Accidentally Were?

by Anne Douglas

  “Oh.” Well, that took her a bit by surprise. She hadn’t pegged him as the old-fashioned type when it came to dating. “You do that all the time, then?”

  “Yes. I’m a gentleman, damn it,” he ground out thorough teeth just this side of clenched. “I open doors and pay for dinner too.”

  “Okay, then.”

  “I might not like the ballet or going to art museums, but I do know how to treat my women right.”

  “All right.” Rex wasn’t listening to her, so Pearl reached for the door handle.

  “What do you think you’re doing?” The man nearly gnashed his teeth as he broke off from his ranting.

  “I can’t drive my car from here, now can I?” This time she did roll her eyes. How the hell did this guy manage to reduce her to plain snarky?

  “What have I just finished telling you?” Rex looked at her, frustrated, when she stared at him blankly. “Just…just wait there.”

  Rex exited the truck and came around to her side. He opened the large door, then took the keys that dangled from her hand and lifted her down from the cab. She’d swear he muttered “stubborn woman” under his breath. With a hand under her elbow, he escorted her to her car, opened the door, then passed her into her seat before handing her back her keys. Had it not been the day from hell, she would have been impressed. Instead she didn’t quite know what to say.

  As Rex leaned on her open car door, he looked at his watch. “It’s four-thirty.”

  That startled her. She hadn’t been watching the clock, and the day felt a lot longer than it actually had been. “Is that really the time?”

  “Yeah. I guess that means I won’t get to your place ’til after seven.” Distracted with calculating how long his work would take him, he didn’t see her surprise.

  “My place?”

  His attention jerked back. “On the drive back I was thinking. We’ve talked about everything but us, and what all this” ‑‑ he eyed her belly in such a way that she looked down in case she’d expanded like a balloon and was showing already ‑‑ “means to you and me, personally.”

  The man did have a point ‑‑ quite a valid one, actually. Pearl sighed, resigned to the fact she wasn’t going to be able to go home, bury her head in the sand, and pretend that this…madness…wasn’t real. “All right, then. I’ll see you later on.”

  Rex waved good-bye and turned on his heel, heading for a door to the side of the main clinic entrance. A joyful chorus echoed out as yips and yowls welcomed him back. She wondered if being a Were gave him an extra affinity toward the animals. He’s probably a regular Doctor Doolittle.

  Pearl made it to the first intersection before she realized Rex hadn’t asked her address, so she quickly made a U-turn and headed back to the clinic. She figured he’d still be out in the back, and she headed for the same entrance she’d seen Rex use.

  She pushed open the heavy door and found herself in an area filled with large kennels and wire mesh runs enclosing a big grassy open area. As she walked past the runs, she realized most of them were empty, their gates hanging free. When she rounded the corner and saw the whole green space clearly for the first time, she found out why.

  Rex was surrounded by dogs. Big ones, small ones, ones with cast limbs, others with bandages, but they were united in one thing: getting a piece of the lovin’ up Rex was dishing out.

  Pearl stopped and watched a minute, absorbing how Rex interacted with the animals.

  Animals were her greatest love, and her greatest downfall. She’d craved a pet her entire youth, but her mother wouldn’t allow it, although she’d never figured out why. As an only child, she’d felt alone amongst the bustle of her mother’s society-wife life, and a pet would have been a source of friendship. She hadn’t been in her own place a week before she’d brought home the first stray. Others quickly followed, and other than Vlad, she’d found them all loving homes.

  Having worked with animals in her own small way, she’d found they were great personality meters. They wouldn’t seek out those people who wouldn’t tolerate them; instead they honed in on the people who would. And judging by Rex’s reception, they liked him a lot. He couldn’t receive a better recommendation in her book.

  “Rex?”

  Surprised, he spun around, nearly tripping over a Labradoodle that was bounding around his legs. “Pearl?”

  “Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt, but I just realized you don’t have my address.”

  “Oh, of course.” He rubbed his forehead. “I didn’t even think. So much has happened today that it didn’t cross my mind; it sort of feels like I’ve known you a lot longer, so I’d have known that already.”

