by Lowe, Anna
He turned a corner and halted right before crashing into his sister. The walking path entered a park, well-lit with tall vintage black poles. Evergreens lined the path Asiane stared at.
“I’m glad you had the sense not to follow him in there,” he said, voice sharper than she might have liked.
“I’m not stupid,” she said. Asiane turned, eyes hard. For a moment, he looked into his own face before her expression smoothed and she was his little sister again. “This is the third incident this month. Someone is trying me.”
“It could be rival shifters seeking territory.”
“Could be.” That would actually be preferable to the alternative.
“If Daihara had found us, he wouldn’t bother with such petty torments. He’d simply strike.”
“And if this is Daihara’s males, what do you think you’re going to do with a bat?”
She smiled, fangs gleaming in the orange fluorescent light. “Oh, I would have used claws, big brother. Come on, let’s get back to the club. Shit, I hope no one clumsy fell on all the glass.”
They jogged back, senses on full alert. The guard at the door nodded, continuing to direct traffic in and out of the club. Inside, the brief scent of panic had all but evaporated and security was back in place albeit for a few remaining on the floor to supervise cleanup of shattered glass and blood.
“What happened?” Asiane asked her employee.
The guard was human, longish sandy hair an attempt to detract from his ex-military aura. “Blake has a kid in the office. Kid said the one who fled started it.”
She blew out a breath. “It wasn’t him, he just got in the way. The male attacked me. But the kid might have seen something.”
Daamin was already heading to the office, mouth tight. He had nothing but instinct to go by – but it was Daihara’s MO. Test defenses before making a strike. See how Asiane and the staff responded to a small annoyance, and plan the real strike based on the gathered data.
He entered the office. The kid – college-aged, or barely older – slumped in a chair, holding an icepack against his face.
Daamin crouched down at his feet. “How’s your head?” he asked, injecting sympathy into his voice. “They told me you got clocked a good one.”
“Dude came on to me,” the kid said, skin flushing. “Fucking-”
Daamin held up a hand. “Yeah, I get it. What did he say to you?”
He jerked a shoulder. His starched white dress shirt crinkledling. “Nothing. Just ran into me and I told him to watch where the fuck he was going. Pissed him off and he swung. Who the fuck acts like that? Worse than a girl, man.”
Daamin wished he could pinch his nostrils closed – why did humans have to drench their clothing in scents? “Did you see anything else? Was he alone?”
“I didn’t see him with a group or anything. Look, I just defended myself and I can’t afford to pay any damages. Check the security cams-”
“You’re good, man.” Daamin rose. “We’ll ask you to sign a waiver releasing us of liability, and drinks this week for you and your guys is on the house. Cool?”
“Yeah, that’s cool. I ain’t no bitch, I don’t sue over stupid shit.”
Daamin’s respect for the kid went up a notch. He looked like a scrawny spoiled waste of college tuition, but his attitude was decent considering he could have been whining about cops and lawyers.
“Take care of him,” Daamin said, nodding at the guard and turned to go. Then paused. “The human woman I was with earlier?” He knew the staff would have noticed – it was their job to notice.
“Left,” the employee said.
The rush of rage surprised him. That he managed to close the door with barely a click surprised him even more.
Asiane took one look at his face when he joined her behind the bar. “What’s wrong?”
“Personal,” he replied, curt.
Her eyes narrowed. “Where’s the human girl?”
“Gone.” His hand flexed, as if he had something crushable in his grip. He looked around, barely registering his desire to smash something. He’d told her to stay put. She’d left him.
“I need to-”
“Let it go, Daamin,” Asiane said.
He snarled at her. She returned his snarling with a curl of her lip, allowing a fang to peek out. Her teeth hadn’t retracted to human blunt so her own temper was still riding her as well. “You’re mating soon – you can’t chase pussy anymore.”
