Dahlia's Kiss

CHOICES

Drake’s bed was warm.Too warm. His gentle snores beside me, though quiet, grated on my nerves like a chainsaw. It was nothing like Bean's melodic purr that I fell asleep to nightly. No doubt the fur ball was sprawled across my bed like a fluffy king. What was I thinking coming here? Well, I guess I knew the answer to that, although I didn’t want to admit it. There were too many people vying for my attention right now, and Drake was safe.

But was he really, though?

The last thing he said to me before he drifted off to sleep echoed through my mind. You must be some kind of Succubus. What was I to make of that? Did he honestly suspect me of being something other than human, or was it just a casual comment made without anything behind it? I wasn’t sure. What I was sure of was that I’d stayed past my expiration date in New Orleans, and it was time to move on. Alaska sounded pretty good. It was far away from all the would be mates, and the murderer who targeted me.

I laced my fingers behind my head and closed my eyes, feeling the gentle breeze from the ceiling fan above. Drake turned in his sleep, and his arm settled across my belly. I gently lifted his hand and moved it away from me. This was seriously a bad decision.

My cell phone was still turned off, lost amidst the pile of my discarded clothes, and I wondered if I could get to it without my boss waking up. For some reason, it felt inappropriate to get out of bed and check my messages while sharing the space with him.

I decided to do it anyway. Removing the blanket as carefully as I could, I swung my legs free. I listened in the darkness for any change in the man's breathing pattern. When I found none, I slowly raised to a seated position and got to my feet, stepping carefully so as not to make a sound. My phone was tucked inside the back pocket of my jeans. I carried it to the bathroom before turning it on so the sudden light wouldn’t disturb my host. When it powered up, I was assaulted by an onslaught of missed calls and texts from the good detective ranging from fury to genuine worry.

How in the world was I going to explain this one? I reminded myself that I didn’t have to tell him anything if I didn’t want to. I wasn’t his mate, no matter how much he wanted me to be.

The bed looked unappetizing in the dimly lit room. There was no way I could crawl back in beside him. I felt guilty for taking advantage of Drake the way I had. Instead of pretending any further, I collected my things and dressed quickly, finding my keys inside a shoe, and made my way to the front door.

There is no way to explain the relief I felt when I found he'd never set the alarm in his haste to get me upstairs.

Once outside, I unlocked the car, and got halfway down his drive before switching on my headlights. It wasn’t that I thought Drake would pursue me, but under the circumstances, I didn’t trust anyone.

My swipe card wasn’t working at the gate to my apartment complex. I tried over and over, and the little light kept flashing red.

“Come on!” I screamed at no one. “I don’t have time for this.”

A hand reached between me, and the stupid machine and another card swiped through the reader. “If you kept it next to your phone, you probably demagnetized it.” I recognized the voice.

“Cole, what are you doing here?”

“I live here.” He wore a turquoise blue, long sleeve shirt that almost hid all his tattoos, save for the ones on his hands. His hair was slicked back, perfectly in place, but he was unshaven with the beginnings of a healthy beard on his jaw. “Before you ask, I didn’t know you lived here too. I responded to an ad in the paper, and I just got my keys today.”

I frowned. “How did you magically happen to be outside at the perfect moment to swipe me in?”

He shrugged, and a smile at tugged on his lips. “Just lucky I suppose. What are you doing out at three in the morning, anyway?”

“I could ask you the same thing.”

“I played a gig tonight at the Full Moon Cantina. I’m a guitarist. My band is called Lust, if you want to check out my story.”

If there were ever a time I wanted to roll my eyes, this was it. “Your band is called Lust?” I asked with scrutiny.

“Why not?”

“Thanks for letting me in. I’m tired, and I have work in the morning. I’d say don’t be a stranger, but in my case, please do.” I started to roll up my window.

“Ouch. Don’t worry honey, as I said before, I have no interest in pursuing you, but if you want to come by and bounce on my cock, I’m in apartment three A. If you don’t, that’s fine too. I don’t have trouble finding women.”

“I’m sure you don’t.” He stuck his hands in his pockets and continued his way as I circled the garage to get to my allocated parking space. How fucking perfect was it that he moved into not only the same complex as me, but three A was two doors down from my own unit? How was I supposed to continue my quaint little existence with my cat and be able to smell his pheromones anytime he brought someone back to his place to fuck? It really was time to move. I punched my steering wheel. Why was life so unfair? I’d never had this much trouble before. Why now?

“Ugh!” I screamed.

My phone vibrated in the cup holder.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake. Can’t I have a minute to myself?” The phone continued to vibrate.

I snatched it free from where it sat and answered in an angry tone, not even bothering to look at the caller ID. “What?”

“You want to tell me why your phone has been off all evening?” Sterling.

“Nope. I don’t want to do that. Any other questions, detective?”

“Just one.” He paused. “Have you seen the news?”

I didn’t like his intonation. “No. I’ve been a bit busy. Stop being so secretive. If you have something to tell me, just say it. I can’t take any more bullshit tonight.”

Sterling huffed. “Well, you should probably tell me what you've been doing for the past few hours, because I have another body. Your underwear were at the scene, and this guy has a fist full of your hair in his hand. This doesn’t look good, Dahlia. I didn’t get to this body first. The ME has your DNA in their possession.”