Crossing her arms, she leaned against the counter. “Some.”
“It occurs to me that I’m not quite sure how you spend your time these days. You used to enjoy surfing and diving.”
“I still do, when my time’s free.”
“What have you been doing with your free time lately?” he asked, and it was obvious what he was getting at. Oh, that was Geoffrey. He’d ask inane questions, lead the conversation exactly where he wanted it, and then pounce.
Well, she wasn’t interested in playing games with him. “Why don’t you say what you really came to say?”
His chest puffed up. “I got a call from Vance. He said he saw you at the movie theater.”
Her wolf snarled at the mention of the asshole. Frankie grabbed a mug from the cupboard and placed it on the countertop. “He did.”
“He also said you were on a date.”
“I was.”
“Vance claims that the man you were with at the movie theater is a shifter.”
“Trick is a shifter.” Having poured coffee into the mug, she set it on the island between her and Geoffrey. “And I noticed that you didn’t come here to ask me if it was true. You took Vance’s word for it. So why have you come?”
Geoffrey’s mouth flattened. “Your grandmother is distraught. So much so that she wouldn’t even come with me to see you.”
Which hurt, but . . . “It’s not the first time she’s given me the cold shoulder. It won’t be the last.” That only added to the hurt.
“We lost Caroline to one of those savages. We will not lose you to one too.”
Irritation tightened her muscles. “I’m sure Vance told you how he knows that Trick is a shifter, which means you know that Trick recently defended a woman who was being mugged. But I see that you’re going to overlook that and paint him as a bad guy.”
“One good deed does not make someone a good person. For all we know, it was a setup, a publicity stunt.”
“You don’t truly think that.”
“I want your word that you’ll end this relationship. It’s not as if it has a future.” He dismissed the very idea of it with a flick of his hand and adjusted his tie. “Shifters will only commit to their predestined mates.”
He was wrong about that, but she wasn’t sure whether he was ignorant as to how things worked or he hoped to shake her faith in Trick and what was growing between them. “If you don’t think it has a future, why does it bother you?”
“You know why,” he snapped. “Have you been back to Phoenix Pack territory?”
“Yes. I wasn’t going to tell you about it, because I know it’s not something you’d want to hear and I don’t wish to hurt you. But if you’re going to ask me about it, I won’t lie.”
He shook his head in disbelief. “Why would you allow people into your life who are blood relations of that piece of filth who killed your mother?”
She felt her eyes flash wolf as the animal reached for the surface to make her anger clear. “I’m his blood relation,” Frankie pointed out. “So if being his relation makes them filth, it makes me filth.”
Geoffrey appeared to flounder. “The word will soon spread that you’re dating a shifter, now that Vance’s mother knows. That woman can’t keep anything to herself. Do you have any idea how hard it will be for Marcia to listen to talk of how her granddaughter has repaid everything she’s ever done for her by turning to the people responsible for Caroline’s death?” His nostrils flared. “I don’t understand why you want them in your life. Are you doing it to punish us for lying to you about your past?”
That rubbed her the wrong way. “Why do you think this is about you and Marcia? I gotta say, it’s a little narcissistic of you. Or maybe it’s guilt. Maybe some part of you knows you did wrong by lying to me.”
His chin lifted. “We did what was best for you. We always have.”
Okay, now that pissed her off. Because it was a total lie. “Always? Really? I was terrified when I shifted for the first time. Terrified. Because I was alone, and I didn’t know what to do. I’d known it was coming for weeks because I felt my wolf trying to rise. You knew how frightened I was, because I told you. And you said that there was no one to help me. But there was, wasn’t there?”
“They had no place in your life.”
“You made sure of that. You didn’t think of how it might have felt if the situation were reversed; you just cut them off. I would have expected better of a judge. Aren’t you supposed to consider all sides of a situation? Aren’t you supposed to deal with others with sensitivity and have no bias?”
“They didn’t deserve our sensitivity!”
