“Thanks, but you didn’t need to do that,” Morgan said as Diesel watched them disappear down the street.

  Diesel just shrugged and went back over to unpack another box. “They were bothering you. That’s enough of a reason.”

  Just then, the bell above the door tinkled as it opened, and Clark walked in, looking as cocky and well-dressed as always.

  Diesel stood up from his box, scowling again and looking like he was ready to throw Clark out a window, but Morgan held up a hand.

  “It’s fine, just Clark,” she said, and he relaxed.

  “Well, you sure are looking nice today,” Clark said with a grin as he stepped into the store.

  “Save it, Clark. You already know how I feel.”

  Clark was undeterred. “No? Not even if it’s your lucky day?” He pulled two tickets from his denim jacket and showed them to her. “Two tickets to the exclusive Crater hot springs. You and me. I even got a babysitter lined up and everything,” he said, winking at her.

  Morgan could practically hear Diesel seething as he ripped an empty box apart, and the sound gave her pause.

  The cult guys had been creepy, but Clark hadn’t done anything untoward except ask her out, and Diesel was already acting mad. Could it be that he was… jealous? The thought sent a wave of excitement through her.

  “Sorry, Clark, it’s not happening. You can take those tickets and find some other girl that’s interested in your silver tongue,” Morgan replied amusedly.

  Clark looked disappointed but seemed to be able to take a hint.

  “In case you change your mind,” he said with a shrug, dropping the tickets on the counter and turning to strut away.

  “Zero chance of that,” Morgan muttered under her breath as the door closed behind Clark’s back.

  “Who was that?” Diesel had made his way over to the counter and was staring at the door.

  “Just the town Lothario.”

  He made a confused face. “Lothario?”

  Morgan fought back the urge to laugh. “Womanizer, playboy, heartbreaker. He uses women, basically. Or at least everyone says so. Rumor has it he lives in a place at the far end of the Crater. Keeps to himself usually, unless he’s out trawling for booty.”

  Diesel looked disgusted, and he shook his head in disbelief as he walked back to empty more boxes as though even the idea of what Clark was offended him.

  Another point for Diesel. He certainly didn’t seem to be a player. Though, with his size and handsomeness, he could easily have anyone he wanted.

  Morgan felt herself getting angry at the thought for some reason.

  She shoved the emotion away.

  Jealousy? It was dangerous and ridiculous to be getting jealous over a man she had barely met.

  Then again, Diesel wasn’t really an ordinary man. Her eyes strayed over, fixing on his incredibly muscled legs and rear as he leaned down. When he stood back up, his eyes caught hers, and she could feel the tension rising and forced herself to look away.

  So handsome and rugged. Exactly her type.

  The morning went by fast, and before Morgan knew it, it was time to pick up Grace from her after-school programs. They ran later so, sadly, she couldn’t take the bus to get home.

  “You want me to go pick her up on my motorcycle?” Diesel offered when she brought it up.

  Morgan froze. She’d seen a huge black and chrome monstrosity parked up the street and wondered who it had belonged to. Horrible memories flooded the back of her mind, but she pushed them away, trying to stay rooted in the present.

  Diesel, as if unaware of the danger of what he was offering, waited patiently for her response.

  No. No, no, no. Never.

  She’d already lost one half of her heart. She wasn’t going to risk losing the other half, no matter how well-meaning Diesel was.

  She shook her head vehemently. “Absolutely not. I don’t want her anywhere near that thing,” she said, trying to hold back the bitterness in the tone of her voice.

  Diesel frowned slightly but didn’t seem too bothered by her reaction, thankfully. “Want me to watch the store instead while you go get her?”

  She calmed almost instantly, just his blue eyes enough to remind her that he wasn’t the same person that had nearly broken her and left her all alone with an unplanned child. Diesel was different. “You okay with that? I’ll be gone a bit longer this time.”

  He smiled then. “I got it.”

