Moon Bound

by Stephanie Julian

  As Barrasso and Weichelt started to work on Levanti, Steven had practically shoved her and Marco out of the room and up the stairs to Amy Jo.

  Now, alone again, she didn’t know what to say.

  Steven set the glass on the closest table and closed the distance between them. Without hesitation, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her against him.

  Immediately, the arus in her blood rushed to meld with his. And surprisingly, he allowed it.

  Before, he’d always been so careful to keep his magic from coming close to hers. As if he were afraid he’d contaminate her.

  But the essence of her that was magical wanted more. She yearned for it. She wanted to be blood bound. Wanted to tie their souls together for all eternity through the exchange of blood during sex.

  That dream had faded until she’d forced herself not to think about it in the past year.

  Today, that dream made her heart pound and her arus sizzle and burn.

  With a sigh, he tightened his arms around her and rested his forehead against hers. “Are you okay, Bella? Do you want to talk about it?”

  Was he talking about him using his power or what had happened to Levanti? Did she want to talk about either?

  She shook her head. “Not now.” Later, she knew they’d have to, but not now.

  Steven sighed. “Then we should go talk to Cole. He’s probably making everyone crazy wondering where we are.”

  He was right. A week ago, she would’ve blown Cole off until she was damn good and ready to talk to him. Today she knew she couldn’t do that.

  Guess she’d grown up some.

  “I know. Just—”

  Fisting his hand in her hair, he pulled her head back and sealed his mouth over hers, sinking his tongue between her lips and sliding it around hers.

  A wave of pure lust rose until she melted, arms tightening around him as he crushed her against his body. He hardened against her immediately, his erection pressing low on her stomach and setting her on fire.

  She moaned, hands searching for the edge of his shirt so she could get under it to his bare skin.

  Steven held her steady and kissed her. Hard and uncompromising. She felt only his desire for her in his kiss. No hesitation, no fear, no worry.

  He kissed her like she’d dreamed he would.

  And when he released her with an audible groan, she actually smiled.

  “Later,” she said. A promise. “Cole first.”

  * * *

  “Cole Luporeale is said to be up and about in the hotel. Daniel Levanti hasn’t been seen since this late this morning.”

  Remo looked at Charles Jones, sitting across the meeting table. The lawyer hadn’t looked happy when Remo had walked into Case and Jones’ office, though Charles had put on a good show.

  Charles liked to think he was autonomous down here, a thousand miles from Remo’s home in New York City. Maybe Remo had given the man too much leash.

  “Levanti served his purpose.”

  From the look on Charles’ pale face, he’d caught Remo’s unspoken meaning.

  Charles wasn’t a stupid man. His family had been loyal Mal for centuries but Charles had begun to show signs of independent thinking. Never a good thing in lawyers, Remo thought. Especially not one he controlled.

  But he really should cut the man some slack. Jones was about to lose something very precious to him.

  “And our target was not injured?”

  Jones shook his head. “No.”

  Remo waited for Jones to continue but the man showed no indication that he knew of Castiglione’s still-unexplained disappearance. Remo couldn’t abide mysteries. And he’d solve this one just as soon as he obtained Castiglione.

  Remo turned to the other person at the table. “Tiffani, my dear. Are you prepared for your role in the festivities?”

  The blond beauty looked like every red-blooded male’s version of the American Dream. The perfect accessory to hang on your arm and declare you’d reached the heights of power to afford someone like Tiffani.

  Her personality… Well, that left something to be desired. Frankly speaking, she was a bitch, spoiled rotten and willful.

  But Remo had a cure for that.

  Even pouting, Tiffani managed to look like Sex Incarnate. “I’ve been ready, Mr. Paganelli.” Then she smiled. “You know I’ll assist you in any way I can.”

  Remo knew what she was up to. Bagging the leader of the Mal as her mate would be a coup not only for Tiffani but for her father. Unfortunately, the Joneses were about to find out their loyalty came with a high price.

