Bad Boy Romance: Nick (Romantic Suspense Alpha Male Romance) (New Adult Rock Star Contemporary Short Stories) (Hard Rock Star Series Book 2) (54 page)

****

“Everything’s a disaster. My life is...it’s ruined.” Marisol
lifted her eyes to meet Dean’s, but she couldn’t stand to look at him for more
than a second. Rory’s solemn declaration still echoed in her head, twisting her
stomach into new and interesting knots with every beat of her heart.

“Your life is not ruined,” Dean said softly.

“How will I tell my parents? The sheriff will probably want
to arrest me for killing that poor man. I’ll never be allowed back on the rodeo
grounds again. They might kick me out of school if they deem me too much of a
threat.” She ran her hands through her hair. “Why did this happen to me? How
could this happen to me?”

“Your parents will understand. Mari, you have nothing to be
ashamed of. This isn’t your fault.”

“Well whose fault is it? How did it happen?”

Dean shrugged. “It’s nobody’s fault. It just...happened. One
of your parents may carry the gene. Hell, they both might. It might just be
dormant in them.”

“But...if I’m a bear shifter, wouldn’t I have always been?”

“You’ve always been a bear shifter, but you may not have had
the ability to shift until now.”

Dean had been calm and reasonable since the moment Rory gave
her the news. He’d told her there was no way to be completely positive until
somebody actually saw her shift, but he added, “I’m still pretty damned sure.”
Marisol had managed to keep her tears at bay until they were on the road, but
now they streamed down without stopping. She wiped them away, but her fear kept
the pump primed.

“Dean, what am I going to
do
?”

“You’re going to live your life. You’re going to find a way
to control it and you’re going to continue to be Marisol. Beautiful,
intelligent, sweet, wonderful Marisol.”

“You think I’m beautiful?”

“Well, yeah. Of course.”

“And wonderful?”

“I think you’re the most wonderful girl I know.”

“Even though I’m a bear?”

“That makes no difference to me.”

She paused. “Are…
you
a bear?”

Instead of answering, Dean signaled and moved into the exit
lane that led to a nearly abandoned rest stop. He parked on the opposite end,
away from the two idling semis, and turned the ignition off. They sat in silence
for a few moments as the engine ticked and Marisol licked her lips, waiting for
the answer that a part of her already knew.

“Yes, I’m a bear. Nobody knows but my family. And I’d like
to keep it that way. If anybody knew—”

“You would be banned from the rodeo.”

“Yeah.”

“So how do you keep it under control? Can you...can you
teach me?”

“Of course.” He reached for her hand. “I’ll teach you
everything I know.”

Marisol looked down, transfixed by the way his thumb moved
over the back of her hand. Perhaps he intended the gesture to be soothing, but
it was having the opposite effect on her. A chill raced down her spine as her
cheeks flushed. As silence settled between them, she realized it was her turn
to talk, but she couldn’t summon any words.

“I want to kiss you right now,” Dean said, his voice low and
tight.

She licked her lips. “What’s stopping you?”

“You’re my friend.”

“We’ll still be friends after you kiss me.” She
unconsciously leaned into him, and he shifted forward and their mouths were
only an inch away. She inhaled and caught the scent of him—the full scent of
skin and sweat and blood beneath the superficial smell of aftershave and
horses.

“Mari.” The rumble of her name from his throat was like
music to her, pulling her forward until their mouths finally touched. She’d had
a few awkward, closed-mouth kisses before; kisses that did nothing for her
except make her believe that kissing was a ridiculous custom that she hated.
But her lips almost immediately parted under the pressure of his, and she melted
at the first brush of his tongue.

Marisol felt a strange sense of
déja vu
, though she’d
never been kissed so thoroughly before in her life—like maybe they’d exchanged
these sweet caresses in a dream. She leaned in as close as she could, all too
aware of the empty space between them, the void where their bodies didn’t
touch. She needed his heat, needed to feel the texture of his skin and the
rhythm of the blood coursing through his veins. He seemed as hungry as she was,
his hands running over her arms, her shoulders, down her back. He touched her
everywhere a friend might leave a casual caress, and she strained forward,
hoping to guide his hands to her breasts and her aching nipples.

When they finally broke apart, she was left gasping and
wanting more. Dean’s breathing seemed labored, too, and his large fingers
curled around her arms, holding her with almost bruising strength.

“We...God, Mari, we have to stop.”

“Why?”

“Because it’s getting dark. We can’t...I don’t want to do
this here.”

“This? Kiss?”

Dean shook his head. “You must know I want to do more than
kiss you. Look what you do to me, Mari.”

