Maddy released a worried breath. “Good girl. Effy, don’t ever forget what you promised me.”
“I won’t. I didn’t say anything to Wendy.”
Maddy lowered herself to her niece’s level and hugged her. “Good girl. Remember that’s our secret. We only talk about that when we’re alone.”
Effy turned her face and glanced toward Matt. He sucked in a harsh breath. Damnation. Was the little girl looking directly at him? He narrowed his eyes and leaned forward in his seat, his mouth thinning. Effy returned her gaze to Maddy.
“Auntie Mad? Since we’re alone now, can I talk about it?”
“Of course, honey.”
“I’m getting that special feeling in my bones again and I can hear him.”
Maddy looked startled. “Who, honey?”
Effy pointed directly at Matt’s car and he gritted his teeth. Hades be damned, she was looking at him.
“There,” she said. “That man is watching you. He’s glad I’m your niece and not your daughter.”
Maddy snapped her face to his car and their gazes clashed. His mouth thinned as he watched her face flush with colour, her mouth tense.
“Honey, go inside. I’ll be in shortly,” she said to her niece without taking her eyes off him.
Her niece did as she was told and Maddy rose. She stormed to his car just as he was getting out of it, his jaw clenched with annoyance. He was more disturbed his cover had been blown by a little girl than concerned at the bundle of adult fury coming his way. If anyone found out he’d been exposed on one of his tails by a child, he’d never hear the end of it.
Maddy’s dark eyes flashed fire as she stopped before him. “How dare you! How dare you intrude on my privacy!”
His thoughts stilled as he ran his gaze over her flushed cheeks, her dark, turbulent glare, and her breasts rising and falling with each angry breath. Matt wondered how he’d ever thought this woman was plain and non-descript. His body’s almost violent reaction to her simmering passions held him transfixed and he couldn’t help, but feel intensely curious about her.
“I was protecting my investment,” he offered lightly.
“Investment? Don’t be ridiculous. You’ve been spying on me, pure and simple.” She paused, her hand going to her mouth as her eyes widened. “You...you didn’t by any chance follow me earlier?”
“I did. I also overheard what you told your grandmother.” Matt watched her mouth tense. “My investment is whether I should trust you and help you.”
Her furious expression faded and was replaced by a look filled with unease. “And...and what have you decided? Will you help me? Will you give me the wand?”
“Well, that depends. I have questions that need to be answered first.”
Her gaze wavered under his. “What do you want to know?”
“For starters, what is this spell you spoke to your grandmother about?”
“I...I don’t have time to tell you about that now. I’m taking my niece to the movies.”
“As it happens, I like movies. I think I’ll join you and afterwards we can sit down and have our talk,” he said without thinking. Matt clenched his jaw, wondering what the hell possessed him to say he would join them.
Maddy appeared momentarily surprised, but she recovered quickly. “We’re going to see a children’s movie. I don’t think you’ll enjoy it.”
“Oh? Do you read minds, too, or is that special feat reserved only for your niece?”
Maddy’s gaze wavered under his. “Fine,” she said, releasing a defeated breath. “Come to the movies with us. Let’s go back to the house first. I need to make Effy lunch before we leave.”
He knew she ignored his comment about her niece reading minds and he let it go, for now. One way or another, he was going to get to the bottom of everything.
Matt followed her to her home, his gaze dropping to her long ponytail and lower to her slender waist and hips, swaying with delicate ease as she walked. His gaze rested on her lovely calves and his inner beast growled with appreciation. Matt scowled. She was only walking, dammit. How could a simple gait affect him? At the back of his mind, an incredible, yet fleeting thought teased him and his scowl grew as he wiped his notion from forming.
He wondered how the past two hundred years he had fearlessly battled demons and beasts, yet this slip of a woman scared the hell out of him.
****
Maddy paid Wendy and shut the door behind her. She turned to Effy who walked into the hallway, glancing up at Matt.
“You’re the man who was watching us,” Effy said.
