Ray of Sunshine

by Becca Van

  “Oh. Well, that’s good.”

  Crispin could hear the disappointment in Jaimie’s voice, and while he hated that she wanted to get away from him and his brothers, he was glad she couldn’t. If that made him a bastard, he didn’t give a fuck. He wanted to be able to spend as much time as he could getting to know his woman, and for her to know them. He wanted to be able to woo her into his bed and his heart. He wanted her falling in love with him and his brothers and never wanting to leave.

  He was already deeply in love with her and wanted her love in return.

  * * * *

  Daire was having a hard time sitting next to Jaimie. Every time she moved, the sweet, musky scent of her arousal wafted to his nose. His tiger was pacing, roaring and hissing with impatience, and though he understood his inner animal’s eagerness—was actually feeling just as zealous to claim their woman—he couldn’t let his beast get the better of him. If he did, he’d no doubt scare the shit out of her and send her running.

  He and his brothers were supposed to have told her that she could call any of the women in town to come to her aid if she needed them, and while they hadn’t really had the opportunity to talk to her much yet, that was one subject he was reluctant to bring up.

  He didn’t want her jumping at the chance of leaving him and his brothers to live with someone else, or god forbid, leave town altogether.

  When Sage brought up the exact issue which had just crossed his mind, Daire wanted to curse up a blue streak. Instead, he took a deep breath and held it, trying to get his angry tiger back on a tight leash as he stared at his cousins’ mate.

  When he heard a low, rumbling yowl, he shifted his gaze toward Bladen. His cousin looked pissed and protective at the same time. That was when Daire realized he must have been scowling at Sage. He scrubbed a hand over his face and tried to convey a silent apology. When Bladen nodded and relaxed, Daire leaned back in his chair. He hadn’t even noticed he’d leaned forward with his elbows resting on the table until then.

  “What was that?” Jaimie asked.

  “What was what, baby?” Beckett shifted closer to their woman, resting his arm on the top of the back of her chair.

  “You didn’t hear a growly sound?” She glanced about the room warily as if she was looking for a wild animal to appear.

  “I heard a gust of wind,” Crispin piped up. “Maybe that’s what you heard too.”

  While Jaimie nodded again, he could tell by her expression that she didn’t know what to believe. Thankfully, Sage changed the topic.

  “How did you end up in Ambrose, Jaimie? Are you on vacation and sightseeing?”

  “Uh…yes?”

  Daire smelled the lie instantly. From the way his cousins and brothers were frowning, they’d scented it too. He was about to call Jaimie out, but Sage began talking again.

  “Where are you from?” Sage asked. “Other than from down south that is.”

  “Natchez, Louisiana.”

  “Oh! I’ve never been there before. What’s it like? What do you do?”

  If Daire hadn’t been interested in the answers to Sage’s questions, he would have told her to stop giving his mate the third degree, but he remained silent.

  “I was an ER nurse.”

  “You are. Wow, that must be an exciting and harrowing job.”

  “What do you do?” Jaimie asked before Sage could ask another question.

  “Oh, well, I’m a chef. I cook for all the guests at the new Louis Bed-and-Breakfast. Maybe you and your men could come over and have dinner with us all one night.”

  * * * *

  Jaimie was having a hard time keeping up with the vivacious Sage. One minute she felt as if the other woman was the head of an inquisition, and the next, she knew she was only trying to be friendly. Nevertheless, she was feeling pretty damned uncomfortable being the center of attention. Beckett, Daire, and Crispin hadn’t taken their eyes off of her. Neither had Bladen, Cason, and Daxon.

  If the pain medication hadn’t kicked in and left her feeling floaty, woozy in the head, she would have shoved her chair back and left the room. She was feeling rather disjointed and disconnected from her body even though she was still in pain, but nowhere near as bad as before she’d taken those two capsules.

  Her cheeks heated even more when her stomach rumbled loudly.

  “Shit!” Beckett shoved his chair back, the legs scraping loudly on the tiles before he stood. He leaned over, cupping her cheek in his large hand. “I’m so sorry, baby. We should have thought about feeding you as soon as we came into the kitchen.”

