Chapter 5
Monday, Kitchen Trade Show, Cincinnati, Ohio
Ferdie stood behind Ticia as she spoke with a salesperson at a top-end appliance manufacturer. She wanted a professional range and, so far, she'd spoken to each and every dealer at the trade show. He didn't mind carrying her packages and watching her ask questions—mostly because he could pretend they were a couple.
Besides, the view of her from behind was almost as gorgeous as the view from the front.
Unfortunately, other males, all human, were eyeing her curvy ass, too. He'd already growled at several men who'd approached her and a salesman who'd invited her for a drink after the show shut down for the night.
So far, his surly attitude and protective posture had been successful, not only in keeping the males away, but also in giving them some extra space that Ticia seemed to need in the crowded convention center.
Ticia turned away from the sales booth and returned to his side. "Smile, Ferdie. You're scaring the humans."
Ferdie didn't feel like smiling and gave one last glare at a male who'd been heading in Ticia's direction.
He looked down at her lovely, somewhat amused face and pasted what he hoped was a smile on his. "Sorry, but some men are pushy bastards."
"Yeah," her smile disappeared, "some are."
Would she ever trust him enough to tell him why she'd sought the safety of Assjacket? His gut kept telling him something bad had happened to her.
Ticia slipped her arm into his. "Let's check the packages so we can do some taste-testing at the food stations."
"Sounds good. I could eat. There are wine and beer tastings also." Ferdie began walking them toward the package check area. "Jeeves already headed toward the food area and said Sassy would be meeting him. We can look for them."
"I'll be interested in seeing what she bought at the mall." She squeezed his arm. "Have I thanked you yet for bringing me along today? I'm so glad we came. Everyone is so friendly."
Some wanted to be friendlier than others. Ferdie warned away one more male. Couldn't they see she was with him?
His jaw clenched as he rethought that question. Yeah, they could, but they also saw him as little or no competition. He was barely over five and a half feet tall, ugly as a pit bull, and had no fashion sense.
Getting back to the topic, Ferdie said, "The folks attending, or most of them, are Midwestern nice. I'm betting that breed is a lot different than where you were living before." He suspected she'd been a big city girl, and Assjacket was as far from big city as one could get.
Okay, yeah, he'd asked a leading question without making it an actual question. If he had to tease out what trouble had brought her to Assjacket bit by bit, he would. Because then he'd have a handle on how to keep her close, even if they never fully mated. It would be torture having her near but not have her. But it was a darn sight better than her leaving and going someplace he couldn't protect her.
"Yes, a lot different. A topic for a totally different time and place." She sighed and squeezed Ferdie's arm. "I'm still processing all the changes I've made, Ferdie. Just know, I survived a bad situation, which if I had listened to Fee's instincts, wouldn't have happened." Her green eyes darkened as she clung to his arm. "I know if I hadn't left when I did, things would've only gotten worse."
If the person who'd put that look of fear in her eyes ever showed up in Assjacket, Ferdie would handle him . She hadn't directly answered his question, but his gut told him that the other person had been a male. While her mind was a closed book most of the time, her emotions were not.
"Changing the subject. Are you ready for a drink? I am. Dealing with salespeople is thirsty work." Ticia tucked her arm more closely with his. "I sure hope one of the wine booths has a nice Shiraz."
As they went up one aisle and down another to get to the package check in the far corner, Ticia matched his stride perfectly without making him feel as short as he was. He was aware of all the side-glances and frowns aimed their way.
"Ferdie—" Ticia tugged on his arm. "Stop growling. And why are you growling? I don't sense any danger. Am I missing something?"
"I'm growling because everyone is wondering why a beautiful woman like you is with a short, ugly dude like me." He took a breath. "It pisses me off, because they're absolutely correct to wonder that."
