A rush of disappointment and humiliation made me feel stupid. “A-All right, then,” I mumbled, rolling so my back was to him and he wouldn’t be able to see the hurt on my face.
But it seemed I couldn’t really hide it because I felt him shifting closer. “Hey,” he said, voice right behind me, “I didn’t mean ... I ...” He hesitated before he took a deep breath and said, “I thought you were asking out of pity.”
I shrugged, refusing to roll over. “Whatever, Lucien.”Shit, I sound too pissy.
When I felt his arm suddenly wrapping itself around my waist, I gasped. I was about to tell him to go sleep on his side and so be it, but before I could, he slithered his other arm under my head and pressed his hard, naked chest against my back. “I’m really happy you asked,” he whispered in my ear, causing involuntary shivers to run through my body. “Thank you for letting me have this tonight.”
A sudden flare of panic made my heart race, and I found myself saying, “Only for tonight.”
His responding chuckle reverberated from his chest to my body, filling my belly with uncontrollable flutters. “As you wish.”
That night, as we lay curled against one another, I thought I wouldn’t be able to sleep. I thought having a man spooning me would leave me awake until morning. But when I heard and felt his breaths evening out, it was as if I was put under a spell, because my eyes fluttered shut, and any tension I had felt left my body.
And just like when we slept together in his wolf form, it was the best sleep of my life.
Hotel Reveria’s breakfast was ridiculously delicious. It was so delicious, in fact, that I was tempted to buy bento boxes and pack some for later but stopped just short of making a spectacle out of myself.
“This is so effing tasty,” I told Lucien with a mouthful of hash browns.
He grinned. “I was really nitpicky about the food when the hotel was first picked. We shape-shifters are very particular when it comes to food.”
Swallowing the bite, I couldn’t help but smile back. “I would’ve thought wolves should have a wide palate.” I paused as a thought occurred to me. “You promised to answer some of my questions today.”
Lucien’s grin widened. “And I will,” he said, before his eyes glanced behind me and he frowned. “Later.”
I turned around and saw two men walking into the dining room.
One was sporting a three-piece suit that made him seem slick. His dark hair was smoothed back as meticulously as his mustache and beard were trimmed. His eyes, a pair of startling ruby orbs, stared straight at us.
Next to him, wearing more casual attire in trousers and a simple tee, was Chase.
I grew stiff and watched as the two stopped next to our table and, before Lucien or I could speak, sat down right next to us.
Lucien kept on eating as though he couldn’t be bothered, but I could tell he was tense. There was a tightness to his eyes, his jaw locked, and his whole body was rigid. I, too, was alert, though I didn’t hide it as well as him. I shifted my chair farther from my former friend.
Chase noted that, but his face remained in its impassive expression.
“Well,” the ruby-eyed stranger said, glancing leisurely between Lucien and me, his voice as crisp as his suit. “I must admit, Delterre, your hotel is quite comfortable.”
“This is precisely why Dr. Lane recommended this hotel to you,” Lucien said lightly, though his eyes were hard. He put down his fork and knife and leaned back. “I thought he told you I would call on you later today.”
Chase leaned forward, menace oozing out of him. “After you knocked me out, you do not get a say about anything, wolf,” he hissed, eyes flashing with rage. “You’re lucky it’s only us here and not the entire Bureau of Unregulated Movements’ elite unit coming after you.”
I had no idea what this bureau was, but from its title, I could safely assume this was some sort of law enforcement entity. And if it worked like the human police, with the elite unit being something like the FBI or CIA, only supernatural, that made shivers run down my spine.
Looking at Lucien, I saw him staring at Chase with a deep distaste he couldn’t quite hide. “You wanted to draw my blood by force for a spell,” he said, voice deep and quiet but carrying across the table clearly. “I believe that’s a far worse crime than what I’ve allegedly committed.”
Chase glowered, but the other man interrupted before he could. “This is why we’re here alone, Alpha Delterre,” he said, looking at Lucien with a somewhat condescending expression. “My colleague here was in the wrong for his momentary malpractice, just like you were by exposing your true nature to ahuman.” He glanced at me when he saidhuman, scrunching his nose a little as if it was a degrading term. “This does not excuse assaulting an ASS agent and leading us on a car chase all the way to San Diego.”
I couldn’t help the snort that escaped me. All three men whipped their heads toward me with confused frowns. I choked down a swell of laughter and pretended to cough. “I’m sorry,” I murmured, trying not to think about theass agentsitting next to me. “Please continue.”
The prim man, whose name I had yet to learn, stared at me for one more moment, a look of disapproval on his face, before he returned his gaze to Lucien, who stared at me still, his eyes somewhat unfocused. “What I would like to know, Alpha Delterre,” the man resumed, his high-and-mighty voice rising a notch, “is why did you go to such lengths to keep us at bay? We’ve been having such a good relationship for the past six months, after all ...”
Lucien kept on staring at me, and I found myself unable to look away from him when he replied. “This has nothing to do with our working relationship, Avenor. I was merely waiting until I had the opportunity to speak to Drew here before I inevitably had to tell you.”
I couldn’t read Lucien’s expression. Something about his tone of voice had shifted. He was even tenser than before. It was as though he was trying to contain some emotion while also, evidently, overcome by it.
What this emotion was, however, I didn’t know.
