Authors: Doris O'Connor
Instead of letting her imagination run away
with her, she ought to be concerned why she couldn’t remember a thing about
last night. Well, remember nothing but a pair of compelling moss-green eyes and
a gravelly, accented voice in her ear and then just darkness. Gah, it was so
bloody frustrating.
Ion’s low, growled curse registered at the same
time as the pickup stopped abruptly and white-hot pain shot up from her bruised
ribs, the seatbelt locking her in place. She couldn’t stop the agonised moan
escaping.
“Shit, are you ok? That kid came out of
nowhere.”
Ion’s hands were seemingly everywhere,
unbuckling her seatbelt, running one hand over her sides, whilst the other
checked her head with infinite care.
“Did you bump your head again? Are you hurt
anywhere else?”
Marnie lost herself in the intense gaze of
steely blue-grey eyes for a second, before the pain in her ribs made her flinch
and Ion’s hands froze.
“Your ribs? Let me see.”
“It’s nothing much, really.” Marnie tried in
vain to slap his hand away, only to have her chin caught in an iron grip,
forcing her to look at him. Her heart beat a bit faster at the concern she saw
in his face.
“Let me be the judge of that,” and before she
could say or do anything, his large hands had tugged her top up, his low
whistle at what he saw causing his hot breath to skitter across her face. His
hands started a slow exploration of her rib cage and her breath hitched when
his fingers skimmed the underside of her breasts, awareness of the man in front
of her causing heat to rise in her cheeks.
Get a grip, girl; he is only checking you
over to make sure you’re ok.
His hands stilled at her indrawn breath, his
gaze flickering to her face for an instant. Marnie’s mortification increased
tenfold at the inscrutable expression on his face, the small muscle ticking in
his jaw the only indication he was aware of her reaction.
“I don’t think anything is broken, but we ought
to get you checked out by a doc anyway to be on the safe side.” His voice had
dropped an octave and Marnie’s stomach dropped right with it.
“I…I don’t need a doctor, you said nothing is
broken. I’ll get over it. Besides, he would ask too many questions I couldn’t
answer.”
With one last searching look Ion shifted the
truck into gear and moved off again.
****
Damn, Ion was too aware of the itty bitty
little human, his beast growling every time he touched her. The scent of Lucas
on her skin, mixed with her own unique essence, made him want to brand her as
his. He had no right to think of her in any way, other than as his employee.
Lucas wanted her; that much was clear, and unless his senses were completely
off, she had responded to the vampire in the shadows on an instinctive level.
If he didn’t know better, he’d have thought Lucas had given her his blood, but
from the state of those injuries, it was clear he hadn’t. The strength of her
connection to his friend was puzzling and unusual, and gave him an uneasy
feeling in the pit of his stomach.
Sensing her gaze on him, he made himself smile
in what he hoped was a reassuring manner. He could feel her pain, as well as
confusion and unwilling arousal––arousal aimed at him, which made his wolf sit
up and pant in anticipation. Much as his beast had done three months ago when
she had walked in his club, looking for a job, all delicious and innocent and
self-conscious. He had ruthlessly tamped down on his instant awareness then,
keeping an eye on her progress from a safe distance. Humans weren’t for him;
had he not learnt that the hard way? The return of Lucas and his interest in
her had further complicated matters. And now, this whole debacle with Worthing.
He should have banned the bastard weeks ago, like Lucas suggested.
Ion’s guilty conscience caused him to react to
her nearness now, her brave front in the face of her injuries raising his
protective instincts. That, and the fact that he hadn’t had a good fuck in
months.
Her low moan as he took a corner too fast shot
straight to his groin and he forced himself to soften the white knuckled grip
on the steering wheel, whilst risking a glance in her direction. Eyes closed,
head laid back, her full mouth pinched in a narrow line in a face far too pale
spoke volumes of the pain she must be in and he couldn’t stop the low growl
escaping as his wolf bayed for blood. He once again stopped the truck.
****
Marnie’s eyes fluttered open in panic at the
animalistic growl coming from the driver’s side.
What the hell? And why did
they stop now?
She could sense the anger coming off Ion in
waves, his gaze on her so intense she didn’t breathe until his eyes shifted to
a spot over her shoulder and she managed to gasp some much-needed air into her
tight lungs.
“Does your place have a bath?”
“What?”
“It’s a simple enough question!” Ion’s hand
went in his hair, his eyes briefly connecting with hers, before he swore under
his breath, shaking his head. “I’m assuming it hasn’t. Those flats aren’t fit
for mice to live in, let alone a woman on her own. You need to soak those
injuries if you want any chance of being able to walk tomorrow. I am betting
it’s only adrenaline keeping you upright as it is.”
“I…I’ll be fine. This isn’t your concern. Just
take me home, please.”
Unease trickled down her spine at the renewed
growl rumbling from Ion’s broad chest. He looked as tense as a bow string, his
grey eyes pure steel, holding her captive, one large hand curling round the
base of her neck, forcing her to look at him.
“This is very much my concern. You’re coming
home with me and I’m not taking no for an answer. Someone needs to look after
you.”
“I’m perfectly capable of looking after myself.
I don’t need a man for that.”
The calloused fingers on her neck tightened
painfully and she couldn’t help the wince escaping, even as her body reacted to
the raw, barely-controlled masculine power radiating off him with embarrassing
predictability. Heat rose in her cheeks at his knowing smile. She watched in
helpless fascination as his nostrils flared and his eyes narrowed, before he
came so close the heat of his skin seemed to melt into her bones. His breath fanned
across the sensitive skin of her neck, before he seemed to sniff her and his
growled words in her ear sent her heart beating into overdrive.
