Page 14

Chapter 14

Nova

N ova let him lead her through a locked door and down a hall with various rooms that could be for storage, stock, or offices. At the end of the hall was another set of stairs that led up. She used the time to consider which question she wanted to ask.

She’d known when the wolf shifter had begged him, when he’d said ‘I didn’t know she was one of yours’ that Dex wasn’t just some random paranormal. She’d marked him as the potential owner of the barcade with ties to a mortuary – not that unusual for someone powerful and dangerous.

But since she hadn’t seen him again all week, she figured he was pretty low-key.

What Nova hadn’t expected was to run into him at the new club where he was supposedly the interviewer for security. So, what, he owned or ran the barcade and the club? It wasn’t that unusual, and they were two different venues. She could see how one might acquire both to appeal to more than one audience.

Dex didn’t interrupt her thoughts as he led her up the stairs onto the roof.

Her eyes had a life of their own, scanning his broad shoulders and back, the leather suspenders he wore that made her mouth water, and the white button-down shirt with black slacks. The bad-boy combat boots completed the picture and Nova honestly didn’t know how to fucking deal with him.

The silver piercings in his ears, the one in his tongue…it made her wonder if he had any others. And that was something she couldn’t afford to be thinking about, no matter how much she’d liked his reaction to her.

Dex was possessive and jealous and she didn’t think he even realized he was doing it.

And she’d seen the strange glow in his eye before he’d hidden it away. Nova had never seen eyes glow silvery white like that before.

What the fuck was he?

So, did she want him to tell her what he was, or did she want to ask him what he was doing interviewing for security?

He pushed the door open and the freezing wind whipped around them. Nova wrapped her arms around her body and shivered as she took in the rooftop patio.

It looked private and swanky with nice couches, fire pits, heaters, and a bar of its own. She could see the Space Needle and the Sound among the sparkling backdrop of the city. Nova liked the potted palms and the music from downstairs that played through Bluetooth speakers at a quieter volume.

Dex let go of her without a word. He turned on the heaters and the fire pit before heading over to the bar.

He was still wearing gloves, but these were slightly different than the ones he’d been wearing when they first met. They were shorter and ended before they reached his wrist, tight and black in sharp contrast to his skin and the rolled-up sleeves.

Fuck, he was hotter than fire and she knew without a doubt he was going to burn her.

Nova went to the banister and rested her hands on it, arms spread wide as she considered the city.

Asking what he was wouldn’t tell her anything, really. If she asked about his business, he’d want to know why she needed the info and that would make him suspicious.

He already didn’t trust her.

No doubt he was wondering about the shifter she’d killed and now this? Nova must seem like a stupid girl who just couldn’t stay out of trouble.

That could work to her benefit here though.

How could she word her question so that she would get the maximum information, and not set off any more warning bells in his head?

“Here.”

She looked over her shoulder and saw her favorite drink in one hand and a bottle of vodka in the other.

Whatever he was, he had an extremely high metabolism and had somehow picked up on what she liked to drink after only seeing her twice.

Nova took the glass from him and edged closer to the heater as she stabbed the ice with her straw. If she drank this, she’d have to wait another half-hour to ride.

He leaned against the banister and took a swig of the vodka, waiting patiently.

It was stupid, but she didn’t hate the idea of spending the next thirty minutes with him.

Nova shoved the straw aside with her finger and tipped her head back, wondering just how bad he had it.

She set the empty glass on the railing between them and leaned back against it to stare up at the moon. “You made it just the way I like it.”

Dex grinned and took another swig, radiating pride. “Unlike you, I can smell what’s in your drink.”

Nova studied him with her purple eye, somehow knowing he didn’t allow any spiked drinks in his places of business.

Dex turned so he stood with his back to the railing just like she did and poured more vodka in his mouth, drinking the damn thing like it was water. The way he leaned backward stretched the buttons of his shirt tight against his chest.

Holy fucking shit. He had nipple piercings.

She had to sit down.

Nova took the seat closest to the heater and ignored the freezing cold just like her father had taught her. It was uncomfortable, but she could withstand much worse. Closing her eyes, she tried to get the image of those piercings out of her head, but it only made her wonder what he would do if she undid the buttons.

This was a terrible fucking idea.

Everything about this was the opposite of a good time. Nova wanted him more than she’d ever wanted anything in her goddamn life, but she couldn’t afford to get sucked into whatever this was.

She had a job to do.

“Are you okay?” Dex was sitting next to her, and Nova didn’t like how difficult it had been to track his speed.

He reached out and she scooted farther away, not trusting herself. “Please don’t touch me.”

All the care and need she’d seen in his eyes simply…died.

Nova wanted to explain, but that would only make her situation worse, not better.

“So, what did you want to ask me?” His voice sounded different—completely emotionless and dead as though he wouldn’t give a flying fuck if she stripped right in front of him or jumped off the roof.

Nova refused to feel guilty about it. This was for the best.

“Why are you angry that I’m here?”

It was the safest version of her question and might give her a clue as to what had set him off in the first place.

Why was he so angry?

She’d never been slammed into a wall like that. Nova had never been so turned on that a man wanted her to stab him either.

