She got up late, and cleaned the house thoroughly every day. She went through life quietly, forcing herself not to feel anything at all. She mostly managed it; the only emotion she really ever felt was miserable.
Amanda tried everything to snap her out of it. She sat on the edge of Erin’s bed late into the evening, railing on about Jack “Jackass” Silver. She flipped between coaxing and scolding at Erin’s even, almost monotone insistences that she was fine, it wasn’t a big deal, everything was fine. She even tried slipping a rom-com movie in when Erin was watching television; that was where Erin had put her foot down.
At last, spent and exasperated, Amanda tried the very last weapon in her arsenal.
“You’re not seriously going to miss the cast party!” She exclaimed as she watched Erin patiently reorganizing the silverware drawer.
Erin shrugged, “I’m not even sure I’m invited.”
“Of course you are! You worked with everyone for two months. You worked hard-you should celebrate with everyone. I can’t believe you’re not even considering going.”
“Eh I just don’t see what would be the point.”
“The point would be to have fun! Remember fun? That thing you used to have?”
Erin smiled indulgently at her roommate, “I don’t have anything to wear that would be acceptable to you.”
“Funny you should say that! I actually took your nun-cocktail dress to the tailor, and… spruced it up a bit.”
“You’re lucky I’m not feeling very emotional right now,” Erin scowled a little.
“Trust me, it’s an improvement. You’d look gorgeous.”
“And why exactly would I want to look gorgeous?”
“Easy, so you wouldn’t look out of place accompanying my brother!”
This finally caught Erin’s attention. She glanced up in surprise, “Tom’s going?”
“Well, he is if you agree to let him go as your date,” Amanda said coyly.
“What? That isn’t at all his scene,” Erin said in bewilderment. While Tom was a nice guy, she’d always pegged him as a bit of a sports fiend. He’d played on his university’s football team, and played amateur hockey and soccer in his off time. Erin thought he’d feel as home at a theater event as a bull would in a china shop.
“Maybe he’s just wanting to get to know you better,” Amanda said airily, pretending to examine her fingernails, “I mean, granted, he was only named the best looking guy on his college campus… and he’s only one of the best stockbrokers in Chicago. He’s certainly not the type of guy you’d take to a party to make everyone notice you.”
A sly smirk crept across Erin’s face. “Ya know…. Maybe that cast party isn’t sounding so unappealing after all.”
~7~
The cast party was in full swing by the time they arrived, Erin’s arm tucked into the crook of Tom’s. They followed the chattering crowd of partygoers up the wide stone steps to the mansion double doors, flung open to the beautiful night. Smiling greeters took their coats in the entrance hallway, and they hadn’t gone five steps before a waiter appeared to take their order.
“You sure do hang out with a fancy crowd,” Tom said admiringly, glancing around at the oil paintings hung all along the paneled hallway. The local historic society had spent nearly a decade refurbishing the old mansion after it was declared an iconic landmark, and the whole place seemed to swell with old-fashioned sophistication and luxury. The grand staircase, positioned just a few feet in front of them, was the oldest one in the city.
Erin smiled indulgently at Tom’s delight, “Not exactly my crowd; my ex-boss’s crowd.”
“Kinda nice to be waited on though for a change, right?” Tom asked gamely, now glancing up to admire the crystal chandelier hanging above them. Erin sipped her gin and tonic, hoping he didn’t expect an answer; not even five minutes in, and she was already beginning to regret coming.
This really wasn’t her crowd; was she really going to stay just to show off to a certain jackass that she could care less how he treated her?
“Shall we?” Tom broke into her thoughts, offering his arm. Erin smiled wanly and accepted, letting him lead her deeper into the party. They followed the stream of the crowd towards the back of the house, out onto the patio and garden.
As grand as the mansion was, the garden was the piece de resistance. Ancient ivy clung to the brick sides of the building, spreading out across wooden terrace roofs so they seemed to be standing under an emerald canopy.
