Vulfen Shadow's Grace [Vulfen Cadre 4] (Siren Publishing Classic)

by Laina Kenney

He expected her to speak? It was all she could do to get enough air with his body driving her higher every minute.

  He stopped and she cried out in protest. She gripped the sheets. Her throat burned where he had given her his mating bite.

  “Yours,” she panted. “I’m yours always.”

  “Mine,” he growled.

  He surged inside her over and over with devastating power and she screamed as her body detonated in a series of quakes so intense that her vision dimmed.

  With a groan, he slowed down, thrusting almost lazily, prolonging the spasms in her body until Grace swore she saw stars.

  She turned her head just enough to see him. Above her, his big body gleamed with sweat. He braced on one stiff arm, pacing himself like a distance runner, chest heaving, muscles bunching as he worked his big cock in and out.

  He reached under her body and plucked her little clit. Her body gripped him hard and Matsij shouted and thrust through the tight constriction to pour his hot seed into her. From far away, she heard herself scream again while the world revolved and faded to black.

  Chapter 10

  Grace came down the stairs gingerly with Matsij right behind her. Her body protested every movement, aching and burning deep inside to remind her of his thrilling possession. She felt every muscle, and her thighs trembled with each downward step.

  The scent of bacon frying and coffee brewing had awakened Grace and Matsij at almost the same moment. They had taken their first shower together, the fastest shower of her life.

  She grinned. Her mate was hungry, too, or she would never have made it out of the shower so quickly. She had seen that flash of interest in his eyes and his slow smile had made her blush all over. On an ordinary day she might feel a bit put out by his haste to reach the kitchen, but for the moment, she was content to take second place to bacon and eggs. She was starving, too.

  Grandma greeted them both with hugs and steaming cups of coffee. They both offered to help but Grandma waved her to the table. Grace shrugged at Matsij and they sat down.

  Grandma presented them both with plates piled high with fluffy eggs and crisp bacon. A tiny bell rang and Grandma bustled away to remove hot biscuits from the oven. She rolled them out of the pan into a basket lined with a tea towel before carrying them to table.

  Grace smiled at the look on Matsij’s face when he took his first bite of warm biscuit with butter and homemade strawberry jam from their strawberry patch. She loved breakfast at Grandma’s house.

  She rubbed her hand over his mark and then scratched at it. Matsij stilled her hand by covering it with his larger one. When she pulled hers away, he massaged the mating bite gently.

  “It feels hot and it itches,” she complained, but her voice came out soft and breathy, an enticement. She was almost embarrassed for her grandmother to hear it.

  “It will burn for a time,” was all he said, but the heat in his eyes said more and she shivered.

  Grace was almost finished her breakfast when John came in the back door, rubbing one hand over the stubble on his tired face.

  He stopped dead in the doorway and sniffed the air. His expression changed from weariness to anger in a heartbeat, his glare focused on Matsij.

  “You did it, you bastard.”

  Matsij put down his fork.

  “We did.”

  “You mean you did. You took advantage of my sister. You had no right.” His voice was soft and hostile. He took one gliding step toward the table and Matsij stood, his body loose and ready. Grandma watched the men with narrowed eyes, head cocked to one side while Grace gripped the edges of the table.

  “Grace is my mate.”

  “You’re a stone cold killer. How is it you think you deserve a mate? How dare you touch someone like Grace? She’s so far above you that you shouldn’t even be in the same neighborhood.”

  Matsij nodded his head as if he agreed, but Grace couldn’t allow that. She took Matsij’s hand in hers and stood, too.

  “John, I made my choice,” she said in a strong voice.

  John changed his approach immediately. “He took advantage when you were injured. Gracie, you were attacked twice last night, and your house burned down. Any man worthy of the name would have waited, but he’s so fucking arrogant he just reached out and took what he wanted without even thinking of you.”

  Matsij’s body coiled as if to strike.

