Tarian Silver Lion (New Tarian Pride Book 2) Read online

  Let me keep her. Let me stay.

  Chapter Five

  “I need to get groceries,” Rose said over the Queen song blaring on Talon’s radio.

  “You mean you need sustenance after all the horizontal exercise we’ve been doing?” he asked cheekily.

  “Don’t be crass,” Rose said through a private smile as she held her hand out the open window of his Chevelle and caught the wind against her fingertips. It was still cold, but the sun was out, and she hadn’t stuck her hand out a window in ages. “But yes, I need sustenance.”

  Talon chuckled and took a right onto New Tarian Pride territory. At the security station, it was Kannon’s shift right now, and he froze mid-bite of his burger and frowned at them.

  Talon pulled up to the window and told him, “We need to pick up Rose’s snowmobile. Do you know where Gray parked it?”

  Kannon was staring at Rose with an odd and unreadable expression on his face. He took a slow bite of his burger and chewed it like a cow chewing its cud.

  “Cat got your tongue?” Talon asked him, his arm resting on the open window.

  “No,” Kannon drawled. “But I’m pretty sure that cat has yours.” He pointed to Rose.

  Utterly stunned, she didn’t even get a word out before Talon was driving them through the gate Kannon had buzzed open.

  “Do you think he can tell that we’re…we’re…”

  “Fucking like rabbits?” Talon asked.

  “No! Together!”

  Talon ran his hand down his beard and smirked. “Probably. We are giving off that sexy pen pal vibe.”

  Oh. Rose’s heart dipped to the fragrant leather seats. She’d had so much fun and been so distracted the last couple of days with Talon, she’d forgotten about the pen pal deal. Forgotten he was leaving at all.

  Now a selfish part of her wished the house would never be repaired so he would stay.

  She was prepared to pout, but he reached over and wrapped his hand around hers, settling the upset emotions that were building like a storm in her chest. “We aren’t there yet,” he murmured. “Don’t start counting down.”

  “Oh, you’re a mind reader now?”

  He threw her a sideways glance and hit the gas, spinning out on the gravel road.

  Rose laughed and swatted his arm. “You can’t get out of every serious conversation with a gas pedal.”

  “I know that. I have other weapons, too.”

  “Like?”

  Talon waggled his eyebrows, and now Rose was snickering again. “Ridiculous man.”

  But she forgave him and slid her hand to the inside of his elbow, her favorite place to rest it while he was driving the stick shift. He patted her hand there and then rested his palm over her knuckles as he pulled to a stop in front of the big cabin.

  Everything was different. It was like the colors were brighter. Maybe it was just the sunny day that was making everything so brilliant. There were little green grass shoots poking through the melting snow. A bird in the tree nearest them had feathers on his chest the same color as the sun, singing a pretty little song that made her happy down to her soul, and even the stain on the cabin looked new. More orange than she remembered.

  Ronin and Emerald were sitting on the porch stairs of the cabin. Ronin was tying his work boots and Emerald was wrapped in a blanket, cupping a mug of something hot and steamy in her hands.

  “Hey, Dad,” she called with a wave. “What are you doing out so early?”

  Talon eased to a stop and pushed his sunglasses to his silver hair. “Bringing this one back to pick up her snowmobile.”

  He was so handsome that sometimes it was hard to look away from him. “I like to stare and I don’t care,” she sang under her breath.

  Talon looked over at her with a smile. “Poetic,” he complimented her.

  “I’m using all of my wiles to keep you attracted to me.”

  He slid his hand over her thigh and squeezed. Under his breath, he said, “Make me any more attracted to you, and we’ll never leave your house again.”

  Mmmmm, yummy man. Her cheeks had to have been positively pink with pleasure. She wiggled her shoulders and hips in a little happy dance with the music.

  When Talon shoved open the door, he pointed to her and demanded, “No moving. I’ll get your door.”

