Fanged Fury (The Adventures of Sydney Sedrick Book 3) (13 page)

He nodded. “You’re right. He was close to achieving his goal. Sydney, I haven’t come so close to losing control to my wolf since I smelled vampire blood on you, when Kieran brought you to your aunt’s house after being kidnapped.”

I stoked the fire, needing something to do as a distraction. Not dealing well with the ‘being marked’ business, I asked Blake, “Matt didn’t create some kind of crazy bond between us that he can communicate with me whenever he wants, right?”

Blake didn’t respond right away making my anxiety flare. “Well?”

Blake raised his eyes to meet mine. Dark circles rimmed underneath his eyes, revealing a look a pure exhaustion. “No, he can’t communicate with you like he can with other wolves of his pack. The bond doesn’t work through the mark, but if he is close enough he can sense your emotions similar to how I can smell your feelings because of my hyper-acute wolf senses.”

“I want you to unmark me. He did this without my say-so. I want it off.” I felt poisoned. It didn’t help matters that the claw marks on my hip maintained a constant tingling warm sensation.

He let out a low growl. “Trust me, it would be off you already if it were that simple, but it’s not. There is only one way to undo a wolf’s mark, as far as I’m aware.”

“What are we waiting for? Let’s do it, right now. I want that bastard’s mark off me. I feel coated in a layer of slime.” It was the truth. My skin felt covered with tiny bugs crawling along, stimulating every hair follicle on my body. Most of me wanted the sensation of being connected to Matt to stop. Unfortunately, not all of me wanted to end the warm tingling that crawled along my side.

Shoving a hand through his hair, Blake said, “Sydney, the only way you can cut the mark’s link between you is for one of you to die.” He held up his hand to her, palm out. “Killing him isn’t an option. If the Mobile pack’s heir dies while he is here, his pack will slaughter the entire city.”

“I never even considered killing him to be an option, Blake.” Though right now, I had to admit, the thought was tempting. “You can take the snotty tone right out of your voice. He did this to me, not you, so cool it. Help me figure out a way to reverse the mark.” My temper was flaring. Wolves were irritating at best when their egos ballooned out of proportion or they felt threatened, making them aggravating to be around when it happened.

Blake raked his fingertips down his face. “I’ll speak about the mark with my father to see if he knows if there’s anything we can do. In the meantime, stay away from Matt.”

Leaning into him, I rested my head on his warm chest. Blake enveloped me in a one-armed embrace. I breathed in slowly, relishing the manly scent of him. My sensitive nerves reacted to his maleness. I instantly became wet between my thighs.

“What did Matt mean about choosing someone to share blood for the prophecy?” Matt had mentioned blood playing a part in the prophecy not once, but twice. Blake had yet to explain what the other wolf was implying.

“Sydney, I need you, right here.” Before I knew what was happening, Blake had me pinned down along the length of the couch.

His full lips met mine.

My body coiled with tension, wanting him to take me in the middle of the store. It didn’t matter that the front door was open. I didn’t care the clock said it was just a little after lunchtime. My body cheered him on as I writhed underneath the weight of him, trying to position myself to get maximum contact between our bodies.

Blake’s tongue dove into my mouth, his kiss a brand of its own. He hungrily devoured me with passion I’d known with no other while he trailed my body with his strong hands. The hard length of his erection pressed into my inner thighs causing my core to contract, swelling with need.

The groan rumbling deep in his chest sounded like he was experiencing pain. “If we don’t stop, Sydney, we’re going to end up naked for your customers to walk in on. I don’t know if you’ll be happy if that happens.”

I stared into his eyes, finding the strong emotions I felt toward him reflecting back at me.

“I guess you’re right. We could always go in the storeroom.” I wiggled my eyebrows in jest. My playfulness was half-sincere. Part of me wanted him to carry me back there, lock the door, and have his way with me. Blake was an exquisite lover. My groin pulsated with desire and an ache he could satisfy if he’d only shed his clothes. Customers be damned, I was a woman with needs.

Blake pushed against the couch to lift his body off mine. The loss of his weight disappointed every fiber of my being. Whatever the problem was with my lust-meter, I had to figure it out. My new wantonness had to be taken care of, pronto. I’d never would have had sex in a store in the middle of the day before. I couldn’t figure out what had changed.

