Lure of the Blood

by Doris O'Connor

  “And what if you don’t like the answers, little one?”

  His voice had dropped an octave, the intensity of his gaze painful to take, and Marnie took a deep gulp of air to steady her nerves.

  “Well, considering everything that I ever believed has been turned upside down in the last 48 hours and I’m standing here, talking to a man that shouldn’t be able to exist by the laws of science, how bad can it be? Right now, if you told me fairies existed too and there was a leprechaun riding a Unicorn behind me, I would not be at all surprised.”

  He smiled at her attempt to lighten the mood and she was once again struck by how insanely good looking that smile made his craggy features.

  “I haven’t ever met a leprechaun, I’m afraid, and Unicorns are very rare indeed, but I do have a few fairies working at my club, as it happens.”

  “You’re kidding, right?”

  His amused chuckle did strange things to her insides and her heart felt lighter. He leant in close enough to bury his nose in her hair and she felt him inhale deeply. Her heart went into overdrive again.

  “Any other strange creatures working in there?”

  Ion pulled back, still smiling down at her and she couldn’t help returning that smile, which made his eyes deepen, before he sniffed her again.

  “Will you stop doing that?”

  He ignored her exasperated moan and cupped her face in one large hand. “Apart from humans, you mean?”

  “What?”

  “My club…nothing stranger than the humans that work there.” He smiled again at her groan in response to that statement. “I do have one dragon and a few were panthers and an owl too, but mostly they’re wolves. My pack and the neighbouring one.”

  “Riiiiggght, of course you do…” Marnie was beginning to think she might not want the answers after all, all too aware of his intense gaze watching her. She had the beginnings of a headache, what with the information overload, not to mention the way her body was reacting to his nearness.

  “So, fairytales are true, is that what you’re telling me? All of them? Let me guess, there are real live witches too?”

  “Let’s just say, most legends are based on truth and there are plenty of things that humans don’t know about. Can you imagine the outrage if they did? Talking of which, how are you holding up, little one? Not going to pass out on me, are you?”

  Marnie shook her head, not trusting her voice. She was grateful for the arm that had slipped around her waist, pulling her into Ion’s side.

  “So what happens now… you’re gonna have to kill me, now that I know?”

  She was only half-joking. Surely he wouldn’t just let her walk away with this knowledge? The grip round her waist tightened, as he sighed into her shoulder.

  “No, little one. I have lost too many people I care about as it is.” He didn’t look at her, but the sadness was back with a vengeance. “We should get Leah back to her mother. Trust me, when she wakes up she will be screeching for food and she has no patience.”

  “I haven’t met a baby yet that does.”

  “And have you met many?” His eyes roamed her face, waiting for her answer, his body tense. “You didn’t strike me as the maternal type before. Intelligent, beautiful, sensual and sexy as hell when you’re dancing, but not maternal.”

  She avoided his intense gaze and answered, “I used to do lots of babysitting when I was younger. That’s all. And I figure at some point I will want a baby, but you kinda need a man for that. I don’t fancy myself as a single mother. A baby needs a mother and a father and a stable home. Not many people seem to manage that these days.”

  “I couldn’t agree with you more.” His voice held a strange edge to it and she lost herself in the intensity of his gaze, when she finally dared to look at him. “Did you know wolves mate for life?”

  “I do watch the nature channel, you know.”

  Her attempt to lighten the charged atmosphere fell on deaf ears. As his hold on her tightened further, awareness of him on every level made her breathing shallow, heat spreading through her veins until it all pooled in her core, causing moisture to seep between her thighs. Oh good lord, get a grip, girl. They weren’t talking about the two of them here. What had Lucas said? Ion may want her for sex, but he didn’t do happy-ever-after with humans. And after last night the last thing she needed was another roll in the hay with someone who wasn’t even human.

  Her body was not listening as a renewed surge of moisture soaked the scrap of material, posing as underwear, she had found in the bundle of clothes and had no choice but to wear. She knew the minute he became aware of her predicament. His eyes darkened further and she could see his wolf in the hungry expression in his face, his nostrils flaring as he sniffed her again. For some reason that was the most erotic thing ever, and she bit her lip to stop herself from moaning.

