Beta’s Delight: Dixon Pack Book 2

by Bryce Evans

  “That’s the pack house. I can get one of the spares and take you home.” Bane said irritably.

  “Do they have a cab company? I can call one to come get me, so you don’t have to.” She could hear how pissed off he was. Hell, she’d walk if he would point her in the right direction.

  “No cab company in New Hope.” Bane replied.

  “Okay.”

  A good looking man walked out of the house to greet them, keys jingling in his hand. He grinned when he saw Simone behind Bane. “Hey.”

  “Hey.”

  “I’m Tate Dixon, you must be Simone.” His nostrils flared as she got closer.

  She nodded, wondering why they all did that. “Are you headed into town, Tate?”

  Tate looked at Bane, then back to her. “Yes ma’am.”

  “Can you give me a ride back to my store?” Simone asked. Bane’s anger only got worse when she asked. “I need to get back, quick.” Again, Tate looked over at Bane, waiting before he answered.

  “Never mind,” Simone snapped, having had about enough of shifter issues. “Which way is town?”

  Tate pointed down the driveway. “When you get to the end of the road, you turn right and it leads into town.”

  “Thanks, see ya.” Simone didn’t want to wait until someone made a decision—she would walk it. It couldn’t be that far away, and she needed the time to clear her head anyway.

  “Hey!” She heard Bane yell at her, but she was so done with him. She was angry at herself for making the mistake of developing feelings for him at all. That’s all this was—a mistake. She had a plan, yet she had let her body tell her head what to do. Just once, she wanted something to work out for her. Just this one time. The moon lit her way just fine. Even though it was a cool night, the fresh air and space from Bane would do her good.

  For the first few minutes, the night was peaceful, until she heard a car coming up behind her. Simone moved to the side of the road to let them pass her, but they continued to follow. When she turned around, a truck had pulled ahead of her and stopped. Tate got out and opened the passenger-side door.

  “Your chariot awaits, my lady.” Tate said with a smile and wink.

  This boy was as handsome as he was sweet, but Simone hesitated at the door. “I know you’re only doing this because of Bane, but really, I need to clear my head. It shouldn’t be that far to town.”

  “It’s over two miles, and you don’t need to be walking on this road at night. Even though the moon is full, we have a lot of older people who live in this community. They’ve hit animals simply because they can’t see ‘em. So please, let me drive you home. If you want fresh air, I can roll the windows down but it’s getting a little chilly now as the leaves are starting to turn. Besides, I don’t want my head kicked in by my Beta when he finds out that I didn’t get you home safely.”

  “I’m only doing this because I don’t want to see you get in trouble.” Simone sighed as she jumped up inside. Tate closed the door, ran back around, and started the truck up.

  “Just asking, and if you tell me it’s none of my business, then I won’t ask again, but are you two mad at each other?”

  “I’m not, but I’m not sure he isn’t mad at me.” Simone answered. “We always seem to be mad at each other.”

  “I can smell him on you, and I just thought that you and him…” Tate left the rest unsaid.

  Smell him on her?

  “Do I stink or something?” Simone asked, worried that Bane had a territorial scent, or maybe she needed to refresh her deodorant.

  “No, no. We can…well our scent is very powerful, so I know that you and Bane…”

  Throwing her hands over her eyes, Simone groaned in disgust. “Oh no. Please don’t tell me you can smell that he kissed me? That’s…that’s too much. Do I stink? How bad is it?”

  Tate laughed. “No, you don’t stink or smell bad at all. I just know that you’re off limits because I smell my Beta on you. I know he likes you a lot, and you’re probably his mate.”

  “No, you have that wrong. Listen, I know I’m not his mate, and Bane knows it too. It was just this one time and it was an accident, so I’m not in anyone’s way, so to speak.” Simone looked away from the non-believing smirk Tate was giving her; she didn’t like it. “Bane would know, and he already told me that we’re not, so stop looking at me like that.”

  “Like what?”

