Bleacke's Geek (Bleacke Shifters) (20 page)

She shook her head. “Not now. Later. After I get back. Right now, I need to get my head on straight. I’ve got a job to do.” She gently squeezed his hand before untangling herself and standing. “Plus I don’t want to make you late for work. I’ll bring up your coffee and get your breakfast ready. After I take you to work I have to come back here and do a couple of things before I head south.”

He didn’t have to be a rocket scientist to tell she still felt guilty over what happened the night before. As he stepped into the shower and stood under the spray, he went over the previous night’s events again. He still didn’t understand exactly why he’d bit her. It’d been an overwhelming urge, and one that frightened him a little in its intensity.

What the hell is wrong with me?

He never considered himself some caveman who’d want to drag his woman to bed. He’d always envisioned one day having a partner in life, someone to be his equal, to share all things with. And yet on the heels of that came the delicious mental image of wrapping her hair around his fist and using that handhold to force her onto his knees to suck him off.

He pressed his forehead against the cool tile and turned the water temp down to try to wilt the woody that suddenly sprang up at that thought, so hard it throbbed, painful, demanding attention.

Then again, he figured Dewi could probably lift him with one arm, now that he knew about her wolf side. If she didn’t want him doing something to her, she likely wouldn’t let it happen.

As his libido settled down to a slow simmer once again, he finished his shower. Before this, he’d always been a man of numbers, of science, so to speak. Facts and figures, algorithms and programming code. Although he’d happily played
Dungeons & Dragons
when he was younger, he never believed in fanciful creatures.

He especially never believed he’d ever be mated to one.

Hell, just believing he now had a scorching hot fiancée was already stretching the bounds of his brain.

* * * *

She wore her sunglasses for the drive to campus, which meant he couldn’t study her expression. He suspected that was the whole point since the sun was behind them for much of the drive. Now growing used to her driving, he forced himself to relax as she smoothly changed lanes and negotiated the traffic. She stopped in front of the building to let him out.

He leaned over and kissed her. “Be careful today.”

“I will. I really need to get you a cell phone. I don’t like not being in contact with you.”

“I’ll pick up one of those cheap pre-paid ones,” he mumbled.

She removed her glasses and met his gaze with her mocha eyes. “I want to buy a nice one for you. I can afford it. My money is your money. Please don’t start with some macho bullshit about wanting to pay for stuff. So you have debt because of your asshole step-brother. Big deal.”

He felt his face redden. “Badger told you?”

She arched an eyebrow at him. “Yeah. And I don’t care if you’re broke or rich. I didn’t fall in love with you for that. I fell in love with you because we were meant to be together.” She pulled him in for another kiss. “Please humor me.”

He sensed it meant a lot to her. “Okay, fine.”

He’d kill for her pleased smile. “Cool. I’ll get you one. Love you.”

“Love you, too.” With more than a simple wistful pang, he climbed out of her car, gathered his things, and headed inside.

Jason and Mark awaited him in the lobby. “Dude,” Jason said, “where the
hell
did you meet a hottie like her?”

“And does she have a sister?” Mark added.

Ken kept his gaze firmly fixed on the elevator doors. He was afraid if he didn’t, he’d want to take a swing at both men.

Dewi apparently wasn’t the only one having trouble controlling her more violent urges. “Have a little respect. She’s my fiancée, not just my girlfriend.”

“What?” both men chimed in unison.

“Yeah. I proposed yesterday, and she accepted.”

When the door slid open he stepped in, flanked by the other two men. “What the hell?” Mark said. “You just met her.”

Ken felt his jaw clench. “What business is it of yours?” He punched the button for his floor.

“Whoa,” Jason said. “Chill. It’s just you aren’t exactly the dating kind.”

He found himself in Jason’s face, staring down at him. “You don’t know
anything
about me.” The growl rolling out of him scared him. “You don’t know a
damn
thing about me except you think I’m some sort of joke. Well grow the fuck up. I do have a life.”

Fortunately, the doors opened onto his floor. He rushed out, breathing heavy and trying to stifle the urge to go back and punch both of them.

Not just for what they’d said, but for what he’d felt from them.

Lust. They both thought Dewi was hot as hell and wanted a crack at her.

And they were jealous of Ken for landing someone of her caliber.

His hand shook and he dropped his keys three times before he got his office door opened and stepped inside, locking it behind him.

What the fuck?

He put everything down and stared at his hands. As if with a will of their own, they clenched and unclenched. The feel of making a fist resonated through him.

It’d be so easy to storm down the hall and—

No!

He forced himself to sit behind his desk, hands flat on his desk, for five minutes while he took deep, cleansing breaths, afraid to move until the urge to spill their blood had completely passed.

What the hell’s wrong with me?

He’d definitely be having a talk with Badger on the ride home.

* * * *

“So, what’s on yer mind?” Badger asked by way of greeting as Ken climbed into the man’s truck that afternoon.