“Did I? Because I don’t think you once considered me in your decision to remove them from my life. You knew I was half shifter. Knew it would be hard for me to be away from other wolves and have no territory. Knew I’d have to one day shift and that someone should be there with me to make sure it went smoothly. You made a decision that worked for you, not for me. You made a decision that allowed you to hurt them, so don’t say you did what was best for me. Maybe you and Marcia kidded yourselves into thinking it was for my benefit, but you won’t kid me.”
His cheeks reddened. “We did what we thought was right.”
“I know you too well to believe that lie.” She sighed. “So, what, you’re holding your love hostage? I can’t have it back until I do what you want?” Frankie shook her head. “Unreal. I make my decisions. I’m a full-grown woman—”
“Then act like one. Grow up. Get a real job.”
“You did not just fucking say that.”
They both turned at the sound of Trick’s voice. He stood in the doorway, eyes flinty, jaw hard. Frankie bit her lip. Maybe it hadn’t been such a great idea to give him a key to the house.
When he’d pulled up outside the house, Trick had guessed that the Lexus at the end of her driveway belonged to either Frankie’s uncle or her grandparents. He’d also figured that there was a good chance that her ex had called them about her date with Trick. So the sound of raised voices had come as no surprise to him.
He’d been ready to step in and defend his mate whether she needed it or not. What he hadn’t been prepared for was the pain in her voice as she’d spoken of how terrified she’d been during her first shift. The words rang with the sense of isolation and loneliness she’d felt back then. It had gutted Trick and his wolf. Absolutely gutted them.
What made it worse was that her maternal family had known how frightened she’d been. They’d done nothing. One phone call. They could have made one fucking phone call, and Lydia would have been at her side to help her through it. But they didn’t. And then for Geoffrey to so coldly and scornfully snipe that she should get a “real job” was the icing on the fucking cake.
Anger surged through Trick, heating his blood. He stalked into the kitchen, fisted Geoffrey’s collar, and literally hauled the flailing human down the hallway and through to Frankie’s studio. There Trick shoved him toward the hellhorse sculpture. “Look. Look.”
Geoffrey looked at it, and he actually did a double take.
“Frankie made that. Not just physically. She created it up here.” Trick tapped his temple. “Tell me that’s nothing. Tell me you’ve ever made something like that in your life. Tell me you could ever create something like that with not only your own two hands, but with your brain. You can’t, can you? That’s not a simple hobby. It’s a gift. A skill. One that’s appreciated worldwide by galleries, artists, critics, and art lovers. But her biggest fans should have been you, your wife, and your son. If nothing else, she should have had your support and respect. Because that kind of creativity and skill is worth a hell of a lot of respect. Am I wrong?”
“You’re not wrong,” conceded Geoffrey, but his voice was void of emotion.
“Then why doesn’t she have it?” Trick demanded. “Why won’t you give her the credit she’s due?”
Geoffrey didn’t answer. Just stared at him.
“Is it because Christopher used
to paint?” Trick asked. The human’s eyes flashed, and Trick knew he’d hit the nail on the head. “He was arty, wasn’t he? You see that trait in her, and you don’t like it. But see, that’s your problem. And it should have been a problem you ignored out of love for her and because you want her to be happy. But you didn’t. For that, you should be ashamed of yourself.”
Jutting out his chin, Geoffrey sniffed. “I don’t have to listen to this.”
“But you will. It’s been a long time coming.” Trick tilted his head. “I don’t know why you’d link this ‘hobby’ with Christopher since, when you think about it, she probably got the sculpting skill from you and your wife. Isn’t that what you’ve always tried to do to Frankie? Shape and mold her into what you want?” Upper lip curling back in contempt, Trick loomed over him. “You’re not going to do that to her anymore. I won’t let you.”
Geoffrey sneered. “You’ve got a lot of nerve standing there, judging me, when your pack is responsible for my daughter’s death.”
