Date Monsters Shifter Agency Paranormal Boxset, page 31
“Oh, don’t worry. I’m nothing like my father,” he said, and Jenna breathed another silent sigh of relief that he didn’t take offense at her words. Because in retrospect, that was a pretty shitty thing to say by her standards. After he’d gone through the effort of confessing something of his past, to have her hint at it again. Like father, like son.
“Can I ask what you look like as a tiger?” she said then, curious.
“I might freak out some parents if I shift here,” he replied. “Big cats don’t have the best reputation.”
“Eh, I’m sure the children will be crawling over the ‘cute kitty’ when they see you. Unless you’ve got some ugly scars in that form. Or look like those horror pictures you see of animals without their fur.”
Tam rolled his eyes, refusing to change, and she sobered. Best not to push him further, and he did have a point of potentially alarming the others around them. People saw her as a respected police officer. Might be less respected if her boyfriend terrified the living daylight out of people.
“Is it risky for you to change, then? Do you lose control of your mind?”
He grunted. “I keep control. Maybe some animal instincts are stronger, but I’m all me.”
She nodded, not pushing him any further. They spent the rest of their fake date gleaning extra information from each other, and inventing a meet-up place. (They met when she was working in the city, just before she moved to Geevor, since her mother didn’t know how recently she’d been ditched by her last “date”.)
Only when they took a leisurely walk along the fields in the back of the ranch did Tam surprise her by shifting. With no one around, no chance of being run over by a car or causing little kids to run away, screaming in terror, Tam quickly edged into tall strands of corn, and his features sprouted into luscious orange, white and black fur. Fangs protruded from his maw, and whiskers grew from his cheeks.
Once the tail emerged and he stooped to all fours, she ended up faced with a fully-grown tiger.
Her first thought was shit. Tigers are bigger than I expected. Or maybe it was just a tiger shifter that reached this size, his own head almost being level with hers, and a long, stout and heavy body supported on thick legs.
“Jesus, you’re built like a boulder.” When sure he wasn’t about to lunge at her or give over to some primal instinct, she circled around him, examining every part of his body from his whiskery face to his lashing tail. Her hands brushed along his fur, and it was as soft as she’d hoped. He settled down on the ground, and with a few gestures, a jerk of his head, indicated that she ride him. “You’re not serious.”
He purred a reply.
“Apparently you are.” She considered the notion, then straddled his back, trying to find where she needed to grip with her hands. She settled with the rolls of flesh around his neck, and held on tight when he stood up. Starting off at a walk, she knew he was testing how comfortable she was. Her knees squeezed tighter around his flanks, and she braced herself as the speed picked up. To a pad, then a lope, until he was stretched out, tail whipping in the turbulence, great body pounding along the dirt lane, straight into the forest that hung at the lip of the ranch.
The initial terror of holding onto a tiger running full pelt wore off enough for her to enjoy the ride, though her jaw was still clenched tight. The way the tiger’s body lurched beneath her definitely spoke of just how damn strong the animal was. Not something she’d ever wanted to encounter in a dark alley at night.
Ever.
A deer in the woods startled when they burst across a stream, and it scampered away in mad terror. The relentless charge died off when Tam turned around, prowling back the way they came, before lying down and getting her to slide off him.
She grinned like a child when he transformed back and rolled each shoulder. “Glad you didn’t fall off there. I admit I was worried about that the whole time.”
“Me, too.” She showed him her near bloodless fingers, before painstakingly bending them. “Had a few scares there, I’m not gonna lie. Including when we almost smashed into that deer.”
“Yeah… sorry about that. Hope you enjoyed it. Not often I allow a human to sit on my back.” He walked sedately at her side as they headed back to the ranch, and the car.
The exhilaration in her body cooled down as they traveled, until she once again reached her inner calm, reminding herself that no matter how well they seemed to get on in this moment, he was nothing more to her than an actor in her everyday life. A pawn to satisfy her mother, until one day, she found the real thing.
She suspected she might like him a whole lot more than her last date, though.
Chapter Four – Tam
He intended to charge more for additional services. The reminder of cash helped to cement the reality that they were fake, because he knew from experience how easy it was to get carried away. A client he’d gone with beforehand ended up buying him all sorts of gifts, insisting on having him come around more often, and pouting when he told them he required more money if they intended to use him in that capacity.
After all, Date Monsters tended to attract people on the lonely side. People who wanted companionship, the feeling of a warm body pressed into their own, and to even practice how to date on both ends of the spectrum. People had to learn somewhere. People also had to learn good sex somewhere, too, and Date Monsters was more respectable than other places, as there was far less controversy in its content.
If officer Jenna Wilt wanted him to deal with a draconian mother and sell the image perfectly, then she’d better cough up the dough.
She was due back with her mother at any moment, and he made sure to give himself an immaculate appearance. Socialites were used to elegance. Used to being in control. He imagined Jenna driving back in her vehicle, attempting to blot out the droning voice of her mother, with her sanity meter draining until it risked reaching zero.
