by Milly Taiden
She stared at her ringing phone in disgust. The caller ID showed Adam and she wasn’t sure she was ready to talk to him without biting his head off. The phone call disconnected and she sighed a relief, which was short lived as Adam called right back.
“I am not sure I want to talk to you, right now, Adam.” Carly answered the phone in brisk angry tone.
“You can’t really be mad at me for tonight. I wasn’t the only one--”
“I already spoke to him about his behavior, but you were the one who started it. Why were you purposely baiting him and making more of our friendship than there was between us.”
“I'm sorry I just didn’t like the way he was staring at you all night, like he, like, um….well, I just didn’t like it.”
“Adam, you know I value your friendship, but don’t ever do that again. I am a big girl and I can handle myself.”
“I know, I’m sorry. Let me make it up to you. I have a colleague here with me. Nice guy, close to our ages. Come out with the two of us and have dinner. No strings I swear and I promise I will be on my utmost gentlemanly behavior.”
“Fine, when and where and don’t make me regret this. I do know some of your secrets and I would be happy to share them around my dad’s office. I have friends there still.”
Carly couldn’t help the laugh that bubbled to her lips at Adam’s indrawn breath.
“I swear it you won’t regret it. Are you busy tomorrow? We will pick you up, just give me your address and be ready at seven.”
She gave him the address and they talked for a few minutes. She was hanging up when Adam’s next words made her put the phone back to her ear.
“What was that, I didn’t hear you?”
“I said friends don’t blackmail friends.”
“Right, if you say so. Where I come from that’s what friends are for.”
Carly knew sleep wasn’t going to come easy after the day she had. She couldn’t get Bastien out of her head. Why after one night did he weigh on her mind so heavily?
After a long restless night of sex riddled dreams with Bastien, she climbed out of bed to get ready for work. She rummaged through her lingerie drawer trying to find something suitable for work, but that would still make her feel sexy. She needed the pick me up and she had heard once that if you feel sexy it will show in everything you do.
Being a big woman with curves made people think she didn’t have feelings. They were always making snide comments under their breaths, hell, even to her face. After the night she had, she wasn’t sure she could control her temper enough not to get back at the simple minded idiots she encountered daily.
She sat at her desk when Toni walked up with a hesitant smile on her pretty face.
“Are you mad at me?”
She stared at Toni for a moment more to make her fidget before she smiled and let her off the hook. “No, I’m not mad.”
“I really had no idea they were gonna behave like that. If I had known I wouldn’t have brought Bastien there like that. I swear.”
“It’s not a problem. Men are idiots sometimes, Adam called and apologized and invited me to go out with him and his coworker tonight as friends.” Carly looked at Toni and emphasized the friend’s part.
“What about Bastien?”
“If you are asking what about him in regards to dinner with Adam, then nothing. He has no say in who I have dinner with.”
“No, I meant, did he apologize?”
Carly frowned. “No, he actually thought he was in the right. Can you believe that crap?”
“Like you said men are idiots. I have to get back to work before the day really gets busy and I’m behind. I’ll catch you later.”
Carly smiled and watched her walk away. Toni was going to be a great addition to the office and a new friend. The day flew by, and before she knew it, quitting time had come and gone. She looked up when her cell phone rang.
“Crap! I am so sorry. Give me fifteen minutes and I will be home. Are you guys there waiting on me?”
“Guys? Who would be waiting on you?” Carly froze as she realized her mistake. It wasn’t Adam on the phone, but Bastien.
“What do you want, Bastien?”
“Who is waiting on you?” he growled in a soft tone.
“Don’t take that tone with me, Yogi. It’s none of your damn business and unless you called to apologize, I have nothing to say to you.”
“I was calling to see if-- Did you just call me Yogi?”
She bit her lip trying not to laugh over how shocked he sounded. “What do you want?”
“I wanted to know if you would go out with me Friday night. Last night was bad. I was a dick. Let me make it up to you. I promise you won’t regret it.”
Carly weighted her options. Yes, she wanted to see him and she was curious about the date she told him he had to wow her with. She wasn’t sure, the one thing she did know was that just the sound of that low growly voice made her twitch and get hot. She craved him more than she wanted her coffee, and for her that was saying something.
“You’re on. Friday night it is.”
“Can you get off a bit early so I can pick you up by five thirty?”
Carly looked at her calendar and decided she could do that. It wasn’t like she missed a lot of work and it would only be a couple hours early. “Yes, I can do that. I’ll text you my address, you can pick me up there, so I have time to get ready. Is that okay?”
“It’s a date, beautiful.” Carly’s smile bloomed across her cheeks. He really did make her feel that way too.
They hung up and Carly raced to get home in time to meet Adam. She didn’t want them waiting on her for long. She let out a sigh of relief as she pulled into her driveway. They weren’t there yet. With luck, she could still be ready on time. Fifteen minutes later, a knock at her door startled her from her frantic dash around her room. She took another moment to look in the mirror to make sure she looked good.
