Blood Moon (Skye Morrison Vampire Series, #5.5) (8 page)

“Miss,” he cautioned, holding out one gloved hand to keep me from coming any closer, “you can’t be here.  This is a restricted site.  It’s not safe.”

Stopping a few feet from him, I crossed my arms over my chest and demanded to know who he was.  “This is my house.  What are you doing here?  I didn’t hire you.”

“Oh,” he answered in surprise.  “Are you Miss. St. James?”

Nodding my head, I watched as he motioned for me to stay put and went to retrieve a box beside one of their vehicles.

“I have some of your stuff,” he said, setting it at my feet.  “It was all we could salvage.  I’m afraid the rest is too far gone.  It’s not much, but some of it looked important.”

I glanced down at the box, completely surprised, before looking back up at him.  “Thank you, but what are you doing here?  I didn’t hire you to do this.”

Looking surprised himself, he apologized.  “I’m sorry, I thought you knew.  Miss. Morrison hired us to save what we could, then clear the rest.  The builders will be here in two weeks to start new construction.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” I shook my head, holding my hands up.  “New construction?  What the hell are you talking about?”

The man’s mouth opened and closed a few times, obviously at a loss for words.  “Um…I’d better have my boss to talk to you, Miss. St. James.  I just work here.  Hold on a sec while I go find him.”

“Please,” I sighed, putting my hands on my hips.  I wanted to know just what the hell was going on here.  I hadn’t authorized them to do this and I certainly hadn’t hired them to start building anything here.  My insurance check wouldn’t be released for months still.  Even then, I wouldn’t have enough to rebuild unless I secured a substantial loan from the bank.  The bulk of the payment was going to the lender to pay off the mortgage.

Turning my attention to the cardboard box the man had given me, I crouched down and peered inside.  On top was the charred remains of one of my roller derby photo albums.  Opening it, I flipped through the damaged pages and smiled when I realized most had made it.  The album was really special to me because it documented my first year on the derby circuit with my old team the Hardcore Hunnies.

Closing it, I set the album aside and pulled out a plastic bag full of soot-covered jewelry.  It was obvious from their condition that my jewelry box hadn’t made it, but I was grateful to still have them nonetheless.  The very last thing in the box was a small, blackened photo.  Licking my finger, I rubbed it over the front in an attempt to remove the soot, and I instantly stilled when I realized what I was holding.  With tears filling my eyes, I stood up and finished cleaning off the picture.  In my hand was my most prized possession, the only photo in existence of both my parents.  I sobbed as I stared down into my mother’s eyes, grateful to see them again.  The rest didn’t matter, now.  I could deal with all I’d lost now that I had the one thing that meant the most to me in my hands.

“Miss. St. James?”

Wiping my eyes, I clutched the picture to my chest as I turned and faced the foreman.  “Thank you for saving these for me,” I sniffed gratefully.

“I’m sorry there wasn’t more,” he answered, rubbing the back of his neck, “but we saved what we could.  Gary told me you didn’t know we’d be doing the clean up here?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“I just assumed Miss. Morrison would inform you.  She hired us last week after the police department gave the all clear on their investigation.”

“I haven’t spoken to her,” I admitted, a bit ashamed.

“Well, she and a Mr. Rhys are footing the bill for the cleanup and new construction.  The building crew will be here in two weeks to start work on the new townhouse.”

“I can’t believe she’s doing this,” I said, more to myself than him.  I honestly couldn’t believe she was doing all this for me and I was starting to feel a little bad about the current state of our relationship.  It was obvious she was doing everything she could to right the wrongs of her father and the vampires who burned our houses down.

“Miss. Morrison was very determined to get this done as soon as possible,” the foreman said, lifting his yellow hard hat to scratch his balding head.  “She even paid extra so we’d work on the weekends too.”  Digging in his shirt pocket, he pulled out two business cards and held them out to me.  “That there is my card.  You give me a call if you have any questions, though we won’t be here much longer.  I figure we’ll have the land completely cleared in the next four days.  That other card there is for a man named Bruce Biggins; he’s going to be the new construction foreman.”

