“I’m just tired.”
“I’m taking you home, darlin’,” Samarra told her.
“That sounds good.” She climbed off her lap. “I just need to change.”
“Take your time,” Sam told her. “I’ll meet you at the door. I need to let Syd know I’m leaving.”
“What do you do here?” Adalyn asked.
“I work with the security team,” she answered and Adalyn nodded.
“That’s why you’re on the floor sometimes?” She’d wondered why Samarra had seemed to ignore her at some points in the evening and then watch her every move at others.
“Yes.” She smiled. “They have things covered though. Go change.”
“I won’t be long,” Adalyn told her and headed for the door. Sam was there just ahead of her opening it. Adalyn smiled and put her hand on Sam’s arm. “Thanks.” She stood on tiptoe and kissed her jaw. “Which door?”
There were several ways for employees to get in or out. The building was large and boasted another lounge and kitchen for sandwiches and bar food. But you’d never know it unless you walked into that part of the building. The scents of food seemed to be contained within that area.
“The side exit near the main floor,” Sam told her.
“You aren’t going to talk to Marjorie are you?”
“Yes.”
“That’s not a good idea, Samarra,” she whispered.
Sam throttled a growl. The fear in Adalyn’s eyes made her coyote want to kill, and she would kill Marjorie if she didn’t walk away.
Sam cupped her jaw. “I’m not afraid of her, darlin’,” she told her softly. “I can handle her, and she’ll wish I couldn’t if she doesn’t leave you alone.”
Adalyn rubbed her arms. It was nice to have someone’s concern. “I don’t want you to get hurt because of me.”
Samarra grinned. “That’s sweet. Now, go change so we can get out of here.”
Adalyn nodded. “Okay.”
Samarra walked Adalyn to the dressing rooms and then headed out to the floor. She hoped Marjorie was still here. Tonight, she’d give her a warning. After that, she’d go hunting.
Sam caught Syd’s eye and her friend fell into step beside her a few moments later.
“What’s up?” Syd asked not speaking over the music because coyote’s had a keen sense of hearing.
“Watch my back,” she ordered.
“You picked up the hyena scent on your girl. It did look like she was harassing her.”
Sam said nothing. She had no doubt the hyena had been harassing her. She’d seen Marjorie heading to Adalyn on the monitor in the control room before she’d sent Sydney to get Adalyn. She hadn’t intended to have Adalyn dance for her here. She wanted to take her home and make love to her in her bed again.
Smelling the faint traces of the hyena on her and picking up Adalyn’s agitation had enraged the animal and forced Sam to change course.
She tugged her wallet from her pocket as they neared the table in the VIP lounge. A dancer was giving Marjorie a lap dance. When they got to the table, Sam tucked the bill into the girl’s G-string.
“Move on, Tara,” she said coolly. The girl gave her an angry look but didn’t hesitate.
“How dare you interrupt my dance,” Marjorie snarled.
Sam put her foot on the chair between Marjorie’s legs and leaned down to her. As she did so Donna, one of Marjorie’s friends, struck out and Sydney deflected the punch deftly and growled at her in warning. The other woman snarled but didn’t make another attempt at attack.
“This is the only time I’m going to tell you to stay away from Marigold,” she said coldly. “Don’t go near her home.” Hyenas didn’t take rejection well. They often sought to teach their intended prey a lesson especially if they were weak and showed their fear as Adalyn did. So they hunted them and inflicted pain.
“You can’t tell me what to do with my own time,” Marjorie sneered.
“Effective immediately, your membership is revoked. I don’t want to see you in my club ever again,” Sam said acerbically. “Don’t stalk her.”
“Or what?” Marjorie demanded.
“I’ll rip your intestines out through your mouth.”
Marjorie bristled. “Try that shit, and we’ll kill you where you stand.”
“And then fuck your girlfriend on your dead body,” Donna chimed in with a malicious grin.
