Chosen by Sin (2 page)

“You’re looking well,” Lacrosse boomed out in a voice designed to
carry. “Well, but old. We’ve heard rumors that you found the one to prove your
legend true, but if that’s the case, your patience is far greater than mine.”

At Lacrosse’s words, The Girl’s gaze once more found Bodin and he
silently cursed. He never discussed the legend with outsiders, but some in his
pack had. He felt The Girl’s curiosity and something else… If she weren’t so
young, he’d think she was trying to read his mind, but that was impossible. As
he now knew, vampires couldn’t access their powers until after puberty. But he
admired her for trying.

In the face of Bodin’s silence, Lacrosse finally looked down at The
Girl. He studied her for several seconds, his expression grim, before reaching
out to pat her head. Though she automatically flinched back and kept her gaze
on Bodin, she didn’t retreat.

A Draci female standing next to Lacrosse stepped forward and held out
her hand, which The Girl ignored. Eventually, when Bodin refused to acknowledge
The Girl’s gaze, she took the female’s hand and let herself be led away.

And although Bodin waited…

Although he hoped to see her turn and smile at him once more…

She didn’t.

In fact, she never looked back.

When she was out of sight, he shifted his gaze back to Lacrosse, who
offered him a goblet of wine. Bodin raised the goblet. “To the peaceful
coexistence of our people from here forth.”

Bodin hesitated only a second before drinking the wine. Lacrosse
wouldn’t have poisoned it. If he’d wanted him dead, he’d have done the more
dramatic thing and burned the flesh from Bodin’s bones while The Girl watched.

Still, the spicy wine tumbled down his throat like jagged rocks.
Swiping his hand across his mouth, Bodin nodded at Lacrosse much the same way
he had The Girl. He turned to leave, but Lacrosse’s voice stopped him.

“As I was saying, you’re looking old, Bodin. If you’ve proved the
legend true, I’d think you’d have instituted the change by now.”

Bodin had trained himself well against such prodding, but the Draci
were the last individuals he’d expected to have suspicions. They were such an
isolated group. Thousands of miles from the States. How could they…

Bodin turned around to stare directly into Lacrosse’s gaze. “I have no
idea what you’re talking about.”

“He’s talking about your grandson,” a voice whispered from the small
crowd. Bodin searched for the speaker. His eyes automatically fell on the
cloaked figure, but he couldn’t be certain this had been the one who’d spoken.

“The only grandson I have is a bastard werebeast whom I disavowed. I
have no idea where he is and I certainly don’t care. You can bet if he were
part of the legend, neither of those would be the case.”

Without bothering to nod again, he left, storming away even as his mind
warred with images of The Boy and The Girl. Both vulnerable. Both trusting.
Both his, in some way. And both gone from him.

They’d be better off for it.

Hopefully, so would the world.

SEVENTY-FIVE YEARS LATER

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA

Werebeast Dex Hunt watched as Jesmina Martin, the vampire female who’d
first approached him in a Los Angeles sex club less than two nights ago, walked
down the dark and deserted street and paused across from her hotel. She looked
poised and sophisticated in her tailored black clothes, seemingly unconcerned
that she’d pissed him off by snatching his half-feline, half-mage teammate,
Lucy Talbot, out from under his nose, then hightailed it out of Dodge before he
could get to them. It hadn’t mattered that her intentions had been good; he’d
been chomping at the bit to find her.

By the way his body was reacting to her, however, maybe he should have
hesitated. This was supposed to be about making her sorry she’d messed with
him, not satisfying his own desire to be buried inside her lithe, fragrant
little body.

“So,” he said loud enough for her to hear him. “You still want to
fuck?”

Jesmina instantly froze, but he had to give her credit—she didn’t
jerk in surprise or whirl around at his crude question. Instead, she slowly
turned toward him, her fine features illuminated by a nearby streetlight.

Her right eyebrow arched mockingly as she swept her gaze over him,
stopping just below his waist where his aching flesh was definitely most happy
to see her.

Her lips formed a moue. “It doesn’t look like Lucy’s doing it for you,
were. I suspected as much. She’s a sweetie, but clearly too innocent to give
you what you need.”

