Island Stripe Pride - Chapter 53: Chapter 53

The second day of the gathering was busy as fuck. After leaving Carter’s room, she retrieved her bag from the back of her van and changed into a clean pair of chef’s pants and a fresh coat. These had avocadoes all over them and the coat was the same green tint. Toni liked to have fun with her work, as was evidenced by her wardrobe choices. Some women liked Prads, she liked chef’s pants with silly designs and outrageous colors. So, sue her.
“What was that? Our third emergency so far this morning?” Gary asked, washing his hands in the sink next to her.
Toni shook her head and sighed. Somehow the big freezer had lost power overnight and they’d had to spend a good portion of the morning sorting the good from the bad, cleaning the entire walk in unit, and using all the unspoiled ingredients before they did turn.
Her carefully planned barbecue was now a smorgasbord of foods from different cultures she hoped like fuck was going to go over well. Carter had his own problems to solve since some of the Shifters were complaining about their rooms.
Probably that hoity toity she-Cat beyotch, Toni thought unkindly.
The Lioness was from the Polaski Pride, based out of Brooklyn. They were small, but fairly well-known as having a tough Alpha. The Cottontail Flock could not afford a war with a powerful predator group like that, and the first thing she’d done that morning was call her Alpha Buck to apologize. His mate had answered, and she was more than understanding, promising to relay the message to Jules.
Thank goodness she had accomplished that early. It was right after when the shit started to hit the fan. First, there was an incident at breakfast when some Bear Shifter Clan reps got into a fight with a couple of Honey Badgers over the smallish supply of honey available. Toni was able to squash the arguments over who was hoarding what by offering both groups special samplings of local honey to be held that afternoon.
Mara was not happy when Toni had told her the issue and begged, seriously begged, for her to retrieve a few gallons of different varieties from the nearest honey farm, which was unfortunately two hours away.
“You owe me, Toni,” her sister had grumbled.
“I know, but I love you and if you want me to, I can sing it for you,” she’d replied in a singsong voice.
“No! Anything but that!” her sister squeaked and hung up on her, leaving Toni to giggle and tackle the next issue.
Apparently, offering vegetarian dishes was not the only thing she should have recalled when designing the menu for this event. There was an entire group of Arctic Foxes who only ate salmon. Toni had to work fast to create several salmon options that would prove appetizing to the fiercely picky little group.
Then, of course, there was the freezer mess which no one had noticed until it began to leak. Gary sat beside her and accepted the can of soda she held out to him.
“Thanks,” he said, taking a breath before drinking.
The male stopped, dropping the can on the counter, then he leaned into her space and breathed again. Her inner Bunny went nuts. She did not want any other man to come near her. Only her mate. Only Carter.
“You slept with him?” Gary asked, and she winced at the hurt she saw there.
“Gary,” she replied sternly. “That is none of your business.”
“But I thought, I mean, I⁠—”
“I’ve known Carter for a very long time. Our history is complicated, but I am your boss, Gary, and I thought we were friends, but there was never anything else between us. You understand?”
“Yeah. Sorry,” he said, sniffing.
The sound of approaching footsteps brought her head up and she could not help the smile that spread across her face. Toni would not know it, but she lit up like a firecracker when Carter walked in, wearing jeans and a t-shirt with the lodge’s logo sewn on the front.
“You got a sec?” he asked, his own gorgeous, if slightly arrogant, smile flashing across his face.
Sensing the tension in the room, Carter turned his head and growled slightly towards Gary. The young man squeaked and walked away to do the rest of his duties, leaving Toni to deal with Carter’s sudden fury.
She followed him into the small, and thankfully empty, breakroom off the side of the enormous commercial kitchen. There was a counter, a table, and a worn sofa inside, along with a full bathroom and lockers. It did not have the same vibe as Any Time Eats, but Toni had to admit she liked the entire setup. The budget of the resort was astronomical compared to hers, and she’d enjoyed the challenge of utilizing the space provided and all the amazing gadgets. It would be hard going back to their own smallish kitchen after this, she thought idly.
“What happened?” Carter asked, his eyes glowing with his beast.
Toni was used to macho men who demanded answers rather than coaxing them from their female counterparts. She was a Shifter born and bred. The way her world worked was sometimes old-fashioned and as close to misogynistic as she ever wanted to come. But if her big, smexy as fuck Tiger thought he could growl and hiss at her, and she’d come running, well, he had another think coming.
