Dire Consequences: The Alexander Matthews Chronicles Book 1

by Leji Albano

  Still, he had caught a faint trace of something he had never experienced before, and curiosity pulled him along in its wake. He was getting closer—his nose told him that much—and his target was definitely female. Alexander's eyes scanned the raucous crowd, looking for any sign that would pin down who he was searching for. He stepped into the shadows of an alley and continued to watch. She had to be here…somewhere.

  “Would you care to explain why you are stalking me?” a melodious voice asked quietly from just behind him.

  Alexander turned around slowly, hands in plain sight. The statuesque raven-haired beauty who stood before him almost took his breath away. Mediterranean features including olive-colored skin, dark eyes, and strong nose somehow combined perfectly in this woman. She was nearly as tall as he was, and the form-fitting dress and heels accentuated her look.

  He smiled guiltily. “I apologize if I frightened you, that was not my intent.”

  Her eyes bored into his, looking for any hint of dishonesty. “Then what was your intent, if I may be so bold as to ask?”

  Alexander hesitated briefly, then shrugged and plunged ahead. “What are you? I’ve never scented anyone like you before.”

  Her laughter tinkled musically on the air. “I take it subtlety is not one of your strongest suits.” She leaned toward him and inhaled deeply as she closed her eyes. “Wolf…but different. You aren’t like the others. What are you?”

  It was his turn to laugh. “I could show you, but perhaps a busy street isn’t the best place for such a reveal.”

  “True. But it would be amusing,” she replied. “Still, you haven’t answered my question.”

  “I’m a throwback.” She looked confused at his words. “Hmmm, are you familiar with the animals that lived during the last ice age?”

  She shook her head. “Science has never been of much interest to me.”

  “OK. Let’s just say that a species of wolf lived in America at that time, and that is what I shift into.” He leaned back against the wall of a building. “My turn. What are you?”

  “I am a Child of the Forest. My kind has not interacted with humanity much, but I found the life of seclusion to be uninspiring.”

  “Is that like an elf?” he asked.

  “Pffft, similar in some ways maybe, but no, not an elf.” She wrinkled her nose in distaste as she answered him. “We have always lived in the lands surrounding the Mediterranean, never venturing far from its shores.”

  “Fascinating. I have never had the pleasure of meeting one of your people before. Thank you.”

  The Cheshire Cat grin she gave him should have been a warning, but he failed to heed it.

  The alley was flooded with pheromones generated by the woman, who took his arm companionably. “Would you like to join me? I promise it will be mutually pleasurable.”

  Dazed and overcome by the chemical cocktail, all he could do was nod in agreement as she led him to her hotel room. She delivered on her promise in every way.

  Only much later, and after a great deal of research, did he discover that the Children of the Forest had been designed and bred as concubines for the less-bigoted Anunna….

  Alexander eyed the inventory spread out before him. Based on Tina’s reaction when he gifted her the expensive watch, he would have to be very careful about what he chose as her Christmas present.

  Many of the items would be perfect for her. Still, given their value, they would probably send her reeling and cause consternation he’d rather avoid. That being said, he set aside the necklace with the large emerald, reluctantly. Which meant that the sapphire earrings had to go as well. Almost all of the jewelry they had in stock was either antique, expensive due to the materials used, valuable due to the culture and period made, or some combination of all of these.

  A growing sense of desperation was building in his chest as he scanned what lay before him, …and then his eyes settled on a matched set of bracelets. Yes. Yes, these will do very nicely, he thought as he picked them up and examined them. Not overly valuable, and an impulse buy on one of his trips to India, they were still antiques and beautiful in their own right.

  Now I just have to find a box and wrap the gift….

  Tina was pressed firmly against him as he led her around the dojo. While still not what he would call a natural dancer, she was quickly picking it up, although she spent far too much time thinking about it rather than relaxing and going with the flow.

  The floral scent of her shampoo wafted to his nostrils, and he drank it in as he reveled in how nice it felt to hold her. She glanced up at him with a gleeful smile, a slight sheen of sweat sparkling on her skin…and almost stumbled when she lost her concentration.

  “Focus, Tina. Focus.”

  “I’m trying,” she responded breathlessly.

  “I know you are. Another couple of months and you’ll be a pro.”

  “You think so?”

  Alexander pulled her into a dip, grinning at her surprise. “Trust me.”

  She giggled as he brought her back upright and continued with the lesson. Unfortunately, the proximity, and his inability to ignore the scent of her arousal, got the better of him. A growing uncomfortableness in his pants was indication enough of that.

  Tina glanced down, then grinned devilishly at him. “Focus, Alexander. Focus.”

  Christmas was just five days away, and Alexander was getting moody. In many ways, the holidays were the hardest times for him since he had no one to share them with. This year was even worse than usual because of Tina, and he had decided to leave town and spend the next three weeks in Hawaii. At least there, it wouldn’t really feel like Christmas…it’s hard to get into the holiday spirit when you are lazing in a tropical paradise.

  He walked through the office carrying his bags and dropped them near the doors, then walked over to Tina and handed her a small, intricately wrapped Christmas present.

  “Please don’t open this until at least Christmas Eve.”

