Even though it was only early evening, Arlene was tempted to go upstairs to her room. The only thing that stopped her was the hope that Roger would come by. They arrived home to Crimson Hollow hours before and it had been nonstop since. He’d warned her that he’d have to have a debriefing with Jase, but she hadn’t expected it to take hours. He had been gone for days, looking for her, and now he had to fill the Chief in on everything that had happened, including the two men he’d killed. Every time she glanced out the window and didn’t see him in sight, she couldn’t help but wonder if he’d got into trouble for what he did. What were the consequences for his actions? Would Jase demand his life as payment for the two he killed? Fears continued to multiple as the minutes ticked by.

“So, with the babies…” Karri dropped down onto the sofa, stealing Arlene’s attention back from the window where she was looking for any sign of Roger.

“What?”

“I’m going to need the bedroom for the nursery.”

“Oh…” She should have seen that coming but after everything else that had happened, it had slipped her mind. “I’ll…”

“I’ve already got your stuff packed.” When Arlene’s gaze narrowed on Karri, she stumbled over her words for a moment. “I mean since Noah and I already purchased the baby furniture, we need a place to set it up. I don’t want to wait until the last minute.”

“You have three months.” She couldn’t believe Karri would just pack up her stuff and basically kick her out right then. “Forget it. I’m sure Jase can let me stay in the cabin I was supposed to stay in before. Remember it was you who wanted me here in the first place, but now you’re just chucking me out like the rest of the trash.”

“Arlene…I…didn’t know if you were…”

“What? You didn’t know if I was coming back?” She rose off the sofa and stared down at her sister. “Neither did I and now that I’m here, I’m not sure it was the best thing. Maybe Roger should have never found me. Then you wouldn’t have to worry about what to do with your little sister who’s obviously in the way. Well, don’t you worry. I’ll find somewhere to stay.”

“You’ll stay with me.” She’d recognize that voice anywhere and spun around to find Roger standing in the doorway next to Noah. “Come on, sweets. Let’s go home.”

Home?

“Your stuff has already been moved,” Noah told her as he strolled toward his mate.

Before she could wrap her mind around what was happening, Roger came to stand in front of her. He didn’t touch her but the nearness of him made every nerve tingle. She wanted to feel his hands caress along her body. More than anything, she wanted to feel his lips on hers again.

“You ready?”

Not trusting her voice, she nodded and slipped her hand into his.

“Have fun!” Karri hollered behind them as Roger escorted her to the door. There was a light, carefree tone to her voice that should have annoyed Arlene, but it didn’t. Had this been her sister’s plan? To get Roger to take her home with him? Surely Karri wasn’t manipulating them, but if she was, Noah was in on it, too. And Roger?

Once they were outside and far enough away from Karri’s cabin, the need to know if he was part of this became too great and she stopped, turning to face him. “Did you ask Karri to pack up my stuff and move me out?”

“Seriously, Arlene?”

The sound of her name made her pause. She had grown used to him calling her sweets and the change was enough to throw her off-balance for a moment.

“The whole way back I dreaded the moment you’d go back to Karri’s and I’d go to my cabin. I wanted to ask you to stay with me but I wanted to give you a little time with your sister. I didn’t know how long things would take with Jase and after everything, I thought you needed a good night’s sleep, so I said nothing.” He stepped closer and slipped his arm around her back. “Don’t think you were getting rid of me. I was planning on convincing you tomorrow to stay with me. The idea of another night away from you drives me crazy. You don’t have to let me claim you, yet. I just want you near me. I want to know you’re safe.”

She wanted that, too. That’s why she hadn’t gone up to her room that evening. She had hoped he’d come to her, ask her to come home with him, or at the very least give her a kiss goodnight. Karri’s sudden change just made her feel as though something else was at work. “I don’t understand Karri’s sudden change. Did she really think I was dead so she packed up my stuff so the kids’ room could be set up?”

“No.” Needing further explanation, she looked up at him and he continued. “On Karri’s request, Ginger and Swift packed up your stuff this afternoon.”

