“Maybe you’ll meet them some day.”
“Maybe.” She yawned, then snuggled closer. “Good night.”
Usually I was a light sleeper, waking up several times throughout the night, but with Hazel in my arms I managed to sleep through the entire night. I woke up a few minutes before her, relishing the feeling of waking up together. My mate stirred a few times, then made an adorable snorting noise before her eyes opened. I looked down at her, taking in her sleepy eyes, wild hair, and the creases my shirt had left on her face. My heart swelled with an emotion I couldn’t name, not quite yet, but I knew it had nothing to do with fated mates and everything to do with my human side’s growing feelings for this woman.
“Good morning.” Hazel’s voice was rough with sleep. “Thanks for letting me use you as a pillow.”
“You can do that every night,” I told her. “I liked sleeping with you in my arms.”
Her eyes bounced between mine before she said softly, “I liked it too.”
***
The second day of the conference was very much like the first. Hazel went for a swim in the morning while I watched from the side of the pool, then we cleaned up and headed to the conference. Martha and Allie attended all the same sessions as we did, while Boris wandered around outside, keeping an eye out for anything suspicious.
We sat at the same table as we’d chosen yesterday, and this time we were joined by some Germans. As it turned out, Hazel also spoke German and was able to join in their conversation easily.
“How many languages do you speak?” I asked her during a break in the conversation.
“Fluently? Only five.”
My eyes widened. “Five? Wow.”
“Your German is excellent,” the woman on the other side of her said warmly.
She was tall and statuesque, like a model, with pale blonde hair, icy blue eyes, lips that looked too full to be natural, and perfect unblemished skin. I disliked her immediately.
Hazel gave her a big smile. “DankeGreta.”
The two of them launched into a conversation in German, but I didn’t need to know the language to figure out that the tone had turned personal. Greta leaned closer to my mate, subtly arching her back to put her cleavage on display, her hand landing on Hazel’s arm as she gave her a coy smile.
She’s touching our mate, we must tear out her throat, my wolf howled angrily.
She’s working, calm down.My vamp took a calmer approach.
Then Greta ‘accidentally’ pressed her breasts against Hazel’s arm, and I couldn’t control the low growl that escaped my mouth. The German looked around, obviously confused, but Hazel just gave me a wink, as if she knew exactly what had happened and was amused by it. My hand shot out, grabbing the seat of her chair and pulling her closer to me.
Hazel raised an eyebrow but didn’t say anything. True to form, another guy got up to give a speech over lunch. Whatever he was blathering on about, it must have been interesting because both my mate and her German admirer listened with rapt attention, their meals forgotten.
Given the quality of the lunch we were served, it was a blessing. I reached into my jacket pocket and dug out a package of beef jerky to supplement the sad cobb salads we’d been served. A supe needed her protein.
I felt the hairs prickle on the back of my neck. Someone was watching us. I turned slowly, as if I was looking at the table next to us, trying to figure out who it was. Not seeing anything, I pretended to drop my napkin on the floor, then looked behind me as I picked it up. Nothing.
Across the room I met Boris’s eyes. His head swiveled, then he gave me a slight shrug, as if to say he didn’t see anything out of the usual.
The guests all seemed focused on the speaker, and I didn’t see anyone looking in our direction. All around us, waiters worked to clear tables, fading in the background as they took the dishesaway. Nothing unusual there. They were all dressed in black pants and white skirts, virtually indistinguishable from each other.
Hazel leaned closer, putting her mouth right by my ear. “Do you see something?”
I was surprised that she’d noticed my distraction.
“I guess not.”
She turned back to the speaker, but I still couldn’t shake the feeling that something wasn’t right. Then I noticed a waiter standing near the kitchen door, his eyes fixed on Hazel for a long moment, his gaze speculative. I couldn’t say if I recognized him, from this distance he looked like every other male waiter here, but I didn’t like the way his attention was fixed on my mate.
I looked around for one of my teammates, hoping to get their attention so they could go talk to the guy, or come protect Hazel while I went to talk to him, but they’d all faded into the crowd.
Damn it.
