Read Sweet-Delight[ Brac Village 1] Online
Authors: Lynn hagen
Ross walked down the street with Kenway, heading to the building Maverick had shown his mate early this morning. Ross still wasn’t sure about owning a business with Kenway. It was a huge responsibility. He tried to work the dynamics out in his head on how a vampire could run a business that was open during the day, but nothing came to mind.
“I talked it over with the alpha,” Kenway said as they passed a barbershop pole. “He says there is glass made that will let passersby see inside, but on the inside of the shop, the UV rays can’t get in.”
“Really?” Ross had never heard of that. He wasn’t so sure he wanted to test it out either. He would be quite content sitting in the back office doing…office stuff. Ross had no clue what it took to run a bakery, but he was willing to bet he would get a crash course.
As they continued to walk, Ross kept scanning the streets for his brother. He wouldn’t put it past that jerkoff to show up and try to shove Ross in another distant place. Virgil was rotten to the core. Ross wasn’t sure how they ended up related. He and his brother were like night and day.
“Here we are.” Kenway waved a hand at a building Ross thought needed to be torn down. He wanted to ask his mate if he had lost his damn mind, but when Ross looked over at Kenway, the man was beaming with pride. There was no way he could rip his mate’s heart out.
“Now I know it needs a lot of work, Ross. You don’t have to pacify me. But I want you to see past the peeling paint and condemned look. This place has great potential.”
Yeah, for a vagrant hangout spot.
Ross returned Kenway’s enthusiastic smile. “Then show me inside.”
Kenway dug a key out of his pocket. Ross was surprised that his mate didn’t just touch the front door with his finger and watch as it collapsed to the floor. But the door seemed pretty sturdy as his mate unlocked it and waved Ross inside.
Did he really want Ross to go first?
Taking in a deep breath, Ross walked through the door.
Good god almighty.
Ross wanted to make a one-eighty turn and walk right back out. It looked like someone had left behind their belongings—which would be considered trash.
Kenway pulled Ross further inside. “Once the place is cleaned out, painted, new floors, and we get the equipment in here, things will look great.”
Ross’s vision of the place couldn’t get past the pile of junk in one corner. It had to be as high as seven feet. And what in the hell was that smell? Okay, he was going to think positive.
Something moved in the corner and his resolution of positive thinking scurried away with the furry rodent. “There are rats here.”
“We’ll take care of that, babe.”
We?
There was no way in hell Ross was going anywhere near a rat. He was more likely to jump onto Kenway’s back and scream as loud as he could if one came near him. Thankfully the little pest was on the other side of the room. Ross still shuddered.
Kenway began to point out where things would go, but all Ross could do was look for the furry invader’s buddies.
“What do you think?” Kenway asked, his hands on his hips and a hopeful expression in his pale-blue eyes. Ross opened his mouth to answer when someone walked through the front door. He immediately stood in front of Kenway, ready to show his fangs and defend his mate when Kenway grabbed his arm. “Ross, this is Baker.”
Ross raked his eyes over the scrawny guy. So this was the troublemaker Maverick had told them about.
“Nice to meet you.” Baker extended his hand.
Ross shook it.
“Same here.” Ross walked through the small building as Kenway spoke with Baker. He wasn’t being rude. Ross wanted to check the place out. If this was going to be their business, then he needed to embrace it and—“A rat!” Ross shot across the room and out the front door, ready to climb up the telephone pole if need be.
Kenway was on the sidewalk in seconds, staring at Ross with amusement. “Come on, babe. We’ll take the tour once the trash is cleaned out and the vermin problem taken care of.”
Ross shivered as Kenway wrapped his large arm around him. So a vampire was afraid of rats, big deal. Kenway leaned closer, pressing his kissable lips near Ross’s ear. “Don’t worry, love. I’ll protect you from anything that makes my baby scared.”
Cheeks heating to a burn, Ross leaned into Kenway. They were still newly mated, and Ross still didn’t know anything about the man. Okay, he knew Kenway could fuck like a dream. But he wanted to know more than his mate’s skillful bedroom moves.
“Will you now?” Ross nuzzled Kenway’s neck, giving him light kisses when he heard a throat clearing. Exhaling, Ross leaned back to see Baker standing in the doorway.
“Everything okay?”
Yeah, he just left his manhood in the building. That was all. “Everything is fine.”
“Then I’ll see you two tomorrow morning so the cleanup can get under way.” Baker waved as he headed toward a grey car that looked like it had seen better days. Ross turned back around, gazing up at his mate.