“What?” This was worse than she expected because Karri knew she was alive and coming home, yet she wanted her out. “The lie about the baby furniture…”

“Before you get angry, listen to the whole thing. Jase has the ability to know who will be mated with each other. The only requirement is that he’s met both people. So, he knew from the moment he met you that you were mine. To comfort your sister, he told her that we’re to be mated.” His fingers teased under the hem of her shirt, caressing along the small of her back, soothing her.

“I don’t understand. How would that be of comfort? Why would she care who I might have been with if I lived? There’s no way he could be sure I’d live or that I wouldn’t betray you guys.”

“Except he could. Knowing that we’d be mates was all the confirmation he needed to know you’d be alive when we found you. We weren’t mated when you left and if they would have killed you, then we’d have never mated, and he wouldn’t have known we were mates. Make sense? He dropped hints to me too but I didn’t listen to them. I was too afraid I had lost my chance with you.”

She tried to wrap her thoughts around everything he said but there were still pieces of the puzzle missing for her. “So why kick me out? Jase had me staying in one of the cabins but Karri wanted me closer, so she’d asked me to stay with them. Now she kicks me out…”

“Forcing us together. Come on.” He moved toward his place, forcing her to come with him or let go of his hand. “She wanted you to embrace your mate without feeling like you were abandoning her. We’re just a few doors down but you’d have felt like you owed it to her to stay, at least tonight. She wanted to give you this opportunity.”

“I don’t know if I should thank her or kick her ass for messing with my life.” Stepping into Roger’s place, she found her suitcase and other belongings sitting inside the entryway. “I can—”

“Don’t you dare say leave.” He shut the door and stepped toward her, gently pressing her up against the wall. “I’ve waited too long to have you here. Tonight, I want you in my bed. You know you’ll sleep better with my arms wrapped around you, and I’ll know you’re safe. We both need a good night’s rest.”

“What if I want more than to just sleep?” With her body pressed against his, she wasn’t given many options, so she slid her hands up his sides. “The whole time you were gone you were the only thing I could think about. Carrying on a conversation with Karri was nearly impossible, when I just wanted to walk out the front door and over to Jase’s. You were gone for hours and I couldn’t help but think the worst.”

“I told you it was just a debriefing.”

“Hours? That seems unnecessary. Are you in trouble for what happened? So many things went through my mind but I kept seeing Jase order your death because of what happened. He has to know that it was self-defense. They came after you. I heard the first one and saw the second guy. I’ll testify…”

“You’re getting worked up over nothing. Everything is fine. Do you need me to have Jase come over here and tell you himself? Nothing is going to happen to me.”

“I was terrified…” She clung to him and pressed her face against his chest, breathing in his scent. The idea of losing him was more terrifying then being kidnapped and tortured again. Losing him would kill something inside of her that she hadn’t known existed.

“Everything is going to be okay. Come on, let’s go upstairs.”

This time, she didn’t stop him. Upstairs was where things would begin for them. They could put the dark, tormenting past week behind them and move on to brighter things.

* * *

It was still dark when Arlene’s eyelids popped open. Terrified to move in case he was there, she listened to her surroundings. It took her a moment to realize she wasn’t chained up in the basement but in a bed. The soft glow of the muted television should have been her first clue but it wasn’t until she pressed the blanket to her chest that she realized she was at Roger’s.

“Arlene…” Roger’s hand slid up her back. “Sweets, are you okay?”

“Better than okay.” She lay back down and cuddled against the side of his body, and he slid his arm around her until his hand rested on her hip, holding her close.

“Bad dream?”

“I don’t know why I bolted up like that but it wasn’t a dream.” She ran her hand down his bare chest. “I can’t remember the last time I slept this well.”

“You needed it and there’s still plenty of night left.” He lifted his head off the pillow and glanced toward the alarm clock on the nightstand next to her side of the bed. “We’ve got hours before the sun comes up. It’s only a little before two.” He dropped down onto the pillow.

She took a deep breath, pushed her nerves aside, and let her hand slide down his chest. “I can think of a good way to spend it. That is unless you’re too tired.” Her fingers brushed against the waistband of his shorts and she debated for a moment whether to go under or over the material. You almost died. Live dangerously. She scooted her hand under the waistband and found him rock hard.

“Arle—”

She leaned up and pressed her lips to his, silencing him. She didn’t want to hear that she should rest, or be careful with her injuries; she wanted him, and she was ready to claim him. It wasn’t like he didn’t want her. He did, but he didn’t want to force her into anything she might regret later; and while she appreciated that, she also knew what she needed. What they both needed.

