“It just felt…powerful.” She hesitated. Doubt played over her face. “I don’t like to manipulate men. It’s not something I’ve ever done until…” She frowned and wiped at the moisture on her cheek. “…I met you. You drive me crazy. Sometimes I want to yank your curls right out of your head. You push me to my limits, beyond what I’m capable or comfortable doing. It’s…empowering.”
“I was the catalyst that opened your eyes to the self-imposed prison you insisted on living within, but it was your abhorrence for confinement that prompted your own flight.” His chest swelled at her praise. “You’d have come to the same conclusion without me, eventually.”
“No. If you hadn’t bounded into my life, I’d still be toiling for Sterling with no hope, no future, and no happiness. I’d be alone, unwanted.” She audibly swallowed. “At least with you, I know you’ll keep trying to get me into bed because we’re mates. That’s a start, I guess, and other relationships have had much less to work with. I’ll take what I can get.”
“Sophia.” Xavier’s heart constricted at the resigned tone in her voice. He wanted her, but not if she didn’t return those feelings and definitely not just because they were fated to be together. He reeled from the implication. Only yesterday, he would have been content to have a strictly physical relationship simply on the foundation of their mated status. Now? “It’s not like that at all.” He closed his eyes and banged the back of his head against the wall. Now, he wanted it all, her mind, body, and soul. Her love.
Anything less was unacceptable. He vowed to do everything in his power to convince her they belonged together for an eternity. Xavier yanked at his chains, grunting as he exerted his full strength.
“What are you doing?”
“I intend to transform into a wolf and would advise you to look away if you are squeamish or afraid.” He pulled one last time at his shackles and met her watery gaze. “It’s time to see what you have been afraid to acknowledge these last few days.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“The decision isn’t under your control.” He chuckled and the soft sound seemed to be absorbed into the concrete walls. “Shut your eyes.” He let loose a loud howl.
*****
The lone and meager light bulb popped, plunging the small room into total darkness. Sophia panicked before her eyes adjusted to the obscurity and the soft green glow from the EXIT sign above the door. “Xavier?” Her voice was a whisper as she frantically squinted through the gloom to locate the werewolf.
No answer.
The hair on her arms stood at attention. The climate of the chamber shifted. No longer just a damp, dim prison, the air hummed with electricity and pent-up rage. Her breath caught as his body came into her line of vision, his curls disheveled and stark against the darkness. Wreathed in shadows, he knelt on the floor; his only sounds a curious mixture of groans and cries of pain. He strained at his bonds. The chains rattled against the concrete. “Xavier?”
“For the love of all that’s holy, woman, please don’t talk anymore! Transforming is hard enough without your interference.”
A cry of torment ripped from his throat, a high-pitched whine that ended in a growl. She scrabbled over the floor to huddle against the wall. Her heart beat frantically at the frenzied intensity of the sound.
Bathed in the eerie green glow Xavier stood, and for one terrifying moment, his silhouette hovered between the light and shadows, only a man. Then his hands clawed at his face as he gasped for breath. He fell to his knees, his bones cracking and popping from the act of his metamorphosis.
Sophia bit down hard on her knuckles to keep from screaming when he arched his back and howled. A fluffy tail curled against the faint light. It was a low, mournful sound and uncanny enough to cause sweat to beat on her forehead.
She covered her eyes with dirty hands. “Please stop.” She pressed her forehead to the cool cement blocks and fought down the revulsion that built in her throat. Even against the back of her eyelids, she could see fur sprout from his skin as if it were grass. She saw the flash of white teeth in the dim light and the yellow eyes glowing in the darkness. Those images were superimposed on her mind’s eye. Despite all she had done to postpone this moment, it had occurred in spite of her best defense.
Beyond any doubt, she now had concrete proof that Xavier was indeed a werewolf. The knowledge shook her to her very soul. It was only a matter of time now before she’d be compelled to take him to Sterling, no matter their tentative relationship.
