Five Reasons to Love Her [Werewolves Wanting Love 5] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Read online

  “But The Steakhouse is busy then. All the brunch people come in as soon as we open at ten thirty and the rush goes right through lunch. It gets quiet again about two thirty but not for long because the kids start coming in after school and that takes us up to the early dinner eaters, the families, and then we’re full on all night. It’s either right now or eight thirty tomorrow morning.”

  “Oh, god.” Tally rubbed a hand over his head, decided it was time for a haircut, and stroked his chin. Shit. He needed a shave as well. Eight thirty. He’d barely be human by then. He usually didn’t crawl out of bed much before nine. “All right. We’ll do it now. As soon as—”

  “I’m all done. It’ll be dry in three, four hours.” The man with the carpet steam cleaner rolled the machine out of the cinema and onto the concourse. Likely to take it back to wherever it was stored here in the mall.

  “Thanks,” Tally called, and pulled the last section of the metal gate down over the cinema, locking it in place and getting out the chain.

  “Ah, fuck. I forgot to check if he’d switched off the lights. Wait here.”

  Tally hurried back to cinema three but the cleaner had switched the lights off and locked the door. Tally rattled the handle just to check, then came back and pulled the gate down again, locking it and padlocking it before following Sam to the professional suites. The glass doors were locked this late at night, but their swipe cards would open them as they would the elevator.

  “I hope you’ve got some heavy-duty coffee to keep me awake.”

  “Of course.”

  Tally stretched and yawned as they waited for the elevator, and obediently followed Sam down the hallway to his apartment, dropping into a comfortable armchair as Sam made coffee and pulled a bag of pretzels and a bag of pistachio nuts out of his refrigerator, dumping them on the coffee table beside Tally.

  When Sam handed him a mug of coffee, he gratefully inhaled the rich aroma of the beans and sipped cautiously at the hot brew. “Ah, that’s good. Now tell me again why need to talk about Heather in the middle of the night tonight.”

  “Because we never do talk about her. We’re both busy twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, working. We said we’d make a plan to court her, and we didn’t. We were dead lucky a couple of horny wolves didn’t steal her from us at that mating party. If we don’t get off our asses and claim her, someone else will. That’s if she doesn’t kill herself running down the stairs.”

  “Huh? Kill herself running down the stairs? What do you mean?”

  “Apparently she likes to run down the stairwell here in the professional suites at about a hundred miles an hour and jump entire flights of stairs on her way down. She scared the shit out of me doing that this afternoon and laughed and said it was awesome fun.”

  “She jumps entire flights? Seriously? That really isn’t safe.”

  “No kidding,” Sam growled at him, and Tally drank some more of his coffee. Not that it helped him understand what the link was between Heather liking to run down stairs and the urgent need for them to start dating her.

  “Taking a Saturday or Sunday off to date Heather isn’t going to work. They’re my busiest days. Maybe a Wednesday afternoon I could get someone to cover for me for a few hours,” he offered.

  “That’s not enough. We’re both going to have to plan a proper program of getting to know her in depth. The real Heather, what she likes, what turns her on, and why she does crazy things in the stairwell. The only way we can do that is by giving her proper lengths of time and our undivided attention. We both need to find someone we can trust to run our businesses for us for an entire day at a time. After that we need to find out what Heather likes to do. And only then will we be able to plan real dates with her so we can win her heart and show her we love her and want her. And the step after that will be to introduce her to BDSM. By that time we’ll know her well enough to be able to plan a proper scene for her.”

  Tally put down his cup and stared at Sam. But he wasn’t seeing Sam. He was seeing Heather’s naked body spread out for him on his bed, her mop of brown curls tangled on his pillows and her thighs open, welcoming him inside her body. Tally gulped. Yeah, he needed to make one of his best staff a genuine second in command, and leave him in charge now and then to make sure he could run the cinema complex. But who?

