“I’ve lived in this world, our world, about a decade longer than you have, sweetheart. I’ve seen war, and I’ve done things for God and country that you can’t even imagine.” He moved then, headed her way.
For the first time in her entire life, Tabitha Rusko had to fight the urge to back away from danger. It was true that she’d only met the mellow detective who had thought he was at the end of his too-short life. Apparently she’d never met the soldier or the male who’d been strong enough to survive an immortal mating even while ill. He was no longer ill. What he was, she didn’t know.
He reached her, standing a mere foot away. “The marking on a demon’s hand only appears when their mate is near. Yours appeared when I kissed you the first time.”
“Yes,” she admitted. “But I don’t believe in fate and all of that.” Yeah, she sounded defensive and unsure.
“I do,” he said, his chin down, studying her like he’d never really looked at her before. Like she was now in his world, and he was trying to decide what exactly to do with her.
She threw up her hands, going for a good offense. “You seemed like a laconic cop who just wanted to help people. Even though we had this obvious attraction for each other, you stayed distant. Like I plan to do.” She couldn’t just drop everything and trust somebody right now. Not until she set herself up with enough money and power to keep safe. Maybe to keep him safe.
“I was dying,” he said, that focus becoming unnerving. “Now I’m not. Probably.”
“You’re not,” she snapped. “Mating makes you immortal. While our blood can’t cure diseases in humans, a mating does.” Although he could use some doubt in his mind, apparently. She spoke too soon. Maybe she should try to reason with him, but as far as she’d heard, that rarely worked with mated immortal males. “I’m kind of on my own mission right now.”
“World domination?” he drawled.
She grinned. “No. Just security and safety, which comes from money.”
“I think safety now comes from me, baby.” This close, power already cascaded off him—strong and sure.
Oh, crap.
* * * *
Evan hadn’t felt this strong in two years. His body felt like his own again, and he studied the female in front of him intently. Interest and a barely banked vulnerability glimmered in those eyes that had haunted his dreams, and he should probably back off and let her come to terms with what they’d voluntarily done. While he had no clue what forever meant, right now, they had to come up with a plan together. The bottom line was that even though she was the immortal being, he did have years and experience on her. “You’re naïve if you think money brings safety.” Even he knew that.
She lifted her chin, the challenging sight stirring his desire for her even higher. “It sure doesn’t hurt.”
“True.” The skin along his nape prickled, and he turned instinctively to see Richard Goncharov stride along the house from the backyard. Had he been waiting? Evan’s chest filled and his blood flowed faster through his veins, sparking almost painfully. What was happening?
Richard, his face hard, reached the other side of the vehicle. “I’ve waited long enough. The Popovs are coming, and you need to leave with me now.” His focus remained on Tabi, and he ignored Evan as if he wasn’t there.
Evan crossed in front of the BMW, coming within a foot of the demon. “She’s mated, friend. You’ve lost—leave town.” The sense of possessiveness taking him held a life of its own—strong and brutal. He forced his hands to relax and not form fists. Whatever was happening, he would handle it like he had every other challenge in his life. “Goodbye.”
Richard turned his body to face him fully, his extra inches of height making him crane his neck. “You’re human.”
“So I’ve heard,” Evan said evenly.
Richard’s nostrils flared in his pale face, and his eyes widened. “I smell her on you.” He turned so suddenly the air cracked. “You mated a human?”
“Yes,” Tabi said, meeting his gaze over the sports car. “It’s complete and a done deal, so there’s no reason for you to remain in town. I believe my mate told you to leave.”
Evan settled—slightly. Hearing her claim him as her mate calmed some of the fire raging inside him. “Go.”
Richard’s lips peeled back and his fangs dropped. “The Popovs will kill you both. At least sell me your business—you’ll have enough funds to get somewhere safe.” Then he named a price that had Evan’s eyebrows lifting. These people worked in millions and not thousands.
