by C. D. Gorri
He slammed it down on the counter with just enough force to startle her out of her stupor. So dramatic! She shook her head as he pushed bottle after bottle of craft IPAs, Pale Ales, and Porters into the ice filled stainless-steel coolers behind the bar. Freezing cold water dripped over the sides as he shoved in the beer. Fred used a rag to dry them off.
The only problem with the newest additions to The Thirsty Dog was keeping them stocked. She liked the look of the trendy open-top coolers. It certainly made her job easier. Bending down constantly to figure out which beer they had, and which bottles were cold was time consuming. Especially for impatient customers. Like the ones there tonight. Holidays were always crowded at The Thirsty Dog.
The coolers displayed the beer bottles, kept them cold, and within easy reach. Tonight, it was her job to keep them filled and, so far, she failed miserably. She let the coolers go down to empty not once, but twice. Yikes. Get your head on straight, girl.
“Sorry, boss, I was making Bite-Bombs for that group over there. Mason’s newest flavor, Cinnamon Fire, is his best yet.”
“That it is,” Mike looked at the crowd. She was glad to see him here tonight. Her boss lost his mate and their baby three years ago. Childbirth was difficult for Wolves, and in some cases fatal. Fred bit her lip. He was a good guy and she wished him all the happiness in the world. As if he felt her thoughts, he nodded his head in her direction and continued to watch the bar.
The small acknowledgement felt right. They weren’t exactly close. Mike knew where to draw the line between employer and employee, but their Pack bonds sometimes allowed feelings and flashes of memories to come through.
Jordan, the other bartender on duty, shot her a thumbs-up. He was probably listening in to. He was a member of the Pack too, so he had no trouble hearing her conversation with Mike even as he took orders.
Jordan was cute as hell, with thick, dark hair and piercing brown eyes. He was lean and muscular with long legs and a fantastic build, but he was a little too cocky. Bottom line, guys that were conceited were not to Fred’s tastes.
Jordan flirted shamelessly with anyone of the opposite sex who was within the vicinity. As if he read her mind, he turned around and gave her an exaggerated wink and blew her a kiss before setting up a round of tequila shots.
Fred laughed and shook her head. Dope! She stopped dating Wolves when she was around twenty. She wanted to improve her odds at finding true love and figured she’d never get anywhere with any of her kind. They were such dogs anyway! Pun intended. Not that dating normals turned out to be so great either.
Maybe she should try dating women? She looked back at Jordan and took a sec to admire his firm backside. Uh-uh. His ass was perfectly outlined in the tight black jeans he wore as part of his uniform. Nope, no way, she shook her head and sighed.
It was guys for her. All the way. Damn it! But cute ass or not, Jordan didn’t really do anything for her. They were buddies, Packmates, co-workers and nothing more. The first night he worked there he hit on her, but she made it clear she was only interested in being friends with Pack. He understood and backed off immediately.
That was one thing she loved about her Pack, the Macconwood Pack. Respect and loyalty above all else. That was the unspoken motto. Right now, she just wished she got that little tingling feeling in the pit of her stomach when she looked at Jordan’s ass or anyone for that matter.
Was Josh right about her? Did she attract misery and loneliness? Was she dried up on the inside? Ugh, maybe she was broken or something?
She read an article online about women whose libido diminished after they reached their late twenties. Maybe it was true? Or maybe she just wasn’t good at sex? Aaahh! Maybe she just wasn’t sexy? Or attractive to the opposite sex? OMG! Josh hadn’t touched her in weeks before he left town!
Fred looked down at herself in the barely there uniform and shook her head. She was not conceited herself, but she knew damn well, she had all the right parts and they weren’t half bad. But something killed whatever attraction Josh had felt for her in the beginning.
She closed her eyes for a second and admitted to herself that, yes, they had other problems. He thought she was lying when she stayed out all night during the full moon. And she knew he was lying when he said he was trying to find a job.
In one particularly memorable fight, he accused her of cheating on him with her boss. Yeah, like she and Mike were getting busy in between taking orders at the bar. As if!
