Grace was pretty sure someone had put an announcement into the newspaper when she wasn’t looking. Or maybe on the local Country Music Station. Either way, someone had spread the news in Grayslake and everyone seemed to be stopping by the diner to take a good look at the ‘new girl.’

“That makes the fourth hottie in the door in the last ten minutes.” Kendra finished refilling the coffee carafe she had in her hand. “I think they’re all here for you.”

“For me?” Grace laughed. “Nope. I’m sure they’re all just hungry. Big boys like big meals.”

Kendra passed by and gave Grace a bump of her hip. “Big boys here in Grayslake like big girls.”

Grace forced the smile to hold on her lips. “Yeah, I know. I just… I don’t really need a guy right now.”

“I know that too,” Kendra walked onto the floor and started refilling coffee on her half of the dining room, leaving Grace to fumble with and nearly drop a slice of pie as she tried to move it from under the glass dome onto a plate for service. She managed to get the pie down in one piece and then dropped the canister of whipped cream.

Groaning, she blinked back the tears. She was certainly turning out to be useless. Getting down on her knees she thanked her addled mind this morning when she’d pulled on her clothes and wore a tight pair of black leggings and an easy wrap around top. If she’d worn her jeans getting down on the ground and then up again might have provided more of a show than she was willing to. Her fingertips touched the canister and it skittered away across the old laminate flooring. “Dammit to hell.” Grace laid down on the floor and managed to fit her fingers under the storage counter door’s bottom edge. “Please…” she danced her fingers along the smooth edge of the canister as if her fingers were doing that log rolling thing you see in the lumberjack competitions on one of the game show networks. A few moments and more than a few choice words later, she had a tentative hold of the canister.

Grace pulled it closer and got her fingers on the bottom. “Oh, thank goodness!” She slowly rolled over her hip and then onto her back side behind the counter, gently clutching the canister like a baby to her chest.

“Oh my God!” Kendra suddenly appeared at her side. “Did you fall?” Leaning down, the other waitress grabbed a hold of her arm and tried to lift her from the floor before Grace could stop her.

The canister went flying and when it landed the trigger pushed down and the spring inside the handle broke. And before Grace could even lift her hand to shield her face, a long hissing shot of whipped cream streaked across her blouse.

“Oh no!” Kendra looked as horrified as Grace felt. Grabbing for a cloth she stared to move toward Grace. “Let me wipe that off.”

“No... no, it’s okay.” Scrambling to her feet, Grace ignored the prying eyes of the men in the diner. Yes, Kendra had been kind of right. They were there to see her, but not because they were ‘interested in her.’

Grace was fairly sure that as much as Ty had been eager to keep the shifter secret in Grayslake, the shifters themselves were bigger gossips than her Grandma Reena in Peoria. The shifters had come to the diner out of pure curiosity and a hunger for some really… really rare burgers. They wanted to see Noah’s mate.

Or rather, the woman who was going to be Noah’s mate.

Yes, she was an exhibit in a very tiny glass and chrome box.

Kendra was busy ringing her towel when Grace got back to her feet and dropped the broken canister in the trash.

“Really, I’m fine. Okay? I’m going to go to the ladies room and clean up a bit. Can you handle the front for a few minutes?”

“Oh yeah, sure… you go and take all the time you need. I feel so bad, I really am so sorry and-”

“Kendra!” Grace grabbed her by the shoulders and winced when she saw the little bits of white that had transferred to the other woman’s clothes. “Thank you.”

And with that she started down the hall.

Edward called out to her and she stopped to look at him. He gave her an encouraging smile. “You sure, you’re okay?”

She nodded wordlessly.

“You know you can talk to me, right?”

A laugh that sounded a lot like a sob burst from her lips and she tried to cover it with a smile. “Sure. Yes. Thanks.” She wanted to tell him, but secrets are what got her in this position and if Aunt Nellie had managed to keep the secret from her husband all of these years, Grace was certainly not going to mess anything up for them. She’d done enough damage on her own. “I love you, Uncle Eddie.”

His face clouded with concern. “I love you more, Honey bear.” He nodded toward the back hallway. Why don’t you take out the trash while you’re back there… it will give you a little extra time to think, okay?”

She nearly hugged him and then remembered she was wearing half a canister of whipped cream. “Thanks, I’ll do that.”

