“Don’t worry. Austin has always had perfect inspections. Tonight shouldn’t be any different,” Annie assured Kate. Kate liked Annie. She was so kind it seemed like she should be a kindergarten teacher instead of a waitress at a bar. All the regulars loved her, and she seemed to genuinely care for them, too.
“I hope so. Do they show up unannounced like this often?”
“Not usually, but I’ve heard of it happening to some of the other bars and restaurants in town.” Annie walked over to the table of men Austin had been sitting with. They were all gorgeous. Kate looked back at Austin. He seemed to just outshine everybody, though. Something about him seemed perfect to her.
When they kissed earlier, she felt like the world dropped from its rotation. Never in her life had she experienced anything close to what she had felt during that kiss. It felt like they would spontaneously combust from all of the passion they had between them. It was like fire and gasoline. Just thinking about it made desire zoom through her body. She dropped her head at that thought. Her response had been to tell him she just wanted to be friends. Being just friends with Austin was going to be impossible.
He came up to her then, pulling her from her pity party.
“Everything’s fine. Sorry you had to go through an inspection on your first day.”
“It was Derek. That’s why they’re here tonight. I swear, Austin, if he does anything to hurt your business, I’ll kill him myself.”
Austin rubbed her shoulders. “I appreciate the gesture, but you won’t be going anywhere near him ever again. As far as him being behind the inspection, I have to assume you’re right. He can’t hurt me there, though. I passed with flying colors.”
“He’ll just try another route. He’s pissed because you made him look stupid today and he won’t stop until he beats you.”
“Let him try. I’m not afraid of him, and you shouldn’t be either.”
Kate started to say something else, but Austin was pulled away by Greg for something. The bar slowly came back to life after the inspectors left. Kate followed Annie for a while, but once the bar got too busy, she just started taking her own tables. Waitressing was like riding a bike - once you had done it, you could pick it back up just as quickly.
Austin stayed with his group of friends for the most part. She realized that very few people actually knew he owned the bar. People speculated that he was the bouncer or the manager, but no one knew for sure. Kate wasn’t sure why he wouldn’t want people to know, but she respected him for not being boastful. Had Derek owned the bar, he would have done enough PR that the pope would have known he bought a bar.
Just after two in the morning, everybody had filtered out of the bar. Kate was exhausted. It had been a while since she had put in a full day’s work doing hard labor. She plopped herself down on one of the barstools. Emma had offered to come pick her up when her shift was over, but Kate felt bad calling her and waking her up. Greg and Annie were doing their drawer counts for the day, and Austin was in the office.
“How was the first day, rookie?” Greg asked.
“Great! I’m just a little rusty on the physical part of the job. I think I’ll be sore for a week,” she laughed.
“Your body will remember soon enough. You did great tonight! That was fun to have some help out on the floor. I think everything went smoothly for a Saturday night,” Annie said. Kate had been so nervous that Annie would be upset about sharing her tables with somebody. In true Annie fashion, though, she had been welcoming and graceful about it.
“Thank you. I think we make a good team.”
“Well, I’m off for the night. Just going to drop these by the boss.” Greg took off back into the office with his drawer of cash and receipts. Annie was finishing hers up as well. Kate knew she should probably call Emma for a ride, but part of her wanted to wait around for Austin. She had felt his eyes on her most of the night.
“’Night, rookie!” Greg called as he came out of the office and headed for the door. Annie was right behind him waving as well. Neither one of them said anything about her waiting around for Austin.
He came out of the office a few minutes later, and smiled when he saw her.
“You did fantastic tonight.”
“Thanks. I feel like I got run over by a bus.”
Austin laughed a deep booming laugh. It filled the room and made Kate’s heart swell.
“That’s to be expected. Waitressing isn’t for the weak. Need a ride home?”
“Yes, please. Emma said I could call her, but I’d hate to wake her up.”
“Not a problem.”
He placed his hand on the small of her back as they headed out of the bar. They discussed some of the regulars on their way to Emma’s. Austin knew all of them by name, and most of them he considered friends. Several of them had gotten quite tipsy, and Kate laughed at some of their drunken antics. Once they were at Emma’s, Austin insisted on walking her to the door.
Austin only had a few more instances where he freaked out on people who had gotten too close. They hadn’t finished their conversation earlier, but she couldn’t figure out why he was so aggressive. A couple of times his teeth had descended and his eyes had blazed with anger at a gentleman who hadn’t taken the first warning to heart. Thinking back on it, Kate was glad Austin had stepped in because the guy had gone a bit far by grabbing her butt.
“I just want to make sure you get inside safe.”
“Thank you, but I think I can manage a ten-foot walk.”
“Never know.” Austin had a sly smile on his face. Kate knew he was up to more than just walking her to the door.
Kate wanted to cry when she saw the hair tie wrapped around the door knob. Emma had started that system when they had been in college. If Emma was entertaining a man in their apartment, she would wrap a hair tie around the door knob. Kate could enter, but at her own discretion. Kate put her hand on her forehead and sighed. This was the perfect ending to her day.
“What’s wrong?”
Kate pointed to the door knob.
