by A. Star
“What the fuck just happened?” Morgan eventually said, looking somewhere between confused and turned the fuck on. She looked down at the hand he had kissed like she’d never seen it before.
My giggle came out sounding choked. “I think you’ve just been hit on by the lame ass Egyptian diamond douchebag.”
“No shit.”
“He’s worth gazillions, so you’d better do him good,” Jazelle’s voice rang out over the girly chatter circling the room.
Morgan’s eyes widened a bit. “Wait, he elected me?”
Jazelle appeared in front of Morgan and I, looking about as shiny as every dime she made off of us. Our dear Madam leopard had a good fifty years on me–shifters lived much longer than humans–but she only looked about forty at most. If it wasn’t for the graying hair and crow's feet, she wouldn’t even look that old. She refused to dye her hair or get botox like most socialites her age because to Jazelle, gray hair and wrinkles represented wisdom and authority. The girls liked to joke that all it represented was “old.” But we all knew Jazelle’s shifter DNA was as top quality as kitty genes got and would keep her looking good for quite some time.
“He spotted you as soon as he entered the building and said there was no reason for him to look at any of these other strays.” Jazelle laughed and shooed away the rest of the scowling girls. One gave Jazelle the finger as soon as her back was turned.
“When is our fling?” Morgan asked.
“Two weeks from today. He has some business to tie up elsewhere, but then he is returning for you. That should give you time to end whatever flings you have going on right now. Offer them Sweetie or Yula if they insist on another panther. I want you available every minute of every day for Mr. Mubarak.” I could have sworn Jazelle’s pupils turned into dollar signs right then.
I grinned and bumped Morgan with my hip. “You go, girl.”
She bumped me back. “Shut up.” But she was smiling. I figured her thoughts mirrored my own: the Egyptian might have been a douche who wore sunglasses sans sunlight, but he was also one sexy beast. One could only hope he had the savage bed skills to back up the good looks. Nothing was worse than a good-looking man who was a horrendous lover.
Speaking of lovers...
“I need to talk to you,” I said to Jazelle.
“Sure,” Jazelle said, gesturing for me to follow her back into her office. I told Morgan she could have my cosmo, which was sitting on the bar untouched, and went with our Madam.
“So,” Jazelle said as I settled myself on her pricey leather couch and she sat across from me, “when is your cub due?”
I blanched. “Cub? Oh no, Jazelle. I’m not pregnant.” She obviously hadn't been paying attention when I'd offered Morgan my alcoholic beverage just moments ago.
“No?” She sipped her own cosmo, which she picked up from the glass table sitting in front of us. “But this is about Luke, isn’t it?”
I nodded. “He, um, proposed to me last night.”
“Proposed!? My Selene is getting married?” Jazelle laughed and kicked her heeled feet into the air. “Well, I will hate to see you go, though you aren’t the highest priced ticket in the bunch.” She winked.
I smiled, knowing she was making fun of my unfortunate monogamist-lifestyle. Unfortunate for her, that is. “I turned him down.”
“You did what?”
I was shocked by Jazelle’s reaction. She seemed utterly astounded. I guessed she hadn’t bothered to check out my ring-less hand. “I thought you’d be happy.”
“Happy? Bah!” Jazelle swept over to her wet bar and whipped herself up another cosmopolitan after finishing off her first one. “I haven’t been happy since the fifties, when I was twenty pounds lighter and wrinkles hadn’t even been discovered yet. All that wisdom talk is just a bunch of bullshit I like to spoon-feed the world every once in a while.” She prepared a second drink. For me, I assumed.
When she had joined me on the couch again, she handed the pink drink to me and said, “Selene, you’re an idiot if you don’t marry that man.”
“But–” I started.
“But nothing.” Jazelle’s expression softened. “Now, I know the reason for your hesitation, and you have every right to be cautious. But I’ve seen the way Luke looks at you, and, well, he loves you.”
I frowned. “Did he tell you that or something?”
“Or something.” Jazelle flicked her hand in the air like it was unimportant. Her eyes found something else to concentrate on.
I sat my drink down on the table. “Jazelle, what is it you’re not telling me?”
When she realized I was serious, she sighed and said, “Luke stopped paying for you months ago.”
“What!?”
Jazelle shook her head like she couldn’t believe it herself. “He came to me one day about seven months ago confessing his undying love for you, and the way he spoke of you, Selene...” She fanned herself. “When he asked me if it would be okay if he stopped paying me for your company and court you the right way, I agreed.” The lady leopard dislodged her claws. “But not before I threatened to rip his intestines out through his ass if he ever hurt you.”
I couldn't believe what I was hearing. “But the money in my bank account...where has it been coming from all of this time?”
Jazelle cleared her throat. “I made the deposits myself. From my own accounts.”
“Jazelle!”
The Madam waved a hand to cut me off. “Luke wanted to contribute, but I wouldn't let him. What would be the difference in paying me for you and depositing money directly into your account? Nothing. So I took care of it. But now that you're marrying your billionaire, I want every damn dime paid back to me. With interest.”
I laughed. Jazelle was a wealthy woman, but I knew she was dead serious about being paid back. “I had no idea that this entire time...”
