Finn spoke gently, “Mrs. Kramer, would you feel better if you came by my home to speak with Mina in person? While I have business here to take care of for the next hour or so, you are more than welcome to drop by, if that would appease your worries.”
“Yes,” she choked, her tone garbled, leaping at the chance to see me in person. Her eyes turned toward me, and she stated, “Mina, I’ll be there in a half hour.”
I held up a quick hand. “Mother, could you pack a bag for me? I have no personal items here and could use clothes and toiletries.”
Her blink was slow. “I can manage that.”
Finn asked, “Do you know where I live or should I send you my address?”
This was out of politeness because everyone in New City knew where the corporate kings lived in their mansions.
But my mother nodded and flicked her eyes at him, her voice brisk. “Please do so, Mr. Baker.”
I blinked.
Father even glanced back at her, his brows furrowed, but he swiftly turned his head back around. He asked, “My wife will be there soon.” His attention flicked in my direction and held my gaze. His eyes softened. “I’ll have her bring your bracelet too.”
“As if I would forget that,” Mother grouched under her breath and stalked away from the couch, on a mission to get my items. Most importantly, my bracelet so she could contact me when she wanted to. I knew that was why she had insisted on replacing mine as soon as possible.
She disappeared from view.
Father watched her go, apparent shock slashing his features at her rudeness. He blinked in confusion, and then jerked his eyes back to us. My father scarcely pulled himself together to state, “She’ll see you soon, Mina. Mr. Baker, it’s always a pleasure speaking with you.”
We nodded, not another word spoken.
Finn ended the call, and the screen disappeared.
I glanced at his profile, and then quickly looked away.
He was staring at the wall, a scowl on his face.
I cleared my throat and brushed off a fake piece of dirt from his table. “That went better than expected.”
Finn snorted, asking bluntly, “Is your mother going to be an issue?”
I needed clarification. “For what? Me staying here or for the shifters?”
“For you staying here.” He sighed heavily, breaking his stare down with his wall. The white tiger stretched back on his chair, placed his right arm over the top of mine, and peered directly into my eyes. “I know she’s too smart to be a problem for the shifters. We have the money and power, and she wants to succeed professionally here in the city. But will she try to make you leave my home?”
I chewed on the inside of my cheek, my face scrunching a bit. “Do you want me to answer that honestly?”
He grunted. “She really doesn’t like me.”
“She doesn’t like us together,” I clarified. “You, she fears.”
Finn slid his finger under my hair, brushing the pads of his fingers softly against the back of my neck. “Do you still fear me?”
“Not at all.” The answer didn’t even surprise me.
I had accepted it. Now, I relaxed back into his touch.
His mouth curled into a satisfied grin as he leaned over, brushing his lips against mine. “I’m glad.”
Mr. Mason entered the room. “Sorry to break up the smooches, but since your call is done, can we get this party started?”
Finn sighed against my lips, his sexy eyes holding mine. He grumbled, “Rune, you are a pain.”
Mr. Mason, the owner of Mason Corporation, the largest construction company on the planet, smirked and took a step further into the room. “Well, if you want to continue, I can come join you two. Your lovely friend there has ample—”
“Fuck off,” Finn interrupted, his eyes slamming on his friend. “She’s mine. Don’t touch.”
I glanced between the two. Two predators eyeing one another while one claimed its feast. I cleared my throat and stated, “I’m going to take a shower before my mother gets here.”
Rune grinned and opened his mouth.
Finn pointed at him sharply, “Cut the shit, playboy. I wasn’t kidding.”
Rune flicked his black hair out of his right eye, and smirked, not at all repentant. “Her loss.”
“I don’t think so. I’ll take Finn over you, Mr. Mason,” I stated, my voice quiet, then getting louder and more confident as I spoke. “If you really want to stay, I’m about to deal with my mother. You can help…”
He turned quickly, waving over his shoulder as he exited the dining room on fast feet.
Finn snickered. “I like your feisty side. Rune hardly ever shuts up, and you rendered him mute with a few sentences.”
I shrugged a bored shoulder. “Mention anything about menstrual cycles, upset mothers, or poopy diapers, and most men run away. I’ve learned many tricks for when Father’s business associates would hit on me.”
Finn ticked his head back and roared with laughter. He sputtered in his hilarity, “I’m glad I met you, Mina. You are so very delightful. You make my day brighter.”
My heart warmed a little bit more.
The white tiger knew how to make me glow inside.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
I opened the front door, a gentle smile gracing my lips. “Come in, Mother.”
The edges of her eyes crinkled with worry as she searched the empty foyer behind me for monsters. When Mother found none in sight, she hissed, “I’m getting you out of here. Come on.”
I inhaled, and stated calmly, “Come inside, Mother. It’s not as bad as you think.”
Mother’s eyes glared into mine, and penetrated, searching for the reason for my ‘madness.’ She growled, “Is that creature drugging you?”
Mr. Mason popped his head around the corner to my right, calling out, “Hey, beautiful. Finn wants you to order pizza when you’re done with your visit. The meeting’s going to take a while longer than expected.”
