Welcome to the Neighborhood (8 page)

“Alexi.” He kissed her belly, then licked and nipped it tenderly. “You’re so beautiful.”

Erotic zings shot down to the apex between her legs and brought her closer to an orgasm. As he dragged his tongue lower, she raked her fingers through his silky, smooth hair. He pressed his lips to her pubic mound and her legs trembled again. She prayed her knees would last just a little longer.

He tilted his back and met her gaze. “May I taste you, Alexandria Cartwright?” His warm hands tightened on her ass.

She smiled at him and played with his dark hair between her fingers. He impressed her by asking her for permission. Out of all the men she’d been with over the last three centuries, not a single one had done such a thing. How could she deny him?

“Yes, you have my complete approval.”

He kissed her sex while his hands slid up to the band of her thong. He curled a finger over the strap on each side and tugged the thin barrier down.

“You are, without a doubt, the most beautiful woman I have ever seen.”

The sincerity in his voice sent a chill down her spine. Countless men had told her she was beautiful, and each time the words sounded meaningless. Considering whom they came from, they were. Instinct or something told her Greg was different. He spoke with passion, honesty and from the heart. He instilled life in her, happiness and other intense emotions. Gay or bisexual, she didn’t care. The man had a unique gift of making her feel wanted and deeply alive.

He slipped his tongue between her wet folds and desire ignited faster than a matchstick inside her. She tilted her head back as erotic currents raced to all her sensitive areas. Her yearning for more intensified with each flick of his warm tongue. She grew hotter and wetter. He groped her ass while he caressed her swollen nub. Pleasure burned within her. At any second, a time bomb filled with bliss would explode within her.

The door squealed and Alexi jerked her head forward. Greg stopped his loving caress and twisted his head around as a woman stepped into the bathroom. The female intruder froze and her eyes widened. She looked at Alexi, then dropped her gaze to Greg.

“Oh, uh…sorry. I didn’t see anything.” She dashed out of the room and the door closed behind her.

Alexi stood immobile. “Oh my fucking lord.” Heat rushed to her face as embarrassment flooded her. A member of the community had seen her half-naked with a man licking her pussy. What kind of reputation would she have now? She’d never fit in. They’d probably brand her as the local slut.

“It’s okay. I think.” Greg stood. “That was Vickie. She’s a werewolf and pregnant with twins. I doubt she’ll say anything.”

Alexi’s body longed for more touching, kissing, and Greg’s tongue to finish the job it started, but the humiliation of their neighbor catching them in such an intimate act consumed her thoughts. She couldn’t let word get out about her and Greg. Rumors could start trouble for both of them. She had to end their…whatever it was.

“I’m sorry. I think…maybe this was a mistake.” She picked up her thong and slid it up her legs.

“No, no. Please, I’m not done.”

She tugged Greg’s shirt to cover her front. “We can’t do this.”

“Why?” He placed his warm hands on her hips. “Vickie won’t say anything. Trust me. I’ll talk to her.”

Even if Greg was right and Vickie would keep mum, Alexi had another problem. She still had to face Greg and Corey. They were lovers of eight years and she stepped into their lives by permitting Greg to please her. Would her decision cause a ripple in their relationship?

“I shouldn’t have let you go this far. I know how close you are with Corey, and I don’t want to get in the middle of you two.”

Greg’s brows drew together. “In the middle of us. What do you mean?”

“You and Corey.”

“We’re friends. Roommates. How would you come between us?”

She dropped her jaw. Had she made a mistake? “But you two…love each other, right?”

A chuckle leaped from him. “Do you think we’re gay?” He stared deep into her eyes. Slowly, his grin disappeared and his expression turned serious. “No. I assure you, I’m heterosexual. Always have been. There’s absolutely no way you would cause a problem between Corey and I. And for the record, I don’t think anything tonight was a mistake.”

Mortification felt heavier than an elephant on Alexi’s back. She bowed her head with her hand hiding her eyes and leaned against the sink. She’d made a huge error. Colossal. What was wrong with her? Maybe it was the wine. No, she couldn’t blame the liquor. She’d felt an attraction to him the minute she met him. Since then, her decisions had been off balance. She had only herself to blame.

