Page 118 of The Thief

“That’s the best you could come up with?” Krys growled.

“And what master plan did you devise in less than two seconds?” Virgil played with the mystical-looking pendant around his neck. “When you’re my age, you learn all the tricks on how to distract and confuse people.”

Krys turned his back to them. “Next time you go into heat, pick someone else.”

“Bear just professed his undying love to Mercy, so that left you, lover boy.” Virgil strutted past Krys and turned around, walking backward. “Quit giving me that thorny look. You’ll thank me later.”

Bear led them into the kitchen. “I want you two to drop your conspiracy theories about Mercy. If you keep it up, you’ll be cooking your own meals. Get a job. Find something to occupy your time instead of digging up shit about your packmates. She’s your sister, and she needs us now more than ever.”

Virgil hooked his thumbs behind his leather-studded belt. “Ah, yes. She’s our sister. Tell me again what it’s like, Mr. Perfect, sleeping with our sister.”

Bear knew they needed reassurance that could only be proven with time. “I’ll vouch for her. If she ever steals a dime from either of you, I’ll pay you back double. That’s how much I trust her. On my word.”

“It’s cool, man. Whatever.” Krys raised his hands and strolled toward the swinging doors. “I’ll forget it as long as you two keep your mouth shut about what happened in there.”

As the doors swung with his exit, Virgil spun on his heel. “I have zero regrets about that. A man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do. At least we’re off the hook.” He rested his forearms on the kitchen island. “I knew about you and Mercy before anyone. So, whose bedroom are you going to live in? I’ll be lonely if you make her move downstairs. I like having a neighbor.”

“We haven’t talked about it,” Bear admitted, realizing they hadn’t talked about a whole lot of things.

“She’ll probably move into your room so you can be close to the kitchen. But if you ever need a boom-boom room…” He winked salaciously before straightening up and laughing his way out the door.

* * *

My entire body ached, but it was the best kind of exhaustion. The customers had finally cleared out, so I had a lot of cleaning up to do. After wiping down the tables, I flipped the chairs over, resting the seats on the tabletops so I could sweep and mop the floor. The bathrooms came last.

When I had the bar sparkling, I went into the kitchen to see if Bear needed help. By the looks of things, he had already cleaned and taken out the trash.

Stepping out the back exit, I asked, “Do you need anything?”

“I’m good.” Bear continued hooking the trailer to the SUV. “Where’s Calvin?”

“He took off an hour ago. He was in a weird mood and muttered something about how he didn’t want his bar turning into a sex club. None of the private rooms were rented out that I’m aware of, and he’s got a rule about no funny business in there anyhow. Did you see anything strange?”

Bear cursed when he pinched his fingers on the trailer hitch.

I rushed over and kissed his hand. “Are you okay?”

He bent over and laid a sensual kiss on me, his beard tickling my chin in the most delightful way. My wolf instantly calmed in his presence. Bear removed all doubt that he might have been happier without me. This brave and loving man, whose lips tasted like home, was mine forever.

He broke the kiss. “I can’t wait to get under the covers with you tonight.”

“You need a shower,” I whispered.

He sniffed my neck. “So do you. Maybe we should conserve water and take one together.”

I kissed his cheek before he straightened up. “My wolf wants to run with yours. Do you think they’ll love each other as much as we do?”

He lightly stroked my cheek with his fingers. “I think they fell before we did. They were probably the ones giving us a nudge.”

I chuckled and headed back to the door. “Do you have everything? Your wallet? Your keys? I’m gonna lock up for the night once I figure out this new alarm.”

“I’m good, honey.”

My tummy got butterflies whenever he called me “honey.” It sounded entirely different from other men who had flippantly used it to address me. “Give me a few minutes. I’ll meet you out front.”

“Don’t take too long, or I’ll lay you across one of those tables you just cleaned.”

Now, wasn’t that a tempting thought? Even though I would never disrespect Calvin, the visual played around in my head.

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