“Says who?”
“Um, every man I’ve ever met, dated, and the one jerk I was married to for six months.”
If possible, that response made Gerri’s eyes widen even more. “You’ve been married?”
She giggled. “I’m thirty-seven years old. I’ve done it all except finding a man worth my time.”
“Oh, honey,” Gerri said and patted her hand. “This trip will be good for you.”
“Don’t feel bad. I’ve learned not to expect a man will show up and make me happy. I have to make myself happy.”
Gerri nodded. “At least you have that right. You should make yourself happy. But wouldn’t you like to have more? A nice relationship with someone who loves and wants you?”
She blew a raspberry. “I want all that, yes…”
“Come on.” Gerri grinned. “Tell me what you want, what you really, really want.”
Cassie burst into laughter. “I want good sex with a non-motorized penis attached to a body that will hold me after.”
“That’s it!” Gerri stood, her long blue skirt swishing around her legs. “You’re coming to Aurora and I promise to find you a mate.”
“Gerri,” she laughed at the other woman’s outrage. “I just want to get laid properly.” She might have gotten that with Massimo but there was no spark. With all his good looks, he hadn’t done it for her. “I will take that over marriage and relationships any day.”
“Well then,” Gerri nodded like she was a genie granting a wish, “great sex it is.” Gerri winked. “I have a feeling we can get some multiple orgasms in your near future.”
Yeah. Cassie had a feeling she could get those too if she took her toy collection on this imaginary trip.
SIX
Talen glanced at the crowded ballroom. His skin began to prickle and itch. He tugged at the neckline of his shirt. He’d always hated large gatherings. He couldn’t pin point a reason, but it always made him feel like he was on display. His mother used to love entertaining the clan and other tribe families.
She made sure Tal was dressed up and ready to host along with her at all times. Whether he wanted to or not.
“Tal, good to see you after so many years,” Karel, Alyx’s security chief greeted him with a welcoming smile.
“Thanks,” he said, looking for a place away from the crowd. “It’s been a while.”
Karel must have noticed his discomfort because he motioned for him to follow him. “Come on, Alyx is looking forward to speaking with you. He was happy to know you decided to come and meet his wife.”
Talen’s guilt increased over his lack of physical communication with Alyx and Karel. They had always been good friends to him.
They reached Alyx’s library and found him filling a glass with the local wine, Sidaii. “Alyx, look who I found,” Karel joked.
Alyx turned to face them and grinned. He put the glass down and marched over to Talen to give him a shake of the hand and a half hug with a hard pat on the back of his shoulder. “It’s good to see you, Tal. It’s been too long. How are you?”
“Doing well. The clan has been steadily adjusting to having me as their leader. We’ve had minor problems, but otherwise all seems under control.” He told Alyx what he knew was true.
Alyx nodded and returned to the wine. “Can I offer you a glass?”
Talen sighed. What the hell? He’d been on edge all day. At least some wine would help him feel more at ease. “Yes. How’s your mate and the kids?”
A smile unlike any he’d seen on Alyx’s face appeared. “Bella is more amazing than I could have ever hoped. The babies are perfect.”
Talen nodded. “I understand the first born was a girl?”
Alyx chuckled and handed him a glass of wine. “Yes. Avery beat her brothers by about a minute. She’s the official future queen.”
“And she’s got a temper like her father,” Karel laughed.
Alyx raised a brow but didn’t stop the widening of his smile. “Yeah. She does. The boys are a lot quieter but I can already see traces of myself in them too.”
“I’m glad you’ve found happiness,” Talen said honestly. “You deserve it.”
“Thanks.” Alyx passed Karel a glass of wine and sat on his large emblem chair behind his desk. “I have a few questions for you. Things that keep being brought up.”
Talen squeezed his jaw. The desire to argue over whatever anyone was saying stuck in the back of his throat. Instead, he nodded and gulped down his wine. “Go ahead.”
