Rhyannon Byrd - Primal Instinct 04 (4 page)

“Jamie, honey, this is the man I just told you about.”
She spoke the gentle words into the child’s dark curls, her hold one of tender
affection that made him strangely envious. “He’s going to help take care of us
on our trip.”

The child lifted her head, flashing him a shy grin.
She had big, heavily lashed eyes, delicate features and round, rosy cheeks that
made her look like a little cherub. Aiden could see the strain on her small
face, and could only imagine the hell she’d been through since her world had
started falling apart. It made him furious that her family had been left on
their own, with no one to look out for them. Cutting a sharp look toward
Olivia, he said, “If your stepsisters are descended from a Merrick bloodline,
then why haven’t you ever been given Watchmen supervision?” He knew that only
the dormant Merrick/human bloodlines had been under strict surveillance, but it
seemed criminal that an exception wouldn’t have been made for a family of
females, even if they were witches.

“According to Monica, there was never any supervision
because we’re not human,” she said, telling him what he already knew. Before he
could point out the obvious flaw in her statement, she added, “Now that my
father’s gone, I’m the only human Harcourt. But my stepsisters were…are Mallory
witches.”

“So it’s true,” he murmured. “The child is part
Merrick and part Mallory?”

She nodded again, then quietly said, “But only half.
Her father was human.”

“Doesn’t matter,” he said in a low voice. “The Casus
are still going to be champing at the bit to get their hands on her.”

“But it doesn’t make any sense!” she protested softly,
tightening her grip on the three-year-old. Pressing Jamie’s head to her
shoulder, she covered the little girl’s ear with her hand. “She’s only a child.
She can’t be awakened! And her Mallory powers aren’t even manifested yet.”

“They’ll want her anyway. Monica said her
Mallory-Merrick blood mix is too strong a lure for them. They’re going to value
her power and her bloodline, even if she hasn’t awakened.”

Her rage was obvious, the furious blaze in her violet
eyes so intense he could have sworn he felt its heat. “Well, they’re not going
to get her.”

“That’s where I come in,” he told her, taking a step
closer.

She tilted her head back to stare up at him, and Aiden
could sense just how badly she wanted to believe him. “You’re really here to
help us?”

“I really am.” He reached out and ran his thumb over
her lower lip, mesmerized by the sight of his dark skin against that smooth,
glossy surface. Her breath caught, and he pulled his hand away as he lifted his
gaze. “You know, you’re not stuttering anymore. What gives?”

The look she sent him was suddenly pure teacher, thick
with disappointment and reproach, and the corner of his mouth kicked up with
another crooked grin. “What? Too rude of me to mention? You gonna smack my hand
with a ruler?”

Jamie wiggled down from her aunt’s arms, then tugged
on the leg of his jeans, demanding his attention. When he glanced down, she
lifted her chubby arms into the air and said, “Up.”

Praying that he didn’t accidentally hurt her, doing
his best to be gentle, Aiden lifted the little runt off the ground, perching
her small body on his right arm. “Yeah?” he asked, quietly noting the latent
power he could feel humming within her. The keen intelligence burning in her
big eyes seemed almost too sharp for a mere toddler, and he made a mental note
to question Olivia about it when they were alone.

Acting as though she was about to tell him a secret,
Jamie leaned her face close to his and whispered, “Livie only talks like that
when she’s weally nervous. Or when she’s scared.”

He arched both brows. “Is that so?” he asked, ignoring
the almost silent curse that Olivia muttered under her breath, her
embarrassment obvious.

The child nodded, her dark curls tumbling over her
smooth forehead. Looking into her small face made something in Aiden’s chest
hurt, as if he’d been dealt a physical pain. It was unthinkable that anyone
would want to harm something so precious and innocent, but then that was what
the Casus specialized in, things too gruesome and wrong for any normal person
to comprehend.

He slanted a curious look toward Olivia. “And the idea
of the Casus hunting you down doesn’t make you nervous?”

