The Mercenary Read online

  As she rounded the corner and walked into the foyer area, Jodie wished she’d stayed in bed a little longer. Eddie stood near the door to the laundry, ironing some trousers, clad in just his underpants. Not boxers either, oh no. Skimpy little briefs which do not leave much to the imagination. Because of his height, the low ironing board sat beneath his groin area and framed it nicely. Jodie didn’t want to see this much of Eddie. His head jerked upward making it clear that she’d been the last person he expected to walk through that doorway.

  “Jodie!” He exclaimed. “If I’d known you were here, I’d have put clothes on.”

  “Um... sorry,” averting her eyes, Jodie made a hasty retreat to the kitchen.

  Before she’d even had time to close the door behind her, Eddie followed through, wearing the trousers he’d been ironing. It unnerved her how fast shifters could move when they wanted to. Focusing on what was in front of her in a bid to forget the image of Eddie’s briefs now ingrained in her brain; Jodie saw Rufus and Mark at the table eating scrambled eggs. Rufus greeted her with a big cheesy grin.

  “Good morning,” her cheerful smile belied her rapid heartbeat and dry throat.

  “Did you sleep well?” Rufus asked, still sporting a suggestive grin.

  “Rufus,” Eddie scolded, shaking his head. “Leave the poor girl alone.” He began making coffee.

  “Oh I believe we get to tease.” Mark said between mouthfuls. Judging by his combed wet hair, he must have just showered. Like Eddie, he only wore pants.

  “Why is that?” Jodie asked, worried.

  “It must have been some night.” Using his fork, Mark pointed over by the refrigerator. “Those were hanging on the wall in my bedroom. The same wall that Danny’s bed stands on the other side of.”

  Jodie looked in horror at the stack of picture frames. The glass had broken in all of them and some of the frames were in splinters.

  “Damn!” Eddie breathed. “They fell right off the wall?”

  “Yup,” Mark said as he ate.

  “I think I’ll just get going.” Jodie had never been so embarrassed in her entire life.

  “No-no-no, you don’t get to run away,” Eddie grinned. He sat Jodie down at the table and placed a steaming cup of coffee in front of her.

  “I’m so sorry,” she blurted, covering her face and wanting the ground to swallow her up.

  “Don’t worry about it.” Mark insisted. “There are more eggs on the stove if you’re hungry.”

  “I’ll be fine, coffee is enough. Do you eat a cooked breakfast every day?” Jodie couldn’t imagine eating such a full meal so early in the morning and it was a welcome subject change.

  “Being Therian means we have an extremely fast metabolism. It’s what gives us the energy to shift at any given moment. That’s why we have such a well equipped kitchen.” Eddie explained as he fetched a plateful.

  By the time Danny emerged, the other guys had joined the group and Jodie had progressed to her second cup of coffee. She’d also been introduced to Doug Stuart, the eighth member of their unit. Like Mark, Doug also didn’t work at The Furnace. He worked as a full time computer and techno expert for the unit, not appearing to need a cover job like the other guys. Tall with close-clipped light brown hair and grey eyes, Doug didn’t say much. Maybe he wasn’t a morning person either.

  Danny had on his faded blue jeans. Since five of the other guys also only wore pants, he fit right in. It felt somewhat distracting to have so many naked torsos around her. What is this a house rule? No shirts before breakfast? Jodie thought to herself. After pouring himself a cup of coffee, Danny came to stand beside her. There were stools at the kitchen counter but everyone seemed to want to crowd around the table, so there were no free chairs.

  The friendly jovial atmosphere continued as everyone ate. Jodie got the impression that communal breakfast had become a daily ritual for these guys, something she could understand. With most of them working nights, this might have been the only time they were all together. As soon as Danny had taken his place at Jodie’s side however, the conversation jumped right back into the gutter.

  “How’s your bed holding up?” Rufus remarked.

  “Just fine thank you,” Danny said, his tone implying suspicion. Jodie supposed he knew they planned to harass him, and felt thankful that the imprint of her teeth had long since disappeared from his shoulder.

  “I didn’t know your voice could reach that octave.” Mark’s voice took a casual lilt as he took a sip of orange juice. Jarvis and Adam burst out laughing.

