by E A Price
Yeah, even drunk they managed protection – they weren’t quite that drunk.
“I didn’t want you to think I was using you to get a baby.” She laughed nervously.
“No.”
“I don’t usually jump into bed with men I barely know.”
Or marry them she added silently. Lot of firsts for her recently.
“So where are you baby-wise?”
Temp took a deep breath. “I want one,” she admitted. No point in lying about that - she was ready for a family.
“I see.”
He was behaving so distant and strange, nothing like the Harlan she was falling in love with. Was this about-face really just about her wanting a baby? No, it couldn’t be – he came to her apartment already agitated. He just happened to see her book.
“Harlan, what are you doing here? What’s wrong?”
Harlan shook his head and ran his hands through his hair again. “I can’t do this.”
Her heart tightened. This was it. The moment he told her he didn’t want to see her again. At least he wasn’t just skipping out on her. At least she was getting a goodbye. It was for the best. He didn’t do commitment, and she wanted a baby – the two of them were poles apart.
“You don’t have to do anything, Harlan. Just send me the divorce papers, and I’ll sign them.”
He looked at her in mild surprise. “What do…”
“We both said neither of us wanted relationships, so what’s the problem?” continued Temp, not wanting to stop, not wanting the pain of him leaving to set in. “We had fun, but now we should just stop seeing each other.”
He almost looked confused, and all she wanted was to get him out of her apartment so she could cry. “I…”
“Harlan, it’s fine – we can still be friends,” she babbled, “we will see each other at Mira and Branch’s big events. Okay? It’s just no big deal.”
“No big deal,” he muttered, and for a second, she thought she saw a flash of hurt cross his face, but it was quickly masked. “Right, no big deal.”
“Harlan…”
He strode to the door. “I’ll get those divorce papers over to you as quickly as possible.”
“Wait, Harlan, why did you come over?”
Harlan paused and grimaced. “Not important. I’ll… see you.”
He closed the door behind him, and Temp allowed herself some tears, allowed herself to mourn – because there was no point in bottling these things up. Then, after allowing herself a few moments of mushiness, she pulled herself together and started getting ready for work. A short soppy cry and she was good to go. She was sad and disappointed, but she was used to it, and she would get over it. She just wasn’t sure when - there was something about Harlan that was… unforgettable.
*
Temp froze as she found Mira in the kitchen at the center, idly stirring a bowl of frosting. She almost crept backward out of there, fearing the topic of Harlan may arise, but Mira looked up and saw her.
“Hey,” said Temp on seeing her little sister’s wobbly smile, “what’s going on?”
Her own woes were put aside. If Branch had done anything to hurt her sister, he was going to get a stern talking to!
“It’s the herd; it’s Harlan…”
Uh oh, was it about their marriage?!
“Some crazy reindeer is trying to force him into a mating,” said Mira, clearly upset.
“What?!”
Mira told her about the woes of the herd. How Corinne had screwed him eight years ago and was now back for more. How Harlan would probably have to mate her. Branch was apparently beside himself at the fact that his younger brother may be forced into this.
“Maybe Harlan wants to mate her,” suggested Temp as her own insecurities and jealousies reared their ugly heads.
“I doubt it,” scoffed Mira. “Branch says Harlan hates her. Branch blames her for his brother being so flighty with women.”
Maybe that was why Harlan came to her apartment. He wanted to tell her, maybe wanted some sympathy and she basically told him that she didn’t want to see him again, that he didn’t mean anything to her – and that was entirely the opposite of the truth.
“Poor Harlan,” murmured Temp.
Maybe she couldn’t have Harlan, but she didn’t want him to be unhappy. She had to do something to help him. She just had to.
Eighteen
Harlan glared at the papers in front of them. It took every inch of his restraint to stop himself from tearing them apart.
They were his freshly drawn up divorce papers. He’d had them for half an hour, and he was already sick of them.
It had been two days since he saw Tempest. He went to her apartment to tell her he would have to mate Corinne, but Tempest pipped him to the post – telling him they didn’t need to see each other again, that it was no big deal that they wouldn’t be together again.
He wasn’t stupid… well, he wasn’t entirely stupid. He could sense her hurt, could tell that she cared for him, but she thought this was for the best. He told her he wasn’t interested in a relationship, and, well, the decision was now taken out of his hands. Even if he wanted to try for more with Tempest, now, he couldn’t. He would mate with Corinne and Tempest would have a baby…
His inner reindeer growled. With who? He wondered. Who would be the father?
Harlan skimmed through the agreement again. He needed to sign it and then send it on over to Tempest. He just couldn’t seem to manage it. If he did, his time with Tempest really would be over. He’d have to live with seeing her at Branch’s wedding and maybe at the holidays, but they’d be strangers. He’d be stuck with Corinne and Tempest would have her baby, and maybe a husband – she said she didn’t want a relationship either, but he couldn’t imagine men not being interested in her. Couldn’t imagine some asshole wouldn’t snap her up. He couldn’t imagine his own feelings for her ever going away.
There was a tap on his door, followed by Mira’s blonde head peering around the door at him.
“Hey, how are you feeling?” she asked in her softest tone.
