Текст книги "Bonds of Fire"

Автор книги: T. A. Grey

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Chapter 10

Lyonis’ smile widened as he spotted his mate sleeping on his couch. The sight made him feel lighter than air; something he wasn’t used to yet.

After three hundred years of searching, he finally found his mate. Crouching down beside her, Lyonis chuckled as he removed the pillow crammed against her face.

His breath caught as he looked at her. Beautiful as she was awake, she was even more so in sleep. Relaxed and calm with her light hair spilled around her, Willow was an enticing woman. His gaze caught on her cheek and narrowed.

A quick glance at the pillow in his hands proved him right—she’d been crying. His hands curled into fists as a red haze fogged his mind. Who or what had made her sad?

He gentled his hand to trail his fingertips over her wet cheek. A hard knot filled his gut like lead and slithered up to his heart. Did he make her cry? His heart nearly stopped at the thought.

She’d been with him for barely a day and already she was sad. Lyonis stood and rocked back on his feet, his hand running over the back of his neck. He could fix anything. He’d fix this. She will be happy; she will be his mate.

A knock sounded at the door. Lyonis quickly answered it before it woke her up. His two lieutenants, Jackie and Thane waited for him. Closing the door behind him, he stepped outside.

“What’s going on?”

“We have visitors,” Jackie said.

“Who?”

“Willow’s sisters, Tyrian en Kulev, and a demon.”

“What kind of demon?”

“Telal Demuzi.”

“Send them to my office. I’ll be there in a minute.”

“Sir,” Jackie asked, “is there any particular reason why these...individuals would be here, uninvited.” Lyonis grimaced as he considered his answer.

“Willow and her sisters summoned a demon from below the rift. Last I heard, Chloe and Tyrian defeated the beast but I witnessed something in Germany that shows there may be more to the story.”

Thane and Jackie exchanged glances before nodding and leaving. Lyonis quietly entered his house. He squatted down beside his mate and pushed the hair back from her face. She frowned and pushed his hand away with a grumble.

The corner of his mouth kicked up. Even in sleep, she was a fighter. The needs he felt around his mate were more amazing than anything he’d ever felt. Hunger, desire, generosity, protectiveness were all taken to degrees he’d never imagined. Yet, she was sad. The first day with him and already she was losing her spirit.

Lyonis’ heart thumped painfully in his chest. He would not have this. He will make her happy and she will mate with him. They will love each other and run the pack together.

“Willow,” he said softly. The furrow between her eyes deepened and he laughed. “Time to wake up, tawicue.”

She grumbled something inaudible.

“What was that, my Willow?” He combed his fingers through her soft hair. Her hand came up and slapped his hand away.

“I said I’m not your wife.” Not yet, he added silently.

As her eyes fluttered open, he said, “I have some news that you might be excited about.” Her eyes shot wide with hope.

“You’re letting me go!” Surprisingly it hurt more than he’d thought it would to hear that.

“No, but your sisters are here.” Excitement instantly lit up her face. The impact of it hit him hard and fast. He couldn’t ignore the urge and quickly wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. She wiggled and squirmed to get away.

“Let me go. I need to see them.” He did but not before he held her head still for a kiss. The sound of her breath catching soothed his nerves infinitely. Pulling away from her soft heat, he watched a flush stain her cheeks. She might not like it but she liked his touch. Hope filled his chest. He could fix this. He could make her happy. She was meant to be his.

“Alright, let’s go see your family. I’m excited to meet them.”

She paused at the front door and turned back to him slowly. “Why? You aren’t coming with me. I need to talk to them alone.”

Lyonis prided himself on his ability to control his anger and frustration, but she seemed to push his buttons at every turn. He closed in on her, loving the way she backed into the door to get away from him.

He’d rather have her meeting him halfway with a kiss and a touch, but her instincts were right. They told her to be weary of him, because it knew the effect his touch had on her. In fact, in his time chasing her, he learned just how well she responded to his touch.

He cupped her throat gently; the feel of her pulse racing under his fingertips threatened to send his desire out of control. He traced her jaw with only the soft press of his fingertips. Her eyelids fluttered shut and only then did he slowly remove his hand and step away from her.

She watched him suspiciously before turning around and opening the door. “Where are they?”

“I’ll show you.” Lyonis contained his laughter as she mumbled about stupid alphas under her breath. “It’ll be quicker if we drive.” She nodded and Lyonis couldn’t help but feel as though he’d just taken a small step with her.

