by Stormie Kent
She could already feel his cock in her mouth. She hadn’t had a chance to taste him yet. She bet she was strong enough now to get him to the floor if he didn’t expect it. He raised an eyebrow. It was difficult, but she wrestled her libido under control. They had time for fellatio later. She giggled and let him pull her up.
“I think my mate has a dirty mind. I can smell her wet pussy.”
She smiled even as she felt her face heat. “We have work to do, remember?”
The thought sobered her, reminding her of the reason they were mated. She’d altered them, stealing his choice as well as her own.
More subdued, Leila left the condo with Nic. She gave him directions to her uncle’s well-kept, white Cape-Cod-style house with welcoming blue shutters. She knew her uncle was home right away. The chimney smoked even in the middle of summer. Some potions just brewed better in a hearth.
“It’s going to be hotter than the devil’s living room in there,” she said.
Nic looked at her from the corner of his eye as he turned into the driveway. “What?”
She shook her head.
He parked, and they climbed out. Leila jerked as he took her hand, but she didn’t protest. She kind of liked the feel of his much larger hand in hers. She knocked on the door and waited. It wasn’t long before the door opened and her uncle stood before them.
He was an impossibly thin man. He wore a pair of loose cotton pants and a matching long-sleeved top in mustard. The color complemented the dark brown of his skin. His long locks were secured at the base of his neck with a band.
“Leila?” Uncle Kofi looked from her to Nic.
“Hi, Uncle Kofi. This is my…mate, Nic.” Would it have been better to call him her fiancé?
Uncle Kofi’s eyes were wide behind his glasses. “He’s a shifter.”
Nic laughed and held out his free hand to shake. “I am a wolf shifter, to be exact. It is a pleasure to meet a relative of Leila.”
Kofi shook his hand. He stared at Nic as if he’d never seen a shifter before.
“May we come in, Uncle Kofi?” His confusion was funny, but she didn’t want to stand on the porch all day.
“Oh, sure, sure.” Uncle Kofi stepped back, allowing Nic and Leila to enter.
The heat in the house hit her square in the face, and her steps faltered. Nic tugged her forward.
Her uncle’s features set into worried lines. “Does your mother know you’re a shifter’s mate?”
Heck no. “Um, we haven’t told her yet. We need to talk to you first.”
Leila and Nic followed him through the living room to what should have been his den but was instead his potions room. A table and bench occupied one wall. Another wall displayed rows of dried plants and jars of various potion essentials. Through a side archway, the kitchen was clearly visible. In a small nook between the two rooms, her uncle had a computer set up on a shelf. He’d pushed a chair under the makeshift desk.
Uncle Kofi walked to the big black pot over the fire and stirred. Okay, it was a cauldron. She could admit it.
Uncle Kofi glanced over his shoulder at her. “What do you need?”
Nic and Leila looked at each other. Leila raised an eyebrow. It was his case. How much did he want to share with her uncle?
Nic said, “Leila was attacked by a sorcerer two nights ago.”
Her uncle turned and stared at her in horror. “What?”
“I’m fine. Nic and Mama Tui took care of me, but I almost lost my magic. The sorcerer is being called the Brain Surgeon in the local news.”
Uncle Kofi shook his head. “I wondered about the killings. They seemed paranormal.”
Nic took her hand and squeezed. “The guy is still out there. We think he will come after your niece again. We need any information you might have on rogue wizards.”
Uncle Kofi stepped away from the fire. “Rogue wizards? We’ve only had three wizards go rogue in the last ten years. I can only give you information about this county and this Council, mind you.”
“We understand. If we need to widen our search, we’ll contact the surrounding Councils.”
Uncle Kofi went over to his computer and sat. Nic let go of her hand and began to wander the room. She watched him. He was naturally curious. He read the labels on the jars and sniffed hanging herbs. He sneezed, and she smiled at how surprised he looked afterward.
He turned to her. “Do we need a room like this?”
