Grayslake: More than Mated: Beneath the Surface (Kindle Worlds Novella) Read online

  The siren cut out but the light continued to throb as the driver’s door opened and the officer behind the wheel stepped out into the hard light of the afternoon.

  Pulling off his sunglasses, the officer gave him a grin as he folded in one arm of his mirrored spectacles and tucked it into the open neck of his uniformed shirt.

  “Welcome to Grayslake.”

  The officer didn’t offer a hand and neither did Travis. He kept his eyes on the other man. Careful had kept him alive. He wasn’t going to stop now.

  A wave of power rolled from the officer and over him like an ocean undertow and the scent of bear met him like a rough shove to the shoulder. A quick glance at the name tag on the uniform filled in the last piece of information. V. Abrams. “Enforcer.”

  Now he was really treading on thin ice. The Grayslake Enforcer wasn’t someone you went up against unless you had little or no interest in living.

  Van Abrams was the middle brother of the three Abrams that ran the Grayslake clan, and he was also the Sheriff in town. With Van, you walked on the right side of the law, or you didn’t walk at all. And in this town, the law was only partially human.

  “I’m-”

  “Travis Owen.”

  Travis narrowed his gaze ever so sightly.

  Van must have seen the question in his eyes. “One of my men ran your plates.”

  Nodding slowly, Travis turned slowly and looked around him. A squad car was tucked in under the shady canopy of a tree down the street. “Fair enough.”

  Van’s raised brow told Travis enough. The middle Abrams brother didn’t need his okay for anything he did. With a slow sweep of his hand Van gestured at the diner. “You planning on getting something to eat?”

  Travis kept his gaze off of the diner itself. “I’ve been on the road for hours. Hungry is an understatement.”

  “Too bad. You’ve got a meeting with the Itan.” Van’s smile was only partially human and what wasn’t made its point. “If he says you can stay, then you can come back and eat.”

  Van tilted his head toward the cruiser. “Go ahead, get in. I’ll bring you back, after you meet with the Itan.”

  Travis didn’t hesitate. He wasn’t going to flinch. Not now.

  But as the cruiser pulled away from the curb he gave one last look at the diner. He was definitely going to come back here after and if that gorgeous woman showed any interest in him at all, he just might stay forever.

  Within minutes of turning over the CLOSED sign, the diner was inundated with customers. The bus crowd had disappeared, but that didn’t seem to matter. Like a magnet, the OPEN sign seemed to pull people off of an almost empty street.

  It was all pretty simple. Take the order, give the order, pick it up, deliver it… and so on. She’d done it for years, starting at the Pancake House and later on at Donny’s and then The Pickle Barrel. To say she was experienced was an understatement, but that was how she made the money to pay for college and her books. And after that, she’d worked at a biker bar on the highway while she saved up for her ticket to Europe and her rail pass, the rest, she’d figure out later when she got there.

  But for now, she was in Grayslake and Grace had barely enough time to grab up the pad of order tickets and pick up a pencil when the first four-top walked in. Every once in a while she’d pick up a glass she kept behind the counter and take a big gulp of water. There was a constant back and forth and she’d catch her uncle’s rolled eyes or reassuring looks in the pass-through and she quickly got herself up to speed.

  At one point, her uncle crooked his finger at her and she came to the window a moment later.

  “How’re you doing, Gracie?”

  She shrugged. “I was griping earlier about having to sit for so long on the bus. I guess I got a bit of karma handed to me.”

  He chuckled and handed her a plate with a steaming hot hamburger and a pile of fries. “Regretting the decision to come and help us out?”

  She frowned at him. “You know that’s not true. I guess I just didn’t expect such a huge crowd in Grayslake. In Tucson we get rushes like this, but wow.”

  He picked up a towel and wiped his brow. “I’m pretty sure the rush has everything to do with you, honey.” He lifted his spatula and waved it at the dining room. “Word’s gotten around that there’s a pretty girl in the diner.”

