Blackstone Ranger Hero Read online

  Her head snapped up. “Stop what?”

  “Beating yourself up for things that aren’t your fault.” Gently, he wrapped his hands around her arms. “Can’t you see what an amazing job you’ve done raising a kid when you were one yourself? And what an incredible job you’re still doing providing for his needs, and not just financially? Adam seems like a great kid despite all the challenges he’s had to face. And you did that.”

  Her mouth dropped open, but nothing came out. All he could do was stare down at her lips as his heart beat madly in his chest. God, he wanted to just kiss her senseless right now. Right here in the hallway, then carry her up to his bed and finish what they’d started yesterday.

  Someone clearing their throat, however, made him drop his hands to his sides. “Excuse me,” Thoralf said. “I hate to interrupt.”

  “You’re not interrupting.” Sarah smoothed her hands down her front.

  Annoyed, he turned to the other man. “What is it?”

  “Will you be needing me to accompany you on your hike?” he asked. “If you wish, I could fly overhead and remained Cloaked and out of sight.”

  “No, Adam and I will be fine.”

  “All right then, I shall stay here with Sarah.”

  “Actually,” he began, “I have a better idea. Why don’t you go out and do something? Explore the town. You can’t stay in the house the whole day.” While his grizzly was not fine with leaving Sarah with another male, Daniel knew Thoralf was trustworthy and would protect her. “Sarah? What do you think?’

  “I don’t know.” She worried at her lip. “There’s nothing I can think of that I want to do. I’m not much of a shopper, nor am I the type to sit and read at a cafe all day.”

  “What do you like to do to relax then?"

  Her forehead wrinkled. “Sleep. And maybe do some yoga.”

  “You’re in luck then,” he said. “There’s a new fitness studio in town, and I happen to know the owner.”

  “You do?”

  “Yeah. The place is called Blackstone Bodyworx. Thoralf can go with you.”

  “I’ll accompany her and make sure she is well protected,” the dragon shifter said.

  “Great, I’ll give Anna Victoria a call now, and she’ll book you into a class.”

  “What? No, you can’t—”

  On impulse, he kissed the tip of her nose. “Yes, I can.” That seemed to stun her into silence. “I need to get ready, okay? So, go, have a relaxing day, and we can meet at Rosie’s at seven.” He didn’t bother to wait for her to protest and left her in the hallway as he sprinted up the steps. A hike should help distract him, plus, it’ll help him get to know Adam better and give Sarah some breathing room.

  It was obvious she had very little time to spoil herself, having to raise two siblings on her own the last couple of years. That was going to change. At least it would once they were mated and bonded. Can’t forget that. With all the craziness of the last two days, he’d almost neglected his real focus. Winning her over would be tough seeing as they wouldn’t have any alone time, but he was determined to keep Sarah and, fake marriage be damned, make her his, permanently.

  Chapter Nine

  Sarah stared up at the neon-lit sign above the double glass doors that said “Blackstone Bodyworx.” The studio’s green and blue logo featured a stylized scribble of three human figures that formed the shape of a mountain range.

  “This is the exercise studio Daniel recommended?” Thoralf said.

  “Looks like it.”

  “Hmm.” He rubbed his thumb and forefinger on his beard.

  “What’s wrong, Thoralf?”

  “There are too many people around.” Glancing around, his eyebrows furrowed together. “It is a challenge to assess the dangers and find an exit should things go wrong.”

  The Blackstone Bodyworx studio was located along a row of shops in the trendy shopping and entertainment district of South Blackstone. It was a busy Saturday afternoon, so the place was packed. Had she known it was going to be this crowded, she would have gone earlier instead of finishing up her work for the day and leaving later in the afternoon. But she had to finish photographing the new collection, editing the photos, and put them up on the website. By the time she was done, it was already past four o’clock in the afternoon.

  “I’m sure it’s fine,” she said.

  “Also, people are staring at us wherever we go. Perhaps they recognize you? I doubt The Knights would be so bold.” Two women walked by them, their heads turned to rubberneck as they passed. Their eyes were so fixed on Thoralf that they didn’t see the bench in their way, and one of them smacked into it, sending her tumbling over.

