Scarlet Heat (Born to Darkness) (19 page)

“Not anymore,” I said sweetly. “I make him
cookies from scratch. I’ll give you the recipe if you want—you can make up a
batch and try to find some other man who isn’t already taken.”

“Why…you…I…” She seemed almost speechless with
rage, which was fine with me. I felt my own anger rising, along with a fierce
possessiveness. Victor was
mine
and I
wasn’t about to stand by and let some little werewolf skank with a plate of
store bought cookies say otherwise.

“Goodbye,” I said and shut the door in her face.

There was a loud crash outside and I realized
that LeeAnn must have thrown the plate full of cookies down on the porch in a
fit of childish rage. The plate had exploded like a bomb and glass shards and
cookies had gone everywhere. Watching from the kitchen window, I saw her flounce
off to a waiting candy apple red Mercedes parked in Victor’s front drive. The
bumper sticker on the back actually said,
Yield
to the Princess.
Unbelievable.

I felt considerable satisfaction as I watched her
drive off but it didn’t last for long. Inside I was wondering if there was any
truth at all to what LeeAnn had said. Was it possible that her relationship
with Victor was legitimate? Were they really engaged? And where did that leave
me? How could Victor act so sweet and considerate and all the while keep LeeAnn
a secret? Should I confront him about her? Did I even have a right to do that?

We have a temporary arrangement,
I reminded myself unhappily.
And he
had a life before he met me. Corbin really didn’t give him a choice about
marrying me—he just forced Victor to take me on. Maybe he’s just waiting for
our time together to be over so he can go back to the pack where he belongs.

The unhappy thoughts followed me like a dog
dragging its tail as I stuck the broom out the door and carefully swept up as
much of the shattered plate and the stale cookies as I could reach without
going outside. I didn’t know what I was going to say to Victor or if I would
say anything at all. One thing was clear, though—until I found out exactly what
was going on, I would be dealing with the heat creeping up on me strictly by
myself. There was no way I was going to ask him to help me in such an intimate
way when I wasn’t sure if he was promised to another woman or not.

No way in hell.

Chapter Fourteen—Victor

When I got home, Taylor was quiet—
too
quiet. She was leaning back against
one of the counters with her arms crossed over her breasts, as though she was
waiting for me.

“Hey, baby,” I said as I came in the front door.
My work boots crunched on something and I looked at the porch as I put down the
package I was carrying. “What’s this?” I asked, picking up a shard of glass and
half a cookie and tossing them in the trash can.

“Nothing.” Her voice was a little too casual.
“Just something LeeAnn brought by.”

“What?” I stared at her. “What the hell was
she
doing here?”

“I could ask you the same thing,” Taylor said
quietly. “I mean I could, but I won’t. It’s not really my business.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I growled. “If
you want to know something, ask—I don’t have anything to hide.” The brand at my
lower back throbbed uncomfortably as I said the words but I couldn’t call them
back. Not when she was looking at me like that.

“No, really…” She shook her head. “I’m not trying
to be bitchy or catty or anything like that. I really
don’t
have the right to ask about your business. Our relationship
is only temporary and I’m not even really your wife—”

“Yes, you are,” I interrupted, a burst of possessive
anger rushing through me. “We’ve been over this, Taylor—you’re
mine—
my business is your business.
So if you want to ask me about
LeeAnn—go ahead—ask me.”

“Okay then…” She bit her lip. “LeeAnn said
something about your waiting period as a lone wolf being up so now you can join
the pack? Oh—and she also mentioned that you’re her intended mate. Is that the
were version of being engaged?”

I groaned and rubbed a hand over my face.

“Baby, look, please don’t get all hung up on
this. That girl is crazy—you know I don’t want to join the pack and I never
promised her anything.”

She arched an eyebrow at me.

“All right, so you’re saying she made it all up?”

“Every bit,” I said. “She came around a couple of
times with those nasty cookies of hers when I first moved here but I put her
off.”

“You must not have put her off very hard,” Taylor
observed quietly. “She seemed certain you two were going to be bonded.”

“Well, I couldn’t be
too
rude,” I growled, feeling put on the defensive. “Her father is
the damn pack leader and she’s the Alpha bitch. Giving offense to a high
ranking pack member in their own territory is serious—even for a lone wolf.”

Taylor frowned. “It’s a good thing I’m not a wolf
then—I don’t think she liked what I had to say.”

“Which was?” I leaned back against the kitchen
counter and crossed my arms over my chest.

Taylor’s cheeks went pink. “I…I just told her to
back off. I told her you and I were together and she had no say in it.”

“You told her right,” I said simply. “We’re
bonded and there’s nothing she can do about it. Although she might try if she
took offense.”

Taylor looked troubled. “I only told her the
truth. I didn’t know weres were so touchy.”

“It’s an animal thing,” I said. “A territorial
thing.”

“I guess that makes sense.” Taylor nodded but she
was still too quiet—too subdued. I had a feeling she wasn’t convinced there was
nothing going on between me and LeeAnn.

I pushed away from the counter and came over to
stand in front of her.

“Taylor,” I said softly. “Come on, please don’t
let this ruin your day. If there was one lesson my old man taught me, it was
‘don’t dip your dick in crazy.’ I knew the first time that girl came around
with her cookies and her attitude I didn’t want any of that.”

“Well… all right,” she said at last. “But what
about the whole waiting period thing before you joined the pack? What was that
about?”

I shrugged. “A formality. Every lone wolf has to
register with the local pack—kind of a formal meet and greet thing. At that
time, you’re put on their rolls as a possible member. But if you don’t follow
up after the period is over, it’s assumed you want to stay on your own.”

“And you
really
don’t want to be part of the pack?” she asked.