He took his hand and guided it to his rock hard erection.
She gasped at the feel of him, curling her fingers slightly. He moaned at the
pressure, even through his jeans, and she completely forgot they were supposed
to stop. It was getting dark and her parents were waiting, but she wanted to
rip his zipper open and push her fingers through the fly to find his hot flesh.
She tingled at the thought, her body clenching and trembling with anticipation.

“Mari, we should really stop. This isn’t the right time.” He
gently pushed her hand away and turned the key. She heard his ragged breathing
over the sudden roar of the engine, but her own racing heartbeat nearly drowned
everything else out.

“Have you...wanted to do that before?” Marisol asked shyly
while he navigated back to the freeway.

“Yes. Many times.”

“Me, too.”

He shot her a sideways smile. “I’m glad I didn’t have to
wait until the 4th to do that.”

“I wish you hadn’t waited until
now
.”

He smile faded a little. “Yeah.” He reached across the
divide and took her hand, clasping her fingers tightly. “But first things
first. We need to get you fed.”

“Am I going to keep...killing people?”

“No,” Dean said firmly. “Remember, the bear is hungry. If we
keep the bear sated, you won’t go hunting. Besides, I’m going to keep an eye on
you. I won’t let you hurt anybody.”

“What are you going to do? Sit up outside my house all
night?”

“Yes.”

Marisol shook her head. “You can’t do that. You need your
sleep.”

“I can always catch a nap before the rodeo. Don’t worry
about me. I’m here to help you, okay?”

She smiled weakly. “Okay.”

They passed the Cody city limits just after nine. Marisol
expected her parents would be at the arena, and she was counting on having a
few extra hours to herself to work out her story and decide how much she dare
tell them of the truth. But when they turned the corner of her street, she saw
the house blazing with lights and the driveway packed full of cars.

“Looks like they rounded up a posse,” Dean muttered.

“Oh God. Just drop me off; you don’t have to deal with
them.”

Instead of agreeing, Dean surprised her by taking her hand
again. “We’re a team. We’ll deal with them together.”

Marisol’s head was still spinning from everything that
happened in the past twenty-four hours, but his touch grounded her, and for a
moment, she thought they would actually face everything together and get
through it.

Right up until her mother shouted at Dean to get the hell
out of her house before she called the police and had him arrested for
kidnapping and trespassing.

Dean’s response was to tighten his grip on her hand, but she
gently pulled away.

“Don’t talk to him like that. He hasn’t done anything
wrong.”

“You watch your mouth,” Anna snapped. “You disappeared
without as much as a word. Do you have any idea how frightened I was? How much
you worried your father?”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to worry you. It was just...a
trip. For class. I needed to do some research in Jackson.”

Her mother narrowed her eyes, and Marisol realized she’d
miscalculated. “Now you lie to me? Go to your room. You’re grounded for the
rest of the summer.”

“Mom, I’m a grown woman. You can’t ground me.”

“You’re a liar. As long as you live under
this
roof,
you will follow my rules, and you will respect me and your father. No more lies
and no more rodeo.” She turned her attention back to Dean. “You and your kind
are not welcome here. If I see you sniffing around my daughter again, I’ll call
the sheriff and have you removed. Do you understand me? Now get the hell out of
my house!”

Dean had no choice but to comply. Her heart sank as the door
closed behind him. Her mother’s face was red and Marisol could sense another
tirade. She didn’t give her a chance to launch into another rant; she turned on
her heel and marched into her room, her head spinning, her eyes burning, and
her stomach churning.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Anna shouted after her.
Ernesto watched the entire exchange without a word, and he didn’t make a move
to stop Marisol as she marched down the hall. Her only answer was the sound of
her bedroom door slamming.

“Marisol? Are you there?”

“Dean?” She rushed to her window and leaned over the sill.
“What are you doing here?”

“I told you, we’re in this together.”

“She’ll call the sheriff if she sees you!”

“She won’t see me,” Dean promised. “Listen, I know you’re
upset, but you have to calm down.”

“I
am
calm.”

He reached for her hand, holding it tightly as he met her eyes.
“You’re not. You’re upset and you’re hungry. Concentrate on your breathing and
slow your heart rate. You need to have control over yourself.”

“She has no right to talk to you that way.”

“I know. Take a deep breath. Good. Yeah. Just like that.”

“How are you going to help me if I’m never allowed to see
you?”

Dean squeezed her hand. “Don’t worry about that. I want you
to concentrate on this moment, right now. Don’t think about your mother. Don’t
think about tomorrow. You watched Peter Pan, right?”

“Of course.”

“Find your happy thought.”

Dean. The texture of his roughened hands, the way the sun
lined his face and crinkled his eyes, the shape of his lips, and the smooth,
velvety sound of his voice as he offered her his reassurances. Dean was her
happy thought. Concentrating on him had the desired effect, and she felt
herself beginning to calm down.

