Men Love Curves: BBW Romance
Page 50
“Move.” She growled the word, not even trying to pretend to be polite anymore.
His head lowered, eyes widening with delight. “You aren't afraid of me.”
The comment threw her enough that she lost the edge of her anger. “Why in the world would I be afraid of a mall cop?” Okay, so mall cop was a little harsh- but she had to get her point across.
He laughed, deep and rich, fulfilling the promise of the light tenor voice. “Oh, if Cassius doesn't decide to keep you, I just might.”
She shivered- a musical accent just peeked out through the promising words, his eyes warm with amusement. She took a step back, a little flustered. Physical attraction wasn't something she normally experienced, not since she was eighteen and learned she wouldn't be allowed to mate or have children. She poured her passion into food, into the restaurant, into helping her mother with Council business. Everyone assumed Gwenafar was grooming her only daughter to assume a role among the Mother's, and they weren't wrong. One didn't have to be physical Mother to serve- especially in these times when so many of the women were unable to produce healthy shifter cubs.
“Are you going to step aside or are you playing games?” The timbre of her voice dropped, deepening in warning. Her temper was famous around town- she wondered why the Council had sent her on an assignment that would probably require tact, charm, delicacy. None of which she possessed.
He stepped aside. She brushed past him. “What's your name?” she asked over her shoulder, striding down a hall.
“Musa,” he called behind her. “And you are going the wrong way, Fire Bear.”
Norelle stopped. Turned. “So which way is the right way?”
Again he smiled, white teeth gleaming. “I will take you to Cassius. For a small gift.”
***
An angry female burst through the door. Cass stilled, looking past her shoulder to ascertain Musa's presence, then focused his attention on the tall, statuesque beauty in front of him. Bristling in front of him. Her eyes snatched and discarded the three Lions, zeroing in on him. Anger, recognition and something else lit her dark eyes. A tinge of charming pink swept high on her cheekbones. She strode forward; he could almost hear the crackle of energy in her nearly black hair.
His Bear reared to attention. This. He’d been waiting for her.
“Cassius,” she snapped. “I don't appreciate you siccing your goon on me. He made me kiss him! That’s the most misogynistic shit I’ve ever encountered.”
The flustered outrage intrigued. That she’d pressed her lips onto another male displeased him. Bear inhaled the female's scent, the temper in her husky voice interesting. She felt familiar. Cass straightened in his chair, staring hard.
“Musa?” he inquired, reining in the Bear's deepening rumble, the growing insistence he claim the female before she got away again. What the hell?
“Forgive me,” Musa murmured. “I couldn't help myself. Her temper is delicious.”
“Is this a female with no male?” Sahr asked while Cass sifted his memories for- ah. Ah. “She looks as fierce as a Lioness- and she is not human. Female, where is your male, so I may approach him on behalf of my males for you.”
Boden’s older sister glanced at Sahr, forehead creasing. “Lion. I should have known.” She swore under her breath, fixing Cassius with a steely glare. “I need to talk to you, on business from the Mother's Council. Now.”
He rose, unhurried, the small smile curving his lips- he had asked his secretary to provide a distraction after all- evaporating. Along with a kind of surprised pleasure at her unexpected entrance back into his life.
“You're from the Council?” Not what he’d wanted to hear. The Council was responsible for the rift between his family and his home Den.
She eyed him, frowning. “Are you growling at me?”
“I asked you a question first.” His eyes narrowed. “This is my building right?” He was pretty sure it was his building.
Dark hair flew over her shoulder as she tossed her head like an equine shifter. “I know whose building this is. And I'm not a part of the Council. My mother-”
Long dark hair, bad attitude, eyes like opals that spit fire all the time. Oh, yes. He remembered her. And something inside him shifted, a curtain of grey dissolving so he was able to see this female in full, brilliant color.
“Norelle Conroy,” he said. “You're... bigger.” Cass winced. “Not like fat bigger- though being curvy is definitely a plus thing. I meant adult bigger.”
