Alpha's Vow (Shifter Ops 2)

“Doesn’t mean you can cross any lines.”

Teddy grins over his shoulder. “Take it easy. I’m just giving you a hard time.” He sends me another wink.

I relax. I can trust these guys, even if I don’t know the plan. Between the noise and my new pregnancy tiredness, I doze for the rest of the flight.

I wake a few hours later when the plane touches down on a small runway. “Hey, angel, we're here.” Lance lifts my hand and kisses my knuckles. As we exit, I wave to Teddy. He gives me a two-finger salute.

“Take it easy, baby-mama,” he says, aviator shades flashing over his grin. He grins bigger when Lance growls.

We step out of the plane, and warm air hits my face. I tilt my head to the sun. “Where are we?”

I was supposed to watch the landscape and guess, but there weren’t any windows. Plus, I fell asleep.

“I figured a day at the beach would be nice.” He shrugs. “You work too hard. You need to relax and soak up some sun. Come on. I got them to leave us a car.”

We’re definitely somewhere warm. A few palm trees dot the desert landscape, and a few mountains slope along the horizon.

We walk over the tarmac, bypassing the tiny building that passes for a terminal, and heading for the parking lot. This is as small an airport as the one we left, and that’s saying something. “Who's they?”

“Our friends. I called in a favor.” He takes my arm and my purse and guides me to a big black Escalade. He punches in a code on a keypad on the door, and it unlocks. In a minute, we’re passing a big sign that reads: ‘Welcome to Cabo San Lucas’.

“Oh my gosh,” I cry. “We're in Cabo? Just like that?”

“Just like that,” he confirms. He reaches across to the glove box, pulls out a pair of aviator sunglasses, and puts them on. He hands a second pair to me.

“What about passports? And customs?”

“I called in some favors. We’re fine. It can be easy, Charlie. Life can be like this.” He drives one handed again so his right hand can massage the back of my neck briefly. “Just take it easy.”

The windows are down and when we wind over the mountain rise, I get a whiff of salt air. Relax, Charlie. It’s a day at the beach. Blue ocean, bright sun and ice cream. Even I can’t get stressed about this.

We pass through the resort town. I keep expecting Lance to turn into one of the hotels, but we zoom by and turn into a private road. There’s a gate ahead. Lance stops to punch in a code and wave to the camera. The gates open and we glide on through.

“Who exactly are your friends?” I ask. The houses in this gated community aren't houses. These are mansions, set on the side of the mountain overlooking the ocean.

“They’re shifters. We tend to get to know each other. We helped them out with security from time to time, so it wasn't a big deal to call in a favor.”

Great. Millionaire shifters. Maybe I should have dressed up. At the very least, I shouldn’t have worn my Sasquatch ‘Hide’n Seek World Champion’ t-shirt.

We turn into a private drive paved with stone, lined with palm trees and cacti. The house is built on a bluff over the harbor. It’s sprawling, several stories, with a multi-colored adobe roof and stucco in different shades of sunset colors.

“This is huge,” I say. “Is it a hotel?”

“Nope, private residence. Ten bedrooms, I think. Infinity pool.” He parks and I half expect armed security to rush up to the car and escort us off the premises. “What do you think, babe? Will this be suitable?”

“Oh my God,” I mumble.

He strides up to the house with perfect confidence. Another keyless entry. The door opens without a sound, and I cling to his hand as I shuffle over the marble floors.

“Is anyone home?” I whisper. If I lived here I’d never leave.

“Just us.”

We enter a huge room that faces the ocean. Panoramic views all around. There’s a huge patio with hammocks strung between the marble columns. We can sit and watch the sunsets here.

Lance points out the fire pit and grill area. The infinity pool is built to look like it's floating in the ocean.

I wander to find a bathroom and return shaking my head. “The master suite is larger than my house.”

“They’re all that big, angel.” Lance has already raided the fridge. He hands me a water bottle before swigging from his. “And then there are two guest houses.”

I clutch my water. Did I really just walk into a rich person’s home and help myself to their water? “This is incredible. And you know people who live here?”

“They don’t live here. This is just one of their homes.”