Gregor (Stone Society Book 2) (20 page)

Tessa
woke to the aroma of coffee and bacon wafting up the stairs, and the sound of
Gregor singing a sexy Anthony Hamilton number. He loved to sing and wasn’t shy
about singing in front of her. Last night had been the single best experience
of her life. After her mini-meltdown, Gregor backed off with the questions of
why they couldn’t be together. Instead he asked her about her life, her
travels, her cousins. Gregor wanted to know everything about her, and she found
it easy to talk to him about it all. What would it hurt? There was nothing he
could find out that would ruin it for them. His uncle had already seen to that.

She
in turn asked questions about his life, begging him to leave out his sexual
conquests. Neither wanted to hear about the other’s love life. Tessa found it
interesting he and his brothers had paired up along the way. He and Dante were
close, just like Rafael was close with Sinclair. He talked about the Clan and
his parents. Anything she asked, he answered.

When
he asked about all her aliases, she explained that she changed her name
everywhere she went to keep Flanagan from getting any closer. Gordon was the
one to name her Andrea, and she loathed anything to do with him. She went on to
talk about her time with Jonas and how he had called her his little Nikola
Tesla, saying she was going to grow up to be brilliant, too. She couldn’t say
Tesla, instead it came out Tessa. Jonas had called her that ever since. What
Gregor didn’t ask her was why she sometimes used his last name. For that she
was grateful.

Gregor
had shown her several sides, all different, but all good in their own way. He
was tender when she needed it, but he was also wild when she wanted it. Gregor
could probably open up a whole new sexual world to her if she would let him.
Were things different, she would turn her body over to him and let him have his
way. Last night had been a small sampling of what he would do. When he told her
that her ass was his, he hadn’t lied. When she agreed to spend the night, he
drove straight to the adult store and purchased a new anal plug for her. He stretched
her out with the plug while he fucked her. Later, when her body was ready, he
replaced the plug with his cock. He rubbed her clit while fucking her ass. It
was the most intense orgasm she had ever had.

She
grabbed her backpack and headed to the shower. She would prefer to keep his scent
on her skin for the rest of her life, but Tessa had to wash the last couple of
rounds of sex off her body. After the anal play, they had taken a shower
together. They intended to bathe only, but Tessa had insisted on soaping his
body so she could feel every inch of his skin under her fingers. When she started
sliding her hand up and down his dick, Gregor lifted Tessa up, wrapped his arms
under her thighs, and impaled her on his cock. Eventually they bathed and
wrapped themselves in a couple of thick robes. They found some leftovers to
refuel their bodies before having sex on the kitchen table. The sofa was used
for a blowjob and the stairs for eating her pussy. The hot tub had been talked
about but they just never made it out there. At some point she had given out
and fallen asleep draped over Gregor’s body.

Now,
reality was setting into her psyche. The ache she felt in her chest was of her
own doing. All she had to do was walk down those steps and tell Gregor to bite
her, make the bond official. She had come close when she had spaced out. No,
she was doing the right thing for him. She had to keep him safe from his uncle
and from her freak of a stalker. She needed to move away, put some distance
between them. That would make the hurt less for both of them. Eventually.

She
turned the shower off and grabbed a towel, wrapping her wet hair in it. She
dried off and pulled on clean clothes she had brought with her. Instead of her
standard jeans, she opted for more comfortable yoga pants. She slid a t-shirt
over her head and put socks on her feet. She might be part shifter, but her
feet still got cold. She found her comb and quickly detangled her long hair.
She twisted it up, securing it with a clip, holding it away from her face.

Tessa
padded down the stairs, stopping at the bottom to take in all that was Gregor.
The man was standing in flannel sleep pants and nothing else. The muscles in
his back bunched and snaked under his skin. He was singing a different song
now, some Marilyn Manson tune.

“I
can’t decide if you wear me out or wear me well…” he sang then hummed the
chorus. He had a beautiful voice.

“I
think I wear you well.” Tessa crossed the kitchen, closing the distance between
them. She didn’t hesitate to walk into his open arms. Wrapping himself around
her, he breathed in her clean scent. She enjoyed the feeling of being safe,
cherished, wanted. Loved? Maybe not yet, it was probably too soon. If she
stayed with Gregor, he no doubt would grow to love her.

“Coffee?”
Gregor released her and opened the cabinet for an extra mug. He didn’t wait for
her to answer, just poured the liquid and pushed the milk toward her. He
remembered how she took her coffee from their conversation during the night.

“Thank
you. You didn’t have to go to all this trouble for me.” She poured milk in her
coffee and stirred it around with a spoon.

“No
trouble, I have to eat, so I just cooked a little extra.” Gregor dumped
scrambled eggs and bacon on two plates, popped some bread in the toaster, then
sat down across from her. His mood was somber. She could change it with one
word. She didn’t. When neither one ate much, just pushed their food around,
Tessa decided it was time to say goodbye. For good.

She
stood to clear her plate but Gregor stopped her. “Don’t worry about it. I will
clean the kitchen later.”

“Okay.
Well, thank you for everything. I wish…”

Gregor
cut her off. “Don’t, Tessa. Just go.” Gregor turned away from her and walked
out the back door. She knew this would be hard, but she didn’t think he would
be so cold about it. She took one last look around at what she was letting go.

