Seduction's Shift (16 page)

“I don’t want to be claimed,” Ary replied quickly. “I mean, I do. But I don’t. Do you understand?”

Kalina was quiet. “I think so,” she replied. “Here’s what I suggest. You need to buy something so sexy and so enticing that Nick won’t be able to keep his hands off you.”

She was leafing through the dresses on the rack again. Ary didn’t even look at the clothes. “We don’t have any problem in that department.”

Kalina nodded. “I know. Rome and I didn’t, either. It was all the specifics that tangled us up.”

“Specifics,” Ary repeated. She wondered if that’s what was plaguing her about Nick. Was it the specifics that they didn’t speak about? Or was it the arrogance with which he just assumed what they were?

“So like I said—” Kalina held up a black dress that looked like nothing more than straps and swatches of material. “—you need to knock him off his feet. Keep him so flustered he won’t want to do anything but mate with you.”

Ary was already shaking her head. “I don’t know. Shouldn’t he want to do that already? I mean, shouldn’t he just know that this is what we’re supposed to be?”

“Look, Ary. I don’t claim to have a lot of experience with men. Actually, I have very little. I just go with my gut instinct. And now my gut’s telling me that you and Nick simply need a little push in the right direction.”

“This dress is going to be a big push in a direction we’ve already mastered,” Ary said to Kalina. But she took the dress and dutifully went into the dressing room to try it on.

*   *   *

They were in Rome’s home conference room again, Nick and X on either side of Rome, who sat at the head of the long mahogany table. Eli and Ezra sat beside them. There were no other guards or officers at the meeting; they needed all hands on deck to cover the streets in search of Sabar. Both of the speakerphones in the center of the table were activated as Sebastian Perry, the Mountain Faction Leader, Jace Maybon, the Pacific Faction Leader, and Cole Linden, the Central Faction Leader, joined in from their respective locations.

“Bas, why don’t you start us off with your update,” Rome began once Baxter, Rome’s butler, had set pitchers of water and carafes of coffee on the table with all the accompaniments and left.

“Sure,” Bas said.

His voice sounded a little low so Nick motioned for Eli to adjust the speaker. The guard moved one of the speakers closer to the end of the table where they were sitting.

“I informed X of the shipment that came in two days ago. As I stated, one of my guards followed one of the drivers to a location in Albuquerque. We’ve had guards rotating watch on that house ever since. For the first day and a half it was quiet. Then earlier today an SUV approached. It was a rental, which instantly alerted the guards that they might be moving whatever was in that shipment. We were right. About an hour later the SUV left the house, boxes loaded in the back.”

“Fuck! They’re making deliveries now,” X said with a frown.

“We still don’t know what’s in those boxes,” Rome stated.

“My money’s on drugs,” Nick added.

“I have to agree,” Bas put in next. “We’ve had a rise in the movement from the Cortez Cartel as well. Border Patrol has their hands full with those guys.”

“Competition,” Cole said. “They’re seeing who can move more product.”

“At this rate we’re going to be looking at an all-out drug war soon,” Jace added. “We’ve been monitoring the police blotters: three ecstasy ODs in the last week.”

“I don’t think he’s moving ecstasy,” Nick said.

Rome looked at him. “What do you think it is?”

“He wanted Ary to help him mix something new. The herb he gave her, the damiana, has the same aphrodisiac effect that ecstasy does. So why try to duplicate a product you’re already selling?”

“True,” X said with a nod.

“What do you think it is?” Bas asked. “I mean, you know the
curandero,
has she given you any thoughts on what Sabar could be trying to create?”

Ary was the one person Nick did not want to talk about at this meeting. Coming in, he’d known that wasn’t going to be possible with all that was going on. Still, he didn’t like that on some level she might be considered an accomplice to Sabar.

“She just said the damiana induces relaxation and awakens the sex drive. He’s not going to re-create the wheel. He’s going to look at whatever brings him more money, faster. If that’s a new synthetic drug, then that’s what he’s going to aim for.”

“I agree,” X said. “Bas, were you able to keep a tail on the SUV?”

“They stopped at a private landing strip. We’re still working on getting the manifests to see where the plane was going,” Bas told him.

