Chapter Four: Derek

 

 

He'd stay here with her, if this was where she wanted to be. Derek was willing to be wherever Gaby wanted to be.

But being this close to his mate, not being able to touch her, was torment.

In the narrow space behind the counter, it was impossible not to brush against her constantly. Every time one of them turned around, those sweet curves were sliding past him, her round hip bumping against his.

It didn't take long before he was fighting down a raging hard-on.

Gaby showed him how to use the cash register and process credit cards. "Probably better if you stay out of the kitchen as much as possible. That's Polly's domain, and she's very particular about it. Why don't you handle the next customer? It looks like she's ready to order. I'll make the drinks."

He couldn't believe was doing this, he really couldn't—"Hello, ma'am," Derek said with his most winning smile. "What can I get for you?"

"Well, hello there." The woman gave him a long, appraising once-over, lingering on his chest and on the tats peeking out from under the sleeves of his Daily Bean T-shirt. "You must be new. I think I'd remember you."

Behind the coffee machine, Gaby scowled.

Derek wasn't quite sure how to react, between his mate's flattering yet utterly misplaced jealousy and the customer who was looking at him like a prime slab of beef in a meat market. "I'm new here," he said. "Just started today."

The woman leaned on the counter. "I know where I'm getting my coffee from now on."

Gaby wiped down the coffee machine with needlessly brisk strokes of a damp rag, her expression murderous.

Derek cleared his throat. "And ... what did you want?"

"Oh, I think I'd like a tall latte ..." Her gaze ran up and down his body; now he knew what "undressed me with their eyes" meant. "—extra strong, with a shot of ..." Now she was attempting to gaze into his eyes. "—hazelnut."

Derek tried not to encourage her by making eye contact; he stared at a point over her shoulder instead. "Got that?" he asked Gaby.

"I've definitely got it," Gaby said in a strangled voice.

Derek watched out of the corner of his eye to make sure Gaby didn't spit in the drink, but she was perfectly professional.

The woman stuffed a $10 bill in the tip cup before she left, drink in hand, with several longing looks back.

"The nerve of her," Gaby muttered. Then she noticed Derek looking at her and cleared her throat. "I mean ... you're an employee. Just doing your job. The way she was objectifying you! How very ... inappropriate."

She didn't look at his pecs once throughout that entire speech, just kept her eyes fixed firmly on his face.

Our mate is fierce! his bear said approvingly.

She certainly was. Derek hoped they could get through the entire day without his fierce mate flinging herself across the counter to take down the next woman who looked at him that way.

She feels it too! She wants us; we can smell it. Why don't we just take our mate out into the forest and find a nice patch of grass—

Because it's more complicated for people, Derek thought at his bear, and besides, we're in the city, so forest is hard to find. I'm not making love to my mate for the first time in a public park.

Oh really? his libido contributed to the conversation, perking up.

No one asked you!

There was a steady stream of customers after that, which at least kept him busy enough to distract him (sort of) from Gaby's tempting curves right next to him. A suspicious number of the customers were young women. It seemed that word was getting around.

If looks could kill, Gaby's death glares would have left smoking craters on the floor.

On the bright side, the tip jar was filling up fast.

"You know, I have an idea," Gaby said when the last customer left and they had a few moments of peace again. "Why don't you make the coffee and I'll hold down the counter."

"Yeah, but—" Derek hesitated at admitting that he didn't know how to run the machine. He'd brought down drug dealers! He'd rescued kidnapping victims! He could hold his own in a firefight or a South American jungle.

He should not be brought low by a machine that made overpriced coffee drinks.

Still—all those nozzles—

His bear didn't like it either.

"Come here," Gaby sighed. She pointed out the different parts of the machine, showed him how to turn the steam nozzle on and off, and how to run the coffee grinder. "Why don't you start out by making me a latte."

We can provide nourishment for our mate! His bear approved.

"That's the one with coffee and hot milk, right?"

"Right," Gaby agreed.

"Why not say 'coffee and milk'? It doesn't need a fancy name. Lots of people put milk in coffee."

