Chapter Six
Declan
Declan had always been an early riser. It came in handy on more than one mission where his life and the lives of his team were on the line. He watched the sunrise from his hotel window while he thought about Lily. She was a strong, stubborn woman. When he’d first laid eyes on her, he’d been convinced there was no way in hell she could handle a man like him: someone with a dark past. Now, he wasn’t so sure. She’d gone toe to toe with him like it was the most natural thing in the world. Lily Quinn was a spitfire and he was looking forward to verbally sparring with her again.
That morning, when he left the hotel, he opted to walk to Lily’s apartment. The exercise would do him good and it would give him time to get his thoughts in order. Along the way, he passed a street vendor selling flowers and stopped to take a look at what the woman had to offer. One particular group of flowers caught his eye. They were lilies but they were in a shade he’d never seen before. The blooms were a deep, crimson red. “What kind of lilies are these?,” he asked the street vendor. “I’ve never seen any in this color before.”
“Those are arabesque lilies.”
“I’ll take a dozen.” The crimson petals reminded him of Lily’s fiery spirit, and something told him she’d appreciate them more than the generic bouquet of roses men seemed to always get as if there weren’t any other flowers out there. He wasn’t a traditional sort of man; he wasn’t getting the traditional flowers.
Declan stood outside Lily’s apartment building and took a moment to admire the brick facade with it’s iron lattice balconies. It took him only a moment to find Lily’s balcony, and he envisioned what she must look like sitting on the wicker sofa with the morning sun kissing her skin and bringing out the gold highlights in her chestnut hair. He hoped to see it in person and see if his imagination did it justice, soon. Really fucking soon.
With a shake of his head, he went inside. It was already warm out and he knew by afternoon it was going to be so humid he wouldn’t want to be out in it. How in the fuck had Lily acclimated to the heat and humidity of Louisiana after growing up in Montana?
Lily
Lily was awake before six a.m. for the first time in a long time. She was anxious, nervous, and excited about Declan coming to her apartment for breakfast. She tried to push the excitement down because she had no business feeling that way about the man. The problem was her wolf disagreed. Her wolf was very happy to think about him. If her wolf had her way they’d do a lot more than think about him. She wondered again if she’d lost her mind by asking him to come to her apartment to talk. Surely they could have gone to Jackson Square and found a quiet spot to talk that early in the day? But no, she’d already invited him here and now she had to get her butt in gear if she hoped to be ready when he arrived.
After a quick shower, she put her hair up in a clip to get it off her neck and went to work in her small kitchen. She’d debated on what to make before deciding to go with some more traditional New Orleans breakfast foods. She made a frittata loaded with ham, onion, peppers, mushrooms, and three cheeses, grillades and cheese grits, and creole cream cheese topped with berries and sprinkled with sugar. By the time she got everything done and had her small two-seater table set, it was just a few minutes before nine.
Lily was putting the finishing touches for their breakfast—coffee with real cream and sugar and a pitcher of orange juice—on the table when there was a knock on her door. She glanced at the time and took a deep breath. Declan was there. She couldn’t put this off even if she was second-guessing herself. Once again she wondered why she’d invited him over for breakfast as she made her way to the door. She must have had a momentary lapse in sanity.
Lily opened the door and couldn’t help but stare for just a moment. Declan stood there in a pair of snug-fitting jeans, a T-shirt that clung to him like a second skin, and a pair of black leather boots. Her gaze traveled down his body and back up to find him smirking at her.
“Like what you see, doll?” There was a wicked grin on his face.
Lily felt flustered. “So you look good; it’s not like you don’t already know it.” She stepped back and motioned him inside. “Come on in; breakfast is already on the table.”
He stepped in and held the bouquet out to her. “Beautiful lilies for an even more beautiful Lily.”
Lily rolled her eyes at the cheesy comment. Still, the flowers were really pretty and unique. “They’re lovely, thank you. I’m a little surprised you didn’t bring me roses.” When she took them from him to go put them in water, their fingers touched, and she felt a jolt of electricity that sent a shiver of need coursing through her. She knew Declan could smell her sudden arousal.