  “Yeah, it has been a bit like that.” She shrugged, acknowledging she felt the same way.

  “Okay, fire away. I’ve got a good memory, so I won’t need to write it down.” A few of the more outgoing dogs had sidled over to sniff her hand, and then sat down at her feet with wagging tails and doggy grins. A much better reception than this morning’s lusty overeagerness from the neighborhood’s stray, and not-so-stray, dog population.

  “546 Magnoli ‑‑”

  She broke off as a pair of doggy paws landed smack bang in the middle of her chest, and Rex yelled out, “Donkey, no!” Stumbling, she tripped over one of the dogs sitting beside her and fell on her bottom with a thump. Happy doggy breath washed over her face as the ’Doodle gave her a big kiss, swiping up the side of her face with a rough doggy tongue.

  “Donkey, I said no!” Rex hauled the dog away by her collar. “Pearl, are you okay?” Gentle hands ran over her limbs, checking for bumps and bruises. “Should I take you to the hospital? Is the baby okay? Pearl?” The poor man was getting more upset by the minute. “Stupid mutt, she should know better by now, but nooo, she won’t remember any of her obedience training.”

  “Rex.” He was still muttering to himself when she yelled in his ear. “Rex!”

  He jumped as he finally took notice of her and saw that she was laughing. “You’re okay, then?”

  “Just fine, I might have a sore bottom tomorrow, but I’m just fine.” Rex stood and reached out a hand, pulling her upright with ease. He waited awkwardly as she brushed the dirt off the back of her skirt. “Did I hear you right? Is that dog named Donkey?” she asked, partly distracted with rectifying her clothing.

  “Yeah, it wasn’t originally, but her last owner had a toddler that couldn’t say her name properly, and since she’s such a troublemaker, ‘don’t’ featured in a lot of her commands. Don’t Kyria, turned into DonKey for the two-year-old, and Donkey’s all she’ll respond to now.”

  “But she’s a Labradoodle; they’re very good at training and obeying commands.”

  “Not Donkey. Her last family couldn’t handle her enthusiasm for, well, everything, so I’m trying to find her a new home. But as you can see” ‑‑ he waved a hand in her direction ‑‑ “she’s not making it an easy sell.”

  “She’s just high-spirited is all.” Donkey was straining her head forward so she could lick her hand, her doggy grin a mile wide. “She just wants to be friendly.”

  “Well, friendly would be good if she wasn’t so good at friendly destruction.”

  Stepping closer, she gave Donkey a good, strong scratch behind the ears. “She’s a cutie.”

  “Yeah.”

  “Anyway, I'd best go and let you finish up. It’s 546 Magnolia Lane

  . There’s a big blue front door and a red barn off to the side.” Pearl paused a second, a little anxiousness bubbling in her tummy. “If you’re going to be tied up here for the next while, would you like to join me for dinner?”

  Rex’s slow smile made her butterflies fly away to be replaced with a totally different type of fluttering. “Sure…I’ll see you soon.”

  Pearl exited the way she came in while Rex began to gather up the dogs, but she turned back for a second to watch as Rex kenneled the animals. Each one received a scratch and some encouragement before Rex moved on to the next dog. He really cared
about them all ‑‑ happy or mean, big or small, ugly or immaculately groomed, it didn’t matter.

  Pearl had always figured you could tell a lot about a man by the way he treated his animals. Her hand brushed over her stomach for a second. Here’s hoping she was right.

  Chapter Nine

  Pearl had gone with easy for dinner: rolls, fresh salad, and big, thick, juicy steaks she’d developed a taste for on her dash through the supermarket.

  Rex had requested his meat medium rare, and she’d turned up her nose ‑‑ usually she ate her beef on the burnt side of the spectrum ‑‑ but she’d taken one look at that thick, red hunk of meat dripping juices down into her grill so it sizzled and flamed, and pulled hers off at the same time.

  Now she sat back with a quite contented, full belly and wondered if she could get away with licking her lips like a three-year-old trying to get the last of the chocolate smeared around her mouth. She couldn’t even work up the energy to fake a shudder of disgust that she’d eaten meat that may as well have mooed at her.

