Lycan Contempt

Chapter Twenty

Kish stared down at Georgia. His heart thumped hard, and he ached to claim her. When they’d made love, it had been exactly how she’d put it. Epic. But the wolf in him wanted more, wanted to mark her as his for always, wanted to imprint on her so that everyone would know she belonged to him and only him.

When he’d taken her from behind, her inner muscles clamping around him so hard they’d nearly strangled him, it had taken every ounce of wilpower he possessed to keep from biting through the delicate flesh on her shoulder. He wanted to change her, wanted to bind her to his side forever, but he’d never force it upon anyone, much less someone he loved, without consent.

God, how he wanted to run with her wolf in the forest. She’d make a beautiful lycan, and she’d have her sight. He wanted to give her that more than anything. He yearned to watch her face as she discovered each and every thing with her eyes for the first time. But would she ever alow him to change her?

When he’d revealed his wolf to her in the bathroom, he hadn’t missed the hesitation that had danced over her features. Nor did he miss the fear.

He was confident that the fear had fled quickly, and had been relieved when she’d touched him. Hel, she’d done more than touch him with those magical fingers of hers. When she’d stroked his fur, he’d wanted to walow against her like a pup.

Since he’d awoken, he’d been struggling with his inner conflict, trying to figure out what to do from here. He’d brought some clean clothes along with Lucy into the bedroom earlier, and the dog was now curled up on Georgia’s feet. He liked Lucy, and was happy that Georgia had had such a wonderful friend and companion, but he wanted to be that friend and companion now.

He loved Georgia. He trusted her as much as his heart would alow, but hoped that in time he’d overcome the demons of his past and alow her into his heart and soul one hundred percent. He had a feeling it wouldn’t take long for her to dig herself into those two places as she was halfway there already.

Hel, the way she’d kissed him in the shower? The scars hadn’t mattered to her. She’d run her fingers and delectable mouth over them as if they were something to be cherished instead of something repulsive. No woman had ever touched his scars as she had.

But what did he say to her now? Did he ask her to stay with him? She said she loved him, and he believed her, but that didn’t change the fact that they’d met two days ago. Would she leave her home, her friends behind to be with him? He would never ask her to turn her back on her life, but if she agreed to move in with him, circumstances for her would change dramaticaly. Henry and Joey and any other friends of hers would be welcome any time, but he didn’t actualy live in an easily accessible place.

How would she feel about his protectiveness toward her? He didn’t want to smother her, dictate her every move, but if she agreed to be his in every way, there were dangers, risks that he’d insist on taking certain precautionary measures against. He smothered a snort from escaping. Who the hel was he trying to kid? That was true now. She carried the main scent, and he wasn’t sure she understood fuly how much danger she was already in from rogues.

She’d been lucky up to this point, and he assumed that the reason she hadn’t been found by any of his kind had been because she’d most likely resided in a smal city. A place where she could easily maneuver and maintain her independence with Lucy’s aid.

Lycans didn’t often wander into cities, preferring wide-open places to cramped, over populated towns.

He hated the city, but if she refused to live with him, he’d folow her there to keep her safe. Hel, he’d folow her to the end of the earth if she asked. A foreboding shiver ran down his spine. Did she realize how much power she held over him? Did he realize how much power she held over him? Yes, he did, but he’d only just now acknowledged it at this moment in time.

The landline began ringing in the other room, and he quietly left and eased the door shut behind him so it didn’t wake Georgia up.

Ten minutes later, time to figure out what he was going to do about Georgia was cut short. John Kemp, the grocery store owner who had given a room to Henry and Joey to stay in while stranded in the storm, had caled to tel him the roads down the mountain had already been cleared.

John had warmed up to Kish several years ago when Kish had come across John’s bloodhound, Rick, caught in a trap in the woods behind the grocery store. Of course, Kish had had to come up with some excuse as to how he’d found Rick because he hadn’t be able to tel him he’d heard the hound whimpering. After al, he’d been a good mile into the woods. If it hadn’t been for his lycan hearing, the dog would have probably died within a day at the most.

Ever since that day, John had caled Kish before and after every snowstorm they had to report to him about road conditions. This was the first time Kish wished he hadn’t caled because then he could have insisted that Henry, Joey, and Georgia wait another day before heading down the mountain for home.

That extra day he thought he’d had to figure things out had been yanked out from under him.

He rubbed the back of his neck. He had to do something because he was not going to let Georgia simply walk out of his life. Maybe she wouldn’t do that anyway. Maybe you should ask her, dumbass.

The only problem about asking was that it would open up the emotional can of worms he wasn’t sure he wanted to deal with. Every time his emotions had gotten involved concerning a woman, he’d gotten burned.

Georgia isn’t like that. She’s not going to burn you. Words were easy to say, but so damned hard to believe at times. After setting up the coffeepot, he hit the button to brew then headed for the door. He needed to clear his head, and the best way to do that was to go for a run. He figured he’d check the shelter out and see if Wade had been picked up. Then he could reset the key code. He stripped off his clothes once he reached the garage and let the wolf come to the surface.

