ALPHA SPEED DATING (BBW) (Rocky Mountain Shifters) Read Free Page A

I’d rather be crucified, but martyrdom isn’t all it is cracked up to be when it involves innocent victims. Or so I’m learning.”
    “I saw the invitation when I came in. Received mine. Are you actually attending this year?”
    Conrad ground his cigarette butt in a pewter ashtray, clenching his jaw in distaste of the truth. “Been royally commanded. My father called again, and I could hear my mum in the background. They have the bit in their teeth and are running with it.”
    “They want their youngest settled. Can’t blame a family for trying. Stop brooding. You’re a free man. Ride the tide and go see your family. You know how well the prodigal son homecoming is likely to play out in your favor.”
    “This stinks of blackmail. You don’t honestly think I bought the paper to read about myself.” The copy had been hand-delivered to his flat by his loving sister. He opened the door, not expecting a pity party. Kat, in her usual lack of decorum, had tossed the paper into his face, turned, and left with a biting “arsehole” flung over her shoulder.
    Louis crossed the space with a drink in each hand. “Don’t be so straitlaced. Bend a little, and you’ll be back in good graces.”
    “I’m not that flexible.” Conrad scraped his hand down his face, not ready to admit he was pleased to be free again in the face of his family’s pretense it was open hunting season for one bachelor. Namely, him.
    Why on earth did his family think it imperative that he find a mate and settle down? He wasn’t as old as Abraham. He took his drink, raised his glass in a silent cheer. His friend clinked his tumbler, and they both sipped the smooth liquor. Conrad ignored the heat growing in his empty belly and took another long pull from the glass. Dammit, he hadn’t been drunk in ages.
    “Sure you are. Everyone who comes from families like ours learns. You’ve escaped the fold. Someday the piper must be paid.” Louis swirled the Scotch in his glass, appearing to contemplate the matter.
    “They want a grandchild. I’m not a stud.”
    “Do you honestly think Claudia was a brood mare? She didn’t strike me as the motherly type.”
    “Doesn’t matter. I’m single again. And yes. I’m going to the ball. So don’t worry yourself shamelessly.” He definitely had no plans on hooking up with a woman chosen by his mother. By agreeing to attend the ball, he was only buying time and forestalling his family from truly lowering the boom. He’d pick his battles and needed to gather his resources for the real war he intended on waging. Until then, he’d let his parents believe he was considering their suggestion.
    “The whole business of a breakup is far from routine. I still can’t come to grips with the fact that you of all people were engaged.”
    “Moving ahead to the here and now. I’d like to get my life back.” His family, officially a pack of backbiters and power moguls, had big plans for him and his ability to procreate an heir.
    “And you’re certain you’ll not back out at the last minute?”
    “Can’t. I’m landlocked. They’ve got me where they want me on this round.”
    His father specifically was out for blood in the form of an unrelenting demand of Conrad’s attendance at this farce of a socialite gathering referred to as the annual charity ball for the homeless. A play on words when the homeless were debutantes and families seeking mates for their precious daughters. A weekend of nonstop torture. The thick ivory-colored envelope lay on the entry table, and a devastating domino effect had followed. With this blasted ball coming up, Morton Keller, his editor, had gotten into the act by taking him out of rotation.
    Thanks to his family, he was here instead of lost on a hike across a desert or outback or up the side of a mountain. Until Conrad gave in and showed his face at the ball, his family had no plan of relenting.
    At the moment Conrad was feeling the pressure on both sides. As of an hour ago, Mort