“Hey, don’t beat yourself up,” Travis said with a nudge to her shoulder as he joined her on the ground and offered her a protein shake. “You were asleep for five years; your muscles are still recovering. It’ll take time.”
“Good news,” Morgan cheerfully declared as she strode toward them and showed them her phone. “Kane’s home gym is all set up and he said we could use it whenever we want.”
That had Sophia immediately perking up, though definitely not because it promised more of a workout. Using Kane’s gym, however, did increase the possibility she’d see him again sooner rather than later. Oh, sure, she’d won the bet, the prize of using his tub yet to be collected, but she’d only wagered for one night. A workout regimen might mean daily visits and therefore, daily sightings of the man.
She had to admit the Born was becoming a bit of an obsession, her thoughts continually finding their way back to him. She’d even dreamed about him the night before. And, okay, yes, he was gorgeous. There was no denying that. But it was more than his looks. He was funny and charming, and generous, not to mention it didn’t seem to bother him that she could eat more than a linebacker. She liked him.
“While you finish up that shake,” Morgan said, pulling Sophia from her thoughts, “Travis and I will set up a temporary shooting range.”
Another groan escaped before Sophia could bite it back. Yesterday, she’d been looking forward to squeezing off a few rounds, today, considering the jelly-like feeling in her arms, she didn’t think she could even raise the weight of a gun to fire it.
“You’ll do great,” Morgan assured her, mistaking the reason for the groan. “There’s nothing to it.”
She didn’t do great. Nor did she fire off a single round. While the protein shake she had drunk had helped her recover somewhat while Morgan had demonstrated proper stance and grip, the Born had taken one look at the quiver in Sophia’s arms when she’d raised the gun, and promptly plucked the Glock from Sophia’s hand with an, “Okay, maybe we’ll call it a day and save this for tomorrow.”
Sophia nearly collapsed with relief. She needed a nap, was about to say as much when Morgan suggested, “Why don’t we drive out to Kane’s and jump in his hot tub? They’re the best for sore muscles and I’m sure he won’t mind.”
Sophia just barely held back the urge to jump up and down and yell, ‘Oh, yes, please, and thank you!’ her body’s need for a nap suddenly banished with the thought of seeing Kane. Good Lord, she had it bad, and if she didn’t manage to tamp down her enthusiasm, she was going to give herself away. The last thing she needed was Travis doing the over-protective brother thing, thinking he needed to warn her off the idea of Kane. She already knew it was probably a bad idea.
While they’d been at the salon, Kane had been one of the topics of conversation between Jamie and Morgan, and while Sophia had listened eagerly, she’d gotten the impression that while women came easily to Kane, a fact which hadn’t surprised her, he rarely took them seriously. And she would have taken that to heart, would have steeled herself against this blooming attraction had the very sensible Morgan not shrugged and said, “That was when he was a Hunter, when he couldn’t put down roots. Who knows what will happen now that he’s permanently based here?”
Those words had practically sent Sophia’s heart fluttering right out of her chest with hope, and no amount of stern mental lectures had been able to talk her down since.
Rushing back to the house to find a bathing suit, or at least a pair of shorts and a tank top to use for her dip in the hot tub, Sophia stopped short once she’d burst through the door. There on the coffee table was a huge basket wrapped in green cellophane and topped with a big gold bow.
Biting her bottom lip, her heart thudding like it wanted to burst from her chest, she reminded herself that she wasn’t the only one who lived here, that the basket might not be for her. Approaching slowly, her eyes zeroed in on the little card just beneath the bow. Only the H, I, and A were visible, but that was all she needed for a blinding grin to break out on her face and have her practically skipping the rest of the way over.
Even before she tore off the wrapping, she could see that the basket was filled with food. Her short bark of laughter echoed around her. A bouquet of Slim Jims tied with ribbon, jars of nuts, a party-sized bag of M&M’s, Twizzlers, and more.
Her hands were shaking with excitement as she pulled the card free. Her name was on the front, but scrawled on the back in a masculine hand were the words: To replenish your snack bag, and signed with the letter K.
