Projected Pleasure (8 page)

Projected Pleasure

63

“It’s a joke, of course,” Marley laughed uneasily, stepping back.

“Oh,” the blonde laughed back, tossing her hair. “You had me going there for a minute.”

Zachary and Cole picked that time to walk out. Marley felt her heart drop. Cole had a date? This
girl
was going to be his new mate?

She would have to spend the rest of her life watching this bimbo talk about designer fashions and how her day was at the tanning salon.

Fucking great!

* * * *

Cole groaned internally at his date’s presence. How in the hell did she find out where he lived? He hadn’t left her more than thirty minutes ago and here she was. Zachary’s presence made him put on his most charming smile. This was going to take some major acting.

“Oh, hey.”
Fuck, how could I have already forgotten her name?

Wait!
“Josie,” he said, proud of himself. “How did you find out where I lived?”

“Colt is a friend of mine. When I saw him in town he said both of you live here. I thought it might be easier to catch a ride with him and save you from the trip to pick me up.”

He was going to kill Colt. “Really? Wow, dinner’s still not for another, what, seven hours? You must like to get an early start.”

Oh, yes, he was going to kill Colt. Now he’d have to spend the rest of the day entertaining the poster girl for club wear instead of talking with Marley. The questions he needed to ask her were endless, and now he would have to wait. Shit! How old was this girl anyway?

She definitely was on the borderline of legal. That he was sure.

Marley stalked off without a word. It took every bit of his control not to run after her. The anger concerning his situation temporarily vanished while Zachary’s words cut through his thoughts.

“Please excuse my wife. We have a three-month-old son. She’s wanted to check on him for a while now.”

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“She does, wow. How did she get her figure back so quickly?

She’s lucky. I bet your wife has outstanding genes. I, for one, have great genes, so I plan to have as many rascals I can.”

“Yes, my wife’s genes are something else. Someday it might surprise you. It’s outstanding you’re so positive about wanting kids.

Not many people so young even think that far ahead. How old
are
you?”

“Twenty-four,” she said smiling.

“No way,” Cole spit out before he could think to keep quiet.

“Like I said, great genes,” she said, winking at him.

He genuinely smiled. Maybe she wasn’t so bad after all. Well, she might be all right to hold a two minute conversation with, but she wasn’t Marley. End of story.

“Let’s go eat,” Zachary said, patting Cole on the back.

“Yes, we’ll just change our date over from dinner to lunch.” Cole smiled, hoping she caught the hint.

“No need to rush things. She can stay for dinner, too. It’ll be great.

Marley will get a chance to know her. I think it’s imperative they get along. Don’t you, Cole?”

“Yeah, sure, if you think Marley can handle it. She isn’t herself lately, Zachary, you know that. No offense, Josie, it’s just Marley has postpartum depression, and she gets upset rather easily.”

“No offense taken. I’ve already seen her wrath, or maybe she
was
joking. But I didn’t get that impression at first.”

“What do you mean?” Zachary stopped them just short of the door.

“Well, I don’t want to start trouble, but when I told her I was here to see Cole because we planned a dinner date, she snapped. I thought she was going to take my head off. She said ‘my house’ and

‘my Cole’ like I was invading her territory or something. But then she said she was joking, so I don’t know. It just felt so real at first. If I wouldn’t have drunk a margarita earlier, I would say her eyes started glowing, but I think I was just imagining that.”

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65

“Really,” Zachary laughed uneasily, “no, that’s perfectly normal.

She jokes like that all the time. It’s nothing to worry about, Josie. Do you usually drink this early?”

“When I feel the need,” she laughed.

They walked inside, and Cole let Zachary lead Josie away.

Quickly, he went looking for the one person besides Marley he wanted to see. Colt. He was going to wring that kid’s neck. Jesus! He couldn’t put up with that for the rest of the day. But he had to admit her information made him smile. It was good to know Marley reacted that way.