I shook my head. “No, never. And even if I did,
they wouldn’t have me.”

“What?” She frowned. “Why not? You’re big and
strong and brave—I mean…” She blushed and dropped her eyes. “I mean, any pack
would be lucky to have you.”

I grinned and stroked a strand of her long dark
hair out of her eyes.

“Thanks, baby. But they wouldn’t think so if they
knew about—” I stopped abruptly.

“About what?” she asked, watching me curiously.

“Uh, about my moon sickness,” I said, stretching
the truth considerably. “The way I get stuck in my, uh, other form sometimes.”
The brand on my lower back throbbed again, calling me out. I felt uncomfortable
lying to her—or at least not telling the whole truth. But there were some ugly
things she just didn’t need to know. I was doing it to protect her. Right?

“Well,
I
like
you in either form,” she said, giving me a shy smile. “In fact, sometimes I
like your wolf form better. He’s more cuddly.”

“Oh, too bad about that.” I shook my head. “I can
change right now for you but I’m afraid it might ruin our plans for the
evening.”

“Plans?” She looked at me doubtfully. “We have
plans?”

“Uh-huh. How do you feel about salsa dancing?”

She bit her lip. “Um…it sounds great but…you
dance? Really?”

I gave her my best mock offended look. “I’m not
as much of a Neanderthal as you want to believe. Yeah, I dance. I’m pretty
fucking good at it, if I say so myself.”

“Well, I’m
not
any good at it but I’m willing to give it a try.” Her face fell. “Only I don’t
have anything to wear.”

“Yes, you do.” I went back out to the porch and
picked up the package I’d left outside earlier. “Hope you like it,” I said as
she ripped into it eagerly. “My sister picked it out. She owns a boutique in
Tallahassee.”

“Oh!” she exclaimed as the dress my big sister
had picked came into view. It was a short, shimmery thing with a draped top and
a low cut back. There were shoes to match too—strappy little heels that would
make her long, lovely legs look like they went on forever. I couldn’t wait to
see her in them.

That is, if she would wear the clothes and shoes
my sister had picked—I wasn’t so sure because suddenly Taylor had tears in her
eyes.

“You don’t like the outfit?” I asked anxiously.
“I can send it back. I—”

“No, no—I
love
it.” She sniffed and blotted her eyes with a paper towel from the holder.
“It’s just…so sweet. And it’s the first time someone else has picked my clothes
in years and got me something I really
wanted
to wear. Thank you, Victor.” She put the box with the clothes and shoes on the
counter and stood on tiptoe to put her arms around my neck. “You’re so sweet to
me,” she whispered in my ear. “So sweet and kind and generous.”

“You deserve it,” I said gruffly, hugging her
back. I couldn’t help liking the way she felt in my arms, all soft and sweet
and delicate. Then, though I knew I shouldn’t, I pressed my face to her neck
and inhaled deeply, taking in her scent.

It was hot—a lot hotter than it should have been,
which bothered me. Clearly the heat was ramping up again. I didn’t want to say
anything about it though—it sounded too opportunistic. Like I wanted an excuse
to touch her naked body, to stroke her and hold her and make her come.
Actually, that was
exactly
what I
wanted but I felt like a jerk for wanting it, especially knowing what she had
been through when she lived with Celeste. So I told myself that if Taylor
needed help she would come to me. She wouldn’t let herself get too far gone now
that she knew the consequences—right?

God, I hoped not. Especially since her scent
acted on me like a drug. It was a closed loop—a vicious circle. The hotter her
scent got, the more I wanted her, and the more I wanted her, the more the brand
on my lower back ached and throbbed. It would be dangerous to let the cycle
continue to a peak but that wasn’t going to happen. Taylor would let me know
when she needed me. I just had to trust that.

We both held the hug a lot longer than was probably
necessary. She felt so good in my arms, so right, like she belonged there. I
could feel her full breasts pressed against my chest and the soft V of her
thighs against my groin. It was sweet torture being so close to her and not
being able to do anything to claim her but I liked it anyway.

I never wanted to let her go.

Chapter Fifteen—Taylor

The dress fit perfectly, as did the shoes. Victor
must have looked at my sizes before calling his sister. He had mentioned her
once or twice before—apparently she was the only member of his family that
still kept up with him after he’d been shut out of his home pack. I didn’t know
her personally but I was beginning to really like her—she had great taste in
clothes.

I went to the mirror over the sink to take a final
look at myself. I had to admit that the shimmery blue dress clung beautifully to
my curves. I had filled out some since I had been feeding on Victor so often.
Honestly, I really only needed blood once every two or three days but he
insisted on letting me drink from him much more often than that. As a result, I
had put on a little weight (not a bad thing since I had been practically
emaciated when I first came to stay with him) and there was warmth and color in
my cheeks.

I twirled in the mirror, loving the way I looked.
The silky cerulean blue material brought out my eyes and the strappy black
shoes made me glad I’d just given my toes a fresh coat of polish. The only
thing I didn’t like was that the back of the dress was too low to wear a bra
with it, but the cowl neck draped over my chest well enough to hide the fact
that I was braless—I hoped, anyway.

I felt cautiously optimistic about our little
dance date. The very fact that Victor had called his sister and asked her to
send him the perfect dress days ago made me think he really cared. And if he
cared that much for me, why would he bother with LeeAnn?
He wouldn’t,
I told myself firmly.
So stop worrying about it and just enjoy yourself tonight.

As I was making sure my hair and makeup were
perfect, Victor came into the bathroom and stood behind me. To my surprise, he
was dressed up too—as dressed up as he ever got, anyway. He had on a white
button-down shirt tucked into crisp, spotless jeans and he was actually wearing
a sports coat. No tie though, which was good. It would have been too formal.