Rowena's Revenge (Broadus Supernatural Society) (9 page)

His white-blue eyes meet mine and I nod in silent agreement,
wondering why he doesn’t like to talk about who he is, but I push the question
off the tip of my tongue, knowing I will probably find out eventually anyway on
our long road trip ahead. He is the only one who knows where we are headed
exactly, and well, my wolf growls in my head, letting me know the feeling that
if I lost Penton, I would lose a piece of me.

“Row is a complex woman,” I say to him quietly as we
approach the SUV, and he nods, taking a cup of coffee from the holder I have.
“She’s been hurt by so many people; she just takes her time before letting
people in. I have this feeling,” I stop, grabbing his arm as we’re about a
hundred feet from the car and I know she can see us; I can feel her happiness
and anxiety to have us close. “I have this feeling that she’ll let you in soon
and it’s going to be the most perfect, the most, well….fucking amazing thing
any of us will see or experience in our lifetime.”

The astonishment in his eyes surprises me, and we just stand
there, two men staring at each other in the cold. His eyes roam over my face
and his scent reaches me on the breeze, filling me with a sense of brotherhood,
family, like I’ve never known before, and I can feel the smile creep onto my
lips, matching his. He nods slightly and I mimic it just as a sweet, familiar
voice fills the air.

“What are you assholes doing? Get in here and give me some
of that food!” Rowena
shouts,
and I turn to see her
sticking her head out of the back passenger window, her hair blowing around her
face in the swirling breeze.

“Yup, that’s our mate,” Penton laughs, and I look back to
him to catch his gaze again. I can feel that no matter what, no matter my
attitude toward him, he will always be there for me and I nod again, heading
for the SUV.

“Yeah,
ain’t
she great?” I joke,
and he chuckles again, punching me in the shoulder as we reach the vehicle.

This is it,
I think as I settle into the driver’s
seat and let Penton share the back with Rowena.
This is my
family.
I’ve never had this before, and as I look back at them, laughing and smiling as
they go through the containers setting them out so we can all share, I can’t
help but have my heart swell with love.

Love.
I like the sound of that.

Rowena

The sun is low in the sky, peeking through the trees as we
fly by on the New York interstate. The sky is different colors of orange and
red, seemingly reflecting off of the icy covered fields of snow, and I sigh
heavily; it being the only sound besides the radio in the
Landrover
.

Penton and Blaine have been silent since we finished the
food earlier this morning, and I know it’s because they are waiting for me to
talk first. Sure, there has been small talk; the weather is nice, look at the
horses, but then there are gaps of silence that you can cut with a Swiss army
knife. I just don’t know what they want me to say or what I want to say to
them.

Blaine and I bonded, yes; in a moment of un-bridled passion
I submitted to him and our animals are now bonded for life. Do I regret it?
Hell no, but am I scared? Fuck yes.

So much can go wrong in a relationship and love that it
worries the hell out of me, and I find myself biting my bottom lip for the
hundredth time as I see a highway sign stating, “Buffalo, 40 Miles”. I look
over to Penton, stopping with my mouth wide open and the question on the tip of
my tongue to admire his handsome features.

His sharp, strong jaw line with the slight dusting of
stubble and his dark, untamed hair sticking up in every direction makes a silly
little smile grace my lips. I find myself leaning forward and placing my
forehead against the passenger seat as I stare at him, taking in the way the
fading sunlight hits his skin and the way his eyes are scanning the passing
road and scenery out the window. It’s like just the sight of him, the feeling
of him next to me on the seat, even though we aren’t touching, puts me in a
trance and my leopard purrs loudly, grabbing his attention just as I’m reaching
out to trace his slightly pointed ears.

“What are you looking at, Kitten?” He smiles, grabbing my
hand gently and bringing it to his face, sending lightning like tingles all
over my skin at the simple contact. His smile is sweet and loving as I stare at
him, unable to say anything for a minute as I catch my breath.

He does something entirely different to me than what I
experience with Blaine. With Blaine it’s hot and heavy, outright lust and need,
but with Penton he pulls at something else within me. Just looking at him makes
my heart flutter, my breathing pick up and my palms sweat. His stare seems to
promise me things, but as I try to look deeper, squinting, I still can’t really
tell what that is.

His laugh pulls me from my thought and I shake the feeling
off, pulling my hand from his face and rubbing it on my jean clad thigh, trying
to dissipate the tingling feeling. Looking back up, I see him watching my hand
move along my thigh, his creased brows displaying the hurt, and I regret the
move.

“Where are we
headin
’?” Blaine’s
voice breaks the awkward moment as my skin flushes, and I steal a look up into
the rear view mirror and see his eyes locked on me. He winks and I silently
thank him, mentally kicking myself for being flustered.

