I'll Be There, page 10
part #19 of His Mate - Brother Series
“Obviously, you don’t have what the rest of us possess – guilt,” he offered back, and from his position to the side of her he watched her raise her eyebrows, and he had a little hope, but when she snorted a chuckle that hope died on the breeze.
“It’s not my fault you were riding on the back of the truck like an idiot when your elder decided to try to kill us,” she said, narrowing her eyes on the big black blob ahead of her.
There was something there, she was sure of that, but what it was, she didn’t know. She could only hope it was the bar.
“It kind of was your fault,” he said, not willing to get into an argument with her when he was supposed to be wooing the wayward, wicked witch, and not antagonising her more than she was already.
“No,” she said, stopping and turning towards him. She could barely make out his face in the darkness. “It wasn’t.”
“You ran,” Flint said, and shrugged. She did note those big, wide shoulders move in the darkness.
“Actually, I drove,” she offered back with a victory smile, knowing full well that he could see her perfectly well in the dark. “Nobody invited you along, least of all me.”
Flint lifted his hand and pointed a finger at her as he opened his mouth, but she turned on her heels and stalked away from him. With a groan, he set off after her. “You ran from your mate, me, and we all know that’s a big fat no-no.”
“Big fat no-no?” she snorted a chuckle. “Is that related to your big fat head?”
“Personal insults, how witchy of you…”
“Just calling it as I see it, wolfman,” she tossed back over her shoulder as she gained on the large imposing shadow.
For some reason, she had a horrible feeling that he’d been telling the truth, go figure, and that what she was looking at wasn’t the bar. It was big, but it didn’t look big enough, and where was the parking lot, all she saw were trees and she didn’t remember too many of them next to the bar?
Coleen groaned inwardly as she slowed her step, not entirely sure she wanted to get to where she’d been going now that it wasn’t what she was expecting.
She hated to ask, but when she groaned to a halt and felt his hard body slam into her back, nudging her on a step before his large hands wrapped around her upper arms, and he yanked her back against his chest, she cursed her for stopping in the first place.
Flint’s breath was hot against her cheek, and there was no way in hell she was going to admit that it felt like a caress, but there was nothing she could do to stop the hard shiver that travelled down her spine, and along with the tingles that came from his touch against her skin she felt every inch of her body come alive.
“I thought you had perfect vision,” she berated him, trying to shake his hands off, but he didn’t let go.
“Perfect vision doesn’t make me psychic. How was I to know you were going to stop?” he growled.
He didn’t growl from annoyance but from the feeling of her body against his. That feeling also set his wolf off. The beast was trying to tempt him to allow it to rise up so he could mark her as theirs, while also trying to force the issue.
Neither was going to happen. Flint had to fight the wolf back, but he managed to slam that cage door shut on his beast.
“Gee, I don’t know, but maybe if you weren’t following hard on my heels like a damn puppy…”
“Careful, Coleen, you don’t want to tempt my beast to prove itself to you, do you?”
“That all depends if your beast wants neutering,” she bit back.
Flint’s wolf had a Scooby-Doo moment and pulled back all on its own. “I’d say change the subject.”
“With pleasure,” she said, eyeing the structure. “You said I didn’t want to go where we were going, and now we’re here, so where is here?”
“I said; I didn’t think you were going to like it…”
“Same difference, different words,” she snapped, trying to squirm out from his touch, but again, he didn’t let go.
“Not really, but then I’m not female.”
He could have kicked himself when she yanked her body away from his, and he had to let her go. He liked having her in his arms, not that she had really been in his arms, at least, not the way he wanted her to be.
Coleen turned and glared at him. “You see this face?” she asked, pointing at herself.
“Perfectly…”
“Well, ten points for you,” she sneered. “Does this face look like I want to argue semantics with you while standing out in the middle of nowhere, in the dark, and with a growing need to prove my point?”
Flint took a long moment to consider it. “I get your point…”
“Not yet, but I’m this close to giving it to you,” she said, motioning with her thumb and finger and showing him that her temper was being frayed to within an inch of his wellbeing. Then she stomped her foot on the ground and hooked her thumb over her shoulder. “What is it?” she demanded, hoping that she’d made her point.
“Honey, welcome home,” he said, and she could just hear the big, stupid grin on his lips because that sound was in his voice.
Coleen turned away from him and stared at that looming shadow on the landscape. Then she closed her eyes, dropped her head forward on her neck, and groaned.
There were times when life just felt the need to kick you right up the butt – this was one of those times.
“I hate men,” she grumbled.
“Well, now we’re really getting to the root of your problems,” he said with a deep chuckle, but he wasn’t chuckling when she zapped him. “Truth hurts, babe.”
Coleen zapped him again, and it wasn’t just a little zap, it was a great big humdinger that made every muscle, every sinew in his body, tighten until they felt as if they were going to snap.
Flint let out one hell of a yelp.
“Magic hurts,” she said back over her shoulder as she started towards the shadow. “Truth is just inconvenient at times.”
