I went into the cupboard and got a couple of antihistamines out and filled a glass with water. “Just wait a second while I take these through.” I told her. “Make sure the pan doesn’t overboil.”
Voices quietened as I got near the room and as I entered I had that feeling that they’d been talking about me. I guessed Andrew might have been instructing my fiance on something earth angel related. I passed Andrew the antihistamines and water.
“Thank you.”
“I’ll be back in a moment. I’m just feeding Maisie. Would you like a hot drink, Andrew?”
“I’m okay with this water, thanks.”
I returned to the kitchen to find an empty pan and an empty room. “That bloody cat.” I should have known better to leave a cat unattended in a kitchen with fish. She must have eaten it half-raw.
I threw the pan in the sink and began tiptoeing back towards the living room. Now I know they say eavesdroppers never hear anything good about themselves but well, I did used to be evil, and I wanted to get a heads up about why Andrew was here. I would have to be beyond stealthy as my hubby had vampire super-hearing. I went back and put the radio on in the kitchen. That would interfere with his hearing and put him off long enough for me to get to the room door.
“So what was I saying? That bloody radio. Oh yeah, so basically I’ve told Kim, that she’s to keep it secret because if Lucy finds out, I’m a dead man.”
“I’m sure she’d forgive you.”
“Forgive me? Are you joking? Can’t you tell me what to do to make things right?”
“I can’t. I’m here for Lucy, but it sounds like talking it over with Kim was a good idea. You’re sure she won’t say anything?”
“Lucy would kill her too. It’s not cool to deceive a friend like that is it?”
“And Kim’s your ex, so that wouldn’t go down well either, you two being together like that.”
“Exactly. So I don’t know what to do right now. I need time to think. To hatch a plan.”
I stood in the doorway feeling like I’d been hit by a thunderbolt. What was he saying? Had he cheated on me, with Kim? Is that why the proposal had appeared to come out of nowhere?
I went into the room, both men looking startled. “I’m not feeling so good, so I’m going to go up to bed, okay?”
“Alright, darling. You need anything, just shout down. I’ll hear you.”
I nodded and went up the stairs to my room. Then I laid on my bed and burst into tears. History was repeating itself. I was losing my man to another woman.
I didn’t think I could go through it all again. Look at what had happened last time. Sheer hell.
Chapter Twelve
Darius
“Bro, can you stop thumping around the place? Some of us are studying you know?”
My sister sat at the dining room table, her school books in front of her. I kicked a chair away and sat down on it. “You’re a female. Explain something to me.”
Alyssa sighed and sat back. “It must be bad if you’re actually going to listen to anything I have to say.”
I pulled out my tongue. If there was such a thing as a mature male I certainly wasn’t feeling it today.
“So the date went well then?”
“There wasn’t a date.”
“She cancelled?”
“No.” I sighed. “I did.”
“Are you out of your freaking mind?” Alyssa’s voice could have been heard in Australia. “Is this something to do with the emergency you rushed out on?”
“Yes, it meant I had to cancel.”
“Oh well, that couldn’t be helped, just rearrange.”
“I went to see her at her house—after I’d dealt with the emergency—and well…”
“Spit it out, brother.”
“I saw her with another man. They kissed.”
She was out of her seat. “The bitch. I will go kick her arse.”
“Alyssa, sit down.”
“Do you want me to drag her here by the hair? I can do that you know. They’ve accidentally left that paragraph in the Shifter Handbook.”
I rubbed a hand over my brow. “No, Alyssa. I want you to sit down and shut up for a moment so I can TALK. TO. YOU.”
“Spoilsport.” She flopped back down into her chair. “Okay, I’m listening.”
“This was a different male. Not the shifter scum, but a human who works at the coffee shop. I don’t know why she’s doing this. Our connection. It was strong. She’s my mate, I know it.”
“Have you heard anything from the mutt?”
“No. If he sets foot near here, or near her, I will tear him limb from limb.”
