Rogue Shifter [High-Country Shifters 3] (14 page)

Malik leaned his chest on her back and kissed her neck. How he had the sensitivity to know that one touch made her fall completely in love with him, she had no idea.

He pulled out, and she almost whimpered from the loss. Having him wrapped around her body was the ultimate high.

“I bet if you put on your suit, and I begrudgingly put on my briefs, we can get clean in the water.”

“That sounds divine.”

* * * *

Amy floated around the hotel in a haze for the next week. The night shift manager had taken ill, so she split his shift with the third manager. Only once had she been able to visit her precious animals—the ones housed in cages, not the ones disguised as men. As for them, they’d stop in her office for a few minutes each morning then went off and did their thing. Cavon still worked three days a week at Martins, but he’d started his twice-weekly classes to get his certification to lead people into the wilderness. She couldn’t have been more proud of him.

The night manager had finally called an hour ago to say he was healthy enough to come back to work. She was so tired it was even hard to rejoice. As soon she got her desk in order, she called Malik’s room, but he didn’t answer, so she called over at Martins Sporting Goods store and asked to speak with Cavon.

“Von North speaking.”

It took a moment for her to realize that Cavon must have shortened his name to Von. Where he got the last name she had no idea. “Hey, it’s Amy.”

“Oh, hi. I miss you.”

Wasn’t that nice to hear. “I miss you, too.” She knew he was busy and didn’t want to keep him on the line too long. “My night manager is coming back to work tonight and I could use a little company. Are you and Malik up for going out to eat?”

“I know I would. Did you ask my brother?”

“He wasn’t in his room, but I’ll leave a note for him.”

“Great. I get off work at five. How does six sound?”

“Perfect.” That would give her time to shower, change the sheets on the bed, and maybe even catch a catnap. She chuckled at the image of a cat napping. Her two men never seemed to rest.

As soon as the evening manager stopped by to tell her he was reporting for work, she wrote a note for Malik and went upstairs to deliver it. Since she didn’t know at which restaurant they’d like to eat, she told them she’d meet them in the hotel lobby at six.

Amy was happy she only lived about ten blocks from the hotel. Not having to find a parking place worked out well as the tourists sometimes overwhelmed the town.

Once she got home, she took a long, hot shower and let her mind wander to her men. If she closed her eyes, she could almost imagine them soaping up her body and rubbing their hands everywhere. Knowing Cavon, he’d be playing with her ass, probing her with a soapy finger while Malik would definitely be trying to stimulate her pussy as he tweaked her nipples. When her skin eventually pruned, she knew it was time to get out and get ready for her hot date.

Tonight she decided to reward them and go braless. She debated not wearing any panties, but sitting might be uncomfortable. Once she was happy with her look, she enjoyed her walk back to the hotel. The air was clean and crisp and helped invigorate her.

Inside, Cavon and Malik were waiting for her. She couldn’t have asked for two more handsome men.

“Hey!” She rushed toward them.

Cavon caught her first and lifted her up to his lips. His kiss was filled with enthusiasm. “You look stunning.”

“Thank you.”

“It’s my turn.” Malik tugged her away from Cavon, bent down and kissed her thoroughly.

Good thing she wore panties. It helped absorb all those juices.

“You two have any recommendations of where you’d like to eat?”

“How about the Harmony Café? I went there for lunch with Cal, and it was good.”

She often ate there for lunch. “Great.”

As they exited the hotel, Jeremy and his dad were coming out of the bookstore next door, which the dad owned. He waved and came toward them. “Hey, Malik.”

They stopped and waited for them. “Hello, Mr. Mitchell.” Amy hadn’t spoken with the man in a while, but when he’d helped her find a book, he’d been extremely knowledgeable. It was hard to believe he was a lion shifter. He was anything but an alpha hero. Maybe that’s why he ran a shop that had everything from crystals to books on how to be a psychic.

“Malik, Jeremy here has been telling me how much you’ve helped him.” He wrapped an arm around his son’s shoulders, but from the way the boy tensed, it wasn’t something he wanted anyone to see. “I just wanted to thank you. I’ve seen a huge improvement in his attitude, and I have you to thank.”

“Always nice to help out a fellow shifter.” At least he kept his voice low when someone passed them by.

If the world got wind shifters really existed, this town would turn into a veritable zoo, and it wouldn’t be good.

Jeremy stepped away from his father’s grasp, and the dad stepped closer. “Say, listen. I happen to have an empty warehouse and thought perhaps you might like to help train the boys some more. I’ve spoken with Richie’s and Darren’s parents and they’re willing to pay you for your time.”

Amy held her breath waiting to see how he’d answer.

Malik smiled. “That is incredibly generous of you to offer, but I’m trying to get away from all the fighting. You know what it’s like to have to be on guard twenty-four-seven. If you get careless even once, someone might die. Sorry. I just need a break for now. I’m sure you can find someone else to help the kids.”

From the way Jeremy’s stomach caved in, he’d been begging his father to ask Malik to help them. The poor kid acted like he’d been betrayed. She couldn’t blame him. He worshipped Malik.

The father glanced to the ground. “I understand. I came from there. It’s why I left.” He looked up again. “If you ever change your mind, the offer is always open.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

Those two turned around and headed down the street. She didn’t want to harp on Malik, but damn, she wished she understood what just happened.

Cavon nudged him. “Hey, bro, why did you say no?”

Thank you, Cavon, for asking.

Malik shrugged. “What I told Jeremy’s dad was the truth. I know what would happen if I did train them. These kids would want some practical experience. That would lead to some real wolf confrontations, and I’m trying to take a break from that.”

She couldn’t stand there and say nothing. “Malik, you are amazing with kids. Don’t tell me you didn’t love helping them.”

