Anyone would think after our first two tests in funneling that the Kings would have been just as aggressive on Ezra and Pearl during their tests.
They weren’t.
Ezra’s was accomplished inside of a class reunion at the local Com high school. The place had been packed, and the Kings and Antonio had snuck us in through a back entrance. They had taken us behind the bleachers, and then King Venclaire had ordered Ezra to command the entire group to do an action in unison. Well, there had been music playing, and Ezra had chuckled evilly. We had willed them to do the macarena for three songs straight. It had looked like a twisted version of zombie meets the drunken 90s.
After that, it had been Pearl’s turn. Oh, how she had been disappointed with her test. She’d had to make vegetables grow from seeds to full harvest within an hour. I had been impressed. Damn impressed. Especially because it hadn’t just been, like, one or two. It had been an entire field’s worth. We had done it, and when we had left the high grass field, I had really hoped the farmer had been ready to gather the harvest, because that was a whole lot of money down the drain if not.
After that, the Kings had let us rest for the remainder of the two days in the week. I couldn’t remember a time when I had been such a couch potato. Well, I could, but I didn’t like thinking of those memories. Dominic’s killers had never been found, so it was unpleasant reminiscing about him, knowing I had never served justice to those who had murdered him.
Friday came. Like it always did. Although, this time, while the four of us, Nikki, and Gideon started to relax and watch a movie in my bedroom, there was a knock at my door.
Swallowing my popcorn and wiping my buttery hands on my shorts, I opened my door, glaring at Jack behind me and saying a few words to threaten him with bodily harm if he started the movie without me. I turned back to the opened door. Stopped. Stared. Not at the person who had knocked, because that had just been King Kincaid, closest to the door. No, I stared at the man standing slightly behind and to his side.
My goodness, oh, my goodness.
I quickly swiped my mouth with the back of my hand, making sure I didn’t have any bits of popcorn lingering. Or drool. Come to mama, I sniffed, wolfy. Mmm-hmm.
Already smug, King Kincaid said softly, “Lily, I’d like to introduce you to,” a motion to the hottie, “Broderick Dressler. I believe I mentioned he would be dropping by,” crap, he had, “and his father and I have some business to take care of. It should take about an hour. Do you think you can entertain him while we’re meeting in my study?”
I nodded unintelligently, eyeing the wolf Shifter from head to toe.
He was giant. Like, seven feet tall giant. He was muscular like most Shifters, so he took up that much more space. His shiny silver hair hung almost to his shoulders, his eyes dark. His features might have been plain if evaluated separately, but together they made a perfect unity of naturally arched silver brows, a nose a smidge too long, and plump lips.
I was pretty sure I might have panted there for a moment.
The really beautiful part was he held eye contact with me for a long damn time before his gaze traveled over my facial features, and lower, giving me the exact same treatment I had given him. He didn’t even seem too impressed. Meaning, he had some balls to go along with all that scrumptiousness. It was possible I might, in fact, partake in a blind booty call, after all.
“He’ll break her,” Ezra complained in a whisper from my bed. “She’s too small for him.”
“I don’t know,” Pearl stated just as softly, sounding factual. “She likes her men big.”
“I think I’m with Ezra on this one,” Jack grumbled almost silently.
My face flushed, my friends not so quiet when it was dead silent to begin with.
King Kincaid glared over my head, probably at Ezra, but said to me, “I’ll leave you two to it.” He patted Broderick’s shoulder before walking away.
He held out his hand. “Broderick.”
I shook his ginormous appendage. “Lily.” He nodded in greeting, releasing my hand, and I asked him bluntly, “Do you know why you’re really here?”
“We’re being set up,” he said with a slightly crooked grin that had my knees weakening. He stuffed his hands in his pockets. “This has nothing to do with you, but I can’t say I’m all that thrilled about it.” He tilted his head, his silver hair dangling over his shoulder. “I’m not looking for anything serious. And,” he jerked his head at my friends, “they’re probably right. I’d break you.”
Jack stated not so quietly, “See? Even he agrees.”
Pearl hummed, not sounding convinced.
Neither was I.
“How about we go for a run?” I asked slowly, thinking this through. At least, trying to think, since my hormones were on overdrive. It had been a very long time since I had a bed partner. “See how it goes from there?”
