Avenge (30 page)

I brought my lips toward him, craving
the warm, soft connection they would bring. I was only going to
take a small kiss, but Max had other plans. His body was only
inches from mine, making my skin tingle in anticipation of our
reunion. His lips met mine and I sighed against him. His hot mouth
caused everything to melt inside me as he knotted his hands through
my hair. I was gentle, still worried about his injuries, but once
his tongue languorously traced my bottom lip, I was lost. The
entire world narrowed, and it was only us, only now.

Max took advantage of the slight
parting of my lips and sucked my bottom lip into his mouth, making
me groan. I hungrily plunged my tongue into his mouth to taste and
explore—relishing in the spark our connection once again
brought.

I moved my hips more to the side so I
could have better access to his hard, sexy body. He wore no shirt,
and I allowed my hands to roam over the contoured muscles of his
chest, dipping in to trace the six bumps his abdomen created. I
moaned against him as his free hand slid up and down my sides,
leaving a trail of goose bumps that made me shiver
delightfully.

“God, I missed you,” Max breathed,
moving his mouth from mine to kiss my jaw, then neck, then ear
where he nibbled the lobe. The beep of the monitors increased in
pace, but with Max’s hot breath on my ear, the sound faded away
into the distance. His hands never stopped moving, simply repeating
the up and down pattern from under my arms, down to the inward
curve of my waist, and over my hips, where he teased the waistband
of my shorts.

“I’ll never do something that stupid
again,” I promised him as I arched up and moved my leg to lie on
top of him. His strong hands found my hips, holding me against him
in a way that made me wish we were back in our own house, alone for
hours. Maybe days.

“Me either.” He trailed kisses down my
neck and softly over my collarbone. “I’m never letting you out of
my sight.”

“I never want to leave this bed,” I
bit my lip to keep from moaning as his fingers teased my inner
thighs.

“Never? Not even to go to our own,
king-sized bed where we can have all the room we want to
do…whatever we want?” His tone taunted me with ideas, and I lifted
my head to look out through the small window in the (thankfully)
closed doorway to make sure no one was in the hallway watching
us.

“Think anyone would notice if we
slipped out?” I asked.

“Most likely.”

“Damn.”

Max chuckled, causing him to wince for
a second but he quickly masked the obvious pain. If I hadn’t been
looking in his eyes, I would have missed it. He was obviously still
in pain. I rolled off him much to our mutual chagrin and resumed my
spot in my chair.

“No, don’t. You don’t have
to—”

He was cut off by a knock on the door.
I exhaled. Apparently I moved not a moment too soon.

“Knock, knock. Luce, you sleeping,
sweetie?” Cassie cracked the door and whispered.

“No, come on in. I have great
news.”

Cassie, Adam, and James appeared in
the doorway, their faces lighting up when they recognized that Max
was awake. They flooded into the room, nearly pushing me aside to
see him.

“Max! You’re alive!” Adam exclaimed,
earning him an elbow in the ribs from Cassie. “I mean, you’re
awake! That’s awesome, man. How are you feeling?”

“Yes, have any of the medical team
been in to give you an update? What are they saying? You look sorta
flushed. Are you feeling okay?” James asked, leaning over to scan
the readouts on his monitors.

“Um, well, I haven’t told them yet,”
Max said sheepishly, winking at me. Heat streaked my cheeks and I
turned away before anyone noticed. “I was sort
of…preoccupied.”

Cassie turned and glanced at me, her
eyes wide but her face smiling mischievously. “Is that right? Well,
why don’t Lucy and I go tell them now, shall we?”

Oh boy, I’m in for it
now
. I thought as Cassie grabbed my arms
and linked hers in mine.
No way she’s
going to let this drop anytime soon.

We filed out of the room to let the
boys talk and walked to the central desk where the medical team was
centrally located. At least, that’s what I tried to do. Cassie
instead pulled me into the nearest bathroom, checking under the
stalls to make sure we were alone.

“Okay, spill,” she demanded, hopping
up to sit on the counter.

“Spill what? Max woke up, he seems to
be fine. Thank goodness.”

“Does he have any memory of what
happened to him?”

I bit my lip nervously. “I don’t think
so, but we really didn’t…get that far in our
conversation.”

“Well why not? What could have been
more—” She cut herself off as her eyes widened. “Oh! I’m so sorry
we interrupted.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’m sure he’s
glad you’re all here.”

“But he seems okay? No side effects or
aftermath?” She crossed her legs and leaned in toward me
more.

“He didn’t try to bite me if that’s
what you’re asking. Well, he nibbled a bit, but that was different.
I think it’s like Jessica, he doesn’t have any memory of his
time—like that.”

Cassie nodded, but knew she wouldn’t
get any more out of me. “All right, let’s go tell the med team so
we can get him checked out and hopefully back home
ASAP.”

“From your lips to God’s
ears!”

The medical team cleared Max for
release the next morning after keeping him overnight for
observation. He forced me to go home and spend a few hours with
Jessica. I was reluctant to leave his side, but we had a lot of fun
playing board games until the wee hours of the morning.

