She was saved from further embarrassment as the food arrived. Gabe’s portion was large enough to feed three normal men’s appetite. Hers looked tiny in comparison, but she didn’t think she would even finish it. They ate and chatted, Donovan silent at the end of the booth, and her and Gabe even had a dessert. She had a light orange sorbet and Gabe had a huge portion of chocolate cake – his favorite.
As they were finishing up the desserts Donovan’s body tightened, sitting up even straighter, and then a raised voice could be clearly heard coming from a table in the corner.
“You’re a fucking leech! You’re nothing but a whore! You hear me? A fucking dirty whore!”
They all turned. A few yards away, a man dining with a young, petite woman started ranting at her. She sat with her head bowed, eyes downcast, body visibly shaking. It was pretty obvious this wasn’t the first time something like this had happened...her body language screamed of having gone through this scene many times before.
“Please, I’m sorry,” the woman’s soft voice cajoled.
“Oh my God,” Peri gasped as she saw the woman cringe down in her seat, as if trying to make herself invisible.
They all saw the man’s arm snaking out, grabbing one of her hands and pulling it onto the table, where he then used his other hand to grip it painfully...and squeeze. The soft moan that escaped the woman’s lips was clear for them to hear.
“Move,” Peri pushed Josef, who looked at her wondering what she was going to do.
“Why?” he asked her. Surely she wasn’t going over there?
“I’m not sitting here and watching that! Now, please, get out of my way.”
“If you want someone to intervene, we will do it. You, my little Witch, are not going anywhere near that animal...Donovan.” Josef nodded to his guard, who unfurled his huge body from the booth.
Peri watched wide-eyed as Donovan stood up, the staff in the restaurant watching, but not knowing quite what to do. What happened next shocked everyone present. The man yanked on the arm he had a tight hold of, pulling the woman forward over the table. Plates and glasses were knocked over, broken, falling onto the floor as he released his grip with one hand and raised his other, ready to hit the woman in full view of everyone.
Donovan moved so fast he was a blur, his large hand taking a grip of the man’s wrist in mid-air, jerking him roughly up out of his chair and carrying on...so that he held him aloft, his feet off of the floor.
“What the...” was all the man got out before his eyes found Donovan’s.
“You will not abuse this woman again. Do you understand me? If you do, I will hunt you down and show you what it means to be abused.”
Donovan’s tone was low, almost a whisper, as he spoke directly into the shocked face of the man. The huge Vampire also released his fangs, snarling as he did so. The man’s eyes were as wide as saucers and he was nodding his head like a puppet being worked by invisible strings.
“I am deadly serious...if you get my meaning. If you can’t treat your woman with respect then leave, do not abuse.”
Donovan opened his tightly clenched hand and the man dropped to the floor, losing his footing entirely and falling down. He scrambled to get up, watching Donovan with fear leaking from every pore in his body.
“Do not forget my words...human,” Donovan spat out at him, his tone full of unrestrained venom.
Josef got out, helping Peri behind him, Gabe getting out on the other side. Peri moved towards the woman, looking down at her now tear-stained face. “You should leave him before he does you serious damage. Trust me, this Vamp here will hunt him down if he does this again.”
The woman stared for just a second before standing up, picking up her small purse. Nodding her head in a silent ‘thanks,’ she left. Her man staring after her as if she had done the impossible...left him.
“Now, you will sit down, stay quiet, stay here, and you will not attempt to stop her. Do you understand me?” Donovan all but growled at the human, who sat down, still keeping his eyes on the Vampire.
Josef took Peri’s arm to lead her away. They had gone only a few steps when she heard a loud thud. Turning her head, she saw the man lying sprawled on the floor, his hands covering a very bloody nose, and a smiling Gabe walking away.
She gave her Wolf a smile, the ass had deserved it. As they made their way to the door another sound became clear in the room, more than a few of the guests were sitting, clapping. Not a loud raucous clap, a more restrained round of applause accompanied them as they left.
