Melinda fought back her anger as she began to pace the room. That slimy piece of crap! He had cut out on her! I’ll hunt him down and feed him his balls one by one!
She whipped around as the sound of the door opening broke the silence of the room, and felt her heart drop to her feet as the piece of crap in question strolled through the entryway, carrying two cups of coffee and a white paper bag. Good God, she thought with a grimace…she really needed to get a grip!
“Morning,” Colin called as he strolled through the doorway. He noticed immediately that Melinda was dressed and not looking happy at all. Her expression was a cross between anger, hurt, and embarrassment, and he wondered what was up.
He set the cups and bag down on the nearby table and walked over to where she stood chewing on that damned lower lip of hers to the point of distraction. Christ, his mate could have him forgetting his own name in an instant.
He stepped in front of her and rested his hands on her waist, his gaze meeting hers. “Melinda, just what in the hell’s got your dander up?”
She stared up at him in silence, her face turning beet red and it hit him then. She thought that he had bedded her and taken off on her. Jesus H!
Colin sighed as he shook his head. “Melinda, I told you last night that I would be by your side.” He said the words softly, but with conviction. He knew he needed to tread lightly with her.
The subject of her being his mate hadn’t quite come up as of yet, and he didn’t want to freak her out any more than she was already. She had been through a whole hell of a lot in the past forty-eight hours.
She had been bitten by a vampire, betrayed by a friend…forced to leave home, not to mention the small fact that she had been told that she was a witch who had been given up at birth and was now a desirable commodity to said vampires.
No…he thought with a small grunt of disgust; she didn’t need to know that she was also the mate of a half shifter, half witch, who would gladly give up his life for her. That no matter what happened, she belonged with him and he would do whatever it took to keep her by his side. He needed to bide his time on that one. No matter what his wolf told him.
“I know,” she said, meeting his eyes with a small, uncomfortable grin. “But, well, you’re a guy…and guys will say pretty much anything to get into a girl’s pants and once they’ve gotten what they’re after they take off faster than pigs at a pork roast.”
Colin chuckled, pulling her a little closer. He knew he needed to tell her. To explain that no matter what, she was his and he would never leave her. That they were destined to be together for the rest of their lives…but it had to wait. As much as it pained him to keep it from her, he knew she needed to completely trust him first, and she wasn’t anywhere near there yet. She needed to begin to care for him before dropping such a bombshell on her.
He dipped his head and pressed his mouth against hers, basking in the scent and taste of her. His body responded in an instant and he fought to keep control. They needed to get moving. He wouldn’t take the chance of Roland tracking them. Now that the vampire most likely had the ability to walk in the sun, he knew that he would be desperate to find her. No one knew how long the effects of her blood would last, but he sure as hell wasn’t going to take any chances with her safety.
Colin reluctantly pulled back and sighed yet again, laying his forehead against hers. “We need to hit the road,” he informed her softy, and she nodded.
“How much longer do we have yet to go?” Melinda asked as she stepped away from him and began to gather up her belongings. It didn’t take her long at all. They hadn’t exactly been too worried about unpacking their bags the night before and she felt a current of longing run up her spine as her eyes drifted over to the crumpled sheets on the bed. Sweet Lord that man had made her body sing like it never had before! Who would have thought?
“Just a little over five hours,” he replied softly, his glorious eyes following her every move as she attempted to look busy.
She cleared her throat as she eyed the cups sitting on the table with interest. “Is that coffee?” she questioned, her mouth practically watering at just the thought.
Colin laughed as he stepped back over to the table and grabbed a cup, holding it out to her with a grin. “Coffee and croissants.”
Melinda snagged the paper cup from his hand and gave him a grateful smile. “Oh, my God.” She giggled as she popped the tab and took a sip of the heavenly liquid, then proceeded to groan loudly as her eyes rolled back in her head with glee. “You are my idol! How did you know I liked cream and sugar?”
“Lucky guess. I suppose this means that you’re a fan?” he replied with a laugh, and Melinda found herself thinking that the man had one hell of an amazing laugh. It was deep, strong, and make your knees weak sexy.
“Fastest way to my heart,” she snorted in reply and almost choked on the sip she had just taken when she heard his softly spoken –Good to know.
She nibbled at her lip as she watched him grab their bags and head out the door. She grabbed his cup and the bag containing the croissants and quickly followed, wondering just how in the hell her life had changed so damned much so darned fast.
Chapter 8
“Holy, lemonade loving Lucifer,” Melinda squeaked as they pulled into the drive of Colin’s cabin. Her eyes widened in shock as she took in the grand expanse of home built right into the side of a frigging mountain. There simply were no words. It was beyond anything that she had ever seen before. “This is where you live?”
“You like?” Colin asked with a smile, inwardly very pleased that his mate liked what was to be their home.
“Holy crap” She breathed in awe as she opened her door and slowly slid from the car. “Like? I absolutely love it! What in the hell do you do for a living, anyway? Can my witchy power thing conjure up something like this eventually?”
Colin laughed as he exited the car and grabbed their bags from the trunk. His woman certainly held nothing back.
