Love Me Always: A Romance Anthology

by Peyton Banks

  “A little,” Kiera admitted.

  Penelope waved at her companion and then quickly covered her boobs again. “It’s just that we’re wolves. And we have to be naked to shift or else we destroy our clothes, so doing stuff when we’re nude is just kind of normal, I guess.”

  Kiera nodded. “I can see that.” Not unlike vampires, who thought it was perfectly normal to go shopping at 2:00 a.m.

  The guy said something else to Penelope, and she sprinted out of the water, heading in her direction. Kiara was too stunned to do anything other than stand there and wait for the other woman to reach her.

  “Listen,” Penelope said, not remotely bashful about her nakedness. To be fair, she had a gorgeous body. “Please don’t tell anyone you saw me here, okay?”

  “Er, okay.” The only person she might tell was Amare, and she highly doubted he cared whether Penelope liked to swim naked in the lake on chilly, overcast, mid-September days.

  “It’s just that Pete is from another pack and my parents don’t really approve of us being together.”

  Kiara nodded. “So you aren’t just swimming naked because it’s perfectly normal for werewolves to do so?”

  Penelope’s cheeks pinked, and she gave a nervous laugh.

  Kiara started to reach out and pat the girl’s arm but pulled back. “Don’t worry, your secret is safe with me.”

  “Thanks.” Penelope headed back to her beau and then stopped and turned around again. “Yours is with me, too.”

  “My what?”

  “Your secret.”

  “I have a secret?”

  “The fact that you and Mr. Conrad are sleeping in a room with two beds. I mean, it’s obvious you’re more than friends, but clearly there’s a reason you don’t want anyone to know. And it’s cool; I won’t say anything.”

  It’s obvious we’re more than friends? “Er… thanks, Penelope. I’ll, um, see you around.”

  “Okay, bye!” The shifter woman rushed back into the water and into Pete’s waiting arms. Kiara hurried down the beach, back to the resort.

  It’s obvious we’re more than friends?

  Did she mean it was obvious that Kiara and Amare had slept together? Or had Penelope seen something that even Kiara and Amare were unaware of?

  Sure, she was definitely attracted to the guy. But Kiara had been attracted to plenty of guys in her life and no one had ever said it was obvious it was more than friends.

  Yes, she’d acknowledged how difficult it was going to be to end her business relationship with Amare, but she hadn’t realized whatever small crush she’d developed was so obvious that someone she just met could tell.

  Did that mean Amare could too? Did he realize that she, at least in her mind, had crossed that line between business and, well, more than friendship?

  If he did, he was being a complete gentleman about it, which certainly did not help to deter her crush. It did, however, complicate her decision to get out of her chosen career.

  What if he tried to convince her not to do it? What if he offered her an exclusive contract, paid her to only give her blood and body over to him?

  Would she do it? It was tempting—not that he’d even suggested as much at this point—and yet, it wasn’t any different than what she was doing right now. Sure, she would only be offering herself to one man, but he’d still be paying her.

  Which meant she wouldn’t have gotten out of the profession after all.

  4

  The Mallard brothers hadn’t struck again, and the police had not yet confirmed whether their prints had been pulled from the pool area.

  Still, something had happened to Kiara.

  She was fine, of course, Amare could see that, since she spent the entire evening at his side. But she was acting off.

  They got along perfectly well when they went to their spa appointment. And, as the evening wore on, she became more and more relaxed, courtesy of the various treatments she received.

  But there was something different. It wasn’t until after they were seated at the restaurant, having dinner, their bodies exfoliated, steamed, massaged, and moisturized, that he realized what it was.

  “Why are you so distant tonight?” he asked, refilling her glass from the bottle the server had left on the table.

  Her hand jerked as she reached for the stem, and Amare grabbed the glass to keep it from toppling off the table. He lifted his gaze, and she was staring at him.

  “What is it?” he asked.

  “I just…”

  “Tell me, Kiara.”

