Arcane Solutions (17 page)

Twenty

The rolling and bouncing sensations caused my stomach to shudder in protest. I set the pebble down. “I’m getting motion sickness.”

“
You should be immune to that, considering the way you drive.” Nick grinned.

“
Ha. Ha.” Turning my attention to Whitehaven, I dove right in. “Explain how that was even possible. How did I bring something out from a vision of the past? I mean, how could Leglin do it for me?”

The dog’s tail pounded tile a couple of times. Saying his name seemed to make him happy. Or maybe it was just being acknowledged. Whichever. I scratched him behind one ear.
“You’re a good boy.”

“
I have no idea.” Whitehaven had to raise his voice a bit, over the increasing thunder of the dog’s tail. “I’ve never seen even a mention of such a thing being possible.” He rose, fingers tapping the table edge. “Further research is needed. I’ll be at the office. Logan, may I speak with you?”

“
Sure.” The shifter stood up, meeting my eyes briefly before they left the kitchen. Nick and I shrugged at each other.

“
Please tell me you grabbed my purse.”

“
I didn’t, but your hound did. It’s on the couch. Do you want me to get it for you?”

Still feeling a bit achy, my answer was yes. He went to collect it, and I dug through the zebra print bag to find the credit card promised to Logan. Maybe I could see Hawaii my next vacation.
“Did you pick up the dagger?”

“
Yeah. It’s on your dresser.” His gaze moved to the kitchen archway. “Wonder what he wanted to talk to Logan about?”

“
If it’s our business, one of them will tell us.” Some things, you didn’t poke at unless invited to. “Can I ask you a question?”

“
Yeah.” His attention was all mine. “What?”

“
Do you jump into bed with strangers all the time?” It wasn’t exactly the question I meant to ask, but close enough.

“
I liked you before we were introduced.”

Pause for thought, that was.
“How can you like someone before you actually meet them?”

He shrugged.
“I liked what Mr. Whitehaven had to say about you.”

If that wasn’t a response guaranteed to generate questions, I didn’t know what was.
“What did he say about me?”

“
That you worked hard, were good at your job. He said that you were a good person, loyal to your friends, and determined to help those who needed it.” A faint, teasing grin grew. “Of course, he also said that you have some difficulties with your abilities, and that that’s why you sometimes panic.”

All true, but was that really enough to predispose someone in my favor? To make a guy want to spend time with me, and jump my bones? Or had Whitehaven hired him with…

“I wasn’t the first person he interviewed.” Nick’s comment drew my mind back from the unpleasant thought. “I don’t know if it makes any difference to you, but I think part of the reason he hired me is because I’m a shifter. A wolf.”

There was so much that I didn’t know about shifters in general, much less about particular species, that I didn’t know how to handle his comment.
“Why do you say that?”

“
We’re pack animals. Loyal to those who become part of our pack. It’s a little different when it comes to those who aren’t pack by birth, but part of,” he paused, eyes narrowing. “I guess part of like a chosen pack. One made of people who aren’t blood, but important for other reasons.”

Illuminating.
“So Mr. Whitehaven, Kate, and I are this secondary pack for you because we work together?”

A nod.
“Yeah.”

That was a far more comforting reason than the thought I’d cut off in mid-growth.
“Cool.”

We smiled at each other, and heard the front door opening. Logan appeared just a second later.
“I kind of need to head back, Discord.”

“
Oh, sure. Here’s the card.” He crossed, avoiding Leglin, to accept the rectangle of plastic. “Is everything okay?”

“
Yeah, fine. I’ve begun making a list of parts, so I’ll start looking for them,” he promised, tucking it into a plain, black leather wallet. “You’ll need to approve each purchase.”

“
Okay.” Intending to see him to the door, I rose. Nick jumped up, hurrying around the table to take my arm. “What are you doing?”

“
Helping.” Since there wasn’t a way to shake him off without hurting his feelings, I went along with it. The hound didn’t see any need to play escort, though he watched us leave the kitchen.

At the door, we said our good byes, and Logan promised to be in touch soon after thanking us for dinner. Having waved him out, I shut the door and locked it before turning around. Leaning against it, I studied Nick’s face.
“You’re acting kind of jealous.”

His expression smoothed into complete blandness.
“I don’t understand what you mean.”

“
Not letting me walk Logan to the door alone?”

“
You were hurt today. What kind of boyfriend would I be if I didn’t try and take care of you?”

Good question. Another one was why did it irritate me when he did?

Letting it go with a sigh, I said, “I want a shower, and then sleep. Sound like a plan?”

Nick grinned.
“Absolutely.”

His help didn’t end at the bathroom’s door. The shifter insisted on showering with me, scrubbing me clean from head to toe, even washing my hair. Intense attention, combined with nakedness, resulted in his dashing out to retrieve a condom.

Shower sex wasn’t exactly comfortable in my experience, especially if the guy was taller. After a few minutes of trying to find a position that wouldn’t make us fall over, he growled impatiently. “Can I just pick you up?”

“
Yeah.” My back slid up the tiled wall when he bent, catching the backs of my knees in the bend of his arms. Halfway expecting help get my legs around his waist, I wasn’t certain I liked finding myself wide open as he planted his hands against the wall.

Before I could say anything, he moved close to capture my mouth. There was an instant of slipping downward, and then he was pushing inside. Locking my hands behind his neck, I decided the position wasn’t so bad after all.