Sam pressed her foot against the cocky woman’s bulge and closed a hand around her throat before she could react. Marjorie snarled at her and pain lit her eyes. “Don’t fuck with me,” she said keeping her tone low. “And don’t fuck with my woman or this will turn deadly.”
“Really?” Daffodil challenged.
“Get your asses out. Don’t tarry or you’re all dead,” Sam told her and turned her gaze back on Marjorie.
“Whatever you say,” Marjorie answered in a choked voice. “Just get your foot off my damned dick.”
She often envied the hyena women their intersex bodies. They had the means to give a woman the kind of pleasure she couldn’t, but she recognized what a liability having a dick could be for a woman.
Sam drew her foot back slowly and Marjorie groaned. “Don’t press this issue, any of you.” Her gaze lingered on Daffodil who came here sometimes without the others. “Have them escorted out.” She gave Sydney a brief look, turned, and walked away.
An eerie laugh followed her and the coyote had her looking back. Her gaze locked with Marjorie’s and the other woman stared for a long moment. Anger glittered in her eyes and echoed in Sam. She knew the hyena wouldn’t do anything here. She had no advantage. Her attack would only end in death.
Most hyenas were vicious not stupid.
The women got to their feet and Marjorie gave her an imperceptible nod of defeat before heading for the door beneath her gaze and Sydney followed.
Chapter Fifteen
Adalyn stepped into her apartment twenty minutes later and faced Sam who closed the door behind them.
“Do you want a drink?” Adalyn was moving to the kitchen as she spoke.
“Have you eaten?” Sam asked joining her. “Since lunch I mean?”
“ I haven’t really had a chance.” She sighed.
Sam washed her hands. “Let’s see what you have.” She opened the fridge and peered inside. “How about an omelet?”
“That could work.” Adalyn poured herself a glass of wine and was about to take a sip when Sam took the glass and set it aside. “I’m not an alcoholic or anything,” she snapped reaching for the glass.
“Adalyn,” Samarra said in a warning tone. “How many did you have at work?”
“Two, but it only added up to a half glass of wine,” she muttered and took the glass. She swallowed some and sighed. “It’s been a hard day.”
“Getting harder,” Sam said glaring at her. “Help me make dinner.”
“You’re too bossy. I don’t like people trying to control me, Samarra. I’ve been on my own too long to be treated that way.”
“I was merely pointing out that you haven’t eaten, so alcohol isn’t exactly what you need.” She prepared a pan.
“You were merely putting your nose in my business.” She was a little annoyed, but she appreciated the concern. Not many of her lovers in the past had seemed to care if she drank too much or not as long as she didn’t get wasted which she never did. It left her too vulnerable to being taken advantage of.
“You are my business at the moment,” she drawled.
“I’m your lover not your child,” she muttered. “I can see why you don’t do long-term. No one sticks around long enough to be bullied.”
“You’re mean when you’re tired,” Sam muttered.
“I’m not.” Adalyn knew it was probably true, but she showed it more when she was frightened or stressed.
“I love watching you dance, but you obviously aren’t getting enough rest,” Sam said. “You should take a few days off.”
“Shut up, Sam. I can take care o
f myself.”
A growl rumbled around her, and she looked at Sam inquiringly. She expected to see that animal in her face as she’d done with Valerie.
They had the same wild energy though it wasn’t as dark as Marjorie and her friends. But where Marjorie and Valerie had frightened her, she felt no fear of Samarra.
“What was that?” Adalyn asked tentatively.
“That was me thinking you’re being a brat, but lucky for you I know how to deal with cranky babies.”
Adalyn gave her a mutinous look but didn’t say anything. She just retrieved a knife and began chopping veggies for the omelet. “Are you having some?”
“Course. That’s one of the reasons I brought you home, sweetheart. I wanted to spend time with you.”
Adalyn smiled faintly. “Even after the way I acted?” Most of her lovers in the past would get angry when she acted like this and storm out or they’d fight. Why wasn’t Samarra doing that?
