“I’m sorry if I woke you up,” he said.
“You didn’t. I was already awake. I’d gone down to the kitchen for some water.” Roxie stared at him closely for a few seconds. “I think you need to be pulled off the rotation until you’ve claimed Braelyn.”
“I haven’t gotten that bad yet. I can still do my duty.”
“I never said you were or that you couldn’t. When the others went through this, they were pulled off rotation as well. Saskia might not be here to make the final decision, but I want you to do it anyway. It’ll also give you more time to be with Braelyn.”
Skylar had to agree with that last part. If he didn’t have to worry about taking his shift watching over Roxie, he could use the extra free time to get to know Braelyn better, and her him.
“All right, I’ll do it. But only if you promise to help me break what I am to Braelyn. You apparently had a calming effect on Ansley when Roan told her and she freaked.”
Roxie smiled. “It’s a deal. Why don’t you get up and go home? I’m sure you want to get a fresh set of clothes before you see your mate again. It’s almost five now. I’ll be fine with just Beowulf and Dirk to watch over me before Jager and Daylen arrive later this morning.”
He obviously wouldn’t be getting any more sleep, not when he knew Roxie would more than likely be awake to hear him have another erotic dream. “Fine, I’ll go home.”
“I’ll leave you to get dressed then. And whenever you’re ready to have me talk to Braelyn, just give me a call.”
Skylar watched Roxie leave the room and blew out a breath. He hoped today would bring him one step closer to making Braelyn his.
* * *
After Skylar arrived back at the Protectors’ mansion, he went directly to his room and took a long shower. It did nothing for his semi-aroused state, but it helped to loosen some of the tension he had in his shoulders and back.
He turned off the taps with the thought of leaving the other people in the house some hot water and stepped out of the glass surround shower stall. Skylar dried himself and then used his hand to clear some of the steam fogging up the mirror over the sink. He combed out his hair and decided to let it dry naturally.
Naked, he walked back into his room and pulled on a clean pair of blue jeans along with a black t-shirt. After donning those, he sat on his bed and turned on the TV. It was still a bit early for anyone else to be up and around. If he stayed in his room long enough and was lucky, one of the others would have started cooking some breakfast once he went downstairs.
At around eight, he heard the sound of a phone ringing and then multiple sets of footsteps heading down to the lower level. Skylar waited another fifteen minutes before he too left his room.
Thinking he’d timed it perfectly, he walked into the kitchen expecting to see one of his family members slaving over a hot stove. That wasn’t exactly what he saw. Not only did the stove sit cold from lack of use, but all the members of the household, minus Dirk, sat at the table with grim looks on their faces.
“Did someone die?” he asked when he reached the group.
Saskia spoke first. “No, but the news could be just as bad. Miles phoned me on my cell this morning. He wants to see Jaden, tomorrow.”
“Are you going to let him?” Skylar easily read the concern Saskia had for her niece when she glanced over at Jaden.
“Jaden will have the final decision.”
“Do you think that’s wise?”
“That’s what we were discussing before you came down. I think it should be Jaden’s decision. As long as Miles still thinks she is the foretold one, I don’t see him being much of a threat. He might have turned to the wrong side, but he wouldn’t harm his own child.”
“I don’t know,” Leif said. “I don’t like the idea of Jaden around the bastard.”
Jaden gave her mate an exasperated stare. “He’s still my father. I think Aunt Saskia is right. I don’t think my dad would harm me. You didn’t see the look on his face when he first saw me and called me by my mom’s name. He might be a bastard, but he truly cared for my mother. And since I’m the last living connection to her, he won’t do something stupid like try to attack me.”
“And,” Saskia said, “it isn’t as if we’d let you see him alone. Since you are supposed to be the foretold one, we have to act the role of your Protectors. Most, if not all, of us should be there.”
“What about Roxie?” Roan asked. “We can’t leave her totally unprotected. She is the real foretold one, after all.”