  One of those songs that Grim used to sing came into her head. What a man, what a man, what a man, what a mighty good maaaaaan, what a mighty mighty good maaaaaaan…

  Talon jogged around the front of the car and opened her door for her, then helped her out. It wasn’t like she needed it. She was a Tarian lioness after all. She didn’t need help with anything…but it was really nice and sweet that he was a gentleman with her. Well, outside of the bedroom. He was an utter rogue inside of it.

  She followed right behind him, staring at that fine butt of his flexing with every step. She wanted to bite it. A growl rattled up her throat and Talon, that fine man, gave her a wicked glance over his shoulder.

  When she looked up at Emerald and Ronin, she skidded to a stop beside Talon.

  The two of them were sitting there frozen with matching what-the-fuck looks on their faces. Ronin held two shoestrings in his hands that were only halfway laced up his work boot. And the only thing that moved on Emerald was the steam of her drink.

  “You two seem…different,” Ronin drawled out.

  Rose cleared her throat and straightened her spine, lifted her chin. “It’s a beautiful day out. I’m in a good mood.”

  Emerald’s bright green eyes narrowed to slits. “What happened to your hair?”

  “My hair?” Rose patted it. Oh, God, there were leaves in it and the right side was like a bird’s nest. Right before they’d gotten into the car, Talon had made love to her from behind in the woods after they’d Changed together. Mortified, Rose frantically plucked foliage from her tresses and tried to comb it through with her fingers.

  Talon wasn’t even hiding his laughter. “Here, let me help. There’s a stick in it.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me I look like a mess?” she whispered.

  “Because you don’t. You look like a well-fucked, sexy—”

  “Shhh!” she hissed, swatting his hand away.

  Incorrigible man was smiling so big, and everyone was going to know she was a hussy for him.

  Finding the very last single shred of her dignity, Rose stood as tall as she could, lifted her chin, shook out her wild hair, and walked proudly past Talon toward her snowmobile.

  Talon smacked her ass.

  With a yelp, Rose’s gait hitched, and then she went back to walking. Like royalty.

  Talon snorted behind her.

  “What am I even supposed to do with this?” Ronin asked. “The only reason Grim is not here right now is because I told his panicked ass that he was mistaken, and that his grandmother did not have a boyfriend. Or…manfriend?” He muttered a curse under his breath and tried again. “Bedmate?”

  Rose was perfectly fine letting him continue. He sounded so uncomfortable with this discussion. This was kind of amazing.

  “Oh, my God, Ronin,” Emerald said, her mouth agape as she stared up at her mate. “That’s my dad. Don’t say bedmate.”

  “I don’t know if I’m okay with this,” Ronin called from behind Rose. “You’re my…and he’s Emerald’s…”

  Rose mounted the snowmobile and glared at Ronin. “I’m old, not dead.”

  “You’re not old,” Emerald argued.

  Talon had stayed by the car and was leaning against the front of it now, watching them with a remorseless smirk on his lips, as though he didn’t give a single care about everyone’s discomfort. Okay, now Rose was biting back a smile.

  “Yeah,” Rose said. “Emerald is right. I’m not old. I don’t feel old. I feel like me. Just Rose. And I can have a crush—”

  “Grim would literally shit himself if he heard you say the word ‘crush’—”

  “Ronin Dillon Alder, if you and Grim have it in your heads that I don’t deserve happy moments with a man, you are dead-ass wrong.”

  “Oh?” Ronin said louder. “Am I dead-ass wrong, Rose?” His eyes turned gold as he took three steps closer. “You’re my grandma to protect!”

  “Or cock block?” Rose asked. “You realize I’m much more than just someone’s grandmother, don’t you? I’m a woman, too. I have feelings and all that shit. I don’t want to shock you, but I can still be attracted to a man. That part doesn’t just die when I hit grandma status.” She enjoyed the stunned, angry look on his face. His mouth was hanging open, hahaha.

  “Don’t say cock block!” he ordered.

  “Cock,” Rose said.

  “Block,” Talon finished for her.

  Rose snorted and tried to swallow down her laughter. Ronin’s face was getting so red.

  Static blasted across the walkie-talkie at his hip, and Kannon said, “Hey Ronin.”

