Misha: Lanning's Leap (8 page)

“I’d very much like for you to help Miss Crawford out
, please.” He looked at the woman with his eyes bugging out, then nodded at her. “She’s overstayed her welcome.”

“Where is the man of the house?
I’m betting that while you’re all laid up, he’ll want a real woman in his bed. A morning woody to take care of with a quick blow job will be just the thing he’ll love.” Mr. Jackson rolled his sleeves up and moved toward the woman. “If you’d like, I could demonstrate on you how it would feel.”

Mr. Jackson had picked up the woman and literally shoved her out of the house. She was cursing the entire time. When he came back to her, Han could see he was embarrassed more than she was.

“That was…I have…what did you…
? Good Christ.” Han had burst out laughing. When he joined her a few seconds later, they sat in the living room for a long while before he looked at her. “I have been told that you were hurt pretty badly by your mother. You are healing nicely if you don’t mind me saying so.”

“Most of the swelling has gone down
, and my back is getting better, too. I can sit for a while without feeling all stiff.” He nodded and sat up as she continued. “I’m not sure what I’m doing here. I know that I’m Mr. Lanning’s mate, but he doesn’t want me in his life.”

Han didn’t know why she’d told him that. She’d not even told Carter and he was her only friend.
But Mr. Jackson told her she was going to be fine, and Han nodded. She was at a loss as to what do to.

The phone started ringing just as she was finishing her soup.
She could tell immediately that something had happened. She was sure it was her mother and that she was coming for her, but when Mr. Jackson sat down after hanging up, she was worried for the Lanning men.

“Mr. Lanning
…Misha Lanning has been shot.” Before she could ask him if he was all right, he continued. “He’s lost a great deal of blood, as he was shot very near to his heart. His brothers are with him, and Mrs. Lanning said she would come here for you if you wished to go with her to see him.”

Did she? She didn’t even know the man. But he was taking care of her
, so she had no idea what to do. Before she could voice her concerns about how she was supposed to get anywhere in a wheelchair, Mrs. Lanning came into the house.

“I’m sorry
, my dear, I should have called you first thing, but I’m not…I should have called you. Rider said he tried to call but you have no working number. Do you not have a cell phone?” Han shook her head, and Mrs. Lanning nodded. “I thought not. I’ll make sure one of them takes care of that today. And Rider didn’t have this number. I only just remembered I had it. Do you want to go?”

“How would…
? I’m still in this thing. It would be hard for you to take me in your car.” Mrs. Lanning was shaking her head, and Han found herself slightly disappointed that she’d not be able to go. “Thank you for asking me, however.”

“Oh
, honey, I meant to say, we’re not driving. The plane is here waiting on us. I’ll just have Jackson here take us over in the car and you’ll be just fine.” Han looked at Mr. Jackson, who winked at her. “We’ll just get what we need there. I have it on good authority that he’s doing better but a little cranky. Seeing how well you’re doing will cheer him up.”

Han doubted that. The man seemed to go out of his way to avoid her. She’d been doing the same
, but the rules he’d given her stated that she was not to interfere in his life. Since she’d not seen him but only talked to him when he called, that was working out just fine.

They were being driven to the airport in a matter of minutes.
Han had packed what little clothing she had, thanks to Carter getting her things and her money from her mother’s house, but she still had to find a job soon. Money wasn’t going to last long even if she didn’t have to pay rent.

The trip was wonderful.
Han had never been in a plane before, and when the man lifted her up and put her on the large couch she nearly hugged him to her. This was the most exciting thing she’d ever done. Mrs. Lanning sat across from her.

“May I ask you a favor?”
Han thought that she’d do anything for this woman, even if she asked her to stay away from her. “I’d like for you to call me Maribel.”

“That’s your first name.”
She nodded and Han flushed. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to sound stupid. I just never…why, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“Well, I suppose it has to do
with the fact that you’re Misha’s mate and we’ll be spending a good deal of time together. But more than that, I like you a great deal, and Mrs. Lanning is so formal.” Han nodded as Maribel continued. “You’re not happy here, are you, my dear?”

“I’m not unhappy.”
Han wasn’t sure she should tell this woman what she really felt, but Carter said that she’d understand. “He doesn’t like me. I’m not sure what he wants with me hanging around his house, but he doesn’t want me. Not even in his bed.”

“I’m sure that he’ll get over that.”
Han wasn’t so sure and said that. “Misha was my confidante when his father was around. I might have…no, I did tell him things that I shouldn’t have. His father didn’t want us, and he made no bones about it. And Misha’s heart is…it’s broken, I suppose. And he’s closed it off. Do you want him to love you?”