Georgia stretched and a smile curved her lips when the delicious aches in her body reminded her of al the things she and Kish had done only a few hours ago.

She reached for him, but only found a cold space beside her. She frowned, wishing she was stil curled up beside him. That was when she realized something heavy was on her feet. She wiggled her toes.

“Lucy. Is that you?”

Lucy answered with a soft woof and Georgia grinned again. She liked a man that didn’t have a problem with a dog in his bed. She nearly choked on the laughter that suddenly bubbled up her throat. Why should he mind? He was a wolf after al.

She sat up and clutched the blankets to her chest.

“Damn,” she muttered as she felt around. “Where are my clothes?”

Lucy jumped off the bed and nudged Georgia’s hand. When Georgia’s fingers came into contact with a stack of clothes, she smiled. “Thank you, Lucy.”

She hastily dressed and went in search of Kish.

But a couple minutes later, she found Joey and a grumpy Henry in the kitchen. The smel of coffee brewing wafted invitingly through the air.

“She’s never going to forgive us for what we said,”

Henry grumbled.

“Of course she wil. She already did. Georgia’s our best friend. She knows we can be idiots at time,”

Joey argued.

“I can’t believe the things we said, though. They were unforgiveable. I wouldn’t blame her if she changed her mind and never spoke to us again.”

“Yeah, and remember that next time before you say something so horrible,” she said, trying hard to hide a smile as she made her way to the coffee pot.

“Georgia!” Henry and Joey said at the same time.

“Yep. That’s my name.”

“You have got to be the sneakiest person in the world,” Henry said. “You about gave me a heart attack.”

“I’m not the sneakiest.” Kish had the category al to himself, but they didn’t need to know that. She poured a cup of coffee then leaned against the counter. Silence greeted her. She took a long sip then sighed. “Okay,” she said. “Let’s get this al out in the open now. I meant it when I said I forgave you last night. I love both of you, but I won’t deny that you hurt me, hurt Kish, with your reckless words. It was out of character for both of you to be as mean as you were. I understand you did it because you love me and wanted to protect me, but that doesn’t give you a free pass to hurt others, especialy others that mean a lot to me.”

“I’m so ashamed of myself,” Joey whispered.

“Me too,” agreed Henry.

She took another sip of her coffee. She was stil annoyed with both of them for hurting Kish, but she didn’t believe they’d intentionaly hurt her or him. In fact, on the whole, it proved how much they cared for her and her wel being. They’d simply gone about showing it an atrocious manner.

“I won’t lie. It is something I probably won’t ever forget, but it’s over with. Let’s move on, shal we?”

She didn’t want to lose her two best friends.

If she thought for a moment that Henry and Joey were capable of being as thoughtless as they’d been last night on a regular basis, she’d never have become close with them to begin with. It truly had been an awkward moment that stressful and strange circumstances had been responsible for. Besides, everyone deserved a second chance.

She smiled when Henry and Joey both took turns hugging her gently.

“Al of that aside, we wouldn’t be your friends if we stil didn’t voice concern over your relationship with Kish,” Joey said.

“Kish seems like a nice guy. Heck, he helped you when we couldn’t and let us stay here. But don’t you think you’re moving a little fast with him?” Henry asked.

She smiled and shook her head. “No. You’re just going to have to take my word for it. I love him.

When have either of you known me to ever act irrational with a man? I don’t. This is different. I don’t know how to explain it. He’s my soul mate, my other half. I knew it practicaly from the start. It is what it is.”

“Okay. Who am I to question the whole fated, love at first sight thing?” Joey sighed.

“Are you absolutely certain about him?” Henry questioned.

“Yes. I’m absolutely sure how I feel about him.

But I’l be honest. That’s pretty much al I’m sure of.”

“How do you mean?” Joey.

She poured some more coffee into her now empty cup. “I mean, I love him. He loves me, but I don’t know what’s going to happen from here.”

“If you both love each other then I suppose the norm wil happen from here. You date, move in together or get married or both then have a bunch of little rugrats,” Henry said.

“We’l see.” She frowned.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Joey asked.

“It means I don’t know what happens from here.

Kish hasn’t said anything about dating, moving in together, or even seeing me again for that matter.”

“Come on, Georgia. If he loves you, he’s obviously going to want to see you again,” Joey said with a hint of confusion in his voice. “He doesn’t have a problem with your blindness, does he?”

“No! Kish isn’t like that at al.”

“Thank God because I realy didn’t want to have to cal him out on your behalf,” Henry admitted. “I would have, but I don’t think it would have ended wel for me. The man is huge.”

She smiled. “Wel what do you know? Chivalry isn’t dead after al,” she mocked.

“Ha. Ha.”

Before another word was said, the door opened.

“Good morning,” Joey said.

“Morning,” Kish answered. “I received a cal this morning. The roads are clear. You can go home today, or you’re welcome to stay if you like.”

“Thank God!” Henry said. “No offense, but I’m ready to get the heck home.”

“Amen to that,” Joey muttered.

Georgia didn’t say a word, and she swore she could feel Kish’s stare upon her.

