Leta nodded. “It’s the only place I’ve lived since Mom died. I’m glad Dad is going to keep it though. We can use it for when we make runs or something. Hell, we could hold a retreat here when we need to get away.” She laughed. “We could do a girls’ retreat.” She moved toward the bathroom.
“There will be no female retreats without us,” Guryon snarled, coming into the house.
She rolled her eyes. “That conversation was for Zena and me.” She stepped into the bathroom ready to shut the door, but Guryon stood in the way.
He leaned down inches from her face. “I’m sorry, Little Red, but you won’t be taking any trips by yourself. You will have one of us at all the times.” His gaze became heated as it traveled down her body. “I protect what is mine, and I’m very possessive.”
“Really.” She snaked her hands up around his neck and gave him a kiss. “Good, because so am I, and I’ll rip any bitch’s head off if she even thinks of looking twice at you.” She gave him a quick peck before releasing him. “Now go so I can pee.”
***
Guryon stared at his woman. “This isn’t over, Little Red. I mean what I said. There will be no trips without us.” He stepped back and allowed her to close the door. He turned to see Zena smiling at him. “What?” She nodded to the kitchen, and he followed. “What’s wrong?”
“Don’t get me wrong, I love Snow. But from what I gather, he’s been really rough on his daughter. He loves her, but he taught her how to be a man, not a woman. Whatever female influence she has had came from Bess, and even that was limited. The club more or less raised your woman.”
He looked toward the bathroom. “I’ kind of figured that. It’s one of the reasons I can’t wait for us to have our own home. Thank you, Zena. We’ll take care of her.”
“Good.” Zena moved out of the kitchen grabbing her leather jacket on the way. Snow stepped through the door, smiling down at his mate.
Yes, Snow had done the best he could in raising Leta, but now it was time for Drew, Colin and him to show her how a woman should be treated. They would start tonight. Already Guryon’s brother had assigned them a home across the street from him and next to her father. And tonight they would christen their house the right way.
The bottle of champagne was tucked away in the truck along with the silk teddy Colin had picked up for her. Guryon moved back to the bathroom as Leta opened the door, looking up at him.
“Are you ready?” she asked, putting on her hat and scarf.
“Yep, just waiting for you,” he said, reaching over to adjust her hat and make sure her scarf was securely attached. “Are you ready to start your new life?”
“I am, but I’m a little nervous. Who wouldn’t be? I’m starting a life with three men and in a different state on top of that. Yeah, it’s going to be a little hard.” She wrapped her arms around him. “But I’m going to try why didn’t I have any signs of changing?” she asked as he moved them toward the front door.
“I was thinking about that. My blood is different from the others’. Maybe you won’t have a bad reaction we can only hope. Tonight, we’ll have the second exchange,” Guryon said, stepping onto the porch as Colin and Drew joined them. Behind them, Snow locked up the empty house.
“Everything is ready to go. The men have already started out with the trailers, and we’ve agreed to stop at the set destination agreed upon to warm up halfway there,” Drew informed Guryon.
“Good. Let’s load up, people. I want to be there by four so we can get settled in early.”
They all moved toward their bikes, but Leta stopped and turned back to look at her home.
Guryon reached squeezed her shoulder. “We’ll come back when things settle down.”
“To stay?” she asked.
“No, our home will be beside my family where we can help those that need protection from our enemy, but not to worry, your father will be there with us. Home is with those around you, not a place, Little Red.”
“I know, but it’s one the last things I have that was my mom’s,” she said, taking the new helmet he handed her. “Wow, expensive.” She looked back at him.
“We had them special-ordered. They also have equipment in them so we can speak with Drew and Colin while we ride. Come.” He swung his leg over his sleek, black bike and waited for her to put on her helmet and get on behind him.
No one said anything as they pulled out of her driveway and headed toward highway. Guryon smiled. With her arms around him and her body snuggled close to him, he was home. Guryon had meant what he’d said to Leta. Home was with the ones you love, and right now he had all of his family around him.
