“I’m not being glib, and by the way, who uses that word anymore? I’m just absorbing the facts as you relate them to me. My brain doesn’t function well in the middle of the night.”
He fought down the urge to kiss her lips that mocked him from such close quarters. “I understand you wish to shield me from Sterling. He’s a rather unpleasant individual. What I don’t understand is why he’s so interested in you. You’re a Gatekeeper, but he’s acting as if you’re his lover.” He eased closer. “Is that the reason he followed you?”
“How dare you!” Sophia slapped him and the sound reverberated in the small room. “I’d rather cut off my own hands than allow that man to touch me.” She shoved his chest, but he encircled her wrists with his fingers. “Violence against women is wrong,” she spat out between clenched teeth.
“You were the one who slapped me.” Laughter threaded through his voice. He released his hold as desire churned in his gut. Her terror wafted through his nostrils. He hated himself for making her feel afraid of him. “Sophia.” He massaged his stinging cheek. “It was justified. I apologize for my comment.”
“I’m just as puzzled as you are about Sterling’s motives.” She padded across the tiny room then snuggled under the quilt on her bed. “Now go away. It’s too early to deal with you.”
“That won’t be possible.” He longed to join her beneath the blankets, wanted to indulge in the delights her lips promised.
“Why?” It was a whine.
He glanced at her, but the darkness hid her expression from view. “We need to make an early start if we’re going to find the dragon’s tooth.”
“Fine, but at least let me sleep for a few more hours. I have a feeling the next part of your quest is going to be highly unpleasant.”
“You could be right.” He made no move to leave her room. “I was serious before. I don’t intend to abandon you. We’re linked, so you better get used to me being here.”
“I can see that.” Frustration filled her sigh. “Evangeline’s old room is available.”
“I’ll pass the remainder of the night here, especially now Sterling is mobile. I want to be around the general area, and your bed works best for a variety of reasons.”
Sophia sat up. “You’re going to become a wolf, aren’t you?” When he nodded, she gasped. “Can I watch?”
“No. You wouldn’t like it and besides, I’m hungry.” He perched on the edge of her bed. “I’ll be careful not to raise the Crime Watch people.” Unable to help himself, he stroked a hand through her hair.
She shivered but didn’t pull away. “Do what you want just don’t eat any people.” Sophia yawned and lay back against the pillows. “And don’t make a mess. People get a little antsy if there are blood stains on the street.”
“And you don’t answer the door to anyone but me.” He slipped from the room, wondering if she’d even heard his order.
*****
Consciousness came to Sophia by way of roughness on her cheek followed by a trail of moisture and a weight pressed into her ribcage. She squinted at the clock on the bedside table. Not yet three in the morning. She groaned. The heaviness on her chest turned out to be the solid body of Xavier in wolf form.
“Ugh! You have the worst morning breath of anyone I’ve ever known.” She pushed his muzzle away from her nose, effectively ending his impromptu face licking. “I don’t know where that tongue has been.”
A soft whine was the only response.
“As long as you persist in deporting yourself as a wolf then I’ll catch up on my sleep.” She shoved his warm, furry canine body from her chest then turned onto her side. “I refuse to play chauffer to a dog.” His head was surprisingly heavy on her hip as he rearranged himself. “I also refuse to snuggle up to an animal. I already told you I don’t like dogs.”
“Then why not snuggle up to me?”
Tremors of excitement snaked up her spine. Xavier wrapped an arm around her waist to pull her body flush against his clearly human, and unequivocally aroused, form. “How did you shift so quickly? I didn’t get to see it.” Sophia held her breath as he traced small circles on her stomach. She fumbled on the nightstand for her glasses. They fell to the carpet when Xavier pinched her hip.
“I’m honoring your request to not give you any hard evidence I’m a werewolf.” His whispered response tickled her ear and stirred tendrils of her hair. “As long as you don’t see me shift from one form into another you should be fine.”