Once more, his gaze roamed my body, and he nodded unhurriedly. “You’re good with nothing serious?”
Pearl chuckled behind me, but quickly coughed, trying to cover it.
“Yeah,” I muttered. “Not into serious.”
“Okay,” he murmured quietly, his voice getting deeper. “I’ll give you a head start.” He pulled his shirt over his head and started undoing his pants. He jerked his head in the direction of the stairs at the end of the hallway, obviously not shy. “You’d better hurry.” His voice was half growl.
A shiver of allure ran down my spine, and I mumbled over my shoulder, “Watch the movie. Don’t care.” Slamming the door behind me as I hurried out of the room, I raced down the hallway, tossing my own shirt over my head. Oh, hell yes. It had been too long.
Running back up the stairs a half-hour later, I dashed down the hallway with my tail hanging. I whimpered at the door and thumped it with my paw, careful not to chip the paint. I was seriously in need of comfort, and I didn’t feel like explaining, hence, my wolf form.
The door flew open, and Jack dropped to his knees, his hands instantly scratching behind my ears. “He hurt you, didn’t he?” He sounded furious and smelled of aggression.
Ezra exited the bathroom and blinked, seeing me. Abruptly, he was behind Jack, blurring, and leaned over him. He actually picked me up. I squirmed a little until he adjusted his hold. His fangs were descended, obviously furious, too, as he crushed me against his chest.
Pearl stated with an eerie voice, her eyes glowing, “It’s not that.” She breathed out slowly, her head tilting even though she wasn’t looking at anyone. “She’s not physically hurt. He didn’t touch her.”
Incredulous, Jack muttered, “What? With the way they ran out of here?”
Her lips pursed, and she shook her head, her eyes going back to normal. “He didn’t try anything on her. I got that,” a wave of her hand, “impression.” Her power at work, going all dreamlike, then her knowing what I wouldn’t wish her to.
I was woman enough to admit it was creepy at times.
This time, I only stuffed my snout against Ezra’s neck, sighing in embarrassment and disappointment.
“Seriously?” Jack asked, still unbelieving.
Ezra moved to my bed and lay down, keeping me on his chest. He didn’t comment, and his fangs had retracted when he kissed the tip of my nose. He stared me in the eyes and began scratching behind my ears.
I was grateful he didn’t say anything, with his sensitive nose for emotions.
“Is he not into women?” Jack asked, still throwing a fit, even with Nikki trying to calm him. “Because who the hell wouldn’t want her?” His mate abruptly scrutinized him, and he rolled his eyes, muttering, “Don’t go there. You know what I meant.” His expression turning furious again, he started marching toward the door. “I’m going to have a talk with him.”
Sighing, my nose wiggled. So much for being able to keep quiet…and the ear scratching had been so nice, too. I lifted on Ezra’s chest, hopped to the floor, and raced in front of Jack. I bared my teeth for a second, stopping him, then sped into the bathroom. After shifting in privacy, since I still didn’t bare all to all, I called, “He’s bi, not gay. When we were running, we met up with a drifter that’s staying here. He’s a wolf Shifter, too. They hit it off better than he and I did. End of story.”
I shifted back. The hell with it. I wanted my damn ears scratched.
Tail still hanging, I left the privacy of the bathroom and jumped back onto my bed. Almost everyone was staring at me with shock — yeah, someone had turned me down — and I whined. They stopped gawking.
Ezra patted his chest — one of the few that had worn a carefully blank expression — and I whined a little from my melancholy as I got on him, turning in circles on his hard chest until I found a comfy way to lie. He ran his fingers through my fur and shook my head roughly, ordering, “Quit moping. There’ll be more opportunities for an alpha.” He paused. “Although, don’t do it if they resemble Goliath. He really was too big for you.”
“She’s only moping because she’s going through a dry spell,” Nikki said, trying to be helpful. I closed my eyes in dismay. She noticed everything. Heard and saw way too much about a lot of people. Of course she had noticed that.
“I’m sorry?” Pearl asked, pausing the movie everyone had been ignoring. “What are you talking about?”
“Sugar, I don’t think Lily even knows what a dry spell is,” Jack muttered. “She’s got more dick lined up than she knows what to do with.” Crude, but factual.
