Seduced and Ensnared

by Stephanie Julian

  “It is. Saturday morning.”

  She couldn’t decipher his expression. It was almost blank and she wondered if she’d overstayed her welcome. Sitting up, she kept the bedsheet tight around her, which was ridiculous considering what they’d been doing last night.

  “Well, I guess I should—”

  “Stay the weekend,” he said.

  Her mouth shut with a snap and she blinked at him for a few seconds. He looked so damn serious, as if he were asking her something much more…interesting.

  “I—”

  “Stay. I wa— I’d like you to.”

  He looked so intense his gaze glued to hers, so she couldn’t look away.

  “You don’t have plans for this weekend?” she asked.

  He shook his head. “None I can’t change. Stay. Please.”

  A fierce happiness took root and she couldn’t help but grin.

  Cam was out of the chair and kissing her before she could say a word. He laid his lips on hers hard and fast then he pulled back and smiled, a full-blown smile that made her heart melt.

  “Good,” he said. “Why don’t you take a shower and I’ll get some breakfast together. Unless you want to get some more sleep?”

  He was so close she could see how dark his eyes truly were. With his hands planted on either side of her body, his chest only inches from her own, he filled the space around her so all she could see or smell or breathe was him.

  She definitely didn’t want to go back to sleep.

  The second she thought that, his breathing pattern changed. She heard him take shorter, more shallow breaths and she swore she felt heat rise off his body.

  “I’m not really that tired,” she finally managed to say. “And I’m not really that hungry.”

  “Then what do you want, Stella?”

  “You.”

  “Good choice,” he said and kissed her again.

  * * * * *

  “Nino, we need to talk.”

  His brother grumbled something under his breath but the phone line crackled and Cam didn’t have the patience to figure out what he’d said.

  “I’m gonna transport you here. I don’t want to leave her alone.”

  “Cam, whoa, wait a minute. What the hell are you talking about?” His younger brother was suddenly very alert.

  “I need to talk to you right now so I’m going to transport you now. Is Ellie there?”

  “No, she’s with her dad—”

  “Good. Hold on.”

  “Wait—”

  Cam couldn’t wait and he didn’t want to have this talk over the landline. Though the line was magically warded against eavesdropping, tapping and government surveillance, the operator who handled all calls on this system was known to butt in with her own opinions every now and then. And Cam was in no mood for interference.

  He closed his eyes, visualized his brother and chanted the spell that would shift Antonin from wherever he was to where Cam wanted him to be—which was right here.

  “Vaffanculo, Cam. You really piss me off when you do that.”

  Opening his eyes, Cam had the most ridiculous feeling of relief when he saw his younger brother rematerialize in front of him in his den at the back of the house.

  Nino’s familiar face was set in angry lines as he looked down on Cam by a few inches. Though Nino was thinner, he was just as strong, at least physically. Magically, Cam was light-years ahead.

  “Keep your voice down. Stella’s still asleep upstairs and I don’t want her to know you’re here.”

  Nino’s expression twisted into an almost comic look of bemusement. “I thought we had this all figured out. You kidnap the girl and hold her until Bonnini trades himself for her or makes a move to get her back. What happened?”

  What happened? Hell, that was easy. He’d fallen in love. It sounded ridiculous but it was completely true. And it changed everything.

  But how the hell would he explain that to Nino?

  Maybe he didn’t have to. Not too long ago Nino had explained to him that falling in love with Ellie had been kind of like falling off a cliff you didn’t know was there. Shocking as hell but surprisingly easy.

  “I’m in love with her and we need a new plan.”

  The dumbstruck look on Nino’s face made Cam laugh so hard he nearly fell off his chair.

  * * * * *

  The next time Stella woke, she was alone in the bed and Cam was nowhere to be seen.

  She had the lingering sense that something had brushed against her in her sleep and that tingle she got in her blood when…well, when that other part of her activated or reacted to something. It kept her from going back to sleep so she stretched.

