Rapid Pulse: A Limited Edition Spicy Romance Collection

by Gina Kincade

  “Says the sister of the Alpha. Whatever happened to puppy piles and the shifter sense of community?” Carrick tried to suppress a grin, but at her look of outrage, he laughed.

  “You are no help at all.”

  “See to their comfort.”

  Reid blanched. “But you...”

  “You can’t leave. We have to plan this...” Jess sputtered, a red flush coming over her cheeks. “The staff has all but deserted us and I have no idea where to put all these women.”

  “I am going out.” If he didn’t the probability of him becoming insane before breakfast tomorrow was entirely probable. And he thought his sister and his second should have a little bit more time alone. He didn’t miss how either of them was looking at the other.

  Carrick reached over on the side table, scooped up his keys, and headed for the door. Time for a trip to into town to get away from the madness.

  SAGE WIPED THE COUNTER around the espresso machine and waited for the next shot to pour. Her pitcher of milk bubbled and steamed alongside it, timing off when it reached the correct temperature. It was a far cry from when she had to time every shot and wrestle with thermometers each step of the way. Funny how things could change in six years.

  She’d started at the coffee shop as a frightened young woman who needed a job and now she ran the place. It made her proud. The Hot Whips Café was her life. What she put into it came back to her in spades. And she loved working with the girls. Before the café, she’d never run into anything other than the shifters in her own family or the pack. Now the café was run by a host of witches, demons, and Helen, a water elemental who washed dishes and hummed Connie Francis songs. It was home and she loved every second of it.

  “You got the next one?” Maya filled the steam pitcher on the right hand side of the espresso machine and started cranking out the next drink in the lineup. On busy days, they danced around each other, but they did it and kept the line flowing seamlessly.

  “Yeah. Got it.” Sage nodded to Melissa at the register when she slid another marked cup her way.

  The din from the guests in the seating area and the servers running back and forth behind the bar and the kitchen stayed a pleasant hum. The scent of almond croissants cooling filled the air, mixing with the heady aroma of coffee and a hint of chocolate chip cookies. It was still early in the day and the weather was about to turn nasty. Gray clouds poised on the edge of rain blocked out the sun, the wet chill in the air palpable every time a customer opened the front door.

  “Grande mocha for Denise!” She finished the whip, lidded the drink and had it on the counter and started onto the next one in moments. The line wasn’t getting any shorter and pretty soon she was going to have to fill up the pastry case or they wouldn’t have anything left. She stole a glance away from the machine as it pumped out another shot and watched her server Jo scoot by with a platter of eclairs and cream horns. They would need more before she left or she was going to have a mass of disappointed customers. Not what she wanted on top of everything else.

  Melissa cashiered, bagged, and boxed muffins and coffee cakes, hardly stopping in between orders. The girl was a blur. Part demon, she loved the challenge and every once and awhile, a flash of annoyance showed with a red spark to her eye. Like now.

  “What do you mean you want a decaf caffeinated mocha with no chocolate? Are you serious?”

  The blond woman in front of her narrowed her eyes and leaned forward, the skin tight yoga top she wore showing off every asset she had.

  “You forgot skinny with two sweeteners. And I want it at one hundred and forty degrees. In a cup for here.”

  Sage cringed.

  “You okay, Mel? You need a break?” Sage called out, catching one of the other girls with a meaningful glance.

  “Fine,” she huffed, but the red glow gave away her fraying temper.

  “I got it.” LeTeisha flounced over, her long black braids swinging as she scurried to take her co-worker’s place. With a wink, she set about taking the customer’s order.

  “Yeah. Okay. Thanks.” With a sheepish smile, Mel swung out from behind the counter and down the hall to the small break room.

  Maya snagged the ceramic cup and started in, a spell whispering past her lips as she blended the milk and espresso.

  “Careful,” Sage warned.

  “What?” Maya blinked at her, innocent eyed as she finished the drink and set it on the counter.

  “No spelling the customers.”