  Sarah suppressed a laugh, doubting that she was the reason the two women were looking at them. At nearly seven feet in height, Thoralf demanded attention, but his broad shoulders, muscled chest, and handsome looks made him more than stand out. “I don’t think it’s me.”

  “I should have remained Cloaked.” Thoralf had explained to her that dragons like him had the ability to turn invisible in both human and dragon form.

  “I told you, that would be weird.” And unnerving, too, as she imagined walking around town with an invisible protector looking over her shoulder. “Anyway, let’s go inside, shall we?”

  She pushed the door open and strode inside, Thoralf right behind her. The waiting area by the entrance was airy and well-lit. The exposed brick and air ducts gave it an industrial modern feel that went well with the rest of the building, but the cozy couches, plants, and stacks of fitness books and magazines gave it a welcoming atmosphere. On the other side of the room was a counter where two women stood, chatting in low voices. The one behind the counter wore athletic attire, her blonde hair pulled up in a sleek ponytail. The woman on the other side wore a loose shirt and shorts, her messy mop of flaxen hair half-hidden under a trucker hat.

  “… I swear, I tried to get her to come,” trucker hat said. “But I think she’s still feeling guilty about letting you down.”

  Blondie sighed. “Really? The wedding was three months ago. And she didn’t let me down, the ceremony was only delayed because of the dress. How did she look?”

  Trucker hat shrugged. “The same. But she wouldn’t even let me in, just peeked through the door.”

  “We should ask—” Blondie stopped when Sarah came closer. “Oh, hello. Welcome to Blackstone Bodyworx. How can I help you?”

  “Uh, hi. Are you Anna Victoria? Daniel sent me.”

  Pansy-blue eyes widened. “Oh. Yes, I am. And you must be Daniel’s Sarah.”

  Daniel’s Sarah?

  Trucker hat turned around. “You’re her?” Her face lit up as she grabbed Sarah’s hands and shook it vigorously. “I’ve read about, er, I mean, Anna Victoria told me all about you. I’m—” Her mouth gaped open as her gaze landed somewhere over Sarah’s left shoulder, then lifted up. “I’m … uh …”

  Sarah didn’t need a second guess as to what she was looking at.

  “J.D.,” Anna Victoria said wryly. “Her name is J.D.”

  J.D.’s hazel eyes bugged out of their sockets. “Or whatever you want it to be.”

  Sarah burst out with a chuckle. “This is Thoralf.” She gestured to the dragon shifter. “He’s Daniel’s friend from college, visiting from Sweden.”

  He acknowledged them with a nod. “Ladies.”

  “Close your mouth or you’ll catch flies,” Anna Victoria said to J.D. before turning to Sarah. “So, you’re just in time for our last class of the day, which is in fifteen minutes.” She took something from behind the counter and handed it to her. “Here,” she said, a paper bag dangling from her fingers. “These should be your size, but if anything doesn’t fit, just let me know, and I’ll swap it out.”

  Frowning, she took the paper bag and peeked inside. There was what looked like a sports bra on top. “Oh, do you give all your students new stuff?”

  “Oh no, not at all. But Daniel said you didn’t have any exercise clothes, so he asked me to pick a
couple of things for you. Aside from the bra, there’s a pair of shorts, a towel, and a tank top in there.”

  “Thanks.” Taking her wallet out of her purse, she opened it. “How much do I owe you?”

  “What? No, no, Daniel paid for it. And the class, too.”

  “What? No, I can’t let him do that. Here’s a twenty—”

  Anna Victoria pushed her hands and cash away. “I can’t, sorry, it’s all been paid for.”

  “I …” She couldn’t believe Daniel would pay for everything. “Thanks.”

  “Welcome. Locker room’s over there, second door on the left. Will you be attending, too, Mr. Thoralf?”

  “It’s just Thoralf, my lady,” he said. “I had not planned on it, but I must admit, I have never done any yoga and am intrigued. My muscles could use some stretching.”

  “I’ll help you out,” J.D. offered enthusiastically. “I’d love to stretch those muscles.”

  Anna Victoria rolled her eyes. “All right then,” she said. “I still have some spots left. You can join us.”

