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She forced herself to inhale, to control the pain burning inside her. She didn’t have a choice. Seth had made his feelings clear, and he clearly didn’t want her.
“Excuse me, Mr. Lawrence.” Lawe’s voice sounded in the earpiece once again. “Agent Daniels has requested that you remain inside.”
Dawn winced. She was going to have to have a talk with Lawe about the best way to handle these situations, especially with Seth.
“Has she now?” Seth drawled, his voice coming through the link and sending a surprising shiver racing down her spine as she heard the mockery in it. “Please inform Miss Daniels that I specifically required that the entire island be well secured. If she ignored that request, then she can personally play escort as Miss Carrington and I enjoy the gardens.”
The son of a bitch.
Dawn gritted her teeth as she moved along the side of the room, aware of the bodies that slid quickly out of her path and the wary looks she was given as she passed by. She made people nervous, she knew she did. Especially non-Breeds. They watched her like they expected her to turn and snap at any moment. Just as she had earlier when that Carrington person had surprised her.
“Merc, do you have him in sight?” Dawn murmured into the mic as she headed for the doors Seth had passed through.
“In sight.” Merc’s gravelly voice came across the line. “He and Miss Carrington have taken the stone path toward the pond.”
To the grotto and the intimate little padded bench set beneath a vine-covered arch.
Dawn’s stomach tightened at the knowledge that Seth had every intention of marrying that woman. That he wasn’t Dawn’s. It was inconceivable that he wasn’t hers any longer. Especially when every part of her cried out for him.
She slid past the garden doors, ignoring Lawe’s mocking look as she took the stone path with a determined stride. She could hear the murmur of their voices farther ahead, and her lips thinned with irritation at the seductive drawl Seth used. His voice was edging into arousal, she could hear it. It was ripping through her. She didn’t know how to bear this pain. It took everything she had not to howl out in agony.
“Mr. Lawrence.” She kept her voice smooth, emotionless, as she rounded the curve of the path to find them standing next to the grotto.
Her hand clenched on the butt of her weapon again. Seth was leaning against the arched shelter, one elbow braced on the wooden post as he brushed back a stray strand of raven-black hair from Miss Carrington’s cheek. The other woman flicked her an irritated, enraged glance. Anger filled the air here. Blazing, furious rage, and for a moment Dawn wondered if it was her own.
Dawn smiled back, satisfaction thrumming through her as the woman’s gaze flickered warily at the sight of Dawn’s canines flashing in the early evening light spearing through the sheltering branches overhead.
“Miss Daniels.” Seth lifted his head, his gunmetal gray eyes flickering over her uniform, the hand on her weapon, then to her eyes.
She met his gaze with a cold smile. “I believe the chairman of Foreman Motors is looking for you inside, Mr. Lawrence,” she announced, a blatant lie. “I told him I would be more than happy to hunt you up and send you right to him.”
Seth’s lips quirked bitterly. “I see,” he murmured before glancing down at the too-lovely Miss Carrington. “It appears our discussion will have to wait, Caroline. Would you like to accompany me inside?”
“Well, I don’t want to stand out here alone with her.” Caroline’s red lips thinned in displeasure. “Really, Seth, I’ve been here for days and each time we get a moment alone, we’re disturbed.” She flicked Dawn an accusing glance.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, it was all her fault. Dawn crossed her arms over her breasts and stared back at the other woman coldly, and fought to remind the bitch that she had just arrived today. If she hadn’t been able to screw Seth in the days before, then that was her own fault.
She didn’t like Miss Caroline Carrington. The woman was the worst sort of opportunist. And she was ovulating. Dawn narrowed her gaze, inhaling slowly. And she wasn’t using birth control.
Dawn began to shake, and fought to hide it.
Son of a bitch. She had been trying to get into Seth’s bed tonight for a reason, and it wasn’t just lust. She was fertile. She thought she was going to trick Seth into giving her a child? Forcing him into marriage? Of course, Seth would marry the bitch.
“Dawn, are you growling?” Seth was staring at her in surprise.
Dammit. “No I’m not growling, Mr. Lawrence,” she bit out. “I’ll escort you back inside.” She gave him another tight smile.
Seth’s gaze narrowed on her. “Come on, Caroline, I’m sure we’ll find time to talk after the party.” His voice was harder now, determined.
“I’ll need to meet with you first, Mr. Lawrence,” Dawn informed him. “There are a few security matters we need to discuss when you have the time.” She flashed the woman another cold smile. “If Miss Carrington can do without you that long.”
“If I must.” There was a challenge in the other woman’s brown eyes, one Dawn recognized. She was staking her claim on Seth, which was fine and dandy, but first she had to get through the Breeds that were going to be placed around him like a living barrier. She would be damned if she would let Seth walk into such a trap.
Roni, his sister, would never forgive her. She would make Dawn’s life hell if she allowed it. And Roni was her friend. Dawn had known her forever. Roni would pout for years if Dawn allowed Caroline Carrington to end up tricking Seth into knocking her up.
She was doing this for Roni. And for herself. Otherwise, she would end up killing Miss Caroline Carrington.
She followed the two back into the party. As Seth moved through the crowd, she glanced around to make certain she wasn’t overheard.
