Kenzie was starting to regret coming back to Iowa to visit for the holidays. “Well, I can’t sit here another night. I’m going out.”
Her father grunted again. He had already turned back to his show. He didn’t even bother to ask her where she was going, and he probably didn’t care.
Grabbing her coat and purse, Kenzie headed for her car and then to who-knew-where. The bad thing about growing up in a small town was that all her friends from high school had moved away. While some of them might be in town to visit family, like she was, she didn’t even have anyone’s number. And truth be told, she really didn’t feel like making small talk. She wasn’t married, she didn’t have kids, and now, she was out of a job and soon-to-be homeless. None of those things were worth talking about with former classmates.
Kenzie drove down the road, unsure of where she wanted to end up. As with other tiny communities, finding something to do was limited. That was why, after she had graduated, she’d moved to a large metropolitan area. She’d hated living in a small town. Unfortunately, if she didn’t find a job soon, it looked like she might be moving back here to live with her dad. It was a depressing thought and the reason she decided to go to the local bar and grill. At least they had good appetizers.
She was seated in a nice booth and ordered a drink and nachos. That would give her something to do for a while. Kenzie checked her phone while she waited, but she didn’t have any messages, emails, or notifications. Of course she didn’t. Just another thing to add to her loser status.
“Kenzie? Kenzie Swanson?”
She snapped her head up at the mention of her name to see one of her old classmates, a former high school boyfriend, standing there. “Jake Bancroft. How are you?”
He hadn’t changed much. He still had the same light-brown hair and deep blue eyes along with the same lanky build, but he had filled out a little more since high school. He looked more like a man instead of a teenager.
Jake eyed the seat across from her and then skimmed the room.
“I’m here alone. Dad’s at home. Would you like to sit?”
Jake hesitated.
“Unless you’re busy.”
He smiled down at her. “No, not busy at all.” He slid into the booth. “So, how are you? It seems like I haven’t seen you in forever.”
This was what she had wanted to avoid, so she simply said, “Good. How are you?”
“Good. Busy.”
The waitress came over to see if Jake wanted anything, and he ordered a beer.
“I have nachos coming, if you want to share,” she told him.
He nodded. “Sounds good.”
The waitress left, and Kenzie asked him, “So, are you still working in Omaha?” She might not have seen Jake for a long time, but it was a small town, and people kept up on others.
Jake laughed. “I wish. I came back home about a year ago to run the hotel.”
“What? I’m shocked.”
Jake had wanted out of their small town just as much as she had. His family owned the only hotel in town, and that was where Kenzie had first gotten her interest in hotel management. But Jake had two brothers, one of whom Kenzie had been sure would have taken over the business.
“You and me both. But Dad got sick, and it became too much for Brandon to handle, so I moved back to help.”
Kenzie leaned forward a little. “So...do you hate it?”
Jake laughed again. “Actually, it’s not that bad.” He jerked his chin toward her. “What about you? You still in St. Paul?”
Kenzie swallowed. “Yes. For now.”
“And you work for a hotel there?”
“I went into the field, thanks to you and your parents, and I’m glad I did. I like it.” She hadn’t really answered his question, but she hadn’t totally avoided it either.
“That’s good. That’s good. My mom will be so proud when I tell her.”
“I think she already knows.”
Jake looked confused. “How?”
“Well, she is my friend on Facebook, so she’s probably seen my place of employment.”
“Figures. She did always like you.”
“Yes, we always got along. But she doesn’t post much. I didn’t realize anything was wrong with your dad.”
Jake sighed. “He had a massive heart attack, and the doctors told him to take it easy.”
“Oh, I bet he didn’t like that.”
Jake chuckled. “Not in the least. But when they explained to him that he could work hard for about another year or take it easy for another ten, he decided on the latter, especially now that Brandon has a kid. My dad didn’t want to miss out on that.”
The waitress interrupted them, bringing their drinks and food.
