Priceless

Kyle and his timing. My body ached, my arm hurt, and all I wanted was to soak in a tub and sleep for a few hours before seeking out the mineshaft. Sleeping against my bedroom wall hadn’t been the best of ideas. Damn, I needed Milly to keep me on track.
    The doors behind us slid open and a moment later, a large hand pressed into the small of my back. “Did you get us the room . . .honey?”
    My eyes bugged out when I turned to stare at a more than rumpled O’Shea standing at my side. “How did you—”
    “Oh, you know me, I can find you anywhere. Sweetheart.” His voice was all smooth and silky, but his eyes were wild. Not a good combo.
    “Yes, and this lady here was just getting me my paperwork.” No need to make a scene in front of the hotel staff.
    O’Shea buried his face into my hair as the woman lifted her eyes. “She can’t see my face,” he whispered into my ear.
    “Oh, I understand that . . . Poopsey.”
    He grunted as if I’d hit him. I snatched the papers out of her hand and threw a rumpled twenty over the desk. “That should cover any paper costs,” I said over my shoulder. “Poopsey” snuggled into my hair as if we were long lost lovers.
    The elevator slid open and we hustled inside. What I didn’t expect was O’Shea almost pinning me up against the far wall, his face now against my neck.
    “Cameras,” he said, his lips tickling against my collarbone.
    “You beyond owe me,” I said. “I am going to own you after this.” I was trying not to feel the hardness of his body against my own. I knew how the man worked out; like it was his religion. He wasn’t the only one who knew how to tail a person. I placed my hands on his shoulders and tried very, very hard not to think about how this looked. When the door binged, O’Shea grabbed me around the waist and slung me over his shoulder.
    Slapping me on the ass, he said, “If you’re going to own me, I might as well make this worth it.”
    I squawked, but didn’t protest overly much. His words were playful, but I could feel the strain in them, the tremor in his hands against me.
    We got to the room and he slipped me off his shoulder, pressing himself against my back.
    “Hey,” I said, fumbling for the key card. “You might like all this touchy feely, ram-Rylee-against-the-wood-paneling business, but I can’t get the damn door open if you don’t give me some room.”
    O’Shea eased off me, just enough that I could take a deep breath and slide the key card through the reader.
    With the click of the door, the air whooshed around us, a distinct scent of wet dog swirling towards us. Crap, this might be a problem.
    “Ryleeeeee!” Alex howled out, his black fur soaking wet, the sound of the shower still running. Bugger, I hadn’t thought to tell him to stay out of the water.
    The door slammed and I spun, pinning O’Shea against it, tipping a short sword up into his groin. “Don’t pull your gun, big man.”
    He stared over my shoulder, his eyes wide. “What the hell is that?”
    “Did you hear me?” I didn’t ease up on the blade.
    “Adamson.” Mild tremors went through him. Moving slowly, he lifted his hands up over his head. “Now, what the hell is that? It can talk?”
    I stepped back, bumping into Alex who peered around my legs. “This is Alex. He’s a werewolf.”
    Alex, being who he was, lifted one giant paw and flopped it at O’Shea in a loose wave.
    “A werewolf?” He started to lower his hands and I poked him with my knife.
    “No guns.”
    “Does he bite?”
    Alex shook his head. “No bites.”
    O’Shea pushed himself back against the door, his eyes wide and so dilated I would have thought he was high if I didn’t know better. “A talking werewolf. . . before, I thought maybe I had been hearing things.” His voice was soft and his eyes lifted to mine. I’d only ever seen his nearly-black eyes angry, not this shell-shocked confusion. It actually made me feel bad for him.
    I lowered the sword, propping it against the wall next to the bathroom. Just in case. “Alex is not like most werewolves. He’s submissive, and for all intents and purposes, I’m the boss. Right?” I dropped a hand on Alex’s damp head. He pushed into my fingers, forcing me to scratch behind his ears.
    “Go dry off, Alex.” I pointed to the bathroom. With a grunt and a wag of his tail, he did as I said, leaving O’Shea and me alone.
    “First of all, how did you find me?” I slipped out of my jacket.
    O’Shea’s eyes