by Meg Ripley
“All right, I’ll play. What do you want your dress to say about you?” She got up off the bed and pulled a skimpy black number from the rack. “This one says you’re up for anything, including what got you involved with Vance in the first place.” Anita snagged another black dress, but this one had a boxy look and a high neck. “This one says you’re ready to join a convent.”
Delilah huffed playfully at her before putting both of them back in the closet. “How about something in between? Something that says ‘I mean business.’ ”
“Then just wear what you’ve got on.”
Looking down, Delilah took in her pantsuit. It was fine for work. Technically, it was even fine for going out to dinner, but it wasn’t quite right. “Okay, more like, ‘I mean business, but I’m not just a callous bitch, either.’ ”
Anita grabbed her friend by the shoulders and turned her so that they were looking in each other’s eyes. “Okay, I think what you’re worried about here is not what your outfit says about you, but what Vance might say to you.”
Delilah wanted to turn away, but mostly because she thought Anita was right. “You don’t even want to know the possibilities.”
“Sure I do. Hit me with it. Get it off your chest, and then you’ll be all set to face him.”
“Fine, but I’m going to say it fast before I change my mind. I’m worried he’ll tell me he wants to take custody of Rose instead of doing this together. And I’m also worried he’s going to say something really stupid like he loves me, but I’m also terrified that he hates me. Ever since he and I met, I’ve been waffling back and forth on how I feel about him and what I want to do about it. I don’t know! The whole mate situation is so damn confusing when you’re a cougar shifter. It’s like a never-ending war between my human and cougar sides, and it’s fucking exhausting.” She collapsed onto the bed, her head in her hands.
“It’ll be all right, kiddo.” Anita rubbed a hand on her back. “I don’t know Vance very well, but I do know he cares about Rose. In some sort of way, he cares about you, too.”
“But it’s just so hard.” She was crying now, the tears audible in her voice. Delilah didn’t like sounding so weak, but at least only Anita was there to hear it. “I don’t know what to think when I’m around him. He’s so damn hot, but I get mad at myself for thinking it.”
Anita shrugged. “There’s no denying he’s a fine piece of ass.”
“Sometimes, I wonder if it’s more than that,” Delilah admitted. “I don’t see what it could possibly be, really. I mean, I’m supposed to be by myself. I shouldn’t want to have anything to do with him beyond letting him see Rose when he wants to and asking him to help pay for her college tuition someday. It should all be nothing but business.”
“But you don’t really believe that, do you?” Anita asked gently.
Delilah wiped her face and marched back to the closet. “I don’t know what to believe, but for now, I’ve just got to get myself to Saint Martin’s and see what he has to say. I’m not the kind of person who likes taking things day by day, but I don’t see what other option I have.”
Finally deciding on a pale blue dress with a touch of lace along the neckline, Delilah showed up at Saint Martin’s as Vance had asked. As she checked in with the hostess, she was more and more certain that she was there for bad news. Vance wanted Rose to himself. Vance was going to leave the country on a mission and leave her to care for Rose alone. Vance had hired a human nanny who promised to keep their secret but had actually exposed them to the tabloids…
He stood as she approached the table and moved to pull her chair out for her. “There you are,” he said with a smile. Delilah was used to seeing him dressed in dirty jeans and boots for working on the ranch. He’d traded that for a tailored charcoal gray suit and a crisp white button-down. Leaving the tie off was a good look for him, and she scolded herself for the heat she felt in her cheeks.
A waiter appeared instantly, smiling and asking for their drink order.
“How about a bottle of wine?” Vance asked her.
She didn’t know how to answer, especially considering she didn’t know why he’d invited her there. For all Delilah knew, this was going to be a whiskey night. But she nodded her assent, and the waiter disappeared.
“I’d like to cut right to the chase,” he said, leaning forward. The candlelight danced over the angles of his face and made his green eyes the color of the deep sea.