“Hey, I admit it was a high.”

“But?”

“Now is not the time to delve back into the fray.”

Gently, she extricated herself from his grasp. “You know, I just remembered I forgot to tell the night manager about this group of late arrivals. You two go on without me. We’ll catch up another time.”

She couldn’t get away from Malik fast enough. He made her head spin.

Malik watched Amy walk away. He had to go after her. Something wasn’t right, and he wanted to explain his reasoning.

Cavon blocked his path. “Leave her be. Come on. Let’s get something to eat. We need to talk.”

He didn’t like that holier than thou tone. He could smell a lecture coming on. “Why?”

“Because you’re an idiot. You’re stupider than a wolf.”

That was a low blow. “Why?”

“We’ll talk inside. Give Amy some space.”

Malik wasn’t sure he wanted to be the subject of an inquisition, but he did need to understand why Amy gave that bogus excuse to get away from him. Cavon always did have better people skills than he did.

They crossed the street and entered the Harmony Café. The waitress told them to pick a seat, and Cavon smartly led them to a back booth.

At least his brother waited until the waitress came over and took their drink orders before he started his lecture. If they’d served whiskey, he might have ordered that. As it was, his only choice was a soda or a beer. He chose the latter.

After she delivered the drinks and took their food order, Malik leaned forward. “Tell me, oh wise one, how I’ve messed up.”

Cavon shook his head. “She’s not going to buy into you playing games all the time. If this was a fling to her, she might think it’s cute, but she’s a forever girl. At some point she’ll want to see you for who you really are, which is someone who is naturally gifted at security and being an instructor.”

“I need a break.”

“Your break is going be from Amy, then.” He leaned forward. “Which, if you’re too stupid to notice, affects me, too!”

“Shh.”

Cavon drank some of his beer. “You used to be ambitious.”

That was true. He relentlessly hunted the damned wolves and did everything in his power to protect the people of Anterra. “Like I keep telling you, it got old after a while.”

“Maybe you could train people to work for Will and Gage. That way you wouldn’t have to fight.”

He had wondered how those two would be able to run a company and patrol the border. They had no experience. They needed closet shifters, so to speak, to be ever vigilant. “That’s their job.” He leaned his elbows on the table. “Look, if Amy doesn’t like me for who I am, then I guess we can’t be together.” His gut soured at the possibility.

“That’s where you are wrong, bro. She wants you for who you are. It’s you who doesn’t know who you are. She should dump you. You’re messed up.” Cavon guzzled the rest of his beer. “Do you see yourself with Amy in, say, a year from now?”

That was a stupid question. “If she’d have me, hell yes.”

“Then why do you keep saying that you’re on vacation?”

“It’s an expression.”

Cavon pressed his lips together, a sure sign he was losing patience. “I’m betting Amy thinks you’ll be trotting right over to Anterra any day now and leaving her.”

Was that true? Is that why she left in such a hurry? His gut soured. “I hadn’t thought about that. She should know I have no intention of leaving. I’m through with that life.”

His brother must have sensed he wasn’t going to budge on his decision and changed the topic to his job at Martins Sporting Goods store. At least Cavon wasn’t putting himself in a position that would ever require him to fight. Malik glanced out the window.

“She isn’t coming,” Cavon said.

“I didn’t say she was.”

“Then why do you keep turning around every time the bell above the door chimes?

Caught
.

“Hopeful maybe?”

Cavon waved for the check and pulled out cash. “Dinner’s on me.”

“Thanks.” It had begun to bother him that he was using Lara’s money. He knew it wasn’t endless and that he should leave some for other shifters to enjoy their time on Earth.

It was not quite dark when they left the restaurant, and he wasn’t in the mood to sit in the bar lounge or watch television. He needed to go for a run. As the two of them reached the front of the hotel, he motioned Cavon to go in.

“I’m going to walk around for a while.”

“Don’t go scaring any tourists.”

His mouth opened. That had crossed his mind only one time. In the end, he decided to take a run in the forest. “I won’t unless I run into them in the woods.”

Cavon had a damn smirk on his face as if his brother knew he needed to get some frustration out of his system. “And don’t go knocking on Amy’s door.”

Shit
. That had been his second choice. “I wasn’t planning to, but would it be so bad?”

Cavon slowly shook his head. He hadn’t felt so small since their dad had reprimanded him when he was ten.

“She needs some distance.”

“I’ll show her distance.”

He didn’t want to hear his brother’s response and trotted off. When he got near the gondola to go up to the top of the mountain, he jumped a fence, hoofed it up the hill about a hundred yards, and then shifted, hoping no one would see him.

Running all out got the blood flowing in his body. He’d forgotten how much he loved to sprint. Just because he could, he raced up a tree and scoped out the area. He didn’t sense any shifters but stayed for a few minutes to enjoy the view. He scurried down the tree and took off again. For at least an hour, he ran, climbed, chased anything that moved, and did everything he could to enjoy himself. His heart beat strong in his chest. The invigorating exercise helped chase away any of the doubts he might have about his future. He’d served his time in Anterra and was ready to live. Why couldn’t people understand that?

By the time he got back to the base of the mountain, shifted, and walked to the hotel, it was quite dark. When he arrived at the room, Cavon wasn’t there. He figured his brother was probably in the bar, but he wasn’t in the mood for his smugness. A shower and a good night’s sleep would do wonders for his mood. Tomorrow, he’d play some more.

Amy’s not going to buy into you playing games all the time.
His brother’s words haunted him, but his frustration at being backed into a corner made him angry. Why couldn’t she love him for being himself?
Love?
Is that what he wanted? Hell yes, but on his terms, damn it.