“Maybe a little nervous, but I wanted time to prepare. I don’t know if I remember how parents act or how to interact with them. The last two sets of foster parents I lived with weren’t normal.” She grimaced. The last one had few rules or limits. Now that she thought about it though, she did wonder what their parents would think about her.
“Okay, Uncle Logan and Uncle Jason, this is important. No surprise parental meetings.” Dixie turned her attention to her uncles.
“We’ll remember that, but it hadn’t occurred to us.” Jason shrugged. “You know you’re in Tony’s seat. He’ll expect to sit next to her.”
“I know, but he’s not here yet. I’ll get up when he arrives.” Dixie glanced over at Chloe and rolled her eyes. “How have you been?”
“Pretty good. Getting some work done, having some pretty intense quality time with them.” She glanced over at Jase and gave him a heated look through her lashes.
“You could have left that last bit out. I knew that you four continued the hot and heavy stuff since your mating is new, but I didn’t want to hear about it.” Dixie grimaced.
“But I have to tell you everything. You’re one of my besties.” She fluttered her lashes at her friend.
She wondered if Dixie would recognize the words. Dixie had given her a too-explicit recounting once when she’d dated a bass player in the band. Chloe had worked with the man and didn’t need that mental picture.
Dixie grimaced. She shook her head, apparently recalling the conversation. “All right, point made.”
“I don’t know. There was more than one conversation about how long he could last and his great oral skills.” Chloe pursed her lips.
“He wasn’t related to you though. They are my uncles. I’ve considered Logan and Jason family since Tony brought them home, and Tony, I’ve known him my whole life. Eww.” Dixie’s eyes narrowed. Irritation sent gold sparks through those brown irises.
“Good to know. You’re sitting in my spot.” Tony stopped at the side of the table and leveled a stare at his niece.
“Yes, I know. You want to sit next to your mate, but she was my friend first.” Dixie shook her finger at him, but she did rise to her feet.
“Yet you somehow managed to neglect to introduce her to us.” Tony ruffled Dixie’s hair as she edged past him.
“Hey!” She swiped at his hand. “Not my fault. Every time we planned to take her to some popular shapeshifter places, our schedules interfered or there was a major incident.”
“It’s good to see you, baby.” Tony took his seat and leaned over to give her a fleeting kiss.
“Missed you, Tony.” Chloe leaned into him.
“Hey, we kept you entertained and let you get some work done.” Logan slipped his arm around her.
Yes, they had kept her entertained. They’d interrupted her work at various points throughout the day. She had so much trouble getting anything done she’d shooed them out of the office.
She loved being with them and playing with them. It would take some time to develop a balance between work and play with them. It was easy to slip into a habit of sex and more sex.
Their scent pushed her libido into orbit. Over time, she had grown more accustomed to the arousal. She could handle the arousal if they didn’t incite it. Those men loved to incite. They had talked about an office for her, but hadn’t gotten around to it yet.
“And I did get some work done.” She slid a glance over at him and grinned.
Logan smiled. He rubbed his leg against hers. “All work and no play makes your mates frustrated, grumpy men.”
“All play and no work leaves me without a paycheck.” She wasn’t worried about that. She wasn’t behind, not quite, but she normally worked in long sessions of uninterrupted time.
Tony laughed. “If you’re pressed to finish something, you’ll kick me out of my office again.”
“You kicked him out of his office?” Leslie asked with a raised brow.
“I needed to get something done and sitting at the table wasn’t working. They’d come up behind me and touch me or stand there until either irritation or their scent had me turning to face them.” Chloe shrugged. It had been the only way she could think of to finish that project that night. She’d been a little surprised when Tony had gone away without a fuss.
“Let’s eat, baby. You can continue to talk and tease us during the meal.” Jason’s hand brushed over her shoulder.
“In case you didn’t know it yet, hunger also makes male bears grumpy.” Dixie’s eyes lit with humor. She leaned forward a little.
“And it’s only male bears?” Shonna asked with open skepticism. She raised a doubting brow.
