“Really, and do you feel like her equal when she spends so much time with Xavier, your former rival?” She nodded toward the werewolf, pleased to see his attention was fully on her now. “How do you feel when she rushes across the room to greet him with a kiss on the cheek and whispered confidences?” Although she spoke to Edwin, Sophia kept her gaze on Xavier. His rage radiated across the room to her. Serves him right. “Women don’t want polite and passive men all the time.” With a start, she realized she firmly believed what she spoke. She wanted to see Xavier in the throes of jealousy, she wanted his confirmation that she was his only one, and above all, she wanted the werewolf to boot her rival.
Edwin nodded. “You are correct in your assessment. My wife has meddled in your affairs enough. I am sorry for the inconvenience.” His lips formed a thin line as he, too, stared in Xavier’s direction. “I will rectify this situation immediately.”
“Thank you.” She grinned at the cold anger clouding Xavier’s face, and just for the hell of it, she stood on tiptoe and kissed the former vampire’s cheek. If that didn’t bring the werewolf running, nothing would.
“I believe you will find Renn at the Lake Windsor Golf Course. She is the Activities Director and can direct you further.”
“Can I ask you a question?” Guilt crept up her spine with the determination of a drill sergeant. “Do you think Xavier is happy with his life as it stands now?”
“How do you mean?”
Sophia sighed then chewed on her bottom lip for a moment. “Do you truly believe being a werewolf doesn’t bother him?” In her own life, she knew being commanded by events not of her own making drove her nuts. “If he doesn’t lift the curse, will he be okay with his life?”
“I do not believe the affliction is the source of his discontent.” Edwin held up a hand when Sophia would have asked another question. “I cannot direct your path, but I do know this. A higher being did not bring you two together just for their own amusement. There is a purpose behind every action in the Universe and it is our job to figure out what that is.” His face softened with a smile. “Stay true to yourself, and you will never have cause to doubt. Now, if you will excuse me, I believe I am going home with my wife.”
“That is the first logical statement I’ve heard in the last forty-eight hours.”
Interest flooded his face and set his dark eyes dancing. “Ah, you are a student of Spock from the starship Enterprise? I find his approach to life to be quite sound.”
“Uh, sure. He’s great.” Somehow, Sophia’s faith in the paranormal world plummeted if the former vamp was a Trekkie. “Good luck.”
*****
Xavier kept his gaze solely on Edwin and Sophia. Throughout their whole conversation, she’d blatantly teased him, provoked his ire until his skin prickled with the need to shift and show her exactly why he was in charge. He would drag her off to his bedroom if need be and spend the rest of the weekend convincing her they were meant for each other, lifting the curse be damned.
Hannah tugged on his arm. “You aren’t paying attention to me. Is something wrong?”
“Yes, everything.” He growled, louder than he meant. Hannah flinched. Edwin and Sophia looked his way. “She’s mine.” He bounded across the carpet, yanked Sophia away from the former vampire. “What the hell do you think you’re playing at?”
“Leighton, that is no way to treat your female.” Edwin took a step toward him but stood rooted to the floor when Xavier emitted another growl, this one far more menacing.
“Back off, Edwin. This is between Sophia and me.” Nausea swept through him as the shift threatened. “You can stay here or you can go, but either way, things change after tonight.”
Sophia snorted as she pulled away. “Oh, now your dander is up? Maybe you finally get what I’ve been feeling every time I see you with Hannah. Why the hell has it taken you this long to decide which of us you want?”
“You’ve been waiting for me to become angry?” He gaped. His canine teeth had lengthened and his nose twitched. Sophia showed no fear, and there was no discernable smell of it from her. Xavier inhaled sharply, but she was aroused. “You provoked me.”
“I tested you.” Sophia stared back, not dropping her gaze, no trace of cowardice in her tense stance. “It’s up to you how you act next.”
Waves of acute desire flooded through him at her open invitation. Finally, after two days of trying to convince the woman they were mates, she took up the challenge and ran with it. He wasn’t sure he’d be able to keep up, but he welcomed the chase.
