“But what about Aodhan. If he’s the man you’re supposed to be with, don’t you think you should stay?”
Mal bit her lip. What was she supposed to say? Everything she’d learned about him and his people told her that the concept of destined mates, Rajnis, was very real to the Dardaptoans. Aureliana had told her how she herself longed for her mate and she couldn’t imagine making it to the almost six hundred years Aodhan had waited without finding her own mate. “I don’t know, Mick. I really don’t.”
“How do you feel about him? Do you care for him? Like him? Respect him just a little?”
Did she? Did she not feel those things for him? She did. But was that enough? Did she feel more for him? She honestly wasn’t sure. “I don’t know. God, I hate this! I wish...I wish it was normal! I wish I was normal! I’ve not been with a man in six years, Mick, and even then it was just to prove that I could be. Now, I’m with a vampire? How am I supposed to do that? I deal with numbers, not magic or mythical beasts. Vampires don’t exist. Werewolves don’t exist. Banshees don’t come wailing at my door. It isn’t real!”
“Apparently, Mal, it is. Question is, what do you want to do about it? Theo loves me and has waited six hundred years for me. I know that in my heart and in my head. It’s scary, unbelievable, and fantastic. Can you honestly say you don’t think Aodhan feels the same for you?”
“I don’t know.”
“Then don’t run away. Give this new place time. Apparently we’ve suddenly got plenty of time now.”
Mal nodded. Her sister was right she didn’t have to rush this. Hadn’t he said that they would wait until Josey was ready before they’d take them home? Maybe she should stay long enough to ensure Mickey would be ok without her, then go back to where she belonged?
Of course Mickey hadn’t seemed to need her much in the last week or so, so what would it matter to her sister if Mal stayed or went?
***
“You’re staying, too, then?” Mallory stared at the cousin who’d been her best friend since diapers. “You really want to?”
“I think so. When I think of not being with him, I feel sick, Mal. I can’t do it.” Emily stood out in the gardens, next to the fountain where Josey had been attacked. Three feet separated the two women, but Mal knew the canyon had never been larger. She’d thought for sure Emily would want to forget this place, to go back to the life they’d had with their family and Taniss Industries.
“So that’s it, then? You’re just turning your back on the rest of the family?”
“No!” Emily’s eyes widened and she shook her head emphatically. “I’d never do that! You know that! I wouldn’t do that...anymore than you would.”
“Then what are you going to do?”
“I’ve been thinking...”
Chapter Seventeen
Aodhan sat beside his Rajni while she spoke with her cousins about the plans they had devised. It took little effort for him to see that his female was not happy with the changes her cousin Emily had proposed. And why had the smallest Taniss suggested such a thing? Aodhan was not sure having a TI laboratory in the middle of Dardano would solve any of their problems. So many of the Dardaptoan people were filled with hatred for the mere name Taniss. A building full of people working under the Taniss umbrella would be a security nightmare.
A nightmare that he would have to deal with.
But if it meant keeping his Rajni close and safe with him, how could he not champion this cause?
A thump on the table in front of his female had Aodhan focusing his attention on her. He’d noticed they did that whenever one of the females would speak and wanted the deaf one’s attention, they would knock the table to send vibrations. His female might not have agreed with what the others were suggesting, but these women were a team. Anyone could see that. His female signed as she spoke to her blonde cousin. “We know. But what other choices do we have? There are several issues we still need to work out. But we want you to head the medical research. Keep a very close eye on all of it. Just in case.”
Cormac’s Rajni nodded, apparently accepting the assignment. So what would his female be doing?
That was something he asked her as he escorted her back to their suite after the family meeting. “What will your role be, kitten?”
“Similar to what it is now, was, I suppose.”
“And what was that?” Aodhan felt a rush of shame that they had put so little thought into the women and their lives before they kidnapped them that he still didn’t know what position his female had actually held within her family.
