Page 3 of Conri

“I’ll see you at six on the dot.Don’t be late.Also, I need to know what sort of dress to wear too.Will this be a fancy dinner or just a regular meal?I mean, how many people will be there to see me?”Yuri asked her if she cared what he looked like.“I’m assuming that you’re related to the Valley family around here.I’ve seen most of you running around.All of you are hunky men that I don’t mind being with.”

Christ, she was a piece of work.“I’m not going to be picking you up, Cynthia.I’m looking for your sister.It’s been nice talking to you, but I have to go.”

“I’ll see you at six on the dot then.”Yuri closed the connection.He didn’t want any trouble with this woman or her family, but he’d not called her to have a date.Picking up the phone again, he called the store that he’d met her in.It was a long shot, but he was going to see if he could get in touch with Cassidy that way.

“Oh, she’s here right now.Came in to pick up the things that she’d had in her hands when I asked her to work.”He asked if he could talk to her.“Sure, sure.I’ll go get her.Hang on, young man.”

It wasn’t as long as a wait that he’d thought it would be.As soon as she said her name, he told her that her sister was expecting him to pick her up at six.Then he told her what kind of things she’d said to him.

“She’s really good at getting what she wants.If you have money, which I’m assuming you do, then she’ll be on you like white on rice.Cynthia has long claws, and they’re dangerous.”He said that she owed him.“Owe you what?I told you that I didn’t want to date.How is that my fault…Well, Iguess it’s my fault that Cynthia caught you off guard.I tell you what.I’ll go out to the big house, and you can pick which one of us you want to…no, that won’t work either.She’ll take one look at your truck and be all pissy about you not having a limo or something.I’ll just meet you at the house for dinner.I have to go there anyway, and you might as well suffer the way I do.All right?”

“I’m having dinner with you and your family then.”She told him that if he had to have dinner with her, it had to be there because she’d been summoned home.“Summoned?They really do that?”

“You have no idea the links they’ll go to reign me into their world.”She was hurting, and he could tell.“Do you still want to date me?I mean, after this one time, you’ll see why I never date.”

“Yes, even if I have to have dinner with your family, I want to see you.”She told him to dress in a suit and tie then, and she’d be in a dress.“What’s happening at this dinner?Should I have a heads up?”

“I honestly have no idea.I’ve been summoned, as I said, and once I get there, I’ll be told.We should have exchanged blood or something.That way, I could tell you to run to the hills if necessary.”He said that they could still do that.“All right.I don’t know you all that well, but I would like to keep you from harm.They can do what they want to me, but I’d hate for you to get caught up in things.Cynthia has been ordered to stay for dinner, too, so that gets you off the hook with her.”Yuri started to tell her that he wasn’t planning on dating her anyway when Cassidy spoke again.“I’m sorry I got you into this.You can change your mind if you want.There will be no hard feelings, I promise.”

“I’ll be there.And we’ll exchange blood so that I can cheer you on if you need it.”She laughed like it had surprised her somewhat.“There you go.It’ll be fine.I’ll be there at six with my best foot forward.All right?”

“Yes, all right.But don’t say I didn’t warn you.”He wasn’t worried that she had tried to talk him out of coming.He was more worried about her.And in that moment, he realized something else.He wanted to protect her with all that he was.And he also knew she wasn’t his mate, so he was confused about that.

Going to his closet, he was glad that he’d just got his suit out and had it cleaned.It was black with silver pinstripes that he wore when he had a meeting with someone.Finding a tie that he loved that was sort of neutral, he decided to polish his shoes as well.Then he thought about his boots and took them off to be cleaned up.Yes, he thought, he was going to make an impression if it was the last thing he did.

Conri came over just as he was trying to get his tie on right.Taking over for him, Conri had him fixed up in just a few minutes.Then he asked him where he was going.After telling him the entire story about how he’d been tricked and was now going to go to dinner with her family, Conri asked him if he was sure that he wanted to do that.

