chapter 5
Michael called Sunday morning when she was sharing chocolate chip bagels with Trav and rehashing Saturday. After a lengthy conversation, she could now add ‘great talker’ to her growing list of things she liked about him.
For the next several days, she and Michael hung out in the gym while he cooled down from his workout, talking about anything and everything. He was as easy to talk to as Trav and had the added bonus of being straight.
On Thursday, Dante called her into his office and asked her to join them on Saturday night for one of Cairo’s underground boxing matches. He boxed once or twice a month, and they were pretty big events even though they were off the books from the boxing commission and authority of any sort. When she went to her first one two months earlier, she’d had the distinct impression that a lot of the men who had boxers fighting for them were criminals of one kind or another. There was plenty of glitz and glamour, but underneath that was a taste of something dark and unpleasant.
She opened her mouth to say that she didn’t really want to go when he added, “Cairo would really appreciate it if you went, Shyne.”
Guilt settled on her. They’d been so nice to her and supportive. And it wasn’t like she had plans this weekend. Her hope that Michael was going to ask her out hadn’t happened yet.
“Sure, Dante.”
He brightened considerably, and then he frowned. “I also need to talk to you about that wolf.”
He said wolf like the word was made of tacks and hurt his mouth.
“Oh?” She felt like she was sitting in the principal’s office suddenly.
“Yeah.” He swiveled in his desk chair slightly and gave her a long, reproving look. “It’s not really appropriate for you to be out on the floor like that with a customer. You’re not a trainer, and it looks unprofessional.”
Several smart retorts flashed through her mind, but she let them stay there. “Sorry, Dante. I didn’t mean to be unprofessional.”
“Good.” He gave her an unfriendly smile. “Wolves aren’t to be trusted, Shyne. No matter how nice he appears on the surface, the pull of the full moon will be something he can’t ignore. Wolves only do two things on the full moon: hunt and f*ck. You’re not a wolf, so you can’t do either of those things with him. And they’re dangerous and unpredictable.”
She stared at him. “How are you different than him? You’re also a were.”
He looked disgusted. “First of all, hyenas aren’t tied to the full moon. We shift when we want. And, second, we don’t run in packs, just our individual clan of three. When we find our mate, she won’t be left alone while we go deal with our base urges. A wolf with a human is always going to leave the human alone and unprotected. It’s a fact.”
Had Dante really just confirmed what she had been thinking for a while now, that hyenas shared a woman? A shiver slithered through her, and not the good kind of shiver. She didn’t want to be shared by anyone. She wanted to be loved and adored by one man and one man only. And even though she’d only known him for two weeks, she wanted that one man to be Michael. She just didn’t believe what Dante said about wolves.
She stood up slowly. “I’ll keep that in mind, Dante. If there’s nothing else?”
She tried to be pleasant, and if he could tell she wasn't happy, he didn't let on. “Of course, Shyne. Have a good night.”
She pondered Dante’s words as she drove home and then rummaged in her kitchen for something to eat. What if Dante was right about some things but exaggerating others? Or what if he was dead-on about it all? Or none of it? Frustration gnawed at her. She didn’t really know Michael well enough to ask about his sex habits. They hadn’t done anything but joke around with each other and that one fantastic kiss. How do you start that conversation without sounding like an idiot?
So I heard that wolves like to f*ck on the full moon. When I’m pregnant with your babies, can I at least pick out the she-wolf you pound?
She growled at herself. She couldn’t rectify the sweet man that she had grown so fond of over the last two weeks with the furry demon that Dante painted. She just didn’t think he was telling the truth. And he had good reason to lie, anyway. If he and the boys wanted her as their mutual woman, then it wouldn’t be in their best interest if she was playing tonsil hockey with a wolf.
“I’m not really sure why you don’t just ask Michael about it,” Trav said when he got home from work.
“Because I don’t know how to ask without sounding like I’m getting all possessive about him. We haven’t even had a real date yet.” She put her head on the cool counter and let out a frustrated sigh.
He patted her shoulder and said, “Tell ya what, kiddo. Let’s go down to the bar in his town and hang out for a while tonight. It would give me a good excuse to invite Trace out, and you’d be a good buffer for him.”
“Are you sure he’s gay? I don’t want to give Michael the wrong impression, if he's there.”
“I’m sure of it. He winked at me yesterday. Winked!” Trav gave her a knowing grin, as if being winked at was gay secret code for ‘I’d like to jump your bones’.
“I love your optimism. Okay.”
He sipped at his coffee and gave her a one-armed hug. “If things go south at the wolf bar, then we’ll head on to North Paddock and The Eagle. They’ve got a new DJ that is too adorable.”
“If things go south for which of us?” she smirked.
He shrugged. “Either. Both.” Kissing her cheek, he promised to be ready by ten and left her to stew in her thoughts about Michael, wolves, and hyenas.
