To Shackle a Shrew (Southern Sanctuary Book 7)

by Jane Cousins

  Except Felicity wasn’t in her chair, knitting, waiting impatiently for Devon to arrive, she too was in bed, the curtains drawn, seemingly deeply asleep.

  “Felicity?” Devon approached the bed. She leaned over to study her patient. Hmmm, this had gone beyond suspicious and was now screaming conspiracy. “I just wanted to drop by and let you know you can go home today.” She thought she saw Felicity give a slight wince… no, nothing. “Oh, well, if you don’t want me to sign the forms?” No reaction what so ever.

  Devon waited another minute and then exited glaring at Mac McKenzie. “What the hell is going on? Where is everyone? Is the hospital on lockdown because of the Sienna threat? Haven’t you caught her yet?”

  Blue eyed, square jawed, tall and seriously built, Mac McKenzie eyed Devon unflinchingly. “The cabin she was renting was empty, no news yet on where she might be. As for what’s going on here… no idea. But I’m guessing Nell knows.” His gaze shifted past Devon’s shoulder.

  Devon turned her head, there was Nell, striding down the corridor towards them, her white coat flapping around her knees. As always Doctor Montgomery was looking elegant, dressed in a fitted navy dress that bought out the blue in her eyes. Today, those normally serene blue eyes were sparking with what looked like anger, high colour staining Nell’s cheeks.

  “What the hell is going on here?” Nell snapped out, her gaze zeroing in on Devon as she came to stop in front of her.

  Huh, Devon wasn’t used to Nell going on the attack… that was generally her default mode. Before she could open her mouth to snap back a response, Nell barrelled on, pointing a manicured nail at Devon’s chest.

  “What the hell is wrong with you?”

  “Me?” Devon was a little stumped.

  “Yes, you. The hospital is on code orange, just because you decided to throw a snit an act out some elaborate payback plot. I have doctors locked in the lounge, patients begging for sleeping meds, orderlies cowering in supply closets and the nurses are threatening to walk out.”

  Oh Yami, the nurses were upset with her? That couldn’t be good. She thought back over her day. She’d arrived early, accompanied by Chief Hughes and several officers because the description she’d given of Sienna Groves as - weepy, drab yet sturdy, kind of like a walking fire hydrant but with breasts and limp mousey hair - had been deemed less than helpful by the police.

  Picking out the weepy lumbering form of Sienna from security footage had been easy. Once that was done she’d watched the police scurry off to track the wanted fugitive down for questioning whilst she went about her normal duties, accompanied by Officer McKenzie.

  Hmmm, she thought back over her patient load for the morning, from what she could recall there hadn’t been any unusual cases. She hadn’t made any particularly memorable hurtful cutting remarks or yelled at anyone for being a simpleton, and she was pretty sure she hadn’t made anyone cry… no, she hadn’t had to ask for the tissues in her office to be re-stocked today.

  In fact, it was a little embarrassing to admit, but her day was kind of a blur. Her mind constantly being invaded by flashbacks of the previous night with Liam. His hands on her, his lips, the things they’d done together… hmm, talk about distracting.

  Even now she could feel the heat building up once more between her legs, seriously inappropriate timing. With real effort she locked down her stray thoughts and returned her attention fully to Nell. “I haven’t done anything.” She stated, meeting Nell’s frown with a scowl of her own that could take paint off walls when applied correctly.

  Nell crossed her arms, not backing down. She might look like Grace Kelly but she had a spine of steel when it came to dealing with unruly patients and temperamental colleagues. “My phone has been ringing off the hook all day. Don’t you think I have better things to do than field complaints about your threatening behaviour?”

  “Who did I threaten and what did I say?” Hmm, looks like her aberration was having a greater impact on her life than she’d like. Common sense insisted she didn’t have to sleep with Liam again… then again, why make any hasty decisions until she’d heard Nell out.

  She’d been bundled out the house by Chief Hughes so abruptly this morning she hadn’t even had a chance to say goodbye to Liam, or give him a thank you for her morning scrub down. There was a remote possibility he might have left. She’d identified the threat against her, his job was done, wasn’t it?