"Because—it—look, just ..." She slapped the coffee-containing device (a small metal cup with a spigot, on a handle) into his palm. "This is a portafilter. It holds two shots of espresso. Fill it up at the grinder, tamp it down with this—" She put a little mallet in his other hand. "And lock it onto the machine. Okay? I'll get the milk."

The milk was kept in a little fridge underneath the counter. To get it, she had to bend over, giving him an excellent view of her firm, round behind ...

He wrenched his eyes away and tried to get his mind back on business. Coffee. Right.

Gaby straightened up with the jug of milk and set it on the counter. "Got the coffee? Okay, now you clamp the portafilter onto the machine—here—"

There was barely room for two of them at the machine. Gaby put her arms around him from behind, guiding his hand to clamp the portafilter into place. Her small, strong fingers wrapped around the back of his bigger hand—her curves pressed against him from behind—

"Like this?" he murmured.

"Like that." Her voice was throaty. Derek looked down as she peeled off him and ducked lithely under his arm, catching a glimpse of the blush tinting her tan cheek. She took a deep breath and her voice steadied. "You'll heat up the milk with the steam nozzle, in this pitcher here, while the hot water runs through the coffee into this little cup. The thermometer shows you when the milk's up to the right temperature. Don't let it get too hot, or it'll scald."

"I didn't think it would be this complicated," Derek admitted, dipping the head of the steam nozzle into the pitcher while the soft pressure of her hands guided him. "All the coffee I ever made, you just fill the pot. If you're camping, you boil it. No wonder these stu—er—these drinks are so expensive."

"Wait'll I get into making cappuccinos. For a latte, you just want a little bit of foam on top of the milk. Cappuccinos are all foam and they take a delicate touch. "

"I'm not so good at delicate," Derek said, his eyes not on the thermometer but on the small hands still covering his own.

"Oh, I don't know," Gaby murmured. "I bet you can be careful with those hands, when you want to be ..."

She blinked, made a tiny sound in her throat, and stepped back, the warmth of her hands and her body sliding away, leaving cold spots in their wake. She set a mug on the counter. "Your milk is almost hot enough. Coffee goes in first, then pour the milk after it, stirring as you go. Add a little dollop of foam on top, and you're done."

It smelled good, at least—the homey, enticing smell of hot coffee. Derek held the cup out to her. "Your latte, ma'am?"

Gaby smiled at him, dimpling adorably, and took the cup. She sipped. "Not bad. I declare this a passable latte."

"Only passable?"

"Well, it is your first one. Everybody improves after their first time."

In the limited space behind the counter, they were almost touching. She smelled like coffee and perfume and warm female skin.

"There are a few other things I'd like to improve on," Derek said quietly. "But to do that, we have to get to the first time."

She didn't step away. Head tipped back, lips parted—luscious, touchable lips. "Are we supposed to be doing this?" she asked on a breath.

"I'm not police," he whispered back. "I don't have any rules to follow. I won't tell if you won't."

Her lips—so near his own—

And then the doorbell tinkled and they took a quick, mutual step back. Derek bumped into the donut case; Gaby nearly dropped her latte.

The newcomer wasn't a customer. It was Lt. Keegan, dark and sharp in his black suit. "Ma'am," he said, nodding to Gaby, and jerked his head at Derek. "Ruger, a word."

Derek went to the corner table with him, glancing over his shoulder at Gaby, who watched with a look of concern.

"I see getting her to a safe place is going well," Keegan remarked, glancing at Derek's Daily Bean T-shirt.

"Protecting her here seemed preferable to throwing her over my shoulder and hauling her off to a safehouse by force," Derek said dryly. "People frown on that kind of thing these days."

"Noted," Keegan sighed.

"And there's another thing. You won't like it."

"Try me."

"She's my mate."

Keegan stared at him. Then he closed his eyes and rubbed at a crease between them. "Talk about a complication we don't need. I can guess what you'd say if I tried to pull you away now."

Derek's bear rose up with a rumbling growl. Derek shoved it down, but not all the way. "You're right about that." A hint of the growl lingered in his voice.

