Chapter 32
I’d never visited the offices for Lone Wolf Sentries before.
They were beyond Illusion Square, in the municipal area of town near the docks, in a window-encased office building.
The town bank took up the bottom floor, where Nate was no doubt working, but I didn’t stop to say hello.
I pressed the elevator button for the top floor with shaky fingers.
The elevator opened on the top floor, directly into Ray’s offices.
They were a hub of activity. The center space was open, interrupted only by a large desk where a young, pert receptionist sat.
Along each side were rows of glass offices, each with sleek black desks and contemporary-looking chairs.
Phones rang and people milled about or chatted, all in the familiar Lone Wolf polo.
The receptionist greeted me with a wide smile. “Hi, Simone. How are you?”
“I’m good, thanks. How are you …” I tried to discreetly check her nameplate, since she’d greeted me with such familiarity, but I was rarely discreet about things.
“Don’t worry, we’ve never met. It’s company policy to know all of our clients on site, though.” She stood and extended her hand. “Nice to meet you finally. Lucy Holloway.”
“Any relation to Doug?” I shook her hand, realizing my palms were clammy from my run over.
“That’s my Pop Pop.” She gestured behind her, where Doug, my very first patient at the Magnolia, chatted with another woman. He lifted his hand in a brief wave that I returned with an awkward smile.
“I see the similarities now.” She was a softer, more joyful version of her grandfather, but she had the same set to her chin and the same peering eyes. Doug could magically read emotions and detect dishonesty in people. I wondered what, if any, ability Lucy held.
“You look a bit nervous,” she said. Welp. That answered that. “Is everything okay at the Magnolia?”
“Actually, there is something I’d like to discuss with Ray.” I scanned the crowd of employees but didn’t see him. My stomach dropped a bit. “Is he here?”
“He is, and he happens to have a free hour.” Lucy rounded her desk and gestured for me to follow. “I can take you straight to him.”
I followed, noting a few familiar faces, including the wolf shifter Heidi who’d been a straight-up badass when we’d had threats at the Magnolia. She nodded hello, so I gave her a strange little wave.
The deeper we went into the office, the more my heart pounded. I should have stopped in the lobby to get some water or at least check my appearance. What if my hair was crazy or my shirt had a stain? It was too late to do anything about it, but I ran my hand over my hair just in case.
The windows at the back overlooked the bay. It was a gorgeous view that reminded me of a mega version of our view from the Bridge Island bench. I hadn’t paid attention to how high up we were until this moment. I stopped to admire it.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Lucy stopped with me. “Ray calls it the view of possibility.”
I made a choking sound in my throat, remembering the last happy words Ray had said to me thirty years prior. Look out there, Simone. There’s so much possibility beyond Treater’s Way.
And though he’d briefly fooled himself into believing the possibilities lay out there, he’d returned and created his own opportunities. Right here in our weird little town. I guess, no matter how much we tell ourselves otherwise, some people are meant to stay home.
Beyond the glass offices, two long hallways extended off to each side. Lucy guided me to the left, toward a door at the far end with Ray’s name. She knocked briefly before opening it.
“Ray, Simone is here.” Without waiting for him to respond, she pulled me inside.
Ray rose from his chair, standing behind a sleek black desk that matched the others in the office by design, but not by size. It was easily twice as large and so deep I wondered if I could lie down on it.
But I didn’t wonder for long, because the sight of Ray practically stopped my thoughts cold.
The windows opened up behind him, offering that same vast view.
He sported his fitted black polo and worn blue jeans.
His hair was parted, with no locks out of place, almost as if he’d just taken a comb to it.
There was a fierce intensity in his blue eyes that rooted me to my spot.
Here I was worried I looked like a closet gnome, and he looked, well …
He looked like an alpha.
I licked my suddenly dry lips, turning to Lucy, who was speaking to me, asking if I’d like any refreshments. “Water, please.”
She bopped out, leaving us standing in the room alone, eyes glued to one another. Neither of us spoke. I was still close enough to the door to rush out if I changed my mind. Not that I was going to. Ray jammed his hands in his pockets.
When Lucy returned, Ray and I still hadn’t even greeted each other. She looked between us with a sly smile. “Have a seat, Simone.”
I took the seat she offered across from Ray’s desk. He towered over me for a moment. Then he lowered himself painfully slowly into his chair.
“I’ll hold your calls,” Lucy said, closing the door behind us.
The mayhem of the central offices didn’t reach this far down the hall. It was too high to hear wind blowing outside or the call of boats at the dock. A wall clock ticked the seconds past. I cleared my throat. One of us had to break the silence. “You knew I was coming.”
I offered it as a statement rather than a question. There was no way he happened to have an hour free on a weekday midmorning. He didn’t happen to fix his hair or have his desk clear. Somehow, he’d known.
“Wolf thing. I sensed you entering the building.” He lifted one side of his mouth into a half-smile that was sexy as hell.
“Then your allergies have improved?” I tried to match his smile. My voice was shaky.
“My allergies?” He shook his head. “I don’t have allergies.”
We’d run into each other beside the Magnolia not even a week and a half ago, and he’d mentioned not being able to sense me. Blamed his allergies. It had been an odd encounter, made even more so by the fact that he couldn’t remember it. It kind of made me doubt the belief that had brought me here.
“My mistake.”
“No worries.” He clasped his hands on the desk, his demeanor screaming businessman. “Is there something I can help you with Simone?”
Now that I was here, my bravado faltered. There was still something off, and though I hoped our conversation would resolve it, I couldn’t plow forward in the face of it. I hadn’t put any thought into what to say or how I’d say it. I’d just rushed in. Now I was stuck and had no idea how to start.
