Chapter Three #2
With the horrid images of him possessing another woman flashing in her head, and before she even realized what was happening, she’d stepped up to him to grab the lapels of his suit jacket.
Instantly, attraction ignited into an inferno of magnetism and need.
Fires stoked by the flames of jealousy. Yet, she wasn’t the only one falling into the abyss.
Tavish gripped a handful of her long hair, pulling her head back.
He grazed his teeth down her throat, scraping over the pulse that pounded erratically.
Burying her fingers in his hair, she didn’t even hesitate when he sealed his lips over hers.
Kissing him was like touching a live wire, the electric shock traveled through her body until it touched her soul.
Her wolf howled in her head, surrendering to her mate.
If she had her way, she’d be presenting her backside to him right then and there, whining for him to mount her.
It was only through sheer force of will that she broke the kiss and flung herself out of his reach. Panting like a bitch in heat, she stared at him in wide-eyed wonder. She shouldn’t have done that. Kisses like that could never happen again if she wanted to maintain her sanity.
“I don’t want a divorce anymore.”
“W-what?”
He closed the distance she had put between them. “I don’t want to divorce you anymore.”
Mairi took a deep breath in an attempt to steady her nerves.
“You’re not staying,” she reminded him. Desperation clouded her tone. She had to keep repeating it because if she started to believe in happily ever after, her heart would be torn to shreds when he left.
“Looks like I am, until I convince you to come home with me. What are the odds that the woman I married by proxy, as a favor to my gran, turned out to be the one woman destined for me?”
Mairi shook her head. “I will not let you break my heart again.”
He cocked his head, looking confused. “Again? What do you mean, mo leannan?”
“I am not your sweetheart.”
The door to the storeroom was suddenly yanked open, and Keegan glanced between them.
“I thought for sure I’d find you two fucking,” she mused. “Or at least kissing. Also possibly killing one another, although not death by orgasm.”
“Oh my God,” Mairi muttered. “Get. Out.”
“Okay, okay,” her cousin replied with her hands up. “Take all the time you need, and know I will help you bury the body.”
She closed the door once more, just as Tavish let out a little chuckle.
“You wouldn’t be laughing if I told you she was serious.”
“Oh, I have no doubt she would.” He picked up her hand and entwined their fingers. “Listen, we have a lot to talk about.”
“We do?”
“Mmm-hmm.” He brought her knuckles up and placed a soft kiss upon them. It was hard to think straight when his warm breath caressed over her hand. “Lots of private stuff.”
“But ... but you’re leaving.
“I’m not,” he countered. “Not until you agree to come home with me.”
She cocked her head. “But you didn’t want a mate.”
“I thought I didn’t want a mate, but something in me is telling me to stay—”
“It’s your wolf,” she interjected quickly. “He’s feeling the bond. It’s not you, per say. Just him.”
“Maybe it’s my wolf, maybe not.” He shrugged. “However, I do think this pull between us needs to be explored.”
She searched his eyes, trying to discover whatever game he was playing.
This wasn’t the Tavish MacAlary she’d overheard years ago.
The man who basically called her a gold-digger and a slut who’d sleep with him to get what she wanted.
That Tavish was missing. In his place stood a man who had determination in his eyes, not mockery or cruelty like she expected.
“I have to get back to work,” she said because she couldn’t think of anything else. She had no idea what to say to him.
“All right.” He stepped back, giving her a little breathing room. “Have dinner with me tonight.”
“Is that an invitation or a command?”
“Both?”
She bit her bottom lip. “I don’t think so.”
“Command, then.”
“Still no. We can talk tomorrow.”
“Why not tonight?”
“Because I need breathing space!” she snapped, then was instantly contrite. “Sorry. That came out strong. Give me tonight to think things over. Please.”
He inclined his head. “Very well. I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”
Tavish opened the door and gestured for her to go first, then followed her from the back room to the shop. Keegan was making coffee and there were two other people in line, so Mairi hurried to help the customers. She deliberately didn’t look at him as he left the store.
When the last customer was helped, Keegan laid down a folder on the counter in front of her.
“Is that—”
“Yep.”
