Changing Focus (6 page)

“Micah, please.” She guided his head right where she wanted him, lifting her breast to his mouth, showing him where she needed him and he was more than up to the task. Taking her nipple between his teeth, biting gently then sucking her strongly. Olivia barely held in a scream. It felt so good, it felt so right. She needed this, needed him, wanted him more than she’d ever wanted another man.

Micah surged out of the chair, holding her body tightly against his as he took three giant strides to the bed. He lowered them to the soft bed without ever letting go of her, still tugging at her breast. His hair fell around them and Olivia grabbed his head, fingers tunneling through the thick strands and hanging on. Micah released her long enough to yank his shirt off and she had just a moment to see that she’d been right.

His upper body was extremely muscular and there wasn’t any hair to impede her view. She caught a glimpse of some tattoos but couldn’t tell and didn’t really care what they were at this point. He lowered his body back on top of hers, letting her feel his warmth, his strength, but not crushing her into the bed. The tips of her breasts brushed against his chest and they both groaned as he kissed her again.

Time slowed, everything faded around her as Olivia concentrated on this man, this moment. Running her hands over his shoulders and between them to touch his skin, feel his hard nipples under her fingernails, Olivia exulted in just touching him. He liked it too.

Gasping, he lifted away from her to watch her hands moving over his chest. Suddenly he rolled onto his back, pulling her so that she straddled him. Olivia sat up, running her hands from his shoulders to his waist, watching his eyes glow golden in the faint light from the fireplace.

He reached up to pull her back down then froze under her. Olivia sat back, staring at him, wondering why he’d stopped. With a deep sigh, Micah sat up with her, kissed her hard then put his forehead against hers. “I’m sorry, Liv. Someone just drove up.”

“What?”

“A car just drove up, sweetheart. I have to go downstairs.”

The reluctance clear in his eyes, Micah set her gently off to the side as he got out of the bed and grabbed his shirt off the floor. Olivia grabbed her robe off the foot of the bed and thrust into it. She turned her back to him as she tied the robe shut. Micah’s arms came around her and he pulled her back against his body. “You don’t know how much I regret this interruption.”

“Oh, I think I have an idea.” She was annoyed to hear her voice quavering. He heard it too, if the arms tightening around her were any indication.

“Liv, we will finish this. Just give me a few minutes to settle whoever this is and I’ll be back. Or, you could always go upstairs to my apartment and wait for me there?”

“Just do what you need to do, Micah. This is totally out of character for me, anyway. I think it must have been the wine and the emotional baggage I unloaded on you. I’m-”

He spun her around and kissed her. Hard. “Do not say you’re sorry. Don’t you dare, because I’m not. I want you, Olivia Volksson Decatur. I want you in my bed, or yours, it doesn’t matter which. I want to make love to you, with you.”

Micah kissed her again, gently this time. “Just wait for me, sweetheart, I’ll be right back.”

He hit the door with enough force to cause it to bang back into the hallway. The noise didn’t soothe his irritation at the uninvited interruption at all. He truly felt that he had never been this close to murder before in his life. Growling under his breath, he reached the front door to hit the porch light. All rage faded when he saw who stood on his porch.

“
Talia?”

“Uncle Micah!” The sobbing girl threw herself at him. He barely had time to catch her. Hugging her close, he breathed in her soft girl child scent. She wouldn’t have a truly identifying scent until puberty if the change occurred. He adjusted her weight as he peered out at the car. A woman stood beside the driver’s side.

“Micah, I’m sorry to arrive unannounced, but today was the last straw. Talia is just so unhappy with us.” The trim brunette shoved her glasses back up her nose. “We’ve tried. God knows we’ve tried, but…she needs you, Micah, and that’s all there is to it. She’s been with us almost a year. And she was with Grey and his sister before that. You remember how that turned out.” Her eyes darkened. “Talia, honey, I’m sorry you weren’t happy with us.”

