Jayde pretended to crane her neck to stare up at Estrella. “Oh, I didn’t forget.”
“ALL RIGHT, LADIES! Gather around and we’ll begin.” The too-chipper blonde at the back of the room waved a hand tipped with hot-pink nails, indicating that they should all move closer to her.
Estrella took a deep sigh to settle her nerves. She got up from the empty table she was occupying and moved to the center of the room, in front of the blonde. She counted five other women clustered nearby, and sized up the competition. Badger, rat, lynx, fox, and harpy, if her nose told her anything. Okay, well, she was the largest predator of the group. She supposed that was good.
She was a foot taller than anyone except the harpy, whom she only towered over by six inches. Damn. She was going to stick out like a sore thumb.
“Hi everyone! My name is Ryder, and I’ll be the coordinator for our event tonight.” The event hostess flashed them all a dimpled, candy-pink smile, her big blue eyes bright with excitement. “For those of you that have never participated in the ‘Speed Mating’ event, I’ll go over the rules of our game very quickly. Does everyone have their name badge?”
Estrella touched the “Hello, My Name Is #6” badge stuck to her sweater, trying not to feel like an idiot. An optimistic idiot, which made things worse, because this was a set-up that seemed bound for failure, and yet the dating coordinators had assured her that they had great success with these kinds of events.
So she was hopeful. The more she thought about it, the more she wanted this possible baby, which meant finding someone who could be the father she needed for her child…within the space of about a week. Someone whom she could see sharing such a big part of her life with. Someone who wouldn’t gross her out when she thought about sharing her heat with them. God.
“Each one of you has been assigned a number,” Ryder said in a chirpy voice that was almost shrill as she strove to speak over the group. “You’re going to sit at your numbered tables and one man will join each of you. You will have the chance to talk for five minutes, and then I’m going to ring the bell. When I ring the bell, each man is going to get up and move to the next table, and we’ll cycle through all of our bachelors in that manner.” She held up a small scorecard. “You’ll have a card at each of your tables. If you like the man, make a mark under his number. You’ll be turning in your card to me. If you and your date both mark your card as interested in the other, we have a match and I’ll be contacting you both to coordinate a date. If there’s no match, you can always come back next week. Any questions, ladies?”
The group was silent. Estrella wondered if they were half as impatient as she was. She just wanted to get things moving.
“All right, then! Please take a seat at your table and once everyone is ready, we’ll bring in the men.”
Estrella found table number six in the corner. A bottle of wine had been left, uncorked, on the table. That was nice — get them all boozed up before the men came in so the odds of making a match were better. She poured herself a glass and tipped it back, drinking quickly. Thanks to her liger metabolism, she’d need a couple more glasses downed at the same speed to even give her a bit of a buzz. It seemed to help her frame of mind, though.
She poured another glass and sipped as she picked up the card, examining it. There were no names — not surprising, since she was wearing a sticker that said her name was ‘Six,’ but it seemed a bit silly and juvenile to her. What was the harm in sharing names? She’d be able to tell what kind of shifter each man was as soon as he sat down, thanks to her enhanced senses. It’d be a parade of men — and a variety of shifters if the female pool was any indication.
For some reason, that thought made her uneasy, and she reached for the wine again, pouring herself another glass. Maybe she needed to get good and sauced before this started. It’d probably be her last opportunity to get drunk before the baby thing, or at least it would be if she got a decent date out of this.
The bell rang. “Date number one is about to arrive, ladies,” Ryder announced. “As soon as everyone is seated, the timer will begin. Remember, you’ll have five minutes for each date.”
Estrella finished draining her wine and began to pour another glass as men filed into the back room of the restaurant. Each table was sequestered away from the others, and no one wandered too close. She could have craned her neck and peered at everyone, but that would have seemed overly obvious — and eager — so she forced herself not to. She flared her nostrils instead, trying to pick out individual scents. She smelled cougar, and the harpy, and…garlic bread. Lots and lots of garlic bread. Damn it. Now she was hungry.