“I’m here,” he murmured, “and I’m not going anywhere.”

She believed him. She believed in him, as he believed in
her. That may be the one bright spot she had, but it was as bright and warm as
the sun.

****

The first week of July was the biggest week of the year for
Cody, Wyoming. Summer tourists and rodeo fans kept the small town busy
throughout the summer, but the population swelled beyond the borders for the
Independence Day celebrations. Cowboys and cowgirls, clowns and queens, fans
and dreamers all flocked to Cody for one of the biggest professional rodeos in
the States.

Anna kept up a good business throughout the summer, but it
was the 4th of July weekend that kept her in the black. The food truck was
slammed with hungry customers from the minute she opened it until the minute
they ran out of food. Over the holiday weekend, she never closed the truck down
until there wasn’t a single bite of anything left to serve. That reality, and
that reality alone, was the reason Anna allowed Marisol to leave her room and
return to the arena.

There were several conditions, however. Marisol was not
allowed to leave the truck to watch any of the events—and that included bull
riding. She was not allowed to venture away from the truck or out of her
mother’s sight. She wasn’t even allowed to go to the pens after the rodeo to
find her father and help him back to the truck, as she had done every night for
the past ten years.

The twenty-two year old chafed against these rules and
conditions, biting her tongue hard to keep from protesting as her mother
continued to spell out the requirements for her parole. It went without saying
that Marisol was to have no contact with Dean Longstrider, but her mother did
say it. Several times. At length.

It would have been too much to tolerate. Marisol had seen
Dean every night for the past week, and after her parents went to sleep, he
arrived, positioning himself beneath her window, promising to keep her safe.
They couldn’t risk speaking to each other, but they sent texts back and forth
until she finally fell asleep, knowing he was there for her. Knowing he would
stop her from harming anybody.

He couldn’t stop her dreams, though. Vivid, exhilarating,
and terrifying, they consumed her sleeping hours, taking her far from the
comforts of her bed, her home, and her family. In her dreams, she traveled
through the woods and into the mountains, across the badlands and over the
plains. She roamed the west, searching land she’d never encountered before,
discovering a life she could not articulate during her waking hours. When she
woke, the images remained fresh, and her nose tingled, too weak to pick up the
dimensions, the nuances, of her human life.

Dean wasn’t there when she woke on the morning of July 1st.
The summer sun slanted through her room, warming her face and toes, promising
to keep the day hot and bright. She emerged from bed with the customary
excitement the first week of July always brought to her heart. That excitement
stayed with her as she showered and dressed, not dissipating until she joined
her family for breakfast.

Her mother didn’t hum or sing under her breath as she
prepared the meal, and she served Marisol her plate without so much as a smile.
Marisol’s heart sank to her stomach as she remembered that this year, there
would be no 4th of July celebration for her. Whether or not her mother was
still angry that Marisol disappeared with Dean for a day, she couldn’t say for
sure, but clearly, there was still no forgiveness.

Marisol could handle the anger. She could even cope with the
drudgery of working and not seeing Dean or the bull rides.  But she couldn’t
cope with keeping her secret from her parents. She couldn’t live with the silent
treatment. Her father barely spoke to her, though when he did, it was without
the edge that constantly sharpened her mother’s tone. She would give anything
to fix the situation, but she was unequipped, having never been on the
receiving end of her parents’ anger or disappointment. How could she share her
secret in this state? How could she ask for their much needed support or
guidance?

Since discovering that the spirit of the bear dwelled within
her, she’d debated several tactics to reveal the truth. But what would be the
point? Her parents would disown her and likely alert the University to the fact
that she was a shifter. She could face suspension—or worse—if the school
learned of that. But then, perhaps that was for the best. Dean couldn’t follow
her all the way back to Laramie and sleep outside her window every night to
stop her from maiming and eating innocent people. She was too dangerous to be
allowed on campus and too miserable to stay home.

Dean had explained to her at great length that it was imperative
for her to continue to eat as much as possible. “Take second helpings of
everything and never, ever miss a meal,” he warned. Considering how little she
ate compared to what a bear needed to be satisfied, it seemed pointless to
worry about skipping a meal here or there, but she’d asked him for his help,
and so she did her best to follow his advice.

But the food turned to sawdust in her mouth and the tension
around the table stifled her appetite.

“Big crowd in town for tonight,” Ernesto said. “You need to
do a supply run?”

“Nope,” Anna answered, “we’re fully stocked.”

Marisol crunched on her bacon.

“I’m heading over to the arena early today.” He looked to
Marisol. “Do you want to come with?”

Marisol swallowed her bacon, her gaze jumping from her
father to her mother and back again. When Anna didn’t jump in and declare that
Marisol was not allowed to leave the house under punishment of death, she
nodded. “Yes, I’d love to.”

