Eleven
Nina couldn’t drive quite yet. She held herself still in the cab of her Chevy. How on earth had she gotten through that talk with Jameson? And why had she done it? As a rational, thinking human being, she knew she had more control over herself than this. But the lion inside of her was pacing, growling, scratching at her skin, demanding that she hunt Jameson down. Stalk him, if need be, and then get answers. Get close, most of all. She wanted to be close to him.
Her mountain lion was freaking crazy. There was absolutely no good reason to chase this alphahole around Idaho in this way. It would only lead to heartache, and she’d had enough of that, thank you very much.
Finally getting her heartbeat under control, she started the truck and made her way back to the Ring of Fire. If she was lucky, maybe Gemma wouldn’t have any editing deadlines for the small publisher she worked for. They could share lunch and have a few laughs, and Nina could shake off some of her nerves and tension.
She lucked out. As soon as she pulled into the Ring of Fire, she saw Gemma near the fire pit. Her legs were kicked out in front of her on a plastic lawn chair and she was reading a book.
Nina climbed out of her truck and waved to Gemma. “Oh, I’ve got that one in my bag,” she said, pointing to Gemma’s book. Interstellar Love Connection. “My friend Justine has been bugging me to read it forever.”
“Alien sci-fi stuff isn’t my usual fare,” Gemma said, “but I saw it on your to-read list, and the stuff on your to-read list is pretty much an auto-buy for me. Maybe we can talk about it sometime?”
“I’d love that!” Nina said. “I was going to have a quick lunch before I get to work—can you join me?”
“Good news,” Gemma said. “Rex told me you don’t have to do any more chores—Jameson texted him a little while ago. So you get to relax with me and share my lunch, because I—” she paused dramatically, “—won a bet.”
Nina laughed. “What bet?”
Giggling, Gemma said, “You don’t want to know.”
Nina decided to trust Gemma on that and let it slide. “So what’d you win?”
“He has to make me a full, five-course meal for lunch. And since you’re here, you get to be my plus-one, you lucky duck.”
“What was that?” Rex called from his and Gemma’s porch. He was carrying a tray full of uncooked steaks. Behind him, a cooler waited on the steps.
“Here, let me help you with that,” Nina said, bounding over to the ice chest. She tried to lift it and groaned. “What the heck do you have in here? Several loads of bricks? I mean, I’m strong, but—”
A deep voice cut her off. “I’ll help.”
Nina turned to look up at the man who spoke. It was Nolan, and he was the tallest man she’d ever met—he just kept going up and up and up.
He grinned down at her.
She’d never had the nerve to ask because he was usually so standoffish, but the curiosity was driving her crazy. “Hey, Nolan? What kind of shifter are you?”
“Polar bear.”
“Holy shit,” Nina breathed. “A freaking…polar bear. Not many of you around these parts, are there?”
“Nope. But it suits me best that way.”
He took one end of the ice chest, and Nina held the other. Her muscles groaned in protest, but she held on, especially because Nolan was acting as if it were no effort at all.
Smug bear.
She and Nolan set it down a little ways from the fire. Nolan clapped his giant hands together. “So. Clan lunch?”
Rex sputtered. “Wait-wait-wait…”
Gemma laughed. “Actually, that’s a flippin’ great idea, Nolan. Let’s do a big lunch for everyone.”
“When you won that bet—” Rex started.
“When I won that bet, I won that bet. You’re getting off easy feeding only us. I should be inviting the whole freaking town of Helene.”
Rex groaned. “This is not what I signed up for.”
Nina noted that as put out as he pretended to be, he actually grinned at Gemma’s backside when she turned around to open the ice chest. Their back and forth warmed a part of Nina that she’d worried was frozen. There was love out here. Real HEAs for real people.
She just wasn’t one of them.
Determined to stop hanging out on her “sad stick” as Fraze would call it, she delved into the ice chest and came out with a beer of her own, and a second for Nolan.
“Thanks,” he said, and settled into one of the lounge chairs on the far side of the fire.
“No problem.” She hesitated, wanting to talk to him, but he leaned his head back and closed his eyes.
Instant shut-out.
Determined not to let it bother her, Nina looked around. Already the other clan members were out on their porches, no doubt summoned by the delicious scent of steak sizzling over the barbecue near Rex and Gemma’s cabin. Margot, Erena, Jake, Carl. Carl curled his lip up when her gaze met his, but it was more of a sneer than a smile.
Well, Nina didn’t need to make friends with everyone here. She took her beer and reclined in the lounge chair next to Gemma’s and stared at the bright blue sky above them. “It’s gorgeous here,” she said.
“Damn straight,” Gemma said. “I grew up in Oregon, but I love this place like it’s my heart.”
