by E A Price
Mary shook her head. “How did we get here?”
He looked at her uncertainly.
“I mean, how did you get us – me and the other women – back here? By coach or…”
“Van. We drove.”
“You’re sure no one followed you? That no one knew what you did?”
Tomas stiffened. She was perhaps hoping someone had seen them leaving, knew what they had done and was trying to rescue her. Well, she was going to be disappointed he thought coldly.
“We’re sure.”
Mary lowered her head and Tomas grunted. His jaguar was annoyed, but really, maybe it was a bit much to expect her to fall for him instantly. He was hardly any woman’s dream guy, and being kidnapped was a shock. Mary had two weeks to warm to him.
“I’ll see you later,” he muttered, stomping away.
“Bye… Tomas.”
He stopped and turned back to see the door close. She had said it so quietly he almost didn’t hear, but there was something in her voice, in her tone that almost gave him hope.
By the time he got home, dinner had already commenced and his exhausted looking mother was already sweeping up a broken plate. His rowdy brothers calmed a little on seeing him. They were always more subdued when he was around – which said a lot about how they behaved when he wasn’t.
“There you are, boy,” said his father, folding his newspaper.
Tomas silently took the dustpan and brush from his mother and took over gathering the remnants of the plate. She smiled wanly and sank back into her seat.
His father spread out his hands. He had a genial look on his face, but Tomas noticed impatience within him. “So, boy, where is she?”
All his brothers looked at him expectantly. Tomas hadn’t been home since they returned. He had been too preoccupied with Mary, and undoubtedly his family had heard he had found himself a mate. They were now frothing at the mouth for details.
“At the guest house,” he muttered.
His father’s face creased in frustration. “Why isn’t she here right now? She should be having dinner with her new family.”
“She’s… tired.”
Trying to explain that Mary was shy would not cut it with his dad. He would march over to the guest house and drag her out of there himself if Tomas tried to suggest that Mary was delicate.
“Too tired to meet her new family? She needs to meet us, to find out what her role will be in our family.”
His younger brothers grinned in what could only be described as an evil way. Dicks. They thought he was bringing them a new maid to torture – a woman who unlike their mother, they didn’t have to be nice to.
“She’s tired,” repeated Tomas, giving his father a steely look.
The older jaguar shifted uncomfortably in his seat under that look, but still he persisted. “This won’t take long. Just go get her and introduce us.”
“No.”
His father’s face hardened, and Tomas wouldn’t drop his gaze, wouldn’t submit – not about this. Tomas let his father have his way over too many things, but he would not back down when it came to his mate. Mary was his to protect – and protect her he would.
Mary had barely been there a day. He would not inflict his family on her so suddenly. In fact, if they could wait until after they were officially mated, all the better.
There were a tense few seconds while they waited for the other to back down, and finally, his father did.
“Fine, boy, have it your own way.”
He picked up his newspaper again and buried his nose in in. His brothers gave each other a few significant glances, but Tomas didn’t care. He just tucked into his food and ignored them all.
He doubted his delicate little Mary was exactly what his father wanted, but that was his problem. Tomas was happy with his choice, though he wished she wasn’t quite so skittish. But one thing was for sure, he was keeping her away from his family for as long as possible.
Ten
Mary found the other women down in the kitchen. Sadie – the gorgeous redhead she had been sitting next to at the speed dating - was cooking.
Mary didn’t make friends easily, she wasn’t easy in strangers’ company, and these women seemed a thousand times more confident than her.
“I thought I’d cook dinner since we don’t seem to be going anywhere,” said Sadie.
The blonde who had been sitting on Mary’s other side during the speed dating was called Laurel, and currently chopping vegetables.
Hester the cheetah shifter was scowling. All three women seemed pretty relaxed considering the situation.
Mary huddled into her cardigan, unease at being with people she didn’t know rolling through her.
“What are you making?” asked Hester.
“Just a stir-fry,” replied Sadie. “I’m throwing in all sorts – chicken, potatoes, rice, egg – it’ll be gorgeous. My college roommate was Chinese, and she used to cook this all the time. This is actually a really nice kitchen, very well stocked.”
Mary worried the fraying hem of her cardigan while uneasy silence reigned in the kitchen.
“I agreed to stay for the two weeks,” Hester blurted.
Mary wrapped her arms around herself. Was not agreeing ever an option? Maria made it sound like they had no choice.
Sadie gave Hester a wry look.
“We know,” sighed Laurel.
Hester winced. “You heard?”
“Only because you yelled it,” chuckled Sadie.
Mary had no idea what they were talking about. They must have overheard some kind of conversation between Hester and her kidnapper, Antonio.
“Look, I know this isn’t ideal,” said Hester, “but what they did to us is one of their crazy-ass traditions, and I don’t think they had much choice… it’s hard to explain. Don’t get me wrong; I don’t excuse what these bozos did to us – I’d much rather be back in Los Lobos sipping a Martini. But if we make a break for it and call the cops, then a lot of people will get arrested, and a lot of innocent kids will lose their parents.”
