Mandy M. Roth

by The Zodiac Gatekeeper Collection One (BOX SET)

  “I know,” she said. “He needs time to wrap his mind around this. It’s new to him. I’ve known about your kind since I was little and I’m still having difficulty believing the majority of you are good and this lot are the bad apples of the bunch. They’re all I’ve known. Try to see it my way.”

  “He will and so will my husband.” Phoebe gave them hard looks and the men drew up straight. “Good boys.”

  “Yeah, well I don’t know how good Aland’s going to continue to be if your sister keeps hanging on the good doctor there,” Sirius said, crossing his arms over his chest. “If that was you, I’d have killed the man already.”

  Sidney’s anger spiked, as did her power. It flared, thrusting Sirius backwards. He crashed into the kitchen counter and stared wide-eyed at Sidney. “Oh shit.”

  “Did my mate just knock you on your ass?” Aland asked.

  “Mate?” Sidney shivered and tried to mold herself to Marmora. The men who came for her always talked of mates, and hearing Aland use the term brought all the feelings back to her.

  Marmora kissed her temple. “Shh, Sid, I’ve got you. You’ll be all right. I won’t let anyone hurt you.”

  “And what the fuck are you gonna do to stop it?” Aland narrowed his blue gaze on him. “You may have our blood in your veins but you’re not a full blood and you’re not a warrior.”

  “Seems to me,” Sidney said, her voice hard, “he’s the only one of the two of you who has actually protected me, so tell me again who the warrior is and isn’t?”

  Aland jerked at her words before pivoting and storming out of the house. Pain lanced her chest at the knowledge she’d hurt him. It hadn’t been her intention yet the words had fallen free of her all the same. She knew she should take them back but she stood her ground, confused by the way he made her feel and by the events that had taken place.

  It was all so overwhelming.

  Sirius cracked his back and looked at Phoebe. “Can you ask your sister to control her temper?”

  “I could but she has every right to be mad. Aland keeps going all alpha-male jealous on Sander when all the man has done is be there for my sister for the past ten years. Even when he was staring into the rather shocking reality we aren’t alone in this world, he didn’t abandon her. He came to her and he did everything he could to protect her. I saw him sweep her out of the way and take on that renegade with no concern for his own safety, Sirius.”

  Sidney stared at the back door, her chest still tight. Every muscle in her body tightened with the need to rush after Aland. Touching Marmora, she stared at the door Aland had exited through. Caught between the man who had been there for her for so long and the man she knew would be there for her in the future, Sidney gave in to the bizarre pull. She inched from her position near Marmora and stood. He tried to stand as well. She shook her head. “I need to talk to him.”

  “No,” Marmora stated flatly. “He’s pissed at me and I’m not letting him take it out on you.”

  Sirius caught Marmora’s arm. “Listen, Aland is a lot of things. A man who would ever raise his hand to Sidney in anger isn’t one of them. You don’t get our ways but trust me when I tell you she is the one person you can safely say he would never harm.”

  “It’s true,” Phoebe pressed.

  Sidney rushed out of the back door and into the night. She instantly felt sick to her stomach and nervous. The space was too open, too intimidating. After spending so long staring at the same four walls, she wasn’t used to freedom and the vastness it presented her with. She pushed onward, shivering in the night air, partially from the coolness and partly from fear.

  “A-Aland?”

  A strong hand touched her shoulder and she nearly screamed. Turning, she found his familiar blue eyes there, soaking her in. She tossed her arms around his neck and clung to him. He was tense at first and then slipped his arms around her, pulling her close. “I can feel your fear, une zeena.”

  Nodding, she stayed pressed to him. “It’s so big here. So open.”

  He rubbed her arms, chasing away the chill. “Is your doctor friend going to come charging out here and save you from me?”

  She pressed her mouth to his, shutting him up. His tongue found hers, circling it artfully. She tilted her head, giving him better access to her. By the time she realized what she was doing, they were eating hungrily at one another. She followed his lead and there was no doubt in her mind the man was an expert at seduction. His kiss alone was damn near sexually intoxicating.

