A Love For Lera (Haikon) (4 page)

Plain cotton underwear, open but in its original
packaging. Same with socks. There were a few shirts rolled up, some bras, and
two more pairs of pants. One jean and one leather. No ID or money. Nothing
personal. All the signs of someone moving fast, who could leave at a moment’s
notice and not care if something got left behind. A disposable lifestyle.

He fought a frown at that knowledge; she
shouldn’t be living like that. Raking a hand through his hair, he acknowledged
he wanted her with him.

‘Come to me,
mo chara.
’

Lera flinched, and he could feel it.
‘What the
hell are you doing in my head? Get out!’

‘Come back to the hotel, Lera.’

‘I’ll be there in about thirty minutes.’

‘It hasn’t been but maybe ten.’

‘I’m going to go the speed limit. And stay out
of my head, Cormac.’

He frowned over the use of his first name, but
allowed her to believe he’d retreated. Kori moved his bag to beside the dresser
and tried to figure out how the hell he was going to pull this off. He had the
utmost respect for Dane Sidorov, but he couldn’t ignore who the cosmos had
created for him as a mate.

“He’s gonna rip me to pieces,” Kori said with a
resigned sigh.

Even on its best day, his wolf was no match for
the thousand pound tiger Dane had the option of becoming. Not that Kori could
beat him in human form either. He was basically a pup compared to the Russian
in both age and battle experience. Dane’s power exceeded his own, and Dane was
very,
very
protective of Lera, his eldest child.

Kori leaned against the headboard and closed his
eyes. He remained like that until his acute hearing picked up on the purr of
Lera’s bike. Another wave of lust trailed over him, and he shuddered. With a
deep breath, he moved from the bed to the table and sat to await her arrival.
Her steps were light as she approached the door and swung it open.

The scent of fresh air flowed from her, and he
looked at her when she pushed the door shut behind her. Her glasses were off
her face, and Kori was slightly taken aback by the fire which seemed to jump
from her eyes.

“You stay out of my head, Cormac MacLochlainne. I
don’t need you poking around in there. My thoughts are just that,
mine!
”
she snarled, stomping over to him and slamming her hands down on the table.

The fiery vixen he faced didn’t remotely resemble
the quiet and almost shy woman he had become accustomed to seeing. He lifted a
brow and nudged a chair out for her with his foot. “I wanted you back here,” he
stated without apology.

“Let’s get something straight. I’m agreeing to
this arrangement solely for Rissa’s benefit, not to have you come in and
totally take over my life. So your orders mean shit unless it pertains to
something dealing with Rissa. You respect my privacy or you can leave.”

Her fury was palpable. Lera ignored the chair except
to kick it back under the table. He took a deep breath. “I’m—”

“I know what you are. You’re an overbearing,
alpha male who’s used to having things done his way. I have my own thoughts and
my own desires. What I don’t have is the need or wish to be dictated to. I’m
not your mate, Kori.”

His beast howled in rage at her comment. He knew
some of his wolf leaked free for she stiffened as he stared at her. But she
still didn’t back down; she was fearless.
Oh, but you are my mate, Valera
Sidorov.
Reining himself back under some semblance of control, he tilted
his head to the side.

“Is that how you see it,
mo chara
? Is that
how your father treats your mother? His word is law and that’s it? His needs
come first, to hell with anything else?” He allowed some reprimand to seep into
his tone.

She shrugged negligently and licked her lips.
“You’re not my father. And he’s different. He worships the ground she walks
on.”

“As it should be. Our mates are our life. There
isn’t anything we won’t do for them.”
Why else am I agreeing to do this with
you?

She unzipped and removed her jacket, hanging it
over the back of the chair with obvious care. He swallowed hard at the sight of
the tight white tank top she wore. Kori could see his necklace around her neck,
and it pleased him. Lera had no idea how gorgeous she was. Nor did she have any
clue what he longed to do to and with her.

“My father is an exception, Kori.” With jerky
motions, she pulled off her gloves and placed them on the table.

“Okay, what about Adamek or Heller? Or Aren?”

