The Witch's Protector [The Protectors 2] (Siren Publishing Classic)

by Doris O'Connor

* * * *

  Joanne stared at the shoe she had thrown at the door and lo and behold the blasted thing flew back into her outstretched hand. Well, wasn’t that fine and dandy. It was just that infuriating, overbearing wolf she couldn’t use her powers on then.

  Great, just great. The universe had to have her intended be one…damn it, sexy as all out hunk. Joanne was nothing if not honest with herself and when he took charge like that, it was the sexiest thing ever. Not that she would make it easy for him.

  Keeping a wary eye on the door, she pulled the hem of her dress back up again to inspect the bite mark. You didn’t get that in a dream. She’d be buggered before she would confront him about that. He had clearly been trying to goad her into admitting it.

  A tentative knock made her shove her dress back down, just in time before LaVida stuck her head round the door with an impish grin.

  “Safe to come in?” she asked.

  “Ha ha, very funny. As long as you’re not a wolf out to annoy me you’re quite safe.”

  LaVida giggled and stepped fully into the room.

  “No, just a rabbit with some trousers.” She passed Joanne some coarse fabric trousers. “They should fit you. I only use them for gardening, myself, for obvious reasons.”

  Joanne nodded, and then smiled when the implications of what LaVida was saying to her sunk in, while she shrugged out of her slip and dress and pulled on the trousers. They were slightly too short for her, as she was taller than the rabbit, but they would do.

  “Yes, I guess you don’t fancy flashing your knickers at all those men in this place, when you garden any more than I want to flash the world on the back of that infuriating man’s bike.”

  LaVida giggled again and handed her a light blouse and cardigan.

  “Thank you,” Joanne said. “But this really isn’t funny. I’ve never been on the back of a motorbike before. What on earth do I hold onto?”

  “Why, the Alpha, of course.”

  At Joanne’s eye roll in answer, LaVida’s amusement fled.

  “Seriously, the tighter you can hold on the better. He won’t let anything happen to you, but you can’t fight him on the back of a bike. Go with his body movements, especially when he takes the corners. It’s exhilarating, you’ll see. Just trust him.”

  Joanne sighed, and sat down heavily on the bed.

  “How can I trust him? I don’t know him, and he…” She let her words trail off and LaVida hopped onto the bed and sat next to her.

  “It’s confusing, huh? All those feelings you develop when you meet your mate, but you know there really is no point in fighting it.” At Joanne’s curious glance LaVida blushed and shrugged her shoulders. “At least that’s what I’ve been taught. I haven’t met mine yet, but I’ve seen it often enough, and when your mate is a Protector, then things can get even more overwhelming. It’s such an honor though, you know, to be a Protector’s mate. They need strong and capable mates, and from what I’ve seen you’re more than up to the task, Miss. So stop your worrying and go down and see him.”

  Joanne’s head was beginning to throb and she rubbed her temples in a vain effort to dispel the approaching migraine. She needed to get home and apply one of her healing poultices, drying in her larder. LaVida was still talking to her, her hands making huge sweeping gestures, and Joanne latched onto the last words she had heard, before she’d zoned out a bit.

  “Protectors? What on earth does that mean?” she asked and LaVida’s mouth fell open in surprise.

  “You don’t know about the Protectors? But, you’re part of the paranormal community. Everyone knows of them. I’ve grown up on the stories. I thought everyone did?”

  Joanne squirmed under LaVida’s open astonishment.

  “I haven’t exactly been part of the paranormal community,” she said.

  “Why ever not?” LaVida appeared even more puzzled, and Joanne sighed.

  “It’s a long story and one we haven’t got time for. I really do need to get home now.”

  LaVida hopped off the bed with a speed that left Joanne quite dizzy, and she put her hand on Joanne’s forehead.

  “Hmm, you do look a bit peaky, if you don’t mind me saying so. Perhaps I should call the Alpha, and you ought to go back to bed, and—”

  “No.” LaVida winced at Joanne’s loud shout, and she tempered her voice to a more even level.

