The man on the right wore his brown hair loose around his shoulders. He was tall and slender with a trimmed goatee around his mouth. “How are your numbers looking, Dominic? If you don’t pull this through, I’m going to have some very unhappy people on my hands.”
Felicity could feel the tension enter Dom’s body at the man’s question.
“Better. I’m going to win this.”
The man with the heavily wrinkled face took a step forward but didn’t bother to lower his voice. “Why is the Alpha still alive? He should be dead by now.”
“Rightly so, Montgomery. However, he has very well trained guards protecting him and he’s great at masking his scent. The only way we can find him is by tracking him to where we think he is then simply attacking to see if he’s there. I’m trying to keep the body count down, so I’ve told Grayson and Vas to make sure they know where he is before they attack. As you can see, he’s far too good at hiding.”
The dark-skinned man frowned, his eyes growing hard. “You have two days left. Two days, Dominic, and from what I’ve been hearing he’s going to take the presidency by a landslide.”
“I won’t let that happen.”
“You can’t stop it,” the man replied. “No one can alter the votes without penalty of death. If he wins, he wins. He plans to allow same-sex matings Dominic, even between different breeds. Can you imagine the blasphemy? Male vampires and weres rutting together, sharing the most sacred of blood bonds in the world. It will be devastating.”
Felicity bit her lip to keep from speaking. It was not her place to tell this man how wrong she thought he was.
When she first heard the commotion coming from behind her she almost sighed with relief, but when she turned toward the sounds of gasps and excited chatter her blood froze over with ice.
Helena was here.
The stunning redhead with perfect, creamy skin and her pointed chin and upturned noise stood at the entrance to the ballroom with a smirk on her face. She met the crowds’ eyes in a personal challenge as if daring them not to let her enter.
She wore a daring black gown that looked glued to her body. How else could it stay up by only her breasts? The dress fell to the floor with a length of material trailing behind her. That length split to reveal one long, creamy leg clad in a black high heel that shimmered with stones.
After posing for an entire minute for everyone to take notice of her, an incredible man strode to her. That was the only way Felicity could think to describe him—incredible. Of course, she could only see him from the side and back but there was something too catching about him, a magnetism that fueled her blood in a way that only Dominic did. He had blonde hair with darker streaks that fell to the bottom of his neck in a wave. That wasn’t what had caught her attention. No, what had caught her attention was the way he moved...like a predator. Realizing that actually sent a spike of fear into her. This man could kill you. He would walk up to you as he was to Helena in that same, long-limbed, deadly grace and then he’d kill you with his bare hands. She could almost see it in her mind.
He stopped before Helena then, brazenly, wrapped his arms around her, bent her backwards over his arm, and kissed her for all to see. It wasn’t a timid kiss or even a sweet kiss. More like a lipstick-smearing, tongue thrusting, wet kiss meant to imitate the act he really wanted to be doing right now.
Someone nearby cleared their throat jolting Felicity out of her thoughts. Flustered, she felt the pressure of a gaze on her, of someone watching. Felicity stiffened as she looked up at Dom. At once an apology spilled from her lips at the deadly look on his face. No, not deadly, violent. He pulled his arm out of her touch only to lace his fingers with hers. Not in a nice way. His grip tightened enough to make her gulp.
Dominic had seen her making googly eyes at another man.
And he did...not...like...it.
“If you’ll excuse us,” he said to the gentleman.
Then he was pulling her towards the back of the ballroom. They followed a wall that lead to the back of the room where four doublewide doors stood which led into what looked like a balcony.
The grip on her hand was punishing.
A man spotted them and stepped forward as they neared. “Mr. Blackmoore, I’m glad to see you here. I wanted to discuss—”
“Not now,” Dominic growled and then they swept out of the backdoors onto a stone terrace that overlooked acres of land and one magnificent garden below.
Felicity had had enough of him dragging her about. With a vicious tug, she yanked her hand back then rubbed at the reddened skin. “What is wrong with you?”
Dom turned around on her, walking into her until she started backing up. “What is wrong with me? I wasn’t the one eye-fucking the man who’s running against me for this election and who is apparently fucking my ex-bruid.”
Oh. Shit. Felicity held her hands up. “Listen, I never saw his face so I didn’t recognize him and I surely wasn’t—”
“Don’t you dare lie to me,” he said very slowly. Scarily slow.
Felicity looked up into his eyes as a trickle of unease shivered down her body. “I’m sorry,” she found herself saying and meant it. She meant it not because she liked how he’d overreacted a wee bit here, but because if she’d seen him “eye-fucking” some gorgeous woman she’d probably have a much, much worse reaction than he did. Her reaction might involve a gun.
He stepped in close pushing her back into the wall behind her. He touched her waist then slid his hands around to her back as his cheek came down to press against hers. Inside she melted at the gentle intimacy, at the hug he gave her and wrapped her arms around his back to reciprocate.
“I am sorry. I’ve never seen an alpha before...they’re different.”
Those hands around her back stiffened. In a moment he crushed their bodies together, nearly bruising. He pulled back to look down at her and in his eyes she saw fury and something else. Something she couldn’t quite name.
“Don’t ever mention him to me again. In any way. Do you understand me?”
Her pulse raced at his low words. That something mysterious thing shimmering in his eyes put her on alert, made her wonder what he would do next.
“Yes, Dom.”
At her agreement, he nodded then let his eyes roam down to her breasts which the gown pushed up into rounded globes. It was a fitted dress and demure, yet as he stared at her breasts and they grew heavy and pinched. He made her feel like she wore absolutely nothing to block her from his gaze.
“I think it’s time to find out whether you listened to me or not.”
Thud, thud, thud.
Her heart raced like galloping horses. “What do you mean?” She totally hoped she knew she what he meant, because she had a wicked, exciting idea.
A moment later he grabbed her hand and led her to the far side of the terrace where a set of stairs went down below. He took her down them quickly, she struggling in her stupid heels, and he gliding noiselessly in his loafers. Now he marched her through the cut grass along the house then turned once they reached the side.
She was panting as she realized he’d led her to a more remote location. They were at the far side of the house away from where the paparazzi had been and where the valets parked the cars. This was the side of the house opposite the ball and thus any sign of life.
“Baby, I’m really sorry,” she began.
He crowded her gently back against the house. Every second of it she loved even as a lick of fear went through her making her edgy and hot. And yes, she could already feel herself growing wet. His eyes were dark and tense. The look blazed out from them but was more subdued. Anger still clouded him. Anger that she’d liked the look of another male to stare. She really did feel awful and understood the need to mark her that was driving him right now. In fact, she relished in it.