Feeling braver, she edged the soft cotton of his shirt up further so she could run her fingers over his shoulders, tracing the smooth skin around to his muscled stomach. His breath quickened at her touch. Every cel in her body felt alive next to him.
Shyly, she touched Torin’s chest. She knew beneath her fingers lay his other heart. She didn’t fear it though. He was everything to her just the way he was. It was at that moment she realized she would always be with him, always desiring him, always craving him completely. Drawing her lips from his, Lexie lead him over to the bed in the center of the room.
He gently brushed the hair back from her face and kissed her slowly. Recognizing the yearning in his eyes because it matched her own, she guided his hands across her waist.
With trembling fingers, she opened the front of her blouse, exposing her untouched skin to him. She let her top drop from her shoulders to the floor, as his eyes bathed her in appreciation.
“You are perfect,” he whispered. He ran his fingertips over the soft lace of her bra, making her shiver with pleasure.
His beautiful eyes connected with hers. “Lexie, I need to tel you…” He paused, his expression radiated with honesty. “I love you.”
“I love you too.” She meant it completely. “I have for a while.
I just didn’t believe I could be in love so soon after finding you. But, I am.”
He pressed his forehead against hers, trailing his hands down her spine. “You understand, when we fal in love, it’s forever…”
She heard Donovan say it when he explained fate-partners – but she already knew. It was already alive inside her.
He grasped both of her hands and pressed them against
his chest. She could feel his heart beating against his skin.
“I bind my soul to yours – forever,” he murmured.
A pleasurable ripple coursed from where her hands
touched his heart, shooting up her arms and through her body.
She gasped in surprise, realizing what was happening. “I bind my soul to yours, for forever and always.” With a great rush, al of her feelings for Torin arose within her and spil ed forth, flooding him with al of her love. Her entire body and soul felt as though it was engulfed with his love and
passion.
He pul ed her to him, kissing her excitedly. She was
overcome with how powerful his emotions were. Like
looking through his eyes, she could see and experience exactly what he felt. Now that their spirits were one, she didn’t want to ever be separated from him. She kissed him back, matching his intensity with her own.
She couldn’t be close enough to him. Her hands explored the hardness of his body, even though he was bigger than she was, she fit against him perfectly. She could feel herself redden as he finished undressing, but was impatient to feel al of his skin against hers.
She rested back on the bed, her hair fanning across the pil ow, and gave him an enticing smile. As Torin joined her, Lexie’s heart beat wildly in response to the sensuality they shared. Using his lips and tongue, he trailed kisses across her jaw and down her neck until they reached the sensitive skin of her untouched breast. She pressed herself against him, urging him closer. She gasped with satisfaction as he fil ed her, the two of them final y one. His taste, his touch, his love – it al swept over her, carrying her further than she ever dreamed.
Lexie didn’t know how long she had been napping, but
when she awoke she stil felt the intensity of her
supernatural bond with Torin. Her back was pressed
against his chest and she could feel his soft breath tickle her ear. His hand rubbed slow circles across her bare bel y, leaving her tingly with pleasure.
The love that flowed from him blanketed her; she would be content to never move from the intimate embrace the two shared.
“I hope you don’t mind, but while you slept I painted you naked,” he whispered seductively in her hear.
“What – you wouldn’t.” Lexie’s arms whirled, trying to get untangled from the covers so she could see his face.
“I’m playing,” Torin chuckled, his eyes smoldering.
“You haven’t been sleeping for long.” He lifted her over him so she could straddle him. She could feel his devotion as he studied her. “Do you know what is amazing? Even while you slept, I
was able to feel what you feel... I could feel how much you love me.”
Lexie leaned forward and kissed him tenderly. “You’re lucky you’re immortal or I would give you a slow death for scaring me like that,” she teased.
His hands roamed over her hips. “Then you’l be happy to know that I can be kil ed.”
She sat back, giving him a worried look. “But, I thought because of being a damphyr, you couldn’t be hurt.” She traced his arm where the wound had been. “You heal…”
“I do, but I can stil die Lexie – fire, decapitation, blood draining…”
Shaking her head, she put her fingers over his mouth so he couldn’t say any more. “Stop, you’re scaring me.” She
brought her face back down to his and pressed her cheek to his.
“I couldn’t handle it if anything ever happened to you.”
“Nothing wil happen,” he reassured as he rubbed her back.
Torin found her mouth and gave her a fiery kiss. Once
again, his touch enticed her senses and his own outpouring of emotions from their bond flowed through her, dismissing al worries. Al she could focus on was the flaming desire he stoked in her.
As the sun began to set, the rain sounded like the sky had opened and unleashed one of the Maine’s largest lakes upon the
town of Erris. Lexie didn’t mind the relentless drive of the rain; she just snuggled closer to Torin. Her body felt spent in the most wonderful way. He made her feel beautiful for the first time in her life.
He propped himself up on his elbows, listening intently.
