Take Me (16 page)

Felicity didn’t know what to do, but she had the distinct feeling that she’d just done something wrong. Quietly, she started moving back up the steps, but she didn’t turn her back on Dom. Maybe if she pretended she hadn’t witnessed such a personal fight then he would too.

Quietly, Dom turned around to face her. Just like that her heart started beating too fast. She was intensely aware of him. She hadn’t seen him in days, and it felt like forever. She’d actually missed him, really. Their little banter together. The way he pursued her did wondrous things for her self-esteem, and plus, she liked him a little.
Okay, more than a little.

His green eyes centered with gold landed on hers, and then in a blur of movement he stood in front of her, pushed her back into the railing. He cupped her jaw.

“Felicity...”

“I’m sorry!” she blurted out.

His eyes traced over her face. They turned darker and darker as
the look
came into them. She trembled. It had been four days since she saw him. The effect of seeing him after so long felt like a punch to the gut that left her winded and a bit dizzy.

“For what?” he asked, his voice rumbling.

“For eavesdropping. I was just going to get some work done and then I heard...I shouldn’t have listened.”

“I’m glad you did.”

A brow arched in surprise. “You are?”

She could feel his heat. He wore another suit but he’d popped the top few buttons of his shirt to reveal dark skin. She wanted to lean forward and lick the hollow of his throat, over the bones of his collar, nick him with her fangs, and then sink into him.

“That’s my ex. I separated from her before my father grew ill.”

Separation was a hard thing to do and very rare among vampires. One had to petition the council then convince them to vote in one’s favor. The petitioner also had to pay a large sum to the separated party for the rest of his or her days, which could be quite a long time for a vampire. Felicity would bet in this case it would be in the tens of millions for Helena and who knows what kinds of houses, jewelry, and cars she also got in the process.

“She seems like a real bitch.”

His furrowed brow relaxed as his laughter came slow and low. “Yeah, she is.”

“What did she want?”

His thumbs stroked her jaw making her sigh. It felt good to have him back, to feel him touching her again. She’d really missed him. God, she was in over her head in trouble with this man.

“To try to taunt me with what I don’t want. She wants me back, but until now I don’t think she’s realized just how much I hate her.”

“Oh.” Felicity touched his stomach. She couldn’t not touch him when he was this close to her. Even as she told herself not to do it, her hands spanned across his waist to his back. The heat of him pressed into her fingertips. It wasn’t enough. She wanted to pull his shirt out of his pants and touch bare, smooth skin.

He leaned in making her breath catch. His lips traced her ear. “Did you miss me?”

She found she didn’t want to lie to him. “Maybe, did you miss me?” God, he smelled so good. Breathing became a chore.

His teeth latched onto her earlobe, bit, then disappeared. “I thought of you constantly. I dreamt of you when I slept. Everywhere I went it felt like you were with me.”

He was making her melt. Her hands tightened, crushing their bodies together. He could make her lose her mind, and she loved it.

“Where did you go?”

He tongued her pulse while one hand squeezed her shoulder before sliding down to cup her backside. He didn’t cup her gently, but squeezed, pulling her into his erection with a groan.

“Business. We’re searching out Zeke for the attempt on our lives. He’s a hard
were
to find. Alpha of the pack makes him the best. If he doesn’t want to be found he won’t be, and his people won’t turn him over. If anyone can find him, it’ll be Grayson.”

“So he’s hiding?”

He lifted her by her backside and the motion pulled her to her toes as his cock nudged against her mound.

She couldn’t keep her eyes open, couldn’t breathe. Damn it, she thought and pulled his shirt up to touch the hot, smooth skin at his lower back. He made a gruff sound as he ground his erection into her.

“Not hiding. He isn’t a coward. He’s just crazy. He’s probably out doing something else. He’ll come to us when he’s ready.”

“Oh,” she said on a sigh. “Did you think about me while you were gone?” She didn’t have time to feel mortified that she’d asked that incredibly revealing question because he answered quickly.

His lips pressed softly against hers. She could feel him smile. “I did.”

“Me too,” she said very, very quietly.

His hand stilled on her bottom, his hips stopped its subtle rocking, and then her eyes opened to meet his serious ones.

