Claiming Shayla (11 page)

Once again his mind plunged back into the past. “My parents,” he murmured. “Their story doesn’t make sense. I never really thought about it before. Simply believed what I was told.”

“By whom?”

As Rory reflected, he realized no one had ever told him how his parents ended up together. What he knew was speculation and conjecture gleaned from comments made over the years. “Random comments,” he admitted. “I thought I knew, but now I’m not so sure.”

Shay tilted her head, and he could feel the weight of her stare. Looking down, he met her concerned gaze. “Does it really matter? You’re not your father, and I’m nothing like your mother. Besides, they’re both gone now. Their answers died with them.”

No, it shouldn’t matter, Rory thought to himself, but somehow it did. His thoughts fragmented when Shay rose and straddled him, reaching for the soap. Her slit nestled right along his cock, and he had to remind himself that now was not the time. Shay was hurting and weak from her first shift, which she’d handled like a pro. He’d have to warn her about the dangers of giving her wolf too much control.

“Let me.” He took the bar from her and lathered his hands. Though he wasn’t able to do as his libido demanded, he could still satisfy his need to touch.

“I can…” she sputtered, reaching for the soap.

“Shay.” That’s all he said, and she instantly subsided. Good. She was learning.

He washed her from head to toe, and every luscious inch in between, making no attempt to keep his actions practical and impersonal. He desired her and wanted her to know, so he stroked and fingered and lingered until she cried out her release. Satiated, her body went limp, and she fell into his waiting arms.

Rory hauled her out of the water, dried her quickly, and tucked her into bed. She’d expended a lot of energy. A nap to recharge and food to refuel were in order. While she slept, he’d handle the food part of the equation.

* * * *

Someone poked her—repeatedly.

“Get up! You’re in the alpha’s bed. He doesn’t let anyone sleep here but himself,” the female hissed.

Tired, still more asleep than awake, Shay rolled away from the irritant.

The poking commenced again. “Move it! You have to leave.”

Shay opened bleary eyes to find a young, petite, obviously fake blonde with dark brown eyes and naturally olive-toned skin leaning over her. She hated blondes, even dyed blondes, she mused. Especially ones that looked like this one, all cute and perky, even when she had a fierce frown on her face. With her hair in a high, bobbing ponytail, she looked like an escapee from summer cheerleading camp.

Never at her best when first awakened, Shay snarled, “What is your problem?” Then, as her vision cleared and she got a better look, she added, “And where the hell are your clothes?” Damn, she did not need proof that Skipper’s blonde hair was dyed.

Skipper frowned. Before she could answer, Rory spoke from the doorway. “Ashley, what are you doing here?”

Ashley?
It figures. A cutesy name for a cutesy girl.

Ashley immediately dropped to her knees and, after crawling over to where Rory stood, rubbed her nude, nubile young body on his leg. “I came to clean, alpha,” she stated softly, her hands rising to clutch Rory’s upper thigh.

Shay’s eyes narrowed at the location of said hands and found herself watching in angry disbelief as Rory patted the woman on the head as one would a puppy. “You should have been instructed not to come. Go home. Caleb will inform you when it’s time to return,” he said in a gentle tone of voice.

“Yes, alpha,” she responded meekly. Ashley rose to her feet, managing to rub the entire length of her body against Rory’s in the process. As she turned to leave the room, she made certain her pebbled breast brushed his equally bare chest. The only reason Shay was still lying in bed and not tossing the bitch out on her ass was because although she could smell the chick’s lust from where she sat, she knew Rory barely noticed. His focus was on Shay.

When she stepped past him, her trailing hand lightly brushed the front of his zippered jeans.
Oh. Hell. No
. Did that bitch just cop a feel? And had he allowed it? Shay heard growling and realized it was coming from her.

“Since you’re awake, are you ready to eat? Breakfast is almost done. Everything’s finished but the eggs,” he asked.

“She
touched
you.”

“What?” From his expression it was evident he didn’t know what she was talking about.

“That bitch. She rubbed all over you like a cat,” she expounded since he seemed to be clueless.

“Ashley? She’s just a child.” He shrugged dismissively. “It didn’t mean anything. I’m her alpha. She’s a shifter. It’s what we do. Get dressed and come downstairs. You need to eat.” He turned and left the room.

That easily, he dismissed her concern. Shay stared at the spot where he’d stood, face blank, mind racing. How Rory could have missed the smell of Ashley’s desire, she didn’t know, unless as Shannon had stated, he was so used to women throwing themselves at him it no longer registered. According to Shannon, he’d slept with half the women of the pack already. Ms. Young Thing obviously wanted to be included on that list.

