Python's Embrace (Bitten Point Book 3) (6 page)

BOOK: Python's Embrace (Bitten Point Book 3)
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“I do now, and we’ve kind of shacked up together. It’s kind of serious.”

Just how many days had Aria lost? “How long has it been?”

“Not long, I know. Totally crazy, but I can’t help myself, Aria. I met Daryl, and it was like
boom
.”

“More like snore,” he interrupted again. “Or aren’t you going to explain you drugged me so you could molest me at your leisure?”

“I did not molest you. Much.” Giggle. “Sorry, Aria. You don’t need to hear that stuff. Because I’m hoping you’re doing that stuff with a certain guy we both know. Hint. Hint.”

“It’s not like that,” she hastened to explain. “He’s just helping me out.” Helping her out of clothes, but then doing nothing about the fire he started.
He’s not a very good fireman, obviously.

“I’m sure he’s helping you. Helping you so much that you don’t have time to put on some clothes and visit with a friend.”

“I’ll have you know I am fully dressed.”

“For how long?” Thea snickered.

Good question, given just glancing at him made certain parts of her heat. “Anyhow, the reason I called was to say don’t look for me. I’m fine.”

“Fine and yet you’re acting awful weird and secretive.”

“I have my reasons. Please, Thea. Trust me on this.”

A big sigh came through on the line. “I guess if you’re with Constantine, I can stop worrying.”

“Please. And also, don’t tell anyone you know I’m alive.”

“Why? Are you still in trouble?”

“I gotta go. Congrats on the new boyfriend.”

Before Thea could ask any more questions, Aria hung up. Her brow furrowed.

“What’s up, my little parakeet?”

“I’m trying to remember if I have a boyfriend.”

Chapter 10

O
kay
, so Constantine’s vehement hissing might have been a little over the top. That did not excuse Aria’s smirk and taunting, “Someone is jealous.”

Indeed, he was, which made no sense. They weren’t dating.

Yet.

Ever.

Ha
.

Nothing worse than losing an argument to yourself.

“Are you ready to go?” he asked, lest he spend too much time trying to decipher the muddled state of his mind.

“I don’t know if leaving right now is a good idea.”

“I disagree. Hitting a few places you might have visited could trigger some memories.”

“Or bullets. What if someone does want to kill me?”

“Then it will be a first date we’ll both remember.”

The words hung in the air, yet another clue that things between them weren’t behaving like they should. He kept saying and doing things he’d never imagined. He got the impression she did, too. But they both covered it up.

“Come on, don’t be a scared budgie. My truck’s outside. Within ten minutes, we’ll be in town and sitting down to eat.” He saw the war of indecision flash on her face. “Come on, you know you want to go. What if you walk into the diner, and bam, you get all your memories back?”

“Exactly what kind of menu do they have?”

“They deep fry most of their seafood and have the best homemade fries and frothy shakes you ever sucked back.”

The recommendation tilted the scales.

“Let’s go. But I’m telling you right now, if I get killed because you miscalculated, I’m coming back to haunt your ass.”

“If it’s any consolation, if you do get killed, I’ll avenge you.”

She wrinkled her nose. “Not reassuring, angel.”

But his feisty lady didn’t protest any further, which was why they found themselves eating a short time later.

Or at least he ate. She picked at her food like a fussy bird.

“I’m done.” She pushed her plate away.

He couldn’t help but stare at it. “You only ate half of it.”

“I know. I usually eat less than that, but I guess I was so hungry. And it was awfully good. I am so full that, even if I could sprout wings and fly, I doubt I could heave myself off the ground.” Aria patted her belly.

“That is not a meal.”

“Says the guy who’s like twice my size.”

“I’m eating it.” No way would Constantine let good food go to waste. He couldn’t help but notice she watched him, a hint of a smile on her lips.

“What’s so funny?” he asked once he’d cleared her plate.

“You are. I don’t know why you were complaining about my eating habits when it seems the leftover food was just what you needed.”

“A man needs his energy.”

“Energy to do what?” she asked with an arch of her brow.

A slow grin pulled at his lips. “All kinds of things.” Things a man shouldn’t think about doing with a woman he barely knew, who didn’t even know herself.

“Let’s make one of those things taking a walk downtown to see if something jogs my memory.”

Constantine paid the check, but before he could slide himself out of the booth, he noticed Aria stiffen. “What’s wrong?”

