“I’ll bet they were checking you out, but you were too busy being a badass to notice, and then you were hiding in that trailer where no woman could see you,” I told him.
Gryph laughed. “If I didn’t know how you feel about your warlock, I’d think you were flirting with me.”
“If I weren’t so into Trevor, I might be flirting with you,” I assured him. “You should probably get used to women ogling you. Now that you’ve rejoined the land of the living, the ladies are going to be all over that hot wolfy body of yours.”
Gryph roared with laughter. “Oh, Ms. Melina, I never know what you are going to say next. Are you sure you only need me for a couple of hours today?”
Gryph had become as overprotective as Trevor. I’d be angry if I didn’t get why they were being overprotective. Hell, I didn’t really mind, since getting killed was definitely on my list of things to avoid.
“My parents will be here soon, so I should be fine,” I assured him. “No killer is going to approach me with my dad around.”
“I’m sure you’re right about that,” Gryph agreed with a shudder. Gryph had only met my dad once, and that had been after an argument with Julia. Since Gryph had already been in an aggressive frame of mind, he’d tried to stare down my dad. Needless to say, Gryph had been the first to avert his eyes.
“I’ll stay until they get here,” Gryph insisted.
“What do you have planned for the day?” I asked, since I’d been surprised to discover Gryph was planning to go out. In general, he handled his bodyguard duties and then retired to Trevor’s guest house out back. He was quiet and didn’t seem to have any friends.
“I’m having lunch with Ms. Allie,” he explained, and I didn’t miss the wicked twinkle in his eyes.
“Any reason you look like there is an ulterior motive to lunch with Allie?” I asked.
“Now, Ms. Melina,” he began, clearly biting back a grin. “Why would you think that?”
I snorted. “Julia works there, too.”
He chuckled and got to his feet. “Miss Sassy will probably be at her office when I arrive to pick up Ms. Allie,” he replied. “Don’t worry about her though. I plan to keep my promise not to fuck her until after this job is over. I’m gonna fix us some food.”
“I’m not hungry,” I insisted.
“You didn’t eat the breakfast Trevor made you, so you need to eat,” Gryph stated simply as he made his way into the kitchen. He was probably right about me needing to eat. Besides, if I didn’t eat what Gryph made, I’d end up getting pressured into eating what my dad brought. There would definitely be pastries, and I wasn’t in any mood for a sex talk with my dad today.
Chapter Sixty-Seven
Trevor
“You look exhausted.” Those were the first words out of Dylan’s mouth when I walked into the office the morning after finding out about the latest murder.
“It was one hell of a night,” I admitted.
“Still going strong after the affinity test?” Dylan asked with a knowing grin.
“I wish,” I muttered. “There was another murder. Pictures were sent to mine and Melina’s phones. It was really awful.”
Dylan cursed and came across the room to put a hand on my shoulder and give it a brief squeeze.
“Do the police have any leads yet?” Dylan asked.
I shook my head. “They were focusing on my exes, but now they think it may have nothing to do with me.”
“But you don’t agree?” Dylan asked.
“No,” I replied with a loud sigh. “Something tells me this is about me. Maybe I’m just being arrogant.”
“Have the police stopped looking into that possibility?” Dylan asked.
I shook my head. “According to them, they’re still looking at my exes.”
“So, why is this bothering you so much?” Dylan asked.
“Melina is quitting her job today,” I told him.
“That’s a pretty big step,” Dylan stated.
“She feels responsible for the murders, and she thinks she’s bringing more danger to the people on the show by staying there,” I explained. “I know why she feels that way, and there’s even a part of me that’s relieved she won’t have to go out to the studio with a killer out there. This makes it much easier to keep her safe.”
“But you know how much she loves her job,” Dylan finished for me.
“Exactly,” I agreed. “I don’t want her to make any hasty decisions.”
“Would it help if I told you that her contract won’t allow her to quit?” Dylan asked.