“Bet a million dollars its here in DC,” Nick said, slapping his hand on the table.

Rome nodded his agreement.

“What are the odds of Sabar getting this new drug made without Ary’s help?” Rome asked Nick.

Nick didn’t know the answer. “He wanted her specifically, so I’ve got to believe there’s something she knows that another chemist doesn’t.”

“Find out what that is,” Rome told Nick. “X, you use your FBI intel to figure out where new drugs are being sold. Get one of the guards to go undercover if you need to, but I’ve got a feeling that if we follow the drugs, we’ll find Sabar.”

“You’re probably right,” Jace agreed.

“Where do we stand with the Assembly? Did you get a chance to meet with them while you were in the Gungi?” Cole asked Rome.

“I did. Neutralizing Sabar is a priority. But we’re still going to start the process of appointing leaders of the Stateside Assembly. I figured it would be good to start with finding a central location for us to use. In the Gungi the Elders have their Grounds. I’d like for us to have something like that here.”

“I think you should head up the Stateside Assembly, Rome,” Jace suggested.

Jace was the wild card in the group of FLs. His reputation among humans was of a brash and opinionated talent agent in Los Angeles who was the go-to man for all the A-list actors. With the shifters, he was one hell of a fine specimen that could kill with the same cutthroat viciousness he used to negotiate a contract for his clients.

Still, it didn’t take long for everyone to agree with him on this point. Rome was a born leader. He was an excellent warrior, and he was the only one of the Faction Leaders that had mated. That gave him a look of stability and commitment to the tribes that was undeniable. So he was the obvious choice.

With mild reluctance Rome accepted the duty.

“In that case, I’ll have Kalina start to look into establishing a headquarters for us.”

“She probably has some street contacts we can also use to track the drug,” X added.

Rome looked at X. It wasn’t a pleasant look. “I don’t want her on another undercover operation.”

X shook his head. “I’m just talking about her calling a few people, putting her ear to the street to see what she comes up with. She’s probably going to pull more info locally than I will going through the federal database. Hell, Rome, she’s your mate. I’m not going to let anything happen to her.”

Nick wanted to agree with X, but a huge part of him was siding with Rome. Putting Kalina back into the drug investigation game was dangerous. Nick didn’t even want to think about Ary being in that type of danger.

“We’ll talk about it later” was Rome’s terse reply.

“So the
curandero
is with you?” Cole asked.

Even though the question hadn’t been specifically aimed at anyone in particular, all eyes in the room fell on Nick.

He cleared his throat. “Yes. She’s staying with me.”

Silence.

Ezra was the first to speak up. “We should put a guard on her. Sabar doesn’t give up easily.”

“I agree. She’s with Kalina now, and Jax is permanently assigned to Kalina, so they’re safe for the moment. Ezra, let me know who you assign to Ary. I want that done within the hour,” Rome said.

“I’ll be with her tonight so there’s no need to rush,” Nick said. He regretted it the moment he did.

“Then she’ll definitely be in good hands.”

This and the first line of chuckles came from Bas. The Faction Leader had started his own hotel and resort chain and was now working at his newest resort in Sedona. He ran a tight ship of shifters in the Mountain Faction, focusing most of their efforts on training new shifters for service. He was also heavily against the mating ritual. Most likely because his parents’ union hadn’t ended well. Still, Nick wasn’t in the mood for his wisecracks.

X tried to cover his grin, but Eli and Ezra openly guffawed at the remark.

“Very funny,” Nick said snidely. “She’ll be safe is what I’m saying.”

“Who’s going to protect her from you, Delgado?” Cole joked.

Cole was an investment broker living in Dallas, surrounded by his matchmaking sisters. Nick felt this might make him more amenable to finding a mate, but the brother didn’t seem in any hurry. His focus was on making sure the stateside shifters were financially stable.

“I’m betting the same person who’s protecting you from the ass kicking I’ve got reserved for you,” Nick retorted.

Nick eventually broke into a grin. These guys were his family. They knew a lot about him. Not everything, but a lot. And for the most part Nick trusted them all. Just not with what was going on between him and Ary.

Because truth be told, Nick didn’t have a definitive answer on that topic himself.

