Chapter 8
Kalliopi put her phone down and dipped into the bath. Her joints instantly relaxed the minute she submerged. She finished her soak and the glass of wine within half an hour. By the time she finished getting dressed and doing her hair and makeup, there was a knock at the door.
He’s punctual? Yet another plus!
Kalliopi opened the door, and sure enough, Stan was leaning against the doorframe with a bouquet of flowers. They were a winter array of white carnations, red roses, and red tiger lilies.
“Stan, they are beautiful! How did you know I liked tiger lilies? You know what—never mind because I’m pretty sure of the answer to the question. Treasure already told me you grilled her. Come on in while I put these in water.”
Stan smiled at her as he crossed the threshold.
“I’m already busted? Geez, I was hoping I’d impress you a little more before you caught on.” He let out a chuckle.
“It was a sweet thing for you to do.”
“I just wanted you to feel comfortable and at home while you are here.”
“Well, I greatly appreciate that.”
“Shall we go?”
“Of course! Where are you taking me?”
“I thought we’d shoot some pool and have a few beers. Sound good?”
“Sounds great! But you might not have a lot of fun because I’m an excellent pool player. Most people call me a pool shark.”
The two were breaking a set and sipping beers within minutes.
“How’s the place?”
“Are you kidding? It’s great! Especially after you filled it with all of my favorite things.”
“Good! But I don’t intend to stop there. I know you said you’re not big on the holidays, but who doesn’t want a Christmas tree?”
Kalliopi nearly choked on her beer. She hadn’t put up a Christmas tree since her sister died.
There hadn’t seemed to be much of a point for her to celebrate since she was the only one left in her family.
In fact, she went out to a bar on every Christmas Eve to eat.
And she slept through Christmas Day just to avoid seeing anyone until she got together with Treasure for dinner.
Seeing a tree up would be a constant reminder that nothing was the same.
“Me. I don’t want a Christmas tree.”
“Come on now…”
“Stan, I’m serious. I’m here for work.”
“Are you saying you’re a Scrooge?” His usual panty-melting smile had less of an effect on her as they discussed such a sensitive topic.
“I don’t begrudge others their celebrations, but I do ask that others respect my decision to avoid them.”
“So your family leaves you alone this time of year?”
“My family is gone.” Kalliopi focused her gaze across the bar. This wasn’t the kind of thing she discussed on a first date, but it didn’t seem like she was going to be able to avoid it with Stan.
“I’m sorry to hear that. I was really hoping I’d be able to convince you to join my gingerbread-house-building team for the annual contest. I’ve won two years in a row.”
“Impressive!” Kalliopi attempted to give him a smile, but she knew it didn’t reach her eyes.
“But even if I was feeling up for it, believe me, you wouldn’t want me on your team.
My only experience with gingerbread houses in the past ended up looking more like Halloween décor than Christmas, since I couldn’t get the walls to stay up once I stuck the roof on. ”
“There’s a trick to that.”
“One I’m not interested in learning.” Not wanting to be too much of a stick-in-the-mud, she offered, “We’ll see how things go. If I don’t have anything else going on that day, maybe I’ll sit on the sidelines and watch you make your masterpiece.”
Stan’s smile dropped a little as he nodded. “It isn’t about winning. It’s about having fun.”
“That may be true. But I wouldn’t know. I have done nothing like that in years.”
“Then maybe it’s time to change that.” Stan palmed Kalliopi’s hand. “What if we didn’t call it Christmas? What if we called it, ‘The Great Canadian Winter Fun Time’—TGCWFT for short.”
Kallie laughed and rolled her eyes. “TGCWFT, is that the best you can come up with? I thought you FUCs were better than that.”
“Hmmm… what do you have, then?”
She thought for a moment before smiling widely. “KROCH. Kallie’s Reprieve from Obstructing Christmas Happenings.”
“I like it.” He smiled back at her. “But do you mean it? Will your KROCH really open things up and allow us to enjoy ourselves?”
She rolled her eyes, used to the innuendo and unable to hold back a laugh.
It was nice to be goofy with a guy, and she liked the idea of reframing the festivities.
“Well, it seems like unless I’m willing to hole up in my lodgings for the season, I better embrace a mindset shift.
