Saving Margaret (12 page)

She pushed the door open slowly and listened. The air was still. The smell of fresh blood tickled her senses. A quick glance over her shoulder made her smile. Johnny, one of Peter’s favorite driver’s was on the floor bathing in a pool of blood —a large pool.
Idiot
.

He wouldn’t be serving his alpha ever again. He also wouldn’t ever be able to make googoo eyes at her daughter, Hallie, again. Stupid girl, to think she would be allowed to mate with whomever she pleased. Peter had already broken Council decrees by sanctioning the mating and marriage of Samantha to that no account Michaels wolf.  Killing him was definitely on the To Do list…right after she killed Peter.

“Please! You can’t do this,”
Renata pled with her wolf.

“I’m not going to kill our children. I’m just going to make sure they are mated to the highest-ranking royals in Europe. You thought you and your husband could break from the Council. You wanted a war…I’m making sure you get a bloody one.”

“Henry wouldn’t have wanted this.”
It was a reach, but she was desperate. Her wolf was in complete control. When Johnny had come in with lunch, her wolf had lunged before he even had a chance to react. She’d bitten and torn his throat out in mere seconds. He was a good man, but young and inexperienced. Peter shouldn’t have left him.

“Henry never got a say. He was murdered, Renata. His wolf never had a chance. Peter made sure...three against one…not great odds,” she hissed. “If our loud-mouthed twins hadn’t stepped in several months ago, his nephew would be dead, too. Instead, he managed to kill two excellently trained royals, maim a third, and mate with our eldest.”

She straightened and walked down the dark hallway of the lake house. Another wolf was here. Peter hadn’t been a complete idiot. She slipped out of her shoes and continued down the stairs to the open living room. The light of the TV cast an eerie glow through the otherwise darkened house. The sound from the sports game playing muffled any noise her bare feet made on the wooden floor.

“He fought for her and won. Fair is fair. They should be allowed to be happy. You talk about vengeance for Henry. How is killing his nephew, vengeance for him?”
Renata’s voice echoed in her head.

The Michaels wolf cheated. He doesn’t deserve her. Don’t worry, the one who helped him will pay as well. I’ll find out who it was. The stench of bear was all over their bodies.

A heartbeat thumped just around the corner. Glass clinked together. The other guard was digging through the fridge. Not a care in the world…well, he wouldn’t have any in a few moments.

The burly giant closed the refrigerator door and stood upright. “Johnny, how is she—shit!”

Renata lunged, landing squarely on his chest and knocking him to the ground. Brendan roared and threw her across the kitchen. Her body impacted solidly against the cabinets and the air whooshed from her lungs. She allowed herself to crumple on the floor and waited. There wasn’t a chance to win against Brendan without surprise. He outweighed her three times over. No, he needed to believe he’d stunned her. That she was already beaten.

He stalked toward her.

This was her last chance. He’d chain her in the basement if he got his hands on her now. She uncapped the syringe she’d swiped from Johnny’s pocket and threw herself at the giant bodyguard again, fangs bared. He grabbed her shoulders to keep her snapping jaws away from his neck, but failed to prevent her from jabbing the needle into his arm.

“Bitch!” He threw her across the kitchen again, this time onto the dining table. She rolled, sliding off the table and righted herself. Turning to face him, she allowed a slight grin to curve her lips. He was on his knees, already fighting the sedative. 

“Peter thought he could break from the Council. Start a civil war. You were all idiots to follow him.” She padded across the kitchen. “I will take down the house of Demakis and deliver the American packs on a silver platter. Then, I will take my daughters back to Athens where we belong. The Antipas family rules the Council.”

“Y-you would kill your own kind?” He strained, his knuckles turning white from his tight grip on the counter.

“They are all traitors. I’ll be doing the Council a favor.”

“They’ll kill you.”

“No…Renata is too weak to fight anymore. They will never know a wolf controls one of their precious royals. They will accept me with open arms. Thank me for ending the corruption in the North American packs.”

His hand slipped and he collapsed to the floor with a thud. She walked closer, listening to his breathing slow. Brendan was strong, but even he wasn’t immune to a tranquilizer.

“Peter was right to hide your crazy ass out here, but he should have put you down.”

“Perhaps, but it won’t do you any good.”

Magick rippled through her. Her fangs descended and she bit into his neck. The coppery taste of his blood on her tongue was invigorating. She bit in deep and then yanked back, tearing his throat from his unconscious body. Blood spewed around her, on her clothes. It mixed with Johnny’s and she shivered. She was free. The guards were dead.

She lifted her head and howled. Her pain had haunted her for over a century. Now it would haunt everyone else. She would make sure of it. In the end, the Council that dictated Henry’s death would pay the ultimate price.

***

Margaret opened one eye and lazily surveyed her surroundings. The bed was unfamiliar, but smelled delightfully of Scott.

His apartment.
They’d never made it back to her house last night. She stretched and yawned. Her body was sore in places she’d forgotten existed. A grin crept across her face.

“I like that smile.” His gravely voice rumbled from the doorway.

