The Seed of the White Tiger (5 page)

“I will be your loyal guard.” He bowed to her, foppish and endearing at the same time. Dom smiled a little. “I like it when you smile. Now is there anything I can help you with? We need to get these things finished quickly. Keep in mind that the shifters might be sending people to guard the house.”

“What are you talking about?” She asked, caught completely unaware by the news. “The shifters are going to be coming here?”

“They want to make sure that my mate stays safe.” He explained it as gently as possible, but there was no way to gauge what her reaction was going to be. “It’s not a guarantee and I didn’t tell them where you lived.”

“I cannot believe you’ve led them on like this.”

“Really, you can’t believe that? It’s getting both sides to work together, and it’s going to lay the ground work for future talks.”

Chapter5

It was after dark by the time she finished her spells. Gregor had remained quiet and respectful the entire time she worked, dancing through the house in her swirling skirts. She chanted and spread around the smoke from various herbs and plants. She looked like she was painting the walls with her protective spell.

Gregor watched protectively as she stepped outside, continuing her work on the edges of her property. He stood guard in silence, watching earnestly, trying to learn her nature, the ways of her magic, the special personal manner in which she carried herself. He watched her, wanting nothing more than to touch her everywhere.

When she finally finished her work, he followed her back inside of her house. “Do you need anything?” He asked eager to help with her troubles.

“I’m just a little tired right now. I’ll be fine in a moment.” She panted as she sat down on the couch.

“What do you have to eat around here?” He walked into the kitchen and opened the empty fridge. “I don’t see any food in your house.”

“What are you talking about? There’s food everywhere here. Let me go pick some things up.”

She followed him and grabbed a wicker basket that was sitting by the back door. He followed her out to the greenhouse in the back yard and watched her carefully pick a basket full of fresh vegetables, fruits and herbs.

He frowned. “Don’t you eat meat?” The question was disturbed.

“I don’t eat meat.”

“Then can we order something in or go to the grocery store. I can’t go without protein.”

“I could make some beans if you would like them.” She suggested, knowing that it wasn’t going to work.

He laughed at the suggestion. “Do you think that I’m a were-rabbit?”

“No, I suppose not.” She agreed. “Do you want to go to a grocery store, or do you want to order in?” She asked him, hoping that he would make it easier on her.

“We’ll order in tonight and go to the store in the morning. How does pizza sound? I can get it half with meat on it and half without.”

She walked back into the living room. “That sounds fine. There’s a number on the fridge.” She pointed into the kitchen haphazardly.

He called after getting the order of what she wanted, trying to keep his plan a secret. She was lying on the couch when he returned. He parked in an easy chair and told her that dinner would be here in a little less than an hour. She nodded to him and handed him the remote before closing her eyes. Gregor watched her rest for a moment, noticing her arm draped around her waist before turning on the television. There really wasn’t anything that he was interested in watching and he was sure that the television hadn’t been used very often since he had left a month before. Turning the volume low, he contented himself to watch her rest until the pizza arrived.

She sat up when the pizza guy pulled up. He heard the car pull out front, but she must have sensed someone stepping onto her property. “Is that the pizza?” She yawned, stretching her lithe arms high above her head.

He stood and walked across the room to look out of the window. “Yeah, I think that it is.” He opened the door and signed the credit card receipt. He came back in and laid several boxes on the coffee table.

She pointed at the boxes. “Isn’t that a lot of food for both of us?”

“I was hoping that it would last us for a while. I’m trying to make your life easier; we don’t need to go grocery shopping tomorrow.”

“That might be nice. I wouldn’t mind taking it easy.”

“Especially with the irritating shifter that insists on keep you company and in danger.” The two shared a laugh and their hands grazed against each other reaching into a box containing bread sticks There was a moment of shared silence before Dom’s eyes flickered over to the door and she screamed pointing at the window.

Gregor jumped up and looked out the window. He saw something moving away from it. “Who was that?” He asked her.

“It was a vampire. They’re gone now. I saw him looking in the window.”

“I thought that you would be able to sense them the moment they stepped onto your property.” Gregor closed the curtains.

“I am able to sense them. They move really fast remember? By the time I turned my head I saw his face looking in the window, leering at me like some kind of pervert.”

“We could have trouble tonight.” He noted, glancing out of the curtains that he had just closed before walking around the house and closing every other window, making sure it was clear and covered by the heavy curtains she used. “We should be careful, but I don’t think that they’re going to come in. I don’t think that they’d risk making me a martyr.”

“You seem really confident about this.” Dom’s voice was hesitant, like she didn’t quite believe it.

“I don’t think that vampires are stupid. They don’t want to be the target of a war with the shifters united against them. What they don’t know is that if they hurt you, it’s going to be the same effect. Let’s eat. All we can do right now is wait and see if they’re going to be stupid.” Gregor sat back down in the easy chair and reached for another slice of pizza. “We’ll be fine.” He promised, even though he didn’t quite sound like he believed it himself.

“I should do something. I need to stop this.” Dom was highly disturbed by the entire situation. “I have to strengthen my protections.”

“We’ll be fine. Before you start casting again, you need to eat something.” His words held concern for her safety.  “You’ve already expended quite a bit of energy doing what you did earlier, right now you have to get some strength back.” He spoke in a calming tone, emphasizing her safety and how much it meant to him with the solemn necessity of his words.

Dom picked another piece of pizza up out of the box; she chewed slowly and swallowed, thinking about what she could do.

