Stripped (Wolves of Mule Creek #2)

by Katharine Sadler

  I was still living with Gage, and he didn't seem to be in any hurry for me to move out. With our opposite schedules we rarely saw each other anyway and I hadn't put much effort into finding my own place. I'd been spending all my free time working on ways to improve the pack's income and digging up dirt on council members. Julie had given me the number for an elderly man with council connections and he'd been a goldmine of knowledge. I hadn't passed anything on to Julie, yet. I wanted to organize the information and get as much as I could before I let her in on the plan.

  “Working on your day off?” Gage asked.

  He walked into the apartment and kicked off his shoes. It was after seven in the morning on a Saturday and he was just getting home. “It's not for my job here,” I said. “It's just something for a friend.”

  He grinned. “You've been spending a lot of time on that project. Must be a pretty special friend.”

  “I enjoy the work.” A statement which may have been an understatement. I liked this work better than what I was actually getting paid to do in my day job. It was more interesting and much more challenging.

  “Uh-huh,” he said. “I've barely seen you. Want to go to Brenna's for breakfast? My treat?”

  “Only if it's my treat. You don't charge me enough rent.”

  He rolled his eyes. “You don't even have a room. I wouldn't be charging you rent at all if you hadn't insisted on it.”

  I ignored him. “I'll be ready to go in five minutes. I just want to finish this up.”

  “Sure,” he said. “I could probably use a shower.”

  He headed back to the bathroom and I finished up the report I was working on for Julie and emailed it to her. I'd tried a couple more times to get information from her about Zane, but she'd refused to tell me anything. It was supposed to be getting easier, but the day before, I'd picked up my phone on each of my breaks at work and opened Zane's contact information, my finger hovering over his number, before I'd stopped myself. I couldn't call him, this needed to be a clean break.

  Besides, it's not like he'd called me. Beyond a few texts making sure I'd gotten to Denver okay and that I had a place to stay, I'd heard nothing from him. He hadn't even called to tell me off for disappearing on him when he was injured. I wished he'd called me out on that. I could have used that closure.

  But maybe he wasn't pissed, maybe he'd been relieved to wake up and find me gone. Maybe he'd come to see that I was right about us being too different.

  I picked up my phone and dialed his number on autopilot. I should have hung up, but I listened to the phone ring and then I listened to his voice speak one word, his name, before I was instructed to leave a voice mail.

  I hung up. I shouldn't have called. I needed closure, but maybe he was already past it. He could very well be dating someone else.

  “Ready to go?” Gage asked. He emerged from his room, dressed in his uniform of jeans, a t-shirt, and motorcycle boots.

  “Sure.”

  Together we walked two blocks to a hole-in-the-wall diner that had the best omelets I'd ever tasted. Definitely something I wouldn't get in Mule Creek.

  Luckily, we were early enough to beat the breakfast rush and managed to get our favorite booth near a window with a view of the street and plenty of people-watching opportunities.

  “You're not happy,” Gage said as soon as we'd placed our orders.

  “I'm fine. It's an adjustment, of course. A big change from Aspens Whiten, but I'm fine.”

  He shook his head. “You and I were just alike once, both of us feeling trapped in a small town and dreaming of something better. When I got to Denver, it was like I could breathe freely for the first time in my life. You showed up looking like you'd arrived at a funeral.”

  I sighed. “I broke up with someone when I left town. I was missing him a bit, that's all. I'm over it.”

  He narrowed his eyes and studied me. “I think it's more than that, Abs. I've been harassing you for years to come here. I offered you a spot on my couch, told you I'd help you find work. There was no reason to stay in Aspens Whiten, but you did. You had a different excuse for every day of the week.”

  “I owned the club. I had responsibilities. I needed to make sure everyone would be okay if the place shut down.”

  He pointed a finger at me and beamed. “That's it exactly. That's why we're so different.”

  The waitress brought our food and set it on the table. “Can I get you anything else?” she asked, eyes on Gage.