The child sniffled against his neck. “I’m sorry too, Aunt Jane. Uncle Micah, can I please stay here with you?”

Micah looked down at the miniature version of Shelly. His friend and one-time lover. A woman whose life had been taken in a Pack battle by a vicious, now-dead bitch named Maggie. Talia’s eyes batted in unconscious mimicry of her mother. A woman who had named him godfather to her only child. There was no way he could refuse. Having tried to place Talia with two other shifter families, thinking she needed siblings and two parents, he knew now she wouldn’t really be happy anywhere but with him.

Sighing, he nodded to Jane. “I’ll take her from here. I never should have let her go in the first place. You, young lady, are too much like your mother.” The child’s answering giggle elicited a chuckle from him.

“I’ll leave her things in the living room and head home then.” Jane headed for the back of her car.

“You aren’t staying here tonight?” He wasn’t really surprised. Jane didn’t like being away from home for long periods. It was one reason he’d thought Talia would be happy there. A stay-at-home mom and siblings should have given her the comfort and stability she needed.

“No, I need to get back to the kids. If Talia’s forgotten anything, we’ll get it to you here.”

Micah put Talia down and stepped out into the cold to help Jane carry the child’s meager belongings into the main room of the lodge. Talia amused herself by wandering around the main floor of the lodge while the adults finished their task. Micah followed Jane out to tell her goodbye.

Jane opened the car door, hesitated, then looked up at him. The slight lift of her chin let him know she’d been carefully considering her words and how he might react to them.

“Micah, don’t foster her again. Her spirit may be broken if you do.” Her voice caught and she shook her head, taking a deep breath. “She’s so much like Shelly, but she’s just a child. She’s not ready for any more upheaval.”

With that warning ringing in his ears, he watched her drive away. Locating Talia curled up on one of the couches, he studied her sleeping form. He could only see her mother in her, no trace of her father. Shelly hadn’t told anyone who Talia’s father was. In fact, she’d left the Pack shortly after Talia’s birth and had refused all overtures from any of the males there to come back.

Picking up the sleeping child, he took the stairs to the third floor, straight to the smaller bedroom. Once he made sure she was tucked into bed and still sound asleep, he returned to Olivia’s room. The hallway stretched out before him like some endless corridor as he realized he’d been gone for an over an hour.

He reached her door but paused. His ears detected no movement. The only sounds he heard were the slow, even breathing of a very sound-asleep woman. He rested his forehead on the door. “Sleep well, Olivia. ‘To sleep, perchance to dream-ay, there’s the rub.’”

Turning quietly, he returned to the first floor to make sure everything would be ready for the morning. Explaining Talia’s presence to Olivia would be interesting, especially given the way their relationship had progressed. Then again, this might give him the perfect opening to discuss shifter culture with Olivia. If he could convince her that she was a shifter, she might be willing to discuss staying at Wild Haven on a more permanent basis…as his mate.

Olivia woke, stretching and yawning. The silky gown she’d changed into when Micah left felt good against her skin, but since she still wore it, she felt safe in assuming he hadn’t returned to her room. Olivia allowed herself a momentary pout.

Having seen the way his eyes lit up from within at the sight of her lingerie, she’d been looking forward to his reaction to the gown. But he hadn’t returned. She didn’t hear any movement above her, but that didn’t mean anything, she had no idea what time it was.

Getting out of bed, she scanned the closet. She wanted to wear something sexy but not
too
sexy. If there were other guests in the lodge she didn’t want to give them the wrong impression, but she definitely wanted Micah to know what he’d missed out on last night.

Thoughts of Micah led to the discussion they’d had the night before about her past. Olivia couldn’t believe she’d opened up to him the way she had. He’d been so understanding, so concerned, and later, so passionate. Her skin still tingled and her mind kept wandering to Micah with his hair loose and his body covering hers.

Suppressing a shiver, Olivia dressed quickly, tugged her fingers through her hair and ignored her makeup. She practically skipped down the stairs, hearing voices in the kitchen. Remembering Micah’s request that she take her meals with him in the kitchen, she pushed the door open and stopped at the sight before her.

