Chapter Six
What the hell was he doing?
Mars glanced over at Ren for the tenth time since he’d started driving her home.
She was opening this little wedding favor box of Hershey Kisses.
Her Uncle Ronnie had insisted she take a bunch of them because he knew they were her favorite candy.
The back seat was littered with a comical number of them.
She was so damn pretty.
It was midnight, and she’d nursed her third glass of wine, and was probably fine to drive, but he’d insisted.
Why? Because his animal needed to be near her.
Fuck, he needed Stellan to pick up his calls.
He had so many questions. Maybe he could do this better than his brother.
Maybe he could spare Ren the trauma when his urges to hunt her kicked in.
And they would. He wouldn’t be able to fight it.
But for now, for tonight, he had this beautiful moment with the woman he couldn’t leave alone.
She’d given him her home address last night for him to pick her up today, and whatever he’d expected as he pulled up to the address, he hadn’t expected this.
The smokey blue painted one-story looked like a dollhouse.
It was trimmed in white. White shutters around the windows, white shingles at the peak of the face of the home, and white gutters.
The landscaping was full of brightly colored flowers, and there was a young tree in the front yard.
The porch light was on and the gold halo of light looked so inviting.
“This is your place?” he asked, impressed.
“This is home sweet home. I don’t own it though.
I rent it. I used to rent it with two roommates when I’d first moved out of my mom’s house, but now it’s just me.
The roommates have all married and have kiddos now.
You’ll meet them at some point. I see them all over town,” she chattered on absently as she unwrapped a trio of chocolates and lined them up on her lap.
“Pick one,” she said, looking up at him with those pretty glowing gold eyes and a soft smile painting her lips.
He pointed to the one in the middle, and she told him, “Good choice,” as she freed it from its wrapper and held it out.
God, she was cute. He leaned forward and she fed him absently as she continued. “The thing about small towns is you get to know a lot of people. It’s less lonely.”
He frowned. “Are you lonely now?”
“Sometimes.” She’d answered with such honesty, that it drew him up. “But it’s okay. I’m tough.”
He knew she was. She was navigating a mostly human world, and making it look smooth. Glowing eyes and all.
She’d created a system for herself with people who didn’t ask questions any longer about what she was. No one had even looked at her strangely tonight. She had just lit up the room and danced the night away after they’d gone back inside.
A dozen people had given him strange looks. It was the eyes. They always made humans uncomfortable. Ren didn’t make anyone uncomfortable though. It was the opposite. She made people smile.
“Wait there,” he murmured as she reached for the door handle.
“Whoa, are you going to open my door for me?” she asked, genuine surprise etched onto her pretty face.
He hid a smile and put the truck in park, then cut the engine. “Let me pretend to be a gentleman for a couple more minutes.”
“You’re doing great at pretending,” she joked before he shut his door.
He huffed a laugh as he walked in front of his truck. He opened her door and offered his hand. She put her remaining two chocolates in his hand and hopped out.
He snorted and popped the candies in his mouth.
“I’ve been thinking,” she started as she meandered toward her door, stride for stride with him.
“That sounds dangerous.”
“I think I want to go to Salt Lake City with you.”
“Really?”
She nodded. “Oh shoot! I forgot all my other candies.”
He snorted and jogged back to his truck. He gathered as many as he could into his arms and returned to Ren.
“There has to be a hundred chocolates in here,” he grumbled.
“They’ll be gone by tomorrow night.”
He followed her to her doorstep and waited for her to unlock the door, then stepped inside just enough to set her pile of sweets on a table near the door.
Quickly, he retreated from her house. It smelled like her in there, and it was kicking up some instinct inside of him that he didn’t understand.
He wanted to grip her shoulders and push her back into the house, kiss her until she gasped his name.
He wanted to ruck her skirts up and pull her panties off and slide into her. He wanted to feel all of her.
No, no, no. He had to always maintain control of himself.
He shook his head hard against the vision of her arching her back against the pace of him ramming into her.
He cleared his throat and lifted his gaze to hers. She looked concerned. “Are you okay?” she asked softly.
“There are things I wish I could explain.”
“Say them,” she urged him.
But if he did, she would never want to see him again.
What if he told her she was his Rabbit, and she disappeared on him, and his tiger took it as time to start his big hunt?
What if he perceived her backing away from him as running away?
What if being around her like this was the only thing keeping his hunting instincts under control?
Fuck, he really needed Stellan to call him back.
“Hey,” she whispered, cupping the side of his face.
“Everything is good. We don’t have to do Salt Lake City.
No pressure.” She let her hand slip from his face and backed up three steps, then lifted her chin higher into the air.
“Mars, it was my pleasure to be your pretend date tonight.” She offered her hand, and he knew what she was doing. She was giving him an easy exit.
God bless her for that.
He stared at her petite hand for a three count, then slid his palm against hers and shook it gently. “Tonight was fun.”
Her cheeks turned the shade of pink roses, and she ducked her gaze as she let her hand fall. “Drive home safe.” Ren stepped inside the door and offered him a soft smile, leaning her cheek against the open door.
Mars wasn’t ready to leave her. Not with her looking so pretty in the glow of the porch light, her eyes bright, her cheeks tinged with a blush, her dark curls perfectly shaping her heart-shaped face, and that dress hugging every perfect curve.
“I’ll think on Salt Lake City,” he uttered, hating the words as the fell from his lips.
The smile faded and she nodded once. “I understand.”
But she didn’t. Not at all. It wasn’t her he was worried about. It was him. With a sigh, he lifted her hand and pressed a kiss to her knuckles, meeting her eyes as he let his kiss linger there.
And then he released her hand and turned, strode right for his truck, so damn determined not to look back.
“Bye Mars,” she said softly, and it broke something in him.
“Fuck,” he gritted out, turning for her. She was closing the door, and he barked out her name. “Ren!”
She opened the door again, looking confused. “Yes?”
He strode right up to her and landed his lips right onto hers.
Ren let off a little sound that drove him crazy and he slid his hand to her throat, kissing her deeper.
Control it.
He angled his head the other way and tasted her deeper. Ren was going pliable against him, melting into him. God, he loved how she reacted to him any time he touched her.
Control it.
He pushed her gently against the open door frame and pressed his body against hers. Ren’s fists gripped his shirt as she parted her lips for him every time he thrust his tongue against hers.
Control it.
He inhaled sharply and pulled back suddenly. Ren stumbled forward, and he caught her by the shoulders, steadying her.
“I’ll send you the travel information,” he said gruffly.
And with that, he forced himself…forced himself…to leave her on that porch, in front of that beautiful life-sized dollhouse, watching him leave, those pretty Cat eyes trained on him.
“Control it,” he gritted out to his animal.
He climbed into his truck and shut the door too hard beside him, gripped the steering wheel and then started the engine.
He hated himself for not doing better at keeping her safe from him.
He knew what he was doing. His tiger was encouraging him to bring her in closer. It would be an easier hunt, and there was such deep tragedy in that.
He hit the gas and drove away from her as fast as he could.
He called Stellan. Again.
And again, just like all the other times he’d called him over the last year, it went to an automatic voicemail.
This time, unlike the others, Mars left a message.
“Hey brother, I need you. I think I found my Rabbit. She’s…I don’t want to do this. Call me back. I need help. Please.”