Hale: Love Me Harder - Alien Paranormal Romance (2 page)

“Sorry. I’m not sure what happened there,” she murmured.

“It’s not a problem.” He gave her a smile and guided her inside.

The restaurant was beautiful and big, yet cozy and intimate at the same time. How could this be the same building she walked into?

“Welcome to Dante’s.” Hale’s voice made her shiver.

“It’s gorgeous in here, I would have never known from looking at the building.”

“That’s the point.” A tall male walked up to her with dark hair and a scar on his cheek. It should have taken away from the masculine presence surrounding him. It didn’t, he was compelling pulling her in while she fought to stay adrift. It was the presence of Hale right next to her that kept her at ease.

“Tori, this is Dante. He and his brothers own this restaurant.”

“It is exceptional in here.”

“Thank you I am pleased to meet you, Tori. Have a seat, I am sure we have something on the menu that will meet your needs.”

“Thanks.” She followed Hale to a table.

“Is English his second language?” She was having trouble deciphering the meaning behind his words.

Lorali choked on a sip of water, while the brothers broke out into laughter.

“Let’s say that English is not his native tongue.”

Tori nodded her head accepting that answer.

“Does anything on the menu appeal to you?” Hale asked her as he casually glanced at his menu.

“I will have a cup of coffee. I’m not that hungry.” Her stomach chose that moment to gurgle in hunger, making a lie of the words she just uttered.

Tori’s eyes got big as she watched two men come out of the back with trays of food.

One stopped in front of Sergey. “Dante said to tell you orders are not necessary. We have already prepared your meal.”

She had to shake her head as all three of her potential clients simply shook their heads without uttering any type of grievance. Salads were placed in front of them with several types of dressing.

“I’m sorry I can’t eat that, I’m allergic to tomatoes.” She glanced down at her salad and then back to the salads of the others. Each salad had a healthy portion of tomatos in them, except hers.

Her brows were drawn in as she looked at Hale with a question in her eyes.

“Don’t be concerned.” Hales voice caressed her. “The brothers know their food and their patrons.”

“I think Dante simply ran out of tomatoes. Which works in my favor.” She threw Hale a smile and then one at the waiter.

The waiter winked at her before turning away. There was a growl beside her that had her turning her head and looking around for the source. It was the sound of the waiter’s laughter that finally made her look up to see his retreating back.

“Eat up, the food is good here.”

She dug into her salad still pondering the missing tomatoes on her plate. Her stomach gave her positive affirmation as she ate. She would have to break into her hoard of money to eat more, this was getting crazy.

The same waiter brought her a great smelling seafood dish. The smell of the food had her stomaching gurgling; she loved seafood but refused to eat it while she was going through her struggle. Sighing she tore into it wondering how much this meal would set her back.

When she was done she looked up to see all eyes on her. The table and been cleared, they were ready to talk.

“Now that we are all full…” Lorali flashed a smile at Tori, “we can discuss what I need to make my wedding spectacular.”

“I picked up a few brochures before I left the office. I have some that may meet your needs, but I must warn you for a location as big and as private as you want it will cost extra.”

“I’m sure we can cover the cost,” Sergey said.

Tori slid the brochures across the table to Lorali. “The location of each reception is outside of the city. Now we could choose something smaller with both indoor and outdoor facilities in the city. Phipps Conservatory comes to mind. The reception area there is beautiful. You will be the envy of all your friends.”

“When you meet my friends who also double as my family, you will understand that is not true. I do love Phipps, we were there recently spending time among the flowers. Unfortunately it is not nearly big enough for what I need.” Lorali answered.

“Then one of the locations outside the city may be what you are looking for. The one in your hand has a lake that meanders through the property. Do you know when you want to get married?”

“We are hoping to make the arrangements this week. We want to be married five weeks from today,” Lorali said, giving Tori a smile.

“Weeks? Venue’s like this book up a year sometimes two in advance. There is no way you will be able to use one of these locations. Have you considered seeing if you can get a spot at one of the local parks, like Highland?”