“I didn’t say she doesn’t have her pick of Shifters,” Nikki countered. “I said she hasn’t been sleeping with them.” She blinked in the quiet following that, and her mouth gradually shut as she ever so slowly recognized that might not have been information I wanted out there. Nervously, she glanced at me, mumbling, “You know, maybe, I…” She nodded. “I’m wrong. I remember that guy…um…” She trailed off, her mouth bobbing noiselessly.
Okay, she was officially worse at lying than Pearl.
I closed my eyes again. This evening had gone from bad to worse.
Silence.
“Perhaps she’s sick,” Gideon whispered. “It’s not like a Shifter to not have sex.” Pearl had never spilled the beans to him about me, but a Vampire had just as much friendliness as a Shifter.
“No. She wanted it an hour ago,” Pearl mumbled, sounding thoughtful.
A rough shake of my head by powerful hands, and I blinked my blue eyes open to stare into green ones that were analyzing me before Ezra asked, “How long’s it been, sweetheart?”
As if I could answer him. Not that I would.
His eyes darted to Nikki.
She mumbled, “The kids at school say the last person she slept with was Felix.” She paused. “There’s lots of talk about it.” Her eyes met mine. She was even starting to look worried. “Did you fall for him?”
Everyone in the room froze, watching me.
All over again, Ezra shook my head, hard, and growled, “Shift.” I stared at him and, slowly, he blinked, before grabbing the edge of my comforter and throwing it over us.
I shifted.
My face buried in my hair and Ezra’s chest, I explained, “I didn’t fall for Felix.” I paused, licking my lips. “But, I’m not someone that sleeps with everyone and their brother.” Another pause. “Although, I did push the extreme when I first started having sex again after Dominic died. And, even though I didn’t fall for Felix, I realized I didn’t want to sleep with someone who fell in love with me after one kiss. Felix reminded me of what it was like to be with someone strong-willed. I don’t want to have a relationship with anyone, but whoever comes to my bed from now on is going to have their own mind and their own thoughts, not beg to know what mine are, so they can conform to them.” I sighed. “Never mind. You guys won’t understand. You’re mated, and the only one that’s not is a man-whore.”
“Hey,” Ezra grumbled instantly, sounding affronted, and grabbed a handful of my hair, lifting my head to stare me in the eyes. “I’m not a man-whore.”
I snorted. “When was the last time you had sex?”
Instant. “Last night.”
“And the time before that?”
“The night before.”
“And, before that?”
“Three days before.”
“And were any of those encounters with the same woman?”
“No.” Black eyebrows were gradually furrowing.
“I rest my case,” I muttered, tugging on my hair, which he didn’t let go of.
His brows finished scrunching with a slam, before lowering deeply.
“I think it makes sense,” Pearl stated. “Even though I’m mated, I remember what it was like to be single.” She paused, and sighed — someone must have been giving her a look, but I couldn’t see anything except Ezra’s glower thanks to his hold. “She wants her lovers to be men in their own right. Not a bunch of pussy followers.” She made a gagging sound. “Who would want that in their bed, anyway?” A pause. “Other than Ezra. He doesn’t have a preference.”
His scowl intensified, his eyes rocking in her direction, and he grumbled, “You think I’m a man-whore, too?”
Immediate. “No. I don’t.” A short pause, then she whispered, “But, I do think you fill your bed to forget.”
Silence.
His jaw clenched.
Damn, I hadn’t even had the balls to say that.
Gideon cleared his throat loudly. “Who wants to finish watching the movie?”
Quickly, Nikki stated, “Let’s put the other one in. It’s a comedy.” She busied herself doing just that, talking a mile a minute with her soft voice to fill the strained hush.
Ezra turned his head away from the television and shut his eyes, the action so desolate, hiding his face like that.
My heart swelled even further for him, knowing the obvious pain he tried to hide.
His hand had slacked in my hair, and I moved up, placing a gentle kiss against the corner of his mouth. His eyes opened, and I saw his pain there as he stared back. It was deep. So much more profound than he let on, keeping it tucked away much better than I fared.
His lids drooped closed, and he murmured, “Shift. I’ll scratch your ears.”
Shaking my head, I kissed his temple this time, whispering, “No. I think I’ll pet you instead.” I did just that, running my fingers through his spiked hair until he fell asleep.