“That sounds good to me.” It was much better than waiting for him to get to the point of this dinner, which she was still afraid she wouldn’t like. The big cat inside her was pacing restlessly, ready to pounce or run, whatever the case might be.
Vance pulled in a deep breath. “When you and I… got together, we really didn’t know each other. We were operating on instinct, and as incredible as that night was, we didn’t expect it to turn into all this. We both love Rose, but we never got a chance to know each other as anything other than parents. I thought we should take the time to just talk without the baby here as a distraction.”
A melting sensation of relief started at the top of her head and crept slowly down her neck to her back as many of her troubles evaporated into thin air. “Really? You just brought me here to get to know me?” Delilah could hardly believe it was true, and she wanted to laugh at herself for all the horrible things she’d concocted in her mind. A snicker rose in her throat. “Oh, Vance, you must hate me.”
He cocked his head. “I don’t hate you, Delilah. Wouldn’t have asked you here if I did.”
“I’ve been an absolute beast to you.”
Vance’s mouth turned up slightly, but confusion remained in his eyes. “We’ve been getting along like a house on fire, that’s true.”
“I just… I just… ” Delilah gasped as the waiter brought their wine and poured them each a glass before giving her a look and retreating to the kitchen. “Oh, I’m so sorry. I was just so worried that you were bringing me here for bad news. I think that’s part of our problem, Vance. Every time I see you, I expect the worst.” She sobered as reality loomed large once again. “I don’t know what to think at all, really.”
“I don’t either, but I’d like to fix it,” he said gently. “No matter what happens with us, we’ve got Rose to take care of. I think it’d be best if we at least spend some time together, just us.”
It was possibly the nicest thing he ever could’ve said, and Delilah knew she’d be crazy to say anything but yes. “That sounds good to me, as long as you think we actually have something to talk about besides Rose. I think she pretty much occupies my entire mind these days.”
“You can start by telling me about yourself. The only thing I really know is that you’re our VP—that, and you mentioned having a few animals while you were growing up.” He looked so genuine as he asked her, so eager.
She felt the twitch of a smile as she realized she’d told him that on that fateful night they’d spent together. Delilah hadn’t given him much credit, but the man did pay attention. “That’s true. I grew up just west of here, near Palo Pinto. It was a small community with a tiny school, the sort of place where everyone has known everyone else since kindergarten. There are a lot of good things about a small town like that, but I was in about sixth grade when I noticed this one kid was getting picked on a lot. He was really shy and didn’t want to have anything to do with the other kids, even when we were playing games or having a free day. I won’t bore you with all the details, but it really bothered me that he didn’t fit in, and one day I realized he was secretly a shifter. That’s when I decided I wanted to do something to help people like us. Lots of kids get picked on. We all go through our awkward phases. But it was different for him.”
“Does this guy know how much he influenced you?” Vance asked.
Delilah smiled and took a sip of her wine. “Probably not. He moved away in junior high; I like to think he found a better place for himself. I know we’re not supposed to talk about Rose right now, but I worry about that with
her. How hard will it be for her to fit in when she has an entirely different set of genes from the human kids?”
“We both managed to survive, didn’t we?” he said softly, putting his hand over hers. It was warm and calming, and the glow of the candles encompassed everything in the room as the rest of the restaurant disappeared. “Look, I know you worry about her. I know that’s why you get a little upset sometimes. I think it’s normal, and I also like to think it’s a good thing.”
“You’re mighty nice, Vance. Sometimes I think you’re too nice.”
“Is that why you won’t move in with me? Because you think you’ll be taking advantage of me?” His finger traced a circle on the back of her hand, and his eyes glittered with amusement.
“I just don’t want this to turn into the sort of situation where we resent each other,” she explained. “I mean, you wouldn’t have asked me to move in if it hadn’t been for Rose.” She’d already told him this before, but she could say it without spitting fire at him now that it felt like they had all the time in the world.
