Rescued (7 page)

Chapter 12

“Who is it?” A teasing feminine voice sang out.

“Funny, Rose. Want some company?”

“Only if you bring that new bath set I bought today. It’s in a bag by the bed.”

Marty slid behind Rose in the shower and paused to admire the view of his mate. The spray trickled down her body in ripples, her hair, slicked back from the shampoo and rinse.

She smiled as she opened her eyes and blinked the droplets away. “You wanna get under the water? I can move aside.”

With his eyes trained on her, he moved his head side to side. “I don’t know what I want. You are so perfect. I want to never take my eyes off you. I want to hold you forever. I want to make love with you and never stop. I want to hide you away and keep you all to myself. I want it all.” His voice was smooth and sexy, dripping with desire.

“We can work on all that but for now, can I wash your back?” She removed the new bottle of body wash from the bag. In a playful manner, she waved the new sponge in front of him, drizzled on the lavender scented gel, and stepped closer. She raised both his arms above his head. “Keep them there,” she whispered.

Her hands slid down to his sides. A slight twist turned him to face the wall. His arms and forehead rested against the shower wall as she began a gentle message on his back, covering the area from top to bottom, side to side in slow, tantalizing circles.

His eyes closed tight. With every stroke of the sponge, sparks sizzled over his skin, and deep into his core. It took every ounce of his strength to remain motionless, per her request. His inner animal screamed for him to bring them to their knees to satisfy their wildest desires. He was at the brink but held fast to his control. This time would be at a slower pace with all their needs met. His Rose would be satisfied. He moaned with pleasure.

She continued her slow, circular motions down his back. He trembled. His resolve weakening. The muscles from his thighs to the small of his back tensed and then relaxed, again and again. Flexing similar to that in bed earlier in the day. He became lost completely in the pleasure of the moment, and that memory until she eased the sponge between his legs and wrenched a strangled roar from him.

“Rose . . .” He growled in agony.

“Hum?”

“You’re . . . killing me.” He squeezed his eyes tighter in an effort to maintain control.

“Well, we can’t have that now, can we?” The spray now sprinkled onto his back, rinsing the sweet-smelling suds away. Her hands again eased to his sides and turned him to face her.

He opened his eyes and brought his hands down to reach for her with ideas of his own on his mind.

“Uh, uh, uh,” she sang out and waved a finger with a mischievous look. “I didn’t say you could put your arms down.” She waited. When he resumed his position, she began to circle his chest in slow motion.

He gazed down his nose at the woman determined to torture him. She seemed to be enjoying every minute of it. Is this what life would be like with her? Pleasure beyond belief? Would he survive?

She continued to sweep slow loops on his chest while she inched her way down his stomach and sides.

“Rose, I can’t take much more. I . . .” His words came to a stifled halt as the sponge slid between his legs again. “Rose!”

She directed the spray that cleared away the soap and placed a kiss in the center of his chest. Her tongue swept out to trail down to his belly button.

“Enough. I need you.” He lifted her in the air so they were eye to eye. Her hands found his face and caressed his cheeks as she locked her legs around his waist and slid onto her rightful place. He spun around and pressed her back to the wall, the water flowed over them. They moved toward ecstasy until they collapsed against each other to catch their breath.

Rose reached for the sponge again.

What could she have in mind now?

Chapter 13

The alarm on Marty’s phone chirped a soft cricket sound.

Rose opened her eyes but didn’t move. She could get used to this. Waking up in Marty’s arms every day. She was well aware of the
how
being mated to someone worked. She just couldn’t grasp the
why
. How could they be so suited for each other so fast? It was enough to make a girl’s head spin. Too bad this wasn’t the only aspect of being mated. This part she was sure she could handle.

“Hey.” Marty stirred but held tight to her. “We gotta get moving. We need to swing by Logan and June’s to pick up her car.”

“Mmm, I think I should arrive at the house first, early even. I led Wendy to believe I don’t have many friends and that I’m slightly needy.”

He glanced down and lifted her chin with one finger. “Needy, huh? Well, it’s a good thing that making sure all your needs are met is my job now, ma’am.”

