“Oh, that’s very nice of you. I’ll check with him and see.” Had Rory left because he didn’t like Hephzibah? Miranda wondered. She’d find some sneaky way to inquire about it.
In the meantime, she settled in behind the counter and re-read a Cosmopolitan magazine for the hundredth time. She was also in the middle of crocheting a sweater, but she needed her grandmother’s help with it, so she’d wait until Grammy Edith had some free time.
A little while later, to Miranda’s surprise, Creel’s brother walked into the shop.
“Hello,” he said, his tone cool. “I don’t know if you remember my name, but it’s Benjamin. We met one summer a while back.” He glanced around at the shelves of candles. “Nice candles.”
“Would you like to purchase some?” Hephzibah said. “Miranda’s business is on the verge of failing, and no one has purchased any candles in the last two weeks. Also, every time we put up flyers for her in the east and west, somebody pulls them down immediately. So you are probably her last hope.”
“Hephzibah!” Miranda chided her.
“I sense that I have violated a social norm again,” Hephzibah said, looking puzzled. “Is this correct?”
“I’ll buy all the merchandise in your shop if you answer me one question truthfully…and just so you know, I can smell when people lie,” Benjamin said.
“You’re even more charming than your brother,” Miranda said, arching an eyebrow. “I’m beginning to see why Creel threw you out on your furry ass this morning.”
Benjamin snorted. “Huh. You’re no pushover. I can see how you would appeal to Creel. But my question is, what are your intentions toward my brother? Do you think he has family money? Because he doesn’t. He walked away from all of that. He’d rather have his fur set on fire and his fangs pulled out than accept a dime of our pack money. Or are you one of those chicks who just wants to hook up with an Alpha Prime for the prestige?”
“Are you seriously asking me that?” Miranda said in amazement. “Ask your brother what’s happening between us.”
“Well, as you just saw back there, we’re not currently on speaking terms. I just want you to know that if you are attempting to use my brother for –”
“Stop right there,” Miranda said. “Yes, in fact, I am using your brother. I’m using him for sex, and so far he’s keeping me quite satisfied. We did it ten times last night. Would you like some details?”
“Ten times? My goodness.” Hephzibah pulled out her notebook and started writing.
“No thanks,” Benjamin said uneasily, backing away.
“That must be Creel’s twin brother.” Grammy Edith’s voice sounded right behind Miranda. She stifled a shriek.
“Don’t sneak up on me like that!” she said.
“Who, me?” Benjamin looked confused. “I walked right in through the front door. There was no sneaking involved.”
Grammy Edith ignored her, as usual, scowling at Benjamin. “So, is everyone in his family a flaming dildo?”
Miranda was so annoyed at the moment that she didn’t even bother chastising her grandmother for her potty mouth. “Apparently,” she said. “Must be something in the gene pool.”
“Who are you talking to?” Benjamin asked.
“She’s talking to her dead grandmother,” Hephzibah said to Benjamin as if it were the most normal thing in the world.
Hephzibah had taken Miranda at face value when Miranda had explained about her ability to talk to ghosts.
“I see,” Benjamin said, with that look on his face that indicated quite clearly that he did not see at all.
“No you don’t, you think I’m crazy. Which is fine with me. You can leave now – and I wouldn’t sell you a candle if you were the last customer on earth. I don’t need your business.”
“Yes you do,” Hephzibah protested with a puzzled look on her face as Benjamin turned and left the shop.
“And stay out!” Grammy Edith yelled as Benjamin shut the door behind him.
“Why are you even here?” Miranda asked her. “I thought you were going to go do some haunting.”
“Oh, turns out that sleaze-weasel slept over at his latest ho-bag’s house. Hank and I are going to wait up until he gets home and then really give it to him.” Grammy Edith looked ridiculously pleased with herself.
“Well, while you’re here, you might as well help me with my crocheting.” She went behind the counter and fetched the wicker basket where she kept her needles and yarn. Then she realized that Hephzibah was still taking notes. “Hephzibah, if you’re studying normal shifter behavior, this isn’t a good place to start. Most people don’t talk to ghosts.”
