by R. A. Boyd
“Nope. I’m not going to have Jax and Damon be pissed at me over Ass-face.”
“Whatever.” She shrugged and turned to him, and when she did it was as if the old, saner Audra was looking at him. “I’m so happy for you, Teague. You’ve had the intuition all this time to know she was yours, and now the universe is giving you a chance to claim her. You think that her and Aaron getting a divorce right now is a chance happening? No way. The Creator must have known how this would play out, and everything is working in your favor. Grab hold of it before it’s too late and you miss your chance. You love her. You’ve loved her this entire time, haven’t you?”
Teague could feel his eyes growing warm from all the emotion inside him. Gross. “Yeah. Always have.”
He was falling fast and Riley was right there with him. As soon as they’d touched yesterday he knew she belonged with him, and he knew she felt it too. Riley grabbed hold of him and let her desires be known. It was exactly the way he was feeling but he thought that kissing her, embracing her, would have scared her away from him.
Instead, she took hold of his ears and practically tried to climb down his throat. He was in love. If she was as bossy and unafraid of her emotions as she seemed to be, when he finally got to fill her with his cock they would light this entire town on fire.
Teague groaned at the thought of being buried inside her warm body and his dick responded. And so did his beast.
“Dude,” Audra said, shaking the peeler at him. “I will fucking peel you with this thing if you jizz in your pants while your within twenty feet of me. Get out,” she said, shaking her head. “Go help your mate.”
Teague was horrible. He was a horrible, terrible person. At least that’s what he told himself as he worked on the shelves in the bathrooms of Riley’s shop. When he broke in through the bathroom window and found that she still hadn’t worked on the shelves, he did a mental happy dance. He would have felt like shit if she’d done it alone.
Not that she couldn’t do it alone. She could probably do anything. But he still wanted to make things easier on her.
With his flashlight and toolkit, he installed the shelving units that Riley had tucked away behind the counter. They were level, sturdy, and ready to hold whatever she placed on them.
He was being creepy. How could he tell her that he’d been the one doing things for her? How could he tell her that he was a Ghost Shifter and that she was his mate? That she was the one that would bring back his beast? What if she didn’t want to be claimed?
“Fuck me,” he said, his voice echoing through the room. He cursed himself for being so loud.
He was alone and the shop was closed, but he still needed to be quiet. What if she came in to the shop and found him? No, he’d hear her footsteps long before she even made it to the door of the shop, and he’d climb out the bathroom window like a proper, creepy stalker.
Once he finished with the last installation he pressed down on the shelf to make sure it would hold. It was perfect.
He packed up his tools and felt good inside. His waking beast felt good. They’d done something for the woman they loved, and couldn’t wait for her to see what they’d done just for her. Would he tell her?
“Damn-it.” He rolled his eyes and put his hands on his hips, pissed at himself for not thinking this through.
If Liv told Riley that he was supposed to help her put up the shelves she would know that he broke into her shop and did it. Even if the girl hadn’t told her mom he was supposed to help they’d figure that shit out once they talked.
“Good fucking job, Teague. You should have just come here during the day like a normal person and—”
A low-pitched snarl sounded off to the left of his ear, and when he looked up at the window he’d climbed in through a huge cougar glared back at him. Erect ears sat atop its round head, and the tawny fur almost matched the color of the windowsill. A large paw was placed just inside the window and its silvery blue eyes were wide with shock. It was a shifter, and whoever was trying to break into Riley’s shop hadn’t expected him to be there.
“Who the fuck are you?” Teague asked, leveling his stance to that of a wider one just in case the intruder tried to attack him.
It closed its eyes and sniffed the air, and when the eyelids opened back up there was a shine to it that almost rivaled the glow of the moon. Whoever this was just realized that Teague was a shifter. Or something like it.
With a low hiss it backed out of the window, and Teague could hear the large paws thump on the snow-covered ground outside. Whoever this was didn’t want to fight. That was either a good thing or a bad thing.
