by Layla Nash
I dressed as quickly as I could, the scent of pancakes and roasting sausage drawing me back to the kitchen. Besides, a man who cooked was pretty rare. One who cooked well was damn near a unicorn.
Chapter 10
Carter stared at the spreadsheets in front of him, but his mind kept wandering back to Ruby. Her apartment, her kitchen in particular, crept back into his thoughts, despite how he tried to focus on work. He missed the first meeting with Logan, although that wasn't entirely his fault; his eldest brother also ran late. Something was up with Logan and Natalia, and though Carter had his suspicions, it wasn't his place to pry. Not until they decided to share the news.
He rubbed his forehead and picked up the spreadsheets again. He meant to develop a business plan for Ruby and Rafe so they could focus their efforts to expand, but unless they could take out a loan or would accept a Chase partner with some extra cash, there wasn't a whole lot he could recommend. Some cosmetic fixes, adjusting the current offerings, and advertising could help some, no doubt. The bar food was terrible unless Natalia moon-lighted in the kitchen, and they stocked the kind of beer that the pack liked — dark, bitter brews that appealed to only a small section of their non-shifter clientele. O'Shea's was a dive bar, and though he loved every square inch of it because it belonged to Ruby, she had caviar dreams for her pack.
Caviar. He frowned and spun his chair until he could stare out the window at the city below. He could cover her in caviar and then eat it off her. The dessert stuff was fun, but a man needed some protein to keep up his strength. He rubbed his mouth to hide a smile, then jumped as someone cleared their throat behind him.
Carter rotated to face Logan and Edgar. "Yes?"
Edgar picked up some of the spreadsheets, a frown creasing his forehead. "What are you working on?"
"Ruby and Rafe asked me to look at their financials. Work up a business plan." Carter prayed his voice remained even and no emotion showed on his face, particularly since the super observant Edgar eyed him closely. Carter leaned forward on the desk, banishing any thoughts of Ruby from his mind, and looked at his brothers. "You look serious. What happened?"
Logan flopped into one of the chairs in front of the desk, his expression dark. "I got a call from Kaiser. Apparently Miles Evershaw is reaching out to all the other shifters in the city, except us. What happened the other day at the gym?"
"What makes you think anything…"
"Nat dropped the dime on you." Logan arched an eyebrow. "But she didn't have any details other than that you bumped chests with Evershaw. Which is unlike you, Carter."
He pinched the bridge of his nose as Edgar continued to stand, arms folded over his chest. Carter could fake out Logan without too much trouble, but the security chief was another thing entirely. Carter sighed. "I went there after yoga to work out. Natalia and Ruby showed up and Ruby negotiated a group deal for her pack to the use the gym. Before they reached an agreement, Evershaw and half of his guys knocked on the door and started making trouble. There's something between him and Ruby right now, I don't know any details."
Edgar made a thoughtful noise and started to pace the long wall of the office, hands shoved in his pockets. "So why did you bump chests with Evershaw?"
"He tried some underhanded shit with Ruby, then Nat got between them, and he flexed on her."
Logan sat forward, eyes immediately gold. "He what?"
"I took care of it." Carter held up his hands to fend off the growing rage Logan radiated. "And put Nat out of harm's way. Then I stayed on Evershaw until Kaiser told him to back off. I knew if Evershaw got too aggressive with Ruby that Natalia wouldn't be able to keep from getting involved, so I got more involved than I intended."
The alpha narrowed his eyes as he gripped the arms of the chair. "Natalia conveniently left out the part where she got between two angry wolves. I will address that with her later."
Edgar snorted. "By address that, you mean you'll tell her not to do it again, and she'll laugh at you and say you won't stop her from doing what she wants, and then you'll grumble and whine and let her do what she wants? That kind of address?"
Logan gave him a dark look. "Save it for later, asshole." He turned his attention to Carter, but his eyes retained a hint of gold. "Evershaw threatened my mate?"
