Trickster Read Online Free Page B

Trickster’s
CTO to the police officers. “I was informed that Mr. Fellowes had a home
invasion tonight.”
    The police officer’s eyebrows rose,
but he nodded. “Do you have any idea why someone might have broken into Mr.
Fellowes’s apartment, Mr. Smith?”
    Now Delaney looked grim. “We do
online security systems for a number of financial institutions. My guess is
that the thieves thought Mr. Fellowes might have brought confidential information
home. Unfortunately for them, we have a strict policy that all sensitive files have
to remain onsite.” He glanced at Mark. “That being said, I feel that Trickster
is partially responsible for this incident. Once you’re finished taking Mr.
Fellowes’s statement, I’d like to make arrangements for him to stay somewhere
else, at least until his apartment can be better secured.”
    “As long as we know where he’ll be,
that’s fine.” The police officer looked at Mark. “That okay with you, Mr.
Fellowes?”
    “Uh, yeah, that’s a good idea,”
Mark admitted. He hated the generic blandness of hotel rooms, but he knew he
wouldn’t be able to sleep in his own bedroom tonight, not with a hole in the
outside door. “Can I go pack a bag?”
    “Of course. I’ll get the contact details
from Mr. Smith.”
    Head now truly pounding, Mark stood
and headed into the bedroom where the CSI team was already busy dusting for
prints. After throwing toiletries, underwear, a change of clothing and a clean
suit into a carryon bag, he came back out and found the cops gone. Delaney,
however, was waiting for him.
    “Come on,” the taller man said, not
quite putting an arm around his waist. “We need to talk.”
    Mark nodded. About a lot of things.

 
    Chapter Four
     
    Delaney guided Mark outside. The
other man slouched over, and Delaney noticed the pain lines around Mark’s eyes.
The only blood he could smell was that of the attackers, but that didn’t rule
out internal injuries.
    “Are you okay?” he asked. “Did they
hit you anywhere?”
    “No. Well, I banged my hip when I
fell on the chair.” Mark rubbed his forehead. “I just have a blazing headache.”
    “Oh.” That Delaney understood. “Adrenaline
hangover. I’ll get you some water and Tylenol when we get home.”
    “Home?” Mark straightened up. “What
do you mean, home?”
    “I’m taking you home with me
tonight. You’ll be safer there than in a hotel.”
    “Oh, no, hell no, you are not—”
    “We also need to talk, remember? About
the mate thing. Not to mention the whole shapeshifter thing. I don’t want to do
that in a hotel room for obvious reasons.” Delaney sighed. “Don’t worry, your
virtue is safe with me. I’ve got a fully loaded guest room with its own
bathroom. You can stay there. Go ahead and lock the door if it makes you feel
better.”
    Mark colored at that, but finally
nodded.
    They got into Delaney’s BMW and
pulled out of the apartment complex. The shifter guided the car through the
dark Plano streets, almost missing Mark’s soft mutter of, “This is crazy.”
    That was more like it. “Not really,”
Delaney said. “If you think about it, the concept of shapeshifters is extremely
common throughout human mythology and folklore. Gods cycling through various
forms to seduce human maidens, women turning into foxes, werewolves and
vampires, all that. Now you know why. There’s always a kernel of truth in every
folk tale, after all.”
    “I wasn’t talking about
shapeshifting, although, yeah, saying that comes as a major surprise is an
understatement. I meant....” He trailed off. “I’ve never even thought about
kissing a guy before.”
    “I’ve only done it a couple of
times, myself.” Delaney glanced out of the corner of his eye and thought he
caught Mark blushing again. “It didn’t seem to weird you out much.”
    “No, it didn’t.” Mark sounded
puzzled at that. “You’re, um ... you’re good at that. Kissing, I mean.”
    “What can I say? I was