by V. A. Dold
He knew the emotions he felt crushing his chest were hers.
Unconsciously, he rubbed the heel of his hand over the ache and tried to form words. He’d hurt her badly, and for some reason, his heart broke as well. Dang it, he couldn’t think clearly when it came to her, much less, form a complete sentence.
“Please, let me apologize…”
“Why, Tommy? Do you suddenly feel differently?”
Her voice, though only a whisper, was filled with emotion, and it sent a frisson of desire through his entire body. Longing replaced the ache in his chest and swirled in his belly. He felt her whisper all the way to his toes. No one had ever dared call him Tommy before, but when she did, he kind of liked it.
Awareness hit him like a freight train. When had she slipped into his heart, lodged so deeply he knew there was no chance of his walking away?
Stepping to her, he ran his hands through his hair, the confusion evident in his eyes. “Yeah, I guess I do feel differently.”
Her lashes fluttered like she was trying to prevent tears from falling, and he found himself gazing into two deep pools of rich brandy. The jolt almost knocked him on his ass. The woman was downright dangerous. She didn’t even need to touch him to bring him to his knees.
Like steel to a magnet, she drew him in. He couldn’t stop himself from pulling her close and brushing her lips gently with his own. His body immediately went on alert.
A shy smile slowly curved her lips. Evidently, she felt his condition against her belly as well.
To hell with the audience they had, he needed more than one small kiss. Wrapping his hand around the nape of her neck, he growled into her ear, “I need you to kiss me right now, Julia.”
The demand was guttural with need. He’d never been so turned on in his life. He hadn’t believed it was possible for him to feel this strongly for a woman.
Without a word, she raised her face to his.
His kiss was fierce and a claiming in and of itself. He wanted to kiss her forever. But that wasn’t logical. Eventually, they had to come up for air. With one last, soft kiss, he lifted his head.
Julia smiled at him, a gentle, sweet smile. Holy hell, just her smile had his body hard enough to pound nails.
Comprehension dawned, and silently he admitted to himself, one lifetime, even a shifter’s long life of fourteen hundred years, wasn’t long enough to spend with her. Whoa. What the hell am I thinking? Dating, yes. Mating the woman, that’s a wait and see, kind of thing.
He gazed off into the distance as if he were considering something, then nodded almost imperceptibly, as if agreeing with himself.
Julia’s pulse skipped as she watched a slow grin tug at Tommy’s kissable lips. And here she thought he was handsome when he was grouchy. This man with his sexy smile was utterly gorgeous. The transformation was nothing short of shocking, in a very arousing way.
Thomas felt nervous and awkward as he considered dating Julia, heck, dating any woman, but ten times less sure of himself with her. Relationships were so foreign to him, he was used to being in charge, calling the shots, and in this situation, he was a fish out of water. If she needed him to arrest someone, no problem, but dating, and, God forbid, romance? That was something altogether different.
Julia kept her face averted as she tried not to giggle at his thoughts and anguish. His reaction was hilarious, but there was no way she was going to react. His feelings of inadequacy were endearing and downright sweet.
It was obvious he didn’t realize she just heard his thoughts. It was amusing that he thought he could actually fight or control the mating bond. But, for now, she would let him believe he had some control over the situation.
His piercing blue gaze returned to her. Once again, Julia felt the impact all the way to her toes. Intense. Powerful. Captivating.
She waited for him to speak, his gaze searching her eyes and moving over her face. Uncertainty darkened his eyes as he eased his hold and cleared his throat.
“Would you mind if John and I came to The Backwater tonight?” Quickly he added, “To review your security procedures, of course.”
“I would love to have you guys come out.” Check security, my butt.
He cleared his throat again. “Good. Then I’ll see you tonight.”
He reached for her hand, sliding his fingers over hers, in a casual caress. Her gaze locked with his, and she knew there must be a million questions dancing in her eyes. His gaze never left hers as he brought her palm to his chest. The gesture made her heart rejoice in a thunderous pounding ovation. It may take a little time, but he was coming around.
