Lesser of Two Evils (11 page)

“I’ll see what I can dig up.” Ava
reached up and lifted the corner of the bandage, ripping it off. “Good, all
better,” she grinned.

Ava gathered their dishes and
carried them to the sink with Kerry right behind her. “No, no, you go enjoy
your coffee with your mate. A good houseguest helps out. I can’t cook, but I
can do dishes.” She winked, and Kerry smiled, nodded, and went back to the
table. Ethan sipped his coffee and watched her.

“There are some packages by the
front door for you,” he murmured. Her brow furrowed. “Your art supplies. I
thought you could set up your easel out on the porch.” He pointed at the little
screened-in room that she’d already fallen in love with.

“You mean it?” He nodded and got up
to follow her when she darted for the living room. There were so many bags that
he figured she would be busy with them for a few days. Kerry knelt by the pile
and started digging through the packages.

“It’s too much,” he heard her say.

“It’s not too much. It’s just
enough to get you started. You are very talented, Kerry, and I want to see what
else you can do.” He squatted down beside her. “Besides, I want to make you
comfortable here, happy.” Kerry launched herself at him and knocked him off
balance. She covered his face with kisses and smiled down at him.

“Thank you.”

Ethan cupped her head with his hand
and flipped her over onto her back, covering her with his body. “You’re
welcome.” He kissed her gently, stopping himself before he took things too far.
They heard a knock on the front door, and Ethan got up to answer it.

“Where’s my helper?” Thelma
demanded.

“I’m here.” Kerry hurried to the
door. She grinned up at Ethan. “Can I go?”

“Anywhere you like, sweetheart.
I’ll be here if you need me.” Kerry grinned up at him and hooked arms with
Thelma to walk to the garden.

 “She’s young,” Ava said from the
doorway. “And you haven’t told her about us, have you?” Ethan shook his head.
“Maybe you shouldn’t.” She was instigating. It was play for her.

“I don’t want secrets between us. She’s
skittish enough. I’ll tell her everything, in time. How soon can you find Mom?”

“I’m going to shower, and then I’ll
go. I don’t think she’s gone to the ocean though. I think she’s right under our
noses. A wolf that’s never been anywhere wouldn’t go far. Just far enough to be
out of his sight, I’m guessing.”

“That was my thought, too, right
after the one about taking Kerry to see the ocean.”

Ava smiled softly. “You’ll be a
good mate. Give her plenty of pups and you won’t have to worry about chasing
her around. She’ll be too busy chasing them.”

Ethan chuckled. “I intend to give
her a whole brood.”

Ava laughed loudly. “I’m sure you
do.” She wandered down the hall, still laughing.

***

“So, you had a big day yesterday,
huh? How are you this morning?” Thelma walked slowly beside Kerry.

“I’m good. We’re good.” Kerry
smiled shyly.

“He’s got it bad, that’s for sure,”
Thelma crowed.

“What do you mean?” Kerry asked.

“Yesterday, when you went missing,
he was inconsolable, blaming himself and stalking a path through the front yard
like a caged lion. When I knocked on the door earlier, he still had that look
of desperation in his eyes. You need to get busy in the boudoir, honey.” Thelma
nudged her with her elbow.

“I wanted to, but Ava was there,
and…”

“Ah, you’re bashful. As soon as
she’s gone then, you jump him quick.” Kerry’s face grew hot. “Oh, baby girl, there’s
no sense being embarrassed. I know people have sex, and you two shouldn’t be
out of each other’s sight for more than a few minutes. You’re newly mated, for
goodness sake. That means seven or eight times a day to most wolves.” Kerry
paled, and Thelma laughed again. “The more you do it, the more freedom you’ll
have, and he won’t panic as much when you aren’t around if he isn’t wondering
who you’re with.”

Kerry thought about that and didn’t
think it was true. Ethan didn’t think she was with someone else as much as he
thought she was going to escape. “Well, here’s the garden and all of its
weeds.” Thelma gestured grandly.