  Standing, Remo held out his hand to Tiffani and pulled her to her feet. “I’m glad to hear you say that.”

  Tightening his hand on hers, Remo made sure he had a firm grip before he began to chant the spell he’d created for this moment.

  “Paganelli, what—” Jones cut off as Remo held up one hand to freeze the man in place with another, easier spell.

  You didn’t live for five hundred years and not pick up a few tricks.

  “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Tiffani screeched, trying to twist away from Remo but having no luck. And when Remo pulled the small pugio from his suit pocket, she began to scream and struggle in earnest.

  Good thing the conference room had been sound-proofed.

  Lifting the small dagger, Remo slashed it across Tiffani’s wrist. Releasing her, he smiled as she turned to run. He let her get as far as the door before he used another spell to pin her to the wall, immobile.

  With her hands pinned at her sides, blood dripped to the floor in a steady crimson flow. She wouldn’t bleed out, at least not yet. And he’d be done before that happened.

  * * *

  “I’m going to take a shower and check in with Amy Jo.”

  Steven watched Bella kiss her brother on the forehead then turn and walk to him.

  Her dark eyes were serious and still a little worried as she put her arms around his shoulders and kissed him on the lips.

  “You two be good. I’ll be back in a little while.”

  With one more look at her brother, she walked out the door.

  Steven stared after her for several seconds before Cole said, “Wanna tell me what you plan to do about my sister?”

  Steven met Cole’s surprisingly sharp gaze. No trace of pain.

  “You look a lot better,” Steven said. “How’re you feeling?”

  Cole’s brows lifted. “I’m fine. Don’t change the subject. What are you going to do about Bella?”

  Steven didn’t give himself time to think, which he was beginning to think was overrated. “I’m going to keep her. I never want to live through the hell of being without her again. Or without you.”

  Cole nodded, as if that was exactly what he’d expected to hear. “You know I wanted to take back the words the minute they left my mouth. We were standing by her bed and I kept hearing that damn heart monitor. Each time it beeped, it was like someone raking their nails over a chalk board. I got more and more angry. And then you said something. I don’t even know what the hell you said anymore. But it was the last straw. I heard myself tell you to leave and never come back. I knew you felt responsible. I knew what I’d said would push you over the edge and you’d go. But my heart felt like someone had sliced it open. I wanted you to hurt as badly as I did. And I fucked us all over royally.”

  Steven leaned closer to the bed to grip Cole’s shoulder. “I think there’s enough blame to go around. Let’s just agree to a private fight until we’re bloody and can’t stand when this is over.”

  “After we get through this.”

  Steven nodded. “After we get through this.”

  * * *

  “Ms. Luporeale, we need to talk.”

  “Who is this?”

  “We have a…shared interest.”

  The female’s voice was unfamiliar and set Bella on her guard immediately. She was in her hotel room to change clothes. Steven was still with Cole. It seemed too much of a coincide
nce that this caller would be lucky enough to find her alone.

  “And that would be…?”

  “Steven Castiglione.”

  And weren’t those the magic words to get her attention? “And you are?”

  “Tiffani Jones.”

  Now the woman had her full and undivided attention as her laughter grated across the phone line. “I’m assuming from your silence that you know who I am.”

  Bella couldn’t help her soft snort. “And what you are.”

  The bitch laughed, a high-pitched giggle that grated on Bella’s nerves like sandpaper on rough wood. “Oh really? Honey, you have no idea.”

  Bella felt the hair on her neck lift and her arus began to bubble under her skin like lava. She wanted to snap her teeth and claw the woman’s face to shreds. “What do you want, bitch?”

  “Now, we all know who the real bitch is, don’t we, little wolf.” Tiffani sighed, the sound so false Bella had to catch back a growl. “Anyway, I guess I just called to gloat.”

  Bella’s blood began to boil even as a cold pit opened in her stomach. She should hang up. She knew it, but she couldn’t help thinking she might learn something about how the Mal planned to steal Steven away.

