Whisper

by Lockwood, Tressie

  Seeing Max in all his naked glory made her turn her head, but she had no idea when he’d removed the rest of his clothing. At some point, she must have zoned out. The comforter still half covered her, but with one thigh out and her sides bare, it was obvious she was naked as well.

  Bile rose in her throat at the sound of Alec punching his brother. “You don’t touch her! Ever!”

  “Stop,” she pleaded and managed to roll over. The comforter tangled around her legs and sent her pitching over the side of the bed. She hit the floor in a weakened heap. In seconds, Alec was there and lifted her up into his arms. He crushed her to his chest to the point that she could barely breathe. Well at least she’d gotten him to stop hurting Max.

  “Get out,” Alec ordered.

  Whisper tried getting her face above the cover and off his chest but failed.

  “This is my room,” Max answered, his voice full of his usual humor, although she thought she detected a funny inflection on his words. Maybe his lip was swollen. For some reason she felt guilty, but this was his fault—his dumb ass plan.

  “I mean get out of the apartment,” Alec ground out. “I don’t want to see you the rest of the day—maybe never.”

  “Alec.” Whisper managed to raise her head. She got her eyes open but was pretty sure she looked drunk as hell.

  Alec looked down at her, and the rage in his expression was palpable. “You fucking asshole, you drugged her! You’re dead as soon as I help her. Dead, Max!”

  This time his brother seemed to get it. Max dressed in a hurry and was out of the room in moments. She heard the front door slam, and Alec sank down on the bed with her on his lap. He glanced over his shoulder at the rumpled sheets and cringed then stood and carried her out and across the hall to another room. She figured this one was his and didn’t protest when he laid her on the bed. She kept waiting for him to yell at her and call her a whore, but his hold turned gentle as he pushed her hair from her hot face.

  “Don’t worry,” he murmured. “I’m going to fix this. He’ll die for hurting you.”

  Even though he was angry, she heard the pain in his voice, too, and vowed as soon as she could come out of her stupor, she’d explain everything to him. Max hadn’t done anything to her. The worse she’d suffered was embarrassment and a little pinch. She didn’t want Alec thinking his brother had betrayed him or for him to feel like he had an obligation to hurt the family member closest to him. For some reason, she was pretty sure Alec meant to kill his own brother.

  Chapter Ten

  Whisper woke up feeling refreshed, to her surprise. She had no headache like she expected from the drug. In fact, she felt like she’d gotten some much needed rest as she hadn’t been sleeping well the last few days. A look at the clock showed it to be just after ten, and from the darkness outside, she guessed it was still night.

  Remembering Alec’s promise to hurt his brother, she tossed the covers back and sprang up out of bed. Alec had put her bra and panties back on, and he’d left her to sleep in his bed. She found her clothes folded on a nearby chair and slipped into them. Barefoot, she left his room in search of him. As soon as she walked into the living room, he stood up from the couch and faced her. Worry etched his handsome face.

  “Are you okay?” he asked.

  She nodded. “I’m fine. I wanted to talk to you about Max.”

  Alec crossed the room in two long strides to cup her face. “You don’t have to worry about him, baby. I’ll take care of it. I can only imagine what a woman in this situation feels, and if you need to talk to someone, I mean professionally, I will pay—”

  She put fingers over his mouth, and he fell silent. “I wasn’t raped.”

  Confusion clouded his eyes, and then they widened. She knew what conclusion he jumped to, that she’d wanted it.

  “No, not that.” She almost laughed at the absurdity of the situation. Max had done more harm than good. When this was all over and Alec understood what happened, they still wouldn’t be together. “We didn’t have sex at all. He was pretending, to get you to go off on him. I guess that worked like a charm. I’m sorry. I didn’t want this, but Max definitely didn’t hurt me. He never touched me like that.”

  Alec gripped her arms. “Don’t cover for him, Whisper. I know the charm my kind has, and Max has a lot even while he acts like an idiot most of the time. He should be punished for—”

  “For loving you?”

  He frowned at her.

  On impulse, she leaned up and kissed his lips. Longing took hold, but she pushed it aside. With care, she explained everything that happened and everything they said. She even included the nonsense about him and Max being able to shift into leopards, but Alec didn’t laugh at that part. In fact, he seemed more annoyed that Max had told her.

  Alec released her and walked over to the couch. She felt like he’d abandoned her, but she squashed the feeling.

  “I didn’t want you to know about that.”

  She blinked at his back. “Come again?”

  He peered over his shoulder at her. “About our ability to shape shift. We don’t share the secret with humans.”

  “Humans.” Okay, her mind had gone dull. All this time, she’d thought Alec was the sane one.

  He paced. “You’ve been visited a couple times by the leopard. Tell me what you noticed different about it.”

