Maybe she was waiting for him. Or waiting for him to open up about his past. She already knew most of it, but the thought of her knowing everything made his stomach drop to his knees. Would she look at him the same way if she really knew the things he’d done in the past, what he’d done that night?
“God, I’m going to tear my hair out,” Mika said glumly. She was sitting at her desk, face scrunched up in concentration.
“What’s wrong, cher?” Since they had moved in together two weeks ago, there really was no need to hide their relationship or pretend they were strictly professional, so any time he wasn’t helping Cliff and Jacob with training, he spent inside her office.
“Sorry, tech problems.” She picked up the phone. “Lizzie, I know you’ve got a lot on your plate, but I need you up here … okay, great. Thanks.”
He walked over to her and placed his hands on her shoulders, slowly beginning to massage the muscles there. “Relax, it’s just a computer. No need to work yourself up.”
“Mmmm.” She closed her eyes and leaned into him. “That feels good. Maybe we can lock the door …”
“Oh?” Now this was intriguing.
“And then we can close the blinds …”
“Go on.” He kneaded a particularly stubborn knot, making her moan so deliciously.
“And I can take off …”
God, thinking about her naked and bent over her desk was enough to make him hard. “Yes?”
“My shoes …”
“And what else?”
“My socks.” She looked up at him, eyes all soft and doe-like. “And then you can massage my feet.”
“Massage your—” He smirked at her. “Oh, ha ha, funny. But I bet you won’t be laughing when I take you over my knee and spank your—”
“All right, what’s the problem?” Lizzie breezed in, not bothering to knock. Today she was dressed in a bright pink cut-off sweater that showed off her belly button ring, a short black velvet skirt, leggings, and thigh-high boots.
“It’s my computer, it’s freezing again. Among other things.”
It wasn’t surprising that Mika was more tense than usual. In the last two weeks, there had been one more attack—this time, in New Jersey. The mages had hit the headquarters of the Corvinus family, injuring many of the Lycans there. No one had died, but they had burned half the compound. Mika was working overtime, trying to find out how the mages infiltrated the Corvinus compound and surprise them in the middle of the day.
Lizzie was already working her magic on Mika’s computer, her hand going to the CPU tower. “Ah, okay.” She pursed her lips as her head bobbed up and down, as if she was a doctor listening to a patient. “Gotcha. Graphics card needs an update,” she said to Mika. “I’ll take care of it.”
“Thanks, Liz.”
“You know,” she began, perching her hip on the side of the desk, “Things have been really busy around here, and I’m sure you’re probably stressed as fuck. You should maybe, do something fun. Relax. Blow off some steam.”
“I can’t take any time off,” Mika said. “There’s too much—”
“I’m not talking about a vacay, Mika.” She tapped her finger on her chin. “Oh! Before you called I was on my way out. Jacob and I are going to check out the Winter Carnival at Brooklyn Bridge Park. Our brother, Anthony, and his wife and kid are going to be there. You guys should come.”
“I don’t—”
“Sounds like a good idea,” Delacroix interrupted. Some fun would definitely benefit his mate. When Mika opened her mouth, he silenced her protest with a hand. “C’mon, cher. It’s nearby, just across the bridge. You can take your dinner break. I bet there’ll be popcorn, corndogs, hot chocolate, pretzels, and other junk food you shouldn’t be having.”
The promise of food seemed to be enough to coax Mika along, so she agreed, and they all bundled up and headed out. As they walked out of the elevator and into the garage, they passed Wyatt in the hallway.
“Come join us, mon ami,” Delacroix said. “It will be fun.”
Wyatt’s eyes flickered to Lizzie briefly, and he seemed to consider it. “I have to work late tonight,” he said in a tight voice. “I’ll see you all later.” Without another word, he walked past them.
Lizzie shrugged. “Maybe he’s too busy playing with the stick up his ass.”
“All work and no play make Wyatt a dull boy,” Jacob snickered. “I’ll race you to the car, Liz! Last one’s a rotten egg.” He dashed across the garage.
“Hey! No fair!” Lizzie ran after him as Jacob taunted her all the way to the row of parked vehicles at the end of the garage.
Delacroix sighed. “She really doesn’t see it, does she?”
“See what?” Mika asked.
“Wyatt.” He nodded at the other Lycan, who was standing by the elevator. “He’s got it bad for her.”
“Lizzie?” she said incredulously. Her head whipped to Wyatt, then back to the female, who had hopped onto Jacob’s back and was pulling on her brother’s hair. “And Wyatt?”
“Yeah. Good Lord, am I the only one seeing this?” he said in an exasperated tone. “Maybe I should start a betting pool.”
She opened her mouth to say something, but the roar of an engine cut her off. “C’mon losers!” Jacob shouted as he stuck his head out the driver’s side window. “Get in!”
And so, twenty minutes later, they found themselves at Brooklyn Bridge Park, which had been transformed into a winter wonderland. Lights and decorations littered around the park, along with large ice sculptures. Stalls with people selling delicious-smelling food and drinks lined up one side of the park, while booths selling knickknacks and games of chance were set up on the other. They met up with Lizzie’s brother and
