Familiar Desires: 5 (Protective Affairs) (3 page)

“Any more excuses?” Michael asked.

“It’s not an excuse. It was why I left. How would you have
felt if you’d walked into a restaurant and found some guy rubbing all over me
the way she did to him?” She folded her arms across her chest and glared at
him. Okay, she’d been wrong about what she thought. A real idiot it turned out,
but it was an understandable mistake. It had looked very bad. They needed to
get over it. She hadn’t been behind that scene.

“Well, we wouldn’t have run away.” Michael took a slow step
forward. “Regardless of whether the man was shifter or wizard he would have
been carried out of there and then we’d get to you. The connection between us
is too intense to be anything but the strongest kind of Familiar tie. We wouldn’t
walk away from it even if the relationship had a rocky start. You likely knew
that even then, but still left and didn’t return until now.”

“Yeah, but I can do a lot more physical damage than you can
when I’m angry. With what I saw, I wasn’t thinking much beyond maul, maim and
tear. Along with that letter, it looked like you wanted nothing to do with me
and I wasn’t forcing anything on you. You didn’t want me. I wasn’t going to try
to make you take the role of my wizards.” Alana rolled her eyes.

“We’re not quite so considerate. You are our Familiar and
you’ll be staying here. We will push you into the role.” Kane mimicked her pose
and crossed his arms as he stared down at her.

“I’m here to do a job and when I finish I’ll be going home.
That’s not here. Not anymore.” She took a deep breath and resisted the desire
to get closer to him. This wasn’t the time to try to fix the problems in their
relationship. If this mission was serious, she wanted her mind clear and not
clouded with questions about their relationship or thoughts of sex.

“No, you won’t. You should know better than this, Alana. We’re
not going to allow you to ignore the connection between you and your wizards
any longer.” Roger Davison’s voice cut in before Kane or Michael could answer. “And
you haven’t told us the name of the woman who severed the tie in the first
place.”

She whirled around and bared her teeth at him. She barely
held back the snarl. “And I’m not going to tell you. I’m not a true Familiar
even though the linking occurred. So I’m not answerable to you.”

“Can’t you order her to tell us what we want to know?” Roger
shot a glare over at the Shifter Council who’d sat quietly throughout the
exchange.

“No, she did what she did while she was outside of the prowl
and pack. She wasn’t accountable to us in these last few years. She’s
technically still a member of the prowl, but unlike some who leave, she didn’t
have our protection because she went against our advice. We can’t order her to
talk about any part of that time and a lot of that is your fault.” Gail Thomas
looked over at the man and a small, satisfied smirk curved her lips. “You
wanted us to put pressure on her to come back.”

Alana eyed the older woman and couldn’t hold back a grin.
Apparently Roger got on someone else’s nerves nearly as much as he did hers.
Gail was one of the few women on the Council and she’d earned that respect over
the years. Alana had always admired her. That grew now and not only because she
was denying the wizard what he wanted.

“If we had any right to do it, we would, Alana. Don’t make
the mistake of thinking that we’re on your side here because of this. You have
wizards and you should be with them. It’s time you stopped running.” Will
Emerson leaned forward and his blue eyes gleamed and shone in the light.

She sighed. The man sure knew how to take all the joy out of
a situation. His eyes were even freakier than she remembered. Blue wasn’t that
odd an eye color for a wolf shifter like Will, but there was normal blue and
then there was the clear almost-transparent silver-blue of his eyes. It sent
chills down her back.

“I know you would. You try to work with them when possible.
It saves me from having to disobey an order like that.” She turned to the Witch
Council. “I’m not telling you anything about the person who did the spell for
me. What I did is none of your business.”

“You’ll tell us eventually.” Roger leaned forward and
narrowed his eyes in what was probably meant to be a threatening look.

“Well, luckily for me, I don’t have to hang around that
long. I’m here only to help with these cases of kidnapping and disappearances.”
She smirked and started to turn away from him. She knew that she’d probably
have to argue a bit more with Kane and Michael before she left, but Roger could
spew his threats to the rest of the Council for all she cared.

