10. Hazel
Hazel
The conference room fell silent after Marilee and Lois left but based on the looks passing between the other Sapphic Security staff, I had a feeling there were some silent conversations going on right now.
“What just happened?” I finally asked. “Why did a vampire turn into a wolf?”
“You know she’s a vamp?” Wanda asked in surprise.
“Yeah. She told me.”
“That’s not all she is,” Wanda said cryptically, her eyes on her laptop. She’d been typing on it nonstop since she learned who my parents were.
“What is going on?” I asked, imbuing my voice with authority.
Wanda looked up, the corners of her eyes crinkled like she was amused.
“Marilee is what’s known as a hybrid. She’s half wolf and half vampire, but her vampire side has always been dominant. Until now. As far as I know, that’s the first time her wolf has made an appearance.”
Maybe that’s why she hadn’t mentioned the wolf thing when we’d talked about her being a vampire.
“Why would the wolf come out after all this time?” I asked curiously.
Wanda’s eyes returned to her screen. “You’ll have to ask your… ask Marilee.”
Marilee and Lois returned a few minutes later, taking their seats at the table as if nothing had happened. I noticed that she was wearing different clothes.
“Are you okay?” I whispered to Marilee.
Seeing her turn into a wolf had freaked me out, but it wasn’t the shift that bothered me.
Sensing that she was in pain bothered me more than I would have expected.
I could have sworn I heard her bones breaking as she transformed, although she seemed fine now.
There was something about her, something that made me want to protect her even though she was the bodyguard.
Marilee pressed her knee against mine, the same way she’d done earlier.
“Yeah, it was just… unexpected. Sorry if I freaked you out.”
I waved my hand. “No worries. What do we do now? This is obviously way beyond what the Canadian government hired you to deal with. I’m not sure how much you charge, but I have some savings…”
“The money from the Canadians is enough,” Lois interrupted. “But you can’t go to that conference. We need to get you to a safe house.”
I shook my head. “No way. I have an obligation to attend the conference. I have meetings scheduled, people to talk to. I’m not going to lose my job over this.”
Lois rolled her eyes. “Why the hell is everyone against going to the safe house?”
Wanda opened her mouth to respond, and Lois’s head whipped in her direction.
“Don’t you dare mention Tasha.”
Wanda’s lips pressed together and she looked back at the computer. I made a mental note to ask Marilee what was going on later.
“Hazel.” Lois turned her attention back to me, her tone conveying exaggerated patience. “Going to a safe house is the best way for us to protect you. There are too many variables at the hotel.”
I crossed my arms. “Sorry, but no.”
Lois sighed.
“Fine, let’s see if I can put another team on you then.” She glared at her staff one by one. “A team of people already mated.”
I wasn’t sure what that was about, but I didn’t want to ask. I’d been raised to fear nothing, but I had to admit that Lois scared me a little. Lois looked at her notebook, her brow burrowing in concentration.
“Most everyone is on assignment already.”
“Not me, I’ll go,” a woman who’d introduced herself as Allie raised her hand like she was in school. “Don’t worry boss, I’ll stay focused on the job, I promise.”
For some reason that made Lois glare at Marilee again.
“I’m bumping someone out of the adjoining hotel room,” Wanda said, fingers still flying over the keyboard. “Who are you gonna send, boss? I’ll hack into the conference site and get them registered.”
“I’m going to keep you here in the office to do your computer mumbo jumbo,” Lois said.
“That’s good, because Tasha is home this week.”
“Well, I’m glad I can arrange your work assignments around your freakin’ love life, Diaz. Let’s send Evans then, along with Gunderson,” Lois ordered. “They’re both between assignments and since Gunderson is a… mixed breed she can help Martin if she decides to spontaneously wolf out again.”
“I didn’t do it on purpose,” Marilee said defensively.
Lois gave her a look that could melt steel.
“Do you want me to see if any of the bears are available to help, boss?” Wanda asked, redirecting her.
I glanced at Marilee, but she shook her head once, indicating that I shouldn’t ask right now. I kept my mouth shut.
“Yeah, they can speak Russian or whatever the hell it is they speak and maybe people will think they’re some kind of diplomats too.”
“Their native language is Belarusian,” Wanda responded. “Even though they speak Russian, they’re kind of sensitive about it given that the Soviets tried to eradicate their native language before they got their freedom.”
Lois made a growling sound that threw the room into silence. I didn’t understand anything about supernatural culture, but clearly Lois wasn’t just the boss of the team, she was some kind of an alpha or something.
