Split at the Seams (17 page)

He took a quick step and lifted my chin so our eyes met. He didn’t say anything, just kissed me lightly. “You didn’t have to do that.”

“Obviously, because someone already did,” I whispered. “Do you know who took care of it?”

Papan shook his head. “No, but I might have an idea. Now, do you need help sorting the Council out? I don’t want them pestering you.”

“Not right now, but I might have to take you up on that someday.”

A lopsided smile twitched along his lips, causing a dimple on his left cheek.

My pulse sped up. I should be thinking about other things—like what happened with Jonathan, or the fact I needed to head in to work so Ebony didn’t have to face another day alone—but all I wanted to do was jump his bones.

“The offer’s always there, Fox.” When his other hand reached out and he entwined his fingers around mine, I winced. “What’s wrong? Did you hurt your hand?” He lifted it near his face, dropping his other hand from my chin. “Your fingers are bruised. What happened?”

“Don’t worry about it.”

“Wait a minute. I can smell him…” His green eyes darkened to mossy-brown and then flashed amber as he sniffed around me. “It was that boyfriend of yours. He did this to you, didn’t he?” He let my hand drop, stepped away and headed for the front door. “I’m going to show him what happens when he picks on someone his own size.”

“No, Papan, you can’t go out there!” I turned to follow him. “I ran into Vixen last night and she’s still looking for you. She even checked here. We’re just lucky the wards are strong. She also mentioned there are people being killed and eaten almost every night, and she blames you. Please, don’t go outside yet.”

He paused, his hand so tight around the doorknob it was white.

“It’s not safe for you to go outside yet.”

“I don’t care.” The muscles of his back rippled against his tight-fitting T-shirt. “He can’t keep treating you like this. That boyfriend of yours—”

“I’ve already told you to stop calling him that! We both know he’s not my bloody boyfriend anymore,” I said, raising my voice. “That’s where I was. I went to the bookstore to make sure he got the message. I tried breaking up with him the other day, you saw it yourself, but he kept playing dumb and I got sick of it.”

Papan didn’t say anything, but the hard rise and fall of his shoulders confirmed he was listening. Even if he hadn’t let go of the doorknob.

“I can’t be with someone who has so many secrets and thinks it’s okay to treat me like crap.” I looked down at my hand. The four fingers were lightly bruised. “I don’t want to be with him.”

“You forgot to mention he smells funny.” Papan’s hand fell away from the door and he slowly turned to face me. The distance between us felt so vast, even though we were just steps away from each other.

“I’m pretty sure Jonathan has some sort of demon attached to him.” I hadn’t intended to blurt it out, because the last thing I wanted to discuss right now was my ex, but Papan had mentioned the smell thing before. And after what Lavie discovered, the stench I couldn’t detect had to be associated with his demonic attachment.

Instead of reacting with anger or frustration, he nodded knowingly and took another step. “Of course, that must be why he smells funny.”

Not the reaction I’d expected. “Can I ask you something?”

“You can ask me anything.”

“Did Jonathan always smell this way to you?” Papan had met Jonathan pretty early on.

After I’d removed a pesky poltergeist from Prologue, Jonathan dropped by my office a week later and asked me out on a date. Since I’d knocked back his initial attempt—claiming I didn’t date clients—I saw no reason not to accept. Back then Jonathan had seemed so geeky and awkward—the cute, nerdy guy. The kind I’d never dated before and was pretty sure would come without any preconceived hang-ups or expectations.

Papan scratched his head. “You know what? No, he didn’t always smell like that. I remember the first time I met him in your office, standing too close to you…” He looked away. “No, he smelled human back then.”

So he hadn’t smelled strange at the beginning. Not long after we started dating, he’d gone overseas on a prescheduled trip to Europe. Could that be when everything changed?

“It must’ve been after he came back,” I whispered.

“Came back from where?”