Chloe grinned, remembering Dixie getting a little growly herself one night when she was very hungry. Dixie hadn’t eaten since the night before and had snarled at them. The behavior was out of character for her.
“I do believe so.” Dixie gave a slow shrug.
“Yeah, right, I’ve seen how you act when you’re hungry. You put the mean in ‘mean as a bear.’” Tony grinned. “When you were about four, you bit your father.”
Dixie laughed. “Yeah, he showed me the scar on his hand.”
Chloe enjoyed the easy teasing, familiarity, and love she saw between them. And she envied it as well. She hadn’t experienced that familial bond since she lost her parents and sister in the accident.
“What made you sad?” Jason’s arm slipped around her and he tugged her close.
“Smell?” She turned her head and met his eyes.
“Yeah, it changed a little and your smile faded.” Jase’s hand rubbed her shoulder.
“I was thinking that it’s nice you’re all close and my mind sort of turned. It locked on how I missed that after my family was gone.” She took a deep breath to control her emotions. Not an easy thing to do when her thoughts centered on the last meal she’d had with her family.
“It must have been hard for you to lose them.” Tony took her hand between his.
“It wasn’t easy, but let’s talk about something else. I don’t want everyone to start feeling sad. Talk about death isn’t cheery.” Chloe forced a smile. “I’m not in the mood to brood tonight.”
“I’m sure we can handle it. I know your friends are big goofs sometimes. If we get desperate, we can use that to find something to brighten that smile.” Jason patted her shoulder.
“Well, I could always tell her some of the stories Mom told me about you.” Dixie sat back in her chair and a slow wicked smile curved her lips. “From what I know, and I’m sure there’s much more, goof fits you much better than me.”
“It’s lies, baby, all lies. My sister has always been jealous that I’m the favorite.” Tony’s hands tightened on hers in a brief squeeze.
Chloe’s lips twitched, and she held back a laugh at the dramatic tone. “Jealous is she? Considering she gave your mom grandchildren before you, I’m sure that your mother’s favoritism has swung more to your sister’s side. This does remind me of the fact that you guys are a bit older than me.”
“In human years, Chloe. We’re young in whyr years. Once you complete the transformation, you’ll be long-lived, too.” Jase’s fingers trailed under her hair and up her neck. “Now, let’s order our main course. I’ve arranged for some appetizers to be brought to us.”
Transformation. Will that ever seem normal to me? She sighed.
Chapter Fifteen
Three women who knew most of her secrets and three men who made her body burn. It could lead to an uncomfortable, embarrassing evening.
Chloe watched Tony lift a hand in an apparent signal. The waitress came over to take their order. Everyone ordered their main course and drinks. A few minutes later, the waitress brought several platters of appetizers to the table.
They munched and chatted until their entrées were brought to the table. Dixie, Shonna, and Leslie teased her a bit. Chloe’s melancholy faded. It turned out to be a long, great meal. That included the food. With the company, she wouldn’t hav
e cared if they’d eaten simple burgers and fries.
They’d finished eating and were talking when the urge to use the bathroom hit Chloe. She stood. Tony’s fingers circled her wrist. He looked up at her.
“Excuse me a few moments, please.” Chloe smiled at him.
“Restroom?” Dixie stood.
“Yeah.” Chloe nodded.
“I’ll go with you.” Dixie smiled.
“Stay with her. If anything seems strange, get her back here.” Logan turned in his seat. He leveled a hard glare at his niece.
Chloe rolled her eyes. They were in a public restaurant. What did he think would happen? On top of that, the foxes hadn’t shown any interest in her since that incident in the grocery store. Perhaps they’d changed their minds because of the focus it would bring on them. The women couldn’t think they’d get away with it.
“I will, Uncle Logan. She’ll be safe. We’ll be back soon.” Dixie eased past him.
Chloe waited for Dixie to get to the end of the table. She walked with her friend to the restrooms. Chloe had spent enough time here that she’d memorized the layout, although she spent more time in the back of the restaurant.
