Authors: Crystal Jordan
She huffed out a breath. “I can’t complain too much, since I enjoyed it at the time, but still.”
Pirouetting toward the stove, she tied the apron in a bow above her waist. Other than that, she was naked, so he got a delicious shot of her heart-shaped ass.
“Mmm…I’ve missed that view.”
She laughed, not even bothering to pretend she didn’t know what he was referring to. “This view hasn’t changed. You just haven’t been around to see it.”
“It was a long week.” More than that. Ten days and nights spent hunting down a serial rapist. Even with his many years of experience, this had been a bad one. He swallowed convulsively when he remembered what the werewolf had done to his victims. Those images would haunt his dreams for a long time to come. His stomach roiled with nausea as the smell of cooking food hit his nostrils. He blew out a breath. It had been a few days since he’d been able to make himself eat a real meal. Mostly, he’d been running on adrenaline, nerves and anger at what had happened to those women.
He startled when Erin cupped her palms around his jaw, yanking him back to the present. Her gaze searched his face. “This case was rough.”
“Yeah.” He resisted the urge to jerk away from her, to shut her out, to hide what he dealt with in his work. Most of his women preferred he keep it to himself, but Erin’s cousin, Jack, was one of his agents. She had a good idea what went on, and she’d never shrunk from it. Still, talking to her about it felt too…intimate. That wasn’t part of their arrangement. He ignored the fact that the first place he’d gone the moment he got back, as shitty as he’d felt, was to her, knowing that he’d feel better.
She stroked her fingertips over his cheekbones. “I’m no help, but…”
Letting the sentence trail off, she shrugged. A quick brush of her lips over his and she stepped back, returning to the stove. She moved with the grace of someone with long experience in the kitchen, humming softly to herself as she worked, her demeanor quiet and relaxed. It made his tension ease a bit, and he couldn’t help a grin as he watched her bare body move.
It didn’t take her long to have something spectacular whipped together, and he noted that she’d somehow guessed his stomach wasn’t up to anything exotic or spicy. The omelet was simple, comfortable and smelled incredible. Exactly what he needed right now.
He sighed. “You’re wrong, you know.”
“About what?” She grabbed silverware out of a drawer for him.
“This does help,” he said quietly. “Thank you.”
She stilled for a moment, not looking at him, as if she weren’t sure how to respond. Then she glanced over and offered him a quick wink. “Well, I need you to keep your strength up so I can wring you out on the mattress again.”
Following her lighter lead, he arched one eyebrow. “Again? When was the first time?”
A sassy smile answered that. She waved him into one of the stools that surrounded the island and set his plate in front of him. “Dinner is served.”
She went to dish something into a small bowl, and then hunkered down to put it on the floor. She stroked Balthasar’s back while he dug in. Luca felt oddly jealous of his cat. Snorting at that stupidity, he plied himself to his own meal.
It was even more delicious than it smelled. The cheese was gooey, the mushrooms flavorful, the eggs fluffy. Every few bites, he got a bit of ham. A low hum of satisfaction worked its way up his throat. “This is outstanding, Chef Bates.”
“Why, thank you, Agent Cavalli.” She fluttered her eyelashes at him. “The secret is the gruyere. Best cheese for omelets.”
“What kind of mushrooms are these?”
“Portobello.” She rose and went back to the kitchen to clean up. “When you’re done, I have some pineapple strawberry sorbet I was experimenting with yesterday and it should be ready to test now.”
“So you want to experiment on me, huh?”
She widened her eyes. “Since when have you ever complained about me using your body for all my creative processes?”
“Never.” He leaned back in his chair, his body revving up at the thought of the many, many inventive things they’d done to each other in the last year. “Let’s take the sorbet with us to bed.”
Chapter Two
When Erin arrived at work the next afternoon, there was a long white box sitting on the desk in the office she shared with her cousin. The box’s top was stamped with the name of a local florist. She arched her eyebrows, hanging up her sweater before she approached the box. Was it for her or Holly?