She turned her head and let her gaze rest on the impressive erection tenting his pants. Then let her stare move up over his marble-hard abs and finally to his face. His eyes flickered with heat and golden specks. Her insides melted like butter in a saucepan. Thank goodness she was already laying on the bed, because she would have laid herself out on the floor for him. She threw off the sheet, revealing her naked body and crooked a finger in his direction.

No more invitation was needed. He shucked off the pair of sweatpants, revealing an erection that made her pussy clench in anticipation. She licked her lips and his award-winning smile appeared.

He motioned for her to turn. She shuddered with excitement. Her whole body trembled as she crawled to the edge of the bed and turned away from him. His hands caressed along her hips and ass.
Gods, yes!
If she’d been a cat, she would have purred. Callused fingers trailed up and down the back of her quivering thighs.

“I think you want this as much as I do.”

She swung her head back and peered over her shoulder. At that moment his cock brushed against her clit, tearing a moan from her body. She fought to keep from coming apart before they’d even started. He needed to be inside. Now.

A wiggle of her ass against his dick earned her a light smack on the rump. She jumped forward but he held her hips tight, not allowing her to move away.

“What was that for?”

“No hurrying. I want to savor this moment.” He knelt behind her and pulled apart her labia, exposing her bare sex to his view. His warm breath tickled the delicate parts, then his mouth covered her. He tongued her clit and then plunged deep into her channel. Again and again.

It was too much. She couldn’t hold it back. Her hands fisted the cotton sheets and she growled into the mattress as a wave after glorious wave billowed from her center. He kept licking and thrusting with his tongue, drinking up every drop of arousal, and goading the orgasm to hang on even longer. Her toes curled against the front of his thighs and she bucked against his mouth, but he held her solidly in place, refusing her relief from his torturous tongue.

“Please,” she moaned into the pillow. “I need you inside me. Please.” Her breaths were coming out in short pants.

He was nipping at her thighs, sending pulses straight to her over-stimulated clit. A gentle bite to one of her ass-cheeks threatened to send her off into oblivion again.

She closed her eyes and gasped as he thrust his entire length into her with one swift movement. He paused only for a moment before beginning to slide in and out. His pace was excruciatingly slow and she clenched around him hard, trying to break the snails-pace of a rhythm he was inflicting.

A sharp pain coursed through her body. He’d pinched one of her nipples —hard.

“Hey!” She objected, though the pain had already dissipated and was blossoming into a lovely warm sensation. His hands moved again and the same sharp twinge shot through her as he pinched the other nipple. He picked up the pace of his thrusts and continued to alternate, pinching one nipple and then the other.

“Come again for me, love,” he growled, pulling her hips back and thrusting hard. His hand slid down the front of her stomach and he rolled her clit between his thumb and forefinger a few times.

“Yes, oh god.” She bucked against him, but it was useless. The gentle giant held her still and pinched the swollen nubbin. The world shattered into a thousand pieces around her. Spasms rocked her body and his warm seed flooded into her, soothing the ache in her clit. A slick sheen of sweat coated her skin from head to foot. She fought for air in short pants as waves of the orgasm reached to her very toes. Every muscle clenched and released a dozen times in a matter of seconds.

He finally relinquished the grip he had on her hips and guided her putty-like body to relax flat on the mattress. His footsteps were light on the carpet as he walked into his bathroom. He returned to her side shortly and cleaned her quickly with a damp towel before climbing into bed and snuggling next to her.

***

A buzzing noise awakened Scott. He reached behind his head and grabbed the offending phone from his bedside table.
Damn. It was Keith Taylor.

He pressed the answer button and held the device to his ear. “Hello.” He cleared his voice and waited.

“Are you still at your apartment?”

Margaret stirred against his chest, mumbling something about needing help. He rubbed her arm to soothe and quiet her.

“Yes, we are.”

“You know it’s nearly noon?”

He blinked and pulled the phone away to glance at the screen.
11:48am.
“Sure is,” he replied, lazily.
What did this man want?

“One agent has been eliminated, but the other slipped away. Neither of them was Margaret’s stalker. The scents were different.”

“That means there’s more. Or he has nothing to do with your rebellion.”

“I don’t like it.”

“Neither do I,” he snorted. “I beat the crap out of a Council agent at the casino yesterday who was trying to get Margaret to give up Peter’s location. I’m leaving with her today.”

Her father sighed over the phone. “That’s probably for the best. How strong is your mate connection?”

“Very,” he paused. “We finished the bonding.”

Scott held his breath, waiting for Keith’s response. He’d mated his daughter without asking their permission. The tension on the line was worse than staring down the barrel of a rifle.

“Take care of my daughter and get her out of Vegas.”

“I will.” He breathed out his own sigh and hung up.

“Was that, dad?”

“Yes.” He kissed her cheek and moved to sit up on the edge of the bed. Margaret followed him and kissed his shoulder where she’d marked him last night. A jolt of pleasure coursed over his skin. He shook his head and rubbed his hands through the dense brown curls. “I’m taking you to Logan.”

“I know. I heard.” She slid off the bed and began picking up her clothes from the floor around the room. She caught him staring at her and giggled.

“You could just stay naked. I’d be fine with it.”

“You maybe, but the rest of the general population wouldn’t be so understanding.” She grinned and tossed his jeans at his face. He caught them, stood, and slid them on, careful to adjust his growing erection away from the zipper.