by Amelia Jade
“Interesting.”
Hector paused. “You…do like ice cream, don’t you?”
Rachel considered teasing him, pretending like that she didn’t, or maybe that she couldn’t due to an allergy or something. It was so very tempting, but he’d obviously been rather concerned about where to take her, and had decided to share something that was special to him. The least she could do was respect that.
“Absolutely,” she reassured him, squeezing his arm. “I love ice cream. I’ve never tried this particular place,” she glanced at the name. “Chilled Slab?”
“Yeah,” he said eagerly, pulling her along gently in his wake. “You pick your ice cream, and then any mixings you want, and they mix it all together on this super-chilled slab of like marble or something, to keep the ice cream cool. It’s amazing. You can get anything you want in there. Marshmallow, cookies, almonds, fruit, sprinkles. You name it, they can put it in as a topping!”
Hector’s enthusiasm was infectious. Rachel couldn’t help but grinning along with him as they headed inside. She’d never tried an ice cream place like this before, but it sounded interesting.
“Wow, that’s a lot of toppings.”
She could have sworn Hector bounced a little as they entered. The store itself wasn’t overly large. Tables occupied the immediate left and right of the door. Along the left-hand wall were some freezers containing what looked like ice cream cakes, pre-made pints, and the like. To her right was the prep station, with numerous buckets of ice cream flavors to choose from. Above that, a foot or two over Hector’s head, was a line of containers showing all the mixings one could choose from. It started against the wall, came out and around, following the length of the preparation station, then curved out into the middle of the store and finally ended on the far wall, forming a sloppy S-shape.
“Forty-nine different choices,” the employee nearest to them said by way of greeting. “Not including any of the fruit options.”
“Hector,” she said with a laugh. “There is no way I’m going to be able to choose. This is just way too many options!”
The shifter laughed and pointed to some signs nearby on the top of the glass that covered the ice cream. “You can always try some of the pre-mades, see how those work for you?”
“Oh, perfect,” she said in genuine relief. Decision-making like this was not one of her strong suits.
“I take it I should never really ask you where you want to go for dinner then?”
She looked at him in overexaggerated horror. “Please, no. It’s a nightmare. I’ll shoot down nine out of every ten suggestions, but don’t ask me to choose, please.”
He frowned. “You’re very self-aware of how that works.”
“It’s a blessing and a curse, trust me.”
“I, do,” he said haltingly. “It’s probably both a blessing and a curse for me too,” he joked. “Because I know you’ll know all along that you know what you’re doing, but you’re going to do it anyway.”
She grinned. “You get it!”
“Unfortunately.”
They both shared a laugh and then placed their order. Hector ordered something called birthday cake-flavored ice cream with marshmallow, crushed-up chocolate wafer cookies, and chocolate chips. It looked good. Rachel chose a random flavor and ended up with something resembling a s’more cookie, with chocolate chips, graham crackers, and the same birthday cake-flavored ice cream.
“This is unreal,” she said as Hector paid and they walked out of the store, the shifter pausing in his eating to hold the door for her.
“I’m glad you can appreciate the magnificence of Chilled Slab,” he said.
“I can. Thank you so much for taking me,” she said, remembering her manners just in time.
“Thank you for coming.”
She smiled and kept digging into the ice cream. Not being a major fan of cones, she’d gotten it in a cup, and the little spoon worked frantically to shovel it into her mouth before it started to melt and drip down the sides. They’d overpacked it by a good amount, though she wasn’t going to complain about it.
“So,” she asked. “Where to next?”
Chapter Six
Hector
He smiled. So far, so good. She wanted to do something else with him, which was all he could ask for.
“Well, I thought we might go walk all around town before heading to the gym.”
Rachel came to an abrupt halt, peering up at him. A hand clenched into a fist came up and rapped gently on his skull.
“What’s that for?” he asked with a laugh.
“Just checking to see if you’re still home, or if you’d forgotten about my condition,” she said.
“I see. Sorry to disappoint, but I’m still here.”
“Shucks. But seriously, where are we going?”
“Nowhere for the moment. We’re going to sit on this beautiful bench here,” he said, pointing to one of the benches placed every so often along the street side. “Then we’re going to enjoy our ice cream.”
Rachel tried to get more out of him, but he stuck to his word. The two of them sat on the bench and dug in with gusto.
“Ahh.”
He blinked and looked over at Rachel. Her cup was empty. Blinking some more he looked at his own, the same size, which still had two or three scoops to go.
“How the…”
The human woman grinned up at him. “A lady never reveals her secrets.”
He shook his head. “You women are little, but fierce in many ways. Like when you walk. I tower over you, but sometimes I’ll be going along at a good clip, and this little miniature human will just come zipping by me at an unbelievable pace. I don’t understand how it is possible. Defies the laws of physics.”
Rachel just laughed. “That’s never been my style, but I know what you mean!”
“It’s most frustrating to the male ego,” he said sourly, shaking his head.
This just brought forth more laughter from his date, but he didn’t care. The sound of Rachel laughing was the sweetest thing he’d heard in a long time. So casual and relaxed, a rich, melodic sound that made it clear to everyone she was feeling joyful.
