Page 19 of Sassy Embrace

Trevan sipped at his tea, and Claude felt a stab of impatience. He guzzled all of it down, then placed both the mug and saucer in the sink. He turned, leaning against the kitchen counter.

“Love is a mystical thing, isn't it? As mystical as you and I. Maybe even more so. It can help you heal from old wounds in ways you never thought possible. That was what it was like with Aria and me. Loving her is the best thing I’ve ever done."

Trevan was clearly smitten, and Claude was happy for his cousin. He could also recognize the feeling he exuded when one thinks about their fated mate—a delicate but robust sensation that is both disarming, and tantalizing.

A thrill ride you never want to escape from.

"Thank you," Claude said, finishing off his tea. “Sorry to intrude on your day. Please let Aria know I visited and relay the information about Kim, if you would."

“I will.”

Claude waited for Trevan to ask about his line of questioning, but instead, he merely thanked him for his visit. There would be time later, once he talked to Aria perhaps, to consider the entire matehood concept with Leigh—-if he was ever ready to consider it himself.

Trevan led Claude to the front door and watched him as he climbed into his car. The wolf waved at him as the mist faded, that fool-in-love, dumbstruck smile still plastered on his face.

Claude drove off into the growing daylight. He squeezed the steering wheel, his mind back on Leigh. He wasn’t accustomed to such strong, delightful feelings, not only as a vampire but also as a man who naturally clung to the shadows. Telling Leigh about how he felt wasn’t on the table, not even within the same vicinity, but he had to confront it himself. That way, he could figure out what his next move would be.

Reconstructing Embraced and re-opening the establishment was the goal. But how much would Leigh get in the way of that? And what if he really didn't mind if she did?

If it meant them doing what they’d done the day before, there was no way he could resist.

NINE

LEIGH

Leigh went to work at Embracedwith Claude three days after they’d had sex. They’d been texting back and forth, but it only pertained to the construction, the hiring process, and overseeing the internal and external decor.

Not that she hadn't been thinking about it. Images would pop into her mind, and the sensations came flooding back. Usually at the most inopportune moments when she tried to busy herself at the Sassy Wolfe,or while writing out plans for a grand opening of Embraced.

On more than one occasion, in the depths of the night, she toyed with the idea of calling him up – him creeping over to her place in the dark. Finding her naked in bed. Taking her again with the savage passion that he had taken her before. The mere thought sent her body into a carnal blaze, and she had to clench her thighs together to keep from slipping her hand between them.

The drive for him was outrageous. Even though it was only one time that he had been inside her, he made her feel sexy. Sexy was a feeling Leigh had reserved for work, mostly, for the last few years. It earned her extra tips. Sometimes she could havea sexy rendezvous, but it usually wore off the next day. Hell, sometimes it wore off instantly.

But not with Claude. He was coated all over her like a sheen layer of dew. And she didn’t have any urge to wash it off.

Her wolf was profoundly insistent too. And Leigh was far too intelligent not to notice the difference between what she felt for Claude compared to any other man she’d ever met. He was doing something to her that was cosmic. Cosmic, but ridiculous and insane.

She had to go on with her work. The Wolfes trusted her inherently, and she couldn’t betray that trust with some infatuation. She rose that day, set on compartmentalizing her mounting and inconvenient attraction to a vampire.

They met on a sunny day outside the new building that would be Embraced. The construction was ninety percent done, and so she and Claude had decided to get started on the decor inside. They planned to have meetings with several different salespeople to select the proper lighting, tables and chairs, lounge furniture, wallpaper, and accents that best suited the Embraced aesthetic.

Things were going great at first. Claude approached each interaction with poise and solemness. His every move was graceful, but his proximity to her still felt astronomically charged.

Not that he was actually allowing himself to get too close at all. Leigh found her wolf snarling inside at the platonic way he was acting – making sure to keep at least three to six feet apart, barely maintaining eye contact, and consciously busying himself with conversations with salespeople and decorators.

Leigh began to wonder whether he was regretting the sex they had. She was sure he knew that a wolf-vampire partnership wasn’t a prudent path to walk. Sex was one thing, but a lifetime dedication? That was something else entirely.

Logically, she agreed with that sentiment, but in her heart, she tensed with indignation. She mirrored his behaviors until it became all too much for her mind and body to handle.

The liquor delivery arrived in the evening. They made their decision on decorating options. Startlingly crimson backlighting to the bar, leather-bound seating for the lounge, accented with charcoal gray chandeliers, drapes, and curtains for the private sections. Navy blue tiles lined the walls of the bathroom with gold lace trimming, reflected in other sections primarily focused on the wolf patrons.

The two of them carried in the boxes of liquor and began to stock the shelves. Two other delivery men wanted to help, but Claude waved them off, saying they could handle the unboxing. The meeting with the salespeople was finished that day, and the construction was as well.

There were three sections of the club where alcohol would be served. The main section of the lounge, in an area that connected the private rooms, and a rooftop patio. The rooftop patio was the last piece of construction to be finished, so they began to stock in the main rooms.

Claude started in the private section, carrying boxes of booze and glasses and disappearing into the dark. Leigh was irked by his silence. She decided to follow him in with a box of her own and began to stock the bar with liquor bottles while he unboxed the glasses.

“I’m good here if you want to start in the main room,” he said softly.