by Emma Dean
It made Piper wonder, was she something he wanted?
And why did she care so much?
Chapter Six
Piper
Piper sat up in bed and clutched the blanket to her chest. For a moment she wondered if she’d dreamt it all, but then she heard a distinctly male snore from the guest room. No, there were three men staying with her until they could get the demon situation handled.
The demon.
It still felt strange to think it was all real and not some horrible joke. Although the three guys currently passed out all over her apartment also happened to be able to shift into leopards, so you know…par for the course she supposed.
Piper pulled her phone off the charger and checked the time. It was still a bit early for her and after the surprisingly delicious meal Xavier had cooked she’d gone straight to bed. She had no idea when the others went to sleep but it had been nearly three in the morning when she’d closed her eyes.
Thankfully they’d mostly left her alone. Piper enjoyed the quiet conversation at dinner, but they seemed to be able to tell she was overwhelmed and exhausted.
Only ten in the morning and she had three messages from her father. Piper tapped his contact and waited. He picked up on the second ring. “Hey sweetheart, everything still okay?”
“Yes, these strangers didn’t kill me,” she joked.
He grumbled something indiscernible and then said, “I came by earlier, but you were already asleep so I went home to nap and shower. While I was on duty I ran their licenses and did a background check. All of them are clean and employed. They don’t have medical records or I’d have those too.”
“Thanks Dad, I’m glad they’re good guys.” Piper didn’t think they’d hurt her. If they’d really wanted to they would have already. “I have to go in to the library for a few hours today.”
“What time? I thought you had Saturdays off.”
She picked at the thread coming out of her comforter. There was a lot more at the library than just work. “I’m going in after lunch. I switched with one of the other librarians. If I need to take a few days off I can.”
“Good. I picked up our usual. I’ll be by in twenty.”
Piper didn’t bother to say goodbye. Her dad hung up and she tossed the phone on the bed.
Thanks to Niko’s contacts with the witches, Morgan had been very helpful. She’d gotten in touch with Sacramento’s coven and set up a contact for Piper. The witch fully supported her desire to read everything she could on the situation. It could only help after all.
Piper had learned from Morgan that there was a whole other secret library underneath her own at Sacramento State. They hid in plain sight apparently. The university had entire paranormal classes that didn’t exist to the public – you had to know someone to get access to them.
Honestly, at this point nothing surprised her.
She slipped out of bed and tried to make as little noise as possible while she showered. Piper was excited to see what was in this secret library that only existed for the paranormal world. The witches were the keepers of lore. What Piper wouldn’t give to see some of their older texts.
What languages would they even be in? Piper had learned Ancient Egyptian, some Ancient Greek and Latin, and a bit of Sanskrit. It was enough to get her by when it came to her studies and research. Although she wished she was more fluent in Sanskrit and Greek. It was just so long ago and they were all dead languages.
Most scholars were guessing at this point.
The most reliable texts were in the original forms so she usually stuck to Latin and Egyptian for the most part. Even took a bit of modern Arabic to see if that would help. All that studying and she’d only been to Cairo the one time. Piper sighed and brushed her wet hair out. One day she would go back to find out what really happened to the Library of Alexandria.
As she came out of the bathroom Piper ran right into someone hard enough she almost lost her hold on the towel.
Xavier stepped back and tried not to smile. “I’m sorry, I was just going to knock and let you know your dad is here.”
Piper couldn’t stop staring at him. The broad shoulders and large chest filled her vision and finally she looked up into his eyes that seemed more golden than brown today. Xavier’s dark skin was flawless and it reminded her of some of the depictions of the Egyptian gods.
Out of all three of the guys, Caleb was the most reserved and Niko the sweetest, but Xavier was a bit of a mystery. He was sweet and gentle with her but there was always this edge he stood on. Like it would take nothing to shove him over the precipice and unleash chaos and destruction.
“Thank you,” she said, feeling a little breathless and tightening her grip on the towel just in case it fell at an inopportune time. “Please tell him I’ll be right out after I get dressed.”
Xavier gave her a slow, lazy smile and her heart pounded in her chest. Piper had a hard time getting a read on this one even if she could see how he seemed to take care of the others. But…she wouldn’t put it past him to simply tug the towel out of her hands and press her against the wall.
Piper licked her lips as she tried to tell herself that wasn’t what she wanted – that she’d rather he just go in the other room and wait for her, but that fire in her belly shot straight down to between her legs and lord almighty it had been way too long since the last time she’d gotten any.
“It would be my pleasure,” Xavier murmured. He didn’t move forward, but it felt like he was surrounding her anyways.
“Your pleasure?” she asked. Piper didn’t like the way her words were practically a gasp. The man hadn’t even touched her and already she was breathing hard and losing her damn mind. “To do what?”
He raised one eyebrow at her and that smile widened. It just wasn’t fair how gorgeous he was. “To tell your father you’ll be out soon.”
“Oh right.” Had she really gotten so distracted she’d forgotten what they were talking about? “Can you leave now?” Goodness gracious she was worse than a teenage boy.
Xavier grinned and left, quietly closing the door behind him. Once he was officially gone she crossed the room and locked the door. Then she finally took a deep breath and slumped onto the foot of her bed.
