Page 64 of Legally Mated
“We’re working things out, me and Holland,” Garrickassuredhim.
A knock on the door sent them reeling away from each other. Laine ran a hand over his hair while Garrick straightened his clothes and reached for the doorhandle.
“Thanks,” Laine heard him whisper, and then he let in a young woman with dark hair and the sharp look of someone who made a living ontheirwits.
In other words, alawyer.
“Eva,” Garrick said as he led her toward Laine. “This is Laine. He’s going to sit on the Education boardwithme.”
“Laine, so pleased to finally meet you.” She smiled broadly and held out a hand to take the one Laine held out to her. “I’ve heard so muchaboutyou.”
Laine flicked a glance at Garrick, who went an attractive shade of pink. “All good,” hepromised.
Eva laughed. “We’re still marshaling arguments for our challenge in the spring. We’d be happy to have you sit in, ifyou’refree.”
“I have the entire weekend,” Laine told her, then pulled out the chair next to the one with Garrick’s neurotically neat arrangement of pens and paper. “What haveyougot?”
Chapter52
Eva left not too longafter Laine arrived, correctly guessing that, now that I had him here, I wanted some time to spend with him. I did, for my conscience, make him spend an hour going over the trust documents and getting his ideas on what colleges he thought might be more willing to work with us than others. Later, I’d have to bring him to meet the other two shifters on the board, but once our hour was up, I called it quits on the pack work. I was tired of my entire life being about the pack and with at least a few things accomplished that we could show for our effort, I wanted to spend a little personal timewithhim.
My makeshift apartment was still in place, and I dragged him down the stairs. By the time we made it to my little corner of the building, I had his shirt half off and his pants undone, and he’d done the sametome.
It wasn’t lovemaking as we normally did it. It was harsh and possessive, both of us clawing at the other, trying to get closer than mere flesh would allow. He shoved me facefirst against the wall as I was pushing my jeans down over my hips and then he was inside me and I gasped, my fingers trying to dig holes in the wall with the overwhelming emotion of it. I’d missed him terribly, and apparently he’d missed he too, because he stroked my hair and whispered things to me, crazy things that I knew would make no sense in the light of day but were perfectly logical now. Things like how much he loved me and wanted me and I was a goddamned stubborn shifter and he loved that about me too. It made me laugh, and then he’d steal that breath with a kiss, until I was so lightheaded I couldn’t hold back any longer and I came with his arms tight around me, then felt them grow tighter still as lost himselftome.
We collapsed on the bed after and I breathed his scent in, refreshing the memory of him again with all my senses. “That was fun,” I murmured againsthisneck.
“I should visit you here more often,” Laine murmured back. His hand combed through my hair, lulling me nearly tosleep.
“Maybe we can do that some, now that you’re sitting on that board,” I said and cuddled closer. “Holland said to say hi, and that you’re still on probation.” I snorted, because Holland has said it in the same tone of voice he used to talk about Bram, which implied that he thought Laine was frustrating but still worth his time, like Bram. I thought it wasfunny.
“Does that make you my parole officer? What are theterms?”
Okay, that made it a bit more serious. “I’m still under house arrest, but, to be honest, I wouldn’t have time to work for youanyway.”
“Yeah, I figured that. It’s okay. What’s your Januarylookinglike?”
“You’re really doing it?” I propped myself up on my elbow so I could see him better. “What didJacksay?”
“He’s thinking about it. I think the turning point was when I name-droppedyou.”
That made me laugh. “I’m sure it was.” Not. I laid down again with my head on hischest.
He grinned and traced a fingertip over my shoulder. “I brought somethingforyou.”
“Yeah, sorry. Whatever was in the box is probablysmashed.”
“Worth it. And I bet we can still eat itanyway.”
I laughed and closed my eyes, all the tension drained frommybody.
“That wasn’t what I meant though,” Laine said, and kissed the top of my head. “But I left itupstairs.”
“We can get it later,” I told him. I didn’t want to move, didn’t want to leave this tiny bubble where it was just the two of us with no one to tell us we werewrong.
“No, come on,” he insisted, and after much coaxing I let him drag me up out of our nest and shuffle me into my clothing again. His excitement about whatever he’d brought with him was too much to resist. I liked seeing himlikethis.
Lysoonka, I hope it wasn’t whatever was in the box.They were goners, for sure. Not that I’d turn my nose up at broken bakedgoods.