“You know, we’ll be lucky if we don’t get pulled over. We make an impressive appearance, your men and my fathers,” Leta said.
Guryon took a quick glance behind them and smiled. “Yep, we sure do, but we won’t get pulled over. One nice thing about having certain abilities is that police officers don’t bother us. Now, tell us about your writing. When do you have time?” he asked, and smiled as she started talking and forgetting about the pressures of the change coming her way.
By the time they pulled up to their halfway point, Guryon was ready to throttle some of the people who had hurt his woman. He pulled off his helmet and looked behind him. “Why do you continue with writing if you get hurt like that?”
She laughed, taking off her helmet. “Writing is my way to relax and get away. Plus, I love it. Do you know what kind of romances I write?” she asked as he helped her off the bike. Colin and Drew came over smiling.
“No, what kind?” he asked.
“Ménage, hot stuff—oh, and paranormal. Pretty weird, don’t you think?” Leta asked him as they moved entered the coffeehouse.
“Why is it strange? Because you are mated to three men?” he asked, nodding hello at Tazz and Bess.
Leta moved up to the woman and hugged her. “How you doing? Are you really going to move with us?” she asked, and Bess laughed.
“Honey, do you really think I wouldn’t come?’ I might not have given birth to you, but I consider you my little girl. I tried the best I could with you, but I’m afraid I didn’t give you much.” She sounded sad, and that made Leta frown.
“I’m sure you did all that you could under the circumstances, and we’re glad you two have agreed to come. Maybe you can help train some of the other women in how to handle knives. If they’re taken, having a skill our enemy doesn’t know they have might help them stay alive till we get to them,” Guryon said.
“What a wonderful idea. Bess is the best, and she could teach anyone. What do you think?” Leta asked.
“We’ll see, and thank you.” Bess nodded to him.
“There’s no reason to thank me. You’re part of Leta’s life, and it would hurt her if you weren’t there. Now come, let’s grab something warm before we head out again.” He turned to see Snow and Zena coming in the door. She was glaring at Snow.
“Colin, go see what has your mom all upset. We don’t need her going off in here,” Guryon growled.
Leta put her hand on Colin’s arm, stopping him. “No, my dad has to work this out.” She blew out a breath. “I love my dad, but Zena’s going to learn he can be a royal pain in the ass. I hope she can change him. I guess we’ll see.”
Colin frowned, glancing from his mom to her. “I don’t want Mom hurt.”
“Would you want my dad interfering in our lives?” she asked and turned to step up to the register.
“Damn, she’s good,” Colin grumbled.
“Yeah, that she is.” Guryon moved up next to her and pinched her butt. “Smartass,” he grumbled, and she laughed.
“It’s the truth. I ordered, and I’ll get us a table.” She spun around to leave, but he latched on to her, holding her to his side as he ordered.
“Drew, you’re up. Here, use the card.” Guryon handed him the credit card he got for their family. “Now we can look for a table,” he said, glancing down at Leta.
Leta shook her head a
nd made her way through the crowd of their men. She stopped in front of Zena and hugged her. “He can be a pain in the ass, but he loves fiercely,” she whispered. Zena seemed shocked at first, but then relaxed, hugging her back.
“I know. That’s why this is frustrating,” Zena mumbled.
“Welcome to what was my world,” Leta snorted. “We’ll find the table.” She moved off with Guryon.
Sitting down in the back booth that was big enough for ten people, Guryon laughed. “Baby, you amaze me.” He leaned down and placed a kiss on her head.
“Of course I do. I’m special,” she teased, laughing.
“A special tease is more like it,” a voice said from the bathrooms behind them.
Guryon moved to stand, but she put her hand on his. “Dan, it’s been a long time. Dad’s here, and if I were you I’d leave before he sees you. I mean, you’re the only person to be kicked out of the club in its history.”’”
“That’s because of you. I had to move way out here because of you, bitch,” Dan said, and that was it.
Guryon stood, and the table creaked as he pushed it aside and turned to face the soon-to-be-dead man.
