Ruling Fire (Bad Boys Of The Underworld Book 4) (7 page)

Elsie looked over her shoulder to Thomas. “Since Brock and I really are mated now, they have no reason to come after me.”

“Did you ever figure out why they attacked him in the first place?” Elsie didn’t answer, but the look on her face probably said it all.
Fuck
. Why hadn’t she asked? “Myotises are dangerous. If they want Brock dead, they wouldn’t stop at one.”

“The clan came after me. They didn’t seem to know why Brock was attacked.”

Thomas shrugged. “Either way, you need to be careful.”

“Don’t you think I know that?” she bit out. There was no need to point out the obvious.

“You can always leave him,” said Thomas softly.

She gave him a look dripping with disapproval. “I could never do that,” she whispered.

It was the curse of the siren. Anyone unlucky enough to have a siren bond to them was cursed with the inability to be with anyone else as long as they lived. She hadn’t told Brock.

How could she?

He claimed her in public to save her life. She kissed him. He hadn’t asked for any of this. Her anger turned back to sadness. A tear escaped her eye and she quickly wiped it away, wishing she could get a hold of her emotions.

“Does Max know?” she asked. Roman was head over heels in love with Rebecca. Monogamy was no trouble for that power couple.

Etta had only been with Max for two months when their bonding was announced. The marriage they were planning was only a formality.

Thomas’s jaw clenched at the mention of Etta. Elsie’s heart broke at the sight. He deserved so much better than her sister’s selfishness.

“I don’t know what goes on behind closed doors,” he said simply. After a second, he added, “I’ve heard her singing to him more often lately.” Not a good sign. A siren’s voice could entrance and bewitch, but only temporarily. It was a great way to stop a fight, but as soon as the seduction of the song wore off, the same problems would remain.

Elsie reached out a hand to his. He didn’t move away, but he stiffened at the touch. Vampires were strange about touching. Elsie didn’t care. She wanted to offer him comfort just as he comforted her when she needed it.

“Etta cares about Etta. You need someone who will care about you,” she insisted.

“I’ve never heard anything so beautiful.”

She gripped his hand tighter and looked him straight in the eye. “One day I’ll sing for you. It’s not her. It’s her power as a siren. Trust me. I can wrap you around my little finger any time I want to. I just choose to use my power for good instead of evil.”

At least that got a small smile from him. The intercom buzzed, the noise plenty loud enough to breach the peace of the balcony.

Thomas pulled his hand away and Elsie prayed he would get over her sister. Even if Etta left Max, she would still be off-limits. He could never betray one of the council members by running off with their mate. His father was on the council and needed to deal with Max every day.

Thomas needed to be on his best behavior.

He walked over to the intercom and said his name to announce he was there.

“Where the fuck is my mate?” came Brock’s hostile voice.

Elsie’s jaw dropped and Thomas raised his eyebrows. “Use that language in front of my stepsister again, I’ll rip your tail off and choke you with it, dog.”

“Thomas!” she yelled. Brock’s responding growl was audible through the intercom. “Brock, I’m here. I’ll be down in a minute.” She narrowed her eyes at Thomas. “Was that necessary?”

She looked around for her purse and belongings before she remembered that all she had were the keys to the “borrowed” BMW.

Thomas shot her his cocky grin. “I think that was very necessary. Didn’t you tell him you were coming here?”

Elsie walked to the elevator without looking at Thomas. “Not necessarily.”

Thomas threw his head back and laughed as he joined her in the elevator. “No wonder he’s pissed.”

Elsie smirked at him as the floors ticked down. “I’m glad you’re enjoying this.”

He looked down at her. “You just say the word and you don’t have to leave.”

Elsie scoffed. “Right. I’m already about to get Brock kicked off the throne. The last thing I need to do is go and start an interspecies war.”

Just then, the doors opened to a furious-looking Brock and a surly Russell. Brock’s fists were clenched at his sides and his shoulders rose and fell dramatically with each deep breath.

The most unnerving part was his eyes glowing a golden yellow.

She tried for her smile she always reached for in stressful situations, but couldn’t manage it. All she could do was gulp nervously.

She took a step forward, but Thomas gripped her arm and turned her around. She opened her mouth to protest, but before any words came out, he wrapped her up in a big hug, even lifting her feet off the ground.

Brock growled behind her, but she didn’t care. At this point, she felt closer to Thomas than any of her other family members and a vampire hug was exactly what she needed.

He released her and set her back on the ground. “You give me a call if you ever need to talk, okay?”

She nodded her appreciation and turned to find Brock just inches away. “You done?” he asked in a gruff voice.

