A Sinful Trap

by R. G. Alexander

  They knew her and they weren’t running away. Could these really be the men she’d just been lusting after? Dreaming about? Falling for? “Prove it,” she whispered. “Show me I’m not standing here talking to some millionaire’s escaped black-market pets.”

  The warm air stirred around her, the mingling smell of desert flowers, green forest and snow momentarily confusing her senses. Snow? Was that coming from them?

  She lost her train of thought as the wolf and lynx shimmered in front of her.

  Then she blinked.

  Blinked again.

  Backed up and slapped her hand over her eyes so swiftly she almost gave herself a concussion. “Oh my God. Naked.”

  “Bailey, are you hurt?” Cam said.

  The sound of his footfalls on the asphalt made her put her other hand out to stop him. “Totally naked. Stay there. Right where you are. Being naked. Couldn’t you have brought a towel or something?”

  After a few seconds of strained silence, she parted her fingers enough to make sure they were still there. Yep. There they were, in all their glory.

  And there was a lot of it. X-rated amounts of glory for anyone to see. Tall and lean and a big, burly giant. Light brown skin and sun-kissed cream. One chest smooth and the other with enough hair to grab onto. Both of them obscenely erect in the middle of the road and almost too well-hung to be real.

  Holy shit, how were they real?

  They wanted her. Needed to touch her. They knew she liked what she saw, wanted them just as much…

  Bailey.

  “I can’t do this right now,” she said severely. “Go away.”

  Davide flinched at the command. “Come back to the house with us, Bailey. Don’t be afraid.”

  “I’m not afraid,” she lied.

  “You are. You’re afraid of us.” Cam sounded angry about that. Felt angry. And all of a sudden, so was she. His anger was hers. How dare he judge her?

  She put her hands on her hips and glared up at him. “You know what? Maybe I am. The last time I saw a wolf walk out of the desert, he was there to drag a man away for a hundred years. That’s pretty fucking scary if you ask me.”

  “What?” Davide stepped forward and her eyes dropped to his swinging…

  No.

  Bailey looked away, giving her truck her full attention. It needed a paint job. She wasn’t thinking about erections at all. Focus. You were talking about the wolf. “The man was trying to hurt Dani, so he deserved it. And to be fair, I think the wolf was doing Stax a favor. But anyone would be a little scared after that.”

  The would-be murderer. He mentioned him.

  “You talked to Stax, didn’t you? Just now.” She threw her hands up and shouted at the sky. “Jesus, how do I know that?”

  Cam growled—actually growled—and took a step closer, almost defiantly. “We’ll explain everything back at the house. We shouldn’t be out here like this.”

  The entourage. “They’re all shifters, aren’t they? Bunny and the others? I should have known. You’re like the Twilight family, all gorgeous and tall and irritatingly perfect. The ones that act like their life sucks because they glitter like diamonds. Your life doesn’t suck.”

  “Our life is great. But we don’t glitter, and only Deter liked that movie.” Davide was trying to joke, but she could see the sheen of nerves and need that covered him. Feel his hunger and his worry. For her? She wanted reassure him. Go to him.

  Want you. Love you. Mine.

  She made herself back away. “I have to get to the inn. They need me. I really can’t deal with this right now.”

  Cam slammed his hands on the hood of her truck, his arms bulging. “Running away won’t help you. It’s the mate link. It’s affecting all of us.”

  The mate link? “No. This happened because I listened, the way he told me to, and now I can’t shut it off. I know things I shouldn’t know now, Cam. Too many things. I know how you two met. That Davide stayed up all night with Aaron when he’d been beaten so badly you weren’t sure he’d survive. I know about Switzerland. Colorado. I know they said…they said…”

  Mate. She was their mate, which was not as romantic as it sounded because it wasn’t their choice. In fact, it might actually be impossible. A mistake, according to the Colorado elders. Two shifters with the same mate was an anomaly that was dangerous for everyone involved. She had to release them or they might go feral and try to kill each other.

