by Cara Adams
They’d also each claimed a dance with Ivory which should enable them to speak to Ebony again as well. But Ben’s biggest hope was that Merek would be successful in getting Ebony to leave the party with them. Realistically, a kiss was all he could hope for, but there was also the risk dozens of other men would crowd them away from her. Next time he needed to be smarter and claim the last dance. Although what if she chose to leave before the end of the party? Then he’d fail completely. Damn, this romance thing was tricky.
And what had they done all afternoon? Where had they been? He couldn’t imagine them as the kind of people who’d taken a nap. He and Merek had wandered the grounds, hoping to see them. They’d watched the people who went on runs and neither woman joined any of those groups. They checked the hot tubs, the sports courts, and the shops, but nowhere were the women to be seen. Merek had suggested they join one of the games, but Ben felt too unsettled. He longed for a sight of Ebony. He knew tonight would be torture watching her dancing and having fun with other men, but at least then he’d be able to see her. Not knowing where she was or what she was doing was driving him crazy.
They’d tidied their cabin, even though Ben couldn’t imagine Ebony coming back to it with them, then showered and shaved for the second time that day. For Ben, with his reddish-brown hair, likely that was a total waste of time, but Merek’s darker brown hair did sometimes form a five o’clock shadow. While designer stubble was considered sexy by some people, it was a major turnoff for others, so they agreed the conservative option was the better choice until they got to know Ebony’s preferences.
Tonight’s party was a formal dance, so both men had brought suits with them. Ben wished he knew what color dress Ebony planned to wear so his shirt didn’t clash with her outfit. He and Merek had bought a mountain of luggage, wanting to be prepared for all the possibilities of the week-long event. He had packed a deep blue button-down shirt with a black-and-dark-blue necktie. Blue was the color of her eyes, even though that sexy little sundress she’d worn today was green, so he decided to wear the blue shirt tonight. He had a white silk shirt which would match with just about anything, but he’d brought that thinking of the final night, which was another formal event. So the blue it would be.
“I’m so glad we went to those dance classes. I feel more comfortable about dancing now. Meeting Ebony was the best thing ever, but I’m facing tonight’s party with more confidence as well,” he said.
“I absolutely agree. Seeing Ebony there was a gift from the gods, but knowing we don’t dance too hopelessly is important as well,” said Merek, putting his suit coat on.
Ben stood up, straightened his shoulders, and grinned at Merek. “You and me together, bro. We can do this thing.”
“Damn straight, we can,” said Merek.
* * * *
Merek wasn’t feeling quite so certain when they got to the main conference room, though. At the door, women lined up on one side and men the other, and security was checking the women and letting them in first. Only when no women were waiting were the men allowed in. Consequently even though they were early, the men’s line was long.
Once they were finally scanned inside it was no better. There was a bar at one side of the room, with a huge range of beverages and several wait staff, and a stage with a band on it. The band looked pretty normal to Merek, a keyboard player, several guitarists, a drummer, and a couple of singers.
The rest of the room had a row of chairs against the wall, interspersed with little tables holding giant potted plants. Now he looked again, there was a line of equally large green plants in front of the stage, and more potted plants in the corners of the rooms, as well as by the doors where he’d entered and not noticed them as he passed. He was focused on looking for Ebony and Ivory, but he couldn’t see them.
Deciding he’d rushed too much, he looked at each woman more carefully but no one had butt-length black hair, or a whole lot of dark hair piled up on her head.
Well, likely that was a good thing. He only needed to watch the door and sooner or later she’d arrive. The band was playing, but it was background sort of music, not dance music.
“Shall we walk?” asked Ben softly.
He nodded. Yes, indeed. It was important not to appear as stalkers. Not that they were stalkers precisely. It was just that they’d already chosen their woman. Merek wondered how many other men had found the woman they wanted already. And how many of them wanted Ebony? His major hope was that at least half the men who’d been talking to the women at lunchtime had their hearts set on Ivory, not Ebony. Ivory was very beautiful and seemed a lovely person. Merek would be more than happy to have her as a sister-in-law. But it was Ebony who made his cock stand up and who tugged at his heartstrings with every smile and frown she made.
Very slowly they circled the large room, nodding and smiling to some of the people they’d already met, but nowhere did they see Ebony and Ivory. When they reached the bar, they both chose glasses of light ale. Now was not the time to get drunk. They stopped about halfway down the side of the room, where they had a good view of the doors.
He was startled when the music stopped and a woman welcomed them. She was quite a small woman with light brown hair and dressed in a white dress with some sort of ribbons tied up under her breasts.
“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Second Desperate and Dateless Interspecies Week-Long House Party. My name is Dorothea and I’m your host this evening. I know some of you will be thinking how very formal and structured the week is and how many rules we’re imposing on you. The rules are there to ensure that all the women here are comfortable, and that the men all understand it is always the woman’s choice as to what happens here, including whether or not she dances with you. Just to show you what rules are really like, the first item this evening is going to be a formal dance from the days of Regency Britain. You will notice that everyone is wearing gloves, and that the only place anyone may touch a lady is on her gloved hand.”
