Touch of Seduction

by Rhyannon Byrd

  A swift head count confirmed that everyone had made it, and Riley began working the levers to raise the drawbridge, just in case any Casus decided to follow. Though from the looks of things, it seemed that any remaining Casus had decided to turn tail and run. The Death-Walkers, however, were a different matter. As the tired, blood-covered band stood on the deep stone porch waiting for the drawbridge to close, they spotted the Death-Walkers speeding through the sky, their bodies silhouetted against the moon as the creatures headed straight for them.

  “Anyone who has anything left in their flasks, get them ready,” Aiden grunted, putting himself in front of Olivia after he’d placed Jamie in her arms. The Death-Walkers picked up speed, moving faster, soaring high above the ground. Then they suddenly came to a crashing stop, slamming into some kind of invisible wall when they reached the moat. Hissing, they hovered in the air, glaring down at everyone gathered on the wide porch, their yellow eyes burning with hatred, before finally turning and disappearing into the night.

  “Holy shit,” Noah grunted, his deep voice thick with surprise. “It actually worked.”

  “Remind me to thank Gideon when I see him,” Kierland panted, leaning his back against the massive, double wooden doors that led into the house.

  “Thank him? Hell, I’m gonna kiss him,” Kellan drawled, bracing his hands on his knees as he bent forward, still struggling to catch his breath.

  “I think we owe Jamie some appreciation, as well,” Ian murmured, sliding Jamie a gentle smile. “You were amazing, sweetheart.”

  THOUGH SHE WAS still shivering in Olivia’s arms, Jamie managed a shy grin before burying her face against Olivia’s throat. Olivia could see the questions burning in everyone’s eyes as they all looked at her niece, wondering how Jamie had managed to turn the Casus and Death-Walkers against each other. It had been nothing short of amazing, and Olivia could only thank God that Jamie seemed to be fine now, if a little shaken.

  Rubbing her hand against Jamie’s small back, Olivia stood off to the side, listening as the others talked, until Riley finally managed to get the drawbridge completely raised and Aiden suggested they get inside.

  And that was when the real work began.

  Because of the local legends surrounding Harrow House, Smithson had apparently been unable to round up a full staff willing to come in and tackle the cleaning. Still, he’d managed to get the process started, but they still had a long, tiresome evening ahead of them. Keeping Jamie close to her side, Olivia had worked with Saige and Morgan, rummaging through the endless number of rooms until they’d managed to get beds made up for everyone to sleep in. She hadn’t seen Aiden since they’d come inside, and figured he was either busy with the others or doing his best to avoid her. Not that she’d expected anything different. Despite what had happened that afternoon, he’d given no indication that his feelings toward her had changed, and she knew better than to wish for a miracle.

  After all, they’d already had their fair share of miracles that day. To ask for another seemed greedy, and she didn’t want to press their luck, no matter how sweet it would have been on a personal level just to have the stubborn shape-shifter seek her out for some simple conversation.

  It was late, and they were finally done for the night. There’d been an anxious hour when most of the men had gone back out, heavily armed with weapons that Kierland’s grandfather had stocked in the cellar, and taken care of the bodies that had been left at the site of the battle, but they were back now. They’d also managed to retrieve the luggage from the cars, which meant that everyone would be able to sleep in clean clothes. While Morgan took Jamie downstairs to show her the game room they’d found, Olivia went upstairs to grab a quick shower in the suite of rooms she and Jamie would be sharing.

  She also needed just a bit of time to herself, to try to sort out what she was going to do about Aiden.

  “You need to just get a grip and forget about him,” she muttered to herself as she entered the shadowed room, the only light provided by the milky glow of moonlight that spilled through the leaded windows.

  Pulling off her dust-streaked sweater, she headed into the bathroom, shutting the door behind her. It was a good twenty minutes later when she came back out, dressed in a loose T-shirt and a ratty pair of sweats. She’d taken no more than one or two steps into the bedroom, her head lowered as she rubbed a towel through her hair, when Aiden’s deep voice rumbled through the shadows. “If it’s all right with you, I’d rather you didn’t. Forget about me, that is.”