Maddy grew uncomfortable and bent toward her niece. She lifted Effy into her arms and kissed her on the forehead. “Honey, go to your room and pick one of your pretty outfits to wear for the movies.” Maddy watched her niece’s cute, little mouth tense, her sweet, elfin features puckering with rebellion.
“I’ll do it later.”
“Effy, I have to make sandwiches for us and then we have to leave. We don’t have much time before the movie starts, so I need your help.”
“I can’t pick my own outfit.”
Maddy smiled. “Of course you can. You picked the one you’re wearing now, didn’t you?” With another warm kiss on Effy’s forehead, Maddy set her down. “Be a good girl and go get dressed.”
Effy looked like she was going to argue, instead she turned around, giving Matt one last curious look, and went to her room. Maddy breathed a sigh of relief.
“She’s a cute kid,” Matt said.
“She’s my life,” Maddy replied easily. “My sister died giving birth to her and I’ve been raising my niece ever since. Apart from my grandmother, Effy’s all I have left of my family.”
“From what I know of witches, they have a strong bond and share a powerful sisterhood. You’re not close with any members of your coven?”
Maddy grew stiff with resentment and her old wound reopened. “No.” He looked like he was going to ask her more questions and she quickly changed the subject. “Let’s go into the kitchen. I hope you like ham and cheese.”
Without checking to see if he followed her, she went into the kitchen, her stomach in knots. Matt was an imposing figure standing in her home, his male energy more than a little frightening, but it wasn’t her safety she feared for. It was her heart. Even now, when she barely knew him, she had a powerful connection to him. Maddy now understood what her sister had meant years ago when she’d explained the lycan legend. Ones were connected with their souls, a timeless bind that transcended time and space. It didn’t matter if she’d just met him. Maddy’s soul had been joined to Matt’s since the beginning of time and even though her physical form didn’t know him, her soul did. Maddy’s head spun at her train of thought.
“May I help?” He asked.
Composing herself quickly, she flashed him a polite smile. “No, thank you. Please take a seat. This will only take me a minute.”
He nodded and went to the table, pulling out a chair. Casually, he lowered his muscular frame on the seat and eyed her with interest. “Your niece is special, isn’t she? Only vampires possess her power.”
Maddy tensed as she pulled the ham, cheese, and bread from the fridge. “My niece isn’t a vampire, if that’s what you’re implying.”
“I know. Lycans and vampires can sense each other. I sensed neither in Effy.”
“I’m not going to discuss my niece, Matt. She’s off limits.”
“Effy’s secret is safe with me, Maddy. People like us need anonymity in order to survive in this world, otherwise we’d have the army, the FBI, the CIA—every government agency at our doors. I know you only want to protect her.”
Maddy was relieved he understood. “Thank you.” He nodded brusquely. “I worry about Effy. She’s so young and it’s getting harder for me to protect her. My biggest challenge is teaching her we’re not like other people and we can’t discuss or even mention our lives to anyone.”
“I understand, but her youth is an advantage. I feel it’s easier to a
djust to our life at her age. I know many lycans who turned as adults and couldn’t accept their new lives.”
He held her gaze as he regarded her silently. Maddy stared at him. Matt was such a handsome man in a ruthless, rugged sort of way. Her gaze travelled over his dark, short-cropped hair, his strong face, and his angular jaw covered in a sexy five o’clock shadow. Maddy couldn’t help, but wonder, if he found her attractive, too.
“He does, Auntie Mad,” Effy’s little voice rang in the air as she entered the kitchen.
Maddy gasped as she watched Matt’s expression lift in surprise, his gaze resting on her niece.
“Effy, you made a pinky promise with me,” she said in a firm tone.
Her niece gave her a strange look. “But you like him. You just said he’s handsome.” Effy struggled to pull a chair from the table.
Maddy sighed and went to help her. Her gaze met Matt’s and she flushed with embarrassment at the amused glint on his face. She lifted Effy and placed her gently on the chair. “Honey, I didn’t say it, I thought it. You have to be careful with what you say until you can control your gift. You still have trouble distinguishing what you hear out loud and what you hear in your head. Do you understand, honey?”
