Undone (The Amoveo Legend) (3 page)

Pete knew exactly what kind of
nonsense
Marianna was talking about, and that bad feeling was growing by the second. Could it be possible that Hayden was her mate? Was she actually supposed to… he didn’t finish the thought or couldn’t. Either way, he would be damned if he let her get mixed up with a shit bag like that.

“Yeah.” Pete shrugged and fished the keys out of his pocket. “Well, you know how Marianna can be.”

“Mmm-hmmm,” Olivia murmured and walked to the door of the club. Before she went inside she threw one last comment over her shoulder. “She can be a real bear.”

Pete stood in the open door of the driver’s side and watched Olivia and Damien go into the club. He couldn’t help but wonder if good old Olivia knew more than she was letting on.

***

He pulled up in front of Marianna’s brownstone on 89th Street, and much to his surprise, she was awake. She’d been dead silent the entire ride home, and the few times he’d glanced in the rearview mirror, she looked completely passed out. Pete got out and opened the door for her and told himself that he was only opening it because it was part of his job—but that was a lot of crap.

He did it because it was the gentlemanly thing to do, and he couldn’t help but hear his grandmother’s voice in his head.
A
real
man
always
opens
a
door
for
a
lady.
She’d been gone for over ten years, but her voice was still there. Pete wondered what his grandmother would say if she knew this lady could change into a bear. Would the rule still apply?

Every single thought was driven from him as a pair of long, shapely legs slid through the open door, and her stiletto-clad feet rested on the curb. He extended a hand as his gaze wandered leisurely from the tips of her black painted toenails, along the curve of her calf, all the way up her firm looking thighs, and finally landing on the hem of that barely there, little black dress. His mouth went dry, and his cock twitched as every cell of his body tuned into hers.

He was in an enormous amount of trouble.

“It’s as I suspected.” Her voice ripped him from his thoughts, and he forced himself to look her in the face. Her eyes smiled mischievously as she slipped her warm hand into his. “You’re a leg man.”

“What?” Pete blinked. He tightened his grip on her fingers and stepped aside so she could get out of the car. He cursed himself for getting busted ogling her like some kind of horny kid. What the hell was the matter with him? “No,” he added quickly, as he looked away. “I was just wondering how it is that you’re not freezing your ass off in that dress.”

“I’m warm-blooded. The cold doesn’t faze me in the least.” She stood on surprisingly steady feet as he helped her from the car. Twenty minutes ago she’d been stumbling drunk, and now she’s stone-cold sober? Perhaps she wasn’t as drunk as she let on.

Interesting.

“Uh-huh.” Pete narrowed his eyes and looked her up and down.

“Walk me up to my apartment?” A smile played at her lips as she sashayed to the steps of her building.

Pete shut the car door and joined her at the foot of the steps as he surveyed the surroundings. It was the cop in him. He never could breathe easy, especially in a city like New York. However, at the moment, everything looked clear, and there wasn’t a soul on the street except the two of them. Why would there be? This Upper West Side neighborhood may have been one of the only areas in the city that wasn’t still populated at three in the morning. However, if the Purists really wanted to get to her, they could blink their asses here in a matter of seconds—hence the gun.

He caught her studying him with an impish smile. She linked her arm through his and peered at him with a look that screamed trouble—and sex. Pete swallowed the lump in his throat and willed himself to keep his hands in his pockets.

“C’mon,” she whispered. “You’re my bodyguard and my chauffeur. You have to guard my body and chauffeur me all the way to my apartment.”

Pete cleared his throat and started up the steps with her delicate arm still linked through his. He said nothing as she keyed into the building, and they walked up one flight to her apartment. For a brief second, he wished it was a fifth floor walk-up, just so he would have an excuse to keep her body brushing against his for a little while longer. He tried to keep his mind on the job and to remember that this woman’s safety was his job—and that she’s his buddy’s sister.

You don’t nail your buddy’s sister. It’s unbreakable guy code.

Her hip bumped enticingly into his as they climbed the last couple of steps at the top. Pete used every ounce of willpower to keep from looking at her legs or her spectacular cleavage. Sweat broke out on his forehead, and he tried to think of something else—anything else—except the woman on his arm.

“You know,” she sighed as she slid the key into the lock of her apartment door, “you’ve been driving me around town for the past two months, but I don’t think you’ve ever been inside my apartment.”

