SWNOVELS Chapter 19: Well Played Little Mouse!
The day had slipped by fast, before she knew it Lacey was standing in front of her with bags of food and a forced over the top smile on her face. Dax was a mess of paint, she did take Glenda’s advice and accidentally on purpose spilled red paint on her hickey and it covered quite nicely, she checked in the bathroom mirror to make sure.
“Oh my Goddess, look at you!” She said fighting the urge to curl her lip. Dax had paint on her face in her hair, down her back. Art is messy! “What on earth are you doing?” She added forcing herself to giggle.
“A pendulum swing. I didn’t get out of the way in time for the first swing” Dax replied with her own natural giggle
“What is a pendulum swing?” She asked, making a face, which made Dax laugh more.
“I’ll show you, come with me” she took her to the back corner of the warehouse. Sheets of poly covered the floor and the walls, and a large tripod was set up in the middle of it. Beneath the tripod she had four canvases in a square about an inch apart and hanging over them was an empty bucket.
“So you place your canvas or canvases in the bottom, fill your bucket with the colour or colours you want and let it swing. The momentum of the swing will determine the pattern the paint makes on the canvases” she explained
“You’ll have to show me after lunch, what’s this?” She asked pointing at the painting she did earlier
“It’s a dirty pour. You place all the paint in a cup in the colour pattern you want, and you can either flip it, place the canvas on top and flip it or pour it over. Then you move the canvas around to pull out the paint to the edges and corners” Dax explained
“I will admit you lost me at the word dirty.” Lacey giggled. Dax just looked at her and then started laughing
“What?” She asked her, this time she couldn’t fight the curl her lip made. Who is this little imp to laugh at me? She thought as her anger began to rise.
“Johnny pretty much said the same thing this morning” Dax replied, as he recovered from her laughter.
Lacey let out a small sigh at the mention of Johnny’s name. Except it wasn’t Johnny he was envisioning as her mate.
“That man just melts my butter,” she said, fanning herself, trying to tone down the redness in her cheeks as her visions became a little more involved. It shouldn’t have been Johnny. Moon goddess is an idiot! She thought. A tinge of sadness hit Dax, she was happy for Lacey and Johnny, she knew she would never get that kind of happiness. “Show me more”
“More?” She snapped out of her thought
“Yes more, I want to see it all!” Lacey squealed. “We’ll eat first, I’m starving, are you starving? Then you can show me everything”
“Sounds good!” Dax replied, she couldn’t help the smile on her face. Lacey seemed like she really wanted to know more about her and what she does. She couldn’t help but feel the excitement bubbling up inside her at the idea of actually having friends.
They headed back to the front and Dax washed as much of the paint off her hands as possible and Lacey set lunch up at one of the work tables. When Dax joined her she saw all the food and a wave of concern washed over her.
“It’s just the two of us for lunch right?” She asked hesitating,
“Of course! I didn’t know what you liked, but your friend Glenda from the diner said she would take care of it. And I am sure our boys will more than likely show up at some point today, they will more than help themselves to what’s left” Lacey simply stated,
“Our boys?” Dax looked at her
“Yeah! Johnny and Kane!” She gushed, feigning being love struck when she said Johnny’s name. Lacey watched Dax from the corner of her eye. The little imp is stupid, she’s buying this crap!
The conversation she had with Kane this morning, more like Kane had while she stood there looking like a stunned idiot came rushing back to her mind. A small blush crept up her cheeks, she tried to hide it, but to no avail Lacey saw.
“Mmhmm! Hide it all you want, but girl I see you!” She said shaking her head popping a handful of fires in her mouth
“What?” Dax looked at her eyes wide
“That brother of mine has you all twisted up inside” she said through a mouthful of food. “So spill, what did he say?”
“What did he say? Now that is a question!” Dax responded throwing her hands in the air
“Oh boy!” Lacey rolled her eyes, for the second time today, Dax found herself spilling her guts, skipping certain parts of course.
“And now we’re playing this weird game, and I don’t even know the rules, but he’s winning” Dax exclaimed,
“Wow! He came right out and said he wants you, like wants you, wants you, my brother the romantic who would have thought. A personal biased opinion, he’s a good guy, hot tempered, thick headed, yes, but he is one of the good ones. After our parents died and Johnny’s dad took us in, Kane refused to let me leave his side, though he is only 2 years older than me I was all he had left. Took him a long time to let anyone else in” she said. Lacey couldn’t help the jealousy she felt after hearing what Kane said to Dax. That was her brother and he never says he loves her, when he does say something, it is completely forced and almost robotic. And here he is telling this little imp, that she is his and he will spend his whole life proving it to her. She is stealing the affection that is meant for her. She is stealing everything that is meant for her. This little imp has to go!
