First & Forever (The Crescent Chronicles Book 4) Read online

  “Now? Seriously?” Jess whined.

  “I’m sure you can meet up with your friend another time.”

  Her friend? Allie had a bit of edge, didn’t she?

  “What’s the rush all of a sudden?” Jared asked, glaring at Allie.

  “Owen decided to point out the late hour to her.” I knew Jared would appreciate it as much as I did.

  “What the hell, man?” Jared lunged at Owen, his eyes turning black. I hoped the girls didn’t notice, and I put myself between my friends. We’d have to settle this later.

  “Let it go, Jared. I’m sure we’ll have plenty of opportunities to see them again. We’ll walk you girls home.” I wasn’t happy to see Allie leave, but I also wanted another chance. It was time to cut our losses and regroup.

  When we reached the hotel, Allie waved. “Goodnight.”

  “I’ll be seeing you,” I said before walking away. I’m sure she had no clue how true my words were—there wasn’t a chance in the world I was letting this girl go.

  Chapter Four

  Miraculously, Jared didn’t kill Owen. Jared was usually reasonable, but if you cock blocked him, you needed to be ready for his wrath. They’d stopped fighting long enough to go to sleep, but that didn’t mean Jared wasn’t still angry the next day. I poured myself a cup of coffee and watched as they stared each other down in the kitchen.

  “Are you guys going to survive if I leave for a few hours?” I wasn’t in a rush to go anywhere, but I didn’t have a choice.

  “If you’re going to stalk that girl from last night, I’m going to have to intervene.” Jared laughed.

  “I’m not stalking anyone.” Even if I did want to see her again. “My grandparents are in town. I’ve been ordered to attend a family lunch at my parents’ house.”

  “Oh. Lucky you.” Jared popped open the top on a can of Coke. “I’d offer to join you, but I’d rather go to the dentist.”

  “Your family isn’t that bad.” Owen seemed relieved Jared had moved on from threatening his life. “If you need company, I’ll suffer along with you.”

  “I appreciate the sacrifice, but that’s not going to fly with Georgina.” My grandmother was pretty intense, and a family lunch was limited to family. No exceptions.

  “Call us when you get out.”

  “If I get out,” I mumbled as I walked to the door. “Try not to kill each other while I’m gone.”

  Jared laughed. “I’m over it. We’ll go out later and find someone else.”

  “Yeah, maybe.” I left before he could question me. I was already late to see my family. I didn’t feel like explaining to my friends that I didn’t want to find another girl. Until I got Allie into bed, no one else was going to cut it.

  I parked my black BMW along the curb in front of my parents’ large white house. With a wraparound porch and tall columns, it fit the southern style you would expect to see in the Garden District. After sitting in the car longer than necessary, I got out and headed to the front door. There was no reason to further delay the inevitable, and hopefully the afternoon would go by quickly.

  My mom opened the door before I could ring the bell. I still had a key, but I never used it anymore. “Hey, honey.” The stress on her face could only mean one thing. Georgina had already arrived.

  “Hi, Mom. Sorry I’m late.”

  “It’s fine.”

  “It’s fine?” My grandmother strode into the entryway. Tall and always impeccably dressed, my grandmother was nothing like most women her age. She was so full of energy and ready to jump on any mistake, she could intimidate any woman or man. My grandfather was included in that. I guess some might find it comical that the former King of the Society was terrified of his very human wife.

  “Hi, Grandma. Sorry about that.”

  “It’s all right, Leviathan. You learned your manners from your mother. I can’t blame you.” She gave me a light hug while glaring at my mom.

  “It’s not Mom’s fault.”

  “Sure. Maybe not this time.”

  Mom gave me a “don’t make it worse” look. I nodded. She was right. Nothing I could say was going to make it better. Besides, she’d start in on me soon enough.

  “Where’s Dad?” I assumed he was in his study, but I figured it was worth asking. Escaping from Georgina’s eye for a few minutes was usually worth facing my father alone.

  “He’s working. Let’s talk.” Georgina took my arm and led me toward the living room. My mother didn’t follow. I didn’t blame her.

