The Wolf's Mate Book 5: Bo & Reika (8 page)

He was so deep in thought he wasn’t aware that Reika was in the room with him until she curled up next to him, tucking herself against him in the deep couch.  His arms immediately went around her as she snuggled against him.

“Sweetheart?”

“I’m cold,” she said.

He pulled the afghan from the back of the couch and draped it over her.  She didn’t feel cold; she felt flushed.  And she smelled aroused.

His cock reacted, hardening and scraping against his zipper.  He muffled the groan in his throat.  “I can kick up the heat.  It’s not comfortable here on the couch.”

She looked up at him.  “Only if you come with me.”

Well, he didn’t think that was a good idea.  If he took her to bed, he wouldn’t be able to keep his hands off her, so it was best to stay on the couch.  As it was, his body was screaming to roll on top of her and find out if she was as hot and wet as she smelled.

“Goodnight, Reika.”

“Night, Bo.”

When morning came and Bo woke, he realized that he’d actually had a good night’s sleep for the first time in many years.  Reika was like a balm for his body.  The constant twinge of pain was there, but it had dulled enough so he could sleep.  Amazed, he lay with her while she slept, wishing he could bottle the feeling.

Just thinking about letting her go made his wolf prowl in his mind, snarling and unhappy.  But it was for the best, Bo knew.  She might have some healing abilities, but she hadn’t offered to heal him, which told him that he was truly beyond hope.  No doctors or specialists had ever been able to help him with the constant pain and nothing that his aunt Lia had ever made for him with her herbal skills had ever worked beyond a temporary numbing that seemed to make the pain more intense when the herbs faded.

Extracting himself from the couch without waking Reika, he showered and changed for work.  Although the last thing he wanted to do was leave her, he did have a job to do.  And Cades and Karly were coming to spend the day with Reika, and two of the younger males were going to hang around outside and keep an eye on the house.

Reika was sitting on the bed when he came out of the bathroom after brushing his teeth.  She smiled at him as they passed when she walked into the bathroom.  He finished getting ready for work and walked into the kitchen.  Reika had brewed a pot of coffee and fixed a cup for him.  He’d never had anyone make a cup of coffee for him.  Then again, he hadn’t ever had a woman spend the entire night at his house, either.

Reika joined him in the kitchen twenty minutes later.  She had changed into the other outfit that Cadence had brought for her, a thick sweater and a pair of dark jeans.  Her hair was damp.

“After work today, I’ll take you to a mall, and you can pick out some things of your own, okay?”

She looked surprised.  “You don’t have to do that.”

“Why wouldn’t I?  Cades’ clothes don’t quite fit you right, and you said you only had two changes of clothes in the bag you packed, which isn’t enough.  We’ll grab a bite to eat while we’re out.  Unless you want toaster waffles for dinner.”

She chuckled and shook her head.  “I don’t know when I’ll be able to pay you back, Bo.”

He cupped her face with one hand and stroked her cheek.  “Don’t give it a second thought, sweetheart.”

Memories of the kiss they’d shared in the woods the day before flashed through his mind, and he found himself leaning into her, wanting to taste her and kiss her … devour her.

A knock on the door threw cold water on them, and he stepped back quickly, reminding himself that he wasn’t planning for her to stick around once he freed her from the lynxes.  He walked to the front door, cursing inwardly at his erection and at his wolf’s insistence that they couldn’t allow her to leave, even after she was freed.  He opened the door.

Karly and Cades stood on the front porch, cheeks bright from the cold air and smiles on their faces.

“Come on in, ladies.”  Bo stepped back and held the door open as Cades and Karly walked inside.  Karly held a plastic container in her hands.  As Bo shut the door, he nodded at the wolf standing in the front yard, knowing that the other one was in the backyard, already watching for trouble.  He didn’t like leaving her at all, but knowing she had people watching over her helped to ease some of that burden.

As he expected, when Reika saw Karly and Cades, she bristled with anger.

Pulling him aside as Karly lifted the lid from the plastic container and Cades looked in the cupboards for dishes, Reika hissed, “I do
not
need babysitters.”

She was so fierce and passionate, and he wanted to silence her protests with kisses and nibbles.

Not the time
.

“Baby, first of all, I have no idea if the lynxes know where you are or not.  I would never take the chance of leaving you on your own while I go to work.  If I could stay home with you I would, but I have a deadline and a customer waiting.  You’re just going to have to suck it up.”

Her mouth dropped open.  “Did you just tell me to suck it up?”

“Yeah.”  He grinned and tweaked her chin.  “I swore on my wolf’s blood that I would see you safe and that means I’m in charge of what happens until that comes to pass.  Suck.  It.  Up.”

She let out a small gasp of surprise and her eyes widened, and then she snapped her teeth together.  He imagined she was thinking about taking a bite out of him.  At least she stopped arguing.

He kissed her cheek, snagged a fresh cinnamon roll, and grabbed his coat.  Casting a glance backwards, he saw Reika plaster a smile on her face and greet Karly and Cades with enthusiasm.  He knew she wasn’t happy, but she managed to convey that she was, regardless.  Once more he realized just how long she’d been perfecting the facade of being happy when she wasn’t, and it strengthened his resolve to see her free and safe.  No matter what, he would put down those lynxes and give her back her life.

Chapter 5

When the door shut behind Bo as he headed off to work, Reika looked at Cades and Karly with a smile so broad that her cheeks hurt.  She had lots of practice putting on a happy face so no one knew how bad she felt inside.

