Chapter Fourteen
MINA
I stood in the driveway for a long time, replaying what Clement had said.
Look, I don’t like this.
Ha. That made two of us.
Any of this, I mean, he’d said, waving to the house. Those men. At least one of them is a shifter. Maybe the others too.
Yes, I knew that. And I knew it was iffy. But, honestly. Did he think I needed him to point out the obvious?
He meant well, but it grated somehow.
And damn, Mina. What are you doing, keeping a vampire in the house?
Keeping him, like a pet? Not exactly.
I’d explained about needing the money — desperately — but Clem had just shaken his head.
Nothing is worth keeping a vampire around. Nothing.
In principle, I agreed. But principles wouldn’t feed me, and they sure wouldn’t fix the roof.
I’ll come by again, Clem swore. Often.
To him, it was probably a gallant gesture. To me, it was a giant red flag. I was not a damsel in need of rescuing. I was a damsel harboring four mercenaries, and the less my police officer friend knew about them, the better.
You will not, I’d insisted a little too quickly. He eyed me suspiciously, and I rushed to cover up my slip. These are my clients — paying clients — and I cannot afford for them to feel harassed.
Poor Clement had looked up at me with an expression that asked, What happened to you? When did you change?
Funny, I was tempted to ask him the same thing.
Then I caught myself. It was sweet of him to look out for me, and my fault for being too stressed to appreciate his concern.
And, really, in a few weeks — okay, months — my clients would be on their way, and Clem and I could pick up where we’d left off.
We could spend more time together — nonjudgmental time — and enjoy a wholesome, friends-to-lovers, small-town romance.
We could settle down. Have kids. Enjoy long summer walks and quiet winter evenings…
I did my best to keep the list going, but it petered out quickly. So quickly, I found myself wondering. Did I not want those things any more?
A moment of intense introspection told me I absolutely did. Yes to settling down with a good man. Yes to kids. The whole nine yards.
So, what was my problem?
I glanced toward the house, and my heart thumped, telling me exactly what — or who — the problem was.
Which was ridiculous. Clem was perfect for me, while Marius practically had regrettable mistake tattooed into the underside of his wings — a message I was sure to see the day he broke my heart and flew out of my life, if I was foolish enough to let him in in the first place.
So, no. Marius was an infatuation. An addiction. It was only his dragon aura that drew me in.
Clem was a good citizen. A safe bet. A sweet, reliable man.
Or so I tried telling myself. I could conjure all the right words, but not the sentiment.
I gazed down the empty driveway for a long, quiet minute, then headed inside. I had business to attend to, and a real-life intruder to track down. Now was not the time for such foolishness.
I stepped inside the grand entrance hall and headed toward the kitchen, hearing the guys there.
But my steps slowed, and I stopped, searching for an excuse to avoid him — er, them.
I hadn’t gotten a wink of sleep last night, and the morning hadn’t been a big improvement. Didn’t I deserve a little mental break?
A good plan, except for one thing. Marius stepped out of the kitchen, spotting me. He froze, taking up most of the doorway, casting a long shadow into the hall.
My eyes met his, and zing! There it was again. That fire. That live current zipping through my veins.
My heart warmed, because his eyes held joy, hope, and desire. My head urged me to run, because, well…joy, hope, and desire.
Running won.
I spun around and hurried to the spiral staircase, not ready to face him. Footsteps followed. Big, heavy, dragon-shifter-size steps that quickly caught up with me.
I stopped and glared, though he got the first word in.
“Where are you going?”
I stuck my hands on my hips, grateful that the stairs allowed me to look down at him.
“I need a minute,” I said.
“Now? We need to talk.”
We, as in him and me, or we, as in all of us?
“We can talk later.” I turned and stormed up another few stairs.
Again, he clomped after me. Again, I spun, practically shouting this time. “What is it with you?”
He blinked. “What is it with you?”
I made a show of scratching my chin. “Let me see. Oh, yes. I was stalked last night. I didn’t get a wink of sleep. Then Clement shows up…”
“He is an ass,” Marius muttered in agreement, though I’d said no such thing.
“He is not an ass. He was just checking on me.”
Marius snorted. “Oh, he was checking you, all right.”
I huffed. “Even if he did, what’s it to you?”
Marius crossed his arms firmly. “Nothing.”
Ha. Nothing, my ass. The hair around his jaw bristled, and a squall whirled in his eyes.
I stared, then blurted in surprise. “You don’t like another man looking at me?”
