A Stitch on Time 5 (9 page)

He frowned. “I wouldn’t be so sure.”

“I don’t know why, but I assumed an alarm would go off and every member of the
Obscurus
would know exactly when it happened.”

“Surprise is always a good thing.” Oren let go of my hand and looked thoughtful for a silent moment. “But I don’t want you to find comfort in their ignorance.”

“I won’t,” I said with a nod. “Did you find a way to separate the stolen souls from the Lamia?” I hated to ask the question, but wasn’t going to give up on this quest.

“Not yet,” he said. “But I won’t yield until I do.”

“You better get to Willow.”

He nodded, stood and disappeared down the stairs.

I let all my thoughts intermingle until they became one hot mess, before heading back upstairs to check on my sleeping beauty.

Chapter Five

“Where have you been?” Papan said as soon as I entered the bedroom. “I missed you.”

“I couldn’t sleep, so I went downstairs to have a cup of coffee.” I shut the door behind me, then pulled my pajama pants and underwear off in one swift motion and tossed them aside.

Papan’s green eyes were twinkling as he watched my slow approach. He propped his head up with one arm, the other rested on his exposed abdomen. “Did you also have a family meeting?”

I narrowed my eyes, trying not to get distracted. “I hope we didn’t wake you.” Of course his werewolf hearing allowed him to hear the murmur of our conversation.

“You didn’t, but I did hear every word.” He whistled. “I thought my family had issues.”

“I didn’t realize you could hear from that distance.” It was one thing to hear a conversation from the next room, but the kitchen was downstairs.

“Yeah, looks like Saul’s blood has affected me more than expected.”

I stopped my approach so I could look him in the eye. “Are you sure you’re okay with me agreeing to his offer of blood?”

Papan stared at his covered legs for so long I started to worry about his response.

“Of course I’m okay with it, you both saved my life.” Papan exhaled. “Saul told me how hesitant you were about the blood transfusion, and how you postponed it for as long as you could. I can’t be angry with you for making a hard decision that meant the difference between life and death. I hope you’d feel the same way if it was the other way around.”

I nodded. “You’ve saved my life enough times to know when it needs saving.”

“I do have one question for you, though.”

“What’s that?”

“Why are you so far away?” He licked his lips. “I need you to be a lot closer. I’ve missed you. Besides, I can see right through that T-shirt and it’s driving me nuts.”

The thought of wearing this tee while I’d been with Gareth in my dreamscape made me wonder if the constable had noticed. Oh well. As far as I was concerned, Gareth and I had finally cleared the air and any uncomfortable notions between us were gone. We knew where our friendship stood, and that made me happy.

“Hey, Foxy, are you with me?” Papan’s voice pulled me out of my reverie.

“I’m always with you.” His smile widened, causing my pulse to quicken. I’d been worried about him for so long it was time to make the most of our privacy. When he raised the sheets, I slipped under with him.

He groaned as he wrapped his arm around me and rested a hand on my bare ass cheek. He lowered his mouth to mine and I opened up to him, letting my hand drift over his lower abdomen to discover he wasn’t wearing any underwear either.

“When did you take them off?”

“I wanted to surprise you.”

“I’m surprised.” I pressed my mouth harder against his and let my fingers roam. I teased him with my fingertips, matching the rhythm with my kisses.

Papan growled into my mouth, dipping his tongue between my lips and sweeping it against mine. The tiny shocks intensified when his hand slid between my legs and his fingers delved inside. He pulled away from our kiss long enough to say, “I’ve missed your softness most of all. Mmmm.”

As his fingers teased an orgasm out of me, I wrapped my hand tighter around his erection. I struggled to catch my breath and my body twitched as the throbbing between my legs sent tiny bouts of pleasure all over.
Wow.
I’d really missed his touch, and hadn’t realized how tightly wound I’d been until this release.

Papan kissed me softly, still cupping my mound. When I could move my limbs again, I climbed to my knees and straddled him, pulling the T-shirt over my head and throwing it on the floor. His hands instantly went to my breasts, his fingers toying with my nipples.

“You’re driving me fucking nuts,” he whispered. “I need to fuck you. Now.”

“Are you sure you’re okay for this? I don’t want to hurt you.” But I rubbed myself against him anyway.

His eyes rolled back and he pulled a shiny packet from under the pillow, tore it open and handed it to me. “I’m always ready for this, with you.”

