Twelve

However, Lainie had no regrets. It was true she had no idea what tomorrow would bring or if Rance would leave with the next sunrise, but she wasn’t going to pass up this chance to finally feel something. It had been way too long. She wrapped an arm around his waist and snuggled in tighter.

“You okay?” she heard him ask just before he kissed the top of her head.

“Just giving myself a pep talk. I’m not one for living in the moment so much. I like to know what’s coming.”

She felt him caress her bare arm, his breathing even, comforting. “And are you heeding this pep talk you’re giving yourself?”

“Well, I haven’t kicked you out yet, so that’s a positive sign, right?”

He chuckled, his chest bouncing with his laughter. “I’ll take it.” He kissed her again, and she felt herself relaxing even more. “How long has it been since you’ve been in a relationship, if I may ask?”

She hesitated for a moment, not that she didn’t mind telling Rance about her past, but more that she just didn’t want to revisit the nightmare again. Finally, she decided if he was returning to Pensacola, then it didn’t matter what he knew, and if he was remaining in Bull Creek, obeying his wolf, then he would find out eventually. With a deep breath, she snuggled deeper into his side and let the words flow. “I’m probably being more dramatic than necessary, but with the pressure my parents put on me, I kind of grew sensitive about it.” She shrugged as best as she could while lying in bed. “My parents are pretty much control freaks, thinking their offspring needed to toe the line and obey in order to see the family business succeed. My father thought it was his duty, so to speak, to make sure we married into the proper families to cement his connections. Our older brother obeyed and is now stuck in a loveless marriage, while the one he truly wants to be with is lost to him. Dimitri was next, and he just flat out refused. The Paranormal Council back in Draven Falls knew of this place and knew that Bull Creek needed someone to protect its residents. They tagged my brother for the task, and Dimitri jumped at the chance. Agatha Rochester, a witch back home, knew my parents were already setting their sights on my future, actually had even promised me to a jug-headed idiot. That was a nightmare. I had to endure him criticizing my looks, my weight, even the fact that I was a panther and not a wolf. Agatha suggested I follow Dimitri, and I did, never looking back.” She ran a finger up Rance’s stomach, twirling the happy trail of hair that led down from his bellybutton to his cock. “Of course, my parents think we turned our backs on the family and constantly remind us of that. I can live with their scorn as long as I’m free to follow my own path.”

She felt him squeeze her again, kissing the side of her head this time. “I hope you know our paths are intertwined. Your panther and my wolf have already decided. You also know that to deny that call would make us both miserable. I hate being miserable just so you know.”

She kept her gaze on her fingers as they circled his bellybutton. “Didn’t you say it was miserable living in a city surrounded by concrete and steel? Your wolf would thrive outdoors.”

He twisted under her, and she wondered if perhaps she touched on a sensitive spot. His chest rose and fell with the deep breath he took, and Lainie was just about to say something else to change the subject when he started talking. “Small towns come with small-town prejudices, and my father found himself in trouble with some rather unpleasant men around Niceville, of all places, which is east of Pensacola. One night they jumped him, making snide comments about shifters, and throwing beer bottles at him. People who are scared usually hide behind brutality, thinking it makes them look brave and righteous, when in fact, it only reveals their fear. Dad wound up in the hospital, and my mother had tolerated enough of small minds. I was determined to do something about the injustice of it all, so I took a job with the District Attorney’s office to fight hate crimes. There’s more power to achieve that in the big city than in the small towns where bullies rule out in the open, instead of behind closed doors and through sneaky deals. Mom and Dad followed, moving to the west of Pensacola where the trees outnumber the buildings, so I get a little of both.”

“People are idiots,” she mumbled into his chest.

He sighed, deep and heavy. “That they are, but it’s on both sides. Just as many shifters are prejudiced against humans as there are humans prejudiced against shifters. Sometimes in our quest to gain acceptance for ourselves, we become that which we spout off against. It’s still prejudice, but since it’s not against shifters, the paranormal world thinks it’s all right. We can be prejudiced against humans, because well, they started it. Or so the logic goes. It’s asinine.”

Lainie’s cell phone started ringing from where it rested on her nightstand, and she fought the urge to ignore the intrusion. She didn’t want to move or lose their connection. With a groan, however, she pulled away, reaching over and snatching up her phone. Looking at the screen, she saw Johnson’s name, and she groaned deeper as she slid the answer button over. “Lainie.”

“Hey, Lainie,” Johnson said. “Sorry to bother you while you’re at home, but we got the video off Roger O’Brien’s phone. I’ve stored it on a flash drive for now. How do you want me to proceed with it? The laptop came up empty, by the way.”

“Great,” she said into the phone. “I’ll be right over and give it a look, and then we can go from there. Thanks, Johnson. I appreciate it.” When she ended the call, she glanced over at Rance, and as much as she dreaded it, she knew her break from life was over. “Johnson was able to get that video off the phone and onto a USB. I’m going to go check it out and process it for you, then you can have it and get it to the D.A.’s office in time for Snake’s trial.” She scooted to the edge of her bed, her day turning for the worse.