“Yes, Auntie Mad. Can we eat now?”
She kissed the top of Effy’s head. “In a couple of minutes. Effy, this is my friend, Matt. I want you to sit here quietly with him while I make our snacks, okay?”
Effy nodded and Maddy avoided Matt’s gaze as she went back to the counter and finished making their sandwiches.
“You picked a fine outfit for the movies, Effy,” she heard Matt say. “Blue is my favorite colour.”
“Me, too.”
“I’m curious. Don’t little girls usually like pink?”
“Yeah, but I don’t. When I go shopping with Auntie Mad, she lets me pick my own clothes.”
“That must make you feel very grownup.”
Maddy smiled as she cut Effy’s sandwich into four little squares. She was grateful Matt didn’t ask her niece any questions about her gift. She looked over her shoulder. “Matt, what can I offer you to drink?”
He flashed a brief smile and her stomach jolted with awareness. “Water will be fine. Thanks.”
A couple of minutes later, Maddy had the sandwiches and drinks on the table and she sat down to eat. From beneath her lashes, she looked at Matt as he set his water down and directed his gaze to Effy.
“I’m curious, Effy. What movie are we seeing today?”
Her niece smiled at him. “Selena, the Teen Witch.”
“I think I will enjoy it very much. Thank you for allowing me to come with you.”
Effy went back to eating her sandwich and Matt’s dark gaze went to Maddy. “I haven’t been around children in centu—in years, I’m afraid. I’m a little rusty.”
“Actually, you’re doing fine.”
His gaze dipped to her smile and his expression darkened with a curious mixture of interest and something she could only define as guilt. He tore his gaze from her mouth and finished his sandwich, making her wonder what he had been thinking about. This was one of those times she wished she had Effy’s gift.
Ten minutes later, Maddy loaded the dishwasher and they all left the house.
“We’ll take my car,” she said as they all walked from her porch. “I have a car seat.”
“Of course,” Matt said deeply.
Minutes later, she was pulling out of her driveway, conscious of the man sitting beside her.
“Are you okay in the back, honey?” She asked as she stopped at a red light.
“Yes, Auntie Mad.”
“Good. Is the button off?”
“Yes, Auntie Mad.”
Maddy smiled. “Just checking, sweetie.”
From the corner of her eye, she caught Matt’s swift, sideways glance. Maddy ignored him and kept her gaze fastened on the road. She turned right when the lights changed to green.
Her gaze dropped briefly to Matt’s powerful thighs sheathed in blue denim, his muscles straining against the material. She glanced at his hands resting on his lap. They were beautiful hands, strong, capable, reliable. Maddy wondered how it would feel to be caressed by them. Mentally, she shook herself and snapped out of her daze. She gripped her wheel and focused on the road, hiding a scowl. She was behaving like a love struck teenager, she thought, refusing to look his way again.
Fifteen minutes later, she drove onto the movie theatre’s parking lot. By the time she removed her seatbelt and collected her purse, Matt was opening her door. Filled with an inexplicable sense of shyness, she could barely look up at him as she took his hand.
“Thank you,” she said.
She opened Effy’s door and reached inside to unbuckle her niece’s seatbelt as Matt stood silently behind Maddy. She was either all thumbs because of his presence or the seatbelt was jammed, she thought with frustration, trying to unfasten the buckle. Damn. Gritting her teeth, she tried again and released Effy. How was she going to concentrate on the film with him sitting beside her when his very company rattled her nerves?
Maddy held Effy’s hand as they made their way to the entrance of the cinema. Her niece couldn’t contain her excitement as she skipped into the theatre and Maddy couldn’t help, but smile. The line up to purchase the tickets moved quickly and after a few minutes, they stood before the ticket booth.
“Three for Selena, the Teen Witch,” Maddy said with a smile. “Two adults, one child.”
The young girl behind the glass told her the price and Maddy reached into her purse. Matt’s hand was on her elbow before she pulled out her wallet.
“I’ll take care of this,” he said as he reached with his other hand into his pocket.
