Brady slipped in through the back door and cursed his own stupidity.
He’d left Ren alone. And she’d been forced to leave the door unlocked for him. He would have known if she were in danger but he should never have left her in such a vulnerable position.
Seeing his clothes folded neatly on the kitchen counter, he snatched up his underwear and t-shirt. He wouldn’t need the jeans or sweater; it was long past time for bed, a bed he hoped he’d find Ren in.
Unless she’d risked the storm and gone back to town.
Making his way through the house, he checked everything was locked up and made sure the fire was banked before heading to the bedroom. He couldn’t stop himself from crossing his fingers and whispering, “please be there, please be there,” as he walked.
He hadn’t abandoned her but couldn’t—wouldn’t—blame her if she saw his run into the forest as that. He’d barely held on to his control and he was ashamed he’d needed to, and proud he’d had the strength, to take himself away from her.
The mix of conflicting emotions he’d experienced since he’d arrived in Whispering Springs kept growing.
He hadn’t expected his return to be easy but even those thoughts hadn’t prepared him for the roller coaster of emotion he’d been on since he’d driven in to town. And if his worst fears were realized, the ride was far from over.
One thing kept him grounded, gave him a glimmer of hope that he’d make it through what was to come.
Ren.
And there she was. Curled on her side facing the door, snuggled beneath the quilt.
Brady took a moment to absorb the sight. In spite of his optimism, there had been a little niggle of doubt that he’d find her still here.
“Hey.” Her sleepy voice brought his eyes to hers.
He smiled. “Hey.”
She pulled the cover behind her back and murmured, “Come to bed. We can talk about it in the morning.”
He walked closer but didn’t climb in beside her. “I’m sorry.”
“Nothing to be sorry about. You did the right thing. Now get in here and get warm. I doubt that cup of hot chocolate is still hot.”
Brady spotted the mug on the side table. “You made me hot chocolate?”
“Hmm…” Her eyes drifted shut. “If you want I can reheat it.”
“No.” Brady circled the bed and slipped onto the mattress behind her. “I’d rather get warm by holding you.”
“Can you do that without losing control?” she questioned with a sleepy slur.
He nestled in close. “Yeah, I think so. I’m more settled since we did what we did. Plus I’m exhausted.”
“You’ve been gone for hours.”
“Didn’t go far.”
“You could have locked yourself in the bathroom.”
“No lock.”
“Really?”
He grinned. “You didn’t try to lock the door at all today?”
“No. Why would I. The door was closed.”
Brady’s grin widened. Yeah, she might not think she trusted him, but she did. It might not be a conscious thought but deep down she trusted he would respect her boundaries even if it were a simple closed door that she’d put between them.
Now he just needed her to trust him completely. He wanted everything with her and he knew he wouldn’t get any of it until she believed in him—them—fully. “Go back to sleep. We’ll talk in the morning.”
After a few moments, she whispered, “I spoke to Gordie.”
He hummed in answer. The long run and freezing temps he’d subjected himself to were catching up with him quickly.
“She doesn’t remember your mom being pregnant or reading that she was in the files she transferred to the new database. She said we can take a look at your mom’s file whenever we want.”
“Mm’kay.” Brady snuggled in behind Ren. “Sleep now.”
“’Night.” She wiggled back, her ass rubbing his groin, making his cock twitch.
Holding his breath, he concentrated on not getting another boner. Having her warm sleepy body in his arms had him at half-mast as it was and with the soft swell of her ass pressing against him, his body was reacting in the typical way. Blood rushed, his heart raced, and the half-mast headed towards full.
One arm beneath her waist, one draped over her hip, Brady kept his hands still and focused on her breathing, tried to match his to hers. Before long she drifted off, and eyes closed, he savored the feelings coursing through him.
This was what he’d waited for, why he’d never been tempted by any other woman; this one had laid claim to his heart—his soul—when neither of them were old enough to understand the depth or meaning of their connection.
