To Love a Shifter: A Paranormal Romance Boxed Set (87 page)

          Maricha glared at the two. “Just because I blush does not mean I don’t…you know…” Her voice trailed off. Drat it, she could not make herself say what she wanted to say.

It was so unfair! She was almost as old as they were, having been born only a few years after her brother, but because of a stupid curse, she had slept for nearly a thousand years.

When Maricha was brought out of her cursed slumber, the world had completely changed but she still
felt
seventeen while everyone else had become legends.

          Ilie and Mihail grinned at her outburst and even Silviu’s lips twitched. Only Adrijan appeared indifferent, so much so that Maricha was torn between crying tears of frustration and sinking her fangs into his neck.

          Seeing how Mihail’s younger sister was doing her best not to show how upset she was, Silviu took pity and drew her attention back to him, saying, “Consummation is the only thing required? You are sure of this?”

          Relieved to have something else to think about, Maricha recalled the exact words from the text and said slowly, “No. It was very specific, actually. The consummation cannot be a result of the direct use of a demon’s powers.” She coughed delicately. “In your case, Your Grace, that would mean
not
using your powers as an incubus.”

          Silviu nodded. “Continue.”

          “Secondly, the texts were very explicit in stating that the consummation must be
initiated
by the heartkeeper.”

          The duke’s face hardened. “My mother was taken by force, Maricha, and yet she still became my father’s heartkeeper. Are you saying she wanted to be raped---”

“Take care with your words, Your Grace.” Mihail was not an emotional man, but he was intensely protective of the only blood kin he had left. 

          Seeing the discomfort on the young girl’s face, Silviu did his best to regain control of his temper, which had been quicker to ignite as of late and was yet another suspected effect caused by heartkeeping. “I apologize, Maricha.”

          She shook her head. “It’s my mistake, Your Grace. I did not explain it thoroughly. Yet you must understand: your mother was
emotionally
forced but she…”

Maricha looked away. It hurt to speak of the past that haunted all of them. “Your Grace, she was not
physically
forced because she was being blackmailed to save the nymphs in exchange of her soul.”

          A silence heavy with grief settled in the room at her words.

          Maricha looked at her older brother, pleading for his wisdom. He nodded, giving her permission to finish what she had to say.

          “Your Grace, if what I understand of the texts is correct then it means you can either blackmail her into initiating the consummation or you can…” Maricha coughed, embarrassment once again flooding her face. “Well, you can always
seduce
her.”

****

          What a strange dream,
George thought as she woke up with a yawn. Stretching on the bed, she turned immediately to her left side, hoping she had not woken up too late again or else she would be in for another sermon from Lady Beyotch.

          George rubbed her eyes.

          And then she rubbed them again.

          And again.

          Where the fuck was the damn clock?

          She sat up, still rubbing her eyes. When she opened them, everything became clear – and unclear.

          Where the fuck was she?

          Memories flooded back and George almost wished she hadn’t woken up.

          Okay, settle down, George. Don’t panic. We need to think about this logically.

         
Last night’s events – no matter how strange – had truly happened. There was no point dwelling on it. And now, she was here, likely in their…
lair.
Yes, that would be the word to use since ‘home’ didn’t feel right for creatures like them.

          She got out of bed carefully and managed to bite back her gasp of shock and anger when she saw that she was completely naked. Her eyes made a hasty anxious survey of her surroundings.

          The bedroom was designed in hues of lilac and cream. Most of the furniture was made of wood and old-fashioned, with elaborately carvings. There was a window –
barricaded
– and two doors. Worst of all, there was no sign of her clothes.

          She took the thinnest cover off the bed and wrapped it around her body before tying the ends in a tight knot. Afterwards, George carefully made her way closer to the door, making sure to keep her footfalls absolutely silent on the carpeted floor.

          Crouching down, she pressed her head to the floor to better see the space between the door and the ground. It was partially blocked, which meant that someone was standing guard outside.

Fuck,
she thought. No way out there.

She got back to her feet, this time surveying the room for anything she could use as a weapon.

