Page 18

L ucian raised his arms and howled gleefully. The motion swung my left arm around due to the short chain connecting us. “ Three times in a row,” he boasted.

I stared at the checkerboard, which now only had Lucian’s black chips. “You take this game far too seriously.”

“I let you win the first two, so technically I’ve won five times.”

I sputtered with laughter while folding the game board and putting it back in the box. “You didn’t let me win, and you know it.”

Lucian added the red and black checkers to the box. “Is this how you have fun? I pictured you going to upscale clubs and hanging out in the VIP section.”

After putting the lid on the box, I rested my arms on the wooden table.

The warm glow of the floor lamp made this corner feel more intimate.

Maybe it was the white wine, or maybe it was our forced proximity, but I was so comfortable around Lucian that it felt perfectly natural to reveal details about my personal life.

“Clubs aren’t my scene. My father and I used to play all the time—before he got weaker.

He won’t let me bring the games downstairs because it gives him a reason to come up here.

I guess he thinks I’m keeping him hostage.

But we don’t play for hours like we used to.

He likes to sit outside a lot and talk about the old days.

What about you, Mr. Checker King? Is this your favorite game? ”

“I used to play with my brothers all the time. It’s hard to get a game going with the pack.”

“Why?”

“They like group games with teams. I could play checkers all day.”

“We have something in common. I get addicted to the game. Chess was never my thing. People can retreat and drag out the game. You can’t run away in checkers.”

He folded his arms on the table and stared at the box, silence enveloping us until the only sound was the crickets outside.

“You’re not much of a conversationalist,” I said, stating the obvious.

“I say what’s on my mind. That’s the problem.”

“Why is that an issue?”

“People think I’m an asshole. Not every remark I make is meant to be an insult. I just state the facts.”

“What do your brothers say about that?”

He scratched the back of his head. “I’m the black sheep. They’re nothing like me.”

“Maybe that’s because you had it rougher than they did,” I suggested, thinking how a black-haired Chitah standing below six foot would have faced challenges.

“My family has a lot of… expectations.”

I swirled my wine. “Sometimes family doesn’t always know what’s best, but we do aim to please, don’t we?”

“We get along, but I’m tired of people apologizing for my personality. Don’t mind him, he doesn’t have a filter. Ignore him, he’s just being Lucian. ”

“I’ve met a lot of assholes, and you’re not one of them.

From what I’ve observed and heard around town, you’re a brilliant man, but sometimes highly intelligent people have trouble connecting.

It’s not a flaw—not unless you’re a narcissist.” I rubbed my nose when it tickled.

“You’re too smart for the rest of us. We don’t engage your intellect.

Maybe that’s why I’m so good with people; I’m not a genius. ”

“Bullshit. You run this town.”

“Any idiot can be in charge.”

“Idiots can’t run a damn thing. They just follow the assholes.”

I laughed softly and slid the cuff down my wrist. “What kind of work do your brothers do?”

He cleared his throat. “Law enforcement stuff. Kicking ass, taking names—the usual. They think I chose security and computers because I don’t have strong fighting instincts, like it was a backup plan or something.” He rumpled his hair. “It’s what I’m interested in.”

“Your instincts looked pretty sharp back at the jail.”

“I didn’t think that through.” He continued staring at the game box. “Sometimes I have trouble finishing a fight, so that could’ve taken a wrong turn.”

I wasn’t sure what he meant by that, only that his avoiding eye contact made me think he might be ashamed about something. “You instigate fights and then walk away?”

“Not exactly. I hold back.”

“Why?”

“Because I might flip my switch.”

Lucian must have been an emotional person to have to hold back during a fight. From my experience, Chitahs rarely went primal during a brawl.

I tilted my head. “So you repress your emotions?”

“You could say that. If I go primal, I might do something stupid and wind up killing someone.”

“What’s it like? Flipping your switch, I mean.”

He scratched his jaw while thinking about his answer.

“Mmm, I guess it’s like when you shift. You’re not in control anymore.

The only difference is we’re the ones driving the car.

It’s like our brain shuts off. We don’t understand language or know how to reason.

Everything that makes us civilized is stripped away.

” His brow furrowed. “It’s like being possessed or something.

