Erika
She watched Harden go, wondering what had happened. Although he had undoubtedly tried hard, she’d sensed his body language change, but at what she wasn’t entirely sure. Something had obviously come up. Shrugging to herself, she reached for the tongs, aiming to dump another pile of shrimp on her plate.
A big hand of rough, callused skin beat her to it. She pulled her hand back and followed the hand to the arm and up to the face of the person it belonged to.
“Hi.”
“Hello,” she said, cautiously eying the rather happy-looking fellow. He’d stopped bothering with the tongs the moment he had her attention, a sure sign he’d timed his reach perfectly. This was no accident.
“Lovely food, isn’t it?” he asked, standing up straight, an empty plate in his hand.
“Delicious,” she agreed.
He was good-looking in his own way, tall with a natural gray tint to his hair. The dark charcoal-gray suit he wore fit him well, obviously well-tailored and not a rental like some of the shifters around the room wore. A pale purple tie and matching pocket square completed the outfit. It was rather dashing, she had to admit.
Still, for all his good looks and stylish clothes, nothing about him screamed out to her. Not in the way Harden had. There was something different about that one, that was for sure.
“Would you like to dance after you are done?” the gentle-looking giant asked politely.
She smiled. “I’m sorry, no. I just finished dancing and I’m still recovering.” Erika hoped he would get the hint. “Not right now.”
“Understandable,” he said, and now he did reach for some food.
Great. He was going to hang out and talk to her instead. Erika didn’t want to seem rude, and he was both polite and friendly, so perhaps it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world. When Harden came back she would just make it clear that she was his dance partner for the evening. Hopefully without giving Harden any ideas about post-dancing. Erika wasn’t going to do anything with anybody. Not the first date or the fourth dance.
“Are you having fun so far?” the shifter asked.
He was a bear, she figured, judging by both his height, and also the thick musculature on him. It was a lot more bulky compared to Harden’s more toned athletic form. Like a professional athlete versus a bodybuilder. Both in impeccable shape and strong, but different body shapes. It just didn’t do anything for Erika, though she knew Kelly would be going crazy for it.
She looked around for her friend, wondering if she could call her over and sic her on the shifter. He seemed nice, but also extremely nervous. After all, he’d yet to introduce himself, or ask for her name. It was almost endearing, but it still didn’t do anything for her.
Where are you, Kelly? I found you someone.
But her friend didn’t answer the call.
“Yes,” she said somewhat reluctantly at last. “I am. Surprisingly,” she admitted. “But I definitely am.”
“You didn’t think you’d enjoy it?” he asked.
“Not at all. Coming in it felt almost like we were the buffet,” she said, indicating her and the other women. “Not an overly enjoyable feeling, if I’m completely honest. I’m not entirely comfortable being the center of attention.”
“Shouldn’t have worn such a lovely dress then,” he joked.
“I know, but look at it! It’s gorgeous. How was I supposed to say no?”
The bear shifter just shrugged. “Good point. If I were in your shoes, I would have bought it then and there and dealt with the consequences later.”
“It’s like you’re reading my mind,” she said with a laugh.
He was nice. Not someone she was interested in romantically, but definitely someone she could be friends with, if he was being genuine. The big shifter seemed almost too honest to be lying to her. Someone with the chops to fake this would have been suave enough to know to get her name.
“Well, I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself,” he said. “It would be a shame for anyone to come here and not have a good time. A lot of effort went in to making this the event that it is.” He grinned, almost as if he’d had a hand in it. “It really came together.”
Erika nodded. “It sure did.” She looked around. Where was Harden? He’d been gone much longer than it should have taken to simply go to the men’s room. Even with a line, he should have made it back by now. Was everything okay?
“So where did you come from originally?” he asked awkwardly.
Okay. It was time to let him down. “Listen,” she said politely. “You seem like a nice guy. But I’m just not interested at this time.”
To his credit he maintained a straight face as she rejected him.
“Very well,” he said slowly. “Perhaps there will be time later then.”
“Maybe later,” she said, trying to seem gracious, more so just happy that he wasn’t going to push her to give him another chance.
More points in his favor. If she could find Kelly, she would be sure to point her in his direction. The guy seemed genuine enough to deserve it. She nodded her head in farewell and the giant shifter moved down the food tables, gathering samples of almost everything onto his plate.
