Diablo Lake: Moonstruck

by Lauren Dane

  “No damned chore to watch shirtless, sweaty dudes hauling stuff around on our orders, you know?” Aimee said.

  “I’m in agreement with that.” Wolves ran hot, so even through the winter, when they worked outside they frequently did it in shirtsleeves or even better, wearing no shirts at all. “I really like that beard Major is growing.”

  “I’m the president of the Oh-yes-I-like-that-beard fan club. Jace grew one last winter. Looked like lumberjack porn all night and day.” Aimee hummed at the memory and Katie Faith tried not to throw the book in her hands at her friend’s head.

  “Lower cost of living isn’t the only reason to be glad I’m back in Diablo Lake,” she said, because she couldn’t fault anyone for finding Jace Dooley gorgeous.

  They both laughed as Katie Faith began to unpack the boxes with her kitchen supplies. “I already stocked the fridge up with beer if you want one. It’s after noon on a weekend and we’re moving so we get to day drink.”

  “Your never-ending resourcefulness is a balm to my heart, Katie Faith.” Aimee cracked open two beers before joining in on the unpacking.

  “If we had been scouts of some sort I’d totally have earned a lot of flair. Badges. Patches. Whatever. You know what I mean. Maybe with a sash. On a sash, yeah, that would be so cute. Right?” Katie Faith made what she figured was the internationally understood movement for sash-type thingamabob.

  Aimee shook her head and snickered. “Bless your heart, Katie Faith.”

  Katie Faith gave her friend another internationally well-known hand signal and went back to work.

  Finally, after several hours of unpacking, hanging pictures and getting the place just right, Aimee paused to give their work a satisfied look. “You got yourself some nice furniture.”

  Katie Faith turned a circle to take it all in. Her view was of mountains and trees and nothing but. Her belongings fit there. She fit there.

  “I was an accountant for a department store. I’d never have been able to afford it all without the discount,” she told Aimee. Her boss had even told her if she ever changed her mind they’d have a job waiting for her.

  She wouldn’t be going back to Chattanooga because she’d accepted what had never been more true. Diablo Lake was her home. Her roots went deep, like the magic there did.

  “I texted Lara to let her know to get her butt on over here with some food. You’re goofy enough as it is. When you get hungry, you’re destructively goofy,” Aimee informed her of their friend whose family owned Salt and Pepper.

  “You’re going to spoil me with all your love talk.”

  “I notice you don’t deny my claims of your goofiness.”

  “I’m too classy to dignify your remarks.” Katie Faith sniffed and then shoved a caramel into her pie hole because she had no pie and she was known to get a bit unruly when she got really hungry.

  On cue, Lara appeared holding several bags. “Burgers, fries, deep fried cherry pies.”

  “We have beer! Perfect.” Katie Faith snuck a french fry and sighed happily. They sat at the small table and looked out the windows, over the fog-shrouded sunset over the mountains and trees in the distance.

  “When’s the coven meeting?” Aimee grinned and Katie Faith groaned.

  “Don’t let Miz Rose hear you call us a coven. She’s a mite testy about that.” They were witches in the sense that they were all born imbued with magical powers of one kind or another. They drew their energy from the earth and met as a group every other Thursday night. But long ago, the Collins family, the strongest of their kind in Diablo Lake, one of the founding families who’d been in charge the longest, decided that Consort was a better word to use for what they were and it stuck.

  “She is kinda scary.” Lara leaned toward the windows. “Holy cow is Damon Dooley a spoonful of yum.”

  “He sure did seem to think the same of you when we were at Salt and Pepper earlier this week,” Katie Faith teased as she took the pickles off her burger.

  “Can’t say I’d mind living here so close to ’em all. Dangerous. Well, not really, which is probably why they’re so hot, but they’re big and manly and they all have those work-with-your hands manly jobs. The Pembrys are sort of soft by comparison.” Aimee stole some fries and sipped her beer.

