“Debt collecting,” he winked.
“Your specialty,” Krystal mused.
“Not really,” he said. “I’m just following up something from one of my brothers for another property. He owns this place.”
She watched as he looked across the bar and he raised his head and nodded at someone on the other side. Krystal tried to follow his gaze and see where he was looking, but it was so crowded in there she must have missed their exchange.
“Well, I’m only down here because I couldn’t face another night locked away in the apartment,” she said. “I’ve been working so hard I figured I deserved a night off.”
“Good for you,” he smiled.
She sipped her drink and turned away slightly. She still couldn’t exactly figure him out. Had he come over to talk to her? Or was he just waiting for someone?
She looked back to him and he was staring down at her with intense eyes. The heat between them was growing, and as someone moved past him and pushed him slightly, they bumped up against each other and it made her gasp. Her whole body reacted to him and it was unnerving.
There was something very, very deep and sensual about Anson. And he was directing it on her, but she could also tell he was holding himself back.
“If you need anything,” he said as he stepped back from her and the force that seemed to be pulling them together faded. “Just call me, okay? It’s an old building… things can easily go wrong.”
She nodded and she felt disappointed that he was no longer right up against her. She had liked feeling him close, and she couldn’t pull herself away from his eyes, they were so enchanting.
“I will,” she managed to whisper.
He went to move away and then he turned back and looked at her again. He was clearly conflicted about something and she was beginning to feel driven wild with impatience. If she had been back home in the city and had met someone like this in a bar, she wouldn’t have felt so cautious and nervous. But there was something about Anson that made her nervous in such a good way that she was worried about making the wrong move and messing it all up.
“I’ll call by tomorrow,” he said as if he had changed his mind about letting her have the option to call him. “See how you’re doing…”
He smiled and Krystal bit her bottom lip.
She could see he didn’t want to leave her there, but there was something pulling him away.
“I have to go,” he said. “My daughter…”
Of course. It was getting late, and he likely had a sitter to get back to.
“Sure,” she smiled. “Say hi to her for me.”
Anson nodded and started to back away, his eyes never leaving hers and her heart still raging away below the surface of her skin.
Whatever was happening between them was completely new to her, it was something raw and powerful.
And it was exciting as hell.
8.
She spent the whole night tossing and turning, her body burning hot and her pussy aching. Since she met Anson, she had been constantly turned on, and the second she thought about him her skin seemed to shudder.
Now that she had seen him again in the bar, she knew for certain that she wanted him. She had been trying to fight it, but there was something so amazing about the way they had connected. It didn’t need to be said, it just existed between them heavily and unignorable.
It was a chemistry like she had never thought possible, and now, she was feeling addicted to it, as if she needed her fix or she would be doomed.
When her alarm finally sounded the following morning, she was exhausted, and she dragged herself out of bed and into the shower knowing she was likely going to have a busy day ahead of her. It was Saturday, an always busy day in Bridge Hollow. With it being the run-up to Halloween, she had seen that the town was already decorating to pull in tourists, and she could imagine that folks from not so far away would likely take day trips there. Surely, they would want some kind of mystical souvenir from the paranormal store, and she was going to be hectic and rushed. But she also knew there was a possibility of Anson coming to see her if he stuck to his word, which kept her going and gave her a definite spring in her step.
She got ready quickly and drank two cups of coffee while she dried her hair and applied her makeup. She chose a simple outfit for the day, wanting to remain as aloof as possible while also pulling off effortlessly sexy. She chose a pair of tight indigo skinny jeans, some flat pumps and a white tight sweater cut in a low V neck. She left her face bare, only using a tiny bit of lip-gloss, mascara and a rosy cheek of blusher, before she put in a pair of small stud earrings and a spritz of perfume.
She felt amazing, and yet she had gone quite simple.
“Sometimes, simple is best,” she said aloud to herself as she grabbed her keys and her cell phone and headed out the door.
When she opened the hallway to the back of the store and stepped inside the gorgeous smell of incense hit her immediately and she couldn’t help but smile. She truly did love it here, this place felt as if it spoke to her soul.
She turned on the fairy lights on the beams, began to light the candles, set some atmospheric music playing and opened the front doors before she took out the table and chairs and started to set them up with their usual wares.
Once she was back inside it wasn’t even 9am, but she was wide awake and raring to go. She had been spending a lot of her time while the store had been quiet on studying the subjects on the shelves, both via the books that Beau kept in there, and by browsing online.
She had learned a lot about tarot, she had been holding and cleansing crystals, learning their properties and letting herself be drawn to some of her own. She had found herself cradling a rose quartz in her palm, and when she had learned all that it signified and could bring to the owner, she thought it was very apt. The stone of love and attraction. She had read tips online that after they had been cleansed, they should be carried by the owner at all times, so she slipped it into the back pocket of her jeans and hoped it would bring her good fortune when it came to Anson.
