“The human?” I’d heard a lot about her and none of it was good.
“Yes, for the time being, but someday soon she’ll be a nightshifter.”
“And if she wants to be a fox; do you plan to be her sire?” I did not like that idea at all, nope not one little bit.
He shrugged. “If she asks me to be, but honestly I don’t think she’s even talking to me right now. She was pretty upset when she figured out that I thought she was you.”
“I don’t want you drinking from her, or hell, anyone you’ve ever slept with.” My hands flew up to cover my mouth but it was too late, the words were already out before I even realized what I was saying.
I’d spent the last thirty years trying not to think about Solomon as anything more than a friend, because I knew that being one of many would never be enough for me. If he couldn’t be mine and mine alone, then I couldn’t allow our relationship to become sexual. Thankfully, the females he did sleep with usually spared my feelings by waiting until I wasn’t around to pounce on him. So at least I rarely had to witness his widely talked about sexual antics. Yet even without seeing for myself, I always hated knowing that he slept with every damn woman who would have him.
Now, the thought of him feeling sexual pleasure, even just from feeding, with anyone but me had the fox clawing at my insides. My human side didn’t like the idea much either and the vampire was ready to go on a homicidal rampage.
Welcome to the wonderful world of mating a mocking voice chuckled in the back of my mind.
Solomon grinned, a sexy curve of his lips and prowled over to stand directly in front of me.
No, no, no. He was too close. The heat radiating from his body pulsed between us and I had to clench my fists behind my back to keep myself from touching him.
“Technically, I’ve never slept with anyone except for you, but if you mean all the women I’ve had sex with, you’re not leaving me many feeding options and once you take away all the mated females, there are almost none.”
His voice was soft, hypnotic, and his eyes were pools of melted caramel ringed with liquid gold. Wow, no wonder so many women have dropped their panties with just a look from him. In all the years we’d known each other, he’d never looked at me quite like that before, but what he said made no sense at all.
“What do you mean you’ve never slept with anyone but me?”
Smoothing his hands up and down my arms he stepped even closer until a deep breath would have my suddenly aching breasts brushing against his warm, hard body. “You are the only woman I have ever shared my bed with or fallen asleep beside. I’ve never wanted to have that level of intimacy with anyone but you. That’s why I almost always had sex in public places. I do enjoy having people watch me, but more importantly, it was easier to avoid cuddling in a bar than it was in a bedroom. But even when I did end up in a bed, it was never mine and I never stayed long after the sex was over.”
I knew I should be outraged for females everywhere, but I just couldn’t manage it. I’d never had any idea why he felt the need to flaunt his sexcapades in front of everyone, but I never imagined it was to avoid intimacy with his partners.
“If you weren’t interested in the intimacy, then why have sex at all? Why not just bite someone and get off that way?”
He leaned down and ran the tip of his nose up my neck inhaling my scent as he did. “As long as I kept my body sated it was easier to deny my craving for you. But now that I’ve had a taste of you, I will never get enough Renee.”
I shivered as moisture pooled between my legs. He placed a small kiss on my neck... then another... and another...
I stepped back out of his reach, panting with the effort it took.
“Look, we don’t have to let the mating frenzy rule us. I know your half-hearted attempts to get me into bed were just your way of making me feel better about myself. If we make a clean break now maybe your fox will eventually give up and let you get back to your life.”
“If my attempts were half-hearted it was only because I knew sex with you would mean something and I didn’t want you to be hurt if and when I ever found my mate.”
I shook my head but before I could argue, he moved back in front of me and cradled my head gently between his hands. “You felt it Renee just as I did. Neither one of us could have stopped what happened between us. How would you have felt if we had spent the last thirty years together as life partners and then my mate came along and swept me away with the mating frenzy? Or hell, now that you have a fox of your own you could have found your own mate. Where would that have left me?” He shook his head, obviously not wanting to contemplate that kind of pain. “I’m sorry if I’ve hurt you, but I really did think I was trying to protect you.”
His eyes bore into mine willing me to believe him.
Could any of this possibly be true? Could Solomon really want me as much as I’ve always wanted him? Even without the influence of the mating frenzy?
“I need time to think Solomon. Could you give me that without making me worry about you challenging Dimitri?”
He growled low in his throat.
“I went to him, not the other way around, and technically we weren’t mated yet.”
His eyes remained locked with mine for a long moment before he finally said, “I’ll give him a pass just this once Renee. If he touches you again I will kill him.”
A shiver went up my spine and even though I’d always thought shapeshifter possessiveness was a bit over the top, my womb clenched with raw, hungry desire. It was the fox of course. Until six months ago I’d been a vampire, not a nightshifter, and I was still getting used to sharing my soul with a fox. She wanted to be possessed by Solomon, to be one with him and his fox. When it came down to it, mating was all about the animals - our human and vampire sides were just pulled along for the ride.
Solomon groaned, closing his eyes and inhaling deeply as a tremor ran through his entire body. When he opened his eyes again, they were bright gold with no trace of the human’s caramel or the vampire’s black. I knew his fox was in control and if I didn’t act fast, I’d be pinned to the wall with him thrusting between my legs again. Not that it hadn’t felt incredible, but there was more going on here than sating physical desire.