  “So, all the stuff you read in novels about wolves bonking everything that moves is not true, then?”

  His smile was pure lethal predator and his voice had dropped another few octaves when he growled his response. “On the contrary, wolves’ sex drive is legendary––never more so in shifters at this time of the lunar cycle––but once we claim our mate, I’m afraid you’re stuck with us.”

  “And you claim your mate how, exactly?”

  His wolf’s growl vibrated through her and she closed her eyes to get away from the heat in Ion’s gaze. Oh, good god. Why could she not just keep her mouth shut, for heaven’s sake? She didn’t really want the answer to that question.

  “Why are you so interested, little one? You definitely wouldn’t like this answer. You can’t even look at me.”

  Her eyes fluttered open then and she forgot to breathe, seeing his mouth hovering over hers and time stood still as they stayed locked together, neither one of them seeming capable of movement until Leah’s loud screech broke the spell.

  She found herself released abruptly. Deprived of the warmth of his body, she noticed the chill in the air. The sky was clouding over and even she could smell the rain on the breeze.

  He wasn’t looking at her when he said, “We should go in, it’s going to rain and Leah needs her mum.”

  Chapter Nine

  Ion stood eyes closed, head raised towards the ever-darkening sky where the full moon hung pregnant with promises. The packs’ resulting restlessness only increased his wolf’s agitation and it took all of his willpower to not join the woman his beast wanted to claim. Soaked to the skin, Marnie’s scent still clung to him, the image of her holding the pack’s youngest imprinted on his brain. They hadn’t made it inside before the heavens opened, and Marnie’s screech had rivaled Leah’s when the wall of water hit. He had scooped woman and baby up and run full pelt into the house, only letting go of both of them when they’d found Leah’s worried mother.

  His agonized howls upon remembering that scene sent the flop-eared rabbit at the edge of the forest back underground. If only Ion’s own needs could be as easily solved as Leah’s. The infant’s wails of indignation had ceased the instant she found her mum’s nipple. The expression on Marnie’s face before she hastily looked away had him grinding his jaw together to stop his wolf from leaping on her there and then. The sudden downpour left her dress completely see-through and clinging to every one of her curves. The racy underwear made his cock harden in his jeans instantly, the wolf’s low, excited yips ringing in his ear.

  Ion somehow reined his beast in, when he really looked at her. She was trying to rub the goose bumps off her arms, her face having lost what little colour she regained and she put up no resistance when he pulled her into the warmth of his body. Instead, Marnie snuggled in closer with a small sigh, and he picked her up and carried her back to his bedroom. She’d been half asleep by the time he got her upstairs, her eyes fluttering open in moaned protest, when he proceeded to peel her out of her sodden dress with, ”Ssh, little one, this needs to come off. You’re freezing. Let me take care of you.”

  Their eyes locked when he slid the fabric
off her shoulders revealing her silky skin. Her vivid blush stained the soft flesh the sliding fabric revealed, and he had to force himself to keep his movements gentle, as her scent hit him in the gut with the realisation that she was mid-cycle, her body responding to him instinctively. He froze in place until her unsure, “Ion?” and the way she pulled her legs up raised his wolf’s protective instincts. For once in agreement with his beast, he finished undressing her in record time and tucked her inside the downy duvet.

  “Go to sleep, little one, you’re safe. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

  “Pr…promise?” Her teeth were chattering, and he pulled her into his warmth with a muttered curse of surrender, his heart rejoicing at the trusting way she leant into him. He listened to her even breathing until exhaustion finally claimed him too.

  When he woke up, she was gone. Even now, out here in the pouring rain, he still knew exactly where she was and it made him swear again.

  How the fuck he could have missed her getting up and leaving earlier was beyond him. He couldn’t remember the last time he had slept that soundly. He never let his guard down, damn it––he couldn’t afford to––and yet, holding Marnie, he had done just that. He was losing the plot, tied up in knots about a human, who he would only end up hurting and despite his promises would not be able to protect. His wolf growled at the thought and Ion almost missed the soft voice behind him, before the scent of vampire hit him in the chest. He whirled around, ready to shred Lucas to pieces.

