Dannika Dark - Six Months

“Promise you won’t push me into sex? How do I know I can trust you?”

“Because I’m giving you my word, and that’s the best thing I’ve got. You’ll have it in writing, but I’m not an animal. Not to mention it’s a little insulting to insinuate I have to force a woman to sleep with me. I got problems, but that’s not one of them.”

“That includes kissing and anything physical.”

He chuckled a little, but his voice was sincere. “Sure thing. But if I need you as a date, I’d like it if you uh… well, if you put out the vibe that you were sleeping with me, I’d appreciate it. I’m a man who likes leaving an impression with my business partners; it’ll look bad if I have a pet who doesn’t cuddle up with me at night.”

“Fine, as long as we adhere to the previous rules. I’m not going to make out with you in public to prove something, but I’ll give people the impression we’re intimate. Can I date?”

“No, I went over that already.”

“What if I see them but don’t sleep with them? Just go out to a movie or something?”

He paused and sighed through the phone. “No. If you’re my pet, then you’re no one else’s. That’s a hard-and-fast rule because no man will respect me if you’re gallivanting across town with other men. I get that you’re human and this is a hard thing to wrap your head around, but it’s a legitimate offer that’s only going to come around once. I’m not just offering you a chance at a clean slate, but if you want to further your education, I can help. That’ll come out of my pocket. This isn’t a self-serving relationship, and I’ll want to see that you’re happy.”

“April, do you need the bathroom? I’m about to take a shower,” Trevor yelled out.

“No, I’m good.”

He shut the door and I slid back under the covers, turning on my right side.

“Including him , whoever that was,” Maddox said firmly. “Platonic means nothing in my world.”

“Except with you, right?”

“The door’s wide-open on that topic. You’ll have seven lonely years to make up your mind, and how old will you be by then? That’s a long time to go without being loved by a man. You may not want me now, but you’ll cave eventually. That’s not a threat—it’s just a fact. Don’t beat yourself up over it; I’m not that bad of a guy. Just so we have it out in the open, I don’t lay a hand on women. I find a man contemptuous who would strike a female, so you can put that fear to rest. I’ll treat you fair and no one will mistake that you’re mine. That means you’ll be protected and won’t have to worry about anyone else messing with you. I mean it. No one touches you. All right, we’ve exhausted enough time going back and forth on this, so decide now. If you’re good on the deal, then I’ll send someone to pick you up. Give me your address.”

I heard Trevor singing a Thirty Seconds to Mars song when I slid out of the bed and put my clothes on. He liked his long, hot showers and wouldn’t notice I was gone until I was really gone. I had to keep reminding myself that the Breed world didn’t work the same way as mine, that this was a business proposition. More than that, it was an opportunity for me to get my head together and start over. Maybe Maddox thought I’d cave in to sex, but that wasn’t happening. As we spoke, I scribbled a short note for Trevor and left it on the bedside table.

“Maddox, I want you to draw up a contract with our agreement. Laugh all you want, but that’s nonnegotiable. You guys may hide from the human world, but I’ll drag you into a court of law if you breach the contract, and I know for a fact that would put you in some serious hot water with your own Breed laws. I’m at the Western Lodge Inn. Have you heard of it?”

“I got a guy who can be there in five minutes. Wait out by the lobby and he’ll pick you up.”

Maddox ended the call and as I walked by the bathroom door, I leaned forward and kissed it.

“Bye, Trev,” I whispered.

“Mom, you need to go lie down.” Lexi was clearly frustrated. “You heard what the doctor said.”

Lynn stood in the lounge room with a bandage on her head after getting a bunch of stitches in the emergency room. Reno felt sick about the whole thing. “I want to know what happened to April. Hon, I can’t go upstairs and sleep after everything. I need a drink.”

“You don’t drink, Mom.”

“I still need a drink.”

“Lynn,” Austin said.

She cleared her throat. “I told you not to call me that.”

Austin scratched his jaw and a smile ghosted his lips. “Mom, you need to take it easy. We’ll sort everything out down here and fill you in tomorrow morning.” He glared at Reno. “Lexi’ll cook breakfast and bring it up to you.”

“That’s right, Mom. French toast and bacon—your favorite.”

Reno hadn’t spoken a word since they had walked in the door. He just sat back in his favorite brown chair with a beer in one hand and his good-luck charm in the other, wondering what the hell he’d done to drive April away. Reno knew nothing about human women outside of what he’d seen on television, but it sure as hell didn’t feel right letting her walk away. What could he do? He had tried to get her to talk to him, but he didn’t want to risk pushing her further away with an aggressive pursuit.

Denver dragged his bare feet across the living room floor, wearing his favorite sweats and no shirt. After reading Peter Pan with Maizy and putting her to bed, he’d gone into the kitchen to forage. “Maybe next time we should all take real guns. That would have been kickass,” he said, eating soup right out of the can.

“Your aim is so bad you can’t even hit the toilet,” Lynn blurted out.

Jericho barked out a laugh and grabbed his smokes off the table. “I’m heading upstairs,” he said, still laughing. “She got you good, brother. I’m sleeping in tomorrow, so don’t come knocking.” Jericho left the room and the stairs creaked as he disappeared out of sight.

Denver ignored them, eating another giant spoonful of chicken and rice. “Would’ve been easier to take down the asshole who grabbed Maizy if I’d been armed like Reno was. Just sayin’.”

“I don’t like guns.” Lynn glared at Reno.

Months ago after Lynn had been kidnapped by her ex-husband, she’d remained in a state of denial, still excusing the man’s actions. Then one day, reality had hit her like a runaway freight train, and she’d smashed every plate in the kitchen. She’d finally come to terms with the fact that a man she’d loved had almost killed both of her daughters and was indirectly responsible for the death of her son.

After that, Lexi bought a bag of paper plates, and they ate on those for a few weeks until Lynn sought counseling. Lexi went with her for support but also found it helpful to talk out her own feelings even though she couldn’t disclose details about Shifters or her father’s death. Humans didn’t cope as well as Breed did when it came to traumatic shit. Part of it was having lived long enough to learn how to shut off pain, but it also had to do with the spirit and strength of their animal.

Pain sliced through his gut when he thought of April looking at him over her shoulder when she walked off the porch. She’d stumbled clumsily, but April didn’t have a clue that he thought she was adorable as hell. He didn’t make a big deal of it when she bumped into things. In fact, it made her even more fascinating to him. She was different on so many levels from Shifter women. April was like one of those Rubik’s Cubes that no matter how many times you twisted it around, you couldn’t figure it out.

“Where’s April?” Austin asked for the umpteenth time.