“I appreciate that. It makes life two hundred times easier.” Scratch that. Being in such close proximity to him was not making life easier. Every nerve ending in her body tingled with suppressed energy. “What are you doing here, in my bed?”
“Trying to sleep, but someone’s talking is having a detrimental effect on that act.”
Rotating to face him, Sophia propped her head on her hand, while she traced a finger over his goatee-covered chin. The hair was soft and beckoned a deeper investigation. “Why are you trying to sleep at all? Didn’t you want to get an early start?” She swept her gaze over the shredded fragments of clothing that clung to his body. “What happened to your suit?”
“An unhappy side effect of becoming my wolf counterpart, I’m afraid.”
“Explain to me why we were both naked after the stint in the pseudo mer-kingdom.”
Xavier sighed in exasperation. “Must you know everything all at once?”
“That would be helpful.” She reined in her desire to touch the golden hair on his chest. “Tell me this instead. Why are you here?”
“To find a dragon.” He grinned and his white teeth flashed in the gloom. “As for shape shifting, it depends on what, where, and how you shift. Sometimes, when I regain my human form, I find myself fully clothed. Other times, I’m naked. When that happens, I either assume the clothing of my last victim, or I do this.”
“What, appear in women’s bedrooms looking like a survivor from a war?”
“No.” He snapped his fingers. Loose fitting linen pants covered his lower half. “Along with the ability to shift into a wolf, I retain extremely limited magical abilities.”
“Lucky you, but that still doesn’t answer my question. What are you really doing here? It can’t be just because I’m a Gatekeeper. There are other ways to be taken to the Portal Master if that’s your intention.” His eyes flashed. She ignored him. “I don’t mind helping you break the curse. I want to know your motives before we go any further.”
“You’re very intelligent. You should apply to the Immortal Court.”
Sophia snorted. “I want nothing to do with the Court once my birthright is annulled, if you’re true to your word.” She squeaked in surprise when he pulled her on top of him so she straddled his torso.
“I always keep my word, no matter the cost.” He skimmed her legs and then shoved his hands under her simple nightshirt of faded blue cotton. He brushed his fingers over her hips. “I’m here because you’re my mate, whether you believe me right now or not.” He continued to trek northward until he gently cupped her breasts.
“You accept this mate stuff because Hannah had a vision? She could be lying.”
“She could, but that doesn’t explain my immediate attraction for you, or yours for me. I know you’ve felt it. I can see it in your eyes.”
“Maybe.” Sophia licked dry lips as her heart pounded out a frantic rhythm. “I’m not easily impressed with men like you.” Stabs of pleasure shot through her stomach when he brushed his thumbs across her nipples. She gasped and clutched his shoulders, wishing he would move his attention to other parts of her body. “I find you irritating and self-absorbed.”
“You know that isn’t true. Your happiness, your well-being, is first and foremost in my mind.” Xavier tugged her down so she was draped over his chest, her face mere inches from his. “I never said I was perfect or a saint. I’m neither a hero nor a martyr. I’m merely a man with a curse.” He fingered the mermaid scale tied to black satin ribbon and strung around her neck.
“Nice bauble.”
“But why me?” His eyes twinkled with laughter. Sophia’s lips tilted with an answering smile. “I’m dangerous to know. I could turn you over to Sterling at any time. My life isn’t my own as long as I’m bound to him.” She moved her fingers over his shoulders and felt the hardness of muscle. Warmth collected between her legs. It was becoming much too difficult to resist him.
“That could very well be true. In the meantime, you’re simply a woman who wants to be understood. You crave companionship and security and I’ll give both to you.” He pressed his lips to hers then pulled away.
Tracing his cheek with a forefinger, she frowned. “I’m not at such a trusting place, Xavier.” If she allowed herself to care for him and she turned him over to Sterling, she’d hate herself beyond measure. Sophia brushed her lips across his, tasting an unknown sweetness, wanting to take that next step but fear held her back. “I don’t want a daily reminder of my treachery. I wouldn’t want to remember.”
