by KT Strange
Twenty-Nine
Darcy
The door to the bedroom swung open. Finn stood there, his eyes shadowed as he looked at me. “Finn, what?”
Max had just left me to finish getting ready. My look had to be “‘perfect’,” especially after Gem had relented and allowed me to not go to a hair salon for my hair and makeup.
“Finn?” I asked. “What’s wrong?”
Finn’s eyes swept down my body and back up again. “You look...” His arms fell to his sides. “You look amazing.”
My cheeks felt warm. We’d finally found a dress after tramping through the whole mall, something that would look good with flats because fuck everybody if they thought I was going to wear heels. It was, Max said, something that suited the age of my date: a 40’s style wiggle dress that followed my curves closely, strapless, in black on black polka-dots,. It also meant that no matter how much Eli wanted to, he wouldn’t be able to get a hand up my skirt. Wolves, I was beginning to realize, were tactile creatures and my boys always liked to be touching me as much as possible, even if it was in places that made me blush. I’d need the extra defense that evening especially since it was a staged date and he’d need to be on his best behavior.
Finn stepped inside and closed the door, taking a deep breath.
“I just wanted to see you before the rest of those guys did.” He gave me a heated look and walked toward me. I shifted on my seat in front of the vanity and put down my mascara. His warm hand hit my shoulder. He cupped me there, thumb stroking down my arm as far as he could reach. “You look so good,” he said, before bending to kiss me. I sighed and relaxed into it, kissing him back.
“You’re going to mess up my lipstick,” I murmured.
“Maybe I want you to mark me. Then the rest of those idiots can know exactly what I was up to,” he said. “Maybe I want you to mark me,” he joked softly, although there was something serious in his tone that made me worry.
“Hey, this is just for show,” I said, trying to figure out how to reassure him.
“There’s no one I trust you with more than my brother,” he said. “He loves you. He loves you as much as he ought to, maybe more. I just...” He let out a sigh and closed his eyes. “It’s selfish, but maybe I got used to having you to myself in the public eye. That’s all. Sounds awful now that I’m saying it out loud.”
I stood up and caught his hands in mine, pulling them around me. He got the message and wrapped me up in a solid hug that tipped me into his chest.
“You’re allowed to be a little selfish,” I said, running my fingers through his hair, smoothing the wild blond strands that edged toward curls at the ends. “This is getting long. We should cut it.”
His eyes, dark blue this close up, sparkled.
“I don’t want to let you out of my sight,” he admitted. “I wanna toss you on that bed over there and test how strong the fabric of this dress is.” The hand on my lower back scooped down, cupping my butt. I bit my lip and squirmed.
“I only have one nice dress, and a dinner to get to,” I said.
“You’re not saying no, Darcy,” his voice dropped low, edged in smoke and the promise of something that I had no time to indulge in. The little spark of heat in my belly told me that I wanted to though, badly.
“Hey, lovebirds!” Max banged on the door. “C’mon! The town car is going to be here soon, and that poor guy is going to have to circle the block if you’re not downstairs when he gets here. Don’t be that asshole, Darcy!”
“Can I fire her as your personal assistant?” Finn whispered with a smile, kissing my nose, and then my lips. His mouth melted over mine.
“She’s not my personal assistant,” I protested.
“Hire her so you can fire her. So I can fire her.”
“I heard that, you ungrateful overgrown canid,” Max called.
Finn snickered and kissed me again.
“My brother is a lucky bastard.” He smoothed the edge of my lipstick with his finger, wiping away some where he’d blurred it with this kisses.
“So are you,” I pointed out.”
“Mmhmm. And I’m gonna be here when you get home. Make you remember what you missed out on while you were out. He can have you for a few hours, then we’ll have you the rest of the night.” He kissed me again, heat flaring deep inside me at his words.
“Thanks Andre.” I looked outside as we pulled up to the curb. Le Reve’s windows glowed, sparkling-clean glass lit from within by those old-timey Edison bulbs that seemed to dominate Pinterest boards.
