“I’m rarely out of food. Once in a while we have an unruly guest or two who clean us out, but not today.” Gemma grinned. “I hope you didn’t think that I wouldn’t cook enough for you. If there’s one thing you’ll learn while you’re here, it’s that the people of Paradise like to eat. A lot.” She set the full plates down and picked up the empties, using an efficiency of motion that would have made the most experienced of wait staff proud. “There you go. Enjoy!”
Gemma hurried out of the room, holding the empty platters in one hand as though they weighed nothing.
What was it about the people in Paradise? They all seemed stronger than they should be and the men were downright strange. So many men who liked big women in such a small town was just plain weird, no matter what anyone said.
She frowned over at her friends who seemed to know something she didn’t. It bothered her that they didn’t tell her what was going on. They’d never kept secrets from her before. Well, not that she knew of, anyway. What was going on here to make them do so now?
Nadya reached for the platter of bacon, but Luc beat her to it. He held the plate for her as she used the serving fork and put two slices on her plate. She set the fork down, wishing she had the guts to get more. She wanted more, but what woman in her right mind would eat more than a bit with all of these hot guys sitting around?
Luc sighed as she set the fork down. He picked up the utensil, forked what appeared to be a half pound of bacon on his plate, winked at her and plopped four more slices on her plate.
“Hey! I didn’t want that.”
“Then don’t eat it. It’s on your plate now. Excuse my reach,” he added as he handed the plate to Gabriel. “If you find that you can’t eat it, don’t worry. I’m sure Gemma’s dog would love it.”
Nadya stared down at the perfectly cooked bacon and sighed. How did he know she wanted more? Was it that obvious? It wasn’t as though she ate a lot. She really didn’t. She just loved bacon. Didn’t everyone?
Reaching out, Nadya spooned a small amount of scrambled eggs and hash browns onto her plate, smiling at Gabe when he picked up a biscuit and raised a brow. “Yes, please.” Her stomach did a little flip when she saw how the two men loaded their plates, always asking if she wanted something they had.
When was the last time any man did something like that for her? When had she ever seen women load their plates around hot guys the way Milla and Alexa had? Nadya watched as her two friends ate their breakfasts. Neither of them appeared self-conscious as they ate their bacon on biscuits and sipped their sugared coffee.
Swallowing, Nadya picked up a slice of bacon and took a bite. The flavor burst over her tongue, hickory smoked and salty. The bacon was perfect, cooked just the way she liked it, a little crispy and chewy at the same time. A little moan escaped her lips when Luc and Gabe both rested a large, warm hand on each of her thighs. Heat pooled in her middle and moisture gathered between her legs.
Yep. I was right. At least I’ll have the leaking water to blame for the wet spot on my seat.
Chapter Ten
“If you don’t mind, we’d like to walk you to your room.” Luc rested his hand on the small of Nadya’s back and suppressed a groan. He loved the way the heat of her body seeped through her clothes. Her round bottom was the best aphrodisiac. He wanted nothing more than to crawl behind her, slip his cock into her tight sheath and fuck into her until she screamed.
Removing his hat, he held it in front of him to hide the evidence of his desire. While he wouldn’t mind Nadya seeing what she did to him, he didn’t need the entire town seeing it. Since she’d just finished her extra-long shift at the ticket booth, he wanted to feed her before they went back to the lodge. Gemma stopped serving an hour ago and, damn it, he knew if he was hungry, she had to be the same.
“What do you think about stopping by the diner?” He rubbed his stomach. “Gemma stopped serving an hour ago and, I don’t know about you, but my stomach thinks my throat’s been cut.”
Nadya looked up at him for a moment. He wasn’t sure what it was he saw in her expression. He couldn’t decide if it was hope or pain. “I—um, yeah. That would be fine.” She fisted her hand in front of her growling stomach as though she was afraid he’d hear it. “I am a little hungry.”
