Mating Rituals [Impulse 4] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (10 page)

“I didn’t want to involve you in my domestic problems,” Tyrone said.

“I know, which is why I’ve kept out of them until now, hoping things would sort themselves out. But you’re right, she’s putting the entire colony at risk by being out there with your kids. I can’t let that go on.”

“Even if she did come back, she’d want me to give up Kane.”

“Shit!” Vilas looked ready to commit murder. “How can a fellow shifter be so fucking vindictive?”

“Practice,” Tyrone replied drolly. “She’s had plenty of it when it comes to getting her way. I’m partly to blame for letting her get away with it.”

“The time’s definitely come for me to act, Tyrone,” Rafe said. “You and Kane are a weak link in the colony right now, what with your need for a mate, and our enemies know it. That’s why you’ve been targeted, Kane, and why Maria needs to be reminded of who she really is.”

“Not to the extent that she moves back to Impulse and expects to be with me,” Tyrone protested. “She did the dirty on me, went with a human in a fit of rebellion, so she broke our mating ritual.”

“Oh no, she won’t be invited to stay,” Rafe said, “but she’s going to have to accept that the kids belong here.”

Tyrone rolled his eyes. “Good luck convincing her of that.”

“Does she have trouble suppressing her shifter tendencies?” Vilas asked.

“She says not when she’s living a human lifestyle away from Impulse,” Tyrone replied. “I don’t get that myself, but apparently it’s easier for females to overcome their urges.”

“So I’ve been told.” Rafe stretched his arms above his head and grinned. “So, tell us about the lovely Aisha. You sure she’s the one?”

“Absolutely!” Kane and Tyrone said together.

“Then I’m very happy for you both, and, trust me, we’ll find a way to make it happen. When are we going to meet her? It might help if she got a sense of the community spirit we have going here before breaking the trickier stuff to her. She could chat with Chantal and some of the other human mates. They understand better than we ever could just what she has to come to terms with if she’s to stay here.”

“Yeah,” Tyrone agreed. “But they can’t tell her much without giving the game away.”

“Chantal noticed oddities on her first morning here,” Vilas said.

“That’s because she was confronted with you,” Rafe replied.

Vilas shot his buddy the finger. “Even so, bring her over for dinner tonight. I’ll send out a pheromone and let everyone know they have to be on their best behavior.”

“That oughta do it,” Kane said with a wry smile.

As Kane and Tyrone walked home together, Kane’s phone buzzed. He recognized the Information Center’s number and picked up the call.

“Yeah, Claudia. What is it?”

“Hey, Kane, don’t forget you have a school party coming this morning. They’re just pulling up now.”

“Okay, I’ll be right there.” Kane pocketed his phone. “Shit, just as well she called. I’d forgotten about them.”

“I’ll take them if you like.”

“No, you did the last one. Besides, it might take my mind off things. You go back, check on Aisha, and prepare lunch. I’ll be there in an hour, tops.”

“You got it.”

Tyrone left Kane in the reception area and took the stairs two at a time, keen to see how Aisha had fared in their absence. A glance at his watch told him they’d been gone longer than he’d intended. He hoped she hadn’t been too overwhelmed by all that data and still felt guilty for setting her on a wild goose chase. He glanced around the door to the records room, but it was empty. Files were open on the table, the lights on Aisha’s laptop were flashing, indicating recent use, but of Aisha herself there was no sign.

Assuming she was either in her room or in the bathroom, Tyrone headed back to the living room. He glanced out the window when he got there and was surprised to see her sitting at the terrace table, a file open in front of her.

“Hell, she shouldn’t be out there.” Tyrone slid the door open and stepped out to join her. “Hey, did you get…shit!”

What was she thinking? He thought she knew better than to try and sit outside. Tyrone rushed to her side and crouched beside her chair. There were tears rolling down her cheeks—cheeks that were bright red from the strain of trying to breathe the air. Because she couldn’t get enough oxygen into her lungs she’d fallen into a semicomatose state—hopefully nothing worse than that.

Tyrone felt her pulse, which was strong and regular, implying that she couldn’t have been out there for too long. The rasping noises coming from her throat were reassuring. He’d seen hundreds of outsiders over the years trying to prove to themselves and others that they could handle the atmosphere. They never could, and all finished up in the same state as Aisha was now in.

Tyrone scooped their half-conscious mate into his arms and carried her back into the air-conditioned apartment. Her eyes flew open as she greedily filled her lungs with the clean, pure air they craved. Sitting up in the chair Tyrone placed her in, coughing her way back to full consciousness, she looked up at him with a contrite expression.

“Sorry, I—”

“Shush, don’t talk.” Tyrone brushed the hair away from a forehead soaked with perspiration. “Give yourself a moment.”

Tyrone fetched a glass of water. She grabbed it from his hand and drank it down in one gulp.

“Thanks. I guess it was pretty dumb, going out there.”

“It was. Whatever possessed you to—”

“I figured you guys can breathe so it must just be a case of getting acclimatized. I needed to take a break from all those files, so I decided to sit out, just for a minute or two. I intended to come back inside if it got too hard to breathe.” She choked on a sob. “But my lungs seized up and I couldn’t move. If you hadn’t come back when you did, I—”

“It’s okay.”

But it wasn’t, not really. Tyrone had been so wrapped up in his and Kane’s problems that he hadn’t picked up on her distress. That was bad, but it had also taught him a vital lesson. He’d keep that channel permanently open from now on. Better yet, he’d ensure that their mate was never left on her own until she got the hang of this place. Keeping her in their sights twenty-four-seven was a tough job, but someone had to do it.

“How did you do with the records?”

“I’ve started making charts of the different conclusions drawn and think I can already see a pattern. But I need to—”

“You need to get out and check the lay of the land for yourself.” Tyrone flashed a warning smile. “I understand that, but you have to take one step at a time.”

