“Just say yes!” Mateo shouted heartily.
The man’s voice boomed around the gym against a backdrop of crazy-colored lights and soft Christmas music. Of course, these were the only other sounds in the cavernous gym. There was absolutely no other sound. It felt awkward in a way that obviously made everyone in the room feel suddenly uncomfortable.
But not Mateo Canjillon. The guy seemed totally oblivious. He actually chuckled to himself, glanced right and then left, and finally lifted Eleni’s hand to his lips. “Well, baby, don’t feel like you have to keep a good man waiting.”
“I can’t marry you.” The words seemed to come out of Eleni’s mouth in a rush as though she were struggling to keep herself under control. “I don’t even know what would give you the idea that this is the next step in a relationship we don’t have. We are coworkers. I might have called us acquaintances, but not friends. We’ve been in large groups that have gone out for a bite to eat or some kind of work function. But I would think that that next step—if there was one—would be to start dating! And if you asked me to date you, I would say no!”
“I don’t think it’s necessary to act quite that sarcastic. If you’re not ready to say yes to marriage, we could just have a long engagement and enjoy some time spent together.” Mateo was backpedaling. At least that’s what it sounded like to Orion.
Eleni shot to her feet so quickly that her chair tipped over backwards. She began to stumble. Mateo remained in his spot as though he were rooted there. Orion could see what was coming. One second he was standing beside Adam Thornton watching with shock and no small amount of horror as the events unfolded before him. The next second he had closed the distance between himself and Eleni.
Orion reached out and snatched her right off the gym floor before she could fall. He drew her into his arms and held her lightly. Pressing his lips to her forehead, he glared at Mateo as he murmured soft nonsense words to Eleni.
“I can’t marry you,” Eleni suddenly told Mateo. She struggled to stand upright and Orion gently steadied her on her feet.
Mateo stood up. He looked angry and belligerent and just about ready to get that fist in his face. “Why the hell not?”
“Because I’m already engaged!” Eleni shouted.
A sudden wave of surprise hit Orion hard. What was this? Who was Eleni engaged to and how had he not known about it?
“Oh, really? Who? Nobody has ever seen you even dating anyone!” Mateo shouted angrily. He was starting to really make a nuisance out of himself.
“Orion!” Eleni shouted right back at him. “I’m engaged to marry Orion King! And I cannot begin to imagine what would make me want to break it off with him to be with some strutting peacock like you!”
“You bitch! You—”
Orion was still mentally recovering from Eleni’s shocking announcement, but that did not stop him from planting his fist square in the center of Mateo’s equally square face. He felt bone and cartilage crunch beneath his fingers as he probably put a little more strength into the punch than was strictly necessary.
The gym teacher roared in pain and shock. His hands came up to cover his face as blood spurted from his nose. The Christmas music and colored lights now seemed macabre as the gym teacher stumbled back three or four steps before falling over backwards. Then he was done and the entire room erupted in exclamations of surprise and dismay. It was certainly going to be the most memorable staff Christmas party ever.
Chapter Sixteen
Sometimes it was possible to feel so very stupid that there wasn’t really a possible way of recovering from it. As Orion drove silently back to Eleni’s tiny house from the holiday party at Addison Elementary School, Eleni figured that she had reached that point. No possible recovery. And at some point she was probably going to need to explain why she had belted out such a pervasive lie in order to save her own skin.
For now though, she could only hope that Orion wasn’t angry with her. He hadn’t said much after the fireworks. Mateo had needed rushing to the hospital because his nose was so obviously broken. Badly.
Eleni could not help but think that part of the reason Mateo’s nose was just so horribly flattened against his face after a single punch was that Orion wasn’t exactly human and was operating with more than just the average human levels of strength. That had to be a thing. Right?
She exhaled a soft sigh and clenched her hands more tightly in her lap. So much for her happy holiday party experience. She really just needed to stop bothering. What was the point? She wasn’t normal. Not normal enough to wind up getting through a social function without some personal disaster hitting home anyway.
Orion pulled up in front of her house. He wedged his truck into the driveway beside her miniscule car. It didn’t take much. Thankfully the rain had stopped. In fact, the sky was clear. It was cold, but the blue light of the moon shone down on them as both Orion and Eleni got out of the truck.
She hadn’t expected him to get out of the vehicle. It’s not like he had seemed to be angry about her lie. But Eleni wasn’t sure that he realized the full import of it or not. She had lied to her coworkers and it was a pretty sure thing that they would be out telling plenty of people what they’d heard. No doubt the whole city of Dallas would know about it before the night was over.
Orion met her around the front of his truck. He was peering down at her in the moonlight as though he were struggling to see the details of her facial expression. “Are you all right?”
“Me?”
“Yes. You. You’re the one who just got accosted by that meathead in public because he was trying to bully you into an engagement!” Orion’s voice rose and rose until by the last words it was practically booming across the entire neighborhood.
Eleni felt her jaw go slack. She knew that she was just standing there staring at him, but what else was she supposed to do? The guy acted as though she was the injured party in this situation and yet there was no doubt in Eleni’s mind that she had embarrassed him with her spur of the moment and totally inappropriate claim to be engaged to him. Talk about a desperate act of stupidity!
