by Amelia Jade
“Why is that?” he asked bluntly, point-blank.
It was time to get some answers.
Chapter Four
Kelly
Why?
Why had she been avoiding him?
The answer was simple, really. She was focusing on herself. On the child within her, to ensure that she could be the best mother possible for it. And…and…
That was it. It was a good reason, but now that she was forced to focus on it, to say it to herself, it sounded shallow and empty. There was no reason she couldn’t talk to him, see if he was interesting or not. The child wouldn’t be born for several months now. What harm was there in talking to him for that?
After all, he was gorgeous. Like, not just good-looking, but five-alarm hot. He had to be the better part of six foot seven or so, she guessed. Slabs of muscle had been welded to his body in every conceivable way. If an ounce of fat existed, she wasn’t sure where to find it. His arms bulged, but in that drool-worthy manner of someone who knows when to call it quits, before the muscles get too large. They were thick and powerful, but still good for more than just lifting weights.
Bright blue eyes the color of gemstones peered down at her over a regal-looking nose, unblinking as they awaited an answer. Everything about him was just perfect. If she had a checklist of things she would look for in a man, he would tick every box, all the bonus boxes, and fill up all the sections listed “Other” where she could write in whatever she wanted. She’d probably need a blank page as well to finish up.
Which, she realized suddenly, was exactly the problem.
“Too good to be true,” she mumbled, more to herself than to Gray.
“Pardon?” The gemstone ovals disappeared behind his eyelids for a moment as he blinked in consternation.
“You’re too good to be true,” she said, her voice strengthening, more confident now of her answer.
“Oh.”
Kelly nodded.
“I’m flattered you think that,” he said after a moment of thought. “But trust me, I have my flaws, like everyone else. I’m just me. Just Gray.”
How he could stand there like a walking advertisement for the most exclusive all-male stripper company in the world and tell her he had flaws was beyond Kelly. It simply wasn’t feasible. He was perfect. Look at him! The abs of his stomach were practically sucking the shirt he wore tight against them.
I bet that he has that V that always disappears into the waistlines of guys who are ripped like him. Oh, that’s so hot.
Kelly knew her brain was failing her. She needed to stay focused, so that she could speak, and not drool as his breathing pattern made muscles swell in front of her, turning her mind to mush as she stole poorly concealed glances at him.
“Like what?” she managed to ask, her throat feeling somewhat dry. Hearing about his flaws might help ground her.
Might.
“Well,” he said. She watched his face scrunch up as he thought his answer through.
Ugh. Even his “I’m thinking” face is sexier than most men. Not fair.
“I’m, ah, really bad at flirting,” he admitted.
“With that body, what does it matter?” she asked, the words rushing from her mouth like a faucet suddenly turned on, flowing out before she could think them through.
Kelly’s face turned bright red as her ears registered what she’d just said, and her brain told her that no, this wasn’t like one of those bad dreams where you somehow make it to school in the middle of winter completely naked but don’t realize it until you walk up in front of everyone there.
A dream would have been so much better. It wasn’t though, as her brain was constantly telling her, even as it sent orders to her heart to pump extra blood into her face to make it obvious that she was blushing, hard. The heat burned and she longed to look away, but that would just make it even worse. So Kelly did the only thing she could think of. She stood her ground, held those gorgeous azure eyes of his, and waited for him to respond, acting as if she didn’t have a care in the world.
“It matters when you’re looking for someone who’s got more than just my looks in mind,” he said quietly, a ghost of a smile on his face.
Kelly winced and nodded.
“I’m also a bed hog,” he continued, changing the subject, much to her relief.
“Oh, so you’re already thinking of bedding me?” she asked, eyebrows raised. “What happened to looking for someone who has more than your looks in mind?”
Gray’s jaw dropped open, hanging there like an overheated dog, tongue lolling about. She tried not to laugh as he scrambled to recover, searching for the right words to say to show that he didn’t mean it that way.
“It’s okay,” she said eventually, holding up a hand to stop him as he struggled and failed mightily. “You already told me you’re bad at flirting. Now I get it.”
Gray paused, and then hung his head in mock shame. “I did warn you.”
“That you did. And now I have first-hand proof of it,” she said, feeling sort of bad for the guy.
“I told you, I have flaws. I’m also—”
Kelly shook her head, lifting a hand again. “Stop. I don’t need a list, I promise. I get it; you only look like some sort of perfect godlike figure, but you aren’t one. You’re human just like the rest of us.”
“Well, only half-human.”
She smacked a palm off her forehead. “Right. I’m sorry, that was impolite of me.”
It was his turn to wave it off. “It’s nothing. I don’t take offense to that. I am, after all, half-human, and most of the time look like a normal human. It’s easy to forget that I’m not one of you.”
Kelly nodded. “Other than the size, it’s often hard to tell. I’ve been exposed to shifters for months now, and I still don’t think I could easily tell the difference just by talking to you. It’s the visual cues, and I still need those to know.”
He smiled. “Much of the difference is in how we lead our lives, to be honest. We live a life closer to that of the animal world at times. But we can also put on a face and blend in with human society. Mostly.”
