Alpha Mine (The Alpha Council Chronicles) (18 page)

“Cream and sugar?” he asked.

“I take my coffee black.”

“As do I.”

“Something we have in common.” Andrea smiled.

He poured two cups and brought them over to the table. After handing one to Andrea, he slid into the empty chair across from her and blew across his cup.

As they talked about nothing in particular over their coffee, Nicholai’s mind continually tried to come up with a plausible excuse to get upstairs into the master suite. He couldn’t use the bathroom excuse again, although after drinking the coffee, he was beginning to wish he had actually used the facility earlier.

Desperate to find an excuse, his mind threw out some wacky ideas. He could say he was tired and needed a nap. He could claim he wanted to see if the upstairs was as clean as the downstairs. He could make a run for it, hoping no one would catch him before he could plant the thing.

Yeah, definitely not good ideas,
he chastised himself.
Come on, you are smarter than this.

Finally his mind came through, giving him a plausible idea. Knowing she’d designed and decorated the house herself, he decided to play on Andrea’s pride.

“You know, the last time I was here, you gave me the fifty cent tour. Could I get the full two dollar tour? Your home is beautiful, and I’m in the process of renovating mine. I’d love to see your rooms, especially the master bath, and get some ideas for what I might want to do in my own home.” He waited, hoping she wouldn’t think the excuse odd.

Andrea beamed. “Sure, I’d love to show you the rooms upstairs. I’m sure you’ll get some wonderful ideas.”

He exhaled a relieved sigh and followed her as she led the way up the stairs. She gave him the full tour, all the guest rooms as well as the library.

In the library, Nicholai hesitated, second guessing his master bedroom choice.

This could also be a good place for a device,
he thought, suddenly wishing he had three of the devices instead of only two. Indecision gripped him. Andrea made the decision for him by hustling him from the room toward the master suite before he could plant the device.

“I saved the best room for last. Right this way.” Andrea licked her lips, glancing over her shoulder to rake Nicholai with her stare, her desire for him palpable. She looked at him like a lioness would her dinner. Nicholai could swear he actually heard her growl as she opened the double doors to her suite.

She ushered him into the room and crossed to her bath. As she went into the bathroom, he spotted the perfect place for the second device—the bookcase built into the wall beside the bathroom door.

Using his incredible speed, he whipped one of the books from the shelf, placed the listening device against the back of the case and put the book back in place. He sent a silent prayer up to the heavens for the speed and grace his vampiric abilities gave him as he made his way to the bathroom.

Nicholai joined his hostess in the bath, carefully looking around and asking enough questions to seem truly interested. Andrea proudly shared the details of her home with him, moving closer until their bodies brushed against each other. Nicholai’s eyes widened, instantly realizing it had been a bad idea to get Andrea to bring him to her room.

He feigned interest in the Jacuzzi tub, and leaned over for a closer look hoping to put some space between him and the female. Andrea came up behind him, leaned against him as she touched the faucets to point out the brand.

Nicholai straightened. She obviously needed a stronger hint, putting space between them wasn’t enough.

He knew he was in trouble as Andrea leaned into him once again and suggested, “Why don’t we try out the bath…together?”

“Excuse me?” Nicholai turned toward the door, eyeing the exit. “What about your mate?”

“Gage? He knows I appreciate a handsome man. Especially one who moves like you do. The way your muscles ripple under your clothes when you move—it’s driven me wild since I met you. I’m betting you are the kind of man who would know how to satisfy a woman. And personally, I wouldn’t mind finding out whether or not I am correct in that opinion.” Andrea lunged, desire in her eyes.

****

Stephan sat in his living room, the plasma showed some team Marcus apparently loved, but the game didn’t interest him. His attention rested on the picture he fingered.

When he and Kat had ridden in the gondola, a ride attendant took their picture. Kat begged him to buy the souvenir and now he was glad he had. He ran a finger along her face, marveling at how beautiful she looked. Her smile lit her eyes, making them sparkle. Her face, so young and creamy smooth. He could almost feel the softness of her skin as his imagination took over.

Lost in his mind’s eye, he barely registered Marcus whooping beside him in the leather recliner when the phone rang. It took two rings for him to notice, and by then Marcus had already reached for the phone and brought it to his ear.