Karri had told her that she’d just known Noah was the one she was supposed to spend her life with but until Roger, she hadn’t truly understood her words. Chained in that basement, she’d never lost hope she would be rescued. Logically, she couldn’t explain it but part of her knew that Roger would find her. She just had to stay strong until he arrived.

Now, this was her reward. They wouldn’t waste another minute denying what was happening between them. With the future unknown, she wanted him to know how she felt about him and she needed the connection linking them to be strong so that, no matter what happened, they’d be together. More than any of that, she craved him. The sweet caresses they’d shared since he found her weren’t enough; she needed to feel him inside of her.

Wrapping her fingers around his shaft, she broke the kiss. “I want this and it seems like you do, too.”

“There’s no denying I want you, but you’re hurt.” He tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. “Even though you’re trying to hide it, I can feel your pain pulsing along my skin. Your muscles are tight, your body is sore, and your ribs are throbbing. I wish you’d take something for it.”

“I’m fine. I don’t like how medication makes me feel. But I know one way you can make me feel better.” She slid her hand down the length of him before letting go and pulling down the top of the shorts to free his erection. “Your shorts are in the way.”

Without a word, he lifted his hips off the bed and grabbed hold of the material, quickly pulling them down before kicking them off under the blanket somewhere. “Anything else, sweets?”

“You gave in easier than I expected.” Now free of the restraints, she continued to caress along the length of him. With every stroke, he seemed to grow harder in her hands, but she never sped the pace.

“I’ve been denying what I feel for you long enough. I want you as my mate and my wife.”

“Some would say that’s the most unromantic proposal ever but for us it fits. I know well enough that, for your kind, mating is what’s important, not marriage.”

“You mentioned wanting a husband—”

She pressed her lips to his, kissing him softly before drawing his bottom lip between her teeth and nipping lightly before letting go again. “Mate is the same thing, just a different word. I’ve never dreamed of a wedding with me in a white dress. Hell, I hate dresses. I just want a man who’s mine, one who loves me.”

“That you have.” He tangled his fingers in her hair. “I can’t get you out of my thoughts. Nearly every thought I have is about you. When you were gone, I thought I’d go crazy with rage. You’re all I want. I love you, Arlene Mallory, my beautiful mate.”

She could feel her cheeks heat with embarrassment, but before she could say anything more, he closed the distance between them. His lips held just the faintest traces of something salty, making her want more of him. She let her tongue slip into his mouth. They kissed as he slid his fingers under the hem of the shirt he’d given her to sleep in after her shower. When he tugged it as far as he could, he broke the kiss and pulled it over her head.

“You’ve got me naked. Now it’s my turn to see your beautiful body.”

As he tossed the shirt aside, goosebumps danced across her skin. The warmth of his body against hers and the notion of what was to come proved enough to set her on fire. Not even the pain held a candle to that feeling—all of it now relegated to the back burner. Anticipation had her still her hand as she caught her breath and focused on her next move. “I need this…I need you.”

“Eager?” he teased.

“More than you know.” Numerous times since she’d come to Crimson Hollow, she’d pictured herself in his arms. Now that she was there, eager didn’t begin to describe the urgency flowing within her. “I bet you didn’t know that the very first time I saw you, I thought about doing this.”

“Really now?”

“Brett escorted me to cabin two and told me that Karri would be over in a few minutes. He left to deal with something else and when I heard a sound coming from the bedroom I figured it was Karri; instead, it was you.”

“I was making the bed.” He caressed his hand over her hip, ever so slowly sliding down her leg. “Does a man knowing how to make a bed turn you on?”

“A man who can do things around the house has his uses but no.” She let go of his shaft and ran her hand up his chest. “It’s you that turns me on. To some it might seem strange but I never thought twice about it. Rather, my dreams and fantasies were filled with you, though I blame that on the fact your scent was all over the bed.”

“Sweets, I’m going to make all your fantasies come to life.”