"Now, I want to growl." With a strength he hadn't realized she had, she hauled him over to a quiet spot out of the pedestrian flow. "Listen up. I'm here with you." She let go of his arm and poked him in the chest. "I like being here with you." Another poke. "I like you." This time she gave him three pokes. "You're cute and strong and smart and decent—all the things so many other males are not. Ignore the looks. Get me?" She grabbed his arms and shook him.
Shocked and pleased at her words—she thought he was cute?—he opened his mouth to tell her that he really liked being with her, too, and what came out was, "How in Herne's thunderous thighs did you manage to pull me over here? I outweigh you by at least a hundred pounds."
Ticia looked him up and down, then scrunched her nose. "You do not weigh a hundred pounds more than me."
"Um, troll bones are dense, luv." Ferdie grinned. "It might even be a hundred and fifty pounds more than you since you are so slender and fine-boned."
"Fine-boned, my Celtic ass." She narrowed her gaze. "After we get back to Assjacket, early tomorrow morning meet me in the police station's gym. We'll see who's stronger, buddy boy."
"Ticia?" Ferdie took her hand and kissed her fingers. "Are you challenging me?"
"Damn straight. I'm not weak."
The look on her face was that of a hissing cat. Sweet Goddess, he loved her. "You're adorable when you're mad."
Ticia angled her head and gave him a grin that would do her familiar proud. "We'll see if you say that after I lift more weight than you." She tugged her hand from his and then slipped her arm back into his. "Let's go. Now, I really need that drink and some cheese or something. I'm starved."
So was he. Starved—for a taste of her. He chuckled. If he told her that, she'd probably deck him. And he'd let her, because he loved her. Now, all he had to do was hope she'd work past whatever had happened in the past and come to love him.
*
While Ferdie checked her packages, and they were all her packages, Ticia waited off to the side. The day had been a good one even after having to scold Ferdie for thinking so little of himself. Checking on him, she admired how his jeans fit his very tight ass and how his torso went from broad shoulders to a nice narrow waist. She didn't think he was ugly at all and hoped she'd made that crystal clear.
He was definitely her mate, and she was not disappointed. Spending time with him in Assjacket and on this trip had demonstrated that they had a lot in common. Yet, they still had things to learn about one another.
On her side, she hadn't shared how stupid and shallow she'd been for falling in love with the shiny package Alastair showed the world. She also had to share what Alastair had done to her, how he'd hurt her.
As for Ferdie, she'd yet to learn about his heritage other than the obvious troll antecedents. He was so much more than a troll. Whatever his heritage was, it wouldn't make a difference, because deep down she knew he was inherently good.
He was also very patient, and not a lot of males were. Without one word of complaint, he'd followed her all over the trade show floor and carried her many packages which had to weigh almost fifty pounds considering that several all-clad skillets were among them. Now, he was standing in what had to be the slowest line ever.
From the time they'd entered the convention center, Ferdie had also been very protective. As she'd grilled appliance salesperson after appliance salesperson, he stood close behind her and warned off anyone who even dared to look at her cross-eyed, let alone approach her. Each time he'd growled in that low, rumbling tone, a hot shiver overtook her body.
Even now as he returned to her side, his gaze went right and left, assessing people around them for any signs of danger. His alertness wasn't because he was concerned for himself. She bet he could take down anyone in this building without breaking a sweat; he was that strong. A few days ago, she'd spotted him running the hills, shirtless and wearing only a pair of baggy shorts, and sweet Goddess, the man had muscles on his muscles.
"Ferdie," she took his arm and hugged it against her side, "why have you been so hyper-alert all day? Discounting the men being male, is there danger here? And if there is, why in the heck am I not sensing it?"
"Let's walk. Jeeves and Sassy are probably waiting." He led them toward the food and drink booths.
"Ferdie, please tell me what has you in super-guard mode?"
"You."
"Me?" She frowned. "But why?"
"I can feel your fear of crowds. You hide it well." He rubbed his thumb lightly over her hand. "But it's there, underneath … deep inside. It bothers me, so I'm keeping watch so you can enjoy yourself." Then he growled. "Plus, I never discount horny males checking you out. I don't like that. At all."
