A Bleacke Christmas (Bleacke Shifters 5)

by Lesli Richardson

  He laughed. “I know what you meant.”

  “Let’s get everyone checked in,” Gillian said.

  Da’von couldn’t help looking around, despite Nami poking him in the shoulder to pay attention.

  “Da’von,” Asia said, “I hope you don’t mind we gave you your own room. I wasn’t sure if you’d want to be stuck with one of us or not.’

  “That’s fine, thanks. I appreciate it.”

  “Brianna and Tamsin are sharing a room,” Gillian told him. “And they’ll be right next door to you.” He thought he should know those names but couldn’t recall who they were right off the top of his head.

  “How’s Tamsin doing?” Nami asked, her tone sounding deeply concerned.

  Gillian’s smile turned grim. “She’s…stable. She and Brianna have really bonded as friends, though. It’s going to take time. I think once she has the baby, that will help give her a focus.”

  Something tickled Da’von’s mind. “Oh, damn. Is she the one Dewi said her wife and brother-in-law were murdered in a home invasion?”

  Everyone except Lu’ana seemed to react to that. Lu’ana looked shocked. “What? What happened?”

  “It’s a long story,” Nami said in that sort of rushed way she had that meant it wasn’t a discussion to be had right then.

  When Lu’ana caught his gaze, he knew she’d probably be grilling him about that later. Not that he knew much more than what he’d just said. He thought Tamsin was from England or Ireland or someplace. Beyond that, the details were…fuzzy. Or maybe Dewi didn’t tell him much more than that.

  It was hard to say, because sometimes, he noticed, when he was talking with Dewi, it was like his concentration just totally dissolved.

  Which bothered him. Like the harder he tried to pay attention, the fuzzier some things got.

  Not all the time. At school, hell, he was pulling straight A’s, which was pleasing all his sisters.

  “…and I’ve hired a ski instructor for you all, too,” Gillian said. “The equipment rental, lift tickets, everything, that’s all taken care of.”

  “Wow,” Da’von said. “Thank you!”

  “Reggie is going to be mad at himself when he finds out how much he’s missing.” Lu’ana smiled. “That’ll teach him not to listen to me and put in for his vacation time early, like I told him to.”

  Nami chuckled. “You’re never gonna let him live this down, are you?”

  “Heck no!”

  “Heck, no!” Bebe said, cackling at herself.

  Da’von reached for her. “Don’t be yelling at me for her mouth,” he teased as she crawled into his arms.

  She threw back her head and howled, making him laugh. “You know,” he said, “she’s been doing that an awful lot ever since we got back from our last time out here.”

  Asia and Gillian stared, wide-eyed. “Wow,” Asia said. “She…” She cleared her throat. “I mean, my kids grew up out here hearing wolves, and they used to howl back at them like that. Wait, is that a wolf costume?”

  “She’s absolutely adorable,” Gillian said.

  Lu’ana laughed. “Yeah. It’s her favorite thing to wear. We’ve got a couple of them. It’s a phase she’s going through. You know how kids are.”

  Speaking of kids, Asia’s sons entered the lobby with three luggage carts, the boys pushing those, and Chelsea following along behind and weighed down with some stray carryon bags.

  “Thanks, guys,” Gillian said. “We’ll be right there.”

  “I feel kind of bad your kids are hauling our bags,” Lu’ana said.

  Both Asia and Gillian snorted. “Don’t,” they both said, then laughed.

  “They almost didn’t get to come,” Asia added. “They mouthed off to their father the other day when he asked for help bringing the groceries in.”

  Nami winced. “And they’re still alive?”

  “Right?” Asia said. “I literally thought Trent was going to grab them all by the scruff. Eh, of the neck, I mean. They’re lucky all they lost was the game console and the Wi-Fi password until after New Year’s.”

  “Damn,” Da’von said. “Trent don’t play around.”

  “No, he does not,” Gillian said. “They’re lucky they didn’t get grounded for a month for talking back to him.”

  Asia wore an amused smirk. “And I guarantee you next time Dad asks them to do something, they’ll immediately pause the game and freaking do it.”

