by Susan Arden
“They’re not the usual marauding group. They’re weakened. In this nasty form. I can’t piece together what in blue blazes has happened to them. What do you know about this? And don’t BS me.”
They were traveling away from the center of downtown, and the sky appeared ready to open up. Could she trust Quinn? Enough to share the part of her life she’d kept secret. A Lycan could prove a formidable ally. Or a dreadful enemy.
She put aside the thoughts tearing up her insides. “They’ve succumbed to a blight. It has stolen their ability to appear beautiful. The only form is unattractive. They smell even worse than they look. Decomposing.”
“That makes sense,” he said. “It’s been decades since I’ve run into one. And now, a slew. There’s bound to be more.”
For twenty-five years she’d successfully avoided doing anything that would draw attention to herself. Then one small child skirmeter had tricked her and now the world was turning upside down. Fae openly appearing on the streets of Denver. Christ, she had to get to the shield.
From what the High Priestess said, she wasn’t the only one to fall prey to Dark Fae tactics. How many cities were affected? One never knew. The High Priestess played a cool hand in all things spellcaster. The High Priestess might have her winged special forces on the way this very moment ready to haul her in for a full-blown inquisition.
“Are you okay?” Quinn reached over to shake her. “We need to leave the city.”
“I agree. I heard from the High Priestess. Back at the office.”
“And I take it that’s not the norm.”
She laughed all of a sudden. “Very right. She’s the head honcho and doesn’t call round for idle conversation. You said we need to talk.”
“Feels like we’re going to be in this car for a while.”
“Quinn, I’ve done something incredibly stupid.” She spoke in a suffocated whisper unable to look him in the eye.
“Let’s head to my house. It’s not far. About twenty miles outside the city. Do you want me to drive?”
She glanced over to him. “I don’t think we should go someplace either of us is known.”
“Trust me. No one knows about this place. I bought it as an investment, intending on leasing it. High end. Thing is fully stocked.”
“Anyone there?” she asked.
“It’s empty. Won’t have tenants for a few weeks.”
“Key in the address… On second thought, tell me the directions.”
“Again, how about I drive? Sherry, be sensible. Are you worried about insurance?”
“Not at a time like this. I just prefer to maintain control.” By the time the heater had warmed the inside of her car, she’d worked to rebuild the parts of her personality that had deteriorated into an emotional mess. On the outside she wanted to exhibit no emotion. Nothing that would get her into more trouble.
Quinn stroked her arm. “You can be in control. I’m only talking about driving during apocalyptical weather.”
“I need to drive. It’ll be easier when we talk.”
“Fine by me. Get on the interstate.” He swung his gaze away from her and out the passenger window. Then without warning, he stared back at her. “What did you do?”
Sherry met his heated gaze without flinching. Hours before his kiss had melted her insides, but she couldn’t afford another unraveling. She needed to keep up a buffer, one that conjurers could weave as a personal safeguard. Slowly, she focused enough energy to form invisible armor around her emotions.
A low growl emanated from Quinn as soon as she warded herself. “What in Sam Hill are you doing?”
“Nothing. Why?”
“Bollocks. I can feel your life force recede. Don’t. I need to stay connected to you if only to know your whereabouts. Are you thinking of teleporting or whatever it is you like to do to escape me?”
“I’m not. It’s just I don’t want to lose self-control. You want to drive, well take over.”
“Oh, and when we exit the car to exchange places, you just suddenly disappear? Is that how this is going down?”
“I give you my word. I won’t leave you.” There was no sense in trying to pretend. Quinn had Lycan shifter instincts to the max. Totally intact.
Another slip on her part.
This had been madness to think she could insulate herself from him. Quinn stood well over six feet, and was one of the most dangerous men she’d ever come into contact with, nothing shabby about that pronouncement. At the Den she came into contact with hundreds of male shifters, each one strong in his own right, but with Quinn his strength lay in his innate abilities as well as the physical. Moses, she did not have to think too hard on that score. He’d proven his body was a lean, mean, fighting machine when he’d pressed her up against her desk.
He crossed his arms over his chest. “I trust you. I don’t know why, but I do. How about the same from you?”
“I’ve never done anything to prove otherwise. This is all new. And difficult. I feel exposed.”
“You’ve still not answered the question. Maybe that is key. Your ability to evade.”
Or was it because he could hear the triple time beat of her heart and knew she’d not be able to get into position to do more than moan at this rate. His glowing, hypnotic eyes tore into her. Without saying another word, he knocked aside the shield with his own animalistic force.
“Conversely, I’m wide open,” she said.
“How did you manage it? If you don’t do the disappearing act routinely?”
“I’ve done nothing. It was your own volition.”
“Then what about my other volitions?” He stroked his fingers up her arm. His hand came to rest along her neck. His thumb moved up and down along her skin, releasing tingles and pooling lust, making her bite her lip, wanting to curl up in his arms and put aside the craziness being raining down. “Doll, you can trust me.”