“Shortly after we met, he went to Europe, and when he came back a lot had changed about him.” I just thought the distance between us and his research into purchasing more bizarre books had gone so well he’d flourished. Even if it didn’t fully explain why he’d returned tanned and toned. I’d just assumed Europe had agreed with him. He didn’t want to talk much about his trip afterward.

Papan looked thoughtful. “Yeah, I think that’s when I first noticed. I remember seeing him leaving the office one day with a sneer on his lips, and that’s when I first noticed he stunk. He’s got the demonic stench, just like a sewer rat.”

“Do you know any demons?”

“More than I care to admit. But I don’t want to talk about that at the moment.” He took a step forward. “Did you really break up with him this time?”

I nodded. ”You’re the one…” I cleared my throat. “I want
you
.”

Papan closed the short distance between us, never taking his eyes off mine. When he reached me, he scooped me into his arms and pressed me up against the wall. “You shouldn’t have told me that, Foxy Lady.”

He kissed me, leaving me breathless and needing so much more.

“Yeah, I did,” I spoke near his lips. “I’ve wanted to tell you for a while. I just didn’t know how you felt. I didn’t want to ruin our friendship.”

“You don’t know what you’ve done,” he whispered nibbling on my chin. “I’ve got a list of wicked things I’ve wanted to do to you for so long.”

“Don’t let me stop you,” I said, breathy, and in desperate need of whatever he had to offer.

Papan’s lips returned to mine, setting off another bout of frenzied kisses.

Being in his arms made my heart overfill with emotion, and wonder how I could have been so blind to my real feelings for this long.

“Oh, Foxy Lady…” He walked into the living room, carrying me in his arms and slowly laying me down on the couch. He climbed on top, leaning over to cover my mouth with his. His tongue searched for mine and when they met, ecstasy rolled through me.

I curved my back beneath him, twirling my tongue inside his mouth and reaching for the waistband of his jeans.

The solace of his touch, and the ability to forget about everything else while we were together, was all that I wanted right now. Papan and I had known each other for a while now. We weren’t strangers. We were friends who’d hidden true feelings from each other long enough.

He lined his body over mine until his erection was pressed between my legs. The fabric between us didn’t diminish the way my body trembled when he pushed down against me. I wanted to rip his clothes off, but didn’t want to break this wonderful kissing. Every time our tongues touched, it sent a multitude of sparks racing down my body.

His hand ran under my top to cup my left breast. As his fingers tweaked at the peak, a low growl rumbled from deep inside him. It pushed through his mouth and past my lips, making me hotter than I already was.

“Sorry,” he whispered, pulling out of the kiss. “I can usually keep better control of my wolf.”

I stared deep into his gorgeous eyes. “I’m not afraid of your wolf.”

He responded by covering my mouth with his. The hand he had under my T-shirt was now trailing down my stomach and in between our bodies. He altered his position enough to keep his hand moving lower, until his fingers stopped in between my legs. He rubbed his fingers up and down the fabric of my yoga pants, stimulating me a little more with each stroke.

“Oh, Papan…” I licked my lips, never taking my eyes off his.

He nibbled my bottom lip before pulling back enough to watch my reaction.

“I want to do so many wicked things to you.” His fingers rubbed faster and seemed to have found the perfect nook, right to my clitoris.

“I can’t wait…” The swell of sensation was so close to the surface now, I could feel my legs trembling. My heart beat fast against his chest and his fingers didn’t stop.

I’d never had anyone’s touch affect me so much that I felt as if I was about to come without taking a stitch of clothing off.

“Don’t hold back.” He moved his fingers up and down my mound, with just enough pressure to make me swoon.

My breathing quickened, and when he pressed his mouth against the side of my neck and nibbled on my skin, I couldn’t take it any longer. The orgasm tore through my body, curling my toes still inside my sneakers. My hips bucked but he didn’t move his hand, didn’t stop until I fell back against the couch, my eyes heavy and body tingling.