  “Darrell wasn’t all bad. He just wasn’t good enough either.” He hadn’t been a total loser until the end. There were good times between them. It had taken a year or so before Katie Faith could remember that, but time did heal those wounds.

  “Face it, he was with you for the power and position. Sharon came along, swished her tail at him and he strayed because she offered less power, but more sex.” Lara’s blunt delivery would have depressed Katie Faith had an epiphany not shoved everything else from her head.

  She sat up from where she’d been slumping. “Power and position? What?”

  “Don’t tell me it never occurred to you? You’re a beautiful woman, Katie Faith, but Darrell and his fellow Pembrys aren’t in charge for nothing. They marry for power and position. Or, if they knock a female up. But really, it’s all good for you because you’re free and you’re more powerful than they imagined you’d be. That must be killing them.” Aimee snorted a laugh.

  “You mean to tell me, you think Darrell Pembry only wanted to marry me because I had the potential to be a powerful witch?” Katie Faith was suddenly so angry she wanted to hit someone. Because she knew it was the damned truth.

  “Yes, that’s what I mean to tell you. I’m sorry it never occurred to you until now. It’s not about you, he’s the dick.” Aimee made a rude noise.

  “Dwayne came into the fountain to be sure I wasn’t gonna try and wreck Darrell’s precious marriage. As if I’d do that. As if I want him. I don’t want him and I am more than however much talent I have.”

  “Of course you are. Who said otherwise here in this room?” Lara waved through the glass down at Jace, who grinned up at them, waving from where he stood talking with his grandmother.

  “I didn’t have much power back then.”

  Aimee turned to face Katie Faith fully. In the background, she heard the clomp of footsteps up the stairs. Jace.

  Aimee stared at her, clearly weighing her words. “You’re the daughter of an incredibly gifted witch and your momma is a very powerful guardian. What did you think you’d be?”

  “I don’t think about it! I’m just regular, every day Katie Faith Grady. No frills, no superpowers. Is that how everyone sees me? What I might be in the future? What if I’m a dud? Am I slated to marry some dude who lives in the root cellar? I only get a good one if I meet the magic standards test?”

  Lara clucked her tongue. “Don’t be such a drama queen. This is Diablo Lake. Always has been. Yes, these things are important and I can’t believe you never thought about it before. It’s who we all are, how things work here. Already in the south it’s about who your people are, only here it’s worse because we are all alone. Do you think Darrell is really smart enough to run an entire city department? He got the job because he’s the son of the big cheese.”

  Aimee reached out and squeezed Katie Faith’s hand. “My daddy runs the police department because he was born a guardian. I’m a social worker, because like many guardians, I’m drawn to the kind of work that takes care of people. Keeps order. Every single place to eat in this town is run by witches. Witches are the doctors, the teachers and the cooks. Dooleys fix and build, Pembrys manage. Everyone has a place. Is that so bad?”

  Katie Faith knew all that was so, but still. “It is if everyone’s potential is hindered by what they’re born as.”

  “Oh yeah, cause that never happens anywhere else, Pollyanna,” Lara said.

  Katie Faith glared at her.

  “And you’re not hindered. Look at you! You’ve made something of yourself, haven’t you? You were meant to do all you’ve don
e. You were born to be exactly where you are right now. Big baby.”

  “I was meant to be dumped at the altar?”

  Lara nodded. “Good lord yes! Katie Faith, marrying Darrell Pembry would have been the worst mistake of your life. Unlike in the books, werewolves don’t automatically mate for life or anything. They imprint. Or whatever it is they call it. Anyway, he didn’t imprint on you. He liked you well enough, but if he’d have married you, he’d have cheated and it would have killed you and then you’d have killed him since his kind look so unkindly on divorce and such.”

  Aimee went further. “You can see the difference. JJ and Patty are married, yes, but they’re something else, something more. You can see their connection the minute they enter a room. Same with Dwayne and Scarlett. She’s mean as a snake and crazy to boot, but they’re totally into each other. You’d have been some heifer Darrell married to bolster his position. That’s dumb. Just like he is. You’re way too cute and smart to be tied to a dimwit like Darrell.”

