by Ramona Gray
“No, it isn’t,” she said. “But I also hate that you think I’m dumb with money, so you’re getting the explanation whether you want it or not.”
He could smell her anger and her frustration with him. Hating that he was upsetting her, he kept his mouth shut as she took another drink of water before staring at the scar on her arm.
“I used to date this guy named Jeff and he, well, he wasn’t a good guy.”
Anger turned his vision red. Was this Jeff guy the reason she was so afraid of shifters?
We find him, his lion growled. We find him and show him what happens to men who hurt our mate.
“Was he a shifter?” Cooper’s voice was thick and on the verge of a growl. “Did he give you that scar on your arm? Is he why you’re afraid of us?”
She stared blankly at him before shaking her head. “No. Jeff was human, not a shifter. Calm down, Cooper.”
“I’m calm,” he said.
“Your fangs are out and you’re growing a beard,” she said.
He retracted his fangs and scrubbed at his face as if he could simply rub the hair off. She waited a beat and then said, “He was human, but he was a real… jerk. We were together for a few years though. He was my first real boyfriend, and he was understanding about my fear of going out in public. I was tired of being alone and I… well, I was weak.”
“You’re not weak, baby,” he said.
She shrugged. “I am. Anyway, Jeff’s grandmother had died about two months before we started dating. He was getting a massive inheritance from her, over two million, but it was tied up in some legal disputes with a cousin. But Jeff knew he was getting the money, his grandmother’s will was very clear that he was to get the money. His cousin was being greedy, Jeff said.”
She stared out the window at the darkness before rubbing at the scar again. “Jeff had expensive taste and I had a good credit rating. We ate through my savings with vacations and I helped Jeff buy a new car. He would pay me back, of course, when the inheritance came through, so I didn’t worry too much about it. Jeff was very charming and persuasive, you know? My friend Megan said Jeff could sell water to a drowning man.”
Coop nodded. “Yeah, I know people like him.”
“Anyway, we burned through my savings within the first two years we dated and then we racked up my credit card. My limit was modest, and Jeff tried to get me to up it, but I didn’t. I mean, I was still believing that he would pay me back but there was apparently a tiny part of me that wasn’t completely stupid.”
“You’re not stupid,” he said. “Guys like Jeff are very good at what they do.”
“Yeah,” she said. “It didn’t matter anyway. I didn’t know this, but he opened up three credit cards in my name and maxed them out. When I found out, I freaked out and demanded that Jeff pay me back immediately. Demanded that he go to the lawyers and finally get the inheritance thing sorted out. After hours of arguing, Jeff finally admitted the truth to me.”
“His cousin got the inheritance,” Cooper said.
She laughed bitterly. “There was no inheritance at all.”
“Holy fuck,” Cooper said.
“Yeah. It was all a lie. I kicked him out and I reported him to the police for fraud and identity theft. He was furious with me, sent me a few texts that were… unpleasant. I blocked his number and got a restraining order, but he had already disappeared anyway. The police said he had a history of doing this to women. He had a few different names. I knew him as Jeff Colberg, but his real name was Anthony Biswell. He has, I don’t know how many, warrants out for his arrest. Once the woman wises up to what he’s doing, he disappears and assumes another identity.”
Cooper’s lion was growling and the hair on the back of his neck was standing up. “How angry was he with you?”
“Why?”
“Your car was broken into,” he said.
“It wasn’t him.”
“You can’t know that for sure.”
“I know it wasn’t him,” she said. “A few of the women he’s scammed have been trying to find him and I’m in the email group. The night my car was broken into, we got an email from the private investigator the women hired to find him. They had pictures of him in Mexico taken that day. He’s living with a woman there and, no doubt, running his scam on her.”
“You’re sure it was him?” Cooper said.
“Yes,” she said. “It’s not how he works, Cooper. He doesn’t harass his victims. He just moves on to the next one.”
“Just to be safe, I’ll assign Chase to keep an eye on you when you’re -”
“No,” she said. “That’s not necessary.”
