Sheltering Abby
By
Bonnie Rose Leigh
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This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Sheltering Abby – Tarot – The Hierophant
Copyright ã 2008 Bonnie Rose Leigh
ISBN: 978-1-55487-056-1
Cover art by Martine Jardin
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.
Published by eXtasy Books
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Dedication
To Twila for the use of your name, Sandi P. for beta reading for me, Tianna Xander for listening to me rant when the characters won't cooperate and of course to Chris for being so incredibly supportive of me and my career. You all rock!
Hierophant Card Definition
When trying to choose a Tarot card I wanted to write about, the Hierophant card called out to me. Immediately, three characters came to mind. Abby Coleman a councilor giving out advice to those that seek it. Ben Marcum represented conformity for me, the one to enforce the rules or traditions, and Trevor Marcum, a judge which interprets those rules, teaching in his way the proper path one should follow. And so, Sheltering Abby took shape in my mind. I hope you enjoy my take on the Hierophant Card, with Sheltering Abby. Welcome back to Serenity...
Chapter One
Sheriff Benjamin Marcum looked around the crowded courtroom and watched the proceedings in dismay. The media had swarmed their little town of Serenity when news broke that Michael Donaldson III would stand trial for kidnapping, assault and attempted murder amongst other charges. Now, Donaldson’s high-priced lawyers were trying to make it look like the entire event resulted from a lover’s spat and that he’d never intended to harm anyone, despite the fact that both Zoe Daniels and Doctor Parkston were injured at Donaldson’s hands.
As Ben continued to glance around the courtroom, he recognized most of those in attendance. Some were ordinary townsfolk, those that had lived here for generations. Some were newcomers, recently moved to Serenity, while others were passersby, like the media. One of the newcomers, Abigail Coleman, caught his attention, and the attention of his now throbbing erection—the usual reaction whenever he ran into her in town.
It wasn’t just her beauty that ensnared him from the moment they’d met, though she had that in spades. With all that long black hair, dark caramel skin, eyes the color of sinfully creamy chocolate, he could barely restrain himself from claiming her, stripping her bare for him—him and his brother, Trevor, and licking every inch of her. He wanted to ravish her, to mark her as his mate. She hardly ever wore makeup and his fingers itched to touch her skin, desperate to know if felt as silky soft as it looked. Soon, he promised himself. Soon. And he knew his brother was no better off. He, too, grew impatient to claim her, to mate her, to give her their cubs.
Her breasts…Gods her breasts made him break out in a cold sweat. Lush and full, he knew they’d be more than a handful. It about killed him to imagine them at night while he lay in bed, fantasizing about what her nipples would look like, how they’d taste. Her legs though were the finest set he’d ever spied in his very long life. Shapely, firm and all but begging for his touch, he couldn’t wait until they were draped over his shoulders or wrapped around his waist.
Ben smiled as he remembered the first time they’d met. He’d gone to the hospital to try to convince Mandy Roberts to press charges against her boyfriend, Harry Braden. Considering this was her fifth hospital stay following a beating by Harry and she always refused to have him arrested afterward, Ben hadn’t held out much hope that she’d file a complaint this time either. But he hadn’t counted on Abby’s confidence in her own power, or her ability to menace men twice her size with a smile. She protected the weak, the victims that didn’t have the strength or courage to defend themselves.
After finding out the reason for his visit, she clasped the girl’s hand in hers before giving him a piercing no-nonsense stare. “No man is stupid enough to piss off a woman who isn’t afraid to be a full on bitch one week out of every month, Sheriff Marcum. Make sure the cowardly bastard knows that Abigail Coleman is looking after Mandy. Anything happens to her, even accidently, he’ll regret it.” Then she’d simply looked down at Mandy and said Harry wouldn’t lay a hand on her again, not if he knew what was good for him.
After that, Harry never laid another hand on Mandy or any woman for that matter. So, curious, and he had to admit, quite attracted to the fiery woman who had the balls to threaten a man in the presence of a law enforcement officer, he investigated Abby’s background. He spent a lot of hours digging into her past before he discovered anything about her at all. Seeing how she stood up for Mandy, it didn’t surprise him to learn that at twelve she stumbled upon a group of bullies beating up a boy who was quite small for his age. Rather than run for help as most children would, she kicked one boy in the balls, punched another in the nose and broke another’s knee, but not before suffering a broken arm and a dislocated shoulder.
When the dust settled, she learned she’d done a very good thing for the only son of a very powerful and corrupt man. Ever since then, her name was synonymous with the criminal element. Still, as far as he could tell, she’d never done anything illegal. Most people just knew not to do anything to piss her off, not if they didn’t want a mob boss or his lackeys paying them a visit in the middle of the night.
