Kissing Reno [Brac Village 3] (Siren Publishing Everlasting Classic ManLove) Page 2

  “Who the hell is this?” Kenway snapped into the phone, his lip curling upward. He paused and then spoke again, only his tone had gone from angry to bewildered. “Are you the guy who just left here, the one who kissed him?”

  Baker’s pulse sped up as he listened. He wanted to know who the stranger was. But Kenway didn’t say anything else. He just hung up the phone, scratching at the side of his jaw.

  “What’s going on?” Baker wasn’t sure why he was so curious. He also knew without being told who had called. So why did that knowledge, and the kiss, make him feel a fluttering in his stomach?

  “I need to call Maverick. I’m not sure, but I think you’re in deep shit.” Kenway’s words froze Baker’s deep arousal. There was no doubt the man who had kissed him was handsome and edgy, but was he dangerous? Never had a stranger just walked up to him and made such personal demands. That was very possessive, forward, and a bit scary. The guy had stamped ownership all over Baker.

  Was the stranger deranged? Should Baker be worried? Kenway picked up the phone again, only he dialed this time instead of answering it. “You might want to get behind the counter with me.”

  Baker glanced toward the door and then walked around the large encasement to stand next to his boss. “Is it that serious?” He could tell by the look on Kenway’s face that the question was unnecessary.

  Whoever the stranger was, Baker should be worried. He took in deep breaths in an attempt to calm his nerves, but it wasn’t working.

  “Maverick,” Kenway said after a few seconds. “It’s Kenway.” His boss explained to Maverick what had taken place in the shop and the odd phone call that proceeded the man’s visit. Baker had also learned from Kenway’s conversation that the guy who had kissed Baker was coyote.

  Baker thought of the coyotes he had seen on television and shuddered. He didn’t know too much about the creatures, but the one thing he had learned was that they were very aggressive.

  “Mating what?” Kenway asked and then he paused, one single thick eyebrow lifting. “No shit.”

  Baker was not reassured by his boss’s response. He glanced at the door once more, expecting to see the guy swagger back in and demand Baker come to him, or worse, with him. A chill stole up his arms at the passive-aggressive comments coming from Kenway. One moment he was talking as if truly puzzled, the next his voice took on an edge.

  “That’s some strange shit if you ask me.” Kenway said a few more things and then hung up, his eyes narrowed in confusion as he turned toward Baker. “I don’t think you’ll like what I have to say.”

  Regardless, Baker somehow knew that whatever Kenway needed to tell him was extremely important. He pressed his back into the case as his eyes cut over toward the door. “How bad is it?”

  “Have you ever played cat and mouse?” Kenway leaned his hip into the counter. Baker would have laughed at the question, but Kenway’s expression said he was dead serious.

  “No.”

  “When Lover Lips called, he told me you were his mate.”

  Baker knew the ramifications of that claim. He had found out that vampires and shifters existed when the bakery was still being renovated. Kenway had further explained to him what a mate was and that Ross, the other proprietor, was Kenway’s mate.

  He was so screwed. The man was handsome, with eyes so dark they reminded Baker of a dark roast espresso. Even though the guy had pretty eyes and a killer body, his attractive attributes did not make him sane. Hot guys could be just as nutty as the average Joe. “What does cat and mouse have to do with mates?”

  Kenway tore off the register receipt left by the last customer and tossed it into the trash before answering Baker. “According to Maverick, certain breeds of coyote go through this thing called a mating dance. Your mate is going to pursue you and you are going to run until he catches you.”

  That made absolutely no sense to Baker. “I take it you didn’t have this mating dance thing with Ross?”

  Kenway shook his head. “Buffalos and vampires don’t go through that. We just claimed each other. Apparently it’s hardwired into the coyote’s DNA, or at least, your mate’s breed of coyote. From my understanding, letting him catch you too soon is not a good thing.”

  Baker’s stomach twisted until it felt like there was a dead weight sinking inside of it. He let out a shaky breath as he tried to absorb what Kenway was telling him, but no matter how he turned it over in his mind, it still spelled out insanity. “I don’t understand.”