  He huffed against her lips, his head pressed to hers. “What are you doing, Sidney?”

  “Um, kissing you?”

  “That’s not what I mean and you know it,” he scolded. “This, out here with me when it’s pretty fucking obvious you’re in love with Marmora. This isn’t a game.”

  She could have taken offense but she didn’t. Instead, she met his gaze. “I don’t know what I’m doing out here. All I do know is the minute I knew I hurt you by saying what I did, I had to come to you. I couldn’t not.”

  The edges of his mouth lifted upwards. “You feel the pull too then?”

  “The pull?”

  “Don’t worry about it right now.” He continued to rub her arms. “For now, I’ll be happy with the fact you came to me.” He glanced around. “I know this was a big step for you, Sidney. I can feel how uneasy you are out here like this, totally exposed.”

  “I could leave the hospital without taking my body,” she confessed.

  He tilted his head. “What do you mean?”

  “When I’m asleep, I dream but they’re not really dreams. I’m really doing what’s in them.”

  He gasped. “It was you I felt brushing past me in the halls the first night I came to you.”

  She nodded.

  “That’s a rare gift among our kind.” He touched her cheek tenderly. “I also get the sense you shared that information with me for a reason.”

  She bit at her lower lip. “I don’t know why I did. All I know is it’s something no one else knows about me, not even the men who come for me.”

  He stared at her for what felt like forever. “You’re beyond special, you realize that, right?” He reached out, his fingers skimming over the markings that had appeared on her skin. “Very fucking special.”

  Sidney swallowed hard and inclined her head. “I don’t feel very special at the moment.”

  “No?” he questioned, tugging her to him. “I could change that.”

  She just bet he could.

  She snuggled against him. “Tell me why I want to be held by you.”

  “Because your heart already knows who I am to you.”

  “You think I’m your mate?” she asked, no accusation in her eyes. “Others have said the same thing.”

  “But they weren’t me.” He gave her a chaste kiss.

  She smiled against his lips. “No. They most certainly weren’t you.”

  “Want to tell me more about how you called forth the element of water today?” His transition into a topic she didn’t want to discuss was worthy of an award. “Have you ever done anything like that before?”

  “Yes.”

  He bent, his eyes meeting hers. “This whole conversation thing is helped tremendously when both parties actually converse.”

  “And this is you being totally open and honest with me?” The smallest of laughs came from her.

  He flashed a sexy grin. “It’s me being honest. Totally open? Hmm, maybe. You first, okay?”

  “Fine. You asked for it.” Sidney pressed tighter to him. “I was little when it first happened. Maybe nine or so. It was hot out and a drought had hit the area hard. Phoebe and Heather wanted to go swimming but our mothers said no, we couldn’t that day. The next thing I knew, the back porch filled with water. It stayed there, contained, but there was no logical explanation for it. We laughed, splashed and carried on like silly little girls until my mother walked out and gasped. I felt it then, my hold on the magik slipping. It was then I realized fully that I
wasn’t like other kids.”

  “No,” he agreed. “I suppose you weren’t.”

  She put her hands over his and squeezed. “Aland, I need for you to know something. Sander is my friend. He’s actually my best friend. I’m closer to him than I am to my own family. I love my parents and Phoebe and Heather, but they weren’t with me day in and day out. He was.” She held firm when he attempted to pull away. “You’re letting your temper kick in again.”

  “I don’t really like knowing my mate is in love with her therapist.”

  “I do love him,” she confirmed.

  Aland’s jaw set.

  She lifted his hands to her face and kissed his palms. “I love him like I do Phoebe and Heather. Not exactly, but close.”

  “Wait.” Aland lifted her face. “Are you telling me you love him like family?”

  “Yes.” It was on the tip of her tongue to confess to feelings she shouldn’t be having for Aland. She shouldn’t care for him like she did. Love shouldn’t even be entering her mind in regards to him, yet it was.

  He closed his eyes a moment before opening them, fighting his emotions. “Thank you.”

  “For loving him?”