  Ronin ignored him. “But you’re—you’re—you’re Rose. You’re strong and independent. You already had your mate—”

  “Hey Bonin’ Ronin,” Kannon said, an annoying smile in his voice.

  Ronin snatched the walkie-talkie from its sling, pushed the button, and snarled, “Don’t call me that.”

  Okay, this was a little funny. Made more so by Talon’s shoulder-shaking silent laughter behind Ronin. And now Emerald was snickering, too.

  “None of this is funny,” Ronin pointed out, rounding on them.

  “Hey, Alpha,” Kannon said.

  “What?” he bellowed loud enough for Kannon to hear him all the way at the check-in station.

  “Rose is bangin’ Talon, boink, boink.”

  The Alpha of the New Tarian Pride just stood there, face lookin’ like a cherry. Emerald jogged over and slid her hands up his back. “Babe, I love that you’re protective over Rose, but she’s not doing anything wrong. She likes a man. So what? I called this happening the night of the war. Rose fixed him up, and there was something in her smile when she left the room. She looked…happy.” Emerald nodded to Rose. “It’s good to see you happy, and even better for me to see my dad happy. So whatever you two are doing…keep it up. You deserve the smiles on your faces.” She tugged Ronin’s arm. “Come on, ya crazy. We have to get the girls into town.”

  “Did you hear me?” Kannon asked over the walkie-talkie.

  Ronin turned and made to throw the handheld radio at the side of the cabin, but stopped himself mid-throw. Jaw clenched with anger, he pulled the contraption to his lips and jammed his thumb on the button. “Fuck off.” And then he turned the volume down and slammed it back into the sling at his hip. And then he kicked at the snow.

  Today was the best day ever.

  “Why are you taking the girls into town?” Talon asked, pushing off his car. “Are they okay?”

  “Oh, yeah, they’re fine,” Emerald said. “A couple of them have decided to find different Prides just so they can distance themselves from the Tarian Pride and what they went through, but Annamora and Sora and Maris are staying for sure, and they want jobs. And honestly, I think it would be good for them. Give them some confidence. We couldn’t find any job openings online, but I figured if we went into town, they could fill out some applications and hope a spot opens up eventually.”

  Well, Rose perked up at that. “I think that’s a great idea,” she murmured. “Those women are tough, but they had their confidence shaken in that awful Pride. Let’s help them get their legs back under them.”

  Emerald looked relieved and exhaled a big breath. “Okay, thank goodness. I was afraid I was pushing them too hard, too fast.”

  “No, give them something to focus on. Remind them that it’s okay to care of themselves for once.” She’d been struggling with similar feelings before Talon came along. Self care was important for a woman.

  “Do you…” Emerald cleared her throat. “Do you maybe want to come with us? We can do a girls’ day. Maybe do dinner afterward.”

  Rose’s whole face stretched with a smile. “I would love that.”

  “You ladies want to take the Chevelle?” Talon asked.

  “Whoa!” Emerald exclaimed. “You would let us drive your hotrod for the day?”

  Talon gave Rose a wink. “It’s the perfect girls’ day ride. I need to pick up supplies, so I’ll borrow a rig from one of the boys here and get a work day done.”

  “Supplies for Rose’s house?” Ronin asked thoughtfully.

  “Yeah, it’s a mess. That Old Tarian Pride did a number on it.”

  “I got a full-size truck,” Ronin said. “Do you need help?”

  “Are you asking so you can grill me the whole way to the lumber yard?”

  Ronin shrugged. “Maybe.”

  Talon scratched the corner of his mouth with his thumb and chuckled. “Fair enough.”

  Plans all changed up, Rose dismounted the snowmobile and made her way to Talon. She leaned into him and murmured, “I’m gonna kind of miss you.”

  “Kind of?” He offered her a crooked smile and leaned against the car again, arms crossed over his chest. “Say what you mean, Wildcat.”

  Rose rolled her eyes heavenward and cocked her head at him. “I’m going to miss you today.”

  He kissed her quick, just a peck, and patted her backside. “I’m just guessing, but it must’ve been very hard to be the only female in this pride for a while.”

