Chapter 7 #2
“Not like that,” he argued. “You didn’t have to come with me, you know.”
“I had to…” Shit. I shouldn’t have said that.
Luckily, Parker didn’t seem to notice what I’d said.
Or, if he had, he didn’t mention it because we were already at the inn.
The gates, as I’d predicted, were closed and Gage was marching back and forth along the width of the driveway.
Back and forth. Back and forth. His demon horns, which were always visible to supes, even when he was in his human form, glinted under the moonlight.
When Parker guided the vehicle alongside the gate, I rolled down the window since I was closest to Gage. Parker angled his body toward me, and I froze. He was all up in my space as he leaned over to talk to Gage.
His fingers brushed my leg as he braced himself on the center console. His face was right there in front of me . If I tilted my head, my lips would brush against his temple. Or, better yet, I could press my nose into his ginger hair and breathe in his scent.
For a moment, I wished I could shift. When I was in my minotaur form, my senses were more acute and there were so many things I wished to know.
Would his hair feel silky smooth against my lips?
It looked silky. And shiny. And I bet my fingers would slip right through it.
Would I detect more nuances in the timbre of his voice and the rhythm of his breathing?
Would his skin taste salty if I licked him?
Would his scent drive me wilder than it already did?
“Have you seen my grandmother?” Parker asked, oblivious to the turn of my thoughts.
“No.” Gage frowned. “Do you honestly think she’ll come out all this way?”
When Parker shrugged, his elbow slipped off the console and slammed into my leg.
“Oh my God,” Parker said, pulling away. “I’m so sorry.” He rubbed my leg. I stared at his fingers gliding over my pants. His hand was way too close to…
It was right there. His little finger especially. If I wiggled a little…
Which meant I couldn’t. I couldn’t even breathe. Except he was looking at me like he expected me to say something.
I gulped in some air. “Fine,” I croaked out. “I’m fine.”
His gaze dropped to his hand. His eyes widened, and he yanked his hand away. “Fuck. I’m sorry…”
Even in the shadows of the vehicle, I could see his cheeks darken. From what I understood of humans, my sight would be better than his, so hopefully he couldn’t see that my face was probably the same color. Gage would, though.
I hoped the demon wouldn’t mention how flustered I was to anyone. Because… Uh… I was just unsettled because I’d been tasked with infiltrating the human hunter group. Nothing else.
A case of nerves. That’s all.
Parker and I… well, there wasn’t a Parker and I… or shou ld that be Parker and me? Whatever. There wasn’t an us . That was the point.
I swallowed.
Parker cleared his throat, as if remembering why we were here. “She might not go through the gate,” Parker said, looking in his rearview mirror at the stretch of land behind us that wasn’t fenced. “She could cut through the trees.”
Gage shook his head. His gaze caught on mine. “Isaac checked. He didn’t see her.”
Isaac was a centaur who used to work with Gage when they were part of the Supernatural Council.
The SC would have trained him in all kinds of things.
His sense of smell wouldn’t be as strong as a wolf shifter’s, particularly if he couldn’t shift.
And let’s face it, out of all the supes in town, he was one of the ones who, like me, couldn’t risk being seen by a human.
A supe who appeared to be half-animal and half-man would never be easily explained or dismissed.
But I trusted that he was experienced enough to know if they had an intruder.
If Gage and Isaac didn’t sense her on their land, she hadn’t been through here.
Of course, Parker didn’t know that, and he appeared ready to argue the point.
Something moved in the shadows by the lake. What was that? I scanned the area again. There. It happened again. It could be the eyes of an animal watching us from the trees, but it could also be light reflecting off binoculars.
I nudged Parker and nodded toward the other side of the road .
He spun in his seat. “What?”
“Does she have binoculars?”
Parker groaned. “Probably.”
He was out of his seat and marching across the road before I knew what he was doing. Shit. What if I was wrong? What if it was a wild animal instead? I scrambled out of the passenger seat and followed him.
“Nana!” Parker sounded like he was scolding a child. “Get out here this minute.”
He stomped down the trail, heading straight for the spot where I’d first glimpsed the flash, so I figured he must have seen the reflected light now too. When he stopped, he put his hands on his hips and glared into the trees.
His grandmother separated from the shadows. No wonder I hadn’t seen her right away. She was tiny to start with, but when she was dressed all in black, she seemed even smaller. She wore a knitted black cap over her gray hair.