  “Easy, wolf. I’m not here to cause trouble, but we need to decide what to do about Marnie. So put your claws away and stop thinking with your dick for a minute. Have you told her yet?”

  ****

  Marnie sat, only half-listening to the incessant chatter of Leah’s mum. The woman, still gushing with gratitude, had insisted that Marnie sit at their table for dinner. Even though they had long since finished eating, she was still holding Marnie hostage. Leah’s ––husband? Mate? What exactly did one call them?––had left them half an hour ago, and more and more of the males and about half of the females followed. You didn’t have to be a shifter to realise how agitated they all were. The heavy moon visible through the windows didn’t seem quite so pretty to Marnie anymore. Not when she had a familiar ache low on one side of her abdomen and it seemed every unmated male in the room hadn’t been able to restrain himself from sniffing her on their way out. It was unnerving enough when Ion did that, let alone perfect strangers, no matter how buff they may be. Especially when she was expecting them to change into wolves and start howling at any given moment.

  Ion’s barely controlled animal masculinity was kind of exciting. Get real, girl… exciting? That was hardly the right word for the way she felt around him. When she awoke earlier, safely ensconced in the incredible warmth of his body, it had felt like the most natural thing in the world. She was so screwed. First, wild sex with a vampire, and now she didn’t even blink, waking up in nothing but her underwear next to a half-naked werewolf. No, not werewolf, she remembered Lucas’ warning all too clearly; but what did you call a man like Ion? Was he even a man? How much did his wolf control him, or was it the other way round? She was so clueless, but really, who’d have thought shifters and vampires and goodness knows what else really did exist?

  Turning slowly in his arms, a quick glance at the tight-fitting jeans he’d still been wearing told her in no uncertain terms that he was definitely a man, and raring to go, if that huge bulge was anything to go by. Marnie swallowed nervously, expecting him to wake up as she propped herself up on one elbow, all the better to study him. But Ion slept the sleep of the just, as her mum used to call it. Thoughts of the one woman she could always rely on brought tears to her eyes and she furiously blinked them away, stuffing her fist in her mouth to stop the sobs escaping. It had been over five years since that dreadful accident and sometimes, like right now, the guilt over her death was all-consuming and too raw for Marnie to deal with. It had been her fault, just like she now had the death of that would-be rapist on her conscience. They had all been right, she was toxic. She’d thought moving away from the small village she grew up in and making a fresh start in London would mean she could bury the past. She could avenge her mother and appease her guilt by getting her law degree and nailing the bastards of this world.

  Or at least, that had been the plan before finances forced her into Ion’s club, and the world, as she understood it, had changed forever. She had no blinking clue what she was going to do now and her growing awareness of Ion was so not helping. Marnie smiled in self -deprecation, which seemingly gave Leah’s mother encouragement to launch into a new speech. Marnie did her best to smile in the right places and feign interest in the baby’s family tree and the best way to get fur balls out of the carpet – seriously, fur balls? Marnie so did not want to know this…but her mind was still upstairs in the bedroom, letting her hands wander over Ion’s naked chest.

  He’d been so warm and hard, his skin as soft as silk under her fingers, the well-defined muscles in his chest covered by a light dusting of hair, leading down to the waistband of his jeans and his obvious erection. She never would have dared to explore him so openly had he been awake, too wary of what his inner wolf may do. Even in his sleep she heard the wolf’s deep rumble, when she had leaned in closer, drawn in by Ion’s spicy scent. It had sounded suspiciously like purring, which did the strangest things to her. Did he give off some sort of pheromone that she couldn’t help but respond to? She simply had to sniff his neck, in much the same way as he always did to her. That purring sound got louder, the arm around her waist tightening for an instant, before relaxing back in sleep. Marnie’s hands wandered up to his face, the ever-present stubble making her wonder whether he ever shaved, or even if he needed to. Her fingers traced those impressive cheekbones, the nose that looked as though it had been broken a few times too many, and the just-visible scar, disappearing into his hairline. When Ion’s eyes flew open for an instant, her hands froze, not focusing on anything, before he fell back into deep sleep with a sigh. The breath of air skittered across her sensitive skin, arousing every female nerve ending and settling deep in her core with a rush of moisture. She scrambled off the bed. She may not know much about shifters, but it had to be a bad idea to wake up a wolf when dressed in nothing but a thong soaked in her own arousal.

