Authors: Nicky Charles
Tags: #romance, #suspense, #paranormal, #supernatural, #werewolves, #series, #lycans, #law of the lycans
Oh, wait. The kid
was bringing his new girlfriend with him. Well, his plan would
still work. Damien could introduce the girl to everyone while he
just stood nearby and looked supportive.
The plan
did
work well for the first half of the night. He took up a
spot near his partner and allowed Damien and Beth to take centre
stage. Beth was shy and quiet, with soft dove grey eyes and long
brown hair pulled back from her face with a simple clip. Her
clothing wasn’t flashy or revealing but it did suit her slight
frame. Pretty in her own way, Reno decided, though not at all the
sort of girl Damien usually went for. For one thing there was an
air of innocence about her, which was the antithesis of his
partner. And when she spoke, her tones were soft and cultured
without a hint of cussing or crudeness.
Still, the kid
seemed head over heels about the female and was eager to introduce
her to everyone. Reno leaned against the bar, supposedly part of
the happy group. People called out greetings and he responded
automatically, all the while watching a certain table near the
dance floor.
Brandi sat there,
holding court as coworkers wished her well in her new position and
gave her silly cards and gifts. Laughter drifted across the room as
stories were told and good-natured teasing abounded.
Jenny had long
since given up clinging to his side, though exactly when she’d left
he couldn’t be sure. Apparently, at some point during the evening,
she’d become discouraged with his mono-syllabic responses to her
questions and the fact that he wouldn’t leave Damien’s side. Once,
he noticed her dancing with Al and mentally wished the two of them
luck before returning his attention to Brandi.
God, she was a
sight for sore eyes. Her red hair rippled down her back in
tantalizing curls. The green sweater dress she wore matched her
eyes perfectly while clinging seductively to her curves. Reno
shifted uncomfortably as the memory of how those curves felt caused
his pants to seem tighter than they should.
He went to take a
swig of his beer, realized it was empty, and ordered another.
“You okay, Reno?”
Damien nudged him and with reluctance he wrenched his gaze away
from Brandi and towards his partner.
“Yeah. Why you
asking?”
Damien nodded
towards the fresh beer in his hand. “You don’t usually have more
than a couple of drinks in a night.”
“So? I can handle
it. The beer doesn’t hit us as hard as it does a human; our
metabolism is too high. You know that.”
“Well, the
bartender doesn’t. He’s going to start wondering why you’re still
standing.”
“Oh.” Reno
blinked. He’d actually forgotten to keep count. It was a stupid
rookie mistake which just went to prove how off-kilter he was about
Brandi leaving.
A platter with a
large burger and a serving of fries was shoved into his hands.
“Here, eat this so it looks like you’re using the food to absorb
some of the alcohol. I have to take Beth home but I’ll be back in a
little while. Don’t get into trouble while I’m gone.”
“Bye, Reno. It was
so nice to meet you.” Beth gave him a shy smile, her voice barely
audible over the din of the bar. She flicked a glance towards
Brandi and then back at him. “Things always work out. Don’t
worry.”
Reno shook her
proffered hand, noting how small and delicate it looked in his.
What was she talking about? What ‘things’ would work out? Surely in
the space of a couple of hours, she hadn’t realized that he was...?
Nah, of course not.
He looked at Beth
speculatively and saw she was studying him, a faint twinkle in her
eye as if she found something humorous. “You and Damien are a lot
alike, you know. Prickly and gruff on the outside but inside you’re
just—”
Damien interrupted
her. He was glancing about as if wondering who might be listening
in on the conversation, though given the general level of noise it
was highly unlikely anyone would hear the soft spoken girl.
“Ah...Beth. This might not be the best place to discuss
your...er...”
She laughed
softly, then stood on tiptoe to brush her lips against Damien’s
cheek. “All right. I’ll keep your little secret.”
Damien tucked a
strand of hair behind her ear, a thoroughly love-struck look about
him. Interlacing their fingers, he led her away.
