Charmed by the Werewolf

by Sandra Sookoo

  “What’s behind your change of mind?” His hot gaze pinned her to the floor.

  For one terrible, heart-stopping moment, Sophia thought her plan wouldn’t succeed. She teetered on the edge of panic, knowing she’d have to push her acting over the top to obtain the information. “I wouldn’t say that. After all, what kind of woman would I be if I didn’t notice such a handsome man?” Swallowing against her rising fear, she walked her fingertips up his chest, felt his increased heartbeat. “Virility looks good on you. I can’t imagine you in any other form besides a human.” Bile soured her throat, but she ignored it. The stakes were too high.

  Braeden hesitated for a few seconds then smug grin crossed his lips. “I knew you’d come around to my way of thinking. Every woman does eventually.”

  Another glance at his desk sealed her resolve and justified the action even though every cell in her body protested. “Did I have a choice?” Her attempt to purr like a feline manifested itself as a squeaky whisper. She ran her hands over his muscled arms and shoulders. He can snap my neck in two seconds. Oh God. Cold fear caused her hands to shake. “Show me the strong-willed determination that makes you win every case.” Tears gathered in her eyes as Xavier’s image faded.

  It happened so quickly she didn’t see him move. One moment Sophia stood at his desk, the next Braeden pinned her against the wall as his rock-hard chest pressed into her. She placed her palms on his shoulders, intended to hold him at arm’s length, but he was too strong and easily captured her wrists in one hand. Remember your dual purpose mission! “Do you oftentimes work on high profile cases?” A flood of icy terror seeped through her body as Braeden let her wrists go in favor of kneading her breasts, molding them to his hands. Tears rolled down her cheeks as her struggles were quickly subdued.

  “Occasionally. Why don’t we do something more constructive with those soft lips of yours instead of discuss my cases?” His mouth crashed down on hers with enough force to draw blood. Braeden’s intense green gaze bore into her while he sucked at her lip.

  A dry heave threatened. Sophia fought it down by sticking Mona’s face into her mind’s eye. She had to save her friend. “Have you ever represented celebrities?” She needed to keep him talking, find out what was going on with Mona. “Give me one tiny little secret. I won’t tell.” She batted her eyelashes and ran her hands under his shirt, self-loathing her only companion beside the ever present fear. Although Braeden’s six-pack abs were magnificent, she couldn’t help but think about Xavier’s chest with its covering of golden hair, the gentle touch of his hands on her skin, the twinkle in his honey-hued eyes. A twinge of guilt pinged through her stomach. She should find the werewolf and leave…

  “Since you asked so nicely, I do some work with the rich and famous. For example, I’m suing the first family of Moussai for slander and misappropriation of government funds.” He gripped her hips and pressed his arousal into her stomach. “Does that satisfy your curiosity?”

  Her cheeks burned at the dual implication. Her fingers stilled on his heated, hair-sprinkled skin. “So, are they guilty?”

  Braeden shrugged. “Aren’t they all?” His shoved his hands under her skirt to squeeze her rear end. “Even if they’re innocent, the government of Moussai is in turmoil. There will be upheaval, possibly civil war.” He bit the skin of her neck then pinched her nipples, laughing when she gasped. “You’re a pleasing handful.”

  “I can’t do this.” Her words were small in the looming face of the dragon. “Let me go.” She slumped against the wall, wishing she’d listened to Xavier.

  “We’re too far gone for regrets now.” He gripped her hips and pulled Sophia flush against his body. “There’s one thing you need to understand about dragons.”

  “Please, leave me alone.” Suddenly, her attempt at seduction went horribly, inescapably wrong. She stared, unable to stem the flow of tears when he shoved a knee between her thighs. She tried to wriggle free of his hold, but he jammed his knee tighter against her. She grasped his shoulders, digging her fingers into the muscle there, hoping she could cause him enough pain that he’d release her. Paralysis held her captive to do anything else.

  “Mating with a dragon will be the most erotic act you’ve ever done. Nothing will compare to it. You’ll experience so many orgasms you’ll beg me to end your misery.” He licked a path down her throat and ripped her shirt open to continue the assault on her breasts. “Your boyfriend will be jealous he can’t come close to pleasuring you as I’m about to do.”