Peri tried not to smile, but failed, especially when she saw the frown on Josef’s face.
Chapter 10
As they neared the bottom of the staircase Sommerville appeared, as if from nowhere. “Sir, this package was delivered for you by an FBI agent, who said just to give it to you and he would see you tomorrow morning.”
Sommerville’s tone was as snooty as ever. Josef stared the man down and within seconds he had lowered his eyes as he held the package out towards them. Josef took it without saying a word, turned towards Peri and continued up the stairs, his hand on her elbow.
As soon as they were out of earshot of Sommerville, her curiosity got the better of her. “What is it? Is it to do with the case?” she asked breathlessly, excitement overtaking her.
“It is, I asked for an item of the child’s, so you could possibly try a locator spell. However, if you are too tired, it can wait until morning.”
Peri almost jumped up and down, her excitement growing by the second. “Oh, no, I want to try now, if it works, the baby could be home with his mom and dad tonight!”
Her voice rose as they walked along the hallway and Gabe chuckled. “She’s not gonna wait, so we may as well get it over with.”
Josef pulled out the ornate brass key for their room, Donovan stepped forward and took it, opened the door, and went inside first. Always on duty, he thoroughly checked their rooms before nodding his head to Josef and taking a seat at the desk. They followed him in, heading towards the seating area, Gabe throwing himself down onto one of the sofas, pulling Peri after him.
“Hey, I’ve got work to do,” she complained, struggling to get back up.
“You can do a simple locator spell sitting right here on my lap, baby,” he said, nuzzling the back of her neck as she squirmed on his knee.
Josef opened the package and pulled out a tiny onesie, blue with small yellow ducks, the size of it emphasizing just how young the child was. He stared at the clothing in his hands, trying to visualize handling an infant so young...or younger. Christ, he hoped he didn’t hurt their child when it arrived. Humans were so fragile, easily broken, none more so than a baby.
“Give it here.” Peri held out her hand and he passed it to her, still surprised at how small it was.
Peri took the onesie from him and held it to her nose. She took a long breath in...she could smell that unique new baby smell. Unbidden tears filled her eyes at the thought of this little boy being taken from his mom and dad. That was just plain wrong.
“You okay?” Gabe asked gently, pulling her further back into his body, wrapping his arms around her.
“Yeah, just the thought of the little one not being with his mom and dad, it’s sad.”
Peri tried to steady herself, she needed to focus if she wanted to help the gorgeous baby boy she had seen on the television screen. With a little effort she managed to calm her mind, getting control of the sadness that had engulfed her. This would be a simple spell, one she had been using for years...it had been how she would find the skipped bounties, so she was pretty darn good at it.
It didn’t take an awful lot of magical energy to do, only an item of the person she wanted to find, and a little concentration mixed with a little magic. She didn’t bother to pull any magic inside her – the amount needed was minimal – so she calmed herself and concentrated. Using the onesie as the anchor she started the spell, whispering gently
and then stopped.
Something was wrong. She couldn’t feel any of her magic, not even the tiny amount required for this simple spell. What the hell? Okay, calm down, she told herself, just pull some magic in and start again.
So she tried to do just that, reaching out and attempting to pull her power to her...only it didn’t come. Absolutely no magic flowed into her body. She frowned and tried harder with the same result – absolutely nothing.
“What is it?” Josef asked, noting the frown and concentration on Peri’s face, which was scrunched up tightly.
“I don’t know, I can’t do it, my magic doesn’t seem to be working properly, and I have no idea what’s going on. I can’t even pull any inside, none. It’s really weird and it’s never happened before. I have no idea what’s wrong with me!”
Her voice had started off confused, a little bemused, but soon rose in panic. Her eyes now darting between Gabe, Josef, and the onesie that lay in her lap.
“Maybe it’s ‘cause you’re tired.” Gabe tried to calm her and hide his thoughts at the same time. The earlier conversation with the doctor was now running rampant through his head.
