Part 16 (1/2)

”It's been over a month. There's no way he could have survived as Elvira's blood slave. She must have turned him.”

”He would have told me.”

”Maybe he intends to tell you when you meet. You can't go see him. I won't allow it.”

”I'm not asking your permission.” She slid out of bed, thinking it was time to get dressed. A woman could not survive on s.e.x alone. Breakfast was in order, even if it was two in the afternoon. ”I'm going to see him.”

She tugged a loose sundress over her body and took off.

”Then I'm coming with you.”

Heloise was not in the kitchen, and Bella was glad for that. She wanted an apple, and a few minutes to think about her friend without the wolf bellowing at her.

Peace was not to be had.

Her lover padded in, wearing jeans and a frown. His limp was always more noticeable when his mood was foul.

”Last time you came along, Seth clammed up.” She bit into a juicy green apple.

Don't look at the half-dressed werewolf's muscles. You can't stay angry at the man's ripped abs, and you know it.

”You're staying home, if I have to find a leash,” she said.

He snarled. So she'd used one of the bad words. Get over it. ”And if I lock you in the bedroom?” he challenged.

”You wouldn't dare.”

”I will if it means keeping you safe.”

”He's a friend, Severo. Seriously, I'm adjusting to the possessive stuff, but you take it too far sometimes.”

”You have no idea what his mind-set is. And if he is a vampire, he is not the same friend you used to know. Don't be stupid about this, Bella. You know better.”

She did know better.

Setting the apple on the counter, Bella stretched her arms along it and laid her head on an elbow. ”I don't want to believe it.” She stared at the framed picture tucked behind the toaster. ”Don't you have friends you worry about? Family?”

”I have no family. And friends are few and far between.”

”So who is this?” She tugged out the picture and displayed it to him.

His intake of breath made Bella stand up straight. In the picture, a pretty red-haired woman snuggled up to Severo, beaming, as was he. Which had startled her the first time she'd seen it. Severo was not a smiley fellow.

He seemed ready to grab the photo away but wasn't sure how to do it.

”She means something to you. What's her name? And why haven't I met her? Is she an old girlfriend?”

”Enough!” He s.n.a.t.c.hed the photo and studied it for long seconds before tucking it into a drawer. ”She's someone I used to know.”

”Really? Her picture is everywhere. Over by the TV, in the hallway. Down in the laundry room.”

”When have you been to the laundry room?”

”I like to chat with Heloise. Which has nothing to do with the question you're trying to avoid. If she was a lover, I'd understand.

We both had lives before meeting one another. I want to know who is important to you, Severo. Is she to you as Seth is to me?

Talk to me.”

He drew a hand over his mouth and jaw, delaying a reply. Looking about, he paced. Always he became antsy when he was riled or scented something wrong.

”She was a lover,” Bella decided and took another bite of apple.

”She was not,” he hissed. The ferocity in his stare made her choke on the apple. ”And this conversation is over.”

Chapter 13.

B ella sorted through her few dresses in the large closet, which, surprisingly, held only a few items of Severo's clothing. The man did like his dark jeans and s.h.i.+rts. She guessed that made less work for Heloise. But if he'd lived for so long, surely by now he should have collected a wardrobe.

Or maybe not. Though the house was grand, the man lived a simple life, which she admired.

Yet she still wasn't sure what he did. Something related to buying forested real estate to create a wolf preserve. But how did he make his money in order to do that?

Feeling only a little guilty about leaving for town tonight, she decided she had every right to go out by herself. And it was to meet a friend. He couldn't begrudge her that.

Though she knew he meant well, wanting to protect her. But she needed to keep her life, as she'd hoped she'd made clear to him.

It wasn't as though he didn't have a whole life she wasn't a part of.

That woman in the pictures. She had to have been a lover. Bella could feel it, no matter how much he denied it. And he had called out a woman's name that night the vampires had attacked in her loft.

Did she have a rival for Severo's heart?

Jealousy flushed her chest. And then she realized she was behaving like him, getting angry over something that likely wasn't a problem.

Though she had to admit, Severo's jealousy did make her feel special. No man had ever been so fiercely protective of her. There he went again, making a girl feel like a princess.

The bedroom door opened, and Bella didn't bother to turn around. She wore spike heels, panties and a bra. Let him ogle.

”Her name is Aby,” he said.

Bella lowered the red dress she held and turned to him.

Severo, head down, limped a few paces. ”She lived with me for ten years before moving out last year. She was...everything to me.”

Ten years? And they hadn't been lovers? Now this was interesting. But his edgy tone cautioned her. Don't rile the beast, Bella.