  She twirled her glass, watching the dark red liquid swirl and splash against the side. “Do you think we act like a couple?”

  He barked out a laugh, which was a reflexive action born of sudden nervousness. “What makes you ask?”

  “Nothing. I just wondered, that’s all.”

  “Why are you wondering?” He paused. “Am I making you uncomfortable?”

  Her gaze darted up to his face. “No. What would make you say that?”

  He waved as if to encompass the restaurant. “I’ve been trying to make this trip as perfect as possible for you. Now I’m worried I’ve carried that attempt too far.”

  A smile tugged at her lips. “No, you aren’t. It really has been perfect. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate what you’ve done for me. Even if we left tomorrow I’d be happy. And I’d start planning my next trip.”

  “Good.” He nodded. “Mission accomplished then.”

  By 3:00 a.m., she began yawning, so he sent her to bed, although before she would retire, she made him promise that they would go swimming tomorrow.

  She could have asked him to do anything and he’d have agreed, so long as it was with her. But swimming—oh, yes, he was certainly looking forward to admiring her body. Was she a bikini or one-piece or tankini woman? He couldn’t wait to find out.

  In the meantime, he slipped out of the suite and made his way downstairs to talk to Sasha, the manager on duty again tonight. He hoped she’d had a chance to talk to the staff and could shed some light on how in the hell someone was able to dump forty pounds of garlic bulbs into the pool area. The place still reeked, and he knew for a fact the cleaning crew had gone over every inch of the patio, because it also stunk of bleach.

  The things he did for love.

  He laughed at his own foolish thoughts. Seriously? Had he just fancied himself in love with Kiara?

  He saved himself from analyzing that thought by stepping into the lobby. Something was off. Theme of the night, apparently.

  Striding to the front desk, where Sasha stood furiously typing on a keyboard, he said, “Could I speak to you privately for a moment?”

  “Not right now,” she said, far more dismissively than she would normally speak to him. She glanced up and shook her head. “Sorry, Mr. Conrad. I know what you want to talk about and I haven’t had a chance to ask around yet. Penelope didn’t show up for work tonight and we have a full house and I’ve been swamped trying to cover for her.”

  “Is she ill?”

  “No idea. She didn’t even call. Just never clocked in. I’ve called a dozen times, but she isn’t answering her phone.”

  “That’s unusual, isn’t it? Penelope has an excellent employment record, as far as I’m aware.”

  “She does. I hope she’s all right.”

  The lobby doors slid open, and a strapping young werewolf Amare had never seen before made a beeline for the front desk. “Have you heard from her?” he demanded without preamble, giving Sasha a beseeching look.

  She shook her head without taking her eyes away from whatever she was working on. “No, Pete. I told you I’d call you if I talked to her.”

  “Something’s wrong. I think they took her.”

  “Who?” Amare asked, inserting himself into the conversation.

  “Who are you?” Pete looked him up and down.

  “My boss,” Sasha answered for Amare.

  “Also, Penelope’s boss,” Amare added. “Who do you think took her?
And why?”

  Sasha glanced up. “Do you think you could take this conversation somewhere else, please? I’d really rather the guests not overhear.”

  “Come.” Amare indicated the young wolf should follow him to the business center. “Your name is Pete?”

  “Yeah.” He thrust out his hand, and Amare shook it.

  “Amare Conrad. Now, why are you so concerned for Penelope?”

  The kid dragged his hand through his shaggy, sun-bleached hair. “She’s my girlfriend. Only we aren’t supposed to be dating. Her parents want her to mate with one of those duck brothers.”

  “Duck brothers?” It took Amare a moment and then he nodded. “Ah. The Mallard brothers.” Why did every issue at this place come down to those two werewolves?

  “But Penelope doesn’t want to. For one thing, they’re both old and ugly. Plus, this is the twenty-first century. Even in werewolf communities, arranged unions aren’t normal anymore.”

  “I’d have to agree with you on that front.”

