by Cecilia Lane
Renewed hope laced through him and his bear shoved a single sending into his mind.
Blood and gore and a fight with a crazed wolf were ahead of him. But after that?
Jesse held tightly to the sending of Nora with a mate mark that matched his own.
Chapter 10
“You’re—”
“Ten minutes early,” Nora said in a singsong voice. She spun around Kenny and pointed to her hair when she came to a stop in front of him. “And no twigs.”
Kenny narrowed his eyes suspiciously. “That’s three shifts in a row. What happened to my worst employee?”
She’d been chased to her rock bottom and helped back to her feet.
She’d fallen in with the good crowd.
She’d slept through the nights—multiple—without her wolf stealing her body and leaving her exhausted and running late.
One man to thank for all that. He’d served as catalyst and protector when she needed both.
The bell above the door chimed to announce a new customer. Nora didn’t need to turn to know it was Jesse. His dark cowboy hat covered his eyes, but she felt pinned in place when he turned in her direction.
Delicate wings fluttered in her stomach as he strode right for the bar and took his post. He’d sat there each night since saving her from Viho as a guarantee of her safety.
Nora rounded the bar and leaned on her elbows, chin in her hands. “Hi,” she said, as if they hadn’t just exited the same truck minutes before.
His earthy, delicious cologne tickled another smile out of her. She wanted to sink into that smell like other people wanted to relax into a hot bath.
He was, as her teen self would have said, dreamy. Which made living and working around him utterly frustrating. And every day she didn’t kick the town’s dust off her shoes, the harder she had to search for a reason to leave.
Her wolf howled, but not in agreement. The panting, pacing beast didn’t take kindly to being denied and she wanted a taste of the hunky bear shifter. Leaving him behind was firmly against the little beast’s desires.
One breakfast turned into three. One night on his couch turned into a pattern. They didn't even discuss him bunking down next to her. He just kept falling asleep on the floor, within an easy arm's reach.
Nothing strange about two grown adults having sleepovers in his living room, right?
Her fingers burned every time she dropped her hand against his chest and her wolf howled a little louder.
“Hello, yourself,” Jesse answered. He drew a coin out of his pocket. “Heads or tails today?”
“Hm. I pick tails this time. On account of you not having one.”
“I have one—”
“You have a little stump. Mine is long and luxurious.”
“Little stump. Wow.” Jesse took a sip of the beer Kenny passed him. “I feel like I just had my masculinity called into question here.”
Her eyes dropped to the bar as her cheeks blazed. “That’s not—I’m sure you’re—”
Balls.
Wait.
Fuck.
Jesse smelled smug, but his expression stayed calm and collected. Well, maybe his eyes danced a little too much as if he knew exactly where her mind dipped with that little comment.
Why did her hero have to be so dang good looking and tie her up in knots?
Why did her life have to be in the dumps when she met him?
And why was she still silent?
Nora scrunched up her nose. “Stop looking at me like that.”
“Like what?”
“Like I’m the most interesting person here. Kenny owns a wildly popular eatery and look at those whiskers. There has to be a story behind growing those out.”
Kenny grunted and took himself down to the other side of the bar with a glare for them both.
“Listen close. Tell me if I’m lying.” Jesse’s eyes churned with liquid gold. “You’re the most interesting person in the entire world.”
Her mouth dried and she glanced away from his smoldering stare. Something tingled in the air. A rightness to his words. He told the truth, as stomach-droppingly impossible as that was. She was nobody. Nothing special.
A liar, even. Her secrets were the most interesting and damning things about her.
Cramming down her guilt, Nora flashed him a smile. “Mmm, your reclusive rancher is showing. Have you even met very many people?”
“Enough to know an interesting woman when I spot her.” Jesse flipped the coin into the air, grabbed it on its way down, and opened his palm. “I win. First question is mine.”
She canted her head in acceptance and rounded the bar to meet her first table. Menus exchanged for drink orders, she passed close to Jesse.
The game was simple. The coin decided who went first, then they rotated turns to ask and answer. He was saved from boring hours staring at whatever game Kenny put on the TVs above the bar and she found her shift passed faster than ever.
All with the bonus of not-so-subtly learning more about her knight in shining… fur?
Hm. She needed to work on that one. Armor didn’t really work, but fur didn’t have the same ring.
Jesse set his drink down as she passed. “What did you do before this?”
“More of the same. I got my start at a little diner when I turned eighteen. I could never decide what I wanted to be when I grew up, so I figured that’d hold me over for a while. Then ten years later, I was grown up with bills and rent and everything else the adults complained about within earshot.” She poured drinks for her table and set back off, pausing briefly for her own question. “Have you always wanted to be a cowbear?”
Nora felt Jesse’s eyes on her as she set the drinks down with minimal spillage. The spot between her shoulders itched and warmth filled her from head to foot. He was hard to ignore, especially with her wolf whining to get close to the man.
“I helped Ethan out when we were kids and he had no one else,” he answered as soon as she returned. “I don’t think I ever considered something else. It’s hard work, but I enjoy it. Why Bearden?”
