hearing it secondhand just didn’t compare to seeing it in person. The moment she walked in her door and saw the devastation, the jokes she’d cracked the whole way over-such as, “I hope she didn’t mess with my dildo collection”-dwindled as disbelief took over.
Jenny hadn’t just tossed the place, she’d ruined it. From the slashed cushions on her couch to the smashed china and lamps, the crazy bitch left nothing intact. She’d dumped all her clothes on her mattress and poured bleach on them, shredded her pictures, written on the walls… Everywhere she looked, Francine saw devastation and meaningless violence. Against her. And her only mistake? Wanting the man she knew belonged to her.
While Naomi ranted and raved about how she’d tear the bitch’s claws out one by one, Mitchell following suit, Francine exited via the back door of her townhouse and sank onto her tiny concrete patio, chest heaving and her eyes brimming with tears. A body settled beside her, and she turned to see Javier, his dark gaze so reminiscent of Alejandro, she almost started crying. She missed him so much.
“It’s only stuff, Francine,” he said softly.
“I know,” she sniffed. “It’s not that, well it is, but it’s-” How to explain the violation? The unfairness? “How could she?”
“Jealousy will do strange things to people,” he replied.
She chuckled wetly. “I’ll say. You know what really sucks, though? Is she punished me, and yet, I don’t even have Mitchell.”
“Like fuck you don’t,” was the growl from behind her. “Can you give us a minute?” Mitchell asked.
Giving her a quick one-armed hug first, Javier then stood and said to Mitchell in a menacing tone, “Don’t fuck up.”
“Why does everyone keep saying that?” Mitchell grumbled, taking Javier’s place beside her. Then he went one step further and dragged her onto his lap. She stiffened at first, but then relaxed as he wrapped his arms around her, cuddling her into him. She sighed, a sound repeated by her wolf, and relaxed in his embrace.
“I. Am. So. Sorry.” Each word came out alone and so coated in chagrin she couldn’t help a weak laugh.
“It’s not your fault. I guess maybe you are as good as they say in the sack if Jenny’s willing to murder me just to get back together with you.”
“This isn’t funny, Red. She could have killed you and all because I’m a fucking idiot who refused to see what was in front of me.”
“And what did you not see?” she asked softly.
“I want you. Hell, I think I need you.”
“You’re just saying that because you feel sorry for me and guilty about what happened.”
He sighed. “No, I’m saying it because it’s true. For years I let you scare me into staying away. Avoiding you became second nature.”
“Great. That makes me feel soooo much better,” she drawled sarcastically.
“Smart ass. Do you know why I did it?”
“Because I had cooties?”
“No.”
“Because of my freckles.”
“No, I actually really like those.”
“It’s because my ass is too wide.”
“No, you idiot. Your ass is freakn’ amazing. No, the reason why I avoided you was because deep down inside, when you told me we belonged together, a part of me knew it was true. And it scared the fuck out of me. I honestly saw you as a little sister, so when I started feeling things for you, things you expected and accepted, I freaked and ran.”
“Mitchell?”
“Yes.”
“You are an idiot,” she solemnly stated. Not an easy feat given her heart raced a mile a minute and her body tingled all over with anticipation. Her inner bitch had no such restraint and yipped at her, demanding she bite him before he changed his mind.
A rumble shook his chest. “I know I am, Red.”
“So now that we’ve ascertained the fact that I am the smart one, what happens next?”
“I claim you, that is, if you’ll still have me, dumb genes and all.”
“And Alejandro?”
“Yeah, well, I won’t say that I’m happy about sharing you with a feline, but so long as he keeps out of my face, I’ll deal with it. For you.”
Okay, so it wasn’t as warm and fuzzy as she would have liked. It was still more than she could have ever expected. She’d finally gotten her man. “Kiss me,” she demanded.
At her request, he immediately shifted her in his lap to face him, and she tilted her chin up, welcoming the soft touch of his lips, instant heat warming her. Then giddy joy-mixed with relief-flooded her.
Her arms crept up to lace around his neck, her fingers toying with the ends of his hair as she opened her mouth before the probing insistence of his tongue. Wet, wild, and filled with the promise of pleasure to come, it figured someone would interrupt it.
“You owe me twenty bucks,” Naomi exclaimed from right behind them. “Told you he’d come to his senses before Alejandro came back.”
“Ha. He hasn’t marked her yet, so no money,” retorted Ethan.
Mitchell and Francine broke apart and turned to peer at Naomi and her mates.
“What?” her best friend asked, trying to look innocent and failing.
“You wagered on me claiming Francine?” Mitchell asked.
“Well, yeah. If it makes you feel better, I knew you’d come to your senses. Javier here thought you’d hold out a while longer.”
“Are you sure you want to belong to this family?” Mitchell whispered to her loudly.
“Yes.”
Intimate moment interrupted, Francine let Naomi take charge of getting her townhouse cleaned and her stuff replaced. Thankfully, her insurance, a small company also run by shifters, would cover most of the costs, with Mitchell insisting on covering the difference. Apparently, living at home, he’d managed to save up, which would come in handy, because as Francine peered about her small living space, it quickly became evident that living here with two larger than life males would have its challenges, especially with Mitchell only accepting Alejandro’s role grudgingly.
But she’d deal with that hurdle when they came to it. First, she needed to get Mitchell alone so he could mark her before he got cold feet and changed his mind again.
Chapter Eleven
The moon had just begun to peek over the tree tops when Francine finally convinced Mitchell to go for a run in the woods. He tried to talk her out of it, arguing for the last two hours that he wanted her to go back to bed and rest. She ignored his order. Actually, she laughed at him, and in the face of her giggles, so much better than her moroseness of earlier at her town house, he couldn’t say no. Nor could he throw her over his shoulder caveman style and drag her back to bed. Although, that idea did have merit, especially given the ropes they’d used to tie him down when trying to keep him abed still remained attached to his broken headboard and footboard. However, the walls in his house were thin, and he somehow doubted he’d be able to keep his hands off her if he had her trussed spread eagle on his bed. And while he didn’t know if she was a screamer or not, Mitchell already knew he was noisy. Besides, knowing his mother, she’d be so happy he’d finally given in to fate, she’d probably stand outside his bedroom shouting pointers to make sure he didn’t disappoint her new daughter-in-law.
So it was the woods, or…the woods. She left him no choice with her insistence that she needed to let her beast