His rage found a target. He took a step towards his sister. “She isn’t pussy. She’s-”
“What? She’s what?” Asiane’s posture changed. If he leaped, she would defend herself. They hadn’t had a good knockout, drag-down brawl since she was sixteen and he realized she was too old for him to indulge her that way. Males did not strike females. No matter how annoying.
Daamin exhaled, took a step back. Damnit.
“I liked her,” he said, distantly surprised.
Asiane slung an arm around his shoulders. “Yeah, I liked her too. Piss poor timing. Can’t thumb your nose at the Mother’s Council now. Would only piss them off and I have a feeling we’ll need allies.”
He had the same feeling.
Chapter Five
She hadn’t slept well and was compensating with a Venti brewed coffee, double shot, three pumps of caramel, spiked with almond milk. Hot, ridiculously sweet, strong enough to erode paint from a new car and give her a donkey’s jolt in the backside simultaneously.
But then, mornings were always like this.
Rebekah stared at her Mac, irritation furrowing her brow. They’d had an appointment, damnit. She’d thought the address C.C. had texted her was the actual studio – but it was only a coffee shop. She’d cased out the block the night before – thus discovering that thrice damned club – and discovered then that he’d pulled a fast one. So was the plan for her to sit tight and wait for him to show up and escort her? Or was he not ready to reveal his super-secret filming location yet? She didn’t know, except that sitting here a bare three blocks from Asiane’s place – and where she’d walked out on Daamin the night before – irritated her.
Rebekah blew out a breath, finished typing a quick message to C.C. asking him what the hell was going on, in polite words, and sipped on her coffee. Damn if she didn’t want to get up and leave.
Her back tingled a second before a deep voice interrupted her thoughts.
“Rebekah?”
Her head jerked up, and she stared at Daamin incredulously. Of all the rotten, ill-timed, glorious luck. The one male she’d never wanted to see again. Not because she didn’t yearn to, like ridiculously yearn for such a brief, inconsequential acquaintance, but because she knew she couldn’t have him. Couldn’t indulge in anything more. Especially not when he intrigued her in a way no other male had for years.
“You were a rebellious daughter.”
He took a seat, eyes never leaving hers, placing his hands flat on the table in front of him. As if to assure her that he was harmless. Calm. Yeah, okay. Rebekah knew Bears – especially male Bears. They hated being ignored, even for good cause.
“I didn’t give my parents any problems.” Not her adoptive ones anyway, and not even her biological after the final straw that sent her into the system. She needed to be blunt. “Look, last night was fun, but I’m not free.”
His eyes narrowed. In the bright morning light, he looked clean cut, just another tech yuppie in a V-neck sweater, expensive jacket and tailored jeans. Of course, his clothes fit around a toned body the way most tech yuppies could only dream about, stuck in their cubicles.
“Do you have a male?”
“What’s your man got to do with me?” she muttered under her breath.
“What?”
“Never mind.” Rebekah grimaced. “My sense of humor is weird. No, I don’t have a man, there are just… circumstances.”
“There are no circumstances other than a matebond – which I know you don’t have – or marriage that count. You left last ni
ght.” He leaned forward, then checked the tiny movement.
She smiled at him, deliberately relaxing her body. If she twitched, he would pounce. “Don’t let it piss you off. We’re just two ships passing in the night. No reason to-”
Long lashes covered his eyes, as if he could hid the subtle glow building. “I want you.”
She shut up. Of course, he did, or he wouldn’t be street stalking her. Rebekah frowned. “Were you on your way to the club?” She supposed there might be cleanup or admin to do during the day.
He ignored the question. “Spend the day with me. If I can convince you to ignore your circumstances by tonight, then we’ll go our separate ways.”
Rebekah inhaled. He sounded… serious. “I don’t understand what the point would be. For just a night of sex?”
His nostrils flared. “It wouldn’t be just.” He paused. “I… don’t know. I’m not willing to walk away from you yet.” Daamin leaned back in his chair, studying her. “Not since fate has you sitting so prettily in my path. What are you doing here?”
“I’m in town for a meeting.” She glanced at her email again. “And it looks like I’m being brushed off.”