As an officer of the law, knowing she had mob connections really should worry him, should turn him off completely. Yet, despite her friends, he and his twin brother, Trevor—the only judge in Serenity and as law abiding as they come—intended to pursue her. In fact, as soon as the trial wrapped up and the verdict came in, he and Trevor intended on beginning their quest to claim her as their mate in earnest. He—they—could hardly wait.
All in all, though she barely stood over five-foot four in heels, her larger-than-life personality made up for her diminutive size, as least compared to their six-foot three height and that, beyond anything else, intrigued them. Sure, they loved the look of her—who wouldn’t—but it was her soul that called out to them, and before much longer she’d know that she belonged to them.
* * * *
Abby Coleman felt the hair at the nape of her neck stand on end again. It had been happening on a regular basis lately. It wasn’t the same as the warm anticipation that filled her soul, that had her hands itching to touch male flesh and made her pussy spasm whenever Ben or Trevor was near. No this was something else, something cold and evil. Something deadly.
She didn’t bother to look around. Nothing would be there. Nothing ever was. But the evil had grown, the coldness reached deeper into her bones and she knew the time to fight would soon be upon her. What would Ben or Trevor say if she told them that she could feel evil, knew where it was and when it hunted? Would they think her insane? Avoid her? Maybe even mock her?
Abby shook her head. Thoughts like those would get her nowhere. She
wouldn’t let the creature she hunted interrupt her daily visual feast. While the Donaldson trial went on and on, she’d made it a point to sit in at least an hour every day during the proceedings just so she could ogle Ben and Trevor without their knowledge. Then, every afternoon, she’d return home, wet and swollen with need and have to ease the ache with her vibrator. The poor thing had been replaced three times now, just in the last two months alone. Someday soon, she’d have to make her move toward the men that fascinated her. She wanted them both in her life and most definitely in her bed.
She looked on, watching the brothers alternately as the trial continued. With their dark hair, brilliant blue eyes and heavy five o’clock shadow, even in the early morning hours, the twins had the look of Black Irish about them. Each man topped six feet tall by at least a couple inches and she knew without having seen it first hand, their bodies were all sculpted muscles without an ounce of extra mass.
It wasn’t just their looks that captured her attention so thoroughly, though they were drop-dead gorgeous. No, their commanding presence did that, each wearing their authority as those born to do so. She knew that in the bedroom they’d dominate their partner and, if the person they cared for were ever in danger, they’d probably suffocate her in their efforts to protect her, but even those characteristics appealed to her, despite her own dominant personality and her independent streak.
As the questioning of Donaldson continued, she resisted the urge to reach up and rub the spot on the back of her neck where it throbbed. She knew nothing sat behind her. Nothing she could see anyway. But still, she felt the presence of the evil as though it was a living, breathing entity and maybe it was. Then again, dead things didn’t always stay dead. So whatever currently stalked her wouldn’t go away until she did something about it.
For now though, she’d wait it out and enjoy the visual feast that the Marcum brothers provided. When the trial broke for lunch would be soon enough to begin her investigation into her newest stalker. A grim smile tilted up the corner of her lips. She couldn’t wait. It’d been quite a while since she kicked some serious ass and she was due for a good workout.
Chapter Two
As morning became afternoon and Adam Green, Serenity’s Prosecutor, continued to interrogate Donaldson on the witness stand, Trevor Marcum found his thoughts—and his gaze—drifting toward Abigail Coleman. When she’d first hit town three months ago, Ben hadn’t been able to stop singing the woman’s praises. After a week of his brother’s obsessive and quite obnoxious behavior, Trevor decided to see just what Ben found so enthralling about her. It had to be something vastly appealing to the man because, even in high school when their rampant hard-ons made all their important decisions for them, he’d never gotten that sappy horny look about him.
Instead of eating a sack lunch at his desk while reading motions put forth by both the prosecution and defense in preparation for the start of the Donaldson trial, he left the courthouse and began his hunt for Ben’s woman. It didn’t take long to find her. In fact, her scent had grabbed him by the balls and dragged him practically to her side.
He found her right where Ben had said she spent most days during the noon hour, inside the Serenity Dojo, the storefront connected to where Coleman ran the New Hope Crisis Center.
With his hands fisted in his front pocket to hide his massive erection from those passing by, Trevor stared through the window and watched as Abigail taught self-defense on a regular basis. According to Ben, she spent her lunch hour there every day, either working out or teaching others how to defend themselves from attack. She’d often council abuse victims after teaching self-defense classes, but more often than not, they’d follow her to her office next door and she’d advise them privately. Since Coleman’s arrival in his town, the amount of women asking for restraining orders had increased and the number of arrests for domestic abuse followed suit. Men and women both had found something in Abby to trust, someone to cling to when they felt they’d hit rock bottom in their daily lives.
