‘The traces of magic were obviously strong; a wizard must have been the killer,’ he said.
‘My dad works for Paranormal Unit. He agreed with you. Unfortunately, he still doesn’t have any suspects,’ I told him, making sure no one was listening.
‘Did he? Well, I’m glad that we met again,’ he said. ‘Dark magic has been prohibited but only a few paranormals ever cared about rules—these days we are hungry for power.’
‘It’s difficult to say who must have wanted him dead,’ I admitted, playing dumb.
‘I shouldn’t say that I believe that a wizard is behind this crime, but, no offense, elves’ or fairies’ magic has never been that strong.’
The announcement that dinner was ready came, so I didn’t have a chance to disagree with him. A stocky wizard named Michael promised to talk to me later, but I was glad to get away. When I sat down, Nathaniel found the place next to me. Loony smiled, sitting on my left. The food was delicious, but I couldn’t concentrate on what I was eating as Nathaniel’s arm kept brushing mine. He didn’t react when I shot him a sharp look, pretending that he was immersed in a serious conversation with the witch opposite him.
There was an odd mix of creatures around the table: two vampires, a shapeshifter, wizards, and a witch who was running a dating agency. It was difficult to find common ground, especially when the men talked about football.
‘So, Julia, Nathaniel mentioned that you used to go out?’ asked the witch unexpectedly shifting the subject away from sports.
I nearly choked on the piece of bread that I was about to chew. Everyone stopped talking and looked at me. Loony shifted on the chair next to me.
Nosy bitch.
‘Yes, we used to date,’ I replied. There was no point pretending I didn’t know what she was talking about. Everyone at this table, apart from Loony, knew.
‘Dhampir and an elf, don’t you think that’s a bit risky, La Caz?’ Michael chuckled, sending me a wink. My face heated up and I started playing with my food, hoping that Nathaniel would shift this uncomfortable conversation away.
‘Keep your nose out of my business, West. You shouldn’t ask inappropriate questions during a business dinner,’ said Nathaniel calmly.
Michael started laughing. ‘I’m only teasing; don’t get all grumpy,’ he added. ‘We’re all curious to know if you’re ever planning to settle?’
‘If I do, then you’ll be the last to know.’
Michael laughed out loud but didn’t continue with the subject. I exhaled, wondering if my date with Loony could be any worse. Now, I didn’t have a choice. I had to explain myself to him. After dinner two vampires that owned a bakery cornered me so I had to talk to them. When I finally found Loony, he was alone drinking champagne.
‘Hey,’ I said, approaching him. ‘How’s it going?’
‘You were right; everyone wants to talk about business, not pleasure,’ he joked.
‘Listen, Loony,’ I began, contemplating how to start this awkward conversation about Nathaniel. ‘I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you about Nathaniel and me.’
‘I guessed that there was something between you two,’ he said, wrinkling his forehead with effort. ‘The air changes when he is around you.’
‘I should have told you. I’m sorry that you had to find out like this.’
‘Don’t worry, Julia, I understand. You probably felt awkward,’ he said.
‘Really? You aren’t upset?’ I asked.
He shook his head. ‘We all have secrets.’ He laughed. I smiled but kept wondering if he was ready to date me. He was handsome, had a good job, and he wouldn’t have problem with commitment. Nicky was right, he was ideal for me. Maybe I should consider giving him another chance?
Later on the witch who ran the dating agency approached me and started asking me about the fire at the agency. She knew an awful lot of details for someone who’d never heard of Paranormal Personnel. It was close to the ten when I finally had a chance to get away to the bathroom. My magic was unsettled, accumulating again, giving me a terrible headache. The current of light was lifting the hair on the back of my neck, causing pain in my joints. My breath was rigid. Nathaniel was around so, my magic was more active.
‘Can you give me your car keys? I think I left my clutch bag in your car,’ I told Loony, hoping to sneak outside to cast a simple spell so I could relax a little.
‘Yes, you look a bit pale. Are you are all right?’ he asked.
