But the man who had just entered wasn't actually a customer. All the bubbling rage that she had been fighting to get rid of, hit her with a vengeance. She tore herself from Baxter's arms, marching towards Thor Wragge.
"What are you doing here?" she seethed.
Wragge rose one of his thick, bushy eyebrows. "Perhaps I am interested in buying something."
Piper laughed.
"All right, if that's the way you want to do this," Wragge sighed dramatically. "I actually came over to clear the air between us. I am sorry your mother's painting got stolen. I had nothing to do with it, but I understand how upset you were the other day and I forgive you for your little hex."
Little hex?
Piper's hands clenched. The only thing more offensive to the witch than insulting her painting was insulting her magic. She had graduated with top marks in magic at school and had even gotten a scholarship to the college up in Calgary. There was nothing “little” about her hexes!
She opened her mouth to speak when a low growl sounded behind her. She felt Baxter and Patrick step up behind her, flanking her. Patrick was the one growling, his voice rumbling like thunder. There was something very, very sexy about the possessive way he put his arm around her waist, letting the vibrations from his chest flow into her and she held her breath, willing herself to stay calm.
"I think you should leave," Patrick rumbled.
Wragge stared at the giant center forward with a flummoxed expression. "Aren't you Patrick Giles, the center forward for the Uphoria Wolf team?"
"I am. And as I said, I think you should leave."
Wragge glanced from him to Piper to Baxter back to Patrick. He seemed unable to take in what was happening and Piper could almost see the thoughts exploding from his head.
Why would Patrick Giles–the man who could have any girl he wanted in this town–have his arm around the waist of short, pudgy Piper Diamond? What was so special about her?
What was so special about her? Piper was distracted from Wragge for a second. Why had Patrick chosen her and Baxter to have his trois amour with? Was it because Baxter was at every game? Was it because he really liked her art? Why?
"I can see my attempts to extend the olive branch were in vain," Wragge said, sniffing. "Good-day."
"Thanks," Piper muttered to Patrick as Baxter slipped an arm around her waist, resting atop of the other Werewolf's. It felt so… right. But also heavy and full of responsibility. She pulled away. "I think we need to just move on from that break-in. As much as I'd like to destroy that… warlock for it, I don't even know if he was the one to do it. He has witnesses that put him at some party."
Baxter snarled. "Doesn't mean he didn't pay some—"
"Speculation," Piper interrupted. "We have a better security system now, the window is fixed, everything is fine. Let's just forget about it. The cops are probably right, it was probably some out of towner mad that their team lost so spectacularly during the Blue Moon."
It took effort, but she wrenched her mind away from what she'd actually like to do to Wragge to get him to confess. Instead, she smiled at Patrick, hoping it was a polite and not a flirty smile. "Was there a reason you stopped by?"
Patrick still glared at the door, but he nodded and tore his eyes from it. "The final game of the season is in a couple of days and I claimed some tickets for you two. Right against the rink so you can see every bloody detail."
"Oh," Piper's heart sank but she tried to keep her voice upbeat. "Thanks. That would be great."
The last thing she wanted with the break-in and her mother's painting being stolen, was to go watch a bunch of people beat each other up while slapping a disc of rubber around. Maybe she could claim a headache when the time came and send Baxter alone. Her mate chuckled, burrowing his face into her neck.
"I can see exactly what you're thinking," he said, then grinned over at Patrick with an apologetic look. "Piper actually kinda hates hockey."
Piper's face went red. "Baxter!"
"Really?" Patrick's eyes widened.
"I don't hate it. I just don't enjoy it. Or the town when the hockey season is on…" She bit her lip. "Sorry."
Patrick still seemed stunned. He shook his head. "Crazy witch. How can you not love hockey? Never mind, I don't want this to turn into a fight." He pressed a hand to his heart and inhaled deeply. "But if you're not coming to the game, then we're going for a date tomorrow. I'll pick the two of you up at six."
