by Trina M. Lee
Tightening his grip on my hair, Arys bit into my neck. I gasped, overwhelmed and aroused by his demanding bite. Shaz watched Arys suck at the wound with obvious intrigue. His movements were limited by his position against the wall, which tormented us both. I wanted him faster, deeper.
Arys’s tongue glided over the punctures. The rising power was heavy in my head. His control was as frustrating as it was pleasurable. I could turn the tables on him, and we both knew it. But what I really wanted was to sink my teeth into my white wolf and make him howl.
It was what he wanted too. No sooner had Arys released his hold on my hair than Shaz bared his neck to me. Able to move freely, I grinded atop him, taking him deep inside me.
My gaze stayed transfixed on the pulse beating in his neck. With the weight of Arys’s watchful gaze upon us, I dragged my fangs over the throbbing vein. Shaz’s breath came fast. His racing heart echoed in my ears. My fangs pierced his flesh, and we both groaned.
The rest of the world fell away when his blood hit my tongue. All I could see, feel, and taste was Shaz. What he freely gave me was more than blood. It was strength and revitalizing energy, but most importantly, it was love.
Shaz held tight to me as we fell headlong into a shuddering orgasm. There was enough power in the room to keep us riding the high for several long, blissful moments before we descended back to earth.
We flopped down on the bed side by side to enjoy the afterglow. Arys leaned down to taste Shaz on my lips with a kiss. For the first time in a long time, I was content.
I ran a hand down Arys’s body to where his hard shaft rested against his inner thigh. A naughty grin played about my lips. “Your turn.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
It was well after sunset when at last we lay sprawled in euphoric wonder. I tried to run a hand through my tangled locks, scowling at the knots that thwarted me. Despite the comfort of the bed and the constant temptation of the men beside me, another night beckoned.
“I hope we didn’t scar Jez too much,” Shaz said, stretching until his back cracked.
I felt for Jez’s energy and found it missing. I bolted out from between the sheets as if a rocket had shot me out of bed. Frantic and ashamed, I hurried into my robe, swearing when one of the arms got turned inside out and I had to stop to fix it.
“Jez isn’t here. I don’t feel her.” I darted from the room in a panic to look out the upper hall window that overlooked the driveway. No sign of her Jeep.
Sprinting back into the bedroom, I grabbed my phone from the dresser and hit her number in the contacts list. I’d expected her to come home after getting Brogan settled. What if she’d called Arrow and gone to get high while I was here in my own world getting my rocks off?
Both Arys and Shaz watched me from the bed. I waved my hand around for them to get up and get dressed. I had to find Jez.
Just as her voicemail was about to pick up, she answered, and I almost cried in relief. “Jez, where are you?”
“Calm down, Alexa. I’m fine. I know what you’re thinking, but it didn’t happen. I figured you guys needed some alone time, so I stayed in the city.” She sounded relatively alert, putting my mind at ease.
“Are you at your apartment?”
“No.” Her voice took on a sad note. “Actually, I’m at Kale’s house. I’m not sure why, but after I took Brogan home, I just felt like I wanted to come here.”
“Are you ok?” I asked. “Do you want me to come over?”
“No, no, don’t do that,” she said. “I think I’m going to stay in tonight. Just hang out here. Order a pizza and watch some movies. Unless you need me.”
My shoulders slumped with relief. I hadn’t wanted to go to Kale’s house. Too many memories that hadn’t had time to fade.
“I’m going to talk to Winston about Briggs. Hopefully it will be uneventful. Call me if you need me. Ok?” I waited for her to assure me, with much exasperation and a little sarcasm, that she would be fine before hanging up.
“Arys, get dressed,” I demanded. “Unless you plan on lying around here naked all night. I’m heading back into the city. I need to have Winston meet me.”
He lay back against the pillow with both hands folded beneath his head, watching Shaz and I dress. “Would it really be so bad to just spend a night in bed?” The suggestion was accompanied by a gentle pulse of sensual power.
