Page 1 of Striping Hot

CHAPTERONE

REX

People swirled around Rex in an almost disorienting display of social convention. The air in the room was as stifling as the tight collar of his shirt, and the constant motion of the crowd was making him slightly seasick.

Laughter and loud, boasting voices broke out all around him as people hurried to and from the dance floor and flowed between the main rooms and the buffet.

Everyone seemed to be moving on a current Rex couldn’t feel, like he was a rock in the path of a fast-flowing stream.

He stared down into his scotch as if he might find an answer there, or perhaps just salvation. The view of the patterned carpet through the amber liquid and crystal glass did nothing to improve his mood.

He felt that the air was too festive for a charity ball. He was pretty sure they were supporting a horrible childhood affliction, or maybe poor unfortunates who had nothing except the shoes on their feet and dirt in the creases of their fingers.

Shouldn’t they all be respectfully bowing their heads and keeping their voices demurely down? The constant bursts of laughter from random passersby made him jump like a rabbit in a trap.

“Honestly, Rex,” his sister hissed from beside him. “You could make an attempt to smile.”

He turned and glared at her, staring her down but without much conviction. He loved her, and she knew it. She wouldn’t take his mood personally, even if he was giving her the stare of certain death right now.

Lucy stood up straight and looked into the crowd, waving at someone she knew. His little sister was wrapped in a tight red dress with a low neck and high split. Her honey-blonde hair was caught at the nape of her neck and cascaded down her back in a glittering golden veil.

She looked like she was in her element. Even though he enjoyed watching her have fun, he was still pissed that she had forced him to come.

“That’s Susan Duggan,” Lucy said, waving into the crowd. “She’s got shares in the transit company. If we strike a deal with her, we can provide free and subsidized travel for people who want to go to work or school but can’t afford to.”

“What are we celebrating again?” Rex asked, raising his glass and finishing the scotch. He stared into the clear, patterned glass as he let out a muted belch.

Lucretia sighed, rolling her green eyes at him. She looked remarkably like their mother right now, and it just made Rex angrier.

“We are raising money for the local shelters to put money into rehabilitation facilities.”

“I thought this was kid cancer or something,” he muttered. “Shouldn’t we all have our heads quietly bowed in prayer?”

Lucy smacked him on the arm, giving him a shove. “You’re a beast, Rex! Stop this right now and lighten up. We’re supposed to have fun because that’s how you get people to donate money.”

“I didn’t want to come. I’ll donate any amount you like if you just let me leave.”

They stared at each other. At twenty-two, Lucy was about sixteen years younger. That gave her incredible power over him because he had already been a teenager when she was born. That meant that the usual sibling wrestling and fighting had not happened as it might have if they’d been the same age.

Rex had fallen for his baby sister hook, line, and sinker. With merely a narrowing of her eyes, she could command him to jump off a bridge or run naked through a midtown fountain. He’d do anything to make her happy, but she was stretching anything to the absolute limit tonight.

He was considering walking out of the party right then, he was so damn miserable, but he couldn’t stand to see the hurt on her face if he actually did so.

He sighed and backed up a little, leaning on the wall. He looked up at the ceiling. He knew that Lucy was giving him a moment to think. She could make him do almost anything, but she also cared for him too much to compromise his feelings.

Still, he knew, at no point tonight would she allow him to go. She was absolutely determined to have him stay at the charity ball all night, and he thought there was more to it than the stupid bachelor auction he'd agreed to be part of.

His fingers tightened on the glass as he examined the patterns above him on the walls and ceiling. He wanted to get another drink as soon as possible, and he wondered if they had anything stronger than scotch.

He was grateful that Lucy was quiet for the moment, and, with his head back, he couldn’t see the swirling colors of the women dancing nearby.

Always, on this day, he made sure he was alone. Hell, usually, he took the whole week. There was no point in pretending he could get through the memories of this event without losing it, so he made sure he was far away from people before the grief hit him.

A few years ago, he’d been on a flight to LA for business. As he’d taken his seat in first class, he’d seen a fellow CEO farther back he wanted to talk to and exchanged seats with a young woman, Melissa Owens. She had happily traded with him, moving to the front section of first class, so he could sit up toward the rear.

That plane crashed.

Everyone in the row with Melissa had been killed ... and only them. The pilot had managed to land the plane with only one engine, but the landing had been far from smooth.

Rex had never gotten her face out of his mind. The big, carefree smile and her sparkling eyes … she’d had an energy to her, something innocent and loving.

Melissa had been going on vacation ... the time of her life, she’d said. He had destroyed that light. He ended her life because he wanted to shake hands with Manuel Johnson over a few million dollars.

“Rex,” Lucy said, gently putting a hand on his arm. “Just try to relax, okay?”

He scowled, his eyes coming back to hers. “I can’t, Lucy. You know how this day affects me. I’m trying, really trying, but I can’t just join in with bullshit social convention. I still don’t understand why you couldn’t find a date ...”

