Shifters of Grrr 2 (59 page)

Speaking of Star, the Diva had now come out on stage. Jason picked up a pair of opera glasses to get a better look.
 
This was not a good sign.

Carly snatched the glasses away from him.

"You know her?" she asked. Carly peered through the glasses and got an unexpected close-up of the diva's left nipple.
 
She put down the glasses in disgust.

"Star Tyler?
 
Sure I know her.
 
You know how often I come to the casino.
 
I always try to catch a show."

"I'll bet."

Jason stared at her.

"Where is this going?"

"How well do you know her?"

"Oh I get it.
 
You want to know if I've ever claimed her."

"Well?"

Jason folded his arms.

"I really can't remember," he said smugly.

"You're a bastard!" Carly spat, a little more loudly than she should have. She got up to leave, but Jason grabbed her by the arm and pulled her back to her seat.

"Don't make a scene," he said. "What the hell, Carly? Would it really matter?
 
Clearly you know the privileges that come with being an Alpha."

"Believe me, I know."

An uncomfortable silence fell between them.

Jason sighed.

"I never claimed her," he said.

"Never?"

"No."

"Are you sure?"

"I think I'd be sure."

Carly wanted to believe him.
 
Jason could tell that she needed to.

"She never really did it for me," he continued. "I mean, I think she's actually pretty talented up there on stage.
 
But, I don't know.
 
Too much flash.
 
Plus, she's really too aggressive."

Carly felt a wave of relief – because she realized that she actually believed the man.

Carly hadn't noticed, but Jason had angled himself so that he could watch the stage, but that he was partially behind the balcony curtain.
 
Jason really liked
Loup De Lune
as a stage production, but was discreetly trying to avoid being
seen
by Star from the stage.
 
He wasn't about to admit any of this to Carly.
 

But he DID tell her that he had actually bankrolled this stage production, and so he felt obligated to show up and be seen in the audience once in awhile, to keep the director happy. He told her he wasn't really there because he wanted to see Star.

Jason was hoping that only the director knew he was there, but that Star
didn't
.
 
Star had mistaken his financial investment to mean he was really in love with her.
 
He denied this to her repeatedly, despite which occasions of public embarrassment continued to occur, where Star would hang off of him – and sometimes even assault him. But avoiding the casino and avoiding the stage production was not really an option.

Jason discreetly looked around – hoping that security was nearby.
 
Just in case.
 
He usually made certain arrangements, but tonight he had not gotten the chance.
 

Just in case of WHAT he wasn't about to tell Carly.

"Why all the suspicion?" he asked her.

"Star told me that you two were engaged."

Jason looked at her, stunned.
 
Then he looked ripshit.

"Goddamn it, she's telling people that again?
 
Goddamn it!"

Jason stood up.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm going backstage to go wait for that crazy bitch when she's done with the show," Jason said.
 
"This crap has got to stop. I can't have people thinking that I would marry some crazy, stoned, over-paid stripper."

"Well," Carly chuckled. "Tell me how you really feel about her."

Before Jason could leave the balcony, he turned to see that Star had just ascended to the lyra, and was spinning at an incredible velocity.
 
Then suddenly, she stopped.
 
Star's eyes scanned the audience, and then her gaze fell upon Carly – and then upon Jason.
 

Before everyone's eyes, Star shifted into a pure white werewolf.
 
And she leapt down from the lyra, ran across stage and leapt into the balcony.
 
She shifted back into human form, completely in the nude.
 
Striding past Carly as if she wasn't even there, she wrapped her pale arms around the Alpha's neck and kissed him straight on the lips.

Jason was horrified.
 
The eyes of the entire audience were on them.
 
Then everyone suddenly started clapping, assuming this was part of the show.

Star turned to make an announcement to everyone in the audience.
 

"Everyone – this is my fiancé – the Alpha Werewolf of Palm Springs! And now he's going to shift for you, too!"

Star had a small headset to amplify her voice when she sang.
 
She could have clipped a mike onto her red costume, but it would do her no good once she shed that – or any other- costume before she shifted. She was half-naked through most of
Loup De Lune
anyway, so the producer decided a headset just made more sense.

Jason now was trying to wrestle away from her.
 

Carly was too stunned, too completely frozen, to try and help him.

As an Alpha, Jason should have been strong enough to not need her help.
 
He should have been strong enough to break away from Star's
Fatal Attraction
grip with very little effort.
 
But Star was so hyped up on cocaine and speed that she had super-she-wolf strength.

Suddenly security busted into the balcony.
 
They grabbed Star, who began kicking and biting at them.
 
She shifted back into wolf form.
 
Apparently, security had come prepared.
 
They threw a dog leash on her.

"We're so sorry, Mr. Irvine," one of the guards apologized. "No one told us you were here tonight."

"It is NOT okay," Jason snapped at them.
 

With another round of profuse apologies, they hauled the furry Diva away.

Carly looked at Jason and had no idea what to say.

"You believe me now, don't you?" Jason demanded. "This has happened before. Usually, they assign a bodyguard to my balcony.
 