Was this part of what being a mate was all about? This undeniable attraction and almost…ravenous desire and hunger? It made feelings Piper didn’t know she had stir in her chest. Xavier cooking the night before had somehow been the most sensual thing she’d ever seen. The way he made sure she liked everything had her heart melting…but still she didn’t really know him, or the other two.
Well, except Caleb. Surprisingly she knew more about him than she did even Niko though their connection was a lot thinner. It didn’t even seem like Caleb liked her very much. She was more of a nuisance. He hadn’t chosen her to be his mate.
Piper threw on a bra and a white T-shirt that was made of the softest material. It was one of her favorite shirts and Saturday was far more casual at the library. So she grabbed her favorite blue-jeans that she thought personally made her ass look amazing. But she was not wearing it for them. She wasn’t.
The trinkets across the top of her dresser made her pause. It was a bunch of random items she’d picked up here and there but her eyes caught on the scarab beetle necklace she’d bought on her last trip to Egypt.
The woman had sworn it was inscribed with sacred spells to protect against evil and possession. Piper had worn it into the tombs just to be safe. She traced the lapis lazuli of the wings and slipped the gold around her neck. It couldn’t hurt to wear when there was a demon contracted to deliver her to crocodiles.
Then just for good measure, Piper put on the gold Uraeus bracelet with the rearing cobra. The items hadn’t been cheap, but apparently she had the blood of pharaohs. At the time it had seemed like a good idea and she was glad for them now. They may just be more than jewelry after all with what she’d recently learned.
She opened her door a crack and heard her father’s gruff v
oice and Xavier’s smooth, velvety one. What were they even talking about? Piper peered through the crack and saw her dad in his usual place on the recliner with Cat Solo in his lap purring like mad. The coffee and kolaches and donuts were on her dining room table.
Xavier was explaining to her dad that his family made something similar but the spices in their kolaches were different. Surprisingly her father was interested and admitted he’d like to try something like that some time.
Who was this man and what had he done with her real dad? Richard Kostopoulos had not liked one single boyfriend of hers. Always said they weren’t good enough for her. But somehow he liked all three of these guys?
There had to be some magic talisman they’d brought to appease irritatingly overprotective Greek fathers.
“Piper you want some of this?” Xavier called. He winked at her from the table as he set the food out for everyone. He grabbed plates and silverware, even putting out water and cream and sugar.
She blushed and opened the door all the way. Somehow Xavier had known she’d been listening. Damn cat ears probably. “Yes please,” she said quietly, stopping to peek in the guest bedroom.
Niko and Caleb shared the queen-sized bed easily, one on each side with enough space between them for someone else to fit. Piper cleared her throat and ignored the thought of her in between, snuggled by both.
What the heck was wrong with her? Piper had never been one to consider multiple boyfriends before, but the way these three were together…that tug she felt in her chest that drew her to them was undeniable.
She shrugged and went to kiss her father on the cheek in greeting. He tapped her necklace with a smile but didn’t say anything. Egypt had been her first trip alone and it had been hard on the both of them, but also good. It had strengthened his trust in her and soon after she’d been allowed to get her own place. It had also given her the courage to move out of the house in the first place.
Piper grabbed a kolache with ham and cheese and fixed her coffee while Xavier watched. He made his own plate and then sat on the couch all without ever looking away from her. His skill was impressive and the attention flustered her.
She spilled some hot coffee on her hand while those amber eyes entranced her. “Son of a biscuit,” she muttered, shaking her hand out to dissipate the pain. Just her luck the Greek café made their coffee at a thousand degrees.
Instantly Xavier was at her side and examining the burn. His touch was gentle but he gritted his teeth hard enough she worried he’d crack them. “Here, let’s get this under some cold water and I’ll find the burn cream.”
“Really, I’ll be fine,” she protested. But Xavier wasn’t really a man one argued with. The way he moved and spoke – she barely realized she’d already obeyed when she was standing at the sink with her hand under the cold water.
Xavier rummaged in one of the duffels and her father sipped his coffee while he watched them. “You should put onions on it, my mother always put onions on everything,” he told her.
“Dad,” Piper sighed and tried not to roll her eyes. “That’s not a real thing. Grandma was just extremely…superstitious.” Her great-grandmother had come straight from Greece and her grandmother had grown up with all the same culture and superstition.
“I saw these boys laid out salt. There must be some truth to these superstitions,” he told her; sipping that scalding coffee like it was nothing.
Piper turned off the water and dried her hand. “Yes, Dad. What’s the salt for?” she asked Xavier when he took her hand to gently rub the burn cream in.
“Keeps out all kinds of things,” Xavier muttered, eyeing the burn. “Doesn’t look too bad, but you should take some Tylenol.”
It was difficult not to smile. “I’ll be fine, I’m a big girl. But do you have a sticker or a lollipop for being good?”
The question snapped him out of whatever funk he was in and Xavier blinked. Then he looked up and examined her face, searching her eyes for – something. Then there was that slow, lazy smile that made her toes curl and heat flood her. “I don’t have a lollipop, but I could improvise.”
