by Julia Crane
Crap. Lauren groaned inwardly. She had forgotten. She really didn’t feel like hanging out with his friends at a club. She had so much school work to catch up on. Not to mention his friends could be downright obnoxious. She smiled sweetly as she said, “I’m looking forward to it.”
Thank goodness it’s only a myth that fairies can’t lie.
“Wear something sexy.” Tristen winked and stood up, throwing his napkin on the counter. He dropped a sticky, syrupy kiss to her forehead. “I hate to run, but if I want to make it to the office on time, I really need to get going. Thanks for breakfast. It was delicious.”
She leaned back to admire his strong shoulders and narrow waist as he left the kitchen and walked down the hall. Shoving another piece of toast in her mouth, she ogled until he turned into her bedroom.
Twenty minutes later, he strolled back in, his hair wet from the shower, and his face cleanly shaven. He’d changed out of his plaid pajama pants and into black slacks that fit just right, a white button down shirt with the collar open, and a cotton t-shirt peeking out underneath.
It still took her breath away that this sexy man was all hers.
“I wish you didn’t have to go.” Lauren entwined her fingers with his and walked him to the door.
“It’s only for a few hours, and you have classes anyway,” he reminded her. He leaned down and rested his forehead on hers. “I’ll see you soon.”
He hadn’t even left yet, and she already felt the sharp pang of loneliness. Lauren nodded slightly and tilted her face up to meet his lips.
Then he pulled the door open and slipped out.
Chapter 8
Lauren was sitting cross-legged on her couch, flipping through TV channels when the doorbell rang. She hit the power button, tossed the remote aside, and threw the colorful afghan off her legs.
She skipped across the living room carpet and flung open the front door. A smile lit her face when she saw Audrey standing in the hallway.
The shapeshifter’s tall, curvy form dominated the doorway, her pale hair in a careless braid pulled forward over her shoulder. She wore dark jeans, a navy hoodie, and a snug white t-shirt that said “100% Organic.” Obviously Donald’s obsession with T-shirts was rubbing off on her.
“Hi!” she said brightly.
“Thanks for coming over.” Lauren stood back so Audrey could step through.
Audrey glanced around the apartment, a look of approval on her face. “This place is awesome.”
Lauren agreed—her apartment was awesome. High ceilings with exposed beams and lots of natural light, plus pale hardwood floors and lots of black-and-white polka dots: pillows on the couch, throw rugs, even an entire armchair in the living room. She shut and locked the door before turning to smile at her guest.
“How did you score this place?” Audrey asked, a hint of envy in her voice. “I’m still living in the dorm.”
“Luck.” Lauren laughed. “My dad happens to know the owner of the building, so he talked the guy into letting me rent it. They weren’t happy about me going so far away for school, but it helps them to know I’m living in a safe, trendy area.”
“I’ve always thought it would be cool to live in a converted warehouse,” Audrey said wistfully. She shrugged off her hoodie and hung it on the coat rack. “It’s so open—I love it.”
“Do you want anything to drink? Soda, juice, or water?” Lauren motioned for the girl to follow her to the kitchen.
“Water’s fine. Do you want to work at the table?”
Lauren looked over her shoulder. “Sure. I’ll grab my books. I figured we could start with calculus first. Is that okay? I’m hanging on by a thread in that class.”
“Works for me.” Audrey pulled out a chair and sat down at the table, then proceeded to pull a stack of books from her backpack.
Lauren placed a glass of water in front of Audrey, and headed down the hallway to her room to get her stuff.
Lauren found Audrey in the living room, walking around and gazing at the framed photographs that covered nearly every surface. Lauren watched as the girl picked up a photo of the whole gang from high school graduation. Donald had his arm draped around Keegan’s shoulder, and they both were grinning from ear to ear. Lauren, Anna, Spencer, Calvron, and Sam were making funny faces and throwing out peace signs.
Lauren smiled, coming to a stop beside the shifter. “Those were the good old days.”
Audrey turned, still holding the photo in her hand. One finger, tipped in bright red, touched Keegan’s face. “She’s beautiful.”
