“It’s too cold to play outside,” Lexi complained.
“I smell bullshit,” he said. “Sounds like you’re afraid of losing.”
Her face tightened.
“C’mon, Lexi. Put on your big-girl panties and see if you can swing with the men.”
She angrily rolled up her bag of chips and Denver sauntered off with a wide grin.
“Lexi, you’re just going to get yourself worked up,” Austin said. “Last time you gave me the silent treatment for two days.”
“That’s because you took his side,” she said sharply, walking toward him as I rolled over to stand up.
Austin grabbed her ass and kissed her hard. While they swapped tongue, I gathered my crutches and managed to climb to my feet.
“I took his side because you were cheating.” He lightly patted her backside.
“How do you cheat at horseshoes?” she said gruffly, wiggling out of his arms and vacating the room.
Austin shook his head and centered his eyes on mine. “By screaming every time it was his turn to throw. Denver bought a bag of earplugs this morning, so I have a feeling this is going to get ugly real quick. Want to join?”
“Sure.”
When I made it to the hall, Austin took the crutches from me and handed them to Wheeler, who headed downstairs. Then he threw me over his shoulder, and with a squeak, I held on to his back.
It was weird, but that’s how they moved me around the house—like a sack of potatoes. I could walk on the crutches just fine, but anytime I got near the stairs, one of them would appear and end up carrying me up or down. I accepted their kindness without question. It was evident that Shifters respected women, looked after them, and had healthy relationships with the girls in their pack. They heeded their advice and treated them as equals. The only hierarchy going on had to do with the Packmaster, but Lexi said she was an alpha female and had some pull.
Over the past few weeks, I’d been growing out my platinum hair. I’d decided to change some things and give myself a fresh start. On the night of the fire, Trevor had found my purse in the back seat of his car when he arrived at the restaurant. It had slid beneath the passenger seat and only the strap was poking out. So he sent it over to the house along with my phone.
Yeah. Sent.
As much as I pleaded with him, Trevor refused to visit me at the house. So Lexi drove me into town quite frequently and I’d meet up with him for coffee at the bookstore or lunch. No matter how many times I kissed him and told him how much he meant to me, he’d pull away as if I’d rejected him by choosing to stay with Reno’s family.
I couldn’t talk to Trevor about Shifters, even knowing that he was one, because I’d given Reno my word and wanted to earn back his trust. Trevor must have sensed Reno and his family were Shifters too, and that’s why he’d never liked them. I started to recall things he had brought up in conversation that hadn’t made sense then but did now.
Austin carried me downstairs and out the front door, setting me down at the foot of the porch steps. I followed behind him on my crutches, frowning at the mud that began to stain the rubber bottoms. Now I knew why they always piled their shoes by the door.
Jericho was sitting on the hood of Denver’s faded yellow truck on the left side of the yard. Denver and Lexi were milling around, preparing to throw. Austin snuck up behind Lexi, turned her around, and zipped her jacket all the way up to her neck.
It was a crisp sixty-two degrees, but with the breeze and no sun, it felt a lot cooler. Lexi had been lending me her clothes, so I wore a beige knit shirt with quarter-length sleeves. It didn’t really go with my grey sweats and sneakers, but I didn’t want to impose by getting picky about fashion.
Lexi threw the horseshoe and spun around, letting out a holler.
“Doesn’t count,” Denver said.
“The hell it doesn’t!” she protested.
He threw out his left arm and pointed at the pin. “That was a woody. It doesn’t count.”
“What’s a woody?” I asked Jericho.
He arched his brows suggestively and I shook my head.
“Austin, tell him it counts,” she said, hands on her hips.
“Sorry, Ladybug. He’s right.”
She glowered and began to retreat. “I’ve changed my mind.”
Austin snatched her wrist and spun her around. “Since when is Lexi Knight a quitter?”
“He takes it too seriously. I just want to have fun.”
Jericho leaned toward me and lowered his voice. “This happens every time. Lexi hates losing. Austin said when they were kids she used to cheat her ass off at checkers by distracting him and moving the chips around.”
