Chapter 20
Chapter Twenty
Mason
I opened my eyes, wondering what had woken me. Then a sharp pain stabbed through my head and I had my answer. I sat up, rubbing the still tender spot, wishing it would stop.
“What’s going on?” Kip asked.
That worry in his voice was becoming a daily occurrence.
“Just a headache.”
He sat up with a sigh. “Why can’t you ever answer my questions? You’ve told me you’re my submissive, so I need you to be honest with me in all things. Do I make myself clear?” That touch of steel in his tone was both menacing and hot.
“Yes, Kip.” Even I heard the hesitancy.
He put a hand on my shoulder and gave a gentle squeeze. “Okay, talk to me.”
I looked up at him and sighed. He was a beautiful man, both inside and out. I didn’t know how I’d come to be so lucky to find him, and having him in my life made me feel truly blessed. I wasn’t about to question my fate, however.
“I hate that you’re stuck with me,” I murmured.
I had no idea Kip could move so goddamn fast.
He had me flat on my back in a heartbeat, sneering at me from above. Those wide eyes and flared nostrils?
Holy shit, that was hot.
“You listen to me, you little bastard,” he ground out.
“I am not stuck with you, not in the least. I am exactly where I want to be. Where I think I’ve always wanted to be.
Hearing you talk like that? It bugs the hell out of me.
Wanna know why? Because I can’t take away whatever it is that scares you, and that makes me feel like I’m failing you. ”
“You’re not, though, not at all.” I managed a rueful chuckle. “In fact, you’re the only thing keeping me together.”
“Then talk to me. Let me in. Please, baby.”
I won’t deny I melted whenever he called me baby. It was something I never thought I would have in my life.
“I’m scared,” I admitted. “I’m afraid to step outside of the house, because I don’t know who is after me or why they hurt me. This… this is new. Even in school, no one ever physically injured me.”
Kip wound his arms around me. “We’re doing our best to find out who did this.
John has a few groups talking to the pack, to see if he can find any clues.
Your parents are out there, knocking on doors, trying to find someone who might have seen or heard something.
My parents, my sister and brother, and some friends volunteered to come here and take care of your garden until you feel up to it. ”
Warm tears trickled down my cheeks. “I hate this,” I groused. “I wanted to make you happy, and all I’m doing is dragging you down with me.”
“Then we go down as one.” Kip’s voice was strong and clear. “No matter what, we’re in this together.” He gripped my chin, forcing me to look him in the eye. “Do you understand me?”
“Yes, Kip.”
Funny how saying that gave me a modicum of strength.
Then all the tension bled out of him.
“Do you want me to tuck you in for a nap?” He sounded like a parent wanting to take care of their child, which at times both warmed and annoyed me in equal measure.
I hated to admit how exhausted I’d been since getting out of the hospital. The doctor told me it was to be expected with the trauma I’d undergone.
Didn’t mean I liked it, though.
I swallowed hard. “Can I go sit in the back? I haven’t seen the sun for a while.”
Just saying the words made me want to barf, but I knew I had to take that first step.
He smiled at me. “Sure, let’s go.”
Once he had a firm grip on my hand, he led me to the back door. When we got there, he turned, his expression serious.
“If you get nervous or scared or uncomfortable, you tell me and we’ll come back in. Don’t push yourself.”
“Yes, Kip.”
He leaned in for a kiss. “Remember that.”
The sun was brighter than hell when he opened the door. I winced against the brilliance which exploded in my head. Still, it felt warm on my skin, chasing away the chill that seemed to have settled deep inside me. I stepped outside and scanned the deck, desperately trying to find something.
“The rock is gone,” Kip said, his voice soft. “I had John take it away.”
I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. I used to be happy. I could afford to be, especially when I was with Kip.
Now I was a coward, too scared of his own shadow to step out into the world.
“Can we go back inside?” I begged Kip. “I think I will take that nap.”
I felt absolutely fucking miserable about it.
Kip
We were so fucking close.
I’d been trying to get Mase to go outside since we got home.
Every time he begged off, claiming headache or pain somewhere in his body.
I knew that was likely to be true. The doctor told me that if a wolf had survived the initial attack, his healing boost would break under the strain of what he’d been through and he would probably still die.
So yeah, the damage was that severe. It was no wonder he was having issues now.
He needs to see someone. Talk it out.
I sure as hell wasn’t qualified, especially seeing as how just thinking about it turned me into a homicidal maniac.