“But I thought him and Johnny were friends since diapers?” Dax asked, interrupting her thoughts
“Oh they were, they are best friends more like brothers then friends, inseparable, but Kane was barely 16 when our parents died, he was angry and he pushed everyone away, except me. Johnny kept pushing him and pushing him, and Kane exploded, there was a huge fight, Johnny’s dad got involved and when the dust settled he was just holding him while he cried. Johnny’s dad said he just needed to get it out, Kane blamed himself for it happening, the last thing he told our dad was that he hated him. It’s not true, but it was the last thing he said. Now he makes sure to tell the people he truly cares about just what he feels and leaves nothing to fate. So if he said it he probably meant it.” Hearing this information about Kane had her mind whirling. If Lacey was telling the truth, if Kane really did want her, and those are really big ifs, could she want him back. Was it in her to want him just as much? You would have to tell him! She would have to tell him everything. You would have to let him in! He would need to know just how damaged she really was. You would have to let him see! She looked in the direction of the closed door in the back. Her room of secrets and demons. The thought scared her, would he still want her if he knew? Could she open that door?
“Tell me about this game you two are playing” Lacey pulled her from her dark thoughts. Before she looked at Lacey she blinked a few times to clear the shadows from her eyes. The game! With a deep sigh she told her about it, in as little detail as she could.
“So let me get this straight, he won’t kiss you until you ask him, but you wont ask him, you would rather he just does it, so nobody is kissing anybody, but you both want to kiss each other. Wait, you do want him to kiss you right?” Dax just nodded “And he’s winning because you almost asked him too”
“Twice, I almost asked him twice” Dax put her head in her hands
“Goddess, talk about sexual tension, when you two finally get together it will be a clothes ripping, ground shattering event” Lacey let out a puff of air “What happens if you kiss him?”
“I don’t know, I don’t even know the rules” again Dax threw her hands in the air.
“Well we can’t let him win, his ego is already big enough,” Lacey said laughing.
Johnny and Kane were on their way back to the warehouse, when Kane asked what Kenneth had called for.
“Our little problem had someone send out a parcel for him. He doesn’t know what it is or where it is heading, though he is trying to track it down. He doesn’t feel it is in the best interest of the recipient to get that parcel but is having an issue intercepting it. He has traced it back to who initially sent it, but they don’t know what was in it either or who it is for. No name on the box, just an address, which they conveniently can’t remember. Kenneth is still trying. He is of course still in protective custody but they have reduced the precautions.” Johnny glanced at his friend, Kane’s mouth was set in a thin line, this little problem of theirs was getting to be a bigger one by the day.
“His lock down situation is convenient for us. Is his parole date still set for the end of the month?”
“There is talk of releasing him earlier, but it is just talk for now” Johnny responded
“Tell Kenneth to stay on top of that package, I want to know the second he finds out where it is going.” Kane had a feeling he already knew who the recipient was and it made him sick to his stomach. She has been through too much already, if he was right this might destroy her and then he would lose her forever.
Johnny looked at Kane then looked back at the road then back at Kane. He had a question burning a hole in him and it danced across his face.
“What?” Kane finally said when he couldn’t take the looks anymore.
“Nothing” Johnny couldn’t help but grin.
“What?” Kane asked again, with a little more force.
“It’s nothing really, but….did you try to mark her last night?” He asked, laughing.
“NO!” Kane yelled a little too fast.
“Uh huh!” Johnny didn’t believe him.
“Maybe!”
“Maybe? You either did or you didn’t” Johnny raised his eyebrow at Kane.
“Fine, Ky….tried! That damn mutt tried to mark her” Kane said, running his hands through his hair. Johnny broke out laughing.
“And is he pleased with himself?”
“Quite!” He could hear Ky laughing in his head. She is ours! You can’t mark her without her consent, she will run. Then we will chase! You stop it! You started it! Damn mutt! Stupid human!
It was close to five when Kane and Johnny walked into the warehouse, they could hear laughter coming from the back corner of the warehouse. Following the sound they came upon both Dax and Lacey wearing coveralls and playing with the paint, not sure how much the coveralls had protected them from it though. They had it in their hair, on their faces and up their arms. They were laughing and joking around.
“Ok, are you ready to catch it?” Dax asked,
“Let it rip” Lacey was standing on the other side of the pendulum waiting to catch the bucket. Dax had one hand on the edge of the bucket and the other on the bottom. She put a spin on the bucket and pulled the bottom cover off, the bucket spun and released a swirling waterfall of colourful paint out of holes that were drilled into the bottom as it swung towards Lacey. She held a second cover and when the bucket came close to her she grabbed it and slapped the cover back on the bottom stopping any more paint from spilling out, then she unhooked the bucket and placed it on the ground.
