Authors: Colleen Gleason
“I don’t know. My master, the ogre, was pretty dull-witted and his parents didn’t look so swift, either.”
His mouth quirked upwards. Robert stood and she did as well. He approached Aurora and stroked a finger across her face, enjoying the softness of her skin, but disturbed at her sunken cheekbones.
“I’m satisfied. Do you agree to do this?”
“I agree.” She looked around the office. “Do we sign now, or later?”
He’d learned quickly that business deals were best sealed first, lest the agreeing party change his or her mind. But something inside him tugged at her shuttered expression. She was making this deal because she wanted to be free, and because she was desperate.
He knew desperation. It had driven Robert to make a devil’s pact with Tristan, the Silver Wizard, exchanging his freedom to save his people after Cadeyrn had refused to help him. Robert rubbed the silver dragon tattoo on his shoulder. The Mage needed to be shown kindness first. That he would be a good mate to her, and provide for her needs. First, he must care for her. Aurora looked as if she’d last eaten a good meal back when flip phones were popular.
“Lunch first.” He thought of the formal rite that must take place for the blood oath. “Then I’ll take you on a tour and we’ll complete the blood oath.”
Relief flickered in her eyes.
He snapped his fingers. “Lady. Downstairs.”
Aurora’s mouth tightened. “I beg your pardon… You have every right to do with me as you wish, but if possible, could you please call me by my name?”
Robert smiled at her dignified expression. “I was talking to the dog.”
“Oh!”
Lady rose from her bed and trotted toward him. He twisted his mouth in a wry smile. “Like the rest of my pack, she isn’t very well-trained.”
“Your Lupines don’t roll over or sit on command?”
She clapped a hand over her mouth, obviously regretting the snarky outburst. Robert’s smile widened. “I can get them all to stay.”
A flash of humor, a quick lift of her rosebud mouth. So there was life there, after all. Then the somber, obedient look returned.
Lady bumped her nose against Aurora’s leg. She squatted down and rubbed the dog’s head, earning a furious tail wag in return. He silently assessed the exchange. Lady was a good judge of character. She seldom took to strangers, preferring to stay by his side.
“Lady! Downstairs. Lunch time.”
The dog gave a happy woof, and bounded out of his office.
Robert led Aurora downstairs to the kitchen. She tried to maintain an air of cool indifference. Gods, he knew what that was like, pretending nothing mattered when inside, you were breaking apart. But her nostrils flared and her expression turned eager as the scent of cooking beef filled the air. The kitchen had an eight-burner range, stainless appliances and a long wood table in the center where some of the pack informally took meals.
“We’re having hamburgers for lunch,” he told her, pulling out a chair at the table.
Aurora stared at the seat, her head lowered. For some reason, the gesture sent a pang through him. He’d liked her earlier refusal to lower her gaze. That spark of spirit had probably fed her strength through years of servitude. But now, faced with a hearty meal and a small touch of basic kindness, she seemed lost.
Anger coiled inside him. What the hell had Others done to her?
“You should eat first. I’ll wait,” she murmured, remaining standing by the chair.
She was accustomed to serving. Maybe it was time someone else waited on her for a change. Lupines were fierce, but protective when it came to their own. And Aurora, like it or not, was his responsibility now.
With a firm hand on her shoulder, he gently pushed her down onto the chair. “Do as I say. You’re going to be my mate and you look ready to topple over from hunger. I take care of my own.”
Her mouth opened and closed. Robert couldn’t help but notice how full and pink her lips were, how she moistened them with the tip of her tongue.
He went to the refrigerator and spoke over his shoulder, glad for the rush of cold air against his groin. “Do you like iced tea? Water? Soda? Green tea? Juice?”
“Water is fine,” she murmured.
Then she lifted her clear blue gaze to his and he saw the recognition spark. Robert fished out a bottle of water and handed it to her. Their fingers brushed, and the connection made his breath catch. There was something there between them. The sexual chemistry ran strong.
“Unless you prefer a glass. But I don’t have a stone pitcher like Cadeyrn,” he murmured.
A delicate flush tinted her pale cheeks. “This is fine. Thank you.”