  “He’s coming for you, Baker. He is going to chase you and play with you until his coyote is ready to take you. Until then, your best course of action is to stay out of the guy’s way.”

  “But this is insane!” Baker shouted as he ran a trembling hand through his hair, remembering how the stranger had tugged at it as he claimed Baker’s lips. He quickly pulled his hand away. “I don’t want anyone stalking me.” That thought alone frightened him. Coupled with the fact that he was mate to a coyote, it terrified him. He had accepted Kenway because he had gotten to know the man before he found out the guy could change into an animal.

  He didn’t know the person who was going to hunt him down.

  Except for one amazing kiss and intense espresso eyes, Baker was clueless. He didn’t even know the man’s name.

  “I can’t interfere,” Kenway said as he looked apologetically at Baker. “No one can interfere when it comes to mates.” Just as fast, Kenway’s features hardened. “Don’t give in to him so easily. I’m told that if you do, the coyote won’t be happy with you and mating a shifter is forever. You don’t want to spend your life being resented by the beast your mate carries within him.”

  And Baker had thought the only exciting thing that would happen today was getting a chance to watch his recorded shows after work. Now he had a whackjob coming after him with the intent of running him to ground.

  Chapter Two

  Baker glanced over his shoulder every few seconds as he walked hurriedly toward his apartment. Kenway had sent him home right after their talk, promising that Baker was still going to be paid even though he wasn’t there.

  He didn’t want to be hunted. Baker wasn’t even sure how he felt about being a shifter’s mate. Although he had seen Ross and Kenway together, and envied their close relationship, having a coyote coming after him was not his idea of romance and courtship.

  Baker jumped when someone rushed past him. It wasn’t his stalker.

  The one good thing he could take comfort in was the fact that the stranger who hunted him didn’t know where Baker lived. He threw up a thanks that—

  “Wandering the streets alone?”

  The deep and taunting voice made Baker stumble, nearly hitting the sidewalk. He caught himself and turned. Standing off to the side was the man he was running from. Baker swallowed as he took a step back, nearly colliding with a trash can that was on the sidewalk near the curb. “Go away.”

  One side of the man’s mouth twitched as his espresso-brown eyes raked over Baker in a lurid fashion. He made no moves toward Baker, but his easy stance belied the strength he could see in the guy’s coiled muscles. “Nothing wrong with admiring the view.” The statement was drawn out so lasciviously that Baker felt as if the words were caressing him like a seductive lover.

  Baker pivoted on his heel and began to walk again. But he changed direction. He didn’t want the psychotic man to know where he lived. That was the last thing he needed. Kenway had said this was some sort of mating dance, but it felt more like a predator hunting his prey. Baker didn’t understand it, and he didn’t like it.

  Moving into the noisy Café, Baker stole a glance over his shoulder. His pursuer was nowhere in sight. He was gone that quickly. It only solidified in his mind how much trouble he was truly in. He had a feeling that the deadly bad boy act wasn’t an act at all, and he would do well to steer clear of the guy.

  Nerves frayed, Baker ordered an iced coffee and then took a seat at one of the last empty tables in the place. As he listened to the work
ers call out orders, and inhaled fresh-brewed coffee and ground beans, he wondered how long he was going to have to sit there before it was safe for him to go home. The stranger couldn’t wait on him forever. Could he?

  After an hour of watching people come and go from the shop, Baker tossed his empty cup in the trash and left, hoping his pursuer had better things to do than follow him around. Although he knew that shifters existed, Baker didn’t know that much about them. He had a feeling Reno wasn’t going to be giving up.

  Digging his key out of his pocket, Baker quickly let himself into his apartment and then slammed the door behind him. He locked the door, put the chain in place, and leaned his back into the wood, breathing a sigh of relief.

  Now all he had to do was avoid Mr. Stalker McCrazy for the rest of his life and he would be fine.

