Entangled Interaction (11 page)

Rip.

I sat on my bottom and stared up at Cannibal. His shirt now hung from his body where a large portion had been torn out. Said portion dangled from my hand. "Oops."

For a long moment, I ogled his broad chest and six pack abs, the tantalizing view held my attention. I'd seen his chest before. Not to mention his version of Mr Happy, which was quite impressive in my limited experience. As long as I stared and appreciated, no belly flips happened. Shy parts might have taken notice but they soon returned to a state of dormancy. No arousal, no need. No sparks.
Darn it.

Cannibal squatted down to my level, studying my face. "You still love him."

I didn't even bother to ask who he spoke about. "Why do you say that?"

"If you didn't, we'd still be in the Himalayas having a threesome for the record books."

My mouth fell open.

"And you'd be sitting there in wet panties."

I took inventory. While sweat beaded on my forehead, my panties felt dry as the Sahara desert.

"I…"

"Have you fixed your relationship with that overgrown tomcat?"

"No." I shook my head and looked away.

His hand cupped my cheek, bringing my focus back on him. "Are you going to?"

I shrugged. "I've tried, but he's not cooperating."

"When you give up on him, give me a call."

I blinked at him. "You want to date me?"

A rueful grin crossed his face. "Date? Sure. Sleep with you? Hell, yeah. Marry you? Absolutely not."

My mouth opened and shut without words emerging.

"Don't get me wrong, baby. I'm a short term opportunist, not long term material."

"Ohhh." I couldn't wrap my mind around Cannibal's confession. He wanted me. For sex. In a limited capacity for a short period of time. The fact blew me away.

"You fall out of love with that asshole shifter, let me know." Leaning in, he brushed his lips across mine, offered his hand, and pulled me to my feet. "Now, do that spin again. Faster."

Chapter 10

A day later, life threw another twist my way.

The boys had just gone to bed when a knock sounded at the door. I peeked out to find Ducian, one of the local vampires and an erstwhile friend, standing on my doorstep. My heart thudded and mind raced at all the possible horrible reasons that would bring him to my doorstep.

"Hi," I whispered with concern.

He looked at me with puzzlement before apparently the light bulb flashed on. "No need to worry. I'm just here to say a few things."

"Oh." I gestured with my free hand. "You want to come in?"

With a nod, he strode through the doorway, waited for me, then followed until we were both seated on the couch. He declined my offer for something to drink, probably since I didn't have any blood bags in the fridge in preparation for a vampy visit, then sat for a long moment, staring at his clasped hands.

"I… Charity and I…" He stammered to a halt.

"Broke up because of me," I finished for him, my head hanging at the remembrance of my actions.

"Yes."

Taking a breath, I interjected, "I'm sorry. I wish I could take it back. I really do. Never did I intend to hurt anyone. I…"

He reached out with one finger, placing it on my lips. With a smile, he continued. "Let me finish. Okay?"

I nodded until he dropped his hand.

"I was angry, at her. At you."

I sighed but remained mute.

"But then Charity and I began to talk to one another. Cautiously, hesitantly, but gradually, we've built our relationship up again. We worked through our anger, some major issues that stood in our way." His hand moved to rest on his knee while he used the other to finger-comb his blond hair. "I began to realize that without you letting the cat out of the bag, we probably wouldn't be together today."

I met his gaze, unsure.

"That's right. You're the catalyst that we needed to get through some rough times. Charity believes that too. She probably still wouldn't have told me the truth to this day." He gave me a sincere smile. "I still have some hurt feelings, but I know that because of what you did, Charity and I are in a better place than we would have been without you."

A ghost of a grin crossed my lips. "I'm very glad to hear that." As much as I was happy for him, it still left a wound in my heart to think they made it through as a couple while Meat and I didn't. "What made you decide to go back to her?" Curiosity got the best of me.

He shrugged. "When the anger died down, I realized that I truly cared for her. And I felt we were worth a second chance."

"How'd you know it would work out?"

"I didn't. I just felt I had to give it one more try." Ducian shifted on the couch. "Nothing worth fighting for comes easy, you know."