Papan’s teeth continued to nibble playfully. I couldn’t help but wonder if this was a wolf trait. Was he marking me, or maybe this was part of the foreplay. Either way, I didn’t care. It felt good.

“
Jason
…” His name was like a breath leaving my mouth. It felt right and good, like something I needed to survive. “Let’s go upstairs.” I ran my hands up and down his back, stopping at the ends of his hair. Droplets of water moistened my fingertips.

He kissed me again but the intensity seemed to have waned. When he pushed off my body, and sat back, I knew something was wrong. “I need to tell you something.”

For a moment, I thought the worst, but decided things couldn’t get worse than they already were.

“Yeah, what is it?” Remembering what Jonathan had said about Papan wanting to mooch and get into my pants before walking away, circled inside my head.
No, don’t give Jonathan the credit he doesn’t deserve.
He didn’t know Papan.

Still, my heart was beating like crazy.

Papan took my hand. “I know you want to keep me safe from the werewolf hunter, and you took great care of me after I was shot…”

I pushed the strands of his long hair out of his eyes. “Don’t stop now. Tell me what’s on your mind.”

“I need to leave. It’s the eve after the full moon, and I have to run. I’ve put it off for as long as I can.”

“No, you can stay here. I don’t mind you changing inside the house.”

“I know you don’t, Fox, but I don’t want to risk my first lunar change with you.” He looked dead serious. “Besides, I’m a werewolf. I have to run outside. I can’t stay cooped up inside the house when the moon forces my change.” The dimple on his left cheek twitched. “I’d love to stay with you all night.”

“Why can’t you?”

“I could go feral, and I don’t want to risk hurting you. I’d rather die than lay a hand or claw on you in anger.” He touched the backs of his fingers to my cheek. “Ever…”

I shook my head. “Your wolf already knows me, he won’t hurt me.”

“That’s true. I know you in both forms, but the first forceful change of each full moon cycle is the hardest. I lose total control. I regain it shortly after…but during the change, I could do anything.” He paused and grinned. “Besides, I’m no house pet. You saw what I did in the cemetery.”

What could I say to that?

I nodded, though I felt tears rise to my eyes. As much as I wanted him to stay with me so we could pretend nothing bad would happen, and we could ignore the world outside, he was right. Being a werewolf meant he had urges and needs I didn’t completely understand yet. Hell, I hadn’t known he was a wolf until last month. Not to mention that I’d never suspected any wolves—whether
were
or otherwise—lived here in Sydney. Weren’t they supposed to be native to North America, Europe and Asia?

“So you don’t have to change during the night of the full moon?”

“I have to change sometime within the week of the full moon cycle. Every wolf is different, but I can put it off for most of the week if I want to.” A small smile tugged at the edges of his mouth, once again showing off his dimples. “Full breeds can change whenever they want, but none of us can withstand the overpowering call of the moon.”

I nodded. I really had to quiz him about all of this. “How long will you be gone?”

“Two nights,” he said, taking my face in his hands and lowering his lips to mine. “Y’know, we don’t need to rush this.” He pointed a hand at me then at himself. “Without a stinky boyfriend to interfere, we can take our time.”

“I don’t want to take my time with you.”

“Sierra, I don’t want to start on the wrong foot, and doing this on the rebound would be doing just that.”

I wanted to tell him he was wrong, but the fact he’d used my first name drove home how serious he was about this. I knew what he was saying was true, but I was so in lust with him, and in desperate need of forgetting.

“You’ve just broken up with him. When we do this, I want to know it’s because we’re both sure. Not because one of us is on the rebound, or because I’m hot and sweaty and wish I was with you…like you did in your office that night.”

Heat flushed my cheeks. He knew about what happened the night we nearly kissed, and instead I ended up having desk sex with Jonathan?

“It’s okay, I know why you did it. I had a fitful night myself, but before you ask, no I didn’t sleep with anyone else—not even Ebony.”