The Storm Sullivan Saga: The Emerald Seer Series Box Set

by Violet Patterson

  Storm reached over and turned the music down again, “What is so funny?”

  “Oh, now you want to talk. Quid pro quo, Miss Sullivan, you answer my question first.” That smug expression again. Gods he could be the most beautiful man ever created. His eyes twinkled mischievously. Storm looked back to the road, pushing the butterflies in her stomach aside, wading through the frustration over the encounter in the alley, and worded her response carefully.

  “I could have handled him myself. I am not without talent. Not only did you interrupt what should have been an easy bust, you beat the freak down and referred to me as your woman. Does any part of that sound endearing to you? Hmmm?” She stole a sidelong glance at him as he rearranged his hair, replacing the loose strands in the leather throng.

  “Point taken, Miss Sullivan. Please, tell me what did you plan to do to him?”

  Anger flared again, he was mocking her. She decided to play it differently, throw him off his suave game. “No, it is your turn. Why did you start laughing at me?” He didn’t respond. She turned to look, ready to berate him some more when she realized he’d turned the music back up and pointed at the radio. She tilted her head and listened. “Riders on the Storm” by the Doors. “Har. Har. You know Aerosmith too? They did a little song called Dream On.”

  “Touché, Miss Sullivan. I simply found it ironic and entertaining.” Ryder paused, started to speak, and then apparently thought better of it. The rest of the ride to Willow Wood passed in tension-packed silence. Storm nearly suffocated in her desire, the fluttering in her gut multiplied and spread to every bit of her body. Her skin thrummed with excitement. Perhaps this part of feeling could become pleasant if she could somehow learn to control it.

  She pulled into the garage, turned off the engine, and slipped out of the Hummer. Certainly Ryder would be interested in the cars, what man wouldn’t? She pointed out the various models as they walked by, Ryder nodded appreciatively but she felt his eyes on her the entire time. It should have been unsettling instead of exhilarating. Dammit. This could get bad. Dan said it would take at least two hours to book the freaky waiter and she knew the precinct was at least a forty-five minute drive from her house. She could get into a lot of trouble in that time.

  Storm led Ryder into the kitchen. “Would you like something to drink? They guys stocked beer and wine in the fridge and I have coffee and tea. What’s your poison?”

  “You are still angry with me.” Ryder did not word it as a question. She felt her shoulders drop in response. He would not be letting this go.

  “Yes. Look, don’t take it personal. I am new to this feeling thing.” Nicely done Storm, make the guy think you are an even bigger freak. Fabulously endeavored.

  “Feeling thing? I am afraid I don’t follow.” Dammit. She turned to face him. Ryder was studying her, his expression a mix of want and confusion. Great. Why couldn’t it just be want? She could work with him wanting her, confusion over wanting her was a different matter altogether.

  “Come on, you Immortals have been watching me, you have to know.” Storm didn’t buy it. Dan had warned her that they were watching her but for some reason they trusted this one not to harm her. Something about him had sold them on her being safe in his care.

  “Enlighten me, Miss Sullivan, please.” He didn’t know. Oh, that voice. She wanted to wrap herself in his voice, she wanted him whispering in her ear, she wanted – stop. Focus.

  “My Aunt Trin bound my emotions when I was a child. She died. Spell broken. Emotions raging like a teenage girl in the throes of PMS. I am learning to control them, but, well, I am new at this.” She pulled a bottle of pinot grigio from the fridge. “I choose wine. Would you like a glass?”

  “I would, thank you.” He crossed to the breakfast bar and sat on one of the stools while she uncorked the bottle. “Why did your aunt bind your emotions?”

  Storm focused a little too intently on pouring the wine. She felt his eyes on her. Gods, she didn’t want to go here, she didn’t want him to know how messed up her life had gotten, or that she could steal his immortality if the legends were correct. Storm set the wine bottle down, it made a little clink on the granite counter top. She took a glass in each hand and walked around to sit on the stool beside Ryder. Their fingers brushed along the thin stem as she handed him the glass. That same electricity flared, she swore they actually glowed for a moment, dammit, that would be her emotions flaring. Ryder’s eyes flared at the touch as well. She certainly did not imagine that.

