Romance: Wanted by the Alpha Lion (A BBW Paranormal Suspense Romance) (Heroes of Shifter Creek Book 2) (45 page)

              “I saw you reach for his hand and he move his away. Maybe you both loved each other once, but you don’t now.”

              “I
do
still love him.”

              “If you still loved him, you would be more hurt when he said he didn’t want to marry you. I think you already know it’s over, but you don’t want to disappoint your mother.”

              “That’s not what it is at all.”

              “Whatever it is, the only thing you’re doing is disappointing your family because that man doesn’t give you what you need or deserve.”

              He finished the dishes without me, taking the last plate out of my hand, rinsing it, and putting it in the dishwasher. When his hand briefly brushed mine, I felt a wave of electricity rush through my body, making my legs feel weak with tingling sensation. He didn’t seem to notice, his eyes on fire with anger and his nose flared. The steam from the water rose up between us like a warm phantom in the room.

              He stepped forward and grabbed me unexpectedly. Before I could react, he kissed me passionately, making the tingling become an explosion of trembling desire. My lips reacted to a new feeling they never experienced before. I felt like a damsel in a romance novel with a man taking me into his arms and ravishing me. I didn’t want him to stop.

              “What’s going on in here?” Jaden’s voice came from the kitchen door.

              I disconnected from Jimmy quickly, my face pink from both embarrassment and deep attraction. Jaden glared between us both, his back straight up as if he were a dog at full attention, baring his teeth at the new predator in his midst.

              “I’m sorry, Jaden,” Jimmy said. “I was overcome with my infatuation with your fiancée. She did nothing wrong.”

              Well, that isn’t true. I stared at my feet, unsure of what to do.

              “Let’s go, Daisy,” Jaden hissed and walked out the door.

              I quickly followed him all the way out to the front foyer. Orion watched us go, giving a slight wave but saying nothing. I peered back at Jimmy as I turned the corner into the foyer. He leaned against the wall watching me, but he too said nothing. His eyes looked just as fierce as Jaden’s, but with a different emotion: love.

              “You’ve made a fool of me,” Jaden whispered harshly as he put on his coat from the closet. “An absolute fool.”

              I didn’t argue, realizing that maybe Jimmy had actually been right.

Jimmy

              My cellphone ring startled me awake. The sun had started to drift in through my blinds already, making the room warm and peaceful. Noises of some kind of ruckus radiated below me, sending echoes up the stairs. It’s probably just Orion trying to help Mom with breakfast.

              “Hello?” I answered groggily, not moving from my laying position and rubbing my eyes.

              “Hey Jimbo,” Nina’s voice greeted me. “It’s your sister.”

              “Oh hey, Nina. What’s up?”

              “Did I wake you?”

              “Yeah, but it’s okay. What do you need?”

              “Oh, I don’t need anything. I did hear though that you met Daisy’s fiancé last night.”

              “I did. I hated him.”

              “Well, he didn’t like you much either.”

              “How do you know?”

              “Daisy told me. She’s not doing great right now.”

              “She seemed fine last night.” And her lips tasted like her cherry chap stick. If I tried hard enough, I could still taste it.

              “You weren’t with her the entire night, were you?”

              “No, I wasn’t.”

              “Look, if you can just make sure she’s okay, that’d be great.”

              “I don’t think she’d be down to see me, Nina.”

              “I guarantee you that’s not true. Just, you know, play it cool.”

              “Okay. Hey, by the way, how can you call people? I never got a phone.”

              “The nature of my mission is different than yours. I have to go though. Send my love, huh?”

              “Okay. Bye, Honeybee.”

              “Goodbye, Sweet Prince.”

              I chuckled to myself and hung up the phone. It took me a moment to fully wake up and work up the motivation to get up. The banging downstairs started to become louder – Mom must not be happy about something. I checked my phone, noticing a text from Orion. He couldn’t sleep, so he headed home. Who’s downstairs banging then? Mom certainly wouldn’t start breakfast on her own. That’s simply not her.

              I moved out of my room and downstairs without putting a shirt on or changing out of my sweatpants. The banging became louder as I approached the kitchen. Rushed, whispered voices crept under the door, making me feel like some kind of secret meeting was going on in there.