“No.”
Han watched the hurt on Maribel’s face. “I don’t want anyone to love me. It’s too…I guess I really don’t know what love is, but I’ve seen enough people profess that they love someone only to have it crumble in their faces. Working in the public, I got to see all sorts of things that showed me that love is very one sided most of the time.”

“
Your mother did that to you.” Han thought maybe she was right but didn’t say anything. “I’d like for you to love us all. Especially Misha. He could use a good woman like you to love him. And you need someone to love you as well. You deserve it.”

“I just want to be left alone.
I know that sounds really horrible, but it’s harder to be hurt when you’re alone.” A man offered her a drink and some cookies. When she reached for her bag to pay for a couple of cookies, he told her it was fine. “See? I have no idea how to act around decent people.”

Han wanted to cry. She was embarrassed and
felt like she was completely out of her element. And now her provider was hurt and she had no idea what she was supposed to do about it. When Maribel unbuckled and sat beside her, Han had an overwhelming urge to lay her head on her lap and sob.

“Misha has a great deal of money. Well, they all do thanks to some sound investments and being really good at their job
s. This is just a part of the perks you’ll have as his mate. Someone should have told you this before now, but if you never worked again, you’d have more than enough of everything you want.”

“I don’t want his money.” Maribel nodded.
“I’m going to make my own money as soon as I can. I don’t want…I’ve only agreed to this whole thing because Carter said he’d go rogue if I didn’t.”

“He might…he very well might
, but that’s no reason for you to suffer if you don’t want to. Being in a relationship is hard enough, having low expectations is only going to make it harder for both of you.” Han wasn’t planning to make anything hard on anyone and told Maribel that. “And if you fall in love with him? What will you do then? What about children?”

“He doesn’t want children
, he told me. Which I guess is fine with me as I have no idea what to do with them anyway. As for falling in love with him, it’s doubtful that will happen, as he’s told me that he’d rather I never bothered him and continued doing whatever it was I wanted so long as I didn’t embarrass him or his family.”

“I see.”
Han had a feeling she’d hurt Maribel somehow, but didn’t know what to do about it. But the pilot told them to fasten their belts; they would be landing soon. When Maribel moved to her seat again, Han could feel the distance, and it was a great deal further than the few feet between them.

Chapter
8

Misha opened his eyes and tried to bring things into focus. He could make out shapes but not what they were. When the person in front of him moved, he knew who it was immediately. What the hell was Hannah doing in his room sleeping in his chair?

“Don’t.”
He turned his head at his mother’s voice spoken almost in his ear. “I have no idea what you’re thinking right now, but if you make her cry again, I’m going to take you to the woodshed.”

“I
didn’t make her cry. What is she…what are either of you doing in my room?” He looked around the room again, keeping his voice low, as he realized where he was. “I was shot.”

“You were. And the next time this happens to you, I want you to know that I’m not coming to you again. You’re a very mean man when you’re hurting.”
Misha had no idea what his mom meant but looked at Hannah again. He could see now that she was sleeping fitfully, and he also could see the tear stains on her cheeks.

“Wh
at did I say to her?” He never took his eyes off her as he spoke to his mom. “She’s beautiful.”

His mom huffed at him
, and he turned to look at her. She looked exhausted, and she’d been crying as well. When he reached up and touched his thumb to her cheek, she pulled his hand to her and hugged it. He looked around the room with better eyes.

“I’m in the hospital again.”
She smacked him in the chest before sitting down. He was careful when he rolled over because the pain had just made itself known to him. “How long have I been here this time?”

“Two days.
We got here the day you were shot and she’s not left your side. Even when you were mean to her.” Misha looked over at Hannah again and marveled at the difference a week could make. “You told her that she was in your way and that you wished you’d never met her. How could you, Misha?”

He had no idea.
“I wasn’t thinking clearly, I suppose. What was she doing when I said it? I mean, I didn’t mean to hurt her.”

“You didn’t.” He looked over at Hannah when she spoke.
When her chair backed up, he was sure she was leaving and asked her to stay. “I have to go to the bathroom. And you should visit with your family.”

She was out the door before he could say
anything. Looking at his mom, Misha wasn’t sure what to say about her look either. His mom was hurt, and Misha felt terrible about it.

“She’s my family
, too.” His mom nodded but didn’t speak. “I don’t know what to do with her.”

