Travis and I exchanged amused glances. Sounded just like his sister.
“She’s really pretty, Uncle,” Ginnea whispered, as if she didn’t think I could hear her. “I like her hair.”
“I know, right? I like her hair too.” A little smirk turned up one corner of his mouth.
When I was on top of him at the cabin, my damp hair had fallen in curtains around his face. A flicker of heat curled low in my belly at the memory, my breath hitching a little. The way he was looking at me now made me wonder if he was remembering the same thing.
Later, after a horse-drawn carriage ride past a bunch of beautiful old mansions, Travis walked me back to my villa. He stopped on the walkway to speak to the camera crew, telling them they didn’t need to follow us to my door, and instructed them to film us walking down the path and disappearing around the corner. But unlike last time, they pushed back.
“No, I’m not staying with her,” I heard Travis argue. Which made me a little disappointed, to be honest. “But if you film that footage and leave it a mystery, the audience will wonder whether I stayed or not. It’ll be good for ratings. Trust me.”
So that was how it came to be just Travis and me at the arched door of my villa, as I fished the key from my small handbag. “Thank you for tonight. I had?—”
He pushed my back to the door, pinned my wrists above my head, and kissed me so hard that my soul left my body for a moment. Then he thrust a thigh between mine, and I felt the hard ridge of him through the fabric of my dress. His free hand cupped my breast, and he gave a soft growl. Need rushed through me—unstoppable, all-consuming—wiping out every thought excepthimandmore.
“Would you...like to...come inside?” I somehow managed to say against his lips. Although my little villa was tucked into aquiet part of the resort, we were still out in public here. Anyone could walk by.
“I thought you’d never ask.”
He released his hold on me just long enough so I could shove the key into the lock and open the door, and then he was on me again. We didn’t even make it through the alcove. My heart pounded, and molten heat pooled between my legs as he reached under my dress and shoved my thong aside. I was thankful I hadn’t worn the flowy pants I’d been considering; otherwise, I was certain he’d have torn them off. Easy accessdidhave its benefits. My hands speared through his hair, and I rose on my toes to kiss him again. He tasted of herbs, red wine and something this side of feral.
But just as he slid two fingers inside me and his thumb pressed against my clit, he stilled, his whole body going rigid.
“What’s wrong?” I said, panting against his lips as my inner muscles clenched around him.
“Shhh. Something isn’t right.”
CHAPTER THIRTY
Travis
Ishoved Daphne behind me as I stepped from the entryway into her room. Although she didn’t seem like a neat freak, I doubted she routinely draped her bras over the TV and hung jeans from the overhead fan, either.
Empty drawers were overturned on the bed. A chair on its side. Cabinet and closet doors open. Toiletries strewn over the floor of her bathroom.
And amidst it all, the faint smell of werewolves hung in the air.
White-hot rage boiled up inside me, threatening to overflow.WhenI found out who did this, notif, I would rip their insides out.
“What happened in here?” Daphne gasped, clutching the back of my shirt. “Oh my God, George! Here, kitty-kitty.” She rushed past me, fell to the floor and lifted the bed skirt. Then she turned back to me, tears rolling down her cheeks, and my heart nearly broke. “He’s not here, Travis. My kitty isn’t here.”
I summoned my inner wolf and sniffed the air. BesidesDaphne’s sweet scent, an older scent of one, possibly two, werewolves lingered in the room, as did a newer, stronger scent of cat. “He’s still here, my love. He’s just hiding out somewhere.”
I pulled her to her feet, and she collapsed into my arms. “Are you sure?”
The pain in her voice ripped through me. “I’m positive. I could shift and easily find him, but I’m afraid that would traumatize him further.”
“Yeah, he hates dogs.” She sniffed against my chest. “Who would do something like this?”
“I don’t know,” I said, grinding my teeth. “But I swear I’m going to find out who—and they’ll regret ever fucking with you like this.”
She stood taller in my arms at my vow of revenge.
The French doors to her courtyard were slightly ajar. “Let’s start out there.” I took the lead, keeping her safely behind me. The perpetrators were long gone, but I wasn’t taking any chances.
I followed the scent to the far side of the patio and spotted the cat instantly. “There he is!” I said, pointing at two glowing eyes staring down at us from the branches of a dogwood tree.
“George!” Daphne rushed to the base of the tree and reached up to him. “My poor, scared little kitty. Are you okay?”
