All in the Chemistry [The Royal Wolves 4] (Siren Publishing Allure) (15 page)

“I love you, too, my little mate,” he breathed as he watched her. Settling back into his chair he rubbed at his eyes and slouched down, going hunter ready. Tapping his fingers on the arm of the chair Kristof let a slow breath out, his thumb rubbing over her skin.

* * * *

Leaning back on the pillows once more, she adjusted the newly casted arm and frowned. “Air cast or not, it’s bulky and it is annoying,” she grumbled and scratched with her good hand at her knee, just over the top of the cast on her leg. “I hate feeling like an invalid,” she complained and grumbled once more. “How much longer do I have to wear this crazy thing?” she asked with a complaint. She had only been home for four weeks, and she knew she was driving Kristof crazy, but she was going slightly nuts as well.

Desmonda, Harker, and even Mina had come by on occasion to entertain her, usually followed by their mates. Or at least one of the Farkas brothers, which had been good for Kristof, it kept him from driving her entirely batty. It had been nice to meet the other ladies and get to know them a bit. She and Des had hit it off well, right from the start. Not to say that she didn’t get along well with the others, she did, but there was something about Des that just clicked with her. Like a long lost sister kind of click.

They’d all come by in a group or one at a time, they’d chatted, getting to know one another, played cards and watched girl movies. Which really cleared a room around the Farkas men apparently. They were not into chick flicks though she had to give Kristof props, he’d stuck it out the longest of all of them the one day. That may have been his need to stay close to her over anything else, but eventually he’d bailed, too.

“Until the doctor says so, love,” he told her…again. It wasn’t the first time or even the fortieth time he’d said those words and he knew that it would not be the last. “You were hit by a car, they tell me it does some serious damage,” he said passing her the juice.

There was the smallest trace of fear as she asked, “Have they found whoever did this yet?” Again, the same question asked a hundred times. It was their fear, not just hers, that the person who did this wouldn’t be found soon enough. “Has Miklos gotten any more leads since the SUV that hit me was found?” It had been found in a burning glory later the same night she had been hit.

“He was able to pick up a scent and he’s doing more digging.” Thankfully his brother had gotten to the wreck before it had gone up completely. “He’s got a few leads and a witness that says they saw two men running from the truck moments before it went up. Mik said they used a cheap but useful timer, the old cigarette in a match book trick,” he told her gently as he shifted so he was stretched out at her side. Kissing her shoulder lightly he let out a tired sigh, he hadn’t been sleeping much since she’d been hurt, he just couldn’t let himself in case she needed him and, because of his own fear, he was terrified he’d wake to find her gone and all of this a dark dream.

“You know I love you, don’t you, Kristof?” she asked with a smile and looked over at him. “I do, I love you so very much, Kris, that it makes me ache.” Her fingers now laced with his and thumb stroking his hand gently. “But if you don’t get at least eight hours of sleep, I am going to move in with Laszlo and Desmonda while you get sleep, so please? I love you, my darling, I really, really do but please sleep, honey?” she asked quietly and moved slightly. “Speaking of them, they should be here soon to keep me company for the day, love, but please, sleep?” She had been more than aware of how little sleep he had been getting since she had been hurt, he hadn’t taken it out on her, but he had on everyone else.

“I can’t,” he murmured quietly. “Every time I close my eyes I’m afraid I’ll open them and you won’t be here. That this is all a dream and when I wake I’ll find out that…” he shook his head, he couldn’t say it. “I’ll try if you won’t move an inch,” he said looking to her. “I need to be able to feel you close if I wake,” he whispered.

“All right, but you call Laszlo and tell him that you are going to take a nap, with me,” she said simply and moved closer to him. “You call him and tell them that I don’t need a sitter, that you will sleep with me, love, and we are good.” She understood what he was saying, what he was thinking and it hurt her that he hurt so much. “I’m here, darling, I will forever be here, I promise.”

