Misha: Lanning's Leap (10 page)

“No.” He’d figured that would be her answer and nodded.
She looked around the room and not at him before she continued. “You said that I’d be safe here and that you’d not want me in your bed much. I was counting on that.”

Misha tried not to let her words anger him
, and he took a deep breath before he spoke. “I like making love to you.”

“We’re not making love. We don’t love each other. It’s just…it’s just sex.” He laughed
, and she glared at him. “You don’t love me. Admit it. You’re just saying that because you think it’s what I want to hear.”

“No. I love you. I didn’t think it was possible
, but I do.” She didn’t say anything, but he could tell she was upset. Instead of upsetting her more, he leaned down and kissed her. Before he could lift his head, however, he cupped the back of her head and deepened the kiss.

Backing away from the bed before he joined her there
, he smiled at her confused look. It was only fair. He thought that she was just as confused as he was about this. “I have to go into the office today. But I should be back around six. If I have to change that, I’ll let you know. Okay? Oh, and there is water running in the bathtub for you. You should try to sit in it for a little while. If you want, I can heal it like I did your back. I’m sure that we’ll enjoy that a great deal more.”

“Why are you doing this to us? Why don’t you…
? We had rules set down. You don’t want to…there is no way that you can love me.” He started to ask her why when she started crying. “I’m not a baby, but you’re driving me insane. I don’t know what to do with you.”

“I don’t either, honey.”

Leaving the room
, he went downstairs to find his cook and longtime friend making bread. The man never ceased to amaze him with his cooking. He sat down and tried to think of a single reason why he shouldn’t go into work today.

“You’re going.”
He looked up at Jackson. “You’ve mated with her; bonded, too. Give her a break. You can be a mite overwhelming when you’re like this.”

“Like what?”
Jackson handed him a warm scone and a glass of juice. “What do you mean, when I’m like this?”

“You’re all hard
-assed and mean when you want to be, but you’re like…well, day old cereal when you’re around her. Have you figured out you’re in love with her yet?” Misha nodded. “Good. But don’t expect her to be quick about it. She’s not used to people loving her, and she don’t know how to love you back. She will, but she’s just not knowing how yet.”

“Her mother did that to her.”
Jackson nodded but didn’t speak. “I didn’t want to love her. I didn’t even want a mate. But now that I have her…is it possible for a person to fall so much in love only after a few weeks?”

“For us, it’s a
necessity. Sort of like our wild counterpart. We find a mate and start having little ones to repopulate the world. She’s a nice girl, but she’s a little on the…I was going to say shy, but I don’t think that’s it. I think she’s more not quite ready.”

“Ready?”
Jackson nodded and didn’t answer. “She seems like she’s been beaten up, and I don’t mean just physically. Do you think she’ll get over that someday?”

“I do. And when she does, I’d suggest you shut up and pay attention to her. She’s going to blow you and the other Lanning men right out of the water.”
Jackson laughed hard as he put the bread in the loaf pans. “Yes, sir, she’s going to knock you on your ass so hard you aren’t going to know what hit you.”

Misha left the house a few
minutes later, having been nearly thrown from the kitchen by Jackson. He thought about Hannah all the way to work, and when he pulled into the lot behind their building, he nearly turned and went back to be with her. Getting out before he did that, he was at his desk starting up his computer when Andrew came in and sat down.

“
There’s…something here to see you.” His brother looked like he might be ill. Before he could ask him if he was sick, he continued. “I was going to say someone was here to see you, but I’m not sure that what’s out there is human. Not like us inhuman, but simply…Christ. You have a visitor.”

“Who is it?”
Misha leaned back in his chair while Andrew seemed to try and think what to say. It was funny, and Misha laughed at him. “What is it then?”

“She hit on me.” Andrew shivered and closed his eyes. “If I ever get that desperate, I want you to kill me.
I wouldn’t touch that if my very life…I’m not sure…Christ.”

“You said that.”
Misha had a feeling he knew who it was, and even though he had no idea what she looked like, he did know her scent. “Is it by any chance Bella Oliver?”

Andrew nodded
, then looked at him sharply. “That’s Han’s mother? Mother fuck, she must be adopted. That thing out there no way gave birth to that vision that you’re mated to. Seriously?”

“I believe so. I’ve never met her
, but I left her my card yesterday when I went by Hannah’s house to see if there was anything she’d need from there. And there wasn’t. At all.” He knew that Carter had gone there as well and had gotten an envelope for Hannah, but not what else he might have picked up. As far as Misha was concerned, there was nothing there that Hannah would ever need again. “Did she say what she wanted?”