‘I’m fine. I just need a bit of fresh air. Be back in a minute.’
He didn’t insist on coming with me, and I was glad to have some time to myself. Nathaniel wasn’t stalking me so I had the perfect opportunity to get away. I left the apartment and called the lift. My heart was pounding in my chest, my skin tingling. I took a few deep breaths as I got into the lift. The doors were just about to close when Nathaniel slid inside.
‘Going somewhere?’ he asked as the door closed.
‘What are you doing here?’ I asked deflated.
‘I told you, we need to talk.’
‘We have nothing to talk about, Nathaniel,’ I said, raising my voice.
‘You’re glad to see me, stop denying it.’ He smirked. I didn’t press any buttons, but the lift began to move. I could feel the hair on my hands lift as he moved closer.
Stay calm and breathe - you can fight the lust.
‘I needed some air,’ I explained. ‘I wanted to be alone.’
I was trying to count to ten in my head. Nicky told me that it was quite a distracting exercise, but as soon as I caught his scent, my pulse skyrocketed.
‘I want you back.’
His voice drew me away from his body; his words rang in my mind. Nathaniel was only saying that because he saw me with another man. He was the one that left me and now thought he could say a word and I would come running.
‘Fuck you,’ I spat, the light starting to shimmer as the lift began to shake. My heartbeat quickened. The air filled with desire, scratching my throat, pulling through my lungs. There was a loud bang then the lift stopped. We were stuck on the sixteenth floor.
‘What’s going on?’ I asked, pressing the buttons with panic.
‘I’m not sure. Let me call downstairs,’ he said and pressed the number for security, but nothing happened. ‘It’s off.’
‘What do you mean it’s off? I want to get out of here,’ I hissed, feeling suffocated.
‘Don’t stress. At least we’ve got each other.’ He casually leaned toward me.
He was planning this all along.
‘I hate elevators. Please tell me that you can get us out of here.’
‘There is a possibility that it’s a power shortage,’ he said. ‘Don’t stress; you’re safe with me.’
I wanted to cry, being stuck with elevator with Nathaniel when my magic was getting out of control was my worst nightmare. He couldn’t possibly think that I could give him another chance after he left me in my apartment, wounded, and when I needed him the most.
‘Why are you doing this to me? You will never get over your commitment issues, and remember, you were the one that left me,’ I said raising my voice. His eyes moved over my face and then he dragged his body closer, wrapping his mind-blowing scent all over my skin. His palms were on my shoulders.
‘I’m sorry that I abandoned you like that. I was afraid that if I stayed you’d be in danger,’ he said, not breaking the eye contact. ‘I’ve missed you so much.’
His touch, the sound of his voice, made me want to forget how much he hurt me. My heart ached for him, but my body fought hard. He couldn’t change because I wanted him.
‘But you did leave,’ I whispered. ‘I don’t want to go through this again. I don’t expect you to understand. Stay away from me.’
The wind picked up, ruffling his sandy hair. I was still counting, but his penetrating eyes were like glowing diamonds. I was failing, badly, at keeping my distance; my body leaned into his, the magic filling my pores.
‘So you want me to stay
away from you, even if I do this?’ he asked, brushing his lips gently over mine. A shiver shot down my body but I refused to react.
‘Yes,’ I responded, but my voice cracked.
‘What about this?’
This time I wasn’t quite ready when he kissed me. Fierce throbbing sliced through my core when I realised what was happening.
‘Yeess,’ I dragged out with effort.
‘You drive a hard bargain, my firecracker,’ he muttered and pulled away, only for a second on two. His breath was rapid. I was lost in desire even before he touched me. Instead of pushing him away and calling someone who could rescue us, I looped my arms around him and pressed my shaking body to his. The lights began flashing and I knew if we didn’t stop kissing, it wouldn’t be long before I killed us both.
Chapter fifteen
He goes on and on about our reunion like he can’t see that he was the one who messed up!
