she yawned, stretched her arms up over her head, and smiled at him. “We need to talk, but we need sleep, too. I’m exhausted and I know you have to be as well. Stay with me tonight, Sebastian. We can talk over breakfast. I make a mouth-watering omelet.”
She wasn’t sure where the invitation came from, but it felt right. And no matter what was going on in Sebastian Xenakis’s life, it felt right.
And he was definitely smiling back at her.
Lily dropped the terrycloth robe on the chair by her dresser and crawled into the big bed, between crisp, clean sheets. A pale swath of moonlight illuminated the dark coverlet. Sebastian got in beside her, as naked as she was, but his long, lean body was hard where hers was soft.
Masculine to her feminine. He scooted close and wrapped his arms around her, tucked her head beneath his chin, and enveloped her in heat and warmth.
She felt his soft sigh of contentment as much as she heard it. It was an echo of her own feelings—feelings she couldn’t put a name to. Not yet.
They made love again. Soft, sweet love that brought tears to Lily’s eyes and made her heart ache in her chest. He was so perfect. So damnably perfect.
So why did that make her heart hurt so much? Maybe they’d find the answers in the morning. For now, she merely wanted to enjoy the unique thrill of falling asleep in the arms of a man who might just have what she’d always looked for.
He filled an emptiness she’d known for far too long. One she’d suspected might forever stay the same. Snuggling close to him, she fell quickly into a deep, dreamless sleep.
Except, when she awoke in the morning, the bed beside her was cold, and Sebastian was gone. She stared at the place where he’d slept and blinked back tears. Men never left her without a good-bye kiss at the very least.
This was a first. She hadn’t even heard him go. No, she’d fallen asleep with the secure knowledge he’d be here this morning.
The phone rang. Numb, wondering if he might be calling to explain, she fumbled for the phone.
“Thank the goddess you’re okay. There’s been another one.”
“Alex? What?” She shook her foggy head and tried to focus on his image on the small screen. “What are you talking about?”
“Another murder. A young woman getting off the late shift at one of those all-night delis near Market Street. Raped by a man and mauled by wolves. Happened around five this morning.”
Lily shoved herself upright against the headboard. “Where?”
“Not far from your house. Her body was found on the green at Fort Mason.”
“Oh, shit.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Sebastian Xenakis spent the night. He was gone when I woke up.”
“ ‘Oh, shit,’ is right, Lil. Damn it. You need to contact your dad. Let him know what’s going on. According to my records, Xenakis has been in the general vicinity of every single death. He flies commercial, first class, so he’s easy to track. Be careful, sweetheart. This guy’s dangerous.”
“We don’t know for sure, Alex.”
There was a long silence. She was sure Alex was trying to control his temper. “You like him, don’t you?”
His gentle question almost undid her, but damn it, she did like Sebastian. A lot. But she could never lie to Alex. “Yeah,” she said. “I do. He was so open with me, Alex. I can’t imagine him hiding something as huge as murder. Multiple murders. And his isn’t the same scent I picked up at the scene.”
“Which scene? When?”
She probably should have told him. “I went to the site of the last killing, the one near Mom’s garden in Golden Gate Park. I picked up the scent of strange wolves but no human scent beyond the ones that belonged there. I think the victim was raped somewhere else, but mauled to death by wolves at the park. Last night, when Sebastian and I ran . . .”
“He shifted? He’s Chanku?”
She let out a huge sigh. “I don’t know. He used magic to shift. A lot of magic. Drew it from the mountain and the trees around us, enough that he glowed with magefire before he turned into a wolf, but he’s definitely a wolf. Stuff happened last night, Alex. I need to wake up better, think about it, before I lay it all out. Later, okay?”
“Lily. Be careful. Please. I can’t get down there right away. Too much going on, but I hate to think of