  “Hang on. Wait up a minute. What if we do all this and by the time we’re all organized, it’s too late. Shouldn’t we speak to her soon?”

  Sam took a handful of pretzels and chewed thoughtfully. “I want to rush right in and ask for a date. But since she didn’t date all those werewolves at the mating party I don’t like asking her without something planned. It’ll take me a few weeks to watch my staff and choose someone I trust to run The Steakhouse even for an afternoon.”

  “I feel exactly the same, but taking your chick to the movies is a well-known first date. We could do that. That could be your first time leaving someone else in charge. If it all goes crazy it’ll only be two hours before you can go clean up the mess.”

  “All right. I’ll come by and pick you up about two thirty tomorrow and we’ll go ask her to choose a movie and a night next week. Okay?” asked Sam.

  Tally stood up. “Deal.” He was dead tired but also excited. If they let her choose the movie and which night, surely she’d agree to that.

  * * * *

  Hanson Mall opened at eight, but the fitness center on the top floor opened at six, so there was always a security guard at the fourth floor parking lot entry to let in people with gym passes. Since the staff parking lot was on the fifth level, this worked perfectly for Heather. She drove to the flower market first thing each morning with a list of supplies she needed and looked around for anything else that stirred her creative juices or that she thought would attract potential clients. Once her car was loaded with fresh produce in the buckets she kept in the backseat, she then drove to the mall.

  The security guards all knew her habits and turned the glass-walled elevator on for her so she could wheel her trolley-load of flowers into the elevator for the journey down the stairs and to her store. From then on she busied herself sorting all the new flowers, and once Barry arrived she’d take all the now-empty buckets back to her car ready for the next day.

  First thing in the morning was usually quiet. There might be a person or two picking up a bouquet to take to work or to the hospital, but mostly Barry watered the plants, checking all the buckets and removing any flowers that were no longer at their best, while she began making up the day’s orders. Barry served any early customers and gave her sticky notes with phone orders written on them, as well as printing off any orders e-mailed or sent to her website.

  Around midmorning trade picked up. Now there were a lot more people needing flowers for themselves and for gifts. She and Barry were busy until midafternoon when once again it slowed down. Barry cleaned the tiny store, took out the trash, and then left for the day. Sometimes Heather would begin on the next morning’s orders which could be kept in the cool room overnight.

  Heather shared an apartment with Helena, the mall beautician. Helena had originally been roommates with Dakota and Quintana, but after they both mated werewolves she wanted someone else to share the costs and Heather had eagerly accepted. She’d had a tiny apartment of her own, but it was a much longer commute. Now she had only a ten- or fifteen-minute trip at the early hour she left home.

  Helena often worked back late, teaching her staff how to do certain cuts and colors, or squeezing in extra clients who hadn’t been able to get an appointment during the day, whereas Heather left early in the morning to get to the flower market. So Thursday nights were their girls’ nights in. They’d watch a movie together eating ice cream or chocolate, or maybe drinking some wine, and catch up with each other’s week. Today was Thursday and Heather was looking forward to their time together.

  At the moment they were watching The Lord of the Rings trilogy and had finished The Fellowship of the Ring and were about to start The Tw
o Towers. Since it had a running time of three hours, they were in for a marathon, but Helena was going to try not to stay back too late tonight and Heather planned to make them a meal ready to eat as they watched the movie.

  She was busy deciding between chicken sate skewers, or maybe Tarzan strips, when Sam and Taliesin arrived at her counter. When Barry went to serve them, they asked for her. Heather was surprised. She couldn’t ever remember Taliesin buying anything from her. Sam had occasionally bought a bunch of flowers for one of his staff members, but it didn’t happen often. Shrugging, she crossed to the counter and smiled at them. “Hi. What can I help you with today?”

  “Not today, exactly, but soon,” said Sam.

  “Huh?”

  “We were hoping you’d come to the movies with us one evening soon,” explained Taliesin.

