Chapter Nine
Eryx
The paint came in the night before, from the town over. I’d paid extra to have it delivered because the electrician was going through his inspections, a frown on his face the whole time.
When he texted me an estimate that morning, I nearly choked on my coffee.
A movie theater couldn’t be run without electricity and, while it might work, he said it was only a matter of time before the outdated wires and system gave out.
I imagined all five theaters showing movies and the power going out.
Not the way to build a reputation in this town for a sound business.
Turned out, the electrician, a local one, didn’t have any other appointments, so he started bright and early the next day.
I hunched over the concession area counter, going over lists and not checking nearly as many things as I wanted to. It would be a process. I knew that when I bought the place. Still, in order to make any money, I wanted some things to go faster.
Plus, I had to go to the city that afternoon. I’d given little notice to the firm and my father when I quit, so several of my cases had gone to other partners and, while I would’ve loved to wash my hands of it all in one swoop, it simply wasn’t how things went.
There were still cases to settle. Clients to hand off. Contracts to sign. Things that had to be taken care of. I intended to keep my standing with the bar association. Someone in Oliver Creek might need representation.
I heard a knock at the door and groaned looking out, realizing it wasn’t Joaquin.
I hadn’t stopped thinking about him since our discussion at the café and maybe before that.
His charm was contagious. His passion energized me.
Even though I had to turn him down flat for his popcorn business, he had me hooked.
My wolf was muzzle over paws for him as well, which was a bit confusing with the way he’d panted over the tiger the other night.
I’d scented Joaquin and, while I was usually good at picking up on shifter animals, his I couldn’t quite place.
Strange.
Another delivery. More paint. Apparently, I’d ordered so much that it took several trips.
I directed the delivery person and then followed him out and saw Joaquin, head tilted back, just inside the theater.
“Hi,” I said. There was a big grin on his face. One that made me giddy, that did things to me.
“This place is great.”
I moved to stand shoulder to shoulder with him and took it in from his vantage point. “It is pretty cool but it’s going to be great someday.”
He looked at me. A twinkle in his eye. “I think so too. It must’ve been the place back in the day. The title outside…decades ago?”
“Yes. I imagine the price of admission was smaller as well. Let me show you around the place.”
I gave Joaquin a tour, and he wanted to get started immediately. He seemed…excited. The colors of this place were nothing to rouse creativity, but it changed Joaquin’s scent. He smelled like sunflowers and sunshine now.
I hated that I had to leave. I was already late, but no way did I give a care. The contracts and the meeting could kiss my ass.
The wolf inside me howled for him.
But also howled for the tiger.
“Where are you going to start?” I asked, needing to extend the conversation with him, even over something as silly as painting a wall a boring color.
“I think here. In the main lobby. It’s going to be the first part people see. Unless you wanted me to start in another room?”
I turned around to face the main entrance. He did the same. Our hands were so close. One flinch, one flex, and our fingers would touch. Goddess, the ache to touch him consumed me.
He was an omega. I found myself blurting out the question before thinking. “Are you dating anyone? You have a partner? A mate?”
A heated pause passed between us. “No. None of that. Why do you ask?”
I choked on the answer, stumbling and stammering over an answer that was nothing close to what I really wanted to say to him. Then more gibberish about needing to go and having an appointment.
Goddess, I never got flustered. Ever. I was an attorney for crying out loud. I could finesse a jury and a judge like no one else, no matter how much I hated doing it, but this omega stole my confidence and my senses.
That had to mean something. Didn’t it?
“You have to go?” he asked, and his tone stopped me in my nerve-wrecked tracks.
“Yes. I…I have business in the city. Things I have to finish up at the firm. I wanted to get out of there as soon as possible, but—”
“That’s okay.” Joaquin put his hand on my forearm and my entire body lit up. Places that had been dormant for so long. Places that might’ve never been alive in the first place. “I’ll see you…”
“I don’t know when. A few days. Maybe more. I’m sorry.”
He smiled at me, and everything misplaced and disjointed from the years of denying who I truly was shifted themselves back into place. The holes and dips were sealed shut. “That’s okay. I’ll be here when you get back.”
“Good. That’s good.”