by Dez Burke
Nervous energy hummed through Alex’s body, and he paced like a caged animal in Nina’s living room. It was early – not quite dawn – so he expected her to sleep for at least a few more hours. He had to do something to take his mind off things.
Grabbing Nina’s car keys from the counter, he went into the garage and flipped on the light even though he didn’t really need it to see. Night vision was a definite benefit of being a shifter. He opened one of the saddlebags on his motorcycle and pulled out a clean white t-shirt, which he pulled on to cover his wounded torso. Then he opened the other saddlebag and pulled out a small set of tools.
Last night, Alex noticed that Nina’s car was running rough. Even though it was risky to work on it out in the open, he figured that most of her neighbors would still be asleep. He needed to get his hands dirty and her car needed a tune-up. He hit the button on the garage door opener and inhaled the cool morning air, which smelled of damp earth and cherry blossoms.
With a pang of sadness, he popped the hood of Nina’s car and took a look at the dirty old engine. Her sedan had seen better years. Good thing she wouldn’t need it once they were headed to Colorado.
In his shifter community, Alex was the village mechanic. There wasn’t anything motorized that he couldn’t fix, from toasters, coffee makers, and lawnmowers, to motorcycles, scooters, and automobiles. While some of the bears had held down regular jobs in the nearby human towns, Alex had enough work in the village to keep him busy.
Would he ever have another village to call his home and workplace?
~~~
Nina stretched in bed without opening her eyes, reaching out to tentatively touch the mystery man she had taken in the night before. When her hand reached nothing but air, she opened her eyes and rolled over. Alex was gone.
Her first thought was that he must have slipped away after she had gone to sleep. Had he ransacked her house before leaving? That would be just her luck.
Wiping the sleep from her eyes, she used the bathroom before opening the door to her bedroom and listening for sounds from downstairs. Silence. Yep, Alex was definitely gone.
With a sad sigh, she descended the stairs. Everything was just as she had left it the night before, including her glass of spilled red wine. She would clean that up later. His shirt was still soaking in the kitchen sink, and she rinsed it out so she could run water to put on a pot of coffee.
Even though he had been nice to her, she knew deep down that he had only used her as a nursemaid out of desperation. Hunky, badass bikers like Alex didn’t go for nice girls. Especially when they were as curvy as Nina.
To cheer herself up, she decided to make herself something special for breakfast: cornbread muffins with honey. Nina used Marie Callender’s Cornbread Baking Mix, but her nana used to make the muffin batter from scratch. The mix was on a shelf in the garage. Opening the door off the kitchen, she was met by a cool blast of air from the open garage door. That was when she saw him.
Alex was bent over the front of her car with the hood up. Even though the temperature was about 40 degrees, all he had on were jeans and a t-shirt. He wasn’t even wearing shoes. What kind of man was comfortable being half-dressed in this kind of cold?
The scrumptious kind!
Nina couldn’t help but admire Alex’s backside. Broad shoulders, bulging biceps, narrow waist, tight butt, strong legs. If there was such thing as a perfect male specimen, she was pretty sure that he would qualify. Especially since she knew what he looked like underneath his clothes. Oh yeah, he would definitely qualify.
Some women preferred a man in a tailored suit. Not Nina. Levi’s worn low on the hips, not too loose, paired with a slightly fitted tee. That was what got her motor running.
Wait a minute. What was he doing to her car? And shouldn’t he still be in bed, recovering from his bullet wound? In a flash, her mindset went from admiring to mad. She stomped through the garage and stood in the driveway with her hands on her hips. She cleared her throat. Loudly.
Alex turned, flashing a smile that made her knees go weak. “Morning, Nina.”
She wasn’t about to let his sexy voice get to her so early in the day. “What are you doing out here?” she scolded.
“Isn’t it obvious? I’m fixing your car. When was the last time you had this thing serviced?”
Too long to remember; Nina wasn’t exactly rolling in extra money since Bruce had moved out. “Don’t you think that should wait until you’ve had some time to heal?”