  “So…” Rex sat opposite her, rolling his glass between his hands. A newcomer might think he looked relaxed with his legs splayed and his elbows propped on the arms of the chair, yet she thought she saw a certain amount of tension.

  “Hmm?” Stuffed full, she just wanted to curl up in a ball and go to sleep. Wonder if that’s a pregnancy thing? After all, if the magic could render conception that quickly, she was sure there were other things it manipulated. With her luck, Weres carried babies for twelve months, not the normal nine. It’d be too much to ask that it be shorter; her luck didn’t usually run that way.

  “We’re going to be parents.”

  Well, if that statement didn’t wake her up, she didn’t know what would. “Yes.” Pearl drew out the word as she contemplated it. “We are.”

  “I don’t know if I’m ready to be a dad. Hell, what do I know about raising a kid? I’m a nearly forty-year-old bachelor!”

  Pearl sat upright. “And you think I am?”

  If the way the man started chewing on his lower lip was any indication, he was nervous. Nervous or not, it was as sexy as all get out. “Well, you are a woman. Women are just better at these kinds of things ‑‑ it’s just the way it is.”

  Did he just…? “I really hope you aren’t as selfish and biased as you made that sound.”

  Rex took in her raised brow and the tone of her voice, and frowned. She could almost see him mentally rewinding what he’d said, trying to find why she’d be upset. Obviously, he’d seen his faux pas, as he blushed. “Ah, that wasn’t what I meant.”

  “I should hope not, but I agree with the statement before that.” Now it was her turn to fiddle with her glass; she ran her finger around the rim as she carried on. “I started the day with a dog problem. Now, I’m pregnant, will at some point in the future turn into a bear, found out about a whole other paranormal community I didn’t know existed…Lord, the list goes go on and on. But one thing I do know is that I’m not ready to settle into some June Cleaver life where I shift into your place and raise five kids and clean the house. I barely know you, and even though this magic has decided we’re a good match, I’ve no clue if we can stand one another long enough to get through a date, let alone a relationship.”

  She’d thought long and hard about it from the moment she’d left his office, trying to figure out how on earth they were supposed to go on from here. She wasn’t about to jump into a marriage just because she was pregnant. Hell, she’d only known the guy a day, and this wasn’t the 1800s where just being caught alone with a man meant you had to marry him.

  “I couldn’t agree more. I didn’t start out the day thinking today was the day I’d find a mate, let alone knock someone up. I…” Rex stumbled to a halt. “This talking stuff is hard, isn’t it?”

  “Yes.” There wasn’t much more to say than that, really, and she was a bit miffed over the tone of Rex’s “being knocked up” comment. He didn’t need to put it quite so baldly.

  Rex stood up and began pacing again, just like he had earlier in the cabin. “Biologically, we might run into some problems along the way. Mated couples tend to get itchy, sexually speaking, when they have to spend extended time apart.” As he paced, he ran his hands through his hair. Pearl couldn’t help but think that his slightly ruffled exterior made him look even sexier. “But that aside, I thought, maybe, that we could ignore the pregnancy thing for a month or two, and just get to know each other…you know…date.”

  He was chewing his lip again when he stopped in front of her. “Do you think you could do that? Date me, that is?” He fiddled with his cufflinks and looked away. “I am supposed to be a catch…”

  Pearl was beginning to think that he might be more of a catch than he realized ‑‑ hardworking, solvent, endearingly earnest ‑‑ even if he did drive her nuts.

  “That was pretty much the conclusion I’d come to. After all, this isn’t the dark ages ‑‑ you don’t have to get married if you get ‘knocked up.’” Rex frowned at her discreet mockery. “Can we just not announce it to the world that I’m in the family way? I know in a few months it’ll be obvious, but I’d prefer it if people weren’t just assuming that we’re together because I’m pregnant.”

  Rex was still frowning. “Why do you think people would assume that’s the only reason I’d stick around?”