After a few bites, Kenzie asked, “What about you?”
“What about me?”
“Kids? Wife?”
“Not me. I came close once, but it didn’t work out. You?”
Of course, she immediately thought of Sawyer. And she’d been doing so well at trying to forget him over the past week, ever since she’d had sex with him again.
She cleared her throat. “No, I’m not married or dating anyone.”
“You don’t seem so sure about that.”
“Oh, I am. Trust me. I am definitely not in a relationship.”
“Well, that’s too bad.”
Thinking about how complicated it would be to be in a relationship with Sawyer, she said, “Nah, it’s probably for the best.”
They continued talking, and before she knew it, they had been sitting there for three hours.
“Oh my gosh,” Kenzie said when she looked at her watch.
Jake looked down at his. “Oh, wow. Time sure flies, huh?”
“I’ll say.”
“I’d better get going. Tomorrow is Christmas Eve,” she said, grabbing her coat. Not that she and her father had anything planned.
“Big plans?”
Kenzie laughed, embarrassed. “Uh...actually, no. It’s just my dad and me. Bastian went to his girlfriend’s parents’ house for Christmas.”
Jake pushed his own jacket up over his shoulders. “Listen, my family is having dinner tomorrow night. Why don’t you and your dad come?”
Kenzie didn’t know what to say. It was a sweet proposal.
Jake mistook her silence for a no. “You know what? It was a silly idea. Never mind.”
Kenzie reached out and touched his hand. “No, I would love to. I was just thinking about how I was going to convince my dad to come.”
Jake grinned at her. “Great. My mom will be excited to see you, ya know. Actually, the whole family will be.”
Kenzie smiled back. “I look forward to seeing them, too. And if I can’t get my father to leave his chair, then I’ll just come by myself.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
They both stood and made their way for the door.
Once outside, Kenzie asked, “What time should I be there?”
“How does five sound? We’re having hors d’oeuvres and drinks first.”
“Is your mom making tortilla roll-ups and her famous cheeseball?”
“You know it.”
Kenzie clapped her hands. “Yay. I can’t wait.”
Jake leaned over and kissed Kenzie on the cheek. “See you tomorrow then.”
“Tomorrow.”
Kenzie turned around and walked toward her car with a smile on her face. For the first time in the last few weeks, she had something to look forward to. Even if it wasn’t her family, family and friends were just what she needed this week.
As she unlocked her vehicle and got inside, Kenzie also realized that, besides the one mention of dating, she hadn’t thought of Sawyer once. Maybe she really could forget about him and move on. The thought made her smile harder.
Chapter Twenty-Two
“WOULD YOU SHUT up?” Sawyer practically yelled at Zane.
The two of them were sitting in the living room of the bunkhouse, watching a movie. Well, Sawyer was
trying to watch the movie. Zane wouldn’t stop talking, and now, Sawyer had missed half of it already.
“Damn, son, you are fucking crabby,” Zane said.
Sawyer wasn’t in the mood for Zane’s sense of humor. “I didn’t ask for your opinion.”
Zane hit pause. “Yeah, well, you’re going to get it.”
Now, Zane stops the movie?
After all his yakking, he’d hit pause when Sawyer didn’t want him to because he knew what Zane was going to say, and Sawyer didn’t want to hear it.
He narrowed his eyes at the fellow cat. “Hit play.”
“No,” Zane said as he shook his head. “Since you got back, you’ve been walking around here more surly than usual. And let me tell you, you’re not exactly happy to begin with.”
“Are you done?”
“No. You need a wake-up call. Do you know how lucky you are? You have a wonderful female who, for some strange unknown reason, likes you. You. She likes your grumpy ass and all. And you just”—Zane flung his hand out like he was tossing a Frisbee—“throw her away like she doesn’t mean anything to you.”
Sawyer sat forward in his seat. “I am not discussing this with you. It’s none of your damn business.”
