New Beginnings (19 page)

That was the moment she realized she was
falling hard and fast. That she was never going to be the same,
that this man was it for her, and that she had finally found the
one person to make her whole when she didn’t think that was
possible.

Tears flooded her eyes even as orgasm
overtook her. He never stopped the kiss, didn’t slow his steady
rhythm. Slater just took all of her into him and flooded her with
his own presence.

As pleasure erupted into pinpoints of light
and waves of sensation, she was catapulted into a vision.
Slater
and Jess were sprawled in a meadow, naked as the day they were
born, staring up at the stars.

“
I love you Jess,” Slater
whispered.

She rolled over to look into his
eyes.
“You know I love you too, but I’ll never get tired of
hearing it. I don’t know what I was doing before I found
you.”

He took her hand and kissed her ring
finger where a new tattoo wrapped around it. Roses and ivy
decorated his name in fancy script. He had a similar design around
his finger but it was her name.
“I still think we should get
married traditionally,” he murmured.

“
If that’s what you want, but we could
just go to Vegas for a weekend and skip the pack ceremony.”

“
Come to think of it, that doesn’t sound
half bad.”

She gasped as the last threads of pleasure
twisted through her and found herself in Slater’s embrace, pinned
against the wall. Her name rolled from his tongue as she felt his
release. For the first time ever, she mourned her inability to have
children.

* * * *

Slater pushed into Jess one last time and
felt her clench him tight. Her vision flooded his mind and it took
his breath away. He felt it all, her emotions, her feelings,
present and future. He he welcomed it all.

“I love you,” he whispered against her
parted lips.

“I love you too.” Her voice caught and he
kissed her as he sat down on the floor of the shower, pulling her
closer.

“Shh, baby. Don’t cry. We’re meant to
be.”

“I know. Doesn’t mean this isn’t just a bit
overwhelming.” She half-laughed even as she snuggled against him.
“Don’t worry, I’m not letting you go.”

“Good, because I might have to order you to
rethink that if you planned to.”

They sat under the spray until the water
turned frigid. He reached up to turn it off. “So tell me, Jess.
What’s the plan for tonight?”

“To get dressed and head back to the bar.
I’m assuming you are coming tonight.” Her smile warmed him all
over, even though she climbed out of his lap and started to dry
off. He just leaned back against the wall to enjoy the view.

“I have every intention of being there until
close to see your opening night off. No matter what, this is your
bar to do with as you please. Unless you forbid me to be there, I
will be there, but only to watch you work.”

She blew him a kiss and strolled into her
bedroom, her old bedroom. They shared one now.

Slater watched Jess from the bed. She
applied her makeup, giving herself smoky eyes. Her hair was sexy
and tousled. He wanted to run his hands through her mane so he
could pull her head back and kiss down the column of her throat.
Her jeans were boot cut and not too tight, with her combat boots
peeking out of the bottom. She looked like a laid back rocker chick
which he never imagined would turn him on so damned much.

Just then, he was so hard he could pound
nails, even though they had just made love, and then fucked like
wild animals since she left the bar just an hour and a half
before.

“Oh for the love of God, Slater.” She side
eyed him. “Stop watching me like you want to bend me over the
nearest surface and take me all over again. We did
that
ten
minutes ago.”

“You bring out the beast, baby.” There was a
purring growl to his tone and he watched her shudder in response.
She wanted it as bad as he did.

Rolling her blue eyes, she shook her head.
“We don’t have time. You’ll have plenty of that later.” She
smoothed on her lip gloss and grabbed her bag before heading for
the door.

With a sigh, he followed her, wanting to do
just what she suggested. He couldn’t help it, she was his, and he
was hers.

“Mind if I drive?” he asked.

“Better if we go separately. Just for now.
Once we tell everyone,” she stopped to glare back at him, “which
had better be soon with the way you watch me. You can drive
yourself. Until then, we have to pretend we aren’t mated.” She
snorted, “Good luck with that, I’m not sure that’s possible for
you.”

