Love's Indulgence Read online

  “He got a pie this time,” Zach told Alexis when we met up with her at the trays. “The sweets fairy left a pie for him. Apparently it’s not only days of it but now he gets more.”

  “That’s nice,” she chuckled, carefully not looking at us.

  “You know who it is,” Ryan accused, always paying attention to details and noting reactions of any of our siblings.

  “Yes, but she doesn’t know I’m your sister,” she answered as we loaded up our trays. “She’s a fan of how you compliment her treats. That and you helped her when she arrived from Orlando. That’s all I know. She’s very quiet, and people make her nervous.”

  It instantly hit me. I’d thought about the woman I’d met that day several times. She had gorgeous, deep red hair that was a bit disheveled like she’d slept on the flight. She’d looked pretty even if she’d seemed sick, and I’d thought maybe she didn’t like to fly, but the way she’d stared out at the snow like it was a miracle… I’d felt it like an arrow through my heart. And those big, light chocolate eyes had just shined with hope and excitement.

  Plus, the way she blushed was just so damn sexy.

  She was totally my type except for one small problem.

  “I’m gay,” I grumbled, bummed that someone was actually showing interest in the dumb muscled warrior and it was a woman. I’d had people want me as the eldest Curry of our wealthy family and all of that, but I was never going to step into that life, so I wanted no part of any of that.

  “If you’re attracted to her, you’re being closed minded just as guys who ignore when they like guys because they’re straight,” Alexis chided gently. “You might be a hundred and twenty-five, Brother, but that’s still young in our world, and there’s no reason there isn’t a woman out there that might catch your fancy.” She shrugged. “I’m not into girls, but I’ve seen a few that made me curious. There’s nothing wrong with that, right?”

  “You’re right,” I agreed, noting our brothers were listening as well. “It’s just hard to wrap my mind around after so many years of never feeling that spark with a woman or thinking of them in that way.” I gestured over to Marissa, the empath who was the mother of one of the newest warriors at the camp. “She is breathtaking. I see that. I do. I just don’t feel the spark. It’s a weird feeling to suddenly find one that I spark for after so long.”

  “Yes, but life would be boring otherwise or if we always knew what to expect,” she threw right back.

  “You’re starting to sound way too much like Jordan,” Ryan drawled. As much as we loved the ancient, adored him for how he protected and helped Alexis, sometimes he was a bit much and pushy.

  Then again, people tended to need a bit of pushing.

  The next morning my eyes immediately found the redheaded cutie as she set out muffins and more cinnamon rolls. Her hair was pulled up in a clip, pieces falling out of it and curled around her face. She was slim with a pert booty, and honestly the tights did it for me. I’d never been into that, but on her it was super cute with the boots and shorter winter skirt. This one was gray with black tights, and I couldn’t help but think of running my hands over them.

  “Isn’t that Alexis’s skirt and sweater?” Zach asked, looking where I was. “She came from Orlando and didn’t have winter clothes, right?”

  “Yeah, none,” I muttered, not good enough with clothes or fashion to recognize if it was Alexis’s old clothes or not. She turned to reach for another container, smiling as someone thanked her for the muffins, and my stomach flip flopped. “Shit, I want a girl under me. I’m a hundred and twenty-five, and I’m sexually awakening and want a woman.”

  “So we need to find some booze and have guy talk tonight?” Ryan asked, looking about ready to burst out laughing. He was bi-sexual whereas Zach and I had only liked guys, so yeah, he would be my only outlet to ask because I was not going to rely on porn to learn about women.

  “She might not be into guys,” Zach teased me. “Or maybe she just won’t like you.”

  Ryan snorted as he stirred some sugar in his coffee. “Yes, women leave treats for men they don’t like. Once was sweet and polite, but continuing to do it without speaking to him means she likes him.”

  After breakfast I headed out on a supply run to Casper, and I found myself glancing at flowers. That would be nice for winter and to thank her for the treats, right?

  Yeah, after I learned her name, otherwise it was probably just creepy.

