“I haven’t left, man. Not since I came in last night.” He nodded at the crowd of people waiting outside the HQ doors. “Not with all the added visitors we’ve been getting. Told the chief I needed a couple of hours to get away from this craziness.”
Right. “Damon’s about ready to have an aneurysm, but it’s good publicity. If you need a break, come down to Rosie’s with me. I’ll get you dinner.”
The tiger shifter’s face brightened. “Really? You never bought me dinner before. All right, you don’t have to ask me twice.”
They drove down to Main Street separately and were soon walking into the front door of Rosie’s. The place was packed, but it was summer and high tourist season, not to mention, the exciting events of two weeks ago had put Blackstone on the map, so the town was seeing double the usual amount of visitors. When Rosie saw them, however, she immediately waved at them and ushered them into an empty booth.
“I’ll let Temperance know you’re here,” she said as she filled their mugs with coffee. “So, I’ll get you a slice each of our specials? We have cherry lemon, dragonfruit, and something Temperance calls Bear-y Hero pie, which is basically blueberry, strawberries, and boysenberries.”
Anders groaned. “I thought I could get away from that hero shit—er, stuff,” he corrected himself when Rosie sent him a warning lift of her brow.
Gabriel laughed. “I’ll have one of each, but Anders will have the first two.”
“Coming right up,” Rosie said as she pivoted on her heel and walked away.
“So,” Anders began. “How are—”
“Excuse me,” the woman in the next booth turned her head to face them, “but are you guys rangers?” Her gaze dropped down to their khaki uniforms.
Anders’s face immediately perked up at the female attention. “This guy”—he jerked his thumb at Gabriel—“isn’t anymore, but I am.” He wiggled a brow at her. “What can I do for you, sweetheart?”
The woman slid out from the booth and pivoted toward them. Her long, caramel hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and she wore high heels, tight ripped jeans, and a lacy sleeveless top that showed off the tattoos on her arm. “I was wondering, do you guys know where I can find Daniel Rogers?”
Anders groaned and slunk lower in the booth. “I’m so fucking tired of hearing that name.”
Gabriel rolled his eyes. “Sorry about my friend, he’s a drama king. Can I ask why you need to know where he is?”
She folded her arms over her chest as her razor-sharp gaze cut into him. “You could.”
Seconds ticked by, and Gabriel, feeling impatient, shrugged. “He should be at HQ—that’s the Blackstone Rangers Headquarters. It’s on the road that leads up to the mountains, you can’t miss it.”
“Thank you.”
She dropped some bills on her table, and as she turned to walk away, Anders called after her. “Hey, baby, what do you need him for when I’m here? Those tats are a piece of art, you know.” He nodded at her arm. “And so are you. Maybe I can—”
“Nail me to the wall?” she scoffed. “Please. Like I haven’t heard that one before.” Pivoting on her heel, she sauntered off, hips swinging as she walked away from them.
“What do you think she wants with Rogers?” Gabriel asked.
“What else? Everyone wants a piece of Blackstone’s newest celebrity,” Anders groused. “She doesn’t look like a reporter, so maybe a groupie? Fuck me, if I had known saving the vice president’s life would have chicks crawling over each other to get to me, I’d have jumped on that stage myself.”
A few days ago, the vice president had come for an official visit to Blackstone, a first for the shifter town. Gabriel didn’t know the politics of the visit, but everyone had come out to welcome Vice President Scott Baker with a parade and then a speech at Lennox Park. For obvious reasons, security was ramped up, and the PD had asked the rangers to come for backup and help with crowd control.
During the speech, a man had somehow broken through the barriers and attempted to shoot the VP. Rogers had been in the right place at the right time and took the would-be assassin down before he could kill Baker. Needless to say, his heroic act had garnered national attention, and footage of him tackling the gunman to the ground played on every single news station in the country, sending Rogers to new heights of fame as his picture was splashed on every newspaper, magazine, and social media sites. Reporters flooded the town, not to mention enthusiastic fans of the newly-crowned hero, which was the reason why the mountains in particular had been teeming with visitors as they hoped to catch a glimpse of the normally camera-shy Rogers.
“Jesus.” Anders’ eyes grew wide, his mouth dropping open.
“What?” he asked.
“I just remembered why I thought she looked familiar.”
“She?”
“That broad looking for Rogers.” He snapped his fingers. “She was there. At the strip club in Vegas. I’m sure of it.”
“Strip club? She’s a stripper?” Gabriel wouldn’t have recognized her as he had done his best not to look at the women than night.
Anders guffawed. “Nah. One of the girls at the bachelorette party next to us,” he said. “I can’t forget those tats. And … I may have given her the same pickup line,” he added sheepishly.
“You never were original,” Gabriel drolled.
A line furrowed between Anders’s brows. “Hmmm. I never did tell you, did I? Rogers disappeared on us that night, and we didn’t see him again until it was time to leave the next day. Nearly missed the plane ride home.”
“He did? Where did he go?”
“Said he couldn’t recall what happened. Just woke up in some motel room on the Strip. Shit, I didn’t think he had that much to drink.” Shifters could get drunk, but it took a lot of alcohol. “Anyway, what do you think she—oh, fuck me!” The tiger shifter barked out a laugh and slapped his palm on the table, making several of the other diners send them dirty looks.
“What’s the matter with you?” Gabriel asked.
“Holy mother of—” Anders’s face spread into a grin. “Do you think she’s …”
“She’s what?”
“You know.” He made a rounding gesture with his hand over his stomach. “Knocked up?”
“What?” Daniel getting a random one-night stand pregnant? “No way.” He couldn’t believe it. But then again, if he had been so drunk he couldn’t remember it …
“Here are your pies, gentlemen.”