They arrived at his office on the other side of his town. A flurry of talk was already spreading through his pack at the new arrivals. Lyonis led Willow through his main office where he conducted most of his work with the pack. She would try to escape with her sisters that much he knew. She wouldn’t be successful though, he’d make sure of it.

The sight of her sisters sent Willow into the most feminine frenzy he’d ever seen in her. She squealed and ran to them, hugging them close as they started chattering over each other.

Lyonis grinned at his mate and met up with the men.

“Tyrian, Telal,” he nodded.

Tyrian spoke first. “Alpha Lyonis, thank you for seeing us on such short notice.”

“It’s not as if you gave him much choice,” Telal said with a frown. His eyes skirted over to the sisters and the frown around his mouth became even deeper.

“True enough but Willow’s family is always welcome here.”

“We need to talk business,” Tyrian said, his eyes cold and serious.

“Of course, I have a free office down the hall. We can talk there.” Lyonis looked back at the sisters and realized he might as well not even be in the same room. None of them seemed to notice they were leaving.

Entering the office, Lyonis turned to Telal. “Are you looking forward to your own Bellum sister, Telal?” The demon took a seat; he looked like he’d just tasted something awful.

“I don’t see why either of you have bought into their nonsense. They are nothing but trouble. First they summoned Karr and now another demon is stalking across the earthen realm.”

“You looked into what I saw in Germany?” Lyonis asked Tyrian.

“Yes, I did. We sent out some scouts and they found exactly what you said—the stench of ancient demon. I think that whatever the sisters did in that spell has set something in motion. The first demon is dead—”

Telal scoffed. “How is it dead? I told you; it cannot be defeated. Even the demons who first bound the demon into the rift couldn’t kill it. It was far too strong.”

Tyrian shrugged. “All I know is that it’s dead. It was bound by the spell that the sisters made and then decapitated with an axe. I assure you, it’s dead. We burned the body and spread the ashes into the ocean.”

Telal, if anything, looked even unhappier at this news. His blue hair fell in waves over his shoulders and his skin was like gold. Lyonis knew the demon had the power to cover up his unusual appearance, but he refused to. Lyonis understood that and would do the same.

“We have no idea what Karr did while he was awake. He could have amassed other ancient demons, maybe even brought one of them back to life.”

“How and why?” asked Tyrian.

“Perhaps so that if he died, he’d have a way to resurrect himself.”

“How?” Lyonis asked.

Telal steepled his golden fingers, drumming them together. “Have you ever heard of a demonic pact? We demons refer to it as a revargen. It’s a magical pact done in blood. The terms of the pact must be completed within the specified time frame or you die.”

“You think the demon Chloe killed might have had the time to make one of these demonic pacts?” Lyonis’ instincts were on high alert. The safety of his pack and his mate may be in jeopardy.

Telal nodded. “The succubus sisters messed with something far greater than them. They are fools who have endangered not only themselves but countless innocents as well.”

Both Lyonis and Tyrian stood at the same time, growls forming from their throats. Telal shook his head at both of them.

“What is wrong with you? Surely you're not so addled from these women that you can’t see the truth. Listen, the facts are that we have no idea what Karr did. Some of my sources say they saw him below the rift recruiting demons, other say they saw him above the rift deep in the forests of Europe, nowhere near Chloe or her sisters at the time.”

“Okay we have no idea what he did, so what do we know?” said Tyrian.

Just then the door flew open and in poured the Bellum sisters. Chloe, the eldest, went to stand behind her new mate Tyrian. She laid a gentle hand on his shoulder, which the Commander reached up to touch for a moment. The youngest sister, Lily, flounced to the demon Telal and sat in his lap. The demon looked so shocked that Lyonis burst out laughing.

The sister managed to whisper something into the demon’s ear before his jaw dropped and he literally pushed her off his lap. She dropped to the floor and winked at him before sitting crossed legged in front of him. The demon stood and marched to the corner of the room.

Lyonis frowned when his mate—fine, his future mate—didn’t come near him but sat between her sisters.

“We know that something unusual happened in the forest in Germany,” Lyonis said. He watched his mate as her eyes lit up with...fear.

“Willow, do you know something about this?” She nodded and bit her lip.

“We need to know everything in order to move forward,” Telal said in his rich, strangely accented voice.

“I had just gotten off the train in Germany when I heard something strange, like a deep rumble. It came from the forest behind the train station.”