  * * * *

  They appeared to have one whole wing to themselves on the second floor. Once Da’von was left alone with his bags, he walked over to his window and stared at the gorgeous view. Their rooms overlooked the valley behind the main lodge building, and the sun brightly reflected off the blanket of snow covering the landscape.

  I could get used to this.

  Something about this land strongly called to him. He’d never been here in his life before this year, never been anywhere like it, and yet being here felt like…home.

  He’d really felt it when horseback riding with Badger during their last trip. Like something he’d never even knew he’d been missing was right there, within his grasp.

  Honestly? He’d been worried about not fitting in with Dewi’s family. That they might act a little weird since he and his sisters were black—it was Idaho, after all—but they’d literally been welcomed with open arms. Not just by Trent and Peyton and their families, but by everyone they’d met at the last family reunion.

  There’d been no weird-ass looks, or whispering behind hands, that Beck—and then Joaquin—had married black women. Beck’s sisters welcomed Nami and all of them in as family, too. So had Joaquin’s family. Strange.

  It was a good kind of strange, though, not a bad one. He wouldn’t have thought so much of it if they’d lived in a big city. But he’d been certain there would have been at least a little friction somewhere.

  The only “bad” kind of experience they’d had during their last trip here had been Nami’s car accident, and then the escaped prisoners that had gotten loose in the town. That’d been a little anxiety-inducing, but it turned out all right. And that certainly wasn’t any fault of Dewi’s family.

  And then Dewi’s grandfather, Duncan, who everyone had thought died when he got lost during a camping trip, was safely found and returned home during the search for Ken and Nami after their car accident.

  Da’von still wasn’t sure about Malyah’s story regarding her romance with Joaquin, though. Da’von had no dang clue she was chatting with the guy online all this time. But if Nami was okay with the guy, he supposed he didn’t have any reason to be worried about him.

  Dangit. I forgot to ask them what time we’re meeting for dinner.

  He heard Asia and Gillian talking to someone out in the hallway, so he opened his door.

  At the room next door, Asia and Gillian were talking to a…

  Holy shit!

  Long, black hair, green eyes, and while not as dark as him, her skin was a deep tan, closer to Joaquin’s, or—

  Mateo. This must be his sister, Brianna. Now that he thought that, he could see the family resemblance.

  And she was fricking gorgeous!

  Damn!

  That’s when her gaze met his and she smiled at him.

  Asia and Gillian both turned. “Oh!” Asia said. “Brianna, this is Nami and Malyah’s little brother, Da’von.”

  Somehow, he discovered he’d walked over without even realizing he’d left his room. “Hi.” He held out his hand. “Nice to meet you. Mateo’s sister, right?”

  Her smile made his cock harden, and whatever perfume she was wearing, the light, sweet floral scent made his mouth water.

  She shook with him and literally he felt a tingle when their hands touched. “Yes,” she said, her smile widening. “Brianna Soto. Nice to finally meet you.” She had a slight Spanish accent, too, like Mateo’s. “My brother has told me so much about everyone, I feel like I know you already.”

  She’s talking to you, stupid! Da’von was hav
ing trouble thinking, because all he wanted to do was stand there and stare into Brianna’s gorgeous green eyes.

  He also realized he was still holding her hand. But she wasn’t making any move to pull free.

  Finally, he forced himself to loosen his grip, yet he couldn’t bring himself to withdraw. Instead, he turned his hand palm up so hers was resting in it. He didn’t miss that she let her hand lay in his while he tried to engage his brain and find his voice.

  “Asia, I’m sorry, but when and where are we having dinner?” he asked.

  “Oh, downstairs at six. Main dining room. And if you need any snacks or anything, at any time, just charge it to your room. Room service, or the snack counter down in the lobby.”

  “Okay. Thank you.” Only then did he realize he was still staring Brianna in her eyes.

  She made him think of palm trees, and lush, spring grass, and—

  He swallowed hard. “Nice meeting you,” he said to her.

  Her smile widened. “You, too.”

  He finally forced himself to walk away and return to his room. Before he went inside, he looked back to see Brianna still watching him.

