“She’s sleeping on the couch,” added Ajax, and then winced at his mother’s exclamation.
“Ajax Nikolaos Mytaras! On that lumpy wreck? How could your father have raised such a cruel, inconsiderate son? I’m so ashamed!”
Ajax barely had the strength to say “And I’ve never seen her eat lamb” in the face of his mother’s disappointment.
In the wake of his disclosure, there was a brief moment of considering silence. In it, Ajax dared to hope. Then “I’ll speak to your cousin,” said his mother with finality. “There will also be roasted goat. Bring your new girlfriend to dinner, Ajax. It’ll be fine. She might as well meet the whole family. Get it over with so that everyone can get to know each other, get along.”
It’s a testament either to the closeness of their family or the strength of his deductive reasoning that, even without his mother specifying which cousin she meant, Ajax still knew exactly which cousin she was referring to just then. That was no mean feat, especially as he had been gifted with a hundred and three first cousins.
Ajax chose to focus on that, on just how amazing a family he had and how great a detective he was, then the second thing that his mother had said, because sizzling sexual attraction and a few stolen kisses did not a girlfriend make. There was no girlfriend to bring to dinner.
And above all else, a detective must be clear thinking, honest, and brave, and so, after taking a deep breath to steel himself, Ajax delivered the devastating truth.
“Sure, ma, that’d be nice.”
He was going straight to hell.
Tessa emerged from his bathroom looking clean and relaxed and super cute in her change of clothes. Ajax tried very hard not to wrinkle his nose at the cloud of sharp, chemical scents that came wafting out of the bathroom with her. Now was not the time to offend. Still, Ajax couldn’t help wondering what modern toiletry products smelled like to humans and non-canine shifters.
If they knew what it smells like to people like me, would they still wear it? Ajax wondered.
“Sorry,” she said, her lovely golden skin flushing with the strength of her blush. Ajax found it charming. “I’ll just get out of your way.”
“No, wait,” said Ajax, shaking off his momentary stupor. “I wanted to ask you something.”
“About the stuff I learned today? Because it wasn’t much. The books, lunchbox, and china set are worth absolutely nothing.”
“Well, that’s good,” said Ajax, momentarily (and gratefully) distracted from the task at hand. At Tessa’s look, he hastily amended his previous statement, adding, “Not in and of itself, I mean, but gathering all of these little bits and pieces will probably help this thing to come into focus. But to be honest, that isn’t what I wanted to ask you.”
Embarrassment welled up in him. Teenagers had to have their friends and acquaintances cover for them with their parents, not full-grown adult men with jobs and lives of their own.
I’m going to look like an oversized child to her, thought Ajax unhappily.
Ajax wasn’t a man who worried about his dignity overly much, but he didn’t want to look like a fool or child in front of Tessa.
In that moment, Ajax wished fiercely that he had ever learned to ignore his mother’s dire warnings and sometimes overwhelming concern for him and how he ran his personal life. If he had, then he wouldn’t have gotten himself in this situation in the first place.
I should just call ma back and come clean about Tessa, decided Ajax.
Just thinking about her likely reaction to that made Ajax blurt “I need a favor. Will you be my pretend girlfriend?”
To Ajax’s everlasting gratitude, Tessa did not immediately burst into peals of derisive laughter and accuse him of reverting to middle school. Instead, she arched her eyebrows at him.
“Is there going to be a test? And if so, is it open book?”
Ajax stared at her, nonplussed, for a moment. Then he burst into laughter.
“No,” he said. “No test, open book or otherwise. Just a really awkward family dinner that will get even more awkward if I don’t bring a girlfriend of my very own.”
Ajax paused there, waiting hopefully to see Tessa’s face light up with laughter and commiseration.
Her face didn’t light up, but she smiled; wistfully.
Ajax tried not to frown.
“There’ll be roasted goat,” he added, his tone wheedling. “And lamb, if you like it.”
Tessa flashed him a toothy smile.
“You don’t expect me to roast them for you?” asked Tessa. “Because I can’t blow fire, unless I shift.”