She could feel his passionate need to protect her. Defending the people he loved was so deeply ingrained in his nature. She wondered if he realized that about himself.
“Would you like to join us for a cup of coffee?”
“I would love to.”
Julia preceded him to the patio table where her cousins still sat. Amazingly, they had managed to keep their usual snarky comments to themselves during her and Tommy’s exchange. She shot a quick glance at Tommy as she took her seat. She couldn’t help herself. Her eyes were just naturally drawn to him.
Thomas’s heart skipped a beat when he caught her looking his way.
She could knock the thoughts right out of his head when she looked at him like that. Having studied her at the gathering and again this morning, he had the feeling Julia was a woman who could handle herself. He couldn’t put his finger on why he felt that way, but he did. Regardless, it didn’t stop him from needing to protect her. From life? From the guys at the bar? He had no idea what he was protecting her from. He just had this bone-deep need to make sure she was safe.
He flung his arm casually around the back of her chair as Simon poured her a cup of coffee.
“Good morning, cher,” Cade said grinning at her and then Thomas.
Chapter Five
She was enjoying the coffee and company, but Julia had a full day, and she really needed to get going.
She finished her last sip and set her cup on the table. “Thank you for the coffee, Simon. And I’ll see you and John tonight,” she said to Thomas.
Thomas rose with her as she stood to go.
“I’ll walk you to your car.”
The stroll across the yard was a quiet one. Neither spoke. She hoped this awkward phase would pass quickly.
Julia exhaled a nervous breath. “I’d really like to get to know you better, Tommy.”
“I would like to get to know you, too.” Thomas grinned broadly. “Can I take you out tonight?” he asked, completely forgetting the ruse of checking her security.
“I need to open the bar, but I’ll be off by eight or so. Will that work?”
“Works for me. Is it okay if I come to The Backwater and hang out until you’re ready to leave?”
Julia smiled brightly. “I’d like that.”
Thomas held the car door for her. Once she was belted in, he leaned forward and captured her lips. Ten minutes later, he was finally waving goodbye as she pulled away.
Shaking her head, Julia attempted to rid her brain of the mind-numbing fog Thomas caused every time he kissed her. Focusing her eyes on the road and gathering her scattered wits, she managed to make the turn to her private dock on her first try. It could be a real hassle to maintain a dock space on the mainland and live in the swamp, but she loved it.
Several minutes later, Thomas rejoined the men at the table.
“So, where were we?” he asked as if there wasn’t an elephant in the room.
Marcus shook his head, chuckling. “You sure have a way with women, Tommy. I should have taken notes.”
“Go to hell,” Thomas snarled, “and if you call me ‘Tommy’ again, I’ll kick your ass.”
Another deep chuckle rumbled from Marcus. “You’re in so deep you can’t even see daylight.”
“Enough, Marcus,” Cade ordered, then he looked at his stepson. “You can pretend your r
eactions to Julia and the mating aren’t happening, but like I said, we’ll talk about it when this meeting is over.” Cade held up his hands when Thomas looked like he was going to blast him. “Don’t get me wrong. Believe me. I get it. You have the same baffled expression each of us wore when we first met our mates. Women are confusing as hell.”
Thomas glared at Cade for a moment longer and then gave him a single nod.
Simon grasped Thomas’s forearm in solidarity. “If you ever want to talk, I’m here for you, as well.”
He nodded again. “Okay. But I’m good.” At least he hoped he was.
The security meeting seemed to take all day, when, in fact, it was a half hour. As the men adjourned and stood to leave, Cade caught Thomas’s attention.
“I would like you to come by the house and have a chat with your mother and me.”
“I really don’t think…”
“It wasn’t a request.”
Thomas narrowed his eyes on Cade, but in the end walked with him to the house his mother shared with his stepfather.
