THREE

Katie Faith took the place in while pretending she was totally cool. Meanwhile, in her head, she giggled while doing a dance at sharing a small space with two of the most intensely male specimens she’d ever seen.

Being around Jace transported her back to high school. The first time she’d seen him, she’d been out on the track, pretending to run laps when Jace, then a senior to her freshman, shirtless and sweaty, lapped her and her friends.

Katie Faith wasn’t totally sure but she might have seen the Promised Land. All sorts of things happened to her body that she wouldn’t really understand for another few years.

But she did now. Boy howdy, did she! The adult Katie Faith knew the pleasure—and the danger—of the major tinglies when a man like Jace doled them out.

Moving in across the hall would be flirting with trouble. She knew she had an affinity with the Dooley wolves, just as she had with the Pembrys. That was one of the ways Diablo Lake and its protective magic continued to be strong and vibrant.

Wolves and witches clicked. Their magic was complementary. Some wolves and some witches really clicked in the romantic and biological sense. Sure she could date and fall in love with anyone. It happened from time to time. But that affinity between witches and shifters meant she had a connection to them in ways she’d never have with other males.

After that little exchange back at Salt and Pepper, when she and Damon nearly broke light bulbs just by touching, being in this apartment would be like waving a red flag at a bull. Or worse, she’d be the juicy steak and all the Dooleys who came around would salivate.

Coming back to Diablo Lake meant facing the political and social realities of town. A witch living in the territory a wolf considered his would be a shiny lure. They’d want to collect her. Claim her for their family.

She’d been considered part of the Pembry pack when she was with Darrell so it hadn’t really been an issue before. If she moved into this apartment she’d have to carefully guard her boundaries or she’d have Dooley wolves in her living room all the day long.

The studio for rent was way smaller, but technically not in anyone’s territory. If she chose that one, she’d be avoiding the potential for future annoyance and dick measuring.

Katie Faith stomped her foot. In her head, because that’s where a lady kept her tantrums. Which was a dumb saying her granny used and she scared people day in and out with her lively ways.

Lively was what her pops called his wife. Everyone else just said crotchety. Granny would move into this apartment and flip the bird to anyone who tried to stop her. Which, when she thought about it, was the way to do it. No one owned her or where she chose to be.

Katie Faith had done her time in Chattanooga, feeling totally unattractive and invisible. She’d healed from being dumped so unceremoniously. She was a woman in the prime of her life, could it be so wrong to want to look at gorgeous men every day? Would it be such a crime to be admired and to feel beautiful? Also, if something broke they all knew how to fix things. And they could reach high shelves.

She knew she had nothing to fear from the Dooleys, but also, if she moved into that apartment, that they’d consider her one of them above and beyond the whole connection between their magic. You lived on the same property, in the same space with wolves and they’d kill you, drive you out, or place you under their protection. Since Damon had brought her over there and they wanted to rent the place to her, she guessed they chose the latter. And protection sounded sort of nice. Especially when you compared the options of being killed or run off.

She also couldn’t deny dread that eventually the Pembrys would seek her out. If she was surrounded by Dooleys, it would underline that Katie Faith was done with Pembry wolves.

The rent was doable, and it was central enough to the Counter and to her parents’ house. It would be silly not to rent it.

She drew her attention back to Damon and Jace. There was something going on between the brothers, a whole conversation of looks and exhalations. Boys. Like she wouldn’t know it was about her? She cocked her head and watched the interplay until Jace turned his gaze back to her and she got a major case of the tingly bits.

He waved vaguely around the room. “Go ahead on and look around. This is a mirror of the place across the hall.” Jace’s voice was so low the bass of it vibrated through her belly and other places south.

She looked at them on her way toward the bedrooms. Damon was so handsome he was nearly pretty with it. But Jace was something else entirely. The kind of man who took up every bit of space when he walked into a room, even if he never said a thing. A good cop quality, she was sure. He was quietly intense. Intelligent, she knew. His nose was just a bit more crooked than would merit movie star handsome, and yet, with the wary eyes and the full lips, the combination made it impossible not to look and admire whatever it was he possessed.

She’d crushed on him in high school, where he’d been nearly four years older. Who hadn’t? Jace had been mysterious. His energy had been all bad boy. Intense. His physicality had been different than Darrell’s. They’d both played football in high school, but Jace had run the defensive line. Big and scary, but not really. Not in his eyes.

Darrell had been much nearer to her age. They’d been in the same classes and he’d been handsome and at times he had a great sense of humor. He’d liked her. Pursued her. Where Jace had been broody and intense, Darrell had been open and vivacious. The kind of guy who had an opinion about everything. And, because of that, she really should have known he’d have turned out to be a dick.

The ugly truth was he’d charmed her in his way. And he’d sort of led their relationship and she’d let him. She hadn’t known better until after. But it was high school in a small town and so after two years of dating everyone assumed it would be forever.