“Are you okay?” Greg asked, touching her shoulder.

She jerked away from him in response. “I need to go.” She grabbed her soiled clothes from the sink.

“It’s okay,” he said in a calm voice. “We can stay–”

“No it’s not. I need to leave.” She kept her gaze down, refusing to look at him.

“Alexi, you can’t walk out of here like that. You’ll attract attention, and every werewolf will pick up your scent.”

She stomped her foot and all the pain she’d ignored in her feet hit her like a sledgehammer. “Fuck.”

“If you let me help, I can get you home.”

She looked up and caught a glimpse of his kind blue eyes. Trusting men was not in her genetic makeup, but she didn’t want to cause any problems or create any unwanted attention. “How can you help?”

“There’s a door to the side that takes you to the back of the clubhouse.” He dug into his pocket and the sound of metal clinked together. “I drive a dark green Honda and my plate is RUN2U.”

“Run to you?”

He lifted her hand and placed keys in her palm. “It’s a Brian Adams song. It was the last thing I heard before I had to buy a new plate.”

Alexi couldn’t stop her lips from curling.

He gave a casual shrug of one shoulder. “I’m a fan of the eighties.”

“I’m familiar with the generation.”

“Wait for me in the car. I’m going to tell Corey what we’re doing.”

“What about my purse and my car?” She gazed at his handsome chest. “And you can’t exactly walk out there without a shirt.”

As if he’d forgotten about his missing shirt, he glanced at his torso. “Hmm…” He withdrew a phone from his pocket and slid his thumb over the screen. “Small change of plan. You left your purse at the table, right?”

She nodded while tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

“I’ll have Corey grab it and bring to me. I’ll wait in the men’s room for him and tell him what’s going on. He can drive your car back to your house, if that’s all right with you?”

Again, he impressed her by asking for her permission. Experience told her to not trust him, but she was in a bind. Besides, she doubted much harm could come from Corey driving her car, unless he wrecked it. Thankfully, she had insurance.

“My keys are in my purse, and my car is a black Lexus with tinted windows.”

Greg took a step back. “I won’t be longer than five minutes. I promise.”

“Promises are made to be broken.”

He paused with his thumb on his phone. “I’m not the kind of person who breaks promises.”

The solemn expression on his face and deep tone gave weight to his words. Still, they were merely words to Alexi. “I’ve heard similar remarks like that before.”

He lowered his hand holding the cell. “We really need to talk about us.”

Alexi hesitated to respond. Yes, they certainly needed to have a chat, but it would have to wait. “Another time. Right now, I need to get home.”

Greg sighed as if he she’d disappointed him. Had he really expected her to confess how she felt around him? One of their neighbors had just caught Alexi with her pants down, literally. How humiliating. Surely, Greg could understand her position.

“All right.” He blinked, showing his concession. “Five minutes, tops.”

She hesitated, then approved with a nod and he left the bathroom.

Alone, Alexi gazed up at the ceiling and bit her tongue. Somehow, she needed to figure out what kind of relationship she was going to have with Greg. He seemed honest, concerned, loving and attracted to her. But was it all lust? Was he another one wanting to satisfy his own carnal needs and use her? The picture of him on his knees and pleasuring her with his tongue indicated he wasn’t selfish, greedy, out to take all he could and deliver nothing in return. He acted completely opposite from all the other men she’d dealt with in her existence. Yet, doubt gnawed at her. How could she be sure of his true intentions? She couldn’t.

For now, she wanted to get home. She gripped the keys in her hand and opened the door. As she stepped out in Greg’s shirt and clutching her soiled clothes, she prayed no one would see her.

8

Alexi held her clothes and purse in her lap while she stared out the side window. As soon as Greg turned from the parking lot, she relaxed against the seat. Thankfully, no one had seen her leave with Greg. The night started on a high note, then declined steadily. She’d never felt so embarrassed in all her years. When the female werewolf had walked into the bathroom and witnessed Greg licking her, Alexi wanted to hide her face in the sand like an ostrich. Adding to her growing list of problems was her misguided judgment of Greg. She’d totally pegged him wrong. She’d thought he was different, but in reality he was like any other man looking for action. Could the night get any worse? She didn’t see how it could.

