To Love a Shifter: A Paranormal Romance Boxed Set (15 page)

            She strived to control her laughter. “So Jim replies, I saw John coming back…” she bit her lip to stop her laughter from bubbling over. “And he was carrying 10 pineapples!”

            Laughter from Misty, Domenico, and the two uniformed men rocked the limousine.

            “Ah, Misty.” She was still doubled over, laughing. She had probably heard the joke at least once before this but it still made her laugh. She was cute…and priceless.

            Domenico pulled her into his lap and hugged her. Tightly.

            That stopped her laughter. She gazed at him, wide-eyed, surprised at his sudden burst of affection. “Wow?”

            He laughed and kissed her on the mouth. “Whoever hired you to work for my company deserves a cash bonus. I was lucky to find you, Misty.”

            She blushed at his words. “I’m lucky to have you, too.”

            He pulled her back and this time, she was able to relax and snuggle close in his lap.

            “Come home with me?” he murmured.

            She closed her eyes. “Yes.”

Dear Diary,

Domenico is mad at me.

When I see him furious, sometimes I have this ridiculous fantasy of Domenico tying me up and forcing himself on me. I imagine him binding my wrists and holding my arms over my head, thrusting into me from behind.

 I’d cry for him to stop, but all it does is make him ram his cock into me more. Is it bad that I get all wet just thinking about it?

             Misty?”

            “You know how Lyccan hearing is really good, right?”

            “Uh-huh.” She wondered absently what he was getting at. She was so nervous. Had she truly agreed to go home with him? They were walking out of the airport now, and she felt like dragging her feet to delay the…inevitable? The unexpected? The anticipated?

            “Well, I can hear your heartbeat right now.”

            Her jaw dropped open.

            He regarded her solemnly. “And it’s beating hard and fast.”

            Her face flushed with color. Hard. Fast. Those were very, very bad adjectives to choose. She couldn’t stop herself from thinking about the two of them in bed.

            Oh, dear.

            How had Domenico turned her into a nympho in less than two days?

            Domenico almost laughed. Misty was absolutely priceless! He could read her every thought on her face. He knew exactly what she’d think when he used those words and she had not disappointed.

            “Where are we going now?”

            He was about to say something to make her blush again when his phone rang. It was a Council official, relating the massacre of a small group of individuals, all of whom came from prominent families. One of them was from his pack.

            “Is something wrong?” Misty asked immediately when he ended the call, seeing his frown.

            “An unfortunate matter I can’t postpone,” he said absently. He glanced at her thoughtfully. “I’ll have you deposited at my home first --”

            Misty was shaking her head even before he was done speaking. “Oh, no. I’m not going to put a foot inside your house unless you’re with me.”

            Domenico raised a brow, unused to being contradicted.

            She raised one brow back even though her heartbeat went up a notch. She was trying very hard to remember that he was no longer her boss but her fiancé. That gave her certain rights. Right?

            “You’re going to be stubborn about this, aren’t you?”

            “Umm…”

            He shook his head. “Never mind. If that’s what you want, then fine.”

            She blinked at his cool tone. “Are you angry?”

            Domenico paused to consider her question and didn’t need more than a moment to realize that he was. Surprisingly, he was indeed angry, although words like frustrated and irritated were probably more apt.

            He had been looking forward to spending the night with her. Although he knew he would not take her virginity – a rare prize among Lyccans since their kind typically had sexual intercourse far earlier than humans did – before their marriage, Domenico had nevertheless anticipated spending the night with Misty in his arms.

            Yet here she was, apparently unaffected and uncaring. He understood her predicament – it would be her first time to be in his home and to do so alone would be awkward for her. He also knew he was acting spoiled, but he was unable to help it. Domenico was so used to women falling all over their feet to do his bidding that Misty doing otherwise was a huge, unwelcome shock.

            Misty was still staring at him.

            “No,” he said finally. “I’m not.” But his tone implied otherwise.

            Misty fell silent, not knowing how to respond.

            Half an hour later, his car stopped in front of her home. “T-thanks,” she said awkwardly as she stepped out.

            Domenico did not follow her out. Giving her a brief nod, he murmured, “I’ll see you tomorrow.” And then the car was driving away.

