Diamond Dust (18 page)

His bear rolled upward and suggested taking her for a few more rounds so she’d stop with the thinking so much. Tyler kind of agreed with the beast this time. “You need me to explain sexual attraction?”

She leaned up on an elbow, her blonde hair falling in a curtain over her shoulder as her gaze searched him thoroughly. “Oh, I understand sex. I’m still not sure why I wanted it so badly with you.”

A myriad of answers waited to be shared, but none of them were as important as clearing the air. He brushed her cheek with his knuckles. “You’re more to me than a political necessity.”

Some of the softness left her face. “Go on.”

Tyler crossed his arms under his head and stared up at the ceiling, trying to put his thoughts into order. “You saw Lillie tonight.”

“She’s lovely. I hope she didn’t get hurt in the fight.”

Tyler shook his head. “I saw Jim and her ducking out. She’ll be fine, and he’s head over heels with her, so you can be sure he’ll take good care of her.”

“Turned out well for an arranged marriage.”

Damn. “I should have guessed you’d have ferreted out secrets even in the short time before the party blew up. Yes, their marriage was arranged, just like my brother Frank’s.”

She leaned higher, a question in her eyes. “Frank? Really? That must have been successful as well, because I heard he left civilization when she died.”

Tyler nodded. “In the clans, arranged marriages are common. We’re not like packs who gather together en mass. Usually the clans are spread over a wide area, and chances of finding another bear and falling in love are low.”

Her eyes widened, horror filling them. “You’re not engaged to someone, are you?”

Shit. He caught her before she could crawl off and take away her warmth. “No, of course not. I wouldn’t have taken you to bed if I had another woman. I’ve been avoiding making a commitment because I was too busy traveling for the family business and, more recently, running the show.”

“Evan mentioned you had taken over. I’m sorry, did your father pass away recently?”

“Last year.” Tyler paused. “And it wasn’t my father who died.”

She frowned. “I don’t understand.”

Tyler forced out the words. “My mother died. My father has been devastated by her loss. He’s a shadow of the man he was before.”

Caroline sat upright, and in spite of the seriousness of the moment, his gaze involuntarily went to her breasts. She jerked a T-shirt from under the pillow and pulled it over her head while his bear complained bitterly.

“Stop rumbling. We need to talk and eat, and naked isn’t a good idea for that,” Caroline scolded as she scrambled off the bed and headed to the closet.

“Naked works fine by me, although food would be welcome.” He admired her legs and the curve of her ass peeking out from under the tail of her shirt. “Your sister won’t have anything for me to wear.”

“Her partner might, or you can use the robe again.”

“I don’t see what’s wrong with naked,” he grumbled, accepting the pair of sweatpants she thrust at him.

“I’ll make eggs and toast. You can squeeze some oranges.”

She was gone in a blur of motion. Out the door, leaving behind only the scent of their lovemaking.

Tyler sat on the edge of the bed and wondered what had just happened. He’d been all ready to make a full confession about why he’d been an ass, and she’d cut him off. He thought women liked conversations about emotions.

His bear snickered.

Asshole
.

By the time he’d joined her in the kitchen, she had a pan heating on the stove and the carton of eggs open. Toaster loaded with bread. “You have everything under control?”

She snorted. “Always.”

He opened the fridge and looked for oranges. “I’m a lousy date. Took you out for dinner and never fed you.”

“Look on the bright side, the entertainment was good.”

He eyed her as she cracked eggs into the pan, studiously avoiding his gaze. Okay, it wasn’t just his imagination. She really was acting weird.

Maybe her blood sugar was low or something. He followed directions as she ordered him around the kitchen, even though he did know how to use both a knife and a hand juicer.

He let her ramble about inconsequential things, answering her generic questions regarding Dzinsen Diamonds. Not until she’d cleaned her plate did he push his own away and lean back in his chair.

“I know we didn’t have much time before things blew up, but what are your thoughts on the gathering tonight?”

“Other than the idiot who turned it into a punching match? Todd Ainsworth is an ass. I think he’s abusing Amanda.”

Dammit. “Chances are, yes, he is. What else?”

She swirled the last inch of orange juice in her glass and stared at the liquid. “Bears are protective of their women. Far more than they need to be, if Lillie’s instant response to the attack is any indication.”

He paused. “I agree with you that we’re protective. It’s in our nature.”

She blew a raspberry at him. “There you go again, blaming it on your instincts. Why do you shifters do that? Everyone who is not broken wants to protect those they love, whether they’re human or shifter. Bears don’t have a monopoly on protective reflexes.”

“Can I blame the
over
protective part on being a bear?”

“Nope. You can blame that on being an idiot. I know some women need more encouragement, and even coddling, than others, but then again, so do some guys. By cutting off an entire section of your population, you are losing out big-time in harnessing their skills and enthusiasm.”

Tyler stared at her. “You got all this out of barely forty-five minutes in the presence of conclave members?”

She held up her hand and flicked off fingers. “The party, the limo ride, the lingerie shop, dinner last night, our little meet-and-greet in the hotel…”

Damn. “So what’s the solution?”

Caroline stacked their dirty plates then carried them to the counter. “You need to win this thing, so when you do the territorial fixes, you can smack sense into the guys who need it. Someone like Jim Halcyon—he won’t argue if you suggest he and his clan join the twenty-first century.”

“No, he won’t.”

She leaned a hip on the counter. “Todd Ainsworth, on the other hand, should be locked up somewhere for a very long time.”

“Locked up?” That was a shocker. “I would have thought you’d suggest something painful, or an even more permanent solution to rid ourselves of the wonder that is Todd.”