Chapter Five
Piper stared at her hair in the mirror, uncertain what she should do with it. She loved the way the blue and purple streaks looked against her skin, but her normal, everyday style of slicking it back seemed too masculine for this. Its natural curl frizzed around her face, and she grabbed some frizz-be-gone and smoothed it into her locks. The magic substance instantly coiled the flyaway strands into tight corkscrews.
"I love it when you wear your hair like that," Baxter said, stepping into the bathroom behind her.
He was already dressed in a smart suit, and his gaze ran across the matching red bra and thong Piper had elected to wear. Her breasts spilled from the lace cups, ramping up her cleavage, and though she normally hated thongs, she wanted to feel extra sexy tonight.
"Piper!" Baxter whistled. "The fancy underwear tonight, huh? Are you hoping that we get lucky?"
"I swear if you say another word I'm hexing you to kingdom come." Piper put her hands on her hips and glared at him.
Baxter chuckled, reaching around her for his cologne as an excuse to nuzzle her neck. "Look."
He turned down the top of his pants, revealing a glimpse of red silk boxers. Piper felt a flutter of nerves and reached for her fit-and-flare orange dress.
She wanted to tease Baxter right back about wearing his fancy underwear, but she was far too anxious. Was this a good idea? She didn't even know if she could handle being in a three-way relationship. Was she leading them on too much?
"It won't just be tonight, though, will it?" she blurted. "If… I mean, it'll be for life. Just like you and me."
Baxter nodded. "Yeah. It will be. Which is why we want you to be certain before anything happens. I mean, you and me… we didn't really know what we were getting into. And I don't regret it. I love you and I love our life together. But it would have been much easier if we had realized what mating for life actually was before we mated."
"Yeah. I know. And the idea is appealing, but I don't know if it's a forever thing for me."
Baxter zipped her up and kissed the back of her neck. "Just don't do anything we'll all regret and it'll be fine."
Piper smiled, but she didn't know if it was that easy. How did she know what they'd regret and what they wouldn't?
***
Patrick's eyes gleamed with a distinct predatory look when he saw the two of them. He wore a pink silk shirt that stretched tight across his chest, thin enough that Piper could trace the contours of his pectorals and abdomen. He looked so yummy that her mouth began to water even before they got to the restaurant.
Control yourself, she thought sharply.
"You both look good enough to eat," Patrick said.
Piper wasn't sure if she choked out a thank you, but Baxter more than made up for it. Patrick escorted them to a limousine–an actual limousine–and opened the doors for them. Inside was toasty. One of the seats faced back towards the other one, and that was where Patrick sat, facing Piper and Baxter.
"Champagne?" he offered.
"I haven't eaten all day," Piper said. "I really shouldn't."
"You haven't eaten all day?" Patrick's mouth turned down and he gave Baxter a glare. "Why didn't you make her eat something?"
"There's no distracting this one when she's focused. She spent the whole day blending foundations to get just the right shade for her skin."
Piper glared at him.
"Not that that means anything," the Werewolf hastily added. "She does that every other week anyway. She is an artist, after all. She's very particular about her colors."
Patrick took them to the swankiest, most expensive restaurant in town. It wasn't that swanky or expensive when compared to what they could find in the city, but they served lobster, which was pretty expensive for the likes of the young, perma-broke couple. Piper's eyes nearly popped at the prices.
Thirty dollars a plate? This had better be good food.
She peeked over her menu at Patrick. How much money did he actually have? If he could drop ten thousand dollars on a couple of paintings, he had to be really rich. The Wolf League wasn't as nationally popular as human games, so she couldn't imagine he received a giant paycheck. The first date wasn't the time to ask about it, anyway.
"Oh my gosh!" The squeal interrupted Piper's thoughts and she turned to see a pretty girl standing three feet away, her round eyes fixed on Patrick. "Patrick Giles! I love you. I loooove you!"
Piper wanted to groan. Seriously? The girl was about to swoon, her hands clenched to her chest. Patrick smiled politely. The girl took a step forward, her face flushing.
