Act of Brotherhood_Paranormal Security and Intelligence_PSI-Ops an Immortal Ops World Novel

by Mandy M. Roth

  She felt connected to this man on a base level. A level she couldn’t comprehend entirely, but it was there all the same. Letting him go off and be harmed in any way wasn’t all right with her.

  She shook her head. “No. I’m not going without you.”

  He shot her a disbelieving stare. “Go.”

  “What is it with big guys barking orders at me tonight?” First Wheeler had tried in the bakery and now Garth. Both of the men she’d happened upon in the span of one night seemed hell-bent on her getting home quickly.

  Confusion shone on his face. “What?”

  She grumbled. “Nothing. I’m not Ernie. I’m not going to obey.”

  “I really do not know what you’re talking about, woman,” he said before glancing around wildly. “Head to your house, quickly. I’ll follow once I make sure—”

  She stamped her foot, finding the response very fitting for him as she’d already done it more than once. “I said no. Don’t make me repeat myself again, blondie.”

  “Blondie?” He looked stunned.

  She nodded.

  He grunted. “Odd and stubborn.”

  “Yep. And not going home without you. Or are you forgetting my elaborate scheme to get you naked and in a horned helmet while I play with your sword?”

  The slight grin he offered was suggestive enough to heat her body instantly. Good gods, the man radiated sexual energy and prowess. She had to wonder if he had women throwing themselves at him wherever he went. A jealous flash hit her at the idea he might. He didn’t belong to her, but that didn’t stop Nicolette from wanting to mount him and then plant her flag on him, announcing the man as conquered and hers.

  All hers.

  “Nicolette, please,” he said, a note of desperation to his deep voice. “I need for you to head to your house.”

  She nearly gave in, but suddenly the feeling of danger lessened rapidly, leaving nothing but desire hanging in the air. She wanted the man like Clara wanted sugar fixes.

  A lot.

  Nicolette stayed pressed to Garth and put her hands against the cake-smeared part of his shirt. It had taken her months to invite Cody over after she’d first met him. And even then, she hadn’t tackled him and had her way with him—which was exactly what she wanted to do to the tall blond before her.

  When Garth looked down at her, she went to her tiptoes, doing what felt right. She kissed him—again.

  With a growl, he cupped her face and walked her backwards. When her back came into contact with an iron fence, she stiffened. The kiss intensified, and the fence and the feeling of danger quickly became afterthoughts. There was simply something about the man that left her acting out of character.

  Way out of character.

  In addition, he left her horny.

  Very, very horny.

  Garth lifted her as if she weighed nothing. The kiss increased, and she wrapped her legs around his waist. Everything on her ignited with desire. Panting was a real option. The man’s sheer presence should have come with warning signs.

  Danger. Hormones will overload.

  Garth kissed his way down her neck, lifting her higher, her back still pressed to the iron fence. It wasn’t comfortable, but she didn’t care. He dipped his head lower and then paused. He looked up at her, and she spotted frosting on the edge of his mouth. It was then she remembered they were covered in cupcake mess.

  Garth licked the frosting away and stiffened, scrunching his face in the process. “Those kids owe me a thank you. I saved them from certain death by way of cupcakes. Those are horrible.”

  She laughed, and then wiggled to get down. All that did was alert her to just how much Garth wanted to be in her. His long, hard erection pressed against her mound and her breath caught. Her eyes widened as she stared up at him. “Oh my.”

  He groaned. “We should stop now before I do something unwise, like fuck you out in the open.”

  Fuck me.

  The words only served to excite her more. There was something feral about the man. Everything about him screamed alpha male, and she found that very alluring. In many ways, Garth reminded her of Cody. Except she’d never fought the urge to tear off Cody’s clothes and lick every inch of him. That was exactly what she wanted to do to Garth.

  As he began to look in the direction she’d first sensed danger coming from, Nicolette touched his cheek, bringing his attention back to her. “My roommate is gone for the next few days.”

