Dannika Dark - Six Months

“I say what I mean. How ’bout that?”

“You don’t think I’m broken?”

His forehead touched mine. “We’re all broken. Don’t you see that? We’re just pieces of ourselves, trying to fit with someone else to become whole. You and I fit.”

“I don’t want anyone talking down to me because I’m a human.”

“And I won’t let any man utter an unkind word to you without my fist breaking every bone in his face,” he said in chilling words. “You have my word on that.”

“Don’t you want to ask me about Maddox?”

“Not really. I’m not your judge and jury.” Then he looked up in my eyes, just a breath away. “I do want to know what happened between you and Sanchez.” His eyes became a smoldering inferno.

“He’s dead now and it doesn’t matter. Nothing happened.”

“Nothing between us, April. No secrets. I can’t be with a woman who has shadows in her life she won’t let me see.”

I licked my lips and lowered my eyes to his mouth. “I owed him, as you know. We were at the warehouse and part of the payment he wanted was for me to take off my shirt. Nothing happened. He just stared at me and… you know . I was scared to say no to him because we were alone and he had a knife.”

His eyes closed as if he were processing it and every muscle in his face hardened. “You’ll never be alone, princess. I’m going to protect you. No scumbag will ever treat you like that again,” he promised, softly kissing the corner of my mouth.

God, the way his lips moved across my jaw. Some of the alcohol buzz was dissipating and I felt intoxicated with bliss.

“Tell me something about you,” I asked of him. I had to know more than just the man I saw, but a glimmer of who he once was. “Something no one else knows. Tell me about your shadows, Reno.”

His eyes closed heavily before he spoke. “I lost my faith in humanity when I served in the war.”

I spoke cautiously. “What happened?”

“Second World War. We liberated the camps and I’ve never seen anything so goddamn horrific before or since. The bodies stacked on top of one another, the women crying… I can’t… I still can’t talk about it. I’ve buried brothers who were just kids themselves, but nothing compares to all the innocents who died. Those children… All these years later, and that’s the one thing that gives me nightmares.”

This strong man fought his emotions as his lips thinned into a mixed expression of anger and pain. His eyes opened and glittered with tears, and I was finally beginning to see his shadows. Maybe Shifter men didn’t allow themselves to feel sorrow or weakness, but it dwelled beneath the surface just as hot and alive as lava beneath a volcano.

I brushed my fingers through his hair. “It’s okay, sweetie. You don’t have talk about it. I understand. Sometimes just knowing something is more meaningful than the details. Maybe war veterans don’t feel like heroes, but you are. It wasn’t even your battle to fight as a Shifter, but you did what you thought was just. That’s admirable. That’s the kind of quality that makes you such a good man.”

His eyes opened and were glittering with pain. I gently touched his hand, realizing my soldier carried his battle scars inside. Maybe words couldn’t comfort a man who suffered from emotional trauma, so all I offered him was a kiss in the palm of his hand. “I can’t begin to imagine all you’ve seen in your life.”

His rich brown eyes settled on mine. “Darkness was all there was until I first saw you. I see a future when we’re together. I feel it in my gut that this is right.”

“I won’t live as long as you will,” I reminded him.

“We can argue about why it won’t work out, or we can make it work. You decide.”

With his lips pressed to my neck, I closed my eyes and let a little more hope back into my life. I wasn’t falling for Reno. I fell for him the day he fixed up my trailer. That’s when I saw the kind of man he was, and it had nothing to do with the things he purchased but rather the sentiment behind his actions. Reno had a generous heart and wanted to take care of a girl without any expectations, just to give her a little piece of happiness in this world. War may have robbed him of his faith in humanity, but he had restored mine.

“Grab your things. I’m taking you home,” he said in a voice that left no doubt.

I wrapped my arms around his neck.

“Didn’t you hear me?”

I placed my mouth against his ear and said in a private voice, “ You’re my thing, Reno. My very best thing.”

His arms were everywhere, embracing me and bringing me home. “Wolves mate for life, princess. You up for that?”

“I’m not a wolf.”

“No, you’re not. You’re an angel.” Reno lifted me off the cold tile, securing me in his strong arms as my legs hung down. “Tonight, you’re sleeping in my arms and we’re going to do some spooning. But I’ll be damned if I’m going to have a poster of Billy Joel staring at us.”

A flurry of laughter flew out of my mouth. I kissed the tip of his nose and looked down at him in awe. When he smiled, he looked charming and boyish, and now I knew why Trevor was reminded of the actors he’d seen in the movies. I finally realized that I’d found my storybook romance. Reno didn’t have a white steed or a princely title, but he had my heart.

I’d been so fixated on having a home that I’d never realized how a person could be the very thing I was searching for. Reno was home, and I was finally ready to go.

“Don’t be nervous, Trevor.” I smiled at him from the passenger side of the car and he glared at me like grim death.

“Easy for you to say, babe.”

We’d been sitting in a parked car in front of Austin’s house for the last five minutes. Two days had elapsed since Reno had brought me home from the motel. While he set up my own room, I found my way into his bed on the first night and declared it our room.

Ours is a better word than mine .

I’d done most of my mourning in the hotel and tried to leave the pain of my old life behind. I knew I’d always carry the guilt of losing my mother, but I’d lost her years ago. I just hadn’t come to terms with that fact. Reno didn’t talk when I cried in the middle of the night, and he filled an emptiness that had been a part of me for so long. I drew strength from him and looked forward to our days together because I knew they’d be filled with laughter.

“I don’t know why you’re so worried. They like you.”

Trevor snorted. “Yeah, I got that warm fuzzy feeling when your boyfriend pounded me in the face.”

What Trevor didn’t know was just how much the Cole brothers respected him. He’d taken a bullet for Reno, and saving their brother is not something they took lightly. I still hadn’t been able to say a thing to him about being a Shifter because of my promise, but Reno told me today that it was time to confront Trevor to see where he stood. I’d spent all afternoon with him at the movies, bookstore, and then wasting hours in a coffee shop eating pastry and talking about life. Just like old times.

“Are we going to live in your car?” I asked.

“Sounds good to me. Is this really that important to you?”

“They invited you for dinner, Trevor. And you’re one of the most important people in my life. I want you to be part of my new life, and I know it’s not easy to accept all the changes, but we’re friends for the long haul, right?”

He took my left hand and kissed the top of it. “April Showers, always showering me with love.” He sighed dramatically and popped open his door. “Let’s get this over with. Hold on to your panties—it’s going to be a bumpy night.”