No Truer Love [Hondo, Texas Wolves 2] Read online

  Hondo, Texas Wolves 2

  No Truer Love

  Chloe Campbell has grown up with loving parents. Now she’s determined to go it alone with her own business, a flower shop in Hondo County, Texas.

  Beau Wolford has spent his life working on his father’s ranch. As the oldest of his siblings, he’s looked out for his brother, sister, and cousins. Now he’s met Chloe, and his passion for her makes his responsibilities as ranch foreman come second to the trouble she’s in and her stubbornness.

  Growing up with a brother who suffered their dad’s beatings to protect Ty and his siblings, Ty Wolfgang has tried to protect others from danger. Now Ty would offer his life for Chloe when before he only expected to briefly share her with Beau.

  Protected by their love, can Chloe accept their feral nature? Before Chloe can believe in their forever love, she must overcome her self-doubts, and face the animal who falsely loaned her money and now threatens to hold her captive to get what he wants.

  Genre: Ménage a Trois/Quatre, Paranormal, Vampires/Werewolves

  Length: 33,554 words

  NO TRUER LOVE

  Hondo, Texas Wolves 2

  Claire Adele

  MENAGE AMOUR

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

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  A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK

  IMPRINT: Ménage Amour

  NO TRUER LOVE

  Copyright © 2012 by Claire Adele

  E-book ISBN: 978-1-62241-771-1

  First E-book Publication: November 2012

  Cover design by Harris Channing

  All cover art and logo copyright © 2012 by Siren Publishing, Inc.

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.

  All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

  PUBLISHER

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

  Letter to Readers

  Dear Readers,

  If you have purchased this copy of No Truer Love by Claire Adele from BookStrand.com or its official distributors, thank you. Also, thank you for not sharing your copy of this book.

  Regarding E-book Piracy

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  The author and the publisher work very hard to bring our paying readers high-quality reading entertainment.

  This is Claire Adele’s livelihood. It’s fair and simple. Please respect Ms. Adele’s right to earn a living from her work.

  Amanda Hilton, Publisher

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  DEDICATION

  A huge thank-you to my dear husband who has supported me in my writing, has given me the freedom to write the stories, and has always stood up for me as an author.

  To my readers, you keep my muse engaged with your acceptance of the stories and characters that come to me. Thank you all so much. I never know what character will clamor for his/her story to be written next. They often surprise me.

  NO TRUER LOVE

  Hondo, Texas Wolves 2

  CLAIRE ADELE

  Copyright © 2012

  Chapter One

  There were four of them. Chloe watched them as they walked through the front entrance of her flower shop and crossed the room toward the greenhouse. Wearing the worn clothing of hardworking cowboys, they each gave her an obvious once-over as they walked by. Their demeanor was confident and arrogant. From beneath the low brims of their hats, every darned one of the lethally handsome guys stared at her briefly like an alpha male would. She stared back, determined to show them she could not be pushed around. Behind the front counter, she felt vulnerable. However, if these guys were more of the bill collector’s bullies, they’d find her as difficult to deal with as the previous ones.

  It proved hard to return their appraising stares. She looked each one in the eyes as they strode past her and into the greenhouse following their leader, the tallest and darkest one. Perfectly proportioned with the broad shoulders, narrow hips, and strong frame of a ranch hand used to long days of hard physical work, he led the way straight toward her prized orchids where they rested on a table in the middle of the humid room. He gave her another quick glance with eyes that flared dark as the darkest night. All of them had broad shoulders and lean butts. The guy following him was just as tall, over six feet, but leaner, a similar shade of dark hair cut close, and lighter-colored brown eyes. He wasn’t as darkly tanned as the leader and removed his hat to hold it in his right hand. The next one in line appeared an inch or so shorter and had lighter-brown hair. The fourth one was blond, and he nailed her with his hazel eyes. He seemed the hardest one of all four, although he looked to be another inch shorter than his buddies.

  She shuddered from the threat of potent male power that emanated from them. She refused to let them intimidate her. They’d damn well better not touch her orchids. Those were her best sellers.

  After this morning’s verbal battle with that aggressive-as-hell bill collector for the Gonzales Loan Company, she was ready for another fight. If the loan company thought they could scare her, they had another thing coming. She strode from behind the counter and headed after them. This was her flower shop, and no one was going to ruin it.

  She’d started her business with money she’d borrowed from the loan company, rather than accepting a loan from her generous parents. The bill collector had harassed her to make her loan payment in advance the first two months, but she hadn’t made enough sales to pay in advance for the third month. She’d put all her hard-earned money into the first two months’ rent. She’d have the money for the third month soon. She’d already told the owner that. He didn’t need to keep harassing her. Sending these guys out to scare her was just too much.

