by Meg Ripley
Daniel looked back at her with a dumbfounded expression on his face.
"Lazar?"
"Yes. He's the good Alpha who has been trying to get a bloodthirsty pack away from his pack's lands."
"Lazar?" Daniel repeated.
"Yes," Ariel said emphatically.
"And he's a wolf?"
"When he shifts, yes."
"So, he's Lazar…the wolf."
Ariel chose to ignore the comment and turned the book over in her hands, staring down at the picture of the author on the back of the cover as Daniel sang "To Life" under his breath.
"He's so beautiful," she murmured.
"The wolf?" Daniel asked after a resounding L'chaim to finish out his song.
"The author," she said, tilting the book to Daniel so that he could look at the black and white picture on the cover.
Ariel had stared at that picture more times than she could count. Max Grimsley's dark eyes burned into her from the covers of more than a dozen books tucked on the bookshelf in her bedroom, and, though she wouldn't admit it, she often turned whatever book she was currently reading over on her nightstand so that she could look at his picture before going to sleep.
"Well, pretty soon you will be able to look at the real thing," Daniel said, a hint of teasing in his voice.
Ariel sighed, part of her hating how it made her feel to have a moony-eyed crush at her age while the other part loved the tingle through her body each time she read his name or saw his picture.
"I know. I can't wait."
She indulged the moony-eyed side by letting out an excited squeal. It had seemed like the months leading up to the convention were multiplying and sliding by with all the vim and vigor of a pot of day-old grits, but it was finally only a few days away. Max Grimsley would be there, signing copies of his books and giving a panel on fiction writing.
"So, which are you more excited about, having him sign your book, or getting the opportunity to yell at him for dangling you so precariously over his literary cliff?"
She had told people she was going primarily for the workshops that she hoped would further her own burgeoning writing career, but she knew she was going for him. The ache inside her when she looked at his picture was intense and she couldn't wait to be near him, even if it was only long enough for him to scrawl his name across the cover page of her book and flash her an obligatory smile. Even that may satiate her.
"We'll have to see how I feel in the moment," she said, taking another bite of her ice cream and letting the slowly melting vanilla ice cream and rich caramel swirl across her tongue.
****
"Where are we?" Daniel asked, scanning the already bustling auditorium.
"It's general seating. We’ll sit wherever we can get a seat," Ariel told him, gripping the hem at the back of his shirt to make sure she didn't lose him in the relative chaos of the convention’s opening day.
"So, run like hell is what you're telling me?"
"Yes."
Daniel took off running down the aisle, shoving past other attendees, and Ariel scurried after him, still holding onto his hem and sending up a prayer that Max Grimsley was not in the room at the time to see her completely undignified display of seat snagging.
"That felt vaguely unethical," Daniel panted as he dropped into one of the two remaining seats in the front row.
"But we got amazing seats."
"You are such a nerd," he muttered.
"I don't want to hear it, medieval history major."
Ariel shifted impatiently in her seat for the next half an hour waiting while others filtered in and filled the rest of the seats around them. There was an excited, electrified buzz through the room as people whispered and flipped through the books, brochures, and other swag tucked in their welcome bags. Daniel stared directly ahead at the empty stage and Ariel felt a wave of thankfulness roll over her. He would not be one to identify as part of the fandom, but he had come along with her so she wouldn't have to attend alone.
Silence moved through the room like a wave, settling people from the back forward and Ariel turned to the stage to see a silver-haired man approach the podium. There were a few scattered applause and Ariel knew most of the people didn't know who this man was, but she recognized him as Max Grimsley's agent. He smiled out at the crowd, watching them silently as if reveling in their anticipation. Finally, he started speaking.
"It's good to see so many fans out here today," he said, scanning the full seats. There were a few more claps and he chuckled, obviously accustomed to being the lackluster lead-in that few had any excitement to see, "I guess it's still a little early in the morning for enthusiasm."
"It's 9:30," Daniel whispered and Ariel shushed him.
"He's trying to break the ice."
"Consider me still frozen."
Ariel shushed him again and Daniel complied, sitting back sullenly and looking up at the speaker with an expression on his face that dared him to become charming and entertaining.
"I know that all of you are excited to get the convention underway and we are all just as excited to introduce our keynote speaker, who is also one of the panelists and will be signing books at this evening's literacy gala." Out of the corner of her eye Ariel could see Daniel cover his face with his hands and shake his head, but her heart was beating too hard from the nervousness rolling through her to pay attention to him, "How many of you have read his most recent book?"
There were shouts and cheers from the crowd and the agent looked pleased to have finally gotten a bit of a rise out of them. He grinned wider.
"Excellent. Well, there isn't really anything else for me to say other than let's welcome Max Grimsley."
He stepped aside and held out a hand dramatically. The green velvet curtains fluttered and a darkly clad form strode out onto the stage. Max stepped behind the podium and looked out over the crowd. His eyes swept the rows and then fell on Ariel, meeting her gaze and holding it intensely. There was a moment of strange, suspended stillness. Though the audience around her erupted in screams and applause, it was as though Ariel couldn't register the sound.