She could not believe she ever considered revealing her true nature to him. After one difficult night of lying there next to him, she decided to tell him the truth. It was after another failed attempt at making love. She was tired from working two jobs, it was in-between moons and she was feeling alone and scared.
She still couldn’t believe she almost blurted out her secret. Fred wondered if it might bring them closer together. Especially after he told her he just couldn’t touch her not knowing where she spent her nights. At the very least, she thought if she told him, maybe he’d shut up about her supposed cheating!
Thank goodness, she had the foresight to keep her mouth shut. Too bad she didn’t have enough intuition to keep her bank account and credit card information to herself as well. Idiot.
“Hey, can I get a beer, here?” Fred looked up with a plastic smile and filled the order.
Enough, girl, forget Josh and get your head on straight. Maybe she should just have some straight-up-dirty-against-the-bathroom-wall sex with a stranger. Just to wash the taste of betrayal out of her mouth. She could call it an experiment. A Valentine’s Day Sexperiment!
OMG! That was truly cringe-worthy. Possibly the worst thing she had ever thought of! She mock-gagged as she imagined the re-tweets that would get! LOL!
“No, you keep the change, cutie! Happy Valentine’s day!” Fred smiled at the customer, he was short, about five-foot one, but his smile was friendly and his tip was large!
She shook her head as she tossed it in the tip jar. Who was she kidding? A Sexperiment?! That just wasn’t her style. Winifred was greedy. She wanted it all. Romance, love, trust, friendship, passion. She wanted the whole damn thing and she wasn’t going to settle for less.
Since there seemed to be a shortage of reliable, trustworthy, honest men, she’d have to do the next best thing. Steer clear of all men. No harm, no foul that way!
She smiled and straightened her shoulders content with her new attitude. No more guys! This was going to be a historic Valentine’s Day for Winifred Castillo!
She even ignored a couple of male customers while she focused on her new mantra. Men are evil. I don’t need them! Mike cleared his throat loudly and glared in her direction then at the waiting customers. Fred narrowed her eyes and went back to work with a vengeance. Work, concentrate, make some cash, pay the evil landlord. This will be the best Valentine’s Day yet, Fred my girl!
“Oooohhh!” Fred squealed just as Mike snuck up behind her and dropped an ice cube down the back of her black tank top. She yanked it out of her miniscule clothing as quickly as she could.
“Lighten up, Fred, it’s Valentine’s Day!”
“Oh, that’s just great, Mike! I did just break up with my boyfriend, you know! All these hearts and flowers and people looking for love are giving me the willies.”
“So, you got dumped, so what? That normal was nothing, but a bum anyway. He didn’t deserve you, Freddie. Now get to work. And smile! Maybe Cupid will be kind,” her normally taciturn boss joked.
“Geez, Mike! Now I’m cold!” She didn’t tell Mike about the money. That was her problem.
“Well, duh, Fred, it’s ice! Now, hustle, before Jordan alienates all the male clientele! Tell him to start stocking the back bar while you wait on those suits over there, and where are your uniform pants?”
Fred rolled her eyes and kept working. She was wearing black jeans today instead of her complete “uniform”. If you could even call it that! The thing consisted of short shorts with ripped stockings, stiletto-heeled boot
s, and a black tank top strategically cut along the sides and torso that read The Thirsty Dog in bright red letters with a tongue rolling out of the letter “g”.
Oh, yeah. Classy. But Fred knew the drill, the more she showed, the more tips she made. Sexist? Yes. But it was also true.
She was more than comfortable with her toned and athletic body. Most Werewolves were. And it didn’t matter that it was February and her tank top left little more than a few inches of skin covered. Werewolves ran a little hotter than normals.
But still. Ice was ice. She squirmed uncomfortably. Great! Now she’d have to deal with a cold, wet bra strap for the next few hours. Boys!
Fred stuck her tongue out at Mike. Her boss raised a salt and pepper eyebrow and tossed another ice cube in the air.
“No, no, I’m working, I’m working,” she raised her hands in surrender and laughed.