His words, his care for her, were a precious gift, one she hadn't known she needed before this very moment.
"You read me well." She squeezed his arm. "Normally, I'd be leery of this many people, even as nice as they are. Crowds are unpredictable." She took a deep breath and gave him a little bit more of herself. "I got caught in a riot once in London. With humans all around, I couldn't use my magic and transport away. It was terrifying."
Ferdie pulled her closer to his side. "How did you get away?"
"I put a magic shield around my body so I wouldn't get trampled and found a shopkeeper who let me inside so I could wait out the riot." She smiled and looked at him. "It was a spice shop. I ended up buying lots of spices and continued to order from him after I left London."
"If you give me his name and address, I'll order my spices from him, too," Ferdie said.
"I will." She leaned over and gave him a quick kiss on his cheek. "I wouldn't have stayed here as long as we have or gotten so much accomplished without you looking out for me. I feel safe with you. Thank you for giving me this wonderful day."
Ferdie's wide smile warmed her heart and soul.
****
Ferdie and Jeeves anchored a small table while Ticia and Sassy checked out the dessert samples. The food area not only had food products for sale, but also area chefs providing samples off their restaurants' menus and wine and beer tastings.
"I'm stuffed." Jeeves smoothed a hand over his flat abs. "I don't know how our mates could eat another bite."
"Our mates?" Ferdie leaned over so their conversation wouldn't be overheard. "You have a mate. I have a friend. Remember we aren't talking about this."
Jeeves leaned in also. "Yes, but Ticia isn't here, and you are her mate. I'm not sure why she's still not accepting of it. All of Assjacket is buzzing about how your auras merge each time you're anywhere near each other. You even smell like each other. Smell in a good way. Well, you know what I mean." He blushed.
"I wish everybody would just ignore us," Ferdie muttered. "Mating is personal."
"Not in Assjacket, it isn't." Jeeves grinned, then sobered. "I know you're ready. You've been locked and loaded since the barbecue. I guess she isn't ready?"
"Yeah, I'm ready." Ferdie groaned. "I thought I passed the word that everyone needs to keep their traps shut about my hard-ons. I do not want Ticia embarrassed in any way. Also, I will not have her pushed into mating me to make everyone else happy."
Shock like ice cold water swamped Ferdie's mind, then an even icier fear traveled down his spine. Neither were his emotions—they were Ticia's.
"Herne's battle horns, something's wrong with Ticia." He stood up and swept the food stalls looking for Ticia. "Can you sense any upset from Sassy?"
Jeeves stood also. "Nope. Sassy is her usual happy self. What are you sensing?"
"Fear from Ticia."
"But there are only humans here," Jeeves said. "They can't harm her."
"Humans use guns and knives," Ferdie said.
"Yes," Jeeves agreed. "But the convention center had checkpoints at the entrances, because the trade show doesn't allow guns. Though, sharp obstacles could get through since they have knife sharpening booths."
"There they are." Walking quickly to join Ticia, Ferdie saw the fear in her eyes. He looked beyond her and found no obvious danger. "Ticia? What's wrong?"
"We need to leave." She reached for him. "Now. Please."
"Of course." He took her hand and pulled her against his side. She was trembling and that was unacceptable. "We'll fetch your packages—"
"Leave them. We need to go. Now. He might've seen me." Ticia looked over her shoulder toward the wine tasting area.
Ferdie pulled the claim ticket from his pocket and handed it to Jeeves. "Get Ticia's packages, please. We'll get the car and pick you two up at the drop-off/pick-up lane. Okay?"
Jeeves took the ticket. "Sure thing. Come on, Sassy."
Sassy touched Ticia's arm and whispered something Ferdie couldn't quite catch.
Ticia nodded and held onto Ferdie's jacket with a deathlike grip.