Even though protection was important, I resented the condom in my hand. I was starting to hate the barrier. I didn’t want anything between us, ever. Still, I rolled the condom over his erection as smoothly as I could. He closed his eyes and groaned, so at least he was enjoying the process. As soon as it was on, I repositioned my hips and he slid inside.

Papan’s eyes snapped open, and they were amber. He angled his hips, pushing inside me. “Yeah, I’ve definitely missed this,” he said, thrusting against me.

I pressed a palm to his chest. “Hey, you just lie there. I’ve got this.” I rubbed myself against him, enticing my already engorged clitoris. One orgasm was never enough with Papan, and I was ready for more. Having him inside and providing the perfect angle for my stimulation was an amazing sensation, but I craved the surge of excitement I felt when he first entered me. So I raised my hips until he slid out, before dropping so fast he slipped right back in. I did the same thing several times, enjoying the look on his face when he was lodged in deep. When I made a move to rise, he pressed his fingers into my hips to keep me in place.

“No more, I can’t take the delicious teasing.” He held onto my hips while devouring my mouth. “I never want this to end.” He sat up, and dragged us back until his spine was pressed against the headboard.

I curved my fingers over the top of the headboard, gripping the leather as I rode him as slowly as I could, while he kept my hips steady and his face on my chest. His tongue flicked out, catching a nipple. I never wanted this to end either. His fingers tightened, keeping me in place so that as I rode him I felt a new wave of mounting pressure.

“Foxy Lady, you sure know how to cheer a man up.”

“I don’t know about a man, but I know what gets my man going.” The pressure slowly coiled inside me. With every movement of my hips, the rubbing motion drove me crazy.

“What’s wrong, Fox? Can’t you take it?”

I shook my head and moaned because this felt divine.

“Neither can I,” he murmured in my ear, and it pushed me over the edge.

An orgasm tore through my body like an electrical charge running beneath my skin. Papan raised his hips and his eyes rolled into his head as he came.

“Fucking hell…”

I collapsed onto the mattress, letting my heart settle back into some sort of peaceful rhythm. Papan left the bed and disappeared into the adjoining bathroom. When I opened my eyes again, he was lying beside me. I was so happy to have him back, I was going to burst.

He pressed his body snug against mine and kissed my cheek. “You’re amazing.”

“Wait until you see what I’ve got planned for your belated birthday present.”

“What?” He was quiet for a moment, caressing my hair. “Oh shit, that’s right. It was my birthday the other day!”

“Happy Birthday, Papan.”

He kissed my lips quickly. “Being back from the brink of death and getting the chance to do this with you is a powerful gift. I don’t need anything else.”

“Oh, I think you need what I have in mind.”

“What is it?”

“I can’t tell you, it’s a surprise.”

He smacked my butt lightly. “And when will I get this surprise?”

I thought about it for a moment. “When are you going back to the office?”

“Is it waiting for me there?”

“Just answer the question.”

He yawned. “I was hoping we could spend today in bed, so sometime tomorrow. I need to tie up a few loose ends and check my messages. I need all the cases I can get.”

I didn’t understand why, when he was on the verge of inheriting everything Hugo Papan owned. But I didn’t say a word, because I knew how much he enjoyed his PI business.

“Good. I’ll give you your birthday present tomorrow.”

“Sounds good…” He sounded tired and faraway.

I closed my eyes and enjoyed the comfort of sharing the bed with him. After sitting by the clinic’s bedside, watching how helpless he looked while in a coma, this was a welcome change.

As soon as I enveloped myself in our happiness, everything else rushed back—reminding me that Ebony was dead. I’d made her a promise not to fall apart, and I’d already broken it when I thought Papan was gone too. She’d want me to be happy that he’d survived not only the coma, but Mace’s attempt on his life.

Besides, I’m going to save her soul.

I had a right to enjoy any bit of happiness that I could, and having the man I loved back in my life was enough to fill me to the brim.

“Fox,” he whispered. “Are you still awake?”

I was drifting back to sleep, but managed to say, “Uh…yeah.”

He sighed and I felt his breath in my hair. “I really died last night, didn’t I?”

“Let’s not talk about—”

“I don’t particularly want to talk about it either, but while I was in a coma all I could see was darkness. A peaceful darkness that kept me cocooned from the rest of the world, in stasis.” He paused, rubbing circles along my back. “Sometimes when you spoke to me, I would catch a few words. They were strong enough to penetrate the wall between us, and I knew you’d find me.”