He scowled and stuck his hands in his pockets. “No, I don’t. He wants you, you know.”
Yes, I did. And I was flattered to have a man like Clem interested in me. Flattered and, frankly, a little thrilled. But the thrill had faded quickly, and I’d found myself craving more distance from him.
But back to Marius, dammit.
“And this is your business because…?” I demanded.
He clicked his jaw, and I knew I had him. It was none of his business.
“Marius?” Bene called from downstairs.
We both froze as if caught in a secret act — which this was absolutely, positively not. Then Marius hustled me up another few steps, safely out of sight. I complied, feeling like an accomplice to a crime I didn’t commit. A willing accomplice, because something shifted in me as we went.
I stopped, as did Marius — a scant step below me, putting him awfully close.
Nice and close, something inside me purred.
He glanced down, and we both held our breaths, avoiding detection.
Which made no sense. What was I hiding, and who was I hiding it from?
Myself, I quickly realized. I was trying to hide that I liked — no, loved — having Marius close. That my heart revved and butterflies fluttered through my soul.
“Seriously,” I whispered, desperate to know. “What’s it to you?”
His glowing eyes said, You are everything to me.
I shook my head, confused. “You don’t even like me. You hate me.”
Didn’t he?
He stared. “I don’t hate you, Mina.”
“You do. You avoid me. You barely notice me. Every time I speak, you look away.”
His lips parted, but he didn’t utter a word.
I rushed to fill the awkward silence. “Look. I’m a grown woman. If I want to get involved with someone, I’ll get involved. My decision.”
“Involved?” he growled.
I nodded crisply. “Involved. My choice. Who I want. Who I touch. Who I kiss…”
And oops. My voice had slipped from indignant to sultry in the space of a few words. Where had that come from?
You have a lot more of your ancestors in you than you think, my dear, my grandmother used to say.
I gulped. Like the hot-blooded, lusting animal part?
“Kiss? That asshole?” Marius growled.
“You prefer that I kiss you?”
And, double oops. Where the hell had that come from?
From instincts I didn’t know I had and that I’d somehow unleashed, apparently, because I found myself inching closer to him.
“I could kiss you, you know. I’m capable of deciding that too.”
“I bet you are,” he murmured.
Was he mocking me? Daring me? I couldn’t tell. But his lips were temptingly close.
I didn’t actually say, You doubt me? Well, how about this? But I might as well have, because a second later, my lips landed on his.
A little gasp rose in my throat, but it faded into a sigh, and I lost myself in that kiss. Literally lost myself, like I’d stumbled through a mirror or a magical wardrobe into a whole new world. A world ruled by touch, where sight, sound, and smell all stood by on mute.
His lips were pillow-soft and perfectly shaped.
So perfectly, our lips rocked together with no effort at all.
They rocked so well that I began to explore up…
down…left…right… A good thing for the stubble around his mouth, which acted as a guardrail.
Every time I grazed it, I bounced back to the centerline of the kiss.
But I did need to breathe at some point, and when I did, I dragged my cheek against his. Such poor, neglected stubble. Why should his lips get all the fun?
Apparently, there was a little-known nerve that connected one’s cheeks to their core, because every long, lusty scrape made me want more. I dove back into the kiss, exploring deeper that time.
Then a delayed alarm flashed in my mind, and I drew away with a gasp.
“Oh God. Sorry.” My hands flew to my face.
Marius blinked, still lost in that other world. “Sorry?”
“I didn’t ask. I just…just…”
Attacked your lips fit best, but I couldn’t bring myself to say it.
He frowned. “Ask what?”
“If it was okay with you. You know, if you wanted it. I mean, um…”
“So, ask,” he growled.
I fluttered my hands. “No, it’s okay. I mean—”
He caught my hands. “Go ahead. Ask,” he ordered, all gruff.
I hemmed and hawed before my primal side won out.
“Would you be all right with me kissing yo—”
“Yes,” he blurted.
And, boom! My lips slammed over his, and off we went to Narnia again.
Thick, muscled arms wound around my shoulders, reeling me in. My chest pressed against his. My lips opened, inviting him in.
In the haze of my mind, I sensed him easing from the lower step to mine, boxing me in.
Bit by bit, he pressed my body against the cool stone wall, though I barely noticed, thanks to the flames racing through my veins.
He slid a hand around my waist, anchoring me securely in place.
A good thing too, now that I had a hurricane roaring through my ears.
