Page 2 of Pleasantly Undead in Dark River

Tex stumbled out of my bedroom, looking adorably ruffled around the edges. His pale, lithe body rippled as he walked across the room, his many tattoos looking almost animated. Apparently I was a sucker for a hot guy with tattoos. Sue me.

He rubbed at his eyes, and his feet stilled as he scented the other shifter in the room. Unconsciously, he ran his fingers through his hair, like his bed hair was the only thing stopping him from being respectable right now.

My mouth watered as his sweats hung precariously low, showing the deep V of his hips. Tex’s nose twitched, and a small smile curled his lips. He strode over to me, his footsteps as sure as the sighted, until he was close enough to grab my hips. “Good morning, Mate.”

My heart did that strange flip-flopping thing it did every time he uttered those words. He leaned forward and kissed me hard, despite the fact his grandfather or sire or whatever the fuck he thought he was, was standing less than six feet from us. I knew what it was. It was a claim. It was a statement that despite whoever Alexander thought he was to Tex, that Tex already had a pack. A mate. A life in which he was happy.

I bit his lip softly, a warning or an invitation, not even I knew the answer to that one. Still, he chuckled low and stepped away from me. He turned toward Alexander, and nodded respectfully. “Good morning, Sir,” he said formally.

Yeah, Tex had decided to be a little sassy with his alleged long lost family member. I couldn’t really blame him. The whole thing had fucked with his head. I wasn’t convinced that this wasn’t some crazy mistake; Brody pulling Tex being Alexander’s progeny out of his ass to protect him when we’d been surrounded by Raul and the Enforcers. However, apparently the reason that Raul was so ready to believe it was because there was a rumor that Alexander’s only living child, a daughter, had been stolen by vampires. When I pointed out that Tex was a huge fucking snake and not a dragon, Alexander had said it didn’t matter. The dragon gene was recessive.

And apparently there was no Shifter equivalent of Maury Povich. No quick DNA test and monotone “Alexander, you are not the sire.” However, there was a whole witchcraft ritual that could only be done under the light of a waning crescent moon or something. Neither Alexander or Tex were eager to give their blood over to witches just yet, so they were doing a series of super awkward breakfast dates until an epiphany beat them both over the head.

I looked at the dragon standing awkwardly in front of my dining table. He looked young, in his mid-twenties, his body lithe and almost serpentine when he walked, his dark eyes scary and his energy terrifying. When he stood next to Tex, well, I could see the similarity between them. They looked like distant cousins, maybe. It wouldn’t be a big leap for them to be related.

“I’ll just go and get changed,” he murmured, kissing my forehead. “I won’t be a minute.”

As Tex strode from the room, the muscles of his back taut, there was a collective sigh behind me. Alexander looked exhausted, his ancient eyes filled with frustration and regret. X looked horny as fuck. I hadn’t even seen him come back into the room. He was scarily stealthy when he wanted to be.

I frowned in X’s direction. He just shrugged. “What? Snakelet has a great arse.”

Alexander gave him a withering look. “How Titus didn’t smother you in your sleep as a fledgling is completely beyond me.”

I couldn’t help the snort that exploded from me. “How about I make that coffee?”

Chapter Two

Istood in the doorway of my doom yet again. No, that was dramatic. It just felt that way. It was, in fact, my happy place until a few months ago. Now, standing on the threshold of The Immortal Cupcake just instilled an exhausting wave of feelings, from remembered happiness, to real pain. But mostly, I felt guilty. I didn’t want this place, but I didn’t want it to sit empty and unloved either. Every time I walked past, it seemed even more forlorn, like it missed the life, or almost life, that used to bustle through its doors. But if I reopened it, I’d feel like I was somehow stealing Angeline’s life. If I left it closed, it was like I was letting her dream die a slow death and that seemed disrespectful too.

After talking it over ad nauseam with Walker though, we decided I should reopen it. Half the town had been there when Angeline had handed me the keys, and the other half knew about it before I got home.

Except I had two problems.

Problemo numero uno: I didn’t know how to run a business.

Problem number two: I couldn’t bake. Scratch that, I couldn’t cook at all.

I was going to destroy Angeline’s legacy even more than I already had. My chest started heaving. Could vampires have panic attacks if they didn’t really need to breathe?

“You look like you are freaking out,” a soft voice said behind me. I looked over my shoulder at Nico. He was wearing a neon pink ‘I Woke Up Like This’ shirt, and my lips curled in a laugh. His light hair was shining in the sun. His lips were soft as he dragged the bottom one between his teeth. Damn. I couldn’t resist. No matter how much my head said to take it slow, the rest of me wanted to jump into his arms and lose myself in his kiss. Instead, I turned and kissed his cheek.

“Just first day jitters.”

I pushed the big skeleton key into the heavy wooden door, and it swung open with a squeak in the silence. Overlaid against the dark background was the memory of what it looked like the first time I’d stepped through its doors. Filled with people and sweet smells. Angeline’s happiness had infected every corner of the room. How could I ever replicate that?

As if he could read my mind, Nico put a hand to my lower back, urging me further into the room. “No one expects you to recreate what Angeline did. You are Raine. You are not Angeline. Put your own stamp on this place; no one will begrudge you that.”

I let out a shuddering sigh. Fucking Nico. Always knew what I was feeling. “Nico,” I whispered. “I can’t bake.”

He threw back his head and laughed. Damn, I loved that sound.

"Well, that might be a problem considering this is a bakery." He stepped closer and brushed an errant piece of red hair out of my face. I was probably going to have to go visit Cresta to get the red touched-up soon. It had been low on my priorities for the last couple of months but I was determined to claw back a little bit of normalcy, kicking and screaming if I had to. When his fingers brushed across my cheekbone, his eyes sparkling with something alive, my fangs dropped.

I slapped a hand over my mouth. Shit. I thought I'd grown out of the accidental fang-boners. Nico smirked, and the look he was giving me was pure sin. "Perhaps, Raine, I can be of some assistance," he said in a low voice that made my skin tingle.

I swallowed hard, not even trying to hide my fangs now. “Really?”

"Uh huh," he whispered, stepping closer until his body was tight against mine. His lips touched the spot his fingers had just traced. "You see, I'm an expert." He placed whisper soft kisses down my cheek to my jaw, then down my neck.

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