“She said the same thing about you.
I told you this was a mistake. I wish…neither of you are going to make it if one of you doesn’t try at least a little. Phillip said you called for her for the entire time you were being brought here. Then when she saw you, you told her to get away from you and to leave you in peace.”

“I’ve been having dreams…nightmares about her. Not her
really, but nightmares that she’s hurt and I can’t get to her. I think her mother is involved some, but I can’t keep her safe.” Misha leaned back on the bed. “The gunshot. It was silver? That’s why I couldn’t shift.”

“Rider said you were all right for a little while and he figured you were waiting to get somewhere you could shift. Then you started to fall
, and he knew that you’d been shot with silver. By the time they’d removed it from your body, you’d lost a great deal of blood and shifting wasn’t possible. I’m sick of you being hurt all the time, Misha. You need to take better care of yourself.”

All he could think about was how he’d hurt Hannah.

“Do you think you could go find her for me? I should apologize to her. I don’t want her to be upset.” His mom looked at him hard. He wasn’t sure, but he had a feeling she was looking deep into his heart. There was nothing there; even he knew that.

She stood up without saying anything and left him.
Misha moved around in the bed so that he could see her when she first came in. But he wasn’t prepared for her when she finally did. This time his vision was much clearer, and he realized she wasn’t just beautiful, she was gorgeous.

“I’m sorry I hurt you.” She just shook her head and looked out the window.
He wanted her to come closer but wasn’t really sure why. The need to touch her made his cat pulse along his skin. “Could you come closer to me? I have to…my cat needs to touch you.”

“You’re
going turn into a cat?” Her voice was high, and she cleared her throat before she continued. He might have thought it was funny if he didn’t really want to shift and take her to the floor. “I guess you could do anything you want, and shifting or whatever it’s called is something I’ll need to get used to.”

She didn’t move and he asked her again to come closer. As she moved forward, Misha sat up on the bed and threw his legs over the side.
He was lightheaded, but it was from his need to be with her rather than the loss of blood.

“What are you going to do?” He stood up when she was
within touching distance and put his hand on hers. “Mr. Lanning, you don’t think you should stay in bed?”

The
thought of staying in bed, his bed with her beneath him, nearly took his breath away. Lifting her chin up so that he could look into her eyes, Misha felt his cock stretch and thicken. He leaned down to her slowly.

“I’m Misha.
Say it please. I want to hear you say my name.” Her breathless reply had him grinning. “Not Mr. Lanning. Misha. Say it, Hannah. Say my name so I can kiss you properly.”

“I don’t know how.
Know how to kiss at all.” He brushed his mouth over hers, happy with her confession. “You should stop now.”

He ran his
tongue over her lips and watched as she ran her own over her lips, as if she were tasting him there. With a small groan, he took her lower lip into his mouth and suckled it until she put her hand on his arm. Her breathless “Don’t” made him want more.

The kiss, soft and gentle
, only made him hungry for more of her. When she tightened her fingers on his arm, Misha cupped the back of her head and deepened the kiss. She opened her mouth under his, and Misha moaned again.

Her tongue shyly touched his,
and her lips opened more when he rolled his tongue over hers. He wanted to pull her up, wrap her around him, but knew, in the back of his mind, that she was injured and lifting her would be painful. But Christ, he wanted her. When he raised his head from hers for just a second, she licked her lips and stared at him.

“I wish you weren’t in pain.” She nodded.
“I could lay you out on this bed and bury myself deep inside of you. It’s what I want to do more than anything right now. My cock, it aches to take you.”

“I don’t…you said that you
didn’t really want me that way.” He kissed her again, showing her with his mouth just how much he really wanted her. Finally, he lifted her up in his arms and carried her to the bed. “What are you going to do?”

“I don’t know
, but I have to…I have to do something.” He moved his gown out of his way and fisted his naked cock. She watched him as he felt his balls tighten to his body. “Could you take off your blouse? I want to…I want to come all over you this way.”

She started for the hem of her shirt
, but his cat wasn’t waiting. He snarled at him to take her, and Misha reached down and tore her shirt from her. The look on her face made him take her mouth again. The need there was more than he could hope for. When he lifted his head this time, she was panting, and he was as well.

“Undress. I
won’t take you this way, but I need to come on you. I need to be sure that no one else will touch you.” She didn’t say anything but worked at the clasps on her bra. Once she had it off, Misha laid her back on the bed and took her hard nipple into his mouth. Her fingers curling in his hair had him opening his mouth wider and sucking hard of as much flesh as he could take in.