“I do.I don’t know why, but I do want to see what they have plans for her.I’ve been thinking about her since I got out of the shower, and I’ve come to the conclusion that I don’t want to date her so much as I want to protect her.Isn’t that weird?”His brother said that it was.“Thanks.I can always count on you to bring me back to earth, can’t I?”

“If you need me or any of us, let me know.I’ll be ready to come and get you if you need me.Something about this whole thing makes me a bit nervous for you.”He thanked him again.“I’ll be on standby for you.Just don’t…I don’t know.Don’t get married or rooked into getting married while you’re out there.”

Now, he had something else to worry about.Not getting married, he knew they couldn’t do that to him, but what else could be going on with this family?He wished now he’d taken the option of bailing out.He might well have saved himself some headache.

Chapter 2

Cassidy watched the drive for Yuri.When she saw his big truck pulling into the driveway of the house, she went out on the front porch to greet him.Really, she was going to give him one more chance to get away, but almost as soon as he touched her, he took her hand to his mouth and bit down on it.The connection was instantaneous.

“Well, hello there.But I don’t like the truck.Next time, you come for me in a nice car.”Cynthia came out on the front porch as well.“See?Didn’t I tell you that I was prettier than Cass?She has such a manly body.”

“I think she’s just perfect.And while you are pretty, Cass has a natural beauty that makes her shine.I even love her freckles.”Cynthia told him he wasn’t getting on her good side.“As I told you several times when we were talking, I’m here to see Cass.She and I had plans for tonight.”

“You’re going to piss her off.It’s not a pretty site when she doesn’t get her way.I love it.”Yuri smiled at her and took her hand into his.She let him, too.This was just too much fun not to have a little at the expense of her sister.“I still don’t know why we’re here, but I’ll let you know when I find out.”

“Good.Does she really tell everyone that she’s prettier than you are?”She only told himyesand led him into the stately home.“This isn’t going to be fun, is it?”

“It’s never fun when I get summoned home.”She smiled at him, and he could almost taste the pain on her face.“Yuri, I’d like for you to meet my father, Howard Warmer, and my mother, Elizabeth.You’ve already spoken to Cynthia.My older brother Howie is running late, and he’ll be here by the time dinner is ready to be served.”Yuri shook hands with both her parents and said hello to Cynthia.

“Daddy, Yuri was supposed to be my date tonight.Not Cass’.What am I going to do without a man on my arm, and she has one?It’s not fair.”Her father ignored Cynthia in favor of talking to Yuri.Then she turned to her.“You think you’re so smart.I could get him if I wanted him.”

“Okay.”She and her sister used to be really close when they were children.Then Cynthia found boys, and she’d been in competition with her since.Not that Cassidy ever played the games that her sister did with boys and now men.She didn’t live here, so she could go out with whomever she wanted, and her sister never knew.“He’s a friend of mine, and that’s all.We might go out some more if he asks, but there really isn’t anything between us.”

“Well, I’m putting my foot down.You’re not allowed to date anyone until I approve them.”Cassidy asked her if she was serious.“Yes.When it comes to men, I’m always serious.Once you see someone, you’ll tell me their name so I can look them up and see if they’re worthy of dating me.If he is, you’ll back off and try again.I won’t be fooled by this little sister.Or I’ll tell daddy on you.”

“Tell him what?That you’re laying down the law to keep me from finding someone to go out with?What’s this really about?”She told her.“Sloppy seconds?But isn’t that what you’re doing to me?I can’t date until you don’t want them anymore?I’ll date whoever I want whenever I want, and there isn’t shit you can do about it.”

“Cassidy Warmer.Watch your language in my home.”She looked at her dad, and she could see a hint of humor on his face.“Cynthia, you’ll behave yourself, or I’ll turn what you just said around so that Cassidy gets what she wants.”

“That’s not fair.She always gets what she wants, Daddy.”She started for the stairs to no doubt slam her bedroom door.But father told her she was going to have dinner with them all even if he had to beat her ass—double standard there on cursing, she thought—to get her back down here on time.“Mommy, make them do what I want.”

---