Chapter 15

Slipping his phone back into its case, Nick verified the reservation he’d hurriedly made earlier at Fogo de Chao. He wasn’t sure if Ary would like the Brazilian restaurant, but was hoping so.

Nick hadn’t seen her since she’d left the condo earlier today with Kalina, but not a minute had gone by that he hadn’t thought of her. If he was being perfectly honest, he’d say that was nothing new. Ary had occupied the majority of his thoughts since he’d left her. He’d always wondered what had happened to her, if she thought of him, if she’d even cared that he’d left. Of course, Caprise would say he was too damn stubborn or proud, or some sickly combination of the two, to ever find out. That assessment would have been true. He’d never tried to contact her, never tried to find out if she was even still in the Gungi. He’d simply walked away and never looked back.

Through some great divine intervention he’d been granted a second chance, and he didn’t want to mess it up. Stepping out of his gray metallic Porsche 911 Carrera 4S, he grabbed the bouquet of flowers from his passenger seat, tucking them under his arm as he closed the door and activated the alarm. His footsteps echoed through the parking garage as he crossed the concrete toward the elevators.

A few minutes later when the elevator doors opened Nick stepped in, thinking more about tonight and spending time with Ary. Of course, that meant his thoughts circled back to the morning tryst they’d had. Nick’s body hardened. He wanted her again and he wasn’t surprised by that fact. There was a hunger there that he feared would never be sated. Ary, thankfully, seemed up to the challenge. More than. Closing his eyes to that thought, he was vaguely aware of the elevator stopping on another floor. It was a female, he knew, because he heard her shoes on the floor and smelled her perfume. Even though he’d opened his eyes Nick didn’t pay too much attention to her. She moved to the very back of the elevator car. He just waited to finally get to his floor.

In his wildest dreams, or in any of the escapades he’d ever had with a female, Nick could have never predicted what happened next.

“Remember me?” a definitely female voice cooed.

A hand reached around him and long red nails ran along the line of his zipper, pulling downward immediately.

Nick had about ten seconds to turn around, register the voice and the face, and flip through his mental Rolodex to see who the hell this chick was. By that time she had his pants unzipped and was pulling his hard length through the slit of his boxers until cool air hit the tip. Her fingers wrapped around him and his dick hardened even more, because yeah, what the hell else was it going to do?

“Whoa,” he warned. He had to place his hand on her shoulders as she’d already began lowering herself to her knees. “Stand up,” he told her and took a step back, bumping right into the door of the elevator.

She gripped his dick and held on tight. Nick wasn’t taking another step.

“You’re all ready for me, baby. I want to taste you so bad,” she told him. Her voice was sultry, her breath hot as she breathed over him, prepared to do much more.

“No!” Nick yelled and tripped, moving backward as the elevator dinged and the door opened.

“Yes.” She followed him off, crawling on her knees, her tongue flicking out just in time to lick the tip of his dick.

The flowers he had for Ary dropped from under his arm and he grabbed the woman by her shoulders roughly then and lifted her upward, until he knew her feet weren’t even touching the floor. “I said no!”

“You didn’t say that before,” she frowned, her bottom lip poking out much farther than the top so she looked like a BBJ—Bad Botox Job.

Nick didn’t know who this woman was, even though she was talking to him as if he should. A minute wave of guilt and disgust flowed through him when he realized he didn’t remember half the women he’d slept with. But this one looked older, or more weathered, than the women he usually went for.

“Look, I don’t know who you are or what you want. But I’m not interested,” he told her adamantly. Nick had a feeling that wasn’t going to do the trick.

She shook her head. “You don’t remember me? Well, let me show you.” She touched his arms, rubbing along them. “I remember every hot delicious inch of you.”

Nick lowered the woman to her feet and took two steps back. He bent down and picked up his flowers, then held another hand out to keep her away. “I don’t remember and I don’t want any reminders. So you can just leave now.” Of course she didn’t; that would have been too easy.

She licked her overinflated, very red glossed lips. There was nothing sultry about that movement. Not only because Nick had absolutely no interest in this woman, but because it just looked weird, like it wasn’t normal. She took another step toward him, and he noticed she sort of limped.