Vance lifted a shoulder. “Maybe not. I don’t really know. But we do have Rose, and I think it would make our lives a lot easier. I know our animals both need their space, so you’d have your own room and I’d have mine, and the nursery would be in the middle. It’s not like I’m going to demand you come to my bed every night.”
He’d said it jokingly, but Delilah felt a very real thunderbolt of energy ignite in her body at the thought. He was, as she’d told Anita, incredibly sexy. Delilah couldn’t help but be intrigued by the mix of roughrider and teddy bear that he could be, depending on the situation. He was strong and commanding, an Alpha by all means if cougars ran in prides, yet she’d seen how tender and compassionate he could be when given the chance. She cleared her throat. “Right.”
“I can’t say I’d mind seeing those stunning eyes of yours across from me at the breakfast table every morning,” he murmured.
Delilah yanked her hand out from under his. “No one has ever referred to my eyes as stunning before,” she remarked coolly. “Intense, maybe, but not stunning.”
“They are, though. We might have a few differences, but there’s no denying how tempting you are. Sometimes I wonder if that’s part of what gets us so messed up around each other.”
“I think you might be right.” Delilah felt a prickle of fur emerge on the back of her neck and quickly smoothed it down with her free hand, the other wrapped tightly around the stem of her wine glass. It was hard not to look at his handsome face or hear that slow drawl of his and not remember how things had been between the two of them that night in his barn. He’d been slow and passionate, attentive and generous. He was the type of lover any woman would want, and yet she’d been fighting so hard to keep her distance from him.
They passed the rest of the evening over grilled salmon and scallops. The wine went down easily, and Delilah felt herself being lulled into a heady mixture of romance and desire. She listened attentively as Vance told her about his time in the Army—or at least as much as he was allowed to tell her—and how he couldn’t imagine living in the city because of his love for ranching. For the first time in months, she was seeing him as a real person instead of the man who happened to father her child.
Unbidden, her work returned to her mind. In the dark booth in the back corner of Saint Martin’s, it was easy to forget the rest of the world. She blinked as she recalled the upcoming meeting between the two conclaves.
He picked up on her change of mood. “What is it?”
She clenched her teeth together, wondering if she should dare to ask what was truly on her mind. Delilah had been uncertain of it even when she’d first had the idea after her meeting with President Whiteside, but now, with this dinner and everything that was happening between them, it seemed much more complicated. “I’m sorry, but it’s about work.”
“So shoot. Maybe it’s something I can help with.”
“Actually, I’m hoping you can.” She hated to ask him this, not because he wasn’t the most qualified person for the job, but because it put him in the direct position of protecting her, should she need it. To someone who’d always been fighting for independence, admitting she needed help went against everything she’d believed in—not to mention the fact that it would very much feel like mixing business with pleasure. “You remember when I told you our conclave was having trouble with Austin?”
“How could I forget?” he said with a spark of knowing in his eye.
She studied the weave of the tablecloth in an effort to stay focused. “They’ve agreed to meet with us, but they only want the president and me to attend. We’d like to take security just in case and, well, I was wondering if you’d be willing to do it.”
His face changed, no longer soft and open, but hard and solemn. “Of course I am. How dangerous do you reckon this will be?”
“We’re not sure,” she replied with a shake of her head. “I’m hoping it won’t be any more complicated than a typical political summit, and that we’ll have been overcautious in using your services. But we did talk about having someone else stay in our hotel as backup.”
“A smart move. I’ll arrange for the Force to be there.”
Delilah shook her head. “I don’t want this to be any sort of inconvenience or take you and your men away from what you’re already doing.”
Reaching across the table, Vance took her hand once again. He held it firmly, and Delilah could swear she felt the electricity of his pulse flowing into her body. “It’s not an inconvenience from any standpoint. I’ll get my cousin Caroline to stay with Rose. That’s who she’s with tonight, and she’s excellent with children. As for the rest of the Force, this is our job. We’re here to protect the shifters of greater Dallas, and that includes the conclave.”