Zane swung his legs off the couch. “Maybe, maybe not, but I’m your friend, and I just don’t understand why you’re willingly making yourself miserable. I would give anything to be in your position. Especially now.”
Sawyer rolled his eyes. Zane needed to get over that stupid female wolf-shifter. She wasn’t coming back, and he barely knew her.
“Don’t roll your fucking eyes at me. You know I’m right. That girl would be with you in a heartbeat,” Zane scoffed. “And don’t tell me you haven’t fucked her. I could sme—”
Sawyer jumped up from his seat and pointed his finger. “I told you to shut your goddamn mouth, Zane. I am not now, or ever, talking to you about this. Unless you want me to rip your fucking head off, you should keep quiet right now.”
Zane opened his mouth, and Sawyer lunged for him, only to be stopped by Phoenix, who had come into the room from who-knows-where.
“It’s not worth it,” she told Sawyer.
“He doesn’t know when to mind his own business,” Sawyer said to Phoenix but kept his eyes on Zane.
“Sawyer,” Phoenix said. “Sawyer.”
He looked at the female.
“Yes, Zane can be a dick sometimes.”
“Hey!”
“But this is nothing new. Why don’t you and I go downstairs and work out? You could pretend the punching bag is Zane’s face.”
“I’d rather just punch Zane.”
“I know. But it’s not worth it.”
Sawyer sighed.
“Let’s go downstairs,” Phoenix said again.
“Okay.” Sawyer took a step back, not realizing that Phoenix had been holding him away from Zane the whole time. Sawyer ran his hands through his hair. “Yeah. Let’s go downstairs.”
Sawyer turned and made his way for the basement when he heard Phoenix say, “Don’t you dare follow us. I’m not stopping him next time.”
Zane said something else, but by that time, Sawyer was thankfully far enough away that he didn’t have to hear what else the loudmouth might have said.
Soon after he’d made it to the basement, Phoenix followed. The two worked out for about half an hour before Sawyer began to feel the tension that Zane had caused leave him. He was having a hard enough time forgetting Kenzie without Zane opening his big mouth.
Sawyer put the barbell back after he’d finished bench-pressing his last set of reps, and he closed his eyes. He pictured Kenzie above him, riding him in the hospital room. He was getting hard from just thinking about it. He’d been drugged up, and his inhibitions had been lowered, but he could still remember everything.
He really needed to stop fucking up with her. First, his memory loss, and then the pain meds in the hospital. She was going to think that he wanted a relationship with her, and he was finding it harder to stay away.
In a moment of weakness, he’d almost gone to her apartment to apologize for what had happened at the hospital. Thankfully, Naya had mentioned something about Kenzie going home for Christmas, and Sawyer had saved face. He needed to stay as far away from the human female as possible. While his brain had told him she was bad news, his dick couldn’t give a flying fuck. And if he were really truly honest with himself, a slight part of his cold heart didn’t care either.
The time at her brother’s had shown him what it could be like if he accepted her as his mate. They had been happy in their own little world with his memory of what had happened to his family gone. And a part of him wanted that happiness back.
Suddenly, the image of Kenzie was gone, and all Sawyer could picture were his parents the last time he’d seen them. His hard-on disappeared, and it was replaced with an ache in his chest.
No matter how much Sawyer wanted Kenzie, it wouldn’t matter. What mattered was what he owed to his parents and that little boy who would never see them again. He might have strong feelings for a human, but he wouldn’t break the promise he’d made to his dead parents. Someday, he would find a female cat-shifter who would make him happy enough. He didn’t need Kenzie, and he definitely didn’t need the guilt that would come with her.
Suddenly, Sawyer felt a hand on his arm. He’d been so lost in his head that he forgot where he was, and the outside touch caused him to sit up quickly and hit his head on the barbell. “Ow.”
Phoenix winced and took a step back. “Sorry. You weren’t moving or anything, and I called your name, but you didn’t hear me. I wanted to make sure you were okay.”
