The Shifter Romances The Writer (Nocturne Falls Book 6) (16 page)

“Hey, what’s wrong?”

She shook her head, trying to keep one tear from turning into a full-on crying jag. She hated showing that much emotion. Crying in front of Thomas had always turned into more grief from him, so she’d trained herself to hold back. “Stress,” she mumbled.

“You want me to call Delaney? I know you two are friends. Maybe you guys should do a spa day or whatever it is women do.”

Roxy laughed, despite the knot of emotions inside her. “Delaney was just saying that.”

“Then do it. Your book can wait. And there’s nothing you can do to speed up your ex signing those papers, so take a day off.”

She nodded. “I will. I’ll call her as soon as I get home.”

Alex took her elbow and gently turned them back toward her house. “Then that’s where we’re headed.”

“I didn’t get much fresh air.”

He started them walking. “The spa is full of fresh air. They probably import it from the Alps.”

She laughed. She knew he was taking care of her, and it was sweet beyond words. Thomas had never been that way. Maybe in the beginning a little bit, but it certainly hadn’t lasted. Alex was such a different man. If she wasn’t careful, she might fall for him.

Without thinking, she looped her arm through his. She stiffened as soon as she realized what she’d done. She started to slip her arm back.

But he tightened his arm against his body, keeping her from completely breaking the connection. He smiled and gave her a look that felt like he was telling her he had her back.

She relaxed and let it be. She realized for the first time that she never felt she had to be on alert around Alex. Her years with Thomas had conditioned her to watch him for mood swings and the telltale signs that a rage was coming on. But Alex was easy to be around, and it was nice. No, it was more than nice, it was like breathing again after being held under water for far too long.

That alone caused some of her tension to slip away. With friends like Alex and Delaney at her side, she was going to be all right. She knew that. The divorce and the book would both be done eventually, and as time went on, she’d get the rest of her boxes unpacked, and life would smooth out. It just would. No one stayed overwhelmed forever.

She hoped.

Part of not being overwhelmed was sharing some of the burden. It was high time that Roxy learned to let go of some of the smaller stuff. Easier said than done, but Em, her assistant, was more than capable.

Roxy just had to loosen her grip on the things that weren’t as critical.

“Lost in thought over there?”

“A little. Sorry.” She looked up at Alex. His profile was essentially flawless. Almost feline in the way his cheekbones and brow were shaped. Diego had the same characteristics, so it was clearly a family thing. On Diego, the results were pretty, which probably fed his confidence. Unfortunately. On Alex, they gave him a rugged handsomeness that went from warm and welcoming to guy-you-wouldn’t-want-to-mess-with, depending on his smile.

“Don’t apologize. I know you have a lot on your mind.”

She’d have less to worry about it if she shared with him what Thomas had been up to. And Alex was a cop. He might have some advice on how to deal with all this nonsense. They stopped at her drive. “Can you come in for a minute?”

“Sure.” He followed her up to the door.

She unlocked it, let him in, then locked it again.

“What’s up?”

Without a word, she walked past him and into the kitchen where she went up on her tiptoes and felt around on top of the fridge until she found the note she’d thrown up there. She snagged the envelope, then plopped it on the counter. “This is what’s up. My ex sent this. And yesterday, he left a rose on my car.”

In a half-second, Alex went from friendly neighbor to cop on the job. It wasn’t something easy to explain, but everything about him went hard: his stance, his expression, the look in his eyes. “When did you get this?”

“You brought it over on Saturday.”

“What made you keep it? And the envelope?”

She shrugged. “I’m a writer. We always think in worst-case scenarios. So, you know, in case I turned up dead and you had to dust it for prints or something—”

“Are you serious?” A feral light shone in his eyes. “Do you think that’s a possibility?”

“I was joking.” She stared at the note. “Kind of. Thomas does have a temper.”

“Do you still have the rose?”

Had Alex just…growled? No, of course not. She was just projecting the reactions of one of her romance heroes onto a real man. That was silly. “No, I put it in the garbage can.”

“Any note with that?”

“No.”

“Why do you think he’d do these things? What’s his end game?”

“Maybe he’s trying to intimidate me about the divorce. I was the one who left him, so him ‘losing control of me’ probably did some serious damage to his macho image. If he could get me to drop the divorce, he could spin that into me begging him to take me back because I couldn’t live without him…you get the picture.”

A growl, a real one this time, rumbled out of Alex’s throat and turned into a curse. “Give me his full name, current address and phone numbers. I’ll see what I can find out about what’s going on with him and whether he’s in town or knows anyone in town, other than you. Anything else happens, anything, you tell me okay?”

She nodded, the rare sensation of being protected sweeping through her. He really cared what happened to her. She went up on her tiptoes for the second time that day, but this time it was to reach something far more interesting.

Alex’s mouth.

She meant the kiss to be a brief thank-you. But the moment their lips met, the heat of him seared into her, and brief was forgotten.

He sucked in a surprised breath, his hands coming up to grasp her shoulders. The growl she’d heard out of him before resounded, this time deeper and softer, like an engine starting up in the distance.

It was strangely encouraging to have that sort of effect on a man. She flattened her hands on his chest. His very solid, broad chest. And kissed him harder.

