Before she could so much as draw her next breath, he had her pinned beneath him again, the weight of his long, muscular body making her feel wonderfully protected and ridiculously aroused, given how they’d just spent the last hour. He lowered his head, taking her mouth in a slow, delicious kiss, and she knew they were headed for something awesome, when his phone started vibrating like crazy on the bedside table, where he had it charging. She sensed how badly he wanted to ignore it, but couldn’t, in case it was something about Chiswick.
“Shit,” he muttered, after reaching for the phone and reading the screen. “It’s a text from Arra.”
“Arra? What’s wrong?”
“She says the mercs are coming for us and to be ready,” he muttered, setting the phone back on the bedside table.
She rolled over to face him, their heads sharing the same pillow as their gazes locked. “Do you think they know we’re here? And how does Arra even know them?”
“I have no idea, but we’re probably gonna have to head out soon. The day after tomorrow at the latest,” he said with a heavy sigh.
“That sucks.”
“I know.”
Reaching over to brush his hair back from his forehead, she said, “Look, I know we’ve talked about it, and I know I’ve been a pain about it too. But if you want… I mean, if you still think it’s the right move for us, then we don’t have to keep searching for safe places to stay. I’m willing to go with you to your home. You know…if that’s still what you want.”
“It is.” He’d mentioned, after what happened at the garage, that he thought it was time they headed to the Alley. But she hadn’t been ready to agree. “It’s the safest place in the world for you right now.”
Vivian couldn’t help but notice that he never talked about how he wanted her to meet his family and friends, and she tried not to let that sting. Tried not to let her insecurities get the better of her, because Max had never, ever made her feel as if he were embarrassed of her, or of the choices she’d made, like taking that stupid job at the Velvet Rope.
“And you’re sure they won’t be mad at you for bringing me there?”
He gave her a questioning look. “Why would they be?”
“We… Well, we still don’t know what I am.”
“I know all that I need to know, like the fact that you’re an amazing person. I’d trust you with my life, baby, and the life of my family and friends.”
“So then it’s settled,” she said, managing a small smile. “We’ll leave the day after tomorrow.”
There was a shadow of something that she could have sworn looked like fear in his beautiful eyes, but then the corner of his mouth kicked up with a smirk, and she got distracted by how sexy it was. “I’m gonna text Elliot right now and let him know to expect us before the end of the week.”
“What about the mercs?”
“Since we’re heading back, I’ll tell him to call them off.”
As he texted his partner, she tried to convince herself that the flash of fear she’d seen in his eyes had nothing to do with taking her to his home. That maybe she’d simply misread him, and that flicker of emotion had simply been disappointment because he wanted her all to himself for just a little bit longer. And by the time he’d finished his text and set his phone aside, pulling her back into his arms, she’d almost succeeded, the touch of his lips setting her on fire, burning away her worries.
Then he set about blowing her mind.
Again.
And again.
And then once more as the Christmas moon rose high in the sky.
Chapter Seventeen
Way to Soften the Blow
“Max? Do you know where I left my lip gloss?” he heard Vivian call out from the hallway, just before she came around the corner wearing a pair of black skinny jeans and a tight black sweater. It was a casual outfit, but one that made her look like a serious little badass.
“Oh, sorry,” she said more softly, when she saw that he was tucking his phone back into his pocket. “Were you talking to someone?”
“I was just checking in with the security team who’s watching your family.”
She instantly paled. “Is everything okay?”
“Shit, yeah, I’m sorry,” he rushed to say. “I didn’t mean to worry you. I just like to check in with them and make sure they’re staying sharp.”
She slumped against the hallway wall with relief, then slid him a warm smile. “That’s super sweet of you.”
Pulling in a sharp breath, he shook his head a little, his tone wry as he said, “So, uh, do me a favor and don’t smile at me like that again until we’re out of here.”
She blinked as she straightened, giving him a questioning look. “Why?”
