Chosen One (Forever Evermore #6)(2)

Inhaling sharply, I physically shook my head against the quiet onslaught of unfathomable sexual tension building inside me. With a soothing breath in, I glanced way the hell up when I didn’t hear anyone out there anymore. My lips instantly thinned, seeing him staring down at me silently, his lids hooding his gaze.

Too late, he had gone completely still.

He could probably smell me, my arousal…for him.

Gradually, a black brow quirked.

Blessedly, he didn’t say anything.

After another moment, he opened the door wide for me.

I ducked under his arm—his bulging bicep—and glanced slowly about the room, a living room, listening closely, trying to ignore the heat probing my back. A quick assessment told me whoever had been out here, the friend he was sharing the suite with, was in what was probably a bedroom across the living room. I moved on silently trained feet, moving quickly through the room, but I paused when the noise got louder from the other room. I instantly twisted in a flurry, swiftly placing my back to a dividing wall between the front door and small kitchen area, able to hide my smaller frame when I heard the door start to crack open.

Elder Merrick’s eyes quickly averted from me, where he leaned casually against his doorframe, arms crossed, even as he crossed one ankle over another.

“Oh, you’re up!” And…I recognized that voice now that I knew the association. It was Elder Jacobs. Christ, could it get any damn worse? “Good, I was worried I was going to have to wake you. Check-outs in a half hour.” Which meant it was 10.00. “And if you’re wondering, since you disappeared last night after I asked you to stay, all four seemed to be getting along well. I think the Kings’ mandates they spend the weekends together is paying off.”

I kept my breathing shallow, not making a sound, realizing instantly he was talking about the Prodigies, and that Elder Jacobs had been spying on them last night.

“That’s an improvement,” Elder Merrick stated, his voice still gravelly, speaking calmly. If I hadn’t been so drunk last night, and he hadn’t been so drunk last night, slurring as he had been, I probably would have recognized his voice immediately.

I heard a thumping sound, like Elder Jacobs was tapping his doorframe, his voice slightly clipped. “Which, you would have seen for yourself, if you would have stayed.”

Elder Merrick grunted. “You got me drunk.”

“Which I thought would keep you around to help me watch them, but instead, you disappeared.” A pause. “Your overnight guest is gone, isn’t she?”

My lips thinned, and I saw Elder Merricks eyes narrow a bit. “You were spying on me, too?”

“No.” A bored, but slightly humored tone. “Once I came back after seeing they were doing fine together…well, it’s not like these walls are made of steel.” A pause. “Christ, she had a pair of lungs on her.” As my cheeks flamed bright pink, he mumbled, “I guess I should be grateful it wasn’t fucking animal sounds this time. I remember a particularly…lovely…woman, a cougar Shifter, that you were with that one time—”

He cut him off. “I don’t need the reminder, thank you.” Black brows rose. “Unless you want me to recap when you were with that one water Elemental a few years back.”

“That’s not necessary.” His tone was disgusted. “Fuck, I didn’t need that aide-mémoire. It’s like it’s scarred permanently in my mind, anyway.” He made a huffing shaking sound, and Elder Merricks lips twitched. “At any rate, like I said, check-outs in a half hour.”

It sounded like his door started to close, but it stopped abruptly, and sounding annoyed, he asked, “How much is torn up? It’s my credit card on this room.”

I had to remind myself to breathe shallowly as I recalled Queen Rucker’s speech about Shifter-on-Shifter sex, and the dominance war that occurred between powerful Shifters.

Elder Merrick cleared his throat, and then shrugged a negligent shoulder. “The room’s fine.”

Baffled words. “A weak one, huh? You don’t normally go after those.” Another silence as my eyes closed, his voice turning utterly amused. “Don’t tell me she was a bird or a rabbit?”

“Fuck off, Jacobs,” Elder Merrick muttered, running a hand through his hair, making a shooing motion at him and lifting off his doorframe. “Go do whatever you have to so we can get out of here.”

Jacobs laughed outright. “Well, I’ll know by what we eat tonight.”

Elder Merrick’s middle finger flew as he grabbed the door handle.

More chuckling ensued, but I heard the door close, his mirth somewhat blocked.

Inhaling heavily, I tried not to freeze when navy eyes flashed directly on mine, his gaze dazing.

I averted my eyes and silently moved the last few feet, unlocking the door just as quietly and slipping outside.





Chapter Two

After making it back to the penthouse, crossing paths with a Mage man who was leaving the room with major bedhead, I had Nelson—also with major bedhead—turn my hair and eyebrows back to neon red, and tried to calmly endure the ribbing I got from the Prodigies about my disappearing act last night—for all night long. I waved an absent hand at them, quickly grabbing my overnight bag, and to play it safe, took another shower and changed my clothes. But, they were still giving me hell, all in good fun, as we were checking out.