Chapter Five

CHAPTER FIVE

Larkin drew in a breath through her nose. Okay, PDA was one thing when it was a matter of them ‘performing’. This was different. And not acceptable.

She almost snarled. Move it or I’ll snap it off.

He glided his hand up her thigh.

Teague, she reprimanded.

He shot her a quick look of complete innocence. You said move it, I moved it.

God, he was such a shit.

She rolled her shoulders. Fine. If he wanted to play games, they could play games.

Larkin took a tip from her demon’s book and sent him an explicit telepathic image. One of her fisting his cock right here at the table. She heard him quietly suck in a breath. Ha.

His mind brushed hers, buzzing with amusement. Ho, ho, ho, my harpy plays dirty.

The word ‘my’ should not have made her belly clench.

An image shoved its way into her mind. An image of her propped on the table with his face between her legs.

Her core spasmed. Not to be outdone, she telepathed him another explicit image. And as conversation continued around the table and people finished their meals, the mind-to-mind exchange of seriously graphic pictures between her and Teague went on and on.

Removing his offending hand from her thigh, he draped his arm over the back of her chair and grazed her ear with his lips. You’re wet. I can smell it.

Damn his hellbeast-enhanced sense of smell. Fighting a blush, she discreetly cupped his dick. And you’re hard, so we’re even. He was also as well-endowed as he’d claimed.

Just to be a tease, she gave his cock a quick squeeze before pulling back her hand. Which was exactly when Beck turned his attention to her.

“So, how long have you and Teague been dating?” the burly male asked.

“Several months,” Larkin vaguely replied, hoping she didn’t look as flustered as she felt.

Martina hummed. “Let me guess. You kept it to yourselves so you could date in peace. I understand. I had to do the same for years, because Richie was always interfering.”

Beck sighed. “He only did it to rile you up.”

Martina let out a little sniff. “Well, he stopped after I set too many of his things on fire.”

Feeling his lips twitch, Teague lifted his glass and took a swig of his drink. Dinner with the Wallis family never failed to make him smile.

Larkin’s psyche stroked along his, and then her voice glided into his mind. What is it with imps and fire?

He set down his glass. I don’t actually know. Meeting her gaze, he inhaled deeply, dragging more of her scent into his lungs—the spice of arousal there taunted him. There’s quite a few serial arsonists among them. But they only target those who wrong them. And they generally don’t let people burn to death. They usually just get them crispy.

I suppose that makes it okay, then, she said as she faced forward, her tone sardonic.

He snickered and nipped her earlobe just because. Don’t act like you haven’t done worse. I’ve heard plenty of rumors about you and your demon. Very intriguing rumors.

“Want to share with the class whatever it is you two are telepathically talking about?” Keenan snarked, glancing from her to Teague.

His demon narrowed its eyes at the incubus, not liking his tone. “You really want to hear what I’m planning to do to her when we’re alone and naked?”

Keenan’s face went a dark red.

Khloë elbowed her mate. “Cheer up, will you?”

His brow furrowed. “I don’t need to cheer up. I’m fine.”

“You’re brooding,” Khloë corrected. “Something I’d ordinarily find amusing. Delightful, even. But you keep snarling at my anchor, and I don’t like it. Leave him alone.”

Keenan spluttered. “He’s all over her. At a dinner table.”

“All over her?” Khloë echoed. “Not even close. God, you can be so dramatic when you’re in a mood.”

“You’re really okay with the idea of them together?”

“Unlike you, I don’t feel a need to come between people and the source of their happiness. All right, that was pure bull. Messing with people’s level of contentment feeds my soul. Let me put this another way. I want Larkin to be happy. I want Teague to be happy. Together, they are happy. So yeah, I’m okay with them being together.”

The girl was so convincing that Teague almost believed her.

Once dinner was over and everyone had said their goodbyes, they exited the house to find two of Jolene’s lair digging a seriously deep hole in the front lawn. No one batted an eyelid about it—they were too used to imps doing weird stuff. Jolene, however, was not happy.

It was as he and Larkin clicked on their seatbelts in the truck that the Prime shoved one of the diggers into the hole.

Starting the engine, Teague chuckled. “You gotta love Wallis imps.”

“You fit in well with them,” Larkin noted.

“They’re my kind of people.” He pulled away from the curb and onto the road. “Say what you want about imps, but they have each other’s back. There’s loyalty there. A real sense of family. Their personal ‘code’ might differ from that of most, but when it comes to what’s important, they don’t let others down.”

