“Oh. Okay.” Morgan said. She was quiet for another long moment before speaking again. “Are there going to be a lot of people there? Your family?”
“No, maybe. Well,” Adrien paused, thinking how to best answer her question. “I don’t know how many people will be there. And they are…friends,” he finally decided on, “Close friends.”
“Should be easy then, right?” She looked at him then and he could feel the weight of her green eyed gaze.
“Easy?”
“Yeah. You know, to convince them. Since they’re not family.”
“Oh, right.” Adrien swallowed, remembering suddenly the point of all of the lies and pretending. “Damn, I hope so.”
The rest of the drive was made in silence again, neither of them felling like talking, both lost in their own thoughts but finally he pulled up to the large pine sided building and rolled to stop.
“Well, we’re here.” He said, but neither of them made a move to get out of the Jeep. A thought struck him then. “Oh, wait. I have something for you!” He said, and reached over her to rummage in the glove compartment. He tried to ignore the softness of her skin where he accidentally brushed against her, or the way her smell invaded his senses, threatening to overwhelm him but it was a challenge.
“What is it?” She finally said with a curious glance as he pulled out a small brown paper bag.
“Just hold on to your horses, Morgan Fevereau.” She snorted delicately at his words, but did as he asked and waited, albeit impatiently, as he took the small, velvet lined box out of the bag. Slowly, he opened it up and he heard the sound of her gasp echo through him as he took out the ring and held it out to her.
“Oh my god, Adrien. It’s beautiful.”
He stared deeply into her gorgeous eyes, trapping them with his own. “Morgan Fevereau, will you pretend marry me?”
She stared back for a long moment, and he felt something deep and unexpected shifting through him at the warmth in her gaze.
“Adrien Black, I will.” She finally said, her words soft in the evening air and he was surprised to find he had to still the trembling in his fingers as he slid the large emerald ring onto her finger. He knew it was just pretend, he knew it was all fake, but in that moment there was something that felt so real to him it almost took his breath away.
“Come on. Let’s get this over with.” Morgan said with a deep breath and Adrien was brought back to his senses with a thump. Together they climbed out of the car and Adrien walked around with the intent to open her door for her, but she was too quick for him.
They stared at each other for another long moment, the tension so heavy between them he could have cut it with a butter knife. There was something different about her, about them, and he couldn’t figure out what. But all he could think of was kissing her and he knew that wouldn’t help anything.
They had a long dinner of questions and interrogation ahead of them but hopefully they would be able to leave early and pretend none of this pretend crap ever happened. He remembered their shared kiss from the night before, the passion that had exploded like a wildfire between them and that he could still feel burning through his veins just from looking at her. Maybe, after all of this was over, he would ask her out on a real date.
He jumped as he felt her fingers wrap around his own and he stared at her wide eyed.
“Well, we’re supposed to be engaged, right? Happy, in love, blah blah?” She shrugged off his look but he could see the tell tale sign as the heat tinged her cheeks a sweet peachy pink color that made him want to kiss all the more.
Holding hands, they walked around to the front door and together, strode through. They immediately stopped as a wave of noise hit them. Adrien stared around in shock and he could feel Morgan’s sudden panic by the death grip she had on his hand.
There must have been fifty bears in there at least. Well, not in bear form, thank god for that. Although he wouldn’t put it past some of them. He knew some shifters that were more beast than man.
Every eye turned towards them as they entered and a tense quiet slowly fell over the crowd as they noticed them. From nowhere Harris appeared, a false grin pasted on his face as he wedged himself in between the couple. He shot Adrien a look of malicious triumph as he gestured to Adrien, and then the waiting clan.
“Everyone, shut up! I have an announcement to make!” Harris’ gruff growl echoed through the large room and soon complete silence fell, all attention focused on them where they still stood in the doorway. Adrien’s stomach sank with every word as Harris continued.
“Everyone, I would like to introduce you to Adrien Black and his new fiancé…” Harris’ grin turned black as sin and Adrien’s panic grew. “and his new fiancé, my daughter, Sera!”
