by Moxie North
Stryker knew she was watching him. He liked it. Offering her another bite, he kept alternating as they ate.
Occasionally he’d hand her a soda, since hand feeding someone a beverage was fraught with peril he let her handle that on her own.
When they had both eaten their fill, Libby gave up and let her head fall back on his shoulder. Stryker laid his head on hers and they sat in silence for a while.
“I missed you,” she whispered to him, and she had. It was one of the longest mornings she could remember. Not that her days were ever packed with excitement, but today dragged like a bad Twilight Zone episode.
“Missed you too, mouse,” he said into her hair. Stryker was already thinking about how he was going to get through the rest of the afternoon without her.
Knowing they had dinner together later also was on his mind. It had to go well. It had to be a hurdle for them to overcome so he could continue to convince her he was her One.
Sighing, he gave her a kiss on the head and helped her up to stand. Libby reluctantly got up and turned in his arms as he stood.
Wrapping her arms around him she squeezed him soaking in his scent. Stryker was doing the same hoping it would last long enough to appease his cat for a few hours.
“I’ll take you home tonight,” he said, walking her back out to the front door.
“I can walk you know, been doing it for years,” she reminded him.
“Now I’m here.” He said this like it was the answer to everything.
Libby wanted to argue with him, but who was she kidding? She totally wanted to be wrapped around him on the back of his motorcycle. Even if it was just for a few minutes.
Plus, she really wanted to try on her new jacket and helmet.
“Bye.” He gave her a rough kiss then walked out moving down the stairs to the street. He was across it and almost to the garage before Libby shut the door.
It had crossed Libby’s mind that his gift this morning was not only thoughtful, but must have cost him a pretty penny. Especially since he would have had to order it last night and have it early over-nighted to get to her that morning.
She knew mechanics made decent money. She didn’t want to assume he’d spent money he didn’t have.
Libby always thought it was the giver’s decision how much to spend on a gift. The recipient should accept graciously.
It did niggle at her brain a little thinking that he shouldn’t have spent that much on her. Maybe it was a one-time thing and he just felt like really splashing out.
Libby didn’t make a fortune at her job. In fact, since she lived at home she was able to save the majority of her pay. She was saving up to buy a little house in town someday.
She knew it didn’t come close to what he must have spent, but getting lunch was her little way of saying thank you again.
Chapter 21
It was finally time to leave. Libby hadn’t had anyone come in for the last two hours. That wasn’t uncommon and it let her sneak in some personal reading.
She was in the middle of an epic series about a detective agency and a bunch of smoking hot guys and the women who loved them. It was one of her favorites.
Closing up the back exit and turning off the lights Libby stopped short as she hit the entryway.
Stryker was standing, leaning back against the door. His feet were crossed at the ankles and his arms were crossed over his chest. He was staring at her like he was hungry.
Seeing his look made her lick her lips and she saw his gaze zero in on her mouth.
He pushed off of the door and closed the distance between them in a few large strides. She was in his arms and back against the wall by the hallway in the blink of an eye.
His mouth sealed over hers and he kissed her like it had been months instead of hours.
Libby kissed him back, she was getting better at it. She knew what he liked now and how to make him groan or moan. She loved wielding that power, it was intoxicating.
Stryker’s hands ran down her sides then one came back up and cupped over her breast. The other hand grabbed a handful of her ass and pulled up causing her to squeak into his mouth which gave him more room to play.
Libby was getting beyond riled up. Her panties were soaked, her breast felt swollen under his hand, and her mind was quickly thinking of ways she could get off. The most obvious was something she had been thinking of hourly since she met him.
She knew, deep down, that he would make her first time phenomenal. Probably earth-shattering and one to record in the annals of history. No pressure for him of course.
“I need to get you home,” he said in a very displeased tone when he finally pulled away from her.
He didn’t want to stop kissing her. But he also knew he could easily seduce her if he wanted. She was passionate and liked her pleasure. Stryker could close the deal in the hallway, on the floor, if he wanted to.
But he didn’t, he wanted her to tell him when. For her to make the choice that he was her One. He had to be the reasonable one, at least for now.
Once they were together, all bets were off. His first taste of her was going to be sweet, but he knew every time after that would be even sweeter.
Stryker was looking around for her jacket and spied it behind the desk. Grabbing her hand, he took her with him as he picked up the jacket and held it out to her to slip on.
Once he settled it on her shoulders he zipped up the front and grabbed the helmet that was uncovered when he picked up the jacket. Popping that on her head he was trying to focus on the fit and not those gorgeous little eyes staring up at him so trustingly.
Fucking hell, he couldn’t keep putting her on his bike. What if something happened? People didn’t see bikers all the time, road conditions could get hazardous in a second and they’d be stuck out on the road.
He needed to get something safer. He’d keep riding and maybe take her on special occasions, but he was starting to wonder if you could legally drive a tank on the road. That might keep her safe.
Seeing the helmet wasn’t fitting right he tried adjusting it again. Libby decided to take pity on him and reached around to pull out her ponytail.