A sound trickled its way to her ears, making George tense. Someone had come and there was muffled conversation outside, followed by someone knocking on her door.

         
Fuuuuuck.

****

          “She has not tried to come out?” Ilie asked the lupine guard, Colbert, as he stopped just before the door.

          “No, milord,” Colbert answered in a respectful tone even as he struggled to hide his shock. He had heard through the grapevine that the Duke of Brimstone had found his heartkeeper, however improbable that may be. Heartkeepers had always been an urban myth to their kind, and it had been said that the Duke of Brimstone had left the kingdom in search for that one woman to share her soul with him.

          Well, the Duke had come home –
alone.
One of the ceti who had been swimming near the waters of Brimstone had been able to confirm it. Also, if the human locked behind the door was the duke’s heartkeeper, Colbert could not imagine any sane man allowing someone like the Marquis of Lunare of all people to enter her bedroom.

          The marquis might not be an incubus like the duke, but his seductive powers were the stuff of legends, the kind that even the most experienced succubus
was known to fall prey to. 

          Ilie considered his next move. He and Colbert both knew that their human captive was awake. She might not have made any noise human ears could perceive, but they were
not
human, and the sounds of her anxious breathing and rapid heartbeat were easily discerned by their senses.

           Finally, he said, “I will take over from here.”

          Colbert bowed and left without a word, but already his mind was racing, his curiosity on fire. He must tell the other lads about this and ask them what they made of it. Was the human to be the marquis’ pet? He had heard of such arrangements being made by high-ranking nobles in their society, but it was his first time to encounter such a thing in reality.

         
In no less than ten minutes, Your Grace, the news will spread like wildfire about your heartkeeper and me. Are you sure of this?

          My hands are tied, Ilie. The demon lords will not breathe a word about her because it would mean acknowledging the existence of heartkeeping, which they have long tried to bury. But they are not my only enemies and you know it. This is the only way to ensure her safety until our union is consummated.

          Well, if I am to stand in your stead, perhaps I should also---

          Do not finish the thought if you do not want me to kill you.

         
Ilie chuckled.
You must really want her.

         
Silviu’s tone became as cold and dangerous as a well-sharpened blade in his mind.
She is mine, Ilie. Do not ever forget that.

          Of course he would not. But if the human girl was the one who did the forgetting, well, that would not be Ilie’s fault and none of the Galeré would hesitate to kill her for it, not even if it meant Silviu would kill them all for the deed.

          They had vowed to protect Silviu Draghici, and so they would even if it meant dying to protect the Duke of Brimstone from himself.

****

          The knock on the door had George springing away, her body becoming taut as someone spoke from the other side in a dulcet voice. “Milady, I mean you no harm.”

         
Yeah right.

         
“I know you are not sleeping. May I come in?”

         
Not on your life, buddy.
She tiptoed to the window, testing the iron barricades. Was it possible to pull it off its hinges with a burst of adrenaline? Ah dear God, what she would do for a bottle of Gatorade right now!

          “Milady, I may not see you but I can hear you
clearly.
I know, for instance, that you have walked away---”

          “
Asshole,”
she whispered under her breath.

          “---and that you have just called me an asshole,” the voice ended with a note of amusement.

         
How the hell had he heard that?
She froze, unconsciously holding her breath as she tried to figure out her next move.

          “And now, you’re holding your breath---”

          Temper won over common sense, and George snarled, “Okay, Mr. Know-It-All, you can fucking come in since you already know my every move.”

          She expected either of the two men fighting beside her captor last night, but instead another beautiful stranger walked in. He bore a faint resemblance to her captor but rather than having long golden blond hair, his was the color of wheat, and instead of weird-colored eyes, this man’s was a bright shade of silver.

          He had a confusing aura, one that drew her in and repelled her at the same time. George’s instincts warned her that this man was dangerous, in a sweet but deadly way.

          As the human girl observed him warily, Ilie took his time studying her dispassionately in return. She was…
pretty
but not gorgeous. What was exquisite about her, however, was her body, and the thin cover she had wrapped around it was incapable of hiding her abundant curves and most especially her magnificent breasts.