He watched her take small sips, so unlike years ago, when she’d gulped down the water as if fearing he’d snatch back the glass. So much tight control, when all he’d seen last time was desperation.
Slavery would do that to you. It turned you into a machine - a cold, and calculating machine intent on making it from one day to the next. He knew and accepted this.
“There’s more if you want it,” he told her. “It’s all in the fridge. Help yourself.”
Then he went out the kitchen door to the lanai. Though south Florida remained mostly delightful through winter, there was a bite to the air that hinted of a cold snap. They’d have to take care of the nursery and all the plants.
Lady had already ducked through the dog door and sat there, looking hopeful. Guy, Robert’s beta, cooked hamburgers on a stainless steel grill the size of a coffin while his fiancée Helen sat at the table, reading a fashion magazine. Helen looked up and formally bowed her head. Guy flipped the patties into the air and glanced up.
“How’s the new addition to our happy household?”
Robert pointed at the grill. “Those done yet or you plan to turn them into charcoal?”
Guy raised his eyebrows at the remark, but slid a few patties onto a plate and handed them to Robert. “Testy today, boss? That time of month again?”
Robert growled and Guy hastily returned his attention to cooking.
He watched his beta push the meat around on the grill. “Rob, I need to talk with you.” Guy glanced over his shoulder at Helen. “Are you ever going to assign me any real responsibilities other than flipping burgers?”
His stomach tightened. “You’re my second-in-command. You have many responsibilities.”
“Oh sure. Patrolling the grounds, breaking up minor fights between the younger males. Nothing of real importance. You’re overworked and everyone knows it.”
Robert kept his tone mild. “What do you expect me to do?”
“Delegate!” Guy slammed the grill lid down and folded his arms. “You’re taking on too much, like a control freak. It’s gotten worse over the past year. Why can’t you trust me to help you with some of the daily activities? I can balance the books, handle sales, orders, everything. And every time a child stubs a toe, you go running. You can’t do it all.”
Robert bared his teeth and growled, letting Guy know he’d stepped over that invisible line. The beta dropped his gaze.
Robert felt a pinch of guilt. Guy was right, but damn it, he had a duty to care for everyone, make sure things ran smoothly.
Dropping a hand on Guy’s shoulder, he lowered his voice. “After you and Helen are mated, we’ll talk about your responsibilities. Right now I need you alert, obedient, and ready.”
Guy gave a brief nod.
Glancing down at the hopeful Lady, he added, “Please feed her. I have to take care of Aurora.”
“That’s all I’m good for,” the beta mumbled, but he headed for the storage bin holding the dog food.
After bringing the hamburgers inside, Robert fetched condiments, silverware, a tray of cheese, lettuce and tomato, and set them on the table, along with a plate of fresh buns. Aurora sipped her water, casting him sideways looks. Each time he set down a plate, she hastily thrust her hands beneath the table, as if reaching for the food would make her look ill-mannered.
Or perhaps someone had done something worse.
He piled a thick, juicy hamburger onto a plate, added a large scoop of potato salad and pushed the items toward her. “Eat,” he prodded.
Her stomach rumbled, but she sat, hands folded on her lap, staring at the plate. For a moment she reminded him of Lady when he’d first found her as a pup. Suspicious of food, and kindness, and wary of anyone who came close because she wasn’t certain if the outstretched hand would pet or slap.
“What’s wrong? It’s good food,” he insisted.
“I can’t eat until you do.” She raised her clear blue gaze to his. So very blue, like Caroline’s. But Caroline’s eyes had sparked with life and laughter, and later, with insanity as power filled her.
No laughter here in Aurora’s gaze.
“You’re my new master. It’s rude to eat before you do.”
Robert put two hamburgers onto his plate and slid into a chair. “I may be your master now, but I will soon become your mate. Eat, Aurora.” He gave her a stern look and picked up his own hamburger. “Now.”
“I seldom eat meat.” Aurora took a small bite, chewed and swallowed.
“Vegetarian?”
“Not by choice.” She stared at her plate, pushing the potato salad around with her fork. “My former owners never cared to serve it to me.”
“Your former owners, like the troll and the ogre. Cadeyrn gave you to them for a period of only three years. But the witch claimed you much longer.” Robert sipped his drink, aware of her delicate fragrance cutting through the hearty smell of grilled food.