“You might find that your mission will take longer than you
expect.” Roger’s voice stopped her from going any further.

She spun around and her hands landed on her hips. Suspicion
flared to life. They would lure her here. “This isn’t a game. Are there even
any disappearances?”

“There are disappearances. You were sent here because you’re
needed.” His smile was too satisfied.

She narrowed her eyes. What the hell were they up to? They
might want to get her back in town, but they did have limits. They wouldn’t
kidnap their own people to do it. Not when there were easier ways. She’d heard
they’d had a woman brought back to town once.

“Then I’m sure it won’t take as long as you’re expecting.”
She rolled her eyes, but turned to face the shifter part of the Council. “I
have a busy day tomorrow. I have to get going, but I’ll talk to you again
before I leave.”

“I’m sure you will,” Roger said.

She tightened her lips against the urge to hiss at him
before she spun on her heel and walked out of the room. She wasn’t going to get
into an argument with that annoying wizard. There wasn’t any way to win it
right now. She’d consider her point made when she left the city after they
found the people.

Alana left the conference room, but she knew she wasn’t
alone. She could hear footsteps behind her and feel the presence of the two men
she hadn’t wanted to see this trip. There wouldn’t be time to clear everything
between them. She didn’t want to start something and then have to leave and
report what she’d found to the Protectorate.

She didn’t know if it was going to be possible to keep her
distance from them, but she knew that being close to them could distract her
from the search. On top of that, if they were near her while she was
investigating these disappearances, they would be in danger. Even the thought
of someone hurting them sent rage tearing through her. She wanted to finish
this last investigation and return here to see if they could be together.

But she wanted to be with them, to touch and taste them.
Even now, her body seemed to be tuning itself to their presence. She could feel
them when they drew closer, their magic almost seemed to be entwining around
her. The connection flared and opened even more.

“Not so fast, Alana. We’ve wanted to talk to you for years
and we’re not letting you slink away after a few scathing words from you.”
Michael’s voice sounded from behind her as the doors closed behind them.

A hand landed on her shoulder, drawing her to a stop. She
turned because she knew that they weren’t going to go away without saying
whatever it was they felt was necessary.

“What could you have to say now? You know the truth. It
makes no difference to what happened. Yes, that scene probably wasn’t what I
thought it was. I doubt it would have changed much. I don’t think you two were
ready to be tied down. If there wasn’t a commitment, I wouldn’t have stayed in
the city anyway.” She swept her eyes from one of them to the other and cocked a
hand on her hip. “Not to mention the fact that I didn’t know if I was ready.”

Alana didn’t know what they could want. Well, other than her
easy acceptance of her position as their Familiar. That so wasn’t going to
happen. Not without some time to get to know them again. Not that she’d known
them back then. It had all happened so fast. Now she had a job to complete and
they were going to have to realize that her focus was only on that.

“I’ll admit we’d rather be doing. We just wanted to tell you
that wherever you are, expect to find us somewhere nearby. You’re not going to
find it easy to ignore the attraction between us.” Kane stepped forward and his
fingers trailed over her neck. “We’ve lost years with you. We’re not wasting
any more time. We’ll have plenty of time to work out the details.”

She shivered and stiffened, resisting the urge to lean into
him. “Have fun trying.”

“Oh, we’ll do better than try.” Michael stepped in close and
his voice lowered a husky, rumbling octave. “We’ll be there when you begin your
hunt in the morning and if it’s necessary, we’ll even tuck you into bed at
night. Although we might be tempted to crawl in with you if that happens.”

“You know it’s probably better that we had the time apart.
You two annoy the hell out of me. I definitely needed the time away from you
and this place to realize that the Familiar bond isn’t the center of the
universe and from what I remember that’s what you guys expect. There’s no
reason to accept that from any man.” She glared, turned on her heel and hurried
down the stairs.