  Right, well, once work was over she would just hunt him down. Wait, what? A Makura Princess did not chase after men. And she certainly didn’t chase down temporary aberrations just because they were good in the sack. Pride woman-

  “Hey!” Nell snapped her fingers in front of Devon’s face. “Are you listening to me?”

  “Not really.” She informed Nell unrepentantly. “So just what is it I’m being accused of this time?”

  Nell held up a hand and started ticking off fingers. “You said thank you to Mrs Greyton when she delivered you your test results this morning. You smiled at Carl when you passed him in the hall, and as a result, he and the other doctors, have barricaded themselves in the doctor’s lounge. You let Dolly Lamberton talk at you for ten minutes about her grandkids and then you asked if she had any photos you could look at. And lastly, the nurses are complaining that you keep humming.” Nell clenched her hand into a fist. “What the hell are you up too, Devon? Is this some sort of elaborate payback to freak everyone out because you’re stuck here in the Sanctuary?”

  Bloody Hell, she’d been humming? She’d been distracted, thinking about Liam, well thinking about sex with Liam and she’d been humming because she was…. Oh Sweet Yami, no! Because she was happy. Shit!

  This was so embarrassing. How was she going to tell Nell that she hadn’t implemented some elaborate plan to try to scare everyone? She was just happy. How lame was that? Except, what had she always said, the truth hurts way more than a hundred lies. “What can I say?” Devon forced a superior haughty smirk, executing a dismissive shrug. “I’m just happy.”

  “Goddess.” Nell heaved out a put upon sigh. “Honestly Devon, I know you’re in a snit about being stuck here, but you were the one who made the deal with Great-Aunt Alma. I warned you she was the very devil, but no, you decided you knew better and accepted her match making terms. If you want to torment someone, go torment Alma, no one will mind one little bit.”

  Devon needed to say something to appease Nell. What was that word people used? Damn, it was on the tip of her tongue… “Sorry?”

  Nell instantly relaxed, her blue eyes softening. “Look, I know this whole dating match making scheme is turning you into knots but could you just tone it down a little?”

  Devon gave her the haughtiest – you’ve got to be kidding me – look, she had in her Makura bag of tricks.

  “Okay.” Nell held her hands up in clear surrender. “But can you at least just go back to the snarling, snapping, uncomfortable silences and death glares? All this smiling and humming… it’s freaking everyone out.”

  Devon copied Nell’s earlier put upon sigh. “Fine. I’ll go back to being a bitch, but only because you asked me to.”

  Nell smiled. “Great. I’ll just go tell the staff the good news and we can downgrade the code orange.”

  “Whatever.” Devon waved a disinterested hand in acknowledgement before abruptly turning and stalking away. Nell’s petty administration problems weren’t her concern, she had a Merrow to track down and kill… happy? Her? He definitely couldn’t be allowed to live another moment.

  Except, if she killed him, then no more excellent sex. Damn, it was a quandary. All Liam was meant to be was a brief aberration, a momentary lapse in good judgement. Last night should have been enough, but even now her breasts ached and her sex throbbed. Brief? But what was brief when you lived centuries? For normal humans a night might be applicable but surely an aberration for a Makura could be translated to mean days… a week even.

  As Devon strode back to her office she passed a sturdy member of the janitori
al staff, who sent her a wide eyed pale wary look. Damn, and she was humming again. With determination she forced a fierce scowl, watching as the janitor relaxed.

  Rivers and Lakes, this wasn’t like her, she didn’t want to give up having sex with Liam but nor did she like the way she was behaving. Her body was addicted to the man and her mind wasn’t putting up much of a fight. She wanted Liam but she didn’t want to want him.

  The fact that she craved him, it wasn’t rational, or logical, it made no sense. She hated feeling out of control and she loathed that a Merrow – of all the men out there – had some sort of physical hold over her.

  Walking into her empty office she took a seat at her desk, the dating schedule Alma had drawn up lying face up caught her eye. The only rational solution she could come up with was to speed up the match making dates.