The sound of the familiar voice made him and his lion perk up. Temperance stood next to the booth, tray in hand. “You’re a sight for sore eyes,” he said, his eyes roaming over her gorgeous form.
The smile that spread across her face lit up the room. “Rosie told me you’d arrived. And I thought I’d come over and bring these to you myself. Hey, Anders,” she greeted. “Wait, where are you going?” she asked when the tiger shifter got to his feet.
“No offense, Temperance, I love your baking. But I’m not gonna stay here while you two make goo-goo eyes at each other.” He looked at Gabriel knowingly. “Besides, you know I wanna be there and see Roger’s stupid fucking face when she walks into that door. See ya guys later.”
“What is he talking about?” Temperance asked as she watched Anders dash out of the cafe.
Gabriel sighed. “I’ll tell you later. For now …” He grabbed the tray from her and placed it on the table, then took her hand and planted her on his lap. “I missed you,” he said, nuzzling at her neck.
She sighed. “There are people here. They’re staring at us.”
“So?” He kissed her square on the mouth. “Let them stare.”
“Gabriel …” she warned, but kissed him back, then scrambled off his lap. He scooted over so she could sit next to him. “So, it’s done?” she said. “No more shifts?”
“Yeah,” he said. “I told Damon I’d be happy to help if they’re shorthanded, but he says he’ll manage. Said he’s thinking of hiring help from the outside since the new batc
h of trainees aren’t done yet.”
“Are you sure this is what you want?” she asked in a quiet voice. “I’d hate to think you quit because of me.”
“Oh, baby.” He took her hand and brushed his lips against her knuckles. “I told you, I wasn’t cut out for that job anyway.” In truth, he’d been thinking about leaving as soon as Damon started to settle with Anna Victoria. He had originally joined to support his friend, but now he was doing fine on his own with the help of his mate.
“What are you going to do now?” she asked. “Are you going to work for your sisters?”
He didn’t need to work at all, but he wasn’t the type to lay about and do nothing. “Actually, I wanted to talk to you about that.” From across the room, he caught Rosie’s eye. The fox shifter smiled at him and gave him a nod. “I’ve been talking to Rosie, actually.”
“You have?”
“Yeah. See, she’s been thinking of taking it easy. Stepping back a bit.”
“Huh. She did mention that she needed a vacation.”
“Yeah, so …” He took a deep breath. “I offered to buy her out.”
“What?” she asked incredulously. “You’re going to buy Rosie’s?”
He nodded. “Yeah. She’s been wanting to retire for a while now, but she didn’t want to just hand over the business to anyone,” he said. “She wants someone she can trust, who’ll take care of this place and love it as much as she does, but also bring new life into it. Baby, she wants you.”
“I …” Her breath caught in her throat as her head swung around to meet Rosie’s gaze. The older woman looked at them warmly, affection evident in her eyes. “I don’t know …”
“It’s not gonna happen right now, maybe not soon,” he said. “But, how about it? We can be partners.”
“Partners?”
He nodded. “You and me. What do you say?”
She looked deep in thought for a moment, then said, “Of course, I mean, yes. Thank you.” She reached out to wrap her arms around him, embracing him tightly.
“Thank God,” he said. “That means I don’t have to go back to the rangers and pretend I’m not dying inside when I see toads and frogs.” He gave an exaggerated shiver.
She chuckled. “You know I’ll protect you from those evil slimy adorable monsters,” she said. “It’s my job as your mate, you know?”
Warmth filled him he looked at her beautiful face, feeling the bond between them that had been growing stronger each day. He pushed a lock of hair that had fallen into her eyes, his fingertips brushing the marred skin of her cheek. She didn’t blink, flinch, or even turn away. In fact, in the last few months, the scars didn’t seem to bother her as much. Today, she wasn’t even self-conscious about going out into the dining room full of people wearing a shirt that left her arms bare and her hair tied back into a ponytail away from her pretty face.
He licked off a spot of flour from her nose. “You know, I’m really glad you, J.D., and Anna Victoria have become good friends,” he began. The two other women had fully embraced his mate, and they hung out and went shopping all the time. “I still haven’t thanked them for whatever it is they’re doing to make you feel more comfortable about yourself.”
Her head cocked to the side. “Anna Victoria and J.D.? Oh, Gabriel.” She reached up and cupped the side of his face. “It wasn’t that,” she said. “I mean, yeah, I do feel comfortable around them, and they’ve been great friends. But the reason I’ve been feeling less self-conscious is …” She took a deep breath. “It’s you, Gabriel. When I look at your face, into your eyes, I see the way you see me. Like there’s nothing wrong with me.”
“There’s not,” he said flatly. “It’s the way I’ve always seen you.”
Her eyes misted. “I know,” she said, her voice choking. “Now I know.”
The bond hummed between them again, and he couldn’t help himself as he reached for her and pressed his mouth to hers. Later tonight, when they were alone in bed after they made love, he would tell her, too. Tell her that when he looked into her eyes, he saw the love reflected there that made him feel like he was more than just a shallow charmer, a rich pretty boy that was suitable only for one purpose. In her eyes, he was a man worthy of her love. He would ask her, too, to be his forever, not just in the eyes of their kind, but in the eyes of everyone so there would be no doubt in anyone’s mind they belonged together. I’m going to marry you so hard, Temperance Pettigrew, just you wait and see. But for now …
“I’m starving,” he said, pulling away. “Let’s eat.”
Dear Reader,
Thank you so much for reading Temperance and Gabriel’s journey.
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Now, what exactly happened during the bachelor party in Vegas?
And who is this mystery lady looking for Daniel?
(More important—why does she need to talk to him?)
Find out when Blackstone Ranger Hero comes out in early September.
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All my love,
Alicia
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Blackstone Ranger Charmer Page 16
