“You’re shitting me.” Braxton had never lacked getting laid. There was a time in his life when he didn’t go longer than a few days before sleeping with a willing female. But that had been years ago when he’d hit his teens and his sexual drive was so intense. The last few years he’d been less interested in the physical act of sex. He’d started wondering if there was something more for him in the world. But sex every three hours?
“Yes, it’s possible.” Damon smirked and began tossing back the first bag of sour cream and onion potato chips. “I see the jealousy written all over your face.” Damon poured the soda in a glass. “I think it has something to do with being newly mated. It’s like I can’t get enough sex. And as for Ava…” He whistled.
“What?” Braxton leaned forward
“She’s insatiable. Always wanting more. Always demanding more.” Damon smiled and wiggled his eyebrows. “I can’t get her off my dick.”
“This mating thing is starting to grow on me.”
Kate walked into the kitchen. “What’s starting to grow on you?”
From the innocent look on Kate’s face she hadn’t heard their conversation. Good. Mating was the last thing he wanted to discuss. Even with Kate.
“We were talking about the mountains, about how different Eureka Springs is from Shreveport.” Braxton shot Damon a warning look not to open his big mouth.
Kate laughed as she placed her purse on the kitchen island. “We don’t seem to have much going on in Eureka Springs.”
“It’s like Mayberry. I’m betting the crime rate here is zero.” Damon took another bite of his sandwich.
Kate paled. “Actually, now that you bring that up…”
“What?” Braxton straightened.
“Beau called me early this morning.” Kate licked her lips. “He said someone discovered a dead body.” Kate’s gaze drifted from him to Damon.
Damon shrugged and continued to eat. “Don’t look at me. I was here with you guys all night.”
“Was it somebody you knew?” Braxton reached for her hand.
“No.” Kate swallowed. “It was one of Bigsby’s construction workers.”
“The guy who’s trying to buy your B&B?” Braxton frowned.
“Yeah.”
“People get killed on construction jobs all the time. Hell, I heard someone in town talking about someone falling to his death while working on that old hotel on the top of the mountain here.” Damon crumbled the now-empty potato chip bag and tossed it in the garbage.
“This guy didn’t fall.” Her slender throat worked up and down as she swallowed. “He was shot through the eye with a nail gun.”
They both turned to her.
“So he was murdered.” Braxton glanced at Damon before looking at Kate. “Do they have any suspects?”
“No, but they are looking at anyone new that might have come to town recently.” Her voice cracked.
Braxton knew there could be cops showing up on Kate’s doorstep any time now, questioning his whereabouts at the time of the murder. Cops he could handle. It was the Assassins he was worried about.
“Maybe you should head back with me.” Damon scowled.
“And leave Kate here with some murderer on the loose? Forget it.”
“Maybe Damon’s right,” Kate spoke.
“What?” Braxton’s chest tightened.
“It sounds like you’d be better protected under the Arkansas Pack Master.” Kate looked at Damon. “What’s his name?”
“Barrett Middleton.”
Kate nodded. “Barrett can give you protection while you figure out who killed your father.”
Braxton stilled. “Is that what you want? Me gone?”
***
Kate’s lips trembled as she fought back the urge to scream that she didn’t want him to leave. “I think you should do what’s best for you.”
“She makes a good point. You need to listen to her.” Damon stood and put his empty plate in the sink.
“Stay out of this, Damon,” Braxton growled.
Damon held his hands up and backed away. “I’ll let you two figure this out. Kate, do you have ESPN?”
Kate nodded. “Yes. On the living room TV.”
After they were alone, Braxton took a step toward her. “Kate—
She held up her hand and shook her head. If he touched her now, she was going to lose any self-control she had and beg him to stay. She couldn’t be that selfish. “Don’t say anything. We both knew that you wouldn’t be staying forever.”
The hurt on Braxton’s face hit her like a punch in the gut. As painful as that was, she needed to do what was best for him.
“I see. If that’s what you want, then I’ll leave.” Braxton averted his eyes before making his way toward the bedroom.
Kate took a step to go after him but stopped. Her nails bit into her palms. The last thing she wanted to do was hurt him. Even though it had only been a few days, he’d come to mean a lot to her.
“You’re doing the right thing. He’ll understand,” Damon said quietly behind her.
“If it’s right, then why does it hurt so much?” Kate turned and headed outside, needing the cold, snowy air to freeze her tears.
***
Braxton stormed into the living room ready for a fight with Damon. “Just so you know, I’m not going with you.”
Damon stood, his mouth set in a grim line. “You’re not exactly in a position where you have a say, Braxton. I have a job to do and I intend on doing it.”