Chapter Seven

She shrugged negligently and licked her lips. “You’re not my father. And he’s different. He worships the ground she walks on.”

“As it should be. Our mates are our life. There isn’t anything we won’t do for them.” Why else am I agreeing to do this with you?

She unzipped and removed her jacket, hanging it over the back of the chair with obvious care. He swallowed hard at the sight of the tight white tank top she wore. Kori could see his necklace around her neck, and it pleased him. Lera had no idea how gorgeous she was. Nor did she have any clue what he longed to do to and with her.

“My father is an exception, Kori.” With jerky motions, she pulled off her gloves and placed them on the table.

“Okay, what about Adamek or Heller? Or Aren?”

Her brows furrowed, and she pursed her lips briefly. “Okay, so Uncle Dak, Uncle Heller, and Uncle Aren are different, too; they love their wives.”

“Mo anam, we are who we are, but it doesn’t mean our mates mean any less to us. Their safety and happiness are first and foremost.”

She crossed her arms and held his gaze, her eyes full of skepticism. “And yet, those you decide are a mate still don’t have a choice. It’s not fair.” Lera shook her head. “If I get to the point where I decide I want a relationship, I want to be able to pick someone who wants me, not because he tells me I belong to him.”

Anger began to rise within him at the thought of another man touching her. She sighed and walked to the small fridge and pulled out a water.

“Kind of pointless conversation, though. I can’t even imagine what use I could be to anyone.”

He growled low and was at her side before she could blink. Her eyes grew wide.

“I warned you, Lera.” Kori tunneled his hands into her hair and held her head immobile. Her pupils dilated as he lowered his mouth to hers.

The first touch of her lips beneath his, and the world shifted again. So soft, so pliant. He ran his tongue along her lower lip before skimming the seam. They parted on a whisper like sigh. Kori was rock hard in half a second as he slipped into the warmth of her mouth. Her taste streamed into his pores, and his wolf answered the call, pressing hard, determined to escape and claim its mate. Every ounce of his control was poured into keeping the kiss gentle. Electricity shot between them, and he knew she felt it also.

He heard the bottle drop to the floor, and he didn’t care. Her hands settled against his chest, burning him through the thin material of his shirt, and she arched into him. Long, sweeping strokes through her mouth coaxed her tongue out to dance with his. Up and down along each other, he drew her out. The scent of her arousal filled his nose, and he could feel his composure cracking.

Backing off of the most succulent mouth he’d ever been in contact with, Kori stared down at her. Her heavy lidded stare glazed with untapped passion.

“Je zou kunnen verleiden de duivel, Lera,” he muttered.

She touched his face, and the wonderment slowly faded from her big brown eyes. “Bent u de duivel?” she asked in perfect Dutch despite the breathless quality to her tone.

He’d forgotten she had learned to speak Dutch; both her parents did. “To some, mo anam, to some I am known as the devil.”

“I bet you are,” she muttered, dropping down to pick up her bottle.

Kori stared at her hungrily and watched her uncap her water before taking a long drink. Her heart still pounded, and her breathing came short and fast. He remained close to her, refusing to back away.

“We need to discuss this,” he said.

Lera sat at the small table and looked at him. “And, by this, I take it to mean you are talking about Rissa.”

He heard the hope in her tone. Lera wasn’t ready to accept the feelings her body was exposing her to. Sitting across from her, Kori plucked her water from her hand and took a drink. “Tell me about the week prior to her disappearance.”

“The whole week?”

“Yes. Especially if there was anything a bit unusual around.”

Her hiss of anger took him by surprise, and he watched her face. The pain there made his heart break. “I’ve tried. Tried to remember it all and what happened before her disappearance. All I know is because I’m weak I couldn’t save her. Had I been my father, or even my siblings, I would have been able to find her and save her.”

“You are not weak, Valera, and if you want to focus on Rissa, you’ll stop saying those things.”

Her big eyes shone with unshed tears, and he could feel his wolf racing toward her. Kori licked his lips and pushed the bottle of water back to her. Focus, man, stop thinking about other things. Get this resolved then deal with the other.

