“Christine said it was like she had to catch her breath,” my father offered. “I thought she would have to leave last night before the ceremony, but she got used to it. By the end of the party she didn’t notice it. I thought maybe someone had been working a spell that went wrong, but now I have to wonder.”
I nodded and stood up because I had to get to work. “Okay, we’ll talk to her about it, but I’ve got a short window of time and I need to get into Myrddin’s office. I don’t know where the Mantle of Arthur is.”
Lee frowned as he stared up at me. “If I tell you something bad but it turns out to be good for you, do I still get grounded?”
That could only mean one thing. “How long have you had it?”
He shrugged. “Only a little while. I wanted to test it out and Sean told me I couldn’t steal it. He was wrong. I stole it pretty easy. It’s just like the book. All three of us fit under there.”
I should never have let him read Harry Potter. Not when he actually had access to some crazy shit. Still. It did help me out. I didn’t have to dig through the armory to find it and risk someone noticing. Also, he was always an asset. “I won’t tell on you if you don’t mention this incident to your dad. Please understand I don’t want to keep things from your father.”
He stood up beside me and reached for my hand. “There’s something wrong with Dad. And Papa. They like the wizard too much. They can’t see him for what he is. I think the wizard is doing something to them and I don’t like it. I think he’s doing bad things and we should stop him.”
I didn’t have to get on my knees anymore to wrap my arms around him. He was getting so tall, like his papa. He would be taller than me soon. But he was still my baby boy. I hugged him and promised I would do everything I could to bring his papa home.
Chapter Eight
Summer
I felt something change inside me with the first brush of the vampire’s lips against mine. His mouth was velvety soft and contrasted to the hardness of his body. His eyes were dark, and he was staring directly into mine. Such darkness, but they weren’t cold. There was warmth in his eyes as he lowered his head.
How long had it been since I’d had lips on mine? Forever, it seemed. I’d gotten so caught up in finding Dean a path to where he needed to go, to helping Erna find her cure, to simply surviving that I’d forgotten what it meant to give over to my instincts and allow myself to feel. I shouldn’t have in this case since I didn’t actually know the man whose body pressed mine into the forest floor, but I couldn’t seem to help myself. It felt right to soften beneath him.
Of course that was probably exactly what he wanted me to feel. I didn’t care in that moment. I only knew he was the most beautiful man I’d ever seen.
I should have told you that I am yours, bella.
Mine. Nothing was mine. It had been exactly the right thing to say to me. I belonged to others. It was kind of the central tenant of my being. I’d been born of high faery magic, an old creation magic used to bind tribes and clans together. Had things gone the way they should have gone, the tribe I was gifted to would have focused their will on the magics that made me and I would be a purring cat or a glorious tree. I was supposed to be a pretty decoration, an affectionate pet.
But it had been Daniel Donovan’s will that created me. He’d made a child from his deepest wants and wishes. If I’d been a cat or a tree, I wouldn’t have felt this longing, this deep need inside of me to fit somewhere.
Marcus’s lips were gentle on mine, tender. “You fit, Summer. You fit with me. There’s nothing wrong with you. Sei un miracolo.”
I felt him sigh against me as though he’d come so far and finally found his place.
He was good.
I knew then and there I might be feeding this guy because he knew exactly how to make me relax. He made my brain foggy with wanting, and it felt so good to not think for a moment.
“That’s right, bella,” he whispered against my lips. “Let me in. There’s no need to keep me out. I am the man who will defend you, protect you. Let me in. Let me tell you my story and you will understand.”
He wanted into my mouth, into my mind, into my soul. He definitely wanted into my body, and I could maybe get on board with the last part. Like I said, it had been a long time for me.
His tongue teased against my lower lip and I gave him what he wanted, what I was starting to want.
I could feel his satisfaction when his tongue surged in to play against mine. He no longer needed to hold my hands down. The minute I thought about how much I wanted to touch him, he released me. He kissed me and I could feel how much he wanted my hands on him, stroking him like the big predatory cat he was.
My body heated up, skin going sensitive, and I thought seriously about letting him have me right then and there.
And then I was alone on the forest floor.
One moment Marcus’s weight was pressing me into the grass and the next he was lifted bodily off me. It took me a second to realize he hadn’t jumped off me. He’d been hauled off by a tree branch. It was slender but strong, wrapping around his waist and hauling him high above me.
“Get your hands off my daughter, Vorenus,” a deep voice said.
The Green Man stood roughly fifteen feet away. He wore all white, though his suit seemed to have seen better days. There was dirt on his pants and a tear across his right arm. He held that hand up, guiding the branch he’d pulled from the mighty oak to do his bidding.
I forced myself off the ground. I obviously didn’t understand the connection between these people. And why had that man called me daughter? I was right back to thinking they were here to confuse me.
Kelsey ran in behind the Green Man. “Hey, what the hell are you doing? Let him go, Dev.”
My libido had gotten me into serious trouble. This was probably exactly why I didn’t run around searching for lovers. It seemed like these newcomers were in some kind of argument. I got to my feet and wondered if I could get away.
“Please don’t run, bella. I’ll only find you again.” Marcus pushed at the branch holding him off the ground, his feet kicking. His fangs were on display.
They did not make him less attractive.
“You won’t be able to find her if you’re in two pieces,” the man who looked like Devinshea Quinn said. He was angry. I could feel it rolling off of him.
“Hey, Bris, you in there?” Kelsey stood in front of the men, her hands on her hips. I couldn’t see her face, but irritation flavored her every word. “Don’t you have orders to take over the body when Quinn does something stupid? He’s being really fucking stupid right now and I’m going to have to force him to stop if he doesn’t let Marcus go.”
I started to take a step back because it was looking like they were going to fight among themselves, and I could use that.
I didn’t want to go. I knew it was the smart thing, but I didn’t like the idea of not seeing him again. I wasn’t going to give in to it though. My attraction to the vampire was a perverse instinct that I didn’t have to give in to. I had people to protect. I didn’t need to get worked up over a male.
“Don’t you dare run.” Kelsey had turned my way. “Look, I don’t know why you’re here or who the hell you are, although it seems like Dev does, but you aren’t going anywhere until I get some answers.”