“Darlin’, you have to be starved. I’ve been here the whole time and you’ve not eaten since breakfast.” He checked his watch. “It’s seven-thirty. It’s been ten hours since you ate.”
“Really?” She looked surprised, but she also looked scared. Of what, he wasn’t sure. “Look,” she said, resting her hands on her hips. “Maybe we should just get me something from here and I can carry it back to my room.”
“Ah…I get it.” Luc grinned and plopped the hat back on his head. Let her see what she did to him. Perhaps then she would believe that he could love her just the way she was. “You’re afraid to eat in front of me.” He titled his head and frowned down at her. “You don’t plan to hole up in your room and eat in secret, do you? I don’t think that’s healthy.”
He wasn’t sure what the mental implications of something like that was, but he knew there was no way he’d allow his mate to subject herself to that kind of self-loathing. “You don’t live to eat. You eat to live. I can tell the difference.” He smiled and winked. “Now, I, on the other hand, live to eat.”
“Right.” She snorted and shook her head. “Like I’d believe that.” She waved her hand, indicating his body. “Look at you. You’re damned near perfect.” She snorted again. “As if I would believe you live to eat.”
“I take it you didn’t watch me eat this morning.” He lifted the right corner of his mouth, giving her the practiced lopsided grin he’d cultivated since his twenty-second birthday. He knew what it did to women. While he hadn’t used it on a woman for over fifty years, he knew what it did to them. The women of today were certainly more sophisticated than the fairer sex fifty years ago, but they were still females and Nadya was all woman. There was no doubt about that. “I ate the equivalent to six scrambled eggs, a pound of bacon, four biscuits and at least a pound of potatoes.”
“You’re a man.” She looked him up and down. “An obviously well-built man with muscles on top of his muscles, so of course you eat a lot.”
“And you don’t. You barely eat enough to keep a child fed and you’re afraid I’ll think you eat too much.” He grasped her shoulders, leaned down and covered her mouth with his.
Lightning shot through his blood. An electrical storm started deep in his gut and fanned out, sparks flying between them as he ground his mouth against hers, their tongues tangling together as he ravished her mouth.
After a moment, he wasn’t sure how long, he slowly ended their kiss. Reluctantly, he backed away. “Now, open your eyes and look at what that kiss did to me and then tell me that you still believe that I find you unattractive.”
He backed her between two trailers, out of sight of the general populace. When she didn’t open her eyes, he took her hand and pressed it against his groin. His cock jumped at the contact, throbbing against her hand as he squeezed her fingers around his hard length.
“Tell me.” He practically growled the words against her throat.
With a groan, Nadya threw her head back, reached up and pulled him to her. She wanted his mouth on her skin. She might not be ready to admit it, but her actions spoke louder than any words ever could.
He let his teeth grow a bit and nipped her shoulder. His beast was ready to mate her, just as surely as his human body was ready to make her his. He had to tell her. Before he threw her on the ground and made love to her right here in front of God and everyone, he had to tell her what he was—what they were—before he could take their relationship any further.
“Luc, I—”
“Shh…” he interrupted her. He couldn’t let her say no. Not yet. She had to know what he was, what she was to them before she made a decision. She must know that she was the one woman they could connect with
, and the one woman with whom they could and would remain faithful for the rest of their lives. “There’s something you need to know before you say another word.”
Grasping her hand, he pulled her through the crowd and down the street to the diner. It was empty, but for a few regulars who knew their secret if they didn’t already live it.
He gently pushed her into a booth. “Sit.” He followed her in, pinning her on the inside so she couldn’t run. He could see that she wanted to. He could catch her, of course. Like all shifters, he was fast. Still, he didn’t want to frighten her. He wanted her to understand. “I have something important to tell you.”
“What? That you’re attracted to old, fat women?” She shook her head. “I figured that out.” Leaning back against the wall, she met his gaze. “Let me tell you something. I don’t know any more than you do about sex. In fact, I probably know less. If it’s an older, more experienced woman you’re looking for, you’re barking up the wrong tree.”
