Territory - Prequel

by Susan A Bliler

  He set the glass down a little too loudly, “That sounds hideously optimistic.”

  Her brows hiked, “Hideously optimistic?” She couldn’t control the laughter that bubbled forth, “What is that supposed to mean?”

  “It just means that you should be cautious. You have no idea what kind of lunatics and psychopaths are running around out there. It’s dangerous.”

  She lifted her elbows to the table and laced her fingers under her chin to eye him accusingly, “Oh, I think I have some idea.”

  He frowned at her, “I’m serious!”

  She dropped her hands and took up her fork before whispering, “So am I.”

  The remainder of the meal was eaten in silence. Well, relative silence. The cacophony of giggles from the adjoining table only grew louder and more obnoxious with every bottle of wine the trio of bimbos downed.

  The waitress returned to check on Chloe and Dell and to remove their plates, then left only to return moments later with the bill. Chloe reached for it, but Dell pulled it from between her fingers.

  “You are not paying for my dinner. This was not a date.” She yanked a crimson wallet out of her matching purse and dropped thirty dollars on the table.

  Dell chuckled, placing another thirty on top of hers, “I’ll let you pay for yourself, this time.”

  “This is the only time there’ll ever be. I’m done playing these games with you.” Her tirade was interrupted as a chorus of giggles once again broke out from the trio of women at the table beside them. “Look, it’s obvious that you can have your choice of women. Take one of them home.” She motioned with her chin toward the trio of female admirers.

  Dell didn’t take his eyes from her. “None of them is my mate.”

  “Neither am I,” she countered.

  One corner of his mouth lifted in a wry smile. “That remains to be seen.”

  Chloe crumpled her napkin and placed it on her plate. “Fine! What do I have to do to disprove this so-called mating?”

  Dell leaned in, watching her intently. “Are you attracted to me Chloe?”

  “No!”

  He smiled, “I thought I told you that I can smell deceit. And as sweet as yours smells it’s disappointing all the same.” He tucked the cash into the bill wallet and asked, “Your bags in your car? I’ll follow you to the compound.”

  “Look, there isn’t anything that’ll be proved by me coming out and staying at your home. Whatever it is you think you need to know you need to find out now.” She glanced at her watch, “It’s getting late, and I’ve had a long day at the office.”

  He straightened in his chair, “I’m afraid that what I need to learn cannot be gleaned in a mere fifteen minute discussion.”

  Chloe stood, sending the maitre’d rushing for her coat. “Well then, I guess you’ll have to live with the disappointment. Good night.” Her heels clicked on the earthen tile as she strode toward the door, not even stopping when the maitre’d held out her coat. She simply snatched the article out of his grasp as she passed. In the parking lot she was halfway to her car when footsteps behind her had her looking over her shoulder. Dell was a mere few feet behind her.

  “If you try to stop me, I swear I’ll scream.”

  His chuckled response had her quickening her step. “Chloe, I asked you not to force my hand.” Luckily for him, she still held her jacket in her hand, leaving her arms exposed. When he reached out and grabbed her by the upper arms she spun quickly.

  She’d had every intention of screaming bloody murder, but didn’t get the chance. When she turned, her body melted and the last thing she felt was Dell sweeping her feet off the ground before the world dimmed.

  Chapter 15

  “WHERE IN THE HELL IS MY CAR!”

  A loud crash sounded overhead and Briggs smiled at his older brother. “Sounds like your mate is awake.”

  Dell winced, dropping the pen he held onto the pile of paperwork on his desk as he slowly stood, eyeing the ceiling over their heads. “Any suggestions?”

  Briggs grinned broadly, “You could always knock her out again.”

  Dell frowned darkly at his brother before heading for the door. “Wish me luck.”

  He took the stairs two at a time until he came to the bedroom door. Inside he could still hear Chloe cursing loudly. Taking a deep breath, he entered the room and ducked just in time as she sent a drinking glass sailing towards his head.

  “I swear to God, if you don’t let me go, I’ll have you arrested for abduction!”

