Chapter 1
Pressing my hand to my cheek, my eyelids lowered like ten-pound weights had been strapped to them. I was utterly exhausted. The bell on the door dinged, and my heart raced as a gasp escaped my lips.
“Long night?” Bear, a Shifter friend, called with an amused grin.
Rubbing at my face, I growled with frustration. “A late-night orgy with two moose Shifters, a donkey Shifter, and my rolling pin will do that.”
Bear’s eyes rounded as a strange noise rumbled in his chest. “Sorry?”
“Nah, I’m not sorry. I had a blast. I think I’ll ask them to bring nipple clamps next time. Oh, do you know if they sell them in bulk? How many nipples do you suppose a moose or donkey has?”
The large Shifter was transfixed on my bakery floor. His large eyes blinked slowly as he processed my words. Any other day, I’d have continued the charade. Messing with the sweet lug was too much fun, but I was exhausted.
A mix between a sigh and a chuckle slipped from my lips as I rolled my eyes. “There are croissants in the case, but the donuts won’t be ready for another…” I paused and peered at my watch as I sniffed the air. “Never. They’ll never be ready.”
The mention of food pulled him back from whatever dark alley I’d sent him to. “Hot damn, Cam, are you okay?” Bear asked when he got a look at my face.
I imagined the words hot mess stamped on my forehead. “I’m beat.”
Bear pressed his large hands on the counter between the cases and leaned in. “Did you really go to an orgy, or did you just pull an all-nighter?”
“Are you going to judge me if I did?” I asked.
He thought about it for a moment before shaking his head. “Nope.”
I shrugged. “No real orgy. My oven decided to break up with me, so I came in at two a.m. The other oven is working, but not as efficiently as before the lightning strike took it out. So I guess you could say inanimate objects fucked me over…”
“Damn, that sucks.”
Turning, I stumbled to the counter three feet away when my Crocs caught on the floor.
“Whoa! What happened?” Bear asked.
“Oh nothing, I just need to relearn how to walk.” I grabbed the carafe of coffee, raised it to the light, and noted it was empty. The glass groaned when I set it down on the counter harder than I should have. “Take me, Goddess. This is too much.”
Bear chuckled. “I’ll see if there’s anything I can do while you get more coffee going. Please don’t fall and die while I’m here, because Lee will kill me, and we both know Grayson won’t stop her.”
“No falling or dying, check. The stupid company is supposedly sending out a tech today. I just need to get enough product baked for the early crowd.” A loud yawn ripped out of me as I measured the grounds. “I wonder…” I muttered, debating whether I should scoop a spoonful into my mouth.
“I wouldn’t do that,” Bear hollered from the back, his laughter rumbling in his broad chest.
“You’re not my mom!”
“How did you bake so much already?”
“I didn’t realize the ‘working’ oven,” I said with finger quotes as I walked into the back room, where I found he’d pulled the unit forward, “wasn’t working properly until about four. I’ve been teleporting back and forth between my house and here. Let me tell you, after all of this, I’m going to replace the one at home with a professional oven. It’s never been so clear how shitty residential ones are.”
“I don’t bake, so I’ve never noticed,” Bear said, raising his hands in the air.
I rubbed my eyes. “I’ll be right back. If you hear the bell, let them know I’ll be there in a minute.”
Once Bear grunted his reply, I envisioned my home kitchen and teleported in a puff of vanilla-and-sugar-scented smoke. The moment the tile was under my feet, I leveraged my weight against the counter until I no longer swayed. Normally, teleporting caused me no discomfort or problems. But I’d been pulling the all-nighters for three or four days, maybe more. Who the hell knew? I barely remembered my name at this point.
Ricky jumped up onto a stool. “Oh, look what the cat dragged in.”
“Shut it,” I told my cat familiar. For the last twenty-four hours, he’d done nothing but mother me about sleep. I was well aware of how important it was, but I was more concerned about ensuring my bakery didn’t fail.
After a quick peek through the oven’s glass, I rushed to my room and showered. Within minutes, I was refreshed and dressed in clean clothes. I dabbed on some mascara and eyeliner, even though only Grayson, Bear, and Kaleb came that early for coffee. Come to think of it, Grayson had no longer been showing that early, not since he’d officially moved my cousin Aileen into his home.
The oven beeped, and the scent of freshly baked goods wafted toward me as I hurried down the hall.
I popped back into Bougie Treats, my bakery—or more precisely, the only bakery in Assjacket, West Virginia, where I lived—and set the tray on the counter.
Bear peered around the unit and smirked as he gave me a quick once-over. “You don’t look like death anymore.”
“Gee, thanks,” I said, rolling my eyes. “It’s amazing what a little human magic in the form of makeup could do.”
Bear laughed as I grabbed an assortment of frostings to use on the freshly baked donuts. Once I finished, I put them inside the case and returned to the coffee.
“How many cups do you need today? Two or three?” I called.
“Two,” Bear said, his voice much closer than I’d expected. He chuckled at my squeak of surprise and leaned against the doorjamb. He crossed his large arms over his chest. “Sorry!”
It was an utter shame I felt nothing for him. He was an attractive man, but either the butterflies in my belly didn’t care or they were dead. Both were real possibilities.
There was also the fact that he wasn’t my mate. If he were a gift from the Goddess—my other half, my fated partner—I’d think something would have clicked by now. I mean, sure, Aileen hadn’t quite noticed it with Grayson. Although, in her defense, she’d already been half in love with him before he devastated her by skipping town without a single word.
Not a single word.
I’d have dragged his ass back just to watch her wipe the floor with him, had I known where exactly he’d gone. Alas, I’d known jack shit.
So maybe there was someone out there I was fated to be with, but it was not Bear.
I glared at him and rolled my eyes. “No, you’re not.”
He flashed his charming grin. “No, I’m not sorry for scaring you, but I am sorry to say I couldn’t figure out the problem with the oven.”
Sighing, I bent over to grab a sleeve of to-go cups as the bell over the door announced a newcomer. “Good morning!”
As I shut the cabinet, my brow furrowed with the silence. Bear stood to his full height, his arms hanging at his sides and his fingers loose. At the door stood a man—scratch that, a warlock, the likes I’d never seen in my town or in my store.
I drank in the sight and pressed a hand to my stomach at the strange flutter.
“Hi, I’m D’Angelo Watson with Perry Brothers’ Appliances,” D’Angelo said, his gaze roving down Bear’s large frame.
The man looked finger-licking good. I should know. I created enough delectable treats people couldn’t get enough of.
He was over six feet tall, and his dark skin looked soft as it pulled tightly over the muscles in his arms. His curly brown hair was styled just so on the top of his head, and his brown eyes were deep pools I could fall into and see if the promises they held were as naughty as I hoped.
I licked my lips, and my face flamed hot at the noisy sound. D’Angelo’s gaze swung back toward me, but not before my ego deflated. The man was clearly into men—not that it was a problem, just that I had a few cobwebs I was hoping he could have attended to.
Oh well, just my luck.
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