“What I’m looking for, Nadya, is my mate—our mate.” Reaching out, he grasped her chin. As gently as he knew how, he pressed a soft kiss against her lips. “We aren’t like other people.”
“You got that right.” She laughed. “I’ve never seen a stranger group of people in my life and that’s saying something, coming from me.”
“What I mean to say is, we’re different.”
“I got that when you said you weren’t the same. That usually means different,” she replied dryly.
“I mean that we’re shape shifters. Almost everyone who lives here in town is a shape shifter.”
“Bullshit.”
Luc sighed. Gods, he was going about this all wrong. Never once in his life had he imagined what he would say to a potential mate. Up until a few years ago, they hadn’t even known that humans were compatible.
“I’m saying this all wrong.” Reaching up, he rubbed the back of his neck. “I can prove it. We just need some place private.” He slid out of the booth and reached down to take her hand. “Come with me.”
“Hey!” She snatched her hand away from him. “If you think I’m just going to follow you someplace where we’ll be alone after you tell me some crazy shit like that, you’re out of your mind!” Nadya pressed herself back against the wall, her eyes wide.
“It’s not like that.” He glanced around the restaurant, making certain that everyone in the place knew what he was. Satisfied, he closed his eyes. “Don’t be scared. What I’m about to do is going to freak you out. Just don’t be scared of me. It’s still me.”
Luc reached for his cat and the familiar magic took over. His clothes disappeared into the ether where they would be when he reached for his magic again. His face contorted, the bone shifting shape into that of his cat, his muscles grew larger, stronger as his arms and legs grew shorter, more compact. The entire process took less than a minute, but he felt every change as if it had taken much longer.
Opening his eyes, he looked up at the booth where Nadya sat, her eyes wide, her mouth hanging open. She sputtered for a moment before she let out a scream loud enough to wake the dead in Mason’s cemetery nearly fifty miles away.
Chapter Eleven
Sarah, the waitress came running out of the kitchen brandishing a butcher knife. “What the devil is going on out here?”
“A mountain lion!” Nadya started to point, then thought better of it. What was to stop the thing from taking her arm off? “It-It’s—” She shook her head, stopping herself before she told the other woman it was Luc.
How could it be Luc? Sure, she’d seen some crazy crap traveling with the carnival all these years, but she certainly had never seen anything like that before. Maybe she was going crazy.
“Lucas Martin!” The waitress rested her hands on her hips with a scowl. “What the devil do you think you’re doing? You know it’s against health regulations for you to be in here like that. Change back this minute.”
“What?” Nadya couldn’t say much else.
“He’s trying to show you that he’s not crazy. He really can shape shift.” Sarah reached out and patted her hand. “You aren’t going crazy and he’s not a nut.” She smiled. “See? Everything will be fine now.” The woman ignored the fact that the mountain lion behind her was changing into a person, clothes and all.
“But—but.”
“But nothing.” The woman sighed. “Are you going to sit there and tell me that you would rather have one human man who will eventually get some sort of mid-life crisis and masturbate to sex videos of younger women or cheat on you over two hot shifters who will never leave you and never stray?” She turned away and mumbled, “What the hell is wrong with human women? If my guys were still alive, I’d jump on them so fast their heads would spin.” She turned away and wiped at her eyes. “If only we had been able to bond before they went off to fight.”
Luc stood in front of her, looking as good as ever. “Are you ready to eat and listen, now?”
Reaching out, he grasped Sarah’s arm before she walked away. Apparently, like most men, Luc didn’t pick up on the fact that Sarah was upset. “I think we’re ready to order.” He glanced at Nadya. “Do you mind if I order for you?”
“No. Go ahead.” She didn’t know if she could wrap her mind around reading the menu.
“Great.” He turned to the other woman. “We’ll take two steaks with fries and a side of broccoli.”
“How do you want those steaks?” All professional now, Sarah held her pen poised over her order pad.
“I’ll take mine rare, the lady…” He paused and glanced at Nadya. “How do you like your steak, darlin’?”
