Daxton (BBW Bear Shifter Moonshiner Romance) (120 Proof Honey) (133 page)

“But do you want to go?” Helmut asked.

“Do you want me to go?” I said.

Both men let out a long sigh.

“What’s wrong with my answer?” I said, crossing my arms.

“It’s a simple question,” Sven said, jabbing the air with a rolled up piece of salami. “We are asking about your desire, not what you would put up with.”

“And my answer is contingent on whether you want me to go!” I said, pouring myself an orange juice from a large carafe.

Helmut held up his hands. “I would love for you to join us,” he said through gritted teeth.

“Then I would love to attend!” I lied, meeting his eyes and not flinching.

“Excellent, I’m glad we’re all in such high spirits to meet with the Dremora Corporation,” Sven said.

“What would you like me to do during the meeting?” I said. “Shall I take notes? Unbutton the top of my blouse? Bend over to pick up a dropped-aaayee!” I jumped as Helmut pinched me in the side. “Bastard! For that, you owe me. Both of you.”

Sven looked confused. “What did-“

“A date. Tonight. On the town,” I said. Why hadn’t I thought of this before!

“A date?” Helmut said, flustered.

I could see his brain working hard between those big brown eyes of him. Lead a Pack, sure. Find a mate, no problem. But take a lady out and show her a nice time…that was a different story.

“That’s a fantastic idea,” Sven said. “We’d love to take you out.”

“Cool. Now that we’ve figured that out, what do you want me to do during the meeting?” I said, all smiles. This girl was going to have some fun tonight!

“Just be patient and keep your wits about you. These people will probably be ruthless and cold-hearted,” Helmut said.

“What if they’re pleasant and nice?” I said.

“Then,” Sven said, “we’re really in trouble.”

—

“This is the place?” I said, looking up at the large glass and concrete tower in downtown Bergen. The building would’ve looked at home in any suburban corporate complex. The four hour drive to Bergen had me fantasizing about the meeting being held in a castle or perhaps an aristocratic villa.

Helmut and Sven stepped out of the truck, looking up at the building.

Sven’s nose twitched and he looked at Helmut. “Something is off.”

I smelled the air, but all I could smell was the concentrated smells of the city, all bustling humans with their worries and fears. I could see that Sven was uneasy, but Helmut looked unfazed.

“What do you think, Sven?” Helmut said.

“I don’t know. Might just be my nerves. Let’s just be ready to make an impolite exit,” he said.

“Hey, the date still happens whether or not the meeting does. I expect a nice dinner and dancing befitting a lady of my station,” I said. “Now lets go hear what they have to say.”

—

I sat up in my chair, trying my best to seem attentive and thoughtful. The three of us were on one side of a long conference room. On the other side were six lawyers representing the Dremora Corporation, a Canadian conglomerate of energy exploration teams. They searched to the ends of the earth for any drop of oil or puff of natural gas.

And they were mind numbingly boring.

“…And on this plot of land,” the man in the center said, pointing to an orange blob in the center of a green blob on a map, “we think the land deviates in such a way to indicate the presence of shale…”

It had been hours of this. Hours of these charts, graphs, projections, maps and technical data. I glanced over at Sven and Helmut, and I could see them strained to their limit.

A buzzing from my hip made me jump. Helmut and Sven looked at me gravely as I excused myself and walked out into the hallway, cellphone in hand.

“Hello?”

“Hey stranger!” June said.

“June!” I squealed. I hadn’t spoken to my roommate in weeks. A horrible realization came over me that I’d forgotten about her. About my life back in America. “Long time no chat.”

“Uhh, no shit. You were supposed to be gone like two weeks. I didn’t get a phone call, a postcard, nothing. Where the hell are you?” she said, her voice more than a little peeved.

“Well, it’s a long story, June. I’m still in Norway,” I said, tapping my hand against the windowsill at the end of the hallway. I looked out over downtown Bergen, the sun setting and casting a beautiful purple glow over everything.

“Wow, you really dove in, huh? You must be having a great time. Wait, you’re not just laying around in those coffee shops are you? I know they serve more than coffee!” she said.

“No, haven’t had the chance yet. It’s been…” I said, looking out over the quiet little Norwegian city, “magical.”

“Magical? Whoa, that’s some heavy shit, girl. So…” she said, her voice taking on a conspiratorial tone, “did you meet someone?”

“Yeah, you could say that,” I said, smiling.

“Oh my fucking God I knew it! I’d been telling myself this whole time, June, she’s found a guy and fallen head over heels in love with him!” She sounded very excited. “So what’s his name?”

“Umm, well, there’s two of them,” I said.

“Shut your face!” she yelled through the phone. I was sure people out on the street could hear her.

“Yeah, two of them. They’re…they’re amazing, June. I don’t know what else to say,” I said.

“When are you bringing them home? It’s going to be pretty crowded around here, but I think Ms. Sanders down the hall is moving out. Wouldn’t it be adorable if they moved in there?”

“June,” I said, then paused. I didn’t know how to say it. Honestly, I hadn’t even thought about it until just now. Ever since I’d gotten here, it had been like being scooped up by a tidal wave and carried forward. I hadn’t considered everything else. “June, I’m not coming back.”

I heard her make a surprised little noise, something cut short in her throat. Damnit. “June, say something.”

“I don’t know what to say, Clarissa. I…” she said.

“Just say it. Say whatever is on your mind,” I said.

“Well, it’s surprising. It’s not every day that your friend and roommate tell you that they’re going to be on vacation forever. It’s a lot to take in. Why are you doing this?” she said.