  His brows met.

  “That means if we’re going to do this, we can be as loud and as wild as we want to be,” she said, surprising herself with just how wanton she was being. “I do have to work in the morning, so at some point, I’ll need to sleep. But not right now. Right now, I just need you.”

  He flashed a sexy smile. “Have I mentioned how much I love modern women?”

  “Once or twice,” she joked, and then winked. “Are we doing this?”

  “Oh, we are most certainly doing this,” he said, taking her hand in his once more. “Lead the way, woman. I’m so hard I’m about to burst. At this point, I don’t even care that I’m covered in toxic cupcakes.”

  She laughed. “Remind me to make you a gray drink. It’s a special blend of awesome and my uncle and I came up with. Huge energy booster. Somehow, I think you’re really going to love it.”

  “The very fact it’s called a gray drink tells me I won’t,” he said as his gaze swept over her.

  She couldn’t stop smiling around him. For some reason, Clara’s mother’s talks about finding that perfect someone they were each made for came to mind. Before, she’d always laughed off the notion of any one person completing her. As she found herself getting lost in Garth’s gaze, the idea had merit.

  Chapter Eight

  Garth paused at the entranceway of Nicolette’s home. The large green front door stood open and he leaned partially against it, knowing that once he passed through the threshold fully, there would be no turning back for him. Not with the raw need he had coursing through his veins for the woman before him.

  The goddess was testing every ounce of his resolve and, sadly, he was failing. Common sense said he should cut and run. That he should put distance between himself and the woman, especially since he’d let Auberi test a drug on him. But running wasn’t an option. He was all in.

  Nicolette tossed a set of keys on a serving table near the front door and headed into a large living room. The sway of her hips beckoned, and he clutched the doorframe so tightly he worried it would break.

  Thor, give me the strength I need to keep from ravishing her.

  He was pretty sure the god was laughing at him and wishing him the best of luck, because he highly doubted Thor would have been able to resist Nicolette either.

  Considering how Garth’s month was going, Loki was probably the god who had answered his call. The trickster god was more than likely laughing his ass off at the situation.

  Garth stepped backwards a bit, still able to see into the living room fully, despite having yet to actually go all the way into the house. His hands slid to the brick front of Nicolette’s home. The entrance area was covered in green ivy that had grown up the side of the house. The yard in the front barely existed. To the right was a large black trash can, tucked against the house and behind a row of hedges. A six-foot iron fence was around the front as well, with a gate that opened onto the sidewalk. Many of the homes in the neighborhood seemed to have something similar.

  The home was large, especially for only two women, but that wasn’t for Garth to judge, as he was a single guy who owned a fair number of homes. All were large. His main house had nine bedrooms. He only used one.

  His gaze locked on Nicolette’s backside as she turned on a lamp that was sitting on an end table near an oversized light-colored sofa. His mouth watered at the sight she presented. Her hips drove him wild. He loved a woman with curves and Nicolette had them in spades. It was easy to imagine sinking into her, getting lost in her, and planting his seed in her.

  Pla
nting my seed?

  He was instantly struck with the image of her swollen with his little one as they began to fill his empty home with young life. With a gasp, he slapped his palms against the brick in hopes the jolt of pain would knock some sense into him.

  Little ones? I’ve lost my fucking mind.

  He did not want children. At least he never had before. Why in the hell was he thinking about them now? And why did the idea of having them with a woman he’d just met appeal to him so much?

  Not that it mattered.

  He could only reproduce with his mate.

  A snort came from him at the idea he had a special someone assigned to him by the gods. As he began to laugh the idea away, the urge to go to Nicolette came over him. He didn’t dare move a muscle for fear he’d lose his mind and do something incredibly stupid. Just like Malik had done five years ago in Egypt.

  Like Garth wanted to do now.

  Take the human and try to mark her as his.

  Pull your head out of your ass. She’s off the table as an option. You’re just thinking about her birthing your little ones because of Auberi’s stunt. No other reason.