“Self-preservation is a very lonely place.” In one fluid movement, he flipped her onto her back. “You can try to shut yourself away from the world, but you’ll find life is excruciating in length.”
With a soft sigh, she let him caress her body as her insides quivered with desire. She stirred under his fingers. “You’re very persistent in your argument.” She arched against him when he closed his teeth on a taut nipple. Sophia gripped his shoulders, her breath coming in short gasps. “It’s been a long time…”
“You’re wavering and in that I have at least won a small victory. I won’t push you.” Xavier smiled against her lips. “But when I want an item I pursue it with single-minded determination, especially when the item in question is meant for me anyway.”
She tangled her fingers in the hair of his chest and pressed a kiss to his shoulder, breathing in his signature spicy oaky scent. “I’m not a piece of art to be possessed.”
“No, you’re much more valuable and you need to believe that.”
“If you want me to believe in all this mate stuff, you’re going to have to allow me breathing room. Possessiveness can only go so far. I need time to think about being anyone’s mate, yours or someone else’s.”
Xavier growled and the sound tickled her already sensitive skin. “You have another man?”
“No, just you.” She held his gaze, shadowed in the darkness. “I’m willing to accept the possibility of you being my mate. I’m asking you to be patient.” Her eyelids prickled with tears. She furiously blinked them away. She hadn’t cried since Evangeline and refused to do so now. Once Xavier got what he wanted from her, would he move on to greener pastures? Were they really mates or was it a story he told to get her into bed and help him with the quest? Or would he leave once he was free from the curse, whichever came first? She didn’t want to know the answer to those questions for fear her heart wouldn’t be able to withstand the pain. “Xavier…” Words died as he manipulated her lips, his tongue searching every inch of her mouth.
He pulled away to stare at her. “We’ll revisit the subject at a later time. You have my word.”
“Why?” Her pulse raced and her core throbbed with unfulfilled need. “I think you’re a tease, Xavier Leighton.” She desired him, that much was certain. Would she come to love him? Already, he’d wormed his way under her skin, regardless of how much she pushed him away.
His soft laugh filled the small room. “Perhaps, but I find the thought of making love to you with an audience slightly distasteful. I need to do a better job of staking my claim around here.”
With a shiver of thwarted anticipation, she followed his gaze. Calvin lurked in the heavy shadows near the ceiling.
“Why, my lady, would you pick him for a consort?” the ghost asked in an injured tone.
“What the hell, Calvin?” Sophia glared. “You’re a ghost. That means you have no solid parts. No matter how much you want to be with me, it’s never going to happen, got it? If I want to do the nasty, I’ll pick Xavier, not you, okay?” She didn’t want to delve into why else she’d choose the werewolf to satisfy her needs beyond having solid body parts.
Calvin vanished without answering.
The romance of the moment was lost.
Chapter Thirteen
Xavier rolled his eyes and wished for the thousandth time that Sophia would shut up. She’d done nothing but babble ever since they’d set out before the dawn. He couldn’t concentrate. “For the love of the gods, woman, give me two seconds of peace.” His knees ached as he crouched on the cool metal stairs.
“Sooorrry, your royal grouchiness.” She smacked his shoulder. “Remind me again why we’re on this foolish mission?” Her whispered question echoed eerily off the walls of the stairwell. “He’ll kill us both if he finds us.”
“Then it is best to not be found.” He glanced at his watch. Five o’clock in the morning, on the twenty-eighth day of October. They had snuck into the Immortal Court offices and were currently hiding in the stairwell. If it had been up to him, they would have gone directly to Sterling’s office, but Sophia’s skittishness gave him second thoughts. So, he decided to make a brief camp and wait for the night watch to make his rounds.
“Are you crazy?” She poked his back with an insistent forefinger.
“Perhaps, but one of us has to be.” He looked over his shoulder, taking in the lines of worry and fatigue on her face, and then returned his gaze to the floor below. “In order to locate a dragon we need to go to the source. Since Sterling is the only person who holds the relocation records for all paranormal beings in the Elias-Mortal Realm Cooperative, I thought we’d get the information from the horse’s mouth, so to speak.”
