by E A Price
Mal’s hard expression didn’t change, and she blushed. She had been there when Teena asked him to spend the evening with her. It didn’t take much to persuade him. Burke would have gone dumpster diving if Teena asked him. Ariel was glad for Teena. Burke didn’t appeal to Ariel – in any way whatsoever – but Teena liked him, and she wanted her best friend to be happy.
“Okay, I knew he wasn’t going to be here. But Teena does need practice when it comes to hair dye.” She ran a hand through her locks. “She’s probably going to get her hands on my hair next.”
“No!” A look of horror passed over Mal’s face for a moment before he quickly resumed his blank expression. “I mean… ah, you shouldn’t let her. Your hair, ah…”
Ariel blinked as the beginnings of a blush tinged Mal’s cheeks. Was he embarrassed? Was he trying to give her a compliment about her hair? For once, he was the one blushing instead of her! Her inner beast hooted in delight at both the turnabout and the fact that he apparently liked her hair. Her eyes flickered into the sky to see if pigs had actually started flying.
Mal cleared his throat. “You’re going out, right?” He looked her up and down, taking in the very plain blue dress she was wearing.
“Oh, umm, yes.”
And just like that, she was back to blushing. She wished she’d worn something a little sexier. The dress was of good quality, but it was rather sack-like in shape. It was designed to be smart while revealing very little skin. But she hadn’t wanted to give Hollis the impression that she was dressing sexy for him, plus, she didn’t really have many sexy clothes, none in fact. Perhaps her one and only bikini could be considered sexy, even though it had flamingos all over it, but she couldn’t wear that to dinner.
“Ready to go?”
“Yes, ah… wait, are you coming with me?”
“Yes.”
Both woman and reindeer stilled in horror. Well, maybe horror was a bit strong, but it certainly gave her an uneasy pause. Whatever Hollis was to her, she did not like the idea of Mal meeting him. The last thing she wanted was Mal thinking that she had really dated Hollis. A logical part of her said it didn’t matter because it was in the past and it wasn’t even like anything was going on between her and Mal, but the insecure part of her that was definitely in control wanted to keep the two of them apart.
“But, um, doesn’t Branch need you?”
“Nope.”
“What about Uncle Clay? Or Harlan? Shouldn’t you be protecting them?”
He smiled slightly. “Most evenings they want their privacy.”
Both of Ariel’s brothers, Branch and Harlan, and her uncle had met their mates recently. Undoubtedly they just wanted to spend cozy evenings alone with their mates. As happy as she was for them, she cursed them at that moment and then felt immediately guilty because they all deserved to be happy.
“You couldn’t find another enforcer?” she murmured with a sinking feeling to rival the Titanic.
“Nope. Shall we go?”
Ariel nodded. It would probably be fine. It was just an ill-advised dinner with a guy who desperately used to want to date her. It would be fine.
*
“Surprise!”
Ariel yelped as Hollis, and about thirty members of his herd jumped out at her. Mal hooted and immediately shifted to his enormous reindeer, charging at Hollis.
There were a few yells and half a dozen people shifted into deers.
Ariel gasped as she looked at the banner. Marry me, Ariel?
Uh oh.
Chapter Nine
“Hollis, what were you thinking?” murmured Ariel, acutely aware of the fact that a very pissed-off Mal was glaring at them from a few feet away.
Everyone had finally calmed down enough to shift back to human. Thankfully, the restaurant was owned by shifters – or it could have been really awkward trying to explain away what just happened. Hollis’ herd mates were inside tidying up, while Ariel tried to talk some sense into Hollis in the parking lot. Apparently, Hollis had rented out the restaurant for the evening with the idea that it was going to be his and Ariel’s engagement party.
It took a little while longer for Mal to relax enough to shift back, but he did, and Ariel pretended she didn’t fluster as she retrieved his spare clothes and watched as he donned them. But then she pulled herself back together; she had bigger things to worry about than her crush on Mal. Like the confused stag shifter who clearly thought that they would be toasting their engagement at this part of the evening.