I grasped his hair while he sucked on my earlobe. He stretched my arms to both sides, moving down to my neck. He parted my legs with his thigh and pressed himself so I could feel his expanding erection. My pulse pounded in my throat and I kept telling myself that I should stop, but the steaming energy that started building up inside me was too much to bear.
‘You can’t even imagine how much I missed you,’ he murmured, pulling away and staring into my eyes. I swallowed hard, taking short gasps of air. He didn’t let me catch my breath before he was kissing me again, this time harder, more fierce. I was kissing him back not thinking about the consequences anymore.
‘Nathaniel, we can’t do this,’ I moaned.
‘Oh yes, we can,’ he responded, growling. ‘Your scent is like a breath of fresh air.’
He pulled away, smiling, and his eyes darted downward. Before I could even process what was happening he started unzipping my dress. ‘Beautiful, and all mine’
His hand moved around my thighs pulling the lower part of my dress up.
‘You drive me fucking insane,’ he whispered as he leaned in and kissed my bare shoulders. ‘Mmmm, I want to fuck you in those.’
I believed he was referring to the stockings I’d decided to wear tonight, but I was too turned on to care.
‘Oh god, I missed you, too,’ I mumbled, forgetting about the promises I made to myself.
A wicked smile spread across his face and, with fire in his eyes, he unhooked my bra. Heat flowed over my body when he sucked on my hardened nipples. My heart rate picked up dangerously fast. I moaned as his tongue swirled around my breasts. Sparks escaped my hands, melting the barrier that I held on to. Desire and lust infused their way through my body, moving though my veins, my heart jackhammering in my chest. A drizzling heat swamped me when he moved his hand between my legs.
‘Always so ready for me,’ he whispered, caressing my sex. The renewing heat of blazing air filled every cell, easing though my lungs. He kept stimulating my clitoris with his skilled fingers, his movements forceful. I felt the intensity of an approaching orgasm. It had been so long since we’d been together. I was so close to the precipice. I drew in a shallow breath as the pulsing between my thighs increased, I was going to explode.
‘Sweet and wet, what are you doing to me?’
I couldn’t respond as I lost control over my body, the pleasure filling me, and I came screaming. Something burst and I heard a loud crack somewhere underneath me. The lift started moving again. When I opened my eyes Nathaniel was breathing hard next to my ear. I didn’t have to look at him; I knew that his fangs were extended and the air smelled of sweat and sex.
‘Julia, I want to be inside you right now,’ he said pressing his cheek to mine. My body was pleasantly numb and my hands were still shaking. Most of the lights in the elevator were out; the large mirror in front of us was cracked. I was to be blamed for that. We were moving down quickly.
I’m such an idiot.
I wasn’t even prepared for what’s happened next. The lift stopped and the door opened, throwing us straight into a group of people. A flush crept over my cheeks as I tried to hide my ripped dress and whatever dignity that I had left.
‘Mr. La Caz, are you all right?’ asked a stocky werewolf dressed in a blue uniform, looking concerned.
‘We are fine, Derek, thank you. We got stuck.’
I couldn’t stay there so I hurried away, ignoring the intensive stares. When the warm breeze hit my lungs I was relieved. People probably thought that I was some kind of slut.
I didn’t care that I left Loony in his apartment. I just needed to get out of here.
‘Julia, where the hell are you going?’ shouted Nathaniel, easily catching up with me, but I couldn’t stop. I didn’t want to talk to him. We were done and back there was a moment of weakness. The main gate was a distance away and there was no way that I could find a taxi anywhere near.
‘Just leave me alone, Nathaniel. I need go home,’ I yelled.
‘Let me call Roberto, he’ll take you,’ he said. ‘Don’t you think we need to talk?’
I was a mess—my dress was in pieces and people in his building probably thought that I was a prostitute taking advantage of a man in the lift.
‘No, we don’t need to talk,. This was just sex. We aren’t good for each other. Don’t you understand that?’
