Phantom Wolf

by Bonnie Vanak

  At this glimpse of the real Sam, the tightness in her chest eased. Kelly nodded. “Okay. Fry my organs, but have someone serve them with fava beans and a nice Chianti. Very yummy. Or so says the good Dr. Lecter.”

  He gave a soft smile. “That’s my girl.”

  Sam stretched out his hands, warming them in the sun. Power pulsed through him, wreathing his muscular body. His expression intense, like a predator’s, the green in his eyes a blaze of emerald, he went very still.

  Cold knots twisted her stomach. He was going to throw that current at her, inside her, and she’d seen living things vaporize beneath the force of that violent power.

  “Stay as still as possible.”

  Kelly closed her eyes. She felt Sam’s hands on her shoulder, strong and yet gentle. Warmth spilled into her body, shooting down from the wound into her shoulder. She felt it snaking through her core, chasing away the hot agony with cooling relief. Strength returned to her weakened muscles.

  “Oh, wow, sweet,” Nancy murmured. “I’ve never seen that before.”

  “Curing through energy manipulation,” her companion stated in a smug voice. “Basic electromagnetic light therapy, commonly used in healing ceremonies. Although I’ve never seen it demonstrated on an Arcane, because that kind of power is wasted on them.”

  “Stop it, Mark,” Nancy snapped. “I’m sick of your attitude. She saved my life.”

  The last of the venom vanished beneath the humming current of Sam’s power. Kelly felt refreshed and energized.

  “You okay?” he asked, searching her face.

  “I could run a marathon. But I’d need a few power bars first, because I’m really hungry.”

  “I’ll be damned,” he said softly, gazing at his still-glowing hands. “I still have power.”

  “But you healed me.”

  “I held back. Didn’t want to risk burning you.” Sam glanced around.

  “Thank you,” she told him. “This is the second time you gave my life back to me.”

  Sam stroked a single finger down her cheek, his gaze tender. Nancy looked at her with newfound respect, while her companion snorted in derision.

  “She’s just another Arcane. No big loss. If you’re that hot for them, you can always find another bitch to spread her legs,” Mark said.

  Kelly winced. Nancy gasped, shoving her friend. “Mark, I wish you’d just shut up!”

  Sam flicked his hands, sending an energy current at Mark, knocking him unconscious to the pavement. “Wish granted,” he told Nancy.

  Then he stood, pulling Kelly with him. Nancy glanced at her. “I never thought an Arcane would risk her life for me. I was wrong.” She glanced at the unconscious Mark with disgust. “About a lot of things.”

  “I’m sure he has some redeeming qualities,” Kelly offered.

  “Like drooling on the sidewalk,” Sam muttered. With a nod to Nancy, he guided Kelly to El Milagro. Inside the car, he draped the triskele over her neck.

  “You scared me to death. Don’t ever take the pendant off again.” He hesitated and added, “Please.”

  Silence lay between them, intense and heavy, as they drove out of town. After a few miles, she turned in the seat, avoiding a spring sticking up through the cracked leather.

  “Do you know what happened back there? I thought your powers healed me, but if you still had them, they didn’t.”

  “I sent only enough energy into your body to find the venom and neutralize it, not repair the damaged muscle.” Bone strained against flesh as he tightened his hands on the steering wheel. “You healed yourself.”

  “That’s impossible. I don’t have enough power and certainly not any healing abilities without the triskele.” Unless they’d formed a new, unique connection. Arcane magick and Elemental.

  “I don’t understand it, either.” He gestured to the back. “I packed a cooler with snacks and water. We have a long way to go.”

  Chapter 18

  Enormous stands of pine, maple and hemlock ringed Sam’s isolated log cabin in the remote Tennessee mountains. A vista of rolling green hillside, punctuated by a weathered barn, stretched before the back porch. Wisps of gray fog drifted up from the pine trees, smoking the chilly air as Kelly braced her hands on the porch railing.