She opened the front door with a wide smile that only slightly faltered upon seeing a well-dressed stranger on the doorstep. “Hello, can I help you?”
“Carly, right? I’m Ralph, Adam’s co-worker. He got tied up and asked me to come pick you up. He said he was going to meet us, I am guessing he didn’t call you from the look on your face.”
“No, he didn’t. It’s okay though. Do you want to come in while I grab my purse?”
“That’s all right, I will wait here. I left the car running, figuring you might not be comfortable with me in your house since you don’t know me.”
Carly smiled. “What a thoughtful gentleman you are. Give me one moment and we can be off.”
Carly closed the door and ran to grab her purse. She pulled out her cell to check in case she had missed a call from Adam explaining the situation. He had. She felt relief and a surge of excitement. She couldn’t remember the last time she had been around such a gentleman. This could be a very interesting night, at least she hoped it would be.
Ralph opened her car door for her and waited until she sat before closing it and moving to the driver’s side. “I hope this is okay. I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable with me.”
“I checked and Adam texted, it’s okay. I trust him and if he says you are good, then I have no problem.”
She took the time to study Ralph as he navigated his way out of her neighborhood. He was a decent looking guy, with a slim build, black hair and dark blue eyes. He wasn’t any one’s idea of conventional good looking, but he had something about him that drew your notice. His manners so far were impeccable and that said a lot about men to her.
He had looked her up and down when she answered the door, hadn’t made any faces or despairing remarks and he seemed to be a gentleman. He might be fun to get to know better. He wasn’t Bastien, but he had potential.
Carly chastised herself. Why was she comparing him to Bastien? She needed to stop thinking about him every minute of the day.
“How long have you known Adam?” Ralph’s question brought Carly back t
o the moment and semi date for the evening.
“Quite a few years actually. We had mutual friends, and we hit it off and became really good friends ourselves. The rest is history as they say.”
“Did you guys date or were you just friends?”
“Just friends. How long have you known Adam?”
“Not long really. He recently joined the company and that’s how I met him. He seems to be a really great guy, though.”
“How do you like working at my father’s company?”
“Depends, are you going to tell him what I say?” Ralph winked. “Seriously, though, I love working for your father. He has become something of a mentor to me. I am very lucky to be working for him.”
“That is great to hear. I love my father, but I don’t think I could ever work for him. He is set in his ways and sometimes even living this far away isn’t far enough. If that makes sense.”
“I understand completely. Parents always want what’s best for their kids. It can be hard to learn when to back away.”
“Exactly.” They lapsed into silence as they pulled into the small parking lot next to the bar and grill they would be meeting Adam. Ralph held the door to the restaurant and placed a hand at the small of her back as they walked in and sat in a booth.
“I was wondering…” Ralph was interrupted by the arrival of the attentive waitress.
“Hey, handsome, what can I get you to drink.” Carly rolled her eyes and waited for Ralph to start flirting. It didn’t seem to matter if she was there or not, it was in guy’s nature it seemed. That or they just didn’t really care what she thought about their manners.
“Carly, what would you like? Ladies first.” Ralph winked when Carly’s eyes flew to him in surprise.
“Oh, um, can I have a Manhattan, please.” The waitress rolled her eyes and turned back to Ralph.
“I’d like a Tom Collins, please.” Ralph dismissed the waitress with a curt nod and turned his attention back to Carly. “Like I was saying, I wanted to ask you before Adam got here. I’d like to take you out one night. Just you and me, what do you think?”
“I don’t know…”As much as she disliked admitting it, she didn’t want anyone but Bastien.
TWELVE
“Don’t think of it as a date. Adam’s my friend and I’d like to be your friend, too.”
“I think that would be a great idea.” And oh my god was she actually going to do this? Did this make her easy? No. This was not a date. He was a nice guy and Bastien had yet to prove he deserved more than just friendship from her.
“I’m heading back to headquarters Friday evening, but I’ll be back Sunday, I believe. I know today is Tuesday, but would you consider Thursday as too soon?”
Carly couldn’t contain her laugh at his bashful question. “Not at all. I would love to.”
“What’s going on over here that has you laughing, and Ralph blushing?” Adam asked as he stopped by their table.
“Nothing, what took you so long?” Ralph spit out before Carly could say anything.
“You don’t even have drinks yet, how can it be long?” Adam nudged Carly over and sat beside her in the booth.
“Hey, beautiful. Forgiven me yet?” he asked with a wink and kiss on Carly’s cheek.
“You are such a player. Yes, I forgive you. Now behave and get a drink. Let’s have some fun.”
Carly couldn’t remember a time she had so much fun without worrying about what others thought about her. She had two wonderful and attentive guys with her and the rest of the place could go to hell.
She wasn’t stupid, she saw the scathing looks, and overheard their whispers when she walked by. Carly didn’t care though. She loved her body as it was. Adam and Ralph didn’t have a problem either and that’s what counted.
“I wanted to ask you all night, but I was afraid to endure your wrath again. What’s with the shifter from last night?” Adam’s words brought Bastien back to the forefront of her mind, not that he had been far all night no matter how hard she tried.