“The intensity will lessen a little with time,” Dixie said with a short glance over at Chloe. “But they’ll always be attentive when there might be danger nearby.”
Chloe looked forward to them relaxing at some point in the future. Right now though, she probably had at least a few more months of extreme watchfulness unless the people behind the poisonings were caught soon.
“Thank you for that. At times, they make me want to run screaming from the room.” Chloe sighed.
“Unless you’re running for the bedroom, I wouldn’t advise that. It will make them more watchful and intense if they think you might try to leave.” Dixie slanted a glance over at her.
As they approached the hallway to the bathroom, she heard someone call Dixie’s name. Not a strange happening. Dixie seemed to know everyone. Chloe didn’t think anything of it. She continued on to the bathroom. As she reached out to push open the bathroom door, she realized Dixie wasn’t there.
Chloe frowned, but stepped forward to go take care of her business. A hard shove in the middle of her back sent her stumbling into the bathroom. She managed to catch her footing and spun around to see the brown-haired woman from the store. A flush colored the woman’s skin. Her thin lips pinched together.
“Bitch, I’ll make sure your family won’t recognize you. No one’s going to come to your rescue this time.” Venom poured out of the woman’s voice, but it came out as barely a whisper.
The low tone showed Chloe that in spite of the attack in public, the brown-haired fox wanted to keep it quiet. Chloe had to get someone’s attention. She didn’t have a weapon this time.
Although she faced a woman, whyr were stronger than humans. She’d lose if she tried fighting her hand to hand.
Chloe screamed. The noise seemed to echo and bounced off the bathroom walls. The woman snarled, showing pointed canines. The fox woman lunged forward. Her red-painted fingernails extended like talons. Chloe dodged to the side. The woman’s nails dug into her arm, hauling her with the woman. The woman’s momentum carried them closer to the wall.
Chloe hit at the woman with her free hand. Her fist slammed against the woman’s shoulder. She swung again. This time, Chloe’s fist smacked into the woman’s cheek. The brown-haired woman snarled before shoving Chloe backward. Chloe slammed into the wall. Her head bounced off the tile.
“You won’t have any bear cubs. You won’t be adding any little bastards to that forsaken line.” The woman gripped Chloe’s arms and leaned in close.
Chloe’s head throbbed. The room and the female in front of her tilted and distorted. The woman was dangerous. The fox bared her teeth and snarled.
The sight of those sharp teeth sent a shiver of dread down her spine. Cold fear spurred her. She slammed her head forward straight into the woman’s nose.
The fox released her. She clutched her nose. Bright red blood gushed out from between the woman’s fingers. The room tilted in front of Chloe. She stumbled around the woman and scurried toward the door.
A hand in her hair hauled her back as the door burst open. Dixie ran into the room. She rushed the woman. Chloe saw her friend shove the fox back into the wall.
The fox still clutched Chloe’s hair. The yank as the woman flew back pulled Chloe off balance. She fell to the floor. Chloe groaned. She pushed into a sitting position. The woman hit the tile with a harder thud than Chloe had earlier. She slid down the wall.
“Damn, Chloe, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you hadn’t stopped with me until I heard you scream.” Dixie knelt beside her. “Where are you hurt?”
“I think I have a concussion.” Chloe blinked and tried to clear the fuzzy, sometimes double vision. “And she scratched my arm.”
Dixie looked in her eyes and grimaced. “Judging by your pupils and that big bruise forming on your forehead, I’d say yeah, you do. Don’t get startled, but here come Tony, Jason, and Logan. I can hear them in the hallway.”
Chloe’s head hurt and concentrating seemed to make it hurt worse. “What took you so long? I expected you moments after I screamed.”
“It wasn’t that long, but I had to move an obstacle who decided to get in my way.” Dixie eased her fingers through Chloe’s hair at the back of her head until she found the bump there. “Yep, that would cause a concussion.”
