Checkmate

by Elyce de Reefe

  Aster took another sip of the crisp white wine, feeling a pleasant buzz of contentment coming through the bond. Dean was happy. He had his lab, and his research and his longtime friend here, too. And her. Aster smirked. What more could a man want?

  Elizabeth spotted her and dragged Lyla over to the drinks table. “Come on Lyla, this definitely deserves a champagne. How often do we get to see Gage be a complete goofball?” She winked at Aster. “Oh, right. That’s every day.” She shook her head. “Your brother. He certainly has a unique way about him.”

  Aster’s lips curled in a half-smile. “That he does.”

  “I don’t know,” Lyla said, watching the scene. “I think there’s more to Gage than meets the eye. Ever get the feeling he acts that way—puts it on a little thick—because it puts Mari at ease?”

  Aster felt her smile grow. The witch had nailed it, but she would never give away her baby brother’s secrets.

  “Huh,” Elizabeth said. “You might be onto something there, Lyla.” She handed the other woman a flute of champagne and clinked glasses with her. “To goofy Gage.” She turned and clinked Aster’s wine glass. “You think that’s why he and Eli are such good friends? Eli is such a sensitive soul.”

  Lyla looked down at the glass in her hand as if it might bite her. “Oh, thanks, Elizabeth. I’m not in the mood right now. I think I’ll stick with soda.” She set the glass down on the table.

  Elizabeth stared at the glass abandoned on the table for a split second, then her gaze flew to Lyla. Lyla froze.

  “Lyla?”

  Lyla bit her lip, a slight flush creeping across her face.

  “Oh my God! Lyla!” Elizabeth set her glass on the table and enveloped the other woman in a hug. “You suck, you know that? I’m going to be so mad and jealous—any minute now—but right now I’m just too happy for you!”

  Aster watched the two women in amazement as they hugged and rocked each other, almost like a dance.

  “Does Aaron know?”

  “Yes. We just confirmed it this morning. I wasn’t going to tell anyone, you know, until after the first trimester, because—oh, Elizabeth, I’m forty-two. What if—”

  “Shhh. Don’t be ridiculous. You’ve got werewolf blood in there. Nothing could hurt it. Right, Aster?” She released Lyla with one arm and pulled Aster into the circle. “Just look at Aster here. You can’t even shoot them to death.”

  Aster winced and Elizabeth must have seen it.

  “Sorry, Aster. I didn’t mean it like that. I just meant— well, Lyla will be fine, right?”

  Mari had noticed the commotion by this time and made her way over to them. “And just what is going on over here?”

  Elizabeth looked at Lyla and Lyla looked back at Elizabeth. The blond witch gave Elizabeth a tiny nod and Elizabeth’s smile bloomed across her face. “Oh, Mari, we’re going to be aunts. Lyla’s pregnant.”

  That statement generated some squealing and a little jumping and suddenly the four of them were hopping around in a ring like children.

  “Shhhh…” Lyla shushed them. “I don’t want to make a general announcement.” Aster refrained from telling her that within a week or two at the most, anyone with a nose would know. As it was, she was pretty sure almost everyone had overheard. But she’d let Aaron break that little bit of news.

  She glanced over at Aaron, still standing with Lucas by the dance floor. Next to her brother, he didn’t look quite so large. They were a little removed from everyone else and watching her little group intently. She had a feeling Aaron had just broken the news. Lucas’s face was closed and unreadable, but she thought she could detect a flicker of longing cross it as his gaze ran over Mari.

  The two of them were standing with their backs to the trees, their legs slightly apart. They looked at once like two parts of one whole—an unbeatable team—and mirror opposites. Lucas dark and slightly broody, and Aaron blond and almost incandescent with quiet pride. She shook her head, smiling. Those two. They had been virtually inseparable since the day they met.

  She glanced back at Dean, who gave her a small smile. Cray stood beside him watching Elizabeth with a slightly grim expression. Aster had the feeling of being in the center of the action—the center of the storm—watching everything around her without really being touched by it. Then Elizabeth’s arm tightened around her shoulder and broke the spell.