Turning to her, he gave her one more adoring kiss. “I would like to hold you here like this al night, but we have company.”
Lexie bolted from the bed and gathered her clothing.
Torin pretended to help but used the awkward situation as an opportunity to tickle her when she reached for her
blouse.
After pul ing on his own things, he made sure she was put together before opening the door. Braden strode in with a serious expression. Looking past his shoulder, she could see Teagan and Cian on the smal porch. Seeing Teagan’s big grin, she blushed and turned away. She imagined with their senses, they knew what she and Torin had been up to.
Braden’s eyebrows rose as he looked from Lexie to Torin.
“You’ve soul bound,” he said in amazement. “I can feel it – she’s one of us now.” His big arms encircled her in a brotherly squeeze. “I knew you would because of the
dreams, but it’s cool seeing it happen for the first time.”
Lexie smiled, feeling Torin’s love and pride as she hugged his cousin. “You can feel it?” She was so short, that she
could hear Braden’s double beat resounding through his muscular chest as he towered over her . He’s already changed.
“Yeah,” he grinned, “as soon as I walked in here. Al of us wil .”
She stepped back from the friendly embrace and slid her hand back in Torin’s.
Torin studied his cousin, “Is the scent stil out there?”
“It’s al around the perimeter of your yard,” Braden
answered. “We haven’t smel ed it in town before, but it’s definitely taken notice of your family.”
“It’s just one this time,” Torin said with understanding.
Lexie could feel Torin’s growing unease. “What are you talking about?” she questioned.
Torin squeezed her hand. “We’ve been tracking whatever it is that has been doing the kil ings – but it seems it found us.
I thought I could smel it when we were outside earlier, so while you slept, I cal ed Braden to
check it out.”
Braden turned to the window. While staring into the
darkness, he muttered, “I think we have a bigger problem than we original y thought.” He turned back to Torin, “I fol owed the scent al the way back to Lexie’s house.”
Startled with his observation, she asked, “What does that mean?” She tried to swal ow the lump in her throat, but couldn’t.
Braden looked careful y at Torin, his blue eyes missing their usual good humor. “I think her stepfamily may be shifters.
That’s why they usual y smel bad, but not like the scent of the predators in the woods.”
“When they shift, their odor becomes sulfuric.” Torin’s forehead creased as the truth was becoming clear. “It’s a ful moon, so they would be stronger tonight?”
“Donovan’s on the phone with the old ones now. He’s trying to see what they know, but so far, he hasn’t discovered much.” Braden sounded as though he was as unsure as
Torin.
Lexie didn’t understand exactly what they were saying, but she could feel Torin’s concern and it scared her. “My
stepfamily may be responsible for al of the deaths?” she clarified. She tried to dismiss the thought, but the truth was so clear, she couldn’t. “Surely not al of them, I would have been able to tel .” Or would she? Maxim was obvious, but what about Dragos? He was the one who took his sons out into the woods at night.
Braden’s phone buzzed. “What’s up?” As he listened, his face turned to stone. “Be right there.” He reached behind him, swinging open the door. Teagan and Cian both stood waiting. He motioned for his cousins to listen. “That was Seamus, the trail is fresh outside of your place Cian – and there’s human blood.”
Lexie watched as Cian’s expression hardened, his dark
eyes transforming into the same defying white Torin’s had.
“Brooke,” Cian turned so quickly, she only saw a blur as he leaped from the porch. Teagan proceeded after him, both moving at speeds that defied physics.
Braden probed Torin. “Do you need to stay?”
Torin hurriedly pul ed on his black leather jacket. “No, you’l need me.”
Braden nodded before disappearing from the room.
Torin placed his hand on Lexie’s shoulder and gave her a steady look. “Listen to me Lexie. I need you to stay here tonight and not go home. I wil be back as soon as I can.
You can stay with Endel ion in the house, she’l keep you company.”
Tears began to stream down her cheeks. “You forget. I can feel what you feel. I know you’re scared.” She began to shiver, her body coursing too much adrenaline through her system.
Torin wrapped his arms around her to stil her shaking form.
“I’m only scared of you getting hurt. We don’t know what they are, but hopeful y we wil by tonight.” As he hugged her, she buried her face into his chest, the leather making it hard to feel his warmth.
He slipped out of her arms and moved to the door.
“Everything wil be okay.” He gave her a heartening smile
although she could stil feel the unease he emitted. “I love you forever.”
“Forever and always,” she replied, but he was already
gone.
The frigid rain final y slowed. Even after the heat wave earlier in the week, Maine felt so much colder to Lexie than Connecticut ever did, and it was only early September. The large Victorian stood among the trees like it had always been there. Massive pines had grown around the base of the house, creating a maze of shadows. Although she’d
lived there a week, her home stil felt foreign to her, as if she was in a strange land rather than a place she should cal hers. It didn’t have the warmth of Torin’s parents’ home or the charm of the old house in the woods. But it was not the old foreboding house that she feared now, it was Maxim and Dragos.
