The Enchanted: Council of Seven Shifter Romance Collection

by Juniper Hart

  Trevor hoped that Marika would stick around long enough for him to find out precisely of what she was capable. Although he couldn’t say why, he often felt like she was getting ready to leave and only stayed because of her affection for Ellsbeth. That was good, though. Otherwise, he would feel like a creep, keeping her there. She had a job, a place to live. If she wanted to leave, no one was stopping her.

  And yet she stayed.

  The days seemed to meld together in a happy, mellifluous state, filled with gentle banter and the tender excitement of getting to know someone new. They began to learn each other’s sense of humor, their likes and loathes, and before either one realized it, they had become best friends, bonding over raising Ellsbeth and then growing a mutual respect.

  At first, Trevor had been extremely wary of Marika, reading into every word she said, trying to determine what she wanted from him, but with the passing of the weeks, Trevor saw no sign of deceit in the woman.

  The opposite seemed true. They stayed up late into the night, well after Ellsbeth had gone to bed, talking and laughing. Marika loved to cook, and suddenly, Trevor found himself eating healthy, delicious food instead of grabbing take-out or ordering in every meal.

  “Take-out is not good for a growing girl,” Marika chided him when he brought home meals. “She needs all the nourishment she can get at this age. It was fine when you were by yourself, but you need to make changes in your life, changes that she can look up to as she grows. You want her to grow up properly, don’t you?”

  Trevor admitted that he didn’t want Ellie to pick up his bad habits, and Marika beamed with happiness. Although he hadn’t asked for it in their contract, Trevor allowed Marika to cook for them.

  “You’re a natural!” he declared one day. “You can throw anything into a pot, and it comes out tasting amazing. How do you do it?”

  Marika shrugged modestly. “Back home. Mothers teach children very early how to cook. My own mother was not very good at it. Hungarian women take pride in cooking for their men, too, so I was apt to pick something up.”

  “You did more than ‘pick it up.’ You’re a gourmet!” Trevor muttered, blushing like a schoolboy at the thought of being her man, which he didn’t mention aloud. He knew that it was old fashioned, but he found it endearing that she wanted to look after him—even if she meant it innocently.

  I want to look after her, too, he thought. I want to keep her with me as long as she will stay.

  His hopes were not high that she would remain in his life, but he refused to allow his mind to venture in that direction. He intended to savor the time he had with her now, and he wouldn’t let anything ruin it, especially not his own dark thoughts.

  The third week after Marika had arrived, Trevor had to fly to California unexpectedly to meet a client. He wasn’t looking forward to leaving, and he’d done everything in his power to postpone or cancel it, but at the end, he’d had no choice.

  “Come with me,” he had begged. “Everyone who comes to America wants to see California!”

  Marika had grimaced at the invitation.

  “I don’t mean to offend you, Trevor, but Europe is much more beautiful than any American city. I have no interest in Los Angeles. It is too big and busy for me,” she told him. “And Ellsbeth would not like it, not at her age. We’ll stay while you go.”

  Surprised by her low desire for the promise of glamour of glimpses of famous people, Trevor reluctantly left for his business trip, a deep sense of foreboding gnawing away at his guts.

  She is not going to be here when I come back, he told himself as he boarded the 8 a.m. flight for LAX, but he brushed aside his uncertainty. There was no way that Marika would leave a three-year-old unattended while he was out of state. If he’d believed that for a second, he would never have left his niece with her.

  Still, he couldn’t shake the nauseating feeling that he would be coming home to heartbreak.

  What heartbreak? Get over yourself. She’s Ellie’s nanny. Nothing more.

  He wondered how many more times he was going to have to tell himself that to believe it. The chemistry he felt between them was only growing every day, and while neither of them had ever crossed any sort of line, Trevor couldn’t help wishing they would soon.

  His trip was scheduled to be three nights and four days, and three times on his way to the airport, he almost canceled. He wanted to run home and be with Marika and Ellsbeth, but his deeply seeded work ethic won out.