“I’ll watch her,” Skylar quickly said. “Roxie pulled me off rotation this morning, but I don’t think she’ll mind spending some time with me and my mate.”
Saskia nodded. “Then it’s settled.” She looked at Jaden. “That is if you still want to see Miles.”
“I do,” Jaden said. “If anything I want to learn how he and my mom met and what caused them to break up before I was born.”
Saskia stood. “All right. I’ll call Miles back and arrange a time and place of my choosing. Once I get off the phone with him we can make further plans.”
Skylar wasn’t sure if this was a good idea or not, but it wasn’t his place to deny Jaden the chance of getting to know her father. He just hoped it wouldn’t blow up in their faces.
Chapter Seven
Braelyn made it back to her parents’ house from setting her plans into motion with only twenty minutes to spare before Skylar was to arrive. She raced inside the house and yelled a quick hello to her mother. Before she reached the stairs to the upper level, her mom stopped her.
“Wait a second, Braelyn.”
“I’m in a bit of a hurry, Mom. Skylar will be here soon.”
“This won’t take long.” She held out a plain white envelope. “I found it in the mailbox this morning while you were out doing your running around. It has our address on it but no stamp.”
A sense of unease washed through Braelyn when she took the envelope from her mother. On the outside, she tried not to let it show. “I guess the person thought it would be faster to drop it by the house instead of putting it in the mail. I’ll look at it upstairs.”
With the letter clutched tightly, she ran up the stairs and into her room. Braelyn shut the door behind her and crossed the room to her bed. She sat and tore open the envelope, hoping it wasn’t what she thought it was.
Her hands shook when she unfolded the single piece of paper and read the message printed out in a large font. It was from the same person who’d sent the other letters. She read the similar threats, but this time they’d escalated by calling her a whore and saying her sickening public displays with a man needed to stop, permanently. And that her type of woman needed to be cleansed from the face of the Earth.
Braelyn forced herself to take deep, steady breaths and not to hyperventilate. Not only had the person who sent this letter more than likely watched her with Skylar, he or she also knew where her parents lived, and that she was there. She picked up the discarded envelope, and as her mother had said, there wasn’t a stamp on it. The letter had indeed been hand delivered.
After shoving the letter back into the envelope, Braelyn put it inside her purse. She couldn’t ignore these threats any longer. She needed protection, and who better to provide it than Skylar? At some point during their date, she’d show him the latest letter. Given the business he was in, surely he’d know what she should do to handle this situation discreetly. Making this public knowledge would only give the sender notoriety he or she didn’t deserve.
That decided, Braelyn changed into a pair of dark blue skinny jeans and a tan short-sleeved silk blouse. She pulled on the new ankle boots she’d bought the day before. She’d just finished putting on a bit of makeup when she heard her mom call up the stairs to her.
Giving herself one last look in the dresser mirror, and satisfied she didn’t look white as a ghost, Braelyn snatched up her purse and walked out of her room. Once she reached the bottom of the stairs, she ran her gaze over the man who waited f
or her just inside the front door. Skylar’s gaze found hers, and he smiled.
The mere sight of him caused her body to react. For the rest of last night and then all this morning, he hadn’t been very far from her thoughts. If she didn’t know any better, she’d say she had become obsessed with him, something she’d never done over a man before. It was also during the small hours of the morning—not able to sleep because he dominated her thoughts so much—she had come up with the plan of how she wanted her day with Skylar to go.
“All set?” he asked when she’d walked over to him.
“Yes.”
With a shouted goodbye to her mom, Braelyn let Skylar guide her out of the house with his hand on the small of her back. Being near him, the last of the unease she felt because of the letter drained away. When she was with him, she felt as if she were safe, protected. Maybe it had something to do with Skylar’s large size. All Braelyn knew was she felt more comfortable with him at her side.
Once they were inside Skylar’s Infiniti, he put the key in the ignition and said, “So have you had a chance to think about where you want to go out to eat?”