Dorothea had been holding something in one hand, which turned out to be long white gloves. When she pulled them on they came up over her elbows. Merek barely had time to assimilate that fact when three men and two women came out from behind the stage and stood in two lines in the center of the dance floor. The women on one side and the men on the other. The three men were wearing tight pants that stopped just under their knees and long socks that vanished inside the knee breeches. They had tight coats with long tails. One of the two women was a blonde wearing a pale pink dress with a ruffled hem and pink ribbons on it and the other woman was dark and wearing pale lilac. Ebony! Ebony and Ivory! So that’s where they were, out back waiting for this dance.
Merek relaxed as he watched the six people dance. It was actually damn complicated and quite energetic. Certainly they never even brushed their bodies against each other in the twists and turns of the dance, as they ducked under joined hands and twirled around each other. There were a lot of tricky little steps to the sides and backward and forward as well as the weaving in and out things they did. Merek was glad he hadn’t had to learn that and wondered who the three men were. Fitness instructors or personal trainers maybe? Those people in the olden days must have been damn fit to do dances like that all night long.
At the end of the dance the six dancers bowed and walked around back of the stage again, and the band began to play a modern dance.
Instead of joining the people crowding onto the dance floor, Merek moved smoothly up the side of the room, wanting to see Ebony. But the dancers had completely disappeared. Well, fuck!
Chapter Three
Ebony, Ivory, and Dorothea helped each other out of the regency gowns, rolled up the long white gloves, and kicked off the soft, period-appropriate shoes they’d been wearing. Then they helped each other to dress for the current century.
Ivory and Dorothea had to both change their hairstyles as well, but Ebony was happy to leave her hair as it was, even to the flowers, tucked inside the roll on top of her head. They were white w
hich would look fine with the shimmering blue-green dress she was wearing.
“I’m glad we didn’t have to wear corsets. I wouldn’t have wanted to do all that exercise without being to take a decent deep breath,” said Ivory.
“Hell no.”
“But the shoes were really comfortable. Better than these ones,” said Dorothea.
“That’s true.”
By the time they emerged from the bathroom the three men must have left their side of the area as a conference staff member was waiting to lock the door again. Ebony knew various musicians and other performers would be using the area as an impromptu dressing room throughout the evening.
Hadrian and Gregory, two of the men who’d danced with them, were waiting for them just behind the stage, and Ebony wondered if they were interested in Ivory, or just wanted some company before entering the ball room. She didn’t have time to think any more because they were surrounded by men as soon as they entered the room.
Ivory had sent her the list of those who’d reserved dances with her and she’d struggled to match names and faces, without complete success. However, everyone they’d talked to after lunch had been friendly and nice so she wasn’t worried. Besides, she still had a bit of a soft spot for Merek and Benedict, the men she’d noticed first, and the ones who’d thought of the idea of the picnic. She was glad Merek had asked her for the supper dance, and she and Ivory had arranged to meet up again then, if it was possible. Ebony rather thought they’d be unlikely to see much of each other apart from that, and during the various items to be performed, since so many wolves had requested a dance with them.
The evening went exactly as she’d expected. All the men were wonderfully polite and caring. A woman could get a seriously inflated ego if she believed a tenth of the nice things they’d said about her tonight.
The first highlight of the evening was Ben’s waltz with her. From the way he’d acted in class she’d assumed he’d be perfectly capable of dancing with her without stepping on her toes, and she was right. Ben held her gently but firmly in his arms and led her around the dance floor, dipping her in the corners, and changing direction smoothly when the area in front of him was blocked. In his arms she felt more than cared for. Protected, yes, but perhaps cherished as well. He was so gentle yet completely in control. She truly enjoyed the brief time they were together.
Merek was quite different. His hand on her was demanding, yet his body language seemed to encourage her to trust him. She did trust him. Well, inside the ballroom she did for sure. No way would anyone break the rules here with security just outside the door. At the end of the dance he bowed his head politely to her and said, “Thank you for the dance. It’s now my privilege to escort you to supper. Have you made arrangements to meet Ivory or would you like to choose a table to sit at?”
While that dance had been happening dozens of servers had brought in tables and set them with white cloths. A long table of food had been set up beside the bar. People were already collecting chairs from around the walls and setting them at the tables.
Ebony looked around and shrugged. “I can’t see Ivory in the crowds.” She’d hoped to catch up with her sister during supper, but they were both aware that mightn’t happen.
“Well, in that case shall we join Ben? He’s saved some seats for us.”
Now she noticed Ben. He was sitting on a chair at the foot of one of the tables, his arms stretched across two empty chairs. “Of course.”
As soon as they arrived Ben jumped up. “If you save my seat, I’ll get you a drink. What would you like?”
“A white wine spritzer please.”
Ben nodded and turned to Merek. “Same as before?”
“Thanks.”
“That regency dance looked quite demanding. There were lots of little steps in it as well as a fair bit of dancing up and down. Did it take a while to learn?” Merek asked her.