  He gave her a knowing look. “For clarifying exactly what it is you feel for him. You have my word, Sidney, that I’ll do everything I can to protect him even though I don’t particularly like him much.”

  She laughed and planted tiny kisses on his face. “Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.” Pausing, she stared up at him. “Wait, does this mean you think they’ll still come for him?”

  “Unfortunately, yes.” He drew her closer to his body. “Sirius and I talked a little while the two of you were cleaning up. He thinks we should take Marmora to our realm, to people we trust who can train him to protect himself the right way and to wield his magik effectively.”

  The air whooshed out of her lungs. “You want to take Sander away? To the same place those renegades are always trying to take me?”

  “Shh,” he soothed. “Think about it, Sidney. Is he better off here, with a limited number of us to train him and keep watch over him or is he better surrounded by hundreds upon hundreds of warriors of our sign—our brethren?”

  “He’s better off with me! I’ll keep him safe. I won’t let anyone—”

  “You’re scared to death to be out here, in the open, out of a fucking padded cell,” he snapped. “What are you going to do to help him?”

  His words sliced her to the quick. She rocked out of his grasp and nodded without really knowing why. She stumbled back from him and stared around at the night.

  Aland made a move to grab her and she shook her head, flashing power at him, knocking his hand away. “Sidney, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it. It just came out. I can’t think clearly with you. This fierce need to claim you and know you’re protected clouds my better judgment and stupid shit falls out of my mouth.”

  She narrowed her heated gaze.

  “Tell me what you’re thinking.”

  “Can’t you tell me?” she asked, still glaring at him.

  He gasped. “You’d really feed me to Walter’s dragon?”

  “If she was real,” she nodded, “yes.” Staying mad at him wasn’t something she seemed to be able to do.

  His mouth slanted over hers quickly. His kiss was hot and branding. “Mmm, I know Phoebe wants to take you to your parents’ house and then make you stay there for the night but, Sidney, it’s not safe just yet and I’d rather have you at my house. With me. They can’t protect you. I can.”

  “I hardly know you,” she whispered against his lips.

  He opened his mind to her and she swayed in stunned disbelief at the swell of information that came over her. She saw him as a boy, playing with another child with wooden swords, running across a vast stretch of vibrant green grass. She saw him at all the stages of his very long life and a feeling of loneliness settled over her. Sidney knew it wasn’t hers. It was Aland’s. What he’d felt for over a century. At least until he’d met her.

  He didn’t close his thoughts to her. Instead, he kept the link open, nudging her mind gently. “Show me, Sidney. Let me know you fully.”

  Afraid of how he’d view her, she resisted at first, before giving in and allowing him to share in her memories. He rummaged through her broken mind, tightening, making odd noises before exuding rage. He jerked back from her, his breathing harsh and irregular. “I will hunt and kill every last one of them! Every renegade who ever dared to come for you, I’ll—”

  She touched his hand. “Aland.”

  He kept ranting.

  She eased her hand up his arm. “Aland.”

  He stilled.

  “Take me home with you. I’m exhausted and I’m not ready to see my parents just yet. As much as I love Phoebe, I can’t do this tonight. I can’t be what she wants me to be.”

  “What about Marmora?” he asked, a glint in his eyes.

  “Will Sirius protect him?”

  “Yes.”

  “Will he mind if Sander stays for at least the night?”

  Aland hid his smile. “No. He won’t mind.” He reached out with his mind to his old friend. Sirius, my mate wants me to take her home with me. She also wants you to babysit the doctor.

  Consider it done, Sirius replied.

  Aland stared down at the beauty in his arms. She wasn’t aware, but by coming to him when she sensed his unease and by sharing information with him about herself, she was doing as destiny had foreseen long ago. She was taking the tiny steps toward becoming his mate in every sense of the word.

