“Hello?” she muttered. “Bri?”
“Yeah, it’s me.”
“What’s wrong? Do I need to come to your room?”
Glancing around at the suite, I chuckled. Doubtful.
“I wanted to let you know I’d stepped out for the night. I’ll be home sometime tomorrow.” The last thing I wanted was to explain what was going on. Delphine would get too worried and distraught. All this would be over as soon as my parents told Aurelius he could toss me out on the curb for all they cared.
Suddenly wide awake, Delphine said, “What? What do you mean you stepped out
? Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. Don’t worry about me, I’m all good. Just had some thinking to do, and I’m going to hang at a friend’s place.”
“A friend?” she said, her voice tinged with suspicion.
I winced inwardly. I didn’t have any friends I’d spend the night with, and Delphine knew that.
“Uh, yeah. It’s actually Lorraine’s house. She’s, uh, not there. A big emergency, and she wanted me to, uhm…” I glanced around the room for something to help my story, and my gaze landed on a massive potted plant beside a window. “She, uh, wanted me to take care of her plants.”
“Plants? Really?”
“Yup,” I said, putting a hand over my eyes in embarrassment.
“And you decided to water her plants at one in the morning?” Delphine asked dryly.
“Sure did. Honestly, I forgot I told her I would and decided to head over now, rather than wait. I’ll crash here and be back tomorrow. I didn’t want you to worry.”
There was a long pause on the other end of the line, and when she spoke again, I thought I could almost hear the smile on her lips.
“Honey, are you with a guy?”
My eyes bulged in surprise at her jumping to such a conclusion. Then, without meaning to, I imagined Aurelius kneeling before me, those strong, muscular arms with those sexy veins crisscrossing over them, expertly slicing the ropes off of my body. I recalled the way he’d looked up at me, those ocean-deep blue eyes studying me. A sudden, shocking heat flared between my legs.
“No!” I nearly shouted into the phone, trying to push all thoughts of Aurelius from my mind.
“If you say so,” she said, but there was a dubious tone to her voice. “Be careful. Use protection.”
“Oh,
God,
Delphine. Stop. I’m hanging up now. See you tomorrow.”
I shoved the phone back into my pocket. The two attempted do-gooders hadn’t returned with the wine yet, and my curiosity was rapidly getting the better of me. With nothing else to do, I shrugged and headed for the door, deciding to get a closer look at my surroundings. The stroll from Aurelius’s room to these quarters hadn’t given me a chance to really get my bearings.
Taking a right, I made my way down the hall, my sneakers making no sound on the lush carpeting. The house appeared even more massive inside than it had from the outside. Very majestic. The hallway ended at a banister that overlooked what must have been the entrance hall below. The ceiling arched up nearly three full floors above the massive front doors and sweeping double staircases.
“See anything you like?”
I gasped and spun around. Aurelius stood behind me, a faint grin on his lips. He’d appeared so fast that I hadn’t even registered his scent or the sound of his approach. Impressive.
Regaining my composure, I smiled back at him, feeling a bit like my old self now that my imminent death or torture wasn’t in the cards.
“Just wanted a little look around,” I said. “Am I in trouble? You… You gonna, er, I mean, are you going to make me go back to my room?” I’d almost said are you gonna spank me, but the mental image of that had heat rising up to my cheeks.
Aurelius chuckled, a deep baritone sound that sent a shiver up my spine. What the hell was wrong with me?
“The only trouble you’ll be in is from getting lost.” He walked over and placed his hands on the banister.
I looked at his hands and arms. The thick muscles of his forearms flexing and twisting as he grabbed the mahogany rail. His fingers were long and slender, like a musician’s. I could imagine them flashing across piano keys, or gliding across skin?-
“Do you like my place?” he asked, dragging me kicking and screaming from the mental images that wanted to play across my mind.
“Oh, it’s great,” I said, tearing my eyes from his hands to look at his face. That wasn’t any better. His strawberry-blond hair was pulled back in a half ponytail, with some of the curls framing his face His lips looked soft and full as they twisted into that cocky grin. Then there were those eyes. They seemed a deeper blue whenever I looked at him.
“It’s really great,” I repeated, not quite referring to the house this time.
“Where did my two genius friends head off to?” Aurelius asked.
“To get me some wine. It was taking them a while, so I decided to explore.”
“Well, as penance for what they did, can I give you a tour of the manor? It’s the least I could do for ruining your night.”
“You didn’t ruin it,” I said. “This is far more exciting than my usual Friday night. I typically get food drunk on cheesecake and fall asleep binging a TV show.”
“Come along. I’ll give you the whole tour,” he said.
“Seriously?” I said. “You aren’t worried the enemy might learn some deep, dark secret?”
Aurelius chuckled, and his lips twitched. The horny bitch deep inside my mind swooned, despite my wishes to stay professional in the situation I found myself in.
More Kickass Werewolf Reads
Dive into our collection of free werewolf romance novels—where fierce Alphas, daring heroines, and heart-stopping twists await. Every story burns with forbidden desire, loyalty, and destiny. Don’t wait—here’s a world where love bites hard and nothing is stronger than the call of the mate.
Leave a Reply