  “Oh, Aster, can you believe it? We’re going to be aunts.” The other woman’s happiness was obvious, but she turned to Lyla in mock outrage. “I can’t believe you beat me to this! Let me tell you, Cray is going to have to up his game.”

  That had them all laughing and their little huddle broke apart. But then Elizabeth turned to Aster. “You don’t think I’m infertile, do you? Could you maybe make me some chocolate?”

  Aster nearly choked on her wine. “Um… no. You are not infertile.”

  Elizabeth wrinkled her nose. “Not the smell thing,” she said with obvious disgust.

  Aster couldn’t help but laugh. “Don’t ask if you don’t want to know.”

  Elizabeth started to say something, but she broke off at the sound of a car coming down the driveway. Elizabeth turned to Mari, her mouth dropping open. “You didn’t.”

  “I did,” Mari sang out.

  “And just how do you intend to pull this off, Miss Smarty-pants? He thinks he’s coming here to see you.”

  “Watch and learn,” Mari said with a playful little grin. “Have you seen my sister?”

  They all looked over at Lauren, who was now out on the dance floor with Gage and Zeke and the kids. Jesse stood near the willow, watching. Lauren’s sleek, honey-blond hair shone in the late afternoon sun, and she was smiling and laughing at the action on the floor. She had on a peach satin blouse over a short white skirt that showed off her tan legs. And she was wearing those canvas type wedge sandals with the ribbons that crisscrossed up her legs. Aster had to admit, Mari had a point. She had never really been into clothes, but that was an eye-catching outfit.

  “I’m trying to get her to move here.” Mari shrugged. “If she meets a man, she’ll be much more likely to entertain the idea.”

  “You want her to move here?” Elizabeth sounded surprised.

  “Not here, here.” Mari said. “I was thinking maybe she could rent Lyla’s house.”

  Lyla stared at her for a second. “Mari! That’s a great idea. But she doesn’t have to rent it—”

  “We can talk about that later,” Mari said, cutting her off. “Right now I have a detective to collect.” Mari turned and headed for the back yard.

  “Well, this should be good,” Elizabeth said to no one in particular. She moved slightly so she could watch Mari’s progress. “What do you think? Should we take bets?”

  Lyla laughed. “I have no idea.” She moved up to stand next to Elizabeth.

  Standing together like that, Aster noticed the other women’s outfits for the first time. Elizabeth was wearing a soft green sleeveless blouse that fluttered slightly in the breeze and looked great over jean leggings. Lyla was sleek and stylish in a blue silk tank and ivory capris. She watched Mari cross the lawn. She looked like summer personified in her yellow sundress with tiny blue flowers. Aster glanced down at her own black cotton tank and jeans.

  Maybe it was time for an upgrade? Dean didn’t seem to care what she wore; he was more interested in getting it off. But these girls could be onto something. I should see if they want to go shopping.

  They’d been wonderful during her convalescence. She had been laid up for almost two weeks, and she would have gone completely stir crazy if not for the three of them coming over to entertain her, bringing food, playing cards, and even occasionally chess— although they were terrible. Laughable, really. Elizabeth wanted to learn, though, and Aster had given her a couple of lessons. She’d even started jotting down different strategies in her journal, to discuss with Elizabeth later.

  Mari reappeared with the detective, jarring her out of her thoughts. He was a tall, handsome ma
n with light brown hair and a charming smile. And that smile was directed down at Mari. Aster felt herself grinning. Elizabeth was right; this was going to be fun. She glanced over to see Lucas, and sure enough, he was glowering black thunder.

  Aster bit her lip and stepped back as Lucas crossed the lawn to ‘greet’ their new guest. She drifted toward the river to join Dean, content to watch from the sidelines. It was going to be quite a show. Cray made a beeline for Anderson, arriving before Lucas and shaking the detective’s hand. Elizabeth said something to Anderson, but Aster couldn’t tell what. Probably about her case. Mari introduced Lyla. And then Lucas arrived.