  Dell stepped into the room, closing the door behind him. “You’re being a little dramatic aren’t you?”

  “A little…” she scanned the room searching for something else to throw. Finding nothing, she snatched a pillow off the bed and hurled it at him. “Do you think jail time is a little dramatic?”

  Dell rolled his eyes bending to pick up a piece of glass.

  Chloe crossed her arms over her chest and scowled down at him even as a knock sounded at the door.

  “It’s open.” Dell called still picking up pieces of glass.

  A small fair skinned woman with shoulder length brown hair stepped into the room carrying a broom and dust pan. The woman was so small that Chloe first thought it was a child until she took a closer look at her sprite like features.

  Wordlessly, the slight woman began sweeping up broken glass as Dell stood motioning toward her. “Chloe this is Stevie. She’s mated to my cousin Pony.”

  As angry as Chloe was, she felt ashamed that another woman was stuck cleaning up her mess. She threw her hands in the air, rolling her eyes, “Oh Christ!” She strode quickly toward Stevie and snatched the broom from her hands. “Give me that!”

  Stevie shied back and stared at Chloe, who began sweeping wildly then stopped to frown at the smaller woman. “Oh don’t look at me like that. I made the damn mess, I’ll clean it up.”

  She was surprised when Stevie smiled and nodded once before leaving.

  Chloe kept sweeping. “She doesn’t say much.”

  Dell bent and held the dustpan at an angle so Chloe could brush the debris into it. “Once she gets to know you, you won’t be able to shut her up.”

  “How long have I been out?” she growled.

  “Not long. Took me about fifteen minutes to drive here and you’ve been asleep another twenty.”

  When the glass was finally cleared Dell took the broom from Chloe and leaned it against the wall. “Look, I know you don’t want to be here. But you can’t deny that there’s something happening between us.” When Chloe opened her mouth to protest, Dell rushed on, “Physically at least.” He crossed over to the bed and dropped down on it. “I don’t know how it’s been for you, but the longer I’m away from you the more painful it gets.” He looked at her, “And lately it’s been pretty damn excruciating.”

  Chloe regarded him in leery silence.

  “I don’t know what’s happening to us Chloe, but Mama claims to. The problem is when I’m away from you I can’t form a single coherent thought. So for both our sakes, it’d help greatly if you’d agree to stay, just long enough for us to figure out what’s happening to us.”

  She crossed and sat next to him on the bed. “Fine. I’ll stay the weekend under two conditions. First, you don’t touch me again. Second, when this weekend is over you leave me alone.” She didn’t expect the grim expression that pulled his features.

  “I won’t promise to leave you alone Chloe. I can’t. But, I will promise to keep from touching you.”

  She frowned.

  “Well, at least until you want me to.”

  “That,” she brushed back a stray strand of hair, “is never going to happen.”

  Dell simply smiled an odd twinkle in his eyes.

  “I need to call my mother. I’ll also need to go to my apartment and collect some things.”

  Dell s
tood, dusting nothing in particular off his jeans. “You’re mother knows you’re here and I anticipated your lack of cooperation and had Stevie purchase you some gear last week.” He turned and pointed to a dresser, “There are jeans, sweaters, socks…”

  “What do you mean my mother knows I’m here?”

  “Like I said. I didn’t expect your cooperation, so I visited your mother today while you were at work. I told her you and I would be spending the weekend together and…”

  Chloe lifted both hands to her temples. “Oh God! I can’t believe you told her that. She must think…” she spun on him, anger lighting in her eyes, “You had no right to do that. I don’t want her involved in his.” She jerked her smart phone from her purse, her heart contracting at the hurt expression on Dell’s face as she punched in her mother’s number. She had one thought and one thought only. Damage control!

  “Hello?”

  “Hey ma. It’s me. Look, I…”

  “Chloe, why are you calling? I thought you were going camping for the weekend with Dell. He’s such a lovely, handsome fellow. Do you know he called me to ask permission to take you?”

