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Miko
glanced at his watch. Was there a time limit he had
to endure? Could he walk out after waiting fifteen minutes?
His shoulders slumped. Not if he wanted to make a good
impression on the boss, and he owed his brother and
their business the necessary patience to make this job
a success.
Footsteps sounded on the staircase
and a moment later, Parker Thorn stepped into the library.
"Don't let her out of your sight for a moment.
Do you understand?" No introduction, no handshake.
Okay, so intros and handshakes
might be old fashioned, but the man's condescending
tone rankled with Miko. "I got it."
"Look, I don't even like
werewolves and wouldn't normally let one in my house,
but you're about as close to a bloodhound as I can get
to watch over my daughter."
"Thanks." I'm
feeling the love. So the guy knew about the were
population in the city. Not many humans did and the
Bastian brothers liked to keep it that way. If the humans
knew the exact percentage of the population were were-creatures,
they'd flee the city or send in an exterminator. Memphis
would become a veritable war zone or ghost town, either
way.
Parker's eyes narrowed, but
he didn't comment on Miko's sarcasm. "Talia managed
to slip past the last two human bodyguards. I'm counting
on you to stay with her and keep her safe." He
stepped closer until he was practically nose-to-nose
with Miko. "And I mean safe from everyone and everything,
including you and your kind."
Miko bit down hard on his
tongue. If Kyros hadn't told him to play nice, he'd
have decked this son-of-a-bitch by now. However, decking
him wasn't the way to win him over. Doing a good job
was. Damn he hated his logical side when the animal
in him wanted nothing more than to rip this man's throat
out. "Yes, sir."
"She should be down in
five minutes." Parker gave him one last hard look
and left.
After three minutes more of
standing in the library, Miko strode to the window shrouded
in heavy drapes. Pulling the fabric aside, he stared
out at the night, the basic instinct flowing through
his blood at that moment screamed at him to shed his
clothing and race out into the darkness. But he had
a job to do.
Something stirred in the light
from the nearly full moon. A figure dropped from a tree
at the corner of the house. A woman in a dress, carrying
her shoes. Her straight white-blonde hair hung like
a silk curtain, glistening in the starlight.
Instead of slipping the shoes
onto her feet, she dropped them to the ground and slipped
the thin straps of her dress off her shoulders.
What the hell? Miko's breath
caught in his throat and his pulse leapt.
Zarek wasn't kidding when
he'd said Talia Thorn was gorgeous. He just didn't know
how gorgeous-all over.
When she dropped the wispy
scrap of material that was her dress to the ground,
she was completely naked. No panties, no bra, just alabaster
skin glowing a light shade of blue in the night sky.
The rounded curve of her shoulders, the gentle dip into
her tiny waist only accentuated the lush, fullness of
her hips. She raised her face to the sky and lifted
her arms heavenward as if reaching for her lover, the
moon. Her hair hung down to brush the top of her buttocks.
Miko's hand gripped the drapes
as he struggled with the creature inside. The soft curtain
of Talia's hair sweeping across her ass made his groin
tightened painfully behind the zipper of his trousers.
What was she doing? He moaned and closed his eyes for
just a moment.
When he opened them again,
he had to blink twice, certain his mind played tricks
on him.
Instead of the smooth-skinned
woman, a sleek wolf stood in the moonlight, her fur
a solid, shocking white. The animal lifted the sandals
and dress between her teeth and turned.
"Fuck. Kyros didn't say
anything about her being a were." Miko dropped
the curtain and raced for the French doors, shedding
his clothing with each step he took and reaching deep
for the wolf within. Ripping the buttons from his shirt,
he yanked it off his back and tossed it over his shoulder,
careful not to leave his clothing lying around Thorn's
house. Fuck. She was going to get away. He grabbed for
the door handle and flung open the French door so hard,
it banged against the wall.
All he saw of Talia was the
twitch of her feathery white tail as she leaped the
hedge and disappeared into the night.
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