Love with Fangs (The Witching Hour Series Book 1)

by Joanna Mazurkiewicz

  "All right, but if I get into trouble because of you, Miss Taylor, then you’re buying me lunch."

  "You won’t, I promise, but I’ll buy you lunch anyway." I smirked, then signed in by his desk. He told me that Nathaniel’s office was on the top floor. My heart was in my throat when I thought about him being there with a group of people, or if he had a meeting. My heart thumped wildly in my chest when I reached the top floor, thinking about what I was going to say when I saw him.

  He was probably still angry that I hadn’t listened to him at the bar and helped the other elf. Well, that was too bad. I just wasn’t the sort of person who could stand by and watch when someone was getting hurt.

  The door to the elevator opened and I stood in a completely different room than when I’d come here with Jennifer for the first time. I bit my lip nervously, staring at the secretary who was looking straight at me. My energy stirred inside me again, waking up the magic.

  Standing up, she spoke in a high-pitched tone. "Excuse me, miss, but how did you get in here?" She wore a perfectly fitted black suit.

  "I came to see Mr. La Caz. I believe he’s in, right?" I cleared my throat, then walked up to her and glanced to my right. Seeing the black door, I instantly knew that he was on the other side.

  “I’m sorry, but Mr. La Caz doesn’t see anyone without a scheduled appointment." She narrowed her eyes, raising her voice slightly, letting me know that she was in charge. I didn’t care; I was going to see him whether she liked it or not.

  "If you’d just let him know that Julia Taylor is here to see him, I’m sure that he wouldn’t mind."

  She asked me what this was about, but I wasn’t planning to discuss my situation with some fake-tanned vampire bimbo. So, she started shuffling papers around on her desk, pretending that she was busy. “I’m afraid that Mr. La Caz is on a conference call and he can’t be disturbed."

  "That’s too bad because I really have to speak to him.” I completely ignored her and barged through the door.

  "Miss, miss, you can’t go—"

  "It’s okay, Emily, the conference call is finished.” Nathaniel stood from his chair when I opened the door to his office. "Please, leave us." I gave the bitchy secretary a winning smile. She looked at me like she was ready to kill me, then left.

  There I was in his office that overlooked the entire industrial park. I took sharp intake of breath as he stared at me without a smile. Who knew how this could end? But I did know one thing; I just needed to be in control this one time. Then the tiny voice in my head reminded me, “Yeah, like you can really control yourself around him.”

  Chapter twleve

  Serious stuff.

  “Miss Taylor, what a pleasure to see you here again. Have a seat. Funny enough, I was just about to call you.” He had a hint of a laughter in his tone. God, he looked good in his tailor-made grey suit.

  I smiled at him, then sat down in the chair in front of his desk. My energy collided inside like I was just about to be hit by a windstorm. I tossed my hair behind me trying to distract myself from his powerful gaze, but heat started rising from the tip of my toes. He was very distracting, but I had to remember why I was there in the first place.

  “Why? Did you learn anything new from that vampire? That night was a little crazy and I didn’t have a chance to ask what he told you,” I said. “There have been more kidnappings in the city. Apparently, all elves and fairies are being targeted. My father’s doing what he can, but I don’t think he has any solid leads to go on.”

  My voice was a little uneasy and I felt even more hot now than before. He kept staring at me with the same intensity as before. My magic raced over the nape of my neck.

  “Yes, I might be onto something, but I’m not really sure if I should say anything. I might go straight to your father.” He tapped his long finger over his glass table.

  “What? No, I can help you and I will be more careful this time, promise.” I knew I sounded a little crazy speaking so quickly—almost desperate—but I didn’t want him to speak to my father again.

  “I’m sure your father is very competent, but this time you might be right. This situation is very complex.” He stood from chair, shoving his hands into his pockets.

  Heat flared between my breasts, just as unexpectedly as the desire that I always felt when I was around him. I needed to ignore all these unexpected feelings, so I quickly cleared my throat. “My cousin is very scared. She’s sensitive and I can’t imagine what she might be going through right now. There must be other elves and fairies with her. Please, this has gone on for too long now.”