“Well...since Emily took over from Grandfather, she’s been overloaded with everything that Grandfather should have been doing, but wasn’t. Grandfather wanted Rand to take over for him several years ago, but my brother has never really wanted the responsibility. So we worked it out between all of us that Emily would take it. And she’s good at it. Really, really good. Except with the financial end of things. So I handle that my degree is in accounting and whatever I can for Em when she needs help.”
“And this lab? What will you do?”
“Em will still be CEO of all the TI holdings, but I will be acting Head of this place.”
Her tone was more resigned than excited. “You do not want that?”
“I don’t know. Regardless of what I want or think, this is what is going to happen. For Em and Mickey, at least. I don’t know what Josey will end up doing.”
“And you?”
“I’m staying until I’m one hundred percent certain that they will be ok. And then...I don’t know. If this works, I’ll run it along with Josey’s dad if he’s willing until one of my other cousins is able to. Maybe. I might end up staying here long-term. It really depends...”
“On?”
“Who knows? We need to contact our family, get the ball rolling. That’s one thing we’re good at. When we decide to do something, we don’t waste any time doing it. If this is what Em wants, and the Board which is basically me, Em, my dad and brother, Josey, and her dad, and our cousin Marshall can all come to agreement, it’s done.”
“Do you think that agreement will be easy in coming?”
She was silent for a moment. “Yes. If we word it right. We were opening a new research facility, anyway. It might as well be here with Mickey and Em. And we can make a convincing argument that they need to be close to their new ‘husbands’. The rest of the Board tends to listen to Em...and me, I suppose.”
“You know what I want...but only if you are happy, kitten. That’s what I want above all else. Keep that in mind when you’re making your decision.”
Nothing else was said as he keyed in the code to open the door to their suite and motion her in ahead of him. She sank immediately to the turquoise couch, and stared pensively out the window. “I will...I was going to head this lab up anyway. Once we cleaned up the mess Grandfather had made. So the only thing that would be different would be the staff we can’t exactly have a whole bunch of humans running around unsuspecting and the location. I was leaning more toward something close to our home. I hate commuting and I hate helicopters.”
“If it’s somewhere inside Dardanos city limits, you won’t have to do either.” And he wouldn’t have to worry about his Rajni driving around the Colorado countryside unprotected. He’d ensure a team of his best guards escorted her to and from her destination each day.
“That is one plus, I suppose.” She stood, paced around the sitting area. She stopped at the veranda that led to the gardens. When she slid the glass door open, he joined her on the balcony. They stood looking over the area where her cousin had fallen for several long moments.
Aodhan wrapped a hand around her shoulder, wanting nothing more than to pull her to his chest. “Kitten...”
She shifted, stared up at him with suddenly determined eyes. “I can’t go home. Not permanently. I can’t leave Em and Mickey and possibly Josey to build a life here. Especially since I am different now, too. How could I? But...”
“But you f
eel trapped into this. I understand.”
“I don’t think you truly can. I didn’t ask for any of this. I know I just have to deal with it. I hate not being in control. Hate it.”
Aodhan winced, knowing what she referred to. He hadn’t touched her against her will, not sexually, but he had forced these life changes upon her. What did that say for the kind of man he was? Was he any better than the man before? “Mallory, I…”
“You need to understand something. Just because my family is planning to stay here, that they accept this new way of things...that doesn’t mean that I accept all of it. Especially you.”
Aodhan winced at the harsh words. He understood. He truly did, but why couldn’t he hold on to hope that one day her heart would change toward him? He wrapped his hands around her forearms and brought her closer, until he could feel the exhalations she released against the V of his vestis. “Perhaps, in time you will not feel so reticent with me.”
Before she could answer he dropped a quick kiss on her lips. She didn’t fight him, didn’t pull away. She didn’t respond either. He was about to pull back when her hands fisted on the material of his shirt and she leaned into him. Her body was pressed against his and she kissed him with more passion than she had before.
It was she who pulled away first, and she stared up at him with a puzzled expression. “I...”