There wasn’t a trace of jealousy in the statement. “Yeah, that’s Keegan,” Lauren responded carefully, searching Audrey’s face for a reaction that wasn’t forthcoming. “The other girl is Anna. We’ve all been friends since we were little.”
“Keegan. Donald doesn’t talk about her much, but I know she still holds a spot in his heart. It’s hard to compete with first love.” She set the photo back down and walked back towards the kitchen.
Audrey’s matter-of-fact attitude touched Lauren. She was pretty down to earth for such a gorgeous girl.
As they settled at the table and opened their textbooks, Lauren thought of how nice it was to have a female friend over, even just for studying. Audrey wasn’t exactly her friend, but close enough. And if the shifter stuck with Donald, she and Lauren would be friends by default.
Lauren hadn’t had any time to make new friends at school. Even the girls she cheered with were more like acquaintances. They already had their cliques established, and she didn’t seem to fit into any of them. Not that it bothered her. Most of those girls were too self-centered.
“How did you meet Donald, anyway?” Lauren asked curiously. “I never heard the story.”
Audrey rested her chin in her hand, and her eyes glazed over, as if she were lost in the memory. “Pure chance, really. I get bored easily, so I roam around a lot. I was in Canada, enjoying being in the wild. There aren’t many places you can get away with morphing into a white tiger. I heard the most heartbreaking moan I’ve ever heard in my life. I went in search of the animal.” She paused. Sadness touched her eyes. “It was Donald in his tiger form. He seemed to be in pain, rolling back and forth, curled into a ball. I couldn’t see anything physically wrong with him. When I approached him, he bolted. I was curious, so I tracked him for days. It may have even been weeks. Time seemed to blend together. He knew I was there, but he wouldn’t talk to me.”
There was a long silence.
“Well, keep going! You can’t leave me hanging.”
“Sometimes he would morph into his human form and go into towns and drink everything in sight. He completely ignored me, even though I was never far behind. I felt so drawn to him. I had to find out what could cause him so much pain.” She laughed. “We still hadn’t spoken a word. Then, one day I followed him to the airport and was surprised to find out he was going to Tennessee. I had never been there before, so I figured why not. I bought a ticket and sat three rows behind him.” Audrey rolled her eyes. “Listen to me. I sound like some kind of sick stalker.”
“No, it’s romantic,” Lauren said with a sigh. She leaned forward on her elbows. “Tell me the rest.”
“In Tennessee, I realized the pain was in his heart. I followed him to Keegan’s wedding. I came up beside him and watched the ceremony. It was lovely.”
“I know. I was there.” Lauren recalled the handfasting ceremony, held outside on a brilliant, sunny day. Keegan and Rourk were so perfect together that it gave her chills.
“I stood with him, in silence, and then Donald put his head down and stalked away. It was another two days before he spoke to me.” A slow smile spread across Audrey’s face. “He said, ‘You really need to get a life if you have nothing better to do than follow me around.’”
Audrey flipped her long braid behind her. “That was the start of our friendship. I never asked him about the girl, and he didn’t offer an explanation. We’ve pretty much been inseparable since then. I’ve grown
to love him, but I don’t think he’s ready to feel the same. Maybe this visit will give him closure.”
Lauren felt sorry for her. Donald was still clinging to the past when he had an amazing future in front of him. “There is no competition. I’m sure you know Keegan is an elf? She just married her chosen. There is no one else for her. Their bond is unbreakable.”
“I know. Calvron filled me in on the details. I just wish Donald would realize that. I mean, I guess he has, but he’s still not ready to move on.” Audrey gave Lauren a tight, sad smile. “I’m trying to be patient, but it sucks.”
“He’s probably just afraid of getting hurt again. He’s obviously into you.”
“Really?” Audrey’s light eyes lit up.
“Definitely! You mean, you can’t see it?”
Audrey shook her head.
“Before you came into the picture, he was a mess. Just give it time. He’ll come around.” Lauren laughed. “I mean look at you, for crying out loud. You’re like a living, breathing goddess. Even I think you’re hot.”
