Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

KIARA

Cal was a flirt. He did it almost constantly. If I was a little less interested, I could ignore it. But he was also cute, and the baggy shirts from the go bag hid his tight physique. He obviously didn't sit around all day, and he had decent muscle tone. It was distracting, especially when he seemed to really enjoy walking around with his shirt off. Whenever I came back from a job, he was shirtless and doing some kind of exercise. He said it was because he was restless, but his mischievous grin said otherwise. He was trying to get my attention. And I hated that it was working.

It'd been days since we brought him to the hotel, and we were no closer to finding Jasper. He was good at hiding. It was frustrating, and between him and Cal's constant flirting, I was at my wit's end.

I always called Talia when I was having a rough week. I never complained, she had enough on her plate to deal with, but she was a nice distraction. She would tell me about Leo, and how he was doing, and she'd tell me about the new things she'd tried baking that week. It was simple stuff, but it made me feel better knowing she was doing okay. I didn't realize at the time that she was leaving a lot out.

I still felt guilty, and I probably always would, but I couldn't resist calling her when Cal wouldn't shut up. At least if I was on the phone, he'd leave me alone. The phone rang a few times, and I thought maybe she wouldn't pick up, but then she did and I didn't know what to say.

"Kiara?"

"Hey…"

Cal looked curious, raising an eyebrow at me. Usually if I was on the phone, I was talking to Walker, getting updates or a new job and stuff like that. I'd brought two people in since Cal went into hiding. Simple jobs, just to keep my face out around town so Jasper would assume Cal wasn't with me and stop looking for him. Talking to my sister was definitely out of the norm. I waved him away, ignoring his flirty smirk.

"H-How are you?" Her voice still shook when she spoke to me. I hated that a little bit. Like she was afraid of me. My voice tightened automatically with irritation.

"Alright, I guess. Busy. I've been working a lot. How are you? How's the compound?"

"It's okay. I… I was getting better for a bit, but… now it feels like I'm going backwards."

Cal's words crossed my mind, and I tried my best to reassure her. "That's normal. At least, that's what I've been told. This really annoying guy got caught in the middle of one of my jobs and I've had to keep him with me until I finish it to keep him alive." He rolled his eyes at me, which made me smirk. "He won't stop talking and to get him to chill, we talked about you. He said recovery isn't a straight line, or whatever."

"Not or whatever," Cal griped, pushing off his bed to sit next to me. "You're awful at comforting people. You know that, right?"

"Shut up, Calvin."

"It's Cal! Stop calling me Calvin!"

I found out his name when I was looking him up, and he absolutely hated when I used it. Which only made it more fun for me.

"Is Hobbes around here somewhere? Maybe he can entertain you, since you're so annoying."

"Ha, ha. You're hilarious. Don't change the subject. You're the one who's awful at talking to people. I mean, come on. I was being chased, and you called me an idiot."

"That's because you are one," I countered with a snarl.

"Is that your mate?"

Talia's timid voice caught my attention. Cal heard her too and perked up a bit. I hurried to squash the idea.

"What? No!"

Cal ignored my protest, leaning closer to listen to Talia.

"Mate? Like a boyfriend? Not for lack of trying. She's stubborn."

He didn't even try to hide what he'd been doing the past few days. I knew him walking around in a towel after his shower wasn't just him being forgetful, like he said.

"Will you get away from me? I'm talking to my sister, and it's rude to eavesdrop."

"Like you're any better. You basically kidnapped me. Politeness is out the window at this point," he said blandly.

I glared at him, but he didn't back down. Without warning, he snatched my phone and took off. I grabbed at him, and I got a grip on his arm, but he twisted and jerked enough to catch me off guard and send me tumbling over the side of the bed with a yelp. He ran straight to the bathroom with a cackle, slamming the door shut just as I got to my feet.

"Now I seriously need to thank my friends for the Jedi Training!" he called through the door.

I pounded my fist against the wood, demanding he let me in, and he only laughed. "I'm talking to your sister. I need tips to win you over. Go find the bad guy or whatever."

"Cal, I'm going to kill you!"

"Yeah, yeah, you say that like every day now. I'm gonna take my clothes off. If you come in here, you better be willing to do something about it."

And of course, my lioness thought that was a grand idea. Horny bitch. She was the one who kept nudging me whenever Cal was half dressed. She liked him. With a frustrated snarl, I stormed out of the hotel room, heading for the stairwell. I had called Talia to try and settle myself a little, and I only ended up making it worse.

I wasn't normally this hot headed. Cal got under my skin, and I didn't know what to do about it. I didn't hook up with humans. Not to mention, he was under my protection and now wasn't the best time to start something. I was supposed to be finding the asshole who was threatening him, not climbing into bed with him.

Still seething when I made it to the ground floor, I thought about calling Walker to hand Cal off. I didn't have to be the one protecting him. I took on the task because I felt guilty for dragging him in the middle of my mess and for absolutely no other reason. He would be fine with Walker.

Except, when I went to grab my phone to call my boss, it took me a second to remember that Cal had it. That only pissed me off more. I took the stairs back up, hoping the exercise would take the edge off my temper, but it didn't do shit. Probably because I wasn't actually pissed. I was frustrated, and the little shit was the reason. If I thought I could get away with meeting someone for the night just to take the edge off, I might. But besides that being too dangerous right now, my lioness vetoed it with a growl. Snarling, I threw the door open, looking around for Cal, but he was still in the bathroom with the door locked.

"Kiara?" he called out. Smart of him to check, but that wasn't going to save him from getting pummeled.

"You better be off that damn phone," I growled.

"I'm busy making a dirty video. Come back later."

Frustration boiled over and I jerked the handle, hoping with enough force I could get in and take my phone back. I heard him murmuring to Talia, I had no idea what they were saying, but since it was Cal, I knew it wasn't good. The lock finally clicked with enough force, and he spun around with an enormous grin.

"Oh! Are you going to join me? That'll make this video way more fun!"

I wasn't fully in control. My lioness took over. That was the only excuse I had for fisting the front of his shirt and kissing him. He froze in surprise for maybe two seconds before surging forward, his hands on the sides of my neck as he pushed his tongue into my mouth. For such a goofy nerd, he was a better kisser than I expected. He wasn't passive, and I ended up with my back against the wall, my hands in his hair as we both fought for control of the kiss.

It was hot. He was hot. And if my phone hadn't started ringing, I probably wouldn't have stopped at just kissing. But I recognized the ringtone. Walker was calling, and if it was him, he either had good news or bad. I wasn't holding my breath for good.

When I pulled away, Cal growled his displeasure. It was a cute little human growl, and I had to swallow down my reply. He didn't know about shifters, and I wasn't about to give it away because my stupid horny lioness was getting all hot and bothered over a human. I pushed Cal away enough to get past him, heading to the bathroom where he'd left my phone on the sink.

"What've you got?"

"About time you answered," Walker snapped. "Sophia said she spotted Jasper across town. I told her to wait for us. Get your ass moving."

"On my way."

When I turned around, Cal looked curious and a little worried. "You found him?"

"One of my coworkers did. I need to go. Walker doesn't want anyone taking him on alone. Stay here. Hopefully, when I get back, you'll be home free."

He crossed his arms, a stubborn look on his face. "After you catch him, I'm taking you on a date."

A secret part of me was pleased he wasn't going to let it go so easily. That kiss was one of the hottest I'd ever had and I wouldn't mind seeing what else he could surprise me with. But now wasn't the time to talk about that. I rolled my eyes, pushing him out of my way.

"Don't answer the door for anyone. I'll be back."