Pursued by a Werewolf (Mystic Isle, Book 4) (9 page)

“None taken. Maxim wouldn't last five minutes anyway. Aside from all the hot women in spandex, you actually have to twist your body into shapes he'd find...unnatural.”

Hunter howled with laughter and Ceara tried but failed to smother her giggle.

Maxim ignored them and ordered drinks for himself and his mate.

Hunter leaned toward her, still chuckling under his breath. “Good one. You want another cocktail?”

“Yeah.” Avery would be lying if she said she didn’t enjoy their easy going camaraderie…when they had it. And she appreciated the way he was always taking care of her in small but thoughtful ways.

He straightened and looked up at their server. The woman was curvy beyond belief and as less classy men would say, stacked. Avery saw no point in denying the truth. Hunter placed their order and immediately turned his attention back to their table.

Maxim and Hunter were discussing food options when Avery felt a stillness take over the room. The din of conversation softened and the movement paused. She glanced up and surveyed the club. It was a typical sports bar style with a space in the middle beneath the heat lamps for dancing. She saw nothing unusual or out of place.

Charles Latham strode up to their table looking every bit the tall, golden, gorgeous god-in-charge. Ahh, that explained the change in the atmosphere.

He made pleasantries with Maxim and Hunter before turning his attention to her. She sat up a little straighter. It wasn’t every day you had a conversation with someone who could vaporize you with a single thought.

“I wanted to thank you again for giving Pearl private lessons. She’s very happy with your teaching.”

“You’re most welcome. I like her a lot. She’s like a burst of sunshine.”

“Yes, she is.” He turned his attention to Hunter and Maxim. “I’ll see you two for skeet shooting tomorrow?”

“We’ll be there,” Hunter answered. Maxim nodded.

Avery felt Ceara's gaze. “You must be an excellent teacher for the princess to seek Latham out and sing your graces.”

Ceara was still learning English phrases so Avery gently corrected her. “Praises.”

“She is,” Hunter inserted smoothly. “A most excellent teacher.”

She elbowed him gently in the ribs. “I’m too easy on you, wolf. Remind me to remedy that tomorrow.”

“Promise?” he asked with that smile that sent her heart racing.

She ignored the clamoring organ and his question. “Pearl probably just had drinks with Latham. I’m sure she casually mentioned it. No biggie.”

“It is a biggie. You’ll be teaching all the classes around here in no time.”

“Very funny. I think I might do some traveling this winter. No time for lessons.”

“Come visit us,” Ceara said.

“You’re always welcome,” Maxim added.

Hunter made no such offer, in fact he looked surprised.

What?
She directed the thought at him.

To Ceara and Maxim, “Thank you.”

“Where were you planning on going?” Hunter asked.

“Well, it’s been a long time since I’ve been snow skiing. And I’d love to see Prague. Oh… and New Orleans. I haven’t been there in twenty years.”

“I have never been to America,” Ceara commented.

“You should come with me. You know, if you have time.” She glanced at Maxim. “Speaking of schedules, how is it you can both be here this weekend?”

She cocked her head at Hunter. “You just got back from walkabout. Shouldn’t you be with your pack?”

“We're not dictators, Avery. The pack can take care of itself,” Hunter said. “Must take care of itself.”

“They're resilient, as we all must be,” Maxim added.

“Besides, this gives us an excellent opportunity to test our beta in training.”

Avery frowned. “I thought you were the beta.”

Hunter and Maxim shared a look.

“I can't be the beta forever.” Why did those words strike such sadness inside her? She wasn’t particularly interested in him being the beta of the pack. It wasn’t like they were an item and she wasn’t on a power kick. But he clearly excelled at being Maxim’s right hand man. He was thoughtful and a problem solver that had earned the pack’s respect. She’d seen it firsthand.

Why did he want to give that up?

Avery looked over at Ceara. “I'm missing something.”

“I have goals outside of Novgorod pack. Surely you have interests outside the coven.”

“We’re talking about you.” Her only real goal was to keep her heart intact. And she’d never really thought of life outside the coven. She’d been living with Valencia for thirty years now. She was comfortable there and with her life. She loved their butler.