“We are a very private family. Highland Park would be much too visible and they will not have a shelter area big enough for what we need.”

The sound of Hale’s voice drew her eyes to him. Once again she almost faltered, feeling her brain go on temporary hiatus. There was something about him that called to her. She never felt this way about another person before. Shaking her head to clear it she hoped her delicious seafood hadn’t been bad.

“I am positive we will find the right space. The most pressing question at this moment is, will you coordinate the wedding?” Lorali said, her voice was confident that nothing would hinder them.

Would she coordinate the wedding? Tori was making plans to leave the city and shake the sense of danger she felt hovering near her. To stay for this wedding would put her behind schedule. If she stayed her tiny nest egg would grow fatter and she would have a better chance at escaping.

There would also be plenty of chances to run into Hale if she stayed. This way she could prove that this insane attraction she felt for him was temporary. Then she could leave without any regrets about missing the man meant for her.

“I would love to do your wedding.” The sum she quoted was high, but justified. Now she waited to see if they would flinch.

Lorali frowned and then shook her head. Here it comes a sob story that she would fall for, and end up working almost for free. She really needed more of a backbone.

“Tori, I think we should talk about the price you just quoted for your services,” Lorali said.

“If you can’t afford…” Tori stopped as Lorali shook her head and the men with her tried to suppress their laughter.

“Nothing like that, Tori. I believe your quote is too low.”

Tori sat in shock. Too low? A bride once told her that even if her services were free that would be too high. Of course, the bride said that after her wedding was featured in one of the mainstream wedding magazines. How quickly she forgot when Tori asked for the rest of her fee. Sigh. Never had anyone said, not even her ex best friend, that she should charge more.

“We are going to require a lot of your time and energy to make this the best wedding.” Lorali quoted her a sum that almost made her fall off her chair. She would be able to go anywhere after doing this wedding. For a moment her heart lost its natural beat causing her pain. She put it down to heartburn and not the look of desire in Hales diamond eyes.

“Tori, do you accept?” Lorali asked.

“I don’t want to sound rude,” or look a gift horse in the mouth, “but why are you offering more? Most people would have accepted my fee and considered it a bargain.”

“You’re right they would have, but before I met Sergey I spent a lot of time moving from place to place and offering my services for a pittance when they were worth so much more. I refuse to cheat others when I can afford to be generous.” She turned to look at Sergey smiling with stars reflected in her eyes. “He changed my life.”

“Money can do that,” Tori said, trying not to sound bitter.

“No, Tori, not money. Love, acceptance, respect and a desire to be with no one other than me. Do you accept the terms of the contract?”

“I accept,” she glanced at Hale under her eyelashes. Nothing in her life was how she wanted it to be and still that small kernel of desire was simmering and his name seemed to be all over it. If only the kind of love Lorali spoke of would come her way. She shook her head to dispel thoughts of love.

“Good, will you be able to come out to our house tomorrow so we can get the ball rolling.”

Nodding her head, Tori wrote down the address.

“Thank you for lunch, it was delicious.” Looking around for the waiter to bring the bill she made plans to escape. “Will the waiter bring the check?”

“Lunch is on us. We’re the ones who dragged you out of your office.” Hale gave her a smile followed by a wink.

Her mouth opened to utter a protest then closed, if a handsome male with hair like silk and eyes like diamonds, and a body that was stroke worthy wanted to buy you lunch, then let him.

“Thank you,” she said, smiling at him she turned to leave. Tomorrow, she assured herself she would see him again and whatever was bringing her body to a slow boil would be gone.

Tori stepped outside and looked around. The hair on the back of her neck stood up. She hurried to her car — the feeling of being stalked was back. Once again she pretended she was being overly paranoid, soon she would leave the city and everything would be alright once again.

***

He watched as the woman walked out of the Dante’s establishment. He’d followed them from her office. The realization that another created found his mate made him gloat. Soon they would all die at his hand.