“True,” she agreed. “I didn’t really see that until Harper came into our lives and we got to know her family and old lair members. Still, I’m not sure I’d want to live among them like Keenan—he’s always full of stories about how he gets home to find that Khloë’s been up to all kinds of stuff, and suddenly there are boxes of goods that ‘fell out of a van’ stacked in a cupboard. Goods her relatives later sell. Speaking of Keenan, I don’t think he has as many doubts about us as he did before.”

Teague dipped his chin. “Knox still isn’t convinced.”

“I noticed that. But since he failed to comment on the matter at any point today, I’m thinking he decided to stay out of it.”

“That’s the feeling I got.” Teague paused as he made a right turn. “You know, on a whole other note, you surprised me tonight.”

Her brow pinched. “In what sense?”

“You gave as good as you got. I didn’t think you would. I thought you’d blush like crazy and maybe try slamming my face on the table.”

“I presume you’re referring to how you did your best to get me all hot and bothered.”

He smiled at the withering look she fired his way. He loved getting under her skin and watching her facial muscles twitch as she fought to hide just how annoyed she was. He decided there and then that he’d work toward giving her a permanent eyelid twitch—it would suit her. “I did get you all hot and bothered.”

“Two-way street, Black Beauty.” She gave him a prim look and dismissively slid her gaze to her window.

He let out a chuckle. “So, basically, I’m gonna have to up my game if I’m to win this wager?”

Her head whipped around to look at him. “What? No. No, you should just stop playing games.”

A slow grin shaped his mouth. “Why? It’s fun.”

“In your book, maybe. In mine, it’s simply juvenile.”

“Liar. You like tormenting me just as much as I like tormenting you. That’s why you’re not as worked up now as you were earlier.”

That was when it hit Larkin. Hit her like a slap to the face, making her lips part. “You instigated it to distract me because you knew something was on my mind.”

“And to give you an outlet. You needed one.”

She had. She really had. It was only at this moment that she realized just how much tension had drained out of her system during the evening as she’d mentally sparred with the male beside her. He might have weird ways of dealing with stuff, but they were effective all the same.

“I’m not going to thank you for it,” she told him. “As we’ve covered, I’m hot and bothered. That part I’m not pleased about at all.”

His mouth winged up, and she thought he might offer to do something about it; to take care of the itch—particularly since it would, in turn, take care of his own. But he didn’t make the offer. He didn’t even give her a suggestive look.

The oaths, she thought. He’d given Khloë his word, and he wasn’t going to break it.

Understandable.

Also frustrating.

But no doubt for the best, given his penchant for casual hook-ups.

Larkin had nothing against them, she simply didn’t find them satisfying anymore. Not emotionally, anyway.

When he finally pulled up outside her building, she took a good, long look out of the front window, sweeping her gaze over her surroundings. It didn’t seem likely that Holt would have stuck around, but she wanted to be sure.

“Okay, what’s wrong?” asked Teague, angling his body toward hers.

She blinked at him. “What?”

“As soon as I drove into the parking lot, you went tense as a bow. Now you’re in full-on hypervigilant mode.” His eyes darkened. “Are you expecting trouble of some kind?”

“No. Just . . . unwelcome company.” That was as much as she was willing to say on the matter.

He let out a long hum. Then he cut the engine and got out of the truck.

Her brows snapping together, Larkin slipped out of the vehicle. “What are you doing?”

“Walking you to the door.”

“I don’t need—”

“I’m a chivalrous boyfriend, remember.” He splayed his hand on her back and gently ushered her toward the building.

With a sigh, she let him, feeling pretty confident that Holt was gone. She’d have sensed if she was being watched.

When they reached the main door, Teague pinned her with a serious look. “You know you can reach out to me if you need anything, don’t you? I won’t ask questions. I won’t share what you tell me. I’ll just assist you in whatever way you need.”

Larkin swallowed, her chest feeling tight. “Khloë’s lucky to have you as her anchor.” And if he ever did claim a woman, she’d be lucky to have him as her mate.

“I know,” he said, all arrogance.

A smile pulled at her lips. “Of course you do.”

He dipped his head and brushed his mouth over her forehead. “Night, baby.”

Her stomach took an excited dive. Baby?

He shrugged. Thought I’d try it out. I like it.

