Vanessa narrowed her green eyes and pointed a long finger at Mano. “I’m watching you.” She turned to Marcie and Ursa, her smile returning as she asked, “Everything all right, you two? If he starts bugging you, I have a gag in the back.”
Mano bowed low to Vanessa, doing his best to look contrite and respectful. He waited until she’d walked off to lean across Ursa and kiss Marcie. Before settling back into his chair, he brushed a kiss to Ursa’s cheek.
Ursa only hung her head, doing her best to keep her hair shielding her features now that she was caught airing all her uncomfortable fears.
“So, the age-old question. Must we stick with our own race? The answer is no! Of course, you don’t. What sort of crap is this?”
“But—” Ursa’s voice sounded small and fragile.
“Absolutely not! The four people with the strongest bonds I know are not. And you know, some bigots around here think that type should only marry type and have only pure children. Do you know how close-minded that is?” He rolled his eyes. “Sweet messenger, listen to me. If you spend all your time expecting the bottom to fall out, you’re going to miss the best bits.”
Ursa squirmed in her chair, looking uncomfortable.
“Besides, don’t you want to continue the adventure with us?” He held out his hand to Ursa and motioned with his fingers. “Let me see it.” He jerked his chin toward her hands.
Ursa blinked up at him and looked shocked, clutching her hands together tighter. “No, it’s fine,” she said but when Mano cleared his throat and knocked on the table with his knuckles, she finally relented and held out her hands, turning them up so they could both see them.
One of the palms looked recently burned. A red coil across the skin blistered up in the shape of a shooting star, from her thumb up to her pinky finger.
“Ursa! What happened? You didn’t tell me anything about this,” Marcie gasped.
“I didn’t want you to worry. I’m sorry.” Ursa winced and she held up her palm. “It doesn’t hurt. It feels really neat. Tingly.” She grinned and then thought better of it and schooled her features. “At the holiday party, I tried to remove the tapestry and the woman said not to.”
“The woman?”
“The woman in the hanging. She said she was safe where she was. She was left as a warning, like Vans said at dinner. I would have said something then, but Travis was so grumpy. I don’t want him to tell his boss. I’m afraid he would.” She let out a breath in a soft puff. “I was shown lots of images of people who are friends and allies. She showed me Vans and Travis, but maybe she didn’t know at the time that Travis was not giving up the search. He’s so thick-headed.”
“Travis is not a bad person. He just has to learn the truth for himself, the hard way.” Mano’s lips curled into a small smirk as he gave Ursa’s hand a little pat. “We just need to be there for him before he gets himself hurt.”
Marcie couldn’t get the image of the mark from her mind even after Ursa drew her hands into her lap. She wanted to ask for more details about what had happened, but before she could form the words, a bear of a man came swaggering out onto the patio. He held a red, dappled napkin to his lip and wore a livid bruise along one cheekbone.
“I hear celebrations are in order,” the big man bellowed, drawing all eyes to him. His face was covered in a woolly black beard and his long black hair was barely tamed at the nape of his neck.
Mano stood and clasped the man’s hand. “This is Sebastian. He grudgingly has agreed to be best man for the wedding.”
“What are they feeding people around here?” Ursa whispered, gawking up at the huge guy.
“The good stuff,” Sebastian said and smirked around the napkin at Mano. “Except this lucky little shit.” He was just settling into a chair as the ice and whiskey arrived along with a furious Vanessa.
“It’s all right, sweetheart. Mano’s getting married!” Sebastian grinned and slapped Mano’s shoulder, rocking the smaller man in what appeared to be some payback for suffering the black eye and split lip. “So, when is the bachelor party?”
“Ah, you’d have to ask the boss,” Mano said with deep respect and a tip of his head toward Marcie.
Sebastian smile was enormous behind his beard. “Lady Perez! It’s a pleasure to finally meet the keeper of his heart,” the big man said, sounding as if she’d been expected for a long time. He held the ice to his face, but his other hand made a fist that he pressed over his heart.
She felt Mano grinning as his foot nudged hers, the touch already familiar and soothing. Tearing her eyes away from the motion that spoke volumes of the man’s devotion that now encompassed her, she turned to her betrothed and met his knowing gaze. “Oh, I think we can arrange something.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Diana Rose Wilson
Diana Rose Wilson grew up under the shadow of the Mayacamas Mountains, raised by outlaws and bikers. She has been involved in the lifestyle since 1989, including working at a high-end adult boutique specializing in fetish, BDSM, and LGBT merchandise. Her debut book is Wicked Masquerade, first in the Forbidden Secrets series. She has also been published in Finesse, a publication for the Thomas Keller Restaurant group.
Her mundane work experience spans the computer gaming industry, technology dot coms, hazardous waste disposal including the Gulf Oil spill cleanup, County Administration, and the culinary industry.
Currently Diana lives in wine country with her husband, where she enjoys good wine, better food, loud Harleys, 3-day eventing, and the delights of deviant erotica. She is a member of the Pacific Northwest Writers Association, Snoopy Writers, and CFTW Writer’s Block.
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Dangerous Seduction Page 8