“He tried to grab your bartender.” Andreas tightened his hold on the back of the man’s neck, digging his thumb harder into soft tissue and muscle. The kid whimpered in pain and proved just how drunk he was. He didn’t attempt to shift and fight for his life. He hung limply from Andreas’s grasp, making that pathetic noise. “I found his behavior unacceptable.”
The polar bear grunted and turned to Amber. “Amber?”
“I told you they were acting up, Frost. You should have taken that as my cue to take care of it. You’re usually better than this.”
Frost, the no longer unnamed polar bear and apparent boss, grunted again and turned back to Andreas and the other men. “Let him go. I’ll take care of it.”
Andreas wasn’t so inclined to do what the man wanted. Not when it came to the safety of his woman. The wolf in him chomped at the bit to dish out the punishment the bear rightly earned.
“They’re in my Den,” he growled. “Trust me. I’ll straighten them out.” Frost motioned over his head and two more massive guys, bouncers most likely, appeared. They grabbed the two men and waited for Andreas to release the third.
Before he let go of his grip, he got in the cub’s face. “You ever try to touch her again and I’ll kill you. I don’t care what Den, Clan, or Pack you’re in. You will be dead.” He let go and shoved the kid slightly. The boy stumbled and was caught my Frost.
“Is there something I should know?” Frost looked between Andreas and Amber.
Andreas snarled. “I protect what’s mine.”
“And, is she yours?” A smile played on the big man’s lips. He obviously knew what Andreas meant.
Amber’s eyes rounded briefly, causing Andreas to smirk. “Not yet, but she will be,” he said. “The Siren and I need to get to know each other a little better first. But I know what the wolf tells me is true.”
Chapter 4
July 3rd - Friday
Amber knew her eyes were bugging out, but it couldn’t be helped or stopped. The man’s words were full of confidence, which she found arousing beyond reason, and yet they scared the ever-living hell out of her. She tried to tap into the mind of the sharply dressed wolf—and, no, she didn’t miss the quick flash of gold typically found in the eyes of wolves when they found something they wanted—but she couldn’t get a read on him. Absolutely nothing. She schooled her features before anyone had a chance to see her surprise. Though, she didn’t think it was quick enough to fool him.
He smirked and, against all odds, she blushed. Her cheeks heated instantly, and she was sure if she pressed a cool cloth to them, steam would rise.
Frost gave her one of his patent don’t fuck up my bar looks, and took the boys to the back office. He would straighten them out, and she fully expected to see them in the near future bearing an apology. He would probably rope them into the bachelor auction he was setting up to help raise funds for the expansion of the Den’s land rights. But she didn’t want to think about that at the moment. There was another man who called to her, demanding her attention.
She turned to the handsome wolf and studied him. He was an awfully pretty man. Definitely not her usual type. She went more for the rough and tumble men. The one nighters. The love ‘em and leave ‘em, never see them again kind of men.
But that was not this man. She pulled on her normal bravado to mask how much he fucked with everything she held dear. Her single life. Her love of doing what she pleased with whomever she pleased. Her belief that she would never settle down with one man or one woman. Which was crazy because she didn’t even know his name. How could it be possible that he turned her life upside down in an instant without even knowing who he was? She cocked her hip and thrust her hand onto it. “You think we need to get to know each other better, huh? I’m not so sure about that, wolfie.”
The sexiest damn grin she’d ever seen curled the corner of his mouth. He stepped around the end of the bar, sending her insides into a panic, and leaving nothing between them. She trembled inside, waiting to see what he would do next. Every instinct she had that should have been screaming run had somehow gone silent.
He invaded her personal space. “I know we do.” Her breath caught when he lowered his mouth to hers, pressing firmly—insistently. His tongue glided across the seam of her lips, pulling a whimper from somewhere within. She opened her mouth and let him in, against her better judgment, but that part of her brain was dying swiftly. Every cell in her body craved more of his touch, more of his taste. He drove his tongue in swiftly, brushing against hers. She tasted dark beer and rich, smooth elegance. Heat suffused her body, her nipples puckered against the lace bra she’d given him a tease of earlier.