Dex glowered at her. She knew he and Lucy were having sex. How? When
she’d teleported into their hotel room to grab Lucy, he’d been asleep on the
sofa rather than next to the mage in their roomy king-sized bed. He couldn’t
see Lucy telling her. Had she read Lucy’s mind? Because she shouldn’t have been
able to read
his
. Once he’d discovered
that premium gold was one way to stop a vampire from reading one’s mind or
exercising persuasion, Dex had taken to carrying a charm in his pocket.

He only trusted one vampire, and that was the Para-Ops team leader,
dharmire Knox Devereaux, and he only trusted him halfway. Still, when he’d met
Jesmina, he’d been tempted to let down his guard, which had made her betrayal
sting all the more. Once again, the memory of how she’d played him reignited
the rage he’d spent the last forty-eight hours trying to get under control.

Two nights before, he’d been at a bar with Lucy, Wraith, and Caleb
O’Flare, his Para-Ops team members. They’d been working, using Lucy as bait for
a sting operation. Alone at their table, Dex had spotted Jes the second she’d
entered the bar.

Like the other females there, Jes’s calculating gaze had swept the
room, evaluating the males one by one, trying to find the likeliest source of
pleasure. When she’d swept her gaze right past the slick good looks of O’Flare
to land and stay on Dex, his heart had thundered and his dick had swelled,
pushing against his jeans to get to her. With a knowing smile, she’d strolled
up to him, surrounding him in the sultry scent of perfume underlined with
something wild and tropical…something that called to his beast.

“A night of passion,” she’d offered. And he’d been tempted. So tempted.
But he’d been working and then shit had started happening, including Wraith
getting shot and Lucy being drugged. He and Lucy ended up back in his hotel
room after the entire showdown. He’d been exhausted, and had almost forgotten
about the sexy vamp. Almost.

Hours later, he’d awoken in his hotel room to find Lucy missing.
Someone had blipped in and whisked Lucy away, and every clue had pointed to
that someone being Jesmina.

Dex had been pissed. All he could think about was retaliation. But when
he’d realized Lucy was not only safe but had gone with the vamp of her own free
will, Dex’s anger morphed into its true form—lust.

That lust was still crawling through his veins, even after the two days
he’d spent tracking down the vamp. Yeah, Jesmina had done what she thought
would help Lucy, and Lucy had been all for it as he’d found out later, but he
still wanted answers. And maybe to scratch that itch. But it was a lust he
couldn’t afford to give free rein, not without revealing its intensity or
letting it distract him from what was most important—his job and ultimately,
his revenge against his bastard of a grandfather.

“Lucy’s exactly what I look for in a bedmate,” he gritted out, even
though it was complete bullshit. “Beautiful and compliant.” Those two words
accurately described Lucy. But equally true was that Lucy was more like a
sister to him than a lover. Still, she needed someone to help her with the
feline heat and since she wasn’t willing to let anyone else touch her, that
left Dex. Sex was the only way to alleviate the writhing agony feline heat put
the werecats in. But although the idea of Friends With Benefits might attract
some, he knew the truth. He hated that Lucy had to have sex with someone she
wasn’t in love with. Their bodies might get into the act, but their minds were
elsewhere, making for a vacant experience.

“Sounds quite boring, if you ask me. And given your initial question,
you think the same thing or you wouldn’t be here.”

He smiled tightly. “My question wasn’t a statement of intention. You
approached me in a crowded bar and asked me if I wanted to fuck. I declined. I
haven’t changed my mind. I’m just wondering if you ever really wanted to fuck
or if the reason you came on to me in the first place was to get to Lucy.”

Her eyes narrowed into angry slits before her expression smoothed. She
laughed. “Well, there’s gratitude for you. So typical of a were. Although I
didn’t use that turn of phrase, it’s as accurate as any. And as you’re no doubt
aware of by now, I helped Lucy get the information you and your teammates were
in dire need of.”

