Devil's Mate (The Tribe MC: Chase of Prey Book 1) (4 page)

CHAPTER 6

This was stupid and Sebastian knew it. He didn’t really care though. He had to see her again. He preferred to ride his bike these days, but he’d not given up his car either. He knew that if he showed up on his jet black and heavily chromed 1969 Triumph Bonneville T120R Classic, she might wonder about it, and him.

He was sure that the Tribe knew there was a new club in town. Whether they had figured out who was riding in it was anyone’s guess, but he doubted that Nico was too foolish to figure it out. He’d met the man a few times, always while in wolf-form, and he’d never seen anything foolish about the Rom.

He pulled his sleek Corvette up to the curb and waited. He’d seen Cara going into that particular building a few times before and his patience was soon rewarded. She came strolling out of the pastry shop with a brown bag in her hand.

Her lean and elegant body was clad in a bright yellow sweater, tight blue jeans and pixie boots with almost impossibly thin heels that looked like ice picks. She had a bright scarf wound around her throat and her lips were that same bright berry hue that he’d noticed the night before.

His heart gave a powerful throb and so did his crotch. He was beginning to wish his own jeans weren’t so tight. He stepped out of the car and her face lit up with pleasure that quickly gave way to caution.

“I thought I would stop and ask if you needed rescuing from a rogue or jerk, even if that jerk was me,” Sebastian said.

His smile disarmed her. “You
were
a bit of an ass. I thought that you were braver than that.”

“I make it a habit not to interfere between a man and his woman. I am assuming you two aren’t together?” He knew they weren’t, but if she said they were to make him go away, then he would do that too, as much as he didn’t want to.

Cara’s heart slammed into her ribs. Excitement poured through her. She should not be doing this. Of all the times in her life to decide to be a rebel, now was the wrong one! But she had to, she just had to. The almost electric pull between the two of them was too strong to resist.

Sebastian looked incredible in his fitted jeans and black shirt. A heavy silver necklace lay against his tanned throat and a silver cuff rested against his right wrist. She could see the fine golden hairs on his arm, outlined by the sun and the suggestion of a bulge at the front of his pants. Her chest tightened painfully and it took a long moment to speak.

“He’s not my boyfriend. I don’t blame you for bailing out. Ion can be a real…well, you saw.”

“Ion?”

“Yes. His dad’s into science.” She said with a nonchalance that she hoped would keep him from asking any further questions. Usually that quip did just that. It seemed to work because he only asked, “Are you going somewhere in particular?”

“To the nearest hospital.” He blinked, his green eyes moving down her body. “No, I’m joking. I have a huge éclair in this bag and I intend to eat all of it. You could save me from myself and take the éclair if you like.”

Sebastian’s white teeth flashed as his full lips parted. “I think I would rather not. I want to keep my girlish figure.”

The answer was not what she’d been expecting. She was used to machismo; the bikers she’d grown up around practically dripped it, so this the willingness to joke was refreshing. He was confident, and it showed.

Ion never would have made that joke.

The thought was traitorous and she knew it, but she couldn’t help it. Ion was too arrogant, too cocky and, yes, too insecure to make a joke like that. “I see,” she said. “So what should we do about that?”

“Get you some real food.”

“Real food?”

“Yes. Say a steak, Pittsburgh rare and covered with cremini mushrooms, a loaded baked potato with extra everything and… wait. You aren’t a vegetarian are you?”

“No.” She was amused despite herself. “Are you?”

His teeth were even and straight. His lips showed even more of them as his smile grew larger. “Not at all. I would die if I didn’t get some meat every day.”

“Well, you wouldn’t
die
… ”

“I would.” His voice was firm. “So, can I offer you a ride?” He motioned toward the Corvette and her eyes went wide. “Is that a ’72?”

“You know your cars.”

“I do.”

He opened the door for her and his fingers rested lightly on the small of her back. She smiled at him as she ducked her head and sat in the low slung seat. This was wrong and she knew it. He was
gadjo
, an outsider and possibly a Hunter. None of those things were a great fit for her. She knew her duties even if she didn’t want to deal with them — at least, not right now.

The car purred to life. The seat was low enough that she felt the rumbling of the engine beneath her bottom. She’d been riding on motorcycles all her life and none of them had ever sent such sensations through her. Her panties became wet and clung to the ripe curve of her labia.

Cara shifted in the seat as they raced down the streets. The tourists were out in full force and she smiled as she saw a girl flipping her shirt up to expose her breasts. Sebastian laughed too and said, “I think I could live here forever. I don’t know why I never came before.”

“Have you been traveling long?”

“All my life.” There was a wistful tone in his voice that she recognized.

“I used to move around a lot when I was young.”

“Did you?” He looked over at her and she was caught again by the beauty of those green eyes. “I thought I heard an accent below that sweet Southern drawl.”

He thought her accent was sweet? The slightest compliment from this man made her feel like a schoolgirl! “Thanks, I think. I lived in France, and then in LA before we moved here.”

“I love France. Maybe that’s why I feel so at home here.”

“You were in France?”

“Oh yeah. I lived in a very quiet little town called Grasse.”

She was startled and it showed. “I know that place. We used to visit it. It was one of my mom’s favorite spots.”

“She hasn’t been back?”

A salty lump formed in her throat, choking her. “She died when I was young,” she managed. “That was before we moved here.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It was a rogue.”  The words came out in a rush. “It came for us. She saved my life but she died doing it. That’s why we left LA. My dad couldn’t stand to be there anymore.”

Shit. Now what? Sebastian knew he had to tell her at some point who he was, but how could he? Her mother had died at the hands, or paws, of a rogue… no wonder she was so ready to battle one. “I’m so sorry.” His words were sincere but he wasn’t really sure what it was he was apologizing for, or to who.

