Her fingertips tingled in warning, and she pointed them toward the incoming tide. A burst of green fire poured forth and sizzled at the wave line, blasting a pillar of steam skyward. “Whoa!”
Gus laughed. “Feel better?”
“Yeah.” She laughed, too. “Look.” The retreating tide revealed a glossy, greenish disc. “I made beach glass.”
“What were you thinking a moment ago?”
“Nothing in particular.”
“‘Nothing’ can melt sand like that? Are you sure you weren’t thinking of sitting on my lap and doing luscious things with my mouth?”
She felt exposed. “Is that a guess, or are you psychic?”
“Lycans share thoughts with select pack members and mates.”
“But I’m not Lycan.”
“Maybe you’re a mate?”
“Don’t mess with me.” She nervously wriggled her fingers.
A long stride brought him closer. Excitement shone in his eyes. “Would I be messing with you if I kissed you? Because I really want to.” Without waiting for her answer, he cupped his hand behind her head and pulled her close. He kissed her with a soft touch that quickly deepened into something more demanding. A moment later, she was breathless, pressed hard against the length of him and parting her lips. He felt right and tasted good. The kiss was so easy to accept. He slid his knee between her thighs, sending a jolt of excitement racing through her. The swoon-worthy kiss left her arching backward and slightly off balance, and completely in need of his steady support to remain standing. It was almost overwhelming to feel so safe and vulnerable at the same moment in his arms.
The kiss was most definitely a turn-on. Her hands heated ominously. In desperation, she flung them outward and pointed her fingertips to the sand. Gus broke the kiss at the same instant a blaze of green fire shot across the rippling surface of the beach, creating an undulating swath of crackling glass.
She gasped. “You better watch yourself. That kiss could have gone wrong in a big way.”
“But it didn’t. We’re on a lonely beach. No one got hurt.” A glimmer of confidence shone in his eyes. “Fredi, you need a strong man who knows how to handle a strong woman. Maybe I’m that man?”
She remained silent. Two hours earlier, Gus had been a stranger. On the way here, he’d hung out of a car window, howling like a fool. Now he was hinting she was a possible mate. Hit the brakes, baby. Lycans were earthy, sexy, and good-tempered, but by all the gods of Pagandom, things were moving too fast with him. The chilly, aloof, nothing ever really works out for me part of her started erecting a protective wall to hold this panzer tank of a man at bay.
Sirens screamed in the distance and roared closer. Moments later, a row of fire trucks rolled along the beachfront street with lights flashing. They stopped in front of her house, and a team of firefighters jumped off the trucks and ran onto the sand.
The fire captain strode toward them shouting, “Are you the ones who called this in?”
“Called what in?” Fredi cringed. Damn, they’d been spotted.
“Explosives on the beach were reported. We got a call about an incendiary, possibly a high-charge electrical device. Have you seen any activity?”
“No,” she freely lied.
The captain shined a flashlight in her eyes. “It was reported right where you’re standing.”
She squinted against the bright light. “Well, I would have seen it then, wouldn’t I?”
“Does your friend speak?” The beam of the flashlight was turned toward Gus. His eyes shone iridescent green. “Whoa!” The captain stepped back. “Dude, what’s with your eyes?”
“Contacts,” Gus muttered.
The fire captain looked eager to get away. “Okay. We’re out of here. Call us if you see anything out of the ordinary.” He turned and walked toward the truck. The rest of the firemen followed. The captain stomped on a thin plate of vitreous sand that snapped under his weight. “Damn! Somebody’s left glass on the beach.” He swung the flashlight from side to side. “What the hell? This whole patch of sand has melted and hardened. How does something like this happen?”
“Lightning?” Fredi chimed in.
The captain turned. “Green lightning? Because that sounds a lot like what was called in.”
“Anything’s possible.” She wanted them to stop shining the flashlight in her eyes and leave.