  As she grabbed her keys and walked toward the door, she turned around and quipped, “Don’t steal money from the register, okay?”

  Diesel laughed. “I’m a basilisk. What would I need it for?”

  He did have a point, Morgan supposed.

  She almost couldn’t wait to get back just to see what the rest of the evening with Diesel around would be like.

  Hopefully, there wouldn’t be any more mention of motorcycles.

  7

  Diesel didn’t think he’d ever seen so many pumpkins in one place in his life.

  He stood up from his unpacking and ran a hand through his beard, eyeing the several boxes that had been delivered while Morgan was out picking up Grace from school.

  What the hell does she need so many for?

  As far as he knew, sometimes humans made them into certain dishes. He’d even seen them go so far as to carve odd-looking faces into them.

  Humans were very funny creatures sometimes.

  The bell above the door jingled and rattled as it was opened, and in walked Grace, whose eyes glowed excitedly at the sight of the pumpkins. Immediately, she ran over and started going through the boxes.

  “Pumpkins,” she exclaimed as Morgan followed her in, looking amused.

  A wave of warmth went through Diesel at the sight of her.

  Shit, she looked beautiful standing there in a pair of form-fitting blue jeans that outlined every one of her delicious curves as well as a soft olive-green jacket that made her hair glow like wavy, liquid fire.

  Mate, his basilisk growled, more insistent than ever.

  Diesel cleared his throat, telling himself that he needed to get it under control. He’d held back earlier when the strange people had come into the store, managing to just throw them out. Deep down, he’d wanted to teach them a lesson, show them what happened to anyone that dared raise their voices at her.

  His hand tightened into a fist for a second, then released as he took a deep breath.

  And then there was the pure rage he had felt when that “Lothario” Clark had come in, offering to take her out on a date, followed by roaring triumph when she had said no.

  Diesel wasn’t sure, so he’d need to check with Gunnar and Reno, but those reactions seemed like reactions one would have to their mate.

  “Looks like the store’s still standing. That’s good,” Morgan said, looking around, hands on her hips.

  Diesel folded his arms. “All in a day’s work.”

  They shared a smile before her eyes flickered over to the boxes of pumpkins that sat in lines on the floor and her eyebrows turned downward in consternation.

  “Why are there so many?” she asked, walking over and staring down at the pumpkins.

  “What do you mean? The people said you ordered these,” Diesel said.

  “Did they give you a receipt?”

  “Yeah, they did.”

  He showed her the small piece of paper that the delivery people had left with him, and she let out a groan.

  “It says they dropped off three dozen pumpkins, but I only ordered one. Looks like they only charged me for one, though.”

  “Guess it’s your lucky day.”

  Morgan laughed and nodded. “I suppose so.”

  “You do seem to be having a lot of those,” Diesel said confidently, shooting her a smirk.

  “Yeah, ever since a certain basilisk came to town,” she said, meeting his gaze for a second, then looking away and putting a hand to her cheek as she stared down at the pumpkins. “Still, I have no idea what I’m gonna do with these.”

  At that point, Grace ran over. Her backpack, which was nearly bursting to the brim with books, bounced on her back.

  “Can we make jack-o’-lanterns with the extras? Pleeease?”

  “Of course, sweetheart.”

  Diesel cocked his head, confused. “Jack-o’-lanterns?”

  Grace’s jaw dropped. “Have you never carved pumpkins before?”

  When he shook his head, Morgan nodded. “That settles it, then. Tonight we’re carving pumpkins. We’ll have to drop a few off at the Bookers’ next door, though. We don’t need all of these.”

  “Diesel and I can walk them over, right?” Grace asked, eyeing him expectantly through her glasses.

  Diesel nodded. “No problem.”

  The rest of the afternoon passed quickly. Just before they closed, Grace and Diesel carried a few pumpkins over to give to the neighbors. He carried two or three in his arms while Grace carried one big one above her head.

