Romancing the Paranormal

by Stephanie Rowe

  “What?” Garrett looked confused. “Trusting me?”

  “No.” She sighed, dropping her arms and really looking at him. “We just met and trusting you really isn’t the issue.”

  “What is the issue?” His voice was deep and masculine. His eyes promised things that she wanted to explore.

  Garrett’s persistence in knowing what was bothering her shocked her. The only person who ever really cared was her mom. Guys just wanted to get her in their bed. She was a magnet for dirt bags, but Garrett was different. At least, she thought he was. She had been wrong about guys in the past.

  “I don’t understand…anything,” she finally said. When he remained quiet, she figured she might as well let it loose and find out exactly what kind of man Garrett really was. “But most of all, I don’t understand the feelings I have for you. I don’t know you at all, yet everything about you draws me in.”

  A half-grin formed across his lips, his eyes darkening as he watched her. “You want me.” His growl wasn’t a question; it was a fact he more or less threw in her face.

  The half-grin pissed her off. “You’re an asshole,” she spat out before turning to stomp away, but he stopped her.

  “What you’re feeling is normal.” Garrett smiled down at her, not upset at all by being called an asshole.

  “Save it, Garrett.” Janna frowned. “It’s not normal. It’s like I crave you.”

  “Normal.” Garrett nodded the one word response, which seemed to piss her off even more. He grabbed her shoulders to keep her from walking. “You were raised a human, but you are shifter. Shifters are different in so many ways, especially with relationships. So what you are feeling is normal and I know this because I feel the same about you.”

  “But you’re a guy,” Janna replied as if that explained everything.

  “And what does that mean?” he asked confused.

  “It means you’ll go after anything with…boobs.” Janna pointed at hers rolling her eyes. “I’m a girl, which means I’m a slut if I just met you and I put out.”

  “What in the hell are you talking about?” Garrett looked like he was either ready to laugh or explode.

  “I’m talking about screwing you, dammit!” Janna said, then her eyes popped open wide in surprise at what she just said, but it was the young voice behind her that made her mouth drop open as wide.

  “Why would you want to screw Garrett?” Sam’s small voice broke through the awkward silence. “He’s a nice guy.”

  CHAPTER 10

  Sam walking up on them was a blessing because the hole she had been digging with Garrett just kept getting deeper and deeper. Thank God, Sam was too young to know what she had meant about screwing Garrett.

  “Come on, Ja…Janna.” Sam gripped her hand tighter as he pulled her around Garrett’s house. “Mo…mol…lly is throwing a party and wants to meet you.”

  “Slow down, speedy.” Janna grinned at his excitement.

  Sam did slow down as he looked up at her. “Are you going to stay?”

  And wasn’t that the question of the day. “I’m not sure, Sam.” She didn’t want to lie to him. She really wasn’t sure. Her beast growled at her answer, but it wasn’t up to her damn beast, or wolf, or whatever the hell was inside her. She could hear Garrett following close behind them as they crossed the street heading toward Molly’s.

  “I don’t want yo…you to go.” Sam’s voice cracked.

  “Don’t you like it here?” Janna stopped, looking down at the little guy. “Are they treating you okay?”

  “I like it and Molly is really nice.” Sam frowned, looking from Molly’s house back up at her. “But it would be bet…better if you stay.”

  Her heart melted. Kneeling down, she brushed the hair out of Sam’s eyes. “Sam, I’m not sure what’s going to happen, but I promise if I don’t stay, I will come back and visit you and Leda.”

  She could see his little mind working through his eyes. “I wa…wa…want to go with you.”

  That did it. Her heart not only melted, but she wanted to pull it out and hand it to the little guy because her heart belonged to him. “And I would love to have you with me, but Sam, I don’t know what’s going on or where I’m going. You are safe here and I can tell you’ve already made friends.” Glancing over toward Molly’s, where a large group of people were gathered, she saw a little boy around Sam’s age waving him over impatiently. “See, your little friend there would be upset if you left.”

  Sam also looked at his friend. “That’s Peter. He listens to everything I say. I’m a year ol…ol…older than him.”