Best case scenario, they saw an open window and was looking for shelter and food. There was a shifter sanctuary a few counties over and maybe this was just a stop to rest. Or someone had come to Riley’s shop on purpose. To do what? Tear the place apart? Wait for her until she opened the shop in a few hours?
With that thought, Teague’s heart ran a sprint in his chest and his breath stopped. If a cougar shifter was waiting for Riley when she opened the shop there was a good chance they’d planned on hurting her. Kidnapping her. Killing her.
Fuck that.
He had four days off and he would watch her until the son of a bitch that just ran away tried to get close to her. And when Teague was close enough, he would strike them down and find out just what they wanted with his mate.
Chapter 4
Riley had been waiting on Teague for three days and he was nowhere to be found. She stopped by the fire station, just hoping she would see his truck. For the life of her she couldn’t find out where he lived. Every day when the shop closed and after she got things ready for the next day, she would drive around town looking for him. A few times she thought she’d seen Teague, but when she changed direction to get a closer look he was gone. Or maybe he’d never even been there in the first place.
How the hell had they been friends all this time and she didn’t have his phone number or knew where he lived? She knew he’d been in her shop a few nights before. When Riley had mentioned to Liv that the shelves had been put up while the shop was closed the girl squealed and went on and on about how romantic it was to have an admirer, and that Teague was way better for her than her father.
Besides, she wanted to tell him the good news. She was divorced. It was final. She’d gone this morning and signed the paperwork. She was officially Ms. Riley Belton again. Mrs. Riley Baker was a sad memory she chose to leave behind. Riley wouldn’t let her past with Aaron affect her future. Besides, she was determined to stay single for the rest of her life. It would take a miracle and a huge sign from the universe to get her to marry again.
She exhaled, feeling a weight lift from her shoulders that had seemed to settle there when she knew it was time to leave Aaron. She was free. Free from trying to convince herself that he was worth her time. Free from the force of humiliation she’d accepted onto herself every time she went along with his lies. Free from wondering if they would ever truly be over. Because now, they were over.
It was done.
With a content smile on her face, Riley took a deep breath and sliced up the rest of the strawberries, readying them to be put on the cream-covered chocolate pastries that had become the shop’s signature dessert. She lined up the frozen tray of bacon and put it into the refrigerator to thaw overnight, and then brought in the six dozen eggs that had just been delivered for the next day.
She was in love with her shop, what she had built. This had been all she wanted, but working as a medical coder was practical. Practicality scampered away from her when she’d found out about Aaron, and it was the shove she needed to make the change. And it was awesome.
With a peripheral view of the window, Riley saw Teague walk up the street and open the door of a restaurant across from her shop.
Son of a biscuit. “Hey, damn-it,” she yelled, snatching off her apron and running around the counter. “Teague! I see you.”
For a brief moment, she thought her s
creams were in vain. She was across the street with the door closed, and there were two lanes of traffic between them, but when she said his name she could swear he flinched.
He froze in his step and looked as if he was going to bolt. As big and brawny as the man was, he looked fucking terrified, and then that look turned to one of pure irritation. He was back to hating her again. He did an about-face in the doorway of the shop across from her, and as she unlocked and opened the door to New Rose Book and Eatery she yelled out, “Teague Durrell, you get your ass over here and talk to me, friend.”
The people in the area who knew who Riley was yelling at looked with wide and worried eyes between the two of them. If they didn’t know, they looked back and forth amongst one another to see if she was hollering at them. If would be funny if she weren’t so pissed.
Teague’s wide shoulders came up to his ears and he lowered his head. With his hands shoved in his pockets, he made his way across the street to her. “Hey,” he said as he walked by her, his voice low and deep.
Nope. She would not let that sensual voice hypnotize her. Or that big and sexy physique that she wanted to climb. Nope. They were going to talk and he was going to tell her everything.
