by E A Price
Say something urged an inner voice. Even if it was just to say no as his jaguar suggested.
Tomas shrugged. His beast sneered. That’s not saying anything.
Damn, he did not want to be there. He wanted to find his mate and go home. He hated this, hated being trapped, surrounded by strangers. Hated having to talk to people he didn’t know.
Say something!
“Mate. Need mate!” he growled loudly.
The woman jumped away, crashing into several people dancing. She knocked them to the ground, and it started to have a very unfortunate domino effect on all the other people dancing.
“We better go,” muttered Antonio.
The older male grabbed his collar and started dragging him away. Their first night was not particularly successful.
Four
Mary sifted through her mail as she walked up the stairs to her apartment. She had no intention of actually leaving the building that day, so she had to get her exercise somehow. Of course, by the time she made it up to the third floor, she was seriously regretting not just using the elevator like a normal person – she still had two more floors to go!
At least the stairs were quiet. Most people in the building were elderly and rarely used them – they were also respectful of Mary’s situation, the need for security in the building and they tended to be very quiet. The people living there was another reason Mary liked her apartment.
She was pondering – or more like worrying – about where she would move to when the door to the fourth floor flew open, and a man almost ran straight into her. Mary squeaked, and he stopped a few inches away glaring at her.
She clutched at the bills in her hands; in her terror she crumpled them into balls.
The man’s glowering face eased slightly, and his eyebrows dipped. “Mary?”
Oh no, it’s him! It’s him! He knows her name. It’s him!
“It’s Alden, from college.”
“Alden?” she repeated faintly.
“You used to tutor me,” he groused.
“Oh, oh! Of course, yes… ah… what are you doing here?”
Mary flustered. She was just running into people she knew left, right and freaking center!
“I live here,” he said in his usual grumpy way. He actually hadn’t changed much since college. Apart from the fact that he was now wearing a suit instead of the old Sex Pistols t-shirt he wore, day in and day out ten years ago.
“You do?” she murmured. When had that happened? Was he there because of her?
“Yes. I take it you do, too.”
He didn’t seem surprised, but then maybe he just wasn’t interested. The two of them weren’t friends back in college. She wasn’t sure Alden had been friends with anyone. Though given that she only had one friend, she wouldn’t judge him for that.
“When did you…”
“I have to go,” he muttered, moving past her. “Nice to see you,” he added as an afterthought.
Mary watched as he sped down the stairs, and when she could no longer hear him, she uncurled her hands and tried to smooth out the battered pieces of mail.
Surely not Alden… But what if it was? What if that was why he had moved into her building? Because he was her stalker. He didn’t seem thrilled to run into her. Maybe he lived in the apartment beneath hers. Maybe he was drilling a hole through his ceiling so he could spy on her?!
Mary groaned and hit herself in the head with her mail. Nope, she was just letting her paranoia get to her again. Just like she did with Neal. Though, maybe she would get down on her knees, and double check the floors in her apartment… just in case.
*
Tomas took a long swig of his coke. It did nothing for his nerves, but it soothed his parched throat. He stared around at the men and women milling around. They looked nervous, too. But they were excited to be there. Tomas was terrified.
The hell was he thinking? At least at the clubs, he could just blend in… kind of. His height and bulk usually made that hard, but at least he could stand next to Antonio and let him do the growling for him. Here, at a speed dating event, he would have to talk to the women – all of them!
He downed the rest of his drink and snapped at the bartender to get him another. Lorenzo and Diego teased him for not ordering alcohol, but that was the last thing he needed at that moment.
Diego slapped him on the shoulder and gave him a reassuring smile.
“Don’t worry; your beast will know the right woman for you.”
His jaguar chuffed in agreement.
Lorenzo slapped his other shoulder. “Yeah, and if you’re stuck for something to say, just ask them what they do for a living, ask them if they like living in Los Lobos.”
“Ask them if they’d ever considering moving,” put in Diego.
Lorenzo nodded. “In my experience, women like to do all the talking anyway. But if you get a lull, ask them a question – make them talk.”
Tomas’ lips tightened as he surveyed the women. He could do this. He was a big tough jaguar. Rawr. He could talk to a few women. It was easy – just like talking to a male.
Except, these women seemed to be licking their lips. These women looked like they ate men for breakfast and had room left over for bacon and eggs. He could get through this, right? He looked to his beast, and the usually angry animal gave him a very unexpected response. Meow.
Ugh, this was not looking good.
*
Cheese and crackers, this was a mistake. Mary wanted to run out of the speed dating event and never look back. None of these men were for her. She could barely open her mouth to speak to them, never mind flirt or get to know them.
The bell jangled again, making her flinch. It was time for the males to switch and time for her to inflict herself on another unsuspecting male. The man opposite her looked grateful to get away, and she didn’t really blame him. Ten minutes of one word answers from her, and he’d had enough.
