Mate With Me

Throwing her arm around him, she whispered loud enough for Abby to hear, “How about if I ask the guys if you can join us next time?”

Bobby’s face lit with excitement before he narrowed his eyes at her when he noticed her teasing grin as well as the hint of possessiveness in her eyes that had him thinking his girl was already a goner over those two. “That was just cruel, Cat.”

“Okay, I’ll behave.” Abby had given her enough to think about tonight, and she needed to start clearing her head before she could rationally consider everything she had learned. “Give me a minute and I’ll take over so you can take a break.”

“Thanks, Cat.”

“You two are close,” Abby commented when the other bartender walked away.

“He’s family, the only family I have now that Dan is gone.” She could really use Dan’s no nonsense way of laying things on the line for her, stating the facts and telling her to deal with them accordingly, making sure she didn’t do anything illegal and stayed safe. Since she didn’t think there were any laws against fraternizing with vampires and, apparently, the only way to stay safe for the time being was to do just that, Dan would be proud of her if she agreed to Jon and Luc’s plan to stick close to her until the coast was clear. Then what, she wondered was holding her back? She didn’t have time to take that thought any further as her eyes flew to Abby.

“Uh, oh.” Abby’s eyes widened as they met Caitlin’s, her arm absently rubbing against the side of her breast where her mark was warming.

Slow smiles spread across both women’s faces as Caitlin intoned in a sing song voice, “They’re here,” while rubbing her thighs together in a futile attempt to ease the soft pulse that was quickly reciprocated in her pussy.

A few minutes later Caitlin knew she was in big trouble. It wasn’t the scowls on Jon and Luc’s faces or the anger simmering in their eyes when they entered her bar and headed directly toward her with determined, ground eating strides that worried her. It was the way her heart was taking a slow roll in her chest that had her palms sweating with agitation, a reaction that had nothing to do with the arousal she was not quite, but almost getting used to experiencing whenever they were near. When she decided to sleep with them last week it was with every intention of making it a one-time thing, never expecting to see them again let alone develop any kind of relationship. Now, knowing and accepting what they were, she had decided she wasn’t going to have sex with them again until she knew for sure she wanted the commitment they thought was inevitable. They were asking, no, demanding much more from her than a casual sexual relationship with both of them, and no matter what her body kept telling her, and maybe even her heart, it was her mind that had to get on board with that idea. One thing was for certain, she wasn’t about to be dictated to.

“What part about waiting for us did you not understand?” Jon asked her in a deceptively soft voice, his anger at her tempered only slightly by his lust filled reaction to being near her again.

“What part of I don’t take orders from you did you not understand?” Caitlin countered as she leaned her elbows on the bar to keep from swaying.

“You do for now,” Luc growled, irritated with himself as much as her. His anger at discovering she had taken off without waiting for them paled in comparison to his worry over her safety. He was going to have to come to grips with the possessiveness that seemed to accompany the lust as well as the caring that came with finding a mate. Whether he was ready for her or not, it looked like she was his. “Did you not learn anything last night?”

“Quit picking on my new friend,” Abby injected while glaring daggers at Damien who hadn’t said a word. The look in his dark eyes, however, spoke volumes, a look that promised punishment she knew she was going to like, damn it.

“Why don’t we let them work out their problem while we go home and work out ours?” Damien took Abby’s hand and pulled her off the bar stool then had to wrap an arm around her waist as she fell against him in a boneless heap.

“Hi.” Grinning stupidly up at his stern face, Abby snuck a hand between them and lightly cupped his erection, his slacks doing little to disguise the obvious bulge. “I’m happy to see you, too. Kind of. Except I’m still mad at you. Kind of.”

“I’m still mad at you also. Kind of.” Damien had to struggle to keep from grinning. He had never seen Abrielle tipsy, but just because she was a cute drunk didn’t mean he was going to let her get away with defying him and putting herself at risk. “Come on. We’re going home.” Nodding to the twins, he leveled a dark look at Caitlin before pulling Abby outside.

“What was that look for?” Caitlin demanded as she glared at Damien’s retreating back.

“Damien takes his position as leader seriously and after the close call with almost losing Jacob last night, he’s going to be even more diligent in making sure all of us stay safe.”

Caitlin turned her scowl on Jon, swearing under her breath. “Great. Not only do I have to contend with you two, now I have another over bearing Neanderthal breathing down my neck. I have to get back to work. If you’re going to insist on waiting around, you’ll have to entertain yourselves for a few hours.” Caitlin moved away from them without waiting to hear their reply.

“She’s running on empty,” Luc said a few hours later as they watched Caitlin struggle to hold back a yawn as she mixed yet another drink. There were only a few late night stragglers left and they didn’t seem to be in any hurry to leave, which was typical. The establishments in the Quarter, especially those on Bourbon Street, didn’t sleep except for a few hours between dawn and noon. Caitlin’s bar was one of only a few that didn’t open until later in the day, for which both he and Jon were extremely grateful. It was hard enough keeping track of their reluctant mate during the night when they were up.

“Yeah, we should probably usher her home soon.” Jon winced as the woman belting out Delta Dawn across the room at the Karaoke station hit another sour note. “The sooner the better.”

“Maybe it’s just our acute hearing that has her sounding so bad.” Luc too has had enough of the clueless woman’s inebriated singing.

Jon signaled Bobby, not caring why the woman sounded God awful, just wanting to get out of earshot.

“Hey guys,” Bobby said with a grin, glad that they had called on him and not Cat. She was looking frayed enough from having these two scaring off anyone who lingered too long near her with just a look. He didn’t know what kind of hold they had on her, or what it was about them that kept his radar alert, but it was good to see someone take an interest in Caitlin that seemed to be more than sexual attraction. “Decide you want a drink before calling it a night?”

“No, thanks,” Jon answered. Both he and Luc couldn’t help but notice the appreciative looks the young bartender occasionally sent their way, looks they found both amusing and flatter

ing. “Can you close up without Caitlin’s help?”

“No problem,” Bobby replied easily, glad that they were going to see she turned in early tonight. “Taking her back to your place?”

“After she gets some things from her apartment. Thanks.” Luc rose and went down the hall where Caitlin had headed, Jon right behind him.

Caitlin turned before entering the bathroom, her jaw tightening when she saw both Jon and Luc following her. “Seriously? I can’t even go to the bathroom without you two on my ass?”

“The last time we let you come this way alone, you ended up facing two rogues in the alley. Use your bathroom upstairs, gather what you need and we’ll head back to the plantation.”