Ajax was must have looked momentarily confused, because Tessa puffed out a big, deep breath, like a dragon blowing fire.
Ajax grinned.
Of course she’s a fire dragon, thought Ajax, feeling amused.
Tessa Johnson was smokin’ hot, and in more ways than one, apparently.
Aloud, he said “Nah, my parents have a fire pit. They can do their own grilling and roasting. No, I need you to come to my family’s Halloween party to protect me from my cousin Diana’s matchmaking. She’s really bad at it.”
Tessa’s expression cleared. Now, her face lit up, and she laughed. It was probably at his expense, but Ajax basked in it, anyway.
“Do I need a costume?”
“Nah,” said Ajax. “You just need to show up and look like you might be into me, maybe protect me from whoever my cousin Diana is going to bring.”
“Okay, sure.”
Ajax gaped at her.
“I honestly thought it was going to be a harder sell than that,” he said at last, surprise making him blunt.
Maybe she was as secretly attracted to him as much as he was secretly attracted to her? A man could hope. A man’s heart could also skip a beat when Tessa’s full, pink lips curved up into a warm smile.
“Why shouldn’t I? You got kicked in the head for me. Your car got stolen while you were rescuing me. And you’re taking time out of your life to help me sort out my weird problem. The least I can do is show up to a party and pretend to be your arm candy.”
Feeling embarrassed and awkward – people weren’t usually so blunt about or so grateful for his help – Ajax shrugged.
“I was just doing my duty.”
“Detectives usually break up frog marches in their free time?”
“Once a cop, always a cop, even after hours,” said Ajax firmly.
Tessa smiled at him. Ajax liked to think that it might have been softer than her previous smiles.
“So, what kind of a girl does your mom want for you?”
Or maybe it was just eviler than her other smiles.
His previous embarrassment and awkwardness returning with a vengeance, Ajax shrugged again.
“I don’t know,” he said. “A nice one?”
A nice one who was Greek, but that couldn’t be helped. Tessa was fine – better than fine – just the way that she was.
Rolling her eyes, Tessa huffed at him. As hot as she was at any given moment, it was still unspeakably cute. And unspeakably funny, when he imagined her as a big, scary dragon, rolling her glowing eyes at him and huffing little, red tongues of fire in his general direction.
So cute! Ajax thought, amusement bubbling up in him.
“I’ll come up with something,” said Tessa. She was about to say something else, when her phone began to buzz. Looking down at it, she said, “I’ve got to take this. It’s the police.”
Listening intently, Ajax gleaned that Tessa was being given permission to return to her apartment by the detectives working her case; both of her cases, if they had already combined the earlier attempted kidnapping with the later break in and assault of her roommate.
It made him frown. While it was great that they were done going through her place, it seemed fairly obvious to him that her apartment wasn’t safe, at least not yet.
As soon as she hung up with his colleagues, Ajax said “You shouldn’t go back there, until we get whatever is going on sorted out.”<
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“I can’t keep staying here,” said Tessa. “It’d wear out my welcome.”
“You haven’t yet, though,” argued Ajax. “I’d tell you if you had.”
Tessa looked him over consideringly.
“All right,” she said. “Hey, have you ever played guitar hero?”
They were strumming their way to glory, when Derek let himself into the house. At his flabbergasted expression, Ajax grinned.
“Honey! You’re home!” teased Ajax. “How was work? Make any progress on our cases?”
“Some,” said Derek, and Ajax’s attention sharpened. “Where’s Gabriela?”
“Still working in the spare room,” said Tessa, even as the woman in question emerged from her seclusion.
“Yeah?” said Ajax at nearly the same moment. “On which case? And what about the Hernandez –”
“No way,” interrupted Derek, his voice flat. “If you wanted to work, you wouldn’t have gotten kicked in the head.”
Ajax gasped in mock affront. “There were four of them!”
“You say that like it makes it better,” said Derek. He tossed an envelope Ajax’s way. “Happy birthday.”
“It’s not my birthday,” said Ajax suspiciously.