“Cancel then,” he said. “Wait one moment.”
She watched as he pulled a smartphone out of his blazer pocket, tapped a few keys and put it back. “There, I’ve canceled mine.”
“My Dad is going to kill me. This trip is supposed to be a write-off. What the hell.”
She closed the lid of her laptop and switched her cell to silent so she couldn’t hear any notifications. The talent wanted to blow Liam Conroy’s representative off? Fine. Said rep would spend the day in town playing. Rebekah rose, tilting her head.
“Well, let’s party then, mister. But just today. I’m-”
“Not free.” He rose, waving a hand. Strong fingers, graceful and oddly familiar. A narrow tapered wrist with a bit of a hair arm peeking out of the jacket sleeve. “Yes, yes. Come.”
* * *
To put him through his real paces, Rebekah immediately suggested shopping. “Solstice is right around the corner,” she said. “The humans have everything on sale.”
He brushed her shoulder, a small touch she was beginning to realize indicated amusement. “You say human as if you aren’t one of them.”
“Mmmm. You know, I know at least two human women mated to Bears? I guess it changes a girl’s perspective of things.”
“Intriguing.” He led them towards a parking lot. “Are you comfortable traveling in my vehicle? I have a letter of introduction from the Mother’s Council from when my Den came here.”
She appreciated the offer and the sensitivity behind it. But… she trusted him. Rebekah grimaced. He caught the expression.
“What is it?”
“I trust you, which is stupid as hell.” Her glance was warning. “But I used to bounce in a shifter dive bar – country as fuck and my honorary uncle taught me how to handle myself.”
He smiled at her. “I don’t doubt it. If we are accosted, I’ll count on you to guard my back, as I will guard yours.”
Rebekah grinned. “Now, that sounds like the perfect first date.”
A lesser girl might have blushed, but Rebekah just shrugged her verbal gaffe off. Let him make of it what he willed. But his shoulders relaxed, the remainder of his tension defused. He was now certain she wouldn’t try to run.
She got into his car, fully aware it was a classic too stupid to live moment, and realizing she probably didn’t care, anyway. She’d been a wild teenager, even after living with Meredith and Dad, so it was way too much to hope she’d be a completely sensible adult. Besides, adulting all the time was way overrated.
“Where to?” he asked. He drove with one hand, draping his right arm over the back of her seat.
She gave him directions to a strip of specialty boutique shops, the kind of places one could find unique handmade items and antiques. She hated mass market gifts, and since Meredith insisted on combining Christmas with Winter Solstice, Rebekah’s compromise was to purchase one gift per friend or family member and make the gift personal. Even for the cubs.
They found a parking spot and Rebekah led him into her favorite global goods shop.
He glanced around with every indication of enthusiasm. “I love browsing,” he said. “This place reminds me of the bazaars at home.”
“Where’s home?”
She headed towards a shelf of dolls. Each one had intricately coiffed hair, cultural suits of clothing that appeared handmade when she looked at the seams. Her little sister was old enough for a real doll – one that would teach her how to care for something before Rebekah upgraded her to a puppy or kitten.
“A small country, mostly shifter. It’s beautiful, but harsh. And a constant struggle for dominance.”
She glanced at him, wondering at the note in his voice. Longing, and a thread of savage anger as if his Bear was riled. Obvious enough emotion even for her human ears.
“Why’d you come here?” Yeah, she was being nosy – but she’d told him quite a bit about herself the previous night, and hell, if he didn’t want to answer he didn’t have to.
“A dispute over territory. It would have been difficult to keep my sisters sheltered from the repercussions if I lost.”
Rebekah watched as he wandered towards a rack of dresses. Long, flowing materials and bright colors. He chose one, lifting it off the rack and examining the cut and pattern. Not bothering to look at a price tag as he folded it over his arm and chose another. Her brow rose. Well, she supposed from the model of his used, but definitely not hooptie car, that he wasn’t exactly poor.