There was a flicker of an expression across her face. It was fast, but he caught it. He got a sudden bad feeling deep in his guts.

“You didn’t need a date, did you?” he asked softly.

“Rex, calm down,” she began. “I just wanted you to ...”

“No,” he muttered, holding his temper in check. “No, you told me you needed an escort. I didn’t believe it for a second, but I agreed to make you happy like I always do. You were so insistent that I come. Did you seriously do this just because you wanted to get me out of the house on this particular day?”

“Rex, listen to me. You can’t keep falling into a depression like this. The accident was an accident. I’m getting sick of telling you it wasn’t your fault. You have to move on.”

“Move on?” he muttered, gripping his glass. “What do you mean, move on? She’s dead, and it’s my fault.”

“No, it’s not!” she said, exasperated. “You need to get out and do things, Rex. You need to put this day behind you.”

“I am out, doing ‘things’ every day,” he said, his voice low and harsh. “I work, I run the business, I handle other management issues around the house. I am nonstop busy. If I choose to take a day ... or more ... to remember a poor, innocent girl who died because of my greed, that’s my own damn business.”

Lucy’s eyes shone just a little. Her lip trembled. Rex felt bad for hurting her, but he was hurting too. The guilt was heavy in his chest, making it hard to breathe. Sometimes he wondered how his heart could even keep beating with all the grief that clogged it with useless regret and shame.

Melissa deserved to be remembered. She had been a sweet, bright soul just like his sister. If he hadn’t switched places with her, she would be alive now, and that was just a fact. He sent gifts to her family every year, trying to atone for his sin in some way. They always sent the parcels back unopened.

He sighed, continuing to avoid his sister’s eyes by looking at the floor. He longed for the quiet of his office in the tower of Titus International, where his secretary and lackeys would keep him isolated from all communication if he told them to.

While he was calculating numbers and negotiating investments, he had peace from all his deeper feelings. If he couldn’t be alone with his grief and guilt, he should at least be able to do something constructive while he ran from it.

He sighed, running his hand through his unruly black hair. It had been a while since he’d cut it, and he hadn’t shaved that day. Lucy folded her arms and glared, forcing him to look at her again.

“Okay, Rex. I need to come clean.”

“This better be good,” he muttered. “Can I get another scotch before you drop this on me?”

“No. You can’t get drunk tonight. I dragged you here because I’ve been working with a matchmaker. She works specifically with shifters, and she is very good at what she does.”

“I didn’t know you were looking for a partner,” he said absently. She gasped in exasperation.

“Not for me, for you!” she snapped. “This Gerri Wilder told me that she would bring your fated mate for sure if I could get you here.”

He laughed softly. “And you believe that? How much did you pay her?”

“Nothing,” Lucy said, a little defensively. “Gerri is loaded. She doesn’t need our money.”

He raised his eyebrows. That was surprising. If she wasn’t out to make money, maybe she had other motives. He didn’t believe it was a genuine desire to hook people up with their true love. He was too cynical for that.

“You’ve never meddled in my life before,” he said, sighing. “I’m just baffled at your behavior, Lucy. You should have known this was never going to work for me. You’ve wasted your time.”

She grinned triumphantly. “Oh yeah? You’re here, aren’t you? That’s the first win. I just can’t stand seeing you so miserable, Rex.” She reached out and rubbed his arm, looking into his face with concern. “I love you so much, and you’re in pain. You need to enjoy your life.”

Rex turned to say something about how there was too little in life to enjoy when a tall, striking woman approached them. She had long, silvery-white hair and wore a simple black sheath that glittered with tiny points of light. She smiled as she approached and took Lucy by the shoulders to give her an air kiss.

“Lovely to see you,” she said. “I’m so glad you made it!”

“Gerri Wilder,” Rex muttered. He knew her. He’d seen her at charity events before. At first, the name hadn’t rung a bell, but now he remembered her. She was incredibly powerful, but she was also known for her fair play and excellent business ethics.

“So good you could come, Rex,” she said, squeezing his hand. Her smile was gentle, her eyes bright. He nodded.

“I remember meeting you a week ago at the Jamison ball. Lucy dragged me to that too.”

“Don’t be such a tiger,” she grinned. “Lucy is just trying to help. I had to meet you so I could track down your mate and contrive a meeting.”

He shook his head. “How can you possibly have arranged for my fated mate to be here tonight? It’s impossible.”

Gerri winked, smiling a secretive but bright smile. “I have my ways, dear Rex. We’re going to work the room a bit in a minute, so we can see if she’s arrived. Meanwhile, you should thank your sister. This may be the most important night of your life.”

Rex scowled at the two women as they put their heads together so they could whisper to each other. Rex wasn’t thanking anybody yet, and he doubted he ever would be thanking either of these two.

There was no way his fated mate was here tonight. There was only a crowd of self-centered people, his deluded sister, an over-enthusiastic matchmaker … and his relentlessly broken heart.

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