Alphas for the Holidays

by Mandy M. Roth

  Frauke threw her hand up like she didn’t care and went back to whisking.

  Julian shrugged.

  “Hey,” Bridget said. “Is the standing rib roast in that walk-in too?”

  Julian nodded.

  “You mind if I check that the right one was delivered?”

  “Whatever makes you happy. Thanks for bringing the bubbles. You need anything else?”

  “No, we can let ourselves out.”

  He gave them a nod and pushed back through the door.

  Bridget motioned for Sam to follow her. She seemed to know her way through the kitchen. She kept to the perimeter, giving the cook a wide berth. The walk-in was in the back corner. She pulled the door open, reached in to turn on the light, then stepped back to let him through.

  He went in and she followed. She put the bottles she was holding on a shelf. The door closed behind them, giving them a break from the opera.

  “Wow, that’s loud.” Bridget made a face like she was clearing out her brain. “I think my ears are ringing.”

  “Not my kind of music, that’s for sure. Where should I put the rest of this champagne?”

  She pointed. “That empty shelf.”

  As he did that, she rummaged around until she found the standing rib roast. She crouched down to check the label on the heavy-duty plastic shrink-wrap.

  “Is it the right one?”

  She nodded and stood. “It is. I guess the only thing Lenny screwed up on was delivering the champagne. And showing up for his shift today. He’s still totally fired.”

  “I don’t blame you for that.” Sam rubbed his hands together. The walk-in was chilly. “Ready to go?”

  “Yep.” She turned and pushed the release bar on the door. It sank against the frame but the door didn’t budge. “What the—” She jammed it again.

  Nothing.

  “You’ve got to be kidding me.” She pounded on the door. “Hey. Hey!”

  “What’s the matter?”

  She turned to face him. “The kitchen helper didn’t get stuck in here because she didn’t know how to open the door, she got stuck because the pin in the handle is missing. Look.”

  She pushed the lever several times. It moved with no resistance.

  Sam looked once more at the door, then at Bridget. “Are you saying we’re stuck in here?”

  The muscles in her jaw tensed and eyes glittered with the icy anger of the wolf inside. “Yes.”

  “How does the cook come and go and not get stuck?”

  Bridget glanced around, then kicked something on the floor. “That’s how.”

  He looked at the thing she’d kicked. A scarred triangle of wood. A makeshift doorstop. “She couldn’t tell us the thing was broken?”

  “I don’t think she speaks much English.”

  Sam growled. “Move to the side.”

  “What are you going to do?”

  “Throw my weight against it.”

  She got out of the way. “I’m not sure it’ll work. These things are built like vaults.”

  “I’m two hundred and twenty pounds of werewolf. That door’s going to pop like a tick.” He took a few steps back and a stack of plastic medical bags on a high shelf caught his eye. He took a closer look at them. “Is that… blood?”

  She glanced in the same direction. “Yes. Why else do you think a solitary vampire needs a walk-in? I mean, besides all the fancy parties Elenora throws here. She likes to keep a large emergency stash on hand.”

  He curled his lip. “I’m so glad I’m not a vampire.” He shook his head and leaned his body forward.

  Bridget held up her hand. “You do realize if you break that door off its hinges, Elenora will hold you responsible for repairing or replacing it.”

  He straightened. “Are you serious?”

  She curled her fingers in to point at herself. “Do you not see me here on Christmas Eve delivering her champagne?”

  “Good point.” He sighed in frustration. “What then?”

  She settled onto a wooden veggie crate. “We wait.”

  “We could pound on the door and yell some more.”

  “I don’t think she’s going to hear anything over that opera racket.”

  “Probably not.” He sat on the floor across from her. “Do you have your phone?”

  “It’s in my purse, which is in your truck. You?”

  “On the dashboard of the truck. Hey, I suppose they could see my truck out there and figure out what happened.”

  She wrapped her arms around herself. “Yep.”