  She left him sleeping instead, and on her way downstairs, was cornered by Leah’s mum. She forced herself to pay attention to what she was saying, as she glared at another young man approaching her.

  “And of course the moon has everyone on edge. A wolf scenting his mate will find it impossible to not act on his desires at full moon, but you’ve got nothing to fear from this lot. The boss would have their furs for rugs if they actually tried anything.” She shooed the newest sniff tester away with a low growl of her own and a dismissive wave of one suddenly clawed hand, before smiling at Marnie. For all intents and purposes she was back to being just an ordinary, slightly rounded new mother.

  Sheesh, would she ever get used to that––and hang on, since when did she have to? She felt almost back to normal now, so there was absolutely no reason why she shouldn’t demand to go home, was there? Other than the fact that the only times she had truly felt safe lately had been in a certain alpha wolf’s arms. Best not think on that too much, right now.

  “It can be so romantic, though. Pedrus claimed me on a full moon, and well, I don’t think we saw the light of day for a week.” Marnie had to smile at the far away expression on the woman’s face. “Of course it may be different if one party is human. You’d have to talk to Louisa’s mum, but now that her mate is dead, she tends to stay in town, rather than here, so you haven’t met her yet. She’s the only human to ever have mated and stayed with the pack, or so I’m told. I’m quite new to the pack myself, but it can certainly be done; mating with a human, I mean.”

  “And you are telling me this why?” Marnie wasn’t at all sure she wanted to hear the answer, looking at the sympathetic
smile on the full face looking back at her.

  “Oh, Marnie, I may not have been here long, but I do know what a man looks like, when his wolf has chosen and the way the boss has been around you, it’s obvious. If you were one of us, you’d have sensed it already.” Her smile deepened when Marnie couldn’t stop the heat rising into her cheeks at those words, and she patted her arm in an affectionate gesture. “Oh, I see. Let me guess, he suddenly smells irresistible? You can’t keep your hands off him? How marvellous. Well, maybe it’s not that different for humans, then.“

  Marnie shook her head at the woman’s obvious delusion, ruthlessly tamping down the surge of excitement her words had caused for just a minute. Yeah, sure, that’s why he’d kept away from her. She had sensed him earlier, behind her. She’d known it was Ion by her body’s instant awareness. Her heart rate had picked up, the fine hair on her body standing to attention and she had to force herself to not turn around. His gaze had been like hot coals roaming over her skin, setting her on fire, moisture erupting between her thighs as his scent washed over her. And then he disappeared again. So much for him not being able to stop himself.

  Before she could voice any of her inner musings, she watched in disbelief as the would-be sniff tester from earlier erupted into furious growling and shed his clothes, running for the open doors. The air shimmered around him for an instant and with the next blink of an eye it was a wolf leaping out onto the terrace, swiftly followed by others, until Marnie was alone. Even Leah’s mum had disappeared. Surely she hadn’t shifted too? What the hell was going on?

  The howling carrying in through the open doors raised goose bumps all over her skin, and she forgot to breathe altogether, when Ion’s furious growl reached her, floating on the wind.

  “Get the fuck off my territory, Lucas.”

  Chapter Ten

  Fear held Marnie in its icy grip, as she followed the rumble of Ion’s voice, interspersed with the accented icy tones of Lucas and the growling of the pack. She couldn’t make out what they were saying over the noise of the agitated pack, but the hostile tone came through loud and clear. What the hell was Lucas doing back here? How dare he, and what on earth did he hope to achieve? Three thousand years old he may be, but the whole pack was out here. He was never going to get out alive, even if he did manage to defeat Ion. The mere thought of Ion getting hurt had her break into a run. She had seen Lucas in action, damn it. Whatever spell he had put her under to forget the night of the attack, had worn off and she remembered everything in sickening detail. Lucas moved at lightning speed and she had no doubt he had fed well, before he attempted to get here.