So, yeah, I think I can do it with KROCH. ”
“All right, that settles it, then. Tomorrow is the Taste of Winter Festival on campus. It’s a thing they do for all the cadets who can’t get home for the holidays and all the residents who don’t have a home to go to.
We can sample Christmas cookies, hot chocolate, and all other things holiday-themed.
They even invite in shifter merchants who have Christmas ornaments and other decor for sale—which will give us plenty to choose from for decorating your place.
Then, at dark, they do the tree-lighting ceremony. Do you want to come with me?”
Kalliopi smirked while shaking her head. Seemed like if you gave Stan an inch, he’d take a mile. Perhaps that boded well in other areas… A girl could hope. “You are pretty confident, Mr. Dutetre, that you’ll get a second date out of me. Are you so certain this first date is going well?”
“If your KROTCH is any indication, then yes.”
She giggled as she playfully punched his chest. His hard planes caught her off guard.
She sucked in a breath as electric heat pooled within her belly.
With no thought of consequence, she palmed his pectoral muscle and gazed up at him through her lashes.
He tucked some loose strands of hair behind her ear before sliding his hand to the nape of her neck, drawing her close to him.
As his face drew closer, she found herself parting her lips in anticipation of him kissing her.
This was wrong on so many levels. She tried to remember that she didn’t want to get close because saying goodbye would be all the more painful, but as he closed the distance, she couldn’t remember why that was something she needed to care about.
So what if it was just a fling? She’d already had her chance at love with the one-who-shall-remain-nameless, and she blew it.
Why not have some fun with a man she found attractive while she was here?
Because it didn’t have to lead anywhere, right?
Then his mouth was over hers, his lips soft and inviting.
He wrapped a hand around her waist and pulled her closer to him.
There might have been a barrier of cloth between them, but she felt how much he wanted her.
As he deepened the kiss, all she could do was melt into him.
A soft, almost inaudible moan escaped without her permission, and it seemed to make him come alive, as he pulled her even closer to him.
As her chest pressed against his, she couldn’t help but want to fist his hair.
Nothing mattered to her in that moment but feeling every inch of him.
And just as she was about to slide her hands down to cup his backside and give each cheek a squeeze, someone whistled, causing her to regain her senses.
She went to place a palm on his chest to put some distance between them, but before she made contact with his chest, his hot breath surrounded the shell of her ear.
“I’m very confident about this date, Ms. Kouris.” The heat from his breath sent a trail of goosebumps down her neck before he pulled away from her. She instantly mourned the closeness. But then she noticed who’d walked in and was probably the one whistling.
“Richard? What do you want?” Stan’s voice was a little on the grumpy side, and she couldn’t blame him. The last thing she wanted to see on her night out with Stan was a co-worker.
“Sorry, but this couldn’t wait. You’d asked me to keep you in the loop the minute Ash started talking.”
“Yes, you’re right. I wanted to know that, but I meant you could text me about it while I’m off duty.”
“I get that, but the thing is? Ash said he won’t talk to anyone but you. Something about you being the only one who would understand what he went through with Zagan. And he said that if he had to wait till tomorrow to talk to you, all bets are off.”
Stan glanced in Kalliopi’s direction.
“Go!” she told him. “This is important. You might not get another chance like this. And if there is anyone who understands taking down the labs, it’s me.
I lost my sister to one. Zagan may not have been the one responsible, but even I want to take down as many people like him as possible.
” She’d blurted out the additional details without meaning to.
She saw the information process on Stan’s face, but he simply nodded before turning back to Richard.
“All right, I’ll go.”
“I can escort Kalliopi back to her place if you want to head over to the correctional facility immediately, Stan.”
“Actually, if you don’t mind, I’d like Kalliopi to come with us.” He turned a quizzical eye toward her. “Your infantry training covered interrogations, correct?”
“Well, yes, but as a MILF, my training is a lot different. We don’t exactly work much in the civilian sector with common criminals.”
Stan palmed Kalliopi’s shoulders, and he dipped his head to speak quietly, though Richard, with his shifter hearing, likely could still hear.
That didn’t stop Stan from professing his feelings, though.
“Kallie, I just want to spend every minute I can with you while you are here. Please say yes and come with us.”
Kalliopi smiled. It was the sweetest thing someone had said to her in forever. “Yes. I will.”