  “I shall need proper attire as well.” He produced a black credit card and placed it on the counter. “Please give me whatever you need.”

  “I’m gonna get dressed. See you in class.”

  Following Anna Victoria’s directions, she found the locker room and got dressed in the new workout clothes. They fit well, surprisingly, and when she was done, she walked out into the main studio.

  There were a few students milling about already, chatting or stretching out on the mats. She took a spot near the back next to J.D., who was sitting cross-legged on her mat. Before she could chat her up, Anna Victoria entered the studio, Thoralf behind her. Every single pair of female eyes riveted on him, and Sarah couldn’t blame them. He was dressed in black cycling shorts and a matching tank top that showed off his rock-hard shoulders and tattooed arms. He didn’t seem fazed however, as he met her gaze, waved, and then took the empty spot all the way in the back.

  “Good afternoon, everyone,” Anna Victoria greeted. “Welcome to our class. Let’s start, shall we?”

  Sarah turned her attention to Anna Victoria, listening to her instructions as she went through the flow. One of the things she loved about yoga was that for at least an hour, she could forget about the outside world and her worries and concentrate on her body movements. She’d gone to many yoga classes over the years, and she could tell Anna Victoria was a great instructor. She cared about her students, getting up once in a while to help them get into the right position or giving them tips and encouraging words, without being too woo-woo, which she hated.

  The class itself was easy, though it was obvious many of the students were distracted. Anna Victoria had to call their attention a few times, because many of them had stopped to stare at a certain student in the back.

  J.D. looked over at Sarah and caught her eyes when one of the poses had them facing to the rear of the room. Nodding at Thoralf, she whispered, “I’d run vagina first into that.”

  Sarah burst out laughing, nearly causing her to fall over. Anna Victoria sent them a warning look, but the corners of her mouth were tugging up, too.

  Thankfully, the rest of the class went by without incident, and by the time they got out of the Savasana, she felt relaxed and her mind refreshed.

  “Thank you, everyone.” Anna Victoria put her palms together. “Have a great day, and see you all next class.”

  “That was amazing,” J.D. said as she rolled up her mat. “The yoga was good too,” she chortled. “I can’t believe Daniel would leave you alone with someone that hot.”

  She wrinkled her brow. “Why wouldn’t he?” How much had Daniel told his friends about her? They didn’t seem bothered by the fact that he’d been married to her all this time.

  “I mean, you know.” J.D. wiggled her eyebrows at Sarah

  No, actually, she didn’t. But before she could ask her what she meant, Anna Victoria and Thoralf approached them. “How was the class?”

  “It was good, thank you so much, it was what I needed.”

  “You are an excellent teacher, my lady,” Thoralf said. “My many thanks.”

  “What are you guys up to now?” Anna Victoria asked.

  “Not much,” she said. “We’re supposed to meet Daniel and Adam at the pie shop for dinner at seven.”

  “Oh great, we’ll join you,” J.D. interjected. “Gabriel and Temperance will be there for sure anyway. Have you had pie before, Thoralf?”

  “I confess, I have not,” the dragon shifter said.

  “I need to close up here,” Anna Victoria said. “But do you mind waiting a couple of minutes? I’ll have to call Damon, too, and have him meet us there.”

  “Sounds good. I’m gonna go change and meet you outside.” She didn’t mind J.D. and Anna Victoria joining them at all; in truth, it would be good to have more people around as a buffer. Whether she wanted them as a buffer between her and Adam or her and Daniel, she couldn’t quite say.

  Now that the initial exercise high was wearing off, her thoughts strayed back to Daniel and what had happened in the bathroom yesterday. Her body still tingled at the memory of that orgasm and Daniel’s mouth on her.

  Fuck, he was fantastic at oral sex. Her eyes had nearly rolled to the back of her head when she came. Her knees went weak thinking of what actual sex would be like with him. Not that she would even get the chance to know.

  Sex between them would just complicate things. It was already hard to stop her stomach from flip-flopping or her heartbeat from going a mile a minute when he was around, doing and saying things that made her hope for things she had no right to. Besides, it wasn’t like this was a permanent arrangement.