“Have a good night Miss,” Andre said as he opened the door to the car. I stepped out, the cool almost-winter air hitting my skin. I gave Andre a brief smile before turning toward Le Reve’s door.
“Darcy.” Eli stood there, his black wool coat buttoned up over his suit. I tried to bite back my immediate reaction which was to let my eyes wander down his body. The guy made suits look good. It had to be the chilly wind making my cheeks flush as I stepped up to him. He held out a single red rose for me, a warm smile on his face. “You look beautiful,” he said, bending down to kiss my cheek. His lips lingered for a moment too long, brushing over my ear. “I’m surprised the others let you out of the apartment looking like this.”
When he pulled away, there was an intense look in his eyes.
“I know I’d never let you leave the bedroom. I’d have you out of this dress and on your back on the bed in thirty seconds.”
“Eli,” I whispered, “shh, cripes, we’re in public.” I glanced around, expecting Gem and maybe a photographer to be hiding behind a planter or something, peering out at us with her snake eyes.
“Just being honest.”
“Lie more,” I said. He took me by the hand, like a gentleman, and opened the door for me.
“Okay. You look hideous. That’s the ugliest dress I’ve ever seen, and I hate how it makes your breasts look. Just, everything is awful,” he replied, his eyes dancing with amusement. I gave him a playful shove.
“Okay, not that dishonest,” I muttered. Eli chuckled.
“Ah, Mr. Gunner,” The maitre d greeted us as we entered, a smile on his face. “I had anticipated your arrival.”
A young man came to take my coat for me, helping me out of it, before taking Eli’s. We barely waited a moment before we were shown to our table, Eli’s hand warm on my lower back as we walked.
“You’re just like Finn,” I said, when his fingers inched a bit lower.
“Oh?” Eli pulled out my chair for me.
“Mhmm, you guys are both ass-men. So predictable. I could set my watch by when one of you is going to touch my butt.”
“Would you like to see the wine menu, sir?” Our waitress had arrived, a smile on her face.
“No thank you, this is a work dinner,” Eli said, winking at me. “Water for me and...” He gestured to me.
“Italian soda, please, I hear it’s really good here. Raspberry, if you have it?”
“Of course,” the waitress smiled at both of us, although her gaze lingered on Eli for a moment. “I’ll be back in a minute to take your orders.”
That’s when I felt it, the low pressure of someone watching me.
“Behind you,” Eli said, his voice quiet as he looked at his menu. “Don’t look.”
“Well now I want to look. Ugh. What is it?”
“Someone’s got their phone out. They were waiting for us, so I’m assuming it’s someone Gem knows.” Eli kept his eyes down, but he shot me a relaxed smile. “Don’t get tense. We’re just going to play her little game until she gets bored of using us like dolls to enact her bizarre fantasies.
“My back itches,” I complained. “I feel like I’m in a fishbowl.”
“What did you expect when you decided to go into the music industry?”“Well, I really didn’t expect to end up sleeping with—” I shut my mouth as the waitress arrived. I hurriedly opened the menu and picked the first thing that looked good.
“Um, Coho salmon,” I said, “with the be
et salad?” I would never forget the first time I’d eaten beet salad at the dorm with Max, and had thought I was dying of bladder cancer when my pee turned pink. I blinked out of that particularly bizarre memory in time to notice the waitress eye Eli when he ordered the whole chicken dinner for himself.
“So, you didn’t expect to end up stuck with five grumpy werewolves when you went into music?” Eli asked when she left us. The candle on the table flickered, the air above it shimmering with light.
“I just wanted to do something totally different from what my family expected of me, I guess. I love music. I think, even if you hadn’t been um, wolves, I would have still... loved you, loved your music.”
Eli’s smile spread, the look in his eyes warm, sinking into my skin and making me forget that someone was watching us.
“I’d have loved you even if you were just a normal, average girl, Darcy,” he said. “You know that, right?”