  Gasping with surprise, she looked up, and the low wash of light spilling through the bathroom door reached just far enough into the room to illuminate Aiden’s long, beautiful body perched in a chair beside the bed. He sat leaning forward, with his elbows braced on his knees, his bruised hands hanging loosely between his parted legs.

  “You scared me to d-death,” she stammered, noticing that his hair was damp and his clothes were clean, which meant that he’d already showered, as well. She also couldn’t help but notice that he was staring at her as if he wanted to eat her alive, his eyes burning with hunger, glowing a bright, mesmerizing shade of amber. “What are you d-doing here?”

  Scraping his fingers back through his hair, he spoke in a halting, gritty rumble. “Yeah, well. See, I realized something tonight.”

  Too afraid to think of where this might be leading, Olivia clutched the towel against her fluttering belly with both hands. “And what’s that?”

  “I, uh, realized that I’m a total jackass.”

  Snuffling a soft laugh under her breath, she said, “I find it hard to believe that this revelation never came to you sooner.”

  His mouth twitched with a wry, crooked smile, and he shook his head. “I might be pretty, but I never claimed to be brainy. Sometimes it takes me awhile to figure this emotional stuff out, and it doesn’t help that I’m stubborn as hell.”

  “Sounds like you know yourself pretty well,” she murmured, tossing the towel on the foot of the bed so that she could cross her arms.

  He gave a rough laugh, the husky sound melting down her spine, turning her insides to honey. But she wasn’t ready to give in. Not yet. Not when there was so much at stake. “What do you want, Aiden?”

  Instead of answering the question, he asked, “How’s Jamie doing?”

  “She’s good,” Olivia told him. “Smiling. Laughing. Molly and Saige think that what happened was some kind of psychic release of all the emotion Jamie’s been bottling up since Chloe first disappeared and Monica was killed. When she saw us surrounded by all the fighting, and thought she might lose us, it finally all came pouring out. Saige thinks it might even be a sign that the Mallory curse could be nearing its end.”

  “Christ. Is she going to be okay?”

  “With all the love and attention she’s getting, I think she’s going to be just fine,” she murmured. “But you didn’t answer my question. What do you want?”

  He blew out a rough breath, looking for a second as if he was going to bolt, but then he scrubbed his hands down his face and said, “I’m no good at this, but I can’t deny you anything.” Surging to his feet, he braced his hands on his lean hips in a purely masculine pose and just stood there, his chest rising and falling with his hard, ragged breathing. He was glaring at her, but she had to bite back a smile, because she could see the emotion he was trying so hard to deal with shimmering in his golden eyes. “I guess what I’m saying is that I’m an even bigger jackass than I realized, not to have been able to see what’s right in front of me.”

  Olivia had never imagined she would see Aiden looking so nervous and unsure. So…hopeful, the unguarded look on his beautiful face melting what was left of her anger, transforming that cold, brittle ache into something soft and shivery that filled her chest, warming her from the inside out.

  “You asked me once if I’d ever changed, and I have,” he rasped, his head turned a little to the side. “At least, I have now. I wouldn’t have believed it was possible, but it happened. I don�
��t know how, except to say that it’s because of you. Because of how I feel about you. And to think that I could have lost you today…Christ, it almost killed me.” He raked his hair back from his face again, and she noticed that his hands were trembling. Shaking. When he realized what she was looking at, he shoved his hands into his pockets and went on, saying, “I don’t want to have any more secrets from you, Liv. So I guess I came here so that I can go ahead and just get it all out in the open.”

  She nodded, her heart beating like the frenzied wings of a hummingbird as she waited for him to go on.

  He took a deep breath, and then in a low voice he said, “I got my tats when I was fourteen. Just after I escaped from Mueller’s. One of the other kids there, Adam, was from one of the other clans called the Feardacha. He told me that in their culture it’s bad to leave the evil souls of the dead unchecked, so the warriors tattoo themselves with symbols that are meant to draw the souls back to them, if they ever escape.” He paused and glanced down at his tattooed forearms. “These markings are sort of a memorial to Adam, I guess.”