She didn't know how long they had been staring at each other when Max broke the connection, leaving her feeling slightly breathless and gripping the arms of her seats so hard her knuckles hurt. Daniel squeezed her thigh and she looked over at him. He lifted his eyebrows and she nodded, trying to smile but so taken aback by Max that she couldn't seem to control her expressions.
Max spoke with the reserved confidence and calm she had expected from him, never glancing down at his notes. Instead, he looked out over the audience and spoke as if he was just having a conversation. Every few moments his eyes fell back to Ariel and held her. Each time, his voice dropped slightly and he seemed to lean subtly forward. It made her breath catch in her throat and she wondered if she was just imagining the connection, if every woman in the audience was envisioning the same looks and cues.
The picture that had fueled countless fantasies had in no way done him justice. She had avoided looking up other pictures of him, contented by the sexy black and white picture that graced every book, his website, and the advertisements for every appearance he made. Now as he looked at her, his lips soft and full as he spoke, she wished she had put forth a little more effort.
His hair looked thick and silky as it fell just to his collar and the eyes she had expected to be dark were actually the color of her caramel sauce. She licked her lips when he glanced away from her, feeling her body respond exactly how she had anticipated it would. It was never a good idea to tempt a curvy girl with caramel.
****
"What exactly is a literary gala?" Daniel asked later as he walked beside Ariel down the distressingly cold hallway toward the elevator, pulling at his tie.
Ariel swatted his hands away from the knot and hooked her thumbs into the low bodice of her gown to adjust it.
"It's essentially a charity fundraiser to benefit literacy programs. We go, we eat, we buy books…"
"We seek out beautiful authors."
"Yes, and they donate the proceeds after the convention."
Daniel pressed the elevator button and sighed.
"It just seems strange to me that the same group of people who will happily parade around in loin cloths and steam punk alien saloon girl costumes during the day feel the need to put on formalwear at night to spend time with the exact same people."
"Steam punk alien saloon girls?" she asked incredulously.
"It's a thing. I saw it happen."
"It's not about the formalwear. It's about the money going toward literacy."
The elevator door opened and Ariel and Daniel stepped inside. When the door slid closed and she realized they were the only ones in the car, she turned her back to the small camera positioned judgmentally in the corner and reached down into her bodice to lift her breasts higher in the dress.
"That was classy," Daniel said when she turned back around.
"Thank you."
"Alright," Daniel said, stepping out of the elevator when the doors slid open and presenting his arm to her, "Let's do this."
Ariel took Daniel's arm and smiled at him as she let him guide her across the lobby toward the ballroom that had been set up for the gala. Music streamed from the open door and she could hear blended voices rising over the notes. As they stepped inside her eyes scanned across the room, taking in the elevated tables set up with appetizers around the perimeter, the bar on the far end, and the live band playing on the opposite side of the dancefloor.
At that moment, no one was dancing. Instead, those in attendance were a glitter and organza flock around several long tables laden with books. As soon as she saw them, Ariel's heart fluttered a little. Just seeing the books made her think of Max and remember that he was there, likely in the room although she couldn't see him. Daniel led her over to the books and she examined them carefully, trying to decide which to buy. She already owned nearly every title available and those she didn't have were by authors whose names she didn't recognize.
Ariel reached forward and picked up a copy of her favorite of Max's series.
"I thought you already had that one," Daniel said, poking at the books with one finger to sift through them in hopes of finding something that interested him.
"I do. I already have everything that he has written. This one, however, will be special. He's going to sign it."
Daniel finally picked up a book, skimmed over the cover copy, and gave a little sound like he was surprised he had found something appealing. When he looked up at her Ariel saw his eyes land on the book she held to her chest.
"Oh, lord. You're going to sleep with that thing under your pillow, aren't you?"
"Absolutely. If I can't have him in my bed, at least I can have his name there."
Daniel put his hand over his mouth to muffle a laugh and Ariel turned around. She hadn't been paying attention as she talked to Daniel and didn't realize that the crowd of people who were around the table choosing books were then walking directly from that table to the row of smaller, individual tables where the authors sat to sign the copies. Now she was standing at the first table, staring down at Max Grimsley.
He looked at her with the same focused intensity that he had at the keynote speech. She stumbled over her words, unable to come up with anything that could possibly make up for what he had just heard her say. Daniel gave her a gentle shove from behind, jolting her out of her humiliated trance. She handed the book to Max in a jerky movement and he took it from her slowly, letting the tips of his fingers graze hers as he pulled it from her hand.
"What's your name?" he asked softly, his voice as luscious as the caramel of his eyes, but low as though he only wanted her to hear him speak.
"Ariel," she managed to force out through the tightness of her throat.
"Ariel," he repeated, tasting the name on his tongue as he wrote in the front of the book, then closed it and held it out to her again, "It's very nice to meet you, Ariel."