She crossed her arms, her voice hard with anger as she
said, “It ticks me off even more.”

Well, hell, he couldn’t help but admire her spunk. For
a kindergarten teacher, she was pretty feisty.

“You take care of us now?” Jamie asked, pulling his
face back to her with the slightly sticky touch of her small hand against his
cheek, the scent of chocolate and peanut butter reaching his nose. Her big eyes
were so dark, he could see the stars reflected in their depths—and yet there
were too many shadows lingering in her solemn gaze, and the pain in his chest
got sharper. Aiden swallowed against the tight knot of emotion in his throat,
but before he could say anything to reassure her, his phone started buzzing on
his hip. Olivia moved forward, taking Jamie from him, and he pulled the phone
from its case, thumbing the keypad as he lifted it to his ear.

“S’up?” he grunted, knowing Kellan wouldn’t have been
calling unless there was trouble.

“Get the hell out of there!” the Lycan shouted,
breathing hard as if he was running. “They’re closing in on you!”

“How many?” he asked as he dug his truck keys from his
pocket, wondering if they had enough time to get out without having to fight.

Before Kellan could respond, a series of stark,
guttural howls cut through the silent night…and Aiden had his answer.

IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN a criminal offense for a man to
look…well, like this one did.

As she watched him talking on the phone, Olivia
couldn’t stop staring, soaking up the physical details as if they were
something that would prove vital to her existence. Something she might someday
need in order to breathe…to live, which probably meant that she was completely
losing it. The Watchman was outrageously tall, towering well over six foot, his
mouthwatering body clearly made for fighting, as well as a multitude of sins.
All ones she was seriously wishing she had the courage to commit, no matter how
dangerous he looked.

And he did look dangerous. With his long, wavy,
caramel-colored hair falling around his wide shoulders, golden skin and long,
corded muscles, he was her ultimate Celtic-warrior fantasy come to life,
complete with mesmerizing tattoos. The dark designs covered the backs of his
knuckles and his strong, sinewy forearms from wrist to elbow in a beautiful
blend of what looked like pagan symbols. She wanted to lean close and study the
intricate patterns. Trace them with the tip of her finger. Feel the strength of
his thick, ropy muscles and the heat of his skin beneath the touch of her hand.

But unlike her fantasy lovers, Aiden Shrader was so
much more than a gorgeous, compelling hunk. Though she still didn’t know what
specific kind of shape-shifter he was, Olivia had seen the way his eyes had
changed as they’d argued, shifting from a gray-green hazel to a hot, glowing
amber. There was a primal, predatory edge to the way he moved, and her breath
caught as she recalled what it had felt like when he’d been pressing that
powerful body against hers, thrusting heavily between her thighs. The erotic
friction had been so overpowering…so achingly delicious, she’d nearly gone
screaming over the edge, and her face burned with the thought, even as her
conscience argued that she must be out of her ever-loving mind.

Stranger danger, you pleasure-starved idiot. Ring any
bells?

Not that he was acting like a stranger. No, he was
taking charge as if he’d been born to it, and God help her, Olivia was scared
and tired enough to let him, the past few weeks of horror and heartbreak
leaving her shaken and raw and needing a badass warrior she could rely on. He
looked the type that could handle anything, his muscles coiled hard and tight
beneath his golden skin, stretching the seams of his black T-shirt as he paced
before her, muttering into the phone about the howls being some sort of warning
to others that the Watchmen were there. His glowing amber eyes constantly
surveyed their surroundings, looking for danger, and she began to wonder about
things she simply didn’t have time to wonder about. She wanted to know if he
had a girlfriend, though she doubted it, the idea of monogamy probably
repugnant to a guy who threw off his kind of sexual vibe. Wanted to know why
he’d become a Watchman. What kind of life he’d led to become so hard and
lethal-looking.

But most of all, Olivia wanted to know why he’d kissed
her. Not that she could actually ask him at the moment, considering something
was out in the woods, making the most god-awful sounds she’d ever imagined.

