Tears filled her eyes, of both pain and anger. How could someone do this to her? And who? She didn’t have any enemies that she knew of, no one that would wish her harm. All of her hard work, gone. At least she could still sell what she had in the store so she wouldn’t have to close down completely. Although, it would probably be a good idea to close for a few days until the smell went away.
“Come on,” Jax said. “I’ll introduce you to the guys and you can see the damage for yourself.”
She took his hand and let him lead her down the street to the group of men now gathered near the large red truck. She noticed that she hadn’t met any of them before so she figured this was the second crew, the ones who worked the days that Jax and his crew were off.
They stopped in front of the men. “Guys, this is Reika, my mate.”
The firemen smiled and shook her hand.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” a tall redhead said. “I’m Justice. And before you ask, my grandparents raised me and Grandpa was a retired judge.”
A blond stepped forward. “I’m Payton, and this,” he said as he dragged another blond man forward, “is my brother Dawson.”
“I’m Phoenix,” said a man with black hair standing at the back.
“And I’m Rune.” She shook hands with the brown-haired giant.
“It’s a pleasure to meet all of you,” she said with a smile. “And thank you for putting out the fire in my store. I don’t know what I would’ve done if it had spread and burned everything.”
“We were just doing our job,” said Phoenix.
“Still, it’s appreciated. I know your job isn’t easy, nor is it very safe.”
The men looked embarrassed by her praise so she left it alone. “Can I go inside now?”
Justice nodded. “Just be careful. I wouldn’t go inside the storeroom if I were you. Just peek in from the doorway. It isn’t safe to be in there.”
She tightened her grip on Jax’s hand. Together, they entered the store. Blossom stood near the register, tears streaking her face. Reika hurried to her side.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
Blossom nodded. “I just feel like I failed you. If I had called the fire department sooner…”
“You did what you could, Blossom, and that’s all I could ask of you. The fire was contained before it reached the main part of the store, and that’s what’s important.” Reika placed a hand on her shoulder. “Thank you for acting as quickly as you did.”
Jax ushered her toward the back of the store, stopping her before she could step through the storeroom door. She stared in dismay at the destruction. The charred remains made her feel helpless, something she didn’t like one bit. Who could have done such a thing? She didn’t have enemies in the community, had always been well-liked. So why attack her store?
“It could’ve been worse,” she reminded herself aloud.
Jax wrapped a comforting arm around her waist. “At least the rest of your store is in good shape, and no one was injured, or worse, killed.”
She nodded.
A commotion at the front of the store drew her attention and her eyes widened in surprise when she saw who was trying to force his way back.
“I told you she was busy,” Blossom said as firmly as she could, trying to restrain the man.
“Let him go, Blossom,” Reika said, turning and making her way back to the front of the store. What in the hell was he doing here? She’d only seen him in passing a handful of times over the past year. Why show up now?
The man, a good nine inches shorter than Jax, straightened his shirt and smoothed his long brown hair. His wings, a beautiful gold and deep green, lay folded against his back. He eyed Jax in curiosity before directing his attention to Reika once more, his golden eyes focusing on her intently.
“I saw the truck out front and wanted to make sure you were all right,” he said.
“That was kind of you, Turrin. As you can see, I’m fine. It seems someone tried to burn down the store, but Blossom caught it in time. Only the storeroom was damaged, along with the merchandise housed there.”
“I hope it won’t harm you financially,” Turrin said.
“No, the insurance should cover it. I’ll call them in just a few minutes.”
Turrin glanced at Jax again. “And who is this?”
“Jax, this is Turrin, my ex-boyfriend. Turrin, this is Jax, my mate.”
Turrin’s eyes flared at the word mate. “I see. And how is it you’ve broken through her magickal mishaps?”
Reika briefly wondered how Turrin knew about that. She hadn’t spoken to him since the break-up, and they didn’t have any friends in common. Had he been watching her? The thought made her shiver.
Jax shrugged. “We make do. I know whatever she does to me, unintentionally, she can undo.”
Turrin glanced back and forth between them. Reika could have sworn he looked a little peeved at the idea of her having a mate. But that was ridiculous. Why should he care? He was the one who’d lost interest in her, making it obvious he didn’t want her after their one night together. She was almost certain he’d slept around behind her back, but she had no proof. And he hadn’t exactly tried to get back together with her over the past year, so… maybe she was just imagining things. “If you’ll excuse us, Turrin, I need to call that insurance adjuster now. It was thoughtful of you to stop and check on me.”
“I wanted to make sure you were unharmed,” Turrin said.
He took her hand in his and a chill raced down her spine. She tried to extract her hand from his without being too obvious. Yes, he’d broken her heart once, but so far he’d been nice and she didn’t wish to hurt his feelings. She heard a low rumble from Jax and felt his arm wrap around her waist as he clearly staked his claim. Reika wasn’t sure how she felt about that. Yes, in some ways she belonged to him. No, she belonged with him, just as he belonged with her. Of course, their relationship was new, so maybe he just wasn’t confident of her feelings yet.
