The mere fact that Olivia Harcourt was human should have soured him to her taste and her scent, but it hadn’t. No, there was obviously something about the woman that did it for him, but Aiden wasn’t going to let it screw with his mind. Not if he could help it. If he’d learned anything in his life, it was that humans weren’t to be trusted, no matter how damn appealing they were.
Scrubbing his hand over his jaw, he suddenly asked, “So what is it you do, anyway?” He knew the question was out of left field, but his growing curiosity was too much to ignore.
“I’m a teacher,” she replied. “But I’ve taken a leave of absence.”
“Teacher, huh? What exactly do you teach?”
“Not that it’s any of your business,” she said defensively, as if anticipating his reaction, “but I teach kindergarten.”
For a moment all he could do was stare, the word running itself around and around in his head while his brain tried to make it compute. He had it bad for a freaking kindergarten teacher? So bad he could hardly see straight? When the others heard about this, they were going to be relentless with their ribbing.
Her eyes narrowed as she studied his expression. “I said kindergarten, Mr. Shrader.”
“Yeah, I heard you. And for the love of God, call me Aiden.”
“Then why are you staring at me like I have two heads and just told you that I’m a professional snake charmer?” she asked, her tone as dry as a desert wind.
Aiden rubbed his hand over his mouth. “No offense,” he muttered, “but I think I’d have been less surprised by the snake-charming gig.”
“You are such a strange man,” she murmured, shaking her head, her windblown hair just reaching the tops of her shoulders.
“Lady, you have no idea.” He sent her a crooked smile, then took a quick glance at the sturdy watch on his wrist. “Go ahead and call down the kid. We gotta get going.”
She stared, unmoving, and he made a thick sound of impatience. “Honest to God, Olivia, we don’t have the time for you to turn difficult. Not if you want to get out of here alive.”
When she still didn’t move, he ground his teeth together and shoved his hands into his pockets, trying to appear as nonthreatening as possible. “Look, I’m…sorry for what happened,” he offered in a rough voice. “I don’t force myself on women. Ever.” No, he knew too well what it was like to have something taken from you against your will, and he’d vowed at a young age to never make anyone feel that same sense of helplessness, which was why he never even got close to a woman unless she made it clear that that’s what she wanted. Tonight had been a first, and he was still pissed off at himself for losing control, which was why he was forcing out this awkward-assed apology. He also figured it would probably be a good idea to throw in I won’t ever kiss you again for good measure, but couldn’t quite get the words out, so he simply tacked on “It, uh, wasn’t my intention to scare you.”
She nodded, still looking a little wary. A second later she opened her mouth, then closed it again, and he wondered what she’d stopped herself from saying. Whatever it was, she’d obviously decided against it. After a moment she simply asked, “How did you manage to find us here, anyway?”
“I talked to your elderly neighbor back in town.”
“Georgia told you we were here?” she groaned, her expression an adorable mix of worry, anger and frustration as she pressed one palm to her forehead. “What was she thinking? I made her promise not to tell anyone!”
Aiden shrugged one shoulder and grinned. “Don’t be pissed at Georgia. She tried to hold firm, but I can be pretty charming when the occasion calls for it.”
“What’d you do to her?” she gasped, eyeing him with a heavy dose of suspicion.
He snorted and rolled his eyes. “She’s seventy if a day, Liv. It wasn’t like I put any moves on her. All I did was eat some of her lemon cookies and tell her I was a cousin who’d decided to come into town to surprise you. After that she was only too happy to tell me where I could find you. I warned her not to talk to anyone else, but who knows if she’ll do it. So the sooner we can get out of here, the better.”
“I’ll go get Jamie,” she told him, heading for the house. After she climbed the porch steps and disappeared inside, Aiden paced back and forth across the lawn, sweating despite the chill in the air, his head still dazed from her strange effect on him. It was a good five minutes before she came back out, holding a small child bundled against her chest, the little girl’s face buried in her shoulder.