Chapter 1
Adrien felt the wave of shock ricochet through him as Harris’ words echoed like nuclear bombs exploding across his thoughts. Wait a damn minute! His fiancé, Sera? He caught Morgan’s wide eyed look and shook his head slightly. He didn’t know what the hell was going on either, but he damned well would soon enough.
Temper coiled through him like a rattlesnake about to strike and he tried to hold it down, but one look at old Harris’ smug face and he just couldn’t hold back the words.
“What the hell do you mean by that?” Adrien said loud enough for everyone in the lodge to hear and a tense silence fell as every eye remained locked on them, still standing just inside the doorway. Harris looked at him with mock innocence drawn across his haggard face, looking so out of place Adrien might have laughed if the whole situation wasn’t so messed up.
“What are you talking about, sweetheart?” Sera’s voice landed sickly sweet to his left and he could feel her steel grasp wrap around his forearm. He tried to shake her off but she wouldn’t budge.
“You are not my fiancé.” Adrien directed at Sera, and then out at the still riveted crowd. “She is not my fiancé.” He tried to laugh but it sounded more like a sob even to him. Finally, he was able to dislodge her claws and practically ran to Morgan’s side, having to dodge Harris’ attempts to block his path. He threw his arms around her and held her tight. “This is my fiancé, Morgan.” Adrien attempted a smile but knew anyone looking close enough would see it was really just a bearing of teeth.
Silence still rang across the lodge and he could have heard a pin drop as they all turned their questioning gaze toward Morgan. Adrien could feel her grow stiffer and stiffer in his arms and he was afraid she might shatter then and there. He couldn’t let that happen. A shot of real worry ran through him at the dark look Harris was shooting at him. What the hell was that crafty old bear up to? Just then, Harris opened his mouth.
“Don’t be ridiculous, Adrien, of course–.”
“Of course, Morgan is wonderful, isn’t she? We are so much in love and can’t wait to be married. What a joke, you old…jokester, you.” Adrien basically yelled over Harris’ words, not even giving him a chance to get a word in edge wise before he was dragging Morgan over to one of the long tables already set full of delicious smelling food that turned his stomach at the thought of eating.
Harris was glaring bloody murder at him now, and Sera was left standing pouting so hard he was sure she must practice the awful expression at least once a day in the mirror. He wouldn’t put it past her. Adrien laughed, forced and loud, and poked Morgan in the ribs with his elbow until she joined in with him, even though the whole time she was sending him a look with those big, green eyes of hers that there would be hell to pay later.
That was fine with him, as long as he didn’t end the night having to call Harris Demarion his father in law. He shuddered at the thought. It was almost worse than the thought of spending the rest of his days with Sera. A more selfish, petty, all around terrible bear or person he had never met. But he had seen the calculating look in their eyes and he knew they were up to something. He just wished to all that was holy that he knew what it was.
Because the truth was, bears mated for life. The choosing cer
emony made certain of that. The ceremony itself was simple and ancient, but it tied two life forces together in a way that was indelible and forever. He glanced over at the still pouting Sera and shuddered again. Her bug eyed stare made the expression that much more unappealing. He would do almost anything to avoid that awful fate.
A tug at his elbow had him glancing down and he was instantly lost in Morgan’s gaze as she stared up at him, her eyes were glimmering like emeralds in the flickering light of the massive fireplace at one end of the lodge. Pissed off emeralds.
“Adrien, what the hell?” She hissed the words at him, low enough that no one else around them heard. He shook himself, still drowning in her gaze, trying to find himself again but it was almost impossible when he was standing so close to her. He could smell her scent, trace every freckle that was scattered across her nose like tiny grains of sand. He could see the hot red blush rising in her cheeks as they gazed at each other for another long moment.
A throat clearing behind him had him whipping around, freed at last, and grabbed a hold of Morgan’s hand. Partly to keep her from fleeing, but mostly because he needed the solid feel of her skin next to his. The way she twined her delicate fingers through his made his breath hitch but as he came face to face with Elias Fisher, Grant’s father, the sweetness faded and something akin to dread replaced it.
