Facing Off with Alexi (Witch Field Prowlers Book 2) (2 page)

“Hey now, I don’t get that kind of greeting when I come here all by myself.” Alexi pretended to be upset but couldn’t stifle the shot of envy he felt. Gus flirted with all the women, young and old, who came through his store, but he seemed to be sweeter on Tianna than anyone else.

Gus gave Alexi a wink over Tianna’s shoulder before setting her on the ground. “Gotta get my kicks somewhere, and when a voluptuous woman offers me a hug, who am I to not show my appreciation.” He grinned, showing off his chipped front teeth.

Tianna turned around and poked Alexi in the chest. “Don’t get jealous. I’m spending an entire week with you at horror-movie cabin. Maybe I should stay here. At least the company here, Gus, will slay my bug pests for me and give me all the creamy crack cookie butter I can get my hands on.”

Gus grinned at him and traced a bottle shape in the air with his hands followed by another wink. “Don’t you worry, my sweet. Ol’ Gus will defend you from those bloodsuckers and provide you with a king’s ransom worth of cookie butter spread.”

“Careful. I’ll make you sleep out on the screened-in porch if you keep this up, and devour your precious cookie butter,” Alexi warned. He let the words sink before he followed her to the entrance. Alexi would never do that, but just the threat alone should keep her in line.

“Ha! If Tianna honored me with being my woman, I wouldn’t let her out of bed, much less put her on a screened-in porch. But then I know how to treat a lady! Go on with you. Your favorites are stocked, and don’t forget to stop by on your way out of town. Miner missed you last year.” Gus took his place in the rocking chair and picked up a piece of wood and his jackknife. It looked like he’d starting carving what would become a hawk in full flight—wings spread wide, looking majestic as it rode the currents.

“We will.” Alexi went after Tianna into the store, trying not to pull a Hodgeson and stare at her ass as he went. He grabbed a basket and went to the snacks aisles, focused on stocking up. His stomach grumbled.

“I’m hungry since
someone
decided a dog deserved my breakfast more than I did, so after this, Mama L’s.”

Tianna headed for the other side of the store, which contained the freezers. “Yeah, I’m pretty hungry myself. All I had was a granola bar.”

He frowned. “Honey, you need more than a granola bar for breakfast. What the hell is that personal trainer of yours telling you?” It didn’t sit well with him that she was forgoing necessary food just to look a certain way. “I prefer you curvy.” He uttered the last bit without hesitation.

“Nope. Just wanted to get on the road before morning rush hour, so I grabbed what I could. What time is it?” she called back.

He noticed that she didn’t defend her new personal trainer.

“Close to eleven thirty. Mama L should still be serving breakfast. Make sure you get the homemade local peanut butter brownie ice cream.” If he was going to dive off the eating healthy bandwagon for a week, might as well go all the way.

“Ugh, I want some of her garlic hash browns, spicy bacon, and pancakes or French toast. Crap, both?” He heard the fridge door open and close with a
thunk.

He glanced around. They were the only customers shopping that morning. “I want some sausages.”

“That’s all? Jeez, dude. I’ll buy a subscription for you to sausage-of-the-month club if they mean that much to you.”

He couldn’t resist wading in. “Just sausage? All I’m saying is you’re buying since you value a dog’s appetite more than mine.” He waited for her to protest.

“Ha! You just want to take advantage of my new income”—she snorted—“but I’ll pay if it means that much to you.”

“Thanks, punkin,” he teased as he grabbed some of his favorite cheese puff snacks, her potato chips, some whole-wheat pretzels with sea salt, and a pack of peanut butter chocolate chip cookies he knew Ti couldn’t resist. Once he was done, he headed into the coffee and tea aisle. Neither one of them would be fully functional without a few cups of java and tea. He grabbed several packages and even added some of her favorite imported hot chocolate to his choices.
Might as well go all the way
. He spotted the cookie butter spread and put four jars into his basket. If he’d passed those up, there would be hell to pay. He doubted she’d be happy with four, but his cabinets didn’t open to an extra dimension where he could store stuff.

After picking up some soup and items to use for cooking for the nights when they didn’t go out, he met her in the center of the store and compared their picks. “I did good, right?” He riffled through his basket.