  * * * *

  Hearing a chain rattle against wood, Reno knew his mate had locked himself in his apartment. The temptation to enter the dwelling and claim the human was nearly maddening, but his coyote wanted to play some more. He wanted to tease and caress, to make his mate so wound up that he was begging Reno to take him.

  Maybe coyotes really were deranged. Other breeds thought so. But the mating dance was a part of who his people were. Reno remembered watching as the adult males in his pack would find their mates and then the hunt would be on. The game had always fascinated him.

  Now that it was his turn, Reno wasn’t so sure it was more mentally unbalanced than fascinating. He didn’t hold one ounce of regret that he was now consumed with the dance. It was what it was. But he could have done without the look of fear in his mate’s blueberry-colored eyes. Reno had never remembered seeing that when he was younger. The person being chased always looked thrilled, flushed, and happy.

  It was damn puzzling to him.

  He hadn’t actually been following his mate. Reno was at the feedstore when he walked out and spotted the man. As casually as he could, he had leaned against the wall of the store as his mate passed him by.

  What had disturbed him was the fact that his mate had been so busy looking over his shoulder that he hadn’t seen Reno in front of him. No one should walk down a street that distracted. That was dangerous in a town with not only shifters, but vampires, and the occasional rogue. His mate would be a nice snack for any rogue roaming around here, hiding out and waiting.

  He had followed the human to make sure he made it home safely. Maybe a talk was needed. The human had to be made aware of his foolishness.

  “Baker’s not home,” an elderly woman said as she opened her apartment door to stare at Reno who had been hidden in the shadows of the hallway. “The young man works during the day.”

  Was she talking about his mate? Reno hadn’t caught his name. He also didn’t like the fact that this woman was telling a complete stranger about her neighbor’s comings and goings. What if he had been some sort of bad guy?

  “Thanks.” He couldn’t think of anything else to say. He couldn’t bring himself to chastise a woman who reminded him of his own elderly grandmother. Moving out of his hiding place, Reno walked past her to jog down the steps and walk out of the building.

  He was definitely going to have a word with…Baker. Reno shook his head in amusement. That was one hell of a way to find out his mate’s name.

  Reno drew in a ragged sigh as he walked back to the firehouse. The building wasn’t far, and he hadn’t wanted Baker to hear his motorcycle. It was not his intention to scare his mate. Really, it wasn’t. But, it wasn’t like Reno could just say to hell with it and let the mating dance go, taking his mate instead in the traditional way of shifters. The mating dance was hardwired into him.

  Reno walked into the side door of the firehouse, which led directly into the break room. He spotted the chief eating another of the donuts he had brought in this morning. “Where’ve you been?”

  Grabbing the carafe and hoping the coffee was fresh, Reno poured a cup. He added one packet of sugar and stirred, wondering how truthful he should be. “Running errands.”

  Bear gave him a look that said he knew Reno was full of shit. “I got a phone call about you.”

  Reno kept his features in check as he sipped at his coffee. “About?” Why give anything away? If Bear knew he was in the middle of the dance…but Reno wasn’t even sure the man even knew about coyote mating.

  Most shifters didn’t.

  And that was why they thought the breed nuts. They didn’t understand nor did they take their time to find out. They turned their noses up at him and his kind, judging them without knowing the reason coyotes did what they did when it came to mating.

  Bear gave an irritated grunt. “Don’t play stupid with me, Reno. You know damn well I was called about you and your mate.”

  Swallowing the coffee, Reno wondered if it was the buffalo who complained. If it wasn’t, then there was only one other person who would have a beef about the way Reno was handling Baker. And as much as he wanted to protest, Reno already knew. If Maverick didn’t approve, Reno would be transferred out.

  The wolf alpha had the ultimate say in this town. As much as Reno didn’t like wolf shifters, he respected Maverick. “And?”

  “Will you stop with the monosyllabic replies?” Bear said as he finished off his powdery treat. He dusted his hands off and sucked down some coffee. “What’s going on with you and Baker?”

