by Tina Folsom
Her breath hitched. “I ... I want ...” Harsh breathing turned her sentence into a list of single words.
“What, Leila, what do you want?” He needed to know.
“Your ... your cock ... inside ...” Her voice died as her body tensed.
“Aiden!”
Shock made him still his movements. The voice that had called for him wasn’t Leila’s. And it hadn’t come from within the room.
“Aiden!”
“Shit!” he hissed when he recognized Manus’s voice.
Next to him, Leila scrambled away.
He reached for her. “It’s okay. He’s with me.”
When he switched on the light a second later, he saw that she avoided looking at him and pulled the covers up to her neck. He didn’t need to be a genius to figure out that she was embarrassed.
“Are you letting me in or not?” Manus’s voice came again.
He jumped from the bed and opened the door. His second instantly ran his eyes over Aiden’s half-nude body, resting them on the noticeable bulge in his boxer briefs. A raised eyebrow and a smirk around Manus’s lips confirmed that the state of Aiden’s cock hadn’t escaped his notice.
“Well, hope I’m not interrupting anything.” He grinned and stepped past him to enter the bedroom.
Aiden shut the door behind him, deciding not to answer Manus’s question. He noticed his second peruse the bed with Leila in it for longer than necessary.
“So, it looks like you’ve finally decided to cloak your charge by touching her and give your mind a rest.”
“Manus, you—”
“What did he say?” Leila, sitting upright in the bed now, the covers pressed to her chest, glared at him.
Oh, shit! Manus and his big blabbermouth!
EIGHTEEN
Leila stared at Aiden’s guilty face, then moved her gaze back to the handsome stranger, who’d interrupted them. Just in time, as it now seemed.
Manus returned her look with a sheepish grin, then glanced at Aiden who snatched his pants from a chair and hastily pulled them over his thighs.
“Nothing,” Manus answered.
She noticed the two men exchange a look. “You said something about Aiden cloaking me with his touch. What’s wrong with it?”
“Nothing wrong with that,” he murmured.
“But?” she asked, lending her voice a sharper edge to make it clear that she wouldn’t accept any bullshit.
Manus pretended interest in his shoes, avoiding her question.
“I asked you: what did you mean by that?”
Lifting his head, he gave Aiden an apologetic glance. “There’s no need to touch.”
“What?”
“He ... he could have cloaked you with his mind, but at night it’s advisable to—”
“You fucking jerk! You lied to me!” she yelled at Aiden, who stood there, guilt written all over his face. That bastard had deceived her in order to get into her pants!
“Great, Manus, that’s just great,” Aiden said in dry tones, giving his colleague a sideways glance.
“Sorry, man. I didn’t mean to ... I thought she knew.”
“Well, I do now!” she spat.
Aiden met her glare. “What did you expect me to do? You were gonna run again if I hadn’t told you I needed to touch you to cloak you.”
“That doesn’t mean you had to touch me that way!”
He didn’t raise his voice when he answered her, “Don’t play the hurt virgin now. You wanted this just like I did. Don’t try to pretend it didn’t excite you!”
Heat suffused her cheeks. How could he make this sound like it was her fault? He was the one who’d seduced her, not the other way around. “Of all the despicable things to say, this one takes the cake!”
“Does it?” he countered, a strange glint of regret in his eyes. “A minute ago you wanted more than just my hands on you. Have you forgotten that already?”
She gasped at his words. How could he say those things in front of a stranger? She’d told him what she wanted while he’d touched her intimately. How stupid she’d been, but in his arms she’d felt so safe, so desired and so free to do anything. He’d dared her to confess her wishes. God, they’d engaged in sex talk, something she’d never done before. Remembering this now made her want to sink into a hole in the ground. Unfortunately no pre-dug ditch was appearing when she needed it.
All the sweet things he’d whispered into her ear, the gentle touch he’d employed, it had all been a lie. He’d lied to her from the start. And she’d been so naïve as to get sucked into his web of deception.
“Shall I give you guys a minute?” Manus interrupted her thought process, obviously uncomfortable being in the middle of their exchange.
She glared at him. “No, don’t bother!”
Leila jumped out of the bed and marched toward the door.
“You’re not going anywhere,” Aiden hissed and grabbed her arm.
“You can’t stop me!” She clenched her jaw together. Never in her life had she been angrier.
“You’re not leaving this house.”
“But I’m leaving this room, and you can’t stop me from doing that. And don’t tell me I won’t be safe, because as your friend just said, you can cloak me with your mind. You can’t bind me to you.”
“There’s a kitchen down the hall,” Manus suggested. “I’m sure Coralee has got some coffee brewing there.”
With another annoyed look at Aiden, she ripped her arm from his grip and stormed out of the bedroom, slamming the door behind her for good measure.
Asshole!
She heard the door open again a moment later, but continued walking.
“Coralee knows not to let you leave the house, so don’t even try!” Aiden yelled after her.
Deliberately slowly she lifted her right arm and flipped him off. An angry slamming of the door was the answer. She’d never realized how cathartic an action like this could feel, but knowing she’d pissed him off, made her feel a fraction better.