Her brows furrowed, and she pursed her lips
briefly. “Okay, so Uncle Dak, Uncle Heller, and Uncle Aren are different, too;
they love their wives.”

“
Mo anam
, we are who we are, but it
doesn’t mean our mates mean any less to us. Their
safety
and happiness
are first and foremost.”

She crossed her arms and held his gaze, her eyes
full of skepticism. “And yet, those you decide are a mate still don’t have a
choice. It’s not fair.” Lera shook her head. “If I get to the point where I
decide I want a relationship, I want to be able to pick someone who wants me,
not because he tells me I belong to him.”

Anger began to rise within him at the thought of
another man touching her. She sighed and walked to the small fridge and pulled
out a water.

“Kind of pointless conversation, though. I can’t
even imagine what use I could be to anyone.”

He growled low and was at her side before she
could blink. Her eyes grew wide.

“I warned you, Lera.” Kori tunneled his hands
into her hair and held her head immobile. Her pupils dilated as he lowered his
mouth to hers.

The first touch of her lips beneath his, and the
world shifted again. So soft, so pliant. He ran his tongue along her lower lip
before skimming the seam. They parted on a whisper like sigh. Kori was rock
hard in half a second as he slipped into the warmth of her mouth. Her taste
streamed into his pores, and his wolf answered the call, pressing hard,
determined to escape and claim its mate. Every ounce of his control was poured
into keeping the kiss gentle. Electricity shot between them, and he knew she
felt it also.

He heard the bottle drop to the floor, and he
didn’t care. Her hands settled against his chest, burning him through the thin
material of his shirt, and she arched into him. Long, sweeping strokes through
her mouth coaxed her tongue out to dance with his. Up and down along each
other, he drew her out. The scent of her arousal filled his nose, and he could
feel his composure cracking.

Backing off of the most succulent mouth he’d ever
been in contact with, Kori stared down at her. Her heavy lidded stare glazed
with untapped passion.

“
Je zou kunnen verleiden de duivel,
Lera,”
he muttered.

She touched his face, and the wonderment slowly
faded from her big brown eyes. “
Bent u de duivel?
” she asked in perfect
Dutch despite the breathless quality to her tone.

He’d forgotten she had learned to speak Dutch;
both her parents did. “To some,
mo anam
, to some I am known as the
devil.”

“I bet you are,” she muttered, dropping down to
pick up her bottle.

Kori stared at her hungrily and watched her uncap
her water before taking a long drink. Her heart still pounded, and her
breathing came short and fast. He remained close to her, refusing to back away.

“We need to discuss this,” he said.

Lera sat at the small table and looked at him.
“And, by this, I take it to mean you are talking about Rissa.”

He heard the hope in her tone. Lera wasn’t ready
to accept the feelings her body was exposing her to. Sitting across from her,
Kori plucked her water from her hand and took a drink. “Tell me about the week
prior to her disappearance.”

“The whole week?”

“Yes. Especially if there was anything a bit
unusual around.”

Her hiss of anger took him by surprise, and he
watched her face. The pain there made his heart break. “I’ve tried. Tried to remember
it all and what happened before her disappearance. All I know is because I’m
weak I couldn’t save her. Had I been my father, or even my siblings, I would
have been able to find her and save her.”

“You are not weak, Valera, and if you want to
focus on Rissa, you’ll stop saying those things.”

Her big eyes shone with unshed tears, and he
could feel his wolf racing toward her. Kori licked his lips and pushed the
bottle of water back to her.
Focus, man, stop thinking about other things.
Get this resolved then deal with the other.

“You don’t know what it’s like, Kori,” she said.

He hated the pain that drenched her voice. “Tell
me,
mo ghrá
. Tell me.” For a transitory second, he thought she would.
But just like a door closing, the sheen of tears vanished and he found himself
staring at blank, emotionless eyes.

“We need to stay on target,” she whispered.

“You may not have abilities like your father,” he
raised a hand to stop her reply, “but he taught you. So you would have picked
up on things that others would overlook.”