  “Right,” she shook her head. “You’re a big ol’ softy where it comes to me, Uncle Eddie. But have you seen the hotties out there in the dining room? They’re so not here for me.” With a wink she walked out from behind the counter and took the plate to the man sitting in the corner booth. “Burger and fries.” She gave him a grin. “Anything else you’d like?”

  “To take you out tonight.”

  She rolled her eyes. Hungry she could handle. Playful? Not a problem. “What do they put in the water in Grayslake?” She leaned her hip on the side of the bench facing him. “You’re the fourth guy to ask me out since we opened,” she looked at the clock, “almost three hours ago. Either I’m the luckiest girl in the world, or your town needs a better optometrist.”

  He didn’t seem to like her joke. “I’m serious, you know.” He looked around the dining room, his eyes moving over all of the other customers. “If you haven’t said yes to the others, maybe you’ll give me a chance.”

  Reaching out he touched the back of her hand with his fingertips.

  Grace pulled back slightly and saw the frown that twisted the corners of his mouth down. “Sorry, I-,” she looked back at the kitchen, “I’m here to help my uncle and I’m swamped.”

  “With someone like you helping out this is only going to be the start,” he swallowed hard and his eyes darkened a little, “so when you do have a few minutes,” he scribbled his number on a piece of paper, “give me a call.”

  Hesitating for a moment, Grace wasn’t sure what to do. The front door swung open and the little bell suspended above the frame danced and rang out in the room.

  “Gracie!” She heard her uncle call and she almost blew him a kiss in relief. “Customer at the door!”

  With a murmured apology she darted away from the table and picked up a menu from beside the register. A napkin, a fork, a knife, and a spoon found their way into her hand and when she had everything squared away she turned to the new arrival. “Welcome to the diner, may I-”

  Grace found herself in the middle of a unique problem, while her words had dried up, there were other parts of her that were deliciously wet.

  The man standing just inside the diner door was gorgeous. Now that wasn’t to say that he was the only one she’d seen in Grayslake. Nope, there apparently was an embarrassment of riches of the hottie-kind in this little town. The god-like figure standing before her in worn jeans and a button-down that begged to be crumpled on the floor of some lucky woman’s bedroom, was just perfect.

  Perfectly scrumptious.

  Good enough to-

  “Gracie?” Her Uncle Eddie’s voice was like a pail of cold water on the images in her head. “You okay, Gracie?”

  “I’m fine, Uncle Eddie.” Flushing to the roots of her hair she struggled to fix her expression into the perfect hostess. Waving the menu before her face she offered up a weak apology. “Sorry, it’s really warm in here.”

  “Warm?” The sleepy crawl of his voice felt like his voice was touching her along the side of her neck. “Honey bear, this is Georgia,” he set his hand on his cheek and smoothed it down toward his neck, slowing his movements as his palm moved over his jaw, “everything here is hot and sultry.”

  And boom. There was the truth bomb that landed at her feet.

  When she managed to meet his eyes and actually focus on her thoughts he nearly wrecked it all again. He smiled, and the heat she’d only been mildly joking about flared all across her skin. It would have been okay if it had stayed on the exposed parts… no, the visible parts. She had to change the word in her head because standing there in the middle of a crowded dining room under the newcomer’s gaze, everything fe
lt exposed.

  “Yes, well,” she blew out a breath and gestured to the right before she started to move, “we’ve got cold water, sweet tea, and milkshakes, whatever you want.”

  She knew he was following her, she could almost feel the heat of his skin against her back. Stopping at the booth she waved him in. “You can sit here.”

  He looked at the booth and then turned his gaze to the side and to the seats at the counter. “What about there?”

  Well goodness, having him up at the counter would mean that she could keep her eye on him at all times. Sign me up. “Sure. Sit where you like.”

  With a slow, appreciative nod he walked across the open floor and slid onto one of the chairs.

  Gracie barely stopped herself from hissing out an appreciative whistle as the worn denim of his jeans stretched over the hard curve of his backside. She could see the pale wear pattern around his wallet in the back-right pocket and the dark leather of his belt. Stepping up to his side she set the menu down and the utensils a moment before she heard the pick-up bell. “I’ll be right back to take your order.”

