Once it’s ready, get in and warm yourself up. You know the drill.”
“Yes, Daddy.” The voice was remorseful; she knew that she’d done something potentially terrible.
Slate was rubbing Angel, whose eyes moved about, delirious and unrecognizing. “You’re so cold,” he said. “Too cold.”
He slid under the blanket with her, his naked body pressing against hers. It would be the only way to warm her up quickly enough. God damn it, why had she jumped into the stream? Ruby would have been all right.
His hands were on her back, forcing heat into her body, his legs wrapped around her. She pressed her face into his neck, and her breaths seemed to calm into something approaching normal even as her temperature rose.
“Slate,” she whispered after a time. “Is this you?”
“Yes.” He wasn’t letting her go, not for anything. He squeezed, and when she squeezed back he breathed a sigh of relief.
“I’m so sorry. We went for a walk. She changed—I didn’t know—”
“It’s okay,” he said. “Jesus, you could have died.”
“I would have died, if something had happened to that little girl.”
“Would you?”
“Yes. She’s so lovely—I felt like I was watching my own daughter in danger—”
Slate smiled. “You felt like a parent,” he said.
“Maybe. Oh God, is that what it’s like? Constant worrying that your kid will get killed?”
“Pretty much, yes.”
“Well—I guess I could live with that. But I couldn’t live with you hating me.” Her voice was still weak, still barely above a whisper.
Finally Slate pulled back, his eyes taking hers in.
“Why not?” he asked.
“Because you’re wonderful. And I want to try again. I want to date a father. No—not a father. I want to date you. You’re so much more than a title.”
“I’d like that.”
“There’s one thing—are you free next Saturday?”
“No, I have plans.”
“Oh. Well, that’s okay. I wanted you to come to the wedding and meet my family. But not because you’re big and handsome. But because you’re the most amazing guy I know.”
“Well, the bad news is that I’m very busy on Saturday.”
“What’s the good news?”
“That the reason I’m busy is that I’m going to a wedding with you.”
“Good.” She smiled, her eyes closing. “I’ll tell my sister to set out more plates then.”
“Didn’t you already tell her you’d have a date? There’s already going to be a plate for me.”
“Yeah. But now I have two dates. You and Ruby.”
* * *
Linda was beyond delighted to hear that another seat would be required for the wedding meal. It seemed, in the end, that her future husband’s influence had mellowed her to the point where she’d become a brand new woman; a consistently generous, open one. But Angel cursed herself for allowing so many years to pass when she hadn’t talked properly to her; maybe she could have helped Linda to get through a rough time, if she’d been more considerate herself.
The little girl clung to Angel through the ceremony and reception, her small hand constantly grasping both Slate’s and his date’s as though in an effort to link the two of them together. She’d apologized multiple times for “the bear cub” and its shenanigans, for which Angel had unequivocally forgiven her.
“You promise you—the bear cub, I mean—won’t do it again, right?” she’d asked. Ruby had simply shaken her head and said Nope, never, her red locks sweeping across her face in confirmation. No more jumping into freezing cold water. At least for now.
The wedding had gone off without any issues other than the small matter of someone putting a plastic couple atop the cake among the white roses, the bride holding a tiny serrated knife in her hand. Linda and Gahan had laughed at the image and insisted that the photographer capture it for posterity’s sake. The Ides of March were being celebrated in style.
And finally around 9:30 that night, after they’d joined the other wedding guests in wishing Linda and Gahan a happy honeymoon, they drove to Slate’s place. Ruby had fallen asleep in the back of Angel’s car, and Slate managed to tuck her into bed without waking her.
“When she’s out, she’s out,” he said. “It’s like she hibernates every night. That’s her bear at work.”
“She’s some adorable cub,” Angel replied as they retreated to the living room. “And so are you. You know, I was staring at you all day.”
“You shouldn’t do that. I’m hideous,” he replied, his dimples making an ironic appearance as if to prove how wrong he was in disagreeing with her.
“Oh, I know. So hideous that I wanted to eat you up.”
“Yeah?” He turned to her, easing a hand around her waist and pulling her towards him. “Speaking of eating, I don’t think I had quite enough at the wedding.”
“Oh? You hungry?”
His eyes narrowed as he sized her up, his gaze following the line of her neck and her breasts, enhanced by her tastefully low-cut dress. “Very, very hungry,” he said. “I think I have a snack in the bedroom.”
“You keep nachos in your nightstand, do you?”
“Something like that.”
He led her by the hand towards his room, which sat at the opposite end of the house from his daughter’s. Closing the door behind him, he watched as Angel strolled about, looking at his sparse furniture. A bed, a side table and a dresser were pretty well it.
“Very nice,” she said. “Could use a woman’s touch, though.”
“Yeah, well, I’ve been meaning to get someone to help me buy some new things.”
“Oh, I wasn’t talking about the room,” she said, taking a step in his direction. “I was referring to the sexy grizzly.”
“Crazy woman. You really do think I’m sexy, don’t you?”
She took his left hand and, lifting the front of her dress, pressed it to the place between her legs. “Does that answer your question?”
His eyes shut and he let out a soft moan as his long fingers slipped between her thighs, feeling her heat through her panties. So wet.
“Kiss me, grizzly,” she said. “Please, please kiss me.”
Withdrawing his hand, he put his arms around her and pressed his lips to hers, soft and reddened with day-long need. His fingers found the top of the zipper between her shoulder blades and slid downwards, hands pressing against her bare skin, her back arching under his touch.
When he found the narrow waistband of her g-string, his fingertips followed its lines, marvelling at its nothingness.
“God, all that’s been separating my mouth from you all day is a tiny piece of thread,” he gasped.
“Mmm hmm. Well, that and social decorum.”
Slate was on his knees i
n a second, turning her around to face away from him, his hands reaching up to pull the dress down. Then she was wearing only a bra and the tiny thong, a beautiful, round, soft ass greeting him. He wanted nothing more than to bite it, and so he did.
Angel let out a stifled yelp as his teeth sank in, leaving a pink mark on her flesh. And a moment later he’d moved on to her panties, his teeth yanking them downwards to her ankles. As she stepped out of them she couldn’t help but laugh.
“I’m picturing the toothmarks of a bear permanently imbedded in my ass,” she said.
“I have to leave my mark on you. I don’t want to lose you.” The words were cheeky. And yet stoked with a sincerity that filled her chest with heat. She turned to face him, the bra now the only garment between them, and took his face between her palms.
“You won’t lose me,” she said.
“Good. But just to be safe I’m stealing this, too.”
He pulled at the bra’s front closure, undoing it, and slowly, inch by inch, let the silky material come away from her full breasts, straps slipping down her arms, the garment finally dropping to the floor.
Staring, an expression of sheer pleasure in his eyes, he felt his already engorged cock pulse with agonizing want. He kissed one nipple, both hands cupping a soft breast while he pinched the hard red pebble between his lips. His hand slipped between her legs again, a finger dipping inside her before he extracted it to rub her wetness on the other nipple, which peaked under his touch.
“I told you I was hungry,” he said, licking off her sweet juices, his tongue teasing her in circles around the hard tip.
“I believed you. You know what, though? I’m a little…peckish…too. So take off those pesky clothes and come to me.”
She backed away, manoeuvring herself onto his king sized bed, where she knelt and watched him. Slate took a step towards her, eager to get his mouth on her again, but Angel held up an index finger.
“Nope,” she said. “I want you naked before you touch me.”
“You’ve seen me naked already.”
Angel and Slate Page 9
