Chuckling, Harrison hung up and left me leaning against the sink, wondering what I was going to do when he got here and whether I’d regret my actions in the morning when I was sober.
When I returned to the table, Laila eyed me with a curious expression on her face. “What’d you just do? You look guilty as hell.”
“I might’ve called Harrison. He’s on his way.”
Parker laughed. “You drunk-dialed in secret! Party foul. We weren’t there to stop you.”
“Well, I said I was going to the ladies’ room. Y’all could’ve followed.”
They all laughed and Hannah stood up and grabbed my hand. “It’s totally our fault, but instead of focusing on our shortcomings, new friend, let’s dance until your man arrives to ravage you.”
I swayed to the music but shook my head. “Oh no, I don’t think there will be ravaging.”
“Girl, you booty-called him! There will be ravaging.”
“Maybe just a little third base.” I thought about it and flushed. “Yeah, third base would be okay.”
“What the fuck is a little third base?” Grace danced next to me, her eyes dancing with humor.
“I don’t know, like a little bit of...like…just a little bit…”
Laila held my hips and swayed with me. “There’s no such thing as a little bit of third base. I mean, can you suck a penis a little bit?”
Parker danced on my other side. “Or eat a—”
“Hello, ladies.” Harrison’s deep voice cut her off and sent a delicious tingle down my body and straight to my girly parts.
I turned and all but leaped into his arms. Wrapping myself around him, I looked up at him and smiled. “Do you think there’s such a thing as a little bit of third base?”
He arched a brow. “I think it depends on why you’re asking.”
“Come with me, I’ll tell you.” I took his hand and pulled him after me into the dimly lit back hall. I grinned up at him. “Just a little bit?”
16
Harrison
I groaned and braced my hands on either side of her head. As drunk as she seemed to be, Fern’s slender fingers were surprisingly swift and deft as they caught my belt buckle and tugged it open. My mouth went dry and I almost died right there—I wanted to kill myself after the words fell from my mouth next. “Fern, honey, stop.”
She looked up at me with the sexiest pout. “Why? Don’t you want a little bit of third base? Am I rushing you? We can stop at first and second along the way.”
I swore and wrapped my arms around her waist. “I’m not doing a little of anything with you while you’re drunk.”
“I’m not that drunk.” She tried making a stern face and giggled. “Okay, I’m drunk. But that doesn’t mean I don’t want to do this.”
“How about you sleep on it, and if you still want to do this, you call me in the morning and I’ll rush right over?”
She slumped into me. “I can’t talk you into it?”
Laughing, I pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “Not while you’re in this condition. At least, not for our first time.”
“Fine. Will you take me home, then?” She made a show of redoing my belt, but every other movement had her hands bumping against my rock-hard erection. It was painful, to say the least.
“Of course.”
“Thank you for coming to get me.”
“Any time, any day.”
I led her out of the back hall and toward the exit. Halfway there, the group of women who Fern had been with cornered me. Parker was there, leading the group. Another woman, one who worked at Jammie’s Salon with Fern, somehow managed to snatch Fern and pull her aside, leading her a few feet away from me.
I kept one eye on Fern as Parker looked up at me with her hands on her hips. “What are your intentions with Fern, mister? I mean, doctor.”
I almost laughed. That was the second time I’d been asked that question. I was glad, too. It showed how much people cared about my mate. “My intentions are to take her home safely and tuck her into bed. Alone.”
“Not what I meant and you know it.”
“If you’re not serious about her, you need to step down. We’ll take her home.”
A tall, very pregnant woman wagged her finger at me. “Are you serious about her?”
“As a heart attack. She’s my mate.”
The tall woman inhaled sharply, and a smile stretched across her face. Parker cheered. “Yay! That’s great. We thought so, but we wanted your confirmation. Well, get on out of here with her. What are you waiting for? Can’t you see that your mate is tired and ready to leave?”
