by E A Price
*
A few minutes ago
Ling played with the straw in her drink. She’d ordered a soda. The last thing she wanted was to get drunk and do something she’d regret with the tedious bank manager sat before her. Not that she actually thought her panda would let her; the sullen little beast was not happy and refused to talk to her at that moment.
She inwardly sighed and tried to concentrate on what Howard was saying. Something about stocks and shares. At least he had moved off the topic of his mother. He’d spent a good twenty minutes singing her praises. Ugh, momma’s boy.
He was a mongoose shifter, and he wasn’t bad looking. He just wasn’t blonde and buff, and didn’t have high cheekbones that looked like they could cut glass, unlike a certain snake she was trying to stop thinking about. Ling almost gasped as she was hit by a realization. Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer - that was who Marcus reminded her of. Damn, she had a crush on that vampire…
Ling shook her head and refocused on Howard. He was a little thick around the waist, but then he could say the same about her. His hair was a little thin, and what he had looked unnaturally dark, as if it were a dye job; and his face was a little lined. He said he was 30, but she seriously doubted that.
She didn’t like men who lied about their age, or those who colored their hair. Although, she wouldn’t have a problem with women who did that. Yeah, double standards, and she didn’t care.
The restaurant was actually pretty good. It was a sushi restaurant called Yummy Fish. It had a little rotating conveyor belt that brought the different dishes round to you, and you could pick out the ones you wanted. It was kind of fun and kooky; Ling loved it and had been surprised Howard suggested it.
As it turned out, he had a coupon for a twenty percent discount. Even so, he had still balked at the prices and compared them to a dozen other restaurants. She got the feeling he was the kind of guy who squeezed every penny until it almost bled. Ling ignored him and concentrated on wolfing her tuna roll.
She wondered what Marcus was doing at this moment. She fidgeted as her panda mewled unhappily. He hadn’t looked happy when she left the office earlier. She was kind of in two minds as to whether that was a good thing.
Howard was droning on about the price of gas. Ling took a sip of her drink and almost inhaled the straw in surprise as Howard put his hand on her thigh. She started choking, and he removed his hand to pat her roughly on the back. She waved her arm at him to stop.
When she calmed, it was to find the hand had returned back to her leg. Her beast yowled in annoyance.
She tried to bat him away, but he stubbornly refused to move.
“Look, Howard, I’m sure you’re a nice guy…” she lied, “but I’m not really interested. I don’t want to be mean, but I only came here to appease my mother.”
Howard didn’t look in the least offended. “As did I; mother kept complaining about me being under her feet at the house, so when she suggested it, I agreed to meet with you.”
Ugh, god, he still lives with his mother. Ling prayed it wasn’t a Norman Bates setup.
He licked his thin lips. “Of course, I’m not interested in a long-term relationship with you, you’re kind of big for my taste, but that’s no reason why we can’t have a little fun.”
Ooh, she could think of plenty of reasons. He lunged at her for a kiss, and she slapped him with her purse. “Control yourself, Howard!”
He sat back on his seat, glaring at her and rubbing his head. “I would think you’d be grateful that I’m taking pity on you. I heard that you were a mistress to a married man, and then he fired your ass when you stopped putting out.”
She blinked at him; she didn’t know whether she was more surprised at the language he was using or the fact that her mother had apparently told him all this.
Her panda was all for shifting and taking a chunk out of him… well, more like a bite… okay, so probably a small nip, but it would sting for hours afterwards!
Instead, Ling remained serene. There was no use in getting angry; it would only make the situation worse. At times like these, there was only one solution. Lie. “Actually, I already have a boyfriend.”
Howard snorted derisively. “Really?”
“Yes, really!” she snapped. Was it so hard to believe that she could get a boyfriend? “Actually, he’s meeting me here.”
Ling cringed. Why did she freaking well say that? Now, how was she supposed just to make a boyfriend appear out of thin air?