  “Sorry, I didn’t mean to shout, not when you’ve been nothing but kind to me, but I don’t…I can’t stay here. I need to go home and if the only way out of here is on the back of a blasted motorbike, then so be it.”

  LaVida smiled and nodded.

  “You’ll have fun, you’ll see.”

  Joanne highly doubted that as she followed the rabbit shifter down the stairs, through the hall that led back to the big room she had been in the night before and out through the porch. Despite her misgivings her heart beat a little faster and the throb in her head abated a little when she spotted Henry in between his men. It seemed they were going to have an escort on the way home. Several male heads turned, when she stepped down onto the gravel lining the outside of the sprawling property, but she only had eyes for Henry.

  Heavens above, it should be illegal for any man fill his clothes like Henry did. Like the rest of his pack, who kickstarted their bikes, the minute they spotted her, he now wore a leather jacket, with the Mongrels inscribed on it. His nostrils flared as she approached, and his eyes bled briefly to the soft glow of his wolf and Joanne forgot to breathe for the few steps it took to reach him. Just like before he seemed to command her will with the intensity of his piercing blue gaze. He grasped her hand when she got close enough, and inhaled against her neck.

  “Breathe, little red. You’ll enjoy this, trust me.”

  There was that word again—trust. Joanne pulled a shuddering breath into her lungs, and gave a tight nod.

  Henry smiled and kickstarted his own bike. The powerful machine roared into life and Joanne could feel the vibrations rise up through her toes. Oh my, she hadn’t really been expecting that, as her clit contracted and shivers of excitement darted across her skin.

  The infuriating man noticed of course, because he revved the engine up more, winked at her, and then leant down to whisper in her ear.

  “Just think about sitting on top of this, with all those vibrations right where you need them. You have my permission to come as many times as you want, as long as you imagine it’s my cock inside your tight little pussy.”

  Joanne opened her mouth to give him what for, but nothing came out bar a strangled squeak, and Henry laughed and revved the motor even more. He handed her a Mongrels leather jacket and the ugliest helmet ever, and having recovered her equilibrium somewhat, she stared at him.

  “You have got to be kidding me, if you think I’ll put that on my head.”

  Henry ignored her, straddled his bike, and grinned.

  “You’re the one who insists she needs to get home. I’ll be quite happy to keep you here, little red, preferably tied to my bed and gagged, so that you can’t mouth off at me.” He paused for a second, and Joanne knew she had blushed as red as the late blooming roses wrapped around the porch of the pack house at those outrageous words. He hadn’t tempered his voice either, and his assembled men all grinned.

  Oh he was going to pay for that, just as soon as she figured out how she could get him back for those words.

  “Wear those, if you want to go home, or don’t wear them and stay here. Those are your choices, little red.” His tone had that edge of command that turned Joanne’s insides to mush, and meant she had scrambled into the jacket and plonked that god-awful helmet on her head before she even knew what she was doing. Henry crooked his finger at her and she dutifully stepped closer. The jacket had to be one of his, because his scent surrounded her, and calmed her nerves.

  Once she was close enough, he zipped the jacket all the way up, fastened the helmet under her chin, and dropped a kiss on her nose.

  “Good girl, now that wasn’t so bad n
ow, was it. Hop on.” He thumbed over his shoulder, and with a deep breath in Joanne clambered aboard the bike.

  “Hold on tight now, little red.”

  That was he only warning she got, before he tore down the dirt road that led up to the pack house, and Joanne shrieked, and hung on for dear life. His shoulders shook as though he was laughing at her, and she called him all sorts of names in her head. If only she could curse him into a toad or something.

  Henry took a corner out of the forest and onto the main road, and even those thoughts flew out of her head, as the bike tipped and she screamed again. Oh. My. God. He was determined to kill them. By some miracle the bike didn’t veer off into the ditch, and once on the open road he went even faster. Air rushed by at dizzying speed, and Joanne was dimly aware of the other bikes surrounding them in a tight unit, before she screwed her eyes shut, buried her face in his broad back, and tried her best not to throw up.