“It’s part of who you are.” Sam shrugged. “I can deal but it might not be like this all the time.”
Adalyn frowned. Too bad there wouldn’t be time to really get to know Samarra. She had a feeling this was one fling she’d like to see turn into something real.
They finished preparing the meal in silence, but it was companionable. Adalyn felt as if they’d done this before and she was looking forward to doing it again when she wasn’t as tired.
“You’re right,” Adalyn said. “A long day is no excuse to drink. I think that’s how my mom became an alcoholic. She was overworked, lonely, and stressed. On top of that she had a kid to raise with no support system.”
“She was mean when she was drunk?”
“If she didn’t have a lover,” she admitted and then sighed. “She had to have someone, but I’m not like that. I can be alone.”
“Loneliness isn’t a crime,” Samarra murmured.
“I know. It just hurts so bad sometimes and it’s easier to have a glass of wine or two. But I don’t get drunk.”
Sam turned the omelet out of the pan onto a waiting plate. “Just don’t lie to yourself about what you want or need and you won’t get lost in the craziness.”
“Don’t you get lonely?” Adalyn watched her, wondering if she’d be honest.
“Sometimes that’s why I go to the club,” she said with a smile.
“With no risk of commitment,” Adalyn said airily.
“There’s a risk in everything, but what’s life without a little bit of a rush.” Sam flashed her a grin.
They sat down to their meal in the living room a few minutes later and Adalyn wished she had a table, but her apartment was just too small for a table in the kitchen. So they sat on pillows on the floor, eating at the coffee table.
“I’m going to stay the night,” Sam told her as halfway through the meal.
“S—”
“Why are you trying to get rid of me, Adalyn?”
“I’m not,” she said. “I just don’t want you to think you have to stay.”
Sam set down her fork. “We have an insatiable fascination with each other and that fascination is telling me to stay and become even more intrigued by you.” She stroked her fingers along Adalyn’s jaw. “Why do you want me to fight that?”
“I want you to be enthralled by me,” she whispered. “I want you to want me so much you can’t stand being away from me.” Her heart thumped hard, and her breath came in ragged pants as she held Samarra’s gaze. The words should never have been said, but the worst, she’d left unspoken. “I want to be your addiction.”
She wanted Sam to fall in love with her because Goddess knew she was already head over heels for her. And it wasn’t the lonely talking.
She’d gone out on a few dates since she’d been here, but one look at Samarra in the dim light of the club and everything in her wanted only Samarra. When she gave Samarra that first dance, and Samarra said her name, Adalyn’s heart leaped and her skin burned. When they touched, she went up in flames.
It could have been her suit, her sexy voice or the smoldering look in her eyes, but she was hooked and every time she saw her, she’d been drawn that much further in.
“Be careful, darlin’,” Sam murmured. “That could be very dangerous.”
“Why? Because you might fall in love with me?” Adalyn teased going for light, but her voice came out husky and thrumming with need. She couldn’t believe she’d said that. She waited for Samarra to remind her that she could never love her.
Samarra was only here because she wanted a warm and willing body.
Sam held her gaze for a long moment before saying, “Because not everything is as it seems, Addy. Some things are just an illusion.”
“Like what’s happening between us?”
“You know there’s been nothing fake about our attraction to each other from the start, darlin’, but in case you have to ask, I wouldn’t be here now if just any woman would do.”
“Then, what’s the illusion? What is it about you I should know?”
Sam gave her a contemplative stare, and she knew there was something more Samarra wanted to say. There was something she wanted to ask, but Adalyn knew she wasn’t ready to know that truth. If she heard it now, then she might not allow herself this week to indulge in her own fantasy.
“I want to fall asleep with you in my arms again, Adalyn,” Sam said.
“You are aware that stuff like that can lead to long-term relationships?” she teased and Sam laughed.
