Justin glanced to Holly as he pulled into the hotel parking lot. He’d noticed her closing her eyes at the start of the drive and she now appeared to be sleeping. He turned his attention back to driving as he found a parking spot and steered into it. Then he turned off the engine, undid his seat belt and turned in his seat to peer at her. He’d stared at Holly a lot as she’d gone through the turn. Through most of that, though, her expression had been a rictus of agony, which was really unattractive. Not that he’d cared. He’d attended more than a -couple of turnings over time and had known to expect that. Now however, while her mouth was stern and grim with what he suspected was pain, her expression was still more natural than he’d yet seen it.
Holly had lovely, long dark raven hair and . . . well, an average face, he supposed, but it was beautiful to him. Her face was almost an oval. At the beginning of the turn, it had been rounder. Her body had also been fuller with more curves to it. She’d been what -people nowadays would have considered heavy. But he’d always liked larger women; they were soft and warm and . . .
Justin let those thoughts go. While Holly had carried the extra weight he liked on a woman, she no longer did . . . and he still liked her. Hell, she could be a bag of bones and he’d like her. The woman was his life mate . . . and completely untouchable, he reminded himself unhappily.
That thought firmly in mind, Justin leaned forward and gave her shoulder a shake to wake her. He barely touched her arm, though, before she moved. The woman struck like lightning, thrusting up out of her seat and launching at him, driving him back against the driver’s door as she crawled into his lap like some nightmare creature. She was going for his throat, fangs bared when the driver’s door suddenly opened behind him and they both spilled out onto the pavement. Justin was on the bottom, his head crashing into the black tar surface with enough impact to briefly stun him.
By the time the pain in his head receded enough to allow him to open his eyes, Lucian was standing over him with an unconscious Holly in his arms. There was a quickly fading red mark on her forehead. Scowling, he scrambled to his feet and reached for her at once. “What did you do?”
“Took control of the situation,” Lucian said calmly. “Grab her purse and close the car door.”
Justin hesitated, but then did as instructed, quickly snatching her purse off the car floor where it had fallen and then locking and closing the door. It was a waste of time though, since the front driver’s window was broken.
“You hit her, didn’t you?” Justin asked grimly as he turned back toward Lucian. But Lucian wasn’t there anymore. He was already halfway across the parking lot, heading swiftly for the hotel door. Cursing, Justin scrambled to catch up. He wanted to demand Lucian give her to him, but that didn’t seem a good idea. Holding her close when he couldn’t claim her was likely to be torture for him so instead he asked again, “You hit her, didn’t you?”
“She was about to tear out your throat,” Lucian said mildly. “I prevented that.”
“By knocking her out with a blow to the head,” Justin said grimly. “Why the hell didn’t you just take control of her mind and stop her that way?”
“She was mad with blood lust and beyond controlling in that moment,” Lucian answered and when Justin continued to glare, asked, “Would you rather I had let her tear out your throat and then executed her for doing it?”
Justin scowled, but then said, “I was raised that it isn’t right to hit women.”
“It isn’t,” Lucian agreed. “Unless they’re new turns who don’t know better than to rip out the throat of the first walking blood bag that comes along.”
“I am not a walking blood bag,” Justin said through clenched teeth as they entered the hotel.
“You were to her,” Lucian said with a shrug.
Knowing he couldn’t win the argument, Justin let it go and briefly fell silent as they crossed the lobby to the elevators. Other than a quick glance from one or two employees of the hotel, no one paid them any attention, and Justin knew Lucian was quickly taking control of minds and changing what was seen.
Justin let him concentrate on the task and didn’t speak again until they entered the elevator, and then it was to ask, “What were you doing in the parking lot anyway?”
“Decker and Anders had just dropped me off when you pulled in.”
“And where did they go after dropping you?” Justin asked.
Lucian shifted Holly over his shoulder to free up his hands. He then grabbed his phone out of his pocket, punched a button and lifted the phone to his ear, apparently completely oblivious to the fact that his arm rested under Holly’s sweet derriere . . . and that Justin was growling deep in his throat with displeasure at that fact.
“He’s here,” Lucian barked into the phone and then added, “So is she, so finish your business quickly. Call when you’re done and we’ll meet at the airport.”
“The airport?” Justin echoed.
Lucian stepped through the opening elevator doors and started up the hall.
“Why are we going to the airport?” Justin asked, scrambling after him.
“Because we’re done here. We’re going home,” Lucian said as if that should be obvious.”
“But—-what about Holly?” Justin asked with concern.
“We’re taking her with us.”
“And her husband?” he asked with amazement.
“He can’t come.”
Justin stopped walking briefly and gaped after him. “Did you just make a joke?”