Excitement bubbled through Alana. A strange, disconnected
feeling and the location gave her the first clues that, although the emotions
were intense, she was dreaming. The Gathering dance, the place where she’d met
Michael and Kane.

It was her first time at one of the Gathering dances. Energy
and anticipation buzzed through her and she was almost squirming in her seat. Now
that she was eighteen, attendance was mandatory once a year until she found her
mate. Every Familiar and wizard or witch had the same obligation.

The dance itself didn’t excite her that much. Two specific
people she’d spotted did. She’d seen Kane and Michael Sullivan walk into the
large hall. They were a few years older than her, but she’d been interested in
them for a while.

Alana wasn’t brave enough to go after both of the men, even
if the idea sent a thrill through her. She intended to ask Kane for a dance and
see if she could entice him into a little more. While the twin brothers were physically
identical except for hairstyle and clothing, she felt she could relate a little
more to Kane.

“Going to stare at them and drool all night, pussy cat?”
Clara Dane asked with laughter in her voice. “Or are you going to prove you’re
all grown up and go talk to them?”

Her friend had a point, but the pussy cat insult was totally
unnecessary. Time to stop watching and go see if they were even a little
interested.

She raised her hand and showed Clara her middle finger. “Before
you get up the nerve to stroll over to that stranger I see you eyeing, puppy.”

Alana rose from her seat. The worst Kane could say was no
and that was something she’d heard before. There were plenty of young men at
the dance, even if she didn’t feel as drawn to them as she did Kane and
Michael.

She made her way through the tables to the seats Michael and
Kane had chosen near a corner. When she passed a group of women, she walked
through a cloud of perfume so strong that her eyes stung. She tried to turn
down that sense. The higher senses could be a bit of a curse and shifters had
to learn to tune out or ignore them on occasion. Usually, the overuse of perfume
only happened with humans, but occasionally a witch who didn’t like shifters
would do it deliberately to keep them at a distance.

She let her eyes run over the two men. Kane wore a blue
t-shirt and jeans. His straight black hair fell past his shoulders. Michael’s
white dress shirt and dark-gray pants indicated he’d come straight from work. He
looked a little tired and his short black hair spiked on top a little, as if he’d
run his fingers through it.

Taking a deep breath, she smoothed her hands over her jeans
before she closed the last few steps between them. She could do this. It was
only a dance.

“Hello, I’m Alana.” She hoped she looked more confident than
she felt.

“Hi, I’m Kane and he’s my brother Michael.” Kane gestured to
Michael.

“I wondered if you’d like to dance with me.” The words
tumbled out of her mouth and she wanted to call them back. She heard the
nervousness in her voice and she wanted to appear more assured than this.

“Definitely.” Kane nodded.

“Yes. Well, that’s two affirmative answers. Got any
preference on which one of us is first?” Michael smiled and leaned forward in
his chair.

Alana was a little stunned and excited. She’d never thought
they’d both want to dance with her. Then again, the way she’d phrased the
question she could see how they could think she was asking them both. She didn’t
have the heart to say that she’d only meant one of them.

“Um, no preference, it’s still early and we have plenty of
time to dance.” She held out her hand.

“Yes, we do have time.” Michael stood and walked around the
table.

His fingers threaded through hers. A tingle began to crawl
over her skin the moment their skin touched. Her eyes widened in surprise. Her
nipples tightened and hardened and she felt slick moisture begin to gather in
her pussy. What the hell was that? It felt almost as if a low-level electrical
current was zipping into her from him.

“Are you two going to the dance floor or simply stand there
looking a little stunned?” Kane’s voice cut into her shocked reverie.

Alana glanced over at Michael and found him staring at her.
Maybe this wasn’t only her. “Tingles racing over your skin and the hair on your
arms standing?”

“Yes, I’m glad I’m not the only one feeling as if I’ve
grabbed a live wire.” Michael exhaled noticeably. “Let’s dance.”

She nodded and walked beside him to the dance floor. On the
way, she finally noticed his scent and everything suddenly became clear to her.
She felt her cat rise to attention and the distinct urge to stop and rub
herself all over him to make sure that any shifter who came near him knew that
he was hers.

