Lure of the Blood (8 page)

“I thought you weren’t afraid of me, little
one?” he kept his tone low and he knew it was his wolf’s eyes she saw when he
looked at her.

“I…I’m not, at least I’m not, unless you look
as though you want to eat me.” She shifted Leah from her shoulder to her arms,
holding the little bundle between them like a shield, her lips trembling and he
smiled again, his wolf almost foaming at the mouth as he picked up her fear,
mixed in with aroused female, her heartbeat hammering, calling him to the
chase.

“Who’s to say you wouldn’t enjoy being eaten by
my wolf, little one. Give me one good reason why I should rein him in? He is
very dexterous. Leah won’t stop him.” He allowed his claws to run out,
expecting her to run––but she stood her ground, staring him down, even when he
ran one claw along her jaw line and down to the top of her breasts, before
leaving it there, his eyes searching her face.

“Cat got your tongue now, little one?”

It was the silent contempt in her eyes that
made him back away as she continued to stare at him and he ordered his wolf to
stand down. No female had looked at him like that since his mother died and he
could hear her berating him now, for his actions. She was under his protection,
as was the baby she was holding and he shifted on his feet, realising that he
had been slack in his duties. Looking after the finer details of the females
had always been his mother’s job and ultimately would be his mate’s.

His muttered curse made Marnie jump, and Leah
moaned in protest. Ion’s face softened looking at the baby in Leah’s arms and
his voice was gruff with emotion when he finally allowed himself to look into
her expressive eyes.

“My mother used to look after the females.
Since she was taken from us, the job has been empty. Louisa does what she can,
but she is not the most maternal of wolves.”

****

Marnie blinked at the sudden change in his
demeanour, whilst breathing a sigh of relief that he was once again just Ion. 
A cloak of sadness had settled over him at the mention of his mother and she
could feel his pain as acutely as if it was hers. Since when had she started to
be so in tune with his emotions?

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to pry. Has she been
gone long?”

She didn’t think he was going to answer her,
seemingly lost in the past, his shoulders slumped, his hands balled into fists.

“What happened to her, Ion?”

She held her breath at the pain she saw in his
eyes. He would have turned away had she not put one hand on his chest to stop
him. She felt his sharp intake of breath as the surge of electricity zinged up
her arm, his incredible warmth seeping through her skin and calling her further
into his space, until they were so close his scent threatened to overwhelm her.
Had it not been for the baby in her arms, Marnie wasn’t sure she would have
been able to stop the urge to snuggle into him and kiss away the lines of
sadness, which made him look much older and weary.

“I don’t need your pity, little one.”

He tried to distance himself from her but she
simply stepped in front of him again.

“I’m not offering pity, Ion. Just a listening
ear. Surely, even big, bad alpha wolves need someone to listen to them every
once in a while? You can’t bring me here and not expect me to ask questions.
I’m training to become a lawyer; asking questions is in my nature.”

“And what if you don’t like the answers, little
one?”

His voice had dropped an octave, the intensity
of his gaze painful to take, and Marnie took a deep gulp of air to steady her
nerves.

“Well, considering everything that I ever
believed has been turned upside down in the last 48 hours and I’m standing
here, talking to a man that shouldn’t be able to exist by the laws of science,
how bad can it be? Right now, if you told me fairies existed too and there was
a leprechaun riding a Unicorn behind me, I would not be at all surprised.”

He smiled at her attempt to lighten the mood
and she was once again struck by how insanely good looking that smile made his
craggy features.

“I haven’t ever met a leprechaun, I’m afraid,
and Unicorns are very rare indeed, but I do have a few fairies working at my
club, as it happens.”

“You’re kidding, right?”

His amused chuckle did strange things to her
insides and her heart felt lighter. He leant in close enough to bury his nose
in her hair and she felt him inhale deeply. Her heart went into overdrive
again.

“Any other strange creatures working in there?”

Ion pulled back, still smiling down at her and
she couldn’t help returning that smile, which made his eyes deepen, before he
sniffed her again.

“Will you stop doing that?”

He ignored her exasperated moan and cupped her
face in one large hand. “Apart from humans, you mean?”

“What?”

“My club…nothing stranger than the humans that
work there.” He smiled again at her groan in response to that statement. “I do
have one dragon and a few were panthers and an owl too, but mostly they’re
wolves. My pack and the neighbouring one.”

“Riiiiggght, of course you do…” Marnie was
beginning to think she might not want the answers after all, all too aware of
his intense gaze watching her. She had the beginnings of a headache, what with
the information overload, not to mention the way her body was reacting to his
nearness.

“So, fairytales are true, is that what you’re
telling me? All of them? Let me guess, there are real live witches too?”

“Let’s just say, most legends are based on
truth and there are plenty of things that humans don’t know about. Can you
imagine the outrage if they did? Talking of which, how are you holding up,
little one? Not going to pass out on me, are you?”

Marnie shook her head, not trusting her voice.
She was grateful for the arm that had slipped around her waist, pulling her
into Ion’s side.

“So what happens now… you’re gonna have to kill
me, now that I know?”

She was only half-joking. Surely he wouldn’t
just let her walk away with this knowledge? The grip round her waist tightened,
as he sighed into her shoulder.

“No, little one. I have lost too many people I
care about as it is.” He didn’t look at her, but the sadness was back with a
vengeance. “We should get Leah back to her mother. Trust me, when she wakes up
she will be screeching for food and she has no patience.”

“I haven’t met a baby yet that does.”

“And have you met many?” His eyes roamed her
face, waiting for her answer, his body tense. “You didn’t strike me as the
maternal type before. Intelligent, beautiful, sensual and sexy as hell when
you’re dancing, but not maternal.”