  * * * *

  “That’s Da’von?” Brianna whispered when he’d closed his room door behind him.

  It took every ounce of willpower Brianna had not to chase him back to his room and pounce on him. He was gorgeous! Very short, natural brown hair, and dark brown skin, like his sisters. His sweet brown eyes were filled with emotion and longing. Slender, he was a few inches taller than her own five-eight, maybe six-two, and his smooth, mellow voice stroked across every pleasure center in her brain. She was already imagining what his full lips would feel like kissing hers, nibbling across her—

  “Yes,” Asia said, keeping her voice low. “He’s a clueless human, though, so please watch what you say around him. Remember, we’re a ‘family,’ not a pack. And Trent and Peyton and everyone run the ‘family business.’”

  “Right. How old is he?”

  “He’ll be twenty in a couple of months, I believe. Also, their sister, Lu’ana, and her husband, Reggie are clueless humans. They don’t know anything about wolves. We have to watch ourselves around the three of them. It took some coordinated effort by the Primes to adjust their memories during their last visit, after everything that happened.”

  “Two human sisters in the same family fell for wolves?” Brianna finally forced herself to meet Asia’s gaze instead of staring at Da’von’s closed door.

  “Yeah. It’s a little unusual, but it turns out they do have a couple of wolves in their distant family. So it’s a funny coincidence.”

  It sure is. Especially since there’s about to be another sibling falling in love with a wolf.

  She hoped.

  Then again, maybe Brianna had read Da’von totally wrong.

  From down the hall, one of Asia’s sons called out a question to her, distracting her.

  “Be right there.” Asia glanced past Brianna and into the room, to where Tamsin lay curled on her side in bed, napping.

  Asia’s whisper dropped to barely audible. “Keep me posted about her.” Asia pointed inside the room.

  Brianna nodded and Asia headed down the hall.

  Once Asia had departed, Brianna stepped inside the room to check on Tamsin and make sure she really was still asleep.

  She was. After Brianna verified she had her room key in her pocket, she exited the room and quietly shut the door behind her.

  And walked over to Da’von’s door, where she knocked.

  He opened it almost immediately, a beaming smile filling his face when he saw it was her. “Hi!”

  She couldn’t help but smile in return. “Hi. May I come in for a moment?”

  “Uh, sure!” He opened the door wide for her and stepped aside.

  She quickly ducked in, deeply inhaling as she passed him. She wished she had more developed wolf senses the way Mateo did, but her sense of smell had always been sharp, as had her hearing. Da’von reminded her of cozy afternoon naps in a peaceful, sun-drenched hammock.

  He closed the door behind her and turned.

  Before she could overthink this, Brianna grabbed him by the shirt, pulled him to her, and kissed him.

  There was only a moment of hesitation before he wrapped his arms around her and started kissing her back.

  Yay!

  Chapter Four

  Later that evening, Ken leaned against the bathroom doorway and watched Dewi as she prepared for their dinner date. He’d dressed up in slacks, a blazer, and a tie with his dress shirt. She’d donned the long, royal blue dress he absolutely adored on her. It was sleeveless, and—to him—perfectly highlighted the slight curve already developing around her tummy.

  Their daughter.

  Since June, his life had taken twists and turns he never would have predicted.

  Ever.

  He’d met the love of his life—who happened to be a wolf shifter. And the baby sister of the pack Alpha and his brother, the three children of the former pack Alpha, grandchildren of the pack Alpha before him.

  Ken had gone from teaching computer sciences at the USF Tampa campus, living alone in a one-bedroom apartment, and being periodically terrorized by his shitty older step-brother, to having a large group of friends and adopted family and packmates, and living in a gorgeous, rambling, two-story house on five hundred acres outside Wesley Chapel in southern Pasco County.

  He’d gotten married.

  And, oh, yeah, he was about to become a father in July. Or maybe June, depending on if their daughter decided to make her way into the world a little sooner.

  If she was anything like her headstrong mother, she’d likely come sooner.