“Woohoo! Oh Goddess that is pretty” Lacey said looking at their masterpiece.
“Looks like you two are having a great time?” Johnny walked over to kiss Lacey. “You my dear...wife are a complete mess” Lacey held a big grin on her face. No one needed to know it was the fakest thing ever, and this was all for show. She has hated every second of today, this little imp is not fit to be the mate of an Alpha, she is not fit to be Luna, Lacey wasn’t even certain she was fit to be human.
“Art is really messy, but look what we did. And Dax taught me a lot of other fun paintings too. And next time she says we can make paper weights and oh my Goddess I had so much fun.” Both Kane and Johnny looked at each other at the mere mention of paper weights Kane flinched.
“That sounds wonderful darling, but I think we’ll steer clear of the paper weights” Johnny laughed. Lacey looked confused, but Johnny reassured her it was for the best. “Let’s go get you cleaned up” he ushered her towards the bathroom leaving Dax and Kane alone.
“Look at you messy little mouse,” Kane said looking down at her. “Did you have fun today?”
“I did, I like Lacey she’s fun to be around” Dax replied looking up at him
“Good, I’m glad to hear it.” He tucked a strand of hair behind her ears, happy to see that they weren’t hidden in her hair. He has made it his goal to keep them visible, she hides them and he uncovers them.
“You better not get too close, you’ll get covered in paint as well” she backed away from him, only for him to step towards her.
“Then maybe we should get you cleaned up” she was about to decline his offer to help when a smile crossed her face and a glint appeared in her eye.
“Maybe we should” she moved in the opposite direction of the bathroom towards a side door.
“What are you up to little mouse?” He asked curiously but he followed her.
“Well you keep offering your assistance, and I am taking you up on your offer” she led them outside but kept the door propped open to the side of the building where there was a garden hose. Giving him the garden hose, she slowly unzipped the coveralls and let them fall to the ground where she stepped out of them, she slipped off her cami. Kane swallowed hard as he saw her standing in front of him in her bra and panties
“What are you doing?” He breathed out,
“I told you, taking you up on your offer. The bathroom is already occupied” she bent down and picked up her coveralls and cami placing them on some empty pallets beside her making sure to turn around so he could see PLEASE ME written on her bottom. He sucked in a deep breath and it took everything to stay planted where he was. “I can’t hose myself down and clean myself off at the same time.” He looked at the hose then back at her as she stood there.
“This will be cold, little mouse are you sure?” He asked,
“Yes I am sure” she smiled at him mentally preparing herself for the cold blast that was about to hit her. He turned the water on her and she closed her eyes. HOLY FUCK! She was not prepared, no backing out now though. She started with her arms, moving her hands up and down slowly rubbing all the paint off. Next was her back, reaching as far back as she could. Then she moved to her chest, gracefully moving her hands up her arms to her shoulders across her chest and back down, then repeated the process for the other arm. She took her hair down and washed the paint out and then moved to her face. Then she went back over her body making sure her hands never broke contact with her skin. He watched her move, watched her hands glide up her arms, slowly caress the hills and valley of her chest. He watched the water cascade down her body, and almost missed her when she told him to cut the water. His eyes never left her when he shut the water off. He watched the water drops slide down her stomach, her legs, his eyes trailing them as they disappeared into the valley between her breasts and came out the bottom. He unconsciously licked his lips, but his eyes never left her.
She rang out her hair, grabbed her coveralls and stepped back into them, slowly sliding them up her wet body and out of his sight. With the natural sway of her hips she walked towards him while she zipped herself shut.
“Thanks for the assistance” she purred as she walked back inside, she could hear him growling and when he caught up to her he pinned her to the wall, with one hand grabbing her hip, the other started unzipping the coveralls, breathing hard, he pushed the fabric aside and exposed her skin. When his warm hand came in contact with her cold damp skin a small moan escaped her lips as the warmth spread through her. He lifted her to his waist and she wrapped her legs around him, securing herself, he pressed into her, she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer to her. His lips found her neck, his hot breath on her skin, his warm hands gliding over her body causing her to shiver with excitement. He moved up her neck to her jaw kissing closer and closer to her mouth. He could feel Ky urging him to drink from her lips, to just end it, he rocked into her harder and harder, with each movement she moaned, pushing into him more and more. His mouth just about crashed onto hers.
“KANE YOU READY?” Johnny was yelling for him.
“FUCK!” His head snapped in the direction of Johnny’s voice “That’s the second time today” he growled, and she giggled.
“And that’s round seven” he looked at her, his eyes dark still swirling with lust, but now amusement as well. Still pressing into her against the wall, he waited for his breathing to slow, just enjoying the feeling of her wrapped around him. When he was calm enough he placed her back on the ground. It was getting harder and harder to stop himself, and his little temptress was not making it any easier on him. She zipped herself back up and pulled her hair into a messy bun on top of her head, exposing her delicate neck, but covering her ears.
