by Edith DuBois
“Oh, would you? That’s a very interesting fact you’ve shared with me. Thank you.” She felt her sarcasm rolling out but didn’t care to stop it. Why should she care that they wanted her to meet them at the diner? It wasn’t like she’d been waiting for them to call. She hadn’t left her makeup on or anything in case they decided to pop over. It wasn’t like she was the kind of girl who sat around waiting for a fella to call her up.
“I know we messed up. Please come by. It only has to be for a few minutes. We’d like to apologize and buy you a milkshake.”
She suppressed a giggle at the idea of a milkshake apology. Instead, she sucked in a long, drawn-out breath and then let it out nice and slow. “I guess I can make an appearance.”
“Good,” Seb said. “We’ll see you soon.”
There was a small beep letting her know the call had been ended from his side of the line, and Lianne shook her cell phone in frustration, annoyed that she never knew what the hell she was supposed to say to him. But then a jolt of excitement raced through her blood. She ran up the stairs, ripping her pajamas off as she went. She threw on her clothes again and, after a quick glance in the mirror, shot her makeup-covered face a smug smile. Good thing she had left it on.
Then she dashed out the door, heading straight for the Carson twins.
* * * *
Lianne wrenched the door to Savage Hunger wide open. The scent of hamburgers on the grill, of mushrooms, onions, french fries, and of sweaty bodies filled her nostrils. The diner stayed open late on hometown game nights with a minimal menu available, but even so, on a night like tonight, when the Savage Valley mountain lions won, the place was jam-packed. She couldn’t see five feet in front of her through the bodies. Nobody could stay seated. They milled about, stood around tables, chatted, ate, roiled. But Lianne knew where the Carsons sat. Their family had been sitting in the same booth since the first day the diner opened.
Slowly she made her way to them, hugging and chatting with people she knew along the way. A few of the students from classes that she regularly substituted ran up to hug her and ask her why she wasn’t wearing dark blue and gold like everyone else.
As she neared the Carsons’ booth, the thick crowd cracked open, and she saw them. They were seated opposite from each other, their backs ramrod straight as they looked around at all the moving, talking, laughing people. Their lips were thin lines of discomfort. She could see the crease in Seb’s forehead and the nervous way Will’s fingers worked the napkin in front of him.
A pang of empathy shot through her. They looked so ill at ease and almost nervous. But she toughened up her resolve. Just because they were uncomfortable didn’t mean she would make this easy for them. They’d made her damn uncomfortable in front of her best friend, so now they could sweat it out for a bit.
She scooted into the booth next to Seb. “Well, I’m here.”
Will’s eyes met hers, and relief eased the tight lines around the dark orbs. She’d lived around bear-shifters her whole life, and she never got over how dark all of their eyes were. They were the deepest black. It was just the slightest bit strange, but also intriguing.
And now she felt herself being pulled into Will’s gaze. A dark lock of hair fell across his forehead. She’d never seen a hair out of place before, and she thought it looked sexy as hell. A rush of awareness raced through her blood, and she struggled to suppress it. She needed control. She needed reason. She needed rationale.
“We didn’t think you would come.”
“I’m not the kind of girl to turn down a free milkshake and an apology. That’s all.”
Will’s eyes bored into hers, and he frowned. She glanced at Seb. His expression matched his brother’s.
“Well?” she said, growing nervous under their identical gazes.
“What flavor milkshake would you like?” Seb asked
“It’s complicated.”
“Complicated? How?”
At that moment their waitress, Marta, squeezed through the mass of bodies. “Whew! I barely made it through with my garters intact.” She whipped a pencil from behind her ear. “So what can I get started for you all?”
Seb and Will each ordered a burger and fries and a vanilla milkshake.
“And for you, Lianne?” Marta asked.
“I’ll just take a milkshake. The usual.”