  “So we’ve been sneaking around, meeting on her days off and whenever she can get away. Yesterday we went swimming, thought we were alone, but when we went to leave, I swear I saw someone spying on us. I’m pretty sure it was one of those duck guys.”

  “Mallard brothers,” Amare corrected.

  “And now she’s gone.”

  “You think they kidnapped her?” The two men were annoying, certainly, and that garlic trick was definitely infuriating; however, even that was a far cry from kidnapping.

  “I don’t know, but what else could it be?”

  “It isn’t possible that she simply does not wish to speak to you any longer?” He didn’t truly believe it, considering Penelope had also not shown up for her shift at the lodge, but he wanted to be certain before he involved himself in werewolf business.

  “Absolutely not,” Pete said with admirable conviction. Amare wished he could be so confident of his ladylove’s feelings. He wished he had a ladylove. One whose first name started with a K and whose last name ended with an N.

  “Okay, as it happens, I know where the, er, duck brothers live. Why don’t I go pay them a visit?”

  “I’m coming with you.”

  He wasn’t surprised by the proclamation, and he didn’t bother to try to talk the kid out of it. “Fine. Let’s go.”

  They left the business center and headed for the entrance.

  “Where are you going?” The soft voice, scratchy with recent sleep, froze him in place for a moment.

  Kiara stood a few feet away, her eyes bleary, her face devoid of makeup, her braids pulled into a ponytail on top of her head. She wore a rumpled T-shirt and tiny shorts. Was that what she slept in, or had she thrown them on to come downstairs?

  “Kiara.” He hurried to her side. “What are you doing awake?”

  She fiddled with the hem of her shirt and did not meet his eyes. “I got up to get a glass of water and realized you weren’t in the suite. And then I…” She waved her hand. “I came down here looking for you. Are you leaving?”

  He guided her to the side of the lobby while Pete hovered closer to the entrance, giving them privacy, he assumed.

  “I need to go run an errand. I’ll be back and tucked into my bed by sun up.”

  “What sort of errand?”

  Sighing, he said, “Penelope has gone missing. That person over there is—”

  “Pete.”

  He furrowed his brow. “Yes. How do you know him?”

  “I don’t. I ran into Penelope on the beach earlier, and he was with her. She told me not to tell anyone that they were together. And now she’s missing? That’s not good.”

  “No, it really isn’t. But Pete and I have a feeling we know where she is.”

  “I want to go with you.”

  He started shaking his head even before she finished the sentence. “Absolutely not. I do not anticipate anything dangerous happening; however, in the event it does, Pete and I are well equipped to handle it, whereas you are not.”

  “Because I’m human.”

  “Yes.” No point in trying to sugarcoat the truth. “Now, go back upstairs. Hopefully, I will not be gone long.” He grasped her biceps and fought the very real urge to pull her into his arms. She seemed so very fragile at the moment, and he did not want to worry her.

  But they were here in a strictly friendly capacity, and even though friends hugged all the time, his hug represented far more than platonic feelings, so he released her and stepped away.

  “We’ll be back soon.” He and Pete hurried through the door to retrieve Pete’s missing girlfriend.

  Kiara didn’t stay in the suite as Amare suggested. She couldn’t. She was too worried about Penelope.

  What the heck happened?

  In the five years she’d been catering to the vampire community, she’d experienced only a handful of situations that could be considered dangerous. Once, she’d had a client who took too much blood, and she’d nearly passed out afterward. She’d never agreed to meet with him again, despite the obscene amount of cash he offered.

  Another time, she had a client who liked to abuse the humans who fed him blood, something he hadn’t disclosed ahead of time. Amare had been her next client after that guy, and he’d licked all of her wounds, one by one, to heal them with his saliva and refused to drink from her, instead sending her home to sleep, insisting she would feel better the next day.

  She’d never told him how much she appreciated him taking care of her. She needed to remedy that as soon as he returned, hopefully with Penelope, safe and sound.

