She pushed past the fear clogging her throat and said softly, “I think we’re done here, Adam. Good bye.”
“We’re not done, Eva. Not by a long shot. I’ll see you in two days.”
The phone went silent when he hung up. Eva stared at it before finally thumbing it off and throwing it to bed. Sighing, she got up and cleaned her vodka-and-ice-cream-soaked pillow before slogging to the shower and finally rolling back into bed.
She’d see Adam in two days. Then she’d get everything straight. What happened eight years ago and what happened in Las Vegas twenty-four hours ago.
Then she was going to walk out of Adam Frost’s office and out his life.
Chapter Five
“Using jealousy to engage her reaction won’t work. She has means at her disposal to get even. Like spit in your coffee.”
“Adam. Adam!”
His head jerked around as he finally registered someone calling his name. Dean was standing just inside the doorway of the hotel’s gym, watching as Adam pounded away on the treadmill. He stabbed at a button and treadmill slowed to a stop. Stepping off, he grabbed a towel and rubbed it roughly over his dripping hair.
“Something wrong?” he asked Dean.
Dean leaned one shoulder against the doorframe and studied Adam with a curious gaze. “I don’t know. Is something wrong?”
“Don’t know what you’re talking about.” Adam tossed his towel into a hamper and headed toward the shower. Dean was right on his heels.
“Oh, come on, man. Eva took off and you’re as moody as teenage girl. What’s happened with you two?”
Adam turned and faced Dean, his shoulders drooping. “Okay, yeah. Something happened with me and Eva.” He looked away from Dean, not wanting to tell him exactly what went on last night.
Dean nodded at him, urging him to go on.
Adam sighed and looked up at the tiled ceiling before continuing. “Well, you know she was in heat, hell, every tiger in Nevada knew she was in heat, anyhow, she came to my room, ready to pounce on me for running off the tigers who were sniffing around. I guess, her heat just took over…and…she kissed me…and…we slept together.”
Dean guffawed and clapped him on the shoulder. “You dog! Damn, I should have paid more attention to the other tigers around and played hero. Maybe she’d have come and ‘talked’ to me instead.”
Adam shoved him away, not wanting to deal with Dean’s jokes right now. “No, that’s not how it was.”
“How was it, then?”
“I’m pretty sure, she’s my mate.”
Dean dropped onto a nearby bench, his mouth open in shock. “No. Shitting. Way.”
Adam rolled his shoulders. “Yeah, pretty sure. Listen. I think, maybe, I think I should marry her.”
“What makes you say that?”
“It’s the right thing to do, man. There’s a reason we were promised years ago. We’re both heirs, marrying will unite our clans into one powerful clan. It just makes sense. It’s the reason our grandfathers made the arrangement.”
“Do you love her?”
Adam’s face tightened. “What’s that got to do with anything?”
Dean just shook his head. “So, you’re going to go to Eva and offer up a marriage because ‘it’s the right thing to do,’ not because you have feelings for her. That’s what you’re going to say? To a woman? To a weretigress? You’re just going to propose a business transaction. You’re a little bit stupid, Adam. No, sorry, you’re totally stupid, Adam.”
Adam scoffed. “Yes, I think it will work. Eva’s a rational girl.”
Dean laughed his ass off, attracting annoyed glances from people in the gym. “Uh huh, because that’s what every woman is looking for in a marriage proposal. Rationality. Boy, I can’t wait to see how this goes. I have to hand it to you, cousin, your love life is very amusing.”
“Maybe I should fire you when we return to New York.” Adam cast him a death glare, totally irritated.
“No, you won’t. You need me by your side to clean up your messes. Just like this one.” Dean stalked out of the door. “See you at the seminar.”
Adam cursed silently. As much as he hated to admit it, Dean was right.
***
Two days later…
Adam was twitchy. He was watching the door, waiting for Eva to walk in. When he called her earlier and arranged to meet for dinner, he was sure she wouldn’t take him up on his offer.
