Page 27 of Bitten By Desire

Without a word, Julian pulled me through the doors and Lorraine threw them shut behind us. He yanked the book from the shelf and towed me down the stairs to the waiting portal.

“We can’t just go through,” I hissed. “It might be set to take us back to MorningStar.”

Footsteps sounded above—some heavy and others light, letting us know multiple people had entered the study.

“Stop right there. I did not give you permission to enter my late husband’s office,” Lorraine commanded in the same bossy voice she’d used on the general.

“Tittwell and the lieutenant will investigate for the widow’s own good in case she is under a spell or mesmerized.”

“No!” Lorraine yelled as the heavier steps landed on the stairwell.

I pushed a button on the edge of the portal then watched it turn emerald in color. Just as the dragon shifter’s boots became visible, Julian grabbed me and tossed me through the air. The next thing I knew, I’d landed on hard ground and rolled onto my back. Before I could take in more than a pink sky at sunset and warm, floral air, Julian landed beside me.

Chapter 9

Blood and Mates

He scrambled over me, blocking out the pink and orange sky with his even brighter eyes. The sight was one I could stare at forever.

“Are you unharmed?” he asked.

In answer, I reached up and pulled him down into a languid kiss that lasted minutes, but not long enough as far as I was concerned.

“We should find cover,” he said, voice like satin against bare skin.

“If they were coming through after us, they’d already be here,” I pointed out.

Julian grinned, showing fang. “It’s not the imp or shifter I’m concerned about. We’ll be spotted before long if we stay in the open this close to the base.”

“What?” I sat up, staring at the familiar glass building across the tarmac from where we lay. “The portal led us back to Monster Island?”

“So it would appear.” Julian stood and offered me a hand up. Then he scooped me into his arms and ran us at superspeed into the forest where he set me down on a large boulder surrounded by birch trees.

“I guess this is how the board members travel to the island if they need to. I’m sure they have the funds to afford such lavish magic.” I shifted my line of sight from the beach and base toward the home that had been ripped from me too quickly. I could almost believe it was all a bad dream and Mama was waiting in the kitchen with a big pot pie for dinner.

“It was only one of the possible destinations,” Julian said, joining me on the boulder. “That button changed the scent and the energy of the portal. I counted nine such controls on the device. I hit another just as I leaped through to throw them off our trail.”

“If Major Honeywell put an alarm spell on the passage in the study,” I said, realization hitting me, “she has access to the portal, and Monster Island.”

Julian shrugged. “If she came through, she’d be detected immediately.”

“But what if she steps through the Demon dimension. I think that’s what was originally open when we found the portal.”

“Perhaps it would be a good thing if she walked through. She would be a thorn removed from our sides,” Julian quipped.

If he wasn’t worried, I shouldn’t have been either. The trouble was it was hard to tell when Julian was faking it to make me feel better. I decided to change the subject.

“Now what do we do?” Being so close to home and unable to visit was a new form of exquisite torture. Surely the general had put up wards to alert him if Julian or I acted so rashly.

Julian gathered me to his side, and I leaned on his shoulder, inhaling his calming scent.

“I lost my mother, my home, my family, and my friends. Binx is a prisoner. And now we can’t even continue to follow the lead in France because of that wretched imp.”

“You haven’t lost your friends and family, Charlotte. We’re all still on your side.”

My heart gave a painful thump, but for once, it wasn’t from despair but rather appreciation for my found family that indeed was still there for me despite the distance between us. By the time this was over, we would be able to settle down—here on Monster Island with those we cared about and without so many dangers and people with ulterior motives hanging over our heads.

Sniffing, I stood, taking Julian with me. “You’re right. No time for a pity party. We’re here so we should do some recon. There have to be records somewhere on base with the names of the board members.”

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