She’d found her mate. He was her mate, but the tingles were
part of that. It was the Familiar bond beginning to form. It wouldn’t
completely solidify until they’d had sex, but even now she was certain.

Michael released her hand and curled an arm around her waist
as a slow song began to play. His other hand brushed over her upper arm and
shoulder. His fingers touched her blond hair, bringing it forward over her
shoulder. She wrapped her arms around his waist and moved with the music.

He drew her close. Alana inhaled. The light scent of cologne
hit her, but she sifted through it to find his personal smell. The musk mixed
with the tang of his cologne. She couldn’t resist leaning into him and rubbing
her cheek on his chest. Her scent mixed with his giving her a feeling of
satisfaction.

“You know what this is, don’t you?” Michael’s fingers
stroked over her back.

She could feel the heat of his hand through her silky black
shirt. It felt good, but not enough. The tingles spread and increased, but
again it was as if something were missing to that too. She clenched her fingers
on his shirt. She wasn’t so sure if she wanted to talk about this yet. It might
make it too real. He didn’t sound as if he was asking because he was unclear
about it though.

“Yes,” she said. Her head brushed against his chest when she
gave a small nod.

“Do you realize that I’m not the only one who’s part of this
with you?” Michael’s hand rose and cupped her head.

Alana hoped it was because he couldn’t resist touching and
exploring. She trailed her fingers up his back and then down. She itched to
touch actual skin rather than the fabric of his shirt. It felt abrasive and
wrong beneath her fingertips. She had enough sense though to realize this wasn’t
the place to be shredding his clothing.

“I know.” She took a deep breath. It was going to get worse
once she touched Kane. They were twins. Twin males usually had one Familiar.
She was almost certain that she was his Familiar as well. The joining would be
complete in the sense that the three parts of it were together. It would still
need to be solidified before it was whole. Uncertainty gnawed at her.

The Familiar link was only one step of the connection. They
were her mates, but the mate bond wouldn’t fully form until she bit them and
begun the change in them. If they wanted that, she didn’t even know that much
about them. While she was tied by the mating, they could ignore the ties of the
Familiar bond and look elsewhere. She knew there was a way to sever the
emerging attachment.

With the Familiar link feeling as strong as it did, she knew
she was their witch-mate, the match to their magic, but that wouldn’t fall into
place until later, maybe months into their relationship. The connection to a
witch-mate was a very sexual tie as well as a magical joining and they’d want
her whenever they were near her. Until they felt that, they could be with
anyone they wanted. After they felt the witch-mate bond, they wouldn’t want
anyone else, until then she’d wonder.

They’d deal with it because there was no other way. The mate
link wasn’t going to fade away for her and the Familiar bond would be there
waiting even if they backed out of sealing it tonight. Although she wasn’t
sure, she could resist the urge. If they didn’t want it to happen, she’d back
off.

She swayed with him, uncaring if they were drawing attention
with their closeness or the fact that they remained in practically the same
spot. When the music stopped, she didn’t want to let him go and walk off the
dance floor. She wanted to stay in his arms.

“Come on, Alana. I think Kane’s going to storm the dance
floor if we take too much longer.” Michael’s arms slowly released her, but he wrapppped
one around her waist and began to guide her toward the table where Kane stood
waiting.

He did seem tense and he didn’t wait for them to get all the
way to him. He stepped forward and looked from her to Michael and back.

“Did you mean she’s ours?” Kane turned his gaze to his
brother.

“Yes, I did. Take her hand, Kane and feel it for yourself.”
Michael’s hand dropped away from her back. He gripped her hand and held it up
almost in offering to his brother.

Kane reached out. His fingers brushed across her palm. The
tingles increased, running over her body. She bit her lip to hold back a moan.
The arousal became even worse. She took a deep breath to try to gain control,
but when she inhaled, she drew in Michael’s scent as well as Kane’s. Fierce
arousal slammed into her. Her fingers tightened around his, pulling him a
little closer.