“What’s here between us is something different. We both know it. I need you, Felicity. I want you so fucking bad I dream about it. Let me have you. Not once. That wouldn’t be nearly enough. I want you in my bed every fucking day, waking up next to me, with me filling you. Just say yes and I’ll make it happen right now.”

In and out, she breathed in gasps. Her eyes were wide in shock. Worst of all, she wanted that too. To see where they could go and what they could be. She’d bet it’d be something incredible.

None of that could happen though. “You know why I can’t,” she said.

His eyes slashed with anger, brow furrowing hard. “I don’t give a damn about her. I want you. Be my mistress.”

Felicity jerked at his words. She shook this time, in shock. “I will not be someone’s whore, not even yours.”

“It won’t be like that. I don’t want Julianna, in any way. Only you.”

“You can’t really expect me to believe you won’t take Julianna to bed. She’ll be yours to do with what you want. She’s far prettier than I am.” God it hurt to admit that.

“I don’t fucking want her. I want you!” His highly charged words echoed around them.

A soft sound sent both their heads to the top of the staircase.

Felicity cursed. Dom didn’t say anything, didn’t even tense.

Julianna Greenwich stood at the top of the stairs. Her cheeks were red, her eyes wide and stark with pain and something else.

“Julianna,” Dom called.

She turned and ran out of sight.

Felicity stood stock still as Dom kissed her hard, told her to think on it, and then ran after Julianna. That hurt, she thought, rubbing the heavy pain over her heart.

He kissed her then ran off after his
bruid
.

Fitting
.

Felicity didn’t have to think about it. She calmly went to her room, packed her suitcase, and left out the front door without running into anyone. She didn’t have her car with her but after she got through Dom’s gate, she kept walking.

She was not a home wrecker. She could not do this if he was going to mate with her. Felicity pulled her cell phone out and called Beth who finally,
thank god
, decided to answer. Beth had been incognito since the theater scene with Lucas Blackmoore. In fact, even with her stay in at the estate for the last four days she hadn’t seen or heard anything about Lucas either.

Beth came and picked her up several miles from the estate.

Beth looked tired, her eyes red around the rim, and her forehead creased with lines.

“Hey, honey,” she called as Felicity piled her and her suitcase into the car.

“Hey, back. What the hell’s been going on with you? Ignoring my phone calls, running out of an LBB concert like the building caught fire, and then
not
returning my calls. You have some serious explaining to do.”

Beth looked contrite as she pulled away from the curb. Felicity watched the gate of Blackmoore manor fade in the side mirror. No Dom running after her like some kind of white knight. She was done for real. She’d return the money he gave her and find a different job, because what she felt for him right now was bordering beyond some petty feelings. And that only spelled trouble for the both of them.

“I’m not ready to talk about it.”

Felicity’s jaw dropped. “You cannot be serious. We talk about everything. You really cannot think to leave me out of this juicy gossip, Beth.” Felicity turned in her seat to level a narrowed gaze on Beth.

Beth’s eyes darted to her, spotted the look, and then she bit her lip. “I just...I’m still processing it.”

“It’s been four days! How long do you need to process?”

Beth laughed. “Longer than that apparently.”

Felicity crossed her arms. “Then it better be worth the wait.”

Beth breathed out a fluttery sigh. “Oh, it will be.”

“Tease,” muttered Felicity.

Laughing, Beth reached and flipped on the radio. Her CD player turned on surrounding them with Lucas Blackmoore’s deep tenor singing about the power of a warrior, strength through resilience, and some other nonsense.

Felicity heard the ringtone of her cellphone go off over the music. That was one of the little vampire perks that came with being supernatural. She pulled the phone out and didn’t have to wonder. She knew who it was.

“Want me to turn the music down?” Beth said.

Felicity shook her head no then answered the phone. She’d be able to hear fine, and a part of her grinned at the idea of Dom hearing his brother singing around her. It’s the least he deserved for kissing her then running after Julianna. God that hurt.

He began with, “Where the hell are you?”

She trembled, her eyes closing. He sounded hot when he was angry. God, she wished she didn’t think that. “I’m going...home.” She hesitated to tell him, but she found it difficult to lie to him.

