A nagging deep inside him kept insisting he try again with her.
“Well?” pressed Brett.
With a shrug, Jeffrey remained silent.
“Shit,” breathed out Brett. “Tell me you didn’t.”
“Didn’t what?” asked Jeffrey, turning more on the desk to face Brett better.
His friend’s expression was nothing short of astonished. “You went and fell for a woman finally. And the one you decided to go all head over heels for just so happens to be the one woman who has zero issues telling you to go fu—”
“Chief,” said Stratton Bright, cutting off Brett as he poked his head into the office. His brown hair was pushed back from his face and gelled in some fancy big-city-boy way, reminding everyone that he’d moved to Grimm Cove from Chicago, and wasn’t born there. Brett had hired him on a few years back and given him the position of lead detective. He was always dressed like he might be asked to pose for the cover of a men’s magazine.
Jeffrey didn’t get it. He preferred jeans and T-shirts to dress slacks and dress shirts. He couldn’t imagine Stratton was comfortable done up like that all the time.
Stratton nodded to him but then spoke to Brett. “Charmaine said a call just came in from the Pickenses’ farm.”
Brett sighed. “Did she spend an hour talking on the phone asking about the state of things with the cows this year? I swear, our dispatcher spends more time chatting with people than anyone I know.”
Stratton shook his head. “No. She wasn’t on long. Something about dead farm animals drained of their blood. She didn’t catch it all but there may have been partially eaten animals too.”
Jeffrey tensed. The first culprit that came to mind was vampires, but they didn’t eat things so much as drained them dry.
The vampires in Grimm Cove knew better than to pull a stunt like that. They were already on blast because of the recent succubus attack, when she’d brought vampires with her. Thankfully, none had been local and from what Brett and everyone involved had been able to dig up, all had been evil dicks to start with.
So no big loss to society or anything now that they were extra dead.
“Vampire?” asked Brett of Stratton, clearly thinking the same thing as Jeffrey.
“Doc Hartshorn made the call,” said Stratton, his expression serious.
Dr. Donte Hartshorn was a trusted friend and veterinarian. If he was calling in about an issue concerning animals, there was a problem.
Brett stood. “Head on out and take a look. Call me with what you find.”
“Will do,” said Stratton, heading out.
Jeffrey stood as well. “You don’t think we missed some succubus thrall stragglers, do you?”
“I sure the hell hope not,” added Brett. “I’ve got a couple of things I have to wrap up here that can’t wait. Can you stop by the house and check on the girls?”
Jeffrey waggled his brows. “Can do.”
Brett grunted. “And avoid lame come-ons to Dana?”
“Probably not,” admitted Jeffrey. “Still want me to head over?”
“Unfortunately, yes,” he said. “Let me know how they’re doing.”
Jeffrey eyed his friend, wondering why Brett was passing on the opportunity, no matter what he had going on at work. “You’re not going because Poppy forbid you from hovering, right?”
“Um, no,” said Brett so quickly, it was easy to see he was lying.
Jeffrey laughed. “I’ll go and report in. It’s on my way over to the bar anyways. Plus, gives me a chance to convince Dana to have dinner with me.”
“When I get home tonight and find your balls in a jar on the table, I’m not going to be too shocked,” said Brett as he walked toward the door to his office.
Jeffrey joined him. “It’s fine. My balls will be sitting there next to yours, or have you missed the fact you’re scared of your wife’s reaction to you checking in on her again? Hell, the women probably pass your balls around and laugh at how fast she jarred them.”
“Asshole,” muttered Brett.
Jeffrey grinned. “Yep.”
Brett slid him a sideways glance. “Wouldn’t it be something if it turned out to be alpha ball-canning season?”
Instinctively, Jeffrey reached down and cupped himself protectively.
Seven
Dana
I held up my right foot behind me, stretching in preparation for my run. Marcy had followed me outside. She had a pitcher with some sort of liquid in it as she walked toward three old hummingbird feeders hanging from a tree. I continued doing my pre-run stretches as I watched her filling the feeders with the liquid.
