Human Interaction (13 page)

He reached over and tweaked my nose. "Cause I'm hot and sexy and anything female can't resist my scent?"

I choked. "You're full of it."

"Takes one to know one."

"Yeah, but you're the one with the previous monk experience."

Meat chuckled, flashing those dimples, his voice lowered and sultry. "And you are the one with the monk fetish."

Yeah, well. I wasn't touching that statement. No way, no how. I stifled a yawn, glancing down at my watch. One-thirty am. Blinking, I looked again. Where had the time gone?

A low rumble of thunder broke the stillness. I startled. Thunderstorms weren't one of my favorite Mother Nature events.

"I didn't know it was this late." I stood, moving stiffly and slowly from having sat on the faux tiger hide for so long.

Meat stood and stretched from his position on the other side of the coffee table.

Oh, my
. As his oxford shirt pulled tight, I glimpsed those pecs and abs underneath, deciding I could spend several hours just staring at the awe-inspiring sight.

"Looks like it's ready to storm big-time," Meat announced, having stepped over to glance out the window.

Yummy. That backside view isn't bad either. Where is a quarter to bounce off Meat's rump roast when I need one?
Shaking my head, I pushed those devilish thoughts way to the back, shoved them in a forgotten closet of my mind, locked the door, and tossed away the key.

"I… I'll…" I stammered. I needed to get home, but asking him to go out in a storm in his fancy car, wasn't fair either. "I can poof." The statement popped out.

He turned, shaking his head. "No poofing tonight." Heading my direction, he wrapped both arms around me, pulling me against his hard body.

A loud crack of lightning struck nearby, causing the ground to shake. I jumped, deftly melding my lithe frame into his. The top of my head tucked under his chin. I could have sworn I felt a kiss to my hair.

"You'll stay here tonight. No sense in getting out in that mess when you don't have to." He rested his cheek against mine.

My heart began to pitter-patter once more. "But…" I fought for reason.

"You said your father had the boys, right?"

"Yes, but…"

"But what?" He leaned back, searching my face.

I got distracted and never did think of a good line for the hands off idea. "I… I'm not… I don't…" I released a sigh. "I'm not ready." My chin dropped, finding my socks suddenly enthralling. My husband was MIA. How could I have sex with another man when the question still weighed heavily on my mind?

He gave me a squeeze, rubbing his cheek against mine again before leaning back to look at me. "What? Not ready for the most amazing, mild-blowing sex of your life? You'll be screaming my name and begging to be my sex slave for all time."

I gave him a shove, only managing to score a little more wiggle room. "Conceited ass."

"Oh, no baby. But I can't wait to kiss yours." He jumped back just out of reach of my slap to his chest. Still chuckling, he headed to another room, bringing back with him a pillow and blanket.

"What's that for?" I tilted my head, making sure to keep a good distance between us.

"Sleeping, of course." He picked up a remote, punched a button, and a large TV lifted out of a cabinet.

"Nifty trick." I watched as he pushed another button. Soft music began playing.

"You want one of my shirts to sleep in?"

I considered the offer carefully. Just the mental image of his shirt draped over me, covered in his scent, set an accelerated pace to my beating heart. I mentally took a hammer and nailed the door shut of that forgotten closet filled with naughty thoughts. Pulling on rational thought, I delved deeper into the issue. Wearing just his shirt meant I had nothing but the basics in undies beneath since the tail would be more than long enough to cover my assets and be much more comfortable than sleeping in my pants, but it came with a side effect. One slide of his hand under said shirt and he reached the entrance to my Promised Land playground. Meat certainly didn't need encouragement in that department. Jeans were better suited as a barrier to roving hands in sleep. I chewed my lip.

"Umm, no thanks."
Yeah, call me a coward.

He lay down on the oversized couch, patting the area in front of him. "Come on."

I slowly ambled in that direction, still not certain of his intentions. "You aren't going to bed?"

He shifted for comfort. "No."

"I can sleep on the floor. Or on the couch if you want to sleep in your bed."

"Nope. Besides, there's plenty of room here for both of us." He gestured, pointing to the vacant spot right in front of his stomach.