  “See, he needs you to show him the ropes since you’re older.” Janna fake punched Sam in the chin.

  Sam acted like she really punched him, falling back dramatically, then he did the same to her. It was something they had started doing on their travels here. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. Plus Le…Le…Leda would be mad if we had to leave. She’s has a big old cr…cr…crush on Hunter.” He snickered, then gagged. “She gets all weird when he’s around.”

  Janna looked up at Garrett who still stood silently behind them, watching and listening to everything. He also wore a large frown on his face. “Hunter’s too old for Leda.” She told Garrett, who continued to frown down at her without saying a word.

  “Come on, Sam.” Peter ran up, grabbing Sam’s arm. “Molly said we were going to play some games when all the kids got here.”

  “Okay, Peter.” Sam sighed, and then thumbed toward Peter. “Kids.”

  Janna tried so hard not to laugh. Sam was a hoot and a half. She still didn’t know what happened with their parents because both were tight lipped whenever she tried to ask about them. But by the way they acted whenever their parents were brought up, she knew it wasn’t good. It was going to break her heart if she had to leave them. “Well then, we better go.” Standing, she smiled when both Sam and Peter took her hand, hurrying to where Molly and some other women stood talking.

  “I finally got her,” Sam said as they walked up to the group. “She wanted to screw Garrett, but I stopped her.”

  Everything went dead silent, not even a bird chirp. All eyes went to Janna and then Garrett. She was mortified, absolutely mortified.

  “What?” Sam looked at around at everyone, then pointed to Garrett. “I told her not to ‘cause he’s a nice guy and that would probably hurt.”

  Hunter was the first to laugh and soon everyone was laughing to the point it was almost deafening. She even heard Garrett chuckling behind her and wanted to die, no…she wanted to kill him and then die.

  “Sam, you and Peter go play.” An older heavyset woman came up, shooing Sam and Peter along. She looked up at Janna. “I’m Molly. It’s nice to finally meet you.”

  Janna tried to smile, but couldn’t wipe the mortified look off her face. “It’s nice to meet you also, Molly.” She nodded. “Thank you for taking in Leda and Sam.”

  “It’s no problem at all. They’re good kids,” she replied, glancing over at where Leda was sitting with another girl. “But I can’t get anything out of them about their parents.”

  Garrett walked past them toward his brothers without saying a word to either woman. Janna quickly glanced at him then away before looking at Molly. “Ah, no. They clam up tight when I try to talk to them about their parents.”

  “He has that effect on all women.” Molly patted her on the shoulder. “Come on over with the girls.”

  Frowning, Janna followed, knowing her face was beet red. “Sam misunderstood.” Was the only thing she could think to say. Her mouth got her in trouble so much, she just needed to become a mute and not say anything ever again.

  Molly laughed loudly, but didn’t comment on that further. Instead, she introduced Janna to the rest of the women. “I was just telling Janna that the Foster boys have a certain affect on all the women here.”

  The women nodded, except for Roxy who was staring at Janna. “Well, I won’t be here long so…”

  “The way Garrett keeps staring
at you, I think you might be here longer than you expect.” Another woman, whose name Janna couldn’t remember because she was still in deep mortification and nothing was penetrating her brain, grinned at her knowingly.

  Janna glanced his way and sure enough, he was staring at her with that same frown on his face. His eyes narrowed as if seeing into her soul. It was unnerving the way that man made her feel. Looking away quickly, her eyes found Roxy who turned and walked away. Sighing, Janna stood listening to the other women talk, not feeling a part of their group at all, but they weren’t being rude.

  “Got your car fixed.” Dell walked over dropping the keys into her hands. “It should run like a well-oiled beauty.”

  Stuffing the keys in her pocket, Janna grinned. “Thank you so much. How much do I owe you?”

  Dell’s eyes lit up as his grin spread, but then he also glanced at Garrett. “No charge.” He gave her another grin, but this was full of disappointment as he walked away.

  Well, that wasn’t going to do. She was going to give Dell some money whether he wanted it or not. She didn’t take to charity.