She leaned forward and lowered her voice. “That guy, the one at the counter. I know him. Or at least I recognize his face.”

“Another memory flash?”

She nodded.

“Do you know who he is?”

Her shoulders lifted and dropped. “No idea. I only got a quick glimpse of him swigging a beer.”

Constantine’s gaze followed the man as he left the restaurant, brown takeout bag in hand. “I’ve never seen him before.” He stood. “Let’s go.”

“Where?”

“To find out where he’s going of course. He could be a clue to unraveling your memories.”

They exited Bayou Bites into bright sunlight, just in time to see a bright blue smart car leaving the parking lot.

She couldn’t help but shake her head. “Oh hell no would I get in that.”

“Why not? I hear they’re good on gas.”

“I like the things I trust to be bigger.”

No way could he stop himself from swelling his chest when she glanced his way. “Big is always better.”

She might have snorted, but her cheeks also turned a lovely shade of pink. “In the case of cars maybe. No way am I trusting that tiny tin can to protect me,” she noted as she followed him to his truck.

“Says the girl who rode a motorcycle.”

“I ride a motorcycle?” she asked as he pulled open his truck door.

He grabbed her around the waist and lifted her inside. “Yup. Nice one, too, 1200 ccs.”

“I wonder what it feels like to have all that power between my legs,” she mused aloud.

Did she do it on purpose? He felt sucker-punched and slammed her door shut before getting in the other side.

She didn’t look at him, simply pointed. “Get moving before we lose him.”

“Patience, goose.”

She smacked him in the arm. “Idiot.”

He laughed.

“So how did you know I rode a bike?” she asked. “Or let me guess. Thea again.”

“Actually,” he commented as he pulled out of the parking lot and followed the blue car at a distance, “I saw your bike at the B&B before the fire broke out.”

“You saw my baby? Where is it?”

“Baby?” he queried with an arched brow.

“You have your dog. I have my machine.”

“I take it you flashed on your bike.”

“He has a name.”

“He?”

“Anything that vibrates my girl bits that well has to be masculine in origin.”

“So what do you call him?” he asked.

She fidgeted in her seat. “I don’t remember.”

Lie. He prodded. “Yes, you do. What is it? Tell me.”

“Laugh and I will hurt you,” she advised.

“Hurt me anytime you like, oriole.”

She rolled her eyes, but he noted the hint of a smile curving the corner of her lip. “It’s Fred.”

“Fred? Who the hell calls a bike Fred?”

“I do, and I’ll have you know it’s short for Sir Frederick Full Throttle.”

He couldn’t help it. He snickered. Snorted. So she punched him, hard as she could in the space of the truck cab. As if it stopped him. He barely felt it. “I’ve had mosquitoes hurt me more,” he teased.

“You want pain, I’ll give you pain,” she muttered.

She placed a hand on his thigh.

He tensed. And he wasn’t talking about his muscles, but rather a certain part of his body with a mind of its own.

She danced her fingers closer to his package, his noticeably bulging package.

“What are you doing?” he asked, switching his gaze between the ass end of the car he trailed and Aria, who sat staring at him, eyes shining bright.

“Hurting you.”

Shit, she was going to sack him. Her hand moved, and he might have swerved as he prepared for the pain…of pleasure?

His breath caught as she cupped him, the heat of her palm branding him even through his denim.

Tell her to squeeze it.

This was one time his other half totally had the right idea.

Aria had her own, though. It involved rubbing him, back and forth, a heated friction that made him ache.

“Yessss.” Excited, he couldn’t stop the sibilant hiss.

She squeezed him. Held him. Drew his breath in fast pants and—

“Don’t stop,” he exclaimed as her hand moved away. He shot her a glance and noted it primly folded in her lap.

“Oh, I am stopping. But let me ask you, how are your balls?”

Heavy and aching and… He opened his eyes wide. “That was just mean.”

“I told you I’d get you back.”

Flipping his gaze forward, he set his lips in a line, not amused at all by her laughter. How could he laugh when he might die because his poor balls and cock wouldn’t be able to stand the disappointment?

“Are you sulking, angel?”

“No, my toucan.”

“My nose is not big.”

No, damn her, it wasn’t. It was cute and tiny, with a tilt at the end.

“So whatever happened to my bike?” she asked, pretending as if she hadn’t almost gotten them killed in a crash by sending all the blood in his brain south.

