Desire Awakened (Aaron's Kiss #13) (3 page)

“What happened here? What did you mean when
you said I was your mate?” The need to touch her was overwhelming
and he had to put his hands in his pocket to stop himself from
doing just that.

“We had sex. Nothing more. Would you please
move back over to the other side? You’re making me nervous.” He
took a step toward her, halving the distance between them.
“Please?”

He felt her hunger. Not for food, but for
him. Logan groaned and reached for her just as the elevator shook
beneath them. Before he could pull her into his arms and hold her
to his body, they started moving again. The elevator was fixed. He
leaned back against the wall where she’d asked him to go.

“We had unprotected sex. And you were a
virgin. That isn’t just sex and nothing more, and you know it.” He
waited for her to say something, but when she didn’t by the time
the doors opened, he stepped in front of her, blocking the exit.
“You’ll tell me if there’s a child. I don’t know what happened in
here, but I won’t let you have a child of mine without you telling
me.” She didn’t even look at him. “Are you listening to me?”

“Yes. But there won’t be a child. I’m not
ovulating.”

He flushed at her bluntness and moved out of
her way so she could move out. He felt a powerful urge to bring her
back into the elevator and take her again. She turned to him before
he could make a fool of himself.

“Your son said you’d be upset with him if he
let his aunt die. What kind of person puts that responsibility on a
child?” He didn’t get a chance to answer, even if he knew how. “He
never cried. Not once did he scream out in pain when I was with
him. He was more concerned with his aunt dying and you being
upset.”

She turned and walked away from him. As the
doors closed the sight of her from his view, he rubbed his heart.
Something had happened here. He looked around and found her purse
on the floor. Pressing the button to go back up to his son, he
slipped it into his pocket. He told himself he’d give it to her
parents but knew that he wouldn’t. There was something about this
woman that made him irrational, and he didn’t like it.

As soon as the doors opened, a beautiful
woman was standing there with a smile. He wasn’t sure what she
wanted, but she looked ready to burst with news. He started to step
around her when she put her hand on his chest. Logan stood very
still.

“You’ve no idea what happened, do you?”

He glanced back at the elevator floor, then
back at her.

“She didn’t tell you anything, and now you
need to know all there is to know about her.”

“I don’t even know her name.” He flushed
when he realized what he’d said, but she only nodded. “Are you
going to tell me?”

“No. And the purse you have of hers isn’t
going to help either. You’ll have to figure that out on your own.
But you have clues if you use them. Her father is going to be
pissed at you when he smells you.” She turned to walk away, and he
stood there for several seconds until she turned back. “If you come
on now and try not to piss me off, I’ll protect you as best I can,
but Aaron can be very possessive when it comes to the women in his
life.”

He walked up with her and watched as they
all stood up when the woman entered. Then he remembered the last
name. MacManus. As if the woman had heard him, she turned and
nodded at him. Aaron came forward then. But the closer he got, the
more…well, pissed he looked. When he was within touching distance,
the woman put her hand on his chest.

“She won’t survive if you kill him.”

MacManus seemed to stretch, grow wider and
stronger before his eyes. Then he shook himself and turned to his
wife.

“Where is she? My sister, where is she?”
Mac, Logan remembered his name being, stepped forward with a grin.
“She didn’t kill you, and I know you can’t kill her, so where did
she go?”

“I don’t know. I don’t even know what the
hell is going on around here.” Logan watched Sara as she moved,
glided, toward him. “She looks like you a great deal. It’s hard to
believe that you have a daughter her age. I haven’t known her that
long, but I’m willing to bet she gets her temperament from her
father.”

Sara laughed. “And you’d be right. And thank
you very much. She’s gone home to rest. Are you coming over when
you’ve spoken to your family?”

Come over? He didn’t think so. “I’m sorry, I
don’t know what she’s told you, but I’ve never met your daughter
before today. And I’ll be staying here until my son and sister go
home.”

Sara nodded and moved past him. She was down
the hall when Mac and his wife passed him with a nod. Aaron moved
up to stand in front of him, and the other woman simply stood
nearby.

