Emma stopped beside me and tapped the low back of the stool. “Anybody sitting here?”
“You are,” I said, turning it toward her with my foot.
“Great,”
she said, easily straddling the stool, and I wondered what it would be
like if she wrapped her long legs around me like that. She dropped my
credit card on the bar between us. “I wasn’t sure when I’d run into you
or Sheila again, so I went back and grabbed it before I left the
office.”
“Thanks.”
“Do you want to know how much it was?”
“Don’t care. You have it in your system now, so you can charge it whenever Sully comes in. If it doesn’t work, call me.”
Appreciation and admiration warmed her eyes, and she laid her hand on my forearm. “I’ll do that.”
Her
touch seared my skin, sending my brain to feral places, so I broke the
contact by standing up to fish my wallet out of my pocket. But I didn’t
miss it when her gaze dropped to my belt buckle, and I hid my smile as I
returned to my seat. Lack of self-control was about to be a problem—or a
solution—for both of us.
Sheila appeared with Emma’s drink, deposited a small napkin square in front of her seat, and then placed the drink on it.
Emma gasped. “It’s like my hair.”
“Nothing less for our Rainbow Vet.”
Emma
snapped a photo. “For social media later,” she murmured, and then she
took a drink, a long one. When she placed the drink back on the napkin,
she grinned. “It’s delicious.”
“Need a menu?” Sheila asked, glancing at me.
“I’d better, or I’ll be tipsy in five seconds,” Emma said. “I skipped lunch.”
Sheila turned to me. “What about you?”
Instead of answering Sheila, I leaned closer to Emma. “Would it bother you if I ate beside you?”
“Not at all,” she said, hesitating. Then she added, “I think I’d like that.”
“I’ll
take a menu,” I said, giving Sheila a glare, hoping a dose of ire would
dim her glee. Did it take the edge off my cousin’s smile? Hell no.
At least she hurried away before she ruined everything. “Let me grab those menus.”
Emma pointed to the nearly empty glass in front of me. “What are you drinking?”
“I’m
devouring a mouthwatering Animal Doctor.” I held up the drink and
drained the last of it. “It’s one of the best things I’ve tasted in a
long time.”
“Is that so?” Her pupils dilated, and she took a breath.
Had she shuddered? Her next drink nearly emptied her own glass. “Do you
like to… devour… Animal Doctors?”
Oh, fuckity, fuck, fuck.
***
Six Nude Hours Later
Olivia
strolled into the Conclave, depositing eight large metal pans on the
table at the rear. Phil and several other shifters from Six-Mile
followed her, carrying more food into the gathering place, spreading it
out on the tables the coffee folks had been using for most of the day.
I
jumped up from the spot I’d chosen near the multimorph magnolia and
jogged up the center aisle toward Olivia. “Hey,” I said, over-eager for
another, more familiar face. “Olivia.”
She stopped short, crossed her
arms, and raked her gaze over me. “Huh. No clothes. Interesting fashion
choice for the prudish baby shifter. Interesting message you’re
sending.”
“Well, you can thank Jasper for that.” I glanced around and leaned closer to her. “Seems like they all already know about me.”
She
tipped her head back and forth as though weighing my words. “I’m sure
you can thank Jasper for that too. He’s the biggest gossip in the clans,
and he gets around.” Her eyes flicked to the side, and her pupils
dilated. “Jasper.”
“Is that so?” I asked, knowing he was behind me.
When I glanced at the ginger shifter, he shrugged. “Your legend grows bigger than a hurricane.”
“Another wily choice, hmmm?” I asked.
“Like a fox,” he said, wagging his eyebrows and making a flourish with his hands.
“My ass,” I hissed.
But
Jasper had already forgotten all about me. Instead of responding, he
draped his arm over Olivia’s shoulders. “When can I see ye?”
Her expression hardened, and she stepped out of his grasp. “You know we’ve got too much shit going on for that.”
“Aye,” he said, not arguing. “But I won’t wait for ye forever, Olivia.”
