by S. E. Babin
"Have you tried?" I asked.
He laughed again and sighed. "I'm content. It doesn't take a lot to make me happy. I have my tools, some friends, a good home and peace."
"Do you ever long for anything more?" I noticed the flash of emotion in his eyes before he quickly covered it.
"If you're asking if I want a wife and kids, the answer is more complicated than just yes and no. Anyone can have a family, but anyone can break it off." His dark gaze met mine. "When I find mine, I want it to be forever. I never want to worry whether or not I'm good enough, whether or not she will seek out someone she thinks is better. I want to know the only bed she wants to share is mine. The only children she wants to bear are mine. The only one she wants to fell asleep next to is me." He held my gaze as he slowly sipped his coffee. "I have yet to find that."
I swallowed hard. "I used to want that," I admitted.
"You don't anymore?"
"You make it sound easy."
He barked out a laugh. "Sure, because I'm going to automatically know all of these things when I meet someone instead of suffering a crippling lack of self-confidence. You can never know what someone is thinking. What I said is what I really want, but I'm realistic to know it may not be feasible."
"I bet you've never been dumped," I grumbled.
He snorted. "You'd be wrong."
I slowly lowered my mug. "Do tell."
He rolled his eyes and opened his mouth to speak, but the doorbell rang, interrupting what I could only imagine was a very juicy story. I growled under my breath, set my coffee down, and went to the front door. I peek out only to see a massive bunch of flowers.
Confused, I opened the door.
A werewolf, one of the Lupin pack if I wasn't mistaken, stood there, holding a massive bouquet of roses and lilies. "Can I help you?"
"Katie Harper?" the man inquired.
"Yes."
"I'd like to give you these."
I took them from his outstretched hands and stared at his suspiciously eager, yet handsome face. "Thank you," I said slowly, waiting for him to tell me who they're from.
He stood there for a moment, wringing his hands. "Um, I'm not usually so forward, but I'm here to ask if you'd like to go out with me."
My mouth dropped open. "Excuse me?"
"A date," the werewolf said. "With me. I know a nice little place on the edge of town -"
I cut him off as the realization of what had happened hit me with the force of a rock dropped off a twenty story building. "No," I said abruptly. "I know why you're here and my answer is no."
His face shifted into a crestfallen expression. "If it's because you're a jinn, that isn't why I'm here." he protested.
"Uh huh," I drawled. "Tell me, what attracted you to me?"
He shifted back and forth as a long, awkward pause settled in between us like a lead weight.
"Errrm, you're awfully pretty."
"And?"
He tilted his head to stare at me. "I like your voice."
"Uh huh. Anything not physical? Tell me...what kind of perfume do I wear?"
He sniffed long and loud and was about to tell me when I slammed the door in his face. But I took the flowers with me. I liked flowers and wouldn't waste them on some greedy werewolf. When I walked back into the kitchen, Martin was stone-faced.
"So it's beginning?" he asked.
I reached into the drawer for a pair of scissors so I could trim the flower stems. "Yup," I said shortly.
I heard Martin shift and stand. He brought the dishes over to the sink and began to rinse them.
"You don't have to do that," I said softly.
"It's my pleasure. Thank you for breakfast. I'll be back as soon as I shower and grab everything else I need today."
It was quiet between us as he loaded the dishes. Without another word, he grabbed his wallet and shoes and left me in the house, lost in my thoughts about how to handle the newest turn of events.
After hours of contemplation, I still didn't have a clue.
Before Martin returned, I'd fielded multiple phone calls and knocks on the door. I was thoroughly sick of people by now, so when my doorbell rang less than five minutes after the last would be suitor left, I flung it open without looking to see who was there and snarled at the person to get the hell off my property before I called the Midnight Cove police. Martin stood there blinking rapidly in surprise before a look of feral anger stole over his face.
"Katie? What's wrong?"
I sighed in relief and melted against the doorframe. "My doorbell won't stop ringing. The word is officially out and if the amount of foot traffic at my door is any indication, I am the hottest commodity in town right now."
