Chapter 18
Chapter Eighteen
A ubrey
Well. For a guy whose parting words were “I want you,” I would have to conclude that Billy White didn’t want me that badly.
Either that, or stuff went down at Moon Co, and he’s been drowning in work because I haven’t seen or heard from him since he bailed two days ago after Brick called.
Which is why I’m back to getting a rise out of him by tromping all over his boundaries.
Grayson, the beefy door guy, let me into Billy’s apartment yesterday, and today with no explanation other than that Billy had told him to give me access. There was no note or text message from Billy. We are on radio silence.
Well, whatever.
Fine by me. I got a lot of work done on the first mural.
I also enjoy having Billy’s place to myself.
Figuring he probably has nanny cams all over the place, I made myself at home today to annoy him, helping myself to his coffee in the kitchen and the food in his refrigerator, which is almost all meat, for the record. I guess he’s one of those paleo diet guys.
Now I’m in his bedroom en suite’s giant, two-person shower, washing off the paint before my date with Madi tonight. Yes, I did think it was appropriate to get naked in the same place he gets naked.
I pop the lid off Billy’s shower gel. It’s in a glass bottle–who brings glass bottles into a shower?
I truly hope he arrives home while I’m in the shower and finds me here, making myself at home like a bad hook-up who won’t leave the morning after.
I haven’t decided whether I’d let him have his way with me or leave him hungry as I flounce out in the sexy go-go boots Caroline gave me.
But I’ve been in his shower for a full thirty minutes, and he hasn’t shown up. I guess I need to get a move on, so I can meet Madi. I was hoping we could go over together from here, but she texted to say she has to work late, and she’ll meet me over there.
I still haven’t worked out a plan for Pepper, who is sitting on the fluffy gray bath mat, waiting for me with his big brown eyes glued to the glass shower door.
I haven’t found a home for him, which is a problem, since my apartment doesn’t allow pets.
So far, I’ve smuggled him in each night then brought him with me to Billy’s.
I didn’t even have to use Billy’s credit card to buy food and toys because all that stuff arrived at my door as if delivered by magical fairies.
I suspect the magical fairy was Billy’s assistant.
Am I surprised Billy went out of his way to help take care of a little puppy?
Maybe a little, but less than I thought I’d be.
Billy acts grouchy, but he seems to care more than he lets on.
He pretends to be annoyed by Pepper, but when he washed the little dog, he was gentle.
I think deep down I knew Billy would have hidden depths of kindness; otherwise, I wouldn’t have brought a poor, defenseless puppy to his door.
But I still need to find a puppy-sitter for tonight. Pepper is doing well–he’s already learned to only pee on the puppy pads or go outside. I was hoping if Madi and I left here together, I could leave Pepper with either Billy or Brick, but that plan didn’t come together.
Which means…I could really annoy the hell out of Billy and just leave him a puppy surprise when he comes home tonight. While I sort of love the idea of being that obnoxious, I don’t want Pepper to have a terrible time.
Hmm…decisions, decisions.
I help myself to Billy’s razor–committing the cardinal sin of dulling a man’s face razor by shaving my legs and bikini area then get out of the shower and help myself to a fluffy towel. I take my time getting dressed, rocking the skin-tight light gray t-shirt dress with the white go-go boots.
I rummage through Billy’s refrigerator for dinner. He still hasn’t shown up by 6:30, and it’s time to go, so I put Pepper in the little carrier that I bought for him to sneak him in and out of the building–it could pass for a duffel bag if you don’t look too closely–and I leave it by the door.
“I’m sorry, baby. I’m leaving you with the monster tonight. Hopefully he’ll be nice and feed you something in the morning, but I’ll come early to make sure you get taken out, okay?”
Pepper gives a little chirp of a bark.
“I know. I love you, too. Be good.” I make kissing noises and swallow the pound of guilt coming up my gullet as I shut the door.
It will be fine. Pepper will be okay, and annoying Billy is worth it.
Especially after the disappearing act he played this week.
I step into the elevator, trying to ignore my misgivings. Everything about tonight feels wrong. Billy disappeared. Madi couldn’t meet me here to go together. I hate leaving Pepper without being sure someone can watch him.
I feel off track.
I don’t even know what I’m doing screwing around in Billy’s building when I should be focusing on the Sentience case.
Saturday is their gala, and they will be unveiling my mural. That will be my chance to get the evidence we need for the case.
