He stared down at her, waiting patiently for her reply. She rolled her eyes and gusted out a sigh. Simon took that for the surrender it was. He opened the truck door and gently placed her in the passenger seat, putting her seat belt on with infinite care. He removed her bandit mask and put it in his pocket. He got behind the wheel, put on his own seat belt and removed his Zorro mask. He started the truck and drove carefully out of the mansion’s driveway.

She didn’t even realize where they were going until he pulled into his own driveway, and by then it was too late.

Chapter Two

The dark green wooden siding and gray slate of Simon’s craftsman home was topped by a dark gray A-line roof supported by the traditional pillar and post design so common to the architecture. His favorite part of the house was his open, extended front porch. It ran half the length of the house and well into the front yard, making it more like a small deck than a porch. He’d installed a wooden porch swing off to one side where he could sit, beer in hand, and think after a long, hard day. The glass insert in his front door was his own design, a stylized cat’s head with jade green eyes just like Becky’s. The house was deeper than it was wide, with the two-car garage towards the back of the house.

Simon pulled up into his driveway, content for the moment to have his mate beside him despite the scent of her blood. He pressed the button to open the garage doors, pulling the truck in and killing the engine.

He pressed the button again, closing the garage door and sealing Becky in his home. The Puma in him purred, knowing their mate was now in their den, even if it was only temporary.

Her bleeding had slowed; if it hadn’t, he would have bitten her before they left and to hell with who saw what. Her well-being was the most important thing in the world to him. Seeing Livia crouched over her, Becky’s blood smearing her lips, had driven that fact home forcibly. If he’d had any doubts that Becky was his mate that little scene in the Friedelinde’s garden had set them to rest permanently.

The bitch was lucky Becky hadn’t asked for her life, even jokingly. Simon would have killed her without a second’s hesitation for spilling his mate’s blood. And with the Alpha present he would have been well within his rights. Jonathon Friedelinde wouldn’t have batted an eye. As the old Alpha he’d seen his fair share of bloodshed.

The only thing that had stopped him had been seeing the fear on Becky’s pretty face. Fear of him.

He was going to have to work on that.

He took a moment to study her as he got out of the truck. She was too thin and jittery, something else he planned on doing something about.

Her wildly curling light brown hair floated around her face as she watched him move around the hood of the truck. She was smart enough to stay put when he opened her door, allowing him to carry her into their home. He carried her through the mudroom and straight through the kitchen into the great room. He was pretty sure his feisty mate would kick him in the nuts if he tried to carry her straight to the bedroom.

He set her gently down on his sage green couch, enjoying the way the color lit up her pale skin. He hadn’t consciously chosen the colors of his home with her in mind. It wasn’t until he set her down on the couch and he saw the way her skin came alive that he realized he’d done his entire home in colors suited to her. The result was light, warm golden walls and bright, fun fabrics that brought her coloring to life. The fabrics were soft to the touch, almost like velvet. He’d gone with the lighter wood tones, opting for maple wherever possible, with little touches of black here and there to bring the whole thing back to earth. Yet another way his Puma had tried to get his attention, and he’d ignored it.

If a man could kick his own ass, Simon’s would be bruised all to hell and gone. If he’d mated her months ago when he first realized what was happening she would have been able to kick Livia’s ass. In short, it was his fault that she’d been hurt.

“Whoa.” Becky looked around, taking everything in, much to his amusement. This was the first time she’d been in his home. He hoped she liked it, because if he had his way she wasn’t leaving it. The sofa he’d put her down on was a sectional with an attached chaise; the coffee table and entertainment center were contemporary in design. The glass in the center of the maple coffee table was Simon’s work, depicting a puma with jewel-bright eyes stalking through the woods. “It’s not what I expected.”

“What did you expect?”

Her expression was pleasantly surprised. “Something a little more ‘bachelor slob’ and a little less ‘comfy contemporary’.”

He grinned. “Do you like it?”

“Yeah.” She winced as she tried to sit up and take everything in. He leaned over her and helped her, wincing along with her until he had her in a comfortable position. Her look of gratitude was all the thanks he needed.

Simon walked away but quickly came back with a bowl of warm water and a washcloth. “Okay, shirt off.”

Becky raised her brows in challenge.

Simon sighed. “I have to see how bad the cuts are. And the bite mark.” He glared at the side of her neck, his lips tight, hands clenched around the bowl. Even with the enzyme changing her that scar would more than likely remain. Damn, he should have just gone ahead and killed the bitch. The fact that Livia had left a permanent mark on his mate had his Puma snarling again.

“I’m not taking my shirt off.” She almost crossed her arms over her chest but winced as the pain in her stomach stopped her.

“Oh yes you are, baby.” Simon put the bowl down on the table and perched on the edge of the chaise.

“Those wounds need to be cleaned.”

“That’s what doctors are for, Oh Artiste.”

Simon grinned. With one swift move, he ripped her shirt open from neck to waist. “All duh…you didn’t wear a bra.” His tongue tripped all over the place. Becky’s beautiful breasts were bared to his delighted gaze. They were small, the nipples rosy pink. They perked up slightly in the cool air. He could feel his IQ drop by ten points just from staring at those beautiful nipples. He literally felt his thought processes grind to a halt as all of the blood rushed out of his head and pooled in his dick. If it wasn’t for the blood all over her stomach and shoulder he’d be having a much harder time not fucking her on the spot, and he was having a really hard time of that already.

Becky crossed her arms over her chest with an outraged squawk followed by a squeak of pain. “My shirt!”