“Adrien, my boy, I suppose congratulations are in order.” It wasn’t quite a question but the suggestion of it was there in the older, kindly bear’s intonation. Adrien had basically grown up in the Fisher household. Had spent countless dinners when his father had been too busy or too distracted by his position as clan leader to be bothered with such trivial things as caring for his son.
Adrien shook the thought off, surprised that he could still feel bitter after all of these years. He looked up and realized Elias was still waiting for an answer. He just wished he knew which one to give.
“Uh, yes, sir. I guess they are,” Adrien smiled, but he could feel how brittle it was as he pulled Morgan close and introduced her. “This is Morgan Fevereau, my fiancé.”
“Hmm. Grant never mentioned anything about a fiancé. Or a girlfriend for that matter,” Elias said, his dark brown eyes, so much like his sons, staring at him like he knew every secret he’d ever kept, and would keep them. The older bear turned to Morgan and his face lit with a genuine, warm smile as he took her free hand. It instantly put Morgan at ease and she was grinning back before she even realized it. It was one of the many qualities he admired about Mr. Fisher. He was one of the kindest people Adrien knew.
“It is an absolute pleasure to meet the woman who could finally put up with our Adrien.” Elias said with a laugh, with a sidelong look towards him that said he wasn’t completely joking.
Morgan sent him an almost identical look and he would have laughed if he could have choked it out of his constricted throat but simple sentences were all but beyond him now. All he wanted to do was make it through this disastrous dinner so his life could go back to normal. He glanced at Morgan, glowing with humor as Elias started recounted embarrassing tales of his childhood, but he couldn’t make himself care. It was worth it to see that look on her gorgeous face. Well, almost normal anyways.
Now that he knew the chemistry simmering between them, he wouldn’t let her go without seeing exactly were it led. And he desperately hoped it was straight to his king sized bed, preferably without a scrap of clothes on. The thought alone conjured images in his mind and all he could see was her. Her soft skin sliding against his, her lithe, curvy body wrapped so tightly around him that he couldn’t tell where one of the started and the other stopped.
Adrien could feel his body tighten painfully but he couldn’t banish the images, and they coming one after another, tormenting him. There was a moment of silence and he looked down to find both Elias and Morgan staring at him. It took him a moment more to realize he had been growling, low and deep, rumbling out of his chest and he hadn’t even been aware.
Heat flashed through him and he cleared his throat, looking away to try and regains some semblance of control over himself.
“So, uh, I guess we should take our seats.” Adrien said hastily, gesturing at everyone who was already crammed at the two long bench style tables and waiting for them to dig in. The thought of food had his stomach rolling again, but he needed a distraction. He mentally shook his head at himself, what was wrong with him? He never acted like that, so out of control. He had been ready to throw her over his shoulder and not stop until he reached his apartment, or the car, or any soft patch of grass really. There was something about Morgan that just made him lose his head, and he reprimanded himself.
Here he was worried that someone else would slip up and give away the secret of their identities, and he went and just about did the job himself. It was hard enough trying to maintain the façade of fake fiancé, he really didn’t need to throw have to explain that he was basically half bear in to the mix.
Adrien could just see that going over real well. ‘Oh, Morgan, by the way, now that we are fake engaged, I just thought I should let you know that I am from an ancient race of people that lived off the land, and can transform into a bear at will. There are some other really fun things that come along with it, like primal instincts and the need to run wild in the forest. Oh yeah, and we hunt sometimes too, and mate for life.’ Adrien snorted. Yeah, right.
Finally, they took their seats at the head of one of the tables, avoiding Harris who was back sitting on that ridiculous wooden throne and looking black murder at anyone who tried to glance his way. Adrien tried to avoid him at all cost. Just a few more desperately uncomfortable hours and this whole fiasco would be over.
