Close Contact

by Rebecca Airies

  “Steven, tell him to let me go!” She turned her attention to the brown-haired commander of the Dallas branch of the Protectorate.

  The man behind her chuckled and nuzzled the hair away from the left side of her neck. Had the man actually gone insane? She’d been thinking figuratively, but he wasn’t acting a like a normal person would. He was gorgeous and just looking at him earlier had excited her. She’d admit that, but she wasn’t a mindless toy. He had no right to just pick her up and hold her when she wanted to be released.

  Steven looked everywhere but at her as he cleared his throat—three times.

  “Um, Sonya, you said she’s under a spell.” Steven looked at that red-haired witch.

  “I haven’t been able to discover many of the details of the spell. I tried to ease some of her pain, without much success. Any time I managed to take a bit of it away, the spell increased causing more.” Sonya shrugged.

  Geneva pried at one of the arms around her waist. She dug her nails into his arm, but the long sleeves of his blue shirt protected his skin.

  “Damn it, Steven, get him off me.” She shot a glare over at the Protectorate commander.

  “No one’s going to help you, Genny.” The big man’s arm tightened just a little. Hot breath brushed over her ear. She felt the slight graze of his teeth against her earlobe.

  A shiver ripped down her spine. She clenched her jaw, torn between ignoring him and trying to reason with him. The fact that he was almost the only one talking to her decided the matter. If he didn’t listen, she could always get some satisfaction yelling at him. Maybe one of the others would finally wake up from whatever was holding them and actually give her some help.

  “My name is Geneva. Why won’t they help me?” she asked.

  His hand slid up her stomach and cupped the full curve of her breast. She gasped and grabbed his wrist trying to pull his hand from that sensitive area. Her nipple had tightened and hardened at his first touch. His hand didn’t budge. What cave had they found him in? He didn’t even seem to care that they were in public and he was intimately touching her. She sank her nails into the skin of his wrist and finally he let his hand drop back to her stomach.

  He laughed softly. “They know better than to get between a wolf and his mate. I’m Evan Connors.”

  Her jaw dropped and her stomach clenched with anxiety and a little fear. She’d never heard of him, but then again, she didn’t have a lot of contact with werewolves. From what she knew, werewolves didn’t play around about mates. “I’m not your mate.”

  “Let’s find out what this spell does and then we’ll talk.” He set her to the side and grasped her hands.

  She was all for anything that got his hands off her. Geneva felt the warmth of magic against her palms. It spread over her hands and up her arms. Her eyes lifted to lock with his. He was doing magic. Now she knew who he was. She still didn’t recognize his name, but his ability gave him away. As far as she knew, there was only one male werewolf in the area who was also a wizard. As if she didn’t have enough trouble with magic lately, now she had a werewolf who claimed to be her mate, but was also a powerful wizard.

  “Turn off the lights and we’ll see what we’re facing,” Evan ordered, still holding Geneva’s hands.

  The lights clicked off, but it wasn’t dark in the windowless room. A hazy bluish light bloomed. She looked down and saw a glowing mist surrounding her. She’d have liked to move her hands through it to see if it was mist or just light, but she couldn’t tug her fingers free from Evan’s relaxed grip.

  “So what did you do to the witch?” Evan asked as he stroked his fingers over her knuckles.

  “So it’s a witch, a woman who did this? You’re certain?” Geneva asked. At least that would narrow down who could have done it to half the magic-using population.

  “No, I just said witch for magic user in general.” Evan shrugged. “It could be a wizard.”

  “I don’t know what I did. Most of what I do is just ask questions, get information. I have made people mad at me before, but nothing like this has ever happened.” She slowly shook her head. She didn’t know what she could have done that someone wanted to cause her this much pain. She hadn’t pissed anyone off in months.

  “Well, you weren’t supposed to be out of pain at all yet. I also think the spell activated early for some reason. We’re in luck there.” He tilted his head and looked at the mist swirling around her.