“Jamie, honey, this is the man I just told you about.” She spoke the gentle words into the child’s dark curls, her hold one of tender affection that made him strangely envious. “He’s going to help take care of us on our trip.”
The child lifted her head, flashing him a shy grin. She had big, heavily lashed eyes, delicate features and round, rosy cheeks that made her look like a little cherub. Aiden could see the strain on her small face, and could only imagine the hell she’d been through since her world had started falling apart. It made him furious that her family had been left on their own, with no one to look out for them. Cutting a sharp look toward Olivia, he said, “If your stepsisters are descended from a Merrick bloodline, then why haven’t you ever been given Watchmen supervision?” He knew that only the dormant Merrick/human bloodlines had been under strict surveillance, but it seemed criminal that an exception wouldn’t have been made for a family of females, even if they were witches.
“According to Monica, there was never any supervision because we’re not human,” she said, telling him what he already knew. Before he could point out the obvious flaw in her statement, she added, “Now that my father’s gone, I’m the only human Harcourt. But my stepsisters were…are Mallory witches.”
“So it’s true,” he murmured. “The child is part Merrick and part Mallory?”
She nodded again, then quietly said, “But only half. Her father was human.”
“Doesn’t matter,” he said in a low voice. “The Casus are still going to be champing at the bit to get their hands on her.”
“But it doesn’t make any sense!” she protested softly, tightening her grip on the three-year-old. Pressing Jamie’s head to her shoulder, she covered the little girl’s ear with her hand. “She’s only a child. She can’t be awakened! And her Mallory powers aren’t even manifested yet.”
“They’ll want her anyway. Monica said her Mallory-Merrick blood mix is too strong a lure for them. They’re going to value her power and her bloodline, even if she hasn’t awakened.”
Her rage was obvious, the furious blaze in her violet eyes so intense he could have sworn he felt its heat. “Well, they’re not going to get her.”
“That’s where I come in,” he told her, taking a step closer.
She tilted her head back to stare up at him, and Aiden could sense just how badly she wanted to believe him. “You’re really here to help us?”
“I really am.” He reached out and ran his thumb over her lower lip, mesmerized by the sight of his dark skin against that smooth, glossy surface. Her breath caught, and he pulled his hand away as he lifted his gaze. “You know, you’re not stuttering anymore. What gives?”
The look she sent him was suddenly pure teacher, thick with disappointment and reproach, and the corner of his mouth kicked up with another crooked grin. “What? Too rude of me to mention? You gonna smack my hand with a ruler?”
Jamie wiggled down from her aunt’s arms, then tugged on the leg of his jeans, demanding his attention. When he glanced down, she lifted her chubby arms into the air and said, “Up.”
Praying that he didn’t accidentally hurt her, doing his best to be gentle, Aiden lifted the little runt off the ground, perching her small body on his right arm. “Yeah?” he asked, quietly noting the latent power he could feel humming within her. The keen intelligence burning in her big eyes seemed almost too sharp for a mere toddler, and he made a mental note to question Olivia about it when they were alone.
Acting as thoug
h she was about to tell him a secret, Jamie leaned her face close to his and whispered, “Livie only talks like that when she’s weally nervous. Or when she’s scared.”
He arched both brows. “Is that so?” he asked, ignoring the almost silent curse that Olivia muttered under her breath, her embarrassment obvious.
The child nodded, her dark curls tumbling over her smooth forehead. Looking into her small face made something in Aiden’s chest hurt, as if he’d been dealt a physical pain. It was unthinkable that anyone would want to harm something so precious and innocent, but then that was what the Casus specialized in, things too gruesome and wrong for any normal person to comprehend.
He slanted a curious look toward Olivia. “And the idea of the Casus hunting you down doesn’t make you nervous?”
She crossed her arms, her voice hard with anger as she said, “It ticks me off even more.”
Well, hell, he couldn’t help but admire her spunk. For a kindergarten teacher, she was pretty feisty.
