Scorpio Sons 4: Chase: (SF/Shifter Romance) (10 page)

“I want my own room then. You must be able to find me something. A closet. Anything.”

He thought for a moment and then shook his head. “Not even that. Maybe separate beds? That might work. My cat would know you were there...That might just work.”

Anna considered this option. It was unlikely that his cat would wander over onto a separate bed while Chase slept. It
could
work.

“Okay. We can try it. Are there smaller beds here somewhere?”

“No. I’ll have to order them in, and the bedding to fit them. There’s space in here for two doubles, if you haven’t bought too much else.” He looked around the room, trying to visualize how the beds would work.

“We could cancel what doesn’t fit in.”

“It should have arrived overnight, whatever you ordered. I’ll get the guys to get it from the warehouse and bring it over. Then we can see what fits.”

“They said it would be delivered later today.”

“Okay, so that’s better still. I’ll get the beds ordered and delivered immediately. Then they can be brought in first, before the furniture goes in around them. How’s that sound?”

The emotional balance she’d found as they discussed the logistics of the room vanished again as she realised how impossible the situation really was. No amount of moving the furniture around on the Titanic would stop it sinking.

“It’s a lot of extra expense. And it might not work. Please, Chase... This can’t happen. Just let me go home. You can find another mate if you want one so badly.”

He swore colourfully. “
Want
one? I don’t
want
a mate. I’m just stuck with having one because my cat saw you first.
Don’t you get it
? This has nothing to do with
me
. It’s not
me
making unreasonable decisions here. If it was just me I’d... Look, Anna, please just give this latest plan a chance.

“Colt is back today and you can see what he’s like with Alyssa. Then maybe you’ll understand how unfeasible your leaving is. They’ve been mated since December. You’d think the initial urge for closeness would be over by now. But it’s not. It took everything Colt had in him to take this mission and leave Alyssa here for a couple of days.”

Alyssa had told her all of this herself yesterday and yet it still seemed OTT to her. Normal people didn’t have to live in each other’s pockets just because they were in love. That was unhealthy and needy. Yet it seemed to be the way of it for all three of the mated couples, up to now. Was it the cats that required such devotion? Whatever it was, the obsessive drive seemed to be in control in this situation.

And if Chase needed her here, so he could concentrate on organising missions to take down men like the Protector – No,
the Abuser
– then she would have to go along with it. For now.

Reluctantly, she nodded. “Okay. We can try two beds. But if it doesn’t work, then you’re going to have to tie me up to keep me here, because I’m not going to volunteer to live in fear. I can’t. I refuse to live in fear anymore. Not for anyone or anything!”

Chase nodded too, and headed for the door. “I understand. This is an impossible situation for both of us. I can’t tell you how much I regret all this.”

The door closed quietly behind him.

While she stared at the closed door, conflicted by Chase’s words and abrupt departure, Anna wondered about the time. There was no way of telling whether the sun was up yet or not in the bowels of the earth. She felt as if she’d had a good night’s sleep, but that could just be leftover adrenalin lacing her system.

Going to her overnight bag she pulled out her phone. There was no reception, just as she expected, but at least she could see the time. It was 6.30 am. Actually a half hour past her normal rising time. She must have been more tired than she thought. Or the alcohol she wasn’t used to drinking had knocked her out. But no, she didn’t have a hang-over or any other sign that she’d drunk too much last night.

Throwing on jeans and a fresh shirt, Anna headed out to see if others besides Chase and herself were up. If nothing else she could go to the IT suite and start practising the skills Caleb introduced her to yesterday. From experience, she knew that practising new skills helped her retain them.

When she got to the computer room she found Caleb already hard at it. In his hand was a pop-tart; and a mug of black coffee sat beside his keyboard, its steam rising lazily. From everything she’d been led to believe, having food and drinks around a computer was a bad idea. She would have expected Caleb to be fanatical about such things, given his single-minded obsession with the machines.

At the sight of her, Caleb looked up from the screen and gave her his most charming grin. “How’d you sleep, sugah? You look better this mornin’.” His exaggerated drawl slid over her senses like molasses. He seemed to tone it up or down depending on his mood.

“I slept well. But when I woke –” Anna stopped herself before she shared the embarrassing situation with a comparative stranger, even if he didn’t feel like a stranger.

“Chase didn’t –?” Caleb began, with an indignant grunt.

Desperate to keep the record straight she bit down on her own discomfort and explained as best she could. “No. No. He’s been a gentleman. But I woke up with him wrapped around me, and for a few minutes I... I freaked. We’re going to try separate beds.”

Caleb grunted again. “His cat wanted you close, I guess.”

“Yes. Chase was furious about it. He really doesn’t want me. I just wish he’d let me go.”