  “Lucky? It’s not you who has pain ripping through them at odd moments.” She rolled her eyes. Only a witch or wizard would say something like that. As if getting slammed by a spell was something normal. In her experiences, spells were hardly ever good.

  “No, we’re lucky the witch somehow made a mistake.” Sonya stepped forward, studying the hazy cloud.

  “What is it? Stop discussing it like it’s a puzzle. It’s my life. I’m the one in so much freaking pain I can barely move, much less function.” She tugged at her hands to get his attention. “Why am I having sudden stabbing pains?”

  “Because you were too far from me.” Evan smiled.

  Chapter Two

  “I don’t even know you. Why would someone put a spell on me to keep me within a certain distance of you? You’re lying.” She narrowed her eyes. He had to be lying. That explanation made absolutely no sense. On top of that, he was smiling. There was nothing to smile about in this situation. She looked to Sonya.

  “He’s not lying, Geneva.” Sonya exhaled. “It’s not really him specifically the witch had in mind.”

  “If it’s not him she had in mind, then what in the hell is he talking about?” Geneva wished they’d just explain. She was freaked out enough by the spell and by his claim that she was his mate.

  “The witch didn’t just choose a name out of thin air and decide that if you weren’t close to that person you’d be in pain. The spell was set so that when it activated you’d be in extreme pain if you weren’t near the man meant to be your mate. The witch wasn’t counting on you being near the man at almost the moment it activated.” Evan said it so easily she knew he was telling the truth.

  She pushed the mate issue to the side. She’d argue about it later. Dealing with it would have to wait until she knew a little more and the spell was worrying her more than he was. If he thought she was his mate, he’d want to take care of her. She’d deal with that after she found out more about the spell. “Why are we lucky that it happened now?”

  “Well, aside from the fact that you’re not in constant pain because I’m near you, the spell hasn’t reached full strength yet. Spells can get more difficult to stop the longer they’re in effect.” Evan released her hands and straightened.

  “It’s sort of like stopping a bowling ball at the top of a hill rather than at the bottom. It will just be easier on you and the witches working on it to remove it before it does reach full strength.” Sonya smiled as she caught Geneva’s eyes.

  “Can you tell who did this to her?” Steven asked.

  “The power and style seem local, but I can’t tell you who. If we take the spell off her now, we’ll destroy any chance of tracing this back,” Sonya said and looked at Steven.

  “How long until the spell hits full strength?” Steven frowned.

  Geneva took a deep breath and tried to calm her racing heart. She knew he was weighing the pain she could possibly suffer against the need to catch the person who’d cast the spell. Even knowing the person had to be stopped, a rush of fear poured through her at the thought of being in more of that pain. It almost panicked her.

  “We have maybe ten days, but no more.” Sonya tilted her head, once again studying the mist.

  “So the spell has to be off her by Halloween night.” Steven tapped his hand against his thigh.

  “I can’t take the pain for that long.” Geneva shook her head frantically. As much as she wanted to help catch the person who’d put the spell on her, she’d go insane within a day.

  “You won’t be in pain. You’ll be with me.” Evan’
s hand clasped her right wrist gently.

  Geneva knew the gesture was supposed to be comforting. All it did was infuriate her. He refused to listen to anything but his own opinion. Being with him at all times was impossible. Not just because his arrogance got her nerves. Even everyday things would make being with him hard. She didn’t understand why he hadn’t seen it yet. Hell, he hadn’t even bothered to respond to her denials. He’d just ignored them and continued doing what he liked. Freaking werewolf. Were all weres like him or was he a special case?

  “I won’t be with you,” she told him flatly. She met Sonya’s eyes then turned to Steven. “If you have to study this, put me in a coma. I can’t take the pain long.”

  Evan actually laughed, apparently unworried. “You won’t be staying here. If I have to toss you over my shoulder and carry you out, I will. No one will stop me.”

