yard when Tommy got Jeneva home – Rayner's. Tommy didn't comment on it. He kissed Jeneva on the cheek and waved goodbye. Jeneva watched him drive away, feeling pins and needles in her body. Was Rayner here, waiting for her? She started towards the house, and Rayner's form emerged from the side like a ghost.
"Rayner!" Jeneva jumped. "You startled me!" He stalked towards Jeneva and took her face in his firm hands. When he kissed her it was rough and sudden. Heat rose in Jeneva's body. She melted towards him, all her awkwardness forgotten. Then her senses came back to her. She shoved him. He glared at her, looking dejected and hurt.
"What the hell are you doing!" Jeneva yelled. The force of his kiss was like a clap of thunder inside her. She was still shaking from it. "I'm your Alpha, Rayner! You can't just jump me like that!"
Rayner breathed heavily. Feeling her body meet his had sent a jolt of joy through him. He never thought he would feel that again. And it was stronger than it was with Lorna. This was more pure. He struggled to restrain himself from tackling her again. "You and Jaime are my Alphas, that's true," he growled. "That's why as your Second, I'll be the one to fuck you. No one else. I don't trust any of these other guys not to hurt you, Jeneva. And as Second, I get first pick of all pussy."
The color drained out of Jeneva's face. Rayner wondered if he'd pushed her too far. Instead, she shoved him and started crying.
"That's not fair, Rayner. You know that I can't be with you like that!"
"But you can be with Tommy, and that's perfectly okay?" Rayner yelled back at her. "He's a dumbass farm boy, Jeneva! If you're going to fuck someone, do it right!" He grabbed at her again to pull her close, and she pressed her hands between them.
"No, Rayner, not like this!"
"Then how, when?" Rayner insisted, holding her tight.
"Maybe never, I don't know! Don't you realize I'm leaving? What if you ended up mating with me?"
The realization was slow to come. But it did. Bears couldn't mate unless there was already a deep love between them. "You have feelings for me!" Rayner said, astonished.
"No, Rayner, I can't have feelings for you. They won't allow me to have feelings for anybody, remember? Let go!"
Rayner let go, and Jeneva fell to the ground. Rayner went to help her up and she pushed him away. "Why are you being such a brat? Let me help you!"
"You're making this so awful!" Jeneva brushed her dirty scraped hands on her shirt and stood up on her own. "No one's given me any choices, so I have to make my own. This is the best thing that I can see to do, and my mind is made up, Rayner! Can't you just leave me alone?"
"You know I can't do that! You're not going to leave me like Lorna did!"
There it was, out in the open. Jeneva gaped at him, "I'm going to do whatever the fuck I want. Go home!"
Jeneva stormed to the house. Rayner was on her heels. "Wait. … Do you hear me? Jen!" He grabbed at her wrist. Jeneva turned and scratched him across the chest with claws extended. Rayner clutched his chest. It was shallow, but it stung like hell.
"Fuck off," Jeneva slammed the door in his face.
Chapter Five
A month passed. Jeneva barely left the house, but she bought her ticket for Brazil. There was a Den cookout today and everyone was going to be there. She was dreading it and didn't want to go. Jaime wouldn't let her stay home. "You've been brooding too much," he had told her. "And you have to face Rayner sooner or later." That's what she was scared of. She and Rayner hadn't talked or seen each other since the day he kissed her. She wanted to see him, more than ever.
It was so unfair of him to force himself on her, knowing what they knew now. She had to get out of Reserve Park as soon as possible. The mission where Jill worked wasn't able to take her for another two weeks. That was two weeks where she had to play it cool around Rayner and try to avoid
Eleanor Coerr, Ronald Himler