“I love her.”
“I can tell.” Blacque dropped his feet to the floor and sat up straight, then leaned forward. “So are you willing to fight for her?”
Jeremy went pale, but he nodded.
“No, not me. There’re other ways of fighting.”
The young wolf looked at him, surprise in his brown eyes. “How?”
“Tell her how you feel. Tell her you love her. Let her know how it hurts your wolf when she talks about having another man’s baby.”
He couldn’t believe those words were coming out of his mouth. The biggest hypocrite in Arcada was telling others to be honest. But he didn’t take it back. Jeremy sat silently, looking at the battered surface of the desk. They sat there in Blacque’s office, listening to the ticking of the clock on the wall. In another hour, Davey and Jason would be coming in for the day. He scratched his chin, realizing he’d forgotten to shave.
“You think that’ll work?”
Blacque didn’t answer, because he truly didn’t know whether or not it would. It just seemed to be the approach that women appreciated.
Jeremy stood up and then sat back down. He hadn’t been dismissed, and his wolf was reading Blacque as dominant.
“Go home. Talk to her. Let her think about it.” He stood, and Jeremy rose to his feet as well.
“If that doesn’t work?”
They started out to the bay, and Blacque couldn’t help looking out at the early morning light. Had Bleu received his message? Tonight he’d hang around, try to catch the vampire before he left for the night. He pulled his thoughts away from Bleu and his worry, and focused on the very real problems that faced him within the pack.
“It will. Besides, she hasn’t even talked to Alice. If you need to, talk to the alpha. He doesn’t want to see families broken apart.”
But he did want to see Bianca’s line continue. Come hell or high water, Dane was determined to see Blacque’s children within the year.
“You check in with me if you hear anything important.”
Jeremy turned, and the morning light caught the angles on his face. He slipped out of the coveralls he’d snagged earlier. “How will I know if it’s urgent enough?”
“Use your common sense, Jeremy.”
He laughed a little and then walked with Blacque to the service entrance. “I haven’t shown much of that lately, have I?” He pushed open the door and stepped out into the chill morning air. He shifted before Blacque could answer and dashed out across the parking lot as a small economy car rolled in. Alice stepped out, a folding portfolio clutched in her arms.
Shit, shit, and double shit.
“Morning, Lukas! I have some names I want to run past you.” She was bubbling with enthusiasm that Blacque didn’t share. “Was that Jeremy who just ran out of here? What a coincidence. I just spoke with his Debbie last night.”
He held the door open to the building and let her precede him. “Yeah… Alice, we’re going to have to talk about those two.”
He didn’t even bother trying to smile as he escorted her into his office.
In resignation, Blacque looked at the stack of papers on his desk. Alice had drafted a genealogy that was far past his comprehension. She’d patted his hand and set it aside, then drew his attention to a stack of papers. She sorted through them quickly and divided them into two stacks.
“These are the women who have expressed interest in you. This stack is of the applications I’ve determined are not appropriate for one reason or another.” She pushed the thicker stack to the side. “These are the ones I think you should consider.” He looked at the pile, which was much less intimidating than the other. He didn’t even bother to sort through that one.
The first name he saw was Debbie Sears, the fiancée of Jeremy. He lifted it and put it on the other stack.
“Is there a problem with Debbie?” Alice peered up at him, her blue eyes curious.
“She’s in a committed relationship, according to Jeremy.”
Alice sighed deeply. “She is wearing his ring. So you won’t consider them if they’re married, mated, or engaged?”
Hell, he wouldn’t consider them if they were going steady.
“Don’t want bad feelings in the pack. No more than can be helped, anyway.”
Alice retrieved the stack and sorted through it, setting three more to the side. “I know your father won’t agree with your scruples, Lukas, but I appreciate them.” She gazed at one of the applications. “This is my granddaughter. She’s been married to a human for nearly ten years, and they’ve had no luck with children.” She set the paper down on the reject file and carefully aligned its edges with the others. She looked up and met his gaze. Lately he’d noticed that few of the wolves were willing to meet his eyes until they’d spent time with him.
