Chase: Black Bear Outlaws #2 (Mating Fever) (4 page)

“He’ll be there,” Cole said helpfully.

Fuck.

I was going to knock the crap out of both of them.

Her face lit up as she smiled, making me feel like an even bigger jackass. “Great. I can’t wait.”

“Neither can he!” Cole called as she bounced off to take care of her other customers.

“I hate you both,” I said.

“You can thank us after you finally get laid.” Cole banged his beer against mine still sitting on the table. “That’s all you need to snap you out of this...bullshit funk. Seriously, man. She was just a chick.”

“You have no idea what you’re talking about,” I growled. “She wasn’t
just
anyone.”

“But—”

“Let it go,” Cyrus said, cutting Cole off. There was understanding in his quiet tone. He knew what I was going through. He’d found his mate. Though, she hadn’t left twelve hours after he’d realized it.

Cole sat back and shrugged. “Sure. I can do that.”

I cleared my throat, more than ready for a new topic of conversation. “So, Cyrus, you said you had something you needed to talk to us about? I hope to God it’s not about my dating habits because I think that’s well worn territory.”

He shook his head, a slow smile turning into a grin he couldn’t control.

Cole leaned in, eyeing him. “Whoa. You’re entirely too happy. What’s going on? Did Claire decide she wants to do a little bedroom experimenting with one of her girlfriends? A threesome perhaps?”

“Oh Jesus,” I muttered.

“Shut the fuck up, Cole,” Cyrus said, his tone suddenly cold. “That’s my wife you’re talking about. My pregnant wife.”

“Pregnant?” Cole asked, his eyes wide with shock. “No way! There’s going to be a little Doucet joining us?”

“Yes. In about seven months. So keep your bullshit comments to a minimum, got it?”

Cole laughed. “Sure, Cyrus, anything you say.” He glanced over at me. “Our brother is whipped.”

I nodded. “Yep. Looks like he’s happy about it to.” I clasped the hand of the father-to-be. “Congrats, brother. I’m happy for you both.”

“Thanks. Now I have a favor to ask.”

I put my beer down. “Anything.”

His expression turned serious, almost grave. “Claire and I want you to be our cub’s godparent.”

Whoa. A shot of alarm made me sit up straight. “Godparent? As in, if anything happens to you both, you want me to raise it?”

“Well...yeah, I guess that’s part of it. But neither of us is planning on going anywhere soon, so I don’t think you have to worry much about that. Mostly, we just want you to be another parental figure in his or her life. You know, put in quality time, be there for little Theo when he has questions.”

“Theo?” I asked, raising my eyebrows.

“Or little Tegan.” His lips twisted into a stupid, lopsided grin.

“Christ. You’ve already gone soft on us.” I put the beer down and leaned forward. “Of course I’ll watch over your kid. Just because offspring aren’t in my life plan, it doesn’t mean I won’t spoil the shit out of yours.”

Cyrus blew out a relieved breath. “Thanks. It was either you or Claire’s second cousin, Edwin.”

I grimaced. “The guy who wore a cape to the engagement party?”

“That’s the one. I’ve started referring to him as Captain Parachute Pants.” My older brother’s eye twitched. “No way is my kid spending time with a single forty-year-old rapper who’s still spinning records in his mother’s basement.”

That was truly horrifying. Claire’s relatives were worse than ours.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Cole said, slamming his hand down on the table. “You’d pick Captain Parachute Pants before me? That’s low. Really fucking low.”

I turned my attention to Cyrus. “He has a point. What’s wrong with Cole? He doesn’t wear a cape, and he hasn’t tried to rap anything since that incident in high school when he was trying to impress that foreign exchange student...what was her name? Heidi? Helga? Sitka?”

“Sitka is the name of a city in Alaska, you idiot,” Cole said, narrowing his eyes at both of us. “Her name was Selena, and she wasn’t a foreign exchange student. She moved here with her mother from Spain so they could take care of her ailing aunt.”

“Whatever. All I remember is you embarrassing yourself with that love poem you tried to turn into a rap. That one goes down in the history books as the worst grand gesture ever.”

Cyrus was chuckling as he raised his hands in a truce motion. “Cole, listen. Of course I would choose you over the forty-year-old delusional rapper. But Claire’s got all the hormones right now and is feeling touchy about her lack of family. So when I said the obvious choices were you and Chase, she sort of lost her mind and went on and on about her uncle.” He shook his head. “I had to humor her. But don’t worry. We’ve already decided you’re on deck for the next kid.”