I was at a complete loss for words, but managed to thank the man before he returned to work.  I needed to call Skye and talk to her, but I didn’t know if I was completely ready…or if she’d even want to talk to me after the way I treated her.  Deciding to give it a few days of thought, I put my charred belongings back in the box and headed to the Charger.

The thirty minute drive south to Dean’s house was filled with the renewed hope that everything was going to be okay.  Skye and her boyfriend were taking care of rebuilding my house and I had a guaranteed place to live at Dean’s until it was finished.  I knew I had a long way to go emotionally, but I was getting there and I had real hope for my future.

Nikki

After rounding the final corner on the long dirt driveway, my eyes widened as I took in the mass of cars packed onto the property.  There had to have been at least seventy vehicles.  As I pulled up in front of the house, Jojo waved at me from the porch and jogged over.

“Hey, Nikki!  You’re here early,” she said with a smile.  “Dean said you wouldn’t get off until ten.”

Shutting the car door, I motioned down to my leg. “My clumsy ass dropped a pitcher and got cut on the glass.”

“Oh no,” Jojo worried, looking down at it.  “Is it bad?”

“No,” I shook my head, “just barely grazed me.  Still, Dan gave me the rest of the night off.”

“Well, good.  You’re just in time for the pre-dinner festivities.  Come on in and I’ll introduce you to everyone.  Most of the guys are barbecuing out back, so it’s mainly just us girls inside.”

I was suddenly nervous to meet everyone and silently wondered if I’d be able to handle the crowd. I briefly questioned if it was too late to change my mind before Jojo put her arm around my shoulders and led me in, putting an end to my potential getaway.

“Look who I found!” she called loudly as I shut the door behind us.

Holly squealed in excitement as she and DeeDee rushed over.  “You’re here!”

“I am.” I shrugged my shoulders, a semi-fake smile plastered to my face.  I’d noticed the fifteen or so women over their shoulder, all watching me with various looks on their faces.  Some seemed welcoming, while others indifferent; a few seemed downright displeased.  I couldn’t imagine why, though.  I’d never met them before, so they shouldn’t have had anything against me. 
Maybe it’s because you’re human
, I reminded myself.

DeeDee grabbed one arm as Holly grabbed the other and I was dragged further into the room.  “Ladies, this is Nikki,” DeeDee introduced.  “She’s the bad-ass cook I was telling you about earlier.”

“So, you’re the human who’s been staying with my alpha,” a voice said from the back and the group of women parted as a tall, beautiful brunette approached.  I’d noticed when I came in that she was one of the few who were giving me the stink eye. 
Great.  This should be fun.
 

Holly’s grip on my arm tightened as she came to a stop in front of me.  Her green eyes scanned me slowly, head to toe and back, as she took me in.  I’d met a lot of women in my twenty-seven years on this earth and knew that look well; bitch was sizing me up. 

“That’s me,” I tried to smile as I held out my hand in greeting.  “And you are?”  I was so not in the mood for drama this evening.  I briefly contemplated hiding out in my room, but didn’t think I’d be able to get away with it.

The woman cocked one perfectly manicured eyebrow at me as she put her hands on her shapely hips.  At that moment, the room went eerily quiet as all the ladies watched us.  “Unimpressed,” she purred indifferently.

There was a collective intake of breath as her statement resonated around the group.  Everyone silently watched us for a few seconds, almost like they were waiting for a fight. 

My eyebrows rose in astonishment.  She was really playing the bitch card, which was fine by me.  I didn’t normally take shit from anyone, and wasn’t about to start now, so I dug down deep and dusted my own inner bitch off. Tilting my head, I gave her the same once over she’d given me. “Likewise,” I said as I crossed my arms under my breasts and raised an eyebrow.  “I’ve had puppies throw me fiercer shade.”

I heard a few gasps sound, followed closely by several hushed chuckles.  The woman’s eyes narrowed in anger as she growled loudly and started toward me.  Thankfully, one woman stepped in-between us in an attempt to ease the tension. 

“Lighten up, Roxy,” she near-whispered as she put her hand on Roxy’s chest.  “Alpha told us to play nice with her.”

“Whatever,” Roxy muttered with narrowed eyes as she distastefully scanned my body once more.  “You’d better watch your back, human.”  She allowed her friend to lead her back to the couch as DeeDee squeezed my hand and steered me away.