  Her face wet with tears, she sent out a silent plead for Xavier’s help. “Actually, he’s my mate. I doubt you’ll ever come close to understanding the complexity of that sort of relationship.”

  “Good thing I don’t plan to get involved in such a thing.” Braeden’s hot breath seared her skin.

  When he pressed his knee more fully against her, Sophia whimpered. How long would it be before she shifted into stone? Wasn’t this enough stress to bring on the change? “I wouldn’t want to be you when he finds out what you’re doing.” She didn’t want to be her either, because Xavier wouldn’t care who was at fault. He’d take them both to task.

  “The semantics of your relationship don’t matter. I’ll banish all thoughts of your pretty boy.” He chuckled as Sophia slumped against the wall. “Once you’ve had sex with a dragon, you’ll always crave dragon flesh. I’d be happy to take you as a lover, despite of your lack of beauty.”

  “What?” She pushed at his chest; beat on the solid surface with her fists. As he stumbled backward, she darted away. “What do you mean?” She awkwardly fastened the two remaining buttons on her shirt and wrapped her jacket tight around her chest.

  “You’re not blatantly attractive, but your curves more than make up for that fact.” Braeden chased her around the desk. “We will finish what we started.”

  “I’ve changed my mind.” Sophia had almost reached the door when Braden grabbed a handful of her hair and her head snapped back. Pain screamed along her scalp, brought fresh tears to her eyes. Xavier, where are you? I need help! “Let me go.”

  “Certainly, after our business is concluded.” Braeden loosened his hold and reeled her into his arms.

  *****

  Xavier threw back his head and howled. No matter that he occupied the middle of a hallway decorated in staid shades of cream and blue in a peaceful office building, he howled loud enough to rattle the glass panels in the doors. He felt Sophia’s overwhelming terror as if it were his own, driving him to find her. Slipping away from the men who held him, he loped down several hallways, then vaulted into the elevator.

  He jabbed at a button, waited impatiently as time seemed to drag slowly by as the car ascended.

  A light covering of blond-white fur covered the backs of his hands. His canine teeth lengthened and his mouth watered in anticipation of a fight. He maintained control over the full shift into the wolf. He’d save that for tearing out the throat of the attorney. For now, he needed to assess the situation.

  As he stepped from the elevator when the doors opened, he heard Sophia scream. Braeden is a dead man. A haze of red rage clouded his judgment and filmed his vision. Xavier crashed through the door, sending splintered chunks of the door into the air before him.

  “Sophia, get away from him. Now!” His nose itched, but he managed to stave off the shift. Not yet. Braeden’s hands fell away from her when Xavier snarled.

  “Xavier!” Her eyes wide and shimmering with tears, she ran across the office. She threw herself into his arms, apparently oblivious to his precarious grip on sanity. “Let’s get out of here.”

  He took one look at her torn and rumpled clothing then thrust her behind him. The two thugs he’d managed to waylay scrambled over the remains of the door, pistols drawn. He ignored them. His fight was with the attorney. “Just as soon as I do this.”

  With a snarl worthy of a much bigger animal, Xavier sprang across the carpet and crashed into Braeden. “I’ll kill you for touching her.” He kicked out at t
he man only to have the attorney duck away.

  “The pleasures were mutually given, Leighton.” The smug smile irritated Xavier further.

  “Bastard. I’ll kill you for that comment.” Xavier’s fist connected soundly with the dragon’s jaw. Braeden stumbled to his knees. “Get up. This is only the beginning.” He curled his fingers into tight fists then jumped back as Braeden lunged.

  “Just so you know, her protests were very weak. She knows a real man when she sees him.” Braeden’s right hook caught Xavier on his chin while his left connected solidly in the werewolf’s abdomen.

