Sanibel Surrender Vampire Werewolf Menage (Fanged Romance Series Book Five) (2 page)

Molly peeked beneath Heath’s big arm, her head going from man to man, her knees trembling. She would have fallen if the man behind her hadn’t supported her weight. And she still couldn’t figure out if this was a stress-induced dream or a living nightmare. She hoped for the former.

In answer to Bren’s question, the Gryph pointed at Heath and explained, “By the Dynasty Empire’s orders, I have come to collect.”

“Lies,” Heath argued, his body flashing from blue to red. “No one takes what’s mine, especially leeches!”

The Gryph bared his vampiric fangs. “My time is not wasted. She is
unclaimed
, I have come to collect.”

To Heath, Jayce asked incredulously, “Molly is
yours
?”

“Aye, obviously, I’m not in a position to claim her. Yet.”

Bren stepped away from the Gryph and looked directly at Heath. “Is she Jude’s, as well?”

“No,” Heath answered sadly.

Jayce demanded, “I want the nutshell on what happened here and make it quick.”

Heath explained, “Jude was comin’ in from guardin’ your Tatum and I had prepared a late supper. Molly refused the food and went for a soak in the tub. A half hour later, we heard her cries. She must have dozed off and had
the dream
. Immediately, I scented her as mine, but I cannot claim one who is legally bound to another, so I stayed back.” He swallowed roughly, appearing pained. “This would have been impossible without Jude’s help. The next thing either of us knew, Molly came barrelin’ down the steps and nearly flew off the balcony, as though somethin’ were chasin’ her.”

“Like a night terror?” Jayce asked, eyeing the Gryph suspiciously.

“Oh, she looked terrorized,” answered Heath. “Her eyes were glazed over and I couldn’t wake her. I had to crush her wee body against the balcony to keep her from goin’ over!”

Jayce held up his free hand, stopping Heath from continuing. He then turned back to the intruder. “Gryph, I’ve never heard of a Dynasty Guard messing with a mixed blood’s calling dream. That’s low, even for a vampire.”

“I would have caught the female the moment she jumped,” the Gryph argued, rustling his wings.

Jayce bared his canines, though he kept a deceptively even tone. “Bren, take care of Molly, so I can send my reply back to the Dynasty Empire.”

“On it.” When Bren reached for her, Heath snarled at him. He bared his canines back at Heath and said, “Let’s get something straight.” Bren pulled his shirt over his head and then tugged if over Molly’s body, covering her nudity. “Until I see your mark on Molly’s throat, you have no claim over her, meaning you answer to her five brothers-n-law on so many levels it would take the better part of the night to go over them.”

“Bren,” Molly whispered as he lifted her in his arms and started carrying her through Gage’s penthouse. “I’m dreaming, right. It’s bad…but it’s still just a dream.” He stared down at her, his cobalt eyes glowing until they nearly burned her retinas. “Yes, Molly you are dreaming. And although upon wakening, you’ll remember part of this dream, the part significant to your Heat, you won’t recall any of this conversation or the
bad
stuff that happened, okay?”

Blood-curdling screams erupted from the balcony, followed by rambling, gurgling pleas for Jayce’s mercy…then absolutely nothing.

“Oh, my God,” Molly whispered. “Jayce k-killed the winged man.”

“No, Jayce sent back an important message, although the Gryph will now have to walk instead of fly in order to deliver it.” He looked to the side. “Heath, go through Molly’s luggage, find something comfortable for her to sleep in. And also make a call to Gage. If you aren’t inked up within the hour, you’ll be claiming a married woman before the sun rises. And we cannot have that, can we?”

Waves of relaxation descended upon Molly. “Married woman,” she echoed Bren. “Wilson…Wilson doesn’t love me anymore.”

Bren glanced back down, while carrying her up the endless slate steps leading to the second floor. “I know Wilson, and he does love you. But Molly, what you saw, him and Dibosa…that’s what your husband does. He will never be faithful to you. So can you live with that, not knowing where Wilson’s really at or whom he’s really with?”