Softly glowing lanterns hung every few feet, illuminating the beautiful faces and expensive evening wear of partygoers in a heavenly circle of light. People lounged at tables and on benches, filling with garden with laughter and conversation as a string quartet hummed in the background.
Erin readjusted her dress self-consciously. With its high neck and decently modest hem at just above her knees, she certainly felt more comfortable in it than in something flashy, but the tailor had altered it so it hugged her ample bosom and butt a little too well.
She’d worn her hair down, with some eyeliner and lip gloss, but made sure she leaned more towards dressed down. The last thing she wanted to do was look like she was trying too hard.
“Wow, done with your drink already?” Tom commented with a laugh. Erin glanced down at her glass in surprise; she didn’t even realize she’d already drained it dry.
“I guess so,” she muttered.
“Good thing this is open bar, right?” Tom nudged her with a good-natured grin. She looked up at him, attempting to smile back, and from the corner of her eye, saw exactly the person she’d both been dreading and longing to see.
She quickly switched her attention back to Tom. “Would you mind grabbing me another one?” She asked in her best flirtatious voice, batting her eyelashes at him. She felt ridiculous, but it seemed to work, as Tom collected her glass with a goofy smile and disappeared out into the garden.
She stood there awkwardly for a moment, wondering how she could appear absolutely cool and in control. She’d imagined a thousand different scenarios for tonight, each one less mature than the next, each of them culminating in Jack gazing longingly and forlornly at her from across the party, realizing what he had lost.
What she hadn’t imagined was him marching right up to her.
He looked amazingly, mouth-wateringly good; he’d swapped out his usual tight t-shirt for a white, button-down shirt open at the collar, his dark blue slacks articulating the masculine shape of his hips. She turned to him automatically in shock, so stunned by his straight forwardness and the amazing heat in his eyes that she momentarily forgot how angry at him she was.
“Jack,” she said a little breathlessly, and then quickly turned her attention back to the crowd, “Nice to see you.”
“Glad to see you, too,” he responded, though he sounded it not at all, “Looking for your boyfriend? I think I spotted him hitting on Tanya.”
Erin suppressed a scowl, “He’s not my boyfriend.”
“You sure?” Jack said with a tight smile, “I thought you didn’t do flings.”
She rounded him, unable to compose herself. “What is your problem?”
He flinched, almost as if she had struck him. Sighing, he had the good sense to look ashamed, “I’m sorry, that was… out of line.”
“Thank you,” Erin replied, not quite keeping her tone level.
“But are you… with him, with him?” Jack asked, his casual tone betrayed by the hard, thin line of his mouth.
Erin crossed her arms defiantly. “What business is it of yours?”
Jack ran his hand through his lush hair, looking more uncomfortable than she’d ever seen him. “It isn’t. I’m sorry, I keep fucking this up.”
“Fucking what up?” Erin frowned.
“You, me, the whole thing… Staying away from you like I intended, letting you get on with your damn life.”
She blinked at him, uncomprehending. “What are you talking about? Don’t you want me to stay away from you?”
&
nbsp; “No!” He snapped passionately,” I mean, yeah, that’s… ugh, fuck.”
“Jack, what is going on with you?”
Jack sucked in a deep breath and exhaled slowly. Suddenly, he seized her wrist and began to lead her back into the house.
“Where are we going?” She asked in astonishment as he gently pulled her back into the entrance hall. Without answering, he turned, and led her up the grand staircase, completely ignoring the polite signs requesting that the area remain off limits.
“Somewhere where we can talk,” he said shortly. He glanced quickly into each room as they passed, and finally seemed to settle on what looked like the library. The room was empty, a small fire glowing in the fireplace cradled among the wall-to-wall shelves, and a beautifully ornate window looked out over the lit and crowded garden. He closed the door after them, but caught her before she could flip on the lights.
“Semi-darkness, if that’s okay. I’d rather not have any uninvited interruptions when folks see a light on.”
