by T. S. Joyce
“I’m sorry if I pushed us too far earlier. I was going to stop when you showed me your tattoo, but I let things get a little out of hand.”
She nibbled his bottom lip, then glared. “Are you done apologizing for sleeping with me?”
“It wasn’t just sleeping together. Not to me. It was—”
The window popped three times, scaring the glow right out of her. Bruiser stood leaned against the Bronco, grinning at her through the glass. “Took y’all long enough.”
Startled, Danielle clutched her chest, as if it would keep her heart from escaping, and shoved the door open. Hiding her burning cheeks, she slung her purse strap across her torso and made her way toward Brooke and Skyler.
Looking at paperwork, the others stood in a loose half-circle around the open tailgate of Kellen’s truck. The parking lot was nothing more than an open field full of calf-length waving grass and wild flowers.
Brooke waved from the other side of a lower, marshy area that was still holding water from the recent rains. As Danielle prepared to jump over the tiny creek, her feet flipped out from under her and before she knew it, she was thrown over Denison’s shoulder like a sack of cat food. She yelped when his big palm smacked her bum soundly. He hopped over the water like she weighed nothing and let out a booming laugh as she pummeled his butt with her closed fist.
“Denison Donavan Beck!”
“Oh, he got the full name, boys. Denison’s in trouble!” Bruiser called as he hopped over the tiny stream behind then.
Danielle arched her back and glared at him, but the jokester only chuckled harder.
Denny set her down so fast she gasped, but he didn’t miss a step. Grabbing her hand, he pulled her against his side, then draped his arm around her shoulders and called behind him, “If she wasn’t getting me in trouble, I’d be worried she was sick or something.”
“Har, har,” she muttered, but she couldn’t help the grin that was cracking her face wide open. She’d been afraid Denison would act like there wasn’t something simmering between them in front of his friends, but nope. Apparently, Denison was making their budding relationship status public.
His utterly comfortable behavior added another layer of seriousness to the naked party they’d had in the Bronco earlier. He wasn’t just sleeping with her. He still cared for her enough to make his feelings obvious in front of the people who meant the most to him.
A familiar warmth flooded her veins and made her go all gooey as she remembered how he used to make her feel when they were together. He’d never acted ashamed of being with her. His obvious pride at her being on his arm had always made her feel coveted, and it seemed that part of their relationship hadn’t changed.
Drew sniffed her hair as Denison led her past and murmured, “Mmm, pheromones.”
A low growl emanated from Denison, and Drew backed off.
Could he smell what they’d done? Heat flared hotter in her cheeks.
“Leave them alone,” Brooke said as she made room between her and Skyler where they were leaning against the oversize white pickup.
Denison squeezed her hand and kissed the side of her head where he allowed his lips to linger. When he pulled away, he said, “I’m in the first event, but my heat doesn’t start for another forty-five minutes. We’re going to plan who is going to do what events and go sign up. You can stay here or go see what they have going on over there.” He pointed to a group of tents and vendors.
She didn’t want to stand around and take Denison’s attention off what Tagan was talking low to the others about, so she jerked her chin at Brooke and Skyler and scrunched her nose, a little nervous they’d reject what she was about to propose. “Are you hungry?”
“Starving,” Skyler said as she pulled her dark hair into a high ponytail. “I’m in an event later today, and I don’t want to eat too close to it. Let’s find some grub.”
“I’m down for finding food,” Brooke said. “I skipped breakfast.”
“Brooke,” Tagan admonished, suddenly looking up from the paperwork stacked on the tailgate.
“It was too early,” Brooke explained. “If I eat that early, I’ll feel sick all day.”
Tagan angled his head and gave Brooke a worried frown before returning to a conversation about something called a hot saw.
“You want me to grab something for you?” Danielle asked Denison, who was still lingering beside her instead of joining his crew.
“Yeah, just get me whatever you think sounds good. Here.” He reached in the back pocket of his jeans and pulled out his wallet.
“No! Beer wench today,” she said. “Remember?”