  After the flight from Miami to Atlanta, where he had a car waiting, she had no memory of the long drive or Sam carrying her inside and tucking her into the big bed downstairs. He’d taken her to the place she’d least expected—his private retreat, where they’d first made love.

  The cabin felt much smaller. Or maybe it was the rugged, virile man who took up all the space.

  Rain now splattered on the porch roof as she stood under it.

  Sam stepped onto the porch and handed her a cup of steaming coffee.

  They sipped in silence a few moments. Sam set down his cup on a side table. “I called Curt, my CO.”

  Kelly tensed.

  “I told him I had you secured in a hidden location in the United States. He said it was a matter for Mage authorities now and insisted I give you up.”

  Jaw tightening, he stared at the rolling hillside. “I insisted otherwise.”

  Her heart skipped a beat.

  Sam kept a white-knuckle grip on the railing. “Curt wasn’t clear on what protection you’d have. In fact, he was very evasive. And then he launched into a rambling, confusing speech about the chain of command and how much trouble I face.”

  “You think he’s been replaced by a duplicate?”

  Anger and frustration snapped in his gaze. “Yeah. Curt never talks that much. Or wastes words.”

  Sam flexed his hands. “I said you were in my custody and I’ll hand you over to the council myself.” A grim smile touched his face. “The entire damn council. At ST 21’s base, because you felt safer there.”

  She saw the logic. “It’ll take them days to assemble. Doesn’t one live in Thailand?”

  “Right. And my uncle is on his annual retreat in the Azores. No phone, no communication.”

  “That buys time, but what if someone comes here looking for you?”

  “Legally, the cabin belongs to a dummy corporation I formed long ago. No one knows I come here.”

  “No one else?”

  Sam glanced at her. “I haven’t returned since the fire. The corporation hires a cleaning crew to maintain the place. You’re the only other person who’s ever been here.”

  Unease filled her, a burning question she hadn’t dared to ask all those years ago. “Sam, back then, did you bring me here so no one could see us together?”

  Sam sighed. “It was easier, and more private. Kel, you have to understand, my father put a lot of pressure on me to settle down with someone from my own class.”

  Kelly’s stomach churned. “I get it. You were ashamed. Good for some things but not others. Like in Honduras. A good fuck.”

  “Stop it,” he snapped. “Don’t cheapen yourself like that.”

  “I didn’t say it, Sam. I’m only repeating what was said to me.”

  Two strong arms encircled her waist, tugging her against him. Resisting, she stiffened as he sighed deeply into her ear.

  “I’m sorry I left you all those years ago. And I’m sorry I said those cruel things back in Honduras. I insulted you, badly. If I could take it back, I would.”

  “Why did you say it?” she whispered. “I was so humiliated. You made me feel like I’m... What did your father call it? An easy lay.”

  “Gods, Kel, never. I was scared of what happened between us.”

  “Like you were scared of telling your family about me?”

  Gently, he turned her around and stroked a finger down her cheek. “I was going to bring you to formally meet my father, remember? The night of the fire. I wasn’t ashamed of you. Neve
r.”

  She rested her palms against his broad chest, feeling the strong, steady beat of his heart. “I know. Everything came between us back then. We forgot who we were and fell back to what we were, Arcane and Elemental. And somewhere along the line, we lost faith in each other.”

  “I should have stayed.” His warm palms cupped her chilled cheeks. “I need to tell you something. My letter said I left because it was over between us.”

  A tiny muscle jumped in his jaw. “I left because I couldn’t bear that I’d lost my family and you. I headed west, shifted into a wolf to forget the grief. I went feral. Almost killed a rancher who shot at me when I was on a sneak-and-peek, eyeing his cattle. Called me a rangy, violent pest. I ran off, but got...crazy.”

  He drew a deep breath. “The shotgun was no match for a wolf who could run faster than an express train and catch a man when his back is turned.”

  Sam, cheerful and carefree, gentle and tender. She shivered, imagining him with sharp fangs, a vicious snarl and claws.