Leila followed the corridor, trying to find the kitchen Manus had mentioned. She could do with a cup of coffee right about now, knowing that sleep wasn’t to be had anyway, not when she felt all riled up.
Her eyes perused the doors she passed, ignoring those that had numbers on them. Clearly those were the rooms the prostitutes used. Turning around the corner, she reached a dead end. The three doors without numbers were closed. She perceived a faint scent of coffee and guessed that one of them had to be the kitchen, just as Manus had said.
She listened for any sound, but it was quiet. Reaching for the first door, she turned the doorknob and pushed the door inwards.
Semidarkness greeted her and froze her into place. This was clearly not the kitchen, because the dish that was being served up on the massage table in the middle of the room, was too rich for her liking.
A naked man lay on his back while a young woman dressed in nothing but a see-through caftan bent between his legs and licked whipped cream off his cock. At the same time another woman was bent over his head, her breasts, which were also covered in whipped cream, dangling over his mouth.
When the man sucked one breast into his mouth and suckled on it with much gusto, a gasp escaped her. Instantly, the two women whirled their heads in Leila’s direction.
Her hands shaking, she yanked the door shut. Her cheeks burned with embarrassment, and her heart raced at the thought of what the threesome was doing.
Damn it, this wasn’t a place she wanted to be at. This wasn’t her life.
Behind her a door opened. She spun around, her nerves already on edge. A young woman stepped from the room, a steaming cup of coffee in her hands. She smiled briefly and walked past without saying a word.
Leila sighed with relief and walked into the room she’d exited. At least, she’d found the kitchen. Maybe she’d feel better after a cup of coffee.
The room was surprisingly homey and well-equipped. On the counter stood an oversized coffeemaker with cups lined
up next to it. She poured herself one and added milk. As she sat down at the round table in the middle of the room, she noticed the TV that stood in the corner. It was switched on, but somebody had muted it.
Leila took a sip of the hot coffee and allowed it to warm her overtired limbs. She hadn’t pulled an all-nighter since her residency and felt that her age was showing now. In her teens and early twenties, she’d had no problems staying up all night, but now she felt the strain physically.
As she lifted her head from the coffee cup, her gaze drifted back to the TV. A red stripe scrolled on the bottom of it. It said Breaking News. Then a reporter appeared in front of a building she recognized instantly: Inter Pharma.
Leila jumped from her chair and rushed to the TV, frantically searching for the button to increase the volume.
***
Manus rubbed the back of his neck. “That didn’t go well.”
“As always you have great timing,” Aiden replied.
“Hey, I said I’m sorry, and I tried to explain to her that at night that’s just what you need to do to get some rest, but you saw how she cut me off. Besides, how did I know you’re resorting to cheap tricks to get your charge into bed? Should have simply used your charm.” He gave a half-hearted grin. “Works for me.”
It irked him that Manus was right. He had used a cheap trick. But that didn’t change the facts. “She wanted it.”
His second lifted his arms. “Hey, hey, I’m not denying that. It was pretty obvious by the way she blushed, but you’ve got lots to learn about women.”
As if he hadn’t figured that out himself. “I don’t need a lecture. I’ll handle this.” How, he had no idea. They were both adults; she knew what she was getting into, and still she’d let him proceed. Nevertheless, he had to somehow get her to forgive him.
Aiden cleared his throat. “Now tell me what you’ve found out.”
Manus flopped down on the couch and put his feet on the coffee table. “The car that nearly ran your charge over was stolen last night.”
“That’s not a good sign.”
“I’m thinking the same thing. Somebody could have stolen it solely for the purpose of killing her with it.”
While Aiden had to agree with that assessment, one thing didn’t make sense. “But why would the demons want to kill her? She’s in the final stages with her research. If they kill her now and the drug doesn’t work, they’ve cut their own arm off. It would be stupid.”
“Is there a chance that they already have a sample of the drug and know it’s working?” Manus asked. “Maybe they don’t need her anymore.”
“I don’t know. We’ll have to ask her about that possibility. What about the fire?”
“Ah, the fire. I rode with the fire truck and played fly on the wall. Looks like they suspect arson, most likely some incendiary device. They found something in the kitchen where the fire started. Could have been a timer.”
Aiden rubbed his temple. If somebody had deliberately set the house fire after failing to run her over, then he couldn’t write off any of these events as a coincidence or just bad luck. Two attempts on her life in one night couldn’t be explained away so easily.
“I heard a loud sound. Could have been some sort of explosion. What if something in her kitchen malfunctioned? There were plenty of electrical devices that could have shorted out and caused a fire. Or it could have been the gas stove.”
“The fire chief doesn’t think so. It definitely wasn’t the gas stove, and that’s the only appliance in her kitchen that could have produced the sound of an explosion if that’s what you heard. It’s still early in the investigation, but he seemed pretty convinced that it was arson, and I’m inclined to agree with him. I had a look at the kitchen. There was no electrical cable or outlet in sight where they believe the fire started: on the counter.”
