Doomsday Brethren, Book 04: Entice Me at Twilight (20 page)

“I’ve put you in a terrible position.” Her voice trembled, and she hated that she couldn’t control it. “I’m sorry. I’ve ruined your life and—”

“Stop.” Hurstgrove pulled her closer. “I’m exactly where I want to be. I wouldn’t wish away any of this except Mathias painting a target on your back. I know you love Mason …”

But she didn’t. Felicia bit her lip. Telling Hurstgrove the truth might absolve him of some of the guilt he’d experienced in doing all he had to save her.

“He … loves me,” she whispered.

Hurstgrove dropped his hand and stepped back. “I know.”

She reached up, snagged his sleeve. Even that small touch sent staggering heat blasting through her. Her need for him grew every hour, and Felicia wondered how much longer she could fight it.

“He’s my best friend,” she whispered.

He stared hard, scanning her face, delving deep into her eyes. “Are you in love with him?”

Hurstgrove moved closer, and she shivered.

Love was too painful when someone left. Deirdre had shown her the despair a broken heart could inflict. She’d been transformed from a vibrant woman to a hollow shell, gouged by need and torment, her confidence shattered, her sanity tested. Her will to live had been ultimately stolen. Felicia didn’t want to care about Hurstgrove. But she feared it was too late.

He had sacrificed so much to keep her safe, how could she lie?

“I love him … as a friend.” She closed her eyes, knowing these words would change everything, but she owed him honesty. “I thought he cared for me in the same way. But moments before you appeared at our wedding, he told me his feelings went deeper.”

With a frown, Hurstgrove barged further into her personal space. “Why would you marry a man you aren’t in love with? Are you pregnant?”

“No! I want a family someday, but Mason admitting that he loved me was a shock I wasn’t prepared for. I-I wasn’t even certain if I should go on with the ceremony.”

He brushed his fingers across her cheek, and her eyes fluttered open. “Why don’t you want him to be in love with you?”

Felicia struggled with the answer. Talking about Deirdre was so … painful. Personal. Opening up to Hurstgrove any further would only bring them closer.

“It doesn’t matter. Nothing changes Mason’s feelings or the fact we’ve already betrayed him. Anything more we do is merely twisting the knife in his wound.”

“You don’t think that denying what’s between us isn’t hurting me? I think it even hurts you. Is this really how you want it?”

God, no
. In that moment, Felicia realized Mason was still
her best friend … and her best excuse. The real truth was that she was too terrified to gamble her untried heart on Hurstgrove. Yes, he had feelings for her now. But would they last any longer than Alexei’s feelings for Deirdre? Hurstgrove would be so easy to fall for—and so hard to get over. Why sign up to get her heart crushed? Just because magic temporarily bound them, didn’t ensure that whatever he felt would last once the danger had passed.

“Right now,” she murmured, “we have to deal with the situation at hand, not the mess of our feelings. We mated but your magical signature did not change. Bram suggests that consummating our union would, perhaps, do the trick. But Mason has done so much for me over the years and wanted to marry me, despite the fact I don’t return his feelings. I can’t betray him.”

“This isn’t about Mason, but
your
fear.” He pulled her closer. “And why I scare you.”

Felicia’s heart pounded. She tore from his grasp and backed toward the door. “Hurstgrove, I—”

“Goddamnit, my name is Simon!” He gripped her tightly, his breaths rough, deep. “I don’t know what the hell you’re running from, Felicia, but now that I know you don’t love Mason, I have no qualms about telling you,
my
mate, that you’re more important to me than anything or anyone, even my brother. I won’t rest until your heart is
mine.
”

She doesn’t love Mason
.

Those words reverberated in Duke’s head as a wide-eyed Felicia backed away from him, terror etched across her delicate face. She shuddered as she retreated another step. “You want my h-heart? No. You need energy, want … sex. You—”

He stepped closer, grabbed her shoulders. “Want more from you than sex.
Far
more.”

“I-It’s the mating. Those words made you feel something that isn’t real.”

If that’s what Felicia thought, he had news for her. “No, I’ve felt this way since I shook your hand the day we met. It’s
you
.”

She gaped at him. “And you think you want my … love?”

“I won’t settle for less.”

