AllFreeNovel
Share Us
It fell, and Callum found himself staring at her breasts. She pushed her shoulders back and sat taller. Her hungry gaze met his. They gave into their desires at the same moment, rolling over the bed as their lips met.
This wasn’t desire. It was need. She hugged tightly against him and even nipped at his neck when he thrust deep inside her. Frenetic as they were, he wouldn’t last long, not at all. As much as he realized that and wanted the moment to go on and on, he couldn’t slow himself.
Callum collapsed to the bed beside a panting Fiona afterward. Her hand searched his out without her looking, taking hold. He hadn’t realized he wanted that connection as well.
“Hungry?” he asked. “I can call down for food. Some fresh clothes, too.”
“I could eat.” She frowned, watching him.
Still holding her hand, Callum stretched to hit the intercom button on the phone sitting on the bedside table. Her frown confused him, but she hadn’t pulled away, so he ignored it.
“Send up breakfast for two, and my guest could use a change of clothes,” he said.
“Right away, sir,” came a crisp reply from the house manager through the speaker.
“You have fresh changes of clothes for your ‘guests’?” Fiona asked in a tone dangerous enough to rouse Callum’s inner beast. “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that a man who hosts exclusive sex parties turns his bedroom into an assembly line. Do you give all your conquests a gift basket like that baseball player? At least yours can’t be full of memorabilia like his.”
Callum didn’t have to smell the acrid jealousy wafting from her to see where she was coming from. As she rambled, he tried to cut in more than once but waited for her to take a breath.
“My house manager is very good at his job, and hosting these parties includes taking care of dozens if not hundreds of guests, none of whom share my bed,” he said, keeping hold of his inner beast. As enamored as it was with her, it demanded more respect than even he did. “Do you know how hard it is to put this party on each month? I’m the Alpha of the Silver Claw pack. I usually spend every full moon putting out fires and unruffling feathers, sometimes literally.”
A knock sounded at the double doors. They opened a second later. Fiona went from glaring at Callum to scrambling to cover herself with the sheet. Three of the house staff in their crisply pressed uniforms stepped inside. Two-wheeled a cart brimming with breakfast foods. The third hung a garment bag on the closet door.
Fiona watched them, half hidden by the sheet. As always, other than a bow to Callum as they left, they stayed silent and kept their eyes to themselves. Fiona didn’t relax until they closed the door behind them. Even then, she kept the sheet wrapped around herself.
“Come. Eat.” Callum slid to the edge of the bed and pulled the cart close.
While he bit a sausage in half, Fiona crept closer. Her eyes took in all the food with surprise. A couple of plates piled high with bacon and sausage, a dish heaped with a dozen scrambled eggs, a tray of mixed toast, and a rare 32-oz steak were just enough for a couple of shifters to refuel after the Full Moon Masquerade.
Fiona took a slice of toast and gave it a nibble. She hadn’t finished half of the slice by the time Callum polished off a few more sausages and turned to the steak. With his stomach less empty, forgotten questions came to his mind. It was time for the direct approach.
“You have me curious,” he said, setting the steak down. “Even after the hunter's block faded, I can’t smell your animal. You’re not a wolf, not one of the cats, not a dragon or a bear. What are you?”
“What am I?” She began to stammer a reply, and it finally dawned on him.
“You’re not a shifter at all, are you?”
The story spilled out. An overheard conversation. The forgotten key. Four humans crashing a party whose guests expected the highest level of security. It almost had him growling, but if she hadn’t crashed the party, he never would have met her and had last night … or this morning.
When she finished spilling her guts, she leaned away, clutching the sheet tightly and hiding. Callum held up his palm, ready to calm her, but the phone rang.
“Sir, we could use your assistance in the pool house,” Dan said over the speakers, voice strained.
“Be right there.” Callum jumped to his feet, stopping to turn to Fiona. “I’ll be back as soon as I can. Feel free to finish eating and use the shower. Anything. You might not have been invited, but you are still a guest.”
With that, he grabbed a pair of pants and hurried out after donning them. Fiona remained on his mind, even if only in the back corner, the rest of the day. Even after he returned to find his room empty and her long gone.
SEVEN
FIONA
After counting to ten, Fiona sprang up from the bed, leaving the sheet behind. It took all her willpower to take action. She had never been lazy, especially when pursuing a story. However, she would have preferred to luxuriate in Callum's bed, awaiting his return. But how often would she have unsupervised access to his bedroom?
A shower should have been her next stop. After last night's fireworks and this morning's quick encore, she knew she could use one. Instead, she made a beeline to the garment bag hanging on the closet door, where she found a pair of leggings, a polo shirt, and the dress she had worn to the party, freshly dry-cleaned. Her heels were in a compartment at the bottom, along with a pair of simple sneakers in her size. Everything was perfectly fitted, even the underwear still in its package.
"How did they know?" she muttered to herself. "When did they take the dress?"
Callum had mentioned that his house managers were excellent at their jobs. One would expect such service only at the highest-end hotels, and even then, they'd expect tips that could drain her savings. Fiona brushed aside such thoughts andquickly changed into the fresh clothes. She had investigating to do.