She put on her seatbelt and turned her head to look at him. “Actually, I did better than that. I already have a reservation at the Roots restaurant at the Orchard Garden Hotel. It’s for twelve-thirty, so we have plenty of time to get there.”
Skylar smiled. “It would seem you were more on the ball this morning than I was.”
“I figured it would save some time if I went ahead and made the reservations.”
“Sounds good. And since you said we don’t have to hurry,” he said as he leaned toward her, “I can take the time to do this.”
He kissed her, taking her lips in a gentle exploration. When she returned it, moaning into his mouth, Skylar became more demanding. In a matter of seconds, the passion between them raged into a conflagration. The rest of the world seemed to disappear, leaving only the two of them in it. They were more than good together. The desire Skylar’s touch caused inside her just reaffirmed she’d made the right choice with the plans she’d made for them after lunch.
Then in the middle of the heated kiss, Braelyn remembered what the letter had said about public displays. She stiffened and put her hand on Skylar’s chest to push him away. Once he broke contact with her mouth, she scooted away as far as her seatbelt would allow.
Skylar gave her a confused look. “Is everything all right, Braelyn? I didn’t do anything wrong, did I?”
She shook her head. “I’m fine, and no, you didn’t do anything wrong.” She put on what she hoped was a sexy smile. “If we don’t stop now, I doubt I’ll be able to get through lunch without mentally undressing you.”
His eyes took on a heavy-lidded appearance. “We’ll have to see about continuing this after we eat then.”
“I’m game for that.”
When they arrived and parked in the hotel’s parking lot, Braelyn got out of the car and met Skylar at the front of it. They walked into the hotel and headed for the restaurant situated off the lobby. Since she’d been here earlier to make the reservation in person, the host smiled brightly when he saw them.
Before she could say her name, he said, “Right this way, Miss Whitmore. Your table is ready.”
After they were seated with menus in front of them, Skylar said, “I guess I’m going to have to get used to strange men recognizing my ma…girlfriend.”
She caught the slight stumble in words when he’d spoken. “Are you the jealous type, Skylar?”
“When it comes to you, I’m afraid I will be a little. I’ve never taken out a woman who was famous before. I’ll try not to make an ass of myself in front of you.”
Braelyn chuckled. “Nothing wrong with a little jealousy. You might not be famous, but you do tend to draw a lot of female attention.”
Skylar pinned her with a stare that would have caused her knees to give out on her if she hadn’t already been seated. “They can look, but I belong only to you.”
Hearing him say he was hers sent a thrill through her. They had only known each other for such a short period of time, but Braelyn had already had thoughts of how their relationship would work once she returned to LA. She didn’t want to give Skylar up. Even though she’d really had no idea what her ideal man would be like, he seemed to be everything she’d unknowingly been looking for. And any man who would happily follow her around on one of her shopping trips without uttering a single complaint was a man she needed to hang on to.
Letting some of how she felt about him show in her eyes, she said softly, “Then I’ll hold on tight and won’t let go.”
Their server came and took their orders and returned with the food in good time. They had just finished their meals when he brought up the subject of what they would do with the rest of the day.
“Do you have any plans up your sleeve I should know about? I also forgot to mention I have a few days off from work, starting tonight.”
With the knowledge they could spend the night together as well, a shot of excitement went through her. Skylar’s time off couldn’t have worked out any better. She picked up her purse and put it on the table next to her empty plate. She opened it. The first thing she spotted was the letter, but decided now wasn’t the time to bring it up. Reaching past the envelope, she plucked out the keycard she’d put in there earlier.
Braelyn held it out for Skylar to see. “Since you didn’t seem ready to take me to your place, and we can’t very well be together at my parents’ house, when I made the reservation this morning I also booked a room at the hotel for one night.”
For a split second she thought she saw Skylar’s eyes glimmer with a shimmering light, dim, faint but there nonetheless. She stared for a moment, but he closed his eyes briefly. Once he opened them again whatever it was had gone. He stared at her with hunger. “You booked us a room here in the hotel?”
