Before she finished, she used her fork to break off a piece and place it on the saucer that Kaid’s coffee cup sat on. He really didn’t want any, but there was no way he was going to refuse her gift of pecan pie. Hell, Bane had almost lost a hand when he got too close to her pie the night before, and here she was, offering him his own piece. He made a big show of enjoying the pie. She was obviously very proud that she’d pleased him.
They finished their breakfast, and in a meandering fashion, each made their way to the door and outside to the car. Delilah was one of the last in the kitchen with Kaid. Bane and Janie had already gone outside to start the Suburban. Daniel waited in the doorway for Avaleigh, who was rinsing the dishes they’d left in the sink, planning to wash them when they returned. As Delilah walked past Avaleigh, she paused briefly, looked at her then turned her eyes to Kaid, pointing directly at Avaleigh, “She is not Baby.”
Kaid grinned at her, “No, Lilah. She’s not.”
Avaleigh, thoroughly confused, looked from Delilah to Kaid and back again, “What? What did I miss? Is there something wrong?”
But Delilah was already walking out the door. She caught Daniel’s eye and threw a look back at Avaleigh over her shoulder, “You may call her Baby.”
Daniel raised his eyebrow and huffed out a laugh, “Good. Thanks for that. Appreciate it.”
Delilah narrowed her eyes at him, turned toward Kaid again, “Told you, you missed one,” then in a flash she was out the door and yelling at Kaid who was still in the house about him having her permission to hurry up and take her to the shopping so that she could choose things.
They were almost to town before Delilah noticed not everyone was there, “Do the others not like to choose things?” she asked, looking around the vehicle.
Bam answered her, “Ms. Sadie and Goldie went for a morning ride. She likes to go early in the morning before there’s too many cars out. Amos wanted to go fishing in the creek this morning. He said not to wait on him.”
Still didn’t explain where Maverik was, and Delilah, all wrapped up in the concept of her new family, wanted to know about everything and everybody. She’d been alone for so long that she wanted to be sure that none of her family ever had to experience it. “What about Maverik-Ass? Did he not want to choose things?” Kaid spit his coffee out, some of it dribbling down his chin, and he laughed out loud as he wiped it away with the back of his hand. “Baby, his name is Maverik. Not Maverik-Ass.”
She turned toward him, smiling, “Yes, I know this. But he is smiling when I call him Ass. I think he likes to pretend that he is insulted.”
Kaid just shook his head as he answered her original question, “He doesn’t do mornings very well, he doesn’t sleep well, so most mornings he’s exhausted.”
“Besides, he’s been sneaking off in the mornings lately,” Bam said. He reached across the seat in front of him to nudge Bane’s shoulder from behind as he drove. “But I’m betting whatever he’s doing, he’s doing it by the book, huh, huh?” he said, nodding his head, as though Bane would get what he meant. Nobody had a clue; it was definitely more “Bam speak,” but he apparently knew something that the others didn’t, again. Avaleigh made a mental note to pay more attention to Bam when he was around Maverik; maybe she’d pick up on what it was, too. She certainly hoped so; she worried about him, often. They all did.
They pulled into the little town that consisted of a main street, four traffic lights, an old hand-hewn stone courthouse to the right, a police station with an attached jail, one grocery store, a little bank and post office that shared a building, and a conglomeration of old stately buildings and shiny new strip malls lining both sides of the street. Housed in those strip malls were a selection of shops, restaurants, an insurance agency, a real estate office, a hair salon and just about all you would need in a small town. They pulled up in front of one of the strip malls that contained several clothing stores. There were two stores on each end and a hair salon in the middle. Avaleigh started to reach for Delilah’s hand to drag her toward the store she wanted to go in first, but then thought better of it, remembering her comment back at the house about Avaleigh not being Baby. “Delilah, are we okay, we’re good?”