Hephzibah tucked her notepad away and went back to dusting the inventory, and Miranda settled down with her grandmother to go over a new crochet pattern.
A little while later, Terrence, Beauford, and Clegg came slamming into the store.
“Oh no they didn’t,” Miranda’s grandmother said, glaring at them.
“No work at the construction site today? Did you guys get fired already?” Miranda said to them.
“It’s our lunch break,” Clegg said, glowering. He was limping, Miranda noticed.
Terrence looked her up and down. “Now, I know that you ain’t claimed, because if you were, your mate would have been mighty pissed off about us trashin’ your store the other day. We been waiting for him at our campsite, but he never showed.”
Miranda glared at him. “Let’s see…a bunch of cowards who know they wouldn’t have a hope in hell of winning a fair fight, planning an ambush? That sounds like you.”
Terrence snorted. “Keep flappin’ those lips. See what it gets you.”
Clegg and Beauford began picking up candles and throwing them around the store, and Terrence put his boot through her display case, shattering the glass. Miranda’s heart sank. She couldn’t afford to replace the merchandise until she made some sales. And she was coming to realize that was never going to happen.
“Get the hell away from her!” her grandmother yelled as Terrence and Beauford advanced on her.
“Bith, I’m going to thlap you into neth week,” Beauford lisp-howled. His teeth had barely started growing back; they were tiny white nubs poking out of his gums. He clenched his fist and raised it high.
Miranda’s grandmother went so transparent that she was almost invisible, and a candle flew off the shelf and smashed Beauford in the nose. There was a horrible crunch, and blood poured from his nostrils.
“What the hell wath that? The’th a with!” he shrieked.
“I know that, you idiot,” Terrence sneered. “Why do you think we’re getting such a good bride price for her? It ain’t her looks, that’s for sure.”
He started towards Miranda, but another candle flew at him and smashed right between the eyes. Blood ran down his face, and he let out a stream of curses in a high-pitched, panicked voice.
“Holy thit! The’th going to kill uth! Fuck thith, I’m outta here!” Clegg turned and ran out the front door.
There was a bird-like screech, and Hephzibah, in owl form, flew at Beauford and clawed at his scalp. Miranda shifted too, sinking down into wolf form and crouching low and growling. More candles flew at the two remaining thugs, pelting them in the head until they fled the store screaming.
Miranda sank down to the floor in tears, shifting back into human form. Half her merchandise had been destroyed in the last two attacks, and she was going to be driven out of business soon.
She knew her grandmother had used up so much energy that she wouldn’t be able to manifest again for days, maybe even a week or two.
The guys would probably be back soon, with reinforcements, even if they didn’t know that her grandmother wouldn’t be there to help her. A few candles might have startled them, but they wouldn’t be scared off for long.
The door banged open again and Miranda started, but it was just Suki.
“Miranda? What happened here? Do you want me to go get Creel for you?” Suki asked, looking horrified.
“Don’t bother. He couldn’t care less what I do, and they’re not going to stop coming,” Miranda said hopelessly. “Creel isn’t going to protect me.”
Suki frowned.
“But you’ll still be sleeping at his house?” she mused.
“I guess so,” Miranda said.
“Then I have an idea,” Suki said. She leaned down and held her hand out to Miranda, pulling her to her feet. “Come with me.”
Chapter Eleven
Creel walked up to the front door. Miranda was sitting on a bench out front doing something with a crochet needle and a ball of yarn, and she barely glanced his way as he strolled up. She was dressed warmly for the summer weather, wearing a turtleneck even though it was eighty degrees out. And she seemed completely uninterested in his presence.
“I, uh, stopped by your store earlier to see if you needed a ride home, but Hephzibah said that Suki gave you a ride,” Creel said. “So I went into town to run some errands.”