He wasn’t coming any closer, though.
Staying far away from the ‘upset mother.’
I chuckled. “I can’t believe he sent you out here.”
“He’s evil like that.” He glanced at my mother’s frozen frame outside the doorway, then back to me. A mischievous glint entered his eyes. “Kind of like a creature from Hell.”
I sighed, both amused and irritated. “Tell him I’ll order the pizza. But how many should I get?”
His black head of hair teetered in thought. “Maybe fifteen?”
“There’s only eight of you back there!” I exclaimed. Along with the five corporate kings, Poppy and Theron had shown up too. Then Cassander had strolled in as if he hadn’t been nuclear this morning. “Isn’t that a little extreme?”
His black brows wiggled suggestively. “The creatures must be fed!” Then he disappeared around the corner, but his devious laughter could be heard as he walked away.
I shook my head in exasperation, still staring where he had been standing. I muttered under my breath, “That did not help at all.”
My patience was wearing thin when I turned to face my mother, but I understood her dismay. I had been in her place only a few days before. Except, I stopped to stare at her features, surprise and humor running amok in my head.
I stated, “Mother, you are a married woman.”
She jerked her attention back to me, turning from where she had gawked after Mr. Rune Mason—New City’s playboy. She lifted her chin. “I have no idea why you felt the need to remind me.”
I pointed at her chin. “You’ve got a little drool there.”
She didn’t, but it was still fun to tease.
Mother shook her head. “Not funny, Mina.”
Then she stared. Her lips twitched.
I opened the door wider. “Are you coming in now?”
“Tell me this first. Why are you staying here?”
To make sure you and Father are safe.
And, perhaps, because I want to.
“
I enjoy Finn’s company. We get along surprisingly well. And I know what you’re thinking, but he isn’t evil. He’s a good man…that just happens to wear a fur coat every once in a while.” I snorted, remembering his words. “A fur coat that he is particularly proud about.”
“You like him,” Mother said, her awe of the truth washing over her face. “Are you falling for that creature?”
“Quit calling him that,” I snapped.
Mother’s eyes narrowed.
“My apologies,” I amended. I recovered my etiquette—with much mental force—and pulled myself up to my full height. “Though, please do try to be courteous inside his home.”
“I’m not inside his home.” She pointed down at her feet on the doormat.
“Jesus, Mother, just get inside.”
I grabbed her arm, done with the niceties. She was family, after all. I didn’t have to be perfect all the time. I used my taller frame to pull her and my luggage she carried inside his home. It wasn’t a scene we would have wanted the public to witness, though.
When we were done with the struggle—her digging in her heels, me digging in my bare feet—we were both a little breathless.
But I had prevailed!
“That was uncalled for, Mina,” Mother griped and fixed her hair where it had come askew. She huffed in aggravation. “And when did you get so strong?”
“When I turned twelve. I grew taller than you then,” I muttered. I stared at my wrist, a tiny cut there. “Just how sharp do you need your nails to be, anyway?”
“That wasn’t my nails. It was my ring,” she grumbled, twisting her wedding ring to its proper position. “The damn thing catches on my clothes too. Your father is going to buy me a new one soon.”
Mother received a new—and better—wedding ring for every five years of marriage they made it to alive. It was stated so in their wedding contract.
My mother loved jewelry.
Father always found it humorous when the time came to buy her a new one. A new wedding ring for an ‘old’ wife, he would say.
“So, now that you have me inside, what are your plans? Feed your too-short mother to them?”
“Mother!”
She waved a hand in the air. “I’m kidding.”
My brows puckered. I was fairly certain I had offended her. I murmured, “You’re the perfect height for you. And Father seems to like it.”
She snorted…but nodded. “Yes, he does.”
“Is there anything you would like to ask me?” I crossed my arms and leaned back against the doorjamb. “Anything at all?”
“I just want you safe, Mina. That’s all.” Mother opened her arms wide. “You were frightened of him one night, and the next, you’re here. So I’m worried, even if you say he’s a good man.”
“Don’t you trust my judgment?”
“I do. You are the smartest young woman I know. But I’m still worried.” She shrugged her shoulders. “I love you.”
I wrapped my arms around her and tucked her head under my chin, holding her tight. I whispered, “I’m okay. I swear to you. This is where I want to be right now.”
Her voice was muffled against my shoulder, breathless, as she whined, “You’re squeezing too tight.”
I loosened my arms—a little.
Then she hugged me back. “If you’re really going to stay here, then you’ll wear that bracelet your father and I bought today. I want to be able to contact you anytime I want. And for you to call me…daily. Maybe twice a day.”
“Of course, Mother.” I kissed the top of her head.
She didn’t stop hugging me. “Are you sure you’re safe here?”
“Yes.” I hoped.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
I walked down the hallway to the intimate conference room in Finn’s home where everyone was. But I stopped short to tie the pants Finn had gifted me. They continued to untie no matter how tight I made it.
It was like the pants knew Finn would take them off me later and were giving him a preemptive helping hand.
“Can we please stay on track?” Poppy’s voice filtered loudly through the air, her irritation and frustration apparent.