Her mouth twisted. “I know what you meant.”
Sahr approached, slowly. “You know this female? You can speak for her?”
The female, Norelle, finally focused her attention on the Lions in the room. “You're a king right?” Sahr nodded. “Ok, so I get that maybe you might not understand much about Bears.” She smiled widely. “Let me educate you. If you try to claim me for your Pride, I will eat you. Raw, with no secret sauce.”
Sahr blinked. Then returned her smile. “You are fierce.” Turning to Cassius, “I'll take her. What is the mate price?”
Musa snickered.
Cass shoved his hands in his pockets as Norelle hissed. Some days were just like this.
***
There was something almost flattering about the Lion king’s regard. Norelle wasn’t quite used to being on the receiving end of male attention- well, most of the males in her Den knew she would never mate, and knew the sharp edge of her temper cut quicker than her kitchen knives. So they treated her with a wary kind of respect and camaraderie, one leery eye trained on Liam as well- because he wasn’t exactly unprotective either. Boden was Boden. He thought everything was a joke. No one took him seriously. So even though she had to shut the male down, an inner feminine bit purred. Her, a Bear. Purring like a kitty.
Lion prowling on her one side, a Bear in front of her with a half baffled, half irritated expression. She remembered him. Not one of the more overtly aggressive males, but one of the trickier. For a while it seemed like he and Boden would become best friends- but Boden’s tricks tended to be more physical in nature. The male in front of her personified sexy geek.
Sexy? Norelle shifted, uncomfortable with her thoughts. She had no business thinking of another Bear as sexy, even though as a teen she might have liked the whole Clark Kent thing. She met inscrutable eyes and… blushed. He focused on her with the subtle intensity of a shifter wrapped in the tech yuppie, clean shaven image. Deceptively lean under a thin wool sweater that clung to wide shoulders and narrow waist. A swimmer's build, was what they called males like this. Defined and elegant rather than big and brutish like her brothers. Remembering her brothers brought back to mind why she was here in the first place- and it wasn't to ogle an attractive Bear who’d been such a cute dork as a teen that she’d almost fallen in love with him. And then, of course, his family left the Den and she hadn't seen him for twenty years.
Norelle folded her arms. “Can I have five minutes of your time or are you busy talking female domination with the Cats?”
Cassius frowned, gray eyes flickering. “I said I'm not talking Council business.” He took a casual step forward. “What do they want anyway? Never mind. Never mind. I don't want to know.”
Norelle laughed. That male had never met a puzzle he didn't want to solve. She lowered her voice, adding a husky quality from some perverse instinct. “Of course you do. Are you afraid to hear me out?” Her lips curved. “I understand if you feel threatened, Cass- we all know why your family left the Den.”
His shoulders stiffened, expression hardening. “I should throw you out.”
Her eyebrow arched. Ooooo… look who wanted to be all Alpha. He didn't intimidate her. And he’d throw her out over the bodies of his Lions. She wasn’t a Conroy for nothing. Losing to Liam had been a fluke. Her heart hadn’t really been in the fight. “Oh, yeah? You and what Den?”
Their eyes locked, a moment of humming tension. His mouth began to curve in response to her own. A half sm
ile, half snarl accompanying the rise of a peculiar heat she’d never felt before. Her Bear focusing on the male in front of her, falling into quicksilver eyes-
“I would be the ‘Den’,” Musa murmured. “It would be a shame to lay hands on you- well, maybe not.”
Cassius glanced at his guard, tearing his stare away from Norelle. Then sighed. “Okay, I need to eat and that’s the only time today that I have not already scheduled for other things. Is that okay with you, Mother Bear?”
“No need for sarcasm,” she replied. “Lunch is just fine.”
CHAPTER
3
Lunch wasn’t fine. For one, they went to an outdoor cafe. Normally that would have been a treat- she enjoyed the outdoors since she spent the top side of seventy hour weeks in a kitchen. But evidently Cassius wasn’t exactly unknown in the area. The third time a human woman interrupted them to try to get Cass’ attention, Norelle’s ire skyrocketed.