At her comment Declan shrugged. “Roses are too boring, too traditional. Why would I want to be like every other guy out there and bring a beautiful woman something so common? I’d rather be remembered as the man who brought something remarkable with him.”
“These are definitely remarkable. I’ve never seen lilies in this color before.”
“The lady I bought them from called them arabesque lilies. They reminded me of you and your fiery temper.”
Lily rolled her eyes at him again to hide the fact she thought it was actually sweet. “Come on, have a seat. I hope you’re hungry.”
Declan stopped her before she could sit. “Oh, I am, but not necessarily for food,” he growled. He reached up and pulled the clip from her hair, so it could cascade down her shoulders, before he kissed her.
Lily leaned into the kiss for several seconds. The heat and intensity made her toes curl, had things low in her body tightening almost painfully with need, and left her dripping wet. Then logic reared it’s head and she jerked away from him. “Damn it! You can’t keep doing that!” Her voice came out an angry hiss as she backed up several steps to put distance between them.
“That’s where you’re wrong, Lily. I already told you I get what I want, and I want you. It would be different if you weren’t affected at all, but I can smell your arousal. I can see the flush in your cheeks from our kiss, and I’ll bet if I slipped my hand into your panties right now, I’d find you dripping wet. You want me just as much as I want you; you’re just too scared to admit to it. Yet.”
“You are such an arrogant bastard, you know that? I’m not afraid; I already told you I am not available but you’re just like every other arrogant male out there. You ignore anything beyond what you want, and you go after the ones you can’t have just to drop them like yesterday’s garbage the instant you get what you want from them.”
Declan moved so fast she didn’t have time to move out of the way. He pinned her against the kitchen counter and pressed against her. “Let’s get one thing straight, doll. I’ll admit I’m arrogant and I can be a bastard, but you can take me out of that pile you lumped me into because there’s one thing I won’t fucking do and that’s drop you once I have you. And mark my words, Lily, I will have you. It’s only a matter of time before I have you writhing beneath me and begging me to fuck you.”
Lily was startled when she found herself pinned against the counter. She could feel every hard muscle in his toned body pressed against her, and the feel of his arousal against her belly made her feel weak in the knees. In that moment she was glad he was pressed against her because she wasn’t so sure she’d be able to stay standing otherwise. He shook her to the core and weakened her resolve with just a look. She really was stupid for having him come to her apartment to talk instead of meeting him in public somewhere.
Declan
Declan took several deep breaths to calm himself, and his wolf, before he stepped back and took a seat at the table. He watched Lily through hooded eyes. He knew he affected her as strongly as she affected him, and if he was completely honest with himself, he had to admit he admired her loyalty. She wasn’t a woman who gave in to casual lust, and when she was in a committed relationship, she stayed true to that relationship. Those were qualities he admired and wanted in his mate; he just wished she felt that way toward him instead of some human prick who didn’t appreciate what he had.
After a couple of minutes Lily seemed to pull herself together and took the seat opposite Declan. “Right, so, about the Black Water Pard,” she said, deliberately changing the subject. “You’re probably wondering how long I’ve known them and how much of a connection I have with them, given the friendliness between Remy, Gage, and I.” She kept her gaze averted while she poured herself a glass of orange juice.
“I did notice you seemed awful cozy with them. A bit odd given they’re cats.”
“Their species has nothing to do with them as people.” She narrowed her eyes at him.
“Not many wolves think that way. I’m glad to see you’re more open-minded than most of our kind.” He’d worked with shifters from various species; he didn’t discriminate but many did, and he’d been testing her to see how she felt about it.
“Yeah, well.” She looked a little flustered but continued with her explanation. “Anyway, as I was saying, I was in New Orleans about two weeks when Remy and Gage came in; I’d been working at the shop for about a week—yeah I’d gotten lucky and Emile hired me on the spot when I went in to apply for the job. Right away they knew what I was and things got a little tense, at first. They didn’t know if I was part of a pack trying to move into their territory or not, but Emile let me take a break and I sat down and talked with them. I told them the bare bones about why I was in New Orleans and that night they took me to meet their Alpha. Caine Bordeaux is pretty intense, like most Alphas, but he’s fair-minded. With Caine, I had to go into more detail; he wouldn’t accept the barest of information, but he heard the sincerity in my voice when I told him I was a lone wolf who’d fled her pack because I was being forced to bond with someone I had no attraction to or connection with. He let me stay, and once a week, since then, Remy and Gage have stopped in for a cup of coffee. I think they’re really just checking up on me but we’ve become friends. Gage and his mate, Mia, are expecting their first child any day now and I’ve been invited to the naming ceremony they’ll be having once it’s here.”
