Blood Twist (The Erris Coven Series) (6 page)

Leaning his head back against his seat, he sighed. “I’m sorry to disappoint.”

Liz bit on her lip. Braden wasn’t a disappointment. He was actually…cute. As
far as the male species went, he had every physical feature a girl could desire and then some. He was over six feet tall, muscular, and had a handsome face. But more than that, Braden had integrity. She could see it in
the way he
spoke to others. Not just to his family, but to the airport
personnel
and to her
. It wasn’t a quality she often found in other people.
Especially in guys who were naturally big and strong. Somehow, he skipped the big jock ego trip. It was refreshing.

Plus he smells amazing.

She didn’t know if he had discovered the world’s best cologne or if it was natural, but she couldn’t help but notice he smelled
really
good.
Kind of woodsy, kind of like peppermint.
Whatever it was, it mixed with his chemistry and she found it alluring.

The flight attendant swooped over him, her ample chest
bouncing
unnecessarily
close to his face as she pretende
d to adjust his headrest
. Liz noticed Braden stiffen as his mouth tightened into a straight line.
Instead of gawking, he quickly averted his eyes to Liz’s. His face
appeared
stripped down, almost vulnerable.

He’s hungry
.

Maybe Braden was more of a vampire
than she gave him credit for.

A
fter the wom
a
n moved on to
her next victim, a
man in a stylish grey suit
in front of them
, Braden
visibly
relaxed.

Liz had learned the
night
she met him
that the coven
didn’t drink from humans, only animals. Watching the serious damphyr beside her, she realized for the first time it was a choice.

Liz leaned back over, this time keeping her voice a hushed whisper.
“You don’t.”

“Don’t what?” he asked.

“You don’t disappoint,” she said honestly. “
You’re
just different than I expected.”

He smiled, causing h
er heartbeat to
hasten
.
“
What did you expect?”

She didn’t know
whether to look in his
eyes or at his
perfect
mouth.
“I’m not sure,”
she admitte
d. “I guess someone dark and dangerous.”

Braden’s hand snaked out and caught her wr
ist
. Surprised with how quick he moved,
she sat frozen and just watched as he trailed
his fingers along the vulnerable flesh of her inner arm. His fingers left a
wonderful
warming sensation
trickling
deep into
her skin.

“I can be dark and dan
gerous sometimes,” he whispered
, h
is intense blue
eyes holding
her in place.
T
he slight huskiness of his
voice
made her breath catch
, but
she
gently pulled
herself
free from his hold.

Liz swallowed
; completely
stunned by the physical reaction she had to his touch.
He wasn’t the first attractive guy she had ever been around, but he was the first to make her melt with a
single stroke of her skin
.

For a moment, s
he thought he would kiss her. What shocked her
more
was that she would have let him.

Wha
t was it about
Irish guys? T
he only guy
she allowed herself to fantasize about
was
Danny O’Donoghue, the lead singer from The Script.
But he was unreachable and safe to have
a
thing for
from a distance.
Braden was right beside her and leaving her acutely aware of his
presence
.

Sitting back in her seat, Liz willed her heart rate to slow down.
The damphyr
was full of surprises.

As sexy as he
was, she had to keep focused.
“So, what is the cure?” she asked
, breaking the moment
. “Is it an actual medicine or more like an herb?”

“I don’t know,” Braden said, sounding suddenly tired.
“
Someone my father used to know has a
ccess to it though.”

Liz’s mind hummed in wonder about Braden’s father. She had noticed while staying in Erris, that his parents were the only ones
she hadn’t met.

From snippets of conversation, she ha
d gathered that hi
s mom staye
d in the little guest house above
Teagan’s folk’
s
garage
despite owning
her own sprawling house on the same secluded street as the others.
The last one on the left, the place sat empty, although no one would notice walking by. Like the other
coven member’s homes, the lawn was
lovely and kept perfect.

“Where is your dad anyway,”
she asked, twisting a strand of her ink black hair with nimble fingers.

“
He passed away when I was six. He
left to buy my mother a
Christmas gift
and never came back
.
All we knew was that he was
supposed to be gone for the weekend
.
” Braden’s
haunted eyes rested on her
.
For a moment she just stared back, taking in the beauty of his irises framed by thick golden lashes.

“Are you sure he died?” she asked, thinking how her mother also left, but by choice.

“
When his life ended
, the
fate-partner
bond
he and
m
y mother shared
broke
. That’s how we knew he passed on
.”