“Daisy -”
“I said no,” she snapped and then rubbed at her forehead. “Thank you, but it isn’t necessary.” She stood and put plastic wrap over her plate of food and shoved it back in the fridge. “It’s late and I’m tired. I’m going to bed. I just wanted you to know that I’m not broke because I’m bad with money. I’m broke because I was stupid and naïve and… and lonely.”
She looked upset and close to tears and he wanted to pull her into his arms and hold her until the weariness and defeat he could smell on her were gone. But under the defeat, he could catch a hint of her frustration with him and he knew instinctively that trying to soothe her now would be a mistake.
“I’m sorry,” he said again.
“Thank you. I accept your apology,” she said. “Good night, Cooper. I’ll see you in the morning.”
She left the kitchen and he rubbed at the back of his neck. Well, that was it. Daisy might have forgiven him for what he’d said, but he was a fool if he thought she might consider him to be her mate now. Hell, if she could, she’d move out of his house and not have to deal with his sorry ass at all except for at work.
His lion made a mournful whine that Cooper tuned out. Enough was enough. He had to stop thinking of Daisy as his mate and move on. Even if she could look past his jealous and possessive nature, history had proven that she couldn’t sleep with him. Whatever had happened in her past couldn’t be fixed by him and he had to stop thinking that it could. And no matter what he tried to tell himself, he couldn’t be with a mate who he couldn’t sleep with. His lion needed a woman who was his mate in every sense of the word to be happy. And, if he was being honest, so did Cooper.
Maybe if you asked her what happened, we could help her get over her fear.
She wouldn’t tell him. He knew that as well as he knew his own name. No, the best thing to do was move on and try and convince his lion to find another mate. He pulled his cell phone from his pocket and thumbed through the texts until he found the one from Ryan’s friend Shay. She had texted him a few days ago. He hadn’t replied yet, not sure what to say, and too wrapped up in Daisy.
He listened to the faint sounds of Daisy walking across her bedroom and the telltale creak of the mattress when she climbed into bed, before texting Shay.
* * *
You’re eavesdropping again, Daisy.
She ignored her inner voice as she hovered outside of Cooper’s office. She wasn’t eavesdropping, she was simply waiting for him to finish his conversation with Grayson before she dropped off the document she had for him.
Besides, if a person didn’t want a conversation overheard, a person should close their damn door.
She rubbed at the scar on her arm and leaned against the wall outside Cooper’s door. It was only midafternoon Thursday, but she was worried about Cooper. He’d driven her to work this morning but barely said a word and didn’t look at her once. Her annoyance with his behaviour yesterday had faded but now he was the one who seemed upset with her.
“Okay, so I’ll talk to Chase about the Dalton file and let you know if we have any questions.” Gray’s voice drifted out of the open door.
“Sounds good,” Cooper said.
She leaned a little closer to the doorway when Grayson lowered his voice and said, “So, Ryan said you texted Shay?”
“Yeah,” Cooper said.
“You’re
having dinner with her tomorrow night?”
Jealousy pierced through her stomach like a hot needle. She gripped the document hard and held her breath, straining to hear the two shifters’ low voices.
“Yeah.”
There was a beat of silence and then Gray said, “You don’t think it’ll work with Daisy? Even though she’s not afraid of you now?”
“She’s afraid of me still,” Cooper said.
“Doesn’t smell like she is.”
She heard the creak of Cooper’s leather chair as he leaned back. “When we’re, uh, intimate, she’s afraid.”
“Shit,” Grayson said.
She wanted to burst into his office and deny it, but what good would that do? She did sometimes get afraid. If Cooper wasn’t even willing to try and help her work through it, she couldn’t force him to sit there and wait while she deep breathed her way through the fear. She didn’t even know for certain that she wouldn’t become more afraid the closer she got to being naked with him. What if she had to stop? It wouldn’t be fair to Cooper.
