Blocking out the noise from the crowd, I circle my hands around his throat, increasing the pressure. “This is it motherfucker,” I whisper in his ear. “Say your last goodbyes. I’m going after your brother next, and I promise he won’t get off as easy as you.”
“You leave Brandon alone,” he gasps, trying to claw at my hold with his one good hand.
“I don’t think so. You can’t imagine the things I’m planning on doing to him in the pit.” I tighten my hold as I feel him start to weaken. “I’m going to take my sweet time skinning that bastard alive for what you both did. And when he begs for death, I’m going to let him heal and start all over again.”
With a final burst of adrenaline, Tommy struggles wildly against my hold, panic taking over. Furiously tapping at my shoulder as if in submission.
“This isn’t the fucking UFC,” I spit, “the rules are to the death. I’ll See you in hell, Tommy.”
With a sharp twist, the sound of his neck snapping reverberates around the room. I let his body fall to the floor—the crowd cheering wildly, chanting my name.
I instantly look up, finding Seth in the crowd. He’s pressed against the cage, his eyes watching Tommy’s unmoving body at my feet. I think back to Tommy’s words, not wanting to believe them. As if reading my mind, Seth quickly looks up, and I can see the war raging within him. He’s pissed. Whether at Tommy or me, it’s hard to tell. I'm guessing it’s both. Seth turns away, vanishing into the crowd. I can hear Thane behind me entering the ring, ordering his men to take Tommy's body out back and drain him. Never one to miss out on an opportunity, I knew he would make a hefty profit tonight selling shifter blood.
“Seth,” I hear Daniel call out as I turn my head to look at him, instantly noticing the blonde at his side. As if sensing me looking, she lifts her head. She has the palest blue eyes that I’ve ever seen, but it isn’t her eyes that hold me captive; it’s my wolf. Mate.
Chapter 5
Dani
“Seth,” Daniel calls out beside me after his friend, but I don’t turn around. I’m too focused on the man in the cage whose amber eyes hold mine captive. My body trembling under the unfamiliar rush of power, burning its way under my skin.
He exits the cage like a natural-born predator. His muscles rippling under a multitude of scars scattered across his chest like a magnificent piece of art. Had it only been moments ago that I watched him kill a man with his bare hands? Yet as he strides towards me with purpose, I feel no fear but a sense of belonging.
“You need to leave. Now.” He stops before me, my eyes dropping to his perfect mouth. “Can you hear me?” he growls, clearly irritated, and yet my breath catches in my throat as I close my eyes, feeling that growl right between my legs.
“No.” It’s the only word I can think to say. This close, his scent wraps around me, and he smells like the woods on a rainy fall day. The rush of power beneath my skin burning, as if seeking a way out to scent him for herself.
“It’s not going to happen, you hear me?”
Confused, I raise my head, opening my eyes. I’m surprised to find his eyes are no longer a beautiful burning amber but a deep black that sends a nervous shiver up my spine. There is nothing gentle about his gaze. It's hard and unforgiving. As if he wants nothing more than to kill me himself.
“Lautner,” Daniel calls out as I hear him coming to a stop behind me.
“Where did Seth go?” Lautner asks, tearing his gaze from mine, leaving me cold.
“Don’t worry, he’s alright. He just needs a little time. I see you’ve met my friend Dani. Dani, this is Lautner.”
“We’ve met. Now get her out of here, Daniel. She doesn’t belong here,” he spits maliciously.
“She’s here with me,” Daniel continues, undeterred by the look of hatred on Lautner’s face.
“Fine, then take your whore, but keep her out of my way,” he snaps.
I don’t know what I had been expecting when he finally came over, but this open hostility wasn’t it. “I’m no whore,” I hear myself say, finally finding my voice. “My name is Dani Court, asshole,” I snap back.
He smirks at my words as if I’d dared to speak to him that way. “Well, listen here, Dani Court. I don’t know what the hell you’re doing here, and I honestly don’t care. Just stay the hell out of my way. We clear?”