  “It wasn’t much.” Maya blushed, her lips curving up in a mischievous smile. “Attitude adjustment. That’s all.”

  Sage rolled her eyes. “Just don’t get me flagged please. No magical mishaps here.”

  Maya chuckled. “Come on, boss...would I do that?”

  Sage gave her a deadpan look.

  “Fine...” Maya grinned and they got back to work. “But you know she needed it.”

  “Maya...”

  It was heady rush and kept Sage careening through her demanding day with hardly a breath in between. Busy was good. She liked the pace. It left little room for thinking. She grabbed the shot glasses full of espresso and poured them into the cup, snagging the steamed milk as the steam wand stopped. She wiped the wand and grabbed a large spoon from the dipper well next to her station. With a deft movement of her wrist, Sage poured the milk into the cup and layered the frothy white foam on top. Maya matched her drink for drink.

  “Large latte!” Sage called out and snapped a lid on top of the cup and a sleeve onto the base. She placed it onto the counter and readied the next beverage in the lineup.

  The steady pace kept her mind off of her impending weekend plans. The Gathering had always been an annual event the hot young single wolves went to in search of being the Alpha’s next fling or at least a hook up with someone with a decent werewolf pedigree. Many a shifter had found their mates at a Gathering. Previous attendance had always been voluntary. That worked for her. No fuss. No muss. No thank you. Not this year. It was mandatory. As if she had time to go traipsing off into the country for a weekend with her long lost furry extended pack mates.

  She’d rather drink poison.

  There was only one man she’d go there to see and she sincerely doubted he would even remember her. A girl with a whisker popping problem and a head hard enough to go against Justin’s prize wolf. And then the freak got away. It was then she made her decision to change her name and lay low. If she revealed herself, the odds of Justin’s pet franken-wolf finding her was even higher. So she changed everything she could about herself, but the nightmares remained.

  Sage remembered holding the girl Jess while they were in the cage and watching in horror as her father was torn apart. Damned if she didn’t realize what was coming for her if she came out as part of the pack. And she hadn’t. Until now. She didn’t have a choice. The only difference this time was she wasn’t a scared little kitten.

  The television mounted on one of the walls in the corner of the room flashed a scene of a news crew in front of the Alpha’s palatial residence. Billionaire bad boy werewolf seeks mate. The swarm of women pouring through the mansion’s front doors was mind boggling. It was like The Bachelor, but with fur and fangs.

  She started to laugh out loud, and then she realized she was going to have to be there. On camera. With countless gold diggers elbowing their way inside. God. And Justin’s monster—if he was still out there.

  “Shit.” She rested her hand on the counter, the espresso she’d just queued up pouring down into the grate. It was a damned circus and it was a risk she had to take. She busied herself making the small latte and placed it on the counter for pickup.

  Her server Jo hustled by with a fresh pan of Full Moon cakes, leaving a whiff of delicious pastry in her wake.

  “Regular latte!”

  Shifters hadn’t been out of hiding for long and here was another scandal in the making, nice and hot for the media to chew on like the nasty vultures they were. There were still those who likened shifters to
animals, and so many hesitated in outing themselves for risk of negative publicity. At least she didn’t have that hanging over her head. She’d been exposed long ago and now with Hot Whips doing so well, she was a respected member of the community and she intended to keep it that way. Pretty kitty with a penchant for baked goods. And coffee. How people loved their coffee.

  The marked cup for the next order was placed in front of her and she got started on the drink, grateful to have something to focus on other than her crazy mixed up life. Two of her servers scrambled by in Hot Whips’ signature pink tee shirt and jeans, arms laden with baked goods and cellophane wrapped to go cookie packages for the counter.

  “We need some more chocolate chippers, Suki!”

  Her right hand and assistant manager swept out from the kitchen, the soft sounds of Helen singing at the three compartment sink in her wake. A towel was tucked into the belt of her apron. An attractive Asian girl with pink hair and a penchant for food anime pins and jewelry, she got to work prepping the oven and setting the pans. She was also a lynx shifter and she’d been an instrumental process in Sage’s healing. The girl was like a sister. She learned a long time ago that family was what you made it. The entire café was practically a live version of the Island of Misfit toys and she kind of liked it that way. Pretention out, real in.