  “You can choose which night suits you and which movie you’d like to see,” added Sam.

  “But I already watch a movie one night each week, so there isn’t really anything I want to see. Nothing that’s out right now particularly appeals to me,” she explained.

  Sam looked disappointed and she realized maybe she hadn’t phrased that very well.

  “But thank you for asking me. I appreciate you thinking of me,” she added.

  “Are there some films not yet out you’d like to see? I might be able to order them in for you. Or even some old movies you never saw but you’d like to catch up with. Again, I might be able to get it in for you,” said Taliesin.

  “Really? Can you do that?”

  “Mostly. Not always, but I can usually order things in. They might take a week or so to arrive, though.”

  “Oh wow. Helena and I would love to see Gone with the Wind on the big screen. Can you get that for us, please? We’d love to see it.”

  “I can send in a request this afternoon,” said Taliesin.

  “Helena and I always watch a movie on Thursday night, so that would be our first choice of night. Oh, that is exciting.” Heather smiled at them. She and Helena had often talked about Gone with the Wind and wanted to see some of the more spectacular scenes on the big screen, especially the burning of Atlanta.

  “Thank you both for the suggestion.”

  “We’ll let you know the result,” said Sam.

  Heather watched them walk away and heard Barry coughing behind her. “What’s wrong?”

  “I think they were planning on spending the time with just you. Not you and Helena,” he said, grinning.

  “Really? I wondered if it was going to be one of those things where people say it was just a joke at the end. They’ve never asked me anywhere ever before.”

  “I think they like you. But you’ll find out anyway.”

  Heather stared at Barry and then shrugged. Sam and Taliesin were really very good looking, but Sam had been angry with her just a couple of days ago, and neither of them had ever dated her or even taken her for a coffee in all the years she’d been here. Maybe it was just a joke after all. If it wasn’t, well, she and Helena would enjoy the movie with them. But she wouldn’t say anything to Helena tonight. There was no sense in getting her hopes up if it was just a hoax.

  * * * *

  “I’m sure someone has told me they’re interested in Helena. I just can’t think who it is right now. But we need to invite him along as well so he pays attention to Helena and leaves us free to get to know Heather. Otherwise the women will talk to each other and we won’t get anywhere,” said Sam as he and Taliesin stood on the moving walkway heading back upstairs.

  “I shouldn’t have too much trouble getting in Gone with the Wind. I’m glad she didn’t ask for an overseas art film. That might have been quite a challenge. But, yes indeed. I wasn’t expecting her to invite her roommate along as well. Although, if it makes her feel more comfortable about being with us, it’s all good, really.”

  “You won’t say that when you can’t kiss her good night because we’re surrounded by eager onlookers,” warned Sam. Every time he thought he understood Heather, she did or said something that threw him for a loop. Like heading off to the mating party and jumping down the stairs. And now this. He shook his head. He didn’t understand women at all.

  “We could invite her up to my apartment for coffee after the movie. Actually, better make that your apartment. Mine’s rather messy.”

  “Ha. Yes, mine is, too. Perhaps we’d both better ask the cleaning crews out because if we do this right we will be inviting her back one night in the not-too-distant future.”

  “That’s a good point. Okay, well let me go see if I can request this movie. I’ll talk to you later.” Taliesin waved and turned left for the cinema while Sam turned right to go to The Steakhouse.

  He loved The Steakhouse. His restaurant built up from nothing by his own sweat, blood, and tears. Now he had a good reliable senior team of staff, and there were plenty of young wolves wanting casual shifts. Although it could be a nightmare of scheduling, trying to treat them all fairly. At least the new kid, Will, had settled in really well and knew the difference between a steak knife and a fish knife, which a lot of newbies didn’t.

  Sam was leaning toward making Danny his official second in command. In a way, it was good they’d taken this step about getting to know Heather. Not just because he craved being with her, even when she drove him crazy. But also because it was time he started giving his staff more responsibility. His very best men would leave him if there was no obvious promotion and pay raise possible. Making Danny his go-to person would not only take some of the stress and tension off him, but would also show the young men there were ways to rise higher in the organization.

