Feral Instincts (The Feral Series) (2 page)

After
losing her mom Ava had been so depressed… and alone. For months it seemed, she
just drifted form one day to the next as though on auto pilot. Then one day Ava
caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror and was shocked at the face that
stared back at her. Her mom had been so strong and courageous, she would have
been furious to see what her daughter had become. With suddenly clarity, Ava
realized she wasn’t honoring her mom by letting her depression get the best of
her.

Looking
around her old house she realized it was time for a fresh start. She wasn’t
going to be able to move forward with her life surrounded by so many reminders
of her mom. It was time to move on and be the kind of person her mom would have
been proud of. In a matter of weeks, she had sold the house, packed up her
things and moved to Eureka Springs.

She
had gotten herself a little apartment and then a job at Serenity. It had taken
her a while to settle in but Eureka Springs felt like home now and she had
become so close with Kat and Patrick that they almost felt like family to her.
She wondered what her mother would think of her new life.
She would probably
give me a hard time about not going out and making more friends,
Ava
thought with a laugh. She knew she needed to make more of an effort to get out
and meet some new people but she just hadn’t had the energy for it. Making a
new life for herself was exhausting. At least she had Patrick and Kat.

Ava
liked her new life… most of the time. When she got too lonely she would call
Kat up and they would do a girls night at Ava’s apartment. Sometimes Patrick
joined in on “girls” night. It usually consisted of Chinese food, a couple
bottles of wine and a cry your eyes out chick flick. Patrick usually cried the
hardest.

“Hey
Kat, do you and Patrick want to try out that new restaurant this weekend or
something?”

“Ya
sure.” Kat answered Ava abruptly. “Dam it! I know those pieces are in one of
these boxes!” Kat sent one of the empty boxes sailing with a growl of
frustration and a hard kick.

“Geesh
Kat! Calm down girl!” Patrick looked at Kat disapprovingly. “It’s just not that
big of deal honey.”

“I
know.” Kat took a deep breath, trying to get her temper under control again.
This had been happening a lot lately. She just hadn’t been herself. She hadn’t
been sleeping well. She kept waking up achy and overheated and her already
short fuse had gotten even shorter than normal. “I’m sorry guys, I’m just tired
I guess.”

Ava
and Patrick exchanged raised eyebrows with each other. Ava nodded her head
towards the door, silently communicating to Patrick that they make a run for
it. “It’s no big deal Kat. Why don’t we leave you alone to work and you just
let me know if you need anything. Don’t stress, we have plenty of time to
change out the front window tonight.” Ava grabbed Patrick’s arm and steered him
out of the backroom.

Patrick
and Ava left Kat to work on her chandelier project in peace and went out into
the retail area of the store. Patrick flopped down on the stool behind the
counter with a huff. Brushing an imaginary piece of lint off his shirt he
straightened the front of his vest over his flat stomach and adjusted his black
hipster glasses over the bridge of his nose.

“Thanks
for coming in tonight to help with the window. The way Kat’s been acting we
would have probably killed each other before we got it done. I don’t know what
has gotten into that girl lately. I mean really, PMS is only supposed to happen
once
a month right?”

“I’m
sure she will calm down in a minute. She usually dose.” Ava defended her friend
but she was beginning to worry about Kat’s terrible mood swings.

Patrick
glanced at his watch for a minute. “We can close in about a half hour and then
we can start breaking down the front window. We should order some food. So what
do you want for dinner tonight, my treat.”  

“What
do you mean? I thought you were having a late dinner with Josh later.” Ava said
in surprise.

Patrick
rested his chin on his hand with a dramatic sigh and a well-practiced pout.
“No… I broke things off last night.”

“Already!
I thought you really liked this one. What was wrong this time?”

“Oh,
I don’t know. He had just started to get too clingy. You know… calling me…
wanting to spend the night. Things were just moving way too fast and getting
way serious….He had to go.” Patrick said while working on his cuticles.

