Setting a piece of baked salmon on each plate beside the roasted potatoes and grilled corn, Grace looked over at the dining room table. Her face registered confusion. “I thought I set the table.”

Travis smiled. She was so expressive and didn’t even bother to hide her emotions from him. He loved that about her. “You did, but I only saw two settings at the table.’

Her cheeks colored with a blush. “I was going to take a plate to my aunt. She said we should sit out here.”

Holding the pitcher of sweet tea that he’d made up in one hand, and a stack of cups in the other, he turned slightly so she could see the napkins and silverware tucked into his jeans pocket. “I think we should take everything in to her. You promised me dinner with your aunt, after all.”

He saw the look in her eyes change from confusion to heat. Travis couldn’t hear her thoughts but he could read her body language, her slow simmer was quickly becoming a crackling fire.

“We can take this in and I can come back for the third plate.”

She laughed then, lifting one dark brow in a sassy arch. “I’m a waitress, I can carry three plates.” With no effort at all she set a plate on her forearm, letting it rest against her side. “Follow me.”

He was only too happy to follow her instructions. Walking behind her he was able to enjoy the gentle sway of her drop dead gorgeous body. The dim light of the hallway only accentuated her form with the shadows cast by the lightbulbs in the recessed fixtures above their heads.

“Hello? Ready for a couple of visitors?”

“Couple?” He heard the soft snap of laughter that accompanied the voice from the backroom. “Come right on in!”

Grace nudged the door open and stepped inside. “Travis wanted to bring the party to you.”

As he stepped through the doorway he saw the bright smile of the woman tucked into the old brass bed at the center of the room. She met his curious gaze with a big grin.

“I was hoping to get a look at him sooner rather than later.” She took the plate that Grace handed her and set it on the tray table over her lap. “And wow, what a view.”

Travis felt his cheeks warm at the woman’s praise.

“And so thoughtful,” she gestured at a chair in the corner, “go ahead and use that,” she told him, “set it up next to the bed so you can sit close to Gracie.”

He saw Grace’s face color all the way to her hairline.

“Aunt Nellie,” Grace’s tone was a little tight, but her smile was full of laughter, “he can sit where he likes.”

“And I’d like,” he shot back, “to sit near you.” He held out the stack of glasses and Nellie lifted the top glass and held it steady while he poured the sweet tea into her glass.

As Grace set it down Nellie looked at the tray with a frown. “Sweetie, can you go get me a fork and-”

Dutifully, Travis turned around and showed her the silverware in his pocket.

“My my,” Nellie’s voice was shaking with laughter, “now that is what I call customer service.” He felt her pull a napkin-wrapped set from his pocket. “Where ever you found him, Gracie, don’t give him back.”

Grace shook her head but her face was alight with energy. “Oh, I just might keep him for a little bit.” She gave him a look and the smile on her face made him sweat. “I want to have a little fun first.”

It took a few minutes to get everyone settled, but once they were all seated with drinks and dinner, her aunt’s not-so-subtle-interrogation began, and with her sweet unassuming smile, Travis bet she could easily wheedle any information out of him with just her sweet disposition and the obvious love she had for Grace.

“Where is Arcadia?”

He winced a little as a piece of the salmon stuck in his throat. It had nothing to do with the food. “We’re a little bit off the beaten path and a hop, skip, and a stone’s throw from the borders of the Carolinas.” He waited a moment and tried to explain. “I’m not trying to be cagey,” he tried to swallow, but his throat was nearly closed, “it’s just that we’re not a town that takes to visitors. They’ve all but hidden the one road that leads up to the valley and outsiders,” his stomach twisted in his middle, “they stay that way until they leave.”

Nellie took a sip of her tea. “Small towns are always a bit eccentric.”

“Eccentric.” He cleared his throat and swiped his napkin over his lips. “That’s a really nice way to say completely messed up.” He looked over at Grace and found her watching him carefully. She wasn’t upset or frowning and he relaxed the slightest bit. “My family helped found the town, but in the last couple of generations the town has changed.” He was struggling to find the words, but he wanted to explain why he’d walked away without getting into the bloody details. “Instead of a haven, Arcadia has become a free for all, and I tried to stop it from happening. I tried to hold us to the ideals that my ancestors brought to America when they arrived. Tried to keep my home from becoming a… from becoming a battleground, for lack of a better word.” He blew out a long shaky breath, he was getting too close to the naked truth. They didn’t know about shifters and he wasn’t going to pull back that particular curtain for them. They didn’t deserve to know everything dark that was in the world. “So, I left, hoping to find someplace to belong.”

With a soft clatter, Nellie set down her fork. “And that brought you here to Grayslake?” She didn’t wait for an answer. “How lovely for us.”

