Dawning of Light (22 page)

“Glad I could oblige you,” he said, forcing himself to sound nonchalant, as he reluctantly pulled away from her. He would like to have another go-round—despite the glow—but this closet was damned cramped, and if they stayed away too long, someone was bound to notice they were missing.

Besides, he needed to get away from her, put some distance between them. He needed to breathe, needed to think. Needed to wrap his head around what just happened. Not only had he just had sex with Cecilia Druthers—in a closet, for the love of Fates—and not only had it been the best sex of his damn life—but he’d started glowing afterward.

And he knew damn well what that meant. It meant he’d gone and gotten himself emotionally vested in a woman who wanted nothing more than good old-fashioned stress relief.

* * * *

In Finn’s opinion, too many people were now aware that someone wanted Cecilia dead. Gossip spread like wildfire within a pack, and he had no reason to believe it was not the same in a coterie. Sooner or later, the would-be killer would become aware that they knew he was after Cecilia, and then it would be all the more difficult to track him down.

Another frustrating aspect of this situation was that he was too afraid to leave Cecilia’s side to actually go out and try to hunt down the culprit himself. Considering he was normally a damn good tracker, he should be out there as they spoke, doing his thing, tracking this person, cornering him, and—ultimately—killing him. No one threatened Cecilia without Finn’s retribution.

And if that wasn’t frustrating enough, actually spending so much time by Cecilia’s side was quite possibly the height of frustration. He could still smell the scent of their lovemaking, and the sappy grin on her face told him she’d enjoyed it as much as he had. The heated looks she gave him through half-closed eyes told him she wanted to do it again. Her willingness to remain by his side without an argument spoke volumes.

All of which made him want to drag her upstairs to any one of the innumerable rooms in this massive beach house and go for a repeat performance. Which was exactly what he should not do. Every time he looked down at his still slightly glowing hands, he sobered, told himself that while he’d been unable to resist the first time, there was absolutely no reason there needed to be a second time. Cecilia was not the mating kind, was not the maternal kind.

It struck him as slightly less than masculine that he was so concerned about that aspect of a relationship, but he also knew there was not a damn thing he could do about it. He knew that with each consecutive time he had sex with the lightbearer, he would become more deeply and emotionally attached, and who the hell wanted to deal with the repercussions when she lost interest and went her own way?

After they’d returned to the entertainment room, Tanner suggested that he and Finn head out to the area of the woods from which the massive snowball had come to see if they could determine anything. He had been reluctant to leave, even though he’d just coupled with Cecilia and had finally relieved the pressure of the stress of her near death.

“They’re plenty well enough protected in here,” Tanner said, reading his thoughts. “Sander and Dane are there, and Cecilia said she would ward the house as soon as we leave. Come on. I want to be back before dark.”

Even though he put on a brave front, Finn knew that Tanner was worried too. If not for Cecilia, then for his own mate, but Finn knew that the pack master’s worry expanded to cover them all. As it should.

“You’re nothing like your father, you know that?” he commented as he accompanied Tanner through the swirling snow toward the mass of trees at the edge of the cliff. His gaze strayed to the spot where he’d pulled Cecilia back to safety. Where she’d nearly died. The storm had finally hit, and the area was all but covered with windblown snow already. It was hard to tell anything had happened there recently.

“I’ll take that as the highest compliment possible,” Tanner remarked. “I take it you and Cecilia have made up?”

Finn considered denying what he was hinting at, but he hadn’t taken a shower since he’d screwed the hell out of Cecilia in the closet, and Tanner’s shifter senses would be able to smell the scent of sex that undoubtedly still clung to him.

“We scratched a mutual itch is all,” he said gruffly. “It was good stress relief.” At least his faintly glowing hands were covered by gloves. If Tanner noticed the glow earlier, he was pretending he hadn’t.

“Uh-huh,” Tanner responded. “Just be careful how you proceed. She and Olivia are close enough that I’m sure Olivia’s told her the way of the shifters. She’ll know what it means if you decide to—”

“I’m not really into talking about my personal life, if it’s all the same to you,” Finn said as he cut Tanner off. He came to a halt just inside the tree line. “I think we waited too long.”

