Chapter 12 Frankie
Chapter twelve
Frankie
“Are you even listening to me?” Vincent’s amused voice wrenches me back from my internal musings.
“Yes, sir,” I say, even though we both know I’m lying.
I don’t want to be here. I don’t care to hear about the minute details of the upcoming delivery or where all our people will be placed to make sure nothing takes us by surprise.
None of that interests me, which is…odd. I’m usually front and center in these meetings. Working closely with Lirael to ensure all angles are covered and all possible scenarios are accounted for.
But I can’t keep my attention on any of it.
My thoughts keep going back to Seth. To the way his scent lingers after I leave his apartment. The smoothness of his skin against my palm and how it blanches white before turning a beautiful shade of pink when I grip him roughly.
When I’m not with him, I ache for him, and my wolf whines miserably. And to make things worse, it’s becoming painful to spend my nights with him. My wolf wants to knot him, and it’s a physical fight to keep from shifting every time I’m with Seth.
I do my best to stay attentive to the meeting, answering any questions and giving my opinions, but it’s obvious that I’m not giving it my all like I usually do. After a few more details and suggestions, Vincent calls an end to the meeting, and I all but flee the office.
Stepping into the elevator, I mentally try to convince the contraption to move faster. I don’t want to be crammed in here with the others, not when my wolf is pacing in circles and ready to snap at anyone who gets too close.
I let out a breath when the doors start to close, my head thumping back against the dark wood paneling. My relief is short-lived, though. An elegant, long-fingered hand stops the doors, and Lirael steps into the elevator beside me.
Ignoring him isn’t possible; he apparently has other ideas as he turns to face me, arms crossing over his chest. Even though he’s currently wearing a black suit that fits him like a second skin, I’ve seen him in his party attire.
He looks like the quintessential twink with his slim build and revealing clothes, but I know better than to treat him as one.
I give him a bland look, schooling my face so that it’s as blank as possible, even though I feel like my skin is covered in insects and my wolf is snapping impatiently.
“I’ve never seen you like this,” Lirael comments, his yellow eyes tracking down my body. There’s something in his voice that has my wolf snapping to attention, a deceptive calmness that I don’t trust.
Grinding my teeth, I take a deep breath to keep from snarling at him.
I can’t dismiss his statement, though. We both know it’s true.
I’m a complete mess and have been for a while.
It’s starting to affect me at work, and if Lirael is noticing, that means Vincent will, too.
If I fuck up, then I will be punished for it, and as the Don’s Enforcer, Vincent will ensure to make an example out of me.
“What do you want?” I finally growl out.
Lirael smirks at me, reaching over to push the emergency stop on the elevator panel.
I’m immediately on edge, straightening until I’m at my full height.
I’m taller than him by more than a few inches, but that doesn’t mean much when I can feel his immense power radiating from his smaller form.
A power he rarely ever unleashes and I am thankful about that, because it’s malevolent, a complete contrast to the sweet-looking man standing before me.
His yellow eyes darken, until they look like bottomless pools.
That feeling of calmness intensifies, but I don’t let it fool me.
I know there lies undiscovered depths and secrets I have never dared pry into.
Lirael looks delicate, fragile even, as if he could be broken into a million pieces.
It’s deceptive, and my wolf has his hackles up instinctively, rumbling in warning, I hold back.
Lirael doesn’t do anything without reason.
He leans closer to me, close enough that I can smell his ash and smoke scent.
Close enough that I can see that his pale skin is flawless and his hair isn’t actually hair at all, but feathers.
There’s an unnerving sense of stillness emanating from him that has my wolf pacing.
Lirael can be off-putting at times, but this is something else entirely.
He leans into me, one hand on my chest as he stares up at me. “Your kind always smell delectable when you go into heat.” His voice is silky and deep, the pink tip of his tongue swiping over his lower lip.
“What the fuck are you talking about?”
Lirael chuckles, tilting forward to brush his nose against my collarbone. My wolf howls in fury, and I have to curl my hands into fists to prevent my claws from extending.
My pulse is pounding in my ears. My wolf hates that Lirael is so close to us. He’s not the one who should be flushed against our body. That is where Seth should be. Lirael stares up at me, pupils blown wide as he takes another deep breath, pulling my scent into his lungs.
