by Iris Abbott
Lucian had been afraid too. Not for himself, but at the thought of Jessica on the run by herself. He would have found her, no matter how long it took. Now that she was in his life, he wasn’t going to be able to let her go. He buried a hand in her hair and brought her lips to his. It was a kiss meant to claim.
Claim was exactly what his cat was screaming at him to do. He nipped at her bottom lip and thrust his tongue inside. The sweet taste of Jessica filled his mouth. He was driven by a wild and untamable need to possess. He dragged his lips away from hers. His mouth went straight to the delicate spot where neck meets shoulder. He liked it. It was salty and sweet at the same time. He lightly grazed his teeth across the exposed skin.
Jessica’s moan was all the encouragement he needed to plunge forward. He sucked the flesh into his mouth and lightly bit down. It was a bite mark to let the entire paranormal world know she belonged to him. And it was the first step to making her his mate.
Jessica felt his teeth sink into her sensitive skin. The sensation it caused was bittersweet and bordered the fine line between unbearable pleasure and pain. She arched her back and bucked her hips into his body. A loud clearing of someone’s throat brought her back to Earth with a thud.
Lucian lifted his head and hissed at the intrusion. Jessica loosened her grip and tried to get down, but he tightened his hold and refused to let her go. Finally the red-hot haze of passion cleared from his mind and he recognized Brianna. She was standing there with a smug smile on her lips and a knowing look in her eyes.
“You forget my presence so easily these days old friend,” she teased. “I should be insulted, but under the circumstances let me just say that I am thrilled for both of you.” She clapped her hands together in front of her. She beamed so much she practically glowed. “I just knew the two of you would hit it off, and apparently I was right!”
Jessica was beyond mortified. She had completely forgotten that they were not alone when they’d started ravishing each other. She buried her head in the side of Lucian’s neck. She knew her face would be almost as red as her hair about right now. Obviously these two knew each other. That made the situation even more embarrassing.
Lucian loosened his hold on Jessica and let her slide down the length of his body. He wasn’t going to let her move away however. His possessive streak was at an all-time high thanks to his feelings for Jessica and it probably wouldn’t be leveling off anytime soon. He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her into his side.
He was actually glad Brianna was there. She was the only one he trusted with Jessica’s safety other than himself of course. He tossed a set of keys to Brianna. “Please take Jessica to my house and wait with her until I return. Phillip is on his way over and I need to have a private discussion with him.” He glanced briefly at the prone man who was now nothing more than a lifeless piece of garbage to be disposed of.
“Need to take out the trash do you?” Brianna gave him a smirk. She knew that look. Guardians were a fierce lot. They dispensed justice harshly and quickly when it was warranted. The penalty for threatening the life of a guardian or his mate was always death. The assassin had sealed his fate when he crashed into Jessica’s room with a loaded weapon.
“Don’t worry I’ll protect her with my life. I will have my granddaughter Brittany meet us at your estate. They will enjoy each other’s company.” She sent Lucian a pointed look. “And I have something that I must share with the two of them.”
Lucian understood that look. The DNA results must have come back and there was a match. He nodded his understanding. “So be it,” he agreed. “Just take care, Brianna.”
Jessica hated that they were talking around her. “Hey,” she looked back and forth between the two of them. “I’m right here and this is my fault. I know it is, so I want to know what you’re going to do about him. And I need to leave Enigma. It’s not safe for me here. It’s not safe for anyone while I’m here. You have to know that when this man doesn’t make contact with whoever hired him someone else will come for me.” She buried her head in her hands. “This is never going to be over.”
“I have all the information I need to put a stop to the threat against your life. And that will happen sooner rather than later.” He gently used a finger to lift her chin. Then he cradled her head between his hands. “Your home is here with me. I will always keep you safe.” He leaned closer and brushed his lips across hers. “I’ll return to you as soon as I can, sweetheart.”
Jessica thought about arguing with Lucian, but she was coming down from an adrenaline rush and her body was starting to lag. She could use a good nap and it wouldn’t be happening in this room. She trusted Lucian and she trusted Brianna. She stood on tiptoe and gave Lucian another kiss. “You better come back. I’ll be counting the minutes until I see you again,” she promised.
She gave the man on the floor one last look. A shudder ripped through her body. She was definitely ready to get out of there. She glanced at Lucian over her shoulder and then Brianna was hustling her out of the room, down the stairs, and to a parking lot near Witch’s Brew.
****
Lucian hadn’t been exaggerating when he’d called his place an estate. It was surrounded by thick woods and large iron gates. And it was the only house for miles around. Brianna’s granddaughter was waiting for them when they arrived. The resemblance in appearance between the two younger women could not be missed. Make a few minor changes and Jessica could be looking in a mirror. They both gave each other a wary look, before turning to Brianna for an explanation.
Brianna unlocked the door, pushed a few buttons on the keypad by the door, and ushered the two younger women inside. When all three were settled she launched into an explanation. “Jessica, you are my great niece.”
Jessica and Brittany both started throwing out questions. Brianna silenced them with a raise of her hand and an unyielding look. They both stopped talking immediately. Brianna proceeded to tell them everything she knew about Jessica and her disappearance including the murder of her immediate family. She finished with a confession of the DNA test and its results.