He’d do anything to get them back to the pureness of their childhood friendship. He couldn’t erase the mistakes, couldn’t get back the time they’d missed, but he’d be damned if he didn’t make the most of every second he had with her now.
With a sleeping Ren in his arms, he could finally relax, could think about the fact she hadn’t run back to town after he’d disappeared into the forest. Could believe they’d find their way to the future they both deserved. The future his father and brother had tried their best to steal.
He’d had plenty of time to think while he’d been outside. He’d hit the small creek and followed the water for a few minutes before turning back. Racing up the incline he’d checked the house then returned to the creek. Over and over he’d run the course he’d set until the weather threatened to blind him.
Brady knew he’d been gone hours. His muscles ached, and his bones felt frozen to the marrow. Ren hadn’t complained about the cold when he’d climbed in behind her, and with her warmth and the quilt tucked tight around them, his body temperature had already returned to normal.
One thing that had been in the forefront of his mind was the secrets he knew his mother’s journals held. He’d face them, bring them into the open so they could find closure. And if they proved to be hurtful to someone else, they’d decide together—he and Ren—who needed to know.
He might hate the idea of keeping secrets, but he wouldn’t hurt someone if they wouldn’t benefit from the knowledge. Some things were best left buried.
Nuzzling his nose into the back of Ren’s neck, Brady breathed deep and filled his lungs with the scent of her. They’d start going through the journals tomorrow. For now he’d hold his mate close and dream of their future.
The smell of bacon frying and coffee woke him. Reaching out, he slid his hand across the bed beside him.
Empty.
That explained the glorious scents flooding the house and making his mouth water and belly rumble.
Ren was up and in the kitchen.
How many nights had he dreamed of this? Or days. The want for her hadn’t been confined to the darkness of night. He’d spent too many times to count thinking of her, wondering what she was doing, who she was with. She’d taken root in his head and heart, and the longer he’d spent away from her, the deeper his yearning went.
“Sleeping Beauty is awake.” His gaze flew to the doorway where she leaned against the jamb, a smile on her face. “Hungry?”
“Definitely.” Throwing off the covers, he swung his legs over the side of the bed. “Why didn’t you wake me? I would have helped cook.”
“Don’t need help, and you got in late so I let you sleep late, but it’s time to get up now. We’ve got books to read.”
The reminder made him pause. He’d almost forgotten about the possible time bomb ticking in the living room.
Taking a deep breath, he stretched his arms above his head and relished the pull on his muscles. He should do a session of yoga to iron out the kinks his late-night run left in his body. Although he wasn’t sure he wanted Ren to know he was into yoga. Most men lifted weights or ran miles; Brady preferred the flexibility and strength yoga delivered.
He’d taken plenty of ribbing over it in the past. He hadn’t let the teasing get to him before except the thought of Ren thinking he was a wimp didn’t sit well.
“What’s that face?” she asked, pushing off the doorway and coming closer.
“Oh, I, um…”
“Spit it out. No lies, remember?”
With a sigh, he let his arms drop. “I was thinking about doing yoga to stretch after last night’s run.”
“Really? You do yoga?”
“Yes.” He waited for the laughing to start.
“Cool. Mind if I join you or do you prefer to do it in solitude? Wendy likes to practice alone, says it breaks her concentration if she can hear someone else breathing, but I don’t mind sharing space with someone else when I do it.”
Okay. That wasn’t what he’d expected. “I don’t think I’d mind. Never had anyone to do a session with so I guess we’ll find out.” Smiling, he pushed to his feet and moved in front of Ren.
Without asking, he pulled her in for a hug. She smelled like bacon and eggs and coffee. Three of his favorite things on his favorite person. Morning didn’t get any better than this.
“We’re snowed in.”
“Yeah?” Brady couldn’t find it in him to be upset by that.
