Lure of the Blood (12 page)

She dropped her eyes, uncomfortable under his
silent scrutiny. What was wrong with him now?

****

Ion released the breath he’d been holding
slowly, willing his feet to move forward. She looked so lost and small in the
tattered remains of his bedcovers and he grimaced stepping over her torn
dress.  He’d done exactly what he’d sworn he wouldn’t do. He had lost control.
Ion flinched at the thought of how many times he had taken advantage of her
soft body last night. Admittedly, she had seemed with him every step of the
way, her passionate responses driving his wolf wild, but she had to be hurting
this morning. The way Marnie dropped her eyes tore at his soul, and he
approached the bed slowly, putting the tray on the nightstand.

“I thought you could do with something to eat
after…”

The soft hands, exploring his injured side with
a shocked gasp, brought him up short.

He’d all but forgotten about the wound, but it
seemed Marnie hadn’t.

Worried chocolate eyes looked up at him and she
tugged on his jeans pockets impatiently, gesturing for him to sit down.

“Come down here so I can look at that. I don’t
understand. I’m sure that was much worse last night.” His skin burned
underneath the tentative exploration of her hands and his wolf growled low at
the sight of her exposed breasts, covered in a fine red rash, the sheet she had
been clutching to herself forgotten for the moment. The mark of his possession
pleased his wolf no end and at his louder growl, Marnie’s hands froze. She
blushed, realising where his gaze rested and he chuckled at the speed with
which she yanked that sheet up, embarrassment radiating off her in waves.

“I have seen them before, my sweet.”

Her blush deepened as he leaned into her
personal space, tucking the sheet back down, and she tried in vain to slap his
hand away. “It was dark then and we, well…”

Her voice trailed off on a shuddery exhale,
when he let his knuckles graze her nipples and he couldn’t help but lean in
closer still. “You forget that wolves have excellent night vision.”

Her mouth formed a silent O at that comment and
protectiveness warred with a surge of raw lust as she bit her bottom lip
self-consciously. Jeez, how the fuck was he supposed to keep his hands off her
when she did that? She clearly had no idea what a turn-on that was.  “Don’t,
little one; you’ll hurt yourself. I will have to kiss you senseless if you keep
doing that.”

Her eyes widened at his drawled words. She
smiled and deliberately bit into her bottom lip, leaning into him.

“Stop distracting me. What happened to your
injuries?”

“I told you, it was just a scratch. We heal
fast, especially after fabulous sex. It energises us.”

Why she should find that comment amusing was
beyond him, but she clearly did. Her soft giggles washed over him, breaking the
tension in the air. Some of his doubts and worries lifted off his shoulders as
he watched the rise and fall of her shoulders. His own lips twitched in
response to the bright smile she now gave him.

“Sorry, but you have to admit that’s funny.
Big, bad wolves being recharged like Energizer bunnies.”

“Are you comparing me to a rabbit?”

Instead of an answer Marnie giggled louder,
tears of mirth streaming down her face. Every time she looked at Ion, she
laughed harder. What was so damn funny? He was the alpha of his pack, yet this
little human was laughing at him as though she couldn’t care less about that.
And damn it, he couldn’t hold it against her. It was good to see her so happy,
even at his expense. Surely she wouldn’t be so carefree, if he’d hurt her last
night. The sheet had slipped again and he scanned her luscious curves
anxiously, looking for any signs of his wolf. But apart from the rash there
weren’t any, and Ion relaxed a little more.

“Have you quite finished laughing at me?” He
tried to inject some authority into those words, but it was hard to do, when
she looked so adorably rumpled and delicious. Even his wolf simply rolled over,
enjoying her melodious laughter.

“Sorry, Ion, but if you could see your face
right now… I guess you have to be human to appreciate the rabbit. The bigger
the better, satisfaction guaranteed every time and all that…”

A light bulb came on in Ion’s head. She was
comparing him to a sex toy? The nerve of the little minx! Well, he would just
have to reiterate the fact that this wolf was no rabbit, in or out of the
bedroom.