His words seemed to suck the air from her lungs, and she looked ready to bolt. Duke did the one thing he prayed would remind her how good they could be together: He kissed her.

As his lips covered hers, he urged her to open for him, swallowing her gasp when she did. He gripped her head in his hands, holding her right beneath him as he prowled inside her mouth, tasting her. As he had when he’d kissed her last night, Duke wallowed in her flavor, and its rightness. Sugar, woman, a hint of tartness.
His
—no question about that.

After a moment’s hesitation, Felicia threw her arms around him, clutching his shoulders. Pressing closer, she whimpered. It was the sweetest sound he’d ever heard, and
as he tilted his head to take the kiss even deeper, his gaze brushed her face. Red lips, half-closed eyes. Desire had wiped the fear from her face, leaving her wanting—panting—just as he craved.

“See,” he breathed. “What’s between us is good, Felicia. Of course I want your love.”

As if he’d dumped a bucket of ice water over her, she blanched and shook her head in denial. She backed out of his arms, toward the door. Her blue eyes teared up, imploring him not to chase her.

“What’s the matter? Why does love scare you?”

She didn’t say a word, just turned. And ran.

Her rebuff ratcheted up his need to claim her, mark her. His hands trembled, his blood boiled. His cock ached. Duke had never wanted any woman half as much as he wanted Felicia. She was a fever clawing under his skin, driving him mad with desire.

And he knew she wanted him every bit as badly.

Felicia glanced at him over her shoulder. She looked afraid and overwhelmed. He cursed … but forced himself to let her go. For now. She needed whatever time he could give her to accept him and their mating, to come to terms with whatever troubled her. Duke would give her what he could, but with danger looming and the fever rising, it couldn’t be long.

Since Felicia was impervious to magic, it stood to reason that more than the exchange of a few words might be required to make them a bonded pair, especially on her part. Sex was the next logical possibility.

And he must figure out—quickly—why she feared love.

Leaning against the wall of her bedroom, he closed his eyes and hissed at the cold stone against his overheated skin. Her addictive flavor lingered on his tongue.

The fact that she didn’t love Mason changed everything.
Instead of settling for possessing her body to hide her imprint, he had no trouble admitting that he ached all the way to his soul with the need to capture her heart, no matter the cost.

The mobile in his pocket rang. Duke grabbed it and, without thought, teleported out of the cave for better reception. Which told him that Felicia had wandered to some remote corner of the caves, far from him. He tried not to be depressed by that thought.

With the January wind whipping through his hair and clothes, he shivered as he extracted the phone. The name on the caller ID made him swear.

“What do you want, Mason?”

“To speak with my fiancée.”

My mate, now and always
. “She’s … sleeping.”

Let Mason make of that what he wished. Though he disliked hurting his brother, Duke wasn’t above playing dirty to hold on to her.

“Don’t antagonize me. Remember, you must have Felicia back to me in a few hours or I will have you arrested for—”

“Kidnapping. I remember. Start preparing the papers now, if you must. She’s not safe yet, and I’m not returning her.”
Ever
.

“You fucking prick—”

“Spare me the insults, Mason. We’ve traded them already. I’m sorry things didn’t turn out to your liking. Do you love her?”

“Of course.” His younger brother bristled.

Duke had known that, but hearing it was still a machete to his heart. “I assume you’d prefer her safe rather than dead.”

“Damn you, Simon. None of this makes any sense. What the devil is going on? I should be with Felicia on my honeymoon, not wondering where the hell she is and if she’s going to be all right.”

“Keeping her safe is my number one priority, I promise.”

“Make certain that’s
all
you do with her.”

Mason tried to cover his apprehension with demands. Typical Mason. Duke wasn’t in the mood.

“Why did you wish to marry her if you knew she didn’t love you?”

Duke heard the fury in Mason’s hesitation and smiled into the phone.
Score
.

“Don’t be ridiculous. Felicia loves me,” he blustered. “She has for years.”

“Really? She referred to you as her best friend.”

“Best friend, yes. Fiancé. Lover.” Mason let that last word sink in, and it worked. Possessive heat poured off Duke in waves. He gritted his teeth, fighting the urge to crush his phone in his fist.