He paused for a moment. “Why?”

Felicity looked out at the deep night with the yellow streetlights beaming past as they drove. “I told you why. I can’t do this. I don’t even know you.”

“I’ll remedy that. Come back to the house now.”

“No.”

“Then I’m coming to you.”

“No!” she said much firmer.

She could almost hear him grinding his teeth. “If I want to come get you there’s nothing you can do can stop me.”

“Yeah, that’s part of the problem.” A hard, heavy knot grew in her chest like a blooming flower. One that made it hurt to breathe.

“I don’t understand.”

“My opinion needs to matter to you, Dom.”

Another pause then, “It does.”

“It doesn’t if you come after me, if you keep ignoring my wishes. That’s no way to win me.” Oh hell what was she doing now? Was she seriously trying to coach him on how to win her?
Bad Felicity!

His voice lowered to a deep tremble. “What do I need to do?”

She could almost feel him giving her
the look
through the phone. “You know.”

“I am sending some of Grayson’s men to guard you. They will be in your house, outside of your house, and anywhere you go at all times.”

Felicity ignored the pang in her chest. Of course he wouldn’t acknowledge what she just said. That’d mean he’d have to abandon a tradition hundred’s of years old if he didn’t bond with Julianna.

“Fine.”

“Felicity—”

She didn’t want to hear anything else he said. He’d done enough. So she hung up on him and shoved the phone back into her purse. When it started beeping again a few moments later, she didn’t answer.

Beth gave her a worried glance. “Everything okay?”

“Nope.”

“Wanna talk about it?”

“Not unless you wanna talk about what happened with Lucas Blackmoore.”

“Nope,” Beth said.

“Okay then.”

Chapter 10

Dom needed to find Zeke. After the attempt on his and Felicity’s lives, the alpha could not stand any longer.

The
were
Zeke lived with his pack in a town outside of Nixa in southwestern Missouri. He owned the huge chunk of land, the largest out of all the
were
alphas in the country. His land extended from southwestern Missouri down into northern Arkansas and across to Oklahoma, and even included a portion of the southern tip of Kansas.

Zeke had built a nice little army to protect it too. The men and women of his little coalition were trained well from all the intel Dom had gathered on him. Zeke was a smart man, but a crazy one. He killed his own father to claim the Alpha position, widowing his own mother. He’d yet to take his own woman but his intel suggested it was his top priority. Some rumors even said that not having his mate and being alive for so long when most
weres
had already found their mate was part of the madness. He craved his mate, he yearned to find her, and as a
were
he’d stop at nothing until he did.

That’s why Zeke wants the presidency. With two
weres
already on the council, his third vote would pass the new nonsense he’d been spouting. As of right now, the
weres
had a strict law about mating rituals. Zeke wanted his population to grow to be even bigger than it already was. To do that he wants to bring forth a new law that will make males seek out their mates and claim them no matter which pack they came from.

Most
weres
do this naturally on their own, but Zeke wanted to push against nature’s work. Possibly out of his own frustration from not finding his mate. If Zeke did win the presidency and get a law like this passed it would spell trouble for all
weres. Weres
from different packs were highly territorial by nature. Under Zeke’s law any man, alpha or not, could enter another pack’s territory on the claim of finding his mate. He could technically bed as many as possible under the premise. Packs were very territorial about their own, maybe more so than over their land. There would be bloodshed between packs. Dom couldn’t let this happen.

The
were
had finally gotten a hold of Dom to come and meet with him. So here Dom was in southern Missouri on the border of Arkansas in one Zeke’s camps. Dom brought Grayson and his men as guards, a simple formality. Zeke’s men—four tall, strong looking bastards stood outside his tent.

Yes, the great alpha, the mad
were
leader, lived out of a damned tent. He had money, Dom was sure of it. He could order his pack to build him a damn castle and they’d do it like perfect little slaves. Instead he lived in a large nomadic tent big enough to fit a queen-style bed and maybe a wash basin and some small furniture. Some
weres
preferred to live in tents, but for an Alpha to do it was rather odd. They lived above the standard as proof of their difference. Not Zeke. The mad
were
.