Chapter Nineteen
“Not that I’m complaining, since I couldn’t be happier that you’re here,” Mike was saying as he made his way through a second helping of Rin’s chicken and biscuits. “But why did you decide to stay in Malsum Pass? It’s not exactly an exciting town with a lot of opportunity.”
Mike had helped her in the kitchen while she had prepped the meal, frequently nuzzling her neck, or placing his hand on her back every time he’d pass behind her and allowing his fingers to linger. Rin couldn’t stop smiling. Every touch was thrilling, and distracting, and it had taken twice the time it should have to get dinner ready, but neither one of them had any inclination to rush, choosing to savor their time together instead.
Once dinner had been on the counter that separated the little kitchen area from the living room, and they had been seated on the tall bar stools with full bowls before them, conversation had flowed as they’d eaten. Mike told her about growing up in Malsum Pass, his best friend Tim at his side, constantly getting into mischief. About his love of cars and fixing them up, about his garage… He’d frowned at that point, “Making a living in such a small town can be tough.” Which had led to the question about why she had chosen to stay.
Rin took a sip of her soda and lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “I was sitting on the swing at The Cedars one night, staring up at the sky, trying to figure out what I was going to do with my life – where I was going to go – and everything was so quiet; no horns blaring, no one yelling. It was just so peaceful.” Rin paused, for a moment, absently poking at a chunk of chicken on her plate. “Mostly, it felt safe, and I needed that.”
Mike slid his hand over the short distance between them and Rin gripped it in gratitude. “You couldn’t go home to your folks?” Mike shook his head and let out a self-deprecating laugh. “Sorry. I’m an idiot and it’s none of my business. Ignore me. I am not trying to talk you out of staying.”
Rin couldn’t help but laugh. She gave his hand a squeeze. “You’re fine, and you’re not an idiot. My parents passed away this past summer.” Her look turned thoughtful. “It was as if they were just waiting for me to graduate…” Her voice trailed off and then she cleared her throat and took another drink of her soda. “Dad had a heart attack just after my graduation from university, and Mom followed him a few weeks later.” Rin averted her gaze, not wanting to see the look of sympathy on Mike’s face, certain it would make her cry.
Appreciative of the firm grip still on her hand, Rin launched into a much happier story. “I was their little miracle. When they were first mated, they’d tried to have children, but were never blessed. They gave up the notion of a family and focused all their energy on their medical practice instead.” Rin blinked away the haze of the past and turned her gaze to Mike’s face to see him listening intently. “They were both GP’s and had a small family practice in Astoria where I grew up.” She smiled fondly, recalling the tale her parents had told her so many times. “Mom was in her late forties, Dad was in his mid-fifties, and Mom was so certain that she was going into menopause when she missed her period.” Rin’s grin stretched wide and she winked at Mike, “Turned out she was pregnant with me.”
Mike laughed, then raised a brow as a thought struck him. “Both doctors? I’m surprised you didn’t follow in their footsteps and go to medical school as well.”
“That was the original plan. I even spent time with them at the clinic,” Rin shook her head and frowned, “turns out I did not have the stomach for it. I got way too emotional. But I was great in the office.” She said, her face brightening. “Numbers were easy for me, they made sense, always consistent, you know?”
Mike scowled, “Math was my worst subject in school. It makes sense when I’m dealing with cars or plus and minuses for the garage – real life stuff – but that calculus…” Mike shuddered and Rin laughed.
When her merriment wound down, she took a bite of her food, chewed, and swallowed before she asked, “What about your family? Are they here in town?”
“Dad worked for the state, but a few years ago he was hit hard with arthritis. It was always worse in cold weather, so Mom convinced him to retire, pack up the family camper, and head south for the winter. They used to leave after Thanksgiving and come back just before Easter, but each year they seem to head out earlier and stay longer. This year I don’t expect them back until mid-May at the earliest.”
Rin smiled and nodded, scooped up another mouthful of food and then nearly choked as Mike said, “They’re going to love you.”