Shivering, she raised her head. Silence filled every available space in the small room, broken only by the unrelenting drip drop of a water leak and her ragged breathing. No other living presence existed. When the green light flickered and faded, Sophia freaked out. “Xavier?” The word came out as more of a croak than an inquiry. She licked her dry lips. Claustrophobia ratcheted around her brain until she wanted to gnaw her arms from her body in an effort to escape. “Are you still here?”
Without warning, a dark shape sprang out of the shadows to crash into her chest.
She let loose a scream that would probably raise the security force in the building. Terror of the unknown in the dark is as powerful as the mere suggestion of what is usually there. She covered her eyes and continued to scream until a persistent wetness on her fingers imparted a tiny bit of calm.
His canine tongue brought Sophia to her senses. The exuberant tail wagging rocked her back and forth. She struggled to find breath. “In case you were wondering, you’re very terrifying when you howl.” She slipped her arms around the coarse-haired neck. “I’m so glad you’re here.” She squeezed until he squirmed away with a surprised yelp. “What are you waiting for? Find a way out!”
A short bark signified his agreement and he bounded away into the shadows.
Sophia pulled once more at her chains. If Xavier could get out of the prison, just how would he summon help? It wasn’t every day that a wolf wandered through a prestigious office building. She took a deep breath. She missed his presence, even if he was in wolf form. Her chin trembled. Dark loneliness crept in, crushing her.
Two seconds later the door swung back against the wall with a thunderous crash. The doorway framed Mona’s petite silhouette. Sophia squinted. “Mona? What are you doing here?” She wrinkled her nose against a sneeze. “What are you wearing?” From her perspective, it appeared Mona had donned black leather pants with a black turtleneck and high heeled black boots.
“It’s my cat burglar outfit. I wanted to get into character.” The thin beam of a flashlight cut through the darkness and swept the interior of the room. “How come you’re chained to the wall?”
Sophia blinked at the sudden blinding light and held a hand over her eyes. “Oh, just hanging out. And you?” She bit down on her bottom lip to keep from laughing.
Mona wore a black knit cap over her masses of hair. The result was a huge bulging sack on her head.
“Rescuing you, of course.” She angled the light through the rest of the room. “Why is Xavier in wolf form? Was that really gross to watch?” When Mona tripped over a rough patch of concrete, she dropped the flashlight, plunging the room into darkness once again. “I accidentally bumped into some gorgeous guy in the elevator on my way down here. He got his tie stuck in the doors. I don’t think he was very happy about it because he started to morph into this really cool black dragon with creepy green belly scales. Talk about being stuck between a rock and a hard place, well, except for the rock part. I imagine it’ll take him awhile to unstick himself from the elevator car. I forgot to ask him if he breathed fire or poisonous gas.”
“Mona?” Sophia gritted her teeth. Was being annoyed to death a valid excuse to commit murder?
“Yes?” She scrabbled for the flashlight then flipped it back on.
“Shut up and unchain me.” Sophia blinked and half her world went blurry. “I think I lost a contact lens.”
Chapter Seventeen
Frowning, Sophia stared out the water-streaked
window and fingered the mermaid scale around her neck. Midnight had come and gone hours ago, yet sleep eluded her—too keyed up with unresolved anticipation and too exhausted to do something as mundane as rest. Besides, Mother Nature had decided to heap insult upon injury by letting it rain for the last few hours, muting the world and its problems.
She just wanted to be done with the whole sordid affair. She glanced at Mona’s whimsical country rooster calendar and the large twenty-nine mocked her. So late in the month, and she was no closer to helping Xavier complete his task. The incident with the dragon was a bust, and for what? She’d gained nothing except a growing uneasiness that more than likely indicated a confrontation with Sterling was in the offing.
“Come to bed, Sophia.”
She watched Xavier’s reflection in the darkened window. “When did you change?”
