by T. A. Grey
“You got a work room?” Hanna asked.
“Yeah, I didn’t have enough space to work in my room, so I pulled everything down here.”
She led them down into the basement and threw out her arms in front of her materials. “Ta-da!”
Both girls immediately flocked to the feathered piece—her masterpiece. “Wow, this is gorgeous.”
“Yeah, if only I could fit in something that small,” Hanna said.
Alicia waved Hanna’s pessimism away. “It’s in my size. If I made one in your size it’d fit you perfectly. Speaking of which, that’s what I wanted to show you.”
With a critical eye she studied Hanna’s body. She had a full figure with curvy hips, large breasts, and an equally sized rear. Alicia understood sizes and dimensions and more importantly she understood that women with certain body shapes looked better in some lingerie than others.
Digging around in her box of goodies, she mumbled under her breath until she found it. “Ah-ha! Here it is.” With a bow, she flicked the babydoll lingerie piece out to Hanna. “Just your size.”
Hanna’s eyes widened. “Wait, you mean you want me to wear that?”
“Absolutely. It’s not going to look sexy on its own.”
“I don’t know; it looks pretty sexy by itself.”
The babydoll was lavender sheer lace with supportive straps for women who actually had boobs, unlike her, and had a silk ribbon that tied under the bust. The negligee stopped right at the top of the thighs and bottom of the butt and it arched up on the thighs to reveal lots of skin. The sheer lace meshed with satin. It was pretty but equally sexy. It’d also fit Hanna’s curvy build perfectly.
“Take it.”
Hanna took a step backward. “What?”
Alicia shook the negligee at her. “Really, I want you to have it. It should fit like a charm. And it’s on the house.” She grinned.
Kaity pouted. “I want one.”
Alicia eyed her figure then snapped her fingers. “You’ll look great in white. I got something for you.” She dug back in her box and came up with a white laced up halter. Black ribbon tied the two halves together up the front and the top was held up by white cord that wrapped around the neck. The material, save for that around the breasts, was completely shear and fell to mid-butt. Very revealing and it went perfect with sexy underwear.
“This will suit you just fine.”
Kaity snatched it with wide, greedy eyes. “I love,” she gushed.
Hanna took hers much more slowly. “Okay, but I can’t guarantee I’ll wear it or fit in it.”
Alicia grinned. “Oh, you’ll wear it and it’ll fit. Trust me.”
Baffled, Hanna shook her head. “Who am I going to wear this for, myself?”
“You just need the right man to show it to.”
CHAPTER 19
After having dinner with Alicia and Kaity, Hanna headed home. Alicia had insisted on stuffing the very pretty, way-too-sexy lingerie in a bag before she left the house. It’s not like she was a prude, but she couldn’t remember a time in her life where she wore lingerie—ever. It hadn’t crossed her mind.
Just looking at it and picturing herself naked in it felt all kinds of strange. Almost a naughty feeling. Which was why the first thing she did when she got home was march right upstairs, turn the radio on, and pull off her clothes.
Naked, she stared at the lingerie. It was really something. Sexy and beautiful all rolled into one. She’d never touched anything like it. Her underwear and bra selections had always been so…normal. Not to say she didn’t own a few pairs of lacy bits, but nothing like this. A piece of clothing meant to push her breasts up and bare them, and reveal her butt and legs. The material was shear enough to see her skin through.
Taking a deep breath, she prepared to try it on.
Bzzzt.
“This must be a sign,” she said as she crossed the room to her cell phone. Bzzzt, it vibrated again.
Flipping it open, she froze at what she saw on the screen. A message. For her. From Alex.
This can’t be real.
How you doin’? Just wanted to know if you’re all right. -Alex.
He wrote just to find out if she was all right? Well, aside from nearly hyperventilating right now, she’d say she was doing swell.
How did he have her number? He probably just asked Gavin for it and he gave it away without question. After all, why wouldn’t he?
Her thumbs hesitated over the phone before typing back. With each little push of the button her heart skipped a beat. I’m fine, thanks for asking. How are you?
A minute passed and then another. She was just about to set the phone down when it buzzed in her hand. The vibration startled a squeal out of her nearly making her drop the phone.
“Stupid, stupid.”
She checked the screen and read: I’d rather know what you’re up to.
Aside from the fact that she blushed and smiled and felt a whole whirlwind of emotions from that single sentence, she somehow managed to type back.
Just trying on something Alicia gave me.
Not even ten seconds passed before her phone buzzed. Doesn’t she make lingerie?
Holy crap, he knew that? Mortified, she typed back, Yes…
Just because she made lingerie didn’t necessarily mean Alicia had given her some. She could have given her an old T-shirt. Oh god, she hated text messaging because she couldn’t tell what his face looked like or what his reaction was or if there was one at all. If she was lucky, he had no idea it was lingerie.
Hell, woman.
Two words, simple ones even, and she had no idea what they actually meant. Shaking her head to dislodge the thoughts, she texted back. Was there something else you wanted?
Please, oh please, say yes. It might be the most crazy thing she’d ever done, but talking to Alex made her feel like a loose cannon. He made her feel capable of doing things she’d never thought possible before—like standing up to Tom.