Lyonis’ gut tightened. She’d been there. She’d seen it and he hadn’t been there to protect her. Anger infused his blood, curled his hands into fists.

“I watched as the trees started swaying and shaking in this one spot. I remember the birds flew away from it and then...” Her eyes were wide, stark as she recalled her tale. Lyonis hated seeing this side of her. Gone was the strong woman capable of outwitting him and in place was a frightened woman in need of help.

“Then I saw this beast, this thing, stand up from the trees. It was huge; it towered over the trees and looked right at me. It-It said my name.”

The sisters gasped and went to her at once, hugging her close. She tried to push them away but eventually gave in and let them hold her even. She sat as stiffly as possible.

“What did it look like?” Telal asked, an odd note in his voice.

“It was dark, black. It looked like it had scales covering its whole body. It was dark outside so I didn’t get the best look at it, and well, after it said my name I hightailed it out of there.” His mate was smart. He still would have been there with her if it weren’t for her antics.

“This is bad,” the demon said simply.

Everyone turned to look at him. Shaking his head, he shrugged. “I have a hypothesis about what’s going on and it’s not good.”

“Tell us,” Willow said. Her strong voice belied the fact that she was gripping each of her sister’s hand tight enough to cut off circulation. Lyonis itched with the need to pull her close and comfort her. Dammit that was his job, not theirs.

“Before Karr was bound in the rift, he had a partner of sorts. It was a jaheera demon like Karr. The jaheera are big, strong, magically possessed demons; stronger than the idummi and more magically powerful than my kind. Her name was Dura, and her power was some of the darkest imaginable.

She drained the souls of other demons, even the idummi. The more souls she absorbed, the stronger she became. She thrived off their fear; it fueled her magic. You can imagine how easy a demon like her could gain power through fear...”

Lily clapped her hands together. “I remember reading about that. It was during the Great War that the Atal Warriors finally managed to subdue the great Dura. With the help of some demons, they were able to enclose Dura in a magical shell in a place so deep in the rift, she’d never be freed.”

“Until three foolish sisters—”

“Hey!” Lyonis snapped at the demon.

Willow’s eyes shot to him in surprise. That almost hurt him more than it shocked him. His own mate didn’t think he’d stand up for her? He’d lay his life down for her if it meant saving her. Keeping one rampant demon tongue in line was nothing.

Tyrian rubbed his chin in thought. “So maybe while Karr was summoned he went into the rift and freed Dura. She was captured after him, correct?”

“Right,” Telal agreed then cleared his throat. “We need to discuss something else.”

“What?” said Willow.

“Why the demons want to kill you.”

Cold silence filled the room.

The look of stark fear in Willow’s eyes was enough for Lyonis. He strode across the room, lifted her off the floor, and sat her in his lap. She fought him for a moment but then he whispered in her ear.

“Please, Willow, I need this.” Frowning, she stopped fighting to look at him. With a sigh of defeat, she sat and let him hold her. It was only a small accomplishment but his heart soared.

“Karr did try to kill me. There’s no doubt about that. I have the scar on my hip to prove it. But if it did make some pact with this demoness named Dura what would be the purpose of it?” said Chloe.

“My guess would be to kill the next sister as a sacrifice to bring him back in case he died,” Telal said. “Look at it this way, Karr was smart. If he did make a demonic pact with Dura, then in return for breaking her out of her magical binding, she’s magically bound to do whatever was promised in return.”

“To kill the next sister,” Willow whispered.

“Maybe, but not exactly. Probably to grab you and use you as a sacrifice to bring Karr back,” Telal said. He pinched the bridge of his nose. “Do you see what you foo—what you women have caused?”

“If Papa hadn’t given us away like sheep then this never would have happened,” Chloe protested. Tyrian arched a brow at her and she leaned over to kiss him soundly on the mouth. “Not that I regret it at all.”

“Perhaps, but if you wouldn’t have casted that spell none of this would have happened. When you casted the spell a connection was made between all of you and the demon. That’s how he can track you.”

“Can this demon, Dura, track as well?” Lyonis asked.

Telal threw up his hands. “Maybe, maybe not. She has no direct connection to them so maybe not.” Telal glanced at his watch and said, “I have to go. I have a meeting.”

Lily jumped to her feet but the demon quickly disappeared, his body fading from the room.

“We need to go, too,” Tyrian said. Chloe stood on tiptoe and whispered in his ear. He nodded and turned to Lyonis. “My mate and I would like to leave an extra guard to watch over Willow.”

