Six Months (22 page)

I rubbed my face in frustration. “You just want me to live with you? No sex?”

“I’m a man. I’d love sex to be part of the deal if you’re okay with it, but it’s not expected. I’m not forcing myself on you and you’re free to leave at any time, but that debt will travel with you like a shadow. As long as you stay with me, it’s clear. Think it over, and stay dry.”

Maddox walked across the yard and disappeared through the trees.

I went back inside, dumbfounded. How had I managed to run into so many of these Shifters? How many had I known my entire life without having realized it? Lexi said the Breed population was high in some cities. She also said there were some Breeds that wanted to exterminate Shifters because they felt threatened by their numbers.

Trevor finally emerged from the bathroom with damp hair and an irritated look on his face. He opened up one of the cabinets and found a bag of sour-cream chips. “When is the last time you had a bubble bath?”

“Maybe the time we had a blow-up pool and Rose put dishwashing suds in the water and ran the hose.”

He sat beside me on the sofa and kissed the back of my hand before ripping the bag of chips open with his teeth.

“Do you want to see me living better than this?” I asked.

“Hell yeah. Nothing wrong with living in a trailer, April. But this thing is run-down and the neighborhood is one of the worst in the city. Especially with that a-hole on the loose,” he said, crunching on a chip. “You may have paid him off, but guys like that don’t surrender. Men have a weakness called pride, and they don’t get over it easily when someone bruises it.”

A motor cut off outside and a door slammed.

Gravel crunched outside as footsteps approached the trailer and Trevor launched to his feet—hands balled into tight fists and ropes of muscle on his arms tightening.

The tiny door shook when a fist pounded against it. “April, open up this door or I’m breaking it down.”

Trevor glanced at me. “The big bad wolf?” Then he pushed the door open and shoved a giant trash bag into Reno’s arms. “Take your shit. You’re not welcome here anymore.”

Reno tried throwing down the bag, but Trevor kept grabbing stuff by the door and thrusting it into his arms. “Think you can buy her like a golden retriever and that’ll make her loyal? She doesn’t know what you’re doing, but
I do
. April’s naïve to these kind of intentions because she’s young, but you’re a real piece of work for taking advantage of that,” he said, tossing a box of mirrors at him.

I heard the glass break when Reno threw them to the side and filled the doorway. “Get out of my way.”

I swiftly rose to my feet. “Don’t you dare threaten my best friend. Trevor is a brother to me, and if you put one little finger on him, then I’ll…”

Damn, girl, you’re on a roll! Threaten him with something good!
my inner voice cheered.

I glanced around and grabbed the nearest thing I could find.

A spatula.

“I’ll cut you up.”

My eyes slimmed down and theirs widened.

Reno’s lips twitched and Trevor tried to contain his laugh beneath his pissed-off face, but it slipped out and he turned his head away.

“April, I need to know you’re safe. You broke out of my truck and I’ve been searching the streets for hours.”

Trevor sliced me with a cold stare and I shrugged. I knew he didn’t like the idea that I’d been running the streets, especially after two glasses of wine.

“Can we talk?” Reno wasn’t looking at me, but Trevor. He was asking permission to speak with me. “April has a right to make her own decisions. You’re looking out for her, and I respect that more than you know. That’s why I’m asking if we can settle what’s between us once and for all.”

“It’s okay, Trevor,” I said, tossing the spatula on the counter.

He threw up his hands and sat down on the couch, angrily grabbing a magazine and snapping it open.

“Come inside and we can talk it over,” I said.

“Not here. Neutral ground where kitchen utensils are not within arm’s reach,” Reno said with a handsome smirk.

“Where are we?” I asked, cupping my elbows as I stood behind Reno on the front porch of a rural house in the dark woods.

Reno slid his key in the lock. The hinges stubbornly creaked when the door swung open. I took a breath of stale air and warmth touched my skin.

“This was our old house before we moved into the big one. Austin’s keeping it around as a retreat,” he said, flipping on a light. “We’ve still got power.”

It was semi-furnished, as if someone still lived there. Reno closed the door behind us and hung his key on a nail that had the letter
R
below it. When he kicked off his shoes in the corner, I did the same and followed him around the wall and into the living room. While he went into the hall to adjust the thermostat, I checked out my surroundings. The walls were bare. Aside from a ratty maroon recliner and an old sofa, the room was empty.

“Thirsty?” His voice reverberated off the walls.

Reno walked around a built-in bar on my left, which connected to the living room. A light clicked on and he bent down, pulling out a few drinks from the short fridge. He handed me a can of soda and I cracked it open, grimacing as the carbonated soft drink burned my throat.

Reno threaded my hair away from my face with a single sweep of his hand, centering his eyes on mine. “Tonight was rough. Are you hanging in there?”

