by Vella Day
Maybe he’d even buy her a present, and say it was because he’d been out of sorts for the last few weeks, and that he normally didn’t act like a bumbling idiot around women. Flowers were out of the question, but from experience, he found women always liked chocolate. Coming prepared to a date would let her know he was a nice guy. Going out with her would also convince him that his intense attraction and desire had been a fluke.
Because lunch wouldn’t be for another few hours, he straightened up his house then read over the Donaldson file to see if he’d missed anything. Around eleven, he drove to town. Elana most likely wouldn’t recognize his Jeep, so he parked in front of the Crystal Winds Spa and dashed inside. He hadn’t stepped foot in the place in several years, but the store hadn’t changed much other than the beauty and health products that were on the shelves appeared new.
Izzy rushed toward him. “Is Rye okay?”
Crap. It hadn’t occurred to him she might draw that conclusion. “He’s fine. I’m here because I wanted to ask you something about Elana.”
Her eyes shone. “Really? What is it?”
“I wanted to do something nice for her and thought she might appreciate a picnic lunch.”
Izzy cocked a brow. “Why the sudden change of heart?”
No way could he tell her that he finally realized that stress had caused his body to go crazy around Elana. “After hearing how she’d grown up, I thought she’d appreciate the gesture. Is that a crime?”
“No, but she’ll spot a pity date in a heartbeat. She’ll think I put you up to it.”
Fuck. “You didn’t.”
“I know that, but she won’t.”
The air rushed out of his lungs. “What do you suggest? To be honest, I feel bad about the way I’ve acted around her lately.”
Izzy lifted a shoulder. “Then tell her that. Just don’t mention you heard about how her parents had mistreated her.”
“I promise.” He held up three fingers as if he was back in Boy Scouts. He also didn’t want to lead her on. Damn. This might not be a good idea.
For a few minutes they batted around lunch suggestions, until he was satisfied he had the perfect meal. Armed with a list of what things Elana liked and didn’t like, he headed over to the U-Save supermarket where he purchased fried chicken, potato salad, baked beans, and a small box of chocolate. Because he wasn’t allowed to take alcohol to the park, he picked up some bottled water. Hopefully, she’d understand this was a spur of the moment idea, which made something fancy and elaborate not possible.
Leaving the food in the back of his Jeep, he parked in front of her store and headed on in. To his total dismay, he took one look at Elana in a pretty pink dress, and his body went haywire. What the fuck? He thought he’d been cured.
“Kalan. What are you doing here?” She pushed some wisps of hair back from her face then redid her ponytail as if it mattered what she looked like.
He couldn’t tell if she was delighted, frightened, or dismayed. From behind his back, he placed the small box of chocolate on the counter. “I came to apologize.”
A burst of excitement shot through him that he was no longer stumbling and fumbling.
Her hands stilled as if she thought this was some kind of trick. “Apologize for what?”
Shit. He certainly couldn’t say his inner bear was constantly trying to get out every time he was near her. “I’ve been under a lot of stress lately, and I wasn’t as attentive to you at the party as I’d wanted.”
Her eyes shone brighter than the sun. “You didn’t have to buy me anything. I understand what stress can do to a person.”
Her comment was more proof that he had been a jerk, but he didn’t need to list all of his mistakes. “Listen, I picked up a few things for a picnic. I know you can’t leave the store for long, but I was wondering if you’d be willing to take a lunch break at the park?” Sounds from the back indicated she had help.
Her cheeks flushed a delicate rose color, and her blue eyes seemed to turn a darker shade of cobalt. “I’d love to. Let me tell my assistant.”
Elana practically ran to the back, indicating she was excited and not dismayed. So far, so good. He figured once they ate a nice lunch and chatted, the guilt over how he’d acted would surely go away. If his bear would stop being such a demanding ass, he’d call this idea a total success.
At one point, Kalan had been tempted to find a willing female to help get his rocks off, but there was something about the way he reacted to Elana that told him no one else would satisfy him—or could satisfy him. Damn. Taking her out only to have his way with her, though, would get her hopes up, and then he couldn’t abandon her. If he did, he’d be no better than her parents. No question about it. He had to keep his dick in his pants.
“I’m ready,” she said.
She’d reapplied her lipstick and blush. The woman seemed to be trying to lure him, but he couldn’t let her succeed, but damn that fresh rose scent of her had his bear pushing and growling.
Due to her time constraint, he drove them to the park just a few blocks away instead of suggesting they walk. After finding a parking space, he carried the bag of groceries to a table close to where the kids were playing. “This okay?”
Her quick broad smile sent a surge of delight straight through him. “Absolutely.”
“I hope you like fried chicken.”
Her bow-shaped mouth reopened. “It’s my favorite.”
Thank you, Izzy. She hadn’t steered him wrong.
The table was near to where several toddlers were running around, and Elana’s look of longing piqued his interest. “Those kids sure are cute, aren’t they? You ever dream of a few of your own?”
She shook her head. “I’m not sure I want any. I’m so busy running my store that I wouldn’t know how to care for them when I’m at work.”