  Cray introduced the two men, looking about as grim as she’d seen him. Her brother managed to shake the detective’s hand without ripping his arm off at the shoulder, but he looked ready to blow. Aster blinked. She’d been preparing for fireworks, but as she watched, Mari reached out and patted Lucas gently on the arm, without looking away from the conversation. Lucas slowly unclenched his fists.

  “Lauren, come and meet Detective Anderson,” Mari called. Lauren joined them, looking flushed and happy straight from the dance floor. A few moments later, Mari and her sister led the detective over to the drinks table and proceeded to have an animated conversation with him.

  Lucas stood there glowering, until finally, Aaron led Lyla back toward the dance floor, hooking Lucas by the arm and dragging him away too. Aster watched, bemused, as Mari flashed Elizabeth a triumphant smile after succeeding in extracting herself and joining Gage and the children on the dance floor.

  “That was interesting,” Dean commented. “Better than TV.”

  “Could you hear anything?” Aster asked.

  “Not a thing.”

  “Damn.”

  It was later, after dinner, when full dark had fallen and all the candles were lit, that Aster noticed Detective Anderson and Loren looking quite cozy out on the dance floor. Strings of frosted party lights gave the yard and dance floor a romantic atmosphere. Aster had noted the two seemed to get along quite well over the course of the evening. She wandered closer, linking arms with Dean and pulling him with her. Standing by the big willow next to the river, she tried to hear what was being said, but any words were swallowed by the music and the sounds of the night.

  “What do you think?”

  “No clue,” Dean answered. “Mating among humans is not my specialty.”

  “Oh, really? What is your specialty?” Aster leaned in closer.

  Dean slipped his arms around her waist and pulled her in. “Come back to the trailer and I’ll show you.”

  Aster leaned in for a kiss. “Sounds interesting. Think we can slip away?”

  “I think so.” His soft lips brushed against hers. “We can just slip under the weeping willow and head around the back.” He kissed her deeper and then drew back. “Race you!” He called and darted away, smacking her on the ass as he went by.

  “Dean!” She was trying for outrage, but she was laughing too hard. And her competitive nature had her sprinting after him before she could really think about it. By the time she reached the trailer she was panting for air between spurts of laughter, but she’d managed to smack him back. Twice.

  Dean caught her as she rounded the end of the trailer and swung her around, pushing her up against the door. “Now I’ve got you.” He stretched her hands to the wooden surface above her head and pressed one knee between her legs. “Right where I want you.” He slid his tongue along her neck, his hot breath tickling her skin. His mouth came up to touch her lips and the slide of his tongue along hers was like molten lava. Dean’s body pressed into hers, hard and solid, and it wasn’t long before she was panting for an entirely different reason.

  Crickets chirped and the trill of tree frogs filled the warm night air. The distant sound of music was just discernible as Dean fumbled the door open and carried her inside, to the bedroom.

  ** *

  Aster walked down the path that led from the pack house to the trailer, enjoying the warm afternoon sun. Most of the birds were waiting out the heat of the day, but she disturbed a few chipping sparrows scrabbling in the brush. She smiled as they flitted away, wondering how long it would take for the items she’d just ordered to arrive. Her smile stretched into a grin, thinking about Dean’s reaction.

  She’d just completed her first shopping ‘trip’ with the girls. They’d advised her on styles and colors they thought would work with her body type and coloring. They’d done the shopping online because no one was really up for any kind of excursion after last night’s party. She hadn’t quite gone off the deep end and ordered a dress or anything, but she had gotten something called skinny jeans and a few pretty tops that weren’t too girly. But she’d also ordered some very pretty, lacy satin underwear that was a far cry from her normal plain cotton. The idea of stripping down and surprising Dean with that had her humming under her breath. She could just imagine his smoky green eyes wide and startled, followed by their very intense focus.

  She entered the clearing and debated going through the lab or heading around to what was now the front of the trailer. The new addition sat on top of the original double-wide like one half of a capital T. Or maybe it was more like an upside-down L. It consisted of a good-sized living room, dining room area, and a master bedroom and bath. When they needed more room, they’d complete the other half of the T and add a few more bedrooms that way, along the patio.