At least he’d never brought them to this bed. That’s what some women would be thinking. Shayla wasn’t inclined to be as generous. The man was a dog, and the problem with having a dog was that you never knew when you’d step in leftover shit.

Despite her ever-increasing hunger, Shayla sat on the side of the bed pondering her situation. She was mated to and pregnant by a man she was sure she would eventually come to love, but…

She sighed. Mated didn’t mean married. According to Kiesha and Mary Elizabeth, the true mate bond was more binding than marriage vows and more permanent than a marriage certificate. She’d thought it must be true when, just two nights ago, Rory’d declared, “
I won’t let you go. You’re mine
.” But twenty-four hours later he’d shown his statement for the lie it was by trying to get rid of her.

Where was the security or permanence in that?

She thought about her parents’ relationship. Her mother was a geek of the highest order. Not only that, she was manipulative and controlling. But her dad loved her. Thought the sun rose and set on her mother. That didn’t mean he took her shit. He put his foot down when necessary, and her mother allowed it because she knew, to the depths of her soul, that there was nothing Shay’s father wouldn’t do for her. They were in it for the long haul.

Shay wanted the same thing for herself even though she doubted she’d ever find it. Men like her father were rare. Then along came Rory and this true mates crap and for a while, Shay had allowed herself to believe.

“
He loves you, Shay
,” Shannon had told her. So had Conor. But was it love?

Maybe Rory did love her. But was he committed to her the way Alex was to Kiesha and Hugh to Mary Elizabeth? That’s what she needed to find out.

* * * *

Ashley eased down the stairs and stood quietly at the bottom, out of sight but listening. As soon as she heard Rory heading her way, she crept out the back door, shifted seamlessly to wolf, and took off running. Cutting through the backyard, she entered the woods and kept running full-out until she reached her destination.

Taking a moment to catch her breath, she made sure she wasn’t seen before approaching the door. The knob pushed down under the weight of her paw, and the door opened easily.

“Well?” he asked, one brow lifted expectantly.

She changed back to her human form and pushed the door closed with her foot before walking over to where he stood, a cup of coffee cradled in his hands. “The rumors are true. The human female was in his bed.”

He studied her, his gaze dropping to her taut nipples before flicking back to her face. “Did Rory see you?”

Ashley slowly glided her wet tongue around her lips, smiling inwardly as his eyes followed. “He caught me in his room.”

His gaze sharpened. “Did he suspect?”

“No, alpha. I told him I was there to clean. He believed me.” She shifted her balance from one leg to the other, and the scent of her arousal rose. His nostrils flared.

“You did good. Ready for your reward?”

“Oh yes,” she moaned.

“Get on the table. Let me see how ready you are.”

Ashley stepped backward until the edge of the table hit the back of her thighs. She hopped on top and scooted so that she was no longer balanced on its rim, then lowered her body to its surface. Slowly, teasingly, she drew her knees up, exposing her needy snatch.

“My, you are ready.” He rubbed his cock from balls to head as his gaze centered on her slit. “Hungry for me, my sweet?”

“Yes, alpha.” She reached a hand between her legs and parted her nether lips enticingly.

“Is that where you want me?” His hand continued its stroking. “Does your greedy little pussy want my big, thick cock?”

He was big, and thick. His penis slanted up at the tip, capable of doing magnificent things when plunged inside her body. “Please,” she responded, ready to beg.

“You want me to ram this thick piece of meat into your sopping pussy, don’t you? Look how wet you are for me. I’m the only one that knows how to fuck this cunt properly, give it to you nasty, the way you like, aren’t I?”

“Yes, alpha. Just you. Give it to me, please.”

He approached where she lay and ran his finger down her center from clit to anus. She arched into it with a hiss. “You are needy, aren’t you? Here, let me give you what you want.”

Lining the bulbous head with her opening, he rammed it inside, not stopping until he was fully embedded. She let out a keening cry at the delicious pleasure-pain of it. “You like that, don’t you? Take more.”

He withdrew and slammed home again, and again, until he was pounding inside her. It still wasn’t enough. He lifted her legs and instantly went an inch deeper.

“Harder. Fuck me harder, please,” she demanded.

He gave her what she asked for, plunging rapidly inside her with the full force of his body. Ashley screamed and clawed the table as she came. He kept battering at her, wringing out another orgasm.

As she came down from her high, she felt his body tense as his cock expanded. “Pull out,” she quickly reminded.

Another two pumps of his hips and then he pulled away, shooting his seed on the floor. She rose onto her elbows. “Did you get any cum inside of me?” They couldn’t afford for his scent to be recognized on her.

He stood there shuddering as he jerked on his erection, loosing the last of his release. Gazing at her through slitted eyes, he admitted, “I’m not sure. But just to be on the safe side…” He went to his knees and buried his face in her cunt.

