Creatures of Habit: Chosen Book 27

by J. D. Light

  I choked, making Boyce chuckle as he reached out a hand to shake. "I'm Boyce. I'm actually Wynn's neighbor and a good friend."

  The words were completely true, but I couldn't deny that I was strangely hurt by them. I knew it was absolutely illogical and stupid, but I wanted Boyce to think of me as more than a good friend, even though that was exactly what I was to him… and he was to me... technically.

  Alicia took a deep breath, pushing her shoulders back, and looking determined. As she left with Erika, who gave Teddy about thirty kisses on his head before she could be convinced to go, I couldn't help but wonder if this new-found sense of power would last. Would she get rid of the worthless man she called a husband, and make her life a little easier?

  I knew there was a lot more to think about when it came to something that big. One being how the whole thing would affect Erika.

  "I would hate to be in her shoes. She has a lot to think about while he's in jail," I whispered, peeking out the window and watching her go. "It would be hard enough if a kid wasn't involved, because no matter what, she did love that man at one point."

  Boyce was nodding slightly when I turned, letting the curtain fall back over the window when Mrs. Bradley's car taillights were finally out of sight.

  "Are you ready to go home?"

  I nodded, and we both went around checking doors and windows to make sure things were locked up tight, then we headed toward my house. It was getting late, and I was going to have to be up fairly early to get back to the daycare before the first drop-off, but I wasn't ready for Boyce to go home. Honestly, I was never ready for him to go home, but with the way the evening had gone, I didn't at all feel like we'd gotten an ounce of quality time, like we usually did, and I was beginning to realize just how spoiled I'd become to it.

  "You want some brownies?" I asked quickly, just before we reached the intersection where he would have to cross the road to go on over to his house.

  He blinked at me in surprise, probably startled since we'd gone from walking in companionable silence to me yelling at him abruptly about brownies.

  "Do you have brownies?" he asked, after a long moment spent blinking at me.

  "I have the ingredients."

  "How about we save the brownies for tomorrow night," he said reasonably. "...but I will come over for a few minutes. To be honest, I really want to check around your house. I know he's in jail, and it's extremely illogical to think like this, but there is just something in me that won't ease up. It's like I just need to know that everything at your place is safe."

  I kept my expression purposely blank as he turned and made his way up my walk, not wanting him to see the shock on my face. It sounded so much like the way a mate would act… and so much like the way I myself felt. I knew it was extremely unlikely, but as I eyed the bracelet on his wrist, the one with the delphinium in the only charm hanging from the leather strip, the bracelet he'd started wearing in the FBI, I couldn't help but wonder if there was more to all of the weirdness that surrounded our relationship.

  He'd told me the first day we met that he never went anywhere without that bracelet, because after wearing it for so long, the idea of having his scent vulnerable made him extremely uneasy. He'd worked chasing and arresting some really bad criminals, most of whom had abilities I could only even dream about. The necessity of something like that to make sure some of those baddies didn't catch your scent and follow you home, was probably something most of the humans in that department felt strongly.

  Hell, I knew shifters that wore the stuff a lot of the time.

  It didn't take him long enough, in my opinion to check my house, and by nine, he was already coaxing Teddy off my couch, rolling his eyes when the dog actually whined, giving a little whimper when Boyce snapped his fingers, letting Teddy know he was pushing it. I'd swear Teddy could sometimes act like a teenager in a dog body.

  I stood in the middle of the living room, like I didn't know my place in my own house as he walked himself to the door, turning to give me a weird look before tapping the door, while he stood on the other side of it, peeking around it.

  "Don't forget to lock this. Both locks," he said sternly. I nodded, his bracelet catching my attention once again, as I moved toward him and the door, wishing desperately that I could lean around it and kiss him goodnight. "Good night," he said, giving me a small smile before turning and heading toward his own house.