"You, too," she nearly whispered back, taking the book from his hand.
She continued to stare at him, their eyes fused to each other as if they couldn't bear to look anywhere else. Finally, she felt Daniel's hand touch her lower back and gently push her away from the edge of the table so that the woman behind her could step up into place in front of Max.
"Oh my god, what just happened?" she asked when she got past all of the author tables and was standing in line to pay for her book.
She felt like she had stepped out of Max's orbit and could suddenly think straight again. Her face burned as she went over the interaction again, starting with him hearing her say that she wanted him in her bed. She covered her face with the book and let out a long, shuddering sigh.
"That's it, Daniel. I'm done. I'm going to die right here. Just roll me into one of the room service carts and let them recycle me."
Daniel took the book from her, paid for it, and handed it back to her, again guiding her away from the table and out onto the dancefloor.
"What would they make you into? A purse? A notebook? A tin can?"
The music swelled around them and Daniel's face lit up, he pulled her into his arms to dance.
"No, let's go back to the room," she said.
Daniel's hands dropped to his sides and he gaped at her in exasperation.
"Are you serious? That's it? We have gala-ed?"
Ariel stepped up close to him.
"Max Grimsley just heard me tell you that I am going to sleep with the signed copy of his book under my pillow because I don't have him in my bed. Then I just stared at him. I am not even entirely positive I spoke to him. I think that’s enough for one gala."
Daniel nodded and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. They walked out of the room together, but when Ariel turned back, she saw Max staring at her from his table, the look in his eyes intense and thrilling in a way that she couldn't explain.
****
"I still can't believe that I just stood there. I've been thinking about that moment for months and I just --- and you're asleep."
Ariel stopped rubbing her wet hair with the towel and stared at Daniel, who was sprawled across one of the beds still in his suit, snoring. She sighed and yanked his shoes off, tossing them into the closet so he didn't trip on them in the middle of the night when he inevitably woke up and shuffled off to the bathroom.
She glanced at the clock and realized it was only eleven o'clock. Daniel’s finals might have sucked the life out of him, but Ariel wasn't ready to go to bed yet. She saw the book on the nightstand and picked it up, flipping it open for the first time to see the inscription Max had written.
You are beautiful. Max Grimsley.
Ariel's breath caught in her throat. Even more restless now, she dressed as quickly as she could, put on more makeup despite having just washed it all off in the shower, and headed down to the hotel lounge. She had only taken a few steps in when she saw Max sitting at the bar, staring down at his drink contemplatively.
She drew in a deep breath, taking a moment just to appreciate the curve of his body beneath his dark clothing. This was her chance to fix the awkwardness of their first encounter, even though she dreaded even getting near him for fear of how she would react. Today had not been a stellar day for her self-control.
Ariel took an arced path to approach him so that she came up behind him rather to his side. This gave her a few more seconds to come up with what she wanted to say to him. His back rose and fell, the broad muscles across his shoulders shifting beneath the black fabric of his shirt making her mind wander back to tucking the book with his name inside under her pillow and the alternative she had suggested to Daniel. Max suddenly straightened as if she had spoken and turned to her. His eyes caught hers and she saw his lips part slightly.
"Thank you for signing my book," she said, forcing out the only words she could come up with under the entrancing power of his stare.
"Of course," he said back, "Would you like to join me?"
Ariel
nodded and went to step toward the barstool beside him, but Max stood up and took a step away from the bar.
"Not here?" she asked and he shook his head.
"Come for a walk with me."
Max started for the door to the bar and Ariel followed, intrigued and slightly overwhelmed by what was happening. They stepped outside into the crisp air of an autumn evening and walked in silence away from the hotel until they reached a black gate.
"What's this?" she asked and Max pulled a card-shaped key out of his pocket.
"My private beach," he replied, opening the gate and stepping aside so that she could walk past him, "It's connected to my suite and for some reason the hotel decided they needed to treat it like a convict and close it away from everyone else."
Ariel watched him close the gate behind himself and come toward her. A shiver rippled across her arms and she rubbed them.
"I'll never understand why they host these conventions at beaches during the cold weather."
"No tourists to get in the way?" he offered. There was a pause and he tilted his head down slightly. "I hope I didn't get you into any trouble with your boyfriend."
"Who?" she asked, confused.
"The man that was with you at the gala."
Ariel laughed.
"That's Daniel. He's most certainly not my boyfriend."
"I'm glad to hear that."
Her breath grew more shallow as she saw Max coming toward her.
"Why would you get me into trouble?" she asked quietly.
"My inscription. I felt a little silly writing that, but I couldn't bring myself to say it to you, even though I had been thinking it since the moment I saw you at my speech."
By this point he was only a few feet away and Ariel could see the luscious color of his eyes and the plush softness of his lips. She took a breath to try to settle her trembling. Her body felt drawn to him in a way that she had never experienced. It was as though it knew something that she didn't.