* * * *

Shay clumped down the stairs sporting a red T-shirt and red and black cammies, mind still troubled. If their relationship was to work, Rory would have to learn not to disregard her insights and to respect her opinions. Simply because she was a novice at being a shifter didn’t make her an imbecile. She was highly intelligent and had good instincts. She knew what she saw and what she smelled. Ashley’s actions weren’t simply that of one shifter seeking ordinary affection from another.

Shay had watched enough nature documentaries to know that wolves in the wild often rubbed against other pack members for affection, belonging, and as a means of identification. Pack had a smell. What she’d seen was none of that.

She thought back to Conor’s statement about treachery surrounding them and that they’d have to stick together in order to be victorious. Hard to do when your mate thought you were a naive twit.

Earlier this morning her furry counterpart had taken a stand and earned Rory’s respect. The woman could do no less. While her wolf relied on sheer dogged determination, Shayla would use the one thing that had never failed her—her brain.

She needed a plan, but before she could come up with a course of action, she needed information. In a sense, Rory was right. There was a lot she didn’t know about being a shifter or being a Sparrowhawk, but she would learn. She would watch, take notes, and not take anything at face value. She didn’t know who the enemy or enemies were, but when the time came, she’d be ready.

In the meantime she was here to do a job. It was time to get busy on it.

“There you are,” Rory said as she entered the kitchen. “I was getting ready to come and get you.”

She took a seat at the table and waited until he’d placed a plate in front of her to say, “Where’s the equipment you set up? I’m ready to begin work.”

“You need to rest,” he stated as he set a glass of juice and another of milk in front of her before sitting across from her.

“I’ve rested,” she said around a mouth full of bacon. “That’s all I did yesterday and this morning. Now it’s time to do what you contracted me for."

“Your work doesn’t officially begin until Monday. If you’re feeling energetic, why don’t you take today to settle in? Unpack and I’ll throw your suitcases in the attic, then give you a tour of the house.”

She thought about it for a moment, not telling him she’d seen every room in the house yesterday when she searched for him. “And where do you suggest I put my clothes?”

He stared at her, nonplussed. “In our room, where else?”

“So it’s
our
room?”

His eyes narrowed. “You try sleeping somewhere else…” He shook his head. “What’s wrong with you? What happened to the woman who calmly announced that she lived here and wasn’t leaving?”

“Last night you were being stupid, and I was mad.”

He crossed his arms and settled back in his chair, rocking on its two hind legs. “And today?”

Shay shrugged one shoulder. “Today I’m wondering if you were right.”

His chair landed on all fours with a bang. “So you
do
think I’d hurt you.”

She glared at him for being dense. “No, asshole, I don’t.”

Now he just appeared confused. “Then what’s the problem?”

Shay took a deep breath and set her fork to the side. “No problem. I simply think we should take one day at a time, one step at a time. At least until we see where this is going.”

Rory studied her while she played with her toast. “Finish eating. Shifting consumes a lot of energy. With the babe, you don’t have any to spare.”

So no protestations of dying devotion, Shay thought cynically as she resumed eating. Figures.
Get a grip. Shannon already told you the man has issues. Between his issues and your hang-ups it’s a wonder you two have made it this far
. With a sigh, Shayla conceded that this was true. If they didn’t get their act together, this was going to be one messed-up child, she mused.

When she finished, Rory took her plate and utensil and loaded them into the dishwasher. “Drink your milk,” he commanded.

Shay screwed up her face and did as he commanded without complaint, something that would have shocked everyone who knew her.

“I need to call the pack’s midwife and have her check you out. You haven’t seen a doctor yet, have you? Prompt medical attention is essential for a healthy pregnancy.”

Shayla’s temporary obedient streak came to a halt. “No.”

“What do you mean no?” he asked, his eyebrows scrunched.

“Just what I said. N. O. You need it in another language?
Nein. Nyet
.” She crossed her arms over her chest and settled more firmly into her seat.

His mouth opened to say something, closed, and then he shut his eyes and appeared to be counting under his breath. “Why, Shay?”

“I’m not opposed to medical treatment, but when it comes to my health and the welfare of this child, it will be handled by someone with a string of letters behind their name, preferably OB-GYN.” Her set gaze dared him to state differently.

“Shay, our midwife has lots of experience. She’s been delivering pack babies for over twenty years. She knows what she’s doing. You think I would trust you or our child to simply anyone?”

She shook her head. “Not happening. I don’t care what you say. You want me to see someone, take me to Alex. I know he’s certified. Checked him out myself.”

“Fine,” he growled. “I’ll take you to go see Alex. Get ready. We roll in five.” He stalked out of the kitchen.