“Not really. This thing’s in pretty bad shape. I’m pretty sure it needs nursing more than I do.”
Nina thought about her check engine light but refused to agree with him. “Couldn’t you at least put on a jacket?” Or socks?
There it was again. That nurturing instinct that she didn’t even know she had.
Alex shrugged. “I don’t mind the cold. It’s invigorating.”
Invigorating? Nina hopped around on the cold garage floor, trying to warm her own freezing feet. She tried a different tactic. “What if someone sees you? I thought you were supposed to be hiding.” That wiped the smile off his face.
“I’ll be in soon,” he said with a somber demeanor.
Nina felt bad for spoiling his good mood, but someone had to be sensible. “I’m going to get breakfast going. If you’re not inside in 30 minutes, I’m going to come back out here to drag you in myself!”
With that, she turned her back on him, grabbed the muffin mix, and stomped back into the house.
Chapter 7
Alex couldn’t help but notice that Nina was already displaying characteristics of a female mate, bossing him around and making him food. His empty stomach rumbled at the thought. If he could keep them both alive, they would have a great life together.
There was only so much he could do for her car without fresh oil, a new filter, and a few needed parts. But he tinkered with the engine enough to make it start up smoothly and idle without sputtering. For now, this would have to do. Besides, the delectable smells coming from inside the house were nearly as irresistible as his mate.
He closed the hood of Nina’s car and put his tools away before hitting the button on the garage door and heading back into the townhouse. Once inside, he paused to enjoy the scene unfolding in the kitchen. His mate had set the table and was busy heaping two plates full of the food she had just finished preparing.
The smells wafting in the air made his mouth water. Crispy bacon, scrambled eggs, cornbread muffins...and honey? Alex licked his lips. Although his sexual appetite was voracious, he had to admit that the fastest way into this bear’s heart was through his stomach.
She glanced his way and gave him a stern look. “Get washed up because it’s time to eat.”
“Yes ma’am.” He walked into the small kitchen, brushing past her backside as he made his way to the sink. The incidental contact sent a bolt of energy surging through his system, and his inner bear growled.
“Is that your stomach?” Nina asked, her voice softening. “You must be starving.”
Starving for a taste of you. “I am,” Alex responded, soaping up his hands and letting warm water rinse away the grease and dirt from his skin.
Nina put the plates on the table and took a seat, waiting for him to do the same before starting to eat. He devoured the bacon and eggs and saved his muffins for last. Splitting them open with his knife, he picked up the jar of honey and poured it over the freshly-baked cornbread, letting the sweet, sticky nectar run over the sides and onto his plate.
“Big fan of honey, huh?” Nina asked rhetorically, adding a bit more of it to her own remaining muffin. “I am, too. Did you know that honeybees are the only insects in the whole world that produce food for humans to eat?”
“I did know that,” Alex said as he picked up a muffin half and shoved it into his mouth. After swallowing, he leaned across the table and deeply inhaled Nina’s scent. “Did you know that honeybees use pheromones to find their way home?”
Nina nodded yes. She impulsiv
ely reached out and scooped up a dribble of honey from Alex’s chin with her finger, which she licked off with her plump, pink tongue. “Did you know that the queen bee is fed by the worker bees?” she said with a soft sigh.
“You mean like this?” Alex asked, picking up a gooey muffin half and bringing it to her lips. She opened her mouth and took a bite, making a mess in the process. Her sticky lips were practically begging to be kissed, and Alex leaned in even closer until their faces were just inches apart and he could feel her warm, sweet breath on his face.
But just as he was about to devour the honey and crumbs on her lips, the oven timer went off, buzzing louder than a hive of honeybees. Nina jumped in her seat and grabbed her napkin to wipe her lips. A crimson flush rose on her cheeks. “I, uh, forgot that I had a second batch of cornbread muffins in the oven. Would you like a hot one?”
“More than you know,” Alex said, holding out his plate. The hotter the better.
