Anna lowered her brows. “In two months.” She’d been so sure her landlord would understand her plight and give her an extension.
He shrugged. “That’s all I got.”
Nowhere to go, no relatives to live with, not even any friends who could keep her in a spare bedroom for a few weeks. At least not within reasonable distance of the school. Back in Kansas City, yes, but here, notsomuch. Her best friend, Olivia, had just gotten married. No way would she intrude on newlyweds. Simi had given birth a month ago, and for sure she wasn’t going that route, and Todd, although she was sure he would insist on helping her, had a new partner, and she definitely didn’t want to get in the middle of that relationship.
Deflated, Anna bit her lip. “When is the last second I can be here?”
“They move in Saturday.”
“Great.” She could have been more magnanimous, probably should have so she didn’t burn her bridges, but she couldn’t help feeling shit upon. Not that it was really Mr. Cameron’s fault. No, she placed every ounce of blame on Peter and Candy Apple.
She sincerely hoped her ex’s penis shriveled up and fell off. This was supposed to be her week of new beginnings.
Anna turned and left Mr. Cameron standing in his doorway. “Do you want the apartment or not?” he called after her.
“Not.” She glanced back over her shoulder. “I need something today, Mr. Cameron. Otherwise you’ll find me in a homeless shelter two months from now.”
“Mm. Sorry.” He jerked his head to the side. The look he gave her said he didn’t give a shit one way or another whether she had a place to live. The door closed.
And so she stared limbo in the face.
Where to go? She had to find something in the next four days or she’d also find herself out of a job since no one would want a homeless teacher leading their impressionable children.
“Damn you, Peter.” Maybe if she cursed him enough…
She stabbed her key into her car door, slipped into the seat with as much flounce as she could muster in the tight space, and rested her head on the headrest. “What the hell do I do now? Find a new place, that’s what. How hard can it be? There have to be places to rent around town.”
She’d found this one easily enough when she’d first moved here. In fact she’d come based on an ad in the paper, and it had been the first one she’d looked at. Loving the space, she’d snatched it up, afraid if she’d taken the time to see more, she’d lose this one.
There was another set of apartments over off 2nd Street. She’d look at those and go from there.
An hour later she wanted to cry. The place on 2nd, aside from not looking the best, was full. Even if they hadn’t been full, they definitely didn’t appear to be the safest of places to live. Not because they were in a bad neighborhood—there really wasn’t a bad neighborhood in Trenton—it was the simple fact the buildings had to be a century old if they were a day and didn’t look like they’d ever been rehabbed. The manager there had pretty much laughed in her face when she’d asked him where the other complexes in town were.
“We only got two here, lady. If you cain’t find nothin’, then you outta luck.” With those words, he’d sucked in a good amount of his half-gone cigarette, pivoted, and walked back to his TV behind the counter as if she’d disrupted an important business meeting. Sponge Bob blared from the speakers. That should have been her first clue to turn tail and run without even inquiring.
Too bad desperate times called for desperate measures. And because of this, Anna had cruised every street of the town hoping Sponge watcher had been wrong. He hadn’t. There were no other apartments in town. The biggest complex was set aside for the students who attended the small college there. She would have to go into the nearby towns. Which was laughable since a nearby town of any size meant a minimum thirty-minute drive. She supposed she shouldn’t complain since many people probably drove more than that on a daily basis, but it wasn’t something she wanted to do. Especially not when winter and snow hit.
A quick peek at her watch told her it was lunchtime. The grumble of her stomach did too, reminding her that she’d been too overwhelmed to attempt to eat breakfast. In fact, lunch didn’t sound so hot either, but starving herself wasn’t going to get her anywhere. And since she really didn’t relish the idea of sitting in her apartment and staring at the packed boxes of what had started out to be a new beginning, she decided to hit the diner. It was still a tad early for the lunch rush, so thankfully there was a space open near the entrance. The angled parking spots running along the front of the strip of shops were sometimes fought over. Usually good naturedly, sometimes not. Small towns had their share of hotheads too.