“Do you think this will really work?” Ross chewed at his bottom lip. “I mean, it’s a huge responsibility to take a loan that large to start your own business.”
Ross inwardly sighed when Kenway wrapped his arms around his waist. “We can do it, babe. I’ve never owned my own business before. And I won’t have to repay the loan. Maverick is going to be a silent partner, remember?” Kenway ran his hand over Ross’s hair. “To be honest, the more I look at this place and think about what potential it has, the more I get excited.”
Oh, an excited Kenway seemed to be a good thing considering his mate’s cock was hard and pressing into Ross’s stomach. They both turned when they heard Baker’s car sputter and die over and over again and then Ross jumped when the dang thing backfired.
But it had started.
Ross liked his mode of transportation a lot better. Being able to disperse his molecules was easier than trying to start a car—at least in Baker’s case. The thing sounded like it was protesting the entire time he drove away.
“Why don’t we take a walk around town?” Kenway asked. “It’ll be good for you to get to know the place.” And then Kenway leaned closer. “Think of it as a romantic stroll.”
Oh, the man was saying all the right things. Ross clutched Kenway’s hand with his as they started down the street. It was a beautiful night out. The air still held a slight chill because of the spring weather, but Ross wasn’t in the least bit cold. Not when he had the hand of the man he was fated to be with for the rest of his life.
Now all he had to do was fall in love with Kenway. From the way his mate treated him, Ross knew he wouldn’t have a problem with that.
“You mind if we stop in the coffeehouse?” Kenway asked. “I could use something to drink.”
Ross shrugged. “Too bad they don’t sell crimson,” he teased.
“Are you hungry?” Kenway asked, concern in his baby blues. Ross was touched. “No, I’m fine.”
They entered The Café, and Ross was immediately assailed by the smell of coffee and sugary sweetness. If he were human and ate food, the items in the display case would have done him in. It all looked very well decorated and attractive. But since he had never eaten any of that stuff before, it didn’t appeal to him.
“May I help you?” a gentleman behind the counter asked.
“Yeah, can I get a coffee and a slice of that chocolate cake?” Kenway asked.
“Sure can,” the man said as he moved away to make Kenway’s coffee.
“It’s nice in here,” Ross said as he turned to glance around the place. There was a large red sofa in one corner, small café-style tables littered all around. Ross spotted display racks with assorted coffees for sale and the dark wood made it feel homey. “I like it.”
Kenway slid his arm around Ross’s shoulder, pulling him close as he kissed the side of his face. “I want you to love this town as much as I do, Ross. I think settling down here is the best move we could make.”
Ross hoped so. Dante’s coven was nice to live in, but it didn’t have this homey feeling Ross was getting the more he discovered what Brac Village had to offer. Of course, he couldn’t eat or drink anything, but he could see there were things to do. He just hoped the nightlife wasn’t dead.
Kenway grabbed his order and Ross followed him outside. Just as they stepped out onto the sidewalk, Kenway stopped and said hello to an extremely intimidating-looking man. The guy looked as if he ate kittens for breakfast.
“Ross, this is Hawk.”
Ross said hello as he eyed the small blond man with Hawk. He was introduced as Johnny, Hawk’s mate.
“I’m going to apply for a job at the coffeehouse,” Johnny stated proudly, his blue-grey eyes filled with barely contained excitement. The man was a handsome guy. Not even the scar on his right cheek detracted from his soft beauty.
“I told you we’d talk about that, pretty baby.” Hawk pulled Johnny close, enveloping the smaller man in his arms.
“We did,” Johnny said as sweet as syrup. “And we decided that I wanted to get out of the Den and get a job.”
Ross smothered the chuckle with his hand. He didn’t know these two, but he had a feeling Johnny was going to win. He could see it in Hawk’s eyes. The man looked at his mate like Johnny was his entire world.
“Good luck,” Kenway said as they began to walk. He could hear Johnny telling Hawk to get inside the coffee shop. Hawk had lost the debate whether he knew it or not.
“How do you know them?” Ross asked as he watched Kenway take a large bite from his slice of cake. Ross’s eyes widened. His mate had bitten off half the cake.
As soon as Kenway swallowed, he answered. “Met Hawk on the side of the road when his truck broke down.”
As they walked, Ross started to feel like someone was watching them. He glanced up at his mate, but Kenway didn’t seem to notice. He was polishing off his cake and drinking his coffee. Ross glanced around, but there were too many shadows to hide in. The days were getting longer, but it still became dark around seven thirty.