“Yes, Sister Avaleigh. We are good,” Delilah held out her hand to Avaleigh, then drew it back. She pinned Avaleigh with a hard, no nonsense stare, her eyes drifting to icy blue and back again, “Kaid is not Baby.” Avaleigh wasn’t sure what she meant; she just stood there for a second, trying to figure out what Delilah was trying to say. Daniel was standing near them and knew immediately what Delilah was trying to get across; he decided to help his Mate understand, “Baby,” he said, pointedly speaking to Avaleigh, with emphasis on the word Baby, “Ya’ll ready to go on inside, pick a store?” Avaleigh looked at Daniel, his emotion flowing through their connection let her feel his sense of possession at the word Baby, and the light bulb went off. Delilah was asking her if Kaid was of interest to her at the same time she was letting her know that Kaid was no longer available. “Oh, Yes, of course not! Kaid is just Kaid,” she reached over and pulled Daniel closer, wrapping her arms around his waist and snuggling her head against his chest, “Daniel is my Baby.” Which immediately produced a chuff and a puff of smoke from Dragon who insisted on being included. Dragon was, it appeared, very arrogant and self-aware, “Yes, Dragon, you too. You’re my Baby also.”
“This is good! Very good, Sister Avaleigh; you may take me to choose things.” Then she looked over her shoulder, as though summoning Kaid, “I’m right behind you, lead on, woman!”
“Me too, Love. Lead on,” Daniel told Ave.
Avaleigh took Delilah’s hand, then stepped closer to link herself arm to arm with her, “This is going to be so much fun! You coming, Janie?”
“Ya’ll go ahead; Bane and I are going to look in Roth's down at the end.” Roth's was a furniture store, and she really wanted to go look for baby furniture.
“I’m sticking with them,” Kaid said, his thumb pointing over his shoulder at Avaleigh and Delilah as they skipped, actually skipped, toward the store at the opposite end, with Daniel trailing them like a puppy. A big dangerous, lethal puppy, but still… a puppy.
“’Course you are, Brother,” Bane answered him. “You got a live one,” he chuckled, “roar if you need me,” he said as he and Janie made their way down to the furniture store.
“Bam?” Kaid asked, looking around himself for Bam. He didn’t see him at first, then looking a little more closely, he spied him, standing across the street and down the block a little. Just standing there, outside a little metal building. The kind with the sliding doors on the front. It looked like a mechanics shop, and the glow of a welding torch could be seen through a few of the cracks in the metal. “Bam?!” Kaid shouted a little louder. Bam stood there, arms at his sides, not moving, just watching whatever was inside the little metal building. Kaid didn’t want to leave Delilah and Avaleigh, but Bam looked so lost, standing there by himself. He knew Daniel was with them, so they were safe for now. He moved a little closer to the street, then let off a sharp whistle. Bam remained motionless for a moment; then, slowly he turned his head toward Kaid, and the pain that Kaid saw in his face was almost enough to drop him in his tracks. Kaid immediately started toward Bam, “Bam, what is it, Man? I’m coming!”
Bam, seeing Kaid coming his way, looked back at the building one more time and then turned and hurriedly met Kaid in the street. “Sorry, I got distracted,” he said in a strangled voice.
Kaid put his hands on Bam’s shoulders, patting him, looking him in the eye, “You okay?”
“Yeah, I just, I got distracted. I’m fine. Where are the girls? Which store?”
Kaid got the distinct feeling that Bam was now trying to distract him; he looked over Bam’s shoulder at the metal building. “You sure, Bam?”
“Yeah, yeah, I’m good. Let’s go find the girls before your Mate’s Beast puts Daniel down.”
“What?! The fuck you say? What the hell is she?!” Kaid asked, astounded at the
thought that his Mate could even be a match for Daniel’s Dragon, much less put him down.
Bam just grinned, though it was subdued for a Bam grin, more the type of smile he had before Avaleigh had come to them. He looked over his shoulder at the metal building as he took Kaid by the arm and started back toward the stores on the opposite side of the street, “Ain't my Beast to tell about. She’ll tell you when she’s ready.”
Kaid, shocked by what Bam had said, allowed Bam to lead him, almost in a stupor, to the store that the girls and Daniel had disappeared into.
Chapter 9
By the time Kaid and Bam made their way into the store, Avaleigh already had Delilah in the dressing room with a stack of clothes. Daniel was leaning against the wall outside the dressing room, an unusual look on his face, halfway between amused and pissed off.
“What’s up? They trying stuff on already?” Kaid asked him.
“Yup,” he answered, arms crossed over his chest.
“What’s with you?” Kaid asked.
“Your female told me to stand here and to try to manage to keep them safe and unaccosted until her Kaid arrived to do it properly.”