Before she could shut the car door, a shadow fell over her. The second she glanced up, her breath left her. He wore a cocky smile that said in the end he’d win and have her served up on a platter for their enjoyment.
Damned if she didn’t have to clinch her thighs together.
“Albatross.”
That got him. His eyelids drooped low, and he glared at her from beneath incredibly long lashes.
“It won’t be long before I change your mind about what you call me, sweetheart.”
Anna stiffened. “Not sweetheart. Anything but sweetheart. You call me that again and I’ll punch you. I don’t care if you are a cop.”
He threw his hands up in surrender. “Understood. No sweetheart. A particularly bad memory, or is that name reserved for use by someone else?”
She slammed the door closed and forced him to walk backward to the sidewalk. “He called me that before we got married. It’s one of the reasons I was swayed into his web of lies and deceit.” The thought actually made her shiver. “The way men call their women little pet names as if they’re something special. I felt special, too, until I found out how gross he really is.”
“Gotcha. No sweetheart. Fine.” He opened the door for her and pressed her forward with a hand at the small of her back, and she wondered why she was blindly allowing him to go to lunch with her.
“Then I expect no more words of special love from you also, Anna.”
She stopped dead in her tracks, and he bumped into her from behind. She had to crane her neck to look back at him. “I’m not sure I recall ever calling you a pet name.”
The corners of his mouth, the one she couldn’t decide whether she wanted to kiss or smack, lifted. “Ah, but you do.”
Anna snorted and turned her attention to the waitress waiting ever so patiently to seat them. The woman, maybe in her early twenties, couldn’t take her eyes off of the detective hovering so close, Anna could feel his heat.
“Hello, Alpha Montross. Just two?”
“Yes, Sherry. How’s your dad doing?”
Anna was once again shepherded by Albatross to the table the girl led them to, a space against the picture window. The red vinyl seat gave a funny squeak when she sat down, and Anna crinkled her nose. Bite me, seat.
“He’s doing better. Momma says his leg is almost healed.”
“Good to know. Let him know if there’s anything else we can do to give us a call.”
Sherry nodded vigorously and her cheeks reddened. “I will. He says you saved his life.”
Anna lifted an eyebrow. She supposed saving someone’s life was something he did in his line of duty, but still. Albatross’s gaze shifted to her, though he continued to speak to Sherry.
“Nah. Just happened to be in the right place at the right time.”
“Well, thanks, all the same.”
“It’s my job to take care of my people, Sherry.” Colton’s voice dropped an octave, and his gaze remained riveted on Anna. She had a feeling he wasn’t just referring to his people but including her also. As in, he’d take care of her too if she’d only move back into his house. Maybe she was hallucinating. She shook her head and looked away. He’d totally had her snared. So much so she’d even thought of him by his given name.
The whole notion made her squirm in her chair. Which caused anoth
er creak of the vinyl that sounded ominously more than a creak. Her face flamed, but she did her best to pretend as if nothing had happened. If he didn’t know it was the chair, he could stuff it. The curve of his mouth upward told her he knew. Good thing. She really dreaded having to smack the man in public.
“Okay. What can I get you to drink?”
“I’ll have an ice water, please. Anna?”
“A Coke, thank you.” She had a feeling she would need some caffeine fortification for the coming hours.
Sherry walked away, but not before giving Colton another longing glance.
“She’s in love with you, Albatross,” Anna said deliberately, trying to bring herself back down to Earth.
“Ah ha!”
Anna jumped at his near shout.
“See? You’re using pet names.” He waved a finger at her. “None of those, remember?”
“Albatross is not a pet name.”
“It’s a term of affection.”
“You’re delusional.”
“He is not.” Sherry plunked Anna’s Coke on the table, causing some of it to slosh over the rim. “Alpha Montross is one of the best men on the planet.”
