Page 48 of Where There's Smoke
“So I take it, you want to smell Elliot next?” Fitz asked with a shit-eating grin, as if he’d read my mind.
“I mean, if he would let me. I get that it's kind of personal. I'm just curious and everything is so new to me, and I'm feeling really overwhelmed, and for some reason, your scents seem to ground me…”
Samson grinned at me, his tone insinuating when he spoke. “I have a feeling it’ll be just fine, Melody.”
Chapter 23
Melody
“Hello? Can I help you?”
Elliot sat behind his desk, paperwork covering the surface, and it felt wildly dumb to be doing this. He was clearly busy—no surprise there—and what? I was just going to come in here and sniff him like a maniac?
Ugh, I should leave.
“Someone has their sense of smell back,” Fitz proclaimed, and suddenly, I was so on the spot that my stomach twisted into knots.
He had his arm around my waist and ushered me forward as Samson slowly came around us to lean against Elliot’s desk. Elliot perked up in his seat, eyes darting to me, and I nodded, unsure what else to do.
“I-I do. I can smell, well,a lotnow. I think?—”
“She thinks that it’s about time to get a good sniff of the ole pack lead.” Fitz grinned when I glanced over at him, a bit annoyed, but hell, I knew he was just saving me the trouble of forcing the words out. “She’s already had some good time with Sam and me. It’s your turn.”
Elliot blanched, sitting upright in his chair. He was stiff as a damn board from head to toe, and the room dropped into uncomfortable silence. After what felt like years, he sat forward, tenting his fingers while he leaned on his elbows.
“Look, I’m glad you can smell again, really. But I don’t have time to sit here, letting you sniff me. I have paperwork to discuss with you, and?—”
“Then it’s perfect!” Fitz was like an excited puppy. “You get your sniff on, Melody, and Elliot can drone on about some boring paperwork. It’ll make it so much better than just having to listen to him.”
After basically shoving me toward him, Samson and Fitz left with grins on their faces as I stood in front of Elliot’s desk. Already, I could scent something wafting toward me, and it crept in on my senses, making my heart pound.
“Ugh, fine. Just get it over with. I haveimportantmatters to discuss with you, regardless of how ‘boring’ they may be.”
Standing, Elliot circled his desk and stood near me, looking away while still offering himself up so that I could scent him. He looked so uncomfortable, but there was the flicker of his pulse in his neck. And something tingled between us like anticipation and curiosity.
I leaned in, getting my nose close to his chest and taking a deep breath. My mouth watered instantly, heat rising in my body. He smelled fantastic. I’d always thought I could smell the barest hint of his toothpaste, but it wasn’t that. It was Elliot. He smelled like spearmint, but there was something else, something dark and sort of bitter.
Smoke. He smells like spearmint and smoke.
“All right, then, if you’ll take a seat. I have some things we should go over.”
I did as requested, taking a seat in the chair in front of Elliot’s desk as he returned behind it. He radiated tension, and it tookme several moments to clear the lingering ideas from my mind in response to his heavenly scent.
“How are you feeling?” he asked, looking back at me, concern on his face.
“Like a train hit me, but from what I understand, this is kind of normal.”
He grimaced. “Unfortunately, it is.”
“So what’s up?” I asked.
“I have a few questions for you about the fire at the shelter,” he said, his face going hard. “I wouldn’t be asking you this unless it was important. Given everything that’s happening right now…”
“What is it?” I asked, cocking my head to the side. “Have you found anything else? Do you have any idea what started the fire?”
Elliot took a deep breath, like he was steeling himself and preparing for what he was going to say next. “Perhaps. Have you picked up propane tanks at all recently?”
I paused. He was asking about propane tanks? What was that about? I hadn’t needed stuff like that for as long as I lived. Hell, I wouldn’t even know where to get one or how to use it.