Martin followed me in, growling at the ridiculousness of it all.
"What can I do?" he asked me.
I snorted and threw my hands up. "There's nothing anyone can do." I stared at the windows in my house. "Maybe I can bar them."
A confused look knitted his brows. "The windows?" Martin shook his head. "No. This is your home. The people here need to respect your space. Maybe we should call the police for trespassing."
I laughed bitterly. "With the amount of visitors I've had today, the jails will be full by 4:30."
Martin rubbed a hand across his still unshaven face. "Tell me what you want me to do."
I gave him a sad smile. "Just go to work. I can handle this."
The flash of anger in his gaze made me even more sad. This wasn't his business and I shouldn't put him in the middle of it. I offered him another cup of coffee but he declined. Martin carried his tool bag into the bathroom. Before he shut the door, he shouted that a few more people would be by to help him so I asked him to answer the door.
I needed to shower. If anyone else showed up trying to woo me, hopefully the presence of Martin would keep them from getting too friendly.
I spent an embarrassing amount of time in the shower. So much time, in fact, that my skin was wrinkled by the time I got out. I smiled at the foggy reflection in the mirror because blow drying my hair was going to take even longer. If I could get dressed and get the blow dryer on before my doorbell rang again, I could stay blissfully unaware.
I'd just stepped into my skinny jeans when it rang and I called out to Martin, but he growled back at me. "Stay in there. I'll get it."
He sounded hopping mad. I grinned as I pulled a long and loose tunic over my head. I tiptoed to the door only to hear Martin snarling at someone to get the fuck off my property before he ripped off their head and shoved it up their asshole.
I snickered against the door and crept back to the bathroom to dry my hair. There were certainly some advantages to having a man in the house. Even though Martin didn't sign up for this and was within his rights to ignore it, knowing he was sending people away with violent threats no less, gave me the warm and fuzzies.
Twenty minutes later my hair was mostly dry and I had lipstick and mascara on. Good enough. I slipped on my shoes and was about to step out of my bedroom when the doorbell rang.
Again.
Feeling sympathy for Martin, I waved him away and open my door only to see someone I've had dealings with before. Harry Lupin.
"Harry?"
He leaned against the porch post, looking both sheepish and casual. "Busy day?" he quipped.
I laughed in surprise and rolled my eyes. "Let me guess. Am I the talk of the town?"
He grinned at me, a wide and pleasant smile. "I would have showed up with flowers but word around town is every single florist has experienced a sudden influx of customers. Their stock has run dry." He peeked over my shoulder and his grin widened even more, crinkling the edges of his eyes attractively, as he saw the shitoad of flowers I had in vases all over the house. "Nice," he remarked.
"At least the house will smell good for awhile," I said.
"Until it smells like a funeral home," he added.
"Right." I chuckled at the thought of it. "So...why are you here?"
Harry clapped a hand
over his chest. "I am here to offer to take you to lunch. Not because I should be lumped into one of those fortune seekers, but because I have both sympathy and envy for your plight. Care to join me?"
I was not a stupid woman by any means. Harry showing up on my doorstep the same day everyone else was did lump him into the fortune seekers, but the thing about Harry was that he was nice. And handsome. He had a pretty good rep with the girls in this town, but I'd never seen him hook up with anyone.
And...he was a reader. I'd ran into him a few times at the town library.
"So..." I drawled. "Not with the others, eh?"
He was gracious enough to look sheepish. "Well, not quite. I'm here because I should have properly asked you out years ago." His face darkened. "Jeff beat me to it, though."
My face heated. Harry wanted to ask me out before all of this?
He shrugged a powerful shoulder. His build was typical of a lot of werewolves. Powerful shoulders, lean waist and hips and strong, yet lean legs. His hair was slightly longer than normal and his eyes were a glowing gold, telling me that he had recently shifted to wolf form and hunted. Harry was attractive, no doubt, but I wasn't so sure I wanted to go out with someone else from the Lupin pack after the disaster that was Jeff.