Mary flinched at the mention of children. She was right. There were a lot of children in the leap. She hoped her presence there was in no way a threat to the children. Her stalker had made threats before against Elise. Because Mary wasn’t doing what he wanted – not trying to date – he threatened to punish her by hurting Elise. Elise being Elise said the asshole could ‘bring it,’ but it was a scary enough threat to make Mary toe the line.
Her stalker had been quiet recently, but then, she hadn’t been doing anything to raise his ire. But he had never liked it when she tried to leave Los Lobos in the past. If her stalker found her now, would he take it out on her by hurting the innocent children? That wasn’t something she liked the sound of.
“Maybe it won’t be too bad,” said Laurel hesitantly. “I did think I had a connection to Diego when I met him, I just… just didn’t think he’d ever be interested in me.” Her cheeks turned crimson, and she became very interested in the carrot she was chopping. “Maybe we can look on this as an adventure. I’ve read a lot about the mating habits of shifters…”
Hester arched an eyebrow.
“And they are different to humans. I don’t think they mean us any harm.”
Sadie gave an exaggerated eye roll. “You guys are saps.”
“Or a free vacation? When we were given our tour, I saw that there was a hot tub, and it is kind of pretty around here.”
Mary sighed inwardly. She hadn’t been on vacation in six years. They were pretending, but this really was her vacation. Her worries over her stalker wouldn’t disappear entirely, but being somewhere away from him was almost liberating.
Sadie harrumphed. “I guess. I mean I haven’t had a vacation in a while. Great, now I sound as crazy as you two.”
“And Lorenzo is pretty cute,” said Laurel.
Sadie flicked her hair nonchalantly, and a small smile played on her lips. “Is he? I hadn’t noticed.”
“Tomas is cute too,
” ventured Laurel to Mary.
Mary shook her head as all the women turned their attention to her. She wanted to deny it, but he was definitely cute. Instead, she did the first thing that came to mind – she bolted from the room.
She didn’t know what to say to these perfect, confident women, and besides, while they were all just making the best out of a bad situation, she didn’t want them to know that she was actually kind of relieved to be there. Almost excited. Not about Tomas. Well, a little about Tomas. She wouldn’t deny that. It was kind of flattering that he wanted her. Though she wasn’t sure why he wanted her – what did he see in her? Sure he said she was his mate, but what did that mean? He perhaps wanted her to be a maid and a cook for him. Maybe that’s why they wanted females – why they had to abduct them rather than just finding them the normal way.
What would she have done if he had come to her that night and said he wanted to date her? Probably run a mile.
It had been so long since she had a man she wasn’t sure she could remember what to do with one. Though a part of her would like to try. Maybe this… thing with Tomas couldn’t be long term, but perhaps they could enjoy their time together.
*
The jaguar stared up at the window, imagining the sweet woman inside. Mine. He growled with a mixture of happiness and nervousness as he thought of his little Mary. He didn’t want to be away from her, and while he couldn’t be in the house, he would sleep outside, under her window as his beast, guarding her against all others.
Grrr. He snapped his jaws as Diego’s beast prowled towards him, shortly followed by Lorenzo. The two males shimmered through their shift and Tomas quickly followed.
“What are you doing here?” growled Lorenzo.
“Guarding Mary,” he hissed.
How dare these other males come anywhere near his mate’s window!
“You’re guarding Mary outside my mate’s window?” snapped Diego.
“It’s not Laurel’s window either!” howled Lorenzo.
“Is too!”
“Leave!” roared Tomas.
The three of them, all naked and bristling with indignation over females who barely gave them the time of day, were working their way up to fighting until they heard a roar of laughter. They looked up to see Manny, one of the mated males, laughing at them. The three of them scowled.
“Take it, easy guys,” chuckled Manny. “Give your girls some breathing space.”
He shook the brown paper bag at them. “Ice cream for Marlene.” Marlene was his mate currently pregnant with their second cub.
“Trust me.”
The three males nodded and watched him walk away. They looked at each other.
“That’s still Laurel’s window,” said Diego. “Push off.”
“The hell it is!”
Eleven
Mary spent the next day alone. She barely came out of her room. The other women knocked on her door to check on her, and she talked to them, but honestly, she preferred a little alone time. Which was crazy considering all the alone time she had endured over the years.
She left to go to the bathroom and to forage for food, but otherwise, she stayed locked away.
The previous day she had been all for embracing this as a chance to let her hair down – so to speak. Her hair was always down, usually covering her face so no one could see her. But she had a nightmare – the one where she was being chased through her apartment by some dangerous yet blurry man. He never had a face – in truth he was always a blob of a man, but the danger always felt all too real. It was her own fault for ever agreeing to watch Halloween – she should stick to the level of scariness she felt comfortable with, like The Nightmare Before Christmas.
But the dream was enough to throw up her many insecurities and enough to get her to want to hide away. It made her unsure about the situation, made her suspect this all could be an elaborate ruse of her stalker.