  “I don’t know why.” Storm looked down, not sure if she was more saddened by the absence of his touch or the lie she’d just told him. He moved slightly causing their knees to brush and this time her knee truly glowed.

  “I seem to have an interesting effect on you, Miss Sullivan.” Again, not a question. She felt a flush rising in her cheeks and that damnable fluttering in her stomach intensified and spread downward. His fingers were on her chin, gently attempting to lift her eyes to meet his. “Storm, look at me.” She did. How could she not? It wasn’t exactly an order but every inch of her body reacted to the velveteen words. Several strands of hair fell across his face as Ryder studied, searching her face for something. She smiled awkwardly, embarrassed by the glow building around her.

  His lips met hers, softly at first and then more intense as he took away her wine glass and set it on the counter with a clink. Then she was in his arms, crushed against him as he kissed along her jawline, down her neck and back up. Ryder pulled back and looked into her eyes, his flashed blue to green to silver and back again, excitement flaring and mixing with a hunger she’d never seen before. He kissed her again, tugging at her bottom lip as he withdrew. Storm rose to her tiptoes and threw her arms around his neck, pressing her body against his wherever possible. Her body raged internally, the emotions rumbling through her like waves on the beach. She kissed him, pushed her tongue gently into his mouth. He groaned in response, a throaty sound that sent a new wave of flutters through her stomach. Ryder grabbed her legs and wrapped them about his waist. She realized what came next, a flicker of concern flashed through her mind and then his lips were fluttering along her neck and passion hit full on once more.

  Ryder carried her out of the kitchen to the dining room and placed her on the edge of the massive table. Sliding his hands down her sides he masterfully unzipped her dress and slipped it off her shoulders to her waist without altering the rhythm of baby kisses he simultaneously peppered along her collarbone. Storm reached down and unbuckled his belt, unbuttoned his pants, and used her feet to maneuver them down. Ryder wore nothing underneath. She instinctively slid to the edge of the table allowing her hemline to slide up. Ryder pulled back, looked at the bunched up dress, frowned and ripped it open along the side seam. He cast it aside and looked down on her, his eyes two strange silvery pools. She felt suddenly self-conscious in nothing more than her bikini undies and lacy black bra. Ryder tore her bra open in the middle, his hands palming her breasts and then his lips found her left nipple, a soft suckling sent a fire through her. He shredded her underwear and switched to her right nipple.

  Ryder pulled back and found her face; he gave her a sexy half smile and pulled his own shirt off before falling on her again. He laid a barrage of kisses from her earlobe down her neck, between her breasts, down her abdomen, to the crook of her leg and hip, along her inner thigh and back up. Storm moaned in response and he entered her causing her to cry out. Ryder moaned and drove into her, his hands holding her hips in place. She grasped at the edge of the table but couldn’t quite reach, her body moving in rhythm with his. Storm glowed golden and she didn’t care, all that mattered in her world stood over her, in her. His silver eyes never broke contact with hers. The flutter inside built as Storm panted and moaned. Something was coming, growing with each thrust. The tingling sensation heightened, more and more intense, until it exploded from her core in a tidal wave of emotion and power that lit the entire dining room. Storm swore she was floating. Ryder cried out her name and then fell o
n her, his body warm and sweaty, smelling of spice and salt and him.

  They lay like that, half on the table, half off for what seemed an eternity. Ryder rose and looked on her again; his eyes still that gorgeous silvery color. He smiled. She couldn’t help but smile in return. The glow had subsided some but her body still felt electrified.

  Ryder broke the silence, “Well, that was eye-opening. Miss Sullivan, you are something more than human.”

  Storm slid from him and tried to cover herself as much as possible. “What do you mean?” Insecurities abound once more. Not exactly what she wanted to hear after her first sexual encounter. The nerve, an Immortal calling her a freak!