CHAPTER TWENTY
~
Lorna eyed the alpha over the top of the mug that she held in both hands. She probably could have done with something a little stronger than coffee, but she needed to keep her wits about her. After all, this was the mating game, and she was curious how it all happened.
Fate’s magic was a wonderful thing, or it could be if it didn’t hit you right between the eyes and suddenly announce you were a mate and here was the rest of your life. While she liked the idea of things all being mapped out for her, because she was a big fan of lists, she wasn’t sure she liked the idea of how it was all designed.
Who didn’t want a six-foot hunk of sex god dropped into their lap with the promise of it being forever? The thing was; she didn’t know if she did, and that was what he needed to work out.
For his part; Nash had been watching Lorna for a while. She seemed to be relaxing more with every minute that they were together, but there was still an element of cat on a hot tin roof about her – like she might decide to up and bolt at any moment.
As a person she seemed easy enough to get on with, she laughed at his jokes, and he loved seeing her smile, it made him feel warm inside like coming home after a long day, but there was doubt in her eyes, and he didn’t know how to make that go away.
“You can ask me anything,” he offered and watched her eyes narrow for a moment before a mischievous light filled them. He cursed his stupidity, what he should have said was anything relevant to their situation.
“How many times does an alpha need to … you know?” She flicked a look down his body. “In a day?”
Nash took a deep breath and raised his eyebrows. “That’s the first thing you think about?”
“Not the first thing, but it came top of the list for cheap shots,” she offered back, grinning.
“Less now that I’ve found a mate,” he said, and she saw the sparkle of amusement in his darkening eyes.
Shifters eyes were a window to their emotions. Angry, dark, annoyed, dark, horny, dark, the only time they were their natural colour seemed to be when they were on an even keel. She wasn’t sure she’d seen his natural eye colour more than once, and right now they were black – she had a feeling that meant super horny.
Perhaps bringing up sex wasn’t the way to go – or maybe he was right, and that was the thing that kept popping into her stupid head every few minutes – she was either turning into a guy, or fate worked in mysterious ways.
“And you think I’m just going to give in to your – charms?” she asked, wedging her elbows on the countertop and keeping the mug near her lips so she could use it as camouflage should the need arise.
Nash leaned over the countertop and wedged his arms on the hard surface, and he regarded her from beneath his long dark lashes – he had the sexiest stare she’d ever seen, smoking hot and threatening to set her panties on fire – she just hoped he didn’t growl, because his growl topped with the smouldering good looks was like catnip to her senses. “Yes.”
He’d finally answered her question, and she didn’t realise that she’d been holding her breath waiting for his reply. If the last few hours were anything to go by then he was probably right – she felt hopelessly devoted to this whole mate scenario, and she hadn’t even tried to escape.
What had she been thinking?
Well, she knew that between the angel on one shoulder and the devil on the other – it was the little devil that had won the day every time. That poor angel was flat on her back seeing little flying birdies swirling around her head, and Lorna could identify with that feeling.
It was as if fate had sideswiped her and she’d just let it happen.
“I know you’re an alpha and the ego goes with the superhero fur suit you put on, but what makes you think that I’m easy?”
Nash could have said something really funny about that one, but he seemed to have her in the moment and he didn’t want to miff her off and put her back up again. He offered her a slow to boil drop-dead gorgeous smile that she seemed to be transfixed on.
Then he backed it up with a little rumble of a growl that made her absently fidget on the stool. “I just think when two people are made for each other, literally, and they know it’s for an eternity – why wait?”
Lorna liked the tone of his voice, it lulled her senses, and who needed James Earl Jones whispering sweet nothings from the latest blockbuster book when you had an alpha male wolf shifter that reached the right spot?
Lorna was bewitched, but it took the gentle sound of his chuckling to make her realise it. With a shiver up her spine, she kicked that feeling right into touch.
She thought it was only vampires that could do that sort of thing, but now she knew better – it was mates as well. Only a vampire did it for nefarious reasons; fate had given that ability to mates for something else entirely. It was all part of the mating pull.
Point well and truly made.
“Nice hook – go fish,” she said, putting the mug down and twisting on the stool until she had her back to him, or she thought she did, but there he was, walking right up to her – speedy little sucker!
“I could say I’m the bait and you’re already dancing on the line,” he said, and then closed in or her.
His inner thighs brushed her outer ones, his upper body leaned in as he palmed the counter on either side of her, caging her in, and sending a wave of heat through her body that was akin to stepping out of the airport terminal in Florida, and whoosh! She felt that heat to her very bones.
The adrenaline dump and rush of excitement that followed the heat was almost too much to bear, but it was the immediate rollercoaster ride and flapping of butterfly wings inside her that really took the biscuit.
Oh Goddess, being practically nose to nose with him was akin to having an x-rated movie playing in her mind while some little Gremlin messed with the rhythm of her heart. And then there was the added disadvantage of holding her breath – she berated herself for doing that – the last thing she needed was to fall on her face on the floor.