As quickly as the kiss started, it was over. He retreated and broke away. Her disappointment a palpable thing, her knees buckling as he straightened, taking his beautiful mouth away. Before she had a chance to collapse at his feet, he wrapped a thick arm around her waist, pulling her flush against his muscular body. When he leaned in, she thought he would kiss her again. Anticipated it. Yearned for it. But, instead, his lips found the shell of her ear. “For the record, I’m a long ways from uptight, and any trouble you want to bring, baby, I can more than handle it.”
He stepped back to the other side of the bar, and left her feeling bereft of life. She wanted to weep and grieve his withdrawal from her. Amber shook her head and had to mentally pull it together. “Is that right?” Her voice came out breathy, and not even close to the indifferent badass she hoped.
“Oh yeah.” He crossed his arms over his chest, his biceps flexing impressively.
She licked her lips in a bid to make sure she wasn’t drooling. “You think you can handle my brand of trouble.” She tried to inflect doubt into her words, but wasn’t too sure she was all that successful.
“I know I can.” The corners of his lips curled and a dimple appeared in his left cheek. Her knees quivered at the sight, and a giddy little sigh tried to escape. She was a sucker for a man with dimples. Add in a superb kisser and she was a total goner.
This is crazy. She took a breath and tossed him a sassy look. “Well, you’ll just have to hold that thought for a while. I have work to do.” She pursed her lips and invoked her Siren. Batting her lashes, she let some of her arousal bleed through her voice. “Maybe if you’re still around at the end of my shift, I’ll let you find out.”
Wolfie’s eyes narrowed and flashed gold. “I’ll be right here waiting whenever you’re ready,” he said, his deep voice skated over her skin like a caress. He plopped down into the recently vacated seat. His shaggy haired friend sitting next to him with a goofy grin on his face.
Amber let out a deep breath and made her way back down the bar to the opposite end. She stopped along the way, serving up beer and liquor. Chatting and enticing the men to buy more, settling back into her normal role the further she got from him. If, on occasion, she glanced at the handsome man that came to her rescue, then so be it. She never said the man wasn’t damn good eye-candy.
Andreas felt Theo’s heavy gaze on him. He looked at him in his periphery, and saw his blatant curiosity about what had just gone down.
“Go ahead,” he said. Ready to hear whatever it was Theo was biting his tongue trying not to say.
“Your mate, huh? Aren’t you afraid that woman will chew you up and spit you out?”
Andreas laughed lightly. Other shifters might not be able to handle having a Siren for a mate, but that would never be his problem. “Not gonna happen.”
“Oh? And why not? Does the big bad Greek with an ancient pedigree think he can actually handle the Siren?”
“You know I can. That woman is my mate, and she’ll be putty in my hands in no time.”
Theo chuckled low. “Good luck. I have a feeling she isn’t going to go quietly into the night with you. But…you can thank me now in the form of the hot blonde’s number and a huge fucking steak.”
“Do they even serve food here?” Andreas looked around and, sure enough, they did. He wasn’t sure how
he missed it before, but he had. Well, he actually did know how. His wolf had all of his senses focused on one woman and nothing else.
Amber strolled back toward them. Her hips swished from side to side, grabbing his attention. His hands would fit perfectly on them when he fucked her from behind. Her beautiful ass softening the blows as he powered into her over and over again. He tore his gaze away from her waist, and allowed it to travel up when she stopped in front of another customer. A grin flirted on her lips as she talked. She must have felt the weight of his stare. She tilted her head and looked his way. Her friendly, flirty smile turned to something entirely different. It was sensual, seductive, and pure sin.
Oh yeah. She was going to be his by the end of the night. He could feel it in his bones.
“What can I get you boys?” She stopped in front of them, leaning over the bar. She angled her body toward him, giving him another great view of her tits.