  “Otherwise, it won’t be long, will it? That cook’s got to come in here for something sooner or later, don’t you think?”

  She shook her head. “She was making whipped cream. Dessert. The meal is over. The next time she comes into this walk-in will be to get that standing rib roast out for Christmas dinner.” Bridget squinted. “It’ll take a couple hours to bring that thing to room temperature, then several more to cook it. They probably eat around seven, maybe. I’d say the earliest she’ll come for that roast is noon.”

  Sam let out a quiet curse. “The chief’s going to be ticked when he figures out the station’s unattended.”

  Bridget smiled wryly. “He sent you with me. He has only himself to blame.” She pulled her jacket tighter. “Some Christmas Eve, huh?”

  “You’re cold.”

  “Aren’t you?” She gave him a look. “You have to be. It’s like thirty-seven degrees in here.”

  “I’m okay.” He wanted to ask her to sit next to him. To get close and use his body heat. But he wasn’t sure how’d she’d react to that. He supposed when she got cold enough, she wouldn’t care.

  He wasn’t willing to wait that long or let her suffer to that point. He stood up and started to shrug off his jacket.

  She frowned. “What are you doing?”

  “Giving you my coat.”

  “Like hell you are. You’re going to need it. Keep it. I’m not taking it.”

  “You’re a little stubborn, you know that?”

  She snorted. “You just figuring that out?”

  “No.” All the Merrows were like that. Like when he’d told the chief he’d find a cheap place to stay and the chief had insisted Sam stay at the firehouse until he got on his feet a little more.

  “Is that what changed?”

  “What do you mean?”

  She looked away. “Never mind.”

  “Tell me. You might as well. We’ve got nothing else to do.” He sat back down. If she didn’t want his jacket, she probably didn’t want to sit next to him either. If she got colder, that would most probably change. Hopefully.

  She sighed. “I don’t want to have this conversation with you.”

  Now he was really curious. “What conversation?”

  “That’s exactly what I’m talking about.”

  He threw his hands up. “I’m completely lost.”

  She stared at him. “Your having no idea what I’m talking about is exactly what I’m talking about. This is a very one-sided thing, and I don’t want to discuss it.”

  His jaw dropped open and he blinked. He was genuinely in the dark. “I’ve got nothing here. Totally clueless. You want to explain, great. If not, okay. But if there’s something you actually want to talk about, let’s do it. Because sitting here freezing to death will be a lot less painful if we don’t have to do it in silence.”

  She tilted her head back. “Why are men so dense?”

  “Was that a rhetorical question?”

  She made a face at him. “It’s so easy for you, isn’t it? Emotions and feelings, those don’t even factor into your day-to-day thought process, do they?”

  He shrugged. “Again, I really don’t know what we’re talking about.”

  “Us.” She spat the word out like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

  He stared at her. “I didn’t know there was an us.”

  “Exactly.” She swung her legs around to the other side of the box to face the door
. Like that was the end of the conversation.

  “Bridget, can you give me a hint as to what you mean?” Because if she thought they were a thing, he sure as hell wanted to talk about that.

  She finally faced him. “You’re really going to pretend like before you left for the fire academy there wasn’t something going on between us? Some kind of chemistry happening? And that when you got back, it was just gone?”

  Oh. That.

  Chapter 4

  The look on Sam’s face told Bridget everything she needed to know. He understood exactly what she was talking about. “Well?”

  He leaned back against the shelves and rested his forearms on his bent knees. “What’s there to talk about?”

  “Are you kidding? Can you just turn it on and off like that? Or were you faking all that flirting? And don’t try to say you weren’t flirting because you almost kissed me at least three times.”

  He blew out a breath. “I did not.”

  She slanted her eyes at him. “Uh, yes, you did.”

  He shook his head and looked away.

  “What happened? You hook up with some badge bunny at the fire academy?”

  “No.”

  “Did the age difference finally sink in?”

