Filed to story: Chasing the Rejected Luna's Heart (Clara & Liam) Book PDF Free
Even Liam’s eyes widened at the sight of the blade. “Where the hell did you get that?”
I ignored him, stalking past the table and leaving my groceries behind. I’d lost my appetite for a damn month anyway. Jax called after me, but I ignored his indignation and kept walking.
* * *
I wasn’t sure if Alexander was biding his time and letting me cool off, or he’d just realized it wasn’t worth it and given up, but either way, I hadn’t heard from him in days and that was just fine with me.
Maybe if I told myself that enough times, I’d actually believe it. I was trying not to think about how I was going to manage my next heat without crawling back to him, assuming the incomplete mark made it as torturous as the first. It was possible he didn’t know heats weren’t connected to the lunar cycle when he told me to come back on the full moon, which seemed tenable enough, since I doubted vampires took any in-depth courses on shifter anatomy. The more cynical side of me, however, was convinced he did know and it was just a ploy to guarantee I’d come back to him at a certain time. No way in hell I was doing that, but it wasn’t like I could just waltz up to some random vampire and ask him to compel me, either, if it happened again.
All I could really do was hope that Cole was right, and staving off the heat would be enough to buy me some time. Maybe the first time was rougher than the next would be.
I knew Marcus would be there for me at least, and probably Cole. We hadn’t actually spoken about that night, but he’d been considerably less crunchy when he showed up around the bar, so that was progress. I thought. When I’d asked Sam if she had ever experienced anything like it, hoping maybe it was just a shifter thing and not specifically a mark thing, she’d just looked worried.
It was Monday morning and I had the day off, so I decided to sleep in and let myself hide from my problems for just a couple more hours. When there was a knock at the door and I looked over at my alarm to see it was still well before noon, I groaned.”Go away,” I called before rolling over and wrapping myself in a tighter burrito in the blanket. It was probably just some drunk patron who’d wandered off looking for the bathroom. That happened from time to time. Sam wasn’t nearly cruel enough to wake me up this early.
The knocking persisted, and I threw the covers off with a growl. “What the hell do you–?” I flung the door open and froze when I saw Cole standing there. He was dressed in his usual I-just-got-out-of-a-photoshoot-and-decided-to-go-hang-out-with-celebrities-at-an-exclusive-club vibe going on.
Of course I had to be wearing a nightshirt with Care Bears on it.
He paused and glanced over me, his gaze lingering on the cartoon bears stretched across my tits. He raised an eyebrow. “Care Bears? Really?””They’re cute, and it was on sale,” I said in what felt like a hollow defense, folding my arms. His eyes were bright with amusement and far too alert for this time of the morning. “You do know it’s my day off, right?””That’s why I’m here,” he said flatly. “Get dressed. I’m taking you somewhere.”
I stared at him. The guy issued orders so flippantly, and with such confidence I was pretty sure even the queen would have given a moment’s pause before telling him to go to hell, or whatever the royal equivalent was. “Taking me where?””If I told you, that would ruin the surprise,” he countered. “I’ll be downstairs.”
With that, he turned on the heel of his shiny brogues and sauntered toward the steps. I was left staring after him for a few moments, trying to process what the hell had just happened. That was par for the course when it came to my interactions with Cole in general.
With another growl of irritation, mostly at myself for folding like a freshly dried sheet, I went back into my room to get dressed. As I stared at my closet, I realized I had no idea what to wear since he hadn’t given me so much as a clue where we were going or what we were doing. And Cole’s outfit wasn’t much of a tip either, considering he always dressed like that.
I decided on a pair of dark wash jeans that hung low enough on my hips to bare my midriff in most tops. I wasn’t exactly rocking a six pack like Tiffany, but I’d been putting in extra hours at the gym to burn off the excess energy in hopes it would keep my wolf in line, and I felt like showing off. The black tank I chose was made of a comfy material that still looked a little dressier than a T-shirt, so I figured that was versatile enough. Once I pulled on my boots, I walked downstairs and found he was standing behind the bar where I’d expected Sam to be, looking over the inventory clipboard we kept beneath the counter.”Watch out,” I called as I rounded the corner of the stairwell, putting enough alarm into my tone it made him look up in confusion. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were actually working.”
His confusion turned to mild irritation, and he flipped me off before setting the clipboard back. He pulled on a pair of dark shades that were undeniably designer and made him look even more unfairly cool. “Come on. I want to get out of here before my sister shows up.”
I snorted, since I knew perfectly well why he’d want to avoid her. Sam had a laundry list of shit he was supposed to do, and I was sure she wouldn’t think whatever he had planned was a worthy use of his time. I followed him out of the bar since I was eager to get out for my own reasons. Sam never asked me to work on my days off, but she had some seriously potent puppy eyes.
I squinted at the sunlight, shielding my eyes.”Spending too much time with the vampire?” Cole taunted, walking out back toward the lot.
I rolled my eyes and followed him over to the bright yellow sports car he treated like his firstborn child. “What, you aren’t afraid I’ll claw up your upholstery?””I can always have you declawed,” he shot back, opening the passenger side door.
I raised an eyebrow at the chivalrous gesture and slipped in. The car smelled like sandalwood, probably from the reed diffuser clipped onto the vent. Even his air freshener was posh.”You know, you really should’ve been born a vampire,” I said as he got in and started the engine. “You’ve got the ostentatious thing down pat.”
He just snorted and pulled onto the road. He usually drove like a bat out of hell, but to my relief, he seemed at least vaguely cognizant of traffic laws. Maybe he was worried I’d claw the leather, after all.”You’re really not going to tell me what this super secret outing is all about?” I asked, glancing over at him. It was a chance to take him in while his eyes were on the road, and not one I had the willpower to pass up. He might have been an asshole, but damn, he was pretty. And after the unexpected tenderness he’d shown that night while taking care of me, I had to admit, there was more to him than the frigid exterior he kept so firmly in place.”Nope,” he answered without a hint of give in his smooth voice. “I take it you won the argument with Marcus.””What argument?””You staying at his place,” he answered.”It wasn’t really his decision,” I said pointedly.”Fair enough.” He looked over at me. “But he’s just looking out for you. And after everything that happened, he has reason.””I thought you two double teaming me was a one-time thing,” I shot back.