“I hadn’t even thought about that,” I admitted. “I’d better call and listen to Melina complain before our first interview shows up,” I said as I made my way toward my office.
Dylan nodded. “While you’re doing that, I’m going to see about getting a temp in today.”
“Where is Sage?” I asked, feeling bad that I was just now noticing her absence.
Dylan shrugged. “I got a message saying she had pack business to take care of. While it’s a pain in the ass to have her call in last minute like this, we knew it was possible. Thankfully, it doesn’t happen often.”
“Did Sage say how long she’d be out?” I asked.
“Just for today,” he assured me. “We both knew it would be a lot for her to balance her pack obligations and work full-time. With any luck, one of the people we interview today will be a good fit.”
“I sure hope so,” I said, since these interviews were the only reason I’d come into the office instead of working from home.
“Have you put tracking spells on enough of Melina’s stuff so you can find her if the killer grabs her?” Dylan asked.
My blood ran cold at the possibility of that happening. I was one of the few warlocks who could cast a successful tracking spell and then follow it to its source. “I did, but that won’t be necessary.”
“I sure hope you’re right,” Dylan said, but something in my expression must have told him there was more to this. “You two didn’t run off and get married, did you? I can’t think of anyone you aren’t related to who would perform a bonding ceremony, and your mother would never put up with some quickie wedding.”
“Melina is going to kill me,” I muttered.
“You didn’t do what I think you did,” Dylan practically gasped. “I know you love her, but you wouldn’t go as far as to bond her to you without asking.”
“Not intentionally,” I admitted. “It also wasn’t a complete bonding. I’m not enough of a bastard to claim part of her magic without her permission.”
Dylan looked utterly shocked, and I didn’t blame him. I’d given Melina part of my power, and if our bond was severed, that power would be lost to me forever.
“And you haven’t told her any of this?” he asked.
I ran both hands through my hair and sighed. “Not yet. I will, but it’s not the right time.”
“She’s less likely to forgive you the longer you wait,” he warned.
“Yeah, I totally fucked up when I didn’t tell her right away,” I admitted. “Still, I can’t tell her now. There’s too much going on.”
“You’re probably right,” Dylan agreed. “I hope she doesn’t lose it when she finds out.”
“She’ll lose it,” I assured him. “What I hope is that she gets over it quickly.”
Chapter Sixty-Eight
Melina
I’d had my dad drop me off at Trevor’s office so I could bring him lunch, simply because I really needed to be close to Trevor. That decision had been made when I’d discovered that Julia was leaving work early. She’d offered to watch the familiars so I could surprise Trevor. I’d even brought my laptop so I could work in one of the conference rooms at Trevor’s office. My only concern had been Julia running into Gryph. He was likely in a bad mood after discovering she’d left the office before he’d shown up for his lunch with Allie.
I’d been enjoying Gryph’s pursuit of Julia. It was subtle enough that Trevor hadn’t notice
d. I wasn’t always sure Julia realized it was happening. First, Gryph had won over Oliver, so the only way for Julia to avoid Gryph was to stay away from the house. I was pretty sure Oliver’s howls upon arrival were his way of alerting Gryph to their presence.
For Julia’s part, she alternated between bitchy and distant with Gryph. Most guys would be turned off by her attitude, but not Gryph. I could tell Julia was attracted to him, but I wasn’t sure she liked him, so I figured there was no reason to warn Trevor about the flirting he was oblivious to. Besides, Gryph had assured me more than once that he was not going to have sex with Julia until after this job was over.
There was no way I could have predicted the scene that played out in front of us when we walked into Trevor’s home and found Julia pinned to the wall by Gryph’s much larger body. What I saw was Julia’s hands clutching the fabric of Gryph’s shirt to pull him closer. It would seem that what Trevor saw was his sister being molested by a horny werewolf, which was essentially what was happening. It was just a lot more consensual than Trevor seemed to realize.