I'd heard those same words not too long ago. From Jasmine.

"I've been meaning to tell you that for a while now. Thought I would see you at the club some night." He gazed into my eyes, and his voice softened. "I heard what happened with Meat's sister. I'm sorry."

"Thank you. She's safe, and that's what counts." I uttered the words that a noble person was expected to say. Look at the silver lining, put others before yourself.
Yeah, but it still felt like a butter knife sawing off chunks of toes each time.

"I can speak to him for you."

Blinking, I looked away. "I don't think there's any need. He… I…" I shrugged. "Thank you, but I think when it comes to me, he's already made up his mind."

His hand reached out to rub my back, before he pulled me into his chest. Biting my lip, I refused to cry, pushing back those emotions with a wall of tempered steel and a will forged with the heat of battle. Crying didn't solve anything. It never did.

"You might be surprised." I could barely hear his words, mumbled against my crown. He placed a gentle kiss to my forehead.

Soaking up the affection, I forced myself to lean back, breaking the embrace before I lost control of my emotions and soaked his shirt with fresh tears. "Thank you."

He stood, pulling me up with him. A smile once more appeared on his face. "Call me next time you decide to go play Wonder Woman."

"You want to play Superman? Strip down in phone booths and wear spandex?"

He chuckled. "Nah. I just want to see you in that bikini outfit she wore."

I snorted.

He laughed as we made our way toward the front door. He paused on the porch and looked at me. "For what it's worth, men don't like to admit they're wrong. They hate to apologize even more. But given the right motivation and reason, you'd be surprised what a man would do."

Unsure how to respond, I managed a weak smile.

With a kiss to my cheek, Ducian sauntered off to his car.

I watched from the doorway until he drove out of sight. Only then did I shut the door and retreat to the safety of my self-imposed prison.

Chapter 11

Stepping onto the main floor of the club, I searched through the masses of hot, horny women. It appeared, no matter the state of the economy, women found the money to not only come to the club but stuff the green papers into the thongs of several of the dancers. The place was packed and hopping with the loud, hard beat of music. Onstage, the current dancer tugged his shirt off and swung it over his head, earning a loud cheer from the crowd.

With a shake of my head, I maneuvered along the far wall, trying to inch my way toward the stage. All the time, I wondered why in the world I was there.

It was simple, actually. I valued my life.

Today, I'd opened my front door to a surprise visitor, bright and early in the morning. In fact, I could have sworn the doorbell rang at precisely the moment the sun made its way over the horizon, turning night to grayish pink.

Drowsily, I had opened the door to find a taller, lithe lady dressed in black heels, complementing a smart red business suit. Everything looked neatly pressed without so much as a speck of lint or dust daring to mar the overall appearance. It took me a long moment to conjure up a name for Meat's mother.

"Daphne?"

She marginally nodded her head while staring below my face level. I followed the line of her vision to my Hello Kitty pajamas, rumpled and wrinkled from wear. An inward cringe followed. She'd just stepped off a model runway, and I, on the other hand, looked like a warmed-over street urchin.

"May I come in?" Her crisp tone shook the last cobwebs from my brain.

"Oh… sure." With a sweeping gesture, I shut the door behind her, listening to the click of her heels on the wood floor. "Would you like something to drink? I can make breakfast." I followed her toward the couch.

"No, thank you." She sat down properly, all ladylike, crossing her legs when settled.

I flopped down in the nearest chair and waited.

My only prior experience with this woman was an inquisition after she and her husband stumbled into Meat's bedroom, catching us in the middle of the human version of
Wild Kingdom
: The Mating Episode. The room heated with the memory as I resisted the urge to fan my suddenly hot face. We shared lunch with them after that, another episode of my erratic bumbling.

"I've come to speak to you about Tygerius," she began as if calling a board meeting to order.

"Okay." I felt compelled to sit up straight, appear taller and less slouched in reaction to her scrutiny.

"What are your intentions toward him?" Her immaculately painted fingernails tapped a knee, while those golden eyes delved in my soul.

"Huh?"

