Chapter Eleven
“You’re grinning like the cat that got the cream.” Julie turned to Heidi as soon as they were alone in the elevator. “How was your cabana-bang?”
“Julie!” Heidi laughed. “I did not have sex with them in there, sheesh.”
“Why not?” Her friend looked confused.
“Well, mostly because they shut me down as soon as I went for their pants.” But the smile on her face only got wider. “They said, and I quote, our first time will be romantic and special because that is what I deserve.”
Julie just stared back at her for a minute, then she smiled back. “Wow. They really said that?”
“Yup.”
They didn’t speak for the few minutes that it took to get back to their room. Heidi thought Julie was being uncharacteristically quiet, given what had happened this afternoon.
“So … do you think these guys are the real deal, then?” Julie finally asked quietly.
Heidi fell back on the bed with a sigh. She’d be lying if she hadn’t asked herself the exact same question. Since the first moment she saw both Mason and Wade, there had been something electrifying about them. Being with them felt so natural and so real—was this what it felt like to find your mate? Shit, how would she know … it's not like her father had ever talked to her about it. After her mother had died, he didn’t really seem to want to talk about much of anything. But she understood that he was sad. She missed her mom as well.
“How do you know if someone is your mate?” she bit the bullet and asked.
Julie didn’t answer immediately, but when she did, it was with a serious expression.
“You just know. Touching them is like coming home.” Julie answered quietly, her expression sad. “Your beast inside wants no other, and you would go anywhere and do anything with them, content as long as they were beside you.”
Alarm bells were going off in Heidi’s head at Julie’s oddly specific explanation and even more so, the fact that it made her stoic friend sad to talk about finding your mate—something was clearly wrong.
“Are you okay, Julie?” She sat up on the bed, alarmed. “What’s going on? Are you telling me what I think you’re telling me—have you met your mate?”
At the accusation, Julie seemed to pull herself together and shake off whatever was troubling her, but Heidi knew her bestie’s fake smile when she saw it.
“What?” Julie rolled her eyes. “Oh, my God, Heidi, what are you talking about? No, that’s just how my aunts always described it to me. Sheesh—and we were talking about you! Do you think those tall, dark, and tiger-striped bookends are your mates?
Heidi burst out laughing at Julie’s description of Wade and Mason. But it really was that simple wasn’t it? What was her lioness telling her?
“Yes … I think they are.” Heidi felt the same surprise as the answer left her lips that registered on Julie’s face. It was true. Heidi was usually a little more cautious in her decision making—Julie was constantly ribbing her for that. But in times like these when it came to claiming one’s mates … shouldn't this be the moment to be bold and take risks? Well, her lioness certainly thought so. She could feel its satisfaction at her declaration.
“Well, then, I think this calls for the red dress.” Julie winked and grabbed the tissue-wrapped package out of her suitcase, laying it on the bed next to Heidi.
Watch out, boys. If you think you’re saying no to me tonight, you’d better think again. The red dress conquers all.
****
“What’s wrong with you?” Mason whispered, stepping in front of Wade so the girl at the desk couldn’t see his sudden reaction to her flirting, but Mason knew his friend well enough to see the tension around his eyes.
“I don’t know,” Wade furiously whispered back, “my tiger doesn’t like her, and it's being a pain in my ass.”
“Yeah? Well, get it together. I have a feeling she’s going to be nothing compared to the one that’s coming.”
How right he was. When the elevator opened up and the lithe little cheetah sauntered out to meet them, her eyes lit up like a child’s on Christmas morning. Her dress was so short the entire world would get an eyeful if she walked too quickly, and the neckline was barely high enough to contain the globes currently trying to abandon ship—that push-up bra was definitely working overtime.
“You must be the gentlemen that Marcy called me about.” Her smile was predatory as she extended her hand in a greeting. “I’m Serena.”
“Mason and Wade. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Serena.” Mason took her hand and forced himself to place a lingering kiss on the back of it. His tiger was now also becoming an issue—it wanted away from this woman, badly.
Close up, there were even more things about this female that were odd for a shifter. Her hair was very long, almost to her waist, but there was a strange scent coming from it that Mason could only assume meant she was wearing extensions. Her lips were exaggeratedly plump, and her eyebrows were disturbingly unmoving. Having spent most of his life around mixed shifter and human high society, Mason was no stranger to the look of a woman who spent too much time at the plastic surgeon’s, but he’d never seen a shifter female who had taken it this far. The very idea of a shifter female getting any kind of plastic surgery was seriously unattractive, and Mason couldn’t imagine how her animal half had reacted to having something like that done. The upkeep alone must have been tedious, as a shifter’s metabolism would burn through any toxins introduced to the body such as Botox or various fillers. If it hadn’t been for Serena’s scent outing her as a shifter, he would have assumed she was full human if he’d passed her on the street. How sad that her vanity took priority over being true to her very nature.
“We were told that you were the woman to speak with to get us set up properly to enjoy all the ship has to offer to its fullest,” Mason winked at her and tried like hell to ignore the snobby yowling of his cat, still causing a ruckus in his head as he laid on the charm. “You certainly are a clever little minx to have come up with such a program.”
“Well, maybe I can tell you both about it over some drinks and dessert … later tonight?” she blinked those long fake eyelashes at them, and he had to fight the instinct to recoil.
“Ah, that would have been lovely, pet,” Wade stepped in, running a finger along her arm, “but unfortunately we’ve got plans tonight. How about we meet for a drink tomorrow afternoon, and you can dazzle us?”
“Oh,” she pouted, her voice taking on a low, sexy timbre, “I’m sure you’d have a better time with me than whoever you plan on meeting tonight. Are you certain there isn’t anything I can do to change your minds?”
She moved her hand to rest on his chest. Mason had a feeling that she’d do just about anything to change their minds, and the thought had his tiger snarling at him to leave her presence immediately before it did something that they’d both regret—like rip her throat out for daring to touch them.
“What can we say, dove? I’m certain you would, however, a real man doesn’t go back on his word, and we’ve committed to a dinner companion.” He could see a flash of irritation in her eyes at their refusal, so he took a chance and sweetened the pot to make sure that she didn’t cancel. He had a feeling that if they played Serena just right, her ego would cause her to tell them everything they needed to know about this little wristband scam.
“Why don’t we meet at the Black Cat, say 2:00?” He knew when her smile returned with the name of the popular BDSM club on the ship that she was anticipating more than just a few drinks.
“Perfect.” She leaned closer in, her cloying perfume wrapping around him like a parasitic vine. “I have a table there under my name. If you arrive early, just tell the bartender you’re meeting me.”