“Nope.” Pete stepped back, kept his hands in his pockets and both eyes on her. What was she up to? First she pretends to be wasted and bails out on that Hayden guy, and now, she’s hitting on him. What is her endgame with this?

Marianna flipped the lock and arched one eyebrow. “Care to break that streak tonight?”

He swallowed the urge to scream,
hell
yes
, and instead bit out, “I don’t think so.” Pete shook his head even though his body was screaming yes.

“Are you sure?” she asked as she grabbed his tie and twirled it playfully around one finger. Her large dark eyes clapped onto his. She tugged the annoying garment and pulled him closer.

“Yes,” he whispered. Pete willed his body not to move, to be strong and hold his ground, but it was no use.

The enticing scent of peaches wafted over Pete as she held him captive. His hands curled into fists in his pockets as he struggled to keep from touching her and resisted the urge to lace his fingers through that silky looking hair. Pete bit back the driving need to taste her. His entire body hummed with arousal and awareness as the heat from her body radiated along his.

Her mouth hovered dangerously close, and her eyes glinted back with the unmistakable glaze of desire. It would be so easy to dip lower and take just one taste.

“Come inside,” she whispered.

Everything seemed to move in slow motion, and somewhere in that odd displacement of time and space, his mouth settled over hers. A rush of sweetness flooded him as her lush, gorgeous lips fused with his.

She tasted like peaches too… and champagne.

Marianna ran her tongue along his. He yanked his hands from his pockets and slipped his fingers into that long wavy hair that did indeed feel like silk. He moaned as she linked her arms around his neck and pulled him closer. Devouring her lips, Pete pinned her against the door and drank greedily from her soft, pliant mouth. Her full breasts crushed against his chest, and all he could think about was getting closer.

His body, taut with desire, sensed every single spot where her heated skin touched his. However, amid the haze of lust he heard the voice of reason screaming at him to stop, listing all the reasons why he definitely shouldn’t be doing this.

She’s your friend’s sister.

She’s Amoveo, and you’re human.

She’s got some predestined shapeshifter mate out there, and you’re not it.

She
can’t ever be yours.

“I can’t do this,” he murmured against her lips.

Pete squeezed his eyes shut and leaned his forehead against hers. Breathing heavily, he pulled her arms from around his neck and stepped away. But as her hands slipped from his, he noticed with more than a little disappointment how quickly cold replaced warmth. Her tousled hair that just seconds ago had been tangled between his fingers spilled over her bare shoulders as she looked at him through confused eyes.

He wondered if she could sense his heart pounding. It felt like it was about to burst through his rib cage, and the wounded expression on her face only made it beat harder.

“Fine,” she seethed. Hurt and embarrassment flickered over her features as she turned her attention back to the keys dangling from the door. She looked at him like she wanted to kill him, or at the very least, kick him in the shin. “Forget it.”

“Shit.” Pete sighed in frustration and ran his hands over his face. “It’s not that I don’t want to, believe me,” he said softly. “But half an hour ago, you were completely shit-faced and hanging out with some other guy at the club.”

His jaw clenched as he fought for a plausible reason as to why he wouldn’t take her in that apartment and feast on that gorgeous body until sunrise. The truth was that all he wanted to do was spend the rest of the night showing her just how badly he wanted her, but that simply wasn’t in the cards.

“Forgive me if I don’t shift gears as quickly as you do,” he snapped. Looking into her stormy eyes, a potent mixture of pent-up lust and frustration boiled over and made him sound harsher than he intended. “Besides, I don’t think Dante would appreciate it.”

It was a low blow to turn the tables, but he needed to find a way to put out the flames as quickly as possible, and ticking her off seemed like the most efficient way.

It was a shitty thing to do, and he knew it.

“Typical.” Marianna glared at him through furious eyes. “First of all, that guy at the club is a
complete
asshole, and I pretended to be drunker than I was, so I could get out of there and get away from him. Secondly, you have done nothing but ogle me and flirt with me from the moment you laid eyes on me, so don’t act innocent and shocked by my proposal.” She poked him in the chest with one finger, which hurt more than he expected. “And lastly, my brother doesn’t get one damn bit of say about who I bring into my apartment or my bed.”

Pete opened his mouth to say something, but Marianna slammed the door in his face before he could say anything else. Nothing killed a hard-on like having a door slammed in your face—except maybe that wounded look in her eye when he rejected her.

