by Kari Thomas
She knew it was close. She could feel its hot, moist breath waft over her, stirring her hair. She wanted to scream but horror held her in a vise-like grip, her cry gurgling incoherently in her throat.
Closer. It was so close she could feel the heat of its breath next to her ear!
Any moment it would attack. Claw her to shreds.
“No!” Her scream rang out and she struggled against a hot barrier that encircled her, preventing her from moving. “No. No. No.”
Out of the blackness a voice, deep and rough, whispered next to her ear, “Kira, it’s alright. Stop struggling. You’re safe now, baby. I promise.”
Aiden! She fought to surface from the suffocating darkness and debilitating fear, reaching for him with a whimper she couldn’t prevent. “Please, Aiden, hold me.”
“I am.” He gathered her closer against his hard body and his heat warmed her through her clothing. “Stop struggling and let me get your hair untangled from around my arm.”
Coming out of the nightmare, Kira opened her eyes and looked up into his face. He bent over her, one arm around her waist, pressing her intimately against him, while the other arm curved around her shoulders. Her hair had wound itself around his arm like a silken band and he couldn’t move without risking yanking the long curls. His mercury eyes burned her with a heat that was scorching in its intensity.
She stared, mesmerized, the horror of the nightmare fleeing her memory, replaced by something more. She’d seen that look in his eyes before, but it had never this hot, this all-consuming. Her breath caught.
Her fingers moved against his hard chest in a slight sensuous slide, shocking her with the unintentional caress. “Aiden, what are you doing here?” She barely managed to get the words out, her heart beat so fast and hard.
“Holding you.”
That was an understatement! The way he was stretched out over her…there wasn’t an inch of their bodies not touching. “Why?”
He grinned, his strong white teeth gleaming. “I didn’t have a choice, sweetheart. I came in to check on you and you grabbed me.”
She wouldn’t! She glared at him. “I did not.”
“Before you show your claws again, Kira, please be aware this is my bare chest you’re raking.” When she deliberately pushed one of her long nails into his skin, he stopped grinning. “Okay. I’m sorry about teasing you. You were having a nightmare. I was trying to comfort you when you woke.”
Kira forced back a shiver. The dream had been so paralyzing. Too reminiscent of the nightmares she’d had for years after her parents’ and sister’s deaths. She closed her eyes for a moment, determinedly willing the remnants of lingering fear away.
“Kira,” Aiden whispered her name as his lips feathered her cheek. “You’re safe now. Don’t think about it anymore.”
She certainly didn’t need any more encouragement and sighed as Aiden’s warm lips caressed across her cheek and down her chin, where he nipped lightly with his sharp teeth. Before she could utter a sound he kissed a path up the other cheek and feathered his lips across the bridge of her nose then over her brows. She wanted to melt deeper into his embrace, forget about everything, everything but how he was making her feel at this very moment.
“Aiden, what are you doing?”
He chuckled, the sound incredibly sexy, and drew back to look into her eyes. “Are you still asleep, Kitty-Kira?” He gently nipped her chin again. “Isn’t it obvious? I’m comforting you.”
She wanted to groan. His sensual assault was definitely more effective than a comforting hug! “I’m fine now.” She felt too vulnerable and suddenly realized that letting this go any further wasn’t the best idea. She tried to pull back but his arm was still tangled in her hair.
“Hold still.”
She met his gaze, sure the uncertainty she was feeling shone in her eyes. “Don’t look at me like that,” she pleaded softly.
“How am I looking at you?” Aiden’s smoldering gaze traveled over her face before coming back to stare deeply into her eyes. “Like I want to kiss you? Lick you? Bite you? I told you what I wanted. Made that clear earlier.” He placed a finger against her lips. “And don’t bother asking why. You’re not that innocent.”
“I didn’t say that I was,” Kira said quietly. “But that doesn’t stop me from wanting to know why you’re doing this. We didn’t start out on the right foot, Aiden. And we still have this unresolved issue of Marissa’s custody hanging over our heads.”
