Danika woke feeling refreshed. She’d made love to Adam three times the night before. And she needed more. She rolled him to his back and straddled his thighs, gripping his half-hard length. It took a few strokes to get him fully hard.
His eyes fluttered open and a lazy smile graced those lips as she scooted up to take him in. He caressed her thighs, staring up at her with such love.
“Morning, gorgeous.”
“Morning, beautiful,” he answered, running his palms up her body to cup her breasts and play with her nipples. She moaned, rocking back. He sat up, banding one arm low on her waist while bending to suck at her tip.
He was so good at that. She wrapped her hands behind his neck and moved harder, faster, taking the pleasure higher. She tried to hold off, but he looked up, catching her gaze, and gently nipped.
She came apart but continued to ride until he followed and crushed her to his chest, his mouth connecting with hers. Their tongues danced as he brought her back on top of him.
Tears filled her eyes. This was what she lived for. Adam and their little girl. She’d been so afraid she’d lose the battle and die, leaving Adam and her baby behind.
He gently pushed her head up to look into her eyes. “What is it, babe?”
“I was ready for the worst. I wasn’t sure I could survive another fight.”
He rolled so they lay facing each other, then caressed her cheek. “Anything we need to do, we will. I’m not losing you. Not for anything, Dani.”
“Love you, Adam.”
He ran a finger along her jaw. “We should pick up Makayla.”
“All right. I take it you called Brody last night?”
“Had to. Told him what we plan to do.”
“Good, maybe we can hurry up and do it.” She climbed from the bed to get dressed. Hope flowed through her. They had a solution, one they could both be happy with.
His hands curled around her shoulders and his lips pressed against the back of her neck.
She let out a breath.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I may have been too rough.”
“Why? When?” she asked.
He trailed his fingers over her hips where he’d gripped her the night before. “Bruised you. Didn’t mean to.”
Smiling, she turned, wrapping her arms around him. “Loved every second. Don’t worry about that.” But fear spiked for a second. He didn’t grip her too hard. That was her stupid body fighting with itself. She winced. “Bruising is part of the symptoms. Gonna happen a lot until we get it fixed.”
Nodding slowly, he pulled in a breath. “Soon. Maybe this morning. Sooner you’re done with that, the better. Though, what are you going to tell Anne?”
Her nose wrinkled. “I’m having Jolene treat me?”
“Cancer is Anne’s specialty. She’ll take offense.”
“Think she could handle the truth?”
“Considering what Henry does for a living? Yeah, most likely.” Her husband was a paranormal investigator. Of ghosts and spirits, not Others. Though he was certainly open-minded.
“Hope so. I don’t know what else I’ll do. I just hoped going out there, she’d tell me it was nothing, and I could forget about it.”
Adam pulled her into his arms. “After you’re ready, we’ll go over to Brody’s.”
“Okay.”
He stepped away and opened a drawer. She took his lead and did the same.
* * * *
Finnian sat in his car, staring at a magazine someone handed him when he went back to the bar for a shot the night before.
In Other News. A magazine dedicated to Others. With stories about everything humans didn’t understand. And he only noticed because someone asked why someone was reading the Enquirer in a bar. Only he saw what it was and asked.
The guy had slid it over with a wink and he flipped through. The guy told him to go ahead, that he could get another.
There was a story that referenced Edenton. Dominique Walsh had been abducted with several others. She lived in Edenton, a town full of Others.
Somewhere to start at least.
And if he could find Dominique, perhaps he could convince her to lead him to Danika. He wanted to make her suffer as bad as he had over the years without Diedre.
He wanted to tear her luck apart. If she could have just listened to him and let a Fae fuck her, she wouldn’t have suffered through cancer. She wouldn’t have decided he was an evil bastard who stole luck.
He very rarely went up and took someone’s luck. That wasn’t often worth it anyway. Things had a way of balancing everything back out. It’s why he managed to land in trouble a few times. He took too much luck and had to pay the price.
In this case, it would be worth it. If he depleted her luck, she would die, and there would be nothing to balance out.
Finnian took the keys and headed into a diner. He didn’t expect to find anyone straight away, but perhaps he’d glean some information. So, he took a seat at the counter and ordered coffee.
A man in a cop uniform took a seat next to a guy who could be a logger or in construction. Neither was human.
The cop with the darker skin held a hand up for the waitress and ordered coffee, then turned to the other man. “Hey, Dane, how’s Dominique?”
Bingo. His first clue. How many Dominiques could there be in a town like Edenton?
“Hey, Lincoln.” Dane rubbed at his face. “She’s stressed out. She’s worried about her sister and pissed she didn’t call to talk to her about her plan to become a werewolf instead of just accepting what she was born to be.” Dane rubbed his face. “Not to mention she’s upset Danika hasn’t bothered to call to tell her about the cancer. She only found out because Adam called Brody, who called Slater, who called me.”
Lincoln patted Dane’s shoulder. “Maybe she just found out? I’m sure Danika didn’t keep secrets to slight her.”
“I guess she got the results back last night. We’re meeting them over at Brody’s in another hour. Slater asked me to be there, and I told Dominique. Of course she’s coming, just has to get off work first.”
“Why doesn’t Dominique like her plan? It’s not like Danika is going to go behind Adam’s back to go through an awakening.”
“Right?” He snorted. “Dominique swears Danika should just be what she is. But Dominique isn’t considering the fact she’s been with Adam for eighteen years now. So, becoming a werewolf solves that issue.”
“Right, hopefully Dominique can see it’s her sister’s choice. She’ll support the decision, right?”
“I’m sure she will.” He sighed. “How are you, Lincoln?”
With a plan in place, Finnian paced himself to finish with the two men. Especially the one who knew his daughter so well.