“Oh my God! They have the Irish cream hot chocolate still in stock? Go back and get more! Never mind. I’ll get it.” She rushed past him. He followed, amused at her excitement.

“You’re going to have to leave some for others.” He doubted she’d take his advice.

She snorted. “You snooze, you lose.” She got to the aisle, found the hot chocolate, and grabbed package after package until there was a blank spot where the bright green boxes used to be. He didn’t point out that she’d passed up the cookie butter right across from it.

“Rude,” he teased.

“Smart,” she retorted as they headed up to the front to pay.

“Did you get the—” He prayed she hadn’t forgotten the ice cream, Popsicles, hot dogs, and ground beef along with the cheese. Last time she’d forgotten the buns, and they’d had to eat without them. It had been an awkward experience to say the least.

“Who do you think I am? I learn from my mistakes. I’ll go get Gus.” Tianna put her basket up on the counter and left the store.

Alexi took this time to study the choices in magazines, gum, and candy. Nothing appealed to him. His gaze passed over the sports sections. This week would be a hockey-free zone. Besides he didn’t want to see the current Stanley Cup champs on the cover with their prize. Having been knocked out first round, his pride was still bruised. Once he determined there was nothing for him, he did a mental calculation of what they’d do for the rest of the week. His thoughts faded away at the sound of Ti and Gus’s footsteps on the worn wooden floor.

“Don’t worry. I’ll make sure we come back often. Now ring us up. We’re hungry.” She tugged him to the open space that led behind the counter. To punctuate her statement, her stomach rumbled yet again.

“Not keeping the lovely lady fed? For shame, Kurraine,” Gus admonished with a toothy grin.

“No, it’s her fault. She wanted to leave early. At least we missed the charity football game traffic around the stadium.” Alexi shuddered at the thought of getting caught up in that mess.

“Was that today? I heard ‘Steam Engine’ McClain was gonna be there. And Bobby ‘Bear’ Brady. Man, both of them could play. And Steam Engine had an arm on him.” Gus rang up their purchases. If he was annoyed at having his entire stock of Irish cream hot chocolate being bought out, he didn’t say.

“Yeah. My brothers wanted to be at the game, but they couldn’t due to football preseason. And I didn’t want to be around a crowd.” Alexi ducked his head and refused to meet Tianna’s gaze.

Tianna gave his hand a squeeze, but he didn’t glance up.

“No shame in losing, son. It’s staying down on your ass or getting up that matters.” Gus swiped the last item and gave them the total. “You do realize I have two whole boxes more of that hot chocolate, right?”

“Hand it over, Gus, and no one gets hurt. I have to wait all year round for those things to come out, and I can only get them here.” Tianna followed Gus to the back, where he grabbed the last of his stock.

“There you go. I actually saved them for you. Ordered them special when Alexi called and let me know you’d be coming down here.” Gus nodded at Alexi, who lifted his head and grinned.

Tianna came at him, wrapping him up in a bear hug that made his cock jump and his heartbeat stutter. Fire threaded his veins as he hugged her back, savoring the feel of her lush curves against his muscular body. If they could stay like that forever, he’d be the happiest guy alive. Gus’s cleared throat drew him out of the moment. They paid and promised to come back during the week and before they left.

As Alexi climbed into the passenger seat of his SUV, he hoped Tianna hadn’t noticed that his dick was just as happy hugging her as the rest of him had been. She didn’t make a single remark about his erection and instead focused on rattling off all the food they’d be ordering at Mama Leslie’s. Now if only he could survive the rest of week without getting another boner and keeping things friendly, he’d be fine, he hoped. Although the question reared up in his mind again:
What the fuck did I get myself into?

Chapter Two

Tianna dug into her meal with gusto, savoring the heat and crispness of the hash browns, the fluffiness of the pancakes, and the smoky sweetness of the bacon. So long as she didn’t glance across from her, she could focus on her food rather than her hunk of a best friend. Neither of them spoke, but since arriving at his apartment last night, she’d felt a tension between them that hadn’t been there before. Every so often she’d catch him giving her the once-over or a heated glance that made her tummy flip and heart beat just a little bit faster while liquid need flooded her sex. She had to remind herself that they were best friends only. This should be their usual friendly get-together. If only her libido would listen to that.