“I’ll make a list as soon as we solve this case and you can get started. Which means we need to get crackin’ now.” Rose rolled off the bed and stood in a single movement. Hands on her hips, she glared at Marty with playful impatience.

“Awww,” Marty protested.

“Move it, mister,” she said as she pulled on her jeans and a fresh shirt and punched Wendy’s address into the GPS on her phone.

A knock at the door quickly brought Marty out of bed.

Rose moved to the door and peeped through the hole. “It’s Logan and June. They brought the car over here.” She opened the door to two concerned faces.

“Uh-oh. What’s up with you two?” Their serious expressions had Rose alarmed now.

“Oscar’s found some information that confirms our suspicions about this happy family situation we’ve been witnessing.”

Rose closed the door and gestured for the werejag couple to take the chairs at the small table by the window. Was this news they would be able use to their advantage? She and Marty eased down onto the bed and waited.

“Nelson, one of my trackers, went into the clinic with a fake medical issue so he could look around and gather any info possible on the kid’s visit there this afternoon. He lucked out and was able to get peek at a file the nurse left in a stack on the desk . . . Wendy’s file.” Logan paused. “There was a transplant list inside.”

“Wendy needs a transplant? What’s wrong with her?” Rose’s fingers gripped the edge of the mattress. Her heart lodged in her throat as she waited for the worst of the news.

“Rose. Wendy has been given a clean bill of health.” Logan took a breath and reached for June’s hand.

She turned to Marty with the questions and found the same confusion reflected in his eyes. “So if she’s healthy and doesn’t
need
a transplant.” She spoke the thoughts running through her head aloud as she turned back to Logan and June.

“The list is of people who
are
in need of transplants in New Mexico and several other western states,” June added.

“The
training facility
is in Santa Fe.” It was all becoming clearer. Rose studied her feet as she tried to imagine what this could possibly mean. She was even more determined to find out now. “They’ve convinced the kids to give blood but how do you convince someone to part with a kidney?”

“That’s our concern. Is it a willing donation? And don’t get me wrong, if it is a donation from the heart, that’s one thing but . . . that’s not all. There was a list of people willing to pay for newborns.”

“Selling organs
and
babies?” Rose’s stomach turned. She glanced at the time on her phone and then to Marty. “We need to get going. Give me twenty minutes head start.” She gathered her things and took the keys from June. “If y’all will still be up, we’ll swing by your place when we’re done tonight and let you know what we’ve found out.”

The drive to Wendy’s gave Rose time to get back into character, to bring out the shy college student who didn’t make friends easily to the forefront but keep her investigative senses close to the surface. She stopped the car in front of the house and opened the car door when Marty’s truck pulled up behind her.

She huffed out a breath.
Unbelievable.
What part of wait twenty minutes didn’t he understand? This macho protective mate bullshit is going to compromise this investigation
. . . if I don’t kill him first.
She glared at him as she rounded the front of the car and started up the walk.

Wendy and one of the boys from the park came around the side of the house before she could ring the doorbell. “Hey Rose. We’re out back,” Wendy called, motioning for her new friend to join her.

“Hey,” Rose responded moving toward the pair. “It’s good to see you.” She cut her eyes toward Marty’s truck. At least he had the good sense to pretend to search for something in the console compartment before he got out of the truck and started toward the house.

“Hey, I see you didn’t have any trouble finding the place,” Randy, one of the boys Marty shot hoops with this morning called.

Marty extended his hand in greeting. “No trouble at all. You gave good directions.” He inhaled a deep breath. “Hey, y’all got the grill going already. Smells great.”

“Yeah, everything’s set up out back. Hope you’re hungry.”

“Are you kidding? After the workout you fellas gave me this morning, I’m starving.”

They joined the group gathered in the backyard. Marty surveyed the area. Wendy and Rose were throwing lawn darts at plastic circles on the grass. Some of the others were at the patio table deep into a card game, a couple of folks were manning the grill, and two more were shooting arrows at a foam target hanging on the fence. Family fun time. There was nothing visible here to raise any suspicion of wrongdoing. Still, there were unanswered questions and he
would
get some answers tonight.

“Food’s ready. Come and get it.” One of the adults from the house brought a platter of hotdogs to each of the picnic tables set for supper. The girls gathered at one table and the boys at the other.