“Jack, seriously,” she scowled at his back as he paced deeper into the room, “We-we seemed to be going somewhere, and then all of a sudden you fire me, stop talking to me. You ignore me the entire party, and then get in my face about Tom. It seems like… like you’ve run hot and cold the whole time we’ve known each other. If I was just some fling, you can tell me, I can take it-”
“It’s not that,” Jack cut in quietly. He turned to face her, half his body illuminated by the garden lights, half in shadow,” It’s… complicated.”
“What is?” She demanded in exasperation.
He sighed again, and slowly began to unbutton his shirt.
“Jack, you know I love your sense of humor, but is now really the time?” She asked, watching in bewilderment as he stripped off first his shirt, and then began to undo his pants, “And if this is meant to be seductive…”
“It’s not,” he said with a forced chuckle, “I need to show you something.”
“I think I’ve seen it already,” she replied dryly.
“Har-har. Look, would ya… would ya close your eyes? I’m a little nervous, and I’ve never done this in front of someone else before.”
“Jack…”
“Please?” He sounded so sincerely concerned that with a sigh, Erin did as he asked, and closed her eyes.
For a few moments, there was nothing but silence. Erin finally tentatively opened one eye, and then the other. Jack’s clothes sat on a pile on the floor, and yet there wasn’t a sign of him anywhere. She glanced around in alarm. “Jack?” She called softly into the semi-darkness.
Something large and hairy suddenly seized her hand. She scrambled back with a cry, landing hard on her back. A figure loomed over here in the shadows-too short and squat to be Jack. In fact, too short and squat to be human.
“What the-?” Erin exclaimed in disbelief.
The figure slowly lumbered into the square of light cast through the window from the gardens. Erin fumbled in her purse for a moment, and then pulled out her phone, switching on the soft display, unable to believe her eyes. The phone’s glow only confirmed the figure from another lighted angle.
Standing in front of her was a monkey.
Erin didn’t recall all the information she should have absorbed on those yearly school trips to the zoo, but she was pretty sure it was a chimpanzee. And pretty sure that finding one in a Midwestern house wasn’t usual.
It stood staring at her, its long arms hanging loosely at its sides. Slowly, as if it feared frightening her, it sat down on the carpet, its huge ears wiggling back and forth, and looked at her-as if waiting for something.
“A monkey,” she said out loud, utterly baffled, “A monkey, in the middle of a library, in the middle of a city. How did you get-” she stopped abruptly, realization slowly clicking into place. The chimp grinned a wide, toothy smile, like it knew exactly what was going through her head. I know that smile, she thought with a jolt like lightning.
“No!” She said, half laughing, and half disbelieving, “No, you’re kidding me.” But there was no mistake now-the more she looked, the more she recognized. The chimp even had shocking blue eyes that gleamed in the dim light-a color, she was pretty sure, that didn’t occur in monkeys naturally. She sat up, too stunned to do anything but be amazed by the absurdity. “Well, Jack… when you said complicated, you weren’t just whistling Dixie.”
The monkey began to morph before her eyes, the legs growing, the arms shrinking, like some evolutionary dance performed right there, and after a few moments, it was the Jack she knew sitting there, still grinning, though perhaps a bit shyly. He quickly reached for his clothes to cover himself. “That went surprisingly better than I expected,” he said cheerfully.
“What exactly were you expecting?”
“Not sure. Screaming, fleeing. Maybe tossing a few vases at my head,” Jack leaned back against the library’s large, imposing desk, looking more relaxed than he had in weeks. “I’ve never shown, hell, never told, anyone. My mom knew my dad from when they were kids, so he never got the chance to, uh, surprise her.”
“It’s a family thing?” Erin asked curiously. Some part of her brain couldn’t believe they were sitting calmly on the library floor of a stranger’s house discussing the fact that her ex-boss could change into an animal, but most of her just… couldn’t be phased by it. Whatever form he took, he was still the Jack she knew.
He nodded. “Family curse, going down the male line for generations. Not as rare as you’d think, either. There are shifters all over the country. Most just aren’t as stupid as I am and keep a low profile,” he chuckled at his own ridiculousness.