“One has nothing to do with the other.”
“Your frowns don’t scare me. And you know I’m right. This…attraction between us has happened too fast. It’s too intense.” She looked deeply into his eyes. “We are more enemies than...”
Enemies. She was right.
But he didn’t have to like it.
Aiden stared into her eyes and searched his conscience for an answer. He’d known from the beginning that Kira would be a problem but he was finding it increasingly hard to fight this growing need. It ate at him, day and night. Denying it kept him off balance and he couldn’t afford that to happen.
Not now. Not while his family was once again in danger.
Damn.
Walking away wasn’t an option he was ready to consider either. Maybe getting her out of his system was the best solution.
And there was only one way to accomplish that.
Take now and face the consequences later.
“The word ‘enemies’ makes it sound like we hate each other,” he murmured darkly. “And believe me, sweetheart, hate is the last thing I’m feeling right now.” Her long lashes lowered to conceal her thoughts and he waited, his patience and self-control slipping their notches a little more as each moment passed.
“I don’t think—’’
It wasn’t the reply he wanted. “Don’t think.” He lowered his head, his breath whispering against her lips. “Don’t talk. Don’t struggle. Just feel.”
“Aiden—’’
“Choose, Kira.” He pressed his lips firmly against hers then withdrew the slightest fraction. “Which do you want me to do first? Kiss you?” He purposely let her hear the hunger in his growl. “Or taste you…first?” He swiped a slow lick across her moist lips and groaned. “Or bite you…first?” He nipped her bottom lip, holding it for a long moment between his sharp teeth.
Her soft moan was his undoing. His mouth found hers again. Hard and taking.
Kira pushed against his chest and managed to break off the kiss.
He stared at her, his breathing heavy, his body on fire with a need that was relentlessly clawing up his insides.
In a voice soft and breathless she asked, “What will you do if I say no?”
Aiden felt a primal growl rise in his throat but held it back. He grasped a handful of her hair and tugged her close again. Their gazes locked. “Are you going to say no?”
No. Yes. Oh Goddess!
Kira couldn’t think straight. Didn’t want to! Some small logical part, deep inside, knew she couldn’t let this happen. The woman in her wanted to give in to the incredible, intense, spiraling desire arcing between them. Her heart hammered against her chest, her blood heated, and her breath came out in small pants of anticipation. But the sensible side of her…the conscience that told her it was wrong…made her hesitate. The opposing feelings warred insistently within her and she uttered a small tortured moan.
Aiden caught the sound with his mouth. His lips slanted over hers – hot, hard, demanding. He took her mouth with a fierce hunger that shot streaks of ecstasy through her, had every inch of her craving more of the intoxicating sparks. A restless, unnamed ache settled in the pit of her stomach then spread to the rest of her limbs. She moaned softly into his mouth and shivered at his instant reaction. His hot tongue forced her lips to open wider, tangling with hers, deepening the kiss with rough possession.
She was melting. Willingly.
Aiden slowly moved his hand from around her back and across her waist, unerringly heading toward her breasts.
When his rough, hot palm closed over her breast, Kira lost her breath completely.
As if a cold splash of water had been thrown in her face, she suddenly came to her senses. She grasped his wrist, stilling the hand on her breast. At the same time, she turned her head and broke free from the kiss. “Aiden,” she gasped his name, the plea desperate.
He growled deep in his throat, the rough-edged sound rumbling from his chest straight into hers. Eyes, molten mercury, raked her face. His dark, brooding features were harsh, his breathing heavy and hot against her lips as his hovered a bare fraction from her mouth. “Are you saying no?” The question seemed to be torn from him, a guttural demand tinged with raging passion he didn’t bother masking. The raw, hungry look in his eyes nearly destroyed her resolve.
Kira closed her eyes, shutting out the blazing promise that hovered in his, and took a deep breath.
Then said what she wasn’t sure she really meant.
“Please, stop.”
