Chapter Thirteen

Lera reached for her shoes and took her time wrapping the satin ties up to mid-calf. Shoes on, there existed nothing else to delay her going to the party. Lera put her ID and keycard in a secure spot on her body and got to her feet. One final deep breath at the door, and Lera walked out then headed for the elevator.

Staring at a spot on the red wall, Lera made sure to lock her emotions behind a composed façade and a cool smile. Murdock would take great pleasure in knowing his effect on her. She exited the elevator and headed for the room the party was in. Her gaze skimmed over other people, both singles and couples, heading in and out of the door.

“Ms. Lera, so good to see you again,” a man’s said in a smooth voice.

“Hello, Jonathan.”

She smiled politely. Jonathan “JJ” Johnson followed Murdock Denton around like a puppy. She wished he could truly see what kind of person Murdock was but there existed such a case of idol worship, Lera realized it would never happen.

“Murdock didn’t say you were coming.”

“I just got into town today. Didn’t know myself until a bit ago. Have you seen him?”

“He’s out in the gardens.” Jonathan’s eyes sparkled. “He’ll be so glad to see you.”

I bet he will. “Well, don’t tell him you saw me. I’d like it to be a surprise.”

Making the motion of locking his lips and throwing away the key, Jonathan smiled at her. “Secret is safe with me. I’ll see you in a bit. I have to grab something from my room.”

“Of course,” Lera said.

She paused slightly before the open double doors which led to the man she needed to find. Lera forced her hand, which balled into a fist, to relax. Then, she walked in. The room was crowded, loud, and full of people who lived to party. Some she recognized, some she didn’t. Moving down the stairs, she smiled and chatted even as she made her way toward the doors which would lead her to the gardens.

Right before she got there, Lera saw him out of the corner of her eye. He was standing with a blonde and a brunette, both skimpily dressed, and both seemingly fawning over him. His back was to her but she knew it was him. Some things never change. Spinning her ring, Lera walked toward the trio.

“Hello, Murdock,” she said from behind him.

The women shot her evil looks even as he turned toward her. His head cocked to the side as if unsure he were truly seeing her. Then, a slow smile lifted the corners of his mouth. Murdock stepped away from the two women and reached for Lera’s hands. At the contact, she locked her emotions behind her wall of ice and made sure to keep a soft smile on her face.

“Lera,” he murmured. “It’s been far too long. Let me get a look at you.”

She stared at his black Armani suit and moved her gaze to his face. He hadn’t changed. Smooth shaven with a light olive tint to his complexion. His brown hair was kept short and his hazel eyes stared at her with that same cool, calculating look he’d always had.

“You are looking wonderful,” he said, kissing her cheek.

“You haven’t changed.” Squeezing his hands, she released them. “I hope you don’t mind me dropping by without notice but I had heard Rissa was here.”

“You did, did you?” His gaze grew hard.

“I did. But I can see you are busy, so I’ll go mingle with some others and we can meet up a bit later.”

The two women slid their arms through his and the blonde said, “Yes, you were talking to us, Murdock.”

“Don’t leave, Lera,” he spoke even as his gaze raked up and down her body.

“Wouldn’t dream of it.” She turned and walked away.

The desire to go grab a drink hit her hard but she knew it wouldn’t be wise to deal with Murdock with impaired judgment. Out of her peripheral vision, she recognized something else which made her heart drop. Shit! What is he doing here? Lera headed for him and intercepted him before he could get to Murdock.

Kori was anything but happy. He woke to find himself alone in the room. Moving to the window, he frowned when he saw Lera’s bike gone, until he remembered her perchance for riding to greet the new day. He calmed a bit right up until he saw her bag was gone. Rage tore through him, and he fought the wolf. He knew she could feel his anger but she didn’t say a word. Neither did he.

This is a conversation we’re having face to face. And apparently, I need to tie her to me at night.

Grabbing his bag, Kori stuffed his few items in it and headed for his Humvee. He had a long way to go and not much time to do it in. After Winthrop vanished in his rearview, Kori focused on Lera.

What the hell was she thinking?

His mood hadn’t improved any when he tracked her down. So, he waited in the shadows at eleven at night for her to make an appearance. The hair on the back of his neck stood up, and his gaze slashed the room. Kori knew full well she was there.

Fuck me! All the blood rushed to his cock. Lera walked across the floor, heading in his direction.

Gone was the casually attired, yet definitely hot, Lera, and in her place was this cock-hardening sexy vixen. Her black dress ended just above her knees. It had a one-shoulder neckline with cutout detail on her right shoulder. The right sleeve was long but sheer so he could see the enticing brownness of her skin. The outfit had a natural waist and a straight skirt. The same sheer material was above her breasts obscuring her pendant.

Lera paused and turned around when she spoke to someone. Kori groaned again. There was more skin exposed courtesy of the back cutout detail. And there was an asymmetric back zipper. He could see a zipper at each end near her left hip and he longed to pull the top one down and expose her skin. Her gorgeous, toned legs led his gaze to her four-inch heeled shoes with black ribbons which crisscrossed up to mid-calf.

She faced his direction again and began walking. Her hips swayed in a natural and unintentionally seductive manner with each step she took. Lera had her hair in an updo, and he could see silver dangling earrings in her ears. There were rings on her right hand, but tonight, on her left arm, the bare one, she wore something else. His sharp gaze could see it was a Celtic Kells and trinity knot wolf slave bracelet, the artwork unbelievable.

Fuck, if I get any harder, I’ll split my pants. He was one breath away from dragging her out of here, away from prying eyes and up to his room where he would make her understand she was his mate.

All lust was shoved back when Murdock Denton—whose image he recalled from Butch’s memory—headed toward her. Kori wasn’t positive what he expected to happen. But the smile which turned up her lips wasn’t it. He could see her face and knew the smile didn’t extend to her eyes. From the gleam in Murdock’s eyes, Kori would bet his entire fortune the man didn’t notice. Of course it’s hard to notice what’s in her eyes when you’re focused on her breasts.

A deep, dangerous rumble grew and rose within his chest. Possessiveness hit him like a ton of bricks. Lera lifted her head and scanned the room briefly before putting her attention back upon Murdock. Almost like she heard me. Kori saw red when Murdock gestured toward the garden and placed his hand on the small of her back.

Kori wanted to maim, to kill. And he would start with Murdock Denton for daring to put a hand on his woman. Blending into the shadows with ease, Kori headed for the door leading out of the gardens. Some of the sights he passed made his stomach twist with disgust. It didn’t help matters that Lera walked by the same images and didn’t even flinch.

Have I said today that Dane is going to kill me?