Her hope that Michael would be at the bar in Allen fizzled immediately. In fact, she didn't recognize anyone there, which made her wonder if it was something wolf-related. She decided to have a good time with Trav and Trace, who turned out to indeed be gay but not out of the closet, so when they headed down to The Eagle, a well-known gay club, Trace said goodnight. She and Trav had fun dancing, but her mind wandered constantly to Michael and what he was doing.
* * * * *
If she had a nickel for every time she picked up the phone to call Michael, she would have been able to retire. She just absolutely hated this. That limbo-world full of insecurity and worry. She didn’t want to be pushy, but she didn’t want to be aloof. She didn’t want to be clingy, but she didn’t want him to think she didn’t care if he called or not. After the uncomfortable conversation with Dante, she’d wanted to tell Michael on the phone that they couldn’t talk at the gym anymore. She’d hoped he would call like he usually did in the afternoon, but he hadn’t by the time she headed out the door for her Friday class.
By the time her class was over, she was hoping that he was there but was unsure what to do about it if he was. To her surprise and disappointment, he wasn’t. Feeling defeated, she wasted no time heading down to leave for the night. Cairo caught her, waving at her from where he was training with one of the trainers who was a retired pro boxer.
“You’re coming tomorrow, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Something wrong, honey?” His brow furrowed.
“I’m just a little tired, I guess,” she offered weakly.
He narrowed his eyes slightly and let out a slow breath. “If you’re wondering about the wolves, Dante rescinded their contracts and returned their money.”
Her brain went on the fritz for a minute. She finally managed, “What? Why?”
His dark brow rose. “Because they weren’t the sort of people we wanted here. It’s our right to cut the contracts.”
“But you guys wanted to bring in more clients to the gym. There were at least a dozen wolves that signed up.”
“We don’t need clients that badly,” he sniffed derisively.
A bitter taste rose in the back of her throat. It was one thing to suggest that she couldn’t be flirty and friendly on the floor because it wasn’t professional. But it was an entirely different thing to tell Michael and his friends that they weren’t welcome. Did Michael think she had something to do with it? Was that why he didn’t call her?
“Did you threaten him?” she asked plainly.
“I didn’t do anything.” Cairo flexed slightly, as if to remind her that just being around him was a threat all on its own.
She just didn’t know what to say. After staring at him for a few moments, she cleared her throat and said, “Good night, Cairo.”
He touched her arm as she turned away. When she looked back he said, “Wolves are dangerous, Shyne. Don’t be foolish in thinking you can be anything but a plaything until he finds his she-wolf mate.”
She shook her arm free after giving him an acidic glare and stormed out of the gym. She’d had just about enough of the boys interfering in her life.
When she sat down in her car and slammed the door shut, fuming, she noticed a rose and a card under the windshield wiper. She opened the door and reached around to pull the flower and card out from under the wiper. She sat back down, closing the door with less force this time. The pretty white rose had dark pink tips. The card was a folded piece of thick paper.
“Since I’m persona-non-grata at the gym now, I didn’t want you to think I’d forgotten all about you. Some things came up last night, and I wasn’t able to call you like I’d wanted to. I’ll apologize a hundred times if you’ll give me a chance. Call me when you’re done with work. Please? Michael.”
Her heart thudded irregularly, and she couldn’t stop the silly grin. She certainly hoped it was nothing serious that had kept him from the phone. She rushed home, and as soon as she shut the door of her apartment, she dialed his number.
“So my penance?” he asked as soon as he picked up.
“I haven’t decided yet. I’m a little miffed I didn’t get a call yesterday. I’m a bit addicted to your daily calls.”
“That’s awesome.” He laughed. “I like being addictive. And I’m totally addicted to calling you, too."
She twirled her finger in her hair. "Well, your punishment depends on what kept you from calling. If it was something bad, then, I'll let you off easy."
"Very generous. I knew you were compassionate, I'm truly touched." His voice was full of the smile that she'd come to like so well. "I was totally slammed at work on Thursday. And then one of the wolves in our pack left to go marry a human woman, it's what we call going rogue. He was the fifth ranked in our pack, and he wanted to go for one more hunt before he left us, kind of an impromptu bachelor party and goodbye party rolled into one. You were in class when I got the call to go, and by the time we got back, it was almost dawn and too late to call." There was a pause, and he said, "Shit, I could have left you a message before I went. I'm an idiot."
"It's okay. I know I said I was addicted to your calls, but it's not like I have a reason to expect you to call me or something." She bit her lip before she said something she couldn't take back.
"I don't feel obligated to call you, Shyne. I call you because I want to. 'Cause I think about you all day long, and I want to share your day with you."
Aw. All day? He thought about her all day?
"Well, all's forgiven, okay? The rose was really sweet. I'm sorry that they kicked you guys out of the gym."
He sighed, "I'm only sorry I won't get to see you, but it's probably for the best."
"Michael, can I ask you something really personal?" She decided to just go for it.
"I'm an open book. Ask away."
"Do you have to have sex on the full moon with she-wolves?"