Chapter 8.
Pascale.
AMERY’S PHONE CALLhad really put the wind up me. I felt like a cat dancing on a hot tin roof. I felt agitated, I couldn’t think straight, and I certainly couldn’t work. The need to see Abby grew with every passing minute and was driving me to absolute distraction. And I might have been able to wait until after Easter, if that bloody ex-cupid hadn’t put it in my head that Abby was leaving at the first given opportunity now that she had the means.
When everyone else was in bed, I went out, making myself invisible to the world, but dressing in my traditional hoodie and jeans disguise, just in case. With determination I made my way to Amery’s house, getting more annoyed and agitated with every hop. I didn’t know where Abby lived, or I probably would have gone past her place, just to reassure myself that she was still around.
What would I do if she headed off travelling? Would I be able to find her? We were fated mates. Surely it couldn’t be too hard to track her down?
Could it?
Fear and anger warred with each other until I finally reached Amery’s and Val’s house. I stopped short, my eyes wide as I stared at the small red car parked in the drive. That was Amery’s car. I remembered it from the last time I saw her, when we briefly sat down to talk over those ridiculously fluffy hot chocolates of Amery’s.
Is she here?
My heart began to pound uncomfortably in my chest, and I glanced back down the street in the direction w I’d just come. She was still here in town. She hadn’t gone anywhere. She was still safely mine. I could hop on back to my burrow and feel satisfied or at least somewhat relieved, now. Couldn’t I?
My feet seemed to have a mind of their own as they propelled me toward the front door. Then, like I was on some kind of autopilot, I lifted my arm and knocked twice.
Now, I’m noy even able to control my hands. Great.
The door opened and Valentine stood on the other side, a slow smile stretching his lips. “Hey EB. Long time no see.”
I stepped forward and shook the hand of the fallen angel I’d known for decades, long before his fall. “It’s good to see you, Val,” I managed.
Val shut the door behind me and extended his arm in invitation.
I glanced around, looking for any sign that they were hiding the human I wanted so desperately to see.
Val crossed his arms over his chest and raised an eyebrow at me, a knowing look in his eye. “Looking for someone?”
I opened my mouth to retort, but then I heard it and froze. That musical laugh—the one that belonged to my beautiful mate. I turned toward the kitchen, heart still thumping away. “Are they...” I pointed at the closed door.
Val nodded. “Yep. They sure are. Are you unable to shift out of full bunny mode at the moment?” he asked.
“Unfortunately,” I said, all the while my legs further proved the point by doing that thing where they moved without my permission. Like I really was no more than a stupid twitchy bunny, and not a man in his own right. I sighed with deep-seated frustration and hung my head in defeat.
God, this is humiliating! I just want to be able to shift already!
Val grimaced in empathy and understanding as he trailed behind me, then stepped around my large furry form as I reached for the door. “Allow me,” he offered. The ex-angel pushed the door wide open to reveal an image straight out of a dream.
My mate had her head thrown back as she laughed, her delight and joy as clear as day. Her beautiful long blonde hair was piled on top of her head in a messy bun and a smudge of hot pink color was smeared across her cheek. She had a brush and a pair of scissors in hand, and Amery was sitting on a chair in front of her wearing a black nylon cape, her hair wet and wavy.
Val cleared his throat officiously, interrupting the moment and shattering the dream-like quality of my vision.
Both women turned toward me.
“Pascale.” Abby gulped, her expression changing from elation to worry faster than I could blink.
“Hey E.B.” Amery grinned at me from her seat while I struggled to speak. “Fancy seeing you out of your burrow. I thought you’d be holed up there for the next few weeks.”
Abby put her scissors down and busied herself with picking up a flashy black hair dryer. Turning it on low, she started waving it over Amery’s hair, keeping her gaze fixed on her task.
“Ah... no. I wanted to come by and say hi,” I managed to say, though everything inside of me was literally struggling to function properly. My heart was pounding too hard, and my throat felt thick and hot, like I’d swallowed a cupful of pan-fresh liquid caramel. I could barely speak, and I found myself wanting nothing more than to reach over and grab Abby and pull her into my arms.