“I’ve heard some weird stories about this little neighborhood, but I didn’t want to believe them until today. There's supposed to be some sort of crazy witch—”
Her anger rose. “Goodnight, sir. Thanks for looking out for us. If I see any green lightning, I’ll be sure to report it.” She gulped shallow, tense breaths as the firemen returned to their trucks and drove away.
“That was uncomfortable.” Being cautious where she stepped, she turned toward Gus. “I think we better go inside and try to control ourselves. What do you think?”
He brushed a sandy palm against his pant leg. “I think we’re in big trouble.”
Chapter Five
Fredi led the way to her house. “I’m getting nervous. I’m a renter, and I love this little house. It was built in 1946. I hope I don’t cause catastrophic destruction.”
“Try to relax. I do great cabinetwork, and I can repair almost any damage as long as you don’t torch the place to its foundation.”
“Which I could easily do.” She hung her head and walked faster, but only got a few paces ahead of Gus before the pins-and-needles rose to an unbearable pitch. She turned in alarm. “Did you feel that?”
He grimaced. “Hell yeah.”
“Look at our distance. You can’t be more than a couple yards away.” She stepped farther. The torturous sensations plucked at every nerve like a tempestuous symphony of pain. “Holy crap, the boundary shrank. It’s a third of what it was a short while ago.”
“We’ve been in close proximity for the last half hour. Maybe we didn’t notice?”
“This can’t be good. Now we have to remain within six feet of each other? What if the boundary shrinks even more?”
“Don’t panic. We’ll cope. Besides, we only have to deal with this until morning, right?”
“Yeah, but…”
“But what?”
Fredi dug through her purse, searching for her keys, and found them hiding in a tiny, almost forgotten side pocket. “I need to pee.”
“Isn’t six feet and a closed bathroom door enough privacy for you?”
“I hope so. This is weird.” She walked toward the back of her house, which was really more of a beach cottage, grabbed her boots from the carport floor, and wiped her feet on the mat. Gus stood at her back like a big, heat-radiating presence, and she realized she’d not had a man over in a long time. “Hope I’ve got something on hand to drink.”
“Do you have any beer?”
She unlocked the door and pushed it open. “No.”
“That’s too bad.”
They entered the house, which had been originally designed as a weekend getaway type of fishing cottage with an open floor plan. The kitchen, bedroom, and living areas flowed seamlessly without walls to separate them. The rustic beams of the steep ceiling were exposed, and the floors were hardwood, as were the paneled walls. There was a tiny stone fireplace in the corner. She’d brought some of her own personality into the house by draping everything, especially the bed, in peacock-colored fabrics of emerald, teal, and sapphire. Silk cushions were tossed everywhere, and festive Moroccan lanterns and Persian rugs added to the Bohemian vibe.
“Nice place.” He glanced around. “It reminds me of a cross between a hunting lodge and a harem.”
She laughed. “I think that’s your fantasy, not mine.”
His gaze skimmed over her. “I don’t really need a harem. One beauty would do.”
“Would you excuse me?” Fredi pointed toward the bathroom. “I need to walk at least three feet into the bathroom, so you’ll need to stand about here.” With the tip of her toe, she drew an ima
ginary line on the floor. “Don’t move.”
“I won’t.”
“Don’t listen.”
“I’ll try not to, but I’ve got keen hearing.”
“Of course you do. Oh, well. I’ll make this quick, and then I need to call Estele and see if there is something we can do about our situation.”
“Do you think there might be?” Gus rubbed the side of his jaw, which had gotten hairier than when they had been standing on the beach, and his eyes glowed feral. “Fair warning, I feel another wave of wolf-shifting coming on strong.”
“There’s more? It seemed like matters were lightening up.”
“During the first hour, the shift can go back and forth, but soon, things are going to flip.”
“No shifting!” The bathroom door slammed in his face. “Let me pee first.” She rushed to do what she had to, knowing it could all go wrong in a flash. In record time, she finished and jumped up to wash her hands. While she was at the sink, she smoothed her hair into place and swished a gulp of mouthwash over her tongue.