She stared at him, running her hand back down his chest until she found his shaft. Her attention had only been diverted for a few minutes but she already missed how his body reacted to her touch. She wrapped her fingers around it before rubbing down the length, painstakingly slow. She applied just enough pressure to make him arch toward her. She loved the soft moan escaping his lips, which held just enough of a growl to let her know how much he wanted her. “I have no doubt,” she whispered.

“Good.” He pulled gently away, lifting up on his elbow and turning toward her, which forced her to let go of him.

“I was enjoying myself. Now, get back here.” She was unable to keep the smirk off her face.

“Later. First, I want to take in all of you. I’ve been picturing you naked in my mind and I want to see the beauty of your body.” Careful to avoid her injuries, he placed a hand on her shoulder and lightly pushed her back down against the bed. He pressed his lips to hers with such desire that she moaned around his unrelenting embrace.

When the kiss ended, leaving her breathless, he whispered, “Beautiful and sinfully sweet, just like I imagined.” He kissed down her neck and chest until he feverishly claimed her nipple. With that went any thoughts of taking it slow and enjoying the moment. Instead, she needed it all right then.

“Please…” She reached out, placing her hand firmly on his chest. His shaft pressed tight against her thigh. In his arms, she felt safe and desired for the first time. She raked her nails over his chest, her need escalating.

He slipped his fingers between her legs, sliding over her clit, pulling the pleasure from her inch by inch. Then, he thrust his fingers into her as his thumb continued to pull more pleasure from her core.

“I need you. Please, Roger.”

He rolled over. As if she knew what he wanted, she gingerly moved with him, careful to avoid hurting her ribs. With her on top, he slid his hands over her hips. “Mmm.” He caressed her clit one last time before returning to her hips and lifting her gently.

“I’ve never…I mean,” she stammered, unsure how to say it. She wasn’t a virgin but her sex life had been rather limited, and never involved her being on top. The only man she had been with had wanted to control every aspect of their relationship. Their short stints in the bedroom had been unadventurous and he had never allowed her to ride him like this. It was always him setting the pace and foreplay had been all but non-existent. Sex had been about him and his control over her. She’d been nothing more than a means to an end. That shouldn’t have surprised her since her father had arranged for them to start seeing each other. It had almost been like an arranged marriage, without the marriage part—though she thought that would have been the next step if she hadn’t turned her back on everything and traded sides.

Excitement shot through her like an electric current. She was nervous but there was something about being on top that made this extra special. This would be their first time and there was a freedom in knowing that he was open to more. The bedroom wasn’t about control or about one person imposing over the other.

“I could tell you it would be easier on your ribs but honestly I want to see you above me,” he said. “We’ll take it slow, and I promise you’ll enjoy it.”

She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and nodded, giving him permission to continue lifting her gently. Once he got her into position, he slid his shaft along her folds, teasing her until she arched her back and a moan escaped her lips.

“Oh, Roger!”

Without further delay, he slid his length into her until he buried himself to the hilt inside of her. He kept his hands on her hips, helping her work his shaft up and down. With each pump, she began to find her own way. As she became comfortable, she picked up the pace and drove herself up and down, the rhythm intensifying with each thrust.

He moved his hands away from her hips, leaving the pace up to her, to explore her body. Reaching up to fondle her breasts, he thrummed his fingers over the hard buds of her nipples. Pinching her nipples, he had her arching toward him, needing more.

“Oh…” She tipped her head back, growing closer to ecstasy.

Grabbing her hips, he drove his shaft into her harder and faster. The pain in her ribs seemed to disappear as her desire rose. The frenzy had her brain fog until she screamed out his name and groaned as her climax sent her over the edge. His hands on her hips, helping her movements, were the only thing that kept her going as her orgasm washed over her. His own climax followed moments later as he buried himself deep within her one final time, followed by a roar that had her eyes opening.

He let out a light chuckle as he caught her surprise and pulled her carefully down onto him so her face was just above his. “What can I say, sweets? You’ve got a lion in your bed.”

“My lion.” She wiggled her hips; his shaft twitched, and her core tightened around him. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

“Good because you’re mine now and I might never let you out of this bed.” Kissing her neck, he stayed buried deep within her, kissing a line along her neck and working his way to her ear.

A soft moan escaped her throat. “I like the sound of that.”

Mated to a shifter…Dad would love this. I thought he wanted me dead before, but now there’s no doubt as to what he’d think.