"Can I get your autograph? To Kristal Clarkson, your biggest fan."
"I'll do better," Patrick said. He reached into his breast pocket and pulled out a ticket. "For the final game. Already signed."
The girl squealed. "Oh, this is so exciting. Can I get a quick selfie?"
She had already whipped out her cell phone and Patrick frowned at her.
"No. I am having an important dinner."
"Dinner," the girl repeated as she glanced at Piper. Her eyes narrowed, her jealousy clear. She ignored Baxter.
"Now if you don't mind, I would like if you would let my friends and I discuss our business."
The girl flushed, took the ticket and scrambled away, shooting death glares over her shoulder at Piper. The witch twisted a napkin in her hands, feeling unnerved from the pure hostility in those glares. Some people were crazy and that girl was certainly one of them… she needed to get herself a proper boyfriend and stop being so obsessed with Patrick.
Wait, am I jealous? No… I can't be!
Piper shook off her thoughts and frowned at the hulking Werewolf. "Does that happen often?"
"Yeah, sorry about that. It happens more often than I'd like, but people usually don't recognize me without fur," he smiled easily, relaxing the mood instantly. "Have you decided what you want yet?"
"When did I have the time?" Piper muttered, but when Baxter snorted she flushed. "Sorry."
Patrick grinned at her. "Do you mind if I order for you? I think I know what you'll like."
It would probably be better if she didn't look at the prices. She nodded. "That would be lovely."
***
The rest of dinner passed without further incident. Piper had never tasted such delicious food before. Everything seemed to sing on her taste buds and she had no idea how she was meant to go back to plain old bread and butter after this. The creamy cheesecake–Patrick had clearly done his research on her tastes–the three of them shared for dessert was so divine that Piper ate half of it by herself before she realized that the Werewolves were just watching her eat.
Once they were back in the limo, Patrick surprised her by brushing his lips against hers. A jolt went through her and she kissed back, pressing his mouth open, demanding entrance. With a chuckle, he opened his mouth and their tongues danced.
Baxter pressed kisses to her neck and shoulders, slowly unzipping her dress. She let one sleeve come off, gasping when Patrick's hand cupped her breast, toying with the lacy fabric of her bra.
Oh, God! Are we really doing this? Piper forced herself to break the kiss and cover herself again, though the heat flooding her body begged her not to.
"I need to understand more," she blurted. "If this happens, is it just between the two of us? I mean, are you both going to be mated to me or will you be mated to each other again?"
Baxter slid back a little. Without his warmth pressed against her, she shivered. "I assumed we would… But I suppose a definite answer is needed."
"Of course," Patrick said. "That's the purpose of a trois amour."
His mouth caught hers again. Pleasure flooded Piper's senses, drowning out the voice in her mind that said she wasn't ready for this. She pushed herself against him, wrapping her arms around his neck. Baxter returned to her shoulders, moaning. It felt so, so good.
By the time they came to the house, Piper's lacy red thong had been discarded and Baxter knelt between her legs, his skillful tongue making her want to scream. Her dress bunched at her middle, Patrick was worshiping her breasts.
There wasn't enough room in the limo for what they wanted, so Piper hastily covered herself up again and the three of them rushed to the house.
The cold air slapped some sense into her, though. When the door closed behind them and Baxter tried to pull her and Patrick to the bedroom, she dug in her heels and shook her head.
"I'm sorry." Her face flushed as she saw the desire in the Werewolves' eyes. "I shouldn’t have let it get this far. I'm just… I'm not sure I can commit to forever. I'm sorry."
Both of them looked disappointed and Baxter wrapped his arms around her.
"I'm sorry, too," Patrick managed a small smile. "I promised I would be patient and I wasn't. I suppose I just didn't want to be alone tonight… if I promise to behave myself, can I stay? I'll sleep on the couch."
Piper bit her lip. She liked Patrick. She didn't want to hurt him, even though she knew at this point the only way not to do that was to accept him as her second mate. But would that hurt even worse down the road? Tears welled in her eyes. Why did life have to be so damn complicated?
