The Shifter Protector's Virgin (Stonybrooke Shifters)

by Ash, Leela

  “So you came back,” he breathed as he slid in next to her. His hot skin touched hers and she felt sparks fly between them. She could barely keep the grin from her face, but she wanted to remain calm… To act cool… To be the strong woman that was hidden deep inside of her, trying desperately to break free.

  “Of course,” she said as she lifted her glass and took another long, drawn out sip. “I’m a girl of my word.”

  Arlo smiled and Poppy noticed that his arm was resting on the back of the stool she was sitting on.

  She looked around and motioned to the crowd. “Is it always this busy in here on an evening?”

  He nodded and moved closer.

  “Most of the time, yes,” he said, “But tonight, I think we’re extra packed because a lot of the weekend people are starting to arrive.”

  “Like me?” she teased with a grin.

  “I thought you were here for the week?” he winked. And Poppy laughed.

  “Hey, Boss,” Willow called from behind the counter. “What can I get you?”

  He pointed down into one of the refrigerators and Willow gave a knowing nod. She reached down and pulled out a large, silver tankard with a big grizzly bear for a handle and ran it underneath one of the beer taps.

  “What’s that?” Poppy said with wide eyes.

  “Oh, its Arlo’s king cup…” Willow said mischievously.

  “King cup?” Poppy asked.

  “Sometimes, when I take the night off, I like to act the big shot,” he said with a wry smile. “King Arlo of Lost Creek needs the gear to back it up.”

  Poppy just laughed and shook her head.

  “You two are crazy,” she said.

  Willow passed him the tankard and he held it out in front of him and waited for Poppy to raise her glass too. She followed his lead and the tips of their glasses touched.

  “To new friends,” Arlo said as he clinked his tankard against the rim of her wine glass. “I have a feeling you’re going to like it here Poppy.”

  She blushed as they looked into each other’s eyes. And when she sipped her drink, they didn’t break eye contact. His were so deep and consuming, it was as if she could fall into them and never pull her way out.

  When the moment passed and a silence filled the air between them, Poppy set her glass down and turned her body so that their knees were almost touching.

  “So, I thought you were supposed to be working tonight?” she asked.

  “Well, I was,” he said. “Until you walked in.” He smiled.

  “What do you mean?”

  “I decided I’d rather take it off and get to know you a little better.” He brushed his fingertips against her elbow and Poppy felt a fire raging inside of her. “It’s not every day someone as beautiful and innocent as you walks into a place like this,” he whispered.

  Poppy’s heart hammered in her chest and she had the overwhelming urge to wrap her arms around his neck and pull his face to hers, but she had to resist. She couldn’t just lay it all out there for him on the day that they had met. She wanted to make him work for it. She wanted him to crave her so much he couldn’t stand it. So much that it would drive him mad and she would be all he could think about.

  “Well, thank you,” she smiled shyly. “And it’s not every day I travel to a strange little mountain town and meet a man as intriguing as you.”

  A wicked smile flashed across his lips and he moved in even closer.

  “Come on,” he whispered. “Let’s get out of here, I want to show you something.”

  6.

  They held hands and walked quickly down Main Street. Poppy was still clutching her bottle of wine and Arlo looked down at her and laughed. His skin was red hot to the touch as if he was part magic, and his hands were huge. As he gripped her hand and their fingers locked together, she couldn’t help but marvel at how big and brutish he was next to her. She was so tiny compared to him, his arms were so wide and thick and his muscles looked so swollen and tight they could burst. She felt herself getting hot and flustered. The sexy scent of his cologne was still heavy in the air around him and it was twisting at her, lighting up all of her senses and pulling her in even more. He was sparking her intrigue and keeping her interest with each passing second and it was becoming addictive.

  “Where are you taking me?” she asked breathlessly as she tried to keep up with his big, wide strides.

  “To the good end of town,” he said as he looked down at her with a grin and kept pulling her forward.

  She couldn’t help but laugh, but she had no idea what he was talking about. Surely where he had his business must be the good end of town? Why would he want to drag her away from there and to somewhere else, no doubt giving another bar their custom?

  “I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone who would rather patronize another bar to their own,” Poppy joked. “You sure you don’t own this entire town?”

  He looked down at her and smiled wryly and then he laughed and kept on walking.

  As they approached a small intersection, Arlo suddenly stopped and seemed to tense. Poppy didn’t realize for a moment that he was looking down the adjoining road, his lip curled, and a wicked look of disgust flashing over his entire being. In an instant, his demeanor changed.

  “What’s the matter?” she asked when she realized and her gaze followed his.

  He was glaring down at what looked to be a dark and blackened out bar. One that could have almost been a nightclub if it wasn’t so out of place in such a small, quaint town. It was bare on the outside, and it sat amongst the little wooden buildings around it like a vile cancer. Bleeding out its blackness onto the street and walls around it. Standing on the corner outside were a group of men, all dangerous looking, smoking cigarettes and wearing dark clothes. Arlo was staring at them with hate in his eyes, and it wasn’t long before one of them noticed him. Poppy stood there on the corner and turned to glare at him with the rest of the group.