  There was a link. The cord Kaya had seen. Was that the reason she wanted them so badly? Would it disappear once she let them go? The possibility made her want to cry again. Or maybe that was her brain melting from all the new information.

  “Bailey, please.”

  “I have to rescue my guests from the attic now.”

  “What the hell are they doing in the attic?” Cam demanded, sounding so much like a normal, irritating boss who wasn’t naked in the middle of the road that it ticked her off.

  She whirled on her heel and he was so close she smacked him in the chest with her hand. “Blame Davide,” she said, breathless from the heat of him burning through her dress. Through her palm. She wanted to touch more of him. Wanted the dress gone so she could finally feel his skin pressed against hers. “He’s the one that got Mr. Olyphant interested in a ghost hunt.”

  Wolf. Wolf. He is a wolf.

  “Bailey, listen to me,” he murmured, careful not to reach for her, though she knew how badly he wanted to. “I know this is confusing, and we’ll explain it all, but you have to know we’d never hurt you. Tell me you at least know that?”

  “She’s part of us. She knows.” Davide was closer now, his eyes golden instead of brown and so beloved. So familiar. She’d die for him. No…Cam would die for him.

  I can’t lose him.

  They weren’t human. They were more. And they’d both experienced more than she’d ever imagined, been to places she’d never heard of.

  The life they’d lived? The way they loved? She had no frame of reference for that. She’d thought of Cam as alien before because of his money, but he was more alien than she’d realized, and not only because he could change into a wolf at will.

  She could never be on equal footing with them. And they would never love her the way they loved each other. It was almost laughable, that these two long-lived beings in the epic romance of the goddamn ages would see her as anything but an interesting diversion. A curiosity who happened to live a few steps away from the real reason they’d come.

  “Cam, I don’t like where her mind is going,” Davide said warily.

  “Neither do I.”

  She took a jerky step back, out of their reach. “If you don’t like it, you can both stay out of it. I mean it. I can’t think around you and I need to think. I need space.”

  She backed up another step and felt for the door of her truck. “Now I’m going to go do my job, and you two are going to go right home and put on some damn clothes.”

  She couldn’t believe she was saying that. This is what they’d driven her to.

  “Damn it, Bailey…” Davide’s frown did little to mar the perfection of his face. “Let us help you.”

  “You can help me by letting me do this alone. Give me time to organize my thoughts and know they’re mine. When I’m ready, I’ll bring you what you want and let you both off the hook, okay? Problem solved.”

  “Off the hook?” Cam shook his head. “Bailey, I’m not sure what you think we want, but—”

  “You’re what I saw, Cam,” she said, interrupting him. “Your love. Your fear of losing him. Isn’t this what you wanted?”

  Before he could answer, she climbed into the cab of her truck and revved the engine, making sure they were out of her way.

  She was running away from two men she would give anything to touch. Two gloriously naked, legendarily endowed men who wanted to make her dreams come true. This had to be the definition of insanity.

  Cam leaned into her open window and inhaled, his eyes like liquid mercury and his expression pro
vocatively primal. “We won’t follow you tonight, Bailey. We’ll give you your space. But this doesn’t mean we’re giving up. Not now.”

  “Why?”

  “Because you know. You know what we are, who we are, and you still want us.” He almost sounded surprised.

  “I’m not blind. I’m only human. You thought that, too. Remember?”

  Bailey drove off down the hill, glancing in her rearview mirror for another sighting, but they weren’t following her and they wouldn’t. She could sense what they were going through and everything they felt. Their sexual frustration. Their concern. Their integrity.

  The spider wasn’t a dud after all. It was just understandably angry at her for being put in this impossible matchmaking situation. Her boss was a shifter in a long-term happily-ever-after-type commitment, and she’d gone and fallen in love with him anyway. With them.

  Her only hope was that it was a temporary side effect of the link. A hormonal imbalance of the magical variety. Because it wouldn’t end well if it wasn’t, and they all knew it. She’d be left here, knowing they existed, knowing it all existed, and nothing else would ever be enough again.