“Hello,” he said, turning down the TV. “Great. Okay. I’ll go check right now. Hold on.” Marcus placed his fingers over the mouth piece and addressed Stephan. “It’s Nikko. He planted the bugs. I’m going to go see if we’re up and running.”

Stephan strolled behind Marcus into his room. The Alpha leader took notice of the changes that had been made to the bedroom. Along one wall stood a long table holding two PC’s each with large monitors and earphones.

Marcus sat at the table and brought the machines online. They whirled to life, both screens containing a series of wavy green lines. Marcus lifted each set of ear phones and gave them a listen. He smiled, obviously liking what he heard. He turned and looked at Stephan. “The computers are set up to record 24/7. I’ll be able to review everything the devices pick up,” Marcus explained, pointing to the lines on the monitors. “The lines become wavier as people talk, letting me know which ear phones I should be listening to.”

Marcus put the phone back up to his ear. “We’re up and running, man.” Marcus paused. “Yeah, both.”

Stephan stood behind Marcus, and an extended silence filled the room while Marcus intently listened to Nicholai.

“No way!” said Marcus and stifled a laugh. “I can’t believe she did that. How did you get out of there?”

Another long silence ensued, during which Marcus covered the phone receiver with one hand and snickered quietly.

Suddenly, Marcus straightened and shook his head, a disgusted look on his face. “Man, well go take a shower and scrub yourself down, then try to get some sleep. We’ll call you if we hear anything. Later.”

With a punch of a button, Marcus clicked off the phone and looked at Stephan. “You aren’t going to believe this!”

Stephan listened intently while Marcus relayed the story of what had happened between Nicholai and Andrea. A smirk brought one corner of Marcus’ mouth up as he spoke. “Okay, so Nikko was planting the bugs and the first one went off without a hitch. But the second one was a problem.

“He put the thing in the master bedroom. Apparently, he convinced Lucio’s wife that he was renovating his place and wanted decorating ideas. Specifically he needed bathroom ideas.”

Marcus shifted his weight to his other foot as he continued. “When Nicholai turned to exit the master bathroom, Andrea leaped, throwing herself against him. He tried to back away from her, but the tub caught his knees making him fall off balance.” Marcus’ chuckle broke his explanation.

“And this is funny why?” Stephan shot his friend a sardonic look.

“His butt landed on one of the faucets, breaking it off causing the pressurized water to spew out. Of course, with his ass in the way, the water only had one place to go, up his butt. And that caused Nicholai to lurch up, knocking Andrea back.”

Marcus’ deep laughter echoed in his room. He took a deep breath and continued. “Picture this, the water, now flowing freely, coated the marble floor. Andrea lost her footing and screamed. Wanting to protect her and the baby, Nicholai grabbed ahold of her as she was falling, but he too slipped on the wet floor.”

Stephan crossed his arms over his chest and shook his head, picturing the bathroom scene. He chuckled.

“Wait.” Marcus wagged his brows up and down. “It gets better. To protect her, he twisted their bodies so Andrea would land on top of him instead of the hard marble floor. The two of them landed on the floor with the water from the faucet raining down on them from above.

“Drenched by the newly made water fountain, Andrea leaned down trying to kiss Nicholai. He said he flipped them over so he rested on top of Andrea, pinning her to the floor to avoid the kiss. Of course, it was precisely at that moment one of the guards burst into the room, having heard all of the commotion, and misinterpreted what Nicholai was doing. The guard pulled him off of her and threw him out of the house.”

Stephan shook his head slowly, before running a hand through his hair. “I can’t believe Lucio’s wife threw herself at him, especially when the female is pregnant.”

“Apparently the baby isn’t affecting her libido.” A wry look lifted one corner of Marcus’ mouth.

Stephan was still wearing a no-freaking-way look on his face when he glanced down at his watch. “It’s time to go pick up Kat. I’ll be back in a few.”

“I can pick her up if you’d like,” offered Marcus.

“That’s okay. I don’t mind picking her up.”

“I bet you don’t,” bantered Marcus with a grin before wishing him safe travels as he turned back to the monitors and donned the ear phones with a tired sigh.

He was in for a long night, and any other time Stephan would be willing to help, but not tonight.

Katrina was waiting.

