Unable to stop myself any longer, I strode around the counter and finally did the thing I’d been wanting to do since I walked in. I wrapped my arms around her, and to my immense pleasure and relief, she didn’t fight me. She sank into me, burying her face in my chest.
“I called him this morning,” she explained, her voice muffled by my shirt. “Told him how upset it made me, and he basically brushed it off. He called me jealous and immature. We had a big fight about it.”
Once she’d gotten herself under control, she looked up at me, embarrassment written all over her face.
“Sorry,” she said. “I’m blubbering about a guy, and we have more important things to talk about.”
“Youareimportant,” I said. “If it matters to you, then it matters to me.”
The words were out before I could stop them, and the meaning behind them was easy to interpret. June locked her red eyes on mine, searching. For one long moment, the tension between us was palpable, and I wondered if I should kiss her. I wanted to, because I still remembered the way her lips had felt on mine after her last vision.
Her hands moved up and down my back, slowly stroking me. There was something intimate about the gentle touch. My mind was bombarded with images of her face when I slipped into her,of the way her chest flushed pink when she orgasmed. My cock stiffened, but if she noticed, June didn’t react. She just kept holding me.
My wolf whined at me to touch her, to kiss her, to do anything. But after that brief, intense moment, she pulled away and reached for a small box on the counter. A sigh of disappointment slipped from my lips as I watched her wipe her eyes and nose.
“I think I came up with an idea on how to force myself to have visions,” she said as she opened the box.
“What’s that?” I said, suppressing my disappointment that the interaction between us hadn’t gone farther.
She took an old wristwatch out of the box. One side of the leather strap was completely missing, and the other was dry and cracked. The glass face was shattered as well, and the metal around the edges looked corroded.
“Gran found this. After we came up with our list of suspects, she and Grandpa started digging through a bunch of their old stuff. They found a box full of his grandfather’s things. This was one of his most-prized possessions, but it got ruined at some point.”
“And that’s going to help with a vision?” I asked, frowning.
She nodded and touched her pocket. “The necklace you gave me belonged to Naphele, and when I wear it I see what she saw. I think maybe if I have an item of equal significance, it may help.”
“You want to try?” I said, glancing around. “Store’s empty. I’m down if you are.”
She chewed her lip, then nodded. “Okay.”
She held the watch close to her chest and closed her eyes. Nothing happened, at least not that I could see. The one time I’d seen her go into a vision, I’d noticed her shoulders had sagged as if in pure relaxation, and even the muscles on her cheeks andbrow had softened as if she’d gone into a full trance. Here, now, she looked tense like she was trying to force something.
Finally, after almost five minutes, she opened her eyes and groaned. “Damn it.”
“It’s okay,” I said. “Don’t get discouraged.”
“That’s difficult, Levi. This is the only gift I have that can help, but I can’t seem to control it. It’s like…” she trailed off, a rosy blush rising to her cheeks.
“What?” I said, narrowing my eyes.
She sighed and shoved her hand into her pocket. “Don’t take this in a weird way, but my visions almostalwayshappen when I’m wearing this necklaceandyou’re around.”
“Really?” A grin spread across my face.
June snorted and shook her head. “Don’t get any ideas, mister. I’m just trying to solve a murder. Can you put this on me?” She held the necklace out. “Maybe if I have it on while I hold the watch, it’ll jumpstart something.”
I took the delicate necklace and moved behind her. “Weren’t you wearing this the other day? I was there too, and there was no vision.”
June made a low growling noise in her throat that could have been frustration or embarrassment. “Uhm, yeah, but you weren’t…closeenough. At least that’s my theory.”
“So you need me close?” I said, my voice low and loaded with meaning.
“Put the necklace on,” she snapped.
I chuckled and did as she asked.
Looping it over her head, I fastened the necklace at the base of her neck, my fingers brushing her skin. Almost instantly, her shoulders slumped, and her head lolled forward.
