But he couldn"t risk Lee getting hurt.
A deep, oddly accented voice called out to him. Not his name though. "Declan." The sound of it-it was odd. Made him feel something odd. Something weird. But Brian kept on walking. He didn"t know who in h.e.l.l Declan was but it wasn"t him. Even if the name was strangely familiar.
He felt something whisper down his spine. A cool whisper of a touch. Felt something. Somebody. His steps slowed and as he turned, he heard a woman"s voice. It was just a bare whisper. She stood yards away. He shouldn"t have heard a word she said.
But he heard it as clear as day.
He lifted his lashes and stared at her. Distantly, he heard Lee say something. "What?" But he couldn"t look at the boy. He couldn"t tear his gaze away from the woman.
"Is she a wolf too?"
The words didn"t make sense. She started toward him and gently Brian bent down, setting Lee on his feet. He wrapped his hand around the boy"s small one. "It will be okay, Lee."
Lee smiled. "I know. She"s pretty."
She was. More than pretty. Beautiful. She looked too thin-she"d lost weight. He didn"t know how he knew that but he knew it nonetheless. She stopped in front of him and Brian stared into her blue eyes.
The woman from his dreams. But who was she?
She reached for him and automatically he eased back. That wasn"t what he wanted to do. He wanted to reach for her. Wanted to haul her up against him and see if she tasted the way she had in his dreams. But he wasn"t dreaming now and it wasn"t just him and her. The big b.a.s.t.a.r.d was still standing a few feet away and Lee"s small, warm hand tightened around Brian"s.
"Who are you?"
The minute he said the words, he wished he could take them back. A look pa.s.sed over her face. A look of such pain it made his gut clench in reaction. Her mouth trembled. Tears spilled out of her eyes.
"Who am I?" she repeated, her voice trembling. "Who am I?I"m your wife, d.a.m.n it." Her voice broke and a sob escaped her. She pressed a hand to her lips as though she were trying to m.u.f.fle another one.
Gently, Brian said, "My wife is dead. I don"t know you." He turned to go but then he looked back at her. "I"m sorry." He glanced down at Lee and said, "Come on, son."
They started to walk away. He felt something cold on his face. He felt disconnected from his own body as he looked up at the sky. Snow. One fat flake, followed by another and another.
Behind him, the woman whispered, "Son?" He looked back at her and watched her shake her head.
"No.No . I"m your wife. Declan, don"t you remember?" She stepped forward and he looked back at her. She reached for him.
Time slowed to a crawl. As she reached for him, he saw the ring on her left hand. Saw snowflakes catch in her hair, land on her face and melt away. Saw the pulse fluttering inside her wrist. He heard a dull, rapid thudding sound-it was coming from her.Lub-dub.Lub -dub. Her heartbeat. How in h.e.l.l could he hear her heartbeat?
"Don"t you remember me?" she whispered again. She touched him. Just her fingers brushing down his cheek. He reached up and caught her hand in his. He let go of Lee and took one small step toward the woman. "Don"t you remember?" she asked one last time. Then the look of pain on her face faded, replaced by a look of steely resolve. "I"ll make you remember." Her hands cupped his face and she rose onto her toes. Her lips pressed to his.
It was like something exploded inside him.
The taste of her. Heknew that taste. Like he was watching a movie, he could see them. See himself sitting on a chair, drinking himself into a stupor.Dead.Tori was dead-because he hadn"t been there to save her . Like he was living it all over again, he felt his desolation, his anger over losing her before he really had her. Then she was there. He was holding her. Loving her.
Holding her as shefed from him-at his neck. Holding her as she lay caught between life and death, struggling to live. Her holding him as she fought to keep him from bleeding to death.
Then there was the fire. He held a small boy to his chest and tried to comfort him. The boy"s mama was dead. He had gone to them, tried to save them both. But the father had already killed the mother. A weakershapeshifter , she hadn"t had the strength to fight the poison that had been pumped into her system. The silver had killed her but not before she"d whispered, "Take Lee. Take care of him. Don"t let him forget me..."
She"d told him about the secret cellar. An underground tunnel.
The father had followed them. Had shot at the boy.He"s an animal-he should die like an animal .
Declan had lunged between them-taken the bullet, felt the poison rushing through his system. He had killed the father but it was too late. The poison was spreading through his system. He"d failed.G.o.d,Tori ...I"m sorry, baby.