Audrey covered her mouth and laughed as a deep red blush crept up her pale face. “Stop it! But thank you. I needed the laugh. This is nice. I’ve never had a girlfriend before.”
“Never?” Lauren couldn’t imagine going through life without her two best friends. “Why not?”
Audrey shrugged and looked away. “I was a tomboy growing up and by the time I got old enough to be into girl stuff, no one wanted me around. I don’t really know why.”
Lauren knew why—because she was freaking gorgeous and every other girl paled in comparison to her. “Girls can be petty that way. I know it might be awkward at first, but I really think you are going to love Keegan and Anna. You’re going to have to come over for a girls’ night. We’ll watch sappy movies, do each other’s nails, and bitch about guys.”
“You don’t have to invite me. I know you’re looking forward to your time with them.” Audrey looked hopeful. “But it does sound like fun.”
“They’re going to be here for over a week. You’re coming over for one night. I won’t take no for an answer,” Lauren told her firmly.
A slow smile crept across the shape-shifter’s face and turned into a grin. “Thank you. I’ve always wondered what a slumber party would be like. Maybe we can make some prank calls?”
Lauren laughed. “I don’t think that works anymore with caller ID. But I’m sure we’ll think of something completely immature to do.”
Audrey sighed. “I guess we should get to your schoolwork. What are you having problems with?”
Lauren groaned. “Other than everything? I just can’t seem to focus anymore. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I used to do well in school.”
“Maybe you need to get better with time management.” She looked pointedly across the table. “I’ve heard you’ve been missing classes.”
Lauren looked down at her hands. “Yeah, I’m slacking. I just have so much on my plate. It’s hard to keep up with classes, cheer, and Tristen.”
Audrey tapped her eraser on the table. “Don’t worry. You’ll get your grades back up. It’s just going to take a little effort.”
They spent the next two and half hours going over calculus problems. The way Audrey explained things made it easier for Lauren to grasp the principles. By the time they finished, she felt more confident that she might actually pull her grade up.
“You are a genius,” Lauren said dramatically.
“I wouldn’t go that far. You’re the one that grasped the concepts. I just laid them out for you.” Audrey stood up and pushed her chair in.
Lauren looked at the clock and groaned. She had to get ready to go out with Tristen and his friends. She’d much rather spend a quiet evening at home with him. But she couldn’t expect him to accept her friends if she didn’t make an effort herself.
“Thanks again for coming over,” Lauren said, squeezing Audrey’s shoulder thankfully as they made their way down the hallway. “Are we on again for next Thursday?”
“The week after—unless you want to study over break.” Audrey grabbed her hoodie off the rack.
“Oh, yeah. Never mind. I forgot about spring break.” Lauren shook her head. “See? Too much going on. I can’t even keep time straight.”
“I had fun,” Audrey said as they stood together at the door, a hint of shyness in her tone. “Hopefully we can get together again soon. Maybe we can go on a double date or something?”
“Ohhh, that would be fun!” Lauren agreed. “I’ll talk to Tristen, and we’ll figure something out”
Lauren held open the door and watched Audrey walk down the hallway. As the elevator door opened, the shifter turned and waved before stepping inside.
Lauren smiled to herself, already looking forward to their next study session as she walked back into her apartment and locked the door. She hadn’t known that studying could be so much fun.
Chapter 9
Wear something sexy, Tristen had said. Lauren bit her lip and stared into her closet, agonizing over what he would consider “sexy.” Tight jeans and a halter top? Or a miniskirt with a tank top? No matter what sexy outfit she chose, she would have to deal with his jerk friends making comments about it.
She flipped through hangers, pausing to look at everything she owned with a somewhat objective eye—except that, goodness, what was she thinking when she bought overalls?—and finally pulled out a sparkly dress that she had bought months ago, but never had the chance to wear. It was one of her more risqué items of clothing; something she would never show to her mother. This should work.