The phone stayed quiet for a few seconds, so she got back to undressing. The radio surrounded her in some good southern country. She’d always loved the singers with real twang in their voices.
She studied the lingerie contraption to figure out how to put it on before she tried it. It would be the first time she’d gotten stuck in an intricately designed outfit and had ripped a seam trying to get it off.
Luckily, the outfit looked simple. She pulled it on over her head and performed a little dance tucking and shrugging until her breasts went into the right places and the material fell down to where it should—not nearly far enough down.
The phone buzzed on her dresser.
Hanna stood upright and checked out her reflection in the full body mirror.
“Holy crap.”
She looked…
“Ridiculous. You look ridiculous, Hanna. You don’t have the body to wear something like this.”
A heavy weight made her shoulders slump. She didn’t like the negativity that had been clouding her lately, but she couldn’t help it either. Her mate was gone. She’d have to file papers with the Justicars office soon to start the official process. Her stomach looked too rounded , her butt too big, arms too big. Everything looked all wrong. Not how Alicia or Kaity would look in the same thing. But, she’d have to admit the material was pretty and it could look worse on her.
Her eyes slid away from the mirror and caught the phone. How could she have forgotten it just vibrated? She raced to it and flipped it open.
Yeah, I wanna take you out tonight. You up for it?
Her eyes squeezed shut then opened again to re-read the message. The words were still there. It had to be some joke. One of Alex’s buddy must have his phone and be texting her as some sick prank. This couldn’t be real. He, the bad-ass biker who had no qualms about punching a man in the face, wanted to take her out.
She had to know the truth. Is this really Alex Thompson?
Of course if it was a prankster, she wouldn’t really be able to tell.
&nb
sp; Same one who hit that son of a bitch Tom in the mouth. Shoulda done worse.
It had to be him. Alex had always been a private person; he wouldn’t have spilled the beans about her personal outing with him. No way. So this really was Alex and he really wanted to take her out.
Did he mean it as a friend kind of thing? Maybe he just wanted someone to go see a movie with him. Oh, please, Hanna, you know better than that, she told herself. You aren’t that stupid. He hit Tom for you, he said nice things to you, you know what that means. He actually likes you.
Without a doubt, she knew what her answer was. She was pushing Tom out of her life where he belonged and beginning a new one. A happier one. She was going to get a job she actually liked, maybe bartending or bounty hunting; something dangerous and exciting. Maybe Gavin would let her train to be a lieutenant in the pack. She could have a real purpose, one not dictated because she was good with numbers and had a college degree. A job that Tom had wanted her to get just like him.
Argh, she wanted to growl just thinking about all the things she’d done for him over the years. All the changes she made to make him happy. It had never bothered her before. Her mother had said many times that making a relationship work meant making sacrifices and compromises. Hanna knew she’d made many of them. But how many had Tom ever made?
She couldn’t think of one. Especially not the one that’d stuck a dagger in her heart and turned her world upside down—the other women.
Smiling, her fingers started typing in her reply: I’d love to.
Before she had a chance to hit send, a knock sounded on the downstairs door.
“Oh shoot!”
Running into the bathroom, she grabbed her robe and pulled it on while stuffing her feet into slippers. The knocking continued sending a burst of panic inside her. Something was wrong. People didn’t knock like that unless something was wrong.
She threw the front door open and her whole world came crashing down.
The happy, upbeat country song playing upstairs went mute. Even the man before her was speaking, she could see his lips moving, but the words were indecipherable.
It was like something had sucked the life out of her body, had maybe even sucked her soul out, and all that was left was a husk. A shell of herself.
He wanted in and she didn’t recall saying anything, but he walked in anyway. He walked in agitated steps, his hair in disarray, his clothes rumpled and dirty. He looked like hell and still his mouth moved, but no sound came out.
It had to be a defense mechanism, she realized. Her mind new how difficult this was and didn’t want to deal with it. Her mind knew it was too much, she was overloaded, so it was trying to protect her.
But it didn’t last long enough.
It came rushing back as Tom dropped to his knees before her, his eyes shining with tears, his pleas ripping out her heart and tearing it into shreds.
He’d never done this before. Never pleaded with her on his knees like this. Even the time he’d done it before, she could see the difference here. Her eyes roamed over his tear-streaked face. Those hadn’t been real tears before, her eyes must have been letting her see what she’d wanted to see. Because these were real sobs, genuine troubled eyes.
The words were already in her head, the answer to his plea. But the tears did something to her. They were so sincere, Tom couldn’t be faking this. He didn’t have that kind of acting ability, that’s why he was so bad at cheating. That’s why he barely tried to hide it.
A shell around her heart cracked and she found herself reaching for him and pulling his head into her belly. His arms came around her and another crack fractured inside her, tearing pieces loose. It felt so good she could have broken down and cried in that moment. He was here again, back in her arms, telling her he loved her.
Things would change now. He meant it.
It had to be true, because she’d never gone so far as to kick him out before. She even had planned to go to the Justicars this week. What if this was the boot in his ass needed to make him stop?