  Muscles she rarely used ached in response, making her smile.

  Despite the tingle keeping her awake, she felt…free. Why that was, she had no idea. She’d never felt shackled or bound before, so she didn’t know where that sudden sense of freedom was coming from. But she liked it.

  She liked that her muscles ached from making love to Cam all night and this morning. She liked the smell of him on the sheets and on her body. She liked the way she could still feel his body against and inside hers, if she closed her eyes. She liked that a lot.

  But she didn’t like the taste in her mouth so she walked, naked and loving it, into the bathroom. A new toothbrush and a tube of toothpaste waited in a glass on the sink.

  A plain white t-shirt and a pair of loose boxer shorts sat next to the glass.

  If the man showed up with a lunch tray and the Wall Street Journal, she’d marry him on the spot. That thought didn’t even give her pause.

  After washing her face, brushing her teeth and ruffling her hair back into some shape, she dressed in his underwear and walked back to the bedroom.

  Still no Cam.

  Okay, she’d just have to go find him. She headed for the stairs, ready to throw herself at him.

  But the harsh daylight made her blink and stop in her tracks. Yes, Cam had asked her to stay. For the weekend. He hadn’t gone down on his knee and asked her to live with him forever. And she definitely didn’t want to go too fast and scare him away. What had gotten into her?

  No, she would not throw herself at him like a lovesick teenager. She’d go downstairs to talk, gauge his reaction first then she’d decide what to do… Or maybe she’d just take a few minutes to observe him unnoticed. Invisible.

  This unbelievable ability had manifested itself around her tenth birthday when she’d overheard her parents fighting over her. They had been shouting about her dad taking her somewhere and leaving her mom behind. She’d wished so hard to be invisible so they wouldn’t fight anymore. At least not about her.

  She’d closed her eyes and concentrated. She hadn’t realized she’d actually become invisible until her mom turned to say something to her and even though Stella was standing right beside her, hadn’t seen her. Terrified that she wouldn’t be able to bring back her physical body, she’d begun to cry. And just like that, her body had reappeared.

  Her crazy unstable mother had called it a gift, though her tone had made it clear it was more like a curse. It had terrified Stella so much she’d never told her mother about her other abilities. She’d never told anyone.

  After her parents’ deaths, she’d submerged her powers, had forced herself to push them behind the thick wall of grief in her heart. Her uncle had never suspected anything. But as an adult, she’d occasionally practiced her abilities, honed them. She’d used them sparingly but never to spy on a man she’d spent the night with.

  A momentary twinge of guilt hit her. But honestly, if Cam had nothing to hide then no harm, no foul, right?

  Closing her eyes, she concentrated on drawing her body in on itself. At least that was how she would have described it had anyone asked. She really didn’t have any idea how it worked scientifically but it felt as if she drew the molecules that comprised her body into a tiny hole inside herself and stored them there. Her body ceased to exist and no one would be able to see her,
although she was still there.

  Moving down the steps, she stopped near the bottom of the staircase when she saw Cam sitting in a chair at the back of the house. Her power dampened her ability to hear so she had to get closer. She didn’t see the other man until she was almost on top of him. He lay on a couch, head on his arms as if Cam was his psychologist and he was in therapy.

  “You gotta tell her.”

  “What the fuck am I supposed to say? Your uncle’s a lunatic and I want you to betray him?”

  Oh God. No, no, no. Stella’s heart contracted into a tight, painful ball. This couldn’t be happening.

  “Well, I suggest you stop lying at least, Cam. You’re just gonna dig yourself in deeper.”

  “I’m already in deep enough. Shit, Nino, what the hell am I going to do?”

  Cam hung his head in his hands, as if he was truly upset about what he planned to do.

  Stella stared at him in disbelief. That bastard. He was using her. For what, she didn’t know yet. Something to do with her uncle. She should have known he was too good to be true. No man had ever wanted her only for herself. They all wanted what she could do for them. What her uncle could do for them.

