Excessica Anthology BOX SET Winter (53 page)

“Yeah,
I own Vixen’s.” She rolled her eyes. “As bad as it sounds, my father got it for
me. He said I needed something to keep me out of trouble.”

* *
* *

Morgan
was beginning to like Jamie more and more. She wasn’t just a pretty face and
hot body. But there was still something nagging him. “So what’s with the fox
theme?”

Jamie
shrugged again. “I didn‘t think wolves were as sexy. ’Sides, ‘Bitches’ didn‘t
have the same ring as Vixens. “ He gave her a confused look. “They really didn’t
tell you anything did they?” She shook her head. “Bay and I are Lycanthropes.”

Morgan
stared at her for a moment then rubbed the bridge of his nose. “So let me get
this straight—Luc thinks we’re meant to be life mates? And you’re ’thropic?”
Jamie nodded. “Is there anything else I should know?”

“Only
that I have four overprotective older brothers. Oh, and Bay’s in love with Luc,
so they’re going to gang up on us.”

“Seriously?”

“Yeah,
but if you don’t want to be life mates this will be a hell of a lot easier.”
She pushed away from the desk. “You haven’t changed your mind, have you?”

So
they’d come full circle and back to her original question. Shit this was a lot
to throw at a guy. At the moment he wasn’t sure what he wanted. Her scent was
bombarding him, and the view of her in those skimpy clothes wasn’t helping. The
more he was around her, the harder it was to knock Luc’s theory—at least
at the short-term.

Jamie’s
cell phone began vibrating, saving him from responding. She held up one hand
while she answered it. “Lauren calm down. I can’t understand you.”

Morgan
heard Jamie’s heartbeat speed up as she talked to the woman on the other line.
The smell of fear permeated the room. Jamie hung up the phone and looked at
him.

“What’s
wrong?” he asked.

A
series of emotions crossed her face, then she got control of herself. “My
brother was shot…”

The
sudden need to comfort her came over him, and he took a few steps toward her.
Taking her hand he led her toward the door. “I’ll drive you to the hospital.”

“You
don’t have to…”

“I
want to.”

Chapter
Three

It’d
been two hours since they’d arrived at the hospital and Konner still wasn’t out
of surgery. The nurse had been out once to tell them things were looking good. Jamie
glanced around the waiting room. For first time she felt a pang of jealousy.
Baylee sat next to Lucian and Bryce had his girlfriend Genna. Her other
brothers, Blake and Parker, were busy comforting Lauren and the kids. Suddenly
she had to get out of there. She stood. “Does anyone want some coffee? I’m
going to get some.”

Genna
perked up. “I’d like a cup, two sugars.”

“Sure,
anyone else?” There was a round of head shakes. “Okay, call me if there’s any
change.” She walked out of the waiting room and down the hall to the vending machines.
Why was she suddenly feeling like this now? It couldn’t be a worse time. But
right now all she wanted was someone to put their arms around her and hold her.Tell
her it was going to be okay.

Suddenly
a pair of strong arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her back against a
muscular chest. “It’s going to be fine, your brother’s strong. He’ll pull
through.”

She
couldn’t put her finger on why Morgan’s voice in her ear had the calming effect
she needed, but it did. She melted against him. “How’d you know?”

He
chuckled. “You were projecting.”

Closing
her eyes she leaned into him, enjoying the comfort of being held by someone.
She drew a deep breath, taking in his spicy cologne and musky scent. “Luc’s
right, isn’t he?” She hated to admit it, but right now it was the only thing
that made sense.

* *
* *

“I’m
beginning to think so. Why don’t we just take it one step at a time? Right now
focus on your brother.” Morgan tightened his hold on her briefly. He could feel
her pain, smell her fear. He wanted to take her away from everything that was
happening. But knew he couldn’t, her family needed her. These new feelings
scared him—he’d never felt this way toward another person before and wasn’t
sure how to react. So he was working on instinct. It’d always seemed to work
for him in the past.

Jamie’s
hand tightened on his arm. “Morgan, I need to get back to the others.
Something's wrong.”