“That arrived for you an hour ago.” Her cousin’s voice came from behind her, and Erin glanced back to see Holly lounging against the doorjamb. The werewolf’s silent and speedy approach was unsurprising after five years of dealing with it. Holly gestured with her chin. “Come on, open it up. I want to see what you got.”
Erin lifted the lid, parted the crinkly layers of tissue paper and sighed over the dozen peach-colored roses nestled inside. Their peppery sweet scent filled her nostrils and she couldn’t keep a silly grin from curling her lips. Fishing around in the box, she found a card.
Thank you for the amazing omelet. And everything else. Delicious. -L
A blush burned its way up her neck and cheeks because she knew the
delicious
was not referring to her omelet. She tucked the card in her pocket before Holly could read it. After lifting the long-stemmed blooms out of their tissue nest so she could bury her nose in them, she took a deep breath. She loved roses. It took her a moment of rooting around their office before she found a vase, but she soon had them in water.
Holly crossed her arms. “Are you
sure
the two of you aren’t dating? I’ve never had a booty-call send me flowers.”
“We’re not dating, he’s just a gentleman.” Erin hid a grin by sniffing the roses again. “Sometimes.”
Her cousin grunted. “You’d better not let Uncle Darren or Aunt Angela know you’re banging another vamp, that’s all I know. You will never hear the end of it.
Ev-er
.”
Shooting the petite blonde a narrow-eyed glance, Erin felt her buzz fizzle out a bit. “Well, if I don’t tell them and you don’t tell them, they won’t find out, will they?”
“So we hope.” Holly stepped forward and bent to smell the flowers. “On the other hand, are you sure you don’t
want
to date him? If a man sends you flowers for a shagfest, what might he do for a legitimate girlfriend?”
“Yeah, I’m not even going to go there.” Erin shrugged that idea off, the memory of the one vamp she’d actually
dated
looming large in her mind. Asher Kondan. One of the biggest mistakes of her life. Maybe
the
biggest. “Remember Mr. Shagfest is a vampire? Remember how well a bloodsucking relationship went last time?”
Her cousin waggled her eyebrows. “Apparently, you’re a really good lay.”
“I am, thank you.” False modesty dripped from the words. “Also, keep in mind that Mr. Shagfest and I hooked up in the first place because we wanted no strings attached. I’d just shook loose a jackass ex and Luca was—and is—in love with Tess.”
“Well, he had a shot with Tess when she was Normal, but she’s a wolf now. Wolves and vamps do not mix. Also, she hates his ass. Like with the fire of a thousand suns kind of hate.” Holly flapped a dismissive hand. “Everyone in the pack knows that.”
“Yeah, but not being able to have someone doesn’t mean you don’t want them or love them.” Erin traced a finger around the top of a rose petal. “Besides,
I
still don’t want any strings attached, so there. I like my sex life just the way it is, thanks.”
“All right,” her cousin relented. “Since he’s a bloodsucker, it’s probably for the best anyway.”
Sad but true. Her werewolf family would not approve.
Holly held up her cell phone. “Oh, before I forget, my calendar reminded me of something. I have a doctor appointment tomorrow, so you’ll be on your own.”
“No problem. This is the new doctor, right?” Erin asked. “Over at Harborview?”
“Yeah, she’s a Fae who just got hired at the Magickal ward. My last guy retired, and she’s replacing him. I hope she’s nice.”
Like every other public service, from law enforcement to education, major hospitals had special branches for Magickals. “I hate going to the doctor.” Erin made a sympathetic noise while she fussed over her roses a little more. “Good luck.”
Holly’s head popped up, her nostrils flaring. Her eyes went wolfish for a moment, and then her voice went telepathic.
“You’d better hide the flowers. Aunt Angela just walked in the restaurant.”
Speaking telepathically was a gift of only the vampire and werewolf races, and it was pretty convenient when her cousin had something to say that she needed kept private. Unfortunately, wolves and vamps couldn’t read minds, so the conversation was one-sided. Some other Magickal races
could
read minds, but couldn’t send thoughts. It was like they were universal receivers while the fanged races were universal transmitters. But you couldn’t have both gifts at the same time. Magic was weird like that.