I watched as Laila hugged Fern and then shoved her over toward me. “She’s had a bit too much to drink tonight, and it seems my friend here is a lightweight.”
I nodded. “I got her.”
“You’d better. We have an entire small army of polar bears and wolves at our disposal.”
I pulled a card from Kinsley’s deck and rolled my eyes. “And you can tell them to stand down. No one will protect Fern as fiercely or as loyally as I will. That, I promise you.”
She nodded. “That’s what we wanted to hear.”
Fern’s eyes darted between us and she raised her eyebrows. “I’m right here. I can hear all of you. I may be drunk but I’m not a child. I can take care of myself.”
As she swung her arms emphatically, she stumbled over her own feet, but I caught her just before she went down. Grinning, I scooped her up and carried her out of the bar into the cool night air, which was much more pleasant than the stuffy bar.
Fern let out a happy sigh. “We’re totally going to sleep together.”
I grinned so wide that my cheeks hurt. “Yes, we are.”
“It’s going to be epic, isn’t it?” She stroked my jaw and her head fell against my shoulder. “You have a great ass. Do you know that?”
I opened my truck, placing her on the passenger seat. When I reached for the buckle, she pushed my hand away and scooted to the center of the bench seat. I buckled her in there instead and walked around to the driver’s side, grinning like a lovesick fool. As I got in, Fern instantly molded herself to my side.
“I meant what I said about your ass. It’s great.”
Laughing, I wrapped my arm around her shoulders and held her as I drove toward her house. “Thank you. So is yours.”
“Did you know that some couples have sex once a day or more? Like every day?” She hiccupped. “That’s a lot of practice. I’ve only tried it once, but I think I could be okay at it. With practice. Especially if I was practicing with you. You are a giant turn-on.”
The truck swerved a little as I jerked. Tightening my grip on the wheel, I cleared my throat and shifted to ease the pressure in my pants. “You’re going to be amazing.”
“Shouldn’t we just, like, practice?” She rested her delicate hand on my thigh. “Just a little?”
“Not until you sober up.”
“Oh, come on.” She grunted. “Please?”
Melting under her soft plea, I just held her more tightly and turned on Magnolia. As I figured she would, she fell asleep before I even pulled up in front of her house and shifted into park. When I asked her where Kinsley was, she stirred a little and mumbled something unintelligible.
I carried her into the unlocked house, something we’d be discussing later, and to her bedroom. I didn’t allow myself to look around her personal space any more than was necessary. I wanted to see and know and learn everything about her, but only when she was ready. I slipped her sandals off, tucked a pillow behind her to keep her lying on her side, and pulled the blankets up to her chin before placing a wastebasket beside her in case she felt sick. I stood and watched her for a minute, grinning at how adorable she was, before leaving to find Kinsley.
She was easy enough to find by scent—just a street over and a couple of blocks down in a nice house right on the water. There was a mingling of scents around the home. Besides Kinsley’s, Parker’s was strong, as was her infant�
�s, Stella. There was also a scent of bear—polar bear—which I assumed was Parker’s mate since he was a member of a group of polar bears who had recently relocated to Sunkissed Key. When I knocked, the door was opened by a wolf shifter who wore the scent of Fern’s work friend. The guy had a dark scowl on his face and glitter sprinkled everywhere else.
“I’m picking up Kinsley.”
“Thank god! Normally, I would ask your name and check your ID, but nope. Take her. If you’re kidnapping her, heaven help you.”
“I can hear you!” Kinsley marched out of the house in a gust of indignation and glitter. “Hey, Doc. Can you believe this goof worked for the CIA?”
I stifled a laugh. “Come on, trouble. Time to get you home.”
“Where’s my mom?”
“In bed already.” I nodded a thanks to the poor guy, who looked like he’d just descended to the bowels of hell and back, and Kinsley and I walked back to her house. “So, you tortured an ex-CIA agent? Why doesn’t that surprise me?”
“They thought I needed a babysitter. Do you know how insulting that is?” She scoffed. “He’ll be cleaning glitter out of his hair for months.”