  As she rounded the counter she caught the reflection in the wide chrome frame of the specials board. Her new customer was leaning back in his seat, arm slung over the backrest, his eyes focused on her.

  Suddenly, she was really happy to be back in Grayslake, if only for the view.

  Chapter Two

  She stepped up in front of him, her gaze resting comfortably on his face. “What can I get for you?”

  “Travis.”

  His answer stunned her for a moment, leaving him to explain.

  “My name is Travis. Travis Owens.” He held out his hand. “Nice to meet you, Gracie.”

  He was a man with manners. His mother had seen to that, even more than the threat of his father’s anger, but when this amazing woman standing before him asked him a simple question that she’d no doubt asked hundreds of people before, all he could think of was leaning over the counter and covering her gorgeous lips with his.

  And those lips were finally moving again. “Grace,” she explained. “My name is Grace. Uncle Eddie still thinks I’m twelve.”

  Travis couldn’t help but take a long look at her, including her gorgeous curves. “You don’t look twelve to me.”

  She narrowed her eyes, slightly hooding her gaze as she returned the favor. “You don’t look twelve either.” Her smile held more than a hint of sass. “Yes, sir, but I digress. What would you like to order?”

  “The special.”

  He didn’t even bother to look at the board. Whatever she brought him would be fine. He’d eat it happily… and slowly.

  She kept her eyes on his while she brought her pencil to her lips, tracing the eraser along the full lower curve. “Well, that’s refreshing.”

  Travis moved closer, drawing in a long breath of her scent. Something floral, old fashioned, but gentle filled him with longing. “What is?”

  She waved her pencil in a lazy circle at the rest of the dining area. “They all said the same silly line when I asked them for their orders.”

  His jaw tightened, and if he’d had human teeth, he’d likely have shattered a few. “What did they say?”

  Rolling her eyes, she sighed and the sound tightened his skin all over his body. It was so close to arousal he felt his heart pound in his chest.

  She leaned closer and bit her lips into her lower lip, making pale shadows on her lip. “They said they wanted me.”

  He fought down a white rage, having a tougher time of it than usual because his bear was all for a little bloodshed and rended flesh. “Then you’re in luck.” He was proud of himself for managing a tone lighter than a growled warning.

  His answer surprised her. She saw her eyes widen and her smile deepened, giving him a delicious view of a dimple in her cheek. “Why?”

  “I don’t have to ask.”

  Her eyes flashed with a warning and his bear took a swipe at him in anger.

  Travis ignored the creature and laid his forearm on the counter, offering her his open hand. “I’m going to do whatever it takes,” he promised her, “to make you mine.”

  “Really?” She seemed to recover some of her teasing demeanor and quickly scribbled his order on the ticket. With a rip of paper, she separated the ticket from the pad and clipped it to the spinner. “Order up!”

  She set her pad in her apron pocket and reached for the coffee pot. “Just how are you going to do that?”

  “Taking you out to dinner tonight.”

  Again, surprise. He almost turned to look at the other men in the room to glare at them. Instead, he should thank them for putting the bar so low.

  “Thanks.” She moved away, skirting around the counter toward the booths. “But I can’t.”

  Can’t?

  He was almost on his feet, but he held back. She’d come back. And he didn’t want to give the others a chance to insert their own comments.

  She smiled.

  She made small talk.

  She added up the ticket and set it on the table.

  And she avoided the attempts of the other men to ask her out too.

  Next, a marriage proposal that almost got the man’s arm ripped off.

  Then she was back.

  The coffee pot sank back onto the heating pad.

  “Is it that you’re working tonight?”

  She shook her head, picked up the water pitcher, and refilled his glass. “Nope. I’m off in a few hours when the other waitress starts.”

  “Do you already have a date?” The words tasted like castor oil on his tongue.

  “I have to make dinner for my aunt. I’m here to visit and help out. Maybe some other time?”

  No, now!