“First off,” she said, closing and locking the door behind them, “Liv ratted you out. Thanks for putting up those shelves and reinforcing them. Secondly,” she said, ticking off facts on her fingers, “You didn’t have to break in to do it. Thank you, by the way. It let me know I needed better security than a locked door. You’re hungry. I need to feed you.”
Why the hell did she know that? Didn’t matter. She went to the fridge and grabbed two sandwiches. Any leftover prepared food at the end of the day went to the local women’s shelter. Riley hoped and prayed they would be okay with two less cold cuts. She pulled out two bottles of water and a bag of chips.
She pointed at a chair near the back of the shop and gave Teague the sternest look she could muster. It probably didn’t come across that way. Riley had a hankering for this man and nothing she did would quell that. “Sit down and eat.”
A knowing smile tugged at the corners of his lips. “How’d you know I was hungry?” He was shrugging off his jacket and already eating part of the cold cut.
His eyes raked up and down her body and she stopped moving. He looked at her the way he eyed that sandwich when she’d handed it over to him. Did he feel the way she did? She hoped so. Riley was hungry for Teague’s touch, for his presence. Part of her hated herself for it. She’d literally just got out of a marriage and didn’t want to jump into a relationship. Jump into bed with him, hell yes. But that was it. She couldn’t risk it.
Riley shook her head, her lips quirked up toward her nose. “Nope. Don’t distract me. Third, why have you been following me? I wasn’t sure at first but then you looked like a kid getting caught stealing when I called you out. Why? And why have you been avoiding me? Well, following and avoiding me.” She put her hands on her wide hips and shrugged. “Are you mad at me?”
Teague stopped mid swallow and almost choked on it. “No. No, I’m not mad at you. I just… I can’t explain.” His green eyes seemed to reflect oddly in the sunlight. Chewing on his full bottom lip, he looked up at her and shrugged. “I just can’t explain right now.”
Riley sat down in the chair across from him and opened both bottles of water, giving him one and taking a long swig of water from the other. “You’re not mad at me, but you’re avoiding me. Is it because you don’t want to be my friend since I divorced Aaron? Is that it? Loyalty to your fellow firemen?”
Well, that made her sad. They may not have been the best of buds that met every week and had lunch or drinks, but they could talk to each other. It was like she’d known him her entire life. Having him walk away from her because of Aaron was heartbreaking.
Teague reached across the table and held his hand over hers for a second as if afraid to make physical contact. “You have no idea what you mean to me, Riley. Damn-it,” he said, baring his teeth. “Do you feel this?” he asked, placing his hand on hers.
Warm tingles of electricity cascaded through her hand at his touch. It worked its way up her arm, through her chest, and right to her core. She felt her pussy clench with whatever it was that radiated from him to her. It filled her whole body.
Was it lust? Not. This was more. This was safety. This was promises and good intentions. This was the purest feeling of acceptance she’d ever experienced, all from one single touch. She’d felt it the other day right before she attacked his mouth. They’d shaken hands and hugged plenty of times before that, but never had she experienced anything like this ever in her life. Not even with Hippotwattamus.
Riley’s eyes were glued to their touching hands, his light and hers dark. His large and hers small.
When she finally met his gaze she asked in a whisper, “What is that?”
“I’m afraid you’ll hate me if I tell you.”
Hours could have passed as they sat like that, holding each other’s hands with their eyes locked. It wasn’t awkward to Riley. She looked people in their eyes when she spoke to them all the time, but this right here with Teague was everything. This was forever.
“So,” she said, letting go of a huge breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. “The divorce is final. It’s done.”
Teague nodded his head and gave her a ghost of a smile. “Good for you. I’m happy you’re happy. See you later.”
He got up from the table and started walking away from her.
“That’s it. Nothing else.” Her voice was deadpan as she watched him reach for the doorknob. “You know, you confuse the hell out of me, Teague. One minute you want to be my friend, the next you seem to hate my guts, and then the next you look at me like you’re hungry for me. You’re like some teenage boy who’s afraid he’s getting a zit.”