At the very crack of dawn, I was there
ready to take him home. Cassie and Jessica organized a small
welcome home party for only our team and as we walked in the front
door, Jessica was placing the final tack on her homemade
sign—glitter and all.

Seeing us, she ran toward Max and me
and wrapped her arms around each of us. “I’m so glad you’re okay,
Max. Welcome home!”

I dropped Max’s stuff by the doorway
and couldn’t help but smile as Max returned her hug. Her tiny arms
wrapped around his neck and he picked her up, spinning her
around.

“Welcome home to you too. Your big
sister is so happy that you’re here with us for a few days, ya know
that?”

“Only until tomorrow,” Jessica pouted.
“Cassie told me that I have to go see my grandma and grandpa
tomorrow, but I wish I could stay here with you and Lucy. Are you
going to be my brother in law?”

Max laughed. “Something like that,
sweetie. But don’t you worry, I’m going to take really good care of
Lucy. And when you get to the place with your grandparents, you’re
going to have so much fun you won’t even have time to miss us too
much. I promise.”

“Can I have a dog like Frenchie when I
get there?”

“I bet you can.”

Jessica pumped her fists in the air,
jumping up and down on the balls of her feet before spinning around
to chase Frenchie back down the hall.

Hearing me laugh at the scene, Cassie
winked as she iced the cake she and Jessica made as Lola snuck up
behind her and stole a swipe of icing. Cassie’s buttercream was
famous in our realm, and I couldn’t blame Lola for wanting a
sample. Adam grabbed two beers from the fridge, popping the caps
off on the counter before walking over and handing one to Max.
James was already over there, and the three plopped on the couches
and put their feet up before starting to strategize about their
fantasy draft picks.

I leaned against the wall, crossing my
arms over my chest and smiling. I may have lost my family on Earth,
but what I had gained made up for it in spades. Being a Patronus,
finding my other half, and kindling friendships that would last an
eternity made me happier than I ever thought possible. Yes, I would
always miss my mom and dad and everyone else, but I had a new
purpose in life. And until every threat against innocent souls was
eradicated, I would fight to protect them.

In the meantime, I would love, play,
and laugh with the people who surrounded me with hope and
happiness. What else could a girl ask for?

While Lucy’s story may be over, the
Patronus world is just getting started. Be sure to look for James’
story in the third installment of the Patronus series.

-Avowed-

Coming Summer, 2013

Acknowledg
ments

“
An
 individual is but a silent
spark when they must stand alone, but when others stand beside
them, that simple spark becomes a vigorous flame
.”

~ Deanna Lee

When I set out to
write
Awaken
, I
had no idea it would turn my life completely upside down in the
best possible way. And I couldn’t have done it without the help,
advice, and friendship of many.

First, to my family: thank you for
your continued love and support. I am lucky to have you all in my
life!

Thanks to my baby sister Jessica, for
letting me kill her and then hold her soul hostage. Don’t worry,
Ryan. I’ll kill you in a different book! And THANKS MOM!

Steve, my love and my light: thanks
for not giving up on me and letting me live my dream.

Thank you to my critique partner,
Nichole Chase. When I was ready to lose it, you swooped in and
saved the day. I am so lucky to have you as a friend. I hope one
day I can be as awesome as you. But I don’t know if that’ll happen,
‘cause you have a lot of awesomeness.

Special thanks to my beta readers:
Shelly Crane, Heather Self, and Melanie Ainsworth. Your input has
made this book better than I could have imagined.

Thank you to my good friend, Marguaux
Murray, whose chats and phone calls are always the highlight of my
day.

Thank you to Tawdra Kandle, my editor,
Kristina Circelli, my proofreader, Elizabeth Sharp, my cover
designer, and Julie Titus, my formatter, for polishing my book and
helping it shine! Your talent amazes me and I am thankful for all
your hard work!!

Thank you to the following bloggers,
who have posted and retweeted and sent people my way countless
times because they believe in me—Jennifer Swiger, Mandy Anderson,
Jennifer Morris, Derinda Love, MaryAnn I and Ruthi K, Mera Sampson,
Jordan Butcher, Rob Zimmermann, Danielle Rose, and Kathy
Womack.

And finally, a big, sloppy, wet-kiss
thank you to all my readers. I can’t do this without you, and if I
could thank you all personally by name, I would. I am so grateful
that you buy my books, recommend them to your friends, and write
reviews for them so others can enjoy them too. I love you all to
pieces! MUAH!

About the Author

I started my obsession with reading at
an early age, getting in trouble for sneaking BabySitter Club and
Nancy Drew books into math class in elementary school. I would read
any fiction book I could get my hands on. I knew it was an
addiction when instead of grounding me from TV or music, my mom
would take away my books as punishment (The Horror!). My love of
all things paranormal was inspired by my good friend Laurie, who
convinced me that books with vampires, witches, and all things
shifter were amazing. After a little reluctance, I gave it a shot
with the Sookie Stackhouse books, realized she was right, and the
rest was history.