Marta looked up from her pad with a grin. “Okay, let’s see if I can get it all in one shot. Two-thirds strawberry, one-third chocolate, extra shot of chocolate sauce, one scoop of chocolate chips, double-whipped cream and sprinkles.” Marta eyed the twins. “Should I make it three cherries on top?”
She glared at the twins but said, “I guess that’s fine.”
Marta bustled off, and Lianne returned her attention to the twins. “What?”
She could see Seb fighting back the urge to laugh.
“What?”
“I thought we’d have to insist on the shake.”
“What do you mean?”
Will grabbed her wrist and lifted her arm, giving it a couple jerks. “Look at these bony arms. Not even a jiggle.” Seb flicked the muscle on the upper part of her arm and then shook his head.
She yanked her arm back. “I have a fast metabolism, okay? I can’t help it, and actually, it makes me very hungry. All the time. I just want to eat and eat and eat. So there’s no need to poke fun of something I can’t help.”
Will’s eyes grew somber. “We weren’t trying to make fun of you.” He grabbed her wrist again and pulled her hand into both of his.
Lianne harrumphed, trying to tamp down the sudden blaze of desire she felt blossoming in her stomach. The heat started where his skin touched hers, but it licked up her arm, tingled to the tips of her breasts, and then raced down to her pussy where it pooled and grew stronger by the second. Add to that Seb’s thigh brushing up lightly against hers, and it was quite a feat just to form a coherent thought.
“Weren’t you two supposed to be apologizing? I think I remember something about that,” she said, noting the breathy way she spoke but unable to form anything firmer than a whisper.
“Well, we can’t do it now,” Seb said, leaning back.
“Excuse me?”
“If we apologize now, after you’ve just brought it up, it will seem insincere, like we’re only doing it because you told us to. We don’t want it to be like that. It will come naturally and when you least expect.”
“That’s silly.”
“It’s true,” Will said, his eyes dark.
“Is this some sort of freaky twin thing? You know, I read this study about how some twins come up with their own language and then live their whole lives never able to fully communicate with other people. It can be kind of sad and lonely, and it’s not that I think you two are like that, but I guess I’d never know. Maybe you’re simply well adjusted or something.” Lianne gasped and put her free hand to her mouth. “I’m sorry,” she said into her palm. “I say the weirdest things when I’m nervous.”
Seb grabbed her hand from her face. “And are you nervous?” He looked deep into her eyes. It was a classic seduction move, but still, she was absolutely powerless to resist. She couldn’t look away. “Do we make you nervous, Lianne?”
A chill rippled up and through her body when he said her name in that low whisper. “Yes,” she answered. “Very much so.”
“Good,” Will said, pressing a quick kiss to the palm of her hand and then releasing her. Seb didn’t let go though. He kept her hand tucked firmly in his.
Marta brought their shakes, and Lianne shared her extra cherries with Will and Seb, but before she could nab the last one for herself, Seb snatched it off the top of her shake. “Hey!”
Seb’s eyes gleamed mischievously at her. He opened his mouth and put the cherry between his lips.
“How bad do you want it?” Will asked.
“There are people around,” Lianne whispered under her breath.
“No one’s looking over at us. The team came in only a few minut
es before you got here. Everyone’s preoccupied with them. Now, how bad do you want that cherry?”
Lianne figured she had two options here. She could either give up the cherry as a lost cause, thank the twins for the shake, and then walk home and crawl into bed. If she went that route, she’d be alone. Just like every other night. And she didn’t see much about that changing in her near future.
On the other hand, there was another option that might have slightly advantageous results, especially in the not-being-alone department. She quirked a brow at Will. “Alrighty.”
She turned to Seb, grabbed his chin, and slowly moved her face toward his. Concentrating all of her attention on the cherry, she formed her lips around its sweet red plumpness. She could feel Seb’s lips barely touching hers. Those lips tickled and tugged at her desire, but she didn’t give in. She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction. Instead, she sucked, making the cherry pop out of Seb’s mouth and into hers.