Aiden, his body aching-hard, nerve endings strung tight, inhaled a deep breath and then slowly pushed it out through his parted lips. Everything in him, all that was male, demanded that he take her. He wanted her so desperately it was nearly killing him, the turbulent fire burned so deep inside him.
But she had said ‘stop’.
He was thinking just clearly enough to slowly release her. He was slightly astonished to find he had the required willpower to regain control of his urges, so close to the edge of no return. He carefully untangled her long curls from around his arm, pulled his arm out from under her neck, and sat up, breathing harshly.
He stared down at her, and her beauty stole his breath.
Her silky, blonde tresses lay spread out over the pillow, framing her head in tousled disarray. She looked as if an enthusiastic lover had ran his hands through the long curls, over and over, just as he’d wanted to do if his arm hadn’t been tangled in the curls to begin with. He’d wanted to bunch her hair tight in his fist and hold her head still while he ravaged that ripe mouth. He’d never tasted lips so soft, so addictively sweet. Just looking at her mouth was making the craving burn again. Her lips were red and swollen from his kisses, enticingly plump, still parted as she drew in small puffs of air, and he swallowed a hungry groan.
Her eyes widened at the rough sound and questions, he had no answers for, lurked in their sky-blue depths. Damn it, why did there have to be questions? Why couldn’t she just accept this undeniable attraction pulling them inevitably toward each other, and not worry about questions.
Or answers.
Kira slowly sat up and leaned against the headboard. “We have to talk about…this,” she said softly.
Aiden frowned. “Not the old ‘we-have-to-talk’ speech.” He roughly clasped her chin in his strong hand. “It’s simple enough, baby. We’re attracted to each other, despite not wanting it to be fact. We have two choices. We can walk away from this. Or we can take it as far as it can go.”
“And later?”
“Damn later. We both know that it can’t go any further than now.”
Kira took a deep breath, releasing it on a long sigh. Her feelings for Aiden were too confusing but she knew that to give in to this passion wasn’t the answer she was seeking. He’d made no secret of that fact that he desired her, wanted to make love to her.
But, deep down, she knew it wasn’t all she wanted from him.
“If…’’ She paused, searched his eyes, then continued, “…if we take only ‘now’, it would mean that there’s nothing but lust between us.”
Aiden released her chin and abruptly stood up. “That’s all it is, Kira.”
His words hurt, but she refused to show it. She lifted her chin. “Then, ‘now’ isn’t going to happen, Aiden. I have more respect for myself than you have for me.” He stared down at her, his brooding features unreadable, his hot, hungry gaze dark and penetrating, and Kira held her breath.
“You really are an innocent, aren’t you,” he muttered. “Something as elemental as lust isn’t as easy to ignore as you might like, Kira.” His sensuous lips thinned. “Damn it, don’t give me that condescending look, little witch. You’re not that much of a temptation. In fact, I should be thanking you for stopping me when you did.”
Kira’s heart ached, already missing something she didn’t have to begin with. “Then we have nothing left to discuss. We still have this issue of Marissa’s custody between us but that isn’t either of our decision. It’s the judge’s.”
Aiden turned away from the bed and stalked to the door. “Your loss,” he said, his tone strained, “Both times.”
After he left, Kira stared at the closed door, his words echoing in her mind. Goddess help her but she had to bite her tongue to keep from calling him back. But the consequences would be disastrous. In more ways than one.
“I have to listen to my heart,” she whispered aloud.
From a corner of the room, a whispery voice floated. “I followed mine and it killed me.”
Chapter Ten
He slowly turned the pages of the private journal, clamping down on the impatience that boiled deep within him, and scanned the entries looking for…what? Damned if he knew!
Warren sighed loudly and resisted the urge to throw the leather bound book across the room. It was as useless as his Book of Shadows. Both the journal and the Book, filled with spells, magical experiments, and countless pages of notes, were nothing more than words if he couldn’t find the answers he so desperately needed. He’d been meticulous in recording everything: the exact wording of the spells, the minute details of every test, his keen observations, and most importantly of all…the whisperings of the spirit guiding him on to his destiny.