“I don’t know what you mean. I thought this was what you wanted!” grumbled Hollis.
“Hollis, I can’t even imagine why you would think that!”
She honestly couldn’t! Had she missed something? Had they actually been seriously dating for the last year and she just didn’t notice?!
Her reindeer grunted in annoyance as Mal huffed impatiently.
Hollis gazed at her in confusion. “We’re in love.”
“What? Surely you’re not serious?”
“We were dating, we were in love, and you agreed to wait for me to come back from France. I mean, sure, you agreed to let me date other people while I was in France, but it was always on the proviso that I still loved you.”
Ariel stared at him. He actually thought that was the case!
She took a deep breath, trying to control her anxious inner beast. “Look, Hollis, we went out a few times a year ago, but that was it. We only really went out because you told your great-grandmother we were dating and I didn’t want to upset her. We ended things when you left for France. I mean, really, did you honestly think if I loved you that I would be okay with you dating other women?”
She glanced over at Mal for a moment, thinking that she couldn’t bear it if she had to witness Mal with another woman.
Hollis shrugged, mildly confused. “I’m a red-blooded male…”
“All males are red-blooded,” she sighed.
“I figured you knew I had needs, but that you knew that you were the only woman in my heart. That even when I was doing another woman I was thinking of you.” He placed a hand over his heart and pouted, acting as if he had said something romantic, rather than something really gross.
Ariel heard Mal curse under his breath, and if she weren’t such a good girl, she would have done the same.
“Look, Hollis, I’m sorry if you got the wrong impression…”
She flinched as Mal cursed again, only not under his breath this time. Yeah, she wasn’t sure she should be apologizing either, but old habits die hard.
“But whatever we had,” which was never much, “was not serious, and we never talked about marriage or mating.” She lowered her voice to a mere hint of whisper to make sure Mal couldn’t hear. “I mean we never even kissed on the lips - never mind anything else.”
Hollis frowned, glanced at Mal and huffed and then matched her low whisper. “Yeah but, I figured that was because you were shy sexually – herd princesses like you are always virgins until they mate, right?”
Ariel flamed in mortification while her reindeer whined. A flicker at Mal proved that he couldn’t hear them – not if his scowl was anything to go by.
Hollis didn’t seem to care about her embarrassment though as he blundered on regardless. “I mean, you are saving yourself for your mating night, right?”
Thankfully, before she could completely melt in shame, and perhaps because he didn’t approve of the whispering, Mal intervened. “That’s enough,” he growled, striding over and taking Ariel by the elbow. “She’s not mating you, end of discussion.”
Hollis looked amazed to hear that – as if they hadn’t been discussing just that for the last ten minutes. He looked even more surprised than if a talking bear had just wandered over to him and asked him the time.
“Ariel, are you serious? I’ve been saving myself for a year for you!”
“Thought we already established that isn’t true,” deadpanned Mal.
“This is none of your business!” howled Hollis before softening towards
Ariel. “I mean, yes, I’ve slept with other women, but I didn’t really date them.”
“What a prince,” sneered Mal, apparently tired of staying out of it.
Hollis grunted angrily. “Are you seriously saying no to me?”
“Hollis,” said Ariel with as much kindness as she could muster, “I really don’t want to mate you.”
Hollis stared at her – again in amazement. He looked even more amazed than if a statue had come to life in front of his very eyes and slapped him.
“Well, we’ve been apart for a while,” he said slowly, “maybe if we got to know one another again…”
“Ever,” she clarified, finding even her deep wells of sympathy quickly evaporating. But, being subtle clearly didn’t work with him. “I will never ever mate you. Not in a million years. Not if aliens landed. Not if the earth was taken over by talking chickens. Not if I was told that the only way to save the earth was for us to mate. Okay? Never, never, never!”
She was almost out of breath by the time she got to the end of her outburst. Her reindeer was very impressed. Frustratingly, though, Hollis’ expression didn’t seem to have changed. Mal, on the other hand, looked mildly impressed, for a moment anyway.