Josef agreed. “Yes, I’m sure that is what’s wrong. You’re overtired and worrying about the Jones' baby probably has things a little off balance. We’ll forget about it for now, and you can try again in the morning.” He moved forward and removed the onesie quickly, not giving Peri a choice in the matter, replacing it in the brown packet it had arrived in.
“I think I’ll go for a shower.” Peri moved to get up, but Gabe had other ideas, grabbing her firmly and standing up with her in his arms.
“That sounds like a great idea, Josef, you joining us?”
Gabe didn’t wait for an answer, if Josef wanted to join them he would. He carried on into their room, kicking the door closed behind him before placing Peri on her feet and starting to undress her. He was damn good at it, having her naked in seconds, then pulling his own clothes off.
He drew her in towards his hard body, placing a hand on each side of her face, lowering his face and kissed her. It was gentle and wild at the same time as his lips took control of hers, his tongue entering her mouth to dance with hers. A small moan escaped her, deep down in her throat, the sound having a profound effect on Gabe.
Picking her up and carrying her through to the large, ornate bathroom, he turned the water on for the shower before placing her on her feet once more. His hands never left her skin, touching, caressing until finally one hand gripped her at the base of her neck and held her still.
Staring down into those green eyes, he felt breathless at the strength of his feelings for her. He truly felt that if he lost her he would simply cease to exist. He tried to get that thought out of his head...he would never lose her...he would make damn sure of it.
“What’s wrong? You looked sad there?” Peri was far too attuned to him to not notice the fleeting expression of sadness and pain that crossed his features.
“Nothing, was just realizing how much I love you, babe, that’s all...and that I could never lose you, never.” As he finished he picked her up easily and crushed her to his body, devouring her mouth once more with his own as he entered the shower.
Peri relaxing into him, not thinking, only feeling, as her Wolf gave her pleasure and love in abundance. Her mind only focused on what he was doing to her, with his hands, his lips, and now his cock...as he placed her back against the wall of the shower enclosure and entered her fully, a growl coming from his chest as he did so.
Peri’s head fell back, water cascading down over them as her Wolf thrust deep inside her, his lips now firmly working on one of her nipples. He nipped gently with his teeth and she almost came there and then, the feeling so exquisite. All thoughts of the failed locator spell vanished from her mind, as her Wolf took her to the high that only her men could.
“Look at me, babe, I want to see it, I want to see the moment it hits you.” Gabe spoke breathlessly as his own release drew nearer, desperate to see that look of pure bliss Peri’s features got when he brought her to orgasm.
She moved her head forward slightly, fighting to open her eyes, managed it, and staring into her Wolf’s face. His eyes were locked on hers, pupils so large they nearly took over completely, his mouth slightly open as they both rose higher.
One of his arms went around her ass, his fingers caressing her tight entrance there, sending little waves of pleasure outwards to join with the feelings coming from her tight sheath. Her eyes staying on his, watching his pleasure, bringing her ever closer to her own.
“That’s it my mate, show me...show me how much you like it.” Gabe’s voice was now low, barely more than a growl as he spoke, his Wolf just under the surface.
“Gabe…” His name left her lips in a whimper as her orgasm hit, her entire being completely overtaken by the feelings of pure ecstasy as it started deep inside her, radiating outwards to encompass her entirely. Her body quivering in the arms of her Wolf as her body responded to the climax.
“Fuck!” Gabe all but roared, seeing and feeling her orgasm as it struck. It was all that was needed to free his own, burying his seed deep inside his mate.
Peri’s hand moved to cup the side of his face, stroking gently as his orgasm took over. A smile appeared on her face as she saw the immense pleasure that she had induced in her mate. It brought her a great feeling of power that she could do that, her body could do that and she felt ecstatic at the thought.
“Christ, baby, you’re gonna kill me! My heart is beating outta my chest!” Gabe chuckled as he spoke, then nibbled her neck. Her hand landed on the hard muscle over the area of his heart. Her eyes widened as she felt it, could actually feel it, beating against her hand.