Reaching up, I brushed my hand along his jaw. It was rough with stubble, at least two days growth adding a few years to his boyish good looks. To me he was always a living fantasy, but when he let his beard grow just a little like it was now, he was something more. It was almost as if this shadow of manhood transformed his carefree teenage persona into something edgy, something dangerous. It made it that much harder to rein in my own fox and stop what was about to happen.
“Come back to me Solomon,” I whispered, holding his powerful gaze. “You know I don’t want to do this. Please help me stop it before it goes too far again.”
His hands fell away from my face forming fists at his sides. He tensed, his muscles rigid as he struggled to gain control. “Go Renee,” he finally ground out through his teeth. “Get away while you still can.”
Tearing my eyes away from his, I hurried down the hall with my fox howling in my head the whole way. I knew exactly how she felt; I wanted Solomon just as much as she did, but I would fight this mating with everything I had until I was sure all three parts of his soul wanted me as much as his fox did. I just couldn’t accept anything less.
~ Solomon ~
I clenched every one of my muscles tight in an effort to keep myself from following Renee. I’d never had to struggle so hard to bring the fox back under control - but then, he’d never been face to face with our mate before tonight. It didn’t help that she still carried the fire demon’s scent on her either. The fox wanted to cover her with our scent until there was no mistaking who she belonged to. He also wanted to slaughter Dimitri and any other male that dared to even look at Renee.
As soon as she was out of sight, I took a few tentative steps and found that I had enough control to leave the dance club and the fire demon b
ehind. Using the back hallways and the service elevator, I headed back up to my suite, maintaining a tight leash on the fox along the way.
Once I was in my room I flopped back onto the bed with my hands behind my head and thought about everything Renee said. When I looked back at the last thirty years from her point of view, I could see why she might think I wouldn’t want her to be my mate. She was right; I’d fucked just about every unmated female that crossed my path since I met her. Most of those women came to me easily, but the ones who hadn’t I’d pursued relentlessly until they finally gave me what I wanted. Renee was the only woman that I’d ever accepted no from without putting up much of a fight.
How could she not come to the conclusion that I didn’t want her?
Shaking my head at my own stupidity, I vowed to make things right between us. Somehow, I was going to show her exactly what she meant to me, and not because we were mates, but because she’d always held my heart in the palm of her hand.
Chapter Seven
~ Solomon ~
The following morning I stood in front of the bathroom mirror examining the new mating marks on my body. It looked as though my flesh had been ripped open by claws to reveal reddish brown fox fur underneath my skin. The marks started at my wrists and spiraled around my arms up to my shoulders. There was also another set of claw marks slashing across my back from my right shoulder to my left buttock with a fox eye hidden behind them.
I was happy to see the mating marks, but I was concerned because the eye on my back was closed. Usually that only happened when one of the mates had gone into the afterlife. With both of us still living, it should have been open and reflecting whatever emotions Renee was feeling. On top of that, I should have been able to feel those emotions coming through the mating bond. The closed eye and the fact that I couldn’t feel even the slightest twinge of emotions from her indicated that whatever spell Renee used to keep me away was still working to some degree. It shouldn’t have been possible since magic normally treated mates like one being, but I couldn’t deny the evidence.
The only reason I wasn’t completely freaking out was the fact that there was already so much color in the marks. That reddish brown fur was proof of the love Renee and I already shared. Normally new mating marks resembled pencil sketches and the colors filled in as the couple got to know each other and fell in love. The marks on my body weren’t as colorful as they could be but they were certainly more complete than I’d ever seen on a newly mated shifter before. That led me to believe the spell was strong enough to complicate my life by blocking the flow of emotions through the bond, but it wasn’t strong enough to stop the mating altogether.
Deciding not to reveal my newly mated status quite yet, I put on a long-sleeved Walking Dead T-shirt and a pair of black cargo pants. The fox did not like hiding the mating marks, but I wanted to make sure Renee was ready before the inevitable gossip started.
Heading downstairs, I went in search of Katerina to see if she needed any help with the finishing touches before the banquet tonight. When she wasn’t in her office, I checked the dance club but only found a few dancers rehearsing on stage. My next stop was The Outer Rim, the one and only restaurant in this dimension. It was adjacent to the Supernova dance club and served breakfast, lunch and dinner 24/7. Scanning the dining room, I noticed several people looking like death warmed over, probably hung over from the night before, but no sign of Katerina.
Moving on, I reached out to push my way through the swinging door to the kitchen when it nearly hit me in the face and Olivia, The Outer Rim’s Head Chef, barreled through it muttering, “Thinks he’s Chef Fucking Ramsay, he does. I’ll show him hot and tangy...” The tall brunette didn’t even notice me as she stormed by fuming with anger.