“Why do you do it?”

He was confused by the question; did she mean why did he turn? “Do what?”

“Hunt. Why did you become a Hunter?”

“Necessity. I don’t enjoy it.” It was the truth, at least.

“I wouldn’t imagine you would. I would though. I would love to sink a blade deep into a rogue’s heart and watch it die.” Her savagery surprised even her. He saw that written on her face. The car banked around a corner and she fell silent. He didn’t dare look over at her; he was going faster than he had intended to go and the corner was slick. He might be long-lived but that didn’t mean he couldn’t die.

How ironic would that be? Dying in a car with a Tribe woman? He could see the humor in it but he doubted anyone else would.

“There’s no joy in killing.” His words were soft.

“I suppose that seems true to you, but I would love to kill the rogue that killed my mother.”

“I can see why you would. But that rogue is probably long since dead. They’re condemned by their own kind, you know.”

“The Fallen? They’re condemned because they chose to be.”

A lick of anger tickled below his ribs but surprise flared up as well. She’d named them! He risked a quick look at her face and saw an expression of consternation there. She hadn’t meant to name them and now she didn’t know how to unring that bell.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t hear that.”

Cara relaxed. “I’m sorry. I was saying that werewolves chose their shapes.”

“Really?” He was interested despite himself.

“Yes, back a long time ago. There was a man who was the king in a small kingdom but he wanted more. He wanted the entire world at his feet. He called in a priest who was rumored to know the dark arts.

“It turned out that the priest did know the dark arts, or at least one of them. He knew how to shift his shape and the priest taught the king that trick as well. Only the priest didn’t tell the ruler how to change back, so he was trapped in the form of a wolf forever, or until someone could break the spell.”

“I’ve never heard that before.” He wasn’t lying — that was sure as hell not the story that he’d been told.

“Most people just know the whole bitten-by-a-werewolf-and-become-one version. Although that’s true too, at least it is now.”

Sebastian didn’t correct her on that one. He knew all too well what made a werewolf. He decided it was time to change the subject. “How’s school?”

“It’s difficult.” A grin tugged at her full mouth. “I love it though. I can’t wait to get into the courtroom. I feel like I’ve been waiting my entire life just for that. I never got to ask what it is you do.”

“Oh, I inherited my job.” That wasn’t a lie either. “You could say we’re entrepreneurs. We have all sorts of businesses.” Also not a lie. He hoped she wouldn’t probe deeper.

CHAPTER 7

The restaurant he took her to was known for its steaks and for being incredibly expensive. “Do you drink?” Sebastian asked.

“I’m nineteen.”

“Ah, then that would be a legal no.”

His eyes were dancing with mischief and she burst into laughter. “I don’t drink at all. I tried it when I was younger and all sorts of crazy stuff happened.” She’d accidentally managed to fire off a spell that set the living room to spinning so fast everyone in it had fallen down. It had taken three Tribe women to calm that spell.

“I see. Well, I think I’ve got enough crazy stuff happening around me, so we’ll forego wine.”

“Good idea.”

“I hope you’re hungry, the food is amazing here.”

She was hungry, but food was the furthest thing from her mind. What she wanted was him. She wanted to touch him, to sit on his lap and feel his hardness on her ass. She wanted to put her mouth on his and taste his lips, feel his tongue thrusting in and out… her face went scarlet and she was grateful for the cool dimness of the steakhouse’s interior.

She gulped at a glass of ice water that the waiter had placed by her elbow, hoping it would help cool her off. It didn’t. He reached across the table and his fingers rested on hers. She looked down at their hands; his practically swallowed hers. She was not a small woman but somehow he made her feel incredibly tiny and fragile… all the better for him to protect.

Shit. Where were all her hard-earned feminist beliefs? Growing up Tribe was not exactly the best way to learn independence, and while women were often just as powerful as the men in their homes, most were still taught to acquiesce to their mate.

Cara had always thought that was so much bullshit. Until right now. She could see letting Sebastian call the shots.

“Would you like me to order?”

She hadn’t managed to read the menu. All she had been able to do was fantasize about the man across the table. “That would be nice.”

She handed her menu back to the waiter who stood poised by their table, his face impassive and his dark hair gleaming with some sort of sparkling oil. He was handsome, too, but he could not hold a candle to the blond Adonis who had brought her.

Sebastian picked her hand up and turned it over. Shivers shot through her. “Are you reading my palm?” It was an attempt at a joke, but his eyes were intent as they looked into hers.

“What would your palm tell me?”

“That I’m boring?”

“I doubt that.” He laughed. “I bet it would say that you’re a brave woman and that your lifeline would be long and your love line longer.”

Her fingers curled up tightly as she withdrew her hand from his. All this talk of reading palms was making her uncomfortable. “Well that’s a relief. I’d hate to die young and unloved.”

“I think everyone would.”

Their food came and they ate. The silences that occasionally popped up were comfortable and they both relaxed. Cara kept looking at Sebastian’s hands and the steady way he held his steak knife. His teeth were white and even and her heart fluttered continually.

Cara was amused at herself. If she kept this up she was going to die of a heart attack before the meal was over. How would their seemingly unflappable waiter take to having to break out a defibrillator to keep a customer alive?

When the meal was done, Sebastian asked if she wanted to go for a stroll, and she said yes without any hesitation. She didn’t want to leave his side just yet.

All the bars had their doors thrown open wide to the fresh, cool air — such a rarity in this nearly tropical clime — and music came from nearly all of them, but one was different. This was slide guitar played low and sweet, with a zydeco behind it.