Page 15 of Ivory's Familiars

He may have a point but she was still worried. The thought of any harm coming to her three bodyguards made her break out in a cold sweat.Damn, she was really getting attached.

“Ivory?”

“Hmm?” she looked up when he said her name, only to take a quick step back. If she didn’t know any better, she would have thought there was lust shining in his eyes.

“Thank you for caring about us. It’s nice,” he smiled, advancing the one step she had retreated.

“I don’t care about you,” she was quick to defend, before mentally slapping her forehead; that was rude.

“You don’t? Well, I’m sorry to hear that. Maybe this will change your mind,” he gripped her by the upper arms and lifted her until her lips were at the exact same height as his. She felt his lips brush against hers, once, twice. They were soft and so very warm, and she swayed forward as if hypnotised … only to jerk backward at the last second, averting sure disaster.

“Put me down,” she demanded, and was promptly placed back on her feet, “What is this? I’m not going to be the other woman. Besides, I can’t believe you would cheat on your partners,” she chastised, telling her foolish heart to stop its crazy beating. He shrugged, the action far too casual for her liking. She was beginning to understand why Seth’s laid back attitude pissed Vaughn off.

“It wouldn’t be cheating,” he informed her, unapologetically, “We’ve all spoken about it. If any of us were given the opportunity to be with you, it’d be cool with all of us.”

“Wait … You’ve spoken about it? You’ve all discussed what would happen if I gave you a chance at the goodies?” A part of her was thrilled, while another part of her was pissed at the sheer audacity. The pissed part was winning. She narrowed her eyes, “Let me get this straight, the three of you sat around like some kind of sugar daddies, talking about the best way to get into my pants? Without consulting me?”

Seth’s dark green eyes widened and he quickly looked around the room, as if he were hoping someone or something would save him, “Um …”

“I’m not some kind of sex toy, you know,” she informed him primly, despite the evil angel on her shoulder who whispered;please, please, please make me your sex toy, “I won’t be a passing amusement to three gay men who have suddenly decided they want some salad to go with their meat!”

“Meat? Salad? Say what now …?” he backed up a step under her feminine fury.

“You know what I’m talking about, mister. Maybe you’re all a little bored with your carnivorous diet – you want to try being omnivores for a while. Well, this lettuce leaf is onto you, buddy. And she’s not buying what you’re selling. I won’t be used – no matter how tempting.”

And it really was tempting, which is why she spun around quickly, leaving a shell-shocked Seth staring after her in total confusion.

***

Seth watched the angry swish of Ivory’s hips as she stalked from the room.What the hell just happened?He didn’t think he had ever been reduced to nothing but a walking penis so effectively before. The past three days had been heaven, hell, and purgatory all at once. The progress of the case had been frustratingly slow, but spending time with Ivory had been its own reward. She appealed to him on every level. He had always thought that Vaughn, Ronan, and himself were all pieces of the one whole – they balanced each other, challenged each other, and complemented each other. He had never thought anything was missing before now. But having met the lovely, vulnerable bartender, he was beginning to wonder if there was a bonus piece to their puzzle. A quartet rather than a triad.

He recalled the conversation with Ronan and Vaughn from the night before. The had been discussing Ivory – again – and what they wanted to do about her. He felt for sure she was starting to soften towards them. He had no doubts about her lust, the spicy scent of the woman had them walking around with semi’s twenty-three out of twenty-four hours a day. It was her mind that they needed to crack and he had told them as such;

“I’m saying we should make a move. You know try to woo her, flirt a little.”

He paced at the end of the bed Ronan and Vaughn would be sharing that night. He had drawn the short straw to sleep alone … again.

“Flirt?! What the hell do I know about flirting? I don’t flirt. I don’t need to flirt,” Vaughn exclaimed, indignantly.

“Of course you don’t. You just snap those fingers and level those green peepers of yours and thousands fall at your feet,” Seth scoffed.

Ronan laughed and Vaughn reached out, cuffing him on the back of the head. But Seth was serious. Of course Vaughn had never had to flirt before. For one thing, he had been so focused on his duty of serving the coven for so long. He had never entertained the notion of having a relationship. Seth knew he had been a one-night stand kind of a guy and he didn’t fault him for that. But it wasn’t just duty. Vaughn was absolutely unaware of his own appeal. It was one of the many things Seth loved about him.

“I’m serious, guys. She’s flighty but she’s interested. We just need to help get her out of her own way,” he said.

He snorted to himself now. Something told him she was going to be even more in her own way after this little display. Sighing, he sent a quick text to Ronan, telling him and Vaughn to get their butts down here. He needed to update them asap. With any luck, they would be able to trace the call and finally hunt down the crazy arsehole scaring her. And then they would be free to woo Ivory in earnest.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Ivory played with the settings on her coffee machine the following morning. The stainless-steel appliance was a gift from the gods, having been forged in the highest peaks of heaven she was sure. She was absolutely useless without her morning cup of the bitter brew. Unfortunately, the men had been up before her and changed her pre-set menu. As far as she was concerned, it was an offence punishable by a serious maiming. And if she discovered it was the tallest and broadest of the three men who had touched her baby, she would even consider death as a punishment.

She had studiously ignored Seth for the rest of the day yesterday, finding it hard to look the others in the eye. She couldn’t believe Seth had tried to kiss her! And what was worse, she had almost let him. The temptation was there, the struggle real, but what she had told him was true; she had no intention of being some kind of experiment to them. He had wisely given her space but finally made an attempt to talk to her before she went to bed, she recalled. He had managed to say her name before she had stopped him with a;“Nope. Don’t even, buster. Talk to the hand,”flipping him off and retreating to her room. The warm chuckle that followed her down the hallway had her core heating and her lips twitching despite herself. He was incorrigible.

He and Ronan had spent the rest of yesterday playing with their computers and trying to trace the ominous call while Vaughn had followed Lee around with suspicious eyes, confirming his alibi for all the times she had received packages. She had received remarkably similar reprimands and lectures from all of them when Seth had revealed the Lee tidbit. Apparently, she had committed some major faux pas by neglecting to mention the non-date. She still believed they were focusing on the wrong thing and had once again mentioned her concerns. Vaughn had grunted, rolling his eyes, whilst Ronan had thanked her for her worry in the kindest of terms. She had seen his lips twitching though and found it just as infuriating as Seth’s hilarity and Vaughn’s disdain. They seemed to think they were invincible.

Vaughn emerged from the spare bedroom, looking fit and handsome, and okay – maybe a little invincible. He was wearing dark denim jeans and a plain black tee shirt that made his bright green eyes pop in the early morning light, “Good morning, Ivory.”

She narrowed her eyes at him. Usually she only received a grunt for the first fifteen minutes he was awake. He was almost as bad as her with the coffee machine, “Good morning,” she responded, slowly.

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