Desert Bound (Cambio Springs) (9 page)

“Caleb’s probably going to ask about that.”

“I don’t know much more than what I told you.” Her voice lowered to a whisper. “Do you honestly think that Joe had anything to do with this? He doesn’t seem like the type.”

“I don’t think anyone knows what Joe is capable of at this point. Now that he’s gone, all the shit is coming out.”

“Oh…” She rested her forehead on her hands. “Poor Allie.”

Alex rubbed Josie’s shoulder and thought that Marcus had been a lucky man to have a woman who’d just lost her own husband, but still had room in her heart for a friend. And whoever made Josie lose that man was going to pay, if it was the last thing he did.

It was an hour later when Caleb finally came by. Alex was heading out the door, but Caleb put a hand on his shoulder, stopping him on the front walk.

“Don’t put your hands on me, skinwalker.” Alex knew it annoyed Caleb to have that term thrown around.

“Do you enjoy pissing me off, McCann?” He hadn’t risen to the bait, which left Alex vaguely disappointed. “Because I know you’re not stupid.”

“I’m helping out a friend. And she’s as baffled by this as we are, so don’t step over the line in there, or I’ll hear about it.”

Caleb drew back. “What kind of bastard do you think I am?”

“I think you’re a hell of a good detective. That’s why I hired you. But when that ‘detecting’ happens to be about a friend, I don’t give a shit about offending you. I’m more concerned about the woman in there who lost her husband.”

“And I’ll keep that in mind. But you know I have to question her.”

Alex nodded. “She can take it. But just saying, her kids are in there, and her mother-in-law’s a mess. Josie might be easier to talk to if you got her out of the house.”

“Noted.”

He started to walk back toward his car, but Caleb called him again.

“McCann.”

“Yeah?”

“You’re not part of this investigation. You know that, right?”

Alex grinned. The shit-eating grin he knew Caleb hated.

“I am nothing but a humble citizen, Chief.”

He could hear Caleb muttering all the way to his car.

Alex was sleeping, but he heard it. Soft padding feet creeping through his trailer.

Big
padding feet.

He woke when the bed creaked to find a hundred pound mountain laying half across his legs, staring at him with lazy golden eyes. He shifted to his back and scooted up a little, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

“Hey, baby.”

The lion was silent, but her lip curled up. Alex smiled and reached out, running a finger through the soft hair behind her left ear. The instinctive purr made him smile, but the smile was wiped away when she got up on all fours, leaned down, and hissed in his face, baring vicious two-inch long fangs.

A full-grown cougar was a terrifying sight, but it was the silence that had always freaked Alex out more than anything. When wolves hunted, there was panting and crackling as they ran through brush. Little yips and barks to let each other know the movements of the pack. But cats were silent hunters, they could creep up rocks and through brush with little trace, their silence broken only by the occasional, blood-curdling scream.

So it was probably stupid that the only thing Alex could think of was getting Ted to shift back to human form, just so he could see her naked.

He reached over and grabbed the small bag he kept in his bedside drawer ever since he moved back to the Springs. The cat lurched back as he opened the bag.

“Oh yeah. You know what this is.”

Her eyes glazed over a second before her head dipped down to nuzzle the blanket. Then she shook her head and immediately shifted back to her human form.

Alex grinned. “Still like the catnip, huh?”

“That is so wrong, Alex.”

He laughed wickedly, even as Ted grabbed a corner of the sheet to wrap herself up.

“But it’s so cute.”

“I hate it when you do that!”

“Big scary cougar acting like a kitty cat? How can I resist?”

“That stuff should be regulated.” She scrunched up her nose and shook her head, as if still trying to rid her senses of the smell. 

Seeing the advantage in her distraction, Alex grabbed Ted and rolled her under him, trapping her hips with his legs. He always slept naked, and it wasn’t lost on him that the only thing separating their bodies was a sheet.

“My turn to pounce.”

“That’s not why I came over.” She was trying to brush him off, but he could scent her arousal and feel her pulse picking up.

“You’re the one who snuck in my trailer naked.”

“I wasn’t naked. I was wearing fur.”

“You’re not now.”