It was the look on his face rather than his words that made her heart stutter. Love. And it was shining from his eyes like twin beacons calling her home. Perhaps some might think it was too soon, that she was deluding herself and seeing only what she wanted to see, but one thing she had learned at the hands of the fur traders was that life was short – too easily snuffed out – and you had to grab your happiness where you could find it and hold on with both hands.
Sliding off the barstool, Rin was fully prepared to do just that.
Mike knew his eyes had gone round as saucers. His fork slipped from his fingers to clatter loudly against his dish, but he didn’t hear it, his attention focused solely on Rin as her fingers grasped the bottom of her sweater and pulled it over her head. Sweet mother of all that was holy. She was a goddess; standing unashamed before him, bare but for a white lace bra that cupped her small but perfect breasts.
He couldn’t take his eyes off of her, all of that silky soft skin, and those eyes, the hot gaze of a seductress, it was a fantasy come to life and Mike was frozen in place. It took spots appearing in his vision, obscuring his tantalizing view, to remind him that he had to breathe.
Pulling in the needed oxygen with a gulp, Mike managed to forestall passing out like an idiot before his female. Then she opened her mouth and the words that came out nearly sent him to the floor despite the air filling his lungs. “Don’t you want to touch me?” The sound sultry, the request heart pounding in its possibilities, sent his erection from hard and throbbing, straight to agonizing in the blink of an eye.
He stood so fast, the barstool tipped over with a thump, but again he didn’t notice. His hands were on her waist, his mouth was on hers, and he was positive that this was what heaven felt like. He indulged the madness for a moment more as he devoured her kiss, reveled in the feel of her small hands stroking the hard plains of his abdomen underneath his sweater, before he mentally leashed himself. This moment had to be savored, enjoyed, a moment to be remembered, not rushed through, blinded by need.
Gentling his kisses, he moved his mouth over her velvety soft cheek and breathed in the scent of her hair. He nipped lightly at her earlobe and relished the shiver he felt quake her form just before his tongue stroked the goosebumps that had formed along the column of her throat. “If you want me to stop,” he breathed against her ear, inducing another shiver, “just say the word.”
He was about to assure her that she could trust him, that he would never try to rush her, but the words locked in his throat as those wandering hands of hers cupped his erection through his jeans. Mike clamped his teeth together to keep from growling, his jaw clenched so hard he thought for sure it would break.
“I don’t want to stop,” she whispered while her hands moved to push his sweater up. “I want to feel you.”
Mike whipped the pullover off in a burst of speed, and threw it across the room uncaring of where it landed. A groan escaped him as Rin’s lips latched onto one of his nipples and then he was panting, his vision going amber as his wolf tried to push through and take control.
Rin’s mouth left his nipple to skate oh so carefully over the bruising on his ribs, and then down his abdomen. It was too much. He was going to spontaneously combust into a ball of flame if he didn’t get himself under control.
Bending, he scooped Rin into his arms, using the short walk across the apartment to the bed to bring his body back under control while he nuzzled at Rin’s neck. The urge to bite her, to mark her as his, was nearly overwhelming, but he reigned in the urge. To mar that perfect skin would be an atrocity. Laying her out on the bed, he took a moment to just look his fill, to drink in the sight of her, her skin flushed with passion – passion for him. He had done that to her and he wanted to howl his triumph to the world.
Almost reverently, he reached out a hand and skimmed his fingers over her cheek, down her neck, and down the center line of her torso. “You are so beautiful.” The words were said with all the awe he felt for the female. How he wanted this moment to last forever…
Rin had other ideas, however. With surprising strength, her hand latched onto his wrist and with a yank, she sent him tumbling onto the bed to join her. Mike was still trying to recover from the shock of this unexpected turn when Rin was suddenly straddling him, looking down into his surprised face with a grin, and a decidedly naughty twinkle in her eyes as she reached behind her to unhook her bra. Her breasts freed, she gripped each of Mike’s hands and placed them firmly on the small mounds. “Touch me.”
All of Mike’s good intentions went out the window as he happily complied.