  She wanted to tell him to seek help but decided to humor him. With her arms wrapped around her in an effort to comfort her broken heart, she crossed to the couch and sat down. “I know this sounds crazy, but it seemed like there were two of them. I don’t know, but maybe it was small differences in the coat or the attitude.” Whisper, why are you even having this conversation? The man and his brother need help.

  “Baby.”

  She flinched at his use of the endearment but looked up at him. All of a sudden, Alec changed. One minute he was standing there as a man, and the next his clothes were in a pile on the floor, and the leopard was there. Whisper shrieked and drew her feet up. “Impossible, impossible!” The leopard took a step in her direction, but she held up a hand. “No, don’t!”

  He stopped moving.

  Whisper drove a hand through her hair and closed her eyes. She shook from head to toe. Over and over, she replayed the events from the time she met Alec in the hall and the leopard coming out of his apartment, to the nights it visited her. The only time she was afraid of it was that first night, but not after she got to know the men—its counterparts. This is insane. I can’t believe it. The drug must have addled my wits.

  Alec shifted back and began to dress. “It’s real, baby.”

  “Don’t… Please don’t call me baby.”

  He sat down across from her, and she could almost feel his misery, although she didn’t know why he should feel that way. What she felt beyond shock, she didn’t know.

  “I don’t know what to say. Whisper, I would never hurt you. Nor—now that I know the truth of what he did—would my brother. We aren’t human, but we’re still men.”

  “You’re not!” She covered her mouth for a minute, and he stared at her. “I don’t know how to take this. I want to go home, please.”

  “I wouldn’t hold you against your will. Of course you can go.” He stood up with her when she did. Whisper tried to hide her fear, but she was pretty sure it was coming through loud and clear. On one hand she wanted to be with him more than anything. Then again, she was confused and scared about what he had just showed her. She needed to get away and hope her head would clear.

  Alec stepped aside so she could get to the door. She zipped past him and ran into the hall. At her own apartment, she realized she had no idea where her purse was, which held her keys.

  Alec leaned past her and unlocked the door. She shivered, but he handed her the keys and her purse. She mouthed her thanks because the words didn’t come out, and then she hurried inside. With the locked door between them, she was safer but not calmer. How this mess was going to be resolved, she had no idea.

/>   * * * *

  Whisper put down the last page of Alec’s book. She’d been avoiding him for two weeks, but during that time, he had dropped off the last quarter of his work outside her door. She felt guilty for how she had been treating him, despite the fact that he’d been with another woman. For all she knew he could still be seeing her. The worst of it was that she and he weren’t together, so what he did shouldn’t matter. Every day she told herself to move on. Now that she knew what he was, it was even better that they didn’t work out. Tell that to her body, and to her heart.

  She dreamed of him. She looked for him when she had to leave the apartment. A couple times, she’d spotted him going out and once coming home. He nodded in greeting and gave a little half smile, but he never approached. She knew he was doing that for her sake, because she was afraid. All that time, she hadn’t seen Max at all and wondered if he was okay. Alec had told him he didn’t know if he ever wanted to see him again, but surely he’d changed that when he learned his brother meant well. She hoped so. They were close. If she could have had a good relationship with her sister or even had a brother, she would not give it up for a lover that might not last. Maybe that was because she didn’t know what being in love was or what finding the right one entailed.

  The truth was, she wanted to go see him, to talk to him. Now that the fear had eased a little, she didn’t want to run away. The confusion was still there, but she suspected talking to him would help.

  Taking a deep breath, she gathered all the pages of his book together and slipped them in the envelope he’d sent. Then she walked out to the hall and knocked on his door. To her surprise, it swung inward as if someone had left it open. Horror washed over her, and her stomach clenched when she saw the emptiness of the apartment. Almost everything had been moved out except for a few boxes.

  “Oh no,” she breathed.

  “Whisper.”

  She whirled, and there he stood behind her. All of the emotions she’d thought had settled rose up again, and her heartbeat kicked up a thousand notches. Goose bumps popped out on her forearms. He looked so damn good, she wanted to jump him right there and eat him up. Get a grip, Whisper. He doesn’t care about you. Besides, he’s not human. Remember that most of all…but why?

  “You’re moving,” she said. Duh. “I didn’t know.”

  He nodded. “I finally settled on my house. I thought it was time to go.”

  She half turned away. “Of course. Um…I have your book. It was awesome. All the way to the end, I was on the edge of my seat, but then I’ve said that a million times. The ending was satisfying, all the loose ends tied up. You’re brilliant.”

  He grinned, and she couldn’t miss the joy her words brought him from the way he beamed. “You’ve said that once or twice, too.”

  She laughed. “I guess I did.” Not knowing what else to say, she handed him the envelope. “Well, I wish you the best in your writing career and in life.” She swung away to go back to her place.

  “You owe me.”

  She stopped. “What?”

  He tucked the book under his arm and reached for her hand. She shook from the first brush of his fingers. “Three dates. We had a deal to have five, and you gave me only two.”