  Tina looked mortified. “Alexander, I didn’t get you anything….”

  He smiled indulgently down at her. “That’s OK, it’s not like I really need anything.”

  “Still, I feel bad.”

  “Don’t. Enjoy your time off with your family, and if anything comes up, you know my number.”

  She smiled brightly. “I also know where you’ll be since I booked all your reservations. That being said, I’m pretty sure things will be quiet, and I won’t have to intrude on you.”

  “You don’t intrude,” he said fondly. “Trample well-thought-out plans into the ground, maybe, but never intrude.”

  She pointed a finger at him, imperiously. “You should leave before you give me ideas. At least you don’t have to spend quality time with loud nieces and nephews, nosy siblings, and parents who want to know when I’ll ‘bring a nice boy home,’” Tina said exasperatedly.

  He looked wistful as he replied, “No. I don’t have to do any of those things.”

  Midnight Mass was over, and everyone was gathered around the living room talking excitedly about morning when all the presents would be opened after breakfast. The kids had gone to bed reluctantly, and only the adults were still awake. She had been quiet all evening, finding it hard to get into the spirit of the holiday. It just didn’t feel right without Alexander being around. She knew she was being silly, but he was part of her daily routine, and there was an Alexander-sized void that had opened up since he had gone to Hawaii.

  She idly spun the gift he had given her in her hands as she thought about it. They spent so much time together: morning coffee, lunch nearly every day, whether he cooked it or ordered it, and frequently dinner after sparring. Lately, it had even been Friday night movies and Saturdays at his private gun range. Tina stiffened in her chair as she came to the realization that she missed him, no, she liked him, probably more than she should.

  Her mother noticed Tina was not mentally with them, and came over to where she sat.

  “Are you OK, dear?” she asked a
s she rubbed Tina’s shoulders. “You’ve been preoccupied all night.

  Tina put on a brave smile for her mother. “I’m fine, Mom. Just have a lot on my mind.”

  “Does the lot on your mind have a name?” was the teasing reply.

  “Maybe. But I don’t want to talk about it. Please?”

  “If that’s what you want, dear, just remember I’m here if you need to talk,” her mother reassured her.

  “Thanks, Mom.” Tina noticed that her Aunt Maria was looking at her knowingly, a sad smile on her face.

  The warm sand squishing grittily between his toes as he stood barefoot in the surf only served to remind Alexander that it was Christmas day. Unable to help himself, he had checked the weather in Spokane and was not surprised to find it was a balmy 15 degrees Fahrenheit. Six inches of fresh snow had fallen overnight.

  He wondered what Tina was doing at the moment and whether she had liked his gift. Alexander had picked the antique Mughal bracelets up on a trip to India some forty years ago, and they had been sitting in one of the vaults gathering dust since then. Neither piece of jewelry qualified as an antiquity, but they had caught his eye as he perused the wares in the market, so he had bought them. He suspected that they had graced the wrists of some minor nobility in the not-so-distant past, and would look good on Tina. Alexander couldn’t remember what he had paid for the bracelets, but he had appraised them as he was wrapping the box. They might be valued at two-thousand dollars on today’s market, on a good day. His lips quirked up in a semi-smile; not even she could bitch about that, not to mention, the word Cartier was nowhere to be found.

  The tremble in her hands as she held the bracelets nearly caused Tina to drop them in shock. They were beautiful, and she knew that he had put a lot of thought into the gift. Obviously, they were antique, but she had no idea just how old they were. She frowned as she realized it would probably be a good idea to learn more about the business she was now in. No doubt Alex would be more than happy to teach her.

  “Those are lovely, dear,” Maria murmured from just behind her shoulder. “Seventeenth century Mughal if I’m not mistaken.”

  “How do you even know this stuff, Aunt Maria?”

  A soft chuckle. “I got tired of feeling stupid every time I saw something in the collection, and I decided to do something about it. I was still learning when I retired.”

  Tina snorted ruefully. “I know, right? I mean, I know a coin when I see one, but is it Roman? Greek? No idea, and it pisses me off. I’m not used to feeling inadequate.”

  Maria patted her arm consolingly. “You may have to get used to it. Some of what Alexander has in those vaults pre-dates civilization as we know it. The sheer breadth and depth of his knowledge astonishes me to this day.”

  Tina nodded thoughtfully. “I didn’t even get him a gift, you know. What kind of an ass does that make me?”

  “Well, it’s not like he actually needs more stuff,” Maria told her.

  “That’s beside the point; I should have remembered.”

  Maria looked at her, speculatively. “Why do I have the feeling that this isn’t about you forgetting to get him a gift?”

  Tina blew out a frustrated breath. “Because it’s not? I miss him, Aunt Maria.” She gestured around the house filled with Christmas decorations and excited kids and adults. “I want to enjoy this, all of it, but I can’t help but wonder what he’s doing right now. It just feels like something big is missing.”

  Maria whispered, “You’ve got it bad, kiddo.”

  Tina’s shoulders drooped, and she sagged into the loveseat.