Her jeans and blouse were completely saturated and her long hair was now plastered to her head. She was so cold that
her lips and her fingers felt numb. Despite her discomfort, Lexie knew she needed to slip in through the front door unnoticed. If her step family was home, al hope would be gone of warning her mother and sister. With one hand
cradling the silver cross pendant Liz had given her, she silently whispered a short prayer for their safety.
Her heart was beating quickly and nausea spread through her midsection. She thought of last semester when Mr.
Davis taught her science class about the human body and its flight or fight response. As much as she wanted to take flight and make a run for it back to Torin’s home, her legs were like two lead pipes infused to the floor. She closed her eyes and steadied her breathing. She listened for any revealing sounds then counted to ten and reopened her
eyes.
The lights were out and she had to resist the urge to fumble for the switch. At least she made it this far, she had herself half convinced that the others would be sitting by the door playing cards, kil ing time until she made her dramatic entrance. Perhaps they expected Torin instead. She
thought of him and the others tracking the scent outside of Cian’s house.
She hoped it wasn’t Brooke’s blood they smel ed. What if they found Max and he hurt them? She knew he told her to stay, but she had to find El a and her mom.
Lexie couldn’t help but think of what happened to Courtney.
Maxim must have kil ed her. How could her stepbrother
have taken a life? How could she have not picked up on the signs? She wiped the hot tears from her face. There was a time and place for everything and she couldn’t risk
surrendering to despair just yet.
The long winding staircase that went to the second floor was directly to her right and as good a place as any to start looking for the two people who depended on her. She
began her ascent, her fear raw and senses alive. Would Torin feel her fear?
She hoped he could concentrate on what his family needed from him.
It had been eight hours since she last saw her mother
cooking lunch for Dragos and the others. Ruby had been crying a lot al week – she even heard them arguing before bed the night before, but couldn’t hear the details of their conversation.
When she peaked in their open door, Dragos whipped his head around and glared at her. She knew her interference wasn’t wanted.
She had always known there was something quite not right with her stepfamily. She even entertained the thought that they were dangerous criminals, but never in her seventeen years, could she have perceived them for what they real y were. Braden cal ed them shifters. What did that mean
exactly?
She had suspected they were up to some sort of il egal activity when they would disappear into the woods at night.
When El a remarked that Nicolai and the others were
running patrol, Lexie assumed they were playing war
games in the woods. Unsafe and not appropriate for three teenage boys, but especial y when the neighborhood pets kept disappearing – she thought maybe they were hunting them.
She remembered how Alik mentioned Courtney taking
Maxim in the band room for sex. The dead girl claimed she was with Alik, but Lexie could no longer pretend her
suspicions about Max were unwarranted.
She shook her head and tried to focus on the task at hand.
Her mother and little sister were in this immense house somewhere and if they were okay, she had to somehow get them out. She wasn’t sure what her stepfamily was exactly, but she did know what they weren’t. They weren’t like Torin and his family and they weren’t human either. She feared they weren’t going to just let her leave.
At the top of the landing, Lexie ambled forward through the darkness. Al of the doors were shut except for hers and the one her mother shared with Dragos. Lexie glanced into her mom’s room. The moonlight drifted through the two hefty windows giving off a stil glow. The large four poster bed sat empty; its mauve comforte
r in place with an assortment of
decorative pil ows. The rocking chair with an angelic little porcelain dol sat in the corner beside the bureau with her mother’s ceramic picture frames ful of memories.
It was too perfect; the whole house was, and she was just realizing it now. It was a guise and she was the
unsuspecting fool who had not seen through it. The caring widower with sons, who longed for a wife, came along just in time to sweep Ruby off her feet and transplant the family in Maine. Like a spider’s web, the trap was careful y
placed, and it was too late.
Lexie went into her room and closed the door behind her.
If she only had her slide lock, she would have latched it just the same. Glancing around the room, she saw it was
untouched. She bent down and checked under the bed.
Relieved she was alone -
she stripped off her saturated clothing and pul ed on a dry pair of jeans and a sweatshirt before raking her hair up into a ponytail.
She needed to be able to move freely if she had to fight them.
The house stil seemed too quiet. The guys were usual y making al sorts of noise as if silence was offensive. Lexie felt her panic returning.
What if I’m too late?
Looking out her window, she scanned the lawn and tree line for signs of movement. She thought she saw something
dark move among the trees, but couldn’t be sure. She had always hated that her room faced the rear of the house overlooking the
driveway and trees rather than the prettier front lawn. Now she resented it’s obscurity more than ever.
Glancing at her alarm clock, she decided she’d better get moving. There was nothing in her room she could use for self-defense, but she was determined to not waste any
more time.
The floor plan of the old house, with its adjoining bedrooms, was unlike her condo. At first, having another door that opened into her sister’s room was an irritant, because she didn’t want El a to take her things whenever she felt
Fate Fixed Page 16