Bureau Under Siege (18 page)

His laughter erupted from him like a deluge as he ran on, ducking, diving, swerving as he darted in and out of the trees, jumping over bushes and a couple of streams he stumbled across. Keeping his speed to one that the Wolf could keep up with, but not pass him until he came across a beautiful copse where he slowed down.

The area before them was surrounded by trees and covered in wild flowers, a perfect place to spend some time as he slowed to a stop. Turning, he saw the Wolf exit the tree line, barreling towards him at breakneck speed. Jumping back a few steps he found he was grinning from ear to ear as the large beast applied the brakes and tried to stop the inevitable collision.

Creed didn’t move until the last second then soared straight up as Ronnie’s Wolf slid underneath him. Landing softly he turned, finding the beast tumbling head over heels amongst the flowers before righting itself and spinning around, shaking its head from side to side. Still laughing he went over, grabbing it by its ruff and giving it another shake.

“You nearly took me out there, Wolf.”

The beast’s intelligent eyes met his and he saw his mate right there, losing himself in the flecks of gold that glittered within. A long, sloppy lick from the rough tongue causing him to fall backwards onto his backside, the Wolf stalking forward until it stood over him.

“Eeeewwww! That was uncalled for!” he complained as he swiped at the wetness the tongue had left behind.

His hands shot up, grabbing the ruff again as the tongue lolled out, obviously about to repeat the action. “No you don’t! Now, do you want to stop here for a while or go for another run?”

Pulling away her Wolf trotted off, turning to see if he was following before taking off at a far more leisurely run. Creed kept pace with it, following the animal as it took him all over the forest until, eventually, they were back where her clothes were hooked on the branch.

Walking to another tree Creed leaned back on it while waiting on Ronnie to transform. Hoping it would be a little quicker than her previous one as he really didn’t want to hear all her bones cracking and breaking again so soon. He was aware that Wolves were used to it but he just hated the thought that it caused his mate pain.

As the first noises assaulted his ears he closed his eyes and tried to focus on something other than his beautiful mate’s bones being broken and reformed back to human. When his Vampire hearing picked up the near normal heartbeat of a human, rather than the faster beats of a Wolf, he opened his eyes to see the vision that was his mate.

“How’re you feeling?” he asked, uncertain on how she thought things had gone.

A shy smile appeared as she reached for her clothes. “Good, my Wolf likes you and I guess I do too.”

Creed stayed where he was, fighting every instinct to go over and haul her body close to his. “That’s good, so, Ronnie, can we get things settled? Will you bond with me properly and come home with me?”

Jeans already on, Ronnie pulled her top on and it hadn’t escaped his notice she wasn’t wearing a bra. Finally she pulled on her boots and stood up, her head cocked to the side, staring at him and biting her bottom lip. “You think
this
,” she motioned between them, “will work? I’m not sure if you noticed but I’m kinda pigheaded at times.”

Pulling himself away from the tree Creed strode over, grasping her shoulders. “This will work, because we are mates. We are destined to be together and you
know
this, Ronnie. Your Wolf
knows
this. So stop being a hardass and just agree. You have
got
to realize that I am
not
going anywhere without you.”

“You really want me?” Ronnie bit her lip again. “I mean, it’s not just some sort of weird Vampire fling?”

“No.” Creed leaned down to place his forehead against hers. “You must know by now I’m not a game playing kinda guy. You have got to just get over all this hurt inside you and come home with me.”

“Well, I guess I’ll give it a go. Don’t go getting all excited though, I don’t want any fanfare, mating ceremony or anything like that.” Ronnie’s face was firm. “I’m not a fluff kinda gal and I don’t like attention being focused on me, so I’ll go with you but no shindigs or anything. Okay?”

“I’m not exactly a shindig person, Ronnie.” Creed placed a hand on her cheek, gently rubbing his thumb along the side of her mouth.

Without warning Ronnie turned her head and snapped at his thumb. “Good, ‘cause neither am I.”

“Let’s go.” Creed pulled Ronnie along. “Are you bringing that jalopy of a jeep of yours?”

Ronnie punched him. “Hey, that’s my pride ‘n joy! It may not look much but the engine’s been rebuilt and it’s probably more reliable than that deathtrap of yours.”

“My bike is not a deathtrap,” Creed scowled. “Maybe in the hands of a human or a Wolf, but in mine it’s as safe as sitting in your own house.”