  When they got back, Morgan closed the store, and they all headed upstairs to get carving. Once they were around the dining room table, Morgan began to put down newspaper everywhere.

  “What’s that for?” Diesel asked.

  “Makes the cleanup easier. This can get messy,” Morgan explained, handing him a small bag that seemed to contain various small, flimsy-looking handheld knives and saws.

  He was about to say that these tools were useless compared to his ultra-sharp basilisk claws but decided against it when Grace pulled out a bag of her own tools.

  “Hey, look at that. We’re matching,” she said to Diesel, holding up one of her mini saws.

  Diesel chuckled. For some reason, he loved that he got to match with her, that he got to be here, connecting with this family.

  He had friends in the other basilisks, but that was still somehow different from this. When he was with Morgan and Grace, he felt comfortable and connected, like a hole in his life had been filled. One he’d been desperately trying to fill for a while.

  Diesel looked over at Morgan, who had walked over and turned on the TV, which began to play an old black-and-white Halloween-themed movie as she came back to the table.

  Did she feel the same way? He could tell she felt attraction for him, based on the other night, but there were times when she pulled back and just closed herself off from him.

  Like earlier today when he’d offered to pick up Grace. She’d seemed panicked and distraught over the idea.

  He wondered for a second if it had anything to do with Grace’s dead father but then dismissed the thought.

  It was probably just because she was overprotective. That would make sense, considering the fact that it was just the two of them.

  He couldn’t help admiring the strength it must have taken to raise such a smart child all on her own.

  This woman was just becoming more and more incredible by the day.

  “Aren’t you going to start carving?” Grace asked, looking up at Diesel.

  That brought him back to the present, and he looked down at her and shrugged.

  “I was, but I wasn’t sure where to start,” he said.

  “Easy, you start with this,” Grace replied, grinning. Then she raised the knife high and stabbed it down hard into the pumpkin, exuberantly sawing a big hole around the top of the stem. When she was done, she pulled the chunk of pumpkin up and away, revealing mush combined with what he guessed were pumpkin seeds.

  Then she turned to him, readjusting her glasses and looking pleased with herself. “Your turn.”

  Diesel shot an impressed look at Morgan, who seemed to be fighting off the urge to grin as she shook her head and moved her attention back to her pumpkin.

  Once he had cut off the top of the pumpkin and set the piece to the side, Grace showed him how to scoop out all of the goop.

  As Diesel leaned over to pour the insides onto the newspaper, he suddenly realized he was elbow to elbow with Morgan, their shoulders touching as they worked.

  The touch was light but oddly intimate.

  Tension started to rise as he fought the urge to get a better look at her, to push the stray lock of hair that had fallen in front of her eyes back behind her ear, to kiss her right then and there and show her how much he wanted her.

  But now probably wasn’t the time, not with Grace around.

  When Diesel gave in and finally looked at Morgan, her eyes darted away, and he could tell she had been staring.

  “Now you draw a face on the pumpkin like this,” Grace said, oblivious as she moved her marker over the surface of her pumpkin, drawing eyes, a nose, and a wide, crooked mouth.

  Diesel followed suit, drawing a face that seemed decent enough, and when Morgan stood up and said she was getting everyone some water, he got an idea.

  Once she had disappeared into the kitchen, he got Grace’s attention and then nodded toward Morgan’s pumpkin.

  Grace cocked her head to the side curiously, watching as Diesel went over to quickly finish scooping out the rest of the insides of Morgan’s pumpkin since she’d started later than Diesel and Grace and was only half finished with the first step.

  “Shh,” he said, putting a finger to his lips.

  Grace’s eyes widened with delight, and she nodded, then turned back to her work.

  Morgan’s footsteps sounded from the other end of the kitchen, and Diesel quickly set the lid of the pumpkin back on and got back to his chair.

  When Morgan came in, she handed each of them a glass of water and then opened her pumpkin back up, reaching in with her spoon to scrape the insides.