A customer wandered in the doorway and she smiled and wished them a good morning. She could tell that they were from out of town and they were a young couple quietly discussing the theories that were surrounding Bridge Hollow. Krystal listened as best she could.
“I mean at the beginning of the year those two men went missing,” the guy said. “I just think it’s weird that nothing has been found out by now… Do you think they were murdered?”
Krystal felt a shiver roll over her. She had heard the news about two hunters going missing, and she had discussed it with her aunt, but it had been something that had made a lot of people of the town clam up. No one wanted to discuss the fact that two of their own had disappeared. It was too frightening for any of them to comprehend and no one knew the truth.
“I don’t know,” the girl said. “But I’ve always loved visiting this town at this time of year. It gives me the creeps.”
Krystal was aware of them turning and glancing at her and she lifted her head and smiled.
“Is there anything I can help you with?” she asked as the girl slowly approached the desk.
“This place has moved, right?” the girl asked.
Krystal nodded.
“I thought it looked different,” she said. “It’s been a while since I’ve been back. I like visiting before the craziness of the yearly festival.”
Krystal had heard a lot about this festival, and she was excited to experience it in a month’s time.
“Are you from close by?” she asked.
“A couple of hours drive,” the girl smiled. “I think the last time I came into the store the lady gave me a tarot reading, is she here?”
“Oh, I’m sorry, that’s my aunt and she’s away traveling at the moment,” Krystal said.
“Oh, that’s a shame,” the girl nodded as she picked up a hand poured candle and placed it on the counter to buy. “I love getting my fortune told.”
; Krystal smiled. It looked like she was going to have to learn and hoped that she had the same gifts as her aunt.
The couple paid and left the shop and it got Krystal to thinking about doing a little tarot reading of her own. Maybe she could look into the future and discover something not just about herself, but the future of the town too and what her place would be there.
She was lost in a colorful world of thoughts when there was a light rap at the door, and she looked up to see Anson standing in the doorway. He was so big his body nearly eclipsed the entire frame and his big arms were bare and showing off his incredible tan and muscles.
She swallowed and felt her jaw sag open a little.
He looked so good.
So good, it was making her pussy throb all over again.
He smiled at her and the light from the sun caught his eyes and she was sure she saw them glisten with a golden amber that she had never seen in them before.
“Morning,” he said with a wry smile.
He could clearly see the effect he was having on her and he liked it too.
“Morning,” she said breathlessly as she flipped her hair over her shoulder and tried not to crumple to the floor in a mess of desire.
He stepped inside and she couldn’t take her eyes off him. He was wearing low slung jeans and she could see a jut of muscle running into the waistband. It made her heart dance and she had to pull her eyes away, not wanting to look like she was undressing him right there and then in her mind. His shirt was tight and rolled up to the elbows, and his big, rough hands looked well-worn as if he had been working outside.
“So, you came by…” she said mischievously as he approached the counter.
He nodded and looked down at her. She felt so tiny next to him, she could only imagine the strength he must have inside him.
“I said I would,” he smiled.
“Where’s Heidi?” she asked. “No big plans on this lovely Saturday?”
“Actually, we have big, big plans,” he laughed. “She’s currently with my aunt, but later today I have been roped into making Halloween decorations.” He raised his eyebrows and Krystal couldn’t help but laugh.
“I can imagine you being very crafty,” she teased. “Apron, glue gun, lace and ribbons…”
“Exactly,” he said sternly. “And I take my art very seriously.”
His face cracked into a warm smile and Krystal started to laugh. He was funny. Who would have known after the first time they had met, and he had been so strange?
“Well, that sounds like a lovely afternoon,” she said. “It must be so much fun with her, she’s great.”
“She really is,” he agreed. “My little sidekick and constant pain in my ass, but I love her more than anything.”
Krystal’s heart ached.
What a man.
She smiled.
“I was actually wondering if there was any chance you could help us… I know you’re working here today and you’re probably going to be busy, but Heidi has talked nonstop about the girl in the paranormal shop since the moment she met you. And she wants some more crystals.”
Her whole soul felt like it was lighting up, but she tried to hold it together.
“Of course,” she said. “That would be great.”
She looked around the shop and saw all the work she had to do, and she didn’t want to turn him down, but knew there was no way she was going to get away during the shop’s opening hours.
“I don’t close until 5pm,” she said.
“That’s fine,” he smiled. “Why don’t we pick you up at closing?”
She could barely believe what was happening.
“Okay,” she grinned. “That would work.”
He turned and began walking toward the door and then looked back at her.
“See you later Krystal,” he said before he slipped out and back on Main Street.
Her head was swimming and her heart was thumping so loud she could hear the rush of blood in her ears.
Anson had come looking for her and asked her to go and hang out with him and his daughter.