  He made a mental note to drive a stake through the vampire’s heart when the opportunity next presented itself. He’d then sprinkle the asshole’s ashes all over his front yard as a warning to other living-challenged jerks to avoid messing with him.

  Nicolette kicked off her shoes and wiggled her sock-covered feet. It took Garth a second to realize her socks had inspirational phrases printed on them, along with tiny pink flowers.

  A smile touched his lips. She was an interesting mix of sweet and wanton. It was the perfect blend. One he wanted to lose himself in.

  He swept his gaze over the surrounding area as a nagging feeling they were being watched came over him once more. He inhaled and caught a heavy whiff of what smelled a lot like vanilla and cloves. Was that cinnamon he smelled, too?

  Whatever it was, his senses did not like the amount of it.

  He could have sworn earlier that they were being hunted—stalked by a predator. Now he wondered if he didn’t just have baked goods on the mind since colliding with Nicolette and her cupcakes.

  He was never happier to be wearing a baked good.

  The urge to lay claim to the woman had come over him when he’d nearly taken her against a fence, in the open, for all to see. That burning need had not lessened any. Again, he pictured her expecting his child, her stomach swollen with his son or daughter. The idea caused a pang of grief to move through him because it could never be.

  Damn Auberi and the drug he’d given Garth. Was he unlucky enough to suffer the very same lack of control Malik had run into while on the suppression drug? He could still remember having to pin his longtime friend to the floor of a hotel room while he was stuck in lion form. That had been less than easy. Not to mention the entire ordeal had left Malik a shell of his former self for five years as he’d suffered in silence, longing for the woman he’d unintentionally laid claim to in his uncontrolled state.

  Then again, Malik had found himself presented with his true mate. The man had only thought Brooke was human. She was anything but.

  Garth stiffened. Was Nicolette more than she appeared to be? Could it be that she was like Brooke? That she simply didn’t radiate the signs and signals that other supernaturals tended to? Could it be that she was Garth’s true mate? His special someone?

  Had Auberi’s spoken curse come to fruition? Had Garth walked right into his mate without realizing who she was to him?

  No.

  His luck didn’t run that way, and Auberi was no fucking oracle. He was just a pain in the ass.

  The notion of Nicolette being Garth’s mate, while romantic, wasn’t realistic. He’d have sensed if she was, right? It had to be super obvious. Like blinking-sign kind of obvious. If Nicolette really was a supernatural, Garth would have known. There was simply no way he could be fooled to the level Malik had been, messed-up serums and all.

  “You coming?” Nicolette asked as she turned to face him.

  No. But he would be very soon.

  He reached down and adjusted his cock when her attention was elsewhere. He could smell her scent everywhere—strawberries and powdered sugar. It was divine, and only served to arouse him more, if that was even possible. He picked up on others scents, too, faintly over the damn overpowering smell of cloves, cinnamon, and vanilla that made it difficult for his acute senses to smell much beyond. But Nicolette’s sweet scent was one he locked on to with ease. As it stood, if she refused him, he’d end up jacking off to the point he’d more than likely have no skin left on his dick and blisters on his hand. He was that turned on.

  Would James have a cream for chafing? If so, Garth would need it by the bucketful.

  “You okay?” she asked, her voice light.

  “I’m great,” he supplied. And he was. If you didn’t count his wolf lingering just below the surface and the fact he was pretty sure his arch nemesis slipped him something funky in a shot.

  Other than that, he was having the best night he’d had in ages.

  As he inhaled, he caught her scent again, over the sugary smell of smashed cupcakes. His nostrils flared in excitement, and he did his best to keep the wolf from gaining freedom.

  That would be bad.

  Very, very bad.

  Putting his shoulders back and lifting his head high, Garth committed to entering the home fully. His wolf did its version of a contented purr. That was new. If he suddenly got the urge to chase a ball of yarn, he was going to have a seriously long talk with James about his meds. There was a lot Garth was willing to deal with as far as side effects. Acting like a cat-shifter wasn’t one of them.

