Cristie swallowed slowly, all the while holding Remi’s gaze. “Do you?” she half-whispered.
“I do. I’m just waiting for you to figure out that you belong to me, too.”
Chapter 13
Much later that night, Remi sat on his back porch looking out toward the back of the property where he knew all the shifting members of Riley’s Pride were enjoying a run under the cover of darkness. The crunch of footsteps through the gravel let him know someone was approaching and they were making sure the sounds of their approach were clearly announcing their arrival. But he didn’t look toward the sound. Instead he waited for his visitor to announce themselves verbally. It didn’t take long.
“Mind if I sit a minute?”
Remi turned to see Kaiser standing with his hands in his pockets, just a foot or two past the edge of his mobile home. “No, come on and have a seat.”
Kaiser walked up the steps and sat down next to Remi. “Didn’t feel like running with them?” Kaiser asked, referring to the sounds of their Pride members as they chased each other across the hundreds of acres that backed up to the rise at the back of the trailer park.
“I can’t shift and run around like that.”
Kaiser turned to him. “Why not? Riley’s got more land than any one of us could ever need over that rise.”
“I thought you knew I’m a Dragon shifter.”
“Well, I do, but, so?”
“Never actually seen a Dragon shift have you?”
“No, I don’t think so,” Kaiser said.
“I rival Riley’s house in size when fully shifted.”
“Holy shit! Okay, never mind,” Kaiser said.
Remi laughed. “Only way I can shift this close to a town is if it’s a very dark, moonless night. Rainy is even better. Distorts the focus if I happened to be seen.”
“Man, that sucks.”
“Sometimes it does, I’m not gonna lie. But then again, that’s the reason we sharpen all our other senses so much. We can’t easily shift and blend into our surroundings like some others can.”
“I’d like to see your beast sometime.”
“If you’re around and the conditions are right, you might.”
They sat in silence for a few minutes before Kaiser started talking again. “I just wanted to come by and say thank you.”
“For what?”
“For your generosity today. You didn’t have to offer me your house to escape to. I mean, I’ve been spending time with your mate, helping her torque you a little here and there, and the last thing I expected from you is kindness.”
Remi shrugged. “You’re her friend. I figure she needed your company as much as you needed hers.”
“And you weren’t the least little bit jealous?” Kaiser asked with a smirk.
“A little. My Dragon wanted me to kill you. He calls you Red Car,” Remi said wearing a smirk of his own as he glanced over at Kaiser.
Kaiser’s brows shot up in surprise. “Thank you for not?” he stated as more of a question.
Remi laughed. “Wasn’t easy at first, but once I figured it out I had no problem with it. Took me a few days, though. But see the thing is, I don’t want to own her. I just want to love her, protect her, make her feel safe and appreciated in all that she does. I don’t want to lock her away, she needs her friends as much as she needs me.”
Kaiser sighed as he ran his hand through his hair a time or two, before scrubbing it down his face. “Isn’t that what everybody hopes for?”
“I know I do,” Remi said.