  I got back as the sun was going down, but then it was a while longer to unload everything and get it to where it belonged. I smiled when I found a container of brownies outside my door, thinking maybe I would talk to her the next morning or offer to help.

  Instead, I got some info from Alexis.

  “Did you say she looked sick that day you met her?” she asked me as we all sat down.

  “Yeah, she was pale and shivering, but it’s cold. I thought maybe she didn’t like to fly.”

  “One, her name is Jayme, I got that. Two, she had just finished her transition,” she informed us, nodding when we all shot her surprised looks. “She has a brother and sister as kitchen helpers who didn’t know they were vampires, and they asked her how they prep for their transition and what was it like. I heard it when I went to get some more coffee yesterday.

  “Get this, she said not to ask her, that she was a poor example because her circumstances were complicated and the doc had to do things differently with her because things got messed up. She goes to the infirmary every afternoon and sleeps there. She’s on half day duty only. I guess the doc wanted to knock her out and keep her on bedrest, but she shot it down so they didn’t get someone else to do the baking.”

  “That’s crazy,” Ryan whispered, glancing over my shoulder at someone. I looked too and saw Jayme walking in with trays and some of Jordan’s people helping her. “What was she running from that was so bad she had to risk death from not handling her transition better? I mean, people die from that, right?”

  “Yeah, they do,” I muttered, having seen a few over my years that idiotically had assumed if they survived the transition, that was it and they were indestructible. That wasn’t even close to the truth, and that kind of change to your body… No one could just bounce back from that like it was nothing.

  I didn’t get a chance to talk to her then, and the next few days were crazy since we had a break in the snow. If it wasn’t currently snowing, we had enough people with element gifts to help melt snow or whatever was needed. But trying to do that during a snow or rainstorm was just too much and dangerous.

  It was worth all the extra work though because not only were Alastair and Nero’s houses done, but now Morggyan and Gaius’s were both done along with a huge building of the new apartment complex on the back of the property. And the orphanage Seneca was building for Ellison was almost done. Yeah, it was worth it. There was a ton more to do, but if it helped people get out of places they were stuck at, I could sleep when I was dead.

  Still the treats came, making me smile when I got back to my room.

  Christmas Eve rolled around, and I knew everyone was having fun at Alastair’s or other private parties, but I had a feeling that wouldn’t be Jayme’s scene. After a few moments’ debate, I texted my siblings I’d be late and grabbed the gift I’d gotten for the woman who was in my thoughts too often. It wasn’t much, but I also didn’t really know her, so I thought a winter jacket that would be cute on her was nice, not too much.

  I headed over to Nero’s, the house and even the garage quiet for the first time since we’d arrived. Well, when not in the dead of the night. The back door was unlocked, and I let myself in, not sure of the floorplan but not wanting to ring the doorbell when it wasn’t her house or I could be wrong.

  Basically I was seriously winging it.

  I’d been right though, and the party wasn’t her scene… Or apparently she was just so exhausted she didn’t have the energy to make it since I found her asleep at the kitchen table. There were a few decorated cakes an
d a plethora of decorations and piping bags all around her. It looked like she’d wanted to just put her head down a moment and zonked out.

  Honestly, it was so damn cute my stomach was doing flips again, especially when I saw the frosting in her hair and some sprinkles stuck to her cheek.

  “You are just not going to let me look at anyone else, are you?” I whispered as I moved closer. I set down the large shopping bag on the chair next to her, about to pull out the jacket, when she muttered in her sleep and yanked at her sweater. I blinked at her and how she’d adjusted herself to get more comfortable.

  It was rather shocking considering even with my limited knowledge I knew breasts didn’t move like that just because someone yanked them. I mean, one was up almost to her collarbone and the other about in her armpit.

  “Not a girl, huh?” I leaned in way closer than was polite and saw the signs of shaving in the winter on her face.

  On his face apparently.

