A Hell Hound's Fire (3 page)

“How?” She looked up at him and searched his
eyes as if the answer scrolled across his face.

“Let’s not worry about it right now. You and
Liam need food and rest. Let’s start with that.”

He met her gaze and offered his best
encouraging smile. Some of the tension left her expression and she
tentatively smiled back at him, the hope in her gaze drawing him
closer. Before he could think through his actions, he tilted his
head and covered her lips with his.

Sarah stiffened with surprise, but with a
moan of desperation, she opened her mouth and gave into his kiss.
Hot, searing lust spiked through Alex as the taste warm, willing
woman and frantic need hit his tongue. The scents of peat bogs and
spring hyacinth flooded his nose, and he couldn’t stop caressing
her tongue with his.

Mine! Must protect. True Mate.
His
Brother surged forward and made him tighten his grip on the
delicious woman in his arms. He wanted to question the “True Mate”
bit, but lust, need, and her scent swamped his mind until emotion
ruled him.

Alex growled and pressed Sarah up against
the counter, one arm wrapped around her back, his other hand
spearing through her silken ponytail. The auburn strands felt like
satin rope and he tightened his fist, dragging her head back. She
whimpered and her nails dug into his back through his shirt as she
wrapped one leg around his thigh. She ground her mound against his
rock-hard cock and he swore his eyes rolled back in his head.

Want. Want her now. True Mate.
Tugging her head back again, he broke the kiss and licked her
throat, lust demanding he mark her as his. He worked his hand
between their bodies and stroked the crotch of her jeans, the heat
and dampness there searing his fingers. Feral need exploded through
him and the scent of her arousal insisted he mate with her
immediately.

And he would have, except the pasta pot
boiled over right beside them.

They broke apart, Alex scrambling to turn
down the heat on the stove. His cock throbbed against the fly of
his jeans, mourning the loss of Sarah’s warmth, but guilt hit him
straight between the eyes.
What the fuck am I doing?

****

What in bloody hell am I doing?

Sarah watched Alex save the food and tried
to gather her wits. She had a demon after her, for the Goddess’s
sake. Now was not the time for romance.
True Mate. Want
more.
Her Sister self whined with lust and need.

Oh, be off with you. There’s no such thing
as True Mates.

Malcolm wasn’t our True Mate. Alex is.

Sarah pressed her fingers to her lips.
Alex’s kiss had been different than any other kiss she’d
experienced. It had reached down into her very core, setting needs
and desires alight she never knew she had.

“Saved it.” He gave her an apologetic smile.
“I’m sorry for…” He waved at her and licked his lips, sending cream
flooding straight to her pussy. She wanted his tongue again.

Preferably in more sensitive places.

What was wrong with her? She’d never behaved
so wanton before in her life. But she desperately wanted more of
Alex.
It’s just the stress, is what it is.

True Mate.
Her Sister self seemed so
certain.

She wanted to scoff, but she didn’t want
Alex to think she didn’t believe him. “It’s all right. I’m sure
it’s just the ‘poor me’ attitude I was giving you. Isn’t there a
line in
Under the Tuscan Sun
where the bloke says she has to
stop crying or he’d be forced to make love to her? I’m sure it’s
just something like that.”

Did she just suggest he’d been thinking of
making love to her?
Can you be any more forward with a man
trying to help you? Chewed bones.
She felt her face flush and
ran a hand over her hair.

Alex chuckled and shifted his hips as if his
jeans had become too tight. Her gaze automatically dropped to his
fly and her breath caught at the sight of the large ridge outlined
there. More cream soaked her panties and she jerked her gaze away
as his nostrils flared.
He can smell the desire, you know. Aw,
sod it!

“To be honest, I might have gone that far to
make you smile again if necessary.” He ran a hand over the back of
his neck. “But we were saved by the steam, so no harm, no foul.” He
rolled his shoulders to loosen them. “Okay. Why don’t you go check
on Liam while I get the rest of this dinner made? Then we’ll make a
plan of action after we’ve eaten. I always think better on a full
stomach.” He gave her a gorgeous, cheeky grin.

“Right. Okay.”