  Geneva felt a rush of anger sweeping through her. Someone had to do something about him and it just might have to be her. Where are the tranquilizer guns kept? The thought floated through her mind. She couldn’t remember right off, but she knew the Protectorate had some. A couple of shots from one of those and it should settle his problem. She tried to pull her hand away from him, but he wouldn’t release her.

  “Look. This is impossible. I can’t possibly stay with you all of the time. Within days, we’d be ready to strangle each other and forget going out in public.” She angrily swept her free hand through her hair.

  “Why would we forget going out in public?” His voice roughened on a distinct growl.

  “What? Do you think you’re going into the ladies’ room with me? Most people would have a problem with that.” Geneva wanted to hit him. He obviously hadn’t thought about what being out in public with a spell that limited how far they could be apart would entail. Even going to a store could be difficult. He could forget about the spell and step off to get something. It could just as easily be her that forgot about the limitations.

  “That would cause a stir.” He relaxed and actually smiled.

  “We’ll find out who did it as soon as possible, Geneva. You won’t have to live under the threat for long,” Steven said. “And if it gets too close to Halloween before we find the identity of the witch who did it, we’ll take the spell off you.”

  Like I have much choice, she thought. She wouldn’t be able to find anyone to take the spell off without Steven’s approval. The Protectorate had that much pull in the Dallas witch community.

  Evan stood and tugged her to her feet. “It’s time to leave.”

  “Well, see you. I’m not going with you.” She managed to free her hand and stood her ground. As much as she’d like to make a run for it, she’d never make it past him much less Steven and the two men behind him. Not to mention the pain. She wouldn’t get far when the pain ripped through her stomach and down her legs.

  Straightening, she looked him in the eye and tried to keep her body language confident and controlled. She knew that showing fear to a predator only made the predator chase. There wasn’t a doubt in her mind that Evan qualified as a predator now. His brown eyes sparkled with gold and an anticipatory smile curled his lips.

  “You’re exciting me, Genny, but there’s nowhere for you to run here. I’ll play chase with you after we get that spell off you.” He took a slow gliding step toward her.

  She backed away from him until her back pressed against the cool wall. “Since you say you’re my mate, I’m surprised you’re agreeable to leaving the spell on me. Shouldn’t you want to stop anything that causes me pain?”

  “I intend to keep you close so you won’t be in pain. You’re right. The wolf’s not happy about leaving the spell on you. He does want you safe and that won’t be possible until we find out who did this to you and why.” Evan stepped close enough to reach out and touch her, but he made no move to grab her.

  “The wolf’s not happy. I can guarantee your wolf has nothing on how I feel about it. I want it off, but if I have to keep it on I choose where I go or stay.” She pressed a finger against his chest. “Humans don’t have a mate. I don’t have a mate.”

  His fingers closed around her wrist before she could pull back again. “Witches have mates and you’re all witch even if you’re untrained.”

  He looked so smug when he said that. Geneva gritted her teeth and resisted the urge to scream. He wasn’t even trying to cooperate.

  Evan scooped her into his arms, turned and stalked to the door. At first, she was stunned. She couldn’t believe he was carrying her off without a protest from anyone except her. No one made a move to stop him. She fisted her right hand and pulled it back. He bounced her in his arms and caught her easily. For a moment, she felt nothing but air beneath her back. She gasped, grabbing for him. In an assured move, he swung her over his shoulder.

  “Damn it, let me go. I want to stay here. Aren’t any of you going to help me?” Geneva pushed her hand against Evan’s back.

  Down the hallway, Steven, Sonya and the two Protectorate operatives just watched as Evan carried her away. The two werewolves, Mark and Joe who’d arrived with Evan, simply followed him. Both of them had huge smiles on their faces.

  Not one person at the Protectorate so much as asked what Evan was doing as he walked through the building. He should have been stopped simply because he didn’t have a Protectorate guard escorting him. Visitors didn’t wander through the inner offices of the Protectorate unmonitored. He carried her out to his black SUV and drove away from the building. He headed straight to his home. She didn’t even have a chance to try to slip away from him. His men had been sent for her clothes.