Lyonis stiffened as Willow did. “Are you saying that my guards aren’t competent enough to protect her? That I’m not?”

“Not at all, Alpha Lyonis. I mean no disrespect. My mate Chloe trusts one of my guardsmen a great deal. He also has many great uses since he’s half-demon.”

Lyonis frowned at the thought; a no already on the tip of his tongue. But Willow’s sister Chloe came towards him and whispered in his ear. He watched Willow stiffen out the corner of his eye and he almost grinned. Whether a bit of jealousy or not, his future mate did care about him some.

“Draven will make sure she doesn’t leave. Lily saw you both in a dream, mated. I believe her. Just go slow with her; she’s more sensitive than she appears.”

Chloe strode back to Tyrian and twined her arm with his.

“So do you agree, Lyonis?” said Tyrian.

Lyonis glanced at Willow, whose scowl was etched deep into her face, then Lily winked at him, nodding eagerly. Lyonis sighed.

“Fine, I agree.”

The Bellum sisters left with a tearful goodbye and promises to visit soon. Tyrian said his man Draven would be by that night to begin his duties. Lyonis would have Thane and Jackie keep a close eye on him. If the Bellum Sister’s were trying to help Willow to escape then they just made a fatal mistake.

Willow was his and she wasn’t leaving him again.

Chapter 11

“You’ll be staying here.”

Draven glared at the small one-bedroom room. The bed was so small it would scarcely hold him let alone the woman he came with. God this was a mess.

“Janet, was it?”

“It’s Jackie,” she said with a fierce look.

He continued over her. “This won’t do. We need an extra room for my frimar.”

“Oh, really? I didn’t know that vampires slept separately from their concubines.” Draven stiffened and leveled the shapeshifter with a hard look.

“You will not speak disrespectfully of her again.” She merely cocked a brow at his cold tone, and the one named Thane took a hard step forward. She touched his arm to stop him.

“No, it’s okay, Thane. Concubine, frimar, whatever. This is what we have. Either take it or sleep on the streets. I don’t care, but you’re staying together.”

Draven ground his jaw left then right. At the soft touch at his elbow, he hesitantly turned around. Lucinda smiled a close-lipped smile. When she spoke, he nearly jerked back from her.

“Maagari letu.”

It took Draven a minute to process what she’d said and in what language she’d just spoken. She spoke the demonic tongue. She was a vampire. How, when did she learn such an old language? It wasn’t like there were many demons running around on earth anymore.

It is alright, she’d said.

Draven turned back to the awaiting shapeshifters feeling as though he was in another dimension. He nodded to them that the place was acceptable and didn’t wait to let Lucinda enter first as he should have.

Hell, he could barely stand. He went to a checkered loveseat and sat in it. He heard her soft, husky voice then the sound of the door closing. A spot deep within his eyes throbbed in time to the tempo at his temples. He covered his face in his hands. How was he supposed to get through this?

He could barely sleep most nights, and ever since he took her blood, there had been no sleeping at all. A half an hour here and there and then his mind wandered back to that night. He remembered the feel of her skin against his lips, the taste of her, could still hear the soft moan she made. She’d bewitched him. She was dangerous.

A startling touch on his shoulder sent him to his feet. His head whacked hard against her chin.

“Dammit, I’m sorry.” In a second, he had her sitting on the toilet in the bathroom.

“It’s fine, warrior. It was my fault.” She sounded muffled like she had something shoved in her mouth. Draven flicked on the light and squatted down in front of her to see better. His scowl deepened at what he saw. He hadn’t just knocked her in the face with his hard head, but one of her fangs had bitten into her bottom lip and bled.

His lips parted at the red line that dribbled down to her chin.

“Pardon me,” she said and reached for some toilet paper. She tucked that plump lip into her mouth and Draven nearly groaned as it came back out wet and clean.

“Here let me.”

He didn’t know what compelled him to say it. Some devil squatting on his shoulder he was sure. Her eyes widened in surprise but she handed the paper over and gently he wiped the blood from her chin.

When he finished he quickly tossed the reddened paper away and stood. It was becoming difficult to breathe around her so he turned and spun out of the room. He heard a shuffling behind him.

“Warrior, may I ask you something?”

Slowly he turned to her. He even managed a slight smile. “Yes, of course.”

She wrung her hands together. “Do you regret making me your frimar?” Shock hit him first, then several other emotions he wasn’t able to mask.