This was going to work. He was going to ask Eva to marry him, explain why it made sense for them to unite their clans. She’d have to take him up on his proposal. Their united clan would become the largest weretiger clan in the United States, she’d be wife to one of the country’s leading business tycoons, and rich to boot. She could pay for her sister’s college and apartment out of the trust set aside for the head wife of the Frost clan. Marrying Adam would be one of the most rational and sensible things for Eva to do.
Right. Because Eva is well-known for being rational.
Adam checked his watch and sighed, impatient to get on with the evening. He patted his pocket again, making sure the ring he’d taken from his vault was still there. He couldn’t wait to see what the antique, ruby-and-diamond, art-deco ring would look like on her finger. It was a family heirloom, and once belonged to his mother, his grandmother, and his great-grandmother before that. He inherited it to be passed down to the woman who’d be his bride. He glanced at his watch again. She was ten minutes late. Looking back toward the door, his face clouded instantaneously. Fuck. His troublesome cousin, Dean. What the hell is he doing here?
Dean waltzed into the restaurant like he owned the place, shaking his head clear of raindrops from the light drizzle that was starting outside. Adam watched as he slanted a flirty half-grin at the hostess, leaning over her stand and running a hand up her arm. The flustered girl smiled up at him and fluttered her eyelashes at him before checking her book and nodding. With good looks and a debonair attitude, Dean had the uncanny talent to charm every woman he met. When the hostess picked up two thick, leather-bound menus, Dean turned and gestured to someone behind him. That was when Adam noticed the woman standing behind Dean.
You have got to be kidding.
Rachel Morgan was standing behind Dean, one hand clutching his elbow possessively. Adam groaned inwardly. This has got to be another of Dean’s little jokes. Adam was wondering if he could get in a call to Eva and stop her before she got there. Eva hated Rachel. Hard core.
Adam thumbed open his phone and was scrolling for Eva’s number when a shadow fell over his table. Dean and Rachel were standing over him. Adam dropped the phone when Rachel squealed his name.
“Oh my God, Dean, it’s Adam,” she shrilled.
Adam gave her a cold smile. “Hi, Rachel.” He wondered if he could plead temporary insanity if he jumped and strangled Dean to death right then. His cousin needed to be murdered in the most heinous way possible.
Adam gave a her a cursory glance, noting her dyed and permed hair was a pale imitation of Eva’s natural fiery-red curls, before turning to Dean.
“What are you doing here, Dean?” His tone was so cold it could freeze fire.
“Well, I’m here for dinner, of course. Rachel,” he said cheerily, giving her a quick hug “just so happened to be in town and agreed to join me. Fancy meeting you here, though.”
Fancy meeting me here, my ass. He must have planned the whole thing just to complicate my life. Dean’s knowing smile belied his words. Adam took a sip of his water and looked away, his jaw tightening as he tried to hold in his anger. He didn’t like to make scenes in a public place.
He seriously contemplated the murdering-Dean-thingy, though.
Rachel, on the other hand, had never minded being in the public eye. Oblivious to Adam’s indifference, she slid in the banquette next to him, grabbing his arm and snuggling up closely, her pushed-up breasts pressing into his biceps. She was babbling, running over with nonsense. “I haven’t seen you in years, you still look good, Adam. A
re you seeing anybody? I heard your aunt got remarried last summer, how come I wasn’t invited?”
Adam ignored her completely. Instead, he speared Dean with a tense look. “So, this is what it’s come too?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Dean answered with a straight face.
Adam pulled at his arm, trying to dislodge it from Rachel’s grasping hands but she only pressed more tightly into him. Her perfume was overpowering his sensitive olfactory senses. He was so busy trying to extract himself from her crimson-tipped claws that he didn’t notice Dean loudly clearing his throat. The noise finally get his attention and he looked up to see Dean jerking his head toward the door, a smirk playing across his mouth.
Holy fucking hell.
Eva was standing ten feet away, her mouth drawn up tight, eyes flashing fire at Adam.
“Shit, Eva.” Adam tried to push Rachel off and get up from the table, but the woman had a death grip on his arm. Eva took a shaky step back when Rachel squealed again.