Shaking my head, I reached out again and this time the door opened easily allowing me to pass through into the kitchen where I finally found Katerina. She was stunning as always in her designer dress and spiked heels with her silky black tresses hanging in loose curls down to her waist. Our friendship went back to her childhood and she was one of the few unmated females I’d never even considered approaching for sex.
Some things just weren’t worth risking your life for.
Katerina was arguing with Serrano while the kitchen staff tried to ignore their presence and continued working.
Taking a deep breath Katerina said, “Serrano, I need you to have a little faith in Olivia. She and her staff are more than capable of handling the extra workload this tournament and especially the banquet tonight have created.”
He ran a frustrated hand through his shoulder length black hair. “I’m only doing my job Katerina. She needs to learn how to accept constructive criticism.”
Katerina snorted. “Look, I know Dragon put you in charge of everything related to food service at all of his properties, but that doesn’t mean you have to come in and step on the local managers’ toes every time you come for a visit - especially not at this particular location where the Head Chef happens to be your ex-girlfriend.”
“Olivia was a lot more to me than a girlfriend,” Serrano growled.
“Fine,” Katerina said throwing her hands in the air. “Whatever she was to you it’s over now, and has been for decades. Let it go. And if you can’t, at least leave her alone for the remainder of the tournament or I’ll be forced to take this up with Dragon.”
With that, I knew the argument was over. Dragon very rarely sided against Katerina and everyone knew it.
Serrano glared at her for a moment with the black eyes of his vampire then turned on his heel and stalked past me.
Once he was gone I asked, “Playing dirty now aren’t you?”
Katerina smiled, a slow mischievous curl to her full lips and came over to give me a hug. “Is there any other way to play Solomon?”
Chuckling I pulled back from the hug. “I guess not.”
She stepped back and leaned casually against a stainless steel countertop. With her four-inch heels, she was just slightly taller than I was. “Why can’t all the division managers be more like you Solomon? You never come here and make waves, not even when you find something not to your liking. Somehow your visits always seem to make the entertainment department run smoother and everyone you interact with is singing your praises by the time you leave.”
“I guess I just have more faith in the local managers and their staff,” I told her with a grin making her smile in return. “Besides, I find it’s far more effective to encourage creative problem solving than it is to point out what people are doing wrong and expect them to start doing things my way.”
“And that’s Serrano’s problem in a nutshell. He’s too much of a control freak to let people think for themselves,” she said shaking her head. “Even if he does stay away from Olivia for the rest of the week I think I’ll still have a talk with Dragon and ask him to keep Serrano out of our hair permanently. I don’t need his help to run one restaurant and a banquet hall.”
Serrano and I were friends but I knew he could be difficult to get along with. I also knew he liked to hold a grudge.
“It may come to that, but I’d urge you to look for another solution before you take that step.”
She tilted her head to the side considering my advice for a moment before nodding. “That’s good advice Solomon. I don’t want to make an enemy of Serrano; I just want to look out for Olivia and her well-being.”
“I’ve always liked the way you stick up for your people Katerina,” I told her sincerely.
“Thank you Solomon. Now tell me why it’s taken you so long to come visit us. When Renee told me she wanted to stay here and work, I half expected you to make this your primary base of operations within a week. Then you never showed up. I don’t want to pry, but you’re like a brother to me and Renee is my friend. I know something is going on between the two of you, but Renee won’t talk to me about it. Is there anything I can do to help?”
I looked around and caught more than one glance in our direction. With supernatural
hearing it would be impossible for the kitchen staff to miss our conversation even if they tried not to eavesdrop - which they probably wouldn’t bother doing.
“Maybe we could move this conversation somewhere more private.”
“Perhaps you’re right. We can talk in the arena. There’s something I want to show you and along the way you can reopen the portal that you closed last night,” she said linking her arm with mine and guiding me towards the exit. “We have a new sorcerer, Grayson, but he’s young and not very experienced with portals. Not that that mattered much in this situation because when he failed to reopen the portal, three other visiting sorcerers tried and also failed. All of them said they’d never seen anything like it, but they couldn’t touch the portal - couldn’t open it or even dissolve it and create a new one. Whatever you did made it impossible for anyone to travel from here to that location.”
“That was the idea,” I told her, unable to keep the growl out of my voice when I thought about the fire demon and the reason I closed the portal to begin with. Katerina glanced over at me, one eyebrow raised in question but I shook my head. “Not here.” Her dark brown eyes lit up with curiosity, but she inclined her head and we strolled out to the portal arm in arm.
Once the portal was up and running again, I accompanied Katerina to the arena just outside Supernova. This arena was very similar to The Pit with its archaic stone seating and sand covered battleground, but rather than a cavernous underground death chamber, this was an open-air stadium that would be transformed many times over the course of the tournament.
Thankfully, this dimension was what we called a dark world, so we never had to worry about burning to a crisp. The only light here came from a pair of moons that were always high in the sky casting an eerie glow over the forested landscape.
When I finished telling Katerina about the spell and everything that happened the night before, she took a moment to digest the information. Finally, she said, “Mated, is not a word I would have ever expected to hear in the same sentence with your name Solomon.”
M&L03 - SS Page 7