“Well, Amber,” Andreas said, doing a good job of catching her off guard. Her sultry mouth popped open, then closed with a snap. “My friend here would like a steak and ale. He’d also like the number of your friend.” He pointed behind her to the blonde who’d come back from break.
“That’s up to Brit about the number, but I don’t think she’ll be opposed to it. I’ll get him the steak and ale. And what about you? What do you want?”
The answer was easy. “You.”
“You’ve already established that.” A saucy grin curled her lips. “I’ll warn you right now. I don’t do long-term.”
“We’ll see about that. I’ll take a steak and ale as well while I wait for your shift to end.”
He loved how her eyes sparkled at his challenge. “How about you give me a name to go with that cock-sure attitude?”
“Andreas Stathos, to peproméno mou.”
“Don’t think a foreign tongue will have me swooning at your feet, Andreas. Eímai dikí mou moíra.” She spun away and whispered in the ear of the other bartender.
Andreas chuckled softly at his feisty mate. She would be the perfect partner for him.
“What did she say?” Theo turned to him expectantly.
“I called her my destiny and she said, ‘I am my own destiny’.”
“So, she put you in your high and mighty Greek place. I love her already.”
“That she did.” He grinned, thrilled with the turn of events for the day.
Chapter 5
July 4th – 2:00am
Amber resisted the urge to fidget under Andreas’s steady gaze. All night long he’d kept an eye on her and the horny, drunken men crowded around the bar. The evening wasn’t any different than any other night; yet it seemed entirely different. Having Andreas watch her was like having a personal bodyguard; and, while she knew she could take care of herself, it was pretty fucking awesome for someone to have her back if she needed it.
Yeah, the staff at the bar would be available if there were trouble; but Andreas, damn, from the looks he shot anyone who thought to get up-close and personal, he would rip their heads off and cart her away before anyone could stop him. She didn’t know if that was a good thing or not, but it sure as hell lit a fire in her. The Siren inside her wanted to take him right where he sat, riding his cock in full view of everyone, until she screamed in pleasure. Marking him as her own and warning every other woman in the establishment away. She wasn’t opposed to freezing a few or jumping a few to a new location as long as it kept them away from him.
She finished wiping down the bar and took a look around. There were a few customers left, the Dirty Dozen, who tended to close down the place. Frost would take care of them before he had his crew come in and clean. That was one thing she loved about the big bear, he refused to let them slave away even longer after slinging drinks the entire night to a, at times, rowdy crowd. He could afford the crew, and the little town they all lived in could use the business.
She tossed the rag into the bin beneath the bar for the cleaning crew to take care of and grabbed her purse from the safe. Taking a deep breath to calm her raging hormones, she sidled up to Andreas. Sparks of electric heat zipped over her skin when she brushed against him. “Let’s go.”
Andreas stood and slipped his hand into hers. The smooth surface of his palm was at odds with the aggressive protector inside him, but it didn’t quell her hunger for the man. A shiver raced down her spine, as she led him from the bar and to the parking area out back.
It was a damn good thing she had one of those cars where she didn’t need the key to unlock it. As long as the fob was on her, she could open and start it up. It was also a good thing she opted for the big SUV; otherwise, she didn’t think Andreas would have fit.
They came to a stop at the back of her vehicle. She didn’t want to let go of his hand, but she would need to if they ever intended on getting to her place. Andreas backed her up against the rear bumper, pressing her against the cold window and steel. The heat radiating from him was so intense she didn’t feel the slightest nip seeping into her back. He cupped her face with his big hands and dipped his head, dropping a kiss on her lips. The second his firm mouth came down on hers, she got lost in a fog of lust. Her mind went blank and every cell in her body lit on fire. Arousal swirled in her blood, calling the Siren, who bubbled right beneath the surface. Seconds, minutes, hours could have gone by, and she wouldn’t have cared as long as his body stayed pressed to hers and his lips continued to devour every inch of her.