  “You haven’t eaten anything?” Sage pushed to her feet.

  Jaimie shook her head as she lowered her gaze to the table.

  “Well, I can remedy that.” Sage hurried after Beckett into the kitchen, pulling the fridge open and rummaging inside. She walked back to the counter with her arms full of ingredients and placed them down. “Are you in the mood for anything in particular? Is there anything you’re allergic to?”

  “I’ll eat pretty much anything,” Jaimie said as she went to rise, but Daire placed his hand on her shoulder stilling her.

  “Stay where you are, Jaimie. We’re not letting you help. You’re already exhausted and you’re still hurting.”

  “How do you know that?” she asked curiously.

  “You have dark smudges under your eyes telling me that you’ve been having trouble sleeping. When you’re not blushing up a storm, you’re as white as a ghost, and while the deep lines around your mouth and eyes have eased, they’re still there.” Daire caressed a finger beside her lips before stroking the skin on either side of her eyes. Shivers of heat raced up and down her spine, causing her to shudder.

  When she met his hazel eyes, she sucked in a breath at the heat in his gaze. It was so hot it set her insides on fire. She pulled away from his touch, hoping he hadn’t seen her reaction, picked up her coffee and drained the contents.

  Just as she set the mug back on the table, she heard several loud moaning, chuffing sounds from outside the sliding glass door. She stared out into the waning light through narrowed eyes but couldn’t see anything since the thick drapes were partially pulled together.

  A second later, her heart flipped and the air backed up in her lungs when she saw a huge-ass bear standing outside the glass door. He had his back toward her and then the air in her lungs exploded up and out from between her lips when another two bears joined the first one.

  What happened next left her totally speechless as she wondered what the hell kind of drugs the doc had given her.

  The light in the dining room made it easy to see the three massive bears, but she knew she was hallucinating when the outer edges of their big bodies began to shimmer. Her mouth gaped when their muscles and bones started to move beneath their skin and brown coats of fur.

  Her teeth snapped closed audibly when the fur over the bears’ bodies began to recede, leaving bronzed, tanned skin behind. The moment she realized she was staring at the asses of three naked men was the second she started to pant heavily. Jaimie blinked before blinking again and again, trying to get rid of the illusion in front of her eyes. She had no idea where the bear-men got clothes from, but they quickly tugged on jeans and shirts before turning to face her.

  Their eyes widened with shock when they saw her staring. She lowered her gaze to the table, squeezed her eyes shut and tried to get her panic under control, but she was breathing way too fast and she wasn’t just woozy from the painkillers anymore. When she opened her eyes and saw nothing but darkness, she knew she was seconds away from passing out. She lifted her trembling left hand toward the table to grip the edge and steady herself, but she missed and ended up slumping toward Daire.

  “God fucking damn it,” Daire roared.

  They were the last words she heard just before she passed out.

  * * * *

  “What the fuck were you thinking?” Beckett roared. He couldn’t believe the retired FBI agents and Kodiak bear shifters, Preston, Gabe, an

d Liam Louis had just outed shifters to their mate.

  “We didn’t know she was here,” Preston shouted back. He sighed as he ran his fingers through his hair. “We’re so damned sorry. We just needed to see Sage about one of the guest’s dietary requirements. We followed her scent here while we were out for a run and thought we might as well speak to her now instead of waiting until tomorrow morning.”

  “Do you want me to call Elsa and get her to come over?” Gabe asked.

  “I can talk to your mate,” Sage said. “Let me finish cooking her some dinner, and I’ll take it into her. I know I haven’t been mated long, but I’m sure I can explain everything so she’ll understand.”

  Bladen walked over to Sage, cupped her cheeks between his hands, leaned down and kissed her passionately. They were both gasping for breath when they pulled apart. “I’ll stand outside the bedroom door in case you need me, baby.”

  Sage waved him away. “Pfft, I’ll be fine.”

  “I’m not taking any chances, mate.”

  “Bladen’s right.” Preston crossed his arms over his chest. “We don’t know anything about this Jaimie. For all we know she could be a criminal on the run from the law.”