“Patrick…
the poor guy only lasted four weeks.”

“I
know… right. Four weeks is a long time!” Patrick wined.

“Oh
my gosh Patrick. What are we going to do with you?”

“Excuse
me, my dear but at least ONE of us has a love life. I haven’t seen you or Kat
go out with anyone in months.”

Just
then the chime on the front door rang. “Saved by the bell.” Ava so didn’t want
to talk about her nonexistent love life. “You decide about dinner, I’ll help
the customer.” Ava said over her shoulder as she walked towards the front door,
straightening her dress and plastering a smile on her face.

“Hello,
welcome to Serendipity, is there anything special I can help you with today?”
Ava finished her sentence as she came around the corner of a display. The man
who had just come in had stopped just inside the door and looked around the
shop with a calculating eye. He didn’t enter the shop and browse like other
people did instead he seemed to be surveying the room like he was searching for
something.

“Mmmm…
I know what I want for dinner.” She heard Patrick murmur while almost falling
off his stool, trying to peek around an old stained glass window that hung from
the ceiling.

Patrick
was right. Her eyes roamed over a man who was way too beautiful to be in this
quaint little store. He was dark from head to toe. His short, perfectly styled
hair was black as night. He was wearing a black button down shirt that was left
open at the neck and black slacks. Ava could see his profile as he looked
around with his hands resting casually in his pockets. His features were sharp,
almost hawkish. He seemed to radiate a sense of confidence and power and
something else she couldn’t put her finger on. Something dark.

A
chill ran down Ava’s back raising goose bumps on her arms. She suddenly felt
anxious, like her spidey senses were trying to tell her something.

I
am totally out of my league here. Maybe I should let Patrick take this one.
As Ava approached the man he slowly raised his head. Starting with her strappy
sandals, his dark eyes slid up her bare legs to the hem of her peach slip
dress. His gaze moved over her possessively, sliding over the curve of her hips
and lingering on the swell of her full breasts. His gaze lingered as he admired
the way the moon stone pendant on her favorite necklace dipped into the valley
of her breasts.

Ava
could feel the blood rushing to her face to pinken her cheeks. She turned a few
heads on occasion but men usually didn’t look at her with such blatant hunger.
Ava felt suddenly vulnerable, standing in the middle of the store.
Finally
his eyes rose to meet hers. Ava’s breath caught in her throat and for a moment
his dark gaze held her captive.  

His
eyes were cold and black and they were staring intently into hers. He smiled
but it failed to put her at ease. It was the smile of a hunter, predatory.
Slowly he closed his eyes and inhaled deeply like he was savoring her scent.
When he opened his eyes, for just a moment, they appeared to turn red and then
black again. Ava’s breath caught in her throat.
Did I really just see that?
No, that’s crazy, it must just be some trick of the lighting. I must be losing
it.

Ava
started to retreat, taking one step backward when suddenly his hand darted out,
firmly catching her arm.

“Oh!”
Ava gasped, startled, and started to pull away.
Just who did this guy think
he was anyway!

“Wait,
don’t go. I didn’t mean to frighten you. You just took me by surprise for a
moment.” Just like that, his is whole demeanor had relaxed and softened. He was
smiling at her with a seductive look in his eye that probably caused other
women to fall at his feet. He loosened his grip on her and slid his fingers
down the inside of her arm in a caress, skillfully sliding her hand into his
own. “… and what a nice surprise it was.”

“My
name is Salvatore Guerra and you are?”

“Oh…
I’m… Ah… Ava. Ava Morgan. I was just going to get Patrick to show you around
the store.” Ava’s voice came out a little too brightly as she gave him a shaky,
half smile.

“Actually,
I think I just found exactly what I have been searching for.” He answered her
while his eyes continued to memorize her face.