              “Mom, you don’t have to make breakfast,” I said as I walked into the kitchen. Daisy and Patrick stood there with Daisy covered in flour as if she’d been baking for hours. “Uh… I thought my… um… mom was… in….”

              “Your mother’s still sleeping,” Patrick answered. “Daisy came by this morning. I hope we didn’t wake you up.”

              “I don’t care if we woke him up,” Daisy spat, sounding somehow drunk even though it was so early in the morning. “This is all his fault.”

              “I’m going to go upstairs and change,” I said, covering myself. These sweatpants certainly don’t leave much to the imagination.

              “Jaden left me,” Daisy hissed, walking ferociously toward me. I took a step back. “He said I made a fool out of him and that I was
obviously
in love with you so I could
never
be his first lady.”

              “If that guy thinks he’s going to be president, he’s delusional,” I said. Patrick chuckled.

              “YOU’RE DELUSIONAL!” she screamed. “Do you know how many letters you sent me without an answer? Do you know?” I shook my head. “200! 200 letters! I don’t even know how you found the time.”

              “To be fair, he wrote us a lot of letters too,” Patrick said softly. “I think he just likes writing letters.”

              “I do like to express myself through writing,” I responded. “I also got a little lonely after I left my squadron for my own mission.”

              “You’re ridiculous,” she spat, moving to a bottle in a bag like some drunk. “You ruined everything. I was going to be a politician’s wife just like Mom wanted.”

              I looked to Patrick, and he responded with a sad look. He had no idea what to do. Nina wasn’t really the emotional type, so he wasn’t prepared for a weeping daughter.

              “Maybe you should have some coffee?” I asked her. “Instead of whatever you’re drinking.”

              “Yes, coffee. Let me go get some coffees,” Patrick said, rushing out of the room.

              Great. Thanks Patrick. Daisy watched him, but didn’t go after him. I took a deep breath and walked forward to her.

              “Do you need help with your baking?” I asked softly.

              She frowned. “Kind of. I thought Dad would help but he left.”

              I took the bottle from her – some kind of vodka – and put it in the freezer. Then I washed my hands and put on Mom’s apron. “Tell me what to do.”

              She looked me up and down and laughed. “That looks ridiculous. Look at all the ruffles!”

              “If it works for Mom, it works for me. Is there something you want me to measure out or anything?”

              She guided me to the cupcake recipe she was mixing and instructed me to get the dry ingredients together. I did as she said, though I’ve never been much of a baker. She didn’t seem concerned – she stirred together the wet ingredients and came back to me to finish mixing everything.

              “Baking calms me down,” she said. “I was going to do it at home, but Jaden said he was going to come back for his stuff. He got a hotel before he even came, can you believe that? I think he planned on leaving me before he got here.”

              “But when he saw me, he knew he had to do it?”

              “I guess you were a good excuse.”

              “I’m sorry that I kissed you like that. It probably didn’t help.”

              “No one has ever kissed me like that before. I was caught a little off guard.”

              “Well, I’m sorry.”

              She took a deep breath as she kept stirring. I put the cupcake cups in the pan so she could pour in the batter. She looked up at me and smiled, her anger seeming to evaporate.

              “I’m sorry I yelled at you,” she said softly as she moved to pour the batter. “I’m just really upset.”

              “It’s okay. I understand.”

              “I guess I knew, just like you said, that we were never going to get married. He didn’t like that I wanted to be a photographer.”

              “I remember your pictures back in high school. Didn’t you take Nina’s senior portraits?”

              She nodded, then drug her finger along the mixing bowl and tasting the batter. “Do you want some?”

              I swallowed, liking the way she used her perfect fingers to her perfect mouth. “Sure.”

              I put my own finger into the bowl and followed her lead. She chuckled, dipping her finger in and holding it out to me. This feels very dangerous. She’s just vulnerable and drunk right now, wanting someone to take care of her. I do want so desperately to do that, but it doesn’t seem right.

              “That’s all yours,” I said with a smile.

              She laughed and turned away from me, sucking the rest of the batter off her finger. “What a gentleman you’re being. Maybe you have gotten nicer.”

              I sighed, “I think I’ve always been nice at heart, Daisy. You just didn’t notice.”

              She set the bowl down and looked at me with those clear blue-green eyes. “You’re right, I didn’t notice. I guess I should have.”

              “I was kind of a jerk when I was a teenager though. I liked to have fun at the expense of others.”