Yeah, yeah, we know, her inner voice said. But you won’t know what will happen until you try and maybe if you actually talked to Cooper about it, told him what you’re worried about, he’d be more understanding than you think. It’s called a conversation, moron.
“It kills me to smell her fear,” Cooper said. “Do you have any idea what it’s like to have your mate be afraid of you?”
“No,” Grayson said.
Cooper sighed loudly. “Anyway, I texted Shay because I’ve finally realized that Daisy and I will never be mates. At best, we can be friends. But just being friends with her is a bit tricky until I can convince my lion that we can find someone else to be our mate.”
“You know that Shay isn’t looking for a relationship, right?” Grayson said. “She agreed to meet with you because you only want no commitment sex.”
“I know,” Cooper said. “But maybe sleeping with Shay will help keep my lion from losing his fucking shit while I look for someone else. I signed up for that dating site for shifters this morning.”
“Seriously?” Grayson said.
“Yeah. And I paid extra to get access to the females specifically looking for mates. There has to be someone there who will catch my lion’s eye, right?”
A dating site for shifters? Daisy wanted to throw up. Had she ever felt such stabbing, blinding jealousy before? It was bad enough thinking about Cooper having meaningless sex with a woman, but for him to find someone he loved and wanted to spend the rest of his life with? The reality that she was on the verge of losing Cooper landed on her like a meteorite and she could barely stand under it’s weight.
She leaned against the wall, her throat tight and her stomach churning. A vision of Cooper touching some other woman, calling her his little mate, being his stubborn, possessive, jealous self over her instead of Daisy, ran through her head.
She clenched the paper in a tighter fist, her hatred for the fear that had ruled her life since she was nine years old a burning coal in the pit of her stomach. The fear had cost her jobs and friends, and now she was going to lose the man she loved.
She wanted to scream but she concentrated on her breathing, pulling in the good air and shoving out the bad, until her anger and sadness were somewhat under control. She wouldn’t cry at the office, and she wouldn’t beg Cooper to try and work with her fear in order to sleep with him. It wasn’t his problem. It was hers and always would be.
She straightened, pasting a smile on her face when she heard Grayson approach the open door. She skittered back a few steps and then walked toward Cooper’s door, trying to look natural as Grayson stepped into the hallway.
“Hi, Daisy.”
“Hey, Grayson.” She ducked past him and knocked briskly on Cooper’s door. “Cooper, I have the letter you asked me to type.”
He was sitting at his desk and his smile looked false and out of place. “Thank you.”
She set it on his desk and smoothed out the wrinkles from where she’d gripped it. Telling herself to get the fuck out already, said, “So, I’m doing the tutoring thing tonight at six but there are still leftovers in the fridge for dinner.”
“Sure, okay. Thank you.”
She paused. “Do you like ham? I was thinking I might make a ham tomorrow night for dinner.”
“Oh, uh,” he suddenly became very interested in a chip on his desk, “actually, I have plans for dinner tomorrow night.”
“Oh,” she said. “Going out with Grayson and the guys?”
Daisy, stop it!
“No,” Cooper cleared his throat, “a different friend.”
“That sounds nice,” she said.
“Yes.” When she didn’t move, he glanced at her. “I’m pretty busy this afternoon. Was there something else?”
Her throat got tight again, and she blinked rapidly. “Nope, I’ll head back to my desk now.”
She was halfway to the door when Cooper said, “Daisy, wait.”
She stopped, her hands clenched into a tight fist at her abdomen. “Yes?”
“My scent has faded. I should – that is, would you like me to mark you again?”
“Yes,” she said, a little ashamed by the eagerness in her voice.
She reached to close the door, disappointment flooding through her when Cooper said, “Leave it open. It’ll only take a couple minutes.”
She turned, making herself smile at him as he approached her like she might be the one who was a dangerous big cat.
“You ready?” he said.