“There, you’ve got your answer,” said Mal, glaring at Hollis through hooded eyes, “we’re leaving.”
He started leading her back to his car.
Hollis tried to grab Ariel’s hand, and Mal snarled at him while pulling Ariel away. His huge chest shuddered while he overcame the urge to shift. Which was good because she didn’t think he had another change of clothes, and Ariel was already feeling a little light headed.
“You can’t do this to me,” snapped Hollis as they walked away. “You can’t just embarrass me in front of my friends like this!” A few of the friends had come out of the restaurant to watch the unfolding mini-drama. “You will pay for this! You will pay!”
Chapter Ten
“I’m really sorry about that,” said Ariel anxiously. “I had no idea he would do that.”
“I know.”
“I don’t know why he thought we were in love – we didn’t get anywhere near love.”
“I know.”
“I didn’t lead him on into thinking I wanted to mate him – not on purpose anyway.”
“I know.”
Ariel chewed on her lip, nervous as hell, probably thinking about everything that had happened between her and that unworthy asshole, trying to figure out how she got into that mess. But Mal knew Ariel wasn’t to blame. She wasn’t the type to lead men on or toy with their feelings. Mal knew that guy was full of crap even without knowing all the details of their, ugh, ‘relationship.’
“I hope he’s okay.”
“Humph.”
Mal grunted, and his inner reindeer sneered. He really couldn’t give two hoots about the guy. He was just glad he was there to make sure Ariel wasn’t sucked into accepting the ridiculous proposal. Ariel was sensible, but she could be too subtle for her own good. If he hadn’t definitely put the kybosh on it, she might have pretended to go along with the engagement to help him save face, and before she knew it, she’d be Mrs. Crazy Asshole. He hoped Ariel wasn’t actually regretting her actions – there was no way he was turning back and letting her spend another second in that douche’s company. He knew that Ariel would find a guy to mate eventually, but it was not going to be that guy – she was better than that.
“Or rather, I hope his herd doesn’t take this personally and refuse to use our resorts anymore.”
“Huh.”
That thinking had him feeling a little better. There was the sensible Ariel that he adored.
“Oh wow, I think you ran a red light.”
“Uh, it was about to change,” he lied.
Yeah, he had just been a little startled by his thoughts. Being attracted to Ariel was one thing, but he hadn’t really wanted to cross-examine his feelings to find out whether it went any deeper than that. He’d never wanted to know. His plan had always been to go back to hunting. Meanwhile, Ariel would stay in the herd and find someone to mate… His hands gripped the steering wheel. Yeah, it hadn’t been easy witnessing another guy trying to propose to her. That didn’t change the fact that she was too good for him, or that he was leaving in a few weeks… right?
“I tried to talk to Carrie,” said Ariel.
“Yeah?” breathed Mal, glad of the subject change.
“She saw through me in a second,” she admitted, blushing slightly.
Mal stifled a smile. No, Ariel wasn’t built for deception. It was one of the reasons he adored her.
“Oh my, was that another red light?”
Jeez, he needed to get better control of himself.
“So what did Carrie say?” he asked quickly.
“Just that the father wasn’t part of her or her baby’s life. I’m sorry; I let you down.”
“No, you didn’t.”
She sounded so disappointed in herself that he lifted one hand, thinking to console her. But he wasn’t overly sure where to pat her. The legs seemed like a danger zone, given how long and supple they were and… He decided to just put his hand back on the wheel. Seemed like the safe thing to do.
“She wanted me to talk to you about not asking her about it again.” He glanced at her, and she winced. “I’m sorry; I’m a terrible go-between.”
Ariel wasn’t built for deception. That was the sweet Ariel he adored.
“Wow,” she murmured, “it is not your night for red lights.”
“I’ll lay off Carrie,” he muttered.
He didn’t like it, but Carrie could be as bad as him when it came to her bullheaded ideas of what was for the best. She thought that raising her baby alone was best – completely bullheaded. His reindeer grunted. While Mal thought that ignoring his feelings for Ariel was best…
“I’m sure she’ll tell you when she’s ready,” said Ariel in a placating way.