“Take a seat, son. Would you like anything to drink?”
“No, I’m good. Is this going to take long? I have things to do.”
“Thomas!” Anna exclaimed as she walked through the front door.
“Hi, Mom.”
Cade joined them, carrying two cups of coffee. He kissed Anna on the cheek and handed a cup of decaf to her as he passed. “Cher, do you have a few minutes to chat with us?”
“Sure, what about?”
“Cade is butting in,” Thomas groused.
“Thomas needs a come to Jesus lecture about mates,” Cade corrected.
“Oh, I see.” Anna nodded, all too knowing.
“Can’t you all just back off? I don’t do relationships.” He turned to his mother, a tragic expression darkening his eyes. “Mom, you know I don’t.”
“Yes. I do, and I haven’t told you, but I know why. I’m sorry I made such a horribly poor choice with my first husband. I only recently learned how terribly wrong I was to stay with him. If I’d known, I would have left him much sooner. But, honey, a mate is something entirely different. You can’t compare dating and a human relationship to that of a mate.”
“Yeah, yeah. That’s what you all say.”
Cade looked at him. “There’s a reason we all say it. It’s true. Look at Simon and the way he suffered when he tried to let Rose go for her own good. Or Stefan and his nearly suicidal reaction to El’s rejection. You can’t throw away a blessed union the Goddess has set in motion. The ramifications are unspeakable.”
Anna nodded in agreement to everything Cade said. It was all true, and Thomas knew that. He just didn’t want it to be true for him.
“I hear what you’re saying, and I’ll get to know her and see where it goes. But…and this is a big but…if you and the guys don’t back off and leave us to figure this out, I’ll end it right now.”
Cade put up his hands in surrender. “I’ll stay out of it. I simply wanted this one talk. From here it’s up to you.”
“Baby, if you want any advice or if you have shifter relationship questions, please come to us and ask. Promise me you will talk to us and keep an open mind about the mating.”
“I promise, Mom.”
Thomas stood. He’d had enough touchy-feely for the day. As he made his way to the door, Anna grabbed him into a tight hug. Holding on like her life depended on it.
“It’s okay, Mom. I promise.”
“I love you, Thomas. With all my heart.”
“I know. I love you, too.”
Cade clapped him on the shoulder and gave him a thumbs-up as he walked out the door. At least that humiliation was over and done with.
Thank God, they didn’t know he had a date with Julia tonight or who knows how long he would’ve been trapped in that conversation from hell. He shivered to imagine what advice they would have given him.
A wave of excited fluttering erupted in his stomach. Just the thought of seeing Julia in a few hours had his pulse racing.
Lucas caught up with Thomas as he reached the main house. Now that the men had reviewed the security issues, he had a meeting with Grandpa.
“What did I miss? How did it go with Julia? Everything cool again?” Lucas shot questions at him at the speed of light.
“Yeah. As a matter of fact, I’m seeing her tonight at The Backwater,” Thomas stated with a goofy smile on his lips.
Lucas clapped him on the back. “Sorry for messing with you. I couldn’t help myself. But, man, you make it way too easy.”
“You need to stay away from Stefan. He’s wearing off on you, and it’s not attractive,” Thomas grumbled.
“That might be difficult seeing as we’re both going to The Backwater tonight, too.”
“Oh. Hell, no!”
“Don’t worry.” Lucas grinned. “We’ll stay at the other end of the bar and pretend we don’t know you.”
“That’s it.” Thomas checked his gun and verified the tie down was secure in his shoulder holster. “I need to leave.”
Now Lucas frowned. “What for?”
“If I don’t,” Thomas glared at him, “I’m bound to shoot your ass,” he said and stalked off.
Isaac walked into the living room where Lucas and Thomas were supposed to meet him.
“Is Thomas running late?” Isaac asked.
Lucas rubbed his neck sheepishly. “Not exactly.”
“What is he…exactly?” Isaac growled. “What did you do?”