Still grinning, Sophia tapped the card against her bottom lip and took in the assortment of food as hope exploded in her chest. Was Kane courting her? If he were a shifter, she would say yes. While dragon shifters tended to give offerings of shiny baubles that could be hoarded as treasure, she knew many other shifter species tended to show their regard with food, a tasty treat to help sweeten the object of their affection up. Perhaps the Born were the same.
Clutching the card to her chest, Sophia bounced in place with a little happy dance before running to her room in search of a bathing suit, now even more excited to see Kane.
∞∞∞
Kane was in a great mood. Last night, after the tacos had been consumed and the hilarity over his loss had died down, he’d managed to corner Archer, and the pack alpha had agreed to a sit-down with him and Destin Jourdain. Now, he’d just gotten off the phone with the latter, having hammered out a date and location, only to see a familiar vehicle pull into his drive. His mood went from great straight to spectacular when he saw Sophia St. John emerge from the back. Had she received his gift?
Feeling like an excited puppy, Kane tried to tell himself to be cool, but he still burst through the front door and ran to greet her like a love-sick dork. That beautiful mane of hair was pulled up in a high ponytail, and her body was shown off to great effect thanks to a tank top emblazoned with what looked like a sports team mascot, and a pair of cut-off denim shorts. Her feet were in flip-flops, revealing cute little toes, the nails painted a glossy red. But it was that bright, eager smile of greeting on her face that left Kane wanting to scoop her up in his arms and kiss her until they were both insensible. It was only the annoying fact that they weren’t alone that stopped him.
“We came to mooch off you and take a dip in your hot tub,” Morgan told him with a grin as she strode past him, while Travis eyed him with suspicion. Not that he could blame the dragon, Kane hadn’t exactly done a stellar job of masking his excitement, and considering his eyes had barely left the man’s sister for more than a heartbeat, it wouldn’t take a genius to assume the reason behind that excitement.
Ignoring the death glare being aimed at him, Kane went straight to Sophia, his happiness to see her morphing into a frown of concern as he reassessed what she was wearing. “You must be freezing. Let’s get you inside.”
Wrapping his arm around her, he urged her toward the door while her brother let out a scoffing snort. “She’s a dragon, Kane. She can make fire. She can also walk perfectly fine by herself.”
Sophia glared at her brother, but Kane barely noticed, too absorbed in the feeling of Sophia’s warm, smooth skin under his palm. “Did you get the basket I sent you?”
Her smile was glorious, lit with happiness and Kane felt his heartbeat accelerate. God, he wanted to kiss her so badly. If her brother would just go away…
“I did, thank you. That was so thoughtful.” Her head cocked slightly to indicate the hobo bag hanging from her shoulder. “I brought some with me,” she said, her eyelashes flicking down before she glanced up at him with a melting softness in those brown eyes that held promises which knocked the breath straight out of Kane’s chest as she finished with, “In case you get hungry later.”
Later? He was hungry now, and for once in his life, not for food. Mentally cursing the fact that they weren’t alone, he ushered Sophia through the door Morgan had left open. A hand landed firmly on his shoulder, halting his forward momentum. “So, Kane. Why don’t yo
u tell me about this alliance you’re trying to establish?”
He almost flashed his fangs and snarled at Travis, but somehow managed to bite back his annoyance as Sophia slipped out from under his arm. “I’m going to jump in the hot tub.” And then, pointedly at Kane, “I’ll see you in a few minutes?”
Pasting a smile on his face when he’d rather growl at his woman’s annoying brother, Kane nodded. Once Sophia was out of sight, he turned to face Travis, about to launch into the details of his plan when he was shoved into a wall with enough force to crack the plaster, a forearm jammed against his neck.
Dragon eyes were glaring at him, those pupils constricted to reptilian slits, and the scent of sulfur thick in Kane’s nose as Travis snarled, “She’s my sister.”
Kane’s “I know,” was a pained whisper as he forced it past the restriction at his throat.
“I’m bigger than you, meaner than you, and if you hurt her, I will kill you.”
