“Sooo…you couldn’t hear what I was thinking earlier?”
He fell silent. While he hadn’t heard actual thoughts, through their still developing mate bond he could feel what she was feeling and had a pretty good idea of the thoughts rolling through her head. But he wasn’t about to tell her that. With Shay he needed every advantage he could get. No doubt, the woman kept him on his toes. She was constantly testing him, keeping him off balance. He never knew what to expect next.
If his ma had challenged Da the way Shay had him, instead of bending over backward trying to please the man, maybe she would have gained his respect—and love. Rory froze at the disloyal thought.
Shay rolled over. “Before you get angry again, most of that wasn’t me. It was her,” she defensively denied.
Rory blinked. “Huh? What?”
“Uh, never mind. What were you thinking about? That’s a strange expression on your face.” She studied him intently.
“My parents.”
“Oh.” She looked like she wanted to say something, but thought better of it. Shay, holding back?
“What?” he asked again, this time suspiciously.
“Nothing.”
“Don’t give me that. That’s woman code for ‘beg me long enough and I’ll finally spit out what I was dying to say all along,’” he grumbled, glaring at her.
“Fine,” she bit out. “Shannon told me about your parents, and what I don’t understand is how they ever hooked up to begin with. They sound totally mismatched. I mean, here’s Shannon telling me how you guys value and respect strength, and there’s your mother barely able to stand up to your father. What was the attraction? And how’d she end up pregnant? Can’t you guys tell when someone’s in heat? Don’t condoms work for shifters like they do humans? And who the hell told them to get married? Statistics show that marriages that begin because of an unplanned pregnancy rarely work and end up making all parties miserable, even the children.” Shay’s eyes rounded, and her mouth snapped shut. She laid a hesitant hand on his arm. “I’m sorry. That’s none of my business. I didn’t mean to criticize.”
He stared at her, not saying anything while his mind raced. Shay brought up things he’d never considered. Silently he rolled off the bed, went into the bathroom, and began filling the tub with water. He’d always known his father took his mother as mate because it was the only way to claim him. In the shifter world, the only way for a father to claim his pup was to mark the mother as his mate. Bastard sons weren’t recognized by the pack and couldn’t inherit, no matter how exalted his parentage. And above all Rory’s father had wanted an heir to succeed him.
But for the first time Rory wondered just how his mother had ended up pregnant. He knew Shannon had and quite a few of the pack still believed him to be infertile, but the truth was he stayed well clear of any female bearing the slightest whiff of being in heat. With his sensitive nose, he could always tell. It simply wasn’t possible to trap a shifter male through unplanned pregnancy, which, coupled with their immunity to most diseases, was why they didn’t use birth control. All pregnancies were planned and highly anticipated by both parties.
“Rory?”
Shay’s feelings blasted through the mate bond, the strongest he’d ever felt them outside of when they’d both been in wolf form. She thought she’d offended him or hurt his feelings and wasn’t sure how to approach him.
“Come get in the tub, Shay,” he said as he reached down to turn off the faucet.
“Rory,” she said his name again, standing hesitantly in the doorway. “I…”
His beast became agitated. His mate was unsettled, uneasy, and he was the cause. It was unacceptable.
Rory crossed over to Shay and kissed her lingeringly. When he finished, his penis prodded her tender belly. “It’s okay. I’m okay. I’m simply thinking, and you’re bruised and sore. Come get into the tub.”
He caught her by the hand and led her over to it. Casting her a sweeping glance that noted every mar and red spot, he added Epsom salts to the water before lifting her by the waist and into the tub.
She hissed, and her nails dug into his forearms. “It’s hot,” she complained, looking ready to climb back out.
“It will feel good once you adjust,” he informed her as he stepped into the oversize claw-foot bathtub behind her, arm outstretched to prevent her from escaping.
He settled against the back of the tub, one hand gripping her ankle. When she made no move to sit, he gave a jab to the bends in her knees and caught her as she fell, shrieking and cussing a blue streak. He maneuvered her into the V of his thighs and held her securely by the waist until she quit fighting.
He was ready to hold her head under water before she finally ceased acting like a cat thrown in the bath. She gave a great big huff and, relaxing against his chest, sarcastically asked, “Happy now?”
He merely grunted. She’d splashed out a great deal of the water. With his foot he nudged the hot water spigot, much to his mate’s dismay. She drew her legs up to her chest and turned sideways on his lap to escape the encroaching heat, squealing.
He sighed deeply. “You are such a girlie girl.”
Shay growled and sank her teeth into his chest.
Grinning because he knew it would infuriate her, he said, “I know you want my cock, but you can’t have it until some of these wounds heal.”
As she was sputtering, he abruptly slid down, leg extended to turn off the faucet. Shay gasped and clutched him around the neck. Rory’s grin grew as he chuckled aloud.
“Evil bastard,” Shay muttered into his throat.
“Your evil bastard,” he agreed, running soothing hands over her body.
“Hmph.”
After a few minutes she finally stretched out and relaxed with her body lying on his, her head on his shoulder. Rory closed his eyes, enjoying the soothing heat and his mate’s nearness. Warm, moist air filled the room like a sauna.
He thought Shay was asleep before her voice broke the quiet. “What were you thinking about earlier?”
Once again his mind plunged back into the past. “My parents,” he murmured. “Their story doesn’t make sense. I never really thought about it before. Simply believed what I was told.”
“By whom?”
As Rory reflected, he realized no one had ever told him how his parents ended up together. What he knew was speculation and conjecture gleaned from comments made over the years. “Random comments,” he admitted. “I thought I knew, but now I’m not so sure.”
Shay tilted her head, and he could feel the weight of her stare. Looking down, he met her concerned gaze. “Does it really matter? You’re not your father, and I’m nothing like your mother. Besides, they’re both gone now. Their answers died with them.”
No, it shouldn’t matter, Rory thought to himself, but somehow it did. His thoughts fragmented when Shay rose and straddled him, reaching for the soap. Her slit nestled right along his cock, and he had to remind himself that now was not the time. Shay was hurting and weak from her first shift, which she’d handled like a pro. He’d have to warn her about the dangers of giving her wolf too much control.
“Let me.” He took the bar from her and lathered his hands. Though he wasn’t able to do as his libido demanded, he could still satisfy his need to touch.
“I can…” she sputtered, reaching for the soap.
“Shay.” That’s all he said, and she instantly subsided. Good. She was learning.
He washed her from head to toe, and every luscious inch in between, making no attempt to keep his actions practical and impersonal. He desired her and wanted her to know, so he stroked and fingered and lingered until she cried out her release. Satiated, her body went limp, and she fell into his waiting arms.