"Fuck this. You showed me zero respect at Mare Pacificum."
Without giving Lorne a chance to speak, I jump to my feet and storm off the patio, aware of the couple in the corner watching me leave.
Inside, I speed past the ball, heading to my room. Once inside, I peel off my clothes and toss them haphazardly on a chair by the fireplace. After flicking on the gas flames, I grab the complimentary wine bottle from the coffee table and flop down on the couch in my slip, opening it and drinking straight from the bottle.
The firelight flickers as I stare out the window at the light snow falling. I continue drinking the wine as I watch the snowflakes dance in the air, my mind settling into a meditative quiet.
When I'm halfway through the bottle, I still feel buzzed from the evening. It's annoying that my dance partner turned out to be Lorne, but I can't deny the effect he had on me. That my body is still on fire from his touch is something I'm unable to ignore.
As the snow continues to fall outside, I slide my hand down my panties and begin to rub my clit, picturing what it would feel like to have that grumpy mountain man's electric hands on my bare skin, cupping my breasts as he flicks his tongue between each nipple. He would drop his pants and then unbutton his shirt, revealing his chiseled abs and firm, hairy chest. I'd open my legs for him, ready to take his thick length. And as he penetrates me, I'd help him enter deeper by wrapping my legs around his waist and pulling him close to me.
Lorne's thrusts would make me cry out his name, and imagining him locking eyes with me as he presses his scratchy mouth against mine, I shatter into the fantasy. My body shudders against the couch as my breaths come out ragged. Lying there, I slide my hand out of my panties and throw my arm across my face.
What the hell was that?
6
Lorne
The evening before winter break starts, we have our annual Paranormal Orphanage and Academy holiday party. My stomach flips when I look across the room and see Princess Mair speaking with a familiar, curvy, chestnut brown-haired beauty. There's Alana Fairchild, and seeing her brings back both the disaster of our blind date and the intoxicating chemistry from the masquerade ball.
When we removed our masks and discovered who we'd been spending the evening with, my reaction surprised me. I was happy it was her, not angry that I'd been kissing a billionaire. But Alana clearly still thought I was a pompous ass, judging by her reaction when she realized she'd been making out with me.
Tonight, when she finally looks over at me, I can tell that her feelings about my level of pompous assholery remain the same. In fact, at one point, when we are in the same corner of the room, instead of simply walking by me, I watch the voluptuous beauty shift into a cedar waxwing and fly over my head to the other sideof the party. I hadn't known Alana was a shifter and chuckle to myself.
She definitely has the fiery nature of a shifter, but I would have guessed bobcat or badger.
I chat with Leonardo and other professors I'm friends with, but throughout the entire night, my attention continues to be drawn to the billionaire beauty. I'm feeling more and more like a jerk. She was right. I behaved like a pompous ass on our blind date when I found out how wealthy she was.
The more I learn about the wing that is being built because of Alana's money, the more excited I become. And I feel like a bigger butthead with every additional detail I learn. It's become pretty obvious that I projected my assumptions onto her. And I'd love to apologize, but the woman will not give me the time of day.
Walking over to Murphy and Mair to say goodnight, they have their backs to me and I hear Mair quietly whisper, "They're both here tonight, Murphy. I swear they're meant to be together."
My boss turns to his wife and says, "You need to drop it," in a loving but firm way.
His eyes then snap up at me, and I clear my throat, pretending I hadn't heard what they just said.
"Hey, I'm heading home for the night. Wanted to say good night to you two."
A few minutes after leaving the holiday celebration, I pull over at the local market. Snow began to fall during the party, and it's beginning to get heavier. I grab some groceries and one of theirChristmas trees wrapped in twine out front. I toss it into the back of my truck and continue heading home.
I'm barely back on the road when a weather alert interrupts Bob Seger on the radio. As I listen and drive, I notice the snow coming down even heavier. By the time I pull into my driveway, the visibility is minimal.
I drag the tree inside, then rush out to bring in the groceries. Before unpacking them, I start a roaring fire and get everything put away. After removing the twine from the tree, I set it up with water and let it warm by the fire.
Wind howls outside, and snow whips past the windows. I begin preparing my usual storm stew, knowing I'll be snowed in for at least a week based on the forecast and my cabin's remote location. I don't mind though - I've got wood, food, and a generator if needed.
The stew simmers on the stove as I grab a book off my shelf and settle into my recliner. I don't get more than half a chapter in when I suddenly hear tires squealing outside and the crash of metal.
7
Alana
Although it was nice of Mair to invite me to POAA's holiday party, I regret attending as soon as I spot the panty-melting, silver-haired mountain man. Lorne's beard has filled out again, and he annoyingly looks gorgeous. During the event, I catch him checking me out twice, but my irritation with him wins out.
At one point, when I can't reach the other side of the room without walking directly past him, I simply shift and fly myself there. Hell, I'm at POAA where shifting shouldn't be a big deal. But I'm pretty sure I see surprise flash in his blue eyes as he watches me flap my wings above his head.
At the end of the event, I hug my friend and her husband goodbye.