“Well played little mouse, well played” he said pulling her into him and kissing her forehead, untucking her ears.
“I don’t want them hidden” He said when she looked up at them.
“KANE, THE FUCK BRO” Johnny bellowed again,
“I’m going to snap his neck,” Kane grumbled. She entwined their fingers and started leading him to the front. Lacey was the first to notice their entwined fingers but Kane shot her a look before she could say anything out loud.
“Awww, so adorable” didn’t stop her from using the mind link.
“About time, what the fuck took you so long?” Johnny asked. Kane just shot him an ‘I’m gonna kill you’ look.
“I had a great time today Dax, thanks for showing me around” she squealed and grabbed Dax in a tight hug. A really really tight hug. “Oh Goddess, I’m sorry” she said and eventually let go when she heard her struggle to take a breath.
“We need to hang out more. Oh! The Annual Summer Carnival is this weekend, we should go. Grab some dinner first and have some fun. I love the Summer Carnival, it’s my absolute favourite” She suggested.
“Sounds good to me” Johnny added Dax usually skipped it, she usually skipped everything.
“If Dax wants to go!” They all stared at her, she has never felt so on the spot in her life, Lacey pleading with her eyes. Dax bit her lip, she didn’t want to disappoint Lacey.
“Um….I guess I could shut the warehouse down early” and that was enough to cause Lacey to squeal with delight and hug her again.
“Ok sweetheart, you have to let her go now, she can’t breathe,” Johnny said, grabbing a hold of Lacey and pulling her off of Dax.
“Oh! Shit! Sorry, but yay! Ok Kane will pick you up and we can meet at the diner” Lacey exclaimed excitedly.
“Ok, you need to come with me now, Dax, always a pleasure and we will see you on Saturday. Meet you in the truck” Johnny wrapped his arm around Lacey’s waist and led her out of the warehouse.
“That was a lot of pressure” Kane said “Lacey is hard to say no too” Dax looked at her feet.
“I didn’t want to let her down, and….it could be fun”
“Have you ever been to the carnival?” Kane inquired,
“Um, no” he figured as much, he grabbed a hold of the front of her coveralls and pulled her into his embrace. She buried her face in his chest and wrapped her arms around him. This was something new, he liked the feeling of her arms around him. Slowly she was letting her walls down, he had a long way to go before they fully came down. He kissed the top of her head and gave her one last squeeze before he let her go. He walked towards the door and with one last look at her he left.
She walked into the office to ask Georgie something but surprise, surprise she wasn’t there. Big fucking shock there! She also didn’t lock the fucking door. Dax just shook her head, flipped the lock, and started processing the end of day paperwork. She listened to the messages on the machine. I should really fire her. What the fuck does she do when she’s here? She’s free, what do you expect? She started writing down all the people she would have to call tomorrow. When she got a blank message, she didn’t think anything of it, when she got a second one she felt a wave of fear grip her. Another few customers and then she got a third message that just had breathing on the other line then it disconnected. What do the cops say….
Once is nothing
Twice is a coincidence
Three times is a pattern,
Dax didn’t believe it was a coincidence, she checked the caller ID and all three calls came from unknown names, unknown numbers. Doesn’t mean it’s the same person! Doesn’t mean it’s not! He hasn’t found you! You don’t know that! Her breathing started to increase and her heart started racing. What if he found me? He’s in jail! What if he gets out? They would let you know! Would they? Would they tell her, her nightmare was getting out? She could hear the demons banging on the door in the back, wanting out screaming her name. Call him! Tell him to come back! Kane can’t help me, no one can! Her eyes burning with tears that began to fall, and she shrank to the floor. No please don’t tell me he found me! Then that voice, that snarling angry voice echoed from the far reaches of her mind. I’ll see you soon! She closed her eyes and covered her ears and she sat on the floor in the office huddled in the corner as the day gave way to the night.
That same night, a coldness spread through Kane he had a gnawing feeling building in his gut, he couldn’t place fear, anguish, despair, a swirl of all the above and it was growing stronger. Shifting uncomfortably in his chair for the upteenth time trying to focus on the paperwork in front of him he finally gave up. He ran his hands through his hair, he could feel Ky’s agitated state pacing back and forth. What’s wrong? Don’t know! Don’t feel right! Too much stress! No, something else! Do you want to run? No, I want to sleep! That was strange, Ky never passed on stretching his legs. He rubbed his hands over his face, giving up on his work. He stood from his desk in his room, the feeling was building and building! Sleep will ease it! He thought. Falling into his bed, his sleep was anything but peaceful…..KANE…..HELP…..ME!