They
turned the corner to find the doctor standing next to Lauren. He had a
miserable look on his face as he relayed bad news. Morgan felt Jamie’s
heartbreak at the loss of her brother. He pulled her into his arms and held her
as the people around them burst into tears. She sobbed against his chest,
feelings of pain and anger bombarding him. Morgan ran his fingers through her
hair and whispered words of comfort. He looked over her head to find Luc
watching them, Baylee wrapped tight in his arms. Then Jamie tensed, suddenly
shaking him off and turning.

* *
* *

Jamie
felt the hair on the back of her neck rise as she sensed the other lycanthropes
enter the room. The smell of wolves flooded her senses. They were not just any
’thropes either. She knew these two—Shayne Tranter and Sean-Patrick Ayden
were two lycans who were also hunters. Jamie had worked with them for a time.

Shaking
Morgan’s hands from her shoulders, she strode toward them, wiping her eyes as
she did. “What do you want?” she growled, feeling Parker and Bryce coming up
behind her.

Shayne’s
eyes raked over the room then came back to her. “Can we talk in private?” His
voice lowered. “It’s about Konner.”

Her
eyes narrowed at him. “Fine. Out in the hall.” She shooed them out of the room,
turning briefly to look at the rest of her family. Parker gave her a wary look,
then went back to Lauren’s side as she tried to explain to the kids what was
going on. Damn Konner, he’d left her with a huge mess, and just how had she
ended up being the head of this family in only a few seconds? Swallowing the
lump in her throat, she followed them into the hall.

“Talk.”
She commanded wiping at her cheeks.

“We
know who shot Konner. The guy’s out for anyone who’s trying to pass the 10-40
bill. Konner was top of his list.”

“Who?”

They
exchanged a glance. “You’re not going to like it, sugar.” Sean-Patrick assured
her, then added, “It’s Piero Acharius. If you want us to, we’ll take care of it
for you. Since you’re out of the business.”

Jamie
turned and looked out the window, taking in the view of the dark city below.
Piero Acharius, damn it, why couldn’t she get rid of that thorn in her side?
Before her father had bought the club, she’d worked with Shayne and Sean
hunting renegades. Archarius was one. The only one they hadn’t caught. She also
had her suspicions that he had killed her parents as well but couldn’t prove
it. “Are you two working on anything special right now?”

“Nothing
that can’t wait. You want our help with this?” Shayne asked, glancing at Sean.

“I’m
not going to play by the book this time, so if we’re caught…” She let that hang
in the air.

Sean-Patrick
moved into her line of sight, and caught her chin. “You saved our skins more
times than I can count, and it’s about time we repaid the favor.”

Jamie
gave him a half-hearted smile, just before a snarl rolled though her head.
“Shh,
Morgan, they’re not moving in on your territory. We’re actually going to have
to discuss- a lot.”

Chapter Four

Morgan
watched Jamie pace back and forth in front of the fireplace in Lucian’s study.
He was worried about her. She hadn’t cried since she’d found out about Konner.
For the last two days she’d spent more time than he was comfortable with around
the hunters. She’d become completely obsessed with this Archarius person. And
they still hadn’t discussed what was happening between them. Every day he was
around her, the stronger the desire to have her became.

“Jamie,
we have to talk.”

 She
glanced at him. “I know. I feel it.”

That
did it. With a growl he jumped from the chair, grabbed her, and pressed her
against the wall. “What
do
you feel?”

Her
dark eyes searched his face. “Right now I feel a little aroused.”

He
thought about that for a moment, then smiled. “That’s not what I meant.”

“I
know,” she retorted, then drew a deep breath. “I don’t understand what I feel
right now.” She leaned her head against the wall. “I haven’t had time to think
about anything.”

Under
his breath Morgan muttered, “Maybe if you weren’t obsessing over what’s-his-name.”

He
quickly realized that was the wrong thing to say. Jamie ripped her arms from
his grasp. “Acharius—he killed my brother and possibly my parents. Don’t
tell me not to obsess over him.” She poked him in the chest. “You’re just
jealous because I’m spending so much time with Shayne and Sean.”

“Possibly,
but it’s hard not to when they…”

“Are
we interrupting?” Baylee asked as she and Lucian walked into the room.

“Yes,”
Morgan retorted.

“No,”
Jamie countered, moving away from him.

Baylee
and Lucian exchanged a glance. “Sean and Shayne are waiting in the foyer.”

“Thanks.”
After a quick glare at Morgan, Jamie left the room. With a groan he walked over
and sank down into a chair, placing his head in his hands.

