Chapter 15

It was almost like a very first kiss. Hannah, the person I’d had to become, had never been kissed after all. I’d certainly never kissed anyone like Oliver. Monster, man, he held me gently and followed my every lead. I pressed with my tongue, and he opened for me, letting me take what I needed and giving everything I asked for.

Oliver’s fingers dug into my back, gently, possessively. He made an appreciative sound, and I briefly wondered how long it had been since he’d kissed anyone. Maybe he needed this as much as I did?

A door clicked open and Nimbus rooed softly. I could practically feel shock radiate down the hallway, and the hairs on the back of my neck stood up.

Oliver broke off our kiss with an annoyed grunt and turned to look, but by the time we responded, no one was there.

My landlord took a deep breath before turning his attention back to me.

“I should…” He cleared his throat. “I should probably go.”

I was on the verge of asking him to stay when he turned and hurried away.

“Fuck me,” I whispered, hugging myself. What a crazy day it had been, and it wasn’t even over yet. I had no idea what was going to happen when the vampires woke up, but I expected I’d hear from them.

Until then, I was going to hide in my room and try to figure out what the hell I was going to do. I touched my lips once I was inside. I’d felt the need for physical contact before, but kissing Oliver had awakened the desire and brought my need to a whole new level. And now I had to navigate that business, too. Three men I was interested in, and none of them I wanted to alienate.

Ugh. Maybe I should just move. Hiding away until Nimbus was older was beginning to seem like the best choice. I didn’t want to hide, but I wasn’t sure if I had another encounter with this sort of danger in me.

The first one had been bad enough. Uncovering the trafficking ring had saved countless lives, but it had taken almost a year to manage all the arrests. A year of undercover work I wasn’t qualified for but was the only one who could do it. A year of stress, of looking over my shoulder, of wondering if I was next. I was an accountant. I’d taken a new job looking for higher pay, and it had been great, until I’d started finding discrepancies.

After a little digging, I’d gone to the police instead of my employer. That had probably saved my life. An astute sergeant had put a few pieces together and called the feds. They’d enlisted my help with the rest of their investigation. Not that I’d had a lot of choice. I’d been in danger since I’d taken the job. I just hadn’t known it.

Now I was Hannah, and living in Beechworth, a small town apparently inhabited by supernaturals, instead of the beach town I’d loved. And I was in danger again. Possibly because of the adorably floofy cloud of fur that was currently following me around with his ears flat and his tail down instead of curled over his back. It was entirely possible I would have ended up in trouble regardless and I didn’t regret rescuing him. I just wished I could have had the quiet and peace I’d been after.

A cold draft chilled me. I stopped my pacing and stared around, trying to figure out where it came from. It was warm outside, but cool enough in the building that I didn’t have any air-conditioning going.

Nimbus gave a high-pitched bark before jumping up and snapping at the draft.

I could almost see it swirl away, as if the temperature difference briefly caused mist.

“Okay, what was that?” I kneeled and Nimbus came over to me. I buried my fingers in his fluff.

Of course, I didn’t get an answer from the little guy, but I got the idea he was tired. I couldn’t imagine why. It’s not like we had a busy day or anything. I sighed, a little tired myself as the adrenalin faded.

“Let’s get you some food and we’ll have a nap. How about that?”

He curled his tail over his back and wagged it happily.

***

Hours later, I was woken from a deep sleep by a firm knock on my door.

“Coming,” I muttered, not sure if whoever it was could hear me or not. I supposed it depended on what variety of supernatural stood at my door. Considering I’d never met the neighbors, it was probably Oliver. Taking a quick moment to look in the mirror and swish a little mouth wash after my nap, I made it to the door in a reasonable amount of time considering whoever it was had woken me. Nimbus sat by the door, and I suspected whoever it was, still waited.

Glancing out the peephole confirmed my suspicion that Oliver waited, though he wasn’t alone and that surprised me.

“Sorry,” I said as I opened the door. “I was asleep.”

“My apologies for waking you.” He smiled gently.

I glanced at his companion and raised my eyebrows. “Bridger? Hi.”

The hunter grinned. “Seems you need a bodyguard.”

If anything, my eyebrows climbed higher. “What?” Choosing Bridger after everyone had told me he couldn’t know anything about what was going on in Beechworth made no sense to me.