  “Wouldn’t you just love to know what made me yell like that?” Danny smirked. Touché.

  “I’ll be sending you the bill for my framework.” Mark told him, still smiling.

  Arching an eyebrow, Danny walked over to survey the damage. “What kind of stupid picture hooks were you using?”

  “There ain’t no picture hooks in the world strong enough for last night, bro.” Rufus chided his bedroom the one on the other side of Danny’s. “I’m surprised the wall is still in one piece.”

  “I’m surprised Jodie’s in one piece.” Jarvis quipped.

  A chorus of laughter rang out; even Eddie couldn’t help but smile. There goes my only ally. Jodie groaned inwardly.

  “Yeah, aren’t you supposed to be recovering from a back injury?” Adam asked.

  The embarrassment started to kick in again and Danny noticed. He dumped his coffee cup on the table and placed a hand on Jodie’s shoulder. “Come on, I’ll take you home. These blockheads don’t know how to speak in front of a lady.”

  “Sorry Jodie,” Mark apologized. “Danny’s right, you’ll have to ignore our rudeness. It isn’t often we have this much ammunition to use against him.”

  Jodie felt so relieved to be outside in the fresh air, that she jumped a mile when Danny slung an arm around her shoulders. “Sorry about that. I hope you weren’t too offended.”

  “I’ll survive,” she said, giving him a goofy grin.

  Danny kissed the top of her head. “I’m glad you stayed last night. It was worth a hounding from the guys.” His hair feathered out in the wind. Even this early in the morning he looked incredible, while Jodie struggled to hold it together.

  “I wish I didn’t have to go to work today,” she sighed. “I’d much rather stay here with you.”

  “Me too,” he pulled her to a stop, giving her a tender kiss. It made Jodie shiver as she recalled their lovemaking.

  They were so close that she could feel his pants straining to contain all of him. If they’d been inside, Jodie didn’t think they would have ever made it to the garage. She felt lightheaded with desire and he was clearly in the mood.

  “We should get in the car before I lose my ability to think coherently again,” she suggested.

  “Good idea,” he agreed, eyes dancing with amusement.

  They’d almost got back to her place before either remembered that Danny still wasn’t wearing a shirt. Jodie wondered if she should have called to let Zach that she didn’t plan to come home the night before. Oh well, there isn’t a thing I can do about it now. Besides, she had her cell phone. If he got worried, he could have called.

  John and Penny Fletcher’s car parked in the driveway brought an instant frown to her pretty features. What are they doing here at this time of the morning? She and Danny had just climbed out of the vehicle when Zach sprinted out onto the porch.

  “Where have you been?” He shouted.

  “I stayed at Danny’s last night. I would have called but I didn’t want to wake you.” Even to her ears, it sounded flimsy.

  “I tried to call you and you never answered. I sent a million text messages!”

  Oops. My cell phone must have died. I have to start remembering to charge the battery.

  “I’m really wishing I had a shirt now,” Danny muttered.

  Jodie looked up and saw her father gazing out the window at them. With her all dressed up and Danny partially clothed, they must have looked an odd pair. Her mother’s te
ars were audible before the pair even reached the door. Jodie reached for Danny’s hand and had a feeling she would need the support.

  “Has something happened?” Danny asked, directing the question at John and Penny.

  “Zach called us when Jodie didn’t come home last night.” Her father said. “We thought something had happened to her.”

  Wow, Zach sure didn’t waste any time. I feel like an idiot. Her mother tried to pull herself together. Now that she could see nothing bad had happened, she felt a little silly.

  “Dad, I’m quite alright. Danny and I had a date last night, and I decided to go back to his place. I had no idea that would freak everybody out.”

  “It’s just with everything that has been happening lately...” Zach trailed off.

  “Is there more to this than Luke’s problems?” John’s eyes narrowed.

  Way to go Zach. “Oh no,” Jodie forcing a light tone. “It’s all about Luke’s problems.” It isn’t a complete lie, Dad just doesn’t know what all of Luke’s problems are.

  “I’m sorry we worried you,” Danny said.

  His sincerity and charm did wonders for Penny’s state of well-being. “That’s alright dear,” she smiled. “I think we all overreacted.”

