“No way,” he protested. “I mean … he’s like that with most people.”
“So, he just hates everyone, not me in particular?”
“Er …” He tugged at the collar of his uniform. “I guess. But if you knew him better, you’d understand.”
“You’re his friend, right? So why does he act like … like …”
“An asshole?”
She chuckled. “Yeah.”
“He’s—”
“I’m back.” Daniel slid onto the bench seat in front of her. “Your turn, Russel.”
“You know, you guys could have gone together,” she pointed out. The lion shifter merely waved a hand as he walked away.
“So, Anna Victoria,” Daniel began. “Gabriel tells me you were the one in the dress at The Den the other night.”
She groaned. “You were there, too?”
He nodded. “Afraid so. But we don’t have to talk about that, if you don’t want to.”
“Thanks,” she said. “So, do you like working as a ranger?”
“Yeah, I enjoy it.…”
Anna Victoria listened to Daniel talk, glad to not have to tell him more about herself or her situation. Gabriel joined them soon after and added to the conversation.
As lunch went on, she found herself having a good time, even forgetting about that morning’s debacle. She enjoyed the company of the two men, though she did find it strange that they warded off anyone who tried to approach them, except for the two female rangers who had introduced themselves to Anna Victoria.
“You’re too skinny,” Gabriel said as he dropped his plate of fries in front of her. “Eat.”
“Skinny?” she said. “I’ll have you know, I run a six-minute mile, and I’ve been doing the New Mexico Breast Cancer Marathon every year for the last three years.” While she wasn’t an elite athlete, she did enjoy exercising and staying fit. Aside from running, she did yoga, aerobics, Pilates, and barre. “Besides, I can’t eat trash like that and not have it go straight to my hips.”
“You’re not a vegetarian, are you?” Gabriel teased.
“If I was, you’d know it,” she snorted. “I—”
“What’s going on here?”
Gooseflesh rose on her arms. Turning around, she found a pair of clear green eyes boring into her. There was no mistaking the stern expression on Damon’s face.
“Hey, Chief,” Daniel greeted. “Just having lunch. Have you eaten?”
“I said, what’s going on here?” he repeated, his eyes never leaving hers.
“I’m just having lunch,” she said. “Is there a problem with that?”
“You’re five minutes late.” He cocked his head toward the large clock on the wall.
“Oh. Right.” Her cheeks heated. “I’m sorry about that. It won’t happen again.”
“See that it doesn’t.”
“Damon. Dude.” Gabriel got up and stood toe-to-toe with him. “It was five minutes. We got a little carried away. It’s no big deal.”
“Aren’t you late for your shift too?” he asked, stretching out to full height, which was two inches taller than Gabriel.
“It’s fine, Gabriel.” She quickly gathered her trash and her purse. “I’ll head back to my desk now.” The tension in the air was too much, and she couldn’t wait to get away from there, so she slung her purse over her shoulder, stomped over to the trash can, and tossed her rubbish into it.
Hands balled at her sides, she took deep breaths to relieve the tightness in her chest. Why the heck was Damon such a jerk? Sure, she was late, but he could have been nicer about reminding her. Did he stalk all the way to the cafeteria to drag her back to her desk?
“Anna Victoria, wait up!” Gabriel shouted as she walked back into the building.
Though she was tempted to keep walking, it wouldn’t have worked because he caught up to her, blocking her way. “Sorry about that,” he said.
She sniffed. “You have nothing to be sorry for.”
“Damon—”
“Yeah, yeah, I know. That’s just the way he is with everyone. I shouldn’t take it so personally. But he … he just makes it so difficult.” Her fists tightened even more. “Maybe I should just quit. He didn’t want me here in the first place.”
“Quit? Are you crazy?” Gabriel gripped her shoulders. “Listen to me, Anna Victoria, you can’t let him get to you. The more you shrink back, the worse it will be. Just stand up to him if it’s too much; he’ll back down. Besides, do you really want to leave Blackstone?”
She sighed. “No.” I can’t give up now. J.D. and Gabriel had put in a lot of effort to help her and make her welcome. “I’ll just … try harder I suppose.”
“That’s the spirit.” He clapped her on the shoulder. “You’ll do great. I know it.”
When she looked behind him, she saw Damon walking up to them. The look on his face was, not friendly, but less severe. Maybe it was even remorseful.
“Anna Victoria, I—” His mouth clamped shut when his gaze landed on Gabriel’s hand resting on her shoulder. His expression turned dark again, then he turned on his heel and headed in the opposite direction.
I don’t understand him. And maybe she never would. But she didn’t need to. All she had to do was survive the next two weeks.
Chapter Five
Damon wasn’t sure how he managed to survive five days being around Anna Victoria. It had been pure torture, seeing her every day, sitting at the desk outside his office. His damned bear wouldn’t let up either. The Demon wanted him to go after her, claim her and take her, to keep all the other males from sniffing around her. After the third day, he started coming in earlier and leaving when he knew she was long gone, just to evade her presence.
Of course, he couldn’t completely avoid her. She came in several times to his office to ask questions and give him paperwork to sign. When she did come in, he did his best to be cold and distant. He regretted reprimanding her for being five minutes late during her lunch hour that first day, but it was all he could do to stop The Demon from ripping off Gabriel and Daniel’s heads for daring to be near her. After calming himself down, he did go back
