Wanted: Wild Thing (Midnight Liaisons) (8 page)

Count on a man to focus on that. “I’m a changeling,” I flirted back. “I’m not blind.”

He grinned over his shoulder at me.

W
hile Hugh showered, I called my bestie, Marie. To my relief, she picked up after the first ring.

“Hey! Where the hell have you been?” she said.

“Sorry, sorry.”

“Don’t be ‘sorry’ at me, missy. I’ve been texting you like a fiend and I’ve heard nothing! Nothing! Do you know how freaking annoying that is? How worried I’ve been? How many snarky things I’ve sent to you that were ignored?”

“I know. I’m a bad friend.”

“The worst. It’s unforgivable. So where have you
been
?”

“Been?”

“Uh, yeah. You’ve been MIA for the last two days.”

I had? I didn’t realize. Maybe with Hugh at my side I’d been ignoring my best friend. That was lousy of me. “I’m sorry. I suck.”

“See? You don’t even have the heart to disagree with me.”

“I don’t,” I said with a laugh. “Listen. Can you do me a huge, huge favor?”

“Oh, boy. I guess I can. Does it involve a pinky swear?”

“It does. Are you at work at the security office? Can you go and bring me the biggest pair of Ramsey’s clothing you can find? I need skin-out. We’re talking underwear, T-shirt, shoes, and pants. Or shorts. Whatever he’s got that’s big and roomy.”

“Men’s clothes?” She chuckled, the sound throaty. “You little devil. Does that mean your problem—”

“Something like that,” I interrupted, not wanting to get into the details. Marie knew about my issue—she was the only person who did—but I didn’t want to have to explain the mechanics of the weird relationship I had with Hugh. “Can you just bring some of Ramsey’s stuff over ASAP?”

“Okay. Be there soonish.”

True to her word, Marie came over within an hour. I opened the door and she held out the bag of clothing she was carrying, eyeing the fact that I was sweaty and mussed, and wearing nothing but a sheet. “Is that the shower going?”

“It might be,” I said, blushing.

“Oooh, girl,” she drawled. “I smell a guy all over you.” She wrinkled her nose. “And you smell like an old fishbowl or something. Where have you been? Everyone’s been looking for you. Do you know how long—”

I cut her off with a wave of my hand. “I know. Long story. I’ll tell you later.”

Her eyes widened. “No
way
am I waiting for our regular lunch. We need to go out ASAP for a gossip-fest.”

“Deal.” I stuck my pinky out. Anything to get her off my porch and get back to Hugh. Normally I’d love to chat with Marie for a while, but I was leery of her seeing the big, naked shifter I was currently harboring.

She locked her pinky through mine. “I hope there’s a good explanation for all this.”

“There will be.”

She shook her head at me. “Suit yourself. I have to run.” Then, she waved and trotted down the stairs.

I shut the door and pulled out clothing, going through the bag. She’d brought me one of Ramsey’s work uniforms. I could tell from the enormous size. The black T-shirt had the Russell Security logo on it, though it still didn’t look nearly big enough for Hugh. It’d have to do. Marie was a smart cookie. She’d included some soft cloth athletic shorts and a pair of men’s sandals, along with some boxer briefs. It would suffice, but one thing was sure—I’d need to take Hugh shopping. I considered his long, tangled hair and his claws. He needed a mani-pedi if he planned on blending. If I was taking him under my wing? That’d be the first thing I’d tackle.

Right after my shower.

When I got out, Hugh was sprawled on my bed, completely and utterly naked and flipping through a magazine with wonder. He stopped on a picture of a half-naked model, his hand tracing the photo. His cock was semierect, too.

“Find something you like?” I asked.

“Women are very beautiful,” he said. “It gives me pleasure to look upon them. Also, your bed is far more comfortable than where I slept. I think we should trade.”

“I don’t think so,” I said. “If you want to be in my bed, you have to take me with it.”

He stiffened and sat up, a frown on his face. “You know that cannot be.”

I shrugged. “You’re the one with the vow, not me.”
I just have a monster inside me.
I sighed. “I’m going to get dressed, and then we’re taking you to a salon.”

“Salon?”

“Yep,” I said, wrapping my towel tighter around me and heading to my closet. “It’s a place where they fix your hair and nails.”

He snorted in derision. “Why is this important?”

“Because,” I said. “You’re going to be with me for the next month, and it’s imperative you blend in. I don’t want people wondering why we’re hanging out together. You have to look like one of my clients in order for this to work.”