“You have to understand that your clan has gone through significant changes in the past few years,” Alyx started. “Your parents died. You took over. The business with the cabins has grown immensely, which, congratulations are in serious order,” he remarked. “You’ve done something no one else has thought to and kept our natural resources from being exploited.”
“Thanks.” Talen wasn’t used to praise. He had a job he liked within his clan and he did it. Whether it was carving furniture or fixing problems between his people, he knew he was a born leader. “I still don’t understand what the problem is within the clan that nobody is telling me.”
Alyx frowned. “Have you spoken to your females? Some of them are showing signs of being frustrated over their inability to mate the males they want.”
Talen shook his head. “I haven’t had a single one approach me about mating anyone.” He leaned back in his seat, pressing his back into the cushion. “You already know how mating works so I won’t give you the run down. Whoever they feel is the one, nobody can interfere with that.”
“Right.”
“That’s why we found this concerning when we got multiple reports of you stopping matings in your clan.”
“What?” He frowned. “I have no idea where that’s coming from. Nobody, young or old has requested my interference with mating. That’s not how we operate.”
“I’ll take it with a grain of salt that someone is just looking for trouble then,” Alyx said and glanced at Karel. “Clearly there is something we don’t know and I’m sure Talen will now make sure he finds out what is truly happening.”
Talen drank more wine. “I’ve been busy trying to control my younger brother so I may have missed someone needing my help.”
“What’s wrong with Paxten?” Karel stood and refilled his wine, doing the same for Talen and Alyx.
“He’s always been spoiled and feels I’m getting into his business. He doesn’t want to make an attempt to learn to be the leader our clan needs. When it comes to our business, he has made no real strides in helping expand our unique cabins.”
“I understand Vander Kasval wants you to create some hunting lodges for his people.” Alyx named their Galaxa neighbors. “Vander is a good man. The problems with the neighbors to their west side means they train and hunt a lot more than we do.”
“They’re not shifters,” Karel supplied with a laugh. “My mate calls them real aliens.”
“Aliens?” Talen frowned. “I don’t understand what that means. Don’t earthlings consider aliens to be little green men? Galaxa warriors are not little or green.”
Karel nodded. “Exactly. She doesn’t know how there’s a planet with giant warriors. According to her, our people are the shifter aliens and Galaxans are alien warriors.”
“Kasval has offered something interesting, and I’m definitely considering it.” Talen knew that opening his business into taking on the neighboring clients would spur his clan’s stability and allow them to see how prosperous things were.
“He is going to be here later at some point. You might want to talk with him in person,” Alyx suggested.
A soft knock sounded at the door and a palace worker entered, holding the baby boys.
“Ah, there they are,” Alyx said with pride as he stood. “Come meet the boys, Aahron and Aden.”
Talen stood and took one of the babies offered by the woman while Alyx took the other. He glanced at the baby’s caramel skin and big blue eyes. The baby sucked on a plastic piece of
something and made sighing noises. Talen fell in love. A quick glance and he realized both boys looked exactly the same.
“You’re holding Aden,” Karel supplied, as if realizing Tal was wondering which baby he had.
“I notice their different scents, but physically, how can you tell?” he asked.
“Karel has found a distinctive birth mark on the tip of Aden’s right earlobe. One Aahron doesn’t have and so it makes it easier for those who are not shifter to tell them apart.”
Of course. Since each child had his own scent, it was pretty easy for shifters to differentiate one from the other. Humans probably didn’t have that.
SEVEN
Cassie held baby Avery in her arms and didn’t want to let her go. Ever. She wondered if she could take her back to Earth without getting arrested. Probably not a good idea.
The trip to Aurora had been magical. Okay, so at first she’d gotten a bit motion sick when she went through the worm hole thing that sucked the air out of her and she thought she was going to die, but then she’d been fine. The planet was beautiful. Purple forests and so many flowers, she could sit for days and stare at them.