“That’s a weak argument. And an attempt to shift the focus from you.”
“Your pack took my daughter from me and my family. I won’t let you take my granddaughter from us too.”
Trick growled, and his wolf snapped his teeth. “You took her from me. She’s mine. Always was.”
The raw possessiveness in his voice took Geoffrey off guard. He looked from Trick to Frankie, and realization flashed in his eyes. He shook his head in denial. “No.”
“Yes,” Trick bit out. “She’s my mate. I missed twenty-four years of her life because you wanted to punish her paternal family and pack mates for what happened to Caroline. But you didn’t only hurt us, you hurt Frankie. You won’t take her from me again.”
“See, you’re trying to steal her from us—you and your pack.”
“We don’t need to try to steal her. You’re pushing her to us with the way you’re acting. In your efforts to bring her to heel, you’re driving her away.” Trick had no idea how the guy couldn’t see it. “And you know what? We hate that. We’re not gloating. We hate that she’s hurting. If you truly love her, you’ll stop and let this be. There’s no reason why she can’t have both sides of her family in her life. Don’t make her choose.”
“You think she’ll choose you?” Geoffrey smirked, as if the idea were ridiculous.
“Yeah, I do. Don’t test that.”
The smirk on Geoffrey’s face died. He turned to Frankie, who was standing off to the side, watching the exchange with a blank expression. But Geoffrey didn’t say a word to her. He straightened the lapels of his jacket as he stormed out of the studio and then out of the house, slamming the front door behind him.
Trick rubbed a hand down his face. “I’m sorry that you had to be here for that, because it put you in an awkward position,” he told her. “But I’m not sorry for any of what I said. He needed to hear it.”
Face softening, Frankie uncrossed her arms. “Trick, I’m not going to get upset because my boyfriend stood up for me.” She wasn’t convinced that anything he’d said to Geoffrey had done any good, but Trick was right—her grandfather had needed to hear it.
Trick crossed to her and cupped her face. “I’m not your boyfriend. I’m a fuck of a lot more than that.”
She laid a hand on his chest. “It doesn’t seem fair of me to call you my mate when I haven’t let you claim me. I can’t have it both ways, can I?”
He gave her a slow grin and whispered, “Sure you can.” He kissed her, lashing her tongue with his, sipping from her mouth. He slid his hands over her, soothing and gentling her. “I’m guessing that Vance told your grandparents about us.”
“Yep. But we’d expected that.”
“Did Vance know what kind of trouble his news would cause?”
“He knew they’d be upset, but not like that.”
Maybe not, thought Trick, but still . . . “He had to know that they’d expect you to end it. And I’ll bet that’s exactly what the bastard wanted.”
“It might seem like he wants me back, Trick, but he doesn’t. What he wants is to keep his options open, to have me waiting on the sidelines in case things mess up with Layla.”
Trick clenched his jaw. “He needs to get it out of his head that you’re an option. And he should know that you have more self-respect than to pause your love life on the off chance that he might come knocking on your door.”
Liking that comment, Frankie melted against him and smoothed her hands up his back. “No one’s ever gone to bat for me before. Not that I needed them to, but still . . .” It had been kind of nice.
Trick kissed her. “Get used to it. No one gets to harm you by word or deed.”
The protective growl made her skin tingle. “My agent will like you.”
His mouth curled on one side. “Yeah?”
“Yeah.” Abigail was protective and constantly tried to set Frankie up with “good guys.” She’d very much approve of how well Trick treated Frankie.
“You know what I think would be good right now?” he asked.
“What?”
“A dip in the hot tub.”
Frankie smiled. “I like that idea. But I have a delivery coming soon.”
He tucked a loose strand of her hair around her ear. “We’ll hear it arrive.”
“Okay then.” Upstairs, she quickly changed into a neon-orange bikini and scooped her hair up into a high ponytail. Walking into the backyard a few minutes later, she was surprised to find him wearing trunks.
