Pants on Fire #3
“Okay, I agree. I’ll sleep in the bunkhouse, and we’ll keep things strictly platonic,” Demetri agreed, choosing the high road.
Mary blinked. Surprise and then disappointment crossed her face in quick succession. That he wasn’t the only one unhappy with the new arrangement acted as a balm to Demetri’s battered ego.
“Great!” Mary proclaimed with overdone zest. She clapped her hands together and flew into an all-business mode.
“There’s a stretch of fence that needs mending.
I’ll show you where we keep the fencing material and tools, but first, I’ll give you a quick tour.
You can grab your things and get settled in the bunk. ”
“Yes, ma’am,” Demetri agreed with an easy smile.
She cocked her head and considered him. Suddenly, she comported herself with far less confidence. “Uh, I need a personal favor.”
“What is it?”
Charming color appeared in the apples of her cheeks. “Do you mind giving me a lift into town so I can collect my car?”
“I don’t mind at all.” It’d give them a chance to engage in some small talk, get to know each other a bit better, and hopefully allow Demetri to glean more useful information about Mary’s nefarious ex-husband.
“Great, I’ll go grab my purse—my car keys.” Mary took off like a shot, probably eager to be away from him long enough to recover her composure, although he found her innate shyness to be downright endearing.
Demetri watched her go with a smile on his face, his gaze riveted on her retreating backside, admiring how her blue jeans hugged her ass.
The vivid recollection of how those perfect cheeks had filled his big hands lifted his spirits...
so to speak. He adjusted his pants. Celibacy might prove more torturous than he’d imagined.
“Why did you lie to her?” Colleen asked. Magic allowed her to speak even when in her cattle dog form. She had a high, sweet voice steeped in a light Australian accent.
Demetri glanced down at the talking dog, who gazed up. He cleared his throat, suffering from a touch of embarrassment of his own. While he’d been admiring Mary’s ample assets, he’d forgotten his audience.
“I didn’t lie. I just didn’t tell her everything.”
“An omission is still a lie.” Colleen tilted her head to the side and gave him the look. Sad doggy eyes triggered a flood of guilt. Ah, she was a ruthless bitch.
“I want to be honest with Mary, but this isn’t the right time.”
“No time like the present.”
He sighed. “After what just happened with her ex, I imagine it could only upset her more to learn that I’m a shifter, too.”
Colleen scrunched her snout. “The longer you wait, the more pissed she’ll be when she finally learns the truth, and she will, inevitably. These things have a way of coming out, usually in the worst way possible.”
“Who’s going to tell her? You?” He snorted. “I notice you’re not rushing to reveal that you’re a shifter either.”
At that, Colleen turned her nose up. She managed to talk down to him, despite her head being level with his knees. “My secret doesn’t matter nearly as much as yours. Mary’s not my life mate.”
“Whoa! Mary’s not my mate.” The mere suggestion knocked Demetri off his foundation of unshakeable confidence. In all the three hundred and five years of his long life, he’d never encountered the woman who could supposedly end his curse. He wasn’t even sure he believed she existed.
“Really, are you sure about that?” Colleen taunted.
“Yes,” Demetri grated, but for the first time in his entire long life, a glimmer of doubt crossed his mind.
To be sure, he hastily checked the mark of the Aries Curse, a stylized helm tattoo, and found it still there.
In a way, it was a relief—proof that some things, at least, remained safe and predictable.
Why then did such a sliver of bitter disappointment ache deep in his heart?
“You made love to her.” Colleen peeled her lips back from her teeth in the canine equivalent of a sneer.
“I’ve had sex with lots of women.” Demetri always took meticulous care to use protection because he refused to be like his father. He refused to leave a trail of abandoned single mothers and illegitimate children in his wake.
“I said ‘made love’.” Unblinking, Colleen stared into his eyes.
He returned her gaze. A puzzled frown dented his brow as he attempted to puzzle through the dog’s secret meaning. He felt as though he was grasping at straws. “Okay, yes. What Mary and I shared was exceptional, but that doesn’t mean—”
The front door to the house burst open, signaling Mary’s return.
“You’re an idiot.” Colleen nodded her head, and then went to pee on a patch of grass alongside the driveway—her final comment on the matter.
Demetri stood and scowled. Mary found him like that a moment later. She hesitated and held up her keys.
“Ready to go?” Mary asked.
“Yeah.” Demetri aimed a final glare at the dog. “Colleen, watch over the flock till we get back.”
Colleen barked.
“I swear,” Mary muttered. “Seeing the way she responds to you, it’s like she understands everything you say to her.”
“You’d be surprised,” Demetri drawled, not without irony.