“You should lie down. You look exhausted.” Gregor’s words were worried. “Go lie down and I will be there in a few minutes to make sure everything’s alright.”

Dom knew how tired she was. “OK, I’ll go lie down.” She answered, worried that if she did anything else it might hurt the baby. She walked back to the bedroom and stripped out of her clothes. She pulled on a nightshirt and crawled beneath the covers. She stretched and yawned as she heard the refrigerator door open.

Gregor joined her, after glancing toward the curtained window he sat on the edge of the bed.

“I’m sorry that I brought you into this.”

“You didn’t force me to be a part of this.” She told him, gently trying to help his guilty conscious.

“I’m going to stay the night, and if they don’t leave you alone, I’ll find a new place to stay.” He touched her hand, running his thumb across her knuckles.

He leaned in to kiss her and she didn’t pull away from him. She warmed under his touch and wrapped her arms around her. When he pulled his face away from her he felt her start to shake again. “I know you’re frightened. I’ll protect you.” His hand brushed hair out of her face, punctuating his words.

“I’m not frightened.” They both knew that it was a lie, but it was a lie that she had to tell herself in order to keep herself together. “It’s just that people keep grazing the edge of my protections. It makes me feel vulnerable.”

He dipped his head to kiss her again, this time lightly on the cheek. His thumb brushed the side of her face once again. She loved the sensation that always accompanied his touch. She could feel the vampires closing in, grazing her defenses, but his touch distracted her from that. His kiss moved to her lips. “I can stay in here tonight if it would make you more comfortable.” He offered.

“That would make me feel a little better about it.” She told him, whispering against his lips.

He undressed, down to his boxers and climbed into bed with her. He held her, feeling her body press against his body and couldn’t stop his body from reacting to her touch. She felt him move against her and she reciprocated the motion.

He groaned. “You’re going to drive me crazy moving like that.”

She turned around and kissed him, her arms wrapped around him. His hands ran up and down her body, eventually settling on her hip as he deepened the kiss. There weren’t a lot of other places that this unorthodox pair fit together, but here, entrenched deeply into each other’s arms.

It felt right, so pure and honest that it couldn’t be denied.

It might have been the effect of the spell or some strange version of love, but in that moment neither of them cared. They touched each other, feeling their bodies react to each other. Feeling their forms wrap around each other. Dom’s leg was up over his waist and he enjoyed the moment. “Dominique.” He moaned her name.

“I love the way you say my name.” She whispered in his ear and he shuddered when her hot breath grazed the skin of his neck. He slipped his hand under her nightshirt, putting it onto her buttocks. The smooth skin felt amazing under his hand. She drew in a quick breath and the noise spurred him on a little more.

His arm started to move, bringing his fingers closer to his intimate parts. The movements thrummed against her, bringing wetness flowing from her. She writhed and moaned against him and he was encouraged by the motions. He slipped a finger into her, moving it in and out while she enjoyed his touch. Her panties were moved off to the side, allowing him access to her most intimate parts. She began to kiss on his neck, fluttering her lips against his skin. He groaned into her shoulder blade, allowing her to slip her hand into the front of his boxer shorts. She wrapped her hand around him, and started to drive him crazy.

He growled with lust and flipped her over, placing his body above hers. He shifted, moving his boxers down off of his hips. He positioned himself at the entrance, ready to thrust himself into her. She arched her back under him, pushing her body closer, begging without words to feel him inside of her. He gave her what she wanted, thrusting into her with a need that he had never felt before. Her lips parted, gasping as he filled her. “Gregor.” When she moaned his name it drove his need even stronger. He started to move slowly at first, enjoying her reciprocal movements. She mirrored his desire, wanting nothing more than to make love to him in that moment. Their bodies possessed each other. Moving rhythmically and in perfect unison, each of his thrusts was met with one of her own.

She whimpered into his shoulder, giving in to the passion that they were feeling. She groaned under him and he captured every moment of it in his mind. He captured every memory, hoping to make the moment last forever.

It wasn’t going to last forever; it was going to end eventually, and that ending happened sooner than either of them wanted. Their bodies were calling the shots, moving them ever closer to the crest that would end the moment. It was bittersweet to think about, this moment, the one that they could truly communicate in would be over soon.

It didn’t stop the motion however; their bodies still needed the release that they were speeding towards. The thrusts were getting more frantic, less rhythmic as they approached the precipice of desire.

They finished the climb at the same time, screaming into the night, needing to feel the touch. He spilled himself into her, needing to leave a piece of himself behind. When he finished, he noticed the tears in her eyes. “Why are you crying?” Dom couldn’t answer. She just couldn’t bring herself to tell him about the baby. Instead she cried as she felt the minor incursions plaguing her senses. She cried as he held her, hushing and letting her get the frustrations out. He was worried about what this meant. “Did I hurt you?” He asked her, and she shook her head. It wasn’t anything that he had done, but she had to find a way to tell him. She thought about blurting it out, but she didn’t know how to say it, and whether or not he would run away from her. Her father had run.

*

She dreamed about the man that she had never met while she slept that night. She awoke, groggy, her sleep constantly interrupted by the vampires grazing the edges of her property. “Did you sleep well?” He was smiling at her, looking down from his place propped up on his elbow.

“Not well enough, I’m afraid.” She stretched and climbed out of the bed. “I’ve got to check on my plants.”