Trevor’s face first registered shock, and then rage flashed in his eyes.
“Get the fuck off my sister!” he yelled before mouthing the words to a spell that sent Gryph flying across the room.
Julia continued to clutch Gryph’s shirt, causing her to stumble to the floor.
Gryph let out a growl, and his eyes turned an eerie shade of yellow as he broke free from Trevor’s spell. Had Trevor not been distracted with Julia’s fall, the spell would have held.
“You hurt her!” Gryph roared.
“I’m so sorry, Julia,” Trevor apologized before spinning on Gryph again. “You attacked my sister!”
“He didn’t attack me,” Julia insisted.
“What the hell do you mean, he didn’t attack you?” Trevor demanded. “He had you pinned to a wall. Are you going to tell me he was holding you there so you wouldn’t fall over?”
“Don’t talk to my female that way,” Gryph warned.
I didn’t know Julia very well, but I knew that was a stupid thing to say. While I’d like to say Gryph probably wouldn’t have said something that stupid if he weren’t so out of practice dealing with people, I had a feeling Gryph hadn’t been very good when it came to social niceties before he’d lost his arm. Trevor, the idiot that he was, didn’t see the problem in what Gryph had said.
All the anger drained from Trevor’s face, and he ran a hand through his hair. “Sorry for assuming the worst. I had no idea you were interested in my sister for more than fucking around.”
“No worries,” Gryph assured him, both men oblivious to the very pissed off Julia. “I was going to wait to claim her until after my job guarding Ms. Melina is over, but your sister being more receptive to my claim changed things.”
Trevor nodded his understanding, because, apparently, they were speaking in the same moron code. “So, you and my sister are a couple? It’s nothing against you, but I didn’t expect Julia to settle down any time soon. I’ve gotta warn you about my parents.”
“I know they aren’t likely to be happy about welcoming a werewolf into the family,” Gryph told him.
Trevor chuckled. “They aren’t like that. It’s just that they’ll be trying to get you to convince Julia to give up working with Allie.”
“My sassy girl’s smart enough to make her own choices,” Gryph told Trevor.
The thing that surprised me most was that Julia had remained quiet this long when she looked like she was going to stab one of them in the balls.
“Are you both out of your fucking minds?” Julia screamed.
Gryph gave her a patient grin. “Calm down, Sass. Your brother and I needed to come to an understanding.”
“I’m okay with you dating him, Julia,” Trevor insisted.
“Dating?” Julia asked. “You were both obviously dropped on your heads as babies. Scratch that. I’m sure you both sustained serious head injuries recently, because that is the only explanation for your idiotic behavior. I am not dating Gryphon.”
“Not yet,” Gryph foolishly added. “We were working on the details of that when your brother walked in.”
“No, we were not,” Julia insisted.
Gryph’s green eyes were turning yellow again. “Then what exactly were we doing, Sass?”
“Sex, Gryphon,” she huffed. “We were going to have glorious sex against the wall in Trevor’s house.”
Silence greeted that statement, and I began pulling together my magic, knowing this was going south fast.
Gryph took a step toward Julia when she made a move toward the door, but she ignored him and stormed out. When Gryph reached the door, he was met with the invisible wall of my power.
“Let me out of this house!” Gryph roared loud enough for everyone in the neighborhood to hear.
“No,” I said.
“I’d better go after her,” Trevor insisted.
“Neither of you are going after her,” I told them. “You’re both acting like idiots today. Gryph, I understand that you want more from Julia, but I think you need to discuss that sort of thing with her before you announce it to people.”
“Why?” Gryph asked. “I was using nice words to tell her brother she’s mine. I didn’t even try to mark her.”
It took me a moment to process his words, having not realized any man could be that clueless. “Julia is not a piece of property that you can claim.”
“But she wants me as much as I want her,” Gryph insisted. “My wolf wants her, and her familiar loves me. We’re a good match.”