  As she made small talk with the women, her eyes kept going to Roxy who stood alone watching the kids play. With a sigh, she headed toward the woman.

  “Hey,” Janna said, stopping to watch as Sam and Peter played egg toss.

  Roxy looked startled, but replied, “Hey.”

  Well, this wasn’t awkward. “Listen, Roxy, I’m really sorry about last night. But I promise you nothing happened between me and Garrett.” She looked over at the beautiful redhead and honestly couldn’t understand why Garrett wasn’t pursuing this woman. She was gorgeous and seemed sweet. “And I’ll be leaving soon.”

  “I don’t have a chance with Garrett,” Roxy replied, glancing over at Janna shyly. “I don’t even know why I try.”

  “Why do you think that?” Janna asked, actually curious. She did have a smidge of jealously thinking of Roxy with Garrett, but she really did seem sweet. And who was she kidding, what woman wouldn’t want to be with Garrett?

  “I’m human.” Roxy sighed, and then laughed at Janna’s shocked face. “Garrett saved me from my ex-husband who was dead set on killing me. He brought me back here and now I guess I have a hero worship thing going on.”

  “How long have you been here?” Janna asked, before waving at Sam who had spotted her. He waved back as he jumped up and down in excitement.

  “Over three months. Sam is so cute.” Roxy nodded toward Sam and shrugged. “I’m afraid to leave because if my ex finds me, I won’t be so lucky next time. Garrett and his brothers said I could stay here under their protection as long as I want.”

  Janna turned her head slightly to look at the Foster brothers. They stood in serious conversation with other men. Her eyes fell on Marcus, who she had seen staring at Roxy. Rolling her eyes as her mind went into matchmaker mode, she decided to go for it. “You know there is a Foster brother who I heard has his eyes on you.” Checking out all the males standing around, Janna frowned. There really weren’t many of them.

  Roxy also looked over at the men, a blush tinting her cheeks. “I seriously doubt that.” Roxy snorted.

  Knowing why she said that, Janna shrugged. “My mother was human,” she replied, glancing over at Jonah who stood silently listening to Garrett. “And was deeply in love with a shifter.”

  “So it’s true.” Roxy leaned against a tree. “Jonah is your father.”

  Nodding, Janna waved at Sam again when he looked to make sure she was watching him. “So it’s not impossible. Why don’t you go talk to Marcus?”

  “Marcus?” Roxy looked surprised.

  “Well, I sure didn’t mean Hunter.” Janna laughed. “That boy’s eyes are on all the girls. Plus he wasn’t the one who got into a fight with Garrett over you.”

  “What?” Roxy’s mouth opened wide.

  “Oh, yeah. I had to pour water over them to get them to stop.” Janna laughed at her expression as her eyes caught Dell leaving. “Go talk to him. I seriously doubt you’ll regret it.”

  “You think I should? I’ve never really talked to him before, I mean I have, but not…” Roxy frowned, looking nervous. “See I can’t even make sense and I’m not even talking to him yet.”

  Janna smiled, pushing Roxy toward the direction of Marcus. “Go,” she urged, then laughed when Roxy dug her heels in, but Janna was stronger. With one more push, she had Roxy heading down the little slope they stood on. Marcus reached out, stopping her as she stumbled past him. She snickered when Roxy glared up at her, but then her attention went back to Marcus who said something to her. With a proud smile, Janna turned, heading in the direction Dell had gone.

  “Hey, Dell,” Janna called out, spotting him walking down the road. She was surprised when he stopped suddenly, but didn’t turn around. It even looked like his shoulders tightened. “Wait up.”

  She jogged up to him and he finally turned, but instead of him looking at her, he looked over her head, a large frown on his handsome face. “You shouldn’t be here.”

  “Why not?” Janna stopped in front of him, wondering why he was scanning behind her and not looking at her.

  “Where’s Garrett?” Dell now looked down at her.

  “Ah, I don’t know.” Janna spun, glancing around, before resetting her focus back on Dell. “Why? Do you need him?”

  Dell actually laughed with a shake of his head. “You really don’t know our ways, do you?”