"Okay, luv. I've got you. No one's going to hurt you." Ferdie located the closest exit. If his memory served him correctly, it would take them out to the area where they'd parked. "Come on. We can get to the Rover from here."
Ticia said nothing, just kept checking over her shoulder. When the exit door closed behind them, she relaxed.
They reached the Rover with no incident. "Are you going to tell me who scared you in there?"
"Yes, once we're on the road. Sassy and Jeeves deserve to hear also, since I ruined their day along with ours." She turned to him and lay her head on his shoulder. "Thank you. I was afraid he'd see me and then I'd let loose defensive magic in a place filled with humans."
Ferdie held her close as she trembled against him. He inhaled and overlaying her sweet scent was an acrid smell of fear and the hot smell of anger. He wasn't happy about the fear, but it did his nerves good to know she would've had the strength to fight back against whatever the male might have done. What really bothered him was—what had the scum done to make her so afraid?
After Jeeves and Sassy arrived with the packages and they were on the road to Assjacket, Ferdie turned to Ticia in the passenger seat. "Do you want to talk about this now?"
"Yes." Ticia's voice was soft and strained. "His name is Lord Alastair Buncombe. A human. He was the main financial backer and a partner in my restaurant in Paris, and—" She sighed. "I made the horrible mistake of accepting him as my lover. Or as Fee once so bluntly said, I went for the glossy package without checking to see if the meat was spoiled rotten."
Ferdie gripped the steering wheel so tightly his knuckles turned white. "And the rest?"
"The rest. Where do I start?" Ticia stroked a finger over Ferdie's hand. "I think I hear the steering wheel cracking."
He felt her draining his tension away. That's what mates did for one another.
"That's better." She blew out a breath. "Okay, I'll start with the fact that my restaurant was a smashing success. I'm a damn good chef, and Alastair's family money gave us a good cushion to do things up top notch. We had Michelin stars, a James Beard award, and so on." She snorted. "I made us a lot of money, and Alastair loved that. He said he loved me, that we were a great partnership. Hell, I didn't even jump right into bed with him. For one, he was human. But mostly because Fee says I am particular about whom I bed …"
Flames of blistering hot jealousy burned through him like wildfire. He growled and choked the steering wheel wishing it were the human's throat.
Jeeves reached forward to pat him on the shoulder. After their talk of mating earlier, the Shifter knew exactly where Ferdie's mind had gone.
"He courted me, such an old-fashioned concept. But I fell for the romance of it. He showered me with flowers. Little presents. Then he decided to impress me with the family estate. We visited England. His father is an Earl, but Alastair is not the heir. His family was proud he'd finally backed a winning horse as his father called our project. Or maybe it was me he called a horse. Who knows? The whole family were inbred and horse crazy and that was how they rated everything. But it was my first clue Alastair had messed things up in the past. As I later found out, he'd botched all sorts of things, business-wise and relationship-wise."
"Assholes," Jeeves muttered. "You were too good for them."
If Jeeves hadn't said it, Ferdie would've.
"Well, I know that now. Even Fee had them all figured out. I just didn't listen." Ticia snorted. "I was enthralled with the romance and Alastair's outer covering. Very shallow of me, I know. After the trip to England, we continued to bask in the success of the restaurant. Talked about opening another one in London and maybe one in Rome. Then Alastair proposed and we decided to become lovers. And we did. For just one night after which I left in the darkness before dawn. Then Fee and I fled Paris. I left no messages for anyone."
Ticia went silent. Ferdie looked over and found her skin so pale, it was almost translucent. Whatever had happened to cause her to leave so abruptly still haunted her. He had to know, and he expected that he'd better not be driving when she told him about it.
He spotted a scenic overlook and pulled into a parking spot, then he turned the vehicle off. Looking at her, he asked, "You left the asshole after one night? You just disappeared the next day?"
