Authors: Shelley Munro
“He could hear?” Tomasine said in horror.
“I’d be surprised if the whole of Middlemarch didn’t hear,” Leo said. It was obvious his brother was grinning. He could hear it in Leo’s voice. Felix would have thumped the humor from his brother’s face but he was too contented to move. Leo could go tease someone else.
“The girls,” Tomasine gasped. “Where are the girls?”
Good point. He wouldn’t want to corrupt two young shifters before their time.
“I left the girls with Emily. They’re baking gingerbread men and macaroni cheese. Saber is with them so I thought it would be okay.” Leo paused then added, “I can go back and get them if you want.” The words didn’t exactly sound eager and Felix wondered if Gina was making him uncomfortable with her flirting. 68
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“What do you want to do?” Felix smoothed the hair from her forehead so he could see her face clearly. “It’s up to you.”
The battle was a hard fought one. He saw it on her face. She didn’t want the girls out of her sight but she was loath to create a drama out of nothing. While waiting patiently for her decision, he stroked one breast, noting the fine network of veins beneath the surface. He dipped his head and took her nipple into his mouth, suckling gently.
“Are you two listening? If I don’t get a decision soon, I’m coming in,” Leo said.
“What time should I pick them up?” Tomasine said.
Relief crawled through Felix. Trusting them to keep the girls safe was a big step for Tomasine.
“Emily said you were to come out to the farm for dinner and pick them up there.”
Tomasine tensed beneath him and Felix mentally cursed his sister-in-law.
“I didn’t put that very well,” Leo said hastily. “She told me to ask you to dinner and if that suited, she said she’d take them home with her after work and they could help her cook dinner too. Is that okay?”
Felix let go of her nipple. “You can say no, if that makes you feel easier. We’re not going to snob you if you have other plans.”
“I…no, that’s okay,” Tomasine said carefully.
Felix nodded. “Did you get that, Leo?”
“Yeah. Catch ya later,” his brother said. They heard retreating footsteps and the slam of the door when the wind caught it. Minutes later, they heard the ute.
“Looks like I’m trapped here with you,” Felix said. “Anything in particular you want to do?”
Although she smiled, he noticed the worry in her brown eyes. He made a promise to himself. Somehow he would chase the shadows from her life. Tomasine Brooks and 69
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her girls deserved a full and safe life full of love and laughter. At the very least, he could give her that.
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Chapter Five
Joseph Magumbo trembled, savoring the warm feminine limbs that twined around his body, under and over his body. He grasped the large breasts of the woman he was fucking, one in each hand, and squeezed hard. She winced but didn’t make a sound. She knew better. A second woman caressed his butt with her warm, soft hands and pushed a lubed finger inside his anus. Joseph shuddered helplessly at the sensual assault. God, it felt good. The delicate brush of fingers against his prostate gland pushed him toward the climax that shimmered just out of reach. He thrust once, the tension clawing at his control.
“More,” he ordered in a hoarse voice.
The woman below him bit his shoulder hard enough to draw blood while the woman behind shoved another finger into his rectum. The larger intrusion combined with another bite from the female beneath him and one last thrust pushed him into a spectacular release. His cock jerked with explosive contractions, semen exploding from him in hard blasts. Joseph’s eyes squeezed shut. A moan of pleasure echoed in the dimly lit bedroom. He collapsed on the woman beneath him. When the pleasure receded he stirred, impatiently shrugging off the woman at his back. He pulled his wet cock from the woman beneath him, stood to remove the condom and grabbed a handful of tissues to clean up.
He frowned at the two women, one black and one white, sprawled on the white silk sheets of the king-size bed. Before the sex, he’d appreciated the contrast of their skin tones against the linen but now that he was done, he wanted them gone.