Reno took a moment
to watch their progress to the door. Damien kept Beth tucked to his
side, their heads close together. She said something that made him
laugh and in response he stroked her cheek before pulling her even
closer. She was a tiny thing, barely up to his shoulder and looked
too young to have hooked up with someone as experienced as Damien.
Reno wondered how long their relationship would last—Damien and
fidelity weren’t exactly best friends—then decided it was none of
his business.
Someone jostled
him and he realized he still had the platter of food in his hand.
Glancing about, he located an empty table and made his way there,
making a show of being slightly tipsy. He’d be damned if he messed
up and a DC officer had to explain away his drinking behaviour at a
bar, he’d never live it down.
Slouching in a
dark corner, he began to eat. The food was like greasy sawdust in
his mouth and he sought to distract himself from the taste by
watching the guest of honour, or at least that’s what he told
himself.
Brandi was
leaving. It was just a change in departments but once a DC officer
went to Casual Incidents it was only a matter of time before they
left for good. A twice yearly visit to go over territorial reports
would be the sum total of her contact with Headquarters, and if he
was on a case, he might not see her at all!
His gut lurched at
the idea and he set the burger down, unable to eat any more. This
was ridiculous. There was no reason for the news to hit him this
hard. He and Brandi didn’t get along. If anything, her leaving
should be a relief, right?
Reno forced
himself to think of all of their conflicts; the arguments, the
sniping at each other, the Langstaff case; now there was a
situation to put their relationship in perspective. Sure she’d been
sympathetic that first night, but afterwards her report had nearly
ruined his career, hadn’t it?
Folding his arms,
he leaned back in his chair and nodded. Yeah, the Langstaff hearing
had been brutal, not only because he’d condemned himself but
because of the betrayal he’d felt on her part. For weeks afterwards
he’d growled bitterly over her actions until the captain had
literally knocked some sense into him, showing him how Brandi had
soft-soaped certain points in her report. Apparently it could have
been much more damaging.
Reno rubbed his
neck, having forgotten that point. Huh. Maybe Langstaff didn’t give
him a reason to celebrate her leaving. The rift between them had
seemed insurmountable since then, though. She glared at him
whenever they met and griped about his minor infractions of the
rules. It was as if she went out of her way to keep him angry and
at a distance.
He clamped his
mouth shut. If she wanted to hold a grudge, it was her choice.
Still... A muscle worked in his jaw as he drummed his fingers on
the table. She was leaving and he might never see her again. An
overpowering urge was driving him to seek her out one last
time.
She was on the
dance floor now. He narrowed his eyes and watched as she moved from
partner to partner. His hands clenched tighter each time a new male
held her, his wolf suddenly feeling territorial.
He subdued the
beast as best he could. Everyone’s having a farewell dance with
her. It means nothing, he reminded the creature.
Then why not
us
, the wolf queried.
Don’t we deserve a turn? One last
chance to talk, to try to make things right?
Reno grimaced. He
hated dancing, but the beast was right. This might be his last
chance to talk to her. Maybe he’d just mosey on over and join
in.
Before he could
judge the wisdom of his actions, he was making his way through the
crowds. Honky-tonk music blared over the speakers and a large
number of patrons were dancing between the tables as well as on the
official dance floor.
“Excuse me. Pardon
me.” Reno kept his eyes fixed on his quarry. She seemed to be
moving deeper into the crowd. He took a moment to determine her
trajectory before skirting around the edge of the room until she
was right in front of him.
“My turn.” He
tapped Bradley Owens from Computer Tech Support on the shoulder—the
man was still as much of a lech as ever—and cut in before a protest
was raised.
“Reno?” Brandi
looked up at him in surprise.
He flashed her his
best lady-killer smile and nodded his head. “At your service.”
She inhaled deeply
as if to speak, and then slugged him in the gut!
Chapter
13
Brandi couldn’t
believe it. Here she was, enjoying a night that was in her honour
and Reno Smith had the nerve to approach her. Not only approach
her, but dance with her! Without even thinking she’d slugged him as
hard as she could in the stomach and then tried to walk away.