The door to the bathroom pushed open. Logan, Jason, and Tony rushed into the room. Logan strode forward and knelt beside Chloe. His hand brushed along the side of her forehead. Although he must have tried to keep from touching her bruise, the light skim of his fingers sent a spearing lance through her head.
“What happened, baby? Are you all right?” Logan curled an arm around her back.
“We became separated. I didn’t realize she wasn’t right behind me until I reached the bathroom door. We think I have a concussion.” Chloe kept her voice to a whisper, but the sound rattled around in her pounding head.
“How the fuck did you get separated on the way to bathroom?” Tony asked. A growl rumbled at the end of the sentence.
Chloe winced, both at the tone and the not-quite-human sound. She hadn’t meant to go off alone. Although she felt constrained, that hadn’t crossed her mind at the time. She peered up through her lashes and saw Tony standing there, glaring.
“It was an accident. I thought she stopped when I did to talk with a friend.” Dixie rose and stepped back to give the men room. “I didn’t realize until I heard her scream.”
“It’s not her fault. I didn’t notice either.” Chloe tried to get up.
Logan pressed her down until she was again sitting. Chloe settled for looking up at him. She didn’t want them blaming Dixie, because she was also responsible on that end of things.
“Baby, we’re not blaming her. We were worried.” Jase knelt beside her. “The police will be here soon, and we’ll get you some medical attention.”
Relief flowed through her at his assurance. She sat still and remained quiet. Her head hurt, and breathing sent shards of pain stabbing through her brain. She closed her eyes to block out the bright light. She wished she could stop the murmur of the people around her.
She must have passed out at some point. The next thing she knew, her butt left the ground. She clutched for something to hold. As she opened her eyes, she pressed her hands against a hard chest and arm.
“It’s okay, baby. I’ve got you. We’re putting you on the gurney. One of us will ride with you to the hospital.” Logan’s arms tightened around her.
“I don’t need an ambulance.” She couldn’t move her head because of the stiff collar around her neck. Something more important flashed through her mind. “What happened to the woman who attacked me? She didn’t get away, did she?”
“The bumps on your head and the fact that you were out cold for a while say you do.” Logan carried her out of the restaurant. “A doctor should s
ee how bad your concussion is and check to see if you have any more injuries.”
“No, she didn’t get away. She’s in police custody,” Jason assured her. “The only way they’re going to stop is if they have to face the consequences.”
Chloe looked around in astonishment. She hadn’t realized she was out of the bathroom. At some point, they’d taken her into the main dining room.
“Yes, we took you out of the bathroom. You didn’t stir when I picked you up. I’ve been sitting in a chair holding you. You hadn’t stirred until I stood. The officers told us we could send you on to the hospital and they’d take your statement there.” Logan shook his head at her.
“How long was I unconscious?” She took a deep breath and admitted to herself that maybe she did need to stop by a clinic or something. “You could drive me there.”
“You’ll ride in the ambulance. Don’t worry about it.” Jason stepped up beside Logan and put his hand over hers. “We won’t be far behind you.”
“You’ve been out about ten minutes. The ambulance is here.” Logan carried her outside.
“If the ambulance is here, where are the paramedics?” She glanced around and saw the ambulance, but didn’t see the paramedics.
“They’re behind us. For some reason, they thought you should be on the gurney, but Logan didn’t agree with that at all.” Jase smiled and glanced at Logan. “He did agree to put you on it once we reached the ambulance.”
“Yeah, they’re lucky I didn’t take a swipe at them for trying to pull you out of my arms.” Logan dropped a kiss on her forehead.
“Here we are. Logan’s going with you. Hold his hand. That way he won’t lose his mind and have to keep you in his arms during the ride there.” Jase leaned across Logan and kissed her.
Logan growled. The sound reverberated against her side and arm. She glanced up at him, half expecting a scowl to pull at those lips, but found him grinning. The paramedics pushed the gurney up beside Logan. The two slender black-haired men stood waiting. Their eyes never left Logan.
Latent Desires (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) Page 12