  When he made it up his walk and then the front steps, he unlocked his door and then turned to look at me. We both stood there for a moment, watching each other like we were waiting for the other one to shut their door first, but I was all too aware how stubborn the man could be, so with a chuckle, I sent him a wave and shut my door, immediately locking it before going over to the window to watch him as he too went inside and shut his door, flipping out the porch light.

  It was less than an hour later, and I was already stripped down to my underwear, about to climb in bed. I looked at the clock, frowning at the time. Most of my friends and family knew that it was little late to be texting, so whoever it was probably didn't want an answer right away, but I decided to check it anyway, my stomach flipping in excitement when I saw the name on the screen.

  Future Husband: Is Teddy at your house?

  I really needed to change that in my phone before he saw it. That would be fucking embarrassing if he, for some reason, called or texted me when I was sitting right next to him and saw it.

  I crinkled my nose, suddenly very curious what my name might be in his phone. Maybe I should call or text him sometime while he was sitting right next to me so I could see what it said. Though, it probably said something like guy who is super needy and I'm too nice to say no to.

  Frowning and shaking my head, I opened the message completely and typed up a response as I headed toward the living room.

  Me: Not that I know of. Let me check the porch.

  I checked the back yard first and then the front, starting to get a little nervous when I didn't see my buddy.

  Me: I don't see him. I'll meet you outside. We'll look together.

  I slipped on my house shoes and walked outside, just as I got a thumbs up over text. A few seconds later, Boyce came strolling around from the side of his house… in nothing but a pair of tight boxer briefs.

  "Hey," he said as he approached, like he fully expected me to respond in kind when I couldn't even fucking breathe.

  Who did he think I was? Did normal people have the ability to speak or even stand when he was dressed like that? Because, my fucking knees were trying to give out on me, and I wasn't sure if it was the sight of him that was doing it, or the fact that I had actually stopped breathing… which was due to the sight of him, so either way, if I passed out, it was his and his delicious body's fault.

  "Hey," I squeaked out, clearing my throat and taking a deep breath. "Where have you looked?

  "Just my backyard so far," he said, licking his lips, his eyes flicking over me and then away before returning to me again.

  I glanced down… and almost laughed out loud. I'd guess I was in a little less clothing than him considering my "bed clothes" consisted of my underwear… which were a bit on the skimpy side.

  He cleared his throat, glancing down the road. "I figured if he wasn't there, he'd probably be in yours, but I didn't want to show up in your backyard unannounced.

  I nodded, though I wouldn't have shot him… probably. I was a cat. I had excellent eyesight. I probably would have known who he was right away.

  "Okay," I said, lifting my head to sniff the air, not at all sure about how I felt about the fact that Teddy had very clearly walked by my house on his way to wherever he was headed, but he hadn't even stepped up in my yard.

  I wasn't normally a tracker, so I did my best to block out all other smells, but I had to admit, I wished Boyce wasn't wearing that damn bracelet while I was being hyperaware of that sense, because though I hadn't gotten to scent him yet, I somehow knew he would smell amazing.

  My knowledge
of that, and the fact that I seemed more and more drawn to him every day had me seriously considering the fact that he might very well be my mate... but with that fucking bracelet on, I might never know.

  "What are you doing?" he asked as I moved down the sidewalk, my nose in the air, taking deep breaths.

  The community that we lived in was, thankfully, fairly shifter friendly, and I didn't think most of our neighbors would even bat an eye at the two idiots walking down the sidewalk in their underwear, one being led by the other who seemed to be being led by his nose. Hell, there were often growls and even the occasional sound of something breaking in to the house a few doors down to my left, because the couple that lived there were like crazy intense and maybe enjoyed make-up sex a little too much, since they would pick a fight with each other over anything just so they could fuck it out.

  That had once been on their back porch. Really wished they would have at least had something other than a chain-link for a fence around their backyard. I would have liked to not have seen how limber Mrs. Walmsley was.

  "Sniffing for your dog," I said, abruptly turning down the alley that went between two houses.