“No, sorry you can’t,” he responded, ushering her up the walk, and he couldn’t bite back the smile as she walked ahead of him and took it all in…her mouth hanging open in stunned surprise.
He unlocked the door and motioned her inside, setting the bags down in the entryway. He leaned against the doorframe and watched as she hesitantly walked forward, her eyes scanning the room in nothing less than pure admiration.
Melinda tried to take everything in as she moved cautiously around. The house was open and rustic with an amazing loft and huge stone fireplace that covered almost half of the one wall.
She shook her head slowly as she realized that she had never seen anything more beautiful. Deep hand carved woods and leather filled the expanse of space and the huge windows in the front of the house faced the woods and more mountains beyond that. It was secluded and warm…and absolutely stunning. It was a place that immediately pulled you in and made you feel safe.
Melinda wrapped her arms around herself as she tried to take it all in. Colin’s house was one of the most beautiful homes she had ever seen, and it was intimidating. The splendor surrounding her was like nothing she had ever experienced before. This was the stuff on movies of the week!
“I’ll get a fire going,” Colin said as he made his way over to where she stood. “It’s chillier up here than you’re probably used to. I’m actually surprised that we don’t have any snow yet.”
She watched as he moved about, his muscular frame rippling as he stacked the firewood. Lord all mighty, she thought with an inward groan. She couldn’t find a single freaking thing wrong with the man!
He turned and gave her a grin once the fire had blazed up and she felt the breath hitch in her throat. Oh, geez! What was she doing here? What was happening between them? Just a look from this man could send her libido skyrocketing to the moon, and here she was in the middle of nowhere with him. Trusting him with her very life when she wasn’t completely sure yet if she could. He said all the right things and seemed to be open and honest,
but with her track record with men... how could she be sure? And she once again found herself wondering when her normal, boring little existence had turned completely upside down.
She involuntarily chewed at the inside of her cheek as she wondered what the sleeping arrangements would be, and instantly felt her cheeks heat as warmth spread through her belly.
“Are you hungry?” She heard him ask and was snapped out of her total creeper thoughts with a mighty jerk. She cleared her throat and shifted uncomfortably, feeling as if she had been caught with her hand in the cookie jar.
“I…uh, yes, a bit,” she stammered. Who was she kidding? She was famished!
She watched him a moment, hoping above hope that he wasn’t expecting her to cook. Well, at least not anything edible. She had no problem at all attempting to make dinner…but her culinary skills left a whole hell of a lot to be desired and it would suck out loud if she were to give him food poisoning. Not when they were in the middle of nowhere and she had no idea where the nearest hospital was.
“Great, why don’t you make yourself comfortable? I’ll just run your bags upstairs and start throwing something together.”
Melinda felt a wave of relief wash over her and gave him a grateful smile, but before she could even think to voice her gratitude, he was dashing up the stairs with her suitcases. She walked over closer to the fire and plopped down with a tired sigh. Now what was she supposed to do?
She found herself wanting so much to call her dad. To just hear his voice and tell him that she was all right…but, she knew she couldn’t. Colin had said that is was way too dangerous.
A deep, bone chilling shiver crept across her spine as she wondered if her dad would be safe. Would that creature go after him hoping to find her?
Melinda felt a sudden rush of fear hit her hard and stood, not at all sure of what to do. She could feel her panic rising up in her, nearly sucking the breath from her body, and glanced around the room like a caged animal as her throat seized up. Oh, God! She hadn’t even thought of what might happen to her father!
She spotted Colin coming down the stairs and ran over, looking up at him in complete and utter horror.
“Melinda? What…”
“My…my dad!” she choked out, her eyes filling with tears, and she found herself reaching out to grasp his arm in desperation. “Is that monster going to hurt him? He’s…he’s all I have left.” She gasped as her tears broke free and slid down her cheeks.
Colin pulled her securely into his arms and held her close, wanting so much to ease her worries. This woman was swiftly embedding herself into his heart and it was growing increasingly hard not to just tell her everything. He knew that the call of a mate was stronger for him. He had been raised in this world. He knew that there was that one person out there meant solely for him, whereas she had had all of this insanity dumped on her in one heart wrenching moment.
“Your father will be safe,” he promised her softly, his hands rubbing small circles along her back in an effort to comfort her. Christ, he thought with a slight furrowing of his brows. This whole mate thing was so damned strange, but in such a good way. This woman felt so blasted right in his arms that it seemed incomprehensible that she hadn’t always been there. “Roland knows you’re with me. He knows that I would never take you there.”
She pulled back and gazed up into his eyes, hers still sparkling with moisture, and his wolf howled with need. “But…but what if he wants to get to me through my dad?” she asked shakily. “I can’t let that monster hurt him because of me,” she breathed. “I won’t.”
“He’ll know that I would have stopped all contact and would never have taken you there. Trust me, Sweetheart,” he answered honestly. “Roland knows that your father will be told nothing and is of no use to him, and if anything, Roland thinks much too highly of himself to be bothered with people he feels are not an asset to him.”
“Does he…does he know where you live?” she asked, trying so hard to appear strong, but Colin knew that everything was beginning to hit her…hard. He could feel the tremors assaulting her body with a vengeance and just wanted to ease them for her.