              “Yeah, you did. I hated that.”

              “I know you did. I guess I just needed to grow up out of it.”

              “I guess so.” She put the cupcakes in the oven and set the timer. “I should tell Dad to buy some frosting.”

              “I think they have some. Mom said she was going to bake a cake for my return, but she forgot.”

              “Typical Ruth.”

              “Yeah, she tends to be forgetful, but I still love her.”

              “Yeah, you do,” she looked at me straight in the eye again. I felt earthquakes rumble inside me, wanting so badly to stride forward and take her into my arms. “It’s really sweet how much you love your mom.”

              “Well, it was just her and me for a while.”

              “They say you can tell how a man will treat you by how he treats his mother. Jaden treated his mother like a servant, but you treat yours like a queen.”

              I shrugged, “She’s my best friend. She’s always had my back.”

              “My mom hasn’t.” She looked down at her hands. “I haven’t told her about Jaden yet. I’m afraid to.”

              “Do you think she’ll be mad?”

              She nodded. “I know she’ll think it was my fault. I guess it is.”

              I moved to her, grabbing her face to make her look into my eyes again. “It’s not your fault he left you. It just didn’t work out. And that’s okay. Okay?”

              She nodded, her eyes locked on mine.

              “Your mom will understand that things don’t work out. She and your dad didn’t stay together, and they loved each other once.”

              “I don’t think she loved him. I think she just wanted his money. I think Jaden just wanted my money too.”

              “Forget about him, okay? It doesn’t matter anymore.”

              She smiled then rose up on her tiptoes to kiss me. It felt like a messy, drunk kiss, but I couldn’t tear myself away. Her tongue tasted like vodka, but my own tongue longed for hers. I couldn’t stop myself from kissing her with all the love I felt, with all the desire that built up throughout the years. I wrapped her in my arms and brought her closer to me, wanting to feel the way her body fit against mine.

              “Is someone here?” Mom’s voice called from outside the door, probably coming from the stairwell. “Hello?”

              I stepped out of the kiss and looked at Daisy. Her face looked luminescent with a red blush on her cheeks.

              “Your pants don’t leave much to the imagination,” she whispered.

              I looked down and turned away from her, trying to think of my grandma or some disgusting thought. I guess I got a little bit too excited.

              “Sorry, that’s why I wanted to change,” I said, the embarrassment burning my face.

              “It’s okay,” she chuckled. “I got a little hot myself.”

              “That’s not helping.”

              Mom came into the kitchen with a baseball bat, then lowered it when she saw us. She looked between us, confused. Her tired eyes spoke that she’d just woken up.

              “What is going on?” she asked in her grouchy, woken-up-too-early voice. “What are you doing here, Daisy?”

              “Jaden left me,” Daisy answered.

              “He left you? Between last night and this morning?”

              “Yes. He told me when we got home. He said I’m not made to be a politician’s wife.”

              “Of course you’re not. You’re too smart and… and human to be a politician’s wife.”

              Daisy laughed, “I guess that’s true. I probably wouldn’t have liked all those pantsuits anyway.”

              “That’s the spirit!” Mom hugged her and sniffed the air. “Are you baking?”

              “Baking calms her down,” I said.

              Mom looked at me and asked, “Are you not wearing a shirt?”

              “I thought you were down here cooking breakfast.”

              “That sounds very unlike me.”

              “I thought Orion might have suckered you into it.”

              “Hmm, that’s possible. He has such a pretty face that I’m just putty in his hands.”

              “Gross, Mom.”

              Daisy laughed a full, vibrant laugh. Just then, the front door opened and closed, and Patrick came into the kitchen. He held up the coffees and gave Mom a kiss on the cheek. He noticed the flour all over me too, but didn’t say anything; instead, he hugged Daisy tightly.

              “Does your Mom know yet?” Mom asked Daisy. “I hope she doesn’t blame us.”

              “No. I don’t know how I’ll tell her.”

              “I’ll call her,” Patrick said. “I’ll try to talk some sense into her. Jaden was a real bore.”

              “Yeah, he wasn’t much of a conversationalist,” Mom added, giving the frown she gave when she finally told the hard truth.

              “Why don’t you two go out to breakfast or something? We can keep an eye on the baking here,” Patrick suggested. “You should get out of the house instead of wallowing all day, sweetie.”