"Not exactly. He was an asshole to her, and she got between him and Ruby when they were about to fight."
Logan's teeth gleamed as he snarled, then he shoved to his feet to stalk the edges of the office. Carter took a deep breath and eased to his feet, just in case he and Edgar had to tackle their brother before Logan took off to go kill the SilverLine alpha. Carter said, "What did Kaiser tell you about Evershaw? Is SilverLine stirring up more trouble?"
"The bears think Evershaw is pushing to have a single representative for wolves on the Council, to be decided by a fight between SilverLine and BloodMoon." Edgar spoke but kept his eyes on Logan's jerky pacing and snarling. "And possibly that Evershaw wants to combine both packs. With himself as alpha, of course."
Carter's blood started a slow boil. He knew Evershaw was an underhanded asshole, but going to the Council to undermine Ruby and Rafe was a new low for the SilverLine alpha. He gripped the edge of his desk until the wood creaked. "Do Ruby and Rafe know yet?"
"Probably not." Edgar watched him closely. "There's no reason Evershaw would include them in his machinations, and we only just heard from Kaiser. The bears want to call an emergency Council session tomorrow so we can discuss this. Without the wolves present."
Logan turned toward the door. "Good. Because then it will be at least two days before anyone knows I killed Evershaw."
Edgar grabbed his arm. "Whoa there, brother. Natalia is fine. Carter protected her, the bears protected her, I'm damn sure Ruby protected her. Take a deep breath or I'll send you to the gym again."
Carter moved around the desk so he could help if Logan made a run for it. "Again?"
"We've had a rough morning." Edgar smiled with half his mouth. "Natalia was up early to accept deliveries at the restaurant, and called our fearless leader in tears because the tomatoes were bruised."
Logan made a strangled sound and gripped double fistfuls of his hair, whirling on his heel to keep storming through Carter's office. "Those fucking tomatoes. Can we buy a tomato farm? Is there such a thing? How do I keep tomatoes from bruising?"
Edgar laughed but cut it off when Logan gave him a snarling gold-eyed look. The second-in-command held up his hands and chuckled. "Come on, dude. You can't be mad for that. How do you keep tomatoes from bruising? That's completely fucking irrational. I don't even know why she would be crying about…"
Carter held his breath as Logan lurched to a halt.
Edgar took a deep breath and gripped the back of a nearby chair, as if to steady himself. "Is she pregnant?"
Logan ground the heels of his hands into his eyes. "It's still early."
"Holy shit." Carter couldn't bite back a smile. "Logan, man, congratulations. That's fantastic."
Logan looked a little dazed. "It's still too early."
"It will be fine." Edgar clapped their brother on the back, then pulled him in for a hug. "Congratulations. You're going to be an amazing dad. When is she due?"
"I don't even know." Logan laughed, still shaking his head in pure confusion. "She's told me at least half a dozen times but I can't…May? I think it's May."
"Well," Carter said, leaning back against his desk. "That explains why you're ready to kill Evershaw. But what do we do about the Council?"
"There are a lot more reasons to get rid of Evershaw than just him being mean to Natalia," Logan said under his breath. He ran a hand through his hair, trying to get it to lie flat. "But I don't know. It almost makes sense to have a single representative for each group, but that also creates a lot more problems than it solves. I'm not sure I believe Evershaw that it's necessary."
"We'll see." Edgar glanced at his watch. "Logan, go back to your office. Natalia is at the dress place, so call and send her flower
s or something. Or a car to take her to lunch. She said Ruby was meeting her there, so send them both something."
"Why?" Logan rubbed the back of his neck, looking around the office as if he'd never seen it before. "It's not an anniversary or…"
"Because she's the mother of your child, you fucking idiot." Edgar shoved him out the door. "Flowers and candy, just because you're useless. And don't tell your assistant to do it, make the call yourself." Then Edgar shut the door and faced Carter. "Okay, brother. Spill."
"What?"