“Well, hi,” Amery said, waving at me and grinning like the cat who’d found a bowl of cream.
I did my best not to glare at her, but it was an exercise in futility.
Fucking hell! Arrogant little cupid. She knew I wouldn’t be able to stay away from Abby!
“Um, I kind of need to finish drying her hair,” Abby said suddenly, waving her hand at Amery’s new ‘do. “Are you going to stick around for a while?” she asked.
My mind whirled and my stomach burst into a storm of chaotic butterflies, but I nodded regardless. “Yeah, um...” I stumbled, lost for words.
Val opened the fridge, grabbed a couple of beers then rejoined me. “All right, girls. Pascale and I will have a beer in the lounge. You two take your time.”
“Thanks, sweetheart!” Amery said with a broad grin.
Val handed me my beer and walked back to the lounge.
I gripped the cold bottle and stood transfixed, just staring at Abby as she worked.
Damn, she is beautiful.
“Come on, man!” Val called.
Abby gave me an apologetic smile, then turned the hair dryer on to full strength to get the job done. The kitchen was filled with noise and the spell was broken. Abby was working and focusing, and I had to get out.
I turned and went to the lounge, falling into the huge sectional with the beer still clasped firmly in my furry hand.
Val stared at me with a knowing smirk.
“What?” I demanded, my tone a little grouchier than I would have liked as I took a swig of my beer.
The ex-angel laughed softly. “Oh mate, you got it bad.”
I groaned and took another drink. Boy, did I need some liquid courage. “Yeah, of course I do,” I admitted without preamble. “She’s my mate, I know that. But I’m in freaking bunny mode! I can’t even kiss her.” I took another few gulps of beer and sighed. “What the hell am I even doing here?”
Valentine shifted on the couch and shrugged casually. “I think you might need to stress a little less, EB. If she’s truly your mate, won’t you be together, forever?”
I frowned at him. “You do know the definition of a fated mate, right?”
Val just laughed. “Humor me, here. If she’s your ideal match, your forever girl, then won’t she have to deal with bunny mode every year? Forever?” he asked, soundly far too reasonable.
I opened my mouth to speak, then stopped.
Ah... yeah.
But I didn’t dare say it out loud. I didn’t want to give these bloody cupids any more satisfaction that their gifts were as on par as ever. Instead, I said, “In a year she’ll love me enough to look past all this, but right now... she doesn’t! All she can see is the fur, and the ears, and the fucking tail. Dear, God. It’s a damn miracle she hasn’t run for the hills already.”
Val’s lips quivered with a very obvious and poorly suppressed laugh.
I knew my fluffy tail was hilarious to most people, but to me it was the same as having a bad haircut; you just had to wait for it to grow out. And in my case, I just needed to wait for it to stop being Easter so I could shift back! I wasn’t ashamed of my tail, or being a rabbit shifter, but other magicals and paranormals just didn’t quite get it. And don’t get me wrong, I had a healthy sense of humor about it—you had to—but sometimes it just got too much. Especially at this time of year.
The ex-cupid sighed heavily. “Pascale, if you want my honest opinion? You’re being a bit of an idiot.”
I scoffed at him and looked away. I probably was, but I couldn’t see another option at this point. I was stressed out at work, utterly distracted by having found my fated mate, and it was getting seriously hard to suppress my insanely high sex drive. To say I was frustrated and strung out would be the understatement of the year! Slamming down my beer, I tried to stop the heavy spiral of negative thoughts from dragging me down along with them.
Keep it together, EB. You’re stronger than this.
When the hair dryer sounds finally stopped the door to the kitchen flew open and Amery flounced out, spinning and flicking her now-rainbow hair about in a flurry of color.
Valentine got to his feet, his eyes wide with surprise, but his lips curved into a broad smile. “You look gorgeous. I love it,” he praised.
Amery rewarded his compliment with a huge hug. “Thanks, babe. I love it, too!”