“He can’t. Not that I’d know anything about this mate thing from personal experience, but I’ve watched the others. It’s a compulsion that’s uncontrollable. Chase will do everything he can for you, but don’t expect him to go against his cat. Some of the others might be able to do it sometimes, but probably not Chase. His cat is more powerful than ours. I guess because he’s the Alpha. So it makes sense its more demanding than most. And fighting his cat and doing everything else he has to do, is just too much to deal with, I guess. Easier to just go along.”

She nodded. How many people were going to keep telling her this? Caleb was just making her more depressed than she already was, and more certain it would take a long time before she could be free again. Colt was still obsessed with Alyssa after more than three months. It would be at least that long before Chase would lose interest in her.

Three months or more... How was she going to stand it?

Yet images of his beautiful body started to fill her mind. And memories of the scent and heat of his skin when he stood close. The way his light-brown eyes held hers as if he was interested in every word she said. She thought of his kindness when he fed her cake and gave her a place to unwind, without leaving her alone in strange surroundings. Even going to bed early must have been a huge imposition on him, given his workload. Yet he had done it so that she could feel safe enough to get a good night’s sleep. Maybe
standing it
wasn’t going to be as difficult as she’d thought.

At that moment Alyssa appeared, looking tired and drawn, as if she hadn’t slept a wink.

“Morning, Anna. Did you sleep well?” Alyssa asked croakily.

“Chase’s cat got a bit frisky this morning and scared her shitless,” Caleb furnished for her.

“Please, I didn’t mean for this to become food for gossip. This is Chase’s business. I shouldn’t have said anything.”

“It’s both of your businesses,” Alyssa said, frowning in concern. “But you can’t be afraid to share your worries. Chase should never –”

“He didn’t. We both woke up with him
spooning
me. I didn’t realise it was him and panicked. His cat wouldn’t let me go because I was struggling, which only made it worse!”

“So he wasn’t trying anything?” Alyssa clarified.

“No. He said his cat was being defensive, covering me from unknown danger. He didn’t touch me inappropriately. It was just...” She couldn't say more without giving herself away.

Alyssa smiled sympathetically. “You poor girl. This has been a rough intro to our world, hasn’t it? It
will
get better.”

“Chase is ordering in separate beds. Maybe if we aren’t actually sleeping in the same bed he won’t be able to
snuggle.
”

“Colt drapes himself all over me in bed, whether he’s horny or not," Alyssa confided. “It’s like he only feels able to relax when he’s in physical contact with me. I feel the same way. I certainly didn’t get any sleep last night without him there. The cats are very tactile.”

“Can you gals go have your girly convo someplace else? Talkin’ about Colt’s horniness is just too much info,” Caleb complained good-naturedly.

“Yes, right. Sorry, Caleb. Sometimes I forget you’re a guy. Anna, have you had breakfast yet?” Alyssa said with a grin.

“Ball bustin’ much, sugah?” Caleb drawled, clearly aware of her intentional dig at his masculinity.

“Who me? I don’t know what you mean,” Alyssa said innocently.

“Go do your girlie thing and then bring the gal back so I can give her some work to do. She’s a quick study. Or motivated, seein’ how fast she got the hang of orderin’ furniture on-line yesterday.”

“Oh, yeah. When does it all arrive? I can’t wait to see what you got.”

“This afternoon sometime, so the email said. Chase said he was going to get the beds in by then, too, so we can see what fits. Oh, I’ll have to cancel the king headboard and replace it with two doubles.”

“Well, when it gets here just give me a yell and I’ll come help you. Colt will be back by then and he can do the heavy lifting.”

“When Colt gets back neither of you will be seen again,” joked Caleb.

“You might be right. We’ll probably both need some sleep.”

“Bedtime, but no sleeptime, knowing you two. I think you have some rabbit DNA in there, along with the panther.”

“Joke all you like, Caleb Devereaux, but when you find your mate you won’t be so smug.”

“When am I gonna find a mate? I haven’t been outta here in months. The pressure’s on, if you haven’t noticed, sugah. No time for romance or even a quick hook-up.”

“And yet still the Mates come. Inconvenient, aren’t we?”

Caleb threw a piece of pop-tart at Alyssa and she headed for the door with a shriek of laughter. “Come on, Anna. Let’s leave Grumblebum to his work.”

Anna couldn’t help smiling. Although the two were obviously good friends, they seemed to delight in teasing each other. That was how she remembered it being with her brother, Petro, all those years ago.

She envied Alyssa the easy camaraderie she shared with all these men. Would there ever come a time when she’d be able to fully relax in the company of these men, treating them as friends or brothers rather than potential threats? Of course, they felt more comfortable to be around than human men did, especially Caleb, but she was still some way from feeling easy with any of them. Except Chase. But Chase created a different kind of uneasiness in her.