  Her brows went up. “But that was so you could get... I mean I don’t want to insinuate that—”

  “So you’re going to renege?”

  She sucked her teeth and folded her arms under her breasts. “You’ve got a nerve.”

  “Yes, I do.”

  She couldn’t help herself. She wanted it so bad, to spend time with him, to talk to him. Why? He’d moved on so quickly, hadn’t he? And he was what he was. So many questions flitted through her mind about that and what his life had been like growing up being a shifter. Whisper put a hand up to her head and closed her eyes. She tried dredging the resolve to turn him down and walk away.

  “For what it’s worth,” he said, “I didn’t sleep with her. I didn’t want her. I just wanted to get you out of my head.”

  Whisper opened her eyes and stared at him. “You don’t owe me an explanation. We weren’t a couple.”

  “Weren’t we?” That response surprised her. He stepped closer and pulled her into his embrace. “Whisper, from the first moment I met you, thoughts of you consumed me. I wanted to breathe the air you breathed. I wanted to hear your voice and talk to you. I never told anyone about my writing, but I discussed it with you. It meant everything to me to have you approve, and the fact that you were still willing to read it and give me your opinion even when you were angry—that blew me away. My brother was a fool for what he did, but he was right about one thing.”

  She dared not ask what that thing was. “Is Max okay? You two aren’t still mad, are you? I’d hate to be the cause of your relationship being destroyed.”

  “We’re fine,” he assured her. “What I’m more concerned with right now is you.”

  “Alec.” She looked down at their clasped hands. Hers trembled, and she hoped he didn’t notice. He squeezed them gently and then shook them to get her attention. She glanced up and was swallowed up in the gentleness she saw in his eyes. No, she wasn’t afraid anymore. Just as she sensed the leopards wouldn’t hurt her, she knew Alec wouldn’t. He was an animal and a man.

  “I know you’re unsure about what I am. It’s a lot to take in, but if you’ll give me a chance, I promise to answer every question that you have. We’ll talk it out as often as you like. I’m not asking for a commitment. Just a few dates.”

  Whisper licked her lips. She was tempted beyond measure, and there wasn’t a reason she could put together to say no. Well, there were several questions. “Um, isn’t us being together sort of like me sleeping with an animal? I mean, are you a leopard that can turn into a man? Or vice versa? I’m sorry. I don’t mean to offend you.”

  He chuckled. “I’m not offended. Let me make you dinner, and I will tell you all.”

  She rolled her eyes. “One thing is for sure, you don’t give up easily. Fine. Dinner. But it doesn’t look like you have much left in your apartment, unless we’re using mine.”

  “We’ll use yours, and then I’ll take you to see my house. I hope you’ll like it. I wish we could have chosen it together.”

  “Whoa, slow down, buddy.” She shook her head. “One minute you just want a friend with benefits, and now you want me to help you choose silverware. What an about face.” She pretended the thought didn’t give her intense pleasure. “Let’s take it one day at a time.”

  “Agreed!”

  * * * *

  Whisper stood up from the blanket and ran across the sand to splash into the water. She used the move to get some space between them, and Alec must have picked up on it because he didn’t follow. They’d done a lot of talking over the last couple of dates. This one was their fifth, and she’d elected to go to the beach and have a picnic there. The day was too cool to swim, but that was the bonus. Not many people were out there, so they had a lot of privacy to talk.

  What Alec had shared with her about his background and his people so far helped her understand him better, but it was still foreign. To think there were species, walking among people, who weren’t human. Not human exactly but not fully animal.

  “Okay?” he asked coming near but not too close. She had to give him props for not pushing, just letting her take her time to get used to the whole idea.

  “Yeah, I’m fine.” Her heart skipped beats when she saw him and when he was close. The attraction wasn’t going away no matter what she learned about him. “It just boggles my mind. Are you an alien?”

  He laughed. That was another thing she loved about him. He was never offended by her questions, never angry or impatient. “I was born and raised on earth, in Scotland. My parents brought us over to Maine when I was sixteen. My grandparents are still in Scotland, but they visit the U.S. upon occasion. Other times we go there. We tend to keep track of our ancestry, so I’m pretty sure we are not aliens. Now did some odd magic happen centuries ago? Ma
ybe. No one knows that for sure.”

  “I read a lot of shifter books,” she admitted. “And in them, the authors describe cracking of bones, regrowing muscle and sinew, shrinking and all that. You don’t shift that way.”

  “No.” He moved closer. She put her hand out, and he took it. Together they walked down the beach. “As I mentioned, it seems like magic when we change. In an instant we go from man to beast and back again. There is no pain, no hardship. There never was, even when I did it for the first time as a toddler.”

  “So you don’t have to reach puberty or whatever?”

  He looked at her like she was speaking a foreign language.

  “Shifter books. Sorry.”

  “No worries. We come to a realization of what we are, and that might happen at birth or at four or even late teens.”