“Melinda, you’re safe here. I promise.”
She nodded shakily and took a step back. “I just…this is all just so incredibly insane. You know? I…I feel like I don’t even know which end is up anymore. That everything is spinning out of control.”
Colin took her by the hand and led her back over to the sofa, sitting down beside her. He turned and looked at her, his expression gentle.
“Everything will be handled. I promise you. You have no need to worry.”
She nodded again and swiped her hand across her face, taking a deep breath. “Okay,” she replied after a moment. “My little wig out is over. I promise.” She gave him a small, embarrassed smile. “But, you had better feed me something quick before I become completely unglued. You think that was bad…just wait until I get really hungry.”
Colin laughed, shaking his head with amusement. He got up from the couch and brushed his fingers across her cheek, feeling that tingle hit his body instantly. “Please, hold off from another wig out for just a bit longer.” He chuckled before turning and heading off toward the kitchen.
“Do you need any help?” He heard her call and stopped, glancing over his shoulder at her.
“Are you up to chopping some vegetables?” he asked, and she nodded, standing and following him.
Damn, he thought with a small grin, domesticity wasn’t half bad. Who the hell would have thought?
“Oh, good gravy,” Melinda moaned, leaning back in her chair and taking a deep breath. “Where did you ever learn to cook like that?”
Colin had made an amazing pasta dish with fresh vegetables and a creamy white sauce that had Melinda eating way too much. She was full, and content, and drowsy as hell.
She gave him a contented half smile, watching intently as he brought his wine glass up to his lips, and she had the insane urge to crawl across the table and throw herself at him. Oh, good Lord! She really needed to put a stop to all of these lecherous thoughts she was having about the man. But, cripes, how could she when he was male perfection personified and she just wanted to lick him!
He set his glass down and shrugged. “I’ve lived on my own for a very long time,” he replied softly, watching her closely she noticed with a tiny bit of satisfaction. Perhaps he was as aware of her as she was of him. “It was either learn to cook…or starve,” he finished with a grin.
“But, um…you can turn into a wolf,” she said, her nose crinkling slightly. “Don’t you just do your thing and go out and…hunt or something?”
Colin chuckled and Melinda again found herself thinking that she really loved the sound of it. She had always been a sucker for a really great laugh, and his was phenomenal.
“Sorry,” he said with a slight wink, “but I actually prefer my meat cooked.”
Melinda blew her bangs away from her eyes and scowled. “There is so damned much I’ll never understand about all of this,” she huffed out irritably. “But I guess it’s a good thing,” she reasoned quietly, almost as if she were talking to herself, and when he quirked his brow at her she gave him a tiny smile. “You know, the raw meat thing… and the possibility of rabies or worms or something.”
“Rabies isn’t really a problem for shifters,” he snorted. “And neither are worms.”
Melinda sighed and grabbed her glass, taking a healthy sip of her wine. Why in the hell was she so damned comfortable around this man, she suddenly wondered. Why did everything seem so…easy? Jesus, her world had been blown apart at the seams and here she was, lusting after a damned Wolf-witch or whatever the hell you called it.
“So, what kind of magic tricks can you do, Houdini?” she asked after a moment, hoping to change the subject, and once again his laughter filled the air.
“Why don’t we go into the living room and relax a bit,” he suggested, standing and grabbing their glasses.
She followed him;
her eyes, with a will of their own, locked on his perfect backside and a shiver ran up her spine.
They settled themselves on the sofa and Melinda felt her heart kick into gear when Colin sat down right beside her, his thigh pressing up against hers. She felt that damnable heat hit her belly once again with a mighty wallop. God, maybe she was a pervert. Just because they had had one night of numb your toes, curl your hair…mind-blowing sex didn’t mean he wanted whatever was happening between them to continue. He probably had just needed to burn off some pent up energy, and she was a damned fool to think any differently. He might have said that he would be by her side, but that was most likely just the job he had been assigned to do and nothing more.
“So,” she said, hoping to curb her wayward thoughts. She was in the middle of a crisis…she didn’t need to be mooning over silly, romantic notions like some smitten ten-year-old. “What kind of magic can you do? Can you show me some tricks?”
Colin watched his mate closely, trying hard to keep his expression neutral. Oh, he sure as hell could show her some tricks, he thought, trying his best to look serious, when all he wanted to do was take her incredible mouth…skim her perfect skin with his hands, and taste every damned inch of her.
He snapped his fingers and all of the lights in the house went out, causing a startled shriek to burst from her. In the next instant, candles flared to life throughout the room, enveloping them in a beautiful warm glow that caused shadows to dance and move around them.
He watched as she swallowed, obviously trying to regain her composure, and he knew she was as affected by the close proximity of their bodies as he was.
“Yeah, well…” she choked out finally, her voice nothing more than a throaty whisper. “I did that. Big deal.”
Colin chuckled as he leaned forward, bringing his mouth dangerously close to hers, his eyes holding hers. He could smell the wine on her breath and wanted to taste her sweet, sweet mouth once again.
Wolf Bane (The Anthology Novella Series Book 3) Page 5