“You’re sure?” Somehow, she still worried she was doing something wrong.
“Absolutely. Now, let’s forget about all that and have some dessert.” Vance guided the conversation away from work and future troubles. Delilah allowed him to, preferring the easy conversation they’d been having before she’d brought the whole thing up.
Vance walked her out to her car at the end of the night, tucking her hand in the crook of his elbow as they made their way through the dark parking lot. “I appreciate you coming out with me tonight, Delilah. It means more to me than you can imagine. Now I just have to ask you for one more favor.”
She trembled slightly as they stood next to her car, with Vance gazing so earnestly into her eyes and still holding onto her hand. “Yes?”
“Let Rose stay with me tonight. Go home, and get some rest. I know you’ve been exhausted, and you deserve a break.”
Something snapped inside her, but in the best way possible. He’d been caught up in this situation just as much as she had, yet he refused to let it get the best of him. He was steady and strong—and undeniably sweet. He truly seemed to want the best both for her and for Rose. “Thank you. I have to admit the idea of a full night’s sleep sounds amazing.”
He pulled her close and dared to kiss her on the forehead. “Enjoy it, Delilah. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.” Vance opened her car door for her.
When she arrived home, it was strange to know that she was actually alone. Ever since Rose had been born, Delilah had been either at work or with the baby. The silence in her apartment was both shocking and exciting, and despite a small pang of guilt, she knew she had to take advantage of it. Rose was with Vance, and that was the best place she could possibly be other than there. After a long shower, Delilah fell into bed with a book she’d been meaning to read for months. The words blurred after the first chapter as she started to doze, and she laid it aside.
Drifting off to sleep, she thought about Vance. He really was something else, and she was lucky that if she had to accidentally get pregnant, it happened with him. Maybe, just maybe, there was something more between them than physical attraction. Maybe.
7
“I can’t thank you eno
ugh for coming along on this little business meeting,” President Whiteside said from the back seat of the rental car. “The rest of the conclave agreed that we’d be much smarter if we brought some protection with us, even if the Austin leaders take it the wrong way.”
Vance glanced at him in the rearview mirror, noting how old he’d gotten recently. He was a great man, one whom all the local shifters revered as their president. Whiteside had served several terms, something that was rare in most conclaves, but the votes spoke for themselves. “I’m happy to help, sir.”
“And the rest of your men, did they get settled in all right?”
Vance smiled. The man was always polite and concerned about everyone he met, even though Vance knew the members of the Force could take care of themselves. “Yes, sir. I’m told they’re at the hotel right now. I can contact them quickly, should we need them.” The special phones supplied by Taylor Communications were better than any typical cell.
“Good, good. Glad to hear it.” Whiteside turned to look out the window, anticipation clear on his face.
“You didn’t have to offer to drive,” Delilah said quietly from the seat next to him. She gave him a teasing smile. Vance had a good feeling that if they’d had this conversation a week ago, she would’ve been much more critical of him. Things had changed between the two of them ever since that night at Saint Martin’s, and only for the better.
“It’s the least I can do,” he countered. “Besides, nothing crazy is going to happen at this meeting, and I want to be able to say I did something useful.”
“Do you really believe that?” She was dressed in a black suit that made her eyes look a more brilliant blue than usual. Delilah was the image of a strong, powerful female politician, yet she nervously twisted the rings on her fingers.
He’d started to make a habit of touching her hand, but considering their company, he refrained from the gesture. “I’d like to.” He was a little on edge himself as he pulled into the location the Austin conclave had given him. It was a large mansion in the West Lake Hills area, complete with a massive pool and more land than most city dwellers could afford. Vance had already checked it out thoroughly via satellite and gone over all the details with Max and Jack. He hoped he wouldn’t need them, but steeled his jaw as he drove through the gate.