“Wouldn’t it have been easier to love me if I didn’t come with all this baggage?” I asked with a prickle of fear. A mundane girl, someone like Willa, wouldn’t have been as much trouble for them to be with.
Creston never would have tortured Finn if I hadn’t stumbled into their lives, for instance. Y’know, little things like that.
Eli’s hand closed around my fingers, and I looked up to meet his gaze.
“I don’t love you despite who you are, Darcy,” he said. “I never thought I would say this, but I love you in part, because of it. Your past makes you strong. The fight makes us stronger. Every day the universe tries to pull you away from me, I cling that much tighter. What we have is something I would never give up.” His words faltered, and he blinked. Did his eyes look wet? “Sometimes I think that everything I’ve lost was worth losing. Because of it, I found you.”
“You’re going to make my mascara run,” I whispered, blinking just like him. He chuckled. Our drinks arrived, then our plates, and we moved on to lighter topics: the new demo, planning another live stream, this time with the whole band. We were making sure to say, in slightly elevated tones, that Gem was a great strategist and we really enjoyed working for her, just in case the person who was definitely watching us and taking photos passed along anything they overheard to her.
I got up to use the bathroom, and Eli had paid the bill by the time I’d gotten back.
“That was sweet of you,” I said as he helped me into my coat. He hovered close, his warmth radiating right through my clothes.
“I have a surprise for you.” He held out a hand to me and I took it, twining my fingers through his.
“What’s that?”
He drew me outside, holding the door. A long, white stretch SUV sat at the curb.
“Oh,” I said, “you bought me a car.” I grinned up at him as he groaned and rolled his eyes.
“Just because Gem organized this, doesn’t mean I can’t treat you like a lady,” he said. “C’mon, let’s go for a drive around the city.”
“Fancy.” I got settled in the broad back seat of the limo, blinking up at the sky through the moon roof. Eli sat next to me, and the door closed, shutting the outside world away.
“You,” Eli breathed, turning on me the moment we were alone. His hand went to my thigh, stroking over the thin nylons I was wearing.
“Me?”
He was so close. He smirked down at me.
“I’ve been sitting there for the last hour, thinking that if I didn’t give a damn what anyone thought, I’d just take you right on that table in the middle of the restaurant. You think you could wear this kind of dress and then what? You’d just take the town car home, and I’d let the other guys fall on you while I was stuck in traffic?” His words made my breath catch, the hot feeling inside me coiling tighter.
His hand slid up my thigh, teasing along the hem of my dress. The heat was almost electric, tingling under my skin. “I don’t think so.” His fingers dug into my nylons and dragged, ripping right through it.
“Elias—”
“We’re going for a nice, damn long drive,” he said, “you alright with that?” His lips were near mine, his eyes dark that close up. He looked like he wanted to possess me. A tingle of excitement sparkled inside me, and I wondered if right then he was thinking about it, y’know, marking me. I shivered and reached for him, pulling him down to kiss me.
Thirty
Darcy
The contrast of Eli’s warm hands over my nylons against my cool, bare skin was shiver-inducing. He was so close, I could see the flecks of gold in his blue eyes. Did his eyes change color when he shifted? If I looked at the wolf in the face, would it be Eli’s eyes looking out at me?
“Darcy.” Eli’s fingers dug into the broken edge of my nylons, ripping down the run he’d caused. My skin spilled out, reminding me of one too many late nights of eating donuts with Max. I blushed. “What?” He stroked my exposed flesh.
“I’m fat,” I said, swallowing hard, a sudden flood of insecurity filling me. Maybe it was being in the spotlight tonight, knowing that Gem had orchestrated the whole thing and that every part of my being was going to be dissected and eviscerated on social media. Maybe it was just that I’d eaten way too much bread at dinner, but I couldn’t fight the feeling that I just didn’t measure up. Eli was so handsome he bordered on beautiful, with just the right amount of blond stubble tracing his firm jaw. He always moved with this sense of assurance like he knew his body entirely. Like he felt confident in his own skin, so sure of how good he looked that he didn’t even think about it.