“Nana! How could you?”
“What are you doing here, Parker dear? I thought you were sleeping.”
“I was sleeping, and I should still be sleeping. But something woke me up.”
“Do you have problems like that often, dear? If you get up to use the bathroom a lot in the night, you should get your prostate checked out.”
“Don’t,” Parker said, holding up his hand to her. “Don’t try to distract me. I heard you leave. What are you doing out here? It’s the middle of the fucking night. ”
Her gaze hopped to me, then to Gage, who was still at the gate, before bouncing back to her grandson.
“I told you…” She let her words trail off as she contorted her face as if trying to pass along some message. It was obvious she didn’t want to explain herself in front of us.
Parker sighed and shook his head. “Get in the car. We’re going back to my place. And don’t expect me to be quiet when I get up in a few hours.”
Edie complied, probably because her surveillance operation had been compromised. Parker followed right behind her, like he was convinced she would try to lose us if he wasn’t close enough to grab her. I trailed along behind them.
“I came out to watch some birds,” she said as she fitted the lens caps over her binoculars. “It’s such a clear night. And I’ve only just arrived. I haven’t had the chance to see anything yet…”
“Birds? What birds? It’s the middle of the night.”
“Owls,” Edie said. “I’m one of those twerkers.”
Parker froze. “What did you say?”
“A twerker.” Edie turned to look at her grandson. “You know. Someone who looks at birds.” Edie’s mouth twitched like she was trying not to laugh.
“Twerkers are people who…” He shook his head. “You know what, never mind.”
“Oh, right. I meant tweaker.” Edith winked at me when Parker scrubbed his hands over his face in frustration. Was she for real? She sounded amused.
“No. Not tweaker either,” Parker snapped. He had no clue his grandmother was messing with him. “Twitcher. They’re called twitchers. It’s obvious you’re not a bird watcher. Just… Quit. You’re making this situation worse. Just go and get in the car.”
I glanced at Gage. I expected him to be glaring at the petite woman with his arms crossed over his chest, looking like a bouncer at a bar. Instead, I swore he was fighting a smile.
“I’m glad you are safe, Mrs. Girard,” the demon said when we got close to the vehicle.
She tilted her chin up. “That’s Ms . Girard. I’m not defined by any man.”
“Fair enough.” Gage nodded. Now he was smiling too. “My apologies. I hope you have a good night.”
The demon turned on his heel and walked to the inn like he didn’t have a worry in the world. But I knew better. Someone would be watching to make sure that Edith Girard got into Parker’s vehicle and left.
None of us spoke on the drive through town. When we arrived back at the parking lot behind the Flying Rowan Café, Parker’s grandmother exited the vehicle and slipped through the door to his apartment like nothing had happened.
Parker dropped his head to the steering wheel. “I’m so embarrassed. I don’t know what is wrong with her. I know she isn’t senile because she’s always been this way, but…”
I patted his back awkwardly. “It’s okay. She’s safe. That’s the important thing.”
And it didn’t sound like she’d seen anything. That was even more important .
“I’m sorry you felt like you had to help me look for her. It’s so late…”
“I didn’t mind,” I said. And it was true. I’d wanted to help him. I always did. I liked spending time with him, which was usually why I didn’t. He was too tempting.
But it wasn’t a hardship.
Tonight, though, I’d also had ulterior motives, and that made me feel like I was lying to Parker. I didn’t like that. I hated Van, and I hated his ridiculous request that had put me in this position.
Parker sat up, and I pulled my hand away.
Our gazes locked for one moment. His eyes were so beautiful; even in the shadowy interior of his car I found them mesmerizing.
My pulse quickened. My leg tingled from where he’d touched me earlier.
As the moment stretched longer, I half expected him to lean across that console again.
He yawned.
“I should… uh…” He motioned to his apartment.
I nodded. “Right. I’ll see you in the morning. I think we’ll both need coffee tomorrow.”
“You got that right,” Parker said. “And thank you, Levi. I mean it. Your coffee is on me for the rest of the week.”
“You don’t need to do that.” I waved off his offer.
“And call me. Any time you need something, I’m there. I promise,” he said.
I wanted to tell him I would always be there for him too. All he had to do was ask.
Instead, I walked away. I couldn’t make promises to him. He didn’t know anything about me and never could. I was already closer to him than I should have been. I needed to pull back. I hoped it wasn’t too late already.