“There you are.” A scantily clad brunette comes up behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist and pressing herself tightly against his back. “Are you ready to play with me yet?” she asks, her voice husky as her hands roam over the taut muscles at his chest.
His eyes continue to watch me as if waiting for my response—a cruel smile on his face. I have the sudden urge to rip her hands away from him and replace them with my own. That man belonged to me, not her. I wait, glaring daggers at him, hoping he will cast her aside. Instead, he places his arm over her shoulder, pulling her close. “Let’s go, babe,” he replies, turning away with a sneer and taking whatever power I had been feeling beneath my skin along with him.
I watch until he vanishes into the crowd, immediately feeling the loss of his presence. A migraine comes out of nowhere as I gasp aloud, holding my head. The intense pain feels like it's splitting my brain in two as I start to panic. The last thing I want to do is have a seizure in the middle of the Warehouse.
“Dani, what’s wrong?” Daniel asks, immediately rushing to my side.
“Pills. I need my pills.” I frantically search my purse. “I know I put them in here somewhere,” I mutter, finally grasping the pill bottle. I shake two out in the palm of my hand, swallowing them down with a drink of my beer as I wait for them to take effect.
“Come over here.” Daniel takes my arm, leading me over to a seat on the outside of the cage.
We sit in silence for a few minutes, until finally, my heart stops pounding against my chest, and my breathing returns to normal.
“I’m okay,” I finally say, breaking the awkward silence between us.
“Are you sure?” he asks, obviously still worried by my episode. “What was that?”
“Migraine,” I say quietly, not wanting anyone else to hear. “The migraines come on first as a warning. If I don’t take my pills in time, I end up having a seizure.”
“Seizure,” he repeats, looking confused. “You’re a shifter, aren’t you? Is that even possible?”
“I’m just special, I guess,” I reply sarcastically, irritated by his response. He isn’t the first shifter to look at me as if I were crazy. Shifters were supposed to be pretty much immune to everything except silver.
“Shit. I’m sorry, Dani. I didn’t mean it to sound like that,” he apologizes, bouncing on the balls of his feet, clearly uncomfortable. “It’s just well … I’ve never known a shifter to suffer any form of illness. Except for Lautner, that is, but his is more mental,” he tries to joke before turning serious once more. “Look, I’m sorry, I should have warned you about him. He’s not the most pleasant person to be around. In fact, he’s a total asshole,” he mutters angrily.
“It’s okay, Daniel, really,” I smile, hoping to ease some of the tension from the past few minutes.
“No, it’s not.”
“How about another drink, maybe something stronger this time?” I ask, trying to change the subject. The truth is, I didn’t want to talk about Lautner, not with Daniel. He’d gotten under my skin, and I’m not sure why. I didn’t know the man, and frankly, I’m not sure I wanted to after the way he’d acted.
“Sure. I can get us another drink,” he says, jumping to his feet. “Stay here.”
As Daniel heads back down to the bar, I start to think maybe Lacey had been right all along. I should never have come here. The last thing I want to do is stick around and risk running into Lautner and his girlfriend again. With my mind made up, I collect my purse off the floor, rushing down the stairs hoping to hit the exit before Daniel returns.
As I fight my way through the crowded dance floor, a voice behind me stops me in my tracks.
“We need to talk.”
His voice is like a gentle caress across my skin as I turn around, finding Lautner behind me. I feel like a deer caught in the headlights of his sparkling amber eyes as my heart starts beating erratically within my chest. He takes a step closer as I hear Daniel call out my name. Lautner scowls as he turns to Daniel. Free from his gaze, I turn away, walking in the opposite direction. I see another staircase just to the right leading down as I hurry towards it, making my way down into its cold depths below.
“Dani,” Lautner calls out right behind me now. I keep my head down, trying to ignore him. “Wait.” His hand catches my shoulder, and I gasp at the electric charge, now humming through my body.
“You don’t get to run from me,” he growls in my ear. “Not unless you want me to chase you.”
His words send a delicious shiver up my spine that has nothing to do with the cold and everything to do with his proximity behind me.