“I know I don’t deserve your forgiveness,” he was saying.
Words, all words tearing her up inside and pushing her into places of confusion and pain. Places she didn’t want to be anymore, was trying to move on from.
He pulled the mating tether and diamond ring out of his pocket, held it up to her as an offering. Maybe this was just how it was supposed to be. He was one of those that had to see her gone before he realized his mistake. Maybe he really would stop now.
Maybe.
She couldn’t make that decision right now. Not when she could barely form words over her raw throat.
He placed the tether and ring in her palm and curled her fingers around it as he stood, looking away as if ashamed. And then he murmured more promises, more hopes that desperately wanted to fill the ache in her heart. And he left.
Hanna’s senses slowly came flooding back. First, sound. She heard another country radio station playing upstairs. Then, dazedly, she felt the scratchy texture of the tether, the warm bite of metal from the ring in her palm.
She trudged upstairs, numb down to her bones. Shattered and confused.
She turned off the radio, changed out of the lingerie and into her oversized pajamas.
Afterward, she checked the phone. She remembered how excited she’d felt getting those texts from Alex, from a man who made her feel weird things. Now as she opened the phone to read the message he’d sent her she felt nothing.
Yeah, I wanna take you out tonight. You up for it?
How had the message made her feel such fluttery excitement before? Her earlier reply sat there on the screen, unsent. I’d love to.
She looked at the mating tether on the dresser. Memories of years together spent with someone couldn’t just be erased, couldn’t be forgotten or pushed away so easily.
She wrote back.
No.
CHAPTER 20
When Gavin’s truck came rumbling up the drive, Alicia checked the time. It was late. It had been a long day and she had a bunch of questions she needed answers to. Such as where had he been, what had happened between Will and Marcus, and what did she have to do with it?
However, when he came through the door all the questions on the tip of her tongue flew out the window. He looked like he’d been through hell. His brow was drawn low from stress, his mouth wan and flat, face pinched, shoulders hunched as if they hurt to hold up.
This put a kink in her plans seeing as she’d wanted, or hoped, to continue their foreplay from earlier.
She wrapped her arms around his waist and leaned up to kiss him but he shied away. “I need a shower.”
A twinge of hurt flared but she shrugged it off. If the man needed a shower, then so be it. “Go ahead then come back down. I got some leftover lasagna here your sisters and I made. Trust me, it’s worth seconds…or thirds.” She tried to smile at him but he only grimaced.
With a nod, he plodded upstairs. While the shower kicked on, she got to thinking. She knew what she liked when she was really stressed and that was a full belly and a massage.
Moving quickly in case he took one of his five-minute showers, she heated up two big servings of food and searched for an alcoholic beverage of some kind, only to find none. Odd, he looked like the kind of guy who drank beer.
Slipping upstairs, she found a bottle of oil in her bathroom goodies, grabbed a soft towel and set it next to his bed.
The water shut off and she hurried to the bedroom door calling out, “Dinner’s ready, handsome. Hurry up!”
If she did one thing tonight, it was to bring a smile to his face. A few minutes later, Gavin lumbered into the kitchen, something close to a scowl on his scarred face.
“Handsome?” His complete look of incredulity made her laugh out loud.
“Yes, handsome. You know that people make an opinion on whether or not they like someone based off the whole package: their face, their body, their mind. I happen to like yours. So sit down and eat, handsome.” Sh
e added a wink for good measure.
He still didn’t crack a smile but he didn’t seem quite as tense as when he’d come home. He took a seat mumbling about women and their foolish notions.
“People also judge by looks first,” he said.
“Whatever,” she said breezily. She put the lasagna on the table and ordered, “Eat.”
He gave her an arched look but obeyed like a good alpha. Taking the seat across from him she watched him. He gave her another look.
“You’re not eating?”
“Already ate with your sisters.” She made circles with her finger on the table. “So what happened with Will today?”
He sighed tiredly. “I don’t really want to talk about it.”
“Maybe if you do, it’ll get the load off your shoulders.”
“Doubt that.”
“Also, why don’t you have any beer or alcohol of any kind in this house? Kind of weird. You don’t drink?”
“I was shit-faced the night this happened to my face. Don’t plan on drinking again anytime soon.”
Talk about a mood killer. “Hmm…you are a grumpy one today. Okay, I’ll give you a break for now, but I have plans for you tonight.”
Those beautiful blue eyes sprang to hers, alight with heat. She tried not to blush but she would have more luck trying to stop a tidal wave from crashing down on her by throwing her hands up and pleading please, don’t.
“That sounds good.”
Her lips twitched.
After he finished his plate, she ordered him upstairs to the bedroom. Again, she got that arched eyebrow and dark look that made her belly flutter.
When he still didn’t make to move she pointed to the stairs and gave him a glare. “Now,” she ordered.
Shaking his head, he did as he was told. What a good little alpha, she thought with a smile.
Upstairs, she found him coming out of the bathroom from brushing his teeth.
“What is this grand plan you have for me? I hope it involves the bed ’cause honest to god, I’m tired as hell.”