It pissed him off that she was right. Thanks to Jes, the Para-Ops team
had solved their last case. “The question is why’d you help us?” He stalked
toward Jes, crowding her with his body until she was forced to look up at him.
He traced her cheek, his blunt-tipped finger rough against her skin. He was far
too aware of her skin’s silky texture, which made him want to press his lips
against every part of her. “Somehow I don’t think it was out of the kindness of
your heart.”

She shivered and stepped back. He clenched his fists to stop himself
from reaching for her. Contrary to what he’d implied, resisting her invitation
hadn’t been easy. He’d wanted to fuck her since the moment he’d seen her. He
still did.

But it was more than that.

There was something about this female.

Something about the way she’d watched over Lucy while the rest of them
had been dealing with Wraith’s assaulter and tending to Wraith’s wound.

Something about the way she’d talked about her own friendship with a
wraith that she hadn’t been able to save.

Something about the way she looked at him as if she could see inside
his very soul.

Whatever it was, Dex wanted to know her on a personal level that had
nothing to do with sex. But damn if he was going to let her see that.

“You’re the one who asked me to hold Lucy for you when the wraith got
shot,” she pointed out. “I tried to tell you I had information relevant to the
felines, but Lucy was the only one who listened. So I gave her the information
she asked for.
C’est tout
. That’s all.”

Abruptly, she turned away from him and walked across the street. She
pushed through the glass doors of her luxury hotel and strode toward the lobby
elevators.

Dex easily kept up with her.

The night they’d met, she’d told him she lived in France, but despite
her faint accent, she’d never spoken French before. It was sexy as hell. More
importantly, it revealed she was off balance. Clearly on the retreat. Why?
Because she didn’t trust herself to keep her hands off him? Or because she was
attracted to him in more than the physical sense, as well? Why else would she
be reneging on the offer of pleasure she’d made?

As she waited for the elevator to arrive, he crossed his arms and
leaned casually against the wall, ignoring the uneasy way the reception staff
was staring at them. “That’s all, huh? And it had nothing to do with trying to
get your claws into me?
Tres
shame,” he
mocked.

She was looking increasingly annoyed now. “You’re attractive, were, but
not that attractive. In fact, to answer your question, no I don’t want to fuck.
Not anymore. The fact that you and your teammates were so clueless has left me
cold.”

Despite her words, he didn’t buy it. Perhaps his instincts were wrong,
then. Perhaps she wasn’t actually running from him, but rather resisting him
because she knew it was the surest way to get to him. Her tact was working and
he suddenly found himself quite willing to play along. “Is that a fact?” Now it
was his gaze that traced the contours of her body.

Who cared what her motives were? She wanted him and he sure as shit
wanted her. “I have an exceptionally good sense of smell, and what I smell
isn’t just bullshit, but a female who still wants to be fucked really bad.”

“Oh I never said I didn’t want to get fucked,” she taunted. The
elevator arrived with a soft ping. As the door slid open, she stepped inside
and turned to stare challengingly at him. “I just don’t want to fuck you. So
why don’t you—”

Her goading finally got to him. With a hand against her shoulder, he
lightly shoved her further into the elevator, relishing the way her eyes
widened with shock. He was just about to step into the elevator with her when
someone called his name.

“Dex!”

He immediately recognized the voice and cursed.

Jes, who was now flushed and breathing hard with lips pressed together
and jaw clenched. But for a second, just one second, he thought he saw
disappointment flash in her coal-black eyes. “Looks like your girlfriend’s
here,” she said.

“Damn it, she’s not my girl—”

“It was kind of you to come to my defense, Lucy, but unnecessary, I assure
you,” Jes called over his shoulder.

“Don’t be so sure of that,” he said darkly.

The elevator doors closed, but not before Jes waggled her fingers in a
mocking gesture of goodbye. “
Au revoir
,
Mr. Hunt.” When she was gone, Dex fought the conflicting needs to punch the
wall and grin.

Jes was right. Compliance was boring, especially in bed. The vampire
had a mouth on her and a spirit to go with it. Despite his misgivings, he’d
love to experience what that mouth and spirit could do when they were horizontal.
But obviously, his chance to experience it tonight had passed.

With a growl, he turned toward Lucy, the pretty little feline mage he’d
come to care far too much about.