"Have a fun time," he said with what she thought was a sort of attempt at a smile.
"Thanks, I will." She gave Professor Columba an awkward smile and made her escape, leaving the couple alone.
For the professor's sake, she seriously hoped he was more facially animated in the privacy of their relationship than he was in public.
"I still can't believe I let you talk me into this." Corra hitched her backpack higher on her shoulder as she followed Darcy from the front desk of the hotel lobby to the elevator bay. Her nose twitched at the strong scent of vanilla and citrus permeating the space, lingering in the confines of the elevator.
Darcy answered with a shrug and swiped the card to access their floor. "It'll be fun, I'm sure."
"Right."
"What?" He shot her a glance.
"I can see that you're not thrilled to be here, so why should I be any more so? Other than the beach, I mean. I am thrilled to see the beach." She hadn't been able to stop her deep yoga breathing during the entire car ride from the airport to the hotel. The scents rolling in off the ocean called to her. Her canine self strongly wanted to run the length of the sands. Maybe chase a seagull or five.
Darcy's expression softened, and he ran his hand down her shoulder, her flesh sparking at the contact. "Thanks for doing this. I know I didn't really give you much of a choice." He said quickly, "I do appreciate it. I'll make it up to you."
She grinned at the unexpected show of gratitude. "I'll make sure you do." She winked, feeling more at ease than she thought she ever would in his presence.
Maybe it was the distance away from the microcosm of the Academy campus.
Or maybe it was the overwhelming ocean scents calling to her puppy brain.
Bryah and Caleb had assured her Darcy wasn't really the predatory sex maniac her primitive brain was painting him out to be. And so far, they were right. He'd been a perfect gentleman. A perfectly distracted gentleman from the time they'd left the Academy, even through the process to pick up their rental car, which, she might add, was another gorgeous bonus. She was sure she could convince him to let her take the sweet, sweet ride for a spin along the coastal highway.
She most certainly had not expected her inner puppy to be so boisterous and eager for this trip. She'd never had a vacation before. Never seen the ocean before. And certainly never been in such a beautiful car legally before.
But her very, very worrisome brain was working away at scenarios for the interview with Darcy's parents.
Why was she so stressed?
He obviously was.
She just had to be the convincing girlfriend for a few days so they'd get off his back. She couldn't imagine that kind of family pressure.
She swept a glance up to Darcy's face, patiently waiting for the elevator to open at their floor.
How far up were they going anyway? It was taking forever. And just like that, the signal ponged, and the doors swept open to a small foyer and several sets of doors. With a quick glance, Darcy turned left and opened the door to a sprawling penthouse apartment with a wall of windows overlooking the beach.
Corra dropped her stuff barely inside the door and found her nose pressed to the glass without another thought.
The ocean rolled toward them, its frothy surf spilling onto the sand and crashing into the legs of the distant piers. In the distance, it was a glittering carpet undulating under the divide between haze and sunset skies.
"It's so beautiful."
There was a sudden whoosh of sea air swirling into the room. She glanced to where Darcy stood with a smile, hand on the sliding door. She had no memory of walking through the opening, just suddenly standing on the balcony high above the ground breathing as deeply as she could, trying to absorb the very atmosphere, teetering between wanting to close her eyes and just be and taking in everything with her eyeballs.
They stood on a very private balcony, staged with perfectly angled thick-cushioned lounge chairs pointed at a central open gas fire pit.
"This is incredible," she said, deciding after the first surreptitious glance that looking down wasn't a great idea.
They stood side by side, staring at the vast ocean skyline for an eternity.
"What time are we expected?" she finally said.
"In an hour."
She nodded and reluctantly went back inside, gathered her things, and set about getting ready for the first meeting.
This was what she was here for. With a final glance out of the wall of windows, she went into the bathroom to shower and dress.
Darcy's gaze followed Corra as she walked through the bedroom and disappeared into the bathroom. As soon as he heard the faucet switch on, he checked his phone.
Katz was already here.
With another glance at the closed door, he sighed.
He'd never seen Corra so open and her expression so full of wonder and eagerness. Normally she was closed off and wore a perma-frown for anyone other than Bryah.
This was a whole different woman. He loved that first view of the ocean too.
But his mind was too full of the upcoming meeting with his parents.
He hadn't been this nervous about seeing them in a very long time.
Their relationship had become stretched and brittle.
What was he so afraid of?
Anyone else-anyone else—he wouldn't give them another care.
They were his parents.
He'd been their poster boy before. They'd indulged his every whim with a shrug and a smile.
Until now—the day he told them he wouldn't follow the path they had carefully lined up for him. He was going to follow his own thread.
A phase. They could indulge a phase, for a time. When they were ready for him to meet with reality and duty, then he would have to do so.
And it seemed now was that time.
This wasn't a phase.
This was his life.
He glanced down at the bed where Corra had left some of her things, including her phone.
He picked it up and was surprised to see she hadn't locked it. With a glance at the bathroom door, he thumbed through it, purely curious to see what kinds of apps she used. Ignoring the private things like email, messages, and photos, he instead found her music. Music said a lot about a person. What, he wasn't always sure of, but something. Corra piqued his curiosity. Most women melted to his charm. She seemed to become more rigid the more he tried, which defeated the purpose. Was it because she seemed disinterested that he found himself trying to worm his way under that rigidness? What for? To prove to himself he could?