As if reading my mind, he chuckled. "Jeff is a loser. We are not all the same. Mark will be getting with you soon about reparations. I overheard him talking about it to one of the betas."
It was about damned time.
"So..." he drawled. "Lunch?"
I tilted my head and studied him. He seemed innocent enough. "I don't know. You didn't bother to bring me flowers. Perhaps show up another time with an offering worthy of me." I backed away from the door and was about to shut it when Harry's rich laughter rang out.
I chuckled with him. "I'll grab my purse."
I tried not to notice Martin's disapproving glance as I lifted my purse off the hall table and grabbed my keys from the bowl. "I'll be back in a couple of hours," I called to him.
From my peripheral, I could see him slowly shaking his head.
Martin's contract with me didn't mention judgment and if he kept it up, I'd have to talk to him. I frowned at my bitchy thoughts as I followed Harry down the stairs.
Harry drove an older Ford pickup truck that rattled a little bit as he drove. It was an odd change from the way he was dressed. Casually expensive and with mussed hair that probably took him a long time to perfect, Harry didn't really match his vehicle. Not that everyone did, but usually an aspect of people's personalities were reflected in their cars. I couldn't see him being too low maintenance, though he did have a good sense of humor. Maybe that was it. Driving this old beast around kept him humble.
The old Ford rumbled into the parking lot of one of the only seafood houses we had here in this town. I'd never been here before because it was a little on the pricey side, but I had the money now that I was working again. Well...was working. I wasn't sure what was going to happen now that my identity was out in the open for everyone to discover. I jumped out of the truck before Harry could make it around to open the door for me and was immediately met with the stares of people walking back to their cars.
I blushed red before I could stop myself and Harry, noticing what was happening, came over, slung and arm around my shoulders and propelled me forward, leaning down to fiercely whisper in my ear.
"Ignore them. None of us should have to feel ashamed for what we are."
I took a deep breath, nodded, and let him walk me up to the wrap around porch entrance of the restaurant. When we walked in, we were greeted by a bubbly blonde with the chartreuse green eyes that marked her as a feline shifter. Her smile slightly fell away when she noticed it was me, but something remarkably like sympathy appeared on her face. She grabbed two menus and leaned over to quietly ask if we'd like a secluded booth.
I breathed my thanks and she nodded for us to follow her. The woman sat us in the very back of the restaurant in a booth that concealed our presence from the rest of the patrons. Though some people noticed my presence, most were so content in their food and conversation that we passed by unnoticed.
She handed us our menus, whispered good luck, and told us our waitress would be by in a moment. She frowned and then said, "You know what. Let me run back to the kitchen real quick and get you someone who's really good."
I flashed a grateful smile at her while trying to ignore the sympathy on Harry's face.
Moments later, our hostess came back with a tall, elegant man who'd look more at home as a dancer than a restaurant worker. His body was lean and coiled with power though I couldn't make out what kind of creature he was.
"Greetings," he said. His voice was sybillant and quiet, but as he spoke, something shimmered around us. My gaze flew back to his and he smiled. "I am an illusion witch," he said quietly. "People will see what I want them to. Please try to enjoy your meal. No one will interrupt you."
Tears shimmered in my eyes. "What's your name?" I asked him.
"Gregoire," he said and gave me a slight bow. "I own this restaurant, and I am well versed to unwanted attention in my career field." He shrugged. "The illusion magic. Not the restaurant business. You wouldn't believe how many people wanted to hire me to do something shady for them." He flashed a quick grin. "I'm pleased to take care of you today."
After that he asked for our drink order and left us to it.
I let out a sigh of relief. "This is the worst," I muttered.
Harry's eyes crinkled at the edges as he gave me a sad smile. "It will pass, Katie. People always love something new and shiny. In a week's time, you won't have to worry about the ever ending line of traffic at your door. Eventually you'll be able to act like nothing happened."
I stared at him. "Eventually? Gosh, that's comforting."
