Marrying Her: The Keeping Her Christmas Wedding (The Keeping Her Series Book 5) (4 page)

Clytie looked at her and
would have spoken, but Cleo jumped in first, her voice no less firm beneath the
gentle tone.  “Having a good idea of what it feels like to have a mother who is
no prize, I know better than most what family is and isn’t.  So, I resent it,
too.  If we are not family, what are we?”

The question had Clytie
flinching, feeling the words like a slap.  Not because they hurt, but because
they were so true. She finally knew what to say.

“You’re right.”  She
breathed another deep breath and blew it out, only this time some of the
tension in her stomach went with it.  She looked around at the people who had
dropped everything to be with her.  She’d had the thought more than once since
she received that first phone call, but now it was cemented in her mind and
heart.  “It was a silly thing to say.  You all,” she waved her own finger
around the table, smiling a half smile at Ben while she did it, “are my family.” 
She raised her chin and smiled at them through a fresh coat of tears in her
eyes.  These did not burn so bitter.  “I won’t forget again.”

“See that you don’t,” Ben
said sternly, before he softened it with a wink.

They all went back to
their breakfast, the casual conversations starting up again.  Clytie turned to
Demon who still had a hold of her face and was busy studying her.  She placed
her hand over his and squeezed.  “I’m alright,” she reassured him with a watery
smile.

He took his time studying
her face and eyes, but finally he leaned down and kissed her lips; then
brushing her tears off her cheeks with his thumb, he released her.

“Good,” he said simply,
and went back to his own gargantuan stack of pancakes and bacon.

Clytie looked from him to
the rest of the people sitting around the table.  Shawn and Cleo sat close
enough that Clytie knew they had to be plastered together from hip to knee. One
of Shawn’s arms rested on the back of her chair so that she sat in the cradle
of his body.  Just then Cleo leaned forward, reaching across the table laughing
and teasing Roxanne while Shawn watched her do it, a contented look on his
face.  Clytie had never known he had that look in him until he mated with Cleo.

Cassandra was fending off
Ben’s wandering hands half-heartedly with one hand while Mac ate his breakfast
and held the other one.

Yeah, it is good,
she
thought, realizing that Demon was just as close to her as Shawn was to Cleo,
his eyes returning to check on her emotions every few seconds while he ate. 
The next time he did it, she smiled at him trying to put into words how much he
meant to her.  He must have got the message because he dropped his fork,
grabbed both sides of her face, and kissed her hard with no regard to it being
a public place, or who was watching.  Demon kissed her breathless and Clytie
could taste his maple syrup flavored relief on her lips.  Apparently, he’d been
more worried than he seemed.

Clytie ignored the
whistles and the good-natured heckling of their family, and kissed him back.

“While we have the plane
and some time, we should just go to Vegas.”

Clytie yawned.  She was
listening, she really was, but they were finally on their way home; Demon was a
warm pillow she reclined against, and she had not exactly slept well the last
few days.  The plane was darkened and quiet because she was not the only one
who needed more sleep than they had gotten at the hotel. 

“Why would we go to
Vegas?” she asked absently, wrapping her arms a little tighter and burying her
nose a little closer to his chest.  His scent always made her feel safe, no
matter the circumstance, and she breathed it in.

“To get married.”  The
statement coming out of the blue like that had her eyes springing open and
every soft sound in the plane immediately stopped, proving once again that
shifter hearing was awesome, and not always in a good way.

Clytie sat up fully awake
and turned to look at Demon.  “What are you talking about?”  His brow furrowed
and she saw the impatience sparking in his eyes.  “You’re serious,” she stated
flatly, getting angry all of a sudden.  “Is this you proposing?”

“You’re my mate.”  He
stated it like it answered all questions.

It did not.  “And?”

Now he just looked
confused.  “I don’t need to propose to my own mate.”

Clytie heard what sounded
like a disgusted snort coming from somewhere behind them, but she didn’t turn
to see who it was.  She had her own issues at present.  She narrowed her eyes
at him.  “What does
that
mean?”

He huffed out a breath
and shrugged his big dumb shoulders.  “You’re already mine.”

This time she knew the
gasp was Cassandra who didn’t have shifter hearing, so they had to be getting
loud.  Since she had every intention of getting louder, she didn’t worry about
it, but she was going to get a little clarification first. 
Then
she
would smother him with an airplane pillow.  “Then why do you want to get
married at all?”

“I don’t,” he said, and
this time she heard Cassandra very clearly say, “Oh, for the love of . . .”

She was going for steady
and sane, but she wasn’t sure she pulled it off when she spoke through gritted
teeth, spacing out each word for emphasis.  “Then. Why. Get. Married?”

“Because you’re human.” 
He said it like that explained everything.

