Hometown Pride, page 8
He was breathing deeply, with a little snorty snore at the top of each breath as he sprawled across two-thirds of the bed on his back, the sheet draped across one of his legs where it had slid when she pulled it up to cover her breasts. With her night vision, she could look her fill at his naked body. No one really looked their best flopped on their back, asleep and snorting, but he did OK.
Which meant it was time for her to go. She slipped out of bed and gathered up her clothes.
“Hey,” he grunted.
She startled and looked back at him over her shoulder as she fastened her bra. “I have to go. I have things to do in the morning.”
“What things?”
She pulled her top on and buttoned it up. “Trying to find work things.” Sleep late, go online, send her resume to temp agencies. Vital things.
He rolled out of bed and walked naked across the room to rummage in his dresser. “I’ll walk you out so I can reset the alarm behind you.” He bent over and stepped into boxers.
When he turned toward her, scratching at his chest, she narrowed her eyes at him and he shrugged.
“Will you come for dinner again tomorrow night?”
She looked down as she tugged up her spandex skirt. Her clothing was horrendously wrinkled from where it had landed on the floor, but she was just driving across town and probably wouldn’t see anyone else. She hoped. Lions were nocturnal, so maybe some of Carol’s neighbors would be hanging around the halls of the apartment building.
“Maybe,” she said.
He sighed.
“I might be busy.” Busy reading or doing dishes or something. She turned away from him, trying to remember where she’d left her handbag and her shoes. Downstairs, she decided, and started for the stairs, Tremaine right behind her, feet nearly silent on the stairs that squeaked under her tread, but not under his.
She hastily pulled her shoes on, took a hair clip from her purse, and swirled her hair into a messy blob.
At the front door, he pushed a code into the keypad and it beeped quietly. He surprised her by walking her to her car. Surprised her even more by crowding her against the door and kissing her thoroughly. He leaned back with another sigh, his pelvis still pushed against hers with just a hint of a flattering incipient erection. “Or do you want to go out to dinner tomorrow night?”
She blinked at him a few times. “I might be busy,” she repeated.
His mouth quirked at one side. “You have to eat sometime.”
She shrugged, feeling like a bitch for not giving in, but did he have to push?
His face went blank. “Well, let me know when you get hungry, OK?”
He kissed her on the forehead and stepped back, hands on his narrow hips as she got into the car and made everything a hundred times more awkward by taking four tries to turn around on the wide area in front of his garage without scraping his work truck. He was grinning when she glanced in the rear view mirror as she started down the drive. Ass.
Chapter eight
“The politics of mates and mating and pairing off can be complicated. Mate at first sight is a trope in the emerging shapeshifter romance books and movies, but no one carries it further than the intensely pride-centered lions. Some couples will be together for dozens of years and never claim a mate bond, others will claim a mate bond that doesn’t appear to exist or which doesn’t last long. It’s easiest to think of the mate bond as true love, but with bigger claws and teeth.” Ogden in Renard et al, 2025, pp 99-131.
She was lounging on Carol’s futon the middle of the next morning, reading a nineteenth-century diary she’d plucked at random from Carol’s historian bookshelf when her cell phone rang. She glanced at the screen, having already decided not to answer if it was Tremaine. Her body ached in interesting places and she needed time to think.
She sighed and pulled her history librarian protective glove off to swipe at the screen. “Hello, Ella,” she said, doing her best to not sound angry about her alpha calling.
“Angelica.”
And silence while Angel waited for her to go on. She restrained herself from sighing. “Yes?”
“What do you know about the Monroe boys?” Ella was obviously trying to sound merely curious, but there were distinct overtones of pissed off.
“The…which boys?” She knew exactly who they were.
“Jen Monroe’s boys. Teenagers.”
One’s only ten, she thought. “Dark hair, big noses, look like their late father, Dan?”
“Yes.” That was more of a hiss and spit like an angry house cat.
“I remember Dan from school. He was in my class in third grade and was really nice to me when we moved to town a month into the school year after my dad died.” She’d been torn apart with grief and her mom even worse, besides not being able to afford a bus ticket all the way back to Freiburg or school supplies when they arrived. Dan had befriended her and stood between her and whispering bullies. They’d never been best friends, but had had each other’s backs. “I was sad when I heard he died right before I moved back with my mom. What about the boys?”
“They’re missing.” And that was a growl.
“Oh no! What happened? Did their stepfather finally snap? I’m going to kill that bastard. They’re nice boys. They used to come into the library after school to hang out and I always had the vibe from them that they didn’t want to go home. What the hell does Jen see in him?”
“He’s her mate.”
“Oh, that’s bullshit. They’re not mates. They’re in a relationship, sure, but they’re certainly not bonded.” The bloom was off that rose already and they’d only been living together for a few months. Which probably had to do with the lioness trying to protect her cubs from the usurper. Who would mate bond with someone who would hurt babies?
Silence from the other end, just a bit of breathing. Angry breathing. But at least Ella was thinking. “So where are the boys?” she finally asked.
“Do you think they ran away? Did Clive Schmidt finally snap and they took off? Did he take them and drop them off in the desert? I can totally see him doing that. Get out and don’t come back. Are there any clues?” God, she hoped there were no clues.
