by Jodi Vaugn
She laid her head on his chest and nodded. “Just wanted to make sure you got home okay.”
He stiffened against her. Damn, she probably sounded like a nagging wife. That was the last thing a man ever wanted to hear.
She took a step back and faked a yawn, holding her hand over her mouth. “I’m going to bed.” She slid underneath the covers, making sure her back was to him. She squeezed her eyes shut, waiting to hear the door shut behind Braxton.
The covers flounced as Braxton crawled into bed and settled in behind her. When he wrapped his large hand around her waist and pulled her back against his stomach, Kate’s heart lurched.
He hadn’t left. Not yet. But she knew he would.
Kate pushed away the painful truth, focused on the warmth of Braxton’s body, and snuggled in deeper.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
“You think he’s here?” Brutus turned to Killian, who was leaning up against the Eureka Springs sign.
“I think the fucker is dead.” Lorcan shrugged. “I’ve never seen any Werewolf live after taking a silver bullet. Just doesn’t happen.”
Brutus scowled at his men. His gut told him different. “If he’s dead, then where’s the body?”
“Maybe he got eaten by a bear.” Lorcan shrugged.
Brutus and Killian eyed Lorcan.
Brutus rubbed his buzz cut and growled. It was obvious Braxton had never made it to Branson. He was here in Eureka Springs. He knew it.
“No one has seen him here. We’ve asked all the bars.”
“You asked in all the Were bars. You need to go ask in the human bars.”
Lorcan snarled. “Human?”
“Yeah, you’re not afraid of going into the human bars, are you?” Brutus taunted.
“Hell, no. I just don’t think they’re going to be so open in answering our questions. They may not know we’re werewolves, but they sense we’re something dangerous.”
“We’re out of options. Both of you get to the bars and see what you can find out. I’ll make a call to the Louisiana commander and fill him in. I’m sure he’s not going to be too damn pleased with any of us right now.”
***
“Kate, this is a great place.” Barbara smiled over her coffee. “I’m shocked you don’t stay booked up all the time.”
Kate sighed. “I wish I would stay booked. With the economy like it is, people tend to look for the cheapest place to stay.”
“I disagree.” Danielle cocked her head. “I think people are willing to pay for the ambience plus the extras you have, Kate.”
Kate snorted. “Not lately they haven’t.”
Barbara set her coffee cup on the dining table. “How much advertising do you do?”
Kate sat in a side chair next to Barbara. “Well I’m on the Eureka Springs list of Bed and Breakfasts. We’ve always just thought word of mouth and referrals were enough to get our name out there. That’s what my mom always said.”
“It’s not enough.” Felicity shook her head. “You need a webpage.”
“The Eureka Springs Bed and Breakfast list is on a webpage.”
“You need your own, something unique and eye-catching, with photos of the Bella Luna inside and out.” Felicity’s eyes lit up. “I could help you. I’m a website designer by day.”
“Really?” Kate felt her hopes rise and then quickly fall. “I’d like that, but I don’t have the funds to pay you.”
Felicity exchanged a look with Barbara. “What if we bartered?”
Kate shrugged. “I’m afraid I don’t have anything to barter with.”
“Actually, you do. What if I designed your webpage and set it up for you now in exchange for staying here a couple of days in the fall? No charge.”
“I don’t know that I’ll still be in business in the fall.” Kate blew out a breath, feeling more depressed by the second with this conversation. “I’d hate for you to do all that work and then me not be able to hold up my end of the bargain.”
Felicity laughed. “I can guarantee you I’ll bring you customers by the droves with my webpage. Trust me, Kate, you’ll still be in business and doing better than ever.”
Kate smiled. For once, that tight feeling in her chest was gone. Besides, she had nothing to lose.
“So, what do you say?” Felicity waited expectantly with her hands clasped under her chin.
“I say, you’ve got a deal.”