“What?”

“What did ye want to talk about.” He tapped his temple. “I’m a Prime, don’t ye forget. Mebbe I can’t read yer mind, exactly, but I can tell yer thinking something.”

“Oh.” Ken let out a laugh. “Yeah, I do want to talk to you.” He related what happened that morning with Mark and Jason while Badger negotiated his way off the campus and toward I-75. “What does it mean?”

Badger shrugged. “Honestly? I haven’t a clue.”

“That’s not much help.”

“I dunno what ye want me to tell ye, boyo. We’re in uncharted territory. I told ye, a Prime Alpha female is unheard of. The only counsel I have for ye is to keep the lines of communication open, to Dewi and to me and Beck.”

“I doubt Beck wants to talk to me about my relationship with Dewi.”

“Eh, don’t be so sure of that. He loves her, don’t forget. And they are still partners. Regardless what his feelings are on the fact that he wasn’t meant to be her mate, he knows the first priority is to the pack and to her mate. Yer part of the pack, lad, not just her mate. Just like there’s no way he wouldn’t have done what she asked last night.”

He settled back in his seat. “Yeah, but if he hadn’t, I would have been out of her life.”

“Ye could’ve been dead, and he would’ve hated himself for it later. Especially if Dewi had killed herself after the fact. And I don’t doubt she would’ve. She loves ye fierce and deep. Ye need to get that through yer thick head.”

They rode in silence for a few minutes. “Good work on proposing, by the by,” Badger said.

“Thanks,” Ken mumbled. “I appreciate you not rubbing Beck’s face in it at dinner.”

“Eh, he’ll be fine. He’ll find his one now that he has a reason to go looking. Besides, it doesn’t matter if ye marry her or not. That’s a formality. Yer mated to her. That’s all that counts in our kind.”

“I just wish I could do better for her.”

Badger patted him on the shoulder. “We all have to start somewhere. Ye love her fiercely. No one could ask for more. Everything else is just gravy, as they say.”

* * * *

Ken worked grading papers in the office later that afternoon. Unfortunately, Dewi called around six to let them know she wouldn’t be home after all.

“I’m sorry,” she said, sounding forlorn. “I’m still tracking down leads. Tayla invited me to stay here with her. One of his buddies is out of town and will be back later tonight. I’m going to talk to him and then get out of here early tomorrow morning so I can be there to take you to work.”

“It’s okay. You don’t have to worry about it.”

“I want to,” she said. “I don’t want to be away from you this long.”

He didn’t want her to be away that long, either, but he knew what she had to do was important. “It’s okay. People are depending on you. I understand.” He hesitated. “Maybe I’ll even let you try to teach me how to swim tomorrow night.”

He heard a smile creep through her voice. “Really?”

“Yeah. Hell, I know you won’t let me drown.”

“Oh, sweetie, thank you.” She already sounded a little less despondent. “I promise I’ll go slow and make it fun.”

“I’m sure you’ll make it fun, all right.” He suspected there would be a lot of sexy positive reinforcement used on her part. “You did mention something about a naked swimming instructor.”

She giggled. “Yes. Yes, I did. Whatever it takes.”

“I’ll hold you to it. And to something else, too.”

Another giggle. He loved hearing that sound from her. He especially loved being the reason she made the sound in the first place. “Promise?” she asked.

“Absolutely.”

She sighed. “I need to get off here and run down some more leads. I love you.”

“Love you too, baby.” He hung up the phone feeling a little sad. It would suck sleeping alone in their bed, but he supposed there would be times in their life it couldn’t be helped. When he thought about the possibility that Tayla Barrons’ daughter was being abused, his gut clenched. No one had helped his mom. He didn’t even know how bad the abuse had been because she did her best to hide it from him.

Not that he could have kicked his step-father’s ass anyway.

If Dewi could help prevent another statistic, he certainly could sleep alone for the night. Not like he wasn’t used to it.

Only now it seemed more lonely without Dewi there beside him.

Chapter Twelve

Wednesday morning, Ken knew which shirt he wanted to wear but couldn’t find it. Apparently, Dewi had washed and rearranged all of his clothes for him on Tuesday morning after dropping him off at work. Not that he minded the care, but she didn’t know his system.

Then again, before he’d met Dewi his system had consisted of need to wash now, wearable around the house, only worn once so it doesn’t stink yet, and clean.

Her system of organizing them by color was admittedly better.

He trailed through some of her shirts, the men’s shirts she favored that hung loosely over her frame, big enough he could easily wear them, many even larger than that. He pulled one out and checked the tag. Sure enough, it was his size.

Curious, he thought back. Everything she wore, with the exception of the tank tops and jeans, were big on her. Her bathrobe, her shirts, the men’s shirts.

He kept looking and only found three dresses, two of them black, generic wedding-funeral kinds of practical, and a dark grey one.