My Healer

  She looked at him, uncertain.

  "It will help me not to claim you, sweetheart," he explained.

  Understanding filled her eyes. Grinning she turned over and raised her ass in the air. Unable to help himself he leaned forward and buried his nose against her slit.

  "Gods, baby, you smell like heaven. Later, when we have more time I am going to tongue fuck you until you beg me to stop, but I don't think either of us wants that right now, do we?" He reached forward and lightly traced her opening with two fingers. She moaned and pushed back against his hand.

  "So eager." He leaned forward and nipped her right cheek. She yelped but he noticed that the scent of her arousal got muskier. Grinning he did the same to the other cheek.

  "Colton," she moaned his name.

  "It's gonna be fast and hard, baby." He couldn't wait another second. He reached down, lined up the head of his cock and thrust hard. He placed his hand on her lower back for control and set a merciless pace. Beneath him she gasped for breath and groaned his name over and over again.

  With his canines fully extended, every fiber in his being wanted him to lean over her and bury his teeth into the soft flesh of her neck, welding them together for all eternity. But he'd made her a promise, they would take this at her pace, the thought of breaking her trust was the only thing holding him back.

  He felt his balls draw up and knew that he was close. Leaning forward slightly he reached around her hip and snaked his hand down to dip between her folds. He found her clit and fingered it roughly. She went wild and he felt her body clench around him. It was enough to send him over the edge, crying out he emptied himself deep inside of her.

  Colton shook his head to focus; he had never come so hard in his life. Slowly, he pulled out of her and she slumped down onto the bed, she was gulping air. He slid off the bed and headed to the bathroom.

  When he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror, he was shocked. His eyes remained yellow and his canines dangerously low. He ran the water in the sink until it was warm and splashed some on his face. He took several deep breaths and looked back up. His eyes were back to their normal color. He washed himself off and rinsed out the washcloth.

  He chuckled when he saw that Rheia hadn't moved an inch from where he'd left her. Walking to the foot of the bed, he started to get hard again watching his seed drip down the back of her legs. Gently he cleaned between her legs before placing a soft kiss over his two bite marks on her delectable ass.

  He walked back to the bathroom, tossed the washcloth in the sink and returned to his mate. She was still on her stomach facedown in the covers. He pulled her onto her side and into the curve of his body.

  "That was amazing. I've never come like that before. Claiming me can't get better than that." Rheia said turning her head slightly to look back at him.

  He leaned down and whispered into her ear. "Challenge accepted."

  *****

  When Colton and Rheia ended up being a no-show for lunch and dinner, Meryn and Beth sat the little girl between them during meal times. Meryn was afraid at first that Penny would be nervous without her mother, but she was soaking up the attention that Aiden and the rest of Alpha Unit heaped on her. It looked like she was used to being the center of attention when it came to her uncles. Aiden had even taken her upstairs to introduce her to his fish, Jaws.

  After dinner, they all retired to the family room to wind down before bed. Noah and Jaxon were absorbed in their X-Box game. Normally Meryn would be right there with them, but she wanted to work on the personnel list before tomorrow.

  "I can't believe ya'll are teaching a four year old to play poker," Beth said in disbelief.

  Meryn looked up from her laptop to see what shenanigans the men were up to. They'd set up a table in the family room and were currently explaining different hands to Penny. The men decided to play for candy and snacks instead of money, for Penny's sake.

  Meryn watched the girl's eyes go from the cards to each of the men, before nodding. When she neatly stacked her 'money' into piles Meryn had to hide her smile.

  "So we'll play one hand to practice okay?" Keelan asked. Penny nodded.

  Meryn shook her head; they'd figure it out eventually.

  "Wow, look guys Penny won that hand. Way to go, baby girl!" Aiden announced proudly.

  Meryn looked up and saw Penny was on her knees raking the candy pile over to her.

  Meryn smiled and reviewed the short list of Vanguard warriors Aiden and Gavriel and compiled from memory. She'd have to get with Radek soon to get a more complete list.

  "Look at that, she won again. She's too cute," Keelan said as Penny arranged her winnings in order from hard candy to chocolate.

