She could tell she had absolutely shocked the alpha of the Battletown Pack for a few rare seconds. However, it didn't last long, and Dia ended up scrambling and squealing as she tried to make a break for the bathroom before her mate could retaliate for picking on him. Too bad she only had just put both feet on the floor when Stone scooped her back onto the bed and started tickling her.
His fingers ran up and down her supersensitive ribs until she was begging, "Mercy. Have mercy!" through her squeals of laughter.
The tickling stopped, and she found herself pinned to the bed by Stone, with him lying between her legs again as he smiled down at her.
Damn, she was really going to miss this man while she was gone. Internally, she consoled herself that it was only for a little while. She would be back with the man she loved soon enough.
Chapter Four
Four hours later …
Dia stood next to her car, glaring at Stone. "Get out of my way."
Her mate was leaning against her driver's side car door, blocking her from opening it and getting in.
"No."
She had been arguing with the stubborn man for twenty minutes, and she was quickly losing her patience.
"Stone, I love you with all my heart, but if you don't move out of my way and let me go see my family, then I'm going in that house"-she pointed to their home-"and I'm going to get the griddle so I can knock you upside the head with it!"
Stone curled his lip and playfully growled at her.
Dia turned her pointed finger at him. "Don't give me that lip and growl crap, either, mister. You're acting like a big baby right now, and I don't have time for this shit."
A mischievous twinkle lit Stone's eyes as he stepped forward and grabbed the hand with the finger pointing at him. "If I'm a baby, then I get to suck your tits. Let's go; I like this idea."
Dia dug her heels into the ground as Stone started to drag her back toward the house. "Nope, nope, nope!" she yelled as she tugged to try to get her hand back. It was futile because her mate was ten times stronger than her, but he was also paranoid of hurting her since he considered her a fragile human, so he stopped on her third tug.
Turning to face her with an unhappy scowl, Dia didn't give him the chance to speak as she pointed a finger in his direction.
"Just because you're all big and mighty here with the pack doesn't mean you can boss me around and tell me where I can and cannot go."
Slowly, one eyebrow raised to his hairline, silently mocking her. "The fact that I'm alpha means that's exactly what I can do."
She shook her head and folded her arms across her chest. "No, Stone, that's how you treat the pack. That's not how you treat your mate. If you love and respect me at all, you'll try and understand that."
Stone crossed his arms, mimicking her stance. "And if I tell you that I love you so much I just want to protect you?"
Sighing in frustration, Dia closed the distance between them and put her hands on his chest. She knew touch was important to shifters, and it could also be very comforting.
"Just what exactly are you trying to protect me from? My parents? I assure you they would never harm me."
Stone uncrossed his arms, wrapped one around her waist and used his other hand to rub the back of his neck. "I can't explain it, sweetheart, but every instinct I have is screaming not to let you go. I know I'm coming across as a straight up jackass, and I'm sorry. But neither the wolf nor I want to let you go anywhere without us."
It was hard for Dia to be mad when she could see the sincerity in his eyes. Her poor wolf was that worried about her.
Cradling his face in her hands, as she loved to do so often, Dia looked her distressed mate in the eye. "What will make you feel better? Besides staying here with you, because that's not an option."
Stone's frown intensified. "Short of you talking to me the entire drive there, I don't think there's anything that will make me feel better."
Slick wolf. He probably thought Dia wouldn't agree to that because he knew she hated talking on the phone. The ride to her parents' house was going to take almost three hours, so to be on the phone for the entire drive would be pure hell. But she would do it for him.
Without saying another word, Dia sighed dramatically, purposely letting her mate think he had won. Then she pulled out her cell phone and pushed the button to dial Stone's number.
He watched her movements closely, and even though they were standing two inches apart, he pulled his own phone out and answered it. "Yes?" He cocked an eyebrow at her while waiting for a response.
"Agreed," she said to both the phone and her now shocked mate, who was still standing in front of her.
Leaning forward, she kissed Stone on the lips then pulled back to talk into her phone, making her point obvious.
"Now, get the hell out of my way. I'm going to have to plug my phone into the car charger if we're going to talk for three hours."
Stone grudgingly stepped to the side, letting his mate get in her car. Dia started the engine, buckled up, and put the car in drive, all while holding the cell phone to her ear. Then, when she was ready to go, she blew a kiss at Stone and drove off.
Their line was silent as Stone stood there, watching her car drive down the dirt road from their place, and then disappear out of sight. He didn't know what to say, except for "come back," and this trip obviously meant too much to his mate to do that, so he didn't mutter the words.
He walked into the house, closed the front door, and sat in his favorite chair to brood in silence, completely forgetting that he still had his phone at his ear, until Dia snapped, "Well, are you going to say something or what? Because three hours of silence would be ridiculous!"
Chapter Five
Two weeks later …
"You're not going to make me talk to you for three hours on the way home, are you?" Dia asked her ornery mate.
"No," Stone snapped through the line.
The man had been unbearable since she had left to visit her parents and take care of her mom after her surgery. Dia had dutifully called three times a day-morning, noon, and night-fulfilling her mate's demands for contact. Had that been good enough for him? Nooooooooooo.
As much as she loved her wolf, she was starting to consider how nice a wolf skin rug might look as a welcome mat at her hair salon.
"Why are you being so snappy with me, mister? I've done everything you asked me to do since I left!"
"You don't want to know," Stone grumbled back.
"If I didn't want to know, I wouldn't have asked. So again, what's your problem?"
"I'm horny!" her mate roared back. "And if you don't hurry up and get the hell home so I can be inside you, I will track you down and mount you wherever it is I find you. I don't care if it's on the side of the road. So, I suggest you get that sweet ass moving, princess, and come home."
Caught somewhere between amused and annoyed, Dia said, "I told you not to call me princess. I'm not a fucking princess."
When a deep growl came through the phone line, Dia gave in.
"Okay, okay, I'm leaving now, you impatient mutt. I'll call you when I'm an hour away, okay?"
"Good. Love you. Hurry the fuck up." Click.
Dia looked at the phone and rolled her eyes. She wasn't sure if she should be excited or scared about going home. From the sound of her mate, he just might fuck her through their mattress.
Wait … Maybe that wouldn't be so bad.
Dia turned to walk back into her parents' house. She needed to say good-bye. Not to mention, she wanted to check on her mom one last time before she left.
She was only a few steps from the front door when the world exploded right in front of her face.
Literally.
~~~
"Ma'am? Ma'am, can you hear me?" a soft, feminine voice asked.
At least, she thought the voice was trying to be soft. With the way her head hurt, there was a possibility that the person was screaming the words. Every syllable felt like a hammer to her head.
Slowly opening her eyes, she winced at the bright light that blinded her. She tried to pick her hand up to shield her eyes, but she didn't have the strength to do it. It was better just to keep her eyes closed.
"Where am I?" she croaked.
"You're in Vanderbilt University Medical Center."
Trying to think past the pounding in her brain, she asked out loud, but more to herself, "Why in the world am I in the hospital?"
There was a short pause before the voice spoke again. "Do you remember anything that happened?"
Without thought, she went to shake her head no, but that made her groan out in pain. "No," she croaked in answer, instead.