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Marley tossed and turned in bed. Dinner replayed in her mind repeatedly. It was a complete disaster. Little blonde twit! Cole was practically drooling at the table. Normally, Marley was the most unselfish person in the room, but when it came to her men, jealousy had her claws coming out, literally. She knew Cole needed a mate, but shit, not that one! Josephine was all wrong for him.

Hitting her pillow, Marley turned over in the bed facing Zachary.

“She’s all wrong for him, you know. They are completely incompatible. I don’t even know why I let her sit at the same table. I should have placed her at the table with the kids. It would have been perfect. And if I have to hear tips from her on what merchandise I should buy for my store one more time, I’m kicking her out.”

Her husband laughed. “Marley, it wasn’t that bad. She just was trying to give some helpful advice. I really don’t see why you’re so upset. Your online store is thriving so don’t pay it any attention.”

She took a deep breath trying to calm her temper. “And what was she wearing? Doesn’t she know we all saw her pink thong whenever she purposely bent over to retrieve the fork she
accidently
dropped?

There wasn’t even a need to get out of her chair! Why she decided to flash the whole table is beyond me.”

“Marley, Cole wants her. We have to accept who he’s chosen.”

“Bullshit. I’m not accepting her and that’s final.” Marley hit her pillow again, trying to flatten it out. The damn thing just wasn’t comfortable for her tonight. “And what about…”

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67

“Marley, for crying out loud! Hold on.” Zachary reached for his cell phone off of the bedside table. The light blue of the light lit up his face in the dark bedroom.

“Wait, what are you doing?”

“Just hold on while I make a call.”

The ringing of the phone only increased the beating of her heart.

Who was her husband calling at this time of the night? She feared at who her mind came up with. Surely, her husband wouldn’t call him.

“Cole, come to my room please.”

Marley’s heart seemed to stop for a moment. “What did you do that for? Great! What am I supposed to tell him?” She hated being right.

Silence made her ears ring until, seconds later, a knock sounded at the door just as Cole walked in. “You wanted to see me?”

“Yeah, turn on the light,” Zachary said, sitting up.

Marley sat up, too, feeling herself blush under the strain of what her husband might end up telling Cole. It truly was none of her business. She knew this day was coming, yet she hadn’t expected what walked through the door. Well, if she wanted to be truthful with herself, she was hoping no one would take her place.

“Please put my wife at ease. She’s freaking out about your mate. I keep telling her things will work themselves out, and yet she continues to worry. I’m going to bed. You two have at it.”

“Zachary! You can’t do that. You are as much of this conversation as I am. It’s your pack. Aren’t you worried about starting a riot between your wolves?”

“Cole, talk to my wife,” he said, gesturing toward her.

The other love of her life smiled at her, sitting on the bed. She could feel her mouth pout as his features softened. “You know I need a mate, right?”

Marley groaned. “Does it have to be her? I’ll take you out. We’ll find you a real mate. Not some
girl
.” It took everything she had not to say something meaner. She couldn’t believe the words she’d really
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Jennifer Salaiz

wanted to say. This wasn’t like her. “Please, Cole, not her. I beg you.

She’s so,” Marley paused. “Young.”

Both Cole and Zachary’s laughter filled the bedroom. “She’s twenty-four, Marley, hardly young. But no worries, I’ve already had a talk with her, and she’s promised to tone it down, so maybe things will go more smoothly tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow!” Marley bolted up to a standing position in the bed.

“No way, I won’t be ready that fast. Tell her to come back in four years. Then, I might give her a chance. There’s something about her I don’t like. I’m sorry, Cole, but it’s not going to work!”

He stood from the bed, staring up at her. “Zachary, I don’t think there’s any getting through to your wife.”

“I could have told you that. Once Marley gets something in her head that’s the end of everything.”

“And kids! Did you hear her go on and on about wanting to have kids soon?” Marley dropped back down to the bed. “That’s not something you tell someone on the first date. Get serious, you guys.

She’s a fucking quack. I don’t like her. If she’s handing out invitations to get knocked up, I would have sent her to the dog’s breeding grounds. I mean shit,
that
…
is
…
not
…
normal
. Do I need to spell it out for you two?”