Shit, maybe I need to talk to someone too.
A few months ago, the only thing we had to worry about was getting good grades. Then it was how to keep Mason from marrying someone because his family said he had to. The next hurdle became passing off a fake relationship as something real.
Something real I desperately wanted to hold on to.
When I’d initially pictured our lives together, what came to mind was mostly sex, and that was both hot and cool. The two of us in bed, fucking away our days off, me dropping multiple loads in that perfect ass of his. My idea of perfection.
The call at two in the morning wasn’t totally unexpected—the storm had been forecast—but we hadn’t anticipated so much devastation. Trees were knocked down, and some of the streets flooded.
“Is it bad?” Mase asked as I dressed. “I’ll make you a thermos of hot coffee. It’s chilly outside.”
By the time I entered the kitchen, another aroma filled the air.
“Soup too?”
He smiled. “In case you get hungry.” Then he kissed me. “Now go save the town, and then get your ass back to our bed.”
Eighteen hours later, I dragged myself from the truck to the front door. I crept in, as quiet as I could, and found a stunning sight. Mason was in his wolf form, lying on top of his sky-blue onesie with the fluffy white clouds he’d asked for.
He’s so fucking beautiful.
Mason’s fur was charcoal gray, with white tips on his ears and the cutest black booties I’d ever seen on an animal. I knelt beside him, my fingers seeking his fur. It was so silky-soft and luxurious beneath my hands. I knew it was something I would need to do a lot of.
Then he opened his eyes and shifted back, lying nude before me.
This was the image I held in my mind now. Not the one of Mase on his knees blowing me, not the one of him arching his back as I plowed his ass. Now it was the Mase before me, his cheeks pink, his skin flushed.
No one should be so beautiful.
And he was mine.
I couldn’t hide my smile. “Now I know what you look like with fur.”
He blinked. “You’ve seen me before. That time when you got home from work.”
“Yeah, but that was only a glimpse. This time I got a real good look.”
“You could’ve asked me to shift anytime, you know.” Then he glanced at the clock above the fireplace, and his eyes widened. “Oh my God.”
I let out a tired sigh. “Trying the keep ahead of the rain was the hardest past.”
He took one look at my face and frowned.
“You’ve got to be freezing. Into the shower, now.
” Once I’d stripped off, he followed suit before climbing into the cubicle with me.
He scrubbed me down because I was just too tired to do it myself.
Not even Mason’s presence on his knees, inches from my cock, was enough to cut through my exhaustion.
Instead, I pulled him up and wrapped him in my arms, my face tucked in his neck.
“I love you so fucking much,” I whispered against his wet skin.
“Love you too. Was it bad?”
“Just long. The guys did an amazing job. We’ll have quite a bit of cleanup to do once it dries up a bit, but it could have been way worse.”
“I was worried,” he admitted.
“I’m sorry I didn’t call. We were barely holding the line against the floodwaters, especially on Court Street. A few businesses will have wet floors, but we saved their inventory, so that should count for a good deed.”
“Do you want something to eat?”
I smirked and flicked his cock head, eliciting a squeak. “Maybe this?” I asked.
He chuckled. “You’d probably fall asleep and choke to death, and how would I explain that to our parents?”
He wasn’t wrong. I was surprised my eyes were still open. “Would you be upset if I went to bed?”
He frowned. “Yes, horribly. I’ll have to curl up with you to ensure you sleep.”
Sleep wouldn’t be a problem. I was already dead on my feet.
Mase had dried me off, then led me to the bedroom.
Once he had me under the covers, he got in and curled up with his head on my chest, and his arm across my stomach.
His position. The one he loved because of the closeness, and I loved because I could hold him.
And then in one moment that was gone, replaced with fear and insecurity and doubt on both sides.
Yeah, therapy would probably do us both some good.
It was hard to be Mase’s Dominant when I was so fucking worried about him being taken from me.
I wanted to chain him to the bed, ensuring he couldn’t escape or be spirited away.
Our path in life was twisty-turny. We’d gone from two boys who didn’t want to have anything to do with each other, to two men who couldn’t live without each other.
My parents kept insisting I talk to him, tell him the truth.
I wanted to, really I did, but every time I was ready to broach the subject, something came up and it got pushed further away.
Right now would be a bad time, because he was so stressed it might drive him over the edge, or he could get pissed because I hadn’t shared it before this.