Feelings? Did she have feelings for Jax? There was definitely lust involved, but there was something more. It wasn’t love, it was too soon for that, but she was drawn to him, felt a closeness with him that she hadn’t ever felt before. Maybe it was just the pull of mates, she wasn’t entirely sure how that worked. For that matter, she didn’t know of any fairies who were mated to a werewolf or a shapeshifter. She was sure that there were some, somewhere, but she didn’t know of any in Moonspell.
Pulling her hand back, she gave Turrin a hesitant smile. She still wasn’t sure of his motives. Yes, he could’ve really just been passing by and decided to check on her, for old time’s sake if nothing else, but did she really believe that? She always trusted her instincts, and right now they were telling her that Turrin was up to something. She just couldn’t figure out what.
Turrin gave her a short bow before walking away. The tension in her shoulders didn’t ease until he was long gone. Only then did she allow herself the luxury of leaning into Jax’s embrace. Reika felt the urge to wash her hands, feeling icky after touching her ex. She didn’t understand why. She had slept with the guy, after all. But that had been so long ago, things had changed over the past year, she had changed. At least, she hoped she had. She didn’t want to be that naïve young woman any longer, the one willing to believe anything someone told her. Turrin had cured her of that.
“So that’s the ex,” Jax said. “I expected him to be… I don’t know, bigger.”
She giggled. “Fairies seldom have your bulk, although, quite a few of the men are taller than Turrin. Five-nine to five-eleven is quite average for a fairy though, for the males that is. The females tend to be small, like me.”
He kissed the top of her head. “You’re perfect.”
“I guess I better call that adjuster. The sooner he gets here, the sooner I can close up shop and leave. I think it’s best if we stay closed for a few days.”
“Are you sure? I don’t want your business to suffer because of this.”
She shrugged a shoulder. “It can’t really be helped. I’d prefer to wait until I can have someone clean out the storeroom and make sure it’s safe. I don’t want to take a chance on someone wandering back there and injuring themselves.”
“Mm. Good point. Go make your call. I’m going to step outside and talk to the guys for a minute.”
She kissed his cheek and walked over to the front counter to make her call, her strange encounter with Turrin forgotten for the moment.
Chapter Six
Reika wasn’t sure where the time went, but before she knew it two days had passed and Jax was back at work. Her home felt empty without him and her day stretched before her, boring and never-ending. The store was still closed; the cleaners had been scheduled for the next day. The adjuster had come out the previous day and had promised to get things moving as quickly as possible. She hoped he was right, because the cleanup alone was going to cost her thousands of dollars. Money she didn’t have. Thankfully, the company had agreed to await payment until she received her check from the insurance company.
The only bright spot was that she would be able to go shopping once she received that money. She knew most of what she’d had in the storeroom, but what she didn’t remember she could replace with new items. The idea of buying whatever she wanted, well, whatever she wanted that would sell, was a thrilling idea. Like most women, she loved to shop!
Hmm. Maybe that was what she could do with her day. She could call Maya and see if her friend wanted to hit the mall in Elk Ridge. It was about a forty-minute drive to the next town, but it was the closest mall they had. Not that Reika had any idea what she was going to buy at the mall, but it beat staying home by herself all day.
She picked up the phone and quickly dialed Maya’s number. Her friend answered almost immediately.
“Reika? I’m surprised to hear from you. Shouldn’t you be shacked up with that hottie of yours?”
Reika laughed. “He’s at work today and for the next two days. I thought maybe you’d want to go shopping with me today. How does the mall in Elk Ridge sound?”
“Sounds perfect. We can even grab lunch at the New Moon Café before we go, if you want.”
“That sounds good. Do you mind if we stop by the sandwich shop on 5th and pick up a platter of sandwiches? I thought I’d drop them off at the station for the guys.”
“You’re going to spoil them.”
“Maybe.” Reika smiled. “You know, if you go with me, you’ll get to meet hunky firemen.”
“Okay. I’m sold.”
“Pick me up at eleven? We’ll hit the café first if you want.”
“Uh-uh,” Maya said. “Firemen first, food second.”
“I’ll call Mary Beth at Cooper’s Sub Shop. If I pay for the order in advance, could you pick it up on your way here?”
“Sure. Just have them put it in my name and I’ll swing by there before coming to your house. Then we’re firemen bound!”
Reika hung up with a shake of her head. She’d created a monster. With a glance at the clock, she realized it was already ten. If she wanted to be ready when Maya arrived, she’d better get moving. Before she forgot, she placed her order for the sub platter. Knowing that she would be feeding five or six men, she asked for a platter for fifteen. Once that was done, she jumped in the shower, washing as quick as she could.
When she stood in front of her closet, she wasn’t sure what to wear. Normally she would go for comfort, but she knew Maya would have a fit if she didn’t dress cute. Pulling out a flirty dark purple sleeveless top, she paired it with denim capris and a comfortable pair of black sandals. By the time she’d dressed, fixed her hair and put on some make-up, Maya was at the door.
Reika grabbed her purse and keys. After locking up, she followed Maya to her sporty convertible. Of course she’d have the top down. Reika grimaced as she realized her hair was going to be majorly windblown. Magick would tame it a bit, once they reached their destination, but it could only do so much. Not that Jax hadn’t already seen her at her worst, first thing in the morning, but she still didn’t want him to see her looking less than her best when she visited him at the station.
