To Catch A Croc (4 page)

“If anyone can see me, they have to be looking through binoculars on a boat and if they’re going to that much effort, they probably deserve a free show.” Denton’s laughing gaze coaxed Isaac to join in on his amusement. Isaac had an uncomfortable feeling Denton could get him to agree to just about anything.

Isaac smiled. “Here.” He held out Denton’s clothes to him, plus the shirt he’d thrown alongside them in the wash.

“Thanks.” Denton accepted the offering and dressed with the same casual elegance he infused in all of his movements. For a reptile, he could move as languidly as a cat.

Watching Denton dress and undress could be a new favorite hobby of Isaac’s. Of course, undressing would be the best part.

Without warning, Denton snuggled up to Isaac, making as much body-to-body contact as he could. “What are you doing?” Isaac asked, scooting slightly away. Damn, that much body contact along with the scent of Denton would break down Isaac’s resistance more than anything.

“Getting warm.” Denton shuffled closer again. “You give off the best heat. I never knew cat shifters were as good as a space heater.”

Isaac laughed. “You just want me for my body.”

“You make that sound like a bad thing.” Denton pouted. “Don’t you like to be useful?”

“I thought I’d be useful by making you breakfast.”

Denton tilted his head as if to consider his options. “Heat or breakfast? Choices, choices. Hmmm.” Denton settled his head on the crook of Isaac’s shoulder. A wave of affection rolled through Isaac. If he could, he’d hold Denton close forever and protect him from all unfriendly shifters and the horror of cold toes.

“Remember my meeting?” Isaac prompted.

Denton stepped away like Isaac knew he would. “I remember. I can just make myself some coffee and toast. I don’t usually eat a heavy breakfast.”

“How about I throw in an apple, too. You need more nutrition than that,” Isaac scolded. The croc shifter, with his fine muscled abs, bordered on skinny. He bet Denton burned through calories in ways bodybuilders only dreamed of.

“Fine. I’ll eat an apple.” Denton rolled his eyes before turning and heading toward the kitchen.

Apparently even Isaac annoying him wouldn’t chase him away. A wave of relief almost wiped out Isaac’s resolve to head off to work. The idea of staying home in bed and cuddling his croc shifter appealed immensely.

“What do you do during the day? Carey didn’t mention you taking his shift.”

Denton laughed so hard he had to clutch the counter to stay upright. “Me take Carey’s place?” Isaac grabbed the bread and set two slices in the toaster while he waited for Denton to finish wiping the tears from his eyes.

“It was a perfectly reasonable question,” he replied, calmly.

“Um…no. I won’t be taking Carey’s place. I don’t do computers and my singing would scare off the rest of our fans. The most I have to do is make sure the house doesn’t fall apart while he’s gone. Anything else I do for Carey is above and beyond the scope of the expected.”

“Well, if you don’t work on computers like Carey, what is it you do?” Isaac asked. He couldn’t remember anyone saying what Denton did besides write amazing songs for the band and play almost every instrument.

“I’m a landscape designer, but I know plants and Harris has an eye for how they’ll look all together. It usually goes better if we team up,” Denton explained.

“Do you have your own company, or do you work for someone?” Isaac asked as he sliced up an apple. Curiosity ate at him. Neither Broden nor Carey would tell him anything. They insisted he needed to have an actual conversation with Denton.

He hated that they might’ve been right.

“We subcontract for a couple of architects. They understand we prefer to work together without interference. They’re human, but they know that Harris and I have another form. They think it gives them a competitive edge.” Denton shrugged as if he didn’t understand their logic but was willing to humor them, since they paid the bills.

“That could be true,” Isaac said after thinking it over. Some people might want to hire the duo just to have the quirk of saying shifters worked on their home. The city of Seattle might have over six hundred thousand people, but the shifter community was relatively small. Besides the wolf pack, Denton’s friends, and the shifter security staff, there weren’t a lot of others in the city. Denton heard a small group of vampires lived in the Fremont district, but so far that hadn’t been verified.

Denton shrugged. “We don’t do a lot of work for them. After we polish the design, we contract the labor out. I don’t like the idea of being tied down to a regular job. I like coming home and sunning if I want and Harris likes to paint at odd hours. We pretty much set our own schedule. I just need to alert Harris in plenty of time if we have an appointment.”