  Hot Whips had started from nothing and over the last few years, she’d formed it into a finely run machine. Complete with a full bakery selection made in house and a unique selection of drinks not available at the national chain coffee shops popping up on every corner, the Café was her heart and soul. Her adopted mother would have been proud.

  A pang of loss hit her and she blinked away the sting of tears. God but she missed her mom. Wolves didn’t get sick. Not usually—but then again, their mates didn’t usually get killed trying to illegally murder the pack Alpha in an unsanctioned challenge. They were the same pack who later looked the other way when she’d been publicly humiliated during the resulting media circus for abuse allegations against Justin’s estate along with several other women. She may have been a lone kitty shifter in a world of wolves but her parents loved her like she was their own.

  There had been no peace. That had been six years ago. And now the powers that be wanted to stir things up with a mandatory meat market for all the available singles so the new Alpha could find a mate. Was he that hard up that he needed a gala to get a girl? Jesus. She may not be wolf, but she was still bound by pack law. Raised all her life in the Westmore pack, she had little choice but to obey. Kitty or not. Even though she’d changed her name, pack ties still applied. She could just go and get it over with on her own terms or...

  Better that than them coming to find her.

  Just thinking about it made her cheeks tingle.

  Oh, God. Not now.

  Her compulsive nervous whisker popping hadn’t been a problem lately but rehashing the past was the one thing guaranteed to trigger a relapse. And the other reason...the muffin man hottie. The dude came in every morning around eleven to get a box of pastries. He was a dream. She’d caught the scent of some kind of shifter, but with her nose acting up, she couldn’t have been sure just what kind. But those eyes. God, they’d been a-freaking-mazing. And the muscles that moved underneath the sweater he wore. What she would have given for a chance to feel those pecs.

  The first time he’d come in was a few months ago. She noticed a trace of his scent first. It was so much like the mystery man who saved her, she stopped in her tracks and spun around expecting... what? A prince charming come to rescue her from coffeedom? Not a chance. He gazed at her through his sunglasses from across the pastry case, his muscular bulk filling the space and what did she do?

  She whisker popped. Right in front of him. He’d been so stunned, his mouth had fallen open. Sage had been mortified. She was supposed to be a strong, independent woman. To hell with her past. To heckle peckle with assholes who thought it was cool to kidnap girls to get back at their parents. She was over it. She had her café. She had Suki, Jo and...and... tattoos by God. She was a kitty. Hear her roar. But on that particular day, roaring was out and a muffled “Eeep” was all she uttered before retreating to the kitchen.

  He’d felt like home. The liquid voice that whispered in the space between them had been something sentient and it scared the holy living shit out of her. So whenever she saw him coming now, she hightailed it upstairs until his car was long gone. There was no way she was going to risk her new found peace for a sexy ass in a tight pair of jeans. Even if those thighs did look like they could keep up with her all night long.

  Cold water.

  Ice.

  Puppies.

  Granny panties and Margaret Thatcher.

  Okay. Better.

  She left the pack to keep safe and sane.

  So why in the hell were they bringing in all the females now? It didn’t make sense. To pick out a woman like that had to be near impossible.

  And now her dreams were twisted nightmares that ended with her in the arms of her wolf. A wolf with Mr. Muffin’s face—when she actually saw one that is. She let him soothe her and stroke the sweaty hair from her brow. He fucked her and filled her, playing her body like a steel band guitar. His face was obscured by the shadows but what she did see was his eyes. And slowly, over the last few weeks, she’d woken with an urgency to find him that was slowly driving her mad.

  That was it. She was finally cracking up. The stress was getting to her. That and the desire to have something pulsing between her thighs that didn’t require batteries. It would be smart to finish her shift and get on the road. By the looks of it, traffic was going to be a bitch.