"If I decide that I can't do a three-person relationship in the end, it'll just be more painful if we keep pushing things to be together."
"If I leave now, I might do something I regret," Patrick gestured to the bulge in his pants. "I'll take a cold shower and sleep on the couch."
"You can sleep in our bed with us," Baxter said suddenly.
Piper's jaw dropped. "But—"
"If we put on a show for him it's not mating," he said.
"But there's the same problem, that if this doesn't end well then—"
"Then we'll have the memories," Baxter interrupted and somehow it sounded like the most reasonable thing in the world. "I want to do this, Piper. Please."
"I won't touch either of you," Patrick said, his voice hoarse and deeper than normal.
Piper hesitated. Baxter always did everything for her. It was so easy to be selfish with him because he never insisted on his own way.
"I can handle it," Patrick added.
Baxter touched her lips. "Please."
His cheeks were flushed and his eyes were dark with desire. He pressed a kiss to her lips, so fiery and passionate Piper felt all her defenses breaking down. God, she wanted this night…
"Okay," she said. "But I hope we don't regret this in the morning."
Chapter Six
Baxter had already gone to work by the time Piper woke up the next morning. She stretched her body, which was still feeling jelly-like from the previous night and grinned. That had been intense!
She had been afraid that desire would overcome good sense, but Patrick had stood at the end of the bed watching them, hands gripping the footboard and hadn't moved. It had been a little awkward at first, but at the same time, it was thrilling. Piper never thought she would like being watched, but it had made everything much more… explosive.
Breakfast was waiting for her after she showered and dressed. Piper's eyes widened at the spread. Pancakes, waffles, French toast, bacon, sausages. Her mouth watered and her stomach grumbled.
"Breakfast is the most important meal of the day," Patrick said, pulling out a chair for her.
"You cook?" She couldn't keep the surprise out of her voice.
"My parents said that my hockey career wouldn't go anywhere, so I went to college to be a chef. I enjoyed cooking. I actually own a couple of restaurants in the city. But once I got onto the hockey team here, it was like all my drea
ms came true and I retired my apron. Except for special customers," he grinned at her, sitting across the table. "How do you feel this morning?"
"How do I feel in general or how to I feel about a polyamorous relationship?"
"Either."
"I feel… hungry."
It was all she wanted to say on the matter and so she began eating. Patrick laughed but left it at that. They chatted about his home life for a while. Both his parents were still alive and lived up north in Edmonton and they were both proud of his achievements–although they were prouder of his successful business ventures than they were of his hockey skills. He had the two restaurants, plus quite a bit of other successful investments.
"So you're like… rich?" Piper asked cautiously.
"Well… I suppose you could say that. Does that change things?"
"I don't know… I don't want to be a gold-digger," Piper picked at her food, suddenly nervous. "So when you bought my painting of Baxter and commissioned another one—"
"I like your work. I wasn't trying to bribe you. But the three of us would be comfortable and I'd want to take care of you."
"The truth is I'm not sure if I could handle it. I mean, Baxter is so mellow and you're… well, you're kind of demanding."
Patrick had the decency to look abashed. He bit into a sausage and glanced up through his lashes, long and thick, almost feminine, at her.
"That's the Alpha in me. I do what I want, I take what I want and I want to lavish the ones I care for. Sometimes I forget that my way isn't the only way."
"And when you and Bax kissed last night it made me a little jealous."
"And seeing you and him together made me jealous. I'm sure he felt the same way when you and I kissed. I thought it made things more exciting. A little jealousy is healthy for a relationship. As long as it doesn't get to Othello levels."
Everything he said sounded so damn convincing. Piper finished her breakfast, thinking hard. Maybe this was going to be a good thing. Maybe she didn't have anything to be worried about.
"Okay, she said slowly. "So why did you pick me and Baxter? It's something I don't really get."
Daddy's Bossy Friend Page 73