Sawyer rubbed his head. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just thinking, is all.”
Phoenix bit her lip, like she wanted to say something but was holding herself back.
“What?”
“I know Zane is an ass sometimes, and he really needs to learn some tact, but he is partly right.”
Sawyer raised an eyebrow. “Oh, really?”
He couldn’t believe Phoenix, of all shifters, was going to give him advice on his love life, or lack thereof. She was wound tighter than he was, and at least he’d fuck a few select females every once in a while. For all he’d known, Phoenix was asexual. She hadn’t shown interest in either males or females, and when she had gone into her heat, she had locked herself away until she was over it. It wasn’t until recently that Sawyer had seen another side of Phoenix.
“Yes, really. You deserve to be happy, Sawyer. You can’t let the past dictate your future so much.”
Sawyer burst out laughing.
Phoenix scowled. “What’s so funny?”
“You giving me advice on my love life.”
Phoenix crossed her arms over her chest. “What about it?”
Sawyer stood and put his hands on Phoenix’s shoulders. “Phoenix, you’re a great cat-shifter, and I would trust you to have my back any day, but you don’t know shit about relationships.”
She knocked his hands away. “Oh, and you do?”
“No, I don’t. But at least I know that I don’t know shit about relationships.”
“Whatever. That’s not the point. I might be single, but I do live in this world. I see what others are like, and I know that if you would let Kenzie in, she could make you happy.”
At the mention of Kenzie’s name, Sawyer stopped laughing. “I’m not talking about this with you either.”
“Why? I’m trying to help you here. Zane’s just upset because that Isabelle chick left him, and he’s taking his frustration out on you.”
Sawyer gritted his teeth. “Look, I appreciate you wanting to help, but I’m fine, okay?” He took a step around Phoenix. It was time that his workout was over.
“I don’t believe you.”
Jeez, what is with people today?
Normally, he never talked about this stuff with Zane or Phoenix. She was getting almost as bad as Zane.
Sawyer swung around. “Okay. You wan
t to talk about relationships?” He shrugged. “Let’s do that then.” He took a step toward her. “But maybe we should start with you.”
Phoenix wrinkled her brow. “Me?”
“Don’t play dumb. Yeah, you. Maybe we should talk about why you let a certain vampire feed from you or why you choose to stay with him.”
“You’re right. This isn’t a conversation we should be having. I apologize for overstepping.”
Sawyer rocked back on his heels. “So, the shoe is on the other foot now, and someone doesn’t like it.”
“Don’t be a jerk.”
“Jerk? I just want you to be happy, Phoenix. Vaughn mated a vampire. No one will judge you if you do, too.”
Phoenix flared her nostrils. “That’s not going to happen.”
“Why? Because of your past? I don’t know what happened, but you should just let it go. That’s what you told me to do. Maybe you should take your own advice.”
Phoenix lost some of her anger and actually looked vulnerable. “You son of a bitch. You have no idea what you’re talking about.”
He leaned forward. “And neither do you.”
She straightened her shoulders. “You’re right. Forget I said anything.” Walking right past him, she took toward the stairs. “You can rot in hell for all I care. I hope you live a long and lonely life, and your dick falls off. You’re an asshole.”
He had accomplished his mission, and he felt relieved—until he saw Phoenix wiping her face as she rounded the corner and went upstairs. A sliver of guilt settled in.
But she should learn to mind her own business.
Sawyer flopped down onto the nearest seat as Saxon came down the stairs.
“Dude, what the hell happened? Phoenix ran past me into the bathroom.”
Sawyer shook his head in frustration. “We got into a fight. She was trying to talk to me about relationships. She told me that I needed to forget the past and move on. I told her that she needed to do the same.”
Saxon looked down at Sawyer with disappointment. “That was really not cool. You owe her an apology.”
“Why? Pot, kettle.”
“Sawyer,” Saxon started before he sat down and told him something that rocked his core.
Forbidden Temptation Page 15