  “Like you think I’m wrong. I saw how Ben and Monica looked at each other for the first time. It was spontaneous and magical. Even though she ran, I still saw the longing in both of their eyes. And, and how he almost went to war with Bane and Josh when he thought they were keeping her from him. I’m not a fool—I saw that spark. Bane doesn’t look at me like that. It was just a stupid kiss, one kiss doesn’t mean anything.”

  Simone glanced back at Tate again, only to see the smirk still plastered on his face. She crossed her arms in front of her and stopped talking. She wasn’t going to change Tate’s mind, but she didn’t care. They were finished. All she needed to do was pay her rent every month, and even that didn’t require her to talk to Bane. She could mail him the check, or give it to Monica or Josh. It would work out just fine. Keeping her distance wouldn’t be a problem.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Tate pulled up to her bakery and Simone got out of the truck before he pulled to a stop. “Hey, I can go through your store and see if everything is okay, and to make sure nobody got in.”

  Bane carried her away so fast that she had left the stoves on, even left it unlocked. For a minute she thought about Terry, but Tate was here and he was a shifter; her ex had no hope of hurting him.

  I hope it is unlocked because I don’t even have my keys. I left them when Bane…” Simone swallowed hard when she saw that same smirk come up on Tate’s face. Right now he was pissing her off, and if he didn’t stop with the little looks she might just do that. She had a long hard day, and Bane didn’t give a rat’s ass about her.

  Tate opened the back door and inhaled, then walked inside. She followed him and nearly fell over when she saw how clean her kitchen was. All of her pots were right where they needed to be for the morning cooking and Finley was busy putting one on the hanger.

  “Finn, you…” Simone’s voice cracked as she looked at how everything was in the right place. “You didn’t need to do this. I don’t know what to say!”

  “A simple thank you would suffice. I didn’t get a chance to help you out earlier, so I thought I would help you clean. Once I get started, I can’t seem to stop.” Finn said with a smile.

  “Thank you, Finn. Thank you. I can’t believe how clean it is. There was flour everywhere when I left.”

  “Finn is a master at cleaning. He does this at the pack house too.” Tate answered.

  “Everything is ready just like yesterday, all you need to do now is go home and get some sleep. I heard the store did awesome today! Oh yeah, and Quinn told me to give you this,” Finn said, handing her a few small slips of paper. “She rang up your money in the register and wrote down what was charged and debited. That’s the till and the charge receipt.” When Simone looked at the paper, she could have swallowed her tongue. She had made twenty-five hundred dollars today.

  “Oh my God, Oh my God, I can’t believe that…Oh my God. I made enough today to pay for rent and buy supplies and still put money in the bank!” Simone squealed with delight. Mr. Olsen made four times that much, but that was New York City. This was a small town; she only expected to cover the supplies on her first day. This was more than she had ever hoped for.

  “Oh yeah, she also said that she paid for the honey and fruit from Renshaw Farms; the receipt is in the till.” Finn added.

  “So, I actually made more than that. This is mind-boggling. How did this happen? Do you always get this much traffic here? It’s such a small town!” Simone couldn’t understand how she made so much. She saw everyone placing orders, but this was beyond her wildest dreams.

  “Actually, the town has been do
ing pretty good with the B&B business and the nature trails,” Tate explained. “We make sure they see some wildlife to keep ‘em coming back, and the furniture store does great too. Finn makes a lot of furniture, and he does pretty damn well for himself. We have a lot of the big city stores who come here to get their furniture since it is made so well and our prices are cheaper. Plus, you have Southern Treasures with Jade and Quinn. They have a lot of local artists’ works and other products in the store, and Quinn has a lot of natural products that everyone seems to go crazy for. She’s a great business woman. She is great on Social Media too and once she puts out her blitz media reports people can’t get enough. I think with you here, that’s just icing on the cake,” he chuckled, unable to resist his own pun. Simone could get used to his cheerful demeanor.

  “I’m so excited, I don’t know if I can sleep, but I have to if I want to get a few different sweets out tomorrow. Especially now that I have the honey and fruit.”

