"Oops. Sorry. I used to be better at that with jump rope. Guess I'm out of practice."
Meat grabbed my arm, shoving me to his side and a bit behind him. "What in the hell are you doing here?" he snarled, his eyes never leaving the circling men.
Was that a rhetorical question? Or did he really expect the long answer? I opted for short and blunt considering the situation. "Helping."
"Get out of here now!" He sidestepped around me, bumping me away from the knife-wielding man who lurched his direction.
"Oh. That's the man with the hairy mole on his arm!" The man frowned in my direction, his face pinching. "You really should get that checked on. Probably cancerous, you know. Eating away at your tissue and bones until there will be nothing left, and your arm will drop off, leaving you looking like a wingless chicken."
He growled at me, but I caught him trying to rotate that arm enough to see his elbow while trying to keep the knife steady at the same time.
"Women hate chicken men, you see. Too bony and not enough meat."
"Shy!" Meat hollered over his shoulder, distracting me from my ramblings.
"What?" I pivoted to keep pace with him.
"Leave! Now!"
"Nope. I'm not leaving you at the mercy of these idiots. Not when I can do something to even the odds. In fact, you might consider conjuring a weapon for me. Hmmm. Maybe a sword?"
He shuffled just enough so I could catch the expression on his face. Anger along with a healthy dose of weary acceptance. "You'll stab me or end up cutting off your own toes."
"Well, okay. How about a gun?"
"No." His eyebrows furrowed.
"Taser?"
A brief shake of his head gave me the answer.
"Well, drat. How am I supposed to defend your back with no weapon?"
"You aren't. Go now, or I swear…"
Meat grabbed for me. Both men took advantage of the distraction to jump in. I pounced for the man with the Taser, catching him in the groin with a quick kick. Meat reached around me for the other attacker, grabbed the man's wrist, then began to deliberately twist, keeping the knife pointed away from me the entire time.
Glancing up, I found Misha directly ahead about ten feet away, leaning against a pallet of wrapped up boxes, her nail care momentarily forgotten as she looked on.
Catching sight of the Taser as the man bent over, I lunged for the weapon. The man held tight, refusing to relinquish his tool. I stomped his toe and whapped him in the throat for good measure. His grip remained strong and unbreakable. Meat shoved me hard, sending me heavily into Taser man. We thumped hard on the floor and rolled, scrambling for possession of the Taser. A second later, we came to an abrupt halt. My finger hit the trigger, and I heard a yelp.
Misha toppled over.
Well, drat. I hate it when that happens. Well, not so much this time.
"Bitch!"
The guy pulled his fist back as he scrambled to his knees. I belly scooted, but not quick or far enough.
Just before his strike landed, Meat grabbed him by the shirt, yanked him up, and slammed him facefirst into the nearest crate. The guy bounced off, fell to the floor, and didn't move afterward.
I stood up, dusted my pants off, and took appraisal of the situation. Hairy mole lay in a crumpled mess. Taser man breathed, but didn't even flinch. Misha flipped back and forth from human to kitty at an amazing speed on the concrete floor.
"I so didn't need to see her naked."
Meat walked over. Blood soaked one arm, and he breathed heavily. Besides a thick layer of dust, some scrapes, and the wound, he appeared fairly intact.
His stern expression, however, gave me pause. Irritation was clearly written on his face. Directed at me, judging by his molten cobalt blue eyes.
I slinked over to Misha's side. Kneeling down, I waited a minute to make sure she picked a form to stick with in her switcheroo game before pulling her spotted cat head in my lap.
Meat's large feet stopped beside me. I didn't bother to look up as I repositioned Misha's head so she didn't drool down the front of my jeans. I didn't care for her drool to begin with, let alone down the crotch of my new favorite pink pair.
"Why in the hell didn't you do as you were told?" His quiet tone belied his angry body language.
"You… I…" I stopped and grappled for an answer.
Silence.
"I couldn't stand by and let you get hurt," I answered truthfully.