Darting into the ladies room she quickly dumped all the trash into one bag and then, with the door locked, she untied her top, doused it in running water and managed to remove all of the visible signs of the cream from the dark cloth and brightly colored cherries dotted all over the fabric. It was a cute top, one of her favorites, and she was glad that it had only been cream and not something that might have stained the design.

Grace squeezed out the water as best as she could, but inside the diner, it was going to cling to her skin and thanks to the air conditioning that was working overtime, she was going to put on quite a show for the men in the dining room. She’d only just retied the blouse at her waist, finishing it with a cute little bow, and her nipples were already pebbled from the wet cold that had spread from her blouse to her bra and then to her skin.

Looking down, the pointed tips of her breasts were easily seen and were going to cause quite a sensation.

Thankful that her uncle had already given her a way out of her problem, she picked up the trash bag, tied the top with a tight knot to keep the critters from smelling the trash and left the ladies room headed for the back door.

When it opened up and bounced off of the back wall, Grace let out a long sigh of relief. “Freedom.”

Using her foot, she closed the back door, shutting out the noise from the diner. She lifted the concrete block from the top of the trashcan and set it down with a clatter on the next can over. Lifting the top off of the can she quickly dropped the bag in, determined not to breathe in the scent of the can. She reset the lid, replaced the concrete block and let the tension in her shoulders disappear.

For the next few minutes, she was blissfully alone.

“Grace?”

She didn’t have to turn around to see who it was. The tentative tone of voice was telling, the edge of pain in it was echoed in her chest. Something clenched around her heart and wouldn’t let go. The energy she felt dancing along her skin was unmistakable.

“Travis, please.” She bit her lip to keep her real feelings from spilling out between her lips. Just being this close to him left her breathless.

Breathless and hungry.

“I need you to leave.”

“No.”

He hadn’t moved any closer, but his energy was washing over her like a wave and it left her skin hot. Clenching her thighs together she tried to stave off the ache building inside.

“I need to know why you’re doing this.”

“Doing this?” Grace forced some humor into her tone. “I’m just doing my job. Taking out the trash. I have to go back in and-”

“Why are you lying to them?”

“Lying?” She swung around, fire in her eyes, a painful knot in her throat. “I didn’t lie to anyone.”

“You mean you’re actually going to be his mate?” He didn’t wait for an answer. “Do you know what that means?”

She didn’t like his tone of voice, but it wasn’t because he was rude or mean. She didn’t like it because it was too close to the sound of the voice in her own head. The voice that was telling her this was a huge mistake.

Grace struggled to find the ‘other’ voice in her head, the one that was calm and reasoned and knew that this deal she’d made with Noah was the only way she was going to keep some control of her life. All she had to do was keep focused on that goal and keep away from Travis.

Being this close to him was already taking a toll on her resolve.

“I know what I’m doing.” Yeah, that tremble in her voice wasn’t fooling anyone.

Directing her gaze to the ground she struggled to control her breathing, struggled to keep her feet planted where they were.

And then she felt him touch her hair.

A gentle brush that swept a loose strand back behind her ear.

Fingertips trailing down the side of her neck.

“Do you really know, Grace?” He was closer somehow. The only part of him touching her were his fingertips, but she felt like he was inside her head, his voice coaxing her to listen. “Did he tell you that he’s going to have to touch you?”

She swallowed but the knot in her throat was lodged there. “Yes.”

Closer. She could almost feel his lips against her hair.

“He’s going to strip you bare.”

She nodded, unable to muster up an answer.

“Bury himself inside of you.”

Her knees were shaking and the words he was whispering in her ear were treating her to a silent and yet full cover preview in her head.

“What happens then, Grace?” She didn’t look up but she felt him move closer, saw a shadow as his hand braced on the wall above hers. “What happens when he’s so deep inside of you that you don’t know where he ends and you begin?”

Her mouth was open, breaths panting from her lungs, the whole scenario played in her head, the ache built between her legs and around her heart.

Closer and she felt his heat sear her skin, felt the weight of his erection graze the lush curve of her backside. If they were bare he would be able to sink inside of her with a deep thrust of his hips.

“Tell me, Grace.” His voice was rough and she could hear the ache in him as if it were her own. “Tell me, baby, when you feel fangs bite into your skin, marking you forever, branding you as taken…”

She held herself so still, she was a heartbeat away from losing all control.

“Whose face do you see, Grace? Tell me it’s his, and I’ll walk away. Tell me you’ll scream his name and I-”

She turned and she could see the shock on his face. It would have made her smile if she wasn’t already on the verge of losing her mind. Her body was aching, begging for him to touch her, and she didn’t have the words to tell him, so she just did what came naturally.