I winced. “That’s rough.”
“He treated me like I was a child.”
“Ah. So, it was a justified glitter assault?”
“Without a doubt.”
I followed her up the stairs and into her house. “Does Boots need to go out?”
“Yeah. I’ll take care of it.”
“I’ll stay until you’re finished. Then, you’re going to lock this door. Do the two of you usually leave it unlocked?” I grunted and palmed my forehead. “I’m turning into my father.”
“Gross.”
I grunted again and waited as she took the puppy out back to do his business while I did my best to ignore my bear’s demands to crawl into bed next to my mate and hold her while she slept. As much as I wanted to, I would wait.
17
Fern
I was never drinking tequila again. After throwing up all morning, my stomach finally settled enough for me to pop a couple of ibuprofen. I suffered a hangover all day on Sunday, which resulted in me making a solemn vow never to set foot in Mimi’s again. Unless it was for a very good reason and there was no tequila.
By the time I got to work on Monday morning, I felt better for the most part. My morning was fully booked, but after lunch, I only had a few clients scheduled. I had time to sit with Laila and chat about Saturday night. They’d stayed out much later than I had and had a wild time that only ended when their men came and got them.
Laila also informed me that Gray no longer wanted children, thanks to Kinsley. She’d not only managed to cover the man in glitter but also proceeded to mock him mercilessly about how a pro spook had allowed a “child” to sneak up and glitter bomb him. Gray had not been at all amused. Laila and I, however, got a good laugh. When her attacks weren’t focused on me, I could almost appreciate my child’s moxie.
When the conversation turned to me, I was evasive. Some of the night was a blur. I vaguely remembered propositioning Harrison, and that he’d turned me down. In fact, I’d spent a good deal of Sunday stressing over that. What happened after, though, was a blank. I’d surmised that he’d taken me home and tucked me into bed before getting Kinsley. It made me break into a sweat just thinking about being in my bedroom with Harrison. The fact that I’d been too drunk to even remember it was a shame.
After Laila finished with her last client, she dragged me into her chair. While she worked on my hair, she pelted me with questions about Harrison.
“What did he say? How did he tell you—the exact words? I mean, he told the entire bar, so I’m assuming he told you. What are your plans?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Don’t play coy with me, sister. He confirmed to everyone at Mimi’s that you’re his mate.”
I frowned. “His mate?”
She rolled her eyes and brushed out a curl. “Yes, his mate. Like Gray is my mate and Maxim is Parker’s mate. You know what I’m talking about.”
I swallowed and slowly shook my head. “I passed out. He didn’t mention anything about a mate, not that I remember, anyway. What does that mean, anyway? Mate? I know you call your boyfriends that, but I just thought it was a shifter term for boyfriend. Does it have another meaning?”
Laila’s face turned red and she spun me around in the salon chair to face her. “You don’t know?”
I shook my head. “Um, I don’t know. Know what? What don’t I know?”
“You don’t know!” She covered her face with her hands, nearly poking her eye out with a sharp end of a rat tail comb, and groaned. “Oh crap! I’m such a big-mouth. I thought you were just messing around. I am so sorry, Fern. Oh god, just tape my mouth shut.”
I took the comb from her and placed it on the counter behind me before someone got hurt. “I don’t know what’s happening right now. You want to stop and explain?”
“How do you not know about mates? You’re raising a shifter.” When I gave her a look, she gasped. “I am so sorry! There I go again with my mouth. I didn’t mean it like that. I am going to go play in traffic right now.”
“How ‘bout you just spit it out instead?”
“Right. Okay. Mates are like…soul mates. Shifters have one other person on earth that they connect to on that level. One and only one. Sometimes we never find them, but if we do—when we do—it’s like all the fireworks and all the love sonnets rolled together in one big orgasmic package. It’s a love that never grows old and never dies. That’s what you and Harrison are. Mates. That feeling you get around him? It’s because you’re mates.”