  Ignoring the pang in her chest, she finished cleaning up and headed outside. J.D. and Thoralf were helping close up, so she lent them a hand as well. Finally, they were done, and Anna Victoria locked up the studio. “We’ll meet you Rosie’s.”

  Soon, they were pulling up to the rear parking lot of Rosie’s Bakery and Cafe. “You’re in the back,” the cheery proprietress said as soon as she and Thoralf entered. “I set up a table for you in the back, through the kitchen.” She pointed at the door behind the counter. “Daniel told me you guys were eating here, and I didn’t want anyone bothering you. Those damned media people are always sniffing around here, plus, I know even regular folks would be gawking at you guys, too.”

  “Thank you, ma’am,” she said.

  She chuckled. “Please it’s just Rosie. Go on, Anna Victoria and J.D. are already in there.”

  Following her directions, they made a beeline to the display counter filled with pies and entered through the door behind it. To her surprise, it immediately led straight into the kitchen where a young woman was laying out a tray of pies on the table.

  “… baby, that looks so good.” It was Gabriel Russel, leaning over the counter, a hand reaching out.

  “Gabriel!” she admonished, slapping his hand away. “They’re still hot. You need to let them settle first.”

  “But I’m hungry now.”

  “You’re always—oh, hello.” The woman’s face lit up when her light hazel eyes met hers.

  Gabriel turned around. “Oh, hey, Sarah,” he greeted. “You must be Thoralf,” he nodded to the dragon shifter. “Daniel already told us you’d be here. This is my mate and fiancée, Temperance,” he said, gesturing to the woman behind the table full of cooling pies.

  “Hello,” she said shyly. “Nice to meet you, Sarah. Thoralf.”

  Sarah did a double take, her eyes widening as they were drawn to the right side of Temperance's face. It was covered in scars, most likely from a burn. She recovered quickly though, and the other woman didn’t seem fazed. “Nice to meet you too, Temperance.” She took in a whiff. “Oh my God, that smells amazing. What pies are those?”

  “I’m experimenting with some new flavors,” she said. “These are honey lemon chiffon, chocolate ganache with almond crust, and salted caramel with mixed nuts.”

&nb
sp; “I want all of them, now,” Gabriel demanded.

  “Of course you do,” she giggled.

  “Hey, Sarah! Thoralf!” J.D. called. She and Anna Victoria were already seated at a table set up in the far corner. “Over here.”

  “Go ahead, and we’ll serve these when they’re done cooling,” Temperance said, then turned to Gabriel. “Don’t eat all of them, okay?”

  They walked over to the corner, where two tables and several stools had been set up. “It’s a tight squeeze, but we’ll all fit.” J.D. looked slyly at Thoralf and patted the empty seat next to her. “Come on, don’t be shy. I don’t bite … hard.”

  Thoralf looked flummoxed and swallowed. “Um, I must confess, I’m not hungry yet. I must also check in with my ki—boss. I will see you at Daniel’s home later tonight. If you ladies will excuse me.” Turning on his heel, he headed out through the back door.

  “Aaaaand shut down. Guess no Swedish sausage for me.” J.D. pouted and planted her chin in her hands. “Did I come on too strong, do you think?”

  “Why, J.D., I didn’t even know you were open to dating,” Anna Victoria said.

  “Pffft.” She blew a stray strand of hair from her forehead. “If you come at me looking like that, I don’t need dinner. I got my meal right there.” She waved her hand dramatically toward the door. “Do you guys even have eyes? Did you see all that?” Fanning herself, she let out a breath. “Man, what I wouldn’t do to get horizontal under that. Maybe it’s been too long since I got any action.”

  “Whatever you’re looking for, you need to put yourself out there,” Anna Victoria said. “The perfect guy isn’t just going to land in your lap, you know.”

  “A hot guy with a foreign accent and biceps like boulders is exactly what I was looking for. Does Thoralf have a girlfriend?” J.D. asked Sarah. “Or a mate?”

  “I don’t think he’s engaged,” she answered, remembering what Gabriel called his fiancé. “But I don’t know much about him, really. He just, uh, flew in two nights ago.”

  “No, I mean, a mate,” J.D. said. “Then maybe I’d understand why he’s not into me.”