“Are you the only male?” she asked, eyeing his selections. He had pretty good taste, in her opinion. He’d skipped over some of the gaudier options.
“Yes, and my mother’s eldest cub.” Daamin turned and looked at her a moment before lifting one of the dresses. “What do you think?”
“It’s not really my style, but the colors are pretty.”
His eyes traversed her body. She was in what she called work clothes – slightly more formal jeans, a tank top shell made of blousy fabric instead of plain cotton and a dark, short-waisted blazer instead of leather or denim.
“You would look lovely in anything you chose to wear.”
She’d thought he was going to say ‘a dress’ in the typical male condescending fashion that she hated. As if she would be pretty if she just ‘cleaned herself up’ a bit. Or, in other words, looked more like a traditional female. The lack of judgment in his tone warmed her even more towards him.
“I’ll probably do a dress for Solstice.” It would be black or blood red velvet, and corseted. But it would be floor length. Hey, that was dressy enough, even if it wasn’t quite the Sunday school version of a dress. She just didn’t do flowers, unless they were ink and permanently affixed to her skin.
“I would like to see that,” he said, meeting her eyes. He smiled, and she noticed dimples. “With your hair around your shoulders. You would enchant me, I think.”
Rebekah licked her lips and stepped away, disguising the movement by choosing another rack of merchandise to peruse. She had to put some space between them. He knew all the right things to say – and damnit. She was a girl, after all. And, evidently, susceptible to all the usual charm type things. It had just taken a male with a brain. Or maybe since it had been a while, her defenses were thin.
“I’d probably put a curse on you,” she said after a few moments. Looking over her shoulder, “This is all I want from this place. You want to see a few more shops?”
He nodded, and they checked out, Rebekah taking tactile pleasure in the quality tissue paper and embossed shopping bags their purchases were placed in. She had a small collection of such bags, and used them on occasion when she needed something a little nicer than a plain plastic grocery sack. The paper was of too good a quality – she hated just tossing it in the trash.
They went through a few more shops. Rebekah relaxed as they chatted
, finding him to be a witty, mannerly companion with a dry sense of humor and gentleness of speech. She probed into his past and family, more from insatiable curiosity than anything else. At times, he answered her readily enough, at other times he gently rebuffed her questions through subtle redirection. The little glimpses of steel, plus her memory of his passion the night before, warned Rebekah that no matter how mild mannered he appeared on the outside, he was still a Bear. And, evidently, from an area of the world where territory disputes were fierce, bloody and incessant. She’d be stupid to assume civility meant he was a pushover.
“Would you like lunch?” he asked after they’d been shopping for close to two hours.
“Sure.” She wasn’t hungry, but his shifter metabolism had to be spurring him right now. Liam packed away whole meals every few hours. “There’s a cafe around the corner that does grilled sandwiches and fancy salads.”
The walk was brief and once seated, he ordered a steak sandwich and Greek salad. Rebekah had soup and a hot mug of tea, more so that he wouldn’t feel the need to feed her while he ate.
“So you have five sisters,” she said, dumping a packet of crushed up crackers into her soup. “Asiane seems cool.”
She glanced up in time to see the flash of fire in his eyes, a literal glow indicating strong temper. Rebekah froze for a split second, then made herself relax. Never show fear in front of a predator.
“She’s okay,” he replied, unenthusiastically.
Rebekah blinked. Was this the same male who’d spoken with such fierce protectiveness about his sisters? “I didn’t talk to her long last night, but she seems like-”
“I don’t want to talk about Asiane.” His lip curled, a fang peeking out. “You’re with me.”
Oh. Oh. Rebekah controlled a blink and a grin, suddenly realizing what the issue was. He was jealous. Many shifters were pansexual and gender didn’t matter, so he must be wary that she was attracted to Asiane. On the heels of that thought, her stomach sank. Jealousy meant emotions – and this would be their only day together. He wouldn’t try and keep her after the day was over, would he? Rebekah frowned in her soup.