Sleeping next to him? The idea reeked of mistake rather than brilliance. "But the floor would be just fine." I tried once more, chewing my lip in the process.

Meat shook his head. "I think I need to keep an eye on you. Just in case you teleport to somewhere awful while you sleep." The corner of his mouth kicked up. "Would hate to terrorize the rest home men's room again."

One tiny boo-boo and you hear about it forever. I frowned, but climbed on the couch, slowly stretching out in front of him.

He pulled the covers over us both. "You're mine to take care of tonight. Besides, I have a feeling your family would skin me alive if I happened to lose you."

I yawned and cuddled against his chest. "Okay. Just this once. No touchy-feely," I warned, cracking an eye open to look up into his deep blue eyes.

He grinned back. "You can touchy-feely all you desire, however."

I snorted, too tired to bean him. The clock struck two, thunder boomed and lightning cracked. My eyes closed and I drifted off to sleep, not even noticing the noisy storm raging outside.

CHAPTER 11

I awoke lazy and cozy with a warm blanket over me and an even warmer blanket behind me. Stretching, my hand bumped into something hard and toasty.

Uh-oh.

Lying on my back, my eyes opened to peer straight into those deep blue depths. Meat lay on his side, one arm resting across my middle, the other propping his head up to look down at me. His dark hair was tousled from sleep. Those bedroom eyes, still half lidded, never wavered from my face. Bulging pecs drew attention to that six-packed, flat as a board stomach.

My belly clenched from the sight, pointing out one small detail. An urgent tingling in the vicinity of my bladder clamored for attention.

Meat leaned forward, his lips closing the distance.

Eek!
I retreated, scooting back inches at a time. I hadn't brushed my teeth last night and certainly not this morning. That added up to major morning breath. Something along the lines of a camel in an onion patch would be my guess.

His face drew a bit closer. More frantic, I squirmed closer to the edge and escape.

Shifters probably had built in Magic Mouthwash. If they can make clothing disappear, surely they could do the genie thing, blink and give a nod, making their teeth instantly clean and their breath minty fresh. I, on the other hand, needed toothpaste and a bit of manual labor for the same effect.

Clothes disappear?
The thought drew my eyes to his tanned bare skin.

"Where's your shirt?" I asked, trying not to breathe on him.

A slowly growing smile appeared on his face. "With the rest of my clothes." The words purred from his throat.

He reclined back, one hand propping his head up as he grinned in my direction. The other rested just in front of his belly, bringing attention to the blanket. His upper body shone bare in the light of day and the blanket only hinted and teased of what hid underneath as it draped low over his hip.

Once more, he leaned in. Again, I retreated. For a brief second, I wavered on the edge before gravity reached up and grabbed me. My butt landed solidly on the floor. "Oomph."

Pulling myself into a sitting position, I looked at Meat still on the oversized couch. No wonder he probably made a fortune as a dancer. Heck, with that patented come-hither look alone, he could score whole countries run by women and probably even half of them run by men.

My belly flip-flopped once more. The bladder sent an answering warning bell on the expressway to my brain. I scurried to stand. Blinking at my host, I blurted the first thing that came to mind. "I don't sleep with naked men!"

One eyebrow cocked upward as his smile blossomed.

"That didn't come out quite right," I muttered, taking one cautious step backward in the direction of the bathroom he'd pointed out the night before.

"Uh huh." His eyes tracked my movements; the rest of his body lazily posed for my enjoyment.

"I mean, naked men don't sleep in my bed."

His eyes twinkled in amusement.

"That wasn't quite right either." I took another couple steps back.

"What you're trying to say was that you like sleeping with a certain naked liger." He rolled forward just a bit, the blanket tugged back before lightly falling from his body and onto the floor.

"Bathroom!" I flew down the hall.

His laughter followed me.

Standing in front of the bathroom mirror, I surveyed the damage. My blouse bore dozens of wrinkles, giving the impression it had been slept in. Well, give me credit at least for truth in advertising. I borrowed a brush and managed to get my unruly and tangled hair into a loose ponytail. I should have braided it the night before, but it hadn't happened.