For the past couple of days, Harlan may have been a little on the angry and argumentative side – meaning he had been behaving like a total jackass. Everyone just assumed that it was because of Corinne and they generally let him get on with it. It wasn’t because of Corinne, well, indirectly maybe, but mostly it was about losing Tempest.
Branch was furious, having spent the past couple of days in negotiations with Corinne’s alpha about their demand for reparations. His brother was trying to negotiate the bastard down to a suitable amount – one that they could afford. At the back of his mind, Branch knew it wasn’t going to work, but he still held out a little hope.
Harlan hadn’t been invited to the negotiations, mostly due to his mood. With the exception of his mother, Branch, Ariel and Mira, everyone had been going out of their way to avoid him – even his newly discovered assistant. Ariel and his mother were sympathetic, while Mira treated him like she was a hostage negotiator.
Mira nudged her way into the office carrying her huge basket of sandwiches and cupcakes. “Can I get you something?” she asked. “I have lots of sandwiches. Plus the last red velvet cupcake.”
“I’m fine,” he grumbled.
“You need to eat.”
“You sound like my mother.”
“Well, I’ll take that as a compliment because she’s a super lady.”
Harlan glared at her and then relented slightly in the face of her unwavering sunniness. “Fine, give me a beef and mustard and a… lemon cupcake.”
She smiled and placed them on his desk, shooing away his offer to pay for them.
“Look, I know everything looks bleak but Branch is trying his best, and we are on it too.”
Harlan sighed. “I know that Branch is… what do you mean ‘we’?”
Did she mean her and Branch?
“Yeah, we’re trying to find out if she did anything wrong before you called off the wedding – I know th
at Mal already has feelers out, but we have a private investigator on it and he is awesome.”
“Oh, ah, thanks, Mira.”
She was probably wasting her time, and he felt a little bad about that, but if it made her feel better…
Mira beamed at him, pleased that she could do something. “Actually I can’t take the credit - this is down to Temp,” she admitted.
Harlan stopped inspecting his sandwich and snapped to attention. “Tempest?” he growled. “You told her? She knows about Corinne?” Both elation and worry pelted through him.
Mira nodded, her ponytail bouncing, unaware of his sudden mood change. “Yeah. She has this super duper friend who’s an awesome private investigator, and he’s looking into it. He actually consults for the cops.”
Harlan furrowed his brow. “She knows a private investigator?”
“Yeah, well, she raised money for his daughter’s operation – it was super expensive, and Temp worked tirelessly to help him out - so he’d do anything for her. He’s working round the clock for you. If Corinne did anything, he will find it.”
“You asked Tempest to do it?”
“No, it was all her idea. When I told her what was going on she immediately started brainstorming – she’s good at ideas and tackling problems. She really felt for you when I told her you were being trapped by Corinne.”
“I see.”
“Don’t worry; we’re going to find a way to stop this.” Mira gave him a final smile and virtually bounced away.
Harlan absently squeezed the sandwich in his hands. Tempest. She was trying to help him. He had a sudden urge to see her. He dropped his now squished sandwich and flew out of the door.
*
Temp nibbled on her muffin while Eric related another story about something funny that happened at work. At least, he certainly talked in an animated way that suggested it should be funny – and that he indeed believed it to be funny – but Temp just wasn’t getting it. Truthfully, PR didn’t sound as thrilling as Eric clearly thought it was. But, as he launched into another story, she continued smiling and pretended she didn't wish to be anywhere but there.
Honestly, she couldn’t stop thinking about Harlan. Her detective friend was very thorough, but if there was nothing to find, then there was nothing he could do to help. They were relying on that shameless bitch of a hussy having cheated on Harlan, or in some way ‘dishonored’ the mating agreement. Temp wasn’t clear what ‘dishonoring’ it entailed, but Mira was trying to find out from the herd historian so they could give her friend more to work with.
But, if they couldn’t find something, Mira was certain that he would have to marry her. Just the thought of him being with another woman was painful. Logically, sure, she should know it was a possibility – actually a certainty that he would be with someone else after her – but she felt certain it would be easier if it weren’t with someone as detestable as this Corinne creature. Yeah, she kept telling herself that.
Eric started laughing, and she realized he had cracked a joke and was laughing voraciously at it. She joined in – she didn’t want him to get lonely in his mirth, or think that she wasn’t paying a blind bit of attention.
Temp bit her lip. She was supposed to be asking Eric if he, oh, wouldn’t mind fathering her child. Except, every time that she was about to do that…
“Hic!”
Eric’s brows knitted together. “Are you sure you don’t want a glass of water, Tempy? You’ve been hiccupping for half an hour.”
She waved her hand. “No, I’m fine.”
Yep, she was so nervous she was hiccupping. She couldn’t get the words out for hiccupping. Maybe sub-consciously, she just couldn’t bring herself to have someone else’s baby when she was falling in love with Harlan. She pressed her palm over the pocket of her cardigan, feeling for the small ring of metal. Or at least the small ring of plastic covered in metallic paint. Yes, she was carrying around her fake wedding ring. She should have thrown it away, but she could never bring herself to do it. Having it felt reassuring.