“Don’t be scared, honey,” she whispered against
Jamie’s silky curls, covering her little ear once again as she pressed the
other against her shoulder. She hated that her niece was about to go through
what would surely be another horrific situation. Thankfully, Jamie hadn’t been
with Monica when she was killed, but the traumatic loss of her mother had come
just weeks after the disappearance of her beloved aunt Chloe. Olivia honestly
didn’t know how much more the little girl could take, when she’d already been
through more than any child should ever have to endure.

Olivia was still lost in thought, worrying about
Jamie, when Aiden disconnected his call and reached out, taking hold of her
arm. “Come on,” he muttered. “We’ve gotta go.”

“What’s g-going on?” she stammered, though she had a
good idea of what was making those terrifying howls.

“I have some friends with me who’re patrolling the
woods. The Casus are on their way.”

As he spoke, he started guiding her around the side of
the house, toward a massive black truck she could see parked out on the curb.
At first she was too shell-shocked to react, but then panic took hold and
Olivia dug in her heels, pulling against his grasp as much as she could with
Jamie in her arms. “Wait!” she panted, her breaths coming hard and fast. “I
have to think f-for a minute. I need to—”

“Look, you might not be happy about being stuck with
me,” he snapped, cutting her off as he spun toward her, “but I’m your best shot
at getting out of here alive. And I’ll take apart anyone who tries to hurt the
kid,” he added, jerking his chin toward Jamie, who had her small arms wrapped
tight around Olivia’s neck.

“How do I know you’re not lying?” she whispered,
rubbing her hand against Jamie’s small back. “How do I know this hasn’t all
been some sort of elaborate setup?”

“You don’t.” Grim lines creased his expression as he
held her stare. “You’re just going to have to trust me.”

Taking a deep breath, she prayed she was making the
right choice. “Okay, all right. What do we do?”

“We’re going to take my truck and get out of here.
Then the guys I’m with will come back for your car.”

“No,” she argued, already shaking her head. “We can’t
go in your truck.”

He pulled his hand down his face, his gravelly voice
thick with frustration. “Christ, Liv. This is no time to argue.”

She spoke quickly, knowing they were running out of
time. “We have to take my car. It’s already packed with Jamie’s things and I
can’t risk losing them. They’re all she has from home. From her mother.”

He muttered something foul under his breath, but
stopped arguing and barked out a gritty command for her to wait there for him.
Olivia watched as he ran to his truck, grabbed a duffel bag from the extended
cab, then came back, latching on to her arm again as he headed straight for her
car. She ran to keep up with his long strides, then buckled Jamie into the car
seat belted into the middle of the backseat, while Aiden held the door open for
her. After pressing a quick kiss to Jamie’s forehead, she promised her niece
that everything was going to be okay and climbed back out.

Olivia was about to hand her car keys over to Aiden,
thinking he’d want to drive, when he dropped his bag on the ground, leaned into
the car and slipped something over Jamie’s tousled curls. Before she could ask
what it was, he looked back, snagging her gaze over his broad shoulder. “You’ve
heard of the Dark Markers, right?”

Her gaze swung to the ornate Maltese cross now hanging
around Jamie’s neck from a black velvet cord, resting against the fuzzy pink
heart on the front of her pajamas. It was incredibly beautiful, etched with
tiny intricate symbols that covered every inch of its dark, metallic surface.
“Are you serious? That’s one of the ancient Markers?”

He nodded, saying, “We just found this one earlier
today,” before turning back toward Jamie. He lifted her tiny chin with one
tattooed finger. “Whatever you do, honey, do not take that off, okay? It’s
magic and it’s going to keep you safe. You can even feel its magic when you
touch it because it’ll be warm against your skin. Why don’t you try it?”

Jamie looked down at the Marker and grabbed hold of
it, then stared back up at Aiden. “It’s pwetty.”

“Yeah, but not as pretty as you,” he told her,
ruffling her curls. “Now, promise me you won’t take it off. No matter what
happens.”