Authors: Doris O'Connor
“Let’s see how brave you are away from the
bouncers, eh? You owe me, you whore! You lot think you can parade yourselves
in front of me all night and not pay the price. Well, think again. I’m taking
what’s mine, right now! I paid enough for it.”
Oh, good lord.
Spots danced in front of her eyes with the lack of oxygen and the cool night
air hit her skin when he ripped her coat open with alcohol-fuelled strength.
“No, please…” Marnie’s agonised whisper was
lost in the manic laugh of her assailant. She screwed her eyes shut as his hand
travelled down her body, cupping her sex in a painful grip.
The whoosh of air and the low male growl were
the only warning–– before she even managed to draw much-needed air into her
lungs, her attacker went flying through the air. Another blur, and the
sickening sounds of tearing flesh, crunching bones and the fluid-filled gurgle
of her attacker filled the alley. When she finally managed to get her breathing
under control, the stillness was deafening and the cool hand under her chin
made her gasp.
Moss-green eyes in a face as pale as the moon
were boring into her, the dark brows a stark contrast to the luminous skin
under the slightly unruly mob of jet black hair. The man towered over her and
she swallowed nervously, taking in the width of those enormous shoulders and
the ribbed muscles she could feel pressing against her bare skin, where his
body was holding her up against the wall.
Her skin warmed where his eyes roamed briefly
over her exposed torso, before he stepped back and pulled her coat firmly
around her.
“Steady, chere. I’ve got you. He’s not going to
bother you again. Can you walk?”
The deep, slightly accented voice sent all her
nerve endings a-tingle and awareness slammed into her with the full force of a
sledgehammer.
“Wh…who are you?”
“Lucas de Torneau, at your service. Now, let’s
get you home.”
Before Marnie could say anything else, the
mysterious stranger cupped her face in his hands and she lost herself in the
deeply hypnotic quality of those moss-green eyes, the strange warmth spreading
through her body a direct contrast to the coolness seeping from his skin.
“Sleep, mon chere, and when you wake up, you
will not remember this.”
Chapter Two
The insistent hammering against the door of her
tiny flat
finally broke through Marnie’s sleep-fogged
brain.
What the hell?
Ellie’s almost hysterical shriek, accompanying
the hammering, did little to help the pounding in her head.
“For the love of God, are you in there? Open
the goddamn door, Marnie. Marnie! Oh please, God, you’ve got to be ok. Marnie!”
Sheesh, what had gotten into her? Pulling the
covers back, Marnie was shocked to discover she was naked. She never slept in
the nude… and why on earth was she covered in bruises? Opening her mouth to
assure Ellie she was coming brought another surprise. What had happened to her
voice? Putting one hand to her neck, the whole area felt tender and bruised and
she had the mother of all sore throats. Padding gingerly to the bathroom for a
robe to cover herself with, she paused to gawp in the mirror.
Good Lord!
She looked as though she had gone nine rounds
with Mike Tyson. There was an ugly bruise on her cheekbone, her throat was red
and swollen and there were clear finger marks on her arms. A large area of her
torso was also tender, and turning around she could see matching bruises on her
back. What on earth had happened to her?
More furious pounding made her jump and before
Ellie could break the door down, Marnie managed to open it. Her friend all but
fell into the room and promptly pulled her into a tight hug, which served to
demonstrate that her ribs were also sore. Oh, just great.
“Thank God, I was going frantic out there. What
the hell happened to you? Good lord, you were there, weren’t you? Did that
bastard do that to you? We have to phone the police now. No matter what the
boss says, you’re a witness.”
Marnie’s head hurt too much to take any of this
in. Shutting the door on her curious neighbour’s face, she motioned for Ellie
to be quiet and sat back down on her bed with a thump.
“What on earth are you going on about, Ellie?
Did something happen last night? Why on earth would I call the police and for
the love of God, stop shouting and sit down. You’re making me dizzy.”
In answer Ellie sat down next to her and
wordlessly handed her the paper, her worried eyes roaming over her, widening as
they rested on her throat.
Mutilated body of businessman James Worthing
found in alleyway. Police appealing for witnesses. Animal attack cannot be
ruled out.
The smiling face of one of the club’s regulars
was staring back at Marnie and bile rose in her throat as an ice-cold shiver
went down her spine.
“You think this has something to do with me,
Ellie?”
“The boss thinks so. He sent me over here to
make sure you’re ok. Seems you and this Worthing fellow had a disagreement last
night and the boss banned him from the club. Now he’s dead and you, well, just
look at you.”
“You don’t think I did this, do you?”
Marnie held the newspaper up, not really seeing
the writing anymore through the blur of sudden tears.
“Of course we don’t think you did that, but you
must have been there. Look at your injuries. What happened, Marnie?”
“I…I have no idea. God, Ellie, I cannot
remember a thing about last night.”
****
The two men glared at each other across the
small room.
“Next time, do you think you could clear up
after yourself, Lucas? For fuck’s sake, I had the police sniffing around all
morning. Thank God, Louisa agreed to speak to them, claiming she was the dancer
he was trying to feel
up.”
Lucas’ low growl in response made Ion stop his
pacing and stare at his old friend.
“If you hadn’t let her leave on her own, none
of this would have happened, shifter.”
“And if you learned to clear up after your
mess it wouldn’t, either. How is she?”
“The human is fine; she’ll hurt, that’s all,
but at least she’s alive, no thanks to you.”
Lucas stared Ion down, the fury shimmering
under his skin. He could still smell her; her blood had called him, his scent
imprinted on him forever, making him wish for things that could never be. He
had felt her fear like a physical ache, only matched by his own, which had
spurred him on. He had reached her just in time, before the bastard could do
any worse to her.