“That’s why I ran away, came here,” she said with a yawn, her eyelids growing incredibly heavy.

“Oh, Molly, don’t you see?” Bren placed her on the bed and touched his fingertips to her forehead. “You didn’t run away, you answered your calling.” Then everything went completely black.

“True, happy noonday,” he greeted her with a wicked grin. “Sweet dreams?”

“Not at all,” she muttered.

“Then why are you flushin’ so?” he asked. “Come on, I’m bored. Care to share?”

Molly sat up, pushing the hair away from her face. “Share?” Four hands sliding over her in that copper bathtub. A hot body pressed against her back, then… “I don’t remember,” she lied. By the roll of his unusual eyes, Heath knew it. But how? “Okay, let’s just say I don’t want to, uh, share.” Molly qualified, feeling her face heating.

“Hmm.”

“Hmm?” she echoed, watching the sun dance through his ebony hair, catching highlights of blue. He was past sinful, his body…there was too much of him. However, Molly had to admit that Heath was decadent, even in the way he moved across the floor, liquid and confident. “What’s
hmm
supposed to mean, exactly?”

“Why do women analyze everythin’ to death? Forget it,” he laughed, “don’t answer that. How do you feel?”

“Why?”

He sat next to Molly, dipping the mattress beneath his weight, though he didn’t touch her. “Well, last night, when you arrived here, you were quite upset about your tosser of a husband.”

The shame
. “Yeah, well, sorry about that. I found my husband Wilson…never mind.” She looked down, having no recollection of dressing for bed. “Speaking of last night, did I drink?”

“Not that I recall, though I was working most of the night.” A rust-colored tattoo stretched from his right jaw, down the side of his throat, ending somewhere beneath his shirt. She didn’t remember him having that when she first arrived.

“What kind of tattoo is that? Is it new?” Which really wasn’t Molly’s business, why should she care about his body art? She had things to do and the longer she stayed.... Oh, she had a sick feeling balling in the pit of her stomach.

“Yes, the ink is new, hurt like a bugger.” A tilt of his head. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I will be as soon as I leave here.”

“You just arrived yesterday,” he argued, one brow arching. “Am I such a terrible host?”

“No,” Molly said more to herself, than to Heath, “but I’ll be damned if I turn into one of my sisters, and this place is messing with my head.”

“You should call your sister back, you know.”

“So Renee can tear into me about Bane some more? I don’t think so.” Molly laughed wearily. “I’m sick of hearing Bane’s recitation of the Miranda law, modified for my life as he sees fit, telling me what I can and cannot do. Last I checked I was a grown woman, not his little girl.” She picked up her fork, scraping the mushrooms from her chicken. Shaking her head, she signaled for more wine instead. On a day like today, food would never stay down.

“You know, a few months ago, when Arian brought you and your grandmother down to Miami, I thought the best thing you could do was to turn around and head right back here to Fort Myers.” Gage MacGelton gave her a discerning look, and since he was truly stunning, it just didn’t intimidate her the way he intended. “Now, I’m second guessing myself, which is a rarity.” He pushed back his finished plate and lifted his wineglass.

“Miami is not home,” she grumbled, checking her watch. To Molly’s surprise, it was a quarter past seven. She glanced over Gage’s shoulder, towards the bar. The Blue Pelican was wall to wall tonight, so downing a drink or six and finding an anonymous, celebratory penis shouldn’t prove difficult. After all, she was a single woman, and forgetting every damned minute of her afternoon court hearing with Wilson would improve her outlook. Forgetting the past few months, however, would save her
sanity
. On the bright side, things could only get better, meaning she’d already hit rock bottom.

“Well, you didn’t give Miami a chance. Think about your income. Not that budget cuts are your fault, but your position at the Edison and Ford Winter Estates has been…”

“I was demoted from a full time curator to a part time docent, although my work load was doubled,” she finished for him, while taking a sidelong glance at a hot piece of ass strolling by their table. And…there she went, her skin erupting in flames. In an effort to cool down, Molly picked up her water goblet and discretely rolled the condensation across her forehead.