***
For the next few hours, Kate waited anxiously to see what Felicity had come up with. She tried to get a peek, but all the writers shooed her away from the upstairs bedroom where they were ensconced. She was surprised to see even Ava and Granny involved in the process. With Granny in the mix, she hoped the old lady wouldn’t talk the writers into putting something obscene on the website.
Kate rounded the corner to the kitchen and ran head-first into Jayden. He’d come back to the Bella Luna with Braxton and Damon from their trip into town. With no room, he had to sleep on the couch.
“Whoa.” Jayden reached out to steady her.
“Sorry about that.” Kate stepped back.
“No problem. I was just about to go find you.”
“Me?”
“Yeah. I didn’t get to pay you last night for staying.”
Kate waved her hands. “Don’t worry about it. Sleeping on the couch isn’t exactly part of the bed and breakfast amenities.” Ava had managed to finagle a room out of Felicity so Ava and Damon could have a bed. Lord knew they needed one. It was either they have a bedroom to themselves or everyone walking in on them having sex in the strangest places.
Kate’s cheeks heated with the shock of walking in on the couple getting it on right in the kitchen on the island. And Ava hadn’t even been embarrassed. She just smirked and kept riding Damon.
“I’m still going to pay for staying. I already asked Braxton what the rates are.” Jayden pulled his leather wallet out of his jeans pocket and plucked out six one hundred dollar bills and handed them to her.
Kate frowned. “But this is too much for one night.”
Jayden gave her a sheepish grin. “I have a feeling I might have to stay a few more nights. It just depends how long Braxton needs me.”
Kate smiled. “How long have you two been friends?”
“Not that long. He helped me out of a tight spot.” He raised his left sleeve of his T-shirt, revealing a long, nasty scar.
Kate covered her mouth with her hand and then met his eyes. “I thought Weres could heal.”
Jayden pushed his sleeve down. “We do. Unless someone pours salt in our wounds.”
“Oh, God.” The pain he must have suffered would have been agonizing.
He shrugged and gave her an easy smile, the kind that made girls go gooey inside. His eyes lit on the plate of freshly baked cookies she’d prepared for the evening’s refreshments.
“Go ahead. Since Damon’s been here, I’ve learned to bake four times as much.”
“Cool.” Jayden grabbed four oatmeal raisins and headed out the door.
***
Despite the lick of cold wind against her skin, Kate lifted her face toward the sun as she walked down the sidewalk in town with Felicity and Danielle. She had agreed to go with the girls to take some pictures of the town so they could use them for her website.
Kate stopped long enough to pet a black lab being walked down the small sidewalk of Spring Street.
“I think we should have taken the picture of the street from the top of the hill.” Danielle examined the picture Felicity had just taken on her digital camera.
“We will. I wanted to get some pictures at the bottom of the street looking up the hill. That way I can capture some of the shop signs in the photo.”
Felicity squinted and shaded her eyes with her palm. “Isn’t there some kind of religious statue here?”
“You mean the Christ of the Ozarks. It’s only a few minutes from here.” Kate slipped her sunglasses up on top of her head. “What would really be pretty is Thorn Crown Chapel.”
>
“Isn’t that the church made of glass?” Danielle looked at Kate.
“Yes. It’s especially gorgeous at night when it’s all lit up.” Kate waved her hand. “But they only do that during the holidays.”
“We can still get a great picture with all the snow on the ground. Maybe we can come back during the spring and get a picture with all the flowers blooming. That way you could change out your pictures with the seasons.”
Kate felt a smile spread across her face. “That’s actually a great idea.”
She just hoped she was going to be in business in the spring.
***
“Come on, Ava.”
“I’m not going.” Ava crossed her arms and plopped down on the bed. The writers were busy getting all dolled up to go into town to celebrate the launch of Kate’s new webpage for her bed and breakfast. Even Granny was going.
“It’s going to be a girls’ night. Don’t you need a girls’ night out?” Barbara patted her hair down.
“Nope. I need a night with my guy.” Ava fell back on the bed and crossed and uncrossed her legs. It was a nervous habit when she was apart from Damon, whether it be a day or a week. Hell, it hadn’t even been a damn hour and her nerves were lighting up like a summer storm.