“Yep,” Miranda said. She glanced at him briefly, then returned to her crochet project. He felt his stomach clench. He’d screwed up this morning. He’d screwed up badly. “I made dinner for you and washed a few dishes. Didn’t look like much else needed to be cleaned up.”
“Okay. Thanks. Are you going to come in?” Creel asked her. “I can wait to eat until you’re ready.”
“Maybe later,” she said. “I’ll eat when you’re done. Look on the bright side – dinner will be nice and quiet for you.”
“Yeah. Quiet.” Creel wasn’t as happy about that as he would have expected.
He walked into the kitchen and found a beef stew simmering in a crockpot. He came out a couple of minutes later carrying a tray with two bowls on it, with the dinner that she’d cooked. And there was also a paper bag on the tray. He handed the bag to her, then sat down next to her.
She opened the bag. It was the honeysuckle shampoo she’d admired the other day. He’d remembered.
“What’s this for?” Miranda asked.
“I guess I might have been a little bit of a jerk this morning,” Creel said. “This is my way of apologizing. Dig in – the food’s amazing. A really sexy chick cooked it for me.”
Miranda couldn’t help but smile. “Who is she?” she said, shoveling a spoonful of stew into her mouth. “I’m going to find her and death-challenge her ass.”
“I don’t know about that, I get the idea that she’s tougher than she looks,” Creel said.
Miranda opened the bottle of shampoo and inhaled deeply, imagining herself wrapped in honeysuckle vines.
“Apology accepted,” she said.
“I shouldn’t have taken my temper out on you. This is just a hard month for me, and seeing Benjamin was like pouring salt into an open wound. My brother is the main reason I moved to this territory,” Creel said. “I hope to hell he doesn’t think he’s settling up here, because the two of us in one territory isn’t going to work. Hell, the two of us in the same state would be an issue.”
“Do you want to tell me what all of that was about?” Miranda said.
“My brother is a disloyal, traitorous son of a bitch who made my parents’ sacrifice meaningless and betrayed me and our pack.” Creel’s tone was bitter, and carried worlds of pain.
“I’m sorry to hear that about your parents,” Miranda said. “They were always nice to me.”
“You knew my parents?” Creel stared at her in puzzlement, and Miranda could have bitten her tongue off. She didn’t want to talk about how she knew Creel. It was embarrassing.
“Yes,” she said shortly.
“How did you know them?” Creel said. “And how does Benjamin know you? I don’t remember ever meeting you.”
She frowned, her fork in midair.
“We were just passing through,” she said, and took another bite of stew.
“You said they were always nice to you,” Creel pointed out. “That means that you met them more than once.”
“Do we both want to get into in-depth discussions of our pack history?” she asked.
Creel scowled and shook his head. “Not really,” he said.
She thought about telling him about his brother’s visit, and how Benjamin, in his own obnoxious way, did actually seem to care about Creel. If he hadn’t cared about Creel, he wouldn’t have quizzed her about what her intentions were and tried to bribe her with an offer to buy all her merchandise.
She decided against it, though. Creel obviously had issues with his brother, and it was better for her not to get tangled up in their complicated family history.
“Isn’t it a little hot to be wearing a turtleneck?” Creek asked.
“I get cold easily,” Miranda said.
“You’re sweating,” Creel said.
“Suddenly you’re so observant,” Miranda said.
“And you’re unusually short-tempered. Still mad at me?”
“A little. Give it time.” But she was kind of smiling now, and he felt a weight that he hadn’t even been aware of lift off his shoulders.
After dinner, he took the dishes inside, then invited her to shift and go for a run with him. He wanted to see her naked again, to admire her lush, curvy figure.
She gave him an odd look and hesitated. “I’m more in the mood for a quiet stroll in human form,” she said.
“Sure thing.” He nodded, and the two of them headed out, strolling through the woods.
The evening air was warm and pleasant as they ambled companionably between the trees. They walked side by side, not touching but close enough that Creel could feel the heat of her against his arm. And somehow, just as her chatter lightened his mood even when he was at his surliest, her quiet presence was soothing, calming the beast inside.
