Guarding His Heart (22 page)

“I did, but scumbag doesn’t really agree with my delicate system,” she smirked before sauntering out of the room and right up to the enforcer in the hall. “I need a ride back to Mason’s Jar Bar. I want to go home and rest in my own bed. Jag is calling Mason to let him know I’ll be there.”

Without hesitation, the man replied, “Absolutely, right this way.”

Lord, that woman would be a handful for whoever she ended up mating with, that was for sure, and if his hunch was correct, Liam would be that man.

Making himself comfortable, Jag settled in next to Lynn, resting his head beside hers on the pillow. She gave a little sigh in her sleep, and Jag wondered if she felt him there with her.

It wasn’t long before the stress of the day caught up to him, and he dozed right along with her.

* * * *

Lynn woke to the sound of a baby babbling happily. Cracking her eyes, she saw Samantha and little Eli sitting next to her hospital bed. “Hi, guys.”

“Hey, yourself. How are you feeling?” Samantha asked, settling Eli in his stroller and handing him a small toy, which went right in his mouth.

“I need to pee pretty bad,” she admitted, feeling her cheeks flush.

Samantha laughed. “With as much fluids as they’ve pumped into you, I’m not surprised. Come on, I’ll help you into the bathroom.”

Knowing her back was likely full of stitches, Lynn braced herself for the pain the movement would bring, but found herself shocked when it was merely a twinge—more of a pulling sensation really and probably from the stitches. How was that possible? “Why don’t I hurt? My back should be killing me, but it’s not bad at all.” Accepting Samantha’s outstretched hand, she rose, expecting to be a bit wobbly, but found herself pretty steady considering.

“Oh, I almost forgot. Kitty smeared some of her blood onto your cuts just before you were rescued. She told them it would help you heal and prevent your back from getting infected.” Lynn gave her a startled look, prompting her to explain, “She was shot. When they got in there she was next to you and didn’t open her eyes until Jag approached. She’d used her blood to slow your bleeding. The rogues used silver bullets, and one was still in her, so she was bleeding when you guys got to the clinic, but your cuts had nearly stopped.” Samantha pointed to the corner near the door, and Lynn spotted a sleek, black jaguar curled up, asleep. “He’s been here the whole time. Refuses to leave for anything. We’ve been bringing him food and clothes, but Dylan told me when a shifter’s stress gets to a certain level, it’s just easier to be in animal form.”

“How long have I been out?”

“About eighteen hours, off and on. A couple times, you woke for a few minutes and talked to Jag then fell right back asleep. I think the doc was a little too generous with your pain meds.”

“I don’t remember talking to anyone at all,” Lynn replied.

“Well, that’s a shame, because you promised Jag all kinds of kinky rewards for saving you.”

Lynn’s mouth fell open in shock. She sincerely hoped they’d been alone if she had said anything like that, but if Sam knew, apparently she hadn’t been too concerned with modesty at the time.

“You dork!” Sam shook her head, grinning like a jackass. “I’m just messing with you.”

“If my bladder wasn’t about to burst, I’d throttle you,” Lynn laughed, rushing into the bathroom and shutting the door behind her.

Once she’d relieved her most pressing issue, she washed her hands then paused when she glimpsed her reflection. Her hair was clean and had been brushed. Her face still sported a bruise along her jaw, but it was fading. Untying her gown, she let it float to the floor as she turned to peer at her back.

Bandages covered much of what she could see in the small mirror, but she managed to grab hold of the tape. After a few yanks, the biggest bandage fell away, revealing a crisscross design of cuts now stitched shut along with wide bruised stripes from the belt. From behind, she now resembled Frankenstein’s monster.

All the times Jag looked at her with awe in his eyes, calling her beautiful as if it were her name, and now she looked like this? Lynn had grown to resent her looks over the years due to all the unwanted male attention they came with, but now that she’d seen what was left, she wondered if she’d ever see him gazing at her like that again.

Everything from the past few days crashed back down on her like a giant tidal wave. The trashing of her car and assault on Kitty, the attempted poisoning at her office, the attack at her home that had left Jag paralyzed on the ground as the rogue had kicked him before taking her and Kitty away. Waking up chained, being beaten with a belt, their narrow escape only to be caught again…and that damn whip. All of the emotions from these situations built up inside her. After all of it, the rogues had succeeded in ruining one aspect of her life. Jag would surely never look at her the same way now.