But the moment Trevor got his first clear look at her, all his available blood rushed to his dick and the only intelligent thoughts left in his head centered around how quickly he could get her into his bed, or up against a wall. He wasn’t picky. The man wanted to fuck her, but his beast wanted to mate with her, and that meant a whole different thing all together. And a whole new set of complications because Trevor knew that Ben felt the same about Abigail.
He couldn’t—wouldn’t—go behind Ben’s back and pursue her for his own. They didn’t have that type of relationship where sibling rivalry trumped a brother’s love. As brothers they were closer than most, but they also shared a twin-bond, a mental and emotional connection far surpassing that of normal brothers. A connection that made it impossible to want to purposely harm Ben, not only because it would hurt himself, but because he could see into Ben’s heart, feel the purity in the man’s soul. Taking Abby away from Ben, even though he hadn’t yet claimed her, would not only destroy his relationship with his brother, but make it impossible to share a single moment of happiness with Abigail while Ben lived miserably without her.
But with his cock straining against the fly of his trousers, he didn’t know how he’d survive the loss of Abby if he couldn’t work something out with Ben. All that though depended upon the woman herself. He and Ben had shared women in the past, but never anyone who could potentially become their Forever-Mate. And if he believed the snarling beast raging inside him, that’s exactly what she was to him. And quite possibly Ben, too.
By the time he dragged his gaze away from the stunning woman, several minutes had passed and quite a few of the town’s citizens were watching him with open amusement. As he headed back toward the courthouse, Trevor dialed Ben’s cell phone. They needed to talk.
Looking back, it still amazed Trevor how understanding Ben acted that first night when he’d explained his reaction to the mere sight of Abigail. Since then, they’d spent many hours plotting her seduction and many more preparing for when they introduced Abby into their world. And hopefully into their lives.
Humans tend to deny the supernatural exists, even psychics. Explaining that shape shifters weren’t just tales created by over imaginative storytellers, but were in fact very much real gave him many anxious moments. Ben wasn’t much better off. What would they do if after they showed her their true selves she decided to run as far and as fast as she could?
With her connections, it could take a very long time to track her down, not that they’d give up, but… Just the thought of her running from them made his stomach clench and his inner white tiger snarl in fury.
So while they arranged to have Conn Brady and Marcel Carson design and build the house they wanted to one day share with Abigail, they began laying the foundation for a future relationship with her in other ways. They even went so far as to drive down to New York City over a long weekend to contact her family to state their intentions. That’s if you could call the Grazioso Mob family. After eating more pasta than either brother felt possible and drinking enough wine to drown a ship, they received Marco Grazioso’s approval to court his adopted daughter—all contingent on whether they agreed to call for help immediately if Abigail were ever in danger and he and Ben passed their background investigations.
Neither of the brothers liked the implication that they couldn’t protect what was theirs—it downright irritated them, in fact—but for Abigail they could swallow their male pride. For her, they do anything if it gave them even the slightest chance to earn a place in her heart.
Only when Peter Sloan, the defense attorney, stridently objected to the prosecutor’s entire line of questioning, did Trevor remember where he was and what he should have been doing. If they didn’t claim Abigail soon, more than his love life would suffer. No matter how much he wanted Donaldson to rot in prison, Trevor still had to ensure the man received a fair trial. Donaldson wouldn’t get that if he didn’t rein in his thoughts for the duration of the trial.
Trevor’s
gaze slid across the room until they rested on the one person he could count on to help him right now. Using their telepathic connection, he asked his brother, what did I miss, Ben?
Ben’s lips twisted up into a smug smile. Watching our girl, huh? Never mind, I already know the answer. As to your other question, Adam asked Donaldson if he enjoyed watching Zoe Daniels struggle against the ties with which he attached her to the dirty bed.
Ahh…thanks, Bro. I think I can get it from here. “Sustained. Rephrase your question, Green.”
When the crowd objected to his decree, he reached for his gavel, intent on quieting the chaos. By the time he placed the gavel back on his desk, the room had grown still. Trevor could hear nothing but the raspy breaths of the defendant and the ticking of the clock on the back wall of the courthouse.
“Mr. Donaldson, what did you feel as Ms. Daniels lay on the rusty bed, her arms and legs spread wide open, with no way to defend herself?”
Donaldson cleared his throat and wiped imaginary lint off his Armani jacket before straightening his tie. All the while, he surreptitiously stared his attorney down as though silently demanding he find a reason to object.
Unwilling to give Donaldson’s sleaze of a lawyer the opportunity to do so, Trevor leaned toward the defendant. “Answer Green’s question, Donaldson,” he ordered. He’d had enough of the man’s stalling techniques whenever Adam addressed a question to him that he didn’t want to answer.
Donaldson looked toward the male jurors and smiled with a shrug. “Of course I’ll answer. I was trying to protect Daniel’s reputation. I thought she’d enjoy it,” he added with a wink. “She liked that type of thing in the past and I was trying to get her back after all.”
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