from them, but no one ever found the bodies.”
He didn’t like the sound of that. What had his grandfather done?
She could help you find out.
It was in her nature. The way she defended Davide, went the extra mile for her guests and gave people in need jobs to get them through a rough patch. If he were an alpha, she would be his perfect match. Strong and proud. Bright and brazen. Nurturing and empathetic.
Humanhumanhuman.
His wolf wanted to protect her and claim her as his mate. Cam knew if he pressed for too much commitment too soon, she would pull away. But she was attracted to him. To Davide. He could work with that.
“I don’t want you going up there alone.” It came out before he could stop it, but he refused to take it back.
“Why? Do you think the sisters’ killer is up there, waiting to murder the next unsuspecting innkeeper?” She swallowed her laugh when he didn’t join her. “I was kidding, Cam.”
He wasn’t. “As you’ve said, this building is a century old and you’ve never been up there before. I don’t want to use the owner card, but I’m asking you not to climb that ladder, or wander through a cluttered attic that—since you assure me it can’t be haunted—must be occupied by some species of large rodent.”
She made the face most humans did when rats were mentioned and his shoulders relaxed.
“Do you believe there are ghosts?”
“What I believe doesn’t matter. Two accidents in two days is not something I’m willing to dismiss out of hand.”
She worried her lower lip again. “It is weird, isn’t it? I wasn’t expecting that spider to show up again. It doesn’t seem to want me in the attic either.”
“Heights and spiders. Anything else you’re afraid of?”
“I’m not afraid of spiders,” she insisted defensively. “Or I wasn’t until a few months ago.”
“What happened a few months ago?”
She scoffed. “I’m not sharing that story with you. It’s long. And too crazy.”
“Crazier than today? Ghosts and handsome roofers getting fresh on a ladder?
When she hesitated, he wrapped one arm around her waist and slid his other hand into her short hair. It felt cool and impossibly soft in his hands. “Can I kiss you?”
“I don’t think it’s a good idea, do you?” She leaned into his touch, belying her words. “Because you’re the owner and my boss?”
Cam buried his face in her neck and inhaled her scent. “You say it, but you don’t listen to me, so how can it be true?”
“There’s also the fact that you don’t know anything about me. I could be Amish. A vegetarian. I could be a Furry.”
He choked, raising his head to see the sparkle in her eyes. “A Furry?”
Her smile felt like a tongue on his cock. “Well, there is this one coyote. But he’s part of the long crazy story I’m never telling you about.”
“You know a coyote?” His wolf raised its head on full alert. “This town is more interesting than I thought.”
“You really have no idea.” She plucked at his ribbed polo, her touch no more than a tease. “But I’ll do what you ask. Like I said, you’re the boss. The lady Enchanted is yours.”
Lady. He liked that. “I’ll trade her for the innkeeper.”
Bailey went stiff in his arms and he raised his head seeing her pull away from him but not understanding why. “What is it?”
“Nothing. We should go downstairs.”
His mind raced, going over what they’d said until he realized how she might have taken his words. “That wasn’t the start of a negotiation, Bailey. It was an expression of desire.”
It hurt that she didn’t trust him yet, but why should she? Her senses were human, she was human, and all she had to go on was what she knew. She’d pointed out herself that she’d researched him. The gossip about a different woman every night. The parties that were excuses for debauchery. The Fifty Shades of falsehoods he’d allowed to persist because hiding in plain sight had its benefits.
There was so much he needed to tell her and so little time. “Come over for dinner tonight, Bailey. Get to know me. Us. Davide and the others will be there. I’m not what you think I am.”
“What do I think you are?”
Entitled. Selfish. Controlling. He supposed in some ways he was all of those things. He did what he had to do for his family. For Davide.
“I think you still see me as Boot Boy,” he answered with a rueful smile. “And I