“Medium. Not too pink, though, if you don’t mind.”
“One rare, one medium coming up.” Sarah hurried toward the kitchen.
“Can I walk you back to your room?” Luc asked an hour later as they exited the diner.
“I…um…sure. I guess.” Nadya shrugged. What was it with the men in this town?
“Do you have another shift today?”
Nadya didn’t know why, but his question made her nervous. “Not today. The rest of the day is mine. I have two shifts tomorrow, though.” Apparently, one of the girls made an appointment to see the town’s doctor. Nadya agreed to cover her shift because working was always better than spending the night alone.
“Great! What do you say that we spend some time together?”
Had he read her mind? Nadya wanted nothing more than to spend time with anyone instead of being alone. “Sure.” She shrugged, acting nonchalant. She didn’t want him to know exactly how much his invitation meant to her. No one wanted to appear desperate.
“Can I ask you a question…about being a shifter?”
“I had hoped you would ask me all sorts of questions over dinner, but you managed to talk about anything but what I am.” He grinned down at her and held out his arm for her to take it. “First, though, I wish you would trust me again. Prove it by taking my arm.”
“Who said I trusted you before?” She bumped against him and grinned. “I’m not sure I trusted you before. What makes you so sure?”
“I’m not.” He shrugged one shoulder. “I guess maybe I was being optimistic.” He glanced down a side alley next to a large store. “Would you mind if we stopped here for a minute?” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a set of keys. “I need to check on something while we’re here, if you don’t mind.”
He took her hand and pulled her toward the front door. “I’ll even leave you sitting at our new bar.” He grinned. “You can say that you were the first to see it. It’s kind of a secret.”
“Really?” She peered around him. “Is that why there’s paper covering the windows?”
“Yeah. We want it to be a surprise. We’ve used all construction crews from out of town to keep it a secret.” He inserted a key in the lock and opened the door.
Nadya gasped at what she saw. It was almost like stepping back in time. A gleaming wood bar sat against
the back wall, a set of tall, shining taps behind it. Brass bar stools sat tucked beneath the jutting edge of the bar. A pickle barrel sat at one end.
Bolts of cloth stood on end in the back corner surrounded by racks of clothes on one side. The other side held everything from flour, sugar and canned goods, to nails and other hardware.
“This looks like something out of an old western.” Nadya couldn’t help but smile at the way things looked. “It’s beautiful.”
“I’m glad you like it.” He smiled down at her. “Now, if you don’t mind, I really need to go check something out.”
He left her sitting on one of the cushioned stools. Nadya couldn’t help but stare at the man’s dream. What must it be like to see one’s dreams forming in reality? Just looking at the inside of what she knew to be his dream, Nadya felt she knew a little more about Luc and Gabriel.
It was obvious they were old souls. Just looking at the old style of the store told her that much. They were gentlemen. Neither of the two men had been anything but gentlemen since they’d met, damn it.
She sucked her bottom lip between her teeth. What could she do to convince him that she was attracted, that she wanted him to make love with her, even if it was just for one night?
One thing was certain, it wouldn’t be forever. Nadya was grown up enough to realize that men just didn’t fall in love at first sight and hot guys like Luc and Gabe didn’t fall in love with frumpy forty-something women at the drop of a hat. Still, she wondered what he would do if he came back into this room and found her on the bar just waiting for him?
Chapter Twelve
Luc searched the store but found nothing. He’d been certain he had smelled something when he was outside. Now, all he could think about was the fact that Nadya liked the store. He could tell by the look in her eyes that she’d been impressed with the way they’d put it together.
That alone was a turn-on. Now, just thinking about her sitting next to the long bar, its gleaming wood beckoning him to throw her on the top and make her his in every possible way. He knew that Gabe wouldn’t mind if he was the first to make love with their mate. They had spoken about this very thing a multitude of times over the years. All that mattered to either of them was that they were able to make her theirs.
Promise of Paradise Page 4