“Told ya,” Gabe smiled at her before pulling out and placing her on her feet.
“Don’t be silly,” she laughed as his hands started to wash her body, using a fresh cloth and soap.
“I’m telling ya, I thought my heart was gonna burst there! You make me so happy, Peri, really happy...like nothing I’ve ever experienced before and fuck it, your body is so damn sexy.”
Gabe was now lathering soap all over her as his hands played far too intimately with parts of her body.
“Behave, Wolf,” she admonished as he carried on, as she tried to slap his hand away.
“What? I can’t help it,” he laughed, but stopped and carried on cleaning the rest of her body as she started to do the same for him.
“Okay, we better get you into bed for some rest, come on.” Gabe pulled her out of the large enclosure and grabbed one of the very expensive fluffy towels from the towel warmer on the wall, wrapping her in it before taking one for himself.
“I’ll just dry my hair a bit first.” She moved to the hairdryer next to the embellished mirror over the double sinks.
“Okay, don’t be long,” Gabe said, moving out of the bath and through to their bedroom.
Peri found him a few minutes later, already in the large bed, waiting on her. He pulled the cover back and motioned for her to join him. “Come on, sleep.”
She noticed his voice was back to normal as she climbed up and into the bed, his arms pulling her close and snuggling her into his warm body. Her eyes fluttered, closed, and she was asleep in moments.
Chapter 11
Josef didn’t follow Gabe and Peri, staying in the lounge area, waiting. As soon as his Vampire hearing picked up the sounds of obvious pleasure coming from the attached bath, he pulled his phone out. He found the number he wanted and pressed dial, waiting a number of rings before it was answered.
“Doctor,” Josef didn’t allow the man to say anything first, “as this is an emergency number perhaps you should endeavor to answer in a timely manner.”
Josef’s tone was ice cold, annoyed at being kept waiting – again – by the doctor.
“I’m sorry, I was outside at the barbeque.”
The answer did nothi
ng to alleviate Josef’s annoyance. This doctor thought that was a reasonable excuse to not answer his emergency line?
“A barbeque? Hmm, I am beginning to think that perhaps you’re not the man for us.” Josef’s thoughts were on how to find a doctor that actually answered his calls without keeping people waiting.
“No, no, my apologies, it won’t happen again.” The man’s voice rose slightly, obviously wanting to keep Peri as a patient, probably for the exorbitant fees he charged.
“Fine, now the reason for my call. Peri is a very powerful Witch, however, earlier she failed to carry out a simple locator spell. Why?” Josef spat the words out, suspecting that the problem with Peri’s magic was entrenched in her pregnancy.
“Ah, yes, that can sometimes happen in this kind of pairing. As I said before, a Wolf is also a magical being and there can be some unique difficulties during such a pregnancy. If the mother is powerful in witchcraft, this can cause a ‘lapse’ in her magic...until the child has grown somewhat and is past the point of possible miscarriage, or sometimes until after the birth. It’s like a safety mechanism. If there is a conflict of magic going on inside the mother, then there is a slight risk to the baby, hence that risk is removed. This usually occurs around the eight to ten week point of the pregnancy. Her powers should return soon, though every pregnancy is different. I usually see the return of magic in the expecting mother around the five month state…twenty weeks or thereabouts. However, sometimes it doesn’t return until after the birth. With magic there’s no guidelines, unfortunately.”
Doctor Allen stopped talking. Josef was frowning as he replied, “I see, thank you, we will see you on our return,” and hung up.
The consequences of this was hitting home to him. If Peri wasn’t able to practice magic, she was more vulnerable than ever.
A noise from the corner made him look over, seeing Donovan watching him close. His guard had obviously heard everything, if the look on his face was anything to go by.
Josef inclined his head. “It appears we shall need increased security again.”
The Witch, The Wolf and The Vampire Series Boxed Set Page 41