It will be my biggest risk yet, but there’s no one else who can do it. As the artist, I have an invite. I also have a security pass.
It’s the best chance we have at bringing them down.
Billy
I walk into my apartment at seven, knowing from the tracker on her phone that Aubrey just left.
It was purposeful timing on my part. I require a full reset where it comes to that female, and that means avoiding the temptation of her nutmeg scent and delectable body.
I lift my nose to drink in her scent. It’s mingled with the flavor of drying paint, the damp of a fresh shower, and dog.
A small duffel bag is by the door, positioned over a puppy pad. Right. It’s a dog carrier.
Pepper gives a sharp yip of joy at my entrance.
“Hey.” I make my voice sharp, and Pepper whines.
I tug off my tie. Aubrey showered here and left the damn dog. Why in the hell would she do that? Does she not care about the well-being of this rug rat? Or does she harbor a higher opinion of my compassion for small animals than is justified?
Or…is she hoping to tempt me into punishing her? That thought gets my dick hard.
I unzip the carrier and lift the tiny fuzz ball out. “You don’t bark at me.”
He wags his body violently as he tries desperately to lick my face, my hands, any part of me that he can reach.
“I’m your alpha. Don’t forget it.”
More wagging.
He may be young and a mutt, but he’s smart. I can see in his big brown eyes that he understands me perfectly. I give him a scratch behind the ears.
“Do you need to go outside?” I send the mental image of peeing on the grass in Central Park. That’s how shifters communicate when we’re in wolf form. We’re not psychic by any means, but you can get a simple idea across well enough. Usually it’s which direction to run or which animal to hunt.
Pepper’s head whips around to look out the windows that overlook the park.
Yep. Smart pup.
Aubrey left a leash beside the carrier, but I’ll be damned if I’m going to walk a small dog on a leash in public. Walking a small dog in Manhattan is beneath me, regardless. But signaling I can’t control said tiny dog is absurd.
I set Pepper down on his feet. “Come.” I open the door, and he trots out with me and into the elevator, sniffing every corner of it. He picks up one leg to pee, and I growl. He freezes, drops on his back, and rolls to show me his belly in surrender.
I give him an alpha stare. “Outside only.”
When we get to the atrium, I want to ask Grayson if Aubrey left a message for me—like why the fuck she left Pepper here—but I can’t show weakness.
I’m our alpha’s right hand man. I look ridiculous enough walking out of the elevator with a tiny dog trotting behind me when I’m the kind of guy who should have an attack Doberman at his heels.
I nod at Grayson and stride out onto the sidewalk. Usually when I walk down the street, people avert their eyes, but Pepper makes them glance at my face with a smile. Of course, it quickly fades when they see my icy don’t fuck with me return glare.
Pepper trots along as fast as his little legs will carry him to keep up with me.
We make it around the corner to the grass of the park, and I point and tell him to do his business.
He complies. I don’t have a thing for babies, puppies, or kittens, but it’s hard to deny how fucking cute he is.
I may be a monster who’s mostly dead inside, but there’s something about the young—shifter, or animal—that brings out the protective alpha in me.
Especially when I see someone approaching with a bigger mutt that looks like it wants to eat Pepper. I make a low growl in my throat, too low for the human walking the dog to hear, but enough that the dog stops in her tracks, and hugs her owner’s leg as she walks by.
My phone rings while Pepper is running from bush to bush marking his territory, and I pull it out to check the screen.
Madi.
She never calls me. While I have tried to prove my loyalty to her as my luna, we’re still not on friendly terms.
I swipe my thumb across the screen. “Yes, Luna?” I don’t need her to like me, but her trust matters. She needs to know I’m her loyal soldier, prepared to take orders. Prepared to lay down his life for hers.
“Billy. Hi. By any chance is Aubrey still at your place?”
I frown. “No. She left a half an hour ago. Why?”
“I was supposed to meet her tonight, but I can’t get away from the office, and she’s not answering her phone.”
Something twists in my gut. It’s not fear for Aubrey’s safety although that is present too. It’s something different. Something less clean than a protective instinct. Muddier. Tainted with jealousy and hurt.
Fuck. It’s empathy.
I somehow know how Aubrey will feel about Madi standing her up.
I know, and I want to draw a sword and slay the dragon that made her feel this way.
“Where were you meeting her?” I try to keep the sharpness out of my voice. She’s still my luna, and my loyalty should be with her over Aubrey.
For some reason, it’s not, but I can’t evaluate that right now.