After escorting her and Mona home from the dragon’s lair, he’d chosen to search out a more traditional dinner than the roasted veggie and lemon juice pasta she and Mona had eaten. Now he was clad in the same loose-fitting linen pants from yesterday. No matter how many times Sophia firmly told him the guest bedroom was his to sleep in, he always ended up at the foot of her bed while he was in wolf form. It was his transformation into a human that worried her.
Xavier shrugged, his reflection as elegant as his actual image. “Not long ago. When I returned to the apartment, you weren’t in bed. When you didn’t come back after a decent interval I searched for you.”
She kept her gaze on the outside. A soggy newspaper advertisement plastered itself to a streetlamp; limp, lifeless, exactly the way she felt. “I’m not tired.” She pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose and followed the path of a drop of water as it sped down the window, collecting some of its fellows along the way until it became a big blob.
“Neither am I.” He moved the hair off her neck and pressed a kiss there. “Why don’t you keep me company and see what develops.”
She grinned at the touch of arrogance in his voice and turned to face him. “In case you haven’t noticed, the Universe doesn’t revolve around you.” His bare, sculpted chest caught her attention. Giving into the urge, she drew a hand over his pecs; shivering when he grabbed her hand and brought it to his lips. “Come on.” She moved toward the stairs.
“It may not revolve around me, but it has to take notice.” He followed her then paused midway on the staircase.
“I thought you were angry at me for the whole thing with the dragon.” They’d been slightly awkward around each other since the dungeon.
“I was, but I’ve decided to trust you, hoping you’ll learn from my example.”
“Xavier—”
“No more talk of the past. Now, why do you insist on ferreting me away in your guest room? It’s impossible for me to guard you from this vantage point.”
When he traced tiny circles on her palm, confusion swirled through her gut. “You’re a guest, and that’s the guest room.” Sophia broke away and pushed open the door at the landing. “I can take care of myself, thank you.” She let him precede her into the room then stood uncertainly in the doorway. “I know, you’re duty bound to protect me. I thank you for it, but I don’t think there’s a need.”
“You don’t always have to be so brave.”
Sophia padded over to sit beside him on the bed, slanting toward him. “Oh, I do.” His body heat radiated into her, warming her from the inside out, and imparted comfort and hope. “Do you know what it’s like to be terrified of something every day of your life? I have a bad feeling about our visit to Braeden’s office. Sterling will have found out about that little stunt by now and—”
Xavier laid a finger over her lips. She blinked, ignoring the urge to fall into his arms. “You cannot worry about what you think may happen. If he knows, there’s nothing you can do about it now.”
“He knows. What’s more, I have proof of your paranormal power within the community. I won’t lecture you for snacking on the more hapless criminals out there. At the very least, you’ve cut down on the crime around here.”
“What a pity. A lecture from your lips is a benediction from the Heavens.”
“Knock it off, Xavier. I’m serious.” She felt his gaze, but refused to look up, wasn’t strong enough to withstand the power of his hypnotic eyes. “I might betray you. There’s always that possibility as long as I’m bound to Sterling.”
He stroked his fingers along the bare skin of her arm. “You might, but I’m willing to bet against you.” He grinned and stretched out on the quilt. The moonlight sculpted contours on his chest and shoulders, tempting her to explore. “Stay with me tonight.” He patted the empty space by his side. “I’ll behave—mostly.”
“I can’t. It doesn’t feel right.” She rubbed her hands up and down her arms and fought off a shiver. Desire swirled through her body as she stared at him, drank him in as if he’d vanish in a puff of smoke all too soon. “Xavier—”
“Then let’s go to your bedroom. The location doesn’t make any difference to me.”
Sophia squeaked when he pulled her down next to him. “Why does everything always have to have a sexual connotation? I’ve never heard of the world’s problems being solved by engaging in physical pleasure.” The aroma of wood smoke, apples and oak enticed her nose. She settled her cheek more comfortably against his chest, wanting to lose herself in his scent. She needed time to analyze why she felt safe with him, why she wanted desperately to let him make love to her, why she wanted to cuddle with the werewolf.