“It’s not that I don’t want to.” Impossible to contradict him when his touch unleashed skittering jolts of pleasure coupled with a wild desire to throw her arms around him. Could this get any better? In the middle of a Dark Fae crossing and a springtime blizzard, her only thoughts were on sex? His hand moved and cupped her chin.
“This isn’t some weird perverted want for a quickie. You mean something to me. And if anything is to happen between us, then it should go both ways. Do you understand any of this?”
“It sounds far-fetched.”
“There’s one way to find out. Then we’ll be assured without a doubt.”
“Quinn, I won’t argue the impact you have on me is palpable.” She sat a breath away from Quinn’s unchecked sexual energy and in that moment, she understood what it meant to have him as her guardian. Lycan weren’t wild creatures. “I also know Lycans possess a reputation for astounding self-control.”
“Erotic appetites do not equate with hairbrained.” There was a trace of laughter in his voice.
“Hard to make heads or tails of why you spend your evenings at the Den then.” She looked down. Quinn possessed deep-seated control over himself in numerous ways, except the way he managed his evenings.
“You seek the means to trust me, then here’s something I’ve never told another soul. I’ve been plagued for so long with nightmares. Not the usual bad dreams. It’s one dream. Every night. The same dream. It has changed little. But each time there is a change, it comes as a foreboding.”
“That sounds strange, but not grounds for Ripley’s”
“Sherry, you are in my dream.”
“What?” she asked caught off guard. “As in recently?”
“I don’t really remember the dream except for a few moments after waking. That is until today. Kissing you unlocked it. It’s been you. All these years. For longer than you’ve lived.”
She merely stared at him, tongue-tied by shock. She swung her gaze back to the highway. Icy fear twisted lashed around her chest. “You’re spot on. I think you should drive. And I trust y
ou.”
Quinn Rothschild, IV was her Lycan. The being charged with guarding her. In turn, she would have to submit to him. In every way possible. These Lycan guardians were sexual predators and their mates seductive. Sensually gifted.
“What are you thinking?” he asked.
“There has to be a mistake. A Lycan is paired with a woman who… can deal with your needs,” she whispered. Her blood pounded and her face grew hot as she envisioned nights spent with someone as experienced as Quinn.
“No mistake. No error. And never would I let you escape me now that I’ve found you. You are my one concern. Every minute of every day going forward. Mine. I won’t let whatever has crossed get to you.”
His contained fury seemed galvanized by his assertion that he’d protect her. A lethal hunter first, combined with the skills of a highly trained fighter. One who, if the passion blazing in his eyes was any indication, would send the Dark Fae back to hell and beyond. And once they were eradicated, he’d come for her. Expect her to satisfy his hunger.
“I don’t think I’m the woman for you.”
What in the hell did she mean, not the woman?
Quinn walked Sherry around to the passenger side of the car, tucking her inside, and then lingered by adjusting the seatbelt over her lap.
“Told you I wasn’t going to disappear.” She smirked and he very much wanted to brush mouth across those lovely lips.
Quinn tapped her lightly on the nose. “After today, I’m not willing to take a chance.”
He returned to the driver’s seat ready to resume their exodus from LoDo.
“You’re not like most humans, I’ll give you that. Even a spellcaster still contains human reactions when faced with shifters and vampires. I’ve never noticed uncertainty on your part. It’s more like embarrassment.” Most humans reacted to the shifter undercurrent more often with fear. Sherry faced them with cool detachment as if she were the one—without question—in charge.
“That’s not it. I’m at a disadvantage here. In this type of union. Lycan and spellcaster.”
“But not spellcaster and Dark Fae? As in them coming for you.”
“No,” she said quickly. She just sat there, cool as a cucumber and put aside that she was at a distinct disadvantage in the presence of a creature who easily could overpower her. Destroy her and the world. But with him, she was unnerved.
“You didn’t seem perturbed by me before. Now that I swear to protect you, you act like you’d rather go it alone. Jesus, I’ve never been a problem at the club.”
“That’s shifter stuff. Look, it boils down to my work. By day, I’m at the club dealing with the needs of shifters who really don’t show up until it’s your turn.”
“I’ve seen you contain some rowdy leopards in your support group not to mention a pack of horny wolves.”
“I’ve plenty of help, like Sonya. But it’s different. They aren’t you.”
“So out of control shifters are preferable?”
“That’s not what I meant.”
Sherry had a support group for single wolves that met regularly at the club. Many were alpha wolves who tested limits and weren’t interested in being indoctrinated into the human dating realm and there was a waiting list. He had cautioned her countless times that once a werewolf had shifted into wolf form, it was the primal instinct that drove the creature, and she needed to take care. Maybe that info finally had sunk in and she thought he might hurt her.
“I’d never hurt you. Ever. Human or Lycan.”
She stared at him from the other side of the car and shrugged. “I can hold my own. With most creatures. Not all.” It was the same thing she’d said a hundred times.
“Truthfully, even with the Fae?” He maintained a silky smooth tone.
“That’s another problem. They are a world different. Have you ever come into contact with beings before today who wanted to harm you?”
“Some. Sherry, you and I need to lay it all out there. What happened? You know something.”
