I adjusted my top and narrowed my eyes. Emme must’ve missed a few spots. “How long were you watching me?”
“I arrived somewhere between the cucumber body wash and the juniper and olive oil conditioner.”
My hands dropped to my sides. “I don’t believe you. And for the love of all things holy, wipe that smirk off your face.”
He didn’t. In fact, it widened. “You seem angry with me. Why is that?”
“I’m not angry with you, Misha. I’m pissed at you! Aric would freak if he knew you just saw me naked.”
“Why? After all, I have seen you without clothing before.” He chuckled. “Or did you fail to inform him?”
I picked up my wet towel off the floor and tossed it into the hamper next to him. “I’ll have you know I tell Aric everything.” Excluding the part where his archenemy had held me against him naked. “Now tell me what you’re doing here.”
“My master Uri is visiting my residence. I came to invite you to join us for dinner.”
“Am I on the menu?”
Misha considered me quite the comedian. His shoulders shook when he laughed. “No. I assure you, you are not.”
I paused. Something didn’t seem right. “You could have called me or texted me. There was no reason to stop by. Especially here.”
Misha’s wicked smile faded. The fingers of his right hand drummed against his knee as he regarded me. “I know,” he answered quietly.
I gestured around the room. “Then why all this, Misha?”
His stare continued to pierce through me. “I supposed I desired to spend time with you.”
My mouth parted with surprise. Not just because of what Misha said, but how he said it. The ever-present arrogance in his voice had vanished as well as his flirtatious demeanor. I couldn’t sniff a lie. But I knew he meant what he said. I leaned against the wall of lockers and crossed my arms. “Misha, I can’t meet your master. And I can’t have dinner with you. Aric and I are together now. You have to respect that.”
“You dismiss me so easy. Would you have done so if the mongrel failed to hold your interest?”
“Don’t call him that.”
Misha’s stood. His expensive and handmade shoes barely made a sound against the weathered linoleum floor as he marched toward me. He stopped, mere inches from my chest. “You didn’t answer my question.”
I raked my fingers through my wet hair. “And I won’t. It’s a moot point, Misha. Aric means everything to me. I can’t picture life without him.”
My breath caught when Misha yanked me to him, pulling me tight. The tip of a fang scraped my jugular, and his seductive voice whispered against my screaming skin, “Very well, Celia. But remember this, when you tire of playing with beasts and desire the touch of a real man, you know where to find me.”
And just like that he was gone.
CHAPTER 18
“What’s wrong, Ceel? Did you have a bad day?”
My pulse continued to race long after Misha disappeared. I’d been stupid to think my guardian angel with fangs and I could just be buds. Without thinking, I rubbed my neck where his fang had grazed. Damn. Misha wanted me. Damn.
Most women would fall back squirming with glee if two very hot and very Alpha males desired them. Maybe that remained another virtue that made me “weird.” I didn’t welcome Misha’s touch. In fact, I rather resented it, just as I’d expect Aric to feel if some female tried to seduce him. The tires squeaked as I veered onto the highway. “I just need to get home.”
Shayna turned to look at me, and Taran and Emme abruptly stopped talking in the back. I hadn’t meant to reveal how upset I was, but my tone gave me away. Shayna rubbed my shoulder. “What happened, Celia?”
“I just didn’t have a good day” was the only answer I could manage.
I lowered the window as Tahoe came into view. The sun had begun to set in the horizon, painting the swirling clouds peach, orange, and red while the encroaching night transformed the clear water into a startling midnight blue. Maybe Tahoe knew I needed her tonight. Deep gulps of air soothed and refreshed me with each intake, and her mysticism poured on my body like cream, cooling my frustration, anger, and worry. But I still needed more. I needed Aric’s arms around me. And I needed him to erase the insecurities trigged from my interaction with Miguel.
“Do you want to talk about it, sweetie?” Emme asked quietly from the back.
I took another deep breath. “I just need things to be better.” No demons. No chastising Elders. No dead bodies. No master vampires in search of a nibble. Was that too much to ask? I thought of where life had taken me thus far. Yeah. Probably.