“Yes.” Something that was part relief and part smugness flooded through her. Once he touched her, he wouldn’t be able to resist her. He never could. Maybe, once he was marking her, she would tell him to lock his office door. Maybe she’d take him back to his desk, sit him down in his chair and unzip his pants. Maybe once she was on her knees in front of him, once she was sucking his cock, he’d forget all about his plan to have sex with Shay. Maybe he’d –
“Daisy.” Cooper’s voice was tight, and his nostrils were flaring. She knew he could smell her sudden lust for him.
Good, she wanted him to smell it. Wanted him to know how much it turned her on to think about sucking his dick.
“Yes?” Her voice was low and thick with need.
“Tilt your head back,” he rasped.
She tilted her head back and closed her eyes, already anticipating the firm grip of his hand on the back of her neck, the brush of his body against hers, the strength of his arm around her waist as he drew her in close.
Her eyes popped open when he brushed his face against her throat. He wasn’t touching her at all except with his face. Too shocked to process what exactly was happening, she stood there numbly as he rubbed his face against both sides of her throat in a decidedly brisk and unsexy way before straightening.
She stared blankly at him as he returned to his desk and sat down, pulling the chair in tight until his flat abdomen brushed against the edge of the desk. When she didn’t move, he said, “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” she said. “Thank you for marking me.”
“You’re welcome.” He stared at his computer screen, clearly dismissing her. Feeling horny and stupid and embarrassed, she turned and nearly ran out of his office.
Chapter Sixteen
“Expecting me to concentrate on fractions is impossible when I’m this hungry.” Anna flopped down face first on her bed.
Daisy smiled at her. “We can take a quick break so you can grab a snack.”
“A snack isn’t gonna cut it,” Anna said. “I didn’t eat dinner.”
Daisy hadn’t eaten dinner either, too upset by Cooper’s obvious rejection to have much of an appetite.
“Why didn’t you eat?” Daisy said.
Anna’s voice was muffled by the quilt. “Dad’s at some charity thing tonight and Patricia made one of my least favourite meals.”
She turned her head enough to give Daisy a one-eyed stare. “That makes me sound like a s
poiled brat, right? Complaining about what our personal chef made for dinner.”
Daisy laughed. “Maybe a little.”
Anna flopped onto her back, staring at the ceiling as she tapped her pencil against her forehead. “I could go for a burger. There’s an amazing burger joint not too far from here.”
“I don’t have a car,” Daisy said.
“It’s literally like three blocks away. We can walk,” Anna said. “My dad and I go there a lot. We should go. I’m starving.”
“Nope,” Daisy said. “It’s too dangerous.”
“It’s a super popular place,” Anna said. “Even if Xander showed up, there’s always a ton of people around. He wouldn’t try and do anything with that many witnesses.”
“Still not a good idea,” Daisy said. “Why don’t we grab a snack from the kitchen and -”
Her stomach growled so loudly that Anna heard it from across the room. She laughed and sat up on the bed. “A snack isn’t gonna cut it for you either. I won’t be able to concentrate on fractions without a burger and fries in me, Daisy. It’s not possible. Please? I’m feeling a little stir-crazy tonight.”
Daisy rubbed at the scar on her arm before fishing her cell phone out of her purse. She called a number as Anna said, “If you’re calling to ask my dad, he’s not going to answer. He keeps his phone on silent when he’s at the charity stuff.”
“It’s not your dad I’m calling,” Daisy said. When Wes answered the phone, she said “Hey, it’s Daisy. How exactly does this personal security thing work for Anna?”
* * *
“Is this the best burger you’ve ever tasted or is this the best burger you’ve ever tasted?” Anna said.
Daisy grinned and stuffed some more fries into her mouth, chewing and swallowing before saying, “Fine, you were right. The burger and the fries are amazing.”
“My dad and I come here, like, twice a week.” Anna’s phone buzzed and she glanced at the screen. A smile broke out across her face.
“Do you need to answer the text?” Daisy said. “I don’t mind.”
“Nah, it’s okay.” Anna pushed her phone to the side. “It’s just my friend Scott.”