“And my appearance is an issue?”

“Only to humans,” I flirted. For some reason, his seeing me in my changeling form had broken the ice. The worst had happened, so I had nothing else to worry about. He’d seen me at my ugliest, and he’d looked away. He hadn’t vomited at the sight of me, or screamed in horror. He’d simply looked away. It hurt my feelings, but I could handle it. It was oddly relieving to have someone to share my secret with. It made Hugh safe. Throw in the fact that he was tall, muscular, and more than a little wild? He was hitting all my buttons.

Hugh grunted. “If I must change my appearance, I shall.”

“You must,” I said sweetly. “And now you must get out, because I need to get dressed.”

He didn’t move. His heavy-lidded eyes ran over my towel-clad form. “I’ve already seen you naked, Ryder. And I find I like looking at women.”

“Doesn’t matter,” I said, though I did feel a flush of pleasure to hear that he liked looking at me. “I’m naked and you need to leave.”

“I am naked. You are not asking me to leave.” He raised an eyebrow at me.

“Okay then, leave.”

“I told Finian I’d remain at your side.”

Oh, was he going to play this game? “Suit yourself,” I said in my sweetest voice and dropped my towel. If he wanted to torture himself, he could. I didn’t care, and I never backed down from a flirty challenge, that was for sure.

I smiled in satisfaction as I heard him give a soft groan, audible enough that even my poor senses could pick it up.

I
studied Hugh, tilting my head as I considered his frame. “This might not have been a good idea.”

He jerked at the tight collar of the T-shirt. “I agree. These clothes are very uncomfortable.”

“It’s not that,” I murmured, pressing a hand to my hot cheeks. He would find most modern clothing uncomfortable, I suspected. Most men weren’t built like Hugh. The black tee that fit Ramsey comfortably was skintight on Hugh, outlining his large, firm pectorals in an almost indecent way. His big arms bulged against the bands of the short sleeves, and I could even see the outline of his eight-pack abdomen. The boxer briefs he wore cupped him in rather magnificent ways, which made me blush.

I held out the shorts. “You need to put these on, too.”

They were a must. I didn’t want to think about his junk bouncing around all loose while I took him around town. It made me feel a little . . . flushed. Distracted. And I couldn’t afford either.

I had to come up with a plan. First, disguise Hugh into normalcy. Then, work. Then, figure out how to lose my virginity.

It was going to be a busy day.

Once Hugh had (protestingly) donned the rest of the clothing, we set out. I knew just the place to take him where they wouldn’t ask too many questions. After grabbing breakfast—and giving Hugh a quick lesson on debit cards and how they worked as money in exchange for goods—we drove out to Little Paradise. I lived in Fort Worth proper; my condo was close to downtown so I could be closer to work, but most of the shifters lived out in the country, northwest of the city and out in the sticks. Little Paradise was the current settlement of choice, and most of the businesses in the small town were owned and operated by shifters. Thanks to my line of work, I ended up there on a fairly regular basis.

I pulled up to Sweet Scissors, a small, bright teal building with pink curtains along a strip of Main Street. “Come on, Hugh. Let’s go get you dolled up.”

“What is this place?” he asked as he followed me in, ducking into the small doorway.

“It’s called a salon,” I told him as we stepped inside. “It’s run by shifters, so they won’t give you any trouble. Just follow my lead.”

As soon as we entered, all heads turned in our direction. An elderly lady sat in one chair at the back of the room, her gray hair in curlers as the stylist fussed over her. Both of them had turned, as had the other woman, who was sweeping up hair from under her chair. Hugh’s hulking form blotted out the light coming from the doorway, and one of the hairdressers blinked at the sight of him.

“Do you, um, have an appointment?” the hairstylist asked.

“Hi, Lisa. I’m Ryder from Midnight Liaisons.” I beamed a smile at her. “I think I met you and your sister Lauren at the dance last month?”

Her wide-eyed gaze turned to me, as if seeing me for the first time. “Oh. Hi.” Her voice was breathless. “Did you have an appointment, too?” Then her gaze flicked back to Hugh and I saw a frank appreciation there. “I’m sure I could squeeze you in.”

The way she said that made my eyes narrow. “He needs a haircut and a mani-pedi. He looks a little too wild at the moment, and I need him to look more human.”