“So why did Denver invite her to play?”
He reached around and tied his long hair back, but a loose strand slipped in front of his face. Jericho smiled with his jade eyes. “Denver likes to ruffle feathers; it’s his hobby, in case you hadn’t noticed. He has a way of getting under your skin because of how casual he is about things. Most of us can kick his ass at horseshoes, but he’s a sport about losing, so this is actually fun for me to watch.”
“You should let her win,” I whispered.
“April thinks we should let Lexi win!” Jericho shouted and laughed all at once.
Oh yeah, these men were pure evil, trying to stage a catfight. I hit him in the shoulder with my crutch and Lexi turned around as if I had betrayed her.
“Sorry, Lexi,” I said with a shrug. “Maybe it’s just not your game.”
“I’d like to see you try it,” she dared.
“Fine.” Challenge accepted.
Denver gave me a brief rundown of the rules and how to score points. Then he threw his horseshoe and it spun around the peg.
I handed my crutches over to Lexi. “Okay, go easy on me because I have a disability here,” I said with a wide smile. All eyes were on me. Careful not to smack someone in the head with that thing, my inner voice teased.
When I swung my arm forward, the horseshoe hit the ground and rolled off to the right.
Austin whistled with his fingers and Jericho clapped. I had to laugh because that was a truly embarrassing first attempt.
Ben leaned against the truck and I caught him staring at my ass. It made me uncomfortable, and I flushed as Denver handed me a heavy horseshoe.
“I’ll let you practice and throw a few,” he said.
“Swing low,” Ben suggested. “You need to bend over a little.” He was drunk by the glazed look in his eyes, and it was only three in the afternoon. I didn’t care for Ben, and even though Wheeler had a sharp tongue, I felt like I could trust him. The rest of the house favored Ben because of his light humor, but underneath, I don’t know. I couldn’t put my finger on it.
Jericho smacked him in the back of the head, a look of annoyance on his face. Ben instantly shifted into his wolf and growled before trotting off. Wheeler leaned against the house, watching Ben’s wolf from the corner of his eye.
I swallowed hard and tossed another one. This one cut short and hit the ground with a thud.
“Do you guys want to play laser tag tonight?” Denver suggested, stuffing his hands in his pockets and glancing toward Jericho.
“Sounds like fun,” Lexi piped in, her voice mysteriously cloaked with politeness. “Can I be on the opposite team as you?”
“Yeah, but dickhead’s on my team.”
Dickhead was Denver’s nickname for Jericho. It didn’t seem to bother him.
“Well, I’m not having Ben on my team,” Jericho announced. “He’ll be tanked by then.”
While they rattled on about their plans, I threw another horseshoe. This one landed on one of the wood planks that bordered the pit and I frowned.
“What about Mom and Maizy?” Lexi asked.
“Bring ’em along. Your mom can go in the arcade with Maizy while we mature adults are left to our devices,” Denver said, tucking his hands beneath his armpits.
“What about…” Lexi didn’t finish her sentence, bu
t she didn’t have to.
Austin’s eyes skidded over to mine.
“I’m fine,” I said. “If they have a place to sit, then I’m good.”
Reno’s badass motorcycle roared up the driveway, the engine throttling, but I couldn’t see around the cars. The blue truck belonged to everyone, but the gunmetal-grey Chevy Camaro belonged to Wheeler. It was a classic beauty and he’d spent many mornings washing mud off the tires.
A thrill moved through me every time Reno drove up on his Triumph. We hadn’t been intimate outside of a little friendly touching since my arrival. Lexi said Shifters respected privacy and, if asked, would travel to the other end of the house when they were doing the deed. I wasn’t about to announce to anyone we were doing anything. I was a guest in their home—what kind of impression would that make on a family I was trying to make amends with?