Lauren shimmied out of her jeans and kicked them to the side, and then tugged her t-shirt over her head, tossing it to the floor. She had to wiggle to get the tight dress over her narrow hips, but it was short and showed off her athletic thighs so it was worth the effort. The front had a plunging neckline that draped almost to her belly button. She didn’t have much in the chest department, but in this dress, it wouldn’t matter. She grabbed her favorite black shoes—she called them ‘hooker heels’—from the closet and slipped them on. She felt like an Amazon woman.
Turning side to side, she checked herself out in the full-length mirror. If this didn’t pass for sexy, she didn’t know what would. After a brief debate, she decided to go without a necklace and put in large silver hoop earrings. She twisted her hair up and reached for a clip, but then let it drop instead. Tristen liked her hair down.
She kept her heels on and made her way to the bathroom to apply her makeup. It gave her a chance to get used to wearing the heels and hopefully prevent her from falling on her ass. She preferred to be barefoot or to wear flats, but Tristen liked her in heels.
Of course guys think heels are sexy—they don’t have to wear them, Lauren thought, rolling her eyes.
After one last glance in the mirror to make sure she looked presentable, Lauren hurried through the darkened apartment, the tap of her heels echoing through the quiet rooms. She grabbed her purse from the kitchen table and yanked a black cardigan from the coat rack just in case she needed it.
Hopefully, there will be no drama at the club, she mused as she locked her apartment door. She glanced down at her exposed cleavage and fought the urge to groan. Tristen had a jealous streak a mile wide, and she wasn’t in the mood to deal with it tonight.
Lauren walked into Tristen’s condo to the sound of a low whistle of appreciation. She smiled good-naturedly, but braced herself for her boyfriend’s response.
“Knock it off!” Tristen growled at his buddies, crossing the foyer to meet Lauren at the door. He looked utterly scrumptious tonight in a pair of black slacks that highlighted his muscular thighs and a white button-down shirt, unbuttoned to show a small triangle of smooth chest.
Lauren’s heart skipped a beat, as it always did, and she smiled at him.
In the living room, three of his closest friends lounged in various positions on the furniture as if they were posing for a magazine. Dark fairies were indeed an attractiv
e bunch: they were all dark-haired and tanned with abnormally white, wolfish smiles and muscular bodies. It was like they were bred to raise a woman’s blood pressure on sight.
A room full of alpha males—the testosterone was through the roof.
“Come on, man! Your girl’s hot,” Garret said, his voice teasing. He had copper-colored hair, dark green eyes, and a charming smile. He was very popular with the ladies, but also arrogant as all get out.
The three fairies laughed until Tristen turned a withering glare on them. Then the room became quiet. He tended to have that effect on people; obviously he was the true alpha of the group.
After an uncomfortable pause, Lauren crossed the foyer, her heels clacking on the marble floor. His face was still. She searched his expression, not quite sure what she should do. She stopped beside him and placed her arm around his waist. He stiffened.
Wonderful start to the evening, Lauren thought with an inward sigh. How on earth could she fix this?
“As usual you’re the sexiest man in the room,” she told him softly.
He didn’t respond, but the tension in his jaw eased just a little.
“So where are we going tonight?” she said loudly, hoping to bring the guys into the conversation.
“Tony’s,” Garret replied, breaking the ice. “Lots of hot chicks there.”
“Good choice,” Lauren replied, ignoring the “hot chicks” part. She liked Tony’s; it was a frequent hangout of fairies both light and dark. “We haven’t been there in a while.”
Tristen’s body relaxed slightly. She ran her hand up the side of his waist and stepped in to tilt her head back and gently kiss his cheek.
“Well, let’s get going,” Connor said as he stood, his tall body unfolding from the couch like a predator’s.
In one swift motion, Galen followed suit, rising gracefully from the armchair. The most laid-back of the group, he had chosen worn, low slung jeans and a plain black t-shirt, where the others had dressed up. Garret and Connor were pretty, but Galen was sexy. An Irishman with rugged features that were not quite handsome, he had a jagged scar above his right eyebrow and his nose looked like it had been broken a time or two. His eyes were the color of honey, and his wavy, dark brown hair was always in need of a cut.