  “Who are they?” Poppy whispered nervously. But Arlo didn’t reply. He was breathing in and out heavily, his whole frame heaving, and his fists gripping her hand tight. A growl seemed to vibrate from between his teeth and with alarm Poppy looked up at him with wide eyes.

  Did he just growl…? She thought with confusion.

  “Come on,” he snarled as he started to stride away from them, and off further up Main Street. “I don’t want to have to worry about them tonight.”

  Poppy looked up at him and could sense how angry and wound up he was. The men, whoever they were, had rattled him and brought a bubbling rage to the surface.

  As they walked on, something had changed in him and he was no longer the man that she had met and decided to leave the diner with. She stopped in her tracks and looked up at him.

  “Come on,” he said gruffly. But Poppy shook her head, he was unnerving her with his unpredictability. It was almost as if he were a wild animal that could attack her at any moment.

  “Maybe this was a mistake,” she said sternly. “I mean, it’s not like me to just run off with some guy I’ve just met…and I don’t know… You don’t seem too happy all of a sudden, maybe I should just leave you to it.”

  His shoulders sagged and he looked annoyed, but not with her, with himself.

  “I’m sorry,” he said genuinely. “It’s just, they caught me off guard… Which is stupid, because it’s not like I don’t know their place is there.” He took a step closer and brushed a strand of hair behind Poppy’s ear. “Listen, I’ll fill you in as soon as we get where I want to show you, I promise.” His eyes were so warm, she felt as if she really could trust him, but all of her senses were telling her to run…that she was in danger.

  “But… I…” she stammered.

  “I know you feel it too…” he said as his hand cupped her cheek. “I felt it the second I saw you in the gas station. I felt it earlier today when I found you sat in my bar. And I feel it right now.”

  Her whole body felt on fire and she couldn’t tear herself away. Every word he was
saying was true, even though it felt completely crazy. But he was so right, there was something between them that was bigger than anything she had ever felt before. Something instantaneous and so powerful it was impossible to ignore or walk away from. She looked into his eyes and searched for any sign of deceit, but there was nothing but openness and honesty, and she knew that she had to let herself be vulnerable. She had to explore it and have faith. She was an adult and she knew her own mind, and this, in the very moment, was what she wanted more than anything.

  “Okay,” she whispered. “Show me.”

  Arlo smiled and gripped her hand tightly before he turned and continued to walk along the road.

  Main Street was much longer than Poppy had anticipated, and as they carried on forward, she realized how the vibe of the place seemed to change the further they moved away from where they had originally started out at Arlo’s.

  He looked down at her as if he was trying to gauge her reaction, but she didn’t look up to meet him. The street seemed warmer down where they were walking now, as if that was in any way possible. The whole atmosphere of the street was more vibrant, the buildings seemed to pop with color and the people who walked around all seemed happier and were grinning from ear to ear.

  “Have we stepped into another place?” she asked with a laugh.

  “I’m glad you noticed,” Arlo said. “Not quite, but I will explain.”

  As they carried on walking, Poppy was absolutely fascinated with the life going on around her. All of the shops were still open, selling brightly colored ski wear and steaming cups of hot chocolate and marshmallows.

  Arlo wrapped a protective arm around her and waved to everyone they passed with ease and familiarity.

  “We’re further up the mountain,” he said. “You won’t have realized when we were walking that we were on an incline.”

  Poppy turned and looked behind her and she could see that the road did indeed dip down and they were much higher than the rest of the town.

  “Jeez, how did I not notice that,” she laughed. But then she remembered how out of breath she had been.

  It was as if the darkened bar with the group of sketchy looking men had been a cutoff point. As if the intersection had almost divided the town in two, and the side they were on now was higher, friendlier and warmer. But when she had been down on Main Street earlier, she had already felt as if that part of town was much nicer than anywhere she had been before. So now, it was as if this new part of town was heaven. It was like being in a fantasy land and even though the cold prickled her skin, she didn’t mind. It was like magic.

  Arlo led her toward an older looking tavern and he waved to the big, burly man with a red beard who was guarding the door. He smiled warmly and opened it up for them and as they stepped inside, the sweet scent of ale hit all of Poppy’s senses.

  “Wow,” she laughed, “what is this place?”

  Everything inside was merry, the lights were low, men and women were drunk on booze and happiness, music blared out from a jukebox in the corner and the chubby, red-cheeked girls behind the bar climbed up and danced along the countertops. They slapped their thighs and swung around each other, laughing with glee, and Poppy couldn’t help but grin and clap her hands.

  “You like it?” Arlo asked as he looked down at her.

  “God yes!” Poppy laughed and Arlo pulled her closer to him and breathed in every inch of her.

  She felt so warm and protected in his arms, and she felt privileged to be shown this secret side of such a wonderful town. It was as if she was being given a backstage pass to a show she should have never seen.

  “Come on,” he said, “Let’s sit down.”

  He pulled her toward an empty table in the corner and Poppy slid onto the long banquette seat. Arlo turned and looked to the bar and held up his hand; within an instant, a small, rosy-cheeked blonde girl came skipping over with a wide smile on her face.