“I didn’t mean to jump out of your truck and worry you like that. I was scared to go home by myself and too embarrassed to tell you after what happened at dinner. I needed to find Trevor.”

“You think I haven’t seen what people will do when their ass is on the line? You’re mixed up in some serious shit and I want to help. People who steal money and bolt out of a truck into a busy street are running from something—or someone. If you owe someone money, I can help.”

“No, Reno. I can’t stay in this vicious circle of owing people; that’s what I’m trying my best to fix. I owed a man and I paid him off—the one who hurt Trevor. It’s done.”

His chocolate eyes were pensively searching mine. “Are you sure about that? Say the word, April, and I can make your problems go away.”

“That’s not a promise anyone can make.”

He took the soda from my hand and set it on the floor. Then his thick hand slipped around my neck and he stepped close. He smelled intoxicating—a mixture of cologne and his natural scent.

Reno backed me up against the wall and slipped his hands beneath my shirt. He cupped my breasts through my thin bra, placing his thumbs on each nipple and rubbing in slow, methodical motions. I gasped, every nerve awakening as I struggled to suppress a moan. Reno ignited my body with his skilled touch, one that left me desiring more.

His knee abruptly slid between my legs, forcing them apart, and his lips brushed against my mouth as he spoke. "I wonder if I could make you come like this."

I was certain he could.

His mouth lingered against mine with just the lightest contact of skin. He didn’t kiss me, but pressed his thumbs sweetly against my nipples until I moaned from the delicate friction. My breathing became erratic and he abruptly stepped back and dropped his arms. "Take off my belt,” he said in a throaty voice.

An electric buzz ripped through my body at his command. He lightly held my wrists and guided my hands to his waist.

As he stood there watching me, his eyes hooded. I tugged at his belt until the metal prong came free from the hole.

“Slide it out,” he said. “Do it slowly.”

Holy smokes
, my inner voice exclaimed as she had a mental orgasm.

I pulled his belt and listened to the hissing sound it made as it slid out from the loops. When it was free, his mouth parted slightly and his breath caught.

“Drop it.”

The buckle clamored against the wood floor. Reno placed his hands on the wall above me and leaned in hard. “I’ve wanted you since the first day we met. Austin tried to warn me when he saw the way I looked at you, but I can’t stop looking.”

“Why did he warn you?” I asked in a breathy voice.

“Shifters and humans don’t mix. We can’t have kids with your kind and we live longer.” His breathing grew heavy with need as he looked down at me. “Pick up my belt.”

I tried to look down but my chest was pressed against his. “Step back; I can’t move.”

“Yes, you can,” he urged, his eyes dripping with lust.

I found the belt with my foot and had begun to lift it up monkey-style when Reno’s mouth came against mine.

“With your hands.” He kissed me softly and leaned back, waiting for me to make a move.

Not one to back away from a challenge, I placed my hands around his waist for balance and slid down the length of his rock-hard body. Every inch of me rubbed against him and Reno reduced the space between us to nothing. I got an eyeful of his crotch on the way, and wide-eyed, I grabbed the belt and tried to stand up. There wasn’t any room, so I practically had to climb up his body as if it were a mountain.

Mount Reno, an expedition that left me wondering if I needed a harness.

When I felt a tremor go through him, I knew he was turned on.

His body pinned mine against the wall. “Can I lock this around your wrists? I’m not going to do anything you don’t want me to do. We can stop at any time; just say the word.”

I looked up at him with quiet eyes.

“Never mind. We don’t have to—”

“No,” I quickly said. “I want you to.
I trust you
.”

He took the belt from my hand and, without breaking eye contact, looped it around my wrists. Not too tight, but it left a lot of slack with the holes at the end of it. His pupils dilated and I was getting so turned on by the thought of his hands on my body that I could hardly think. He pivoted around and led me by that belt into the hallway.

I remembered Denver’s warning about Reno. Something about him being rough or tying women up.
What exactly did he do with them afterward?

My guess was that I was about to find out.

Reno led me into a bedroom and shut the door. He lifted his arms and slid one of the holes in the belt over a hook secured to the ceiling.
Who has a hook in their ceiling?
So there I was, standing with my arms tied up above my head in Reno’s bedroom.

I’d never felt such a wave of anticipation come over me. I fought to get my panting under control when he slowly walked behind me, snaking his hand across my breasts and the flat plane of my stomach. Then he slowly unbuttoned my pants, tugged down the zipper, and got on his knees behind me.

Every move was methodical and slow.

I peered under my arm and watched his fingers grip the hem of my pants and slide them down. I bucked a little and when they fell around my ankles, his mouth feverishly began kissing my upper thigh.