The stars were bright and the moon cast a pale glow that burnished the leaves on the trees into silver.
As they crested a gentle rise and started down the slope on the other side, Miranda stumbled on the rocky ground, and he caught her. She fell into his arms, pressing up against his chest, and he breathed in her sweet perfume.
She tilted her head up to look at him, and he cupped her chin in his hand and leaned down to kiss her.
She stood on tiptoes and returned the kiss eagerly, parting her lips to give him access to her mouth and running her hands up his chest and over his shoulders. He shuddered under her touch as she played her fingers in the curls at the nape of his neck and nipped and sucked at his lower lip.
He slid his hands under her shirt, and started to lift it off of her, but she pushed him away and sank down to her knees in front of him.
“Oh no you don’t,” he said. Gentlemen first.”
“I’m pretty sure that’s not how the saying goes,” Miranda protested. And she flashed a wicked smile at him. “And I want dessert.”
He started to protest, but his words ended on a strangled groan as she unzipped his fly and wrapped her fingers around his cock. He was already half hard, and he twitched against her palm. She licked the head like a lollipop, savoring the slightly salty taste, and smiled to herself when he gave another hungry moan.
She kneeled back, and pulled his jeans down to his knees. Then she started to tease him with lingering kisses not quite where she knew he wanted them. She licked playfully at the little birthmark on his thigh, then moved closer to his cock and balls, allowing her breath to ghost over his straining flesh but not actually touching him.
He ran his hands into her hair, cradling the back of her head, and she felt his fingers flexing against her scalp as she opened her mouth and took him in – first just the head, them moving her lips slowly down his shaft until his crinkly pubic hair tickled her nose.
She had to pause for a moment, taking slow, even breaths through her nose as she tried to adjust to his size. She didn’t want to go too fast and end up choking – she wanted Creel to come in her mouth; wanted to drink him down to the very last drop.
When she was accustomed to the sensation of his impressive length, she started to move, drawi
ng her head back until the slick purple head of his cock almost popped free, then working her lips back down his shaft. When she’d taken all of him in, she swallowed hard, allowing the movement of her throat to add to his pleasure.
Creel reached blindly behind himself with one hand, grabbing at a tree trunk for support. He moaned as she withdrew along his length, flicking her tongue along the sensitive ridge of his frenulum. When she sucked the head of his dick and darted the very tip of her tongue into the slit, he hissed and panted. His fingers tightened in her hair and she knew he was fighting the urge to thrust with his hips, fucking her mouth until he came.
She squeezed his ass, pulling his hips forward so she could work his shaft faster, her head bobbing as she licked and sucked. She felt the twitching of his cock as his climax approached, and then he was shouting his release as he came, groaning through the aftershocks as she swallowed his silky, salty cum.
For long moments, he said nothing, fighting for breath as she looked up at him, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand and giving him a smug, self-satisfied smile.
Then he reached down and hauled her to her feet, spinning her around and pressing her back against the tree trunk he’d used for support. He kissed her hard, and when he pulled back he had a burning, possessive gleam in his eyes.
“What are you doing…?” she began.
He grinned, and a flutter of excitement tickled in her belly. “Turnabout is fair play,” he said, and he yanked down her pants so hard that the button popped off the fly.
Miranda gasped and a trickle of moisture dampened her panties…which quickly joined her pants around her ankles. He kicked her feet apart, then sank to his knees in front of her.
Her heart banged in her chest as he ran his fingers up the delicate skin on the insides of her thighs, his touch ticklish and dizzying.
He followed his fingers with his mouth, kissing and licking the flesh and leaving behind a damp trail that tingled as it was touched by the cool night air.
Miranda gave a throaty moan as Creel parted the lips of her pussy, exposing her clitoris. He flicked his tongue against the tender little nub, making her squirm…but with her ankles trapped by her pants and panties, and her back against the tree, it was impossible to move away from his mouth, even though the pleasure was almost too intense to bear.
His Curvy Mate (Alpha Prime Book 2) Page 8