  Darkness shadowed his gaze. Sam’s mouth tightened. “I let the wolf take over until grief and rage turned me into a beast. You stopped me. I thought of you, Kel, and the human part of me returned.”

  Horrified, she stared at him. “Did the rancher die?”

  “Was in the hospital a few weeks. The council sent authorities after me when they’d heard. They made me pay the rancher’s medical bills, which I would have done anyway. The council feared I’d turn vicious again and eventually someone would find out it was no ordinary wolf. They wanted to execute me.”

  Shock made her heart go still a moment. His eyes closed, as if reliving the moment proved too unbearable.

  “How did you convince the council you weren’t dangerous?”

  It must have been good, because Sam was dangerous.

  He looked away, a flash of guilt on his expression. “My uncle argued I’d acted out of grief. Because I was Elemental, they released me, on the condition to never turn into a feral wolf again. If they caught me, they’d turn me into dust.”

  The difference between his people and hers. Sam went free, while she stood falsely accused and no one believed her.

  Except Sam.

  Silence danced in the air, broken by leaves rustling in the wind.

  “Sometimes I miss them so much, I can’t bear it,” he said finally.

  Kelly’s throat squeezed tight. “Me, either,” she whispered.

  She ducked out of his embrace, picked up her cup and headed inside to take a shower. The downstairs shower was big enough to host a dance party. Twin jets sprayed her with soothing hot water. Kelly picked up the soap with trembling hands.

  I miss them so much.

  Sam was right. Rescuing abducted Mage children and reuniting them with their overjoyed families assuaged her guilt and grief.

  Tears rose in her throat. Splaying her hands against the cold tile wall, she surrendered to them. She’d failed those she’d promised to keep safe. Failed saving Sam’s family. So much failure, too many lives lost.

  The shower door opened. Naked, Sam stepped inside. He reached for her, but she pulled away, scrubbing her cheeks. Pretending everything was normal.

  With gentle persistence, he pulled her against his broad chest, his hands tunneling through her soaked hair. Saying nothing, only letting her cry, loaning his strength and support as she wept.

  And then she felt him tremble, felt his broad shoulder shake beneath her cheek. Kelly looked up.

  Tears ran down Sam’s cheeks.

  He leaned his forehead against hers, cupping her face in his hands, and kissed her. The salt of their tears mingled together, washed away by the shower. Kelly opened her mouth beneath his as his tongue slid into her mouth, stealing away her breath. His kiss was demanding and yet gentle, urgent and desperate.

  Then he pulled away, reached for the bar of soap and began to wash her.

  Symbolic and soothing, his actions roused her desire as he slid the soap over her arms, the slope of her neck. Droplets clung to his thick brown hair and sparkled in his long lashes. Water cascaded down his strong, muscled neck, beaded in the dark hairs of his chest and slid lower.

  He looked beautiful and sexy and intent, and it took her breath away.

  His heated gaze remained affixed to hers as he stroked the soap over her wet, glistening skin. Sam brushed kisses alongside her jaw, sweet and tender as when they’d first made love. His hands cupped the rounded curve of her hips, pulling her tight against him.

  “Turn around,” he said, his voice thick.

  Kelly closed her eyes as he stood behind her, lathering her breasts, cupping them and gently teasing the hardened nipples with gentle strokes of his thumbs. Massaging gently, he molded his body against hers, his erection rubbing against her bottom. Each languid stroke aroused her senses, chasing away sorrow and regrets and replacing them with sensual awareness.

  Cleansing them both, Sam washed away the past, replacing it with new and fresh feelings of heightened desire.

  “Slippery when wet,” he whispered. Taking the lobe of her ear between his teeth, he gently bit.

  She moaned as he turned her around.

  His mouth went from her ear to her throat, nuzzling down to her bare collarbone. He suckled her breasts, his tongue flicking over each crested peak, creating new, aching need inside her. Kelly sagged bonelessly against him, pushing her hot skin against his questing mouth. More. More. Sensation speared her, so fresh and tantalizing, it was as if she were a virgin once more. A girl who had never experienced passion, felt desire or the tender touch of a lover’s strong, skilled hands.