Repositioning his jeans to better accommodate the bulge pressing against his zipper, Blake crossed to the counter. Flattening his palms on the glass, he drummed his fingers in an agitated rhythm against the wooden front panel.

My head cleared from the sexual cloud fogging my ability to think rationally. I went behind the counter to sit on the stool. I needed space between us if I wanted to retain my sensibility while he was near. “Blake, you still haven’t answered my question about the prophecy. What does blood have to do with it?”

Blake shrugged. “Don’t bother yourself with the prophecy. If it happens, it happens. I’m not too worried about it, so you shouldn’t be, either.”

“I thought fulfilling the prophecy was of the highest priority to all the wolves in your pack. Why not you?”

Leaning across the counter, he enveloped my hands in his. The warmth of his touch seeped up my arms making me feel more at ease. “Since meeting you and realizing we are life-mates, my viewpoints have changed. I want us to be together. That’s all that matters to me. You are much more significant to me than an old prophecy passed down from generation to generation. I don’t even know if I believe in it anymore.”

“What? That’s all your pack talks about. Seems like that’s all Matt’s pack talks about, too.” I didn’t enjoy the thought of being the cause of disrupting Blake’s belief system, the one his pack had shoved down his throat since he was just a cub.

“You’re what matters to me now. Life-mates create a bond that can’t be broken.” His lip curled before he continued. “And it’s far stronger than the mark.”

Blake’s cell phone rang. Flipping it open, he said, “Yeah?” He didn’t sound happy with the caller. “No.” He paused to listen. “No problem, I’ll be there shortly.” He closed his phone with a sigh.

“You have to go save the world. I understand.” I did understand. As the Selected I had to participate in Other business that at times I’d rather not even know about.

He nodded. “Yes, something along those lines. Michael is throwing a fit because my father won’t let him leave Kenosha while Matt’s roaming around the city. The young wolf’s protective instincts are going into overdrive because he can’t be near your sister.”

We shared a knowing smile. Michael had it bad for Brianna. I was glad she had him to protect her since we now lived in different cities. My baby sister was safer being far away from the goings on in Kenosha. I hoped she never decided to make the move when she finished medical school.

“He certainly does. She’s just as bad. When he doesn’t invite her to your family events it really gets to her. Her feelings get hurt because he can’t tell her the truth. Hopefully, when he does tell her about his being a werewolf, she’ll take it all in stride. I’m just not sure how she’s going to react. I know I didn’t take to the news well at first.” Michael wasn’t the only one protective of Brianna. Upon realizing what he was, I’d threatened to injure him, a lot, if he hurt my sister. I meant it.

Squeezing my hands, Blake urged me close. Leaning back over the counter, he kissed me gently on the lips. “I’ll call you later.”

“You do that.” I smiled. I appreciated the view Blake gave me as he walked to the door. Watching his muscles work underneath his clothes was a pleasant form of torture on my newly potent hunger for sexual gratification.

I spent the rest of the afternoon taking care of customers, helping them find what they needed and cleaning the store. The wares in the store required dusting at least every other day. I couldn’t imagine trying to sell a relic covered with dust to a true Wiccan. I’d die of shame.

While eating my dinner at the counter, I watched the last bit of sun through the windows disappear beyond the horizon. The vampires would be waking soon.

Munching on a chunk of carrot dipped in ranch dressing, I turned toward the front door when the chimes jangled. I coughed when a tiny piece of food caught in my throat when I saw the new arrival.

Bending over, I waited until my airway cleared. Waiting to turn to the newcomer until my eyes stopped watering, I hoped nothing was going to drip from my nose. Vampires might be right about one thing. The human body had some weird ways of reacting to situations.

A hand slapped me on the back.

“Sydney, are you okay? I think I know the Heimlich maneuver. Here, turn around.”

I swatted his hand away with a nervous laugh. “No, I’m fine, I was just coughing.” I cleared my throat, focusing on not letting my cheeks heat up.

My efforts failed. I felt my cheeks burn along with the tips of my ears, but it wasn’t from choking on the carrot. Still frames from my dream flashed in full, vivid color in my mind. I didn’t want to remember the sensual feelings of Daire and me getting intimately close. The only way we could have gotten any closer would have been for us to have had intercourse.