  Chloe turned to eye Dell. “Uhh, no ma I didn’t. Look I don’t want you to think that…”

  “Chloe,” her mother cut her off. “I know what you’re thinking but you’re wrong. I want you to be happy. That’s all I’ve ever wanted for any of my children. If that boy makes you happy than you take him, and don’t let your own guilt or anyone else’s opinion ruin your chance at happiness.”

  The words were so unexpected that Chloe quickly turned her back to Dell lest he see the tears that sprang forth. She did feel guilty for associating with him. She wanted to hate him as much as she did on the day Donnie had died, but somewhere between then and now she’d given up the fight, and in doing so buried herself in guilt so insurmountable that she hadn’t even given thought to what could be if she could just let go of her hatred. She was so confused, so lost, and so scared. She couldn’t hide the quiver in her voice, “Mom?”

  “Life is too short to be carrying around that heavy burden.” The line was silent for a moment as Chloe tried to fight the tears that breached then slid down her cheeks. “Set it down Chloe. Set it down and walk away from it. You’re not helping Donnie any by torturing yourself, and you’re not proving anything to me. I don’t want this dark, angry, hate-filled person that’s been traipsing around as a shell of my girl. I want my daughter back, and if Dell Blackbird is the only person on the face of the earth that can bring her back to me, then I thank him for it.”

  Chloe didn’t respond. She couldn’t. She was losing the tight grip on the reins of hatred and misery she’d been clutching since Donnie’s death. With her mother’s words, she felt something break inside and was devastated to realize she’d let her anger and bitterness twist her into something she knew in her heart that she was not. Bitter. She couldn’t hate or even blame Dell for what Mace had done. No more than she was at fault for Donnie’s actions.

  “Baby, I’m gonna go. You have a good time and think about what I said. You only get one shot at life Chloe. Don’t waste it. I love you.” Then the line went dead.

  Still facing the wall, Chloe stood motionless. It was too much to come to terms with now, and she certainly didn’t want to do so in front of Dell.

  “When you’re ready, please come down.” Behind her she heard the door open and close as Dell left to allow her to gather herself.

  Once he was gone, she crossed numbly to the bed and dropped down, taking up a pillow and burying her face in it. What have I done? What have I been doing this whole time?

  With her mother’s approval, a weight had been lifted. A weight she hadn’t even realized she’d been carrying. And with the weight gone, she suddenly realized how tired she’d grown from bearing the burden. She rocked back and forth as a new form of guilt took hold.

  I’ve been behaving like a…a…a petulant child. Oh God, poor Dell. Her thoughts instantly flashed to the day of the funeral when he’d arrived on her doorstep and how rude she’d been. Her poor mother had been appalled. She covered her mouth with her small hand. Christ, then I asked his mother to leave!

  Now that she’d agreed to stay, she didn’t want to. How can I face them? She quickly stood and tossed the pillow onto the bed before crossing to the door. In the hall it took her a few moments to find the stairs and even less time to make her way down. She was deposited into a large kitchen, but didn’t notice much else as Dell, who’d been sitting on the island counter-top lifted his eyes to her.

  “Everything alright?”

  Chloe swallowed hard, “Yeah. Look Dell, I don’t think that I can sta…”

  “Chloe!” The exuberant exclamation had Chloe turning to eye Mama as she came in through the back door carrying two brown paper sacks laden with groceries. “It’s so nice to finally have you in our home!”

  Mama’s eyes twinkled with delight and when Dell crossed to take the burden from her arms she crossed to Chloe to squeeze her tightly in a warm embrace. “Dell said you’ve eaten dinner, but in the morning I’m making my famous biscuits with chocolate gravy.” Mama leaned back and held Chloe at arm’s length to stare at her before squeezing her again, “So good to have you.”

  “Thank you!” Chloe offered in a hushed tone before finding Dell. “Can I, um, talk to you?”

