Castor settled, closed his eyes, and waited. He’d learned to detect the feel of power being used around him, like a tickle at the back of his neck as Zeus had taught him after claiming him. Searching for power in use was a trick he’d never fully mastered, but he’d try anything now to help Leia. If a warlock was involved, he’d leave a signature.
There. In his mind’s eye, he could see a bubble at the center of the woods. A murky grey color, it pulsed with each spell the mage cast.
“Stay here.”
In a flash Castor sprinted to the location. The speed with which he could move made him almost invisible to the naked eye. To him, the forest flew past in a blur of greens and browns. Before the wizard knew he was there, Cas slammed into him. With the might of his strength, he threw the man into the side of the mountain, knocking him out cold.
Silence settled over the area like a thick blanket had been placed over them, muffling any noise. Not a creature dared move or even breathe in the wake of the madness.
Then a bird’s cry pierced the air and life returned to the forest, almost as if every living thing around him sighed with relief.
He slung the warlock over his shoulder, potato-sack style, and ran back to where he’d left Leia and Calli. Their eyes still glowed bright blue, the way Leia’s had the night before at the mating ceremony when she’d used her powers—the sight both eerie and sexy.
“Is that the mage?” Calli asked, as she washed away any remaining blood in the river, which now flowed peacefully.
The trees still dripped with water from the earlier dousing, sounding like a sprinkle of rain, and the ground squelched beneath his boots. He was glad he’d brought clothes other than his nice suits, although he hadn’t anticipated needing them for this reason.
“Yes.”
“Where’s Kaios?” Leia asked.
“No sign of him.”
“Damn.” She turned to her sister, taking Calli’s hands in hers. “I’ll make him pay, if it’s the last thing I do.”
Calli’s lips flattened. “We all will. No one’s attacked us like that before. He’s more dangerous than we realized.”
“I see. So you’ll let him ruin one sister’s life, but not all of you?” Castor couldn’t hold in the bitter question. The unfairness of how they’d treated Leia, shunning her, had his blood pounding in his ears with impotent wrath.
Leia, for her part, shook her head at him. He dumped the mage on the ground, uncaring of how he fell, and crossed his arms—unrepentant.
“You’re right.”
He raised his eyebrows at Calli’s words. “Of course I am.”
Leia rolled her eyes. “That’s enough out of you, Superman. Let’s not worry about the past.” She faced Calli. “Can you get the word out to everyone? I’m worried he’ll try something else.”
“I’ll talk to them.”
“As a werewolf, he’s our responsibility.” Marrok and Tala appeared in the clearing. Tala sported a baseball-sized bruise on the side of her face.
“What happened?” Castor asked.
“We ran into Kaios in the parking lot.” Tala touched the welt and winced. “There’s a reason he’s stayed alive this long. We couldn’t stop him.”
Damn. “Why not?”
Tala glared at Marrok. “Because someone was too busy trying to protect a woman who didn’t need protecting.”
Marrok said nothing.
“So…what next?” Leia asked.
Castor made a split decision. “We call Delilah.”
“Good idea,” Leia agreed. “She takes care of all manner of supernatural issues. I’m sure she’ll have an idea. And I’m sure she could arrange additional protection for the nymphs here, in case he comes back.”
“She arranged our marriage,” Tala added. “I think you’re right. She’s a resource we can use.”
“In the meantime, let’s tie him up and gag him. Calli?”
The nymph glowered at the unconscious man on the ground. “We’ll hold him here until you come for him. Arrange protection for you too, Lyleia.”
“Why?”
“He knows you forced the prophesy. He’ll come for you too.”
Guilt weighed heavily on Castor’s shoulders. He had put Leia in this position. He brought Kaios’s wrath down upon her. He’d be damned if that wolf got anywhere near her this time. Cas waited while Leia gave her sister a hug and whispered something in her ear. Then he placed his hand at the small of her back—he needed to touch her, reassure himself she’d come through this okay—and walked back to their cars with her, Marrok, and Tala.
“You’re soaked.” Leia made the observation when they were about halfway back to the hotel.
He grinned. “I’ll tell anyone who bothers to ask that you dunked me in a river.”
She chuckled. “I guess it has an element of truth. Why did I do that?”
“Because I needed a cold shower?”
That surprised a laugh out of her. The husky timbre of it went straight to his groin. How he could be turned on after what they’d just dealt with, he had no idea. “It won’t be far from the truth.”
She turned wide eyes on him, then glanced at his lap. Her lips parted in an adorable O of realization. “But it was only supposed to be one night.”
Not if he had anything to say about it.
Chapter Thirteen
Leia’s fingers flew over her keyboard as she recorded notes on what was being discussed. Returning to their planned activities while leaving everything in Delilah’s capable hands wasn’t easy, but they’d managed it.
This afternoon they were meeting with Tala, Marrok, and their advisors to iron out details of a contract with Castor’s company. As soon as they’d reached the hotel after the fight with the warlock, Cas had been all business. They’d cleaned up, dressed in their usual business clothes, and eaten lunch in the hotel restaurant before meeting the werewolves in one of the smaller conference rooms.
