The Rogue’s Initiation Part 10
2012 Words
From time to time, someone would come and see her during our meal. I would introduce myself. They all seemed like really good people. They were all friendly. Sunny practically glowed with happiness. I was glad I could give this to her.
Frank came out from the back and hugged her. He eyed me suspiciously.
“Are you really an accountant?” He asked.
“I’m sorry. It appears I owe you money. I didn’t realize anything was riding on her being wrong. Can we just let her have this win?” I requested quietly.
He glared at me, then grinned. “Alright. And I won’t tell her you lied. She’s really happy. Anyone who makes my wife smile gets a free pass. You lie like that again and I’ll kick your ass. She’s trying to figure out what to spend that money on.”
“I’ll have my accountant send you a money order for it.” I replied.
Frank nodded and went back to the kitchen. He was the ‘grumpy husband’ Lana was talking about. Sunny hadn’t told me that. She was giggling as she finished off her pasta.
I shook my head and went back to my meal. We chatted a little, but she didn’t talk about my pseudo-offer. Normally, I’d be upset, but I knew she had her own demons to deal with and we’d talk about it later.
When the check came, I reached for it. Sunny reached, too, but I got there first. She held out her hand for it.
“I’d be a pretty terrible boyfriend if I let you pay for this meal. You can pay for dinner tomorrow.” I told her quietly.
“I didn’t agree to dinner tomorrow night.”
“Well, if you want your plan to work tonight, you have to let me pay. So you’ll have to pay for dinner tomorrow, unless you want to pay for breakfast instead.” I said with a wink.
Sunny blushed. Usually, I wasn’t this forward. It felt right with her, though. I never liked the flirting and checking out part of rogue etiquette. I wanted to do all of that with her. More than that, I wanted to own her like a pack wolf did with their mate.
I put my card in the check holder. Lana came up and took it from me. Sunny just sort of sat quietly. She was pretty deep in thought. Not even looking up when Lana came back with the receipt. I made sure to leave a very healthy tip. They’d all remember Sunny’s boyfriend, even if this was the last time I got to wear that title.
We got up. Sunny gave Lana a hug before we left. Lana insisted on hugging me, too. I took Sunny out to the parking lot and helped her into the cab of my truck, then ran to the other side to get in.
“What do you want to do now?” I asked.
“Part of my probation is a curfew unless I have a special permission, like I did last night. My probation officer calls my home to make sure I’m there.”
“When’s your curfew?”
“Umm… ten.”
“It’s only eight, Sunny. We still have two hours until your curfew. I promise to get you home on time.” I told her.
“Take me to my car, please.” Sunny whispered.
I sighed and headed to the parking lot where we met. She was quiet for a while, then she spoke again.
“You don’t understand what you’re asking, Vaughn. I love the idea of being with you and accepting your offer. I felt that connection, too. I just can’t do this.”
“I’ve never written like I have since I met you. You’re my muse, Sunny. I’ll wait for you to be done with your probation. You’re the only person to ever make me feel like this. I get marriage proposals from fans. Offers from fans who are rogues. No woman ever made me think of offering or accepting their offers. Only you.” I said.
“You’re pretty hot property, but this is just infatuation. You don’t really want me. You don’t even know what crimes I committed.”
“Nothing violent. No theft over a certain amount. You got probation and not jail time, Sunny. And your sentence was only for eighteen months. The others, the ones who lived but committed violent crimes, how long did they get? I read all the articles. Some are in prison for life. Only a couple of the survivors of the Rogue Kings got short sentences or probation.” I replied.
“I wish you weren’t so damned smart. Then I could just scare you off like all the other men.” She sighed.
“That’s not true. You didn’t want me to know this because you thought I’d treat you differently. I haven’t. Now you’re scared of what that could mean. You’re worried I’m using you. I’m not and I can’t be scared off. I’m a rogue, Sunny. I may be educated and have an un-roguelike profession, but I’ve lived that life. I’ve killed hunters and rivals for resources. Any man who’s scared because of your criminal history is an i***t who doesn’t deserve you.”
“I only date ex-packs and pack wolves.” Sunny told me, crossing her arms and looking out the window.
“Then you should’ve tried harder for Richard in the auction. You got me. You like me. Why are you acting like this, Sunny?” I groaned.
She looked down at her hands. This was getting frustrating. I pulled into the lot where her car was and put my truck into park. Before she could get the door open, I whipped my seatbelt off and reached across the cab, holding the door closed.
“Answer me.” I insisted.