But he was right. The coven was changing. With Coco, Ceara and Izzy all in love and living outside the mansion most of the time, the house had been quiet. Too quiet.

The waitress brought their drinks and talk ceased. She didn't like uneasy conversation and as long as the topic was centered on her, they were in for a rough dialog.

With Hunter and Maxim sipping their beers and chatting about pack business, Avery idly swirled her goblet.

“Have you heard if Izzy and Shade have picked a date yet?” Ceara asked.

Marriage wasn't exactly the norm in immortal circles. Wolves had mates. Vampires had bonds. But since both Izzy and Shade had been human in their last life, she understood their desire to get married.

Plus, she'd use any excuse to buy a fancy new dress and get dolled up.

Avery shook her head. “No.”

“I wouldn't be surprised if it was soon.”

Avery frowned. “You're not--”

They couldn’t have children. Could they? Izzy wasn’t a full-blooded vamp… But then, she was part demon and who knew how that would impact fertility. There was so much Avery refused to pay attention to where immortality was concerned. Just when you got complacent and planned your happily ever after, it got taken away from you.

Ceara smiled. “No. I don’t think Izzy wants kids. At least not yet. Just that those two move very quickly when they set their mind on something.”

That was true. They'd gone from strangers to lovers to hopelessly in love in less than a week. And Izzy had moved in with the handsome demon not long after.

“Did she show you her new Bugatti?” Avery asked and took another sip of her cocktail.

The once shy vamp beamed. “Better. She let me drive it!”

“No fair. Was it fabulous?” Avery asked, wistful. Such a crazy expensive car wasn't practical. Not in the least. From what Izzy said, everything on it was custom, but that didn't stop Avery from enjoying how incredible it was. A truly impeccable machine. And it purred like a warm, black kitten.

“Earth to Avery,” Ceara said. She'd picked up a lot of Avery's Americanisms over the years.

“Sorry,” Avery murmured.

The waitress returned, arms laden with plates. She leaned over as the woman set down Hunter’s dish, offering him and Avery for that matter, a view of her bountiful cleavage. Hunter, to his credit, didn’t seem to care. He just reached for the ketchup and squirted it all over his fries.

Man, Avery missed ketchup and fries. It was all she could do to stay on her side of the bench when she wanted to lean over, stick her nose right up to the delicious deep-fried carbs and inhale.

The waitress was still watching him, however. She twisted a ringlet of blonde hair around her finger and grinned down at Hunter.

“Is there anything else you want?”

Avery rolled her eyes. “We’re fine,” she spoke up.

The waitress flashed Avery a quick grin before turning her attention to the next table.

Did the woman’s voice have to sound so damned husky? And why wasn’t she fawning all over Maxim?

Avery glanced across the table and saw that Ceara was snuggled up to Maxim’s side, his arm around her shoulders. Well, at least the perky waitress understood not to mess with attached men.

Not that she and Hunter were attached. No way. No how.

You could do something about that,
Ceara's voice whispered through her mind.

Avery pegged her with a look and shot back a message of her own.
Why would I want to?

Ceara sighed.
You're full of it Avery.
Then.
Did I get that right?

Avery could not help but smile. Her friend had made great strides to open up and get over her incredibly sheltered upbringing. Ceara’s parents hadn’t believed in friends or life outside the walls of their home. It had taken them so long to even conceive that they’d smothered poor Ceara in a hope to protect her. Avery couldn't imagine it.

She hadn't had a lot of time for friends once she'd started training for the Olympics. But still, she'd been friendly with her team mates. And there were always people around. Trainers. Physical therapists. Assistants. Masseuses. Camera crews. Her parents.

What he does with that bimbo is no concern of mine.

Ceara gave Avery a look of disbelief and censure. Okay, so the waitress was just playing a part. All of the wait staff on Mystic Isle played up their assets to keep the customers happy. But that didn’t mean she had to like it.

She blew out a sigh. Hunter stretched an arm along the back of the booth, spanning the width of her shoulders and she could feel the heat emanating from his big body. She desperately wanted to lean closer and soak in his warmth.

“Everything all right?” he whispered, leaning in close.