It was good to smile. Just minutes ago, she doubted she would ever do that again. She turned around as quickly as the thick rubber mats that lined the bar floor would allow her and finished her task before taking over for Jordan.
She grabbed and folded the thick pieces of cardboard left over from the cases of beer they had just stocked. She exhaled a breath. The activity gave her a second to take in the scene.
The place was getting more crowded as the seconds ticked by. A few patrons were seated at the bar waiting for her to notice them. One guy looked kind of pissed. Hope that doesn’t affect my tips. She smiled widely and mouthed “one second” before tossing the cardboard under the trash can.
“Hey Jordan, Mike says get more Bite from the cellar,” she called out to her co-bartender. He winked at her as he waved bye to the group of young women who were all but swooning at his heels. Ugh, this is why you don’t date Wolves. Whatever.
Fred poured a heavy dose of scotch and soda for the formerly annoyed customer and smiled as he handed her a twenty. She never flirted with the customers, but she was friendly and knew when to listen and when to talk.
“Keep the change, doll.” Of course, his eyes never seemed to rise higher than the dip of her tank top.
“Yeah. Thanks! Enjoy your drink,” she automatically rang up the tab and tossed the change in the tip jar.
Maybe tonight wasn’t going to be so bad after all. This plus her paycheck from Maccon City Estates might allow her to put a dent in what she owed Mr. Kaepernick. All she had to do was not eat for the next six months. I hate you, Josh!
She didn’t really hate him. She couldn’t. he was what he was. She’d just gotten lazy.
What Fred really hated, was the idea of having to move. That was much worse than Josh himself. And under these conditions! Her meager belongings wouldn’t even fill a small storage cube, but she’d have no choice. She’d need to rent one to hold her things because the only other place she could afford to live was the little roach motel right off the highway. Yuck.
What was that again about life and lemons? Fred had no idea how she would make lemonade out of this mess. She had no choice. All she wanted to do was finish her shift, go home, and figure out plan.
CHAPTER 3
The minutes felt like hours as she mixed drinks for customers and cringed at one lame Valentine proposal after another.
“I’m good.” “No thanks.”
“No, I can’t sit on your lap while you drink that.”
“No, I don’t want to see your Cupid’s arrow.”
“I bet I can change your mind! Come here, sugar, I got a long, hard Valentine just for you!”
Fred looked over at Prince Charming. The two hundred eighty-pound stranger was barely able to hold his head up. She inhaled. Hmm, a drunken normal. Just what she needed.
She focused all her attention on the stranger. Her eyes looked into his without flinching. Most normals didn’t like to be confronted by supernaturals even though they had no idea what they were. It was a sixth sense of sorts. They recognized danger even if they didn’t know why they were afraid.
She turned her steel gray eyes on him and gave him a hard look. No teasing smile or light banter. A cold look was usually enough to scare normals straight.
“You a fucking tease or what?”
“Listen up, buddy, you are cut off. Walk out of the bar now before I call the bouncer,” Fred had no patience for that kind of behavior. In the mood she was in, it was all she could do not to let her Wolf out a little to scare the crap out of him.
“I got what you need, baby, right here. A little pushin’ and you’ll be good as new,” short, fat, and sweaty reached over and grabbed Fred’s arm.
“Move your hand, before you lose it,” Fred’s voice had just a hint of a growl in it.
The guy seemed to get the message. Grrr. There was always one in the crowd. Can’t handle his liquor. Got all grabby and stuff. She dealt with customers like him every now and again.
The sound of a pleasant masculine laugh filled her ears. Fred turned her head to the right, her blonde ponytail swung behind her. A pair of eyes that shimmered like gold in the dimly lit bar stared at her. Her pulse tripled and Fred felt her mouth hang open. Whoa.
“You handle yourself admirably,” the man stood up from his seat and walked over to her.
He looked formidable. Hard as he was handsome. His smiling face like something out of a book on ancient heroes or demi-gods. Her stomach clenched and Fred sucked in a breath. Holy crap.
“Hey, uh, excuse me I forgot my drink,” the guy with the hands tried to reach in front of the stranger with the golden eyes, but he was stopped with a hard look from Fred’s new friend.
