“Ass,” he laughs. “You and Melissa seemed to hit it off the other night.” So that’s her name. He’s fishing for information, but there’s really nothing to tell.
I shrug it off and continue eating, more hungry than I realized. I really need more effort to eat more regularly.
“That’s all you got?” His smile betrays amusement at my deflection. I’ve never been one to open the floodgates and spill my guts and I’m not starting now. He knows more than I want him to, anyway.
“Nothing more to say,” I reply without a glance. There is a steady flow of people in and out of the bank, no one looking out of the ordinary, so I relax a tiny bit.
“You’re not even going to try with her? You two had a lot in common.”
“How would you know? You just met them.” I take a long drink of my tea and look to him.
“I did my research, cranky ass. She wants the same things you do; stability, that special person. There’s no reason you can’t even try things with her.”
“She’s human,” I emphasize to put an end to the conversation.
“So is Kendra and she fits in just fine around here. What’s your point?”
“You know how it is with mates. I don’t feel that connection so there’s no point in trying anything.”
“Not even if it’s just to have someone to talk to?”
“Give it up, man,” I’m tired of this conversation and I don’t understand where all this is coming from. It’s out of the blue and only reminds me of what I’m missing.
“I’m just saying there’s no harm in finding someone to spend time with. It might calm the animal. You’ve been quite the ass the past week or two with all your damn mood swings.”
“I’m not moody.”
“No, not usually, but you’re starting to act more and more like Roark with how easy it is for you to lose your shit. What happened to the laid back, no-nonsense Devil Dog brother I know?”
“Fuck,” I curse, looking over at the building we’re here to keep an eye on. “I don’t really know how to explain it. There’s something going on with my leopard but it makes no sense to me. He’s suddenly more aggressive than normal.” I glance and X and receive a sympathetic expression.
“He didn’t want anything to do with Melissa, did he?”
“Not a thing. She was everything you said she was. Would have been perfect, actually, but he wasn’t going to give her a second thought. I barely made it through the night without letting him have his way and be a jerk to her.” Rubbing my hands over my face, I turn back to the building and watch the people coming out of it.
“Shit, that sucks. He really didn’t want you to talk to her, eh I mean, ya did ditch her with a lame club excuse?”
“No, he didn’t. I feel awful about that.”
“This why you’re so focused on solving our problems on your own?”
“Maybe,” I reluctantly admit. “Who knows,” I sigh, focusing back on my food.
“Yeah,” X agrees, becoming silent as we continue our surveillance and finish our late lunch.
I’ve never had this kind of problem with my leopard, so I have no idea what I need to do to appease him. It’s not like I can snap my fingers and give him whatever he wants. He needs to be more vocal, specific, about his needs.
341
Larken
“You don’t have to stay if you aren’t comfortable,” I tell Henri after we say hello to most of my mother's side of the family.
My mother and Etienne’s mother, Marianna, are sisters, but they couldn’t be more different. Where my mother is all prim and proper, Marianna Lachance is more laid back and open to new things, yet as fierce as can be when it comes to her children. It doesn’t matter to her that her son is an enforcer for the Dark Leopard MC. She loves him just as much as anyone else. I love that about her and am a little jealous of their relationship.
“Nonsense,” he smiles and pulls me closer to his side. “I’m just fine.”
“Okay,” I return his smile as best as I can, anxiety slowly creeping up on me.
I’m on edge, tense and uneasy without reason. This is my family and I love them, but being here with a date I didn’t want is sucking the energy from me. It’s bad enough that Henri’s dressed in a ridiculous suit and tie, no matter how good looking he is in it, but my “mother-required” appropriate outfit makes me stand out just as much as he does. No one else is dressed as fancy as we are, all wearing casual clothes or, in Etienne’s case, a leather cut with his MC name and insignia on it.
“Larken,” my aunt says, walking up to give me a hug. “It’s good to see you.” Kissing both my cheeks, she takes my hands in hers and smiles. “I see you brought a guest.” She wasn’t around when we arrived, more than likely in the kitchen supervising the food preparations.
“Henri Dupree,” my date introduces himself, cutting me off before I have a chance to answer. He continues to speak with my aunt like I’m not even in the same room, answering her questions directed toward me as if they were his own.
The longer I stand silently by, the more stressed I become. Several others join in the conversation and I seem to get pushed further and further away from them, nearly standing behind Henri like I’m invisible. I’ve tuned out what they are saying as I try and get my bearings, taking care to slowly breathe in and out. An overwhelming sense of foreboding overcomes me and I struggle to remain calm. I haven’t had a reaction like this in a long time. Well, the last time I was in a large group of people, and that was when I was in high school.
"Go! Run!