“So you say, Vampire.” Ronnie laughed, a full on smile on her face as her eyes lit up and sparkled.

Creed thought she looked as perfect as any being could in that moment.

“Will it take you long to pack?” Creed asked as the continued on towards her cabin.

“I’m not sure, there’s my clothes ‘n stuff, but I’ll need to see if there’s anything else I want to bring.”

“You don’t need anything,” Creed answered, wanting to get on the road as quickly as possible.

“I may not
need
anything but there might be things I
want
,” Ronnie spoke sharply. “I might’ve agreed to come with you, but if there’s something I want to bring, then I damn well will.”

Creed looked down at her, the scowl on her face telling him she was still not entirely happy about agreeing to his demand that she accompany him back to the city. “Okay, Ronnie. We’ll see what you want to bring. If necessary we can come back with a bigger vehicle and pick up any larger items you want. How’s that?”

“I suppose.” Ronnie’s body language letting him know she wasn’t happy. “But I’m sure it won’t be anything too big and I should get it all in my jeep.”

“Good.” Creed tried to smile. “We can get started and I’ll phone the boss and tell him we’ll be arriving later.”

“Sure, you do that,” Ronnie said quietly.

Chapter 18

Ronan sat at his desk smiling as he thought on the way his day started. Starr in his arms, her little bump getting larger by the day. The way Sam was when he and Starr finally dropped by his office to double check that nothing required his attention before they left the following morning.

Sam was like an over excited puppy, bouncing from one foot to the other. “Starr, can you have a look and tell me if you think Charmaine’s gonna like this? I’m worried she won’t ‘cause it’s not exactly what she asked for.”

As Sam handed the small jewelry box over he looked as if he was going to throw up, well, if he could that is. Starr opened the box. “Oh my freaking god! She’s gonna love this, Sam. It’s absolutely beautiful. Ronan, look at this.”

She handed the box over and Ronan looked down, seeing the platinum eternity knot he knew so well from his homeland. However, in the center was a sparkle of diamonds that caught the light, no matter what way he moved it. “This must’ve cost you a pretty penny, Sam.”

“Yes, it did.” Sam was grinning. “But, hell, she’s worth it. So, you think she’ll like it?”

Starr gave Sam a punch on the arm. “Like it, she’ll love it! Don’t worry so much, Sam.”

“Yeah, like that’s gonna happen!” Sam gave them the lopsided grin they knew so well. “I’m like a cat on a hot tin roof and I won’t be happy ‘til tonight is over and done and we’ve fully bonded.”

Ronan got up, walking around and grabbing hold of his best friend in a bear hug. “I’m overjoyed for you. I never thought you would ever settle down and to see you so happy is wonderful.”

“I know.” Sam took the ring back. “I was a bit of a man-whore wasn’t I? Or what’s that word you used to use?
Straip
, that’s it. I was a right
straip
, but now I’m all settled down and I can honestly say I’ve never felt happier. Fuck! What a difference finding a mate can make.”

“Tell me ‘bout it!” Ronan laughed, pulling Starr into his side.

“Yeah, I guess you two know what feels like.”

“We do, now go and make sure everything’s organized for the party later.” Ronan let Starr go and went back around to sit down. “I’m just making sure everything’s in place for our trip.”

“Fine, fine, I’ll leave you in peace. See ya later.” Sam was still grinning as he left.

“He’s so happy, it’s lovely to see him like that.” Starr smiled as she sat down opposite Ronan.

“Yes, for so long I thought he would never find a mate and would work his way through every female we have!” Ronan shook his head, reaching for his phone as it started to ring.

Creed’s number showed on the screen and he answered straight away. “Creed.”

“Ronan,” Creed’s tone was more, what? Cordial? Yes, definitely more cordial than usual.

Creed carried on, “Just wanted to let you know we’ll be back later today.”

“We?” Ronan smirked over at Starr who was leaning forward trying to hear the conversation.

“Yes, we. Ronnie has finally agreed to come back with me.”

Ronan only just stifled his laughter. “I see. Well that’s certainly good news and good timing too. It’s Sam and Charmaine’s party this evening. Stop by and introduce her.”

“Maybe,” Creed’s voice was a little sharper now, “she’s not what you would call sociable but if possible we’ll drop in.”