Feeling
totally flustered, Ava just wanted to escape, but he still hadn’t released her
hand. This guy was way too intense for her and she wasn’t sure how to handle
the situation. Was this a situation? Maybe she was over reacting. He really
hadn’t done anything wrong except to give her the creeps and she was afraid to
scare away one of Patrick and Kat’s customers.

“Lovely
to meet you Ava.” He said while raising her fingers to his mouth and brushing
his lips across the backs of her fingers.

Oh
my god! Did I just feel his teeth?
Nope, not over
reacting. I am so out of here!

Ava
took a step back.
“
Listen here bud...”

“Well
hello there! Welcome to Serendipity! My name is Patrick, I’m the store owner.”
Patrick sashayed up to Salvatore and smoothly replaced Ava’s hand with his own.
“I see you have met our Ava. She is such a doll. You have to see some of the
antique rugs we just found at our last estate sale. They are divine!”

Patrick
my hero!
Now’s my chance…
“I’m… uh… just going to go
help Kat, you know, with that thing. In back.”
Smooth Ava, real smooth. He
didn’t see through that one at all.
Salvatore looked on in frustration as
Ava finally made her escape into the back room. Ava almost laughed when she saw
that Patrick still hadn’t let Salvatore’s hand go.
How do you like them
apples Salvatore.

Ava
could have sworn she heard a low growl as she walked away.
Nah, couldn’t be.
Who does that
? When you had a store full of eclectic and unusual stuff it
was bound to attract eclectic and unusual customers to it. Salvatore was
definitely not the strangest customer to have come into the store. Patrick
could handle him though. Patrick specialized in the strange ones. Heck, Patrick
was one of the strange ones. Salvatore was in good hands, literally.

Kat
looked up as Ava walked into the back room.

“Found
the missing pieces!” Kat held up the two chandelier crystals to her earlobes.
“What do you think? Are they me?” she said while tilting her head from side to
side.

“Ya
they’re great.” Ava answered without even looking at her.

“Hey,
what’s up with you? You look a little rattled. Was Patrick talking about his
love life again?” Kat teased as she pulled her mahogany locks off of her neck,
fanning herself for a moment.

“No…
well… yes… but that’s not it.” Ava laughed, starting to relax again. She was
starting to feel embarrassed about the whole thing and didn’t want to hash it
all out with Kat. “It’s nothing… really. Creepy customer, but Patrick has it
all under control.”

Starting
to feel a little cooler again, Kat dropped her heavy locks only to wrinkle up
her nose, making a funny face. “What is that strange smell? Do you smell that?”

Ava
looked at her quizzically and took a few experimental sniffs. “I don’t smell
anything and I totally showered before I came to work.” Ava sniffed her arms
dramatically, teasing her friend.

Kat
choked out a laugh. “I’m not saying you stink, it’s just an unusual smell.”

“Maybe
it’s Salvatore’s cologne.”

“Who’s
Salvatore?”

“The
creepy guy.” Ava couldn’t help the grimace that wrinkled her nose.

“Right,
the creepy guy. Seriously, you okay?” Kat always felt sort of protective of
Ava, like a big sister would be. Absolutely no one was going to mess with a
friend of hers under her own roof! Kat wasn’t really much bigger than Ava and
only one year older, but what she lacked in size she easily made up for in
attitude. Ava was just so sweet and gentle the thought of someone giving her a hard
time made Kat furious.

“Put
your claws back in Kit Kat. It’s no big deal.” Ava gave Kat her best
everything’s fine smile although she continued to rub her fingers where
Salvatore’s lips had touched them. “So, what sounds good to you for dinner?
Patrick said he would treat us.”

Kat
knew when she was being distracted. She herself was the queen of this game and
she looked at Ava with her head tilted to the side, deciding for herself if she
was truly okay. “Chinese. Chinese sounds good.” Ava let out a sigh of relief.
She had passed the test, Kat was going to let the topic of the creepy guy go.
 

“Chinese
it is then. I’ll get the take out menus.”