The area looked utterly undisturbed. No footprints, no displaced snow, not even the faintest imprint of a bird’s claw.

“See if you can feel any magic,” Tanner suggested as he trudged through the snow and began touching trees.

“Nothing,” Finn said a short time later. “I can feel faint magic in the air, but that’s everywhere in this place. Whoever was here is long gone now, and the snow covered his tracks. We should’ve come out here as soon as it happened.”

“I don’t know about you, but I wasn’t about to leave my mate’s side until I knew for certain she was okay.”

“I don’t have a mate, remember?”

“Uh-huh. Come on, let’s get back inside. Are you two staying here or going back to your place tonight?”

Finn chose to believe Tanner asked under the assumption that he would continue to insist upon protecting Cecilia day and night—instead of assuming that now that they’d hooked up once, they would of course do it again.

“I don’t know,” he said shortly.

“Well, if you take her back to your place, make sure she stops by her parents’ house, so they don’t worry,” Tanner replied.

Finn hoped Cecilia would want to stay at the beach house. It would be easier to protect and yet avoid her in the massive home, which was warded against any potential intruders. If they went to his tiny cottage, they would be alone and all but tripping over each other. Not to mention there was only one bed there.

*

“Finn’s cottage,” Cecilia replied when Tanner asked the question. If anyone wondered at her immediate response, no one said it out loud.

“Really bad idea,” Finn said. “You’re safer here.”

“I’m safer wherever
you
are,” she retorted. “And I know you would rather sleep in your own home, in your own bed.”

“It doesn’t matter to—”

“Plus, Cici should stop by her parents’ cottage, let them know that she’s safe and sound.” Olivia echoed her mate’s earlier comment, thus sealing Finn’s fate, at least for the night.

* * * *

They went to Finn’s house first, and were barely inside the door before Cecilia attacked him, tugging on his pants and pulling his shirt over his head. He made a pathetic attempt to convince her to stop, which she completely and utterly ignored. When she wrapped her hands around his erection, he gave up any pretense that he didn’t want to do this just as badly as she did.

“Slow down, honey,” he said as he pulled at her clothes with equal urgency.

“I can’t,” she said on a gasp as she kissed his chest and bit his nipple.

Finn wrenched himself out of her grasp. “Hang on,” he said, and he sprinted through the house, nearly tripping on his pants as he hopped on one foot, trying to get them off. He returned with a handful of condoms, to find Cecilia perched on the table, utterly naked, her legs crossed and her hands twined over one knee, a seductive siren’s smile on her lips.

Whatever happened down the road, that image would be burned into his mind’s eye forever.

He stepped in front of her and uncrossed her legs, situating himself between her knees. “Who knew dining could be so much fun?” he asked as he tossed the condoms on the table and ran his hands up her legs, over her hips, and up to her breasts.

“I don’t suppose you’d consider using the feather?” she asked hopefully.

“What’s with you and the damn feather?” he asked as he cupped her breasts with both hands.

“It just seems like fun,” she said with a pout as he bent forward and kissed her breasts.

“Why don’t I take your mind off the feather?” he suggested, and then he crouched on his knees and began to play homage to those most sensitive nerve endings in her body. Cecilia arched off the table and did not complain.

* * * *

An hour later, they trudged through the falling snow toward her parents’ cottage. Dusk was just falling, although it was hard to tell, since the storm made it seem as if the sun had never risen at all that day.

Cecilia had tried to talk him into letting her go alone.

“Not on your life”—he replied as he pulled his coat over his shoulders—“which is exactly what is at risk, so sorry, sweetheart, but you have a full-time bodyguard, at least until we figure out who the hell wants you dead.” It was both a curse and a blessing in Finn’s book. Every minute he spent in her company made him crave her more, yet each minute reminded him that what he was currently enjoying was completely and utterly temporary.

“I don’t see why we have to tell my parents anyway,” Cecilia complained. “They probably aren’t even aware that anything happened.”

“Rumors spread in this coterie almost as fast as they spread in a shifter pack. If they don’t know yet, they will soon enough. Plus, look at it this way: you can let them know you’re fine, pack an overnight bag, and then you won’t have to come back until this mess is resolved.”

“Am I staying with you until then?”