Sarah didn’t want walk away from Alex, but
she forced herself out of the kitchen and up the stairs. She had to
think this through and they did need a plan of action. Her Sister
remarked the only action she wanted was beneath Alex, but Sarah
mentally bitch-slapped her and opened the bathroom door.

“Liam love, are you done?”

Her son turned about, his hair sticking up
in all directions as he buttoned his pants. He nodded and wiped his
nose on the towel he held. His eyes looked red as if he’d been
crying and her heart squeezed tight in her chest.

“What’s wrong, boyo?” She pulled him into
her arms and held him tight, just like she’d done when he was a
cub.

“I’m afraid of the demon getting us,
Mama.”

“Oh, now, let’s not worry too much tonight,
shall we? Supper’s coming and we’ll all feel better then.” She
smoothed down some of the flyaway hair as she met his sapphire
gaze. “We got a good head start on it this time, Liam love, and
we’ve come to the right place should we have to face it. Mr.
MacLaren won’t let anything happen to us, to be sure.”

“Do you think he can stop it, Mama?”

Sarah didn’t know the answer to that
question, but she’d be damned before she allowed Liam’s worry to
grow. “I think it might take all of us together, but we’ve never
had a better ally.”

“No one’s ever been able to help us before.”
Liam’s lower lip quavered and Sarah’s determination roared to the
fore.

“Well, he’s a Hell Hound, init?” She
squeezed him as he nodded. “It’ll be all right, love. Now let’s go
get us some supper. Do you need help combing your hair?”

Liam shook his head and reached for the comb
on the bath sink. “Why do you smell like him?”

“What?” Surprise and chagrin spiked through
her.

“Why do you smell like Alex? Like hot wet
rock?”

True Mate
. Her Sister’s voice held
smugness. Sarah had heard the legends surrounding True Mates. They
shared a similar scent as if their personal odors mixed together to
allow others to know they’d mated. She’d also heard True Mates
couldn’t keep their hands off each other and couldn’t tolerate
anyone of the opposite sex to touch their partners once mated.

That can’t be what’s going on. Could it?

“Do I? I hadn’t noticed.” Sarah shrugged off
her unease. “I’m sure it’s because we’re in his house and spent
time with him in his Jeep. That’s all.” She straightened his
clothes to cover her nervousness. “Come now. Let’s go down to
supper. I can smell the chicken, can’t you?”

Liam nodded and allowed her to shepherd him
down the stairs to the dining area where Alex set the table.

“Feeling better, Liam?”

“Yes, thank you.” Liam looked the older male
Moon Singer over carefully, his curiosity plain.

“Great. Come on and sit down. What would you
like to drink?” Alex set a steaming plate full of chicken and pasta
down on the table in front of the boy and pulled out a chair.

“Just water, please.” Her son perched on the
seat, licking his lips.

Sarah helped him scoot in then turned to get
her own food, but Alex waved her toward the table. “Go ahead and
sit down. I’ll bring it.”

“Oh, thank you.” She retreated to sit beside
her son.

“Welcome.”

Alex returned with a glass of water and a
plate of food for her. The scent of hot tropical nights at the foot
of a rumbling volcano flooded over her as he set down her meal and
she met his amber gaze. He paused and his jaw tightened as his
nostrils flared. He looked wild and primal in that moment, and a
shiver of desire shot down her spine.

Want him now. True Mate.
Her Sister
self had never been so vocal in her thoughts before, but the
presence of this man had unleashed her. Sarah fought against the
urge to throw herself into his arms despite her son watching.

Alex inhaled deeply and shifted his
shoulders. “Can I get you something to drink? Water? Tea?”

“Whiskey?” she whispered.

Alex blinked then laughed, the sexual
tension bleeding away. “I don’t think I have any of that around
here right now. Especially not good Irish whiskey.”

“Aw, more’s the pity.” She gave him a smile
and tried to recover her composure as he retrieved his own plate.
“Water will be fine for now.”

“Right.” Did she hear strain in his voice?
He returned to the table with her glass and his plate, but he
didn’t seem to carry any tension in his broad shoulders. Lovely,
strong shoulders with hard muscles stretching his shirt.

Bloody hell
. She’d never wanted
anyone like this, but the timing couldn’t be worse. Sarah forced
herself to concentrate on her food, though she barely tasted it
with the handsome male sitting beside her.