“Thank you for giving us a lesson in Eastern European politics, Diaz. Now if you’re done flapping your jaws, I’ve got some damned work to do so I can get home to my mate.”
Lois stood up, then turned her attention to Marilee, pointing one stubby finger in her direction. “Don’t fuck this up Martin. You’re a bodyguard right now, nothing else.”
“Yes ma’am.”
A little while later we were in another one of the Sapphic Security SUVs with Marilee’s coworkers Allie and Martha.
Marilee and I were in the back seat together and even though there was a section of seat between us, it felt like we were touching.
The simmering attraction between us that I’d first felt at the airport seemed to be intensifying by the minute.
But it felt like more than simple attraction.
It was like I was continuously aware of where Marilee was in relation to me.
Whenever we were close, I could feel my pulse picking up, my nipples hardening against my bra.
I hadn’t dated a lot in my life. Living in the shadow of my criminal parents and then living in hiding made it hard to have any real relationship, so I’d mostly settled for one night stands and brief interludes with people who were sexually compatible with me.
But nothing in my history had prepared me for whatever this was.
I swear if Marilee so much as crooked a finger at me I’d climb into her lap and start dry humping her.
What was happening? I wondered. Did she feel it too?
I watched her surreptitiously out of the corner of my eye, but Marilee’s face was impassive as she swiveled her head back and forth, watching for threats out the windows.
My thoughts turned to my parents. It wasn’t the first time they’d double crossed other criminals.
They were masters of subterfuge. I was surprised that whoever they’d pissed off not only knew about me but had the resources to find me.
I’d covered my tracks carefully, which meant that the Italians had someone inside the Canadian government.
It was the only explanation. But now that they knew I was in Seattle, I had no doubt word would filter to my parents now too.
They’d probably kidnap me just to save the bounty money.
I sighed deeply and slumped down in my seat. So much for my hard-won freedom. Maybe I should just turn myself over and get it over with?
“Hey,” Marilee said softly. “It’s going to be okay. I promise.”
Her hand moved on top of mine, causing little frissons of electricity to run up my arm.
Without thinking, I turned my hand over and wrapped my fingers around hers.
Marilee froze, then gave my hand a comforting squeeze.
It probably wasn’t appropriate to hold hands with my bodyguard, but it felt right, so right that neither of us let go the entire way back to the hotel.
When we got back to the hotel, Marilee was immediately on high alert.
“Stay right next to me,” she ordered as we pulled into the parking garage. “I’m in charge. If I tell you to do something, you do it right away, no argument.”
For some reason, her instructions turned me on, sending a rush of arousal that dampened my panties. To my horror, Marilee sniffed, her eyes dropping to my lap briefly before returning to my face, which was rapidly turning red.
“Interesting,” she said softly.
Separating from Allie and Martha, we headed up to our room.
As we walked in, Marilee pulled me behind her, her fingers pressing against my hip in a silent order to stay put.
She pulled something out of her jacket pocket, something that looked like a little wand, and systematically made her way through first the main room, then the bathroom.
“We’re clear,” she said, popping her head out of the bathroom.
“What is that thing?” I asked.
She hadn’t used it last night, but then again, we didn’t know there was an actual threat then.
“It checks for listening devices. And bombs.”
I blinked. “Oh. Okay.”
She stalked over to where I was standing with my back pressed against the door, stopping in front of me. She was close enough that I could smell her scent. It was hard to define, something mossy, something almost herbal. Whatever it was, it was enticing.
She reached out her hand, tucking my hair behind my ear with a gentle touch.
Then her eyes met mine, and I swear I could see something flickering in them.
It was almost like they were changing, turning more amber.
I had the sense that someone – or something – was watching me besides Marilee.
My pulse sped up, but not from fear, from something much more primal. When I licked my lips, Marilee groaned.
“I know I shouldn’t do this,” she whispered. “But I’m dying for a taste of you.”
She paused, as if asking for permission. For a person who’d spent more of her life having her own wants and needs ignored, it meant a lot.
“Then taste me.”
Her eyes flared, and she made a sound deep in her throat that was something between a growl and a groan. She surged forward, her hands pressing against the wood on either side of my head, but still not touching me.
I shifted my head and closed the distance between us, pressing my lips against hers. For several long seconds we were both still, lips pressed together chastely as we watched each other.
When I couldn’t take it anymore, I drew her lower lip in between mine, sucking gently.
She parted her lips, and I slid my tongue inside her mouth, exploring.
Marilee remained completely still, letting me take the lead, for a few more seconds, then she surged forward, slamming me back against the door and taking over the kiss.
As she moved, I could swear I heard her murmur, “Mine!”