“Yes.” His response was probably more fierce than it needed to be. She would be equally as safe at the beach house, yet now that they’d made the decision for her to stay with him, he suddenly wanted no other options.

“It’s obvious you’ve had women over to your house,” Cecilia commented. “You can’t tell me they haven’t left extra clothing behind.”

“First off, there has only been one since I moved here. And even if there were more, I probably wouldn’t have let them get that comfortable,” Finn said. “And it’s just a little disturbing that you aren’t put off by using stuff that theoretically came from other women I’ve slept with. I noticed you used one of my toothbrushes the last time you stayed at my house.”

Cecilia shrugged. “You and I weren’t sleeping together when you were with other women, so why should it bother me? Just don’t sleep with them again without breaking it off with me first, okay?”

Finn smirked. “You’ll be the first to know,” he assured her.

There were lights on at her parents’ house, meaning they had not yet retired for the evening. Considering dusk approached by six p.m. at this time of year, it was hard on the lightbearers, who were naturally inclined to sleep during the darkened hours.

“This isn’t going to be pretty,” Cecilia predicted as she twisted the doorknob and stepped inside.

Her mother was up off the sofa and pulling her into her arms before Cecilia could even take off her coat. “Cecilia,” she murmured as she pushed her to arms’ length. “Thank the lights. I was growing worried.”

“Why?” Cecilia asked as she finally managed to pull off her coat.

But Lacey’s gaze was on Finn, who’d stepped into the house behind her daughter. They were wide with fright and…undiluted hatred. He met her hostile gaze with an emotionless mask.

“You dare to bring Olivia’s pet shifter into my house?” Lacey hissed angrily, without taking her gaze off him.

Cecilia sighed. “He isn’t a pet shifter, Mother. And this isn’t Tanner. It’s pretty bad that you don’t even pay attention to what your niece’s mate looks like. This is Finn. You met him at Aunt Genevieve’s last party.”

“Do not refer to that man as Olivia’s mate in my presence. You know how I feel about it.”

“Yes, Mother,” Cecilia said with an exaggerated eye roll. “The entire coterie is well aware of how you feel. Now excuse us. We just stopped by to let you know I’m fine and to pick up a few things.”

“Why?”

“Why am I fine?”

“It’s obvious that you’re fine,” Lacey said stiffly. “Why are you collecting your things?”

“Uncle Sander believes it would be best if I stayed”—she glanced at Finn—“someplace else for a little while.”

“Why?”

Finn thought her mother sounded like a three-year-old.

“There have been some…” Cecilia petered off, clearly unsure of how to explain to her mother that someone was trying to kill her. Finn decided to help her out.

“The king has reason to suspect Cecilia’s and his daughter’s lives are in danger. Until we have determined the threat has been eliminated, Cecilia is going to be under my protection.” His tone left no room for argument.

Which didn’t stop her mother. Cecilia wasn’t particularly proud of her heritage, but it was obvious to Finn that she inherited at least one trait from her mother. Curious how her tendency to argue with him at every turn was more endearing than annoying anymore.

That wasn’t the case with her mother’s tendency to argue, though.

“A shifter? Protecting her from what?” Mrs. Druthers demanded.

“We aren’t sure yet.”

“You think she’s in danger from her own kind,” Mrs. Druthers guessed.

Finn did not reply.

“How dare you? How dare you assume a fellow lightbearer would ever,
ever
consider hurting my daughter? What right do you have to make such assumptions about us? She should be here, in her own home, with us. Lightbearers. Her own kind.”

“Mother…”

Mrs. Druthers sputtered and argued some more, her unveiled insults causing Finn to fist his hands and gnash his teeth in an effort to keep from lashing out at the idiotic, bullheaded, narrow-minded lightbearer. Cecilia inched closer to him and placed her hand on his forearm. Magic flared, causing her hand and his arm to glow for a moment.

Her mother stared at the spot, mouth open, rendered momentarily speechless. Cecilia’s father, who had been sitting in a chair in the living room, pretending not to listen to the exchange, leaped from his chair and rushed to the small entryway. He kept his gaze trained on Cecilia’s hand, still clutching Finn’s arm, while he circled his arm around his mate’s shoulders and pulled her to him, putting distance between her and Finn and Cecilia.