  Wow, his bear was in a mood, you’d think he was just out of hibernation with the way he was acting.

  “Anytime.”

  He meant it. “Dessert.”

  She laughed and the sound turned every head in the place. “This is the only place in town with dessert.” She gave it some thought. “I think the market may have donuts or whipped cream in a pinch.”

  Travis was stuck on whipped cream. There were so many things he wanted to do with whipped cream and they all involved her.

  “But if you’re really determined to have dinner with me tonight,” she turned her gaze toward the pass-through and met her uncle’s eyes. The older man gave her an indulgent shrug. “You could come to dinner at the house.”

  His bear lumbered forward and brushed his heavy shoulder against Travis’ ribs. A loud chuff of encouragement echoed in his head.

  “You’re inviting me home.” He picked up his glass of water and downed it in one gulp. “You’re not afraid?”

  “Afraid! Why?” She poured him another glass.

  “Inviting someone home that you don’t know.”

  She laughed. “This is Grayslake. You’d be in more trouble if you tried something.” She grabbed a napkin and pressed it to the line of her neck under her ear, dabbing at her skin. “Besides, you invited me out, alone. At home I have my aunt and her shotgun.”

  The pick-up bell dinged and she turned to grab the food.

  He scoffed. “What if I overpower you?”

  She turned back and gave him a look as if she could see him from his head down to his feet. “I could take you.”

  Travis’ bear nodded his head, a big sweep of motion that threatened to knock him back off of the stool. Leaning forward, he braced his elbows on the counter and felt a stab of pleasure go through him, he was hard and his jeans were stretched tight against his skin.

  It didn’t help that she tilted her head and raised a perfectly curved brow over her dark eyes.

  He worried that she could see right through him and then he hoped that she could. “I’d like to see that.”

  She opened her mouth to answer him but stopped when he licked his bottom lip.

  Shaking her head, she took the plate around the counter to the far side of the dining area, returning a
few moments later.

  The bell on the pass-through rang and she darted behind the counter, her ponytail sweeping over her shoulder. Leaning forward he could see the flare of her skirt hem and the creamy skin just above her thigh-high stockings. His instinct was to climb up and over the counter and get as close as she would let him.

  He lowered his forearms and felt the cool counter top against his skin. He wrapped his fingers over the back edge of the counter and felt the bite of the textured metal edging on the underside of his fingers. It was all he could do to keep himself in his seat.

  He wasn’t going to mess things up, not right now.

  If he did, it wouldn’t matter what Ty Abrams said, his bear would probably kill him.

  As if the bear had heard his thoughts, Travis felt a rumble of warning echo in his ears. Growling back, he watched her move into the hallway and he told his bear to, “go to sleep.”

  The bear turned around, and gave Travis a good kick from a hind leg.

  “Smart ass.”

  Grace heard her uncle clear his throat and when she looked at him he crooked his finger at her.

  She walked into the hallway and stepped into the kitchen. “Yes??”

  His stern look melted at her laughing tone. “Do you know what you’re doing, young lady?”

  “Trying to spend some time with gorgeous and ripped out there.”

  His eyes narrowed at her. “How do you know he’s ripped?”

  Her eyes widened at him and she lifted both hands in a helpless shrug. “With the way he filled out those jeans and his amazing forearms? He must be ripped. I don’t see how you can have arms and legs like that without everything in between. That would be sacrilege to the human form!”

  “You know,” his tone softened and he set a hand on her shoulder, “the last time we saw you, you were twelve and-”

  “A pudgy little bear with stringy hair and braces.”

  Edward’s expression softened and he set a hand on her shoulder. She could smell the fryer grease on his skin and smiled. He never changed. “Sweetheart. Are you sure you can handle-”

  He couldn’t seem to finish his sentence and she felt for him. He was right. When he’d seen her last she was climbing trees and begging her mother for a pony as a pet. Boys were on her mind, but not a single one would look at her with anything but revulsion or laughter. It had taken years for her to realize that they were as blind to her charms as most of the pretty girls at school were shallow.