Then there was nothing else until he woke up in the hospital. A social worker standing over him. And at her side was a young boy. "Is this your son? He won"t talk to us. He won"t tell us anything, Mr. Kelly."
Kelly. Brian D. Kelly. The name on the fake driver"s license he carried in his wallet. He had no memory of who he was. How he had ended up in the hospital or who the boy was. All he knew was that the boy had been in trouble and it was his job to protect him.
He lifted his head and stared down at her. It was like they were alone in the world for the briefest moment, just the two of them standing under a street light, their gazes locked as snow fell down around them.
Tori"smouth moved under his. He groaned and slid his hands up her back, fisting them in her hair. He muttered against her lips, "Tori." There was a sweet, sharp pain slicing his lip and then she sucked on him, sending erotic little jolts of pleasure crashing through his system.
Shaken, he lifted his head and stared down at her. His hands shook as he reached up and cupped her face, staring down in to her eyes.
A soft, beloved voice piped up from behind him. "Is she going to be my new mommy?"
Slowly, Declan turned his head and looked at Lee. He was curled up in the big guy"s arms, cuddled against the wide chest as though he had every right in the world to be there. He smiled at Declan, dimples flashing in his cheeks. "He looks mean. But he"s not so bad."
Declan swallowed against the knot in his throat and lifted his eyes, staring into Malachi"s dark, unreadable gaze. Then he looked at the man and woman standing beside the vampire. Eli, his arm wrapped around his wife.Sarel stood there, staring at them with tears glittering in her eyes and her hand pressed against her mouth.
He wanted to ask what was going on. He wanted to know how they"d found him. He wanted to thank them. He wanted to apologize. h.e.l.l, hewanted to cry.
"Declan..." The soft whisper came fromTori and he turned his head and looked at her familiar face, into her beautiful, soft blue eyes. Whatever had happened to him, how in the h.e.l.l he"d lost so much of his life, he didn"t know. He didn"t really care either. All he cared about was right here.
Distantly, he heard a bell ringing. From the corner of his eye, he saw a man in a Santa suit standing on the corner, ringing a bell.Merry Christmas...MeeerrryyyChristmas...Blessings to you all...
Blessings. Declan gave into the urge he"d had when he had first glimpsed her walking down the street.
He reached out, hauled her against him and buried his face in her neck. He closed his eyes and breathed in her scent. It flooded his system.Merry Christmas .
Chapter Six.
"I can"t believe no missing persons report was filed on the boy." Declan grimaced and looked up from the whiskey he held in front of him. "s.h.i.t, I hadn"t even thought about that part."
Eli c.o.c.ked a golden-blond brow and said, "Well, as cynical as this sounds, it would have made our lives much easier this past year if somebody had seen you with him and called the cops. We have enough people in the system that if you had been arrested, we could have found you. All of our prints are tagged and entered into our system so that if one of our own gets arrested, we know."
Toricuddled into him and he lowered his head, nuzzling her thick curls. "Dear G.o.d, how did I ever forget about you?"
She made a sound that was halfway between a hiccup and a sob. "One of these days, you just might make that up to me. But for now..." Her eyes strayed off to the side.Sarel was sitting on the floor, playing cars with the boy who Declan had thought was his son. "What"s happened with the boy?"
"He was the one I felt calling me that night," Declan said softly. "Him and his mother. They were running from his dad. Had been ever since Grace had Lee five years ago. Last year, the b.a.s.t.a.r.d caught up with them. By the time I found them, he had already shot her and she was dying. She"d hidden Lee down in the tunnels. She told me to take care of him. She died less than a minute later."
"And what happened toyou ?" Malachi asked. "How have you lived this past year, not knowing what you are?"
Declan reached down and rubbed his side. There was a scar there. By the time he had woken up in the hospital, it had healed enough to look months old. He had no idea how much time he had lost while the poison racked his system, how long he had been sick or where he had been. It was a d.a.m.n miracle that he had managed to keep Lee with him-that neither of them had died of starvation. Didn"t take long for shifters, even young ones who hadn"t seen their first Change yet. "I was shot. Silver." Then he lifted one shoulder in a restless shrug. Some of these questions, he knew he"d never have an answer for. "The first few months, I didn"t even feel the need to shift. Past few months, I"ve been edgier. Didn"t know why."
He grinned crookedly. "Well, I thought maybe I was just dying of terminal horniness.Inherents can go months without shifting-just makes us edgy. Explains why I"ve felt so tense the past few months. I"ve got enough control that shifting is a conscious thing for me. I feel better, stronger, if I shift often but I can manage without shifting. I guess, unconsciously, I was controlling it."