“Yeah, sure he is,” Howard sneered and was about to swoop in for another attempt at a kiss when he stopped, and paled.
Ling suddenly felt a pleasurable shiver travel throughout her body, and she inhaled a tangy citrus scent. Before she could react, she felt a warm hand on her shoulder.
“Ling, there you are,” purred a smooth voice in her ear.
Ling turned her head in surprise and was met with a soft, yet firm kiss. Her panda squealed in delight as his tongue gently delved into her mouth, teasing and tasting her. She brought her hands up to his muscled chest and clutched at his shirt. She sighed as she felt his hands on her body; one on her neck and the other had found its way to her thigh. His touch was electric.
After far too little time, in her opinion, he pulled back and she panted a little. “Marcus!” she gasped.
His lips curved upward wickedly, and his eyes flashed. “I’m sorry; I had to work late.”
“Hey, what’s going on here?” spluttered Howard.
Marcus kept his vision trained on Ling, who was simmering under his heated gaze. “As Ling told you, she has a boyfriend – me.”
Howard made noises as if to object.
Marcus turned to the disgruntled mongoose and gave him a toothy smile, and a deep rumble escaped his throat. “You’re in my seat.”
Howard gulped. He quickly made his excuses, and amazingly thanked Ling for a lovely time, before hotfooting it out the restaurant. No way did he want to get into a fight with a boa constrictor.
Ling almost mewled as Marcus removed his hands from her body. She almost told him he could leave them there if he wanted, but thought better of it. She watched with pink cheeks as he carefully took off his jacket and draped it over the back of Howard’s vacated chair.
He cocked his head at her. “You don’t mind, do you? I’m a little hungry.”
Her panda snapped at her to pull it together. “No, no, of course not, please help yourself,” she gushed. “And thank you, for what you did, he was a real… well, he wasn’t exactly a gentleman.”
Marcus chuckled. That was an understatement, not that he’d ever been all that gentlemanly in the past. “It’s not a problem; I hope I wasn’t being too presumptuous.”
Ling shook her head fervently. “No, not at all, it was… I mean you were… it was… fine.”
Marcus raised an eyebrow. “I’ve had better compliments, but I’ll take it.”
A look of horror swept over her face. “No! That’s not what I meant. The kiss was incredible!” she blurted before blushing furiously. She decided it was prudent to change the subject. “So, what brings you to Yummy Fish?” Ooh, was he following her? Jeez, why did that turn her on?
Marcus explained about the camel as they ate, or while he ate. She was far too nervous to eat. Knowing her luck, she’d spill soy sauce down her sweater. That would be so embarrassing.
He stole glances in her direction as they were talking. She was wearing a black, tight skirt with a dark green sweater; each item showed off her generous curves to perfection. His beast rumbled appreciatively; she looked beautiful, although he imagined she would look more so if she weren’t wearing them.
Ling giggled as he told her about the bounty hunters’ abortive attempts at finding the camel. “I’m really impressed by what you do. I know Carly’s told me about it, but I’ve never really considered how hard it must be, or how dangerous.” The last part was said a little sadly; she certainly didn’t like the idea of either Carly or Marcus being in any danger.
“I doubt that, I don’t think it would be the kind of thing I could do.”
His eyes hooded. “I’m sure you have plenty of other talents.”
“Oh!” He was flirting with her! That was definitely a flirt! Her arousal blossomed at a tremendous speed.
“Hey, could you grab me some of that salmon?”
“Sure,” she told him dazedly.
She reached out to get the dish of salmon and groaned as the sleeve of her sweater caught in the edge of the conveyor belt. She tugged on her sleeve, but it wouldn’t give.
The rotating belt stopped and made an unhealthy whirring noise as it tried to move. She flushed red and pulled at her sweater with more force, ignoring the shouts of the manager and the waiters.
Everyone in the restaurant started looking at her as the belt started jittering.
“Ling, are you…” began Marcus.