Smiling, she shook her head. “Goodnight, Teague. Get home safe. And try not to piss anyone off on your way there just for something to do.”

“I promise nothing.”

Larkin was late arriving at Knox’s office the next morning. She’d taken a longer, more complicated route to the Underground, determined to be certain that she wasn’t being followed. It was unlikely that Holt would tail her like a damn stalker, but she’d needed to be sure.

Keenan sat at his desk, typing while frowning at his computer screen. Levi stood in front of the row of monitors that provided CCTV footage of the Underground, talking into his cell phone. Knox was lounging in his desk chair discussing something with Tanner, who sat in the chair opposite him.

They all gave her brief greetings as she entered before refocusing on whatever they’d been doing. Well, no one actually cared if any of them were late by a few minutes or so.

She intended to tell them about Holt’s appearance straight off, wanting to get it over with. Her demon snarled at the mere thought of him. It had calmed somewhat—mainly thanks to their friendly, neighborhood hellhorse—but it still longed to tear their joke of a psi-mate into shreds.

While she waited for Levi to finish his call, she shrugged off her jacket and then hung it on the back of her chair. She was about to make herself a coffee using the machine at the corner of the office near the water dispenser, but then Levi pocketed his phone.

Larkin cleared her throat, gaining everyone’s attention. “I have something I need to tell you,” she said, leaning back to prop her ass on her desk.

“You and Teague are over already?” asked Tanner, looking awfully pleased by the prospect.

She felt her forehead crease. “No.”

“Shame,” muttered Keenan.

“This has nothing to do with Teague.” She wet her lips with a swipe of her tongue. “It’s about Holt.”

That easily, each male in the room went rigid.

Levi squinted. “What about Holt?” The question was laced with wariness.

She folded her arms. “He’s in Vegas.”

His jaw tightening, Knox pushed out of his chair. “Are you sure?”

Oh, how she wished she wasn’t. “Yes. He approached me in the parking lot of my building yesterday.”

An animalistic growl rumbled out of Tanner as he stood so abruptly his chair wheeled backwards. “He approached you?”

“Why?” Keenan demanded, his expression dark. “What did the bastard want?”

She dug her teeth into her lower lip. “To form the anchor bond.”

“Motherfucker,” spat Levi, turning away.

Keenan’s face scrunched up. “He can’t seriously think you’d agree to that, or that you’d ever even think about it.”

“That was pretty much what I said,” Larkin told him. “But it would appear that he does.”

His eyes flat and dead, Knox took a slow step toward her. “What exactly did he say?” His voice was low and so eerily calm it was unnatural—an indication that he was pissed.

Larkin gripped the edge of the desk behind her. “That he understands if I hate him; that he’s essentially spent years regretting how things played out way-back-when; that he’s changed now and wants to both win my trust and claim me as his anchor.”

Rising to his feet, a scowling Keenan perched his hands on his hips. “If he’s really been regretting it all these years, why didn’t he come back for you sooner?” he challenged.

“Yeah, I pointed out that he’d have done exactly that if he’d truly longed to fix the situation. He only said, ‘I’m here now’. Like that was what mattered.” She let out a low, disgusted snort. “He didn’t say much else. I told him to leave and then I headed into my building.”

Knox very slowly cocked his head. “How do you feel about Holt being here?” he asked carefully, his gaze probing. “Truthfully? I know you’re rightfully angry with him. But is there a part of you that wishes he could earn your trust and become a part of your life the way he always should’ve been?”

She frowned. “No. You know me, Knox. You know that mental doors slam shut in my mind if someone betrays or hurts me. Those doors will never open for that person again.” It wasn’t something she could consciously control.

“Yes, but Holt isn’t just anyone,” Knox pointed out. “He’s your psi-mate. I don’t want you to later regret that you sent him away. No one here would judge you if you gave him a shot to see if he really has changed. We might not like him, but we’d support you whatever your choice. What’s important here isn’t how we would feel about it; it’s that you make the right decision for you. So be honest with yourself. Do you want him in your life? Do you want to form the anchor bond?

Those questions were easy to answer. “No and no. Though I appreciate that you’d support me no matter what.”

“And your demon? How does it feel about all this?”

“It’s on the same page as me. It would never bond with him. Ever. He did the one thing that the entity could never forgive.”

“He left you,” said Knox with a nod of understanding.