“As much as I’d like to see a grandchild, I’m afraid her husband wouldn’t understand our methods.”
He gave a short laugh. He wasn’t sure he understood their methods either. What was the problem with donating sperm and doing it in a doctor’s office? Granted, if they bred while shifted, the wolves required a tie. But in human form ties rarely happened. Very rarely. In fact, a human-to-human tie was probably a myth. So why was the sire expected to have intercourse with the mother-to-be?
It just didn’t make sense. He could only chalk it up to the innate lust of their species. Dane had certainly had no issues with it, and he hadn’t been gunned down by an irate husband. Yet.
He picked up the remaining papers, scanned them, and set them down. “I suppose I’m old-fashioned or something. It just kinda rubs me wrong.”
Alice didn’t comment; she simply gathered her papers and tucked them back into the portfolio. “Should I contact these three?”
He swallowed hard. “They have to meet me for an interview first. Let them see what they’re getting into.” She looked at him curiously. “This is more than genetics, Alice. If I father a child, I’m the father forever. These women need to know that, and they might not want someone like me in their lives.”
“Nonsense. You’re a perfectly pleasant young man, and anyone who knows your father will expect your involvement as the father.”
Great. Another avenue of escape shut off. Scare tactics probably wouldn’t work either. He rose to see her out. The mechanics would be here soon, and he hadn’t spent any more time with the audits of the mail order business he was reviewing. Some of the pack members had opened a small side business, making and selling jam, jelly, and fruit butter from the orchard. But since it was such a small business, he should be able to review it all before lunch.
As Alice drove away, he noticed a skip in her engine. He’d have to take care of that.
He leaned against the wall of the building, pinching the bridge of his nose. He gazed at Bleu’s big black motorcycle and had the most ridiculous impulse to cry.
Chapter 14
“Lukas?”
Blacque jerked, nearly slamming his head on the hood of the Studebaker. The voice was so unexpected that it startled him. How had he allowed someone—anyone—to take him by surprise? Especially Bleu.
He looked good. Hot. His black hair waved away from his face, revealing the graceful lines of his cheekbones and jaw. His sensual lips curved up in a smile, hiding the fangs Blacque knew had dropped. He stood up, taking in the leather pants, the blunt-toed engineer boots. Bleu was looking him over as well, and Blacque heated at the arousal in his eyes. The excitement was edged with hot, dangerous anger.
“Don’t you think this has gone on long enough?” He moved toward Blacque, pinning him against the car. He stood inches away, invading his space, overwhelming Blacque with his presence. “You know this isn’t going to work. They want more than you have to give, and it’s eating you up inside. Isn’t it, pup?”
He looked away, trying to escape the intensity of the vampire’s stare. He had nowhere to go; even if he escaped from Bleu, he still couldn’t change the truth.
He watched in fascination as Bleu�
�s face came closer to his. Those blue eyes held his gaze, and his lips parted slightly. His skin was flawless—he literally glowed with health and strength. For the first time ever, Blacque knew he’d never be able to overpower the vampire, not when he was at full power like this. He felt helpless, and he liked it.
“I need you, Blacque. I’m…hungry.”
His heart skipped a beat as cool lips brushed against his throat. Bleu moved forward, pressing Blacque back against the car. Their hips brushed closer. He felt the heat of the vampire’s erection against his, and he reached down and clasped that iron-hard rod in his hand…
“Boss?”
Blacque opened his eyes and looked down at the wrench he clasped in a too-tight grip. The engine of the truck he was working on was grimy with decades of old oil and dirt. He straightened up and pushed away from the vehicle. He turned to find Jason looking at him, a trace of anxiety in his mild blue eyes. Thankfully the coveralls he was wearing hid the fact that his dick was still immersed in the daydream.
“Davey said you wanted to talk to me?”
