by Juniper Hart
“I’m fine,” Lev assured her. “Let’s get back to the office and see if we can’t piece this together before anyone else dies.”
But he didn’t have high hopes for the future. If Landon hadn’t been successful in finding Gabriel and his pack yet, Lev highly doubted that the FBI would be much luckier.
8
Why do I get the feeling that he’s not telling me something?
It was a bizarre thought to have, considering she didn’t know him well, but Hazel could not shake the idea that Lev was holding something back. There was a constant push and pull inside her. She wanted to trust this new man in her life implicitly, even though all her old alarms were constantly sounding within her.
You don’t know him. He’s not your friend, the little evil voice hissed at her. He wants something from you, just like everyone else. This voice, however, was easier to silence than it ever had been before, and without effort, Hazel found herself staring at Lev with an open mind.
They’d been working all night, neither of them stopping as they struggled to connect the dots between the cases.
Maybe it was the conversation she’d overheard at the crime scene where she had been sure he was talking about their case to someone. Or maybe it was the fact that she didn’t trust herself. Whatever it was, Hazel clung to her wariness, studying Lev’s attractive face across the desk as he pored over computer files.
“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Lev yawned, stretching. Hazel darted her gaze away, but it was too late. He had caught her staring.
“I’m thinking about a million things right now,” she confessed. “Can you be more specific?”
“I’m thinking we haven’t eaten anything all day.”
Oh, God, he’s right. Hazel’s eyes darted toward the computer, and her eyes grew large.
“It’s almost midnight!” she cried, wondering how they’d managed to overlook the darkness which had fallen outside.
“I know,” Lev chuckled. “And I need to eat something. Why don’t I drive you home, and we’ll find somewhere to eat along the way?”
Her instinct was to refuse, but she realized that Lev was right. Staring at the endless evidence with burning eyes wasn’t going to help anyone. She wasn’t about to have a Perry Mason moment in the middle of the night.
And maybe he’ll come up for a nightcap so the apartment won’t feel so lonely. Hazel lowered her eyes to the table and nodded.
“That sounds like a plan,” she agreed. “There’s a Chicago-style pizza place that’s open twenty-four hours a few blocks from here. We can even get a beer.”
“A beer,” Lev purred in a low tone which made her skin explode in goosebumps. “That sounds like liquid heaven right now.”
“Are you sure you don’t mind driving me home? I’ll pay your cab fare—”
Lev held up a hand and smiled at her. “Let’s try this. Let’s try just going with it. You don’t need to qualify or offer or fight. Let’s just go through the night and see if we can’t be normal.”
Hazel laughed in disbelief. “If it’s normal you want, I’m afraid you’re barking up the wrong tree.”
Lev smiled at her lazily.
“I’m not worried,” he replied, rising from his desk. “Let’s get out of here.”
She followed him toward the elevators, and together, they made their way down to the garage level. There were a few cars in the underground as they found Hazel’s Camry, but as Lev drove out of the lot, Hazel’s head whipped around, her heart hammering.
Was that the same truck that had been following her?
Lev pulled around another corner, and even though the vehicle escaped her line of sight, Hazel couldn’t seem to slow her pulse.
“What’s wrong?” Lev asked, noticing her sudden movements. “Are you okay?” The concern in his voice was tangible, and Hazel swallowed the words she wanted to scream.
You’ve already put this guy through the wringer today, she remembered. You’re not going to make him think you’re worse than you already have. Shut up about the truck. There’s no way some stalker is following you into the FBI field office. You need credentials to get down here.
“Hazel?”
“It’s nothing,” she lied. “I thought I saw Ortiz’s car, but of course it wasn’t.”
Lev didn’t respond, yet Hazel still felt the odd look he gave her as they drove down 3rd Avenue, away from the field office.
“Tell me where I’m going,” he instructed her. “I’m new, remember?”
“I do remember,” Hazel said. “I don’t remember if you ever told me how you came to be in Seattle, though.”