She seemed content and had her ride-or-die companion with her—Burgess. He was propped on her shoulder, hanging on for dear life to the spaghetti strap of her tank top. I still wasn’t a hundred percent sure what a familiar was, but if it wasn’t getting hazard pay being with Marcy, it really needed to find a new line of work.
She glanced over her shoulder at me. “Have you had any coffee yet?”
“Not before my run, why?” I asked, pulling my long ponytail tighter.
She glanced at Burgess, raising her brows as she did. “Stay far from her until she’s caffeinated.”
I rolled my eyes and snorted before moving to stretch my other leg. When I was done, I checked to be sure my cell phone was all set on my armband. My cell was loaded with various playlists I liked to run to. Most of them consisted of ’80s music.
A cord around the back of my neck held my Bluetooth earbuds. The cord kept them tied together so in the event one fell out while I was running, it wouldn’t just go flying in any old direction. Whenever I needed to take them out while I was running, I could simply let them hang around my neck and shoulders and they remained in place.
No muss.
No fuss.
They’d actually been a gift from Marcy for my fortieth birthday. She’d also gotten me a set of healing crystals. I put them with the deck of tarot cards she’d gotten me the year prior. Those, of course, had been with the rune stones she’d given me the birthday before that, and so on.
All of which remained unopened.
Basically, the earbuds were the most normal thing she’d ever gifted me. Unless, of course, they were some kind of aura-cleansing device that she’d found a way to secretly get me to use. Wouldn’t put it past her. She’d probably had them blessed by a shaman or something.
I was about to head out for my run when the sound of country music came filtering down the street from the world’s biggest silver pickup truck. I’d seen the truck more than once in the last forty-eight hours and had to admit I was secretly pleased to get a glimpse of its owner.
Marcy laughed. “Look who is coming to no doubt ask you on another date.”
Jeffrey had the windows down, and despite the early hour, had his music at a level that would have gotten a few choice words directed at him from New York City folks hanging their heads out their windows.
His sandy-blond hair was just past his ears and was laced with white at the temples. His stubble-covered jaw was a mix of shades of light brown, blond, and white, giving him a rugged appearance. His blue gaze held nothing but mischief as he pulled into the driveway and put the truck in park.
Marcy waved emphatically in Jeffrey’s direction, causing Burgess to nearly topple off her shoulder. The tree-rat grabbed her hair and clung tight.
Jeffrey glanced in her direction, gave a nod and a thousand-watt smile, showing off his dimples, and then paused in his step. His gaze narrowed before he continued heading for the porch, closer to me.
The light breeze blew his scent to me, filling my head with the smell of cardamom and pears. They were smells I knew from helping Nonna in the kitchen, and they oddly reminded me of home, of good days when life was simple, and the trials and tribulations of adulthood had yet to reach me.
Stand strong, Van Helsing, I thought to myself. You can do this. You can resist his charm.
He ran a hand through his hair, making th
e red T-shirt he had on lift slightly, revealing his toned abdomen. There was a dusting of brown hair peeking out, and I had the strongest urge to rush down the porch steps, tackle the man to the ground, yank up his shirt, and see the entire show.
Instead, I went with stretching out my arms. Seemed less likely to get me pregnant.
As his smile widened upon approach, I wasn’t so sure about that.
Good God, the man is lick worthy. Way to resist.
“Does she have a squirrel on her shoulder?” he asked, his voice deep, his Southern accent thick.
Was it possible to end up pregnant by sheer proximity to hotness?
He stared at me, and I realized he’d asked a question.
Think, Van Helsing. What did he say?
He smirked. “You all right there?”
“Fine. You?” I asked, the lie falling from my lips with ease.
“Just stopping by to check in on y’all. There was an issue on the outer edge of town and Brett asked me to look in on you three lovely ladies.”