He didn’t give her a chance to respond before he covered her hand with his and led her out of the lobby. Elsie felt a flush of embarrassment fill her cheeks at his treatment but kept her mouth shut.

On one hand, she ran out on him and took his car with her. On the other, he was being an ass. A conversation better for a private place.

She kept her head down as they walked past the guards and out onto the busy street. Russell spoke for the first time. “You good from here, man?”

Brock nodded, keeping his eyes on her the entire time.

Unable to take his intense stare, Elsie focused on Russell. “You’re not coming back with us?”

Russell gave her a smirk as if to say
You wish I was coming with you
. “I drove him out here. I figure you two can take his ride back. Assuming you didn’t ditch it or anything.”

Her brow furrowed. “Of course I didn’t
ditch
it.”

“Just checking. I heard car thieves ditch cars when they’re done with them.”

Elsie rolled her eyes. “That’s how you’re going to play it?”

Brock couldn’t stay silent any longer. “You stole my fucking car!”

“I was coming back.” She resisted the urge to step back. At the questioning glances from the brothers, she added, “I left Riggs with you. Obviously I wouldn’t be leaving for good. I just needed to get away. You know?”

“You mean you needed to run into the arms of another man?” asked Brock.

Russell stepped away. “Whoa. That’s my cue to leave. I’ll see you two lovebirds back at the cabin.”

Elsie watched Russell walk to the pickup truck he left running in front of the building. Normally it took a lot of balls to leave the keys in a car in the city, but there was no need to worry. The vampires saw to it that the five-block radius around Sonin Tower was virtually crime-free.

Well, while the sun was down at least.

“Where did you park?”

Elsie led Brock to the BMW parked in the structure built for the residents of Sonin Tower. He didn’t say much and she was fine with that. The last thing she needed was a scolding from an angry wolf.

He took the keys and deftly maneuvered the crazy streets of the city. Though it wasn’t rush hour, the roads were never an easy drive, and Elsie was grateful she could relax for the moment.

She hated being tired. She’d been in a coma for the past week. She should be able to go longer without this fatigue seeping in.

Struggling to stay awake, she decided to get the impending argument over with. “Thomas is a brother to me. Nothing more. If it makes you feel any better, he’s in love with my sister. So I don’t need any of this he-man shit from you.”

“A pen and fucking paper, Elsie! How hard would that have been?”

“You try waking up in a strange place surrounded by people who don’t like you!” Running had seemed like the only option. She hadn’t even known where she was going.

What would a note say? She couldn’t give a time she’d be back or even a destination.

“I thought someone took you,” he said softly.

Her head jerked to look at him. “What?”

“Word has spread that I took a mate. You’re vulnerable until I can establish that you’re protected and safe at all times. If my enemies are able to kidnap you, it will show weakness.”

“You didn’t think to mention this earlier today?” she asked, completely floored at the admission. He mentioned discontent within the wolves, but she never imagined it was that bad.

“I told you plenty already. Apparently enough to send you running for the hills,” he muttered.

The lights of passing vehicles illuminated his face as he merged onto the expressway that led back to Connecticut. The anger left his face, replaced with an expression of regret.

“I didn’t mean to worry you. I really was planning on coming back,” she insisted.

Brock didn’t say anything, but she saw his shoulders relax as the tension left his body. “There’s a lot we don’t know about each other,” she reminded him.

“Give or take a few important details, we have plenty of time to get to know each other,” he said.

Elsie smiled at the comforting words. “You’re taking this so well.”

“You’ll make a great queen, Elsie.” His right hand moved away from the gearshift for a brief second to squeeze her hand before it returned to work the manual transmission.

He was the second person in one night to tell her she’d make a great queen. She was surrounded by crazy men.

“You can never be with anyone else,” she said softly. “It’s part of the siren thing. You physically can only respond to me until one of us dies.” If they were confessing things, she might as well get the monogamy speech over.

He looked over to her. “We’re mated,” he said, confused. “There wouldn’t be any other women anyway.”

Elsie chewed on her bottom lip. “I assume that normal mated couples have a relationship beforehand. This wasn’t really planned. My mother set us up.”

To her surprise, he threw his head back and laughed. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“Mother knew where I was working. She must’ve known who you were. She is so involved with the vampire politics, she’d have to recognize the last name Holt, no matter how common. She gave me a book explaining the mating rituals of the different species. Long story short, the werewolf section was missing some key details.”

At her admission, he laughed even harder.

“Well, I’m glad you find this amusing because I’m furious.”

“That’s the craziest thing I’ve ever heard.”