  But nothing came out.

  “I thought I was only partly done,” she muttered, causing Grace to burst out in a quiet fit of giggles.

  Diesel looked over, trying hard to keep his face neutral. “Yes, quite the mystery.”

  Morgan smiled and placed her hands on her hips. “All right, who did it?” she asked playfully.

  Diesel just shrugged, then frowned when he looked over and saw Grace was pointing to him behind his back.

  Little traitor.

  “Looks like I’ve been caught,” he said unabashedly. He liked helping Morgan anyway.

  Morgan laughed and leaned over, nudging him with her shoulder. “It’s okay. I guess I can forgive you for helping me catch up. Just be careful.”

  He nudged her back softly, enjoying the touch. “Oh yeah? What if I don’t want to be careful?”

  She bit her lip, holding his gaze. “That could be dangerous.”

  Suddenly, Diesel got the feeling they weren’t talking about pumpkin carving anymore, and as his eyes gravitated down toward her pink, luscious lips, he wondered how he could take the next step.

  She hadn’t seemed ready last night, but now she was holding his gaze, attraction plain on her face. If Grace weren’t here, would it have been the right time to kiss her?

  Damn, this was complicated. It had seemed so easy, watching people fall in love on TV. But now, staring into her sparkling brown eyes, he was really beginning to suspect that he had found his mate.

  That was a whole different thing entirely, and it would probably take time.

  Diesel wanted her badly, but he also knew things were complicated for her as well.

  He’d wait as long as he needed. Though, he suspected it wouldn’t be long from the way she was looking at him.

  “Why’re you staring at each other? It’s weird,” Grace said, wrinkling her nose.

  Morgan cleared her throat, and they both turned away immediately, working on their jack-o’-lanterns in silence except for the sounds of the movie in the background.

  After Grace had approved the face Diesel had drawn on, they cut out the chunks of pumpkin and lined up their masterpieces on the table, side by side.

  “Look, they’re all smiling like one big jack-o’-lantern family,” Grace said, yawning as she moved over and leaned against Morgan.

  Diesel and Morgan shared another glance, then Morgan looked down at Grace and rubbed her head, a warm smile rising on her lips.

  “Yes, they are, sweetheart.”

  Diesel couldn’t have agreed more.

  8

  Morgan didn’t know where the time had gone.

  One minute, she and Grace and Diesel were having the time of their lives, feeling oddly like a family while the TV droned on in the background.

  The next, Grace had put herself to bed, and the clock on the wall had chimed past midnight already.

  Meanwhile, Morgan continued to work on a half-finished pumpkin furiously, uncertain why she still didn’t feel sleepy at all.

  Most days, she barely had the energy to drag herself to her room, take off her makeup, and brush her teeth before she collapsed into sleep.

  Heavy footsteps thudded up the stairs that led from the store, and her heart quickened slightly just at the mental image of the man those steps belonged to.

  “I can’t have these extra pumpkins going to waste,” she said to herself while she hacked at a half-cut eye in the shape of a triangle. As if that explained the sudden burst of energy she was feeling.

  Nothing at all to do with the rugged monster of a man coming up the stairs to my house. Nothing at all… She tried to reassure herself.

  The door swung open, and Diesel ducked beneath the frame to let himself back in after taking several completed pumpkins downstairs to put outside the store. And when their eyes met, she felt that sizzling sensation—like the sensation of putting her hand on a hot stove but feeling no pain from it—stronger than ever before.

  He didn’t look away, just smirked at her for unknown reasons.

  She stared down at the pumpkin again, feeling foolish and vulnerable.

  Morgan felt as giddy as a high schooler with her first crush.

  Only this felt like more than a crush. It burned her insides with want. A desperate sort of need that could only be filled with… with…

  She stared blankly at the pumpkin. What had she been doing?

  A chair creaked next to her as Diesel straddled it, resting his huge arms on the seat back and watching her intently. “You okay over there?”