“You take care of us now?” Jamie asked, pulling his face back to her with the slightly sticky touch of her small hand against his cheek, the scent of chocolate and peanut butter reaching his nose. Her big eyes were so dark, he could see the stars reflected in their depths—and yet there were too many shadows lingering in her solemn gaze, and the pain in his chest got sharper. Aiden swallowed against the tight knot of emotion in his throat, but before he could say anything to reassure her, his phone started buzzing on his hip. Olivia moved forward, taking Jamie from him, and he pulled the phone from its case, thumbing the keypad as he lifted it to his ear.
“S’up?” he grunted, knowing Kellan wouldn’t have been calling unless there was trouble.
“Get the hell out of there!” the Lycan shouted, breathing hard as if he was running. “They’re closing in on you!”
“How many?” he asked as he dug his truck keys from his pocket, wondering if they had enough time to get out without having to fight.
Before Kellan could respond, a series of stark, guttural howls cut through the silent night…and Aiden had his answer.
CHAPTER THREE
IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN a criminal offense for a man to look…well, like this one did.
As she watched him talking on the phone, Olivia couldn’t stop staring, soaking up the physical details as if they were something that would prove vital to her existence. Something she might someday need in order to breathe…to live, which probably meant that she was completely losing it. The Watchman was outrageously tall, towering well over six foot, his mouthwatering body clearly made for fighting, as well as a multitude of sins. All ones she was seriously wishing she had the courage to commit, no matter how dangerous he looked.
And he did look dangerous. With his long, wavy, caramel-colored hair falling around his wide shoulders, golden skin and long, corded muscles, he was her ultimate Celtic-warrior fantasy come to life, complete with mesmerizing tattoos. The dark designs covered the backs of his knuckles and his strong, sinewy forearms from wrist to elbow in a beautiful blend of what looked like pagan symbols. She wanted to lean close and study the intricate patterns. Trace them with the tip of her finger. Feel the strength of his thick, ropy muscles and the heat of his skin beneath the touch of her hand.
But unlike her fantasy lovers, Aiden Shrader was so much more than a gorgeous, compelling hunk. Though she still didn’t know what specific kind of shape-shifter he was, Olivia had seen the way his eyes had changed as they’d argued, shifting from a gray-green hazel to a hot, glowing amber. There was a primal, predatory edge to the way he moved, and her breath caught as she recalled what it had felt like when he’d been pressing that powerful body against hers, thrusting heavily between her thighs. The erotic friction had been so overpowering…so achingly delicious, she’d nearly gone screaming over the edge, and her face burned with the thought, even as her conscience argued that she must be out of her ever-loving mind.
Stranger danger, you pleasure-starved idiot. Ring any bells?
Not that he was acting like a stranger. No, he was taking charge as if he’d been born to it, and God help her, Olivia was scared and tired enough to let him, the past few weeks of horror and heartbreak leaving her shaken and raw and needing a badass warrior she could rely on. He looked the type that could handle anything, his muscles coiled hard and tight beneath his golden skin, stretching the seams of his black T-shirt as he paced before her, muttering into the phone about the howls being some sort of warning to others that the Watchmen were there. His glowing amber eyes constantly surveyed their surroundings, looking for danger, and she began to wonder about things she simply didn’t have time to wonder about. She wanted to know if he had a girlfriend, though she doubted it, the idea of monogamy probably repugnant to a guy who threw off his kind of sexual vibe. Wanted to know why he’d become a Watchman. What kind of life he’d led to become so hard and lethal-looking.
But most of all, Olivia wanted to know why he’d kissed her. Not that she could actually ask him at the moment, considering something was out in the woods, making the most god-awful sounds she’d ever imagined.
“Don’t be scared, honey,” she whispered against Jamie’s silky curls, covering her little ear once again as she pressed the other against her shoulder. She hated that her niece was about to go through what would surely be another horrific situation. Thankfully, Jamie hadn’t been with Monica when she was killed, but the traumatic loss of her mother had come just weeks after the disappearance of her beloved aunt Chloe. Olivia honestly didn’t know how much more the little girl could take, when she’d already been through more than any child should ever have to endure.