He gave me a confused, almost thwarted look, his fingers pausing.
“How many nights have we had you naked in front of us?” He asked.
“Counting or excluding you?” I retorted, squirming as his fingers stroked over my skin. My throat was tight, even swallowing wouldn’t relieve the discomfort. These kinds of feelings would never go away, or at least that’s what it seemed like. Would I ever be enough for them?
Eli made a pained sound and then shifted off the seat, falling to his knees in his fancy, probably way too spendy, suit pants. His hands covered my thighs, where the nylons were ripped open, his palms smoothing over me.
“If I tell you that you aren’t, you’ll argue with me—”
“Because I am,” I said, and fuck, my eyes were burning. Seriously, tears, right then? The next breath I took was shaky, air rushing down into my lungs in a way that hurt.
His fingers ran down to my knees, and he gazed at my milk-white legs that I’d been hiding from the sun.
“There’s almost nothing I can say to let you know that your body is beautiful, because of the way it is, not despite it.”
“You’ve been using that line a lot tonight,” I said. How was it I could believe that he loved me because I was a witch, but when it came to this, how my body looked, I couldn’t? Feelings were unreasonable and I hated them.
“One thing I will never understand about you,” he said, “is how you can disparage a body that was built to be loved.” He nudged my knees apart with one hip. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a woman who was more meant for me, Darcy. None of the pack would disagree.” He smirked and I gasped as he ripped my nylons right down to my ankles. “All of this is beautiful. All of you.”
He ducked his head and I closed my eyes as his warm lips peppered kisses along my knee and up my thigh.
“Your thighs have quite literally been blessed by thunder,” his voice was amused, and I groaned, laughing against my better instincts.
“That’s a terrible joke.”
“It made you laugh,” he pointed out, and when I looked at him, his expression turned serious. “Do I need to show you how perfect you are?”
I bit my lip.
“Maybe?” I whispered.
“All through dinner tonight, all I could think about was getting inside you.”
Fuck.
“All night the only thing I wanted was to get you in this damn car so I could show you how much you’re worth to me. You mean more than o
ur career, than the music. I would give it all up tonight if I had to choose.” His breath skated over my skin and I shuddered.
“I’m not making you choose,” I insisted. “I’m not.”
“No, but these games Gem is playing with you is making me wonder if it’s worth it.” The drag of his stubble on my leg as he rubbed his cheek over me. I let my fingers wander down to tousle his hair, and he gave a quiet, satisfied rumble.
“Even if you guys quit tomorrow, I wouldn’t. This has been my dream. So don’t think about stopping for me.” Somewhere, deep inside of me, was a rooted core of strength that felt like it stretched through my entire body. Had it always been there? I could feel it, the crackle of lightning, the rolling boom of thunder, swelling up until it spread to every part of me.
I glanced at Eli. The soft blond hairs at his hairline were lifting, the air charged with static. His gaze met mine. I lifted a finger to his cheek.
Snap!
A white flash of electricity jumped from my hand to his skin. Eli let out a feral sounding growl, and shoved my thighs apart.
“These are mine,” he growled. “Every piece of you is mine.” His short, dull nails scraped the soft skin of my inner thighs as he forced my dress up my hips until it bunched around my stomach. The fabric had enough give in it to not rip. Small miracles.
“Caveman, much?” I asked, but my voice sounded breathless even to my own ears. A smirk rocketed across Eli’s face, and I knew I was in trouble.
“Werewolf,” he corrected me. I moaned as he tugged aside my panties and stroked me roughly with his fingers. My hips lifted up off the seat as he lowered himself to me. His breath ghosted over me for a moment before the warmth of his tongue on my skin had me gripping his hair tight.
It was right where I needed, the soft-slow then fast flick of his tongue giving me just the right amount of pressure. I was already warmed up and ready for him, but he took his time, exploring me with his mouth until I groaned, my head tilted back against the seat.