“She likes you,” Bella said with a grin. Someone helped Bella, who reminded her a lot of her cousin Ivy, turn a blanket into a dress and if Cassie hadn’t been so mesmerized by the tiny beauty in her arms, she would have been curious about the material of the dress. “It’s surprising because she doesn’t like anyone.”
Cassie watched Avery yawn and blink her pretty golden eyes at her. The baby cooed and snuggled into Cassie’s arms. She was so cute Cassie’s ovaries hurt from how badly she wanted a baby at that moment. Talk about wanting to get knocked up in the worst way.
“Bella, let me have her. Come on,” she whispered and grinned at Avery. “I promise to take good care of her.”
Bella laughed. “Alyx would hunt you down within ten seconds of his daughter disappearing. I already feel bad for when she’s old enough to get male attention.”
“With those eyes, she’s going to be a knockout,” Cassie said and made a kissy face at the baby.
“You look ready to go out and find yourself a mate,” Gerri said when she walked into the nursery next to Bella’s suites.
Cassie sighed and cuddled Avery closer. “How could anyone not want a baby this cute?”
“Thank you,” Bella said and twirled around in the previously strange sheet now turned into a purple dress that flowed down her body to caress her curves. The style was the same as Avery’s with the exception that Avery’s dress was really long and came with a little headband that matched her eyes.
“Are you letting Gerri match you up, Cassie?” Bella asked, slipping on her sandals. She sat to get her hair pinned up by one of her maids.
“She wants me to, but I don’t know.”
“You said you wanted mind-blowing sex,” Gerri reminded her.
“Gerri!” Cassie’s cheeks flushed.
“Don’t worry. I know Gerri well enough and am familiar with her no-filter personality.” Bella laughed.
“In that case, yes, I did say I wanted good sex, but that doesn’t mean I want forever. I want a few good orgasms,” she told Gerri.
“What if you can have both a good relationship and great sex?”
“She’s got a point,” Bella added, closing one eye from the pulling on her hair. “She can get you both. If she can, why not take it?”
Why indeed? “I don’t know. I would need to consider it.”
“We have a lot of single men here, today,” Bella said enthusiastically. “I bet Gerri can see if one of them is right for you.”
“I don’t know. This sounds too rushed.” She noticed Avery watching her avidly and kissed her forehead again. Ah, that soft baby scent was making her crazy.
Bella opened her arms when Avery started squirming and Cassie wanted to say no and keep holding the baby, but she clearly needed a feeding. She handed her to Bella and a wave of emptiness went through her. She’d never felt this need for a child before. She wasn’t sure how to react to the sudden urge to go out and get herself a sperm donor.
“Come on,” Gerri said, grabbing Cassie’s hand. “Let’s show you around and have you meet a few of the eligible bachelors.”
“I feel like I’m on a dating show,” she murmured.
“Good luck,” Bella shouted. “Go with your gut; it won’t steer you wrong.”
Her gut. Right. At the moment her gut wanted her to find a man to give her a baby or two. This was surreal. Cassie hadn’t given children this much thought her entire adult life. Then all of a sudden she holds a cute infant and now her biological clock is trying to make up for lost time.
They walked down one of the hallways facing the gardens and were about to bypass a group of men when Gerri stopped and turned to face them.
“Talen Arctos, is that you?”
Cassie glanced at the man in question. He was huge. Fuck huge, he was massive with a face she couldn’t look away from. Deep set eyes that zeroed in on her. But it was his scruffy beard that gave her all kinds of dirty thoughts.
“It is,” he said, his gaze still pinning Cassie to the spot. Holy cow this guy was hot. The sound of his voice sent shivers rushing down her spine. His light brown shirt matched his eyes and gave his pale complexion a hint of color.
“I’m Gerri Wilder,” she said. “I knew your parents back when they led the Arctos clan. I remember meeting you when you were a kid,” she laughed. “I see your serious face hasn’t changed.”