“I’m only doing what you asked, remember?” I say, surprised at how husky my voice sounds. “I’m staying out of your way. I suggest you take your own advice and do the same. Go back to your girlfriend. I'm sure she’ll be looking for you?”
“Are you jealous, Dani?” he teases, bringing his chest tight against my back, brushing his stubbled cheek against mine.
“No,” I lie as my breath catches in my throat, and I shudder at the pleasure of his touch.
“I think you’re lying,” he whispers. His hand trails down my arm, leaving goosebumps in their wake, and I moan at the sensation.
“What do you want from me?” I ask breathlessly.
“I ask the questions. Now, why did you run from me?” His hand continues to stroke little intricate patterns on my arm as if prepared to keep me here if I try to run again.
“I wasn’t running. I was avoiding you. There’s a difference.” I close my eyes, trying to control the unfamiliar sensations raging through my body, making me feel alive for the very first time in my life.
“You shouldn’t be down here. This is the Sun Sinner's private quarters. Unless you’re invited, it’s not safe.”
“Something tells me I’d be safer with the vampires than you,” I state, meaning every word.
He chuckles against my back, and I feel it vibrate all the way to my toes. “Your instincts are right,” he replies, his hand moving across the plains of my stomach, pinning me against him. He towers over my petite frame, his body on fire as I lean back, desperate to capture its heat.
“Why are you doing this?” I whisper, wondering where the sudden rush of confidence is coming from.
“I don’t know. I should be running as far away as possible from you right now, and yet here I am.”
“That’s not an answer,” I say, opening my eyes and taking a step away from him. I feel the loss of his heat immediately, wrapping my arms over my chest for warmth.
“It’s the only one I can give you.”
His attitude is really starting to piss me off as I turn around to face him. My eyes darting over to the stairs behind him, wishing I’d never come down here in the first place. Would he even let me leave? I know Daniel will be looking for me.
“What … are you hoping Daniel will come to your rescue,” he sneers as if reading my mind. “No one can save you from me, Dani. Not unless I choose to let you go.”
I shiver under the intensity of his gaze, sensing the truth in his words.
He’s right. I’m completely at his mercy. I should be afraid. I’d just witnessed him kill a man with his bare hands only moments ago, and yet with complete certainty, I know he would never hurt me. My feet move of their own accord as if pulled by an invisible string until I’m standing before him, staring into his amber eyes. “What makes you think I need saving?” I ask, my hands reaching out until my palms connect with his muscled chest. He had yet to put on a shirt, and my fingertips trace the delicate white lines of his scars as I revel in the intense pleasure that fills my body at the contact of our skin.
“You’re playing with fire Dani … walk away,” he growls.
His words sound like a threat.
A warning.
I should listen.
I should walk away and go back to Daniel, but I can’t.
This close, I’m suffocating in his scent and burning in the heat of his body.
I can smell the faint hint of whiskey on his breath, and more than anything, I want a taste.
Before I realize what I’m doing, I close the gap … kissing him.
Chapter 6
Lautner
Her lips are soft as she takes me by surprise, but I respond instantly. Gripping her hips, I pull her tight against my body, deepening the kiss. She moans softly against my lips. Her hands clutching my forearms so tightly I know I will have little half-moon indents from her fingernails. I growl in approval. Usually, I hated it when a female tried to leave her mark on me. I had enough scars from a violent past. But with Dani, here, now. I want her to mark every available inch of flesh on my body, and when it healed, I want her to do it all over again. “Harder,” I say, breaking the kiss. I ruthlessly push her against the back wall, claiming her lips once more. I can’t keep my hands still as they travel down her body, gliding over her breasts. Her nipples are like stiff peaks as I pinch one over her dress, rolling it between my fingers, as she whimpers in pleasure.
I force my thigh between her warm legs as she rocks herself against me, and I know she needs this just as much as I do. Her teeth nip my bottom lip, driving me crazy as her hands weave their way into my hair, gripping it tight.
