She shrugged. “Your generation doesn’t seem to embrace technology like mine.” There was a bite of sarcasm in her words as she insinuated he was old, and he realized it was because he’d called her a child.
Something she definitely wasn’t. She was very grown and very sensual. He just grunted and motioned with his head that she should follow him. He’d already disabled the alarm and as soon as he and Lauren stepped outside, another of his packmates would be babysitting the house. Where they lived they’d never had a problem with crime of either the human or supernatural variety but until Grant got back, Max was keeping his alpha’s house under constant watch. He didn’t trust Lauren’s pridemates not to do something stupid.
He trusted her—though he wasn’t sure why—but he didn’t know her pride and it was his duty to keep the pack’s territory under control while Grant was on his honeymoon.
As they stepped outside, Max could see two of his packmates standing at attention in the lush front yard. The back was a smaller yard, a pool and the rest of the property stretched all the way to the beach where more of his packmates waited. He’d been relatively positive that Lauren would come back but he hadn’t been sure if there would be more of her pridemates with her or what their intention had been—though he’d guessed it would be about the jewels.
Even if he’d been glad to find her in his alpha’s office, it enraged him that her pride had sent her into enemy territory alone. All over some fucking jewels. Sure they were worth a few million, but she was worth more than that. If she were his, he’d never have let her do something so dangerous.
He couldn’t see the rest of his packmates, but he could scent a dozen of them nearby. So could Lauren. And he could smell her fear even though it was clear she was trying to mask it. On instinct, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders as they stepped off the porch and down the few stone steps.
She tensed but didn’t pull away—something that soothed his inner wolf immensely.
“Lauren Hayes is under my protection and staying with me,” he said, slightly raising his voice though everyone seen and unseen would be able to hear him. “Her pridemates are also under my protection. One of them will be coming by the condo later so let them leave Lauren’s belongings at the front gate with no hassle.” He didn’t go into any more detail because he didn’t have to.
As second-in-command, his pack would respect what he’d said. And they’d also spread the word, letting the entire pack know she would be in Kincaid territory with him. Which was good and bad. Shifters were the biggest gossips around. He knew he’d be fielding calls and drop-ins all day tomorrow with packmates wanting to get a look at the jaguar shifter who’d broken into Grant’s house. They’d want to know why the hell Max was protecting her and why she was under his roof.
He didn’t owe them those answers. Lauren was his and he wasn’t letting her go.
Max opened the door to his condo then bolted it shut. Normally he left his door unlocked during the day, as did most of the pack, but after the last few hours of putting out bullshit fires for his packmates, he didn’t want to see anyone else.
Except Lauren.
She’d been sleeping when he’d left early this morning to deal with the accountant at the hotel the pack owned. He’d left a note and his cell number to call if she needed anything but she hadn’t.
Something he found disappointing. He’d been thinking about her all damn day, much to his annoyance. She’d been quiet when they got back to his place last night. Not rude or temperamental like he’d expected, but almost withdrawn instead. He guessed she was still trying to figure out what the hell he was up to by ‘punishing’ her with staying with him. Part of him had been tempted to wake her and take her with him today but he’d had too much to deal with and he could admit he was selfish. He wanted to get to know her when it was just the two of them and in better circumstances than him working.
Part of him had feared she’d split the second she woke up, but he’d been banking on the fact that she wanted that brooch too much. He’d heard through the grapevine of pack gossip that she was still here and had been taking pack visitors all day with incredible politeness.
Her scent and something that smelled incredible teased him as he headed down the hallway in the direction of the kitchen. She’d cooked? Each packmate had an ocean view and since he had the penthouse of the condominium building the pack owned, his place was a little larger than most.
The hallway emptied out into an open living room and kitchen, with the kitchen to the left. As he stepped into the normally unused room, he froze in his tracks. Bent over pulling something out of the oven, Lauren wore skimpy little shorts that rode up and almost showed the bottom of her ass. Swallowing hard, Max forced himself to look away as he stepped into the kitchen. She had to know he was there. She’d have heard the door opening and scented him. Maybe she was waiting for him to speak first.
