Seduced By The White Tiger (IR Paranormal Shifter Romance BWWM) (3 page)
He raised his hands up once again, abandoning the line of questioning. “Are the local shifter’s associated with different gangs?”
“Not particularly, there are some minor associations. I just believe that the tensions in the humans around are affecting their nature. As you probably know, because you are one, shifters are fairly sensitive to the moods of nearby humans.”
“How very nice of you to point that out. How bad is the fighting?”
“Right now it’s mostly coyote against wolf. They break out into fighting at the edge of their territories, when they used to be able to roam freely through the city, sharing territory, or at least letting the others walk around them. “It’s not major fighting as of yet, but it could explode into a full-fledged war at any point. That’s about all I know about it.”
Gregor nodded and pursed his lips thinking about the situation. He clasped his hands together and placed the elbows on his legs. His index fingers tapped against his upper lip as he gathered up all of the information in his head.
They waited for hours but no one arrived. Dominique called once again, trying to get someone to relieve her. To her great disappointment she was told that she would end up having to spend the night in the house with him. “If you need something from your house, someone can stop by and bring it to you while they’re running around.” She was told.
“I think that I can get whatever I need. Can you send someone over to feed my cat for me? I’m going to order food for tonight.” She hung up when Anna agreed to take care of it for her, frustrated and alarmed at spending the night in such a tiny little house with such a handsome man. “I’ve got some bad news.” She told him while walking back into the living room where he sat on the couch.
“What’s that?” He looked at her, his eyes seeming to bore into her soul. It was the gaze that felines are so good at, in general. Her own cat possessed that same intense look. She almost laughed at the way this man’s stare reminded her so much of the tiny little kitten she had saved from a freezing death in the streets. He caught her subtle display of humor. “What’s so funny?”
“Nothing, the bad news is that it doesn’t look like they can get anyone else here from the shifter division until at least tomorrow. It looks like we’re roommates for the night. I don’t know how long it’s going to take to get the shifters to want to start talking again. Until then, we have an obligation to keep you safe.”
“Should I talk to them now?” He questioned her, his voice serious and concerned. “I might be able to get them around the table.”
“They aren’t talking to anyone yet. It’s mostly fighting and growling across borders right now. From what I heard, which isn’t much, they had a big blowout yesterday that most of us had to go deal with.”
“Do you have any idea what happened?”
“Not really, I was busy picking you up.” She sounded disappointed, almost as if she wanted to be out there on the front line.
“I think that I should see the city in the morning. I need to see what exactly I’m dealing with.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Intoning the danger of that idea, she made her feelings on the matter very clear.
“Whether it’s a good idea or not, it has to be done.” Gregor’s accent hardened with determination. She could almost see his eyes flash into blue cat’s eyes. It frightened her a little and she chose not to argue her point further. They spent the afternoon watching various shows on the television, not really paying attention to any of them. The pair continued to steal glances at each other during the show, never quite meeting each other’s eyes.
Dinnertime arrived and she started to shuffle through the delivery menus that sat on the coffee table. They had been in that house for almost six hours. “What do you want to eat?”
Gregor smiled at his companion, it was a naughty smile filled with promises that would go unanswered if she could continue to deny her own carnal needs and desires. He resisted the urge to turn this conversation into an excuse to flirt with his pretty guard. “What do you feel like having?”
“How often do you get really good Mexican food up north? There’s a place that delivers near here.”
“I’m not a fan of Mexican food.”
She scoffed at the idea. “You must not have ever gotten good Mexican food. There’s no way that you could hate it down here.”
“I’m sure the people that don’t like Mexican food around here would be forced into hiding, but it’s just not the type of food that I enjoy.”
“Well what do you like?” She was still sorting through the menus, searching for a good place to eat.
“How does Asian food sound?”
She licked her lips. “That sounds like a plan. Pick a place and I’ll call in the order.”
He shuffled through the menus asking advice about each place before arriving at a decision. Dom placed the order, making sure to specify extra meat in her companion’s meal. When the meal arrived they ate in silence, sitting at the small kitchen table. Gregor ate a lot of food, littering the table with his empty cartons. After they finished eating, Dom started to clear the table. “Let me help you.” Gregor touched her hand and she could almost feel the jump of electricity.
For a long moment the two stared at each other a mix of surprise and lust playing across their features, but that moment was quickly cut off as Dominique regained her self-control. “What does Dom stand for? It has to be short for another name.” Gregor tried to cover the situation.
“My name is Dominique.” She sighed in response. “We should get some sleep soon.” She finished gathering up the garbage and throwing it into the trash.
“I’m not really that tired, and I’m enjoying your company.” He told her, confessing something that meant a lot more than he said.
Her eyes narrowed, “Just let me know when you’re ready to get some rest. I’m going to go make sure a bedroom is set up for you upstairs.”
She walked up the stairs, painfully aware of him following her. Peeking into both bedrooms she noticed that neither room had bedding. She found the hall closet. Looking inside she had to ask. “Flowers or superheroes?” The sheets looked like they were made for a child.
He chose superheroes and she started to make the bed in the room that he chose. When she finished she noticed that he had just finished setting up the other room where she was supposed to be sleeping. She whispered a thank you and they went back down stairs to sit on the couch some more. The television was still on from earlier.
