Twice Cursed (32 page)

His gaze flew to hers, accusing and
angry. “You want this too, I can feel it.”

Face burning, she shoved the reality
of his words away and dragged a hand across her mouth, drawing a
deep breath in through her nose. “You think so? Is this why you
called me this morning? To see if I was willing to play
house?”

He didn’t answer, just huffed and
puffed, scowling as he rubbed at the spot behind his
ear.

“
For Christ sake, stop
being such a big baby, pressure points are self-defense 101. Half
your problem, detective, is you only hear what you want to. I
said
listen
to
your instincts, not
act
on them—and for the record, cats don’t huff and
puff. Weres leave that to the big bad wolves. You think you know
what I feel…what you feel? Chances are, you do, but did you ever
stop to think why?”

Ryan shifted away from her, his scowl
back in place and deepening by the moment. Fingers still massaging
the tender spot behind his ear, he mumbled something under his
breath before looking across his bent arm at her, his eyes
uncertain. “I’m sorry, Lily. I have no idea where that came
from.”

Lily frowned. Despite everything, he
was still ignoring what was right in front of his face. “I don’t
understand you, Ryan. You’re a detective. Your whole world is
digging up answers to hard questions. You can’t tell me trying to
kiss me is the only unexplained, instinct driven thing that’s
happened to you. I’d bet my lungs you’ve had plenty of practice
with things you can’t explain or rationalize away. Things that
raised an eyebrow or two from people around you—or have you gotten
so used to it that you don’t even notice anymore?”

He looked out at the water again and
sighed softly. “I don’t know,” he answered, as if to
himself.

She reached across the bench and
placed a tentative hand on his. “Yes, you do.”

At the simple touch, his defensive
posture relaxed a notch. His back was still up, but his slow exhale
told her unequivocally he’d let go enough to at least listen to
what she had to say and really hear her. She leaned forward,
craning her neck to tilt her head in his direction. “For someone
who carries the weight of the world and a loaded gun to prove
they’ve got it all figured out, that exhale sounded a lot like
cease-fire.”

She wanted him to smirk or pass a
snide comment, but he just stared out at the water. “And for what
it’s worth, you may not be a big bad wolf, but that kiss would have
blown the house down for any other girl.

From the side, he lifted one shoulder
and let it drop, and his mouth lost its hard slant, but he still
didn’t turn look at her. “Girls don’t usually taser me like that
when I kiss them.”

“
I’ll bet. It’s a Were
thing, you know. Just one of the many perks. Something to do with
animal magnetism and the proximity of the moon.”

He exhaled again, but this time in one
quick stream, his expression a tangle of confused unease when
finally looked at her. “Well, that explains a lot of what I’ve been
feeling lately.” He hesitated, his voice barely above a hush, but
his eyes searched hers, making it clear exactly who was at the
heart of his internal wrestling match.

Lily paused, glancing down at her hand
still resting on his, and tactfully pulled it back into her lap.
Were relations, lunar influenced or not, was not a topic she wanted
to discuss right now. They had a vampire to kill and a council to
placate.

“
I know you’ve wondered
about your abilities, but didn’t you ever question why you can do
what you do? I know I did. I hated being psychic, and I tried to
hide it for the longest time. I didn’t want to be labeled a freak,”
she said, carefully deflecting the topic. Sean could explain the
ins and outs of Were mating when he gave Ryan his ‘welcome to the
club’ speech.

Ryan exhaled, sliding back to sit up
straight. “I know exactly what you mean.” He leaned his head back
to look at the eggplant colored sky. “Sucks sometimes.”

Grateful he took the hint
and dropped the,
“why am I so obsessed
with you?”
question, Lily just nodded in
agreement. “Sucks is right.”

“
I grew up in an orphanage
with almost no information about my mother except that she died
when I was born. I was labeled unadoptable, because of some rare
blood disorder the doctors couldn’t identify. It never limited what
I could or couldn’t do, but it was in my file, and no one wants to
adopt a baby with medical issues.” A practiced mask fell into place
on Ryan’s face, letting her know the rest of the topic was clearly
off limits.

