On the Prowl by Kate Rudolph

30

A weekand a half went by, and as they rolled into Chicago, Em really wanted to believe that the shadow beast was gone. There had been no attacks since that night on the stage, and neither Andre nor Vi had managed to catch sight or magical signature of the monster.

That should have made Em happy. She didn't exactly want to be attacked by a magical creature. But if they determined it was truly gone, then maybe Andre would go away too.

She didn't want that at all.

Over the past week and a half, she and Andre had grown closer and closer. They couldn't keep their hands off one another, and there had been more than one occasion where someone almost walked in on them in a compromising position while they were making out in her dressing room.

It wasn't her fault that his lap was so comfortable. Especially when it came to kissing him.

Luckily, no press had managed to sneak back and take compromising photos.

She didn't know what the mate bond was supposed to feel like. Vi hadn't given any more information, and Stasia hadn't wanted to say much about it any time Em had asked.

The mate bond didn't matter as far as she was concerned. Her feelings were real. And intense.

Was that a good thing? She wasn't sure how she was supposed to think about fate pulling her to another person. But it didn't feel like some otherworldly force was controlling her relationship. As a matter of fact, nothing had ever been more natural than what she felt with Andre.

And she didn't want him walking away once they were sure the shadow beast was gone.

She also didn't know if she could ask him to stay. He had a job back in New York. She still had months on this tour. If they admitted what they were becoming to one another, how would it survive if they both had to walk away for months at a time?

Other couples handled long-distance just fine. And she knew she could handle short separations. She was a full-grown woman with a life of her own. She didn't need Andre with her every hour of the day.

But a matter of weeks was different than a matter of months.

She was getting ahead of herself. They hadn't discussed emotions. There had been loaded looks and intense kisses. And she would never forget what it felt like to have Andre inside of her.

But they hadn't said anything about the future.

She supposed that Andre could just be with her because it was convenient. Their attraction sizzled hot and burned bright. If they walked away from one another, it might burn out.

But Em didn't think that was the case. They weren’t a wildfire burning through the forest and city that would eventually burn to embers. They were more like the sun, a ball of fire that would take billions of years to extinguish.

And even then, she still doubted that they would ever be doused.

It was fast, and intense. Too much to really consider. But she couldn't do anything but consider it when Andre was around her all the time.

They had snuck away for a little while and were napping after their afternoon lovemaking for the moment. It was so perfect that Em wanted to capture this moment in time so she never forgot it.

Andre's lips brushed against her stomach, and he looked up at her from where he was laying with his head in her lap. "Weren't you supposed to be sleeping?" he asked, his voice husky and intimate.

"You think that was enough to tire me out?" she teased, her smile growing wider as desire darkened Andre's eyes.

"I'll show you exhaustion," he half threatened, half promised.

Em leaned down and kissed him.

A sweaty half hour later, Andre sat up from the bed, his body radiating satisfaction. "I need to go and patrol before your show. The beast might be lurking."

She wanted to entice him to stay for a few more hours. Or at least an hour. Eventually Darlene was going to come looking for her, or Melinda or anyone else that had some sort of pull on her time. But she also didn't mention that the beast hadn't attacked in over a week. Andre knew it as well as she did. And talking about it might break the spell of what was going on between them.

"Stay safe," she told him as he pulled on his clothes and got ready for battle.

Andre leaned down and gave her a thorough kiss. "That's your job. Let me make sure you stay safe."

"I guess that's why you're here." She didn't mean to say it. She didn't want to have this conversation yet.

And she couldn't read the look that passed over Andre's face.

He kissed her again, even harder this time. If she was brave, she could read something into what she was feeling from the kiss. She could imagine that Andre was trying to tell her something. But he pulled back and didn't say anything.

"Give Vi a call and have her put the protections back up on the room if you're going to stay in here for a while. Otherwise, I'll see you backstage."

He took off, and Em sunk back down onto the bed.

She heard the door open and close as Andre left her alone, and she looked over at the bedside table where her phone was sitting so innocuously. He was right. She should give Vi a call. Mostly Vi only put up the protections around her and Andre’s suite when they were in for the night. The protections fell every morning when both of them left the room. And since she and Andre had snuck back up to their room for their afternoon delight, it meant they had been sitting unprotected.

Not completely unprotected. She always felt safe when Andre was around.

But he wasn't there anymore.

She reached for the phone and groaned when she saw that her battery was dead.

Stupid. Stupid. But she and Andre had gone to bed the moment the door closed behind them the night before. And she had been a bit distracted and had forgotten to plug her phone in.

And then she had left it behind that morning. She didn't need people bugging her.

Em scrambled out of bed and found her charger and plugged the phone in. She had a portable charger somewhere, and she would need to take it down to her dressing room, but at least she had time to take a shower. She would probably be safe enough.

And what Andre didn't know wouldn't make him worry.

She let the water soak into her bones in the shower. The hot spray was the second-best feeling she'd had all day. And she took more time than necessary.

But eventually she had to go out and start getting ready for the show that night.

She was half dressed when she heard something clatter to the floor in the other room.

"Andre?" she called out. He usually wasn't so clumsy, but he was the only person with the key to her room.

He didn't call back, and a bit of apprehension sizzled through her.

Em crept towards her phone and was thankful to see that it had enough battery so she could give Vi a call.

Something else clattered in the other room, and Em did not call out again. That wasn't Andre.

Either a person was in the suite, or it was the shadow beast. She turned on all of the lights in the bedroom and locked the door, as if that would do something to keep a magical construct out.

Then she dialed Vi's number.

But before she could say a word, the beast burst through the door like a ghost moving through walls, and pain ripped through her as it attacked.