  Beth walked over holding the novel she'd been reading. Frowning, she sat next to Meryn.

  She nodded her head in Penny's direction. "She..."

  "Probably, yeah." Meryn nodded.

  "Do they realize..."

  "Nope."

  "Are you going to tell them?" Beth asked her eyes now filled with amusement.

  Meryn turned to her and just stared blankly.

  Beth sat back in her chair and brought her book up. "Yeah, me either."

  "Okay that's the eighth hand in a row, that can't be beginner's luck," Darian grumbled as Penny packed half her winnings away in her backpack, making room for more candy on the table.

  The men stared at Penny who expertly shuffled the deck before dealing.

  Aiden cleared his throat. "Penny, darlin, do you know how to play poker?"

  Penny looked up and nodded and the men groaned.

  Darian sat forward a devilish look on his face. "Okay sweetie, gloves are off. You're going down."

  Half an hour later Meryn and Beth watched on as Gavriel and Penny faced off as the last two remaining players, staring at each other across the table without blinking.

  Meryn held up her pen like a microphone. "We're down to the professionals folks."

  "Hey!" Aiden, Darian and Keelan protested.

  Meryn ignored them. "On this side of the table we have the epic vampire legend of the past two millennia and on the other, the stoic toddler." Beth and Meryn giggled.

  "I believe she is bluffing," Gavriel announced. "I call."

  Without changing expression, Penny laid her cards on the table. The men crowded around, their jaws dropping. Groaning, Gavriel dropped his head to the table.

  "She swept the table," Noah whispered in awe.

  "How old is she again?" Jaxon asked.

  The men all looked up and answered as one. "Four!"

  CHAPTER NINE

  When Rheia turned over in bed, it immediately registered that she was alone. She opened her eyes and rolled onto her back. Being with Colton had been the hottest experience of her life, but she couldn't forget the look in his eyes when she'd told him that she wasn't ready to be claimed. She wasn't sure if she would ever be able to explain it in a way he would understand, that for that level of commitment she needed to be sure. She knew she was close to saying yes, but needed more time.

  He was a shifter, he'd grown up with the knowledge that, one day, if he was lucky, he would find the one person meant just for him. Growing up human, she knew there was no guarantee for her, she had fully expected to marry another surgeon, have a late in life baby, divorce five years later and live out the rest of her life as a single parent.

  Now, the rest of her life was looking like it would last much longer than she had anticipated. She ran her hand over the indention his body had left in the mattress. What was with him always getting up before she was awake? Feeling grumpy, she got out of bed and got ready for her day.

  She was still kinda pissed when she went downstairs in search of Penny and Colton. She paused at the doorway of the dining room and glared at Colton, who was completely unaware that she was there. Keelan saw her first and stood, the rest of the men following suit. When Colton turned and saw her expression, his face dropped. She walked over and pulled his face down to hers. The taste of him
was more potent than coffee. Sighing she stepped back and had to hide her smile at his dazed expression.

  "I don't like waking up alone," she grumbled.

  "You may have to explain that to me again," he teased.

  Ignoring him, she walked past his chair and sat down next to Penny. "Did you have fun with Jaxon and Noah last night?"

  Penny nodded and reached for her backpack as Colton and the rest of the men sat down. She opened it up and Rheia saw that the inside of the bag was filled with candy and small individually wrapped cakes. She looked around the table. "Where did this come from?"

  The men looked down with sheepish expressions. Rheia's eyes narrowed and she turned back to Penny. "Penelope Carmichael, did you hustle these men playing poker to get snacks?"

  Penny shrugged one small shoulder and turned back to her breakfast. Rheia was about to scold her when she noticed what the girl was eating. "Are those cinnamon rolls?"

  Ryuu walked in carrying a cup. "I thought I heard you come down. Here's your coffee and yes, those are homemade cinnamon rolls, fresh from the oven. It was one of the many recipes that I received as a housewarming gift from the Alpha Unit."