“Forgetta bout it,” she snarled at the human. “He’s engaged.”
The blond huffed. “Since when? We didn't even know-” the woman shut her mouth, blushing.
We? Who in the world was ‘we?’ Did he have a fan club or something? Norelle looked at Cassius, who just continued to fork bites of his salad, smirking, a devilish glint in his eyes. He held her gaze.
“Want a bite, sweetheart?” His fork approached her mouth, a cherry tomato speared on the tines. Her Bear approved of him feeding her. Norelle’s lips closed over the tomato. He pulled away, lashes shielding his eyes for a moment. “Good? Local produce here.”
The blond was persistent. She slanted a look at Norelle, then said, “My cousin has an urban garden. If you like local produce I could-”
A growl rumbled from Norelle’s chest. She allowed Bear to peek out of her eyes. “Back up off my fiancée.”
The human paled, backing away. Norelle watched another moment, then turned back to her lunch, satisfied.
“I wonder why I bother paying Musa,” Cassius said.
Norelle rolled her eyes. She wondered too. What kind of tech executive needed a Head of Security? “Look, fun's fun. But-”
The Bear's expression hardened. “Please don't put me off my lunch with talk of the Council.”
She gritted her teeth, temper sparking. “Don’t be a child. They’re the governing body of our people, and-”
“No. Whatever it is they want me to do- there isn't anything they can offer me to say yes. And there isn't anything they can take away from me when I say no.”
Norelle stared at him, heart sinking. He didn't have the posture of a male who was bluffing. “Your family has been exiled-”
He snorted. “Please. That is entirely incorrect. We left.”
“-for twenty years. Don’t you miss being around your own kind? You're hanging out with Cats.”
Cassius frowned. “Well, don't you sound a bit of a bigot. And I wasn't hanging out, sweetheart. We were discussing business when you barged in. You always were a pushy little tart.”
She shook her head. “You are so weird. I wouldn't be here if it weren't for Liam-” her mouth snapped shut.
His head tilted. “Oh? Feel free to shamelessly gossip.”
“Cassius, I need you to come home. At least long enough for it to count.”
Cassius didn't move, fork long since rested next to his plate. “For what to count?”
She pushed aside her lunch, downing the glass of white wine that had sat untouched. “I can't go home unless you come with me, so you have to come. I don't have any other choice.”
“Live here,” he suggested.
“Are you mad? I'm not like you- I need to be around other Bears.”
“I'm a Bear. My parents are in the city half the year. And besides, you'll find that the other shifters who are in the city are sufficient company. We’ve… organized over the last several years.” He looked away, fingers tapping the table.
She leaned forward. “Look, you. I'm not playing games here. The Council wants you back at the Den, and back at the Den is where I'm dragging you if I have to knock you over the head with a blond and drag you home on the back of a Lion.”
He leaned forward, meeting her halfway. Lowered his voice to a whisper. “No.”
“Damnit, Cassius!”
“Damnit, Norelle,” he mimicked, pushing back his chair and standing. He snagged her upper arm, pulling her with him. The touch zinged through the cloth of her shirt and into her skin.
“Ouch! You shocked me.”
“Sorry.”
He didn't sound sorry at all. And what the hell? “Stop manhandling me. I can walk just fine on my own.”
His building wasn't far, and this time no one approached them on the walk back. Something in his expression, the supernatural brightness of his eyes... maybe it warned people off.
“What do they want anyway?” he asked after several silent minutes where she tried to think of another strategy to convince a stubborn, too intelligent, self-assured male to obey the edicts of a government he didn’t fear or respect and had no reach over him.
“You didn't get your letter?” If he didn't know why, it wasn't something she wanted to spring on him.
Reluctantly, Norelle admitted to herself the arrogance of the Council. They thought they could ask anyone to do anything and they would receive unthinking compliance. Maybe that's how it went most of the time. She didn't have a carrot or a stick, so how was she going to get him home?