I lowered my arm and glanced around to see if anyone else was out and about this time of morning. I didn’t see anyone, but I lowered my voice all the same. “Like a normal problem or a paranormal problem?”
He leaned in toward me and bent slightly, putting him nearly nose to nose with me. “Why are you whispering?”
I didn’t budge or raise my voice. “I thought the stuff about you guys was a secret.”
“What stuff?” he asked.
I found it difficult to focus with how close his lips were and how good the man smelled. Clearly, I had no ability to resist him. It took me longer than it should to realize those sexy lips of his were twitching as he fought to keep from laughing. “The part about you being able to shift into a dog and lick your own butt.”
“Anyone else calls me a dog, I get angry,” he said, remaining in place. “You do it and I find it hot as hell. Why is that?”
“I don’t know. Were you dropped on your head as a child?” I countered.
“Maybe. You want to ask my momma? She’s dying to meet you ever since your name came up in conversation yesterday,” he said.
My breathing increased as I eased even closer to him—specifically, his lips. “You told your mother about me?”
“You two should really just kiss and get it over with,” said Marcy, startling me because I hadn’t realized she was standing so close to the porch. She had the hose in one hand and was filling a metal watering can, smiling widely up at Jeffrey and me. “Or you could skip to the good stuff and go to Jeffrey’s cabin near the water, get buck naked, and do the deed.”
Marcy had never thrown me at a man before. She wasn’t Nonna. She didn’t spend every waking moment around me trying to convince me to land a Mr. Dana. This was new behavior for her, and honestly, I had to hand it to the girl—she had some great ideas.
He’s got so many strings attached to him he could form a ball of yarn.
It was true. He was best friends with my best friend’s husband, mate, or whatever the heck you wanted to call Brett. That meant after I got what I wanted from him and was done, he wouldn’t go away. He’d always be around, and that would lead to a lot of awkward moments. Plus, the man could turn into a wolf and actually lick his own butt.
“Well, since neither of you has moved a muscle, I’m going to assume you’re waiting for me to walk away so you can just get naked and do your business right here,” said Marcy as Burgess ran down her arm and leapt at the porch railing.
He made it with ease and skittered by before jumping down to the porch floor and darting in the open front door.
As I watched the tree-rat vanish into the house, I felt the heavy weight of Jeffrey’s stare. When I glanced back at him, I found him grinning like the cat who ate the canary.
“What?” I asked.
He winked. “I’m game if you are.”
“Game?”
“For getting naked and doing the deed. You in?” he asked. “Say you’re in, Legs. The fun we could have.”
I opened my mouth and knew without a shadow of a doubt if I didn’t do something quick, I was going to take this man to bed. A procession of string attachments was sure to follow. I took the mature, adult way out of the situation. I stuck my tongue out at him and stepped back fast.
His laugh raced over me, making my insides warm.
He inhaled deeply, his royal blue eyes quickly turning icy blue.
My breath caught. It was as if someone had dumped a bucket of ice water over my head, cooling my ardor instantly. While I’d been told more than once he could shift into a wolf and was supernatural, I’d never seen him doing anything close to it. This was new, and I had to admit, it both freaked me out and turned me on.
Reaching out, I touched his cheek, my gaze locked on his. “Holy…what in the…wow.”
He blinked several times quickly and stood tall once more, clearing his throat as he did. He ran a hand into the back of his hair, clearly uncomfortable all a sudden with the situation.
I wasn’t sure what to do or say so I blurted out the first thing that came to mind. “Run.”
He looked confused.
“You run. No, wait. Me. I’m running,” I said before shaking my head. “I mean I’m going for a run.”
Marcy chuckled as she turned off the water. “Hard to believe you are a powerful attorney and make people quake in fear on the stand.”
I gave her a stern look before turning to run, only to slam right into Jeffrey who had stepped into my path. The minute we collided, heat poured through me, and I gasped.