“Come on, Joey. Let’s get packed,” Henry said.

After Joey and Henry left, Georgia waited, but only silence greeted her. What had she hoped for?

That Kish would beg her to stay? Tel her he couldn’t live one day without her? That he wanted her to move in with him and be with her forever? Yes! That’s exactly what she wanted him to say, but it became obvious that that was not going to happen.

After a few more tense, silent moments, Kish finaly spoke to her. “Do you need help packing?”

That was that then. He was not going to ask her to stay. Her heart sank, and she fought the tears that threatened to fal. She wouldn’t beg him, even though a part of her wanted to. She set her cup in the sink.

“No. I can get everything together myself. Thank you.”

Without another word, she made her way to the bedroom her things were in before she made a fool of herself and cried in front of him. But as soon as she closed the door behind her, the tears began to fal.

Didn’t he want her anymore? He told her he loved her. How could he let her leave without . . . without what exactly? A proposal of marriage? An invitation to move in with him?

Besides, what would her answer be if he did ask either of those questions? Her heart beat painfuly in her aching chest. She realy didn’t have to think about it. Yes would be the answer to either, but apparently, she wouldn’t have to worry about giving an answer in the first place.

She sniffled as she packed her things. Why couldn’t she have met him under normal circumstances? They could have dated, gotten to know one another, stayed in touch easily. But nothing was normal about Kish, and she liked that about him.

She only wished that she didn’t live hours from him.

Long distance relationships had huge failure rates.

After she finished packing, she sat on the edge of the bed. Lucy promptly rested her chin on her lap and softly whined. She knew Georgia was upset, and Lucy hated it when Georgia was upset. Fortunately, that wasn’t very often. Unfortunately, this was probably the most upset she’d ever been since she’d gotten Lucy. She stroked her fur gently.

“It’s okay, girl,” Georgia whispered.

“Why are you crying?”

She nearly tumbled off the bed when she jumped at the unexpected sound of Kish’s voice.

“Damn it! Kish, stop doing that. Seriously. You are going to give me a heart attack.” She placed her hand over her racing heart.

He took her hands in his then knelt in front of her before wiping the tears from her face with his thumb.

“Why are you crying?” he said in a low, dangerous voice. “Did someone hurt you?”

She nodded.

“Who?” The fury was evident in his tone.

“You.”

“What? How?”

“Did you mean it when you said you loved me?”

He squeezed her hands. “I would never lie about something like that, and I wouldn’t lie to you at al.”

“Then why were you sending me away? Don’t you want to see me again?”

“Are you kidding me? Of course I want to see you again, Georgia. My life would never be the same without you, sweetheart.”

“Why didn’t you ask me to stay?”

“How can I ask you to give up your friends, your home, your life for me?”

“I wouldn’t be giving up my friends. They’d just be a bit farther away from me. And my home? To tel you the truth, since I met you, my home would feel empty without you. My home, my life? Is with you now as far as I’m concerned.”

“Are you saying that you’l stay with me if I ask you to?”

“Are you asking me to?”

He chuckled. “Yes.”

“Then yes. Of course, I’l stay with you! I love you.” She smiled.

He framed her face and kissed her, but the kiss ended much too soon for her liking when he stood and puled her up.

“I think we need to tel Henry and Joey that they wil be going home alone today.”

“I think we do.” She laughed when he picked her up and spun her around.

Three hours later, Kish and Georgia said good-bye to Joey and Henry. She could tel they weren’t completely pleased by her decision, but at the same time, they were happy for her. She made arrangements with them to take care of her house until she could get it up for sale. She’d toyed with the idea of keeping it, but in the end, decided it didn’t mean that much to her since she now had Kish.

Henry and Joey promised to pack her clothes up and ship them out sometime next week.

“Are you sure you want to do this, Georgia?” Kish asked.

The uncertainty in his voice tugged at her heart.

Would he ever believe that she would never leave him, that she would never change her mind about how she felt about him?

“Absolutely.”

She reached for him, tugged him to her, and kissed him.

He growled. “We need to get back home before I take you right here in the truck.”

“It’s been a long time since I made out in a vehicle.

Takes me back to my teenage days.”

“I can’t remember that far back, but I think I’d like very much to make out with you in the truck.”

She started to giggle until heat shot low in her bely.

She was more than wiling to make out with Kish anywhere, any time. “Exactly how old are you?” she asked.

“You don’t want to know.”

She frowned. “I think I do.”

“How about if we save this conversation for another day? Right now I want to get you home and into my bed.”

“Deal, but don’t think I’l forget.”

He started the engine, backed up, then started forward.

“I have no doubt that you won’t forget.”

She snuggled up to his side, getting comfortable for the long drive back. They’d left Lucy at his house, as there hadn’t been room for her with Joey and Henry both. “I’l never get used to how warm you are.”

“Sure you wil. One day you may be this warm.”

She closed her eyes and began to drift off, her heart content, her body relaxed against the man she loved. “Maybe.”

“I love you, sweetheart.”

“I love you too, Kish. Forever and always.”