15. Marilee
Marilee
Iwas happy to get back to our hotel room. It had been a long day for both of us and my mate and I needed to sleep.
We said goodbye to Martha and Allie as they stopped at the room next door to ours, then headed into our own room. I made Hazel wait while I scanned the room for listening devices, and when everything was cleared, Hazel dropped to her bed with a sigh.
“Oh, we have a message,” she said, nodding towards the landline phone on the table between our beds. “Maybe it’s my boss.”
She picked up the receiver, pressing the button to get the message. I happened to be looking in her direction, so I saw the way her already pale face turned even whiter. Her green eyes flew to mine, and for just a second I saw a flash of panic before she schooled her expression.
“What is it?” I asked.
She handed me the phone, pressing the button to replay the message.
“Moira, mo stóirín, it’s Da.” Colm O’Brian’s voice was deep and slightly accented.
“I hope you’re enjoying your little conference.
You’re a hard person to track down. Listen, your mam and I need to talk to you about a few things.
You’ve put us in a bit of a bind. We’ll be popping by as soon as we can get there.
We expect you to still be in Seattle, or there will be hell to pay.
Watch your back until then, okay? Talk to you soon. ”
I listened to the message again, this time pressing my cell phone to the receiver so I could record it for Wanda.
I doubted she could trace it since it had come through the hotel’s switchboard, but I figured it didn’t hurt to try.
Then again, we probably didn’t need to trace it, given that the O’Brians were clearly on their way here to Seattle.
Hazel flopped down on her bed, throwing her arm over her face.
“Where do your folks live?”
“Boston. At least that’s where they were the last time I talked to them.”
“Well, if they’re in Boston they won’t be here before tomorrow anyway, so we might as well try to get some sleep.”
Hazel pushed up to seated. I thought she’d be sad, or maybe scared, but instead she looked pissed.
“Is it too much to ask that I live my life in peace?” she asked loudly. “I mean, really. All I want to do is figure out how to make advantageous alliances for Canada while keeping international peace. It’s not like I’m asking for the moon here.”
She got up and stomped into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her.
When she emerged ten minutes later she was in her pajamas, face scrubbed clean, breath smelling of toothpaste, her manner calmer although I could still sense the agitation beneath the surface.
Without a word, she got into bed, pulled the blankets up, and rolled over to face the wall.
Since I didn’t need light anyway I turned off my light, then headed into the bathroom to do my own pre-bedtime rituals before settling into bed.
I couldn’t sleep though, not when my mate was awake and agitated.
She was trying to be quiet, but I could practically hear her brain whirring, her body tense beneath the blanket as she shifted positions every few minutes.
“Can’t sleep?” I finally asked her.
“No. My mind won’t shut off. Sorry if I’m bothering you.”
“You’re not.”
I was tempted to offer her an orgasm, but I didn’t want to take advantage of her vulnerable state. I knew it was for the best if we kept our distance except… she looked so sad and lonely over there, her face turned towards mine in the dark.
Before I could think better of it, I got out of bed and crossed the short distance between us.
“Move over,” I ordered.
“What?”
“Move over.”
She slid towards the center of the bed, and I got in next to her.
“Let me hold you for a while.”
She was quiet for so long I thought I’d made the wrong move, but then she was sliding closer.
I stretched out the arm closest to her, and she burrowed into my side, letting out a long sigh as she rested her head on my shoulder, her hand on my belly.
I wrapped my arm around her and everything inside me calmed.
“What are your parents like?” Hazel asked. “Are they crazy too?”
“Not really. I mean they have their quirks but they’re great. We’re pretty close. Dad was in the military, so for the first part of my childhood I was an Army brat, moving from place to place.”
“Must’ve been hard to form friendships that way,” she noted.
I hadn’t thought about it before, but maybe that’s why I resisted forming relationships. Why I was nervous about the whole mate thing.
“Yeah, I guess so. But Dad retired when I was a freshman in high school, so I was able to finish my last three years of school in one place, here in Seattle.”
“Do they still live here?”
“No. A few years ago Dad retired from his post-military job, and he and Mom moved to Montana where there’s more room for him to let his wolf roam.”
“What’s your mom like?”
I smiled in the darkness. “She’s the true general in the family. She insists on family holidays. Has strong opinions on just about everything. But she also makes great cookies and gives the best hugs.”
“They sound great.” Hazel’s voice was wistful.
“Maybe you’ll meet them some day.”
“Maybe.” She yawned, then snuggled closer. “Good night.”
Usually I was a light sleeper, waking up several times throughout the night, but with Hazel in my arms I managed to sleep through the entire night.
I woke up a few minutes before her, relishing the feeling of waking up together.