Colton snickered. “She’s teasing, Sherry. It’s okay. Have you met Anna Belky?”
“No.”
Anna noticed the girl was careful to place Colton’s water without spilling a drop. Great. She’d already made an enemy of a shifter person. Just what she needed.
“Anna, Sherry. Sherry, Anna. Sherry and her family are part of the pack. Her father got caught in a snare last night. Marc and I were able to extract him when we were out for a run.”
“And it’s already healed?” Anna couldn’t help but raise her voice.
Colton shrugged. “We’re part wolves. The shifting process somehow heals most injuries. Sometimes illnesses, too, but we don’t get sick often.”
“Must be nice. Took me four weeks and several more of therapy to get over my broken ankle two years ago.”
Colton’s eyes took on a strange glowy hue, and he literally growled. “Why did you have a broken ankle?”
“Relax, Albatross. Skiing accident. Me and skis don’t play well together. I always end up on the injured side of the game.”
“You really shouldn’t call him that. He’s our alpha.” Sherry’s lip had curled in the corner, and if looks could kill…
Anna sighed. “You’re right. He caught me at a bad moment yesterday, and I couldn’t remember his name and that’s what came out.” She turned from Sherry to Colton, who was grinning, the jerk. “Not a pet name.”
“What can I get for you?” Sherry’s growl caused Anna to jump.
Colton really needed to look into Sherry’s infatuation with him. Anna was sure her eyeballs were about to be clawed out by the petite waitress.
Colton raised a brow, waiting for Anna to order first. She’d do anything to get Sherry to quit looking at her as if she’d rather tear her to shreds than serve her.
“Two Maid-Rites with mustard and pickle, please.” She saw no use in trying to eat like a rabbit in front of him. If he didn’t approve of her choice in food, he could stuff it where the sun don’t shine.
“Mustard and pickle, huh?”
“It’s Maid-Rite. If it isn’t mustard and pickle, then it’s not Maid-Rite. Get it?”
Marc put both hands up. “Hey, I agree. I just pegged you for a cheese smotherer.”
“Ew.”
He chuckled before answering the waitress. “Same for me, Sherry.”
Without bothering to write it down, Sherry turned with a sniff and walked off, leaving Anna wondering who’d pissed in her cornflakes that morning.
“Well. I didn’t win any points with her.”
“She’ll live.”
“She totally has a crush on you,” Anna mentioned again. “Might need to wipe the slobber off your side of the table.”
Colton threw his head back and laughed before growing serious. “She knows the score, and any feelings she may have toward me, she knows won’t be reciprocated.”
Anna crossed her arms on the table and leaned forward to sip from her Coke. The fizz sliding down her throat made her moan. Some places just served better Coke than others. And fountain definitely beat canned, hands down. “How does she know that? Girls crush on boys all the time. Get their little hearts stomped on every day.”
“She knows because if she were my mate, I would have already taken her. And kept her.” His voice dropped an octave. Became more seductive. Made her shiver. “Our kind knows instinctively who our other half is. Or in mine and Marc’s case, our third. If you weren’t human, we wouldn’t have to woo you. We’d take you to bed and make you ours, no questions asked.”
Fascinating. “And if the female doesn’t want you as a mate?”
Colton snorted. “Never heard of it happening. Our females feel the tug the same as our males. The only difference for us is you’re human.”
Anna made a noncommittal noise and flicked at a piece of lint on her shoulder. Suddenly Colton leaned forward.
“Do we frighten you?”
“What? No. Pfft. No.” She waved him off. Truth was she wasn’t scared. Which, ironically, scared her. Scared the ever-lovin’ bejeezus out of her because when she should be sprinting and screaming away from them, she couldn’t stop thinking about them and what they’d said and how they made her feel. And goddamn it, she’d just gotten out of a shitty relationship with a man she’d fallen hard for. Look where that’d gotten her.