“A neighbor said a car pulled up and the boys got in, carrying bags. Jennifer Monroe said they were going to her mother’s house for a few days, but the grandma denies all knowledge of their whereabouts. They had called their grandma that evening and said they weren’t coming because the big one had a test and wanted to stay home and study all weekend.”
The big one. Some effing alpha who didn’t know the names of the children. “They left voluntarily, then?” And Jen Monroe, who had set it up with Carol, had told the lies for as long as she could. Good job, Jen.
“The police department is considering them to be runaways and low risk. It’s our police department, so they know they can turn into lions and tear apart anyone.”
Anyone except a bigger lion, Angelica snarled inside her head. Zane’s face appeared in her mind’s eye, his skin ashy with pain, highlighted by the livid, purple bruise on his cheek, holding up his bright blue cast for her to see. His brother, Dan Jr., short and dark and looking like a pissed-off version of Dan Sr. from back in high school, powerless to save his baby brother. She cleared her throat to force back the growl. “Why are you calling me?”
Ella sighed. “Because Carol knows everyone and she’s out of town. I thought perhaps someone had told you something.”
Ella suspected Carol was in on the rescues, didn’t she? And that Angel was helping her. For once, Ella was right about something. What she would do about it was going to be the wrong thing, but she had at least cast her suspicions in the right direction. Which sucked for the cast-ee, of course, but Angel could deflect with the best of them. Denial and deflection were her superpowers.
And what about Freight Train Tremaine, who had entered her tunnel at speed? She hated her own metaphors, but what about him? She was deflecting and denying him, too.
She somehow managed to get off the phone with Ella without slipping up. She wondered how long it would be before the pride started whispering about her and Tremaine. She sighed as she thought about how his strong ass had looked as he was pulling on those flimsy boxers. And scowled when she thought about him laughing at her as she did a twenty-point turn in his driveway.
“Lunch,” said Tremaine with a sigh as he finished checking the plumb of the last fence post on the west side of the property. He and the college boys had been busting ass since six AM to get forty holes dug, a dozen posts set, and concrete poured, and it was already eleven.
“Hey, Train, I’m heading out. I gotta shower before class.” Perry wiped his face with his t-shirt and gathered up his stuff.
“Good work today. You back tomorrow?”
“Yeah. Not until eleven. Morning class, right?”
They exchanged fist bumps and Perry strode off to his tiny pickup.
“You know what I heard?” said DeAnthony as they lounged under the only tree in the yard.
Tremaine turned his head slowly. Gossip was already getting around, he would just bet. “What?” he grunted.
De was a lion, too, and knew he was in trouble. He continued to stare at his Gatorade, then shot Tremaine a look out of the corner of his eye, a little quirk of a grin playing around his mouth. “That you had coffee in Middleton with the librarian?”
Tremaine forced himself to relax. “Coffee.” And so much more that evening, but if that rumor wasn’t out yet, he certainly wasn’t going to comment.
“Because my sister was there with her cubs. Said you looked…”
Tremaine realized he was growling.
De backpedaled. “Friendly. Really friendly. And like a nice guy. Totally. Angel is a nice lady.”
Tremaine gazed unseeingly across the backyard. “Nice.” Angelica was anything but angelic and not anything so weak as nice.
“She takes care of people. And my sister and her kids like her. That’s all.” De went back to eating, pretending Tremaine wasn’t staring at him. The kid was only twenty and still growing into his place in the hierarchy. And, apparently, Mellie’s brother, which is why she’d looked so familiar the day before in the coffee shop.
Tremaine thought of how Angelica had taken care of him several times the night before and sighed.
“You seeing her?” De asked, brave little cub that he was.
Tremaine drank some more Gatorade and winced because the sugar in it was cloying. He wasn’t going to pretend that he wasn’t seeing Angel. He wasn’t advertising it on social media, but he was not going to deny anything. It would protect them both from unwanted advances. Protect her, anyway, since he’d had just about zero advances since he’d moved back to Freiburg. He was ready to knock down her walls and, since he didn’t have jobs on the books for the next two weeks, focus on getting her pregnant.
He winced at his cloying, primitive thoughts. Woo her. He was going to have to woo her. Too bad she was still running away. “Yeah,” was all he said.
De lifted his head and grinned at him. “Now was that so hard to admit?”
Tremaine narrowed his eyes at the kid, who laughed as his eyes skittered away.
“I’m telling Mellie right now,” the kid wiped the remains of his lunch on his filthy work pants and pulled out his phone.
Tremaine sighed. A quarter hour later, while De was putting his cooler back in his car, Tremaine took his own phone out of his work bag. I work with Mellie’s bro. I confirmed we’re dating when he asked. How are you today?
He was just slipping his phone back into the bag when it vibrated.
Dating?
He smirked and typed back: Dating.
She was not going to get away from him, either. The predator had scented his mate.
She had just sent a text to Jen Watson, condoling about her missing sons and asking if there was anything she could do when her phone rang. Mellie.
“I knew it! You wouldn’t admit anything yesterday, but I knew it! I’m just mad you didn’t tell me and instead I heard it from DeAnthony.”