Jessica wanted to believe that these people were her family. After all she could feel the thin connection between them. But where have they been the past twenty-seven years? She frowned and furrowed her brows. “Why did you suspect we were related? Is it because I look so much like Brittany?”
“Partially,” Brianna agreed. She gave Jessica a serious look. “I have to be frank with you. Please keep an open mind about what I’m getting ready to share with you. Jessica, you come from a long line of very powerful witches. I felt your presence as soon as you entered Enigma. I tracked you down and observed you from a distance. I had my suspicions about your identity, so when you came into the shop I picked up a few pieces of stray hair from the costume you tried on.”
“Why didn’t you just ask me? Not that I could have been of any help, I know nothing about my real family. Was my mother a witch too?”
“Your mother’s powers were growing stronger each year. I think that’s why she was murdered. Someone in the coven here tried to murder me a couple of years ago. I played dead and stayed hidden for a long time thanks to Lucian. Later we were able to take down the witch that was responsible. I believe she was also responsible for the murder of Brittany’s parents as well as yours. Someone must have been able to whisk you off to safety, but under the circumstances everyone thought you were dead.”
“Witches?” It was so farfetched, but Jessica couldn’t find it in herself to be shocked or surprised. That trusted intuition of hers was telling her it was all true. And it sort of explained her sharpened senses and awareness of everything around her.
Brittany spoke up for the first time. “I’m so glad you found your way back home to us. And don’t let the word witch scare you. You’ll get used to the idea soon enough. We’ll help you. I can’t wait for us to get to know each other. I want you to join my coven too. You’ll love Julie and Selena!”
She gave Brittany a
huge smile of thanks. “I actually met them at the Halloween party. They were wonderful to me. They made me feel right at home.”
She remembered the instant and undeniable attraction she’d felt for Lucian. She turned to Brianna. “What about Lucian? Is he a witch or wizard?”
Brianna and Brittany both glanced at the visible bite mark on Jessica’s shoulder. Brianna gave Brittany a subtle shake of her head. “No honey, Lucian is not a witch or even a wizard. He’s more, but exactly what, you’ll have to discuss with him.”
Jessica accepted the explanation even though it left her with more questions than answers. She shifted the conversation back to her long lost family. “I was found abandoned near Sedona. Do you know anyone there?” She briskly rubbed her hands over her face just to make sure she wasn’t dreaming. This was a lot for anyone to take in and she was already under a lot of stress.
“Not personally, but Sedona is home to the second strongest coven in the country. It was probably no coincidence that you ended up there of all places. I’m sure whoever whisked you away had ties to the paranormal community,” she shrugged. “They may have thought you would be taken in by the coven there.”
Brianna took a deep breath. “You know, I still have your mother’s personal effects. I’ve kept them all these years. I couldn’t bear to part with them. There’s photos, jewelry, letters, diaries, all sorts of stuff. I’d be more than happy to go through those things with you. You may keep any or all of it that you want. I’d also be happy to tell you all I remember about your mom and dad. They were such wonderful people, and they loved you very much.”
Tears threatened to spill and Jessica blinked really hard a few times to keep them at bay. She was speechless. But she found she didn’t have to say anything. Brittany and Brianna both rushed over to her and the three women embraced each other in a group hug. Finally Jessica knew what it felt like to have family. It gave her high hopes for a future that once looked very bleak. The only thing that kept this moment from being perfect was Lucian’s absence.
SIX
Lucian would have preferred to take care of this threat to Jessica on his own. He wasn’t a security systems expert though, and that’s how he found himself sitting in a surveillance van with Justin Gannon. Security was the Gannon family business after all. And Justin was a computer genius. In exactly five minutes Justin was going to cut into the security camera feeds in a maximum security prison and loop previous taped footage for ten minutes.
Ten minutes was such a short amount of time. But it was going to be long enough to free Jessica for the rest of her life. The risk was minimal for someone with Lucian’s capabilities, but any risk of exposure for the paranormal community was a danger to be taken seriously. It was Lucian’s job to weigh the dangers versus the rewards. It was no contest as far as he was concerned. He wanted to build a relationship and a life with Jessica. He had already marked her as his. He had to do this. And with Justin’s expertise and help, the risk of exposure for the paranormal community was practically nil.
Lucian called forth the magic inside him. The air around him shimmered and then the man was gone. A rather large domestic black cat now stood in his place. Justin watched the transformation with equal parts fascination and envy.
Wolf shifters went through an actual physical change that got less painful with time, but was nonetheless still uncomfortable. The guardian’s change was fueled by inner magic gifted from the gods and goddesses of ancient Egypt. It was as seamless as it was painless. There was a tradeoff though Justin reminded himself. His wolf was a lean, mean, fighting machine. Guardian’s had to fight in human form. The cat was for stealth and getting into tight spots, like say a maximum security prison.
Justin opened the side door of the van and the cat jumped out. Lucian found a small hole under the perimeter fence and wiggled his way through. He skirted the outside of the prison grounds. A few people saw him and did a double take, but not too many people paid attention to the stray black cat wandering the prison grounds.