Her hair fell around her in a mahogany cloud. The helmet sat itself properly on her head. Stryker grunted and adjusted the strap under her chin.
“Purse, mouse,” he barked.
Libby grabbed her purse and ran to keep up with Stryker pulling her towards the door.
His motorcycle was sitting on the curb and he performed the maneuver from yesterday to get on first then help her. In a blink they were cruising down the road towards her house.
There was a definite chill in the air. Sometimes if felt like the last days of summer were less than a week before autumn set in.
Pulling up to the house, Stryker turned off the bike and kicked out the stand before helping her off.
He swung off and grabbed her hand before she could lean up for what she expected was a goodnight kiss. Instead, she found herself being pulled up to the front porch.
“Stryker, what are you doing?” she said in a hushed whisper.
“Coming to dinner. Your dad invited me,” he replied, knocking on the front door. Stryker took in that the door was painted a bright green color.
The top half was a window that had a stained glass figure of a dragon. The dragon’s wings were spread, its mouth open belching plumes of red and orange flames. Above the door was a hand painted sign that said, Beware all ye who enter here. He’d have to contemplate the meaning behind that later.
Libby stood with her mouth hanging open. Her father? Stryker met her father? When and how did that happen? It had been like thirty-six hours. She was planning on introducing them, in say three to six weeks!
The door swung open and Libby’s dad stood there wearing his usual after work tie-dye t-shirt and jorts. Those were jean shorts that only people’s dads would normally be caught dead in.
“Stryker, nice to see you again. Hey, my Liberty Bell, how was work?” Her dad said this casu
ally like they always had Stryker over for tea. She’d entered some alternate dimension for sure.
“Huh?” Libby managed, as her father gestured them in. Stryker gave a tug on her hand and she numbly followed.
Stepping into the living room, Libby’s dad closed the door. “Stryker, can I offer you some green tea or Kombucha? We homebrew our own and our scoby has quite a few fans.”
Stryker looked at Libby with a raised eyebrow then smartly chose, “No.”
“Let me go get Primrose,” he said, walking towards the kitchen.
“What is going on?” she said, pinching Stryker’s arm.
“Woman, don’t pinch me,” he growled.
“When did you meet my father?” she hissed.
“He came to see me today and invited me to dinner,” he answered.
“Why did you say yes?” she squeaked.
“Because, mouse, your parents need to know me. It’s happening so you might as well go with the flow,” he advised.
“I’ll teach you how to go with the flow,” she said, pinching him again on the arm.
“Woman,” he warned again.
He could growl all he wanted, she was pissed. Weren’t guys supposed to run screaming from meeting a girl’s parents? Oh no, she had to get the weirdo that wanted to join their little freak show.
Before she could pinch him again her mom and dad came out from the kitchen, her mother in her standard patchwork apron on, looking harried.
“Stryker, it’s very nice to meet you,” Primrose said, although she didn’t really sound like she meant it.
She reached for his hand and Stryker firmly grasped hers. Her mother let out a horrified gasp pulling his hand into both of hers.
“Oh my! Freedom, did you feel that?” she said, ignoring Stryker now and talking to Libby’s dad.
“I did. Wanted to get your take on it,” her father said, looking down at Stryker’s hand.
“Oh dear, dear, your poor aura! It’s all over the place. It’s green, it’s blue. My, my there is orange! We have to get you unblocked immediately! Liberty, go get my crystals. Freedom, we’ll need the candles,” she started barking out orders.
“Mom, for pete’s sake let him go. He’s fine and he doesn’t need his aura cleansed,” Libby moaned.
“My aura?” Stryker asked her.
Libby just shook her head at him like he really didn’t want to know.
“Liberty Moonlight Berkowitz, I’m not going to stand by while his confused soul is so conflicted. He must be torn up inside,” she said solemnly.
“Confused?” Stryker asked the room at large. Then he turned to Libby, “Moonlight?”
Libby took her turn and growled at him. That just made the big jerk smile.
Freedom had gone off to do his wife’s bidding. He returned with the candles and the crystals since Libby wasn’t going along with these shenanigans.
Her father being a naturopath usually tried to find out if there were outside reasons causing illness in someone.
He wasn’t opposed to traditional medicine; he just felt a more moderated approach was needed in dealing with people’s health.
Usually an upset stomach was more because someone was fighting with their spouse than some terrible virus. Headaches caused by stress and sleeplessness caused by way too much caffeine.
But her father was always seeking a deeper understanding of the unknown. Which meant being very lenient when his wife wanted to try new age practices on the unsuspecting.
“All right Stryker, why don’t you sit down here dear. We’ll see if we can get you fixed up,” her mother ordered him to the couch.
Stryker sat down and smiled at Libby, he was amused.
“Mom, just leave him alone! He was coming for dinner not an exorcism!” Libby whined.
“Oh hush, you know I do no such thing. This man is being torn apart inside. His aura is split right down the middle. I’ve never seen anything like it. It’s like he’s got two different souls inside him,” Primrose said.
Chapter 22
At those words Stryker froze. He’d never met a human that could read a shifter like that. Even the idea of sharing a body with two souls was totally foreign to most people. Trying to understand how someone would feel empty without two souls was also hard to explain.