Clytie was just
approaching meltdown when it occurred to her that maybe it did.  He had just
met her parents who had casually dismissed him and who had attempted to make
what they shared seem less because they had no vows between them.  He probably
assumed that because she was human she wanted to get married.  In a way, he was
right, and in a way, he was wrong.  What she wanted was for Demon to want to
marry her. Clearly, he didn’t, not really.  She could still get mad; it had to
be the worst proposal in the history of bad proposals, but this was Demon who
had recently stood by her in serious times of trouble.  She could cut him some
slack; besides, she was just too tired to deal with it right now.  “No, thank
you,” she finally said, snuggling back down on her mate’s chest where she had
started.

Unfortunately, it was not
as comfortable as it had been, seeing as Demon was sitting ramrod straight and
glaring at her.  “What do you mean, ‘No, thank you’?”

“I mean no, thank you. 
Let’s just skip it and go home.”

“Skip it and go home?” he
gritted out.

Clytie yawned in his
face.  “I don’t want to go to Vegas.  I want to go home.”  She huffed out an
exasperated breath.  “Why are you getting upset?”

“Why am I . . . ?”  Demon
growled, stood to his full massive height, and pointed his big finger at her
nose.  She really hated when he did that.  “You just turned down my marriage
proposal.”

She snorted.  “I did not.”

That gave him pause; whatever
he was about to say, his mouth snapped shut and his brow furrowed.  “You didn’t?”

Clytie fought the need to
roll her eyes.  “That was not a marriage proposal.”

He got angry all over
again.  “The hell it wasn’t.”

And now she was right
there with him.  “The hell it was.”  Clytie climbed up on her seat, standing to
her full height on the cushion, which bought her enough height to point at his
nose.  “Did you get down on one knee, produce a beautiful yet tasteful ring,
profess your undying love, and
ask
me to do you the honor of becoming
your wife?”  She didn’t wait for him to answer.  “No, you didn’t.  You said,”
and here she dumbed up and lowered her voice, “Yo, baby, we should go to
Vegas.  I mean if
you
want to waste time on some silly human tradition,
we should just get it out of the way now, while it’s not too much trouble.” 
She poked his big nose and his eyes crossed briefly watching her do it.  Her
voice went back to normal.  “To that I say,
‘No, thank you’
.”  She
crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him.  “Now are you going to sit
down so I can sleep on you or argue about it, and perhaps never have sex again?”

Demon eventually sat down
and yanked her into his lap, his growl an indication that he was not pleased,
but she was not exactly thrilled herself so he’d just have to deal with it. 
Thinking these thoughts, she snuggled into him and tucked her head under his
chin.  Like a puzzle piece, she fit there, his arms a warm net around her. 
Clytie closed her eyes and just sank into the feeling.  He may suck at marriage
proposals, but the man could cuddle.  She felt his chin rub back and forth
across her hair and then Demon let out a big gusty sigh of clear exasperation.

“I could have handled
that better,” he grumbled softly.  It was almost an apology.  Clytie didn’t
bother rolling her eyes.  They were already closed.

This time she knew it was
Ben who spoke up from behind them.  His voice disgusted and overly loud in the
quiet of the plane, “Ya’ think?”

Clytie eventually fell
asleep to the sound of Cassie’s muffled laughter, the hum of the airplane, and
Demon’s beating heart beneath her ear.

***

Demon was not pleased. 
He was aware he had messed up what should have been an easy process.  He was
aware because Clytie told him, and then both Ben and Mac had shaken their heads
at him when they walked off the plane like he was the dumbest motherfucker to
walk the earth.  Now Cassandra cornered him the second she could get him alone
–
a week
after that stupidity had even happened.  While she lacked the
punch Clytie’s displeasure could give him, she still managed to look girlie
fierce with her arms crossed and her little foot tapping in her leather knee-high
boots and jeans. The little brown wisps of curls that fell from her messy bun
trickled down and moved with each tap of her toe.  She was taller than Clytie
and filled out her winter sweater with less spectacle, but they shared a zest
for life and an inherent kindness that was rare.  Adding to her likability was the
fact that she was mate to his best friends and she was Clytie’s cousin.  He was
not in a position to do what he wanted to do, which was ignore her and walk
away.  That way lay minefields.  He was stuck, and they both knew it.

“You are going to have to
fix this,” Cassie was saying, her hazel eyes fiercely determined and lazered in
on Demon.  Since she was a foot and a half shorter than he was, she had her
neck pressed way back to give him her girlie version of the ‘don’t fuck with me’
glare.  It was reminiscent of Clytie and fucking adorable, not exactly scary,
but cute nonetheless.  “I don’t care how big a badass you are, you cannot leave
this where it is.”  Then she poked him on the chest and wagged her finger
toward his face.  “Amazing in bed will only take you so far my friend.  There
comes a time when you have to man up and say the words.”  She pointed at the
floor in two sharp jabs.  “That time is now.”

Demon growled.  “I asked
her to marry me, she said no.”

