Lost in Magic (Night Shadows Book 4) by Rose Wulf Page B

the regret in her voice telling him all he needed to know about her opinion.
    “I hate my job sometimes,” Mick said with a grunt as he rolled to his feet. His arms were cold already. But he tried to ignore the feeling as he moved to the floor beyond the bed and dug out his stupid phone. Finding it, he put the device to his ear with a grunted question. “What?”
    “That’s no way to greet an old friend,” Doon lectured calmly. “Or is it too early for you where you are?”
    Pinching the bridge of his nose, Mick said, “Skip the ‘where are you?’ part, Doon. Why are you calling now? I thought the Council already met.” And if that was so, his fate would already have been decided. How had he never recognized how screwed up this system was before?
    How had it taken a warm-hearted werewolf to open his eyes?
    “We did,” Doon declared. “But out of respect for your late parents, I wanted to give you a heads-up.”
    And now he’s playing that card. Mick moved and sat on the side of the bed. He reached for Ali’s nearest hand as she pushed to a seated position, the comforter held around her chest. The woman took his breath away with the simplest things. Focus . Dragging his attention back to the call, he said, “Fine, what’s this ‘heads-up’ you’re offering?”
    “We traced your cell phone,” Doon declared. “And they’re sending Rhea.”
    Shit. “Gee, I appreciate that,” Mick said. “It’s good to know I’ll get the common criminal treatment the minute I decide to take a breather.”
    “Thare,” Doon said, “you know it’s not that simple.”
    “No,” Mick snapped, threading his fingers through Allison’s. “I know it could be but you’re all a bunch of sticklers for outdated rules. You realize Rhea’s not the most by-the-books option you have, right? She’s as likely to drown me as to bring me in alive.”
    “Don’t be ridiculous,” Doon replied coldly. “She’ll do as she’s told.”
    “Maybe.” Mick disconnected before he could say anything worse. And to think, for a beat, he’d actually considered turning to the Council for help with this vampire problem he’d landed in. They’d have just sent Rhea for that, too. Probably.
    “Mick,” Allison said slowly. “What’s going on? Who’s Rhea?”
    Tossing the phone onto the nightstand beside the clock, Mick turned and managed a small smile for her. “Rhea’s a colleague of mine. But she’s dangerous. Temperamental. And she’s been ordered to apprehend me.”
    “Apprehend you?” Ali straightened, pulling her hand from his, and narrowed her eyes. “You’re not some criminal! You just took a leave of absence!”
    His lips twitched. “That’s now how they see it,” he said. “And I knew that when I ditched. Hell, that’s why I ditched instead of asking .”
    “It’s still wrong,” she said firmly.
    Mick turned and cupped her face. “You’re so sexy when you’re all riled up,” he said before covering her lips with his. She braced her palms over his chest as if to push him away, but she gave in without resistance to his kiss. Their tongues danced for a long minute before he pulled away reluctantly.
    “I guess we can’t just stay in bed all day,” Ali mumbled, adjusting and tucking herself beneath his chin. She wrapped her arms around his torso, pinning the comforter in place with his chest.
    Mick wound his arms around her in return. “You could,” he said quietly. “You don’t have any obligation to this. And you’d be safer.” He personally preferred that option, actually. He just figured she wouldn’t go for it.
    “I can’t leave you to fend for yourself,” Ali argued without lifting her head.
    He grinned. “You do know this is kind of what I do for a living, right?”
    This time she pulled back to frown up at him. “You said you’re an earth witch,” she said. “What can you really do on a ship in the middle of the Atlantic?”
    “That is a complication,” he said. Attempting a bit of