Andrew shivered again and nodded.
“Us. Particularly you. And I don’t think she just meant to talk to you either. I think she wants you.” He stood up and shook all over. He was moving toward the door when Misha said his name.

“I need you to stay.”
Andrew started to argue, but Misha laughed. “I need someone to stay here and make sure that she doesn’t rape me. You never know what she might say happened if she doesn’t get whatever it is she wants.”

“I
don’t think she’ll care if you had an entire squad of men in here. She looks like she’s one determined woman.” He looked at the door as if he might bolt. “I’ll get the others to come in as well. There is no reason why you should have all the…Christ, that’s Han’s mother?”

He assured him once again it was and laughed when he left him. Two minutes later
, all five of his brothers were in the room with him, as well as his mom. She’d stopped by to see if they’d take her to dinner with Hannah that night and had happened upon this meeting.

“You should get a kick out of this,” Andrew told her.
“Just don’t be surprised if I throw up on you.”

“What on Earth
…?” When the door opened a minute later, his mom looked at him with the most stunned look on her face. “Misha? What is this?”

“Everyone, I’d like you to meet Hannah’s mom.”
His mom stood up and sat back down. “Mrs. Oliver, what can I do for you?”

“Oh my. All of you at once.
Whatever am I to do?” She looked at his mom, who was still staring with her mouth open. “You their pimp?”

“Their mother. And what, may I ask
, are you?” Before Bella could answer her, their mom stood up. “You should be ashamed of yourself. What were you thinking when you left your house this morning? Or did you even…good gracious, woman, your breasts are showing, and your…your personal self is nearly hanging out so that anyone could see it.”

“I’m just being myself. I like being sexy.”
Bella sneered at her. “You should try it sometimes. You’re not too old yet. Let it hang out.”

“Of all the…you’re that young woman’s mother?”
Bella nodded and smiled again. Then she struck a pose that Misha could only assume was supposed to be sexy. “Straighten up and cover yourself. You’re too old to be looking like you’ve just spent a night screwing everything that had a dick.”

Andrew laughed
, but one look at him from their mother had him shutting up. Bella stood up straighter and nearly fell off her heels when she started forward. But his mom was ready for her.

“Do it and I will rip yo
ur eyes out of that overdone face of yours.” Bella stopped, and his mom looked at him. “Get her out of here. And don’t touch her. I shudder to think what she’s been up to for the last twenty-four hours.”

Misha and Rider escorted Bella out. She was cursing the entire time
, and he and Rider were laughing so hard it was difficult for them to be serious. When Bella stopped moving and looked at them, Misha could see the insanity. It was frightening as much as it was funny.

“You tell that bitch of a daughter of mine I’m not done with her yet. When I find her, she’s going to go back to that place and I’m going to have her get one of those brainectom
ies.”

She was out the door when it occurred to
him what she’d meant. Misha was still laughing when he entered his office. But seeing his mom handing out bottles of antibacterial hand wash to everyone had him hurting, he was laughing so hard. It was the best thing he’d had happen in months.

Chapter
10

Han walked around the yard twice before she ventured into the wooded area behind the house. Mr. Jackson, who she was told to call simply Jackson, said that the property was fenced in and that she should feel free to roam as she wanted. The booted cast she had on was nice since she could walk instead of riding on her butt all the time. And the sun felt wonderful on her face. She looked down at her list.

Han had always wanted an herb garden. She wasn’t a great cook by any means
, but the smell of some of the richer herbs she’d seen in shops was so nice that she was excited to see if she could find some in the yard. Jackson had given her a small knife, a book on herbs, as well as a basket to put them in. He’d even gone out to the yard and showed her how to dig them up without hurting them.

“You go on and get us some starts.
There are wild herbs out there that are just waiting for someone to cut them up in some salad. If you bring back the wrong thing, we’ll just toss it and try again.” She nodded and left him standing there.

It was the trust
, she supposed, that had her liking the older man. He’d told her he was a leopard as well, but she’d shied away from talking to him about her relationship with Misha. Her body warmed at the thought of the things he’d done to her last night. And when she’d been to the doctor this afternoon, Doctor Hudson had commented on how she could take the cast off her arm now because of him biting her. Han put her hand over the small scar she’d found after her shower.

A
sound startled her, and she stilled in the woods for several minutes, trying to figure out where it was coming from. Moving slowly, one step at a time, she made her way to just where the broken fence was to see something struggling. Putting her knife in the basket, she dropped it over the fence, and then climbed over it to see what it was.

Han had no idea what to expect
, but was still surprised to see a small puppy with its leg caught in a bear-like trap. He was pulling at it so hard that he’d only managed to make it worse rather than to get away. She moved close to him and he snarled at her.