“Nothing happened. Why do you ask?”
“Don’t lie to me, cutie pie. I won’t tolerate anything but complete honesty.”
“Look, what happens with me and my employees is none of your beeswax, buster! You want honesty?” Toni asked, eyes narrowed. “Why haven’t you given me hell yet for claiming you last night?”
“Now we’re getting to it,” he growled, pushing her against the wall with his big body.
The second his body touched hers, every brain cell Toni had short-circuited. She could not think at all, except for wanting and needing. And what she wanted and needed most was him. Her breasts swelled, the buds tightening with arousal, begging for attention, and her sex grew hot and wet under his steady stare.
“So fucking pretty.” Carter’s voice was a deep purr, and he leaned closer, slamming his mouth to hers in a punishing kiss that left her gasping.
This kiss was different from the others. Gone was the light teasing and bone-melting pleasure of the previous night. This was darker, possessive, and primal, awakening something inside Toni she’d never felt. Her inner beast spat and hissed. Whether angry or horny, she could not tell. Maybe both.
His arms wrapped around her, crushing her to his enormous body, but he did not hurt her. Never that. Their exchange was passionate and rough, with a note of desperation that made Toni want to throw back her head and howl at the moon. Bunnies did not howl, of course. But if hers did, it would be right now.
“Want you,” he growled, and she nodded back, understanding the fierce need driving him.
Of course, they were interrupted. Footsteps pounded down the hall, heading right towards them. Why would the gods give her fifteen more minutes of heaven in this man’s arms? Ugh. She wanted to scream. Instead, she watched as Carter regained control, his thumb and forefinger holding onto her chin as he dropped another kiss on her mouth before stepping back.
“Boss? The soccer match is turning into a shit show, the uh, Cottontail Flock just beat the pants off the Polaski Lions, and they are losing their cool,” Bradley came running in, looking frazzled.
“Really?” Carter asked, looking back at Toni with an expression of surprise on his handsome face.
“Jules Carlson was a keeper during college, Division 1,” Tonie explained. “He recruited a few of his old teammates to town and they play semi-professionally on the underground Shifter leagues,” Toni replied with pride in her fellow Flock mates.
“I see. Well, I better go keep an eye on things. You okay?”
“Never better. See you at lunch,” she said.
Carter winked before leaving, and Toni rushed to the kitchen. It was just about time to start bringing food out to the buffet tables they’d set up under the outdoor tents over by the soccer fields and basketball courts. Most of the Shifters seemed to be having a ball, and if Toni was as observant as she’d like to think, she’d say Dean Romero’s idea was turning out just great. The only blight on the occasion was the Polaski Lions.
The she-Cat leading them was not only a bitch, but she was a bad sport. Toni hated it when folks could not lose gracefully. It was idiotic. How could people learn if they never lost?
Turning her head back to the trays of food coming in, she watched with a keen eye to make sure everything looked good. Instead of just a typical barbecue menu, they now had three different versions of pasta, including a classic panko topped macaroni and cheese with four cheeses. There were honey glazed chicken wings, racks of spareribs, whole smoked turkeys, roasted cauliflower halves, sausage and peppers, chicken and dumplings, roasted corn, broccolini sauteed with garlic and chili pepper, shrimp skewers, an entire tray of spinach and artichoke dip, salads, cheeses, charcuterie, and more. That was not including all the desserts.
The gala would be a much simpler affair by far with guests having already chosen between herb crusted salmon, roast turkey, prime rib, and steamed vegetables with coarse sea salt and lemon and rosemary infused olive oil drizzled on top. Mara was helping with that since Toni was invited to attend by Dean Romero himself. She could not deny the man’s request, after all, she might get lucky enough to secure the lodge’s business after this whole thing.
She pushed the thought to the back of her mind. Toni did not want to think about when the gathering was over. That would mean Carter would be leaving. Even marked, it was only one way. His work, his Pride, everything he had was in the city. So what if they started fires between the sheets, or in the shower? She had no promises of anything permanent from him. Carter had not offered, and she had not asked.
Idiot.
Toni had gone and given away her heart to the one man in the world who had every reason to want to cause her pain and heartache. She’d broken his heart once a long time ago, but karma was a bitch, or so they said. Whoever the fuck they were, she did not know, but Toni would love an audience with those fuckers.
Two more days. That was all she had left with the man she loved more than anything in the entire world. Two days. It was not a lot of time, but she was not going to waste them.