He squatted down until he met my gaze on an even level. The uninjured arm reached out to pull my chin up, not allowing me to look away. "You could have been killed. They could have used you as a pawn against me. Or you could have distracted me enough that they were able to strike a deadly blow." The words rumbled from his chest. "As it is, your interference got Misha tasered."
I squirmed under his intense gaze. "Couldn't have happened to a better person." The words slipped out, earning another growl that stood the hair on the back of my neck at full attention. "It's not like she was helping!" I immediately regretted my outburst.
He snarled and bore his white fangs. "Unlike you, she knows her place."
That hurt. We'd been through this before. More than once. I thought we had reached common ground and understanding on the issue. Partners. By his side, not hiding in his shadow.
Biting my lip, I whispered words straight from my heart. "I can't lose another man I love."
The silence ticked on as a myriad of emotions raced through his eyes and across his handsome face.
He released a tired sigh, stared at me a few more beats, then stepped over to pick up Misha who seemed to have stabilized well in her polka-dotted kitty form. If his injured arm pained him, I couldn't tell. He cradled her solidly as he turned back to me.
Standing up, I watched him, chewing my lip in nervousness.
"I… I'll just go home…" I stammered the words out.
He frowned down at me. "Oh, I don't think so."
"But…"
"No. We're taking her back to my house, then you and I are going to have a little talk."
"Oh, goody."
I didn't realize I mumbled it aloud until his lips pursed. "What was that?"
"Umm. I said…" What sounds like goody? Moody? No. Booty? Ummm. No. Woody? No, no, no. Think. Think. "I have… cooties."
His eyebrows shot up.
Good grief.
Head hanging, I stepped over to grab onto the waistband of his jeans, pulling myself against his hot body.
A low groan caught my attention. The two men lay unconscious, but alive. "What about them?" I nodded in their direction.
Meat's gaze flickered over. "They'll be picked up shortly."
I blinked. "Picked up? As in minions from Hell slinking out of the floor? Do they make creepy wailing noise when they arrive?"
He snorted in response.
No sooner had those words left my mouth than two rather large, burly men appeared out of thin air. They kept to the shadows, silently stalking ever so quickly toward their prey. Reaching out, each took a bad guy by the back of the shirt, gave a yank, and disappeared.
"Ohh. Now that was kinda scary."
"You think that was scary. Wait until we get home."
I'm in so much trouble.
Chapter 12
Two days later
Meat strode out from the side entrance to the stage, jogged down the steps, and headed straight for me. Earlier, he asked me to stop by the club, something about missing me and dinner plans. In 007-ese that meant he was hungry, horny, and wanted company. Luckily, the boys already had a sleepover planned with one of their friends from pre-school, so I didn't need to scramble for a babysitter at the last minute.
He wrapped an arm around me, pulling me close. "Thanks for coming." A kiss brushed the top of my head.
"You're welcome. Are you ready to go?" I leaned back to look him over. The crisp black silk shirt rubbed softly against his muscular chest. Matching black jeans molded to his lower body, outlining anything and everything, namely
that bulge that I knew for certain had nothing to do with a sock. The women at surrounding tables seemed to notice the same thing if their facial expressions and level of their gazes spoke true.
"Not quite yet. I have someone to meet for a few minutes." He grabbed my hand and pulled me through the masses to a small table in the back.
I stopped, stood flush against his side, as he introduced me to a middle-aged woman sitting by herself.
"Shyanne, this is Madam Stephanie. Madam, this is Shy."
I blinked, looking at the older lady. Dark hair pulled back in a bun set off a classically beautiful face, with angles and perfectly clear skin taut over high cheekbones. The deep blood red dress dropped demurely over her cleavage, hinting without being blatant. The pearl necklace and matching rings and bracelet shouted old money, probably lots of it. She might never walk the catwalk, but she possessed obvious sex appeal. In fact, I'd wager she could attract any man she chose, no matter his age. Her carriage and posture spoke of heaps of self-esteem laced with complete confidence. Probably nothing less than Armageddon could rattle her. I decided she could easily be a third grade teacher. The kids wouldn't dare mess with her. Too intimidated to take the risk.