“
Hmmm,” she muttered
noncommittally. “Terry, the friend I mentioned, she was adopted as
an infant, but then again she didn’t have any medical
issues.”

He pushed his foot out, scrapping his
heel on the pavement. “She was one of the lucky ones.”

“
I suppose, but then again
what’s lucky? She was killed by a werewolf.”

A wet cloud of breath fogged out in
front of him at her words, like he still didn’t want to think about
it, but was unable to ignore the reality any longer. “I guess I
know now what it was that made my blood different; made me
different.”

She tugged on his sleeve, and he
turned to look at her. “For a detective, you certainly have a lot
of unasked questions. My question to you is, are you ready for the
answers?”

“
Do I have a
choice?”

Draping her arm across the back of the
bench, she tilted her head in his direction, a grin spreading
across her lips. “Nope, and I’m glad you finally realize that. Now
I won’t have to drag you in at gunpoint.”

Ryan hoisted himself up from the bench
and shivered. “I’ve probably got frostbite from sitting here so
long, and it’s entirely your fault. Tell me, can I snap my fingers
and turn into a Saint Bernard, complete with keg
collar?”

Chuckling, she shook her head.
“Sorry…but for the record, Weres don’t get frostbite.” Still
grinning at the image the idea conjured, she pushed herself to
standing. “And besides, you’re probably going to need something
stronger than rescue brandy after you hear what Sean has to tell
you.”

“
That bad, huh?”

“
No. Just a lot to take in
at once.”

It was dark, the sun had set, allowing
the ambient light from office buildings and streetlights to filter
across the river, highlighting the water in hues of iridescent
black. Park lamps popped on, casting yellow spheres in rows along
the pavement, illuminating the ramp that led to the overpass
crossing from the promenade over the FDR Drive.

Lily linked her arm with Ryan’s, her
need to make sure he didn’t bolt overriding her better judgment at
prolonged contact. “So, are you ever going to tell me why you
called this morning, or do I just assume it was a case of animal
magnetism?”

Now it was his turn to chuckle. “Oh
man, I can hear the puns now. Actually, I went back to the crime
scene. I saw what you saw, smelled what you smelled. It was then I
realized you were right about what happened…about
everything.”

She stopped, pulling him to a
standstill. “Then why the hell did you put me through all this
today? Why the theatrics and the prick attitude, if you were
already willing to accept what I had to tell you?”

He shrugged. “Because it wasn’t me.
Accepting that supernatural beings exist, and tracking one as a
possible perpetrator is one thing. Finding out I’m an unwitting
member of the club is quite another. I didn’t want to admit I was
part of it. I’m still not sure I want to know.”

They started walking again, and headed
away from the water and wind. Lily chewed on her bottom lip. “I get
it, believe me. Cooperation isn’t exactly my strong suit,
either.”

He lowered his chin, fixing
her with a
‘no shit, Sherlock’
stare.

“
Don’t be such a jerk, all
I’m saying is no harm, no foul. Still, if it’s true and you are
part cougar, just remember what they say about curiosity and cats.
Cop or not, there are forces out on the street right now that
you’re unqualified to fight, and there’s no such thing as nine
lives.”

He shoved his hands into his coat
pocket. “No such thing, huh?” he repeated, his gaze taking on the
feel of a thousand mile stare. “Too bad those words are no longer
part of my vocabulary.”

Chapter
Thirteen

***

Lily put the key in the lock and
opened the door, the tangy scent of pizza greeting her in the hall
along with Jack. Coat in hand, he gave her a quick once
over.

“
Damn girl, you look like a
hot mess,” he noted with a chuckle.

Her hand immediately went to her hair,
pushing the heavy curls and windblown volume back off her face.
From the corner of her eye, she caught what he meant in the hall
mirror, and frowned. She looked like a Barbie doll or a big-haired
refugee from a 1980s cat walk.

