by Moxie North
Stryker grunted and started to the stairs. He made fast work of getting the boxes up the stairs and situated for her. On his last trip down he brought the helmet and jacket, tossing them on her desk.
“Keep these down here,” he said roughly.
“Okie dokie,” she replied. This response got her an eye raise and then a searing kiss that had her raising up on her tippy toes to get closer to him. Apparently cute did it for him.
“Fucking hell. You’re adorable, mouse,” he said it like he was doomed.
“I’ll stop,” she said back.
“You’re doing it again,” he growled.
“It’s not so easy peasy to stop being cute, I was just born that way,” Libby said cheekily. This game was fun.
Stryker kissed her again, this time he let his hands slide down her back to her ass and grabbed a handful. Her bottom was round and way more than a handful, thank god.
“Gotta go,” he grunted as he set her away from him.
Libby stumbled a bit, still reeling from the kiss. “M’kay,” she said and gave him a little wave. She heard him groan a little and turn to stalk out the door.
She wasn’t sure how long she stood there, but Libby was quite content to bask in the sweetness of morning kisses, thoughtful gifts, and a sexy as heck man that thought she was the cat’s meow. Oh, she’d have to use cat’s meow on him later to see his reaction, she thought.
Chapter 19
Stryker worked on the front end of the car a local owner brought in. It was all fucked up, the dude should have swerved instead of hitting the pothole dead on.
Working on the car didn’t take much thought, his body did it out of habit and muscle memory. That left him free to agonize over his next steps with Libby. She seemed to like the gifts this morning, he hadn’t screwed that up.
He’d lain awake all night trying out different ways to tell her. “Hey I’m a millionaire, hey I’m a shifter,” but nothing sounded remotely plausible.
Stryker imagined her running screaming from him, hitting him, even fainting. Her world was simple and he was about to make it very, very complicated.
He was at war with himself on wanting her immersed in his life, but at the same time not turning hers on its head.
Going slow seemed right, but how slow? He wanted her and needed her to be sealed to him. But how the fuck was he going to convince her to let him bite her? Fuck that, how was he going to convince her he was the one she should gift with her virginity?
He felt like slamming the hood down on his own head as punishment for being an ass. Instead, his distraction made him scrape his knuckles and cause him to curse a blue streak.
Looking down at his bloody hand which he knew would heal shortly thanks to being a shifter, but still hurt like fuck.
He caught the scent of someone new coming into the garage. Looking up, he saw a totally normal looking man in his late forties, maybe early fifties. He was wearing khaki pants, a plaid shirt and, fuck him, sandals with socks. Oregonians, he thought.
Stryker grabbed the shop rag out of his back pocket and started to clean off his hands. The man looked uncomfortable, his eyes darting around the shop like he was hoping there was someone other than Stryker to talk to.
“Help you?” Stryker said gruffly.
“I’m looking for a Stryker Hayes,” the man replied. He stood a little straighter as he said this, like he was trying to appear official or just not scared shitless.
“That’s me.” He took in another sniff of the man and recognized that tea shop, candle wax smell that seemed to float around his mate. This must be her father. Shit, fucking hell.
The man looked Stryker up and down, from his biker boots to his head and down again. He watched the man’s eyes close for a brief second and although it was barely audible to humans, he heard the man say, “Of course you are.”
Clearly gathering his courage, the man stepped forward with his hand outstretched and said, “I’m Libby’s father, Freedom Berkowitz.”
Stryker took his hand and shook it, careful to not use too much pressure and scare the man. Also he used that moment to not flinch at his name. It was so horribly awkward, it was almost abrasive.
“Nice to meet you,” Stryker offered. He needed to play nice with her parents; he needed them on his side.
His brain was telling him to offer up assurances that he wasn’t there to steal away their daughter, but he actually was. So he’d be fucking lying if he said that.
He should be explaining why he didn’t come in last night like a gentleman. Instead, he dumped their daughter on the curb like a cheap date.
Shit, he should have walked her to the door then slipped inside forcing her to introduce him. Another opportunity lost.
“So, Libby says you’re new in town?” Freedom said, shoving his hands in his pockets.
“Yeah.” Then added, “It’s nice here.” Well, that was helpful he thought. It was so much easier to talk to Libby. His grunting caveman was back.
“So, you plan on staying?” her father asked, the question loaded with innuendo and wasn’t even slightly veiled in its true meaning.
“I hadn’t planned on it but am now,” Stryker replied. They couldn’t pry him out of this town with a crowbar.
“Hmm,” Freedom said thoughtfully. “You know why I’m here right?”
Well, that was a ballsy move Stryker thought. He could appreciate a father walking into an unknown situation to assess a potential man in his daughter’s life. Stryker respected that.
“You’re here because you don’t know me. I’m interested in your daughter and you’re most worried about how you think she feels about me.”
Stryker’s cougar was trying to get his hair up about this man questioning their claim on Libby.
But the cat also knew, that for all intents and purposes, this man was head of Libby’s pack. When you thought about it like that he was doing his solemn duty.
