Assassin's Honor

Chapter 16

“How long does it take to get some food?” Honorera grumbled. She eased out of bed and looked around the tiny cabin. She felt like she should do something to repay Mr. Shepherd for the kindness he was showing her. All this strange talk about mates and wolves...she shook her head. No, it was too much...too strange. But still, he had rescued her.

She busied herself tidying up the small space. Moving and stretching her body hurt her wounds, but cleaning helped calm her frazzled nerves. She made the bed, washed the few dishes in the sink, and cleaned the bathroom. She couldn’t find the supplies to do anything more.

Next, she nosed through the little kitchenette, hoping to find a snack, but there wasn't much there. She guessed Gabriel hadn't been cooking in the cabin. He must have been eating from the snack bar or buying ready-made food from the mini-mart. Maybe he even drove into Rutberg to dine in real restaurants or buy from real supermarkets.

Being shut inside made her feel restless. She thought about going outside, but she was afraid Gabriel would be angry if she left the cottage. She wished she could go outside. She wished for her sketchpad and pencils but had to make do with doodling on a paper towel with a ballpoint pen while she ignored her growling stomach. A long time seemed to pass before she heard the engine of a truck approach and the door slam. She peeked out the front window to make sure it really was Gabriel. There he was, in his shiny black truck with the chrome details. He climbed out of the truck, pulled some bags from the back seat and jogged up to the door.

"Open up Honorera, it's me, and my hands are full!" He called.

She scrambled to open the door. He frowned at her as he piled the bags on the small counter in the kitchenette. "Why are you out of bed? You were supposed to be resting! And what have you been doing? You aren't the maid, Honorera, you don't have to clean up after me." He chided her. He glanced at her, his eyes tracing her figure in Cora’s old-fashioned nightgown. "We need to get you some clothes!"

She blushed and looked down at herself. "Where are my clothes?"

He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "Ruined I'm afraid. But don't worry. We'll get you new ones."

"Mr. Shepherd, I'm sorry, I don't have any money. And I can't let you buy me clothes." Her face reddened. "If you will just take me home..."

He looked hurt. "I asked you to call me Gabriel. And it's right that I should buy you clothes. Everything I have is also yours. We are one thing."

"You know that's really weird, right?" Something awful suddenly occurred to her and she narrowed her eyes. "Is this a joke? Did somebody set you up to do this to me? Because that's a really shitty thing to do, considering..."

"Honorera!” He sputtered in disbelief, “I would never do that to anyone. How can I convince you that what I am saying is true?"

She huffed and sat at the table, crossing her arms over her chest. "You can start by feeding me."

That made him laugh a little. He pulled out some take-out he'd picked up from the snack bar: cheeseburgers, French fries, and onion rings, plus two cold sodas. Her eyes widened and her mouth started to salivate. "Oooh, yummy!" She shamelessly stole a fry from the carton and popped it in her mouth, and eagerly unwrapped her burger.

He watched her, almost in awe as she took a big bite of the juicy burger. "What?" she asked defensively when she had chewed and swallowed. "I'm hungry!"

"No! It's great. I'm so glad you aren't one of those vegan rabbit girls that only eat salads." He unwrapped his own burger and used the wrapper as a plate. He added a heaping handful of fries and squirted on some of the packets of ketchup.

She glanced down at her full figure and snorted. "Do I look like a rabbit girl?" She stole another one of his fries.

"No... you look like a goddess." He picked up a fry and held it up to her mouth. Her eyes grew ground. Did he want to feed her? It felt so strange...and flirty...and intimate. She blushed as she opened her mouth and took it delicately in her teeth. "You are so beautiful Honorera, and you don't even realize it."

Since she didn’t know what to do with the compliment, she reverted to sarcasm. She rolled her eyes and took another bite of her burger. "Flattery will get you nowhere."

"And it's cute when you blush." He popped open the soda and set it in front of her. "I hope you like cola."

"I like everything. As long as it's not diet. Diet sodas give me migraines." She took a long gulp of the cold soda and thought about holding the cold can against her heated cheeks. Deciding that it would be too obvious, she set the can aside and continued to enjoy her burger.

They ate together in companionable silence. When she was full, she sat back and made a satisfied noise. "Thank you for lunch, Gabriel." She smiled and patted her stomach.

He grinned when she voluntarily called her by his first name. "How are your wounds feeling?"

"Not so bad now." She shrugged. It was true, she was feeling better. The sharp pain had receded into a dull ache. She had always healed quickly. He looked closely at the cut on her cheek. Indeed, it was already scabbed over and looked to be days old. He reached over and opened the bandages on her arms.

"This is amazing... considering..."

She frowned. "Considering what?"

"That you don't shift." He tossed the bandages in the garbage can. "Wolves have a faster metabolism, and accelerated healing abilities." His gentle touch on her arms was making her tingle. His sweet scent was making her feel almost giddy and bold. Honorera had always been shy, reserved, and cautious. Always keeping her head down, trying to make herself invisible, keeping her mouth shut. Being around him was making her have strange, impulsive thoughts.

She surprised even herself when she blurted out. "I want to see."

He stiffened. "You want to see what?"

"I want to see you change... into the wolf."

He brought his face close to hers, so close she could feel his warm breath on her face... so close if she just leaned in a little bit... she could kiss him. But she didn't. Instead, she met his beautiful grey eyes, mesmerized. "Will it help you believe?" He asked.

"Yes," she whispered.

"Okay." He straightened and backed up. He watched her closely as he stripped off his shirt, and then reached for the button on his pants.

"Wait!" She blushed hotly, "what are you doing?"`

"I'm undressing. I don't want to ruin perfectly good clothes to just give you a demonstration." He dropped his pants, and his boxers all at once. She stared, wide-eyed, her mouth slightly agape.

"Do you like what you see?" He teased.

"Um." She muttered, dropping her gaze. She'd never seen a naked man, not live and in person. Honorera had seen pictures, and photos of nude models for her figure drawing class, but none of them had looked like this. None of them had been so well endowed. She gulped and averted her eyes.

"Don't look away, you wanted to see this." There was a slight command in her voice that made her shiver and compelled her to obey.

She watched, but she couldn't really see. The air around Gabriel seemed to bend and blur, it was like trying to peer through water that was constantly moving. As he bent forward, there was a sickening sound, popping and grinding as muscles, bnes, and sinew rearranged into a new form. It sounded painful. When the strange atmosphere cleared, it was the beautiful grey wolf, with familiar silver-grey eyes.

The wolf padded toward her and sat in front of her. "Ohhh," she whispered, much as she had the first time she saw him. She reached out for him, and he came willingly, his tail wagging. He nudged her hands with his big head, and she instinctively stroked him. "It really is you."

She was not afraid of him in his wolf form. In fact, she was more comfortable with the canine than the man. She stroked him and buried her face in his thick coat. He still smelled like caramel, even when he was a wolf. He licked at her fingers and made some contented noises deep in his chest. Gabriel enjoyed her attention for a few minutes before he padded back into the middle of the small room.

Again, the air thickened and blurred around him, the cracking and popping sound making her cringe, and out of the blur, the very handsome, and very naked man emerged. Honorera inhaled sharply and looked away. Because she did like what she was seeing...she liked it very much.