“Orion,” she began in a measured voice. “I had no right to assume anything from you and I assumed more than—well, let’s just say I made an ass out of myself!”
“No. You did fine. You were right to say what you did.” He was shaking his head so hard that his dark wavy hair was starting to fall boyishly over his forehead.
How could he say such a thing? Eleni was at a loss for words. She could not imagine how it was possible for such a handsome and somewhat enigmatic man to be so forgiving when a woman was beyond presumptuous about forcing him into a commitment.
The moonlight painted Orion’s big body in contrasting ribbons of light and shadow. It made his face look even more handsome, if that was possible. The way that the blue light cast his already swarthy complexion caused his features to look even more proud as he dipped his head just far enough that he could take her hands in his and lift them to his lips.
His jaw was so strong. There was a stubbornness to it as well. But no matter how stubborn or strong he might be, there was no doubting the fact that he was a willing listener who was always ready to consider the thoughts and opinions of others. And right now she knew that he was thinking more about her than he was about himself. How was it possible for his family, and indeed the whole world, to see this man as a selfish and cold guy who didn’t care what anyone else thought?
“Nobody really knows you, Orion,” Eleni whispered. “They all think of you like some kind of hard ass who doesn’t care what anyone else thinks and always puts himself first.”
“People see what they want to see.” He shrugged it off. “Like your meathead of a gym teacher man. He saw you as a pushover, right?”
“People always see me as a pushover.” It was actually very tiresome to be constantly viewed as someone who could be forced into doing things for other people. “My mother sees me that way.”
“Right. But what they forget
is that it takes more strength to bend than it does to stand. It takes more character and more sensibility to consider the thoughts and feelings of others and try your best to choose your battles.” He was rubbing her fingers with his thumb. The touch was absolutely intoxicating. “And tonight I don’t think you were a pushover at all. Mr. Meathead might have thought you would be. But you certainly weren’t afraid to stand against him when it mattered. Right?”
“I feel like I should have made myself clear before tonight, before it got out of hand.” Embarrassment made her cheeks heat up. She had been such a fool! “If I had made sure that he knew I wasn’t interested, I wouldn’t have been put in a position to make such a horrible decision and embarrass you too.”
“First of all, I’m not embarrassed. So please stop that.” He laced his fingers with hers. The gesture made her feel as though she weren’t at all alone in this situation. It was a welcome change. “And secondly, I don’t think you could have been firmer. Did you ever go out with him?”
“No!”
“Did you accept an invitation?”
“No. Never.”
“Did you ever encourage him at all?”
“No, I was polite.” As soon as the words were out, Eleni realized what he was getting at. “You’re suggesting that being polite is not a crime and that if people are stupid enough to read into it, then it’s on them to figure out what the deeper meaning of something is.”
“Exactly.”
A gusty breeze whispered past Eleni’s stocking-clad legs. She shivered as the cool air managed to head right up her skirt. It was getting colder. Maybe there would be a chance of having a white Christmas this year. Although the possibility of actually having snow on the ground for Christmas was probably so slight that it would be more likely that a random meteor would hit Dallas first. But they might have a few flakes falling out of the sky in time for Santa to come calling.
“You’re cold.” He tugged her closer and lightly pulled her hands up around his neck. “You know now that we’re engaged…”
“Stop it!” She was so embarrassed and he was making jokes! “You don’t want to be engaged to me, Orion. Your mother would absolutely lose her mind.”
“So would yours,” Orion reminded her.
Eleni pressed her face into the welcome warmth of his chest. She should have said her goodbyes and gone inside the house, but for some reason she could not make herself let go of him. She wanted too badly to be with someone. No. Not someone. She truly wanted to be in Orion’s company. He was familiar and safe, and she felt complete when she was with him.
“My mother would be insufferable if we somehow ended up together,” Eleni moaned. “My goodness, we would never be rid of her! It would be awful. I feel like there would be absolutely no chance that we could manage to make a life for ourselves without my mother being on our doorstep every few seconds with her hand outstretched waiting for us to give her something.”
“Believe me,” he said drily. “I could make a point with even your mother.”
Eleni did not respond to that boast. She was sure that he thought that he could. But the reality was that her mother was a sponge just waiting to find resources to soak up. It was never going to be anything but a huge problem in Eleni’s life and she needed to just accept that this was the way things were.
“Eleni, can I come inside for a bit?” Orion lightly touched her face with his fingertips. The touch was so wonderfully tender than Eleni felt as though her insides might actually melt into a puddle.
She exhaled a shaky, ragged breath. “Yes. I think you could come inside for a bit.”
“Thank you.” He dropped a kiss on her head and then turned to allow her to walk toward the front door first.
It was nice to feel as though someone were making sure she felt important. She was a priority with him. Everything about the way he acted toward her told her without words that this was true. She was important. He thought about her opinion. He cared about it.