“Well, you’re right about that. I get why a man would be interested in Liberty. She’s beautiful, smart, and funny. I’ve never seen her show an ounce of interest in a man.
To tell you the truth, I had my hopes up that she was gay. Now it seems a stranger has blown into town and my daughter has made a very fast decision about this man.
I need to catch up to the situation and quickly. So I’m just going to ask the dad question straight out. What are your intentions with my daughter?”
Stryker almost smiled at his words, almost. Never in his thirty-five years did he ever think he’d be standing in front of his mate’s father answering that time honored question.
He also didn’t think he’d have to think about what he was going to say before he said it. If Libby had been a shifter no one would doubt his instant attraction, instant protection, or even his instant love of her. They would understand.
Humans didn’t believe in those things. Or if they did they always tried to explain them away. No one could just fall in lust or love that quickly.
“I like Libby, a lot. She is beautiful, but her soul shines brighter than her physical appearance.” Wow, he was a fucking poet now.
Taking a breath he forged on. “I don’t know how to make you understand, but I fell for her the minute I saw her. And I fell hard. Knocked me right off my feet. If I could, I would spend every waking hour with her.
I won’t be leaving Port May as long as she’s here. My long term goals are trying to get her to fall in love with me so I can marry her. Short term are getting her to like me enough to introduce me to her family.”
Freedom thought about this for a moment. Stryker could see his brain working behind his eyes. He could only hope his honesty didn’t come across as crazy or obsessive.
Even though that is exactly what a shifter was when they found their mate. Obsessive to an extreme degree. When all of the ties to the life you had been living get ripped away in a moment and are replaced with one connection, to one soul, you get very fucking focused.
Libby’s father seemed to be makin
g a decision so Stryker stood, back straight and waited.
“I’d like for you to come to dinner. I’d like to talk to you more about you, your family, and the like. It might be best if you don’t mention to Libby that I invited you, she’ll try to figure a way to wheedle out of it.
I’ll give you a heads up too; this has thrown her mother for a loop. You can convince me with your honesty. Her mother might need a difference approach that you will have to figure out.”
“Understood, I’ll be there.” Stryker offered his hand. He knew they had a lot more to talk about, but there was time for that.
“Dinner is at six,” Freedom said and turned to leave.
Stryker gave him a chin lift and watched him walk out of the garage. Looking down at the rag in his hands, he realized he’d checked half of a very big task off his list.
Meet the parents, well half the parents, but he still figured it counted. His cougar was pretty happy. Every step forward they made meant they were that much closer to claiming their mate for good.
Checking the time Stryker decided he could slip out to the library a little early. Bud was nowhere to be found so he flipped the closed sign in the office window and shut the bay door as he left.
Walking across the street he saw a little old lady making her way down the two steps from the front door of the library.
Offering her a hand that she accepted and made their way down at an agonizingly slow pace. When she finally reached the sidewalk she patted his arm.
“Aren’t you a nice young man,” she cooed. Then started down the street. Stryker wasn’t sure if she’d make it home before dark at her pace, but he was anxious to see his mate.
Taking the two steps back up in one stride he pushed open the door, his eyes hitting the desk to look for his mate. She wasn’t there.
He scanned around and walked to his left into the room that he’d noted earlier had brightly colored rugs and beanbags strewn about the floor. He heard her voice before he saw her.
Stepping quietly, he inched towards one of the low bookcases that sat in the middle of the room. He stopped when he saw the top of her head bent over a book. Two small children on either side of her looking over her arms to the book she held.
“The evil wizard was no match for the magic pony. Sparkles reared up and aimed her magical horn right at the wizard. Showering sparks of rainbows flew out from her horn, covering the evil wizard in ooey gooey glittery slime…..Not again! Cried the wizard. Sparkles knew the wizard wouldn’t bother them anymore. The end.”
Stryker watched both the children moan out an “Ahhh, but we want more!”
“You’ll have to wait for the next book. But this was a good one, wasn’t it? I love Fairytale Forest Adventures. I used to read these when I was a little girl,” Libby told them.
Stryker liked seeing her surrounded with children. He knew she’d read to their kids and teach them to love books. It made his heart warm and get heavy in his chest.
“Ok, you two. Your mom will be back soon. Why don’t you each pick out a book for me to read next time and I’ll keep them behind my desk,” she suggested.
Standing up, Libby helped both of the children up and turned to replace the book.
Stryker didn’t have a chance this morning to take in her outfit. It was a pair of jean cropped pants that ended just after her knees. She was wearing some sort of brown leather clogs. She topped the jeans with an army green tank top and a white lacy type long jacket. It didn’t have sleeves exactly since it was mostly fringe material.
She looked adorable again. Her hair was pulled up into a ponytail with a cute woven cloth headband. Her wrists held a number of bracelets of all different colors and styles. Some were rubber, others were made out of some sort of thread. She had beaded ones and metal ones all stacked and clinking on her arm. Stryker cataloged the outfit, it clearly said a lot about her taste.
Libby finally spotted Stryker when she turned around, a huge grin stole over her face and her eyes lit up.