“Yes.”
“You do realize what will happen once we go there?”
Her body went up in flames, knowing full well what he implied. She’d counted on it. “Last night in your car was a taste. I now want all of it.”
Barely louder than a whisper, so soft she had to strain to hear it, Skylar said under his breath, “I’m not that strong.” He then signaled their server over to their table.
* * *
Skylar kept telling himself he would be breaking one of Roxie’s rules the whole time he ushered Braelyn out of the restaurant and to the other side of the lobby where the bank of elevators were. He knew what would happen as soon as he got her inside the room. And with the mating urge riding him hard, and his wolf demanding he claim his mate, he didn’t think he could stop from taking the final step that would bind their souls together. It would be too much to ask of him not to make love to Braelyn.
When the elevator car arrived, they stepped inside and silently rode it to the floor where their room was located. Skylar clenched his hands into tight fists to stop himself from dragging Braelyn into his arms and ravishing her right there and then as the scent of her arousal filled the small space. His cock strained against his zipper. No, he definitely wasn’t strong enough to resist the pull his mate had over him. And he didn’t think oral sex would satisfy him enough to avoid completing the act this time. After the dream he’d had of making love to her early that morning, his body was too primed.
The elevator dinged when it reached their floor, and they stepped out. Since Braelyn had the keycard, he allowed her to get ahead of him as they walked down the long hall. He skimmed his gaze down the length of her body, staying a few extra seconds on her shapely ass encased in her tight jeans. He also had to admit the exorbitant price she’d paid for the boots she wore had been well worth the money. The ankle boots made her long legs look even sexier.
At the room, Braelyn stopped in front of it and swiped the keycard in the lock. The little light turned from red to green, and she pushed open the door. As soon as they were inside and it closed behind them, she turned and put her arms ar
ound his neck. With a couple of tugs, she pulled the hair elastic out and threw it aside as his hair fell around his shoulders.
Braelyn went up on tiptoe and brushed her lips against his. “I’ve been dying to see what you would look like with your hair out of the ponytail.”
“And?” he asked, voice lowered to a husky level.
“I think you look even better with it down.”
She accentuated her words by placing a kiss on each of his cheeks and nipping his chin, nibbling a path down along his jaw to the side of his neck. His libido increased the lower she went. There was no bigger turn-on for a male werewolf than to be bitten where the shoulder and neck met. One bite there and he’d be all over Braelyn before she knew what hit her.
“Ah…ah, I’ll have to wear it down more often.” Even lower she went, using a hand to tug away the collar of his t-shirt and drag her tongue across the exact spot that would guarantee a complete slip of his control. “Oh god, Braelyn.” He sank his fingers into her hair at the back of her head to hold her to him. “Do that again, but use your teeth as well.”
“You like it a little kinky, do you?” She gently nipped his skin.
“Christ.” His chest rapidly rose and fell as he began to pant. “Harder. Do it harder.”
At the sensation of Braelyn, his mate, biting him hard enough for him to really feel it, Skylar’s eyes just about rolled back inside his head. A wolf-like growl rumbled out of him, and their fates became set.
Lifting her off her feet with an arm wrapped around her waist, and guiding her lips to his with the other, Skylar carried her to the king-sized bed in the middle of the room. All the reasons why he should slow things down rushed out of his head as he kissed her deeply, not holding anything back. He wanted, he needed, to claim her as his. Now that he’d found her, there would never be another to take her place. He wanted to bind her to him, to make sure she would always be his. The instinct to bind his soul to his mate’s had become too strong to resist.
Skylar only took the time to roughly yank the covers back before he lowered Braelyn onto the bed. She lifted her arms, draping them around his neck and pulled him down on top of her as she shoved her tongue into his mouth. Her legs lifted and encircled his waist when he settled between them. When his erection came in contact with her jean-clad pussy, she ground against him.
Skylar’s Devotion Page 6