  Oh, Talon was very intuitive. It was one of the things she loved about him. Loved about him. Oh, no, she needed to be careful with that. Those were big feelings. Scary feelings. Feelings she didn’t have a right to have for a man who was upfront with his desire to leave soon.

  Missing him today would be a little taste of how the rest of her life would be.

  Rose was careful to keep her poker face because she wasn’t one to show weakness, but inside, it felt like a hole had been torn into her heart.

  Talon’s dark gray brows drew down, and he brushed the knuckle of his finger down her cheek. “Where did you just go?”

  Rose forced a smile and took the keys from his other hand. “Nowhere. I’m still here.”

  And here was where she would always stay.

  The thought that this was home used to make her feel steady and comfortable, but now everything was different.

  When he left, the colors around her wouldn’t be as brilliant anymore, and there would be less to look forward to. Less laughing, less letting her guard down, less feeling safe, less exposing her soul and knowing she was accepted.

  Less everything.

  When he left, home was going to feel very empty.

  Chapter Six

  “Are you staying?” Ronin asked. Direct and to the point. Talon actually liked that about him, but he didn’t like answering direct questions he wasn’t ready to answer yet.

  “I’ve never been much of a stay-er,” Talon murmured, staring out the window as the town of Telluride blurred by. “I was with the Tarian Pride my whole life until the day we thought Leon killed you and he was talking about culling the submissives. I was looking down at my daughter, scared for the first time ever, scared they were going to hurt her and I wouldn’t be able to do anything. That I was going to fail her as a father. Someday, you and Emerald will have cubs of your own, and you’ll realize that for all the excitement and fun and good, there are also moments that terrify you.”

  “When we have cubs, Emerald will want you around, you know,” Ronin said, not taking his eyes off the road. “I want you to pledge to me. To the New Tarian Pride. I want you to be a part of this.”

  The lion inside of him snarled at the thought of being caged into a Pride, and Talon owed it to Ronin to try to explain. He swallowed hard so the noise in his throat would stop. “Do you know what happens to a lion when you make him roam? Or to a lioness?”

  “They always have to roam?” Ronin guessed.

  “Not always, but most of the time. Emerald is settling well. I can tell. Her eyes aren’t darting to the road, she isn’t twitchy, she isn’t looking out the window all the time, feeling trapped. She isn’t pressing the outskirts of the territory when she Changes. I’ve been watching for any of the signs Mariah used to get, and she just doesn’t have them.”

  “I remember your mate from when I was a kid. What happened to her?”

  “Car accident. The first year was absolute hell. I had Emerald, though. We moved eight times that year.”

  “Jesus,” Ronin whispered.

  “It’s addictive. When we got settled into one place, other shifters would threaten us, or something would spook Emerald, or we would get sad about her mother and want something else to focus on.”

  “And roaming took that focus?”

  “At first, moving was necessary to escape the Old Tarian Pride, but eventually, I guess it was our coping mechanism for dealing with life.”

  “So break the habit.”

  Talon huffed a dark laugh. “I wish I could, but it’s not up to me.”

  “Who is it up to?”

  Talon blinked slow and let Ronin see the lion in his eyes. He knew they’d be gold. Talking about the cage of a Pride constricted his chest and made the cab of this pickup feel too small.

  “You like Rose,” Ronin said, “so you should know how it is for her. You should know what you’ll do to her when you leave.”

  Talon didn’t even try to hide his growling now. “Ronin, I like you, but you don’t have a say in what Rose and I do or don’t do.”

  “She doesn’t attach to people, Talon. She is sooo careful. So careful.” He pulled into the gravel parking lot of the lumber yard and parked right up front. “Her kid was a piece of shit. Never appreciated her or Byron, her mate. Dumped Grim on her right when she lost Byron and then left. Was manipulative and only came back when she wanted money. And if Rose didn’t help, she would threaten to take Grim and never let Rose see him again. And he was the only steady thing she had left by then. Imagine that, Talon. How it was for her. You remember how awful the Tarian Pride was? Rose isn’t submissive by our standards, but by the council’s? She was nothing, treated like a pariah. Were you there the day Grim turned into the Reaper?”