  "Huh." I turned to find him nodding, a thoughtful look on his face. "Yeah. I kinda forgot about that aspect of being around shifters all the time."

  We rounded a tall fence where the alley intersected with another and a very guilty-looking Weimaraner froze in his tracks, looking us over.

  I thrust my hands onto my hips glaring down at the beautiful dog, whose ears dropped immediately and little stub tail pulled up tight to his bottom. "Theodore Xavier Donovan, where have you been?"

  "Xavier?" Boyce asked, giving me the side-eye, which I absolutely ignored.

  I stepped closer to the dog, giving him my best daycare-owner glare, and caught a giant whiff of… "Oh."

  I pulled my head back quickly, crinkling my nose and curling my lip before meeting Boyce's questioning gaze.

  "Oh what?" he asked carefully, eyes narrowing on me like he knew he probably didn't want to know. He wasn't wrong.

  I bit my bottom lip, wiggling my nose like Samantha on Bewitched. "You need to have the safe sex talk with your son."

  I spun on my heels, already making my way back up the alley, feeling a little less comfortable in my itsy-bitsy briefs now that the drama was settled.

  "Shit. That means I'm gonna have to find the owners of his lover and let them know there's a possibility they will have a brood of mutts on their way soon." Boyce said, following along behind me. Neither of us had to look back to see if Teddy had made the smart decision of following us. The clacking of his nails against the gravel behind us was answer enough.

  "Language," I said dryly as I looked over at him, pursing my lips and raising my eyebrows. "Was the M word necessary?"

  He looked completely unimpressed as he blinked over at me. "Yes," he said simply.

  I shrugged one shoulder, smirking at the man. "You can be mad at him if you want, but you have to ask yourself how he got out."

  "No, I don't," Boyce said as we rounded the fence at the corner of the alley, making our way back to my house. "He went out the doggie door and dug under the fence."

  Oh, damn. It was hard to break a dog of the habit of digging. I cringed, glancing over my shoulder at the dog who was following along behind us… much like a whipped dog, and then something occurred to me.

  I stopped, crossing my arms and turning to face Teddy's owner, tilting my head. "You don't lock your doggy door at night? What if someone came through it while you were sleeping and tried to kill you?"

  Just the idea that this man left himself so vulnerable, especially knowing what he knew about what was going on with the chosen and the fact that he was, right then, standing around with his mark exposed to the world… Or at least the shifters in this community, made me want to shake him.

  I knew he was a trained FBI agent, and I was sure he was skilled enough to take care of himself for the most part, but it was hard enough for some people to walk to the bathroom in the middle of the night without nearly killing themselves on something left in the floor, or just by walking into a door jamb, because balancing and opening your eyes in the middle of the night was just stupid. The middle of the night was definitely not the time for rational thought or trying to fight off a sneaky intruder, especially a shifter.

  He rolled his eyes. That fucker actually rolled his eyes at me.

  "That's very unlikely," he said, looking exasperated.

  I'm sorry sir, is my legitimate worry about your welfare irritating to you?

  I could feel the heat building in my cheeks, and my ears were already on fire. "Really," I said, narrowing my eyes on him. "You are aware I can shift into a cat about Teddy size and would be more than capable of fitting through that door. Hell, I wouldn't even have to shift to do it. Cats are quiet. If I wanted to murder you, that'd be how I'd do it..." And it's pretty tempting at the moment. "...sneak in through your doggy door in the middle of the night and slit your throat." I let my claws out, swiping them through the air dramatically, making the big man in front of me blink at me blandly.

  "Learning new things about you." Boyce pursed his lips, blinking judgmentally. "I don't think it would be as easy as you think to kill me," he said, stepping closer. "...and since I don't usually do things that piss his people off—with the exception of my cousin—enough to kill me, I feel pretty safe."

  His mostly naked body was extremely close to my mostly naked body, I could feel the heat pouring off him. If I wasn't so mad at his complete lack of safety, and his nonchalant attitude about it, I knew I wouldn't be able to resist the lure of his skin.

