Iron Master – Jennifer Ashley Page 0,26
like a resort for Shifters.”
Peigi relaxed a smidge. “Probably won’t hurt for us to rest a while. But please tell Marlo to meet us as close by as he possibly can.”
“Or we can go into New Orleans and p-party,” Dimitri said. “We know a Shifter club …”
“If you mean the one where I got thrown off a balcony, then no thanks,” Ben said, shaking his head. “I’ll hang out here, cook burgers, stay safe.”
“I’ve never been to a Shifter club,” Peigi said.
That earned her more startled expressions. “Never?” Jaycee asked in amazement. “I thought there was a great one in Vegas.”
“There is, but I don’t go.” Peigi sounded wistful. “Cubs to take care of. Plus I haven’t felt up to it until lately.”
“New plan then.” Dimitri laced one arm around Jaycee and drew Peigi lightly into the embrace with his other. Nothing sexually charged, just friendly. “We make our calls, take some naps, freshen up, and hit the club tonight.”
“Are you sure it will be safe?” Peigi asked nervously. “What if we’re carded? Shifters aren’t supposed to travel out of their states.”
“I’ll call the guy I know who lets people in and out,” Dimitri said. “He’s a friend. No one has to know.”
Dimitri spoke with the confidence of one who knew how to get away with anything, but Reid wasn’t happy with this plan
He started to say firmly that, no, they’d stay put until time to go home, but he didn’t miss the eagerness on Peigi’s face. She truly hadn’t had a chance to have the fun that Shifters took for granted. She was slowly coming out of her shell, tentatively trying new experiences, but of course taking care of cubs took precedence. While the Shifters in Las Vegas piled into cars to head to Coolers, the Shifter bar, Peigi fed cubs macaroni and cheese and read them bedtime stories.
“All right,” Reid said, deciding. “We can spend a few hours at the club and enjoy ourselves. But that’s it. I need to focus.”
“You don’t have to go at all,” Peigi said quickly. “I know hanging out with a ton of Shifters isn’t your thing.”
“What are you talking about?” he asked in feigned astonishment. “I hang out with a ton of Shifters every day, in our house. If I can handle the cubs, I can handle a club full of drunk Shifters. And like hell you’re going out without me.”
Peigi’s eyes went starry, and her smile warmed everything inside him. Reid was so focused on her it was a moment before he noticed the other three were highly amused about something, Dimitri nudging Jaycee.
He realized he’d said our house and our cubs, without thinking about it. As though he and Peigi were mates, in Shifter terms, sharing their lives.
Well, they were. Reid returned his friends’ gazes without wavering, and didn’t take the words back. He’d said what he said, and he believed it in his heart.
Ben tried to run from Peigi when she descended from her long nap and shower to find him alone downstairs. The sky had darkened with night, and Ben tried to fade into the shadows of the back hall.
Peigi, who’d learned long ago how to keep track of cubs who could hide anywhere, quickened her steps and went after him. Ben slid out the back door, but Peigi caught up to him on the veranda. He tried to blend in with the darkness there, but Peigi’d had to be too watchful in her life to fall for that trick.
She stopped right in front of him, arms folded, and Ben looked sheepish.
“Was that your true shape, or were you just eavesdropping?” Peigi demanded.
“How could I be eavesdropping?” Ben had to tilt his head to peer up at her. “You came right up to me and started talking.”
“And you’re not going to repeat a word of it.” She bent a stern eye on him. “My private thoughts are just that, all right?”
“Hey, don’t worry. I can keep a secret. I’ll pretend I was your confessor or something.”
Peigi relented, but only a little. She didn’t know Ben well enough to decide whether to trust him.
“But seriously, you’re a tree?”
“What?” Ben said, outraged. “No. I’m a goblin. We can take various forms, whatever we want—well, within certain parameters. But I’m not a tree. No photosynthesis here.”
He was definitely man-shaped, complete with hard muscles, tatts, black hair, and vibrant dark eyes. He looked a little like the tree-thing she’d seen, mostly in height and strength.
“I get it,” Peigi said. “Same way a