lightning witch 02 - lightning legacy (9 page)

“Delaney, I …” His voice was gruff and he seemed to choke on the words.

"Why are you here, Mitch? Did you come back to finish the job?" I couldn't keep the acid from my words. God, I needed to bury the hate I had for him so I could go find Reid.

Remember, Delaney, the end game. The end game is Reid.

“I regret what I did to you. I just want you and every time you deny me, I lose it.”

His words. They sounded like a lie. I didn’t believe he wanted me. He just wanted to use me and wanted what I could give him. I didn’t believe for one second Mitch’s end game was some government shit. I just didn’t know what it was.

Older werewolves can sometimes tell when someone is lying. Their ability was not consistent or perfect, but sometimes, if the person was outright lying, they could tell. I was going to have to get rather inventive when it came to these next words.

“Mitch, I forgive you.”
For wearing that heinous shirt.

My tone was solemn. I had to convince him that I did, in fact, forgive him.

His head shot up and his jaw slackened. He was shocked.

Thank God he believed that.

“Mitch, listen. I have had a lot of time to think and I need to try to make the best of this situation.”
I’m a changed person
. “I need to make the best of it. So, I’m willing to give you a shot, if you will give me some freedoms.”

His eyes widened and his expression went from dumbfounded to elation in the blink of an eye. Then, he grabbed my hand and shot up, pulling me into his arms in one swift motion. I was circled in his arms. I tried to melt into him, but I found myself stiff. I closed my eyes and pictured Reid holding me and I remembered how his warmth would heat my skin to the point of madness. I softened slightly and Mitch seemed to do so as well.

“Delaney, you don’t know how long I have waited for you to say this. From the moment I met you, I wanted you. I’ll give you as much freedom as I can.”

His arms tightened then he released me and he grasped my chin harshly.

“I feel bad about how harsh I was to you. But, Delaney, if you give yourself to me, I’ll deny you nothing.”

His arm that grasped my hip began to squeeze me tightly, nearing pain.

“Betray me, Delaney, and I’ll do far worse to you. And it will kill me to do it.”

The look in his eyes was deadly.

Chills ran up my spine. I knew in that moment that if this didn’t work he wouldn’t kill me, but I would beg him to at every turn. He was being blinded by how badly he wanted me. I had to seize the opportunity. I couldn’t give him time to really analyze my words or their meanings.

"Mitch, I know." My voice was weak with fear, but he mistook it for arousal. He pulled me to him. His hard chest was slightly warm against my skin. I felt his shaft grow hard. He pressed me tighter to him, nearly grinding his erection against my pelvis.
Oh, God, I can do this. Don’t throw up.

He leaned down to me and his mouth hovered just above mine.

He whispered huskily, “Meet me, Delaney, and show me you want this.”

Now or never. I lifted my face to his more fully and stood on my toes. I brushed my lips with his and started a slow, tentative kiss. He deepened it. I had to open my mouth to invite him in. My stomach tried to lurch, but I clamped down on it. His hands slid from my hair down my back to my ass. I felt my heart dying with every moment I allowed him to kiss and touch me.
Would Reid forgive me? Would he understand?

Suddenly, his hands grabbed my ass and he lifted me up. Instinctively, I wrapped my legs around his waist and he groaned into my mouth. He pulled away. His eyes were now glowing neon green.

“Delaney, your lips are addictive,” he rasped.

"Take me to the bed, Mitch," I nearly choked the words out.

His eyes widened at the request, but his arousal grew. I could scent it. I remembered Reid. I thought of how I felt when he touched me. When he kissed me. I grew slightly aroused, but for Reid. I had to hold on to that for Mitch to believe it was for him. Fooling a human was easy, fooling this being took some major thought.

He let me down and then walked over to the bed and lay on his back. He put his arms under his head and he looked at me as though he were waiting for something.

“Take your clothes off for me,” he said in a low, guttural tone. His bulge was straining against his pants.

I faked a smile and slowly pulled my shirt over my head. Then I unclasped my bra. The moment my breasts were free he groaned low in his chest. I slipped my fingers under the hem of my shorts and slowly slid them down my hips. There I stood, in front of the man I hated most in the world, completely bare. I closed my eyes tight. I was trembling with self-hatred.

"Come here, wolf," he said in a near growl.

I opened my eyes and his shirt was off. He was a beautiful man, I could admit that, yet I hated him so much I saw nothing but disgust.
Delaney, you don’t have to go all the way, you just need to get close.
I steeled my resolve and walked over to him. I climbed up on the bed and threw my leg over him. My sex rested above his throbbing erection which, thank God, was still inside his pants.

He sucked in a breath. His hands went to my breasts and I shuddered, clenching my teeth and trying to fight the instinct that was screaming at me to fight this. Fight his touch. I moaned, trying to fake as much as I could. He ran his thumb over a nipple, causing the peak to pebble. I ran my hands down his chest. He raised his head to my breast and darted a tongue over one nipple. My nails raked down his chest at the new touch. I tried not to lash out. He then pulled the nipple into his mouth and groaned around it. Shit. This was not helping my arousal; if anything, it was going to kill it. I had to do something and fast. I shifted my leg slightly and angled it so that my knee rested between his legs.
Now or never, Delaney.
I used nearly all of my resolve and rammed my knee into his groin.

His eyes went wide and he shoved me off of him so hard that I went flying backward off the bed. He was heaving breaths in and out and his big hands were covering his crotch. He was writhing in pain. I scrambled to my feet and began to pull lightning from my core. I rushed to him and his eyes were wild and furious.

He snarled at me through clenched teeth, “You fucking bitch! I’ll kill you for this.”