  I had a feeling that he knew what he needed to do, but he was still reluctant to take me with him. We had some sort of connection and that one dinner together. I was even ready to let go of the fact that he’d charmed Ella. After all, I’d kept telling him that I wasn’t interested.

  “All right, Miss Taylor,” he agreed. “Put your coat on. We’re going out for a ride.”

  I jumped out of my seat, then hurried after him when he opened the door. Was I really rushing after him like a blushing schoolgirl? No, I decided—this was all about my cousin, nothing more. His secretary only glanced at me when he told her to hold all his messages. I didn’t know where he was taking me, but right then, I was willing to keep my questions to myself for the time being.

  We left his office and headed to an underground car park. In the elevator, I attempted to again control of my inflamed fingertips—but my magic kept spreading—heat rushed throughout my system. He continued watching me, looking curious. It bothered me that he was so composed.

  He opened the door for me to slip inside his immaculate Aston Martin—I was feeling a little excited too. He was behaving like a perfect gentleman, the man that always knew what he wanted. Once he situated himself next to me and switched on the engine, I turned toward him. “Where are you taking me?”

  He inhaled deeply and winked at me. "To get some answers, but this time around I won’t be taking my eyes off you. We’re going to pay someone a visit together. In any other circumstance, I wouldn’t take you with me, but Gordon must believe that you’re my donor. He wouldn’t want to talk to me otherwise.”

  I didn’t like the sound of that, but my options were pretty limited. Nathaniel promised to keep me safe and I had to trust him.

  I decided not to ask any more questions and concentrate on my magic. It was already dark and cold when we drove through London. The traffic was atrocious, and Nathaniel was silent again. He put on some soft music and watched the road. I was glad that he wasn’t trying to intimidate me again. After an hour of constant driving, I had no clue where we were, but the area around us didn’t look appealing, or safe for that matter. It was the sort of place where most people would avoid.

  A lot of houses seemed abandoned; the windows were covered, various suspicious-looking individuals crept around the streets, tons of rubbish lay all over the roads, and there was smoke coming from one of the buildings. People were staring at us when we drove by. His car must have really looked out of place around here. When Nathaniel finally stopped the car, I wasn’t quite sure that I wanted to go outside. He’d parked the car between the alleys, but it was still exposed; I didn’t know if there would be anything left of that gorgeous piece of machinery when we returned.

  "Now, we’re going into the territory controlled by giants. Let me do the talking. Don’t answer any questions even if they ask you, and don’t make eye contact with anyone for more than five seconds. I’ll do anything within my power to protect you, but I have no authority around here, so you must promise to keep that beautiful mouth of yours quiet." He was leaning towards me way too closely.

  My heart started pounding and for a split second, I thought he was going to kiss me. Instead, with a sharp intake of breath, he opened the door, then got out of the car.

  He must have noticed the concerned expression on my face when we were walking away. I kept glancing back at the car, then to him. "Don’t worry, if anything happens, I
’ll just buy a new one."

  I rolled my eyes, thinking that he was way too arrogant about his wealth, but for some reason that just added more magnetism to his personality.

  We stopped in front of a wrecked-looking building; there was some sort of small bar in the basement. We both heard music and I was scared all of a sudden. This place looked rough and I suspected that Nathaniel was using me as bait. I just had to pray that he knew what he was doing.

  "Ready?" he asked, seeing me hesitate. “This will be difficult, but I’m afraid it’s the only way.”

  "No, I’m fine. Let’s do this."

  He didn’t seem convinced, but we entered anyway. As I suspected, we found ourselves in some obscure bar filled with mostly biker giants. I remembered what Nathaniel had said earlier on: I wasn’t supposed to make eye contact with anyone. Fear poured into my stomach and I tried to keep close to him.

