Page 3 of Midnight Hunt
Constantly being in the spotlight held risks, yet Reid fit into the human world with an ease I couldn’t help but admire. I wasn’t too bad at it myself, but Reid blew my efforts out of the water. He truly was an impressive male, and I was lucky to call him my boyfriend. Perfect strangers reminded me of that fact on the regular—and not always in a nice way.
I was dating a superstar, and with that reality came a fair share of jealousy. I could feel eyes on me even now as Reid scored the final touchdown of the game. His teammates rushed into the endzone to celebrate their victory, and I forced my eyes to remain on them instead of the excited crowd around me.
Reid had offered to buy me a private box seat on the second level, but I’d turned it down in favor of being closer to the action on the sidelines. Although we could both easily afford the VIP seats, I didn’t want to stand out any more than I already did. The sister of a New York billionaire dating the most popular quarterback in the NFL got quite enough attention already.
As the players became a bobbing pile of navy-blue jerseys, Reid suddenly turned my way and blew a kiss into the air. Girly screams pounded my sensitive eardrums, but I just smiled and blew him a return kiss. He grinned a mile wide, holding my gaze a moment before turning back to his teammates.
I continued to watch him celebrate, a small smile playing about my lips. He made it easy,soeasy to like him. Being with him was like filling my lungs with oxygen. Simple. Automatic. Effortless.
Hmph.
As the disgruntled sound filled my mind, I replied back through our telepathic connection,Don’t start, Sable.
What? I didn’t say anything.
Yes, you did. You said a thousand things with that little sound.
My wolf familiar let out another harumph.You’re the one with the loud thoughts, Vi. At least I know how to keep mine to myself.
Yeah, well, keep your sound effects to yourself too. I’m having fun, and you promised you wouldn’t spoil it for me tonight.Please, Sable. Don’t start another fight.
She huffed again, but it was more of a sigh this time.Fine. Have your fun tonight, despite how much I’m going to hate it.
Rolling my eyes, I started gathering my things. This wasn’t the first time I’d been at odds with my familiar, but she’d never been this mopey for so long before. Despite the fact that we shared a special bond rarely seen in the supernatural world, the celestial being and I often wanted very different things. The moment she’d chosen me at birth to house her essence on the earthly plane, I’d been gifted a sliver of her spirit. The connection allowed me access to her powerful abilities and innermost thoughts, but that didn’t mean I always understood or agreed with her.
The past eight months had been a constant battle of wills with the strong-minded demoness. She hated being away from her pack.Ourpack. And every time I took her away, even for a day or two, she complained the entire time. Even worse, she didn’t like Reid and reminded me of that fact every chance she could. Whenever he tried to kiss me, she would push to the surface and effectively separate us.
It was getting old.Reallyold. Especially since she refused to let us have sex.
As I finished collecting my things and headed for the stairs, I recalled what had happened when I’d gone into heat earlier this summer. Grimacing, I firmly locked away the memory. Tonight would be different. I wasfinallygoing to have sex with my boyfriend after eight long months of abstinence. Reid was a saint for being patient this long, but I knew he wanted to take that next step in our relationship as much as I did.
With the high from his win and the freshly waning moon, he was no doubt filled with testosterone and more than ready to seal the deal. Although we had a long distance relationship, I’d spent the past week with him at his upscale apartment in downtown Boston. He’d wanted some quality time with me before the official start of the football season, and I’d enjoyed several evenings of sightseeing the city with him. But as each evening had come to a close, Sable had asserted her presence between us like a frickin’ cement wall.
Not tonight, though. My familiar and I had finally come to an agreement after hours of arguing, and there would be no celestial cock-blocking this evening. One uninterrupted night with my boyfriend in exchange for returning home tomorrow. Knowing that she’d only have to endure this city for one more day had done the trick.
For one night only, I was free to tackle the quarterback with no interference. Her words, not mine.
I could work with that. It was a step in the right direction, at least. Besides, Reid would win her over eventually. Hehadto. I couldn’t stand much more of this tug-of-war.
With thoughts of hot, dirty sex on my mind, I started up the steps already crowded with fans. Although I wore a baseball cap over my dark brown hair, my straight bangs further acting as a shield, I heard my name whispered several times while ascending the stairs.
“Look! That’s Violet Rivers, Reid Zimmerman’s girlfriend.”
“Oh, wow. Isn’t she, like, a billionaire?”
“Yeah. Some people have all the luck in the world.”
“Man, I wouldkillto be her.”
I decided against reminding the gossipers that comparison was the thief of joy. I loved my life, but it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows. The world I lived in was dangerous, and I’d almost lost everything more times than I cared to remember. The humans in this stadium wouldn’t survive a day in my shoes.
Distracted by the gossiping, I almost bumped into a huge guy standing like a road block a few stairs up. As I skirted around him, I could have sworn he leaned over to inhale my scent.
Sable pushed to the surface in sudden interest.Werewolf, she said, even before I could finish confirming with a sniff of my own.
Curious, I peeked over my shoulder at the male, only to find his dark eyes already on me. At the way he openly stared, the hairs on my body slowly stood on end. Probably in his late twenties, he looked for all the world like a Russian mafia hitman.
I don’t recognize him, Sable said, her interest turning wary.