Bam, who would normally get a kick out of it, just barely smiled, standing there, his hands in his pockets.
Kaid grinned, “She called me her Kaid?”
“Really?!” Daniel asked, “That’s what you got out of that? Did you not notice the insult to my abilities? What the hell is wrong with your woman that she disrespects me so? What the hell did I ever do to her?”
Kaid sobered, realizing that there was a whole lot going on here. “Daniel, it’s not you, Brother. Remember when you first found Avaleigh, and she wouldn’t have anything to do with you. You wanted to know what you did for her to hate you?”
Daniel’s entire demeanor changed, realization dawning. “It’s not who I am; it’s what I am.”
Kaid just nodded.
“A Dragon held her captive all her life. I’m Dragon,” he put his hands behind his head, clasping his fingers together, “when am I going to stop paying for the crimes this fucker committed?” he asked no one in particular.
“It’s going to be fine. Avaleigh got over it. Lilah will too. Just be patient, give her a little extra consideration. She’ll see you’re not like him.”
“Yeah, I’ll try. I’m sorry I wasn’t more receptive.”
About that time, the curtains opened and Avaleigh came out, smiling ear-to-ear, “You ready, guys?”
They agreed, so she called out, “Come on out, Delilah. Let’s show Kaid your first outfit.”
Kaid stood there, prepared to see his sweet Mate in a new pretty feminine outfit, and when she appeared, he just about swallowed his tongue.
Delilah pulled back the curtain and stepped through it. She looked down at her new outfit, then up at Kaid, who stood there, staring, mouth hanging open, speechless.
“Holy Fuck, Batman!”
Delilah jerked her attention to the person who had exclaimed at her outfit, “Hello, Maverik-Ass. Do you like?!”
“Hell Yeah! Fuck, Kaid! You are one lucky son of a bitch!”
Kaid finally got himself together, “Damn, Baby! You are so fucking hot!”
She grinned at him, “You like it? Avaleigh said that I should get a dress, but I like this better! And you said I could choose.”
Kaid looked her up and down again. His Mate had chosen a pair of black leather pants, with a pair of over the knee black leather high heeled boots, a stretchy, white lace camisole top, with a black short-waisted leather jacket.
“Fuck, Baby. So damn hot!”
“I can choose this?”
“Yes, you can choose this. And you can choose others, too. You need more than one outfit. Did you see anything else that you liked?”
“Some, I will go look more,” and off she went with Avaleigh to choose more.
The afternoon went well. In all she chose two more pairs of leather pants: one purple, and another black. She chose 5 pairs of jeans, and she picked an array of blouses and tops to go with them. At Avaleigh’s urging she picked two dresses, one casual sun dress, and another more dressy one. She picked two pairs of sandals, some shorts, and a couple of pairs of boots in addition to the over the knee black high heeled mistress boots she had originally chosen. She needed a pair for riding with Kaid and a pair for comfort wear with her jeans. She got nightgowns and bras and panties. She got make up and brushes and shampoo. She was set; she had all she needed.
When they met up with Bane and Janie, it was immediately apparent to Bane that something had happened to Bam. “Bam, what’s wrong?”
Bam looked at him, smiling sadly, “Nothing. I’m good. Are we going to be much longer? Can we go home soon?” he implored.
Avaleigh, caught up in the excitement of shopping and having a day away from the house didn’t notice his mood change, “Oh come on, Bam. We haven’t even had lunch yet. Can’t we have lunch in town?”
Bam smiled at her, “Sure, Avaleigh. I can wait.”
She hugged him and, wrapping her arms around his waist, started walking them all to the little diner in town. The rest followed, Kaid doing his damnedest to carry all of Delilah’s bags and hold her hand at the same time. Daniel, following along behind Avaleigh and Bam, turned to see Kaid stop to bend over and pick up another bag he’d dropped. “Here, let me help you carry those,” he told Kaid.
“They are mine! I have chosen!” Delilah told Daniel forcefully.
Instead of being offended he remembered what she had dealt with, what Avaleigh had dealt with. And however bad Avaleigh had had it, Delilah’s had lasted a lifetime. He couldn't imagine being a captive for all of his life, and his heart bled a little for her. “I know, Delilah. They are all yours. I would be very honored if you would allow me help your Mate carry your choosings.”