A familiar scent enveloped her nostrils a split second before a massive, hulking form pulled the chair out and sat down across from her. Estrella looked up in surprise to see Vic, his hair still wet from a shower, black t-shirt stretched tight over his chest.
She sputtered at the sight of him, nearly spraying wine across the white linen tablecloth. When she was able to choke down a gasp of breath, she wheezed, “What are you doing here?”
He scowled blackly. “I came to supervise and that horrible little blonde insisted that I sit down on these stupid dates because she had someone cancel.”
“Supervise? Excuse me?”
“Supervise,” he agreed. “You’re in a special situation, so the agency reached out to your alpha just to be on the safe side.”
“Oh, I didn’t know that.”
“You should have. It was in the paperwork.”
That would assume that she had actually paid attention to the paperwork. She’d been a little too fidgety to sit and read the ten-page disclosure. Estrella fiddled with her wine glass. “Well, it’s nice of you to take an interest, I suppose.”
“I have to take an interest. Your child is going to be part of my clan. I’ll be his — or her — alpha.” His dark gaze settled on her face. “Even if you can’t find a decent father for your child, your alpha will be at your side.”
Tears welled up in her eyes. That was so sweet. Hell, now she was getting emotional. Her own father hadn’t stuck around to take care of her mother, and her mother had never forgotten it. Estrella couldn’t forget it either. “What if I find a different kind of shifter? A fox or a wolf or something? Then my child will only be one eighth tiger—”
“Still a tiger,” he told her firmly. “Or I wouldn’t be here.”
For some reason, that made her feel warm with acceptance. She’d never seen this side of Vic. He’d never told her that he didn’t care how much tiger blood someone had running through their veins. She’d always felt like such an outsider. But, looking at his determined face, she wondered how much of it was truly real and how much of her insecurities she had projected on the others.
She couldn’t know. “Thank you,” she said softly again.
“Don’t thank me. Just keep me away from that matchmaker woman before she signs me up for another event.”
Estrella smothered the laugh bubbling in her throat, because she knew Vic wouldn’t appreciate it. “So Ryder talked you into speed dating?”
“Speed mating,” he corrected. “And that woman doesn’t seem to understand the meaning of the word ‘no’.”
“I’m sure it comes in handy for her job.” Estrella could just imagine the small, perky blonde trying to deal with the assortment of customers the agency probably saw over a regular basis. “Cheer up, Vic. Maybe you’ll find yourself a nice mate.”
He gave her a look of disgust and put his hand on the empty spare wine glass at the table. “I’m not here for me.”
“But you’re not mated.”
His face grew hard. “Like I said, I’m not here for me.”
“You’re sure taking this baby thing seriously.”
The look he gave her was tense. “I take the welfare of everyone in the clan very seriously.”
“Yeah, but do you supervise all of them? Hey, you want to come and supervise the actual consummation? You can pinch hit if the guy I pick can’t perform.
I—”
The words died in her throat as Vic’s hand clenched on the wine glass and it shattered in a spray of glass. He released it and shook his hand off, then glared at her so fiercely that it made her pause, mid joke.
All right. That was a ‘back the hell off’ look if she’d ever seen one. Estrella raised her hands, admitting defeat. Silence fell between them, seconds ticking past as a waiter rushed over with an apology and gathered up their glass covered tablecloth.
“Sorry,” she told him. “Bad joke.”
“Very bad.”
Silence again.
He gave the restaurant a derisive look, as if the white linen tablecloths seemed out of place instead of the other way around. After another uncomfortable moment, he flared his nostrils. “There is apparently a harpy here.”
She smiled. Safe territory — back to mocking the speed mating. “Well then, that should make me look pretty good in comparison. I’m glad she’s here.”
He gave her an odd glance. “Estrella, you always look good. If these idiots can’t see it, I—”
The bell clanged loudly.
“Time’s up,” Ryder called out in her high pitched voice. “Everyone please move to the next station!”