It wasn’t like her to get bent out of shape or snippy about anything. She liked to think of herself as a sensible, roll with the punches sort of gal. Fun loving but rule following. Years of competition and relentless training had left her rigid so these days she tried not to take herself too seriously.

But she had proof staring her in the face. She’d been jealous twice in one day.

She glanced to her right, meeting his gaze. His beautiful eyes searched her face, concerned and curious. He was so handsome with that lock of hair tumbling across his forehead. She lifted her hand and brushed it aside.

“I’m fine.”

He stared down at her lips.

“You frown when you’re fine?” he whispered, meeting her gaze again.

“Hunter…”

He stayed silent. Waiting.

As much as she wanted to curl up in his arms and take advantage of the promise in his eyes, she couldn’t risk their friendship. Or his heart. “Nothing’s changed. I can’t be a forever kind of girl.”

“Did I ask you to be?” he whispered back.

“No, but—”

“But?”

“You want forever. I know you do. You deserve someone who can—” She sighed, choosing her words carefully. “Someone who wants that too. You deserve that.”

“I’m a big boy, Avery. I can handle it.”

“I don’t want to hurt you.”

“You won’t,” he promised softly. “All I want right now is to spend time with my friend.”

Heaven help her, so did she.

“Me too,” she whispered. The truth was like a cleansing balm, providing clarity to her jumbled emotions.

He studied her for several more seconds before turning his attention back to his brother. The look in his eyes had been hot but reassuring.

The lure to kiss him was almost more than she could stand. Staring at his lips, so close, so kissable certainly didn’t help.

“Speak of the demon… and his bride to be,” Ceara said.

Avery glanced up to see Izzy, the pint sized pixie and her lover stride through the doors of Club Daylight. She smiled up at the couple, thankful that they’d saved her from making a scene with Hunter. Izzy spotted them and she gave a little wave. Despite her former cool and calm personality, Shade had managed to warm her up.

It was no secret Ceara wasn’t terribly comfortable around demons. Avery wouldn’t be either if her parents had been killed by a rogue demon, but Shade wasn’t like the man who’d killed Ceara’s mom and dad in a crazy rage.

He was sweet and doting. A practical joker, typical of his kind. And he was crazy lucky. Avery had stopped challenging him to any kind of game.

She was so proud of the progress both Ceara and Izzy had made, overcoming their past and fears. The last few times she'd seen Izzy, the little blonde had been a changed woman. No longer terrified and gnashing her teeth at werewolves. Not that she'd ever actually gnashed her teeth, but she certainly hadn't given them the time of day.

“
Bonjour
,” Ceara said when the couple approached the table. She smiled up at them and Avery was more than a little relieved to see that it was a genuine smile that included Shade as well.

“Sit, sit. How are you guys?” Avery said and scooted around the booth to sit next to Ceara. She slid her wine glass along with her and then signaled for the waitress.

Izzy slid across the bench and settled next to Hunter without hesitation. Avery’s heart lifted. There’d been a time when Izzy couldn’t be comfortable in the presence of a werewolf and that was no surprise after what had happened to her in her first life. Yes, she’d made tremendous strides and Avery was proud of her friend.

“Good. We are scouting locations for the wedding,” Izzy said with her trademark impish grin.

Avery smiled even though her heart ached. Once upon a time she'd been scouting locations for her own wedding, making plans for her own life and her own happily ever after.

After giving herself a mental shake she focused on her friends. “Mystic Isle is in the running?”

“Top of the list,” Shade said.

The waitress brought a menu. Izzy ordered a glass of wine while Shade studied the list. “You know you want the burger,” she murmured to her fiancé.

“We go through that all the time,” Ceara said. “Maxim always looks everything over but orders the same thing. There may be limited selection as a vampire, but life is much easier and ordering much faster that way.”

Maxim smiled down at her indulgently.

“You're right,” Shade said. He ordered the burger, draped an arm over Izzy's shoulders and dropped a kiss on top of her head.

Avery thought she might melt watching the sweet exchange. Public displays of affection were nothing new. Not in her life, not on Mystic Isle. Heck, the two werewolves in the far corner were getting it on right now if the moans and grunts were any indication.