Blue Violet - By Abigail Owen Page 0,66

the closed bedroom door. He placed his hands on either side of her, bodily caging her in.

“Don’t go tonight,” his deep voice washed over her, his sensual lips capturing hers. Ellie groaned into his mouth. His voice and that kiss almost knocked her response out of her mind… almost.

Pulling away to catch her breath she said, “You know I have to.”

“Ummm… I know,” he murmured.

Alex leaned back in, kissing his way across her shoulder and up her neck to nibble on her earlobe. Ellie tipped her head back to grant him further access. With another groan, Ellie sought his mouth with her own and reveled in the sensation of his tongue running along the seam of her lips. Opening her mouth she matched him move for move. Never breaking the hot kiss, Alex reached down and bodily lifted her, wrapping her legs around his waist. He walked them over to the bed and, still not breaking the contact of their mouths, laid Ellie down on it, following to cover her body with his own.

Only the sound of Griffin’s voice breaking into her thoughts could have stopped Ellie. “Your turn first, Elle.”

Feeling the shift in her concentration, Alex stopped the kiss pulling back to look her in the eyes.

“Great timing. I’ll be out in a sec,” Ellie answered Griffin. “It’s time,” she said to Alex.

He puffed out a breath and buried his face in her neck, inhaling deeply. “Okay,” he accepted. Levering himself off the bed, he pulled her up with him. “You take care of yourself out there, baby.” He tenderly brushed a strand of hair out of her face.

“Always do.” She stood on tiptoe to give him one last lingering kiss and then shifted into the falcon before him.

Alex walked over to their window to open it for her, and she flew out into the night. Ellie usually took the first patrol, with Alex’s apprehension following her out the window every time. She’d return home in the early hours of the morning to get some rest and would find him waiting up for her. He insisted that he couldn’t sleep until he knew she was home safely. Then he’d tuck her up in bed with him, snuggling her into his warm embrace.

Ellie grumbled good-naturedly every single time he waited up for her, but of course she secretly loved it. Alex managed to give her the space and the respect to make her own decisions. If anything, the way he was handling the entire situation not only made her feel loved and protected, but also valued and significant.

Chapter 32

A few weeks later, after school let out for the day, Ellie and Lila were headed to the parking lot.

Lila was in the middle of a story about her first date experience. “…So we got to the ice skating rink and I strapped on Mom’s gorgeous old-fashioned skates. And after about two laps, my feet started cramping up.”

Ellie giggled. “No way. Were the skates too small or something?”

“Yeah. We had to stop. And that poor guy hadn’t really wanted to go ice skating anyway--”

Lila cut off her next comment when, out of nowhere, a tall man appeared before them. Dressed all in black, with ebony hair and onyx eyes, his face could be described as almost beautiful with high, sharp cheek bones and a sensuous mouth. Extremely handsome… but in a sinister way. He stood directly in front of the two girls blocking their way.

Ellie came to an abrupt halt. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Lila tense and glance nervously at her. Nothing scared Ellie. She knew she was probably giving her friend a heart attack when she subtly repositioned her body protectively between Lila and the creepy stranger.

“I’m honored that you would come in person, Gideon,” Ellie finally said, bitterness lacing her words. She felt Lila flinch at the name. She reached back for Lila’s hand, giving her a reassuring squeeze.

“You know me?” the dark man asked.

“Yes.”

“Then you know why I’m here…”

Ellie heard the smug self-satisfaction. “Not entirely.” Of course Ellie had tapped into Griffin’s mind reading power the second she’d seen Gideon, but she heard absolutely nothing. Perhaps that’d been the reason why her ancestors hadn’t been able to prepare for the attack that decimated their entire clan.

“Are you trying to listen to my thoughts, Ellinore?” his voice rasped in her mind.

Her eyes widened slightly, but other than that she gave nothing away with her expression or body language.

“I thought so,” the voice continued. “But don’t