“Why don’t we just see how long we can last together?” Sam asked softly.
Adalyn smiled, her chest expanding only to tighten. Those words made her heart beat faster in anticipation, despite the reality. She had to leave in seven days if she wanted to live.
“Sounds like a good idea,” Adalyn replied.
They finished their meal and cleaned up the dishes. Adalyn headed to her bedroom leaving Samarra in the kitchen. When Sam joined her, it was with a backpack in hand. Adalyn assumed she’d gone to her car for it. When had she decided she’d stay the night?
Adalyn watched her lover strip off her clothes and pad into the bathroom in her underwear with her backpack. She wasn’t gone long and the minty scent of toothpaste followed her from the bathroom.
Adalyn smiled as Sam climbed into bed with her and Adalyn immediately went to cuddle against her side, putting her head on Samarra’s pillow.
“When did you decide you were staying?”
“This morning,” Samarra murmured.
“What made you think I would be receptive?” she asked with a frown.
“You.” Samarra looked down at her caressing Adalyn’s back.
She had no idea where Sam got that idea. She tangled her legs with Samarra’s.
“Last night was nice, but I think tonight will be nicer,” Sam said. “Holding you in my arms like this, feeling your heartbeat is as potent as your kiss.”
It was nice even sexy.
“Why did you get the tattoos? What do they mean?”
For a long time Samarra didn’t speak and Adalyn thought she wouldn’t. Maybe they had something to do with her family.
“Some of them are birthmarks,” Samarra told her. “The rest I got when I visited my great-grandfather. He’s dead now. He was a Cherokee chief.”
“He just inked you?” she asked.
“No,” She shook her head. “The markings have to be earned. I earned mine after a spirit walk. They’re power symbols, called bind runes, and they mark me as one of the gray blood.”
“What’s gray blood?” Adalyn asked curiously.
Sam smiled. “Family secret, darlin’.” She kissed the top of Adalyn’s head.
Adalyn didn’t speak she just laid there thinking about what that all might mean. Then, she lost herself in the scent clove and tangerine. She savored the warmth of Sam’s body knowing she could really lose her heart like this and it scared the hell out of her.
Chapter Sixteen
Sam woke the next morning with Adalyn curled against
her side. The weight of her was delicious and warm. Her coyote growled softly and Adalyn stirred but didn’t wake. Sam smoothed her lover’s hair back and stared down at her innocent face.
Adalyn had come into her life like a winter wind, and blown through it seeping into every corner of her without her even knowing it. Now, she was there, and Sam didn’t want to lose her. She knew three months wasn’t a lot of time for a relationship to grow especially since they hadn’t really talked until these last few days.
That was the human talking. The animal heart of her knew Adalyn by scent, by the shape of her body, and by the way she moved.
“I want you to be enthralled by me,” she whispered. “I want you to want me so much you can’t stand being away from me.”
Adalyn’s words had taken her by surprise, but hadn’t frightened her. She was enthralled by her. She did want her so much she couldn’t stand being away from her.
Again that was the animal talking. It knew there was more to the dancer than secrets and a soul hungry for love. The beast was ready to give her everything, to protect her, to kill for her, and even die for her.
“And the human half?” she whispered out loud. What of that part?
“Why? Because you might fall in love with me?”
The human part was the half that had been afraid to get involved with anyone again, especially this little dancer.
Sam slipped from the bed as carefully as she could so she didn’t disturb Adalyn. Then, she grabbed her bag and went into the bathroom to shower. The room was tiny in comparison to hers.
She’d spent the last several years carefully building a life she was content with. She’d changed women like she changed her tie. Sam had known love and it had twisted her and wrung her dry. Or had it? Her heart beat fast every time she saw Adalyn.
She showered and climbed out and moisturized deciding to leave her hair damp. She ran a towel through it and dressed in navy suit pants and teamed it with a crisp white shirt and red silk scarf she knotted loosely around her neck.
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