Page 29 of Wicching Hour

Declan came back to the open driver’s door, his eyes wolf gold. “Did you see that? He was filming us?”

“Yeah. I saw.” I shrugged. “We’re single and dating. We’re both fully clothed. He couldn’t see most of the kissing when our heads went below the window. I’ve used spells to get rid of him, but he just keeps coming back. I don’t understand—” And then I remembered the first part of my nightmare last night.

A woman was talking, spreading poison through phone lines, as a man listened avidly and took notes.Shit.

“I think I know why he keeps coming back,” I said.

“Fae blood?” Declan guessed.

“No. I mean, some of it initially. Probably. Now, though, I think Cal’s pushing him to stay on me like that other stalker who was going to kidnap and kill me a couple of weeks ago.”

Still standing between the truck and the open driver’s door, he let out a gust of breath and then grabbed my backpack from behind the bench. He put it on his seat and unzipped it. “Is it wrong that I really want to punch her in the face?”

“In Cal’s case, no. She deserves that and more.” I watched as he rifled through my bag. “What are you looking for?”

He shrugged. “No idea. Osso said he left your backpack on the floor when you went into the bedroom. He forgot about it as he walked you out. When he went back in, he saw it, went to grab it, and noticed it had been unzipped. The house was filled with cops that don’t like you. I’m trying to see if they were just curious or decided to screw with your stuff.”

Grimacing, I leaned forward and peered in. “You don’t smell pee or anything, right?”

Declan gave me a blank stare. “Would I have my hands in here if it smelled like piss?” He gave himself another quick shake and then kissed me. “Sorry. They make me very angry. You go out of your way to help them—at great physical pain—and they harass you like middle school bullies.”

“Yeah. That part does suck.” The pocket where I kept my honey bear filled with seawater looked too flat to hold the bottle. I unzipped and looked. Empty.

Declan reached into the main compartment and pulled out the bottle. “That’s not where it belongs.” He held it out to me.

I reached for it but then snatched my hand back. “You were wrong about them pissing on—or in this case in—my stuff.”

Declan growled loudly, his eyes bright gold again. I shoved the backpack into the foot well and knee walked to him, taking the bottle out of his hand and dropping it into the open backpack. “I don’t want you to crush that and splash us both in seawater and urine.” I laid my head on his chest and wrapped my arms around him. “Sorry.”

He growled again. “Why areyousorry? You didn’t do anything. I’m the one hanging on by my claws right now.”

“And that’s why I’m sorry,” I said, squeezing him tighter. “Cal and her demon are pushing the wolves. My guess, though, is that as Alpha, you’re siphoning off some of your pack’s aggression to keep them from hurting their loved ones. Meaning you’re the one drowning in excess aggression right now.”

“Meaning I’m endangering you,” he said, his voice somber.

“I’m stronger than the human partners and children.” I tipped my head back to look him in the eye. “What’s going on right now isn’t you. One of the things I found so attractive about you at beginning was your control. When Logan was doing everything he could to rile you up, you didn’t rise to the bait. Not once. All you wanted were my brownies.”

His eyes darkened. They weren’t quite his normal deep brown yet, but they were getting there. “That wasn’t all I wanted.”

“Yeah. That was pretty sexy too. So,” I said, sitting back on my heels, “can I make a suggestion?”

“Of course.” He picked up the backpack and put it behind his seat again. “I don’t want you touching that. I’ll get you replacements and burn that.” He got back in and slammed the door shut.

“My suggestion is you take the day off work, crawl into my bed—that smells like me—and sleep all day. Your exhaustion is making it harder to control the way she’s poking at the wolves.”

He opened his mouth to argue but then pulled out his phone and started texting instead. “I’m already late. Kenji and his sister are on site. They can take care of it while I sleep.” He wrapped his arm around me. “You should sleep with me. You only got an hour or two last night.”

“No can do,” I said as a large moving truck pulled into my parking lot. “The shipping people have arrived.”

He growled again, but it was a playful, frustrated one. Those butterflies were taking wing in my stomach again. I was learning the language of his growls.

“Buckle up. I’ll park around back,” he said, turning the ignition. He stopped beside Bracken’s RV, at the water’s edge. Pointing at the ocean, he added, “You should reset. You never know when you’re going to need your magic.”

FIFTEEN

Cookies!

“Good point.” I unbuckled and slid out, went around the RV, and stepped onto my deck. Leaning over the railing, I put my hand out, drew up a fountain of water, and let it splash my hand. Shaking it off, I yanked my glove back on. Declan, waiting for me at the edge of the deck, took my gloved hand and walked me back to the people gathering at the truck. A few more cars had pulled into the parking lot.

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