  The idea of fatherhood still terrified him, but he felt excited, too. This was beyond his wildest dreams. Before Dewi, he’d honestly wondered if he’d spend his life alone, chugging away at his career. Children weren’t on his radar, because he knew he needed a dang relationship to have them.

  Sure, there’d been some crazy—and downright hairy, literally and metaphorically—events, but he wouldn’t trade a second of it.

  Because now he had Dewi, and their daughter.

  Plus, Peyton had given him a lot of responsibilities with upgrading the Targhee pack’s computer network.

  In related weirdness, Beck—an Enforcer whose relationship with Dewi put the complicated in “it’s complicated”—had met and mated with Nami not long after Ken met Dewi. Nami was a human. And now also pregnant. Nami’s younger sister, Malyah, met and mated another wolf, Joaquin. Also one of Dewi’s Enforcers.

  Tonight, Dewi wore her long, black hair down and loose, because she knew how much Ken loved it like that. It blew him away that he was the only person this powerful woman would twist herself inside out to make happy.

  He never took that for granted, either. But he knew between the trip to Idaho coming up, and their lives growing more complex the closer she approached to her due date, their chances to have nights like this would grow fewer and farther between.

  Dewi rarely wore makeup, but tonight she was putting it on for him. As she leaned in and carefully applied her rose lipstick, her gaze caught his in the mirror. “You’re lucky I love you,” she playfully teased.

  And he absolutely knew, because of their mate bond, that she was just teasing. “I know,” he said. He let his smile spread as he crossed the bathroom and wrapped his arms around her from behind. In her heels, it put her about five-seven instead of her usual five-four. He was five-eleven, so at least he still had a little height on her.

  He pulled her body against his so she could feel his erection swelling in his slacks.

  She ground her ass against him. “No fair talking me into bed before dinner. You promised me steak. Teasing a hungry, pregnant wolf might not be the safest course of action.”

  Fortunately for Ken, he knew this steakhouse had delicious salmon. He’d eat fish and seafood on occasion, but mostly was a vegetarian.

  Otherwise playfully
known as the family’s “grazer” amongst a bunch of carnivores.

  He nuzzled his face along the juncture of her neck and shoulder, sniffing, lightly grazing his teeth over her flesh. “Oh, I plan on teasing you allll night, baby. I want you ready to devour me by the time we get home.”

  He risked a glance in the mirror and saw her mocha-colored eyes looked nearly black with desire. “That’s a dangerous game, too,” she said.

  He smiled and kissed her shoulder before releasing her. “Maybe I like living on the edge more than I thought I did.” He stepped back. “We need to leave in a couple of minutes if we’re going to make our reservation. I’ll wait for you downstairs.”

  Ken started out of the bathroom, but Dewi turned and caught his hand. When he looked back, he felt a wave of pensive hesitation from her. “Are you sure I look okay?”

  This, he knew, was residual energy that was almost as old as she was, another of the painful effects from when she was attacked as a baby.

  He turned back to her and cupped her face in his hands, being careful not to smudge her makeup. “Baby, you are absolutely gorgeous. There’s no other woman in this world for me, and you know I’m not lying.”

  That Dewi still felt uncertain in this way lay in stark contrast to the usually self-assured, borderline cocky Head Enforcer who’d struck terror into people since she was twelve. Ken knew she was finally healing, and she wasn’t as bad as she once was, but it’d take time. Him just telling her he thought she was beautiful wouldn’t magically heal the ancient ache that had long-tainted her soul.

  Nami’s loving, steadying influence had helped a lot there, too. While Dewi loved her two sisters-in-law, Gillian and Asia, she’d mostly grown up without them there to help be mom figures to her.

  Nami, used to corralling her three younger siblings, had instantly stepped into place in Dewi’s life as a surrogate mom to her once the two women bonded. Nami seemed to be the only human, other than Ken, who had a way of persuading and guiding Dewi. Sure, Dewi listened to Badger—he was a Prime Alpha wolf who’d raised her. And Beck, because of their previous romantic relationship, and because he’d helped raise her, too. But Beck couldn’t make Dewi bend to his will the way Ken and Nami could, and Badger had to resort to Prime to make it happen.