Brock's Bunny (4 page)

She
meant to soothe him with her words, but she couldn’t break through the barrier
of fear.
Hollie
had changed before his eyes.

His arm
stung and he glanced down at the three bloody lines she left behind. The
surface had already started to clot, but he couldn’t stop the hatred he felt
toward her. His stomach started to turn.
Hollie
wasn’t who he thought she was. She wasn’t even
a who
.
 

She
wasn’t the girl of his dreams, she was an animal.
 
A wild animal spent the night with him on the
couch, not a beautiful woman. He’d made love—had sex—with a wild animal.

“Get
out.” She deceived and disgusted him. He wanted her out.

“Brock,
no, let me explain. Everything will be okay.”

“Get
out!” he yelled. Every emotion was bubbling over and he directed them all at
her.

Hollie
jerked as if she’d been slapped and tears rolled down her face. She
flung open the sliding glass door and ran out into the woods.

Brock
followed her pale naked form until she disappeared in the dense trees.

His
eyes watered, but not because of
Hollie
.

The
pain that squeezed his heart brought him to his knees.

Chapter Six

Hollie
could barely see where she was going. She brushed the tears away with
the back of her hand, but it made little difference. She was grateful she knew
the woods well enough to find her way; she was almost to safety. Leaves
crunched beneath her feet and twigs jumped out of the ground to lash her ankles.
She lost her balance and fell palms-first against a tree trunk. Blood seeped
out of the scrapes, but she kept on.

After
Brock rejected her, she didn’t dare go back to the cave. She’d scented another
human nearby and she couldn’t trust herself to make sure she wouldn’t be detected.
She couldn’t ruin the hideout for her friends. Her car could be an issue, but there
had been several in the lot when she parked, so it shouldn’t seem suspicious.

More
tears fell as she thought about Brock’s dismissal. Finding a mate was supposed
to be a life-changing event, a dream come true; instead it turned into a
nightmare. She’d never forget the repulsed look on his face when he’d told her
to get out.

Any
chance for them to be together was over.

Hollie
spotted Matt and
Jenn’s
backyard and ran up to
the patio. She used all of her strength to rapidly bang on the door, causing
the glass window to shake,
then
she crouched down in front
of a storage bench and hid herself from the forest.

The
door swung open and Matt stepped out. He looked ready to fight until his eyes
landed on her shaking, naked form.

“
Jenn
!”
He yelled into the house as he took
off his sweatshirt and draped it around her shoulders. “Come on inside, hon.”
Matt urged her to stand, guided her inside and yelled for
Jenn
again.

“
Wha
—Oh my God!
Hollie
,
what happened?”
Jenn’s
arms came around her, and
Hollie
started sobbing violently. Her friend rubbed her
back, whispered soothing words and let her cry until it seemed she had no tears
left.

“Better?”

She
shrugged. She wasn’t better, never would be, but the tears had stopped.

“C’mon,
let’s find you something to wear. Bull and Christina are here
now,
you can tell us all what happened.”

Hollie
nodded in agreement and soon they were gathered in Matt and
Jenn’s
living room, her four friends patiently waiting as
she stared into her cup of tea. Christina gave her knee a reassuring squeeze.

“Tell
us. It’ll be okay.”

It
would never be okay, but they were her friends and she trusted them.

Hollie
told them what happened.

****

Brock
jerked awake at the sound of the ambulance siren and opened his eyes to see a
paramedic hovering over him.

Oh God. Not again.

For the
second time this week, Brock was in an ambulance.

When
Hollie
ran out of his life two days ago, his heart hurt to
the point of pain. Afraid he was having a heart attack, he dialed 911. After
several tests, he left the emergency room with a clean bill of health. Brock met
with his physician the following day and received the same diagnosis.

Traumatic stress.

His
body chose to mirror heart attack symptoms in response to watching
Hollie
change from a cute little bunny rabbit into the
woman he loved. The woman he still loved.

He
refused to lie to himself any longer. His heart didn’t hurt from watching her
change; he hurt because he’d reacted badly. Instead of listening, he’d yelled
and pushed her away. The pain on her face, combined with the knowledge that she
ran into the forest naked to get away from him, replayed over and over in his
mind. Looking back, his reaction didn’t make any sense. His heart ached for her
and he believed that they belonged together. Why had he yelled?

The
paramedic asked him something and he reached up to remove the oxygen mask.

“Sir,
you need to keep the mask on until we reach the hospital. What’s your name?”

“Brock Smith.
I’m not having a heart attack.”

“No, I
don’t think you are, but you collapsed in the restaurant so we’re going to run
some tests.”

Oh God.
He collapsed in the restaurant.
Candace had told him to stay home, but he was going crazy thinking about
Hollie
. In an effort to put her out of his mind, he went to
work. Everything was fine until he walked by the booth he’d met her in. He started
to hyperventilate and his chest pain was more severe. Brock remembered the room
getting blurry and then he fell, but never landed. The next thing he saw was
the paramedic.

“I’m
fine. I had the tests two days ago. It’s traumatic stress.”

“Humor
me until we get there. How old are you?”

Brock
answered all of the paramedic’s questions with ease. When they got to the
hospital Brock was seen by the same doctor that treated him two days ago. He
didn’t do all the tests, but he performed an evaluation and gave Brock a list
of several therapists in and out of the area.