  Moving a little closer, she kept her voice soft as she asked, “Why didn’t you want me to know?”

  His chest shook with a low, gritty bark of laughter and he tilted his head back, staring at the high ceiling. “Because I guess there’s always been a part of me that wonders if they might actually work. Not exactly a big selling point for a relationship. Can you just imagine me saying, ‘Hey, check out my tats. Oh, and by the way, if any of the psychopathic assholes that I ripped to shreds ever crawl out of hell, these are supposed to pull them to me, so that I can try to figure out a way to kill them all over again’?” Lowering his head, he looked right at her, another wry smile lifting the corner of his mouth. “Call me crazy, but I kinda figured you had enough baddies coming after you already, without throwing something like that in the mix.”

  “Aiden,” she whispered, taking another step, drawn toward him as if there was some kind of powerful magnetic pull between their bodies, but he held up his big hand, silently telling her to stop. She wrapped her arms around her chest, vibrating with emotion, and waited, though it was killing her to stay away from him.

  “I don’t make much of a slice of normal,” he said huskily, rubbing his fingers against his scratchy jaw as he stared so deep into her eyes, she felt as if he was sinking into her. “But hell, who wants normal anyway? You’ve had normal all your life, Liv, and look what it’s gotten you. A pathetic ex who wasn’t worth the time it took you to drop him.” Like a swell rising up over the wide expanse of the ocean, she could see his confidence building, rushing against her like a warm wind. “You need me, Liv. You need someone like me to show you what you’ve been missing. You need someone like me, because I might be a pain in the ass, but I’d lay down my soul before I’d let anything happen to you. It’s a hell of a thing we’re mixed up in right now. I know that. But you’re going to be in danger wherever you go, and I’m the best man for dealing with that. I’m not going to let anyone hurt you or Jamie, because I refuse to lose you.”

  He paused, glancing back down at his tattooed arms. “And if these markings ever do bring those bastards back to me, well, I figure you’re strong enough to help me take them on.” Lifting his gaze, he said, “You’re an amazing woman, Liv. One who can handle whatever life throws at her, even if it is a screwed up smart-ass like me.”

  Realizing that this was the most important moment of her life, she forced herself to take a deep breath and see it through, afraid that if she let herself go she might throw herself at him and tackle him to the ground. “What exactly are you saying, Aiden?”

  He rolled one muscled shoulder, and this time he was the one who took a step forward, his voice a dark, delicious rumble as he said, “I realized that you matter, Liv.”

  She shook her head and smiled. “Is that the best you can do?”

  “Aw, hell,” he groaned, taking another step closer. “You’re gonna make me say it, aren’t you?”

  “You’re tough,” she whispered, trying to sound sultry, though she suspected the happy, goofy grin on her face was probably ruining the effect. “You can take it.”

  He took another deep breath, then let it out. “Fine. Enough of acting like a pussy. I can do this.” He walked right up to her, standing so close that she had to tilt her head back to see his face, and then she was drowning in the golden depths of his eyes as he said, “I’d just tell you that I love you, because I do, Liv. But I don’t see how that one little word can do justice to what I feel for you.”

  Suddenly all the pieces that had been so broken inside her were mended into something that was perfect and pure. Her heart felt hot, melted down into a molten glow that burned in her chest. She was afraid to blink. To breathe. Because she didn’t want to break the spell.

  She recalled the feeling she’d had when she’d first met him, that strange, exhilarating rush of awareness that had told her she was going to need this man in her life. Need the physical presence of him to live and breathe and exist.

  And in so many ways that was true. Yeah, she could have walked away, and she would have survived. She would have woken up each day, gone to bed each night. But she wouldn’t have been whole. She would, in fact, have been only half alive.

  “Does this mean I get that chance to prove myself?” she asked unsteadily.

  “You don’t need a chance. What you get is me. That is, if you still want me.”