“Where do they come from? We were
just out here.” Kerry made a face at the weeds, and Thelma laughed loudly.

“Personally I think the aliens send
them to invade.”

Kerry giggled and started down her
row, pulling up things that didn’t belong from in between the rows. They spent
a few hours out there, when Thelma turned on the sprinklers and announced it
was time to go home for lunch. She and Kerry parted ways at her house, and
Kerry headed home.

When she got near their house, she saw
Ethan hugging Ava. Kerry stopped in her tracks. They hadn’t seen her. He held
on to her longer than Kerry liked. Her blood began to pound in her veins, and
when he kissed her cheek, Kerry felt like she’d been kicked in the stomach.
What had happened while she was gone? Did they? Would he? With her? She was
very pretty, much prettier than Kerry ever thought herself to be, and she
shared his enforcer experiences. Silent tears tracked over Kerry’s cheeks as Ethan
looked up and met her gaze. He said something to Ava and started walking toward
her. She couldn’t move. She wanted to run, but her legs just didn’t work. Her
wolf wouldn’t come either, so she stood there until her knees buckled and she
collapsed to the grass.

“Hey,” he said softly. “Easy, girl.
You didn’t see what you think you saw.” He pulled her up to her feet and
wrapped her in his arms. “Whatever is going through your mind is not true, I
promise. Come on. Ava’s waiting to say goodbye.”

“I don’t want to see her.” Her
voice sounded venomous to her own ears, but he didn’t let her go, and his own
voice did not harden toward her.

“Shh. I promise, okay?” His fingers
gently tilted her head up, and he kissed her lips softly.

“You smell like her,” Kerry hissed.

“Only because I hugged her, and
that’s all there was. Come on and we will explain everything.” Ethan tugged her
hand, and she followed. She knew she would lose a battle with that she-wolf,
but she wanted her blood.

Ava wrapped her in a hug as soon as
they neared. She murmured in Kerry’s ear. “I know what you’re thinking and it’s
not true. I would never sleep with my brother.” Kerry gasped and Ava laughed.
“Half-brother, anyway.” Kerry was confused, and her brows knitted, but she let
Ava lead her away from Ethan. “Process that.” She grinned and a dimple creased
her cheek. “My dad had Ethan with his first mate, and me with his second.
Ethan’s mama died from an aggressive cancer. I know how tight-lipped he is and knew
that he probably had not shared any of himself with you yet. He’s older than me
by about twenty years.”

“Twenty years?” Kerry asked with
wide-eyes.

“Yeah, no big deal for a wolf, you
know that.”

“How old is he?” Kerry whispered.

“Forty-eight, I had my birthday
last month, but his is in the fall. I was surprised at how young you are, but
he loves you, so it doesn’t matter.” Kerry thought about it. Age was not a big
deal with wolves. They lived to be old, sometimes a thousand years. Her dad was
over two hundred, but she didn’t know how far over because it was “none of her
damned business.”

“Anyway. I’m going to go find your
mom, then I’ll be back. I’ll bring her to you as quick as I can, sis.”

Kerry’s gaze snapped up at her.
Sis? She’d never had a sibling, and even though this she-wolf wasn’t really her
sister, she found that she kind of liked the thought of having one. Kerry
smiled at her.

Ava hugged her again, whispering in
her ear. “Be easy on the guy. He’s had a rough life, and he’s old.” Kerry
giggled. “And you both need to get laid.”

“What?” Kerry covered her mouth
with both hands and felt her face go puce. Why was everyone so interested in
her sex life? First Thelma and now Ava.