“Hic!”
What she needed was a shock, a surprise, and luckily, one was just walking through the door and making a beeline for their table.
“Harlan!” she exclaimed. Her heart fluttered more than it should.
“Tempest,” he growled. “Someone called Marion said I’d find you here.”
A dark look blazed over his face, and his eyes appeared almost black. She almost thought she saw hatred in them as he looked at Eric. She was grateful for the fact that Eric was generally too self-involved to notice the emotions of others. He was just giving Harlan a curious look, rather than wondering why this stranger was looking at him like he wanted to kill him.
“Harlan, what are you…”
Eric snapped his fingers. “Aren’t you Harlan Connors?”
“Yes,” hissed Harlan impatiently. He was no longer looking at Eric; his whole focus was on Temp.
“My PR firm handles work for your company,” said Eric, clearly thrilled at meeting him.
“Good. I’ll have a black coffee,” rumbled Harlan, dropping onto a seat next to Temp.
Eric was momentarily surprised but then eagerly ran off to get him his drink. Eric was all about networking, and no doubt would love to pitch Harlan some of his PR ideas. Temp wasn’t sure she could stand watching Eric kissing Harlan’s butt, and was kind of glad that Harlan rudely ordered him to get coffee.
“Who is he?” demanded Harlan.
“Just a friend,” she murmured. “What are you doing here?”
Was he there for her? Well, of course, he was there for her, but why was he there for her?
Harlan narrowed his eyes, and her romantic agitation started to wither.
“Ex-boyfriend?”
“Yes, but we’re still friends.”
Harlan curled his upper lip. He looked almost feral. Temp almost worried he was considering hurting Eric.
“He left me for someone else and married her. There’s really nothing between us,” she explained quickly.
“He isn’t married now.”
“So? They got divorced.”
Harlan flashed a look at Eric, and his body went rigid. “You want to have a baby with him!” he blurted.
“Would you keep your voice down?!” she whispered frantically as heads swiveled in their direction.
“You want him to be your damn baby daddy!” hissed Harlan through gritted teeth.
The fury on his face was staggering.
“Harlan, I…”
Eric returned with the drink and an enormous smile. “So, what are we talking about?”
Harlan looked at Temp for a couple of beats. “Tempest wants to know if she can have your sperm.”
Nineteen
“How dare you?!” thundered Temp as she stormed out of the coffee shop.
Harlan trailed after her without an ounce of regret or remorse. After he blurted that to Eric – and half of the coffee shop patrons, she had no idea where to look, mumbled a goodbye and got the hell out of there.
“You really want to have a kid with him?” demanded Harlan.
“Well, I, ah…” she stammered. It was a decision she was still struggling with. “I want a baby; you know that. How could you just parachute in there and ruin it for me?”
“That guy’s an asshole.”
“You don’t even know him.”
“He let you go, didn’t he? Left you for someone else?”
Temp inhaled sharply. “Harlan…”
“Are you really so stubborn that you can’t see what a huge mistake you’re making here?”
“Mistake I’m making?” she repeated faintly. “What about you and the fact that you’re actually considering mating your awful ex?”
Harlan snarled – actually snarled and she gasped as his whole eyes turned black.
“I have no choice.”
Temp shook her head. “What are you even doing here?”
Harlan breathed in and out, taking long, angry breat
hs. “I had the divorce papers drawn up,” he said finally.
“Oh.” She deflated slightly. “Well, where are they?”
He opened and closed his hands and looked mildly embarrassed. “ I forgot them.”
“You tracked me down just to tell me that?”
He gave her a frustrated look that was starting to become achingly familiar. “Tempest, you just… you deserve better.”
Tempest blinked at him, and he groaned.
“I’m sorry,” he said gently. “I shouldn’t have come here or said that to the asshole in there, but don’t do this.”
“I told you I made this decision a long time before I met you and…”
“And?”
Temp took a deep, wobbly breath. “And it’s what I want.”
“Okay,” he said finally.
He waited for a couple of moments, before stomping away. Temp was too stunned to do or say anything. She stared after him, only looking away when Eric rushed out of the coffee shop.
“Is Harlan gone?” he asked, as disappointed as a five-year-old being told to tidy his room. “I got his coffee in a to-go cup for him.”
Temp closed her eyes. Hell.
*
The reindeer trotted towards his clothes – or his human half’s clothes. Slowly, and swiftly his body morphed and changed from enormous reindeer into larger than average man.
Harlan ignored his pile of clothes for the moment and grabbed his water bottle. After his confrontation with Tempest, he took a long run as his beast to try and forget what an ass he had made of himself.
He hadn’t been thinking clearly and behaved like a lunatic. Though the simmering need to beat Eric to a pulp remained. He would never do that… unless really provoked, but the desire remained. Two seconds in his company was enough to convince Harlan that he wasn’t good enough for her.
Harlan had to let Tempest go, but the thought of an unworthy male like Eric being allowed to be the father of her baby infuriated him. He was sure the oily male would use the child as an excuse to inveigle his way into her life, maybe to convince her they should be together…
“Bugger.” Harlan groaned as he accidentally crushed his water bottle.