  After what seemed like an eternity they finally slowed down, and her terror fled. She became aware of the vibrations travelling up through her core, and she gave an experimental wiggle. Oh, that felt way too good. Before she could do it again, however, the engine shut off and Henry slowly pried her fingers off the death grip she had around his waist.

  “Let go, little red, you’re home.”

  The murmured words finally sunk in and she let go of him and opened her eyes. Olaf came up to hold the bike as Henry got off and then helped her of it.

  “Steady there, sweetheart.”

  He grasped her round the waist as her legs gave way and then to her dismay swept her up in to his arms and walked up to her cottage. Instead of opening her little gate he stepped over it, and before she knew what they were doing they were on her doorstep. Situated away from the road as it was, they couldn’t be seen, and Henry slowly slid her down his muscled frame, and then crowded her against her front door.

  “Safely delivered home, see. I always keep my promises.”

  He pulled her keys out of his jeans, opened the door for her and then pushed her up against the wall. One leg between hers, he used his body to hold her up while he grasped her hands and pinned her arms up on the wall above her head.

  A shiver of need went down Joanne’s spine. Held like this by him, she couldn’t move as he filled her vision until all she wanted to do was surrender to him completely.

  Henry ground his hard cock into her belly and groaning, bent to inhale against her neck again.

  Joanne whimpered and tried to push herself closer to him, but he wasn’t letting her move even an inch.

  Instead he pulled back, and studied her expression from under hooded lids. His scent intensified, and Joanne licked her lips, suddenly desperate to taste him, and he smiled.

  “I could take you right her and now, couldn’t I, little red? I can smell how wet you are for me again, how your tight cunt aches to be filled by my cock.” He bent his knees and thrust his hips a few times in an imitation of the real act that left Joanne breathless and so aroused she wondered if it was possible to come from the sound of man’s words alone.

  “Answer me, little red.” Transferring both her wrists into one of his large hands, he used the other to take the helmet off her head. He carelessly threw it to one side and it landed on her floorboards with a dull thud that seemed too loud in the stillness surrounding them.

  It served to pull her out of her haze of need and arousal and she shook her head.

  “No? I don’t…I mean…I hardly know you. This is insane. Let me go.”

  Much to her surprise and disappointment he let her go immediately, and stepped back.

  “Too bad, little red. Let me know when you change your mind.”

  He smirked at her, looked at the helmet on the floor and turned to leave.

  “You’re going, just like that?” Joanne asked. “But, what about?” She hastily took off the jacket and tried to give it to him, but he just shook his head.

  “Keep it, little red, and think of me. We’ll drop your bicycle round as soon as we’ve fixed it, and stay out of trouble, girl, if that’s possible.”

  Before she could say anything else, the door shut behind him and Joanne slid to the floor as her headache returned tenfold.

  Damn the man and where were those poultices.

  Chapter Seven

  Henry stalked away from Joanne’s small cottage and adjusted his dick away from his zipper. Fuck, he had come so close to taking her against her the wall, his wolf clawing to come out and make his mate his. Despite his best intentions to keep away from her, it seemed Henry just had to be near the little witch for all those intentions to go out of the window. Thank fuck, she had the good sense to say no.

  He nodded to his men and mounted his motorbike, after yet more adjustments in the groin department, much to the sniggering amusement of his pack.

  “I thought you’d be staying, Boss,” Olaf said with barely hidden amusement. “Certainly would take care of that boner for you.”

  Henry flipped him the finger, which resulted in more chuckles around his men.

  “Little witch giving you the runaround, Boss? Never thought I’d see the day.”

  Henry snarled at his beta’s words and the silly fool finally had the grace to sober up, and dipped his head.

  “Sorry, Boss, didn’t mean anything by it.”

  Henry reined his mad as fuck wolf in with some difficulty. When he was reasonably sure that he could talk without tearing the other man to shreds, he started his bike, and took a deep breath in. Really, what was wrong with him? These were his pack, his brothers, for fuck’s sake, and he was acting no better than that Salasino.