First, his friends needed to leave. “Edwin, Hannah, as much as I’ve enjoyed your visit, I’m afraid I must ask you to go.”
Edwin cleared his throat and grasped Hannah’s hand. “Come woman, we are returning home. You have meddled quite enough in Xavier’s life. Let him take care of himself for once. He might surprise you at his level of proficiency.”
“But I’m not done talking. We must make plans for—” Hannah’s words cut off when Xavier growled for a third time, deep and low. “Fine, but I’m not happy.”
“At least I will be.” Sophia’s mouth turned down in a frown. “I wish you safe travels, and an easy delivery of your children. Xavier and I will send a gift when they’re born.”
Xavier curled his hands into fists at Sophia’s dictation of his life. She was as bad as Hannah. “We’ll visit before then, I’m sure, once we have worked out the current snags in our relationship.” He sent a warning glance to the object of his obsession. She merely ignored him. She drove him to the brink with apparent relish, and all he could think about was retribution.
“That matter is still up for debate.” Sophia laid a hand on his forearm. He flexed his muscle in a show of strength. Her accelerated heartbeat was the only indication she noticed. “Take care.”
“Sophia and I will discuss it and then let you know.” His lips curled when Edwin met his gaze. “Goodbye, Edwin, and good luck.” Xavier clasped his friend on the shoulder; aware Sophia watched his every move. “I’ll send your luggage through the Portal later.”
“Much appreciated. Good luck to you as well. It looks as if you’ll need it sooner than you think. You are a stronger man than I to take on a Gatekeeper.” Edwin propelled his protesting spouse out the door, pulling it firmly closed behind him.
Slowly, Xavier turned, his gaze fixed on Sophia’s face. She showed no remorse for her hand in the proceedings, no guilt, only satisfaction, and he meant to knock her down a peg. “I don’t appreciate your high-handed attempt to manipulate my life.”
“Oh, but it was okay for that pushy red-head to boss you?”
He circled her. “This doesn’t concern Hannah or Edwin any longer, but has everything to do with you and me.” Xavier made another pass, this time closer to her. “I’m your mate, Sophia. No one else matters.”
“And how do I know you’ll stay true to those words? What happens if you meet some other woman on this quest and decide she’s the one you want?” Her eyes were as hard as ice. “My life is screwed up enough. If I give in to you and then you betray me, where does that leave my future?”
“I pledge to you now. From this moment forward, the only woman who matters is you. I expect you to give me the same courtesy regarding other men.” Another pass, and this time his arm touched hers. His canine teeth receded, yet his anger still simmered.
“And if I refuse because I don’t trust you?”
“Then we’ll have this conversation again. Perhaps you require further encouragement.” Moving swiftly on silent feet, Xavier crushed her in his arms, slanting his mouth on hers, and plied her lips without gentleness. When she matched him kiss for kiss, his blood rushed loudly in his ears to match the pulse in his groin. He stroked her tongue, worked his fingers underneath her sweater until he cupped her breasts, palming them. “Do you deny the attraction between us?” He dragged his mouth from hers to nip a line of kisses down the side of her neck.
“I don’t deny it, but I still don’t trust you.” She
raked her fingers through his hair then tugged his mouth to hers.
“My fidelity isn’t in question any longer.” He growled, lifted her in his arms, and carried her to the desk in the corner of the room, finally setting her on the edge. “If I catch you looking, or even talking to, another man, I’ll kill him and come after you.” With one sweep of his arm, Xavier sent the contents of the desktop crashing to the floor. “Do you understand?”
“Then you’d better be as good as you advertise, werewolf.” She grabbed a handful of his shirt and reeled him in. “Otherwise, I’ll be annoyed and disappointed.” She nibbled a spot just under his jaw that made his knees buckle.
Xavier claimed her lips, moved his mouth over hers as he thumbed her tight nipples. When she moaned and stirred, he laid her back against the desktop. “How much do you desire me, Sophia? Tell me what you want.” He slipped his fingers over the warm skin of her stomach to fumble at the button on her pants. She was his woman, and she knew it. He felt her tremors deep in her body, long before they broke over her skin.