“
You’re such a charmer,
Jack. I’ll have to remember to return the compliment.”

Grinning, he tossed his jacket over
the high back chair just inside the living room. “Anytime,
cupcake.”

She dropped her bag and her keys on
the credenza, intentionally ignoring the playful jibe. She hated
chauvinistic tags of any kind, so of course Jack slid one in every
chance he got, but she was in too good a mood to give him the
satisfaction of even rolling her eyes. She glanced from his face to
his jacket and back again. “Where’s Sean? Were you guys heading out
somewhere?”

Without waiting for an answer, she
turned her attention back to the mirror and smoothing out her
errant curls. A disgusted sigh escaped her lips after a minute or
so and she gave up, tucking what she could behind her
ears.

“
Don’t worry,” Jack said
with a chuckle, gesturing toward her tangled mess. “That’s nothing
a hot shower and a little axle grease won’t fix.” At her dirty
look, he grinned even wider. “Take your time. Sean’s in the
kitchen, and no, we’re not headed anywhere, yet. We’ve been waiting
for you.”

As if on cue, Sean stepped through the
kitchen doorway. Still looking in the mirror, Lily’s eyes met his
in the silvered glass, and she flashed him an awkward
smile.

He leaned against the door jam with
his arms crossed casually in front of his chest, a sexy grin
spreading across his lips. “This is a new look for you. Kind of
untamed…I like it,” he said, with his eyes sweeping her face and
wild hair.

Sean’s voice held a hint of a growl,
and the familiar bedroom pitch left Lily’s knees a little weak. He
pushed himself away from the wall and walked across the parquet
floor to where she stood. Reaching for her, he dipped his head in
for a quick kiss, but straightened, wrinkling his nose. “Why do you
smell…?” He let his words drift, his face suddenly leery. “Did your
pet detective pull something I should know about?”

Lily shook her head. “Not really, but
let’s just say I owe you a huge apology for giving you such a hard
time when you marked me.”

Sean’s face went dark. “Are you
okay?”

Lily grinned. “I can take care of
myself, wolf man, but, at the same time, I’m glad I had a
supernatural firewall punctured into my shoulder to prevent things
from getting too hairy.” She lifted her fingers to his urban chic
stubble, the rough feel sending a familiar shiver through her
belly. “Those canines of yours pack quite a punch.”

Sean shot her a questioning look, then
dipped his head again close to her hair and inhaled. His posture
eased, and he burst out laughing at the mental synopsis of how she
handled the situation. “That half-breed cat and I need to have a
nice long talk, or the fur is definitely going to fly.”

She let her hand drop, breaking the
flow of her recap. “Sean…”

He tweaked her nose. “Don’t worry, I
get it. He doesn’t know which end is up when it comes to being a
Were, but he’s going to get one hell of a crash course soon
enough.”

“
Sooner than you think.
He’s due here in about an hour and half.” She peeled off her jacket
and walked toward the aroma of tomato sauce and Italian spices
coming from the kitchen, her gurgling stomach leading the
way.

“
Smells great. Nino’s?” she
asked, tossing her coat onto the chair beside Jack’s.

Jack nodded. “Yeah…I can’t seem to get
enough of the stuff. They were just taking the pizza out of the
oven when I got there, so it’s really hot and stringy. I had them
go easy on the garlic, though, considering tonight’s
agenda.”

“
And?” she prompted,
following them both into the kitchen. She didn’t really need to
ask. The sun had set long before she and Ryan said goodbye at the
Starbucks on First Avenue across from the promenade, which meant
the vampire race was awake and ready to be reckoned
with.

“
And nothing,” Sean
replied, reaching above the refrigerator for a stack of paper
plates. “You know exactly what’s on the agenda for tonight.”
Putting the dishes on the counter next to the open pizza box, he
glanced over his shoulder at Lily. “Don’t get crazy…” he paused,
sliding an extra cheesy slice onto one of the plates and handed to
her. “…but I’ve decided it’s for the best if you don’t come with us
tonight.”