“Lawson,” she answered. “Cici Lawson. I’m fine, doctor. And yes, I’d know if I wasn’t. I appreciate your concern, and I’ll let you know if I decide I need anything further from you. Now, both of you out, so I can speak with Simon.”
Dr. Hagerty turned his stunned gaze on me. I almost snickered at his expression. He’d been ordered out of the room by a human woman, who probably came up to his pecs in her bare feet. If she weighed more than a hundred pounds, it wasn’t by much. Fuck! Those thoughts led me to others, of taking her, making her mine, and wondering if she’d be capable of mating me. The fates wouldn’t be so cruel as to bring me my mate then make it impossible for me to have her. I refused to believe that.
“Now.” The order was softly uttered, but there was no doubt Cici expected to be obeyed. God, she had my dick pulsing along my zipper, begging to give a few commands if its own.
I nodded, and with a clenched jaw, Hagerty turned to leave, the judgmental Madison on his heels.
“I’ll be outside if you need me,” Hagerty muttered, and I wasn’t sure if he was speaking to me or Cici.
“We won’t,” Cici stated, showing she had no trouble hearing us. “Simon will be safe with me.”
Hagerty snorted, and I barely managed to hold in the bark of laughter that threatened to escape. Me? Safe from her? Good lord! Maybe, she’d taken a harder hit to the head than any of us had realized. Why else would she seek to assure me I was safe when I clearly outweighed her by over a hundred pounds and easily towered over her diminutive frame. I felt practically gargantuan next to her petite body.
As soon as the door shut, Cici sat up with a groan, one hand cradling her side while the other gently probed her temple.
“Stop that,” I ordered, moving to sit beside her on the mattress. Her hip rolled toward me, and I moved in to loom over her, forcing her to lie back.
She smiled, and I felt my lungs momentarily seize, forgetting how to breathe as she lifted her hand to stroke her fingers along my whisker-covered cheek. I felt that touch everywhere. Over every fucking inch of my body.
“Thank you for coming to help us, Simon. Where’s my brother? Is he here, too?”
“He’s back at the house with Bas and the others.” At least, I assumed that was where they’d taken Hannibal.
She nodded, accepting that easily. Thankfully, she didn’t ask me if he was okay. I couldn’t have answered anyway. Though I had my suspicions, I’d walked away with her as soon as I’d hit the door. I wasn’t sure what had gone down after I’d left. I’d call and check in once I spoke to her. Prepared her for what was to come. Namely me. Preferable buried deep between her thighs, though I was open to suggestions.
“You brought me here? That’s sweet, Simon, but I’m okay. Seriously. I wasn’t lying when I said I’d know.”
“How would you know?” I demanded. If she told me she’d been beaten or abused in some way, I’d hunt down the offender and tear them limb from limb.
“I’m not sure what you’re thinking, but I pity anyone who gets on your bad side.” She grinned, laying me low again. “I’ve trained in several martial arts disciplines, as well as other fighting techniques. Injuries happen. I teach self-defense courses, so it’s important to stay in top shape. I heal quickly.” She glanced down at herself, skimming her soft fingers over her belly first. “He threatened to kill me. Gotta admit that claw hurt, but not as much as the hit to the head. Thankfully, I was out before I hit the floor, which is where I must have damaged my side.” She probed there, teeth clenching. “Bruised but nothing’s broken. I’ll be fine in a day or two.”
“I’ll be the judge of that,” I growled.
She lifted a brow and somehow managed to give the appearance of looking down her nose at me. It almost made me grin.
“I’ll be the judge of that,” she corrected me.
I leaned in and felt pride when she didn’t back away. I stopped when our breaths mingled, our lips mere inches apart.
“Do you know what I am?” I thought we’d start with that first. Obviously, she did, but I needed the admission from her own lips.
She cocked her head and let her gaze run over me. I caught the hitch in her breath as well as the way her nipples pebbled, though she tried to give the impression she was unimpressed.
“A man with a god complex who believes he has some proprietary claim over me simply because I’m a frail woman? A dick with an ego the size of Texas?”
I growled at her, letting her get a glimpse of the sharp canines that would sink into her when I claimed her as mine.
“Too much? Not enough? Want me to share what else I think you may be?” she asked with a bland expression, but her pulse fluttered at her neck, drawing my gaze and making me want to lean closer and taste her.
“Is Cici your given name?” The question was out before I’d fully thought it.
She gave me a strange look then shook her head. “It’s Cecilia, but no one has called me that since I was little.”
“Cecilia.” Her name rolled over my lips with a purr that had a shiver skating over her. I drank it in, noting the further tightening of her nipples. I wanted to taste those, too. Instead, I ask her again. “Do you know what I am?”
“If you’re like Hannibal, then yes, I do.”
“Say it,” I ordered.
“A wolf. You’re a wolf shifter, Simon, and I’m not afraid of you.”
I grinned then, letting her get a good look at my sharp teeth. She was a breath of fresh