He could barely nod, thanks to that forearm, but Travis saw, stepped back enough so Kane could draw in a much-needed breath. The dragon’s next words were quiet, a whispered hiss as a finger was jammed in Kane’s face. “Don’t fuck this up, vampire.”
As far as blessings go, Kane supposed it could have been worse.
Chapter Fourteen
Sophia arrived on the patio to find Morgan had already uncovered the hot tub, though the other woman was nowhere to be seen. Inviting curls of steam rose into the air, and Sophia quickly shucked off the shorts and tank she had worn over her mint green bikini, to climb in. A sigh of contentment had just left her lips as she settled into the soothing heat when her brother’s mate appeared. Dressed in a vivid blue, high-necked one-piece that zipped up the front, Morgan was carrying an ice bucket packed with Coronas.
Setting her burden down by the edge in easy reach, Morgan joined Sophia in the hot tub with a grin. “So, you and Kane, huh?”
Sophia felt her cheeks heat but she didn’t bother to deny it. “He’s nice. I like him.”
Plucking one of the longnecks free of its ice bed, Morgan offered it to her before grabbing one for herself. “Kane is very nice. Nice to look at, fun to hang around with, and you certainly can keep up with him when it comes to food.” The last was said with a merry chuckle as Morgan clinked her beer against Sophia’s.
Sophia waited for the other woman to issue a warning, or tell her about Kane’s womanizing ways, or offer some tragic backstory that made him an unacceptable choice. When she didn’t, Sophia was momentarily stunned. Shaking it off, she asked, “You’re okay with it?”
The other woman shrugged. “Why wouldn’t I be? You’re both adults.” Wiggling her fingers in the air, she added, “Fly free.”
Sophia shook her head with a grimace. “I doubt my brother will be as understanding.”
Morgan’s face went serious. “Your brother just wants you to be happy.”
Any further commentary on that particular subject was cut off as Travis and Kane emerged from the house to join them. Her brother practically tore off his jeans and T-shirt, leaving him in the board shorts he’d worn underneath, and quickly climbed into the hot tub to take a seat on Sophia’s other side rather than sitting next to his mate. Sophia nearly rolled her eyes at her brother’s transparent attempt to keep Kane away from her.
Yup. The cat was definitely out of the bag. Travis had seen her interest and was not taking it well. She was also, most likely, in for a stern talking-to later as well as a recitation of all the reasons she shouldn’t want Kane that Morgan had refused to list. Goody.
Unlike them, Kane was making no move to strip off his typical wardrobe of black leather jacket, T-shirt, and jeans, was merely sitting on the paving stones beside the tub, skimming the water with his fingertips as he shared some news with Morgan about a meeting, though his eyes, Sophia was gratified to see, kept returning to her.
“Aren’t you coming in?” she blurted, cutting off whatever response Morgan had been about to make.
The smile he shot her, had Sophia’s toes curling against the bottom of the tub. The man had nice teeth. Honestly, he had nice everything. Some good genes there, that was for sure. The thought had her frowning. There had to be something wrong with him. No one was perfect. Perhaps he was a lousy lover or had a tiny pecker.
Shaking off the sudden need to check his package which was currently out of sight thanks to his leather jacket and a raised knee, she realized she’d missed whatever it was he’d said. Loathed to seem like an idiot, she pasted a smile on her face and nodded, hoping that was the correct response. Since no one was looking at her like she was crazy, she could only assume it was.
“No rest for the wicked,” Kane said with a grin, flicking water off his fingertips before levering himself up. With a heated look aimed at Sophia that he didn’t bother to hide and which had her greedy little lady bits pulsing with approval, he said, “If you’re still here when I finish up I’ll give you another tour of the place now that it’s furnished.”
The words may have sounded like an invitation to all of them, but Sophia, and most likely Travis and Morgan, knew better.
The sliding doors had barely closed behind Kane when her brother’s head whipped in her direction. “What are you thinking? He’s one of the Born. Our natural enemies.”