Perhaps, that was the real reason he was in his animal form, so she wouldn’t register the disgust on his face when he saw her. The thought caused a sob to bubble up, followed by another then another, leaving her curled up and crying on the bathroom floor. What did she care what others thought of her anymore? After everything she’d been through, she was entitled to a breakdown.

The door eased open, but Lynn refused to remove her hands from her face. There was no use in trying to stop. Her mental state needed this, needed to expel all of her hurts, frustrations, stresses, pains and fears.

She fully expected Sam to sit there and offer her silent support, as she did any other time Lynn broke down. When a large, warm body spooned up behind her, muscular arms wrapping around her, the floodgates broke.

He was there, his naked body pressed against hers. “Please don’t go,” she whispered, unable to bear the thought.

Placing an open-mouthed kiss on her neck, Jag moved up, his breath tickling her ear. “The only way I’d leave you is if I die. You’re stuck with me, beautiful.”

Another gut-wrenching sob exploded from her. “Don’t call me that anymore.”

Suddenly, he stilled behind her. “Why?” One word, though the way he said it made her shiver. He sounded angry.

“I’ve seen myself, Jag. I’m going to be scarred now. I’ll never look like I used too. I look like a monster now.”

“So are you saying my scars make me look like a monster in your eyes?”

His question startled her. Yes, he had some scars as well, but she never really noticed them. He was just, Jag. “Of course not!”

“Then why would you say that about yourself? I’m not so shallow that I’m attracted to your looks alone. You
are
beautiful, but more importantly, you possess an inner beauty that shines through in everything you do.” Snuggling closer, he brushed his knuckles along the side of her neck. “I love you. You are my heart, Lynn. Without a doubt, you are the other half of my soul, my true mate, and I will cherish you—every part of you—until my dying day. Do you understand what I’m telling you?”

She understood perfectly. What she didn’t get was how she could be so blind. They were meant for each other. Of course, the depth of his feelings would match her own. “I love you so much,” she sobbed. “I’m so sorry I doubted you. I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”

“Hey, hush now. You’ve been through so much. Don’t think about it another minute.”

Lynn lay there on the cold linoleum floor, with Jag’s arms around her, and finally relaxed. However, with the calm came the exhaustion. As a medical professional she understood her current state was a combination of the aftereffects of her ordeal and the medications she’d been given afterwards. Right now though, she was feeling a little chilled.

“Jag?”

“Yes?”

“Will you take me to bed? I don’t want to be alone, but I’m afraid I’ll fall asleep in no time. I’d rather not do it on the bathroom floor.”

Chuckling, Jag slowly pulled away and rose. “I didn’t hurt your back did I?”

“Not at all. It’s not very painful, actually.” A fact that still amazed her.

“It must have something to do with Kitty’s blood. Dr. Lewis was even surprised at how the bleeding had almost stopped by the time we arrived. He said you would have been in a much worse state if she hadn’t thought to do that.” Jag reached down and gently pulled Lynn to her feet. Cracking the bathroom door, he peered out then signaled to her they were alone. “Let’s get you warm and properly cuddled.”

That adorable lopsided grin of his nearly did her in. “You climb in first. I want to rest my head over your heart. The sound has the power to lull me to sleep like nothing else.”

His eyes softened, and there was the look she’d foolishly thought to never see again. Climbing in beside him, Lynn tucked herself into the crook of his arm, her cheek to his chest and pulled the blanket over them both.

Here in his arms, the world just melted away, leaving the two of them in their own little bubble, a place Lynn was content to stay in forever.

Epilogue

Three weeks later…

It was Thanksgiving, and the house was filled with Lynn’s new extended family. She pulled the ham from the oven as Jag and Dylan worked to get a turkey out of the fryer. It was the second bird they’d cooked, since the shifters in attendance had insane appetites, but it only meant they wouldn’t be dining on leftovers for the next week.

Dr. Lewis had taken out Lynn’s stitches the week before, and she was happy to see that while she had scars, they were only thin lines, thanks to being caused by a razor blade and not something more blunt, like a bear claw.