I wasn’t going to chicken out, though. Not again. But a girl could warm up first, right?
“Actually, yes.” I crossed my legs, creating my own professional look to mimic his. “Nina attacked me very early this morning. And she was almost successful.”
“Attacked?” He was around the desk in seconds, moving so quickly I barely had time to blink. He inspected me, leaning close enough that I caught the scent of forest I’d come to associate with him. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. A little tired, but I was before it happened.
” His hands were on me, running along my arms and lifting my chin to scan my face.
Each touch lingered, leaving a trail of warmth that enveloped my body until I couldn’t think straight.
I took his hands in mine and pulled them away from me.
“It wasn’t a physical attack. Not fully. ”
“Oh.” He removed his hands and sat in the adjoining chair, breathing out a sigh of relief. “I thought we’d missed something.”
I told him what happened. How close I’d come to disappearing into the woods.
How Cecelia had rallied the coven when she couldn’t reach me.
How they’d saved me. I tried not to leave any details out, save what happened to poor Gumbo before the attack.
The previous few hours stretched behind me like a decade.
He took it all in with a potent level of concentration. Occasionally, he’d ask a minor question or make a sound of irritation, but he let me finish the story. And when I had, I realized I’d needed to empty myself of it as well. I found myself even more grateful for Ray’s listening ear.
“We have her in a holding cell in the Magnolia,” I said in conclusion. “I thought, as my head of security, you should be there when I question her.”
“Of course.” His voice had gone gruff, raw with the anger I could sense hovering under the surface. But he was keeping his wolf at bay, so that was something. “When did you want to do that?”
“I hadn’t thought that far ahead.” I laughed a little. “I don’t even know what to ask.”
He looked at me with quiet intensity, his hand drifting back up to cup my face. His thumb stroked my cheek. “You’re tired.”
“I have a difficult client.” I couldn’t stop myself from pressing into his hand. “And I’m not sleeping well. But I’m fine. Really.”
I attempted a false smile but let it fall. This was Ray. There was no use pretending. I nodded. “I’m tired.”
He was close. I didn’t remember us moving so close to one another, but his face was mere inches from mine. His eyes dropped to my lips. Desire bloomed deep inside me, rushing blood to my core, making me burn. Yes, my body seemed to scream, yes finally.
Ray’s wolf howled. He hadn’t shifted, not even a little, but I heard the howl and recognized it as his. There was frustration in that howl, the guttural wail of an animal on the brink. A small sound came from my throat, a low hum, as if my magic was meeting his.
He blinked in response, a wave of shock crossing his features. His head darted around like he didn’t know where he was. He shook his head, shaking me off. My heart ripped at the sight of it.
“We should let her sweat a little. Nina. Why don’t we wait until Monday? I can ask Lucy to schedule a time that works for you.” He rose and strode to his door, opening it with a jerk. “If that’s all, I have a busy day.”
I sat where I was, dumbfounded. How could he switch that level of need off and on so easily? Was I really so disposable?
No. It couldn’t be. I’d read the Magnolia Codex. I knew what I knew.
“No, actually. That’s not all.” I walked across the room to him, gently closing the door and pressing my back to it. I balled his shirt in my fist and pulled him close. He grunted, his hands braced on either side of me. I met his eyes. “I want you to tell me, Ray.”
“Tell you what?” His voice came out in a growl. And there was his wolf, rising to greet me, taking the place of the man. So I spoke to it instead.
“Tell me I’m your fated mate.” I kissed him, biting his lower lip before I took his mouth, angling my head.
He froze for a beat. But only a beat. Then his body jammed against mine, holding me against the door, setting me ablaze with each thrust of his hips.
His tongue slipped between my lips, probing and hungry.
My fingers gripped his waist for support.
He was hard, the weight of it pressed against me, making my heart pound into my throat.
His hands roamed, fast and eager, as if they couldn’t find the right spot.
When they did, he cupped my ass and lifted me with one arm, angling my hips so we met each other through our clothes.
He might have whispered my name. I might have groaned.
We were minutes away from fireworks. Seconds away from ripping our clothes off. I was going to find out how well I fit on that desk after all.
Then his goddamned phone rang.
He broke away, swinging back so far I almost fell to the ground. He scanned the room, running his hands through his hair with a curse as he glared in the direction of his desk. The phone continued to ring, blissfully unaware of the havoc it had wreaked.
I tried to recapture my breath while he answered.
My lips stung from the layer of stubble lining his chin and cheeks.
I knew the smile I wore had to be goofy as hell, but I didn’t care.
I tried to fix my hair. I tucked my shirt back in, not remembering when it had become untucked. He hung up and faced me.
But he wasn’t smiling. In fact, he was scowling. Sickness coiled in my gut. Something was wrong.
“I thought Lucy held your calls.” It took all I had, but I kept my voice level and light. “That was a very inconvenient interruption.”
“Maybe not.” Ray crossed the room. When I reached for him, he stopped just out of arm’s reach. His mouth worked, trying to form words. “I don’t know what that was, Simone.”
“Uh-oh, did I do it wrong?” I was losing the humor battle. His eyes had grown dark. His expression grim. “Ray, what is it?”
Another minute of silence, this one worse than the first. The clock ticked. He averted his gaze.
“I’m sorry, Simone. I really am.” He looked up, sorrow lining every angle and plane of his face. “That shouldn’t have happened.”
“Why not?” I barely spoke above a whisper.
“Because sometimes the past is just that.” He came close again, reaching past me to open the door. Ironic, that an open door could feel like an ending. “Simone, you are not my fated mate.”