Witchlock by Dianna Love Page B

sign of budging.  
    This wasn’t going well.  
    Evalle would come looking to see what the problem was if Storm didn’t return to the bathroom soon. He rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands, feeling the long hours and two hundred miles he’d spent running in jaguar form before stopping at his truck, where he always kept an extra set of clothes.  
    He couldn’t have survived waiting until later this morning to see Evalle.  
    He dropped his hands, determined to find peace with Feenix, but someone saved him from round three.  
    Lanna padded down the hall from the living room. Blond curls stuck out in six directions and the teenager wore powder-blue warm-ups. She squatted down, yawning, and patted Feenix on the shoulder. “Evalle has been working many hours. She is tired. We will visit tomorrow, yes?”  
    For Lanna, the little guy’s eyes turned into pure charm.  
    What a con artist.  
    Feenix smiled at her and said, “Yeth. Morrow.”  
    She smiled at Storm, letting him know she’d handle it.  
    Storm mouthed the words thank you over Feenix’s head. He was just closing the door to the bedroom when he heard a sharp sound and opened it again to find a burn spot two feet off the ground.  
    Lanna turned the corner, still holding Feenix’s hand. At the last second, the gargoyle gave Storm a long look and poofed a streak of black smoke at him, then disappeared into the dark living room.  
    Might as well accept the truth.  
    This was not going to work for long, but Storm wanted Evalle relaxed and happy tonight. The discussion on living here could wait for now. He shut the door and used a quick chant, creating a spell to prevent any sound escaping this room.  
    Now for his welcome-home gift waiting in the shower.  
    He opened the glass door, stepped into a cloud of steam, and found Evalle under the showerhead with a hand propped against the wall and water gushing over her. He curved his arms around a wet and naked Evalle from behind.  
    Holding her was all his best dreams wrapped into one.  
    Still leaning forward, she reached back to touch his thigh with her free hand, always touching him now that she knew him intimately.  
    He’d taught her to enjoy touching and was damned proud of her.  
    She’d overcome a hellish childhood that included being raped by a man she’d thought was the family doctor.  
    If the guy hadn’t died in a wreck back then, Storm would ...  
    “Can’t breathe,” she laughed and patted the arm around her waist.  
    He immediately eased his hold, pushing his mind away from murderous thoughts.     
    Now was not the time to think about anything but this woman. Reaching up, he cupped her breasts and brushed a finger over each nipple, teasing each one into a hard little bead. She arched back against him and trembled.  
    Storm had run Tzader’s team hard for a week and it had been worth every argument and gripe.  
    The only one who hadn’t argued was Trey, because he had a woman he loved just as much waiting at home, too.  
    Getting back to Evalle just one minute sooner would be worth any effort. He kissed her neck and bit lightly at the same moment he pinched her nipples just enough to wring a cry out of her.  
    She sucked in a breath and stilled suddenly.    
    He leaned close, whispering, “I soundproofed the bedroom and bathroom.”  
    She let out her breath and her voice purred. “You think of everything.”  
    Only for her.  
    “Keep your hands on the wall,” he told her, because he knew how tired she was. He’d first thought to encourage her to climb into bed and get the sleep she clearly needed. As much as he’d wanted her, he could have been content holding her while she rested.  
    But the one night they’d spent here had stressed her out and left her with a wary look of worry he hadn’t been happy about leaving.  
    Right now, he wanted to remind her that she was loved, and that she was his. Next he’d drain her of all the pent-up energy surging