In Heat: Mating Call (In Heat Shapeshifter Romance Series #2) (6 page)

Sean swept the tangled locks of his blond hair from his face and leaned back into the corner of the couch, crossing his legs as he did so. Erik leaned back too, his arm coming to rest around her shoulders and drawing her closer to him. She snuggled into his embrace, waiting to hear Sean's opinion on their mating.

“So, Erik tells me you've got a little love triangle problem...” he started and shrugged when Erik raised a brow and frowned at him. Kim frowned too. She didn't like him speaking about the other man as though he was already a part of their relationship. If she had anything to do with it, he was never going to become a lover of hers, not even in the visions. “I'm just saying it as I see it.”

“Erik told me that the mating was exclusive. It's what he was told. Is there a chance that it isn't exclusive now?” She placed her hand on Erik's thigh, hoping her touch would comfort him as she voiced her fears. She knew that he liked hearing them as much as she did, but she had to be honest with Sean and it was best that her and Erik were honest with each other too.

“I've been thinking about it ever since Erik told me and the only answer I have is that your failure to mate the first time around has resulted in Kim's call being picked up by another. I've only heard of something like this happening once in all my years.”

“But you have heard of it,” she said, leaning forwards.

“I have, and I'm sorry to say that the story goes that it wasn't pretty. Two contenders for one female in heat can only lead to trouble.” Sean's look filled with worry, his eyes darting between her and Erik. “It's best that you're prepared... and remember that you've got little control over the visions.”

Kim swallowed, her stomach dropping as he confirmed her worst fear. She looked at Erik, staring deep into his eyes as they met hers. She could see he was thinking the same as her and it cut her up inside to think that something could happen in their vision that could jeopardise their relationship. They both knew how little control they had, and that she wouldn't be able to stop herself from doing things with this other man, but it didn't mean that Erik wouldn't start to resent her if she did. If their roles were reversed and there were suddenly another woman involved in their visions, she'd be jealous as hell about it and would probably be angry with Erik even though whatever happened wouldn't be his fault.

She gave him a shaky smile when he took hold of her hand. He smiled at her, looking into her eyes with so much love and understanding in his.

“We've come through worse than this,” he said, pressing a kiss to her cheek. He whispered into her ear, “I won't let him have you. I'll fight for you again if I have to.”

She rested her forehead against his cheek. She didn't want him to have to fight again. Last time had scared her witless and had caused him so much pain, both physical and emotional.

“In that case, I'm never leaving the mansion, at least not until we've mated,” she said, resolute and confident that it was the perfect answer to their problem. “I'll never meet that man then.”

Her smile disappeared when Sean spoke.

“What if the man came here?”

She frowned. “How would he come here?”

Erik shifted and she looked at him. He looked uncomfortable.

“Well, you are hosting this year's Christmas Ball after all.” Sean looked as innocent as a new born baby as he shrugged again and smiled.

“We are?” She stared at Erik. He gave her a little smile, one that spoke volumes. “We are.”

She wondered just when she was supposed to get some alone time with Erik. It seemed some higher power was determined to rob her of a relaxing Christmas break. She just wanted to spend lazy days snuggled up with Erik watching rubbish on the television or walking the grounds. It was bad enough that she had to go back to work before New Year's.

Heaving a sigh, she told herself that if it was Erik's turn to host this mystical ball she'd heard so much about in the past, then they had to do it. She didn't like the idea that a group of shape-shifters were about to invade though, and doubly didn't like the idea that amongst them could be the man from the vision. She moved closer to Erik, wanting to feel his arms around her. She wanted to feel he'd protect her.

He held her tightly, so tight that she could barely breathe, and she could sense that he was as worried and reluctant as she was.

Sean looked disappointed. “Come on, you agreed that after your non-attendance to the ball at my house last year you'd make up for it by hosting the ball this year.”

“Kim doesn't like to fly,” Erik said, his voice laced with the anxiety she could see in his eyes.

