Alphas of Red Moon Ranch(69)

Of course, it’d been a long time since he’d transformed. A long time since he’d gotten in touch with the animal side of him. His instincts were rusty, underused. It was possible that side of him was closing over, healing like an old wound. And—if he was being honest with himself—there was a part of him that missed the simplicity of the animal, part of him that wanted to scratch it open again and release the Beast.

No. He knew better than that. That was just an old nagging. Like quitting smoking. He needed a bear-patch. Jacob dressed, casual slacks, comfortable cotton shirt that felt soft against his skin, and his well-loved denim jacket. Worn out, Cassidy called it. As far as Jacob was concerned, clothes didn’t feel right until you’d bruised them up a little. Once dressed, he pushed out the front door. A red moon peaked out from behind the mountain before it disappeared completely and Jacob stuck an e-cig between his teeth. He followed the electronic light in front of his nose and walked towards Cassidy’s place.

Holly would meet him there, he figured. Couldn’t miss the blazing bonfire outside, surrounded by family, fellow ranch hands, and a couple honeypots.

Sure enough, as soon as he got close enough, he heard the familiar purr of her little Buggy bumping up the road. It grew louder and he waved it down. The Buggy came to a glugging stop outside of Cassidy’s place and Jacob caught up with it just in time to open up the passenger side. Trish spilled out and chirped a thank you before scampering off. Jacob just managed to grab a strand of her long hair and gave it a little tug as she zipped off (sure, maybe she was eighteen on paper, but to him, she’d always be somewhere around eight or nine). Trish let out a small yap of surprise, then shot him a quit it look, which just made him chuckle. “Hello to you too,” he said.

She flattened her hair back and said, “Hey, boss. How’re you?”

Now it was Jacob’s turn to look amused. “Just fine. Thanks for asking. Go on, now.”

Relieved, Trish ran off to join her brother beside the campfire. Jacob shook her head, small smirk playing on his lips. Kids. Didn’t know a thing about manners these days, it seemed.

Holly stepped out of the car and Jacob’s heart warmed at the sight of her. His day felt long, suddenly, and he felt all the empty spaces without her finally catch up with him. He hooked his hand around her side, pulling her in, and murmured, “Hey.”

“Hey,” she said right back. Her lips were full, red, and he felt hypnotized by their softness when he went in for a kiss. There was some distance between them—he could feel it, as though it were a physical thing—but in that moment she whimpered quietly into his mouth and her fingers curled around his shoulders, clinging to him, and, yeah. That was good.

“You want to skip the fire and head home?” Holly said, her fingers still locked on the lapels of his jacket. Even in her sweet, innocent face, there was this hint of wickedness that danced in her eyes and that made his pulse throb just a little south. “We could light up our own fireplace…talk…” The word dropped from her tongue like it was heavy. It was tempting; he had to give her that.

“We’re already here. One drink,” he said, tilting his head back at the bonfire.

Holly bit her lip briefly as though buttoning back a protest, but then she nodded. “Okay.” Hell, those lips, so plump and kissable, his Beast roared in his belly. He had half a mind to push her up against the hood of her car and kiss her and kiss her and never leave her lips, not until dawn blushed over the mountaintops.

Instead, he took her hand. Wrapped her fingers up in his and led her to the bonfire. As they got closer, he could smell the musky burned wood, sticky sweet marshmallows, and…another scent. Sharp whiskey and hand-rolled cigarettes.

The hair on the back of his neck went on end.

“He’s my guest,” Cassidy said defensively before Jacob could so much as open his mouth. “So don’t even think about kicking him out.”

Brent sat on one of the horizontal logs. Stetson hat all but covering his face. The tip of his cigarette lit up briefly from under the rim.

Jacob shot Cassidy a stern, we’ll talk about this later look. “Mmhm,” was all he said, and then he turned his back on Brent—hangdog in the red glow of the fire—and warmly greeted the rest of the clan. Jacob and Holly settled down and a honeypot came around with beers for them. Jacob cracked open his. He made note of the fact that everyone was giving Brent a wide berth. Even the honeypots stayed away (good girls). Cassidy was the only one side-by-side with him…why did she have to make everything difficult?