  “I wouldn’t start gloating just yet. Steven will never go to you willingly.”

  “He doesn’t have to. Haven’t you figured that out yet? Well, I’m sure I’ll be seeing you soon, Arabella. Goodbye for now.”

  The phone fell silent and the only sound she could hear was her own too-fast breathing.

  Anger, fear, jealousy. They all roiled in her stomach until she had to run for the bathroom, trying hard not to lose her lunch. She hated to be sick, hated the weakness that came with it. She didn’t want to be weak.

  When she finally had her stomach under control, she sat on the closed toilet, head in her hands.

  Her first instinct was to go to Cole and Steven. But neither of them needed this added worry. Besides, she was pretty sure Tiffani Jones was merely trying to psych her out.

  But what did the woman hope to gain from warning Bella? Just the thrill of taunting her?

  The woman wouldn’t be able to get into the hotel, not with so many grigori here. They’d sense her coming a mile away. And Bella wasn’t foolish enough to leave the hotel without a guard.

  Although…she was no coward. She was a gods-be-damned royal princess who shouldn’t cower in her hotel room because that bitch had made her think too much.

  Well, shit.

  She looked at the clock on the bedside table. Three o’clock in the afternoon. Definitely time for happy hour.

  And she was sick to death of this damn suit. She stripped it off and left it on the floor. Digging through her duffle, she grabbed a pair of denim shorts that barely covered her ass, a tight t-shirt with the words “Spoiled Rotten” in glittered script across the chest and a pair of well-worn Birkenstock flip flops.

  So much better.

  Pulling a pink Braves ball cap over her hair, she grabbed her room key and headed out into the hall.

  “Hey, Luca.”

  Her praetorian took one look at her and raised his eyebrows. “Uh, hey, Bella.”

  She couldn’t help it. She laughed. His expression was classic “Oh shit, what’s she up to now?”

  “Don’t worry, Luca. I’m just going down to the bar. Is Steven still in with Cole?”

  Luca actually sighed. “Yeah, Dori came out a few minutes ago then went back in. Said they were working on something.”

  They could keep their secrets for now. “Come on, Luca. I think we deserve a drink.”

  * * *

  The bar was surprisingly empty.

  She and Luca took a booth in the back, away from the few other people sitting near the door. Bella nodded at the few familiar faces but didn’t stop to talk. She was done with politics for the day. She didn’t want to think about traitors or punishment or magic or the invitation to join the boschetta still hanging over her head.

  She wanted a couple of margaritas, a never-ending plate of hot wings and a little peace.

  A waitress took their order—soda for Luca—and then they sat there.

  Luca was the first to break the silence. “Long day, Princess?”

  She laughed, though there was no amusement in the sound. “You could say that. I don’t think I’m cut out to be a politician.”

  “I think you did just fine.”

  She smiled at the handsome young man she really didn’t know all that well. He was a year younger than she was but he’d worked his way through the ranks to praetorian already. As such, he was held in high esteem. “Thank you, Luca. But I certainly hope I never have to do that again.”

  Neither the meeting nor what had come after. She could still hear Levanti screaming in her head.

  Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath and tried to release all the tension in her body on the exhale.

  “Arabella Luporeale?”

  She caught back a sigh and opened her eyes to find a beautiful blonde standing next to their table. The smiling woman held out her hand and Bella took it without thinking. “May I help you?”

  “It’s nice to finally meet you,” the stranger said.

  Bella frowned. Why did that voice sound so familiar? “Do we know each other?”

  The other woman smiled but there was something funny about her face. Something about her eyes—

  “No,” the woman said, “and unfortunately for you, we won’t be getting to know each other. But you can call me Tiffani.”

  Oh shit.

  The air stilled then got heavy. And hot. So damn hot Bella felt like she was suffocating.

  Reality shifted before her eyes. She heard Luca shouting, but he sounded so far away. She tried to release the other woman’s hand, but Tiffani dug her nails in her skin and held on.