What was a girl to do with all of that, that didn’t involve melting and jabbering like a mental person?
Nash’s lips were so close to hers that when he spoke, she was kind of disappointed that he wasn’t using them for better things – like kissing her. “But the truth is; I’m the fish…”
“Huh?” Lorna’s brain wasn’t working, and she knew that wasn’t her fault. It was him, him so close, his lips so damn temptingly kissable, and she, so curious that she could just have sighed with frustration.
“You caught me, you have me, I’m yours,” he said, and her skin prickled from the sound of an underlying growl that mixed with the tingles and the hairs standing to attention and only felt even more like a big ball of frustration within her. “The only question is; now you have me, what are you going to do with me?”
Lorna knew exactly what she’d like to do with him, but wasn’t that a little premature? While it was true that Coleen wasn’t there to slut-shame her, it still ticked away in the back of her mind.
Escape! She thought and lunged forward. That hadn’t been the best decision she’d ever had.
Lorna’s forehead hit his, and as his natural reaction was to draw back, he soon regretted it as she tried to get off the stool in record time, and her knee caught him right between the legs.
Whoops!
For one long moment, she couldn’t understand the look on his face as it grew red-hot and twisted in pain, but when he slapped his hands over his crown jewels, and his knees buckled, she sat dead still and grimaced as realisation gripped her just as hard and guilt sprang forward in her mind.
“You’re not going to believe this but…” She winced. “Whoops.” She said with a pained expression, but not as pained as his.
Nash’s knees hit the floor, and he made a gurgling noise in the back of his throat that didn’t sound like a growl, more like he was choking on his own tongue.
Lorna couldn’t take her eyes off his as they glazed over and tears welled up, and she wasn’t sure if he could see her or not, but he looked at her like she’d kicked his puppy and he couldn’t understand why.
Oh boy, she hated to feel guilty at the best of times, but right then, she felt like the worst person in the world.
One thing she did know was that now wasn’t the right time to try to explain it to him, or apologise – she thought she’d wait until the rushing in his ears and the wheezing was over to do that.
CHAPTER TWENTY ONE
~
Merry whimpered a little as she dropped down onto the sofa and eyed the vampire who seemed to be inspecting her magazines. Not that there were any that was up to date, she didn’t really browse anymore.
“Something I didn’t say?” Santino asked, turning his attention on her.
“Why are you here, Santi – and not here as in pack land, the area – whatever, but here?” she said motioning around her.
“Saves being out there, no?” he asked with a devilish grin, but he could tell that she wanted more than that. She really was going to make him work for her friendship. “Fine,” he huffed and dropped his backside down on the sofa opposite her. “The truth.”
“Ha! A likely story,” she muttered, looking anywhere but at him.
“So, that’s how it is between us?” he asked, but still couldn’t get her to look at him. “No matter what I say you’re not going to believe me?”
“We’ll see,” she said and shrugged.
“Truth is…” He waited for her snide remark again, but when it didn’t come, he launched into telling his side. “When I was banished for not doing what we both know I didn’t do,” he paused and thought that one back. It hadn’t sounded right, but she offered a grunt, so he guessed it made sense to someone.
He decided to continue. “I hung around a bit…”
“Like a fart?” she asked and grinned to herself.
“Like the man who said he would,” he corrected her, and she pressed her lips together. “But, someone must have told the alpha I was around, and there was a run in, and I thought it better to leave rather than them put you under house arrest or something medieval.”
Santino noted the frown on her forehead, the pout on her lips, and knew she was chewing that one over. “Then I heard the alpha was dead and I came back.”
“He’s been dead a while,” she offered.
“I procrastinated, and then I came back,” he corrected himself.
“But why come back at all?” Merry asked, and that time she turned her full attention on him.
There he was sitting in the spotlight of her gaze, unsure of himself for the first time in a very long time. “I…” He opened his hands and tossed his thoughts away or lack of them.
“Good answer,” Merry mocked him with a glare and her tone.
“Fine,” he said like she was trying to pry into his deepest darkest thoughts where nobody had been allowed for a very long time. “There is a connection between us, at least,” he said holding up his hand to silence her when she went to speak. “On my end. I know we’re not mates, we’ve both had that in our lives and look how that turned out. But we’re friends…”
“Were,” she said. “We were friends.”
“Not my fault I left,” he snapped.
“Not my fault you took it on yourself to come back either,” she snapped. Then she sighed.
It wasn’t like she hadn’t missed him. Especially after her mate had died, she’d found herself staring at the blank wall in front of her desk thinking about him and the mischief they used to get up to. She grumbled a growl. “You are so bloody frustrating.”
“I learned from the best,” he said and tossed her another grin. “Friends – that’s it – that’s all, and if you want to tell me to go to hell, weeeellll,” he said and left it there.
There was a spark of amusement in her eyes, mischief sparkled brightly, and he knew what was coming. “They wouldn’t have you in hell.”
“They certainly wouldn’t have me in the other place,” he tossed back and put his finger to his lips and hushed her as she chuckled.
