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He stank of too much drink, and little else.
“I don’t know you.” She smiled tightly. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to return upstairs. I still have things to do today.”
“Yeah, none of us got much sleep last night.” The tentative friendliness in his voice and demeanor didn’t sway her in the least.
“Hopefully we will this morning.” She nodded again and left the room before he could delay her any longer. But her hand stayed on her weapon, and her senses stayed alert. Until she hit the upper floor and scented Seth’s lust.
CHAPTER 10
Cassie stared at Seth Lawrence as he stood talking to her father, her senses gathering the information she needed, processing it as she tried not to watch the pitiful shadow of the child hiding in the corner of the room. That ghost of what was dying inside Dawn. If the child was lost then Dawn would be lost as well.
She was still shaking from whatever she had sensed outside, just before Seth’s arrival. She had been drawn to the balcony, some sense, some awareness pulling her outside though she knew better than to go there. She wasn’t a stupid little girl, and she wasn’t ignorant of the danger to her life at every moment.
But something had been out there. Something she was certain she couldn’t miss. But she had felt…scared. Not in danger, but frightened on a level she didn’t understand. So frightened a cry had come unbidden from her lips and drawn her father’s attention.
She gave herself a mental shake and focused on Seth again. He hadn’t taken Dawn. She had marked him. The mark was prominently displayed at the bottom of his neck, the little wound clearly Breed-made. The scent of the marking filled the room, the scent of Seth and Dawn, though the two hadn’t mingled yet to form that unique smell that combined the two mates and changed them forever.
She frowned at that knowledge. Dawn would start remembering soon. Cassie wasn’t certain why the memories would start emerging here, or why it was so important that Seth made love to her before it began, but she knew it was imperative.
The child whimpered again from the corner of the room. A sound of loneliness and pain that had Cassie whimpering. She glanced to the corner. The fragile image was huddled in on itself, weak, lost. Terrifying in the complete isolation that surrounded it.
When the memories began returning, if Dawn didn’t wake up and accept the child she had forgotten, then she would never heal. And she would never be able to save Seth.
“Too bad no one will be there when Dawn wakes up.” She looked at Seth, angry at him now, knowing the risk he was taking. But if she told him, if she explained, then it wouldn’t be Seth’s choice. And she couldn’t do that to Dawn. Callan had betrayed her in showing Seth those discs; she had heard Dawn’s rage and pain when Dash told her of it. She wouldn’t betray Dawn further by guilting Seth into the other woman’s arms.
She had warned him; there was nothing more she could do.
“What do you mean, Cassie?” he asked her then, his eyes narrowing on her.
She frowned back at him. “I can’t tell you everything, Seth. I’m only eighteen and I’m not a damned seer.” The uncharacteristic anger shocked Seth as well as her father. It shocked her. “But it’s too damned bad, if you ask me, that you can’t see what’s right in front of your face. And if you’re not man enough to see it, then I wouldn’t point it out to you even if I did know.”
She turned away from them and moved quickly to her own bedroom, aware of her mother following her, those maternal instincts reaching out to her daughter. But she didn’t want her mother, she didn’t want her father. For some strange reason, she wanted to return to the balcony.
Seth watched her flounce back into her room as Elizabeth followed, and he turned to Dash. Dash was staring back at the door, his jaw clenched as a growl rumbled in his throat. Seth could see the frustration brewing in the Wolf Breed and felt a flare of male sympathy. Cassie was a gorgeous young woman and her unique Breed traits made her both an asset and a weakness to the Breed community.
“What’s going on?” he asked the other man.
Dash shook his head, his expression concerned. “She went out on the balcony earlier after I warned her not to. She never ignores those warnings, until now. I heard her cry out and jerked her inside. She’s been acting strange ever since.”
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Strange with Cassie could be terrifying to others, Seth thought. The girl was strange in and of herself.
He pushed his fingers through his hair and shook his head. Hell, he could barely think right now. Exhaustion and arousal were weighing down on him, and his control was shaky as hell.
“My suite should be clean by now.” He sighed. “I’m going to catch a few hours’ sleep. We’ve delayed meetings until tomorrow, but tonight’s party is still scheduled and I’ll need some rest to face the questions there from the board members.”
“I’ve taken Dawn off the protective detail.” Dash surprised him with the announcement.
Seth tightened his jaw. “She’s leaving?” It would be for the best, for both of them.
“No, she’s not. She won’t be on detail, she’ll be on your ass. She sleeps in your room, eats where you eat, goes where you go. She’s your shadow.”
Every cell in Seth’s body screamed hallelujah, while his mind seemed blank in shock. His shadow? There wasn’t a chance in hell he could keep his hands off her if he allowed that.
Dawn, at his beck and call? At his back every second? In his bed and close enough to touch anytime he needed to touch her, anytime he wanted to pull her against him?
“No,” he snapped.