“Mostly?”
“Well, most of my contemporaries are utterly inept when it comes to technology. So as long as you don’t ask them to use a computer, you should be good.”
Kelly tossed her head back and laughed. A thought struck her. The laugh was genuine. An honest-to-goodness bout of later. She was having fun.
Aww hell. Gray didn’t seem so bad now that she was talking to him. Maybe she should give him a chance after all. He was nice. Almost like a giant puppy dog. All that was missing were the oversized floppy ears. His paws were already large enough she noted, glancing at his huge hands.
I wonder how they would feel—
She stopped her brain hard, slamming on both the brakes and emergency brake at the same time. Now was not the time for those thoughts. Taking a slow breath in, she steadied herself, trying to right the mental ship. In response, her stomach growled. Kelly latched onto that with a strength borne of sheer desperation.
“Wanna get some food?” she asked, tilting her head in the direction of the tables currently being worked over by others.
“You just said the magic word.”
She grinned and the pair wandered over, snatching up plates and weighing them down with a various selection of foods. A pair of ham sandwiches came her way. This was followed by a generous double dollop of a spinach-cheese dip, along with a handful of crackers to spread it over. Finally she augmented her hoard with a cup of sparkling water and ice from the drink table.
Plate full and drink topped off, she moved to the side to allow others full access. In the process of doing so her eyes latched on to Gray. They didn’t stay for long though, distracted by the piles of food he’d snared. Three plates occupied his right arm, and he had just finished snagging a pair of beer bottles. Straightening, he looked around, spied her, and made his way over to the table she’d chosen.
“What?” he asked,
coming to a halt, his eyes scanning the seats at the table, as if trying to determine where to sit. Finally he plopped himself down opposite her, spreading the plates out in front of him.
“Got enough?” she asked, eyeballing his haul once more.
“It’s a long story,” he muttered as his eyes darted between her plate and his. “But the answer is, I think so.”
The pair ate in silence for a few minutes. Although he didn’t eat like an animal, much to her surprise, his food still managed to disappear at rate double or triple that of her own. He simply took large bites, and chewed powerfully. It was truly astonishing. She should have been grossed out by it, but it was too fascinating to watch instead. The plates emptied one by one, and despite all the food, he somehow managed to time it so that his last bite went down at the same time hers did.
“I’m not sure if I should be impressed or disgusted,” she said, sitting back and rubbing her stomach gently.
Gray smiled, but declined to answer with more than a shrug.
“How have you been?” she asked. “You know, since, uh, since we met.”
Gray’s face lit up at the question. “Pretty good,” he answered. “Just working really, but I like it here.”
“What exactly is it that you do?”
“I’m one of the embassy guards,” he told her.
“That sounds impressive.”
He laughed. “Mainly I follow Andrew around and make sure he doesn’t do something stupid.”
Kelly laughed. She knew Andrew, the Cadian ambassador to Cloud Lake. He was a good man, in her opinion. He’d been present the night that she and Gray had met as well, when Erika’s mate Harden had gone toe-to-toe with a wolf shifter from Cadia who wanted to kill him. It was one of the scarier nights of her life, and her first real exposure to how shifters settled disputes: usually with a fight to the death.
“How’d you get a job like that?” she asked.
“Honestly? I wish I could give you this long spiel about all the training I went through, the various qualifications I have, you know, stuff to make me sound more impressive. But the truth of it is, I volunteered,” he admitted.
Intrigued, Kelly pushed on. “Why?”
“I wanted out of Cadia. It sounds crazy, I know, but they’re so stuffy and uptight there. Most of them have never used a computer or cell phone, let alone even driven a car.”
His face lit up as he spoke and Kelly couldn’t help but smile along with him at his enthusiasm.
“I’ve never heard of a shifter who likes technology before,” she remarked. “Like you said, most of your peers are thoroughly illiterate on even the basics that most human children have before the age of five.”
“Technophobia,” he pronounced. “Many of us live such long lifespans that it takes a long time for change to work its way through our society.”
“I didn’t realize it was so bad. I just figured it was done to adhere to the old ways, not out of fear of new things.”
“Don’t tell them I told you they were scared though,” Gray said with a sly wink.
Kelly laughed, eyes closing as she let the humor run through her. As it faded she opened her eyes and looked up.
Gray was looking back at her. Their eyes locked and she went breathless as the weight of his gaze washed over her, her body refusing to respond to her commands.
Chapter Five
Gray
Kiss her.
The desire to do just that rushed through him, leaping through his body, igniting his veins and driving him closer to her, his body leaning across the table. The distance between them suddenly seemed impossibly close as she drifted forward as well, until the pair had almost closed the gap between them entirely.
Kelly’s tongue flicked out, dampening her lips slightly. Was that in anticipation of kissing him? Or just a natural thing that he was reading too much into? Probably. It was too soon. It had to be too soon. There was no way she would want to kiss him already.
