Poisonous Desires (5 page)

All subjects involving her father, her past, or Urban needed to be avoided until she was done with her assignment here. Nadia finished her shower and put in a call to the cleaning service after a third quick and thorough sweep. Paranoia was her friend with enemies like hers and
Zerik’s
. Nothing was found, and none of her traps were sprung. Her bed called to her as she dried off and moisturized her body without really paying much attention to what she did. In a deviation from Urban and her family issues, her brain coughed up the words
Werewolf Summit
. The airport had been lined with flyers welcoming the alphas to the city. She prayed that she wouldn’t encounter
Torger
. It wasn’t her arrest record and his dislike of her that she worried over, it was the possibility that he’d interfere and she’d have to call in backup.

He’d feel territorial about this case; he was a werewolf, after all.
Draven’s
Crossing was
his
town and during the Summit, he would feel especially threatened by a scandal. He would see it as an affront to his ability to be Alpha of Packs and the Chief of the DCPD in general. Nadia could see where Urban got some of his dominating tendencies. She ran a hand over her face. Again, Urban popped into her thoughts. He was becoming a distraction that she couldn’t deal with. Rather than think about her lover, she dialed
Isy
. Maybe a night out with a friend could help her and shake off some of the fatigue and ground her in the happenings in
Draven’s
Crossing
. Maybe
Isy
could tell her something she wouldn’t read in the blog or newspaper. Plus, maybe some chocolate therapy was in order. Her stomach rumbled in agreement.

“
Nads
, there you are.” Surprise and happiness filled
Isy’s
voice. “What happened to you?”

“Some emergency work came up. Can we meet for drinks or chocolate? You can tell me what I missed.” Maybe she could get the lowdown on
Katnip
.
Isy
didn’t handle that end of the news spectrum, but she could’ve heard something.

“Sure, I need some girls-out time.
Torger
is busy tonight, and I need a break from werewolf mania over here. Meet you at
Mab’s
, say
sixish
?”

Nadia could hear people in the background. “Okay, six it is.”

She couldn’t help but feel pleased; it was in the heart of the feline-shifter district. Perfect, she could put out feelers and check in with contacts later. Nadia rifled through her closet and chose her outfit. As she got dressed in a tight little strapless red dress and strappy black heels, she thought of Urban. Would he like this outfit?
Undoubtedly.
Would she be willing to go out with him to club?
No. She would want to take him to dinner, but that was out of the question.
Ties made you
weak
,
opened you up to getting hit with surprise
.

Zerik
would use him against her if she ever got out of line. Casual was perfect. Besides, relationships were for normal people. She and Urban were anything but.
Stop thinking about him
, she ordered herself as she headed to the door. No purse needed. She slipped money into her cleavage, and she had a key hidden that would let her back in. Unlike other cities, there were phone booths on practically every corner, and a person didn’t need money to dial 911 or the operator. It was a peculiarity that
Draven’s
Crossing liked to keep alive.

She took a cab to
Mab’s
rather than drive. It would be much easier getting home and much safer for everyone since her ability to pay attention had dropped at least twenty-five percent. That was dangerous for her and those around her. She needed to be alert, and right now that wasn’t a possibility with jetlag tugging at her energy stores.

The club was packed with mostly feline-shifters. There were a few werewolf females, all older than thirty, dancing, drinking, and flirting with the young feline-shifters. She didn’t know if she’d missed something while she was away in Europe, but this could cause trouble with the current werewolf alphas who liked to keep their women in line and away from available shifters who could compete. She needed to talk to the feline-shifter leaders about this possible issue. As a courier for
Zerik
she could speak with his voice, a perk when she was treated like a young kit. She loved being able to saunter into a territory and order normally arrogant felines to cooperate, or else she’d call
Zerik
. With a smile, she waded into the press of sweaty, horny people and went to the bar.

She spotted
Isy
halfway through the dance floor, waiting at the bar, drink already in hand. Every time a hand grabbed Nadia’s ass or a man danced into her way, she resisted the urge to beat them with her bare hands. Instead, she gave a low hiss of warning and watched them move on. Nadia made it to the bar without baring claws or fangs or partially shifting, a plus for her since the jetlag drained her more. There were far too many stimuli to keep up with. Already her senses were dulled, and she felt the need to crawl into bed. The loud thudding bass of the music, the sweat, profuse amount of perfume, feline hormones, and werewolf pheromones, as well as the stale beer and alcohol in the air, didn’t help matters. Her stomach was running on empty, and she cursed herself for not stopping to eat first rather than wait for
Isy
and see if she could indulge in a chocolate feast. She prayed that
Mab’s
would have something to eat, especially if it contained
coffee, that
would be good. Hopefully the mocha cupcakes were still on the menu.

Nadia sat down onto the stool and ordered a sparkling water. Alcohol on an empty stomach was a no-go for her. She leaned over and hugged
Isy
, who gave her a bear hug back. The friends broke apart as Nadia’s drink was placed in front of her. When she asked for a menu, the bartender only shook his head. No food until she got home. Pizza was in order before trundling into bed.

Isy
hugged her tight. “Where have you been? You missed so much. I have so much to tell you, but first, I
gotta
say you look horrible. Have you been sleeping okay?”
Isy
peered at her closely. Concern filled her dark brown eyes.