“Good point, on all counts.” He grinned
back, and she turned around to march out the door and to her
truck.

Before she could get in, he spun her around
and kissed behind her ear. “So I don’t ruin your pretty gloss.”
Then he lifted her into her seat and shut the door while she stared
back at him with pure desire.

At least he wasn’t the only one who just
wanted to stop everything to make love to her. She did have a bar
to run, so he could wait. Besides, he knew there would be times
that he would be stuck putting her off for wolf business, no matter
how much he didn’t like that idea. He would deal with it.

He let her pull out of the driveway and even
gave her a few minutes while he checked in with the other
enforcers, minus Liam who had been stuck in his house all day long.
That alone worried Slater. Liam had a habit of running for hours
most days.

* * * *

Everyone was in place when Jess unlocked the
front doors and pushed them open. Mark was acting as bouncer, and
offered to fill the role whenever she needed. He was a good guy.
Lincoln was ready to take orders, and she had a few girls on the
floor as well. She just hoped it went off without a hitch.

Slater grinned down at her. “Evening, Jess.”
He managed to look harmless which she could hardly believe. Maybe
harmless was the wrong word. Non-predatory was more apt. Ever since
hooking up, he had managed to look predatory when they were alone.
She loved feeling of being caught in his arms.

Okay, wow. She was about to have a room full
of werewolves and Others who could pick up on her scent. It was a
good time to tone down her hormones before everyone started to
wonder what was up. She purposefully looked away and nodded inside.
“Come on in everyone.”

She turned around and strode back to the
bar. Her hope was that if she stayed behind there most of the
night, it would limit the physical contact some. It was worth a
try.

The place filled up quickly. She took orders
and watched as the place filled up. Slater took a corner seat. When
she made her way to him, he asked for a beer which she got without
a word. Brody walked in with a slightly smaller and more colorful
version of himself and a woman with brilliant blue hair that
matched her eyes. She knew it had to be his brother Adam and his
girlfriend. She couldn’t wait to meet Danika.

Liam seemed to be the only one missing. She
was starting to worry, but kept on trucking along.

* * * *

To keep from arousing suspicion from every
werewolf, Slater made his rounds through the bar, visiting with all
the wolves, and watching for Liam who hadn’t shown up. In fact, he
had a wolf watching Liam’s house, but he said nothing was going on
inside.

He took a pitcher of beer and some mugs over
to Brody’s table and sat down. Adam nodded at Slater, “Hey. So I
hear the new bartender is pretty popular with the wolves.”

Slater gaze narrowed at the man. Adam was
just that, strictly a man. “Don’t. That’s all I’m going to
say.”

Adam’s eyes went wide as he held up his
hands. “Sorry man. Wasn’t trying to imply anything. You know me.
Shit rolls off my tongue without thinking.”

Danika grinned and nudged Slater’s shoulder
with her own. “Good luck with her. She doesn’t seem like your
typical wolf.”

Slater’s gaze slid to Brody who just
shrugged. “I haven’t said a word.”

“He hasn’t.” Danika leaned closer to
whisper, “It’s pretty damned obvious with how you’re watching her.
If I can figure it out, your wolves can too.”

He nodded slowly and took a deep breath.
“You’re right.” There wasn’t much else he could say. He was tempted
to toss Liam to the next pack, but had a feeling that might
backfire. So he left it for now. He was just going to have to
settle for being a ball of nerves for the time being.

* * * *

Liam was tired of feeling like a caged
animal. He wasn’t supposed to know about the wolves watching him,
but he did. Jess must have convinced Slater that she was in danger.
He was sure Jess was to blame for ripping the last few shreds of
trust Slater had for him.

Go to the bar.

Take the gun.

Remove her, and then Slater.

“Old friend my ass,” he grumbled as he
disappeared into his room and then into his closet. Good old Simons
would get a kick out of this when he finally figured out he was in
the closet too long.