She gestured to the vacant chairs. Meat and I dutifully sat down. A nearby waiter zipped over, handing a beer to Meat and a glass of dark liquid to the woman. I settled on bottled water.
Opening the cap of my water, I glanced across the table. "A madam?"
She took a small sip of her drink then softly explained. "My business cares for the needs of specialty clients."
Blinking, I looked at Meat, then back to her. "Huh?"
A brief grin crossed her face. "Tyger, you must be lacking in your duties to this young lady." She glanced my direction then pinned him with her gaze.
He snorted and lifted the beer to his lips.
Her attention returned to me. "Yes, dear. Clients with more… adventuresome desires seek me out."
"Adventuresome?" I sounded like a parrot.
Meat rolled his eyes, then set his bottle back on the table. "Think the very back corner of the scary store."
My eyes widened as comprehension hit. "Oh."
"Some clients need a bit more than simple vanilla." She sipped her drink and licked her lips.
Her stare made me squirm. The seconds of silence ticked by. A few more ticks and I finally broke. "I like vanilla. And chocolate for that matter. Especially when used as a topping to make a Meat Popsicle." Uh oh.
He flashed those dimples. "That's a start. And for dessert, maybe we need to stop by that scary store and find some toys?"
I choked and took a long drink, wishing my water bottle suddenly turned to ice so I could use it to whap the kitty upside his head. "Keep it up, and I will fill your thong with quarters next time you're on that stage."
His wicked smile only increased. Stephanie shook her head.
Her gaze flicked over my face as her expression softened with what appeared to be amusement. "Dear, if you ever become bored with this overgrown… puss"—she shot him a small grin—"consider looking me up."
"Not happening," Meat interjected low and deep.
Her eyebrows lifted in response.
He leaned forward to explain. "Her gate doesn't swing your way. Hell, I'm not sure her gate swings my way anymore."
I frowned at him. Jeez. Not our personal life! At the club, in front of a near stranger. "It's only been a week!"
"It's been too long," he replied, his face stoic.
Giving an undignified huff, I answered his challenge. "It was that time, then I got busy. Besides, you spanked me two days ago!"
"It was two measley swats, more like love taps. Which you rightfully deserved for endangering your life," he calmly retorted as he sipped his beer.
"To save your flea bitten hide!" I frowned at him, clutching my water bottle a bit harder. Stubborn hyena.
A burst of laughter interrupted. The madam smiled widely while swirling her drink. "Priceless." She looked at Meat with definite amusement.
"What is?" I glanced at her before returning to stare at my boyfriend.
"I never thought to see the day someone would actually argue with him."
"Why not?"
"Why indeed?" she answered quietly, looked at Meat once more, grinning at him knowingly.
I glanced from one to the other. "I'm lost."
Meat replaced his drink bottle on the table and ran one hand through his sable hair. "I'm an alpha."
As if that explained everything! Well, on second thought, maybe it did.
"Yeah, well…" I thought for a moment. "You put your undies on just like everyone else."
He snorted while the madam's eyes twinkled.
When no one commented, I took a long drink and attempted to pull up the thread of conversation. "My bottom stung for an entire day." I pouted to the best of my abilities.
Finally, a grin formed on his chiseled face. "I promised to kiss it."
I snorted and waved his direction. "Yeah. Kiss it then do a multitude of kinky things to it. I so don't think so."
His smile widened. "But the feel of your virgin…"
Gasping in embarrassment, I quickly slapped my hand over his mouth, muffling the remaining words. My face heated rapidly as I heard the woman titter. The Neanderthal licked my palm, earning his release. I watched him closely just in case he chose to try to finish his mortifying sentence.
In the background, the club's announcer began speaking, something about door prizes. I tuned him out, focusing instead on the conversation at hand.
"A little uptight?" Madam Stephanie asked Meat, her head inclining my direction.