Delilah looked at him suspiciously, considering.
“I’m not him, Delilah. I’m a Dragon, but I’m not bad. I’m not going to hurt you. This clan is my family, too. I’ll defend each of them, including you, ‘til I die. Even Mav.”
“Why the hell does everybody keep saying that shit?!” Maverik yelled from behind where he had been following along.
Delilah smirked, Maverik’s comment funny to her.
“Take your time, Delilah. See for yourself. I mean you no harm,” Daniel finished.
She looked at him for a moment or two longer, seriously considering his words, “Okay.” She handed him some of her bags and took a few more from Kaid and handed them to him, too.
“Thank you,” Daniel said.
“You are welcome. I give you permission to carry my choosings,” she smiled a brilliant smile at him and immediately stalked past him with Kaid in tow, her grabbing his hand and placing it on her elbow, and going straight through the door to the diner that was now directly behind them.
Maverik walked up to him; Daniel shook his head, unbelieving of the conversations that he, Daniel GreyStorm, proud Fire Dragon, had been reduced to. “The things we do for our Mates,” he said to Maverik, handing over a couple of Delilah’s bags for Maverik to hold.
“Speak for yourself; I do not, will not, have a Mate,” Maverik answered.
“Yes, you keep telling yourself that. I’ve seen the way Bam smirks at you when you say that shit. I do believe you have one coming.”
“Ain’t no way in hell I will ever give any female the power to crush my soul. Been there, Dude, survived the lying bitch’s attempt to destroy me. Never fucking again will any woman have power over me. No woman alive I would ever have enough faith in to hand my Wolf over to. Heart’s dead. Soul’s blackened. All that’s left is my Wolf. I protect him with all I got. Never a-fucking-gain.” Just as he finished his rant, he was almost knocked over by someone as they tried to rush past. Maverik turned around to see who it was and tell them to watch where they were walking and came face-to-face with Valerie. She stood there, face flushed, eyes pooled with tears, as she glared at him. Neither said a word; they just stood there. Da
niel watched the whole thing, feeling like an outsider, like he was eavesdropping. Finally, Valerie broke their staring contest, “I hate you,” she spat at him with vehemence. She slammed her shoulder into his as she shoved her way past him and hurried down the sidewalk away from them. Maverik turned to watch her go, conflict on his face as he watched her.
“Dude, the fuck was that about?” Daniel asked.
“She hates me,” Maverik told him, still watching her retreating form. Her sweet, rounded, sexy as hell, retreating form.
“Well, yeah, that’s apparent.”
“She’ll thank me one day,” Maverik said.
“For what? Pretending she doesn’t exist? ‘Cause I got to tell you, Brother, it looks to me like she’s your Mate, and you are purposely making her hate you.”
“I ain’t never said she was my Mate! Not one damn time!” Maverik raised his voice at him.
“You didn’t have to, Maverik. It’s apparent to me. It’s apparent to all of us. The only one who won’t admit it is you.”
Maverik glared at him for a second, then smashed the bags he was holding against Daniel’s chest, “It’s none of your fucking business!” he yelled at him. “Mind Ya! You hear me, just Mind Ya!”
Then he turned and stalked away in the opposite direction from the one Valerie had gone in.
Daniel stood there for a minute, looking up at the sky, arms full of Delilah’s “choosings,” wondering if he should go after Maverik or go inside and try to enjoy the rest of the day with his Mate. Just then the door opened and Bam came out. “What the hell is Mind Ya?” he asked Bam.
“Means mind your own business. Mind yours, Mind ya.”
“Oh,” Daniel said, still looking in the direction that Mav had gone.
Bam looked in that direction, too, “I’ll go after him. You go eat with Avaleigh.” Bam didn’t give him a chance to reply; he took off at a slow jog in the direction that Mav had fled.
Daniel went into the diner, carefully placed all of Delilah’s choosings in the corner near their tables in the back. They’d picked a place at the back of the diner and pulled two of the tables together to make room for all of them. They’d all ordered, and Avaleigh had ordered for him. “Where’s Maverik?” Avaleigh asked. He looked at her and shrugged, “He had a run in with Valerie. She stalked off in one direction; he went the other.”
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