Guards were coming and going. The black cat slipped through a crack in the door behind someone entering the prison. Thanks to Justin’s research he knew exactly where to go. The drug lord he was looking for, the one who had put a two million dollar price on Jessica’s head was four hallways and six cells down. He was in an individual cell and was only allowed out for one hour a day. Thanks to Justin and his computer skills Lucian knew that hour didn’t come until later.
His claws clicked against the cold tile floor as he ran toward his destination. Just because he looked like a house cat didn’t mean he couldn’t defend himself if provoked. He still carried the mind and will of a guardian. His feline claws and teeth could do serious damage if he found himself in trouble. Luckily he made it to the drug lord’s cell without incident.
His internal clock told him it had taken him six minutes to reach his destination. That meant he had about nine minutes left to finish the job and get out of the prison. He peered through the metal bars. His target was alive and breathing, but not for long.
The man who owned all of Lucian’s contempt for the moment was stretched out on a cot. He looked up when he felt another presence. He was surprised to see a black house cat staring him down. The yellow eyes were so intense they almost glowed with emotion. And if anyone had been able to ask the prisoner later he would have said that the cat had a searing stare that looked right through him.
“Never did like cats,” the man muttered. A shiver snaked down his spine, because he knew a predator when he saw one. There was something about this cat that wasn’t quite right.
And never trust a human who doesn’t like cats, Lucian almost purred the words to himself. He slipped through the bars and then right before the drug lord’s eyes he transformed into a well-honed killing machine that was intent on dispensing justice.
The man’s eyes bugged out of his head. Surely the cat hadn’t just transformed into a man. Someone must have let the assassin slip into the cell block and he had been too distracted by the stupid cat to notice. He jumped up in an attempt to defend himself, but he knew he’d gone soft over the years and there was nothing soft about the man that stood in front of him.
The prisoner knew he was staring death in the face, but he had to make an effort. “Whatever you’re being paid, I can top it if you just leave the same way you came.” The man knew even as he said the words that the bribe wouldn’t work. “At least tell me why I’m going to die.”
“I could probably give you two million reasons, but the only one you need to know is an architect named Jessica.” Lucian swiftly moved forward. It only took one powerful blow to the side of the man’s head, and then one sharp twist of the neck to end it all.
Lucian took a few seconds to shake off the negative energy associated with a kill. There was a higher purpose to what he did and he would never regret taking a life in order to protect others. After all it was why the guardians had been created. Then in the blink of an eye the man was gone, replaced with a cat.
Lucian slunk through the bars and back the way he had come. He made it to the van with two minutes to spare. Justin backed his program out of the prison’s security system and the two men returned to the private airstrip and Gannon Security’s private jet.
Later when guards found the body of the drug lord, a few people recalled seeing a stray black cat. Nobody thought it held any connection to the assassin who had somehow found his way into a maximum security prison and ended the life of one of the most dangerous thugs in North America.
****
Jessica stifled a yawn. It was getting late, but she was determined to wait up for Lucian. He’d called long enough to say her nightmare was finally over and that he was coming home to her. That had been a couple of hours ago. And while she’d really enjoyed getting to know Brittany and Brianna, she wanted Lucian. She couldn’t wait to wrap her arms around him and know that he was there and both of them were safe. The bite mark Lucian left on her earlier began to tingle. She absently rubbed
it.
The front door swung open and suddenly Lucian was there in her sights. She started running and didn’t stop until she was in his arms. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Brianna and Brittany wave goodbye and slip out the front door. As quickly as that they were forgotten and the burning passion between Lucian and Jessica took over.
Lucian backed her into the closed door. His swollen erection pressed against her heated mound. She rubbed against him and both of them let out tortured moans of desire. They had only been separated for hours, but it felt like days. “Need you now,” she unbuttoned his jeans. “Can’t wait,” she pulled down the zipper.
Lucian used his upper body strength to push her into the door. “Hold on,” he rasped. He shoved his jeans and underwear down below his knees. His erection sprang free and Jessica moaned at the sight. They fit well together and she couldn’t wait to feel the stretching burn of his erection completely filling her.
She wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her head in the curve of his neck and shoulder. She licked a spot of bare flesh and lightly sucked it inside her mouth. That took the last bit of restraint Lucian owned. He grabbed the waistband of her sweat pants and panties and yanked them down just far enough to bare the gate to unrivaled bliss.
He cupped her hips between his strong capable hands. He guided her lower body toward his waiting and straining erection. Then he eased his body inside of hers.
Jessica used her leg muscles to squeeze his lower back and pull him in deeper. “Feels good, so good,” she whispered. She arched her back and rotated her hips and joined Lucian in the journey to total satisfaction.
After they both reached the peak of pleasure, Lucian gracefully stepped out of his pants and carried her upstairs. He was still sheathed inside her body and every step was a jolt to the sensitive feminine nerves being caressed by Lucian’s body. By the time they reached the bedroom, Lucian was fully erect again. “Umm, I’m definitely going to love your stamina and short recovery time,” she purred.