Brock
tried to refuse the list, but the doctor wouldn’t release him unless he
accepted it.

The
list wouldn’t help. There was only one thing that would heal his breaking heart.

Chapter Seven

The
doorbell rang again, followed by the hammering of a fist, shaking the wood and
waking
Hollie
from a sound sleep. She bolted upright
and started to get out of bed until her sleep-fogged brain recognized that it must
be Brock again.

Five
days had passed since he forced her out of his house with angry words. She’d
stayed with Matt and
Jenn
the first night and took
the week off work to lick her wounds and pick up the pieces of her broken
heart. It was a risky thing to do. Now that she’d found her mate, the hunt was
over, and so was hope and the possibility of happiness. A long, lonely life
stretched out in front of her. If she wasn’t careful, she’d fall into the abyss
of depression and never be able to crawl out again.

Brock
started searching for her on the third day. Her employees told her he’d been in
the store asking about her, he’d been to her house, and he’d left several
messages on her cell and home phones. He’d even had
Candi
call, and though
Candi
had expressed concern in her
message with no mention of Brock, she couldn’t help feeling betrayed by her
friend.

Hollie
squinted at the clock.
Five in the morning.
Apparently he was trying something new. A twinge of curiosity had her
questioning his motives. Did he want her back or did he plan to threaten her
with his knowledge of her bunny? She should talk to him to find out for sure. If
he decided to threaten her safety, she would have to give up everything she
loved and move.

Every
fiber of her being wanted to go to him. Her heart ached for his, but his harsh
dismissal kept her from leaving the warmth of her bed.

She
couldn’t face him right now. She needed more control over her emotions, and, deep
down, she hoped if she ignored him he would give up and leave her alone.

****

He was
a fool.

Brock
had tried everything. He’d gone to her work, her house, left phone messages and
even had his sister call.
Candi
refused to relay the
message he’d written and instead talked to
Hollie’s
machine as a friend, the same way she always would. She didn’t know the
details, but
Candi
knew that something was wrong, and
she was sure he was to blame. She was right, but her admission still stung.
He’d wanted someone on his side.

It
appeared it wasn’t going to happen. In desperation, Brock went to Matt and
Jenn’s
, hoping they could help him contact
Hollie
. He now stood on the porch staring at Matt, and he
swore he heard a growl escape the man’s lips. Brock glanced inside the house
and saw Bull looking on. Both men held their arms crossed, expressing their displeasure
at his intrusion.

Matt
was only an inch or two taller than Brock, but his muscular frame made him
appear larger. Bull was huge everywhere and towered over the two men. Brock
wasn’t afraid, but he knew better than to get these two on his bad side. It was
clear they had reason to dislike him, but did they know everything? Brock
wasn’t about to give away
Hollie’s
secret. They were
her friends and he had to tread carefully.

“Hey
Matt, I’m Brock.” Matt kept his arms crossed and raised an eyebrow to Brock’s
outstretched hand. Brock cleared his throat and let his hand fall to his side.
“I was looking for
Hollie
. I can’t find her anywhere
and I thought she might be here.”

“Maybe
she doesn’t want to be found.” Matt’s smile didn’t look friendly.

“Look,”
Brock cleared his throat again. “I messed up. Bad… I messed up bad and I need
to see… I need to tell her… She needs to know…”

Both
men smiled and Brock got the feeling they enjoyed watching him squirm. He
searched for the right words. At a loss for what else to say, he rubbed his
palm over his aching heart and met Matt’s steel gaze.

“I love
her. Please help me.”

Matt
looked back at Bull, who shook his head and rolled his eyes.
Great.
They thought he was a wimp, but it’d be okay if they’d help him.

“I hope
you mean it. I’ll hurt anyone that hurts that girl again.” Matt’s glare
delivered a clear message, but Brock had a message of his own.

“You
won’t have to. If she forgives me, I’ll protect her.”

Apparently
it was the right thing to say.

“Yeah
you will.” Matt smiled and offered his hand as Bull’s words met his ears.

The
three of them laughed as they walked back toward the kitchen.

Chapter Eight

Ambushed.

Hollie
couldn’t believe her friends had forgiven Brock and tricked her.

“Just
talk to him. The guys say he’s sorry, and I believe them. You know that
feelings get all jumbled up when a mated pair meets—especially for the human
half.”

Jenn
was right. Emotions run high when mates meet for the first time. Could
she have exaggerated Brock’s rejection?
Hollie
didn’t
think so, but Brock could have overreacted. They had shared feelings close to
love the day before. If the situation were reversed, she might have acted the
same way.
Hollie
couldn’t imagine treating Brock with
such disdain, but she knew it was possible.

Earlier
that day, after banging on her door at five in the morning, Brock visited Matt
with hopes that he and
Jenn
would help him find her.
All attempts to contact her had been with the intent to apologize and ask for
another chance. Could she forgive him? Would she be able to trust him again? She
wanted to, but her heart still hurt because of his cruel words.

“He
didn’t tell us about you,
Hollie
.” Bull said. “We
asked him tons of questions about the fight, even egged him on a bit—as sort of
a test you know—but he didn’t tell us the whole story.”

“He
kept my secret?”

“Yes,
he did. He said the two of you had a misunderstanding, he was wrong and he
really needed you to know that he was sorry. Oh, he also said he loves you.”