Travis nodded. “I’m waiting to see if Ty says I can stay.”

“Ty?” Grace coughed and gently pounded on her chest, struggling to swallow. “What does Ty Abrams have to say about you staying. It’s not like it’s his town!”

Knowing that he’d stepped smack dab into a big ol’ pile of scat, Travis struggled to come up with an explanation safe for human ears. “Well, um… I-”

“Sweetheart,” Nellie gently gave her niece’s hand a pat, “you’ve been gone for a long time. Things have changed around here and the Abrams boys… well they’re a big part of what keeps this town safe.”

“Safe?” She giggled a little, jiggling the plate she held against her leg. “I can see Ty… and even Keen. They were always kind of sweet and funny, but Van? You can’t tell me that Van-”

“Grace, honey,” Nellie’s tone was gentle but determined, “don’t worry about it. Everything here is just fine.”

Travis didn’t miss the look that Nellie gave him, a slip of side-eye that told him to hold his tongue. Taking in a breath he narrowed his gaze at the older woman. Nellie was human, but she knew something. It didn’t make any sense. Ty had warned him that the humans in Grayslake, or rather, the humans that weren’t mated into the clan, had no knowledge of the true nature of shifters.

Either Ty Abrams didn’t know everything about his town, or he was hiding information from him. Whether it was one or the other, the knot in his stomach just doubled.

“Do you miss anyone in Arcadia?” This time, the question was from Grace. He saw the way she looked at him over the rim of her glass and wondered what was going on in that gorgeous brain of hers.

“Sure,” he set down his fork and met her curious gaze straight on, “I miss my cousins. They’re as unhappy with how things are as I am. My younger brother and sister are doing the same thing I am; looking for a new place to call home. Once we find one, we’re going to get the word out to the others and we’ll meet up.”

“Is there anyone waiting for you to change your mind and go back?”

He smiled at Grace. “Just my uncle.”

Grace almost choked on a sip of tea. That wasn’t the answer she had been bracing for. “Your uncle?”

Travis shrugged. “He’d like to get another chance to kick my ass. I just don’t want to involve myself in his particular brand of family drama. I want my home to be a refuge.”

When Nellie picked up her fork, he chanced a look at her. She met his gaze with a soft smile. “I like you, Travis. You’ve got a good head on your shoulders.”

The compliment staggered him. He had almost expected her to give him the heave ho out of her house and Grace’s life.

She turned her laughing eyes to her niece. “And he’s got a great backside too. A win-win for you if you ask me.”

Travis managed to hold his laughter in as Grace started to cough.

Dinner had passed by in the blur after Nellie’s rather interesting observation of his… assets. He helped Grace clear the plates and managed to give Nellie the hug she asked for without blushing too much.

He gave her extra awesome points when she instructed Grace to “Take that boy outside for a little fresh air. The swing is still out there on the porch and the perfect place for a little… conversation.”

They’d just sat down beside each other when Edward’s truck rumbled up beside his own.

Taking hold of the chain, Travis was about to stand and greet him when Edward waved him back down on the swing.

“You okay out here, Gracie?” His gaze made it clear that if things weren’t okay, that he would hold Travis responsible.

Grace leaned back against the swing with a sigh. “We’re just fine, Uncle Eddie. Aunt Nellie enjoyed company for dinner and we left you a plate heating in the oven.”

Her uncle came to a stop beside the swing, looking from Grace to Travis and then back again. “Good to hear. Thank you for the dinner, I’m hungry enough to eat a bear.”

Laughing, Grace shook from head to toe. “I’d like to see that, but I’m thinking the bear would give you a run for your money.”

He shrugged. “I’m not gonna pay him,” he insisted, “I’m going to eat him, roasted on the grill, with a side of corn and some of your aunt’s yeast rolls.” He looked back at Travis. “Don’t keep her out too long. It’s her first day home, she shouldn’t catch her death out here.”

Travis nodded, holding his breath until Edward disappeared inside.

* * *

The door had been closed for almost a minute when Travis blew out a breath. “He doesn’t like me.”

Grace nudged his arm. “He does too... or he wouldn’t have let you come to his house. He’s just trying to be gruff or they’ll take away his uncle card.”

“Uncle card, huh?” Travis leaned back against the swing and smiled at her. “Are those hard to get?”

She chuckled under her breath. “Nope... but they’re hard to keep.” She shifted a little on the swing, tucking one leg up under her body. Grace set her hand on his shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. “Don’t worry, Uncle Eddie knows what he’s doing… so do I.”

Travis turned slightly toward her on the swing, reaching across his body to take hold of her hand, he lifted it up to his lips and pressed a soft kiss on her palm. The scratch of his close-trimmed mustache sent shivers through her body and warmed her all over.