“I’m not going to hurt you.
I want to help you.” He growled low, and she inched forward. “I’m hurt, too, so helping you will make me feel better. Don’t move so much; you’re going to make it worse.”

The little thing sat down and stared at her
, and it was then that she realized it wasn’t a dog but a wolf. A black one. As she made her way closer to him, he whimpered when she put out her hand for him. It upset her that he was afraid of her, but he sniffed her, then licked her fingers. Moving closer, she rubbed her fingers over his small head and spoke softly to him.

“I’m not really sure how this works.
The trap I mean. And for the record, whoever put this out here needs to have his leg snapped in one.” The pup licked her face when she leaned down to look at it. “Has this thing been dipped in silver?”

The thing looked new
, but when she got close enough to see how it worked, she could see that it wasn’t new at all. The poor thing licked her again when she tried to pull it apart. Finally, after hurting him once so badly that he bit her, she figured it out.

“I’m not going to be
able to pull you out of the teeth on this thing and hold it open for you. Do you think you can get your leg out when I get it opened?” She could have sworn that he nodded at her, and she smiled. “I’m really sorry, but I don’t think this is going to hurt any less than it does now, but you’re not going to be trapped in this any longer.”

Taking several deep breaths
, she pressed down on the lever until the jaws started to open. It was slow moving for the first few seconds, but then she heard it snap and cried out when the little pup was falling out of it. Letting the trap go, it snapped shut again with such a loud crack that she jumped. But the little pup was trying to get away from it, and she reached for him.

“I
can’t let you run off like this. What if you get trapped again?” The little guy whimpered again, and she picked him up. “I don’t know where your den is, but I’m going to take you back to Misha’s house. We’ll get you bandaged up and then we’ll see what we can do. Misha is a leopard, but…do wolves like cats?”

She rambled on the
entire way back toward the house. He never tried to bite her again, for which she was grateful, but it was close a couple of times. She’d nearly dropped him when they crossed over the fence to Misha’s property. Then, suddenly, she was being thrown back and had to wrap her body around the pup so he’d not be hurt when she fell.

“That’s mine.” The big man was
standing over her, and he had a gun. “Put my prey down or so help me, you’ll take his place. Drop him.”

“I most certainly will not.” She was terrified
, but she wasn’t going to let the poor thing go with the man. “You’re on someone else’s property, and so is he. You get out of here before I call the owner.”

“You mean that big man that just bought this place? I’m
not worried about him. You should be more concerned with the fact that you took something that belongs to me. Give him over now and I’ll only mess you up a bit.” The pup snarled at the man, and Han knew just how he felt. When something tingled in her mind, she was startled when Misha spoke to her.

I can feel your fear. What’s
happening? Is your mother there at the house? I’m on my way.
She didn’t know what to do to tell him, and he told her to think of what to say.
Just talk to me in your head.

There’s a little wolf here that’s been hurt in a big trap. Now
there’s a man standing over me with a gun demanding that I give him to him. I’m not going to. And if you make me, I’ll never…I’ll never sleep with you again.

I would never…we seriously need to have a long talk.
I’m contacting Jackson. He’s on his way. And so am I. When you see the leopard, don’t attack him. It will be one of us.
She nodded and then told him thanks.
Just don’t move. If he hurts you, I’m going to tear him apart.

There
was movement just behind the big man, and Han thought it was Jackson. But the pup in her arms started to struggle again, and she let him go when he nipped at her arm. He grabbed her shirt and started pulling her back when a flash of something dark and large leapt at the man.

Han watched it all. She knew that on some level what she was seeing wasn’t something that anyone would believe.
She was having trouble believing it herself. But the pack of wolves that tore into the man—and they did tear into him—never looked her way until he was down. She’d seen one man killed like this by another wolf, but nothing like this pack was doing to this man.

Then she knew he was dead. The wolves all circled around him and threw back their collective heads and howled.
Instead of being afraid of them, she thought only of their beauty.

The
biggest wolf started toward her. The pup moved to stand in front of her, and she pulled him back into her arms. He tried to get away from her, but there was no way she was going to let them hurt the little guy.

“You get back. You try to hurt him and I will find a gun and sh
oot you all. Get back.” The big wolf got close enough for her to touch him, and she smacked him on the nose. “I said to get the hell back. I’m not going to tell you again.”

The wolf sneezed but didn’t back off. The rest of them stood just behind him
, and Han realized she was in deep shit. These guys looked bigger than any wolf she’d ever seen before. She just knew that she was going to be dessert following the big man they’d killed.

“Miss Hannah?” She looked at Jackson, who had come tearing into the woods where they were.
When she yelled at him to stop, she looked at the big wolf.