A slow smile crept across his face, exposing a dimple in his left cheek. She fought the urge to touch it. He licked his bottom lip and nodded. “Okay. If you’re paying, get me double.” He laughed and ducked out of swatting range. Quick as a snake, he leaned in and pecked her on the forehead, then jogged over and joined his crew at the back of the truck.
Danielle giggled—giggled! Like a teen with a crush and not a twenty-four-year-old woman who was supposed to be keeping her cool about all of this. Danielle followed Brooke and Skyler toward the first tent, but looked back because she couldn’t help herself. Denison was watching her leave, and when she smiled, he winked at her and gave her a slow-simmering grin that just about locked her knees.
That man was a charmer and a mystery, but most of all, Denny was going to wreak havoc on her hormones.
She jogged and caught up to the girls, but when she did, Brooke lifted her hair and studied the back of her neck.
“What are you doing?” Danielle asked, locking her legs and halting.
“Checking for a bite mark,” Brooke said nonchalantly.
Okay. “Like a vampire bite mark?” She hadn’t exactly believed in things-that-go-bump-in-the-night before now, but something was definitely different with Denison. His changing eyes were supernatural for sure. They were like two damned mood rings right on his face, telling her when he was pissed or turned on.
Skyler rocked back on her heels and laughed. “No vampires around here.” She frowned. “At least, not that we know of.” She turned to Brooke and shook her head as she shoved her hands in the pockets of her jeans. “He wouldn’t bite her. Danielle’s human—”
“Skyler!” Brooke admonished. Her eyes went round and serious, and her voice changed. Deepened as if her words held weight. “That’s enough. Good grief, do we have to censor you and Kellen now?”
“Well, blame that on him. He talks about whatever he likes all the time, and I get used to it. Maybe you should drag us to town more often. Living in the Asheland bubble ain’t doin’ us any favors.” Skyler crossed her arms in front of her chest with a pouty frown.
“Why would Denison bite me?” Danielle asked. “I’m assuming it isn’t just for kink.”
“All the boys are biters. Forget I said anything,” Brooke muttered and began walking again.
“Are you two like Denison?” Danielle tested.
“Like Denison how?” Skyler asked, sounding too innocent.
Well, crap, she hadn’t figured out a guess yet. “Zombies?”
Brooke snorted and kept her face carefully hidden behind her blond locks.
“Yeti?”
Now Skyler was laughing, too.
“Give me a hint,” Danielle pleaded. “All I’ve got are glowing eyes and growling… Oh, werewolf!”
“No, and stop guessing,” Brooke said with a little worried moue to her glossed lips. “If there was anything different about Denison and if he decided he wanted you to know, he would tell you when he was good and ready.”
Danielle narrowed her eyes and sighed. “Fine.” It was just like last time she’d lived here when she was the odd woman out. Everyone was in on the secret, but nobody trusted her enough to let her in. It stung and made her realize she wasn’t part of this trio of friends. She was just a tagalong.
“I’m going to go get Denison some food before his event. I’ll see you later.”
>
She turned to leave, but Brooke hugged her from behind, arms squeezing Danielle’s collar bones. “I know how it feels,” she whispered. “Feeling like everyone knows but you. You have to be patient, though. It’s not my place, or Skyler’s place, to spill secrets that aren’t ours.”
Danielle’s eyes burned with emotion, and she held still as Brooke hugged her tighter.
“I had to wait, and Skyler went through hell finding her way into the Ashe Crew, too,” Brooke explained. “You’re Denison’s girl, and if it were up to me, you’d already know how much you belong to us. It’s not up to me, though. I’ll tell you something I haven’t told anyone but Tagan, so you’ll know you have my trust.”
Skyler stepped in front of Danielle with a worried look in her bright green eyes.
Danielle could feel Brooke smile against her ear. “I’m pregnant.”
Skyler’s eyebrows drew up, and her eyes rimmed with tears. “Already?”
Danielle didn’t understand the dynamics here. Had Brooke and Tagan been trying for a baby for a long time? Had they suffered a loss?