“Shifter,” Erin commented thoughtfully, “So that’s why you go camping every weekend, oh! Let me guess-you got the curse once you hit puberty.”
“Right on the money. And I don’t have to go every weekend. I’m not forced to shift like, every full moon-that’s werewolves…”
“Are-are there-?” Erin started, but Jack plowed on without hearing her.
“But going a length of time without shifting can cause some, uh, difficulties. Pent-up aggression, animal urges, really needing to roll around in leaves.”
“That’s how you found the food in the woods that night,” Erin remembered,” You shifted.”
“I did,” he confirmed, trying to hide the small hint of pride in his voice.
“Is… is it painful? To shift?”
“Uncomfortable at first, but it gets easier. And it’s not a terrible curse-can actually be really fun, climbing trees, pranking local hunters who swear they saw a loose chimp in the north woods,” he grinned, “Plus it has some nice perks. High metabolism, strength, speed-”
“-love of bananas,” Erin recalled.
Jack glanced at her in surprise, “No, I don’t need a special diet. What, do I eat a lot of those?”
Erin covered her mouth with her hand to conceal her smirk. “Never mind. Go on.”
“Still, I’m sure you don’t have to guess the news that some people can turn into animals would be rather- alarming -to most folks.”
“Hence the never telling anyone. And yet… you decided to be a singer, an actor, one of the most famous people in the country. It’s a miracle no one ever found out,” Erin observed, then added quickly, “I promise I would never tell anyone.”
He smiled at her fervor. “I know. Looking back, it was maybe foolish to get into this line of work-but I loved the stage so much. They couldn’t drag me off with wild horses… literally.”
Erin resisted the urge to reach across and grasp his hand sympathetically; she wasn’t sure if he wanted to be touched by her, even with this big reveal now behind them. “I’m glad you did. You’re an amazing actor, and your voice… it would have been a shame to conceal them.”
Even in the low light, his flush of pleasure at her compliment was obvious. He ducked his head, as if embarrassed by the goofy smile brought on by her words, and quickly soldiered on, “Plus, I always thought I could handle
it. There was… only one thing about the curse that could ruin it.”
“One thing?”
Jack ran his hand through his hair, shooting her a nervous grin, “My dad thinks there’s something in our genes that wants to seek out… compatible genes, traits that when inherited would make the shifter offspring stronger. I always thought he was kind of exaggerating, but…”
“I’m not really sure I’m following.”
Jack took a deep breath. “The first time I saw you, standing there in my doorway… well, turns out my dad was probably underplaying it. I’m not even sure how to describe it. I felt an overpowering desire, need, to have you. From the second I saw you, it is has taken every ounce of willpower to resist seducing you.”
“Seducing me?” Erin asked with a small smile.
“You bet your fine ass, seduce you,” he grinned, “I did the best I could, holding back, feeling constantly like I was slipping up, that you could see right through me… that you thought I was pathetic. I always thought I could handle anything a sexy woman threw my way, that I’d never let anyone see, well…” he gestured to himself, “And then you came along.”
Hesitantly, Erin inched herself across the carpet until she was sitting right beside him. “Know what’s funny?” She asked with a nudge, “I thought the same thing about you. I mean, you’re this incredibly famous star, who answers his front door in a towel with his latest conquest in the bedroom. I never even let myself think that… maybe you’d see me as something more, I mean, until…”
“I was mesmerized by you from the start,” he interrupted gently, reaching over to take her hand in his, “And then after that incredible weekend, when you sent me that email…”
“That you never answered,” she said pointedly.
He sighed. “I know. I was… okay, don’t laugh. I was scared.”
“Scared?” Erin gaped in surprise.
“Of how strongly I felt. I never knew I could feel this level of love for anyone. I don’t even feel that amount of love for myself,” he flashed her a grin, “And here you were, saying you loved me back; but I still hadn’t told you.
Romance: Claimed By The Ape: BBW Shapeshifter Romance Standalone (Spicy Shifters Book 4) Page 7