“I don't open mail from them.”
“I don't understand this unreasonable- never mind.” She inhaled, let the breath out slowly. They stopped in front of his building, the glass door swishing open silently. Cassius didn't move, looking down at her. “They want you to find a human mate and have a cub.”
He stared at her, expression bland. “That's all?”
She followed him into the building, unsure but determined. He wasn't getting rid of her until she had the answer she wanted.
“And why do they want me to do that?” he asked in the elevator.
“Do you keep up with any news?”
He glanced at her. The elevator stopped, the jerk barely noticeable. They entered the lobby in front of his office “Not Den news. I've built a life for myself here. How’s Liam, by the way?”
“Mated to a human,” she replied sourly. “You should come home and say hello.”
He faced her. “I have work to do,” he said. “So you need to go do something. But-” His hand rose, the tip of his finger tapping her cheek. “ -we can talk more tonight.”
“Tonight?”
“I have a dinner thingy to go to. Why don't you come with me? You can harass me in the limo.”
Limo? Dinner thingy? What? Cass saw her face and laughed. “Did you bring a dress? No?”
He walked away, approaching the human secretary at her desk in the corner. Leaned over the high front and spoke for a moment. Cass trotted back right when her patience was about to evaporate.
“There's a car downstairs waiting for you. It will take you to a place you can get something suitable. They have instructions on the type of function.”
“I can't-”
He waved a hand. “Expense account. Besides, you did such a good job keeping the females off me that I can legitimately claim you as a write off. Personal security.”
Of all the... Norelle shut her open mouth. Thought hard on the pros and cons for a long minute while he waited patiently for her response. Okay. Fine. Go to the function and boy would she ever harass him in the limo. By the time she was through, this flippant nuisance of a Bear would be begging her to go home. Begging.
“Norelle? Are we agreed?” The finger returned, this time tracing the upper curve of her lip. She froze, chest freezing. Such a light touch. It shouldn’t mean anything- she shouldn’t feel anything. She nodded. Cass’ voice deepened. “I’ll be looking forward to seeing what you buy.”
***
He ushered her out of h
is building, just one hair from crossing the line of polite to kicking her out. But the car was waiting. Not a limo- but a glossy black sedan with tinted windows. And a driver.
Norelle stared as the man exited the driver's seat and opened her door. Just like in a movie, dark suit, pleasant expression, sunglasses even though it was cloudy outside...
“Just how rich are you?” she asked, turning. But Cassius had already fled, leaving her on her own.
“Ma'am?” the driver said.
Patting her pockets- she was one of the few females who didn't carry a purse- she made sure her plastic money and hotel key cards were still in place, and got in. Hell, if he wanted to buy her a dress, he could buy her a dress. Maybe some cleavage and lip gloss would soften him up, get him to come back home. She'd never really tried the whole eyelash batting thing before, but there was always a first time.
She worried, though. The attraction between them was bad enough, especially when she knew it couldn't go anywhere. No Bear male ever attached to a female without wanting the whole shebang; mating, cubs, house. Bears dated each other, but they rarely risked an accidental mating by sleeping together. Bears, and biology, were too fickle and a person could end up with a life partner they didn't quite like, just because the Bear side decided it was time to bond and settle down. Ugh.
The car took her to a section of town populated with a series of pretty little boutiques. The sidewalks were nearly white, and swept clean. Trees everywhere and little round public table and chair sets. Picturesque, and obviously catering to the wealthy.
“If I'm going to shop, I need fortification,” she told the driver, pointing to a coffee shop another half block down.
“The shop will provide beverages, ma'am.”
“Really? Huh. That kind of place. I'm a working gal. This overpriced foolishness is beyond me.”
He cracked a small smile, exiting to open her door. “What do you do?”
She slid out, enjoying the little courtesy. It almost made her feel like a girl. “I'm a sous chef- my brother and I co-own a restaurant where I'm from.”