My mate stirred a few times, then made an adorable snorting noise before her eyes opened.
I looked down at her, taking in her sleepy eyes, wild hair, and the creases my shirt had left on her face.
My heart swelled with an emotion I couldn’t name, not quite yet, but I knew it had nothing to do with fated mates and everything to do with my human side’s growing feelings for this woman.
“Good morning.” Hazel’s voice was rough with sleep. “Thanks for letting me use you as a pillow.”
“You can do that every night,” I told her. “I liked sleeping with you in my arms.”
Her eyes bounced between mine before she said softly, “I liked it too.”
***
The second day of the conference was very much like the first. Hazel went for a swim in the morning while I watched from the side of the pool, then we cleaned up and headed to the conference.
Martha and Allie attended all the same sessions as we did, while Boris wandered around outside, keeping an eye out for anything suspicious.
We sat at the same table as we’d chosen yesterday, and this time we were joined by some Germans. As it turned out, Hazel also spoke German and was able to join in their conversation easily.
“How many languages do you speak?” I asked her during a break in the conversation.
“Fluently? Only five.”
My eyes widened. “Five? Wow.”
“Your German is excellent,” the woman on the other side of her said warmly.
She was tall and statuesque, like a model, with pale blonde hair, icy blue eyes, lips that looked too full to be natural, and perfect unblemished skin. I disliked her immediately.
Hazel gave her a big smile. “Danke Greta.”
The two of them launched into a conversation in German, but I didn’t need to know the language to figure out that the tone had turned personal. Greta leaned closer to my mate, subtly arching her back to put her cleavage on display, her hand landing on Hazel’s arm as she gave her a coy smile.
She’s touching our mate, we must tear out her throat, my wolf howled angrily.
She’s working, calm down. My vamp took a calmer approach.
Then Greta ‘accidentally’ pressed her breasts against Hazel’s arm, and I couldn’t control the low growl that escaped my mouth.
The German looked around, obviously confused, but Hazel just gave me a wink, as if she knew exactly what had happened and was amused by it.
My hand shot out, grabbing the seat of her chair and pulling her closer to me.
Hazel raised an eyebrow but didn’t say anything. True to form, another guy got up to give a speech over lunch. Whatever he was blathering on about, it must have been interesting because both my mate and her German admirer listened with rapt attention, their meals forgotten.
Given the quality of the lunch we were served, it was a blessing. I reached into my jacket pocket and dug out a package of beef jerky to supplement the sad cobb salads we’d been served. A supe needed her protein.
I felt the hairs prickle on the back of my neck. Someone was watching us. I turned slowly, as if I was looking at the table next to us, trying to figure out who it was. Not seeing anything, I pretended to drop my napkin on the floor, then looked behind me as I picked it up. Nothing.
Across the room I met Boris’s eyes. His head swiveled, then he gave me a slight shrug, as if to say he didn’t see anything out of the usual.
The guests all seemed focused on the speaker, and I didn’t see anyone looking in our direction.
All around us, waiters worked to clear tables, fading in the background as they took the dishes away.
Nothing unusual there. They were all dressed in black pants and white skirts, virtually indistinguishable from each other.
Hazel leaned closer, putting her mouth right by my ear. “Do you see something?”
I was surprised that she’d noticed my distraction.
“I guess not.”
She turned back to the speaker, but I still couldn’t shake the feeling that something wasn’t right.
Then I noticed a waiter standing near the kitchen door, his eyes fixed on Hazel for a long moment, his gaze speculative.
I couldn’t say if I recognized him, from this distance he looked like every other male waiter here, but I didn’t like the way his attention was fixed on my mate.
I looked around for one of my teammates, hoping to get their attention so they could go talk to the guy, or come protect Hazel while I went to talk to him, but they’d all faded into the crowd.
Damn it.
The man’s attention shifted, sensing that I was watching him. We stared at each other across the room, and I knew that he realized he was busted. His eyes crinkled as he smirked, then he backed slowly into the kitchen, disappearing.
Shit. I couldn’t go after him and leave Hazel here alone. Maybe it was nothing, another person admiring my mate, but I knew instinctively it was more than that.
I shot off a text to Wanda, asking her to run checks on the waitstaff here at the hotel.
For the rest of the lunch I waited for the guy to come back out, but I didn’t see him, even when the rest of the wait staff came out with dessert and coffee. Whoever he was, he’d vanished.
I had a bad feeling about the guy, but I also suspected that we wouldn’t see him again. Unless he was an idiot, he wouldn’t want to risk me recognizing him.
With that threat temporarily alleviated, I could turn my attention back to something more important – like the way this German lady was still flirting with my mate.