Then reality reminded her she was technically still married. She broke the kiss and went down onto her flat feet to stare at the tile on her floor. “Now it’s my turn to apologize. We said no kissing. And I’m not even divorced. I’m sorry.”

“Are you really?” His voice was dark and edged with desire.

“Sorry?” She bit her lip. “No, but—”

He pulled her into his arms and kissed her some more, causing her to let out a little gasp of surprise. His mouth moved across her jaw and down her neck with small, feathery kisses and the occasional scrape of his teeth.

“I’m…still…married…” she managed to get out.

“His signature is a formality,” Alex growled back.

Which echoed what her lawyer had told her months ago. She started to say something else, but Alex found the soft spot below her ear, and her bones turned to jelly, and she exhaled a long, shuddering sigh that racked her entire body.

Then he broke the kiss. “I’m not sorry about that. Are you?”

She didn’t know what she was. Who she was. Where she was. She just focused on breathing and not melting into a puddle. She nodded. That seemed right.

He looked hurt. “You are?”

She shook her head. “No. What was the question? You can’t ask me questions after doing
that
to me.”

He grinned. “Doing what?”

She gave him a lighthearted smack on the chest. Her fingers bounced off the muscle there. “You know. Kissing me like that.”

His grin widened and became very smug. “Like what?”

“Oh, stop it. It’s a wonder parts of me didn’t burst into flame.”

He cocked his head, his expression going serious. “Something to shoot for next time.”

“Next time?” She put her hands on her hips. “What happened to no kissing and just being friendly neighbors?”

He stepped back and nodded. “You’re right. If that’s what you want—”

“I don’t know what I want. I like you. Obviously.”

“But your life is complicated enough right now. I get it. And so yes, no kissing. I promise to cool it until you tell me otherwise.”

His restraint was impressive. “And if I don’t tell you otherwise?”

His mouth curved into a casual smile, but it didn’t match the lingering smolder in his eyes. “Then we’re just really friendly neighbors who’ve kissed.”

Except it didn’t feel that way to her. Could it really feel that way to him? She narrowed her eyes at him.

He cleared his throat. “Where’s your phone?”

“On my desk, why?”

“So you can call Delaney and make this spa day happen. By the time you get home tonight, I should be able to tell you whether or not your ex is in town.”

“Didn’t you just get off your shift?”

“Yes. Why?”

“You’re not Superman, Alex. You need to sleep.”

“I’ll be fine.”

She put her hands on her hips. “I’ll do the spa day with Delaney only if you promise me you’ll get some sleep.”

He smiled. “Can I at least make a few phone calls first? Get some things working?”

“I guess. Do you really think you can find out something today? Can you get results that fast?”

“Sometimes.” The corner of his mouth twitched. “But that doesn’t mean I don’t know when to take my time, either.”

And despite agreeing that there would be no more kissing, a trill of anticipation zipped through her. Apparently, her body hadn’t gotten the message.

Or didn’t want to.

When Alex left Roxy’s, she was twenty minutes from meeting Delaney at the spa. He was glad Delaney had been available and the spa thing had worked out. Roxy would be safe there, and not just because Delaney was a vampire with the strength and speed to overpower any human, but because no one else would know Roxy was at the spa.

Especially her ex. Unless he was watching her. In which case, he also knew about Alex. And that was fine with Alex. He didn’t know much about Thomas, but if he was the kind of man who made his wife fear his temper and treated her like a piece of property, then he was probably also the kind of man who thought himself superior to everyone else. If he thought he was superior to Alex, he was in for a big surprise.

Big
.

Because when it came down to human versus supernatural, the odds were not in the human’s favor. But Thomas wouldn’t know that until it was too late. Until the battle was well under way. Because the other thing Alex knew about Roxy’s ex was that he thought he was clever. The note, the rose, checking what was in the mailbox, yeah, the guy thought he was sly. Clearly.

Alex snorted. If the man wanted to play games, he was sorely outclassed. Besides being a cop, Alex had the same skill set that all shifters did. Speed, strength, heightened senses. Being a feline shifter gave him some bonus points in stealth and cunning, too.

The lack of crime in Nocturne Falls wasn’t a random occurrence. It was due in great part to its supernatural police force. Human criminals didn’t stand a chance. And that kind of word of mouth spread, usually in the form of rumors along the lines of the town having a secret force of vigilantes that roamed the streets at night, or a lot of retired special ops guys on the police roster, that sort of thing.

Whatever. It worked.

But of course, Thomas wouldn’t know that. So he’d have to find out firsthand just how dangerous it was to tick off a shifter and go after his woman.

Alex stopped himself. Roxy was not
his
woman. She was just a friend. His friend, but that was it. Even after all that kissing. And he understood.

But it was getting harder to remember that when he was around her.

He shoved a hand through his hair. He didn’t have time to dissect what he was feeling. He had to find out if her ex was in town. And if he was, what to do about the jerk.

He grabbed his cell phone and dialed. He’d get one of the deputies on shift to run Thomas’ record, but as for locating him, well, if there was anyone who could handle that job, it was Birdie Caruthers.

“Nocturne Falls Sheriff Department, Birdie speaking.”