“Not really, been too busy to sleep.” Nadia skipped over the question and dived right into a subject that they could easily talk about. “So tell me what’s up with all the cougars milling about, or do the werewolves have a special term for older women hitting on feline males?” Now that she was sitting, she could see that there were far more wolf females than she’d thought, and a few werewolves sulking in the corners. No vampires, which interested her, but there was a fairy or two flitting around.
Interesting mix.

Isy
took a sip of her vivid pink drink before she answered. “They’re called the WQBs, Werewolf Queen Bitches.” She paused to roll her eyes and then continued. “They stalk clubs and popular sites where males twenty-one to twenty-five hang out. No preference to shifter type whatsoever; doesn’t even have to be a shifter, just has to have a beating heart, a job, and can get it up. The males want them because they’re older women who are settled, already in careers, and wouldn’t be likely to divorce them. Both sides get a lot of benefits out of the pairing. Plus, for both, it’s the arm candy factor.”
Isy
grinned. “I’m doing a story on them for later in the month,
after
the Summit is over.”

Nadia groaned. “I’m so glad I stay out of the dating scene. It’s far more confusing than I thought. I can see this looks like trouble, with the available werewolf males prowling around.” She tilted her head toward a group only a few feet away from them.

“
Torger’s
stressed out enough, and with the added wolf testosterone, well, he’s so busy that I worry he’ll burn himself out. At least he’s delegated the Werewolf Summit to his brother. You should meet him; he’s a real
hottie
.”
Isy
punched Nadia’s arm.

Shit, he’s here
. Nadia did a mental groan. Murphy was back in action. Now she’d have to be extra careful while in town. If she ran into him, she wasn’t sure she could lie. Not to Urban. Their BDSM play may be in the bedroom, but she did have trouble when it came to him ordering her to tell him things. Nothing personal; that she fought to keep to herself.

Nadia didn’t say that aloud. “Nah, I don’t need that type of attachment, not now, anyway.” Nadia didn’t have to be told that
Isy
was involved with
Torger
; she could smell the werewolf’s musk on
Isy
above all the other scents drifting around the club.

“You and
Torger
, huh?
Like I didn’t see that coming.”
Nadia snorted.
“The way you two would argue, totally a couple in the making.
It’s cute, though.” Nadia could see the glow that surrounded
Isy
. A pang of envy bloomed in her chest. She wished that she could experience that.
Just not now.

“Well, how can you resist a man in uniform? Anyway, you didn’t call me as soon as you blew into town to catch up. What’s up?”
Isy
gave her a hard look as she sipped her drink.

Relief swept through Nadia’s body.
An opening.
Besides that, she couldn’t fight against spilling part of her mission. “Okay, what do you know about the drug
Katnip
?”

Isy
snorted before she answered. “I know that’s not an original name for a drug. I also know that it’s made an appearance in our little slice of heaven and is giving the feline community fits. I’m currently working up a piece on it. What do you need?”

Nadia relaxed further. “Thanks, I’m jetlagged and exhausted, so I’m happy you want to get to the point. I need to know what you know about a group of people selling to the feline community. I know
Katnip
doesn’t affect werewolves, or other shifters, for that matter, the way it does felines and humans. I’m working off little to no info. My client wants this problem taken care of by
Torger
, or else they will come in and deal with things.”

Isy
took a sip of her drink and moved her stool closer to Nadia. “Well, I do have a source in the DCPD Drug Unit who could give you more info. I can set up a date if you want.”
Isy
nudged Nadia, who groaned.

“No blind dates,” she grumbled.

“But he’s cute and single. Come on, give it a try; you never know. He could be the one to tame that wild child in you.”

The name Urban floated through her head before she shoved it out again.
Work first
, she admonished herself. “How about meeting him for coffee?”

Isy
squealed in delight, leaned over, and threw her arms around Nadia’s neck. “Excellent; you go home and get some sleep, and he’ll call you tomorrow with the details.”

Nadia extracted herself from
Isy’s
hold, downed the rest of her water, and slid off the stool. She gave
Isy
a kiss on the cheek. “Thanks, I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

Isy
gave her a slap on the ass. “Good to have you back in town. Now off to bed with you.”

Nadia could only shake her head. She had a feeling
Isy’s
matchmaking was going to land her in hot water. She left the club and called a cab. By the time she got home, she was ready to strip off her shoes and burn them. Her feet ached, and her head pounded. When her cell phone rang, she answered it on the first ring.

A deep male voice she didn’t know spoke.
“Nadia?
This is
Isy’s
friend. She asked me to meet you for coffee; are you interested?”

“Yeah, seven in the morning, La Lune café, got it?” Nadia asked, her eyelids growing heavier with each passing second.

“Got it, I’ll see you for coffee.” He hung up.

“Damn it.” Nadia swore when she realized she hadn’t gotten his name.
Oh well, time for bed
. Nadia rushed upstairs, got undressed, and allowed her body to sink into the
plushness
of the mattress.

* * * *

Poppy’s gaze roved over a particularly sexy male lion-shifter walking past her in the club with a mane of thick, lustrous golden hair and strong features. His green eyes gleamed with interest. Her gut clenched, and heat pooled in her sex. It had been a long time since she’d seen that look of pure hunger in a man’s eyes. Michael hadn’t glanced her way, except as angry or annoyed, in years. Despite it all, she knew that he loved her, somewhere in that cold-ass heart of his. If only she hadn’t needed to drug him to prove that without her he wouldn’t be where he was. She pushed away that thought.
No, don’t think about that.
Instead, she glanced around the club. It was getting far too packed, and there were far too many unmated people around giving her group the once-over. Especially a few young werewolves
that were
too young to control.