  I took a seat in a beige arm chair. Georgina sat down caddy corner on a matching couch.

  “How was your trip?” I decided to start with the niceties. That would give her less time to grill me about my life.

  “Don’t bother, Leviathan. We both know why I’m here.”

  I grinned. “To spend time with your adoring family?”

  “I take it you haven’t made any more progress with finding a mate?” She leaned forward slightly.

  I exhaled loudly. “What’s the rush?”

  “What’s the rush? As though you don’t know the consequences if you fail to have an heir.”

  I pictured what I’d get to do with Allie to make an heir. I quickly pushed that thought away. I was only a few feet from my grandmother. “I’ll have a kid eventually.”

  “You’ve met someone.” Her lips curved into a small smile. “Out with it.”

  “What?” I sat up with a start. Had I said something out loud?

  She cast me a warning glance. “Don’t lie to me. You were day dreaming about someone.”

  “I don’t day dream.”

  “I expect to meet her soon.” She folded her hands in her lap.

  “There’s no one to meet.” I didn’t even have a real date lined up with Allie, and I was thinking about getting her into bed, not binding her to me as my lifelong mate.

  “If there’s no one, would you like me to introduce you to a few candidates? I know of several young women who might be worthy of your hand.”

  “No!” I shot up out of my chair. There was no way my grandmother was playing matchmaker. “I’ll pick my own mate.”

  “Then do it.” She stood and hugged me again. As she turned to leave the room, she whispered, “You’ll know it if you find her.” Her voice was low, but she wanted me to hear. I didn’t need to listen to any of that again.

  I suffered through lunch. My grandmother only criticized my mother’s cooking once, but the conversation was awkward and no one wanted to be there. My father barely said two words to me. I knew he was still pissed about me missing the meeting. As soon as I finished, I excused myself from the table and went up to my childhood bedroom.

  The room was sparsely furnished and decorated, exactly the way it had been when I was a kid. My father didn’t believe that boys should bother with anything but the basics. Toys and posters would only get in the way. I walked past my king sized bed, still covered in the blue comforter I’d grown up with, before stopping in front of my dresser. I pulled open my sock drawer and searched around until I found the small ring. I’d freaked out when my father gave me the ring that was intended for my mate. Seven years later and the ruby-covered ring still scared me. I ran my fingers over the stones, stuffing it in my pocket when I heard a knock on the door.

  I turned to face my mom in the doorway. “Hey, Mom.” She was the one member of the family I actually got along with.

  “You doing all right up here? You were really quiet at lunch.” Her warm eyes studied my face. She was worried about me.

  “Am I ever talkative at these things?”

  She strode over to me. “No, but you’re going to be king soon. You’re going to have to get better at controlling your feelings.”

  “And I need to find a mate. Isn’t that what the theme of the day is?”

  “No. You don’t need to find a mate.” She gave me a long look.

  “I don’t?” That was news.

  “You need to find the right mate.” She patted me on the shoulder.
“Think about that.”

  “Is it okay if I leave?”

  “Sure. Just slip out the back.”

  “Thanks.” I gave her a quick hug before taking the back stairs two at a time. It wasn’t until I was in my car that I realized I hadn’t put the ring back.

  Chapter Five

  I owed Jared. Short of stalking the hotel to look for her or talking to my contacts, I had no immediate way to see Allie again. Lucky for me, Jess had happily slipped her number to Jared. All it took was one phone call, and the plans were set. From what I gathered, Allie hadn’t been part of the planning, but that didn’t worry me. She could play hard to get all she wanted. At the end of the night, she’d be coming home with me.

  We waited in front of the elevators. I’d never picked up a girl at the hotel before, but my assumption was they weren’t taking the stairs down. After waiting a few minutes, the doors opened, and I remembered why I was putting in all the effort. Allie looked even hotter than last time. She wore a pink halter style dress that accentuated her green eyes. Like everything else I’d seen her in, it was short, and she kept it casual with flip-flops. I liked that she wasn’t the kind of girl who wore heels all the time. Heels could be hot, but a pair of flip-flops meant a girl was laid back.

