Page 33 of Ivory's Familiars

Was that a pout on Seth’s handsome face? Ronan raised an eyebrow at Seth, “Maybe I do. Is that a problem?”

“Not with me. Your cat is the most mellow out of the lot of us. You’re the most likely to make it through a conversation without jumping her bones,” Seth shrugged, morphing back to the easy-going man he was the majority of the time.

“Fine with me too. Besides, I have unfinished business with the kitten here.”

Ronan watched as Vaughn allowed a real growl to rumble in his chest as he pursued Seth, unbuttoning his jeans and backing the man into a corner. Seth’s eyes sparked with defiance once more, but this time it was playful as he made a pathetically fake attempt to dodge a stalking Vaughn.

Ronan smirked, locking the door behind him as he left his two lovers grappling for dominance in Ivory’s lounge room. Going by the lengthening of Vaughn’s canines as he stalked Seth across the room, Ronan was betting on him winning this round.

Once outside, he raised his face to the sky, scenting the air in an attempt to determine the direction Ivory had fled. He could use the magical connection just as easily – familiars had built in radars where their witches were concerned. It helped them in their service and duties. But his panther demanded the more intimate mate-bond in order to track their wayward mate. The lingering scent of rain, grass, and vanilla mixed with heat was a heady combination and he took off in a steady jog, following the smell towards the woods that surrounded the edge of the bar’s carpark.

Ivory must have been moving at a reasonable pace, for he soon found himself immersed in the dense trees and bushland of the wooded reserve. He frowned, picking up his pace a little, concerned about Ivory being alone in such a remote area. The woman was being stalked after all. The reminder sent a chill down his spine and had his panther rising possessively to the surface. The beast wanted to hunt the female down, pin her beneath him and mark her so others knew she was taken. It also wanted its female to acknowledge who was in charge. Ronan was going to have to have words with his inner animal because he had no doubt Ivory was going to be well and truly in charge of all of them. He shook himself, lecturing his animal briefly about control. The last thing he wanted to do was scare the flighty woman further. He highly doubted that seeing him turn into a seven foot long, ninety-kilogram black jungle cat would fill her with confidence when she had expressed her disdain over the whole mate thing.

The track he was on was quite well-worn, suggesting it was used fairly regularly. In fact, the walking track and the surrounding vegetation were practically saturated with Ivory’s scent and he realised this must be the route she took for her runs – both human and animal. He knew how crazy he got when he didn’t allow his panther out to run and hunt. No doubt, Ivory’s was the same and it now made sense why she had chosen to put down roots in this area. The wooded forest appealed to his cat on a primal level. It was dark and dense, the smells strong and earthy. And he could hear numerous small prey animals scurrying around.

The human half of him that was her bodyguard found himself even more annoyed and bothered – routines were a stalker’s wet dream. Plus, when they had asked her about her habits, she hadn’t mentioned frequenting these woods at all. They couldn’t protect her properly if she kept leaving things out. It didn’t matter that she had no doubt failed to disclose her frequent forest jaunts because she could shapeshift into a big white cat. But now that everything was out in the open, they were going to talk all this shit through; no more running, no more hiding. For any of them.

Seeing movement up ahead, he breathed out in relief. Ivory was sitting on a fallen log, her leg bouncing in clear agitation, “Ivory! You promised us you wouldn’t leave the bar. It isn’t safe,” he did his best to use his stern voice when all he wanted was to drag her to him and hold her tight.

“I know, I’m sorry. And I know I keep saying that too. I do mean it every time. I just …” She waved her hands around her head, “Libby says I think too much. She says I should just focus on being a little hussy and let sleeping cats lie,” she snorted indelicately, “Sleeping cats!” she repeated, before giggling a little sloppily.

He leaned in closer, catching a whiff of a suspiciously familiar scent. “Wait …” he sniffed at her lips, “… are you drunk?”

She straightened her shoulders, trying – and failing – to look pious, “Not all the way.”

“Bloody hell, woman! It’s not even midday,” he exclaimed.