"Does the kid know what he is?"
Declan relayed the question that Lee had asked on the street just an hour ago. "When he saw you, he wanted to know if you were a wolf. I didn"t know what in h.e.l.l he was talking about. He probably does know that he"s...not human. Whether he understands it, I don"t know." He lowered his voice and leaned in a little. "The fire...it was his dad. I came up while he was drenching the place and slid inside before he saw me. I thought I could get in, get Grace and get out before he noticed. I didn"t even know Lee was inside until she told me he was hiding in the cellar. He must have seen me through the windows and he came inside. b.a.s.t.a.r.d was f.u.c.king insane. I think he was watching to make sure Grace didn"t get out, hoping Lee would come out of his hiding place so he could kill him too. When he saw me, he followed me in. Had this crazy look in his eyes. Told me he wouldn"t let me save the demon woman or the boy.
That was when he lit the match. I didn"t have time to get out but I knew if I could get underground and find the boy, we might be okay."
"The guy followed me. I thought he"d run out but he didn"t. He followed me and when I killed him, Leesaw it. I think he overheard the entire thing. The first few months, he didn"t speak at all." He sighed and rubbed his temple. "It"s a good thing. If he"d told anybody that I wasn"t his dad, they would have taken him and we might never have found him. We"ve spent the past year wandering around the country, making our way east."
"East," Eli repeated. He gaveTori a glance. "Maybe part of you did remember. Maybe you were heading for your home in Virginia-your home withTori ."
Then he stood up. "Speaking ofTori ...you two need some time alone." He looked toward Lee and asked, "Will the boy come with us?"
Declan mused, "You might have a hard time separating him fromSarel . He seems pretty attached." Part of him didn"t want to let the boy go. Too much had changed. The boy had been through more h.e.l.l than he had realized. He had to take care of him.
But he needed his wife. Hiswife ... Focusing on that made it a little easier to letSarel carry Lee away. It took less than a minute to talk Lee into it. Less than five minutes for his friends to head out the door.
Declan followed them onto the porch, holding Lee tight and close for a minute before he kissed him on the cheek and said, "I"ll see you in the morning."
Lee reached forSarel but looked back at Declan with a sweet smile. "Okay. Night, Daddy."Daddy...
G.o.d, there was so much to figure out.
"He loves you."
Slowly, he turned and stared across the porch atTori . She stood in the doorway, her arms wrapped around her middle. She was so thin. He couldn"t even imagine the h.e.l.l he had put her through. He nodded and looked back, watching as the taillights pulled farther and farther away. "I know. I love him too. He"s...this past year..." He trailed off, unsure of what to say.
"He"s been your son." She smiled but it looked uncertain and scared. "I think I"d like to try being a mama for a while instead of a Hunter." She was quiet for a minute before saying, "He"s ashapeshifter -he can"t go live in the mortal world. He"s going to need you."
"I know." He moved over to her, hooking his arms over her shoulders and bending down, pressing his brow to hers. "But can"t we talk about this later? Right now...I needyou ."
Their lips met, slow and cautious. He couldn"t believe he was touching her again. Couldn"t believe he"d lived this past year without this. "We have a lot of time to make up for," he whispered. He lifted his head and stared down at her. Their gazes locked and held as he picked her up and carried her inside. He set her down by the bed and reached for the hem of her shirt.
He stripped it away and then hunkered down so he could tug off her jeans, socks and shoes. A plain pair of black cotton panties clung to her hips. He leaned in and pressed his face to the juncture between her thighs. Gently, he slid his hands under the fabric at her hips and drew the panties away. He looked up and held her gaze as he pressed his lips to the curls that covered her mound. Kissing his way down, he circled his tongue around her c.l.i.t and then lower. Lower, until he could trace her entrance with his tongue, push inside her. She moaned and arched into him. He held her hips as he started to thrust his tongue in and out. He could feel her tightening around him. Felt her muscles tensing as she moved close to climax.
Declan pulled away and stood. She moaned and reached for him. "Not so fast," he muttered, bending back over her. "After this long, I deserve fast," she sulked.Tori poked her lip out in a pout and he caught it between his teeth, biting gently.
"After this long, we both deserve something that will last for longer than two seconds. And once you come, it"s all over for me. I"ll be inside you in a heartbeat and I won"t last much longer than that." He stroked her back with one hand and used his other to brush her hair out of the way, baring her neck. He licked her then bit her gently in the sensitive spot where her neck joined her shoulder.