  You could leave. You have money. It wasn’t enough to buy the inn, but it could take you somewhere else. Anywhere else.

  Bailey dismissed the thought as quickly as it came. She was not her mother and Sedona was the home she’d chosen. It didn’t matter how big the world had suddenly gotten, this part of it was hers.

  They could leave. And they would, as soon as she found whatever it was Cam wanted in the attic.

  She pulled her truck into its spot behind the inn and walked swiftly through the garden until the front porch came into view. She paused, touching her temple as her vision blurred. Then she was on the roof, looking down at a woman in sparkly shorts and a cowboy hat, humming in the garden. The gut punch of arousal wasn’t as surprising as the longing.

  They never stayed anywhere long enough to plant a garden, but she enjoyed it so much, it made him wonder if it would be as satisfying as it looked. Her happy, off-pitch hum made him smile. He didn’t want to smile, didn’t want to like her, but everything she did made her more intriguing. He almost laughed out loud when he finally recognized The Doors’ song. Hello, I Love You. He already knew her name, but he wanted to know more. Needed to get closer. Cam was probably going to kill him.

  Bailey stumbled, righting herself with her hand on her welcome boulder. That was what Davide felt when he first saw her? What he’d thought?

  She kept moving. “It doesn’t matter.”

  The first thing she noticed when she walked inside was the distinctive smell of sage.

  And the quiet. Cam’s entourage-slash-menagerie was gone, and so was Cyndy. Unless they’d all joined Grandpa Will in his soon-to-be-infamous attic caper.

  Did Kaya know Dani had brought her grandfather over to talk to ghosts? Probably not. She was no dummy, and Kaya would not approve.

  Bailey slipped off her heels, mentally rolled up her sleeves and started up the stairs to the second floor of the inn. The smell of pine and sawdust hit her nose first, followed by more of that sage Will must be burning. What was he thinking, lighting fires around ancient, flammable things? And old Mr. Olyphant. She was so going to get sued.

  No. Cam is.

  That didn’t make her feel any better.

  She walked down the hall, studying the new ladder. It was foldable, sturdy and lovely all the way around. Alwin was a miracle worker to get it installed this quickly, and so was Ava for thinking of him. It should have occurred to Bailey, but she hadn’t been herself lately. Not since she’d met Cameron Locke.

  It was like holding sunlight. Everything about her was bright and beautiful and warm. She was so soft, and when her scent washed over him, he wanted to forget all his responsibilities and take her to bed for a week. Or stay right where he was and hold her as long as she’d let him. He needed to kiss her. When was the last time he’d been this desperate for an innocent taste? Was it the first time he’d seen Davide? He felt twinge of guilt that the impulse was that strong. Stronger. Who was this woman who’d dropped into his arms? Why did he want to keep her? Why did she feel like home?

  “Stop it,” Bailey snarled softly at the vision, clinging to the ladder with both hands for support. “I don’t want to know this.”

  She needed it to stop before she collapsed in a worthless heap on the floor. They’d gotten their point across. They were attracted to her, even believed they liked her. But they would still leave. “So get out of my head.”

  There had to be a way for her to control this. Maybe a memory of her own to ground her. Something painful that was the complete opposite of the tender thoughts and endearing emotions she was getting from both men.

  She took a deep breath and scratched at an old wound in her mind. She knew the one. The memory she always avoided, but never forgot.

  A teenager standing in a dying garden in front of a dark trailer. She was hungry, needed new shoes and the electricity had been turned off, but it was the first time she’d cried in the months since her mother left.

  She’d been so stupid, believing that if she neglected the flowers, her mother would somehow know. That she’d have to come back and take care of them, because she loved them. But they’d withered and died. Like she would, if she stayed where she was, expecting something to change instead of making a plan to take care of herself.

  She should have known better. Selfish people never thought about what happened to the things they left behind.