Alyssa sighed. “Look, Darius. Have you tried talking to her? She’s a human, she probably doesn’t understand any of this.”
“I want to talk to her but I need her to ask me out again. They are the rules. She has to do the instigating. I can’t see it happening. Especially if she’s started dating one of her own kind.”
“Look, Darius. Do you want her, or are you prepared to let one of the other two have her? The way I see it, it’s like she’s playing a real life version of that Marry, Date, or Dump, and right now you are definitely the dump, a turd. So it’s time for action, man.”
I ran a hand through my hair; it cascaded down around me.
“Come on.” Alyssa got up.
“Where are we going?”
“For a haircut. Time to ditch the stereotypical werewolf look. I don’t think she wants to date Fabio.”
“Oh no! You look like Liam Hemsworth. Now I can never watch Hunger Games for sexual stimulation again. You spoiled Liam for me for life.” Alyssa mock-shuddered. “But in terms of a lady-boner, Kim’s will be raging when she sees you.”
“What did you get up to last night anyway, until I got home?” I couldn’t stop feeling at my head. It felt like a tennis ball. Around my neck was cold without the hair covering it. I’d kept my stubble though. No way was I going clean shaven.
“Here, give her this Hunger Games boxset when you see her. I no longer need it.” Alyssa’s swift subject change was not lost on me.
“Alyssa…”
“Oh calm down. I went to the cinema with Sophie. Now anyway,” she walked over to me and smoothed down the grey chambray shirt she’d insisted I change into along with some denim jeans. “Now, are you ready to get up from the dump?”
“Yeah, I will be.”
“Will is no good. Oh and is Kim a brunette? Slim, tall?”
“Yeah, why?”
“Because there’s a livid looking woman walking up to our front door, and that’s what she looks like.” Alyssa gathered her books up from the table. “I’ll be upstairs, supposedly studying, but probably eavesdropping, so don’t go at it in here will you? Sterile food surfaces and all that.”
I walked up to the door and opened it just as a fist was about to rain down on it heavily; so instead Kim punched my chest. Her hand lingered there a moment as if she was temporarily frozen. We looked at each other and that whole staring thing happened again. Eventually the staring competition broke.
“Your hair…”
“Yeah, I’ve had it cut.”
“It looks…” She shook her head. “We need to talk, Darius Wild, and I’m not leaving until you’ve listened to me.”
A smirk danced on my lips. “You’d better come in then.”
Kim walked in and looked around. “Nice place. Yours?”
I shook my head. “My parents. I’ll get my own place when I marry. My wife gets to choose.”
“Oh.” Silence permeated the atmosphere. This shit was awkward.
The door flew open and Alyssa stomped through. “Oh, I didn’t realise we had visitors. Sorry.” She held out a hand. “I’m Alyssa, Darius’ younger sister, and you are?”
“Kim. Kim Fletcher.”
“Oooh, you’re the Kim he never shuts up about.”
I was going to kill her.
Kim’s eyes went wide. “Well, err.”
A
lyssa wrapped her in a hug. “Oh, no hand shaking for you when you’re practically family. Well, let me just get a quick glass of water. I’m studying you see. Upstairs. Been there for hours and so got thirsty.” She filled a glass with water. “Darius, you offered Kim anything yet? A drink. FOOD.”
Kim’s face went bright pink. Then Alyssa was gone as fast as she appeared.
“I must apologise about my sister. She’s a teenager. I think that explains everything.”
Kim smiled.
“Anyway, come through to the lounge and take a seat. I’ll make you a coffee, seeing as I know how you like it, and would you like something to go with it, like a pancake?”
“A pancake? Like you’re going to cook one for me? Do you not have something easier like a biscuit?”
“I have but I was just about to make pancakes.” I lied.
“Erm, okay then, I’ll have a pancake. Thank you.”
She couldn’t possibly know what me cooking this for her meant, could she? Or did she? If she did, she’d just accepted it.