“Holy shit,” she whispered as we walked toward the back door, “that was so freaking intense.”

“Tell me about it.” I frowned. “I thought she was going to hit me.”

“Me too,” Holly breathed then smiled at me.  “You stood your own, though.  That’s super impressive for a human.”

“You were holding my arms,” I whispered as Jojo opened the sliding glass door.  “I couldn’t run even if I’d wanted to.”

The three girls laughed amusedly as we stepped onto the back porch. 

My eyes immediately widened in shock as I took in the scene before us. There were men everywhere. Some barbecuing, some at the picnic tables playing poker, but the majority were watching from the sidelines as two men bare-knuckle boxed in a makeshift ring.  The whooping and hollering from the crowd as each man landed blows on the other was near-deafening.

“Whoa,” I breathed in shock as I scanned the spacious backyard.  I’d never in my life seen anything this crazy.  “Is it always like this?”

“Yeah, the pack likes to blow off a little steam before a big run,” Jojo chuckled.

I heard a loud smack and turned just in time to see the losing fighter go down.  The crowd went wild as he was hoisted on shoulders and carried off to the sidelines.  As soon as he was clear, another man stepped into the ring and quickly took his shirt off, ready to take his place.  I gasped as I recognized Dylan and then turned to the girls questioningly.

“Don’t worry, Nik,” Holly laughed.  “They live for this shit.  They think it’s fun.”

I blinked at her a few times; then shrugged my shoulders.  “Men can be so weird sometimes.”

I got the feeling I was being watched and quickly scanned the scene, looking for the source.  There, standing by the huge barbecue pit and manning the grill, totally topless and looking seriously sexy as hell, was Dean.  His dark eyes stared into mine as a small, secret smile played on his lips.

“Someone’s got their eye on you,” DeeDee sang loudly as she gently elbowed me.

Startled by her observation, I broke eye contact with Dean and turned to face her.  “I’m not a girl who normally blushes, but if you keep at it, I’m going to be beet red in two seconds flat,” I whispered, fighting a small smile.  “You wouldn’t want to mortify a girl, now would you, Dee?”

“You like him!” Holly gasped, mouth agape, as she grabbed my arm and pulled me to the large patio table a few feet away.

“Shh,” I shushed her, pulling her down to sit beside me.  When they were all seated, I put my forearms on the table and leaned in for privacy.  “I don’t know, okay?  I don’t know what to call what I’m feeling for him.  Appreciation?  Extreme gratitude?”

“The way you were looking at him, those aren’t the words I’d use,” Jojo chuckled.

“You were looking a little lusty there, lady.” Holly smiled.

I sighed and silently met each of their eyes as I indecisively chewed on my bottom lip.  These three girls were the only people I knew who had lived through an event comparable to mine.  I needed to talk to someone about my feelings and if anyone on this earth could understand, it was them.

“I…I kind of cuddled with him last night on the couch…and I initiated it.”

DeeDee, Jojo, and Holly exchanged surprised looks.

“Wow,” DeeDee breathed out.

“That was fast,” Jojo smiled.

“Good for you!” Holly beamed.

“It felt so…natural…safe,” I whispered, struggling for the right words, “and I did it without thought.  It just happened.”

“But now you’re freaked out?” Jojo asked gently as she put her hand on top of mine.

“Kind of,” I nodded, and then shook my head, “but not because it’s him…because I just lived through something absolutely horrific and I don’t understand how I could so readily make physical contact with another man…you know, like that.”

Jojo tsked and sighed as she patted my hand.  “Honey, we all heal differently and in different ways.  There’s not a guidebook for it. We just go on with our lives and do the best we can.”

“And, Dean is a good man,” Holly said with understanding, softly stroking my hair.

“I know he is.” I nodded, looking over at her.  “He’s wonderful.”

“Then why question it, dear?” DeeDee asked with a smile.  “Do what makes you feel comfortable.”

I chewed on my lip, deep in thought, as I considered her words.  “But how will I know if I’m ready—”

“To cuddle?” Jojo supportively jumped in. 

I nodded and she smiled knowingly.