Her smile was sad. “I see. Perhaps it would be best if you broke your obligation to me.”

Draven’s chest tightened painfully. Release her as his frimar? The thought should have filled him with joy, but instead a bitter taste coated his tongue.

“No, Lucinda. I am happy that you’re my frimar.” It was only a partial truth because he did want her. Not in the way she may think. And not in any way he could ever act upon. She was beauty and refinement and reminded him of things he longed to forget. He fingered the scar at his side, so near to his heart. He could never forget the past with that kind of reminder.

She smiled gently. “If there is anything I can do to please you, you have but to ask, warrior Draven.”

He stifled a groan. She would, too. If he asked her right now to pull down that dress and feed him her breasts, she would. She might even like it.

“Thank you, Lucinda,” he said hoarsely. “Please call me Draven.” She bowed her head in acknowledgement.

“Take the bed. I’ll make a pallet on the floor.” Again, a frown tugged at her sweet lips.

“We may share the bed, warrior, I mean, Draven.” A hint of a blush colored her cheeks, brightening her green eyes.

Draven glanced at the bed if only to break her stare. That didn’t help either though as he pictured her riding him, breasts swaying before his eager mouth. A sweat broke out over his brow. Dammit.

“No. Thank you,” he added as an afterthought. “You take it.” Even feeling like he couldn’t possibly sleep a wink, he grabbed a pillow and spare cover from the bed and tossed it on the ground. He laid on top of it and closed his eyes. If he thought that would help, he was wrong.

Instead his ears got to listen to her soft steps as she moved around the room. He heard the sound of ties being unlaced and he nearly groaned. Rolling onto his stomach to hide the wood he was sporting, Draven couldn’t stop the mental picture that floated into his mind.

He could see her in his mind as sure as if he was watching her and not listening. Untying the cords at the back of her dress took forever, almost as if she was purposely going slow to torture him.

He heard the soft slide of cloth as she pulled her arms from the velvet sleeves. Smooth beautiful skin, that’s what would be there. He heard the dress pool to the floor then her light steps walking to the bed.

Painful thoughts floated through his mind. Was she naked underneath that gown? Was she lying right now in that bed with nothing but skin separating them? He tried to picture her in conventional underwear—the thought was laughable. This woman probably wore a white shift underneath with sexy little ties that he could unravel with his teeth.

Damn, his cock was about to dig a hole in the floor beneath him. He had to cool his thoughts or the sweats would never go away. The Bellum sisters, think about them. He could almost laugh.

After his investigation in Germany, he found serious evidence of another jaheera demon. Where it was now, he had no clue, but Henry was back at the castle sifting through human’s news footage to see if anything had been noticed. So far, no. Was that a good sign? His instincts told him no. That this demon was in the rift, building an army, collecting power, eating babies or whatever it does.

“Warrior?” said a soft, hesitant voice. Draven squeezed his eyes shut.

“Call me Draven.” He could practically feel her blush from the floor.

“Of course, my apologies. Do you wish to...feed tonight, Draven?”

She’d turned off the light as she gotten into bed. With the dark room, her sultry voice, and his hard cock, hearing the words feed and his name—damn the way she said it—sent his cock near to bursting. With a soft hiss, he reached down and gripped his cock through his pants. He squeezed tightly until some of the pain registered over everything else and deflated his erection, only a little.

“No, Lucinda. Go to sleep.” He thought he heard her sigh, but over his own hiss, he couldn’t be sure.

“Goodnight, Draven.”

Draven shut his eyes and tried to sleep and not think about the woman in the bed.

* * *

“Lyonis wants us to keep an eye on the vampire demon.”

Jackie didn’t turn around to face him. “I know.”

Thane shook his head and wished he could shake some sense into her. “Wait up, dammit. We need to talk.”

“I don’t think so,” she sang, stepping into the mat room they used for training and sparring.

The mat room was bigger than most training rooms. Nearly the size of a football field and under the pack’s town, the room was perfect for sparring while transforming. Every now and then they even put on a show for the kids with animal verse animal fights between members of the pack.

“Listen, whatever’s up your craw needs to be canned. We have work to do around here and we can’t do that if you’re ignoring me at every turn.” Something he said struck a chord because she stopped hard and spun around. The look in her eyes was hot with anger. His dick lengthened at it and he had to focus to tamper it down.

“What’s up my craw? Nothing’s up my craw. Why don’t you mind your damn business? We’re partners, nothing more.”