Nah, too much effort. A thought wriggled into his brain that he actually liked her. There was something refreshing about her bullshit-free aura. She didn't play it up and didn't engage with it either.
He knew, deep down, she liked him too. Now and then he could scent her desire when he was near her for any amount of time. What would it take to break down that wall she kept between them?
Turning his attention back to the music under his thumb, he played the song "Short and Curlies," in progress by a band called The Barstool Prophets, which he'd never heard of. He smiled, surprised that Corra would have this in her playlist yet thinking how fitting it was. Engrossed in the song, he hadn't noticed the water stop or the door open.
Corra stood in the doorway, her eyes fixed on the music blaring from her phone. Then her gaze slid to Darcy's face.
"This is great. Who are these guys?"
After a moment, she relaxed, seemingly having decided to not get angry at him for invading her phone. "Eastern Ontario band from the '90s." She moved toward him, taking the device from his open palm. "I like that one, but this one is my favorite."
He glanced down as it started. Salt-N-Pepa’s “'Shoop.'”
She quirked a brow at him.
Laughter burst from him at the unexpected song choice. Grinning, he nodded, eyes on her smiling face.
Okay, now he was getting somewhere.
He flicked through the rest of
the playlist as they listened. Most of the rest were vintage grunge and rock bands with a few newer ones in there. There was a separate folder of real oldies, swing, blues, and classic rock.
He gave her back her phone with another laugh, then also went to shower and change.
10
Corra drew a deep breath. She and Darcy stood in the small foyer before a set of doors identical to those of their room. She threw him another glance, seeing a stiffness in his posture that she'd never seen in him before.
He rolled his wide shoulders under his jacket. His hands twitched below the cuffs of the sleeves at his sides. She slipped her hand into his, engaging the warmth of his fingers, which sent little tingles up through her arm. The sensation reminded her of the last time he'd touched her, skin to skin, on the training course. His hand had clamped around the underside of her thigh to boost her up so she could climb the wall.
The contact pulled his gaze from the door down to their joined hands then up to her face. He smiled, and his shoulders visibly relaxed to their usual angle.
His thumb slid over her fingers, and he pulled them to his mouth, grazing his warm lips across the knuckles.
The door opened, and he winked at her, lowering their joined hands between them, and turned his attention to Katz, who stood next to the open door.
They entered a suite identical to their own. Corra's eyes drifted toward the couple lounging on the cream sofa.
At ease in their environment, the woman, presumably Darcy's mother, sat with her legs crossed at the knee, frowning at a tablet, while a man with salt and pepper hair stood with a smile to greet them. The resemblance was unmistakable. This was Mr. Karak. Same dark hair, tanned skin, set of his jaw, and the slope of his nose. Older version. Same easy smile and grace of movement as he approached and offered a hand in greeting to Corra. He also carried Darcy's familiar caracal scent. Sunshine and musk.
She smiled and accepted the proffered hand.
He turned to Darcy with open arms. Father and son hugged, patting each other's backs, exchanging a few words of greeting.
By the time they disengaged, Mrs. Karak had set aside her tablet, stood in an easy movement, and stalked toward them, her gold-green eyes fixed on Corra. Her tawny hair was swept up with perfectly chosen tendrils to frame her strong feminine features. She emanated power and the scent of a lioness.
Corra greeted her as politely as she would anyone else, despite her gut alerting her to the predator approaching her, firmly gaining control of her hackles. Instead, she smiled. "Thank you for the invitation to come and meet you," she said.
Mrs. Karak's mouth quirked as her eyes swept from Corra's face to Darcy's. "Oh relax, Darcy, I won't maul your lovely lady."
Corra turned her face to see that Darcy's gaze was glued to her and his mouth was taut. She gave his hand a little squeeze, which eased the lines.
"Mother." He leaned forward to kiss her cheek.
"Katz, get Ms. Terry a drink," she said, languidly waving a hand toward her daughter. Her nose twitched, scenting Corra. "Canine," she said, turning with an arched brow toward her son.
Corra didn't react. She suspected Mrs. Karak knew this already and had been ready. She'd also expected more derision in the acknowledgment, but so far she found the woman to be unreadable.
Katz placed a drink in Corra's hand and another identical drink in her mother's. With a glance, she saw it was her usual and mused that Katz must have been paying attention during her brief time at the Hub.
Mrs. Karak drew the glass under her nose, smiled at Corra, and knocked the alcohol back in a fluid motion and a deep swallow. "I like to get to know others by tasting what they taste." She nodded her head, indicating Corra should imbibe.
She did and savored the familiar burn and spicy-sweet taste of the Patron tequila.
"Please sit," Mr. Karak offered.
Mrs. Karak smiled and moved back to her place on the couch, where her mate settled in beside her. Darcy and Corra sat on the couch facing them.
Corra wasn't exactly comfortable in the presence of Darcy's parents. She never let herself get ruffled. She'd been through these kinds of assessing interviews most of her life.