Harry chuckled ruefully. "Unfortunately, you are blessed with a power people cannot even begin to fathom. You're a source of fascination for them now."
"They could have just came to the shop if they wanted something," I grumbled.
"And miss the opportunity to ingratiate themselves into your good graces and get it for free?" he said.
I laughed, but I wasn't amused. "People are the worst."
"People are predictable," Harry said. "I don't think you are naive enough to believe something like this wouldn't happen."
I sighed. "Of course I'm not. But a steady procession of people at my door?" I frowned at Harry. "Doesn't that seem like something out of a movie?"
Gregoire interrupted us by bringing our drinks. He set my iced tea down in front of me. Harry ordered a Bloody Mary and as Gregoire set it down, the smell of tomato juice wafted over to me. I wrinkled my nose. I never understood that drink. It looked like blood and smelled even worse. We rattled off our orders and as Gregoire walked away, Harry picked up our conversation.
"Being a jinn in this town was already strange, as I'm sure you can attest to by the amount of business your bar gets. But now that people know who you really are?" He shook his head. "If they don't want to be your friend, they probably want to marry you." He stirred his drink with the celery stick shoved inside of it. The red clinging to the vegetable gave me the shudders. "It's going to be a difficult transition for you, I'm sorry to say."
At my glare, he laughed. "The least I can do is be honest with you. This will suck."
I added an indecent amount of sugar to my tea, annoyed that I couldn't get sweet tea anywhere in Midnight Cove. "I just want to work and come home to a house where the doorbell never rings."
"I'll drink to that," Harry said and lifted up his Bloody Mary. We clinked glasses and settled into a comfortable silence.
10
Martin
When I saw who showed up at Katie's door, it took everything I had not to send a wrench hurtling through the house right at Harry Lupin's stupid head. Of all the smarmy assholes to show up trying to woo her, it had to be him. I grit my teeth hard to keep from saying something as Katie grabbed her purse and sailed out the door
with him.
I kept repeating to myself it was none of my business. None. Absolutely none, but she didn't know Harry like I did.
Well...I didn't exactly know him. I knew of him and every time I saw him I wanted to send my fist crashing through his perfect white teeth.
I knew his wife.
Yep.
Ol' Harry Lupin was keeping secrets. In Midnight Cove he was a powerful ally of his alpha. Above board, participated in charity. Kind and courteous to people. Helped old ladies cross the street and shit. In the eyes of the citizens here, Harry was a wolf who could do no wrong.
But...he was keeping secrets. Big ones. And I wasn't quite sure how he did it. After all, Mark was an Alpha you didn't screw with and with noses like homing beacons, Mark had to have smelled the woman on Harry.
Plus, the dude had kids. Three if I wasn't mistaken. Three little half breed wolves who were going to one day surprise the hell out of their moms during a full moon.
Lila was a former client of mine. She'd come to visit me for a period of three months, desperate to save her marriage to the piece of crap who'd just driven away with Katie.
I'd cast the bones for her, saw a grim picture ahead of her, and gave her some advice. I refrained from flat out telling her to leave the sorry sack because I did have some professional barriers, but I did tell her staying with him was going to bring her nothing but heartache. And based upon the way he looked at Katie like she was a juicy, bloody steak, I had to admit I was probably right.
I threw down the hammer I was holding in disgust and let out a harsh laugh at my behavior. I was a contractor. No more. While I might have carried her to her room and she might have made me breakfast, no intimate promises were made. No contracts other than the one to fix her house was carried out. Katie was a free, single woman and she was not my responsibility. It was not my duty to tell her what kind of man she'd gone off with. Also, who was to say this was even more than anything friendly?
I closed my eyes and let out a couple of deep breaths. Lila had come to me beside herself. She claimed Harry traveled for work and was gone more and more. During that time, I'd seen him out and about. She'd given me a picture to help me focus my magic. At first I'd given him the benefit of the doubt. He had a good reputation with everyone and seemed to be a rising star within his pack.