  And she’d slept with him. More than that, she’d fallen in— Double damn his black soul.

  Her anger intensified to the point where it was getting harder to hear the men and harder to hold on to her invisibility. She wanted to hit him but she needed her body to do it.

  When she couldn’t restrain herself any longer, she flashed back into visibility, stomping her feet in frustration.

  “You son of a bitch!”

  Cam shot out of his chair, mouth dropping open. The other man fell off the couch in surprise before getting to his feet.

  “Stella, what—”

  “I should have known.” She pointed a shaking finger at him. “You bastard, what the hell do you want from me? It won’t matter, whatever it is. You’ll get nothing. I’m going to crucify you, Camillus de Feo.”

  Drawing himself straighter, Cam set his steady gaze on her, obviously regaining his equilibrium. He reached for her but she couldn’t stand to have him touch her and flinched away.

  His gaze faltered for a brief second before he took a deep breath “Stella, wait. I don’t know what you heard but whatever you’re thinking, you’re wrong.” He shot a quick look at the other guy. “Let me explain. But first tell me…how did you get down here without me seeing you?”

  She froze for a second, her brain stuck on exactly how to explain that. Then she realized she didn’t have to give him an answer. He was the scum bucket here, not her.

  “Oh no you don’t. Don’t even think to turn this around. I’m getting out of here right now.” Where had she put her keys last night? Oh yeah, she’d stashed them in her purse—which was where?

  “Stella, please. Just listen, okay?” Cam held his hands out in front of him, as if surrendering to the cops.

  Stella ignored the gesture, her eyes darting around the room as if the walls were closing in. She needed to leave this place now. If she couldn’t find her purse and her keys, she would just have to call her uncle and have him pick her up. Of course that would probably engender one of his lectures about trusting the wrong people. But he would be right in Cam’s case. God, how could she have been so stupid?

  “Hi, Stella.” The other guy finally spoke up, offering his hand as if he honestly thought she would shake it. “I’m Antonin de Feo. I have to confess that this idiot is my oldest and supposedly smartest brother. I know he really doesn’t seem like it at the moment but he’s really not a bad guy.”

  His voice had a calming effect and she stared at him. Damn, he was gorgeous—and hot. Almost irresistible. At least she thought he was.

  But that couldn’t be right. Stella shook her head, trying to set her internal radar back on course. She shouldn’t even like either of these men.

  “Saccente.” Cam sounded disgusted. “Nino, you’re not helping things.”

  “I bet she could block the bassadone spell if she tried, dude. I think your information was wrong. She’s definitely got some power.”

  Stella had walked backward toward the phone she’d seen in the kitchen but that last sentence stopped her in her tracks. They spoke as if they understood what she could do, as if they would actually believe she could make herself appear and disappear at will.

  She spun around, hands on hips, so furious she could scream. “Who are you?” she asked. “And don’t repeat that bullshit you gave me last night. I want to know who you really are.”

  When neither man said a word, she flung her hands in the air with a frustrated shriek and stomped away to the phone.

  “So you gonna go after her or just let her get more pissed off?”

  Nino’s tone held a teasing mockery but Cam ignored him as he watched Stella storm away. She was headed toward the kitchen, probably for the phone. Since it was connected to a magically warded system, he wasn’t worried about her figuring out how to use it. Of course Phil the operator could be a pain in the ass and decide to redirect her call. That woman really could be spiteful.

  But one thing he knew for sure. “Stella’s not Mal. She may have power but she’s not one of them.”

  The smirk on his brother’s face didn’t do much for his blood pressure. “Didn’t say she was, man. But hey, you want to defend her honor, be my guest. But I think you better go kiss and make up first because she’s about to throw your phone through the window.”