She slid into the car and buckled her seatbelt. As Maya pulled out of the driveway and started down the street, she blasted music from her iPod. Seether blared from the speakers, making Reika cringe at the volume. She reached for the knob on the radio and turned it down a little. Maya might not mind losing her hearing at a young age, but Reika didn’t want to go deaf anytime soon.
As Maya broke every posted speed limit, they arrived at the fire station about seven minutes later. Reika got out and smoothed her hair, infusing it with magick. Once she was satisfied the curls weren’t sticking up every which way, she reached for the sandwiches and motioned for Maya to follow her.
This time, when she stepped into the front entry of the fire station, she knew where she was going. Instead of waiting on someone to come meet her, she started down the hallway that led to the kitchen/living area. To say the men were surprised to see her was an understatement. But perhaps Jax was the most surprised of all.
“Are you sure you’re mates?” Maya whispered in her ear.
Reika nodded as she observed her werewolf across the room. A tall, leggy brunette was practically plastered to the front of him, her lips looking thoroughly kissed, and there was a smudge of red lip-gloss on Jax’s mouth. Reika tried to bury the hurt she felt at his betrayal, but it was hard to do.
Bevin quickly walked to her side, taking the tray of sandwiches from her.
“What a lovely surprise, Reika. You didn’t have to bring us anything.”
She gave him a forced smile. “I thought y’all might be hungry. It didn’t occur to me that I might want to call first.”
Bevin looked over his shoulder. “It isn’t as it seems. You should probably let him explain. The two of you are mated. There’s no way he would do anything to hurt you, you have to know that he’s loyal to you.”
“It doesn’t look that way,” Maya said crisply. “Red really isn’t in his color wheel.”
“Yes, well.” Bevin cleared his throat. “It isn’t my place to say anything.”
Reika glanced at Jax again and saw that he was arguing with the woman in hushed tones. It wasn’t her business what was going on between them. Well, perhaps as his mate it was a little bit her business, but if he wanted her to know what was going on he’d tell her. She had to admit, though, the evidence was rather damning. She watched as Jax gripped the woman’s arm and proceeded to escort her from the room and down the hall. He barely looked her way as he passed, but the woman smirked at her.
When he returned, he gently took her hand. “Can we talk?”
She paused a moment, and then nodded. It was best to get this out of the way. Whatever he had to say to her, she would soldier on. If he decided he didn’t want her as a mate, that he wanted the other woman instead, she’d step aside. It wouldn’t be what she wanted, but at the same time, she cared enough about him to want him to be happy. And if being happy meant walking away from her, then she’d let him.
She followed him down the hall, into the lobby and down the other hall. He pushed open an office door and led her inside, closing the door firmly behind them. At first, he just studied her, as if he didn’t know what he wanted to say, or maybe he was trying to judge her reaction to what she’d seen.
“It wasn’t what you think,” he said. “I dated Abra a few months ago and things didn’t work out. She’s shown up a few times here and there, but I’ve either been off duty or the guys have run her off. Today was just a matter of bad timing.”
“Mine or hers?” Reika asked.
He caressed her cheek and she fought the urge to lean into his touch. “Hers. I told her I was mated to someone, that I wasn’t interested. She didn’t take no for an answer. She’d just kissed me when you walked in. It was one sided, I swear, but I know it looked bad.”
“And you aren’t interested in her?”
“Not
even a little. The only woman I want is the one standing in front of me. Don’t you know that you already mean everything to me? I’d be lost without you, Reika. I know that isn’t exactly a confession of my undying love, because I don’t know that I believe in love, but I do have feelings for you. I care for you deeply already.”
She swallowed hard. He didn’t believe in love? That didn’t sound good. A life without love didn’t seem like much of a life at all. Isn’t that what she’d always wanted? Someone to love who would love her in return? No, she didn’t love Jax -- yet -- but she had no doubt that it would happen sooner or later. She couldn’t imagine living the rest of her life with him and never having her love returned. Already she felt like she was falling, even if it was just a little bit.
What could she possibly say to him? She believed him when he said he hadn’t wanted the other woman’s kiss, that he wasn’t interested in -- what was her name? Abra? She was okay with that, but she wasn’t okay with never being loved. Maybe he didn’t believe in love because he’d never been in love. Maybe she just had to show him how good it could be. Surely he would fall in love with her one day.
“I care about you, too, Jax. And if you say that you didn’t kiss her, that she kissed you, then I believe you.” She reached up and wiped the red tint from his lips.
“But?”
She shook her head. There was no way she was going to tell him that she wanted his love more than anything. She wasn’t about to make herself look that weak and pathetic.
“Nothing. I guess I’m still just shaken from what I saw.”
He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. “Abra shouldn’t be a problem anymore.”
“Your tattoo has been visible every day since we discovered we were mates. How could she not have known you were already mated to someone? The moment she saw you she should’ve noticed. Or did she just not care?”
“Knowing Abra, she didn’t care. It probably thrilled her to take me away from someone, or try to, anyway.”
Romance in Moonspell Page 12