“I met these guys. They’re wonderful. They brought me into their…family. It’s amazing here,” I said.

“Clarissa, did you join a cult?” she said.

“What? No!” I said, taking my attention away from the beautiful sunset outside. “I did not join a cult. Jesus, June.”

“Did they make you sign something? Did they take your passport? They’re there right now, aren’t they? Watching this conversation?” she said, her voice getting quieter with each word.

“June, I need you to calm down. I did not join a cult. I’m not anyone’s hostage. I’m just in love,” I said.

“What are you going to do for work?” she said.

“I kind of have a job, I guess? It’s more of a position. It’s just different here, that’s the best way I can put it,” I said.

“You’ve got responsibilities here, Clarissa. Are you dropping out of college? Are you leaving me up shit creek without half the rent?” She sighed. “Clarissa, are you sure this isn’t just a rebound? You were at your grandmother’s funeral and all your family asked you about your ex.”

“No, that’s not what this is,” I said. “It’s…fuck June, it’s complicated, alright?”

“What if things don’t work out with these guys? You just met them. Isn’t it crazy to change your whole life around because of someone you met less than a month ago?” she said.

That horrible sinking feeling in my stomach came back. That sour pit, that bitter core. That was the thing about jumping in without thinking: it was great until you stopped to consider what you were doing. Then it all threatened to come crashing down.

“Clarissa? Clarissa?” she said.

“I have to go June. I’m sorry if I let you down.” I ended the call. I heard a commotion behind me as Sven and Helmut came into the hallway.

“We’re done here,” Helmut said. His words were hard but his eyes showed concern when he saw me.

“Good,” I said, following he and Sven out of the building.

I slammed the door behind me, Clarissa and Sven getting into the truck moments later. I tried to cool my nerves, but my knuckles were white on the steering wheel. My mind ran through what the Dremora lawyers had said.

“They were lying,” Sven said, looking at me.

“Who was lying? About what?” Clarissa said from the back seat.

“I don’t think they were. I don’t think they’re in the business of lying,” I said. I turned to face Clarissa. “The lawyers didn’t make us an offer in the end. They made a threat.”

“I think our Alpha is being dramatic,” Sven said.

“They knew every inch of our land. How did they get that information? My uncle spent years at the surveyor’s office in Oslo to make the maps of our land wrong, to hide our groves and sacred woods,” I said.

“Humans have been suspicious of our kind for a long time,” Sven said. “A few hundred years ago, things were less civilized. Even today, some groups don’t think we should have all the same rights as humans. When they find out our community has something valuable, they think it’s easy to take it.”

“I’d like to see them try!” I said, my fingernails extending, biting into the leather of the steering wheel. It was a destructive, childish thing to do, but it felt satisfying.

“Peace, Helmut,” Clarissa said, reaching forward to put her hand on my shoulder. “I take it you turned down their offer?”

“Yeah,” I said. I met Sven’s gaze. Urging him to be quiet for once. Clarissa didn’t need to know about me almost hitting that lawyer. How did they know? What else are they willing to do?

“I’m starving,” Sven said.

Shit. I’d totally forgotten about the dinner date. My mind had been completely on this deal. Without reservations, on a Friday night? I steeled myself for Clarissa’s disappointment.
 
“Clarissa, I-“

“I hope you like Italian food,” Sven said, sharing a wink with me. “Coastal Italian, of course. Not that upper peninsula dreck. Reservations weren’t easy to get, but I can be quite a charmer on the phone.”

“Oh, sounds good,” she said. She’d forgotten about it to. She fidgeted with her hair. Something was wrong.

—

Panne was the classiest Italian restaurant in Bergen. I knew Sven must’ve really buttered up the maitre’d on the phone. These reservations were not easy to come by. The waiter handed us our menus and left us to consider our options.
 

“So what’s good here?” Clarissa asked. She still looked distracted. This date was her idea.

“Everything,” Sven said, licking his lips as his eyes ran down the menu.

“Would you like to talk about what’s wrong, Clarissa?” I said.
 

“Nothing is wrong. Everything is fine,” she said, closing her menu. “I’m going to have the penne al’arabiatta.”

“Good choice, but too easy. You’ve got to have guts, Clarissa. Black pasta for me,” Sven said, smacking his lips.
 

“What makes it black?” she said.

“Squid ink,” Sven said.

“Eww,” Clarissa said. “I’ll stick with my tomato based sauce, thank you very much. And you, Helmut?”

I glanced at the menu, realizing I wasn’t hungry at all. “Probably something light. A salad.”

Clarissa’s brow furrowed, like I’d just put a puzzle down in front of her. “Are you getting a salad for some particular reason?”

“Yes, because I’m not very hungry,” I said.

“Or are you trying to tell me something?” she said, sucking her teeth.

“If I wanted to tell you something, I would just tell you. I wouldn’t try to tell you,” I said.

Clarissa looked at me and shook her head slowly. “Why can’t we just come out and have a nice evening. I know today was tough, but can’t we take some time just for us?”

“You’re right,” I said.

She smiled.

The waiter walked back, taking out orders with exaggerated flourish designed to milk tourists. Once he saw our eyes, he eased up on the act. The restaurant was filling to capacity. Lots of couples, both young and old. We ate in peace, enjoying our meals.

We stepped out of the restaurant, our bellies full but my mind was elsewhere. It was so hard to reconcile this new life, these wonderful men, and my responsibilities and life back in America. I pulled the truck door open and hopped inside.