This was absolutely insane and literally the best thing that could have happened to her. She didn’t know what had changed, but she loved the fact that it had. And now she had plans to see him later and she had never been more excited.
She reached into her back pocket to feel the rose quartz. It was red hot and full of energy and hope, just like she was.
“Thank you, little stone,” she smiled.
She was beginning to love this magical place and all that came with it, and she was certainly turning into a believer.
9.
Anson sat at the island in the center of his kitchen and looked out of the window thoughtfully to the view of the mountains. He had had quite a week, and he still didn’t quite know what to make of it all.
He was lucky that he had his Aunt Nora close and that he could ask her for advice when it came to these kinds of things, but he had to admit it had felt strange opening up the way he had.
When he hadn’t been able to shake Krystal from his thoughts and his body had been wired for days, wanting to hunt for her and find her, he had told his aunt everything and asked for her help.
“You know what this is don’t you?” she had told him.
He nodded his head slowly, even though he was scared to admit it.
“This is the one you’ve been waiting for Anson,” she had said. “This girl, whoever she is, her soul is the one yours has been searching for your whole life. The stars have aligned, and you have been brought together.”
He had nodded and held his head in his hands.
He didn’t know if he was ready for this, but it didn’t seem like he could fight it.
“I always said it would just be Heidi and I,” he had told his aunt. “I have never wanted to be involved with another woman after what happened… it was too painful.”
Aunt Nora had wrapped a loving arm around his shoulder.
“You can’t live your life pushing against what is meant to be,” she had told him. “Your kind isn’t meant to be alone, Anson. They have a fated mate out there and when you meet them, nothing else is ever the same again.”
He had never really believed in the concept before. He thought he had found the love of his life when he had met Heidi’s mother, but she had turned out to be just a phase. The way he felt about Krystal was like an unexpected bolt of lightning. Like his whole body had been shocked into noticing her. He was drawn to her like he had never been drawn to anything. He could sense her before he saw her, he could smell her scent in the air, and it drove him wild. He had heard some of his pack brothers talk about this kind of thing, but he had never really been sure that it existed. And now here he was, experiencing it for real and unable to think about anything else.
“She’s consuming me,” he had told his aunt. “And I barely even know her.”
“Your souls already know one another’s,” Aunt Nora had smiled knowingly. “And when you imprint on her you will understand.”
Anson had always been afraid of this, but now he had met Krystal he wasn’t anymore. Suddenly, things just made sense.
“And Heidi loved her immediately,” he had laughed.
“Well, there you go,” his aunt had beamed. “If you needed any more encouragement then, surely, it is that? But you can’t fight fate Anson… if you do then it will drive you mad and you will spend your life miserable and troubled. You’ll be in turmoil because your heart will be wanting something you’ve denied yourself unnecessarily.”
He knew she was right.
He had spent that whole night awake thinking about Krystal. About what he was feeling and the fact that he had tried to push it down and ignore it, but it had just grown stronger. Now, he knew there was no way he could continue. He would drive himself mad, just like his aunt had told him, and he owed it to Heidi and to himself to let his fate pan out the way it was supposed to.
He had been alone for a long time, and his daughter dese
rved a mother. She had loved Krystal so much on sight that he knew it was the extra validation he needed before he embarked on this journey and let his heart open.
He had always told himself that no one would ever be good enough to come into Heidi’s life. But maybe that was because he had always been waiting for this feeling, and now, he had found it.
Heidi came bouncing into the living room and lugged with her a box full of colored cards, scissors, ribbons, stickers and dried fruit that Aunt Nora had helped her make months before.
“I want to make a garland for the door,” she grinned. “Are we going to decorate the house?”
She clapped her hands together in excitement, and as Anson looked toward the clock and saw that it was approaching four thirty, he finally felt as if he could let Heidi in on his little secret that he knew was going to brighten her day.
“I’ve managed to get us a helper,” he said with a wry smile. “I saw Krystal earlier.”
Heidi’s eyes widened and she grinned from ear to ear.
“Krystal from the shop?”
Anson nodded.
“I invited her to come over and help us make and put up the decorations, and she said she would love to.”
“Oh my goodness!” Heidi shrieked. “Daddy, that is the best news ever!”
She ran toward him and threw herself into his arms. Anson kissed the top of her head and held her close. He loved seeing her so happy, it radiated out of her and went into him and it was such a wonderful feeling.
He had spent so long denying himself the right to love, that when it had found him, he had almost tried to push it away and forget it existed. But it had been Heidi, who had shown him the way. She had the intuition and the foresight that Krystal was someone meant to be with them, and he couldn’t wait for them to all be together in the same room again.
He hugged her again and then whispered in her ear…
“And we’re going to pick her up from the store, so come on, get your things.”
Heidi jumped up and began to dance. Anson felt like the stars were aligning; his aunt was right.
Bridge Hollow Shifters: The Complete Collection Page 37