In the morning Max, tall, smiling and a little intimidating, woke me up with a knock on my door.
“Jade, you awake?” His voice was as big and as booming as one would expect a man built like him to sound. Only it took me by surprise each and every time. Especially the few times he spoke directly to me.
I clawed my way out from under the covers.
“Yeah, what?”
He crossed the room in a few steps. All of the men did that with their stupid long legs. Why did they all have to be so fucking hot? He was Bailey’s without a doubt, and I would never try anything, but I did appreciate her taste in men.
Right now, I appreciated her taste a bit more than my own. At least I knew where I stood with her lot. Gage and Travis were friends. Zeke didn’t have much to do with me unless Yuki was involved. And, Max I treated him with proper wolfy respect and got the same in return.
I didn’t have a clue what to expect from the cadre of men I had been attempting to collect. Oz was pissed at me, Roosevelt was pissed at me, and who the fuck knew what was going on with Dylan.
“Gage told me to take a look at your car.”
I groaned and nodded. “It’s been overheating like crazy, and I go through so much water.”
“Huh,” he made a sound and sat on my bed. “The leak in your radiator is the least of your worries.”
Whatever was wrong sounded expensive.
“You do realize your car has been torn in half?”
I flopped back on the mattress, pulling my blankets back over my head. I had momentarily forgotten about the most recent damage inflicted by that antlered demon.
“Fuck.” I flipped the blankets down and stared at Max. “I’m guessing it’s not something we can fix with a little duct tape?”
I didn’t know how I was going to afford a new car. I was still financially recovering from the six months of lease payments I had to make on that place Yuki hated. The hospital bill hadn’t come in yet for my arm x-rays, and now I needed to save up for baby stuff.
Max pushed to his feet with a laugh. “I like you, Jade. You’re spunky. No, I don’t think duct tape is going to help in this situation. But I know something that might.”
“You’re going to weld it together?”
He held out a small key chain with two keys on it. “The red Charger in the lot.”
The car he was talking about looked less like the hot car it had started off as and more like a project car. For some reason I had assumed it was Travis’s personal car. He drove it around when he wasn’t taking Bailey or the rest of us places.
“Travis’s beater?”
“It’s far from a beater. But yeah, I haven’t been able to finish fixing it up. The engine, however, is a beast. You think you can handle it?”
I held my palm up flat under the keys. “My first car was an old BMW my mother had. If I can handle German automotive engineering, I should be able to handle a muscle car.”
With a laugh that was more like an evil scientist cackle, Max dropped the keys in my hand. “I get to work on it when I’m feeling like it, and you let me know if it ever needs anything fixed.”
“Are you serious?”
“Get dressed, and let’s go for a ride.”
Max’s car didn’t purr; it fucking roared. I laughed as I took it down mountain roads, driving entirely too fast. Max hung on, one arm out the open window, and laughed. There was no conversation, no introspective reflection. Just a loud engine, a smooth road, and speed.
I hadn’t felt so good in days. Driving therapy with the wind in my hair and a powerful car in my control was the best thing I had going on for weeks.
“That was amazing.”
“It doesn’t look like it’s going to make it much past fifty before things start falling off, but it is a solid vehicle.”
“Why not give it to Bailey?” We crossed the parking lot, heading back to the Lodge.
“Bailey wants a minivan and a baby stroller.”
I got quiet. I wanted a minivan for my baby stroller, but I didn’t have four husbands to figure out how to financially make that happen. I just had me and whatever assistance my friends could offer. I was not going to say no to this car.
“How much do you want for it?” I was certain he would accept payments.
“I’m not selling you the car, Jade.”
“Oh.” I really hated that my psychic abilities were being so wonky. I had misinterpreted the entire situation. Was he teasing me with the car?
“It’s a gift. I know it’s not in the best of shape. I was rebuilding it when things got hairy. At some point it will be a single color again. But it’s solid and reliable. And I am right here to keep it running for you.”
I started crying. There was no imminent warning of burning eyes. One moment I was confused, the next, tears streamed down my face.
“Hey, hey, it’s going to be all right.” Max grabbed my wrists and pulled me against him, wrapping my arms around his waist and holding me in a hug.
I ugly cried against him, snot and tears wiping against his shirt.
His hand patted my hair like I was a small child or a puppy.
What do you do when your imaginary friends start pestering you with images of sexy male strippers and hot were-shifters? You write stories about them. Well, that's what I did! Oh, and then I combine them and toss them in a kilt for good measure!
Hi, my name is Lulu and I write sexy hot contemporary and paranormal romance. Welcome to my website.
Making the Para "Normal" and the Supernatural Extraordinary.