Try
being the operative word. Not only did the man have a
rock hard stomach—as evidenced by her now aching hand—his reflexes
were fast, too. She hadn’t even taken one step before he’d locked
his hand onto her arm, preventing her escape. Then he’d spun her
around so she was facing him again, the speed of the action leaving
her almost breathless.
“Not so fast, Miss
Jones. Everyone else has been getting a dance. Why not me?” He used
the hated name while tugging her into his arms and proceeding to
sway back and forth in a vague semblance of dancing. Unfortunately,
a fast song was playing at the moment so they stood out like a sore
thumb and people were staring at them with knowing smiles.
“Because I like
everyone else,” she hissed. “I
don’t
like you.” Her body
tingled everywhere they touched. A restless ache grew within her
and her thoughts clouded. For over two years she’d studiously
avoided touching him and now the rush of sensation almost
overwhelmed her. Her wolf, sensing Reno, pushed to be free and
Brandi had to fight to keep the animal in check.
“Now, Brandi,
you’re going to hurt my feelings if you keep on a-talkin’ like
that.” Reno looked down at her with a mocking smile, his slight
western drawl more apparent and more annoyingly appealing than
usual.
She felt her heart
skip a beat and focussed on keeping her breathing even. Damn the
man. Wasn’t it bad enough that he always gave her a hard time and
dissed her chosen profession? He haunted her dreams, killed her
interest in every other male, made her wolf unmanageable, messed up
her thinking... Did he have to ruin this night for her too?
“I’d like to hurt
more than your feelings.” Brandi glared at him and pushed against
his chest, trying once again to get away while ignoring the excited
whimpers of her inner wolf. The darn beast always acted up when
Reno was around. It was a wonder no one had caught on to the fact
yet.
In response, he
firmed his grip around her waist and leaned in close, his nose
brushing against her ear, the gesture reminiscent of their first
encounter at the Academy. He whispered to her softly. “You say the
sweetest things.”
She pushed away
the memory of that ill-fated first time and jutted out her chin.
“Back off, Reno. I mean it.”
“Calm down. I just
want to talk to you.” He loosened his grip. His voice was
unexpectedly serious this time.
She shot him a
suspicious glance. What was he up to? “Talk about what?”
He looked around
and, finding what he was looking for, led her off the dance floor.
Guiding her to a relatively quiet spot between a candy bar machine
and dust-laden plastic plant, Reno positioned himself so his body
shielded them from view. She sneezed as some of the dust from the
fake fronds rose in the air when she brushed against them.
Reno cleared his
throat, glanced over his shoulder as if to ensure that no one was
watching, and then finally spoke. “I want to talk about us.”
“Us? There is no
us. We don’t even get along.” She gave a deliberately vague answer
while trying to stem the wave of panic and hope that flared inside
her. Did he know about the bond? And if he did, how had he figured
it out?
“I know we don’t
get along and it bothers me.” He leaned against the wall with one
arm and looked down at her with a puzzled expression. Was he
picking up on her feelings? Brandi took a deep breath and forced
herself to remain calm. From the sound of things, his choice of
words didn’t mean what she feared. And that was good, wasn’t
it?
She eyed him
carefully, trying to determine his true intent. Had he purposely
struck that pose, looming over her to show he was dominant?
Straightening, she lifted her chin, trying to appear taller and
fell back on her usual defence when he was around, which was to
aggravate him. “If it bothers you so much, why do you always act
like such an asshole?”
He opened his
mouth and seemed about to issue a retort when he stopped, clamping
his mouth tightly shut. A muscle worked in his jaw and he paused a
moment before replying in a surprisingly reasonable tone. “See?
That’s what I mean. Whenever we get together we end up fighting. I
think it’s time we stopped.”
“Why?” She
narrowed her eyes. Reno Smith wasn’t the type just to make nice on
a whim. He must want something.
“I don’t know.” He
rubbed his neck and shifted his feet. “I guess I’m just getting
tired of it.”
“Well, it won’t be
a problem anymore. I’m leaving and going to Casual Incidents so we
won’t be seeing each other anymore.” While she proclaimed the news
airily, a part of her ached at the very thought of being away from
him and her wolf howled in despair.