Chapter Seven
“Damn it, Dan, do you have a death wish?” Leta jumped up and placed herself in front of her giant, turning to stare up at Guryon. “He’s not worth it. Plus, we don’t need to deal with the police, remember?”
He cupped her cheek. “I’m not going to kill the puny human, just dent him a little.” He lifted her up out of the way, then snatched Dan up by his neck and took him outside without breaking a sweat.
People jumped out of his way, and Colin wrapped an arm around her waist, keeping her from following them. “No, you can come and drink your coffee. Guryon will be back in a few minutes.” He guided her back toward their table.
“Colin, he’ll kill him,” she growled, and Colin just laughed.
“He should be dead for what he called you, but rest assured, Guryon will not kill the man. Now sit and eat. We’ll be leaving soon enough.” Colin pushed her into the both and slid in beside her as Drew sat across from them with a tray full of food and coffee.
“You didn’t order enough to eat, so I got you two extra sandwiches.” Drew put them in front of her. “With your ability to shift, you will use up more calories, so eat and quit worrying.” Drew looked over his shoulder. “See? Here he comes now. All taken care of.”
Guryon slid in next to Drew. “Eat,” he told Leta. “I told you I’d take care of it, and I did. No police either.” He grabbed a sandwich and started to unfold the wrapper.
“Guryon! What the hell did you do?” She ground her teeth, glaring at man.
“He won’t be insulting anyone for a while.” He took a bite of his sandwich as his gaze met hers. “I broke his jaws, but that is all. I went easy on him since I knew you would be upset otherwise.” Guryon leaned over the table. “But I will not put up with anyone hurting you, Little Red. None of us will.”
“It’s just words, Guryon. It wasn’t like the man was touching me,” she mumbled, unwrapping one of the sandwiches.
“If he would have touched you, he’d be dead I won’t compromise on that,” Guryon said before devouring his sandwich in three more bites, while she was still working on hers.
When she looked up, her father and Zena were moving down the aisle toward them. “Please don’t say anything to Father,” she said.
As soon as they reached the table, Snow nodded to Guryon. “I would have killed him, wouldn’t I, Leta?” he asked, sitting across from Zena.
“Yes, and it would have caused more problems you don’t need. You can’t go around killing people. I keep trying to tell you that, but did you listen? No.” Leta shook her head.
“If you would have stayed out of the clubhouse, none of this would have happened,” her father snapped back.
Leta glared at Snow, wrapping up the remnants of her sandwich’. “As you see, Zena, this is one of the times you hold your tongue, when you really want to take a club and hit him in the head. Excuse me, Dad, for wanting to see my father when he spent 90 percent of his time in that building. Please move, Colin, I have to use the restroom,” she snapped and waited as he slid out of the booth. But as soon as she got out, he wrapped his arms around her and placed a kiss on her lips.
“Take a walk with me?” Colin asked. He didn’t give her a chance to respond as he dragged her toward the front of the little coffee shop.
“Colin, I said I was going to the bathroom, not to taking a walk,” she muttered as he pulled her outside. He stood there for a few seconds before turning to look at her.
“No, you were going into the bathroom to bury your hurt feelings again. But we’re here, and you will speak with us when you’re hurting.” He placed his big hand on her chest. “When you bury things like this inside, eventually it festers till it boils over, and you might end up shouting at the wrong person and hurting them. Trust me, I know.”
“So do I, but it still doesn’t make it easier, hence the writing.” She smiled and wrapped her arms around him, resting her head on his chest. He was warm, solid and there for her. “I suppose we can’t pull out my laptop so I can kill someone off, right?” Leta asked, and Colin snorted.