“That’s a big deal, being invited to a naming ceremony, Lily. It means they think of you as more than a friend. You’re family, part of their Pard even though you’re not a leopard shifter.”
She smiled a bit. “I know. I told them both I was humbled by their acceptance of me. I think of them the same way and I would do anything for them.”
“That’s because you’re a good woman.”
She blushed at the compliment. “Thank you.” She took a bite of her breakfast before she continued. “Before they left yesterday, Gage pointed out that since you’re in their territory uninvited, I need to bring you to meet with their Alpha. Otherwise you might have trouble with those in the Pard who haven’t met you yet. I’m off tomorrow, so we can do that tomorrow evening. I won’t be available until about six.”
“You just tell me where to meet you, doll, and I’ll be there.” He turned his attention to his food. “This looks and smells really good. Did you fix it yourself?” At his question, she arched a brow.
“I can pick you up in front of the coffee shop a little after six. “Yes I fixed it myself. What, you think I got up at the crack of dawn and ran out to a restaurant to buy it? As if. If I didn’t know how to cook, I wouldn’t have invited you to breakfast.” There was indignation in her voice.
He chuckled at her tone. “Good to know my woman knows how to cook.”
“And there you go ruining things with that arrogant bullshit again.” This time there was teasing in her tone.
He just smirked at her. “Are you inviting your friend to tag along with us tomorrow? I’m assuming she’ll have to meet with them as well? Why isn’t she already with them anyway?” He’d picked up on her scent before he’d left the coffee shop and knew she was a leopard.
“She just moved here from Phoenix so she hasn’t had the chance to meet with the Pard, and yes, she’ll be coming with us.” She looked down at her plate a moment before she returned her gaze to him. “Declan, I need you to stop pushing so hard. Please. I need time to figure out what the hell I’m going to do. I know this attraction between us can’t be helped, but it’s animal instinct. I can’t just suddenly end a relationship, that hasn’t had any serious problems, without taking into account the pain it’s going to cause. Keith is a good man, and I know you don’t want to hear it, but my relationship with him has been good and I care about him a great deal.”
Declan watched her a moment. “I can’t promise to stop pushing, but I can promise to not kiss you again. For a while, at least. But I’m not a patient man, Lily. I won’t give you forever to agonize over this.” The fact he was even willing to give her time to figure out her feelings suggested he valued her integrity.
“I’ve already figured out that patience isn’t one of your virtues.”
Declan laughed. One thing he could say about his mate—she was going to keep him on his toes—when she finally gave in and gave herself to him. Her wicked sense of humor, combined with her stubbornness, turned him on in a way he’d never felt toward a woman before. He wanted to bury himself in her so deep she wouldn’t be able to think about another man for the rest of her life.
Lily
Shelli sat down across from Lily during a lull in customers and set a cup of tea in front of her friend. “Okay, girl, it’s time to dish,” she said and propped her elbows on the table. “The hottie who keeps coming in to see you, who is he?”
Lily took a sip of her tea before she responded. “I’m surprised you waited this long to ask me that. Do you remember me telling you about my father?” She paused for a moment and, when Shelli nodded, she continued. “Well, there are some things about my leaving that might be a little difficult to…wrap your head around. Um, see, the thing is, I’m a wolf shifter.” She watched Shelli closely to gauge her reaction.
“Wolf shifter? You mean you turn into a wolf on the full moon?”
“That’s an old wives’ tale, that we’re controlled by the phases of the moon. I can turn into a wolf anytime I want to.”
“That’s…kind of nifty. I always knew there was something different about you. What does that have to do with your father?”
“It doesn’t freak you out?” Lily was startled by the sense of relief she felt over her friend’s response.