  "Can I have whiskey and a martini for the lady?" The barman eyed Nathaniel closely and didn’t seem too keen on the order. He was so massive, he could’ve easily killed us both if he’d wanted to, but he went on to make our drinks anyway. Every muscle in my body was tensed, but Nathaniel looked relaxed, way too relaxed. I smelled an odour of sewage, hairspray and something else—maybe blood—when a large giant approached us.

  "Yo, vamper, this is Gordon’s territory; what the fuck do you want?" He stepped closer to the bar, looking at the both of us.

  I only glanced at him; he had a large, deep scar that ran across his cheek and left eye, with long silver hair that hung down his back.

  “I’m here to see him. Is he around?" Nathaniel kept his voice harsh and firm.

  "He ain’t talking to trash like you, so you better leave before I slash your pretty face. Leave the girl; we can make some use of her." Yep, the hairy giant liked me, so Nathaniel’s plan was working. I was still shaking, too scared to make any kind of move.

  "The girl is with me. I fed off her, and I want to buy some more elves or fairies. I heard that Gordon caught a few and I want to make him a deal."

  I had no idea what Nathaniel was talking about, but I didn’t like it at all. The giant was getting more aggravated with every passing second. He was breathing heavily, glaring at me with interest. Two others approached us not looking friendly at all.

  "Gordon ain’t here. Are you deaf?"

  Someone leaned in behind me. I glanced back and saw a troll who was obviously interested in me. Nathaniel didn’t look that relaxed anymore; he touched his glass and I was prepared to leave. Something was wrong. I could sense it.

  "Our boss doesn’t get involved with shit like that. There ain’t any fairies or elves here." Another biker suddenly dragged me away from Nathaniel and pulled me towards his filthy chest.

  "I like your donor. We’ll have fun with her here."

  Nathaniel narrowed his hazel eyes, then squeezed the glass that he was holding. We had no chance of getting out of here alive. My energy rolled over my spine, then my fingertips started tingling.

  “I’m only giving you one warning: let go of her," Nathaniel quietly ordered, still leaning casually over the counter. The barman vanished somewhere and everyone in the bar gathered around us.

  Two giants laughed, their large stomachs trembling.

  "What are you going to do, vamper?"

  Air was trapped in my lungs when the troll holding me started moving his dirty hand over my T-shirt. Nathaniel must have seen his movement. He squeezed the glass so tightly that his knuckles went completely white and then in a split second, he crashed the glass over the first biker, moving so fast, that no one around us had a chance to react. The biker roared, appearing to be blinded by pieces of glass, blood dripping from his face, then he stumbled backwards. Nathaniel extended his fangs and sent a punch to the other giant, but the biker held his fist and pushed him over the bar, roaring like a beast ready for attack.

  I started scuffling, trying to loosen the troll’s grip, but whoever was holding me slapped me so hard that I lost consciousness for a second. When I opened my eyes the pain in my skull was like an atomic bomb. My energy declined; my hands were static, but it felt like someone drained me of my power. Nathaniel was held by the biggest and filthiest giant that I’d ever seen. His massive hand was over Nathaniel’s throat, blood was dripping onto his suit.

  "You shouldn’t have come here sniffing about Gordon’s business." The giant gripped his hands tighter around Nathaniel’s neck. I tried to get up, but I was sent back to the ground within a moment.

  Nathaniel’s left hand was in his pocket. When the group around us laughed, I noticed something in his hand, then what happened next was so unexpected that it ignited a dose of my own power. Nathaniel pressed his whatever he was holding into his opponent’s stomach. The giant looked like he’d been electrocuted. He started trembling and released his grip. His eyes rolled back into his head and he fell to the floor, stunned. He didn’t move, and the burning smell of flesh reached my nostrils.

  "Hey, Marcel, let go of the lady!" I glanced at the door and saw Michael Longbridge, standing there, holding a baseball bat. I would have been happier if he’d brought his chainsaw. He was with three other guys, all shapeshifters. The troll holding me cursed under his breath, but he didn’t let me go. Nathaniel was back on his feet, breathing hard. His fangs were still elongated, and part of his face was covered in blood; his eyes were glowing with pure rage. He was holding a stun gun in his right hand.