Gregor’s heart was shredded. Completely ripped
into tiny fucking pieces that would never mend. The last thing he wanted to do
was go to the manor and be around his brothers, much less a happy Rafael and
Kaya. Duty called, and he would bear it, because he had to. He was already
late, but he didn’t care. There was no way he could watch Tessa get in her car
and drive off, so he had taken off through the woods at a dead run. When enough
time had passed, he returned to his house and showered. The t-shirt Tessa had
been wearing when she arrived was on the floor of the bathroom. It must have
fallen out of her backpack when she was grabbing her things. Gregor lifted the
soft cotton to his nose and inhaled. Tears pricked the back of his eyes, and he
lost it. His fist found the wall-length mirror, shattering it into thousands of
shards.

Not bothering to clean up the glass or his hand,
he quickly dressed and grabbed his helmet then threw it back down. He knew the
laws, but right then he didn’t give a fuck. If he got pulled over between home
and Rafe’s, he’d just show his identification and tell the police to piss off.
Passing the sports cars to get to the bike, he stopped in front of the Camaro.
It was his pick of the cars in his collection. He should have known it would be
Tessa’s favorite as well.

Gregor rode his bike hard all the way to
Rafael’s. He parked in front of the garage and cut the motor. He didn’t need
shifter hearing to tell there was something going on. The noise level in the
manor would rival a sports arena. Gregor walked in the dining room just in time
to see Dante phase. Wings knocked food platters off the sideboard. Rafael got
in his face, “Stand down. NOW! That’s a fucking order!”

Gregor cautiously stepped up next to his brother.
As soon as he phased back, Gregor placed his hand on Dante’s shoulder. “Brother,
what is it? Talk to me.” Dante was shaking with fury.

“These motherfuckers want to throw Isabelle to
the wolf. I will not allow it.”

Gregor had obviously missed something important.
“Someone care to fill me in?”

Rafael was not happy. “If you bothered to be here
on time, we wouldn’t have to fill you in.”

“Well excuse the fuck out of me for having a
godsdamn personal problem. Fuck you, Rafe.”

Dante was yelling at Deacon. Nikolas was sitting
in the corner staring at the floor. Julian was arguing with Jasper. Some pretty
boy he assumed was Dane Abbott was standing in the kitchen door looking like he
would rather be anywhere else. The whole lot of them had lost their fucking
minds. A shrill whistle rent the air. Kaya stepped into the room and glared.

“I don’t know what the hell is going on in here.
What I do know is the way you’re all carrying on isn’t going to solve
anything.” She continued on into the kitchen, grabbed a cup of coffee then went
back to wherever she had come from.

Rafael tried to hide his grin and failed. “She’s
right. Why don’t we take this outside so Priscilla doesn’t have to clean up
after anyone else?  Just in case.”

The men silently followed Rafael out to the
patio. The tension was thick, but no one said a word. Rafael remained standing
and addressed them as one. “Gregor needs to be brought up to speed. Julian,
please go first.”

“The breach in the computer system a few weeks
back came from Jasper’s computer. It has been determined Jasper isn’t smart
enough to have hacked into the system. No offense.”

Jasper volleyed, “None taken.”

Julian continued. “I have contacted Sinclair, so
he can investigate Jasper’s former boyfriend, Craig. Further, the email from
Bartholomew Cromwell originated from somewhere in Greece. This mystery is
proving to be a bit more difficult to crack.”

Dante, having calmed down, asked Rafael, “Did you
ever respond to the bid request?”

“Yes, the amount was so outrageous that even if
it had been a legitimate request, they would have told me to sod off. That’s
not important right now. What is important is that Deacon has let us in on the
tidbit about Alexander speaking and requesting to talk to Isabelle.”

Dante started to argue, but Gregor put his hands
on his chest. “Whoa, Brother. Do you need to tell us something?” Dante would
have punched anyone else for touching him, but Gregor’s hands and soft words
had a calming effect.

“She is my mate. I needed to speak to her about
something I found in the inmate files, so I went to visit her. We had a nice
chat.”

“A nice chat? Is she on board with being your
mate?” Gregor’s own heart was broken. That didn’t mean he would hold a grudge
against his brother if he found happiness.

“Not really. Since she had a less than perfect
marriage that ended in tragedy, I can understand her reluctance at another
relationship. I have offered to bow out, but I’ve also given her the option to
call me, should she wish to see where things go. The chat I was referring to
had more to do with the half-bloods than my mating with her.”

All eyes turned to Dane who held up his hands
defensively. “Hey, don’t look at me. I’ve already told you everything I know.”

Dante shook his head, frowning. “Isabelle was
afraid to speak freely, because Tessa told her not to. Isabelle mentioned that
the King’s uncle was the one who ostracized her father. She didn’t know his
name, but she said he was the reason Tessa was so hell-bent on staying away
from you.”

“Tessa admitted as much last night. She wouldn’t
give me his name either, but it only makes sense that it’s Alistair. He never
shied away from expressing his contempt for our mother when she married outside
of the Greek bloodlines. He is a purist. If marrying an Italian had him
disowning his sister, imagine how he would feel about one of us hooking up with
a human.” Gregor wished Tessa had enough faith in him to keep her safe.

Julian spoke up, “Could he be the Greek who sent
the email? Rafe, was he at the Elder Council?”

“He was there, but the email came in before I
flew to Italy. Still, it could have come from him. He’s never liked me, so
maybe he was trying to flush me out of the office. He had to know I would be at
the meeting, though. I need to call our mother. She and Xavier were acting
funny, and X explained that not all the Elders were unopposed to humans. I knew
he was hiding something. They both were, godsdamnit.”