He tossed the tool into a rolling box and leaned back against the old Ford. “You know motorcycles?”
“Yeah, I’m pretty good with bikes.”
The kid had hair the color of straw and freckles across his short nose. Wearing a raggedy hat and biting a piece of grass between his teeth, he looked like he belonged in another century. But this wasn’t a kid—age fairly radiated from him. What in hell was he? This was a game Blacque played a lot lately when he meeting various residents of Arcada.
“Look, can you stay after closing? A client is bringing a bike in tonight.”
“The vamp next door?”
Blacque paused, taken aback by the kid’s casual mention of Bleu. Was there anyone not clued in to his true nature? He was uneasy for his friend.
“No. She’s new in town. Her bike died just down the road.”
“Let me guess, it started up fine when she headed for the motel.”
“Right.”
Jason just laughed and shook his head. “Guess it won’t hurt to check it out. She’s a vampire too?”
“Yeah. Don’t see any for years, and then they’re coming outta the woodwork.”
“No problem.” Jason turned back to his brake job. “I’ll just take a long lunch.”
Speaking of lunch… Blacque glanced at the clock and grimaced. Between the drama of the morning and the pack audits, the day was slipping away. He needed to finish some actual work here today, bring some money in. He was finally in the black and wanted to stay that way. His stomach rumbled, and he headed to his office, ready to take a working lunch. If things kept rolling like this, he’d need to hire someone just for the books.
The sound of a smooth-running sedan brought an unspoken curse. He glanced up to see a black-and-white pull up outside the bay. His father climbed out, food bags and sodas in hand. Well, at least he was paying for lunch. Blacque tossed his day-old sandwich back into the little dorm cooler he kept behind his desk.
“I was hoping to catch you before you ate.” Dane shouldered his way through the door, then pushed it closed with his foot. Great. That meant he wanted to talk. After setting the food and sodas carefully on the desk, he settled into the chair across from Blacque and adjusted his gun belt. He looked good, vital and alive. It seemed ridiculous that he was so worried about his mortality. The thought made Blacque a bit uneasy, but he didn’t smell illness on him.
“So what’s up?” He tore open a bag and inhaled the aroma of fried burgers. The other bag was bulging with French fries and onion rings. Good thing werewolves ran so hot; otherwise they’d all be dying of heart disease. He unwrapped a burger, took a bite, and chewed it slowly, watching the alpha steadily.
“Nothing really. Just wanted to come by and visit.” Dane popped the lid off his cola and drank without a straw. It surprised Blacque, because that’s exactly what he did. Dane set the cup down and started into his first burger, letting his eyes drop closed a bit. “No one does them like Mae Belle’s. All the other places fry them till they’re like jerky.”
Blacque grinned and kept chewing. His father liked his meat rare.
“Heard you had visitors today.” He paused and scented the air. “Vamps, gremlins, wolves…”
“Gremlins?”
Dane jerked his head back out toward the shop. “That kid you got working? He’s probably centuries old. I recognize your neighbor’s scent, but not the female vamp. She’s new.”
Damn. He was good.
“What’s a gremlin?”
“They’re sidhe. Old magic. There probably aren’t many left nowadays. Closer to brownies and beggars than the fae and elementals.”
Blacque swallowed his food and took a drink. “They’re dying out?”
“That is possible, but I suspect they just retreated to their realm. This one’s getting too crowded with humans for the Fair Folk to cope with. Too much metal and technology. In fact, you remember when scientists were dropping acid and mescaline back in the sixties and seventies? Calling it research?”
Blacque hadn’t been around then, but he was familiar with the experiments.
“Well, they claimed to see these magical creatures. Called them mechanical elves. I figure they accidently crossed over somehow. Anyway, they were discredited. Who can take that sort of data seriously?” His dark eyes twinkled in humor. “So a gremlin is a sidhe with mechanical inclinations. They get pissed off, and they meddle with things. You keep ’em happy, and everything will keep going your way. For a business like yours, it’s like having good luck personified.”