Pete swore under his breath and headed back downstairs. He needed a cold shower and a few hours of sleep before he’d have the strength to face her again. He wasn’t sure if she’d cool off anytime soon, but there was one thing he knew with absolute certainty… now that he’d had a taste of her, he only wanted more.

The indigo and silver haze of the dream realm surrounded her like a warm blanket, but this time it was different because she wasn’t alone. Marianna wandered through the fog of the dream realm, as she’d done countless nights before, but tonight another energy signature permeated the air.

Pete
was
here.

Her
heart
raced
as
dozens
of
questions
swarmed
her
mind, but her volatile stream of emotions made the fog thicken and the colors pulse vibrantly. She stood for a moment, struggling to get her bearings amid the swirling clouds.

All
Amoveo
walked
the
dream
realm
in
search
of
their
predestined
mates
because
the
spiritual
connection
was
a
crucial
part
of
the
mating
process. She’d spent endless hours searching for that one person the universe selected
for her, and she had practically given up… but he was here.

Marianna
closed
her
eyes
and
sent
her
own
energy
signature, her spiritual fingerprint, in search of his, hoping she could pinpoint where he was.

In
the
club, she’d heard his voice clearly in her mind, but she suspected he had no idea what he’d done. He didn’t know what she was or that the Amoveo existed, so how could he possibly be aware of how significant that telepathic contact was?

What
puzzled
her
most
was
why
hadn’t it happened sooner. She’d spent a good deal of time with him over the past two months, so why now? If he really were her mate, then why wouldn’t the connection have been made when they first met?

Frustration
clawed
at
her. She shook her head, trying to clear out the confusion and litany of questions, and refocused her energy on finding him. If Pete were her mate, whether he was human or Amoveo, they would have to connect in the dream realm. The mental connection was more crucial than the physical one.

Physical? Damn it. That’s about all she could think of
since that kiss. Her mind wandered to the sinful taste of him, and she bit her lip. He tasted like a warm summer
night. Hot. Desperate. Urgent. Intense. Over far too soon.

Her
plan
was
to
kiss
him
and
prove
that
this
man, this human, couldn’t possibly be her mate. However, the instant his mouth touched hers, she knew that he was. There was no denying it, but she still couldn’t wrap her brain around it.

Her
mate
was
human.

She
knew
that
the
only
way
to
absolutely, positively prove it once and for all would be to find him in the dream realm. Hybrids could dream-walk, at least that’s what she’d heard from her brother. But she’d never heard of a human dream-walking before.

What the fuck is going on? Who’s there?

The
deep
timbre
of
his
voice
cut
through
the
cobalt-hued mist that pulsed and rippled. Marianna’s heart raced as his mind connected with hers. The fog dissipated, and in seconds the dreamscape clearly revealed itself—but it was not at all what she was expecting.

The
realm
she
stood
in
wasn’t created by her. For the first time, she’d been pulled into someone else’s dream plane—Pete’s.

They
stood
in
a
heavily
wooded
area, which reminded Marianna of the Catskills, where her brother had a cabin. The impossibly tall pine trees were dappled with snow, which continued to fall around them in fat, lazy snowflakes, and Pete stood in the middle, looking bewildered. Clad in jeans and a plaid flannel shirt, with an ax in his hand, he looked like a lumberjack. The poor guy gaped as if she’d materialized out of thin air—which she probably had as far as he was concerned.

His
dark
eyebrows
flew
up, and a smile cracked his handsome face, as he looked her up and down.
Now this is what I call a dream.
He
swung
the
ax, lodged it in the hunk of wood he’d been chopping, and stalked slowly toward her, but she held her ground, uncertain of how to handle the situation.

When, exactly, was she supposed to tell him what she was? Or what they were to each other? Is she supposed to just blurt it out in the middle of a dream? Probably not. Wouldn’t he simply dismiss it as only a dream? Why didn’t all this mate crap come with instructions?

Pete
closed
the
distance
between
them
until
his
body
was
just
inches
from
hers. His heated gaze skimmed her up and down as his thick energy signature circled her like a rope and willed her closer. It was even stronger here in the dream realm and more intoxicating as well. She almost felt stoned and willed herself not to jump his bones like the sex-starved woman she was.

Really?
Marianna
cocked
one
eyebrow.
What does that mean? I’m the woman of your dream or something like that?
she
asked
playfully, realizing that this definitely wasn’t the time to tell him who she was. She decided to let him take the lead and see where things went.
So now that you have me here in your dreams, what are you going to do with me?