  “Do you know what was nice about being in Chattanooga? I was an accountant. Named Kit. Nice men asked me out on dates. No one cared who my people were. If I had a lot of magic, or none at all, it didn’t matter. My boobs mattered, but you know, that’s just reality. Plus they’re pretty nice.”

  “You’re special, Katie Faith. You can’t get mad about it. You can’t change it and you wouldn’t even if you could, so hush up. This conversation is getting on my nerves.” Aimee stood and threw her trash away and went back to putting books on shelves.

  The good thing about having friends who’ve known you forever is that they know your triggers. Sometimes they pull them for fun, but usually they just called you on your crap and didn’t hold it against you.

  After they’d left, she stood at the top of the back steps, breathing in the night air, trying to let go of her anger and resentment. Her surprise and annoyance at herself for never thinking about something so obvious.

  It’d been a while since she’d felt like such a fool and she didn’t like it any more just then than she had before.

  That’s where Jace found her. He’d wanted to go to sleep but knowing she was just across the hall drove him nuts. Finally, he got up and followed his nose to where she stood, her body silhouetted by moonlight and starshine. Her hair was down from the messy ponytail she’d captured it in earlier and his mouth watered at the totality of her.

  “Hey you,” he said softly, sidling next to her. He put two bottles of beer on the railing. “Thought you might need one of these. Get everything moved in okay?”

  “Just the thing.” She grabbed the beer and took a swig before leaning into his body. His heart skipped a beat at the way she fit so perfectly against him. She smelled like cinnamon and anise. Witches usually smelled like cinnamon but the anise was all Katie Faith.

  Without even planning to, he put his arm around her shoulder and she didn’t stop him. It felt as good right then as it had all those years before on that one night they were together.

  “All moved in thanks to Dooley wolves who did all that heavy lifting. Thank you.” Her voice was soft, but he didn’t have to strain to hear her.

  “That’s what neighbors do. So any more trouble from the mayor?” It infuriated him to know Dwayne’d had the audacity to come in to the Counter trying to intimidate her.

  Pembrys were like that though. They made the mess and tried to make it everyone else’s fault.

  “As my daddy would say, Dwayne is as full of wind as a corn eating horse,” she grumbled and he laughed.

  “You can take the girl from Diablo Lake, but you can’t take Diablo Lake from the girl, I see.”

  She chuckled, turning toward him, his arm holding her close. Suddenly, her mouth was right there. He knew how sweet the taste of her lips was. He remembered that night so long ago when they’d kissed for hours. It had been so powerful for him, he’d been so moved, he had to leave town for a while. Despite Katie Faith and Darrell’s on-again-off-again nature, the Pembrys had considered Katie Faith theirs.

  His decision to go and stay away from her hadn’t been about Jace and Katie Faith, though he’d wanted it to be. It had been bigger than that. Wolf business. Recklessness on his part could have started a war.

  But the want between them hadn’t ever really left. The memory of how she’d tasted was still fresh. So much so that there was no way he could stop himself from bending his knees and kissing her right then and there.

  Her arms wrapped around his neck as she opened to him and the sweetness of her slipped through him on tiptoes, only to quietly turn his world upside down.

  There would never be enough of Katie Faith for him.

  Lips, so whisper soft, parted against his and his tongue slid inside. Their breath married as he deepened the kiss, holding her tightly, trying to ignore the pounding of blood through his veins and the rather noticeable sign of approval he pressed into her belly.

  He needn’t have worried about her being shocked, not his Katie Faith. She writhed against him, setting off little zings of pleasure through his body. By the time he was able to think clearly enough to stand back a step he knew two things.

  First, Katie Faith Grady was his. She may not know it, but there was no denying it to the wolf inside or the man on the outside.