  “I don’t exactly burn up the local nightlife, Rex. I’ve a few close friends ‑‑ like your neighbor, Shaun ‑‑ but everyone else thinks I’m a cold fish. Last night was the first night I’ve ever just gone out and let loose.” A wry laugh slipped out. “Maybe my mother was right. I mean, look where it’s gotten us.”

  “Well, I don’t think you’re cold, and I’d like to think that if I’d met you in any other situation I would say the same.” She’d like to think so, too, but she kept her skeptical side to herself. “In fact, after this afternoon in the kitchen, I’d have to say you’re the least cold person I know ‑‑ and pretty to boot.”

  Rex’s pensive frown had turned into a leer. He was making fun, but at the same time, his eyes burned with something a lot darker than humor. That heat made her nervous, as one of her other decisions had been to resist him at all costs until she knew him better. That might not have been the best of all your ideas, Pearl.

  Flustered, she stood, joining him on his feet with a rush.

  “Whoa, Pearl, where are you going?” Rex reached out to steady her as she wobbled. “Surely that’s not the first compliment you’ve received?”

  “Ah…no. Of course not.” Thirty-one years on the planet, and his was the first genuine compliment she’d received from a man. How galling was it to come to that realization?

  Rex tilted her chin up so he could see directly in her eyes. The man exuded the vitality of a man much younger, yet small crow’s-feet that betrayed his age crinkled out from around his eyes as he concentrated on her. Pearl hoped she’d managed to hide her emotions. A wry smile tilted his mouth to the side, and he leaned in, touching his lips to hers.

  It started off soft and gentle, but in moments they groaned in unison and opened their mouths to one another. Rex scooped her closer, pressing her bottom forward until her mons rested against the fly of his trousers. She raised her arms around his neck and dragged him down to her as her belly arched into him, her back curving over his arm.

  Her light dress let the heat of his body soak quickly through, and she wished the cloth would disappear. She was ready to take him again, with no preamble, as if she hadn’t already had him twice that day.

  Pearl felt his body quake as he pulled away with a curse. “Damn it, Pearl. How do you do this to me?” Rex’s hands wrapped around her forearms and he broke her hold on his neck. He took a step back, his hands dropping away as if scalded before wiping the back of one hand across his lips. “Lady, believe me when I say you are no cold fish.”

  Embarrassment raced across her cheeks. Years of fake compliments were shown for their true worth by one man’s genuin
e, if impolite, reaction.

  Chapter Ten

  Pearl woke after a strangely lonely Sunday to Monday morning and the weirdest craving for breakfast. She wanted, no needed, a burger with a double meat patty, cheese, bacon, egg, and jalapeño sauce. Her stomach grumbled its discontent as it told her she needed it, now!

  The alarm clock hadn’t yet buzzed, and its numbers glowed green ‑‑ 6:35. If she showered in a hurry, she could be out of the house by 7:15, and could stop in at the Greasy Spoon, have Dave make her a burger, and not be late for work.

  The rumble of her stomach had her throwing back the covers, but a wave of dizziness and nausea when she went to stand had her grabbing for her headboard.

  “How can I be hungry and sick to my stomach at the same time?” She really needed to talk to Rex more about Were pregnancies, or find another female Were to ask. She was sure the cravings and nausea weren’t supposed to hit ’til way into the fourth week or more, not just after two days.

  “What a bloody mess. I’m going to have a lot of questions for this Grande Dame woman come Friday.” Though Pearl had a funny feeling the mysterious Grande Dame wouldn’t be all that forthcoming when it came to bodily functions.

  The shower set her on her feet again, and it had taken her only ten minutes to get to the Greasy Spoon and take a solo seat at the counter. Dave had a busy weekday clientele, and as he was one of the few friends she’d made in high school, she knew better than to take up booth space.

  Dave had looked twice when she’d asked for the special order, and then looked twice again when she fell on the burger like a woman who hadn’t seen food for a month. The clink of the jalapeño sauce bottle brought her head up.

  Her eyes rolled back in her head as she managed to swallow the huge mouthful of burger then lick her lips. “God, thank you, Dave, you have no idea how much I needed this.”

  “Hmm…” Dave looked at her speculatively, his claw tap, tap, tapping on the countertop. “I think I might.”