“Because it makes me want to fuck you, or get on my knees, or watch you get on your knees, and we don’t have the time right now,” he muttered, shoving his hands in his pockets. “We need to hit the road if we’re going to cover the ground we want to cover today.”
She bit her lip, light-blue eyes bright with humor as she turned without a word and headed back down the hallway, her soft laughter reaching his ears as she went into the master bedroom. It was the laugh that had Max taking a step forward, the husky, sexy sound his complete undoing, and there was no telling how long he might have kept her spread beneath him in the bed, his cock buried about a mile inside her, if he hadn’t heard something big, like a truck, pull up in front of the cabin. Running over to the front living room window, he peered outside, a guttural, “Aw, shit,” jerking from his throat at what he saw.
Vivian must have heard his curse, because she called out, “Hey, what’s wrong?” from the back of the cabin.
“Stay in the bedroom!” he yelled, already heading toward the door.
“Max, what the hell is happening?” she asked, coming into the hallway, her expression full of confusion and worry.
He forced his response through his gritted teeth. “The mercs are here.”
Her eyes went wide. “Are you kidding?”
“I fucking wish,” he muttered, opening the front door and stepping out onto the cabin’s wraparound porch. The morning sunlight glinted off the serene surface of the lake, nearly blinding him as he watched Lev Slivkoff climb out from behind the wheel of a black truck that was even bigger than Max’s, while Kyle Maddox got out on the passenger’s side.
“Damn, Doucet,” Kyle murmured in his soft-edged Southern accent. “You’re a hard man to track down these days.”
Standing at the top of the steps, he crossed his arms over his chest and glared down at the tall, dark-haired mercenary. “How did you find us?”
“Sure as shit wasn’t easy,” Kyle muttered, stretching out his back.
Lev smirked as he came around the other side of the truck. “But I’m not just good at hunting,” he drawled, sounding like a cocky jackass, “I’m the best.”
“And now you can just turn around and get lost. Right after you answer my question.”
A husky laugh rumbled up from the merc’s chest. “Well, hell, it’s nice to see you too, Max.”
“I’m serious,” he ground out. “How the fuck did you find this place?”
Instead of answering, the asshole just kept on grinning, and for a moment, Max thought about going round and round with the arrogant prick until he finally got an answer. But he shoved that idea aside when he realized it would take too damn long, and there were some important things he needed to know about before he sent them packing. “What’s going on with the hunt for Chiswick?”
“Nothing, at the moment,” Kyle told him, joining Lev at the bottom of the steps. “James is still tracking that Raze bastard.”
“Raze?”
“The warg who bailed on the battle down in Wesley,” Lev explained. “That’s his name.”
Max grunted, waiting for them to go on.
“Thankfully,” Kyle said, “there haven’t been any new abductions that we’re aware of.”
“That’s good,” he murmure
d. “Though it also means the asshole is still obsessed with getting his hands on Vivian and Skye.”
Lev lifted his golden brows. “Speaking of this mysterious Vivian Jackson we’ve been hearing so much about, where is she?”
“Busy,” he clipped, hoping she listened to him and stayed inside until he managed to get rid of these two. “So why don’t you go ahead and tell me what you’re both doing here.”
Kyle shook his head and smirked. “Tell me something, Doucet. Why is it that Elliot was smart enough to know when he needed help, but you’re acting dumber than shit?”
“We’ve had all the help we need.”
“From the Reapers?” Lev gave another low, grating laugh. “You’re playing with fire with that lot, man. Especially Arra.”
Wondering if the merc had known to look for them there because he’d been to the cabin before, Max locked his narrow gaze with Lev’s. “Just how well do you know her?”
Rolling one of his massive shoulders, the guy said, “I don’t, really. But I know enough about her and her siblings to know that you’re damn lucky they decided they liked the two of you. If they hadn’t, you probably wouldn’t be standing here right now.”