Estrella stared at Vic with wide, wondering eyes as he got up from the table and left. “Have fun,” he muttered. “Pick someone good.”
She gazed at his retreating back, still stunned into silence. What had he been about to say? Did he really think she looked good or was he just humoring the broody female about to go into heat? And why did that make her entire body tingle with awareness? She stood up, intending to follow him to his next station, find out exactly what he had been about to tell her.
A man moved to her table, and the scent of were-badger filled her nostrils. He was short, rotund, and had a thick shock of black curls that stood up from his head. He looked like more of a hedgehog than a badger. She towered over him by at least a foot.
He wore a name badge that read, “Hello, My Name is #5” and he was blinking up at her, slightly aghast.
“Hi,” she said flatly, dropping back into her seat. “I’m number six.”
“T-tall,” he mumbled, putting his hand out to shake.
She bared her teeth and gave a feline snarl and was somewhat pleased to see him jerk backward. Good. She stopped snarling and forced a polite smile on her face. “Nice to meet you, too.”
He stared at her in uncomfortable silence. Estrella scowled back, not wanting to put the effort into talking with the guy. After all, they both knew at a glance that this match-up would never happen. As she regarded him, he reached into his jacket pocket and patted the card, as if double-checking it, and she knew he couldn’t wait to write down a ‘hell no’ next to her name.
She was too scary. Too predatory. And too tall. That was fine. Her baby deserved better than a were-badger for a daddy anyhow. She needed someone stronger and more her type. More protective and open-minded toward whatever her child would be. Like Vic.
Her eyes widened. Oh god. Why had she just thought about Vic again? It was simply nesting instinct, right? He’d told her that her child would be safe with him, so her brain was automatically filling in the blanks. That was all.
The waiter returned with a new tablecloth and more wine, which she was glad to see. Estrella wasted no time in refilling her wine glass and chugging the contents.
She emptied her glass and refilled it again. And then again. All the while the badger sat there and stared at her.
The bell rang again a short time later, and Estrella wasn’t sad to see Number Five move on. She’d had just enough wine that she was feeling pleasantly tingly and just a little bit bold.
The next guy sat down. He was almost six foot — almost — and seemed decent looking, with sandy blond hair and tanned skin. Not bad. Not bad. She sniffed the air. Feline breed, though he was wearing enough cologne that it was hard for her to determine which one. This one had potential.
“Hi,” he said with enthusiasm. “I’m #4 tonight. You must be #6. It’s nice to meet you.”
She took another sip of her wine and decided to skip all pretense. “I’m going into heat in less than a week,” she told him baldly.
His face lit up like he’d just seen Christmas.
“And I’ve decided to have the baby,” she added. “Want to be a daddy?”
His face fell. “Um…”
She snorted and poured herself another glass of wine. Why were these speed dates a whole five minutes long? She didn’t need more than thirty seconds to take care of business.
BY THE TIME THE bell rang the final time, Estrella had polished off the entire bottle of wine (plus the refill bottle they’d brought her) and was feeling pretty good. Every single man who had sat at her table was a big fat dud, but at least there was the wine.
As Ryder came by, Estrella hiccuped and waved the card in front of Ryder’s face. “Don’t even bother with mine,” she said, and was amused to find her words slurring just a bit. “It’s blank.”
“You didn’t find anyone you wanted to mark down as a possible match?” Ryder asked, a bit dismayed as she snatched the card from Estrella’s weaving hand. “The only way you can get a call-back on a date is if both you and the man select each other as potential matches.”
“No match,” Estrella said mournfully, tipping over the empty wine bottle in the hopes that there might be a hidden reserve. “They were all wrong for me.” Except Vic, but god, everyone would think she was a weirdo if she put down her alpha as her only possible match. And if that ever got back to him, she’d never be able to look him in the eye again. “No match,” she repeated. “Too bad.”