  People came and went while she hovered, staying out of the way but keeping an eye on the entrance. Some checked in, some checked out. Many, she noticed, were couples. While this place was clearly designed with the business traveler in mind, it was also, without a doubt, an excellent option for a couples’ retreat.

  That evening at the spa had been amazing. If she hadn’t been so flustered by her impending decision, compounded by her feelings for Amare, she could have enjoyed it to the fullest extent. Instead, she’d kept him at arm’s length, relishing the treatments but not the company.

  And then he called her on it at dinner, and she still hadn’t confessed what was bothering her. She hadn’t been tired when he’d suggested she go to bed; she’d only wanted to be alone, to sort through all the crazy in her head.

  She didn’t want to be friends with Amare. She wanted more. She wanted to have sex with him without the client-call girl aspect hanging over her head. Given her decision to quit her job, it would be a one-time thing, unfortunately. But she didn’t want to walk away without having that experience with Amare, as lovers instead of as a business arrangement.

  Which meant they needed to do it here, where they’d agreed to a no-business arrangement. Once they were back home, they would also be back to real life, to their standard routine. At least, until she informed him that she wasn’t offering her services anymore.

  Except he wasn’t here, and at this rate, he would barely return before the sun came up. Older vampires like Amare often woke before the sun set, but they usually became sluggish and damn near comatose as soon as dawn arrived.

  Which meant her plan would have to be on hold until this evening. How frustrating.

  The doors whooshed open, and she glanced up, expecting to see yet another lovey dovey vampire couple. Instead, it was Amare, finally striding into the lobby.

  He carried a body in his arms, with Pete trailing along behind him.

  “Ohmigod!” She rushed forward. “What happened?”

  Penelope looked as though she’d been beaten. One of her eyes was swollen and had a black ring around it, and her jaw was bruised. There were cuts and scrapes up and down her arms and a gaping hole in the leg of her pants. She was wearing her work uniform. Had she been abducted on her way to her shift?

  Sasha practically flew around the counter to greet them as well, letting out her own cry.

  “Get a room for us, Sasha,” Am
are commanded. “She needs a safe place to heal.”

  Sasha’s eyes widened. “We’re fully booked. I-I don’t have anything.”

  Amare swore and glanced over his shoulder at Pete. “I am not comfortable leaving you two alone at your place. Not after finding her like this.”

  What in the world happened? Kiara shook her head. She could get those answers later. First, they needed to take care of Penelope.

  “Our suite,” she blurted. “She can have my room.”

  5

  With Penelope cradled in his arms, Amare arched one eyebrow. “This was not exactly on the vacation agenda.”

  Kiara forced a laugh. “We didn’t have an agenda, remember?”

  His smile was fleeting. “Let’s go. Sasha, call the healer from the local witches’ coven. My saliva will not heal a werewolf.”

  A little more than an hour later, Penelope and Pete were asleep in Kiara’s bedroom, and all of her things had been moved into Amare’s. The healer had come, cleaned and dressed Penelope’s wounds, and given her a sedative, promising that she would be fine when she woke later that day.

  Dawn was an hour away, and Kiara was as antsy as if she’d slept twelve hours and drank an entire pot of coffee.

  “I will sleep on the couch, but you must remember not to open the blinds until sundown,” Amare said.

  She shook her head. “No, you stay here. I’m too wired to sleep anyway.”

  He began gently massaging her shoulders. “I am so sorry to have ruined your vacation.”

  A laugh burst from her mouth. A few hours ago, she’d intended to try to convince him to let her share his bed. “Are you kidding? It’s hardly ruined.”

  She turned to face him, and he lifted his hands, leaving them suspended above her shoulders. “I have an idea how it could get even better though.”

  He arched his brows and silently waited for her to continue.

  She trailed her finger from his chest down to the waistband of his pants. “Have you ever wondered what it would be like if you and I…if we had sex, but it wasn’t a business arrangement?”