  I licked my teeth, nodding my head in a very unfriendly way. "Okay."

  "Okay," he said, much more hesitantly, clearly catching on to the fact that I wasn't actually okay.

  I shrugged, pursing my lips sassily. "Okay." I turned abruptly, marching back toward my house with my nose in the air.

  "Thank you for helping me find Teddy." Boyce whisper-yelled at the back of my head.

  "Okay." I didn't even look back when I said it, mounting my steps with stomping feet. It didn't have the same effect in house-shoes as it would have in boots or even tennis shoes.

  "Why are you mad at me?" Boyce asked, sounding exasperated as his voice strained from him trying to keep from yelling.

  I reached out for the handle of my door, finally turning to look at him over my shoulder, my face tight. "I don't know what you're talking about."

  I opened my door, walked in and turned to glare at him before slamming the thing shut hard, wishing he'd been standing closer so it could have been in his face, but I bet he felt the sentiment behind it anyway.

  Chapter Three

  I was sitting up in my bed with the gun pointed at the door before I even fully registered that I'd heard a noise. I waited, listening closely to the sounds of the house. It was nearly silent, the low hum of the refrigerator the only real sound, but it was like the air was different. I could feel a presence.

  I knew I wasn't imagining it, since Teddy was lying on the edge of my bed, ears pricked, looking alert as he too stared at the door.

  Had Wynn been right? Had some shifter seen my mark when I was running around last night, looking for my lost dog?

  Now is not the time to think about how fucking delicious Wynn had looked in that tiny fucking underwear, Boyce.

  I eased from my bed, gun still pointed at the door as I made my way to the darkest corner of my bedroom and motioned for Teddy to join me, giving him the silent command to stay quiet.

  I sat immediately, eyes trained where my gun was pointed as we waited.

  I felt Teddy tense next to me as the door eased open, but he wouldn't dare move before my command, so I felt confident that he wouldn't give our position away. Claws barely scratched the door as a giant paw pushed it further open and a leopard slipped inside.

  Teddy relaxed beside me, his body easing from alert to stumpy tail wagging, letting me know it was the
leopard most of my waking moments were filled with thoughts of, and I smirked, immediately lowering my gun and tucking it into my briefs, safety on. I didn't have much time. He was a leopard. If he turned his head and looked at me, his cat eyes would be able to make me out even in the dark corner.

  I had no doubt he'd planned something to prove he was right about the damn doggy-door, but I could tell by the way he was carrying himself, sniffing the air continuously, clearly distracted enough by something, he wasn't fully aware of his surroundings or he probably would have already seen me.

  He stilled, his body already shifting to that of the human, and I pounced, tackling him to my bed, doing my best to protect his limbs as he shifted, but also restraining them.

  By the time we settled against the mattress, he was fully human, smashed face down onto my bed, with his arms pinned above his head, my lower body pinning his, with my legs clamped down over his, trapping them against the bed.

  "See," I said, whispering down into his ear, shifting both of his wrists to one hand and reaching back to pull my pistol out of the back of my underwear, tossing it over to the small chair in the corner where it bounced against the throw pillow and then settled. "I told you it wouldn't be as easy as you thought it would." He turned his head, trying to look up at me, but it was probably hard to turn his head very far with the way his shoulders and chest were pressed down into the mattress.

  "I was distracted," he said huskily, the expression on his face odd. He looked confused or even baffled. Maybe the word was stunned, and he wasn't even trying to wiggle out from under me.

  I paused, not really sure what to think of that, while suddenly registering the fact that my naked chest was pressed to his naked back, rubbing together slightly while we breathed. I cleared my throat, feeling stuck. Any movement on my part at that moment was gonna cause a lot of stuff to happen down south—stuff that was already starting to happen—as I also registered the fact that not only was my dick slotted to his crack, but it was actually between his cheeks, because there was absolutely no barrier, aside from the thin material of my boxers, stopping me from grinding directly into the crack of his ass.