The tension in Cole’s posture drained away, and his easy demeanor suddenly reappeared. “Oh. Well, that’s more like it. I guess I can do that.” His eyes danced with mischief as he added, “But I might need a petty cash fund if you expect me to take it on outings and get it gifts.”

“Cheap bastard.” Cyrus pulled his LSU ball cap down on his head and worked the already well-worn bill into a deeper curve. “Maybe Captain Parachute Pants is the better choice. I bet he’s the better rapper, too.”

“That’s for certain. Cole’s ‘sick’ beats actually sounded more like a dying sea animal. Don’t want your kid subjected to that sort of thing,” I chimed in, grinning and having more fun that I’d had in weeks. Bagging on my younger brother was great therapy.

“Fuck you both.” Cole sat back and crossed his arms over his chest. “At least I had the balls to do something about it. What’s your excuse?” He stared at me pointedly. “Your girl is only a few hundred miles away, and yet all you’ve done is sit on your ass and cry about it.”

His words were like a sucker punch in the gut, and all the humor of the moment vanished. I stood. “Are we done here?”

“Goddammit, Chase, sit down,” Cyrus said as my eyes locked on the woman sitting at the bar, staring right at me. “We’re all just fucking around. There’s no need—”

“Katrina is here.” My insides were churning with an unsettling mix of joy and anger. Six weeks ago, she’d walked out of my life without a word, and now she was back. How long would it be before she bolted again?

I heard Cyrus say something, but didn’t acknowledge him.

Katrina stood up and took a step toward me.

“Christ, Chase. Don’t just stand there.” Cole kicked the back of my boot, and suddenly, the past six weeks slipped away.

The memory of her in my arms, her orange blossom scent, and her sweet-tasting lips came roaring back, and it was as if she’d been in my bed only the night before. My body sparked to life and propelled me forward.

She was mine.

T
he hunger in Chase’s eyes should’ve made me back up and run for my life...again. But I couldn’t. I was frozen in place, waiting for him to claim me once more.

And claim me he did. Before I even knew what was happening, his lips covered mine, and I was wrapped in his solid embrace.

I heard the vague sounds of catcalls and wolf whistles, but I paid them no attention. My heart was racing, and my body was burning under his touch. It was all I could do to stop myself from wrapping my legs around him and giving the rest of the pub a show they hadn’t bargained for.

Chase was clearly on the same wavelength, because he’d already tightened his grip on me so hard, we were plastered together. Judging by his erection pressing into my hip, if we’d been alone, we’d probably already been naked.

He tasted of beer and spice and oh, lordy, everything nice.

“I guess this means there’s no date Thursday night?” a very annoyed woman said from beside us.

Chase stiffened and broke the kiss, but he didn’t let me go.

Standing to the right of us was one of the waitresses, dressed in a short skirt, thigh-high socks, and a belly shirt beneath her purple apron. She had one hand on her cocked hip, and she raised her eyebrows as she waited for an answer.

“I, uh—” I started, but Chase cut me off.

“I think that’s probably best,” he said, turning to her as he let me go.

Stepping back, I smoothed my sundress, trying not to touch my tingling lips.

“That was...” Chase started again. “I didn’t realize—”

“Never mind. If I’d known you were a manwhore, I’d have never agreed anyway.” She spun on her heel and disappeared into the back.

He watched her go, shook his head, and then turned back to me. “Sorry about that. I...” He glanced over at his brothers and gave them a dirty look. The two of them were perched forward in their seats, watching us and making no attempt to appear otherwise.

“There’s nothing to be sorry for,” I forced out, trying to ignore the sharp pang of jealously stabbing me in the chest. “We had one night together. That’s all. You don’t owe me any apologies or explanations.”

He stared down at me, his expression carefully blank.

My stomach rolled. I unconsciously placed my hand on my belly then snatched it away when I realized what I was doing.

He noticed, and his brows pinched together in concern. “Are you feeling all right?”

Sweat broke out on the back of my neck, and the familiar queasiness I usually only experienced in the morning was back. “I’m okay. Just a little overheated I think.”

Chase’s dark eyes softened as he ran his gaze over me, inspecting me as if I was precious cargo. “You do look a little flushed.”