Brooke pulled her and Skyler into a hug. “It’s hard for our kind to have babies,” she whispered so low Danielle almost missed it. “It’s why I’ve been having a hard time eating. I feel sick all the time, and we haven’t told the boys, so please don’t say anything. We wanted to make sure the baby is okay before we get everyone worked up.”
“The crew is going to lose their shit,” Skyler murmured. A slow smile stretched her lips. “We’re gonna have a baby.” The first tear slipped down Skyler’s cheek, and Danielle thumbed it away, then hugged them both closer.
She didn’t understand why it was hard for Brooke and Tagan to have a baby, or why Skyler worded it like the Ashe crew was having a child instead of just Brooke, or why a bunch of foul-mouthed, beer-guzzling, caveman trailer boys would care one way or the other about a baby, but she knew one thing—these were good people. People who cared deeply for one another and who were trying to let her in as much as they could. She wanted to be a part of this. She wanted to be accepted by Denison’s friends and become someone they could depend on, like they obviously depended on each other.
“Okay, okay,” Danielle said, giving them one last squeeze. “Let’s go feed this baby.”
****
The last half hour had been spent gathering food. Two rows of stands sat in a fog of savory scents that ranged from sausage to fresh fried pork rinds to hand-dipped corn dogs to gourmet pizza pies. Brooke had already inhaled a pair of three-cheese and meatball sandwiches by the time they made their way toward several sixty-foot poles towering along the outer edge of the crowded fairgrounds.
Danielle watched in horror as eight men ran up the poles with spiked shoes and a single belt thrown around the log. “They don’t have safety harnesses,” she said as her acute fear of heights threatened to freeze her into place.
“They don’t need them,” Skyler said, handing a bartender, who was set up right alongside the event, a couple of dollars. “This is an easy one for them, and that leather strap keeps them safe enough.”
“Safe enough,” Danielle repeated as she imagined Denison making it to the very top and plummeting to his death.
Out of nowhere, a man ran into her. “Excuse me,” he apologized, steadying her with his hands on her upper arms.
Her plate of food wobbled, but she righted it. “It’s fine. Sorry, I wasn’t watching where I was going.”
Tall enough to look down at her, the man was lanky, but not whiplash thin, with dark hair gone gray at the temples. His words had been polite enough, but his hazel eyes were lifeless and cold. A chill ran up her back as she jerked out of his grasp.
The man lifted his chin and looked down his nose at her, then slid his eyes to Brooke and Skyler before an empty smile stretched his thin lips. His eyes narrowed as he said, “Sorry for disturbing you, ladies. You all have a nice day now.” His deep voice sounded so familiar.
Danielle watched him go with a strange feeling in her gut. Like déjà vu, or as if she’d lived this exact moment before.
“He was weird,” Brooke said low. “You okay?”
“Yeah,” Danielle muttered, shaking off the tingly feeling that had raised the fine hairs on the back of her neck. “I’m fine.”
Brooke turned toward the bartender and ordered a cold one for Tagan. Danielle rubbed the back of her neck and watched the stranger leave. He looked back at her once before he stepped behind a tent and out of sight.
“Hey,” a passing man said, pointing to Danielle. “I know you.”
She dragged her attention away from where the man had disappeared, and her stomach dipped to her toes. It was that asshole, Matt, from Sammy’s bar.
“Uh, no you don’t,” she said, her mood plummeting.
Maybe if she just ignored him…
Turning, she pointed to a cooler of non-alcoholic beverages and asked the bartender, “Can I get one of those lime-flavored electrolyte drinks?”
Skyler was glaring at Matt, while Brooke gave her a knowing smile and asked, “What, no beer for Denison before the event?”
“Hell no. He needs to keep his head.” What a terrible beer wench she made. She paid for the drink as fast as her shaking hands could manage and tried to hightail it out of there before Matt the Horny Brat reached her.
Too late.
“I knew it. You’re the hot chick from the bar. Damn, girl. You look even better in broad daylight.”