“Hear what?” Angelica asked, mind still on the missing boys, wondering what anyone had heard about them, since apparently Jen had only reported their disappearance that morning.
“About you and Tremaine Jones.”
Angelica’s whole body vibrated just at the sound of his name, which was crazy. She shivered it off as best she could. “What did you hear?”
“I just asked De after dinner last night if he knew anything because of the way you and Jones were cuddled up in the coffee shop. I guess he asked Tremaine, who confirmed it.”
“And that’s all?” Because a whole hell of a lot more happened the night before, but she and Mellie were not that close.
“What do you mean, that’s all? A dominant male told a young, subordinate male that he is seeing you instead of shredding the subordinate’s face. He wants everyone to know.”
“Shit.” Tremaine had, in effect, just pissed a circle around her. “Sneaky bastard.”
Mellie laughed. Not just a giggle or a chuckle, but a laugh. And it made Angel laugh, too. She sighed after a few seconds, though.
“What? It’s not true?”
“Yeah, yeah, OK. He seems to think it’s a big deal.” So her heart was beating faster, but that was her body’s reaction to hot sex, not her brain and instinct picking a good mate.
Mellie made a sputtering noise. “You don’t? Oh please. Lion like that, looking at you like a cupcake with two inches of frosting?”
Which sent Angel’s mind to licking, of course. “I had dinner at his house last night, we shifted together and ran around in the woods.”
“And?”
We had amazing sex. I ran off at midnight like goddamn Cinderella. I met his birth father, who is probably up to something other than wanting to forge a relationship with his long-lost son. “It was good.”
“Good?” Mellie shrieked. “There’s a weak endorsement if I ever heard one.” There was an answering baby shriek in the background, so Angel knew at least one of Mellie’s kids was there with her.
“OK, it was great.”
Mellie snorted.
“And now I’m deciding if I want a relationship or more hot sex or nothing, because we barely know each other, but he’s out there claiming me in public.”
“Aww. Well, either way, you get some something something, right?” Mellie wasn’t laughing anymore, but her non-explicit language meant the kids were listening. “Better than that meanie, Bradley. I didn’t even know you were dating because you never tell me anything.”
Angel winced. Why had she not considered the moms at story time her friends? And especially Mellie and couple of the others who always stayed after to help and chat. “Yeah, OK, I psyched myself out on him. Last chance, you know? And then it didn’t work out anyway.”
Mellie sighed. “If I had known, I would have told you he was a lying, uh, bad guy. He always was. I just wonder if he and Lyssa are really mated or if it’s all political maneuvering.”
“Well, they’re both jerks, so it’s a match made in heaven. Or hell. It could be her trying to gain more prestige. And I know he’s the pride’s third, but he’s not all that dominant, he’s just related to Ella, so maybe Lyssa’s dominance makes him feel stronger?”
“Yeah. And he wouldn’t be the first male to be wowed by assertiveness, youth, boobs, and makeup, even if it is a failed beauty queen like Lyssa.”
Angelica lowered her voice. “Seriously. I peeked at her resume and her job at the Library of Congress was a month-long internship, which, OK, is kind of cool, but she brought it up every damn day.”
They badmouthed Lipstick and Braindead a bit longer, then hung up.
A few seconds later, Tremaine sent a message saying he told DeAnthony they were dating.
She shot back just one word: Dating?
And Angelica knew it was time to let Macey know before she heard about it from someone else.
Luckily, Macey was studying in a noise-reduction room in her university library. She had to talk softly, but at least she didn’t have to go outside. “You had amazing hot sex again?”
“And ran away again, Mace. I can’t let him know my secrets. And he’s hiding a bunch of shit from me, too, but now he’s letting everyone know I’m his and it’s pissing me off.” She wanted to cry. Probably lack of sleep and an abundance of nerves, but still, she hated crying.
“You listen to me, I’m your doctor.”
She startled a laugh out of Angelica. “You’re not my doctor.”
“Yet.”
“Physician’s assistant.”
“Soon. Very soon.”
“Then you’ll move back out here?” God, she missed her best friend. Their parents had arranged play dates and sleepovers for them when they lived a hundred or more miles apart. Her mom had given her a cell phone at a stupidly young age at a stupid, expensive price so they could stay in touch.
“Maybe. Probably. Unless you’re moving to Vermont?” Macey sucked in a breath. “Stop distracting me. You listen to me, your future physician’s assistant who loves you like the sister I never had.”
“Aww. I love you, too, Mace.”
“Shh. Listen. You need to get more of that red hot boning. You tell him your secrets and learn his and mate with his beautiful, cranky ass and have fifteen cubs and live grumpily ever after.”
“What?” Angel breathed out. Because: fewer than fifteen cubs, but the rest had been playing in the back of her mind. Which was how well Macey knew her, even with all her denials and declarations of standing on her own two feet. But damn.
“Life is too fucking short. Your mom was only fifty when she died. You’re thirty-nine now. I’m sure as hell never having kids, so I’m looking forward to being Weird Auntie Macey to your kids. Seize the goddamn day, Angel. Seize it by the balls.”
