Chapter Four
Mars watched Ren walk to the bathroom. He couldn’t take his eyes away from her, but that’s what Stellan had described with his Rabbit. It was impossible to focus on anything else when she was near.
He could do this. He could resist whatever urges to kill her were coming.
She was nice and understanding. And she was so damn pretty.
Even now, she had a perfect ass in those jean shorts. She had a little tattoo on the back of her ankle, but it was small and dainty, and he couldn’t tell what it was before she disappeared down the hallway under the sign that read restrooms.
She had her curls pulled back today into a high ponytail, and her tanned skin looked so soft.
She’d smelled like pain when he’d asked her about being Turned, and he didn’t like that. Someone had hurt her.
A snarl snaked its way up the back of his throat, and he took a long drink of water to try and swallow it down.
He tried to eat, but he couldn’t make himself. His tiger wasn’t acting right. He couldn’t even think about taking a bite until she returned.
Mars straightened his spine the second he heard the bathroom door open, and here she came—Ren. She plastered a smile onto her face. Her skin was dewy, like she’d washed her face in the restroom. Her pretty smile existed, but there was still a hollowness to her pretty gold eyes.
He’d caused that with his story about Dan.
Gah, he didn’t think about it like it was sad, and the nightmares had stopped so long ago, it felt like it had happened in a different life, but Ren had been affected deeply by his admission.
She was interesting. She was caring and empathetic.
Something about her reminded him of the before.
Despite being a Cat, she had retained some of her innocence. It was refreshing.
He was having stupid flashbacks. It always happened when he talked about being Turned, and he hated it. The flashbacks were a big reason he didn’t talk about it or want anything to do with being near his brothers for too much time. They liked to talk about the past sometimes. He did not.
Ren sank slowly into the chair across from him and scooted her legs under the table. “I apologize. I don’t know you, and you don’t know me, and my reaction shouldn’t be that intense. I’m just—”
Mars reached across the table and grabbed her hand fast to stop the pointless apology from tumbling from her pretty lips. He shook his head. “Don’t do that.”
“Don’t do what?”
“Don’t soften the moment. I’m not asking you to. I don’t care if you don’t know me. You can be kind to a stranger without guilting yourself. The world needs more of that.”
She swallowed delicately. God, her glowing gold eyes were so pretty in the afternoon sunlight that filtered through the big front window.
He parted his lips to tell her she looked pretty, but the server brought their entrees at that moment, and he released her hand and relaxed back in his chair to make room for the food.
Across the table, Ren had clasped her hands gently and was rubbing the palm of the hand he’d held with her thumb. Her eyes were soft and vulnerable on him.
He cleared his throat and thanked the server, then ordered a shot of top shelf whiskey. He gestured to Ren. “Want anything? I’m paying. I owe you. That was awesome.”
The slow smile that stretched her lips was so damn gorgeous. “I’ll have what he’s having.”
He chuckled as the server bustled off to put the order in at the bar in the back. “Atta girl.”
“What, you didn’t expect me to shoot whiskey?” she asked, and there it was. The teasing was back in her voice, and the hard moment was over.
He was grateful. “You know, I don’t really know what to expect with you. First time I saw you, you were blowing up in a top-down bronco, hair in the wind. You’re fun.”
Her cheeks turned the prettiest shade of pink. “You…you think I’m fun?”
“Yeah,” he said easily.
She pursed her lips and straightened her napkin next to her plate primly, then poured a bowl of white rice into her chicken and broth. “It’s been a little while since someone has said that about me.”
“Mmm, you probably hang out with boring people.”
She giggled. “Not boring, we’re just getting older. My friends have responsibilities now, and I don’t, you know? It’s just paying bills and working and trying to peer pressure my friends to meet up for a night out every once in a while, when I’m feeling cooped up in this life.”
He poured the two extra servings of chicken over his noodles and smiled at the server as she set two shots of whiskey at the edge of the table for them.
He lifted his in a toast as Ren did the same. “To life getting less boring.”