“How about we just lock my souvenirs in here?” Crowding her cousin out of the office, Erin was again amazed by how she towered over the pixie-sized werewolf. Appearances were deceiving, though. Holly could pick Erin up with one hand and throw her.
Pirouetting, the blonde darted ahead of her, slowing to mere human speed when she hit the dining room full of Normals. And a couple of Magickals, including Angela. The older woman was already seated, but she stood, a beatific smile creasing her cheeks. She held her arms out. “Ah, look. It’s my two favorite nieces.”
“Aren’t we her
only
nieces?” Holly projected a stage whisper as she strode across the room.
“Well, we’re the only children of Angela and Darren’s only siblings,” Erin replied. “You’re the business whiz, you do the math.”
Angela had been married before Darren, when she was still a Normal, and her son, Jack, was from her first husband. As far as Erin knew, Jack’s father had been an only child too, so Angela wouldn’t even have any leftover nieces or nephews from that marriage.
“Where’s Uncle Darren?” Holly enveloped their aunt in a tight hug.
“Busy with the usual stuff.” Meaning werewolf pack business. Darren was making a bid to be the next pack Alpha. “But I’m meeting Jack and my grandbaby here. My day will be more fun than my hubby’s, I’m sure.”
As if on cue, the little bell over the entrance rang and Jack walked in, his infant daughter cradled against his chest. He grinned at them as he approached and popped a kiss on his mother’s forehead. “Hey, ladies.”
Erin couldn’t help but notice how much the baby looked like Jack and Angela. Well, and Erin, herself. Same dark hair and blue eyes. She wondered if the munchkin would have her mother’s petite elfish build or grow to the impressive height of this side of the family.
Something had to come from Mom’s genes, right? Erin had inherited her riotous curls and too-generous curves from her own mother. She squelched the small stab of envy that Jack still had his mom. Hers had died before Erin had ever had a chance to know her—it had been just her dad and her when she was growing up. After he’d passed, she’d come to Seattle looking for connections. She’d found them. A whole wolf pack of them.
“Pfft.” Her aunt waved an impatient hand. “Forget the pleasantries, kiddo. Hand over the baby.”
“Oh, that’s nice.” He transferred his daughter into Angela’s arms, casting an aggrieved glance at his cousins. “She used to enjoy seeing
me
.”
“Sorry, cuz. You’ve been replaced by someone much cuter.” Holly’s dimples flashed and she plopped down at Angela’s table.
“I think we’re going to need some coffee.” Erin turned to get it herself, but found one of her waitresses behind her, a tray loaded down with coffee mugs and a carafe.
“You, sit. Visit with your family. I got this.” Tina jerked her chin toward an empty chair at the table. She’d been with them since they’d opened the bakery four years ago, then had become their head waitress at the bistro, so she felt free to order them around. In under a minute, she’d distributed the cups and dispensed the caffeine. After tucking the tray under her arm, she whipped out a pad of paper and pen. “What can I get you guys?”
“You don’t have to wait on us.” Erin had waited tables through high school, which had gotten her interested in restaurants and cooking in the first place, but it meant she was never quite comfortable being the one sitting and letting others fetch and carry for her.
“I
got
this.” Tina shot her a quelling look. “Waiting on people is my job, Chef Bates. You guys work too hard as it is.”
Holly lounged back in her chair. “You’re not gonna win this one, E.”
“I’ll have the special.” A dish Erin had created. She sipped her coffee and gave in as gracefully as she could.
“The special sounds good to me.” Jack handed his menu to Tina. “Mom?”
“Sure, the special for me too.” Angela bounced the baby in her arms, who gurgled, her arms flailing.
“Me, too.” Holly leaned in to look at the tiny girl bundled in a purple blanket. “She gets more adorable every time I see her.”
“You should have one of your own.” Angela spoke in a singsong reserved for babies, dangling her granddaughter in the air and making her crow in delight. “There are a lot of eligible men in the pack for you to choose from.” The babble of people in the dining room was loud enough that no one would overhear her mention the pack. If they did, they wouldn’t understand the context anyway. “We’re having Barney Litz to dinner tomorrow, and you’re coming. Just so you know.”