Malik hasn’t said a word since I entered his car. I tried not to show my discomfort as the silence grew. Waylen had left with Lynn. Telling her about the change of plans had been tough. I still wasn’t convinced by their explanation of us staying apart, but I wasn’t about to jeopardize my family’s safety because of my uncertainties.
The car glided down the quiet streets. Malik lived in a massive estate I never got to inspect the first time. There were other houses around, but the place was so isolated from the rest of the city. I didn’t know places like this existed in Indiana.
What did I even know at this point?
I rested my head against the window, eyes fluttering as I battled sleep. As the car reduced speed, I sat up. Compared to other houses surrounding the white duplex, Malik’s house looked small. It could be because he lived alone. Plus, there were enough rooms there.
Unlike when we left, Malik did
MALIKBreakfast was almost ready when Elizabeth entered the kitchen. I struggled to keep calm as I recalled last night’s events. She was asleep when I snuck out of her room early this morning. I had to admit I could only sleep with her in the room. I flipped the pancakes, my body reacting to her presence. Elizabeth was dressed. She wore a pencil dress and block heels, adding an inch or two to her height. Yet, her head only came up to my shoulder. I said nothing as she skipped to the sink for a glass of water. Since she was here, I dished the pancake into two plates and placed hers on the same spot we ate dinner. She hadn’t said a word to me yet, only stared out the window with the glass in her hand. I chose to break the quiet. “Good morning, Elizabeth.” Her eyes flitted in my direction for a second. “Sleep well?” No response except for the loud sip from her cup. I massaged the back of my head and offered her a thin smile. This was not good.
MALIKA knock on the door alerted me of my mate’s presence before she entered my home office. Elizabeth smiled, and my lips automatically copied the gesture. I reclined on the wall, drinking her in as she bridged the gap. She was still in the dress from this morning but minus the shoes, and the sight did silly things to me. I was trying to be careful. The full moon was almost here. My mood swings were growing worse. I mustn’t do anything silly to tip the balance. But my wolf didn’t care about the rules. If Otis got a chance to have Elizabeth naked underneath him with his cock buried in her pussy, he would take it. Not like I wouldn’t appreciate that, but it wasn’t the right time. He was far too emotionally and sexually starved to listen to my bullshit about waiting for Waylen’s acceptance, so I had to hold on tighter to the control gradually slipping from my palms. “Hey,” Elizabeth said. Elizabeth hadn’t wiped her makeup of only lipgloss,
MALIK“Is that it?” Governor Kane asked. He skipped to the last page of the file I dropped on his table when I entered and flung it across the wall. The staple pin holding the sheets together was the only reason they didn’t scatter on the floor. I clenched my fists at the small of my back as he stood, his fingers denting the leather of his desk. “You took a month to prepare that preposterous crap! Arrant nonsense.”A lock of blond hair fell to his forehead, and he slapped it back in place. He pinned me with an icy, disappointing stare. His chest heaved, and he tugged his tie loose.“Otis, Otis, what’s going on?”“I prepared the report—”“Uh uh. No. That was not a report.” He pushed back his chair and made his way to the connected bar. After pouring himself a glass of scotch, he returned to his desk and sat. Minutes passed as he sipped his drink and nodded to him
MALIK“What?”“Her.” He stabbed the picture on his desk. It was of a human. My phone beeped with a message containing her address. She had no name but a number. No surprise. She was just a subject among many I had killed and would continue to do so in the future. Guilt tasted bitter, and I almost threw up on myself. “She was at the party, and last night, she was spotted leaving the hospital. Guess why?”“Why?”“For a pregnancy test, Malik.”Great.“We cannot kill a pregnant human.”“The good news is, she’s not pregnant. I know the rules, Son. But she might be lucky next time, and we wouldn’t want that, right?” he asked. His finger dragged across the folder on his desk. I could only see one picture from the bunch, but I suspected all of them to be the guests at Waylen’s party. “Do it tonight.&rd
Life as Malik’s assistant was easier. Having been without an assistant for long, Malik was more organized and involved. He had already emailed me a list before we arrived at the office complex. We didn’t share an office but were on the same block, separated by a door and a not-so-narrow hallway. I could go in whenever I wanted. Plus, I had a telephone on my desk to receive calls from or for him. The other good thing was the coffee maker. Beside it was a table with a tray of sweets. I was overindulging myself with sweet treats, but how could I say no when it was right there?My phone buzzed on the table, and I automatically glanced at Malik’s door. I hated that we couldn’t see each other but also loved it. It increased the suspense as much as it frustrated me. While my office had a glass wall on one side to make it easy for my boss or passers-by to spy on me and vice versa, his was fully made of concrete. The man loved his privacy. I picked up the phone
Waylen was here. He had already gathered attention from others inside the restaurant, but he didn’t seem to care about that. I shot to my feet, and Malik wrapped a hand around my wrist. Waylen was at the door, glaring at us and scaring the shit out of other people in the restaurant. How did he get in? How did he know we were here?“I’m fine,” I told Malik. I could handle Waylen on my own. The dent on his brow stayed, so I bent to kiss him. “I’ll be fine.”“Okay. Let me know if you need help.”I sashayed toward Waylen. He tried to grab my wrist, but I brushed past him, knowing he would follow. I didn’t stop until I was in the garage, away from curious eyes. Stopping beside Malik’s car, I crossed my arms on my chest and waited for Waylen.Minutes later, Waylen stalked into the garage like we had all the time in the world, his eyes not leaving mine. I tried not to show how much his
“Stop talking,” I begged. “You are not making this easy for both of us.”“Good.”“Waylen—” I cut in before he could say more.“Because one, I want to bend you over my knees and spank you for making me suffer blue fucking balls this long. Two, I want to fuck you till we both see stars, tesoro,” he said. Fuck him because those words made me gulp hard. Heat pooled even more between my already quivering thighs. “Since we can’t have that here, I’m willing to settle for fucking you slow. Nice and slow in the backseat. If you are good, Beth, I’ll make you come more than once. I won’t make you beg, not so much, anyway.”My breath hitched. But I managed a soft, “Stop.”“Just please, get in the car immediately. Let me make both of us happy.”My panties were soaked. My thoughts were scrambled but one stayed coherent.
Malik was in the same spot I left him when I entered the restaurant. His head rose a little like he could sense my presence. He probably could. Seeing him look so calm annoyed me. If he had come out to check on me, I wouldn’t have had to listen to Waylen’s jargon. Malik wasn’t a murderer.I slid back into my chair without a word. Our food wasn’t here yet, and I looked at him with questions in my eyes. He smiled, but I couldn’t bring myself to repay it. When his hand touched mine, I forced myself to stay still. This same hand took Mr. Parker’s life.No, it didn’t. I had to stop thinking that way.“Where’s our food?” My voice came out squeaky, but I didn’t care to repeat myself.“I asked them to pack it up,” Malik replied. He pushed my hair out of the way so his fingers could brush my cheek. “You took a while. Is everything okay with you two?”“You would k