“It was kind of strange,” Zachary said, rolling back to face them.

“Thank you.” Marley sighed.

“But maybe she’s just tired of short-term relationships,” her husband pointed out.

Marley groaned. “That’s it! I’m done explaining to you two. Keep her away from me and my son. That’s all I’m going to say. I don’t like her, nor do I trust her.”

“That’s unfair,” Cole whispered. “Don’t make this harder on me than it already is. You have no idea what this is putting me through.”

Zachary sat up in bed. “What do you mean? If she’s your mate it shouldn’t be hard. You should be obsessed with her. You would know
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69

from the moment you see her. It’s not something you can
make
happen.”

“Yeah, well, if that’s the case, then we were meant to be mated to the same person because I’ve already told you once how I feel about your wife. From the moment I saw her, I loved her.”

The room fell eerily silent. Marley was almost afraid to breathe.

Should she say something? Damn, this was all her fault. But she couldn’t help the way she felt for these two men.

“Cole, I don’t blame you for loving Marley. How can I? I love her, too. But I don’t feel like you’ve look around enough to know you were meant for her. It took me a year to find my mate. You haven’t even really tried, have you? Not even when you were gone for all those months.”

She watched Cole begin to pace back and forth. “No, and truthfully I don’t feel the need to. Marley’s my mate. She marked
me
!

I belong to her.”

Oh, shit! Marley was lost at what to say. Dammit! She had to think of something before a fight broke out. Zachary could only take so much before he snapped.

“Are you so sure she marked you? If I recall correctly you told me you loved her before Demetri was even born. She hadn’t marked you then. You had no reason not to look for a mate when you were gone all that time,” Zachary growled.

“All right, enough. Nothing is going to get accomplished this way.

I do not want you two fighting. All this was supposed to be about was Josephine, that’s it.”

“With Zachary’s permission I’d like to continue to see her. Maybe if I try to put effort into making it work I can break this
obsession
with you.”

Marley’s heart crumbled. Obsession? What happened to him loving her? She loved him. What she had was so much more than obsession.

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“Fine, work on it. But I want you to still project and search that way, too. You don’t even have to leave the house. I have a feeling
she’ll
come to you.”

They both looked at Marley. “What? Who, me? Very funny, Zachary,” she said, hitting him with her pillow. “Just because you say I came to you first doesn’t mean anything. And if I do go to Cole, would you be angry? You never have been before.”

“You know I wouldn’t be angry. There’s too good of a chance you truly marked him. I’m alpha. You can’t mark me. Not unless you outrank me, and as of a few days ago, you didn’t.”

“What do you mean, didn’t? Are you saying I outrank you now?”

Marley asked, confused.

“That’s remained to be seen. Marley, there’s something about your line of lycanthropy. It should be weaker than everyone’s, but it not. You’re too strong. If I didn’t know better, I’d say your blood is as pure as it gets or mixed with something else entirely. Everyone’s strand is diluted. No one is pure of lycanthropy, not even me, and both my parents held the strand. But even one of both their parents was human. It’s like yours aren’t.”

What did this mean? Her parents weren’t werewolves. Were they?

No, of course not. She would know.

“I don’t want to be an alpha. Can’t I just go back to being your wife? You know, Marley the team mom that rushes out and gives Gatorade to the pack after a long night of the full moon.”

Zachary laughed, pulling her in his arms. “No one said you have to take my position in the pack. But you can’t be team mom anymore.

You’ll be joining us, remember?”

“Demetri,” Marley gasped. “Who’s going to take care of him? Oh God, Zachary I’ve always been the one to watch over him and Aria whenever everyone left.”

“We’ll find someone, love. I can always call back Claire. I’m sure she wouldn’t mind. She took really good care of Aria before you arrived.”

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“What about Josie? Couldn’t she watch them?”

Marley spun her gaze to Cole, piercing him with her eyes. “Over my dead body.”

“Come on, Marley. I thought you were going to make this easier on me. Please let me talk to Josie. I need to try something, and if I have her around maybe breaking the obsession will work.”