“You both need a toss between the
sheets or a good chase. Let him chase you. That excites wolves, you know?” Ava
winked. “Well, I’m leaving, and you have the house to yourself. Now get busy
before I bring your mom home. I want to be an auntie. Auntie Ava, that’s got a
good ring to it. She can call me double A.” Ava laughed loudly as she was prone
to do and left Kerry standing where she was. She noticed Ethan’s heated gaze on
her. He watched her like a predator, standing in the yard with his arms crossed
over his massive chest and his legs braced. She had the urge to shift and run.
She wondered if his wolf liked to play. Eric’s had, they’d raced all the time,
and Kerry had loved it.

She loved running through the woods
at breakneck speeds as though nothing in the world mattered. She turned to walk
toward the far side of the house and pulled her T-shirt over her head. Ava was
backing her bright yellow truck from the driveway, and Kerry hurried alongside
the house. She heard Ethan call her name, but she kept going. She had a plan,
and she was sticking to it. She looked back over her shoulder at him and gave
him a saucy grin. He started after her, and she giggled. He was pulling his
clothes off, and she dropped her shorts as she shifted, then took off at top
speed. She yipped and headed for the woods. Ethan was barreling after her, and
she laughed inside her head.

Kerry ran as fast as she could and
flew over a fallen log near where the turkeys had been. She looked back and he
was following. Surely he could run faster than that. Kerry increased her speed
through an open patch of the woods, and ducked through the thicket on the other
side. Kerry took a hard hit from the side and rolled. Ethan was panting down at
her. She was on her back and shifted back into her human. She was already
giggling uncontrollably.

“What in the hell is wrong with
you?” he snapped when he’d shifted back. Kerry grabbed him around the neck and
pulled him close enough to kiss. Ethan relaxed against her, covering her body with
his. Kerry wiggled against him and moved so he was between her legs. His
erection was like steel against her softness. Kerry wrapped her legs around him
and dug her heels into his backside. She arched up against him, her hands
weaving into his hair.

“Please,” she murmured against his
mouth. Ethan was inside her before she finished the word. He groaned and didn’t
move, he just stayed that way for a few seconds. Kerry sighed and relaxed. It
felt so good that all of the tension from the past few days left her, but a new
tension filled her now. She moved beneath him, and his eyes went amber on her.
“Please?” she whispered. He covered her mouth with his and eased out of her,
then filled her again. She felt her nipples pebble as she arched against his
chest, liking the friction. He was so big and warm against her skin, Kerry
couldn’t get enough. She dug her heels in again, and there was no stopping him
after that. Ethan moved against her, and Kerry liked the way liquid fire moved
through her veins. She liked the way her belly felt, so full and heavy, and the
way that muscles deep inside her flexed and clenched. She whimpered.

“Am I hurting you?” He stopped
moving.

“No. I just need…I need….” she
panted, and he smiled down at her.

“I know what you need, baby.” His
mouth found her throat, kissing and licking. Kerry arched her neck back and
felt his fingers between her legs. Everything went hot and exploded. A wall of
tension released, and it toppled inside her, making her bones feel like jelly.
Tiny white pinpricks of light filled her vision behind her eyelids, and she
heard a cry, then realized it was her making that sound.

She felt him tremble, and heard the
grunt that he made when he climaxed. Kerry still panted against his shoulder. When
she opened her eyes, she saw that she’d bitten him. She licked the bite and
watched it heal.

“Sorry,” she whispered.

“Oh, darling, you’ve got nothing to
be sorry for. That was…incredible.” He eased out of her, and she missed him.
Her insides were not at peace yet, and she’d liked the feeling of being inside
of her. “You okay?” he asked, looking down into her face. “No, tell me what’s
wrong. You had a whole different expression before I…oh.” He stopped and
exhaled. “Next time I won’t move until you’re finished. Is that it?” She
nodded. “We can go again in a few minutes if you want.” Ethan grinned at her,
and she nibbled her lip. He kissed her softly, then rolled off of her. “So you
like to be chased. Good to know.”

“I like to run,” Kerry said,
looking up at the sky. “It’s more fun if I run with someone.”

“You like to be chased,” he
corrected her.