Morgan cleared her throat loudly at the same time Sophia let out a scoffing snort and gave her brother a pointed look. “Like you’re one to talk.”
A clicking growl rumbled from his throat. “We’re not discussing my choices we’re discussing yours.”
“So, you’re going with the ‘Do as I say not as I do’ argument. Lovely,” Sophia uttered dryly.
Travis’s jaw clenched hard enough that Sophia would have feared he was going to crack some molars if she wasn’t so annoyed with him at the moment.
“I don’t want to see you get hurt – again,” was bit out between those clenched teeth.
Sighing, Sophia grabbed up her brother’s fisted hand and squeezed it between her own. “I don’t want to get hurt. Trust me. But I like him, Travis. I like him a lot. And I have no idea what’s going to happen, maybe just sex –”
“Ugh, no,” Travis said with a look of horror, yanking his hand back to cover his ears. “I do not want to hear about my baby sister having sex. No, nope, la, la, la, la,” shaking his head rapidly back and forth, he finished with, “My ears will start bleeding.”
Both Sophia and Morgan laughed at that, and Sophia grabbed up her brother’s hand once more. “He makes me happy, Travis.”
And with that, her brother hung his head for a moment before he nodded, accepting defeat.
∞∞∞
Kane was on the phone with one of his seconds, a vampire formerly under Rodolfo’s rule who headed up one of the few legitimate businesses of the deceased Born’s empire, a hotelier with a head for business – one of the main reason’s Kane had picked him. Unlike his predecessor, Kane didn’t feel the need to choose brainless brawn to stand behind him, but would rather promote men and women with intelligence and drive that would lead to a prosperous future for all of them.
“I need you to start keeping an eye out for potential recruitment opportunity. Almost sixty percent of the Turned under Rodolfo’s control were killed when Jourdain attacked. The Court of Elders will be looking to me to make up those numb–”
Kane cut off abruptly, a choked noise leaving his throat as he glanced out the window and spotted Sophia climbing out of the hot tub, water sluicing off her lithe form. Her only covering was what appeared to be little more than pale green triangles of fabric and a bit of string leaving Kane practically panting.
“Sir? Is everything all right?”
Knowing he wouldn’t be able to focus, Kane clipped out a quick, “I’ll have to call you back,” before he disconnected the call.
He watched as she grabbed up one of the fluffy white towels that had been left on the patio table and wrapped it around herself while he tried to keep himself from lurching into motion. Sh
e probably had to go to the bathroom, or simply cool down, he told himself. She certainly wouldn’t welcome him jumping on her like a depraved lunatic simply because she’d shown a bit of skin.
He would have thought that the sheer number of naked women he’d seen in his lifetime would have desensitized him to the sight, but none of those women had been his dragon.
As she moved toward the sliding glass doors, saying something over her shoulder to Morgan and her brother, Kane positioned himself on the other side of the kitchen island in an attempt to hide the raging hard-on straining noticeably against his fly.
When she came through the door, her eyes went immediately to him and she smiled, showing him the bundle of clothes she’d grabbed on her way. “I thought I’d get out before I pruned up. Not to mention, I’m starving again.”
He had something she could snack on…
Clearing his throat before he accidentally uttered that thought aloud, Kane instead asked, “Do you remember where the bathroom is?”
Sophia nodded and tip-toed out of the kitchen, attempting to limit the amount of water she dripped on the floor. Not that Kane cared. She could flood the damn place if it made her happy.
Standing there, he gripped the countertop and closed his eyes attempting not to picture her peeling away that bikini and exposing every luscious inch of herself just yards away from him. It didn’t work.
His vampiric hearing picked up a little chuckle and then a louder, “Um, Kane?”
“Is everything all right?”
Another little self-deprecating laugh. “I seem to be stuck.”
Oh, hell no. She did not just say that. Sophia St. John, the object of his fantasies did not just imply she wanted him to come help her undress. He was imagining it, he was… At the door to the bathroom before he even finished that thought.
A Hunter Found: A Paranormal Vampire Romance (Hired Hunters Series Book 3) Page 8