Ryder tucked the card into the stack and shook her head. “Don’t give up just yet. If you come in to the agency tomorrow, I’m sure we can find someone in the database that will be more appealing to you. We’re just getting started on your dating journey,” she finished with a perky, determined nod.
Estrella glared at her, sitting upright. “You don’t understand.” She got to her feet and raised her voice just a little when Ryder began to protest. “No, listen to me. I’m going into heat in less than a week. I have to find a baby daddy—”
“You’re yelling,” a husky voice murmured in her ear. Vic, behind her. “Use your inside voice, Estrella.”
“I’m not,” she began, then realized how quiet it was in the restaurant. Gone was the clink of forks and the low murmur of conversation. Okay, so maybe she’d been talking about being in heat a leeeetle bit too loud. Just a hair. She shook her head, her shoulder-length hair slapping the face of her alpha. “Vic, you’re so cruel.”
“And you’re drunk. Hitting the sauce while you still can?”
“Maybe. Or maybe I was just blown away by the amazing selection of dates tonight.” When Ryder frowned, Estrella bared her teeth at her and was pleased to see the blonde stumble backward a step.
“And now you’re just being mean,” Vic said with amusement. “Come on, I’ll drive you home.”
Warm hands grabbed her around the waist. He felt so delicious against her that she sighed and closed her eyes, draping her arms around his neck. “Carry me?”
A low rumble of a chuckle, and then an arm went behind her knees and Estrella was lifted into the air, and Vic carried her out of the restaurant. He didn’t even have to strain to carry her gargantuan form.
“See, that’s what I need,” she sighed.
“What’s that?” he asked as they headed out the front door of the restaurant and into the parking lot. As soon as they left the building, cold, crisp air slammed into them. It carried the scent of winter underneath the usual city smells.
Winter would be good, since the heat made her feel so flushed all the time.
“What do you need, Estrella?” Vic repeated when she seemed lost in her own thoughts.
“Someone strong. A real guy. Not any of those losers in the speed dating.” She inhaled and was surprised at how good Vic smelled. It had to be the heat that
was causing her to want to bury her face against him and lick at the cords of his thick, brawny neck, right? Or the heat that made her want to rip off his shirt with her claws and trace the lines of those tattoos with her fingers? Run her hands over his flat stomach…
A hot pulse of need flashed through her, and the scent of her own desire rolled through her nostrils a moment before Vic stiffened.
“Estrella,” he warned.
“It’s the heat,” she told him. “Just ignore it. I’m going to.” She put her face against his shoulder. “See, this is me, ignoring the heat.”
He grunted, though it sounded less amused this time.
One of the strands of his hair fascinated her. It kept touching his ear when he walked, and she wondered how soft it would be. Then she touched it, and of course it was gorgeously soft. She decided her baby should have soft hair, too. “You find anyone at the speed mating, Vic?”
“You were the only one there worth noticing,” he commented in that same gruff voice.
Estrella sighed miserably. “There were two guys who were interested until they heard the baby part. Everyone wants the heat but nobody wants the ramifications.”
“It’s good that you’re finding out now, ‘Strella. Better now than after the baby is conceived.”
Her eyes began to water with sudden, weepy, ridiculous, drunken tears. “I need someone who’s going to be at my side the entire time. Someone responsible who wants me just as much as they want a baby.”
“I know, sugar. I know.”
She reached out and smacked him on the arm just as he put her down. “I’m not your sugar, Vic Barlow.”
He chuckled and pulled out his car keys, ignoring her turn of mood. “You’re also not crying anymore, which is all I wanted. Now get in. I’m driving.”
Evil, evil man.
THE COLD FRONT THAT HAD ROLLED through North Texas hadn’t brought more than gusty winds and a light, gloomy drizzle, but Estrella appreciated it all the same. With the temperatures firmly in the upper thirties, she wouldn’t be breaking into a heat-induced sweat every time she went outside. She thought she’d get hot flashes when she went through menopause; apparently she got them when her hormones were ramping up to eleven, too.
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