“Well, of course you didn’t. We both decided it would be best not to tell you. We didn’t want you to feel pressured into anything more real than what you were ready for.”
I nodded as tears began to cloud my vision. “Jazelle, I don’t know what to say.”
“Say yes. But not to me. To Luke. How you could say no to that ring...”
“Wait. So you knew about the proposal?”
Jazelle rolled her eyes. “Surely you didn’t think Luke picked out that little piece of perfection all by himself, now did you?” She laughed and got to her feet. “Get out of my office, Selene, and go claim your man.”
But I just sat there, unable to move.
Jazelle noticed and returned to the couch. She reached out and put her hands over mine, which were folded together in my lap. “You can’t live your life in fear, honey. I know you think I don’t understand, but I do, and I don’t want you to miss out on your happiness because you’re scared. I don’t want you to end up like me, ancient and alone. Don’t believe me, look around. I run a cathouse, honey. This is where my fear landed me. Sure, I love you girls like you’re my own daughters, but this isn’t the future I saw for myself. Not at all.” She squeezed my hands when I remained silent. “Times have changed, Selene.”
“Have they?” I asked, thinking of the lion pride I’d seen at the restaurant the night before. Then I thought of my parents and my heart constricted.
“Does Luke know the truth about your parents?”
My thoughts must have been all over my face. “Not the entire story,” I replied. “Just parts.”
“Well, maybe it’s time you told him everything. Help him to understand why you’re afraid. Maybe he’s the one that could actually help you through this.”
I’d never thought of that. I knew Luke loved me and that he would do anything for me. But would he stand by me while I worked myself through this unrelenting fear? Would he stick around when the danger finally reared its ugly fucking head? Because it would. There was no avoiding it.
“Take a chance,” Jazelle said, interrupting my thoughts. “Don’t let him go. You will regret it forever if you do
.”
I thought of my mother and how still to this day, she never once regretted choosing my father. Their time together had been the happiest of her life and she would have chosen him again if given the chance. I’d heard her say that a million times, but it was only now registering in my mind.
“I love him,” I said.
Jazelle smiled. “Of course you do. He’s amazing. Now go find him, kiss him, fuck him, claim him, accept his proposal, and live the rest of your lives being amazing together.”
I laughed. Jazelle was one of two women I knew who was more candid than I was. Morgan was the other. We stood and right before I left, I turned and threw my arms around Jazelle.
“Thank you, Madam. For everything.”
I felt Jazelle’s hands rub my back after she got over the fact I was hugging her. “Don’t be a stranger, Selene.”
“Never,” I replied. “I'll be by to see you soon.”
“With a check, I hope.”
I laughed.
I hailed a last-resort taxi to Luke’s Manhattan office and contemplated what I was going to say to him the entire way there. I knew it was time to tell him the whole story about what had happened to my parents, but still, the thought made me want to throw up. Or run away. But I was tired of running and I was tired of making excuses. It was time to let my heart rule for a while. Possibly forever.
I took the elevator up to the top floor of The Kings’ Men Enterprises tower. I hadn’t had any issues getting past security as it seemed I had been given “VIP” security clearance months ago. I guessed around the same time Luke had stopped paying Jazelle for me.
As soon as I stepped off the elevator, I was greeted by the secretary. Well, greeted was a strong word, but she was the first person I saw.
“Hello,” I said, approaching her desk. “Is Mr. King available?”
The secretary–Kayla, her name plate said–looked me up and down, then made a face. “May I ask what the nature of your visit is, Miss...”
“Peters. Selene Peters,” I said. “I’m a...good friend of Mr. King’s.”
“I’m so sure.”
I just stared at her. So she was one of those humans. One of the ones that thought shifters were the inferior race and hated us simply because she could. Or maybe she was just bitter because her man was one of the thousands of men who paid for our services once and kept coming back for more. Could very well be the case.
“Is he available?” I asked again.
“No.”
“Is he even in the building?”
“No.”
“Then may I please leave a message for him?”
Kayla crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m sure when he’s ready to see you, he’ll give the brothel a call.”
This bitch was just asking to have her throat ripped out.
I felt my fangs start to elongate, but with great effort I retracted them. She should count her blessings. The only reason she lived past that moment was because I didn’t want to get blood on Luke’s pristine carpet. Or on my dress.
I sniffed the air, trying to scent him, and sure enough, I caught it after only a few seconds.
“You lied,” I said, my claws coming out. “Luke is here.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Luke?”
I didn’t bother to respond. I just turned on my heels and headed toward the scent.
“Ma’am! You can’t just go wandering through Mr. King’s office unannounced!” I heard her chair roll back as she rose to follow me.
She had to run to catch up as I stalked past office after office on my left, a maze of cubicles on my right. Everyone stared, but no one moved to stop me. Kayla was the only one with a death wish.
I reached a door that seemingly led to another hallway and moved to push it open.
Kayla grabbed my arm. “Ma’am! You can’t go in there!”
I whipped around and snapped at her. She let me go with a yelp. I pushed the door open and dared her with my eyes to try and stop me again. She let me go.