Tabi scoffed. “The business is worth billions—possibly trillions. I’ll never let it go.”
Evan stepped closer to the demon, not liking the fangs out. “She’s safe now and will remain so.” Even as a human, he would’ve protected her.
“You’re not.” Richard attacked faster than a whisper, grabbing Evan’s arms and slashing sharp fangs down his neck.
Pain exploded near Evan’s ear, and he shoved the demon off him.
“No!” Tabi leaped for Richard, sliding on her knees across the BMW hood, her nails scoring down his face.
The demon roared and backhanded her. The sound of his hand impacting her cheek echoed through the rain, and she cried out, tumbling backward and off the side of the car.
Anger exploded inside Evan, and he dodged forward, grabbing Richard by the neck and yanking him away from the hood with one hand, punching with the other. Richard fought back, his punches holding more strength than any human’s ever had. They dropped to the ground, hitting and grappling for position.
Richard nailed Evan in the nose, and his entire skull clamored. His vision blurred.
“Stop it.” Tabi jumped back into the fray, punching Richard in the neck and trying to protect Evan from the blows.
“Damn it.” Evan grasped her arm to pull her out of the way.
Richard jumped to his feet and kicked Evan in the gut. Agony ripped throughout Evan’s rib cage. He shoved himself to his feet, pulling Tabi up and shoving her behind him.
She pushed to his side and kicked up, nailing Richard beneath the jaw.
The demon’s head snapped back, and he quickly recomposed himself, his fangs dropping even lower and his eyes swirling to a lighter gray. His reach was long enough that he swung out, smashing her right in the temple with his large fist.
She smashed into Evan’s side, crying out.
Fury swelled and heated inside Evan, and he moved without thinking, punching with all his strength toward Richard’s neck. His fist kept going through flesh, cartilage and bone, snapping a vertebra at the back. Growling, beyond rational thought, he swept his arm right and then left, decapitating the threat.
Richard’s head dropped to the ground, rolling under the car. His body fell forward, landing on the wet pavement, his legs kicking out. Blood poured from the neck and covered the pavement.
Tabitha held her cheek and backed away, her wide eyes staring at the decapitated corpse. “You punched through his neck.”
Evan stepped away, the demon’s blood on his hand burning. He shook it and released the cartilage sticking to his palm. “Yeah.” He came back into himself, his breath fast.
Tabi looked at him, her mouth open and shock freezing her features. “You really punched his head off.”
Evan looked down at his fist. “I guess I did. I must’ve gotten stronger with the mating?”
She lowered her hand, revealing two large and mottled bruises forming. “You don’t understand. You can’t just punch through an immortal’s neck. I mean, you…can’t.”
Evan frowned. “I did.” He winced at the sight of the decapitated body. “Do demons have weak necks?”
“No.” Tabi’s voice trembled.
He looked at her, a cold pit settling in his gut. “Maybe Richard had some sort of neck disease?”
She slowly shook her head, watching him like he’d become the threat.
Huh. Evan held his hand out to let the light rain wash off the burning blood. “You’ve never heard of that h
appening?”
“Maybe during battle or in extreme duress, but only when an enemy is already on the ground,” she whispered. “Nobody should be able to do what you just did. I mean, we take heads, but we usually use a sword or boot or blade. Not just a punch.”
Evan sighed. “So I’m not normal.”
She took another step away from him, slicing his heart in two. “No. Which means you’re in more danger than we thought. We have to get rid of this body. Now.”
Chapter 12
The buzzing of her cell phone awoke Tabi from a deep sleep. She reached for it before remembering where she was. A glance to the side, and she confirmed she was in Evan’s bed next to the ex-cop and his incredibly hard body. Two snoring dogs sprawled out on the floor. “Hello?” she answered, trying to center herself.
“Hi, Tabi. It’s Emma. I’m sorry to have awakened you,” the queen said, sounding distracted.