I ran my hand over his bare chest, enjoying the expanse of muscle beneath my hand. He’d lost some weight, but it hadn’t softened him. If anything, his muscles felt ropey and strong—stood out more than before.

“What did you hear?”

“I remember you saying, ‘I need you to come back to me because I’m not going to walk away from you. Not now, not ever.’ You told me you loved me countless times, and as much as I wanted to, I couldn’t respond. I tried to open my eyes or squeeze your fingers…” He was quiet again. “I’ve never felt so helpless in my life. And all I could think about was how you’d seen me become some feral animal that killed his brother, yet you never gave up on me.”

I turned my face from his chest to meet his green gaze. “It was you. No matter what happened, I knew you wouldn’t hurt me.”

He ran a hand over my hair, smoothing it out. “I love you more than anything in this world, Sierra. And I would do anything to keep you safe. I would give my own life to save yours, and knowing you’re willing to do the same… I can’t express how much that means to me.”

“You don’t need to. You’re here now. After everything, we’re together. You did mark and name me as your mate. I might not be wolf, but I’ve done the same to you.”

“Yes I did. And one of these days, I’m going to make you even more than that.” He looked away, towards the window.

His words made my heart skip a beat. “No one will ever come between us—”

“Not even Gareth?”

The question took me by surprise. “Papan, you don’t have to worry about Gareth. We’re just friends. That’s all we’ll ever be.”

Papan’s eyes were bright as he stared into mine. “But he has feelings for you. Otherwise the demon wouldn’t have been able to manipulate him so easily.”

After the intimacy we’d just exchanged, I didn’t want to discuss this, but what better way to come clean? I hated keeping secrets from Papan—even if the few I had were circumstantial.

I took a deep breath and released it slowly, propping my head up with my hand. “You’re right. Gareth has feelings for me, but they’re mostly confused by the fact he’s fascinated with my supernatural power. As well as this crazy world he’s been seduced into.”

Papan clenched his jaw. “Did he make a play for you while I was unconscious?”

“No, he hit on me when your brother took you,” I answered, truthfully. “I stabbed him in the gut, and that’s when I figured out he was possessed.”

“I still want to punch him in the face.”

“Didn’t you already do that?”

A smirk twitched along his lips. “I guess I did.”

“Anyway,” I said, trying to rope him back into what was important. “Gareth is a dreamwalker, he can step into people’s dreams and—”

“I know what that is,” Papan said. “Has he been invading your dreams?”

I wondered how much to tell him, and settled on all of it. “He did invade my dreams while he was possessed by the demon. He, uh…we—there might’ve been a…sex dream. But it didn’t mean anything. Dreams aren’t even real, and the demon was using his ability to take advantage of me. Not to mention that I thought it was you at first.” Papan didn’t say anything, so I continued. “I used the demon’s sexual interest to snare him into the secret room so Lavie and I could exorcise him.”

“Has he made a move or kissed you while awake?” His jaw was clenched so tight a nerve wobbled.

I hesitated. “He kissed me to distract the demon.”

“Did it work?”

“Yes.”

He was back to clenching his jaw. “And now, is he still interested in you?”

“Gareth feels bad about what happened. It was out of his control and he’s apologized many times, but I’ve told him there’s nothing for him to be sorry about. The demon is finally gone, and we’re back to being friends.” I debated whether to mention that I was going to the Tower with him later today, and decided to leave it out for now.

“And you’re sure we can trust him?”

“I’m positive.” I’d been as honest as I could without adding the complication of emotions and what could have been if circumstances were different. It felt good to be open with Papan. “Gareth and I are just friends.”

“We started out as friends.”

I took his hand and kissed his open palm. “You and me, we may have started out as friends but there was an instant spark from the moment we met. A spark that scared the hell out of me, and I know you kept me at a distance because you were afraid I’d find out what you were. But when two people are meant to be, nothing can stand in their way.”

He cupped my face. “You’re right about that. I’ve had my eye on you from the first moment I saw you. It’s not just your beauty that attracts people, it’s what and how you are.”

“So you’re fine with Gareth—you’re not going to tear his throat out the next time you see him?”

“He’s safe, for now,” Papan said with a smile. “I appreciate your honesty.”

I looked past him, trying to ignore the nagging voice pushing me to tell Papan about my plans with Gareth.

“So you really stabbed him?”

I nodded, glad for the distraction.