He smiled. A whiff of the cologne he wore wafted toward me. Maybe my Selected senses were telling me I just needed to stay away from all men in general for a while. I’d have to consider that.

Taking his dark glasses off, Daire set them on the counter. The red glow of his eyes did nothing to dampen my desire.

“What brings you by my store?” I didn’t trust the half-vampire, half-demon, but besides the possibility of him imposing upon my dream, and my bed, he hadn’t done anything to deserve to be ill treated.

“My boss recommended for me to stop by and check on you, since I’m now the designated guardian of your person.” Daire’s eyes roamed over my body, instilling another wave of lust.

With a hand on my hip, I asked, “You know, since you’ve come to town I’ve been having issues with men. All men. Men I normally wouldn’t give a second glance to. Now I’m looking at anyone who has a penis for the possibility of a good time. What did you do to me?”

As I spoke, I watched to try and figure out what Daire was doing. He heard every word I said but continued to remove items from a black bag he had carried into the store with him. He removed a bottle of red wine, then two sparkling, long-stemmed wineglasses.

Daire cocked his head to the side and his brow furrowed before he said, “I have no idea what you are going on about, Selected. Please, elaborate on these sexual thoughts you are having about me.”

Sometimes I get the urge to slap sneers off people’s faces, but I’ve only done it on one or two occasions. That moment was one of those times. “I almost had sex with you in a dream because you invaded my head while I slept. You manipulated my thoughts.”

He uncorked the wine bottle with impressive ease then proceeded to pour us each a full glass. The fruity aroma of the wine called to me. I gladly picked up a glass. Taking a swig, I swirled the liquid around in my mouth, letting it well over my tongue before swallowing.

Daire laughed. “Ah, my dear Sydney, you’d make me blush if I was capable of such a charming, human expression.” He gently rubbed his thumbs along my cheek, proving that he saw the embarrassment stain my skin while mentioning the thought of us having sex.

“Don’t distract me. I want to know the truth.” I took another healthy gulp of wine, waiting for his answer. Peeking over the brim of the wineglass, I let my eyes wander over the Other’s body. He was well-built, but not as thickly muscled as Blake. The difference of their bodies didn’t change my reaction to either of them.

Daire carried his wineglass over to the couch. He gestured with a wave for me to follow. Had I not been drinking wine I may not have obliged him. I should have demanded he leave my store, too. However, I was nearing the bottom of my once very full glass, so I grabbed the bottle to join him on the couch. His nearness didn’t exude such a coolness other vampires did. It must be due to his being part demon.

Uncorking the bottle, I filled both our glasses to the brim, which got me a raised brow from Daire. Shrugging, I said, “What? I can have a glass of wine once in a while, geez.”

When he smiled, the tips of his pearly white fangs grazed the bottom lip of his mouth. My heart did a little dance in cheerful delight.

“I didn’t say anything. Now, let’s get down to what you implied only but a moment ago. I did not intrude on your dreams. You called to me through your slumber. I merely responded.” Daire didn’t appear repentant one bit.

Taking a sip of wine, I sat back against the couch as the warm wine-induced sensations swam around in my head. “You know what sucks about being the Selected? Well, I’ll tell you. I’m the Selected. People are supposed to confide in me, tell me all the secrets of their dark, scary lives. Well, they don’t. The vampires and werewolves have these expectations of me. They say if I don’t do what they want me to that they’ll go to war with each other. There’ll be, like, a lot of bloodshed. But you know what, Daire? I can’t trust anybody. There are people all around me keeping secrets. I’m getting quite tired of it all.”

I realized a bit late that I had drunk too much wine because I shouldn’t have confided in the half-vampire, half-demon. Kieran told me to take caution around my new bodyguard because he wasn’t sure if Daire had an agenda other than serving the coven. To my regret, I hadn’t held back.

Daire closed his glowing eyes as he took a healthy gulp from his wineglass. When he opened them, he said, “Sydney, you are one of a kind in these parts. It’s natural for both the vampires and wolves to tread with care where you’re concerned. Yes, everyone has their secrets, even you.”

I swatted his shoulder. “Please, I don’t have anything to hide. You don’t know me. You don’t know what you’re talking about.” Shaking my head, I flicked my gaze over his body to stare into the flames of the fire while they danced with one another.