Cades, female alpha and hybrid wolf, looked at Reika with an arched brow and said, “You don’t have to pretend to be happy to see us, but just know that Bo has the best intentions.  You’re important to him, and like any male of worth, he’s going to make sure you’re safe even if he has to trust others to keep you so.”

She opened her mouth to retort that Bo had no idea what he was getting himself into by putting his pack on the line to help her, but she could tell from the fierce look in Cades’ eyes that nothing Reika could say would make her leave the house.  She’d seen a young man standing out in the front yard, and she had a feeling he wasn’t the only one around, which meant taking off — even if she could find a way to ditch the two women — wasn’t going to happen.

Face it … you’re stuck.

She sighed audibly and let her unnatural smile drop.  “I appreciate you both being here.”

Karly gestured to the small kitchen table, and Reika sat down.  Karly, with long black hair and delicate features, used tongs to place a thick cinnamon roll on a plate in front of Reika while Cades poured a mug of coffee and set it in front of her.  Karly said, “I’m trying out a new recipe for these rolls, so tell me what you think.”

Karly and Cades joined her at the table, and Reika picked up the glazed treat and took a bite.  She was unable to stifle the happy hum as the delicious flavors of cinnamon and brown sugar exploded on her tongue.

Ben would love to have this recipe
.

“It’s so good, Karly.  You’re very talented,” Reika said, putting the roll down and fixing her coffee with cream and sugar.

Karly smiled brightly, and both she and Cades took bites of theirs, and for several moments, there were only pleased murmurs and happy hums as the three of them ate their rolls.

Karly picked up her coffee mug and took a sip.  “Bo said you’re from Columbus.  Is your home pack very big?”

“Just a little bigger than yours, from what he told me.  My family is small, just my parents and my younger brother, Ben.”

There was a bit of silence, and then Reika added, “It’s not that I don’t appreciate what Bo’s trying to do for me, but I don’t want anyone else to get hurt. It’s bad enough that the two wolves from the WAA were injured trying to help me.  I don’t want to add to the blood on my hands.”

Cades reached over and put her hand over Reika’s.  Even though Cades wasn’t a true wolf and didn’t shift, Reika could feel her power as alpha.  “There is no blood on your hands, Reika.  The wolves who were hurt, that’s on the lynxes, not you.  And it’s not just Bo who wants to see you safe.  It’s all of us.  It’s awful what happened to you, what you’ve suffered knowing they were waiting for you, and we’re not about to let you go off on your own.  Bo found you when you needed a champion, and his pack supports you one hundred percent.”

The sincerity in Cades’ words touched Reika deeply.  She placed her other hand on top of Cades’ and said, “Thank you.”

It would be harder to leave Bo behind, now that he’d gotten his pack involved, but she was even more certain that she had no choice.  He was a male of worth, a wolf of honor, and he deserved to live a long, full life and find happiness, not shoulder her burden and die for her.  She just couldn’t let that happen.

As they finished their breakfast, Reika found out that both women had children; Karly’s son, Remy, was almost a year old, and Cades’ daughter, Lyric, was five months old.  The women had seemed to enjoy having a day off while their children were watched by their mutual grandparents.  The three sat on the couch in the front room and watched daytime TV.  They talked about everything except the lynxes and her blood-debt, for which she was grateful.  It was easy to relax around Cades and Karly, who had funny stories to share about the pack members, including Bo.  Cades had grown up with Bo, who was a few years older than her, and remembered him as the dark, brooding guy who was quick to stand up for his friends and never backed down from a fight.  Apparently, he hadn’t changed much since high school.

Wistfully, Reika felt like she could be friends with both of them, if she were sticking around.  They were just the sort of girls she liked hanging around with.  She didn’t have many friends in her home pack because her future loomed like a shadow over her.  As it grew closer to her time to be taken away, the friends she did have drifted away, as if they were afraid to be sucked into the lynx clan just by being her friend.  She didn’t fault them for wanting to protect themselves, but she’d been lonely.

It was almost five when Bo’s truck pulled into the driveway in front of the house, followed by a large black SUV.

Bo got out of his truck, rubbing at his right leg before he moved up the front walk.  Once more, she wondered about the extent of his injuries.  The doors to the SUV opened, and Reika recognized Michael and his wife, Shyne, as they got out and followed Bo into the house.

Bo smiled at Reika when he opened the door, taking off his jacket and hanging it on a hook next to the door.  “Hi, sweetheart!  You remember Michael and Shyne.”

“Nice to see you again,” Reika said and smiled at them.

“You, too, Reika.”  Shyne smiled easily and then moved to talk to Cades and Karly who were putting on their coats.

“Did you have a nice day?”  Bo asked.

A very small part of her wanted to be bratty and tell him that, in fact, she didn’t have a good day under the watchful gaze of an alpha female and an angel mate.  But looking into his rich, hazel eyes and seeing the earnestness there, she couldn’t say it.

“I did.  Cades told me a bunch of stories from when you were younger.”

His smile faltered, and he cast his narrowed eyes towards Cades, who pulled on her jacket, smiling innocently.  “I don’t know what she’s talking about, Bo.”

He grunted under his breath and thanked Karly and Cades for hanging out with her for the day.  As Reika said goodbye to them as well, Bo shut the door and turned to her.  “Michael and Shyne are going to join us for dinner.  There’s a strip mall not too far from here.  It has a few clothing stores in it and some restaurants nearby.”

He left her in the front room with Michael and Shyne so he could take a quick shower and change.  Michael plopped down on the couch with a yawn, and Shyne smiled fondly at him as she came to stand next to Reika.