Abandonment was a real hot button for her demon. “Neither I nor the entity are at all moved by the fact that he might actually be willing to make any of the concessions or sacrifices he’d once point-blank refused to make.”

Knox slipped his hands into his pockets, twisting his mouth. “I don’t see why he wouldn’t. There’s certainly no reason why he couldn’t. He’s in a better situation nowadays.”

She blinked. “How exactly?”

“I didn’t tell you this before now because you don’t like to talk about him or hear what’s going on in his life. He’s no longer a sentinel. He’s Prime of his lair.”

Her smile held a cutting edge. “Just as he always wanted.” Even she heard the bitter note in her voice.

“Now that he doesn’t answer to anyone any longer, he has the freedom to play however large a part in your life as he pleases.”

No, he didn’t. Because she wouldn’t allow it. Her demon would fight her on it if she tried. “It also means he’d now want more than ever for me to join his lair and be close to him.”

“Yes, he won’t want you answering to another Prime,” Knox confirmed. “Especially when I have no alliance with him.”

Larkin bit out a curse, her grip tightening on the edges of the desk. “I hate that he came here. Why couldn’t he have just stayed away?”

Levi crossed to her, his shoulders tense. “Why didn’t you tell us about this yesterday?”

“I couldn’t talk about it. My demon was in a major snit. Even hearing his name would have sent the entity into a violent fucking tailspin. I couldn’t trust that it wouldn’t take over and go track him.” Her demon was extremely fond of torture, and it had all sorts of plans for Holt—it had been dreaming up ways to make him suffer for years. “It’s a little calmer now. Its anger isn’t wild and unrestrained; it’s cold and controlled.”

“Good.” Knox paused. “This is why you were a little tense yesterday at dinner. You were not only wound up over Holt’s reappearance, you were striving to keep your demon from losing it.”

For the most part, yes. There was also the little titbit that she’d been uncomfortably horny, courtesy of Teague’s roaming hands and kinky telepathic images. But she felt no need to share that with her brothers. “Teague deliberately did a good job of distracting me.”

Tanner tipped his head to the side. “You told him about Holt?”

“No,” replied Larkin. “He just sensed that something was wrong and set out to divert my attention.”

Knox let out a thoughtful hum. “You should tell him. If Holt intends to linger, he’ll see you with Teague. Holt might even approach him. You don’t want Teague to be caught off-guard like that, do you?”

She hadn’t considered that might happen. And no, she didn’t want the hellhorse to be sucker-punched with the situation. “I’ll tell him later.”

Keenan reached back and palmed his nape. “Holt might not stick around. He might have returned to Canada by now.”

Larkin rubbed at her breastbone. “I did a little research.” A little hacking, to be precise. “He’s staying at The Charon Hotel. He hasn’t checked out yet. His room is booked for three weeks.”

“Three?” echoed Levi, his brows hitching up. He muttered a curse of annoyance.

Knox pursed his lips. “Then it would seem he came here with every intention of doing as he said and spending time earning your trust.”

Like three weeks would have been enough even if she had been interested in letting him into her life.

Keenan turned to the Prime. “But now that he knows she isn’t interested in giving him a shot, he might respect her wishes and leave.”

“I don’t know,” said Larkin, doubtful. “This is Holt we’re talking about. When has he ever respected my wishes?”

“Never,” Keenan allowed. “That said, he might—for once—choose to back off.”

She sighed. “I guess. Stranger things have happened. And I did make it abundantly clear that he has no hope of convincing me to form the bond. Plus, he’s a Prime now. He can’t afford to be away from his lair for long.”

Knox rubbed at his jaw. “I could pay him a visit and strongly suggest he leave.”

Larkin thought about it for a moment. “It may come to that. But first, I’d like to see if he returns home of his own accord. It could be his intention. But if you turn up at his hotel room and pressure him to get on a plane, he could choose to stay merely to make a point that he owes you no compliance.”

Levi looked at Knox. “She’s right. You wouldn’t react well to another Prime laying down the law, however civilly they did it.”

Knox stiffly tilted his head, reluctantly conceding that. “I’ll give him a chance to make the right choice.” He slid his eyes back to Larkin. “But if he doesn’t, if he becomes a problem, I will deal with it—both as your family and your Prime.”

Swallowing, she nodded.

Levi sidled up to her and curled his arm around her shoulder. “I’m sorry that you have such a fuckhead for an anchor.”

She exhaled heavily. “Yeah, me too.”