Andreas stepped back and blatantly adjusted his dick. Amber tasted like heaven on his lips. The rich cinnamon spice rolling from her skin mingled with her sweet arousal. It was a one-two punch to the gut. He didn’t think she realized how easily she surrendered to the wolf in him. He had the idea that if he told her, she would balk and call their evening off.
Given that she didn’t think twice about dragging him out of the bar, and he hoped to her home, he didn’t want to ruin the moment. His need to taste more than her lips burned through his soul.
He grabbed her by the shoulders and spun her away, popping her ass to get her moving. The sharp contact edged his arousal up another notch. At the rate he was going, his dick would burst free of the confines of his jeans in a matter of minutes. “Get in and let’s go.” His voice was deep and rough to his ears. The wolf breaking through a bit.
She shot him a hot look over her shoulder, her eyes flaring with arousal. He made his way to the passenger side and climbed into the, thankfully, roomy SUV when he heard the locks disengage.
They made their way out of the parking lot, hooking a left at the end of the drive. Andreas noted that Theo’s truck was gone, along with the hot little blonde bartender. He was surprised they hadn’t attacked each other the moment they walked out the door together. The man must have learned a bit of restraint during the months they hadn’t gone out together.
“Your friend at the bar, she a Siren too?”
Amber looked his way quickly before focusing on the road ahead. “Yeah. Frost only hires Sirens to bartend. We tend to have better luck selling the liquor and food. We can get you stuffy shirt Mystics out for a good time to spend your hard-earned cash with little effort.”
“And how many do you take home with you?” The wolf in him bristled at the idea of his mate with someone else, but the man wasn’t naive. She was a Siren, a sensual Goddess on the lookout for a good time. It was as natural to her to pick up someone as it was for him to go wolf and run the woods.
“Not as many as you think. Some of you Mystics get it in your head you can tame a girl like me. When that happens, shit blows up at the bar and we lose money. Not a lot, but we like to keep you guys coming back. It’s good for our little town.”
They hadn’t been driving more than ten minutes when she made a hard left, and they were heading down a main street. Small cozy businesses lined each side, all shut down for the night.
“This is town?”
“Yep. Summerset.” Her voice was filled with fondness and pride.
“Born and raised
here?”
She chuckled. “No. Like most Sirens, I grew up near the coast. Gotta be near the water to hone our skills. Singing to the men on ships or heading to the lake to practice on boaters, pulling them in to do our bidding. People always think of mermaids when they hear about luring sailors, but those bitches aren’t the only ones who can snag whomever they want with the sound of their voices.
“Just about every Siren, male and female, can read the thoughts of others. Humans are unbelievably easy. No filter or power to stop us from getting in.
“Then there is the individual power. Well, typically you only get one. Saltáro, which you should know means jump in Greek. It’s basically teleportation. Págoma or freeze is my ability. I can render people completely immobile. They’re aware of what is going on around them, but are unable to do anything. Finally, there is metatopízo or shift. That’s the one I wish I had. It’s the ability to change the way the environment looks.
“Anyway, I moved out here with a shifter friend of mine. She wanted to be closer to the wild things, and I wanted the adventure. She eventually found her mate and moved a couple years back. I decided to stick around. I liked working at the bar and found Summerset pretty damn cozy. I’ve been here just about ten years now.”
Andreas sat quietly and listened to Amber rattle on. He could tell she was nervous. Her pulse beat like butterfly wings in her neck. She barely took a breath between sentences. He didn’t mind it though. Learning about the woman that was his future would never be a waste of time.
The ten years caught his attention. “How old does that make you?” It didn’t matter to him what her age was, unless she was underage, but seeing how she was working at a bar, he didn’t think that was an issue. His curiosity had gotten to him though now that age was mentioned. He also just wanted to keep her talking. The sound of her husky, smooth voice entranced him. And it helped fuel his imagination, and how he thought she would sound crying out his name during orgasm.
Amber: July: Mystic Zodiac, Book 7 Page 3