  “I should be here tomorrow, so I can help if you need it.” Finn offered.

  “Thanks, Finn. I don’t know if…” she lowered her head, “I don’t know if Monica or Josh will be here tomorrow. “I should have checked on her when I was at the pack house. I was so caught up in my own troubles that I completely forgot.”

  “She’s fine. I checked on her before I left, and she was sound asleep.” Tate answered trying his best to reassure her.

  “Did he see her?” Simone asked. She wanted to know, now that Bane had explained about mates. She couldn’t deny it herself.

  “Yes. Ben only watched her for a little while, and then he left. I suspect he won’t be able to stay away from her completely, but he understands now about what happened. He just needed to make sure she was okay. He won’t hurt her, Simone. Ben is a good Alpha; we’ve always had a great relationship with his Clan. We’ve had our problems in the past, but we worked it out.” She nodded as Tate explained. Bane had basically said the same thing, but she needed to hear it from someone else.

  She was still worried about Monica and the mating though. “What if she doesn’t want him?”

  Tate smiled. “Eventually, the mating pull will be too much for Monica, she’ll be drawn to him too. But that isn’t always a bad thing. In time, I’m hoping they’ll get to know each other and it’ll all work out.”

  Simone yawned, putting her hand over her mouth, exhaustion making her weary. “I think I need to go to bed now.”

  The woman and the wolves walked to the front door together, Simone looking at every inch of her bakery one last time before she left for the night. Finn cut the lights out and locked the door, handing the keys over to the rightful owner.

  “Thank you, Finn.” Simone said as she reached over and hugged him.

  “Do I smell—”

  “Long story Finn, too tired to tell you right now, and no, we’re not mates.”

  Simone held the till reports to her chest and walked up the stairs. “Thanks for the ride, Tate.” She called over her shoulder as she unlocked her door and stepped inside, locking it firmly behind her. Without taking her clothes off, Simone kicked off her shoes, put the records on the dresser, and fell down onto the bed. Pulling the covers over her, she instantly fell asleep.

  * * *

  Bane walked over to where Finn and Tate were sitting outside Simone’s apartment, chatting at the bottom of stairs. “Is she asleep?” he asked.

  “Yep.” Tate answered with a smirk on his face.

  “Why are the lights on?” Bane asked, concerned and curious.

  “I guess she wanted them on, but I can tell by her breathing that she is sound asleep.” Tate answered.

  “I think I’ll take a look.” Bane decided as he walked up the stairs and unlocked the door with his spare key.

  He stood in the doorway and listened. Just like Tate had said, Simone was sleeping peacefully. Her breathing was deep and undisturbed as he walked softly to her bedroom.

  He smiled when he saw that she still had her clothes on in bed. He wanted nothing more than to crawl into bed with her, but he couldn’t. Bane valued his life—she would probably jerk his balls off or gut him where he stood. Simone was a hot-blooded woman, but he couldn’t stay away from her. She was right though, he didn’t need to lead her on. She was a human, and whoever his soul mate was would hit him just like Ben and Monica, but he really liked Simone. Everything about this woman appealed to him. Her smile and her feisty personality had him in knots.

  Bane could still taste her on his lips. He didn’t want to take a shower because her scent would be washed away. He could drown in the butter sweet scent of her. Simone smelled like fresh cookies coming out of the oven. Cookie dough, that was what she smelled like, and he loved to eat sweets.

  Smiling, Bane sat down in the chair and watched her sleep. Even in her sleep, the woman made him ache for her touch.

  Tilting his head back, Bane closed his eyes and listened to the soft sounds she made in her sleep. Before he could resist the pull, Bane drifted off in Simone’s chair.

  Chapter Fifteen

  “About fucking time!” Terry Dunn snapped at his brother once they got clear of the jail.

  “Look, I called in all kinds of favors, even from Big Mac—who by the way, said you could rot in hell for all he cared. What the hell did you do to him anyway?”

