Jana Downs Thrice Bitten (sHarmony Shifters #3)

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102 Jana Downs
darkness. He was too optimistic for that. But he had a few areas that
dimmed the light he liked to walk around with.
I ll ride with you, Mikey said, making his decision.
Cool, Jude said. Get in. I know my compact is a bit cramped
but your house isn t too far. You up for a run when we get in?
Mikey cringed. If I don t rest my knee up I m not going to be
able to walk on it.
No problem, Collin said automatically. I ll just use your gym s
treadmill if I have too much energy left over.
Silence descended between them as Mikey circled the tiny car and
managed to cram himself into the passenger seat.
Collin? Mikey asked as he buckled his belt.
What?
How the hell was he supposed to approach bad subjects? He only
wanted to dwell on good things with Collin. Frustration welled up in
perfect time with his mounting silence.
Des seems to think I don t tell you nearly enough about myself.
There was a good segue.
Collin snorted. Des isn t in our mating, so he doesn t get to have
that big of an opinion. When and if you tell me about things that hurt
you, it will be our decision, not his. I love you, Mikey. The rest is just
details. He paused, put the car in drive and pulled onto the street.
Though Des has a good point on a few things. I will concede that
much. However, he doesn t get to make you feel bad about not telling
me things. I don t need a written list of your baggage.
I know you don t need it, but do you want it? Mikey asked,
turning his head so he could look at Collin properly.
Of course I want it. I want to know every single thing about you.
But I understand that you want to take things slow. You were burned
by relationships in the past. That much is easy to see. I get it. I ve
been burned myself.
He really didn t deserve Collin s understanding. Sometimes he
felt like Collin was just too perfect for him.
Thrice Bitten 103
I told you that I fall hard, Mikey began. This was a step, one he
could make despite his pounding pulse. But the loyalty doesn t just
extend to lovers but to friendships as well. I have a lot of faith in the
people I care about.
There is nothing wrong with that, Collin said, his voice soft.
Mikey drummed his fingers on the dash as Collin signaled to get
up on the highway. I never thought so, but not everyone thinks like I
do. He rolled his shoulders as they started to tense. I thought I was
as close to my teammates as I am to Logan now. But they were a
bunch of bigoted assholes. Some of them, not all of them mind you,
took me out after a game and beat the ever-loving shit of out of me.
One of them even tied me to one of their trucks by my leg and
dragged me through a field where we were camping at during off
season.
Collin sucked in a surprised breath and a quick glance sideways
revealed the horror written in the lines of Collin s face. Mikey
deliberately turned his attention to the road ahead of them, unable to
stand the fear in his mate s expression. He hadn t wanted to tell him
for a reason. He didn t want to make Collin pity him or some
misplaced bull like that.
He pressed on. It tore up my knee, twisted it into a piece of drift
wood, and ended my career.
Rage started simmering in his gut at the reminder, but he tamped
it down. He d long since realized that getting angry about it
accomplished very little. They d left him to die in that fucking field.
He had to crawl over two miles back to a ranger s station they d
passed on the way up, too hurt to shift and too angry to give up.
Shifting had been impossible through the pain.
Jesus, Mikey.
It s okay, he hurried to reassure. I m okay now. I made it out
of the situation with my life, and that is what matters. He shrugged
trying to unknot his shoulder muscles. I reported them when I got to
the hospital. However, they claimed self-defense and the league gave
104 Jana Downs
them a slap on the wrist since I m a shifter and was able to take care
of myself. Even the friends I d thought would support me stepped
back from the incident and claimed ignorance, covering for those sons
of bitches.
Poor Des had to deal with me in the aftermath. I wasn t a good
person for a year after that. I was angry at the hate, the hypocrites, all
of it. It s one of the reasons I have such little patience for it now. He
let his breath out in a rush, calming his heartbeat. My teammates
weren t the first people to take advantage of the fact that I give too
much trust to people in relationships, but they were the biggest life
changers to say the least.
I always believed people were innately good, and they shattered
that image. Anyway, I don t like to talk about the ugly side of life
because I ve learned not to dwell. Focusing on the here and the now is
something that I try to do for my own sanity. So, yeah. That s all.
Collin was silent for a long time and nervousness started replacing
the anger, ratcheting up the tension. Damn it. He hadn t wanted to tell
Collin so soon. He had probably horrified the guy.
I m sorry that happened to you, Mikey, Collin said at last, his
voice a thread above a whisper. Those people didn t deserve you.
I didn t mean to upset you, Mikey rumbled, guilt eating him
alive. Des had been wrong. It had been way too early to dump that
kind of heaviness on his lover.
You didn t. Just the thought of you hurting& Collin trailed off,
and Mikey had to look over at him.
In the blue-green light of the dash, he could make out Collin s
tearstained cheeks. His heart constricted. Oh, baby&
I can t begin to understand the pain you ve been through, but I
can promise you that you won t experience it again. I will make sure
of it. The pledge was so solemn, so beautiful. Even if Collin was half
his size and the likelihood of him having to defend him was low, the
thought was lovely.
Thrice Bitten 105
Mikey sighed as warmth replaced fear, love replaced anger. You
are perfect, Collin. I love you was on the tip of his tongue, but he
refrained. Collin deserved the perfect moment, the perfect proposal
for forever.
I m just yours, Mikey, Collin murmured. Let s go home.
Your home or mine? Mikey asked.
Collin reached over and put his hand on Mikey s knee. Wherever
you are is home, Mikey. Wherever is closer.
106 Jana Downs
Chapter Nine
So the downtown equality march to protest the congressional
proposal is Thursday. We re going, right? Collin asked as he spat his
mouthwash in the sink.
In the week since dinner at Desmin s, they d been practically
inseparable. He warmed at the thought. Mikey s walls were slowly
but surely coming down and the experience was much more
pleasurable than he d expected. After the first confession, others had
come more easily. Mikey hadn t said I love you yet, but it was
coming. Collin knew it.
Mikey rolled over in bed, the white sheets tangling around his
hips as he moved. Yeah, he said in a sleep-roughened voice. We re
walking with Logan and Jude, right?
Yep. Collin snagged the floss from the counter and then pulled
some of the string from the box. I think the others are coming, too.
The rally was going to be getting some big attention as the
protests for the congressional bill heated up across the nation. Atlanta
was only one of a dozen cities that were participating in the event and
Collin could proudly say that the issue with Mikey s shifter summer
camp was one of the local issues going to be discussed courtesy of the [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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