She finally sobered when he pulled her flush
against his body, one hand under her chin, forcing her to look up into the eyes
of his wolf. He smiled when she swallowed nervously, her breathy whisper of,
”Ion?” making him hard as nails.

“Can a rabbit do this, little one?” He caught
her shriek of surprise in his mouth as he shed his jeans in one fluid move.
Pinning her to the bed, he allowed his wolf to take over.

Chapter Thirteen

Summer had started in earnest after the
rainstorms three nights ago, and Marnie blinked in the bright sunlight.  Ion
had left her in the early hours of that morning with a tender kiss, having
growled instructions to sleep in, as he would be back soon. And adding that she
must not even think of leaving, or his wolf would hunt her down.

Marnie shivered in anticipation at the mere
thought. She had gotten to know Ion’s wolf pretty well over the last three
glorious nights and days.  Who’d have thought being held prisoner could be such
an erotic experience, or how little it would bother her to be bossed about by a
domineering alpha wolf! All it took was one of his growled commands and her
body was literally putty in his hands. Never before had she been this aware of
anyone or felt such a deep connection. It was crazy, that’s what it was. She
needed to get back to her own life. It may be the summer break from Uni, but
she had revising to do and she needed to get back to dancing. She had to
support herself somehow.  And she may be sleeping with the boss, but she was
damned if she was going to be a kept woman. When she had cautiously broached the
subject with Ion yesterday, he had visibly tensed, before distracting her very
successfully. He’d disappeared this morning before Marnie had a chance to
suggest she’d go with him.

When she’d queried Jenkins as to the best way
to get back into London, he’d simply shrugged his shoulders.

“Ah, Miss Marnie, why’d you want to do that?
The boss won’t like that. You’d not want to get me into trouble, now, would
you?”

Marnie knew when not to push her luck. He may
have been smiling, but he had been unmovable and he had taken a rather peculiar
interest in her neck. Marnie had been delighted to find that Lucas’ bite marks
had finally faded. She had worn her hair up for the first time since getting
here, grateful for the slight, cooling breeze on her hot skin.

Jenkins’ eyes had narrowed, taking in her neck,
before wrenching his gaze upwards with a slight frown on his face. Every member
of Ion’s pack she had encountered since had had a similar reaction, leaving
Marnie rather confused and self-conscious.  What the heck was up with everyone?
They were friendly enough, but she could feel the tension in the air and behind
the smiles aimed at her. Even the ever-cheerful Louisa wasn’t her usual self
when she had tracked Marnie down, even though she had tried to hide it.

In the end, Marnie had sought refuge with the
youngsters. She still wasn’t entirely sure how it all worked, but from what she
could gather, the pack’s offspring were born and looked just like any other
babies, following the same developmental pattern. The only difference was their
speed and agility, which was apparent from the moment they could crawl. Ability
to shift came with puberty, when both parents were shifters. In the case of
half-breeds like Louisa, that wasn’t always true. Some of them could, others couldn’t.
Louisa apparently had the agility of the shifter, but not the actual ability to
shift.

It was all quite fascinating and Marnie had
listened to little Leah’s mum with wide eyes, grateful for the woman’s
seemingly un-ending ability to talk, especially when she too looked at her neck
quizzically.

“Ok, I’ll bite, why is everyone staring at my
neck today? Has it turned orange or something? Am I sprouting horns?”

A ridiculous notion, of course, but everything
seemed possible after what she’d learned lately. Marnie’s hands went to her
neck self-consciously as Leah’s mum’s eyes narrowed, before she smiled.

“It’s a beautiful neck, it’s just…”

“Just what?” Marnie’s exasperated shriek woke
up Leah, and the answer was forgotten in the half hour it took to calm the
little girl down. But the child eventually began to nurse, and peace was
restored.