  Aster switched trajectories and angled through said patio to go around to the front door. No need to disturb Dean—he was probably elbow deep in some experiment or another. She smiled, remembering Elizabeth’s reaction to the trailer’s tiny bedroom that Aster had been confined to while her injury healed. Elizabeth had taken one look around and gotten Boaz to start drawing up plans for the addition.

  Which was good, because if Aster had been forced to spend any more time looking at those same four walls, there would have been trouble. But by the time she was up and about, the plans were finalized, and three weeks later the construction was completed. It helped that Boaz and his brothers ran a construction company back in Canada, so they did all the labor themselves. Actually, all the guys pitched in.

  Aster rounded the corner of the house and entered the front yard. They had finally installed a driveway that ran past the garages and continued on to Lyla and Aaron’s cabin. Most of it was screened by bushes and landscaping, but at least she could bring groceries to the trailer without carrying them down the path every time. That had gotten old fast. She trotted up the front steps and entered her airy living room. Maybe dinner for two tonight?

  Aster glanced around the sunlit interior. As expected, Dean was nowhere in sight. Perfect. She could take a bubble bath, shave her legs… She headed into the bedroom and opened her underwear drawer. She was pretty sure she had a matching bikini set somewhere…

  Aster paused and pulled out a tissue-wrapped package. That definitely had not been there this morning. Peeling back the paper, she stared at the contents inside. A pink rhinestone collar, complete with a leash, and a pair of pink fuzzy handcuffs met her eyes.

  “Dean!”

  Grabbing the offending items, she marched through the living room and into the trailer. She scanned what had once been the bedroom and was now a kind of study, but Dean wasn’t in there. She marched through to the lab and sure enough, he had his head bent over a beaker, safety goggles covering his eyes. He looked up with a comical expression of surprise behind the clear goggles. Then he grinned. “Oh good, you found them.” But he was smart enough to push the goggles up on his head and back carefully away from the counter.

  “What is this?” The words came out hissed through clenched teeth.

  “Aster, I thought you would like that.” He was grinning like a madman but also positioning himself behind the worktable. “Pink is really your color.”

  She made an inarticulate sound and lunged for him. He danced away around the table, laughing.

  “What? You said yourself you wanted to be tie
d to something. I was just trying to fulfill your every wish. And you would look so cute in that. Come on, honey, let’s try it on you.”

  She growled and charged around the table after him. He laughed and raced down the other side toward the door.

  “Get back here, you. I’m going to wrap this around your neck!”

  He threw open the door, and with an impressive athletic leap cleared all three of the stairs and started running. Aster was right behind him. “I’m going to kill you,” she gritted out.

  “Dean!”

  The End.

  This book is over, but the story continues.

  A Mating of Convenience -

  Book 4 of the Rabbit River Saga

  Continue reading for a free preview of A Mating of Convenience!

  Excerpt from A Mating of Convenience

  Book 4 – The Rabbit River Saga by Elyce de Reefe

  Chapter 1

  Nina stared up at the dark ceiling, wondering how her life had taken such a crazy turn. Her pulse had stopped racing, but it started up again every time she thought about just how precarious her situation was. Things were bad enough when she’d only been trying to develop some kind of experimental fertility drug and dealing with the types of people that brought her in contact with. But now—

  Now she was dealing with a whole different class of people. More dangerous, much more dangerous, than anything she’d encountered before. She peered through the darkened room, trying to make out the shape that lurked there. Him. Her captor. Boaz.

  What kind of name was Boaz, anyway? The rest of them had normal-sounding names. Lucas. Jesse. Dean. But Boaz? And the man was huge. Actually, they were all large. Dean was probably the smallest, at, she would guesstimate, just over six feet. And she was a doctor, so she was pretty good at guesstimating. Then there was Jesse, who was taller, probably about six-two, but leaner. And then there was Lucas, who was closer to six-four and broad. And then there was Boaz.