  I can’t let my business fail. It will be the only thing I will have left to hold onto once Marika decides she is finished with me. Ellie is depending on me, and if I screw this up, Mom and Tristan will swoop in and take her away from me. No, I have to keep going with this.

  The first two days passed slowly, and even though he maintained contact with Marika constantly throughout, he could not shake the feeling that she was stringing him along, making him believe that she would still be there, doting on him when he returned. Still, he felt cautiously optimistic with Marika. She had never given him cause to question her intentions, no matter how he tried to uncover her reasoning for staying there.

  Trevor had not pushed the issue of intimacy with Marika, although her nearness drove him almost completely over the edge. She had her own bedroom, with Ellsbeth’s room between them, and he provided her with respect and privacy. One night, she had rewarded his patience with gentle kisses on the cheeks and had recently began giving him nightly massages despite his protests.

  “You don’t need to do that!” he cried. “This is not in your job description!”

  “You are very stressed,” Marika had argued, pulling his shirt over his head.

  Feebly, Trevor tried to argue, but in the end, he had found himself face down in the double bed in his room, being kneaded almost expertly by Marika’s surprisingly strong hands.

  “You see?” she asked, straddling his boxer shorts, her long legs tucked upward. “Your back is as hard as a rock.

  Trevor did not want to tell her that his back was not the only thing hard.

  Think of something nonsexual. Think of ostriches. Think of Joe Pesci. Think of what Harley would say if he could see this scene right now. He would say, “Hey, how much did you pay for this?”

  Even with Chris’ mocking voice in his ear, Trevor could not help melting under the sensuality of Marika’s warm touch. As she continued to knead the knots in his back and neck, he found himself wishing she would kiss him, but the rubbing never led to anything other than Trevor being able to move his neck a full range of motion, something he had been hard pressed to do for years.

  Was there anything she couldn’t do? She was the perfect woman. But was she just too good to be true?

  On the third day of his trip, he returned to the hotel just after six p.m. He had barely had time to exchange texts with Marika, for his client had monopolized much of his day with trivial matters. He had also noticed that she had not reached out to him, and the realization filled him with a slight panic. He tried to ignore the fact that she hadn’t messaged first, but he was slowly becoming alarmed by her silence.

  By the time he pushed his way into the single room at the Ramada, he was mentally drained. He sent Marika a message telling her that he was finally done for the day, but she did not respond immediately, so he decided to jump in the shower.

  You’re just overtired. A hot shower will clear your head and relax you. As soon as you’re done, she’ll have texted, and you’ll see you’ve just been acting paranoid. She probably took Ellie to the zoo or something. She’s always doing something with that kid.

  Disrobing, he examined himself critically in the full-length mirror. Steam filled the small bathroom, and he looked at his strong, muscular form. Although he worked out, he was just naturally built, just like other dragons.

  He had a nice face, large, brown eyes which reflected intelligence and warmth. Of all his features, Trevor was complimented on his smile the most. His teeth were perfect, something even his older brother hadn’t been abl
e to claim, straight, white, and even.

  If a passerby didn’t look too closely, they might catch a glimpse of some warrior aura in his make-up. He was a dragon, after all, and even if he was the meekest in his family line, he still bore the strong genes of his noble pack, whether or not he chose to use them.

  Even after spending minimal time in the California sun, Trevor was already turning bronze, though he knew that he would lose the parlor when he returned to the freezing Connecticut winter the following day.

  Mist had swirled throughout the small washroom, covering the glass in which he was staring. Trevor slipped into the shower. His phone was perched on the counter in case Marika returned his message, but by the time he had finished washing the day’s grit from his body, she had still not replied.

  Slightly concerned, Trevor tried again after he had dressed in his pajamas. He had planned to go to the hotel restaurant for supper, but he was insurmountably tired. He opted instead to order a pizza, and he was hoping to speak with Marika on the phone before bed. He desperately longed for the sound of her charming, lilting accent.

  Trevor waited for a few more moments and then reached for the phone book on the desk beside his open laptop. He flipped through the Yellow Pages looking for a local pizza parlor, wondering what Marika was doing. He had ensured that he had left her enough money to go shopping and entertain herself and Ellie in his absence. He had even given her a credit card to use in case of emergencies.