“We’ve had a foot of snow overnight and it’s still coming down, although it has eased off since I got up.”
“This storm front is supposed to last a couple of days, right?” The idea of being trapped with Ren didn’t feel confining at all; if anything it felt freeing. They would be free of outside influences and could make the most of the alone time to get reacquainted.
“Another forty-eight hours of snowfall according to the sheriff’s department.”
“Are you okay with that? Being stuck here?”
She leaned back and pressed a kiss to his chin. “Yes. C’mon, let’s eat.”
Pulling from his arms, she led the way out of the room. It was then he noticed she wore a pair of his sweatpants and one of his hoodies. Containing his grin was impossible, so he let it fly and followed behind her.
He found breakfast already on the table in the dark dining room. He really needed to knock out more walls, open up the entire area. Steam rose from their mugs and the platters of food. There was enough to feed an army. Good thing Brady had always had a healthy appetite. “Now this, a guy could get used to.”
“Make the most of it. Normally by this time in the day I’d be at the Den serving this up to whoever wanders in.”
“Well, count me in as a wanderer. I’ll be there every morning.” He dug into the pile of bacon and scooped more than half of the crispy meat onto his plate. He sighed. “And this is cooked exactly the way I like it.”
“Wasn’t sure if you would want sunny side up or over easy so I scrambled the eggs.” Ren smiled at him. “Coffee is yours. It’s a better roast than the one I brought with me.”
“It was what my mother used. I’m not really a coffee snob. As long as it’s hot, I don’t care.”
“Good to know.”
“So what’s a day in the life of Ren like?” he asked before shoveling a forkful of eggs between his lips. “Hmm…these are good,” he praised through his mouthful. “Really good.”
“It’s the cheese.”
Swallowing, he asked, “Cheese?”
“Yep. A sprinkle of grated cheese just before the liquid hardens and you need to stir.”
“Well, whatever it is, they’re delicious. Thank you.”
“For?” Ren picked up her mug and brought it to her mouth.
“Cooking breakfast. You didn’t have to. I don’t expect you to take care of me.”
She shrugged. “I like to cook.”
“You also like to take care of people. But who takes care of you, Ren?”
Smiling, she put her cup down and leaned forward. “Apparently, you, mate.”
“You want me to take care of you?” He had to tread carefully here. One wrong step and she’d back up again, and he knew they were on the verge of consenting to the mating bond.
“Isn’t that what mates do? Take care of each other?” She cocked her head to the side, one eyebrow raised. “Did you change your mind after—”
“Never.” He shot out of his chair and leaned over the table until his mouth was inches from hers. Fuck, he wanted to kiss her. Wanted to press his lips to hers. Wanted to lick his tongue along her plump lower one before pushing his way inside. “I’ll never change my mind about you. About us.”
“Okay. Well then. We should finish breakfast, then get started.”
“Started?” He jerked upright. Jesus. Did she mean… His cock went rock hard, bulging the front of his underwear and poking out the top. He could feel pre-cum ooze from the tip.
“Oh, no, I don’t mean we should”—she waved a hand between them—“you know. I meant we should get to reading those journals. You said you wanted all of that in the past before we mated.”
Brady ground his teeth, clenched his jaw, his fists. “And you want that? To wait until after?”
“I.” Her mouth snapped shut. She licked those lips he wanted to get his mouth on. “No. Yes. I want to go through the journals and see what happens. I’m not going to fight against our connection any more, but I don’t want to jump in either.”
“Okay.” He held himself still. Breakfast forgotten in front of him. “Okay. I can do that.”
“I’m asking too much, aren’t I?”
“No. No, I, um, just need a second.” He pulled in a few deep breaths, focused on getting his raging libido back under control. Strangely his coyote wasn’t making a sound. Maybe because the bastard knew he’d get what he wanted soon enough.
Brady smiled.
Yeah, they could both relax. Because by the time their forced confinement ended, he’d be mated with Ren.