  “Storm, you are unlike any female I have ever encountered. I cannot get you off my mind and I can assure you, I have never reacted in this manner to another woman.” Ryder ran his hands through his hair, pulled the leather throng out and casually re-tied it. “I apologize for your dress and I will gladly replace it for you.” He reached over and plucked his shirt from the floor and in a fluid motion settled it over her head. She pushed her hands through the armholes and inhaled his scent. Her body rippled with excitement and his naked form kept her thrumming. A tinge of sadness washed over her when Ryder pulled his pants back on and re-fastened them.

  “Though I am loathe to cover your lovely breasts, I believe your guardians will be arriving soon. I do not believe either would take kindly to our encounter.” Ryder scooped her into his arms and carried her up to the second floor, down the dimly lit hallway, to her bedroom. He set her gingerly on the bed and proceeded to rummage her drawers for underclothes.

  Storm watched him, the afterglow of their intense lovemaking slowing fading. Then it dawned on her.

  “How did you know this was my room?” Her shaking voice betrayed her confusion and fear. He paused, shoulders slumped, and turned to face her. She read sorrow and regret in his expression.

  “I have been here before.”

  “I know, earlier today. I was here too, but we never came up-“

  “No, Storm. I have been here many times before.” Ryder approached her slowly and sat on the bed. He took her hand in his. “I knew your Aunt Trin. I should have told you sooner. I am very sorry for your loss. Trin was very special and very talented. She deserved more from life.”

  Realization washed over her. The way he spoke about Aunt Trin. The questions he’d asked. Dammit. Storm jumped off the bed. “Get. Out.” A different emotion was rippling under her skin, in her gut, through her limbs. As she raised her hand to point at the door, the glow flared red for a moment and then back to golden. Ryder looked at her helplessly; half-naked and beautiful, silently pleading with her.

  “Storm, please, just listen. You are in such danger –“

  “Get out of my house. How dare you come here? Get out before I harm you. Get out before I steal your precious immortality. Leave my home, Immortal.”

  “You can hate me later. I am not leaving until the seraphs return. You are not safe no matter how much power you hold.” Ryder walked toward her, his hands held in front, cautiously creeping her way. The power built in her gut. When he came close enough she pushed out with both arms and released everything she felt into him. Ryder flew through the large window to the right of her bed, glass and wood exploded and fell to the ground below. Storm walked to the window and looked down. His body lay contorted on the gravel below. Good. Serves him right.

  Dan and Shane pulled into the drive at that moment. She saw the headlights from her blown out window. Dammit, she needed something to wear. Storm threw off his shirt and tossed it in the corner, rummaged the drawers for some undergarments and slipped into them quickly. She heard a car door slam, then another, then two more. Her ears pricked and the hairs on the back of Storm’s neck stood at attention. Something felt wrong, very, intensely wrong. She crept to the closet and withdrew a tank top and sweats. There were at least four voices outside, none of them familiar. Dammit. Storm slipped on a pair of sneakers and crept out of her room. The front doors were thrown open. Storm tried to figure out how many men arrived, it was hard to tell by their footsteps.

  “Fan out. She couldn’t have gotten far judging by the amount of blood down there.”

  Confused, Storm crept down the hall keeping to the shadows. Pac Man lifted his head as she passed him at the top of the stairs. Dog tags rattled lightly as he dropped his head again but Storm was already in Aunt Trin’s room when the intruders acknowledged the sound. She scanned the dark room, her eyes slowly adjusting to the absence of light. She slipped beside the enormous armoire, hidden by the shadows as she sought the whereabouts of Trin’s secret room. Dammit!

  Ryder

  Everything hurt. His shifted slightly. Both legs were broken, his left arm, half the ribs on his left side, probably a dislocated shoulder. And she just stood there, stood in the remnants of her broken window looking down at him with all the rage her body could contain. Storm did not know they were coming. Ryder felt them. Through the pain, through the sorrow, he felt them coming for her and he had to work fast. The van entered the front gate which gave him a little over thirty seconds to get a plan and put it in motion, with a very broken body. Willing his fractured limbs to move, Ryder ignored the bloody mess and awkwardly lurched through the open garage door. His bones were already healing but it hurt like hell. Storm certainly had a lot to learn about his kind. That would have to wait. He needed to save her first. Again. Flipping open his phone, Ryder punched in a quick text to Lucian just in case the seraphs were not on their way yet.

