Coffee and awkwardness just don't mix.. {Mercy}

[Lt. Lucien Calugarul]

God, nothing felt better than her so close to him. If he wasn’t such a damn gentleman and wasn’t trying to make sure that things didn’t rush themselves into the ground, he would be thinking how good she smelled…or how he practically ached where she came in contact with him.

Thank all that was holy that she’d caught onto that old world word of his, or he might have lost all semblance of his shaky control. Smitten…Du, he sounded like a monk. Then again, given the fact that the last woman he’d been with had been his wife, he could definitely qualify. Which probably made him completely incompatible with such an alluring, beautiful, caring woman like his Mercy.

…HIS Mercy. God, what was he thinking? Raven was right; all that isolation really had made him bat shit crazy.

But did any of that stop him from leaning his head forward as if to chase that flowery scent of hers? Of course not. He was a masochist, as well as a soldier with poor conversational skills. Was she talking to him? His brain was doing its best to attempt to decipher her words, but his eyes were a bit distracted with those pretty little lips. Lips that had kissed him with a passion he hadn’t felt in years…

God, focus, Lucien, focus!

With a little shake of his head as if to clear it, the Romanian nodded an affirmative. ”Yes, is what myself and my associates do. Is secret, though, so you cannot tell, eh? We are called ‘Shadow Team,’ and we are led by a woman who is half human and half vampire. She is good, though; very dedicated. A very good leader.”

He paused, wondering if spilling out state secrets to a woman he’d known for hardly a day was such a good idea. In the end, however, he decided that he trusted her…as asinine and impulsive as it may sound. Perhaps he was truly going insane? When did he ever inherently trust ANYONE?

”Is the Team’s job to go after supernatural beings who do not follow the law,” He continued, face darkening a bit when she mentioned the one who’d turned her. ”If you wish it, Mercedes, we can track down the one who bit you and kill him.”

Slowly and painfully, he silently added. Not to mention by his own hand…

[Mercedes Rowe]

The things that Mercy wanted to do to Lucien to show the world that he was hers, as if she already had a right to stake him as her own. That’s exactly how she was feeling. She had this underlying need to somehow mark him as her own. She wanted to make it clear to anyone that came near him that he was hers and protected, but that was crazy thinking. What was she going to do? Bite his neck to mark him with bruises or maybe she should shift into wolf form and rub her scent all over him? Oh, I’m sure Lucien would absolutely love that one.

She took a deep breath. It was hard sometimes not to let the wolf have control. It wanted control of a lot of things, but Mercy had been infected long enough that she was stronger than it, except for on a full moon. The only thing she’d never brought into her life was falling in love. This was a whole new experience for both, and she didn’t particularly have great control over the basic needs the wolf wanted. It actually worried her. She would never want to hurt Lucien.

And here she was sitting on his lap and he was leaning closer to her. Oh god, she had to shake the wolf off to gain control. She cleared her throat when he gave his head a little shake then started to speak. It helped her bring the wolf in. “I won’t tell anyone anything you tell me Lucien,” she promised him. One thing about Mercedes was she was very loyal and honest. “A human and half vampire leader? That is extraordinary. I didn’t know that type of species was possible, but I am learning a lot of things.”

“That sounds like a noble job, Lucien. Is that what you have been so worried about? That I wouldn’t accept your job? You shouldn’t have been worried about telling me,” she shook her head. His next question threw her off guard and she went completely still. “No!” The single word was spoken so quickly and full of conviction. If Lucien hunted that rogue werewolf down she was afraid of what would happen to him, and it was obvious that she still had a fear for the person that attacked her. Who wouldn’t hold a fear like that? She was only a teenager, and she had nearly died.

Would Lucien look for him anyway? Oh God, she didn’t want to think of this. “Promise me you will not going hunting down some rogue werewolf….please.” She looked off at nothing in particular with a distant look in her eyes, and her jaw was working, teeth clenched together. She was suddenly on edge, worried what could happen if Lucien went tracking rogue werewolves. She couldn’t even take a deep breath as she waited for Lucien to answer her.