He should have thought of that. She wouldn’t want to repeat the mistakes of her parents. While he didn’t want to rub it in her face that his parents were always around for him and his siblings, she might think it odd if he didn’t say something about his upbringing. “My mom was lucky that she could stay home and take care of the kids while Dad worked.” He set the bag on the table.
“I might be in the minority, but I like working.”
That intrigued him. If he had infinite funds, he probably would still work for the sheriff’s department. “I’m like you. I couldn’t sit home and not help others, but my mom worked hard taking care of us. We were quite a handful.” Shifting, breaking things, and causing a lot of trouble. He placed the container of potato salad on the table along with the baked beans. “I didn’t know what you liked to drink, so I picked up some bottled water.”
“Water’s fine.” She grabbed the drink, opened it, and took a swig. “I know Blair and your brother Jackson because we were in school together, but do you have any other siblings?”
“No. I think the three of us were enough to handle.” That was an understatement.
Elana sat across from him on the wooden bench and picked up a paper plate. With care, she scooped the beans and potato salad onto it. “What made you go into law enforcement?” she asked.
That was an easy one to answer. “Being six-three and a bit large, I was always called on to break up fights. Since my father used to be in the security business, I kind of fell into the whole protecting others thing. I could have worked for McKinnon and Associates, but I wanted to do something different.”
When she bit into her chicken, her moan caused his libido to shoot into high gear again. Kalan looked above her head to the children at play, hoping to gain some control. If nothing else, he wanted to figure out what it was about Elana that always had his cock at attention.
“Aren’t you afraid you’ll get hurt or killed?”
Her comment cut short his distraction. Now would be the perfect time to tell her he was a shifter, that he healed quickly, and that he was stronger than a human, only it wouldn’t serve any purpose. She might not have blabbed to the world th
at Izzy’s mate was a werewolf, or that Izzy now was one too, but why chance a leak?
“There’s always that risk.”
She swiped a napkin across her luscious lips and his thoughts rocketed to what it would be like to kiss her. Stop it. He might be able to have a coherent conversation with her now, and actually enjoy it, but his inner animal was not willing to cooperate.
“What was your most exciting case?” Elana rested her elbows on the table and leaned forward.
The wind brushed back her rather out of control hair, and she couldn’t have been prettier. A hint of honeysuckle tinged the air, making this a perfect day. Thankfully, the pink shirtwaist dress she’d worn covered her tits. If he’d even had a glimpse of her cleavage, he might have had to excuse himself.
She asked you a question, dickweed. “Exciting? That might not apply to any of my cases, but perhaps my most rewarding one involved locating a kidnapper.”
“Can you tell me about it? I’ll understand if it needs to stay hushed up.”
Hushed up? Cute. “The case is closed now, so I can tell you a little about it. We were able to use the GPS signal from the fugitive’s cell to find him. For days, he’d been so careful, but for some reason, that day he turned it on, allowing us to find his general location. Add in an eye witness, and we were able to locate the little girl unharmed.”
“Wow. That was wonderful, but I bet you’ve experienced heartache too.”
Many people never consider the toll this job had on a cop, but Elana seemed to possess a lot of empathy. It was almost as if she were a witch herself. “Yes, quite a lot, but the people involved always suffer more.” He didn’t want to spend their date talking about him though. “Enough about me. How did you get started in the flower business?”
She helped herself to more beans and another piece of fried chicken. “Growing up, we had a gardener who was really nice to me. We also had a cook, but she didn’t like me hanging out in the kitchen, which is why I suck at cooking, despite my large size.”
Her comment about her size dug a hole in him. “I love your body.” Oh, fuck. He hadn’t meant to blurt that out.
Her lips pressed together. “You don’t have to be nice just because I’m Izzy’s friend.”
Being unjustly accused of something really got his goat. “Izzy has nothing to do with this.” That was as much as he was willing to say about the matter. No way would he tell her that because he was a larger man, he liked a woman he didn’t feel he’d crush if they were in bed.
“Oh, sorry.” Her face colored an appealing shade of pink. “Anyway, I spent a lot of time outdoors watching our gardener, Mr. Jenkins, take care of the plants. His wife helped out in the spring, planting the flowers, and she’d taken the time to explain things, like what plants grew well and how to take care of them.”
As lovely as that story was, his heart ached as he pictured her as a little girl not having her mom to teach her those things. “Starting a business takes a lot of work, but also cash.”
If her parents had lent her the start-up money, they couldn’t be all bad.
“Don’t I know it? Izzy’s dad was nice enough to lend me the money, which I’m paying back every month. Not only does he own the cellular phone store and the entire strip mall, he owns my building across the street too.”
Rye had mentioned that a while back. So much for nice parents, but if they raised such a wonderful daughter, they had to have some redeeming qualities. “I bet your parents are proud of what you’ve accomplished.” He had to act as if he knew nothing.
“They haven’t really said. I do know they’re happy I didn’t want to go into their import-export business with them.”
Don’t even go there. Kalan’s body shot into protective mode, and that meant it wanted to shift. He inhaled deeply to forestall that event. “Well, I think you’re remarkable.”
If her parents were too self-centered to care, it was their loss.