  Cam looked at Stella, who was glaring at the black plastic receiver beeping in her hand. She wasn’t exactly ripping the phone out of the wall yet but she looked furious enough to do it. Her pale skin was flushed pink, her green eyes blazed and she looked so fucking sexy in his underwear that if his brother hadn’t been here—

  “Nino, ciao, man. I’ll call you later.”

  “Aw shit. Give me a cha—”

  But Cam had already closed his eyes and sent his brother back to his own home before Nino could finish his sentence.

  From across the room, he heard Stella gasp.

  Opening his eyes, he saw her staring at him across the room as if he’d just grown two heads.

  “What… How… Wh-where did he go?” All that pretty pink color disappeared from her face, leaving her white as a sheet.

  Tinia’s teat, how stupid could he get? He should have known better than to use his power in front of her like that before he’d had a chance to explain.

  “Stella, take a deep breath.” He inched closer, holding out both hands so she could see them. “Hear me out. Let me explain.”

  Her eyes got even rounder. “How do you explain that? That man just disappeared!”

  “That man was my brother and I returned him to his home.”

  She shook her head, blonde hair flying around her face. “That’s…impossible. What trick are you trying to play on me? Whatever it is, it isn’t going to work.”

  He’d almost reached her, just a few more feet. “Stella, I’m exactly who I told you I was last night. I didn’t lie about that. But there are things you don’t know…things about your uncle.”

  Stella backed away but he was close enough to grab her by both arms and hold her in front of him. He didn’t draw her closer, just held her in place. She was scared and pissed off and just a little wild-eyed, which was understandable.

  “I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.” She practically hissed the words through her teeth, her lips white with strain. She barely resembled the woman he’d had in his bed last night. The one he wanted to take back to bed right now.

  Patience, ceffo. Calm her down. “You’re right, you don’t. Let me explain. Last night I—”

  “Oh no.” She shook her head furiously. “You do not get to talk about last night. Not at all.”

  He’d give her that much. They maybe wouldn’t talk right now but they would very soon. He had to make sure she knew last night had not been, in any way, a ploy. It’d been the real thing—at least fo
r him.

  “Fine. We won’t.” Not now. “But your uncle’s not who you think he is. He’s involved in something bad and I’m pretty sure you know nothing about it.”

  She sneered at him, baring the straight white teeth that had bit into his flesh with desire only hours ago. “You don’t have a clue what you’re talking about. Let me go or I swear I’ll call the police and have you arrested for…for…”

  She couldn’t say it. Couldn’t say rape, because she knew it hadn’t been and she was too much of a decent person to accuse him of something he wasn’t guilty of. Even though she thought he’d betrayed her.

  Cam steadied himself, straightening his spine. A fierce sense of pride joined the lust he’d felt just seconds ago. This was his woman, the one he’d been searching for his entire life. Now he just had to convince her he wasn’t another asshole out to get something from her.

  “Please, just let me go, Cam.” Her tone held no hint of fear. “Let me go and we won’t ever discuss this again. Just let me walk away.”

  “I can’t, Stella, but I promise you, you don’t have to be afraid of me. I’m not the one you need to worry about.”

  Her mouth tightened as her eyes narrowed. “My uncle is a good man—”

  “No, Stella, he’s not.” Cam’s gaze held steady. “There are things you don’t know—”

  “And you think you do? You don’t know anything.”

  “Stella, your uncle’s been gone a lot lately, right?”

  She rolled her eyes but didn’t try to get away. “Oh please, that doesn’t mean a goddamn thing.”

  “He’s taken several trips over the past few weeks but he hasn’t told you where he’s going.” Okay, he was making an educated guess but he knew he’d hit pay dirt when her eyes shot wide for just a second. She recovered quickly but he wasn’t about to let her off the hook now. “He’s diverting money to projects you know nothing about.” That one he knew was true. He’d seen Bonnini’s computer files, the ones it had taken Rio nearly four months to hack into. The ones they’d begun searching for right after Nino had seen the books of lists Bonnini had made—lists of half-blood Fata who lived among humans.