Chapter 13
Chapter Thirteen
Jonas was quiet on their drive home, and Cindy couldn’t blame him. She had so many thoughts and questions swirling around in her brain, she didn’t know where to start, so she just focused on driving. When they made it inside the house, they collapsed onto the couch.
“Well, that was unexpected,” she started.
“Like the bullshit from your parents needed to be topped.”
She laughed. “Exactly.”
“But I’m really glad that Olivia trusts us to stand with her. Be there for her.”
“Me too.” She kicked off her shoes, turned so that she was leaning against the arm of the couch, and put her toes under his thigh.
“How do you think this is going to go?” he asked.
She took in a deep breath while she thought about it.
“I guess when they get a few facts under their belts, Myra and Adam will talk to Jose, Brenda’s alpha.
When he questions her, it should all come clear.
They just need to have solid reasons to talk to her.
And they need as much information as they can gather to know exactly which questions to ask. ”
Jonas nodded. “I’m glad John is involved. He’s a great alpha. He should be able to help Jen navigate keeping the pack and Olivia safe while still letting the police handle their business.”
“Will you mind if I’m the one who goes with Olivia to the station?” she asked. “At first I was thinking we should both go, so that she feels plenty of support, but now I’m thinking that might look weird to the deputy.”
“Hm, maybe. And no, I don’t mind. But I’m happy to go if the timing stinks for you.”
She nodded, covered her mouth as she yawned. “It was such a lovely day to end with such craziness.”
“I’m glad you guys had a good time.”
“We did. It was great getting closer to everyone.” She pulled her feet out from under him and stood.
He watched her as she pulled her sweater over her head, hooked her thumbs into the top of her skirt and underwear, and pushed them down to her ankles.
Stepping free, she straddled him on the couch.
His arms immediately came around to hold her, support her.
He didn’t say anything, just watched and waited.
She caressed his face with her fingers, from the hairline to his jaw. She held her fingers there, delicately, barely touching—and leaned in to kiss him savagely.
He grunted at the impact, his arms tightening their hold. She speared her fingers into his hair, tugged.
He growled and stood, holding her with one arm while he tried to open his jeans. He cursed into her mouth but she just smiled around the kiss.
When he tore his mouth away, she couldn’t help herself. “Problem?”
“I’ve got it now, you witch,” he assured her, then turned and lay her on the couch, pushing into her in one swift thrust.
It felt amazing, like being filled with lightning. She sparked and nearly came, but she needed more of him. He had one knee beside her and the other foot on the floor. She grabbed his thigh and held on while he found his rhythm.
“Touch yourself,” he grunted. “I want to see.”
She met his gaze and grew even slicker just from his words and from the heat in his eyes. Bringing one hand up to his mouth, she offered him two fingers. He sucked them in hard, bit lightly, laved and tongued them. When she pulled them free, he managed a little kiss.
Without losing eye contact, she moved her wet fingers to her clit, circled and pinched.
She clinched her vaginal muscles hard around his cock.
Sweat beaded on his forehead and she wanted to lick it off, but he was too far away.
He picked up speed, and she lost all rational thought.
Only blinding sensations as she worked her clit, watched his eyes, and felt him all the way inside her core.
“I love you, baby,” he said.
She lost it, came with his words, her hand stilling, her hips arching.
He thrust again, one more time, and came inside her. She pulled his face down and kissed him softly.
Cindy woke up Monday morning with an abundance of energy.
Maybe being mated was somehow turning her into a morning person.
Or maybe it was the good sex. She grabbed her phone and checked her emails first, in case there was an early message from their realtor, but no.
There was, however, a message from her brother, asking when she was going to come visit or offering to come meet Jonas in New Mexico, instead.
Either way, he said, it was going to happen soon.
She smiled, but then wondered if her parents had talked to him at all. She pecked out a quick reply that she was definitely bringing Jonas out to meet him and the kids as soon as they sorted some stuff out.
Jonas was still sleeping so she watched for a minute, sighing at how gorgeous he was, and then rolled out of bed.
She smelled coffee when she got out of the shower, and found a mug waiting for her on the counter, perfectly doctored. She tracked him to the kitchen where he was scrambling eggs, wearing sweatpants and no shirt. She bit him on the biceps out of appreciation. Then she kissed him.
The day went up from there, with an email from their realtor saying their offer had been accepted.
They made an appointment to put down their deposit and Cindy went back to work, after they celebrated for a little while.
Olivia texted to say she was supposed to meet Jen at the Sheriff’s Office after she got off work, and did Cindy want to meet her there?
Cindy texted back that she would certainly be there, and why didn’t she see if Jonas could go over and feed Tasha dinner, so she wouldn’t be alone?
Olivia responded with enthusiasm, so she got Jonas on board.