Misty had a very, very strong urge to cry.

~~~

            Domenico stared at the victims’ bodies, taking note of the bullet holes in their foreheads. Accurate and neat, the bullets were fired from a mid-range distance. The killer obviously meant business.

            “What do the forensic reports say?” he asked.

            Another Lyccan, the pathologist, spoke bleakly. “Silver bullets. Whoever the murderer is, he knows he’s dealing with our kind. No signs of a struggle either.”

            Or she
, Domenico thought, too distrustful to rule out the possibility that a female could be behind the massacre. Staring at the lifeless bodies that crowded the morgue, Domenico exhaled a furious breath. That there had been no struggle meant the entire group had known who the killer was. They probably trusted that person, which had gotten them killed.

            It confirmed what he had long suspected: they had a traitor in their midst, and one whose face was familiar to most Lyccans. Someone famous then, but that could be any of a hundred or so individuals.

            Beside him, Ricardo Hernandez cursed. He had lost even more than Domenico did to the massacre, with three of his younger pack mates dead. “This is the fourth incident of this kind,” he muttered.

            “They’re getting bolder,” Domenico murmured.

            “Do you think it’s the Caros, double-crossing us?”

            He shook his head. “There’s no way to be sure. All I know is that we have to tighten security even more.”

            There was a slight pause before the older man looked at him questioningly. “Have you given thought about my proposal?”

            Ricardo had long been friends with Domenico’s father and a month ago, Ricardo had proposed that their packs be united in marriage, desiring a union between Dio’s eldest Domenico and his eldest Rafaella.

            Under any other circumstance, Domenico would not have hesitated to agree, would not have even considered marrying Misty if Dio had also happened to be dead set against that union. Ricardo’s pack was just as powerful as the Morettis, and if they had allied themselves with a marriage, no other Lyccan pack would have dared to stand in their way.

            However, Dio was in favor of it, and for that reason alone Domenico knew he would only agree to the alliance if it was the very last resort for saving the future of his kind.

            He chose his words carefully, not wanting to offend Ricardo because he liked and respected the other man. “While I am truly honored--”

            Ricardo sighed. “It’s alright, son. I knew it was wishful thinking on our parts.”

            “If things were different,” Domenico said truthfully, “I would not have even a moment’s hesitation.”

~~~

            The next day, Misty stepped out of the cab and was immediately met by hard torrents of rain. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Janice being assisted from of a Mercedes Benz by one of the guys from 7/F. Clearly, William Grant was out of the picture.

            As she ran for cover, hands over her bent head in a futile effort to keep herself from getting drenched, Misty heard Janice tittering behind her. Tears burned her eyes. She had not been able to sleep the entire night, troubled by Domenico’s cold demeanor. She wondered if it would always be like this whenever she did not do something he wanted. 

            She went inside, flushing at the gaping looks of the doormen whose gazes searched for a sign of Domenico behind her. When they didn’t see him, they looked at her with pity, but she did her best to ignore that.

            Her usual luck had her in the elevator with Janice, whose cruel laughter made it uncomfortably clear for everyone what she was thinking about.

            “Poor Misty,” Janice drawled in the pseudo-whispery tone that she had long perfected. “Have you disappointed Domenico Moretti already?” She smoothed her hand over the side of her dress, yet another skintight creation made of silk, as if emphasizing the slimness of her figure.

            Misty didn’t answer, preferring to stare straight ahead even though she felt like a fat cow next to the glamazon.

            The rest of the day proceeded too slowly for her. Misty wished she could bury herself in her work, but she was already ahead by a week. During lunch time, she stayed at her desk, taking out her lunch box.

            For today, she had prepared a huge helping of mac and cheese with grilled corn on the side. It was one of her favorite combinations for comfort food, something she indulged in when she was feeling down in the dumps. Right now, that was an understatement for how Misty was feeling, especially with the ill-concealed pity in people’s gazes.

            “I told you it wouldn’t work,” Janice was smugly telling Hannah, her voice loud enough for more than half of the office to hear.

            Why didn’t she just get a megaphone and be done with it
, Misty wondered. Or just post it on the public Facebook page of Moretti Inc.? At the very least, it would be easier on her vocal chords.

            “She’s so out of his league, it’s not even funny. He probably dated her out of pity. Maybe she blackmailed him?” Janice’s blue eyes shone with malice. “Or you know what? Maybe he did it because of a dare.”

            Hannah nodded thoughtfully. “You’re probably right.”

            Domenico watched the scene from the CCTV in his office, controlling himself with an effort. He had been observing her from the moment she had stepped out of the cab. When he saw Misty caught in the downpour, his first instinct was to help her. He had quickly reminded himself that she had to learn her lesson. He was the future pack leader, for chrissake. He could not afford to be weak or controlled by a woman in any way. As early as now, Misty had to learn for herself that his word was law.

            Yet was it a lesson worth teaching when Misty looked this forlorn?

            Returning his attention to the CCTV, Domenico gritted his teeth at how she quietly took in the barbed insults coming her way. He zoomed in to where Janice and Hannah were huddled together, speaking in shrill loud voices that grated on his nerves. They knew Misty was hurt and were delighted by it. How could they not when Misty’s face was like an open book?

            She should have looked pathetic in his eyes. This should have made him hesitate to proceed with his plans of marrying her. How could she rule as his future queen when she let others step on her so easily?

            A tear dropped from Misty’s eyes.

            Dammit.