  “I’m going to head out,” Danny stated as he kissed Jodie on the cheek. “I’ll talk to you later.”

  “Okay.” She responded, allowing herself the luxury of watching him leave. Jodie’s eyes stayed glued to the curve of Danny’s denim covered ass, soon brought down to earth when she turned back to her parents and Zach in the kitchen.

  “Does he always stroll around topless with his hair flapping in the wind?” John demanded of her. He could not have sounded less impressed. Jodie took a deep breath. It was going to be one of ‘those’ days.

  When she got home from work that day, Jodie had two surprises waiting for her, one from Danny. A florist had left an enormous bouquet of flowers on the back porch, which must have cost a fortune. Smiling, she scooped it up to take inside, plucking out the little note tucked in amongst the blooms. Danny had enjoyed their evening and looked forward to a repeat performance. Jodie had never received flowers without a reason before.

  Humming to herself, Jodie searched in the cupboard for a vase. She’d had a great day at work and coming home to this had been the perfect finish. Except... she couldn’t seem to find the one she wanted and began to wonder if they’d all been destroyed during Luke’s recent fit of rage. Jodie ended up putting the flowers into a tall glass jug. She was still flung around, placing each one ‘just so’ when she saw the second surprise. On the coffee table in the living room, a gift basket awaited her.

  Abandoning the arrangement, Jodie rushed over. It wasn’t a large basket by any means, but it would not have come cheap. Gloriously perfumed cosmetics lay tucked beneath the shiny cellophane. This one also had a note, from Zach. Embarrassed that he’d dragged her parents around for nothing and humiliated Jodie in the process, he hoped he hadn’t ruined what must have been a special night.

  Arriving about half an hour later, Ainsley wanted to hear all the juicy details about the date. Ains clapped her hands, hugging her and giving a girlish squeal as Jodie volunteered the information. The part where the guys gave Danny a hard time about the pictures falling off the wall sent Ainsley into a fit of giggles.

  Ainsley had never stayed at the fortress before. Jodie knew she should stop calling it that, but the word had chiseled itself in her brain and every time she thought of the house, that word just popped right up.

  Eddie had given Ains a key for the first door, but she’d never had to go in. She insisted that Jodie give her a detailed description of the interior, going on to say that she thought the outside looked horrendous and had been concerned that the rest may be the same. Jodie put that theory to rest.

  Proud to show off the flowers Danny had sent, she smiled as Ainsley’s eyes lit up.

  “Oh Jodie! They’re gorgeous!”

  “I think I’m falling for him Ains.” Jodie said after a blissful sigh.

  “Well duh!” She grinned.

  “How are things with you and Eddie?”

  Her smile faltered a little. It didn’t disappear; it just lost a good two thirds of its wattage. “Good,” she replied, averting her gaze and winding a mahogany ringlet around her finger.

  “Ainsley Cherie Elliot!” Jodie scolded as she shook her head. “You are an even worse liar than I am.”

  “I’m not falling for Eddie; I fell a long time ago. He’s such a great guy, and he’s so handsome and omigod the sex...”

  Jodie wrinkled her brow, “so what’s the problem?”

  “It doesn’t feel real.”

  “You mean that it’s too good to be true?”

  Her head shook, curled ponytail bouncing from side to side, “no, not like that. It feels very real for me, we’re made for each other. It just feels like it isn’t real for him. I can’t really explain it, but it feels like he has barriers up and I’m on the wrong side of them. When I found out that he was a shifter thingy, I thought that everything would make more sense, but it doesn’t.”

  “Barriers,” Jodie echoed faintly.

  “Ugh. You don’t know what I mean, do you?” She complained.

  “Actually I do. I think that it’s because of who he is when he isn’t human,” Jodie said with caution. “I had issues with barriers too. All I can say is to be patient; I think he wants to let you in, he’s just not ready yet.”

  “Did you get past Danny’s barriers?”

  Thinking about it, Jodie shook her head. “No not completely. Enough to know that what’s on the other side is worth the wait though.”

  “Accepting his ‘other’ life was super hard for me.” Ainsley said admitted. “But I did it. I didn’t think I could, but I did. I can understand what you’re saying; he might be scared to let me into his heart because it would make him vulnerable. He’s afraid I’ll run away.” Sometimes Ainsley’s insight surprised her.