"Don't posture at me. I get it. In fact, as a fellow shifter, I get it better than anyone else could. Neither of you can stop it, and I know what'll happen to anyone who stands between you. But—" He leaned forward. "Be discreet, all right? At least as much as you're capable of. What I saw when I walked in wasn't discreet."

"I can be discreet."

"Uh-huh. Anyway," Keegan went on, "I came in to tell you, first of all, that we've sent a couple of uniforms around to keep an eye on her family. There's a kid and a grandma. The kid's dad doesn't seem to be in the picture."

Derek's stomach sank. He hadn't even considered that Gaby's family might be in danger. "Going after the family isn't the Ghost's usual M.O."

"I know that, but do you want to take chances with your mate's family?"

"No," Derek said, heartfelt.

"Didn't think so." Keegan slid a slip of paper across the table. "I've also reserved a hotel room where you can take her. Assuming you can get her to go there. Any sign of Ghost yet, by the way? Or ideas about where he might've gone to ground?"

Derek shook his head. "He was a merc, like me. He likes out-of-the-way places. I'm actually surprised to see him turn up in the city."

"Is there any chance he might be here because of you?"

"I doubt it." Derek grinned a fierce, feral grin with no humor in it. "I'm sure he wants a rematch as much as I do, but I don't see him following me all over the world just to get one. Our fight wasn't personal; it was part of the job."

Although it would be personal for him now. The Ghost had threatened his mate. His bear wouldn't let that kind of challenge pass unanswered.

"I still want to know why a guy like that is running around pulling ordinary robberies," Keegan said.

Derek's grin grew even fiercer, encouraged by his bear. "Let's find him and ask him, then."

"Yeah, well, we've got guys on that, so you get back up there and keep an eye on your mate." Keegan flashed one of his rare grins. "Congratulations on finding her, Derek. I know you've needed someone to settle you down for a while."

"So far, all she's done is get me riled up."

"Good. You need someone with a little fire in her." Keegan slapped him on the arm and got up to leave.

When Derek got back to the counter, Gaby asked, "What was all that about?"

"The lieutenant wanted to let me know they've reserved a hotel room—" For us, he almost said, realizing just in time that it could be taken the wrong way. "—for you to stay in until this is resolved."

"Why can't I just go home?" Then she clapped her hand over her mouth. "Mama! Sandy! Oh my God—"

She fumbled for her phone. Derek closed a hand over her wrist. "Your family is fine. There's a cop watching them."

Gaby jerked her wrist away. "I'm still calling them."

She stepped away with the phone to her ear. Derek watched her, feeling suddenly helpless—mainly because he couldn't protect both Gaby and her family at the same time, but also because of the reminder that she had a life apart from him.

Family. A son.

The kid's dad is out of the picture, Keegan said. What did that mean, anyway?

And what did it mean for Derek and Gaby?

For his bear, it was simple. They were mates. They had to be together.

But Gaby was human. She wouldn't look at it that way.

Is she married? Divorced?

She'd certainly been sending him active signals back. Clearly she was not with anyone else right now.

"Yes, Mama. I've got to get back to work. I'll tell you all about it this evening." She lowered the phone with a sigh. "They're all right."

"I told you they would be."

"I'm a mother. I can't not worry."

Derek glanced over at the door. No customers at the moment. "Tell me about your son."

He knew immediately he'd said the exact right thing. Gaby's face lit up with a brilliant smile. "Sandy. He's five. He's beautiful and smart and learns so fast. Here, I'll show you a picture."

She turned her phone toward him. The child who beamed at Derek from the photo was clearly related to Gaby; he had her dimples and pointy chin, though his curls were lighter, a medium brown to Gaby's black.

"He's my whole world," Gaby said softly. "His father was a cad and he's long gone, good riddance to bad rubbish, but I have no regrets because I got Sandy. I can't imagine anything happening to him. I couldn't take it."

"Nothing will happen." Derek wanted to smooth her raven hair away from her face. He settled for reaching out to place a comforting hand on her arm.

And he knew in that instant that his bear's protective instincts had expanded to include not just his mate but her family as well. Just as he'd rather die than see anything happen to Gaby, he also couldn't let anything happen to her son or her mother.

They were hers, which meant they were now his as well.