Each slow thrust was punctuated by a kiss. His eyes swirled to gold, lips curved into a grin between kisses. Some found my lips, others my shoulders or neck. It felt good, building wonderful heat, but as usual, not really the kind I needed to come.

Which was fine, because the one time I’d tried to explain had resulted in a couple of episodes of semi-rough attention in an effort to get me off quickly. A lot of men didn’t seem to realize that most women needed more stimulation than just their penis could provide. Not to mention more time. And that one had taken it as a personal insult, so I’d dumped him.

It would be silly to assume a shifter would know that, not being human. Sex felt good regardless, and if I really felt the need for an orgasm, I could take care of it myself. Later, when I was alone.

Relaxing and enjoying what was happening worked just fine. I traded kisses, let one hand move to his hair, concentrated on how his body felt against mine.

Several minutes passed, our bodies sliding against each other’s, his skin growing hotter under my lips and hands. He came, face buried in my neck, and a deep, low rumble rising from his chest.

Lifting his head, he grinned again, golden eyes searching my face. A tiny line appeared between his brows. Before I could ask what was wrong, we both went sliding down. He went farther than me, slipping free, and kneeling with his arms still braced under my legs.
“What are you…”

His mouth interrupted the question, landing directly between my legs. Both my hands found his hair as my eyes closed and he began licking. After a few minutes, I had to resist the urge to squirm while wishing I didn’t sound so damn needy, moaning like a deranged woman.

Tongue stroking, swirling, he found the perfect combination. Another few minutes, and I came, biting back a shriek. Nick straightened, hands dropping down the wall, and fastened his lips to mine the second we were face to face.

I responded whole-heartedly, riding the high for all it was worth.

This relationship might work out all right.

Twenty-one

First to wake the next morning, I almost tripped over Leglin when climbing out of bed. “Ooh. Sorry.”

The hound blinked, head still resting on his legs. After bending to give him a pet in further apology, I discovered Nick’s eyes were open.
“Morning. Coffee?”

“
Mm.” He rolled onto his back and stretched, the sheet sliding down his chest. Rubbing both hands over his face, he smiled. “Sure.”

Twenty minutes later, I was cooking breakfast. The faint emotions emanating from him made it clear Nick was pleased as hell with himself. It was pretty awesome, having a guy who’d not only noticed, but decided to do something about my lack of orgasms. Hopefully, he’d keep doing something about that.

Nick came into the kitchen, humming under his breath. He hugged me from behind and rested his chin on my shoulder. “What are we having?”

“
Pancakes. Unless you don’t like them?”

“
I don’t know. Haven’t had them before. You’ve been introducing me to a wide world of new food.” He released me and moved to the side, pulling a couple of mugs from the cabinet.

“
If you’re used to hunting for most of your meals, please don’t tell me.” There were a lot of things that I could deal with as long as no descriptions were offered. “I mean, if you do, that’s cool and all, I just don’t want to hear any particulars.”

“
No problem.” Nick began pouring coffee for us.

“
Except, you’ve had other jobs, so how can you not have had pancakes at some point?” I poured out batter.

“
I worked night jobs. Breakfast and lunch were at home, so dinner was the only meal off our territory. Do you want milk?”

Watching bubbles rise and pop, I nodded. He collected the milk and kept talking while doctoring my coffee.
“Usually, the only places open when I got off work were fast food places. Not great, but it fills you up.”

“
You never took a date to a restaurant before?” I flipped the pancake over.

After sniffing at the air, he moved to the table, out of easy view.
“I thought women didn’t like to hear about others from guys’ pasts.”

“
No, women don’t like to hear about how amazing old girlfriends were. Talking about past relationships is fine, as long as you leave that part out.”
Butter. Need the butter
. Leaving the stove for the fridge, I looked at him.

His expression reminded me of one of my little brothers caught doing something they’d been told not to a thousand or so times.
“If you don’t want to talk about it, it’s okay.”

Relief peeked out, only to quickly fade. He shook his head.
“I know how that one goes.”

“
Excuse me?” Returning to the stove, I switched done pancake for new batter after putting the butter down.

“
Ask about something, say it’s okay if I don’t want to talk about it, and then you’re going to get mad because I don’t share.”

I had to hide a grin, ducking my head over the pancake I was buttering. What had he been doing, reading women’s magazines as research?
“I’ll try not to, but that’s what people in a relationship are supposed to do, Nick. Share stuff.”

“
Yeah, I know. Okay.” His breath huffed out. “No, I didn’t take anyone to a restaurant before, because the girls I…it wasn’t dating, Cordi. I was working in clubs. It was just sex.”

Great. He was a slut puppy who’d targeted drunk girls.
“Working that bouncer mojo, huh?”

“
More like there were a few who wanted to screw a shifter, just so that they could say they had.” He didn’t hesitate to meet my eyes when I glanced over my shoulder. “It was fun, for a while, but then it started to get boring.”

Hurriedly flipping the pancake, I asked,
“Boring?”

“
Yeah.” He changed the subject. “Anything I can do to help?”

Clamping down on the question
How many?
I said, “If you want bacon, bring me the package.”

“
Okay.” He did so, and studied my profile. “You’re mad at me now.”

“
No, I’m not. What you did before is your business.” Transferring the pancake, I oiled the griddle and poured out more batter. Anger wasn’t the emotion poking its nose in his business. “Can you butter that one for me?”

“
Sure.” Nick moved around to handle the task. Though focusing on the bubbles popping to the surface of the cooking batter, I caught his sideways glance. “There were only three, Cordi. I wasn’t going home with a different girl every night or anything like that.”