He shook his head. “We will never lose our people. They are faithful to us. I'm sure you are just confused. We can choose whoever we want for a mate and you need to understand that.”
“What I know is you need someone strong and a shifter is the best.”
He coughed and rubbed a hand over the back of his neck. “Will you come, yes or no?”
“Yes. I said I would. But don't think for a second that I will forget this conversation. We both know where we stand.”
He took a step toward her. She held her breath hoping that he wouldn't do what she could see in his eyes he wanted to do. He wanted to kiss her right then and there and as much as she wanted him to, it would only give her co-workers a way to get into her personal life.
He stopped before he touched her, curling his hands into fists and bringing them to his side. “You'll learn soon that you are not just some woman, you are more. You are special and we want to cherish you. Let us.”
Christ, the way he said those words she wanted to get down on her knees and thank the Lord, but instead she just nodded. “I'll see you tonight thank you for the invite.”
“Don't thank me yet. Wait until it’s over. You might regret those words.”
Kane let his frustrations loose on a piece of wood. How could he convince the only woman that he and his wolf wanted to take a chance on them? He’d told Blake what she’d said. They had been hopeful that with time she would change her mind. It was clear that he needed to take drastic measures.
He put another piece of wood on the trunk, his mind drifting back a few nights to when they'd been at her home. She had been so sexy. Willing to allow both men to do as they pleased with her. It would have been so natural for the three of them to be together. And though they had shared women previously this was the first time they’d shared a future mate.
A gust of wind blew his hair over his face. The breeze cooled some of the frustration riding him.
How could he do it? How could he convince her that she was the right one for them?
His chest ached at the thought that she might not want to be with them for the long run. He no longer cared that she could or could not shift, that she might not take the change. All he wanted was more time. Time with Daniella.
In his years as Alpha, he learned that he had to work really hard to get what he wanted and not allow anyone to get in his way. But what was he to do if the one getting in his way was the one he wanted?
His mother had always told him one of his qualities as a leader was being able to think about obstacles and figure out strategic moves to get what he wanted. Whether it was with his pack or life in general, he knew everything was about strategy.
So what if she did not shift? He no longer cared about that. It had taken spending time with her, without knowing it was her, for them to realize she was who they had been missing. The woman they had been missing. His pack members were not stupid. They wouldn't question him unless they felt her being in the Triad would somehow mess with the pack.
Besides, he’d fight every single one of them for her. It was obvious to him and the animal within there was just her.
He needed to figure out how to make her see it.
His phone buzzed.
Marcos. He could pick up the phone and lie to his friend but he refused to do that. So he rejected the call until he was ready to admit to his friend how much he and Blake wanted Dani. Until he was ready to tell him how bleak the future seemed without her. It would take Marcos time to understand that they weren’t trying to use Dani for sex. That they truly wanted a long lasting relationship with her.
He thought back to her beautiful brown eyes and long dark hair. Just the thought of touching her, watching her smile and say something silly, made him grin. She was so cute when she was confused. Back when she’d been a teen, they’d stayed away from her. Ignoring the pull of their animals to her had been hard, but friendship had been more important. Now all he could think about was taking her. Mating her. Keeping her and cherishing every moment with her. No. Marcos wouldn’t understand that at all.
He swung the axe again, the new piece of wood splitting in half and falling to either side of the tree trunk he’d been working on. He stood up straight, rubbing the back of his hand over his forehead and wiping his brow. He needed a shower. The pile of wood would be great to keep Dani warm once winter came. Fall was fast approaching and he intended to make sure her every comfort was taken care of.
“Are you working yourself to death?” his mother asked at his back.
He slammed the axe down, locking it in the center of the trunk and turned to face her. This was going to be hard. She’d been right all along.
“Hello, Mom. What brings you over?” He already knew, though. Her cat that ate the canary smile told him all he needed to know.
“So how was your date?”
Fucking incredible. “It was good.”
Her grin widened. “That’s all? Care to tell me anything about your woman?”
He shook his head, moving past her to head to the laundry room next to the kitchen. “What do you want to know?”
“What’s she like?”
“I’m sure your friend Mrs. Wilder has given you a heads up already.”
She laughed. “She only confirmed what I knew.”
“And that was?”
“That you were too blind to see what was in front of your face. That all these years, ignoring Daniella had been the stupidest thing you and Blake have ever done.”
He slipped out of his dirty jeans and sweaty T-shirt. “It’s not stupid. We value our friendship with Marcos. We’ve been staying away from her at his request.”
He entered the kitchen and caught her rolling her eyes.
“So what changed now? It’s not like you’ve done anything different? Why did you finally decide to say to hell with what Marcos told you both and take matters into your own hands when it comes to Dani?”
They wanted her. Plain and simple. “It’s not that we don’t care about Marcos’s request any longer, but now we’re more concerned with her wants. She wants us.”
She nodded and threw a long strand of blonde hair behind her ear. “How do you propose to keep her and the friendship?”
