Page 8 of Howl Me to the Moon (Moonlight Siren Supernatural Cruises #2)

CHAPTER 8

REX

P iper led me to a dimly lit storage area, where I was greeted by the faint scent of dust and paintings—until she stepped in and closed the door behind her—then I was enveloped in the fragrance that was pure Piper. Mmm, my wolf and I drank it in.

Focus!

Right. Missing painting. That was the reason I was here in this confined space…alone with Piper…just the two of us…

I said focus!

Not easy when I had her scent wrapped around me and all I wanted to do was get closer to her, touch her soft skin.

Maybe this was a bad idea.

No, a very good idea, my wolf countered.

“Everything okay?” Piper asked.

“Yeah, why do you ask?”

“Your face is doing all these weird things.”

Great. Did I have to spell my inner turmoil on my face?

“Just trying to differentiate the scents in here,” I said—not a complete lie.

“O-kaayy,” she said. “And what do you smell, bloodhound?” she teased.

“Patience, my little witchy woman. I need time to work.”

“And now we have nicknames for each other?”

“Just following your lead.” I motioned to my torso. “Besides, this is all wolf, baby.”

Her expression brightened and she burst into a laugh. “It sure is, wolfman.”

Unable to resist, I reached out and brushed her arm. “Yeah, I like that better.”

Her gaze met mine and remained there, lingering. My heart pumped with an erratic beat.

She broke eye contact and glanced around. “Should I leave you alone to do your sniffing?”

No, don’t leave. I tried to keep my voice level as I replied, “I don’t mind having you here.” I cleared my throat. “So where was the painting when you last saw it?”

“It was over here.” She walked over to empty wall space maybe ten feet wide between other stacks of paintings that were covered by white sheets. “I don’t understand how it could disappear. Not when I use magic to protect the artwork.” She shook her head and sighed. “It must be here somewhere. I’ll look through these, see if it was misplaced.”

“Good idea,” I agreed with a nod, although from what I remembered about the painting, it was larger than the ones here.

Once she began to search beneath the sheets, I sniffed around the site where the painting was last seen.

“The strongest scents I detect are vampire, which must be Marcel.”

“Yes, my boss,” she said, peeking over from where she’d been searching.

The next one was trickier, although I’d caught it around the ship. I asked about the only hint of it I could detect. “And…fox?”

“That’s Sloane, a fox shifter who works art auctions with me. You might have seen him at the art preview last night.”

“And…you.” I tried not to get all moony, but my voice dropped a level.

“I’m here,” she declared with a bright smile.

I tried to unravel the other scents. So many different types. “Who else comes here?”

She blew a strand of pinkish hair away from her face. “Just staff. I’m guessing that’s who Marcel is talking to now. We need extra bodies to move all these paintings back and forth to the gallery since it’s used for other events.”

“Maybe I can help.”

She narrowed her eyes at me, yet they sparkled with something mischievous. “Why would you want to do that?”

To be near you… I shrugged. “Just trying to make myself useful on this ship.” With a one-sided grin, I added, “So they’ll keep me around.”

“Could one of them have been involved?” I asked.

Her eyes widened. “Marcel or Sloane? No.” She shook her head. “I’ve known them too long. They wouldn’t do something like this. Wouldn’t risk their careers. Besides, Sloane was in the art gallery during my presentation.”

“But the others…”

“Well…” She huffed and threw her hand up. “You said yourself that those scents were fainter.”

True. We each were quiet, mulling things over.

“Someone could’ve used a cloaking spell, I suppose,” she added.

I perked up and glanced over. “What kind?”

She snorted. “That, my friend, is the problem. So many supernaturals onboard, so many different types of magic.”

“Hmm.” I exhaled. “Makes it tough.”

“Indeed.”

“So what do we do?”

She glanced around the room. “Keep looking.” She sighed. “Too bad I’m not gifted in scrying. I’m much better at casting protection spells.” She winced and groaned. “Since it didn’t seem to help here, maybe I’m losing my abilities.”

“I’m sure there’s another explanation,” I said, wanting to soothe her distress.

After a few more minutes of us each doing our thing, she asked, “How’s it going over there?”

So far, my attempt to figure out who or what took the painting wasn’t impressing anyone, most of all Piper. Sure, I could have a good sense of smell, but it didn’t mean I’d be solving any mysteries. Since my sleuthing skills wouldn’t impress anyone, I could at least try to make her laugh.

I lowered myself to hands and knees and sniffed with exaggeration. “The wolf is on the case.”

She laughed, a musical tinkle that made acting like a fool all worth it. “Oh, I thought you were pretending to be a giant puppy.”

“Puppies are cute,” I countered with playfulness. “So you must think I’m cute?”

“Cute might be one word for it.” Her smile widened.

“I’ll take it.” My chest swelled with pride. Maybe I’d gotten past my disastrous displays over the last two nights and started worming my way into her good graces.

Once I’d done enough sniffing around and found nothing that would wow her, I offered to help her search beneath the covered paintings. As we moved along the stacks, I grew keenly aware of her closeness. And when her arm accidentally brushed mine, I had to hold back a moan.

“How did you end up joining the Moonlight Siren, Rex?”

As we moved to the next section, our hands briefly touched, and vibrant heat shot through my body. I inhaled sharply, every inch of me hyper-aware of Piper.

Words. Yes, find them. Show her you can carry a conversation.

I exhaled. “I grew up in Colorado.” I gave her a quick overview of pack life there before getting to what drove me to leave. “In recent months, I had some differences with my alpha. He was very handsy with unmated females, but when he got too aggressive with my sister, I had enough.”

She sucked in a breath. “Oh no. What happened?”

“We fought. My sister and I left the pack. It worked out for her since she found her fated mate with another pack and is with them now. Me? I’m starting over with this gig. Seems kind of odd to do so at my age.”

“It’s never too late to try something new,” she said. “It’s courageous.”

Her praise warmed me. I turned to see her watching me with a kind smile. Our gazes locked, and her smile slowly slipped away as her eyes gleamed with… vulnerability? Or was I projecting what I felt?

My throat constricted, and I swallowed. “Thanks,” I managed. “I’m happy to be here and don’t want to screw this up.”

“You won’t,” she assured me. “I’m in the same boat. I need to find this painting or else… You heard what Marcel said.”

I stepped closer to her, my gaze still glued to hers. My wolf pushed close to the surface, urging me to claim our mate.

“So let’s help each other out,” I suggested. I raised a hand and traced my fingers along her jawline. Her lips parted and her eyelids lowered.

“Yesss,” she replied, her voice a raspy purr.

Tension between us grew thick. My heart pounded louder than the blow of the ship’s horn.

“Piper.” Her name came out of my mouth with a low growl. Her lips captivated me, drawing me closer. I bent down in slow motion, achingly anticipating the taste of them.

She let out a breathy sigh, enchanting me to continue.

The door flew open, and we jumped apart. I bumped into the corner of a photo frame and resisted crying out at the sharp pain. Two security guards entered with Marcel.

“It was last seen in here,” he told the guards. Then he narrowed his gaze on us and barked, “Any luck?”