“She still may not want you,” I told him with an exasperated sigh.
“Do you think it’s because of my arm?” Gryph asked, and I decided Gryph needed some tough love to help get his head out of his ass.
“No one gives a fuck if you’re missing an arm. You’re still a total badass, and Julia is attracted to you. With that being said, Julia’s not going to end up in a relationship simply because of instincts. She’s not a wolf.”
I could see that light bulb moment for Gryph when he finally realized that sex with Julia wouldn’t represent a claim for her. Unfortunately, Trevor was still confused.
“Are you trying to say my sister was going to use Gryph for sex?” Trevor looked utterly bewildered.
I let out a long-suffering sigh and removed the spell from the door since I’d given Julia enough time to get out of the neighborhood. “I don’t think that’s all Julia wants with Gryph, but I definitely think the two of you set back any progress that might have been made in convincing her to explore her feelings.”
Gryph cleared his throat. “We should get you to work, Ms. Melina,” he suggested.
I looked at the clock on Trevor’s wall and almost cursed out loud. “You’re right. We’re going to be late as it is.”
Trevor made no move to kiss me, and I could see he was still sulking about his sister, so I decided to leave him to it.
“I’ll talk to you when I get home,” I told him.
Trevor merely nodded and let me leave.
I loved that man, but he was acting like an ass. At least, I could guarantee he’d realize what an ass he was being before I got home. That was one of things I loved about Trevor; he wasn’t afraid to admit when he was wrong. I had to bite back a smile while thinking about how much I loved that warlock.
Chapter Sixty-Nine
Trevor
I was still having trouble recovering from the shock of walking in on my sister kissing Gryph when my phone rang. I sent the call to voicemail and decided to text my witch. She’d been right about me acting like an asshole when it came to Gryph and Julia.
ME: I was an ass. How about if I bring dinner?
Not surprisingly, she didn’t reply, probably because she was driving.
I recognized the missed call as my office number. Shortly after that, my voicemail indictor popped up, so I called to listen to the message.
Sage’s voice came over the line. “Trevor, it’s Sage. The
killer is here at the office. Please help me. She’s says she’ll kill me if you don’t meet her.”
The call ended on those words, and my gut tightened at the confirmation that this was about me. Sage might die because of me. I dialed Detective Anson’s number on the way to my car. It was my hope the police could get to the office quickly, but I wasn’t about to take any chances with Sage’s life.
“Anson,” the shade answered on the first ring.
“This is Trevor Dupree,” I told him and continued without giving him time to respond. “The killer is at my office. She has my assistant.”
“We got a tip that the killer is at the studio where they film Night High,” he replied.
“She has my assistant at my office,” I insisted. “I’m on my way there now.”
“Do not go near the killer, Mr. Dupree,” Detective Anson warned. “We are going to send part of our group to your office. There was a delay at the transport tunnel, so it will take about an hour to get there.”
“She could be dead by then,” I argued. “I’m not letting one of my crazy exes kill Sage. It’s possible I can talk her out of it until you get there.”
“Or, she could kill you,” Detective Anson spat out.
“I need to go,” I replied, ending the call and pulling out of the driveway. I decided to make one more call, in case I ended up getting killed.
Thankfully, Melina answered. “I’m not mad at you,” she said right away.
“Listen, honey, I love you,” I said, needing her to know how much she meant to me.
“I love you, too, Trevor,” she responded, her voice filled with emotion.
“There’s something I need to tell you,” I began. “When we took our affinity test, I kind of fucked up.”
“How’s that?” she asked, sounding almost amused.
“I bound our magic,” I admitted. This was something I needed to explain now because if I was killed today, she’d feel an almost unbearable physical pain.
“I know, Trevor,” she responded.
“You know?” I asked.
“Yeah, you bonded us, but not completely. You still need to complete the process after you get the balls to ask my permission.”
Shamelessly Spellbound (Spells That Bind Book 2) Page 25