Liz glanced away. Braden’s admission was startling. In all of her preconceived notions about his glorious life, she hadn’t considered what would happen if one of the damphyrs died.

If Braden was eighteen, he had been living with this sadness for twelve long years.
He would have remembered having his Dad as a part of his life. Liz resented her mother for leaving her as an infa
nt, but at least she didn’t grieve
what she never had.

“I’m sorry,”
Liz
offered softly.
“It’s hard growing up without a parent around. My mother left me and my father when I was a baby. Not that I blame her,” she shrugged her shoulders, “the Captain is a tool. But it would have been nice having
a mothe
r
, especiall
y each time we moved to a different
Naval
base
and I had to start over again
in a
new place
and with a new nanny.
”

Braden placed his hand over hers. His touch once again sent
disquieting
tingles through her. “You
aren’t a disappoint either. You’re much
sweeter than I expected.”

“Well,
sweetness isn’t my st
rong suit,
but
after all you’
ve done, I figured I’d spare you my usual cantankerous ways.
You’
ve figured out how to save Lexie’s mom
. I can’t thank you enough for that.”
As the words came out breathlessly, she tried ignoring
the pleasure of
his caress.

“I haven’
t saved her yet,” he whispered.

9

BRADE
N

The wait at the ticket desk was a disappointment. It was bad enough the sch
eduled return flight that he
booked for Liz had been cancelled, but the short
sweaty
man
beside him
in the
tracksuit
repeatedly bumped
his elbow
into Braden’s
side,
raising his
level of
agitation
. 

The terminal buzzed with activity,
sending surges of chaotic sounds and smells into Braden’s
amplified
system.
His fists clenched at his side while working
to keep a calm expression. Between his hunger and dread, his patience had found its limit.

Braden placed his
focus
o
n the ticket agent
in front
of him. The
middle-aged
woman chewed her lower lip
,
staining her
two front
teeth
with waxy pink lipstick
.
Her eyes
searched
the screen in front of he
r as her fi
ngers tapped the keyboard
.

“Anything?” he hoped.

After a moment, she shook her head. “The closest flight is in eighteen hours.”

Braden looked
at Liz
sitting wearily on her suitcase off to the side of the line. She still didn’t know he wouldn’t be returning with her
. H
e hoped when it was time for her to board, she would
just understand that this was something he needed to do on his own.
Having her with him on the flight was more than
pleasant. He liked Liz a lot and wanted her to have fond memories of him.

After paying for the transaction, he asked,
“Is there a hotel nearby that y
ou can recommend with
vacancies this time of year?”

He didn’t want to make Liz stay in the airport for eighteen hours. They could grab a bite to eat, take a shower, and sleep for a while.
His pulse
quickened
at the thought of spending more time with her until he had to meet the others.
Strangely, her company was a relief.
Although he was muscled into bring her, he didn’t regret it
.

Yet
anyway
..
.

Th
e
woman skimmed
him with
her
flat
brown eyes. “You’ll need to go to the inform
ati
on desk about that,” she repli
ed
blandly. The pulse in her neck caught his attention, its unsteady rhythm indicative of low blood pressure. As much as he wanted to tell her off, he just couldn’t.

The sweaty guy jabbed him in the
ribs.
Angered, Braden
glared down on him ready to explode. The man’s bushy eyebrows were raised questioning
ly
, “The Fairmont is
down
town
. You and your little lady friend can follow me to the
sky train
station
if you want.
”

Braden glanced acro
ss to Liz. She smiled up
at him, appearing relieved he was
done in line. He could feel his own irritability subside in response to her.

The bald man’s sight trailed to Liz. He fixed his dark eyes on her as she bent over to gather her things.
The guy stunk of
salami and stale cigarettes, a
vile
combination
.

Braden could hear him
breathe quicker as he gawked at her. His fat tongue darted out of his mouth and over his cracked lips.
“We’ll have to hurry, check out was an hour ago and the rooms fill quickly
.”

Braden considered their options. They could spend another two hours waiting in line at the information desk, spend the next eighteen h
ours in the terminal, or follow
the little pig
to a descent hotel
.
“
Okay.”

The midday sun was piercing when they
stepped out onto the
busy
row of cars
swerving in and taking off with their
passengers.
The short man led them down the wal
kway, his
lumpy
body moving like a sea
of marbles under the beige and maroon
polyester
.