Lera rubbed her hands over her face and sighed.
“Okay, let me think.” Eyes closed, she rested her chin on her thumbs, and her
index fingers lay along the sides of her nose. “I remember this guy, Steven, I
think was his name.”

His lip curled up in a snarl. “What about him?
Was he Rissa’s date?”

“No. He tried picking me up.”

Fingers dug into the flesh of his palms. “And?”

“He made my skin crawl. Then, he went to Rissa.
She brushed him off, too, but it was like he always showed up wherever we were.
I think I saw him the night she vanished.”

“What did he look like?”

Her eyes opened, and she shrugged. “I don’t know.
Brown hair. Maybe black. I can’t remember.”

“You don’t know what he looked like?”

“I guess not,” she snapped. “I don’t pay
attention to things like that.”

“Really?” he questioned. “Close your eyes, Lera.”
With a deprecating sigh, she did. Kori got up and moved silently behind her.
“Describe me.”

“What?” Her head began to turn toward him.

“No. Describe me, no looking.” He stared down
upon the top of her head.

“Okay. You’re tall, strong, and powerful. Move
like a predator, wild. Inky black hair, angular features, and charcoal gray
eyes, not silver like I thought the first time I met you. But gray.”

His body ached for her so much it hurt. A deep,
agonizing hurt. Leaning close enough he could lick her ear if he chose, he
whispered, “Does this guy look like me?”

“No way,” she blurted, shaking her head and
brushing him with her hair. “His eyes were small and close. They reminded me of
a weasel. A pale green. Mud brown hair, and he wasn’t nearly as tall as you
either. I don’t think he was over six feet. He was in shape but not like you.
Not even close,” she said softly.

Kori retook his seat so she wouldn’t be able to
see the erection he had from her description of him. He doubted she even knew
the derision in her tone as she gave him a visual of this Steven guy.

She opened her eyes, and he smiled. “Guess you do
pay attention to things like that.”

“I guess so,” Lera said, taking another drink of
her water.

“Did he have any markings? Tattoos?” Kori stared
at her lower lip and the drop of water which hung enticingly upon it. He longed
to lick it off. His cock throbbed in his pants.

“Not that I could see.”

A whisper of feeling floated over him, and immediately,
he was alert. Kori noticed Lera had a gleam of awareness in her gaze. Her body
still and ready. His wolf was crouched and ready to attack; he didn’t like it.
Whatever it was.

Fluidly, he pushed to his feet and scanned the
area, both peering out the window and using his senses to check. Nothing.
Whatever it had been was gone now, or had found a way to cloak itself from him.
“Lera?” he asked without relaxing his guard.

“Do you still sense it?”

“No.”

“I felt something like that the night Rissa
vanished,” she remarked offhandedly. “But, not exactly anything I could tell
the cops.” She moved to his side. “I need to go.”

“Go where?”

“Out. I don’t much like sitting still.”

“We’re not done talking.”

“What more is there to say?” She looked at him
and arched a brow. “You’ll go on about how dangerous it is for me and how I
should let you do it. I’ll listen, all the while planning to do what I will
anyway. You’ll escort me to the bar, even though you don’t want me there, and
things will happen how they will. So, see, there’s nothing else to talk about.”

Kori almost laughed. She was dead on. For almost
everything. But there was something else to talk about. “Are you running away,
mo
ghrá
?” he asked in a rumble.

“From what?”

A predatory smile turned up his lips. He stalked
her, backing her up until the wall prevented her from going any farther.
Putting his hands on either side of her head, he lowered his face to hers.
“From me.”

He expected her to deny it. Expected her to lift
her chin and look down her nose at him with ice in her veins and that damn
cool, composed look on her face. Her eyes met his, and he almost drowned in the
deep pools of brown.

“Yes.”

It was hard to breathe. Her simple admission did
things to him no one in the world had ever done. She did so anyway, but that
one word, that single word…made it so much more. “Why? You know I won’t hurt
you.” Kori smoothed some hair back from her face. He was addicted to touching
her and couldn’t seem to stop. Her skin was so soft and her hair like silk. “I
would never do that,
mo anam
.”
I could never do that.

“Not intentionally.”

He stared at her. “Not at all.”