  Her thoughts drifted back to her mother. She died of a broken heart after her father had been shot during the foiled assignation attempt. Now more than anything, she wished she had her to turn to. The closer she headed toward twenty-five, the urge to mate was nearly impossible to resist. But she didn’t want to make the same mistake her mother did and let nature dictate the rest of her life.

  And it didn’t. Mostly. But lately, the tick tock on her biological clock was getting louder than normal. But that’s what work was for. To drown out the voices in her head and in her body. Hordes of the uncaffeinated spilled through the doors every day keeping her busy until she went home and collapsed. It worked. Mostly. Until her dream lover visited her and she woke, sweaty and calling for a man she’d likely never meet.

  Blocking out the past was a necessity.

  She hadn’t been back to the main pack grounds in years. Not since the new Alpha had taken over. To be forced to do it now gave her nerves a twinge. But she wasn’t the same shy girl she’d been then. She glanced down at the wolf winding its way down her arm surrounded by bright colored flowers and smiled. She’d embraced the Rockabilly style of her new home and went with it. And it reminded her of her mysterious wolfy savior because as much as she wanted to remember his face, she couldn’t. All she could see was his fathomless gray eyes.

  She wiggled her nose again as the threat of kitty whiskers tickled under her skin.

  “Hey, Sage. Did you bake blueberry muffins?”

  She glanced at Suki, her assistant manager and grinned. “Not yet. Do we need some more already?”

  “Yeah. The firemen were just in and cleaned us out.”

  “Again? Wow.” Sage chuckled. “I think one of them wants to ask you on a date.”

  Suki wrinkled her nose. “No way. I have a girlfriend. So...you going to the party?”

  “Ugh.” She rolled her eyes and pulled out a tub of disposable plastic ware to fill it for the next onslaught. “It’s not like I have any choice.”

  A sly look came over Suki’s face. “You know...kitty shifter at a wolf party. They won’t be expecting you to come.”

  “Of course they will. My family was pack and that includes me, adopted or not.”

  “They’re anticipating a demure piece of stick insect arm candy looking to suck up to the Alpha for a chance to be the next he
ad bitch in charge.”

  “Ha. Right again.”

  Suki fingered one of her smiling egg pins and nibbled on her lip thoughtfully. “You could just go, make an appearance and perhaps even find some sexy shifter to hook up with for the night.”

  “Most men don’t want to bother once they see the tats and the curves.” Her Rockabilly style remained her armor and she was sticking to it. Alone was good. It was better than being a victim. The bite marks from the wolf freak’s attempt to force her to be his mate were covered. Every damned inch. Each piece of ink she got reminded her that pain meant she was alive.

  “You could go find that hottie that comes in here every Tuesday. I swear that man is after more than your muffins.”

  Sage laughed. “I like the way you think. Never trust a skinny baker or an Asian girl with pink hair. But don’t get any ideas. I’m too busy for a man in my life.” She wouldn’t admit that muffin guy was hot. Cause he was. And he made her think of the only other person she’d ever connected with like that, but it was during one of the darkest moments of her life, and she couldn’t remember much about it. More like impressions but that was fine with her.

  Strange though that she’d been thinking of those eyes more and more lately. And his scent...that woodsy earthy smell that surrounded him when he’d held her. It was clean. Fresh. Whole. Like she was outdoors running, in full shift.

  Home. Before Justin had torn their family apart. When she still remembered what it felt like to be free. But smelling his scent, she remembered. It was just a shame he always wore sunglasses. It would have been nice to see his eyes.

  Her cat perked up at the thought of him, rubbing up against her in excitement.

  Stop it, you insane feline. It’s been six years. No way he even knows you exist.

  The cat growled and retreated to a far corner of her mind, glowering at her with bright green eyes.

  “Too busy? You never go anywhere.”

  Her mind slammed back into the present, and she wiggled her nose to shake the whisker itch that had just erupted with that impromptu trip down memory lane.