  Dell placed the sacks on the counter and bent to kiss his mother’s head. “Pony’ll bring in the rest.” Then he made to grab Chloe’s hand, which had her jumping back. “Sorry. I forgot. Come on, we can talk in my office.” He led her down a corridor she’d been down before and entered the room at the furthest end. Inside he took a seat at one of the two chairs that sat facing each other in front of the desk. He didn’t speak, but simply stared at her waiting for her to initiate the conversation.

  “I thought it hurt you to touch me. Seems like a dumb thing to forget!” She was tense and because of it, she instantly reverted to her old habit of insulting him at every opportunity.

  Dell just smiled at her wordlessly, his brows hiking in question.

  “I’m sorry. That was rude.”

  His grin broadened. “It did hurt to touch you, but for some reason the pain seems to be lessening with every encounter.”

  Chloe looked at a cushion that sat on the seat opposite him, feigning disinterest. “Will it fade for me too?”

  “Why? Dying to get your hands on me?”

  She scowled at him, “Don’t be an ass.”

  He laughed and she eyed him then.

  He could tell she wanted to speak, but was holding back. “Ask Chloe.”

  “It doesn’t make sense that if we’re mates that it would hurt us to touch. Doesn’t it make more sense that it’s proof that we’re not meant for each other?” She was startled by the bark of laughter that erupted from him.

  Still laughing he stood crossing to hold out a chair, “Have a seat Chloe.”

  Without a good reason to refuse, she was relegated to accepting the proffered seat. “I-I don’t think I should stay.”

  Dell reclaimed his seat, directly across from her. “This again? I thought the issue was resolved.”

  “It was but I’m not sure. It’s probably not a good idea.”

  “Why not?”

  “I’ve just had a revelation of sorts and I don’t think this is the best place to come to terms with what’s happened.”

  “You don’t know any of us Chloe, and we don’t know you. There’ll be no judgments here. Plus you’ll be pampered by Mama’s culinary skill and won’t have to worry about the monotony of city life or work for the entire weekend.” He shrugged a shoulder, “Sounds like the perfect environment to get your head straight.”

  She knew she’d lose. No matter the excuse, no matter the logic in her argument, she was destined to do Dell’s bidding. “Well,” she looked around the office, “I’m not just g
oing to be waited on. I’ll pull my weight Dell and that’s not negotiable.”

  He smiled approvingly, “I wouldn’t expect any less from you Chloe.”

  “So,” she stood, “what do we need to do tonight?”

  He reclined in the chair, crossing his hands behind his head. “Depends. Are you hungry?”

  She clamped a hand to her belly, “Not in the least. I’m still stuffed from dinner.”

  “Good, then we have time to play.”

  “Play?” she eyed him quizzically. “What does that mean?”

  He stood and smiled, “Follow me.”

  Chapter 16

  Chloe followed Dell down the hallway to a large sitting room where a fire burned brightly in a large stone hearth. Decorated with dark leather furniture and spaced over an ornate rug, the room felt warm even without the heat loaned from the fireplace. Dell led her to a closet. He pulled out a coat and a matching pair of snowsuit overalls then held them up to her body.

  “I’d guess you and Cindy are about the same size.” He motioned with his chin to a closed door behind her. “Take these in the bathroom and put them on. I’ll go grab you some socks. What size shoe do you wear?”

  With her arms full, she used her chin to tuck the clothing down so she could see him, “Six, but…”

  He didn’t let her finish. He disappeared before she could protest.

  Inside the bathroom she frowned at the overalls. She knew Cindy didn’t particularly care for her and wondered how angry she’d be once she saw Chloe traipsing around the compound in her clothing. She was contemplating how she was supposed to manage the overalls in her tight skirt when a light knock sounded at the door. When she opened it, Dell shoved more clothing into her arms.

  “I got you some long underwear too,” his eyes dropped to her bare legs and stayed there, “I don’t think you’d be able to…uh…”

  “Dell?”

  A flush singed his cheekbones as his eyes found hers, “Sorry. I was…what was I saying?”

  She grabbed the clothing out of his hand, “I honestly have no idea.” She used her hip to close the door then quickly dressed.