Her face turned a slightly darker shade of pink this time. Damn. He’d never met a woman who seemed unaware of how amazing she was. Kalan wasn’t going to let her work ethic, coupled with her lack of ego, get to him though. He didn’t want a steady girlfriend—not with taking over the Clan business.
“Thank you, but I think you’re pretty remarkable too.”
For some reason, her comment took him aback. Had she been aware he was a bear shifter, he might have understood her sentiment. A human would be impressed he could alter his form, but she was only commenting about who he was as a man, and that pleased him. “I appreciate you saying that.”
Her eyes widened. “I’m sure you were told how wonderful you were your whole life.”
“My parents loved us kids more than life itself and wanted us to be the best we could be, but at times they were hard yet nurturing. They really believed in personal responsibility. That’s my way of saying, I wasn’t always praised at every turn.”
As if she was uncomfortable with his comment, she delved into her potato salad. When she finished, she looked up at him. “I think by taking the time to teach you the difference between right and wrong, it was their way of telling you how wonderful you were.”
Her profound words really hit home. “You might be right. You seemed to have learned how to be successful and a nice person despite your folks not being around.” From what she told him today, it was reasonable to draw that conclusion.
“I had a good support system.” She looked off to the side as she finished the food on her plate. “I probably should be getting back to work.”
Elana stood, gathered the trash and dumped it in a garbage can while Kalan just sat there, a bit stunned. No woman had ever cut short a date, especially after he’d just complimented her. His ego wasn’t used to the beating. “Is something wrong?”
Elana returned. “No. Lunch was wonderful. Thank you, but I do have a store to run.”
Was her flower shop so busy that she couldn’t take a full hour for lunch? “I’ll drive you back.”
He escorted her to his Jeep, happy he’d recently washed and cleaned it. With her sudden dismissal of their date, however, he was unsure what to say to make things better between them. He slipped in his side and started the engine. “Maybe we can do this again.”
Never in his wildest dream did he think he’d ask her for a second date, but she’d gotten under his skin.
Thankfully, her smile implied he’d said the right thing. “I’d like that.”
That was easier than he expected. Kalan drove slowly, hoping to prolong their time together. “What kind of things do you like to do when you’re not running your store?”
She glanced out the window. “I read a lot.”
Reading wasn’t exactly something they could do together as it cut out the talking part—and the kissing too. Of course, if she read him some sexy scenes, it might get them in the mood. Before he could ask what she liked to read, they’d arrived. He parked in front, rushed over to her side, and held open the door. “Do you like to go to the movies?”
Elana faced him, shielding her eyes from the sun. “Yes, but I don’t see you as the romantic comedy type, which is about all I ever see.”
No, he liked the action adventure movies, but he could sit through anything. “You don’t think I like romance?”
Shit. Him and his big mouth.
The wind picked up, whipping a few strands out of her elastic. He wanted to brush it behind her ears, but he didn’t dare touch her.
She shrugged. “You seem more of the rough and tumble type. I can picture you riding a motorcycle, jumping out of planes, and maybe even doing some MMA fighting.”
He cracked up. “I see I have my work cut out for me, showing you the real me.” Goddess in heaven, he couldn’t believe he’d just said that. What was happening to him? It was as if someone else had possessed his body. Damn bear. “I used to own a motorcycle, and I have done some skydiving, but I’ve never taken any martial arts classes.” Mostly because he could shift and beat any attacker. “Do you lik
e to ski?”
She laughed. “It’s a little too warm for that.”
Crap. Nothing was coming out right. “I meant in the winter.”
Elana grinned then winked. “I know what you meant. No, I don’t ski. I’ve always been a big girl. Exercising wasn’t my forte.”
“That’s okay. We can just talk.” And kiss. And fuck. No, no, no. He had to stop thinking with his cock.
She looked behind her as if she expected her assistant to be waving at her to come in. “Look, I really need to go. Thank you for the picnic. It was really sweet of you.”
Sweet? Kalan Murdoch didn’t do sweet. Well, fuck. What had started out as a way to pay her back for being a dick turned out to be something a lot different than he’d ever anticipated. Now that he wanted to be with her, Elana didn’t seem as interested. Well, damn.
Chapter Six
‡
Elana was up in her apartment dressed in a T-shirt and yoga pants with a glass of red wine in one hand and the phone in the other.
“So you just got up and announced the date was over?” Izzy said, practically shouting.
Elana giggled. “I can’t believe I did that. I mean, here I’ve dreamed of going out on a date with Kalan like for forever, and then I acted as if I couldn’t have cared less.”
“Why?”
That was a good question. Part of the reason had been he’d touched on the subject of her upbringing. If he learned how her parents had treated her, she bet he’d run—fast. “I kind of thought it would intrigue him. I have to say the look of surprise on his face was priceless.”
“It could work in your favor since I doubt many women have ever turned down Kalan Murdoch.” Her tone turned more pensive.
She hadn’t been totally truthful. “He suggested we go out again sometime, and I said yes. I tried not to sound too excited, but I’m not sure if I succeeded.”
“That’s great. You want him to think you’re willing but not anxious. Wait a minute. I thought you wanted to erase him from your mind.”