I remove my knee, desperate to feel her for myself. “Don’t stop,” she begs against my mouth as if fearing my rejection. I couldn’t stop now even if I wanted to. My hands want to caress every inch of her body as I imprint it to memory. I glide my hand down until it reaches the hem of her dress, teasing the bare skin at her thigh. I can smell her arousal. It’s vanilla and passion rolled into one. I want nothing more than to drag her into the nearest empty room, strip her naked, and worship her body from head to toe. But I know I wouldn’t make it. I can’t take my hands or mouth away from her for a damn second.
“Tell me you want this, Dani?” I whisper against her throat, slipping my hand under her panties. She gasps against my mouth at the feel of my hand against her swollen clit.
“I want this,” she replies breathlessly. I run my fingers teasingly through her soaking wet heat as she shudders in pleasure. I want nothing more than to slide my dick deep inside her as she comes apart around me, but I need to make sure she is ready for me first. I’m a big guy, and as I slip my finger inside her, she’s so damn tight it's taking every bit of my control to keep it slow. I work her over, my finger slowly gliding in and out as I brush my thumb against her clit. She tips her head back as if in submission, biting her lip. One bite. One bite, that’s all it would take, and she’d be ours. Claim her. My wolf begs.
Ignoring the cries within, I insert another finger, playing her body like a god damn instrument. My body is on fire in its need for her. I’m harder than I ever thought possible.
“Lautner,” she pleads.
“Come for me, Dani. Let go.” I nuzzle at her neck, needing to feel her release around me more than I needed to breathe. To know she is satisfied.
I bring my thumb against her clit once more, increasing the pressure until she cries out, coming hard around my fingers.
“What the …”
With a growl, I force my lips from Dani’s throat, turning to find Daniel stood at the bottom of the stairs. If looks could kill, we would both be dead by now, but the interruption is the awakening I need. I slowly release my fingers, pushing myself away. My wolf growling within, demanding we go back and take what is rightfully ours.
“Fuck,” I mutter, readjusting my hard length that would not get the release it wanted. How the hell did this happen? One minute I'm in the back room with Destiny, ready to forget all about this damn female, and the next minute, I’m out here searching fo
r her.
I take another step back, hoping the distance will clear my head. It doesn’t. I sneak a glance over to Dani. Her eyes are dilated, cheeks flushed, lips swollen from my kisses. She looks damn near perfect, which only pisses me off more.
“Goddammit, Daniel, didn’t I tell you to get her out of here?” I shake my head.
“Fuck you, Lautner. What the hell is wrong with you?” Daniel seethes, clenching his fists.
“Don’t push me.” I take a step towards him. I don’t want to hurt Daniel; he’s like my brother. But right now, my wolf just sees him as competition, and he’d kill him, I have no doubt.
“Lautner,” Seth calls out. I hold Daniel's stare, waiting until his eyes drop to the floor in submission before looking to Seth behind him.
“We’ve got trouble.”
Chapter 7
Lautner
I follow Seth back up the stairs, refusing to look back. “What is it?” I snap, looking in the direction Seth is pointing but thinking Daniel has just had a lucky escape.
At first, I have no idea what Seth is talking about. Until the lone man standing at the bar takes another drink, his coat riding up, revealing the guns at his waist.
“Shit. We need to move.” I turn my back on Seth, not waiting for Daniel to reappear. Hopefully, he’s taking my advice and getting Dani the hell out of here, because by the looks of it, this guy is about to light up the Warehouse.
I advance closer, noting the faint bead of sweat as it drips down his forehead. He’s nervous. I slow my pace, not wanting to spook him. Frowning, the man turns to look at me, pulling the gun free from his waist and opening fire.
“Get down,” I cry, throwing my body to the floor. My voice going unheard over the music. I see a few bodies drop dead to the floor, and it isn’t long before the screaming starts. I push myself up as I stalk towards him. It's like a goddamn obstacle course as I fight my way through the crowds hurrying towards the exits. The hunter smiles at my approach as if waiting for me, pulling the trigger. I dodge to the right, the bullet embedding itself into the wooden beam by my head, missing me by inches.
Lautner: A Dark Fated Mates Romance Page 3