She avoided his intense gaze and answered, “I
used to do lots of babysitting when I was younger. That’s all. And I figure at
some point I will want a baby, but you kinda need a man for that. I don’t fancy
myself as a single mother. A baby needs a mother and a father and a stable
home. Not many people seem to manage that these days.”

“I couldn’t agree with you more.” His voice
held a strange edge to it and she lost herself in the intensity of his gaze,
when she finally dared to look at him. “Did you know wolves mate for life?”

“I do watch the nature channel, you know.”

Her attempt to lighten the charged atmosphere
fell on deaf ears. As his hold on her tightened further, awareness of him on
every level made her breathing shallow, heat spreading through her veins until
it all pooled in her core, causing moisture to seep between her thighs.
Oh
good lord, get a grip, girl
. They weren’t talking about the two of them
here. What had Lucas said? Ion may want her for sex, but he didn’t do
happy-ever-after with humans. And after last night the last thing she needed
was another roll in the hay with someone who wasn’t even human.

Her body was not listening as a renewed surge
of moisture soaked the scrap of material, posing as underwear, she had found in
the bundle of clothes and had no choice but to wear. She knew the minute he
became aware of her predicament. His eyes darkened further and she could see
his wolf in the hungry expression in his face, his nostrils flaring as he
sniffed her again. For some reason that was the most erotic thing ever, and she
bit her lip to stop herself from moaning.

“So, all the stuff you read in novels about
wolves bonking everything that moves is not true, then?”

His smile was pure lethal predator and his
voice had dropped another few octaves when he growled his response. “On the
contrary, wolves’ sex drive is legendary––never more so in shifters at this
time of the lunar cycle––but once we claim our mate, I’m afraid you’re stuck
with us.”

“And you claim your mate how, exactly?”

His wolf’s growl vibrated through her and she
closed her eyes to get away from the heat in Ion’s gaze.
Oh, good god.
Why
could she not just keep her mouth shut, for heaven’s sake? She didn’t really
want the answer to that question.

“Why are you so interested, little one? You
definitely wouldn’t like this answer. You can’t even look at me.”

Her eyes fluttered open then and she forgot to
breathe, seeing his mouth hovering over hers and time stood still as they
stayed locked together, neither one of them seeming capable of movement until
Leah’s loud screech broke the spell.

She found herself released abruptly. Deprived
of the warmth of his body, she noticed the chill in the air. The sky was
clouding over and even she could smell the rain on the breeze.

He wasn’t looking at her when he said, “We
should go in, it’s going to rain and Leah needs her mum.”

Chapter Nine

Ion stood eyes closed, head raised towards the
ever-darkening sky where the full moon hung pregnant with promises. The packs’
resulting restlessness only increased his wolf’s agitation and it took all of
his willpower to not join the woman his beast wanted to claim. Soaked to the
skin, Marnie’s scent still clung to him, the image of her holding the pack’s
youngest imprinted on his brain. They hadn’t made it inside before the heavens
opened, and Marnie’s screech had rivaled Leah’s when the wall of water hit. He
had scooped woman and baby up and run full pelt into the house, only letting go
of both of them when they’d found Leah’s worried mother.

His agonized howls upon remembering that scene
sent the flop-eared rabbit at the edge of the forest back underground. If only
Ion’s own needs could be as easily solved as Leah’s. The infant’s wails of
indignation had ceased the instant she found her mum’s nipple. The expression
on Marnie’s face before she hastily looked away had him grinding his jaw
together to stop his wolf from leaping on her there and then. The sudden
downpour left her dress completely see-through and clinging to every one of her
curves. The racy underwear made his cock harden in his jeans instantly, the
wolf’s low, excited yips ringing in his ear.

Ion somehow reined his beast in, when he really
looked at her. She was trying to rub the goose bumps off her arms, her face
having lost what little colour she regained and she put up no resistance when
he pulled her into the warmth of his body. Instead, Marnie snuggled in closer
with a small sigh, and he picked her up and carried her back to his bedroom.
She’d been half asleep by the time he got her upstairs, her eyes fluttering
open in moaned protest, when he proceeded to peel her out of her sodden dress
with, ”Ssh, little one, this needs to come off. You’re freezing. Let me take
care of you.”

Their eyes locked when he slid the fabric off
her shoulders revealing her silky skin. Her vivid blush stained the soft flesh
the sliding fabric revealed, and he had to force himself to keep his movements
gentle, as her scent hit him in the gut with the realisation that she was
mid-cycle, her body responding to him instinctively. He froze in place until
her unsure, “Ion?” and the way she pulled her legs up raised his wolf’s
protective instincts. For once in agreement with his beast, he finished
undressing her in record time and tucked her inside the downy duvet.

“Go to sleep, little one, you’re safe. I won’t
let anything happen to you.”

“Pr…promise?” Her teeth were chattering, and he
pulled her into his warmth with a muttered curse of surrender, his heart
rejoicing at the trusting way she leant into him. He listened to her even
breathing until exhaustion finally claimed him too.

When he woke up, she was gone. Even now, out
here in the pouring rain, he still knew exactly where she was and it made him
swear again.

 How the fuck he could have missed her getting
up and leaving earlier was beyond him. He couldn’t remember the last time he
had slept that soundly. He never let his guard down, damn it––he couldn’t
afford to––and yet, holding Marnie, he had done just that. He was losing the
plot, tied up in knots about a human, who he would only end up hurting and
despite his promises would not be able to protect. His wolf growled at the
thought and Ion almost missed the soft voice behind him, before the scent of
vampire hit him in the chest. He whirled around, ready to shred Lucas to
pieces.