  He was suddenly wondering if he had made another huge mistake.

  He’s probably taken my card and gone to Hawaii or something. She was just waiting for me to get comfortable so that she could run off with my money. Why don’t you ever learn? What is wrong with you? You need to see a shrink. You have a problem.

  Woefully, he slammed the book shut, no longer hungry as panic filled his stomach. Why did he let himself fall for these women? He was furious with himself. What was wrong with being alone? Lots of people were very happy alone. Why did he feel the need to repeatedly put himself through this?

  Trevor stood up and began pacing the room, feeling the tug of his fangs in his mouth.

  He would check his credit card statement online. If there was weird activity, he was going home. He didn’t need to stay until the next day. His flight was booked for 11 a.m., but his business with his client was finished. He needed to go home and see if she was still there. He would call to book a flight out of LAX tonight.

  Making his decision, he sat back down, looking at his phone again hopefully. There was still no reply from Marika. Sighing, he punched in his passcode to his computer and opened the screen to his web banking. As he typed in the credit card information, dread growing in his stomach, he was interrupted by an incoming Skype call. He did not recognize the caller, and his immediate impulse was to ignore it, but he realized it might be one of his clients. Gritting his teeth, annoyed at the disruption, he answered.

  “Hi, Trevor.” Relief and happiness threatened to suffocate him when he saw Marika’s smiling face appear on screen.

  “Hi! You’re okay! I was worried about you!” he choked, excited and slightly ashamed at his lie. Her brow furrowed. “Are you okay? How’s Ellsbeth?”

  “I’m sorry we worried you. We had a busy day today,” she explained.

  Trevor nodded understandingly, but his mind was racing. What had they been doing? Why hadn’t she texted him? Somehow, he managed to bite back the questions.

  “Me too. I’m glad you’re fine. What did you do?” he asked instead, forcing his rogue mind to ease. “Did you have fun?”

  “Oh… just some things,” Marika said evasively, and Trevor realized he did not recognize the background behind her. “Fun, fun, always fun. Your mother came and spent time with Ellie.”

  Suspicion shot through him again.

  “Where are you?” he demanded. She looked surprised at the question.

  “I am home,” she answered, looking confused. Trevor leaned forward to take a closer look, and Marika obstructed his view by placing herself directly in front of the webcam. “Ellsbeth is asleep now.”

  “Are you sure you’re at home?” he asked suspiciously. Marika laughed, adjusting the screen.

  “I am sure,” she answered. “I am in the bedroom.”

  Again, Trevor was confused. He was sure that the furniture didn’t belong to him. I know what my house looks like. What is she doing?

  “Whose bedroom?” he insisted.

  “Trevor, I am at your home. Our home. How are you doing?”

  Trevor tried to stifle his worry, but it lingered in the back of his mind. Marika adjusted the screen to allow for it to take in her curves. For the first time, he realized that she was wearing only a negligee. He quickly averted his eyes in embarrassment.

  “Why are you looking away?” she asked. “You don’t like it?”

  Trevor nervously cleared his throat and nodded eagerly, his face heating as he took in her full breasts pushing against the thin fabric.

  “You look beautiful,” he breathed. Marika smiled, showing white, perfect teeth, and nodded.

  “I miss you,” she told him, her hands slowly circling her graceful neck, fingertips tracing her slender clavicles.

  Trevor cleared his throat again as he realized what she was doing. You spent the entire day being suspicious of this woman, and she’s surprising you, like always.

  “I miss you, too,” he replied, shifting uncomfortably in the office chair in which he sat. Her hands found their way to the satin straps on her shoulders, and she began to lower them, the cloth slowly slipping down her full bust, exposing small, hard nipples. He could see small gooseflesh around her smooth bust at the tight skin surrounding them.

  “I wish you were here with me,” she whispered. “It’s been a very long few days without you.” She stood, allowing the nightgown to fall to the floor. Trevor took in her flat stomach and curvy waist, feeling his heart hammer in his chest as she exposed herself to him.