“Did you hurt her?” Logan shook his head.
“Good. Mate or not, I won’t allow you to hurt her.”

“She said that. After we…when…Christ.” He
rubbed his hand over his face. “What does it mean? Mate? I
understand the word, but she said it like it was a disease or
something.”

“No, not a disease, but something akin to a
bond for life. She’ll need you before your family is ready to
leave. Will you help her?”

“She saved my family, according to the
doctor. If she needs anything, money or whatever, just have her
call my office.” Logan reached into his jacket, pulled out his
wallet, and handed him a business card. “If she needs to speak to
me about…anything, have her call my office and I’ll call her
back.”

Aaron handed him back the card. “It’s
doubtful she’d use this unless she used it to slit your throat.
Good luck, Mr. Burris, I believe you’re going to need it.”

As he walked away, Logan tried to rein in
his temper. Of all the rude men he’d done business with, this man
had to take the cake. Aaron turned around just as the man reached
his family. Logan was just pissed enough to poke the bear.

“She and I had sex today. I haven’t a clue
what her name is, and I’m sure you won’t give it to me. But if
there’s a child, I have the right to know about it.” Aaron bowed
and stepped into the yawning mouth of the elevator. “Bastard.”

After finding out when he could see his son
and sister, Logan sat on one of the couches that the MacManus
family had occupied. He pulled out his cell phone and called Anna.
After telling her all he knew, he asked her to look someone up.

“Her last name is MacManus and her dad’s
name is Aaron, mother Sara. I’m not sure of the spelling of her
name.” He heard the catch in her breath. “You know something, tell
me.”

“Aaron MacManus and his wife Sara are
reputed to be worth billions. They donate more money a year than
you make in two. Sorry, boss, but if you know the MacManuses then
I’m going to ask you for a job reference.” She laughed. “Not
really, but I’ve read that their son, Aaron as well, but goes by
Mac, was recently married and is expecting their first child.
There’s another son…Daniel is his name, and I believe he spends a
great deal of his time out of the country, as there isn’t much on
him. But the daughter? Let me see if I can find her name.”

He waited for what seemed forever, but knew
it had been only a few minutes. He knew before she came back that
it wasn’t going to be there. He thought of the purse, a wallet
really, and took it out of his pocket. Money and a set of car keys,
but nothing else. There had to be close to three grand in her
wallet, and for some reason, it pissed him off that she’d put
herself at risk by carrying that much cash.

“Funny, but there’s nothing here mentioning
her name. The article does say they have one, but there’s no
mention of her name.”

He asked her to see if she could find it and
an address for her.

“Sure thing, boss. But you should be careful
with her. I may not remember her name, but I do remember reading a
few articles about her that says she’s pretty tough. Might even be
as mean as you can be when a deal doesn’t go your way.”

He hung up and put the girl’s wallet into
his pocket again. Logan reached up and ran his fingers over his
throat and shivered. He was sure she’d bitten him, and he didn’t
know why, but he felt a deep connection to her that made him ache
to be with her again. He took the purse out again and sniffed it.
He could smell her on it and held it in his hand while he tried to
reason with himself what he was doing acting like a love-sick boy.
When the nurse came out and told him he could see Mathew, he stood
only to have to reach for the wall.

“You all right, sir?” He nodded. “You should
drink something. Juice and a lot of it. Would you like me to bring
you some?”

He nodded and moved toward the room with
her. Juice sounded good. Very good. His mouth was practically
salivating for it, and he asked her if he could have it now. She
nodded and walked away. He had a feeling she knew why he needed it
more than he did. Logan sat next to the bed and held his son’s
hand. He wouldn’t be able to see Donna until she was out of surgery
for a little longer. Her injuries were a great deal more
extensive.

Logan finished off the juice before the
nurse left the room, and she set four more in front of him. She
told him she’d be back in a few minutes with a sandwich and more
juice. Fifteen minutes later, she returned with the extra juice and
what smelled like a roast beef sandwich as he’d just tossed the
empties into the trash. He drank the last of them slower, his
thirst about quenched, and ate the roast beef sandwich in three
bites.