“I’m surprised you even remember me.” Ratfincked whiskey-breathing butt-groper. “We’re running late, so have a nice life.” She grabbed Skyler’s arm and hurried behind Brooke toward the crowd waiting below the poles.
“Wait,” Matt said, pulling her shoulder and stopping her escape. “We’re going to the same place.” He jerked his chin to an event sign that read 90’ Climb. “I’ll walk you.”
“She doesn’t need you to walk her, Gray Back,” Skyler said. Her eyes had gone deadly as she stared up at the man. “Can you not read her shirt?”
He was six-feet-three and had nearly a foot on Skyler, but she didn’t look intimidated at all. Skyler gave him a humorless smile and said, “Now, kindly fuck off.”
Danielle snorted a laugh and tried to cover it with a cough. Dear goodness, it was awesome to watch tiny Skyler face off with the handsy Sasquatch.
Danielle sidled by Skyler, gave him a little wave, and caught up with Brooke. The green drink sloshed in its plastic container and was cold against her hand, but before she knew what happened, it was slapped out of her palm and lay in the shadows of a make-shift alleyway between two tents.
“I apologize,” Matt said from right beside her. “Let me get that. My silly hand just does what it wants sometimes.”
Gads, he was fast. He’d been ten paces behind her, then right there in no time at all. Anger flared up the back of Danielle’s neck as she rushed to retrieve the drink.
Matt bent down, too, and snatched it from under her grasp. “Too slow,” he murmured, his face only inches from hers. “Do you know what you smell like from here?”
“Denison,” she gritted out.
“Yeah, that’s right, baby. You smell like an Ashe Crew whore.”
Fury, red and hot, blasted up her arm. She drew back and slapped him hard. “Don’t you talk to me like that. I’m with Denison. I’m not anyone’s whore.”
Matt’s blazing blue eyes filled with hatred, and he leaned forward and gripped her hair, then yanked her to him and kissed her so hard she tasted iron. Danielle struggled against his impossible grip. Where were Skyler and Brooke? She searched for them out of her peripheral vision, but they seemed to be blocked out of the alleyway by a trio of equally big men with Gray Back Crew T-shirts on. Shit.
Matt released her throbbing lip and growled out, “You should’ve picked a real man to fuck you first. Now you’ll never know better.”
Something big and powerful launched her backward, and when she sat up, Matt wasn’t taunting her anymore. He
was locked up, absorbing blow after blow from Brighton. Brighton?
Strong arms picked her up and turned her out of the alley. It was Bruiser, and Drew was waiting with his arms crossed, watching Brighton beat the stuffing out of Matt. The giant was getting in a punch here and there, but Brighton was lethal and didn’t even react to the crushing blows Matt snuck in.
Holy shit, he was fast.
“Let’s get you out of here,” Bruiser said. “Brighton.”
Just like that, Brighton pushed Matt into a couple of Gray Backs and followed her out of the alley. They led her through a maze of vendors, Bruiser’s hands never straying from the upper part of her arm. When they came to an abandoned tent with a few scattered tables, Brighton took her hand and led her to the farthest one. Easing her down into a plastic chair, he jerked his head to the others and Bruiser and Drew backed off.
“Brighton, Skyler and Brooke were back there,” she wheezed out, panicked.
He shook his head and stripped his shirt off, then looked behind him as if he were making sure they weren’t being followed. “They’re okay.” His voice wasn’t a voice at all, but a barely audible whisper of air. “Tagan and Haydan have them.”
Her throbbing lip took a backseat to her shock. “You can talk?”
He pointed to a long, red mark where his short beard didn’t grow whiskers on his neck. “No,” he rasped out, voiceless.
She didn’t understand. “Is that a scar? Did someone do this to you?”
She could see him close down on her. The emotion in his emerald green eyes went dead. He inhaled deeply and whispered, “Denison can’t see you like this. He’ll kill them.”
Brighton dabbed the side of her lip, and when he pulled his shirt away, it was smeared with crimson. Son of a mother fluffin’ biscuit eater. Matt, that dick-faced weasel-turd had made her bleed with his uninvited kiss.