“Well, finish up your breakfast.”

She tucked away the rest of the food, her heart hammering
with excitement. It reminded her of when she was a little girl; back then, she
had always felt so
grown up
when he asked her to join him at the rodeo
grounds. Now if only her parents could recognize that she was no longer that
little girl, safely tied to her mother’s apron strings.

Once her breakfast was consumed, she washed her plate,
kissed her mother’s cheek, and followed her father into the summer sun. Marisol
had the feeling he wanted to start a conversation, but she kept her eyes down
and her mouth shut as they walked. If she opened her mouth, she feared
everything—the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth—would spill
out.

“I’m sorry,” he said.

Marisol blinked, so surprised she forgot the weight of her
secret for the first time in a week.

“When you disappeared and we couldn’t find you,” he
continued, his voice low, “we both panicked. And I’ve never panicked before in
my life. I never had a reason to.”

“Daddy, you’re a bull fighter.”

“I never panicked in the arena. That’s how people get hurt.
Or worse.” He shook his head. “No, I never panicked in front of a bull, and I
never panicked over you. You’re the best daughter a man could ask for—hell, you
never even gave me a single gray hair. Then, one morning, you weren’t home. You
weren’t at the grounds. And you weren’t with the bulls.”

Mari’s lip had started to quiver by the second sentence, as
she thought about how brave her dad was, and by the time he finished speaking,
she was sobbing over how scared she was. “I’m...I’m sorry. I’m so sorry...I
never...never...meant…” Her temples throbbed and she couldn’t catch her breath.

“Shh, shh.” Ernesto wrapped his arms around her, simply
holding her until she managed to gasp for breath. “What has happened,
mija
?”

“I’m sorry… I had to go. I had to... I had to know if...
if…”

“If what? What has happened?”

“That morning... I woke up.” She swallowed hard, pushing the
tears away and trying to gather her thoughts through the pain in her skull. “I
woke up and I wasn’t at home. I was in the park by the arena. And I... oh,
Daddy, there was so much blood. There was so much blood and it wasn’t mine… but
I was... I was covered…”

“Oh, Mari. Oh
mija
.” He clutched her closer, and she
realized her fears had been unwarranted. She should have confided in him from
the beginning. “Dean took you to his uncle, didn’t he?”

“Yes.”

“And what did Rory say?”

“He said I’m… I’m a
bear
,” she whispered. “And I’ve
been so scared, Dad.”

“Oh, honey, it’s—”

“I killed that man.” She pulled back and blinked the fresh
tears from her eyes, trying to focus on her father’s face. “I keep expecting
Sheriff Walker to pull into the driveway. Dean’s been watching the house at
night, making sure I don’t go out, but what if I attack you? Or Mama? I haven’t
been able to sleep. Dean told me to keep eating, but my stomach is in knots. I
feel sick all the time.”

“So you’ve been seeing Dean?”

“Daddy, please don’t be angry. He’s been keeping me safe.”

“I’m not angry. I’m...I’m relieved he’s been here to help.
You needed somebody and I’ve been acting like a big baby.”

Marisol frowned. “What are you talking about?”

“I should have known from the beginning that there was
something wrong.” Ernesto brushed hair away from her brow. “That you would
never run off with some cowboy.”

“It’s not like that.” For most of the last week, when she
hadn’t been agonizing over her new identity as a bear shifter, she’d been
agonizing over Dean—specifically their single kiss, and how much more she
wanted. She craved him and she’d silently cursed his name a million times over
while her body burned for his touch. But now, she was thankful he’d insisted
they stopped. At least she didn’t have to lie to her father.

“Yes, I understand that now. He’s a good man. And if anybody
can help you, it would be a Longstrider.”

“How am I going to tell Mama?”

“I’ll talk to your mother.”

“Can I watch the rodeo tonight?”

“Of course. It’s the 4th of July.”

Mari felt her mouth readjust itself into a smile. “Can I see
Dean?”

“Yes. In fact, I think we should go see him together. We
have much to discuss.”

They resumed walking towards the arena, Mari gripping her
father’s hand. “Daddy, how is this possible? Are you a shifter?”

He shook his head. “No, I’m not—but it can skip a
generation. Sometimes even two. Your great-grandmother was a shifter. So are
two uncles and three cousins.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“For the same reason you won’t tell me the truth about Dean.
And you should know, all three of your cousins graduated from college. There
will be some adjustments, but that doesn’t have to stop you from achieving your
dreams.”

“They might not let me on campus.”

“Then you can take classes online.” He squeezed her hand and
smiled down at her. “We’ll figure it out. I promise.”

Mari returned his smile through her drying tears. Her skin
felt hot and tight and her head still throbbed, but her burden didn’t feel so
heavy and each step was lighter than the one before.