Toricried out, her body jerking in his arms. He kissed the area, laving the faint red marks with his tongue.
Then he straightened. He caught her hands in his and lifted them to his shirt. Her hands trembled as she unb.u.t.toned it, slowly moving from one b.u.t.ton to the next.
Her eyes were so dark, they were nearly black. She finished the last b.u.t.ton and reached up, pushing his shirt back from his shoulders. He saw her eyes go to the scar just below his heart. She made a soft humming sound in her throat and leaned forward, kissing the silvery scar tissue. "I almost lost you," she whispered. "I thought I had."
Declan murmured quietly, "I"m always with you. No matter what. I dreamed of you. Kept hearing your voice. You were calling me. Calling me back to you."
She slid her hand down his chest. As she slid the buckle free, she murmured, "I dreamed of you. You were looking for me. I just didn"t understand it. I was too lost. I didn"t know how to cope with living each day. I just couldn"t handle anything more than that." Her hands tightened on his waistband. Her head lowered.
Declan watched as her entire body tensed. He felt the change inside. She lifted her head and when she opened her mouth, her fangs flashed at him. She jerked him against her, sliding her hands up and fisting them in his hair. "d.a.m.n you, Declan. Don"t youever do that to me again."
Her mouth slanted over his. The urgency inside her called to him. Unable to resist the lure of her, he tore his jeans away, tumbling her to the bed. He pushed her thighs apart, took his c.o.c.k in his hand and held it steady as he pressed against her. Tight flesh resisted then yielded under his. He forged his way through her slick p.u.s.s.y, clenching his teeth as she convulsed around him. "f.u.c.k, you"re tight."
"No talking," she rasped. She lifted her torso up and licked his chest. Her hand cupped the back of his neck, pulling him down. He closed his eyes as she struck, her fangs piercing his skin, sinking deep. She fed from him-the gentle drawing sensation affected every last inch of him. He felt it in his neck, in his c.o.c.k, in his heart, clear down to his toes and right back up.
"I love you," he muttered. She bucked under him and reared up, wrapping her long legs around his hips.
He pumped inside her, shafting her with hard, deep digs. Each stroke made him hungrier and hungrier.
Harder and harder. He slammed into her and she pulled away from his neck. She threw her head back and wailed out his name. She climaxed and he felt her o.r.g.a.s.m like it was his own. It set fire to a fuse inside him and he exploded inside her, his c.o.c.k jerking viciously. She writhed under him, clenched around him, and each convulsive caress drew it out longer. She emptied him. She drained him.
And as he collapsed on top of her, she filled him. For the first time in months, he felt complete again.
Her arms looped around his shoulders. A shuddering breath escaped her. Then they were silent.
Outside, they could hear the wind and the whisper of snowflakes falling down. "It"s going to be a whiteChristmas if the snow keeps up,"Tori whispered. Then she giggled. It had a nervous, almost hysterical edge to it. "I haven"t bought you a present."
"I have the only present I need," he murmured against her breast. He flopped over onto his back and craned his head so he could stare out the huge Palladium window over the bed. "How long do you have the cabin for?"
She lifted a shoulder. "Long as I want it. Eli owns the rental company."
"Think Santa can find us here?" He pushed up on his elbow and stared down at her. "We need a tree. I have one at the apartment I"ve been staying in but it"s a bit of a dump."
"We can just head home. I miss home. I miss our bed."
Declan shook his head. "Lee"s worried Santa won"t find him. I...he needs some security, some time before I uproot him again. Even if it"s just to go home." He grinned wryly. "h.e.l.l, I need a few days myself."
She smiled at him. Her eyes glowed. "You take as many days as you need. So long as I take them with you."
Declan laughed. "That"s not a problem. I don"t think I"m ever going to let you out of my sight again. Not even for a heartbeat."
About the Author.
They always say to tell a little about yourself! I was born in Kentucky and have been reading avidly since I was six. At twelve, I discovered how much fun it was to write when I took a book that didn"t end the way it should have ended, and I rewrote it. I"ve been writing since then.
About me now...hmm... I"ve been married since I was 19 to my high school sweetheart and we live in themidwest . Recently I made the plunge and turned to writing full-time and am looking for a part-time job so I can devote more time to my family-three adorable children who are growing way too fast, and my husband who doesn"t see enough of me...