  “John, listen to me now,” Grace said. John was building up a good head of steam, and Grace didn’t want him to go any further. If he really got going on one of his brother-knows-best lectures, they would be stuck in the kitchen for a solid hour or more. That or her new mate would silence him permanently. Her heart picked up speed.

  “I made my choice,” Grace repeated. “The pull was always going to be there, but he gave me the choice and I chose him. It doesn’t mean I love my family any less, but it does mean I expect you to be civil.”

  “Grace, that son of a bitch—”

  Grandma clapped her tiny hands together and a shock wave rattled the windows. John stopped and stared. In spite of her anxiety, Grace had a hard time keeping her laughter inside even through her anxiety. Had he never seen Grandma do that before? Maybe John had been better behaved as a child than she had been.

  “Take a hard look, John. Do not tear apart this family. Do not force Grace to choose between having her brother’s support and fulfilling her destiny. You are bigger than that.” Grandma’s voice was low and strong.

  John frowned. “The vulfen elite are arrogant. They take what they want and leave nothing for the rest of us. Their women are—”

  “Everything,” Matsij interrupted softly. He turned and the tenderness in his eyes made Grace melt in spite of the tension in the room. “Our women are everything, the centre of all life. Grace is the centre of my life.”

  “You barely know her!” John exploded.

  Grandma smiled. “John, open your eyes. Time means nothing. They are a match and he is good to our Gracie. There will be plenty of time to kill him later if he treats her badly.”

  Grace gasped, but Matsij bowed to her Grandmother. It was more than obvious the two of them thought along the same lines.

  “John,” Grandma said in a gentle tone, “Please consider wisely. If you are honest with yourself, I think you will find you have much in common with Matsij.”

  John stabbed the air with one finger.

  “That’s my point, Gran. I see the darkness in him, that instinct to kill that he doesn’t even try to hide. He killed over and over last night, and his only concern was to get rid of the bodies before the piles got too high. I know he doesn’t deserve her. I know.”

  Matsij squeezed Grace’s hand and brought it to his lips.

  “My concern was for Grace, always. I could never deserve her. But fate has been kind.”

  “You’ve killed so many times you think nothing of killing,” John accused.

  Grace bristled. “John, back off. I mean it. You’re ruining a great breakfast.”

  Grandma stepped forward and raised her wrinkled hands. “This argument is over. John, if you cannot make peace with this match, the failing is within yourself. He is a warrior and has killed in defense of his people, as have you. As have I. Forgive him and forgive yourself. A younger person than myself might say ‘Get over it.’”

  John groaned.

  “Gran, this isn’t about me,” he protested, but Grace smiled. She could tell from his voice that his terrible anger had moved to the background and he had started thinking.

  “Have some breakfast, Johnny,” Grandma said, and she turned away again and began cracking eggs into a bowl. She was telling him not so subtly that he needed to move on.

  John gave one last glare at Matsij and sank into an empty chair.

  “What a long fucking night,” he said and let his head drop into his hands. “I don’t think I slept more than an hour all night, and that was in the squad car with Harden snoring.”

  Grace blushed for no reason and looked helpless
ly at Matsij. The answering smile on his face was slow and intimate, for her alone. They hadn’t slept much last night, either. They had created a beautiful memory together, but the happiness that lifted her soul when she thought of her new mate was overshadowed by the loss of her house.

  Matsij raised her hand to his lips and brushed a kiss across her knuckles. The skin tingled where his lips had touched, and her breath came in hard and stayed. The man was lethal, truly.

  John groaned again and Grace wanted to laugh.

  “Don’t look, Johnny,” she said and leaned in to kiss her gorgeous mate.

  “God. I’ll never get that out of my head.”

  She heard John’s head hit the table again before Matsij’s potent kiss swept all thought from her head.

  Her pussy gave a sharp spasm of want, but even if they hadn’t been surrounded by her family, she was too sore to really do anything about it. Matsij drew back and smiled into her eyes. Her heart beat faster at the expression on his face.