The rest of the night passed uneventfully, the pair watched television for the next few hours then climbed into their respective beds to get some rest after Dom cast some more protection spells on the grounds.
In the morning, there were leftovers for breakfast. They sat at the table in silence, eating, drinking coffee and rubbing sleep from their eyes. “I still need to see the area. I have to find out what I’m working with.”
“That will be the next shifts problem.” She informed him, stepping into another room to call the office. It was very nearly devastating to find out that there would be no one coming to relieve her. “Really, I’m going to be stuck with this guy for the entire day? He wants to see the city.” Anna’s orders were clear, take him into the city, show him the lay of the land, but for right now stay out of the contested areas.
Walking back into the room she broke the news to him, but he seemed happy about it. “Let’s go.” He handed her purse.
She drove him through the town, showing him the major features, past the zoo and the army base and explaining in detail what she knew about the current conflict between the shifters. He listened carefully, paying attention to every detail. “I’m sorry that I don’t know more about this.” She told him as they looked on the line of cars leading to the Mexican border.
“If people are so afraid of the cartels why are they still heading into Mexico?” He asked observing the crush of people and cars eager to enter and leave the bordering country.
“They can get a lot of things cheaper over there, including dental work. There’s a great little clinic over the border run by American’s that’s less than half the price of dental work there than in the States. Everything is cheaper over the border, and if you can believe it, the flow of traffic heading over the border has slowed down in recent years.”
Gregor nodded carefully, mulling over possibilities. “Do you know about any neutral ground where we can hold the meetings?”
“Not really, that really isn’t my expertise. When we get this thing set up I’m sure the experts will have advice for you. As far as I know, however the initial meetings will be at headquarters.” She was exact in her words, fully knowing that she wasn’t an expert on the subject, however he seemed to appreciate all of the information that she was able to share. “Let’s head back to the safe house.”
“Of course.” He was incredibly polite with her. “Tell me about what you do.”
“Well first, you would have to know a little of the history of the area.”
“It looks like right now I have nothing but time on my hands, so go ahead and tell me. Who knows, I might be able to use some of the information.” His attention made her a little uncomfortable.
“Let’s see. I’m sure you heard about the conquistadors coming up from Mexico, slaughtering and enslaving local people during the entire way. When they came through this area, they were carrying a lot of that with them. You see this entire area is a magnet for spirits, it’s one of the reasons their march was called the journey of the dead.”
“Is that how this place was settled?” He asked.
“Yes and the power of the spirits in the area called other supernatural creatures here. This area is one of the sacred places for shifters, mostly for coyotes and wolves, because they are native to the area.” She paused for a moment to let him process all of the information before she continued. “I deal with the spirits in the area. I control and banish the spirits that turn malevolent or are after revenge.”
“So you are a witch?” He asked. He was listening intently to her story.
“Just like my Mother and Grandmother before me.” The pride was deep in her voice, her chest was thrust out and her grip grew tighter. It was almost like she was tempting him to say something derogatory about her family or her legacy.
“Wow, were they spirit hunters as well?”
She thought about it, trying to find the best way to answer the question. “They would have to deal with that kind of stuff occasionally and my Grandmother taught me how to do it, but they both were healers. That’s what they were known for. They helped their community and grew it into something great.”
“That sounds like a wonderful legacy. Did they teach you how to heal as well?”
“Yes, but it’s not what I do with most of my time.” She explained. “When I was recruited, I started to train mostly in spiritual control, but my healing talents have come in handy from time to time.”
“That is absolutely fascinating.” She was worried that he was mocking her, but when she saw his face as she turned off the engine, she wasn’t as sure. Her eyes narrowed in suspicion anyway. He ignored it, instead, he continued questioning her. “It’s good that you were able to stop the work long enough to babysit me.”
“I hate having to leave my work undone for this. I had to reschedule a consolation and possible exorcism.” She looked guilty about that fact.
“I had no idea. If you need to take care of it, I could go with you, that way, you could babysit me and take care of the people in the area.”
His suggestion was welcome, but she couldn’t do it. “I’m sorry; it would put you at too much risk. I would never get permission.”
“Let me talk to your boss. I think that we could work it out.” He reached for her, trying to get her to hand him the phone so that he could arrange it. “I would love to see you work. It might give me a better idea of what I’m going up against.” He winked at her and she felt the blush rise onto her cheeks.
“No, not going to happen.” She led him into the house, carefully checking to see if anyone had gone into the small townhouse. Nothing appeared disturbed, but she still listened carefully in the living room for any sound of life in the supposedly empty house. When she finished listening she checked the premises with a basic eye scan, and took her purse upstairs to the room she was staying in. When she walked back downstairs she was asking. “Any idea what you would like for lunch?”
Instead of a response she saw Gregor on a cell phone holding a conversation with someone. He was presenting a case to be allowed to join her on her job. When he finished he smiled and told her. “It looks like you have someone coming with you, and I think that we should pick something up on the way since you have to be there in an hour.”
She grumbled at the idea, but relented. “I’ll have to stop by my house to pick some things up first.”
Dom grumbled through the drive thru and grumbled again as she pulled into her house. “What do you need to get here?” Gregor asked, his eyes sparkling with excitement. “I can’t wait to see you in action!”
“It’s nothing too exciting. It’s a pretty basic job.” Her words were terse, and he could sense the fear that something would go horribly wrong with this situation.