Abby was grinning from behind them as she packed up her supplies into a large suitcase. “It’s only semi-permanent, so it’ll wash out and fade into a pastel ombre over time. But I think it’s the perfect Easter hair. Bright, fun, and fresh.”
Amery did look great, I had to admit, my mate had done an incredible job and was clearly very talented. But it was Abby that I wanted to gobble up.
“Are you heading home, then, Abby?” I asked her as casually as I could, getting quickly to my feet.
Abby nodded, zipping up her suitcase and grabbing for the big trolley handle to wheel it out. “Yeah, it’s pretty late and I have work tomorrow. So, I better get going.” She walked toward me, slinging the other bag she’d brought over her shoulder.
“I’ll walk you out,” I said, not waiting for her to answer. I just grabbed the handle on her suitcase from her, my furry fingers brushing hers in the exchange, before I waved to my angel friends. “See you guys later.”
There were some soft murmurings behind me, but I didn’t bother to turn around or look back. I just opened the front door and walked the suitcase over to Abby’s little red car, then stood by and waited for her to unlock the car and pack her things.
I wanted to help, but I didn’t want to overstep so early on in our relationship, so just waited patiently, my heart thumping the whole time. I got the feeling very quickly that Abby was used to being an independent woman, and I had no intention of insinuating otherwise by putting the macho moves on too soon.
She took a few minutes sorting it all out, but then she came around to the front of the car, slamming the trunk on her way around. “Thanks for helping me,” she said.
There was no-one else around now, and yet I felt unbelievably nervous.
She stepped up to me, reaching for the car door handle. “Do you need a lift back to your... house?” she asked.
I gulped back my instant reaction, which was to tell her exactly what I wanted to do with her back at my burrow. “No... thank you. It’s fine. I can run.”
Abby’s green eyes were incredibly beautiful, and there was only a scant foot between us now.
My sensitive nose could already smell her divine feminine musk, and my hands were just aching to reach out and grab her. In the interest of not fucking things up I went to take a step back, away from her.
Don’t mess this up, bunny boy.
But Abby did the only thing that could have stopped me in my tracks. She touched me, and not in an erotic way, she simply reached out and slipped her hand into mine.
I tried to stifle the groan that ripped its way through my vocal cords, but instead I ended up squeezing her hand tighter in response, my chest heaving with every breath as we stared into each other’s eyes.
“Oh, did I hurt you?” she asked softly, stepping even closer and not letting go of my hand.
I shook my head, afraid to speak, to shatter the perfect moment—us, alone, beneath the stars... the future of what could be a whisper on the distant dawn.
Then she smiled with the radiant beauty of the sunshine peeping out from behind dark storm clouds.
My ridiculously strong and muscular legs practically turned to jelly on me, and my soul sang like a bird on the wing. My mate was truly the most spectacular woman in the world. And no matter how many times I pinched myself, I still couldn’t believe she was destined to be mine.
“Okay, great,” she said. “Then hop in and I’ll drive you back home.” Then she let go of my hand and slid into the car.
I was left standing, frozen in place, utterly flabbergasted. “Ah... okay,” I said to the cool night air. What else was I going to say now? I couldn’t very well turn her down when she’s very tangibly insisted. So, despite my racing heart and twitchy feet, I went around to the passenger side and hopped into the car.
“Which way?” she asked brightly, gripping the steering wheel and sitting up straight.
I coughed to clear my throat. “Um, the easiest entrance is near the diner.”
She laughed softly. “Where I first spotted you! Easily done. I know it well.” Then she pulled the car out of the driveway and took off down the street, the scent of her sweet, sweet body filling the air between us and driving me wild.
My heightened senses were in overdrive as the world flashed by. To my dismay, I felt the unmistakable sensation of my cock thickening with desire beneath my fur and bit down on my tongue hard in response.
Focus on the pain, Pascale. Bite it down. You cannot let the need to breed take over! This must be on Abby’s terms or not at all. If I scare her away now... I could lose her forever.
I shuddered to think and silently prayed to the heavens that I could keep my shit together for as long as it took.