“Only you.” Her words were little more than pleas as her eyes drifted close. The dark fringe of her lashes against her pale cheeks held him captive.
With one last searing kiss, Xavier moved away. His chest heaved, his pulse thundered, but he grinned at the provocative picture she made. “That’s too bad because I cannot, in good conscience, make love to you if you don’t fully trust me.” He playfully smacked her thigh. “Now, put yourself together. I’m sure the mermaid is expecting us.” He was in such a good mood, it didn’t even upset him when the shoe she threw at him smacked him square in the back.
Power was everything in a relationship, and he retained control.
Chapter Nine
Finally, after hours spent dealing with the extraneous people in both Sophia’s and his life, they were alone and working to lift the curse. Xavier breathed deep, filled his lungs with the crisp, clean autumn air, and grinned so wide, his jaws protested.
“I think perhaps I’ll allow you to search out Renn while I go to the driving range,” he stated in a conversational tone as they mounted the concrete steps at the front of the Windsor Lakes Country Club and Golf Course. “I’ve had a bit of a stressful week and could do with something to relax me.”
“I don’t think so, wolfy. It’s already mid-day on October twenty-seventh and I don’t have to remind you time is ticking. If anyone is stressed out it’d be me since I have to deal with you.” The look she threw him could double as a death-ray. “Especially after the dirty trick you played on me yesterday.”
“You brought it on yourself. Besides, you’re supposed to love me despite my flaws.” He raced her to the glass door, holding it open so she could pass through before him. His only reward was a glare. “Ladies first.”
“Who said anything about love? I’d think your primary focus would be to lift the curse.”
“Love is the natural next step after one finds their mate.” He leaned close enough to smell her floral-and-vanilla scent. “I have a few ideas that will help the feeling along if you need suggestions.” Her stony silence smacked him with enough force to make him double over in mock pain—but she almost cracked a smile. He put his hand on the small of her back and ushered her into the golf-oriented Pro Shop.
“You can keep your suggestions.” Sophia drew a finger along the length of a shiny putter. “Nothing like that will ever happen between you and me, not while Sterling is still alive and well.” She snorted her annoyance when he propelled her to the counter.
“So you say now, but I haven’t turned the full effect of my charm on you and it’ll be much more than what you got a taste of yesterday.” He winked, pleased when a blush tinged her cheeks. “You need humor in your life, Sophia. There’s no use fretting over Sterling if you don’t have to.”
A cringe twisted her face. She looked over her shoulder as if expecting to see the man lurking about. “Where Sterling is concerned, there’s always cause for worry.”
Once the curse lifted, Xavier promised himself he’d whisk Sophia away to some remote vacation spot, make her forget the horrors of working for the Portal Master. “Poor Sophia, always trying to save the world.” He grinned at the boy behind the counter whose nametag read, Travis. “Excuse me, young man, we’re looking for an employee by the name of Renn.”
“Dude, she’s out by the lake at this time of day. Don’t expect to catch her. Every time someone goes down there she just…vanishes.” He buried his nose in his comic book and ignored them.
“Really? Does she disappear into the air in a cloud of purple smoke, or perhaps breaks into two million pieces and blows away in the wind?” Xavier purposefully bared his teeth and emitted a low growl. “I’m afraid I need a bit more information.” Maybe I’ll circle around after we finish with Renn and eat the boy. Sophia’s hand on his arm dislodged the thought and tempered the urge.
“Allow me.” She smiled at the acne-prone teen and used her index finger to lower the pages of the comic book until their eyes met. “Could you point us in the direction of the lake?” She winked then slowly pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose. “I’d appreciate your help.” She leaned on the counter. Xavier’s eyes nearly bugged out of his head at the amount of creamy cleavage the low-cut neckline of her shirt revealed.
The woman had an alter ego after all. He looked at her with new respect and more than a little desire.