Aiden nodded. “We have to figure out who could have brought something into her apartment without me or her noticing. I was there before she got home. I didn’t see anything suspicious.”
Manus shrugged. “Then somebody must have planted something later.”
“Impossible. I was in the apartment most of the night. Nobody could have gotten past me.”
His friend lifted one side of his mouth. “So you were watching the door all night?”
Heat shot through his chest. Did Manus know that he’d been in Leila’s bedroom, watching her pleasure herself? Did he realize that Aiden hadn’t even noticed the fire starting because he’d been too drugged by her scent and the sight of her luscious body writhing in ecstasy? That he’d been close to joining her in bed, close to putting his mouth on her to eat her delectable pussy?
“How I do my job is none of your business,” he snapped.
Manus jumped up from the couch and faced him. “Really? Is that because you don’t want to admit that you’re just like me? That fucking a charge excites you? That Leila excites you?”
Aiden growled low and dark.
“Can’t you just admit it?”
“There’s nothing to admit.”
“Isn’t there?”
Aiden clenched his hands into fists, trying to reign in his fury. While he’d never before fucked a charge, unfortunately the rest of Manus’s accusations came too close for comfort. Leila excited him, and he wanted her.
Manus took a step back, nodding. “Well, I guess we’d better talk to Leila about her drug then. Besides—” He pulled out a little box from his jacket pocket. “—I have a birthday present for her. She loves Swiss chocolate, you know.”
Aiden stared at his second. “Her birthday.”
“Of course, I thought you read her file.”
Realization flooded his senses. How could he have missed that? It had happened right in front of his own eyes. “It’s her birthday. Of course. That’s it.”
Then he turned toward the door.
“What are you talking about?” he heard Manus say behind him.
“Come.”
NINETEEN
The first thing Aiden noticed when he entered the kitchen, followed by Manus, was that Leila’s face looked like she’d seen a ghost. The second thing he noticed was that her eyes were transfixed on the TV screen.
He instantly followed her blank stare and focused in on the sound coming from the program.
“... no signs of the missing researcher. The police have not revealed whether Dr. Cruickshank is considered a suspect in the brutal murder of her boss, however, they have called her a person of interest, since she was the only other person in the building at the time of the murder besides the security guard.”
The newswoman suddenly glanced to the side and listened to somebody off camera. A moment later, she looked back into the camera.
“I am just being informed that the apartment Dr. Cruickshank lives at was gutted by fire earlier tonight. Fire investigators have not announced a conclusion as to the cause, but suspect arson. Whether these two incidences are related is unclear at this point. This is Deborah Winters, WOTK News.”
Aiden walked to the TV and switched it off. He’d expected this, however, he’d hoped to prevent Leila from seeing this.
“They think I did it,” she muttered as if talking to herself.
“You don’t know that.”
Her head shot up, and she stared at him. “They think I killed Patten. They’re looking for me.”
“The press is just making assumptions. We know you didn’t do it.”
“We, yes, but how about the police? How can I go back now?”
Manus sat down next to her. “Listen, Leila, you can’t think about that now. It’s not important. What’s important is to keep you safe. Here, happy birthday.” He placed the small box of chocolates on the table in front of her. “Your favorites: dark chocolate truffles.”
Did his fellow Cloak Warrior really think he could distract her with truffles?
Her hand reached for the box, but she only stared at it without opening it. “Thanks.”
“There’s something else
we need to talk about,” Aiden started and took a tentative step closer to the table. After their earlier confrontation he thought it wise not to approach too closely. For all he knew, she could still scratch his eyes out. And he wouldn’t even blame her if she did.
When she looked back at him, he suddenly noticed the tiredness in her eyes, as if resignation had set in. “What else is there to talk about? My life is practically over. Everything I’ve worked for ...”
“I’m sorry,” Aiden replied, looking for a way to smoothly turn the conversation to what he needed to ask her. “But there are important things we need to figure out. And we need your help.”
Manus patted her on her forearm, making Aiden want to hiss like a beast. “As much as I hate to agree with him, he’s right. There are a few things that don’t make sense.”
“Like that there are demons in this world?” she mocked.
Aiden shifted from one foot to the other. “No. Unfortunately that makes perfect sense. But we don’t understand why they want to kill you when they want what you have.”
Leila raised her eyes and tossed him a inquisitive look.
“The Fire Department believes that the fire that broke out in your apartment was arson.”
“How? You were there. Wouldn’t you have seen if somebody had started a fire?”
Aiden pushed the rising memory back, not wanting to be reminded right now how she’d looked lying in her bed. “It was an incendiary device, a little bomb, most likely with a timer on it.”
“Oh my God! The demons did that?”
Aiden scratched the back of his neck. “Actually, I’m not sure.”
“Why not? You told me the demons are after me. And now you’re saying they’re not?”
Manus lifted his hand. “That’s not what Aiden means. What’s strange is why the demons would kill you when they don’t have the formula for your drug or a sample of your drug in their hands yet. Don’t you see? Why kill the goose that lays the golden egg? You’re valuable to them. They wouldn’t kill you until they’ve gotten what they wanted.”