“We had a YouTube video to follow but it was a challenge. Something very different from usual. And when we met up with Dorothea this afternoon to practice it, we found we had one of the steps quite wrong and had to relearn it. But actually, it was quite a lot of fun as well.” It’d been rather funny as she and Ivory had done one thing while the men partnering them had done something else.
“Have you known Dorothea long?”
“No. We met up once we agreed to be the dance instructors here. She’s the party planner overseeing all the events. What about you? Do you know many people here?” Ebony wondered if they had a range of friends here. After all, it was Jasper, their Alpha, who’d thought of holding the party originally.
“None at all. Ben and I are the only ones from our pack, and Jasper’s women worked behind the scenes this time. They wanted this year to be fresh and new, incorporating the lessons they’d learned from last time, so therefore they wanted a new party planner and organizer. I know Bianca still did quite a lot of work for the registrations and so on.”
Merek stood up to help Ben. Ebony was amazed. Ben didn’t just have three drinks. He’d bought an entire tray with a platter of food on it as well. “Wow! Thank you, Ben.”
He gave her the most adorable smile back, kind of a mixture of proud and shy, and his cheeks flushed a little as well.
Ebony was impressed. Ben had obviously collected a cross section of the foods available, and there was a wide range of tasty treats.
“Do you teach dancing in your everyday life as well?” Merek asked her.
Ebony nodded, chewing and swallowing a tiny cracker with a sliver of salmon and a touch of spicy chili dip on it. “Ivory and I work for a dance school and teach children—mostly girls—the fundamentals of ballet, classical dancing, and tap dancing. We also teach classes of ballroom dancing for several months in the lead up to prom season for older teenagers. As well as that we do a few shifts each week of dancing for general fitness with adults.”
Ben grinned at her. “Your life is just one long dance then. And you enjoy that?”
Ebony gave her standard answer. “It definitely beats working for a living.” But then something made her tell the truth as well. “Neither Ivory nor I ever wanted a standard sit-at-a-computer-all-day kind of job. We love dancing and gained our qualifications to teach our love to other people. But we also are both very well aware that in ten years, or even less, our bodies will no longer be able to cope with the high intensity work seven days a week. Aquatic exercise is big now. We could teach aquaerobics perhaps, or maybe go to partly doing administration and partly teaching. It’s something we’ll need to decide on in a few years’ time. What do you both do for work?”
Ebony guessed that Merek, the more dominant one might answer first, but he looked across at Ben, obviously signaling him to answer. Well that was interesting to see.
“Our pack still lives on its traditional lands. We grow a lot of our own fruit and vegetables but we’ve also been experimenting with some different crops as well and we’ve had some good successes there. Not everyone works on the farm. Everyone is free to choose his or her own career. I work with the fruit trees, grafting and developing our various varieties of apples. And in winter I help out in the maintenance barn.”
Developing new varieties of fruit sounded fascinating. “So you studied horticulture?” she asked.
“That’s right. Then I worked for a year as a kind of apprentice to a man who’s had a lot of success in this sort of field, only with peaches and cherries rather than apples. That’s why he was happy to teach me. Because I promised to stick to apples and not become competition for his peach and cherry work.”
Ebony smiled at Ben. “What will happen if you get tired of working with apples?”
“That shouldn’t be a problem. I like oranges, and we have several glasshouses we could use to grow them in.”
Ebony laughed. She liked the way he’d made fun of himself, yet still answered her question. “What about you, Merek? What do you do?”
“OHS, workplace safety. What can I say? Everyone hates me.”
“Except when something goes wrong and then they love you,” she said. He was grinning. No one hated him at all.
“Exactly. Or when Kyan, our paramedic, isn’t around and someone hurts themselves and he’s the only other person on the farm with a current first aid-trained certificate,” added Ben.
“Are there many injuries?” she asked. Ebony wouldn’t have thought farming was particularly dangerous, but she didn’t really know anything about machinery at all.
The men told her about various lighthearted incidents, careful to include her in their conversation, and Ebony enjoyed watching the ebb and flow of their banter and how they worked together so well to tell their stories. Meanwhile they finished the platter of food before them and Merek brought back some more and another drink for each of them. Ebony was sorry when the music began again and the tables were taken away. She loved meeting other men and dancing with them, but most of all she’d enjoyed that little oasis of peace with Merek and Ben.
* * * *
Merek had loved every minute of the short time he and Ben had spent with Ebony over supper. He’d been amazed that more men hadn’t crowded around them and tried to join the conversation. Maybe everyone was still very much on their best behavior since tonight was the first night of the party. Or maybe they were still looking at the various women, trying to see which ones appealed to them. Either way it had worked out perfectly for him and Ben.
But he had a strong feeling that after the party would not be so simple. Having had the opportunity to dance with and observe all sixty women, many men would already have made up their minds as to which ones they wanted to get to know better. And since Ebony was clearly an outstanding person, Merek knew competition to walk her back to her cabin would be fierce. That meant his plan of cutting in right at the end of the last dance would need to be executed in a timely and professional manner. He couldn’t risk upsetting the wolf dancing with her at the time, yet he also couldn’t afford to wait too long or a dozen other men would catch her attention before he could ask to walk her home.