A van pulled to a halt in front of them, and Hector was forced to scarf the rest of his ice cream down before they got in.
“I recognize you,” Rachel said to the driver.
“Rachel, this is Gray and Kelly, his mate. Everyone, this is Rachel, my date.” He almost stumbled over the word “date.” His heart, soul, and animal all wanted to use the word “mate,” but he knew that he couldn’t refer to her like that. Rachel wasn’t ready to hear that sort of thing from him. Not yet at least. Based on the ease with which tonight was going, his hopes were rising though.
As were the clamors from his bear. It had gone berserk from the first moment that Rachel had linked her arm through his, initiating that constant skin-on-skin contact that every male so desperately craved, and yet was unwilling to admit that they needed. Egos and machismo and all. But Hector had felt it from that moment, and his bear had amplified the notion. There was absolutely no doubt in his mind that she was the one for him.
If she was a shifter, that would have been that. Their animals would know each other, and there would be no more dancing around the subject. They could say it, get it out in the open, and begin to have some fun.
Rachel wasn’t a shifter though, and so he had to proceed differently. Carefully. She was human, and it would take some time for her to become affected by the bond between them. It could be as little as a few days stretching up to weeks or even a month or more. There was no way to tell, and until she came to the realization herself that they were meant to be, there was no point in pushing the matter and perhaps scaring her away.
“Where are we going?” Rachel asked as she got seated and drew the seatbelt carefully around her swollen midsection before buckling it in.
“You want me to spoil the surprise already?” he asked, pretending to be upset over it.
“Oh my
goodness. Put that thing away,” she laughed, swatting gently at his pouting face.
He grinned. “Of course. But you’re still not finding out where we’re going.”
Rachel gave him a soft glare as Gray carefully pulled the vehicle out into traffic. He watched as she looked around, and then realized what it was that was different.
“He’s a shifter, isn’t he?” she asked, her voice tinged with surprise.
“That he is.”
“But…but he’s driving. I’ve never met a shifter who could drive before.”
Hector shrugged. “Gray is a weirdo.”
“Amen to that,” Kelly said from the front passenger seat.
Gray just focused on the road, not quite comfortable in his driving skills to engage in playful banter and guide them through the roads of Cloud Lake. Eventually they pulled into a parking lot where Gray let them all out near the building before parking in the back. Away from other vehicles.
“So, what’s this place?” both of the women asked at the same time as Gray returned.
“This,” Hector said, letting the anticipation build as he showed them toward the side entrance.
The women looked at him expectantly.
“Is a surprise.” He pulled the door open amid paired groans from the two of them.
“What kind of surprise?”
“The best kind,” Gray said. “A friend suggested it, and we both thought it sounded perfect.”
Hector noted the way the two women looked at each other, already comfortable with one another despite having just met.
That could be trouble.
“Hello.”
The four of them turned to see several women of varying ages approaching. The one who had spoken in heavily accented English smiled at them.
“Hello, my name is Hector, and this is Gray,” he said. “We have appointments.”
“Oh yes, of course, sir. You come with me,” one of them said, pointing at Hector, while another pointed at Gray.
“What? Where are we going?” Rachel asked as he tugged her along to a rubber mat on the floor. They both doffed their shoes there and then followed the woman back into the building.
“Just trust me. You’re going to enjoy this.”
“We’ll see.” But there was nothing to indicate she was being serious in her tone.
The woman ushered them into a room. The lighting was dull, and it wasn’t overly large. A metal divider cut the room in half. Each side had three hooks and a little cubby built into the wall. One hook on either side had a large white robe on it.
“What am I supposed to do now?” she asked as the attendant closed the door behind them.
“Strip down and get into the robe,” he said, getting behind the divider to give her privacy.
“Seriously?”
“Seriously.”
Rachel didn’t say anything, but he could practically feel the frown of confusion directed his way.
A minute later, clad in the thick, luxurious robes, they exited the room and followed the attendant to another room. Two large tables occupied the center of it. The barest hint of incense filled the room, as did the soft swirls of music designed to mimic nature. Gentle chimes and woodwind instruments in perfect harmony made for an instantly relaxing atmosphere.
“Wait, are we getting a couple’s massage?” Rachel asked, suddenly clueing in.
“If that’s okay with you?” he said with a smile. “We made sure ahead of time that they were well aware of both your and Kelly’s state, and they said it wasn’t a problem at all, they had people trained specifically for that.”
“What is this place?”
“No idea the name to be honest with you. But our friend Andrew has been here before, and he highly recommended it when he found out we were considering a double date.”
Rachel gave him a long look. “You’re an interesting man, Hector…” she frowned. “What is your last name?”
“That’s not something that comes freely,” he said with a sly smile.
“What’s it going to cost me?” she asked, folding her arms on top of her belly.
“A simple trade.”
“For what?” Her eyes narrowed.
“Your last name.”
Rachel seemed to consider it for a moment. “Bargained well and done.” She stuck out a hand.
He laughed and shook it.
“Gorchan,” he said. “Hector Gorchan.”