  “Why are you dressing like a girl?” I wondered. “Do you like it, or do you feel you have to for some reason? Are you in hiding?” I glanced at the cakes and worried something might be ruined if they were just left out. I gave him a light shake. “Jayme, what do I do with the cakes?”

  “Fridge, please,” he mumbled.

  “And everything else?”

  “Cover.”

  I had no idea if that meant cover it up while out or what, but I went with my gut on what had to be covered in the fridge or not, pretty sure anything with butter needed it. I put all the frostings in there along with the cakes, and the rest I covered on the table.

  And then I went back to the fridge to check out what else was in there. I’d only caught a quick glance, but now my mouth dropped open as I saw the twenty huge, gorgeous, and delicious looking cakes. Closing the fridge, I went back over to him and moved the jacket around his shoulders.

  I turned to leave but froze, remembering what Alexis had said. “Jayme, aren’t you supposed to be in the infirmary after lunch?” He didn’t respond at first, even the sleepy kind, so I squatted down and gave him a shake until he seemed partially with it, and repeated the question.

  “You’re so hot, Seth,” he giggled, rubbing his cheek against his sweater. “I wish you would visit me in the infirmary.”

  “I would if I knew I was welcome,” I promised, biting back a smile at how sexy he was. “Are you supposed to be there?”

  “Only overnight now. Still lighter duty.”

  “Then let’s get you back there.”

  “Cakes to make,” he argued before letting out a cute snore.

  Yeah, I was in trouble. I put the jacket on him, checking the ovens weren’t on and everything was closed up, before lifting him in my arms. I added his boots and put my own on, closing the door behind us. He turned and snuggled up against me, the frosting in his hair catching the light. Even that was adorable to me. Maybe I was easy and my stomach truly did rule me.

  No, it was him. Something about him totally hooked me even when I’d thought he was a woman.

  “Did you just decide to carry her off and have your way with her?” Ryan asked as I got to the main building. He was coming out like he’d turned in his coms and was done with his guard shift, giving me a funny look at my cargo.

  “He’s supposed to be in the infirmary overnight.”

  “He?” he checked, blinking between us when I nodded. “I didn’t see that coming. Transgender or transvestite?”

  “No clue. All I know is he moves his boobs in his sleep in a way they don’t actually move, and he shaves his face.”

  “Should you use ‘he?’”

  I sighed, not up on much PC given how outdated vampires could be and the camp I’d been at. “I think only if he tells me one way or another, right? I mean, he didn’t say he was a woman either.”

  “Yeah, but she didn’t correct you, right?”

  I opened my mouth to answer but then closed it. “I don’t think there were any pronouns. No names.”

  “Right, but there might be a reason she’s acting like a woman.”

  “She’s hiding, yeah, I thought of that. I think it’s time to talk with someone from Orlando.”

  “Or you could draw attention to her she doesn’t want,” Ryan cautioned. He had a point there too. “How about you get her to the infirmary, and I’ll bring over some food from the party?”

  “Thanks.”

  “Yeah, yeah, just remember it if I get mushy over someone. I swear it’s the water here.”

  “They buy jugs of the water from a normal provider,” I reminded him. “It wouldn’t just be here then.”

  He smirked at me as if wanting me to have that answer. “Right, so it’s just you and her cooking.”

  “I walked right into that one,” I grumbled, glad when he opened the door for me at least.

  “Yeah, you did,” he snickered, bursting out laughing when I flicked him off while still holding Jayme.

  Who didn’t even flinch the whole time. That was disconcerting.

  I found Ellison and Seneca having a quiet picnic in the infirmary, probably on call or waiting for Jayme. They glanced at us as we came through the doors, Seneca studying me closely as if seeing more than most could.

  “So you’ve figured it out,” he muttered, waiting until I nodded. “Did you find out why?”

  “No, do you know?”

  “No, and she shuts down any conversation about her past or Orlando.”

  “Does she correct you on the pronoun?” I asked as I set her down on the cot he nodded to. I helped her out of the jacket so he could hook her up or check her however.