They ate in silence as the rain pattered
against the windows of the house. Liam’s gaze kept flicking between
Sarah and Alex. She couldn’t scent any distress from him, only
curiosity.
Thank the Goddess he’s not afraid for the
moment.

They’d almost finished eating when Liam set
his glass down, and fixed Alex with a frank stare. “May I ask a
question, Alex?”

Alex raised his eyebrow. “Sure, Liam. What
do you want to know?”

“Why do you and my mama smell alike?”

Alex’s second eyebrow joined the first and
he shot a look at Sarah. “I thought I smelled like hot rock.”

“Yeah, you do. But now Mama smells like
that, too, a little.”

“Does she?” A smile quirked Alex’s lips.
“I’ll have to check for myself.” He leaned over to Sarah and made a
big production of sniffing at her.

“Hmm.” Alex frowned thoughtfully. “I smell
chicken, pasta, wolf, and…” He cocked his head quizzically, making
Liam giggle. “Girl.”

“Ewww!” Liam scrunched up his nose. “That’s
the worst.”

“Hey, now.” Sarah swiped at her son and he
dodged, laughing. “If I get attitude like that, it’s off to bed
with you.”

“Aw, can’t I stay up longer, Mama?”

“No, we’ve had a long day, and we need as
much rest as we can get.” Sarah rose from her seat and collected
their plates.

“Can I at least get a bedtime story?” Liam
pushed back from the table and stood by his chair.

“Of course you can. Off you go, now. I’ll be
right up.” She shooed her son toward the stairs.

“Don’t worry about the dishes. I’ll get
them.” Alex took the plates from her and smiled. “You go get Liam
ready for bed.”

“Are you sure? You cooked.”

Alex laughed. “I take it as a great
compliment you didn’t spit it out in disgust. I’ll get this.” He
waved her off and Sarah nodded.

She followed Liam, wondering why it was so
hard to leave the kitchen behind.
Chewed bones, you’re worse
than a pup with her first scent of roses. Get it together.
But
Alex didn’t smell like roses. He smelled like heaven and everything
inside her clamored to claim it before it disappeared.

“Mama, there aren’t any sheets.” Liam held
the coverlet off one of the beds.

“Right. Let’s see what’s in the linen
closet.”

She made the bed and Liam climbed between
the fresh sheets.

“What shall we read?”

He reached out and grabbed the book off the
bedside table as she sat beside him.

“This one again?”

“Yes, please.” Liam nodded with an
anticipatory smile.

Sarah sighed. “Oh, what places you’ll
go…”

Chapter Three

Alex filled the dishwasher and set it to
clean as he thought about Liam’s question. Had his scent changed?
He sniffed under his arms, but nothing seemed different to him.
Nothing more than his own sweat came to his nose and he shook his
head. Maybe the kid had simply smelled him on the stuff in the
house and mixed it with his mother’s scent.

Good story, but you never mixed up scents
even at that age,
his Brother quipped.

The only time he’d ever heard of people’s
scents mixing occurred after sex, and he’d done nothing of the sort
with Sarah Flanagan. He’d kissed her, and the memory of her lips
sent blood straight to his cock until it nudged the fly of his
jeans.

Mine,
his Brother insisted.

Not tonight, she’s not.
But his
Brother wouldn’t let go of the possibility.

Alex finished cleaning up and belatedly
remembered the beds being bare upstairs. Cursing his negligence, he
sprinted up the stairs to rummage through the linen closet. He
didn’t remember the size of the guest room bed so he grabbed two
sets of sheets and strode for the door.

Sarah’s voice carried down the hall, slowing
his steps. She read the book from the station and her sweet Irish
lilt wrapped around his heart and squeezed.

“And when things start to happen, don’t
worry, don’t fret. The path ahead could be your best journey
yet.”

Alex paused at the door and peeked around
the edge. Sarah sat on the bed facing Liam as she read and Alex’s
heart squeezed again. They looked like a family—
his
family—as if they belonged here in this house with him. She kept
reading and he fell into her cadence, relaxed and happy for the
first time in almost a decade.

True Mate.
His Brother’s voice held a
confidence Alex didn’t share.