Offended, I jumped right in. "I'm not uptight!" Giving both of them glares, I made a big example of sipping my water. "I'm merely… prudent."
My name carried loudly over the loud speaker. I twisted toward the stage. "What?"
The realization hit me. I won a door prize. I turned my attention back to the alpha tyrant at the table. "What did I win? A blender?" Eh, maybe not a blender. After all, it was ladies' night. That meant they had to have something better than that. What prize would a woman visiting the club really want and need? A woman like me?
"A pizza?" Neither party at my table answered, so I continued, "A massage? Oh, I know. A free sandwich!"
Meat's face shifted from twinkling eyes to full-blown laughter. The madam even joined in, her chuckle mirrored his.
"Shyanne McDaniel!" the announcer called once more.
I shot the two laughing clowns a glare before standing and waving. "I'm here! What did I win?"
The tall blond smirked when he saw me. He flashed Meat a wicked smile. "I take it you're back in the game?"
Meat nodded, still chuckling, sending the announcer a thumbs-up signal.
The DJ pulled the mic closer to his mouth. "So which dancer will Shyanne choose to be her date?"
Date? I obviously missed something important.
Women at nearby tables called out names, offering suggestions. But, in the end, Meat's cocky smile spurred my decision.
"Ducian!" Teach the Neanderthal to be haughty and laugh at me. I would simply go out on a date with the vampire instead.
A murmur went though the crowd. Ducky stepped on stage from his position along the sides. His eyes raked the crowd until he spotted me in the back. Only then did his devilish smile widen as those eyes twinkled with mischief.
Perplexed, I blinked at Ducky before returning my attention to Meat. "I don't get it. What exactly did I win?"
He laughed all the harder. The madam finally took pity on me. "Hun, you won the grand prize. The Threesome Fantasy."
"Threesome?" I squeaked.
Meat smiled widely at me. "Oh, yeah. You, me, and Dick of a Duck alone and naked for an entire weekend."
Sputtering, I half choked on my own spit.
"I'd wager after a night with you two, she'll no longer be… prudent." Stephanie grinned over her glass of brandy and winked at Meat.
; The smile remained on his face, although the laughter faded. Leaning forward, he quietly answered with a low rumble full of sensual promise. "Not to mention no longer… virginal. Maybe we do need to stop by that scary store after all."
Yikes!
Chapter 13
I snuggled into Meat's chest, absorbing his body heat along with the comforting scent of maleness. He tugged the cover snug. We sat on the couch, both nude and sated in our blanket laden cocoon. The deep lub-dub of his heart began to softly lull me into sleep.
After a romantic dinner that evening, he drove me to his home for some dessert. The ice cream never left the freezer as we made it no farther than the comfy, oversized sofa.
"Ewww." A snort came from across the room. "Worse than a harem of horny chimps."
Not willing to move from my comfortable position, I turned my head to glance at the offending beast. "Where's a flying house to squish evil witches when you need one?"
Meat rubbed his chin against the top of my head and gently swatted my rear under the covers. "Behave."
I yawned in response, keeping one eye on my nemesis, who dressed in a bright red outfit, including mini skirt, four inch spike heels, and a matching blouse with barely enough material to cover her expanded cleavage. All she needed was a sign that said, "Candy apple sex on a stick. Come and get it."
Her glare lifted and softened when she turned her attention to Meat. "I need your help."
He began a slow stroking along my back, not even budging from our haven. "Why?" He kissed my nose.
She huffed but plowed ahead. "I think I've discovered how to make the Talisman Stone work."
"Talk to my father. It's in his possession." Meat nuzzled my ear, fairly ignoring our visitor.
Her teeth ground as she crossed her arms over her chest. "He won't release it to me."
"So?" The word came out muffled against my throat as he nibbled his way along.
A loud tapping of a heel sounded across the room. "I need that relic. Don't you see? I've figured the mystery out. If he would just let me have it then I could…" She paused as if realizing where her train of thought led. Sucking in a breath, she redirected. "I need you to borrow it for me."
Species Interaction Page 9