“You think that’s bad, wait until I tell you the stories I’ve heard from the vampires. Those guys have done some crazy stuff.”

“Well, I’m sure you will pick up a story or two with me,” he promised. He smiled the grin that had every woman in the office in love with him, and Elsie could feel her walls crumbling.

Even in the darkness of the highway, his good looks were undeniable. His strong arm shifted gears, and Elsie watched the play of muscles beneath his shirt.

This male was all hers.

“We’ll just have to see.” She looked away. They still had a long drive ahead of them. The second long drive of the day for Elsie.

If she wanted to make it back to the cabin sane, it was best she not drool over him the entire time. As he said earlier, she had plenty of time to drool over him.

For now, she would just be happy he wasn’t still angry with her.

Her head leaned against the cool glass window as she struggled to keep herself awake longer.

Two minutes later, she was fast asleep.

CHAPTER SEVEN

An hour into the drive, Brock felt like himself again. He could breathe easy and not use all his focus to keep himself from changing.

It was a natural response to stress. There was nothing more relaxing than a four-legged run through the woods. On top of that was the need to chase after his mate.

She had a good hour head start by the time he realized she’d left. He stayed by the beach, trying to give her the space she wanted. Not easy when every instinct he had was pulling him to strip her down right there between the water and the woods.

He’d spent the last seven days watching over her helpless, sleeping form. Rebecca assured him she’d be fine, but how could she not be worried? Her daughter was in a coma.

That’s intense shit, for even the most carefree parents. She hadn’t had to watch two people she loved die in their sleep.

Of course, it sounded as though Rebecca was getting exactly what she wanted. Stupid woman.

If Brock had to choose a new mate, Elsie would’ve been at the top of his list even before he knew of her supernatural connections. But there was a reason Brock remained single for the last fifty years.

The wolf queens never lasted long. His mother and first mate had already been destroyed by whatever magic hung over that throne.

But Elsie was different. She wasn’t a shifter. There was no chance of her taking Marella’s power. No reason to worry she might die. The dreams would’ve started by now if she was in danger.

He shouldn’t have let her run off. He should’ve made her sit down and listen to all the baggage he came with. Who was he kidding? If he’d stopped her, he wouldn’t be talking with her. He would’ve gone right back to pressing her back up against that tree.

Damn it
. He needed to start thinking with his brain and not other parts of his body.

The rest of the drive back to the cabin was a tug-of-war between his thoughts. Half of him wanted to be happy his new mate was smart and beautiful and more than capable of dealing with his crazy family.

The other part of him wanted to lock her away to ensure no harm ever came to her. But the problem with finding a strong woman as a mate was that they generally didn’t enjoy being locked away.

It was four in the morning by the time he pulled into the driveway. Elsie had slept the entire time, but he watched her closely for any signs of distress.

Luckily for his sanity, she never once cried out or made any other telling signs of unsettling dreams.

They had made a detour to her house to pack a bag of stuff for her. She agreed that it would be best for them to avoid the office for a few days. After all, they were as good as married and hardly knew each other. A little time away would be good.

For Elsie, a little time away meant a lot of luggage. She had a completely separate bag just for makeup and other beauty products. When he’d tried to point out that they wouldn’t be gone longer than a week, she wouldn’t hear it.

She pointed out that curious wolves and family members would be crawling out of the woodwork to meet her. She was sure he would want his mate looking her best.

To him, she looked fine just like she was. Her clothes might be baggy, but he knew she had a fantastic body. She had a face that didn’t need makeup. Women would pay millions of dollars to be able to look how Elsie did effortlessly.

When she put the extra effort into her hair and makeup, she looked as if she just stepped off of a magazine cover. Her skin seemed to glow in the sun, and her bright eyes almost looked photoshopped.

No doubt about it. She was a stunner. Just one more example of how she could be a great queen, assuming his wolves ever accepted her.

Brock gently put his hand on her shoulder and her eyes fluttered open. She blinked a few times, searching for a way out of the daze that came with being suddenly pulled from sleep.

“We’re back,” he said.

She rubbed her eyes with the back of her hands. “Okay,” she muttered.

He let her find her bearings as he grabbed her bags from the trunk. When he walked back to the passenger side, he said, “I’d carry you, but my hands are kind of full.” He raised the bags up a couple inches to emphasize.

She pulled herself out of the car. “I can walk.”

He held up an arm and motioned her to lead the way.

She made it inside and halfway up the stairs before she stopped and turned to look at him. “Are you just doing this to stare at my ass?”

“I am carrying all your stuff,” he pointed out.