Felicity snorted. “From the sounds that keep coming out of your room, you should be exhausted.”
Ava sat up and narrowed her eyes at the girl. Felicity stiffened and took a step back.
Ava smirked. Smart girl.
When she’d walked in and saw Felicity touching Damon, Ava had wanted to rip the female’s throat out, right there. Damon had pulled her away and they’d gotten into an argument in the bedroom, which lasted all of ten minutes. Then came the makeup sex. Oh. My. God. The makeup sex.
Ava went wet just thinking about it. She crossed her legs as her body heated. “Are you sure you’re talking about me, or maybe you meant Kate? ’Cause that girl can make some noise.”
Kate went wide-eyed and looked around the room.
Ava grimaced a little at her obvious discomfort. Damn, maybe she shouldn’t have said anything. Kate did look like the innocent American girl next door.
Kate let out a giggle. “Maybe it was me.”
An hour later, after the last eye was lined and every lip was painted, the girls were finally ready to go. Gathering up their purses, the women piled into the van. Ava stood at the window as the van disappeared down the driveway and felt the tiniest twinge of regret at not going.
***
“Are you sure it’s safe?” Myrtis glanced up at the biker bar that was built into the side of the mountain.
“I guess so.” Kate bit her lip. “I’ve only been in here once. But it was during the day. It was rented out for a friend’s birthday.” It was Beau’s twenty-fifth birthday.
Felicity turned in the driver’s seat and gave Kate an incredible stare. “You mean to tell me you’ve lived here all your life and you’ve never been to this bar at night?”
Kate shrugged, feeling like a dork. “It never really looked like a place to pick up a nice guy.”
“Right. Because by looking at Braxton the word nice automatically comes to mind.” Felicity arched her brow in disbelief.
“Braxton is definitely not nice. Or safe, for that matter,” Kate muttered.
Felicity and Danielle gave wide-eyed looks. “Just how dangerous are we talking? Like bang me standing up dangerous? Or go down on me in the laundry room while the spin cycle is on dangerous?”
Kate’s mouth dropped open. How the hell did they know about the laundry room?
“Holy shit. I knew it. He did do dirty things to you in the laundry room, didn’t he?” Felicity’s mouth gaped.
“I don’t care how many ways he’s banged her. I need to get inside and get me a drink.” Myrtis threw open the side door of the van and climbed out. The others followed like ants.
Kate hurried out of the van before any more questions could be directed to her. She was going to have to tell Braxton no more sex until those writers left. She smiled, knowing he wasn’t going to stop having his way with her at every chance.
As she stepped through the door of the bar, the scent of cigarettes and beer hit her in a nauseating rush. Now she remembered why she wasn’t the bar type.
She waved her hand in front of her nose, trying to dispel the noxious odor as she looked around. It was crowded tonight with lots of large men in leather, jeans, and tattoos. The few women that were there were beautiful with a lethal edge about them. It was that same deadly edge that Ava carried.
Granny walked up to the bar, eyeballed the bartender, and slapped her hand down on the counter like a woman on a mission. “Give me a pomegranate martini.”
The hulking bartender lifted an eyebrow before his gaze slid to the rest of them. “We don’t serve that here.”
“Hmph. Then give me a Sea Breeze.”
“Fresh out.” The bartender leaned across the bar. “Why don’t you ladies head over to the rooftop bar across the street? I’m sure they’d have more of a selection than what we have.”
Kate cleared her throat. “Actually, that might be a good idea.” The hair on her neck stood on end, and she couldn’t fight an involuntary shiver. The idea of visiting a biker bar had suddenly lost all its appeal.
***
Braxton pulled up into Kate’s driveway and slid out of her SUV. The throaty rumble of twin Harley Breakouts sped up the driveway. His heart squeezed at the sound, knowing his Harley was at the foot of the mountain, forever gone.
Damon and Jayden pulled up and parked their bikes near the side of the house.