“Last chance, Lirael. What the –" My words come to a screeching halt when he reaches down between my legs and wraps his hand around me, squeezing the knot that’s hugging the base of my dick.
Pleasure licks up my body at the touch, and I freeze. My wolf, on the other hand, goes rabid. There is so much wrongness about this whole situation. Lirael should not be touching me like this. Not only because it’s unwanted and because he’s one of my subordinates, but because he’s not Seth.
Seth is the only one allowed to touch me like this.
I growl, a low rumble that has Lirael’s gaze flicking up to meet mine. I’m sure my wolf is looking out through my eyes, warning the other man to back off. Lirael meets my gaze, his seemingly empty black eyes locking with mine as he squeezes my junk hard enough that my knees almost give out.
I’ve had enough. Witha scowl, I wrap one hand around Lirael’s throat, twisting my body so that I can slam him against the side of the elevator. The whole thing lurches, but I don’t loosen my grip. And apparently, neither does he, as his hand is still gripping my dick.
“Why haven’t you claimed your mate?” Lirael chokes out, eyes going wide at the sudden change in our positions.
“What the fuck are you talking about?”
I’m inches from his face, my lips pulled back in a snarl, my fangs already starting to lengthen. I’m so close to shifting that I’m trembling from holding back my wolf.
Lirael stares upat me, completely unafraid. For good reason. I may be a powerful shifter, but I’m not stupid enough to think I can take him on. That fact is the only reason I’m able to keep my human form.
It’s only when I talk my wolf into calming down that I realize Lirael is stroking me through my pants. Despite the fact that he’s concentrating all his attention on the head of my dick, I’m completely soft.
Lirael groans, his hips arching into me, and I can feel the hard ridge of his arousal against my thigh. “You really need to claim your mate,” he purrs, not caring in the slightest that my claws are digging into his throat hard enough to draw blood. “Fuck, your scent is intoxicating.”
I draw back from him, claws and fangs retracting as I stare at the man writhing against the elevator wall.
I’m at a loss, completely confused as to what’s going on, and I don’t like the feeling.
I’ve never seen Lirael act like this. He’s always been naturally seductive.
It’s how he’s able to do what he does with the organization’s businesses, but he’s always in control.
It’s as if he’s on drugs or drunk. Completely uninhibited.
I back further away from Lirael, pushing the button on the panel to get the elevator moving again.
“Fuck, I’m sorry, boss. It’s just. . .” He lets out another groan as he unbuttons his pants and shoves his hand beneath the waistband of his boxers.
“Are you kidding me right now, Lirael?” I shout, turning away from him. Why is the elevator taking so damn long? I’m thankful that the elevator has wood paneling, but I can still hear his heavy panting and the unmistakable sounds of him jerking himself behind me.
“I can’t help it,” he gasps. “It’s this or I’m fucking anything that I get close to. Go claim your mate, you dumbass.”
The scent of arousal is overwhelming in the close confines of the elevator, and I wish I had something to cover my nose with. Before Seth, I doubt I would have been this affected by the way Lirael is behaving, but right now it simply feels wrong.
“What the hell has gotten into you?” I mutter.
“Shifters, when you find your mates,” Lirael pants behind me, “you release pheromones that are intoxicating.”
I shake my head, and I don’t know if it’s because I’m in denial or just even more confused. Maybe my obsession with the human is more than just a random thing. No, that’s ridiculous.
My thoughts screech to a halt as Lirael lets out a low moan, and I can’t help but glance over my shoulder at him.
Then I have to do a double-take. His pants are open as he roughly fucks his fist, but what catches my attention is the fact that the end of his dick is surrounded by a dual corkscrew spiral that continues for another few inches past the head.
How that hell does that even work when it comes to fucking?
I twist back around, staring at the brushed metal doors of the elevator as he lets out a shout and the thick scent of release floods my senses. Seconds later, the elevator dings that we’ve reached the ground floor. I’m out of the elevator before the doors fully open.
Even though I’ll never get the image of Lirael’s dick out of my head for the foreseeable future, that’s not what has my heart pounding out of my chest.