Adrien could feel other gazes on him and he tried to ignore those as well, although less successfully. These were his people, his tribe, even though he hadn’t been a part of it in almost ten years. Not since the night of his father’s tragic death had he been surrounded by the other members of the Long Pines tribe and it had his hackles rising despite the different circumstances.
There was a tension hanging heavy over every single one of them. He could see it in the shifting glances, the tightness in the way they were sitting. There was barely any conversation as the food started to be passed and plates were filled. Adrien caught a few snippets and what he heard made his skin crawl.
Another young girl had been found near Kingstown, right on the border. She had been mauled to death by a wild animal, the examiner said from a black bear. The last tragedy in a long line of vicious animal attacks. But it shouldn’t be. Adrien knew there where no black bears in the area. Well, except for the ones in this room, or the ones from surrounding tribes.
He wanted to howl as he overheard the gruesome details despite his attempts not to listen. Morgan made it impossible.
“Did you see that on the news, Adrien? What they are all talking about?” She whispered the question in his ear and he wanted to forget everything but the way it felt to have her sweet breath wash over his skin. But her words made that impossible. With a sinking feeling in his stomach he glanced around the room, full of other bears.
“No, not the most recent attack.” He finally said, shaking his head sadly. “Hopefully, they’ll catch the animal that’s doing it. He is obviously out of his mind.”
“He?” She asked, looking at him curiously.
“Well, it’s just a guess. Could be a female, I suppose. What would I know about bears?” Adrien laughed uncomfortably and really did groan when she cast him a look that said he was acting like a crazy person. He knew. It was her fault.
Adrien clung to that thought through out the meal, even though he knew it wasn’t really true. It wasn’t his fault either. It was Harris’ and his spawn, Sera. He snuck a glance over at them and panic shot through him as they stood with their heads together. Adrien watched, his heart dropping into the pit of his stomach as a victorious smile spread across his face. It was an impossible expression, that smile. And it instantly filled Adrien with a sen
se of foreboding he couldn’t shake all through dessert.
He glanced at his watch and signed in relief. It was almost over. Just a few more minutes and then he could excuse them, make up some reason they needed to get back early, and get hell out of dodge before he had a freaking heart attack. Adrien wiped his sweat covered palms on the legs of his charcoal slacks and reached for Morgan’s hand.
“Hey, I think it’s about time to–.”
“You’re not leaving already, are you?” Harris voice rode right over his own and he watched Morgan’s hopeful look turn into annoyance as the tribe leader stepped in and gestured for Adrien to join him a few feet away. But Morgan didn’t understand. Centuries old instinct had him instantly obliging the older man, despite the dread solidifying into all out fear in his gut.
“Everyone, shut up! I have one last announcement to make!” Harris yelled across the lodge and everyone instantly quieted. Adrien saw it in their expressions, then. The distaste, the restlessness and the resentment. Harris was hanging onto this tribe by a thread and if he didn’t do something fast he would lose all control.
“My final announcement,” Harris said, moderating his tone. Even he wasn’t stupid enough to completely alienate his own people. “I can see there is truly something special between Adrien and his…Morgan,” her name was ground out and Adrien held his breath as her brows shot up. She wasn’t one to hold her tongue if she thought someone was stepping out of line, but he prayed this time would be the exception.
“I would like to offer the Ceremony.” Yes, that was Ceremony with a capital C. “The moon is full, the night is welcoming. I offer the Choosing Ceremony…tonight!”
Adrien heard the words as if from a great distance. Well, that was just about the last thing he ever would have expected Harris to say. What the hell was that damn bear up to?
Chapter 2
Morgan glanced from Adrien, to that rude man he’d introduced as Harris, and back again. Adrien looked like he had just been struck with a battering ram. His honey colored eyes were dazed and unfocused and she could see a furrow forming in his brow that she had never seen before, not through the worst customers they’d ever had at the bar. His expression said something was wrong. Very wrong.
BAD BOY ROMANCE: DIESEL: Contemporary Bad Boy Biker MC Romance (Box Set) (New Adult Sports Romance Short Stories Boxset) Page 55