“Maybe.”
Maybe it didn’t really matter. Maybe it would only really matter if he were actually going back to the hunters. If he was sticking around…
Mal pulled up in front of Ariel’s house and turned to face her. Her eyes widened expectantly. Damn, she’d only gotten more beautiful since the first time he saw her. She’d been a kid back then – and far too young for him. But she was older now, a young woman now, and she obviously had a crush on him. Whether it went as deep as his feelings, he had no idea.
“Ariel.”
“Yes?” she breathed, her chest heaving in a captivating way.
Movement flickered over his shoulder, and she followed his eyes to find her brother, and alpha, Branch approaching the car. Mal slipped out and jogged round to get the door for her. He held out a hand to help her out, but Branch got there first, heaving his little sister out.
“Hey, squirt,” said Branch.
Humph. Not a suitable nickname for Ariel thought his reindeer. Beautiful, perhaps. Gorgeous, maybe. Sexbomb, definitely.
“Hi.”
Branch slipped an arm around her shoulder. “So what’s this I hear about you breaking the heart of the godson of the Golder alpha?”
“Oh, cheese and crackers,” exclaimed Ariel.
The way she swore was so hot. Mal took a moment to appreciate that before scowling. That damn fool Hollis had already whined to his alpha, who was now trying to throw his weight around with Branch.
Thankfully, Branch seemed to be more of a befuddled older brother than furious alpha at that moment. He was clearly giving his sister the benefit of the doubt. Mal doubted that Branch had ever been mad at Ariel – what was there to be mad about? She was freaking perfect!
“It’s not how it sounds.”
“I know, squirt,” said Branch with surprising tenderness. “Let’s talk about it.” He turned to Mal. “You can take off. Go home to your family.”
Branch really had softened since mating. Before his mate, Mira came into his life, Branch wouldn’t have given a damn about how much time Mal wa
s spending with Carrie.
“You sure?” he asked, looking at Ariel. He kind of wanted to stick around to put in his own opinion about Hollis – it involved a lot of swear words.
“Yeah, if I need you it can wait until tomorrow.”
He hesitated, but Ariel smiled slightly. “Thank you for tonight, Mal. Good night.”
“Night.”
Branch led her away, gently ribbing her in an irritating big-brother way. He watched until the door closed and reluctantly he got in his car and drove home. Or back to Carrie’s house, at least. It was just his house for the next few weeks until he left… right?
Chapter Eleven
Ariel ushered Carrie, Teena, Tamra, and Trini into her house. Tamra and Trini were Teena’s sisters, and when they heard about movie night, they invited themselves.
“I brought gummy worms,” said Tamra, brandishing a bag of multi-colored gummies.
“I brought popcorn,” declared Trini.
“And I brought the best romantic comedy of all time,” smirked Teena.
“Some Like it Hot?” asked Carrie hopefully.
“Even better – Speed.” Teena smiled triumphantly. “What is more romantic than an out of control bus?”
“Almost anything?” suggested Carrie.
“I told you,” crowed Tamra. “I told you we should have brought True Lies – that’s so much more romantic.”
“It’s not as good as Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” argued Trini.
“That’s not romantic at all!”
The three sisters squabbled their way into the living room.
“I made some food,” said Ariel, “could you help me carry it in?”
“Sure.”
They made their way into the kitchen, and Carrie inhaled deeply. “Is that Indian food I smell?”
Ariel nodded. “I made butter chicken, lamb tikka, Bombay potatoes, saag aloo, samosas, onion bhajis and there’s also naan bread and rice.”
“Wow, it smells delicious. You actually made all this? You didn’t just order in and slip it into your own dishes to make it look like you made it? I used to do that – back when I was dating.”
Ariel giggled as she pulled out plates and cutlery. “No, I made it. Well, most of it – I just bought the rice and naan bread. Usually, I make my own bread, but I was a little busy today.”