  “What the fuck did you just say?” Daire asked angrily. “I’ve just put my unconscious mate-to-be to bed because of you and your fucking bears. If you can’t speak about my woman respectfully, then you can get the fuck out.”

  “Stop it!” Sage yelled. “What the hell is wrong with all of you? Are you trying to scare Jaimie off? Because if you are, you’re all going the right way about it.”

  “Sage is right,” Liam Louis said. “I’m sorry we fucked up. We’ve become lax with our vigilance after leaving the city and coming to Ambrose. I know that doesn’t excuse our behavior, but we didn’t know she was here.”

  “You didn’t hear about how she saved that little girl’s life by shoving her out of the road only to end up falling and hurting herself?” Sage asked.

  Gabe shook his head. “No, we’ve been so busy at the bed-and-breakfast. We haven’t had time for anything else.”

  Sage sighed. “What’s done is done and there is no changing it.” She finished plating up the omelet she’d cooked for Jaimie, added cutlery to the tray as well as a bowl of salad and a glass of water. She gazed at Beckett, Daire, and Crispin before lifting the tray from the counter. “Are you going to let me explain things to your mate?”

  “Yes. Thanks, Sage,” Beckett said.

  Sage hurried from the room.

  Beckett hoped that Jaimie wouldn’t become so scared she ended up screaming or laughing hysterically.

  He wasn’t going to be able to breathe easy until his mate knew everything.

  Chapter Four

  Jaimie sniffed as she came awake. Saliva pooled in her mouth at the delicious aroma of cooked food. She opened her eyes and met Sage’s worried gaze and bolted upright when she remembered seeing three massive bears change into men before her very eyes.

  “Don’t panic, Jaimie. You’re safe here.”

  “But…but…I…I…”

  “Take a few deep breaths, honey. I promise you that none of the local residents would ever hurt you.”

  “Am I dreaming?” Jaimie pinched her upper right arm hard enough to make her yelp.

  “Shit!” Sage sighed. “Now we’re going to have the cavalry bursting onto the scene.”

  “What?”

  “Your mates will have heard you cry out. They’re going to come—”

  The bedroom door burst open slamming into the wall.

  “What the hell happened?” Daire asked through clenched teeth.

  “Did you hurt yourself, honey?” Crispin asked.

  “What the fuck is going on in here?” Beckett growled out.

  Jaimie was so shocked all she could do was gape at them. There was no way in hell they should have been able to hear that soft yelp.

  “It’s fine,” Sage said. “She pinched herself. We’re fine.”

  “If you need us, all you have to do is call out. Okay?” Beckett asked.

  Jaimie closed her mouth as she nodded.

  “Make sure you eat,” Daire ordered just before he pulled the door partially closed behind him after his brothers left.

  “What the hell is going on?” Jaimie whispered, staring at the door, half expecting the men to come back.

  “I’ll explain everything to you after you’ve eaten something.” Sage rushed to the bedside table where she’d set the tray down, picked it up and placed it on Jaimie’s lap.

  While she was more than a little curious and scared, her empty belly wouldn’t, couldn’t be ignored. Jaimie couldn’t remember the last time she’d eaten a decent meal. She swallowed the saliva pooling in her mouth, grabbed the fork and started eating. Thankfully, she didn’t need to use the knife since she could cut into the omelet with the fork. She watched Sage warily as the other woman nervously paced about the room. When she turned side-on to Jaimie, she noticed the other woman had her hand resting on her lower belly.

  “Are you pregnant?” she asked.

  Sage smiled so brightly she seemed to glow from the inside out. When she blinked the tears welling in her eyes away, Jaimie knew they were happy tears.

  “Congratulations.”

  “Thanks.” Sage pointed at the half-eaten omelet. “You need to finish that.”

  Jaimie nodded and got back to eating. She didn’t stop until the plate was empty and she leaned back with a satisfied sigh. She was grateful to Sage for cooking for her and for choosing something that was easy to eat onehanded. There was no way she would have been able to eat a steak without having it cut up for her.