Roxie reached for the chips, leaned close to Penelope, and whispered, “who’s Randy’s friend? Nice ass. Wouldn’t mind getting me some of that.”

Penelope elbowed her friend and giggled. “Roxie, you are so bad. I thought you liked Jeremy.”

“Jeremy’s a kid compared to that.”

“They can’t be more than a year or two apart.”

“A year’s experience can make all the difference, Pen,” Roxie responded but didn’t take her eyes off Marty. The girl was practically drooling.

“Pass the potato salad, please.” Rose changed the direction of the conversation before she leapt across the table and gave Roxie a lesson in respecting other people. How dare that little hussy plan any moves on her mate?

Whoa. Where
did that come from?
Before she realized it, her blood had boiled at the thought of any other female touching Marty.

“Besides, he’s been checking out Rose since he got here. Not so sure you’d have a chance. Have you noticed his eyes all over you, Rose?” Penelope asked.

“No, no way. Not interested. He’s not my type.” Rose tried her best to hide the green-eyed monster that reared its ugly head inside her. She
had
sensed his eyes on her all evening. Coupled with the scent of attraction he was giving off that only his mate could detect, it was hard to think of anything except him.

This had to stop. She had to focus.
What is wrong with me? Why am I
reacting to these schoolgirls and their adolescent boy talk?
Roxie’s
a silly little girl barely out of high school.
But one with big intentions. Intentions toward
her
mate.

“What’s type got to do with it? I’ll take a good time wherever I can find it. Life’s too short to wait for the right type, ladies.” Roxie didn’t bother to hide her attraction to Marty as she doled out the relationship advice.

“Susan, this is the best potato salad I’ve had since my mama’s.” Rose had to change the subject and change it fast. Her focus was to get into the house, snoop around, and gather information. Ripping into Roxie didn’t fit into her plans.

“Thank you, Rose. So, your mother’s not here in Memphis with you?” Susan sounded like any normal concerned adult.

“No, she passed away when I was in high school and my daddy a few years later. He had set aside money for my college fund from the time I was born and when I got a partial scholarship here, I made the move.” She stared at her plate and pushed a few chunks of pickle and potato around with her fork. There was no need to fake her sadness at not having her folks near. That much was genuine.

“I’m sorry to hear that. It must be difficult for you to be here all on your own.” Susan reached out and patted Rose’s arm.

“I’m getting used to it. Graduating college was my daddy’s dream for me and I want to make his dream a reality. Plus, I love what I see here.” She glanced around the table at each girl. “The good work you all are doing. I want to be able to help kids, too.” Rose blinked a couple of times and dabbed her eyes with her napkin, smiling at Susan.

“Time to decide on a movie, guys.” One of the house dads came out the backdoor with a bag of DVD’s from the local movie rental store. “Comedy, adventure, or horror?”

No surprise on the selection. The majority decided on a teen horror flick and headed toward to living room to get everything set up.

Rose hung back and began to clear the table.

“Oh honey, you go on in with the others. We’ll get this,” Mabel said.

“My mama taught me when I was invited to eat at a friend’s house, I should help clean up the mess.” She continued to collect the dishes to move into the kitchen. She hoped to get a look at any correspondence left lying around and the kitchen was as good a place as any to start.

She carried a bowl into the kitchen with the cooking utensils from the grill when Marty rounded the corner and smacked into her causing a major collision. The bowl tipped and started to fall to the floor, scattering the contents. Rose grabbed for the falling objects and nicked the end of her finger with a paring knife. “Oh no.”

Marty caught the bowl, set it aside on the counter, snagged a paper towel, and wrapped it around Rose’s finger. “Sorry. Sorry, ma’am. I didn’t know you were there.”

“Why don’t you watch where you’re going?” She snapped, covering her bleeding finger tighter with the paper towel.

Marty turned on the water in the kitchen sink.

Susan took out a first aid kit. “Dry it. I have the antibiotic cream and a bandage ready.”

“Please, let me. I’d like to help since all this is my fault. I’m such a klutz.” Marty took the first aid kit and hovered just a bit. If anyone else witnessed the rapid healing of her wound, there would be questions. Questions Rose wasn’t prepared to answer.