Liam pulled on a pair of slacks and a button
down shirt that he left untucked to help hide the gun he brought.
He wanted to look nice for an opening night no one would ever
forget.

One, Slater was going to die.

Two, he was going to be Alpha.

Three, Jess would either go packing, or die
as well.

He didn’t need a snotty little bitch who
didn’t know her place in his pack. He would demand the respect that
he was due by each and every wolf.

He would wipe out all of the enforcers, and
the other wolves Slater trusted. It was the only way to clean
house. You didn’t keep anyone loyal to the one you replaced.

Without a sound, he opened the trapdoor and
dropped into the dark tunnel before closing it up again. He ran as
fast as he could manage in the tight space, and came out just down
the road from the bar.

Then he took a second to smooth out his
clothes and hair before he strolled down the road to his
destination.

Mark stood at the front door with his arms
crossed over a black t-shirt that read security. His eyes narrowed,
but he nodded slightly. “Liam. Good to see you.”

He could smell the lie from where he was,
but he wasn’t going to comment yet. “Thought I would stop by for a
drink. See what this new little wolf had to offer in the way of
hospitality.”

Mark remained still. “Sure. Have a good
time.”

Liam walked straight up to the bar. Funny,
Slater was still sitting with Brody and his family. Not what he
expected.

Jess smiled as she moved in his direction.
It even seemed genuine. “What can I get you?”

“Scotch on the rocks.”

She nodded and poured. “Wasn’t sure you
would make it.” She actually sounded friendly. Then again, this was
what she did for a living down in San Francisco. Though he still
thought her old Alpha had the right idea with keeping her to only
management and not owner. He didn’t think women had any right to
own their own business.

“I’m assuming, you’ll be staying awhile,”
she asked quietly.

“I am.” She nodded and moved down to the
other end of the counter where Victoria took a seat.

Now Liam was curious how this might play
out. Not many people knew that Slater had been fucking the vampire
who looked like she could have stepped out of some glamorous 1940’s
movie. That was back when movies were still good and women were
soft and feminine.

* * * *

It was just finally getting dark and
Victoria was eager to finally meet Jess face to face. She’d watched
from afar a few times. Even though she wasn’t in love with Slater,
she wanted Slater to be happy. They had been friends for so very
long, and he deserved to find a woman well-suited to him.

Jess needed a backbone. In her experience,
most female wolves were skittish and submissive to a fault. It was
sickening. Werewolves were often stronger than vampires, including
the women infected by lycanthropy, so she would never understand
why one would let their mate walk all over them as was often the
case.

Slater was different. He was revolutionary
in his beliefs even back when he was just a boy. They had been
friends forever, even though their parents despised how close they
were with a passion. She always wanted to be one of the boys so she
could have the freedom she craved.

She pulled into the parking lot and stepped
from her 1938 Bugatti Delahyde. The car was excessively elegant
like the clothes she usually wore. It was all for show, and seemed
to keep the Others in Edenton from paying her much attention. They
all assumed she was harmless, which was fine with her. Too many
people got nervous when they realized her power was far greater
than she liked to let on.

Liam walked out of the forest. Victoria
paused, waiting to see what that slimy bastard was doing. She
couldn’t stand the guy, never could.

For years, she had told Slater to cut him
loose, but the old man could be sentimental about old friends. That
was probably why he never killed her when she had begged and begged
decades ago.

Liam rushed through the door in a huff.
Victoria waited, wondering what the hell was going on. She knew the
second had been keeping tabs on the little blonde wolf. So far Jess
had managed to impress her. Instead of rolling over on her back for
Slater and baring her throat, she fought him tooth and nail for her
independence before she finally gave in.

For now, she wanted to see what Jess was
made of. She followed Liam inside, and caught sight Slater off to
the side, sitting with Brody. His eyes were firmly locked on Jess,
and somehow, none of the wolves seemed to notice. Except for Liam
who slid his gaze from the Alpha and back to Jess with a sleazy
little grin.