  He hated himself for his jealousy of Marmora. He tried to remind himself that the man saved Sidney’s life and long before that, was her friend. It didn’t help any. Had he only been human, Aland could have felt secure in the knowledge he was the better man. No human could stand up against his kind. Learning Marmora was something more, a mix of sorts, meant he was a real competitor for her heart and hand. Fate be dammed. Aland wasn’t the man she’d been comforted by for the past ten years. He wasn’t even the man who had protected her from the newest threat but he would be the man who would be there from here on out.

  Chapter Five

  Sidney tossed and turned, unable to sleep in the vast room Aland had put her in. It was his bedroom, she was sure of it, but that didn’t change the fact she couldn’t find solace. She thumped her head against the mattress and balled her fists. This wasn’t how she pictured freedom to be.

  The bedroom door opened partway and Aland peeked in. “You okay?”

  “No,” she admitted freely. “I can’t do this.”

  He entered the room and she closed her eyes in hopes of ignoring the fact he was shirtless and wearing a pair of loose, silk pajama bottoms. It didn’t help. The image of him like that was now burned into her brain.

  Her entire body lit with desire and she hit the bed several times.

  A manly chuckle sounded above her head. Her eyes snapped open and she stared at Aland, his nose close to hers as he bent over the bed. “Are you going to spend the rest of the night beating up my bed?”

  “No,” she said, nodding slightly, making him laugh.

  His laugh rolled over her, bringing heat with it. She arched to him, her body on fire. She wanted him to touch her but didn’t have the courage to ask him to. His tongue slid out and over her lower lip. “You don’t have to ask, une srecota moje,” he said softly. “When you let me into your mind, you opened a direct path between us.”

  She tensed. “You hear everything I’m thinking?”

  “No, not everything but I sense when you’re distressed or when you want something.” A sly grin splayed over his handsome face. “And Sidney, you want me, don’t you?”

  More than I should.

  She swallowed hard, nodding slightly.

  He traced a finger over her cheek. “I want you too.”

  She licked her lips.

  Aland went to work, undressing her with painstakingly slow detail. She whimpered, desperate for more.
How much more, she wasn’t sure. All she knew was she wanted him in all the ways he would have her.

  Cool air stroked her body as she lay naked beneath him. Never had she felt so utterly exposed. It had little to do with the lack of clothing and everything to do with how he seemed to see through to her soul.

  His sexy smile eased her fears as he bent, trailing kisses over her torso. “So beautiful.”

  She ran her fingers through his hair as he lowered himself, going eye level with her pussy.

  “You shaved?” Aland asked, already seeing the answer for himself.

  “Yes.” She blushed. “Phoebe came into the bathroom at her place and gave me everything I’d need. She thought it would help me feel sexier and that you might like it. She, uh, walked me through what to do. It’s not like the nurses at the hospital ever pulled me aside, handed me a razor and said, shave your cunt, crazy lady.”

  He chuckled. “No. I wouldn’t think they’d do that.”

  She licked her lips.

  “So, I take it this means you’re willing to accept me,” he said. “Since you did this,” he nodded towards her cleanly shaven mound, “because you thought I’d like it?”

  “Do you?”

  “Fuck.” He inhaled deep, her scent making him crazy with lust. “Dammit, I wish your sister hadn’t suggested it. It was bad enough as it was. Now all I want to do is lick your pussy until you scream my name and then lick it some more.” He knew he was coming on too strong and demanding too much from her. She’d been held away from the world for so long. While she was experienced in dealing with his kind, it wasn’t sexually.

  She wiggled beneath him. “Aland.”

  “Hmm, une srecota moje?” he inquired, rubbing his chin over her smooth, hairless mound.

  “I trust you.”

  Those three words did him in. He eased a finger into her tight channel and as he met with resistance, he stared up the length of her. “Sidney, this will hurt at first. Then I promise to give you nothing but pleasure.”

  She nodded. “I know.”

  He dipped his head and used his other hand to expose her clit. The pink bud was swollen, ready and waiting for him. He slipped his lips over it and circled it with his tongue. She stiffened and then cried out, moving her hips against his face. He worked her clit more, waiting until he sensed her close to orgasm before pushing his finger through her virgin membrane. Her cunt pulled at his finger, wanting it deeper.