She puffed out a breath. "My son. What do you intend to do about your relationship with him?"

I blinked at her, trying to wrap my mind around this pitch from left field.
My intentions? Do about him?
It's not like he was pregnant and she was trying to determine if I would stand by him and the impending child.
Did he need beating? Rescuing? Castrating?

Her face pinched as if she could read minds and sorely disapproved of my thoughts.

Maybe I should forget the castration idea.
Think mother, not angry ex.
Nope. Nothing came to mind with that. When all else fails, punt. Or, in my case, play dumb.

"My relationship? Umm. I don't know if you realize this or not, but he broke up with me a while back."

She tugged at her form-fitting skirt, then rubbed out imaginary wrinkles as she re-crossed her legs. She flipped her hand dismissively. "So the first bump in the road and you give up?"

My dander rose. She blamed me? While I shouldered more than my fair share of the blame, some of the remainder hovered over her son. "I left messages on his cell phone. He never returned them. I apologized." A sigh escaped as I looked away from her intense expression. "At that point, I figured the relationship was over. If he wanted me back, he knew where to find me and how to get a hold of me. When he didn't…" I shrugged half-heartedly.

She remained silent.

"What was I supposed to do? Hit him over the head with a stick?" The words tumbled out. "He's a grown man and obviously didn't want me. Besides, he could have any woman he wanted, more wealthy women, more sexy and beautiful women. Any that he wanted." Nervously, I wiggled in my seat. "I moved on. I'm sure he has too."

One eyebrow crept up on her chiseled face. "You have a boyfriend?"

Why did we have to discuss my love life, or, more accurately, my lack of one at the crack of dawn? With a woman who obviously disapproved of everything about me, no less. "Well… no."

Reclining against the back of the couch, she stared in my direction for a long, pregnant pause. "He says he's over you, but I don't believe it. No matter how many floozies he beds, I don't believe for a second that he's put you behind him."

I choked and coughed.

"They may be courtesans in the highest degree, but I think Tyger needs more than just a highly paid sex strumpet or bondage bitch to complete his life."

Wheezing, I struggled to clear my own spit.

"He needs someone with substance and not the big-boobs kind, either."

Oh, good grief. Where was that hole that Alice fell down when you needed it?

Daphne leaned forward, her gaze locked onto mine. "You're the one Tyger needs."

I swallowed and blinked, unable to look away from her piercing gaze. "Me?" The word squeaked out.

She nodded decisively. "You."

"But… I… he… we…" Her words shocked me to the core. This woman looked down on everything about me, but decided that I was perfect for her son? What episode of the
Twilight Zone
had I entered?

"You both are fighting your attraction and feelings." She looked around the room. "You hide from the world. He bounces from bed to bed and buries himself in his work in-between."

"If he wanted me, he had plenty of time to do something about it." My chin lifted.

"They don't realize how much their work pulls them away. Before you know it, they're completely wrapped up and have forgotten how to live their life. I should know."

Her admission shocked me. "You?"

Her lips turned down as her features dropped sullenly. "Yes. Tyger is just like his father. Works hard, plays hard. Never slows down for a second to enjoy the fruits of life. Sometimes, I worry that being so involved with running the
Familia
, he will discover another woman to satisfy his needs, one of the many that he spends much more time with than me."

Oh, boy.
What would Dr Phil say in a moment like this?
You think he's been sneaking around with your sister?
No. That would be more Jerry Springer-ish, wouldn't it?
Think. Think. Have you been checked for certain sexually transmitted diseases from multiple sex partners?
Dr Oz.
No. No. Not quite right, either. The man wants the woman who will make his penis happy.
Oh, good grief. Dr Ruth isn't right either.
If only I had a brain
. Like Dorothy had to deal with this situation in the
Wizard of Oz
. For some reason, I couldn't see those winged monkeys fighting for the intimate attention of the munchkins. That certainly gave new meaning to being part of the "Lollipop Guild."

"I see." A
good neutral response. Years of therapy does pay off every now and again. "So you think I can derail Meat from the same railroad track that he's following his father on? To make him see there's more to life than work and responsibility?"