“Felicia loves me,” Mason assured him. “She’d never have spent so much time with me, trusted me with her house keys or finances, or agreed to marry me if she didn’t. She merely has trouble saying the words.”

Perhaps, but … “You admitted your love prior to your wedding and she balked, which means you hadn’t confessed your feelings previously.”

“So? I’m hardly a walking greeting card. Why are you digging into our relationship? Hoping to find a way to part us? I know that woman inside out, her likes, her dislikes, her demons. She’s
mine
.”

Wrong. Duke
knew
she felt something for him that she didn’t feel for Mason.

“Why is she afraid of men? Of love?” Whatever spooked Felicia stood between them far more than his brother did.

“Simon …” he warned. “There’s only one reason you want to know this, and I’ll be damned if I’ll help you take her from me.”

“I have to earn her trust so that she’ll let me keep her safe. Every time I try, she grabs me with one hand and pushes me away with the other. Why?”

Mason paused, and Duke’s guts seized up. He’d played his hand too heavily, and no doubt his younger brother would tell him to shove off. Damn it, he needed to know what frightened Felicia away from him.

“She didn’t tell you?” Mason laughed, low and ugly. “Then she’s still mine.”

Felicia swiped the last of the tears from her face, furious with herself. Running away and crying were a coward’s actions. Everyone around her, Hurstgrove especially, had bent over backward to keep her safe. She needed to stiffen her spine and do her part.

I won’t rest until your heart is
mine
. Those words echoed in her head, striking fear inside her. Yet yearning settled in with it. She could still feel his kiss possessing her mouth until she couldn’t think straight. Until he tugged at her heart.

Somehow she must fully bond with him without falling for him. She hadn’t the first bloody clue how.

First action, find Sabelle. The other woman would have information she needed to make informed decisions without Bram breathing down her neck. Then she had to act quickly.

Wandering up from the bowels of the caves, she followed dark and twisting passages up several flights of stairs until she heard bustling and female chatter. Breaking into the main seating and adjoining office areas, she found the Doomsday Brethren’s mates all staring at the door, as if awaiting her.

“There she is,” Sabelle said with a smile.

Kari and Sydney smiled her way, then dove back into what looked like packing the household into boxes.

Felicia frowned. “How did you know I was coming?”

“Everyone’s magic stopped working.” Olivia winked.

Oh
. “I’m preventing you from getting something done. Sorry. I came to ask you if I could help read through some of Merlin’s books, but I’ll leave you to your work.”

Sabelle shrugged. “No worries. Stay. We’re nearly finished. If you’d like to lend a hand …”

“No problem.” Then she frowned. “Are you packing up to leave? If it’s because I inhibit your magic—”

“No. It’s not your abilities,” Sydney promised, tucking a strand of long auburn hair behind one ear and reaching for a big mirror on the wall. “Bram is a cautious git.”

“That he is,” Sabelle seconded. “Shock warned us that he could only keep Zain and Mathias away for so long. We must be prepared to leave.”

The witch turned to help Sydney with a large gilt-edged mirror on the wall.

“Careful,” the redhead cautioned. “That’s my favorite mirror.”

“You have a favorite mirror?” Felicia blurted. Was Caden’s mate that vain?

Sydney laughed at her confusion. “Not for grooming. It’s the magical equivalent of a television camera for broadcasting the news. I’ve become magickind’s correspondent about the Doomsday Brethren, Mathias, and the war.”

“I see,” Felicia muttered. “Somewhat.”

Kari glanced at her watch. “It’s after midnight. We need to finish this up.”

“When will you leave?” Felicia didn’t know them well, but all these women had welcomed her despite the danger she’d brought. If she let herself, she could become friends with them.

“
We
—meaning you as well—will leave once Bram gives
the word. For now, all the warriors except Duke have been out for hours, trying to lure Mathias out of hiding with the Doomsday Diary as bait.”

“Morganna le Fay’s book?”

“The very one. But a female must transport it. Mathias knows that and isn’t taking the bait, it appears. Shock is nowhere to be found, and none of the other avenues my brother has used to reach Mathias appear to be passing the information he planted. In case it smells fishy to him, Bram’s asked us to be ready to bolt at a moment’s notice.”