“I don’t think I ever did,” Lev replied. Hazel pointed ahead.
“Make a left on Boren,” she told him, and Lev obliged. “You know, for such an easy-going guy, you are hard to read.”
“Even for a skilled profiler?” Lev teased. “I would have thought you had me down to a science by now.” Hazel frowned slightly, her mouth puffed into a moue as she considered it.
“Honestly, I didn’t give it much thought,” she said. “Would you like me to profile you?”
“Not especially. I’m not sure I’m ready to know myself that well yet.” His tone was light, but Hazel wondered if there wasn’t an element of truth to his words.
“Then I’ll save that party trick for another time,” she joked. Lev flashed her a grin.
“Was that a joke?” he asked with faux shock. “A real joke?”
“I’m not always bitchy,” she muttered, embarrassed that she’d given him such a first impression.
“You’re not bitchy,” Lev corrected her and turned when she pointed again. “You’re stubborn as hell, but bitchy, no.”
A familiar warmth began to creep up on her.
“I’m not always like this,” she said. Lev raised an eyebrow.
“Like what?”
“I don’t know… an emotional mess.”
“Is that what this is? I see you don’t spend a lot of time with other women, if you think you’re bad.”
Lev’s lightheartedness lifted Hazel, and when they finally arrived on the parking lot of Chicago’s Best Pizzeria, Hazel couldn’t stop herself. She leaned over and planted a soft, sweet kiss on his lips, startling him.
Instantly, she pulled back, shocked and ashamed at herself.
“Oh, my God,” she gasped, her face crimson. “I am so—”
She didn’t get the opportunity to finish, his mouth finding hers again. Suddenly, Hazel was pinned back against the passenger seat of the Camry.
Lev’s strong, warm tongue prodded against her lips, and she eagerly parted them to make way for him to explore her mouth. Their gazes locked, and inexplicably, Hazel felt as though sparks of energy were coursing between them in a spray of fireworks. This was so much more than a kiss to her; it was the awakening of something she’d never known.
What is this? she wondered in awe, closing her eyes to relish the beads of excitement building all along her arms and legs.
Lev’s strong hands encircled her neck and drew her closer, their kiss deepening until Hazel’s breath was knocked clean from her body. She sank back against the seat, her lids parting cautiously, as if she was worried she had dreamt the entire thing.
But Lev was still there, smiling, his dark eyes intently on her.
“Are you all right?” he murmured, and she nodded, not trusting her voice. “Are you sure?” he asked, a bemused smile on his face. “You almost look horrified.”
“No!” she breathed. “I’m not horrified. That was… that was amazing. I…” Hazel paused to collect her breath, forming the words she wanted to say. “I wanted that,” she continued. “But again, this isn’t like me. I’m not behaving the way I normally would.”
A wave of sadness hit her as she realized that whatever she was feeling, however she was acting, it might be a part of whatever was wrong with her.
“The MRI!” she gasped. “I totally forgot to call Dr. Whitby.”
Lev gr
inned, but a shadow fell over his eyes, and she instantly regretted the unfortunate timing of what she’d said.
“I’m guessing that no one is in the office at this hour,” Lev said, pulling the keys from the ignition. “But I really do need to put something in my belly before I start seeing stars.”
So what if this is the brain tumor talking? Hazel thought. I like him, even if it’s impulsive and unlike me. I deserve a little bit of fun in my life, don’t I? I’m going to embrace this. She reached out and grabbed his arm before he could open the door.
“Wait a second,” she said, and he looked at her. A smile curved over her lips.
“What’s up?”
“I was just hoping I could get another one of those things you did with your lips before we go in there,” she breathed. The veil slipped from Lev’s eyes, and he nodded, leaning forward to kiss her softly. Once more, her body was consumed with bolts of energy.
This feels so right. Please don’t let it be the effects of some medical condition, Hazel begged silently, lacing her fingers through his thick, black mane of hair.