“I have to meet with Roman Lakeland and his crew tomorrow. If you want, we can meet him once the sun sets.” Kenway tossed the cake container in the trash that was sitting curbside. “I want you to be a part of this as much as possible.”
Ross glanced over by the bookstore, swearing he saw someone. “No, go ahead and meet him in the morning. I can come by later and see how things are going.” Was that—no, it was just some crates on the side of the building. Gosh, he was losing his mind.
“I’ll talk to them about getting rid of the rats.” Kenway slid his hand in Ross’s, making Ross forget about things creeping around in the shadows.
“I’m normally not a wuss, but I really hate rats.”
Kenway chuckled. “It’s a common reaction. I’m not too fond of them myself.”
If someone were following them, wouldn’t Kenway sense it? Ross didn’t know too much about shifters. He had grown up in the coven, being around nothing but vampires most of the time. He ran into an occasional shifter here and there, but hadn’t spent enough time around them.
Ross didn’t want to say anything if it turned out to be nothing. He didn’t want to come off as some overreacting person.
“When do you think the bakery will be ready?” Ross asked.
“I’m hoping within the next two weeks. We don’t have to build it from the ground up.” Kenway gave Ross’s hand a light squeeze. “We have to think of a name for our place.”
“Furry Edibles,” Ross teased with a soft chuckle.
“Although I like it”—Kenway winked at him—“I’m thinking something with the word
sweet
in it.”
“How about Sweet Baked Goods?”
Kenway shook his head. “No, it doesn’t roll off the tongue. Sweet Delicious?”
“Neither does that.” He tossed the word
sweet
around in his head. “Sweet Delight?”
Kenway’s hand cupped Ross’s chin, tilting his head so that their eyes met. Ross’s breath left his lungs in a shallow whoosh as he stared into his mate’s pretty pale-blue eyes. “I like it,” Kenway said before giving Ross a soft kiss on the lips. He stood on the street, not caring who saw them as Ross’s breath came out in light pants.
“Maybe I should come up with a few more names.” Ross licked his lips, tasting nothing but Kenway, and he wanted more.
“You like my kisses?” Kenway asked. His voice had dropped to a low, husky tone that told Ross exactly what the man was thinking.
“I like everything about you.” It was the honest truth. “Especially your kisses.” They walked some more in a slow fashion and ended back at Kenway’s truck. But instead of getting inside, Kenway pressed Ross against the side, straddling his long, thick legs on either side of Ross’s body, cocooning him in. Ross was feeling giddy inside, like he did when he was a teenager three hundred years ago.
He had butterflies in his stomach. Since when did anyone make him feel this way? Never. No one had made Ross feel as if…oh, god, he was falling in love. Kenway was saying and doing all the right things. Ross became terrified that the other shoe was going to fall. This was just too good to be true.
“What’s wrong, Ross?” Kenway asked. “I can scent your unease.”
Pushing his hair over his shoulder, Ross glanced up at Kenway. “I think I’m falling in love with you. I’ve never been in love. All of a sudden my tongue feels too big for my mouth, my palms are sweaty, and my heart is racing out of control. Is that normal?” Should he have told Kenway any of that?
Kenway’s pale-blue eyes were sparkling in the streetlight, his lips curved up into such a seductive smile. That was not helping Ross calm down. The man was too damn good-looking for his own good.
“I wouldn’t know,” he admitted as an irresistibly devastating grin brightened his features. Kenway was unaware of the captivating picture he made when he smiled like that. It set Ross’s pulse to racing. “I’ve never been in love. But I know what you mean.”
“You do?” Ross asked.
Kenway slid his arms around Ross’s waist. He could feel his mate’s body heat searing him through his shirt. It was as if the sun itself was touching Ross. “Yeah, because I’m feeling the same way.”
Ross groaned when Kenway dipped his head, skimming his lips back and forth across Ross’s. It wasn’t a kiss per se, but erotic nonetheless. Slipping his arms up Kenway’s body, Ross wrapped them around the man’s neck, suppressing the urge to wrap his legs around his mate’s waist. They were in public, after all.
“Don’t you want to go home?” Ross asked as Kenway nibbled at his lips.
An easy smile played at the corner of Kenway’s lips. “Not yet, love. I like showing you off.”
There he went again, saying all the right things. To hell with it. Ross was going to jump into not only the business feet first, but his relationship with Kenway as well. If neither worked out, then so be it.