  Once she was married, back in Sydney, back in her old life, she’d forget about Liam and the sex. She would put her head down, concentrate on furthering her career and before you know it, ten years of marriage would be over and done with. Any and all Merrow would be officially out of her life.

  Hmmm, picking up the match making contract she had signed Devon studied the guidelines with a critical eye. What had Liam said, stop playing by Alma’s rules and play by her own.

  Oh, yes, she had the perfect way to speed up the dates, still she hesitated, her bank balance wasn’t going to thank her. Then she recalled Nell’s words, she’d smiled at annoying – nails on a blackboard - Doctor Carl Langtry in the hallway today. Smiled? When normally all she ever wanted to do to Doctor Langtry was take one of his treasured golf clubs and wrap the thing around his throat until he turned blue and ceased talking.

  Squaring her shoulders Devon decided things had gotten out of her hand and there was only one way to put things right, damn her bank balance, damn her addiction to Liam and damn Alma Richart. She had a week she figured. A week to cram in the seven remaining dates. A week to indulge her craving for Liam Chambers’ body.

  Surely that would be more than long enough to grow tired of him. The way he grinned even when she glared at him. The way his aquamarine eyes heated as they travelled down her body. The way he seemed to know what her body needed even before she did.

  A week? She could only pray it would be long enough to erase these…she hated to use the word, feelings, she had developed for Liam.

  Feelings were for weaker species, not a Makura. It was why they remained such a strong, proud and feared underwater clan. Honour was important and she would not bring shame on her mother and her Queen by refusing to abide by her betrothal contract.

  Still, a week? She could only pray it would be enough time for her to change these cravings, these feelings she felt for Liam into contempt and derision. Hmmm, perhaps she was giving him more credit than he deserved. Perhaps the sex hadn’t really been that great. After all, it had been what, a month, no, more than that. Yami, had it really been six months since she’d last hit a bar an indulged her baser urges? No wonder Liam had managed to make such an impact upon her. She loathed to admit such frailty but perhaps she’d merely been vulnerable last night. Perhaps Liam had just been in the right place at the right time. Any man engaging in coitus with her no doubt would have had the same effect.

  Speaking as a doctor and a medical professional, there was only one way to test her theory, track the man down and have sex with him again. It was the only logical and rational way to get to the truth of the matter. In fact, it was kind of noble of her to volunteer to test her hypothesis. Clinically speaking it just made practical sense.

  Standing up to gather her things Devon had to suppress a small wince. If she were so cool, so calm, so clinical, why were her knickers practically creaming at the thought of tossing Liam down on the nearest hard surface and having her way with him?

  Grrr, she was back to thinking the only way she would survive with her pride intact was to kill the Merrow… but first, she had a week of fucking him yet to indulge in, thank Yami.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Liam paced the front hallway, for the umpteenth time wandering to the study window, parting the curtains and staring out at the police car parked at the kerb. He wasn’t perturbed by the police presence. He was wondering when Devon would be getting home. He’d been antsy from the moment she’d been hustled out of the house that morning by Chief Hughes.

  He kept trying to convince himself he was merely mildly concerned for her safety. Identifying Sienna Groves as the green fire producing culprit was only a third of the equation. They still didn’t know what Sienna’s motivations were. Why she seemed to want Devon and him dead. And more importantly, they didn’t know where Sienna could currently be found.

  The local police, working in cooperation with the Southern Sanctuary enforcement team, had quickly discovered where she was staying. A rented cabin over in Hidden Cove, but it seems like she had abandoned the place in a hurry. Leaving no clues as to why she was here and where she had gone.

  That frustrating news had been compounded when his police escort assigned for the day, Cam McKenzie, advised that he wasn’t allowed to go swimming in the river to work off his tension. The enforcement team had members patrolling the river but as Sienna’s skills and abilities were still unknown they couldn’t risk his well-being in the open waters.