The solidarity hand Keegan placed on her shoulder gave her the emotional support she needed as she opened the folder and read the settlement agreement.
He had signed everywhere he was supposed to, and she noticed he made sure she received nothing monetarily from him.
Not that she wanted his money. She had her own inheritance from when her gran died shortly after their crappy wedding.
With nothing keeping her in Scotland, she had come to America.
“Before you sign that, are you sure this is what you want to do? It seems like he wants you. Maybe he’s seen the light of how wonderful finding your moon-fated mate can be. You can move back to Scotland and become a titled Lady.”
“I’ve never wanted any of that. Besides, you don’t understand.”
“Then explain to me, why you wouldn’t jump at the chance to be with him.”
Mairi sighed and hung her head for a moment. “He hates being a wolf.”
“What?” Keegan asked, eyebrows shooting up. “What does that mean?”
“He doesn’t like shifting,” she elaborated. “Hates that side of his dual personality. How am I supposed to take that? If he hates himself, then he hates me on a fundamental, biological level.”
“How do you know he doesn’t like being a wolf?”
“There was a holiday party I attended with Gran, and he was there. Not for fun or anything, of course, but for business. That’s all he ever cared about.
This was right after our grandmothers told us we were going to wed one another.
” This part always broke her heart. “You see, we knew each other in childhood and I always pretended he was my husband, so when the opportunity came to marry him for real, I jumped at the chance.”
“What happened?”
“I went in search of him at the party,” she whispered, clearing her throat so it wasn’t thick. “To reconnect. To reminisce. Only, when I tracked him down, I had to listen to the vitriol in his voice as he talked about me.”
“He hated you?”
“He hated shifting, being a wolf, and ... aye, me. Basically accused me of marrying him for his title and wealth.”
“That is so not you.”
“The things he said were awful,” she muttered. “He disliked being a shifter. Disliked that I was a shifter, and he swore he’d never have pups to pass along what he considered a birth defect. I didn’t understand how he could hate the other half of us.”
“Wow,” Keegan said. “I never would’ve guessed Cute Boy was an asshole. If that’s the case, then you need to do the right thing and sign those papers. Life is too short.”
“Aye.” She reached for the folder, opened it, and skimmed over the document. “I get nothing in the divorce. Not that I want anything.”
“You going to sign it?”
“I don’t know,” she replied. “He said he’s changed his mind and wants to explore our mate bond. But what if...”
Mairi fell silent as she stared at the divorce agreement.
“You don’t believe him?”
“I’m afraid to hope.” She reached for a pen and tried to ignore how her hand shook. “He broke my heart so thoroughly, I don’t think I’d be able to survive a repeat. Maybe it would be best if I did sign this document.”
Keegan took hold of her hand. “Will you be okay not having pups?”
“I ... I...” she whispered, blinking back her tears. “I wanted pups. How could the High Luna give me someone like him? He’s a selfish man, and I hate him.”
“Then I hate him, too.”
Mairi was so grateful to her cousin. She honestly didn’t know where she’d be if not for Keegan.
As her cousin hugged her, the door opened and her gaze met Rhodes Madigan.
He smiled at her and regret filled Mairi.
Why couldn’t he be her mate? Not that there was anything romantic between them, although he had hinted often that he’d like their friendship to deepen. He, at least, liked being a shifter.
“Just the two lovely ladies I wanted to see,” he said, smiling. He was a ruggedly handsome man, with black hair and cool grey eyes. Building houses gave him a muscular physique and tanned skin. Little laugh lines radiated from the corners of his eyes.
“Hey, Rhodes,” Keegan greeted with an easy smile as she let Mairi go make his coffee. “The regular?”
“You know it,” he replied. His gaze shifted to Mairi and lingered. “I was wondering, Mairi, if you’d like to have dinner with me tonight.”
Mairi opened her mouth, fully intending to decline, only that’s not what came out.
“Okay,” she agreed.
He grinned. “Great. Anyplace in particular?”
She thought that might be a good time to explain her personal situation. “Not the diner.”
“Fine with me. I’ll pick you up about five? You can tell me where you’d like to go.”
“Sure.”