“Oh, God,” I breathed.
Moaned
. My ankles were tangled and I tried to kick the pants away, but Reno gripped my legs and held them still.

“Don’t move unless I tell you to.”

His mouth moved higher, his tongue stroking and tasting my inner thigh. When his hand cupped my ass, I gasped. Reno quickly stood up and broke contact.

He paced around front and examined my hands, checking the tightness of the belt. “If it hurts, you let me know,” he said. “Don’t put all your weight on that belt. I’ll be upset if you bruise.”

I nodded.

Then he stepped in close and kissed my mouth salaciously. His fingers lifted the hem of my shirt higher until it was over my head. He pulled it high enough that my mouth was free, but I couldn’t see anything.

Before I could ask that stupid “What are you doing?” question, he tugged down the cups of my bra and his mouth came around my left nipple. Desire licked over my body as he flicked his tongue and sucked in tight pulls.

I couldn’t see through the heavy material of my black shirt. All I could feel was his hot mouth; even his hands weren’t touching me. It was the most erotic sensation—wondering when he pulled his mouth away where it would end up next. He surprised me with a warm kiss to my neck, and then his tongue circled around my navel before moving to my breast, where he flicked his tongue so maddeningly, I felt it to my core.

I needed him.
God, how I needed him
.

I could hear his heavy boots pacing in circles, but he didn’t touch me. I pressed my cheek against my right arm, breathing heavily.

Then his finger slid across my panties and I bucked hard—but not in a good way.

It was a panic-stricken feeling that came over me, and I started gasping for air. “I’m scared of the dark, I’m scared of the dark,” I chanted.

Reno yanked the shirt away from my eyes and unhooked the belt, eyes brimming with concern. He bent down and removed my jeans so I wouldn’t trip.

My hands shook with embarrassment. I looked away as he freed my wrists from the belt and tugged the shirt off my arms. His hands cupped my inflamed cheeks and I’d never felt more exposed than standing in front of Reno in my underwear while having a panic attack.

“Breathe, April. Look at me and breathe. In through your nose and out through your mouth. That’s it… nice and slow. I’d never hurt you. What’s wrong?”

“I just don’t like the dark.”

“Why?”

“A phobia thing.”

“Tell me.”

I shook my head adamantly and he held me in his arms so tightly that I was unable to get dressed and leave. Maybe he could sense it, because that was exactly what I was thinking of doing.

His bristly cheek scratched against my temple and he whispered, “Tell me why you’re afraid of the dark. We’re not born with fear, April. We’re exposed to it.”

“No, you don’t really want to hear all this.”

“The hell I don’t,” he bit out angrily. Then his voice softened like molasses. “Talk to me.”

Don’t do it
, my inner voice warned.
No man wants to hear personal baggage and you’re going to extinguish whatever fire you had going if you open your mouth
.

So as I stood in the arms of a man who wanted to take me to new sexual lands, I exposed a dark part of my past that I’d never once told a living soul except my mother.

“I was… molested.”

Reno froze, as if his entire body had transformed to granite. I tried pushing him away, but he didn’t budge.

“Let me go,” I said, feeling shame and guilt for even saying the word. “I shouldn’t have said anything, but you asked.”

When I felt his tender lips kiss my forehead, I stopped struggling.

“Who?” he asked in a chilling voice.

“I don’t know. I was little. It happened in a department store. I don’t remember why, but I had separated from my mom and wound up in the bathroom. I wasn’t alone—a man came in behind me. He flipped the switch and shut off the lights.”

A tremor rolled through him, but not in a good way. Fear rose in me and I pushed at his chest.

But Reno held me tight, whispering in my hair. “How old were you?”

“Five, I think. My mom gave me a spanking when she found out I’d wandered off and when I told her what happened, she called me a liar. I guess she thought I was making up a story to get out of trouble. It was so long ago that it almost feels like a dream, so it’s not like it’s fresh in my memory. I just remember bits and pieces of what happened. I can tolerate low light, but sometimes I get scared in the dark. Not all the time, but I’m sure that’s where it stems from. I don’t even remember what he looks like,” I said, not believing I was telling him all this. “When the lights came back on, he told me that I’d get in big trouble if I told anyone and he’d come find me. I thought I’d done something wrong to make him do that to me. For years I thought he was going to come after me because I’d told my mom.”

“You didn’t do anything wrong.
Fucking bastard
,” he whispered. “They never caught him?”

I shook my head.

“Do you remember the store?”

I nodded.

“Wonder if they have surveillance archives,” he muttered.

My hands pushed hard and I leaned away. “Don’t you dare dig up my past. It could have been a whole lot worse. I was fortunate that none of my mom’s pimps or dealers ever got a hold of me as a teen. I scraped out of my childhood with only a few skinned knees. He just touched me.”