“Here’s the address,” Penton seems to growl, sliding a piece
of paper over Blaine’s shoulder and sinking back into his seat like a wounded
animal. He’s recoiled and sulking, as if I’d hurt him. “Just follow the signs.
We are going to be staying at the home of your half-sister’s brother. He is
Alpha here, and he has been gracious enough to offer us shelter.” I see him
slide me a side long glance and it sticks like a knife, the pain in his eyes
that are so much like mine. I have to say something; I have to do something to
show him I meant nothing by taking my hand from him only moments ago.

“Tell me about you,” I say in a whisper, and my voice
squeaks. I clear my throat as he looks at me full on, his eyes a little wider
with a hope shining through, and it lifts my heart. “Tell me about what brought
you to me, and why in the hell I could hear music last night when I kissed
you?” My question ends in a laugh, because I can’t help how silly that sounds,
but when I see the smile spread across Penton’s handsome face I know I’m a
goner.

His smile is so warm and perfect. It’s almost like it’s
calling me home and my leopard purrs loudly as he shifts in the seat to face me
with his legs crossed. I do the same and can’t keep the little sigh of relief
that slips through my lips as he takes my hands lightly, his long fingers
wrapping around mine and his thumbs massaging the tops of my knuckles.

“Where do you want me to start?” He says, still with the
wide smile that is illuminated by the fading reds and orange from the sunset,
and I have to force myself to blink when I notice I’ve been staring. He
chuckles softly and I blush, looking back up to see Blaine roll his eyes and
smile in the rearview mirror. “Do you want me to start with why you heard the
music? Why you feel different when I touch you, compared to Blaine? Why it
seems like I pull at something deep inside here?” He taps me on the chest,
right between my breasts and my breath catches in my throat at the split second
contact of his skin, but I manage to nod my head.

His smile turns into a mischievous smirk and he looks down
to our joined hands, his thumbs rubbing circles over my knuckles in a slow
methodic pattern. I hear him sigh then laugh a little, his face displaying the
look of someone who just remembered something heartwarming and maybe just a
little romantic, and I can’t help but smile along with him. He winks just as a
hot, rampant lust runs through me,
tingling
my skin
all the way down to my toes and seeping into my core, rendering me breathless
for more than a second.

“First, close your eyes,” he says smoothly, reaching one
hand up and cupping my cheek. I can’t help but lean into his touch, and as his
thumb rubs over my cheek my purr rumbles through my throat and chest.

“Close your eyes, Kitten,” he whispers and something in his
stare bids me to follow his command, so slowly, languidly my eyelids slide
shut. “Good girl,” he says, and I feel his lips brush my opposite cheek as his
thumb sweeps down and over my bottom lip, making me shiver.

I feel his hand move back to tuck my hair behind my ear, and
goose-bumps fill my skin when two of his fingers rub right behind it, my head
lolling back and a sense of overwhelming calm filling me in an instant. His
lips brush mine ever so lightly and trembles wrack my body.
I need him
.
My hands fly to his face and I keep his lips pressed to mine, deepening the
kiss when his tongue sweeps out and over my lips, begging entrance that I
gladly allow.

It feels like his scent is wrapping around me, bathing me in
fresh apricots with a slight ocean breeze, and I sigh when his arms wrap around
my waist, pulling me into his lap. His warmth soothes me and I sink into him,
nipping at his bottom lip as his hand moves up to tangle in my hair.

He smiles against my lips and I can’t help but reciprocate
as he chuckles lightly, the feel of it vibrating through his chest as I lean
into him, pressing my aching, needy breasts into his rock hard muscle. The
salty smell of the ocean hits me again as a breeze swirls around me, dragging
my hair across my face and I swear I can hear seagulls.

“Open your eyes, my joy,” Penton’s voice sweeps over me as
he holds my lips a whisper from his, teasing me as I try to claim them once
more, but his hold in my hair prevents it. Another slight breeze sweeps my hair
across my face and it confuses me. The strand of hair is much longer than it
should be, and then the screeching of the seagulls hits me again and I pry open
my eyes, shocked that the sun is beating down on my face.

“What the…?” I start to say, but stop and just look. We
aren’t in a car on the thruway; we are sitting in a grassy hilltop, overlooking
the ocean. I don’t understand, and I turn my shocked face down to Penton,
looking for answers, but I have to stifle another mild gasp as I take in his
appearance.

His hair is long and kept back with a ribbon that is tangled
in braids lining his temples. As he brushes the hair from my face in light,
caring strokes, I look over his features and notice a slight exaggeration in
the point of his ears. I feel his finger twist in my hair and he brings it in
front of my face, holding it on display and my eyes go wide. I have long,
curly, red hair.