  She gasped as the alpha in the lead reached into the middle of the orchid plants. He will damage the flowers. She had to stop him right now.

  * * * *

  With his friends right behind him, Beau headed past the lovely-looking young woman with long, sandy-brown hair who stood behind the cash register. Her scent filled his nostrils and hit him hard in the middle of his chest with instant lustful need. Startled by his fer
al reaction, he gave her a quick nod as he passed by her on the way to the door of the bright greenhouse which was directly ahead. He needed to buy a flower for his mom. He’d decided this new flower shop in town might be the perfect place to find what she liked. A tangle of colorful flowers covered a table in the middle of the room beyond the door.

  Without breaking stride, he opened the door and crossed to the table. Just what his mother loved, orchids, like the ones she kept in her greenhouse at the ranch, crowded the table. Pink and white flowers spilled down curving stems which arched above large, shiny leaves.

  He took a quick glance around the greenhouse. With plants and flowers everywhere, it looked like a tropical paradise. At the far end of the room on the dampened concrete floor rested a two-tiered fountain. In the center of the top tier, water fell from a sexy-looking statue of a half-naked woman made to look like she was dancing in the water. Drops rained down on her and flowed over her naked breasts before streaming lower over the scrap of cloth covering her hips. The statue wrapped one arm around a basket of flowers. One knee was raised, and her head tilted back a fraction, the expression on her face dreamy, as if she basked in pleasure.

  His friends stopped on either side of him, taking it all in. He wondered if any of them had the same reaction as he had to the beautiful, young woman behind the counter.

  Beau turned back to the orchids. He reached toward a dark-pink orchid in bloom. “This is what my mom likes.” He glanced up at the sound of the young woman clearing her throat loudly in the open doorway.

  Her eyes flashed a warning. He stopped mid-motion.

  “Don’t touch the flowers,” she ordered.

  “I need an orchid for my mom,” Beau said.

  “Oh.” She sounded a little surprised. “I’ll help you with the orchids. You must not touch the flowers or they’ll bruise and die.” She walked toward the wood-slatted table.

  Beau and his friends moved apart so she could join them.

  She stepped right between him and Ty. “This kind of orchid, the phalaenopsis, is the easiest to take care of, but you have to be careful not to touch the buds or flowers.” Her voice softened. “I imagine you’ve seen the ragged orchids some of the grocery stores carry. People there don’t all know how to handle the orchids right.”

  “Yes’m,” Beau said, agreeing. “That’s why I came here. I figured a flower shop would be the place to find what I need. My mom grows orchids in her greenhouse.”

  “Whenever you need an orchid, I’ll be happy to help you. Just be real careful about reaching through the plants for the one you want. Don’t bruise the buds or petals.”

  “We’ll be real careful, won’t we, boys?”

  The guys nodded in agreement. They all seemed to be struck speechless. Ty’s eyes were wide as saucers and gleaming with hunger as he gazed at the pretty, young lady. Beau felt a sudden surge of possessiveness for her. He wanted to push Ty away, an odd emotion since he and Ty were close friends and shared women once in a while.

  “Will you need anything to go with the orchid for your mom?” Her wide, dark-brown, questioning eyes stared into his without wavering.

  “Can you put a ribbon on it?” Beau asked. “It’s for her birthday.”

  “Sure. I have just the thing, and it won’t hurt the plant.”

  She headed back to the main room. Beau followed with his friends right behind him. Her scent made his inner beast crave a taste of her, like spring water to a thirsty wolf. Hopefully, she hadn’t noticed his raging hard-on for her. He walked to the front of the checkout counter as she zipped behind it.

  “Would you like some paper and a ribbon around the pot? I can also tie a little ribbon in the middle of the flower stem without hurting it.”

  Watching her animated face as she talked to him, it took a moment for her words to get through his thick skull. He controlled a low chuckle that almost escaped, but a slow smile threatened to reveal his randy thoughts. “Yeah. That sounds great.”

  He noticed his friends smiling at each other as they headed outside through the front entrance. Perfect. This was his chance to ask her if she’d like to go to lunch with him.

  After she wrapped the plant with paper and added the ribbon, she rang up the charge on her cash register. He slipped his wallet from his back pocket, opened it, and removed enough cash to pay for his mom’s gift.

  “If you have time, would you like to go to lunch with me?” Hell, he hadn’t even introduced himself to her. Before she could say yes, or no, the front door opened and four big guys walked into her store as if they owned the place. Beau gave the guys a quick appraisal. They all wore suits and dark glasses and definitely smelled of trouble.