“You don’t hurt him either. He had nothing to do with whatever is going on here. You have to hurt someone
, you…you can hurt me. But leave him alone.” The wolf looked at Jackson, then back at her as he lay down on his belly. The pup finally broke free from her and went to the big wolf. He was tumbling all over him, and she realized that they knew each other. “He’s hurt and needs to be helped. Just let me wrap him up before you take him away. He might get infected.”

“Miss Hannah, that there is Mr. James Luna.
He’s the pack alpha that runs through here sometimes.” She glanced at Jackson, then back at the wolf. “That pup there is his son. They’re shifters like me and the Lannings are.”

“The little one is hurt.” Jackson moved toward her and the big wolf stood up and moved to stand over her.
He growled low in his throat at Jackson, making him stop. “What’s he doing?”

“Protecting you from me.”
She looked at the big wolf, who was so close she could see the green of his eyes. Putting her hand on his neck, she felt his muscles quiver under her fingers.

“He’s my friend, Mr. Luna.” He
turned and looked at her, and she could see the man that held the wolf. When he sat down on her booted foot, she looked at Jackson. “I guess he’s not moving.”

“Misha is on his way. They know it. They’re not going to leave you until then. They can smell him on you.” Han flushed
, knowing what that meant, but said nothing as Jackson sat down. “I can hear him now. I don’t think he’s going to be terribly happy when he gets here either. Those brothers of his are with him, too.”

Boy was that an understatement. As soon as he crashed through the woods at her, she knew the real meaning of huge and pissed off.
Misha moved toward her and she knew, just knew, that he was going to tear her throat out. But the moment he was close enough to touch her, the big wolf moved back, but not far, and Misha rubbed his body all over hers. She’d never seen a more beautiful sight than him as a leopard.

~~~

Misha couldn’t stop touching her. He knew that he was irritating her, but she’d been nearly hurt and taken from him, and he was more afraid than he’d been about anything in his life. And now that it was over and she was at the house, all he wanted to do was mark her again. But company demanded that he wait.

“You should know that he bit her.”
Misha nodded at James. He’d seen the mark, too. “I’m sorry about that. Jimmy, however, thinks it’s the best thing in the world that he has a connection with the big leopard mate.”

“She might have hurt him.”
James nodded and looked at Han, who was talking to the other children in the pack. They’d come over as soon as they’d shifted to thank the small human.

“I never seen a woman, much less a human
, so furiously want to protect someone she didn’t know. I swear to you, Misha, I thought for sure she was going to get up and tear my throat out when I tried to see if my son was all right. I wish I had a dozen more just like her to have bred some of that into my pack.”

Misha
growled low, and James laughed. “Stay away from my woman. And for the record, I’ve never…that was the scariest thing I’ve ever felt in my life, when I felt her fear. And to be honest, it was more for the pup than herself.”

James nodded and took the beer that Jackson offered him.
But he moved by Misha when he reached for one. Wondering what was going on, he looked at Phillip when he sat down next to him with a bottle of water and handed it to him.

“Did you know that Han hates beer?
Can’t stand the smell, much less the taste.” He nodded to the water. “Drink up, big brother. I just saved your ass.”

He wondered how
Phillip knew, but realized there was a great deal about his mate that he didn’t know. Misha looked over at James. His mate was large with their next child, and he looked at her with such love that Misha wanted to be embarrassed.

“It’ll come to you.”
He asked James what he meant, and he turned to him. “Love. I can see that you’re in love with her, but all I see from her is…misunderstanding. She’s not sure of the two of you, is she?”

“No.” Misha watched her play with the children and smiled when
one of them made her laugh. “I haven’t been that great of a mate to her as yet. I’m not even sure what I need to do to make her happy. And I find that I really do want to.”

“As I said, it’ll come to you.” He stood up and looked at him.
“I need to give your mate a gift. She gave me the greatest gift anyone could ever give to a human or shifter.”

“
I’m sure she won’t see it that way.” James looked at her, then back at him. “I give you permission, if that’s what you’re waiting for, but you don’t need it from me. If she accepts whatever you give her, then I will as well.”

“That, my dear sir, is a good start.”
He moved to his mate and helped her to stand. Misha stood up as well and watched as they approached her. Little Jimmy stood just in front of his dad. Misha looked at his brothers and mother as they, too, watched the couple.

“Hannah Oliver Lanning.”
Hannah looked at Misha, and he nodded at her. “I am the leader of the Luna pack, a pack of just over six hundred wolves. You have, in one selfless action, humbled and honored me in a way that no one has before.”

“I
didn’t do anything but help the little guy out.” She looked at Misha, panicky, and he moved to stand behind her. “Anyone would have done the same thing.”