He rapped his knuckles against the door. “I smell mint. Is that mouthwash? That’s not fair. Now you’re all fresh and clean. I want some, too.”
“Be patient. I’ll be done in a second.” After drying her hands on a towel, she applied a dab of vanilla-scented lip-gloss, exited the bathroom, and gasped in shock.
What she saw brought her to a halt. “Are you all right?”
He looked wild-eyed and his brows had fused into one thick sweep of hair. His canines had lengthened to fangs and made him appear distinctly wolf-like. “Fangtastic!" she gasped. "This is a lot more extreme than that first wave of shifting.”
”Yep.” His voice was reduced to an almost inhuman rumble. “This is the main event. Lycanville, here I come.”
“What do we do?”
Gus paced nervously and growled. “This is bad. Fredi, I’m going shift to wolf form—I have no control over it. It will happen, and I don’t know how I’ll behave trapped indoors.”
“Please tell me you won’t shred my cushions and piss on my carpets.”
“I hope not, but I am scared I might go feral and try to run off.”
“No way! You can’t do that. Not while we’re under the effects of the hoodoo. If you start running around on those long legs of yours, I’ll never be able to keep up.”
“While I’m in Lycan form, my pain tolerance is a lot higher, too. I’ll be able to take a lot more punishment than you.”
“Damn, this is bad.”
“Fredi.” His tone sobered. “For your safety, you’ll have to do whatever it takes to keep me under control. Drug me, shoot me—tie me up.”
“I won’t shoot you!”
With a loud tear, the side seams of his pants ripped, exposing muscular thighs. “Better think of something, quick.” With a pounce, he turned toward the moon, threw back his head, and howled.
“Okay.” She yanked a flowing scarf from a lampshade. “I’ll tie you up.”
Gus looked dejected. “All right, but be careful not to strangle me.”
“Do you really think I’d wrap a slippery piece of silk around your neck while you thrash around? Manslaughter… or Lycan-slaughter, whatever you want to call it, is one crime I do not want associated with my name on the eleven o’clock news.”
He thrust his wrists toward her. “Quick, tie me to something solid that I can’t lift and run away with.”
She scanned the room for an item sturdy enough to take some serious Lycan abuse. “What?”
“Hurry.” He gnashed his teeth. “I’m getting that antsy feeling. I want to start running.”
“Hold on!” A frantic glance around her house revealed few options. Shower faucet? No, there’d be broken pipes and another flood in the living room for sure. Kitchen table? Too light. Gus was strong enough to lope across the beach dragging it behind him without breaking a sweat. Iron bedframe? Maybe. Her great-grandmother’s decorative but hulking bedframe certainly weighed enough. When she moved in two years ago, it had taken her brother and three of his burly friends to carry it off the moving truck and reassemble it.
“Come here, I have an idea. Lie down on the bed.”
A frown curled his lips. “Is that an antique? I don’t want to break it.”
“Don’t worry. You can’t break it. It's solid wrought iron, hand forged in Oaxaca, Mexico. My grandmother enslaved a German immigrant blacksmith with a special enchantment and compelled him to make it for her.”
“Enslaved him? Was that necessary? Why didn’t she order a bed and pay for it like everyone else?”
“That wouldn’t have been as much fun! Besides, he was a very handsome blacksmith with a profile like Valentino’s and arms like Hercules. Don’t feel sorry for him. They ended up happily married with seven children.”
“Seven children? Did the poor guy know what he was getting into? Fredi, I have to admit you’re scaring me.”
“Witches can be scary people.” She gave him a firm push and toppled him onto the mattress. “Put your arms above your head. Do it.”
He stretched out on the mattress and raised his arms. “You’re bossy.”
“Do you like bossy?”
“Maybe, or maybe I’m just used to being in charge.”