He finally glanced away from Cassie to meet Gerri’s gaze. “It’s nice to meet you. I’ve heard you’re a miracle worker.”
Gerri laughed. “I don’t like to brag, but…yeah, I am.”
A smile finally broke through the thin line he’d formed his lips into and changed his features from broodingly sexy to “holy shit this man is smoking hot.”
“Hello, Gerri,” said a man to Talen’s right. “I’m Vander Kasval. I have also heard about your ability to match couples including Alyx and Bella.”
Gerri gasped. “You’re the warrior king from Galaxa aren’t you?”
Vander grinned. His green eyes lit with an internal energy. “Yes, I am.” He picked up her small pale hand and brought it up to the center of his chest. “It is an honor to meet you.”
Cassie gaped. She’d never seen anyone say hello that way. It was so…personal. All that touching freaked her out a little. Gerri didn’t seem to mind. In fact, she appeared to be quite taken with the warrior.
“So nice to meet you.” Gerri turned to Cassie and smiled. “Vander, Talen, this is my assistant, Cassie. She’s here with me to meet the babies.”
Cassie waved at both men, taking a step back and not wanting anyone to grab her hand and put it on their very muscular looking pecs. She might drool and that wouldn’t look good for her or Gerri. “Nice to meet you.”
EIGHT
“This has been quite a day,” Gerri grinned at the men. “Are you enjoying your visit, Vander?”
Vander glanced at Cassie with interest. “I am. Maybe we can discuss my use of your services?”
Gerri frowned. “My current services are normally for shifters but I could probably start a secondary matchmaking service to service others like you. Warriors that don’t necessarily shift.” She laughed. “Otherworldly beings that need love too.”
“It would be an honor to speak with you at some point and discuss this.”
Gerri nodded. “I will definitely get back to you. Leave some communication details for me with Karel and we’ll chat once all this is over.”
Vander was just as hot as Talen in a completely different way. Talen had a whole wild, scruffy look that she swore meant he’d tear a woman’s clothes off and fuck her brainless without needing a bed.
Vander on the other hand appeared to have the “I’m going to fuck you senseless” look down pat. Probably on the wall or doggy style or oh my lord, what was she thinking? Being around them made Cassie feel like she needed to cov
er up. They were both staring holes into her powder blue dress.
She cleared her throat and decided she had to get a drink before she melted into a puddle from the two men’s stares. “Gerri,” she mumbled. “I’m going to grab a drink.” She turned and walked off before Gerri had a chance to say anything.
Whew! She turned a corner and almost ran into one of the people walking around with a tray of drinks. They appeared to be champagne flutes but with a different kind of liquid inside.
“What is it?” She asked.
“Sidaii wine,” someone said behind her.
She took the glass and turned. “Talen, right?”
He nodded. “Are you unwell?”
She brought the flute to her mouth and drank before replying. “No, just getting used to the travel from Earth, even though we’ve been here close to two days.” And the fact he was so good looking. She gulped down the drink. “It’s kind of hot here.”
She didn’t really like guys with those serious faces and eyes that appeared to look into the very depths of her soul, but here she was daydreaming of Talen stripping down to his birthday suit and banging her like a screen door during a category five hurricane.
“You came from Earth just to attend the welcoming of the babies?” He seemed surprised she’d do that.
“I had nothing better to do,” she mumbled. Her father and Victoria gushing about their own baby made the decision for her. She needed to go. She could barely find a man who didn’t take her for a sucker and then Victoria’s news hit her hard. It shouldn’t have, but it did. It made Cassie realize she didn’t have her life in order. She wanted something worthwhile and special.
Sure, she had a job with Gerri, but she had no decent relationship or even a prospect of one. The worst part was the children. At thirty-seven, she’d always thought she’d have a family by then. Now she got to see her father start another family while she was still learning how to handle men.
Bearfoot and Pregnant: BBW Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance (Paranormal Dating Agency Book 10) Page 3