Etienne (The Shifters of Shotgun Row Book 1)(32)

Etienne



We sat in her newish, candy-apple red 1971 Dodge Dart. She probably didn’t know what a fucking bad-ass car this was.

“Okay, you little liar, let’s learn how to drive this.” Sweet thing, she tried like hell to give me a good dose of stink eye, but I wasn’t feeling it.

“How do you know?”

“I know when my mate is lying. I can taste the filth of the lie in my mouth. You will be able to as well. As soon as the bond is complete.”

She rolled her eyes dramatically. “Okay. More things to explain to the human. Speaking of, what was the deal with that guy? He could see our bond?”

Leon was a rogue shifter. He didn’t have a crew and didn’t want one. He had some kind of power, had it since he was a kid. Could see when two shifters were bonded. He saw it like some people see auras.

“That’s his gift. Some shifters have gifts. Callum does, too, but I’ll let him tell you about it if he wants to.”

“Oh, do you have any gifts?”

It was my turn to give her the stink eye. “I do. But only in the bedroom.”

Tansy covered her mouth. “You’ll have to show me those later. Now, teach me how to drive this mutha.”

Two hours later, we were maybe a half mile from where we started. The girl could not drive a stick for shit.

“How about you take my truck and I’ll drive this beauty until you are more comfortable. At this rate, you’ll never make another dozen donuts again.”

I got slapped on the chest for that, but at least it came with a smile. “You’re right. Truck it is. Say, this place is really, um, secluded.”

I looked around. It was secluded. She was right. Secluded as in, wasn’t a human for at least twenty miles each way.

“Do you have an agenda in saying that, female?”

“I do.” She ran her hand up my thigh, and I let out a groan.

“Not our first time together, darlin’. As much as I want you, this car isn’t the place.”

She bit her bottom lip. I hadn’t seen her do that before. The car filled with her scent laced with something a little more animalistic. My mate wanted me—now.

“But can’t we just make out a little, like teenagers in the woods?”

“I think we could manage that. Get over here.”

In seconds, she was on my lap again, my hands kneading into her full hips.

She giggled. “Oh, would you look at that. I am good with a stick.”

Then, just when I had my mate in the middle of nowhere, my damned phone rang.

I answered, but Tansy continued to play, her lips covering every part of my neck and moving south.

“What? When? I’m on my way. Fuck!”

I hung up the phone. “Tansy, as much as I love what you’re doing right now, I have to go. Duty calls.”

“Part of being a cop, right? Mind getting me to your truck first?”

“Of course.” I drove us back to Shotgun Row, and she took my truck.

“Hey!” I yelled through the window, making her stop. “You can stay here. You are perfectly safe with my brothers. I will see you later, hopefully. If you need anything, I texted you all of their numbers. But call Justice first, if you have a choice. So, yeah, I’ll see you later.”

She nodded and reached out with her left hand, pulling me toward her by the collar. “Bye, Etienne, and by the way, I think I already love you, too.”





Tansy

“Meemaw,” I called into the empty bakery.

I waited until Etienne was gone before hopping into his truck and heading back. As much as I enjoyed my time with the men he called brothers, I needed some time to process the whirlwind of emotions that were flooding through me. Oddly, the gator part was the least of my thoughts other than I wondered what he looked like.

“Meemaw, come on out. I need some answers,” I called again, grabbing the ingredients to make a batch of no-bakes. Might as well be productive while I waited, and no-bakes took hardly any of my attention. If she showed up, I could grill her for info while not messin’ up all my hard work like I had the time I thought it a good idea to make croissants while we discussed my expulsion. Hockey pucks. I ended up with hockey pucks.

After grabbing the cookie sheets and lining them with parchment, I turned on the stove. As the pan heated up, I measured the milk, sugar, butter, and cocoa, and my secret weapon, real maple syrup, not that people understood its power down here. They thought it was just as good as the bottle of colored corn syrup you got at the grocery store. It so was not.

“No-bakes?” Meemaw had me jumping a mile high. You’d think I was used to it by now.

“Yeah. They seem to be a good seller.” And inexpensive to make even with the syrup. Win-win.

“So what was that hollerin’ all about?”

I added the ingredients to the pan and began stirring with my wooden spoon.

“So many things. Like Etienne says he’s my mate.” Might as well start off with a bang.

“That’s wonderful.” She squeed like a teenager. “I was guessin’, or more like hopin’. He’s good people.”

“So you knew he was a gator?” The butter was slowly melting, and the smell of the maple was finally hitting my nose.

“No way. A gator. Hot damn. I knew shifter, but gator. Good on him.”