“I’m fine, almost got it,” she said through gritted teeth.
The belt started squealing as it tried to keep going. With an almighty heave, Ling squeaked as her sweater tore, and she fell backwards into Marcus’ arms.
She watched with alarm as the now-ripped sweater made its way around the conveyor belt. She realized she was now stood in the middle of the restaurant, leaning against her boss, having just made a complete ass of herself and wearing an old, worn bra.
Well, at least she dodged the bullet of getting soy sauce down her.
Chapter Eight
Ling flicked her eyes to Marcus and pulled his jacket around her a little more tightly.
He pulled up outside her house and calmly turned to look at her. “I’m sorry about what happened at the restaurant.”
She felt her cheeks burn bright red. After she had lost her sweater, it made it half way around the restaurant before the rotating belt completely jammed and burst into flames. The sprinklers turned on, the fire brigade arrived… it was a mess.
Ling was asked never to return to Yummy Fish. Although, it wasn’t said quite that politely.
Marcus graciously gave her his jacket to wear, and offered to drive her home.
“I’m sure they have insurance…” he began before a chuckle escaped his lips.
Ling whipped her head to look at him in surprise. In spite of herself, she started giggling too. Alright, it had been kind of funny, in a tragic kind of way. Tragic in that she couldn’t seem to get anything right in front of Marcus. She was usually more confident, more together than this. There was just something about Marcus that turned her into a total idiot.
In spite of the embarrassing nudity, the fire and the manager of the sushi restaurant shouting at her in Japanese, she’d actually had a nice time. And Marcus had stood up for her and calmed the manager down; or at least scared him into not screaming at her. It was a shame to end the night so soon.
“Would you… would you like to come in for a cup of coffee?”
He smiled at her, and her sex fluttered and… she shrieked in alarm as his phone vibrated against her chest.
Marcus reached over, trying his hardest not to laugh at her. His hand delved into his jacket pocket, liberally grazing her ample breast. Good lord, her cheeks were going to be red for the rest of her life at this rate!
He answered it, never taking his penetrating gaze off her. His jaw ticked and he placed his hand over the phone.
“I’m sorry; I have to go.”
Ling deflated a little as her panda whined. She sincerely hoped he wasn’t going to meet another woman! “Something wrong?” she asked casually.
“It’s just work; I don’t always keep normal hours.”
“Rain check?”
“Sure.”
She opened the car door. “Your jacket…”
His snake rumbled at the thought of seeing her in only her bra again, but Marcus thought it was prudent to behave. “You can give it back to me tomorrow.”
She beamed at him, her cheeks dimpling, making her look angelic. But when she spoke, her throaty voice was anything but sweet. “I’ll see you tomorrow then.”
He watched her curvy frame slip out of the car and admired her slinky walk until she disappeared into her house, giving him a finger wave before shutting the door.
He almost panted at the sight.
“Hello? Marcus?”
He sighed and pressed the phone to his ear. “Hello Detective, you’re working late.”
Wyatt let out a long breath into the phone. “Yeah, no matter what you do, people just keep on breaking the law.”
“You’d be out of a job if they didn’t,” murmured Marcus, watching the lights flicker on and off in Ling’s house as she moved from room to room.
Wyatt chuckled wearily. “Yeah, you’re right. I’m sorry to call this late, but I thought you’d want an update on Meyerson, the python.”
“Go ahead,” he murmured as he watched a light flicker on at an upstairs window. For a moment, he caught sight of her pulling the curtains closed. He imagined she would be undressing right about now. She was probably slipping out of his jacket… His snake hissed pleasurably at the thought of her surrounded by his clothes and his scent.
“Some patrol officers saw him at a gas station; he was driving an old RV, real junker apparently. He was with this woman, who was, and these are not my words, ‘some spaced-out, hippy chick.’ The junker didn’t have license plates, so the cops tried to talk to him, and that’s when they realized who he was. But…” Wyatt let out a long, irritated breath. “The hippy chick set a small fire in the restrooms; the cops were distracted, and they drove off.”