“I was more concerned with getting her home and
away from there, Channing. And before you ask, she won’t remember a thing. What
you choose to tell her is up to you. Just keep me out of it.”
Ion’s low laugh had him clenching his fists.
“That’s why you have been sniffing around her
like a dog in heat the last couple of weeks, Lucas? Because you want to keep
out of it? She has been asking after you. I told her not to bother with the
likes of you and I tell you now, leave her alone.”
“Or what? Are you threatening me? Want her for
yourself? Didn’t work out so well last time, did it?”
The wolfish snarl of the shape-shifter made him
grimace, whilst crossing his arms over his chest and leaning back against the
wall.
“She would have come around, had you not
interfered. You’re as much to blame for what happened with Zoe, if not more
so. And I’m not interested in Marnie like that. Humans are too damn fragile,
for starters. This one has spunk. I give you that. But she’s one of my girls
and there is no way I let her get hurt, by you or anyone.”
“Spare me the concerned employer act. You care
so much you let the girl walk home, after what happened. I told you the guy
wasn’t stable. You should have thrown him out weeks ago. Guess your profits
come before your concerns about
your
girls after all.”
He dodged the punch flying towards him with
lightning speed.
“Nice try, wolf. Try harder next time. It’s
broad daylight and I’m still faster than you.”
The approaching heartbeat made him freeze at
the same time as Ion’s nose went in the air catching her scent. What the hell
was she doing here? She ought to be at home resting. With the fluid grace of
his species, Ion jumped across the desk to sit behind it. Lucas merged into the
shadows as the door flew open with a burst of sunshine and Marnie stepped into
the room.
His gut clenched seeing how awkwardly she was
holding herself and the ugly purple bruises on her soft skin made him want to
rip the bastard apart all over again. It took all of his centuries’ worth of
control to not crush her to him. He had come perilously close to doing just
that last night. The knowledge of how easy it would be to soothe those aches
had warred with the temptation to claim her as his. But it would bring with it
physical changes, and she would have noticed. Changes that would be hard to
explain. So instead, he had peeled her out of her clothes, taking care to wash
away the stench of the filth that had attacked her and he had sat watching over
her, until the first rays of sun peeking through her windows had sent him
seeking cover.
Her expressive chocolate brown eyes darted in
his direction and he sank further into the shadows, as her breathing hitched
and her pulse picked up, causing an answering stirring in his groin. There was
no way she could see him, yet still he felt her gaze like a physical caress,
before she shook herself and stepped up to Ion’s desk.
“I’m so sorry, boss, but I have no idea what
happened last night. I came as soon as Ellie told me. Do you need me to make a
statement or something? The poor man; will this reflect badly on you and the
club?”
“It’s taken care of, my sweet, don’t worry.”
Hearing Ion address her like that made his blood boil and he forced himself to
unclench his fists. “I’m more concerned with you. You ought to be tucked up in
bed resting. As for the club - if anything, it’s extra publicity. There’s
nothing to connect his accident to us. He was inebriated when he left here.
From the traces of blood the police found, his alcohol level was sky high. I
suspect he carried on drinking after he left here and pissed someone off that
he shouldn’t have.”
“Tr…Traces of blood?”
Marnie swayed slightly as the colour drained
out of her face and she grabbed the edge of the stool to steady herself. Way to
go, wolf, scare her even more, why the fuck don’t you. At least he had the good
sense to look uncomfortable as Ion glanced in his direction, stopping him from
moving with an almost imperceptible shake of his head.
“But surely there should have been lots of
blood? The papers said it was some sort of animal attack, but what animal could
do that? I just don’t understand.”
Another glance in his direction had him bite
back his growl of frustration. She could not know he was here, even if her eyes
seemed to look directly at him and he could smell her unwilling arousal. Damn,
this wasn’t good. Get her out of here, wolf.
“Marnie, you look exhausted. Let me drive you
home. No one knows exactly what happened. I’m sure the police will figure it
out eventually. As for you, just concentrate on getting well for now. The girls
will cover your shifts until you’re well enough to come back to work.”
Ion was almost holding her up, as he steered
her out of the door. With one last uncertain look of molten chocolate in his
direction, she was gone.
Lucas stepped out of the shadows with a low
growl, flinching as the sun hit his bare skin. It was going to be hours before
he could check on her and if that wolf didn’t get his hands off her…
Chapter Three
Marnie scooted into a corner of the pickup
truck, the minute her boss had handed her up into the cab, and let out the
breath she hadn’t been aware of holding. When his hands had connected with her
waist, the heat of his skin had burned through her clothes, his earthy scent
invading her. She could have sworn his pupils had turned into catlike slits.
She must be imagining things; clearly, she had hit her head too hard last
night, and she had a lump the size of a football on the back of her head to
prove it. Sure enough, glancing across at him now, he seemed perfectly normal
to her. Perhaps it was simply the fact of seeing him in broad daylight for the
first time––that had to be it. This was the closest she had ever been to him;
in fact, he had never touched her before. He didn’t seem to touch anyone.
Heat crept into her cheeks when he turned to
study her, one eyebrow raised in a silent question at her blatant appraisal.
Way
to go, girl; caught ogling your boss.
“You ok? I’ll have you home in no time.”
The cautious smile lighting up his craggy
features at her tentative nod made her toes curl under. Good lord, he was
gorgeous when he smiled. Close cropped hair, coupled with the stubble on a
strong jaw and his intense expression gave him a mean, sexy look. How come she
had never noticed before? This was her boss, for pity’s sake. It was bad enough
lusting after mysterious strangers, let alone him. What the hell was wrong with
her?