Chapter 17
Livvie
“What should I do today?” I asked. “Should I hide?”
Wes sighed. “No. I have to go to work like usual. The renovations can’t stop because of this. But maybe you can make sure to have someone with you? Maybe you can come hang around the bed and breakfast. I’ll put you to work.”
That actually sounded great. I loved the idea of spending more time with him, and if I got to see him working with his shirt off, it would be worth every minute.
Rolling over in bed, I smiled but made sure to point my mouth away from his face. Dragon breath wasn’t a good thing, not even for a dragon’s mate. “That sounds nice. I’ll meet you there in a bit?”
He pressed a quick kiss to my forehead and hopped out of bed. “Then I’m going to run over to my house to dress and get ready for work. We already slept late.”
I lounged around until I heard his truck drive away. Someone had brought my car back in the night, I saw as I pulled out my phone and walked onto the front porch to text my kitchen manager to see if he needed anything before I headed over.
I had to update the staff that Calvin had been fired and that he was not welcome on the premises. I made everyone there promise they’d call me immediately if he showed up.
A whole week went by with no changes. Wes slowly moved stuff to my house until he was practically moved in. We spent our evenings talking and watching movies or going outside to walk around and talk. We learned more and more about each other and our desires, hopes, dreams, the whole shebang.
Sunday, Wes had to do something at the bed and breakfast, something about plumbing while a certain specialist could come. I’d pretty much let him take over everything since I trusted him so much, just popping in to help when I escaped the kitchen.
I grabbed my purse to clean it out, and a business card fell out. It had Calvin’s name on the front, and an address here in Bluewater on the back.
He’d rented an apartment downtown. I’d forgotten. With nothing else to do today, I hopped in my car and headed over there.
Why I’d thought I could do this, I had no idea. I didn’t have a key to the place, which I recognized as being the apartment Kaylee used to live in before she married Porter.
I pulled out my phone and called her. “Kaylee? This is Livvie.”
“Hey, girl, how are you?” she asked.
“I’m good, but I need a favor. Did they tell you about the wolf that was stalking me?” I asked.
“Yeah, Porter told me what he knows. How can I help?”
“Well, he was staying at the old apartment you used to live in. Sammy reassured me that he’s definitely nowhere nearby, so I was hoping there might be a way to break in that you knew about. I want to go inside and snoop.”
She sighed. “My friend, that’s a terrible idea. Did you run it by Sammy? And no, we made that thing a fortress because I tended to get stalkers.”
“I didn’t tell Sammy, but I promise I will. Before I go in there. Okay?” I wanted to snoop but not if it was in any way dangerous.
“Okay. That’s a deal. I tell you what. Wait five minutes and then go into the deli below the apartment. By the time you call Sammy, it should be good. I’ll get in touch with the owner and get her to give you the key.”
“Thanks, Kaylee, I owe you one.”
She snorted. “I’ll call it in when it’s time to make the baby’s first birthday cake. I hate baking.”
That sounded great to me. “It’s a deal.”
As soon as we hung up, I looked at my contacts and realized I’d never gotten Sammy’s direct number, so I dialed Skye. She picked up on the second ring.
“Hey, friend,” Skye said brightly. “What can I do for you?”
“Hi! Hope you’re well.”
After we exchanged a few pleasantries, I dug in. “I want to go in and snoop around the apartment the wolf stayed in, but I wanted to get Sammy’s go-ahead first.”
“Ah,” Skye said. “Well, I’ll contact her right away, but if you want my professional opinion, you should also tell Wes.”
That was going a little overboard. As long as Calvin wasn’t in the vicinity, I was perfectly safe.
About thirty seconds later, Sammy appeared in the seat beside me. I gasped and scrabbled for the driver door before I realized it was her.
“Let me know if you find anything significant,” she said. “Otherwise, it’s safe to go in.”
Before I had time to reply, she was gone. My gasps hadn’t even had time to subside into a normal breathing pattern.
After five minutes had passed, and my heartrate returned to normal, I hopped out and went into the deli. “Hello,” I said to the older lady behind the counter. “Kaylee said she was going to call.”
“Sure, sure.” The kindly lady handed me a key. “Just drop it off when you’re done.”
I raised my eyebrows. “Thanks. I won’t do any damage, I promise.”
She waved me off. “Any friend of Kaylee’s is a friend of mine.”
I ducked my head and walked out of the deli, then around the building to the stairs. The key opened the apartment, no problem.