~~~
Under her breath, Nina cursed the oven timer for ruining her romantic moment with Alex. He was going to kiss her, she was sure of it! Now he seemed more interested in using his hot muffin to mop up the honey on his plate than using his hot lips to lick the honey from her mouth.
It was probably for the best anyway. With his injury, he was in no shape for that kind of activity. Plus, she hadn’t even brushed her hair or her teeth yet! And, before she fell any harder for the guy, she really needed to find out how he ended up in her driveway.
She put their dirty plates in the sink and wiped down the sticky table. “I promised my friend Liz that I would meet her for a mani-pedi this morning. But when I get back, we need to talk,” she said.
Alex stood, towering over Nina. “I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to go anywhere alone right now.”
Nina sucked in her gut and straightened her spine in an attempt to look taller and thinner than she really was. “I won’t be alone. Liz will be with me,” she said, her tone defiant.
“You know that’s not what I meant. My being here has put you in danger. It would be safer if you stayed put for now. Call your friend and tell her you’re sick or something.”
Was that a request...or a command? Nina didn’t appreciate being told what to do. But Alex’s agitated state convinced her to tread lightly. “Look, if I cancel on Liz, she’ll know something is up. She’ll come over here to check on me. I’m pretty sure you don’t want that to happen.”
“Tell her you need to go out of town on business or that you have a family crisis to take care of.”
Wow, he wasn’t giving up! Nina wasn’t happy about explaining herself to him, but he needed to know what she was up against. “Liz and I work together, so the business excuse wouldn’t fly. She knows that the only family I have here are my parents and they’re currently on an around-the-world cruise. She also knows that I have no social life and that I pretty much live for our Saturday mani-pedi dates. There really isn’t any way for me to get out of this.” She put her hands on her hips. “I’m going, and that’s that!”
Without warning, Alex reached out and grabbed Nina’s arms, nearly knocking her off her feet. His grip was so tight that his fingers left marks on her skin. The gold flecks in his dark eyes glowed intensely. “I don’t think you should go, Nina. But if you insist, trust no one, and promise me you’ll be careful.”
She smiled reassuringly, certain that he was overreacting even though her big breakfast was suddenly churning in her stomach. “I promise.”
Chapter 8
Nina walked into the nail salon five minutes late. Liz was already soaking her feet in the whirlpool basin and waved, motioning for Nina to pick a color and take a seat beside her.
“I wasn’t sure if you were going to make it,” Liz said. “It’s not like you to be late.”
“I’m sorry. Minor distraction this morning,” Nina said. She slipped off her flip-flops, pulled up the legs of her yoga pants, and flopped into the plush spa chair next to her friend. After a simple greeting, the nail technician filled the basin with water and turned on the jets so Nina’s feet could soak.
“You met someone, didn’t you?”
Nina blushed. “Is it that obvious?”
Liz grinned. “Girlfriend, it’s written all over your face. Details! I want details!”
Trust no one. Alex’s warning sounded in Nina’s head. “There’s really not that much to tell.”
“C’mon, Nina, you’ve got to give me something. What’s his name? How did you two meet? The sex must be good because you’re absolutely glowing.”
Nina hesitated. This was Liz, her best friend since college. Surely she could be trusted, at least a little bit. “His name is Alex and we just sort of bumped into each other. He did sleep over, but we didn’t have sex. Yet.” She intentionally left out the parts about him riding a motorcycle and showing up at her house with a bullet wound in his side.
Liz high-fived Nina. “Good girl. Make him earn it. I need more. What does he look like?”
Nina’s lips curled up into a dreamy smile. “This is going to sound cliché, but he’s tall, dark, and handsome, and so much more. He’s a really big guy, physically strong and tough and...rugged.”
“Sounds hot. What does he do for a living?”
Nina realized she had no idea. “I’m not quite sure. But he’s pretty mechanical, so I’m guessing he’s good with his hands, if you know what I mean.”
Liz reached out and squeezed Nina’s wrist. “Oh sweetie, after the whole Bruce situation, you deserve a little fun. I’m so happy for you! So...when are you seeing him again?”