“Maybe.” She watched a squirrel
bounce from tree limb to tree limb overhead. It chattered down at them.

“Two seconds?” Ethan asked.

“Nah, he’s too high. If he comes
down, though, less than two.”

“Let’s take a tour. Shift and
follow me. I’ll show you around. You can learn markers so you can find your way
back to me.”

Kerry rolled over and shifted into
the brown wolf. Ethan was beside her and nipped the scruff of her neck. She
yipped at him and licked his muzzle. He trotted off to the left, and she
followed.

Hours later, they padded up the
steps and into the screened room through a doggie door. So, she
could
get out of this room. That’s why he hadn’t wanted her out here alone.

He stood up as the man, and she
followed. He held his hand out and led her down the hall to the shower. Ethan
turned it on and stepped into the spray, and he pulled her inside. He kissed
her and turned her so she was under the water. After washing her hair, he
rinsed it, and finally scrubbed her body. When his hand dipped between her legs,
she quivered. “You like that.” He slipped his fingers into her cleft and backed
her up to the wall. She leaned gratefully against it. He brought her to a quick
climax and grinned down at her.

“And I liked that,” he murmured
against her hair as he kissed the top of her head. “We should eat, and then I
have business to tend to. Maybe you can set up your new art room while I do
that. Hmm?” She nodded. “Good.” He turned the water off and stepped out of the
shower. She followed him, grabbing a towel.

“Should I go fix lunch when I’m
dressed?” Kerry asked, following him into the bedroom. He nodded, looking down
at his phone. He tapped on the screen. Kerry pulled on a pair of old jeans and
paired them with a T-shirt her mother bought at the thrift store.

“You don’t like your new clothes?”
He was watching her now with his eyes sharp. She trembled.

“I like them,” she answered softly.

“I’d like to see you in some of them.”
He came over and wrapped her in his arms. “I’m not angry. I’m only asking.” He
kissed the top of her head.

“I like them. This is habit, that’s
all.” She felt him nod. “Should I change?”

“No. You’re fine. Later though I
would like to see some of those frilly things.” He smiled down at her.

Kerry made sandwiches while Ethan
tended to business. She wasn’t sure what he was doing, but his face was very
serious as he stood in the doorway of the kitchen. He mumbled something about
the council, but she didn’t think he was speaking to her, so she left him
alone. “Lunch.” She touched his arm and broke his concentration. He nodded and
finished his text.

“Mikey has already met with your
old pack and brought them into the council’s fold. They’ll have to pay from now
on like everyone else, but the council will see that they are taken care of,
too. I think Mikey may stay on.” He was still looking at the screen. “Ava is
over there, too, and she’s sure she’s found your mom.” Kerry brightened. “It
seems that your mom came back this morning shortly after Ava arrived. There’s
one thing though.”

“What?” Kerry bit into her ham and
cheese sandwich.

“Uh, your mom and Mikey…”

“What?” Ethan was thinking too hard,
and it was upsetting her. “Did he kill her? Did she attack them? What
happened?”

“Ava says they’re mating.”

Kerry stared at him for a long time
and put her sandwich down.

“Can you call Mikey? I need to
speak with my mother.”

Ethan dialed and handed her the
phone. When a male answered, Kerry began.

“Is this Mikey?”

He grunted.

“This is Kerry, Ethan’s mate. Are
you with my mother?”

“Yeah,” he answered.

“May I speak with her for just a
second?” She listened to the phone jostle around, then heard her mother’s
voice.

“Mom? It’s Kerry. Are you okay?
They said you were missing.”

“I’m fine, sweetheart, better than
fine. I’m with Michael, and Kerry, he’s…amazing.” Kerry swallowed.

“Like right now?” Her mother chuckled
at her question. “Oh! Eww. Mom! Call me when you’re done.” Kerry disconnected.
Ethan was on the edge of laughter, and Kerry slid the phone back across the
table.