"Don't play innocent." Edgar's head tilted as he studied Carter, a bit of hunting intensity in his gaze. "Something happened. You didn't go back to the house last night. You slept somewhere else, and you look guilty. What happened?"
Carter growled in irritation and returned to his desk. "I don't want to talk about it."
"A date went well? Really well?" And Edgar pointed to Carter's shoulder, where his shirt gapped and revealed a hint of a bite.
Carter immediately adjusted his collar and pretended to concentrate on the spreadsheets once more. "No. And I'm not going to talk about it."
"There's no shame in getting laid." Edgar folded his arms over his chest. "Just give us a head's up when it gets serious."
"It's not going to get serious," Carter said under his breath, shaking his head as he focused on the paperwork. He regretted it immediately, because Edgar never let things like that go past unexamined.
"Why not?"
"She's skittish." It was the only word to describe Ruby's commitment issues. "About relationships. So messing around is fine as long as no one else knows, but if we were to go public…that's problematic. And that's all I'm going to say about it, and her, so don't ask me."
"Carter…"
"Please, Edgar. Don't ask." Carter stared at his desk with enough intensity he expected it to burst into flames. His lion wanted to race into the city, find Ruby, and make things permanent. Show her she couldn't live without him, and he couldn't live without her. Thinking she would walk away from him felt more like a punch in the balls than just harmless speculation.
At length, Edgar took a deep breath. "Is she your mate?"
Carter looked at his desk, but didn't see any of the normally comforting consistency of numbers. Just a blurry mess and Ruby's face underneath it all, taunting him. "Yeah."
"And you're going to let her walk away?"
He managed to look up at Edgar, willing all pain and expression from his face. "If she chooses something else over me, what choice do I have? I'm not going to kidnap her and drag her away. We've never been bride-nappers."
"What choice?" Edgar's eyes glinted cold gray, more like steel than storm clouds. "For fuck's sake, Carter, if she's your mate, you show her there is no other choice. What could she choose over you? What would make her life more complete, more secure, more perfect, than you? That's your job."
Carter rubbed his forehead and slowly leaned back in his chair, turning to stare out the window so maybe Edgar wouldn't be able to read his expression so easily. "She'll choose her pack over me, Ed, in a heartbeat. And I knew that going in. I just couldn't stand to let another day go by without touching her."
"Her pack." Edgar eased into the chair in front of the desk. "She's a wolf."
"She's Ruby." Carter sighed as a weight lifted off his chest. Even if Ruby didn't want anyone to know, Carter had no doubts she'd already told Natalia. And Carter needed his brother's advice. Edgar knew how to keep a secret. He was practically a walking cipher himself. He held his cards so close to his chest, even his brothers knew nothing about his social life – if he had one — or his plans or hopes or fears. Carter dared a glance at Edgar. "Don't tell anyone."
"Ruby O'Shea?" Edgar's eyebrows climbed to his hairline, and he laced his hands behind his head. "Your mate is Ruby O'Shea?"
"Yeah." Carter returned his attention to the window and the city beyond. It always looked so damn peaceful from the thirtieth floor – people scurrying around like ants, and cars veering back and forth like little toys. "She can barely conceptualize taking a mate because it threatens what she's built with Rafe, or so she thinks. So most of her heart is already dedicated to being alpha of her pack. There's not much left over."
Edgar made a thoughtful noise. "So she's trying to get you out of her system, and then back to business as usual?"
"I suppose." Carter attempted a smile and swiveled in the chair to square up to the desk. Ready for work, and numbers, and anything to take his mind off the thought of covering Ruby in chocolate syrup and bacon. "I'm working on it. She'll come to her senses."
"Don't give up, Carter." Edgar pushed to his feet, shaking his head. "If she's your mate, she's your mate. Move the world to show her what that means. Do what you have to do. I don't want to see you miserable the rest of your life because your mate lives with her brother a couple blocks away and you still see her every day but can't have her."