“Evaaaaa! I haven’t seen you since high school. Come join us! Isn’t it so much fun to see old friends, Adam?” She gave his arm a possessive squeeze.
Adam finally managed to push free of the octopus clinging to him, stumbling over the chair before standing up, straightening his jacket. His hand automatically reached into his pocket to touch the ring nestled there.
“Eva,” he said “I…”
Eva flipped a very decisive, very adamant finger at him, giving it a firm shake for emphasis, before spinning on her heel and storming out of the restaurant.
Adam ran after her, pushing through the crowds around the hostess stand, out into the evening air. He looked up and down the sidewalk but didn’t see her. A quick search of the line of cabs outside proved fruitless as well. He headed back inside, his gut a roiling mix of anger and fear.
Dean was sitting at his table with Rachel draped over his lap, a drink in his hand. He patted the seat next to him and smiled at Adam. “Have a seat. You look like you could use a drink.”
“I’ll pass,” growled Adam.
“But you’re still going to have dinner with us, yes?” asked Rachel. She bounced to her feet. “I think I’m going to powder my nose a bit before we order.” She snatched her purse and sashayed toward the restroom.
As soon as she was out of sight, Adam snatched Dean to his feet, knocking the glass of amber liquid and clinking ice cubes to the floor. Nose to nose, Adam let loose a low, menacing growl. His anger at Dean burned hot, curling deep inside, causing his tiger to push close to the surface. His feline fangs elongated, pushing against his lips before he caught them and forced his tiger back down, to curl in the pit of his stomach.
“This is your fucking fault. What the hell do you think you’re doing, bringing Rachel here? I can’t believe you did this shit, Dean. You’re my fucking cousin, my fucking second—in the company and the clan. What are you trying to do?”
Dean pushed back, pulling his jacket from between Adam’s clenched fists, smoothing the lapels. He gave the diners around him an apologetic smile before grabbing Adam’s elbow and steering him to the door and out onto the sidewalk.
Adam, still fuming, turned on him. “Would you like to explain yourself?”
“There’s nothing to explain.”
“Try again, Dean. You wearing my patience too thin. Why did you bring Rachel here?”
Dean sighed, the sound huffing out in a sharp exhale. “I’m trying to get you to see something.”
“And what would that be?”
“That you love Eva.”
Adam reached for Dean again, ready to inflict some serious damage on his cousin’s handsome face, but Dean stepped lightly out of his reach.
“Violence isn’t the answer,” he said, deadpan.
“You know what? I’m out, I’m gone, before I the beat the crap out of you, right here on this sidewalk. I can’t deal with your shit anymore, Dean. Especially not now, with Eva…”
“With Eva, what?”
Adam didn’t answer, instead, he turned and walked away from Dean, leaving him standing on the sidewalk alone.
***
The next morning, Adam sat at Eva’s desk, his eyes trained on the bank of elevators beyond the glass doors. She wouldn’t answer any of his texts or calls last night. She even ignored him when he went to her apartment, refusing to answer when he buzzed her intercom. She was going to talk to him that morning. He was going to explain what happened, that it was Dean’s fault that Rachel had been there. Then he was going to tell her why he’d wanted to meet her there in first place. That he’d been ready to give her an offer of marriage. That he still was.
When the doors finally slid open and Eva emerged from the elevator, his heart crawled in his throat. She was so goddamned beautiful, she took his breath away. Even in her obvious anger. He could see it in the way she strode down the corridor, her heels clicking staccato across the marble floors. She pushed the door open and stopped when she saw him at her desk.
“Is there something I can help you with, Mr. Frost?” Her face was a mask, her eyes frigid chips.
“We need to talk, Eva.”
She reached her desk and dropped her bag onto the top, shooing him away from her chair. He got up, letting her have her spot, watching her quietly as she went about turning on her computer, switching the phone from the answering service, printing off messages. When she finished with her office-opening procedures, she looked at him expectantly.
“So, what can I help you with this morning, Mr. Frost?”
“Mr. Frost? Eva, you don’t need to call me…”
“Yes, I do,” she said coldly. “Now, would you like coffee? I can make a fresh pot or send out for Starbucks.”