  Garth slipped off his boots and set them near the door, next to Nicolette’s shoes. His socks didn’t have cute sayings on them. Nothing he owned did. Some of the men at work wore specialty shirts they had made to mock one another, but that wasn’t Garth’s thing. He did pitch in when the shifters had bought a truckload of sunscreen and had it sent to the Fang Gang. And he’d once spent a weekend fashioning wooden stakes with four other shifters, so they could fill the front lobby of the Fang Gang’s headquarters with them. That had been a sight to see. When Daniel Townsend had opened the door, hundreds upon hundreds of stakes fell out and onto him, knocking the man backwards.

  Too bad it hadn’t been Auberi.

  That would have been nice. Especially if the jerk would have tripped and impaled himself on one.

  The Asshole of the Week wall of awards had a framed photo of Auberi running from a mortuary wearing nothing more than a silver tray held in front of his groin, compliments of Garth. The picture was the result of Auberi’s teammates waiting until he was asleep before moving him to a funeral home. Many vampires appeared dead when they slept. Auberi was apparently one of those kinds. The vampire woke later, naked on an exam table, with a mortician preparing to embalm him.

  Garth regretted missing the event in person. Thankfully, the rest of Auberi’s teammates had been sure to take a lot of photos and video of the incident. Garth had made sure every single PSI Division in the world was sent them all. He’d also set the video footage to music, and would have posted it to social media to go viral if there weren’t strict rules about that sort of thing within PSI.

  He bit his lower lip, reconsidering the rules. After all, he enjoyed bending them.

  Like now.

  He wanted to give in to his beast and permit it to do as it pleased. To let it free to mark the woman. He didn’t let it loose, but a deep, dark part of him wanted to do just that.

  Nicolette neared Garth, her arm touching his, making fire shoot straight to his groin. A portion of her long hair was stuck to the smashed cupcakes on her chest. Reaching out, Garth eased the strands free. He pushed her hair over her shoulder and found himself crowding her personal space in a big way. Cupping her face, he inhaled again, her scent making his dick hard. He couldn’t wait to taste her.

  A frustrated growl
trickled up from him and he closed his eyes tight, feeling them change. The last thing he wanted to do was scare Nicolette. Having his eyes change colors would do just that and more.

  It took a second for him to be able to ease his lust enough to gain a measure of control. When he knew his eyes would be green once more, he opened them and feathered his lips over hers.

  She dragged her lips over his in a teasing manner and bunched his cake-smeared shirt. She put her forehead to his lips and sighed, her body tensing.

  “If you changed your mind, I’ll go,” he said, knowing it would take every ounce of his willpower to walk out the door, but her safety and security meant everything to him. If she was nervous having him in her home now, or no longer wanted to be with him sexually, he’d honor that. Didn’t matter that he’d rub his dick raw later trying to get the release he needed from being around her.

  “I can’t believe I’m doing this,” she said, her voice husky and low.

  “Do you still want to be doing this?”

  Please say yes.

  She nodded against his chin.

  He eased his arms around her and hugged her, liking how she fit against his frame. “Nicolette, I need to hear you say it.”

  “I still want to do this,” she said, this time louder. She stayed where he held her though, her fists still gathering his shirt in front. “I think I just need a moment to process the fact that I really want this. That probably doesn’t make any sense to you.”

  A half laugh came from him. He was having a similar inner war. He knew the serum was affecting him. That whatever Auberi had done to it left Garth dancing on the edge of darkness, and that for the sake of all involved, he should leave and never look back. But he didn’t want to. He wanted to be here, with her, holding her, touching her, making love to her.

  Making love? Fucking Auberi!

  He tensed and then swallowed hard, still holding her close. “It makes more sense than you know. How about we get these foul-smelling cupcakes off us and we take this a little slower? Will that help?”