Electric Storm(4)

A curl of unease increased the sense of wrongness she picked up when she entered. She’d blamed it on nerves. Inhaling deeply, she couldn’t detect a threat, couldn’t see any overt danger from the crowd. She wished she could believe she saw trouble where none existed.

A commotion at the other end of the room erupted. The boy. She knew it even before she saw his face. Five women surrounded him, heckling and caressing him. He stood there, a frozen smile plastered in place, tolerating the touch. Tolerating but not enjoying.

Then he flinched. His smile became strained, the women’s laughter more wild. The boy’s eyes hardened but he kept still, enduring the obscene fondling and cruel taunts.

She scanned the crowd. A few people snickered at his discomfort, a few looked away, pity leeching the life from their eyes. But no one protested.

Then the man who had accompanied the boy stood to his full height. The muscles of her back loosened, and she eased back into her seat, unaware she’d half risen to her feet. The big man would keep him safe. But instead of rescuing the boy, the Ogre turned his back and pushed his way to the bar.

A lump grew in her throat at the unwanted attention the boy endured. Memories of similar situations from her past cut into her mind, blurring reason until fury burned along her face.

Stillness settled inside her, burying everything but the need to do something, the need to prevent the past from repeating itself. Before she knew what she was doing, she moved.

The closer she came, the more she sensed his unwillingness and his resignation. She stopped outside the circle of women. Their gazes collided. Recognition sparked, and his gaze latched on to hers.

Pleaded.

It was a mistake coming here tonight, but she couldn’t leave without knowing he’d be safe. Couldn’t stop herself from rescuing him.

“He’s mine.” She reached through the circle of women, clamped down on his wrist and pulled him to her side. He came without a word of complaint, his head lowered, a small smile on his lips that barely lasted a second. His body trembled slightly before he controlled himself.

“What do you think you’re doing?” A blonde in strappy, three-inch heels stepped forward, drink in hand and a determined expression on her face. A woman who always got what she wanted.

Raven wasn’t impressed. “We’re leaving.”

As she turned, herding the boy in front of her, the woman’s talons dug into her arm.

Reacting on instinct, Raven spun and thrust out her palm, slamming her hand into the blonde’s chest, releasing some of the pent-up power that swirled inside in response to her anger.

The impact lifted the woman off her feet. She sailed over the table, one heel flying. Her mouth dropped open in moue of surprise, while her drink spun and sprayed her friends.

Conversation slowed, people turned. No one touched the woman as she staggered to her feet. Raven braced herself and scanned the crowd.

No one stepped forward to detain her or the boy.

“Is there a problem?”

Tiger.

He broke through the wall of people who circled the small group. Broad shouldered, lean but roped with muscles, he easily drew attention to him and it had nothing to do with the elegant clothes or wildly untamed mane of hair. The combination should’ve looked ridiculous but only succeeded in making him appear all the more dominant.

It gave him a dangerous air. An aura of bored arrogance seeped from him, but Raven knew differently. Power thrummed beneath his skin at his annoyance for being disturbed. The beast roamed close to the surface even in his human form.

“No, sir. The lady here claimed me, and Miss Jackie objected.”

“A challenge?” The tiger’s eyes sharpened in the muted light, his attention never leaving her face. He brushed against her shields, then shoved against them as if surprised to find resistance. The intensity increased, seeking a weakness. Her eyes narrowed. Usually only vampires or very powerful alphas had such strong mental ability.

Protocol dictated certain rules, and he broke them by probing her without permission. They both knew it if his sudden, impudent smile was anything to go by. If he pushed harder, she’d retaliate. She refused to let him enter her mind, refused to let him harvest all her secrets. It was too dangerous for either of them.

When he persisted, she twisted a strand of energy around his shields, using tremendous control to surround him instead of breaking through. Then she slowly tightened her hold. She let it rest there, let him feel her perusal, the threat. Her fingers trembled. Her stomach flopped like a fish out of water. It took everything she had to hold back more power and ignore the dangerous lure to crush the threat.

Then his aura fluctuated, rubbed against her own shield in a way that sent a shiver down her spine in a very pleasant way. Her blood heated, and she could almost swear she felt a purr from her core. From the startled look and the aroused flush to his face, the reaction wasn’t something he’d anticipated either.