  “Do you want the salad?” Sage asked.

  “No thanks. I’m stuffed. You’re a wonderful chef. That was delicious.”

  “You’re welcome even if it was a simple meal, and thanks for the compliment.”

  Jaimie nodded, shifting to get comfortable when Sage removed the tray from her lap. The other woman made sure the glass of water was within easy reach on the bedside table.

  “Okay, here’s the deal.” Sage sat on the edge of the bed close to Jaimie. “Shifters are real.”

  Jaimie gulped audibly as she nodded again.

  “I was in your shoes only a few months or so ago.” She licked her lips nervously. “Before I came to Ambrose, I dated a guy who flirted with me a few times when he came to the restaurant I worked in. I refused at first when he asked me to date him, but he was persistent and I caved. Turns out I should have listened to my instincts. The bastard was a control freak and he was abusive. Thank god I didn’t agree to sleep with him. Anyway, he ended up beating me and trying to rape me. I was hurt so badly I ended up in the hospital, but his father was the DA and the asshole got off on a technicality. He and his son were determined to get revenge because the son’s reputation was ruined. When they threatened me, I ran because I knew they weren’t going to stop until I was dead.”

  “I’m sorry for what you went through, but what has this got to do with the other thing you mentioned?”

  “Just be patient. I’ll get to that in a minute.”

  “Okay.”

  “When I saw the job for a chef on the internet, I applied for it. I couldn’t wait to get away from those assholes. Of course, it was for the Louis Bed-and-Breakfast. I was hoping that the DA and his evil son would give up on their plans to get back at me if I was far away from them. They didn’t.

  “Meeting Bladen, Cason, and Dax was the best day of my life. I was instantly attracted but after my last experience with a man, I wanted nothing to do with them. However, they weren’t about to give up on me.

  “I’m glad they didn’t. My men are tiger shifters just like yours are. If they had given in, I wouldn’t be where I am today. Because they love me more than their own lives, and I love them just as much. That asshole who hurt me, stabbed me and I ended up having to have one of my ovaries removed. My cycle was never regular to begin with but after that it was nonexistent. I was told I’d never have kids. I don’t love my mates just because they shared some of their DNA with me and healed me. I love them because they are so loving and caring.

  “All the men who live in Ambrose are shifters of various sorts. They are retired military and while they might be huge and gruff on the outside, inside they’ve got hearts of gold. The Louis men, the men you saw change from Kodiak bears to human, fought for our country before becoming FBI agents.”

  Jaimie nodded. She wanted to ask more questions but remained silent because she knew Sage wasn’t done yet.

  “The DA and his son sent his goons after me. If it wasn’t for Beckett, Daire, and Crispin as well as my mates and the Louis brothers, I’d probably be dead. They saved me from being hurt in a Mexican stand-off between four men hell-bent on killing me.”

  “How is any of this real?” Jaimie asked. “Are you sure you haven’t been taking drugs?”

  Sage giggled. “I thought nearly the same thing, but how can you not believe when you saw the Louis men change right before your eyes? If I’ve been taking drugs then so have you.”

  Jaimie pointed to the cast on her arm. “I’m taking drugs.”

  Sage laughed outright. When she’d sobered she asked, “Are you normally delusional when you take painkillers?”

  She shook her head. “What other shifters are there?” She couldn’t believe she was asking that question. Even though she wasn’t sure she believed Sage, the other woman had sounded so convincing. Truth had rung in every word she had spoken. While she was still skeptical, she was also a believer. There was no way she could refute seeing those bears turn into human men. While everything felt so surreal, she couldn’t deny any of it.

  “There are polar bear shifters, lions, Kodiaks which you’ve already seen, wolves, and tigers. There might be others, but if there are, I haven’t seen or heard about them yet.”

  “What about other paranormal creatures?” Jaimie asked. In her mind’s eye she could see elves, fairies, vampires as well as trolls, gnomes, and other mythical beings. She mentally snorted when she imagined telling a psychiatrist what she’d just learned. They’d have her trussed up in a straitjacket and locked inside a padded room so fast her head would spin.

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