God, her smile was something else. The way it reached her pretty eyes made it hard for him to look away.
“To an interesting stranger,” she said softly.
A dangerous stranger. Mars threw his shot back and reveled in the wince that Ren made at the burn of the strong liquor.
“Delicious,” she croaked out.
He laughed. She was funny and he liked the way his smiles came easily around her. He’d never been around anyone like this before. Even following a dark moment, she could make the room light again, and she made it look easy.
“My ex is going to be at my Uncle Ronnie’s wedding,” she said around a bite.
Mars swallowed down another growl and tried for nonchalance. “Uh oh. Are you excited to see him again?”
“Heck no. We didn’t end on the best terms.”
“Who ended it with who?” he asked, trying not to sound as interested as he freaking felt right now. The answer mattered so damn much to him, and he couldn’t figure out why.
“He broke up with me.”
Shit. He took another bite and waited for her to elaborate.
She swallowed and took a sip of her water, then said, “We wanted different things.”
“Like?” Mars asked.
“I wanted to settle down and get married, and he wanted to be wild still. He wasn’t ready. He set me free.”
“Set you free? What does that mean?”
“He did the kind thing and cut me loose. He was open with not being ready to settle down.”
“How long had you dated?”
“A year and a half.”
“Mmm.” He didn’t like any of this. “He’s still close with some of your family?” he guessed.
“He’s dating one of my Uncle Ronnie’s god daughters.”
“Complicated,” he murmured.
“Yep,” Ren said, popping the P at the end. “My mom wanted him to be the one. She’s still mourning the death of that relationship I think.”
Mars scrunched up his face and asked, “How long ago did you break up?”
“A year ago. You know, he never told me I was fun.”
“I’m your first?” Mars asked, teasing.
“You’re the first to tell me that. Yeah.”
He snorted. “I don’t believe it. You dated a year and a half. You had to do fun stuff in that time.”
“Not really, looking back. He didn’t really like to be around my friends, especially if they were drinking, and at first, he would go with me and ask to leave early.
He even asked to leave a concert once, so we didn’t go to them anymore.
Then he would drive separately, then make excuses not to go out. ”
“But you said he was wanting to be wild.”
“With his friends. We had two separate groups of friends. I tried to hang out with them too, but it was very no-girls-allowed, and a bunch of inside jokes that always made me feel like I was missing something. I don’t know, we just didn’t mesh.
My fun side was annoying to him, and his wild side that I would’ve appreciated was something he kept separate from me.
It’s not really a recipe for a good long-term relationship. What about you?”
“What about me?” he asked.
“What was your last girlfriend like?”
“Ummm, short-lived. Annoying. Boring.”
He cracked a joking grin, and she threw a grain of rice at him. “I’m asking a serious question.”
He chewed thoughtfully, thinking about Alese. “I dated a woman for six months. She had a little kid. A son.”
“Oh, geez,” she murmured, her delicate dark brows arching. “Did you meet him?”
“She wanted me to. I never got there.”
“Why not?”
“Because I knew she was temporary. Meeting a kid would have complicated things and made me stay longer than I should’ve. Besides, us Cats aren’t exactly the shining example a kid should be looking up to.”
“I don’t know. You seem pretty normal,” she pointed out.
“I’m a mess,” he uttered. “And I know you can hear the truth in my voice when I just said that.”
“I totally could,” she said with a soft giggle. He liked the sound of her laugh. Everything about Ren was pretty. He hated that she was his Rabbit.
“Pretty sure I’m not father material. It was kind of a deal breaker when Alese told me about him. She kept him a secret for the first four months. When she told me she had a kid, I started distancing.”
“Where did you meet her?” Ren asked.
“Work. She came in needing her car detailed. I still owned my company at the time, and she came in every week for a month. Told me later that she was waiting for me to ask for her number.”
“You didn’t get the hint?” she asked.
He inhaled deeply. “I did. I just don’t really know what to do with humans.”
“Yeah.” Ren crinkled up her nose in the cutest expression ever. “I struggle with that part too.”
“Did your boyfriend…what’s his name?”