  One of the standing giants yelled, "Who the fuck are you? If you mess with Gordon, he will rip your head off and eat you for breakfast!" The air coursed with tension and growing energy. Fear seized me, making it impossible to breathe, but I was praying to get the hell out of here alive.

  Michael Longbridge swung his baseball bat and crushed the table next to him, then moved towards the troll.

  "Let the lady go, otherwise your head will be next, and that vampire will feed on the rest of you!" His eyes changed colour, shimmering like yellow flames. The other two shapeshifters moved forward. I pushed the troll away, and before I could get on my feet, Nathaniel was beside me. My head was pounding, and my magic was rolling over my body, burning my skin. A few giants moved aside letting us through while Nathaniel kept his stun gun at the ready.

  Michael nodded to me and glanced at the frozen party standing by the bar. I was shaking like a leaf. This wasn’t over yet. We still had to get to Nathaniel’s car.

  "We’re walking away from here nice and calm," Longbridge muttered. Nathaniel was holding my arm so tightly that it hurt. He didn’t even let go of me once we were outside.

  "Let’s move before they decide to come after us," a guy who appeared to be Longbridge’s mate said, moving his eyes around the abandoned street.

  "Julia, can you walk?" Nathaniel was still holding onto me with a death grip.

  "Yes, just stop squeezing my arm; you’re cutting my circulation."

  "Right, sorry."

  Ten minutes later, we reached the alley where he had left his Aston Martin. I gasped when I saw that some of the windows had been smashed.

  "Fuck, Miss. Taylor." Michael looked from me to Nathaniel. “I thought you were intelligent. We weren’t sure what both of you had planned, but going into Gordon’s bar is like heading to death row."

  "I don’t know who you are, but I owe you my life and Julia’s." wiped the blood off his face.

  "Yes, thank you, Mr. Longbridge. We were looking for some information about my missing cousin. She’s one of the elves who’s been kidnapped," I mumbled, completely losing the plot.

  Longbridge ran his hands over his dark hair, looking like he was going to hit me for being so reckless. "No one hangs out around here. It’s good that we spotted the two of you. Sorry about your car, mate."

  “I’m in your debt; the car is meaningless. If you ever need anything, call me." Nathaniel handed Longbridge his business card.

  "Thank you, Michael," I stuttered, then got into Nathaniel’s car. I could see that Nathaniel exchanged a few more words
with the shapeshifter before he got into the car with me. The engine started, and I sank back in my seat, grateful to be alive.

  "We need to get you to the hospital."

  "Just take me home. I’m fine, just a bit bruised."

  He didn’t respond, still breathing hard and fast. After an hour of driving in complete silence, he parked the car in front of my apartment.

  “I’m sorry, Julia. I never should have agreed to this. My source mentioned that there were only supposed to be two giants in the bar. I planned this badly. I made a huge mistake and I should have known better.” He turned to look at me. At that point, I didn’t really care. I was happy that we made it out of there alive. I just wanted him to hug me, but he was just sitting there, looking furious.

  "It’s a shame that we didn’t get anything out of them." I looked down, flexing my fingers.

  "Actually, we did. That giant who first approached me gave me the information that I was looking for. If anyone could start snatching fairies and elves, I figured it would have been Gordon, but we just found out that he isn’t behind this at all."

  "So? I still don’t know who’s behind my cousin’s kidnapping."

  "The most ruthless gang in London isn’t, so it’s probably one individual, which means that your cousin is still alive. We have half of our job cut out, but from now on, if I’m going to help you, I’ll be working alone."

  "But—"

  "Don’t even dare protest. I risked your life again today. Now, go on in and get some sleep and don’t mention anything to your father. I’ll call you when I know more."

  He was unbelievable. He was expecting me to just sit at home and do nothing. Why were all men so stupidly stubborn? Yeah, maybe I was nearly killed again today, but I wanted to help.

  "See you soon, Nathaniel." I got out of the car, feeling deflated.

  As I was walking back to my apartment I heard him say, "You still owe me a date."