“That is not my hair. What happened? Where are we?” I start
to freak out, but he just laughs and wraps his arms around my waist again,
tucking my face into his neck.

“Nothing is wrong, my joy, I am just showing you our past.”
He sweeps the back of his fingers across my cheek, gripping my neck and pulls
my face to his; lightly kissing me and all the worry melts away. I feel the
pull of the land, calling me home. I sense the love that I have for this man
holding me, smiling down at me.

“My name….my name is Helen?” I ask, as flashes of a wood and
sod home flow through my head followed by everyday medial tasks; washing the
clothes in the creek, cooking dinner over the fire place in the small home I
share with my parents, and sneaking off in the dark to rendezvous with Penton
in the woods and staying ‘till dawn in his arms.

His smile is wide as I look him in the eye, seeing the love
that he feels for me on full display. He kisses my forehead, setting fire to my
skin, and I have to take a deep breath to soothe the lust burning deep within,
wanting to burst forth. There are so many scenes playing through my head that
it’s hard to put them together, but a few resonate and I have to smile to
myself.

“We’ve never…” I make a motion between us with my hands as
confusing images continue to flood my mind. Our bodies are tangled in the cool
moonlit grass, but we’re separated by clothing; or I’m straddling his lap by
the creek with my head thrown back in bliss, but the only thing entering my
body is his fingers. “We’ve never made love?”

“No,” he laughs, pulling me into his lap and up against him
so that his chin rests on my tightly bound breasts. A naughty little grin fills
his face, and I can’t help but giggle at him. “I respect the traditions of your
people, even though you’ve pushed me close to breaking many, many times.” His
teeth flash in the sun right before he buries his face between my breasts,
effectively motor-boating me while nipping lightly at my skin as he rolls me
over onto my back.

I try and fight him off and roll us back over, but he pins
me to the warm grass as his teeth and lips no doubt cause
hickies
all over my chest. He makes a hot, fast trail over my chest and up my neck,
hovering
his mouth just above mine as his hand roams my
dress covered stomach and breasts.
Please, just rip it off,
I think as
my eyes roll back in pleasure when his fingers pinch at my nipple through the
material, sending shocks all over my body.

“Do you love me?” I breathe out before I know it, and shock
myself at the words. It’s weird, as he stops all playing and locks eyes with
me, I don’t regret saying the ‘L’ word. It feels right in this stolen moment,
and I almost feel as if my other life, my life as Rowena, is the one that is
the dream.

I am Helen. I am the daughter to a well-respected Chief in a
small highland village. I have been sought after by many suitors, but have
never batted an eye at one until Penton walked into my life—well, swam
actually. A rampant laugh runs through my chest as a flash of a fully naked me
comes to mind and the feeling of fright I had when hands grabbed my waist as I
swam in a small creek; only to find a fully naked Penton standing before me,
his chest heaving from holding his breath below the surface. It had been a
shocking introduction, but as the memory stays, letting me take in the full
frontal of his magnificent body, I realize that day at the creek I fell madly
in love with this man.

“I love you with every ounce of my being; my joy…my Kitten,”
he whispers, running his nose along mine as his warm, sweet breath washes over
me. “I would only be a shell of a man, of a Fae, if it weren’t for you. When I
found out you were my mate, and that I had found you once more, I was beside
myself. I knew that this would be my second chance and I won’t make the same
mistakes as last time. I’m not the same person; I no longer recognize my dark
heritage.”

The mixture of joy and sadness in his eyes concerns me, and
I wonder what had happened that would make him lose all hope.
What happened
to me when I was Helen?
I think to myself and my brow furrows, seeing the
hurt pass over Penton’s features.

“Don’t worry about that, my joy; just know that we are
together now and nothing, absolutely nothing will keep you from me this time.”
He leans down to me and covers my lips with his, causing me to moan into his
lips when his hand cups my cheek, but I can’t keep the wonder from my mind. I
need to know what happened to Helen.

As soon as the name crosses my mind again, darkness
surrounds us, shutting out the peaceful sunlight and happy birds, replacing it
with a lingering evil feeling, and Penton tenses over me, slowly removing his
lips from mine. The negative energy that my leopard feels pouring off of him
scares the shit out of me and the hair stands up on the back of my neck when a
deep, blood freezing laugh fills the air around us.

“Do you want to know what happened to you because of him?”
The air right before my face shimmers, and then those glowing orange eyes
appear and I can’t keep the scream in, remembering how his fingers felt around
my throat and I fight against Penton’s hold on my waist, trying to scramble
away. He’s telling me to stay still, but the fear has taken over and even my
snow leopard is reacting, issuing bone chattering hiss after hiss, drying my
throat out in a moment’s notice as my hands grip into the long grass and pull
my body free of Penton’s grasp.