  She blinked, trying not to cry as she said, “You trust me not to hurt you?”

  “How could I not trust you, Liv? Right from the start you took everything I always thought I knew about humans and turned it on its head.” He lifted his hand, hooking her hair behind her ear. “So yeah, you have my complete and total trust. But what about you? Do you trust me not to break your heart?”

  “I trust you,” she whispered. “And I love you, too.”

  “God, woman. You don’t know how good it feels to hear you say that.” And then his mouth was on hers and he was lifting her into his arms…carrying her to the bed. Excitement shivered along her nerve endings as he laid her down on the cold sheets and started stripping off her clothes, then his own, the wicked glint in his eyes warning her that she was going to be in for one hell of a night.

  “Are you still leaving?” she asked, the words turning into a shivery moan as he pressed a hot kiss against one sensitive nipple, and then the other.

  “I’m not going anywhere,” he rasped, bracing himself over her so that he could look into her eyes. “I talked about it with Kellan before I came up here. He’s going to take Noah with him to Finland, and I’m going to stay here with you and Jamie.”

  “Thank God,” she whispered, curling her hands over his hard, muscular shoulders. “I mean, I know you still have a job to do, but I couldn’t stand it if you had to leave us. Not this soon.”

  He leaned down and claimed her mouth with a long, ravenous kiss that made her head spin, a rush of sweet, shivering chills spreading over her body as he pressed himself between her legs. His breathing was ragged as he worked his way back down to her breasts with slow, openmouthed kisses, his tongue lapping with savoring, deliberate strokes, as if he found pleasure in the simple taste of her skin. He took his time, sucking and nipping and licking until she was writhing from the pleasure…from the biting anticipation, her nails digging into his muscled backside as he rubbed the heavy length of his erection against her slick, sensitive folds.

  “I need to get a condom,” he said in a raw voice when he finally pulled himself away from her breasts, his heavy-lidded eyes smoldering with a sharp, feral glow. “I didn’t want to jinx myself by coming in here prepared. I need…I gotta go grab a rubber from my bag. I left it out in the hall, by the door.”

  “Leave it,” she whispered, stroking her palms up the length of his back, loving the feel of all those bunched muscles beneath his sleek, fever-warm skin. “You don’t need a condom, Aiden. We’re in love and I’m on the pill. So just take me already.”


  “Are you sure? I mean…” He swallowed, his breath rushing in hard, ragged bursts as he shifted his gaze to the side. “There are things…that will happen if I come inside you. And once I start, I won’t be able to stop. Are you sure that’s what you want, Liv?”

  Her answer was to reach down and eagerly take him in her hand, fitting the swollen, heavy head of his cock against the damp opening of her body. “Don’t make me get rough with you,” she teased him, arching her hips, a smile on her lips as the first few inches slipped inside her.

  “Wait!” he growled, his body shaking as he straightened his arms, his biceps bulging beneath his dark golden skin. “I haven’t…haven’t even told you exactly what will—”

  “I don’t care,” she whispered, cutting him off. “Whatever it is, I’ll love it, Aiden. If it’s a part of you, I’ll love it.”

  He squeezed his eyes closed, his nostrils flaring as he obviously tried to keep himself under control.

  “Look at me, Ade.” She waited until he’d opened his eyes, then reached up and held his beautiful face in her hands as she said, “I love you. Every part of you. They’re mine, and I want them—”

  Her words broke off with a thick gasp as he suddenly drove her against the mattress, shoving hard and deep, a rough, guttural growl tearing from his throat as he pumped his hips, working against the tightness of her body until he’d buried every inch inside her. “Oh, God. I didn’t think it could feel any better, being inside you,” he groaned, lowering his face close to hers. “But it does.”

  “I know,” she whispered, loving the wild, animal intensity of him as he moved inside her. She couldn’t get enough of the way he stared down at her as if she was the most gorgeous woman in the world. She knew she wasn’t. That she was just plain, average Olivia. But in Aiden’s eyes she was beautiful, and that was all that mattered.