Meanwhile, he also entertained himself by looking at other clients on Date Monsters. Although this might be his last job, if someone happened to come along and ask for obscene amounts, he wanted to get in on that action as well. Plenty of attractive men and women applied, and plenty of unattractive ones, too—who tended to offer more in compensation. He checked again his online saved profile of Jennifer Wilt as well.
The picture didn’t really do her justice, although the police uniform was an instant turn-on. He liked that raw efficiency she commanded about her person, and how open she was about what she required, without being condescending. You could only base these initial arrangements on the physical appearance, and the way their messages were constructed—usually blown out of proportion, or even downright lies.
Snapping out of his languid browsing when Jenna messaged him to meet up, he left Pappy’s, where he’d ordered a glass of orange juice, sauntering over to her home less than ten minutes away. Spotting Jenna with her back to him, he took the time to study the newcomer by her side.
The mother.
Smaller than Jenna, even though she held herself so straight that it might have been possible someone stuck a rod up her backside, the woman had clearly pulled out all the stops on making herself look expensive. Leopard print coat, white leather pants, probably of a prominent brand, a small but fashionable handbag attached by a gold chain, and several rings and bangles on each hand and wrist. She looked precisely like the kind of person he’d expect to be robbed, because she went out of her way to show off her wealth. Jenna, in comparison, wore nothing noticeable or gaudy. Not even earrings.
She’s gone the complete opposite of her mother. He knew a thing or two about wanting nothing to do with a parent.
He hated people comparing him to his father, or eyeing him like they expected him to suddenly rob a bank or mug some helpless old lady. His eye color was dark at least, to hide his shapeshifting heritage just by visual appearance alone. So that was something, at least.
“Hey, Jenna,” he announced, and both women turned from overlooking the local gardens on the eastern side of town to face him. Guarded acknowledgment came his way from Jenna, whereas her mother instantly puckered her lips as if sucking on something sour.
“Finally! Okay, Mom, this is Tam Bowman. Tam, this is my mother, Edna Wilt.”
The smaller, older woman stuck out a hand imperiously for Tam to shake, and he accepted it, knowing if he didn’t, he’d lose a lot of points in this woman’s eyes.
“Sturdy young man,” Edna noted, giving the kind of once-over that made Tam exceedingly uncomfortable. “And handsome enough, I suppose. Does he have a good job?”
“Yes, he does,” Jenna said immediately, throwing him a rather desperate look.
“I do. I, uh, own a chain of clubs in the Maldives,” he invented, plucking the name of one of his dream locations to life. “Four of them. They mostly run themselves.”
“Hmm.” Edna wrinkled her button nose. Barely any lines tainted her face. Possibly from the result of a lot of Botox. “How did the two of you meet? Since Jenna certainly hasn’t had any time to visit the Maldives.”
Jesus, he was here for less than a minute and this woman was already grilling. “I was visiting Washington,” he replied, now resorting to the story they’d made up. “And we met in a club. She was out of uniform, luckily,” he said, adding a smile for good measure.
“Rightly so. I swear this girl sleeps in her uniform, she’s that obsessed with making sure people see her as an officer.”
“I take my job seriously, Mother. And I like it,” Jenna reminded her.
“Not a very ladylike job, though, is it? It’ll be hard for you to get a good man if you’re busy running around and doing whatever it is you cops do. Can’t get much work in a place like this, though. All full of hillbilly hicks and inbreds, isn’t it?”
Tam suppressed a snort. “Geevor’s a charming little place, if you give it the time.”
“No, not my thing. Not my thing at all. But still, how lovely to see a handsome young man like you with my daughter. Hopefully if you’re any good, you’ll be able to lure her away from this sort of life. It’s about time she stopped rolling around in the mud and lived up to her potential.”
Jenna attempted to say something, but her mother cut her off almost instantly. She seemed to do that a lot, not respecting Jenna’s viewpoint or voice at all. And he saw irritation crinkling in Jenna’s expression, along with an ugly flush of red.
Is this what it’s been like her entire life? A woman who spoke like that in his household might have had the attitude beaten out of her.
“Yes, yes, it all sounds very exciting, having to locate lost farm animals and sheep theft,” said Edna, whose high heels clopped over the pavement, making a lot of noise compared with Jenna’s flat boots and Tam’s pointed shoes. “Are you sure you can’t take any time off? Help your old mother settle down?”
“I can’t, Mom. You know that.”
“But surely… it can’t be as busy here…?”
“No.”
“I can pick you up after work if you want,” Tam said, cutting into what might have turned into a potential argument between them. “Take you out somewhere nice? Or maybe I can bring food by.”
“That’d be great,” Jenna said, sounding immensely grateful for his input. Her mother again had an expression which looked incredibly punchable, and he wondered how Jenna managed to have so much willpower to not do so.
If he wasn’t on contract with her… he’d want to teach someone like this a lesson.
But she is her mother, he reminded himself. People, for some reason, went out of their way to respect and love parents. Even if they didn’t deserve any of it.
“Here’s my house.” They stopped outside Jenna’s house, which was smaller and less impressive than the ones surrounding it. This seemed to confirm something internally within Edna’s beady mind, and she clutched her bright red handbag tighter to her.
“How… quaint,” she managed, and somehow that sounded like an insult.