"I think you'd appreciate us getting straight to the point," Mrs. Karak said, accepting another glass from Katz with a smile, this one a wine glass.
Corra felt the tension in Darcy next to her. She found the total change in his demeanor interesting. In their short interactions, she'd never once seen him ill at ease, excepting the recent yoga incident. Glancing at his hand resting on his thigh beside her, she reached out and curled her fingers around his.
He gave her a light squeeze.
"Orphaned and in and out of foster homes, you made your own way," Mrs. Karak said, summing up Corra's early years in a few words.
Corra didn't respond.
"You're aware we are negotiating a marriage contract that Darcy is obliged to honor?"
"He told me what you expect of him." She inclined her head.
"And what I have no intention of fulfilling," Darcy said, drawing his mother's gaze.
A slight frown marred her smooth forehead for only a second. Her face was clear and impassive when she turned her gaze back to Corra. "What do you want?"
Corra frowned. "What do you mean?"
"Wow, Mother. I really didn't think you'd resort to this. It's so cliché." Darcy's voice was acidic, drawing his father's disapproving frown.
"Oh, I see," Corra said, over-exaggerating her response. "You want to buy me off so that Darcy is unobstructed in any way from fulfilling your contract. Clever." She shook a finger at Mrs. Karak, whose eyebrows went up into her hairline.
Corra's sharp hearing caught Katz's stifled snort from behind her.
"This deal must be very important to you. So important that you'd consider binding your son in a lifelong contract he doesn't want."
Mrs. Karak stared into Corra's face, not looking at her son. "It is significant. Darcy is well aware that every member of this family is expected to do their duty to maintain dynastic power so that everyone may flourish."
Corra glanced at Darcy, muttering, "Short and curlies."
His face split in a grin.
Corra shrugged. "So what you're saying is if he doesn't toe the line like everyone else, he'd be cut off from the fortune and have to flounder his way through life?"
Darcy's mother nodded.
Wow. Cold.
Mr. Karak looked uncomfortable.
"Darcy, you good with that?" Corra said, turning her gaze back to him next to her.
He nodded.
"Okay, that's that then," Corra said, getting up from the sofa. "It was interesting to meet you both. Thanks for the drink, Katz."
Katz's gaze was on her brother, her expression drawn with concern as she reached to open the door for them.
"I suspect, as an orphan, you'd do anything to get your hands on information about your family." Mrs. Karak's voice was clear and strong, halting Corra's footsteps.
Corra glanced up at Darcy, who watched her face. That was exactly why she'd agreed to this weekend ruse.
She turned back to Darcy's parents, straightening her shoulders. "The past is done." Her voice was low, and she swallowed the tremor of longing. "The future is what matters more."
There were other ways to find out.
Even though it was part of her bargain with Darcy to come here, she wasn't going to play his mother's game.
Her instinct to step up for Darcy back at the Hub had happened for a reason. She could clearly see that now. She wasn't going to abandon that instinct. Darcy needed someone to guard his back. She knew Caleb would have done that in a heartbeat. In this situation, someone else was needed.
She'd just stepped into the foyer when she heard Mrs. Karak's voice and Darcy's sharp inhale.
"This one is more complicated than the last one."
Darcy's foot swished on the polished tile as he spun toward his mother. "What's that supposed to mean?"
Mrs
. Karak shrugged. "Humans are easier to handle."
Darcy's world tilted.
Corra's hand on his back righted his sudden disorientation as he stared at his mother, his head buzzing.
His mother smiled at him, revealing nothing more about her meaning. "Good night," she said.
He'd get nothing more from her at this time, he knew. She'd tell him when she wanted to.
For now, he could only speculate on her meaning. And his thoughts went to all kinds of unhappy places.
Mindy. His ex-girlfriend. Human ex-girlfriend.
His suspicion burned through him like acid. He stopped walking and turned back to stare at the closed door to his parents' suite.
"Darcy?" Corra was gently pressing him toward their own door. He let her.
She closed the door after him with a click that snapped him out of his brain fog of shock.
"I need to get out of here," he said to her, suddenly prowling around the spacious room with the sweeping view as though it were an encroaching cage. "Do you like to dance?"
"Yeah, of course, but—"
"Okay, let's go." He grabbed the rental key from where he'd discarded it earlier on the coffee table.
"Shouldn't we change first?"
His eyes swept over her basic blouse and pants with a shrug. "You look fine to me."
Her watchful eyes on his face, she smiled and grabbed her small purse. "All right then, let's go."
They were down to the parking garage and speeding out of it again in moments, Corra silent beside him all the while. He could feel her assessing gaze on him while he drove.
"Out with it." He turned and gave her one of his smiles. "Are they what you expected?"
Corra shrugged. "I didn't grow up with parents, so any situation like that is unexpected. Being on the outside, you tend to see a lot more. Family dynamics are all the same, yet incredibly unique."
"How so?" he asked, curiosity piqued.
"Everyone has conflict with their parents. Kids want to do what they want to do. And parents want their kids to do what they feel is best for them and everyone else. Generally."
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