Seeing the question in her eyes, Trick said, “I stuffed them in my overnight bag in case we used the tub.” He drew her to him, skimming his hands down her body, shaping and caressing. Possessiveness pounded through his veins. She was his. All fucking his. He tugged on her lower lip with his teeth and bit down. “It’s tempting to forget the tub and strip you naked so I can have my way with you now.”
“Later,” she promised with a wicked smile.
It didn’t take long to get the tub ready. As she sank into the curved seat, she let out a contented sigh. Trick sat opposite her, bracketing her legs with his, and curled his hands possessively around her calves. The tub was big enough for four people, so they had plenty of room to stretch out.
Goosebumps rose on her arms as she draped them over the back of the tub. The bubbling pressure from the jets deliciously hammered at her muscles. She closed her eyes and leaned her head back as she listened to the splosh and burble of the water and enjoyed the rising of the steam as it warmed her face.
Trick gave her calf a light squeeze. “Listen, I’m going to tell you something that I should have told you before. I wasn’t deliberately keeping it from you, but it occurred to me earlier that you might want to know.”
Unease crept over Frankie. Lifting her head, she opened her eyes. “Okay.”
“I told you I’ve never been in a relationship. That’s true. My past has been nothing but flings and one-night stands.” He paused. “I had the occasional one-nighter with Marcus.”
All right, well, that was a shocker. Frankie sat up straighter. “Just to be clear, you mean your pack mate, Marcus? The enforcer who’s mated to Roni?”
He nodded. “We’re close friends, but we were never close as partners. We didn’t have a fling. We just scratched each other’s itches from time to time.”
Frankie’s brow furrowed. It was just hard to imagine them together, since she’d never detected any attraction there. “So you’re bisexual.”
He grimaced. “I’m not really into labels. For me it’s not about gender. It’s about the person.”
Maybe so, but it occurred to her that he likely enjoyed the kind of fun she couldn’t physically provide, considering she didn’t have a cock. Was that going to be an issue? Would he miss that kind of fun? If so, it was possible that she wouldn’t be enough for him sexually, that she couldn’t fully satisfy him.
Trick growled. “Get it out of your head that this could mean you won’t be enough for me.”
Frankie gaped. “
How did you—?”
“I know how your brain works. I knew your mind would go there. It’s a whacked place to go. Look, I get that your maternal family made you feel that you’re not enough. That’s bullshit. I don’t have needs that you can’t fulfill or anything stupid like that. The only thing I need is you.”
His voice rang with truth, but she couldn’t quite relax. “So there was nothing serious between you and Marcus?”
“Not at all,” he said.
“You were more like friends with benefits?”
“Not even that, because there was nothing regular about it. They were random encounters. To me this isn’t significant. It has no bearing on what’s between you and me. But I didn’t want you to find out another way.” Leaning forward, he slid his hands up to her thighs. “Tao once wanted to imprint on Taryn.”
Her mouth fell open. “No.”
“Yes. This was before Taryn and Trey knew they were true mates. Initially they were faking it so that Taryn could escape an arranged mating and Trey could then have access to her father’s alliances.”
Wow, thought Frankie. Having seen how tight the Alphas were, she found it hard to believe that they were originally brought together by nothing more than a deal.
“The plan was that she’d leave after a few months, and Tao made it clear that he was willing to leave with her. He didn’t love her, which was probably why that willingness died pretty quickly. There was never any lingering jealousy or a yearning that he tried to hide. It was just one weird, very short period in his life that none of us ever even thought about—it just faded to the backs of our minds. It was so insignificant to him that he didn’t think to mention it to Riley. But Greta did.”
Frankie winced. The old woman was such a bitch.
“She blindsided Riley to hurt her. I don’t want Greta blindsiding you with anything from my past, so I’m telling you straight up about Marcus. In your position I’d want to know anyway.”
“I’m glad you told me.” Even if it did pluck at her jealous streak. Her wolf didn’t like hearing about his past either.
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