I laughed. It was ridiculous. Sure, I had feelings for the man, but soul mates? That wasn’t a real thing…
“I’m dead serious. You two are mates. He told us last night at the bar. The man is already head over heels for you, that was clear to everyone last night. Think about it. He kept stopping by the salon last week trying to see you. He also went and fetched Kinsley for you from Parker’s. By the way, Gray said the two of them looked chummy, which made Gray suspect Harrison might be her accomplice, but that’s a story for another day.”
I hesitated. “Why didn’t I know about this mate thing?”
“Good question. Kinsley’s dad never mentioned anything about it?”
“He didn’t mention much of anything. He was eighteen and gone by the time I was a few months pregnant. He’d been a senior and a popular high school jock, I’d been an awkward freshman nobody. We met at a party one night and one thing led to another. We only slept together the one time and he only told me what he was because he knew it’d be quite the surprise when Kinsley was born if I’d never heard of shifters.”
“What an asshole.”
“How… Why me? If it’s true, why am I his mate?”
Laila made a face. “Why not? You’re great. He’s lucky to have a mate like you.”
“So, you’re telling me that we’re fated to be together?”
“Yep. Mates are forever. No matter what. You were destined for each other.”
My chest fluttered. “So, sleeping with him wouldn’t make me some cheap floozie?”
“No! Even if you weren’t mates, it wouldn’t. Hello, this is the twenty-first century. Our sisters fought hard during the sexual revolution. Let’s not let their sacrifice be in vain.”
“Um, you do know the sexual revolution wasn’t an actual physical war, right?”
She merely shrugged and continued styling my hair.
“Maybe I should go and talk to him about all of this. Yeah, I need to talk to him.”
Laughing, Laila held me down in her chair. “Not until I’m finished with your hair. You’re only half-done right now.”
The longer I sat in Laila’s chair, the more antsy I became. I couldn’t stop replaying her words in my head. Harrison was my mate. Forever. Meant to be. He’d known. When he promised me that he wasn’t going anywhere, that wasn
’t an empty promise. He knew. I wondered why he hadn’t told me. I wondered how Kinsley was going to react. I wondered what our lives would look like—the three of us.
Kinsley was my main priority. She needed me. She technically needed more than I was able to give her, probably, but I was what she had—all she had. I couldn’t lose my focus on that, no matter what. No man came before my child, no matter what kind of soul mate they were.
Soul mate… I moved the word around my mouth, tasting it, muttering it under my breath, trying it on for size. It still felt strange, but Laila was totally right about Harrison. I felt drawn to him like Kinsley was drawn to trouble. Between arguing with my daughter and juggling my disasters, he’d been on my mind in one way or another since I’d met him.
“It’s true, Fern. That man is yours and you’re his.”
I met Laila’s eyes in the mirror and gripped the top of my thighs. “I have Kinsley…”
“Now, you have Kinsley and Harrison.” She shrugged. “It’s just nature. I’d bet you were already taken with the man before I said anything.”
I knew my cheeks were turning pink. “What if she doesn’t want him to be a part of our family?”
Laila shrugged. “At some point, your own happiness has to matter. Kinsley seems like she’s going through that phase where nothing is going to make her happy except making everyone around her miserable. Even so, it sounds like she might be rather fond of Harrison. Gray seemed to think so.”
Groaning, I let my head fall back. “Why does everything suddenly feel more complicated than when the two of us were just dating? I guess because you make it sound so serious.”
“It is serious. I’d be surprised if you two aren’t married six months from now.”
“Oh Jesus! Give me a heart attack, why don’t you?”
October, who had apparently been eavesdropping, leaned over from her station next to Laila, her long black hair crimped into some wild style atop her head. “I’m going to literally scream if the women around here don’t stop bitching when it comes to taking these hot men off the market. First Laila and now you? It sounds to me like you need to stop pussyfooting around, woman, and go claim your man.”
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