Was there ever a more beautiful sight then
seeing a baby at her mother’s breast?  She was turning maudlin, why else would
she be sitting here staring at mother and babe with that inexplicable feeling
of longing deep inside her soul. She could not be broody, could she? Babies
were all well and good, but she was hardly in a position to entertain the
notion of having one, let alone imagine a little boy with Ion’s eyes and her smile.
Yet, when she closed her eyes that’s exactly what she saw, her hand
involuntarily straying to her abdomen, until Ion’s scent in the air alerted her
to his return.

Her eyes flew open and heat rushed to her
cheeks. Marnie hastily dropped her hand and forced her lips into a nonchalant
smile, praying like mad her earlier thoughts had not been mirrored in her face.
Ion looked tense, watching the scene in front of him, an unreadable expression
on his face. Jenkins stood behind him, wearing a silly grin, before Ion raised
an eyebrow at him and his second sobered. Still, Jenkins couldn’t resist a wink
in Marnie’s direction, earning himself a growl from Ion’s wolf. Both he and
Leah’s mum scarpered, leaving them alone in the garden.

“Seriously, Ion, you jump and they go ‘how
high’, don’t they. I’m surprised your ego is not bigger than it is.” Marnie
couldn’t help but tease him a little; he looked too tense and forbidding, just
standing, watching her through narrowed eyes. Her traitorous body was far too
aware of him.

Sure enough his slow smile was wickedness
itself, when he raised his nose and sniffed, his voice a low rumble, washing
over her. “It’s not my ego getting bigger you need to worry over, little one.”

She swallowed at the all too visible strain on
his jeans. “Missed me, then?” was her far too breathy reply, eliciting a low
growl from Ion’s wolf, before he covered the distance in one big leap and
Marnie found herself surrounded.  She melted into his hard body with a small
sigh, the feel of his hands in her hair as he inhaled deeply against her neck,
building her instant arousal another notch. If only he wasn’t so tense.

****

Had he missed her? Hell, yeah! And he was going
to show her exactly how much, just as soon as he’d told her the truth.  Lucas
was right; she needed to know. He couldn’t keep this from her any longer. When
she had stated that she wanted to get back to work, his guts had clenched and
he’d done the only thing he could do, seeking refuge in her body’s immediate
and passionate response to him.  The situation had escalated though, and Lucas
was on his way here to talk strategies, determined to set the record straight
and force the issue. Damn the vampire; if he’d cleared up after himself in the
first place, none of this would have happened.

He would be free to indulge himself with Marnie
and see where this would take them. He was all too aware of the pack’s
confusion. They had expected them to be mated after their full moon
“shag-a-thon”––as Jenkins had put it with his usual frankness––before Ion had
made it clear that Marnie was not a topic of discussion for the pack.  He
should have known she would take matters into her own hands, rather than meekly
waiting for his return. His shifter hearing had picked up the tail end of her
conversation with Leah’s mum, the minute he’d stepped out of his truck, and his
wolf had damn well almost howled in frustration. The sight of pure longing on
her expressive face when he’d rounded the corner, before she sensed his
presence and had tried to mask her feelings, had almost brought him to his
knees. She had no idea what she was asking for, and no matter how much his wolf
agreed with her, it wasn’t going to happen, ever.

Her slight wince in his arms made him loosen
his grip and he let her scent wash over him, soothing away some of the tension
he felt. Marnie’s small hands traced his chest and her whisper, “What’s wrong?
Ion, talk to me,” made him pull her tighter against him for an instant, before
he made himself step away.

She closed the gap almost immediately with a
mischievous smile, and standing on her tiptoes, kissed him lightly.

“You should smile more, Ion. Whatever it is, it
can’t be that bad. And I know something is up; the pack is restless, and if I
were given to paranoia, I’d think it was my fault. I have been getting the most
peculiar looks all day...”

“Yes, I’m afraid that’s my fault. I heard what
you asked Leah’s mum. “

Her sharp intake of breath and instant blush
did make him smile, as she narrowed her eyes, suspicion and embarrassment
evident in every line of her body.