Marius swiped his lips against mine, gently tugged my lower lip, then scraped his coarse cheek over my skin. All hard, then all soft, venturing close to the edge of too much but still not enough.
Will never, ever get enough, the back of my mind cried.
Ding-ding! A sound rattled through the stairwell, and we snapped apart. Only an inch, but it felt like a chasm after being so close. I gasped for air, trying to place the sound.
Ding-ding!
I slumped. The bell. The goddamn servants’ bell.
“Bene…” Marius growled.
I knew I would regret showing the lion shifter how that system worked.
“You did mention a meeting,” I sighed.
“It can wait,” he said, smoothing my hair back, then puckering up.
I chuckled. “What is that for?”
“Giving you permission to kiss me again.”
“So, you really don’t hate me, huh?”
He shook his head. “Of course I don’t hate you. I only hate that I can’t stop thinking about you. That I can’t stop wanting you.”
My mouth hung open.
He stroked my cheek gently. “So, about that kiss…”
“Well, if you insist…”
I meant to press slowly into another kiss, but it got away from me, and soon, we were panting…touching…needing…
We were playing with fire, and I knew it. But that was the thing about fire. Once you got a blaze going, it took on a life of its own.
When Marius slid a hand down my leg, I raised it eagerly. When I slid my hands down his ass, he surged forward. I started calculating the distance to my bedroom.
But the bell rang again, more insistently this time.
“Dammit…” Marius growled.
I forced my foot back to the floor and caressed his cheek.
“We should go,” I said, though I didn’t budge.
He arched an eyebrow. “In a rush?”
“No, but the longer I stand here, the more I want to kiss you.”
He snorted. “The longer I stand here, I more I need to kiss you.”
A chorus of angels hit high notes in my soul. The big, bad dragon shifter needed me. Me!
Somehow, I kept myself together and played coy. “Would that be so bad?”
He shook his head. “It would be too good.”
And damn the man for saying all the right things. I half hoped he would be too rough, too demanding, or plagued by bad breath. Then I could stop lusting after him all day and get on with my life.
The bell rang again, and I cursed. Then I sucked in a deep breath, patted his chest — a big, broad chest, like a platter, if platters came in solid steel — and eased up one step.
Marius closed his eyes. His nostrils flared, savoring my scent. Then he loosened his grip, slowly pulling his hands away from my waist.
I missed his warmth immediately, but my senses were gradually emerging from their fog, and I knew we’d gone too far.
Not far enough, my libido grumbled.
I ran my hands over my hair, then my rumpled clothes.
“You need to…um…” I motioned to his shirt.
He arched an eyebrow. “Hide the evidence?”
I gave him a look, then straightened his shirt myself, sneaking in a few last touches.
“So…um…” I started, then stopped. “Maybe we shouldn’t read too much into this.”
A lie, because my heart was already racing away with deep analyses and plans.
His lips curled in a cocky grin. “You mean, you pawing me?”
I rolled my eyes. “I did not paw you.”
“You did.”
“I did not!”
“You did. Without permission, even.” His eyes sparkled.
“Ha. Don’t tell me you feel violated.”
Not violated enough, his glowing eyes said.
“You owe me now,” he decided.
“I do not!”
He grinned, like baiting me was oh-so fun. A small but beautiful life is good smile. A smile I wanted a million more of.
A lifetime, something in me whispered.
“Well, I apologize,” I offered, not all too sincerely. “I got a little carried away…”
A little? his dancing eyes said.
“But as I said, no need to read into this too much.”
Wouldn’t dream of it, his cocky, bad-boy grin said.
I went on quickly. “Oh, and thank you for your help last night.”
He waited, locking his arms across his chest like a pair of thick swords.
I caved in. “And that night I was hurt. I’m grateful for your help then too.”
Taking care of me was more like it, but that made me sound weak.
I gulped, then touched his arm. “That was you, wasn’t it?”
His eyes hit the floor. “Maybe.”
Definitely.
“I know it was you, and it was very…touching.”
“Touching?” he grumbled, not at all pleased.
I hid a grin. “I promise I won’t tell anyone you have a soft side.”
“No soft side here, lady.” He smacked his own torso.
Ha. Like I hadn’t noticed.
I shook my head and touched his chest, near his heart. “I meant here.”
He caught my hand to steer it away, but stopped, wrapping his fingers around mine. The glow in his eyes rekindled, and the haze of that other world started creeping in again.
Ding! Ding! The bell rang again.
With a sigh, I motioned down the stairs.
“Come on. We have a vampire to catch.”