A little girl, no more than five or six sat on the counter by the sink, swinging her legs against the cabinet as she sucked milk up through a straw. She didn’t look up as Olivia entered the room, but Micah did. He turned from the stove to smile at her. Four strides brought him to her side and his warm hand cupped her jaw.

“Good morning. ‘O, beauty, ‘til now I never knew thee.’”

“Good morning yourself. I see you have a helper this morning.” Olivia glanced at the child again, noticing her dark blonde hair and brown eyes. A quick look back at Micah showed an odd expression on his face. “Did a family check in last night?”

“Not exactly.” Micah kissed her cheek then took her hand. “Olivia Decatur, I’d like you to meet Talia Genaro. Talia, this is my friend, Olivia. Can you say hello?”

The child pulled the straw out of her mouth to smile at Olivia. “Hello.”

“Hello, Talia, it’s very nice to meet you.” Olivia took the little girl’s hand, smiling when she giggled at their handshake. “Micah, she’s adorable.”

“Yes she is, and hungry too. Why don’t you help yourself to the coffee? Talia, did you want to go find your books? I think they’re in one of the boxes in the living room.”

“Okay.” The child hopped down from the counter and raced from the room. Micah watched the doorway for a moment before focusing his attention to Olivia.

“Talia is one of my goddaughters. The family she was staying with brought her to me last night because the placement wasn’t working.”

“They brought her to you?” Olivia paused with her coffee cup raised halfway to her mouth. “I don’t understand.”

“Talia’s mother was…” He paused long enough to raise any number of questions as to his relationship with the child’s mother. Olivia narrowed her eyes at him. Could he be Talia’s father? If so, why had he placed the child with someone else? Why hadn’t he taken responsibility for her from birth?

“Her mother was a friend of mine, a good friend. And, no, Talia isn’t my daughter. Shelly never told us the father’s name. Since Shelly’s death, Talia has been my responsibility. I thought putting her with relatives would work, but it didn’t. The next step was a foster family. Apparently that didn’t work either, so now she’s here, with me.”

“You’re not related to her?” Olivia sipped at her coffee and moved toward the kitchen door. Pushing it open, she glanced toward the main room.

“No. I’m her guardian and godfather, that’s all.” Micah turned his attention back to the stove, pulling a tray of hot biscuits out of the oven. “I wanted to apologize for last night.”

“Apologize?” Olivia turned her attention back to Micah.

“Yes. I’m sorry I didn’t get back to your room before you fell asleep.” He moved toward her again, smiling slightly as he reached her side. “I’m sorry we didn’t finish what we’d started.”

His hands cupped her shoulders as he drew her closer to his body. Bending forward, he kissed her forehead. “I’m sorry I couldn’t spend what was left of the night making love to you.”

Olivia closed her eyes as she tilted her head back to meet his kiss. Gentle, sweet, it was the perfect morning kiss. “So am I.”

She stepped out of his arms. “What now?”

“What do you mean?” Micah turned and she felt his gaze as she crossed the kitchen toward the back door.

“Well, we obviously can’t pick up where we left off with a child in the house.”

“We’ll figure it out. After all, Talia has to sleep sometime.”

Hearing the humor in Micah’s voice, Olivia glanced at him. “You’re incorrigible.”

“No, I’m intrigued and enthralled. And we will figure this out.” Micah winked and moved to the fridge. He pulled eggs and ham out and had started the makings for an omelet when Talia came back into the kitchen, both arms full of picture books. She brought one over to Olivia and smiled.

“Will you read to me?”

“Of course.” They sat at the kitchen table while Talia picked out her favorite book, explaining in great detail why it was her favorite.

Micah watched them together-Olivia with her bright blonde hair and Talia with her darker locks. Both had delicate features, but he knew that Talia would inherit her mother’s height. He wondered if she’d inherit the shifter gene as well. Since no one in the Pack knew who her father was-he could have been human. In that case, the chances of Talia being a shifter were fifty-fifty.