When we’re in that state of mind, we’re driven by raw emotions.

The most primal part of our brain takes over. ”

“How do you control your emotions to keep it from happening?”

He sat back. “Fear. That keeps me from flipping my switch. I suppress the anger that normally awakens that side of us. That’s why I can throw a punch without my fangs ever coming out.”

“They came out today.”

Lucian shook his head as if silently reprimanding himself.

It hadn’t occurred to me that Chitahs might struggle with the actions of their inner animal.

“I can relate. My tiger’s never caused any problems or randomly attacked anyone, but there’s always a chance.

My animal and I have a trusting relationship, and she obeys when I want her to stay under.

But we only have so much control. Once they come out—especially if we fall unconscious—we have zero say in their actions.

Others might provoke them to violence. That’s one reason Shifters love it out here.

Too many people live in the city—too many things can go wrong. ”

“Interesting.” Lucian had a rich timbre to his voice when serious.

He rarely smiled except while beating me at checkers, but that also meant his smiles were genuine, never forced. And they were also wickedly playful. It made me wonder what might have happened if he had given me that look while healing my thigh.

I sipped my wine. “Let’s have an icebreaker.”

His eyes flicked up with interest.

“You worry too much about offending me, so let’s simplify it by getting to know each other. What’s your favorite snack?”

His eyes sparkled. “Does that include dessert?”

“No.”

“Chocolate-covered almonds. You?”

“Fresh pineapple with cinnamon. Um… tell me something about you that nobody else around here knows.”

He ran his fingers over the links in the chain. “I know sign language.”

I jerked my head back. “Really?”

“A friend of the family is deaf. Lakota knows since he grew up there too. I’m not sure how much sign he remembers, but he’s probably out of practice. What about you? Tell me something nobody else knows—like what the charger in your bathroom is for.”

The charger was for my vibrator, but he didn’t need to know that.

“Well… I once won two hundred grand playing slots in a casino.”

He cracked a smile. “Are you shitting me?”

“No, I’m serious. But when we got to the office, there was all this paperwork, so I left.”

“You walked away from two hundred thousand dollars? Are you out of your mind?”

I laughed at his reaction. “It was decades ago. A friend of mine dragged me into a casino to follow these men. I wasn’t interested in dating humans, so I wandered off and put a few bills into a slot machine.

The next thing I knew, bells were going off and people were crowding around me.

An employee walked over and made sure it wasn’t a defective machine or something.

Part of me wishes it had been. I hated to walk away, but my alias doesn’t cover taxes in their world.

It’s risky giving over my information for money, but it was definitely a rush I’ll never forget.

” I examined my champagne-colored nail polish.

“You said you have four siblings by blood. What did you mean by that?”

“Three brothers and a sister. We also took in a Shifter years ago who survived some terrible shit, so I helped with his education. I was also in charge of Lakota’s schooling for a while.”

“A teacher, huh? I can see that.”

He sniffed the air, and I got the feeling he was trying to figure out if I was being sarcastic. Then he gave a wry smile. “They complained I was too strict.”

“Lakota turned out fine, if you ask me. What about the Shifter?”

“He works for the higher authority.”

That impressed me. “How did you get so knowledgeable about computers and security?”

“I learned the way everyone learns a trade: books, experts, and hands-on experience. Some people make it a family business and mentor the kids, but nobody in my family was into computers and electronics. You can learn almost anything if you put your mind to it, especially with the internet. Humans need a college degree to hang on the wall, but the only option we have is sink or swim.”

“Do you have a role model you look up to?”

“My oldest brother. Yours is your father?”

“Yeah.”

“How old are you?”

I smiled, wondering what he might guess. “How old do you think I am?”

He scratched his shoulder. “You can’t tell with Shifters any more than you can Chitahs.”

“That’s no lie. Well, if I went by human appearances, I think you look about thirty-two.”

“Add about fifty years to that.”

“Just a babe.”

A mischievous look danced in his eyes. “You’re over a hundred?”

“Try two.”

Lucian stroked his chin. “Do you have young?”

I took another sip of my sweet wine. “Do I look like a mother?”

“You’re over two hundred. You could have a whole litter who’re already grown.”