Love Bites (Bitten Book 4) (7 page)

The meeting wound down and my friends and I gathered to talk while we waited for the vampires and Calder to finish their separate discussion of which safe house would be best for Shannon and me. Lachlan had already left with Belinda, leaving his beta to deal with any remaining issues. I couldn’t even feel uncomfortable about that because I had bigger problems on my mind.

I could tell that the lack of control was frustrating Shannon as well, so I did my best to help steer the conversation to other topics. When the front door opened to admit a tall, handsome vampire with beautiful golden hair, I was grateful for the interruption. I was running out of things to talk about.

After I got a good look at him, I whispered, “Whoa, who is that? He’s hot.”

The five of us jumped when a low growl seemed to surround us. I shot a look over my shoulder at Calder. He stared at me, his expression hard, and I scowled back. Considering I’d seen him with one woman in skimpy underwear last week and another sucking his face last night, he didn’t have any right to be irritated by my comment.

I sneered at Kerry when I saw her grinning at me. Her smile only widened. I listened with half an ear as Donna explained that his name was Asher and that he and Conner shared ownership of the Concord, a popular and expensive restaurant in Dallas.

Ivie seemed somewhat taken with him. “Damn, that is a whole bunch of sexy.” When the vampires turned as one to stare at us, she asked, “Shit, do you think they heard me?”

When Lex stared her down and nodded his head, we all chuckled.

Grateful for her timing, I grinned and teased, “Somebody’s in trouble.”

“Shut up,” Ivie retorted, narrowing her eyes at me.

When I noticed Shannon staring at the blond vampire with a fixed expression, I couldn’t resist picking on her. “Shannon, will you quit eye-fucking Asher and pay attention?”

If looks could kill, I would have been dead, gone, and buried. I smirked at her and flipped her off before turning to Donna to continue our conversation. Not long after that, Asher and Conner carried Johanna out of the house, followed by the other vampire council members.

Conner, Lex, and Finn came back inside a few moments later. Gabriel and Asher were nowhere to be seen. Conner came over to retrieve Donna and Ivie got up as well since she and Lex had ridden with them. Shannon and I began to get ready to leave as well because we needed to get home to pack a few things before going to the safe house. Conner had assured us that there were guards at our apartments, keeping an eye on things and he would call us and tell us where to go after we packed.

“If it’s all right, I’d like to ride back to the city with you.”

I turned to stare at Calder. Oh crap. It was one thing to tell Shannon I’d consider talking to him but it was quite another to be forced to ride in the car with him for an hour.

“No problem,” Shannon answered with a shrug.

By the smug expression on her face, I knew it was in retaliation for the eye-fucking comment I made earlier. Sometimes it sucked having vengeful friends because payback really was a bitch.

It looked like I would be having a conversation with Calder whether I liked it or not.

Ricki

T
he ride back
to my apartment was tense. Shannon chatted with Calder and I tried to participate, but it was difficult. All I could think about was seeing that girl kiss Calder. Every time he spoke, I kept visualizing that pretty young girl asking, “Who’s this, babe?”

It was easy for Shannon to say I should give Calder another shot, but that moment seemed to be on a loop in my brain and it felt like a brick to the face every time I replayed it. I didn’t want to discuss it with him or hear his excuses. Men like him always had a ready explanation. The lies that tripped off my father’s tongue when his affairs began were smooth and sincere. It wasn’t until later that his contempt for my mother began to bleed through and he no longer made an effort.

Somehow they kept the conversation going despite my awkward responses and silences. I could feel both of them looking at me with curious eyes, but I managed to keep my expression neutral. I was too distracted to realize where we were going until Shannon pulled up in front of my apartment building.

The last two days had taken on a surreal quality that made me want to pinch myself to see if I was in the longest, strangest dream in history. It was beginning to catch up with me.

I didn’t even argue when Calder stated, “I’m going to go upstairs and check your apartment. Then you need to pack enough things for a while, at least a couple weeks.”

