Vanessa Unveiled Read Free

insult?”
    Her expression downright homicidal, Vanessa took a quick step toward the stick lying on the floor. Concerned for his and Braeden’s kneecaps, Rand shot a bolt of energy at the piece of wood, sending it flying into the fountain.
    Vanessa awarded him a baleful glare. “You can play games with me all night. It won’t do a bit of good. Your asses are still getting hauled in.”
    He gave a slow smile that turned her murderous expression into one of wariness. Hot anticipation rolled through him. Oh, the endless fun he would have with this woman. “Sweet Nessie. There’s nothing I’d love more than to play with you all night.”
    Fire once again flashed in those vibrant green eyes. “ What did you just call me?”
    “Nessie. It suits you so much better.”
    “No, it doesn’t. It’s the name of a stinkin’ monster that lives in a loch.”
    “Actually, his real name is Gerald.” Braeden shrugged, his grin unapologetic when Vanessa sent him an incinerating look.
    “I don’t care if his fucking name is Moe. Now are you going to come willingly or not?”
    Rand took a step closer to Vanessa, unconcerned by the flicker of warning that flashed across her face. Without the stick or weapons he’d found in her vehicle and holster, she presented little threat. “It depends.”
    Her chin jutted upward. “On what?”
    “You.”
    “Me?” Confusion softened a bit of her bravado.
    “Yes. You’re the reason we’re here, Ness—Vanessa.”
    The perfect arch of her brows instantly slashed toward the bridge of her nose. “Let me get this straight. You illegally jumped the veil, putting yourselves at risk of prosecution and punishment, because of me?” He nodded and she slammed her hands on her full hips. “Okay, I’ll bite.”
    He gave her a wolfish smile. “Lucky me. Do I get to choose where?”
    Her cheeks flamed scarlet again. “I meant why . Or more to the point, what the hell do I have to do with you breaking the law?”
    “You’re our mate.”
    Dead silence greeted his response, followed by exactly thirty seconds of hysterical laughter from Vanessa. Bending at the waist, she sucked in great gulps of air and wiped her watering eyes. “Oh man. If I had a dime for every time someone told me that…”
    “You’d have ten cents?” Braeden countered.
    Her squinty look returned, and Rand sighed. “I believe what our skeptical little mate is trying to say is that she doesn’t believe us.”
    “Darn tootin’.” Vanessa nodded with enough emphasis to make her curls bounce. “Runaways in your position will try anything to avoid capture.”
    “You’re forgetting one minor detail, sweetest. We came to you .”
    A hint of doubt crept into her eyes. Unable to resist the allure of touching her a second longer, he closed the distance between them and brushed the pads of his fingers across her cheek. Her skin felt softer than velvet and smelled like spring itself. Desire, thick and heady, sluiced through his veins. The only other individual who’d elicited this level of reaction from him was Braeden. There’d been other lovers, dalliances, but nothing could compete with the intoxicating need of claiming a true bond mate. Now that he’d found Vanessa, no force on this earth or any other would stop him from pursuing her.
    No matter the eventual cost.
    Vanessa returned his stare, her pink tongue coming out to moisten her lips. He tracked the motion, his cock throbbing as he imagined her licking along the length of his shaft, her tongue soft and teasing.
    “M-maybe you realized you didn’t stand a prayer of escaping,” Vanessa stuttered, breaking through his vivid fantasies. “So you decided to lure me here in hopes of pulling a fast one on me.”
    “I give you my word that’s not the case.”
    She reached up and swatted his hand away. “Pookas are notorious tricksters. I’d be a fool to take your word on anything.”
    He inclined his head. “Very well. I propose a compromise then.”
    She bit her lip.