“Out! I’m finished with you. Tell Lucas and Robert I wish to see them.” His voice was quiet yet held power. They feared him—it showed in their prompt response to his order. One of the women picked up her clothes and started to dress but the other noted 71
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his scowl and nudged her friend. After a quick glance at his impassive face, they scuttled from his bedroom suite like frightened bugs. Bugs. Bah! They were part of his clan, his to use as he wished. They weren’t any better than bugs. Joseph prowled from the bedroom into the en suite, the cream carpet thick and luxurious beneath his bare feet. A bit different from when he was growing up on the savannah and living in a mud hut. Glass surrounded the shower while a gleaming spa bath, large enough for two, filled a corner. A brass pot containing a lacey green fern sat on a shelf near the bath along with a dish of perfumed soaps. He’d earned the luxuries. Persuading Bernard to move their close friends and family to the city was the best thing he could have done. It had certainly helped him attain power and wealth and set the stage for his takeover. A feral grin spread across his face as he reached into the shower to turn on the water. Multiple showerheads sprang to life and steam rapidly filled the cubicle. Joseph stepped beneath the needlelike spray and gave a groan of pleasure when the warm water beat down on his shoulders. Man, that felt good. Nothing better than a good fuck followed by a shower and a gourmet meal.
And it would be even better when they found the woman. Eliminated the final risk. Joseph rubbed sandalwood-scented soap over his chest and gritted his teeth when he considered the search. Why the fuck was it taking so long? He’d summoned his men to explain. They’d better have answers because he was tired of excuses. He scrubbed the sweat and sex from his body and washed away the soap before switching off the water. Not the relaxing shower he’d envisaged. Joseph grabbed a white towel from the rack near the shower. He dabbed away the worst of the water and checked the bite on his shoulder. The flow of blood had ceased but he made a mental note to ring reception for first-aid supplies. Joseph shrugged into a white toweling robe. Seconds later he padded back into the bedroom.
The soft murmur of voices came from the lounge area of the suite. Joseph sauntered from the bedroom to deal with his men.
It was time for results.
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Robert and Lucas came to attention the instant they saw him enter. They sprang to their feet and watched him warily. As well they should.
“I want to know if you’ve found the woman yet.”
Robert glanced at Lucas before answering. “We tracked her and the kid as far as Melbourne in Australia. Have some promising leads. We think she might have gone to New Zealand.”
“Think?” Joseph exploded across the room and backhanded the man across the jaw. Robert’s head snapped back. He staggered off balance before righting himself and wiping the back of his hand across his mouth. Blood showed on his hand and trickled from his lip where Joseph’s heavy gold ring had caught and torn his skin. Satisfaction swept through Joseph. His special secret weapon. It worked every time. Lucas stepped out of range despite his bulk and larger physique. He knew better than to tug on the leopard’s tail when he was pissed. “We have people in New Zealand now following up leads. Our people are professionals. They will find her.”
“I want results. The woman must die.” Joseph pictured the petite woman in his mind—her luscious body, ripe for the picking. His hand swept down his body, jolting his growing erection. He’d offered her everything. She’d laughed and turned him down. Laughed at him! His lips tightened in determination. By god, he’d have the last laugh. He eyed his men with impatience. What the hell was so difficult about finding and subduing one small female?
“I will contact our liaison for the latest progress,” Lucas said. Robert’s brow crinkled. “What about the kid?”
Joseph walked across the broad expanse of cream carpet, past a cream leather twoseater to a glass and chrome sideboard. A silver tray set on the glass top, bearing six whisky tumblers and a decanter full of the best Scottish whisky money could buy. “My cousin’s spawn. Should have been drowned at birth. I want them both dead. Set the assassins on her. I don’t want any messy entanglements when it comes to making the crown officially mine.”
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Lucas nodded respectfully, hiding his real opinion of his cousin. “It will be done.”
After a glance at Robert and a quick jerk of his head signaling they should leave, Lucas walked across the thick carpet heading for the door. His breath eased out once he was safely out of the hotel suite with his body intact and unmarked. Joseph was a loose cannon. Deranged. Instead of moving on and cementing the position of power gained from the massacre of their enemies, he’d become fixated on his cousin’s wife. Hell, they weren’t even sure the woman was still alive. Identification of the bodies in the village had proved difficult since the scavengers had arrived before they had. It was possible they were chasing a phantom female across the world despite Joseph’s thoughts to the contrary.
Robert wiped the blood from his gashed lip and glanced uneasily at Lucas. “What are we going to do? We don’t know for sure if the queen is alive or not.”