  Pain exploded behind his eyes as Braeden’s next punch caught him on the side of his head. “Once I kill you, I’ll make it a point to have someone retrieve your soul so I can kill you a second time, just for my own amusement.” He jumped on the attorney, grunting when the man went down like a brick wall. Xavier grinned as Braeden struggled to take a deep breath, the wind knocked from him. Xavier pressed heavily on the dragon’s chest. “This is for Sophia.” At close range, the punch found its mark solidly into Braeden’s jaw.

  “Get off.” Braeden spit out a mouthful of blood before throwing Xavier over his head.

  He landed in a heap. Springing to his feet, he head-butted the other man. They went crashing into a bookshelf. Heavy reference volumes fell to the floor around the two combatants.

  From one side, Sophia let loose words of encouragement. “Get him again, Xavier. Clean his clock.”

  In that brief moment of distraction, Braeden planted a heavy kick into Xavier’s gut. The werewolf doubled over in pain, resigned when the giant minions restrained his arms. He threw an agonized glance at the single cause of his distress. “Run.”

  “What about you?” She inched toward the splinted door, her gaze trained on him.

  “Dammit, woman, just go!” Pain shot through his body as one of his captors kicked him in the ribs. He heard one crack. A glance at Braeden showed the dragon mopping his mouth with a handkerchief spotted with dark red blood. As if in slow motion, Xavier strained against his restraints. Braeden withdrew a revolver from an inner pocket of his suit and pointed it at Sophia’s heart, hatred in his eyes.

  “Take them both down to the basement until I can decide what to do with them.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  Pain.

  Xavier concentrated on it so he wouldn’t have to talk to Sophia. They were in a dark, dank basement room in seemingly normal commercial office building in the heart of downtown. A damn prison. Why? Because his impossibly stubborn mate couldn’t listen to orders. She went and ticked off a fucking dragon. A dragon!

  Even in his wolf form, he couldn’t hope to best such a being. Xavier strained at the chained manacles that encircled his wrists, growled low in his throat when they stuck fast to the wall.

  “Hell, what’s the point?” He struggled again then collapsed against the cold stone wall, exhausted and angry.

  “Getting mad won’t help.”

  The irritation in her voice didn’t sooth him. “I’m not in the mood for any more of your sarcastic comments.” He didn’t look at her, afraid if he did, he either yell or say something he’d regret later. He thought again of her torn shirt, her mussed hair, and her swollen lip. Anger shook his body, jarring the broken rib, forced him to stay still. “What were you thinking? He could have murdered you or worse.”

  “Worse?” Sophia’s bitter laugh rang off the stone floor. “Unless you’ve suddenly been transported back to Regency England, there’s nothing worse than death.”

  “You’re splitting hairs.”

  Her cell phone shrilled from her purse. Sophia stretched, but her chains wouldn’t reach that far. Eventually, the phone went silent. “Any suggestions on how to get out of here?”

  “Oh, plenty. These chains ooze brain stimulation.” He had to know exactly what transpired between her and the dragon. Like being unable to look away from a car wreck, he needed to know if she’d been intimate with another man. The thought caused the angry red haze to drop before his eyes once more. “What about this? Maybe you should call Braeden down here so you can kiss him again.” Xavier tugged at the chains. “From the state of your clothing it appears you and the attorney had a pretty cozy time after they escorted me out.”

  “You don’t understand.” The words were small in the darkness. “I didn’t have a choice.” The weak light from the naked light bulb at the far end of the room cast distorted shadows over the floor, obscuring her face even to his enhanced senses.

  Xavier snorted, hardened his heart against her. “There is always a choice. Every day, every hour, people are forced to make choices in their life. And you’re right, I don’t understand. You’re my woman, Sophia. Mine. What do you not get about that?”

  “I saw…I read… Just forget it. How do we escape from here?”

  Not good enough. “Have sex again with the esteemed Mr. Hollister in exchange for our freedom. I hope you enjoyed it because after this stop, I’m taking you away, maybe to one of the other Realms, with only me for company. I’m sure that’ll be a huge party for both of us. Not to mention a gigantic letdown for you, huh?” Would he forever be linked to a woman he despised? What was the protocol for breaking a mate bond?

  “I didn’t have sex with him, Xavier. You should know me better than that.”

