Pack Council (13 page)
Clint stepped up and the sheriff transferred her hand into Clint’s.
“What…?” Sara started to ask but gasped when Clint went down on one knee. “Oh, my God!”
“Sara Webb,” Clint started but had to clear his voice. “I love you, Sara. From the first time I saw you standing behind that coffee bar I knew you were the only woman for me.”
Sara’s eyes filled and Kurt gripped Savannah’s hand.
“I ask you here tonight, in front of our friends and family, if you will marry me, and mate with me in the way of my people.” He held out the ring he’d purchased the week before.
“Clint!” Sara sobbed his name.
“Will you be mine?”
“Yes!” Sara cried. “Yes, yes, yes!”
Everyone clapped as Clint rose and kissed Sara passionately.
“That was beautiful,” Savannah sniffed.
Kurt agreed, knowing that when he asked Savannah he’d have to outdo his best friend. Because he would ask Savannah the same question one day.
One day not too far in the future.
He turned Savannah in his arms and kissed her tears away.
“I love you,” he said quietly.
“I love you too,” she responded and kissed him.
Also available from Totally Bound Publishing:
What’s Her Secret?
Last Call
Crissy Smith
Released 8th November 2013
Excerpt
Chapter One
“Last call! Last call!” Piper Maxwell shouted.
Jace Anderson heard the familiar words from his place at the cash register behind the bar and his blood started to pump in anticipation. His body was alive with awareness of what was to come. He turned his head to the woman who’d made the announcement. His bar manager Piper Maxwell nodded to the two bartenders while smiling at his patrons. This was the best part of the evening for him. Jace and Piper, alone, the opportunity he craved night after night.
He took the rag out of his back pocket and stepped around the bar into the seating section. He started to wipe down the empty tables to help clean up for the night. The dark wood table tops gleamed in the bar light. Smooth, quiet jazz flowed through air and comforted those within. The stained but clean oak floors had been battered but continued to hold strong.
From any seat in the house, the windowed front offered the patrons a spectacular view of the beach yards away.
Jace had opened the bar only a year ago but it was now home. Everything he had ever wanted in his life wrapped into one place. The people who worked for him were his family. The woman currently ringing up the last of the patrons’ tabs… He shook his head. Piper was one of a kind.
The closing procedures only took half an hour. He had a very efficient staff—they were well trained and all took care and helped one another. The kitchen had been shut down two hours ago so the small staff in the back had already cleaned up their stations and gone for the night. The four remaining employees, his two bartenders and two waitresses, finished up and happily waved good night.
It had been a busy shift. Steady business. He couldn’t ask for much more. Even in a struggling economy he still managed to make money.
Lifting the last stool onto the table top, he glanced out the front window and saw the moon shining bright over the water. The astounding sight always made his breath catch.
He’d moved to Blue Cove, California after his last tour of duty. Almost fourteen months ago. He’d read about the small coastal town when he had been overseas and always promised himself he would visit. Once he’d set foot on the soft sand and watched the crystal-clear waves roll, he’d known he was home.
He’d got a business loan and opened Anderson’s Lounge. Anderson’s was the only bar located directly on the beach that he loved so much. He was able to serve the locals like himself as well as the few tourists who came to town.
“That’s it,” Piper told him, switching off the back lights.
Jace tore his attention from outside to glance over at Piper pulling a bottle from behind the bar. The light of the bar was the only illumination and the sight of the beautiful woman made his breath catch. It had become their nightly ritual to share a toast to another night accomplished.
Jace always looked forward to this time. To this drink. One cocktail shared where Piper was relaxed and things tipped more personal. Or as close to personal as Piper ever allowed.
She had her dark hair pulled back into a ponytail and wore the same uniform as the other women—black shorts and Anderson Lounge T-shirt. But it was her eyes that always drew him in. What was the old saying? The eyes were the window to the soul. With Piper that was so true.
He wouldn’t describe the colour as green or brown. Hazel seemed too tame a word. The perfect combination of brown, green and yellow. Cat’s eyes, one of the employees had said before.
Guarded also. Piper kept everyone at arm’s length while still managing to take care of them all. She was always the first person to help, but never let anyone return the favour. Jace had been working on getting her comfortable with all of them but it was in rare moments that she opened to him and only him. But after a brief glimpse she would shut back down.
He’d hired her six months ago to manage the bar and staff. Her resume was packed full of experience and she had delivered with her organisation and business smarts.
Over the last several months he’d grown very fond of her. Hell, who was he kidding, he was falling for her. But she still held back. He knew she felt the same connection but very rarely did she let the longing slip.
She was careful, so very cautious around everyone, but late at night as they clinked glasses she would look at him and he could see her inner struggle to remain that way.
He worried about her habit of picking up and moving on. He knew the time was fast approaching and he’d have to deal with that soon.
Because he wasn’t going to let her go.
About the Author
Crissy Smith lives in Texas with her husband, daughter, and three Labrador retrievers. The three dogs love to curl up under her computer desk and nap while she writes. It doesn’t leave a lot of room for her but what’s a woman to do?
When not writing or reading, she enjoys hunting, camping and shooting. But she has a girly side too and is addicted to pedicures and coffee.
She has been writing since she was a teenager and still loves everything to do with the paranormal. Her stories and characters all have a place in her heart. She loves the Alpha male, the dominant werewolf, and the Master vampire, which find their way in most of her books.
Learn more about the characters she has created at her website where they have their very own page. It will be updated from time to time to let you know what's going on with them. Also you can find out who will be in the next book.
Email:
[email protected]
Crissy loves to hear from readers. You can find her contact information, website and author biography at
http://www.totallybound.com
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Also by Crissy Smith
Were Chronicles: Pack Territory
Were Chronicles: Pack Community
Were Chronicles: Pack Daughter
Corporate Wolves: Losing Control
Secrets: The Shifter and the Dreamer
Caught in the Middle: Magical Ménage
Summer Seductions: Summers’ Girl
Cloaks and Daggers: Vampire Hunter
Totally Bound Publishing
