Batty for You (5 page)

“We try. Some folks don’t want to face their families, even though the union has to be upheld by their guild, clan or pack.”

“I know I could bring home a slug and my family would be delighted. They might try to eat him, but they would be delighted.”

Weller appeared in the doorway. “I am glad you have high standards.”

She waggled her brows at him and winked. “Nothing but the best for me.”

He grinned and walked over to her, kissed her quickly and settled next to her.

Teebie smiled and a platter of food flew through the air to land in front of him.

He jumped a little and eyed the food warily.

“Haven’t you been served by a fey before?”

He shifted and started in on his breakfast. “Not really.”

Bets smiled, “We need to go to the Night Star then. If we are the only ones there, the food will fly. Dromer is a great guy; it is too bad that he can’t ever be with his true mate.”

Teebie’s eyes grew sad. “Why not?”

Bets told the tale of the star-crossed lovers, the mix of magics, the aging issue and the rejection of the possibility of one day finding a way. Neither Dromer nor Ida had looked for anyone else, and they wouldn’t. They couldn’t be together, but they wouldn’t be with someone else.

Teebie’s eyes were wet with tears and she sniffled. “That is so sad.”

“That is what happens when love crosses boundaries that can’t be legislated. As far as I know, there is no way to share a lifespan.” Bets sighed and finished her fruit.

Teebie nodded. “Right. It is a daunting prospect—hundreds of years without the one you loved most of all.”

Bets nodded and swallowed with a quick look toward Weller. He reached out and took her hand, giving it a small squeeze. It wasn’t love, but he knew she was upset at the thought of a life with her mate gone. She didn’t even have a mate and she was mourning him.

Teebie wiped her eyes and smiled. “So, what do you have planned for the day?”

Weller said, “We are going for a walk and possibly a run through the forest. Then lunch, and then I don’t know. It is up to Bethany.”

Bethany shrugged. “If we frolic in the forest, I may be up for an afternoon nap.”

Weller’s eyes gleamed but he nodded. “Shall we?”

Bets got to her feet. “Ready when you are.”

“Have fun you two.”

Teebie tidied up the breakfast dishes and waved them off.

As they left the bed and breakfast, Bets could hear footfalls on the stairs. Teebie had her next round of guests coming down the steps.

“It must be a busy life.” Bets sighed and curled her hand around Weller’s arm again.

“It must be. I didn’t ask, what is your day job?”

She chuckled. “It’s a night job and is very boring. I act as hostess at a night club in the city.”

He arched his brows. “Really? Which one?”

She winced. “Dark Knight’s.”

He laughed. “I have been there. I would have remembered you.”

“When I am not in front of the house, I help with the ordering of supplies.” She sighed. “I would have remembered you, too.”

“So, with all those men coming through the doors, there were no likely candidates?”

“I never flirt on the job, and I don’t date men who get drunk and try to get me into the shadows. I might not have sonar, but my sense of smell is keen and drunk is not an attractive fragrance.” She shivered slightly.

“No, I imagine not.”

They walked toward the forest, and the crunching of gravel gave way to the rustle of leaves under their feet.

“Well, Weller, what do you do for a living?”

He grinned, and she noted that his teeth were fairly sharp, even for a human. “It is usually the first thing people ask.”

“And yet I have not received an answer.”

“I have a small clothing company, and I produce items by various designers for their collections.”

“How can you be here instead of there?”

“I have a good assistant, and Tony lets me use their Wi-Fi connection.”

She laughed. “It is amazing how the world has changed how we do everything. At work, I use barcodes for everything from ordering to scanning identification for the members.”

“The last few decades have sent our senses swimming. Thank goodness for our beasts or we would go mad.”

She nodded seriously. “Completely batty.”

He paused and chuckled. “You have me beat there.”

She nudged him with her hip. “Funny.”

“I thought so. Would you care to shift and spend some time in the woods?”

They had proceeded about fifteen feet down a path and were heading further toward the area she had visited the day before.

“I think I would. Will you keep pace with me?”

“I will try.”