  A movement behind the upstairs window caught his attention, and he smiled grimly at the shadowy figure he could just about see behind the net curtains. So, his little red was watching them. He winked up at the figure, and the shadow reared back, and something smashed, as though she had tripped up over something in her haste to get away from the window.

  Sure enough her soft, and most unladylike curse carried. Thanks to their shifter hearing everyone heard her, even over the idling motorbikes, and a renewed chuckle went through his men. It lightened the atmosphere somewhat, and Olaf, ever the smartass, had to butt in.

  “At least she’s feeling it to, eh, Boss?”

  Henry gave him a hard stare, but Olaf kept on grinning, and eventually Henry’s mouth, too, kicked up into a smile.

  His grim amusement was short lived however, when he scanned the surroundings of her cottage. Stood on its own, several yards back from the main road, it was utterly isolated. The village, or at least the few houses that passed for the village was several twisty bends away, and with the forests lurking behind her cottage and the fells featuring prominently in the back ground, the place was picture perfect pretty. And a death trap.

  No one would come to her aid here, or even hear her scream, and his wolf roared for him to go back inside that cottage and drag her out kicking and screaming back to the pack house, where he could keep her safe. The man knew that wasn’t an option. His little witch would probably make do on her threat and turn him into a toad, after all.

  Henry shook his head and glared up the window, but, if she was still in there, she was certainly not showing herself. Stupid ass thing for a young woman to live all by herself out here, like that, even if she was a powerful witch. Lifting his head, Henry took in the scents of his surroundings. If she had protection spells covering her cottage he would be able to detect them. Magic had its own smell, unique to each witch, who administered it. His little red’s was spicy and warm like cinnamon and baked bread, but the magic he sensed here, was of a different kind. Oranges, and lemons, tart, and a bit abrupt, and old.

  It gave him pause for thought and he shook his head to try again. Yes, definitely not Joanne’s work. This magic had been placed some time ago, and he could only hope it still remained intact.

  “I want her watched at all times,” he said, addressing his men. “Don’t let her see you, but I want her unde
r protection twenty-four-seven. If she as much as sneezes, I want to know about it, do you hear me? Screen any visitors, and if that Salasino starts sniffing around I want to know about it yesterday, got that?”

  Olaf nodded and gestured to two of the men. They got on their bikes and drove off. Henry knew they would hide their machines and clothes, shift and prowl the perimeter. Not only that, they were two of his best, older and experienced, and they would take good care of his little red. He ignored his beast’s whine that it should be Henry himself who did that. Until she was his, had consented to his mating bite and all that entailed, he had no right to protect her personally. Not with so many innocent lives at stake.

  The night time menace that was plaguing Middle Brook and the surrounding country side was increasing in number. You took out one and several more appeared, and Henry couldn’t shake his suspicion that Salasino was behind this. Humans and in particular smaller, defenseless shifters were targeted. Their deer population was decreasing at alarming rates, and the badgers would soon be extinct. It left a foul taste in Henry’s mouth.

  As far as he was concerned there was room for them all to roam and be in Cumbria, and the Lakes. Fanatics like Salasino, however, seemed determined to put an end to any shifter who wasn’t wolf and pure bred at that, completely missing the point that inbreeding as favored by his pack weakened their line rather than strengthened it.

  Henry was also painfully aware that packs like his were very much the exception. He only knew of one other wolf pack that exercised clemency such as this, and they were in the Trosachs in Scotland. That pack had developed some interesting characteristics of their own, and strengthened Henry’s belief that shifters were constantly evolving. It was the only way to survive after all.

  “Boss, where to now?” Olaf’s quiet voice shook him out of his musings and he revved his engine and grinned.

  “We have ourselves some Lupines to take out. I know this current menace is related to him somehow, and besides they’ve been breaching our territory once too often. Time to show them that the Mongrels mean business.”