  “What age difference?”

  She lifted one shoulder. “I’m three years older than you.”

  “How do you know how old I am?”

  “I asked your sister.”

  So she’d talked to Ivy about him. That was interesting. “I had no idea.”

  “Well, what then?”

  “I don’t want to have this conversation.”

  “You’re the one who told me how boring it would be to freeze to death in silence.”

  “We’re not going to freeze to death.”

  She shivered. “I might.”

  He patted the spot next to him. “Come sit by me. I’ll keep you warm.”

  Yeah, she bet he would. The last thing her wolfy hormones needed was to be wrapped in Sam’s arms. Was the man trying to get himself bitten? “Thanks, but I’m not that cold.”

  “Suit yourself.”

  “Don’t think you’re changing the topic either. I want to know what happened between when you arrived in town and when you came back from the academy. You did like me, didn’t you?”

  He sighed. “Yes. I still do. You’re very nice.”

  She pursed her lips. “You know what I mean.”

  He put his head down and stayed quiet for a long moment. When he spoke, his voice was low and husky and edged with something that sounded very much like need. “Bridget, I do like you. But you and me together is a bad idea. One that can’t happen.”

  The timbre of his voice scraped over her skin, raising goose bumps and a few bad ideas of her own. Telling her she couldn’t do something only made her want to do it that much more. “And why is that?”

  He looked up at her, eyes alight with the glow of his beast. “You know why.”

  “No, I don’t. Tell me. And don’t bring up the Kincaid thing again. We’ve already established you’re a Kincaid in rehab. That excuse is no longer valid.”

  He sighed. “Your brother is my boss. And your other brother is the sheriff. Both of them made it clear very early on that you were off-limits.”

  “And yet Titus made sure that you and I were together tonight.”

  Sam laughed. “You needed a truck. I had one. I don’t think the chief is responsible for that case of champagne needing to be delivered. And if you didn’t drive that impractical car, you wouldn’t have needed a truck in the first place.”

  She narrowed her gaze. “So now my car is silly?”

  “I didn’t say that. Your car is… an incredible piece of American muscle, and you look hot as hell driving it, but—”

  “You think I’m hot as hell?” She grinned.

  He scrubbed a hand over his face before staring to the side. At last he faced her. “I think you’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.”

  That left her speechless and warm. When she found her voice, she asked, “Then why haven’t you asked me out?”

  “I told you. Your brothers.”

  “If you really liked me, they would be minor obstacles, not roadblocks.”

  He bowed his head again as if wrestling with something more.

  “What is it?” she asked. “What aren’t you saying?”

  He got up and paced to the back of the walk-in. Didn’t take much with the length of his stride, just a few steps. He put his hands on the shelves and leaned in, putting his forehead against his knuckles. The width of his shoulders was an impressive thing. “I’m not the man you need, Bridget.”

  She barked out a laugh. “Did my brothers coach you to say that? If so, you can take that lovely little turd and flush it. I’ve had enough of them trying to dictate who I spend time with. I’m a grown woman, in case you hadn’t noticed.”

  “I have. Trust me.” He turned around, eyes wolf-bright with gold. “And no, those words are mine.” The gleam in his eyes faded as he shook his head. “You’re a Merrow. I’m a Kincaid. That’s enough right there to tell you we’re not suited.”

  “Your sister and my brother proved that wrong. And seriously, that excuse is done. Try again.”

  “It’s not done. Ivy became a Merrow by marriage. You’d have to become a Kincaid. There’s a difference.”

  Surprise rounded her mouth into an O. “So you’ve thought about us getting married?” That was way more than she’d imagined. Sam was one surprise after another.

  “What? No. Not exactly. I mean… Hell, that’s not what I was saying.”

  She jumped up and went to stand in front of him, as close as she dared. “I like you, Sam. I have since I first laid eyes on you. And it’s pointless to deny there’s some kind of chemistry going on between us. So I gottta ask. What’s a big bad wolf like you so afraid of?”