“Okay. Fine. I was sent here to Denver to man a post. There are lines of energy all over the world, ley lines. A force field that prevents Fae, Dark and Light from entering our world. Spellcasters are in charge of maintaining the force field. Every so often there are small tears. Like a rip in material. With incantations and magick we repair the tears.” She glanced down, fiddling with her hands in her lap. “There was a breach. It’s my fault, Quinn.”
“Together we will figure out a solution. But a small tear. I don’t think it explains why we’re suddenly attracted.”
She coughed. “On that issue. Still, I’m not like the females you’re accustomed to spending the evening with and there’s got to be a mistake.”
“No.” His voiced hardened. He couldn’t help it. “You’re the one.”
Every word this woman issued caressed him and he, in turn, spoke to her. Their mutual scents were saturating the air with pheromones. It was uncommon for him to be turned on by a human, and to this extent never had happened. And dammit, initially she reacted just as excited in his presence. Now she was nervous as a cat. He’d never seen her this discombobulated. She talked about Dark Fae as though placing her order for fast food, but each time he mentioned him being her guardian, she came undone.
“Look at me.” He gazed over at her, waiting for her to lift her incredible eyes. “Do you want my protection?”
Topaz eyes met his. “Yes.”
“Is it a matter of trust?”
She shook her head. “I’m leaving the city and traveling to your home. I trust you. Completely.
“Then what is it? Tell me. Sherry, before today we could discuss anything and you had no issue with putting me in my place.”
“Oh God. Quinn, I don’t date around.”
“So. I already know that.” Her face turned bright pink, color flushing her cheeks. Oh, he had shit for brains. She was trying to tell him… “Don’t worry. The things you probably heard are just stupid.”
“Really. You’re upstairs every night of the week. Uh, I probably know more than you think about your experience.”
“Please, it had more to do with the dreams. Sherry, they were disturbing.”
“But they had me in them.”
“Love, I know. I’m well aware and that’s why you need my help. Guardians only appear when there’s extreme danger about to befall.”
Her face paled. The crimson staining drained from her skin as though she finally understood the danger she was in had to do with the Dark Fae. “The High Priestess spoke of the Fates. Do you know what I think?”
He raised a brow. “Go on. I’m intrigued.” The wolf inside him stirred. For years he’d vacillated between his Lycan or humanoid forms. Sherry captivated the very primal nature within him now that his guardian form had been freed. Both man and wolf desired the woman, and in ways that contradicted each other’s reasons. All at once he wanted to caress her, kiss her… and bite her. Mount her and ride her until she screamed his name. It was a joining together that would bind her to him and make his ability to protect her that much easier. They’d have telepathic access to one another.
“Great. Danger and danger. This is exactly fighting fire with a firestorm. I’m not certain how you’re going to protect me… from something inside me.”
“As your protector, I will guard you from all harm. But there’s is only one route to that union. If you’d like to take the romantic route, by all means, love. You do understand, the result is the same in so far as us. And don’t underestimate the danger.”
“So I guess that week bet is off.” Color rose in her cheeks.
“I’ll gladly do anything you’d like but we don’t have the time to wait. If you want to use that as ammunition to believe I’m untrustworthy, then I’ll have to learn to earn your trust… starting the moment after we mate.
She swallowed. “We made that bet blindly. I can’t hold you to it.”
“Thank you. Will you g
ive me a chance?”
“Since, as you said, this isn’t going to be easy for you, we both need a chance to get to know one another. We’re joining forces. I’ll have your back and you mine.”
“Good try.” He smiled as he took an exit and they traveled onto a smaller highway. She nearly appeared as cunning as a wolf in her platonic agreement that she offered. He countered, “My bed tonight. Or no deal. We don’t have time to play games.”
She slid her gaze up and down his body, as though she were searching for a weak spot. “The High Priestess has an emissary of fleet footed guards. They’re more than likely in route.”
“So you’re all set then. Protectors abound.” Amused by Sherry’s attempt to outmaneuver him, he sought to appear disinterested in lieu of chasing after her. Clearly, she was unnerved. The wolf in him hunkered down as though in wait of prey.
“Not exactly.” She shrugged. “Are you certain there aren’t some sort of tests that could be conducted to determine if we are a match?”
“Affirmative.” He caught sight of the sky in the rearview mirror. He checked out the sky. Things were getting darker. This was the first time he’d been out to the property in weeks. “I’m very sure.”
“I’m not.”
“We need to get ahead of the storm,” he said, stepping on the gas pedal and forcing the car to reach ninety miles an hour. At this rate they’d be ahead of the storm if he held steady. “So much for trust. You need some sort of test?”
Enthusiastically, Sherry grabbed hold of his arm. “Where can we obtain one?”
“Tonight,” he began. “When I undress you and make love to you. Afterwards, we’ll have no doubts.”
He expected her to unleash her exasperation upon him. Nothing. Sherry folded her all too human hands in her lap as a shiver passed through her body. Was this the fear typical of her race? He’d never really been sure what the moment would be like when he found his mate. But this… concerted dread as though he were more dangerous than Dark Fae was polar to anything he’d expected.