I was so distracted by YOU this evening, I forgot to give them a heads up."

Suddenly Carly burst out with peels of laughter.
 
All of her previous doubts immediately subsided.

"It's kind of not funny," the Alpha told her.

Chapter 13

Jason awoke the next morning to find that Carly already was gone.
 
Today was the day they would be hashing out a contract, each with their respective lawyers. Max convinced the higher ups at Diamond's Oasis to have the casino's own law firm represent Carly's interests.

The Alpha felt a bit disconcerted. He felt for certain – on at least a couple of occasions – that he totally had swept the she-wolf off her feet.
 
But then, after the flames of passion had subsided, she remained – as always – calm, cool and collected. She was realistic about her situation.
 
She kept a level head.
 
She saw the big picture.

He was falling deeper in love – deeper out of control – and this was something he was not used to at all. Between the sheets he was convinced he could gain the upper hand.
 
He knew exactly what to do to make any woman desperate for more.
 
And Carly did seem willing to succumb.

Until they got dressed.
 
Then she was always all business again.

He got himself showered and dressed and met with his own lawyers first. His legal team had pulled together a draft contract.
 
They planned to exchange drafts with Carly's lawyers, who had pulled together their own list of conditions.

The two sides met in a conference room at the casino.
 
The rooms were fairly modern and sterile, but it was almost all glass with a panoramic view of the desert.

Carly gave Jason a light smile when he entered the room. She already was seated, flanked by an attorney on each side.
 
She was dressed well, but casual.
 
She wore tailored pants and an expensive-looking silk shirt, with a double-strand pearl necklace dropping low past her cleavage.
 

She was very sexy, even dressed conservatively.
 

"Good morning," Jason greeted her, unbuttoning his jacket before he sat down.
 
He sighed without intending to – mostly probably to diffuse a mild feeling of unease.
 
The Alpha was not used to equal negotiations with a woman.

"I didn't want to wake you this morning," Carly said. "You looked like you needed the sleep."

Jason suppressed a wry smile.
 
He reached for a pitcher of water on a tray at the center of the table and poured himself a glass.
 
He offered water to Carly, who accepted.

He sipped his water thoughtfully. Carly's eyes met his intense gaze for a moment, but her eyes flitted away. Her eyelashes fluttered for a moment.
 
For the briefest second Jason suspected she might actually be a little nervous.

Maybe she had reason to be.

A background check had informed Jason of something he had not suspected.
 
Carly was a Beta member of his own original pack back in Reno.
 
That meant that they both were from a hardscrabble background. It made him like Carly even more than before.
 
And when his investigators informed Jason about the identity of Carly's father, he suddenly understood whom he was dealing with a little better. And why she was not going to let him just whisk her away with lust and a promise.

"Okay, well we have both of our proposals here," one of Carly's attorney's began. "Let me go over some of our highlights. Our client's main concern is the protection of her interests should the Alpha seek out another she-wolf as a legal spouse. She wants to maintain all promised financial interests and security, plus for any children whom should come out of the arrangement. She wants any such children to be declared legitimate, recognizable by law in any state."

Jason shifted uncomfortably in his seat.
 
He hadn't even thought about children just before now. Would he even make a good father?

"Mr. Irvine understands Ms. Davis' concerns," Jason's first attorney responded.
 
"Our conditions simply address the matter that Ms. Davis may not lay claim to any of the Alpha's larger assets, beyond that which is specifically promised to her."

"Our client understands that and has no objections," Carly's attorney said. "In addition to that, there are several clauses that deal with rules of engagement in terms of their personal life. Has your client reviewed those?"

"I have," Jason said.
 
His mind flashed back to their fooling around at the restaurant the night before. He found himself grinning a little wickedly at Carly, who caught his look and couldn't help but blush.
 

Carly quickly took a sip of water as she was definitely feeling suddenly flushed.

"I fully intend to uphold my responsibilities, in every way possible," Jason assured her lawyers.
 

He gave Carly a wicked grin.

"Good then," her lawyer said. "Is there anything you would like to tweak?"

"There are a couple of typos – one on page 33 and another of page 56," Jason's attorney said. "We can have those corrected, and then we'll skim everything afresh to make sure one last time."

"How long do you need?"

"Give us an hour."

"Sounds good. Mr. Irvine and Ms. Davis should be ready to leave for Palm Springs by early evening."

Everyone stood up.

"Do we shake hands or something?" Carly asked.

Jason raised his eyebrows.
 

"You really ARE all business, aren't you?"

It was the first time Jason had spoken his thoughts aloud.

She offered him her hand from across the table.
 
He took it and gave it a quick squeeze.

The lawyers looked slightly amused at the couple, and they began to gather up their paperwork and briefcases. Jason waited for Carly by the door, letting their respective legal teams head out before catching her by the arm.

His sudden touch made her want to forget all this legal business and head back up to the penthouse where they could be alone.

"Why didn't you tell me you were from Reno?" he whispered in her ear.

Carly looked at him and then shook her head.