Reno appeared, looking dangerously handsome. I loved it when he wore all black. Today he had on black cargo pants with a tight shirt that fit his body so perfectly, and the way it outlined his sculpted arms was downright sinful. Long sleeves, of course. His jaw was covered with stubble and he had on his mirrored aviators. He kicked a small rock with his boot as he stalked forward and then stopped short, looking me over from head to toe. I could feel his hot gaze behind those glasses and my knees weakened.
“Is this how you take care of my girl?”
All eyes fell on me and then swung back to him, confused.
Reno peeled off his shirt.
“Oh, Jesus. I think I’ve had enough of family hour.” Jericho slid off the truck and swaggered off.
Reno slipped his shirt over my head, pulling my arms through the sleeves, which were still warm from his body heat. I dropped the horseshoe on the ground so he could roll up the sleeves, which went past my fingertips.
I could have objected. But that would have meant him covering up, and I loved staring at his bare chest. He was fit and strong—slender ropes of muscle along his arms and a broad torso with just a light dusting of hair. The chilly air hardened his nipples and I smiled at him.
He smiled back.
“You guys are a bag of nuts.” Denver tossed his horseshoe to the ground. “Eight o’clock, everyone. No excuses this time,” he said, his voice fading in the distance.
The pack dispersed and headed inside.
“What’s he going on about?” Reno asked.
“Laser tag.”
“Again?”
“He went with Jericho and Austin last week and they wouldn’t shut up about it. I think Lexi is itching to kick his butt Platoon style.”
“I could kick all their butts,” Reno said with a wry smile. “How’s your foot, princess?”
“Better. I tested my weight on it, and I don’t feel any pain.”
“Keep using the crutches,” he ordered, straightening my shirt and pulling the tips of my hair away from the collar. “Damn, I love the new color growing out. Are you keeping it?”
I shrugged lightly. “It’s looking that way.”
“Has someone been showing you how to play horseshoes?” he asked, brow slightly arched.
“I’m doing pretty good.”
He glanced over my shoulder at the horseshoe by the house and the other three feet away. Then he gripped my shoulders and turned me around. I hopped in a circle and he bent down and put the horseshoe in my hand.
Every inch of Reno was pressed behind me. His fingers curled around my wrist as he gently swung my right arm forward and back, left arm tight around my midriff and his mouth lightly grazing the back of my right ear.
“Like that,” he said in a caged voice. “It’s all in the release.” His words heated my body, and as if sensing it, he seductively ran his nose along my neck and inhaled deeply.
Tingles spread across the lower half of my body and when I shifted my hips, he moaned, tightening against my back.
Reno swung my throwing arm forward and I opened my hand. The horseshoe tumbled and hit the side of the house.
“You really suck at this,” I said, deciding I needed more lessons.
Then his mouth was on my neck, and the short bristles of whiskers on his jaw scratched my skin. “Do I?”
I leaned against him and threw my head back. “Yeah. You’re terrible.”
His right arm journeyed south and his fingers slipped inside my sweatpants. My breath caught.
Three hard claps sounded to our right and I jumped, straightening my shirt like a busted teenager when I saw Lynn on the porch with an oven mitt tucked beneath her arm.
Reno didn’t let go and I wriggled against him.
“Supper is almost ready,” she announced with a hard glare. “This isn’t a brothel, so let’s keep that behind closed doors.”
I snorted and turned around. “You are not going to get me on that woman’s good side if you keep this up. She used to like me until you started spending the night in my bed.”
“Good point,” he said, kissing my mouth. “Next time, you come to my bed.”
I placed a delicate peck on the tiny scar on his lip, something he hadn’t caught on to, but that was my special little place I’d claimed as mine.
Chapter 23
“I’ll sweeten the pot with an extra hundred,” Ben offered.
Denver stood up and curled in his lips. His sharp whistle cut through the air and caught the attention of Reno, who was strutting through the automatic doors of the bowling alley.
“Shit, I’d do it for free.” Jericho flipped his hair back, revealing a charismatic smile.
“Don’t,” Denver warned, pointing his finger. “You’re going to get us kicked out of here.”
“Chicken.” Ben sneered as he leaned back in his plastic chair and laced his fingers behind his head.