  “No thanks,” he said, without even glancing her way. Gage was devastatingly good-looking but he was cynical when it came to women. So cynical that he'd been accused of being gay more than once. He was the opposite of the stereotype of the strip club owner sleeping with his staff. He was more a father figure than a potential boyfriend and that's the way he liked it. He satisfied his physical needs when necessary with women who didn't work for him, but he never ventured anywhere near a relationship. Not even of the friendship variety.

  “Why are we so different?” I asked.

  “You get attached. You care and you like it.”

  “You care.” I rolled my eyes. “You've gone out of your way to help more than one of your employees.”

  “I'm not a monster. If I can help someone, I will, but I won't sacrifice my own happiness to do it. I don't get attached.”

  “What's your point?”

  “You didn't just leave this dude you were fucking, you left all the dancers you were taking care of, you left behind everything that felt important.”

  “I don't miss any of that,” I said. “It's a relief to not have to worry about anyone but myself.” I took a bite of heavenly omelet to relieve the sting of my lie.

  He laughed long and loud. “Bullshit, Abs. If that were true, you'd be going out with your new co-workers or hitting the clubs. Instead you're holed up in the apartment chatting with people in Mule Creek and working on ways to help them.”

  His words sunk deep and hit their target. “I'm where I want to be. There are so many more opportunities here, there's so much more to do.”

  He chewed on a huge bite of omelet and shook his head. “You're where you think you should be, babe. I get it. I know the life you lived, I get you don't ever want to struggle or watch your dreams die, but maybe you've been chasing the wrong dream. If you want to see the world, you can travel, babe. You're smart. You can do well, make something great of yourself wherever you are. You just have to figure out what you really want.”

  Zane. His name flashed in my mind unbidden. He was what I wanted, he was all I wanted and that scared the hell out of me. I'd seen too many people madly in love, my parents especially, who ended up poor, miserable, and bitter because they'd allowed love to blind them to the poor choices they were making. I couldn't make that mistake. I wouldn't. Maybe you don't have to. Maybe you can really have it all. I pushed the thought aside and focused on Gage. “Is this your way of avoiding talking about that bruise on your cheek?”

  He grimaced. “Dude got handsy with one of the dancers. He didn't like it when I told him to get the fuck out of my club.”

  I sighed. “That's what you have bouncers for, Gage. You're the owner, you should stay out of that crap before you get yourself seriously hurt.”

  Gage was a good guy, but he had a temper and he'd grown up learning that using your fists was the way to communicate. He'd been in more than one brawl and he'd never learned to keep emotion out of it or to remember to protect himself. “I'm working on it,” he said. “I wanted to beat the shit out of that preppy punk asshole and I didn't. I'm better than I used to be.”

  “Ever consider getting a job that doesn't make you want to kill someone every other day?”

  He sneered. “A desk job? It's bad enough I have to sit at a desk to do paperwork for the club. I'd hang myself if I had to sit at a desk all day every day.”

  I didn't argue. I knew him well enough to know he was probably right. It wouldn't stop me from worrying about him, though.

  After b
reakfast, we went back to the apartment and Gage went to bed. I dressed in warm clothes and headed out to see a new exhibit at one of the local museums. I needed to take advantage of everything Denver had to offer, to remind myself why I was there.

  The whole time I walked the museum, though, Gage's words kept replaying in my head. Was he right? Had I moved to Denver for all the wrong reasons?

  As I studied the art on display, I tried to get lost in the beauty, but all I could think about was Mule Creek and an idea I had that might just solve all their problems.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  “I think you'll find our prices are hard to beat,” I said to the client on the other end of the line. I'd been trying to get excited about my sales job all week. I'd sent my latest idea to Julie and then I'd ignored her phone calls and all thoughts of Mule Creek. I needed to put that aside and embrace my life in Denver or I'd never figure out what I really wanted.

  “True enough,” the client, a man who's name I'd forgotten as soon as I'd dialed the number and asked for him, said. “I'll send an order over within the hour.”