“Yea-ah,” she snorted the
word and the disgust was obvious.  “I was there.  Clytie is either a very
forgiving woman, or you are just that
good
.”  She looked him over, her
cheeks flushing.  “Which I get. Believe me, I have my own hot shifter studs I would
walk through fire for.  So, you still have a chance, but it is fading fast. 
And this is not just coming from me, big guy.”  She finished helpfully with a
firm pat to his arm, and Demon had to clench his teeth to stop from saying
something he would regret.  “I gave it to the rest of the pack ladies pretty
much word-for-word, and while Miley agrees it was so very bad that it was
almost cluelessly endearing, Cleo also agrees with me.  You have a very small
timeframe to make it right before bad things happen.”  Cassandra crinkled up
her nose, looking suddenly doubtful.  “She mentioned water-boarding, but I
think that might just be her.”

Demon clenched his jaw
shut with an effort.  With no idea of the danger she courted, Cassie patted him
on the arm and suddenly looked sympathetic.  “You can do this, Demon.  I have
faith.”  Then she smiled at him with many teeth.  From her voice, she was
trying to look menacing.  “Just don’t take too long.”

“I asked her and she said
no,” he repeated through clenched teeth.  “Not sure where I go from here.”  And,
fuck, did that shit still sting.

Cassandra widened her
eyes and shook her head again, as if he was the stupidest motherfucker alive.  “You
think I’m talking about a marriage proposal?”  She huffed out a breath.  “That
ship has sailed, my friend.  I’m talking about telling Clytie how you feel. 
The ineptitude of your marriage proposal is the least of your problems.”  She
waved that off as incidental.  “Tell her.”  She pointed at him one more time
and gave him her version of hard eyes.  “Do not wait.”  Then she turned and
sauntered away.

Demon watched her more
confused than he had been when she started talking. 
Tell her how I feel
about what?  What ship has sailed?  And why the fuck doesn’t she want to marry
me? 
It was all too aggravating.  Demon did the only thing that might help
in his current mood.  He shifted and went for a run.

***

Clytie hung up the phone,
wondering when conversations with her sister had become instruments of torture.
 Her father was now settled back at home, and they had medical coverage for a
nurse and round the clock care, so at least that worry was taken care of.  Sara
was finally coming home.  The kids and David had returned a few days ago in the
car, so it was just her on a commercial airplane this time.  Clytie did not
even attempt to offer the jet.  One, it wasn’t hers to offer, and two, she didn’t
want to hear Sara’s lame reasons for turning it down.  It was done.  She just
didn’t know what to do, or really feel, now. 

Roxy chose that moment to
come into her studio.  Clytie grimaced at the smell that followed her in.  When
she took a good long look at the child, she was immediately transported out of
her own head.  “What have you been doing?”  She narrowed her eyes on the golden-haired
child who was presently covered in mud and who had clearly been rolling in the
herb beds if the overwhelming smell of mint and thyme was any indication.  “Did
you get into the garden again?  And where is Cassandra?”

Roxy just shrugged her
tiny shoulders and attempted to look innocent, which for her was not a hard
thing to pull off.  With her little seven-year-old cheeks and big blue eyes peeking
out from all that mud, she looked like a splattered cherub.  “I was hiding.”

“Cassie asked me to watch
her,” Crow said from the safety of the door. When she turned her eyes his way,
he girded his loins, coming in behind the child and looking like he expected to
be facing summary execution. His eyes were serious, his face grave.  He was practically
hanging his head.  “Rox wanted to play hide-and-seek.”  His face tightened.  “She
got away from me.”  Then he bolstered up his shoulders with a shrug, “She’s
good.”

“Yes, she is.”  Clytie
tilted her head and studied the teenage crow-shifter.  “You found her?”

Crow shrugged.  “She’s
shiny, and she missed a few spots with the mud.”

“I’m impressed,” Clytie
finally said, then smiled at the boy when his head jerked up in surprise.  “There
aren’t many people who can beat Roxanne at hide-and-seek.  Thank you for
watching her for us.”

You could see he was
waiting for something else to come at him.  When she just smiled at him, the
boy opened his mouth, his confusion over not being punished almost
heartbreaking.  Clytie couldn’t stop herself; she walked over to him and kissed
his cheek.  She felt the flinch but ignored it.  “We’re very glad you’re here.” 
She shrugged and moved out of the boy’s space, ignoring the look on his face
and smiling at him.  “In case no one told you yet.”

Then she crinkled her
nose and took Roxy’s grubby hand.  “Come on, Roxy girl.  We need to hose you
off and scrub you down.  Again.”  She smiled one more time into the boy’s
shuttered brown eyes as they headed out.  “Thanks again for watching out for
Roxy.  You didn’t happen to see Demon in your adventures did you?  I need to
talk to him about something.”

“I saw him heading out
for a run.”

“Can we go, too?” Roxanne
asked, her eyes lighting up at the mention of Demon on a run.  It made Clytie
grimace.  She was still emotionally scarred from coming upon the huge timber
wolf with the seven-year-old clinging to his back, laughing, while he hauled
her around the yard, entirely too fast.