“This is my house and my bed, so I get to be in charge. Tonight, I’m Ms. Boss to you.” She looped the twisted scarf through the iron filigree of the heavy headboard and took hold of one of his wrists. “I can’t allow you to wolf-shift, run around, and add to our problems. Until things cool off, I’m taking control.” She leaned over him, becoming acutely aware of the sweet prospect of having a hot guy captive in her bed, and tied off one wrist with a square knot before securing the other.
As she worked, he stared upward with a complex expression on his face that defied being pigeonholed. He looked peeved, scared, and, beneath it all, very excited.
“You’ve never been tied up before, have you?”
He gulped a tense breath and splayed his long legs across the mattress. “No.”
“I don’t know what else to do. Should I secure your ankles, too?”
Gus shook his head. “We’re good.” He glanced upward. “Can that scarf really hold me?”
“It's heavy silk, and I gave it a tight twist. Unless you gnaw through it, I think we’re okay.”
“What if I do chew through it?” Worry washed over his face. “Fredi, protect yourself. Keep your wand handy, and be ready to do whatever you have to. I do not want to sober up in an hour or two and find out I caused you trouble. Promise me you’ll—”
“Stop already. I thought I became overdramatic once a month. Come on, I’m a witch. I can defend myself. Nobody will get hurt, okay?”
He tugged repeatedly against the restraints, testing their strength. “I need to be subdued. You’re doing the right thing.”
She gazed at his solid torso and rolling abs, and thought the same. His shirt lay in tatters. For a moment, she considered if she should brush aside the shredded fabric that no longer functioned as a shirt, but worried what would happen when she touched his warm skin and soft strip of chest hair she was dying to get closer to. If an unplanned plasma blast harmed him, she’d never forgive herself. Her fingertips tingled at the edge of sparking, so she yanked her hands away. “Do you want something to drink?”
“I better not drink.” A quiet growl poured past his lips as he arched off the mattress.
“I meant water.”
He bit down on his lip as his eyes flashed amber. “Yeah, I could use a sip.”
She grabbed a plastic bottle of water off the nightstand and twisted the cap open. “We’ll have to share. I can’t walk to the kitchen sink. It’s too far away.”
“I don’t mind sharing with you.”
Fredi took a long drink then held the bottle to Gus’s mouth. He lifted his head. The luscious curve of his lips parted, and his thick lashes swept downward as he drank. In that moment, he looked so trusting and beautiful she simply wanted t
o stare, but she didn’t want to get caught. When he finished, she carefully drew the bottle away and set it on the nightstand.
His gaze drifted upward, and he looked into her eyes. “You don’t seem very bothered to be sitting on the edge of the bed next to a man who's turning into a wolf.”
“You don’t seem too scared to be tied up inside a witch’s cottage.”
A big smile lit his face. “I like you.”
“Can I ask you something personal?”
He appeared leery. “Go ahead.”
“Do you struggle this much every full moon? Is this normal for an adult Lycan?”
Gus rolled his eyes. “Um, how can I answer that? The honest answer is yes and no. Yes, I’ve been struggling extra hard lately. With each full moon, it seems to get a little worse, and, no, this isn’t completely normal for male Lycans in my age group.”
“What’s normal for your age?”
“Most Lycan men my age already have a mate, and it helps ground them.”
“Oh.”
“The past few months, my shifting has gotten out of control, but then meeting somebody nice who isn’t put off by Lycanthropy is tricky too. I used to—”
Midsentence, Gus’s mouth twisted into a ferocious snarl, and his canines lengthened. He lifted his head and bayed at the moon beyond the window. When he was finished howling, he looked at her remorsefully. “See? That’s exactly what I was talking about. I’m making an ass of myself, aren’t I?”
“I don’t think so.” She brushed her fingers against the side of his face. He had a strong jawline and steep cheekbones that gave his face an untamed look she loved. “Hey.” Instantly, she pulled her hand away. “I just touched you and…” She almost held her breath in suspense. “Nothing happened.”
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