He wanted to argue that point, but couldn’t, seeing as how he’d had the same damn thought when he and Vivian had first met the Reapers. So he simply said, “As fun as it’s been seeing the two of you, I’m afraid you’ve wasted your time. We’re heading back today.”
“We figured as much, since Elliot called us after you texted him.” Lev slid him a shuttered look that was impossible to read. “I thought I was shit at communication, but I’ve got nothing on you, man.”
Getting a bad feeling the do-gooders weren’t going to listen to a goddamn word he said, Max scowled as a muscle started to pulse at the edge of his jaw. “If we wanted the company,” he argued, “we would have asked for it.”
Starting up the steps, Lev said, “Speaking of we, I think it’s time that we met this—”
The guy didn’t finish his sentence. Instead, he jerked to a stop so fast he looked like he’d just run into a wall, his blue-green eyes shocked wide as he stared up at Max. “That scent. Is that hers?”
Something dark and savage snaked its way through Max’s system, his muscles coiling with the need to shield and protect, and his hands curled into fists at his sides. “Think very carefully about what you say next, Slivkoff.”
“Oh, fuck,” Kyle muttered, after pulling in a deep, searching breath.
“Leave it. Both of you.” He moved onto the top step and jerked his chin toward their truck. “In fact, just leave.”
“Like hell,” Lev shot back, while Kyle moved into place beside him. “Christ, Doucet. You don’t even know, do you?”
“Know what?” he asked, holding on to his patience by a thread.
“Yeah, you don’t have a clue,” Lev stated with a humorless laugh, his nostrils flaring. “If you did, you wouldn’t still be out here in the middle of fucking nowhere with her!”
His pulse started to roar in his ears. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“Vivian, you idiot. She’s a—”
“I’m a what?” she cut in, and Max looked over his shoulder just in time to watch her walk out onto the porch, her dark brows drawn into a troubled frown as she looked from him to the mercenaries.
“Oh, shit,” Kyle rasped, sounding floored.
“Pick your jaw up off the floor,” Max snapped at Lev, when he caught the way the guy was staring at her. “She’s not the first beautiful human you’ve ever seen.”
Snorting, the merc cut him a sharp smile that almost looked more like a grimace. “She’s not a human, you jackass.”
He and Vivian exchanged a heavy look, and then he cut a hard glare back down at Lev, who was now scowling up at him.
“Will someone please answer my question?” she begged, moving into Max’s side as he wrapped an arm around her waist.
The merc’s gaze softened as he brought it back to hers. “You’re a Venatrix, honey.”
“She’s not your honey,” Max growled, just as she shakily said, “Well, at least we now know what the V on the necklace stands for.”
Sensing that she was nearly bubbling over with curiosity, he blew out a rough breath as he looked at the mercs. “It sounds like the two of you have a hell of a lot to explain, so let’s take this inside.”
They all headed into the cabin, and Max shut the door behind them. Kyle moved over by the fireplace, while Lev sat his ass down on an arm of the sofa, and Vivian walked over to the front window.
“What the hell is a Venatrix?” he asked, having never heard the term before, and figuring that was the best place to start.
“A female Venatori,” Lev explained. “She’s a Fae; the demon hunter kind.”
He got another bad feeling in his gut. “Hold up. Did you say demon hunter?”
“Yeah. One of the deadliest breeds of hunter that’s ever existed in this plane.” Lev leaned forward and sniffed at the air, taking in more of her scent. “Actually, make that half-Venatrix,” he said, giving her a gentle smile that set Max’s teeth on edge. “Which explains your lack of little fangs and purple eyes at the moment.”
At the mention of fangs, he and Vivian shared another quick look. They hadn’t talked about the way her fangs had dropped that day in the truck, and since then, it hadn’t happened every time they had sex. But it had happened again. Three times, to be exact. And Max had loved every single one of them.
Lev went on, saying, “But I’m betting you’ll get those whenever you let your inner V out to play.” Rubbing a hand over his whiskered jaw, he added, “I’m sensing a lot of confusion on your part, so you must have only just awakened. But one of your parents had to have known what was coming.”