It was late in the afternoon when Caleb looked up from his monitor and announced, “Furniture’s here, the guys are bringing it down now. Want to see if you can pry Alyssa out of bed? Colt’s been back a few hours. They should be over the Welcome Home Lovefest by now.”

Anna shook her head and smiled. “You’re incorrigible. That’s the right word, isn’t it? Incorrigible?”

“I like
irresistible
better, but I guess you probably meant incorrigible. Do you want me to buzz Colt?”

“No, leave them be. I’ll go around and see what we have and then...” She shrugged. What she needed was the help of some of the brothers to lift the heavy furniture, but the idea of inviting them into her personal space was just too overwhelming to be considered.

“I can get a couple of the guys to give you a hand. All you have to do is ask. We’re a little in love with all you Mates. We’d sell our mommas if you asked us to.”

“I don’t think that will be necessary. But if I need some help, I’ll let you know,” she said hastily, pushing down the twinge of discomfort that came with thoughts of being alone in the company of brothers she didn’t know.

For a moment, Caleb stared at her in the intense, focused manner she'd noticed these men often used, and then climbed to his feet, stretching like the cat he was. “I’m curious. Let’s go see what your new stuff looks like.”

Anna was too surprised by this kind offer to say a word. Instead, she just led the way to Chase’s room. Of course, it was easy to identify his door from the others along the corridor. It was the one surrounded by piles of boxes and plastic covered mattresses.

“Well at least you have your two beds. That must be a load off your mind,” Caleb commented as he came up beside her to study the congestion.

“I think I got carried away,” she said with a whimper, eyeing the pile that seemed way more than she’d ordered on-line. The trouble was, it had been so easy. Just click the object to the basket and then let Caleb handle the payments. She couldn’t remember precisely what she’d ended up buying yesterday.

When she opened the door to the room Anna stumbled to a halt, gasping. And it wasn’t the missing bed that left her speechless.

The wall to her right that had the bathroom and walk-in wardrobe doors in it, now also held a window with morning light filtering in through the lace drapes. From the door, it looked so life-like that she momentarily wondered if she’d gotten turned around somewhere and ended up above ground.

Rushing over to the new window and plaster walls that stood about a foot away from the existing wall, she studied the effect more closely. Heavy drapes of a pleasing plain blue colour hung on either side of the picture window. The fine lace curtains sat between them, and through the lace the window with greenery beyond it could be seen. It was as if there was a real garden just beyond the glass. A painted backdrop of sky and hedge finished the scene.

Only when she peered up behind the window did she see the row of discrete down-lights pointed towards her. It was these that gave the impression of sunlight pouring in through the window.

The tears were upon her before she had time to stop them. They poured down her cheeks and she sobbed, scrubbing them away in embarrassment.

“You like it?”

Spinning around at the unexpected voice, she came face-to-face with Chase, leaning against the doorframe. Caleb was nowhere to be seen.

She laughed and choked on the tears, rubbing them away more energetically. “It looks so real. How did you do this?”

There was no doubt in her mind that the window was there because Chase had made it so. That he had gone to this amount of trouble for her humbled her. No matter how much he didn’t want her in his life, he was still determined to make her happy. While the problems of the world sat squarely on his shoulders, he’d found the time to give her the room with a view she’d wanted so desperately.

“I have some contacts in Hollywood. It didn’t take long to come by an old set. The lights modulate on a timer to approximate sunrise and sunset. The window’s a bit old fashioned, but –”

“It’s perfect. Just perfect. If I didn’t look too closely I’d think it was a real scene I saw through it.” Before she realised what she was doing, she’d crossed the short distance between them and thrown herself at the impeccably dressed businessman, holding him to her in a tight hug of gratitude and wonder.

When that didn’t feel nearly enough, she drew back a little, stood on tiptoes, and began kissing his face, small quick kisses on every inch she could strain to reach.

When he started laughing, she wasn’t sure, but it was about the time he wrapped his arms around her, too, and lifted her off the ground. That made it much easier to reach more of his face with her kisses.

It seemed a natural progression for those kisses and laughter to turn into more intimate caresses. Before she fully realised what she was doing she was inviting a deep and hungry kiss that wiped out everything else.

The only kisses she had ever known were the warm, affectionate variety from her family and the slippery lust-filled acts of aggression from the men who claimed her. This was nothing like either of those. It was intense and passionate; sending her heart racing and turning her legs to water.

He tasted and felt so good. The emotions that poured into her from him were both tender and hungry at the same time. It filled her up and made her want more. When his tongue slid along the inside of her bottom lip and then went further, searching almost desperately for her own, she felt her cat surge forward and take over.