“Just because you married young and into money at eighteen doesn’t mean we all have to, Mom. This is what it looks like when someone normal has to rent their house until they can afford to buy something more expensive.”
“Seems a waste of your time, though. You have money we’ve given you. You can easily get yourself a boyfriend, since, my goodness, you’ve gone through a few, haven’t you? I just don’t understand why you won’t settle down.”
“Please, Mother, just stop. I’ve told you a million times.”
And clearly, a million times hadn’t been enough.
Tam watched Jenna bundle her own mother into the house, promising to show her around later, and firmly shooting her mother down when she said, “But what about your young man? Why not get him to show me around?” Tam hastily backed Jenna up, lying about being busy, and Jenna hurtled off to work, red-faced, stiff with tension, and showing all signs of wanting the ground to swallow her up so she didn’t have to deal with her mother.
Now he needed to pretend to be doing something productive to also avoid the wrath of her mother, since he knew an hour or so alone with that woman would be enough to dispel their fictional story.
He did intend to stick to the end of the contract. Whatever happened. And hopefully… Jenna Wilt might just be rewarding his patience with something else, too.
Jenna popped her head back out of the door. “Sorry. My mom can be a handful at times.”
“Yeah, I’m not sure how you manage to endure that,” Tam said. “Is she always so interfering?”
“She’s my mother,” replied Jenna. “And she means well. We just have conflicting ideas on what we think means well.”
He recalled that the whole point of their fake date was to fool the mother. To get the woman off Jenna’s back. That was working well. “You really insist on hiring people just to lie to her that you have a boyfriend? Why not just tell her you’re busy and not do this?” Not that I want her to suddenly kick me away or anything, he thought.
She seemed to read those thoughts. “I can hire someone else if you think she’s too much trouble.”
“Nah. You’ve already gone through the painstaking effort of introducing us. But I am wondering why you feel the need to act this all out in the first place.”
Jenna nervously glanced behind her, as if she expected her mother to be listening. She lowered her voice for good measure. “If I didn’t have someone, she’d be far worse than what you’re seeing. And she’s not an easy person to cut out of your life. Short of flying to another country, I won’t have much luck getting rid of her. And… well… I’d like to be included in the family will, if I’m honest. At least until I manage to save enough by myself.”
Ah… “You could save more money by getting an actual boyfriend.”
Jenna snorted. “I don’t want an actual boyfriend. I don’t have the time to do all that. I have my career to think of. I do want the companionship that comes out of this, though. I won’t lie about that.” She gave him a small smile, her lips spreading her face into a thing of great beauty, and a little shiver rippled through his bones. Along with the slight, involuntary twitch down below. “Besides, do you think any man would stick around after having a few conversations with my mother?”
Fair enough, he thought. He bid her goodbye and left before he risked showing off an erection he really didn’t want. Especially if that nosy old woman did happen to be looking their way. He hurried his way out of town, contemplating whether his best friend should come along. Since Carl wanted to know where the fuck he was, and didn’t seem impressed with his pictures of Geevor.
If you’re looking for women, I wouldn’t advise coming here, he’d told Carl. But Carl liked challenges.
So that was that.
Chapter Five – Jenna
“Fuck this,” said Jenna, all but throwing the sheaf of documents off her table. Her normally tidy and organized desk had two extra case files dumped upon it, courtesy of the new quota limit hitting their apartment. If they didn’t actively solve a certain number of cases a month, it meant funding getting cut, since they would be classed as “not active enough” to deserve funding.
Along with this, it was three days since her mother had unceremoniously barged into her house, and Jenna was done with it all. Everything Jenna showed her mother turned out to be inadequate or boring. Worse, her mother expected Jenna to attend hand and foot while also working overtime because stupid Greg had gone off sick with what sounded like the fucking bubonic plague, the way he’d described his “illness”—and they had a murder.
Another murder in a place that should have been lucky to get one every couple of decades.
And where else, but on the Arnetto Ranch? That place seemed to be a hotbed of fuck-uppery, and Jenna didn’t understand how such a nice ranch with a nice family ended up attracting so much ire. Even with the rumor-mongering that surrounded the Arnetto farm, anyone with eyes could see it was a decent place.
“They say it’s another animal attack,” said Frederick, waddling past her while clutching an ultra-large mug of coffee to poison his insides with. “The Arnetto lands are cursed, mark my words. First with those girls’ daddy ruining the business and getting into debt, and now with them carrying on his legacy. Why anyone would want to go there is beyond me. Should shut it down.”
“Have you actually visited the place at all, Fred?” said Jenna, who, though used to hearing people speak about the Arnettos as if they were an infectious disease, found it irritating as hell. She’d worked with the Arnettos previously, and found them to be competent women, just trying to make a living. “Or do you thrive on third-hand accounts of everything that exists?”
“Sure, I’ve visited,” he defended, scowling at her accusation. “Fancy place they have and all. But cursed.”
Sure. Although the forensics had already been to the ranch, the body was off getting a medical examination at the hospital twenty or so minutes away. The initial scene reports suggested animal attack. Which sounded like the Arnettos had yet another shifter problem on their hands.
