by Zara Chase
“Look, babe,” he said, finally lowering his rear onto his chair. “I know what you must be thinking, but—”
“You have no fucking idea what’s going through my head. You don’t have the mental capacity to keep up with my thought process.”
“Ouch, I guess I deserved that.”
“No question.”
He stood up again and walked around his desk, approaching her with the avuncular expression on his handsome face that had first endeared him to her.
“You have to understand how this game’s played.”
He reached out a hand, but she swatted it away. “Don’t you dare touch me! You forfeited that right when you stole my idea.” She shot him a malevolent glare. “What made you do it? I asked you for your advice, shared all my research with you, but you told me it wasn’t creative enough. I said I’d give it a shot anyway, get the others’ feedback, and learn from the experience. You told me to go for it when all the time you intended to take the glory.” She shook her head. “I knew it was a winner and you obviously did, too, but put me off because you wanted it for yourself.” She paused, fighting back tears. “How could you, especially after all we’ve been to each other?”
“Peter never would have run with it, not with an unknown like you at the helm. I tried to tell you that. It needs experience, a familiar face, and I think, deep down, you’ve always known that, too.”
He spread his hands and turned on the charm, offering her the sexy smile that had always won her around in the past. This time it seemed so fake that she wondered how she could ever have fallen for it. She could see him now for what he was—a little desperate, afraid of competition, not getting any younger, worried about staying ahead of the game, and prepared to do whatever it took to defend his little empire.
“All I can see is a burned-out has-been without an original idea between his ears.”
He chuckled. “That’s not what you said in bed last night.”
Leave it to a man to fall back on sex. Aisha merely tossed her head, sending her long corkscrew curls dancing over her shoulders, not bothering to dignify the comment with a response.
“We can work on this together, both of us in front of the camera.”
“No thanks.”
She could see that she’d finally surprised him. He’d obviously expected her to be angry but assumed she’d calm down with the offer of camera time. She supposed he had reason to believe that. He’d always been able to talk her around when they’d disagreed in the past. But this was different. Besides, he knew she was a natural redhead. Redheads had tempers to match their hair color, and although she’d learned to control hers—most of the time—this was one provocation too many.
“What do you mean, no thanks?”
“I mean I wouldn’t work with a cheat like you if you were the last man on earth.”
His smile faltered. “You don’t mean that.”
“You see, you’re doing it again, telling me what I mean. I do have a mind of my own, as it happens. In case you’ve forgotten, I also have a bachelor’s degree in meteorology, which is more than can be said for you, or anyone else working here.”
“Yeah, you know your stuff. That’s why Cordite News and Weather hired you, on my recommendation, I might add. But theory is one thing. Standing in front of a camera and convincing the viewing public that you know a storm cloud from a cold front is entirely another.”
“I want a month’s sabbatical.”
“Not possible. You’re needed here.”
“Then make it possible. Otherwise I go to Peter, show him the research date-stamped on my computer, and tell him you stole it.” She fixed him with a steely, determined gaze. “I’ll also have to tell him how you came to be in my apartment and in a position to steal it, of course.”
Rick’s expression froze. “Being spiteful won’t help your career.”
“What career?” Aisha expelled a slow, angry breath. “I want a month off. I’m owed it because I haven’t taken any vacation time since I signed on, fool that I am.”
“What will you do?”
“None of your damned business.” She wrenched open the door. “But my first act will be to call a locksmith. You won’t be getting into my apartment again.”
“You could just ask for your key back.”
“Yeah, I could, but I still wouldn’t feel safe.”
“Look, Aisha, you need time to calm down and think about your career path. I know you hate me right now—”
“You got that right.”
“But, trust me, when this project takes off—”
“And you get the credit for my idea.”
“When it takes off, you’ll thank me. The experience will be invaluable. But right now, I guess you’re right. Take a vacation and give yourself a break. I’ll give you some space, and when you come back, we’ll regroup. How does that sound?”
Aisha could read him like a book. He’d suddenly realized that she had him over a barrel, and not just because she could prove he’d stolen her idea. He’d been indiscreet, told her far too much about his past, and now he was worried about what she’d do with that information. Good, let the bastard sweat!
He looked like he was going to try and touch her again, but she moved out of range, left his domain, and slammed the glazed door so hard behind her that it rattled. Everyone looked up as she stormed through the open-plan office. Without speaking to anyone she grabbed her purse and the few personal items she kept in her cubbyhole and strode out of the office.
* * * *
Tyrone sat cross-legged on the beach, surrounded by twenty kids and three of their teachers.
“I can breathe really easily,” boasted one cocky little boy, taking in a huge lungful of Impulse’s thin air to prove his point and promptly choking on it.
All the other kids laughed.
“It’s true, though,” said a young, busty teacher who’d continuously been giving Tyrone the eye. “The kids can breathe more easily than us big girls.” She thrust out her chest, presumably to ensure that Tyrone had seen the precise location of her big parts. She would have been better off trying that with Kane. His buddy was the titty freak. Tyrone was more of a leg man. “Why is that, Mr. Darwin?”
