Protect and Fur [3xtasy Lake 5] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (18 page)

“Small-town gossip.” Aiden spoke what Craig was thinking.
Did everyone know what we had been going through?
Brenna would be pissed.

“Life of a bartender.” Boyd grinned. “Come by one day for lunch and bring your Mate. My brothers and I haven’t had a chance to meet many people around town.”

“You did an incredible job here. It looks great.”

“Thanks, we had a lot of help. We’re glad to see it finished and open. For a while I didn’t think we’d ever reach this point.”

“Are your brothers here?”

“Hugh and Gavin are around making certain that everything stays calm. We don’t want to run into any problems like dominance fights outside.”

Aiden laughed and shook his head. “You know about that?”

“There isn’t anything that goes on around here that I don’t know about.” Boyd turned his head and tapped a small device in his ear. “Gavin was watching but said that the guy deserved it.”

Boyd looked like he wanted to know the whole story, and Craig suspected the man was more than a simple gossip. It was obvious that there was something else he wanted to know.

“I’ll fill you in another time,” Aiden answered.

“Fair enough. Can I ask a favor?”

“What’s that?”

“There’s a sweet thing working at the clinic. Could you bring her in for lunch one day?”

“Carol is mated already,” Craig automatically answered.

“You don’t mean River, do you?” Aiden asked. “She’s not sweet. She threatened to slash my tires earlier.”

A large grin split Boyd’s face. “She’s a lively one, isn’t she? I hoped to see her here tonight, but so far she hasn’t shown up.”

“She went to see a concert and a show in Toronto,” Aiden replied.

“Ah, well, that’s a shame but just as well. It’s too busy tonight to talk much.”

“Speaking of which—” Craig nodded at a woman with large breasts and a tiny top who was waving her arm trying to get Boyd’s attention. Boyd glanced over, then grinned and nodded his thanks at Craig before heading over to help her.

Craig tossed a few bills on the bar to pay for the beer and then turned and looked around again. Another time he wouldn’t mind getting to know the town’s newest residents, but right now the need to hunt down his Mate was pounding at him in time to the music. There were people everywhere, and he recognized a couple of them but not many.

“We aren’t going to be able to track her in here,” he said loud enough for Aiden to hear.

His friend gave him a sideways glance and shook his head. “You’re thinking too much, Craig.” Aiden smacked him in the middle of his chest and then nodded as if Craig should understand. He watched Aiden lean casually back against the bar.

How the hell can he be so fucking relaxed right now?
Craig felt like he was about to lose his mind if he didn’t get moving, and here Aiden was acting as if he knew exactly where…
Because he does know.

“Where is she, Aiden?”

Craig scanned the room, and his wolf snarled inside him, demanding to be set free. He reined in his beast the same way he’d done a thousand times in his lifetime. The last thing he could do was set his wolf free in here. Controlling himself was how he’d find her, and then he was going to spank her ass until she came screaming his name.

He scanned the crowds, his vision hampered by the flashing lights, which kept screwing with his night vision. The music pulsed against his chest, and he could feel his heart rate reacting. His senses were on overload, the lights too bright, the music too loud.
Fuck it, everyone would run but my Mate. That would be one way to find her.
He wrestled control back from his instincts.

His wolf whimpered and paced inside his skull. He was going to lose it and shift right here inside a crowded bar and expose them all. Fear wrestled with the needs inside him.
I need some air.

Aiden stepped in front of him, blocking his way. “Craig, stop thinking so much and feel, dammit. Can’t you feel her inside here? You have plugged up that part of your senses for too long. Let the wolf go.”

No.
He had to stay in control. If he didn’t, he’d go rogue like his father.

“Going rogue isn’t a hereditary disease. You’re not responsible for your father’s decisions, and they were his decisions. There’s no reason to assume you’ll make the same ones.”

Craig had devoted his life to making certain his wolf never took over. He didn’t want to chance losing control and having to be hunted down. Now, here in the middle of a packed human bar, Aiden wanted him to let his baser self step forward?

“She’s here, Craig. Listen to that part of you that can find her and stop relying on the human thoughts that plug up your head.”

“I don’t know if I can.”

“Then walk away now, because she deserves all of you, not only the parts you’re willing to share with her.”

Aiden threw Craig’s words back in his face, every one of them as true as when he had hurled them at his friend. Then he turned and walked away, swallowed up into the crowds of people. He was headed to their Mate and would claim her because Craig was too human.

But you’re not human.

His mistake slammed into his chest right where Aiden had smacked him. His friend was right. He wasn’t human, nor was he a little boy doomed to follow in his father’s footsteps. The wolf inside him pushed against his senses, and for the first time since the creature had emerged, Craig allowed his instincts to take over.

The music and smells faded into the background as he stood there leaning back against the bar. A woman sidled up next to him, touching his arm. His wolf snarled in response to another woman’s touch. Her scent was wrong. She wasn’t theirs. Craig almost growled at her but reined in the beast long enough to school his features into a neutral glance. “I’m taken.”

“Always taken or gay.” She smiled gently and shrugged. “Never hurts to try. Hope you find who you’re looking for.” The woman moved back to a group of friends at a table nearby.

Craig’s attention snapped back to the crowd, but he didn’t see the people. He felt for his Mate.

The crowd on the dance floor moved like the swells on the lake during a windstorm, undulating with the music in an erotic frenzied mating dance that he didn’t belong in. She wouldn’t be in there, because she’d know it wasn’t for her. The wolf stretched out its senses. She was here. He could feel her, sense her presence, but where? Opening himself to the energies in the room, his senses skipped along the surface and then were drawn up.