“Of course the problems of the world aren’t solved by sex, but I’ve found that act goes a long way into distracting me from them.” He kissed the inside of her left wrist. “Let me also say there’s only one woman I want to have that sort of intimate relationship with.”
“Oh.” Her cheeks heated as his words sank in. “But—”
“I promise your feelings of unease will fade once you give into it.” He moved his lips over her arm to the crook over her elbow. “No harm will come to you while I have breath in my body.”
Tingles of pleasure emanated from the pit of her abdomen and radiated outward. “It’s the room.” Sophia closed her eyes as Xavier covered her face with whisper-soft kisses. “I’ve never spent more than ten minutes in here since…”
He stroked a finger over her cheek and her breath hitched. “Since what?” He wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her closer. “What is the terrible secret of this room?”
“I…” Sophia shivered. She recognized the intricate pattern of the protection ward he traced on her stomach. “You’re warding me?”
“I thought it might set your mind at ease, but it pleases me you know what a ward is.”
“Of course I know. I come up against them in my line of work. They’re not always pleasant.” She gave him a wobbly smile. “I ward the house when I leave Mona alone.”
He fingers stilled. “Tell me about the room.”
She gazed into his eyes. Compassion and encouragement lurked in the golden depths. A tiny sigh escaped. “It used to belong to Evangeline, my other roommate.” She ran her fingers through the hair on his chest. “She was a wood nymph I freed. As I walked home from work one afternoon, I glimpsed a fading ward on a tree. Once I undid it, Evangeline was able to leave her prison. She was grateful, but homeless, so I took her in.”
“And you lived happily ever after?”
“For a while.” Xavier twisted a strand of her hair around his finger, and she closed her eyes once more, trusting him to protect her, to believe in her. “She was very beautiful. Rarely did she leave the house without half a dozen men following her through the neighborhood. Naivety was her only flaw. She’d nagged me for months to take her to the Court. Against my better judgment, I took her before Sterling so she could apply for residency in the Mortal Realm.”
“And there she met with trouble.” He traced her lips with a fingertip, grinning when she shivered. “Go on.”
“Sterling took one look at Evangeline
and poured on the charm. She didn’t stand a chance in the face of such blatant flattery and charisma. She fell for him hard, scoffed at my warnings, told me he was the most wonderful man she’d ever met. One night Sterling came through the Portal. He seduced her. Not only did she willingly give herself to him, she also gave Sterling what he was really after: her magic.”
“Sophia—”
Her eyes flew open. “I need to finish.” She guided his head down and took a kiss before continuing, nearly giving into tears. “I found her the next morning, drained, white as a ghost, and near death. She told me what he did. As she slipped away, Evangeline gave me a message from Sterling. He told her to thank me for the gift.” Sophia shuddered at the memory of Evangeline’s waxy white face and haunted, dead eyes. “The next time I saw Sterling he gloated about his conquest. I lost all reason, tried to strangle him. Obviously, it didn’t work, but he did add ten years to my sentence as a sort of penance.” She rose up and met Xavier’s gaze. “It was never my intention to turn Evangeline over to him. I was going to give her safe harbor here along with everyone else, but she wanted….”
Xavier stroked her cheek. “You cannot blame yourself because Sterling abuses his power. I’m surprised the Immortal in charge allows it.”
“They probably don’t know what he does. If I’d never taken her in, Sterling would never have seen her. I’m rapidly running out of room here, but I can’t help myself from protecting them. They all deserve a chance to be free, to be themselves.” She scrubbed at the tears as they slid from her cheeks into her hairline. “What do I do about you?” Sophia settled against his chest, listened to the strong even strokes of his heartbeat beneath her ear. “I can’t lead another person to their death”
Charmed by the Werewolf Page 19
