Her Imaginary Lover (12 page)

Authors: Doris O'Connor

She
might never be able to tell her parents about him, but she caught her mother in
particular glance in
Kaylom's
way with a frown and a
secret smile, which made her wonder whether she didn't at least suspect
something was up.

"You
are happy, aren't you, my darling?" she'd asked Macie only the week before
with a pointed look over her shoulder where
Kaylom
was patiently waiting for her. "I mean, you seem happy.
Radiant
in fact.
Even your father noticed, so you know…" She'd rolled her
eyes and grinned, and Macie had pulled her into a tight hug.

"Yes,
Mum, I am."

"That's
all I needed to know, darling."

Yes,
life was good and about to become a hell of a lot nicer.
Gunthrin
had finally shown up with Ava for her counseling session, and his time was up.
Macie alerted
Kaylom
through their mind connection,
who in turn would bring the
Athuron
guards with him
to cart
Gunthrin
back to
Athuron
and his certain and immediate execution.

Macie
didn't feel an ounce of remorse at that. The bastard was well known to the
Athuron
guards. Already wanted for crimes in their realm,
he'd sought refuge in the human sphere years ago, and Ava's family wasn't the
only one who'd suffered.

"Go
on, sweetie. I'll have a word with your
friend
in private."

Ava
paled, and
Gunthrin
actually snorted.

"Stupid
ass human bitch can't do anything to me. Run along, little Ava, there's a good
girl, and think about how much fun it would be to slit the throat of that fat
receptionist. She'd bleed as nicely as your brother did."

Macie
balled her hands into fists behind her back and kept her professional smile in
place for Ava's benefit. The youngster whispered
no, no, no, you're not real
in such a heart-wrenching way that Macie contemplated taking a knife and
slitting the
Athuron's
throat
herself.

That
would not be wise, munchkin. Just get Ava out of there, and we'll be right in.

Yes,
Sir.

Good
girl!

Hearing
Kaylom's
velvet tones in her head calmed Macie, and
ignoring the other
Athuron's
continued taunts, she
reached out to Ava to find the little girl had covered her ears and her face
was wet with tears.

"I
promise you this will end today, Ava. Go and see Judith, and your social worker
and you can go home. I'll see you next week, my lovely."

From
far, far away, she heard a dejected “K”, and then the door to her office opened
and shut, and Judith's cheery voice could be heard.

Macie
took a deep breath, curled her hand into a tight fist, and whirling around, hit
the sneering
Athuron
straight in the jaw with a bone
jarring crunch. Pain flared up from her knuckles into her arms, but the
satisfaction of seeing the shock in the bastard's eyes made it
so
worth
it.

"You
fucking human cunt."
Gunthrin
spat out blood,
and Macie swung her other arm only to hit solid muscle as
Kaylom
materialized next to her, and pulled her out of the way.
Athuron
guards surrounded
Gunthrin
, and his cockiness
vanished until he looked frightened out of his wits.

"You
will not speak to the mate of one of our elders in such a manner. Apologize
this instant, or I'll slice off your ear and make you eat it right now."

Arich's
personal guard looked utterly furious,
and
Kaylom
didn't look much better. One arm firmly
around her waist he held her so tight, Macie was half expecting her ribs to end
up bruised. In direct contrast the grasp he had on her injured hand was as
gentle as a butterfly's touch, and he dropped a kiss on her rapidly swelling
knuckles.

"When
will you learn to not put yourself in danger and follow orders, little one?
You're supposed to call us in, not wreak havoc on the swine yourself."

"I'm
sorry, Sir, I had to. For Ava, you know."

She
whispered the words, even as
Gunthrin's
howls echoed
through her skull. As promised he was missing an ear, and a shiver went through
her at the brutality she was witnessing.

"Take
him away. Justice will be done this day, but not here."
Kaylom
barked the order, and in the blink of an eye the
little party of
Athuron
raiders disappeared into thin
air, and they were alone in her office.

A
knock on the door startled Macie.

"Are
you all right in there? Ava was your last client for today, so I'll lock up on
the way out, shall I?" Judith called through the closed door.

"Yes,
please, Judith. I'll be out soon.
Just finishing off some
paperwork in here.
Have a nice weekend."

"You,
too, boss. See you on Monday."

Kaylom
pulled her closer, and Macie gasped as
the hard ridge of his cock pressed into her belly.

"You're
incorrigible you know. How can you be turned on after all this?" she
asked.

With
an audible click
Kaylom's
fangs ran out, and Macie
went limp with need when he ran his incisors along her neck.

"We're
alone, that's all the reason I need.
Besides, my sweet.
You need to heal, and there is no faster way to achieve this than sex."

He
bit down, and any and all objections fled Macie's befuddled brain, as he pulled
her dress up and thrust home in one fluid move that lifted her off her toes.
Files went flying, and heat coursed through her veins. Her knuckles burnt and
healed, and her heart soared at his whispered words in her mind.

Mine,
forever.

The End

www.dorisoconnor.com

Other
Books by Doris O'Connor:

www.evernightpublishing.com/doris-oconnor

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