  “Hey there, Allison.” I purposely used her full name to see what kind of response I got.

  “It’s Allie.” She feigned annoyance, but I noticed her studying my chest and arms.

  I smiled, letting her know I’d caught her in the act of checking me out. “Oh yeah, I forgot.”

  “I’m sure.” She shook her head, bringing my attention to her hair. I wanted to run my hands through those brown locks. I also wanted them sprawled out on my pillow.

  “Are you girls ready to see uptown?” Owen addressed both of them. I got the sense he was being careful. Smart guy.

  Allie adjusted her purse on her shoulder. “Sure, should we follow you or get an address for my GPS?”

  “Neither.” I put a hand on the small of her back and led her toward the door. “We’re taking the streetcar. That way you don’t have to worry about a designated driver.”

  “Will it still be running when we need to get home?” She seemed worried. Wasn’t she from New York? Did New Orleans at night scare her that much? She didn’t need to worry about anything with me around.

  “This is New Orleans. It runs all night.” Jared didn’t bother to sugar coat his annoyance at her. He wasn’t an Allie fan for some reason, but it wasn’t my problem.

  I stayed close to Allie’s side as we walked the few blocks to the corner of Canal and St. Charles. We caught the streetcar just before it pulled away. Allie struggled to slip a dollar bill into the machine, and I pushed her hand away. She wasn’t paying for anything when she was with me. “I’ve got this.”

  The car lurched forward and Allie lost her balance. I caught her easily in my arms. “Easy does it, darling.” I inhaled her warm sweet scent. She wore the same perfume again. After detangling herself from my arms, she held onto the seats as she walked down the aisle. She’d barely settled into a seat when I slid in right next to her.

  “So where are we going exactly?” She looked over me to watch Jess and Jared. I may have had my work cut out for me, but Jared had a guarantee going for him.

  I pulled her attention away from them. “The Maple Leaf. It’s a bar that always has great live music. You’re going to like it.”

  She rested a hand on her leg. “Glad to know you are now an expert on what I like.”

  “I’m an expert on a lot of things.” I stretched out my legs, brushing my leg against hers in the process. Her body tensed ever so slightly, but it wasn’t in a bad way.

  She gazed out the window, and I was glad it was a clear night out. The windows on the streetcar were open, providing a nice breeze. I needed it with the way my body heated around her. She felt it too. I know she did. There was an electricity sizzling between us like nothing I’d ever experienced before. I wanted her so bad it hurt.

  I followed her gaze. She was checking out the houses lining St. Charles. “Beautiful, aren’t they?” I leaned in close and smiled when I noticed the goose bumps forming on her exposed shoulder. Considering the heat, I knew I was the cause of them.

  She took a moment to answer. “The homes? Yeah, they’re gorgeous. Is this the Garden district?”

  “Yes. Home sweet home.”

  “Have you always lived here?” she asked absently, probably deciding which house she’d want for herself.

  “Born and raised, and I never want to move anywhere else.” I also had no choice. New Orleans would always be my home.

  She turned away from the window and her face was mere inches from mine. “Really?”

  I fought the urge to taste her lips. I couldn’t rush the moment and lose my chance. “Does that really surprise you?”

  “I mean, you told me you were from here, but don’t most people our age want to explore new places?”

  If she only knew how tied to New Orleans I was. At the moment, I couldn’t have cared less where I was though. The company was all I needed. “Why explore when you have everything you need right here?”

  “Yeah. Whatever.” She turned away again, but I didn’t miss her lingering glance. I let her enjoy the view until we reached our stop.

  I touched her leg gently. “This is us.” I pulled the cord to request a stop, then I led her off the car. “It’s just a few blocks from here.”

  We’d only made it a few steps when Jess walked between us and grabbed Allie’s hand. “Have a nice ride?”

  “Splendid.” Allie’s face was slightly flushed.

  Jess grinned. “It looked like you were enjoying yourself.”

  I laughed. Obviously, I wasn’t the only one who picked up on it.