Grabbing the front of his shirt, she pulled him down to her lips.

She kissed him, pressed their mouths together so tight that she tasted blood in her mouth. Whether it was his teeth or hers that cut her lip she didn’t care, but the metallic tang of her blood only stoked the fire burning inside of her.

Grace felt his hands on her waist and then tangling with the hem of her shirt. She pushed her hands up the wall of his chest, splayed her fingers through the short length of the hair at the top of his neck and higher.

Her damp blouse peeled back from her skin and she felt his palm against her belly, his fingertips sliding up toward her breast. She stumbled backward and he went with her, their mouths nearly fused together in starving kisses.

She moaned as her back came in contact with something and with one hand, Travis slid his hand under the rounded curve of her ass and lifted her up. A voice in the back of her head told her she was safe on top of the rain barrel, but as soon as the thought arose it disappeared as Travis tugged her blouse open.

Her brain froze. She’d been here before, but in the dark. She wasn’t one that cared about leaving the lights on, she loved her body, but it was the way his eyes had darkened that made her feel more than she was.

Travis looking at her pale skin, sweeping his tongue over his lips, reaching for the clasp on her bra. She was looking straight into both parts of his soul.

He opened his mouth and the voice that rolled out was deeper, thicker, and primal. It reached straight down into her soul and pulled.

“Mine.”

It wasn’t a demand or ego. The word held with it a plea that she wanted to answer.

She knew she was going to regret it, she regretted her choice even as she leaned back and felt the wall press up against her back.

Travis growled and leaned over her, his fingers digging into the side of the barrel. She heard the wood groan and splinter as his lips found the rise of her breast. Passion arced between them like electricity and when his fingers unhooked her bra and pushed the cups away, they grazed her nipples.

“More,” her hand reached for him and hooked into the waist of his jeans. She felt the backs of her fingers slide against the heated wall of his stomach. “Closer.”

And he obeyed. Moving between her legs, he spread them apart and pressed his jeans clad erection against her heat. Grace opened her eyes and looked up into the clear blue sky as she wriggled against his hard length.

His tongue swept over her nipple, laving her skin a moment before his mouth latched onto her flesh, drawing her deeper into his mouth.

A breathless cry burst from her lips and she looked down at him.

He looked up and met her gaze, losing her in the midnight sky of his eyes.

“Yes, oh yes,” her words sobbed out of her throat and turned into a cry of pleasure when she felt his teeth bite into her skin. Her eyes drew closed as the first few shocks of an orgasm rolled through her body.

The back door of the diner creaked open. “Grace, you okay?”

Reality crashed down on Grace. “Kendra?”

“You’ve been gone for a bit and- whoa.”

Grace saw Kendra’s face color beet-red before she turned her back on them.

“Oh my God, I’m so sorry!”

“Kendra, I’ll be there in a second, okay? I’m sorry. I got a little distracted.”

“No, no,” she held up both hands, one in surrender, the other across her eyes even though she was facing in the other direction. “It’s my fault. You, umm... take your time… I’ll hold down the fort.” Kendra darted back inside, letting the door slam behind her.

Grace was already on her feet, wrestling with her clothes. She could feel Travis shadowing her. “I can’t,” she sobbed the words, this time with pain arcing through her body.

“Grace, wait!”

He beat her to the door, turning the knob and holding it open but waiting to see her eyes first. “Just talk to me… it doesn’t have to be now, but later. Tonight. Let me talk to you. Let me tell you what I want to give you. Give me a chance to-”

She stopped him with a hand on his chest.

She didn’t have to ask if he felt the shivers that passed back and forth between them, she saw the shifting darkness in his eyes.

“I’m so sorry, Travis. I was selfish. I shouldn’t have kissed you. I shouldn’t have let any of that happen. It’s not fair to you. Not when I’ve already made up my mind.”

She ducked under his arm, managing to refasten her clothing even with shaking hands. A step into the hallway she turned back to look at him. “Don’t let me ruin your life, Travis. Find someone who is good for you. Find someone who isn’t going to confuse you the way I do and then walk away.”

She left him standing there and his voice followed her down the hall.

“I can’t choose anyone else, Grace. You’re my match. You’re my future. You’re everything I need. You can turn your back on me, but I won’t turn on you.”

Blinking back her tears, she headed into the dining room with a fake smile plastered on her lips.