She scoffed. “And you’re a king. God help us all,” she muttered as she continued to the bedroom she slept in during her bonding coma.

“Not there,” he whispered, not wanting to wake anyone. He used his head to motion to a room farther down the hallway.

He moved past her to set down a bag, opening the door, and she followed. This room was bigger than the one she’d spent the past week in. Though the room was dim at the moment, with only one light on, there were two large windows that would let in plenty of sun during the day.

A few large and intricate pieces of furniture adorned the walls with a king-size four-poster bed taking up an obscene amount of space.

He knew the second she realized it was his room. Her shoulders squared and back straightened as she turned to look at him. “What are we doing here?”

“You’re my mate. You belong in my room.” At her panicked expression, he quickly added, “Just for appearances. I won’t touch you.”

She let out a small breath and relaxed. He set down the rest of her bags as gently as possible, not wanting to startle her, before he grabbed the bag he’d left in the hallway.

He felt as though he’d just cornered a delicate doe in the woods. Any sudden movements and she might bolt, and she was already exactly where he wanted her.

In his room.

“I’m sorry. It probably seems stupid,” she muttered.

He approached her just as cautiously as he set the bags down. “It’s not stupid. I was your first kiss and that ended with you in a coma.” He smiled.

“I don’t blame you for that,” she assured him.

“What exactly was the coma you were in? I tried to find out as much about sirens as I could, but there isn’t much I could dig up. I know you were bonding to me, but I’ve never heard of any species taking that long to form a mate connection.” He stopped right in front of her. He was close enough to touch her, but he held back.

“Well, parasites don’t like their hosts to know all their tricks.”

He frowned at the word choice. “Parasite? Is that how you see yourself?”

She raised her eyebrows at him. “I latched myself onto your life force. If you were human, I’d be killing you right now.”

“But I’m not human.”

“No. You’re just a werewolf king,” she said bitterly.

“Does it really bother you so much?”

She rubbed her eyes and let out a frustrated sigh. “I just—I don’t want to cause you any more trouble than I already have. I have this horrible feeling I’m going to ruin everything for you.”

Brock leaned forward and caught her lips with his. She let out a shocked gasp but didn’t move away. He opened his mouth over hers but kept his hands firmly at his sides, only touching her with his mouth.

She kissed him back and for a second it was perfection.

Brock pulled away, leaving Elsie staring up at him with a dazed expression. “You said you wouldn’t touch me.”

“I lied,” he said without an ounce of remorse. “I’m still trying to make up for that first kiss.”

Her dark-blue eyes met his brown ones. He tried to decipher her thoughts but didn’t have a clue what she was thinking.

“Mission accomplished.” She turned to the bed.

“I can sleep on the floor,” he offered.

Elsie looked over her shoulder, and once again he was clueless as to what she was thinking. She walked around the bed to one of her bags and dug through it.

“You’re my mate. There’s no reason we shouldn’t share a bed.”

His pulse immediately kicked up, but he didn’t say anything. She pulled out some clothes, probably pajamas, and a toothbrush. “Is the bathroom through there?” She pointed to a connecting door.

He nodded and she walked out of his sight. He exhaled a breath he didn’t even know he’d been holding. He clenched and unclenched his fists as he stared around the room. What the hell was he supposed to do?

Normally when a drop-dead sexy woman was in his bedroom, he knew exactly what to do. He knew what to say and how to act to make sure she was naked in his bed in minutes and left happy.

This was different. This was Elsie.

She emerged from the bathroom, wearing an oversized pink t-shirt with foreign writing and pajama shorts. He couldn’t be certain, but the writing looked Russian. “I didn’t know you owned anything that baggy.”

Pink crept up her cheeks and she looked at the ground. He never imagined a siren could act so demure. “I didn’t know you paid attention to what I wear.”

“You have no idea,” he whispered. He knew she was able to hear him.

“This was a gift from Roman when he came back from Russia a few years ago. He assured me the extra-large wasn’t an insult. He was just sick of never seeing me in comfortable clothes.” Her mouth curled in a small smile and Brock could tell she held great affection for her stepfather.

“That was thoughtful of him.” Elsie nodded her agreement but didn’t say anything else about him. He decided not to pressure her for more details about her family. She was exhausted and stressed. Sleep would be good for both of them. “You get some rest. I have to get a couple things done.”

He walked over to the door and Elsie stayed still in the middle of the room.

“Good night, Brock,” she said so softly he almost didn’t catch it.

“I’ll be back soon,” he warned. He would let her get comfortable, maybe even fall asleep, but he would be joining her. He would take a mile out of every inch she gave him.