I shook a finger at him before retreating to the bathroom to drag a brush through my mess of hair. “Don’t be manipulative,” I scolded. “If Dayne spends too much time in that place he might never come out sane.”
“Ah, fuck him,” Arys snarled. It was followed by the sound of the bed moving and blankets being flung as he got up. “What has that asshole ever done for you?”
“Not a damn thing, but the FPA is the real enemy here. Leaving the wolves there is dangerous for all of us. Plus, he’s Shaz’s Alpha now, and any opportunity to keep the peace with Doghead can’t be ignored. I can offer Briggs in exchange. If Dayne is still a prick after that…” I paused to consider such an outcome. “Then I guess all bets are off, and I quit trying to play nice.”
Arys laughed, a sexy sound that made my insides quiver. “Oh good. I like it much better when you don’t play nice.”
After a few more attempts to convince us to get back into bed, Arys gave up. Shaz insisted on coming with me, which was only right, seeing as this was wolf business. At this point he was my only ally within that pack, well, possibly Izzy. With a frustrated sigh from my refusal to lie about all night with him, Arys surprised me by saying he was going to drop by the mental facility and visit Ozzie.
I made a phone call to Winston who agreed to meet with us in an hour at a neutral, public location. Having nothing to offer Hanna at this point, I didn’t call her. I was conflicted after what had happened at Doghead. Why was I doing this? Dayne had already declared war on us. Now that he knew it was Arys who’d killed his wolves, he wouldn’t change his mind about that.
The question was, which was the greater evil? A pack of angry wolves or a human government op intent on controlling everything supernatural?
Shaz and I dropped Arys off at home so he could grab his own car—God help those on the road with him—and then we headed to the small café where we were to meet Agent Winston. A brief call to Gabriel confirmed that Briggs was still safely in captivity. I was hopeful that everything would go as planned with little to no hassle.
The little cyber café downtown seemed innocuous enough. A cluster of computers took up one side, and a guy with an acoustic guitar played on the tiny stage in the corner. We sat at one of the tables near the front window. The music would be good for preventing eavesdroppers.
Agent Maggie Winston walked in alone. In a stylish grey suit with her hair perfectly coiffed into a tight knot, she graced us with a pleasant smile. It was so authentic. Maybe too authentic.
We shook hands, and I introduced her to Shaz. Once she’d obtained a latte, which I sniffed at in envy, we got right to business.
“I hope this meeting involves good news,” she said with another too perfect smile. “Anything on Agent Briggs?”
“He’s alive,” I offered. No need to give away too much too soon. “Is having him back still important to you?”
Agent Winston sipped from her latte, her hazel gaze alert and studious as she searched my eyes. “It is. Somewhat. Although that really depends on what you want in exchange for him.”
That response was less than satisfactory. She was going to play hard ball. “Do you have anything to offer?” It was a tactic she’d see right through, but if I could get her to give me an idea of how much the FPA wanted Briggs back, I’d know how much room I had to push for a good deal.
“I have many things I could offer, Ms. O’Brien, though I doubt very much that any of them would interest you. Why not just tell me what you really want.”
“I want several things, but mainly I want my blood sample. I’ll take Dayne and Owen as well.” I laced my fingers together and wait
ed. In my few encounters with Winston, I’d decided I kind of liked her. For now. That could still change in an instant.
Agent Winston’s face was hard set as she drank her coffee, revealing nothing. With a napkin she dabbed some foam from her lips before nodding, a slow bob of her head. “I assumed you’d request the wolves,” she said. “I’m afraid they’re not up for negotiation.” That was it. No explanation. No nothing.
“Why not?” I asked, trying to keep my temper simmering on low. It didn’t take much to send me to the boiling point.
She leaned forward, hands clasped around her cup. “There are reasons, confidential of course, that we feel it’s best to keep them in FPA custody for now. I apologize, but I’m not in a position to share the details.”
Shaz leaned forward, his elbows resting on the table. The simple action was somehow commanding, drawing Winston’s attention. “You do realize there is a pack of two hundred, still roaming the city, who won’t sit back and do nothing while you have their Alpha, don’t you?”