He’d acted like an asshole last night when he’d told her his fantasies about her and he needed to get himself under control. Staring at her ass wouldn’t help him.
Clearing his throat as he stepped into the room, he tossed his keys onto the counter and headed for the refrigerator. “Something smells good,” he said in what he hoped was a casual voice as he grabbed a beer.
“I got bored so I decided to cook. Hope you like shepherd’s pie.” Her sweet voice wrapped around him, making him light headed for a moment. God, how could she have this affect on him?
Shutting the fridge, he found her slipping the oven mitts off and turning to face him. She smiled tentatively. “Listen, I know we got off on the wrong foot and that your punishment, even though it’s a little odd, isn’t harsh. If I’m gonna be here for a week, I’d like to be at least civil.” There was a question in her eyes even though she didn’t ask anything. Her cooking dinner was a sort of peace offering.
One he would gladly take. He nodded, forcing his gaze not to trail down her lean, lithe body. Despite the cooler weather she wore barely there yoga shorts and a tank top. With their higher body temperatures it made sense, plus he’d left the heat on. Her hair was pulled up into a messy ponytail with tendrils framing her face and with no makeup she looked so comfortable, like she belonged here. In his home. “That works for me. You want a drink?”
She nodded so he grabbed another beer. When he shut the fridge again he watched her moving around his kitchen with ease. She set plates and utensils out on the island before moving the glass baking dish to the cooling rack she’d set out. He hadn’t even realized he owned a cooling rack. He rarely used the room, choosing to eat at one of the restaurants the pack owned. She seemed so at home and she’d clearly figured out where everything was.
Feeling almost useless and not wanting to get in her way, he sat at the island and set both their beers down. “How’d you manage to cook all this?” He knew he didn’t have the ingredients to make shepherd’s pie. Or anything at all except maybe an omelet.
“Some of your packmates stopped by so I hit them up for ingredients. I didn’t know if I was allowed to leave your place,” she said with a slight smile but he knew she wasn’t kidding.
Punishments for invading another supernatural’s territory could be harsh or nothing at all. It just depended on the crime and the alpha involved. Since she’d actually broken into an alpha’s home, Max could have done a lot worse. Something she knew and was another reason he hadn’t worried about her leaving. She’d gotten off incredibly easy with his punishment. “You could have called and asked.”
She shrugged and sat next to him. “I didn’t want to bug you, especially since I had company from pretty much the moment I woke up. Your pack is very nosy.”
Their chairs were a foot apart, but he could feel her body heat and desperately wanted to slide closer, to inhale her sweet scent. Instead of doing what he wanted, he added a helping to her plate, then his. “Is your pride any different?”
She snorted and let out a short laugh. “No way. They’re horrible. When I go home I already know what kind of gossip will have been spread. I’m pretty sure your packmates think we’re getting mated or something. Some of those older women are ready to see you settled and call me crazy, I don’t think they care if it’s with a jaguar.” She laughed again, as if the idea was ridiculous. “They got so excited when I told them I wanted to cook you dinner.” Shaking her head, she took a bite of her meal.
He watched her swallow and tried to ignore the way she’d laughed about the idea of them mating. Yeah, it was uncommon but not unheard of. It bothered him that she thought it was funny, even though he knew he shouldn’t have this reaction.
“Do you not like it?” Lauren asked and he realized he was staring at her.
Clearing his throat, he turned his attention back to his plate and took a bite of his meal. It was good.
Really
good
.
Of course it could have tasted like sandpaper and he would have told her it was the best meal he’d ever had. “This is great, thanks for cooking. I don’t expect you to though.”
“I wanted to.” She shrugged again as if it was no big deal and he struggled to read her. He could scent her natural amber and vanilla as strong as anything, but normally he could read more than that with others. He hated that he couldn’t tell much about her emotions. His wolf senses were how he read people.