She shrugged. “I felt like having a run and I wanted to talk to you. It’s quicker this way.”

“Definitely quicker.” He leaned down to her neck, taking in her scent. “We’re both naked. Saves time.”

She could shove him off if she wanted to. She was more than strong enough. But she just lay there, staring at him with an inscrutable expression, as if they were in business negotiations, not naked in bed. She had to feel how aroused he was, it wasn’t something she could miss with his legs caging her in, but she did nothing. Said nothing.

He let his mouth whisper across her neck, felt her pulse spike, then he pulled away. “What did you want to talk about, Tea?”

“Why do you keep antagonizing Caleb?”

He lifted an eyebrow. “You want to talk about Caleb Gilbert while you’re in bed with me?”

She huffed out a breath. “I’m going to keep you in the loop on this, but it makes it more difficult when you’re pissing him off. I do have to work with the guy. And he’s married to one of your best friends.”

“I wasn’t consulted on that.” He braced his elbows beside her shoulders and played with a curl of her hair. “I like it when you don’t straighten it.”

“It’s a pain in the ass.”

“You didn’t straighten it in college.”

“I didn’t have time in college.”

“Hmm.” He didn’t say anything more. Didn’t push things, even though his body wanted him too. It was this he’d missed, as much as anything. Whispering with her in bed. Arguing about things, then kissing the frown from her mouth. He pulled a thick curl from behind her ear and pulled it out to it’s full length, laying it across her face, so the soft strands touched her lips. Then Alex bent down the slowly took the curl between his teeth, letting his lips brush hers as he pulled it away.

Ted let out a soft breath, and her scent bloomed around him. He buried his face in her neck as her hands came to rest at his waist.

His lips trailed up to her ear.

“Kiss me, Tea.”

“Alex, we shouldn’t—”

“A kiss.” He spoke against her lips. “Just… a kiss.”

She drew in a breath and he felt her body relax. Her hips sank into the bed and her hands spread across the small of his back. His lips rested against hers. Not moving until the opened her mouth and let him in.

A ferocious need tore through him, but he clamped it down and sank into what she offered. Just that. Soft lips pressing and moving against his, then her mouth opened and he tasted her again. Slick tongue licking the inside of his mouth, lapping at him like the cat she was.

His Tea could do amazing things with her tongue.

He smiled as he kissed her, enjoying the familiar rhythm that took over their bodies. They rocked together, hands grasping harder, the friction of the sheets maddening against his skin. Their lips never parted. His hands sank into her hair, tugging her mouth back to his when she pulled away to gasp his name.

“Alex—”

“Shh,” he murmured, taking deep breaths, forcing his body away from her and closing his eyes as he rested his cheek against hers. They were flush with desire. She was hot and wet. He could smell it around her. Alex ached to take her like that. Sink into her and sate the need that clawed them both, but he pulled back.

Too much too fast would only come back to bite him. And not in a good way.

“Thank you,” he whispered. 

I miss you so much. 

His wolf growled at him to claim her.

She said nothing, and his heart hurt a little. 

Ted didn’t
need
him. Not like he needed her. Her life was full. Work she loved. Family. Friends. But cracks had appeared in her walls with the shock of Marcus’s death, and he was trying ease closer without her shutting down. She hadn’t clawed at him when he and Caleb almost came to blows. She’d comforted him. Soothed both the man and the wolf with her touch. And so far, she hadn’t raised her guard again. It was an advantage he didn’t plan to waste, and he didn’t think his old friend would mind.

“You know… I’m sorry,” he said, still pressing his cheek to hers. His thumb stroked the side of her neck. “For hurting you. Sorry that you didn’t know how much it hurt for me to lose you. Even if it had to happen, you should have known—”

“I should go.”

He closed his eyes. Too much. Slowly, he nodded and rolled to the side, but she didn’t get up right away. Just stared at the ceiling while he watched her in profile.

“This place is tiny,” she said.

“It’s decent for a trailer.”

She’d pulled the sheet up to her neck.

“If you’re really staying, why didn’t you just get a house? There’s a few in town that are nice. And you could always fix one up.”

Dammit, his sister had been right.