"Yes," she whispered, then coughed and continued in a stronger voice, "with only Fee and the clothes I could shove into a small rolling bag, my laptop, my phone, and any personal files I didn't want Alastair or anyone to have access to."
Ticia laughed. It sounded bitter.
"Before Alastair could get around the temporary magical lock I placed on my apartment, a cousin of mine transported into my apartment and transported the rest of my belongings to a storage facility. I've yet to get anything from it, but it was nice of him to do that. I owe him."
And so did Ferdie. He'd get the name of the cousin and make sure the warlock knew he had a favor coming.
"Ticia, if this is too personal, just say so," said Sassy. "But what did he do that made you leave that way?" The sweet witch gulped. "Did he hurt you?"
Ferdie felt Ticia's self-disgust and the remnants of her fear and pain through their bond. "You don't have to tell us. It's enough to know he did something that made you feel the need to leave."
"Ferdie?" Ticia's voice was strained.
"Yes, luv?"
"Could you hold me, please?" She undid her seatbelt and scooted toward him. "When you held me earlier, I felt safe. I need to feel safe even if it's from a memory."
Ferdie undid his belt, put his seat back, and opened his arms. "Come here."
Ticia somehow managed to climb gracefully over the center console and onto his lap. With her head on his shoulder and his arms around her, she sighed and relaxed into him. "Thank you. I'm sure Jeeves and Sassy know we are mate-bonding, probably everyone else knows it, too. I recognized you as my mate the day I met you."
Holding her close, he kissed the top of her head and silently thanked the Goddess for blessing him with Ticia as a mate.
"I am honored that you're my mate, but Ferdie?"
"Yes?"
"I'm not quite ready yet," she whispered. "There are some other things about that night I left Paris you need to know before we complete the bond. And those need to be spoken of in private once we're home."
He closed his eyes at the deep, wrenching pain in her soul. He sent soothing warmth along their soul bond. He rubbed his cheek over her hair. "That's okay. Take all the time you need."
"Thank you, Ferdie. I promise I'm almost ready. I trust you more than I've ever trusted any male, human, warlock, or preternatural."
"That's good to hear," he said. "I can wait. After all, I've waited for centuries to find you."
Ticia then lifted her head, her eyes wide with shock. "You said centuries? How old are you?"
"Um, five hundred." He hurriedly added. "That's young for a troll."
Ticia exhaled. "Okay, not a problem. I'll have the benefit of a mature, experienced troll and whatever else you are and not a nepo-baby, spoiled, ego-centric human prick."
"I'm definitely not a spoiled, nepo-baby," he said. "I'm the son of a demi-goddess."
"I don't think I knew that," Jeeves said.
"A troll and a demi-goddess." Sassy sounded amazed. "Was it a love match?"
"So much so. In fact, after my mother was killed, my father followed her into the Otherworld because he couldn't live without her."
Ticia stroked his cheek. "Did that leave you all alone?"
"No." Ferdie covered her hand, took it to his lips, and kissed the palm. He then enfolded her hand in his. "Baba Yaga was fond of my mother and she promised to make sure my father's ancient line continued. It's why cousin Derrick and I live in the valley." He looked into Ticia's eyes. "We trolls are loyal and loving with our mates, Ticia. I'll never hurt you."
Sassy sniffled in the back seat. "Jeeves, it's just like a romantic movie. I can't wait for the happy-ever-after part."
"Ticia, if you want to wait and finish your story in private"—Ferdie glared over the seat at a wide-eyed Jeeves and Sassy—"I'm sure our friends will understand."
"No, they need to know just what kind of pig Alastair is. Because I'm sure he saw me and that's why I pulled Sassy away from the most decadent samples of chocolate mousse cake." Swallowing hard, she looked into Ferdie's eyes. "If he finds me, he'll use violence to get me back. He likes guns and is a very good shot. He could hurt our friends in the valley."
"Why will he come after you? It's obvious you don't want him," Ferdie said.