The place was pretty bare. One blanket on the bed. The closet door was open with a few suits inside and a suitcase underneath. The bathroom had a few toiletries.
The kitchen didn’t seem like it had ever been used. On the kitchen table, one of the only pieces of furniture in the place besides the bed, was a laptop.
I opened it and smiled when there was no passcode. But my smile faded when I saw the desktop picture.
It was me, standing behind the reception desk of the bed and breakfast. I wore a sweater that I’d stuffed in the back of my closet. Nana bought it for me, and I wore it one time. It had been very itchy, so I hadn’t worn it again.
That was back near Christmas. Well before I’d called him for a job interview. Oh, gross. How long had he been watching me?
There was only one folder on the desktop beside the icon for the browser.
And it was labeled with a name that called to me. It tickled at the recesses of my memory. Olivia Pearson.
I opened the folder to find picture after picture of me. In town. At the restaurant. And some of the pictures had date stamps nearly a year old. How had he gotten in to stalk me for this long if Sammy was supposed to have these amazing wards?
My stomach ached with fear for the first time all week. I’d begun to think I was safe, that he couldn’t get back in here and that Wes would take care of him if he did.
But this had gone on longer than I’d thought. Could he get back in now?
As I stared at the photos, highly freaked out, Wes walked into the apartment. “Hey,” he said softly.
Jumping out of my skin for the second time in an hour, I whirled and gasped. “What are you doing here?” I asked in surprise. My heart raced and adrenaline spiked, the flight response strong, but I fought it off.
“Phone tag,” he said with a shrug. “Kaylee told Porter, and Porter was with Toby, and Toby thought I’d want to check on you.” He grinned. “Also, Anthony called.”
“I’m glad you did.” I nodded toward the computer. “He’s known I was here for a while. Longer than we thought.”
Wes sat at the table beside me and scrolled through the laptop. After a minute of looking, he snapped it shut. “I’ll take care of it.” He scooted close and pulled me into his lap. “We’re going to catch this creep. I won’t rest until you’re completely safe.”
I pressed my lips to his, causing a low growl to rise in his throat. All week, every time we touched or kissed, both of us had been getting more and more riled up. I was nearly ready to ask him for more. It seemed that would be the only way I’d get it.
“Wes,” I whispered.
“You’ve been teasing me all week,” he said against my lips. “I’ve been a gentleman.”
“Maybe you shouldn’t be,” I said coyly.
Wes gripped the back of my neck and kissed me deeply, his tongue fighting my own and leaving me breathless by the time he pulled back. I was satisfied to note he was breathing a little hard himself.
“I’m taking you out tonight,” he said as he plopped me onto the chair I’d slid off of. He stood and picked up the laptop. “Get all dressed up and be ready to go by seven.”
I saluted him. “Yes, sir.”
He held out a hand, so I stood and followed him out of the apartment. “I’ll take this laptop to Sammy. We’ll see if it can help us.”
I grabbed the key and shut the door.
“Don’t lock that,” he said. “Sammy might want to come in.”
“Can’t she just pop in?” I asked.
He snorted. “I guess you’re right.”
At the bottom of the stairs, he pressed another kiss to my lips. “See you at seven.”
Shoving Calvin out of my mind, I returned the key, then called Liza. “Come get your nails and hair done with me,” I said when she answered.
“You are in luck!” she said. “Toby is off with Porter and I’m not working today. Meet you at the salon in ten.”
Grinning, I hurried to my car and drove down a few businesses to park at the salon and wait for my friend to arrive.
We couldn’t really gossip much in the pedicure chair, so we talked about things as if we were human.
“How’s it feel to have a creeper after you?” she asked with one eyebrow arched.
“He knew my parents and sought me out,” I explained.
“Yeah, Toby told me. How are you handling the stress?”
Shaking my head, I watched the lady work on my feet.
They’d needed a pedicure sorely. “I’m not, not really.
I try to keep busy, and I’ve been spending all my free time with Wes.
” I shot her a wry look. “I feel bad doing this today. Is it okay to live my life when there’s someone out there who wants to hurt me? ”
“Heck, yes!” Liza exclaimed. “Not living your life is a disservice to what you could be building with Wes. It’s only letting the enemy win.”
Her words warmed me. “Thanks. You’re right.” I decided to do just that. Eventually, probably soon, we’d have to deal with Leonard. But for now, I was enjoying my life. Including my new boyfriend. Mate. Whatever he was, he was mine.
