Mated in Forbidden

by Keira Blackwood

  “The torture will continue as long as I’m stuck on doodie duty. You deserve to suffer with me.”

  There was no use in arguing.

  “Back to the Caleb thing,” I said. “I don’t know what world you’re living in, but I do not love Caleb. I don’t even like him. He’s an asshole. Worse lately.”

  Except for at the Watering Hole. I left that out because it didn’t count.

  I went on, “I found the perfect place, this gorgeous townhouse, and he’s swearing he’s going to steal it from me. I don’t ask for that much, but it feels like every single person with a dick is out to get me.”

  Brody’s voice was softer than before, “You really want this townhouse?”

  I swallowed hard. “More than anything.”

  “Then everything will work out.” Brody pulled me into his chest in a big hug. “All fun and games aside, you deserve happiness. You leave Caleb to me.”

  I hugged him back, afraid to ask what he had in mind. But without question, Caleb was in for some random acts of Brody wrath.

  Chapter 7

  Caleb

  The file folder, requested by none other than my state of the art realtor, contained all of the paperwork and information necessary to put in an offer on the townhouse. I snagged the folder from my tiny kitchen table.

  New furniture would have to go into my budget for after I moved. Most of the stuff in this basement was Ms. Cortez’s castoffs, and while I was sure she’d be happy to let me take some of it with me, I’d rather get a couple of nice pieces of furniture that I consciously chose.

  Look at me, being all domestic and shit.

  I couldn’t believe I’d found a place I loved so quickly. It was perfect for what I wanted. A few bedrooms—enough to have a family in someday, if I wanted. Not only that, the walls, fixtures, flooring—all of it had looked damn good.

  I also couldn’t deny that Moira had looked damn good inside of it, too. A strange vision entered my head—Moira standing in the bedroom. Pregnant.

  The idea didn’t scare me like it did with Jill.

  The clock on my phone told me I had exactly fifteen minutes to deliver these things to Elijah, so he could put in the offer right away. “Early bird gets the worm,” he’d said.

  It was my day off and I’d normally laze around, maybe watch some TV or read a book. But I wanted that worm.

  Hurrying out to my truck, I took in the sweet scents of the morning. If everything went in my favor, I wouldn’t be staying here for much longer. I inhaled and exhaled, feeling good, then spotted my truck. Something was wrong with it, but I couldn’t pinpoint what it was.

  I looked closer at it and swore. The front tire was completely flat.

  I checked my phone again. Dammit, I didn’t have a lot of time. But shit happened. I opened the door and dropped the folder of papers on the seat, then went around the back to grab the spare.

  Both rear tires were flat.

  This was not an accident. Bending to the ground, I sniffed around.

  I’d recognize that fucker’s scent anywhere—Brody O’Malley.

  He’d sabotaged my truck.

  Pulling my phone from my back pocket, I dialed him.

  “Mr. Stone,” he said when he picked up. “Good to hear from you, old chap.”

  “What the fuck? Why’d you flatten my tires?”

  He laughed. The asshole laughed. “I heard my sis wanted a townhouse and that getting the first offer in would get her the home team advantage.”

  I shook my head. Unbelievable.

  “Payback’s a bitch,” I said, “so tell her to watch her ass.”

  “Seems like you already have that covered. The ass-watching, I mean.”

  Growling, I ended the call and walked around the truck to survey my tires. All four of them were flat.

  I’d never beat Moira to putting in an offer on the townhouse. Dialing Elijah, I made arrangements to text him images of the paperwork so he could get started. My signature, I’d have to come in and give in person.

  “Pretty cool, these state of the art phones we have these days,” he said before he hung up.

  I sat in my truck to send him the paperwork. Just as I finished up, Ms. Cortez’s front door opened and she stepped outside. Her face was grim as she made her way toward me.

  More bad news. I could already tell.

  “Good morning, Ms. Cortez,” I called.

  “Good morning, Caleb.” She sighed and put her hands on her plump hips. “I’m sorry to tell you this…”

  I waited, bracing myself. I had a guess.

  When she didn’t immediately continue, I said, “You need me out earlier than expected?”

  “Yes, I’m so sorry. Jonas went ahead and purchased the home theater furniture—including the screen. We don’t have space to store it in the house, and it’s arriving tomorrow. Jonas and I have made arrangements for you to stay at Forbidden B&B until you can find a place. Jonas is footing the entire bill.”

  I could argue with her, tell her that there was no way I could get out in time. But the truth was, I had nothing else going on today, and I didn’t have much in the way of furniture or other belongings.

  Dammit. Until now, Ms. Cortez had been an awesome landlord, and I’d thought I would have more time to find a new place. All I wanted to do was sit on my couch and drink a beer or three.

  Instead, my day off would be spent moving out of the basement. And fixing my tires.

  I arrived at the Forbidden B&B with my tires full of air and a truckload of clothes, books, and the few dishes and other incidentals I owned. Daphne, the owner of the B&B and my alpha’s mate, came outside to greet me in a 50s style pink dress.

  “Caleb, welcome,” she said. “I have a room all set up for you, and Jonas also asked to rent space for your extra belongings, so you won’t have to crowd everything you own into a single room.”

