Maybe a teensy part of me wondered—very guiltily—if Chaz had survived, too.
While some of my senses still seemed abnormally heightened, for the most part I could only make out Royce’s side of the conversations. It was at turns fascinating listening to how he ran his empire—and picking up some juicy tidbits about a missing case of some expensive-sounding wine from one of his restaurants, making the private investigator in me itch to know more—and boring as hell. The parts about quotas, headcounts, and company stock nearly put me back to sleep.
“I’m sorry,” he said to me at one point, covering the mouthpiece of his phone so the lawyer on the other end wouldn’t overhear. “Things have gotten a bit out of hand without John here to field the mundane issues. Angus and Jessica have stepped in to a degree, but there is only so much they can deal with on their own.”
I eyed the screen of the laptop he’d popped open a few minutes before, curious about the mountain of e-mails he hadn’t yet tackled. From where I was sitting, it looked like he got more legitimate e-mails in a day than I did in a month. “Maybe I should grab a shower and get dressed.”
“Hmm? Oh, just give me a moment to wrap this up. I’ll join you.” Then, into the phone, more forcefully, “Glen, I’m done. Save the paperwork for when I visit the firm next week.”
The lawyer was obviously peeved. This time I could hear the speaker loud and clear. “Those interrogatories you put off are due in less than a week. I need to prep you for the depositions scheduled—”
“Yes, and we’ll discuss this later,” Royce said, with far more patience than I would have been able to muster in his position. “I’ll call you later tonight. Give me an hour or two to get things settled and get ready. ”
“An hour, Alec. I know you hate the legal bullshit and red tape, but we’re running out of extensions, and there’s only so much I can do to cover your ass when you don’t work with me.”
I couldn’t believe Royce was letting someone talk to him like that. The vampire made some sounds of contrition before he snapped his cell phone shut and then turned it off. Finally.
“Now, where were we . . . ?”
Between one blink and the next, I found myself on my back, his lips latched onto my throat as he playfully sucked where he had bitten me last night. For some reason, tilting my head back like that made a bit of a tickle form in my throat, so I was at turns giggling and coughing as he worked his way down my body. It was hard to be mad at him for allowing all of those interruptions when he so obviously wanted to spend his time with me.
And then someone knocked on the door.
He practically collapsed on top of me, groaning. I flailed a bit so he’d give me some room to breathe as he barked out a harsh, “What?!” over his shoulder.
Clarisse poked her head in the door, grinning when she saw us. Probably because she now had confirmation that I’d spent the night doing more than sleeping with Royce and she could collect on a bet. Or maybe because she was getting a good gander at his bare ass. “Ah, lovey, ye need tae come—”
Royce twisted around and gave her a look that stopped whatever words the Irish vampire was going to say in their tracks. Her eyes widened, and she nodded rapidly.
“Right, then. I’ll just take care of that for ye, lad. I’ll, erm, keep the rest of the wolves at bay, shall I?”
The growl that rumbled in his chest gave me the shivers and was all the answer Clarisse needed. She disappeared without another word, the door clicking shut behind her.
He levered up on his elbows and glanced down at me with a frown. “This is not quite how I anticipated my first evening with you would turn out.”
“I’d hope not,” was my dry response. “How about that shower? Unless you think we’ll be interrupted there, too . . .”
A wicked twinkle sparkled in his eyes, his frown soon replaced by a sly grin. “Are you sure you wouldn’t mind a bit of extra company? I’m sure I could arrange something.” It didn’t take long for my flat stare to coax laughter out of him. “I’m joking, Shiarra. For now, I plan on keeping you to myself. I’m not terribly good at sharing.”
With that, he scooped me up in his arms, and carried me to the bathroom. He set me on my feet and started the shower, while I leaned my hip against the marble sink and enjoyed the view. The steam seemed to be easing the tickle in my throat, though my voice still came out in a more throaty whisper than I intended.
“I don’t suppose you feel like telling me what your plans for me are?” At the look he gave me over his shoulder, I snorted. “I don’t mean right now. Duh. I mean like later tonight. Tomorrow. The day after that.”
He reached out to take my hand and tug me with him under the spray of multiple showerheads. “There will be more than enough time to worry about that later. Let’s focus on right now, shall we?”
His obvious ploy to get me to leave the subject alone was made more obvious by the sudden, intense kiss he used to keep my mouth busy. Unsurprisingly, it worked.
There wasn’t much getting clean happening in that shower, but for the time being, I was happy to let that slide. Much like last night, Royce paid very close attention to the places he knew would make me stop caring about anything aside from the moment. Thoughts surrounding what to do about the police, the Ravenwoods (or whoever it was out for my blood), what had happened to Jack, what I would do about my family, and if Royce knew why I hadn’t changed into a werewolf, were blown right out of my head. For a good long while, I didn’t care, and was happy to let all of those worries melt away under the vampire’s talented ministrations.
Like most good things in my life, it wasn’t destined to last. Royce murmured a soft curse against my lips when a pounding sound came from somewhere outside the room. He put a little extra pressure on a spot that made me squeal in a very good way, but whoever was knocking wasn’t going away.
Royce muttered a quiet expletive and straightened, holding me steady until my weak knees were ready to hold me up on their own. “Wait here.” He gave me a parting kiss and a wolfish grin as he opened the glass door. “Get lathered up; I won’t be long.”
“Can’t it wait? We still need to get cleaned up,” I said, reaching for him. He took my hand and kissed my knuckles in a move that would have been charmingly gallant if not for his nakedness.
“They wouldn’t be interrupting if it weren’t important. I’ll get it settled quickly. You be ready for me when I get back. I don’t like to wait.”
“Could’ve fooled me,” I muttered.
In a flash, I was pressed up against the shower wall, and I didn’t need any more proof of his desire. As my hands settled on his shoulders, he bit my earlobe lightly, sending a shock of pleasure down my spine. He then whispered in my ear, making me squirm in all the right ways. “Don’t doubt for a moment that you’re mine, my little hunter. You’ve been mine longer than you know. A few moments apart will never change that, and I’ll spend eternity proving it to you if you need me to.”
I would’ve answered, but I was a bit too busy trying to pull him back to nibble on my ear some more. I pouted when he drew back despite my urging him to continue.
That earned another wicked twinkle in his eye and a razor smile that made my heart do a funny little leap in my chest. My cheeks burned at his next comment.