“I like the old places like yours,” he said. “There’s none of those right now. I can wait.”

“For what? Why not just build a new one in the old style?”

“You really want to know?”

She said nothing, but he could feel her tense.

“I didn’t want to buy one by myself, Tea. Or build one. Not alone. I always wanted—”

He broke off when he felt her shift. Seconds later, the mountain lion was out the door. He could hear the wind whipping through the trees that shaded the trailer. He listened for a few moments, then stood and walked to the door, looking out into the black night. He didn’t see her, of course. He didn’t expect to.

Alex sighed. “I wanted
our
house, not mine.”

Chapter Seven

Hating someone was easy. Trying to understand their motives was harder.

Never in a million years would Ted have expected Alex to let her go without a fight like he had the night before. He’d have persuaded. Tried to coax her into staying in his bed. Nudged her to have sex, because he’d known she wanted it. He wouldn’t have had to nudge much. He’d have known that too.

She’d never wanted anyone like she wanted him. It’s what made moving on so completely impossible. Shifters were sensual by nature. Physical connection was crucial for Ted, and no one had ever come close to Alex. He could read her body like his own personal map. More than that, he’d never taken advantage of it. Never used her physical need for him against her. No, he was the lover who laughed with her. The one who teased her to the point of madness, then gave himself over completely.

“I didn’t want to buy one by myself, Tea. Or build one. Not alone. I always wanted—”

He wanted
their
home. She didn’t need to hear him say it, because that had been her dream, too. Even though they’d never said it. 

There was a lot they’d left unsaid. 

“You’re a million miles away.”

She blinked and shook her head. “Sorry.”

Jena shrugged. “What’s on your mind? Work stuff? Friend stuff? Alex stuff?”

She ignored the last one and said, “Marcus stuff. What’s Caleb asking Allie about?”

They were sitting in Jena’s kitchen. Her dad was working the diner that afternoon, giving Jena a much needed break from the madness.

“I think he’s talking to her about some of the Joe stuff.” Jena spoke in a low voice. “There’s a lot she didn’t know about.”

“Like what?”

“Money. He’d borrowed a lot of money from a lot of people. Marcus was only one of them. The more he digs into Marcus’s past, the more Joe keeps popping up.”

Ted frowned. “How?”

“Joe gambled. It sounds like that was part of the reason he and Allie were so broke all the time. And Marcus knew about it. I guess someone heard him threaten Joe that he’d tell Allie about the gambling when he asked Marcus for money. I guess Marcus used to have a problem and he straightened himself out. The guys at his job said he didn’t have much patience for that stuff anymore.”

“Well, that gives him motive, I guess.”

“It’s Joe, though!” Ted could see the stricken look in Jena’s face. “Look, he may have turned into a shit husband, but he still loved his kids. He used to be our friend. Used to
adore
Allie.”

“And then things got tough and he turned back into the sullen asshole we saw when he was younger. I’m not saying he’s a murderer—”

“Good.”

“Marcus was shot in the back, Jena.”

Jena’s mouth dropped open. She hadn’t known that. “What?”

“He was shot in the back. Whoever shot him either snuck up on him—which you know would be difficult to do—or Marcus turned his back on him, which means he didn’t think his killer was a threat. And people can do stupid things when they’re desperate.”

“Was Joe desperate?”

Ted glanced at the living room door. She could hear Caleb’s low, calming voice and Allie’s sniffles.

“Allie was the only thing holding that family together. He worked for her dad. And let’s face it,
their
friends were really
her
friends. Everyone loves her. If she found out he was gambling their money instead of buying groceries—”

“She would have freaked. Even if she loved him.”

“Allie’s a mom. And let’s face it, from what she’s told us, he worked pretty hard to kill her love years ago. She was holding it together for the kids and because she was loyal.”

Jena said, “But she’s not an idiot.”

“Not even close. So Marcus telling her about the gambling would probably make him pretty desperate.”

Jena rested her forehead on her hands. “Oh shit, Ted. This might get really, really bad.”

Ted put her hand on Jena’s back, but kept her eyes on the doorway where Caleb was comforting Allie. “We’ll make it through. No matter what happened. We’ll be there for her and the kids.”