She frowned. “We will if I’m going to be the only witch around. Potions aren’t my specialty, but there will be things I’ll need.” He was thinking way too far ahead. What if it turned out they hated each other after the lust died down?
He crossed to her and rubbed his thumb over the space between her eyebrows. He cupped her jaw and kissed her. Every touch of his lips was perfect. His kisses made her want to climb inside him.
She was so confused. Should her attraction to him be so strong?
“I’ve got it,” Uncle Kofi said.
Nic pulled away slowly. She and Nic stared at each other. She tried to steady her heartbeat and calm her breathing.
“What do you have, Uncle Kofi?” She refused to be embarrassed that her words came out breathy.
Uncle Kofi stood and waved a sheet of printer paper at them. “Here is a list of the rogue wizards. There are four, not three as I thought.”
She crossed to him and took the sheet before hugging him. “Thanks, Uncle Kofi.”
“My pleasure. Just make sure you go and see your mother. She shouldn’t learn about your mating from someone else.”
“We’ll go see her.” Just not right now.
In the SUV, she turned to Nic. “Where to?”
“We can access the Coldwell PD database back at the station.”
They rode in silence for a while. She looked at his profile. All his features were sharp. He was a handsome man. Certainly the sleek muscles helped. What else could she expect with his shifter genetics?
She wondered what people thought when they saw them together. He was a fine, Latino, leanly muscled man. She was a African-American BBW. Did they match? He looked at her, and the heat in his gaze nearly sizzled her panties off. He took one hand from the wheel and folded it around the inside of her thigh. A wave of longing swept through her and settled in her pussy.
“Mate, you get wet faster than any woman I’ve ever met.”
The embarrassment didn’t stop her folds from releasing more cream. “Isn’t it like this with all mates?”
“No.” His jaw hardened, and he gripped the steering wheel tighter.
“But I thought the mating makes you want each other?”
“The mating makes it easier to have children. There are some mates who can’t stand each other, won’t touch each other unless the female is in heat. The male will protect the female, but if they truly hate each other, heat is the only thing that will force them together.”
She blinked a few times, hoping it would clear her head. “Nic, you’re always touching me.” And kissing me.
His mouth turned up at the corner, and he spared her a glance full of mischief. “Baby, you’re sexy as hell. Especially those legs and that ass. Whew. Try not to sashay so hard through the squad room this time.”
Her mouth fell open before a startled laugh left her lips. “I don’t sashay.”
“Oh, but you do. We might have to pull the gladiator costume back out. If you walk around in that for a while, I’ll be your love slave.”
“I have one I think you’ll like even more.”
He sat up straighter and adjusted the fabric covering his cock as he pulled into a parking space in front of the precinct. A second after the car was in park, he was reaching for her. She met him halfway, already hungry for his mouth and the feel of him beneath her palms. She couldn’t get enough. She couldn’t imagine not wanting him.
She felt his reluctance to end the kiss in the slow way he pulled back. She fumbled with the door handle before stepping out into the late afternoon sun. If his kis
ses left her punch-drunk, would she ever tire of him? If the feeling wasn’t mating magic, was it something she’d done?
No, she wouldn’t ruin a beautiful moment with negative thoughts.
He held her hand as they went inside. She loved the attention he paid her. She smiled. He’d sounded almost proud when he’d told her she sashayed. She propped her other hand on her waist and gave him her best bad-girl strut. She would treat every stroll around the block as a runway show if it made him look at her as he was now. She added a little extra swing to her hips.
“Mate.” The sexy growl in his voice showed how close his beast was to the surface.
She could get used to the growl and the tone. She walked with him to his desk and made herself comfortable as he powered up his computer. She looked around. The detective two desks over stared at her. He winked. Widening her eyes, she turned away. Creeptacular much?
Nic pulled her chair closer. She couldn’t get over his revelations about shifter mating. She’d thought her feelings were due to mating magic. Magic, she understood. Her guilt over stealing a part of his soul would make her loyal, not sexually attracted to him. To find out her need to be close to him, to touch him, to make love to him was just her response to him as a man and not being forced on her as a mate was unsettling.