Keegan handed him his coffee and paid with cash. One last wink at Mairi before he left. Immediately, her cousin raised an eyebrow.
“Don’t,” Mairi warned holding up her hand. “I know. I turned down Tavish and agreed to Rhodes invitation. It’s just to explain everything and why he needs to forget about me and move on.”
“I don’t think it’ll be as easy as you think,” Keegan warned. “He really likes you.”
That’s what she was afraid of.
****
Jericho was composing an email to one of his suppliers when Everett Brice almost violently opened his door, panting as if he’d run a marathon.
“Alpha,” he panted, showing his neck in deference. “I’m sorry to barge in but we have a situation.”
Jericho frowned. “Situation?”
“Yeah. I found a body.”
Jericho tensed, his mind instantly conjuring up all sorts of horrible images. “Human?”
“No, one of us.”
“Who?”
Everett gave a follow-me nod. “Ezra Parsons.”
“Shit,” Jericho muttered.
Everett stepped aside as Jericho rose and headed out the door. His admin assistant looked confused as she watched them. He slid onto the passenger seat while Everett got behind the wheel of his work truck and backed out of the parking spot.
“Could you tell how Ezra died? Natural, or do we have a problem?”
“Honestly, I don’t know.”
Jericho glanced sharply at him. “You don’t know?”
Everett shook his head. “There isn’t any blood. No puncture wounds. No obvious signs of an unnatural death, but there’s something about the body that doesn’t look right.”
“How do you mean?”
“He’s shrunken, like his insides collapsed and his bones shriveled.”
“What the fuck?”
“Exactly,” Everett replied grimly.
When they arrived at the site, Everett led Jericho down a narrow hiking trail.
About a hundred yards into the dense thicket, he discovered exactly what Everett had meant.
Ezra’s chest had caved in, as if there was nothing holding it up.
His throat and face resembled a melted candle, and truthfully, was barely recognizable.
“What the fuck happened to him?” Jericho muttered.
“I don’t know. I’ve never seen anything like this.”
A prickling sensation danced across Jericho’s skin and he took a step back. “Get away from that body, Everett. Something is very wrong here. Don’t go near it until we can figure out what happened.”
The ranger immediately obeyed.
Jericho retrieved his cell from his pocket and placed a call. “Miles, I need you to come to the edge of Old Towne Road. About two hundred yards south from the trailhead.”
“On my way, Alpha.”
Jericho disconnected the call and slipped his phone back into his pocket. “Ezra kept his family on the very edge of the pack’s territory. Didn’t like his children mingling with others.”
Everett cocked his head. “Are you suggesting one of them did this?”
“No, I’m not suggesting anything.” Jericho lifted his head and sniffed the air. “Do you smell that?”
Everett also took in a deep whiff. “It’s rot. I know these woods like the back of my hand, Alpha. The air is tainted.”
Jericho walked the perimeter, letting his nose guide him. “Ezra was a bastard. Every time my father or I went to visit, he greeted us with a shotgun.”
“What was he, paranoid or something?”
“Not sure,” Jericho replied. “Probably. He never ran with the pack, nor did he allow his family to. Wanted to be left alone.”
“Perhaps his family finally snapped.”
“Maybe.” Jericho spotted some red on leaves and looked closer. A swath of plants was coated with the color. “It looked like it rained blood.”
“It’s not natural.”
“No, it’s not.”
The sound of the underbrush crunching had them both turning. Miles joined them and came to an abrupt stop as he spotted Ezra’s body.
“What happened?”
“Not sure,” Jericho said. “There’s blood all over the leaves but don’t touch it. Whatever happened, it made him...”
“Melt,” Everett finished the sentence.
“Apt description,” Jericho muttered. “Don’t tell anyone about this. The last thing I want to do is cause a panic. Everett, call Doctor Rosedale, have him pick up the body. Warn him it might be poison. Miles, search the area, but be cautious. Whatever this is, it’s dangerous.”
Both men nodded.
“Where will you be, in case I find something?” Miles asked.
“I’m going to check into Ezra’s background. See if anything stands out before I confront his family. Call me if either of you learn something.”