“We both know how much you hate following orders, Damon. Besides, you kind of owe me.”
Damon straightened. “Owe you? For what?”
“For helping you get Jayden out of that trouble down in Shreveport.”
“Help? All you did was handcuff me to the bar in that strip club,” Damon growled.
Kate’s mouth dropped open. “Braxton handcuffed you to a bar?”
Damon lifted his brow. “With a pair of fuzzy pink handcuffs.”
Kate grinned. “Okay. I’m afraid to even ask.”
“Hey, they weren’t mine. Someone left them at the bar.” Braxton held up his hands. Fucking Damon.
“So you keep saying.” Damon’s expression grew grim. “Since you managed to hide out here without the Assassins finding you, it might be wise for you to stay put.”
Braxton relaxed. That would give him more time with Kate. Even if it was just one more day, he’d take it.
“And since you’re staying here, that means I’ll be staying here, too.” Damon stood.
“Wait a minute.” Braxton shook his head, not liking where this conversation was going.
“This is a bed and breakfast, isn’t it?” Damon glanced at Kate.
“Yes.”
“Good. How much is it a night?” Damon reached for his wallet. Guilt and jealousy stung Braxton’s gut. He didn’t have the funds to pay Kate for her hospitality and everything she’d done for him. Yet, here was Damon, pulling out cash earned from his highly profitable position as one of Arkansas’s Guardians. He had to hand it to Barrett for paying his employees so well.
“The usual rate is two hundred dollars a night, but since it’s the slow season, I charge a hundred and nineteen.”
Damon shook his head. “I’ll pay the full price. You have no idea how much I can eat. Ava has to buy groceries twice a week.” He pulled out a wad of hundred dollar bills. “Cash okay?”
Kate nodded, her eyes widening. “Cash is great.”
“Good. Put me down for a week.” He counted off eleven hundred dollars and handed it to her.
She looked up at Damon and shook her head. “This is too much.”
“The extra should cover any additional expenses, like food. I wasn’t kidding about eating a lot.”
Kate stared at the wad of cash in her hands. “Thanks. I’ll just put this up.” She grinned and then headed to her bedroom.
Making sure she was out of earshot, Braxton gave Damon a pointed look. “You can’t stay.”
“Why not? It’s a bed and breakfast and she apparently needs the money.” Damon looked over his shoulder and out the window. “I didn’t notice any cars outside. Since I’ve been here, I haven’t exactly heard the phone ringing off the hook with people booking a room.”
Braxton gritted his teeth. Damon was right. Kate could use the money. He just wished he had the money to help her out and not Damon.
“Besides, I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t stick to you like glue.” Damon slapped him on the back. “So are you going to tell me what’s going on?”
Braxton rubbed the back of his neck. “I already told you. I was accused of a crime I didn’t commit.”
Damon shook his head. “No, not that. That, I got already. I mean, what’s going on with you and the human.” He nodded toward Kate’s bedroom.
“Her name is Kate and nothing’s going on.” The lie stuck in his throat like an apple. A lot was going on; he just needed to figure out what it was.
“Does she know that?”
“What are you, Dr. Phil? I never pegged you for a relationship specialist.” Braxton gave him a dry look.
“Fuck you.”
“No, thanks, I’m into blondes.”
“So I’ve noticed.” Damon reached for his coffee. “Don’t you find it a little strange that Kate hasn’t freaked out about you being a werewolf?”
Braxton eyed him. “Of course she freaked out.”
“Really? What did she do? Go running for the hills?” Damon looked out the window. “Never mind, we are in the hills.”
“Smart-ass.”
“Did she call the cops when you shifted?” Damon crossed his arms over his chest and stared at him.
Braxton shook his head. “No.”
“Did she call her friend the vet to come shoot you?”
“Of course not.”
“So you’re telling me a human woman saw you shift into a wolf, helped dig a silver bullet out of your shoulder, and let you stay here in a secluded bed and breakfast? No questions asked?”
“What the fuck are you getting at, Damon?” Braxton curled his fingers into fists.
“I find it hard to believe that Kate is being nice to you out of the goodness of her heart. I mean, who’s to say she’s not using you for her own benefit?”
“If anyone’s using someone, it’s me using her,” Braxton muttered. Vivid images of Kate naked, under him, flashed through his mind. He remembered the way she held his gaze when he held her close, her body responding to his every touch.
“So it’s like that.”
Braxton gave him a murderous glare. “Change the topic.”