“Sounds like it works for you,” Isaac wondered if he should be more concerned by Denton’s apparent lack of motivation—but then as long as the croc shifter did something he enjoyed, who was he to tell him it wasn’t enough? Not everyone sought to run their own company. Some people were content working for others. Denton appeared to be that person. Isaac wouldn’t change him for the world.

“It does, at least for now. I haven’t decided if I want to do it full time, you know, as a career. Harris only does it to help me out. He’d rather hide in his studio and never come out. I think it’s good for him to leave the mansion once in a while. He’d become a hermit if we let him,” Denton explained.

Isaac hid his expression by preparing a pot of coffee. The fact Denton saw nothing wrong with rearranging his life to pull his friend out of his shell melted Isaac faster than a an ice cube in the desert.

Finished with the toast and coffee, Isaac carried them over to the bar in the kitchen. He pulled out a high stool for Denton to sit on. The croc shifter rolled his eyes at Isaac’s gallantry before settling down.

“Where do you think the salties came from?” Isaac asked.

“Besides Australia?” Denton shrugged. “I’m not sure. They didn’t have an accent, but they could’ve been transplants. Crocs are all over the world. The real question is why come up to colder country. Crocs aren’t exactly known for liking areas with cold water, and the sound never really gets super warm.”

Isaac nodded. “That’s true. Have you heard any rumors about other crocs in the area?”

Denton shook his head. “No. Not a peep. That’s why I was surprised when they showed up. I don’t exactly have my finger on the pulse of the shifter world, but Aden would’ve warned me.”

“Aden? Carey’s dad? Why?” Isaac didn’t understand why a full human would even think about the shifters much less track them.

“He keeps track of anything he believes might be a danger to us. I think big saltwater crocs trying to take over the city would fall into that category.” Denton bit into his toast and licked the crumbs from his butter-coated lips with a flick of his tongue.

That shouldn’t have been half as sexy as it was. Isaac’s cock perked up, adding its vote about Denton’s appeal.

Isaac cleared his throat and tried to focus on the conversation. “Did they give you any clues about their origin when they talked to you?”

Denton sighed. “No, just that they wanted me out of the way.”

“Why would they single you out? I mean, you’re just one croc shifter and not even a very big one. You’re not an alpha in any way, and although you are dangerous in your own way, surely you can’t do much damage to an entire bask or a float.” Isaac frowned. “What is a group of crocodiles called?”

“Bask outside the water. Float inside the water,” Denton said absently. From his practiced tone, Isaac suspected Denton said that phrase often.

“Reptiles are weird,” Isaac replied.

“Yeah, because coughing up a fur ball is so much better. Are you going to help me or not?” Denton scowled at Isaac.

“I’m thinking. You guys aren’t usually super territorial, right?”

“Not generally, but full crocs and human shifters don’t necessarily work the same. Freshies and salties don’t always get along in croc form, and in human form we tend to hate each other. Salties try to take the best areas because they are so much bigger. They’re kind of the bullies of the reptile world.”

“Hmm, well, we have enough firepower to make sure they aren’t too pushy in the human one.” Isaac scooted closer, sliding his fingers into Denton’s hair. He tucked his thumbs beneath Denton’s chin and pushed it up until Denton faced him. “I won’t let them hurt you,” Isaac vowed.

Denton jerked out of Isaac’s hold. “I’m not worried about them hurting me. Carey is on his honeymoon. I don’t want to have to call him and tell him I’ve got a problem. What kind of friend would do that? I want him and Broden to have a nice time sipping tea or whatever the hell they want to do.”

Isaac smiled as understanding struck him. “You want to deal with this without bringing Carey and Broden into it.”

Denton clapped his hands together. “Now the gentleman gets the predicament. If I call Carey and tell him crocodiles are invading the Pacific Northwest, he’ll either fall over laughing or he’ll drag his mate back here to deal with the issue. I don’t want a pissed off fur ball telling me for the rest of my life that I ruined his honeymoon.”

“Okay, okay. I get it. I’ve got a couple of staff members who don’t have much going on. I’ll send them into town to sniff around. You can’t have a bunch of reptiles come into town and no one notice.”