“Is that your hair tie?”
“No, it’s Emma’s. It means she has a guest.”
Austin took a second to pick up on her meaning.
“Oh, I see. Well, looks like another night at my place?”
Kate sighed. At this time of the night, she didn’t have any other option. The idea of spending the tips she worked so hard for on a hotel room made her cringe.
“Looks like it. I hope you don’t mind.” She knew he didn’t care. If anything, she had a sneaky suspicion that he was thrilled to have her stay over.
They got back in the car and headed back across town. Kate couldn’t fight back the exhaustion of the day any longer. She closed her eyes and drifted to sleep. She felt the car stop and tried to force herself awake long enough to get inside, but her body fought back. Exhaustion won out, and she vaguely remembered Austin carrying her into the house. His scent wrapped around her, and she snuggled closer to his chest.
The next morning his scent was still wrapped around her. She opened her eyes and realized she wasn’t in the same bed she had woken up in the day before. Austin must have put her in his bed. She buried her head in the blankets and inhaled. Tears sprang to her eyes. In a matter of two short days, a stranger had come to mean more to her than the man she had thought she loved for most of her life. Austin was everything Derek wasn’t.
Somehow Austin was everything she had wanted. She hadn’t realized how miserable she had been with Derek until she had laughed with Austin. Working last night around him and the other regulars had freed her tired soul.
Austin walked in the room then. Once he saw the tears in her eyes, he rushed over to the bed. He never said a word as he scooped her up and held her against his bare chest. Kate immediately felt herself relax just by having him touch her. When she finally quit crying, she turned herself so she was looking at him.
His eyes were glowing. Kate wanted to feel what she had felt before in the bar. Had their kiss been so
good just because it was their first? Or maybe it had been the danger of getting caught. Without giving herself time to chicken out, she leaned forward and kissed him again. He let her be the aggressor at first. When she threaded her fingers through his hair, though, he growled and took complete control.
His hands roamed her body. She was frantic to feel more of him. Without breaking their kiss, she moved so she was straddling him. His hands glued to her backside and pulled her against his erection. They both shuddered at the intimate contact. Kate began to rock her hips to offer them both a bit of relief. She was playing with fire, but she didn’t care. If she only ever had Austin for this one time, it would be worth it.
As if he could read her mind he pulled back. She peppered his jaw with kisses, hoping he wouldn’t stop what she had started.
“Kate, are you sure?”
Instead of speaking she lifted her shirt up over her head. Before she could unsnap her bra Austin’s hands covered hers. He finished undressing her. His shirt was already off, so she slipped her fingers inside the waistband of his shorts and slid them down his body. Her breath caught as her eyes roamed up the entire length of his naked body.
Austin picked her up and placed her back on the bed, and covered her with his body. They kissed long and slowly, exploring all the passion between them. Austin finally broke their kiss and started placing kisses down her neck. When he got to her breasts, he made his way slowly to where she wanted him the most. When he finally took one of her nipples in his mouth, she almost came off the bed. Her moan filled the room, and Austin’s chest rumbled with pleasure. He continued his exploration of her body one kiss at a time.
Kate had never felt more loved. She was desperate to return the passion Austin was showing her, but he wouldn’t let her. When she finally brought him back up to kiss her, she reached down and grabbed his erection. His eyes glowed dark with passion and his head sagged with pleasure. She ran her hand up and down the length of him, slowly and softly letting the magic of their chemistry swarm around them. Her head felt dizzy with passion.
He grabbed her hand and brought it to his chest. His breathing was labored, and she could tell he was struggling to prolong the experience. His other hand ran up the length of her leg and stopped at her thigh. He squeezed her thigh hard and rocked his hips, so they rubbed together just perfectly.
“Please, Austin,” she whimpered as she tried to bring him back to her.
“You’re mine now, Kate. This is it for me.”
She nodded through her heavy-lidded gaze. He placed her hips right where he wanted them and sunk himself down inside of her. Kate was mindless to everything except pleasure after that. They kissed and touched while their bodies rocked to a perfect rhythm. Austin’s fingers moved down between them, bringing her crashing over the edge of her own climax. He was right behind her, gripping her hips hard as he buried himself inside of her and rode out his own climax.
They laid together like that for a while, just kissing and touching each other. Kate felt like her heart was soaring. Austin’s touch alone showed her how much he cared for her. It had never been that way with Derek. Derek took what he wanted and then left. It felt like Austin had just given her his soul while making sure she found her own pleasure.
“Who are you, Austin? Why is everything so much easier with you, a perfect stranger, than with someone I thought I knew most of my life?”
“I can’t answer as far as the logistics of why it all happened the way it did. As for who I am, I’m your… ” The fire alarm in his house suddenly rang at a deafening level. They both jumped up and started to throw their clothes back on. Austin scooped her up and ran out of the house. When he hit the hallway that led to the front door, they were stopped by the fire.
He adjusted his course and headed towards the kitchen. Through the kitchen there was a sliding glass door to his backyard. He got them out of the house before he put her down.
“Are you okay?” he asked, checking her over himself.
“I’m fine. It’s okay, Austin, we’re out. What do we do now?”