“You look like a soccer mom, dude.” Jayden grinned, putting his kickstand down.
Braxton held up his middle finger.
Damon snorted. “I’m not sure how you managed to fit your large ass behind the wheel. Looks claustrophobic.”
“You have no idea.” Braxton bent his head from side to side, stretching out the kinks. Since he’d lost his bike on the highway when he’d been shot, the only transportation he had was Kate’s SUV. The only thing he liked about driving it was her scent and how it clung to the inside. It almost made him forget about his Harley. Almost.
“Where have you guys been?” Ava stood at the door, arms crossed. From the look on her face, she wasn’t happy with Damon.
“We were checking out the crime scene at the construction site.” Braxton offered.
Ava turned her attention back to Braxton and Damon.“How could you guys find any clues at the construction site with all the snow that’s still on the ground?”
“That’s what I tried to tell him.” Damon pulled Ava into his arms for a possessive kiss.
Braxton looked away, jealousy stinging the pit of his gut. He wanted what Damon and Ava had. He wanted a life with Kate. He wanted the impossible.
“You’re grasping for straws, my man.” Jayden slapped him on the shoulder as he passed him and entered the house.
What other choice did he have? Sitting around on his ass waiting for the Assassins to show up and put a bullet through his head was not an option. He’d take grasping for straws any day.
Braxton shoved his hand through his hair and looked at Ava. “Where’s Kate?” It was too late for her to make another run to the grocery store. He glanced down at his watch. Eleven o’clock. He cut his eyes at her darkened bedroom window. No matter how late he came home, she was usually waiting up and she always had the bedroom lamp on.
Ava snorted. “She went into town with the ladies to celebrate her new website.”
Jayden laughed. “Where the hell did they go? We just drove through Spring Street and half the damn town already closed up shop for the night.”
“Felicity talked them into going to that bar. She said she needed to go to a biker bar for research on her next novel.” Ava shook her head.
Braxton froze.
“What’s wrong?” Ava looked between the three of them.
“The only biker bar in town is a werewolf
bar.” Braxton glared at Ava.
“Shit. I had no idea.” Ava’s mouth dropped. “I should have gone when they asked me, but I was anxious to see Damon.”
Damon caressed her cheek. “You didn’t know. It’s not your fault.”
Jayden frowned. “Where’s Granny?”
Ava paled. “She went with them.”
Braxton grabbed Jayden’s keys and straddled the Harley. He’d make better time on the motorcycle than the SUV. “They’re walking into a lion’s den. I’ve got to go get them out before something bad happens.”
“Not without us you’re not.” Damon hopped on his bike and Ava climbed on behind him.
Jayden scowled. “If you think I’m letting you go without me, you’re crazy. My grandmother’s in there. Do you know how dangerous that is?”
Braxton nodded. “I’m sure Granny’s safe.”
Jayden looked pained. “It’s not Granny I’m worried about. Do you have any idea how much damage that old lady can do? The last thing I need is to be put on probation by Barrett because my Granny has been up to her antics again.” Jayden stood beside his Harley and shook his head. “Dude, it’s my bike and I drive. I never ride bitch.”
Braxton grinned. “This time you do.
***
Braxton’s mind raced with every imaginable thought as he tore down the winding streets of Eureka Springs to reach Kate. He thought about how many werewolves he was going to kill if they laid one finger on her. He thought about how he was going to strangle those crazy writers for putting Kate in danger. And he thought about Jayden, who for the first time in his life, was now sitting behind him hurling a string of profanities at him about riding bitch on his own Harley.
Braxton slid the Harley to a stop and whacked Jayden in the face with his booted foot as he dismounted. Hard rock music bled out into the night from behind the closed doors of the bar.
“Fuck, Braxton.” Jayden growled and rubbed his face.
“Sorry, man, but Kate’s my priority.” Braxton hurried across the parking lot.
Jayden shook his head. “All this trouble for a female. I swear I’m never going to get mated.”