  And then there was nothing but black.

  Chapter Twenty

  “What do you mean, she’s gone?”

  Steven tried to keep his voice down. He didn’t want to upset Cole, still resting in the room behind him. But Luca wasn’t making any sense.

  When Luca had come to the door and asked to speak to him, Steven knew something was wrong from the man’s expression. So he’d hustled him back into the hall.

  “She just…disappeared.” Luca’s voice didn’t exactly shake but Steven could tell the guy was shook up. “This woman… She just walked up to the table, shook Bella’s hand and then they were gone. Just blinked away.”

  Steven felt fear zip through his blood stream like acid. “What did the woman look like?”

  “Blond, pretty, mid-twenties. Blue eyes, about five-eight.”

  Steven felt that fear ratchet up a notch. Shit, it couldn’t be. “Did she say her name?”

  Luca nodded, his eyes still a little wild. “Her exact words were, ‘We won’t be spending much time together. But you can call me Tiffani.’”

  Acid tore through Steven’s veins, making his arus boil. He forced it down, forced back the fear, the fury, the raging desire to hit something. Those emotions were destructive. They wouldn’t help him. He needed to be icy cold. Logical. He needed to think like a Mal. “And they both just disappeared?”

  Luca nodded, his hands shaking as he ran them through his already disheveled hair. “Vaffanculo, it happened so damn fast I didn’t have time to react. One second she was there, the next she was gone.”

  Could Tiffani truly have that much power and have hidden it so well for so long? The Tiffani he knew had been selfish and arrogant. And, he’d thought, harmless.

  Had Luca seen Tiffani or was it more Mal trickery, a ploy to make Steven think…what? Did the Mal think they could discredit him with the lucani, with Cole?

  And how the hell had she gotten into the hotel? After the shooting, Dorian had locked the building down as tight as a prison. No one went in or out without checking with the guards stationed on every door.

  The only thing he knew for sure was that Tiffani had taken Bella to lure him out.
>
  Fine, consider him lured. He’d make an even trade for her.

  “Let’s go, Luca. There’s someone we need to see.”

  * * *

  Bella woke with the sense of falling.

  Probably because she was.

  She landed with a breath-stealing thud on a hard surface. She couldn’t have dropped far, but still, it was a jolt.

  Glancing around, she saw bare white walls, a mattress and a chair. She didn’t see a door, not on the walls or the ceiling, which was at least fifteen feet above her.

  She considered screaming for help, then figured why bother. Besides, it was beneath her. And she refused to give the blond bitch the satisfaction of hearing her scream.

  As if Bella had conjured her just by thinking about her, the blonde materialized in the corner, leaning back against the wall and smiling at her as if they were best friends.

  “Hello again, Arabella. Feeling okay?”

  Bella straightened her spine and willed herself to breathe normally. “Who the hell are you?”

  The other woman smiled. “Just call me Tiffani. But I already told you that. The fall must have knocked you for a loop. So sorry.”

  Yeah, the bitch really looked sorry. Actually, she looked smug. And so damn confident it made Bella’s heart stutter in her chest.

  Didn’t the woman know it wasn’t smart to taunt a wolf? If Bella shifted, she could rip her throat out in seconds. But she’d have to shift first and those precious first moments of her change left her vulnerable. Of course, this woman would know that. Therefore the smug smile. Fucking ugly cow.

  Bella rose to her full height and adopted the same lazy pose against the opposite wall, staring straight at the other woman. “So you’re Tiffani Jones. I was expecting someone a little…thinner.”

  The woman’s eyes narrowed the slightest bit but her smile widened, and not in a good way. “Ooh, you get a gold star. Very good, Arabella. Except, I’m not really Tiffani. Tiffani’s been…replaced by a better model, so to speak.”

  Bella tried not to show her confusion but the woman wasn’t making any sense. “What the hell are you talking about?”

  The woman’s expression got even more nasty. “How well do you know your mythology, little girl?”