WHOA.
“Right, I’ll just be a couple of minutes.”
“I’ll wait with you in the kitchen, if that’s okay? We can talk.”
Oh God, now I was understanding why men trembled when women said they wanted to talk.
I started preparing the pancake mixture. Kim hovered nearby.
“Last night, Darius…”
My hand tightened around the whisk.
“I’d just gone for a drink with Seth. I thought it was as friends. He took me by surprise when he kissed me. It was one-sided. I don’t feel that way about him. Actually, I popped into the coffee shop after work yesterday and made that clear.”
I turned to her. “You did?”
“Yeah. My, erm, earth, erm, friend, suggested I come and speak to you. She says we keep dancing around each other and getting nowhere. I’m sorry, Darius. I’m sorry about arranging the date with Jett. I’m sorry about last night’s misunderstanding. This is really hard for me…”
It was really hard for me too if you get what I’m saying…
I dropped the whisk, grabbed Kim’s shoulders and pushed her back against the kitchen wall. My mouth crashed down on hers hungrily. I’d imagined this moment for a long time and the reality was so much more than I could have anticipated. I pushed her thighs apart with my knee, grinding my erection against her heat. We devoured each other, moans and groans coming from both of us.
A loud banging noise came from upstairs and we sprung apart.
“Sister right above.” Alyssa’s voice yelled.
We both stared at each other and then collapsed into laughter.
“Bloody siblings.” I told her. “Right, where were we…? Ah, yes, pancakes.”
We sat opposite each other at the dining room table and I watched as she tucked into her pancakes. Food… that I’d cooked for her. My indication I would care for her and our future offspring.
“I’ve been reading up on were shifter culture and traditions.” Kim said slowly.
“Oh?” I swallowed.
“I’m aware that by asking Jett out I inadvertently put myself up as a potential mate for him. Although as a human I think that sucks. Surely if I don’t know this stuff, it can’t count?”
“We can’t force you, but we can still fight amongst ourselves for the opportunity.”
“I know who he is to you, Darius.”
Time stood still. Of all the things I was waiting for her to say, that was not one of them.
“He is no one.”
“He’s your half-brother and your enemy. I wouldn’t call that nothing.”
“Sounds like you really have done your homework. So what else have you learned?”
“That I need to ask you out on a date to put you on an equal footing. So I’m going to ask you again. Will you come out with me, tonight? I’d better say 9pm now I’m being filled with pancakes.”
It wasn’t the only thing I wanted to fill her with. Alyssa was a cockblocker.
“Do you know what the step after that is?” I asked her slowly and carefully.
Her cheeks flushed again. “Yes, I do. Darius. I don’t do… well, I haven’t done relationships. Now, I know it sounds cliche, but I had family shit and it messed with my head. I find it hard to trust people, to let myself go. But I want to try, Darius. I want to try, with you.”
“Okay.” I smiled. “Nine pm tonight it is.”
She finished her pancakes and leaned closer. “Bring a toothbrush just in case,” she whispered.
Then she got up and walked to the door. I wanted to pick her up, put her over my shoulder, and take her to bed. But I had to be patient. For all her bravado it looked like actually my mate-to-be scared easily.
She turned toward me at the door and reached up on her tiptoes, brushing her lips across mine.
“Oh and Darius…?”
“Yeah?”
“Thanks for the pancakes. But I already could tell you were the sort of man who’d care and provide for his family.” She smiled and walked down the path. “Nine pm, and if my annoying friend or her husband ring you, tell them you’re the one tied up tonight.” She winked.
I closed the door and leaned back against it. My head resting on the glass inset.
She knew.
Chapter Thirteen
Kim
Oh my fucking God. I had a date with Darius in a few hours and there was a pretty good chance we were going to get it on afterwards. Stripped of my clothes I headed to the shower. I needed to make sure everything was shaved and moisturised. Just the thought of seeing him again had my stomach in knots. I wasn’t sure I was actually going to be able to eat anything. Crikey, I’d better change the bedding and do a bit of housework. I looked around at the mess. I needed a miracle. Then I thought of one.