"Because of his family." She shook her head. "I discovered after I left that his family had cleaned up a lot of his business and personal messes in the past."
"What kind of personal messes," Ferdie gritted out between clenched teeth.
"He sexually assaulted women he dated. He likes to hurt women. It's how he gets off." Ticia shuddered against him.
Ferdie's growl started low. Jeeves joined him.
Sassy voiced what they all were thinking. "He physically assaulted you? Hurt you when you went to bed with him?"
Hiding her face against Ferdie's shoulder, Ticia nodded. He could feel her tears dampening his shirt. She was crying and it killed him.
"Let him come to the valley," Jeeves said. "I may be a demon slayer, but I could handle a human rapist. Easy peasy. And Ferdie could twist his head off without breaking a sweat."
"Can and will," Ferdie snarled. "Ticia, you're the most important living being in the world to me. But luv, I still don't understand why he would come after you? Why are you different than the other women he hurt?"
"Because," she sniffled, "he'd never taken any of those other women home to meet the family. When he took me, his family made it clear that they approved of me and felt I was the making of him. He told me … that night his family had let him know that if he fucked up this relationship, he was disinherited."
Ferdie winced. "Oh, shit."
She nodded, her eyes glistening with tears. "My feelings exactly. Alastair is all about money and prestige. So, fucking up the relationship with me meant no more of either. His family promised to cut him from the family tree and be done with him and his problems."
"A fate worse than death for a nobleman," Jeeves said.
"Yes," Ticia agreed. "Alastair would then have to earn a living like a commoner. He has no skills other than good looks, dressing well, and shooting targets accurately. He also has no business sense. I ran the restaurants. He provided the initial startup money which I doubled in less than a year. Proof of his fecklessness is that the restaurant had to close within a month after I left. He needs to get me back to keep his lifestyle."
"But he hadn't found you to this point," Sassy pointed out. "Why was he in Cincinnati at a Kitchen Trade Show?"
"I don't know." Ticia shook her head and wiped the moisture from her cheeks. "I can only think he was invited by one of the vendors. Several of the ones present had been at other trade shows he went to when we were buying for the restaurant. He looked shocked to see me." She shivered.
Ferdie rubbed her arms to warm her. "It's okay, luv. He has no clue where you live now."
"Ferdie's right," Sassy said. "As long as you don't appear in any ads or images for Finds, Designs, and Blooms , he won't know where you live, right? Plus, any humans that manage to get into town through the keep-away bubble, which are few and far between, don't stay long due to the glamour that makes the town look like a ghost town."
"Just to be cautious," Ferdie said. "We'll have a meeting of the locals and lay all this out and make sure everyone knows that this creep is persona non grata and should be steered away from the valley. No one in the valley will betray your presence."
"We protect our own," Jeeves said.
"Damn straight we do." Ferdie held her closer. "No one will get to you."
Ticia rubbed a damp cheek on his shirt and whispered, "Thank you." After a second or two, she straightened. "While Alastair is not bright, he is cunning, and eventually, he'll have to find me, or he'll have to work for a living. He'd rather die before dirtying his hands like a commoner. He's a malignant narcissist with sociopathic tendencies. He can be very charming, very persuasive, but underneath the facade he is evil."
Ferdie looked in the rearview mirror at Jeeves and Sassy. "We'll call for a meeting as soon as we get home. Whoever attends can spread the word to those who can't make it. Maybe Baba Yaga can add a specific keep-away spell that works on just this creep."
Ticia pulled out of Ferdie's arms and crawled back to her seat. The loss of her warmth and scent made him want to pull her back.
He started the Rover. Ticia being forced to flee with few belongings and her cat in the dark of night from the foul Alastair angered him deeply. But with that flight, she'd demonstrated how strong she was and later she'd displayed courage in the way she'd rebuilt her life in Assjacket. She wasn't alone any longer. Now, she had him and he would do all he could to protect her and give her a happier future.