“The budget cuts have cut
your
budget down significantly,” Gage said, studying her over his glass. “By tomorrow morning, you have to move everything out of your and Wilson’s condo.”

“I heard you the first time. Got it. Stop talking to me like Bane does. I’m not an errant child on the verge of a temper tantrum.” Sure her mouth got her into trouble more times than not, but that was in the past. Or so she hoped.

He continued as though she hadn’t spoken. “Selling your condominium will take some time, and since you need the money from the sale in order to purchase another property, you should accept Jayce’s kind offer.”

Jayce wanted to buy her a nice place on the water, but she refused. She wouldn’t be beholden to anyone. “I can make it just fine.”

Gage smiled faintly. “In this economy, there’s a high demand for rentals so they’re not cheap.”

“Economics…supply and demand, learned the circle of financial life in college. By the way, thanks for not making things sound pathetically impossible,” Luckily, the server picked that time to refill her wineglass, so she downed it in three unladylike gulps. “Continue,” Molly demanded when she came up for air. “Don’t hold back, Gage.”

He gave her a look that said ‘Honey, I
am
holding back’. “I have arranged for movers to gather your things and take them to Renee’s house for storage. Perhaps you would like to be at the condo to make sure they don’t leave anything of yours behind. No point in having to call Wilson later, asking for overlooked items.”

“Thanks, I’ll be there.” However, she hoped that Wilson wouldn’t be. “What time?”

“The movers are scheduled for ten-thirty, though we can change the time, just let me know now.”

“Time’s fine.” Renee wanted Molly to move into her house. Her mother demanded that she come back home. And Tatum’s
other
husband had offered her a one bedroom condo, here at The Blue Pelican, if she decided against Miami. Considering the latter, Bren was the only one offering her privacy. “I told Bren I’d move into whatever he’s holding for me here.”

Gage pulled a numbered card key from his pocket. “It’s on the first floor of the Seminole building. You can step onto the beach from your back slider.”

The beach was the furthest thing from her mind. “I’m paying Bren rent.”

“You will insult him, if you do.”

“Then Bren will have to be insulted.” She crossed her legs, fidgeting. “I’ll tell Tatum not to expect me back in Miami until she goes into labor.” She stared down at her wedding rings, wondering why she hadn’t yet pawned them. “And that next trip will be just to help my sister with the new baby. I won’t stay permanently. I’m not running away again, Gage.”

“I never implied that you should run.” He kept his expression neutral. “Distance has a way of putting things into perspective. We all need perspective, right? Divorce is painful. Whether you still love the person you are divorcing or not, it doesn’t matter, because it’s brutal, tears the flesh from your bones. Take some time to recoup. You need it.”

“I know what I need.” She
needed
space. She
needed
to understand those erotically strange dreams she encountered almost nightly. “We argued this point before we left the courthouse. Why can’t you drop it?”

“Because I don’t understand why you would stay where you harbor painful memories of Wilson, where you cannot sleep soundly? My penthouse is yours for as long as you need it.” He lifted his briefcase and pulled out her court documents. “Do you have any questions regarding the last-minute amendments we made?”

Holding up her hands, she waved off the legal documents, didn’t want to read them again. “Why are you being so nice to me? You hate me.”

“I don’t hate you.” He slid the documents back into his briefcase. “In a way, you’re a lot like me. At least, the way I used to be. You want what you want. There’s nothing wrong with that so long as you maintain honor to achieve what you want. I learned that lesson the hard way. I credit my life’s transitions to finding my Azure. She changed something
significant
inside me. Before Azure, your sister did. Tatum always accepted me for who I was, understood me for what I was, and her unconditional friendship carried me along when I would have given up.”

“You’re like Tatum’s best friend.” And she couldn’t understand it.

“Tatum should be
your
best friend, Molly. Call her more often. If anyone can see you through your recent life’s transition, it’s Tatum.”