Like the rest of the hotel, the room was luxurious with its warm wood paneling and windows framing the exquisite views of the mountains outside. The discussions had been going on for the past hour, and the longer they talked, the more irritated Leia got.
Not with the wolves, but with Castor.
This wasn’t a negotiation, not like he’d made it out to be. This was simply determining small nuances of the contract on a deal already done, and her presence truly was not needed. Which begged the question, what had been his true motivation for bringing her?
Finally, the meeting wrapped up. Leia efficiently shut down and stored away her things. Then, with a pleasant smile plastered to her face, she shook hands with and thanked the various players in the discussion, promising various pieces of information she’d noted they had need of as they went.
Eventually only Tala, Marrok, Castor, and she remained.
“That went well,” Marrok said with a satisfied grin. “Thank you for the pricing breaks.”
Cas shook his friend’s proffered hand. “Absolutely.”
Leia hadn’t been surprised. Her boss always provided excellent pricing for supernaturals. Keeping their lives secret from the rest of humanity was key to their continued prosperity—and possibly survival. Humans didn’t handle outside-the-box well.
“We’re off to another meeting,” Tala said. “We’re booked with them during the next three days.” She stood off to the side, far from Marrok. During the meeting they’d sat together, but Tala hadn’t looked at him once.
Leia wondered at the distance which seemed to have sprung up between the mated pair overnight, but didn’t comment on it. They’d figure it out without her help. Delilah was the matchmaker, not her.
“You’ll be at the dinner tonight?” Marrok asked.
“Tonight, yes,” Castor answered. “But we won’t be here the other four nights.” Werewolf matings were celebrated for a full week.
“We’ll see you later then.” Marrok escorted his bride out of the room, his hand hovering at her back but not touching.
&
nbsp; Before Castor could do or say anything, Leia picked up her bag. “I’m going to drop this off in our room, then I think I’m going to explore the shops in town.”
“Not alone you’re not.”
“Tala and Shyla are going. I’ll be perfectly safe.”
His expression drooped. She’d known shopping would buy her some space. Cas hated shopping.
“Okay. I might join a few of the wolves for a round of golf then.” He waved outside, where the weather was gorgeous—crisp, clear, and heavenly.
“Sounds good.” She hurried out of the room.
“Hey.” He hustled to catch up with her. “What’s your rush?”
She glanced back at him. “No rush.”
“Is something wrong?”
She sighed. Beating around the bush wasn’t her style. How she’d kept her mouth shut about all Cas’s girlfriends this last year, she’d never know. “You didn’t need me here for the negotiations, did you?”
He tipped his head in confusion, probably trying to figure out her mood. “You were very helpful.”
She stopped, her bag swinging against her leg. “I took notes. So did the lawyer’s assistant.”
“You’ve attended lots of meetings like that.”
She resumed her trek back to the room. “You’ve never had me travel for a deal mostly buttoned up before.”
“You were also here for the mating ceremony. To keep me from being accosted.”
“Hmmm…”
“What does that mean?”
“It means I’m not discussing this in the hallway.”
She could feel his assessing gaze, but he remained silent the rest of the way to their room.
“We seem to be walking to our room for a discussion a lot lately,” he muttered.
She ignored the comment as she placed her bag carefully on the floor, then turned to face him, hands on her hips. “Was sleeping with me part of your plan from the beginning?”
His brows lowered in a fierce frown. Did it darken outside a tad? “Excuse me?”
She tipped her chin, refusing to be intimidated. “You heard me.”
“You came on to me, honey.”
True. She bit her lip.
He stalked toward her. “Do you think I’m the type of man who would deliberately plan that?”
She blew out a long breath. “Sorry, Cas. This entire trip has been…confusing.”
Instead of backing off, he crowded into her space, his achingly familiar scent surrounding her and clouding her thinking. With a yank he pulled her into his arms. Hot lips slanted across hers, and she was instantly lost to the magic of his kisses. How could he ignite her with a mere touch?
He pulled back. “Chemistry like this can’t be planned. I might have hoped, but never assumed. Given your attitude toward me, you were as likely to slap me as kiss me.”
She shook her head, breathing hard.
“I want you, Leia.”
Aphrodite help her, she wanted him too. But she’d witnessed all the other women before her. They’d streamed through his life like water over a riverbed—here one moment, forgotten the next. This desire of his would be fleeting.
Cas would never be able to forget the wife he adored, and no other woman stood a chance of holding his attention long term. Whereas she’d given him her heart, fully and forever. She knew that now. Could she handle the pain when his interest waned? Because it surely would.
Leia knew the answer already, though she was fully aware her emotions were a pendulum where this demigod was concerned, swinging from one extreme to the other. However, she’d never felt for a man the way she did for Castor. The specter of his wife would always be there, always keep his heart encased in grief-ridden stone. But even if this ended tomorrow, she’d take what time she could. She would rather have five minutes of spectacular than two thousand more years of merely surviving.
Perhaps she was more like the gods she’d long pitied and abhorred for their inability to commit.
Decision made, she let her inner-nymph free. Stepping back from him, she unbuttoned the top button of her conservative white blouse.