He turned around and gave her a hard look. He was back to hating her again. “I know your husband—”
“Ex-husband.”
“—and we work together. He’s a dick, but we depend on each other out there. And there’s more to it than that. You don’t get it.”
Fists clenching, she stood up too fast and the chair screeched across the floor and tipped over until it hit the wall and came back down on four legs. It seemed to give a voice to what was going on inside her chest. She shook her head and pulled her shoulders to her ears. Riley wanted to wrap her hands around his stupid neck and squeeze. “No. I don’t get it, Teague. I don’t. Explain.”
He reached for the door again as if bailing on her, but then he turned around and gave her a look that rooted her in the spot. His eyes were lighter. She knew this time, and there was no way he could tell her otherwise.
“Riley, I don’t hate you. I never could. You’re my friend but more than that. And damn-it I am hungry for you. I fucking crave you. If I had my way I’d have my head between your legs making you scream until the only thing that existed for you was the orgasm I was giving you. Until all you wanted was me and no one else. That selfish son of a bitch ex of yours wouldn’t even be an afterthought. But I’m being good. You need me to be good.”
Visions swam in her head of what he described. It started a kindling in her core. She clacked her teeth together and pulled her lips in until they’d almost disappeared. Her cheeks heated with fire and her traitorous ladybits were almost forcing her to run to him. “You should do that,” she whispered.
“Be good?”
“No. Be bad. Make me scream. Make me come. All that sexy shit you were talking about. In fact,” she said, backing toward the rear of the shop and unbuttoning her blue pants. “I dare you. Double dare you.”
There it was. Those eyes again. Now they were a green so bright it was like staring at the sun through a canopy of summertime leaves. And oohh, a low growl was rolling around in his chest. Hell. Yes.
She gave him a wicked smile. “And Teague. I see you. You don’t have to hide from me. I know you’re a shifter, and if you’re not ready to talk about it t
hen you don’t have to.” She was in the back hall now, clear out of sight of anyone who walked past the shop. She reached down with both hands and pulled her red work shirt over her head. She dropped it on the floor and thank the Heavens yesterday was wash day. She had on a pink lacy bra and matching panties. “I’m pretty sure you want me, and right now I need you. And fuck your keeping secrets. You can tell them all to me and I won’t tell a soul. I won’t judge you. I promise.”
With his sandy blond hair falling in one of his eyes he prowled closer to her, the growl making its way up his throat getting louder and louder. That sound made its way through her body, dumping wet heat between her legs. It reverberated through her like a speaker pumping base that was laid right against her body. As he made it to the darkness of the hallway his eyes shimmered in the tiny rays of light that made it back this far to the windowless space.
“Can I touch you, Riley?” he asked, his gravelly voice more animal than human. It turned her on.
She nodded her head and stopped to kick off her shoes, and once they were off she kept backing toward her office. There was a pull out couch in the room and they were going to break that bitch in.
“You can do more than touch me.”
Riley’s insides sang at the thought of him putting his hands on her. It had been so long since she wanted to be touched. She’d stopped letting Aaron touch her months ago, and it had been almost a year since they’d had sex. She hadn’t wanted him to touch her. He didn’t deserve her.
But right now, she was happy as the day she opened her shop. Happier. Because Teague was more to her than she realized. That touch the other day let her know there was more to them, but right now he felt bigger than the whole sky. He was going to take her and she was going to let him have her. All of her.
“You’re going to give me a good and thorough fucking, aren’t you?” she said grinning. This was going to be so much fun.
He nodded, let his jacket drop to the floor, and started unbuttoning his shirt. Riley blew out a nervous breath and stopped moving. She wanted to see him. With the movements of a wild cat stalking toward its prey, his shoulders rolled back and the sleeves fell from his muscular tatted up arms.