They walked to a likely position in the forest, and she immediately stripped off her shoes before pulling her sundress over her head without ceremony. The bra and panties were folded neatly on top.

Standing naked in the dappled light, she looked over at Weller who was staring at her.

She blushed. “Well?”

“I am sorry. I am just admiring my first view of something completely perfect. I have never seen perfection before.” Weller bowed.

She kept her blush while she shifted. In her bat form, she used her wings to pull herself up the nearest tree and into a launch position.

When she heard the soft yip of Weller’s fox beneath her, she launched and scooped air with her wings as she soared in the limited space of the forest. The red and black fox was running underneath her, and she led him on a tour of the woods that only she could appreciate.

She whirled, dodged branches and tree boles, then gripped thin tendrils of vines for a moment and hung upside down in Weller’s path.

He yipped, and to her surprise, a wet tongue came out to lap at her fluffy head. Thankfully, her ability to fly did not depend on being dry.

He whined and rubbed his head against hers, and she reached out and grabbed his head, swinging on to his back and nuzzling his neck with her small fox-like face. Instead of taking off, he sat still with her bat body draped over him, covering him in a webbing of wings and a fluff of fur.

When she was nuzzling into his soft red fur, he got up and slowly began walking back to their clothing.

Dressed with her hair patted into place, she looked at him. “It got weird there, right?”

He grinned and came over to her while wearing nothing but pants. He pulled her against him and kissed her wildly.

There was no doubt about it. He had enjoyed the strange exchange.

When he let her up to breathe, she smiled and stroked his cheek. “A good start.”

“I do believe it is. Now, let me get my shirt on so we can head off for lunch.”

“How long have we been out here?”

“Four hours, but I would do it no matter how long it had been. I am hungry. Come on.” He took her hand, and they walked through the woods with the knowledge that their relationship had begun here, with her in the air and him on the ground. The night before had simply been the human equivalent of them sniffing each other.
This
was what mattered. Beasts together.

“Do you eat fruit with every meal?” Weller leaned forward and forked up some pineapple.

“It is better that I do. The supplements I would have to take otherwise are rather annoying.” She saw him coming in for another piece of her dessert, and she stabbed him with her fork.

He yelped and she raised an eyebrow.

“I know your kind are opportunistic, but don’t get between me and my fruit.”

He raised a brow in return. “Don’t your kind report to an alpha?”

She snorted. “No. If I were a member of a colony, I would report to a flight leader. That position is fluid. It just means they know where the food is.”

He snickered. “I see. Well, foxes don’t have a hierarchy worth mentioning.”

She laughed. “Wrong. You report to the alpha female. I have met a few fox females at the club.”

“Speaking of the club, is it true that it is owned by elves?”

She finished the chunk of papaya in her bowl. “It is true. I didn’t have the heart to tell Reggie that I worked with elves. He was so proud of introducing me to Dromer.”

“I have never seen them at the club.”

“You have but you didn’t know what you were looking at. They are Drow. Dark elves.” She reached for her water and washed the sweet juice from her lips.

Weller was surprised. “What?”

“You heard me. Dark elves. They are…well it is hard to say, but they are wrapped in shadow with red eyes and white or gray hair. My immediate supervisor is Teelion. He hired me just after the Robert fiasco and agreed that flirting was not part of my job description.”

The café was humming quietly with folk coming and going in an easy and relaxed atmosphere.

“I will have to say that I am grateful to your employer.”

Bets smiled and sat back as the server cleared the plates.

“You will have the opportunity to tell him yourself. He said if I found a match at the Crossroads, I had to bring him into the club and introduce him.”

Weller grinned. “Why do I get the feeling that your family will be easy but your boss will rake me over the coals?”

She reached out and took his hand. “Because you are a very intuitive man. He is pleasantly protective, and it has made my working life one of the most enjoyable parts of my existence.”

He captured her fingers and raised her hand to his lips. “I hope to take that place.”

She could feel the corners of her eyes crinkling. “You have a good shot at it.”