  I hung up, and I felt nothing. I should have been ecstatic about making another sale, but I couldn't drum up any happiness or excitement. I was selling stuff to someone who'd sell stuff to people who may or may not actually need the stuff. There was no outlet for creativity, no challenge in this job. I missed talking to Julie. I missed coming up with ideas for the town, but most of all, I missed Zane.

  I'd tried enjoying life in Denver, I'd gone out to clubs and museums. I'd spent the past week trying to find the love I should feel for the city, but I felt nothing. I could no longer pretend I was sick or that there was something wrong with me. I was in love with Zane and I missed that damn small town I was from. I missed the mountain air and the forest right outside my door.

  I stood, smoothed my skirt, and made my way to my boss's office. I went in and told her I'd be leaving. Since I was still in my six-week probationary period, I could walk away from the job immediately. I didn't have to work another two weeks or another hour. My boss didn't seem surprised, though she offered to write me a recommendation if I needed it.

  Walking back to Gage's apartment, the air smelled sweet with the scents of a nearby bakery and the people on the crowded sidewalks seemed happier than they'd been the day before, offering me friendly smiles and waves as I passed them. I might have paused and wondered if I'd made the wrong choice, if maybe I should give Denver more of a chance, but I felt happier, too. I felt lighter, like I'd let go of a weight that had been holding me back.

  I skipped up the steps to the apartment and dialed Julie as I walked in the door. “Hey, Abby,” she said. “I just got Daisy down for a nap and I was about to call you.”

  “We're clearly developing some sort of telepathy.”

  She laughed. “That must be it. Axel and the rest of the pack agreed that it makes sense to sell our blood to the council. We were hoping you'd conference with us when we call them to help us make it clear that we won't allow them to take advantage.”

  “Actually,” I said. “I have an idea about how you can increase your leverage. Maybe it would be easier if I came there? I could tell you my idea and help with the call to the council.”

  She said nothing for so long I pulled the phone away from my face to make sure she was still there. “Julie?”

  “I'm here,” she said. “When you say you want to come back, are you coming back for a day or…”

  “I'm moving back to Aspens Whiten,” I said. “I'm hoping I might have a job with Mule Creek. Helping the pack become more financially stable could be a lot like running a business.” I paused, suddenly nervous. “If you wanted my help, of course.”

  “We definitely want your help. We'd love to hire you, but I don't know if we'll actually be able to pay you.”

  “Maybe I can find another job in Aspens Whiten,” I said. “Something to pay my rent until you can pay me.”

  She sighed. “That would hardly be fair to you. I'll talk to Axel and see what we can do.”

  “I'd appreciate that.”

  I hung up with Julie and started packing. Well, I tried to pack. Turns out all the clothes I'd bought for my new job didn't fit in the duffel bag I'd brought with me to Gage's. I could have headed out and bought a suitcase, but that would require money I needed for an apartment in Aspens Whiten. Instead, I shoved my stuff in garbage bags.

  “You throwing out all your stuff?” Gage asked, stepping into the living room dressed for work in jeans and a black dress shirt.

  “No.” I dropped the bag I was stuffing and faced him. “Turns out you were right. I'm moving back to Aspen's Whiten.”

  He frowned. “You aren't moving back to Mule Creek with that boyfriend of yours?”

  I grimaced. “You mean the boyfriend I walked out on? The boyfriend I haven't talked to in a month? I'm pretty damn sure he's moved on already.”

  Gage shook his head. “Women are always telling me I don't talk enough, that I keep my emotions all bottled up, that I'm not open enough, but even I would just fucking call the guy if I was in your shoes.”

  I picked up my bag and resumed stuffing it. “Maybe I need to go back for me first. To figure out how I'm going to support myself, rather than showing up on his doorstep with nothing to offer.”

  Gage threw back his head and laughed. “I will never understand women, that's for damn sure.” He grabbed me and pulled into a hug, making me drop my bag again. “I'm going to miss you, babe. Maybe come visit once in a while?”