  “No, but she also didn’t correct someone when they referred to her as ‘him’ when they saw only her leaned over and eating on the cot. No one will care either way here, so it’s not something to push.”

  “Yeah, unless she’s in hiding and dressing that way because she thinks she has to, Sen,” Ellison said gently. “I got that at first, but what if something really bad is going on in Orlando?”

  “We know it’s not a nice place given how many who bailed,” he reminded the younger warrior.

  “True, but if there’s a target on someone who we’re supposed to protect, we need to know that,” I said, backing up Ellison. “I’m not saying to pressure her, but I think it’s time to have a talk with the organizer from Orlando that was working with Jordan. Not just anyone because Ryan said we could bring attention to her and that could be bad too.”

  “Right, but the contacts were all through Liam so it didn’t blow back on Jordan or anyone didn’t figure out who was part of his network at so many covens,” Seneca muttered as he fussed over Jayme. “Apparently it’s a pretty big network and Alastair and Nero didn’t even know the full scope of it. Basically it was a backdoor info network should someone need to raise the alarm or report anything.”

  “I can’t think there wasn’t a lot to report if so much was going wrong,” Ellison grumbled. “Then again, it would show the cards. Jordan seems like the type to handle something covertly.”

  “He is,” I agreed. “He hates to play the games, but he’s really good at them and maneuvers any obstacle course and dance to get it done. A lot of it is people underestimating him because he’s small and not a warrior or whatever. Plus more I guess, but yeah, he’s good. I know he won’t let things go though. It’s just not in him.”

  “Right, your sister is one of his apprentices,” Ellison muttered, getting why I was saying it so adamantly.

  “Yes, and it’s not my story to tell, but Jordan did a lot to help her and others. As long as people want the help and will work for it, he just can’t leave them alone if they’re suffering.”

  “Frozen brownie mint pie,” Jayme mumbled. “Andes mints.”

  I slapped my hand over my mouth to keep from laughing as he started saying what ingredients he’d need. I glanced at Seneca who was shaking his head.

  “Yes, he does it often. I swear it’s how I know it’s a deep REM sleep. His dreams are tru
ly filled with sugar and spice and sweets.”

  “Shit, I’m in trouble,” I sighed, scrubbing my hand over my head. “I was in trouble sniffing after a girl when gay, but now just seeing how ridiculously sexy he is asleep and I’m so sunk.” I sat on the cot next to her. “My sweets fairy. It really is in the water here, huh?”

  “Isn’t someone a ‘sugar elf?’” Ellison asked.

  “Gaius called Verge that when they were having fun along with Nero,” Seneca answered. “I don’t know if he still does or if that’s changed now.”

  Ellison winced. “Maybe don’t use that term around Falcon then if it’s about Gaius and someone else.”

  I moved my arms in an X. “No, something different. Jayme’s been leaving treats at my room. Whatever she hears I like or I think just guesses right, she leaves me extras at my door.”

  “Oh yeah, you’re in trouble,” Seneca chuckled, shaking his head. “You should know then that she wasn’t prepared for her transition at all.”

  “Alexis heard.” I gave Jayme a worried look. “What were you running from, and who hurt you?”

  “Are you staying?” Ellison asked as he glanced between Jayme and me.

  “I don’t think I should stay all night, but I can for a while if you guys want to slip out.”

  “We do, but why can’t you stay?” Seneca asked, frowning.

  “It’s a bit stalkerish if he hasn’t had a real talk with her,” Ellison explained, rolling his eyes when Seneca frowned more. “I was fine with you stalking me. Most wouldn’t be. Not everyone is as pushy as you, Sen.” He looked at me then. “We’re going to stretch our legs, and we’ll be back in an hour or so. Call Sen if someone comes in.”

  I nodded, getting the ancient’s number for my phone before they headed out.

  Ryan came not long after with a ton of food and we chowed down, both of us lost in our thoughts about how we’d spent Christmas Eve in years past. We were free from the “family” party, which was just a way for our parents to show off their wealth and brag about all that was theirs.