She put her hands on her hips. “Your choice, Jasper. I take my position as second-to-the-alpha seriously.”
“I
take her positions seriously, too, my dear.” He leered at her, making
his risqué meaning clear, and I couldn’t stop my eyeroll.
Yet, for
the first time, when I studied him more closely, I understood he covered
his hurt, his insecurity, with humor. He really did have a thing for
Olivia… a big thing. Maybe the truth of it surprised me.
So, I
crossed my arms and then changed my mind about framing my breasts. So, I
dropped my arms to my sides. Baby shifter vet lady still wasn’t nuts
about being naked in front of a bunch of strangers.
Olivia studied Jasper then me then him again. “Logan’s on his way.”
I captured my bottom lip between my teeth. “It’ll be good to see him.”
“He’s looking forward to seeing you, too, Emma. Jasper… well, he’s a bit bitter about Jasper having all your time to himself.”
“Ye know I only have eyes for ye, O,” he interjected, pulling Olivia into his arms dramatically.
“Oh,
shove off, and I told you not to call me that in public,” she said,
pushing him out of the way, but she grinned at him before she marched
back out to get more food and supplies.
I settled in a spot at the
top of the rows of seating, situating myself so I could watch shifters
come and go. Larger crowds arrived now, stopping to load paper bowls
with the hearty stew Olivia had brought from Six-Mile. Stout, lager, and
some kind of wine made their way out of chests filled with ice, and the
cans whooshed as they were opened throughout the amphitheater.
A
thousand shifters collected on the stadium seating made from the
landscaped ground. A thousand shifters entered the safety of the
Conclave, looked me over, grabbed a drink, a meal provided by Six-Mile,
and then made their way to their seats. The cumulative roar of hundreds
of soft conversations made a roar which reminded me of the one tornado
I’d lived through as a kid on vacation with my parents.
Never in a
million years would I have expected over a thousand people to see me
sitting casually on a grassy bleacher, the blades tickling my ass crack,
without me scrambling for clothes or ducking for cover. At one time,
being naked in front of a crowd was a nightmare.
What a fucking turn of events. I heard the words in Logan’s growl, close behind my ear, and I shivered, beyond famished.
But
I wasn’t hungry for food or thirsty for drink. Logan was drawing
closer, and the spot he held in my mind grew stronger with each mile he
took toward the Conclave.
Soon, Marcus Steele sauntered into the
area, smoothing his light brown hair and searching the space until his
eyes landed on me. He nodded once, but he didn’t smile or even react to
my nakedness. He probably knew that Red Tail had smuggled me out of
their territory so I didn’t have to see him.
After I’d thrown him out of my veterinary practice…
Or maybe he’d thrown himself out of my waiting room.
Multimorph
or not, the actions made it clear that I didn’t want to deal with him
or didn’t like him, and he had to be more than a little disgruntled
about it. But he wasn’t Logan, and I didn’t care.
Wait…
He’s nearly…
Here!
I
jumped to my feet as Logan appeared between the trees, moving into the
space like a predator on the prowl. He’d lost some weight since I’d seen
him last, and his hair had grown longer. He dragged his fingers through
the disheveled mess as he stopped near Olivia and spoke quietly. My
feet rooted into place, and my thoughts warred between rushing toward
Logan or remaining aloof. Dragging my gaze from his face wasn’t an
option…
His eyes widened when they landed on me, and my throat dried.
He marched toward me, circling me once, twice. “God, Emma, you’re
naked,” Logan whispered, his voice feathering over the back of my neck
on his third pass of visually devouring every inch of me. He grabbed the
belt loops on his pants and adjusted his pants.
“Logan.” At least my voice sounded more even and stronger than I expected.
“You look well. Do you know what you’re doing to me?”
I
took a step and leaned closer, swiveling toward him so he could get
another good look at my breasts. “Probably the same thing you’re doing
to me, Logan, and you didn’t even have to take your clothes off.”