I dialled Frankie’s number.
“Hello?”
“You know that problem I’m helping you with?”
“Yes…?”
“I’ll make it super spectacular if you can zip over here right now to do me a favour. It won’t take you long, but it’s an emergency.”
He sighed down the line. “Just a second.”
The doorbell rang and sure enough Frankie was standing there, his hair a little mussed from the speed. “This had better be good. I had to make an excuse to Lucy because we had dinner reservations.”
I handed him a bottle of furniture polish and a duster. “You know your super whizzy speed?” I said, and I displayed my best begging expression.
Fifteen minutes later the house was immaculate thanks to my super slow vacuuming and Frankie’s super fast everything else.
Frankie stood in the doorway, ready to zap off again. He nodded at my towel turban and robe. “You might want to get dressed then for your date.”
“On it now. Thank you so much, Frankie, you’re a star.” I kissed him on the cheek.
“Yes, well my proposal better be the more epic for all this.” He told me.
“It will. I’ll get my thinking cap on. Have a nice night with Lucy.” I said.
“God, yes.” As he looked at his watch, his cell phone rang out. He took it out of his pocket.
“I’ll be right there.” He said and then he was gone.
I kept it smart casual and wore jeans and a red silky v-neck. I walked into Hanif’s to be greeted by Rav, who worked there. Rav was a demon.
“Hey, Rav.”
“Come in. Welcome to Hanif’s. We are very happy to be assisting in this most auspicious occasion.” He escorted me over to the man himself who stood up.
“Take your seat, Darius. I have it, my friend.” Rav pulled my seat out and gestured for me to sit down.
“Rav, I’ve eaten in here loads of times and you’ve never pulled my seat out for me, what’s got into you?”
“This is a special occasion, Kim. You are out on a date with one of my closest friends. Now, excuse me while I go and get you complementary poppadoms and a pickle tray.” He raced off.
/> I looked at my date. Darius had changed into a black tee and jeans. I couldn’t stop staring at his arms. They were so muscled and defined. I’d bet he could pick me up with just one.
“I would have liked to have pulled the seat out for you myself, but it would seem my friend is determined to make our date special.” A smirk flirted on Darius’ lips.
“Thank you, but I’m perfectly capable of sitting down. It’s one thing that has me a little uncomfortable about the whole wolf thing. You’re like ‘I will feed you, take care of you, pull out your chair’. I’ve been on my own a long time. I can take care of myself.”
“You can but you shouldn’t have to. Sometimes it’s okay to let someone else take over for a while. Just imagine it, you get in from work and I have a bath running for you. You climb in and the heat soaks away the stresses of the day. Then while you do that I’m cooking dinner. You come down, eat, and then I make love to you all night long. Are you telling me you have a problem with that?” He raised an eyebrow.
I’d lost my words, lost them completely at ‘make love to you all night long’. I’d felt that beast against me when we kissed. The thought of it inside me, well… NO. WORDS.
So it was as well that Rav came over at that moment with the poppadoms and pickles because at least eating gave me an excuse for not talking for a while.
“I am so happy for you both, that you finally made it here on a date. My friend has been wanting to date you for a very long time.” Rav stood beside us and smiled.
Darius’ eyes flashed yellow, and it made me gasp. It was a reminder that not only was he a man, he was also a wolf. A goddamn animal.
“Thanks, Rav. If you could leave me and my date alone now for a while it would be appreciated.”
“Oh, yes. Sorry. I will go make sure your starters are being prepared.”
I laughed. “A long time, huh?”
“Well, I’d seen you around, but once Theo started to date Shelley, you were even more on my mind. But you were dating someone else, so that was that.”
Hate, Date, or Mate? (Supernatural Dating Agency Book 3) Page 8