A
soft hand touched his shoulder. “Is she being difficult?” Morgan looked up to
find Baylee sitting on the arm of the chair. She gave him a pitying look, then
walked over to sit on Luc’s lap. “Jamie’s always been a pain in the you-know-what.
Here’s a little secret—if you want to get Jamie’s attention, surprise
her.”

Morgan
gave her a skeptical look. “That’s it? Surprise her?”

Baylee
nodded. “Yup, Jamie’s really simple. She just puts on this whole complex
persona to keep guys away. Try a bottle of champagne and strawberries or
chocolates.” A smile formed on Baylee’s face. “Or all three.”

“What
are you thinking?” Lucian ran his hand over Baylee’s thigh.

She
looked down at him. “Nothing that’ll help Morgan.”

Something
passed between Luc and Baylee. Morgan felt a pang of jealousy at their
relationship. Why was it so easy for them?

“You
go ahead. I’ll be there in a minute.” Luc patted Baylee’s bottom as she nodded
and got up. Once she left, he turned to Morgan. “The reason it was so easy is because
we didn’t have to deal with her brother dying, and also Bay isn’t like Jamie.
For one, she isn’t as headstrong as Jamie. Try Bay’s suggestions. If it doesn’t
work then give her some time. Let her get over Konner. Let her deal with it her
way.”

“Even
if her way might get her killed?”

That
made Lucian pause. “I’ll talk to Bay. She’s the only one Jamie listens to. Now
if you will excuse me.”

Morgan
leaned back in his chair. All he wanted was to talk to Jamie. Maybe if he could
just get her to sit down and discus this thing. Then they could figure out if
what they had was lust or actual feelings.

* *
* *

Jamie
stalked down the hall to the foyer where Sean and Shayne were waiting. “Come
on.” She led them into the library.

“What’s
wrong?” Shayne asked when she slammed the door behind them.

“Men.”
She walked over to the desk. Then threw her hands up in the air. “Do you know
he’s jealous of you two?” Their laughter fueled her anger. “It’s not funny.”

“Does
he know we’re an item?” Sean asked, pointing from Shayne to himself.

That
took the wind out of her sails. How could Morgan know Sean and Shayne were gay?
Jamie puffed out a sigh and leaned against the desk. “I doubt it.”

“So
give him a break. You’re hot. If he really is your life mate then he’d be crazy
not to be jealous,” Shayne said, adding his two-cents as they sat down.

Sean
gazed up at her. “Sweetie, take the night off. Archarius isn’t going anywhere.
Relax a little, think things over. Take some time for yourself.”

“We
can handle things,” Shayne reassured her. “If anything comes up we’ll call.”

Jamie
looked from Sean to Shayne. Maybe they were right. Maybe she should take a
night off and come back to it with fresh eyes. She’d ignored everything else,
throwing herself into this case. She still hadn’t properly grieved for Konner,
and probably wouldn’t until Archarius paid.

She
sighed. Maybe she should deal with Morgan and get him out of her hair.

“Okay,
but you’ll call me if anything new pops up?”

They
exchanged a glance and Shayne waggled his eyebrows at her. “Only if you promise
to do the same.”

“Get
a life.” She laughed for the first time in the past couple of days. “What’d you
find out today anyway?”

“Nothing
new. He’s still keeping under wraps. Although, we did find out he was the one
who hired the guys who tried to kidnap you and the kids.”

“We
already suspected as much.” Jamie nodded. “What about the cops?”

“Not
even looking at our boy. They think it was a random car jacking.”

“Morons.”
Jamie snorted. “Does Archarius suspect anything?”

“Don‘t
think so, but if he does, he doesn’t seem worried.”

“And
that’s enough intell for tonight.” Sean got to his feet. “We’re gonna get out
of here and let you get to relaxing.” Jamie pushed away from the desk and led
them back to the front door. As they walked out, Sean waggled a finger at her. “No
working.”

“Okay,
I get it.” She shoved him with a laugh. “Now get out.” She leaned against the
door for a moment. Right now a hot bath sounded heavenly. After she was a
little relaxed, then she’d tackle Morgan—maybe not just figuratively. Her
eyebrows rose at the thought of Morgan in bed, naked, his body up against hers,
lips moving against hers, and hands moving over her breasts, stomach, and
sliding even lower…