“I really don't... I'm petrified of falling to my death in some big lump of metal that clearly shouldn't be able to break the laws of gravity and fly.” She blushed when Sean gave her a look that said her explanation was a little over the top. She couldn't help it. Whenever she thought about flying or being in a lift, she became a babbling nervous mess.

“We'll host the ball.” Erik took hold of her hand and squeezed it. “I won't let anyone come between us and it might be a nice distraction for you. You could help Rose plan it all.”

She perked up at that. She'd never had to organise so much as a birthday party before, and now she was going to be arranging everything for a grand ball. Well, if she was in charge, it was going to be the best party the lycan community had ever seen. Throwing herself into planning it would be the best cure for her worries—she'd be so busy that she wouldn't have time to think.

“It's been years since we hosted the ball,” Erik said, looking around the room as though he was looking around the whole house and remembering the last time they'd held the party.

“The last time was just before your parents...” Sean trailed off when Erik's gaze dropped to his lap and he fell quiet.

She placed her hand over his so she was holding it in both of hers, and chafed the back of it. The corners of his mouth lifted slightly and then fell again. She could see the hurt in his eyes, could feel the pain in him.

“So how many people are we talking about?” she said, hoping to draw Sean's attention away from Erik so he'd have time to gather himself. “Thirty?”

Sean laughed. “Try nearer to one hundred...”

She gasped. How the heck was she supposed to arrange everything for one hundred people this close to Christmas? She really hoped that Rose knew some great caterers that weren't going to be booked up already. Surely Sean should've dropped this bomb a little earlier in the year, say July. Every musician, caterer, ice sculptor and all the other little party businesses were bound to be booked by now. Still she wasn't going to let that deter her. Even if she had to raid the local supermarkets and cook everything herself as well as play all the instruments, they were going to have a good ball.

“...and we've got a special guest this year.” Sean finished, still grinning.

“Who?” Erik and her said in unison.

She was glad Erik was back with them again.

“Prince Kristian of Denmark.”

“A prince?” Kim's brows rose and her heartbeat accelerated. “A real prince? And he's a lycan?”

“A real prince,” Sean said.

She looked at Erik. He didn't look very impressed. She tried to act cool too. So a prince would be coming to the ball. It didn't mean she was going to flip out and go over the top with the food and decorations.

Everything was going to be exactly the same as it would've been had there not been royalty in attendance. Except maybe she'd order finer champagne and more ice sculptures.

And some caviar. Rich people liked that stuff, didn't they?

She smiled absently.

A real prince.

K
im ran into the bedroom, eyes darting about as she tried to find her mobile phone. It was bound to stop ringing before she got there. Hopefully it was the caterer phoning back to confirm they'd be available for the Christmas Ball. She was amazed by the contacts that Rose had, stunned that some were still available for the party, but what surprised her most was that all of the businesses were run and staffed by lycans. She told herself that there were ordinary lycans too. Not all of them were part of the elite like Erik and Sean. She remembered the bouncer at the club Erik always took her to and the bar staff there. They were all lycans holding down a steady job.

It was like a world within a world.

She grinned when she found her phone in the bathroom and flipped it open.

“Kim speaking!” She beamed brightly.

“Kim?”

Her smile disappeared. It was her sister. She'd completely forgotten that her sister had mentioned the possibility of coming to visit on Christmas Day. Since their parents had moved away, they'd barely seen each other, even less than they had before if that was possible. It must have been months since their last get together and in that time something drastic had happened.

Her sister's husband had filed for divorce.

“Yeah, it's me. What's wrong?” she said, walking into the bedroom and sitting down on the end of the four-poster bed. The madness of organising the ball disappeared as she flopped back, stretching her other arm out as she sank into the bed and stared at the canopy above.

There was a long silence. Kim hoped that this wasn't about to turn into one of those long calls with even longer silences that she didn't know how to fill that she'd frequently had since Sherry's bastard husband had ditched her.

No matter how many times she told her sister that her ex was bastard son of a bitch, Sherry still didn't believe her.