Except for one night after the homecoming parade. She’d gotten into an argument with Darrell. He broke up with her then and she’d stormed off while he’d stayed. Most likely to track Sharon down, she knew now. Katie Faith had gone to the batting cages, hitting one after another to work out the mad. No one knew she did it. The batting cages were her secret. Her place to run when she’d had enough because they all thought she was still a clumsy teen.

And then Jace had been there. Leaning against the cab of his truck. Long legs covered in pale denim, booted feet crossed at the ankle.

He’d seen her and it had been a pretty big shock. Jace had changed everything because he’d asked her what was wrong and he’d meant it.

And in the telling she’d been so close to him and had been crying in frustration. He’d hugged her. But it was that he’d understood her tears were more from anger than sadness—again he’d seen her—that had made her hug him the first time.

And then when she pulled back he’d bent to kiss her.

For nearly four hours, they’d kissed and talked. Held hands and touched. She could still remember the waves of sensation that had rolled through her as he slid his fingers through hers, palm to palm. He’d branded himself into her in a way she still carried even then. It couldn’t have been more intimate if they’d actually had sex. But they hadn’t and it was still the most explosively sexual experience she’d ever had.

Then he left town for a month and she gave up, chalking it up to one lovely secret that would never be spoken about again.

And here she stood in the doorway to his bedroom, looking at his bed and wondering what he’d feel like against her skin. She sighed heavily. This was dumb. Beyond dumb and back again. She should just see if her parents would let her borrow money from them to make her down payment larger. The two bedroom house for sale had been everything she wanted in a house but out of her budget. Her monthly payments would be too close to the line for her comfort. She needed to rent while she saved up money and settled back into Diablo Lake.

They’d give her the money, but right then things were extra tight with her father’s hospitalization. More stress on them would be a terrible thing. No. Waiting and saving was the financially sane thing to do. Even if she would be living across the hall from a man who rang her bell like it was dinnertime.

They’d both totally been checking out her butt and looked away quickly when she caught them.

“I’ll take it. When can I move in?”

Damon moved to take her arm and draw her outside the apartment. In hindsight, a normal thing. But Jace’s wolf had other ideas and he found himself grabbing for his brother’s retreating body, a snarl on his lips.

Damon froze. “Just a sec, Katie Faith. Excuse us.” Damon closed the door, leaving her in the hallway before he turned to face Jace.

Damon spoke slowly and carefully. Jace was higher ranked and he knew, in a state of agitation after Katie Faith had just been in his space, her scent still in the air. “What the hell are you doing? Your eyes are changing like a fucking pup. Get yourself under control, Jace.”

Jace unclenched his fists and took a slow, hard exhale and then back in. “I’m sorry. It just happened.”

Damon shook his head. “Who do you think you’re talking to? You and I both know what this is about and she’s right outside. We can work around that. Once people know it’s that way, they’ll back off.”

What his brother meant was that a witch with her background living in the midst of a knot of Dooleys would bring the males around like bees to a flower. But if Jace showed he was the one Katie Faith belonged to, they’d leave it be.

Jace shook his head, denying what his brother had said. Lying and they both knew it. But he spoke anyway. “It’s not about her. I’m just not used to her, that’s all. It’ll be fine. Go on or she’ll think we’re talking about her.”

They’d been carrying on a hushed conversation, which was a big enough clue even if she couldn’t hear the exact words.

“You are talking about me,” Katie Faith called from the other side of the door.

That’s what he started to realize the Katie Faith in the hallway was not the same shy, sweet girl she’d been before she left Diablo Lake.

Stupidly, he sort of dug it.

He gave Damon a severe look. His brother had the balls to roll his eyes.

“Oh you think just because we’ve got company I won’t punch your face?” Jace asked in a very quiet voice.

“Go on ahead then,” Damon taunted, wearing what their grandfather called a shit eating grin.

Snorting, Jace reached out, whacked his brother’s pretty head into the doorjamb and was checking his watch before Damon even figured out what was happening. “Thanks. I feel better now.”

“Asshole.” Damon punched his shoulder hard enough to make Jace grunt a little.

“Do you guys need more time to have whispered discussions about me and scuffle around?” Katie Faith called out from the hall. “If so, I’ll just head back to Aimee’s.”

Before he could punch his brother once more, Jace opened the door to find her leaning against the wall across the hall. At ease. Her heart rate was slightly elevated, but she made the effort to stay calm.

“You know how to live around us already,” he told her. If she’d been too close or had appeared anxious, he’d have responded. His own anxiety would have ramped up and it could have been weird.

Instead, she showed her control and she stood her ground in a way that was not aggressive.

“Werewolves are just men turned up to fourteen. You’re not that complicated. So can I move in here or what?”

Damon eased out, staying in Jace’s line of sight the whole time. His brother was right, he was acting like a fucking pup instead of the next in line to run this family. Jace locked his control into place and stood taller.

“Give us forty-eight hours to get the place cleaned and ready for a tenant,” Damon told her with a smile.