  Ryder crept along the vehicles careful to keep out of the shafts of light from the exterior garage lights. His legs ached and the broken ribs made him wheeze. The thugs were not Immortals, he sensed Were on them but they had to be hybrids of some kind. Ryder slipped in the back door and moved into the dining room. He could smell her there, remnants of what they shared, images flashed through his mind. Ryder had to work to suppress his arousal at the thought of her bare breasts. He illusioned a trail of blood from the foyer into the dining room. If he could just draw a few toward him she could probably handle the rest. Except she just exerted a lot of power throwing him out of the window, what if she needed time to regenerate? How long would that take? For all he knew she lay passed out in her room. Where the hell were the seraphs?

  The front doors blew open breaking his train of thought. Focus, take out as many as possible. Reinforcements should be arriving in one form or another. Straining to hear the voices entering the foyer, Ryder slid into a position that would allow him to swing with his good arm. He counted six males. His legs ached as they mended and he leaned against a side bar to alleviate some pressure. Lucian might have to re-break them later. Damn.

  Ryder inhaled quietly. A searing pain flashed through his side as the flooring outside the dining room creaked. Cocking his good arm, Ryder swung and connected with the first intruder’s jaw. The crack echoed through the room as the guy fell but also alerted the second one to Ryder’s presence. Little good it did him. Ryder chuckled as the second thug fell over the first allowing Ryder to smash his face with the door. Two down, four to go. Listening for the other hitmen, Ryder sniffed at the two fallen ones, still unable to place their species. Ryder heard movement at the top of the stairs followed by a low snarl. Some, or all, of the group thudded up to the second floor. The thought of stairs with his mangled legs made Ryder cringe. If she made it out of this he may kill her himself.

  Tires rolled over the gravel outside. Finally, some back up. Ryder crept to the foyer in time to see Lucian put down one of the Were-hybrids, the fire flaring in his eyes.

  “Come out, come out wherever you are. It is not good sport for six men to hunt one little girl.” Ryder shook his head. Only Lucian would invite them all to come running. His friend flashed a wide smile as two of the remaining thugs clambered down the stairs. Ryder shoved a side table into the first of the two, grabbed his head by the hair and slammed him against the wall twice. The second leapt over the table toward Ryd
er, oblivious to Lucian’s presence, only to find himself soaring in the other direction courtesy of a strong uppercut. Lucian fell on him and Ryder knew the Were-hybrid would not survive the onslaught.

  “There’s still one more, Lucian. He’s mine.” Ryder moved for the stairs.

  “No, he is mine.” Storm stood at the top of the flight looking down at him, her face completely unreadable. Her hands glowed golden as she dragged the limp figure of the last thug down the stairs. “Do not think this changes things between us, Immortal. But thank you for your assistance.” Storm dropped the thug on the floor and stepped toe to toe with Ryder. Her face hard and emotionless, so different from her expression an hour ago. He still wanted to touch her, to brush the stray hair from her face, check her entire body over for signs of harm. More than that, he wanted to destroy these things that sought to hurt her. Rage bubbled within, warring with his passion for her, dampened only slightly by the pain in his body. The idea of something harming this girl did something to him. She changed him somehow.

  Lucian let out a low whistle, “I believe the lady can handle herself quite nicely, Ryder. Perhaps we should move out.”

  “Storm, I mean, Miss Sullivan, are you harmed?” Ryder heard the emotion in his voice and nearly cringed. Lucian would let him have it later.

  “What do you care? I am fine. Remove yourself from my house. Leave these men. Dan and Shane will handle them.” Storm kicked the one at her feet without breaking his eye contact. Ryder felt the passion flaring between them again. Maybe she was not that angry. Then she slapped him. He should have seen it coming.

  Lucian stifled a laugh with a faux cough, “I’ll show myself out. Ryder, I brought wheels.”

  Ryder nodded in response. He wanted her again. Now. The fight brought it out even more intensely. Her hair circled wildly about her head, her eyes flaring with all the emotion her face masked.