Nodding slowly he rolled slightly to grab the phone and, ten minutes later after assuring his brother that he was fine, Courtney was fine and that yes, they really were going to nap he hung up. “My brother is an idiot,” he muttered rolling back toward her and settling his head to her shoulder so her arm was wrapped around his head. “Remind me to beat him when I have the energy,” he murmured already being pulled under for sleep.

“Your brother loves you,” she whispered and stroked her fingers through his hair. “Just hold me and sleep, everything will be here when you wake, my love.” She smiled at him and closed her eyes as well, “I love you, Kris.”

“Love you,” he breathed out slowly as he let sleep take him under. Sliding his arms around her he hugged her carefully to him, even in sleep he knew she was still wounded and healing. He would never hurt her again for the rest of their lives.

She lay there holding him, keeping her promise to him and soon found herself nodding off enough that she moved down slightly and was shortly sound asleep with him.

* * * *

“I’m sorry sir, but she’s dead,”
the disembodied voice told him.
“
We don’t believe that she felt much pain and, from what we can see right now, we think she just slipped into the coma and couldn’t wake. We’ll know more after the autopsy.”

Nodding, Kris stumbled away from the man who’d destroyed his life with two words, ‘she’s dead’, just like that, everything was gone. Avoiding the sympathetic looks of his brothers and the concern on their mates’ faces he moved to the room where she lay looking so peacefully at rest. Going to his knees he touched her long cold hand with his, bringing it to his cheek. “You can’t be dead, I need you so much, Courtney,” he wept. No more would he see her smile, the teasing light in her eyes or the passion that could erupt so quickly. She was gone and he was as good as dead without her.

Jolting awake Kristof felt a moment’s panic and then the soft scent of Courtney reached him. Damn it, he was really starting to hate that dream. Laying his head back to her shoulder he breathed her in, his hand stroking up and down her side in a need to know she was real, to feel that she was real.

She woke to his whispered words that she couldn’t be dead and held him while he struggled to wake. When his hands began to move over her sides she whispered, “I’m alive, Kristof, I’m right here with you, darling. No one will take me from you, ever,” she vowed softly. “When I am healed…” She was making a huge leap but she felt they both needed it. “I want you to change me, Kris. I want the forever I keep talking about. My lifetime just is not enough time, please?”

Stilling so completely, something only an animal truly could manage he blinked slowly then looked up to her. “Are you sure, love?” he asked softly. “There’s pain.” He felt it necessary to warn. “What you felt after the accident was nothing compared to what you’ll have to go through for the change, love. I don’t mean to frighten you or talk you out of it, but I don’t want you thinking it’s a cakewalk either.”

“Sweetheart, I know there will be pain. Believe me, Harker and Desi have already filled me in on all the details but I don’t care.” She stroked a finger down his cheek. “I want to be with you always, Kristof, I am meant to be your mate and mating is for life. Not just this life, Kris.” She grinned. “But in all of them. I guess however the question should go to you, do you want me for as long as you will live, or for the human lifespan that I have?”

He looked at her and shifting he kissed her hard, but carefully, too, since she was wounded. Biting her lip gently he pulled back to eye her. “I want you for however long we are to have on this Earth,” he whispered. “I want the whole package, Courtney. I want you to be Wolf, I want us to marry at some point and I want us to have kids,” he murmured and kissed her again, gentler that time.

“Then we should get me healed up so that we can have everything, Kris.” A gentle hand, the one uninjured arm, moved to caress his back lightly. “And yes, I will marry you, I will have your children, I want a whole houseful of kids, Kris.” She laughed happily. “But most of all, I want you.”

“You’ll marry me?” Kris asked in a stunned tone completely flummoxed by the easy capitulation. He’d figured he’d have to wheedle and beg or romance her at least a little. Which of course now meant he was panicked since he didn’t have the ring he’d picked out with her on him. Hell, it was in his office in the safe and that was much too far to go unless she said yes and then he’d break all land speed records getting there and back again.