As she chewed, she held her gaze locked with Seb’s. Suddenly the air between them felt ripe and taut. If Seb moved, she moved. If he breathed, she breathed.
“Umm, I’m sorry to interrupt such a cozy moment,” Marta said, “but I’m just gonna leave the check right here on the edge of the table.”
Lianne didn’t look away from Seb, and none of them said anything to Marta.
“Okay,” Marta whispered, “see you later.” She tiptoed away.
“We’ll walk you home,” Seb said. Lianne nodded.
A few moments later, they were out of the stuffy diner and in the chilly night air. The stars above were bright, only obscured in small patches by dark-gray nighttime clouds.
“I don’t get it, Lianne,” Seb said.
“What’s that?”
“You’ve lived here your whole life, apart from the years you spent at college. We’ve lived here our whole lives. When did you get so…so…”
“Not ugly?” she filled in helpfully. “Not awkward? Not annoying?”
“No!” Will said from her other side, taking her hand and giving it a squeeze. “That’s not what we were thinking at all. You’re beautiful, and contrary to popular belief, that’s not something you’re born into.”
Lianne giggled. “You should be a spokesperson for my cosmetics line.” Despite her joking tone, she felt her heart fluttering like a stampede of butterfly wings. He thought she was beautiful? Had he actually just said that she was beautiful? She almost couldn’t focus on what Seb said next.
“What I was really wondering was when you got so confident?”
“You mean you don’t remember me prancing around in my cheerleading garb? You don’t think that takes guts? I had braces, and I and still wore those awful glasses. I mean, I’m never gonna be a Cherie Crawford or anything, but those were some truly awkward times.” Cherie was captain of the squad when the twins were seniors, and Lianne always got a little sore when thinking about her big-boobed, blonde perfection. Lianne knew that Seb and Will had both dated her at one time or another while in high school.
“There’s no comparison, Lianne, so don’t go there.”
Lianne felt her one brief moment of elation slipping away. Of course there was no comparison. Even though Will had just said she was beautiful, he probably meant it in the intellectual, you-have-a-great-personality way, which was nice, but Lianne knew what guys really went for.
Boobs.
Big ones.
And Cherie Crawford definitely had her beat in that department. In fact, Cherie had her beat in everything—in looks, in personality, and most definitely in sexual experience. Damn, Lianne thought she had put her ungainly high school years in the past, but coming back to Savage Valley after graduating from Colorado State, being around the twins and around all her old acquaintances, brought those familiar insecurities to the surface all too quickly.
Lianne knew she wasn’t the prettiest. She had nice, long legs and a decent ass, a pretty enough face. She knew her eyes were her strongest feature. They always received the most compliments, and sometimes even open stares with their bright-violet hue. But apart from that, she didn’t have that much going for her. Most guys thought she was too thin, and of course, the ultimate deficiency, her small boobs, were a constant point of contention with the male sex. Dudes liked big boobs. She knew that because she’d been told on several occasions while testing out the dating waters in college. Her boobs were practically non-existent with barely enough softness to hold on to, and the few guys she’d been involved with had found it necessary to point this out to her. Like she could do anything about it anyways, she’d huffed to herself on several occasions. But Lianne had always been self-conscious about them, always hesitant to wear a bathing suit or anything, really, that was too tight. She usually ended up throwing on something baggy to hide her inadequacies.
“But let’s not talk about Cherie,” Will said, interrupting her thoughts. “God, I haven’t thought about her in years.”
“But you…then why did you…”
“What?” Seb asked.
“Why did you say there was no comparison?” She felt her cheeks flaming, and thanked the dim light of the moon for making her discomfiture less apparent.
“Did you think we were talking about Cherie? Lianne,” Seb said in a chastising tone, “we were talking about you. Do you think Cherie Crawford would have marched into the bank with a perfect ten-year business plan? Hell, do you think she’d even have the brains or the gumption to start a business in the first place?”