The boy wasn’t unaffected either. As Travis swallowed, his Adam’s apple quivered. “I’ll do better than that. I’ll drive you down myself in the golf cart. It’s the biggest lake on the property and there’s even a picnic area on a small island in middle of it.” Another teenaged boy came behind the counter from a back room. Travis spoke in low tones with him then led Xavier and Sophia out a rear door to a waiting golf cart. “Hop in. We’ll be there in a couple minutes. Oh yeah, if your name is Sophia, Renn is expecting you. She said to tell you to follow the instructions and you’d know what they mean.”
“What’s he talking about?” Xavier prodded her with a forefinger.
“I have no idea.” She shrugged. “I’m not an all-seeing oracle, so how should I know what her instructions mean?”
Xavier took a spot on the back seat behind the young man and draped a long arm along the seat. “Will you be joining us, Sophia, or do you want to walk over?” He popped on a pair of dark sunglasses. “I’d hate to think of you out there, dodging maniacal golf cart drivers.”
“I’m coming. No need to get your feathers ruffled.” As soon as she stepped into the cart, Travis stomped on the gas pedal, throwing her against his chest. “Travis!”
“Sorry ma’am. I’m late for lunch. My girlfriend gets mad if I’m late.”
“Get used to it, buddy. Women are always mad about something and it’s even worse if you are mates.” Xavier briefly clasped Sophia close, dropping his voice to a whisper. “The last time I checked, werewolves didn’t have feathers.” His chest tightened when she wiggled away and planted her rear end on the seat. He put his lips against her ear. “If you’d like me to be ruffled, though, I can oblige, especially after that momentary bit of flirtation with poor Travis.” He nipped her earlobe, teased the fleshy bit with his tongue. “That side of you makes me hot.”
“Get your head out of the gutter. The thing with Travis was a necessary evil.” She scooted across the seat to the opposite side of the golf cart. “We have a job to do. If I were you, I wouldn’t get too fond of me. In four days we’ll go our separate ways.”
“No, we won’t. When this is over, the first stop on our path is my bed. After that, who knows, but we’ll go there together—as mates. You know this. Stop denying it. Hell, I think you say these things simply to annoy me.”
The golf cart ricocheted to a halt near one of the larger water hazards on the course nearly spilling them out of the vehicle.
“Thanks for the lift.”
“Sure. Good luck with Renn.”
“Alone, at last.” Xavier swept her
into his arms as Travis motored over the winding path. The sharp scent of gasoline lingered on the air after him. “Nice location for a romantic interlude.” A laugh escaped at her panicked expression. “No? Ah, you’d prefer somewhere more private.” He heaved a mock sigh. “I guess we’ll search for the mermaid.” He released her and stepped onto the deck that jutted out over the water. Leaning against the wooden railing, he peered into the greenish water that sparkled in the sun and shaded his eyes against the glare. In the middle of the synthetic lake lay a white gazebo on a tiny island. “How do you suppose a person reaches the island? I don’t see a bridge.”
Sophia joined him at the rail. “How do we find Renn?”
“I—” A splash below caught his attention, then a brilliant flash of color streaked through the water. “Did you see that?” At a loss, Xavier tucked his sunglasses in a suit pocket. A scrap of paper fluttering in the slight breeze became his salvation. “Look.” He yanked the noted from a wooden signboard. “The Activity Director is unavailable at the moment due to circumstances beyond her control.”
“What does that mean?” A wrinkle appeared between Sophia’s eyebrows. “So now she won’t see us?
“Not necessarily.” He moved farther down the deck until he came to another signpost. He frowned when she rubbed the spot on her wrist that contained her birthmark. “It hurts you again?”
“Yes. Danger’s probably imminent, which is nothing new. What’s that?”
“Not sure, but we may need to ingest this science project.” A small collection of glass vials waited in a wooden cabinet, each bearing a label with the words “Drink This” in heavy calligraphy. “Ladies first.” His lips twitched when she gave him an ineffectual shove. He supposed it was a good sign that she always had to be touching him in some way. Her acceptance of their fate was a slow journey, but eventually, they would arrive.
Charmed by the Werewolf Page 11