“Nothing is wrong with you, Hazel,” Lev whispered, his breath hot against her ear. “Trust me.”
“I do trust you,” she murmured as his lips moved along the lines of her chin, his nose nuzzling against the skin of her throat. And she realized she meant it. Despite all the warning signs and little voices in her head, she trusted this stranger more than anyone else on the planet.
That’s absurd. You’re sick in the head. But Hazel didn’t care.
When their lips met again, she stared him deeply into Lev’s eyes.
“Let’s get you fed,” she giggled. “I wouldn’t want you to drop.” Reluctantly, Lev pulled away, the stubble on his face shadowing his chiseled features mysteriously. “What?” she asked when he didn’t speak. “What is it?”
“You really are achingly beautiful,” he murmured. “I think I dreamt you a long time ago.”
Hazel hated that the line affected her as deeply as it did.
He probably says that to all the girls, she thought weakly, but she knew that wasn’t true. She remembered what Lev had said to her earlier about being a one-woman man. Am I that woman for you, Lev?
Everything about the look in his eyes told her that he believed so.
9
Julip’s back arched, and his fur stood on end, a low growl emanating from his throat.
“Friendly cat,” Lev jested, walking inside the apartment after her.
“Julip, get lost,” Hazel scolded, embarrassed at her jerk of a feline. “Don’t take it personally. He hates everyone.”
I suspect that kitty loathes me more than the average man you bring home, Lev thought.
“I don’t bring men home,” Hazel said quickly, and Lev cocked his head to the side. Blushing, she lowered her eyes. “I just mean in general, I don’t have much of a social life.”
“You shouldn’t let work eat you alive,” Lev chided gently. “But I am flattered that I am among the privileged few allowed in here.”
Hazel tilted her head and dropped her keys and gun holster onto the table near the front door. She moved toward the bedroom to secure her weapon.
“I don’t even think Ortiz has been in here,” she said and laughed, flopping onto the sofa. Over the past couple hours, Hazel had slowly begun to relax, the food and wine they had consumed seeming to have a tranquil effect on her personality. She almost didn’t seem like the same person Lev had met yesterday morning.
“Are you going to come and sit?” she asked quietly, a soft smile on her face. Lev didn’t need to be asked twice. In seconds, he was at her side, facing her with his head propped in his hand against the back cushions of the sofa.
“You must be exhausted,” Hazel said, her luminous eyes searching his face for signs that he was eager to leave. She wouldn’t find one, not when he had wanted to be exactly there for so long.
“I’ll survive. I’m much better now that I have food in my gut,” he said. “The wine is making me a little sleepy, though.”
“I have a cure for that,” she purred, moving her face toward him. Their mouths touched, and Lev sighed with pleasure. Each kiss was as decadent as the last, the friction between them only gaining in momentum.
“Where did you come from?” Hazel murmured, sliding closer to pin his body down against the cushions of the couch.
“Virginia,” he replied, winking, and she tittered, slowly undoing the buttons of his shirt to expose the lines of his abs against her fingertips. He relished the sensation of her touch, shivers flowing through him as his body responded to her nearness.
Lev reached up to pull her closer, his tongue jutting out to play with her lips. She moaned, permitting his licks around the circumference before closing her mouth over his. His hands splayed against the material of her blouse, pulling it up from the high waistline of her black pencil skirt. For a moment, he wondered how she managed to straddle him with such a short skirt, but it was really irrelevant when both of them shifted to the floor, their clothes flying in all directions as they moved.
Hazel’s sighs filled his ears, and somehow, she managed to maintain the upper-hand, keeping her lithe frame pinned to his from the top. Her mouth traversed along the crevices of his muscled form, licking and sampling every available ounce of flesh. Lev groaned with pleasure, the wetness of her mouth pushing him to heights that he hadn’t known before.
This is what it’s like with your mate, he thought as he filled Hazel, drawing her as close to him as she could possibly get. It’s so much better.