I prowled down the hallway, leading with my nose and came to a halt at the end where a huge office sat. Glass made up the entire wall before me and inside, a group of men and women were conducting a business meeting. I really hated to interrupt but I hadn’t come this far to turn away now.
I pushed the door open. The talking stopped and everyone turned to gaze at me with an array of bewildered looks. But none were more surprised than the man whom they had all been listening to just a moment before.
Standing there in a suit that probably cost more than my life insurance policy was Luke. His shaggy mane had been trimmed down to perfection and his contacts were in. He looked divine and powerful, like a man who could leap tall buildings in a single bound. I’d been with Clark Kent the night before. This was my Superman.
“Selene?”
I finally blinked to find that I had everyone’s undivided attention. Most looked at me like I was some rabid alley cat. I guessed it wasn’t every day that a shifter burst into the office of Lucas King uninvited, fangs flashing, claws out. No doubt my eyes had gone completely gold.
Embarrassed, I retracted my animal parts, then I became worried that I might have just put Luke in a very awkward position bursting in like I had. Most people didn’t know about Luke and I, but now they would. The people in this room would surely tell every soul they encountered about Luke’s case of “jungle fever” and who knew what the backlash would be. Mortified, I mumbled some apology and turned to leave.
“Wait, Selene.”
I froze, then heard, “Everybody get the hell out.” I turned around just in time to see him wave Kayla away as she appeared in the doorway. She shot me a dirty look, but she left quietly. Good, because I still wanted to rip her throat out.
“Shut the door and lock it,” Luke said as soon as everyone had cleared out. I did as he wanted while he pushed a button on a remote sitting on his mahogany desk and the windows went dark, leaving us in complete privacy.
Luke approached me slowly, as only smart humans approached cats. His eyes were zeroed in on my face and I couldn’t gage if he was pissed off at me or not. A moment later, he was standing in front of me, smelling of expensive cologne and mint chewing gum. I sniffed. Yeah, there was a pack in his right pants pocket.
“Selene...” he said, brushing my hair back behind my ears.
I opened my mouth to explain why I had shown up at his office uninvited, but Luke’s lips were on mine before I could utter a single syllable. All I could do was surrender. His hands held my face still as his kiss conquered and destroyed me. His tongue tangoed with mine and he led the entire dance as I just held on and tried not to fall. My arms wrapped around his waist and he groaned when my hands found their way underneath his shirt and my claws grazed his back. I hadn’t even felt them come out again.
“I’m going to fuck you now,” he said, pushing me up against the door and reaching down to pull up my dress.
As much as those words excited me, I hadn’t come all this way and embarrassed the hell out of myself for an office quickie. I had something to say and it couldn’t wait.
“Luke, we need to talk,” I breathed, managing to snag a couple of seconds between kisses to speak.
He grunted and tried to kiss me quiet.
“I’m serious,” I moaned as his hand slipped into my panties.
“I know.”
“Luke, please. Stop and let me talk to you.”
“Fuck,” he snarled and jerked his hand out of my underwear. He licked his fingers and groaned. With obvious reluctance, he turned and offered me one of the plush chairs in his office and he took the one across from it.
I opened my mouth to speak, but he cut me off with a raised hand. “You don’t have to marry me, Selene, but I’m not letting you break up with me either.”
“I don’t want to break up,” I replied.
Luke looked relieved. “All right then. What do you want to talk about?”
I took a deep breath. “I know everything,” I
said. “Jazelle told me everything.”
He nodded and reached out to take my hand. He didn’t seem surprised that I knew. “Are you upset with me for not telling you?”
“No. I was a bit surprised, as you can imagine, but I’m not mad.” I kissed his knuckles. “But I am sorry.”
He frowned. “For what?”
“I don’t know. For being such a brat about things. For turning down your proposal. For not telling you the full story of why I’m scared to love you.”
“Tell me now.”
I nodded, took another deep breath, then started to speak. “Growing up, there was one thing that my mother always made sure I never forgot.”
Luke gave me all the time in the world to speak again and I so loved him for that.
“She told me to always remember that the only person I belonged to was myself. It’s a code I learned that, female shifters most of all, had strived to live by. A code that my mother, and Jazelle, and many shifters of their generations were the pioneers of.” I sighed. “It was a long time before I understood what she meant. But sure enough, understanding did come.
“Male shifters are much more territorial than females. They believe what is theirs is theirs, and no one else should have it, even if they don’t want it. Females included.
“My mother was born into a very wealthy shifter family. Both of my grandparents were jags so that made my mother a pure-blood. In shifter hierarchy, pure-bloods are pretty high up on the totem pole and even in today’s time, pure-blood matings are usually arranged. My mother had accepted her lot in life, knowing she would be mated off to another pure-blood male as soon as she turned twenty-one. But just after her twentieth birthday, she met my father and fell right in love with him. The only problem was, he was human.
“When her twenty-first birthday came around, my mother announced to my grandparents that she was in love with someone else and wouldn’t be mating the male jag they had chosen for her. When they found out her suitor was human, they disowned her. But my mother didn’t care. She was in love and she figured love was all she needed to survive.”
Luke’s hand tightened around mine and I figured he knew where my story was headed.