Silently, I followed him up the stairs with Shannon behind me. Calder took my key and opened the door. He lifted a hand in a gesture for us to wait and entered my apartment. A few moments later, he reappeared.

When I opened my mouth to tell him that he couldn’t wait inside, he cut me off. “I’ll be right outside the door. Hurry, okay?”

I was so frustrated that I couldn’t form words. Shannon nudged me through the doorway and my shoulder brushed his as I passed by. She shut the door behind him.

“I’ll help you pack,” she insisted, “and we’ll talk.”

I pulled my arm out of her grasp. “Talk about what?”

“You know what,” she answered, using her body to crowd me into my bedroom.

Groaning under my breath, I went into my closet in search of my biggest suitcase. I hauled it out and flopped it on the bed. “Look, I know you think that werewolves are different from human men, but, seriously, Donna warned me about them. She said they really weren’t into monogamy. You know how my dad was. I can’t deal with that on a permanent basis. I deserve better! Also, in the short time I’ve known him, I’ve seen him with two other women in situations that were clearly sexual. TWO!”

Shannon sighed as my babbling came to a halt. “Are you done?”

I nodded.

She crossed her arms over her chest. “Have you asked Calder about any of this?”

I paused in the midst of cramming underwear into my suitcase. “Uh, no. Why would I? I saw it all, Shannon. Hell, last night he didn’t even try to stop me after that girl kissed him. If it wasn’t what I thought, why wouldn’t he at least try?”

Shannon threw her hands up. “I don’t know, maybe because you’re practically foaming at the mouth? You obviously aren’t willing to listen. He probably wanted to give you time to calm down.”

I winced at her blunt words. Unfortunately, she was right. My feelings for Calder were uncontrollable and I wasn’t being reasonable. In fact, I was acting like a lunatic, which was exactly why I avoided serious relationships for so many years.

“Come on, what would you think if you saw a man you’d just slept with running around half-naked with a woman wearing something out of a Victoria’s Secret catalog? Or if he was sucking face with a girl who looked young enough to be his kid?”

Shannon’s brows raised. “Okay, you’re right. I would be upset. But you can bet your ass that I would be asking him plenty of questions until I was satisfied with the answers.”

I paused in the middle of my packing. She was definitely telling the truth. Shannon was scary as hell and twice as intense. Her demeanor had frightened away more than one man. She wasn’t like any other woman I knew, and she definitely wouldn’t hesitate to ask a man what the fuck he was doing kissing some other woman right in front of her. And if she didn’t like his answer, she would probably kick him in the teeth.

“Fine. I’ll talk to him. Preferably on the phone.”

She rolled her eyes but didn’t argue again. Instead, she helped me gather jeans, shirts, and a couple pairs of shoes and we wedged them in the case. There was just enough room for my blow dryer and toiletries.

Five minutes later, I had all my make-up, soaps, and other necessities in plastic baggies and zipped into my suitcase. As I did a last minute walk through of my bedroom for my phone, Kindle, and chargers, Shannon went outside.

I wrestled my suitcase off the mattress and almost shrieked when an arm reached around me to grab the handle. Immediately after my horrified gasp, I smelled the warm, clean scent of Calder.

“Dammit! Make a noise when you move or something!”

He scowled at me. “All I did was walk in here to help you with your suitcase.”

“Yeah, but I didn’t hear you and you scared the shit out of me. You need to warn people when you come into their home.”

“Well, what am I supposed to do? Whistle?” he asked.

I crossed my arms over my chest. “Well, if you wouldn’t think I was coming on to you, I’d ask you if you know how.”

To my surprise, he grinned. “That’s a great movie.”

I went from surprised to shocked. “You’ve seen
To Have and Have Not
?”

Lifting my suitcase as though it weighed a few ounces rather than fifty pounds, Calder chuckled. “Yes, I have.” When he saw the expression on my face, his smile disappeared. “There are a lot of things you don’t know about me, Ricki.”