  “You are not allowed to interfere in mating,” Reno reminded his chief. He kept his tone even, blasé. He didn’t want to piss the bear off considering the man was his boss, but he didn’t want him to stick his nose where it didn’t belong either. He wasn’t going to be made to feel bad about the mating dance. It was his right and Baker was his mate. “I haven’t harmed him.”

  Bear looked astonished. “I never thought you would.”

  “Then what’s with the questions?” Reno asked.

  Shrugging, Bear leaned his large frame against the counter, his light-blue eyes assessing Reno. “Honestly?”

  Reno nodded.

  “Damn curious. That’s all. Maverick just called to let me know what was going on with you, to forewarn me that one of my men was going through some sort of dance and to not interfere. Never heard of such a thing.”

  At least Bear was asking and not judging. But Reno wasn’t willing to divulge what was deemed very intimate among his breed. He was a little peeved Maverick had said anything, but he understood the need the alpha had of warning the chief. He was going to be in and out of the firehouse…a lot.

  Reno didn’t want to lie to the man, but he didn’t want to have to explain himself either. “It is what Maverick told you it was.”

  “He didn’t tell me shit other than to give you leeway. That’s all he said.”

  “That’s all you need to know.” Refilling his cup, Reno left the chief in the kitchen area as he walked over to the area that had been put together for relaxing. The men called it the media area. He sat in one of the loungers and grabbed the remote. He was being ballsy with the chief and he knew it. If they had been talking about anything other than his mate and what was going on with Baker, Reno wouldn’t have dismissed the man the way he had.

  He did like his job, after all.

  Sitting there flipping through the channels, Reno found he couldn’t concentrate. All he kept seeing were deep, dark-blue eyes and short brown hair with just a touch of curl at the top. His fingers began to tingle as he remembered running his hands through Baker’s hair, gripping it tight, and bending the man’s head back for a kiss.

  God, those lips. Had Reno seen another set of lips that had been so perfectly made for kissing? They were full, delicious, and fuck, his cock was hard again. Reno tried to push the images away and concentrate on what he was seeing on the television, but nothing caught his interest, so his mind wandered back to Baker and the small swell he had seen in the man’s biceps.

  Nicely shaped. Very bitable.

  “Hey,” Travis said as he dropped down next to Reno. “Hear you found your mate.”


  Reno growled at Bear’s big mouth. “Does everyone know or did Bear post it up by the reception area?”

  Travis grinned. “Nah, he just put a memo out.”

  Reno gaped at his fellow firefighter.

  “Just kidding,” Travis said, the big grin still in place. “Chief just told me I might be picking up your slack.”

  Reno wanted to strangle the bear shifter, but was thankful at the same time that he wouldn’t have to explain to Travis why he was disappearing. He had to remember that he was no longer in a big city. People in small towns tended to gossip and were close knit. He loved and hated that fact at the same time. Reno had no family, so the camaraderie he had found here was new, refreshing, but the nosiness, not so much. He was a private man who liked his life to stay his, not the front-page news.

  “Oh, stop right there,” Travis said when Reno paused on a channel. “I love the cooking channel. You can find some damn good recipes on there.”

  Reno tossed Travis the remote. “Have fun.”

  “Where you going?” Travis asked.

  Out of my mind. “Need some air.”

  Travis gave him a strange look and then smiled. “Good luck with your air.”

  Reno had only planned on walking while clearing his mind and getting his raging hormones under control. What he hadn’t expected was to find himself back at Baker’s. It seemed his coyote had a mind of its own.

  Tonight Reno was going to let Baker get his rest and let the knowledge that he was about to be hunted be absorbed by the man’s mind, picking up the hunt in the morning.

  Again, his coyote seemed to have a mind of its own.

  It was panting to see Baker once more, even if it was just a glimpse. Reno knew knocking on his mate’s door would only freak the guy out. There was no way he could see Baker tonight.

  After about ten minutes of sitting on the front step, Reno saw a cop car pull up to the curb. He wasn’t sure if they were just checking him out or if—did his mate call the cops on him? Looking over his shoulder at the window that belonged to Baker, Reno saw the blinds slip back into place.