“My parents were pack wolves…. They died when I was eighteen. I used to hear them at night. Talking about how much they regretted not having me in a pack. How lonely I’d be. How rough and violent rogue born men were. I made a lot of decisions based on the things they said. One of the things I decided was that I’d mark a pack wolf or ex-pack. I won’t accept you if you offer for me, Vaughn. I don’t want a rogue mate.” She murmured.
The scent of fear filled the cab. She was afraid of me. No, she was afraid of how I’d react to her rejection.
“I’m different, Sunny. I’m not going to hurt you. I am going to offer for you, though. Don’t accept or refuse it until you’ve finished your probation. Just hold on to it.”
“Why?”
“You can tell yourself it’s to save your friend from being hounded by eager she-wolves who want to make offers. Or that you’re helping me write better. That small connection to you will make me happier than anything else. Give me that. Seven months of hope, Sunny.”
“That’s all you want?”
“I still want to take you out to dinner all week. I want to kiss you again. I want to go home with you and see your art. I want to sleep next to you. I want to marry you and take care of you forever. I love you, Sunny. I’ll give up the dinners in exchange for you holding on to my offer and really consider it.” I told her.
“And the kiss?” Sunny whispered, looking at my mouth.
“I’m going to have to insist on that as repayment for dinner tonight, since you were supposed to pay and won’t be paying for a meal tomorrow.” I replied.
She nodded and I leaned in, capturing her lips with my own. This time, my kiss held a message to her. It held my desire for her, my love, my admiration, and all of my loneliness. I hadn’t even realized I was lonely until I was with her.
Most of the time, I was running off to be on my own as soon as I could. I never wanted to be without her. There was a lonesome desperation in the way she responded to my kiss. Her loneliness wasn’t self-imposed, like mine. It was other people who pushed her away.
I savored it. Used every bit of my brainpower to store the sounds, smells, tastes, and feeling of her mouth on mine and this very moment. I didn’t want it to end. I didn’t want seven months of hope. I wanted a hundred years of Sunny.
Sunny pulled away. “I hope that covered it.”
“I did leave a pretty big tip.” I said, moving in again.
“I know all about what you want to do with that big tip, Vaughn. I wasn’t paying for your generosity, I was paying for my meal.” She murmured.
“You want to kiss me again, Sunny. I can smell it. I can see the way you keep focusing on my mouth and you’re leaning forward a little. This is your last chance.”
She pushed forward and wrapped her arms around my neck. Sunny said she was worried about rough rogue borns, completely unaware that she was one as well. The aggressive nature of her kiss was enticing. It drove me to want to rip her clothes off and take her right there in the parking lot.
Though she probably wouldn’t have fought me, she would’ve been upset once we were done. I was a patient man. Not something a lot of werewolves could say. Especially not rogue born werewolves.
After kissing for a few more minutes, Sunny’s hand began stroking me. I didn’t groan. She had no idea what she was doing. She was lost in the feeling of our kiss. I wasn’t going to make her stop.
Unfortunately, some jackass started blaring his horn in the street, making her jerk away. One day, I’d find and kill that man. Sunny blushed and tried to scoot closer to the door.
“Let me give you my card.” I said.
She nodded and waited while I pulled out one of the cards my publisher had made for me. I reached in the glove compartment for a pen and wrote my address down on the back of it.
Sunny was just conflicted. Once she had some time, she’d see what I did. I knew she already felt what I did. Sunny was my happily ever after.
“I have to go.” She told me.
“Put the card in your purse, then I’ll let you go.”
I watched as she slipped the card into her purse and I released the passenger side door. Sunny opened it and slipped out, walking quickly to her car. My wolf, Ezra, growled a little as we watched her get into her car, with a short look back.
‘Offer for her.’ I told him.
‘Mate.’ He replied.
‘She’s ours.’
Settling into the driver’s seat, I took a deep breath. I’d never felt as possessive of anyone as I was feeling with Sunny. The only other thing I had the same feeling with was my books. That was enough for me.
‘It’s done. How will you make her ours if you’re not going to stick around and court her?’ Ezra asked.
‘I’m a writer, Ezra. Creativity is like breathing to me. We’ll make her come to us. We just need a little help.’
‘Help? From who?’
‘Our Queen, of course. She’s a typical rogue Alpha, but mated to a pack Alpha. She’s a romantic just as much as I am. I need to write. Let’s get back to the motel.’
I turned on the truck and buckled my seatbelt. Queen Bellamy would help. Even if she didn’t know it. I wasn’t letting my mate get away from me.
- Writer