Two minutes later the sweep of a flashlight cut through the shadowy open room below followed by the dark form of the security guard. His heavy boots thumped on the marble flooring in time with his labored breathing.
Sophia pressed tighter against his back. Her heat seeped through the black turtleneck he wore and warmed his skin. His groin twitched in response to her nearness, and he wished again they weren’t mired in a near impossible quest. Her quick inhalation of breath alerted him that she wished to speak. “Hush.”
She laid a hand on his shoulder, squeezed gently. “Is he gone?”
Xavier risked a glance through the wrought iron railing. “Yes. How long before the next pass?”
“We should have thirty minutes, give or take.”
“Good. We’ll be in and out well before that time.” He stood. “Let’s do this.” He moved up the remaining steps to Sterling’s office door, the glass windowpane cold to the touch. Xavier tried the doorknob. It turned easily under his hand. “The bastard is so arrogant he probably thought no one would dare break in.”
“Xavier.” Sophia poked him again. “I don’t feel comfortable here in the daylight and I really don’t feel comfortable here now.” She followed him into the office.
“Our criminal activity will be quick and painless.” He squeezed her fingers, hating himself anew for putting her into danger on his behalf. “I’ll look through these files and you take the cabinet over there.” The chrome legs of the chairs winked in the nearly non-existent light from the stairwell.
Sophia removed a small penlight from a pocket of her short black skirt. “What are we searching for?” She eased open the first drawer then ran her index finger over the folder tabs.
“Dragons, wyverns, dinosaurs, anything of that nature. We just need one name then we can leave.” The thin white beam of Xavier’s penlight sliced through the darkness, briefly illuminating the files she worked on. “Less talk, more searching.”
“These files are all under the first and last name of the person or creature instead of their specific paranormal case structure. It’s impossible.”
“Don’t think about it, just do it.” Xavier growled low in his throat. “Randomly pull a few files and maybe we’ll get lucky. You can always slip the files into the re-file trays for the clerks to replace later.” He made sure sh
e did as he asked before turning his attention to his own drawer. After yanking out two files, he quietly snapped it closed. “Come on, just a few more.”
“A few more.” Her soft parroting of his words didn’t set his mind at ease. Fear quavered in her voice. As she shut her last drawer, an unmistakable noise filtered into the office. “Oh no.”
“Oh no, what? You can’t leave me hanging with that.” He glanced at her, saw her round eyes reflecting fear, and laid a hand on her shoulder. “What is it?”
The elevator squealed as it brought someone up to the floor. She clutched his arm. “Someone’s coming!”
“So I gathered.” He extinguished his penlight. Sophia did the same. He froze when the elevator pinged at the floor and the doors slid smoothly open. “We need somewhere to hide,” Xavier whispered. Had his time teasing Fate finally run out?
“We’ll be caught, I’ll get fired and you’ll be sent to the Demon Realm, and then I’ll have to explain to Sterling why I’m so incompetent, and then—”
“Sophia.” He lifted an eyebrow, intent on breaking through her terror. “It’s too early to worry.” He cast a glance about the darkened room. “Think. We need a quick hiding place.” Sprinting across the floor, he tried the door to what he could only assume was a coat closet. “Damn. Locked.” Footsteps rang on the marble floor below Sterling’s office. His heart pounded so frantically he thought it would rip out of his chest. “Is there a utility closet or something like that?”
She fumbled at another doorknob. “Yes, hurry. If it’s Sterling we’re toast.”
His heart went out to her. The poor thing was nearly climbing the walls from fear. “There’s no reason to panic.” He shoved her forward into the closet then closed the door behind him. “Let’s see who it is first.”
In Sterling’s office, the darkness glowed green from the exit signs at the stairwell. In the closet, it was pitch black. Xavier could barely discern his hand in front of his face, couldn’t imagine what Sophia must be feeling. “How are you doing?” Concern for her surged to the forefront of his mind.
Charmed by the Werewolf Page 15