  “Yeah I think you nailed it,” Jodie nodded. “It doesn’t hurt to take things slowly, give him time.”

  “I think that would be easier if we saw each other more often.” She pondered. “I’m lucky if I see him once a week. He sends me text messages a lot, but he doesn’t seem to have a lot of free time. It makes me feel like I’m not important to him.”

  She looked at Jodie with her wide doe-eyes, stirring up a good measure of sympathy. If she looked at Eddie like that, she’d have him eating out of the palm of her hand. Nobody with half a heart could say no to Ains when she had that expression. Just like the flirting, she never realized when she did it.

  “I think you’re very important to him! When he found out that Adam had let out his secret, what did he do? He jumped straight into the car and came looking for you. He wanted to make sure you were all right, and he sure as heck didn’t want to lose you.”

  “You’re right,” she agreed, nodding.

  Jodie decided that it was time for a change of topic. “Did you want me to give you your dress back now? I could dry-clean it first if you prefer.”

  “You know that I only let Marco dry-clean my clothes,” Ainsley smiled at Jodie as though she were being dense.

  Jodie had of course known that Ains had her own personal drycleaner, but it seemed polite to offer. She went to fetch the dress and accessories, and after Jodie had thanked her for the generous loan, Ainsley went on her way. Hoping that what she’d said had helped, Jodie sat back down on the couch and looked at the basket Zach had given her. She pulled out a tube of fragranced lotion and glanced at the label, though her mind had wandered elsewhere. As much as Eddie had seen the potential for Danny and Jodie, she could see the same for him and Ainsley. It still felt a little unreal that she and Ains were dating two guys who were best friends.

  As Jodie ate dinner she continued to dwell on Danny, Eddie and the secrets they had promised to hold. Danny had broken the rules to tell Jodie what she now knew. So had Eddie now that she thought about i
t. Though in fairness, he just finished what Danny had started. Jodie appreciated it. Knowing half the story could be immensely frustrating. Jodie decided that maybe Eddie didn’t know how upset and insecure Ainsley felt. Since Ainsley was prone to ‘running’ even more than Jodie was, she thought maybe she would give him a little insight.

  Stacking the dishes by the sink, Jodie left a note for Zach so he wouldn’t panic if he got home from work before she returned. Putting on a pair of stretch denim pants and a baggy knit top a mossy shade of green that brought out the color in her eyes, Jodie nodded with approval at her reflection.

  Surprised to see Jodie, Rufus cocked both eyebrows. “Danny’s in the shower,” he told her as he let her in and rebolted the door. “He’s working tonight, so he won’t be here for long.”

  “Oh that’s okay, he can wait. I came to see Eddie today, is he here?” Jodie’s nonchalant shrug didn’t seem to fool him.

  Rufus grinned. “I’ll tell him you said that.”

  “Don’t you dare,” she warned. “Where do I find Eddie?”

  “I think he’s in his room, but you might wanna knock first.”

  Jodie remembered seeing him in his underpants and shuddered, not an image she wanted back in her head. “Which room is his?”

  “It’s the one opposite mine, right at the end of the hall.”

  Jodie found the door and knocked, suddenly nervous. Why in the heck am I nervous? She had no need to impress Eddie. Was it because she worried about Ainsley? Am I going to make this worse? She’d gone too far to back out; Eddie had already started to open the door.

  “I think you have the wrong bedroom,” he teased with a smooth smile.

  “Nope, I came to talk to you.”

  “Oh well in that case, step right in.” Eddie said with a sweep of his arm.

  Eddie’s room looked like a bomb had exploded somewhere inside. This wasn’t the slight disarray that had been Danny’s room when he’d been hurt. This had to be the messiest bedroom Jodie had ever seen. Clothes lay strewn about everywhere as though he just shed each layer and flung each garment in some random direction, leaving it wherever it fell. Towers of CDs were stacked up against one wall and piles of car magazines dumped here and there. No visible floor space existed at all and she doubted that he ever made the bed. Jodie stood in the middle of the room, not sure what to do with herself until Eddie dragged up the bedcovers and motioned for her to sit down.