So did he, yanking me closer to him.
The next I knew, a low grumble started deep in his chest, turning quickly into a full-blown growl. His eyes flashed to icy blue once again and he jerked me tighter to him, to the point it wasn’t exactly comfortable.
Now would be a great time to start resisting. I opened my mouth to do just that and got another whiff of his scent. Man, he smelled good.
You are weak, Van Helsing.
Gathering my resolve, I pushed on his chest. “Back it up there, buddy.”
His eyes returned to normal and he released me.
I was the one who actually backed up, mainly because my head was yelling retreat, but my hormones were shouting at me to charge ahead with thrusters set to do-the-hunk.
Somehow, Marcy had managed to go from being down in the side yard, near the end of the porch, to standing behind us on the porch watering flowers all without my noticing. Since there were too many potted plants to count, it was a task that was time consuming for sure.
I touched my chest, mostly to be sure my heart hadn’t actually leapt out of it, and then glanced nervously in her direction for clarity on the situation. Should I run or do the guy?
Shit was getting real when I sought out guidance of someone who spent more time talking about auras than any person ever should.
She was humming a Richard Marx song, moving her head back and forth as she did. I couldn’t fault her music choice but it was painfully clear I wasn’t going to be getting any assistance from her.
“I have to run,” I said quickly, more to myself than anyone else.
Jeffrey’s cock-sure grin reappeared on his handsome face. “You sure you want to?”
“Yes,” I replied, only to realize I was shaking my head “no” simultaneously. When it came to him, conflicting messages were my running theme. I took a second to compose myself and put my earbuds in. “I’m sure.”
He spoke loudly, not that he needed to, seeing as how I hadn’t actually started any music. “How about I join you for your run?”
“I need some alone time,” I said faster than anyone would ever need to. “And you’re in jeans and boots. Not running attire.”
Marcy touched my shoulder, startling me in the process. My gaze whipped to her. She smiled. “I think that’s a lovely idea. After all, he’s from here. Stands to reason he knows the various paths in the woods. Since that’s the way you were going, it ma
kes sense to take him along. I think I saw a duffle bag Brett brought over with some gym clothes in it. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind if Jeffrey borrowed them.”
“I never said I was running in the woods.” While I’d not said it, I had been planning on doing just that. Since the woods butted against the property of the house, they’d been calling to me, offering a form of escape from all of the crazy that had become my life over the past forty-eight hours. Right now, it was also an escape from the way Jeffrey made my body react.
“You’re planning to head out into the woods alone?” asked Jeffrey, his voice even louder than before.
I removed the earbuds to prevent him from full-out shouting at me. My stubborn streak reared up. “Yes.”
“Not happening,” he said sternly.
I squared my shoulders. He wasn’t trying to tell me what I could and couldn’t do, was he? Surely, I’d heard him wrong. “Uh, yeah, it is.”
He stiffened. “I said no.”
“Oh, you just made sure it’s happening.”
He snorted but it didn’t sound jovial. “Try again, Legs.”
I glanced at Marcy to find her looking amused. “He doesn’t honestly think he’s going to win this argument, does he?”
She licked her lips, fighting another smile. “I’d say he thinks he stands a better-than-average chance, seeing as how he’s the alpha of the pack here. And it’s a really big pack, Dana.”
I took a moment to think about what she was saying. My gaze narrowed. “He’s the guy in charge of the, um, you know?”
“The wolf-shifters?” she asked, sounding entirely too pleased with the way the whole talk was going.
I nodded.
“You can say what he is when it’s just us,” she supplied. “Unless, of course, the idea of what he is freaks you out too much. Is that it?”
“I’m not scared of him because of that,” I said, wanting the words back the second they left my mouth. I didn’t like the way he made me feel or the massive disconnect he caused between my brain and my body.
Hexing with a Chance of Tornadoes: A Paranormal Women's Fiction Romance Novel (Grimm Cove Book 2) Page 7