That was harder than accepting Dani wanting them. They might lose their friend. She was human. They might lose their pack. And getting Dani to understand she was the one meant to fulfill the role of Alpha Triad mate was going to be an even bigger challenge since she kept ignoring them whenever it was brought up.
“I don’t know. I hope he can understand.”
She sighed and tapped his sweaty arm. “I’m sorry, son. I know your friendship with Marcos means the world to you.”
They’d been friends since they were teens. Marcos had always been overly protective of Daniella. She was a bigger girl and some of the kids had made fun which in turn had made Marcos do anything to shield her from the bullies. But even his overprotectiveness hadn’t stopped Dani from developing into a smart-mouthed sexy curvy temptress.
Through the years, he’d learned to shut his wolf up when it wanted to get near Dani. Marcos had always had his back. Just like Blake. When his father and his Omega had passed in a plane crash, Marcos was the first person to offer support. He had stood up next to him, offering to take on anyone who wanted to fight for the Alpha position. Fortunately, at the time, it hadn’t been necessary. But he’d learned that Marcos would never allow anyone to be with his sister if he thought she was being used. So he’d need to speak to Blake about being honest with their friend. He wanted Marcos’s blessing.
Daniella had been a forbidden fruit for far too long. Now, all he could think about was touching her. Watching her push her sexy little glasses up the bridge of her nose and pout in surprise when she was caught off guard.
He’d stood outside the library for a while, watching her read something on her computer screen. She’d smiled, frowned and cocked her head as if that would help her understand whatever was confusing her. But it
was the fact that she’d been so unaware of her sex appeal that he loved.
He’d watched her the night of the ball. She’d walked in with that sexy itty bitty costume and floored him. He hadn’t known that it was her, but his first instinct was to take her. And when he’d realized he couldn’t scent her, he still knew that she was special to him. That they shouldn’t waste any time and take her as their own.
“What are you going to do about Dani?” his mother asked, breaking into his thoughts.
“We’re going to do whatever we can to keep her. She’s coming over tonight so we can spend some time together.”
She nodded. “It’s a good thing you can cook or I’d worry about you. You are such a good man, Kane. I know you are bossy, but you have that in your genes, from your father, of course.”
She always told him that whenever she felt he needed a pep talk. Right now, he didn’t. What he needed was a way to get Dani naked later. And then he wanted her agreement to join in their Alpha Triad.
“I need her to willingly agree to be with us.”
“Damn. That’s going to be tougher than sex, son.”
He filled a cup with cold water and frowned. “Why? Why is that harder than sex? You’d think it would be the opposite.”
She shook her head with a small smile. “Not at all. Women fantasize all the time about two hot men wanting them. You and Blake are probably a dream come true. But reality? That’s scary. A relationship with two men? Most women don’t think that can work. Especially human females. We know the score. Other shifters know what’s needed to make a Triad work. Sex is fun. It’s easy. All you need is chemistry and you’re good. A relationship takes work. Effort. Commitment.”
“I’m committed to making sure this works with Dani.”
“That’s because you already know deep down she’s the one for you. In the human world, a person doesn’t know that quickly. They don’t have an animal giving them guidance and an extra sensory perception. All they have is their gut instinct. She’d have to follow her gut. Make sure that all your promises to her are things she wants as well.”
“Thanks, mom.” He bent down and kissed her cheek.
She smiled and sighed. “I wish there was more I could do to help you, but I know this is all about you and Blake. Make it special, Kane. Make her feel like she’s the only one for you because that’s exactly how it is.”
He nodded. It was time to make Dani realize how special she was.
That evening, he went with his gut and decided to surprise her with something out of the ordinary. He’d done a lot of work lighting up the trees that led to a cool cliff overlooking the valley. There, he’d set up a picnic and even went as far as laying out cushions and blankets for their time together. He wanted to make sure she understood this was for her. That it was all about making her feel special.
TEN
Dani shivered in her pretty red flats. The black and red polka-dot dress had been a bargain find and she loved wearing it because it made her feel pretty and feminine. She’d even curled her hair for Kane. Not just curled with a hot iron, but spent hours straightening the frizzy hair and then curling it to make big bouncy curls. If he knew the times she’d burned herself with that thing, he’d think she was nuts for sure.
She left her car near his cabin and made it to the front door without tripping over her own two feet. Whenever she was nervous, she tended to get really clumsy. Marcos loved making fun of that but she would just smack him upside the head and call him a jerk.
She knocked softly, knowing he’d probably heard her arrive with his super shifter hearing anyway.
Not a minute later, Kane opened the door and she forgot how to breathe. He’d dressed up. For her. It was like something out of a movie. He’d put on a nice perfectly pressed black dress shirt and slacks. Gone were his well-worn and sometimes torn jeans that hugged his ass better than should be legal. His usual T-shirts were gone and the dress shirt sleeves were rolled up showing impressive forearms.
“Hi,” she said, almost swallowing her tongue.