“Eva, I don’t want any coffee.”
“Fine, I’ll get you a water then.” She shuffled through a stack of papers, pulling one out and handing it to him. “Here are your meetings for the day, I can move your one o’clock if you think your lunch will run long.”
“Eva, I didn’t know Rachel would be there. Dean brought her.”
“Your five o’clock canceled—Mark’s kid has a school thing—so you’ve got that hour free. Would you like me to make a dinner reservation somewhere or will you be dining in the office this evening?”
“Eva…”
She regarded him with steely eyes, a veil of studied indifference over her face.
“Please, talk to me,” he almost begged.
He saw her swallow back her emotions, knowing that he’d put a small chink in her armor. At least, he thought he did, until he saw her eyes harden again. “I’ll be happy to talk to about anything work-related, Mr. Frost.”
Adam watched as she morphed into a brisk and efficient executive assistant. Her gaze was distant, she never looked directly at him. She moved around her office, hanging up her coat and bag, opening mail, as he stood and stared at her. What had he done?
“Eva, will you talk to me about last night? About Las Vegas? About us? Please?”
She stopped feeding papers into the shredder, the papers clenched and crinkling in her hands. She didn’t turn around to look at him when she spoke. Her voice was low, but her meaning was clear.
“No,” she said, “we don’t have anything to talk about. I also don’t care about last night. I’m trying to put Las Vegas out of my mind. Business, Adam. That’s all there is between us. That’s all there’s ever been between us. Employer and employee. Beyond that, there is no us. Now, Mr. Frost, is there anything else I can help you with? If not, please vacate my office. Your being here attracts unwanted gossip, and to be honest, annoys the hell out of me.”
Adam shook his head and turned to his office. As he opened the door, he looked back, and saw Eva still facing the shredder. Her shoulders were shaking slightly and she gave a quiet sniff. Adam stepped inside and eased the door shut between them.
***
A short time later, Adam was startled from his thoughts by a sharp knock on his office door. Befo
re he could answer, the door bounced open and Dean was there, a guarded look on his face.
“Can I come in?”
Adam sighed heavily. “Yeah, come on in.”
Dean made his way to his normal spot, settling into the creaking leather chair. He didn’t look as relaxed as he usually did. Instead of lounging he was sitting upright, his fingers steepled under his chin.
“I want to apologize for last night.”
“Okay…” Adam prompted.
“I’m sorry for bringing Rachel around. I just wanted to…show you.”
“Get on with it Dean, I don’t have any patience for your games or witty banter today.”
“I thought if I brought Rachel around that Eva would get a little jealous and realize how she really feels about you. She likes you, Adam, still loves you even. And you love her.”
“I don’t think she loves me. She won’t even talk to me. She’s calling me Mr. Frost.”
“That’s kind of hot.”
Adam flung a pen across the desk at Dean, hitting him in the chin and leaving a streak of ink across his skin. Dean laughed as he scrubbed at the mark with his fingers.
“So, you thought making Eva jealous was a good idea. Using jealousy to get a reaction from her is bad idea. She has the means at her disposal to get even. Like spitting in my coffee.”
“I get it. My meddling backfired on me. I’m sorry. But you have to get her to listen. You have to make her understand that you care for her. You do care for her, don’t you, Adam?”
“I don’t…I’m not…” Adam trailed off, trying to collect his thoughts.
“Listen, if you do, let her know. Propose. But just know, Eva’s not the kind of woman who’s going to want to hear about clan alliances and arranged marriages. If you love her, show her.”
Adam shook his head, worrying at the skin of his lips with his teeth.
“Either you want her or you don’t. Make up your mind. But don’t ask her to marry you if you don’t really love her. Understand?”
“I can’t promise that.”
“Then don’t ask her.”
“It’s the right thing to do.”
“The hell it is. If you love her, claim her. If not, leave her be. I’ll claim her myself.”
Romance Warfare: a Tigress' Guide to NOT Secure a Mate: BBW Tiger Shape Shifter Paranormal Romance Page 6