Eleni’s heart was fluttering in her breast as she used her key to unlock the front door. She had left a small lamp on in the living room. It lit the foyer with a welcoming glow but didn’t shed enough light that it negatively affected the quiet and unassuming atmosphere.
Utterly aware of Orion’s presence behind her, Eleni wondered if she was being silly when she noticed that her hands were shaking. She set her keys down on the hall table. Orion was already stepping into the living room. The way that he looked around made her nervous. It wasn’t his first time in her home, but he had such a sharp sense of observation that she worried sometimes he would see something to ruin his opinion of her.
“Would you like a drink or something?” Eleni called out to him.
“No, I’m fine. Thank you.”
Okay. So that left nothing for Eleni to do besides walk into her living room and discard the wool wrap she had worn to the party. She was still in her dress and party shoes. She felt silly. But suggesting that she go and slip into something more comfortable would have been ridiculous. So for now Eleni took a seat on her big overstuffed chair and waited to see if Orion intended to settle down enough to sit.
Orion suddenly turned around and stared right at Eleni. “Would you say yes, I wonder?”
“Say yes to what?” Her breath hitched and her heart spastically missed a beat or two.
His features softened briefly and for just a second he was so breathtakingly handsome that Eleni was afraid her brains had turned to mush. Then he tilted his head to one side. “If I asked you to marry me. Would you say yes?”
“I wouldn’t want you to feel as though you needed to make an offer just because I presumed on your good nature,” Eleni murmured. She could barely get the words out. Her lips felt too big for her face. Her tongue was too big for her mouth and covered in cotton. She felt ridiculous and so very out of her element. “It’s not like I was fishing for a proposal, Orion. Don’t feel as though you have to pull my butt out of the fire here.”
He snorted. “I don’t. What would give you that idea, I wonder? I was asking a serious question. You set Mr. Meathead on his ass pretty emphatically. I’m just wondering if you would do the same to someone else.”
What was this game they were playing? She felt uncomfortable with it. So she kicked off her heels and drew her legs up into her seat. Then she cleared her throat and picked a piece of lint off her knee. “I suppose it would matter who offered and what it was they were offering. I certainly don’t want to feel as though I’m pushing myself and my affections on some unwilling person. That would be kind of awful, don’t you think?”
“I suppose at this point it would be totally impossible to convince you that I’m serious,” Orion told her. He was staring at her with such intensity that Eleni felt the undeniable need to squirm.
“Not impossible.” She swallowed. It felt like her throat were covered in sawdust. The whole sensation of being scared out of her mind was really unpleasant. How was she supposed to be reacting here? Was he actually being serious or was this just some sort of game. “I just don’t feel like it would be fair. I think you’re probably just offering to make me an—well, an offer I guess—you’re suggesting it because you probably realize that I made a total fool out of myself tonight.”
“Okay, stop.” He turned to face her. He was still standing up. Now he sliced his hands in front of him like an umpire and waved them back and forth with emphasis. “Forget tonight. Please? Forget what happened with meathead. Forget that you suggested to some people that you know that we’re already engaged. Just forget it!”
“How can I forget it?” She jumped to her feet. She was feeling so uncomfortable that she didn’t know what to do with all of the emotions swirling inside her gut. “It happened! Anything that happens after this is a direct result!”
“No. That’s what I’m trying to tell you.” He stepped forward and took her hands in his. “I want to marry you, Eleni. I think I always have. It’s just been—hard. I don’t know. I don’t know how to expl
ain it! It’s like everyone has always made assumptions about us because of our mothers. Then my idiot mother was determined to marry you off to my younger brothers. Then there was the falling out and suddenly we weren’t supposed to be speaking!”
“Yeah,” Eleni snorted, unable to hold her sarcasm at bay. “Because being thirty years old isn’t enough to make sure that we can act in our own best interest and behave like adults without the input of our mothers.”
“Exactly!”
The sharp tone of what sounded like desperation in his voice made her uncomfortable. No. Not uncomfortable. She was just confused. She was confused about what he wanted and about what she might want and about how they were supposed to make all of this work between the two of them. It was all too much to handle.
Chapter Seventeen
Orion was a lot of things. He was a man. He was a wolf. He was a ruthless businessman. But the one thing he was not was a guy who had a good command of his emotions when it came to matters of the heart. In the last few months he had been a mess in so many different ways. Yet right now he felt as though this one thing, this one decision could somehow manage to balance everything else and make it all right.
Unfortunately, it was hard as hell to try and convince poor Eleni that he wasn’t out of his mind. She looked confused. No. Bewildered was a better description for it. She looked as though she wasn’t certain she could trust what she was experiencing right now. And why would she?
Orion took her hands. He lifted them to his lips. The scent of her was intoxicating. It was perfect. So feminine and spicy and familiar in ways that transcended his ability to understand it. She smelled like his and that was the only way for him to think about it.
“Please don’t misunderstand me,” Orion murmured. He lifted her hands to his lips and kissed them one by one. He let his lips travel over her fingers from base to tip and then lingered on the palms of her hands. “I don’t want you to think that what I’m saying right now has anything to do with what happened at that party.”
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