  That was surprisingly thoughtful for a guy who was essentially ousting me from my apartment.

  “Thanks,” I said, grabbing a box.

  After the boxes were unloaded, I headed out front and took a seat on the porch swing.

  Flashes filled my head, of soft, wrinkled fingers gently entwined, of dark green eyes on a face unfamiliar yet undeniably meaningful. I stared at her pink lips, ran my fingers through her long gray hair. Moira O’Malley.

  My heart filled at the dream that I didn’t remember dreaming.

  Shaken, I jolted up from my seat. I crossed over the porch to the rail as far away from the swing as I could get.

  Could it have been a memory? No, it didn’t feel real, yet…

  “Hey!” A deep voice called from somewhere over in the side yard.

  I looked in that direction and leaned on the railing, expecting James O’Malley to come over and yell at me for having the balls to dare think about his sister. But it wasn’t James, it was Brody. And he wasn’t talking to me, he was talking to Declan.

  The alpha was lining up wooden rectangles into what looked like a large chest, or maybe a raised flower bed. He didn’t even look up as Brody approached, covered in something brown.

  A breeze blew in my direction and I gagged.

  Brody was covered in shit.

  “It’s a mess,” Brody said. “You have to help me. It’s everywhere.”

  Declan shrugged, not looking up at his brother. “You have your task and I have mine.”

  “You have a fluff job, and me...look at me.”

  “I don’t need to look when I can smell you,” Declan said. “They can probably smell you all the way in Redemption.”

  “Think about your choices,” Brody said. “You might regret them later.”

  Declan straightened, finally looking at his brother. “Are you threatening me?” His voice carried a weight that caused a shiver to run up my spine.

  Brody laughed without humor. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”

  I could hear the lie in his words clear as day, which meant no question Declan could as well.

  “How attac
hed are you to your eyebrows?” Brody winked.

  Declan reached to grab him, but Brody was prepared and hopped out of the way.

  A loud squawking sound preceded a large, black-winged creature running out from around the other side of the house. It raced across the yard toward Declan and Brody, its pink neck wobbling to and fro. It looked to be some kind of vulture.

  And I took that as my cue to go back inside.

  While I unpacked my clothes, I stewed about getting that townhouse. Moira had hit below the belt by having Brody flatten my tires. She should pay.

  I could put dog shit all over her car door handles. That was a classic idea. Sneak into her house and add hair dye to her shampoo and conditioner. I wondered if she tended to lather herself up and let her shampoo sit for a few minutes before rinsing it up. The image of her naked and wet in a shower popped into my head and lodged itself there. The slope of her shoulders, her soft brown hair piled on her head, suds sliding down her neck, down her back, and over her perfect ass…

  What was I thinking?

  I didn’t want to get revenge on Moira.

  I wanted to get her naked.

  Chapter 8

  Moira

  A gust of frigid wind whipped the door handle from my palm. The midday sun was warm, but the air was anything but. I tried again to shut the door, this time careful not to let nature get the better of me.

  It was good to get out of the house, even if only for a few steps to and from the mailbox. Brody had actually been behaving himself since our bonding over wonton soup the other night. At least he’d been behaving himself at home. I didn’t want to know what he did when he was out in the world.

  Halfway down the driveway, I heard a rustling sound. One of the bushes by the edge of the trees was shaking. Probably just a squirrel.

  Juggling my breakfast burrito, the little mailbox door, and the mountain of mail, I flipped through to see what we had. There were a few shipping supply catalogs I’d never use, a water bill, and a few letters for my brothers. Since Finn, Declan, and James had moved out, they all still ended up with bills and junk mail here. Delivery would have to wait until later.

  I took a bite of my burrito and headed back up toward the porch.

  The back of my neck prickled like someone was watching me. It was probably just Mr. Lawry across the street on his garage sofa.

  I glanced back that way, but his garage was empty. Whatever.

  I tried to shake the sense of unease and continued on my way up to the door.

  When I looked up once more from the mail, I found the culprit.

  A ball of brown and black fur with beady eyes was staring at me from the front porch. It was the little honey badger Brody had stashed in the cabinet.

  “Don’t you have a badger family around here somewhere to go home to?” I asked.

  It didn’t respond, of course, because it was an animal.

  I wasn’t going to go in the front door and risk the little monster getting back in the house, so I circled around toward the back.

  But it followed.

  I stopped walking and looked back.

  “What?”

  It rose up on its hind legs and clasped its front paws together like it was begging me for something.

  “Are you hungry?”

  What did badgers eat, anyway?

  “I don’t know about tortilla. How about egg?” I looked down, knowing it was crazy to expect the little creature to answer.

  It nodded. I swear it did, and lifted its little paws again.

  I tucked the mail into my elbow and pulled a chunk of egg out of the burrito, careful not to get any cheese or peppers along with it.

  Unless I was supposed to give it peppers...were they vegetarians?

  It flashed me a set of pointy little teeth. Nope, carnivore.

  I tossed the egg, and it caught it in its mouth before it hit the ground.

  How far past sanity had I gone to actually believe this little guy understood what I was saying?