Chapter 21

Stephan walked into Marcus’ room and crossed to the listening station where Marcus sat wearing a set of earphones. He clamped his hand down onto Marcus’ shoulder. “Well, my friend, anything yet? It’s been three days.” Stephan voice sounded hopeful, even to him.

“No.” Marcus looked up at him and slid the earphones to his neck. “Still nothing.”

“Damn. I’ve got a bit of a problem. I need your help.”

Marcus lifted one eyebrow questioningly and waited for him to continue.

“I have something special planned for Kat tonight. Could you arrange for her to have tonight off?”

Marcus hesitated. “I guess so, but the manager won’t be too happy. I’ll make some calls and see if I can find someone to fill in for Kat.”

“Thank you, Marcus. I owe you one.” Stephan turned to leave, ready to begin his evening.

“Mind sharing why I’m going to piss off my manager,
again
?”

Stephan smiled. “I have something special planned. That’s all I’m going to tell you. It’s a surprise, and I know how Kat can pry information out of you.”

Marcus gave a snort of derision. “Me? How about you? You are putty in her little hands. I’ve never seen you so…sweet and gentle before.”

Stephan’s brows narrowed and he shot Marcus his best you-better-watch-your-step look. “I can still kick your butt.”

Marcus chuckled, and shook his head, raising his hands in surrender. “I know. I know. Didn’t mean to imply you aren’t still a big badass. I just happen to think it is nice that you have a female you care about.”

“Uh-huh.” It was time to change the direction of this conversation. “So about Kat getting this evening off, do you think it can be arranged?”

“Yeah. You know,” Marcus bantered with a smile, “Kat has been taking a lot of time off since meeting you. I think you are a bad influence on her work ethic.”

“Can I help it if she would rather spend time with me, than at your smoky old club?”

“Excuse me, smoky old club?” Marcus feigned insult by placing one hand over his heart. “I’ll have you know Reapers is one of the better clubs on the strip.”

“That may be, but if I have my way, soon Kat will not be working there anymore.”

“What do you mean?” Marcus crossed his arms across his chest, leaning back in the chair.

“I love her, Marcus.” Marcus’ eyes widened in disbelief. “I’m hoping that soon I’ll be able to convince her to come live with me in Germany.”

“I never thought I’d see the day when you would settle down.”

A genuine smile took Stephan’s face. “There is something special about Kat.”

“Is she your heartmate?”

“I don’t know. I haven’t drunk from her.” Marcus started to speak, but Stephan cut him off holding up one hand. “You asked me not to drink from her, remember?” The younger vampire nodded as Stephan continued uninterrupted. “So I haven’t yet. I’m waiting until just the right moment, then I’ll ask her permission.”

And he had to admit he was nervous about that, which wasn’t an emotion the warrior was used to feeling. He decided in that moment that within the week he would ask her to be his evermore, ask her to spend eternity with him as his heartmate. He’d come to believe she must be his mate, the other half of his soul, but he had to make sure by taking a sip of her blood. He would only need a small sip of her sweet blood to know whether or not she was his true heartmate. Surely she could now trust him enough to allow him the pleasure of drawing from her vein.

Wouldn’t she?

****

Excitement and anticipation bubbled in her veins like champagne as the elevator rose. Kat couldn’t wait to discover what Stephan had planned for this evening. When he’d informed her that he’d arranged for her to have the night off and that a special surprise waited, her mind raced with the possibilities.

Nervously, she ran her hands over the blue, sleeveless, A-line gown, brushing imaginary wrinkles from the boat neck and accenting ties at the waist. She glanced at Stephan and could not help but admire how great he looked tonight. Dressed in a dark blue, silk shirt and a suit that matched the gown perfectly, his eyes seemed like deep pools of sapphire blue. His dark hair, pulled back in a leather thong, allowed for an unobstructed view of his handsome face. She’d never seen a more beautiful man. As if reading her mind, he looked at her and winked.

Her stomach did a little flop when the elevator came to a quick stop on the forty-first floor.

Stephan offered his arm and gave her the sexy smile that melted her bones. “Shall we?”

They stepped out into a cavernous room. Filled with tables covered in burgundy linen clothes and padded chairs to match, the room bespoke of elegance. From the crystal chandeliers to the gilded molding, the restaurant glistened and shined. Kat’s eyes swept the room, taking it all in, and she noted the place seemed empty.