  Rheia reached for the plate and snagged two with her fork. "Looks like everyone can benefit from a present like that." She lifted the warm, sticky pastry and took a bite. She couldn't help the moan that came from her if she tried. "Oh God!" Her head fell back on her shoulders and she closed her eyes. To her right she heard a low rumble. When she turned to look at Colton, he was growling at Ryuu, who completely ignored him as he walked around the table refilling water glasses.

  "I thought you had a man crush on him too?" she asked surprised at his reaction.

  "I do, but damn baby. I should be the only one who sees that expression," Colton said pouting.

  Rheia looked down at Penny. "They never grow up. Remember that." Penny nodded.

  Winking at Penny, Colton simply grabbed an entire pan of cinnamon rolls and put it on his plate. Penny's eyes widened. "I'm a mighty wolf, I need my energy."

  "You're adorable."

  "My puppy."

  "You are cute," Rheia, Meryn and Beth said at the same time, then looked at each other, before smiling. The men around the table burst out laughing.

  "Cute wittle puppy," Aiden teased.

  Meryn elbowed him. "I wouldn't say anything; I prefer his wolf to your bear."

  Aiden's mouth dropped. "I can't believe you just said that."

  Meryn turned to him. "Have you seen a shaved bear, they are fugly! If that's what you look like under your poofy fur, it's gross," she shuddered.

  "What's fugly?" Aiden demanded.

  "Fucking. Ugly," Colton said, barely able to get the words out he was laughing so hard.

  Aiden's face was like a thundercloud. "I am not fugly!"

  "I didn't say you were, I said a shaved bear was. When you're all poofy, you're my teddy bear," Meryn assured him.

  "I don't think that's better," Keelan muttered.

  "Shut up, Keelan." Aiden growled.

  Meryn whacked him again. "Be nice to Keelan."

  Rheia turned to Penny. "I'll let you keep half those snacks. You don't need that much sugar anyway." Rheia sipped her coffee. "So besides poker, what else did you do yesterday?"

  "Wait, she plays poker? Did you teach her?" Colton asked, her his eyes sparkling.

  "Nope, that's all Radek's doing. The guys used to babysit on nights I had to work the graveyard shift. They taught her how to play; evidently she has a knack for it. Marco plans to take her to Vegas on her twenty-first birthday."

  Gavriel, Aiden, Keelan and Darian stared at Penny.

  Gavriel shook his head. "She's the perfect little card shark."

  Penny grinned and pointed to Aiden. Rheia looked up. "You did something with Aiden yesterday?"

  Aiden frowned for a second then brightened. "I introduced her to my fish, his name is Jaws."

  "What is he, a piranha?"

  Meryn snorted. "No, he's a clownfish like on Finding Nemo."

  "Did you know that clownfish are hermaphrodites? That movie, if based on science, would be about Nemo's father changing sexes to female, since the dominant female, Nemo's mother, was killed. He then, in turn, would try to reproduce with the only other male, which would have been Nemo," Rheia explained munching away on her cinnamon roll. When she noticed how quiet it had gotten she looked up; everyone was staring at her. "What? That's science."

  Aiden looked horrified and actually had a fine sheen to his eyes. He stood and started to walk out of the room."

  "Aiden, where are you going?" Meryn called after him.

  He turned and held up a cell phone. "I'm ordering Jaws a girlfriend," he said, then walked away.

  Ryuu clucked his tongue. "His day is not starting off well."

  Beside her Colton began to choke. He quickly swallowed the cinnamon roll he'd been chewing and laughter burst from him like water from a dam.

  "Oh Gods!" he wheezed.

  Across the table, Meryn was giggling. "He loves that little fish," she cackled.

  "Poor Aiden," Beth murmured, but Rheia could see the light of laughter in her eyes as well.

  "I wonder if I should apologize," Rheia mused.

  Gavriel shook his head. "He'll be fine. I think, maybe, Jaws was due a girlfriend anyway."

  Colton collapsed against the back of his chair looking exhausted. "Okay, I'm done for the day. It won't get any better than this."

  "Guess I'm not coming home for lunch then," Rheia teased.

  Colton turned to look at her so quickly his neck popped. "What time?"

  "I have a couple of physicals to do today and probably some more work on the slides, but I should be able to get back here by noon again."