“My father,” she murmured, sounding a little dazed. “My mother is human, but my father was, or, um, is…”
When her voice trailed off, Kyle said, “Your old man is a Venator.”
She blinked as she looked over at the dark-haired merc. “I… I don’t know. He never talked about it, but he wasn’t…”
“Normal?” The smile on Lev’s lips turned downright cocky. “None of us are, sweetheart.”
Us? Max seriously didn’t like the sound of that. “Enough with the theatrics, man. What the hell is going on? How do you know so much about her?”
“Not about her specifically, just about what she is,” Lev corrected him. “Me and the other mercenaries, we’re half-breeds, like Vivian.” He scraped his hand over his jaw again, brows drawn with puzzlement as he looked over at her. “What’s your old man’s name, honey? ‘Cause I’m guessing it sure as hell isn’t Jackson.”
“No, that’s my mother’s maiden name. We took it after he…left. His name is Vincent Pius.”
Lev’s blond hair had grown longer than he usually kept it, brushing against his jaw as he nodded. “That’s why we didn’t clock it sooner. All Venatori bloodlines are named after ancient Romans, with surnames like Aurelius, Verus or Pius.”
“None of you have those last names,” Max pointed out.
Lev shrugged his massive shoulders. “Like I said, we’re only half-breeds. Our fathers were Lycans and our mothers were Venatrix.”
“Were?” Vivian asked.
Quietly, Kyle said, “They’re all gone now.”
“Oh. I’m sorry.”
“It happened a long time ago, honey. So we’re good,” the merc said with a small smile, but his casual tone wasn’t fooling anyone. Whatever had happened to their mothers was far from forgotten, and Max couldn’t help but feel that there was a story there. A tragic one, for sure. And one that was definitely still haunting them.
Turning toward the window, Vivian stood silent and still as she stared out at the lake, her arms crossed over her chest and her spine as straight as a rod. But every few seconds, she would tremble, and Max wanted nothing more than to take her into his arms and tell the mercs to get the hell out. But as badly as he needed to c
omfort her, and hoped she needed his comfort, they needed answers more.
“Look,” Lev sighed. “I know this is a lot to drop on you all at once, Vivvie.”
“You think?” Max grunted. “And her name is Vivian.”
Lev slid him a dark look. “I could’ve told her all this a hell of a lot earlier, if you hadn’t been acting like such a prick by refusing any goddamn help!”
Before they could get into a full-blown argument, Vivian turned back around, her light-blue gaze zeroing in on the big, blond mercenary. “Can you tell me how the wargs kept finding us, until we got here?”
Lev pulled in a deep breath, then slowly let it out. “Your blood calls evil to you, drawing it near so that you can kill it.”
“The honey,” she whispered, glancing over at Max even as she continued speaking to Lev. “When we first met Arra, she told me that a teaspoon of honey each day would help mask my ‘call.’”
Lev whistled softly under his breath. “You’re lucky she felt like sharing such a vital piece of information. It’s not exactly in her nature.”
“Max,” she whispered, keeping her gaze locked tight with his, a thousand and one emotions roiling through the shadowed blue. “Chiswick’s men… They must have sensed that I was different when they first came to the club. Maybe that’s why he chose me.”
Before he could say anything, Kyle murmured, “It would make sense. Venatrix are some of the most powerful females known to our world. You would have been an impressive addition to his twisted little menagerie.”
He scowled at Kyle. “But she wasn’t awakened, or whatever you want to call what’s been happening to her, when she first met them.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Lev explained. “Her bloodline is powerful enough that even a warg could have picked up on the latent signature.” The merc paused, then winced a little as he looked at her and said, “You not only draw in evil, but your call can work as a kind of desire-based lure on other non-human species as well.”
A shocked laugh burst from her throat. “Seriously? How in the hell is that meant to help me fight evil?”
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