Of A Darker Nature (36 page)

The crunch of gravel and the sound of footsteps on the old porch lifted Emily’s spirits.

“I’ll get it!” She shuffled out of the kitchen, leaving Liz to deal with dinner. Each movement pulled and tugged at her stitches, but she didn't care. Despite what Liz demanded, she couldn't stay in bed all day.

She found Scott standing on the softly lit porch, the rest of her adopted family crowded around him. He dropped a heartfelt kiss on her cheek and grinned. He held a covered dish that smelled divine while Beau had his arms full with a container of plasma and a twelve pack of Dr. Pepper.

“Hi guys! It’s good to see you.” A sideways smile lit Emily's face, but faltered when she spotted an ailing Wren. She readjusted the tote bag hanging from her shoulder and struggled for breath. Though she looked as terrible as she must feel, Wren wore a smile. Emily took the tote from her, surprised to find it was pretty weighty. “What do you have in here? Bricks?”

Wren grinned. “I brought stuff for a protection charm. I hoped we could make it together. Consider it craft night.”

Emily opened the nylon bag and peeked at its contents. A small copper cauldron sat inside. Several wooden spoons, vials of herbs and colored bits lined the bottom. There was even a hammer and a box of nails.

She met Wren’s hopeful gaze and smiled. Liz would flip her lid at the kitchen witch’s hocus pocus. “Sure. What could it hurt, right?”

“You look incredibly well for someone who was on their deathbed,” Beau said with a knowing smile.

Everyone managed to squeeze into the kitchen.

“Did Beau tell you yet?” Scott looked at Emily over his plate of pasta.

Emily sat her fork aside and cut her gaze around to Beau. “Tell me what?”

“I’m leaving.” He looked at her and grinned. “I kind of wanted to tell you after dinner, but I suppose there’s no time like the present.”

“Leaving? Where are you going?” Emily’s heart leapt into her throat. The funeral home would feel weird without him.

“I’ve decided to take Marcus up on his offer. I’m going to be an enforcer again, especially now that Trent won’t be in charge and Marcus has control of Isabella.”

Emily clutched his hand in hers. “We’ll miss you.”

Beau smiled. “I’ll miss all of you, too. I’ll still drop by from time to time. This isn’t goodbye.”

Emily leaned over the table to hug him. “It better not be.”

Eager to keep everyone together just a little longer, she pointed at the tote hanging on the back of Wren’s chair. “So, what kind of stuff do you need for your charm?”

“I brought everything we need. We’ll just need the stove to heat it with.” Wren pulled the bag around to paw through it.

Setting containers of this and that aside, Wren removed the cauldron and a wooden spoon for each of them. She moved them out of the way, frowning. “Do you have some little trinket we can use for a charm? I brought one, but I seem to have misplaced it.”

Emily wished she had a camera handy. Liz’s face had paled at least two shades. “Yeah, I’ll see what I can find.”

Life had a funny way of working things out. Her friends were gathered around the table. They laughed and talked amongst each other. A cauldron bubbled on top of the stove, filling the small house with the aroma of cloves and rosewood.

Someone’s chair scraped across the hardwood floors and Emily knew her sister was probably making an excuse to leave.

Wren’s voice called her back. “You really ought to stay and help, Liz. Love makes the spell stronger.”

Emily grinned. She doubted it made much difference, but what would a little white lie hurt?

Liz cleared her throat uneasily. “Right, okay. It doesn’t involve anything weird, does it?”

Wren laughed, though it sounded more like an asthmatic cough. “It’s just a run-of-the-mill charm. It's like following a recipe.”

Emily bent over the dresser and took several slow breaths. Her stomach hurt where the knife had slid in. She probably should have listened to the doctor’s orders of lying around and taking it easy. The problem was, she couldn’t. She had a life and things to do.

She turned to dig through her small jewelry box. There had to be something in there that could be used. She’d lost her heart charm during Starr’s ritual and was quite upset about it.

“Looking for this?” a smooth as melted chocolate, male voice asked behind her.

Marcus held up the necklace, letting it dangle from his long fingers. A sly smile tipped up one side of his mouth. “Aren’t you going to say hello?”

She leaned against the dresser and drank him in. He no longer looked like something out of a monster movie. His smooth skin glowed with good health and he was beautiful as ever.

He dropped the necklace into his palm then set it on the nightstand. Head tilted back, he took a deep breath. Finally, his gaze rested on her. “Smells like rosewood in the house. What’s Wren up to?”

Even after all that had happened, she couldn’t help thinking he looked wonderful in the dark pants and light grey dress shirt he wore. The color really brought out his eyes. Without even realizing it, she moved closer. “What are you doing here?”

Marcus slid off the bed to move toward her. Emily backed up and nearly fell over her own feet. He watched her with predatory eyes and moved within a breath of touching her. Marcus pulled a folded piece of yellowed paper from his hip pocket. “Give this to Wren.”

Her gaze fell to the paper and the peculiar words scribbled on it. “What kind of spell is it?”

“The kind that’ll heal her.” His thumb stroked across Emily’s cheek, a flicker of a smile lit his face. “That is, if she can read Latin.”

More than anything, she wanted to kiss him. “I was afraid I'd never see you again.”

His eyes darkened slightly. “I couldn't stay away.”

Just what had she expected? A confession of love probably wasn't going to happen, but some sort of validation that he felt something was needed.

Marcus wrapped her in his embrace, smothering her against him. His scent hinted of soap and leather. The pretty grey shirt was soft and comforting against her skin. She could stay like this forever.

His mouth was a mere whisper from hers. Emily expected his lips to press against hers. She was disappointed when they didn’t.

“What you do, how you feel, it affects me. We’ll share a bond for a short while.”

She tilted her head back to look into his eyes. “The blood?”

His lips brushed against her forehead. “We’re connected, Freckles.”

Throwing caution and good sense to the wind, Emily's arms tightened around his waist. This time, he kissed her back. His hands brushed down her back and over the curve of her hip. 

After a moment, her head dropped against his chest and her shoulders drooped. Maybe it wasn’t too late to mend what was broken between them. Despite Isabella’s warning and her own denial, she couldn't ignore what she felt for him. Her fingers gripped the front of his shirt and she prayed her vampire would be able to make sense of the things rushing from her mouth. 

“I'm in love with you, Marcus. I think I have been since the first time I saw you. Can't you find it in your heart to forgive me?” She kissed his throat and jaw, breathing in his delicious scent.

His gaze had darkened, but he said nothing in response.

“Please say something.” She bit her bottom lip, just knowing she’d said way too much.

“It's been a long time since I've felt anything remotely close to love.” He spoke against her hair in a low, measured voice. His hands stilled on her hips.

This wasn’t going quite like she’d dreamed it would. “Marcus, I…”

“Then I met you.”

Her heart soared and giddy butterflies swirled low in her stomach.

“Emily?” Scott called from the kitchen. “Everything okay in there?” 

“We're coming!” She seized one of Marcus's hands. “So what's next?”

“First, we get this charm made. Then we have some making up to do.”

Judging by the look he gave her, he'd much rather skip ahead to the making up. Emily stood on tiptoes and nipped his bottom lip. “I guess we'd better hurry them along then.”