Secrets that Simmer (2 page)

Tony wondered how it was possible to be in a room full of people and still feel completely alone. He was bored out of his mind. After his book hit the bestseller list, and his press tour got into full swing, which included an appearance on Copper City’s most popular late-night talk show, his phone had been ringing off the hook asking for him to appear at different publicity events. His publicist acted like her hair was on fire every time he spoke to her. That was normal for her. Paula was delighted, however. She was pushing him to start working on his next book as soon as possible so they could capitalize on his media attention while he was top of mind for everyone. He was being asked for keynote speeches, and he had his pick of new cases to pursue. And yet he barely felt like he cared.

He was at the top of his game. He was sought after and desired. Yet he wanted nothing to do with any of it, it seemed. This was what he had been building toward his entire adult career, so it confused him why he wasn’t happier about achieving it. He didn’t know what to think. He’d even tried going to the club a couple nights and picking up some random women, but he had been bored with them too. He hadn’t even bothered taking any of them home. It seemed pointless when their endless chitchat and idle chatter failed to engage him in any kind of meaningful dialogue. He’d rather be alone.

Even Eric had remarked on how ornery Tony was, which was really the pot calling the kettle black. “Get with the fucking program, man. You are the most popular guy on the planet right now. Fucking enjoy it.”

Eric never had any problem enjoying anything. Tony often wondered if Eric would ever be able to settle down. It didn’t seem like he had it in him.

That thought stopped him in his tracks. Settling down? Where did that idea come from? It wasn’t because Tony was ready to settle down. His lifestyle was too much for anyone to handle. He didn’t want to be tied down in that way, especially not with a mate. Actually, considering he hadn’t met her yet, he was starting to think that the concept was some kind of figment of people’s imaginations. Of course, he knew better than anyone the different psychological behaviors that went along with being with and finding a shifter’s mate. It basically turned a person crazy. Tony had no desire to ever act like that.

He looked around the room at the sea of tuxedos and beaded gowns. It was his third benefit dinner in the last two weeks. He was so tired of this kind of scene, seeing the same people, and repeating the same silly pleasantries as if anyone actually gave a shit about who he was under his carefully cultivated image. 

Of course, these types of events had been a cornerstone of his life since he was little. His father would parade him around at different political rallies and fundraising events to show off that he was a true family man. Tony couldn’t really complain too much. His father had been an okay father despite the fact that he was always on the road. His mother had always been involved in various activities supporting his father’s multiple political campaigns. Outwardly, they appeared to be the perfect family unit and that had played to Tony’s advantage. He had grown up rich and with access to anything and everything his heart had ever desired. He knew that.

But he found all of the political sandbagging empty and meaningless. Perhaps that was why he hadn’t pursued a career in politics, even though that would’ve made his father’s day. His father had wanted to see Tony follow in his footsteps, but Tony didn’t like the endless chitchat and always having to be appropriate. He didn’t like having to watch everything he said and feel like he was walking on eggshells everywhere he went. But yet he did it, because that was part of his image. He was the perfect, clean-cut American golden boy.

There was part of him that wished he could be more like Eric. Eric was hardheaded, stubborn, and always spoke his mind. In addition, Eric had used that bull-headedness to build a company that rivaled some of the most profitable companies in the world. Tony appreciated his friend’s drive and determination. He had just taken his in a different direction.

Kyle, on the other hand, had joined the military. He had moved up the ranks, but ended up getting into trouble and had been dishonorably discharged. Still, when he came back to Copper City and the three of them decided it was time to form a clanless clan of shifters from those shifters who didn’t belong anywhere, it had made sense for him. Kyle was the one who organized them and led them. When it came time to finally vocalize it to the world, Kyle had come out and claimed his seat as the alpha of the Urban Dwellers. That fact had only recently been released to the press after years of speculation.

During his press tour, Tony had answered more questions than he expected on that particular topic. He supposed it was because of his status as an expert on all things related to shifterism. Humans were always curious about the workings of a clan. The Urban Dwellers weren’t a clan in the traditional sense, though. Although Kyle was the one who organized them and kept them together, he and Eric ran the day-to-day workings of it. They also didn’t require any of the clan members to take the blood oath of allegiance to Kyle, which was a standard practice within any other shifter clan. Alphas could use the blood oath to bend the will of their clan members to do their bidding. It was an outdated and archaic practice, in Tony’s opinion.

They believed if someone wanted to be part of the Urban Dwellers, they could do so of their own free will. They were the clan of the future. It was kind of heady stuff when he thought about it. It had been Tony’s research that had provided the proof that kind of structure could work. That was the only reason that Kyle and Eric had agreed to try it in the first place.

He knew that amongst the crowd gathered there that evening, there were both shifters and humans. That was the usual scene nowadays. It hadn’t been so common eighteen years ago, when the shifters had come out. It had been a momentous occasion, when shifters were finally recognized in their own right. It had been cause for celebration. That was when Tony’s memories grew dark. He scanned over that bit of time and then shut it away again. All of his work could be tied back to that point in his life, but he wouldn’t admit it.

A waiter walked by with a tray of champagne flutes. Tony grabbed one off the tray and absently took a sip.

“The man of the hour doesn’t have someone to talk to?” A sweet, yet sultry voice floated to his ears from somewhere off to his left.

Tony turned slightly and found a sprite of a woman standing next to him. She looked vaguely familiar. Her long red hair fell in delicately curled tendrils over her shoulders and down her back. Her simple black sheath dress hugged every delicious curve of her petite frame. Something inside of Tony stirred. He felt his wolf shift to take notice as well. The woman’s green eyes twinkled up at him. Her pale skin was almost translucent in the lights overhead, but he could see the flash of red on her cheeks as she realized he was staring at her.