But, despite all that, as well as his constant re-reading of his journals, he couldn’t get rid of the feeling that he’d missed something vital. Perhaps a spell he’d worded wrong? Maybe some clue he should have caught then, that would make all the difference now?
Or was it just sheer frustration that kept him searching through the pages while desperation clawed its way through him? Time was running out. He could feel it, insidiously creeping by, whispering mockingly in his ear that the ultimate failure would mean the loss of his life – and his soul. Each time he performed the Spell, a minute piece of his soul disappeared along with the fading remnants of failure. He felt the sharp, cutting loss, as though a ravaging monster was eating away inside him, daring him to find the right spell before it was too late.
And, damn it, he would find the answer he needed, the prize he craved with a hunger that was indescribable.
Immortality.
And with that prize came an unquenchable, omnipotent power that would make him the most powerful warlock alive.
Warren sat back in his chair and thought back. He’d been thirty –a magical year for a warlock just discovering the depths of his power –when he’d stumbled on the secret that changed his life forever. The Louisiana Bayou was a vast world of secrets, of immense power – for those who knew what to look for.
His sister, Aileen, and her coven, had made countless trips into the swamp for medicinal herbs and plants that grew in abundance. Being white witches, they had used their powers and knowledge to help others and Warren had always scoffed at their benevolent lifestyle. They didn’t profit from their good deeds, so why bother? All the goodwill they tried to promote didn’t change the attitudes of the superstitious fools who believed all witches were devil worshippers, evilly malicious.
And, if doing ‘good’ didn’t bring prosperity, Warren saw no reason for extending himself in that direction.
Destiny had guided him, pointed him to his intended path the day Aileen asked him to accompany her and the family into the swamp to search for an elusive and rare plant. The memory still made him edgy, unable to sit idle. He surged to his feet and started pacing the area of his basement lab. Even now, years later, he vividly recalled every shocking, fate-filled moment that transpired the day his life had been irrevocably changed…forever.
Warren coughed out an embarrassed laugh. “Fool,” he muttered. He barked a stern “Hello!” as he answered the phone. Only a select few knew this number and they all worked for him in stealth, carrying out his nefarious schemes through their limited capacities for deceit and deception.
On the other end of the line a raspy voice whispered, “I have an update.”
Nida. His raven familiar. His most devoted slave.
Most witches had cats as familiars but Warren had known the moment Nida came into his life that fate had sent her for reasons then unknown, to be his aide in his future pursuits to garner his greatest desires. She’d proven to be indispensable over the years and, now, she was his greatest asset.
“What have you learned?” He prided himself with his calm tones, considering impatience was eating away at his insides.
“The witch becomes closer to the lion. They are…experiencing…feelings for each other. He is even allowing her to be alone with the child. And…”
“Don’t dally,” Warren hissed, all appearance of calm now gone. “Finish your report.”
The raspy voice became almost inaudible and he heard Nida clear her throat. “The dead witch has made her presence known once again. Twice I have felt her spirit hovering, mostly around the child.”
Warren digested this news for a ponderous moment, his mind shifting to this new development. Why was Sonia’s spirit suddenly making itself known now? He wondered if any of the Calhouns had sensed her hanging around. “Has anyone else noticed her ‘presence’?”
“The witch.”
He clenched his jaw tight then spit out, “Damn it, Kira.” His niece was an obstacle he hadn’t figured out yet how to handle. “Nida, stay close to the child. Learn her habits, her strengths. But do this only when my niece isn’t with her. You have been warned. Kira’s powers are strong and she could easily detect you if she became suspicious for any reason. That would make me very unhappy.” After he hung up, Warren began to restlessly pace, his mind tumbling over these unexpected, and unwanted, events. Countless thoughts raced through his mind and he impatiently tried to sort them into logical sequences.