“Let’s see if we can get to my truck.” He led her around the house, but the fire was wrapping around the front of his house, moving straight for his garage.
“We need to get out of here. If the fire gets to the garage, it won’t be pretty.” He grabbed her hand and they ran. Kate didn’t have any shoes on, but adrenaline kept her standing upright even when she’d catch the occasional pebble.
She had never paid attention before, but Austin didn’t have many neighbors. The houses in his area were spread out over several acres of yard. That kind of property was hard to find in New Orleans and even harder to afford. At least he didn’t have any neighbors to worry about should there be an explosion. They were all a safe enough distance away.
At the first house they came upon, Austin tugged her over to the front door. He didn’t bother knocking but barged right in.
“Shouldn’t we knock?” Kate asked as she tried to tug her hand out of his grasp. He shook his head before yelling out a greeting.
“Jasper, wake the hell up! I’ve got a problem.”
“Jasper, like from the bar last night? He’s your neighbor?”
“Yes, this whole complex is made up of shifters, most of whom you met last night. We tend to stick together.”
Jasper appeared at the top of his staircase in a hurry. He just had on a pair of shorts, showing off his broad, muscular chest. Kate could appreciate his beauty, but he was still nothing compared to Austin. She turned and looked over at him, drinking him in. Once again Austin had been her savior.
“You smell like smoke. What’s going on?”
Then an explosion rattled through the neighborhood. Kate grabbed Austin’s arm. He pulled her up against him and placed a kiss on the top of her head.
“My place was set on fire. That was probably my truck,” Austin said casually as if they were discussing the weather.
“Who the hell did you piss off?” Jasper seemed very nonchalant as well. His question caught Kate off guard. She never thought of Derek having something to do with the fire. Surely he wouldn’t have stooped to the possibility of harming someone physically. She leaned back and looked up at Austin, but his expression was unreadable.
“Surely you don’t think Derek could have possibly set that fire? He’s an asshole, but a killer?”
“I don’t think he meant to kill us. Let’s call it in.” Austin directed his question to Jasper who already had his phone out and was dialing. Kate turned Austin back to face her.
“Austin, I can’t stick around if he’s going to continue to do this just because of me. I can find a waitressing job somewhere else. I shouldn’t have brought this on you.”
“You didn’t bring anything to me. Your ex is the one making these decisions on his own accord. You have nothing to do with it. As for quitting, it’s out of the question. You’ll stay with me.”
“Just because you say so doesn’t mean I have to follow suit. I’ve lived that life long enough, and I won’t do it anymore.” She poked him in the chest to add her emphasis.
Jasper ended his call then, switching Austin’s attention over to him.
“They’re on their way. You guys want some coffee or anything?”
They followed Jasper into his kitchen. Austin offered her a cup of coffee, and she accepted just for something to hold on to. Being frightened out of bed by fire was more than enough to get her woken up.
“So you think it was your boy from yesterday morning?”
“I don’t know anybody else pissed enough to want to set my house on fire.”
“Derek doesn’t care enough to want to set your house on fire. I’m telling you, he’s been seeing other women for months, maybe even years. He was pushing me out the door. Last night with the health inspector and stuff, yes, that was him. Hurting somebody’s business is more his style. A fire at your home? No, I can’t see that.” Kate didn’t want to seem like she was standing up for Derek, but she also couldn�
��t wrap her mind around it.
“Honey, no man is going to let a woman like you go easily. It doesn’t matter what he was doing before. Once he saw this guy with you, it was game on,” Jasper said, tossing his thumb in Austin’s direction. Austin let out a growl.
“Ease up, dude. I know she’s your mate. I’m just speaking the truth.”
“Your mate?” Kate asked, but at the same time, a knock sounded on the door, pulling the guys from the conversation. She followed them out to the foyer. The men took off with the policeman, and Kate was left wondering what Jasper had meant about her being Austin’s mate.
She paced around Jasper’s foyer for a while. It felt like the guys had been gone for hours, but she knew it probably hadn’t even been one hour yet. Jasper’s words played on repeat over and over again in her mind. Kate wished she had her phone so she could google it. She tried to convince herself that it was a shifter slang term for girlfriend. That made sense; all cultures had different slang terms.
Deep down, though, a part of her was telling her she knew what the word actually meant. It was the glue that held all of the odd-shaped pieces to their crazy puzzle together. It was why she felt like she had known him her entire life after just meeting him a couple of days ago. Also, it was probably why when they kissed it felt much more passionate than any other kiss of her life. Most importantly, it was why she felt like she was already head over heels in love with the man.
She wasn’t sure what the term meant to shifters, but after everything she had put Austin through, he deserved better. In the short time they had known each other, she had caused him to get into an altercation, almost cost him his business, and now his house and truck were both up in flames. Without thinking, she began rummaging through Jasper’s foyer. In his coat pocket from last night, she found what she was looking for. After a quick check down the street towards Austin’s, she jumped in Jasper’s car and took off. Derek might have ruined a small portion of her life with wasted years, but she refused to let him take the rest.
Seduction of the Bear (Bear Kamp Book 1) Page 5