“I guess so.” She meekly dropped her eyes. “Impatience is one of my many failings.”

He looked at her more closely and saw something in her eyes that suggested her tears weren’t solely attributable to the scare she’d just received. “Has something else happened?” he asked suspiciously.

She shook her head, but Tyrone wasn’t buying her denial. He sat beside her on the couch and took her hand in his. Massaging her palm with seductive strokes of his thumb, he offered her an encouraging smile.

“You’d better tell me about it. Can’t have anyone making our houseguest sad.”

She remained quiet for a long time, her small hand still clutched in his much larger one. Tyrone waited her out in silence, giving her time to decide whether or not she wanted to confide in him.

“It’s that bastard, Rick,” she said eventually, twisting her lips into an angry grimace. “He called me.”

Tyrone ground his jaw. “And?”

The story came out in fits and starts. At first Tyrone couldn’t figure out if she was upset, angry, jealous, or a combination of all three.

“I’m mad at myself for letting him use me for so long,” she said, answering Tyrone’s unasked question. “I feel so dumb because I can see now that Angie’s the only one he ever really wanted, but, unlike me, she was sensible enough to see right through him. She didn’t need him, not like I thought I did. She doesn’t need anyone’s help, come to that. She’s smart, beautiful…
tall
and beautiful, funny, popular—all the things I’m not.”

“Hey, don’t put yourself down. I don’t watch a lot of television, but I think I’ve seen this Angie of yours strutting her stuff once or twice.”

“See, you’ve just proved my point. You don’t watch TV, but you still remember Angie.”

“She’s hard to forget because she’s so
in your face
, but that ain’t necessarily a good thing. You’re worth ten of her.”

She smiled through her tears. “You don’t have to be nice. Besides,” she added dramatically, “I have freckles.”

“Geez, you’re a hard lady to compliment.” Tyrone laughed. “You make freckles sound like the kiss of death.”

“When it comes to television, they are.”

“I think they’re kinda cute.”

“Thank you, I think, but I know what works in the media. Looks are everything, especially if you’re a female. Why do you think I clung to Rick the moment he put the moves on me?” She expelled a disgusted breath. “God, I was pathetic! I was so grateful for his attention that I didn’t even bother to ask why he was interested in me.”

“There you go again. What is it that you think’s wrong with you?”

“Where to start?” She really did look like she was serious about this. She actually had no idea how attractive she was or that she oozed sexuality. Tyrone could cheerfully throttle the guy who’d killed her self-confidence. “I’m not tall and leggy like Angie.”

“You’re what, five six?” She nodded. “A perfect height. Guys don’t like to be intimidated by women who’re too tall. Your legs are absolutely perfect and your tits…well, ask Kane if you don’t believe me. He’s the world’s leading expert on the subject.”

Her tears had completely dried up. “Thank you for making me feel better.” She shook her head. “I want to hate Angie, but the thing is, she was always perfectly nice to me, probably because she didn’t see me as competition. She also had the good sense to see through Rick, but now he’s finally enticed her into his camp, and probably his bed, too, with
my
project. Not content with that, the arrogant prick seems to think he can get me back on track by giving me Angie’s spot in front of the camera.”

“You told him to go take a hike, I hope.”

“Yeah, and put the kibosh on my career in the process. Rick doesn’t take rejection well and kindly reminded me that he has a lot of influence with the producer.”

“Forget about him. Think about what you’re hoping to achieve here in Impulse instead. That’ll knock anything Cordite News can come up with out of the ballpark.”

She raised both brows. “How likely is that when I can’t even breathe the frigging air?”

“Getting worked up about it won’t help.” Tyrone ran his fingers softly down the curve of her face. “Tell you what, would you like me to help you get acclimatized?”

She opened her eyes impossibly wide. “You’d do that for me?”

“Baby, you have no idea how much Kane and I would do for you.”

“But why?” She seemed genuinely perplexed.

He winked at her. “We’re partial to freckles.”

“Be serious.”

“I was.”

“Perhaps, but neither of you is that impressed with me.”

Tyrone gaped at her. “Where the hell did that come from?”

“Last night, neither of you wanted to—”

“Oh, baby!” Tyrone threw back his head and expelled a long, frustrated sigh. “We wanted to. You have absolutely no idea how much.”

She blushed. “Then why—”

“Trust me when I say that we had our reasons, but now isn’t the time.” Tyrone should have guessed she’d be peeved because they hadn’t had full-on sex. Now he really did owe it to her to make her feel better about herself. “Okay, first off you have to learn to relax.”

“You think?”

He flashed a confident smile. “I know. Will you trust me to help you?”

“I’m not sure anyone can. I’m beyond help.”

“Just so you know, there isn’t a man in Impulse who could resist that sort of challenge.” Tyrone’s smile broadened as he watched her mangling her lower lip between her teeth, fraught with indecision. “I guess we’re wired different around these parts.”

“All right, I’m prepared to try anything.” But she clearly didn’t think he stood a hope in hell of getting anyplace with her. “What do I need to do?”

“Whatever I tell you to.”

Aisha rolled her eyes and, for the first time since Tyrone had come home, actually smiled. “Why am I not surprised?”

“Get undressed.” Tyrone spoke with calm authority in his tone. She opened her mouth, presumably to protest, but he killed her objections before she could even voice them. “Do it now, Aisha, and don’t ever question me again when I tell you to do something.”

Aisha hesitated, but Tyrone held her gaze without flinching. Whatever she saw in his eyes obviously convinced her, and she removed the few garments she was wearing. She watched him all the time as she stepped out of them, presumably seeking approval, but didn’t speak a word. She was waiting for compliments to assuage her nerves, but unfortunately that wasn’t the way this game was played.