Page 79 of A Malicious Menagerie
He looks shocked by this bit of human trivia, but then, he grins. “Perks of being with a werewolf, I guess.”
“I guess,” I agree, returning his smile.
Suddenly, he looks thoughtful. “Do you want pups?”
Oh, boy. Suddenly, it’s becoming clear to me that there are going to be a few cultural hurdles for us to clear. “When the time is right, sure.” I eye him warily, knowing this is the type of question that can make or break a relationship. “Do you?”
Thankfully, Chase is pleased by my answer. “Definitely. I’m thinking five.”
I gape at him before narrowing my eyes. “And are you carrying any of these babies? Let’s try two.”
“Three?”
“Done.”
We share a sappy grin before Chase gently presses a hand to my lower back to draw me into his body. “Come here.”
My blush feels like it’s become a permanent fixture as Chase carefully runs his hand over my inner thighs and between my legs, gently cleaning away the evidence of our coupling. When his fingers brush over my overstimulated clit, my hips involuntarily twitch toward him, and he shoots me a lupine grin. “Really?”
“Hush.” I let my eyes slide closed as he teases circles around the sensitive bundle of nerves, and I gasp when I feel him lean down to lick a path from my peaked nipple along the upper curve of my breast and up my chest until he reaches his bite, the dull ache reverberating in my pussy like it already equates that sharp sting with a mind-blowing orgasm.Pavlov’s pussy,I think wryly. Still… “Chase, as much as I want to…” I huff out a sigh. “We have to figure out how to save Nan before Mathis’s henchmen can catch up with us.”
Chase mimics my sigh before pulling his hand away with one last gentle pet. “Reality’s a bitch.”
“That she is.” Opening my eyes, I lean up to kiss him once more before bending over to turn off the quickly cooling water. “Alright. Now to pick up Nan and get the hell out of Dodge.”
36
The Road Trip
It’s nearly two in the morning when Chase and I park two blocks from Sunny Shores Retirement Village and sneak to the front of the building. We hide behind some bushes in the front garden and look through the front windows. There’s a security guard seated at the desk, his gray uniform shirt straining over his round belly. He’s watching the security camera footage on a desktop, but he also has half an eye on the man seated to his left. A man I recognize.
“That was the scary guy who intimidated me when I tried to take Nan home,” I whisper to Chase.
He growls low in his throat. “Mathis must have left him to make sure you didn’t try again.”
“There’s no way we’re going to get past them both,” I note with a frown. “We need a distraction.”
Chase’s mischievous grin glows a ghostly white in the dim light. “One distraction, coming right up. Get Nan and meet me back here.” Chase gives me a smacking kiss before skulking away toward the corner of the building.
I bite my nails down to the quick while I wait, worry for Chase and Nan threatening to choke me if I let it.Trust him, I tell myself, and I do. So I wait.
Suddenly, there’s a shout of alarm from inside the building. I peek over the bushes to see the security guard pushing up from his seat. He dons a baton before scurrying through the door to the back office. Mathis’sman looks disinterested until his eyes flick to the security camera display. Suddenly, his gaze hardens. He jumps to his feet, pulls a handgun from a holster at his hip, checks the clip, and hurries after the other guard.
With my heart in my throat—Chase, don’t you dare get yourself shot!—I force myself to wait sixty seconds before darting to the front door. Locked. I growl in frustration before peering through the window at the mechanism on the other side. It’s one of those locks you only have to twist from that side, no key required. I peer around for something I can use to break the glass. I spot a wooden cane abandoned against a bench to one side of the door and snatch it up, weighing its heft before eyeing the thick double glass.
It better be a damn good distraction, Chase,I think silently. I take a deep breath and swing the curved end of the cane at the window. It bounces off the glass with a reverberatingbang. I grit my teeth against the recoil that shudders up my arms. Committed now, I try again, and again, losing hope with each swing. Finally, I put every last drop of desperation and fear into one more wild attempt, a cry bursting from my lips with the effort.
The glass doesn’t shatter in an explosive shower of glittering shards like in the movies. Instead, it cracks with a sound like ice breaking under skates on a frozen pond. Two more focused blows knock out enough glass for me to reach through without cutting myself and twist the lock.
Once I’m inside, it’s easy to sneak through the lobby and into the common room where Nan and I have shared so many cups of coffee. The lights are on but turned low for the night, and Chase must still be keeping the guards occupied because the building is silent. I follow the familiar path to Nan’s room on the first floor. Tiptoeing down the back hallway, I avoid the small offshoot that leads to a caretaker’s office. Finally, I arrive at Nan’s door, and I use the key she gave me to let myself into her room.
I close the door behind me with a barely audiblesnickbefore approaching the bed where Nan’s slender form is bundled under a quilt. Ambient light from the street lamp outside helps me avoid a pair of fluffy slippers and Nan’s wheelchair as I cross the small room. Once I’m standing over her, I reach down to gently touch her shoulder. “Nan?”
Her bony shoulder jerks briefly under my palm before she turns bleary eyesup to me. “…Anna?”
“Hey, Nan,” I say gently, smoothing her fine white hair from her befuddled face.
“Why are you here?” she asks groggily. “What time is it?” Suddenly, her eyes widen, and she tries to sit up but fails. “Did I have the wrong night? I thought I was supposed to have a heart attack tomorrow!”