“I know. Have we heard back from all our contacts?”
“Yeah, everyone except the original assassin Joseph set to watch and take out Bernard. We haven’t heard from her in over two years. She was the best I’ve ever seen. The woman never gave up once she’d taken a contract. One hundred percent success rate.”
Lucas frowned deep in thought. “When we didn’t hear from her, it was assumed she died in the massacre but I suppose it’s worth attempting a contact just in case. Yeah, good point. We shouldn’t presume anything. I’ll take steps to establish contact and see what happens.”
* * * * *
After Tomasine’s confession, Felix made it a point to chip away at her closed emotions. He knew how he felt about her but she was still wary. Felix knew it would take time—the shadows he saw in her eyes when she thought he wouldn’t notice confirmed it.
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Felix crawled from the warm bed and dressed slowly, at ease in the dark room. That was the other thing he hadn’t been able to change. Tomasine wouldn’t let him stay overnight because of Sylvie and Gina. Although he spent a lot of time with Tomasine and her two girls, she was scrupulous about appearances and her reputation. It would set a bad example, she said.
Fully dressed, Felix bent over Tomasine and brushed a lingering kiss over her mouth. A sexy little whimper emerged from deep in her throat but she didn’t wake. He smiled before tiptoeing from the room. It was good to see her looking so peaceful and the fact that Tomasine didn’t wake and grab for the knife she kept under the bed meant she was coming to trust him. She mightn’t realize it but they were meant to be together. The thought brought a sentimental lump to his throat. Hell, he sympathized with Saber and the problems he’d had with Emily. He would never laugh at his brothers’ attempts to woo and win their mates again.
Felix crept down the short passage to the front door, avoiding the creaking board outside Gina’s bedroom. Gina made him laugh and her obvious crush on his brother Leo was cute. Even though it made Leo uncomfortable. He unlocked the door, slipped outside and relocked it with the key Tomasine had given him. He’d taken to leaving his vehicle parked out of sight behind the pub even though it was ten minutes from Tomasine’s house. Felix moved steadily through the darkness, alert for anything out of the ordinary. It was more to soothe Tomasine’s fears but he enjoyed the brisk walk back to his vehicle. Sometimes he shifted and ran back to the farm but tonight he’d driven after promising Saber he’d pick up the drench that had been delivered from Dunedin. They needed it for first thing in the morning, before the rural delivery lady could deliver it in her mail van. He strode briskly into town, taking care to move silently despite his pace. The main street of Middlemarch was in darkness apart from the security lights glowing from the garage, small supermarket and the newly opened post office. It was quiet apart from the bleat from the goat tethered on the road frontage outside the Gibson property. 75
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Felix tensed suddenly, every sense on high alert. It wasn’t something he heard or saw, more gut instinct that made him slide deep into the shadows cast by a pine tree. His heart thumped with apprehension. During the last month, he hadn’t heard or seen anyone on his nightly jaunts back to the farm. He peered from the shadows, moving slowly because the hair at the back of his neck prickled insistently. Someone was out there. He couldn’t see them yet and it might be innocent, but given Tomasine’s worries, he decided to err on the side of caution.
He waited for five minutes. Ten. Tension swirled in his gut. Was he overreacting?
Five minutes later, Felix decided he was alone before a flash of movement caught his eye. Despite the risk of being seen, he slipped from the shadows and prowled silently toward the spot. He needed to identify the danger or eliminate it entirely. No way was he going to frighten Tomasine and risk losing her. He sensed she’d run if she thought her family was in danger. A scowl twisted his lips. If only she’d confide in him instead of keeping secrets.
Felix slipped into the shadows by the supermarket and studied the darkness around him carefully. It was a person, dressed totally in black. Slender. Cautious. Studying the shadows as carefully as he did.
Then the person turned toward him.
A woman.
A stranger.
Felix grunted inwardly, appreciating her stark blonde beauty when he caught sight of her face. But that didn’t answer his questions. What was she doing skulking around Middlemarch in the early hours of the morning? While not against the law, it was bloody suspicious and in light of Tomasine’s concerns, he needed to see what the woman was up to.