  Alexander looked up curiously as the knock sounded on the door to his bungalow. He wasn’t expecting anyone, and had not ordered room service. He walked over and pulled the door open. His eyebrows nearly disappeared into his hairline in surprise as he looked down at an obviously jetlagged and disheveled Tina.

  Her expression was hard to read, but a fear of rejection was definitely part of it. “I thought you were spending the holidays with your family?”

  “I was. I did,” she blurted out. “Can I come in, please? These bags are heavy.”

  He stepped out of the way and waved for her to enter. As she walked by, Alexander noticed she was wearing his gift. He smiled in delight.

  Tina had stopped partway into the bungalow, standing in the middle of the floor with her bags, back turned to him. “Alexander?”

  “Hmmm?”

  “There aren’t any rooms available. Can I stay with you?” Her voice broke a little on the last words.

  He strode over and relieved her of the luggage. “Of course you can, Tina.”

  “Thank you,” she replied in a small voice.

  Dragging the bags over to the dresser, he teased, “Judging by the weight of these, I’m going to have to give you most of the closet and at least half the dresser….”

  “Alexander?”

  “Yes, Tina?”

  “Don’t be an ass.”

  The private bungalow only had one bed, since he had not been anticipating company. Not that he couldn’t sleep on the comfortable couch, although it was too short for his long legs. Ah well, c’est la vie, he thought as he strolled along the Maui beach while Tina took a nap. It was well worth the discomfort just to have her here with him. It was amazing how quickly his mood had improved when she surprised him by flying all the way to Hawaii.

  He was sure there was more to the story than he was likely to get out of her. Stubborn didn’t even begin to describe that girl. He had to admit that her stubbornness was one of the things he found most appealing about her. Once she got her teeth into something, she rarely let go of it until she had beaten it into submission. There just wasn’t any quit in that woman, and while occasionally it was a complete pain in the ass, it was also a good indication of her inherent strength.

  While he was more than pleased that she had cut her vacation short and had landed in his lap, it also presented him with a problem. He was still conflicted where she was concerned. Being in such proximity to Tina certainly wouldn’t make things any easier on him. He sighed heavily, but not having her around had been driving him crazy too.

  Tina was in the shower shaving her legs and armpits, as well as a bikini line. There were times when being Italian truly sucked. It wouldn’t do to appear all nature girl on the beaches of Maui…especially not with Alexander. Her lips curled into a smile at how horrified he would be if she walked out in a swimsuit, hair poking out everywhere, legs covered in fur, and her armpits looking like a patch of crabgrass. It would totally serve him right if she did just that. Truth be told, though, horrifying him was the last thing on her mind.

  She rested her forehead against the cold tiles of the shower and let the water pound against her back. What the hell was she doing? When she hopped on the commercial flight in Spokane, Tina didn’t even know if Alex would want to see her, much less allow her to spend the holidays being underfoot. She couldn’t even make it for three weeks. How fucking pathetic was that? The fact that Aunt Maria understood and was sympathetic only made matters worse somehow.

  All Tina knew for sure was that she had been miserable and hadn’t wanted to mope around her family, ruining their happiness. He had been gracious about the whole thing, and Alex appeared to be glad to see her today…although perhaps a bit surprised. She hiccupped through the tears running down her face, laughing at the thought that this would make an excellent plotline for the Hallmark channel. Maria was right; she did have it bad.

  She scrubbed her face angrily and told herself to quit stalling. The fact of the matter was that she was here now and would just have to make the best of it. It was not like he would toss her out on her ass…even if she probably deserved it. No. She would get ready and see what Alex had planned for the evening, and she would let the chips fall where they would.

  Alexander stood there like a stunned ox when Tina walked onto the lanai. The coral-colored bikini and wrap suited her skin tone perfectly, and the dark wavy hair that she had combed
back and to the side gently blew in the steady breeze coming in off the Pacific. She looked at him tentatively, unsure of herself, which was odd because Tina was never self-conscious.

  He walked over to where she stood and lifted her chin with his right hand. Her eyes were puffy as if she had been crying, and he frowned at the thought of anything causing her pain. Tina pulled away, refusing to meet his eyes.

  “Alexander, I…” she began.

  “I understand, you don’t have to say anything.”

  “How can you say that?” she challenged him with a jutted chin.

  He thought about it for a moment. “What do you think I’ve been doing for the last week? If you had to make a guess, that is.”

  She had her arms crossed over her chest defensively as she responded, “I don’t know, surfing maybe? Golf?”

  The laugh exploded from him. “Golf? Seriously? I don’t even own a set of clubs.” His face sobered, and he continued, “Every day, every single day, I walked the beach and wondered what you were doing. When I had depressed myself enough, I would come back to the bungalow and sit here, staring at all the people enjoying themselves. I missed having you around, kiddo.”

  He heard her sharp intake of air at his words, and continued to stare out at the sun setting over the ocean. “I have spent many, many holidays alone, Tina, and it’s always been fine…just the way things were, you know?” His shoulders lifted in a shrug. “But this year was different. I totally blame you,” he teased.

  She laughed. “Sure. Blame the hot girl.”

  Alexander turned back to face her, obviously troubled. “This is all new territory for me, Tina. I’m not sure how I even feel about the whole thing. Just know that I am glad you are here.”