Helpfully, Tessa paused the game.
“Well, you’ll probably have one eventually,” said Derek. “It could be a gift for then. Or for one of the many, many years that I missed.”
“I’m not that old,” protested Ajax, his vanity stung.
“Old enough.”
“You’re older!”
“Pffft!” scoffed Derek. He waved a hand in Ajax’s general direction, dismissing his words. “Are you going to open your gift or not?”
Scowling, Ajax flipped up the lip of the envelope. As he glanced over the words, his frown eased.
“A dozen self-defense lessons?”
“I mean, if you’re going to throw yourself in the way of people’s kicking feet then –”
Derek broke off there, laughing, as Ajax growled and flung the nearest couch cushion at him. Tessa and Gabriela were laughing too, and in his chest, Ajax’s heart was light with his own happiness.
This was what a home was supposed to be like.
Chapter 09 – Tessa
Thursday was Halloween. Since Ajax said that there was nothing to do on the sleuthing front, Tessa took it to get her costume in order and do some preemptive relaxing at the local shopping complex.
This year, all the little ghouls and goblins wouldn’t be the only ones tricking the unsuspecting or getting treats. Well, hopefully getting treats. Aside from the goat and lamb, Ajax hadn’t said much about what was likely to be served at this family shindig of his.
Tessa’s stomach was looking forward to finding out.
But, in the present, a certain amount of personal grooming needed to happen. Step one: waxing everything. From her eyebrows to her toes, it all needed touching up. Fortunately, the nearest waxing salon was more than willing to accommodate her sudden, pressing need to be depilated. For her own sake, Tessa broke it down into two sessions a couple of hours apart, mostly because some of her areas were much more sensitive than others to having all the tiny, unsightly hairs forcibly yanked out of them.
Between her waxing sessions, Tessa got her hair trimmed, her streaks touched up, and invested in some more mainstream makeup, mostly things that came in shades of pink as well as an eyeshadow that didn’t sparkle and wasn’t glam. After her last waxing session, Tessa grabbed a quick lunch, swung by a purse store to purchase a pink clutch, and then went in for a mani-pedi and a facial. That was, by far, the more relaxing part of her entire day.
Midafternoon, she returned how to her apartment complex. The previous night, Tessa gone back to her apartment for a few things, including her game console, her puzzle box, and tonight’s dress.
Whatever the intruders had wanted, an abandoned dragonet’s golden baby bracelet hadn’t been it. It, and all of Tessa’s other (and obviously cheaper) jewelry, had still been there when the police had finished up with her place. They hadn’t taken much – if any – of Madison’s jewelry either. Apparently, they hadn’t wanted anything in the apartment. Or maybe they just hadn’t wanted anything obvious?
But if that’s the case, then why do they keep breaking in? Tessa wondered.
If it was something that wouldn’t be missed, then they would have already taken it and never come back. If they didn’t want anything from her or Madison, then why keep coming back? To scare them? Because they were bored? Maybe to get at Madison, if not her?
It was all very mysterious. Tessa certainly couldn’t wrap her head around it.
But then, that’s why they pay Ajax and Derek the big bucks, she thought, as she continued to gather the things that she needed to get ready for Ajax’s party.
Last night, Gabriela and Derek had retreated back to their own place, saying that they thought she and Ajax could handle it from there. Tessa took that to mean that they were now fairly confident that Ajax wasn’t going to die in his sleep from his head injury or Tessa. She had decided to take that as a compliment.
The upshot of Gabriela and Derek leaving was that she had the bathroom attached to the second bedroom all to herself that afternoon. She needed it, if she was going to trick Ajax’s family into thinking she was a good girl.
Tessa had never been a girl brought home to meet the folks before, but she had seen enough holiday movies to know that the guy wasn’t supposed to bring a chick like her home. Hence, the need for camouflage, starting with the shower gel.