“If you’re comfortable with Bridger accompanying you outside of Beechworth, he has agreed to be your shadow when I cannot,” Oliver continued.

“What do Davin and Katsuro think?”

“I have not consulted them. Undoubtedly, they’ll disagree, but so far they’ve failed to keep you safe.”

I had some doubts about what having Bridger around would accomplish. Maybe if everyone were desperate enough to keep their secrets from him, it would make them think twice about revealing any powers they might have.

“Uh, yeah, sure, that’s great.”

Bridger grinned. “Oliver told me that some thugs over in Mayday Hills took an interest. Real low lives. Resorted to poison. I bet it was the vampires. Hoping to knock you out until dark so they could catch you.”

I glanced at Oliver, who had a hand over his mouth, hiding a smile.

“Yeah, maybe,” I agreed.

The thing was, Bridger sounded excited about having this opportunity. He was practically jumping up and down. Did he not have better things to do?

“Okay. So, I have to be at work by nine tomorrow morning. Does that work for you?”

“Absolutely! I’ll meet you at the front door. We’ll sweep your car before we head out, or we can take mine. I’ll keep watch while you work and run errands, then I’ll get you back here. Sounds fantastic.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, Hannah. Anything I can do to keep you safe from the bad guys.”

“Okay. Thank you.” I meant it.

“If it’s all right, I need to go prepare a few things. I’ll see you in the morning.” Bridger beamed at me and ran off.

“Oliver, what the fuck?”

The shade chuckled. “He’s perfect. He actually knows quite a bit of useful information about fighting the supernatural, though we’ve managed to keep any solid knowledge from him. The people in Mayday Hills also know who Bridger is and will likely try to avoid any confrontation while he’s around, and he lives for this sort of thing.”

“Doesn’t he have a job or something?”

“Not that we can tell.” Oliver shrugged and turned his shoulder as if he were thinking about leaving.

“Hey, uh, about earlier. I’m sorry if I pushed,” I said.

Oliver glanced away for a moment before turning back to me. “I did not feel pressured. Quite the opposite. It was a nice kiss.” His smile brought his blue-gray eyes to life.

Suddenly feeling a little mischievous, I grinned back at him. “You do know that Bridger has been flirting with me, right?”

“I’m not surprised.” Oliver didn’t sound overly concerned.

“And that Katsuro and Davin are practically drooling on me?”

“Wolves do drool, though vampires are far too refined for that sort of thing.” The skin around Oliver’s eyes crinkled into laugh lines.

“And what do shades do?”

“We’re patient.” He winked at me. “Sometimes too patient.” His expression shuttered for a moment before lightening again. “It’s not always beneficial, I suppose.”

This made me laugh gently. I sensed a story behind that last bit, but I wasn’t going to push just yet.

“I’ve been alone too long,” I admitted. “It’s making me reckless. And restless.”

Oliver focused on me, his gaze turning intense. “Why did you move to Beechworth, Hannah?”

The deep breath I took failed to calm the anxiety that curled through my chest. I took another. I’d never had anxiety, or panic attacks, until the last couple of years.

“I did not mean to cause distress.” Oliver backed off the intensity, obviously sensing something from me, though I’d developed a pretty good poker face, too.

I held out my hand, taking his loosely, in case he wanted to pull away from the touch.

“It’s complicated, Oliver. Something I’m supposed to be leaving completely behind. Unfortunately, everything that’s happening is bringing all of it back. It’s nothing I did, just something I found. I chose Beechworth because it was completely different from my old life and full of tantalizing rumors.”

He brought his free hand up to my cheek, and I leaned into the contact.

“I will not hold it against you, if you should tell me you’re not interested,” Oliver said. “I promise you and Nimbus will be safe in these walls no matter what happens between us on a personal level. I do not care for all my tenants, but unless they are themselves a danger to others here, they are welcome. I just wanted you to know that. I do not want things to be awkward between us.”

“You’re not making it any easier for me to have restraint.”

“That was not exactly my intention.” He glanced away for a moment, as if embarrassed.

Need raged through me. Desire for my sexy landlord and his gentle ways. Curiosity at the monster that lurked beneath the surface combined with the way he made me feel safe, respected, and desired. I tugged gently on his hand. “Oliver, do you want to come in?”

“I do. Very much.”