“I should get some air,” I said, working hard to keep my composure together as I turned away from him. My eyes misted with emotions I couldn’t control. He was being so sweet, despite the fact I’d treated him like he hadn’t even mattered.

“Come on.” He slipped his large hand into my smaller one, lacing his fingers between mine. “We’ll find a place in the shade and enjoy a little privacy away from the nosey Doucet brothers.”

I gave him a small smile. “They’re just looking out for you.”

“More like looking for ammunition for the next time they decide they need to give me hell.” He held the pub door open for me.

I stepped through and got a blast of early summer humidity that instantly made my skin sticky. Summers in southern Louisiana weren’t for the weak. If I’d stayed at the beach at least the ocean breeze would be some relief. But that had been out of the question. I had business in Bayou Basin that couldn’t be ignored.

Chase led me to a covered outdoor table at the end of the building. “Need something to drink?” he asked as he pulled my chair out for me.

I shook my head and took a deep breath. I hadn’t anticipated seeing him today or I would’ve planned what to say. Maybe it was better to just blurt it out.

“When did you get back in town?” Chase asked. The small edge in his tone made me want to cringe, but I supposed I deserved it.

“Sunday afternoon. I was going to call you tonight actually.”

He raised one skeptical eyebrow. “Why?”

Ouch. I guessed I deserved that, too. “Because there’s—”

“Hey, Katrina!”

I turned and spotted my new assistant manager, Dasi, hurrying toward us from across the parking lot. I waved her over and glanced at Chase. “Sorry. Work stuff.”

“Work? You have a job already?”

I nodded. “You could say that.” I pointed to the nondescript building on the corner that had been empty for the last year or so. “I’m opening a business.”

“I’m sorry to interrupt,” Dasi said, giving us an apologetic smile. “But the guy who’s going to be installing the rock wall just showed up. He has some questions, and I think you’d better be the one to answer them.”

I glanced at the time on my phone and realized the thing had somehow been set to silent. There were three missed phone calls, all from the gym. “Sorry! The ringer was off for some reason.”

She pulled at her shirt, fanning herself. “It’s okay, but I better get back. Can I tell him you’re coming?”

“Yes, of course. I’ll be right there.”

Dasi took off at a brisk walk while I stared down at Chase. “I have to go. But can I call you later? I think we need to talk.”

He rose and shoved his hands in his pockets. “Rock climbing wall? Is this a kids’ play palace or something?”

The way he wrinkled his nose when he said ‘kids’ made me want to punch him in his perfect face. “No. It’s for adults. Rock climbing wall, lap pool, archery station, as well as the regular gym equipment. All indoors so people can get out of the heat.”

“That’s interesting. And you’re managing it?” There was a definite spark of interest now.

“Owner.”

His smile widened. “You’re settling down here then. This means we need to celebrate. How about we meet for dinner instead of that phone call?”

“You mean a date?” My stomach flipped over at the thought, but I wasn’t sure if it was butterflies or nausea.

“Yes. A date. And I’m not taking no for an answer. I’ll pick you up at seven-thirty.” He nodded at me as if that was settled, and then he strode off back toward the pub door.

His confidence was certainly something to be admired. I found myself grinning as I called, “You don’t even know where I live.”

“I’ll figure it out,” he shot back and disappeared inside.

A second later, the jilted waitress appeared, holding my take out. “Here,” she said and shoved the bag at me.

“Thanks. Are there any—”

“Utensils and napkins are already inside.” She pulled the door open, but before she went in, she glanced back and narrowed her eyes. “I hope you know what you’re doing with that one.”

I just stared at her, waiting for her to continue.

“He has a past. A criminal one. I just thought that you should know.”

The door chimed as she stomped back inside, while I wondered what she’d hoped to accomplish with that little revelation. Did she want me to break my date, so she’d have her shot? Well, too late, honeypie. We were way past dating.

***

A
t seven twenty-seven, I was unsuccessfully stuffing my feet into my heels when a loud knock sounded on my apartment door. The afternoon heat had been stifling, and the air-conditioner at the gym had given out, which caused my poor overworked feet to swell. I padded across my sparsely decorated living room, wondering where we were going to sit. All I had was a barstool in my galley kitchen and a giant bean bag chair in front of the television. Together? On the bean bag chair? No. Better to just make sure we headed out for dinner as soon as possible.