9781618854704HolidayGemBeckNC (3 page)

Gemma had been a quiet
observer as he’d gotten them safely to her parents’ home. Seamus wasn’t certain
if that quiet was a good or bad thing. Her eyes remained blank as if she was
unseeing, her skin clammy and he could tell her throat was dry. He wanted to
ease her distress. Normally he’d talk to Donovan but right now, that was a
no-go. Shit, he needed advice. He wouldn’t risk hurting his mate.

“How
about something to drink?
You’re dehydrated. Some
water?” Seamus talked quickly and then sprang from the room before she could
answer. An overwhelming need to protect this precious woman propelled him from
the room. He needed to get away long enough to think.
 
He wandered the house until he found the
kitchen but before he poured Gemma’s water, he made a phone call.

“Father,”
Seamus was relieved when his father answered the phone. His mother–the
well-meaning but spirited Irish mother-would’ve insisted on becoming involved
and right now, he needed his father.

“Seamus,
what is it? Your voice tells me there is trouble for you,” his father cut right
to the reason for his call. Anthony Bonmarito was not a man for mixing words.
He spent his days in a lab with herbs and medicinal supplies creating new drugs
to help humans fight the diseases that ransacked their race. He had no need for
anything but straight facts, even from his son.

“I
have found my mate.” Seamus went for the direct route too.

“And
you aren’t happy because…” his father paused for Seamus to explain.

“She’s
sick. She gets these panic attacks when she’s overwhelmed and apparently I
overwhelmed her. Now she’s so distracted, I don’t think she’s picking up on the
connection between us. Donovan…”

His
father cut him off, “One thing at a time. She isn’t in the throes of an
attack?”

“No,
I spoke with her sister who was able to help me calm her. She’s resting now,”
Seamus explained.

“Good,
son, very good.
Now you would like to calm her so she
can naturally notice the mating connection. You need her to understand before
you lose control and claim her without consent.” His father’s reassuring words
and calm voice were easing Seamus’ stress. Despite his parents living in
Ireland while his home was now in the US, just a phone call could relieve
stress when life became too much.

“How?”
Seamus implored Anthony for answers. For as long as he could remember, his
ever-rational father knew how to fix anything.

“Lavender.
Find some lavender and sprinkle it into a tub. Allow it to soak and then have
her take a warm bath in the water. It has calming qualities that will help.
Once she relaxes, her natural powers should reform and she’ll sense you.”

“That’s
it?
Lavender?”

Anthony
chuckled, “Seamus, you will find that despite the jokes many men tell, women
are quite simple. Love them. Care for them. Be there for them. And they will be
happy.”

“It’s
really that simple?”

“Yes.
Now get back to your mate,” his father paused, “Son, what is the name of my
future daughter-in-law?”

“Gemma,”
Seamus answered. Her name sounded good on his lips.

“Gemma
Sinster?”
Seamus was taken off guard that his
father knew her name.

“Yes.
How do you know her?”

“We’ve
met through her research on the Valendite Breed. She’s traveled to see us on
occasion in order to gather some information. Your mother will be thrilled,
son,” his father seemed excited. He clearly liked Gemma.

“Great.
Now let me go on the hunt for lavender and get her well. I’ve got other TEU
issues to deal with as well.”

“Okay,
son, and please contact us once your Acclimation is underway so that we may
meet her. Perhaps if you are still over on this continent, we can be together
sooner rather than later.” His father was right. With them in Ireland, he could
make a trip to introduce them. Shaking his head, Seamus thought
first things, first
. He needed to get
her well and then claim what was his.

“Thanks.
Will do.”
Seamus hung up the phone and went in search
of lavender. He might have to hunt but it was a mission. Missions he was good
at. He was glad to have a task to focus on. Damn, he felt so out of his element
with Gemma. He knew after the claiming that he would be able to read her emotions.
Thankfully, she couldn’t do that yet because he would seem like a real ass. Seamus
and Donovan had laughed as they watched Madden and Caedon go through the
Acclimation, but this was so not funny now.

Once
Seamus found some lavender in their cellar-thankful he knew from his mother
that all women of the
Magdalena Circle
stored dried herbs-he brought a glass of water to Gemma. She said nothing when
she took the glass from him. He watched as Gemma drank in deep gulps while
seemingly paying him no attention. He should look away but he couldn’t seem to
make himself move. Watching her head tilted slightly, her deep red hair spread
along her back and her throat working to swallow the water caused wicked images
to form in his mind. He shouldn’t have these thoughts while trying to remain
calm.

Clearing
his suddenly dry throat, Seamus said, “I’m going to run you a bath. I found
lavender and it should soothe you.” Without giving Gemma a chance to respond, Seamus
dashed out of the room again. He needed to minimize their contact until she
came out of her haze and recognized him as her mate.

Using
his senses, he quickly found her room. It was stacked with large books that
could’ve been older than his father. The seating area looked more like a
library though without a single fictional book in sight. The books were all
nonfiction, historical collections. Clearly, she enjoyed history; something
they did not have in common. Seamus needed to be active and in constant motion.
He liked video games, sports and anything athletic. What would they have in
common?

He
took a few minutes to walk around her room. His own impatience with not being
able to search for Donovan pushed aside at the knowledge he would soon claim
his mate. He could do nothing until the others got here for back up. He sat on
the large bed adorned in deep purple silks and just a single pillow. He’d have
to do something about that. The room smelled just as Gemma did, with a sweet
flowery fragrance. As Seamus inhaled, his cock stirred. Fuck. He needed to stop
this and get her bath ready. His father was confident the lavender would help
her come back to herself after the attack. No one knew medicinal herbs like
Anthony Bonmarito.