  My phone buzzed in my pocket. I juggled everything back around and pulled it out and checked the screen. It was Brianne.

  I answered, “Hey, Brianne.”

  “Moira, hi. I only have a moment because I’m with another client. But I just got a call from the owners.”

  “Okay.” My nerves were firing like mad. Did I get the place? Did I not get the place?

  “They have a strange request. They want you to swing by to meet them.”

  Strange? I could deal with strange. This was Forbidden, after all. “When?”

  “Right now.”

  “Oh.”

  “They want to make sure whoever buys has the right aura, or some nonsense like that. A ‘beautiful soul,’ they said. If you want the place, you should go.”

  “I’m on my way.”

  “Sorry I can’t go with you. Good luck.”

  “Thanks for the call.” I hung up, slipped in the back door of the house, grabbed my keys, and slipped back out.

  I spared a glance at the porch before heading out the driveway. The honey badger was gone, and so was I.

  Windows down and cold air biting my face, I turned up the radio and sang along to Joan Jett belting out her adoration of rock ’n’ roll.

  Positive aura, that was something I could do. I was all about the positive, at least since I’d answered Brianne’s call. What else was positive? Brody replaced my almond milk like he’d promised, and all was going well with the Redemption job. I even did a little happy dance as I belted the words to “I Love Rock ‘N Roll.”

  And then I pulled onto Parkvale Street. And there was a truck in the driveway.

  Caleb’s truck.

  I pulled up beside him, all my positivity sucked out with the wind. Caleb was standing there looking super hot with his well-fitted t-shirt and jeans, leaning against the back of his truck with his arms crossed.

  Deflated and annoyed, I climbed out of my work truck.

  “What are you doing here?” I demanded, with a slam of my door.

  “I could ask you the same question, Moira O’Malley.” He circled around toward me, and his scent of fresh-cut wood enveloped me, infuriating me further. Then he shook his head. “Dammit. They called us both.”

  Fuck.

  “Unless they’re looking for hot and bothered, I’m going to win. With just hot.” He winked at me and flashed his panty-dropping grin.

  “Hot mess, more like,” I said, not believing my own lie.

  “You think I’m hot.” His smile grew wider.

  “Shut up.”

  He stepped closer, and the air seemed to heat ten degrees.

  “There are so many things I could do to you,” he said, “but my favorites involve me using my mouth.”

  “You’re an ass,” I said.

  “I’m the ass? I didn’t let the air out of your tires.” He cocked a brow up, challenging me.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” And I didn’t.

  “Don’t play dumb with me, gorgeous. It doesn’t suit you.”

  “You’re ridiculous. I seriously have no idea what you’re talking about. If someone let the air out of your tires it wasn’t—”

  “Brody. Your brother did it.”

  Oh.

  My face must have betrayed the cringe I felt inside, because Caleb crossed his arms and leaned on the truck beside me with a satisfied grin on his face.

  “If you think I have any control over my brother,” I said, “you’re the one acting like an idiot.”

  He looked over my expression, his golden-brown gaze heating my skin like a caress.

  “Aren’t you the boss?” he asked.

  “Of the company, sure. By twisting an arm or two I can make my brothers do what needs to be done for work. But outside of the construction site, they don’t give me an inch. Especially Brody.”

  Caleb nodded. “So the dog shit I was going to smear on your door handle…”

  “You wouldn’t.”

  “I didn’t.”<
br />
  That was something, I guessed. “We need a truce. I will have a talk with Brody. No promises it’ll do any good, but I’ll try. And you’ll promise not to do anything cruel to me. No sabotage, no poo.”

  Caleb leaned closer, into my space. Why did he have to smile like that? Why did he have to get so close? I stood my ground.

  “Do we have a deal?” I asked.

  The smile slid from his face, revealing a sincerity I hadn’t expected. “Have coffee with me.”

  “That’s not a yes.” I crossed my arms right back at him. “I want to hear the words. Promise you won’t do anything nasty to me.”

  “After we’re done with this character screening or whatever it is we’re here for, agree to coffee with me, and it’s a deal.”

  I considered his offer and countered. “Make it cupcakes and it’s a date.”

  His smile returned.

  Why did I have to say the word date? “A completely platonic deal sealed with baked goods.”

  “Moira O’Malley,” he said, shifting his weight. He offered me his hand. “It’s a date.”

  I sighed and accepted his hand. We shook.

  Both of our phones dinged at the same time. I checked mine, which showed a text from Brianne. The home owners weren’t coming. I shook my head and looked to Caleb to commiserate.

  He was headed around to his driver’s side door. “I gotta go. I’ll see you around, O’Malley.”

  What about the cupcakes? I frowned at him and watched as he climbed into his truck.

  Before he shut the door, he looked back at me. “For the record. I might have considered all kinds of torturous possibilities, but I’d never actually do anything to hurt you.”

  He shut his door and drove away.

  I stood there watching the corner after his truck had turned and left my line of sight. And part of me was disappointed, because I had been looking forward to getting that cupcake.

  Chapter 9

  Caleb

  Forbidden Hardware was, in its own way, just as much of a hub for the Forbidden residents as Eden Groceries.