Aurora sipped more water. “The witch negotiated with him for a longer term of my service. Twenty years.”
Surprised, he set down his hamburger. “A long time. Sounds like she didn’t want to give you up. Why did she?”
“She died. A bad spell backfired on her.” The napkin crumbled in her hand. “I wasn’t very unhappy when she passed. She wasn’t nice.”
An understatement, judging from the way her hand trembled each time she reached for her glass, as if she feared he’d snatch it from her. He would pair her with Susan, his only surviving sister. Susan ran the café that served the pack. She was tough, but fair and very obedient to his commands. His sister would ensure Aurora ate well. Most of all, he needed to keep Aurora away from the fields and the nursery, where he hid the pack’s darkest secret. Robert made a note to find out who had neglected to feed Aurora. It would not happen again.
Between bites of burger, he asked about her past, but received vague and polite answers. Of her former masters, the ogre had been the nicest. The troll had put her to work cleaning his silver collection, always polishing it daily.
She said little about the witch.
Robert polished off his meal and wiped his mouth with a napkin. “How would you like to work in the kitchen?”
Her expression shuttered and she folded her hands upon her lap. “Would I serve meals?”
“Not until you’re ready. We have a small café for breakfast and lunch that caters to the pack, but is open to the public one weekend a month, the only time we sell flowers and tropical plants. It gets busy during the tourist season. There are lots of Canadians and other snowbirds visiting the area during the winter.”
“Do you serve the tourists in the cafe?”
Robert leaned back and stretched out his legs. “They’re not on the menu, but a few of us prefer Canadians over easy, with rye toast on the side.”
For that, he received a real smile in return. It made him feel less like a bastard for keeping her, and more determined to coax another smile onto her pretty face.
For a moment he wondered about Cadeyrn’s motive in gifting him Aurora to beget an heir. The Shadow Wizard was sly and not generous.
And Aurora presented a very tempting package, even if she was a Mage.
He didn’t trust Mages. Not after what Caroline had done to his people.
Aurora was pretty, curvy and there was a spark about her that hinted of simmering passion. For a year after Caroline’s death, he’d remained celibate, but he was a male Lupine and his sexual appetite was strong. The affairs he had were always discreet and brief, with mutual satisfaction achieved, then amicable partings. The women he took to his bed were outsiders, sometimes Skins, sometimes Others. They all understood that he had no desire choose a mate. They tried to convince him otherwise, though.
Robert ruled his pack and no one told him what to do.
He studied the Mage, male interest kicking hard. So pretty, and yet she had tremendous inner strength to have survived bondage for fifteen years. He could definitely bed her without any problem. Indeed, it would be a pleasure.
Fall in love with her? Doubtful.
Trust her? Never.
His experiences with Caroline had ensured he’d never trust anyone outside his own pack again. And he would not risk growing too close to her. The old wariness returned, along with instinctive distrust.
Never again would he betray his people.
As Aurora rose to clear off the table, he clasped her wrist, feeling the delicate bones beneath the smoothness of her skin. “Someone else will take care of it. Come with me.”
Again, she lifted her blue gaze to his, and he saw a flicker of apprehension. She had her own trust issues, it seemed.
“I’ll show you the grounds, and then we’ll complete the blood oath ceremony.”
“Ceremony? Are you formal around here?”
Robert thought of the ancient rituals that were important to holding his pack together and keeping them strong, despite the curse. “It’s necessary.”
They went through the kitchen door outside, where Guy and his fiancé Helen were eating lunch on the lanai. He made a mental note to see to the final details of their upcoming wedding. Lady, sitting by the long glass-topped table, looked up and wagged her tail.
Robert glanced at the empty dog bowl. “Did you feed her?” he asked Guy.
His beta nodded. “You know her. She gulps down her meals. Dog’s a vacuum cleaner when it comes to food.”
It was an old habit. Lady had been starving and rib-thin when she came to the pack and though she was well-fed now, she always gulped down her food as if fearing someone would snatch it away.
He introduced Aurora as the new pack member who would be assisting them. Helen, a sweet-tempered and gentle Lupine devoted to Guy, smiled at Aurora.