In place of her usual stuff, Tessa quickly washed with something called Hawaiian Hibiscus. Over that, she layered pretty lingerie, flowery perfume, and her new makeup. Then she pinned up her hair, taking care to hide all of the colored streaks in it, and put in her chandelier earrings. Tessa wriggled into her black sheath dress, happy for its flattering cut and stretchy fabric. She smoothed its length over the curves of her hips, thanking anyone listening both that it still fit and that little black dresses never went out of style.
Tessa pulled a chunky black bracelet over her hand, sliding it up her arm until it lodged around her forearm, then wrapped a wide pink belt around her waist, the rhinestones in its buckle matching the sparkle in her earrings.
Last of all, she stepped into her high heels. Gently, she buckled them around her ankles.
There, thought Tessa, while looking herself in the mirror. That’s probably the kind of girl that Ajax can bring home to his family.
Leaving the bathroom and then the bedroom that it was attached to, Tessa went to fill her pink clutch with all the things that she might need that evening, starting with her wallet and a pack of disposable tissues.
Tessa had just snapped her clutch shut when she heard a sudden, sharp intake of breath. Looking up, Tessa found that Ajax, who was looking pretty drool worthy himself, was staring at her really, really hard.
Her body flushing hotly under his gaze, Tessa lifted her chin and tried to look like she knew she deserved it. No matter what men thought, looking like this didn’t just happen. He should admire her for going to this much trouble to look this good for him.
As if he could hear the direction of her thoughts, Ajax grinned.
“Well, look at you,” he crooned, coming closer. “Very pretty.” Reaching out, he gently touched the pinned back lock of hair near the curve of her ear. “I kind of miss all the colors, though.”
Tessa smiled. “You won’t when we get to your family’s place,” she predicted.
Madison had an addiction to cheesy romance movies, and they had all been very specific on that point: the potential in-laws never approved of a girlfriend who looked anything other than clean cut and wholesome. Tattoos, unnatural hair colors, and a punk vibe were all equally verboten.
Not that she was the girlfriend.
Nor did she particularly want to make a good impression on them, at least, not for her own sake. But what was a fake girlfriend for, if not to make someone look go
od to their parents?
Ajax snorted. He didn’t let her in on the joke though, saying merely “Are you ready to go?”
“Yes, of course,” said Tessa. “Let me just get my scarf.”
Tessa’s scarf was long and pink. Folding it over into a triangle, she carefully put it over her hair and knotted it into place under her chin. Look complete, she turned to smile at Ajax, only to find that Ajax was already smiling at her. His expression was warm, but also amused.
“What?” demanded Tessa, feeling slightly defensive. Was the scarf too much?
“You look like a 1950s bombshell,” said Ajax, and he almost sounded fond.
“Too much,” said Tessa, reaching up to fumble at her scarf’s knot.
Ajax quickly caught her hands, though. Giving them a little squeeze, he said “Too hot, you mean,” and then looked like he wished he hadn’t.
Tessa grinned. That was the sort of confidence booster that a girl wanted, especially when she was dressing against type. Pleased, she shook off only one of Ajax’s hand. With it, she scooped up her housewarming gift. Then, her other hand still in his, she led Ajax out of the apartment and downstairs to her beloved car.
“Looking good, Sweetie,” cooed Tessa to her car, giving it a quick once over for any unsightly streaks of bird poop or dirt. Fortunately, her car was still pretty clean.
“Babe,” said Ajax in tones of utmost despair. “You talk to it? And it has a name?”
“Of course!” Tessa blinked at him. “Who doesn’t talk to their car?”
“Me.”
Tessa gasped playfully. She hoped she looked at least a little bit shocked, instead of just amused.
“I bet you didn’t even name it!”
“Safe bet,” said Ajax. “As I did not; it’s just a car.”
“Must not be a very good match then,” sniffed Tessa, reaching for her door handle.
Ajax beat her to it, however. Holding it open for her, he shrugged at her raised eyebrow.
“Girls who dress like that get doors held for them,” he said, and Tessa tried very, very hard not to roll her eyes. She was the same as she’d ever been! Only the wrapping had changed.
Her Detective Wolf Page 9