After we did our nails and got our hair trimmed, we went to a local boutique and found me the perfect date night outfit.
I went home and got ready, shaving all over. We’d been dancing around this all week. Tonight was the night Wes would be getting me naked.
And I had zero objections.
He got ready at his place, though I was surprised he even had any of his belongings still there.
He’d been stopping by to grab clothes all week and leaving them here.
When I did a load of laundry for myself yesterday, I did his as well.
Why not? I didn’t mind doing a load for him.
He’d been cooking and doing dishes all week.
I opened the door to find him in a gray suit with a dark blue shirt. No tie. And the shirt was unbuttoned at the top.
Holy hell. Mouthwatering. The suit fit his muscles like it had been tailored for him but made ever so slightly small so to show off his build.
My brain kept conjuring up ways I wanted to take his clothes off.
“If you keep looking at me like that, we aren’t going to make it to the date. I’ll take you straight into that bedroom and rip that cute little dress off you.” His eyes flashed with the warning, telling me he meant it.
“Hey,” I protested. “I like this dress.” I shrugged. “Otherwise, I have no objections.”
He laughed and bounded up the porch steps to press a kiss to my lips. “Urgh,” he said when he pulled back. “Lip gloss.”
“Yep. So, mind your kisses tonight.” I tossed my hair and pulled the door closed.
“You look amazing,” he said as he held open the truck passenger door. “But if we don’t hurry, we’ll be late.”
He took me to a brewery I’d never been to. “This place is inside the wards of the town,” he said. “And they’re hosting a wine tasting tonight.”
“Oh, I’ve never done a wine tasting,” I said with delight. “That sounds fun.”
I’d never given much thought to how much alcohol I had to consume to get drunk. But by the time we finished all the wines, I was still relatively sober. Too bad, really, I’d been looking forward to being a little tipsy.
Dinner was served afterward with more wine, and we sat down to a delectable lamb course. “We haven’t talked about our past relationships,” I said.
Wes grimaced. “I’ve been avoiding it, if I’m being honest.”
That was surprising. I’d just figured since he hadn’t brought it up that it was kind of like me, rather boring. But that didn’t make any sense from a guy like Wes. He was drop-dead gorgeous. Women would’ve been flapping over themselves to date him. “Why?”
“Well, I’ve actually had a mate before,” he said.
“Oh,” I whispered as I set my wine glass down. How could he not have told me this?
“Don’t look at me like that,” he said. “It was a horrible situation, and I don’t like talking about it.” He cocked his head. “Though, now that I’m thinking about it, it doesn’t bother me like it used to.”
Hopefully, I was to thank for that. “What happened? I hope I’m not a rebound,” I said, feeling a little defensive.
“Oh, definitely not.” He shook his head and lowered his voice.
“With us,” he said, meaning dragons, “we have chosen or fated mates. Like I said before, most are chosen. Once mates choose each other and complete the bonding, the bond is damn near like a fated mating bond.” He rolled his head on his shoulder.
“Now that I’m experiencing this with you, I can say it’s nowhere near as strong, though I never would’ve known that if I hadn’t gone through this with you. At the time, it felt pretty potent.”
“Okay, so you chose a mate and bonded.” What the hell was a bond? We hadn’t discussed that, either.
He nodded. “Kristen. We were doing great, but then a visiting clan came to town.” He wiggled his eyebrows, so I knew he meant another clan of dragons.
I nodded my understanding. “Yeah, okay.”
“And it turned out that Kristen’s fated mate was among the visitors. When they realized what was happening, she told me right away. She was trying to decide what to do.”
My heart thumped in sympathy. That had to have been horribly painful for him. “Oh, no.” I covered my mouth, horrified.
“I ended up stepping aside.” He blotted his mouth with his napkin. “I loved her, but who was I to come between fated mates?”
“Whoa,” I whispered. “That’s horrible.”
He nodded. “It was. And it was one of the reasons I hesitated when I met you. I didn’t know if I wanted to risk that kind of heartache again.”
I shook my head. “I can’t imagine leaving you,” I said earnestly. “I know it’s early, but I don’t want to go forward without you in my life.”
“You’re not a rebound.” He leaned close and took my hand. “If I’d known you existed, I wouldn’t have ever looked twice at Kristen. I hope you know that.”
“I do.” I leaned forward and offered my face for a kiss. He took me up on my offer and pressed his lips to mine.
“Take me home,” I whispered against his lips. “Prove to me just how much I belong to you.”