  “I called Angel and Valeri,” he said unexpectedly. “She got your message and is not expecting you at work today, but she tells me you have a day off scheduled for the following day.”

  Grace nodded. Where was he going with this?

  “You must rest, of course, but we should have time in two days for a date.”

  “You want to go on a date with me? After we have mated already?” Wow, she liked that.

  He kissed her cheek, nuzzling her throat and ear.

  “I find dating you is much to my liking.”

  Grace and Grandma both laughed when John clapped his hands over his ears.

  Chapter 11

  “No,” Matsij said flatly. He borrowed a phrase from Grace’s book and added, “Not happening.”

  “I want to go see my house, or what’s left of my house,” Grace repeated stubbornly. “I have to know.”

  Her little chin tilted in the air, and Matsij didn’t know whether he wanted to shake her or kiss her. She was the most exasperating woman.

  In the past two days, he had learned that, as another facet of the incredible passion between them, she could push his buttons in a way no one else could, or would. She had no respect for his frightening reputation, and she didn’t see why he couldn’t let her go see the fire damage. His honest assertions about the continuing danger to her met with immovable resistance. Grace didn’t want caution, she wanted action. He understood it well, but had no intention of giving in.

  “John told me the Fire Marshall cleared the scene. They have our statements and they’ve done what they needed to do.”

  “What you need is to rest,” he said in a firm tone.

  Grace pursed her lips and her eyes fired. “I’ve rested for two days,” she said through her teeth. “I can’t sit any longer. I have to go back to work tomorrow morning anyway and I need to know if I have any work clothes that are salvageable. I’m feeling fine.”

  Grace was beautiful to him always, but she still had scrapes and bruises on her arms and legs, and the cut on her forehead was an angry red line under her artfully arranged bangs.

  She had no way of knowing how the sight of her injuries made his protective instincts rise. A vulfen warrior with a wounded mate was a dangerous force of nature. His deepest instinct was to protect her above all others. If someone looked at her sideways with his ancient reflexes in such a heightened state, he couldn’t vouch for his control. He knew so many ways to kill that he was a living weapon and if his control was compromised, he could rip through the city like a tornado. It had been his only fear, until he met Grace. Now all his fears were centered on losing her.

  “You must acknowledge the risk,” Matsij said. “Nothing has been resolved, and we still don’t know how much the hunting society knows about you. It is foolhardy to leap before looking.”

  Grace threw up her hands. “Fine, then, you come with me. And John and a dozen cops if you want, but I’m going and you’ll have to tie me up to stop me.”

  “I’m considering it,” he thundered and was appalled when she laughed.

  “Maybe later,” she said in a sultry voice and stroked one finger along his jaw. His unruly cock jumped. His cock didn’t care that they were in the middle of an argument. It just wanted to be buried in Grace’s sultry heat morning, noon and night. “But for now, get ready, because I need to see my house.”

  Matsij reined in his flaming temper and said nothing while Grace walked into the little bathroom. He would keep her safe, no matter what.

  He took out his cell phone and made a call. He wasn’t going to bring twelve cops. He would look the fool if no one showed up and if the hunting society did make an appearance most cops wouldn’t let him do what needed to be done. They would only arrest people and then let them out on bail the next day. Matsij shook his head. What was the point in that?

  No, a man like him didn’t want cops. He was calling in the Cadre.

  Chapter 12

  Grace stood on the sidewalk in front of the burned out shell of her home and stared. A stray piece of yellow crime scene tape flapped in the breeze. Her eyes felt hot, but she didn’t cry.

  When they had left the other night, she hadn’t realized how severe the damage would be. In the back of her mind, she had been thinking of what could be salvaged. It had never once occurred to her that nothing could possibly be salvaged.

  The little house that had so delighted her when she was hunting for a place of her own a suitable distance from her wonderful if overprotective family was a stark ruin in the slanting afternoon light. Blackened and reeking of smoke, the windows were all shattered but one. Most of the roof and the entire south wall were gone, eaten by the greedy flames.