He pulled her a little closer and brushed his lips over the inside of her wrist, bringing a moan to her lips. “And what are you doing?”

She swallowed and let out a breath through parted lips. “Nothing yet.” Leaning closer, trapping their joined hands between them, she pressed a kiss to his lips. “But I’m looking to start a little trouble if you’re in the mood.”

“You don’t have to worry about if, Grace.” He kissed her, tracing his tongue along the seam of her gently parted lips. “Whatever you want from me, it’s yours.”

She shifted again, trying to find the right position on the swing, still moving her lips against his. Slipping, she grabbed a fistful of his t-shirt. The swing stopped moving and she felt Travis’ thigh tense as he braced his feet on the porch. Grace managed to get both legs up on the swing, but hissed at the pain of the hard wood digging into her knees.

Travis pulled back slightly. His eyes finding hers in the near-dark of the porch.

“Tell me what you want, baby.”

She smiled and didn’t waste time. “I want you under me.”

“All you had to do was say so.” Wrapping his hands around her waist, he lifted her up and lowered her down on his lap, giving her enough time for her to straddle him.

A breath rushed out of her lungs. “Goodness, you’re strong.”

He smiled up at her. “You don’t know the half of it.”

“Oh, I don’t want the half of it,” she explained. Grace leaned closer, her hands settling on his shoulders. She was so close to him that she could swear she could feel the hard wall of his chest even though they weren’t touching. “I want it all.”

“Honey, like I said, all you had to do was-”

She ate the rest of his words in an open mouthed kiss. When she tilted her head at another angle she half-expected him to take charge, hold her head steady in his hands and kiss her.

But he didn’t.

No, Travis sat there and let her kiss him.

Oh, don’t get it confused with him ‘just’ sitting there. Nope. He was participating. Boy howdy was he participating, but instead of claiming her mouth, he let her nip her teeth along the thick curve of his bottom lip.

And when she was ready to taste the heat of his mouth with her tongue, she made the first move and he was only too happy to answer back with the tantalizing rasp of his tongue against hers and the pleasurable bite of his fingers at the base of her backside.

When she moved closer to him, rocking her core against his thick length, his hands only helped to make everything more. Tighter. Harder. And there she was, breathless and wet, struggling to get closer as if they could just melt right through their clothes and onto each other.

He wasn’t much different than she was, his mouth broke away enough to mumble against her cheek. “Tell me,” his tone begged her for an answer, “where I can touch you.”

Her body answered before her voice could make it past the knot in her throat. Turning her head to the side, taking a deep breath of the languid evening air, she offered him the column of her throat.

“My neck,” she groaned at the thought and felt his erection push up against her straining the button fly of his jeans, “I need your mouth on my neck.”

He rose up underneath her, but she wasn’t afraid of falling. She heard the links of the chain on one side of the swing brush against each other, and felt the tension in his shoulder as he gripped tight to the metal. His other hand splayed over the underside of her cheek, a fingertip sliding along the edge of her panties a scant inch from the top of her thigh.

And a moment later, she felt his lips settle over the base of her neck where it met her shoulder. His tongue danced along her skin and she ground herself against him, needing more.

He lifted his mouth from her neck and her fingers curled with frustration. “You want more?”

She hissed and he laughed.

“Just ask for it, honey, and it’s yours. Anything.”

She took him at his word.

Sitting back, she reached for the buttons on the front of her shirt. One after another she unhooked the buttons and pulled the halves of the shirt apart. Grace didn’t have to look up to see if Travis liked what he saw, she felt him swell beneath her, his rock hard length pressed up against the inside of her thigh, and when she shifted to cradle him against her heat he let out a hiss.

“Dammit, Grace, you’re killing me.”

She stilled her hands and looked up into his face. In the shadows of the porch his eyes looked almost dark, the angles of his gorgeous face had sharpened. It took her breath away. “Same here, Travis. I think I’m going to climb out of my skin if I can’t get you inside me soon.”

“I love the way you think.” He didn’t wait another minute. He took a hold of each side of her shirt and pulled, popping the last button free. Once it was open, he wrapped his hands around her backside and pulled her closer. The friction he created made her gasp out loud and cling to his shoulders to keep her upright, but when he took the top edge of her bra between his teeth and pulled if down she heard a growl roll out of his throat.

She touched her palm to the side of his face and felt the rasp of his close-cropped beard against her skin.

Rolling her hips against him she sighed. “I love the way it feels against my skin.”

“You like that? It gets better, honey.”

She opened her mouth to ask him how, but all she could do was moan when he rubbed his cheek along the plush curve of her breast, and then she couldn’t manage any sound at all when his lips closed over the tip.