  Business was good. He could afford to give a pay rise to the person he made in charge on a given night. He’d trial that tonight and tomorrow. Make a person the one in charge for the night and he’d stay in the kitchen supervising there. See how it went. And think about Heather. Dating Heather. Holding her hand, sitting beside her in the movie theater, stroking her skin in the dark, and later in his apartment, perhaps a kiss.

  * * * *

  Tally had no trouble getting the use of a copy of Gone with the Wind. He booked it for two weeks just to be sure the dates suited Heather, then he phoned Rob, the wolf in charge of the cleaning crews, and booked a spring cleaning for his apartment.

  “It’s been a long time since you called me. Do I need to take a biohazard suit?” Rob teased him.

  “Maybe for the refrigerator. And a dust mask for the bookshelves and paintings. I vacuum but I don’t have time for that other stuff,” said Tally, hearing the defensive tone in his voice.

  “That’s why we’re here. Happy to help. I’ll send you the account after it’s done. You’re booked in for tomorrow,” said Rob.

  Tally sighed with relief. That was the great part about being part of a pack. There were always brother wolves, pack members, to help when needed. He couldn’t imagine growing up in a society without close friends and a community around him. Sometimes he wondered if humans were very lonely wandering through life without that community link of neighborhood, or friend, or pack. Tally shrugged. He had a job to do. If he was going to be spending money, likely he should check that the cinema accounts were all up to date.

  Like many of the other store keepers here in Hanson Mall, he used a computer program to manage the accounts and paid an accountant to oversee things for him and file taxes and suchlike. But Tally also liked to have his own finger on the pulse. This was his cinema, his livelihood, and he liked to know who was paying him on time, and which suppliers it might be time to issue a hurry-up to, or even change.

  There was also the issue of BDSM to deal with. Both he and Sam were Doms and were interested in making that their lifestyle. Occasionally they visited a BDSM club but it didn’t happen often since they were too busy working. However, if they were to start dating Heather, they needed to discuss the issue of BDSM with her. Since she’d gone to the mating party it should mean she wasn’t afraid of the concept. But there was a huge differe
nce between agreeing to something in principle and making it part of her life.

  That could be their next date though. They could all take an evening off work and go to the BDSM club. They would watch the floor shows and eat dinner there, maybe even take a room for the night if Heather agreed.

  Just thinking about it made Tally’s dick grow an inch and stand up happily. Oh yeah. Watching the floor shows would be an excellent ice breaker. They’d easily be able to tell what Heather thought about it all, and get a conversation going. Hell yes! Date two was almost organized already. But first he needed to decide who he would leave in charge of the cinema.

  Tally’d already spent some time thinking about this, and whoever he chose it was bound to make someone else unhappy. But Len was the standout candidate. He was young, just a skinny kid really, but he had a real flair for understanding other people and sorting out issues before they had an opportunity to escalate.

  Tally himself would have arranged which theater would show which movie and at what time several days in advance. That gave him time to tweak the schedule if one film was doing better—or worse—than he’d expected. All Len would need to do was manage the night, making sure all the staff knew which station they should man and at what time.

  He’d give it a trial run and watch from his office out back. That way by the time he left the mall to go to the BDSM club with Sam and Heather, the staff would be used to working with Len and things should go smoothly. Well, that was the plan anyway.

  But first he had the movie with Heather and Sam to look forward to. He could hardly wait.

  Chapter Two

  When Heather saw Sam and Taliesin approaching her store at almost the exact same time of the afternoon as the day before, she hid a grin. These men were obviously creatures of habit. This must be their standard afternoon break time. Barry grunted something, picked up a big black bag of trash, and disappeared. She couldn’t hide her grin anymore. Barry had obviously decided she didn’t need a chaperone.