There was a balcony that surrounded the dance floor, and people leaned against the railing and watched the floor while others carried on conversations in groups. He focused in on one such group, and in that instant the bodies parted and he had a clear view of his Mate. Desire slammed into him and he pushed off the bar and started moving before the thought cleared his head. A light swung along the upper levels and lit up a corner where Aiden stood watching her. Their gazes met and his friend grinned at him and nodded. He’d wait to make a move.

Craig moved through the crowd with all the grace of a hunter who had found its prey. He moved with the flow to a staircase that curved up the one side. He paused when he reached the top and watched Brenna. She glanced around the room as if she knew something was about to happen. She knew she was being hunted and was about to run, he’d bet a year’s salary on it. As her gaze moved in his direction, he shifted his weight and slid behind a large pillar. From there he had a clear view of Aiden a few feet away standing in an alcove out of her sight as well.

They nodded to each other and moved simultaneously.

* * * *

“
Brenna, do we need to talk?”

“Not at all, Dad. Everything’s fine.”

Her dad stood up and crossed his arms over his chest and narrowed his eyes at her.
Shit, the man always knows when I’m lying, and now he’s going to pull pack Alpha on me.

“Dad, if I need help I’ll ask.”

“You know, Brenna, I try to keep out of everyone’s business.”

She almost snorted out loud at that one. Her dad was always in the middle of everyone’s business. He was just sneaky about it.

“But there are things going on in this town, and I don’t just mean the little pack of goons that arrived just before Aiden.”

“He came here because of them, Dad.”

“No, he had already spoken to me about moving to Ecstasy Lake before the troublemakers showed up.”

Brenna felt the wind get sucked out of her sails. “Why didn’t you tell me that?”

“Why would I? I had no idea that you knew each other or that he was your Mate. I take it you thought that he didn’t come for you?”

“No, I didn’t.”
Then why did he leave again?
If Aiden has issues with the fact that she helped save him, they weren’t going to have a future. She had no patience for the ridiculous crap.

“I’m going to go find your moms, pumpkin.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead and gave her a quick hug. “Every time I turn my back, one of those McNamara boys is flirting with them again.”

Brenna laughed lightly because she knew that was what her dad expected, but her thoughts were in turmoil. She wandered around the large room trying to sort out exactly what she was feeling. A hand wrapping around her waist caught her attention, and she was pulled into the arms of Sloan Henderson.

“Hey, Brennie. Why so glum?” He looked closely at her. She and Sloan had been friends for so long she knew that she wouldn’t be able to lie to him.

“Sorry, I was thinking about stuff.” She stepped back out of Sloan’s embrace and was about to make an excuse to keep moving when she heard Carol screech out her name.

“Brenna! I’ve been looking for you all evening. Did River get ahold of you?”

Sloan let go of Brenna and pulled his wife into his arms, giving her a big kiss. “What about me?”

“Stop it.” Carol giggled and smacked Sloan on the ass. “You got lots of attention earlier, buddy.”

Brenna smiled at their antics. She couldn’t be happier that her best friend had moved up here, and was thrilled that Carol found her Mates in the three Henderson brothers. But it was hard to talk about the misery of your love life with someone who was so incredibly happy.

“Like I tried to tell you before we were interrupted. River texted me and said that Aiden O’Reilly was screaming at your empty apartment earlier today.”

Carol continued to speak, but Brenna’s attention splintered. She knew they found her the moment a heated tickle danced along her spine. Her wolf howled in her head in warning. If she wanted to escape them, now was the time. A few steps took her to the railing, and she scanned the lower floor. She couldn’t see them, but she could feel their presence. Aiden and Craig were here somewhere, and they were stalking her.

Regardless of the furry slut in her head, she wasn’t going to bend over and show them her ass. She liked to be in control, and she knew that she could never control Aiden or Craig. They wanted her submission, demanded it, and while there was a dark part of her that loved that, how long would it last before one or both of them walked away from her again?

No, she wasn’t going to put herself in that position again. She wouldn’t let them trample her feelings again. Her adrenaline kicked in, and she knew that she didn’t have much time.

“Bren? Are you all right?” asked Carol. She always was very sensitive about the emotions of those around her, and Brenna wasn’t surprised she picked up on her panic.

Brenna placed her martini on the ledge of the railing. “I’m good, but I’ve got to go. They’re here.”

“Who, Aiden and Craig?” Carol glanced around. “I don’t see them.”

“That’s what has me worried.”

Carol grinned and gave her a shove. “You better get running then. Nothing better than a good chase.”

“Damn, don’t you start as well.” She hugged her friend and then glanced over at Sloan and Kaden, who were having a friendly argument over some sports thing.

“I’ll say your good-byes to my men. Go sort out what you have to with your men. Try not to give in too easily. ” Carol winked at her, and Brenna took her comment in the teasing way it was meant.

“Carol, you’re a wonderful friend.”

“Go have fun, and I’ll see you on Monday.”

Brenna gave her friend another quick hug and then slipped into the crowds. She could feel them closing in on her, but with the crowds she couldn’t see or smell them. But they were close… She slipped between a few couples and headed for the stairs. She’d head back down to the bar and lose them there.

She grabbed the railing at the same moment her instincts screamed a warning. Arms wrapped around her body, pulling her back against a large male form. Craig’s scent slammed into her senses and her wolf rolled around in the scent of her Mate. Aiden appeared in front of her and pressed his body against her chest. She could feel his erection against her tummy, and Craig’s pressed against her back like a hot brand. They had her right where she wanted to be.

“Where do you think you’re going, Miss Roberts?” Craig’s cop voice always made her soak her panties, and this time was no different. Aiden’s nose flared as he inhaled and grinned down at her. She would’ve blushed, but she could scent both their arousals and it coated her tongue like a luscious dessert.