“Nope,” she said aloud, using the back of her hand to wipe away a stray tear.
“Ha, so that’s your job with the Pride? Little rabbit is a fry cook?” Ha ha ha!”
“I’m sorry,” Toni said, looking the she-Cat in the eyes.
“Wh-what?” the female spat.
“I am sorry for you that you have such a low sense of self-worth that you would stoop to trashing a stranger, a woman you do not even know, in order to make yourself feel better,” Toni stated loudly enough for ever Shifter in a two-mile radius to pick up her words.
“Whoever he or she was that made you like this, they aren’t worth it. Seriously, I mean that.”
"What do you know? You’re just an employee! And you’re prey! I’m a Lioness⁠—”
“Yes, you are a Lioness. And yet, sadly, you have no self-confidence whatsoever and your insecurities make you mean and cruel. You are right, I’m a Rabbit, and I was hired to work this event. But what you fail to grasp is I am proud of being both a prey Shifter and a chef. I can’t help being smaller or weaker than larger predators, but my Cottontail is awesome as fuck. And being a chef might not seem important to you, but it is one of the most important accomplishments of my life. I’ve even been written up in newspapers for my culinary feats, several times in fact, over the past ten years. My wish for you is that one day you will have something you love just as much in your life. Now, you enjoy your lunch, dear.”
“But-but—” The Lioness stared in shock as Toni turned around, dismissing her effectively.
No one spoke, at least not at first. The entire gathering seemed stunned by the Bunny’s comeback, but Toni was never one to mince words. Her father had taken a chunk out of her esteem when she’d been too young to know better. She’d been quiet when she should have spoken up. But Toni was all grown up now, and no one was ever going to run roughshod over her again.
“Denny? We need more serving spoons and check on the honeyed hams, please,” she said to one of the kitchen staff.
He was a nice Tiger training to be a chef himself, and she’d been happy to make his acquaintance. Many of the Shifters there, even the predators, had been friendly and outgoing. Except for the visiting Lioness, of course. But Toni had a feeling the female was going to be doing a little soul searching, and soon. It sure as heck couldn’t hurt.
“Well, it was nice to see a Shifter not resort to violence to get her point across,” a hulking male voice said from behind her. “Excuse me, but I do not think we’ve been formerly introduced. I’m Dean Romero, this is my Nari, Violet.”
Toni exhaled slowly and turned to face her sort of boss. He was even bigger than Carter, with a head full of thick, glossy hair and a twinkle in his eyes as he expressed his amusement over what had just occurred. He was handsome, if you liked that sort of thing, she was partial to men who shaved their heads and made her toes curl with golden glowing glances. She cleared her throat.
“Thank you. I’m Toni Casabella,” she said, not shaking hands with the Alpha pair. Mated Shifters did not usually touch other people, as it annoyed their protective and possessive beasties. The way her Bunny was already hissing at her was a sure sign she was right, despite not being claimed herself.
“Toni, I want to congratulate you on this wonderful feast! I’ve never seen so many different varieties of dishes,” Violet said, motioning to the array of cuisine.
“Well, I had to work around a minor disaster with one of the kitchen freezers, Mr. and Mrs. Romero, I hope you don’t mind.”
“Not at all,” the Neta of the replied. “I applaud that kind of ingenuity. It’s what’s been missing from this place. Oh my, um, love, we better go get a handle on our cubs before they drink the chocolate fountain dry,” Dean said, shaking his head and rushing after two adorable dark-haired children.
“That was really quite something,” a familiar voice said from beside her, and Toni turned to see Carter watching her.
“I apologize if I embarrassed anyone, but I was done being a victim,” she explained plainly.
“I don’t think anyone could see you as that,” he mused, looking her over strangely.
Toni gasped, mouth opened when she recognized that expression for what it was, pride mixed with barely concealed ownership. The Neanderthal! Secretly, she loved it. Hope swelled inside her as she thought about their future and if there was any hope at all for them.
With the clock ticking, she was going to have to come up with something to make him want to stay. But what? Her inner Bunny had a few ideas. Okay, not so much ideas as they were more like rejected inserts from the Kama Sutra. Yes, Toni had gotten her hands on a copy, and some of that stuff looked dang near impossible.
She wasn’t entirely sure the authors were not Shifters since many of the positions would require physicality the likes of which her fluffy ass could not achieve without help. Good thing she had a six and a half foot Tiger to assist her, she thought with a purr.