  “I’m not afraid of anything.” The words rumbled out of him, setting Bridget’s blood on fire with their defiant tone.

  She lifted her chin, trembling with boldness but unwilling to back down. If ever there was a moment to be brave, this was it. “Then kiss me.”

  The snarl left his mouth, but the metallic wolf fire returned to his eyes. It took half a second for him to respond. His body snapped to attention, and he moved toward her with purpose. He threaded his fingers through her hair and brought her mouth to his in a searing kiss.

  She closed her eyes and lost herself to the moment. The hum of the refrigeration died away, replaced by the thump of her pulse and her sudden intake of breath. She was no longer cold. No longer concerned about being stuck in the walk-in.

  Sam Kincaid was kissing her.

  His lips were as smooth and firm as she’d imagined they would be. She sighed into his mouth and his lips parted. His tongue darted out, stroking hers.

  She shivered, but not because of the temperature. She reached for him, holding on to his arms.

  He nipped at her bottom lip, teasing it between his teeth. She moaned, almost delirious with pleasure. His mouth went lower. Across her jaw, down her throat. To the tender spot below her ear. She gasped as a shudder of need tore through her. She broke contact and backed away.

  It was that or they were about to create a serious health-code violation in this walk-in.

  His eyes were still aglow and no doubt hers were too after that. He stared at her like he was hungry for more. “Still think I’m afraid?”

  She shook her head, mute with pleasure. A few seconds passed before she managed to whisper, “No.”

  Finally she could form words into sentences. “If you… That is…” Well, she mostly could. “Why did it take my asking?”

  “Because we don’t belong together.”

  That took some of the buzz off her pleasure high. If her eyes had been wolfy-gold, they weren’t now. “Explain that. Right now. Because based on that kiss, that’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.”

  All Sam really wanted to do was kiss her a
gain. And again. And again. She’d been everything he’d dreamed of and then some. Soft and lush and sweet and perfect. And despite the temperature in this walk-in, she’d nearly set him on fire.

  But kissing her had done exactly what he’d worried it would. It had opened up a discussion there was no turning away from.

  The one where he was going to have to lay himself bare before her and show her just how lacking he was. He’d had the conversation a thousand times in his head. He still wasn’t prepared for it. To actually stand in front of her, face-to-face, and strip himself emotionally naked.

  He was too in love with her to want to see the look in her eyes when she realized what a mess he was.

  He swallowed what was left of his pride. “Bridget, I’m not the man you deserve.”

  “Says who?”

  “Says me.” And his bank account.

  The challenge fell off her face. “Why?”

  He stared at the floor. “Because I’m not. Besides the fact that I’m a Kincaid, even one in rehab like you said, I can’t do anything for you. I can’t give you anything. I’m starting a new job. I don’t even have my own place. I’m basically living at the firehouse. That truck is the only thing I’ve got. You deserve a man who can spoil you with gifts and trips and fancy dinners. A man who can at least take you back to his place. I can’t do any of those things. I’m flat broke.”

  She blinked. “What are you talking about? And not that it matters, but you must have money. That’s one time when being a Kincaid is a positive.”

  “When the law got involved in my family’s business, which was ultimately a good thing because it freed my mother and Ivy—”

  “And Charlie.”

  “And Charlie.” Sam nodded. His and Ivy’s father was an abusive tyrant of a man, and Ivy and Charlie had taken the brunt of it. Their freedom made Sam’s own hardship easier to bear. “But when the government stepped in, everything was frozen. Pack money, personal money, assets, everything. And the new alpha of the Tennessee Pack declared that no new pack dividends would be dispersed to any Kincaid. I can’t blame him. My family almost destroyed the Tennessee Pack. But it’s made my life hard. If not for the kindness of your brothers, I don’t know where I’d be.”

  She shook her head, her eyes glistening with concern. “Sam, I had no idea.”