“And? What’s your point? Why do people always say that? Your taste buds don’t care what time it is. They don’t have a schedule, you know. It’s like only eating cereal at breakfast time. Why is that? Who says it’s a morning food? What if I want to eat cereal for dinner? I should be allowed to without justifying myself. Just like I should be allowed to gauge the gooseberry content of my wine when I want to.”

Ivory prattled on somewhat incoherently and he found himself quite enamoured by her tipsy ramblings coupled with the defence of her logic. She was rather adorable. Deciding sometimes actions were far wiser than words, he grabbed her by the shoulders and hauled her up. Seizing her lips with his own, he nearly whimpered as her sweet flavour burst over his taste buds. He discovered there was indeed a hint of gooseberry adding a delicious spice to the kiss. She opened her mouth willingly, thrusting her tongue seductively against his own. Groaning, he fumbled with the hem of her shirt, pushing it quickly up and out of the way so he could access the surprisingly lush breasts he had discovered the night before. Ivory moaned into his mouth, arching her body into his. He felt her nipple pebble against his palm and he allowed his thumb to brush teasingly over the hard peak.

“Wait … no … stop,” Ivory’s hands were suddenly pushing him away instead of pulling him close.

He raised his head immediately but shook his head, “Don’t tell me to stop,” he didn’t know how much longer he could be patient with her continued hot and cold treatment.

“But this is wrong,” her breathless voice whispered over his flesh like a caress.

His hand was still cupping the weight of one generous breast and he allowed his fingers to give the warm mound a gentle squeeze, “It’s the rightest thing in the whole world,” he assured her, “Does it feel wrong?”

She shook her head but didn’t answer him. He tried not to let his frustration show in his voice as he pressed on; “After you had your chat with Vaughn, you said you were willing to give this a chance. Giveusa chance. And these last few days – getting to know you, being in your space with your scent and your warmth – it’s been heaven. You’ve enjoyed it too, I know you have.” And he did. He’d lost count of the number of times he would catch her eyeing one of them when she thought no-one was looking.

She was a strong woman, full of fire and life. She was independent, smart and decisive in everything she did. He couldn’t understand where her reticence was coming from, especially after the earth-shattering experience of last night, “And what about last night, hmm? You shared your body with us, and ours with yours. It was something special.”

“I know. I know that Ronan. And I’m not trying to be a silly little girl about everything. It’s just … I need to know you all feel the same way I do. Is it just obligation? For one thing, you are my bodyguards.”

He was quick to respond; “We would never allow our personal feelings to interfere with our job. Keeping you safe is our top priority. This isn’t just a proximity thing or a damsel in distress thing. If that was the case, there were countless times we would have slept with our clients – both males and females. It’s not a protector- complex.”

She searched his eyes for a moment before finally nodding, “Okay – not a ‘save the little woman complex’. But what about the mate thing? Is it just scratching a primal itch?”

She was insecure. So very insecure. How could he and the others not have seen that before? He placed his palms on either side of her face, forcing her eyes to his; “Ivory, a bunch of pheromones can’t manufacture emotions. I have feelings for you, as do Seth and Vaughn. Hell, you’re all we ever talk about when we’re alone now; did you know Ivory does this, did you see Ivory do that, did you hear Ivory say this? Honestly, it’s a little pathetic,” he smiled a little impishly at her, “Everything I’ve seen, everything I’ve heard about you – I like it all. I just plain like you, Ivory. And I know the others feel the same way. We all fell for you well before we knew you were a witch and a potential mate.”

She reached up and covered his hands with her own, looking deeply into his eyes, “Okay.”

“Okay?” he repeated. What did that mean?

She nodded, “Okay. I believe you. I believeinyou,” she took a deep breath and stepped back, “So let’s figure out who the hell has been doing these things to me so we can focus on what the hell we’re going to do about us.”

He remained silent as they walked back to her home hand in hand, cautioning himself about priorities. The situation with the stalker was getting out of hand. Whoever it was had well and truly snapped and he had no doubt that their infatuation with Ivory wasn’t going to be enough for them now. Capturing her and forcing her acknowledgment of their connection wasn’t going to satisfy him as it once would have. Now, only Ivory’s death would bring him satisfaction. But he didn’t say that out loud, nor did he tell her what they were going to do about her, even though he already knew.

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