Discovering a tube of toothpaste, I stared for a moment at the lone toothbrush standing in the holder. Nah. One date isn't at the level of sharing a toothbrush. Come to think of it, how many dates did one have to go on before you could? I used my finger to brush my teeth as best as I could, considering that very question. I certainly wasn't an expert. Maybe Ann Landers could answer that if I ever grew courageous enough to jot it down and mail it in. Another item placed on my to-do list.

Feeling a smidgen refreshed, I headed out of the bathroom and back into the living room, hoping I'd spent enough time so Meat could have gotten fresh clothes and dressed properly. Who was I kidding? He could do that in a blink of an eye. No matter how long I'd spent hiding, he either was or wasn't dressed.

I peeked around the corner to find said person sitting on the couch. TV, blanket, and pillow gone from sight. A clean black T-shirt covered his remarkable chest and abdomen, while black jeans molded to the bottom half.

He smiled in my direction as I sighed with partial relief, partial disappointment. The view sans clothing had been pretty fine. However, clothing served a more appropriate purpose for my nerves.

"You want breakfast?" he asked, standing to meet me halfway.

I peeked up, noting that sexy sleep tousled, long hair waved back in usual place, hanging loosely but organized. His eyes flashed, the smile extended.

Shaking my head, I plucked at my blouse. "No, thank you, though …" glancing at my watch, I continued, "I need to get home. Dad is with the boys, but they're probably driving him to drinking by now. Besides, I forgot to call him last night." My socks enthralled me as I wiggled my toes inside.

"Is that a problem?"

"Well, not really. But he's a dad." Seeing his head tilt, I explained, "You know how fathers can be when their little girl goes out on a date and doesn't come home that night?"

A grin appeared. "But you're an adult."

I shrugged. "I've tried that. It seems no matter how old I get, I'm still his little girl."

Meat chuckled, grabbing my hand. "Then, by all means, let's get you home."

I entwined my fingers with his. "But, you don't have to. I know you must be starved, and, well…"

He paused, turning to meet my eyes. "I want to. I'll be fine. And…" He tapped my nose with his free hand. "I would like to meet your father."

"Oh, boy."

I couldn't guess what Meat would think about my father. After all, Victor didn't always walk the line, but preferred taking many rabbit trails and pit stops along the way. The same destination would be reached, but he forged his own path to that end. He fell into the realm of more abnormal than normal, yet possessed a down to earth quality that spoke quietly, much like an old soul. People close to him glimpsed this phenomenon now and again between his idiosyncrasies and humorous stunts.

Not my biological father, but he couldn't love me more if I was. A retired Enforcer, we met when I'd begun to work for the agency and he'd still patrolled the streets, maintaining peace between the species. We'd hit it off and one day he had surprised me with an offer to adopt me legally as a full grown adult. Humbled and touched, I eagerly accepted and he became my father in every way that mattered. His support after Wills went missing in action had meant everything to me and he still strived to make life easier, while providing a male mentor for the twins.

Pretty much everyone in the Enforcer community knew Dad. He held legendary status in some circles, a nuisance in others. He treated everyone the same, fairly, and respectfully no matter their status in life or the DNA they carried, and always finished the mission successfully. However, people recognized him more for the private side of his life, or rather how he chose to live it. Everyone tells you to enjoy life while you can. Dad took this motto to heart and proved a person could have a blast, explore all kinds of things in life, and still keep a reasonable head on his shoulders. Some worshipped him; some looked at him in envy; most simply shook their heads and smiled in amusement upon hearing the latest adventure.

CHAPTER 12

Halfway to my house, Meat started inquiring about the family.

How much do you tell him on a first date? Twists and turns of the adopted and pieced together family tree are a bit odd in my case. Not bad, but unusual came to mind. Toss in a few abilities and it became a melting pot with a unique flavor. Most men would run for their very lives just hearing about a few of the more interesting members, let alone the whole kit and caboodle. The family might be atypical, but I wouldn't hear of replacing a single one of them. When life gave you lemons, they helped squeeze them into lemonade.