Aodhan pulled in a harsh breath. “Go. Go back inside, now. I can’t not want you, think about you. And when you touch me, I want to...just go inside, Mallory. Now.”
Chapter Eighteen
Mallory did as he told her, practically running up the metal stairs that led to his family suite. Her heartbeat echoed in her ears, and the taste of him was hot on her tongue. Why had she kissed him back? Was it that blood...lust...thing taking hold of her again?
Mallory wiped a hand over her mouth as the thought of tasting his blood again filled her mind. Why did she want it so badly? Would it always be this way, her wanting him, and him only? She tried to imagine drinking blood from someone else or even from a glass. The images sickened her. She dropped to the couch and stared at the glass door, waiting for him to enter. What would she say? Why in the hell had she kissed him that way?
It took him forever to return to the suite, and when he did, he wouldn’t meet her eyes. Mallory cataloged the tension that still held his body. He wanted her, and she wondered how long his control would hold. How long would it be until he snapped, and just took what he wanted? He had taken her from her home simply because he wanted to, hadn’t he? So why did he show such restraint when it came to sex?
Finally, after several long moments of silence he looked at her. Mal bit her bottom lip as she waited.
“I will not lie, I want you here. Close. Where I can see you, smell you. And yes, taste you. But dammit, female; I am not sure how much longer I can stand not touching you.” He towered over her and glared down at her. She squealed when his large hands wrapped around her upper arms and he jerked her to her feet. “Do you realize how much I want to touch you, fucking need to? Do you know what it does to me to see you dressed as my female?”
His hands tugged on the scarf around her waist, pulling the knot free. The tunic she wore underneath the scarf was the kind that wrapped instead of fastened. The material parted, revealing the bra she’d had a servant get for her days ago. Mal grabbed the material and tried to keep herself covered. He stopped her. “Mallory…damn you!”
She covered his hands with her own, intending to push him away. The fine trembling of his fingers where they clenched the silk had her hands stilling for a long moment. His flesh was so warm, his hands so damned strong. Yet they trembled…for her. What was she supposed to think about that? “I can’t do this! I can’t be what you want me to!”
“Mallory, kitten…sweetheart…” His hands dropped to her waist and he lifted her. This time when he kissed her, it was gentle, almost sweet. It was more than apparent to her that he was holding himself in check.
Mallory slipped her hands behind his neck and clung to him.
He made her feel so small, vulnerable. But not really in a bad way; not like she had felt before. Aodhan made her feel vulnerable, feminine, almost delicate. Treasured and cherished. And for a woman close to six feet tall who deliberately kept men away, that hadn’t happened to her before.
She let the kiss continue for several long moments. When she pulled away it was because she needed to breathe, to reevaluate how she felt. “I…”
She jumped away from him when someone pounded on the door to the suite and called his name. She didn’t need to hear his curse to know he resented the intrusion just as much as she welcomed it. While he answered the door she slipped into the bedroom. Sank down on the mattress and forced herself to take several deep breaths.
What in the hell had she been doing?
Mal jerked the tunic around herself, then tied the silk scarf as tightly around her waist as she could. From there on out, she was only wearing the vestis that buttoned. It would be best just to make sure neither of them was tempted again. She stretched out on the mattress and listened to the voices coming from the sitting area. The words had gotten louder, more determined.
Something had happened. Mallory’s attention sharpened. She rolled off the bed and opened the door a crack, watching Aodhan and the head of Aodhan’s personal staff Phelan as they discussed a note clutched in Aodhan’s hands.
Aodhan was cursing, then he crumbled the note in his fist. “Has the Jareth Equan been notified?”
“Not yet. I figured it was best to speak with you. Aodhan, there’s more. Matthuin Lycurgus has also gone missing. No signs of him. We need to assume he’s been compromised.”
“And they’ve found no signs of who took the women?”