“Why are you frowning?” He slid out of bed, scooping up his clothes as he did. With a tilted head, he stood there, his shirt dangling from his fingers as one hand rested on his hip. “This is a good thing.”

She nodded, walking over to her closet and a fresh uniform. “I know. You get to put an end to the investigation and send that gang leader to prison. It’s great. Really.”

She felt his hand on her arm, turning her so that she faced him. He leaned over, his face an inch from hers, his smile reaching his eyes. “And then I can come back here and be with you. Do you think there’s room in your department for another detective?”

She felt her eyes widen at his words, her lips parted, not knowing what to say. “You mean it? You’d move here? Just to be with me?”

He kissed her nose, slow, lingering, before pulling back and giving a shake of his head. “And just where else do you think I’d be? My mate is here, so I need to be here as well.”

“I’m not your mate, yet.”

“All that’s left is the marking, and you know it. Our animals have claimed each other in spirit, and I can’t say I blame them. Unless, of course, you don’t want me here.”

She reached out, one hand going to his cheek. “I want you here. To be honest, I think I need you here.”

“Good, because I’d hate to keep you handcuffed to the bed. People might wonder where you’ve disappeared to all of a sudden.”

“I’ll be the one doing the handcuffing,” she said with a slight giggle. “Maybe as a special treat before you leave.”

He kissed her nose again. “I like the sound of that. Now, hurry back to me. I’ll give my boss a call and fill him in on what’s going on.” He slipped his shirt over his arms, reaching to button it, then stopped, realizing that she had popped all the buttons off. “Well, first, I need to go to my hotel and grab another shirt.”

“You don’t keep a spare in your car? What kind of detective are you that you aren’t prepared?”

His grin made her honey drip, and she fought the urge to drag him back to the bed. “I will admit, until today, I didn’t really need a spare, but I’ll make sure to keep one in the car from now on. You know, just in case of your spontaneous bursts.” He leaned down and kissed her again.

“Why don’t you just hang out here until I get back? Then we can decide what to do with our evening. If everything goes smoothly, I’ll call, and you can meet me at the station for the evidence hand-off.”

“You’re always so bossy.”

“You’ll get used to it.”

He pulled her toward him once more, kissing her long and hard, his tongue probing her mouth, tasting the passion on her breath. When he pulled away, his lips were twisted into a smirk. “I love a lady with a touch of sass.”

She grinned back at him, unable to help herself. “Oh, there’s more than a touch, trust me.”

He stared into her eyes, and she knew she’d be happy getting lost in them for the rest of her life. “With everything I have, love. I trust you with everything I have.”

She felt the blush warm her cheeks as she ducked her head, her gaze going to his chest. Taking a deep breath, she glanced back up at him, patting his chest. “I’ll get this over with, so we can get on with our lives.” Then she grinned, her body swaying just a little as she stood there. “And I’ll ask Chet about a position for you if you’re serious.”

“Dead serious.” He winked at her, and she felt her blush deepen. She turned, pulling her uniform out of the closet. She didn’t want to leave his side, but she needed to get this part of things done and over with so they could move onto the next phase of their lives. She paused, staring at her uniform a second at the thought of finally having someone in her life she truly wanted to be there. She took a deep breath, savoring the feeling.

Fifteen minutes later, she was dressed, looking all prim and proper, while Rance stood in her kitchen wearing jeans and a ripped shirt making coffee. Where he found the coffee, she had no idea. Dimitri never popped in enough for her to worry about it. She turned as she scooped up her keys, slipping her purse strap over her shoulder. “You going to be okay here while I’m gone?” she asked.

He pulled a mug out of her cabinet, as he glanced at her, smiling. “Might as well start making myself at home, right?”

She nodded, blushing again. God, I have got to stop doing that. “That you do. I’ll be right back.”

“I’ll be here.”

She forced herself to turn and leave, knowing that she was dangerously close to forgetting what she needed to do in lieu of what her body wanted her to do. So lost in thoughts of Rance’s arms around her, his body under her, that she didn’t even remember the drive to the sheriff’s department. She pulled in next to Johnson’s sheriff’s car, her mind still on Rance and how fast things had changed for her. Sometimes, these animals can be a pain in the ass. She snatched her purse, throwing her keys into the open pocket, and popped her car door open. Stepping out into the humid Florida afternoon, the sun warming her face a contradiction to the air-condition from inside the car, was the last thing she remembered before something slammed against the side of her, her vision exploding in colors and dark spots. She took another crack upside her head before her body crumpled to the ground, her hand sliding down the side of her car as she went to the pavement beneath her. Just before the darkness swallowed her, she saw the face of one of the men from the woods, smiling at her. I guess the wait is over. She felt hands on her arms, and then she was out.