Shadow Watcher (Darkness #6)(27)

“That’s right,” she said, a small smile curving her perfect lips. “Hmm, just like that.”

His balls started to tingle with anticipation when his phone rang. “Come on,” he muttered, not able to stop.

He thrust into her harder. Her tight insides stroked him. Her mews grew louder and more aggressive.

The phone fell silent then started ringing again.

A swear riding a groan, Paulie stood in a rush and then threw Selene down onto the bed. She giggled in delight and reached for him. “Hang on, baby,” he said as he snatched his phone off the dresser. The face lit up with Charles’ name.

“Yeah?” he asked in annoyance.

“Wipe that tone out of your voice,” Charles commanded. Power and authority rode his words, something he rarely heard when Charles was with Sasha since Sasha outranked him. It meant he was speaking from his position as Watch Captain, and not as bodyguard.

Shit.

“Sorry, sir. What do you need?”

“That shifter’s back. The Boss wants Sasha quarantined. Meet me in the red library.”

“The shifter from that park?” Paulie clarified. He couldn’t help an uneasy feeling ice over his intestines.

“That’s what Sasha said. He’s lingering around in the trees, coming closer. We have no idea why.”

“Yes, sir. When?”

“Now.”

Air replaced words. He’d hung up. As Paulie turned back to the beauty laying spread eagle on her bed, her phone rang. A beautiful smile turned into a confused frown as her focus completely shifted to the phone on her nightstand. She hadn’t even hesitated like he had.

That was an ego crusher.

“Yes, sir?” she answered.

Paulie jumped into his clothes as he tried to spread his magic out like he had been shown. It wasn’t easy. He was pretty good with the elements, but getting his magic to spread out from his body to gain information was like sucking ice cream through a straw. Sasha was so much more advanced than anyone in the Mansion, including the teachers, and she didn’t even know it.

“We got a shifter loose,” Selene said, jumping up with a vicious light in her eyes.

His dwindling hard-on sprang back to life.

“I have to go to the Mage,” he said, stepping toward her with a goodbye kiss.

She ignored him as she strapped on some leathers. “Guard her with your life. She is carrying important cargo. She should be at the farm with the others, but we can guard her better here, so I get where the Boss is coming from.”

“Okay, well—“

Selene strapped on a sword, winked at him, and said, “Happy hunting.”

He stared after her for a moment. It figured. The first time he starts to care about a girl, and she’s less sensitive than he is. Irony.

Paulie strapped on his own sword and hit the hallway at a jog. Fierce eyed warriors were rushing around, taking up defensive positions or getting out of the way if they weren’t needed. The Boss was a scary sonuvabitch, but he knew how to organize this place. It meant he was smart, confident, and great at his job. If Paulie had been that shifter, he would be steering clear of this territory by now. The fight wouldn’t be worth the end result.

He found the library and noticed the paintings had a blue theme. Wrong library.

The place was a maze. These people didn’t need half these rooms, let alone ten libraries. Why did they all need books? Would a pool table or air hockey table go amiss?

Hurrying, he backtracked and ducked into another library. It didn’t hold Charles and Sasha. He then realized that he had no idea which library the red one was.

He jogged through the front of the Mansion on his way to the next library when a crawling sensation overcame him. Like red ants running up his spine, biting down as they did so, he knew danger was near.

Paulie slowed and faced the front of the house.

“There you are! What the f*ck took you so long? Come through here,” Charles said as he poked his head out of a doorway.

“We got trouble.” Paulie swept the room for windows but it had none. He took two quick steps to the door and peered back out.

Charles’ eyes lost focus as he took a step back. “Something’s out there. Go check it out and report back as soon as you can. Don’t engage.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Call when you’re back in the library if we’re not there,” Charles barked.

Paulie was running only a moment later. He thundered through two sitting rooms and into the front area. Only one guy was hanging out at the newly installed desk, staring through the window with round eyes.

“What do you see?” Paulie asked the guy.

“I swear to the gods that big yellow eyes just peered in through that window.”

Paulie couldn’t help a half-cocked smile. “And you didn’t get up to go look?”

“Look, man. I’m used to swords and spells. I’m not used to disembodied yellow eyes staring at me through the window. What was I going to tell Jameson? That I saw a ghost?”

“That you saw a shifter, you fool. Who’s the human here, you or me? You should know this shit by now. They’ve also got one out back.” Paulie put his face in the window and noticed an animal jogging out of sight. He felt eyes, though.

He swept his gaze along the street and slowed in the spot that made his spine tingle. But nothing stared back. Something waited, watching the house. He could swear it. His sixth sense had never let him down on the street. But all he saw was gracefully swaying trees, dancing in the wind.