“Why should it? I’ve always known shifters existed. I mean, hello, Remy and Gage Delacroix went to school with me and my brother.”
“I’m just…relieved. Okay, so moving on. Among shifters, we each have a mate, someone who, when we meet them, we know right away they were meant for us. Not all shifters are lucky enough to meet their mates but when they do the attraction can be…intense. My parents were lucky; they had that deep connection. Eleven years ago my mom was killed by a hunter who thought she was a regular wolf. If she’d still been alive, things might have been different, but she wasn’t there to make my father see reason. He’d been pushing me to choose a mate because I’m his only child and he’s the pack’s Alpha, and he felt it was my duty to take a mate and give him an heir. When I continued to refuse, he gave me an ultimatum. He decided between two members of our pack and told me I had until the full moon, which was a week away, to decide on one of them or he’d decide for me. I made a different choice entirely; I left. This past Mardi Gras, a member of one of the other packs in that area was down here and saw me. The shifter reported it to their Alpha, who in turn told my father. He sent Declan down here to find me and bring me home. There’s just one problem with that. I have no desire to ever go back to Montana.”
“So tell Mr. Hottie that and send him packing.”
“I tried. He won’t listen to reason. I don’t know if he still wants to take me back to Montana but…he’s my mate. He won’t leave because he wants me and he’s determined to get me, and Goddess help me because I want him just as much.” She was almost afraid to look at her friend, afraid of the look that might be on her face. When she finally lifted her gaze to Shelli’s, she was startled to see compassion in her eyes.
“Oh, sugar, that’s got to be really rough on you. You’re not the kind of girl to stray, and you and Keith have been together for what, two years now? What are you going to do?”
“I don’t know. Fight it until I can’t. I know it’s animal instinct. My wolf is drawn to him and maybe that’s influencing my attraction to him. If I cant fight it, I’ll have to figure out how to end things with Keith. I don’t want to, I care about him, but if it gets to the point where I can’t resist the pull between Declan and I, it wouldn’t be fair to Keith to keep the relationship going. Hell, to be honest, I should tell him about my attraction to Declan anyway, because I know if he was really attracted to another woman I’d want to know about it. I just don’t know how to do it. How do you tell the only person you’ve been attracted to for two years, the guy you’ve been happy with, that suddenly that’s changed because some guy walked into the shop and made your entire body go haywire?”
“That’s a hard question to answer unless…does Keith know you’re a shifter?”
“No. I-I’ve just never figured out how to tell him. I know I should have by now but, hell, I was nervous telling you and we’re just besties. I guess I’ve just been afraid that he’d be horrified and dump me for it.”
Shelli winced at her response. “I know this isn’t what you want to hear, but just be honest with him. Completely. Don’t leave anything out, including the fact that you’ve been keeping a big part of who you are from him all this time. You’re absolutely right that you should have told him before now. I might understand why you didn’t say anything, but you still should have.”
Lily rested her forehead on the table and sighed. “Just shoot me and put me out of my misery. You’re right, I don’t want to hear that, but you’re also right that I need to be honest with him. How can my life get so screwed up in such a short time?”
“You’re just lucky like that.” Shelli couldn’t help but tease her. When customers walked in, she hopped up. “Finish your tea; I’ll take care of them.” She stood and put on one of her flirty smiles as she approached the two men who waited at the counter.
Lily shook her head. Shelli had a knack for stating the obvious in a way that didn’t offend, and she could make anyone who walked through the door feel comfortable and as if they were the center of the universe.
By the time they closed up that night, Lily still hadn’t figured out how she was going to sit down and tell Keith everything. She cared about him and she didn’t want to hurt him, and damn it, she’d been happy until Declan showed up.
“Talk to him, Lily; you owe him that much,” Shelli said as she locked the door behind them.
“I know, I know. He’s out of town for a couple of days on a business trip his boss sprung on him on short notice. I’ll figure out how to tell him when he gets back. I hope.” With that she said good-night and headed home. She had a busy day ahead of her; she was going to help Emelise start cleaning up the property she’d bought and then later she had to take both Eme and Declan to meet the Alpha of the Black Water Pard. A dominant wolf surrounded by leopards, what could possibly go wrong?