  It wasn’t pleasant, but it was effective. She could almost feel the link dim. It wasn’t gone completely—she could still sense it—but it was turned all the way down. Had she done that, or was it them? She supposed it didn’t matter. The intensity had receded enough that she felt more like herself again. She would be able to deal with whatever came next. One problem at a time. One step at a time.

  She started the climb, making her way into the now-populated attic. Her fear of heights was thankfully gone for the moment. Maybe it knew she had more pressing things to deal with right now.

  “Third time’s the charm,” she muttered to herself, ready for anything.

  Chapter Twelve

  She was so not ready.

  “Am I turning in the right direction, Will? Wouldn’t want these poor young souls getting stuck because I turned right instead of left,” Mr. Olyphant said, slowly lifting one foot and then the other. Was he dancing, or did he have gum on his shoes?

  Ms. Littleton was doing something similar, with a little more grace but a lot more hesitation. “Do extraterrestrials have ghosts? They must, don’t you think? We are all made up of the same substance.”

  “I don’t know about that,” Mr. Olyphant answered. “I saw a documentary about what ETs would have to look like if they lived on other planets and that did not look like the same substance to me at all.”

  “I suppose you’re right. Ghosts are better. At least they show up where they’re supposed to.”

  Bailey rubbed her eyes, but her guests were still there. Still burning braids of white sage and moving around the big man in the center.

  Kaya’s grandfather, Will, was a striking older man who seemed to prefer the windblown look for his short white hair. His cheekbones could cut glass, but instead of being intimidating, he looked amused to Bailey. Kind and patient, and definitely enjoying himself.

  They were standing in the middle of the attic, in one of the only spots not crowded with boxes and knickknacks, broken lamps and old trunks. It would take her days to sort through it all, and she didn’t have that kind of time. How was she supposed to know what she was looking for?

  She’d have to figure it out after she broke up this party. One problem at a time.

  “I don’t think the inn’s insurance covers this,” she said calmly, trying not to startle anyone enough to send them tumbling.

  Ms. Littleton jumped anyway. “Oh. Bailey. I didn’t realize you were back. Have I thanked you for suggestin
g that astronomy club? I know I wasn’t a fan of the jeep tour, but the stargazing alone was worth my trip. I’m going out with them again tonight.”

  She was babbling and blushing, like one of her students who’d been caught skipping class.

  “And you let Mr. Olyphant talk you into a ghost hunt before you left?”

  “I didn’t plan a hunt today,” Mr. Olyphant said, still wafting puffs of smoke around and lifting his feet, not guilty about being caught at all. “I was watching a man install the new ladder. Then Will showed up and asked me about the laughing I heard. He wanted to wait for you, but I’m not sure when the wife will be back, so I talked him into letting us…what was that you said we were doing?”

  “I believe this is called smudging,” Ms. Littleton said politely, answering before Will had a chance. “It’s like sweeping, but instead of dust it’s negative energy. It’s all very fascinating.” Her smile dimmed as she stared at Bailey. “But Will did say he wanted to talk to Bailey, so now that she’s here, we should probably make our exit.”

  “But we haven’t gotten a chance to see them yet.”

  Mr. Olyphant looked disappointed and Bailey wished she didn’t have to spoil his fun. “I appreciate your help, Mr. O. I’ll fill you in if anything happens without you.”

  His expression warmed. “You’re a good egg, Bailey. You’ve been so patient with me since we came here. Getting me a neck pillow, letting me poke my nose in where it doesn’t belong… But we’ll get out of your hair.”

  They handed their smoldering sage braids to Will and made a move toward the ladder.

  “Maybe I should help you,” Bailey said, holding up her hands in caution.

  “I’m here, Bailey.” Liam’s voice rose up through the opening. “Dani said you might need a spotter to get them down. I won’t let anyone fall.”

  Sure. Now someone shows up.

  “Lucky us.” Bailey rolled her eyes dramatically, making Ms. Littleton snicker. How long had he been standing down there? “Thank you for being so conveniently located while eavesdropping for your girlfriend who gave them this idea in the first place.”