  “Hey, Arlo,” she beamed. “And friend?” She nodded her head down to Poppy with a genuine warmness.

  “Hi there,” Poppy smiled.

  “What can I get you guys?” the girl held out her hands and presented the bar behind her.

  “I’ll take one of Lost Creek’s finest,” Arlo smiled. “And I think Poppy here should try one too.” He raised his eyebrows mischievously.

  The waitress clapped her hands together and turned on her heel and Poppy looked around again at all of the people in the bar. They all looked so friendly and kind, so welcoming and warm.

  “This is a lovely place,” she said.

  “With us being further up the mountain here, we get a lot of skiers on their way home,” he said. “It’s one of the livelier places to go in town.”

  “I would never have guessed that this place was even here… That Main Street extended this far,” she said. “It’s so different to down near Arlo’s.”

  “Yeah,” he said with a sigh. “It sure is.”

  Poppy noticed a sadness come over him and she wanted to probe but didn’t want to overstep any boundaries.

  “Hey Boss!” Another one of the waitresses called over and Poppy realized it was to Arlo. He waved back to her and smiled.

  “Boss here too?” Poppy laughed. “So you do own this entire town, huh?”

  Arlo laughed and looked shy for the first time since she had met him. “Maybe not the whole town,” he said coyly. “But certainly a good chunk of it.”

  He was so aloof and mysterious. When she had seen him in the gas station and initially been attracted to him, she had just assumed that he was a trucker making his way across the country.

  “So this bar is yours too?” she asked.

  Arlo nodded. “My family was some of the original settlers here in Lost Creek,” he said. “A lot of the buildings along Main Street and a lot of the land is ours.” He said it almost with embarrassment.

  “So you must know every girl in town then,” Poppy said cheekily to gauge his reaction.

  “I do,” he laughed. “And trust me, none of them have ever caught my eye or sparked my interest like you have today…” He trailed off and he was looking deeply into her eyes again.

  Every time their eyes met, it felt as if a part of her soul was being broken away and given to him. And it was as if she was collecting pieces of him too. Each passing second brought more familiarity and her attraction was growing.

  “Here you go,” the waitress interrupted their moment and placed two heavy tankards down on the wooden table in front of them. “Two of Lost Creeks finest!”

  “Thanks, Jo,” Arlo said as she turned and walked away.

  “Lost Creeks finest?” Poppy asked as she picked up the tankard of sweet smelling beer.

  “It sure is,” Arlo smiled. “Brewed right here by my family themselves.”

  Poppy was taken aback, yet again. He was a man of many secrets and surprises. And she couldn’t wait to find out what he had in store for her next.

  7.

  As they walked arm in arm back down Main Street, Poppy was warm inside and she tottered along on her drunken feet. Arlo was protective over her, and he kept her close, making sure that she was steady and that he helped her back down the mountain toward the middle of Main Street.

  “You never did tell me who they were,” Poppy said as they approached the intersection.

  The bar that they had passed earlier with the group of men outside still looked dark and moody, but there was thumping music drifting out into the night from inside and two tall men wearing sunglasses flanked the doorway.

  Arlo snarled again in their direction but carried on walking. He pulled Poppy with him and when they were far enough away, he leaned in closer to her ear.

  “Lost Creek is a town of two halves,” he said quietly. “My friends and I run one part of town and the guys who we saw earlier… The one’s outside that bar…they run the other.” His voice was full of venom as he said it. So much so that it made Poppy nervous.

  “And I take it there is some rivalry?” she asked
cautiously.

  “More than just a bit,” he said. “It goes back a long, long way… They’re no good.”

  Poppy turned and looked back to the intersection. They had walked past the bar to get to what she could only assume was Arlo’s part of town, but the diner which was in his name was clearly at the other end, and therefore, on the other group’s turf.

  “But your diner?” she asked with confusion. “If it’s down here, does that mean that it’s in their part of town?”

  Arlo looked down at her and smiled.

  “You’re smart,” he said. “Yes, it is. My family owned a lot of property down here at one time, and then they all came in and took it over slowly and now they’re trying to turf me out.” He shook his head. “But they won’t win. I’ve owned Arlo’s pretty much since I was born and my dad named it after me. There’s no way I’m going to let them push me away.”

  “But…doesn’t it feel uncomfortable?” she asked.

  “Sure does,” he laughed. “But I can handle it. I’m not afraid of them.”

  “And what’s the deal with Willow?” Poppy asked. She had wanted to ask all evening, but she was only just now getting the courage.

  “Willow’s worked for me for years,” he said. “She’s a good member of my team, but sometimes, I do wonder where her loyalties lie.”

  Poppy felt an uneasy feeling creep over her. She didn’t like the thought of there being someone in Arlo’s midst who could potentially screw him over.

  “Do you trust her?” she asked.

  Arlo paused for a moment and thought on it. “Yes, I trust her,” he said finally. “But I’m a firm believer of always being prepared.”

  Poppy smiled and squeezed his hand.

  They reached the outside of the diner, which was still alive with music and people drinking inside.

  “Well, thank you for a lovely evening,” she smiled.