“Because of you.” Nora snapped her mouth closed as the realization of her words hit. Red crawled over her cheeks and her brain worked overtime to fix her mistake. “That’s where you people are.” Oh, fuck. “You shifters. We shifters?” She groaned and squeezed her eyes shut. “I needed a close encounter of the furry kind!”
The last came out as a shout that turned the attention of the entire restaurant in her direction.
Score for being lulled into a false sense of cleverness. Stupid brain-mouth filter.
Cheeks still flaming hot, Nora grabbed too many rollups and dashed off to the table being seated in her section. She stumbled through her greeting, slammed her hip into a nearby booth, and scribbled down another table’s appetizer order before stepping close to Jesse again. And that only happened because there was no other way to slip into the kitchen without going the long way around the building.
Which she considered.
Her wolf lolled her tongue out in amusement. Little beast.
Not Jesse. No, he looked at her in a new light. Curiosity brightened his eyes. “So you left your family and friends behind.”
She cocked her head as she slid the drink order to Kenny and stuck the appetizers in with the cooks. “It’s my turn for a question.”
“No question. Just a statement.”
“You’re assuming I had either one of those.” His eyebrows shot together and she cut him off at the pass by pointing a finger at herself. “Orphan. Foster homes, no permanent adoption, the whole shebang. I aged out without a family and have been on my own ever since.”
Jesse’s eyes softened. “Nora…”
“Don’t give me that look.”
“What look?” He spread his hands wide. “There is no look.”
She rounded the bar and leaned next to him, stuffing her hands into her apron. Her first table would need a visit in a moment and the early bird crowd was due to arrive any moment
. She’d have drinks to drop off once Kenny finished pouring them. Until then, though, she had nowhere else to be.
“I can see the pity in your eyes. That’s the look that feels sorry for poor orphan Nora, who never had a family of her own. I don’t want it. I had unfortunate circumstances, but I don’t want to be known for them. I’m just me.”
“Just you. Fast-talking optimist who can barely keep on her own two feet. Strong woman who upped and moved herself to a new place and won't let her troubles keep her down. How are you not the most interesting person in this place?”
Just her. Not the mate of his enemy. Not a bitten wolf shifter trying to figure herself out. Not the woman who spiraled into a panic on the regular and couldn’t sleep with the lights off.
Still, her wolf rolled through her at his words. Compliments. Accusations, depending on how she took them. At that moment, she decided to lean on the optimist portion and warm under his praise.
Her hero thought highly of her.
“Why don’t you have a mate like the others?” she blurted.
Jesse sat back, looking dumbfounded and smelling of shock. His voice dropped low, sounding almost like a spoken purr. “Mates are precious. Finding your fated mate is like winning the lottery or learning your great-great grandma exists and wants to leave you her entire fortune. Mates are your other half, your perfect match. They complete you in the most challenging and best ways possible.”
Nora met his gaze, breath caught in the back of her throat. His eyes churned with gold.
One corner of his mouth hitched up. “I’ve been waiting for that person for a long time.”
One loaded moment passed into another as silence stretched between them. She couldn’t tear her eyes away from him if she tried. Her wolf chuffed under the attention.
The spell came to an end with the murmur of voices right behind her. The kitchen door swung open and Cheryl barged her way into their moment.
“Are you going to serve your tables or just keep staring all night?” Cheryl sniped.
With a squeak, Nora zipped past Cheryl to collect the order waiting on her. She didn’t need to glance over her shoulder to know Jesse watched her every step around the dining room.
Mates were precious.
Nora discretely eyed the couple seated at one of her tables, drinking in the way they never lost sight or touch of each other. Fingers gently stroked the tops of hands. Knees pressed together under the table. They threw long, lingering glances across their plates, eyes crinkling with unspoken happiness.
Mates were precious, Jesse said. Watching the two she served made her want to believe.
They weren’t the only ones she had for consideration. She’d watched other couples since she’d moved to the enclave. The small interactions took on a new light when held up against Jesse’s clan. Slight twists to orient themselves. Quiet looks. They acted like their world revolved around the other person.
Nora sighed and loaded the plates of another departed group on her tray. Deep in thought, she barely registered bouncing against a table as she made her way to the kitchen.
She hadn’t been born a shifter or requested her inner wolf. She’d simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time. And her mate certainly hadn’t treated her like she mattered.
No, Viho had made her feel worthless and terrified, not precious.
Nora’s wolf whined in the back of her head. Viho had gotten too close. Far too close.
Laughing with Jesse and living her life felt like she took some of the power back from her monster. It was a shot to her system. A jolt of adrenaline. Addicting. She wanted another giggle, another dip of her stomach to her toes, another night falling asleep on his couch while her cheeks hurt. He’d become her safe haven. Her shelter.
Nora peeked through the window in the kitchen door while she waited for the next order. The couple in her section still smiled at each other. She couldn’t hear the woman’s laugh over the sizzling and banging activity in the back of the house, but her wide eyes and even wider smile were a dead giveaway.
Her own eyes felt slammed open on a bright new day. Her world shifted orbit and picked a different center of the solar system.