“You don’t know what it’s like, Kori,” she said.

He hated the pain that drenched her voice. “Tell me, mo ghrá. Tell me.” For a transitory second, he thought she would. But just like a door closing, the sheen of tears vanished and he found himself staring at blank, emotionless eyes.

“We need to stay on target,” she whispered.

“You may not have abilities like your father,” he raised a hand to stop her reply, “but he taught you. So you would have picked up on things that others would overlook.”

Lera rubbed her hands over her face and sighed. “Okay, let me think.” Eyes closed, she rested her chin on her thumbs, and her index fingers lay along the sides of her nose. “I remember this guy, Steven, I think was his name.”

His lip curled up in a snarl. “What about him? Was he Rissa’s date?”

“No. He tried picking me up.”

Fingers dug into the flesh of his palms. “And?”

“He made my skin crawl. Then, he went to Rissa. She brushed him off, too, but it was like he always showed up wherever we were. I think I saw him the night she vanished.”

“What did he look like?”

Her eyes opened, and she shrugged. “I don’t know. Brown hair. Maybe black. I can’t remember.”

“You don’t know what he looked like?”

“I guess not,” she snapped. “I don’t pay attention to things like that.”

“Really?” he questioned. “Close your eyes, Lera.” With a deprecating sigh, she did. Kori got up and moved silently behind her. “Describe me.”

“What?” Her head began to turn toward him.

“No. Describe me, no looking.” He stared down upon the top of her head.

“Okay. You’re tall, strong, and powerful. Move like a predator, wild. Inky black hair, angular features, and charcoal gray eyes, not silver like I thought the first time I met you. But gray.”

His body ached for her so much it hurt. A deep, agonizing hurt. Leaning close enough he could lick her ear if he chose, he whispered, “Does this guy look like me?”

“No way,” she blurted, shaking her head. The simple act, brushing him with her hair. “His eyes were small and close. They reminded me of a weasel. A pale green. Mud brown hair, and he wasn’t nearly as tall as you either. I don’t think he was over six feet. He was in shape but not like you. Not even close,” she said softly.

Kori retook his seat so she wouldn’t be able to see the erection he had from her description of him. He doubted she even knew the derision in her tone as she gave him a visual of this Steven guy.

She opened her eyes, and he smiled. “Guess you do pay attention to things like that.”

“I guess so,” Lera said, taking another drink of her water.

“Did he have any markings? Tattoos?” Kori stared at her lower lip and the drop of water which hung enticingly upon it. He longed to lick it off. His cock throbbed in his pants.

“Not that I could see.”

A whisper of feeling floated over him, and immediately, he was alert. Kori noticed Lera had a gleam of awareness in her gaze. Her body still and ready. His wolf was crouched and ready to attack; he didn’t like it. Whatever it was.

Fluidly, he pushed to his feet and scanned the area, both peering out the window and using his senses to check. Nothing. Whatever it had been was gone now, or had found a way to cloak itself from him. “Lera?” he asked without relaxing his guard.

“Do you still sense it?”

“No.”

“I felt something like that the night Rissa vanished,” she remarked offhandedly. “But, not exactly anything I could tell the cops.” She moved to his side. “I need to go.”

“Go where?”

“Out. I don’t much like sitting still.”

“We’re not done talking.”

“What more is there to say?” She looked at him and arched a brow. “You’ll go on about how dangerous it is for me and how I should let you do it. I’ll listen, all the while planning to do what I will anyway. You’ll escort me to the bar, even though you don’t want me there, and things will happen how they will. So, see, there’s nothing else to talk about.”

Kori almost laughed. She was dead on. For almost everything. But there was something else to talk about. “Are you running away, mo ghrá?” he asked in a rumble.

“From what?”

A predatory smile turned up his lips. He stalked her, backing her up until the wall prevented her from going any farther. Putting his hands on either side of her head, he lowered his face to hers. “From me.”

He expected her to deny it. Expected her to lift her chin and look down her nose at him with ice in her veins and that damn cool, composed look on her face. Her eyes met his, and he almost drowned in the deep pools of brown.

“Yes.”