“And what keeps a gremlin happy?” He darted a glance out to the shop. Jason was next to Davey, leaning into an engine compartment.
“Well, it depends on the particular gremlin. But in general, they don’t like the typical human failings—greed, dishonesty, and unkindness.”
“Well, I guess it’s good for me that I’m the only mechanic in town.” He grinned and started eating again.
“Good for you that you pay these guys too much. And you aren’t a bad guy.”
“Gee, thanks.”
Dane grinned and balled up the wrapper of his second burger. He started on the fries. “So back to your visitors. What brought Jeremy around?”
“He was trying to fight me for Debbie.”
Dane paused, his face growing dark with anger. “You took him down?”
“I pinned him, then brought him in for a little talk.”
Dane sniffed the air. “No blood.” He stared eating again.
“No blood. Just talk.” Blacque threw away his trash and watched his father’s face. “I told him I didn’t know anything about Debbie and that she needed to go through proper channels.” He paused. “Then I told him I wasn’t interested in busting up families.”
Dane sighed in frustration. “Of course the men aren’t going to like it, Lukas. That’s why we used to have challenge fights for women. It happens, and they need to deal with it.”
“We live in a human environment. Wolves like Jeremy view their women as theirs. They get married, make the commitments to monogamy and faithfulness. If couples in agreement come to me, or if he agrees to artificial insemination—”
Dane snorted in disgust.
“I agreed to this, Dane. If you want me to be a stud, it’ll be on my terms.” He stared evenly at the alpha.
“Lukas, that’s not how we do it. If you want to be alpha—”
“That’s your thing, not mine. If some of the wolves think I’m weak, they can take me on. I’d rather deal with that than cause tension in families.”
Dane shifted in his chair. “Jeremy and Debbie aren’t married.”
“But five of the other females who made requests are. A couple of them are married to full-blooded shifters who would be much better fathers than me.”
The room was silent for a long moment as Dane processed that information. “Have I been wrong all this time?”
“Not for you. You�
��re the alpha. I’m not.”
“You aren’t like other wolves, are you, Lukas?”
He gave his father a grim smile. “Same thing can be said about Drusilla. And my mother.”
Dane returned his smile and shook his head in frustration. “Figured that out, did you?”
“Yeah, that bit about loving her…wanting to see her face—”
“All true. But yes, you’re the end of her bloodline. I owe it to her—and to us—to see that your line continues. If I hadn’t forced the issue, you’d never have done it on your own.”
“I’m not an alpha, Dad. I’m happy in my life.”
“Bullshit. You’re always alone. How often do you date? Take lovers?”
Blacque felt a jolt of pain run through his entire body. Odd that his emotions carried their own brand of pain. His gaze dropped to his hands.
“Oh God. Blacque…” Sudden understanding laced his father’s voice. “You lost someone.”
“I gave someone up. For you. And the pack.”
Dane slumped back in the chair. “I had no idea.” He rested his hand over his eyes, clearly distressed. “Not pack?”
“No.”
“I’m sorry.”
Blacque said nothing. What could he say? Deny the feelings that had been growing against his better judgment? Tell his father that not only was his lover a man, he was a vampire? No, the less said, the better.
“It’s best, then. Someday, when you’re ready, you’ll find a mate.”
“You had a mate. That didn’t make you happy.”
Dane looked away then, pain shadowing his eyes. “I did. I walked away from her for my own ambition. Now it’s too late, and I’ll never have that chance again.”
What a mess this family was!
“What am I? Me and Dru? Nobody else can do a partial shift like we can.”
“You’re like the rest of us. Your mother’s bloodline goes back to precontact times. Some clans have gifts that others don’t have. Some have a half form, like a wolf on two legs. Others have traits that are bad, like moon madness. By the time your mother was born, most of her pack had died out or had been assimilated into other packs.”
Blacque-Bleu Page 13