She heard the anger in Aodhan’s voice, saw the tension that held his body. It was different from the tension that had held him just moments earlier. Now he looked angry and worried. For whom? Had something happened to his sister? To someone else she knew? Her cousins or Mickey?
Mallory stepped into the sitting area. “What has happened? My sister? My cousins? They’re all right, aren’t they? Josey?”
Aodhan’s head jerked up and he stared at her, his expression telling her he’d forgotten she was even in the suite. “Of course. No, it does not involve your family.”
“Then what?”
“Our Chief Healer and her daughter have been kidnapped.” Worry flashed in his gold eyes. “We are tracking them now.”
“Kindara?” Mallory had met the other woman and respected her. And her daughter Jierra. Jierra had spent a lot of time with both Josey and Mickey. Mallory had spoken with her, too, but she sensed that Jierra found her intimidating, so Mallory hadn’t pushed. She found the younger woman to be timid and naïve, herself. Mallory winced internally as she imagined the fear that Jierra must be facing. “Why would someone kidnap them?”
“For several reasons. Two that we can readily think of. Healers of our Kind are exceedingly rare and extremely valuable. That Kindara is a female healer and is Chief Healer for Dardano just increases her value to the right people. And Jierra’s birth parents were related to eight of the ten Dardaptoan lines. She’s the eldest such descendant. That makes her Dahr Rydere’s heir, until he and your cousin Emily can provide another. She has always been a target. It’s one of the reasons Cormac took her to his sister to raise. Kindara was the highest ranking female of our Kind. Dammit, we’ve done our best to protect Ji! Phelon, pull every available security officer except those assigned to the new
Rajnis. If we act quickly maybe we can cut the bastards off somehow.”
Chapter Nineteen
Mallory waited for him. She hadn’t intended to, but worry for Jierra and her mother had her unable to sleep. Who had taken them? Other Dardaptoans? Those wolf creatures like those that attacked Josey? Something else? Just how dangerous was living amongst these people? Were kidnappings the norm? Was that why no one had bothered to bat an eye when Aodhan and Theo had brought
her and Mickey into the hotel?
Exhaustion radiated from him. And defeat. They hadn’t found them, then. Mallory pushed the covers back and sat up. He jerked, startled. “I didn’t know you were still awake.”
“I was worried. Anything?”
“Two sets of footprints, obviously male. The abandoned car. We think they took them in opposite directions.”
“I’m sorry. I was hoping…do you think you will find them?”
“I don’t know. We’ve had healers kidnapped before and never return. Theo’s aunt disappeared a week after his mother died. We think Lupoiux took her. That was over fifty years ago. No signs of her.”
“You don’t think my Grandfather has anything to do with this, do you?” Mallory hadn’t wanted to ask the question, but the thought had plagued her for hours. What if her Grandfather had taken Kindara and Jierra? What would that mean for all of them now?
“I hope to three hells not. I don’t think Kindara could handle it.” He pulled his vestis over his head and tossed it toward the bathroom. His pardus followed. Mal forced herself to not look down. His body was large and toned and strong. He was really a beautiful man, almost perfectly formed. She wanted to touch him, to run her fingers along his shoulder blades and down the muscles of his chest. Every part of him was designed for speed or strength. Beautiful. “I have men searching the hills. If they are still nearby, we’ll find them. I’m going to rest for a few hours, then I’m joining the teams. I only came back to speak with
Theo. To see if he could get any vision.”
Mallory still wasn’t sure she believed in precognition, but Mickey seemed to believe in Theo’s abilities. “And did he?”
“Only that there is clear danger to both Kindara and her daughter, but the danger is not from the same sources.” He sank onto the bed beside her, then stretched out beneath the blankets. Mallory scooted over quickly. She knew she touched him while they slept side by side, but it was different when they were in bed and awake. “Cormac is furious, of course. And terrified. They are the closest family he has, and he will stop at nothing to find them. I just hope we find them quickly before any more traumas can be inflected upon them. They have suffered so horribly.”
In the Beginning... Page 32
