Witch Way to Turn (26 page)

As she began to lift her shirt, he caught her hand in his. “Let me.” Raising her arms, he let his fingers meander down until he reached the hem.

Her breathing went shallow with anticipation. Her body ached with wanting, need. Sweat beaded the nape of her neck. This was it. They were alone. Free to do whatever they liked. And Breena could think of a lot of things she’d like to do with Orin. But dammit…

“Wait.” Breena looked at him.

He didn’t move a muscle. His fingers froze against the bare skin of her stomach. She shivered, letting herself imagine for a moment how those fingers would feel on other places.

Sighing, she bit her lip before collapsing backward onto the bed.

Why couldn’t she do this? It’s what she wanted, needed. But it wasn’t right. Not with her feelings so all-over-the-place. It wasn’t fair to either boy and definitely not to herself.

Orin lay down next to her. He propped himself on one elbow and watched her. Maybe he hoped she’d say something. Give him some explanation for slamming on the brakes like that. Maybe she should. But what could she say? What would he say? What the hell was she thinking?

“I’m sorry, Orin.”

“You never have to apologize to me, Breena.” He planted a feathery kiss on her forehead. “I love you.”

Chapter 21

Unbelievable.

She’d waited her entire life to hear someone say those words. And, out of the blue, she’d heard them twice in one day.

But now. Here. At this moment. She had two sexy guys in love with her. Any girl’s dream, right? Then, why didn’t she feel elated?

How could Breena possibly choose? Be with her soul mate or follow her heart, which way to turn?

Orin was epic, generous, compassionate and willing to die for her.

Myles was kind, protective, great with Jenny and willing to...do whatever the president told him to do?

Orin had disobeyed a direct order from a queen to be with her.

Myles had brought her to Texas to see the president, because he’d been told to.

Still.

A nagging voice inside her wouldn’t let her commit to Orin. Not right now. There was something she had to do. It had seemed like it could wait before. But it couldn’t. She had to work out whatever-the-hell her twisted, confused emotions were for Myles. Even if she was pissed at him.

“I…uh–” Breena stammered.

He pressed a single finger to her lips. “You don’t have to say it back right now. When you do say it, I want to know you’re completely mine, heart and soul. And you’re not thinking about someone else.”

She gnawed on her lip.

Being with Orin made her happy. She trusted him. He may not have been honest with her from the start, but he’d come clean. Unlike Myles. She’d only found him out because the person claiming to be her grandmother had told her.

Orin had fought for her. And she was certain he’d risked his life by disobeying the queen’s–her mother’s–order to kill her.

Breena did feel something for Orin. But did she love him? Or did she love what he did for her? He comforted her in a way no other could. He took away her pain. Made her laugh. Revved up her libido. Wasn’t that enough?

So what was the problem?

Picking a hangnail on her thumb, she hopped up and walked a couple steps away from the bed. She’d thought her life was complicated before. Now look at it. What a damn mess.

New subject. “What did my mother want with you?”

“Your mother? I don’t know your mother, love.” He sounded completely confused, but his focus on her didn’t let up for a second. He faced her no matter which way she turned.

“Yes, you do. The queen.”

Oh God.
My mother wants me dead.

Between two sexy supes vying for her attention and the darkness eating away at her, she hadn’t stopped to consider…the person who’d given birth to her wanted her dead. Why would her mother want to kill her? Her knees wobbled like she stood on Jell-O.

She must’ve looked unstable because Orin stood, and she thought he might poof over to her. But she wasn’t ready for his nearness. With a hand flick she said, “I’m okay.”

He slowly sat on the bed, hands perched on the edge like he might spring up given half a glance.

Breena stood at the threshold of pain, one step forward and she’d cross into a room she may not be able to leave. She couldn’t deal. Not now. Maybe not ever. Better to be callous, shut the door…lock it even.
 

“Who told you that?” Orin asked.

“I met the president today. Apparently her son Victor knocked up the queen without
permission
, and the president covered it up so no one had to be executed.”

“Why would the queen want to kill her own daughter then?” Orin hunched forward, propped on his elbows to look at Breena.

That was a damn good question. And one Breena wanted an answer for. Her feet carried her back to him, but her mind was somewhere else. “The president seems to think the queen isn’t trying to kill me, that she’s been looking for me my entire life. But I don’t know. Her sending you says something different.”

Orin grabbed her hand, three or four times, to stop her fingers from twitching before she decided she craved something. Food might be the answer. The preternatural followed her down the hall to the kitchen. Anxiety washed over her in waves, but even more so when the thought crossed her mind that a PB and J wouldn’t do the trick and the chill within would consume her.

“What if Zadalia got it mixed up and gave you the kill order and someone else the search order?” Breena kept the questions locked and loaded.

She grabbed the jelly out of the refrigerator and tried not to pay attention to the thick red liquid in medical bags in the lettuce crisper. Vampires.

Orin handed her the peanut butter from the pantry. “She’s been the queen’s right hand since before the queen was a preternatural. She wouldn’t have lasted this long if she were prone to making such big mistakes.”

“Well, maybe she didn’t screw up. Maybe she gave you the kill order on purpose.”

“For what reason? Zadalia doesn’t even know you.”

They took turns piecing the sandwich together before Breena cut it down the middle and took a bite, hoping to quiet the hunger.

“Maybe she’s jealous of our relationship?” She took another bite, although it felt like chewing on a dishrag. Pointless.

“But I only met you after she gave me the assignment.” As he crossed his arms, he leaned back against the countertop. His pale-green gaze never left Breena’s face.

Even after she’d finished the sandwich, the hunger still gnawed at her.