They let him see Donna two hours later. She
looked like she’d been run over several times with a car. The
police had come and gone, and he had a better picture of what had
happened. He held her hand for the entire ten minutes he was
allowed in the room with her. He met Doctor Reilly on his way back
to Mathew’s room.

“I’ll have her moved down to his room in the
morning. They both did well, thankfully. The police have taken
pictures of them both for the report. They said that whoever hit
them had fled the scene.” Logan nodded. “I do hope you can find the
person responsible for this.” Logan thanked him again and went to
Mathew’s room. He had his eyes open, but they looked glazed in
pain. He kissed his hand and wiped at the tears. Things already
looked better.

Lizzy watched the fairies fly across the
field without really seeing them. She’d been at the castle for
three days and still wasn’t ready to go home yet. Aunt Mel had been
trying to speak to her, but Lizzy wasn’t ready yet. Besides, she
wasn’t sure herself what had happened and why. She wanted to talk
to Mac, but he was busy with his own mate. She looked up when a
shadow crossed over her. Shamus, the king and her uncle.

“Sometimes when you least expect it, the
best things pop up. Did you know that we had nearly five hundred
new brownies born yesterday?”

She smiled.

“If you don’t talk to Mellie soon, she’s
going to have a fit and come gunning for you.”

“She can wait until I’m ready. I only came
here because she said I’d be able to think. I can’t think if she’s
going to be pissy to me.”

Shamus nodded and sat with her for a long
while before he spoke again. “The little boy went home yesterday.
His aunt will need a little more care, but she should be well
enough to travel in a few more days. He asks about you.”

She looked at him, knowing who he meant and
that it wasn’t his dad.

“He believes that you were an angel sent to
save him and his aunt.”

“A wolf was in the car. I have to let
Bradley know, but I know all of them and it wasn’t one of his pack.
Do you know who it was and why he hated the woman so much?” He
shrugged. “Is that a, ‘I know, but can’t tell you,’ or ‘I don’t
know’ gesture?”

“Neither and both.” She growled at him. “You
have to go and talk to your mate, Lizzy. He needs to know what you
and he are to each other. And the longer you stay here, the
stronger your thirst for him is going to be. It won’t be safe for
you to be with him if you wait much longer.”

“I know. He is completely blameless in this.
But he has to know that I did bite him. It’ll be hard for him if
someone that is against my dad finds out and uses him against him.”
Lizzy watched the fairies as they flew over the field of wild
flowers. “Shamus, do you suppose if I never left here he’d be all
right?”

“You know the answer to that, Lizzy, as well
as I do.” He grinned as he looked over her shoulder. “But I believe
my mate has taken the decision out of your hands.”

Lizzy turned and saw Mel coming toward her
with someone. She stood up when she realized who it was. She was
going to fucking kill her. If she could actually do it. Mel was an
immortal and couldn’t die, but Lizzy figured she could do a world
of hurt to her. Tess appeared in front of her.

“Behave.”

Lizzy stared up at the beautiful warrior fae
as Tess continued.

“You should know by now that here I can feel
your every emotion. Don’t hurt Mel and I won’t have to hurt
you.”

Mel and Logan stood before the three of
them. Shamus moved to shake hands with Logan, and Tess told him hi.
Great, meeting the family on their terms couldn’t be a good
thing.

“You two haven’t actually met, right?”

Logan nodded at Tess’s question but didn’t
take her eyes off her.

“This is Elizabeth MacManus. Everyone simply
calls her Lizzy. I’m Tess, by the way.”

Logan turned to look at Tess, and she
fluttered her wings and hovered over the ground for several seconds
before touching back down. Logan took a step back, then another,
before he looked at her. “Am I dreaming? I’ve had a great many
strange dreams in the past few days. I’m going to hope you say yes
and tell me that this is just another version of where you tell me
what the hell is going on.” He looked at Mel and Shamus, then back
at Tess, before looking at Lizzy. “This is the first time I’ve been
told your name, though.”