“Maybe you need something up your craw, might loosen you up a bit.” The close-fisted punch slammed into the corner of his lips before he saw her move. His eyes flashed at her in warning, a growl erupting from his throat. She didn’t back down but matched his. Dominant to dominant.

“You might like loose women—”

“Is that what this is about?” he said. She puffed out her chest and lifted her chin, fingers twitching with the need to fight; the need to shift. One that he was getting excited to give her.

“Oh, please. Not everything is about you and who you fucked this week.” His eyes narrowed hard on hers.

“You sound as if you care. Tell me Jackie is that what this is about? Are you jealous of the women I take, of the women who offer themselves to me?” Her jaw crunched side to side before she spoke.

“I don’t think your ego can stay contained in this room,” she said with tightly controlled anger. “Hear me this one time. I do not care who you fuck. It’s not my business. Take every free submissive in the entire pack, in all the packs in the country because I...don’t...care.”

Thane rolled his shoulders as the urge to fight stroked him. “Maybe you should try it sometime. Maybe that’s all you need—a cock to loosen up that tight ass of yours.”

Her war cry gave him only a second warning before his back slammed hard against the blue mat. His teeth clanged together hard, the breath whooshed out of him, and she didn’t wait for him to recover but let out a flurry of punches he barely managed to dodge and slap away.

With a growl of his own, he tackled her and slammed her back into the mat. She panted below him, teeth bared, eyes glowing with the urge to shift and really fight. Thane didn’t know what came over him. He caught her strong arms in his hands and planted them next to her face. His hips pressed against hers.

Her eyes widened, lips parting on a gasp. He didn’t hide his erection but rubbed it sensuously against her core. She let out a feral growl at him—a warning.

She didn’t scare him. He brought his face close to hers, lips inches apart as he watched her flashing eyes.

“Admit it,” he said, punctuating his words with a roll of his hips. “Tell me how wet you are for me. How bad you want my cock filling you up.”

Suddenly her thighs locked tight around his waist and he actually groaned. But then she launched him, using the hands holding her and pushing back against him. He went flying through the air. Wind rushed by him as he landed hard and rolled.

She stalked to him, a snarl on her face. “Never touch me again.” She turned and walked away.

Fuck that. He wasn’t done with her. Thane stood and stalked to her. She spun before he could touch her and flashed him a warning with her eyes. She was breathing hard. Perspiration dampened her hair and neck, molding her tight tank top even closer to her lithe body.

It was on the tip of his tongue to apologize but instead he said, “Fine, then tell me why you’ve been angry with me.”

Her jaw fell open. Then her arms shot wide to encompass the gym. “You insulted me you half-wit!” Thane let her own insult slide as he thought back throughout the day and to yesterday when this whole thing started.

“The comment about your hair?”

If possible, her jaw dropped even further and then she clamped it shut and started to applaud—slowly.

“You, Sir, are worthy of a Nobel Prize. You are obviously a very intelligent man.”

A tic formed at his right eye and he gritted his teeth to keep from snapping at her. “What’s the big deal, Jackie? It was a joke.”

Some look he didn’t recognize flashed across her eyes. She stood up straighter, spine erect and said, “It’s a big deal to me. How do you think it feels being the only ginger in the entire pack?” Thane’s eyebrows shot up as suddenly he understood. He’d hurt her feelings. They sparred with words so much that he never even thought the barb had stuck.

“It’s not really the color of ginger, more like copper.”

She made a sound of disgust and turned away. Thane didn’t like this. Not at all. He didn’t know exactly why or what was the cause of it but he had to fix it. He stalked to her and pulled her into his arms.

It was like trying to trap a squirrel. She wiggled, squirmed, and fought against him until finally he shouted, “Stop it!”

She did, her surprised eyes wide as she looked up at him. Thane quickly thought up what to say but then his eyes fell to her hair. He caught it in his hand, watching as the fluorescent lights beat off it in streams of golden reds.

“Let go of me, Thane.” She’d quit struggling but a hard frown pulled at her mouth.

Thoughtfully he said, “No, your hair isn’t the color of ginger but a beautiful copper that catches the eyes and makes it hard to look away.” He meant every word of it. What he’d said yesterday had been a barb at her but he didn’t know it’d upset her. He looked down at her unreadable eyes.

Slowly she reached up and touched the hand he held her hair in. Then viciously she yanked it away and pushed him back. He went, startled at her anger.

“I am not some submissive who will cow-tow to your pleasure on a whim.”