Olivia was still lost in thought, worrying about Jamie, when Aiden disconnected his call and reached out, taking hold of her arm. “Come on,” he muttered. “We’ve gotta go.”
“What’s g-going on?” she stammered, though she had a good idea of what was making those terrifying howls.
“I have some friends with me who’re patrolling the woods. The Casus are on their way.”
As he spoke, he started guiding her around the side of the house, toward a massive black truck she could see parked out on the curb. At first she was too shell-shocked to react, but then panic took hold and Olivia dug in her heels, pulling against his grasp as much as she could with Jamie in her arms. “Wait!” she panted, her breaths coming hard and fast. “I have to think f-for a minute. I need to—”
“Look, you might not be happy about being stuck with me,” he snapped, cutting her off as he spun toward her, “but I’m your best shot at getting out of here alive. And I’ll take apart anyone who tries to hurt the kid,” he added, jerking his chin toward Jamie, who had her small arms wrapped tight around Olivia’s neck.
“How do I know you’re not lying?” she whispered, rubbing her hand against Jamie’s small back. “How do I know this hasn’t all been some sort of elaborate setup?”
“You don’t.” Grim lines creased his expression as he held her stare. “You’re just going to have to trust me.”
Taking a deep breath, she prayed she was making the right choice. “Okay, all right. What do we do?”
“We’re going to take my truck and get out of here. Then the guys I’m with will come back for your car.”
“No,” she argued, already shaking her head. “We can’t go in your truck.”
He pulled his hand down his face, his gravelly voice thick with frustration. “Christ, Liv. This is no time to argue.”
She spoke quickly, knowing they were running out of time. “We have to take my car. It’s already packed with Jamie’s things and I can’t risk losing them. They’re all she has from home. From her mother.”
He muttered something foul under his breath, but stopped arguing and barked out a gritty command for her to wait there for him. Olivia watched as he ran to his truck, grabbed a duffel bag from the extended cab, then came back, latching on to her arm again as he headed straight for her car. She ran to keep up with his long strides, then buckled Jam
ie into the car seat belted into the middle of the backseat, while Aiden held the door open for her. After pressing a quick kiss to Jamie’s forehead, she promised her niece that everything was going to be okay and climbed back out.
Olivia was about to hand her car keys over to Aiden, thinking he’d want to drive, when he dropped his bag on the ground, leaned into the car and slipped something over Jamie’s tousled curls. Before she could ask what it was, he looked back, snagging her gaze over his broad shoulder. “You’ve heard of the Dark Markers, right?”
Her gaze swung to the ornate Maltese cross now hanging around Jamie’s neck from a black velvet cord, resting against the fuzzy pink heart on the front of her pajamas. It was incredibly beautiful, etched with tiny intricate symbols that covered every inch of its dark, metallic surface. “Are you serious? That’s one of the ancient Markers?”
He nodded, saying, “We just found this one earlier today,” before turning back toward Jamie. He lifted her tiny chin with one tattooed finger. “Whatever you do, honey, do not take that off, okay? It’s magic and it’s going to keep you safe. You can even feel its magic when you touch it because it’ll be warm against your skin. Why don’t you try it?”
Jamie looked down at the Marker and grabbed hold of it, then stared back up at Aiden. “It’s pwetty.”
“Yeah, but not as pretty as you,” he told her, ruffling her curls. “Now, promise me you won’t take it off. No matter what happens.”
“Pwomise,” she whispered, gripping the cross tight with both hands, as if she understood just how serious the danger was.
“Good girl.” He grabbed his bag and shoved it onto the floorboard, closed the door, then turned toward Olivia just as another series of screeching howls echoed through the quiet night. “Shit,” he growled, glaring toward the thick line of trees at the edge of the yard. “They’re too close.”
Touch of Seduction Page 3