“Alright, I’ll be honest with you. I’m not scared of you but of what you could do to me.”
Colton slumped back in his seat, a stunned expression on his face. “You think we’d hurt you?” He seemed so taken aback by the thought she nearly laughed.
“Not physically.” How she knew this, she wasn’t sure. “But emotionally, yes. You have immense potential for causing me severe pain. And trust me, I’m not ready for more pain in the relationship department.”
He swallowed. Appeared to be gulping down vomit as if he’d rather rip off his own arm than do anything to hurt her in any way, shape, or form. Which endeared him to her another notch.
She sucked in a breath. “This is neither here nor there because I don’t have time to play footsies with you two. I have to f—”
“So you do find us attractive.” He grinned and her insides squirmed, but she pressed on.
“I have to find an apartment so I can keep this job I’ve worked so hard to get.”
He grabbed her hand, spread her fingers, and speared his through them. “You don’t have to find an apartment.”
“I d—”
His fingers on her lips cut her off. “Hear me out. You don’t have to find an apartment because you can stay with us. You know better than anyone there’s plenty of space at the house. You can even have a separate room, if you must.”
“Gee. Thanks.”
“Trust me, having you there would go a long way in allowing us to show you how much you mean to us. It’s gonna be a lot harder if I keep having to follow you around and steal moments like this one.”
“You followed me?”
“Well, sorta. I saw you driving in and took my chance. Marc’ll probably kill me when he smells you on me, but hey, we need to have a good tussle.”
“You mean he’ll fight you because you had lunch with me?” Appalled, Anna took her hand back and covered her mouth.
Colton, the scoundrel, smiled again. “Nah. It’ll make him jealous as hell, though. ’Course, he’ll be spending every day near your presence at school, so if I get to steal this lunch, I will.”
Oh, yeah. That’s right. She’d be working with one of them. Seeing him day in and day out. Wilting under the pressure of his advances.
And ending right back where she currently found herself. Alone.
“No.” She resolutely shook her head. “I can’t. I have to find my own place.” This time she shushed him when he started to interrupt. “If things go further between us
, then we’ll talk about residences later. Happy?”
The frown he gave her reminded her of a three-year-old who hadn’t gotten his way. “No. But if this is what it takes to get you into our bed, I’ll go along with it.”
She blushed and stared into her lap. Peter had never been this forward with her. His finger came under her chin and lifted it.
“Not for long, mind you. There’s only so long a male wolf can wait for his mate, Anna.”
The heat in his eyes led to an unfamiliar sensation between her legs. One she wasn’t sure she’d ever really felt. Not even in the beginning when she’d been smitten with Peter.
“And please, God, don’t tell us to stay away. It’s not possible and not going to happen. You’ll have to get used to us being around. Neither one of us will be able to stand by and not touch or talk to you, knowing who you are to us.”
Anna’s heart thumped in her chest. “Okay.” The whispered acquiescence shocked even her.
As did Colton when he stretched across the table and gently put his lips on hers. The sweetness nearly did her in. She felt the ache in her throat signaling tears and begged them not to fall.
She needn’t have begged. Sherry did an awesome job of cutting through the tension by plunking the plates with their paper-wrapped loose meat sandwiches on the table with a low growl.
Chapter Five
This house is yours, baby. Come take a leap with us.
Anna nearly cried the second she stepped out her door and spied the huge arrangement of flowers gracing her stoop. The rest of yesterday’s meal had been eaten in a queer sort of silence, both of them doing their damndest not to laugh while their chaperone glared daggers at them. It kept Colton in line at least and kept him from not only touching her again—though she could tell it was clearly hard for him—but kissing her too.
If she were being one hundred percent honest with herself, she’d wanted him to kiss her again. Badly. And that pissed her off. She shouldn’t be wanting anyone after the way her last relationship had ended in complete disaster. She should be using this time to her advantage. Living it up, going through men…
Overcome Page 5