That bought his mind around to the mystery of Olivia’s family. Her birth family. He needed to make a few phone calls, get on the internet and do some research through some of the Pack archives. There had to be a record somewhere of her birth, her real family, her Pack.

For whatever reason, her parents hadn’t made provisions for her and that went against everything he knew to be true of Pack wolves. If they’d been Packless, they still should have made sure Olivia was placed with a shifter family. Humans had a limited range of acceptance when it came to things like people turning into animals.

A burst of laughter from the two at the table brought him back to the present in plenty of time to turn the omelet he had started. Hopefully he could find something to keep Talia occupied while he spent time with Olivia and vice versa.

Then again, if Talia were going to be living with him full time and he could convince Olivia to stay around, perhaps he’d be better off finding something for all three of them to do together…at least until Talia’s bedtime. Micah smiled contentedly. Things looked like they were going exactly where he wanted them to go. The bell over the front door pealed.

“Olivia, will you watch the omelet? I need to see who that is.”

Micah knew who stood on the other side of the door as soon as he hit the hallway. Pete Standing Elk had come calling. Micah heaved a sigh. He’d hoped to have more time before this burden was thrust back on him. With a deep breath he opened the door.

“
Ya-ta-hey
, Pete. It’s good to see you. Let’s step into my office.” Micah waved the other man forward.

“Micah, I’m glad you’re back.”

The two moved into the paneled sanctuary that served as Micah’s office. Pete took the chair Micah offered but sat only after Micah had folded himself into his own leather office chair.

“Pete, I know you are here for a reason. Let’s get to it.” Micah steepled his fingers to rest his chin on them. He leveled a steady gaze at the older man in front of him.

“Brother Micah, I bring you greetings from the Pack. We are happy you have returned to us whole and sound. I am gladdened to return to you the mantle of the Alpha.” Pete rose to his feet to hold out the carved piece of wood that the local area Alpha held. It wasn’t traditional in every Pack for there to be such a token, but those near reservations usually followed such niceties. He clasped Micah’s hand firmly and stepped back. Micah rubbed his thumb over the form of the running wolf then looked back at Pete.

“Brother Peter, I thank you for watching over the Pack so well in my stead. I accept this mantle with honor and pledge to protect all within the Pack.” Micah set the small carved wolf down on his desk to look at Pete.

“Are you sure I can’t convince you to just keep on as Alpha, Pete?” Micah offered his friend a smile as he dropped out of the formal speech patterns. He asked every time he returned and every time the answer was the same.

“Micah, you know I can’t do that. Margie would eat me alive if I made her Alpha bitch. And I am just not cut out for that kind of leadership. It gives me a headache. I’ll just stay on as sheriff, run with the Pack, bust the bad guys and have a happy marriage.

“Besides, you make a better Alpha than me. Young, virile studs do so much better than paunchy, balding middle-aged guys.” Pete softened his words with a chuckle.

Micah sighed heavily. “I only take this token because you force it on me, Pete. You know I don’t want this responsibility. I will hold it until we can identify a Pack member who can wear this mantle-one who truly wants it. I just want to live my life in peace. Is that too much to ask?”

His friend smiled at him. “Micah, one day you’re going to have to realize that the Pack chooses who leads them. It’s the way of our people. We choose based on intelligence, power and presence. Sorry, but you have all of that in spades. You are the Pack’s choice and the sooner you accept that, the better it will be for all of us. Now who’s the female? I don’t know her scent. Did you bring someone back with you?”

Micah shook his head. “No, her name is Olivia Decatur and she’s a guest here. She doesn’t know she’s a shifter.”

Pete’s jaw dropped as his eyes widened. “Doesn’t know? She’s an adult and she doesn’t know? How is that possible? Why hasn’t she shifted? Where’s
her
Alpha? That’s criminal, Micah. Her Pack should be sanctioned.”