Hazel’s body spasmed over and over again above him, and he didn’t ever want her to stop, the expression on her face as she climaxed forever etched in his memory. He held off as long as he could, but the pleasure was too much to take, and in the end, Lev, too, was a quivering, grunting mass of sweat and desire.
On the floor they lay, unspeaking, simply relishing the sound of the other’s breathing. Lev’s fingers stroked through Hazel’s silky hair, feeling her body drifting off into a dream state. For the first time since he had actually met her, Lev felt like he was doing his job and keeping her safe, as he was sworn to do.
“Sleep now,” he whispered. “It’s only getting better from here.”
The sound of the cat’s horrified hiss and snarl combination made Lev bolt awake. It took him several seconds to see the feral yellow eyes staring back at him and even longer to understand it was not Julip who stared at him.
The wolf paced around before him, her breaths escaping in short, uneven rasps.
“Are we doing this or not?” she hissed, and Lev was on his feet, his naked body exposed to the female wolf.
What is this? Is she trying to attack me? It was impossible to say what was going through her mind, the brilliant amber of her eyes almost blinding yet emotionless. Logically, Lev knew it was Hazel standing before him, but he still couldn’t reconcile that they were the same being. So she can shift. She knows about her abilities. That’s good, isn’t it?
“Well?” Hazel snarled, baring her teeth. “Are we or aren’t we?”
“Hey,” he said slowly. “What are you doing?”
“We’re going hunting,” she replied. “That’s why you’re here, isn’t it?”
Before Lev could answer, she turned and jumped onto the balcony, scaling the railing as he watched in terrified awe.
“HAZEL!” he screamed, jousting forward to chase after her. He fell onto all fours, his body shifting in unison. In minutes, he had found her trail, leading toward the pier. Where the hell was she going? What was she doing?
A part of him couldn’t help feeling that he was walking into a trap, but he couldn’t just let her run amok in her wolf form.
If Landon finds out about this…
There was nothing he could do other than chase after her and hope that no one saw them.
Had she been toying with him all along? It certainly seemed that way. Lev didn’t have time to nurse his wounded ego. No matter wha
t game Hazel was playing, he still had a duty to protect her and bring her to safety. He caught sight of her tail whipping around the side of a boat as he lunged after her, his eyes adjusting to the darkness.
Hazel, he growled silently. Stop.
Catch me if you can! she jeered at him, and the chase was on.
Through the silent pier Lev ran, his snout sniffing at the air, finding Hazel’s trail. She seemed a slew of fur as she jumped from boat to dock, seemingly in search of something.
Hazel! he snarled. You must stop this! You’re going to get us both caught!
But there was no answer, and suddenly, Lev paused, his glowing eyes darting over the waterway. A terrible thought occurred to him then, one he hadn’t considered before. What if this was a trap set by Gabriel? Had Hazel been part of his pack all along?
It seemed impossible. Even before he’d come to Seattle, Lev had had eyes on her for the most part. Wouldn’t he have noticed that she was shifting in the night?
Not if she was taking off from her balcony.
He was at a loss, standing before a massive schooner as he debated what to do next.
I have to call Landon and tell him, Lev thought, even though he already knew he wasn’t going to do that. No matter how much he’d been manipulated by Hazel, she was still his mate. Turning her over to Landon and the Council of Seven wouldn’t have a good outcome.
“Boo!”
He spun and gaped at Hazel, baring his teeth.
“What the hell are you doing?” he demanded. “You can’t run around like this!”
“Why not?” she taunted him. “What’s the point of being a wolf if I can’t run around?”
“Let’s get back,” he told her firmly, steeling his temper. “Before someone sees us.”
“Party pooper,” she pouted, her yellow eyes gleaming almost maliciously. “I haven’t eaten yet.” Fear prickled through Lev.
“What have you been eating?” he demanded.
Is she the Werewolf?
Hazel’s eyes widened, and she laughed.