Tyrone shrugged, wondering what would happen if he actually told the truth during one of these presentations. “No one’s exactly sure.”
“But you seem to cope well enough. How long did it take you to acclimatize, and what can you do to help the rest of us get by?”
“I’ve lived here all my life, so it’s never been a problem for me. And it’s true what you say.” Tyrone nodded toward the cocky kid. “For some reason children can breathe our thin air more easily than adults.”
“Perhaps I need to move in.”
The teacher sounded as though she wouldn’t take much persuading. No, you don’t. Tyrone liked to be the initiator. Any woman that came on to him—and it happened to him and Kane a lot—was an instant turn-off.
“It’s like being at altitude,” another of the teachers remarked.
“Yeah, most people feel that way. Like I said, no one understands quite why, and, trust me, enough people have done studies trying to figure it out. The best minds reckon it’s to do with some kind of fault line that runs through this little spit of land.” Tyrone shrugged. “I’ve no idea if that’s right, but still, it’s kinda neat to be different.”
“It must mean you miss out on tourism,” the big-chested teacher said.
“You guys are here, aren’t you?”
“True, but we’re only here for an hour or two. Don’t you feel the lack of hotel reservations and stuff like that? All resorts need that sort of income to get by nowadays, but I notice you don’t have nearly as many hotels as they do farther down the beach.”
“We like to be exclusive.”
“You’re tourism officer for Impulse, Mr. Darwin,” the woman said. “You must have your work cut out getting visitors to stay for long, given the thin air.”
Tyr
one treated her to a full-wattage smile. “On the contrary, our unique atmosphere makes people keen to check it out for themselves.”
“Why is everything named after cats?” asked some smartass kid.
“We like cats. Doesn’t everyone?”
“I have cats,” the busty teacher said, smiling at Tyrone like the connection had them joined at the hip.
I’ll just bet you do! “No more questions?” When no hands shot up, Tyrone glanced at his watch and stood up. “Okay, you’ve collected your rock samples from the beach and have them safe, right?” All the kids nodded. “Be sure and let me know if you find out anything interesting from them.”
The teacher actually batted her lashes at him. “We’ll certainly do that.”
“Let’s head for the souvenir shops,” Tyrone said. “I expect you all want to buy something to take back with you. Then your bus will be here to whisk you away from our crappy air.”
“What do we say to Mr. Darwin, class?” the pretty teacher asked.
“Thank you, Mr. Darwin,” twenty voices chorused.
In spite of the fact that kids really did have an easier time of it with the thin air, they still didn’t handle it well and made a beeline for the air-conditioned mall. The souvenir shops would do well today, Tyrone thought with satisfaction. That in turn would help Impulse’s cooperative economy instigated by Pascal and Kai, their alpha pumas and finance gurus.
He saw the pretty teacher bearing down on him and quickly attached himself to the posse of kids, directing them to the shops he thought would interest them the most. The ones that sold fossils and lurid games that traded on Impulse’s unique atmosphere guaranteed to appeal to kids. Another child fell over, claiming the teacher’s reluctant attention, and Tyrone was able to escape, leaving one of his assistants to see the party safely onto their bus.
He wondered how Kane was getting on in Miami as he climbed the stairs to the apartment that he shared with his fellow alpha leopard above the tourist office. He missed his buddy, but he’d be home tomorrow and things would get back to normal. It had been crazy around Impulse recently, what with an attack by wolves and a load of other stuff going on. Kane and Tyrone had pressing problems of their own, too. Somehow or other they were going to have to find a human mate before time ran out, especially for Kane.
Tyrone was deep in thought about that as he let himself in to the empty apartment. Except that it wasn’t empty. Kane was draped over the back of a settee, all four limbs dangling over its edge. He appeared to be sound asleep, but his head jerked up when Tyrone closed the door.
“Hey, lover.” Tyrone’s face lit up. “I didn’t expect you back today.”
Kane dropped to the floor in one elegant movement, wrapped Tyrone in his arms, and kissed him long and deep.
“I missed you, man.”
“Likewise.”
“I saw you down on the beach with the school party. How did it go?”
“Like always. One of the teachers wanted to jump my bones.”
“Was she pretty?”
“Yeah, I guess.” Tyrone wobbled his hand in a gesture that said not bad. “Big tits and no bra. She was too pushy, though.”
Kane laughed, but it sounded contrived. “We all want what we can’t have,” he said. “And she can’t have you because she obviously wasn’t suitable mating material.”
“Yeah, she didn’t light my fire.” Tyrone flashed a smile. “What happened to you? You look like shit.”
“You should see the other guy.” Kane fell into a chair and scrubbed a hand down his face. “I don’t know how to tell you this, but I think I might have screwed up big time.”
Tyrone laughed. “What did you do? Sell Impulse as a dog-friendly community?”
Tyrone’s smile faded when he saw the desolation in his Kane’s eyes. When he noticed how bloodshot they were and sensed his deep despondency, he became really worried.
“Just tell me what happened.”