"I know, Ed. Go help Logan figure out how to send flowers." Carter waited until the door shut behind his older brother before he leaned back in the chair and covered his face to stifle a groan. No doubt whatever Evershaw was up to had something to do with the offer he'd made Ruby — or with her rejection. He needed to warn her, and soon.
Chapter 11
My legs were still a little shaky as I met Natalia at a wedding gown designer, downtown. Luckily it wasn't too far from my apartment, and even though I couldn't straddle my motorcycle without wincing, I gritted it out until I reached the showroom. I groaned as I pulled off my helmet and massaged my lower back, glancing around the neighborhood to gauge whether I should call Rafe to let him know where I was. Some of the recent issues with Evershaw left questions about how far he would go to consolidate power around himself, and I wouldn't put it past him to ambush me in broad daylight.
I walked into the designer's showroom and headed for the back, taking a glass of champagne offered by one of the assistants, and found Natalia already in a half-finished dress, standing on a small dais surrounded by mirrors. She saw me approach in the reflection and smiled. "Hey. Glad you made it."
"Cheers." I raised the glass of champagne and flopped onto a comfortable chaise nearby. "You look lovely, by the way."
She made a face in the mirror and finally faced me, looking down at the wide ball gown skirt that flared around her. "Thanks. I wasn't sure about it. Everyone says you know the dress when you find it, but I didn't. I like it enough, though."
"Kind of like Logan?" I grinned to show her I was only joking, but she still gave me an arch look.
Nat frowned at her cleavage, fussing with the neckline. "I swear, my tits are getting bigger every day. At this rate I'm going to have basketballs stuffed in the front of this dress."
"I'm sure Logan won't mind." I sank lower on the chaise to ease the ache in my core, and rested my head on the back. A nap might be in order, so long as Carter wasn't there to keep me awake. "But it'll be hell on your tailoring bill."
"Like I have a tailoring bill," she said under her breath. Natalia eyed me critically. "What's up with you?"
"I'm just tired." I forced myself to sit up.
"Don't bullshit me, girl." She stepped off the dais and a shower of pins fell to the floor, along with half her dress. Nat cursed and a bevy of assistants fluttered up to disassemble the dress and gather the loose pins. Nat covered her face until they were gone, then leveled a look at me. "Seriously. What's up?"
I waited until everyone else left the room before I rubbed my temples. "I may have slept with Carter."
"What?" Natalia said, wearing only some really expensive but really slutty lingerie, practically fell off the dais to sit on the chaise next to me. "When? Why? How?"
"We went to dinner last night." I tried not to laugh, wondering if her shock was due to my getting laid or who I'd slept with. "He looked at some of the records from the bar, and..."
I trailed off with a shrug, and she smacked her forehead. "And you fell into bed with him?"
"He can be very c
harming."
"I know." Natalia leaned back to study me. "I'm torn. Normally I would ask for details but Carter's like my little brother. I save beaters for him to lick when I make frosting, for God's sake. So I don't think I want to know details, but you can tell me if you had a good time."
And she braced herself, as if preparing to hear that Carter was good in bed.
I laughed and levered to my feet. "I'm not going to tell you anything." But I exaggerated a limp as I retrieved my maid of honor dress from the other side of the room and she made a pained sound, somewhere between a gargle and a groan. Natalia fell sideways across the chaise and I snickered, even though it made my stomach hurt. I stripped off my shirt so I could try on the damn dress. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding. Just…totally vanilla. Nothing exciting. Barely worth mentioning."
She made another strangled sound, and I glanced back. "What?"
"Clearly it was vanilla," she said, still sounding like she wanted to vomit. "By the bite marks and handprints all over your body."
Shit. I looked in the mirror over my shoulder and caught sight of a vast array of bruises, and bites, and little red marks that could have been from anything we'd done. "Well..." I couldn't come up with an intelligent end to that sentence, and instead just stripped off my jeans. "If those bother you, don't look at my ass. I'm pretty sure he left a face-print on my lady business, too, so..."