Hector
He smiled. So far, so good. She wanted to do something else with him, which was all he could ask for.
“Well, I thought we might go walk all around town before heading to the gym.”
Rachel came to an abrupt halt, peering up at him. A hand clenched into a fist came up and rapped gently on his skull.
“What’s that for?” he asked with a laugh.
“Just checking to see if you’re still home, or if you’d forgotten about my condition,” she said.
“I see. Sorry to disappoint, but I’m still here.”
“Shucks. But seriously, where are we going?”
“Nowhere for the moment. We’re going to sit on this beautiful bench here,” he said, pointing to one of the benches placed every so often along the street side. “Then we’re going to enjoy our ice cream.”
Rachel tried to get more out of him, but he stuck to his word. The two of them sat on the bench and dug in with gusto.
“Ahh.”
He blinked and looked over at Rachel. Her cup was empty. Blinking some more he looked at his own, the same size, which still had two or three scoops to go.
“How the…”
The human woman grinned up at him. “A lady never reveals her secrets.”
He shook his head. “You women are little, but fierce in many ways. Like when you walk. I tower over you, but sometimes I’ll be going along at a good clip, and this little miniature human will just come zipping by me at an unbelievable pace. I don’t understand how it is possible. Defies the laws of physics.”
Rachel just laughed. “That’s never been my style, but I know what you mean!”
“It’s most frustrating to the male ego,” he said sourly, shaking his head.
This just brought forth more laughter from his date, but he didn’t care. The sound of Rachel laughing was the sweetest thing he’d heard in a long time. So casual and relaxed, a rich, melodic sound that made it clear to everyone she was feeling joyful.
A van pulled to a halt in front of them, and Hector was forced to scarf the rest of his ice cream down before they got in.
“I recognize you,” Rachel said to the driver.
“Rachel, this is Gray and Kelly, his mate. Everyone, this is Rachel, my date.” He almost stumbled over the word “date.” His heart, soul, and animal all wanted to use the word “mate,” but he knew that he couldn’t refer to her like that. Rachel wasn’t ready to hear that sort of thing from him. Not yet at least. Based on the ease with which tonight was going, his hopes were rising though.
As were the clamors from his bear. It had gone berserk from the first moment that Rachel had linked her arm through his, initiating that constant skin-on-skin contact that every male so desperately craved, and yet was unwilling to admit that they needed. Egos and machismo and all. But Hector had felt it from that moment, and his bear had amplified the notion. There was absolutely no doubt in his mind that she was the one for him.
If she was a shifter, that would have been that. Their animals would know each other, and there would be no more dancing around the subject. They could say it, get it out in the open, and begin to have some fun.
Rachel wasn’t a shifter though, and so he had to proceed differently. Carefully. She was human, and it would take some time for her to become affected by the bond between them. It could be as little as a few days stretching up to weeks or even a month or more. There was no way to tell, and until she came to the realization herself that they were meant to be, there was no point in pushing the matter and perhaps scaring her away.
“Where are we going?” Rachel asked as she got seated and drew the seatbelt carefully around her swollen midsection before buckling it in.
“You want me to spoil the surprise already?” he asked, pretending to be upset over it.
“Oh my goodness. Put that thing away,” she laughed, swatting gently at his pouting face.
He grinned. “Of course. But you’re still not finding out where we’re going.”
Rachel gave him a soft glare as Gray carefully pulled the vehicle out into traffic. He watched as she looked around, and then realized what it was that was different.
“He’s a shifter, isn’t he?” she asked, her voice tinged with surprise.
“That he is.”
“But…but he’s driving. I’ve never met a shifter who could drive before.”
Hector shrugged. “Gray is a weirdo.”
“Amen to that,” Kelly said from the front passenger seat.
Gray just focused on the road, not quite comfortable in his driving skills to engage in playful banter and guide them through the roads of Cloud Lake. Eventually they pulled into a parking lot where Gray let them all out near the building before parking in the back. Away from other vehicles.
“So, what’s this place?” both of the women asked at the same time as Gray returned.
“This,” Hector said, letting the anticipation build as he showed them toward the side entrance.
The women looked at him expectantly.
“Is a surprise.” He pulled the door open amid paired groans from the two of them.
“What kind of surprise?”
“The best kind,” Gray said. “A friend suggested it, and we both thought it sounded perfect.”
Hector noted the way the two women looked at each other, already comfortable with one another despite having just met.
That could be trouble.
“Hello.”
The four of them turned to see several women of varying ages approaching. The one who had spoken in heavily accented English smiled at them.
“Hello, my name is Hector, and this is Gray,” he said. “We have appointments.”
“Oh yes, of course, sir. You come with me,” one of them said, pointing at Hector, while another pointed at Gray.
“What? Where are we going?” Rachel asked as he tugged her along to a rubber mat on the floor. They both doffed their shoes there and then followed the woman back into the building.
“Just trust me. You’re going to enjoy this.”
“We’ll see.” But there was nothing to indicate she was being serious in her tone.
The woman ushered them into a room. The lighting was dull, and it wasn’t overly large. A metal divider cut the room in half. Each side had three hooks and a little cubby built into the wall. One hook on either side had a large white robe on it.
“What am I supposed to do now?” she asked as the attendant closed the door behind them.
“Strip down and get into the robe,” he said, getting behind the divider to give her privacy.
“Seriously?”
“Seriously.”
Rachel didn’t say anything, but he could practically feel the frown of confusion directed his way.
A minute later, clad in the thick, luxurious robes, they exited the room and followed the attendant to another room. Two large tables occupied the center of it. The barest hint of incense filled the room, as did the soft swirls of music designed to mimic nature. Gentle chimes and woodwind instruments in perfect harmony made for an instantly relaxing atmosphere.
“Wait, are we getting a couple’s massage?” Rachel asked, suddenly clueing in.
“If that’s okay with you?” he said with a smile. “We made sure ahead of time that they were well aware of both your and Kelly’s state, and they said it wasn’t a problem at all, they had people trained specifically for that.”
“What is this place?”
“No idea the name to be honest with you. But our friend Andrew has been here before, and he highly recommended it when he found out we were considering a double date.”
Rachel gave him a long look. “You’re an interesting man, Hector…” she frowned. “What is your last name?”
“That’s not something that comes freely,” he said with a sly smile.
“What’s it going to cost me?” she asked, folding her arms on top of her belly.
“A simple trade.”
“For what?” Her eyes narrowed.
“Your last name.”
Rachel seemed to consider it for a moment. “Bargained well and done.” She stuck out a hand.
He laughed and shook it.
“Gorchan,” he said. “Hector Gorchan.”
Rachel repeated it several times.
“I know, it’s kind of weird.”
“A little, but it’s no big deal,” she said reassuringly. “My last name is Tahler.”
“Tah-lur,” he said, accentuating the sounds.
“Not so slowly please. You make me sound like a redneck.”
Hector laughed, and at the same instant the door opened again and two women came in. They directed the pair to slide under the sheets and disrobe. This happened while each of the attendants held up the sheet to cover them. It was a little weird, but Hector just did as he was told. Moments later he found himself lying on his stomach. His head turned to regard Rachel who was on her side facing him.
“I’ve never had a massage with another person before,” she said.
Then the masseuse dug her hands into Rachel’s back and her face went slack.
Hector smiled and started to say something, but strong fingers ran along the sides of his spine and he fell silent too, only barely stopping himself from letting out a long groan.
“I think I could get used to this,” he said after a minute.
Then the pair of them relaxed into it, and very little was said.