“Okay,” Ronan replied, “but it would probably be easier coming to the party for a short while and getting it over and done with. She can’t hide in your apartment and will have to meet folks at some point.”

“I know that!” Creed almost snarled. “I’ll do what I can.”

Ronan was just about to answer when the line went dead. Creed had hung up on him.

“Jeez, uptight or what?” Starr commented, as he put his phone down.

“Just a little, but that’s Creed for you. Now, let me finish this work and we can go back upstairs and continue where we left off earlier!”

“Fang! You are incorrigible!” Starr’s face flushed as he chuckled, turning to finish off his outstanding emails and scheduling his “out of office” reply.

*****

Creed’s jaw was actually hurting with how long he had kept it clenched throughout the day. Ronnie’s indecision of what to pack into her jeep and what to leave almost driving him insane. Every time he’d tried to hurry her along she’d growled at him, telling him to,
“Shut the hell up or I won’t be going anywhere!”

For anyone to talk to him like that was not something he was used to. In the past if he’d been spoken to like that then there’d have been a hard and deadly reaction from him. He’d had to fight against his every instinct to just pick her up and put her on the back of his bike.

Finally, she’d packed what she wanted and they’d left the Pack land, making their way back to Headquarters. Ronnie followed behind his bike as he kept it to a more leisurely pace than his norm. When they’d pulled into the parking garage his body relaxed slightly.

That was until they’d lugged everything to his apartment and she’d started to “rearrange” a few things. He bit his tongue though and now it looked as if she’d tentatively got things as she wanted. Thank fuck, ‘cause he was sure he was ready to snap.

Ronnie stood in the middle of the living room, looking around and taking everything in. Creed saw her eyes widen as she looked at the spotlessly clean area he lived in. He figured she thought his place would be the usual mess that a guy living alone typically had. She was in for a little culture shock because he was far from a slob, so far in the opposite direction that he suspected he was what was commonly known now as OCD.

He couldn’t help it, everything had to be clean and in its place or he couldn’t relax. Right now he was definitely
not
relaxed. Ronnie’s belongings were scattered around and he was fighting to control his urge to clear it away.

She looked over, cocking her head to the side and staring for a moment. “You like things tidy, don’t you?”

Creed nodded once, not trusting himself to speak without snarling.

“Well, why don’t we put everything in your spare room and that way it won’t look such a mess.” Ronnie bent down to pick up some cases. “I can then take my time putting things away and you don’t have to look at all the clutter. How’s that sound?”

“Good, that sounds good.” Creed let out a long sigh. “I’ve something to say, if you don’t want to go that’s fine, but I’m going to let you know anyway.”

Ronnie walked towards him and as soon as she was near enough he pulled her roughly against him. “The second in command, Sam, is having a bonding party tonight. Ronan, the boss, said for us to stop by, even just for a little while, to say hello.”

Ronnie looked up. “I see, well I guess we should go.”

“Really?” Creed was a little taken aback. “I thought you said you didn’t want any ‘shindigs’?”

“For us. I don’t want anything for us.” Ronnie placed her head on his chest. “I’m thinking we may as well get this over and done with and it’s not as if I won’t know anyone. Jason and most of the Pack that live here will be going. Won’t they?”

“Yes.” Creed held her tightly. “They’ll be there and most everyone else. Only ones that don’t go are people out on missions or on guard duty.”

“Okay, well we need to get a move on. I’ll need to shower ‘n change and we need to put all this in the other room.”

Creed looked around at all the piles of boxes, suitcases and garbage bags full of stuff. “I’ll do it. You go and shower and by the time you’re out this’ll be done and I can wash up.”

“Really?” Ronnie looked up with a very cheeky smile. “I’m not going to argue with you! I’ll just take this one case as it’s got most of my clothes.”

Ronnie reached for a very large suitcase but Creed got to it first. “I’ll do it.”

“I’m not weak! I can do it!” Ronnie barked out sharply.

“I didn’t say you were.” Creed gave her a cold stare. “However, you
are
my mate and if I want to carry the fucking case then I will!”

He waited for a moment, expecting a backlash, but she only stepped out of his way with a very small smile. Creed stalked past her with the case in his hand and took it to his bedroom.

Ronnie followed behind. “I think I’m going to find it hard, all this
help
. I’m not used to letting anyone do anything for me.”