His tongue caressed her skin, tasting the need on her flesh as her nipple pebbled between his nibbling teeth.

“We need,” she bit her tongue and swallowed the pain, “we need a room.”

“Then let’s get back to my truck,” his words were muffled against her breast, “but, I don’t want to let go of you, not ever.”

A soft spurt of a siren turned Travis’ head. “Crap.”

Grace was slower to understand what was going on, but it finally registered when Travis placed a lingering kiss on her bare breast before he drew up the cup of her bra to cover her.

“What’s wrong?”

“Looks like I’m in trouble.”

Turning her head, she saw the Grayslake Police cruiser parked along the curb. The blue light pulsed on the roof and then turned off as the driver’s door opened.

Gathering her top together, Grace discovered that her hands were shaking too much to manage the simple task. Standing up, Travis easily set Grace on her feet. He placed a kiss on her cheek. “Stay here. Let me talk to him.”

Travis walked off, jogging down the porch steps and onto the driveway. The uniformed officer didn’t move from the curb and when Travis stepped up beside him, the officer started talking.

Sure, he let Travis get in a few words, but for the most part there were a lot of gestures. She was halfway to the curb when the officer grabbed him by the arm.

“Hey!” Grace almost stumbled over a clump of grass and swore under her breath. “You leave him alone.”

“Look, miss,” the officer pointed back at the house, “why don’t you go inside and let me deal with him.”

“You’ll answer me or I’m going to call your boss,” she informed him.

He took a long look at her from head to toe. “You’re kidding me, right?”

Travis’ teeth ground together and his chest expanded like a bellows. “Leave her out of this.”

“This ain’t your town, Owen.”

“What is your problem?” Grace tried to push in between them and narrowed her eyes at his nametag and read the word on it in the shifting darkness. “V. Abrams. Huh,” she frowned thinking back to the conversation around dinner. “Van?”

His features tightened as he gave her a second look, took in a deep breath before his expression shuttered. “Come on, Owen.” He pulled at Travis’ arm, but it took a second to get him moving. “You’ve got some nerve.

“Nerve?”

Grace started forward and came up short when Van threw her a look. “You might want to get dressed.”

“I am dressed! Who are you, the fashion police?” Still, she pulled her top together again, Van didn’t deserve to see any more than he already had, and followed them down to the cruiser, peppering Van with a bunch of questions. “What’s the charge?”

“It’s none of your business.”

“Oh yes, it is.” She struggled to keep up. The two men were an equal match in size and muscles. “You can’t just arrest him without telling him what the charges are!”

Van’s shoulders expanded with a deep indrawn breath as he yanked the back door of the cruiser open. “Get in, Owen.”

Grace poked a finger into Van’s back and he turned on her with a growl.

“Don’t touch me!”

She barely flinched, her eyes snapping in anger. “Answer my questions!”

He remained silent for a moment, but his glare was fairly eloquent.

“What are you? Some kind of attorney?”

“No,” she sassed at him, “but I know his rights. I can read and I had a damn good civics teacher in college. So, stop stalling,” she reached into her back pocket and took out her phone, “or I’m calling the ACLU and maybe the SPLC and- Hey!”

Her phone clattered to the pavement with a sickening crash.

She stared at it until Van slammed the door of the cruiser. When she looked back up at Van, her eyes were narrowed on his face. “You haven’t changed a bit since we were kids, have you?”

He scoffed. “Kids?” His lips twisted at the corner. “Who are you? Why do you smell familiar?”

She looked straight at him and lifted her hands to her face, circling her fingers around her eyes like a pair of glasses. “Grace Howard. Remember me now?”

Van gave her a blank look. “No.”

“Yeah, well I remember you, so answer my questions or-”

“Grace.”

She heard Travis’ voice from inside the car, slightly muffed but still, she heard it. She moved closer to the car, placed her hands on the window glass. “Travis, this isn’t right, I’m going to find you an attorney and-”

“Grace, baby, please.”

She heard the plea in his voice and some of her anger eased away as if he could soothe her worry with his voice.

“Let me handle this, okay? I’ll be fine.” He looked at Van for a second and then back into her worried gaze. “I have to talk to a few people, but I’ll be back. I promise you. Everything’s going to be okay.”

She didn’t want to listen to him.

She certainly didn’t want to make things easy on Van.

Still, she gave Travis a smile and turned her hand so that her knuckles lightly grazed the warm glass by his cheek. “I trust you, Travis. Some might think I’m crazy, myself included, but I trust you.” She watched him lean his cheek against the glass and then turn to press his lips on her fingers.

Van groused as he rounded the car toward the driver’s door. “He better hope that glass was clean.”

Moments later the cruiser pulled onto the street and disappeared into the night.