Except her eyes were locked on to his, flicking back and forth in the telltale sign as she looked into his soul, evaluating what she saw. Kelly never pulled back, and Gray pulled together the courage to push his head that extra ten percent, to make it clear he was going in for the kiss. Then she would have to react, either accepting the move, or pulling away from him.
Her head tilted slightly as he came closer, exposing her lips to him. This was it. He was going to do it. They were going to kiss. Kelly’s eyelids began to close. His followed suit as he leaned in all the way.
“Hey, hope you don’t mind if we sit here!” A plate bounced onto the table without waiting.
Gray looked up to see two of the Kronum shifters he’d rescued plop their own plates down and snatch up chairs, resuming their conversation about something he had absolutely no interest in. Turning his attention back to Kelly, he saw that she’d returned to her side of the table, attention studiously fixated on something in the distance that only she could see.
The moment had passed.
He silently cursed his luck, before leaning back as casually as he could. Things could be going worse though. Kelly was still sitting there, which was a victory all on its own, regardless of the fact that she’d clearly shown interest in kissing him. Gray was over the moon about that. He’d known since he first laid eyes upon her that she was something special. His bear had been adamant that she was his mate, but he hadn’t necessarily believed it.
Even if he had, that didn’t mean Kelly did. Heck, she’d been trying to avoid him ever since their first meeting! Now though, even if she was looking thoroughly embarrassed about the interrupted moment between them, she wasn’t fleeing. That meant…something. What, he wasn’t entirely sure, but it was better than nothing. All he had to do now was make it count. Which meant not allowing her to get up and leave.
Speak. He had to talk. To say something to her, to grab her attention.
“What are you doing for the rest of the day?” he blurted, the first question to come to his brain.
Kelly looked over at him. He could see her working through various responses to the question as clearly as if it were daytime. But the words that came out of her mouth shocked the both of them.
“I’m not sure. What am I doing?”
Holy shit. She was giving him the rest of the afternoon. Together.
“I have to work,” he replied.
“Right, of course,” Kelly said, blinking rapidly and nodding quickly. “I…yeah.”
Gray stood up and walked around the table, extending a hand. Kelly looked up in confusion, but then took it, allowing herself to stand.
“I was kidding,” he said, linking her arm through his.
“You were?”
“Yeah. It only seemed fair to pay you back for the bed-hog remark earlier,” he teased.
She looked up at him. “I thought you said you were a bad flirter.”
“This is flirting?”
Kelly laughed. “I have no idea whether you’re serious or not, mister. Now, where are you taking me?”
“Are you up for a walk? Not long, I promise. We’re staying on the property. There’s just something I’d like to show you.”
“Taking me somewhere secluded?” she fired back, though she was nodding in response to his question.
“Actually no, it’s quite open,” he told her, guiding her back beyond the house, following the stone pathway.
“Good. I’m not supposed to be anywhere with you without an escort,” she said haughtily.
“Oh no? Why’s that?” he teased, starting to feel more comfortable with her. “Is someone afraid of your inability to resist my masculine charms?”
Kelly considered the question. “Yes, but that’s only because they don’t realize you have none.”
Her punchline brought his soaring self-esteem crashing back to earth with a full-body laugh that felt incredibly good. “Oh, of course not. My apologies to whomever I confused. I didn’t mean to give anyone such crazy notions like that.”
“
Apology accepted. But I believe I can convince them of the folly of their thoughts after having spent some time with you,” she stated.
Gray laughed some more. “Is that why I’ve been holding your hand for the past thirty seconds or so without issue?”
Kelly looked down between them. “We’re not holding hands,” she said, lifting her left hand to show him otherwise.
He reached up and snagged it, his fingers pushing between hers before Kelly could react. “Sorry. Check again,” he said, lowering the hand between them, daring her to pull hers back.
There was silence as they walked along a trail set into the forest behind Maximus Koche’s house. Trees towered above them, spaced out enough that sunlight filtered through to the ground easily enough, bathing them both in warm light as they walked. On either side bushes grew up, the last bits of color starting to fade as fall approached. Everything was still vibrant, but he knew it would start to change from green to the oranges and reds and browns of autumn soon enough.
“That was smooth,” Kelly said at last, her hand still enclosed within his.
“Thank you. Don’t presume anything from it, though. I’m never that good.”
The pair of them chuckled as he took them down the right-hand fork in the path. Birds sang overhead, and the trees became sparser, giving way to the sounds of running water. A moment later they reached the top of a slight hill. Before them a river had carved its way out of the land, winding back and forth through the countryside. It wasn’t overly wide, perhaps ten feet across, but it was clear, fresh water flowing smoothly over stones and rocks, burbling lively as it went by.
“Over here,” he guided her, pointing to a rock outcropping.
Kelly followed him, and they sat down, removing their shoes before letting their feet dangle over the edge and down into the water. It was warm and refreshing at this time of year, tempting enough to want to jump in if the situation arose. Gray considered suggesting it, but discarded the idea quickly. Kelly wouldn’t have a suit, and he wasn’t about to suggest they go in their underwear or less. He was bad with flirting, but he wasn’t that bad.