  “I promise,” I said. “I'm going to do a lot more traveling in the future.” The promise was as much to myself as it was to him. I needed to stop hiding and stop making excuses. It was long past time I lived my life and enjoyed every moment of it.

  He slapped my back and released me. “Good for you. I've got to get to work. Can you lock up when you leave? Just mail me the key once you're settled.”

  “Sure,” I said. “Thanks for letting me stay here. I know I got in the way of your social life.”

  He smirked. “Baby, I never invite women over here. It just gives them ideas they've got no business having.”

  I smiled, shaking my head. “Right. I should have guessed.”

  He hugged me and left, and I went back to packing. I cleaned up the kitchen and the bathroom, so I wouldn't feel like I was leaving him a mess, and I was ready to go.

  It was going to take a couple trips to get all my stuff down to my car, so I grabbed two trash bags and opened the door.

  And the bags hit the floor with a thud, because standing on the other side of the door was Zane, a wary look on his handsome face. His hair was longer and in need of a trim and he hadn't shaved in a few days, but he still looked like the very best thing I'd seen in a very long time.

  Darn, I loved this guy. The thought should have terrified me, but it didn't, not even a little bit. The whole time I thought I'd been heading back to Aspens Whiten because it was home, when all along it was Zane who was my home, Zane who I'd been missing more than the scenery or the people of the small-town lifestyle.

  “Abby,” Zane said on a sigh. “Are you taking the trash out? Can I help?”

  I laughed. It was just so odd, seeing him there and him acting like he saw me every day, like no time had passed between us. “What are you doing here?”

  He grimaced, looking almost bashful. “I'm moving to Denver. I'll get my own place. I'm not asking to move in with you.” He dropped his duffel to the floor behind him. “I just couldn't wait another second to see you.”

  I did laugh then, while Zane looked at me like I'd lost my mind. I threw my arms around him and pressed my lips to his. He froze for a moment, but then his warm arms wrapped around me and he picked me up off my feet, kissing me back with a hunger and a passion that lit my libido from happy to inferno in a nanosecond. He walked us into the apartment and kicked the door shut behind him.

  “Where's your room?”

  “The couch,” I said. “Gage's at work.”
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  Zane sat on the couch and arranged me on his lap. He slid his hands into my jeans and gripped my ass. “God, you feel even better than I remember,” he said.

  “So do you.” I ground against him, desperate to feel him inside me. I leaned back and pulled my shirt over my head, my bra following quickly. Zane groaned and dropped his mouth to my breasts. I arched into him, the sensation so good I thought I might lose it before we even got our pants off.

  “Please,” I said. “I need you now.”

  He growled and somehow managed to get us both naked and a condom on without pushing me off his lap. He slid into me and it felt so right and so good that I shivered with pleasure.

  “Fuck,” he said. “I'm not going to last long.”

  “I'm nearly there. Just last a few more minutes.”

  He lasted a few more minutes and then some, bringing me to screaming orgasm twice before he groaned out his relief.

  “Damn,” he said. “How did I survive without this for a month?”

  I leaned back in his lap, with him still inside me. “I love you,” I said. “Let's never be apart that long ever again.”

  His eyes widened and a broad smile spread across his beautiful face. “Good thing. Otherwise, I traveled all the way here for nothing.”

  I couldn't stop smiling. “Pretty arrogant of you to assume I'd be happy to see you.”

  His expression sobered. “I assumed nothing. I just couldn't stand being so far away from you. Figured I'd convince you to see things my way eventually.”

  “Really? And what way do you see things?”

  He shifted and rolled until his back was flat on the couch and I was straddling his waist, his cock growing hard inside me again. “I love you, Abby, more than anything. We've got something only an idiot would walk away from.”

  I gasped, pretending to be offended, which was nearly impossible to pull off, since he'd started moving beneath me and I was feeling things. All the very best things. “Are you calling me an idiot?”