  Allie gave it right back to her. “Yeah, I wouldn’t have thought you noticed. You looked pretty distracted yourself.”

  “Unlike you, I’m not going to pretend otherwise.” Jess smiled again before pulling Allie along with her to catch up with Jared. Man, he had her interested.

  I pushed open the door to one of my favorite bars. The Maple Leaf doesn’t look particularly special on the outside, but the music and overall feel of the place made it worth coming back to. I headed straight through to the back patio, checking behind me to make sure Allie was still with me.

  “Owen!” Hailey noticed us immediately and decided to annoy the hell out of Owen by pulling him into a hug.

  I laughed to myself as he quickly broke away. “Aww, damn it, Hailey. I should have known you would be here.”

  “Don’t bother hiding it, Owen. You know you’re glad to see your favorite sister.” She grinned.

  “You mean my only sister.”

  Hailey quickly lost interest in Owen when she noticed the girls. “Hi. I don’t think we’ve met.” She held out her hand.

  Allie accepted her handshake. “I’m Allie.”

  Hailey moved on to Jess next.

  Hailey smiled at Jess before turning her attention to Allie again. “Nice to meet you. So you’re friends with my brother then?”

  Allie’s brow furrowed slightly. “Sort of…”

  “Enough of the twenty questions. We met them down at the hotel. Allie’s dad owns the place now,” Owen explained.

  “Oh!” Hailey caught the glare I shot her and recovered quickly. Letting the girls know there was anything important about the hotel wouldn’t be a good thing.

  “Watch it, Hailey,” Jared warned.

  Hailey nodded at us both. She understood. “It’s really nice to meet you both. My best friends deserted me to spend the summer abroad, and I could really use some other girls around.”

  “Wait, Beth and Jill both left already? Who are you here with?” Owen pretended not to care, but he was still her big brother.

  “I came by myself to meet up with Jamie. Not a big deal.”

  “Oh, okay, but don’t leave by yourself.”

  “Like I can’t take care of mysel
f?” She put a hand on her hip.

  “Just humor me, Hailey.”

  “Sure.” She rolled her eyes. “God, older brothers can be annoying. Do you have any siblings, Allie?”

  “Nope, I’m an only child.”

  Interesting. It looked we had something in common.

  “So lucky,” Jess broke in. “I have four younger brothers and sisters.”

  “Four? Wow,” Hailey was probably picturing having to deal with more than one Owen.

  Jess nodded. “Yeah, I know. Thankfully, I was always able to escape the chaos by crashing at Allie’s because her mom is cool. She’s so lucky.”

  “My mom is pretty cool.” Allie seemed to be lost in thought for a minute. I wondered what the story was. She’d mentioned her dad bought the hotel, but from what I knew, there wasn’t a Mrs. around.

  Satisfied she wasn’t going anywhere, I slipped back inside to get us some drinks. There was a line at the bar, but the bartender served me immediately. I didn’t know him by name, but he definitely knew who I was. I ordered myself an Abita and decided to go with another Oasis for Allie. She seemed to like the last two. I listened to the band for a few seconds before heading back outside. Allie was exactly where I left her.

  “I got your drink for you.” I held out her glass.

  She seemed surprised. I guess she hadn’t noticed my absence. “My drink?”

  “You seemed to like it the other night.”

  “And you still aren’t going to tell me what’s in it?”

  “Nope.” No reason to reveal any of my cards yet.

  “Well, there are other ways of figuring it out.” She gave me a coy smile.

  “Are there now?” Now this was good. Things were finally moving in the right direction.

  “Uh-huh.” Damn, a girl like that shouldn’t be allowed to look at a man that way. My jeans weren’t going to be my friend for long.

  “You care to share?”

  “Not right now.” She smiled and took a seat next to Owen. I stifled the growl I felt rising in my throat. To make matters worse, Hailey jumped into the empty seat next to her before I got the chance. That girl was looking for trouble. I shot her a dirty look. Jess let out a giggle. She was perched on Jared’s lap. He looked very pleased with the arrangement.