“Listen, I’ve got to head to The Crescent Moon Bar tonight for a couple hours.” Max normally managed there, but with Grant gone Max had divided his time between all the places the pack owned and tonight was when he visited his normal bar. He wanted Lauren with him when he went. “Come with me?”
She set her fork back down on her plate. “Do I have a choice?”
There was no sarcasm in her question. He realized she was being serious. He could order her if he wanted. His most primal side wanted to. He’d felt edgy all damn day without her—something he was still trying to understand. “Yes.”
She smiled then, a real one, the effect stunning as it relaxed her entire face. “Okay. I’ve been cooped up here all day so it’ll be nice to get out. Your pack has been really great.” She sounded surprised by that.
Relief settled through him that she wanted to go, even if it was just to get out. Tonight he had to show her that he wasn’t the asshole who’d said he wanted to bend her over the nearest flat surface and fuck her. He cringed at himself, even if what he’d said was true. Inwardly sighing, he took another bite. He just hoped he could keep his primal side in check tonight.
* * * * *
As they stepped into the Crescent Moon Bar, Lauren was consciously aware of Max’s large hand on the small of her back. It should have been a casual move, but she felt as if he was branding her in some way. The heat generating from him was unmistakable but she was doing her best to cover the scent of her attraction and her expressions. So far she was pretty sure it was working. He seemed to be able to smell her natural scent but nothing beyond that. Of course she was concentrating really hard on masking her attraction to him. She didn’t want him using it against her and she really didn’t want to do something she’d regret. But if he kept touching her, she didn’t know how long she could keep it up.
In addition to her gift to cover her scent, as the youngest of the Hayes sisters, she’d learned how to school her expressions at an early age thanks to her older sisters. With her father being the alpha, she’d needed to keep a few things from him if she’d ever wanted to have any fun as a teenager.
Which was why her father didn’t actually know she was here in Gulf Shores. He thought she was on vacation.
Man, he was going to be so pissed when he found out. Two of her sisters knew that she and a handful of her cousins had decided to come after the brooch so they could give it as a gift to her oldest sister, Stacia. They wouldn’t say anything to her father though.
Lauren inwardly sighed. Stacia would be angry at that risk they’d taken but it was going to work out now and no one was getting hurt. Grant had a reputation for being honest and if Max said she’d get the jewels, she would. If at the end of the week he lied, however, then there would be an all out war between her pride and the Kincaid pack. She knew no one wanted that.
Well, no one in their right mind. Shifters didn’t like to attract attention to themselves so while yes, she was taking a risk by staying here a week and walking away with nothing, something bone deep told her that Max wasn’t lying.
Two steps inside the bar, Lauren realized the place was in chaos. There was no other word for it. In college she’d waited tables—something that had driven her parents crazy since they hadn’t wanted her to work—and from what she could see there were only two women on the floor and one woman behind the bar. Clearly they were overwhelmed.
“Shit,” Max muttered next to her. Then taking her by surprise, he grabbed her hand and headed for a swinging door she knew would lead to a kitchen.
Inside was one woman lifting up a large oval tray filled with plates of hamburgers and other grill style meals. She gave Max a frazzled look and didn’t even bother glancing at Lauren. “We need help at the bar!” she growled before hurrying toward the swinging doors.
Two males were behind the grill line and one of them jerked a thumb behind him. “In the office.”
Lauren didn’t know what that meant, but Max just growled under his breath. Seconds later she stood with him in the entryway to a small office that had a computer, a small desk, and stacks of papers. Jeez, they were unorganized. A tall woman with blond hair was on the phone shouting at someone ‘to get their asses over here’ but she slammed the phone down when she saw Max. “Almost everyone is out with some bullshit excuse. It’s fucking madness and I can’t get anyone to come in here because they’re already working at one of the other restaurants or the hotel. I’ve been helping man the grill line but we need someone helping behind the bar and someone taking the drinks for the servers. If it wasn’t for the alcoholic drinks the girls would be fine but they keep having—”