“Shut it,” Denver snapped.
Jericho stood up, peeled off his shirt, and climbed on top of the table. Denver yanked him so hard by the arm that they both went crashing to the floor.
Three girls at a nearby table stood up and applauded.
Denver sat up with a cocksure grin and jumped to his feet, winking at them.
Jericho slowly rolled over and towered over Denver with his lean body and a lone tattoo of a guitar on his left arm. He didn’t have to wink. The girls were practically losing their virginity all over again watching a sex-laced smile spread across his face.
“Same old drama.” Reno kissed me on the neck. I smiled at him because I loved how a tough guy like Reno wasn’t afraid to show his affection for me in public. “How many rounds have they had?” he asked, taking a seat on my right.
“I lost count at three.”
“Where’s everyone else?”
“Austin and Lexi are checking if the room is ready. Lynn’s in there with Maizy,” I said, thumbing toward the arcade.
“Well, if these boys get too rowdy, Lynn should head home.”
“She walked by a minute ago and I have a feeling she’s all for that plan. This doesn’t seem like the kind of thing Lynn does for fun, so she’s probably bored. You don’t think this atmosphere is bad for Maizy with all your cussing and wild behavior?”
“Shifter life.” He shrugged it off, taking a sip of my orange soda. “Swearing doesn’t make a child grow up to be dysfunctional—an uncaring family does. Maizy has more love and protection within this pack than she’ll ever know in the human world.”
“But they’re not Shifters.”
He sighed and set down the cup. “Lynn’s brought up the idea a few times about sending her off to a boarding school when she gets older, and Austin said over his dead body. I don’t know that Austin is going to win that battle because she’s Lynn’s daughter, and since she’s unmated, he has no say. Lynn and Ivy homeschool her, but I don’t think that’s working out. She needs to be around kids her age, and most Shifters don’t like their kids playing with humans. Did you eat?”
“I ordered some fries.”
His eyes narrowed. “Why didn’t you order a meal?”
“Because she’s a
fraid someone’s going to hock a loogie in her food,” Trevor said from behind me. He sat in the bucket seat to my left and took a bite of his hot dog. “Isn’t that right, babe?”
My cheeks heated and Reno’s lips twitched.
“Don’t laugh at me,” I said, feeling a tad embarrassed. “I saw it on a show once. They had hidden cameras.”
His lips pressed tighter, fighting the urge to laugh.
Jericho pulled his concert shirt over his head and I caught Trevor peering up at him. I’d decided bringing Trevor along would be a good way for him to get to know the guys who had been looking out for me. A weird vibe was going on with all the men that no one addressed, but I noticed the sideways glances at one another.
“Well, you just robbed those lovely ladies of a fucktastic show,” Jericho said, pulling his hair away from his collar. “Never dare a musician to dance naked on a table for fifty dollars, Ben. You’ll lose every time.”
“Show-off,” Ben murmured, taking a swig of beer.
“It’s ready!” Lexi’s bright voice called out from the entranceway that led to the laser-tag room. “We’ve got the room to ourselves for the full hour. So are we all good on teams?”
“I say every man for himself,” Wheeler suggested, walking past her with Denver close behind him.
“Go on, Trevor,” I said in a low voice. “You’ll have fun and you can get out all your aggression in there. Admit it. You want to go Rambo on their ass.”
He shoved the rest of the hot dog in his mouth. “Fuck it. I’m in,” he said with a mouthful before taking a sip of my drink and walking off. I’d spent the better part of an hour talking him into it, and no matter how much he resisted the idea, Trevor couldn’t say no to me.
“Come on, Reno. We need one more,” Lexi yelled out, tying her long hair in a ponytail. “Ivy’s playing too, so that makes an odd number.”
“Go have some fun. It’ll only be an hour and I’d rather you go than sit around being bored. It’s not like we’re attached at the hip,” I said with a short laugh. “Lynn stuffed one of my paperbacks in her purse, so I’m going to catch up on my reading.”
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