  His friends followed the suits inside, almost on their heels. Not too subtle, but at least his best buds recognized a problem when they saw it.

  The biggest guy walked up to the counter. “Miss Campbell?”

  “Can I help you?” she answered, giving the jerk an even look.

  “Miss Campbell, our boss sent us over here to collect the rent.”

  Beau was sure glad he and his buddies were here to protect Miss Campbell. These hoods suddenly reeked of violence. They were obviously employed by Cinco Gonzales, an unscrupulous loan shark, who operated in the vicinity. Beau knew him as a guy with no morals at all. He’d do anything for money. And he was a werewolf. These guys must be his pack.

  How the hell had Miss Campbell gotten involved with Gonzales? Things could get nasty. Beau needed to protect this innocent lady.

  “I already explained to Mr. Gonzales that I would pay him this month’s rent. I have nothing more to say about it.”

  The hood leaned over the counter. “Miss Campbell—”

  “Leave the lady alone,” Beau ordered, his voice growling low. “You heard her. That’s all you need to know. Now get the hell out of here.” Beau heard her quick intake of breath at his no-nonsense words.

  The goon stared at Beau with murder in his dark eyes. “My business is with this woman, not you.”

  Beau stepped close to him, crowding him. “Miss Campbell is a friend of mine, and I won’t stand for anyone bothering her. Now get out.”

  “You get out.” The bastard shoved Beau hard in the shoulder.

  The move could have pushed Beau aside if he hadn’t been expecting it. Instead Beau gripped the guy’s wrist and twisted his arm behind his back.

  Beau easily grabbed the collar of his off-balance opponent’s jacket and pushed him toward the front door. As he marched him outside, Beau noticed his friends had secured the remaining goons and were pushing them outside as well.

  He shoved the man against their black extended-cab pickup. “I’d better not see you around here ever again or anywhere near Miss Campbell. Got that?”

  The hood tried to shake Beau’s grip off. He gave him an extra shove against the side of the pickup and released him. “Now, get out of here!”

  The goon walked slowly to the driver’s door as he straightened his jacket. He shot Beau a murderous glance. “You’ll be hearing from Cinco Gonzales.”

  It was bound to happen sooner or later. Beau had known it ever since he’d heard that Cinco had started a loan operation. Cinco had always been a guy on the wrong side of the law. This time he’d picked the wrong place to practice his illicit games. Hondo County was the territory of Beau’s family pack and always had been. They wouldn’t put up with Cinco and his lame pack for one minute. Hopefully, it wouldn’t take too much persuading to convince Cinco to leave Miss Campbell alone and get the hell out of Hondo.

  Beau and his friends watched until the vehicle was out of sight. He turned back to see Miss Campbell staring at him, her fists on her slender hips, and fire in her eyes.

  “Thanks a lot for just making things worse,” she said in no uncertain tone of voice. She combed her fingers through her long, sandy-brown hair.

  He’d better calm her down quick if he expected to take her to lunch. “I doubt they’ll bother you again, Miss—”

  “Cal
l me Chloe.”

  “Glad to meet you. I’m Beau Wolford, and this is Ty Wolfgang, Lance Strong, and Mark Lobo.” Beau indicated each of his pals with Mark bringing up the rear as was Mark’s usual cautious manner.

  “Nice to meet you all. Now, tell me how I’m going to keep those ornery guys off my case after you’ve made them mad as hornets.”

  Beau shook his head in denial. “They won’t bother you again, we’ll see to it. Did you take a loan from Cinco Gonzales?”

  She nodded her head slowly, dismay clearly apparent in her eyes.

  “He won’t bother you, either. I know him, and I’ll have a talk with him. If he does pester you again, he’ll answer to me and my friends. Right, guys?”

  His friends all nodded with feral conviction. They knew their own power and strength.

  “Now, how about we take you to lunch? We know a great little bar and grill that cooks up the best food you’ve ever tasted.”

  “Well…I wouldn’t mind. What about the orchid for your mother? You can’t leave it in a hot car or the flowers will die.”

  “How about we bring you back here after lunch, and I’ll take the orchid to my mom afterward?”

  “All right. Give me a minute to lock up.”

  * * * *

  Lunch had been fun for Chloe.

  She wouldn’t mind getting to know the guys better, especially Beau and Ty. They’d all four been entertaining and yet hadn’t been raucous or loud during lunch. Lance and Mark were fairly quiet although they had chuckled at Ty’s stories about ranch life. Beau had joined in with his own astute observations. He had a quiet sort of strength, whereas Ty was as much fun as a hyper puppy even if he was over six feet tall. Ty was wirier than his friends, who were all strong, well-muscled cowboys.