Marcus arched an eyebrow. “Apparently the woman wasn’t that spaced out.”
“They didn’t pay for their gas either.”
Marcus stared at Ling’s window. “Master criminals.”
“But, it looked like they were heading out of town if that’s any consolation.”
“It is,” Marcus replied absently. Honestly, he’d barely given the python a second thought. Too many other, much more appealing thoughts were running through his mind.
“Well, take care, man.”
“I will; thank you.”
The lion shifter ended the phone call.
Marcus considered his next move. He could make a last ditch attempt to find Norman again; he could go home, or he could knock on Ling’s door. He knew which way his beast was leaning, but he was unsure.
He wasn’t imagining it; she was interested in him. She could be his if he wanted. And lord, he did want her. But he still had niggling doubts about trying to start a relationship with Ling. He didn’t think he or his snake could handle the fall-out of a bad relationship again. And if he lost someone like Ling… it would be devastating.
It had been a dumb urge to kiss her, but he couldn’t help himself. He should have just carried on and followed the camel shifter; he should have just minded his own business. Logically, he knew that was true, but the memory of her soft lips pressed against his, of her delicious taste and her clutching hands were amazing. No, he could never really regret that.
Although, he sort of wished he had punched that fucking mongoose for good measure. How dare that mongoose touch his woman!
Marcus groaned; no, she wasn’t his, and he didn’t have any plans to make her his. At that moment.
Wrenching his gaze away from her house, disregarding the grumbles of his irate snake, he drove away. He decided to go for option number four; he would go to the gym. After a few hours, he would be too tired and too drained even to think of the lively little panda. He prayed.
*
Ling sifted through her closet. Damnit! A whole closet full of clothes and nothing to wear! Or at least, nothing suitable.
She needed something that would impress Marcus. She needed to make him forget about the blender debacle and the sushi restaurant faux p
as. It had to sophisticated, yet sexy, conservative yet raunchy, professional yet playful… yep, she needed a magic dress.
Her panda yipped encouragingly. Well, whatever she wore, she couldn’t look any worse than she already had. He’d pretty much seen her at her worst… she hoped. She dreaded to think how it could get worse.
Her phone trilled, and she eagerly grabbed it to answer. Maybe it was Marcus! She was annoyed at how disappointed she was to find Carly on the other end.
“Hey, how was your date?” asked Carly smugly.
Ling put on her bubbliest voice. “Oh! Perfect, he was such a gentleman. He’s so sexy, and he owns a yacht, a penthouse apartment and a holiday home in Aspen!”
Carly gasped. “Really?”
“Of course not!” snapped Ling. “It was a blind date my mother set up - he was a train wreck!”
“I’m sorry you had a bad night,” she said soothingly.
Ling’s panda mewled; she wouldn’t say it turned out to be a bad night exactly.
Carly changed the subject. “I actually rang to ask if you can give me a ride to work.”
Ling pulled a blue wiggle dress out her closet; it would do. “Aren’t you catching a ride with Jackson?”
“He already left and my car won’t start. Please? Pretty please?” she whined.
Ling rolled her eyes. As if she would actually say no! “Oh, alright, you know I can’t resist that little voice.”
Ling could practically hear her smirking. “I know, so see you in ten minutes?”
She looked down at her state of undress. “Umm, better make it thirty… or rather an hour.”
Carly agreed, and they said their goodbyes.
Ling dressed quickly, or at least what was quick for her, and artfully applied her make-up. She rooted around her dressing table before frowning. Where the heck had that gone?
Her favorite necklace was a string of pearls; they were beautiful and made her neck look so elegant. She just couldn’t seem to lay her hands on them. Admittedly, they were a present from Myron for her 28th birthday, but that didn’t detract from how much she liked them. And there was no way she was going to do something crazy like give them back to him.