He smiled, pulled her into his arms and pressed his lips over hers in a scorching kiss. Then he pulled back, his smile full of heat. “You look beautiful.”
Well, okay then. She wished she could bottle both him and Blake and keep them forever. How were they still single when both men wanted a mate more than anything in the world?
“Thanks.”
He grabbed her hand, enveloping it with his much bigger, warmer one. “Come on, I have a surprise for you.”
She didn’t get a chance to look around the inside of his house. He tugged her through a giant living room, with only the bare necessities, and then through a giant kitchen, fit to feed an army, to the back door.
When they got to the yard, he lifted her hand to his lips and grinned. “Are you ready?”
She was worried about asking for what, so she nodded instead. He flipped a switch near the door and a row of trees lit up with white lanterns.
She gasped, turning to face him and smiled. “Wow. This is impressive.”
He laughed and hugged her to his side. “There’s more.”
More than pretty lights? She really wasn’t sure why he had gone to the trouble. Not that she’d complain, but all this romance made it hard to keep her feelings from trying to make something out of a dinner date.
With every step they took, she became more and more enthralled in the amount of work he’d put in to decorating these trees. It was a good few hundred yards before they reached the cliff overlooking the valley. There, he’d set up various lanterns, a giant blanket with their meal and another one with cushions to sit or lay on.
“Oh, my God!” she shrieked, rushing over to look at the beautiful view from the ground. She could see the valley, and the moon and stars from that spot. Not to mention there was a giant tree right next to the blankets which he’d hung more lanterns from. The entire thing looked like something out of a fairy tale.
“Do you like it?” he asked, his wicked smile filled with pride. He knew she loved it.
“What do you think?” She ran back and threw her arms around him, pulling his head down for a kiss. “This is really an amazing way to start a date, Kane.”
He kissed her long and hard, twisting his tongue over hers and lighting a new fire at her core. Her body throbbed with need. There was no urgency to his kiss. It was like he was only teasing her into seeing how good he was.
After making her so turned on she was ready to rip out of her clothes and ask him to take her then and there, he pulled away and shook his head. “Not yet, Little Red.”
She groaned and pouted. “Are you still going to keep calling me that? It’s not like you don’t know who I am now.”
He lifted a hand to caress her cheek, moving slowly to cup her neck, and then grabbing a fistful of hair to pull her head back.
She gulped, loving this unexpected aggression in him.
“You’re my Little Red,” he breathed, his lips hovering just above hers. “I keep visualizing you in that tiny outfit.” His gaze locked on her lips before sweeping over her face. “I keep remembering your legs spread open with your wet pussy on display.”
She whimpered. She remembered it too. Better than he knew. “Kane that was—”
“You. The you that you try to hide. You’re a sensual woman, Daniella. I loved having my tongue inside you. I loved having my cock inside you. But more than that, I loved seeing that side of you.”
“Why?”
“It’s who you really are. Don’t hide behind your glasses,” he said, pulling away the glasses and shoving them in his shirt pocket. “Don’t hide the beauty we both know lies beneath your clothes.”
No man had ever spoken of her body in that way. No man had ever made her feel as if she was absolutely perfect as she was. Kane and Blake did that. It was why she was having a hard time keeping her feelings at bay. They were catering to the insecure woman inside her. The one who hated to hear men tell her she needed to drop the pounds or co
ver her body because she had too many curves.
“Come,” he said, pulling her down on the blanket with all the cushions. He opened containers of salad, grilled chicken, fruit, cheese, cookies and cakes. He filled her plate with food and handed it over with a napkin and a fork.
She stared at the food in awe. “Did you cook this?”
He nodded, reaching for a bottle of wine and two crystal wine glasses. “Yes.”
That was it. Just yes. No boasting about how hard he’d worked making a meal for her or even telling her she was lucky he’d cooked at all instead of getting takeout or having her eating burgers. Kane was a man that treated her better than any other had that had already gotten into her pants yet.
“You did a great job. I had no idea you knew how to cook.” She ate slowly, enjoying the selection of items on her plate.
He shrugged and handed her a glass of wine before sipping his own. “My mom was home cooking many hours of the day when I was young, and I told her I wanted to help her do it.”
She raised her brows. “With your father being an Alpha, didn’t that cause problems?”
He shook his head and licked his lips. She forgot all about the food on her plate. “My dad was an Alpha, but he was also part of the Alpha Triad with his Omega and my mom. His Omega helped center him, and kept him from making decisions that would hurt my mother or our family. Not to mention our pack.”
She thought about what he said for a moment. “Is that how it will be with you, Blake and your mate?”
The smile dropped from his lips. “Yes. Our mate will have both sides of our personalities. Once mated, a link forms between the three of us. It’s why not just any woman will do.”
She blinked. Wow. That sounded harder than finding true love. People found that all the time. Then they divorced it a few years later. “How do you know if you’ve found the right woman?” She stopped eating, put the plate to the side and took a sip of her wine.
Curves 'em Right (BBW Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance) (Paranormal Dating Agency Book 4) Page 8