“Yes,” Creed rumbled, “you better get used to it. I don’t want an argument every time I go to do something for you. I know you are not weak but you need to know that if I want to do something for you, I will. Your sharp mouth won’t work on me, Ronnie, so don’t even try.”

Carrying the large case into the walk in wardrobe he placed it on the floor right at the back. “There’s plenty of room for hanging and some drawers too. Tomorrow I’ll move my things to one side and you can have the other.”

“Okay,” Ronnie replied as she bent down to open the case. “I’ll just take out what I need for tonight and we can sort it tomorrow.”

“Fine, I’ll see you in a bit.”

Creed walked away when all he really wanted to do was stay and watch her get naked in his room.
“Later,”
he told himself as he disappeared back to the lounge.

*****

The party was in full swing, Sam dancing with Charmaine, who looked radiant in her ivory silk dress. A very simple dress that fell to her ankles, a few cream flowers pinned in her hair. Ronan watched as Sam twirled her around and around the make-shift dance-floor. Her laughter was a joy to see after everything she’d been through and his eyes were glued to the happy couple.

Starr joined him, two glasses in her hand. “Here’s your drink.”

Taking it from her Ronan grinned. “Don’t they look so happy?”

“Yes, they do,” Starr agreed, sipping on her wine. “Did you see the tears in her eyes when he showed her the ring? I thought I was gonna join her! It brought a huge lump to my throat.”

“I know,” Ronan agreed, “I don’t think I’ve seen a happier couple at one of these things. I mean, everyone is happy, obviously, but those two are much more than that. It’s hard to put into words.”

“You don’t need to, Fang, I know what you mean. It’s clear for anyone to see.”

“Shit! Will ya look at that?” Ronan almost chocked on his drink.

“What? What’s wrong?” Starr asked, her eyes going over the crowd to see what was up.

“No, not there, at the door.” Ronan’s eyes were locked on the couple walking in.

“Oh my good grief! Is that Creed with a woman in tow?” Starr held her glass halfway to her lips as she stared.

“Yup, looks like he’s brought his mate home.” Ronan chuckled, placing his glass on a nearby table and making his way over.

Creed looked very uncomfortable but the woman, Ronnie, was smiling as some of her Pack crowded around, congratulating her.

“Welcome back,” Ronan addressed Creed. “I see you’ve brought a new member to join our little family.”

“Yes, Ronnie, this is the Director, Ronan. Ronan, this is Veronica, or Ronnie.”

Creed was obviously not happy at the crowd around his mate and he knew
that
feeling well. Before a Vampire, or Wolf, fully bonded with their mate, they most certainly did not like any males near them. Ronan sympathized with his guard and wondered how long they would stay before his anger forced him to drag Ronnie away.

He thought it wouldn’t be long at all.

Ronnie stuck her hand out. “Hello,”

“Welcome, Ronnie, I hope you feel welcome here and settle in okay.” Ronan let go of her hand as Creed let out a small snarl. “Afraid it’s going to be a hello and goodbye as Starr and I leave tomorrow for a while.”

Creed pounced on his words. “A while? Where are you going and why?”

Ronan raised an eyebrow. “Firstly, there’s emails waiting for you to explain everything. Secondly, I don’t have to answer to you but I’ll tell you. Starr is pregnant and we’re relocating to Josef’s Ranch until after the birth for reasons explained in said email. We’ll be gone for at least four months, possibly a little longer.”

“Security? You’ll need security for her.” Creed looked over to where Starr stood. “If she’s going to have a Dragon baby then she cannot be unprotected. I’ll come.”

Before Ronan could answer Ronnie butted in, “Did I hear that right? A Dragon baby?”

“Yes.” Ronan couldn’t help grinning now, “Starr’s a Dragon and due to some ancient magical ceremony her brother managed to perform before he died she’s now pregnant.”

“Oh my! How exciting!” Ronnie’s eyes were wide as she also stared over at Starr.

“Creed, you don’t have to come. Josef is arranging…”

“I’m coming,” Creed interrupted. “I’ve kept her safe on more than one occasion and I’m not going to stop now.”

Creed’s tone was cold and hard as he stared into Ronan’s eyes. “You’ll get bored, Creed, the Ranch is in the middle of nowhere.”

“I’m still coming and Ronnie’s coming too. We’ll patrol together, her Wolf abilities will come in handy.”

Starr finally joined them, hearing the last part of the conversation and staring at Creed then Ronan. “Won’t you be needed here?”