Winston’s smile grew cold and brittle. “Is this a threat, Mr. Richardson?”
“Of course not,” Shaz scoffed. “I don’t make threats. A threat is a warning, and I don’t give warnings.”
His smooth, firm manner drew my attention too. Shaz had grown from a boy to a man in the time I’d known him, and from there to one hell of a fine wolf. From meek and mild to quietly contemplative and always simmering. It was no wonder I adored him so.
“What reason could there possibly be for you guys to keep that many wolves in lockup? What are you doing to them?” I demanded, my tone sharp. I recalled the labs, frightfully sterile and alarming. What was happening to those wolves?
“Currently we’re paying to feed and house them even though they’re serious criminals. They’ll be dealt with on an individual basis. I know you understand the importance of justice.” She spoke in a controlled manner, clearly used to speaking with pissed off people who could kill her in a heartbeat.
I nodded, brows knit together in a slight frown. “I do. However, I’m not sure we share the same definition of justice.”
Agent Winston nodded as well. Her smile had disappeared. “Is there anything else I can do for you?”
Just like that she dismissed the conversation about the wolves and moved on. It was infuriating. My temper spiked, and I clenched both hands into fists. Shaz’s hand on my thigh was warm as he tried to calm me without her seeing.
She was good. Really good. Somehow she shut me down without anger or threats, the complete opposite of Briggs, but this wasn’t over.
“My blood,” I said, because I couldn’t think of any other demands off the top of my head. I’d been so sure getting Briggs back would be important enough for them to give up a wolf or two. “Where is it?”
Winston’s gaze wandered over to the guitarist. She studied him, from his ponytail to his Converse shoes. It was a test of my patience. Right when I was ready to snap, she swung her gaze back to me. “It’s missing. Either Briggs removed it from the building or somebody else did.” She might have been lying, but she didn’t smell like a lie.
Shit.
“Please don’t be lying. Though you might not think so, the truth means something to me.” As calm as I could be, I did my best to keep from dragging her across the table by her throat. It wasn’t easy.
“Ms. O’Brien, I can assure you that whatever Briggs did with your sample, it is not known to me.” Winston held my gaze, steady and unflinching.
Fuck! I wanted to scream and smash my fists against the table until it fell into pieces. I looked to Shaz and took a deep breath, finding the flow of air in and out of my undead lungs comforting though hardly calming.
“So what you’re saying is that this whole meeting was a waste. You have nothing for me. Do you even want Briggs back? You said you needed him.” It was my turn to study Winston. Something wasn’t adding up here.
“I’m going to level with you,” she said, leaning in conspiratorially. “We’d like Briggs back, but we’re not willing to give up much to get him. It’s been decided that after this much time unaccounted for, he’s quite possibly more of a liability now anyway. Taking him back could be dangerous.”
“Yeah, but you came looking for him. You asked me to help.”
“As I was instructed to, but it’s been determined that, though Briggs was a damn fine agent, getting him back may not be worth the risk.” She offered up a half shrug. Not a single emotion showed on her face. “He bent the rules. He hid things. We just don’t know that we can trust him. Between you and me, he may be safer if he stays away.”
“What does that mean?” Shaz asked. “You came here to not make a deal because you don’t really want him back? That makes no sense.”
Agent Winston did a slow scan of the café before responding. When she did it was in a tone too low for most human ears. “I’m trying to save his life by not striking a deal with you for him. He knows too much, and he’s proven he will go rogue when it suits his needs. The higher ups do want him back, but as far as I can tell, they’ll probably just torture him for information, then kill him.”
The higher ups being the unseen folks from the head office, I presumed. Or perhaps people even higher up than that. People that most likely hid behind false personas and never made the mistake of actually stepping foot into any FPA building in any city.
“Why are we even here then?” I was baffled.
“Do whatever you’d like with Agent Briggs, Ms. O’Brien,” she said, shoving her chair back. “I came because I was expected to, but seeing as there’s nothing you want that I can give, I think we’re done here. Oh and if you kill him, make it fast. Please.”