The woman turned around looking as though she felt his presence. Impossible! He could hide himself from the one’s he hunted, there was no way she could sense him. She must feel the presence of the human male who followed her also.

The male was making plans to hurt the female, but he was too late. The minute she chose to associate with the created she became his. He watched until she drove away, soon he would destroy them all.

Chapter Three

Tori kept a watch through her rearview mirror all the way home, but hadn’t spotted anyone following her. Still she couldn’t shake the feeling. It was coming more often now, like someone was watching her, waiting. She never could figure out what they were waiting for, all she knew was that she would feel better when she fled this city.

Once she was done with this wedding she’d have the funds to truly start over and possibly live the life she always dreamed off. Parking her car, she looked around before getting out of it. Her neighborhood wasn’t the nicest to live in. Walking quickly, she made it to the steps outside her building taking them two at a time until she reached the main door. She stopped when she noticed the familiar note lying at the bottom of the door with her name sprawled on it.

An icy chill went through her as she bent over to pick it up. Knowing what it said, she took it into her apartment and wondered if she should burn it or just tear it up. She gave into the temptation and opened it.

‘I am waiting for you, Tori. Soon you will have no choice but to turn to me.’

Same threatening message, same handwriting. The ink had been drizzled across the page like blood. Shivering, she tore the note into unreadable bits before throwing it away. Taking it to the police would be the smart thing to do, but she already tried that.

They humored her. ‘Miss, I am sure it’s nothing more than a prank. Some neighborhood kids trying to scare you.’ Then they sent her away after assuring her she would be ok.

Closing her eyes, she tried not to focus on it or how her life had changed. At one time she used to have dreams of a nice big house in a neighborhood where she could sit out on the porch. Shoot the breeze with her neighbors and feel safe. Life didn’t always go as planned.

Somehow this was where she landed, in a place that scared her with an ex-friend who was heading for trouble. Not that it mattered. Soon she would hop a Greyhound and head someplace warm to reboot her business and make a life for herself.

Deciding to bypass the living room and head for her bedroom a yawn threatened to overwhelm her. Probably from her body actually trying to absorb nutrients from the first real meal she’d eaten in months. Curling up on her bed, she allowed her eyes to drift shut. She was met by the man of her dreams. Why did he resemble Hale?

The sound of running feet and loud voices in the hallway had her opening her eyes and carefully rolling to the floor. She had learned since moving here that it was better to be safe than sorry. Lying on the floor, she moderated her breathing and hoped like hell no one would get the notion to try and get into her place.

The sound of sirens and the whiff of smoke told her she may be in more trouble than she thought. Instinctively she got into a crouch and made her way to the front door. She touched it only to jerk her hand back; the door was hot. Dim memories from school surfaced, telling her in no uncertain terms, not to open that door.

Tori stood up; what did it matter if she died in a fire or from a gunshot wound? Dead was dead. She went to the living room window to look out. Down below she saw the faces of people staring up and pointing. She craned her head up, the window had been warped years before she moved in. There was no opening it and the steel bars on the outside would have prevented her from jumping to what was probably certain death any way.

The edge of the flames on the upper floor caught her eye as she twisted her head in an odd angle. She might make it out alive if the firemen got to her floor and dragged her out. The chances of that happening weren’t in her favor. She knocked on the window and screamed anyway just in case some deity was looking down on her. Maybe they would take pity on her and spare her life.

The screaming stopped as the thick smoke began to infiltrate her apartment. Not sure what to do she laid on the floor in hopes that the smoke would rise leaving her with breathable air. No such luck, she was going to die. Her oxygen starved brain conjured up a monster, not one coming to save her. This one was coming to make sure her death was fast. Smoke over-took her.

***

Hale followed her home. He couldn’t make himself leave her alone. He followed her out of the restaurant knowing she wouldn’t be able to see him. Immediately he smelled the scent of the tainted Created.