As the minutes and hours ticked by, she wondered a little at Tomas. He had kidnapped her but was then completely absent all day. She didn’t see him until the evening when he pounded on her bedroom door.
Mary couldn’t deny that she practically ran to the door and threw it open. She had been feeling a little lonely.
Tomas, in all his six foot eight rugged glory, looked her up and down with wide eyes. She was wearing a baggy pair of jeans, voluminous shirt and her trusty cardigan and yet she felt naked for a moment.
“You’re okay,” he rumbled in more of a statement than a question.
“Ah, yes.”
Can’t hurt herself by staying in her room. She’d virtually been living in her bedroom for the last ten years. Only leaving when necessary. So far, nothing bad had happened to her – only threats and weird gifts had come her way. Nothing good had happened either.
“Shots fired.”
“What?”
“Shots fired… in the compound… someone shooting…”
It was then that she noticed how agitated he was. His eyes were wild, and his body was trembling. It seemed difficult for him to get the words out - like he was angry and panicking at the same time.
Mary wrinkled her brow. “I’m fine. Was anyone hurt?”
He shook his head, his eyes still roving over her. She wondered at her decision to wear a baggy, old cardigan all the time. What would Tomas look like if she were wearing more form-fitting clothing?
His nostrils flared, and he twitched. “Do you need anything?”
Some company? The unexpected thought leaped at her and surprised her. She was a little lonely, but really, she was used to that.
“I’m okay. Are… are you okay?”
She lifted her hand automatically, her fingers trying to reach for him. He watched her with rapt attention and sighed when she lost her nerve and quickly stuffed her hand into her pocket.
“Fine,” he muttered. “You let me know if you need anything.”
She was about to agree when she realized something. “How can I reach you?” She had a small tour of the lea, but she had no idea where he lived.
Tomas gave her a long look. “Just… yell… loud.”
“Yell?”
“I’ll… be around.” A huge shoulder shrugged almost in embarrassment.
“Oh. Okay.”
How close would he be? How good was his hearing?
They looked at each other awkwardly, and then he made a move to leave.
“Does this happen often?” she asked, a little loath to see him go.
He paused and cocked his head questioningly.
“The shots, I mean.”
“No, it’s safe here,” he said, and then added, “usually.”
Mary nodded. Awkwardness reigned again.
“Well, good night,” she whispered and then backed into her room, quickly closing the door.
She rested her head against the wood. Another successful encounter with a man. Perhaps she was just supposed to be alone.
*
The next day, Tomas expected Mary to be just as hesitant. He was hanging around outside her room, trying to figure out the best way to get her to spend some time with him. He’d been there for twenty minutes. Thinking up ideas was not his strong suit.
It was while he was trying to come up with this idea that Mary marched out of her room, and she marched directly into Tomas. Arms, legs and chests collided, while they both exclaimed ‘sorry.’
Finally righted, she caught his eyes and looked away. His jaguar growled impatiently. He didn’t have that many days to persuade her to stay, and he had already wasted one by being too chicken shit to talk to her.
“What are you doing today?” he asked, ignoring his beast who simply wanted to tell her that she was spending it with him
Mary flustered for a moment before mumbling, “I was just going to read my book.”
He wanted to argue with her, to demand she spend time with him, but he didn’t. He gave in.
“Okay.”
She seemed to pause, to wait for him to say something,
but he didn’t so her shoulders tensed, and she moved on.
Space. Give her space he told himself.
Pussy.
*
Mary tossed her book aside. She didn’t want to read it. Couldn’t. Couldn’t concentrate. For once, her own life was more interesting.
That wasn’t true; her life had always been interesting in one way or the other. From her strange childhood to her stalker, things had always been ‘interesting’ but now for once, perhaps things could be ‘nice’ interesting. Or at least not horrifyingly interesting.
For once she had a stirring of interest to live her own life, instead of burying herself in a book.
She had no idea where the other women were. Perhaps off with their men, she thought a tad jealously. Tomas hadn’t seemed that keen to be with her.
Though, he had turned up at the crack of dawn and stood outside her room – perhaps he had been hoping to spend some time with her, but she had said she wanted to read, so he let her be.
She wondered where he was now. Probably regretting ever kidnapping you. Surely he knew what he was letting himself in for when he met her. She was hardly a sparkling wit at the speed dating – that wouldn’t change just because they moved to a different location.
Mary looked around the room, searching for something to occupy her, but other than her book or the TV there was nothing. Maybe she should go outside for a moment. Just the thought made her stomach clench, but maybe this would be good for her. Might make her remember what it was like to be normal.
What could go wrong?
There could be a bee. She could be stung!
A bee sting was nothing, although painful.
There could be jaguars out there roaming around. What if they didn’t know not to eat her!
She took a deep breath, and before she could argue with herself any further about all the things that could happen, she marched out the front door and promptly tripped over the very solid male occupying the stoop.
Twelve
Mary literally fell in his lap. She squeaked, he growled, and the next second she was writhing in his arms. Every sense he had went into overdrive as she squirmed against him. His beast was delighted.