“Later today.” Unless he’s gone when I get back.
Liz winked. “I can almost see your freshly-manicured, fire-engine-red nails raking down his back as he’s giving it to you hard and fast.”
Nina blushed. “You are so naughty!”
“Not half as naughty as you’ll feel on Monday when you tell me all about the rest of your weekend over lunch. Pinky swear that you’ll share the deets.”
When Liz crooked her little finger, Nina did the same. She looped her pinky with Liz’s while crossing her other hand’s ring and index finger behind her back. “Let’s just hope there’s something to tell,” Nina said.
“Amen to that,” Liz said with a dramatic nod. “You know, if this guy turns out to be ‘the one’, Danny will be crushed.”
“I would never risk our friendship by dating your brother, Liz,” Nina said, although she hadn’t always felt that way.
She had always thought Danny was cute in a lanky, construction worker kind of way. His sandy hair was the same color as Liz’s, and his blue eyes were dreamy. He was almost as tall as Alex, but not nearly as buff and bulky. She even had a crush on him in college, but he never seemed to give her more than a passing look. By the time Liz had told her that Danny was into her, Nina had met Bruce.
“I know,” Liz said. “But Danny seems to think you’re the one that got away. I doubt that he’ll give up on you until there’s a ring on your finger.”
“For Danny’s sake as well as mine, let’s hope that’s sooner rather than later.”
With happy smiles on their faces, both women sat back and relaxed while their nails were scrubbed, trimmed, filed, buffed, and polished to perfection.
~~~
When Nina returned from her mani-pedi date with Liz in one piece, the look of relief on Alex’s face was enough to rattle her relaxed state of mind. From the matted patterns in her living room carpet, it appeared that he had done nothing but pace while she was gone.
She forced a smile. “See? Nothing bad happened. I’m back, safe and sound. Are you ready for our talk?”
He didn’t return her smile. “I’m not quite sure where to start.”
The anguish in his voice was concerning. She sat down on the couch and patted the leather beside her, but Alex remained standing. “Why don’t you start by telling me how, exactly, you got shot,” she prompted.
Alex paced, following the pattern he had
already made in the carpet. After one long minute, he stopped and turned toward her. The gold in his eyes glowed bright. “The Hunters killed my family, and they tried to kill me, too.”
“Hunters? What kind of hunters?”
“Bear hunters, although they also go after wolves, panthers, cougars, and other big game.”
Nina couldn’t wrap her mind around what he was telling her. But the pain in his eyes told her that talking about this wasn’t easy. Her heart ached for him. “Why would big game hunters want to kill your family?”
“I suppose they didn’t agree with our secluded way of life. I grew up in a small rural community north of here. My family didn’t interact with outsiders very much.”
Nina’s emotions gripped her. “If what you’re saying is true, we should call the police so these hunters can be put behind bars where they belong!”
Alex sat beside her and took her hand. “That would only make matters worse. Besides, all the evidence has been destroyed. The village we lived in was burned to the ground.”
Nina covered his hand with hers. “Arson investigators might be able to uncover the evidence needed to find these murderers and bring them to justice. Please, Alex, let me call the police.”
He pulled his hand back and took a deep breath. “You can’t call the police because I started the fire,” he said quietly, holding her gaze. She noticed that the flecks of gold were gone from his eyes. In their place was a black, blank, empty stare.
~~~
Alex regretted telling Nina about starting the fire the moment the words left his lips. The horrified look on her face confirmed that it was a mistake.
“Why would you do that?” she shrieked, standing up and moving away from him as if he were just as horrible as the Hunters.
Alex rubbed his face with his hands. He felt like he was going at this all wrong, but he wasn’t sure how much should he tell her. His animal instincts told him to proceed with caution. “These Hunters aren’t your average everyday shooting enthusiasts, Nina. They’re savages. They would have ransacked our homes and taken...kill trophies. I couldn’t let them do that.”