“Abe.”
“Did Abe know what you were?”
“Nope. He just thought I had colored contacts in. He used to ask me to take them out so he could just see my normal eyes. And then he liked to show me off like I was some kind of freakshow when I wouldn’t take the contacts out.”
Mars laughed and shook his head. “Why would he want to change anything about you?”
He looked up from his food to find her smile had faded slightly and her eyes held question in them. “Because most people need me to be different than I am. It’s just the way of things.”
Mars narrowed his eyes. “He sounds like the boring one.”
They ate in silence for a minute and then Mars nodded and said, “Yes.”
“Yes, what?” she asked.
“I’ll go to the wedding with you.”
He’d never witnessed such a look of shock on another person’s face before. “You’ll…you’ll go to the wedding as my plus-one?” She wiped her mouth with her napkin and leaned back in the chair, staring at him with this thoughtful expression.
“Before you go thinking I’m asking you out, you should know I’m in this as a favor for a favor.”
“I’m intrigued. Go on.”
“I have to travel to Salt Lake City this week to meet up with my brothers. It’s a once-a-year thing. I have plans to stay there for a day.”
“Uh huh?”
“I’ll make you a deal. I’ll go to this wedding with you and be the perfect gentleman.
The perfect wedding date. I’ll even dress to match you if you want.
Abe can see what he missed out on. And if you enjoy your time with me, then I’m going to ask you to go to Salt Lake City with me.
I’ll pay for your flight, and I’ll pay for a separate hotel room for the two nights we are in town.
” What the hell was he doing? He couldn’t stop talking!
“You distract my brothers. Keep their attention off asking me a bunch of questions.”
“So…just me and three male Cats in a city I’ve never been to?”
“And Dame’s mate, Misty. She’s human. She’s cool. You will probably get along well. She’s nice to everyone.”
“Ummm…” She frowned, thoughtful.
“Don’t answer now. It’s too fast. Get through the wedding with me and you can decide.”
“Yeah, but I will owe you a favor if I decide not to go to Salt Lake City.”
He shook his head. “I don’t want it to be like that. Forget it.”
“So, no strings attached for the wedding?” she asked.
“Really, we don’t have to do any of this. It was stupid.” He eyed the bathroom. It was his turn to want to run.
“So, you won’t expect me to go home with you afterward or anything? It will just be a public experience?”
Now it was his turn to frown. “I’m not in this to get in your pants,” he assured her.
She nodded, and he couldn’t read the expression on her face right now, so he sat here, confused as hell.
“So, the rules are we are doing this as friends.” She pursed her lips. “Stranger friends. Pretend dates. So, I’m not showing up as a single while Abe has a plus-one.”
“Sure.”
She rested her chin on to the palm of her hand, her elbow on the table. “Do you want to see the dress I’m wearing to it?”
“You have it here?”
“No, I have a picture of it. I can send it to you so you can wear something that compliments it. If you want.”
The slow smile that stretched his lips felt nice. “Oh. Yeah, I would like to see the dress.”
“Great. What is your number?” she asked, pulling her phone from her purse.
He recited it from memory while she created a contact for him, and then she put her phone down and waited, eyes expectant on him.
His phone vibrated in his back pocket, and he pulled it out and checked the text.
There was no hello, no fanfare. Just a picture.
In it, she stood in front of a dressing room mirror, taking a selfie.
The dress was a dusty rose color with cream-colored floral print.
It was fitted up top and showed up her perfect cleavage, and flowy to her ankles.
There were two little cut-outs at her ribs, where triangles of her skin were exposed.
She wore her hair down in the picture, and he couldn’t look away. God, she looked gorgeous.
He cleared his throat and forced himself to set his phone down. As nonchalantly as he could manage, he murmured, “I can work with that.”
“I’ll text you the information and when to pick me up.”
“Sounds good.”
Ren wiped her hands on her napkin, then offered one for a shake. “So, it’s a deal?”
Mars tried to stifle his smile as he slid his much bigger hand against hers. “It’s a deal.”