At least he seemed to return her interest. He was always pulling her closer, touching her, making her think of tearing off his clothes.
“You really know how to make a man suffer,” Nic said.
“Hmm?”
“You’re biting the corner of that lush bottom lip, and the look you’re sending me has me thinking about sex, not finding the Brain Surgeon.”
Oops. “I’ll try to think nonsexy thoughts. Maybe if you weren’t so hot?”
His grin stretched one side of his mouth slowly up. “What is the first name on the list?”
Okay. Work first, play later. “Montrose Warren.”
He typed. She peered over his shoulder, but the screen was too full of information. She took the opportunity to lean against his arm. She almost sighed into his ear at how good he felt against her breasts.
“Read the address for me, Leila.”
She did.
He frowned. “This says he’s deceased.”
“Are we sure he’s really dead? He wouldn’t be the first sorcerer to try and fake his death.”
Nic typed more information into the computer. “I know the cop who filed the report. She’s S.K.”
Supernatural kind. “Well, try the next name. Acer Kano.”
He looked at her out of the corner of his eye. “These names are strange.”
“What? I didn’t name them.” Sometimes witches and wizards were given unusual names. It was a cultural thing.
He paused his typing, grabbed a notepad, and jotted down the address. Then he found addresses for the other two names on the list, Radkin Lewis and Findor Stevens.
When Nic turned to her, she could almost feel him assessing her. “What?”
“This could be dangerous.”
She raised an eyebrow. “You are not leaving me behind. You said the killer was near my apartment.”
“Stay with your uncle.”
“What if the killer has been tailing us? He could be waiting for you to leave me. I’m coming with you.”
The expression on Nic’s face was more than scary, and she started having second thoughts until something inside her made her meet his gaze with the sharp edge of her determination. He wasn’t leaving her behind no matter what. If she allowed him to back her down, he would think he could do so whenever he wished. She couldn’t live her life under her mate’s thumb. The pressure would break her.
The staring contest seemed to last forever.
His expression eased, and some of the fire faded from his gaze. “You need to follow my directions when we see these men. I have experience where you don’t.”
She had no idea why he’d changed his mind. Triumph soared inside her. “Of course, Nic.”
They were going on a sorcerer hunt.
* * * *
It was dusk when they reached Acer Kano’s home. The two-story colonial was picture-perfect, with white siding, black shutters, and a bright red door. The lawn was manicured, and pretty flowers were planted in rows under the lower front windows. It wasn’t the image of a sorcerer’s home she’d grown up with. There wasn’t a steeple or broken shutter in sight.
Nic rang the doorbell. His gaze darted around the property, and it made her nervous. The door swung open to reveal a very short older woman in a black maid’s uniform and a gray bun.
“May I help you?”
Nic showed her his badge. “I’m Detective Lobo with the Coldwell PD. We’d like to see Mr. Acer Kano.”
The woman looked from Nic’s badge to Leila, but she didn’t ask any questions. “Follow me, and I will inform Mr. Kano that you are here.”
They were led to a front room with dainty upholstered furniture and sweeping landscape paintings. Nic prowled the room, and Leila couldn’t sit. Something about his posture made her nervous.
“What?” she asked in a whisper. Was it his strange behavior or something else filling her with dread?
Nic raked his hand through his hair. “It isn’t him. Not the same scent.”
She inhaled, but she hadn’t gained her wolf-girl senses until after the attack. She wouldn’t know the killer’s scent. “Why are you so agitated?”
“There is weird magic here. It is rubbing my wolf the wrong way.”
Leila heard steps in the hall. She moved closer to Nic and watched the doorway warily. A thin man of average height entered the room. He was dressed in a pin-striped suit. His black hair was swept off his forehead to the side. Something inside Leila bristled as the whisper of his magic reached her. It felt grim and ominous. Sorcerer.
