Chase’s cell phone went off. He saw Julia’s name and accepted the call immediately. “Julia?”
“She’s awake. She’s saying she’s feeling better, but she looks pale, Chase. I fed her again. It seems that hunger is the only thing that wakes her. She’s fighting off sleep until she sees you.” Julia’s panic came through the phone line.
“I’m on my way.” Chase shut the call off and dropped the phone in his shirt pocket. He looked at the guys, wished them luck on their search, and reminded them this was their priority.
* * *
“Where is Chase?” Sophia frowned, trying to clear her mind from the wave of exhaustion calling her back to sleep. She wondered what the hell was wrong with her body.
“He went to see what he could find out about the research lab and try to figure out who could be behind the attempt on your work. He’ll be back really soon, baby girl. Are you still hungry?” Julia sat by the bed holding her hand.
Sophia smiled at her sister’s use of the childhood pet name for her and shook her head at the question. “I need a shower. I need to get rid of this sleep before it overwhelms me again. Give me a few minutes, and then we can have some coffee or something.” She felt marginally better standing. She stretched tired muscles and headed to the shower for a nice, cool soak.
After the shower she was less sleepy and finally felt she could function without dropping into an exhausted heap. She dressed in shorts and a tank top that she found lying on the bed, along with new underwear.
She made her way to the kitchen and finally took in the house that belonged to her mate.
Glancing around, she realized the house fit with him, and it really was Chase’s space. It was clean, open, and uncluttered. The furniture was for comfort, not show. She fell in love with it.
Julia was in the kitchen and handed her a mug of coffee when she walked in.
They were discussing what happened at the lab when Chase and River arrived. Her heart beat wildly at the sight of him. His hair was tied at the nape of his neck with a strip of leather. He wore a white T-shirt with a denim-blue overshirt, and dark wash jeans hugged his powerful thighs and legs.
Her blood heated and electric hunger sparked, dragging her from her seat to stand before him.
Her fingers threaded through his hair, and she yanked his face down for a hungry kiss. He put his arms around her waist and held her lovingly to him while his lips greedily locked on hers. Their kiss was short and sweet.
“Hi,” she whispered.
“Hey yourself, beautiful. How are you feeling?” He bent and kissed the curve of her neck, sniffing her shoulder and making her sigh in contentment.
“Good. So fill me in on what I’ve missed. Who would’ve thought I’d sleep the day away? I have to say it did wonders for my exhaustion.” She stepped out of his arms and sat back down next to her sister.
Chase and River took seats, with Chase next to Sophia. He pulled her chair flush to his. Sophia leaned toward him, and he pulled her into his embrace before he spoke. “So far there’s not much to tell. We have two enforcers, Seff and Riel, looking into your lab and the administration.” Chase gave her a worried look. “Is there anyone there that ever made you uncomfortable or gave you a strange feeling being around them? Anyone ask too many questions about your work or what you did while you were there?”
Sophia thought back to all the people at the lab. She turned to look at Chase, who was watching her. She shook her head in a negative. “I don’t really know anyone that made me feel that way. Since I’m almost everyone’s boss, none dare to question me. The only person that’s had a problem with me since I started at the lab was Dr. Warren, and he’s just a miserable old man.” She nibbled on her bottom lip. “He thinks I’m too young to be in charge. I haven’t really had problems with any of the staff. Even the administrators are nice old people who try to get me whatever I ask for.”
She leaned her head into the curve of his shoulder. Disappointed that nobody came to mind right away, she was quiet. There had to be something she wasn’t noticing because no one knew about her private research. Something didn’t fit.
Chapter Seven
After dinner, Sophia and Chase bade her sister and River a good night and retired to their bedroom. The minute he got her upstairs he tried to tell her to go to sleep, but she would have none of it.
Stripping down to nothing she started pulling off his clothes while he grumbled that she was tired and needed to rest. Still, he didn’t try to stop her when she pushed him to lie on his back and straddled his hips.
She bent and rubbed her naked breasts on his chest while their mouths fused for a scorching kiss. His hands caressed her back in soft circles, trailing down to squeeze her ass cheeks.