  There were no illusions and there was nothing to save. It would have to be torn down. She now held the deed to a lovely little building lot.

  She turned almost blindly and leaned into Matsij’s wide chest. His arms came around her with bracing strength.

  “Grace, I am so sorry,” he said.

  She allowed him to stroke her back, soaking up his comfort.

  She had a sudden thought, and pulled away.

  “Maybe the shed is still okay,” she said. She had moved all of her boxes of seasonal clothing and books out to the shed when she bought the paint for the basement. Perhaps those things could be saved.

  She moved with haste around to the back of the property, amazed that such a minute chance could make her smile, that anything could make her feel hopeful after viewing the destruction of her home.

  “Grace, wait,” Matsij warned, but she didn’t hesitate.

  One long arm wrapped around her waist and halted her. He shoved the other arm straight into the high hedge and pulled out a gasping man in camo. In a move too quick for Grace to see, she was safely on her feet again and Matsij had hedge man face down on the ground. The rifle hit the dirt seconds later.

  Matsij leaned down and whispered something in the man’s ear. The man on the ground froze.

  The French vulfen warrior she had seen at Angel’s appeared from nowhere and efficiently duct taped the man’s mouth and wrists. With a quick grin at Grace, he heaved the hunter over his shoulder and walked calmly through the gap in the hedge corner.

  Grace shook her head. It was still daylight, and they were in a quiet school neighborhood. The hunters were growing more brazen. They must really want her for something. It was a little daunting.

  Grace heaved a sigh and Matsij gestured for silence. They stood for a minute or two while Matsij surveyed the yard, but Grace didn’t hear anything. Matsij must not have heard anything either, because he turned back to Grace after a moment.

  “Proceed with caution,” was all he said.

  Grace’s hands were shaking, but she continued on to the little brown garden shed at the back of the yard.

  She noticed the padlock on the ground just as she pulled open the door to come face to face with Dr. Novaks and the barrel of a gun.

  She jumped back in shock, but he grabbed her hand and waved the
gun in her face.

  “Hello, Grace,” he said in a sing-song voice that made goose bumps rise on her skin. “Don’t do anything stupid, or I’ll have to shoot you this time. I wouldn’t want to do that, Grace.”

  She heard a soft growl behind her, but she didn’t dare turn around to look. Maybe Matsij could do one of his disappearing tricks and somehow get her out of this mess.

  The doctor’s face was dirty and his hair stuck up in tufts. His shirt was torn at the shoulder. He looked like a common thug, not a distinguished medical specialist.

  Grace couldn’t believe Dr. Novaks was threatening her again. He had been in police custody. How had he escaped? Or if he was out on bail, why was he hiding in her smoky garden shed?

  Matsij stepped up beside her and the doctor went wild, brandishing his gun and shouting threats.

  Grace pulled back and slapped him full force with her free hand.

  “What’s wrong with you?” she screamed in his face.

  The gun swung to face her.

  Matsij took one more step and focused on the threat with his black eyes devoid of any emotion. Grace almost didn’t recognize him, the change was so complete. He looked…cold, terrifying, soulless, and the doctor subsided into broken whispers.

  An insidious buzzing started in the background, seeming to come from all around them. The sound waves wrapped around them, pulsing and throbbing. It grew in intensity until Grace clapped her hands over her ears to block it out, but it was somehow in her head anyway.

  The doctor’s face was a mask of terror as he watched the gun turn little by little until it pointed straight at his face. The whispers continued to rise in pitch and volume, swelling into an irresistible command.

  With a sigh, Dr. Novaks stared down the barrel and pulled the trigger. The gun clicked on an empty chamber. The sound echoed strangely under the metal roof of the shed.

  Grace jumped and a little scream escaped. Tears sprang to her eyes.

  Matsij reached out almost casually and tapped the doctor’s temple and he dropped like a stone to the hard ground.