“That would be a hell of a lot easier if I knew myself. All I can do is tell you what I remember.”
The story came tumbling from Kane’s lips in fits and starts. At first Tyrone thought he was making something out of nothing. Busty brunettes were his buddy’s companion of choice, but he knew better than to cross the line.
Except this time he seemed to think that he had.
“I don’t get it,” Tyrone said, shaking his long hair out of his eyes. “You got wasted, took this Susanna woman to bed, and actually fucked her?”
“Apparently.” Kane seemed to fold in on himself. “I’m so sorry. I have absolutely no explanation for what I did.”
“If you did it, which I doubt.”
Kane rolled his eyes. “You weren’t there. You didn’t wake up with her next to you and see your sperm all over her.”
“All over her, not in her. There’s a big difference. You’re hardwired never to go the distance with any woman. It’s in your psyche. Doesn’t matter how drunk you were, you still wouldn’t do it.”
“But the dried semen on her thighs?”
“You don’t remember drinking too much?”
Kane shook his head emphatically. “No, that’s what’s so weird.”
“And this woman fixated on you from the get-go?”
“Yeah, pretty much. I guess I encouraged her.” Kane shrugged. “You know me. Anything to liven up a dull conference.”
“You didn’t get any sense that she’d been sent by our enemies?”
“No, she seemed to be exactly what she said she was.”
“Well, we’ll know soon enough. If you’re right about her, if she’s trying to trap you into mating permanently, she’ll be in touch.”
“Geez!”
“Perhaps she drugged you,” Tyrone said after a moment’s thought.
Kane let out a mirthless laugh. “A date-rape drug?”
“Why not?”
“Because it would have the opposite effect to the one she was hoping for. I never would have gotten it up for her.”
“If you were out of it with booze, you’d have had the same problem. So the question remains, how did that semen get on her thighs?”
“That’s what I’d give a lot to know, but it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure it out. I don’t usually have a problem getting it up, as you well know, even when I have overindulged.”
“You never get as blitzed as you were last night, either.”
“True.”
Tyrone shook his head. “I don’t like the smell of this.”
“Me neither. I’ve fucked up my chances of mating, buddy, but don’t let it stop you carrying on with the search.”
Tyrone shot him a look. “You think I could live without you? Forget it. If you’ve blown it, that counts for us both.”
“No, I couldn’t live with that. If nothing else, we owe it to the colony to make sure at least one of its alpha leopards reproduces. Our numbers are way too low.”
“You’re getting ahead of yourself. I still doubt whether you actually did the dirty deed with this woman. I’m guessing that you’re being exploited for reasons yet to be figured out. In the meantime, I think we should go and see Mikael. Then Rafe needs to know about this. If it was a setup, the whole colony could be at risk.”
“I agree Rafe needs to know, but why Mikael? What can he do?”
“If I’m right and some sort of drug was involved, it might still be in your system. He can do tests.”
“Yeah, I guess.” Kane flashed his first genuine smile. “What would I do without you?”
Tyrone leaned in and kissed him hard and deep. “Beats the hell out of me. Now, come on, move your ass. Let’s stop moping about and go get some answers.”
Chapter Three
Aisha had her locks changed anyway. She’d just learned the hard way that no one was going to look out for her, so she’d just have to toughen up and take care of herself. She’d trusted Rick to guide her through the minefield that went by the name of live television, naively assuming that he
had her best interests at heart.
Her judgment obviously needed some work.
Rick couldn’t afford to let her off his radar for too long. When it came to pillow talk he’d been less than discreet. He’d told her about some of the underhanded tactics he’d employed to get one over on his colleagues. She could use that against him at the station anytime she liked should she be in the market for revenge, and well he knew it.
Feeling like she had the upper hand helped to soothe Aisha’s wounded pride and made her feel a little less naïve for believing every word that had slipped past his lying lips. Rick was a control freak, but no way would he be claiming control of her or her personal space again anytime soon.
As soon as the locksmith left Aisha stepped out of her work clothes, took a long shower to wash off the scent of betrayal, and dressed casually in jeans and a sweatshirt. She wandered barefoot into her galley kitchen and switched on the kettle, trying to adjust to the feeling of being home in the middle of a working day. Trying to adjust to being home during daylight hours at all, come to that. She hadn’t realized how quiet it could be in a bustling city like New York when all the workers were…well, working.
With a steaming mug of coffee in hand, she sat down and fired up her laptop, ready to reinvent herself.
“Okay,” she said to the walls, “I am going to stop playing at being a TV weather girl and prove my scientific credentials instead.”
The walls didn’t fall in on her, laughing themselves silly, which she took to be an encouraging sign.
“Easier said than done,” she told herself two days later.
She’d surfed the net continuously in the interim, barely remembering to eat or sleep. She ignored her phone when it rang—which it did frequently. The caller display told her it was the office or sometimes Rick’s cell. She didn’t want to speak to anyone, especially not him. Someone hammered on the door at one point, but she ignored that, too. It had to be Rick. She never had other callers. She had no family and had been too busy with her career and with Rick to make time for friendships.