He carried my bag out of the bedroom. I looked around, feeling as though I’d forgotten something. Somehow I knew it was important. A second later, the loud yowl of my cat, followed by an emphatic “Shit!” reminded me.

“Ah, crap, I forgot about Pepper,” I muttered under my breath.

I ran into the living room and as soon as she saw me, Pepper leapt into my arms, grumbling and complaining.

“What in the hell is
that
?” Calder asked, eyeing her suspiciously.

I stroked Pepper’s head gently. “This is my cat, Pepper.” As if on cue, she hissed in his direction. Still petting her, I murmured, “Good girl.”

He continued to stare at my cat as though she had three heads. “Are you sure it’s not a demon from Hell? She scratched the shit out of my arm and her eyes are evil.”

Pepper growled at him, her ears flattening back.

“Actually, I was just thinking a few days ago that her eyes remind me of yours.” I clenched my teeth together to stop from laughing at the expression on his face. While I normally wouldn’t admit that I’d been thinking about his eyes, I couldn’t resist picking at him. I wanted to get under his skin the way he got under mine.

“So, is your neighbor going to feed her for you?” he asked.

I shook my head. “No way. Where I go, Pepper goes. I’m not leaving her here to be a snack for some nasty vampire.” Pepper hissed again. “See, she agrees.”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake, then get what you need. We have to get out of here.”

I waited until he left the apartment before I snickered under my breath. Then I gathered up everything I would need for my cat, with the exception of a litter box. No way was I transporting a used litter box, even if I emptied it first. Ick.

Pepper wasn’t thrilled with the idea of her pet carrier but kept her grumbling to a minimum. Apparently she used up all her violent energies on Calder. I hooked my purse and the bag that held her stuff over my shoulder and lugged it all out the door.

I met Calder halfway down the stairs and he took the bags from me. When he tried to take Pepper’s carrier, she yowled at him.

“I’ll carry the cat,” I insisted.

He didn’t argue. Smirking, I followed him down the stairs. I stopped walking as soon as I realized that Shannon’s car was gone.

“Where’s Shannon?” I asked.

Calder paused in the midst of loading my bags in the back floorboard of an extended cab truck. “She left.”

I had a bad feeling I wouldn’t like the answer, but I still asked, “So how will I get to the safe house?”

He took Pepper’s carrier from me and she hissed at him. Growling under his breath, he placed it in the backseat. Calder shut the door and faced me, putting his hands on his hips. I tried to ignore the hot prickles on my scalp as I remembered running my fingers along the smooth, muscular curve.

I coughed to mask the crazy reaction he incited.

“I’m driving you,” he answered.

“Gee, that’s a nice offer, but I’ll have to say no,” I retorted, crossing my arms over my chest. “I think I made it perfectly clear yesterday that I don’t want to spend any more time alone with you.”

“Tough shit. Now, are you going to get in the truck willingly, or am I going to have to physically put your ass in my passenger seat? Either way is fine by me.”

I reached into my back pocket for my phone. “I’ll call Donna and Conner and ask them to send someone to give me a ride.”

Before I could even open my phone app, Calder’s hand shot out and snatched the device from my grip.

“Hey!”

Smiling smugly, he tucked it into his back pocket.

“Give that back!”

“Come get it.”

I shook my head. No way in hell was I falling for that. If I got close enough, he’d have me in that truck so fast my head would spin.

He mimicked my pose and crossed his arms as well. “Then I guess you’re stuck with me.”

I huffed out a frustrated sigh. I wanted to throttle Shannon, but I knew I would need her help disposing of the body if I snapped and killed Calder in a murderous rage.

“Fine.”

Calder nodded and reached out to open the passenger door for me. Shooting him a killing glare, I climbed inside. After he shut the door, I smiled grimly. If he thought it was going to be that easy, he was wrong.