I didn't waste time with a retort. I went to place my hand directly over his heart, and one of his hands shot out to grab at me, but this motion must have caused him pain because his movements were sluggish. I batted his hand away with no thought. Was that a bone in his arm that I just heard snapping? No, it couldn't be.

Shaking my head, I put a hand over his heart and willed the lightning in my body to leave, pushing everything I had through my hands. The lightning left me with searing pain, but it was nothing to what I knew he was feeling. His body jerked violently in seizure-like movements. His skin around my hand blackened and the room filled with the stench of burning things. Never had I ever put this much power, my power, into something. I didn't want to stop; I wanted to pour everything I had into him until he was nothing but a pile of ash. Because then he would see what he had done to me.

But, I became physically pained. This was the pain I felt when I tried to kill him last time. I pulled away from him knowing my skin was sparking with power. I backed away from his unmoving form lying on the bed. Had he not been weakened by whatever Mark gave him, he would already be healing. I ran to the pile of clothes and found jeans and a long-sleeved shirt. I threw them on. I had no time. I tossed another shirt on over the long-sleeved one. It would be cold, and I didn't have a jacket. I spared one more glance at the nearly charred body lying unmoving on the bed and left the room.

I headed for the stairs, but paused. I ran to Mitch's office. It was locked. I rammed my shoulder, hoping the door would give. It did with surprising ease. I guess I was stronger than I thought. I ran to the desk and pulled out my purse, then ran to the file cabinet and grabbed everything in the C section and stuffed it into my bag. I would have to thank Troy for talking me into buying a bag I could carry a toaster oven in. I ran out of the office and paused at the door to my room, sparing one second to lock all of the locks.

Like that will really do any good.

I hustled down the stairs, frantic, and ran into the room just to the right of the stairs. It was where the other guard typically sat. That's where I found Mark. His eyes met mine and he got out of his chair.

“Don’t take any of the cars. He will trace you that way. Take this,” he said, handing me a large jug of bleach and a small black phone. My eyes widened. I wasn’t planning on doing laundry.

“You need to dunk yourself. Get as far as you can then go to a hotel. Bathe in this and that should get rid of your scent long enough to get away from him.”

I nodded.

“Thank you.”

He finally met my eyes and they looked pained.

“Wait, where is Reid?”

“I don’t know, Mitch never told any of us. I’m betting Dillon knows, but, Delaney, you need to get as far from this place as you can.” His words were rushed.

“Okay. What now?” I said in a frustrated tone.

"I’m so sorry, Delaney. I need you to put me out." His tone was full of regret and sadness. He was sorry, or he was a fantastic actor.

I pulled enough lightning to my palm from my core to knock him out for a solid day. This was the last of my power before I would be tapped out. There was a glowing ball of lightning sitting in my hand. He looked down at it and swallowed.

"You ready?" I asked. My voice shook with emotion. I knew he wouldn't die from this, but it still hurt to do this to him.

He nodded. I shoved my hand against his chest. His form went limp and began convulsing on the floor. I gritted my teeth and choked back my tears for him before running to the front door and flinging it open. The cool air was more than welcome to my overheated skin. I’d no freaking idea where I was going, but I had to get there.

I ran. I ran into the night and didn't stop for hours. I was depleted of my lightning, emotionally I was a wreck, and I was only slightly closer to getting to Reid. Somehow the physical strength I was feeling was like nothing I’d ever felt before. The sun was coming, up and I knew I needed to go bleach myself.

I ran to a Walmart and bought some new clothes with what little money I had. With the rest of the money, I found a POS hotel. I needed to sleep, but needed to do this more. I poured the jug into the bath and filled it the rest of the way with water. I got in and dunked myself. My skin burned. I nearly jumped out to rid myself of the foul liquid. I drained the tub and showered off, smelling like a mix between a pool boy and a maid. I tore the tags off my newly purchased clothes and slipped them on. I sighed at the feeling of finally having underwear on.

Walking to the bed, I collapsed on it and tried to figure out what my next move was. I tried to make a decision that Mitch would never expect. I tried to think, but my head was foggy and I was exhausted. I closed my eyes and surrendered to the exhaustion and tumbled head first into the blackness.

FUCKING TENNESSEE. HE
had me in fucking freezing-ass Tennessee. In a state where if someone sees a wolf in their backyard they shoot first and ask questions later. I’d been shot at no less than six goddamned times. It had taken me hours just to reach some kind of civilized town. And then it took about two hours to be able to maneuver myself around enough to get the buckshot that was embedded in my ass out. All in all, I counted myself as lucky, as it could have been worse. It made me wonder. Surely, they would know what I had done by now. I just prayed I knew Mitch. I prayed that I knew him well enough to know he wouldn’t kill Delaney.

I was about twenty miles outside of Nashville. I had to find some cash and a way to communicate with Delaney. My thoughts slid back to the god in my dream.

I wonder, if I slept, if I could get him to deliver a message.

Yeah, I could see that conversation.

“Oh, excuse me, oh god who is playing a game with my life, I was wondering if you could deliver a message to someone for me?”
Yeah, I really did not think that would fly. This whole time I’d been thinking three and sometimes four steps ahead and it had gotten me nowhere. I needed to take this one step at a time.

Okay, step one: Get some cash for clothes. Then get a phone. I wouldn’t let myself look further ahead than that. Now, I needed to figure out a way to get some cash. I did still have that coin. I could pawn it and get some cash. The idea settled in my mind and I pushed on through the gray sleeting rain. While the place where I was kept had a fresh blanket of snow on the ground, the farther south I traveled the more things were melting. The landscape that was once painted in white and shadows morphed into a full gray scale. It looked dirty with the slush and grime.