“No, I believe you have had enough. Leave. Now,” one look at the stranger and the drunk guy left without another word.
“Thanks, but you really didn’t need to do that. I had it under control,” Fred leaned forward to get a better look at her would be knight-in-shining-armor. Damn, but he did look like a knight.
The man was drop-dead gorgeous. More attractive than anyone she had ever seen, and that was saying something. She was used to men with larger than life personalities and amazing looks. After all, she was living in the heart of Werewolf country. And boy, were they a good-looking bunch. But this guy. He looked as if he was carved from marble.
She wasn’t exactly a fan of the classics, but the only thought she had when staring at this man, was that he had the face of Adonis. Beautiful. Perfection. Masculine, yes, but beautiful, nonetheless. She wanted to reach out and touch him. To see if he was real.
He had impossibly dark hair. The color of midnight or what she pictured midnight would be in the darkest part of the universe. So dark, Fred imagined she could get lost in it.
It was cut short on his neck but hung well over his perfect forehead. Thick, straight locks reached all the way down to his chin in the front. It was glossy, and slightly windblown. She itched to reach out and touch it.
He had a strong, straight nose. Never been broken. Full, dusky colored lips that complemented his olive-toned skin. Maybe he had Spanish blood? He could just as easily be Italian or Greek. It didn’t matter to her other than the fact that she was curious about him.
He stood up and moved to a stool closer to her. Oh my! Were those black leather pants? He wore them with a black button-down shirt that was open at his throat. She watched his pulse throb steadily at the base of his neck and was shocked at the strong urge to put her lips just there.
She shook her head and pasted on her friendly bartender smile. Fred appreciated the whole pirate meets rocker look. It was seriously hot. Not to mention the rippling muscles and long limbs. He was a feast for the eyes. Panty-dropping gorgeous.
She wouldn’t mind getting lost with him for a few hours. She realized she was staring and cleared her throat. He smiled at her, seeming to notice and maybe even enjoy her temporary embarrassment.
Damn, he is seriously gorgeous. She liked the way his lower lip jutted out slightly farther than the top one when he smiled. And ooh that smile.
His lips parted to reveal bright white teeth.
She appreciated good dental hygiene. It was a Werewolf thing. But it was his eyes that struck her the most. They were unlike anything she’d ever seen.
Ambers and golds swirling around like something out of the cosmos. He had entire galaxies swimming in his eyes. Her heart raced inside her chest.
Fred was dazzled.
“Well, are you here as a special Valentine’s Day gift from the Fates or am I just lucky?” She decided to go with humor.
It’s not like she was going to trust her instincts. Not after Josh. Fred was simply unlucky at love and didn’t, she just swear off men for good? She was going to ignore that nagging little voice inside her head telling her to go for it. Quiet, you are off men, but that doesn’t mean you can’t tend bar and maybe get a tip out of the guy.
“I’m sorry?” The handsome stranger didn’t seem to get her humor, so she tossed some heart shaped glitter in the air.
“It’s Valentine’s Day! You know? The hearts, Cupid, anyway it was a lame joke. I am staying Valentine-less this year. So, what can I get you?”
“Valentine-less? That seems a shame for one as lovely as you are, but if I may have a moment please, if you will?” His voice was nothing more than a rumble in the noisy bar.
It struck a chord deep inside of her. Her stomach muscles clenched. Were her palms getting sweaty? Oh, no you don’t! No butterflies brought on by good-looking men.
“A moment? How about a drink instead?” She tried a bit of harmless flirtation as a distraction, but all she wanted to do was reach across the bar and touch her lips to his. Whoa girl! Slow down now.
“Well, I have this ale, but I am afraid it is not to my liking.”
She eyed the mug of beer in his hand. It was nothing special. An over-produced brand that the country as a whole enjoyed, but a real connoisseur avoided. He struck her as someone with finer tastes than that.
“Maybe you’d like a stronger drink? We happen to have some really good local whiskey, ever heard of Bite?” She ignored the urge to touch him and started prepping her work station for his drink instead. Idle hands and all that.