Tabi sat up, her breath catching. “That’s all right. What’s going on?”
“Nothing. I just finished the blood tests, and your blood is reacting like any new mate’s would. Evan’s is different, but I think it’s just because he’s the only enhanced human male I’ve ever tested. The cells are wild, really. How is he doing?”
“Great,” Tabi said. “How is his blood different?”
Evan turned on his side, his blue eyes clear as he watched her.
“His blood is changing much faster than I’ve ever seen a mate’s blood change, which might be unique to him, rather than all human males. The cells are amping up like they’ve been shot full of adrenaline, and the chromosomal pair advancement is almost already done. I just don’t know. He might be stronger than most immortals as well, but we’ll see. I assume he’ll be like most mates and gain your skills, but his might be enhanced on their own, which would be something new. I’d like to conduct more tests on him.”
Tabi swallowed. “We’ll definitely keep it in mind.”
“Is he showing any unusual signs? Anything that has caught your attention?” the queen asked.
“Well, he’s being a bossy and overbearing butthead,” Tabi said, remembering the night before when he hadn’t really given her a choice in where she was staying the night. “I’d even say controlling.”
Emma laughed. “That’s not out of the ordinary for a mate. I meant something more or that doesn’t seem right.”
Like the fact that Evan had punched right through a demon soldier’s throat the night before and then had calmly dug a grave in the middle of nowhere that would never be found? “No, I haven’t noticed anything,” Tabi lied. “If I do, I’ll call you right away. For now, we have some adjusting to do.”
“I understand. It’s not an easy time for a new mate, even one who’s a demonness. Take it from somebody who’s been there. Life is a lot easier if you work together on it, and being protected and safe is a pretty nice way to live—especially once you have kids.” The queen signed off.
Kids? Who said anything about kids? Tabi was at least a century away from wanting kids, and if Evan was this overbearing now, he’d be impossible once they had kids. If they had kids. If they stayed together to have kids someday in the far away future, which was something she had not agreed to yet.
She looked over at her mate. After disposing of the body the night before, Evan had insisted she stay the night at his bungalow, and she’d basically passed out from exhaustion and what was probably shock.
In the early dawn light, he watched her in that way he had—one he’d used even as a human. Now it held even more power.
Her body short-circuited in response, one more thing out of her control suddenly. Rain splattered against the window, with the storm having strengthened throughout the night, and her blood started to pump in tune with the wild weather. “Your tests show you might have a very rare extraordinary strength,” she murmured.
“No kidding.” He continued to watch her.
She met his gaze, refusing to back down. “If you have something to say, say it.”
“If I’d met you when I was healthy, I would’ve handled you differently,” he said, his voice a low rumble in the morning.
She partially turned to face him, comfortable that the borrowed shirt covered her completely. “Handled me? I don’t think so, Detective.”
He leaned up on his powerful arm, and the muscles rippled across his chest. “I was trying to save you from the hypocrisy in this town, in this county, so you could leave before I died.”
She forced a smile, hoping it looked somewhat bored. Or sarcastic. “You’re done trying to save me now?”
One of his dark eyebrows rose. “Oh, I’m definitely going to save you from whoever these Popovs are, and we’re going to have a nice long talk about them later today. I want to know everything, and if there’s a way to reason with them without killing, I’ll find it.”
“And if not?” she whispered.
His gaze didn’t waver. “Then I’ll take off their heads.” He looked down at his other fist. “Apparently I don’t need any other weapon to do so.”
Just because he’d been able to decapitate one demon that way didn’t mean he could do it again. Maybe this bizarre strength was temporary as his body completed the mating to become immortal. “Listen, Evan. I’m not sure what’s happening to you and how you’re changing, but I think we need to set a couple of parameters here.”
Was that amusement in his eyes? “Interesting. Tell me how I’m changing.”