Looking around the room, she tried to catch a sign of Harden. There were few shifters with buzzed hair, most of them preferring to have it grown out to some level, but none of them had the same dark eyebrows covering a set of hooded, almost haunted-looking eyes. She searched for his square jaw and the thin, but surprisingly lively lips that always seemed dragged down, even when he was smiling.
But he was nowhere to be seen. Were the bathrooms that far away? It’d been near to ten minutes that she’d waited and talked to the mystery shifter. It couldn’t take that long. Annoyed, she grabbed the shrimp she’d been denied before, munching on them as she considered what to eat next.
“Excuse me, miss?”
She spun at the address, her hopes soaring as she thought that Harden was back, but dying before she’d even finished turning as the realization that it was his voice sunk in. Damn.
“Yes?” she replied to the man, staring into his eyes, a pair of brown circles that seemed a little at odds with the smile on his face.
“I was wondering something.”
Erika tried extra hard not to roll her eyes or look frustrated. She was eating, and her stomach was full. Dancing was not what she felt like doing at the moment, so why was everyone asking her?!
“And what would that be?” she asked politely when he declined to explain right away, taking her cue.
“Would you be interested in moving somewhere a little calmer than this?” he asked. “There is an outdoor area just through there, where we could talk without having to speak over the music?”
Truth be told, that and some fresh air sounded extremely appealing to her right then. She looked around the arena floor once again, trying to spot Harden, but there was still no sign of him. Where the hell had he gone? Frustration grew in her, and she wondered if perhaps he’d ditched her.
“Sure,” she said, making an abrupt choice. Erika wasn’t about to spend her entire night waiting around the food tables for one man to come back to her. Especially if he’d gone and left her. Perhaps Harden had decided he wasn’t okay with her being pregnant after all, and had just used the bathroom as an excuse to bail.
Typical male. They want the action, but not the consequences.
With that in mind she walked out into the outdoor terrace area, enjoying all the plant life that was both a permanent fixture, and those that had been brought in just for the evening’s affair. Tall, slender ferns with drooping fronds intermingled with soft white glow lights and a few larger spotlights lit the entire fenced off area. Few people were out there, but more than enough that she still felt safe.
“Have you found a companion for the evening?” the man asked abruptly.
Not wasting any time, are you?
“That’s a little abrupt, don’t you think?’ she asked, slowing in her steps. Perhaps she’d made a mistake in coming out here after all.
“Oh, excuse me,” he said. “I wasn’t meaning that in regard to whether there is an opening for myself or not. That wasn’t my intention.”
Oddly enough, he seemed so sincere about that, that she believed him. Weird. Where the hell was going with this then?
“I…is that any of your business then?” she said. “What if I have?”
He seemed to almost ignore her words, clucking his tongue and looking…unfortunate. It was the best word she could use to describe the look he gave her.
“So, that’s the way it is with that…that, Kronum shifter, is it?”
“Kronum?” She had never heard that term before, and the way he’d uttered it made it seem despicable, something to loathe. What the hell was going on here?
“It doesn’t matter,” he said, his brown eyes hardening, looking angrily at her as they filled with a hatred that she sensed at once was directed at someone else.
“Who are you?”
He waved off her question. “All you need to know is that you should stay away from him. Do not get close to him. It would not be a good thing if you were caught with him. Things might happen. Paperwork might get lost. Funds forgotten about. You understand?”
Her stomach went cold as she realized what he was threatening her with.
“Fuck you,” she said in automatic response, anger outweighing anything else.
He reached out to latch on to her wrist, but Erika threw him off with a violent wrench of her arm that she doubted he was expecting.
“You don’t give me orders,” she spat, turning and heading back inside without a second’s thought.
Thankfully he let her go, but the damage had already been done. He’d insinuated just what it was he was capable of if she didn’t obey him and stay away from the Kronum shifter, whatever that meant. Then there was the fact that she’d been talking to two different shifters. Was he referring to Harden, or the other one, the bear shifter, who she’d turned down?
Lost in her own whirlwind of thoughts, Erika wasn’t paying attention when she walked back inside. A hand wrapped around her wrist, and she just about lost it, flinging her arm up and around to dislodge the grip.
“WILL YOU PEOPLE STOP GRABBING ME!” she screamed, rounding on her accuser.
Harden stared back at her, looking stunned at her outburst.
Oh shit.