“How did you know he was a shifter? He has a name you know.” Carly narrowed her eyes at Adam in rebuke. Human or shifter shouldn’t matter to anyone.
“Fine, Bastien. What was his deal last night?”
“You both were acting like immature children who had their favorite toy taken away.”
“What’s going on? Are you dating a shifter?” Ralph’s puzzled expression and disdainful words caught Carly’s attention.
“Not dating, so much. Bastien is a friend, he and Adam had a testosterone filled chest pounding thing going on last night.”
“You have friends that are shifters, then?” Carly wasn’t sure what to make of Ralph’s questions, but she was starting to get an uncomfortable feeling about him.
“Yes, don’t you?”
“Not that I am aware of. I don’t think I have ever actually met a shifter either.”
She waited to see if he would say anything else, but he remained silent and smiled at her. She still wasn’t sure where he stood about shifters yet. Guess there was one was way to find out.
“My best friend married a shifter recently actually. Luke is a great guy, I was the maid of honor at their wedding.”
“That sounds wonderful, I am sure you were beautiful.” Carly couldn’t decide if he was being serious or condescending but decided she didn’t care. The alcohol was making it hard to process his reactions anyway.
“So you ready to get out of here. We still have work tomorrow and it’s getting late.” Adam asked as he stood and dropped some bills on the table to cover their tab.
Carly looked at her phone and gasped at the time. The hours had flown by. She had a blast, but knew she would regret it in the morning.
“Are you taking me home then?” Carly asked Adam as she slid out of the booth to stand beside him. At his nod of agreement she turned to Ralph.
“I had a great time. It was a pleasure meeting you. Have Adam give you my number if you still want to get together Thursday.”
They said their goodbyes and headed out. She knew it would only be a matter of minutes before Adam questioned her about the date Thursday. The truth was she had a good time with Ralph, but she wasn’t sure why she had agreed to go out with him except that he’d sounded so sincere about wanting to be her friend.
He didn’t cause the butterflies in her stomach, or the hitch in her breath and he sure didn’t cause her to have to change her panties with one growly word in her ear. She mentally shook her head; there she went again comparing him to Bastien.
“You are going on a date with Ralph?” Adam asked with a quirk of his eyebrows.
“Is not a date. He was polite and asked, I had a good time with him tonight, so I figured why not.” Carly wasn’t sure if she was justifying it to herself or to Adam.
He didn’t say anything else, just opened her car door and then proceeded to the driver’s side. She watched him trying to gauge his reaction, and why he seemed so apprehensive about it. When he climbed in she asked him, “Is there something I should know about him?”
“No, it's not that. I just don’t know him that well is all. Your father trusts him so that is something, I guess.”
She wondered how much that could mean if she was honest with herself. Her father had some strange ideas sometimes, including his views on shifters.
Bastien wasn’t a bad guy, because he was also a bear. She didn’t crave his touch because he was a bear. Shit, there she went again. Lord, just the thought of him made her wet.
“Are you okay?” Adam asked as he squeezed her leg to gain her attention.
“Yeah, why do you ask?” She gave him a puzzled frown.
“I don’t know, maybe because we have been sitting in front of your house for five minutes and you haven’t heard a word I’ve said.”
“I’m sorry, I was lost in my head. I really had a great time tonight. I forgot how much fun we have hanging out together.”
“We sure do. I’ll have to make sure we can do it aga
in sometime. I have to head back home tomorrow so I won’t see you again for a bit. Please keep in touch, okay?”
“Count on it, Adam. Have a safe drive and I’ll talk to you soon.”
She climbed out of the car and waved goodbye as he drove away. She was walking up the walkway to her front door when her cell phone rang. “Hello?”
“Do I get to kill anyone for touching you?”
“Seriously? That’s the first thing you are going to say to me?”
“Fine, how was your night? Think about me? How I make your blood sing in your veins and your body clench in memory of the joy I can bring it. How I make your pussy slick and your throat dry after screaming my name.”
“Bastien!”
“What, beautiful? You don’t like me telling the truth.”
“Did you need something that you are calling so late?” She walked inside and turned on a fan.
“I was thinking about you, and I knew you were going out, so I figured it would be safe to call and let you know that I will be dreaming of you, of your taste on my lips, of how tight your--”
“Stop, right now. Not another word out of your mouth.” Bastien’s chuckles sent chills down Carly’s spine. Damn the man, he didn’t have to do anything and she was wet and willing and ready to beg.
“If you are sure, then I will just skip that part and tell you I called to say goodnight and I can’t wait for Friday night.”
“Pretty sure of yourself aren’t you? You sure you can wow me?”
“Baby, I already wowed you and made you see stars. I can do it again anytime, all night long.”
Carly growled in frustration at his taunting words. There was no way she was going to be able to sleep tonight without bringing out her best friend with batteries.
“Okay, okay. I’ll be serious. Yes, I have no doubt our date will be better than you expect. By the end, you will be in love with me.”