Something was different. The hunger had caught fire, burning through the chill, needing to be extinguished. She grabbed a glass, filled it with water from the sink and chugged it down. But the liquid definitely wasn’t cutting it.

A foreboding crept over her, threatening to take control. How could she quiet this deafening roar?

Orin reached out, took the cup from her and set it on the counter. Wrapping an arm around her, he nipped at her earlobe while holding her close. Distraction. He got it. “We have to figure out if Zadalia screwed up or did it on purpose.”

“How?”

“I have to go see the queen.”

“I thought you already went to see her?” Breena took a step back.

“I tried, but she and Zadalia were gone.”

“Why? Wasn’t she the one who summoned you?”

“Yes. I don’t know why, though. I just knew I had to talk to her too.”

Thoughts of the queen getting her hands on Jenny saturated her mind, spreading fear through Breena like wildfire. “Why? We hadn’t figured any of this out yet.”

As he lowered his gaze, he tucked his hands into his pockets. The casual boy-next-door stance looked strange on Orin, but his concern seemed genuine nonetheless. “I wanted to beg the queen to spare you.” There was no trace of hesitation in his voice, and as his golden gaze met hers, it softened.

“But wouldn’t she kill you for disobeying?”

“It’s possible.” He closed the gap between them, pulling her to him, hip to hip, his eyes clear and bright. The hunger didn’t control him at the moment–if only she could say the same. “You make me want to be different, Breena. To be good.” He caressed her skin with slow, careful movements, making her decision even harder. “If I have you, I’ll stop killing. I’ll do whatever you ask.”

“Said like a true addict,” Dandi commented from the kitchen doorway. Breena hadn’t heard her come in.

Orin turned toward the sound of her voice. “Good to see you too, abomination.”

Dandi hissed. Her fangs released as she flung herself full force at Orin.

Breena scrambled onto the countertop, barely getting out of the line of fire in time. Orin’s ears shot up and he apparated away a millisecond before Dandi sped past the spot he’d been standing in.

He appeared directly behind her. “I’m not addicted, vampire. I’m in love.”

“You don’t know how to love. You only know how to kill.”

“That’s hilarious, coming from someone doing time for her kills.” Slowly, Orin inched backward, toward the living room, leading Dandi away from Breena.

“I’m different now, you freak of nature. I confess my sins.” She reached for her pinned-up braid and pulled out a small object. She threw it so fast Breena didn’t actually see it zip through the air, but she saw the end result–a copper hairpin stuck in Orin’s neck.

He groaned and yanked it out. “Damn you to hell.”

“No thanks. I’m working my way out.”

“Good luck, blood-sucker. Religion only controls you. Crushes your free will.” He spat out the words.

Dandi’s expression went lethal as she glared at him from the end of the couch. “Religion is saving me.” She hurled the words back at him. “No one can take away my free will.”

A dark sexy laugh sounded from his lips with a sarcastic ring. “Funny. Don’t you have a
master
?”

As her lips pulled up to expose fang, her gaze seemed to bore a hole straight through the preternatural. Then she–

“Dandi, no!” Breena cried.

But she’d already sprung at Orin and knocked him to the ground. He rallied and threw her up against the wall. Dandi body-slammed him to the floor, her fangs inches from his neck.

How could she stop this? Slice open a vein and lure the vamp away like a freaky Pied Piper? Whatever the deal…she needed to act. Do something. Fast. But she didn’t. She couldn’t force herself to move. Breena stood glued in place, incapable of looking away. It was like watching a train wreck.

Fangs and ears and fists were everywhere at once. The supes tumbled over one another, smashed through the wooden end-table next to the couch.

Orin spotted the jagged table leg and snapped it in two. Flinging himself on Dandi, he pinned her to the ground with her arms trapped behind her back. He held the makeshift stake above his head, ready to drive it into Dandi’s heart. This couldn’t be happening.

“No!” Breena screamed.

He hesitated, then drove the stake toward the vampire’s chest. Breena wouldn’t watch this. She covered her eyes and prayed he didn’t do it. If he did, she’d never forgive him. Up until this moment, the notion of him being an assassin had been just that. An idea. And, she had to admit, a kind of sexy one. He was dangerous and cool, strong and deadly, and he wanted
her
. But seeing him like this, the reality of it…was different. How could she love someone who could just end a life with no remorse?

Breena heard a long, low hiss and peeked through her fingers to see Orin standing over the vamp and the wooden stake sticking out of Dandi’s stomach. Dandi let loose a string of profanity followed by an exaggerated set of Hail Marys.

“I stopped for you, Breena.” Orin’s gaze met hers, full of unbridled longing.

For a moment, she was held in the grip of that gaze, captivated by the naked need on his face. Then something between them shifted and she only had time to notice that the puncture wound from the copper pin had sealed before he poofed out of sight. Still in the kitchen, Breena looked at the spot he’d vanished from for a long time. He’d spared Dandi’s life. But what about next time? Would he always stop? How could she be sure? And what if they broke up, would he go on a killing rampage? She couldn’t be responsible for all the life he took. How much life had he already taken?

He is, after all, an assassin,
she remind herself. What did she expect?

“If you’re finished pining after your murderous boyfriend, I could use some help,” Dandi snapped at Breena from the living room floor.

Breena took her sweet time walking over to the vampire. As she stooped down, she tried to avoid the blood pooling on the floor around Dandi’s mid-section. Guess they’d need another cleaning crew.
“He spared you.”

“Oh, gee, he’s a real saint. How will I ever repay him?”

“Would you have done the same?” Breena gripped the stake with both hands and pulled. Dandi let out a shriek. Breena gagged. “Yeah, yeah, I get it. Orin’s dangerous. But what’s he ever done to you?” She sat down, crossed her legs and kept a good distance between the blood on the floor and herself.