She wasn’t at all nervous when she left the house, but by the time she got to the station, she was a little worried that she wouldn’t know how best to help Olivia.
There wasn’t much she could do but go in and see what happened though, so in she went.
She gave Olivia a hug in greeting, then followed her to a small office where they were invited to sit.
The deputy who came in with Jen to question Olivia was polite and courteous.
He walked her through her first days at the truck stop, and what she’d seen and heard, what had caused her to be suspicious.
Cindy kept her mouth shut, and Olivia was straight forward and factual.
He seemed excited by the info she had and took a lot of notes.
When he was done, Jen gave him John Rodriguez’s number and suggested they chat.
Olivia wilted when they walked out of the station and Cindy pulled her into a hug. “You were amazing! I’m so proud of you, and impressed, and you must be exhausted.” She looked at her watch. “I think that was the longest two hours of my life.”
Pulling herself back up, Olivia nodded. “This may have been the longest Monday of my life. All day at work I expected federal agents to burst in. Or drug runners or something.”
“I bet. I should have met you at your house so we could take one car and you wouldn’t have to drive home.”
“Plus, Jonas is at my house so you could have driven home together. I guess we didn’t do a very good job of thinking past the meeting. But it went well, and that’s what matters. I really, really want to thank you for being there for me.”
“You’re very welcome, I was happy to lend some support, though you handled it perfectly. Come on, let’s get you home and to your girl.”
Since she did have her own car, she went straight home and poured two glasses of wine while she waited for Jonas.
She’d eaten an early dinner so that she wouldn’t be starving during the meeting, but now she was feeling peckish.
She grabbed a cutting board and knife, a block of asiago cheese, a handful of crackers, a bunch of grapes, and carefully toted it all to the dining room table.
When Jonas came home, she was cutting slices, so she kept her seat and waited for him to come to her. She lifted her face for a kiss, and he complied before sitting down in front of the second glass of wine and snagging a grape.
“Olivia said it went pretty well,” he said.
Cindy nodded. “How was Tasha?”
“Worried, but not terribly so. Relieved when her mom came home tired but in a good mood.”
“Excellent. Did you look at house plans today?” she asked
“I did. But there’s something else I need to talk to you about first.”
She raised her eyebrows at him as she popped a cracker with a slice of cheese into her mouth.
“Your father called me.”
She gave him wide eyes and hastily swallowed the food. “You have got to be kidding me. What did he say?”
“He said he was sorry their visit hadn’t gone well, he and your mother have been under a lot of stress lately, and they let it get to them. He’s embarrassed that they lost their savings and they handled it badly.”
“To which you asked why he hadn’t called me?”
He tipped his glass to her. “Precisely. He said Brenda had told him I wasn’t working, but he thought he’d talk to me directly rather than assume the information she’d passed on was legitimate.”
“What? What does that even mean?”
“He was calling because he wanted to find out why I wasn’t working and how I was planning on supporting you. But he started with the apology, probably because he guessed I’d hang up on him if he didn’t.”
“Hm.”
Jonas took a piece of the cheese she’d sliced and ate it with another grape. “I told him it wasn’t any of his business, but our financial situation was in order, and that if he wanted any advice or a sounding board on his situation, I would be happy to be there for him.”
“Hm.”
“He said he’d think about that, but he was glad to hear things were okay on my end. He asked if you were home, and I told him you were helping out a packmate and tomorrow might be better to try and reach you.”
“Hm.”
He leaned in and kissed her, his eyes twinkling. “You’re adorable.”
“Hm.” He laughed, and she had to join him. “Yeah, well, you’re gone on me, so it’s easy for you to think so.” She paused. “Do you think my dad was working his way towards asking you, or me, for money?” she asked.
“I don’t know. I don’t think so, but maybe. What will you do if he asks?”
She sighed. “I don’t know.”
“You don’t owe them help. Especially financial.”
“Would you be upset if I decided to anyway?”
“No.”
“That easy? We don’t even know how much they’re in for.”
“That easy. Once we have all the facts, I might offer an opinion on whether I think it’s smart or not, but whatever you decide, I’ll back you. Doesn’t matter if it’s a logical or emotional decision.”
“You’re freaking awesome.” She leaned over and rested her head on his shoulder.
“You’re tired.”
She sighed. “Yeah. I was a bit stressed about the meeting, and stress tires me out.”
“I can probably find a way to de-stress you,” he murmured.
She laughed. “I’m not stressed anymore, just tired. It’s an aftereffect.”
“Let’s put on a silly movie and you can fall asleep on top of me on the couch. Then I can wake you early in the morning and sex you up all kinds of ways without feeling guilty about depriving you of your sleep.”
“All kinds of ways?” she asked.
“All kinds.”
“Deal.”