Not that he was really paying much attention to her. No, his eyes had been focused on the gorgeous redhead to her right – the woman he had just been talking to and obviously wished he still was. He was clearly staring at her breasts – much fuller than Mary’s and handily displayed in a low cut top. Why would he look at Mary, hair shadowing her face and covered in an old oversized cardigan when he could stare at the redhead? Why would anyone choose to look at a dowdy creature like her?
Mary snuggled into her cardigan. Jeez, this was excruciating.
Maybe she should just get up and leave. She hated this. Hated talking to the men, hated being put on display like this. This wasn’t for her. It just highlighted all her deficiencies – all the ways she wasn’t a real woman. Her insides churned. This should be easy – and who cares what these men thought? But after ten years of being beaten down, she didn’t have anything else to give.
Mary gasped as the next man sat down in front of her with a thump. He was incredibly handsome, with a chiseled face and wavy black hair. Not that looks were important, but wow. What was a guy like that doing at a speed dating event?
She opened her mouth to say something, but only a squeak came out. He smiled kindly at her; it was all smoldering good looks and sparkling eyes.
“Hey, I’m Diego.”
“I ah…”
Before she could even get her name out, his attention was drawn to the blonde on her left, and he immediately started ogling her. That was it; he was no longer paying attention to Mary.
She slumped into her cardigan. When would this awful night end?
Five
Tomas scowled at Lorenzo. He barely had a moment with the redhead when Lorenzo started growling.
The woman opposite Lorenzo humphed. Lorenzo hadn’t even said a word to the redhead yet, but apparently, he already knew he didn’t want Tomas talking to her.
Fine with him. The woman had a knowing look in her eyes that was somewhat off-putting to someone like him. It was a relief to get away from both her and Lorenzo’s growling.
The speed dating
had been a bust. Most of the women had seemed interested enough, but his jaguar didn’t stir for any of them. Some of them scared him a little in their eagerness.
On hearing the bell he shifted along, scowling at Lorenzo and slumping into the next seat. His battered hopes soared as the scent of vanilla hit him, and big scared eyes met his. The jaguar let out a very unmanly eep.
The huge eyes stared out at him from behind a mass of long brown hair, round glasses and a big, baggy brown cardigan.
His jaguar let out a yowl as something gripped at him, something deep inside of him. He wanted to grab her and run away, taking her away from anything and everything. He wanted to shift and rip apart whoever had made her so scared. Though, the way her eyes were widening in that moment, he suspected that might be him.
*
The large man stared at her, mouth agape and eyes shimmering gold.
“You’re a shifter,” she exclaimed, too surprised to be shy.
That seemed to shock him into finding his faculties.
“Ah, yes,” he admitted in a low voice.
Silence reigned again, and she peeked at him through her lashes while he seemed to be trying to see right through her, so piercing was his gaze. At least he wasn’t looking at another woman. No, he didn’t even seem to be blinking. But at least he wasn’t waffling about himself and his six divorces like some of the men or bragging about the car he drove. No, he wasn’t saying anything and, honestly, it was kind of nice.
“I’m human,” she whispered.
He nodded automatically
She’d met many shifters before, but only briefly – some went to college with her, some came into the library, and she was sure she saw some at the grocery store – back when she used to go to the grocery store on a regular basis. She supposed she might have met more and not known what species she was talking to, but she’d never known a shifter intimately. Then, she’d never known many people intimately.
Of course, there was no restriction on species at the speed dating. Eek, what if some of them were vampires! Surely, that would be okay – her doorman, Calvin seemed like a good guy. But weren’t vampires supposed to be inherently sexy? Her doorman was, even she could see that. So that fact alone disqualified the majority of the men in the room from being vampires. Except the one in front of her, and he seemed like an animal through and through. Her long-dormant sex drive yawned and seemed to flutter awake. He was absolutely the most gorgeous man she had ever seen – either on TV, in movies or in person. His face was perfect – with his swirling eyes, sculptured cheekbones, and angular chin, he was just what a man should be. She wasn’t sure how old he was – he looked mature – the slight stubble showed he was - and yet young and almost innocent at the same time.
“Don’t be scared,” he growled.
She jumped slightly at his tone.
“I…”
Was this about her stalker? How did he know about him? Was that what he meant? It didn’t occur to her that he might be her stalker. No, he couldn’t be, she didn’t know how she knew, but she trusted him. Weird, but she did, and she never trusted anyone until she’d known them for at least six months.
“Don’t be scared of me,” he clarified.
“I’m not,” she blurted.
His eyes flared, and his lips twitched slightly in a smile. His huge shoulders relaxed, and for the first time, she really took in his size – huge. The guy before him had been big, but this guy was god-like big. Perhaps it should worry her. She was five foot four, and perhaps a little more rounded than could be considered beautiful, but she had always been small next to others – like Elise who was five foot eleven. But she didn’t feel intimidated by his size, no, quite the opposite – it was kind of sexy.
“I’m Tomas.”
“Mary.” She felt a blush start right from her toes
A few moments of silence passed in which she stared at the muscles dancing beneath his tight t-shirt.
“What do you do, Mary?” he asked gently.
“Librarian. Or at least I used to be. Cutbacks at the library meant that I lost my job.”