He tipped his head, eyeing her with wary hope. “Leia?”
She popped another button free, and another as she slowly backed away.
His lips quirked and his gaze turned hot. “I thought you were going shopping?”
She gave him a come-hither smile worthy of her siren sisters and finished the last few buttons. She stripped off the blouse, pulling it out of her pencil skirt and dropped it to the floor.
“If you really want to go golfing, I guess I could go shopping instead. Or maybe I’ll…take care of my needs…on my own.”
He growled. The man actually growled. Then, with a speed that defied logic, he picked her up and had her in the bedroom, looming over her on the bed, before she could even squeak her surprise.
“The only person taking care of your needs will be me.”
She melted under the fierce desire in his gaze. His grip on her was both gentle and commanding at the same time.
She arched against him, but the movement only stoked the conflagration of need burning through her veins.
“So take care of them already…”
Chapter Fourteen
The ring of her cell phone dragged Leia out of a deep sleep—one induced by multiple bouts of making love. She still couldn’t wrap her mind around it, but she was still going with it.
After attending the werewolf event that evening—a barbeque held in Rocky Mountain National Park where the pheromones continued to whip the attendees with need—they’d returned to the hotel and made love most of the night. The next morning they’d managed to get showered and packed and back to the airport.
Leia had sat in her usual spot on the plane, a different row than Castor, only to have him get up and move to the seat beside hers. He hadn’t said anything, merely given her a reproving look. Then he’d proceeded to whisper dirty words in her ear about exactly what he wanted to do to her body, but refused to touch her. As punishments went, it had been torturous. By the end of the flight, she’d been squirming in her need.
He’d taken them back to his house. The second they were inside, he’d put into action every one of those intentions.
She’d been to his house before, even inside his bedroom. She liked it. Unlike the modern furnishing in his offices and many of his planes, Cas had decorated his house more traditionally—lots of dark woods and masculine colors. In particular, she loved his king-sized bed with its massive wooden four poster frame.
With a groan, she leaned over the side of the bed and fished around in her purse for her phone. “Hello.” Her voice came out as a sleepy rasp. She cleared her throat.
“Leia, it’s Delilah.”
“Oh. Hi, Delilah.” She glanced over at Castor, who regarded her with curious eyes. “What can I do for you?”
“Is this a bad time? I wanted to discuss what to do with the warlock. I should have him in hand shortly.”
Leia glanced at the clock and winced. Of course Delilah would expect them to be in the office now. She sat up and the dark blue satiny sheet fell into her lap. Suddenly self-conscious, she gathered it up to cover her naked breasts. “I’m running a little behind today.”
Castor tugged at the sheet. She made a face and shook her head at him. He laughed silently back at her, but released it. “Um. Tala and Marrok should be included in the discussion. Let me call you from the office? Say an hour from now?”
“That’s fine.”
Leia hung up and dropped the phone back in her purse. “We need to get going.”
Before she could roll off the bed, he moved with that crazy speed again and had her pinned beneath him, sheets gone, and evidence of his not-yet-waning desire obvious between them. “Not yet.”
“We’re already late.” Her protest was weak, even to her ears, as a familiar ache settled low in her belly.
He smoothed his hand down her side from breast to hip to thigh. With a tug, he wrapped he
r leg around his waist. She shuddered as he repeated the action on the other side.
Then, with one slow stroke he entered her. Leia tossed her head back, arching to take him deeper.
“Eyes on me.” The demand was one she’d heard frequently the last day. Castor wanted to watch her face, her expression, as he brought her to the pinnacle of pleasure and over into the abyss. The intimacy of making love while staring deeply into his eyes, and he into hers, snagged at her heart every time, filling her full of love until she was bursting with it.
He took his time making love to her now, each move deliberately slow. She could feel every inch of him, and the pleasure built inside her.
“Please…” she begged.
“Please what?” His low tone, darkened with need, made her shiver.
“I need you.”
“You have me.” He plunged in deep.
Her stomach contracted at his words. She did have him. For now. She wouldn’t let herself wish for more.
“More.” She groaned the word as the tingling warning of her impending orgasm started in her middle and spread outward.
“You have all of me.”
Those words sent her tumbling into dark pleasure. Wave after wave surged through her and she cried out her fulfilment. She couldn’t pull her gaze away from the intensity in his. A declaration of love trembled on her lips. Instead she pulled him closer and pressed her lips to his, pouring her emotions into the kiss.
You have all of me. Seductive words. He meant those words. By the gods she wished he’d meant them the way she wanted.
Afterward, they managed to shower and dress quickly. Luckily, she’d packed extra clothes for their trip. She donned a dark brown pant suit with matching jacket, one of her favorites because of the wide belt and oversized buttons which gave the jacket a certain flare. Cas, always immaculate for work, emerged from his closet looking especially fine in a grey suit with subtle pin striping, a matching vest, and a deep red tie.
Unable to help herself, she crossed the room and fiddled with the tie, getting it just right. Lifting her gaze, she encountered tender affection in his.
My Paranormal Valentine: A Paranormal Romance Box Set Page 88