Mates were precious, just like Jesse said. She craved a slice of the happiness she saw on the ranch or shining in the eyes of the customers she served.
She wanted to cast a light on the darkness and clear out all the shadows Viho left behind.
“I think it’s your turn,” she told Jesse as she passed him. Grey eyes shot through with hints of gold. Warmth spread through her, matching the heat that simmered in her belly the moment she turned her attention back to him.
“I know. I’m trying to figure out exactly what I want to know next about you.”
“Oh, yes. Because I’m so interesting,” she teased.
“And you make it hard to string two thoughts together,” he answered, eyeing her over the rim of his beer.
Nora floated on a cloud as she turned to answer the ringing phone. Her stomach churned with the wings of butterflies. “Hogshead Joint. Would you like to place a takeout order?”
“Hey, baby. Did you miss me?”
Chapter 11
Nora strangled the phone cord, heart pounding frantically in her chest. Her wolf, so happy just a moment ago, crouched down inside her with a whimper.
“Love the way you look today. I don’t love the company you’re keeping,” Viho continued.
She whipped around toward the door, the windows, anywhere he might spot her from. Useless. There was no telling how far away he was or when he’d spied her. Her throat still closed with the skin-crawling panic of knowing he watched her closely.
Days had passed without the bastard attempting to ruin her life again. She’d almost convinced herself she was free once more.
Only there was no escape. She had no quick getaway. The ugliness of her past reared its head when she least expected.
Viho was her mate and he’d always be a danger. To her, to Jesse, to his clan.
Jesse appeared at her side, head cocked like he listened to some distant sound, but even he couldn’t stop the rising wave of panic ready to crash over her.
Viho huffed a laugh on the other end of the line. “You put up a fight the other night. That’s the lively ride I’ve been wanting all along. Keep that up, I might even let some of the others give you a try.”
“Give me the phone,” Jesse ordered. A growl bubbled out of him and he held out his hand.
Nora obeyed. Jaw tight, Jesse took it from her. Gold flashed in his eyes as his knuckles turned white. Plastic creaked under the dangerous pressure of his grip.
“Listen, motherfucker,” he gritted out, “she’s off limits. Not yours. Come near her again and I’ll pull your guts out of your mouth and strangle you with them.”
“You can try. I bet she’s trembling right now, ain’t she? Her wolf knows where she belongs and it isn’t with you.” Viho laughed again. “I’m going to have fun breaking her.”
“Too bad the Ashford clan keeps stealing your toys. Try for her again and you’ll pay in blood.”
Drowning. She couldn’t breathe. The air was too thick, too heavy. Her lungs refused to work. Her heart refused to beat. She blinked, but didn’t see.
Her hands hit something solid. The door. Words shouted at her as she ran. Bile filled her stomach.
Air. She needed air.
Fur brushed against her mind before sinking into obscurity.
Nora shoved out of the restaurant. Noise exploded in her ears. Her name on someone’s lips. Didn’t matter. She reached for her wolf and came up with nothing. Again and again, she was left alone and defenseless against her monster.
Run. He was after them. He’d never give up.
She wouldn’t be caged again.
Run.
Her feet wouldn’t work. Her heart thundered against her ribcage. Her lungs worked overtime to suck down the tiniest breaths possible.
Nora’s vision darkened around the edges. She blind
ly reached behind her, pressed her fingertips against something solid. A wall. She stepped back until her shoulders touched, then slid to the ground.
There was no safe haven. No existence apart from Viho.
She should have run the night he came for her instead of letting Jesse make her a bed on his couch. The morning after. At any point over the last three days.
It was like something bigger than herself, some god toying with her fate, kept her locked in Bearden. Some little delay always redirected her path to stick close to Jesse.
Jesse couldn’t save her. She would only doom him.
She was the mate of his enemy.
Guilt knotted up her stomach. The longer she kept her secret, the harder it was to say the words. The more trouble she brought to his door. The longer she stayed, the harder it was to leave. She was trapped in a problem of her own making because she didn’t want Viho to taint her.
Dumb. Stupidly dumb. A foolish thought for a foolish girl.
No happy ending waited for her. Only Viho.
“Nora!”
He’d kill Viho. Flat out murder the man, skin the wolf, and salt every inch of earth his feet had ever touched. It was only fair for the sheer terror he sparked in the innocent woman.
The acrid scent painted a clear trail to follow. Jesse rushed through the kitchen and out the employee door. He found her crouched against the side of the building, one hand clutched against her chest.
Minor victory, that. She wasn’t in danger of blindly running into traffic. No cliff or hollow or simple misstep posed a threat. Shifters were hardy and could heal from just about anything, but a broken neck would still be fatal.
Her physical state wasn’t his only concern. The pain and fear he tracked made his bear crazy with the need to protect her and murder everything wrong in her world.
And Viho. He’d be damned if he left her alone with no protection against that motherfucker. Jesse wished his hands were wrapped around Viho’s neck that very moment.
Just like the night they met, he knelt down in front of her. He grabbed her shoulders, barely holding back his groan the moment their skin touched. Warmth whipped through him with his bear surging to the surface on its heels.