Dex drained the rest of the vodka and placed the empty bottle on the table. “You’re not a very powerful witch, and you’ve put yourself in dangerous places twice now.”

Nova winced. Wow, he was really going for the jugular, thanks to her rejection. “Why would a bar or a club be dangerous?”

“I’m not sure if you’re aware but Seattle is unclaimed territory. There’s no one to protect you here.”

She tucked her hair behind her ear, not bothering to hide her scarred eye with him anymore. “I don’t really get why you care.”

There, she could scent his rage. That was better than nothing at all.

“When you’re in my places of business, you’re in my territory. If something happened to you, it would be on me.”

That was a pretty logical reason actually.

Nova shrugged anyways. “Why would a club be dangerous? It’s not like I can’t scare off a shifter if I want to. Unless you let that kind of shit happen here.”

Dex growled and she closed her eyes, hating how much she liked the way it made her bones tremble. “Of course not, but that doesn’t mean they can’t follow you home.”

So, it wasn’t just in his territory then.

Nova set her arm on the back of the couch and turned to face him, resting her chin on her hand, and tucking her legs under her. She let herself inspect him from head to toe. It was imperative he see her do it too.

Christ, he was gorgeous.

A muscle flexed in his jaw like he could see every thought in her damn head.

“I guarantee they wouldn’t be able to follow me.”

He mirrored her, leaning in with those narrowed eyes. They were golden-brown and not that silvery white fire. “Is that a threat, or a promise?”

She couldn’t help her grin. “Why can’t it be both?”

“And how exactly would you manage that?”

Nova shivered, partially from the cold and partially from the flash of something in his eyes.

She wanted him to be the one hunting her.

Running her fingers through her hair, she considered him. “In twenty-five minutes, I’ll show you.”

There was that snarky smile she couldn’t stop staring at every time she opened her stupid fucking phone. “Another game?”

“Maybe.” Nova stretched out her legs and then did the same with her arms, taking inventory of her sobriety. It might be less than twenty-five minutes, but she didn’t want him to be right.

When she looked at him again, his eyes were fixated on her chest tattoo.

“Well, since you came here to dance, would you like to dance with me?” he asked, quirking an eyebrow at her.

Fuck yes, she did.

Nova shook her head and stood, heading toward the bar. She went around to see what they had. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Why is that?” Dex asked, leaning on the bar like he’d teleported there. He moved even faster than a shifter did.

She grabbed a bottle of water and uncapped it. Nova studied his face as she drank half of it. “I just don’t.”

“Because I’m not a bear shifter?”

Turning around, she rummaged around for snacks so he couldn’t see her grin. Dex was definitely jealous, and that shouldn’t please her as much as it did. “No.”

Suddenly, his hands were on her hips and they slid forward to span across her stomach. His touch was gentle and gave her the space and time to step away if she wanted to, but Nova couldn’t do it.

Slowly, he pressed her into him, and her heart started pounding. She leaned into him, tilting her head back to rest on his chest. The feel of his arms around her, the gentle way he held her, the heat from his body…

Her eyes fluttered when his lips tickled her ear, and Nova knew she was in so much trouble.

“Afraid you’ll like it too much?” he asked, flexing his hands to force her body to sway with the beat.

“Yes,” she breathed.

The water in her hand was shaking.

Nova turned her head so she could see his face, and she was mesmerized again by just how tall he was. She was not a short girl by any means. At 5’10” she always felt her height around guys, but not Dex. He made her look up .

She searched his eyes for something that would help her push him away. Nova couldn’t afford to have a guy in her life right now, especially one who might end up a job.

He held her gaze as one of his hands slid up her chest until that glove was holding her neck so softly, she wondered if he was afraid he’d hurt her earlier.

“I’ve never seen anyone as beautiful as you,” he told her, rubbing a thumb across her lips like he’d wanted to do that all night.

Nova closed her eyes and dug down deep for the strength she knew was there. This shouldn’t be so fucking hard. He was just a guy. A very good-looking guy who turned her on in ways she’d never experienced before, but still. He wasn’t worth fucking up her first mission.

And Nova couldn’t get herself to use him for information.

Seducing him for intel was the easiest option, but she just couldn’t do it. Not to him.

Zapping him with a tiny bit of power, she stepped out of his embrace when he cursed, ignoring just how wet he’d made her.

Fuck twenty-five minutes. She wasn’t going to make it.

Draining the rest of the water, she headed toward the door, hoping he wouldn’t follow her.

But deep down she wished he would.

The door was locked.

Nova glared at him, feeling the euphoria disappear as she instantly went into survival mode. “Open it.”

Dex stared at his thumb and the purple lipstick on it. “I didn’t lock it.”

“Well, it’s fucking locked.”

He looked at her then and she actually took a step backward at the rage she saw in his eyes. “You think I would trap you up here?”

Nova hesitated and that made him even angrier. “I don’t know what to think,” she said honestly. “You’re hot and then cold. One minute you want my attention, the next you want me to leave and tell me it’s not safe in a place you own. Where am I supposed to go then, Dex? Am I supposed to stay home like a good little girl?”

His eyes flashed.

Oh, shit. He was pissed .