“I didn’t say
where
I’d lock him up, did I? Or who I’d lock him up with.”

There was the bloodthirsty woman his bear so appreciated. Tyler took a long slow look, starting at her bare feet and working his way up to her eyes. “I want your help to win this, but I was afraid to let you become more than an assistant.”

“You don’t have to tell me why—”

“I do.” He stood and crowded her, one hand on either side on the counter to trap her in position. “You’re pushing me away when I want to explain. I thought I needed to grovel?”

She avoided his eyes. “I changed my mind.”

“That’s not an answer.”

Caroline planted her hands on his chest and attempted to shove him back. “I don’t want to know why you were keeping me at arm’s length. It’s no big deal. The sex thing is fine, and I’ll help you at the next gathering, but—”

She wasn’t getting it, so he shut her up the only way he could think of. He kissed her. Open mouths together, his tongue stopping hers.

Instead of applying pressure to escape, she was soon sliding her hands around his chest and dragging her nails down his back. They had no difficulties in the physical-compatibility department, that was for certain.

He broke them apart and leaned their foreheads together. “Listen to me. I like you. I want to see where this can go between us, not only for conclave.”

Caroline shook her head. “I don’t want a new boyfriend.”

Tyler hesitated over her word choice. “A
new
boyfriend? You just broke up with someone. That’s why you’re living in your sister’s apartment.”

She wiggled uncomfortably.

“I don’t get it. If you’re not dating someone, then why not make it official and date me? You like me, right?”

“Of course I do. We had sex. I don’t fool around with guys I don’t care about.”

He narrowed his gaze. “Are you trying to escape someone? Was your last boyfriend more like Todd than Jim?”

Her jaw gaped open before she pulled herself together. “Hell, no. Evan is—”

“Evan? As in the leader of the Takhini pack?” Tyler’s hackles went up. “What did he do to you? I’ll kill him.”

She smacked a hand against her forehead. “What is with you Alpha dudes? Stop interrupting and listen to my words. I do not need you doing anything to Evan. I don’t need you doing anything in my life. Get it,
my life
. Me, in charge.”

Tyler calmed himself. “Sorry, instinctive reaction.”

She narrowed her glare. “You say the word
instinct
one more time, and I swear I will hurt you.”

This time when she shoved him Tyler stepped back, setting her free to pace the living room. “I’m sorry for misunderstanding, but what does that have to do with why you won’t officially go out with me?”

Caroline leaned her head on the window, staring into the darkness of the night. “I’ve been a human in a wolf pack for ages. I’ve done things to make myself important. I’ve worked hard and fought for my position, like any wolf would. And I’m tired of it. I want some time to myself. No shifters to make happy, no rules to follow or worry about breaking. I can’t have that, not with you needing my help, but I can certainly avoid being an official girlfriend and all the extra shit that would bring with it.”

“I feel guilty for dragging you into this, but I still fail to see why being with me isn’t a plus. I’m not more work.”

“Ha.” The derision in her tone rippled across the room like a cold splash of water. “You’re one of the worst types. You don’t think you’re a lot of work, but what you really want is everything. All my attention, all my focus. Admit it. At least acknowledging it would be one step in making a difference in this conversation.”

“You want honesty?” Tyler moved in on her. “I didn’t want to ask you to be my date for real because I was afraid I was too attracted to you. If it’s just business, I could tell myself it’ll be all over in a week. That I don’t have to worry about getting attached, falling in love, and then losing you.”

Caroline’s legs wouldn’t hold her any longer. She collapsed on to the couch and stared at Tyler in shock. “Are you ever leaping to conclusions there, bucko. From a date to falling in love in three easy steps. That’s not normal.”

He was the one pacing the room now, frustration in his every move. “Maybe not for a human, but I’m a bear.”

He continued to stride back and forth, much like her thoughts bounced in her brain. That tropical-island beach was looking better and better all the time.

“So…bears fall in love fast?” And why hadn’t she been warned?

Tyler clasped the back of the easy chair, his big hands fisted in the fabric. “We’re emotional creatures. Violence, passion, all shades of the spectrum. It makes sense. And as my family demonstrates, losing our life partner is more devastating for us than most.”

She shook her head. “Let me get this straight. You’re afraid you’ll be attracted enough to fall in love, because when I die in some horrible accident in a few years you’ll go off the deep end, so you’d better not get involved with me in the first place.”

His mouth twisted with resignation. “Not the most logical thing I’ve ever done.”

“I’d say.”

He came around the chair and sat beside her, reaching for her hands. She allowed him to take hold, and that’s when she noticed she was still wearing his ring.

The sensation of him twisting the ring gently made something twitch inside her stomach, and it wasn’t the midnight dinner they’d just eaten.

She cleared her throat. “So. What’s changed between now and, oh…four hours ago when you first decided hands-off was a better policy?”

Because she was getting whiplash.

Tyler lifted her fingers to his mouth, his lips tender on her skin. “I changed my mind.”

Drat. He’d echoed her words from earlier. She couldn’t even snarl at him for being unreasonable. “That quick, huh?”

He nodded, sincerity in his eyes. She blew a stream of air out in the hopes it would clear away some of the cobwebs.

“If we can put the awkwardness behind us, I think we can come to a compromise that suits both of us.”

“You’re back to sounding like a businessman.” Caroline looked him over carefully. In the short time she’d known him, they’d covered a lot of territory. Maybe it was because he was a shifter, and she was so used to spending time with people who were “other” than she was. An internal check put her at the not-mad-at-him and still-interested-in-him stage.

A yawn escaped before she could tug a hand free from his grasp and cover her mouth.