“To what do I owe the honor of this visit, Detective?” Acer Kano turned to Leila, and his eyes narrowed. “Interesting.”
Nic stepped slightly in front of her, and she didn’t try to argue with him. Acer Kano made her uncomfortable.
“I’m Detective Lobo with Coldwell PD. Mr. Kano, I’d like to ask you about your whereabouts on the night of the twelfth.”
Kano walked toward an armchair. “Would you care to sit?”
Nic led Leila to the sofa and urged her to sit with a gentle nudge. She didn’t want to sit. She wanted to be ready to run.
Kano relaxed into his chair. “They’ve sent two supernaturals to my home to ask me about Saturday night. Something very dark indeed must have happened.” He smiled. “Do you both know your magic feels more unique than any I’ve ever encountered?”
“The twelfth, Kano,” Nic said.
“Saturday night I was at home. Mrs. Turner was here. You met her when you arrived.”
“I’d like to speak with Mrs. Turner before we leave.” Nic sounded calm.
Kano stood. “Certainly.” He left the room.
Mrs. Turner returned and quickly corroborated Kano’s story. Leila breathed easier as they left the house. It was fully dark as they walked back to the SUV.
Nic sat behind the wheel staring at the house. “I think you piqued his interest more than is healthy.”
“I promise to stay far away from the guy.” A quiver of revulsion skated along her spine.
“If your Council knows he’s breaking laws and is dangerous, why aren’t they doing anything? One of these guys is killing, and human law enforcement isn’t going to be able to control him.”
“What do you suggest we do? We can’t kill him.”
“Why not? We have to police our own. Rogues make it more likely that nonsupernaturals will find out about us. They hurt others. At least bind or strip their powers. Don’t allow them to kill young witches or whatever Kano is doing in there. Something wrong is happening in that house. You felt it.”
She had. “We could sneak in and check it out.”
His gaze swung to her, and she flinched involuntarily. “You are never to enter th
at house again.”
She bristled. “Neither are you. You’re watching the place as if you’re casing it. If it is too dangerous for me, it is too dangerous for you, mate.”
“I’m an alpha shifter and a cop, Leila. I can handle myself.”
“He’s a sorcerer who practices forbidden magic. I’ve heard of spells that bind a person’s soul to the caster, forcing the bound to perform unspeakable acts. What would Kano do with a bound shifter-wizard hybrid?”
They were both silent. Nic was obviously angry and had the clenched jaw and intense stare to prove it. Unfortunately for her, she found it kind of hot. Her breath caught. Her nipples beaded, and moisture flooded her pussy.
His nostrils flared. “I like your idea better.”
She raised her eyebrow. “What are you talking about?”
“Your body is offering itself to me, and I accept.”
He reached out and clutched the back of her neck before pulling her closer. She went willingly. His mouth was everything she’d remembered and more. His tongue battled with hers. Little shivers danced along her spine. Her breasts felt swollen, and so did her folds. His hand remained behind her head. Once again, a kiss from Nic felt like full-on foreplay from another man.
He released her from the kiss slowly. His hand slid around to the front of her neck and down across her breasts. She was just about to offer him anything he wanted when he started the SUV. No matter, he was all hers tonight.
NIC DIDN’T KNOW what he’d done to deserve a mate with whom he was so sexually compatible, but he was going to take extreme advantage. Leila’s eyes showed him passion and desire even when she was angry. Her body responded to his more strongly than any woman he’d ever known. Her beauty and sexiness were simply the extra perks of having her for a mate.
He pressed the accelerator a bit harder than he should have to get them home faster. He practically pulled her from the SUV and into her building. As soon as the condo door closed behind them, sealing them in the living room, he did a quick intruder check; then he fell on her with all the hunger of a starving wolf.
“Wait!” Leila pushed against his chest.
He froze at her shout. For a moment he didn’t know if he could control his wolf. He really wanted his mate.