Denton let out a relieved breath. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Now wasn’t the time to tell Denton how much he was willing to do to keep him happy.

“Carey deserves his time alone with Broden.”

“We’ll do the best we can to make sure they don’t need to come back home before they’re ready.” Isaac stepped closer and wrapped a hand around the back of Denton’s neck. “I’ve got you. I won’t let you fall.”

Isaac meant that in many ways. He’d never leave Denton to handle any problem alone again. They were meant to be together.

“I appreciate your help, Isaac, and I can pay you for your time. I don’t have a lot of cash, but I recently finished a big job and should get a check soon.”

Isaac pulled Denton tighter against his body. “You don’t need to pay me—you’re practically family. I don’t charge family.”

Denton relaxed against Isaac. “Thanks. I’m sure I can think of some way to thank you.”

“Mm, I’m sure you can.” Isaac replied. He would help Denton anyway but he knew he’d have special appreciation for kicking the crocodile shifters’ ass for touching his mate.

Isaac slapped Denton’s ass. “Let’s get going. We both have a lot to do today. I’ll call you if I learn anything new.”

Denton took a last sip of coffee before gathering all the dishes and putting them in the washer. “Cool. I appreciate that.”

They parted with a kiss. Isaac could get used to leaving every morning with a brush of affection still tingling across his lips.

Chapter Three

Denton hummed his latest song in the confines of his Jeep. Still in a good mood from his morning with Isaac, he drove down Aurora Avenue to the little dive up north where he knew he’d find Marty and his feathered friends. The place reeked of shifters, mostly of the feathered kind. Marty had purchased the bar a little over a year ago and he always made it his first stop when he arrived back in Seattle.

It took him several long slow breaths before he trusted himself to set foot in the bar. He came for information and to warn Marty about what would happen if he touched Eaton. The beautiful eagle shifter didn’t need scum like Marty flapping around him and trying to get into his pants.

His crocodile half, barely hiding beneath the surface, was ready to attack some birds. Since the smoking ban went into effect, even the grungiest bars no longer stank of nicotine but Denton could still detect a whiff of smoke as he entered the dimly lit building. It took a great deal of effort not to sneer at the bunch huddled around the pool table. This time, he’d brought his Glock tucked into the back of his pants. He knew they could smell the gun cleaning oil, but they had no way of determining how many weapons he carried.

Another glance around confirmed his determination that there was no way he would let Eaton hang out with this crowd. His nerd bird friend would be eaten alive and not in a good way.

Marty lounged in a corner by the bar. His brown hair lay in soft layers across his head in an imitation of his wings. Denton clenched his fingers to prevent from giving into his urge to yank the silky strands from his head. The bastard looked up and gave Denton a smug smile as if he knew why Denton was there and he wouldn’t be able to do anything about it.,

“Hey there, Denton. I bet you came to warn me away from your bird friend,” Marty didn’t appear the least concerned about Denton’s appearance at his bar.

Denton stopped a foot from the hawk shifter. Glancing around, he verified that none of Marty’s gang was waiting to pounce on him. He might be able to take on the hawks, but he didn’t dare give them the element of surprise.

“I want you to leave Eaton alone. He’s too good for you.” Denton believed in putting all his cards on the table.

“He is,” Marty agreed. “But I’m gonna have to claim him. He’s mine.”

Anger burned through Denton. “He’s not your mate.” Denton denied.

Marty nodded. “He is. I tried to deny it, but running from problems never made them go away.”

“How hard did you try?” Denton asked even as he remembered Marty leaving last year as if the Hell’s Angels were on his ass.

“Fuck if I didn’t try my hardest. I don’t want to ruin that boy. You’re right—he is too good for me, but I can’t let him go, either.” Marty’s gold eyes had a weary cast as if the leader had used up all his energy and was clinging to the ledge with his fingernails in order to stay awake.

Denton sniffed.

Blood.

None of the gang members appeared aggressive, but they might be after the fight. Denton noticed none of them approached to give Marty help either.

Crap!

Eaton would freak if he learned Denton left Marty to bleed to death on a bar stool in his rundown bar.