She’d wanted to talk about parameters, but maybe they should discuss this. “I don’t really know, but it seems like new ‘immortal pain-in-the-ass’ testosterone, or whatever male demons or vampires have, is flooding you and changing you a bit. I’m sure it will abate.” She hoped. Forget the fact that it was sexy and intriguing. She’d better set him straight now.
“Hmm.” He ran his free hand down her arm, the touch electrifying. And possessive. “Different theory. The illness I had as a human changed me, and now that I’m getting healthy, and believe me, I feel healthy again, maybe I’m going back to my default setting. This is the real me, Tabitha.”
“I’m not certain what that means,” she admitted, acutely aware of the strength he now possessed as well as the fact that they were in bed together. Intimacy wound around them, through her. She swallowed, trying to hide the sudden sense of vulnerability.
“You never have to fear me. I promise.” He tugged her down and rolled on top of her, heat and male pressing her to the mattress and stealing her breath. “I understand that we’re both in new worlds all of a sudden, and we can navigate it all together. But you need to understand, I’m not relenting on this one fact. We are a team, and that’s how we’ll proceed forward.”
“A team has a leader,” she said, her gaze dropping to his mouth.
“We can divide the tasks,” he said, grinning. “I remember the early days before my mom passed away, and my parents created a plan together. She handled school and he handled sports. She handled health and church, and he dealt with the money. They worked well together.”
She blinked. “That sounds like a good family. I’m sorry you lost them.”
His face softened. “You are a sweetheart sometimes. You don’t have family?”
The idea hurt. “No. There’s nobody.”
“Wrong. There’s me. You and me.” He kissed her forehead, his lips heated. “Are you mine, Tabi?”
Whoa. Wow. “Um.” A jolt of awareness and want took her by surprise. His? Her thighs softened. “This isn’t turning out like I thought.” Yeah, her voice went hoarse and needy, and her core started to ache. For him. Only for Evan O’Connell, a male it appeared she couldn’t control.
His grin held steel. “I figured. Why don’t you tell me what you’d planned?”
That was the problem. She never planned—or hardly ever. “Well, I guess I thought you’d be grateful I’d saved your life and then I’d kind of protect you from afar and do my thing.” It was difficult to concentrate with his hard body over her.
By the flaring of his eyes, he felt it against his chest. “Is that how things usually go with immortals?”
She snorted. “No. Not at all. Didn’t you notice that either Dage or Max could’ve taken both of us out if either of us had threatened Emma? I’m sure the queen can fight, and I’m also sure the queen has never needed to fight.” She paused. “But—”
“No but. I’ve had more fighting experience than you have, and it appears I’m stronger.” He frowned, for the first time losing the arrogant glint in his eyes. “We’re going to have to watch that and make sure I can control it. I’d never want to hurt you. Or anybody else, really.”
Relief swamped her. Evan was back. The one she knew. “I agree, and I’m willing to stay here until you feel comfortable with your new powers. We’ll work on it until you’re sure you’ve got it under control.”
“Tell me about the Popovs so I can handle them,” he said.
Damn it. The Evan she’d known was so not back. “I’ll handle them.”
He brushed his nose across hers, both hands sliding her camisole up her ribcage. “If I haven’t been clear, I apologize. You are no longer handling anything by yourself.”
The thrill that took her was because of his warm hands and not the thought that she wasn’t alone. That this big, strong, badass of a gentle giant was now being a bossy asshat should not turn her on or make her happy.
Yet the warmth in her center wouldn’t leave. “Evan—”
“You haven’t answered my question, so I’ll lead you there.” He removed her top, settling his bare chest over hers and groaning softly. “Are we mated?”
She rolled her eyes, her hands working on their own to caress down his flanks. Her nipples hardened against him. “Yes.”
“Is mating forever?”
“Apparently so,” she said, scratching down his heated back, still sure she could turn this around. “You’re welcome for my bringing you into this world.”
Vixen: A Dark Protectors/Rebels Novella Page 9