Rachel repeated it several times.
“I know, it’s kind of weird.”
“A little, but it’s no big deal,” she said reassuringly. “My last name is Tahler.”
“Tah-lur,” he said, accentuating the sounds.
“Not so slowly please. You make me sound like a redneck.”
Hector laughed, and at the same instant the door opened again and two women came in. They directed the pair to slide under the sheets and disrobe. This happened while each of the attendants held up the sheet to cover them. It was a little weird, but Hector just did as he was told. Moments later he found himself lying on his stomach. His head turned to regard Rachel who was on her side facing him.
“I’ve never had a massage with another person before,” she said.
Then the masseuse dug her hands into Rachel’s back and her face went slack.
Hector smiled and started to say something, but strong fingers ran along the sides of his spine and he fell silent too, only barely stopping himself from letting out a long groan.
“I think I could get used to this,” he said after a minute.
Then the pair of them relaxed into it, and very little was said.
***
“That was such an amazing date,” Rachel said as they approached her front door, gravel crunching underfoot.
“I’m going to be completely honest with you,” he said, “because that went way better than I imagined.”
Rachel giggled and nodded. “Me too. I didn’t expect it to go badly mind you, but it certainly was far more wonderful than I could have hoped for.”
“I’m glad,” he said, stopping as they reached her doorway. Then, summoning up his courage as she reached into her purse for her keys, he spoke again. “Would you like to do it again?”
There was a moment of pause in the air as Rachel digested his words.
“Yes,” she said quietly, pausing in her search to look up at him. “Yes I would like that a lot.”
Hector managed to keep himself from pumping a fist in happiness, but it was a near thing. Rachel continued to try and find her keys while he stood there. A sudden thought came to him.
Am I supposed to try and kiss her? Is that what’s going on? Is that why she’s having so much trouble finding her keys?
His throat suddenly went dry. Hector wasn’t sure if that was the case, or if she truly was having a hard time finding them. What he did know, was that he very badly wished to kiss her. She had soft, active lips that always seemed to be moving to match the rest of her face, very expressive and lively.
Kissable, in fact.
Forcing himself to swallow around the lump in his throat, he moved closer.
“Having trouble?” he asked, wondering if it sounded as idiotic to her as it did to him.
“Uh, no, they’re just caught on something,” Rachel said, distracted.
Then she seemed to suddenly clue in to his closeness and the noise in her purse died as she slowly turned to face him. The air between them grew thick and heavy, making every action seem like he was trying to do it through water.
“I see,” he said, licking his lips nervously.
“Mm-hmm,” Rachel said, her mouth hanging just slightly open as she stared up at him.
He reached out and ran his fingers through her short soft pink hair before he could stop to think about it.
Rachel hissed and inhaled sharply at his touch, but she didn’t move away. If anything she swayed a little closer to him.
That was it. That was the opening he was looking for. Hector fortified his will and
leaned in, while at the same time cupping the back of her head and pulling her gently toward him. Not hard enough to force her if she didn’t want to, and his hand remained ready to give way if she resisted.
But neither happened, and his lips covered hers without further thought. The shockwave that blasted through his body as they touched was completely unexpected, a rush of energy and electricity that seemed to bring every nerve ending to high alert. Rachel’s arms came up and wrapped around him, and he was suddenly acutely aware of each fingertip as they dug into his back muscle.
The warmth of air as it rushed out her nose while she melted into his embrace, a soft whimper or moan of delight escaping her throat, it all was amplified by his senses. It went on and on. At one point he split her lips with his tongue and felt the soft wet warmth of her mouth. That was enough to awaken his bear, and suddenly Hector knew he needed to pull back. Not because he wanted to, but because if he didn’t stop soon, he wouldn’t be able to.
So as gently as he could, he leaned away from her, breathing in deeply from the effort.
Rachel didn’t seem to object. As he watched she lifted a hand to her lips, touching them briefly, then her leafy, forest-green eyes widened as they looked up at him.
“Oh.” That was all she said, but it was enough.
“Yeah,” he agreed. “Um, I should go now.”
“Okay.” She didn’t object, but she didn’t sound happy about it either.
“I’ll call you. We’ll set something up,” he breathed, his voice barely audible.
“Okay.” Rachel didn’t seem coherent enough to say anything more, not that he blamed her. Speaking in sentences was tough for him right then.
“Uh, bye.”
Hector would love to be able to say that he left calm and relaxed.
It would have been a lie.
He fled. Long strides carried him down to the gravel roadway, where he managed to wait until she got inside. Then he ran away. Quite literally. His feet pounded the ground as his superhuman strength accelerated him up to speeds no human could match, not even at a sprint. Gravel flew behind him in a little spray, marking his passageway.
Hector didn’t care. He approached the street that marked the unofficial outskirts of Cloud Lake, with houses on one side, and the complex of buildings belonging to the former Institute women on the other. A car was traveling along the road, but that didn’t slow Hector down. He simply jumped. With a big whoop of excitement and happiness he cleared the car and the road in a single bound and landed at a run, not bothering to slow down.