  Terry laughed out loud, like he could recall the exact moment in vivid detail. “He liked going into Olsen’s Bakery and looking at Simone, but I stole her away from him.”

  RJ looked around the parking lot, “Dude, you know Big Mac is a made man. I thought he was going to kill me when he asked what you got put in jail for.”

  “Fuck that fat fucker, I don’t care who he is. Do you really think anyone would come after me if I killed someone like Big Mac?” Terry started walking toward the car. “Speaking of the whore, where is she? I’ve been calling, but the phone got disconnected.”

  “Simone left town, apparently. Nobody has seen her.” RJ Dunn stated.

  “She didn’t leave behind any forwarding address or number?” Terry stopped again, glaring at his brother.

  “Nope. I even went by the bakery, and they say she just left town. Heard she was in California, but the old man wouldn’t say where.” RJ Dunn added. “Really man, I even went to the hospital to see if she was still there, and got nothing. My friend Mick said he looked in the computer, and even her bill was paid, but no forwarding address.”

  “Who paid her bill?”

  “Old man Olsen at the bakery.” RJ said.

  “Should of known that he would—doesn’t matter. I’m going to find that bitch, and when I do, well let just say that it’s not gonna be pretty. Nope, she will never get to testify against me. Call the boys, tell them I’m out and to meet me at Ross’s. I need some pussy.”

  * * *

  Bane startled awake. He and could tell by the dim light of dawn coming through the windows that it was nearly five in the morning. His internal clock always woke him up around this time. Sometimes he would try to go back asleep, but he never could.

  Besides, today was a special day for Simone, and she would definitely need some help. Monica wouldn’t be at the store today, and most likely Joss would stay behind and look after his sister. Simone couldn’t bake and watch the front too. He would help her bake, then mind the register for her. When he turned back toward the bed, Simone’s eyes met his.

  “What are you doing in here?” He could tell she was mad, though maybe mad was an understatement. Simone looked furious.

  “I wanted to make sure you were okay. I had the spare key, and when you didn’t answer the door, I got worried and let myself in. You left all the lights on too, I thought something might have happened.” Bane rambled, trying to come up with an excuse to get him out of trouble.

  “Look Bane, you can clear your conscience. I’m okay, and I can take care of myself, so you can stop acting like you care. I’m not mad, but like you said, we’re not mates and you need to start looking for yours. I need
to get in the shower and get ready for the day. I’ve got to hire more workers, and you being here is only slowing me down.”

  Simone didn’t want him to leave. For a brief moment, when she woke up and saw Bane sitting in her bedroom, she thought that he might really care, but she knew he only felt guilty. She hated acting so thoughtless, but this was just self-preservation; she had to nip this in the bud before her heart broke again. She already liked Bane Cross more than she should. Every time they were around each other, she only got more and more addicted.

  “I do care about you, and I may never meet my mate, so we…”

  “No Bane, we can’t. I know what’ll happen if we start seeing each other, then the right one comes along and you can’t help yourself. Isn’t that what you said when you described the obsession you would get when you met your mate? You would never look at another woman, or want to be with anyone else but her. Where would that leave me?”

  Simone watched him as Bane struggled to answer. She knew the truth, and no matter how much he wanted to sugar coat it, he couldn’t.

  “Look, I’ve got to hurry.” Simone jumped up and rushed into the bathroom. Before she closed the door, she turned around and added, “Leave that spare key on the table on your way out,” before she closed the door, swiftly locking him out.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Simone found the back entrance unlocked by the time she got there to open. She was afraid to go in—she knew she had locked it before she left. What if someone was inside waiting for her? Shit, what if Terry had found her?

  Looking around, she spotted a fallen branch, and decided it would have to do. She picked it up with a silent prayer, then went inside. All the lights were on, and there stood Finn, watching Bane mix something in a bowl.

  “What the fuck Bane? Dammit!” she yelled out. “I thought…” Simone dropped the stick and held her hands to her chest.