  “What are you doing?” he heard his voice ask, in spite of himself. He regretted the words as soon as they were spoken, but Marika only smiled again, her tongue darting out to lick her luscious lips.

  “I’m showing you what’s going to be waiting for you when you get home,” she told him. Trevor gnawed on his lower lip, shaking his head in disbelief. “Come home soon,” she said and disconnected.

  Trevor was left paralyzed, staring at the computer screen long after she had signed off, trying to make sense of what he had just seen.

  She wants me, and she wants to be with me, he thought. She is going to be there when I get home! I was worried about nothing. I didn’t push her. She came to me all on her own. She really is mine.

  Kendra had been extremely busy in Trevor’s unwitting absence. When he had brought up the business trip, she had seen her opportunity and seized it. From the moment he had left for the airport, she had not stopped, barely sleeping in her rush to get everything accomplished.

  It was a blessing that Trevor had not gone online to check his credit card statements, for he would have been in for a shock. She had spent thousands of dollars, more than she had intended, but once she had gotten started, she had been unable to stop. She had been riddled with guilt at the initial use of the credit card she had been entrusted with, but she had silenced the condemning voices in her head.

  It is necessary, she justified. It must be done.

  She sat staring at her cell phone, waiting. She knew Trevor would be home soon. She wondered if he would be angry, a sick feeling of worry in her stomach. She again pushed the dark thoughts out of her head. She couldn’t stress about it now—what was done was done, and there was no going back. He was going to need to learn to accept things. There were going to be some changes around the house, and he needed to adapt if he wanted to be happy.

  Trevor texted to say he was at Bradley International Airport and was on his way home. When he arrived at his apartment, he found Marika outside the door, pacing the hallway, biting her nails.


  “Marika, what are you doing out here?” he asked, rushing toward her. “Did you lock yourself out? Where’s Ellsbeth?”

  She shook her head and embraced him nervously. “I didn’t lock myself out, and your sister came to take Ellie to her house overnight because I asked her to.”

  “Why?” Trevor demanded, his face shadowing. “What’s going on? What are you hiding?”

  She inhaled and met his eyes squarely. “I did something while you were gone. I spent all your money, and I think you’re going to be angry.”

  Trevor pulled away from her hug, and she watched the blood drain from his face. She could almost read his thoughts. To her shock, he only nodded stiffly.

  “It’s okay,” he said gravely, reaching for the doorknob. “You wouldn’t be the first to do something like this.”

  She was confused by the response. Her brow furrowed, and she stared at him for a moment.

  “But—but you don’t even know what I did—”

  “I’m sure it was all for a very noble cause. You needed it for astrophysics school or something equally important,” Trevor said, his voice caked in sarcasm and pain. “Or your mom needs two lungs and a liver, right?”

  She immediately sensed his despair, but she did not comprehend his reaction.

  “I don’t understand,” she told him. He doesn’t even know what I’ve done. I cannot imagine why he would be sad!

  “Yeah, I bet you don’t,” Trevor answered grimly. “You can take whatever I bought for you and—”

  He abruptly stopped speaking when he threw open the door to the apartment, where he started in shock. His mouth dropped open. He looked at her and then back inside, his mind unable to reconcile what he was seeing with reality.

  “I am sorry, Trevor. I didn’t think you would be so angry over something like this,” Kendra whispered from beside him, tears filling her eyes in shame.

  Slowly, Trevor stepped inside his front room, staring dumbfounded at his surroundings. It had been completely redecorated, new furniture replacing the mismatched, worn futon and chairs. A black leather sectional surrounded a mounted flat screen, with two wooden end tables and the matching coffee table. Tasteful artwork graced the walls, mostly still life and landscapes, all in warm tones. She had even managed to paint the living room a soft olive green, warming it from the sterile white it had always been. She had ordered a classic table and chair set for the dining room, and an island with barstools for the kitchen. Everything was handcrafted in wood and gave the apartment the feel of a farmhouse. The window treatments had been replaced with heavy drapes which were drawn to allow for the glorious view.