“You answered your own question last night.  Dean obviously makes you feel safe and that is an exceedingly rare feeling after the trauma you just experienced.  Don’t question it. Just do what feels natural to you and let whatever develops from your friendship develop on its own,” she said gently.  “You know, I questioned myself, too, when Primo and I started spending time together, but I quickly realized that he is nothing like the men who hurt me.  I felt like he had my back and no one could ever hurt me again.  That’s when I knew I was ready to take the next step with him.”

I smiled over at Jojo, feeling genuine happiness for her.  After living such a horrible life with her previous pack, she deserved the safety of this one and the love and support of a good man like Primo.

“I hate to butt in here, ladies, but someone seriously hasn’t been able to take his eyes off Nikki since she came outside,” Holly whispered intently across the table to DeeDee and Jojo.

Their brows rose in surprise as they both leaned in closer to us.  “Seriously?” they asked in unison.

“Seriously,” Holly nodded.

“What does that mean?” I asked.  The way they were talking so intently about it, I figured something was wrong.

Jojo turned her head to watch the little boys playing tag not too far from where Dean stood.  Discretely, she chanced a glance at him, and then returned her attention to the boys before finally looking back at Holly.  “Oh, my word,” she breathed in surprise.

“Uh-huh!” Holly nodded her head and grinned.  “Told you so.”

“Wow,” DeeDee smiled, looking impressed.

“Uh, hello,” I said, patting the table between us two times to get their attention.  “What does that mean?  Is something wrong?”

They silently stared at each other for a few heartbeats, while my own heart seemed to stop.  Finally, DeeDee spoke up.  “No, nothing’s wrong.  Something seems to be right, though.”

I shook my head in confusion, not understanding.

“It’s just that…we’ve never seen our alpha give any woman more than a passing glance,” Jojo whispered, “and we’ve been here almost a year.”  I felt my cheeks redden as she continued.  “The fact that he can’t take his eyes off you speaks volumes.”

“That must have been one hell of a cuddle you gave him last night,” Holly beamed, then slightly nodded her head toward Dean.  “Seems you’ve definitely tamed that beast.”

I covered my eyes with my hand, slightly embarrassed by their assertion, as I laughed along with them.  “It was just a cuddle, I swear.”

They laughed even harder and I risked a glance over at Dean.  He was smiling and laughing along with his men while he pulled the barbecue off the grill.  As he handed off the tray to the guy closest to him, his eyes flicked up and caught mine.  My breath immediately stilled as he smiled at me.  I noticed then that it wasn’t the smile he gave everyone else; this one seemed to be reserved just for me.  I felt myself blush again as I returned his smile with one of my own before turning my attention back to the girls.

“See what we mean?” Holly winked.

“Ooh!  Roxy’s going to be so pissed,” Jojo said gleefully as she stood up from the table.  “This calls for a drink!  We need to celebrate.”

“You guys dislike her that much?” I asked, laughing as I stood as well.

“Uh, hello!” Holly giggled, rolling her eyes.  “You’ve met the bitch, right?”

“Touché,” I smiled, tipping my imaginary hat to her.

As we walked in the back door, I saw Dean’s kitchen was buzzing with activity.  The counters were now full of potluck items that had been taken out of the refrigerator and I watched as girls loaded up their arms with paper plates, plastic ware, condiments, and cold dishes.

“You,” Roxy called out gruffly as she snapped her fingers at me before picking up a big bowl of potato salad, “make yourself useful already.  Just because you’re the alpha’s new pet doesn’t mean you’re immune from kitchen duties.  We all pitch in and that means you will too.  Grab a fucking bowl and follow me.”

Holly elbowed me, rolled her eyes while giving me a knowing look, and walked past me.  I took a deep, calming breath and fought the very real urge to flip Roxy off as I went to the bar and loaded my arms up with two large salad bowls and a basket of bread.

As we exited the back door, Roxy whistled loudly, drawing everyone’s attention.  “It’s time to get your grub on, boys!” she called out in a happy singsong.

I watched as some of the men quickly moved the six enormous picnic tables together as others took off their shirts and laid them out on the ground under some of the larger trees.  As I began to set my stuff down, a man covered in tattoos and sporting a tall green Mohawk came up to me and helped lighten my load.