“Why?” Lisa breathed, moving closer to Hugh, her broom still clutched in her hand. The other stylist continued to just stare at Hugh as well.

I was starting to question the wisdom of coming to a salon run by a pair of were-mink sisters. Clearly someone like Hugh was the equivalent of catnip for them. “Because he needs to blend,” I snapped, crossing the room and thumping into one of the waiting chairs. I picked up a magazine.

“All right,” Lisa said, moving closer to Hugh. She reached out to touch his hair—

And Hugh grabbed her arm, looking over at me, frowning.

“It’s okay,” I said, feeling a little better. “She’s just going to look at your hair.”

He released Lisa’s arm. “My apologies.”

“It’s okay, big guy,” Lisa said, reaching out to touch his hair again. She didn’t look discouraged in the slightest. Her fingers brushed through his tangled locks, and she made a noise of appreciation at his streaks. “Are these highlights natural?”

He frowned. “I do not understand this question.”

“Natural,” I chimed in from afar and turned the page in my magazine, even though I hadn’t looked at it once.

“Oh, mercy,” she said, then fanned herself. “You are gonna be fun to work on.”

Damn. I viciously turned another page in
Field & Stream,
wondering why it bothered me so much to watch Lisa leading Hugh by the hand to the sink, beaming all the while. Once he sat down, she spent a few minutes undoing his small, tangled braids and chattering up a storm to him while he cast helpless looks in my direction.

The other stylist seemed to recover from her trance and turned on her hair dryer.

Immediately, Hugh shot to his feet with a fierce snarl.

I jumped to my feet and crossed the room to put a hand on his chest before he attacked one of the now frightened women. “It’s just a tool to dry hair,” I murmured to him. “Be calm.”

He looked down at the hand I’d placed on his chest, then at my face. “Calm,” he repeated, glancing at the hair dryer again.

Lauren helpfully clicked it off.

“Nothing to worry about,” I assured him. “Nothing to protect from here, either. I promise.” I gave him an encouraging smile. “And I’ll be right here.”

He pulled up one of the salon chairs, dragging it closer to the sink. And he pointed at it. “You will sit right here, Ryder.”

I didn’t miss the annoyed look Lisa cast in my direction. I reveled in it and took a seat next to Hugh. “Right here.”

And I bit back my smirk when his big hand landed on my clothed knee, making sure I was close at all times. It was just because he was sworn to keep me safe, but Lisa didn’t know that.

And I kind of liked it.

A
few hours later, Hugh was transformed into normalcy. His big claws had been filed down to regular fingernails, and his toes had been pedicured and buffed, which Hugh had proclaimed “ticklish.” His unkempt hair had been chopped short on the sides and a bit longer on top, just long enough for Lisa to fashion into a lock that flopped onto his forehead in a most rakish fashion. She’d suggested shaving his sideburns (and had run a hand down his jaw, which I’d noticed). I’d declined.

I liked his sideburns. There was something about them that appealed to me a lot, and I didn’t want him to become completely civilized.

We tipped her well for the quick makeover, and I ignored the fact that she slipped Hugh her phone number.

After all, we hadn’t even gone over phones yet.

Next we headed back into Fort Worth proper and hit up the mall, where we dropped into the Big and Tall store. He didn’t want the suit that I kept pressing on him or anything even remotely close-fitting. I had to settle for more loose athletic clothing: plain T-shirts and shorts, and the biggest pair of sneakers I’d ever seen. I didn’t even know there was a size 18. We had a bit of a fight over the shoes; I insisted, but Hugh didn’t like them because he couldn’t “grip anything with his toes” with them on. I won the argument once I pointed out that every other person in the store wore similar shoes, but it didn’t stop Hugh from muttering about how stupid they were.

But now that Hugh was dressed and wouldn’t cause people to stop and stare when we walked down the street, it was time to head to work. I checked my watch. Almost six. We’d make it right on schedule.

I looked over at Hugh to give him one last word of caution. “Just remember to be silent if you don’t want to answer someone, and let me cover it. The important thing is that we have to seem like things are normal, or else everyone’s going to be up in our business.”

“And that is bad?” he asked, his tone thoughtful.

“Very bad,” I agreed. At least, it’d be bad for me. I was going to have to circumvent the rules and try to date a shifter if I wanted to get rid of this curse of mine. Marie had been fired for doing the same thing, and I didn’t want to get fired. I loved my job. But I also loved being human way more than I did being a changeling, so something had to give.