“I’m not sure. I don’t think it got damaged in the blaze, but more than likely, someone towed it. I could find out if you’d like.” Although why he offered, given her cruelty, he couldn’t have said.

“I would like.” She leaned forward. “Hey, where is our dude going?”

The small car turned off the main highway onto a side road. “Looks like he’s staying local.” Interesting, given Constantine didn’t recall ever seeing the guy. The town wasn’t huge, but it didn’t take long to recognize most people. Then again, as the world got busier, so did their town. It wasn’t as if Constantine went out much.

“What’s in that direction?”

“Not much. A few houses and Bittech. He could be an employee there.”

Except the guy drove past the turnoff for the medical facility and kept going. They followed him several miles out of Bitten Point until he pulled into a roadside motel.

Constantine drove past, not too far, before he turned around. He brought them close to the motel before parking on the shoulder. He debated their next move.

Rat-tat-tat
. He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel.

“What are you doing?” Aria asked. “Let’s go talk to him.”

“If we do, we’ll be tipping our hand that you’re not just alive, but hunting down clues to your disappearance.”

“Didn’t we tip it when we went to the diner?”

“Yeah, but you gotta admit those deep-fried shrimp were totally worth it.”

“I think we should go and talk to him. Even if I don’t flash a memory, maybe he can tell me where we met.”

Valid points, yet Constantine wasn’t sure about it.

Given the violent happenings he’d encountered, did he dare risk the recently discovered Aria to possible violence?

Or am I hoping that, by not remembering, she’ll stick around for a while?

It irked him to even contemplate he had an ulterior motive in staying back. Aria deserved his help.

“Okay, we’ll go talk to him, but stick behind me until we know he’s not armed.”

Slapping the shifter into drive, Constantine crawled his truck through the parking lot that paralleled each of the motel units. He parked across the back of the small blue car, blocking its escape.

With another firm admonition to stay behind him, Constantine approached the peeling green door for room number seventeen. He knocked.

While he waited, he sniffed the area and frowned at what he found, or more like didn’t find. Exhaust fumes, cigarette smoke lingering in the air, oil from a car a few rows down leaking from a blown gasket. He also smelled humans, mostly male, a few perfumed females. What he didn’t scent were any animals.

No shifters had come this way, which made their friend inside human.

A curtain beside the door twitched, but the door remained locked. Someone was trying to avoid them.

Bang. Bang. Bang
. “Open the door. I know you’re in there. Don’t make me open it for you.” The flimsy portal wouldn’t stop a determined boot.

“What do you want? I don’t know you. Go away.”

Aria, tucked behind, actually listening to his instructions, whispered, “Just kick in the door, would you?”

“And have the cops called on me?” he muttered back. “He’ll open it.” He stated it with more confidence than he felt. Louder, “I just want to ask you a few questions. About a girl you might have met at a bar a few days ago.”

“Are you a cop?”

“Nope. Just a friend looking for some answers.”

To his surprise, the door opened, only a few inches, the security chain pulling taut as the fellow put his face in the crack. “Why do you think I know anything? I’m just in town doing some work for a lab. I don’t really know anyone.”

Before Constantine could stop her, Aria inserted herself in front of him. “Do you know me?”

“You! Oh hell.” The door slammed shut.

“I think that answers the question,” Constantine dryly remarked.

Bang. Bang. Bang
.

“Go away. I want nothing to do with her. Because of her, I got into so much trouble. I was lucky I didn’t lose my job.”

“What did I do?” she exclaimed.

The door pried open again as a single eyeball glared out. “As if you don’t know.”

“She doesn’t.” And Constantine was tired of the dude screwing with them.

Boom
. While he might not want the attention kicking a door in might cause, snapping a feeble chain? No problem.

He shoved at the portal, sending the guy blocking it stumbling as he advanced into the shabby yet clean room.

“What’s your name? How do you know Aria? Who are you working for?”

“I don’t have to tell you nothing,” the stubborn guy insisted. “I’m calling the cops.”

A finger stabbed in the dude’s direction. “I remember you now!” Aria exclaimed. “You’re the guy I kissed outside the bar.”

Wham
. Constantine’s fist stopped the guy from dialing 911—and he also wouldn’t be doing any more damned kissing any time soon either.

BOOK: Python's Embrace (Bitten Point Book 3)
10.32Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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