After that first tug, he came to her on his own. His hand
touched her cheek. Alana felt the tremor in his fingers and saw the surprise in
his eyes.

“Go dance, Kane. Hold her a little while. I don’t think we’re
going to be here much longer.” Michael patted his brother on the shoulder.

Kane tugged her toward the dance floor. The music had
changed to a faster beat, but he didn’t seem to care. He took her into his arms
and pulled her to him. She slipped her arms around his waist. One of his hands
rested low on her waist right above her buttocks. The other brushed over her upper
back in a slow glide.

She drew in a slow, shuddering breath. Her head nestled on
his chest almost without conscious thought. It seemed natural and she had to be
as close to him as she could get. His hands tightened, tugging her closer. She
rubbed her cheek on his shirt. The fabric was soft, but she’d rather feel his
skin. She needed to feel that contact. She didn’t understand the demanding
feeling, but it was there and pressing on her with increasing insistency. Her
hips rocked a little, but she managed to stop it there. If she didn’t, she’d
hump his leg in a bid for a little relief.

“Those tingles are racing over my body. I want you.” Kane’s
fingers rubbed in circles over her lower back. “Is it the same for you?”

“Doubled. It was rolling over me at a sort of simmer with
Michael. I was excited. Then your fingers touched and it got even hotter. I
ache.” Her voice broke. His fingers had slipped beneath her top and now touched
her skin.

If they didn’t get somewhere private soon, she’d take them
here. She could smell his arousal and it only made her hotter. She was a breath
away from grabbing his hand and dragging it to her pussy or breast. Who was she
kidding? That hand would go straight to where he could soothe the ache in her
clit.

A body crowded to her back. Alana tensed for a moment, but
relaxed. The feel and scent told her that it was Michael. His hands settled at
her waist as he moved with her.

“I couldn’t stay away.” Michael leaned down and nipped her
neck.

She stiffened and her hands clenched on Kane’s shirt. She
could feel her canines descending in response to that aggressive move. He was
making her wild.

“Don’t nip again, Michael. My instincts, my cat, is so close
to the surface that I don’t know if I can hold back. I already want to bite
you, but we just met.” It would take away so many of their choices. Choices she
wasn’t so sure she was ready to surrender, much less take away from them.

“I think we should go somewhere a little more private than
this.” Michael dropped a kiss on her shoulder.

Alana nodded. They definitely needed to get somewhere with a
place where they could be alone. She did not want to give everyone a show. Not
her ass or theirs. She was too possessive of them at the moment.

“Let’s go to my apartment.” Michael drew back from her, but
his hand pressed on her arm as if he had to keep touching her.

Kane stepped back, but his hand brushed across her body as
he did. He clasped her hand. “I’m ready.”

She went with them. She’d never wanted anything this much.
Not just the sex though. The connection. It drew her and now that she’d felt
it, she couldn’t walk away from the intensity. She had to keep going until it
was fully formed. They were her wizards and she needed that tie.

Michael led the way to his car. She thought briefly about
her own vehicle sitting across the parking lot, but the thought of leaving them
even for a moment sent a rush of anxiety through her. Her car would wait.

Michael unlocked the car. Kane opened the back door and she
slid inside the gray car. It wasn’t quite what she’d expect for a man as young
as he was, but it was probably to help with his image as a business man. Kane
slid into the seat beside her. He buckled her seatbelt, and then his, before
scooting as close as he could and sliding his arm around her. She wanted to be
a lot closer to him, but she didn’t want anything to get in the way of sealing
the Familiar bond.

Alana nestled against his chest and rubbed her cheek back
and forth. The sound of his heart beating was reassuring and soothing. Her hand
flattened to his leg and began to rub up and down his thigh. Kane’s hand
clasped around hers halting the movement when she drew near his cock.

“Not too high. Michael would probably kill me if I took you
in his car.” Kane’s fingers held hers still until Michael stopped in front of
one of the few apartment complexes in Devoe. It was only two levels.