She laughed and nodded. “Yes, Kris. It wasn’t how I wanted to be asked, but how can you question it?” Shaking her head she watched him. “I have loved you since I dreamed of you holding me close and dancing with me. I want to spend my days and nights with you, I want to paint you, our future, our children. I want to create with you in our field of expertise, I want it all, Kris, and you are the one and only one who can and will give me everything.”

No pressure or anything he thought as he started to smile up at her. Leaning in he kissed her gently. “I love you and I promise when I make it official I’ll do something to make it memorable,” he said pulling back. He’d planned to race to get the ring and get it on her finger, but now he wanted to do it up right.

“Fair enough. It helps my heart just knowing that you do want these things with me as I want them with you.” She yawned once more and shook her head. “All right, one of two things needs to happen. Either we get more sleep or you carry me downstairs and we vegetate out to a flick, and I will want a chick flick.”

That was easy. “More sleep,” he told her softly. “Hopefully without any more dreams,” he murmured softly as he rested his cheek back to her shoulder. Sighing he gently hugged her to him. “I didn’t mean to wake you, you need the sleep more than I do right now. Maybe I should go and sleep in another room.” 

Her arm tightened on him. “You go into another room and I will hop and hobble my way right on to you, Kris. I need to be with you. Don’t even begin to apologize for waking me because god knows I have woken you more than once in our short time together.” And she knew she would wake him far more times, too.

“Then I’ll stay,” he said softly not actually having moved an inch. Kissing her neck lightly he rubbed his cheek to her shoulder. “I don’t mind when you wake me, Courtney, I’ll never mind, love.”

“And I don’t mind when you wake me, Kris, so let’s just leave it at that, please?” She grinned at him and nodded. “I love you, Kris, I am all for everything that love entails, sleepless nights, shared everything. I need you in my life, I will always need you in my life, so just stay with me, please?”

“Always,” he breathed softly, giving her a very gentle squeeze. “Sleep, baby, you need to heal so that we can ensure this never happens again.” He was going to tear the bastards’ throats out that did this to his mate and no one would be able to stop him, law of the wild, eye for an eye, blood for blood, life for life.

“Right, that would be very, very good.” She closed her eyes and sighed happily. “God I love you, Kris.” There was a pause followed by, “Have you had a chance to do any lab work?” Suddenly the thoughts of work came back. “And how pissed were they at Aegis when Laszlo told them that I wasn’t coming back?”

“Not really and very,” he murmured thinking it would be enough. The small fist that lightly banged his shoulder told him otherwise. Chuckling he shifted and blinked up at her. “I haven’t done much lab work, but I’ve been working on the paperwork for the lab we’ll be setting up if you’re still wanting to after all this. And the heads at Aegis nearly exploded according to Laszlo, especially since he went in with all the lawyers we hold on retainer. They made it very clear that if Aegis said anything, implied anything, or inferred any slight toward you or me they would be buried under so many lawsuits that they would be long dead and bug food before it was settled and the ‘good’ Aegis name would be wiped from history.”

She snickered. “I would have paid to have seen Mr. DiCaprio swallow his tongue to watch Laszlo, someone highly respected and everything.” She shrugged. “Yeah.” She watched him carefully and then, “Yes, I want to set up the lab with you. I want to have that with you, to have somewhere that is ours and only ours where we can do the research that you and I want, no one else.”

“I would have paid as well, but the description was entertaining anyway, you’ll have to ask Laz the next time he’s over,” Kristof told her and yawned again. “Okay, sleep now, I can’t even think any more it’s too much effort.”

“Yes, sleep is good.” There was only a pause and hesitation. “Will you come to me in my dreams, Kris? Please?” She didn’t want to be alone without him in her dreams, in their dreams he could hold her and touch her without fear of hurting her.

“I’ll try, Courtney,” he whispered softly not knowing if he should. Ever since her accident he’d been very careful not to unless she asked and then, even then, he was worried he’d pull her into a nightmare instead. “Sleep, baby, and heal,” he breathed turning his face into her neck so he was only breathing in her sweet scent.