Even though she had some nightmares, Jag’s news of Kitty’s part in saving her went a long way to eliminating some of her fears. It was just a shame Kitty wouldn’t come to dinner. It seemed she and Liam were at odds for some reason, though neither of them would discuss what had happened between them that night at the warehouse.

All the food was nearly ready when Jag came inside and began fixing a sectioned Tupperware container. “What are you doing?”

“Liam is heading back to the resort,” he explained, still piling food onto the plate. “He wants Kitty to feel welcome here and spend time with her friends, so he’s leaving in order to get her to come.”

“This is getting ridiculous. They have got to get over whatever it is that caused the riff between them. It will end up affecting us all. I refuse to choose between my friends.”

“Agreed, but I’m starting to think it goes deeper than that. Liam has been subdued since he met Kitty. Their meeting was a rather unconventional, but it’s had an affect on him for sure.”

“Personally, I think they’re fighting attraction.”

Jag threw back his head and laughed loudly, his black hair brushing his shoulders and crystal-blue eyes dancing with amusement. “Are you kidding? She ripped him a new one and has refused to even look at him since then, and you think they like each other?”

“Call it a gut feeling.” Lynn grabbed up a pie and covered it with foil. “Here, add this to his goodies. I know how much he enjoys pecan pies.”

Jag kissed her cheek. “He’ll love it. Now, go call Kitty and have her head over. We’ve got a lot of hungry shifters here.” Winking, he exited the kitchen, passing Samantha as she came in to help.

“Eli is finally down for a nap. Now what do you need me to do?”

“I still need to pop these last two pies into the oven. Can you call Kitty and tell her to come over? Liam is heading back to the resort. Once she arrives, we’ll get this show on the road.”

“I’m on it, boss.”

Kitty was a little hesitant to come, feeling as if she’d put Liam out by him having to leave in order for her to attend. Once Sam and Lynn were done telling her to suck it up, she showed up thirty minutes later.

Walking into the kitchen, she glanced and smirked. “Gee, and here I felt bad because I had nothing to bring.”

It was a damn good thing they’d brought in tables from the resort, since every surface in this end of the house had some food dish or another sitting on it. Lynn couldn’t help but giggle at the spread. For twenty people, they had enough food to feed a small army.

“Now, that’s a sound I love to hear.” Jag wrapped his arms around her waist from behind, pulling her back against his chest. “Can I let the savages in now?”

“Sure.” Accepting a quick kiss, she looked back at Sam and Kitty. “We’d better grab our food before the stampede happens.”

* * * *

Everything had finally returned to normal. Lynn and Jag lived together, with Lynn having accepted a position at the Pride clinic and Jag now working as an Enforcer.

Lynn had been accepted into the Pride, the same as Samantha, and Kitty was considering joining as well, much to everyone’s delight. They were like one big family, and both Lynn and Jag couldn’t have been happier.

“I’d like to have our mating ceremony/wedding close to Christmas,” Lynn announced one cozy evening by the fire. “Do you think that’s too soon?”

“Are you inviting a ton of people?”

“Not really.”

“Will anyone have to travel far?”

“Just from the Pride land to here.”

“Then it should be fine.” Jag went back to reading his book, much to Lynn’s annoyance.

“Do you even want this to happen, or am I wasting my time?” she asked, crossing her arms.

“Of course, I do, but can you really picture me going over dress designs and fabric swatches?” Tossing his book across the room, Jag pounced on Lynn, pinning her to the couch cushions. “One suggestion?”

“Anything.”

“Make sure you incorporate snaps into the design if you want your dress to survive once the ceremony is done, because I’ll rip it off you the first chance I get.” That was something he felt the need to demonstrate with her pajama top.

Giggling like a little girl, Lynn wrapped her arms around his neck. “Take me to bed, Jag.”

“Your wish is my command.” He scooped her up and all but ran for the bedroom. “We’ll need to be careful though.”

“What do you mean?”

“You’re in heat. Er…I mean ovulating. It’s in your scent.”

“Holy shit, I forgot all about my shot! I was due for it on the tenth.” She looked up at Jag, unsure of what she wanted. Having a child with him would be the cherry on top of their dream life, but a part of her wanted to enjoy a little more time with just the two of them first.