“There will be no killing me off either when you get mad at me. I know he hurt you, and parents do that sometime forgetting their words hurt. I’ll never forget the time my father yelled at me. It was right after he had left Mom and went to join his mate. She was pregnant carrying Maya when Drew and I went to visit him. Needless to say, we caught him at a bad moment and took the brunt of his anger. For weeks I couldn’t figure out what I’d done wrong, then finally Mom went over and confronted him.” Colin laughed. “You do not want to get Mom pissed, especially—”
“Especially when it’s one of my children,” Zena finished, standing next to them now. “It was funny; his mate just opened the door and pointed to where your father was. She knew why I was there and understood. Oh, did I lay into his ass that day, just like I did this time. He may be your father, but he had no right to say those words to you. Plus, I didn’t want Guryon hurting him, so a good tongue-lashing from his mate was punishment enough. You can bring her back in now,” Zena stated, staring at them.
“You yelled at Dad in front of everyone?” Leta shivered. “And survived? I did that once and couldn’t sit down for a week afterward.” She rubbed her butt, remembering that day.
“Let him try to spank me and I’ll give him a piercing where he won’t want one. No, I can see punishing when it’s needed, but he was out of line and he knows it. It just rankled him that he didn’t get a chance to beat the shit out of that man that offended you, so you might have to pacify your men today a little.” Zena winked at her and patted her son’s arm. “Now get her inside so she can eat before her food and coffee get cold.”
Colin laughed. “Yes, Mom,” he said, placing a kiss on her head before turning Leta around so she could follow Zena into the shop.
As soon as she walked toward their table, her father stood and held out his hand. “I’m sorry, Little Bit. What I said was uncalled for, as it has been pointed out to me.” He smiled and yanked Zena to his side. “See, I needed someone at my side so I can see how much I hurt my baby girl without getting the shit beat out of me.” He glanced at Guryon, who snarled, as did Drew.
Leta laughed. “Okay, enough, and thanks, Daddy, that means a lot. And you are right about Zena; she is something.”
Her father pulled her into a hug. “I mean it, Little Bit. I really didn’t mean to hurt you,” he whispered.
“I know.” She patted his chest and looked up at him. “I love you, Daddy.”
“Don’t you dare start with those tears.” He turned and pushed her toward Guryon. “If there’s one thing I can’t stand, it’s seeing a woman crying, especially my little girl,” he grumbled.
“Neither can I.” Guryon wrapped an arm around her. “You okay?”
“I’m fine, a lot better.” She looked o
ver her shoulder at Colin. “Thank you,” she said, and he smiled.
“No problem. Now, let’s finish our food before we head out,” Colin said.
She laughed and stepped around Guryon. “I’ll be right back. I really do need to pee.” Leta laughed as Guryon followed her, stepping into the ladies’ room, scaring the woman there.
“Now you can go,” he grumbled as the lady glared at him as she left, but he ignored her and stood beside the stall door.
Leta sighed, knowing this was her life now and she’d better get used to it. Five minutes later, she stepped out of the bathroom to see Guryon still there waiting. She patted his chest and shook her head. “Come on, let’s eat.”
“Eat up, the manager has asked us to leave,” Drew grumbled, nodding toward the front. “Seems that lady you scared off wasn’t too happy.”
“Too bad. Sit, Leta, and finish your food. I’ll be right back,” Guryon stated before heading toward the manager.
She took her seat, shaking her head. “Tell me, is it going to be like this every time we go out to eat or something?”
“I’m afraid we don’t go out much, since we really don’t like dealing with humans,” Zena informed her.
***
After paying the manager a hideous amount of money, Guryon made his way back to their table. He could feel Leta’s sadness, and wondering what was wrong was driving him crazy. He slid into his seat and glanced at Drew, who shook his head. “Mom told her we don’t go out much because we have to deal with humans when we do. Didn’t sit well with her.”
“Of course it didn’t sit well. Her father kept her pretty much bound to the house or the club,” he sent back to Colin and Drew, taking a drink of his coffee. “Leta, have you ever been to any private clubs?” he asked, earning a scowl from her father.
“Of course she hasn’t,” Snow answered for her, but it was the wrong answer as she grinned, peeking at her father.
“A couple,” she whispered, but Snow heard and growled.
Her Stepbrothers are Saber-Tooth Tigers Page 6