Pete
trailed
one
finger
up
her
bare
arm.
Anything I want, I suppose,
he
murmured
seductively. Marianna shuddered and let out a sigh as his skin sizzled along hers. He slipped his fingers beneath the thin strap of her nightgown and brushed his thumb along her collarbone, all the while never taking his eyes off hers.
But you know what I really want?

No, this is your dream… so why don’t you tell me?

I want to know what turns you on.
He
caressed
the
sensi
tive
skin
along
her
neck
as
he
whispered
to
her.
Tell me.

A
smile
crept
over
Marianna’s face, and her libido went into overdrive. He wanted to know what turned her on? He was more concerned about her needs and desires, even though this was his dream. Now that was sexy… and the answer was simple.

You
, she breathed.
The way you look at me. It’s as if you can see right through me, and somehow, I know that even if I wanted to hide from you—I couldn’t.

Marianna
licked
her
lower
lip
as
her
eyes
wandered
over
the
hard
planes
of
his
face
.
Goddamn
she
wanted
him, and if he didn’t make a move soon, dream or no dream, she was going to lose her senses and maul him. But since one rejection a night was all her ego could take, she let him maintain control.

You’re right,
he
whispered.
I do see you
. Pete slipped his arm around her waist and tugged her up against his rock-hard frame.
You’re the most spectacular woman I’ve ever laid my eyes on. You’re gorgeous, tough as nails, smart, and you don’t take crap from anyone.
He
pushed
the
strap
of
her
nightgown
down, traced the curve of her shoulder, and blazed a trail of kisses along her throat.
I know the secrets you keep, Marianna,
he
said
between
kisses.
I know what’s underneath this satiny skin.

You do, do you?
Amused
and
turned
on, Marianna arched back, allowing him access to the sensitive skin. Her eyes fluttered closed as she sank into his firm embrace. The snow fell gently, and Marianna could swear she heard it sizzle as it hit her heated skin. Her hands found their way underneath his shirt, and she ran her nails along his lower back.
So, what is it that you see?

Pete
kissed
his
way
back
up
her
neck
and
nibbled
on
her
ear, but before he could answer her, the low, menacing growl of a bear rumbled through the dream realm. Pete spun around and instinctively shielded Marianna’s body with his.
What the hell?
He
glanced
over
his
shoulder
at
her.
That’s some rotten timing.

Marianna
clung
tightly
to
him
as
a
pair
of
familiar, glowing black eyes glared back from the shadows of the trees. Only one person had ever looked at her with such unmistakable disdain—Artimus.

His
massive
furred
body
lumbered
out
of
the
shadows
while
keeping
that
deadly
glare
locked
on
Pete. His clawed paws left craterlike footprints in the once pristine snow, and his dark energy signature soiled the serenity of the realm.

Before
she
could
utter
a
word, Artimus stood on his hind legs and bellowed triumphantly into the air. To Pete it was just a bear in his dream, but Marianna knew it meant far more—Artimus was gloating. He’d invaded Pete’s dream realm with ease, and Marianna knew that if Pete were attacked in the dream plane, he wouldn’t have a fighting chance.

A
mortal
wound
in
the
dream
meant
he
was
a
dead
man.

Holy shit
, Pete said under his breath.
I know this is only a dream, but that is one big goddamn bear.

You have to wake up, Pete.
Marianna
gripped
his
arms
and
shook
him.
Right now!

Artimus
bellowed
louder, but Pete laughed.
It’s only a dream. Right, Yogi?
He
laughed
harder.
Where’s Boo Boo?

Marianna
spun
him
to
face
her.
I mean it, Pete. Wake up!
She
glanced
at
Artimus, who had dropped to all fours and was advancing with slow, deliberate steps. Fear clogged her throat, and she shook him harder.
Wake up, you stubborn son of a bitch!

Artimus
growled
louder
and
started
running
toward
them. In one last-ditch effort, Marianna hauled off and slapped Pete across the face as hard as she could.
Wake up,
she
screamed.

The
mist
swept
in
and
swallowed
Pete’s shocked face from her sight. Shaking with fear, relief, and fury, she searched the swirling clouds for Artimus.
Come out, you coward. How dare you try to assassinate a human in the dream realm?

I came out tonight looking for you, but imagine my surprise to find a human man here with you?
His
gravelly
voice
barreled
around
her like a storm.
I am wondering how it’s possible that you’re dream-walking with a human? How and why?