“I might have teased him a little bit and implied I was setting Julia up with one of my friends. And then told him we were going to be hanging out at The Backwater tonight while he is waiting for Julia to get off work.”
“Dammit! We need to go over security procedures before any further social engagements. Which, now that I’m king again will be often. Fix this.”
Isaac stomped out of the room shaking his head and mumbling about adolescence and stupidity.
Julia hopped on one foot as she pulled on the tailored pants she was wearing tonight. Thomas would be here, and she wanted to wear something nicer than her normal blue jeans and T-shirt.
Now, for the hair. No amount of brushing, curling iron, or hairspray was going to force her hair into submission. GAH! She hated when the dreaded bad hair day snuck up on her, and she suddenly needed a salon appointment, like yesterday. A ponytail would look too little girlish. Tapping her chin, she considered her options. That’s when she remembered the hair clips in the back of the vanity drawer with her makeup.
A few hairstyle attempts later, and she was satisfied.
A touch of mascara and lip-gloss and she was set. If she did anything more, her oldest brother, Logan, who worked at the bar with her, would be suspicious, and the interrogation would begin.
She was wiping down the last table when Logan came through the door.
“You look extra nice today, what’s the occasion?”
Crud. Apparently, she’d done too much.
“Can you keep a secret?”
That stopped Logan short. Narrowing his eyes at his little sister he growled, “What secret?”
“Oh stop. It’s nothing bad. Actually, it’s really good.”
He folded his arms and continued to glare.
“For crying out loud.” She sighed. “Keep it up, and your face will freeze that way.”
Logan didn’t budge or look away.
“Fine. I found my mate at the gathering last night, and he is coming here tonight, and then taking me out on a date.”
Logan’s eyes grew large, and his jaw dropped. “When? We didn’t see you with anyone.”
“After you went home.”
“Who? Better not be that scrawny Jensen kid.”
Julia laughed at his pained expression. “My mate is Thomas James, Cade’s stepson. You know, the head of security.”
“Oh, yeah, he’s a good man.” Logan wrapped her in a tigh
t hug. “Congrats. Wish I could have found mine.”
“Thank you, and you will when it’s the right time.”
“Think you could speed up the clock? I’m tired of checking out women and having meaningless relationships.”
Julia patted his arm, “Maybe at the next social. I heard now that the king is in power again, there will be more social get-togethers. Thomas said he was going to be very busy ensuring Uncle Isaac’s safety.”
“As long as he has enough time for you,” Logan said with concern in his eyes.
“It’ll be fine.”
“You say he’s coming here?”
“Yep, later, closer to the end of my shift.”
“I better call Dad and Quin.”
“Whatever for?”
“The men of the family need to check this guy out.”
She rolled her eyes. “Stay away from my mate and leave my relationship to me. I don’t want any of you interfering.”
Logan cracked his knuckles and acted tough. “When have I ever interfered?”
“Where should I begin?” She laughed.
“Okay…okay.” He raised his hands in surrender. “I’ll just quietly keep an eye on him, and I promise to stay out of the way.”
Julia stood on tiptoes and kissed his cheek. “Thank you. Now, let’s get to work and prep the bar.”
A while later, she leaned against the bar daydreaming about Thomas—tall, but not too tall, broad shoulders, and muscles in perfect proportion for his fit body. Her pulse began to race, visualizing him. Ducking her head, she hid behind a curtain of hair before Logan was watching and she could feel her neck flushing with heat. Just thinking of Tommy set her body on fire.
“Hey, sis, I could use some help over here.”
Logan was trying to install a new daiquiri and margarita machine. The man loved his gadgets.
She forced herself to take a deep, steadying breath before stepping away from the edge of the bar. “What do you need me to do?”
“Just hold that level while I attach this.”
Logan was a genius with all things mechanical and could build anything by simply looking at it. Finally, a man who could put something together correctly without extra parts left over while never opening the instruction manual.