Wow – that was the longest sentence she had managed all night.
He nodded and frowned slightly. “You like books?”
“Yes.”
She’d become very fond of books over the years. Starting with when she was younger and locked in her cupboard to remove the wickedness from her, right up until she got her stalker, and traveling was not possible. A book could take her anywhere, and she could imagine she was anyone. So that she would not have to be herself.
The bell sounded, and he looked angry for a moment. His lips thinned, and slowly he leaned forward, one arm reaching towards her. She froze at the intimate gesture, unable to move as her heart thundered in her chest. She gulped as his fingers grazed her hair, pushing the wayward strands behind her ear.
“That’s better,” he muttered.
As his hand retreated, she felt the warmth of his touch buzzing through her body.
“Nice to meet you, Mary,” he murmured, and before she could pull herself together to respond, he was gone.
Six
As soon as the speed dating ended, Mary was gone. She didn’t hang around to find out what she already knew was true – that no man in his right mind would pick her over the other women. She was home, in her pajamas and reading a book before ten.
Except her book was boring – tedious even. Odd, she usually liked the author, but she just could not focus. Her mind drifted back to Tomas.
Her hopes for the evening had been dismally low, but after meeting him, she couldn’t deny how they had kindled – sparked at the large man. But after their time together, he had moved on to the other women and undoubtedly he had found someone better than her. She had tried to peek at him while ignoring the other men who had been sitting in front of her – not polite but they were looking at other women in the room too, so she hadn’t felt much guilt over it. To her mild delight, Tomas hadn’t seemed very happy with any of the other women, but then he hadn’t been exactly jumping for joy when he was talking to her either.
After the event ended, she didn’t believe for a second any of the men would be interested in talking to her further, and given that a cursory glance around came up short on finding Tomas – she would have easily been able to spot him over the other man – she just left. It had been a nice dream for a few minutes, the idea that some handsome man wanted to sweep her off her feet, to be her prince charming, but that was all it was – a dream. A woman like her didn’t invite that kind of reaction from men. No, she knew too well the reaction she incited – she lived with it on a daily basis. She was stuck with the villain, not the prince.
But at least she had come away unscathed. She was safe for another day. That was the best she hoped for on any given day.
Mary was about ready to toss her book away and go to bed when there was a knock on her door. She tensed instinctively. It had to be one of her neighbors – who else would make it past the vampire doorman. He turned away ranger girls selling cookies – he said it was racketeering and wouldn’t let them in the building. Perhaps one of her neighbours’ cats or birds had escaped again. The pets in the building were perpetual escape artists. Mrs. Jenson’s guinea pig was the latest escapee. They were still scratching their heads on how he made it into Mr. Barlow’s locked mailbox.
Still, she looked through the peephole anyway before opening the door – security and all that. Mary gasped and backed away, all her fears coming to the fore.
No, no, no, no – how is that even possible? How could he know where she lived? She didn’t tell him, and he never asked.
“Mary?” called Tomas’ voice through the door.
Crud. Too late to pretend she wasn’t home. He heard her moving, probably scented her as well.
“G… go away,” she whispered as loud as she could. She struggled to breathe as panic set in.
“Please, Mary, I just wish to talk to you.” His voice was just as low and sexy
as it had been at the event.
“How did you find me?”
There was a pause. “The woman in charge at speed dating told me where you live.”
“What?!”
She would have stern words with that woman. Well, she would write a stern e-mail. Okay, it wouldn’t be stern, but she would certainly complain a lot and probably sound super whiney about it.
Mary ran her hands through her hair. “How did you get in the building?”
“Your neighbor, Kate.”
Damn Kate – she was a serial dater and always taking men up to her apartment. Elise had yelled at her after a few incidents of other people getting robbed by one of her beaus – but that was over a year ago. Kate had been pretty good about it recently – keeping a close eye on her men. They rarely escaped her clutches.
“How did you get past the doorman?” Surely Calvin would have put his foot down about letting Tomas pass.
“Kate brought me up in the elevator.”
Mary scowled. Calvin probably thought Tomas was Kate’s new conquest, and why wouldn’t he? Kate was gorgeous, Tomas was gorgeous – the two probably looked perfect together. If she were with Tomas everyone would probably wonder, ‘what’s he doing with her?!’
She wondered whether Kate had touched Tomas. The woman usually pawed men no end, and for some reason, Mary hated the idea of her touching Tomas. Or of any woman touching him, really.
“I’m sorry, Mary, I will go if you want me to.”
Her stomach churned. No, she didn’t want that… well, not entirely. Okay, she was a little nervous, but also elated. He had sought her out. She assumed, naturally, that he wasn’t interested, but clearly, he was. He came here to see her – not Kate, not Elise. Made her feel a little special.
“What are you doing here?” she asked hesitantly.
“I just wanted to talk.”
Mary wasn’t sure about the truth in that. He was hardly chatty at the speed dating, but then she liked that about him. “What about?”
There was a pause, and she worried he had left. She pressed her eye against the peephole and sighed in relief to see his large form filling her vision.
