“Good luck with that, Kylie.” Lily took a sip of the tea she was drinking before she continued. “Believe me, I know firsthand how damn hard it is to fight the attraction of a mate. I was in a committed relationship when Declan came to New Orleans, on my father’s orders, to convince me to return to Slatefall, Montana. I knew the instant we met what I was feeling but I was determined to fight it. I wasn’t going to let my baser instincts control me. I told myself, and Declan, that I am more than just my wolf and I wasn’t letting animal instincts get the upper hand.
“The night I took Emelise and Declan to meet with Caine, Mia went into labor and the Pard celebrated the baby’s birth with a party. That was the first time I let instinct guide me. I’d been drinking, my inhibitions were lowered, and I ended up cheating on my boyfriend of two years. He was actually going to propose to me. He’d been away on business and when he came back, he had a ring with him. We broke up and it hurt because I’d cared about him. A lot. I thought I loved him. Maybe I did, in a way, but I couldn’t share this huge part of my life with him. He didn’t even know I was a shifter until that day. Anyway, the point I’m trying to make is, when it comes to being mates, you can fight it all you want, but eventually the need to be with your mate will be too strong to resist.”
Kylie listened to her but she kept shaking her head. “I’m not going to give in like that. I won’t. I can’t.” The thought of being touched, intimately, actually made her shudder. No, there was no way she was letting Remy in. She doubted she would ever want to be touched again. She didn’t tell Emelise everything. It had been hard enough talking about the physical abuse. The thought of telling anyone about all the times Ezra forced himself on her made her feel sick to her stomach.
“You know what? Let’s just drop this conversation. It’s obviously making you uncomfortable, Kylie, and that wasn’t my intention. I’m sorry,” Lily said gently.
“Lil’s right. We’re here to have fun and shop. No more depressing discussion. I say we get rid of our trash and get back to it because there was some lingerie in Victoria’s Secrets I wanted to pick up to surprise Caine with.”
All three women laughed and the mood was suddenly much lighter. By the time they finally headed home, the tension that arose during lunch was long gone.
“Declan and I are planning on swinging by the club tonight, so see you two later,” Lily said when Emelise dropped her off in front of her house.
“See you later, girl,” Eme replied.
“I look forward to meeting him,” Kylie told her from the front passenger seat.
Kylie was making sure the bar was completely stocked, prior to the club opening for the night, when Remy slid onto one of the bar stools. She felt her leopard’s reaction to him and pushed it down. “Can I help you with something?”
Remy shook his head. “Just watchin’ you work, cher. Did you have fun shoppin’?”
Kylie froze for a moment, before she covered it, by turning her back to him so she could organize the liquor bottles she’d just set up behind her. “It was fine.” She knew he didn’t mean anything by the comment but it brought up some ugly memories. The rare times Ezra let her go shopping by herself he would grill her the instant she got home.
“Just fine? You did go wit’ Emelise and Lily, right? I know dose two, dere’s no way dey didn’t make it a fun day.”
“Like I said, it was fine. I told Emelise I would pay her back the money she spent today just as soon as possible.” Kylie saw his frown in the mirror. “She told me not to worry about it but I’m not a charity case. I pay my debts.”
Remy
When he’d gotten to Scarlet Flux, he’d nodded at Emelise and headed for the stairs leading to the VIP lounge. He was anxious to see his mate again. He’d stood there for a moment just watching Kylie before he’d finally gone to the bar and slid onto one of the stools. He’d seen her stiffen, just a little, and had cocked a brow. His skittish little mate was pulling on his protective instincts, hard core, without even knowing it.
“What kind of Pard did you come from dat you feel you need to repay Emelise for takin’ you shoppin’? Didn’t she tell you we take care of our own?” He watched her closely. He’d seen the way she froze up when he asked if she’d had fun shopping earlier. Her reactions made him want to go to her old Pard and knock some sense into the Alpha. Clearly the man wasn’t worthy of his position if he made his Pard members feel obligated when receiving aid.
“It has nothing to do with my old Pard.”
He could hear the defensiveness in her voice and decided to not push. Something told him if he did that it would only make her more withdrawn. “All right, cher. You look busy, I’ll let you get back to it.” He moved away from her but kept her in his sights. He loved the way the lights brought out the golden highlights in her red hair. Combined with her chocolate-brown eyes and her fair skin, she was a stunning beauty.
All too soon, the doors opened, customers came in, and Remy had to stop watching Kylie and focus on the job. Yeah, he would have much rather preferred to spend hours watching her, but duty called. Still, he couldn’t help glancing at her every now and then just to watch her put on a show while she poured drinks.
An hour after the doors opened, Remy was moving through the VIP lounge, checking on the staff, when movement caught his attention out of the corner of his eye. He was at the far end of the lounge, as far from the bar as he could get, and was just turning to make his way back toward it when he stopped. Tucked in the farthest corner was a small group: three men and a woman. Something about them got his hackles up and he moved closer. It was then he noticed the woman’s eyes. They looked panicked. What the fuck was going on? One of the men was a small-time celebrity from some reality TV show. “Is dere a problem here?” he asked as he stepped up to the table.
“Naw, no problem. We’re just having some fun. Aren’t we, darlin?” the guy drawled at the woman.
“Is dat so? By da look on her face, I’d say fun is da last ting she’s havin’. You okay over here, cher, or are dese boys botherin’ you?” He could see the hesitation in her eyes.
“I told them I wanted to leave but they wouldn’t move so I could get up.”
Remy cocked a brow. “I suggest you do what da lady asks unless you wanna be escorted outta here in cuffs.”
“What are you, a cop? Where’s your badge?”
“Me? No. But one quick call and I’ll have one of NOPD’s finest here in a jiff. One who doesn’t take kindly to men who don’t take no for an answer.” For a moment Remy thought for sure they were going to ignore him.
“Whatever. There’s plenty of pussy around here looking for some fun.” The guy who seemed to be the ring leader of the trio finally moved to let her up.
“If you’re lookin’ to get laid, you might want to hit one of da less reputable clubs. People come here to enjoy demselves, not to be sexually harassed by wannabe stars,” Remy growled. He gently took the woman’s arm and escorted her away from them. “You all right, cher?”
“I am now, thank you.”