  She eyed the two-story gray house as he pulled into the driveway. This definitely wasn’t what she’d expected. He was a werewolf. The entire area looked too normal, too city. After she’d found out he was taking her to his home, she’d thought he’d take her out of the city, to a ranch or a farm. She’d pictured somewhere with a lot of land. She’d never imagined werewolves living in the burbs.

  “What makes you think you have the right to do this?” Geneva folded her arms across her chest and didn’t move when he stopped the SUV in the garage. “This won’t work. What about your job?”

  The city seemed like it would be a little restrictive for him. Evan didn’t seem to be inclined to play by society’s rules. He hadn’t even hesitated about kidnapping her and most people would consider that a crime. She was furious with Steven and every Protectorate guard on duty. They should have stopped him. The choice to stay and try to medicate the pain was hers to make.

  “You’re my mate. I can work from home for the most part. I own the company so if I need I can take you to work with me.” His hand wrapped around her arm. “Come on. We’re not going to test the limits of this spell right now. I don’t want you hurting again.”

  Geneva rolled her eyes. He made it sound as if she was a small child who’d tag along with him. She slid across the seat and stepped out of the SUV. Apparently, being a mate was an excuse for almost any behavior. She was his mate so he took her.

  “Is abduction a common way of securing a woman for a werewolf?” she asked, but didn’t make any move to go toward the green-trimmed door.

  “Stop trying to start an argument. You can’t change the facts.” He tucked an arm around her, guiding her to the door as the garage door closed behind them.

  The facts. She sniffed. If it wasn’t for that damn spell she’d show him the facts. She wouldn’t be here if she could walk away from him. The man was handsome, but she didn’t like having her decisions made for her.

  “Come on. We’ll go sit down and talk about your involvement with other witches.” Evan drew her through a spacious kitchen and into a huge living room.

  He sprawled in a large, comfortable-looking, black chair. He’d released her, so she moved away and sat on the black couch nearby. He was too freaking confident and as sexy as hell. She wanted to be able to smack his ego back down to size, but not being able to go very far away from him hindered that. After he
’d taken off his jacket, she’d noticed those broad shoulders weren’t a trick of the cloth.

  “I don’t have any real involvement with witches. That’s why this doesn’t make sense. I listen. I ask questions. None of them are threatened by me. In spite of being a witch, I don’t know how to do even the simplest witch magic. I don’t do magic. I can’t see why anyone would want to do something like this to me. The risk to them is too great.” She shook her head and leaned back against the plush cushion.

  “Sometimes, knowledge is power. Do you know of anyone angry with you over some information you passed along to the Protectorate?” He folded his arms across his chest.

  She sighed and rolled her eyes. “Sure there are people who get angry with me, but this would take more than anger. This is hate.”

  “They certainly put a lot of energy into the spell,” Evan admitted.

  That had to be the understatement of the century. She ran her fingers through her hair and closed her eyes. Her life was in chaos and Evan’s behavior only added to the tension, but he wasn’t the major force. A vengeful magic user held that position. She knew that once he’d scented her, the wolf in him wouldn’t just let him walk away from her. If it was just the fact that he’d claimed her as mate, she’d happily fight and argue about it. The spell on her made things even more complicated. She didn’t have the ability to run from him if he was too stubborn about it.

  “You’re brooding. Come here, Geneva.” He lifted his hand, extending his palm toward her.

  “Of course I’m brooding. I have a spell on me that won’t let me get farther than eight feet from you.” She crossed her arms and didn’t move. Oh, no, she wasn’t going over to him. It was already hard enough to resist him without getting close to him. “And if it’s not off by Halloween, this could be a permanent situation.”

  “You’re just upset that it won’t be taken off you right now. It shouldn’t take us long to discover who put it on you,” he said. His fingers curled in a beckoning gesture. “If I go over there, I’ll be tempted to put that couch to use.”