  Luckily Cam had offered an alternative and he’d spent the day at the Bright fitness centre, owned and operated by Elisabeth Bright-Tong. It was a world class facility, rivalling any establishment in New York or London. It had a dojo, fencing pistes, gym, yoga studio, weights room, gymnastics hall, swimming pool, climbing wall, a half pipe for skate boarders, archery field, boxing ring, cycling track and too many other options for Liam to take in.

  He’d spent the day there with Cam McKenzie in tow, first in the Olympic sized pool, churning through the water trying to quieten and control his roiling emotions and then he’d moved on to the climbing wall. Where his obvious prowess in the sport led to a climbing lesson for Cam that quickly grew to include five others.

  Elisabeth, dropping by at the end of the session, had been a nice surprise and they’d spent an hour discussing techniques for climbing frozen waterfalls. It had been more than a little flattering when she requested he come back tomorrow and teach another climbing class. After all, the woman wasn’t just a three times Summer and Winter Olympic gold medallist, she had climbed Mount Everest… twice.

  That session at the fitness centre seemed a long time ago now as Liam wandered through the house, too tense to sit. Where was Devon? She had to still be at the hospital which meant she was safe, surrounded by people, plus she had her own police escort, one of Cam’s brothers. He was sure she was fine. Still, he did another circuit of the living room then headed back down the hallway to the study window.

  Running fingers through his hair as he walked, Liam wondered why he was feeling so protective of the Makura Princess? It’s not like she was defenceless. Anyone who could punch through a road with their hair was a force to be reckoned with. But Sienna Groves had that weird green fire that burned through his water form and took a massive amount of liquid to extinguish. What if she snuck up on Devon unawares?

  He shook himself, discarding that thought, as if Devon ever let her guard down. Well, except with him last night. He recalled one moment when he’d used the ends of her own hair to tickle her, she’d giggled with abandon. Shit, it made him hard just thinking about her lying beneath him, relaxed, hair tousled, her dark skin looking flawless against the white of the sheets. Her dark eyes sparkling green flecks of drowsiness and desire.

  He pulled the curtain aside for the umpteenth time, where was she? Shit, speak of the devil. He watched as a second patrol car pulled up to the kerb and Devon exited the passenger seat. Bloody Hell, he dropped the curtain and raced back into the living room, taking a seat on the couch. Great, he was going to look like a love sick puppy just sitting there, waiting for her.

  Hurriedly he leaned forward and grabbed the folder Elisabeth had giv
en him at the fitness centre containing some insurance waivers. Flipping the folder open he just managed to turn the folder the right way up when the front door slammed shut, followed by the rapid click of Devon’s high heels as she stormed into the living room.

  “Hey, your home.” He smiled up at her, aiming for casual even though it felt like his entire blood supply had just travelled to his cock. Man, the woman was gorgeous. Sexy as hell in that prim past the knee, hunter green dress that bought out the green flecks in her brown eyes, made her legs look endless and that dark skin of hers, completely lickable. “How was your day-” The rest of his words came out muffled as Devon took two steps towards him, a glossy raven curl wrapping around his head, covering his mouth, effectively gagging him. “Mmffignk…?” Liam looked up at her, raising both eyebrows, what the…?

  “Listen Merrow. You and me? We’re not a couple. We don’t do polite chit chat. Or share our feelings. We’re not dating or playing house here.” Devon rested her hands on her hips, staring down at him with a hard eyed glare. “I’m not your girlfriend, your significant other, or even your friend with benefits. The only thing we have in common is sex, correct?”

  Liam nodded quickly in agreement. He certainly didn’t have any feelings to share other than an overpowering need right at this moment to peel Devon’s dress off.

  “Good.” Devon wasn’t sure why a small part of her was disappointed at his quick agreement, surely she hadn’t wanted him to protest that there was something more going on here between them? That way just lay insanity and ten years of having to introduce her significant other as the sleazy girlie photographer. “Good.” She repeated the word more firmly this time, giving permission for her hair to unwind the temporary gag and retreat.

  Liam grinned up at her. “Saying things like that Princess, you might just be my perfect woman.”