Misha was hurting now. His
cock was so full that he knew the moment he had her naked he was going to come. When she worked at the soft pants she had on, he stepped back and pulled them over her cast. She was naked now, and he could only stare. When she tried to cover herself with his sheet, he stopped her.

“No. Please don’t. I want to
…let me see you.” She nodded but closed her eyes. Misha knew that she was a virgin and more than likely overwhelmed right now, but he couldn’t stop from touching her. “Your pussy is calling to me. I want to drink from you. Could I taste you?”

He didn’t wait for an answer but ran his fingers over her curls then into her heat.
She was soaking wet, and he slid his finger into her. He took her juices to his mouth and sucked them dry. He needed more.

“I’d like to taste you, Hannah.” He leaned down to bury his nose in her pussy and licked her from gate to clit. Nibbling on her hard little nubbin
, he heard her moan, and he stood up again. “Christ, you’re going to drive me insane.”

Reaching
blindly behind him, he pulled her chair to him. Sitting down, he rolled forward until he could put her thighs on either side of his head, careful of her cast. When she sat up and looked at him, he slowly leaned down to her and took her into his mouth. Misha knew for as long as he lived, the taste of her was going to haunt him.

Cupping her ass
, he brought her to his mouth. The more he drank of her, the more her juices flowed from her, the more Misha wanted. Nipping at her clit again, he felt her stiffen as she cried out. Her climax only made him want to give her more.

“Please.” Misha lif
ted his head from her when she came twice more. He loved having her come in his mouth and wanted more than anything to have her do it over and over. “Too much. It’s too much.”

He stood up then, and fisted his cock again. He had to mark her, had to spread his seed all over her heated body so that no one else would touch what
was his. The moment she touched him however, wrapped her fingers around his cock, Misha knew that he had to be inside of her.

Lifting her cast
-covered leg, he rested it on his shoulder. Misha slid just the crown of his cock in and out of her as she cupped her breast. Her moans, her heat, were making him insane with need and he slid deeper. She looked up at him as he touched her virginity.

“It
’s going to hurt when I enter you.” Hannah put her hand over her mouth. “I’m sorry. So sorry.”

Misha slammed forward and felt himself
break past the barrier. He stilled his body over hers when she screamed. He’d hurt her, he’d really hurt her, and he was sorrier than he’d ever been for anything.

“Just let me…I can’t move
, baby. If you calm down a little, I’ll be able to pull from you.” She nodded but seemed to tighten around him. “Hannah, you’re making me harder.”

The next time she moved it was to roll her hips.
Misha couldn’t help but roll with her. Every time he moved, every single time her body seemed to wrap around him tighter, he slid his cock deeper until he was buried to the root. He leaned over her and took her mouth gently.

“I’m going to come inside of you.
I’m going to mark you so that no other man will come near you. If they do, I’ll kill them.” She looked at him then, and Misha knew that she understood him. “I have to mark you, Hannah, and this is the only way.”

She
only stared up at him as he started to move. He tried to be easy on her, knowing that he was hurting her again, but he was so close. When he felt his balls begin to empty, his cock flooding her with his cum, he held her to him and nipped hard at her shoulder. When he tasted her blood again, he wanted to have her bite him, too, but she cried out again, and he felt it was from pain rather than from her release, and held her tightly as he emptied into her again.

~~~

Hannah wasn’t sure what to do now that he’d finished. She was in a great deal of pain and not just physically. Her back hurt, as did her pussy, but it was her heart that felt as if he’d shattered her. But for such a large man, he was holding her like she was a fragile flower or something like a priceless artifact.

She wasn’t even sure what she thought would happen
now that he’d taken her. He’d told her all along that there would be nothing between them. And that sex, when he wanted it, was going to be simply a release for him and her if she chose. But to tell her that it was simply a ritual of his, while she had really been enjoying herself…well, she would have to be more careful in the future with sex.

“Are you all right?”
She nodded and realized that he might not be able to see her the way he was laying, so she answered him. “I’m really sorry. I only meant to mark you so that no other—”

“You said that.”
He lifted his head and looked down at her. “Could you please help me back to my chair? This isn’t very comfortable.”

He helped her to sit up after he pulled free of her. The pain took her breath away
, and she tried to not let him know, but he heard her, she supposed. But instead of putting her into the chair, he helped her to lay in the bed better and covered her nudity up with his sheet. As he sat in the chair, he held her hand until she nodded. A place she didn’t want to be. Before she could tell him she’d rather just leave, he went to the little closet in his room and began pulling on his clothing. She turned away when he bent at the waist to pull on his pants.