“You love me,” Rex said, possessiveness in his tone.
Gemma said as an aside, “Well, I love Rex. Except when he starts getting jealous of a state for goodness’ sake. It’s like, an arbitrary outline of land with trees and rocks on it. Get over yourself, honey.”
He made as if to retort, but she smiled sweetly. “Don’t forget the other part of what I won in that bet. You serve me lunch cheerfully and with a good, generous heart.”
He made some grumbling sounds, but kept a fake smile on his face.
Nina laughed. Her beer tasted great, the steaks smelled like heaven, and today was pretty stellar. She’d faced down a freaking alpha and given him the what-for. HEA or no HEA, Nina was actually happy.
The HFN—happy for now.
By the time the steaks were finished, Margot and her sister, Erena, had come forward bearing a plate of cupcakes that Margot had baked.
Nina oohed and ahhed over the beautiful creations. Each one sported a tri-color tower of icing and was topped with a tiny chocolate candy shaped like an owl. “They look like magic.”
“I do it all the time,” Margot said, looking embarrassed.
Erena was silent beside her, a flat line to her mouth.
“Do you bake, too?” Nina asked her.
“No.” Erena stomped to the other side of the fire to sit near Nolan.
A few minutes later, Jake came out of his cabin, and sat next to Erena. He pulled a flask of something out of his pocket and took a swig. “Those steaks to be shared with all?” he asked.
Gemma looked like she was going to say no, but Rex spoke first. “Of course. We’re a clan—we’ll share food like a clan.”
“Where’s our oh-so-esteemed alpha?” Jake asked. “Still too disappointed in us to eat with us?”
“He’s at work,” Nina said.
“Oho, and how do you know, pussycat?” Jake asked.
Nina felt her cheeks get hot. “Because I just saw him there.”
Jake snorted and took a swig from his flask. Erena leaned against him until he passed the flask to her.
“You saw Jameson at work?” Gemma asked, a grin of delight forming on her face. “Oh, this is awesome.”
“Awesome?” Nina asked. “Why?”
Instead of answering her, Gemma asked in a whisper, “What was he like?”
“Oh you know, still had on his alphahole face,” Nina said back. By now, no one was paying attention to their conversation except for Rex, who’d just come over to serve Gemma her steak. “But overall I think it went well.”
“Alphahole?” Rex asked.
“It’s one of those things in the blogs I read,” Gemma said. “Shorthand for an asshole alpha male who tries to take charge of everything and acts like a dick. Some women like the trope. I’m not so sure I do.” She gave Rex a pointed look.
“So you read those romance blogs, too?” Rex asked Nina.
“Of course,” Nina said. “I also write one.”
Rex’s eyes got wide. “Really. I always see Gemma reading them and I wondered how people have the time to write all that stuff down. Do you get paid for it?”
“Yeah,” Nina said proudly. “I’ve monetized the blog. It’s a full-time job.”
Rex had more and more questions about blogging, so Nina indulged him.
Finally Jake disentangled himself from Erena. He tossed his empty paper plate in the fire and stalked over to the ice chest for a beer. The entire time, his light blue eyes were locked on Nina. Or maybe her legs, or her chest. She didn’t think he’d ever looked directly at her face, and he was doing it on purpose.
“So, Nina. What do you say we go for a run tonight? First one to the north fence wins.”
She wrinkled her nose up at him. “No thanks.”
He squatted next to her lounge chair, and his breath wafted over her face. She inched away from him. “You’d have fun, trust me. I’m a lot of fun to be around, ask anyone.”
To hell with subtlety. Nina stood up. “I said, no thanks. Which was really no. And I meant it, so maybe you should go have fun without me.”
He stood up and glowered at her. “I think you’re being rude to me, pussycat. Maybe I should see if you have nine lives or not.”
Like she’d never heard that one before.
Rex growled from the other side of Gemma. “Take a hike, Jake.”
“Someone needs to tell this pussy that when you’re not in the clan, you don’t get to be rude. We take care of our own,” Jake said.
“She’s not being rude, you are,” Gemma said.
“I said go, Jake.” Rex stood up.
Nina worried that Jake would fight him. Jake’s fists were bunched at his side, dominant power bleeding through the air, so strong she almost thought she could see pulsing waves of gray and red.
Just as quickly, Jake turned around and stalked toward the woods.
Nina let out a shaky breath, trying to keep it quiet. She didn’t want to stir up trouble, but trouble was exactly what she was stirring up. Maybe, instead of staying on as she’d planned, she’d take off early. It sounded like a solid, sensible idea.
Then why did the lion inside her push her ears back and hiss at the very thought?