  A wall of hope crashed over him to dissipate some of the red haze. “How? You seem to excel at manipulating men, myself included.”

  “I’ll admit I’ve used my femininity to get my way a time or two, but I’ve never manipulated you. I’d never do that. What I feel for you is…never mind.”

  “Why should I believe you? You flirted with the kid at the golf course, put the moves on the attorney, tried to seduce me, and the jury’s still out on Sterling.” He frowned when she turned away from him on her side of their prison. “Who else, Sophia?”

  “No one.” Her defeated sigh bounced off the concrete. “You’ll have to trust me.”

  “Trust you?” Xavier’s bark of laughter contained no joy. “Did you trust me when I explained my relationship with Hannah?”

  “That was different.”

  “Was it?” He leaned back against the cement block wall and closed his eyes. His ribs ached and a headache raged in his temple. A niggling seed of doubt grew amidst the pain. Why did they spend most of their time together arguing? “Forget it. The trust between us is tainted. You’ve betrayed our sacred bond. Forgiveness won’t come so easily.” He pressed a fist to his chest as pain a thousand times stronger than the physical pulsed there.

  What the hell?

  He stole a glance at Sophia. Her downcast face and trembling lower lip nearly did him in. He didn’t even react with lust as her shirt slid down over her thighs as she folded her legs to her chest. Instead, Xavier focused inward. Was his anger and disappointment a simple matter that she’d allegedly slept with someone else, but wouldn’t bed him, or did it stem from something greater? He yanked at the chain on his ankle. Surely, he couldn’t have developed such deep feelings for her in a short span of time. Wouldn’t a man know it if he were in love, didn’t the simple fact that they were mates imply those feelings? If so, did he want her to love him out of obligation because she was his mate?

  He hated the endless circle of his tortured thoughts, but they marched relentlessly onward.

  The empty well in his chest flared to life, threatened to swallow his heart, take his soul. Did he love her? Xavier stared at Sophia again. He’d committed every feature, every line and wrinkle in her face to memory, knew each inflection of her laugh, looked forward to her smile. Did that mean he loved her or was he simply aware of her because she belonged to him? Did his insane possessiveness of this one woman stem from a by-product of the mating process or did his emotions run deeper?

  Damn.

  The scrape of her chains against the floor jarred him out of his thoughts. Close and cloying, the darkness seemed to press in on him. How was she dealing with their present circumstances? He rememb
ered her panic in the supply closet. Sniffing the air, his heart plummeted as he smelled her fear and…despair and self-loathing. Two fat tears rolled down her cheeks.

  “Sophia?” Damn. He’d made her hate herself. God, what slime I am.

  “There was a reason I acted like that with Braeden. He’s representing someone who is suing Mona’s family. I wanted to find out what he knew. I tried to seduce him because it was the only way I thought he’d give it to me—the information, not what you’ll think. Mona’s too clueless to take care of herself.”

  “It’s a very flimsy excuse for your behavior.” This time, he tempered his anger to listen with an open mind. He at least owed her that. “What happened?”

  “At first, it was only a game. After a kiss or two, I suddenly couldn’t think of anything but you. I…wished you’d swoop in and rescue me. No matter what he did, my mind always went back to you.” She wiped away another couple of tears and sniffed. “When I attempted to push Braeden away, he got mad and tried to take me by force.”

  “I’ll kill him, make no mistake.” Xavier yanked at his bonds and let loose a low, rumbling growl when they didn’t budge. “You’re mine, Sophia.”

  “I know, all right? You’ve told me three hundred times.”

  “I would gladly remind you another three hundred until you believe me.”

  “I do believe you.” The ringing of her cell phone broke the silence. “If you’d like to continue your quest without me I’ll understand.”

  He grinned, the slow, steady smile of a man who’s just found something valuable. She believes me. Hell, she believes in me. He changed positions and flexed his wrists in the shackles. “You’re a study of contrasts. You want to have the courage of a thousand warriors, but you lack the confidence to carry it off. I understand the motivation behind your actions this afternoon.” He paused, considering his next words. “Mona’s under your care and you want to help her. What I don’t understand is why you chose that particular way to convince Braeden?”