Awareness at how far away and yet how close he was flickered through her. Every little move, each glance that landed on her body reminded her she would be spending alone time with him. Their own secluded forest getaway; whether things would burn down to sex or nothing, she couldn’t quite say. From under her lashes she took him in. His pale blond hair—the sides and top were longer than the last time she’d seen. His thick, dark brown lashes and brows framed cool gray eyes. He had dark circles that worried her. The last time they’d spoken, he’d sounded so tired.

In person he seemed to be forcing himself to be upbeat. He would be thirty-six this year. Was he worried that he’d have to retire soon? As far as she knew he was in perfect shape, always took care of himself, only during special occasions like their annual summer get-together week did he let loose on his diet. A distance she hadn’t been aware of yawned between them. She didn’t like that she didn’t know something about him. She opened her mouth to ask but stopped herself. This was a talk they should have in private, not where anyone could overhear and then post it on social media.

Frustration at having to bite her lip took hold, pushing back some of her sexual desire for him. He’d never been one to keep things from her. Well…there was his erection from before. She hadn’t missed that thick bulge when she’d hugged him. That had been the fourth time she’d felt proof of his arousal since she’d arrived. The first time she’d dismissed in the name of a friendly week; now she couldn’t push it out of her mind.
What the hell am I going to do? Clear the air?
She glanced around. So far, no one was trying to take selfies with him; in fact, since walking through the door, everyone had left them well enough alone. Which was good. She hated when his private time was taken over by people who thought it was just fine following him into the bathroom or propositioning him after they’d just met him.

She shook her head, loosening those thoughts. Concentrate, she ordered herself. “What’s wrong?” The question got blurted out, and she gave herself a mental smack. “Never mind, forget it.” She prayed he wouldn’t answer.

She dug into her food, waiting for him to respond or not.

“And don’t say ‘nothing.’ I know you, remember.” Yeah, we’ll just talk about other shit and ignore the sex stuff, she thought.

“Yeah, sorry, I’m just tired. Haven’t been sleeping lately.” He ran a hand over his face and through his hair, turning the placid locks into messy waves. Something flashed in his eyes that she couldn’t quite read.

“Worried about your place on the team?” In for a penny, in for a pound, as they said.

He shook his head and put down his fork to sit back in his chair, shoulders slumped, face drawn. “No, it’s not that. It has nothing to do with hockey. Well, not really.”

Well, that answered something—not
. “Family?” She’d spoken to his mom and pop before she left, and all was fine on that front. As far as she knew his brothers were also doing okay, both prepping for preseason in football with their respective teams.

“Nope.” He stared at her, indecision filling his features.

Her stomach fluttered in worry. “Me?”

“I think so, but we can’t talk about it here.” His face hardened, and his lips thinned.

Cards on the table time, I guess
. “Okay. Once we get to the cabin. Did you have it cleaned, or am I going to enter only to run out demanding you set fire to the whole damn place because a group of mutant spiders have made it their home? I refuse to have this turned into a fantasy book moment. I am not making deals or friends with them, got it?” She pointed her fork at him, hoping it lifted up his mood.

He cracked a smile. “They’re not real, you know. It’s called CGI. You know, digital work?”

She shook her head. “Didn’t you see that post on my Facebook page? They are so too real and getting deadlier by the day. There’s a species that can give guys deadly erections. Can you imagine that? Dying all because you got a woody?”

Heat flashed on her face as she remembered the feel of his thick bulge pressing into her stomach. She swallowed. Stop thinking of that, she admonished herself but doubted it would work.

“Are you sure that’s a real story and not on one of those satire sites?” Skepticism filled his face.

“Yes, I looked it up and asked a friend who was a bug expert.” Her stomach threatened to revolt at the thought of those creepy crawlies. “Why would someone want to go into that field of work? I like bees and butterflies and ladybugs, but the others, no, no, and no.” She took a sip of her cookies-and-cream latte to stave off the nausea. It worked but barely.

Alexi chuckled. “You are so adorable, I swear. I still don’t understand why you come up to the cabin with me. You’d have to interact with all of that and more.”

She let out a squeak and shook her head. The newly shorn edges slapped her jawline each time, grating and scrapping against her skin. A few more days and she wouldn’t notice the sensation.