“Just as well I’m not just a man then, little
one.”
And with those ominous words, he pulled away
from her, shifted the truck into gear and drove off again.
Marnie thought it wise to keep her mouth shut,
even as they headed further and further out of town and away from her block of
flats. Every time she did try and say something, another one of those low
growls stopped her until she couldn’t stand it anymore.
“There are laws against kidnapping, you know.
You can’t just do this. And what the hell did you mean by that comment?”
The look he sent her was that of a pure
predator, and Marnie swallowed nervously. What had she gotten herself into now?
And why was her body not getting the message? His little Tarzan act should have
her appalled, not secretly excited.
His growled response did little to reassure
her.
“It’s only kidnapping if one party doesn’t
agree, my sweet.”
Oh, the nerve of the man
!
“Did you not get the memo? I asked you to take
me home!”
His low chuckle washed over her and she had to
sit on her hands to stop herself from slapping that arrogant smirk off his
face.
“You can protest all you want, but your scent
says otherwise.”
Oh My God!
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
The deep growl made Marnie jump as one large
hand rested on her thigh briefly, branding her in a painful squeeze. Her heart
once again went into overdrive at the expression on his face. He looked about
ready to eat her. Now where had the thought come from?
“Keep asking and you’ll find out. Now relax,
we’re almost there. I have a bath with your name on it.”
“And if I don’t want a bath?” Marnie didn’t
seem able to stop goading him. Something about the way he was breathing,
spurred her on at an instinctive level. She had never seen him quite so tense,
so on the verge of … of something dark and dangerous and exciting. Oh God,
clearly there was something fundamentally wrong with her––there had to be. The
air seemed to have been sucked out of the interior of the truck as she waited
for his response, too aware of the leashed power emanating off him right now.
When he finally turned to her, his eyes were
not human. “Don’t push me, little one; you won’t like what you find.”
Chapter Four
They sat in tense silence for the rest of the
journey, which seemed to take them further into the countryside until Marnie
had no idea where she was. A quick glance at her mobile showed there to be no
signal either.
Oh great!
She was god-only-knew-where, trapped in a
moving truck with her boss, who it turns out, she didn’t seem to know at all.
The further they travelled the more alien he seemed to her. Those words of his
seemed to bounce around in her head like ping pong balls, taking on more and
more ominous meaning the longer they drove.
“Just as well I’m not just a man then, little
one.”
As the shadows lengthened and they carried on
driving, the uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach increased to alarming levels
as her mind went into overdrive, remembering every paranormal story she had
ever read. Watching his big body handle the pickup with expert grace as they
avoided the potholes of the one-track, narrow lane they were now hurtling
along, she bit back the gasp of pain, mingled with horror at her imaginings.
What had that headline said…
Animal attack cannot be ruled out…
And if he
wasn’t just a man, but a…
No, no, no, no, no this was madness, just her
overactive imagination, even as another low growl coming from her boss made her
bite her lip. The truck hit a pothole that had seemingly taken up the entire
lane, and they ground to a halt.
Ion’s vicious curse bounced round the cab.
Marnie shrunk in on herself when his eyes briefly connected with hers. His
hungry gaze skimmed across her body, leaving goose bumps of awareness in their
wake – of fear or arousal she didn’t dare examine, as she drew a shuddering
breath into her lungs and screwed her eyes shut.
Ion’s sigh of frustration raised the ends of
her fringe. “Open your eyes, little one, and stop acting as though I’m going to
eat you.”
She shook her head.
No way, he was too close
and he was…
“Marnie, LOOK at me!”
The growled demand made her eyes flutter open
in panic and widen at his next words. “Not unless you want me to.”
“Want you t…to do what?”
One fingertip trailed across her jaw, his
mocking eyes growing murderous, when they fell to the bruises on her throat,
before burning into hers with a spellbinding intensity that held her rooted to
the seat far more effectively than the seatbelt she was still wearing.
He just shook his head, easing back behind the
wheel with a muttered curse.
“Stay here. I’m going to rustle up some help. I
won’t be long,” and before she could say anything else, he had jumped out of
the car and took off into the woods with a speed and grace, reminiscent of the
big predators, she used to love watching in the zoo. The eerie howling invading
the cab seconds later made her screech in fright and slam the locks down.
Maybe this was all just a bad dream…it had to
be….
****
Ion took off at a run, stripping out of his
clothes, his beast howling as he shifted and let the wolf take over, whilst
ruthlessly stopping him from running back to the human and claiming her as his.
She wasn’t his, damn it. Whatever had possessed him to bring her back here,
apart from his wolf’s constant growling in his ears? He picked up speed,
enjoying the feel of the damp earth under his paws. He had been too long
without the sheer pleasure of giving his wolf free reign. Out here, on his
land, he could be himself and not worry about human sensibilities. Life was so
much simpler as the wolf. He had spent months just being the wolf after Zoe. It
had been the only way to keep his emotions under tight control, the only way to
keep sane. And fuck it; it was happening all over again. That look of sheer
terror in Marnie’s eyes had taken him straight back there. He was the Alpha of
his pack, damn it. He couldn’t afford this weakness for any human girl, no
matter how much her scent called to him, even masked by the scent of vampire.
His wolf howled his agony as memories swamped
him. Another soft body calling him, making him forget his duties and alienating
a friend in the process. In the end Zoe had played them both and had paid the
highest price possible. She had not been able to deal with the wolf, let alone
the vampire, her sheer terror driving her in front of the train. Even Lucas had
not been able to help her after that, and it had driven the vampire out of the
country and on a course of destruction that had spanned several years and three
continents.