She tilted her head and stared through the thin net curtains at the darkening sky outside, waiting for her sister to speak. She would eventually. Sometimes Kim got the feeling that her sister just wanted to know that someone was there. She was happy to do whatever her sister needed in order for her to get over her husband and on with her life.

Of course, that was as long as that didn't involve her coming up from London on Christmas Day. A pre-emptive strike was needed.

“So, I was thinking about you coming up for Christmas Eve,” she said, congratulating herself on getting in there first so she avoided a sticky situation such as convincing her sister that she still loved her but saying she couldn't come up for Christmas Day. The last thing she needed was her sister at the Christmas Ball. She had no doubt that it would easily take Sherry's mind off her ex, but she couldn't risk her sister discovering just what her boyfriend was.

She smiled to herself. Boyfriend? She couldn't say she'd ever chosen to call Erik that, but she supposed that he was, even if it felt as though he was so much more.

She wished they could get engaged or married, but he'd told her at the start that lycans didn't officially marry. It was hard enough for them to fake their own deaths and reappear in the world as their own children, or disappear for good if they were that way inclined. She was leaning towards disappearing with Erik when they reached that stage. Being born again would bring too many complications, such as the fact that her supposed son and daughter were terribly intimate.

“Christmas Eve?” Sherry said, a hint of disappointment in her voice.

“Erik's friends have invited us up north for Christmas Day. I think he's got relatives up there that we're going to visit.” She gritted her teeth, trying to swallow her own lie. She hated having to lie to her sister but she really couldn't risk her being around all those lycans.

“Oh... I suppose Christmas Eve will be nice. We can listen to the church bells together as it turns midnight. I used to like it when we did that when we were little.”

Kim smiled. When they were little? They used to do that when she was fifteen and her sister was nineteen. Hardly little. At least Sherry was buying it.

“Will it just be you, Erik and that housekeeper?”

She raised a brow at the tone Sherry's voice had adopted when she'd mentioned Rose. When Sherry had first met Erik and given him the third degree while prying information about his life out of him, she'd shown nothing short of intense jealousy when Erik had mentioned the house and Rose. Sherry had always wanted a cleaner, so she supposed it shouldn't have surprised her that her sister was jealous that Erik actually had a full blown housekeeper. Still, it was a little amusing to hear the edge entering her voice at every mention of Rose.

“Yes... I mean no... Sean will be here.” She really hoped that Sean wasn't going to prove to be a complication in her otherwise flawless plan to avoid her sister's world and her own world colliding.

How the hell would she explain a shape-shifter to her sister? Her mind was so fragile right now that the shock would probably put her in a hospital.

Erik knew the drill when it came to her sister, as did Rose. But Sean? A horrible twisting feeling settled in her stomach when the voice at the back of her mind said that he'd probably shift into his lion form just for a second or two of amusement.

“Sean?” her sister said, interest showing clearly in her voice.

She frowned. No way was she going to let Sherry get together with Sean.

She wondered if they could get Sean to go out for the day and then realised it was probably too late for that tactic since she'd already mentioned him. Her sister would think it weird if he suddenly disappeared on some errand or visit to friends. Besides, she didn't think she'd be able to convince Sean to leave anyway. He'd want to stay. He'd want to shamelessly flirt with her poor sister just to make her cringe inside and die a little with the fear of him revealing his other side.

“Yeah, Sean. I'm sure you remember me mentioning him before? He runs the Scottish office of Erik's company. He's down visiting, came to see some friends. We're all going back up to Scotland on Christmas Day.”

“Cool. The more the merrier.” Sherry sounded as though she was smiling.

Cool? The more the merrier? She wondered if her sister would say that if she'd said ‘Come up on Christmas Day, we're having a grand ball with a hundred or so shape-shifters. You and I can play guess the animal they change into'.

Not that she'd ever played guess the animal they change into. Well, only once or twice when she was bored. Normally she was right. It was like that whole dogs are like their owners thing. Shape-shifters in human form seemed to inherit some traits of their animal side. In Erik it was the black hair and honey-coloured eyes. Sean had inherited the hair and the laid back attitude.