  Sam’s hands.

  Sam’s hands...were sliding down her front. He slid the soap down her belly, dipping a finger into her navel, and then he skirted around her and dropped to his knees. Sam squeezed her bottom.

  “Man, I love your ass. I’ve dreamed about doing this to you. Bend over, sweetheart,” he said hoarsely.

  As she did, he spread her cheeks wide and stroked the soap between them. Sam washed her front, slicking her folds as she gasped, her passage growing wet and ready for him. Then she felt the delicious roughness of his tongue delve between her cheeks as he gently massaged her clit.

  A nearly unbearable ache filled her lower belly as he kissed and licked her, all the while stroking her. Water streamed down her body, mingling with her natural moisture. Kelly splayed her hands against the tile as he grasped her hips.

  “I’m going to make love to you now,” he rasped. “Send you into oblivion until you can’t take it anymore. Until we both come, together. And then I’m going to start all over.”

  She felt the insistent push of his cock nudge at her slick folds and then push slightly inside her. He entered her slowly, stretching and penetrating her deeply, and deeper still. Kelly made a little pleading cry as he sank inside her to the hilt and remained still, his fingers gripping her hips.

  “Sam, please,” she whispered.

  “Not until I say what I must.”

  Sam bent over her, his body firmly lodged inside hers, the crisp hair on his chest against her back. He flung aside her wet hair as the water pattered upon them and kissed her nape.

  “Back in Honduras, I couldn’t say how I really felt. It was too intense, and there was too much between us. I’m telling you now, Kelly, I do care. You drive me crazy with need.” His voice dropped to a husky whisper. “All I can think about is getting inside you, keeping you in my bed for good.”

  “I just want this moment, with you, to last forever. I wish it could,” she whispered.

  Slowly he withdrew and then thrust back inside. She reached back, felt his hand, felt their fingers entwine and then release. With a groan, he began to surge heavily into her, teasing her clit with his finger. Her breasts swayed as his flesh slapped against hers, nearly suffoca
ting her with incredible erotic pleasure. It had always been good with him before, but now it was exquisite. Sam murmured praises of her body, how sweet and tight she felt, how beautiful she was. Each demanding stroke raised her higher and higher until the raw, stunning sensation shimmered, the pressure built in her loins.

  “Now,” he cried out as she squeezed him tight. “Come with me, Kel!”

  Crying out, she surged and soared upward as the orgasm crested over her, feeling him pump deep inside her.

  In sated exhaustion, she sagged against the wall as he slowly withdrew. Kelly turned around to see the husky glint of satisfaction in his gaze. Then Sam reached past her and turned the knob to shut off the shower. He glanced down.

  “I’ll be damned,” he muttered, staring at his penis. “I didn’t use a condom.”

  A glint ignited his gaze as he glanced up. “If you get pregnant, we’ll get married.”

  Crazy hope fluttered inside her breast and then died. Sam wouldn’t marry for love, only duty. “I won’t get pregnant. I’m on the Pill.”

  Was that stark relief in his gaze, or mild disappointment? Hard to tell.

  She wanted all of him, including his heart. But that organ still seemed locked deep inside despite the blaze of passion they’d shared.

  She didn’t want to think about that as he dried them both off and then carried her back to the bed.

  For a long time they lay together, entangled in each other’s arms. Kelly stroked his damp chest hairs and traced the hard brown circle of his nipple. She badly wanted to confess her feelings. But his previous attitude gave her caution. A soft purr came from the cell phone on the nightstand. Sam rolled over and pushed a hand through his hair.

  “Yeah?”

  His languid expression became intense. Instantly he sat up, a steel core shoved in his spine. Kelly fisted her hands in the sheets.

  Thumbing off the cell, he tossed it on the bed with a soft curse. Sam stared out the window.

  “The council found out you’re back in the country,” she guessed.