“The woman, Vickie, who walked in on us…does she live nearby?” Alexi glanced at Greg while he steered through the neighborhood. She hoped Vickie lived near the entrance of the community, far from her so she wouldn’t run into the woman much.

“She lives a couple houses down, in the cul-de-sac. It’s the two-story yellow house with a long front porch.”

“The cul-de-sac up ahead?” she asked with a slight tilt of her head. Great. She lived close by.

Greg slowed the car, preparing to turn into her driveway. “Yeah. She lives with her husband, James. They a very nice couple, honest people.”

Alexi lowered her gaze. Candid neighbors could spell trouble for her.

Greg parked the car in front of her garage door and cut the engine. “If you’re worried about Vickie saying something, you don’t need to. I’ll talk to her, although I’m sure she won’t say a word about us.”

Alexi tensed at the thought of Greg trying to smooth out the matter. She preferred to handle the situation herself. Since she’d put herself in such an awkward position, she’d find a way to make it better. Confronting the werewolf and apologizing, no matter how embarrassing, seemed like a better choice than to rely on a man for anything.

“That’s all right. I’ll speak with her myself.” She pushed open the door.

Pain radiated in her feet as she walked around the car, but she kept her lips sealed and refrained from showing her discomfort. The shoes would go in the trash before the end of the next hour. Holding her purse and dirty clothes in her arms, she headed for the entrance to her home. Greg followed. His heart and footsteps reminded her of his close presence. They stopped in front of the door and Alexi dug into her purse.

“Is there something I’ve done to offend you?” Greg asked, and she looked up.

“No. Why do you ask?”

“Well, every time I offer assistance, you give me the cold shoulder.”

“I appreciate it. Really, I do. But I’m more than capable of handling matters myself.”

“By no means am I implying you can’t. I just want to help.”

She gazed into his blue eyes as he took a step toward her. A sense of tranquility washed through her and in a split second she wanted claim his lips and mold her body to his. Then a breeze drifted under the oversize shirt she wore. She chilled and snapped back to reality. They both stood practically half-naked, outside where anyone could see them. It was not a good time for even a small kiss.

She grabbed the handle on the door and pushed it open. “I’m very grateful you want to help, but I don’t need it. I’ll be fine.”

Greg followed her inside and they stopped in the entryway, facing each other.

“Do you always leave your doors unlocked?”

She looked at her purse in her hand, then the door. Warning bells went off in her head. Corey had her keys. She’d walked in the house without them.

“Did you lock it?” Greg asked, as if he sensed her unease.

“I always lock the doors. I didn’t set the alarm this time because I haven’t figured out how to work it yet.”

A cricket chirping from the back of the house stole her attention. “Did you hear that?”

Greg’s chest expanded and his nose twitched. He headed toward the kitchen. Alexi followed, anger growing by the second. Small chirping sounds from outside trickled into her home. At first, she wondered if she’d left a window open, but she knew she hadn’t. Feeling highly alert, her canines dropped from her gum.

Greg stopped in her dining room at the side of her black dinner table. He gazed at her patio. “Was that hole in your glass there when you moved in?”

Alexi stepped around him and spotted the cutout portion of her patio. Her body warmed from the fury rushing through her veins. “Son of a bitch.” She’d thought nothing worse could happen, but she was so wrong. Less than thirty hours had passed since she’d moved into her new home and already someone had broken in.

Greg peered at the floor. “There’s small tire marks here.” He pointed out.

Alexi followed the path of the tracks with her eyes. They ran from her patio to her basement door. She gasped in alarm. The door was open and she was sure she’d shut it before she left.

“My safe.”

She dropped her purse and clothes and dashed across the room. Her heels clacked loudly on the floor. “My safe!”

Everything from her real birth record, her death certificate, her family’s death records, passports, bank account information, bonds, rare jewelry and currency from various countries were in the safe. More importantly, she’d kept keepsakes her maker took from all his victims, including the ones he turned into vampires, and information on his assets and properties. As if those items weren’t valuable enough, she stored all the names and bank information on her clients in the safe too. Her career would be over and countless lives turned upside down if the personal data fell into the wrong hands, not to mention someone would probably come for her head. She prayed the safe was still in her office.