“No!” Mr. King practically roared. “He still hasn’t handed over that fucker to me.”
“And I’m not going to,” Theron stated patiently.
“He lied to me about Poppy!” Mr. King growled. “Jonathan deserves a burial with the fishes.”
“He’s my man. You don’t get to touch him.”
“The hell I don’t!”
“If Finn had lied to me about my own mate like that, would you hand him over?” Theron snickered as the silence drew out. “I didn’t think so.”
“Big man, just let it go,” Poppy grumbled.
Mr. King snarled, “I don’t want to let—”
I knocked on the door. Hard.
Then I peeked inside, as the beautiful silence extended in the room, cutting off the arguing as I had hoped. My gaze zeroed in on the hottest man in the room, his white hair and blue eyes breathtaking with the glass windows displaying the trees and lake behind him. I explained my interruption, “The delivery person’s here. I’d pay, but my bracelet isn’t powered up yet.”
Theron jumped out of his chair, ready to leave the room for a few minutes. “I’ll go with you to pay.”
The Ancient wasn’t exactly who I wanted with me, but he would have to do. “Thank you. I appreciate that.”
At least, I didn’t about fall to a knee this time.
I tried not to eye his apparel too much. He had changed from his workout clothes from this morning to an outfit reminiscent of a stuffed teddy bear. There was even a hood with a cute bear face on top of it. But I had to know why he was wearing it.
I questioned, "Theron, are you going to a children’s party after this?”
“Something like that. I offered to read to the children at New City Library. Had I known that bastard was going to attack today, I wouldn’t have offered. I’m not in a wonderful frame of mind to be what’s needed for children right now.”
This was the most civil I had ever seen him.
Perhaps he was wrong and the battle had centered him. He was almost normal right now, no mood swapping occurring.
I asked to be considerate, “Would you like me to go instead for you? I adore children.”
Finn shouted from far, far into the house. “That’s not happening, Mina!”
Theron’s head cocked, as if he were listening to something, then he spoke in a normal tone. “It’s no problem, Finn. I understand.”
I blinked. “He said something I couldn’t hear, didn’t he?”
“Yes. Where’s the pizza from? I always eat Kreeger’s Pizza. It’s wonderful.”
My shoulders sagged. “I bought it from the closest place to here, so you guys could get it sooner. It’s not Kreeger’s Pizza.”
“At my age, trying new things is a miracle.”
I perked up. “I hope you enjoy it then.”
“I’m sure I will.”
I walked next to a man who was over two thousand years old. Something so obvious finally occurred to me as we traveled down the stairs to the foyer. “Theron, feel free to tell me no on this, but would you enjoy coming to my classroom at the university and speaking about any particular part of history that you loved? The civilizations and people. We could pretend like you’re an expert on that topic.”
His eyes narrowed. “What’s history to you…was my life. I’m not sure if I’d want to act as if it weren’t. Every action I’ve done, the places I’ve lived, the societies I’ve seen crumble only to be rebuilt, it all deserves meaning, not to be denied as if it doesn’t apply to a few young individuals who aren’t even a blip on my long-lived radar.”
My breath caught. “My apologies. I am so sorry. I didn’t even think of that. It was incredibly inconsiderate of me to ask that of you. I tend to get excited about my students—and myself—learning something new.”
He patted the air. “Calm down, Mina.
I’ll think about speaking with them and contact you when I decide. But only because so many texts on history were destroyed in this last war.”
“Thank you,” I stated, my entire being humbled.
“You’re welcome.”
We turned around yet another corner.
Only five more until the kitchen.
Abruptly, he stopped in his tracks.
I stopped with him, probing, “Is something wrong?”
The Ancient tilted his head back and sniffed the air.
His brows lifted in interest and his eyes closed.
Theron stood there for a full minute, just sniffing at the air, appearing as if he were peacefully asleep. Then he spoke, his voice dreamy, “That’s something I would kill to taste.”
I blinked and pointed toward the kitchen at the back of the house. “Well, I got all types of pizza because I had no clue what kind you wanted. I’m glad you’re happy with one of them.”
The ancient beautiful dark eyes opened. He peered down at his outfit, even lifting his hands that had enormous paw gloves on them. His attention snapped to me. “Help me out of this thing.”
I blinked. There was the Theron I knew.
“Okay,” I whispered. I rolled a finger in the air. “If you would turn around, I’ll get the zipper for you.”
He pivoted and presented his back to me.
While I unzipped the costume, my fingers holding steady, he yanked off the paw gloves. I inquired, “Why are you—”
“No questions right now, Mina. Just help me.”
“Helping it is.”
Together we pulled the furry attire off him.
Then he stood in his boxer briefs. And nothing else.
I kept my eyes studiously on his face. “If you want to remove any further clothing, I would ask that you find a bedroom for privacy.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
He snapped his fingers. “Finn’s bedroom. He’s closer in size to me than Cassander is.”
I watched as he bent and gathered the costume into his arms…and then ran faster than I could fully observe—away from me.
Transcend (Origin Book 2) Page 10