Her mouth popped open in shock at the blatantly sexual innuendo. Then Piper realized what that might look like and immediately snapped her mouth closed. She couldn’t help but laugh even though she felt her cheeks burning. “I’ll think about it,” she teased.
Piper grabbed her coffee and plate before taking her spot on the couch, leaving Xavier to figure out what she meant by that. As much as they intimidated her, Piper loved how easy it was to get under their skin.
She turned the TV on and took a massive bite out of her kolache. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to have them stay with her for a bit. After all, having a bit of fun wasn’t the same thing as agreeing to be their mate for the rest of her life.
Chapter Seven
Xavier
Xavier threw a kolache at Caleb and then Niko hard enough both cursed him up one side and down the other as they rolled out of bed. “Piper’s dad is here and she has to be at the library in an hour. Get up.”
He would be the first to admit he was still on edge. Watching Piper disappear with the demon…just ‘poof’ – nothing left but air and the lingering scent of lotus blossoms had been almost as bad as watching the crocs rip his mother out of their home. As a seven-year-old boy he hadn’t been able to do anything – but he’d tried and nearly gotten ripped in half for the trouble.
Two of his dads hadn’t been home during that incident. They’d been dealing with the crocs they thought were on the border. The crocs hadn’t been there though. Someone had given their pride bad intel and an entire group of them had snuck into their territory, killed his third father and took his mother.
His two dads came back and they hadn’t really ever been the same since. They were shells of the men they used to be. Xavier had been on his own for the most part, taking care of them when he could.
And this fucking demon just snatching Piper like that had brought all those memories roaring back. His scars hurt and itched more than they had in years. It hadn’t been easy pretending everything was fine, but the scent of her fear had him bottling up any negative emotions. She was nervous around them still though she hid it well. Xavier didn’t want that fear to turn to terror when he lost his temper.
But…that sly little joke Piper had thrown his way had settled him immediately. If her father hadn’t been sitting in the same room Xavier would have kissed her for it.
And the girl was sexy as fuck. Just seeing her almost kiss Niko the night before…Xavier wanted to be the first to kiss her. After all Caleb was the one who’d spotted her in the library first. Caleb was the first one she’d laid eyes on so Xavier would be the first one she tasted.
He eased his expression back into something neutral for Piper and flopped down on the couch next to her, watching her without directly looking at her. She and her dad were watching some cyberpunk-looking show on Netflix. Xavier figured he had some catching up to do if she was a Star Wars fan. Maybe he could talk her into watching all of them with him as a date in her preferred order.
Xavier may live in the middle of nowhere but he didn’t live under a rock. He knew the order of viewing was a controversial point.
“So who’s going to be inside the library with me?” Piper asked, never once taking her eyes from the TV.
“I am,” Xavier replied at the same time Caleb said it. His Alpha glared as he crossed the living room but didn’t argue.
Niko blinked sleepily and held up his hands. He went straight for the coffee, staying out of the argument as usual. “I’ll be wherever I’m needed,” he said.
Xavier tried not to growl. He couldn’t help his annoyed frown. They’d barely made progress with Piper, but he supposed the demon’s contract came first. It was difficult to ignore his mate with her scent surrounding him, inside him as he breathed in the air of her apartment.
All he wanted to do was show her what it could be like with them, how they’d care for her, and make h
er happy, but they had to deal with this fucking demon contract. Xavier gripped his mug of coffee hard enough it creaked. He set it on the side table before it shattered.
All he wanted was to snuggle with Piper on the couch and give her a foot massage while they watched Star Wars. But Xavier was still terrified he’d mess this up. His fathers hadn’t been able to keep his mother safe and neither had he. How in hell was he going to keep Piper alive and out of the crocs’ hands?
He glanced sideways at her and studied that strong, stubborn jaw of hers with the delicately tanned skin. Like being in the sun was an afterthought and the light had marked her with a tender touch – knowing how gentle she was.
Piper was the strangest woman he’d ever met. She was quiet, soft-spoken when she did talk, and she never once cussed. But then she liked Star Wars and Ancient Egypt and made little quips that had him stopping short. Xavier had heard from Niko that she’d implied Caleb was afraid of spiders. Xavier had to go outside and ‘check the perimeter’ so he could laugh his ass off without his Alpha hearing.
Glancing at Piper again he rested his hand on her calf and slouched a bit more on the couch. She tensed under his touch but didn’t move away. Eventually as the show went on she even relaxed while Niko sat on Xavier’s other side, tucked in close.
It had never been strange to be so physically close with Niko. The two of them had always been best friends and tactile comfort was common in the pride unlike the human males who were starved for it.
Then he felt Piper’s attention like a hot brand. She snuck looks at him and Niko who leaned against him while he ate. Xavier smiled and put his arm around Niko’s shoulders. The other male didn’t even react. It was normal for them, yet Piper squirmed underneath his hand like she enjoyed what she saw.
Caleb settled at the dining room table, always a little apart from them. Sure, he was the pride’s official Alpha but the guy needed to relax. He was always so serious and the whole mate thing had really thrown him for a loop. Xavier would feel more sympathetic if Caleb wasn’t such a grating ass most of the time.