Fuck him, she had him by the balls. She didn’t even know it, but there wasn’t anything he wouldn’t do for her. All she had to do was ask and he’d hop to it. He was fucking whipped. And he didn’t fucking care one bit.
“Mouse,” he said roughly.
“Kids, this is my friend, Mr. Stryker. Can you say hello?”
A chorus of “Hello Mr. Stryker” followed and the kids were looking up at him with some clear uncertainty of this stranger standing in front of them. Smart kids.
“Hey,” he grunted back.
Libby walked around the bookcase and grabbed his hand. Stryker felt the little shocks when their skin met. He squeezed her small hand, wishing he could drag her into his arms and kiss her breathless. She looked fucking amazing when she was lost from his kisses.
Chapter 20
“Lunch time already?” she asked him. She was pulling him towards the counter.
“Early, missed you,” he said low.
“Ahh, well that is awfully nice, Mr. Stryker,” she teased.
He snarled back. He kinda liked her calling him Mr. Stryker. Did things to his dick.
“Well, I could heat up some mac-n-cheese, I bet your gonna start to hate that,” she said with a laugh.
“Don’t care what I eat as long as I eat with you,” he said honestly. He’d eat fucking bark if it came with a side of her.
“Hmm, well I thought I’d thank you for being so sweet and generous and I had Martha’s diner send over their lunch special today. It’s meatloaf and mashed potatoes,” she said, hoping he liked those things.
“That was nice of you,” he said, liking that she was planning their lunch together.
“No problem, soon as the children’s mom comes back I can take a break. Why don’t you wait behind the desk and I’ll get the kids sorted,” she suggested.
Stryker just nodded. He dragged her halfway to the desk with him. He didn’t want to let go of her, he’d been Libby-less all morning. She laughed at him and managed to wiggle her hand out from his.
Stryker sat and watched her walk back into the children’s section. He looked around her desk noticing it was tidy and it looked like everything had been in the same location since the turn of the century.
He lifted up an old stapler and saw the outline of it worn into the finish on the wood. Yup, nothing had changed. Except he had to guess that the addition of cute pictures and sayings hidden from the public view were all Libby.
There was a cat dangling from a tree limb and normally had the saying “Hang in There” instead hers read, “Ahh lava!” It put a whole new spin on that poor cat.
There was another cartoon that had two Tyrannosaurus Rex’s trying to play patty cake. There were a few other funny, yet slightly irreverent comics.
This was where she sat, possibly daydreamed. This was her life, he thought, looking around. How much did he really want to disrupt her just to get what he wanted? His brain was the one asking that question.
His heart, his cougar, and for sure his dick all were booing and hissing at him. They wanted her locked tight in his cabin, preferably naked, and preferably under him.
A woman came through the front door smiling and stopped short when she spotted Stryker behind the desk and not Libby. Her brows drew together in instant confusion.
Stryker pointed towards the children’s section and didn’t bother saying anything.
The woman walked towards the room her eyes still on him. When she was out of sight, Stryker could hear hushed whispering. With the kids making noise at the arrival of their mother, he couldn’t make out what Libby and the woman were talking about.
A minute later the four of them walked out and the woman had a slight blush rising on her cheeks. Libby had a very naughty look on her face which made his dick go hard. Then he saw the kids waving at him. That put a quick cold shower on his thoughts of Libby’s look.
“Goodbye, Mr. Stryker,” the kids called out, giggling as the pushed each other through the door.
The
mom gave Stryker a little wave, and Libby a knowing look, then they were gone.
Libby turned at the door and said, “Lunch time?”
“What did you say to her?” he asked, frustrated he couldn’t hear them.
“Oh you know, girl stuff,” she teased him.
He growled at her and it made her giggle.
“How do you do that? That growly thing?” she asked.
“Practice,” he said with a growl again. That caused her to giggle again.
“Okay then, lunch. Let’s use the computer room. I’ll grab the food,” she said, heading towards the stairs before he could stop her.
Stryker stood and walked towards the back of the first floor. Down a short hallway was a room with a door that was half window.
He pushed it open and saw a long conference table. Along the one wall opposite the door were a half dozen computers. They were the old style with big monitors and giant towers on the floors.
They seriously needed an upgrade he thought. Maybe he could be an anonymous donor and get them some much-needed computers. He added that to his to-do list.
Libby came in behind him with two handled bags and set them on the table. She started unloading them, setting out take-out containers, silverware, and sodas.
She pointed to a chair and Stryker sat down. She was about to take the seat next to him when he grabbed her and scooped her onto his lap before she could protest.
“You can’t eat with me on your lap,” she chided.
“Watch me,” he said, grabbing a fork and digging into the mashed potatoes. He offered her the bite while she was trying to wiggle off to her own seat.
“Mouse. Stop. Eat,” he ordered.
“So bossy,” she murmured. Of course she wanted to sit on his lap. She just was trying to not look so freaking easy. Not that he seemed to care about easy.
He was holding the fork out so she sighed and opened her mouth. He gave her the bite and grabbed one for himself.
She watched the fork travel from the food to his mouth and couldn’t help but stare as his lips closed around it and he chewed and swallowed. He even ate sexy.