His lips twitched. “I can’t help myself. You bring out my possessive tendencies like no one else. I just want them all to be aware that you are unavailable.”
She tugged on his hands and he released her waist without argument. Her brain railed at her for not disagreeing with him. For not insisting she didn’t belong to him. Turning, she looked up at him and tried to make sense of the cacophony of emotions screaming for attention. The truth was she did belong to him. She always had. And how she hated it.
She shook her head, turned away and made her way back to the table where the twins waited. Exhaustion blindsided her. Too much emotional drainage for one day. It must have shown on her face because Simon piped up. “Let’s get you home.”
Home was the last place she wanted to go. There was no one to spend the night with but her own paranoia. The boys would sleep over if she asked, but she wasn’t ready for that level of humiliation. And Thomas...well, it would be better if she kept her thoughts—and her libido—from going down that path.
Thomas stepped in front of them, stopping them before they took two steps toward the door. She waited for him to say whatever it was he had to say. “My sister called me. She said you weren’t answering your phone and she has a...code four, I believe she called it.”
A code four meant Sara’s daughter Rachel was asking for a visit from Auntie J. As late as it was, the girl was probably still awake.
Seamus pulled Juliana’s phone from his pocket. He’d put it there for safe keeping after he confiscated it at the house. “Sorry,” he said with a shrug and handed it over.
She scrolled through her three missed calls. They were all from Sara.
While she was sure the twins wouldn’t mind accompanying her to Sara’s house, they’d done their duty for the night. “Take me home, I’ll ride my bike to Sara’s.”
Thomas arched one thin brow. “You’ve been drinking. And you’re injured.”
“I don’t like leaving you alone. Maybe Thomas should drive you,” Simon suggested.
She narrowed her eyes at him as Thomas said, “I’d be happy to take you. I need to see my sister anyway.”
Simon shook his head. “Don’t you look at me like that. You’re not fully recovered and you know it. And I’m sure the vampire would be better to have around than us.”
“Speak for yourself,” Seamus grumbled.
Despite his brother’s protest, Simon had a point. Thomas was a trained fighter with centuries of experience. Not bad backup to have on hand. But that didn’t mean she had to like it.
Still glaring at him, she motioned for him to hand over the belongings she’d given him earlier. She might have been off duty, but she didn’t go anywhere without her badge and gun being close by. Her sword tended to draw more attention that she usually cared for in public when she wasn’t working. Besides, her arm still wasn’t in good enough shape to use it. She slid the badge over her neck and tucked the gun into the back of her pants after making sure the safety was on. It wasn’t her preferred way to wear the weapon, but it was better than waving it around the club.
She said goodbye to the boys then snagged a handful of Thomas’s shirt so she wouldn’t lose him in the crowd. Thomas reached back without breaking stride. He unwrapped her hand from his shirt and held it in his. When she tried to pull away, he stopped and tugged her against his side so he could talk next to her ear. “You’ll ruin the silk. It’s my hand or my belt loop, whichever you prefer.”
She didn’t think either was a particularly wise option, but kept hold of his hand and let him lead her out of the bar. He still refused to let go when they reached the parking lot. He grinned at her over his shoulder. “Wouldn’t want you to get lost.”
She rolled her eyes and fired up her gift so nothing could sneak up on them in the dark. Pain flared through her skull with the action and she did her best to ignore it. A temporary pain was better than a permanent death. A glance at Thomas showed him bathed in a sheen of lavender and blue. He was brighter than he used to be, more powerful.
He let go of her hand when they got to the car and he noticeably dimmed. She frowned. It was a physical representation of their union. Just her touch made him more powerful. It was also a reminder of why she couldn’t trust a word he said.
When Thomas asked her to be his life mate, she said yes because she loved him. She asked for time because she wasn’t sure if he wanted her or the power she brought him. Something about the two of them being together made their abilities stronger. She’d first noticed it a year or so before their union. About the time Thomas started seeing her as more than a smart-assed pain in the neck. She was too smart to think the timing was entirely coincidental.
She reached out and touched his hand again and the signature flared. She repeated the experiment two more times with the same result. He flared brighter than he used to. Time had apparently made their effect on each other stronger or their union had increased their power more than she thought.
“Finished?” he asked, laughter in his voice.
Heat flooded her face. She grumbled and slid into the car while he held the door for her. He chuckled and went around to his own side. As soon as he started the car, she rolled down the window.
“You’re not sick, are you?” He cast a fearful glance around the interior of the car. No doubt he already regretted offering her a ride.
“Calm down. I had like three shots. I just don’t like being cooped up,” she told him. It was the reason she had a motorcycle. That and the ability it gave her to dodge traffic. Resting her head next to the window, she studied the darkness. Cold, sharp air stung her nose when she took a deep breath. Cooling relief flooded her lungs.
A flash of color at the edge of the parking lot stole her breath and straightened her spine. Purple-blue with swirls of black. A vampire tainted by dark magic. She hadn’t seen a signature like that in years. Seven to be exact.
Oblivious to her discovery, Thomas pulled out of the space and she lost sight of it.
“Stop the car!” She threw open the door as Thomas slammed on the brakes. Springing out, she looked back to the shadows where she’d seen the blaze of color. Nothing. She spun in a circle, searching. Still nothing.
She could have walked across the parking lot to where she’d seen the flash of color. She should have if for no other reason than to see if a trace of the signature remained. But she really didn’t want to know. The realization that she didn’t have the courage to move closer to investigate filled her with disgust. When had she become such a coward? Jumping at shadows, hiding from swaths of color in the night?
“What is it?” Thomas looked at her over the top of the car.
She hesitated a moment before shaking her head slowly. “I thought I saw something. I must be more tired than I thought. I couldn’t have seen what I thought I did.”
They got back in the car and sat in silence. She was sure Thomas wanted an explanation, but she had none to give him. Her hands began to tremble and she closed her eyes, forced herself to breathe. Thomas wrapped his hand around hers, helping her find her center.
She found it difficult to believe she’d imagined Raoul despite what she said to Thomas. Fate wasn’t that kind to her.
Raoul had been a black mage before his sire turned him into a vamp in medieval Spain. He was one of the last mages turned. Not that anyone had been brought over since the Rending. The Council forbade it. But the ban on mages came long before that. Mages lost most of their ability during the transition. More than one had gone mad when they found themselves with only a fraction of their former power. A feral vampire with magical abilities, no matter how minor, wasn’t something the Council wanted to deal with.