Page 114 of Black Willow Witch
‘A lot more.’ He crossed to Emberlyn and cupped her hips. ‘Basically, CeCe decided to make a fool of herself last night. She came onto Kerr. Taunted Paisley. Challenged Clem. Toilet papered Logan’s house. And . . . and she was seen in her wolf form pissing on one of my truck’s tires.’
Emberlyn stared at him, her expression turning creepily vacant – a sign of fury, he’d come to learn. Her muscles were locked in place, tight with tension. ‘She took a piss on your tire?’ Each word was soft. Quiet. Dangerous.
Ripper smoothed a soothing palm up her spine. ‘She offered to replace it. I said no.’ Had it been anyone else, he would have allowed it. But he wouldn’t accept something from a werewolf who felt she had a claim to him – it would have been as good as acknowledging the claim as legit. ‘I told her you’d likely have some potion that would clean it.’
‘I do.’ A flatly spoken confirmation.
‘I also made it clear you belong to me now.’
There was no shift in Emberlyn’s expression. ‘What did she have to say to that?’
‘She claimed it can’t be possible; believes I love her. I disabused her of that mistaken belieffast, and I warned her – as well as the women who’d helped her toilet paper Logan’s house – that you were to be left alone or they’d be temporarily banished from the clan.’
An almost infinitesimal pinch of softness flickered in Emberlyn’s eyes for the briefest moment. ‘You would really do that?’
‘Of fucking course I would, baby.’ He burrowed his hand in her hair. ‘While I don’t believe she would risk that happening and so should therefore leave you alone, I’m not so confident she’ll cease being a general pain in the ass. Hence why I’ll be leaving her punishments to Kerr and Crew from now on. Any direct attempts I make to deal with her would be counterproductive – she wants the attention.’ He caught her face in his hands and snared her gaze with his. ‘Never again will I be called away from your side to deal with her.’
Stillno real change in Emberlyn’s expression. ‘Hmm.’
‘You’re scaring me just a little.’
‘Why?’
‘You look eerily calm. I can’t sense any underlying emotions in you at all. If I didn’t know you, I’d swear you weren’t one bit affected by any of what I just spilled to you.’ He nipped at the corner of her mouth. ‘But I’ve come to learn that the calmer you look, the more pissed you generally are.’
‘I would like to choke her,’ she told him matter-of-factly, completely serious.
He blinked and dipped his chin. ‘Understandable.’
‘And curse her soul to never be reborn.’
‘That’s . . . You could do that?’
‘Of course not. It was just an idle remark.’
Ripper wasn’t so sure he believed that. ‘Can we move on from talk of her now?’
‘Sure,’ she easily agreed, her tone still flat.
Yeah, his baby was nowhere near the realm of ‘calm’. In her shoes, he wouldn’t be, either. He’d want to skin alive anyone who dared act as if they had rights to her. And after what went down at Bellcrest, Emberlyn wasn’t liable to quickly dial back her anger.
Wanting to give her time, he held her close and silently reminded her he was there – nuzzling her face, trailing his fingers down her throat, rubbing at her nape, sweeping his hand over her hair, dabbing a featherlight kiss on her temple, stroking his palm up and down her back.
The tension began easing out of her muscles in such tiny increments he wouldn’t have noticed if he wasn’t so wholly focused on her.
A line briefly dented her brow as he once more petted her nape. ‘You’re scent-marking me again. And you’re being all touchy-feely. I’m not a werewolf; these things don’t soothe me.’
‘Sure they do,’ he said, tracking the path of his fingers as they weaved into her hair. He fucking loved her hair. It was soft and sleek and stunning with its iridescent tint. ‘Everyone needs touch sometimes, even you.’ He caught her chin with his hand, dipping his face to hers. ‘Kiss me.’
‘No.’
Ripper almost smiled at the grouchy response. He tugged at her lower lip with his teeth. ‘Kiss me.’
‘No.’
He pinched her nipple, making her lips part on a gasp. He sank his tongue into her mouth. Kissed. Nipped. Licked. Sipped. Until finally she relaxed against him and kissed him back. ‘Now, let’s go deal with those fucking assholes who thought to dare harm you.’
As she turned the corner onto Bennet’s street, Emberlyn noticed his yard was now empty of people. In fact, the street itself was quiet. His nosy neighbors were nowhere to be seen – their doors closed, their windows shut.