“I don’t know. I don’t really know what she’s up to these days.”
“Me neither, and I don’t care to.”
“Oh. But still, you must get hit on all the time by gorgeous women. Both of you are handsome, successful men in a small town. You’re like catnip for single ladies.”
“Please. Don’t ever compare us to catnip.”
“Whoops. That’s right. What would it be? Bearnip?”
Seb and Will sighed at the same time, but Seb spoke first. “I had a feeling you knew. Did Noah Strong tell you?”
Lianne laughed. “Yeah, when I was seven.”
“It’s so odd to me that you’re related to the Strongs.”
“Why is that?”
“That family doesn’t exactly have a golden reputation around here, yet you seem to fit in well enough.”
“My, how generous of you to say that.” She leveled a hard stare them. She’d come here thinking they were going to apologize to her about judging Jamie before they even knew her, and here they were getting all uptight about her cousins. There had to be something going on with that. There had to be some explanation for why they always kept themselves closed off from the rest of the bear-shifters.
Growing up in Savage Valley, she knew a little bit about all the shifter families. The Kinmans were lawmen. The Ashleys were doctors, and the Greenwoods ran the preservation center. The Carsons were known for their work at the bank, but she knew the rest of the shifters left them alone most of the time. They kept themselves to themselves, which was pretty difficult in a small town like Savage Valley. She wondered if there was something deeper going on with them.
“Why are you so concerned with reputations anyway? The town already loves you.”
“Everyone has their place, Lianne,” Seb said. “You of all people should know that.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means you’ve lived here most of your life. You know how things work.”
“I’m not sure that I do. I’m beginning to think we have very different ideas about how things work. Maybe you should enlighten me.”
Seb looked at her for a long moment. She thought he was annoyed and that he wouldn’t answer, but then he lifted a “what the hell” brow. “Living in Savage Valley, everything we do is scrutinized, discussed, and dissected. In that type of environment, we prefer to keep ourselves as far away from gossip as possible. If that means avoiding people with questionable histories, so be it. We handle people’s finances, their money, their livelih
ood, and we take that responsibility very seriously. Does that make sense?”
“Yes.”
“And I didn’t intend to speak poorly of your cousins, but even you must admit that Carter and Noah can get out of control. They’re wild. But they like being wild. They like pushing people’s boundaries and thresholds of tolerance, so I can only conclude that they like being outcasts. I’ve seen nothing that would make me believe otherwise. Do you agree?”
Lianne forced herself to suck in a deep, steadying breath. Noah was her best friend. They’d spent hours and hours together as kids, and in high school, he’d always been the one to cheer her up when her self-confidence sank to the ground. “Seb,” she said, forcing her voice to remain calm. “I’m sorry, but I do not agree. Not at all. You don’t know what you’re talking about. I respect you. I think you and Will manage the bank extremely well, but you are wrong. You are so wrong. I think that maybe, if you opened your mind and lowered your nose a little bit, you’d see that it isn’t the Strongs with the tarnished reputation but with pigheaded people like you.” Well, she’d gotten a little intense at the end, but she was irritated and felt pretty proud of speaking her mind to them. They were so damn attractive, but they didn’t know anything! She tried to yank out of their grip. They held her hands tight. “Let me go!”
“Not until you cool off.”
“I’m not gonna cool off if you insist on insulting every friend I have, damn it.” She tried to twist away, but that made them tighten their grip on her. “Fine, but now you’ve got me good and surly.”
“Didn’t Noah tell you their family history?”
“Bits and pieces. I know little parts of all the families’ histories. But so what? That’s history. This is now.”
“Not in Savage Valley, and you know it, Lianne. Our history is living and breathing. We’re proof enough of that, as well as each of the bear-shifter families, the lion-shifters, and the Shoshones. None of us will ever escape our history.”
“Just because your history is a part of you and a part of this place doesn’t mean it has to shape every aspect of your life. People change. Families change. Even the mountains change, given enough time.”