With their lunch complete, they returned to the bed and breakfast where Bets turned to him apologetically. “I really need an afternoon nap.”

He nodded. “May I join you?”

She felt her eyes widen. “I don’t think I am up for that.”

“It will be perfectly chaste. I promise. I just want to be with you.” He leaned forward and kissed her so softly, only a tingle of her lips told her of the contact.

“I don’t know.”

He offered her his arm. “I allow me to explain my fiendish plan.”

They walked up the stairs and she listened. Halfway up the steps she caught on and laughed out loud. “Sure.”

Snuggled into her bed with the light streaming in through the window, she stayed put while Weller disrobed on the other side of the bed. She was wearing her sleepwear and she turned to him as he approached, scratching at his ears and stroking his back.

He sighed blissfully and curled up next to her under the covers, his tail twitching occasionally.

Bets relaxed and let the warmth of his small body sooth her and help her ease into sleep.

After the nap, they had both dressed for the evening, Weller returned to his room to change, and Bets found a dress, which hung on her shoulders and threatened to drop if she moved too suddenly. It was firmly in place, there were straps that wrapped her upper arms, but it looked a lot more dangerous than it was.

Dinner was wonderful and dancing continued until her body was humming with energy and she was smiling incessantly. She was happy from the inside out, and she couldn’t remember feeling this way before.

“Shall we head home?” Weller rocked her against him on the dance floor.

“I think so. I am done dancing.”

He gave her a careful look, and they left the Crossed Star with his arm around her waist and her head leaning against his shoulder.

There was no reason to talk, so they simply moved toward their common goal and headed inside without pausing at the front door.

Bets knew that he was her mate. It wasn’t just that he had been willing to drop the notion of sharing a bed the night before; it was the companionship during her nap. Since she was primarily nocturnal, it was nice to have someone to share an afternoon’s rest with, even if it was just that once.

She tugged him up the stairs toward her room, and he didn’t hesitate. When she opened her door and invited him in, he moved into her room with respect.

“Are you certain? We have time, Bethany.”

Slipping her arms around him, she plastered herself to his body. “And so why waste it?”

Weller gripped her shoulders and released the bands that held her dress in place. “Good point.”

She blinked. “How did you know how to do that?”

“My company made the dress.” He bent toward her and pressed his lips against her neck. He worked the dress out from between them, and it slipped to the floor in a whisper of sound.

Blushing, she tried to work on the buttons of his dark dress shirt, but he pushed her hands aside and then took them in his. He gave her fingertips small kisses.

“If I am naked before you are, this will be a very short evening.”

She giggled as he placed her hands flat on his chest and reached behind her to work at her bra. It released with one easy motion, and she began to wonder if getting into a relationship with a man who made women’s fashions was a good idea. He seemed to know all the tricks.

Her panties were flicked off her hips with a motion she didn’t track, and when he lifted her out of her shoes, they stayed behind.

“You are very good at that.” She gave him a narrow-eyed look.

Weller shrugged. “Consider my previous experience as practice to make your life more enjoyable, Bethany. From this point on, there is you and me and no one else.”

He settled her on the bed and sat next to her, running his fingers over her body as if memorizing her.

The tickling sensation took over from her embarrassment. When he reached sensitive spots, she giggled and squirmed and he smiled. He leaned in and licked her neck, the hollow of her throat and collarbone.

With slow motions, he eased toward her breasts, teasing them until they ached and throbbed. With a callous disregard for her shallow breathing, he moved lower, across her ribs and down to her belly where his lapping tongue threatened with where he was going next.

He surprised her. Just as she was parting her thighs, he jerked up and stood, removing his shoes, shirt and trousers in a flurry of buckles and buttons.

His erection was hard, throbbing, and there was a white drop at the tip, soon followed by another. Bets sat up to reach for him, but he shook his head, eased her knees apart and dropped to his belly between her thighs. He cupped her ass in his hands and lifted her to his mouth; the persistent and strong flex of his tongue made her gasp, and she moaned, covering her eyes with one hand at the abrupt intimacy.