Primrose was laying crystals along his thighs and plopping ones into his hands that she’d turned palms up for him. She grabbed another large crystal and held it to his forehead then started to hum.
“Oh for fuck sake,” Libby moaned flopping into a chair.
“Liberty Moonlight, watch your mouth,” her mother barked in between ommms.
Her father, having lit the candles, was now smudging the room with sage. This was getting out of hand.
“Libby, come hold this crystal so I can cleanse his aura,” her mother ordered.
“Nope, not gonna happen,” Libby said, crossing her arms over her chest. She threw in a lower lip pout just for good measure. Stryker who had been looking amused was now looking rather concerned and uncomfortable.
“Told you, but no, you wouldn’t listen.” Libby gave him the ‘I told you so look’.
“Shh, I’m focusing,” her mother intoned.
She took her one free hand and started making plucking motions around Stryker like she was picking off invisible lint. She kept at it for a few minutes while Libby’s dad stunk up the room with burning sage.
Finally her mother dropped her arms as if she was exhausted. “I don’t understand. Your aura refuses to be cleansed. It’s like it wants to be in two parts. Straight down the middle, I’ve never seen anything like it,” she said, muttering to herself. “I’ll have to consult my books.”
She picked up the crystals and put them in the bag Freedom had brought them in. Still muttering she turned to Stryker who was sitting oddly still. “I’m sorry, we’ll have to try something else. You are very confusing.”
She continued to tsk as Freedom came up behind her and put his hands on her shoulders.
“Center yourself, Primrose.” He started taking deep breaths while she matched him. Apparently they found their center or calm or whatever because her mother whose eyes had been closed popped open.
“Time for dinner!” she exclaimed clapping her hands. “I made panko crusted beet patties with a mango vinaigrette. The original recipe was for coconut crust, but well I just couldn’t,” she said mysteriously.
“I hope you’re hungry,” she said like she was offering up a nice medium cooked steak.
Stryker was watching Libby now his eyes oddly bright. “Well, Stryker,” she said smirking at him. “Hungry?”
“Always, mouse,” he returned. Libby didn’t think he was talking about beets.
That made her tummy and other parts get all tingly. At some point her heart had made a choice for her. Her brain was still cataloging all the reasons why she needed to rationalize her choices. Her heart kept getting louder.
It was telling her that even if she didn’t spend the rest of her life with Stryker she’d never regret him being the first. She’d be able to look back and know she made a choice based on her heart. And that was okay.
Now she just had to figure out how to convey that to Stryker. She didn’t think it would take much, but she also knew he treated her with kid gloves for a reason.
That just endeared him to her even more. And she could honestly say no man had ever turned her on like he had. Outside of her book boyfriends.
Libby looked at Stryker and she could swear he was reading her mind again. His eyes were even brighter and his nose was flaring as he took in deep breaths. This was going to be a long dinner.
After what felt like an hours-long meal, which turned out to be only about an hour. Libby had a new understanding of just how strange her family was. Especially to an outsider like Stryker.
Her mom asked him about his family and whether he’d had any traumatic experiences as a child. Had he ever been the victim of a haunting. Anything to explain his apparent messed up
aura.
Libby kept her head in her beet patties most of the time. There was no way to stop her mom when she was on a roll. So she chose the next best option of eat fast and hopefully get Stryker to leave.
Stryker was his usual non-verbal self that he was to strangers. It didn’t deter her parents in any way. They just kept talking at him. He even ate her mother’s weird beet patty things. He was probably starving.
“Mom, we need to let Stryker get home. I’m sure he has work tomorrow,” Libby said, hoping her mom and dad would take the hint.
“Oh, we’re sorry to keep you, Stryker. Sorry you have to work on a Saturday,” her father said.
“I’ll have to reach out to some of my contacts to figure out your problem,” her mother added.
“Do you think it’s a problem?” Stryker asked her seriously.
Her mother immediately responded. “Of course, no one can live with a soul that is going in two different directions. How confusing!”
Stryker grunted at her then gave her a nod. He wasn’t about to explain to her why her fix was never going to work. He was all about appeasing her parents, getting in good, so to speak.
“I should probably get home. Work tomorrow,” Stryker finally agreed.
Everyone stood from the table. Her mother started fluttering her hands. “Oh dear, I forgot dessert! Here, I made triple ginger molasses cookies. I’ll just wrap some up for you to go.”
Libby leaned over. “Those actually aren’t bad,” she admitted.
“There aren’t beets in them are there?” Stryker asked.
This made Libby giggle.
Her mother shoved a cloth wrapped bundle of cookies at Stryker which he graciously accepted.
“Mr. and Mrs. Berkowitz, it was very nice to meet you.” He offered his hand to them.
They both shook his hand. Her father pumped it vigorously apparently deciding he wasn’t a serial killer. Her mother tsked the moment she touched him, but still smiled and said goodnight.
Walking to the door, Stryker stepped out into the night air and cleared his nose of the sage and candle aroma that had coated his lungs.