  Colton turned to Meryn and Beth giving them puppy dog eyes.

  "Of course we'll watch Penny." Beth said smiling.

  "You better hope Aiden lets us have lunch today, you know how he gets when he's in a bad mood," Darian reminded him.

  Colton winced. "I'll talk him around; the men need lunch after all."

  Rheia was about to respond when Aiden walked back in a serious look on his face.

  Gavriel sat up straight in his chair. "What? What is it?"

  "Rheia, I just got off the phone with my father. The Carmichaels, Penny's grandparents, they're petitioning the council for custody," he said gently.

  "What!" Rheia stood knocking over her chair. She scooped her daughter up, who immediately wrapped her arms and legs around her in a death grip. "No! She's mine! I'm not giving her up!" Colton was at her side before she could blink. He pulled them close, giving her something solid to lean against. Penny stretched out a small hand and gripped his shirt tightly.

  When Rheia turned to Colton, she was shocked at the simmering rage she saw in his eyes.

  Colton turned to his childhood friend. "They can't break up my family," he growled.

  Aiden held up his hands. "Colt, you know Father is doing everything he can to keep her here with us. But he said it will be difficult since neither you, nor Rheia have a blood tie to Penny, and they do," Aiden explained.

  Rheia felt her world spinning out of control. When she felt hot tears on her neck, she knew she had to pull her shit together. Penny would always come before her own pain. She ran a hand over the girl's hair. "Shh, Pumpkin Dumpling, everything will be just fine. I'm sure when they see what a wonderful family me, you and Colton are, they will reconsider. I think that they are so happy to have a granddaughter, they want you all to themselves. They must care about you a lot," she said soothingly.

  Penny pulled her head away from her shoulder and looked at her. Rheia could see the fear in her eyes. Colton rubbed Penny's back. "You're needed here, baby girl, someone needs to teach me how to play poker." Penny smiled at him sadly and nodded.

  Rheia set her down. "Tell you what; we're not going to worry about this. We won't let this destroy all the fun we're going to have today, right Penny?" she said in an upbeat manner. Until a d
ecision was made, Rheia knew the best thing for Penny was to keep things as normal as possible, which meant she had to return to work at the clinic, despite not wanting to let her daughter out of her sight.

  Colton knelt down in front of Penny. "I'm going to be hanging out with your mom today, but when we get home, we'll do something together," he promised.

  Penny held up her pinky and Colton didn't miss a beat. He hooked his pinky with hers and they shook on it.

  Meryn and Beth walked around the table and Meryn wrapped an arm around Penny. "Come on EGIT, time to get to work. Jaxon and Noah are already waiting for us in Command Central. They woke up early and snagged two pans of cinnamon rolls for breakfast and decided to get a jump on the day. I bet they can give you some good ideas for stuff to do with your mom and dad later."

  Colton stood and they both looked at Meryn. Rheia had to ask. "What is EGIT?"

  Beth sighed. "Evil. Genius. In. Training."

  Colton looked at Meryn. "Don't infect my daughter with ..." he motioned to Meryn's whole body.

  Meryn grinned. "You just gestured to all of me."

  Colton laughed and they gave each other high fives. Behind Meryn, both Aiden and Ryuu groaned.

  Rheia looked at Colton. "Why does that sound familiar?"

  Ryuu grumbled under his breath. "It's from How To Train Your Dragon. Meryn and Colton have been watching it non-stop for the past two weeks."

  Penny began to hop up and down. Rheia looked down. "Is that what you want to do later? Watch that movie?"

  Penny nodded and continued to bounce up and down.

  Ryuu's sigh was long and heavy. "If it's for the baby, I guess I'll allow it."

  "Allow it?" Rhea asked.

  Meryn laughed. "He banned it. He said, that the movie in no way depicted real dragons, therefore wasn't worth the time it took to watch. I mean, what does Ryuu know about dragons? It's not like they're real or anything." Rheia noticed the sly look on Meryn's face.

  Ryuu on the other hand was looking more and more agitated. "I'll prepare refreshments later for the movie," he said shortly and headed to the kitchen.