“No, thank you. It’s my treat,” Maddy said.
“I insist,” he said easily.
“I invited you to the movie. This should be my treat.”
“Actually, I invited myself,” he said, his tone dry. He paid the girl and they all entered the busy theatre after he handed the three ticket stubs to a young boy standing at a roped area.
“Thank you, Matt,” Maddy said with a smile.
His expression softened for a brief moment. “My pleasure.”
Effy’s squeal tore Maddy’s gaze from Matt and she glanced where her niece was pointing. The amusement area of the theatre was large, with pinball and video machines and a mini bumper cart zone.
“Auntie Mad! I want to go on the bumper carts.”
“Honey, the movie starts in twenty minutes. We don’t have time. Look over there. You see that long line up? That’s where we have to wait.”
“Please, Auntie Mad. Only one time. I promise.”
Maddy knew that look on her niece’s face. Sighing wearily, she glanced up at Matt. “Would you mind?”
“Not at all,” he said easily.
They walked to the gated entrance of the bumper cart area and Maddy watched all the colourful carts coming to a standstill as people disembarked from their rides.
“What do I owe you for two?” Matt asked the attendant.
The attendant told him and Matt paid him. Maddy gave him a surprised look. “You’re going to ride with us?”
“Why not?” He looked down at Effy and smiled. “Will you be the one driving your cart?”
Effy grinned. “No. Auntie Mad will. I’m too little.”
Maddy stared at the carts and wondered how Matt was going to squeeze into one of them. They must have been roomier than she thought because as she settled into her seat and made sure Effy was secure next to her, she glanced at Matt and watched him slide in his red cart with ease. Their gazes met and a tiny thrill of excitement darted up her spine.
The bell sounded and all the carts moved. Maddy laughed as she immediately bumped into a green cart. She mouthed the word ‘sorry’ at the teenage boy behind the wheel and pulled away. Effy’s giggles were infectious and before Maddy knew it, she was laughing at all the harmless collisions before her.
; “Where’s Matt?” She asked. “Do you see him, honey?”
Effy twisted in her seat and giggled. “He’s behind us. He’s stuck in between to cars.”
Maddy stifled the giggle rising in her throat and turned her cart around. Her gaze met Matt’s and he gave her a defeated look, his eyes suspiciously bright as though he was containing his amusement. Maddy smiled.
“Do you need help?’ She asked, smiling briefly at the occupants of the two carts imprisoning him. They all grinned at her, shrugging their shoulders as if to say they didn’t know how they had gotten themselves in that predicament.
“I will just wait it out until the attendant rings the bell,” Matt replied.
“Auntie Mad. Help him. Push the other carts away from him,” Effy cried.
“I’ll try honey.” She smiled at Matt. “Stay put. I’m coming to the rescue.”
“It appears I am not going anywhere,” he replied dryly.
Maddy inched her way forward and bumped into the cart with a man sitting next to a young girl who looked clearly frustrated.
“Dad, the game’s going to be over soon,” she cried.
Maddy pressed down on the gas and the man’s cart swayed to the side, giving Matt a clear way. Effy squealed with delight and the man waved a thank you as he veered left, to his daughter’s relief evident.
Maddy smiled at Matt, feeling very pleased with herself.
“Auntie Mad! Look out!” Effy cried.
Maddy snapped her gaze to the left and saw a yellow cart making a bee line for her and Effy. She knew on an intrinsic level there was no inherent danger, but she was terrified nonetheless as she saw the cart closing in on them. Maddy shrieked.
From her peripheral vision, she saw Matt’s cart move and swerve around her, stopping between her and the yellow cart. The yellow cart bumped into his side, the impact making a resounding thud.
Effy squealed with mirth. “He saved us!”
The hard impact on Matt’s cart hardly made him budge and Maddy couldn’t help feeling warmed he’d purposely intercepted the other cart to save her and Effy from a collision.
The bell sounded and the game was over. Wow, that was fun, she thought. “Did you have fun, sweetie?”
Tall Dark Handsome Lycan, Book 4 Page 2