  “I just want to give you some money for fixing my car.” Janna tossed her hands up in frustration. “What does that have to do with understanding anything other than paying for a service?”

  “I don’t want your money and I sure don’t want to get into a fight tonight.” Dell once again looked over her head.

  Janna laughed, rolling her eyes at his ridiculous statement. “You think I’m crazy enough to fight someone as big as you.”

  Dell looked down at her confused for a second, then laughed. “Not you, beautiful.” Then his eyes rose. “With that big son of a bitch.”

  CHAPTER 11

  “I thought I told you to go on watch,” Garrett growled as he stormed up, nudging Janna out of the way.

  “And that’s exactly where I was going,” Dell responded, standing his ground.

  “I stop—” Janna started, but Garrett totally ignored her.

  “No, it looks like you’re standing here talking to her.” Garrett nodded down at Janna.

  “Listen, I—” Janna tried again, but this time Dell cut her off.

  “And you would be correct, but—” Dell broke himself off with a sneer. “You know what, you’re not going to believe anything I say anyway because you’re itching for a fight.”

  “No, he’s not.” Janna shook her head nervously. “This is all my—”

  “You were warned and you disobeyed.” Garrett’s breathing became harsh, his body growing with tension as he leaned toward Dell.

  “I didn’t disobey anything.” Dell took a step back, his body also radiating with a power that you could actually feel.

  “What did he disobey?” Janna asked, but felt like she was talking to two bricks for the attention she was getting, which was none. Then it dawned on her. “Garrett, I’m forcing money on him. He didn’t want to take it, but I’m not good with charity and I was going to make him take it.”

  “It has nothing to do with money.” Dell finally acknowledged she was alive and talking. “He marked you as his territory and fears I’m sniffing around. Isn’t that right, leader? She doesn’t know our ways, but I do and I was not sniff—”

  “Territory?” Janna’s eyes widened successfully interrupting them this time. When she saw Garrett cringe, her blood boiled. “Mark your territory? Me?”

  “It’s not like what you’re thinking.” Garrett glanced over his shoulder, but his annoyed tone of voice was totally the wrong tone of voice to use on her at that moment, because it pissed her off even more.

  “Like a dog pissing on a tree?” Janna’s voi
ce rose with each word, until the last one was shouted. “Well, I’m no tree, you son of a bitch, but you are most definitely a dog! And if you ever think of pissing on me, I will rip your…your…thing off!” She pointed at his dick just to make sure he knew exactly what she was talking about.

  “Janna.” Garrett had turned, completely facing her now. “That’s not exactly what we do.”

  “Oh, well, I bet all the ladies around here are happy about that.” She still pointed at his dick.

  Dell laughed, but stopped at her glare when her finger pointed toward his. “Don’t think I won’t, buddy.” She dropped her hand when she noticed they had an audience.

  “You can’t fight who or what you are, Janna.” Garrett’s voice broke through her second humiliation of the night.

  “Watch me.” Janna pulled the keys out of her pocket and quickly went toward her car. “Marking me like a dog marks his territory. I don’t freaking think so,” she murmured to herself. As her fingers fumbled, the keys dropped. Cursing she bent to pick them up, but not until she saw the look on Sam and Leda’s face who were watching her humiliation. Slowly picking up her keys, she straightened, looking around at all the eyes watching her every move, until her blurring gaze landed on her car. Slowly, she headed that way, but stopped. Her bag with everything she owned was still inside Garrett’s house. She couldn’t leave without it. With one more glance toward Sam and Leda, she walked toward the house.

  Once inside, she took the stairs two at a time, went into the room she used, and grabbed her bag. She heard a door slam downstairs and panicked. Closing the door, she tried to lock it and again her shaking fingers found the task difficult. Finally, the lock clicked. Turning, she leaned against it, holding her bag against her.

  The doorknob rattled. “Open the door.” Garrett’s voice broke through the barrier.

  Closing her eyes, she leaned her head against it. Her beast whimpered. “No,” she responded, wondering if she was talking to him or her beast.