He cleared his throat, trying to recall what she had just said to him. “I’m afraid I’m not the man of the hour. But if you’d like, I can help you find him.”

The woman’s giggle made him smile. He grabbed another champagne flute off the tray as it passed by him again, and he handed it to her. She took it out of his hand, and he felt an electric bolt rocket up his arm, even though his fingers had barely touched hers. He was thoroughly intrigued and focused on this woman. He wished he could remember where he knew her from, though. He was sure he had seen her before. He was fascinated by the spray of freckles across the bridge of her nose. He found that he wanted to count every single one. Then he realized that he wanted to kiss every single one too. He had never met a woman who had sparked this kind of immediate physical attraction.

“You’re Anthony Atwood, aren’t you? I’m pretty sure that makes you the man of the hour.” The woman held up a piece of paper and flashed it at him. Tony groaned when he realized it was the benefit’s agenda for the evening. She pointed to his picture in the top center of the page. It was right there next to the words ‘Keynote Speaker.’ “This is you, right?”

“Please, call me Tony. It appears to be a far larger deal than it is. I’m just saying a few words on behalf of my clan.” The benefit gala was to raise funds for medical research, and some of it would be funneled to the Urban Dwellers’ new research facility. Normally, Kyle would be the one attending this kind of thing, but he was out of town at a conference with several other alphas in the remote backwoods country of Minnesota. They had been summoned there to Greyelf by Lukas Kasper, the alpha of the Greyelf Grizzly clan.

Lukas was determined to wrangle all of the clans across the country, and eventually the world, under him. Kyle had no intention of doing any such thing, which was causing continual conflict between the two alphas. For the good of their clan, Kyle had gone on yet another negotiation trip of peace. That meant that, in the meantime, the alpha duties for Copper City fell to Eric and Tony. Tony had drawn the short end of the stick for that evening, literally. Eric didn’t want any part of it.

“I’ve never met anyone so famous before.” The woman smiled up at him again, and he felt his heart miss a beat. A warmth spread across his body that was completely unfamiliar. In addition, his slacks were feeling a little bit tight. He wanted to take this woman off to the side and find out if her lips tasted as good as they looked. But, of course, he couldn’t do that. He was only part animal, after all.

“I’m not famous,” he said with a chuckle. Usually, Tony was pleased to be recognized. This time, though, he felt slightly embarrassed.

The woman looked confused, and a look of chagrin crossed on her face. “You are a best-selling author, a well renowned speaker, and a very successful businessman,” she said as she rattled off his list of accomplishments without even glancing at the program. “I see your name quoted in the paper at least once a week. Now, I may be naive, but I’m pretty sure that makes you at least a little bit famous.”

Tony decided to turn the tables a bit. He found that for the first time in what seemed like forever, he had no desire to talk about himself. Instead, he wanted to know everything there was to know about the woman in front of him., “Well, it appears that I am at a severe disadvantage then. You know my name, but I don’t know yours.”

“Maggie,” she said, taking a sip of her champagne.

Tony raised an eyebrow at her. “Just Maggie?”

“How about we get a real drink and skip over some of the awkward formalities? I’m just here to have a good time tonight. You looked like you could use some company, so I thought I’d come rescue you. But if you have someone else you’d rather talk to…” She let the words drift off into the air.

She thought that he needed rescuing? Tony couldn’t help but chuckle. He realized that he had not been this intrigued by a woman in what felt like forever. “Well Maggie No-Last-Name, it’s nice to meet you, and I have to say I could use a real drink. What did you have in mind?”

“Whiskey,” she immediately replied.

“That was a strong drink for such a little lady,” Tony said.

“Oh, I can hold my own. No worries there,” she said as she downed the rest of the champagne and set the glass on the table behind her.

Tony had no idea what to make of her. Despite the fact that she knew who he was, she wasn’t going out of her way to fall all over him like every other woman he met. Not to mention, she was drop dead gorgeous. His mind had already conjured up an image of what she looked like without her clothes on, and that was an image that would keep him warm at night.

Then he realized that perhaps he didn’t need to be alone tonight. This woman had presented something that had eluded him so far for the past several weeks. He suddenly felt alive. “Before we get that drink, would you like to dance?” Tony downed his glass of champagne mimicking her, and then handed it off to the passing waiter. He saw Maggie smile with a quick shake of her head as if she was exasperated with him.

He opened his hand toward her, and she settled her hand into his. He led her out onto the dance floor and then swept her around to face him. Inside his arms, she felt like the smallest, most fragile thing in the world. But he could tell by the look on her face that there was an inner strength about Maggie. She wasn’t fragile at all. His wolf was wide awake now. He could feel it pawing at his consciousness, whining at him wanting to get to Maggie. That was when it struck him. It was like a thunderbolt. He was feeling the tug of a mate.

On one hand, he wanted to move off of the dance floor and leave. But the far stronger sense inside of him wanted to know everything about her. He couldn’t believe it. He had heard of such a thing, hell, he studied it for half of his career, but when it actually happened in that moment, he was shaken to his core.

“What’s the matter? Cat got your tongue?” Maggie chuckled to herself at the joke. Tony normally would have laughed as well, even though it was a shifter joke he had heard at least a million times.

“Well, perhaps. But I’m not a cat.”

“That was right. You’re a wolf shifter,” Maggie said smugly. “Because there’s a big difference between panthers and wolves.” He wasn’t sure if she was trying to impress him or mock him.

Then there was that nagging feeling that he had met her before that he couldn’t get away from. But if he had met her before, he was certain he would have felt the mate’s tug. It was so strong now that it took everything he had to remain in control. He had to say something to distract his wolf. “So what do you do, Maggie No-Last-Name?”