I watched her go, flabbergasted and speechless. This had not gone at all as planned. I’d been so sure the FPA would want their man back that I hadn’t considered they might just kill him. Although I did understand why they would. Hell I had my own reasons for wanting to bleed the man.
“So what now?” Shaz asked, rubbing my shoulder.
I shook my head and wondered what the hell I was supposed to do with Briggs now. “I have no idea.”
* * * *
“So what I got from that conversation was that the FPA does want Briggs back, but Winston wants him to stay gone,” Shaz mused aloud as we drove to The Wicked Kiss. “She only asked you to find him because they told her to. She believes they’ll kill him, or worse, so she sabotaged the exchange by refusing to give us anything.”
“It appears to be that way.” I drummed my fingers on the steering wheel while we waited at a red light. “She’ll probably go back to whoever her superior is and tell them we couldn’t reach a mutual agreement.”
“Hanna’s going to be upset. I should stop by Doghead and talk to her in person. Can you drop me off?”
I glanced over at him, admiring his silhouette. The city lights cast his face in both light and shadow, emphasizing how handsome he was. He caught me looking and grinned, pointing at the streetlight, which had turned green while I gawked.
“You can take my car,” I said, stepping on the gas. “Just don’t forget about me. Come back before sunrise.”
“Forget about you?” he repeated with a laugh. “Impossible.”
Oh boy. It was now or never. “Shaz, don’t hate me for this. I know we’ve been over this, so I’m going to keep it short and simple. I just wanted to say that I’m totally cool with it if you want to see other women.”
I cringed under the weight of his stare. His energy grew hot, teasing my appetite for him. “Yeah. We have been over this. So where is this coming from, Lex? Do you think I want you to be cool with me seeing other women? Because I don’t want that. Ever.”
I used driving as a legit reason to avoid eye contact. Now if the lights would just stay green… I racked my brain for the right words, but they didn’t exist. “Maybe I’m wrong. It just seemed like you and Izzy may have formed a connection. Or something.” Lame. So damn lame. What the hell was wrong with me?
Shaz let out a breath in a whoosh. “Come on, Lex. Not this again. Izzy is great. She’s a sweet lady, and I think she’d make a great friend, but I’m done with the picket fence fantasy. Stop trying to force it on me.”
“I’m not forcing, just reminding. You can still have that if you want it.”
He was quiet for a moment. I risked a glance at him to find his lovely face crestfallen. “Do you want to know what I saw when we were in the panic room?” He paused but didn’t wait for an answer. “I saw that picket fence life. The perfect house, perfect car, friendly neighbors, and even a couple of adopted kids. But you weren’t there. I couldn’t see the face of the woman in that phony, perfect life, but she wasn’t you, I knew that much. And it fucking terrified me, Lex.”
A sob lodged in my throat. “My panic room vision was about you too.”
“Nothing scares me as much as the thought of a future without you,” he went on, a hand on my shoulder. His fingers played in my hair.
“Everything has changed. I’ve changed. I’m afraid I’ll just keep hurting you, and you deserve so much better than that.” Blood tears threatened to blur my vision, and I hastily blinked them back.
We pulled into The Wicked Kiss parking lot, and the moment I parked the car, Shaz pulled me as close as the console between us would allow. He kissed my face and held me with a silent desperation.
“Please,” he whispered against my cheek. “Can we finally close the door on this discussion?”
“Ok,” I said, feeling shitty, knowing I had to let this go now. For good. “But if you ever change your mind—”
He silenced me with a kiss that sent shockwaves to the soles of my feet. The pine and wolf scent of him filled my nostrils, bringing my wolf forth with an excited lunge against my insides.
“Lex,” he murmured. “Shut up.”
Another head-spinning kiss and I was nodding, willing to promise him anything if he would just keep kissing me like that. Though I was always hungry for him, my bloodlust had been sated, leaving just the wolf in this moment. It was a simple bliss, and I treasured it.
