Page 33 of Night Fury
The only answer she received back was a growl.
“—yeah, you know man, bitches can’t be trusted,” the man, clearly unaware of how close he was to his own death, said with a shrug and a sly grin, as if he was winning a game.
Behind her, Luke buried his lips in her hair, parting the strands. He kissed her head but then she felt the sharpness of his fangs as he grinned against her scalp.
Fuck.
“I’m sorry, Luke, but I can’t let you get in trouble for me.”
Johanna used her power to freeze his body in place. The ease and speed of which her ability worked surprised her, but she didn’t have time for the shock. She refocused, making sure not to put Luke under full paralysis. He could still hear and experience his surroundings, but he would not be able to move.
She closed their telepathic connection. Johanna didn’t want to hear what she assumed would be curses and demands for her to let him go, but even with that closure she felt his anger, and it was now directed at her.
So be it.
She took his anger and let it meld with her own. Together they created a dark explosion that flew through her veins and ignited her resolve. She looked at the man. “Shut up—”
He balled his hands into fists. “Now you listen here—”
“No,youlisten!” Johanna hissed. “When a woman says no, she means no! How many times does someone have to say that for you to get it through your fucking head? What do you think you are, God’s gift to the female race?”
He laughed in her face. “Oh you’ve got a mouth on you. Has your man never taught you how to use it right? I’m sure you could keep him a lot longer if you learned how to shut up.”
Her eyes narrowed and she smirked. “And I’m sure if you knew what to do with your mouth you wouldn’t be here drunk, alone, and stumbling over your own two feet.”
“You bitch—”
Johanna was tired.For just one night, onefuckingnight, she didn’t want anything to get in the way. Not her endless list of issues and criticisms, not her past experiences, nothing. And it had worked, she hadmadeit work, and they were having a great night! But now this incredibly self-entitled piece of shit had ruined everything,and she fucking refused to let this continue.
It was easy to get into his mind. He had zero defenses, and with the liquor coursing through his veins he was a fucking mess. Still, she wasn’t gentle about it, making it hurt as she slipped herself in. The mind was a map of chaos to someone not familiar with it, but Johannalivedhere. The mind, even if it belonged to another person, was her home, so it was simple to find the place she was looking for: the faculties for relieving the bowels and bladder. All it took was a gentle push, and then she was out just as quickly as she’d slipped in.
Her grin grew into a small laugh. “Never mind. Even if you knew what to do with your mouth, no one would ever,everwant a man who smells like shit and can’t even hold his own piss.”
Horror dawned his face. He looked down, watching the wetness spreading over his pants. His eyes widened, and then he was running past Johanna and Luke and into the male stalls.
Johanna laughed again, a full body laugh that had her bending forward and then back as she rocked on her heels. But when she brushed against Luke’s still frozen form, she paused. The victory that pumped through her died, because while she’d saved the man’s life, Luke definitely wasn’t going to be happy.
Instead of being timid, Johanna tilted her head up to his and pulled her magic back slowly. He glared at her, and she glared right back.
“It was for your own good,” she said as soon as he began to move.
“Don’teverdo that again,” he hissed.
“Then don’tmakeme do that again,” she snarled back. “Now are we going to go, or do I need to use my power to drag you out of here too?”
He withdrew his arm from around her stomach, and she let his hand go. He mockingly waved in front of her. “After you, sunflower.”
She rolled her eyes at him and flicked her hair behind her shoulder, making sure to hit him with it. He made a lighter rumbling sound in his chest, and even though she knew he was upset with her, she smiled. Oddly enough, she found that she liked the feeling of pushing his buttons more than she liked how her normal apologizing attitude made her feel. Johanna filed that away and allowed him to lead them both toward the door and out of the restaurant.
CHAPTER 14
He was pissed. No, he was absolutely fuckinglivid.They were having a wonderful day, and then this fucking asshole had to come and harasshismate! Luke wanted to rip into his neck with his bare hands, to watch the fear gather in his eyes right before the life drained out of them. He wanted to bathe in his blood and offer his head to Johanna on a fucking platter.
Logically, he realized that might have been taking it a little too far and that Johanna hadn’t asked him for any of those items, but emotionally he didn’t give a damn. The moment, the fuckingsecondthat dipshit had looked at his mate, even had the balls to speak to her, much less in the demeaning manner he had, the best thing he could be was a skinned rug for Johanna to walk over. She deserved so much better, and Luke was tired of hearing—and now having firsthand experience of—her not getting it. If it was that bad when he was there, how bad had it been when he wasn’t? No, he didn’t need to ask that question. He already knew, and that made everything worse.
He also couldn’t believe Johanna had used her powers on him, even if on some core level he knew that she had been right to. Johanna was more important to him than anything, including The Council. He just wanted his mate to be happy and treated fairly. Luke wanted to protect her, and she’d hurt his pride by stopping him from doing as he pleased.
And then she’d had theaudacityto fucking tease him! He was used to meek and timid Johanna, the side of her that called him to temper himself down, to hold his passions at bay. Did he want to fuck her into oblivion when she was like that? Yes, but that wasn’t what she needed from him. She needed his patience, so he gave it to her. She needed him to support her while she worked through everything, to be there for her, and it was easier to remind himself of that when she wasn’t tempting the absolute fuck out of him.