Seamus
hated that Gemma suffered from these panic attacks. Eloise had sounded laid
back about the episodes but Seamus couldn’t keep letting it happen. He’d talk
to his father again to see what he could do to prevent them. The fact that
anything outside the ordinary-any change to her schedule-could upset her so
much to cause this was unacceptable. Seamus would need to learn to be more
predictable for her. He’d have to change how impetuous he could be to become a
pillar of strength for his new mate. First, she had to know he was her mate.
That was step one; and one-step at a time was how he’d get through this.

Seamus
gave a disbelieving laugh when he saw the bathroom was also accented in shades
of purple. Clearly, he now knew her favorite color. At least it wasn’t pink.
Purple he could live with but he’d rather dress up in a pair of Eloise’s heels
than sleep in a pink room. The thought made him shiver and he sighed before
leaning in to turn the tap on for the oversized tub.

* * * *

Gemma
entered the dining room where the man named Seamus had obviously set up as the
mission room. He’d strewn schematics, maps and reports all over the large
family dining table. Her entire body tensed. Neatness was definitely not his
forte and it was likely to drive her insane. Having just worked through one of
the most powerful panic attacks of her life, she pushed herself to remain calm.
His choice of a lavender bath had been perfection. He might be a mess but his
sensitivity scored him points in her eyes.
 

Seamus
must’ve sensed her. He looked up from his laptop, aiming his gaze directly at
her and pulling a gasp from somewhere deep inside. His eyes turned from a
glassy sea foam green to blazing yellow. Gemma was all too aware of what that
meant. Her body reacted instantly. He was her mate.

“You…”
With her throat suddenly too dry to speak, she stood still and took Seamus in. He
was as large as any Valendite Breed she’d ever met, maybe six foot two or so.
His messy light brown hair was cropped short; but there must’ve been a cowlick
or two at his crown that caused his hair to stand up on the top. His handsome
face defined with ridges along his cheekbones and a cleft in his chin struck
Gemma as most intoxicating. Seamus was strong, masculine perfection. With some
softer features, he was also clearly only part Italian, which was rare in their
race.

It
was when Gemma allowed her eyes to drift south that she saw how well sculpted
his body was. The muscles pulled along his shoulders and back as he leaned
forward and turned towards her. The rippling showed each defined groove of his
strength. Her hands ached to touch him. Suddenly, she wanted nothing more than
to move towards him, to be held by him again so that this time she could
memorize the feel of his body touching her body.

She
tried to speak again. “You are my-my…” Again, she couldn’t finish her sentence.

Seamus
moved towards her until he stood toe-to-toe with her. Taking one of her hands
in his and entwining their fingers, he spoke almost reverently, “You are my
mate.” It was the words she couldn’t bring herself to say aloud though they
were screaming inside her head.

When
Gemma looked up from where their hands were connected to look into Seamus’
eyes, they were glistening with unshed tears. She took the hand he wasn’t
holding and wiped at the corner of his eye until the tip of her finger held a
single teardrop. Seamus ducked his head.

“Don’t
hide from me. I am in awe of your strength and for you to feel so much that you
would have tears is humbling. I have been blessed by you.”

“No,”
Seamus shook his head, “I have been blessed by you.” He brought their heads
together-touching foreheads-and took deep breaths.

“Do
I smell okay? I should smell like the lavender you put in my bath,” Gemma
inquired, curious at his reaction to her closeness. “The lavender, by the way,
was a very smart move.”

“My
dad is a chemist of sorts. He is always working with medicinal herbs to find
medicines for humans. I called him for help,” Seamus explained.

“You
called your father to find out how to help me?” Gemma felt an overwhelming
appreciation for this sensitive man.

“Yes,”
Seamus answered as a slight blush worked across his cheeks.

“You
must be close?” Gemma was intrigued by a man who would seek his father out for
assistance. Then another thought crossed her mind. “Wait. Have you known since
you first
saw
me? And why am I just sensing it?”

“We
must’ve never locked eyes before you collapsed on me. When you opened them as I
held you, I felt it but you weren’t fully aware yet. My father told me the lavender
mixed with a warm bath would help you relax enough to become aware of your
natural reaction to a mate.” Seamus explained and seemed uncomfortable. Gemma
had no idea why. It should be her embarrassed about how they’d met.

“So
you know what happened? That I had an anxiety attack?” Seamus did something not
many people could do. He caught her off-guard. Now Gemma truly found him intriguing.
Something warm fluttered in her stomach.

“I
called in to TEU. Caedon found out from Eloise. Your condition wasn’t listed in
the mission report.”

“The
mission report?’

“Yes,
since I was picking you up to fly back to the US, I received a packet with information
about you…”

Gemma
cut him off, disbelieving, “So just to pick me up and take me to my family for
the holidays, you had a full file on me?” She quirked her eyebrow up at him,
not sure yet how violated she should feel about this. What exactly did he know
about her? Quickly she wondered if he had her bra size.

“Is
this getting me into trouble?” Seamus grinned at her and quirked his eyebrow
back at Gemma. She giggled-actually giggled-at his response.

“No,
I guess not. Should it? I think I want to know exactly what you know about me.”

“Can’t.
It’s confidential information.” Seamus’s straight-faced response confused her
for a moment before he laughed and she threw a punch up at his arm. That flash
of skin-on-skin sent a rush through her. In that instant, Seamus forgot everything
about that file and his mission.

Gemma
licked her dry lower lip and bit down on it, considering all that now belonged
to her. She might not know much about Seamus yet but she knew enough. He fought
for the TEU and was strong in both physical strength and disposition. He sought
his father out for advice and obviously had strong values. He took care of her,
was sensitive and kind. Gemma smiled to know she was a very lucky woman.