  And second, when they finally got into bed, they’d probably bring the entire town’s ceilings down. He couldn’t wait.

  Swallowing hard, he watched and groaned as she pressed her fingers to her lips.

  “I’ve wanted to do that again for so many years it’s sort of embarrassing,” he managed to say around a tongue that felt too big.

  She smiled, cocking her head to the side. “I’ve wanted you to do that for, well since the last time we did. I’m ridiculously giddy. What took you so damned long, Jace!”

  He couldn’t help it, he laughed and hugged her. “One thing’s for sure, Katie Faith, things between you and me ain’t gonna be boring. We have time now. You don’t belong to anyone else.” But him. “Let me dazzle you.”

  “You dazzled me a long time ago. But I’m open to more dazzling. Any time.”

  He wanted to waltz her back to his place and give her some jazz hands, but he decided to let it go slow. To build that want until he nearly exploded with it.

  “I have tomorrow afternoon off. How about a hike?” he asked her. He’d tuck a bottle of wine in his pack along with a blanket. Yeah. He liked the idea of kissing her silly under a wide blue sky.

  “Uh. Like up hills so I’ll get sweaty and stuff?” She had all the enthusiasm of a person who’d just been asked if she wanted to go to the dentist.

  He should have been horrified that she was so averse to something he loved doing. But he was delighted instead. Charmed and bewitched.

  “Why are you making that face?” Katie Faith asked him.

  “I was just thinking you had me bewitched. Fitting I suppose.” He tucked a tendril of her hair back behind her ear.

  She frowned and he narrowed his eyes at the change in her demeanor.

  “What did I say?” He wanted to fix it. His wolf didn’t much like seeing her upset in any way.

  She shook her head. “Nothing. It’s not you. You’re all good. At least for now.” Katie Faith blew out a breath, visibly letting go of her tension. “I’ll let you know when you aren’t.”

  “Does that mean you’re telling me you’re mercurial?” He nuzzled her temple, breathing her in. He didn’t even remember pulling her that last little bit of space separating them.

  Her low hum was nearly a purr and it had him clamping down on his wolf. His wolf wanted more of her right that moment. Wanted to tease and seduce and play.

  “I used to be malleable but that didn’t really work out for me.”

  He tipped himself back enough to look at her better. “I prefer who you are right here an
d now.”

  “You say that now,” she warned and he snickered.

  “I’m next in line to be Patron of the Dooley wolves. You think mercurial is going to slow me down?” He knew not to mock her size or constitution. He liked his balls too much to do that.

  “I guess we’ll see,” she said, grinning now.

  “Right? I’m kind of excited to see what happens next.”

  “Kind of? I must not be doing this whole thing right if all I get is kind of excited.”

  Jace said, “I think we need to work up to me being really excited. But I think it’s safe to say, you’ll be there when that happens.”

  “That might make me more amenable to hiking. But not a whole lot more.”

  “If you get tired I’ll carry you. I’m pretty strong, or so I’ve been told,” he said, liking this energy between them.

  “If you do it while wet I might be convinced.”

  “I do believe you’re a far dirtier girl than I ever imagined.”

  Her laughter rang through the night and he let himself be eased by it.

  Chapter Six

  “It’s probably because your butt is so fantastic.”

  Katie Faith sighed. She hadn’t meant to say it out loud, as she huffed along behind Jace on the hike she’d agreed to go on while high on sex chemicals.

  He didn’t even look back as he kept going like some sort of camel. Or donkey. Or whatever.

  He laughed though and he really had a good one. Sexy and masculine. It went with the ass. “I take that to mean you agreed to this date because you were somehow hypnotized by my posterior end?”

  How was he not even winded?

  “At the risk of getting all murdery on you, Jace, I really must inquire if we’re close to the end of this hike? Or at the very least a place to stop so I can eat and rest. I’m not a mountain goat.”

  He did turn then, but kept walking without breaking a stride, only doing it backward.