I started running away from him in my high heels. I saw a taxi that pulled up and dropped someone around the corner. I ran, not caring about anything anymore. Nathaniel was still shouting on the phone, probably trying to get through to Roberto. I jumped into the taxi, praying that he wouldn’t follow me. I gave the taxi driver my address, quickly shutting the door. I didn’t care that I was running away from him. I nearly had sex with him in the elevator when my date was still upstairs.
Half an hour later, I was at home. My clutch bag was still in Loony’s car; he probably cursed me off by now. It was all Nathaniel’s fault—if it weren’t for him I wouldn’t have to worry about my magic; I could have practice sessions with my grandmother.
I stripped and had a bath, hoping to take my thoughts off the mind-blowing orgasm that Nathaniel gave me in his lift. I leaned down and closed my eyes, the intensive whizzing in my brain finally gone. Relaxed, it wasn’t long before I dozed off, falling into a deep sleep.
When I woke up, I wasn’t in the bath anymore, but in my own bed. The static that used to cover my arms wasn’t there anymore. All the lights were off and it was dark outside. I didn’t remember getting out of the bath. There was movement near me and I froze, startled. Someone was in my room.
‘Shh, it’s only me,’ said the familiar voice on my right.
I brought my covers up to my chin. ‘How did you get in here?’
‘Your neighbour let me in and your door was unlocked,’ he said. ‘You probably would’ve drowned if I hadn’t brought you to bed.’
‘I told you to stay away from me,’ I whispered.
‘Why are you so adamant to cut all the ties? I want you back and I promise you that I’ll make more effort this time around.’
He goes on and on about our reunion like he can’t see that he was the one who messed up!
‘Nathaniel, I can’t do this right now. I have something more important to worry about other than you,’ I said in anger.
‘Which is?’
‘Rufus has been kidnapped. He vanished a few weeks ago,’ I shouted.
He didn’t move. ‘I heard rumors,’ he admitted.
‘Yes, his car had been found in a ditch. He struggled, there were traces of magic near the scene. Yesterday I found out he was about to meet Fiorillo from StaffSpell, our rivals. I couldn’t believe it; he wouldn’t ever do anything like that.’
I had to pour out the frustration that had been growing within me in the past few days.
‘Just calm down and tell me what you know,’ he ordered.
‘That’s all I know. Paranormal Personnel made a shit ton more money signing up with you. Rufus holds all the information about the agency. The troll branch manager of StaffSpell told me he
was willing to talk to him, but I don’t believe that Rufus would sell us out.’
‘You think you know people, but this is not always the case.’
‘Rufus is good person; he wouldn’t do that!’ I insisted.
‘Does your father have any suspects?’
‘No, but we don’t have to look far. I’m sure McGregor is behind this,’ I fumed.
‘Possibly. He was the one that owned the human club where he drained fairies.’
‘What? That club belonged to him?’
‘Yeah, he doesn’t like that I’m making money. We can’t be sure, but the fire in the agency wasn’t just an accident. McGregor obviously thought once he cut the amount of workers I was getting, the production would stop and I would start losing money.’
‘Rufus has nothing to do with this.’
‘He has information and you ruined McGregor’s business. He doesn’t like it when things don’t go his way,’ said Nathaniel sounding tense.
‘I would never forgive myself if something happens to Rufus because of me.’
‘Now you understand why I left. People will use the fact that you’re close to me,’ he explained. ‘Now it doesn’t matter, I need to be close to you, I don’t want to lose you.’
His eyes drifted away from my face and I desperately wanted to know what he was thinking. I partly understood that he wanted to protect me, but his decisions were inexcusable.
‘Nathaniel, this isn’t a good time for this kind of conversation.’
‘Julia, we can’t be apart. We have a strong connection and I want to gain your trust again.’
‘This connection is just lust and sex; too many other things keep us apart.’
‘You’re naked and I can’t fucking think straight,’ he growled, getting up. I shivered and swallowed hard. Memories from the elevator were rolling through my mind’s eye. ‘I’m leaving before I do something I’ll regret later.’