“Try and run, little girl, but the big bad wolf is home and there’s nowhere to hide now.”
A smile tilted a corner of her mouth up. Touché, wolfie.
Ember gathered the fine dust of her truth charm, moved from the table positioned in the middle of the kitchen and closed the few steps between her and Julian.
Before he could figure out her intentions, she raised her palm and blew.
Gold and silver flecks with a touch of crimson sparkled in the dim light, coating the whole man from head to toe. With a fair amount for herself, she quickly dusted the charm over her body and breathed in a heavy dose to make sure they were equal.
Seconds passed and she watched as her charm dissolved, revealing one very ticked off alpha with a hard icy-blue gaze trained one hundred percent on her.
Hades to blazes. “You’re playing with hellfire tonight, Ember, and this time I won’t let you get away from the flames.”
The man had no idea.
CHAPTER FOUR
Pure fury lightened his already ethereal eyes. The glow was as beautiful as it was lethal, lethal to others, anyway. She knew, down to the deepest part of her soul, he would never hurt her. Never threaten her or raise a hand to strike her.
But there was a warning that hid beneath the surface of his bunched muscles and strained expression. If she pushed too hard, he might push back and what he’d demand as payment would be more than she could pay.
Obviously, he didn’t know her very well. Not anymore. He thought the shy, sweet Ember he fell for two years ago had returned.
Her inner vixen smiled. Oh, bad, bad move, wolfie. No. All illusions of innocence had vanished long ago. What stood in the middle of his living room was a woman damn determined to give as much truth as received for both their sakes, and she damn sure wasn’t shy on how to go about getting it. She was so over cowering from the higher powers and the bullshit rules of her world.
Her new motto: Fuck ‘em.
And if his people had anything to say about her charming a second-in-command alpha shifter to a powerful pack, then they knew where to find her. Until then, she planned to get her life back on track.
If Julian wanted to scare her, he’d have to work a helluva lot harder at containing the lusty vibes that rolled off him to stroke a sweet trail of lust along her libido.
He stepped in and slammed the door closed behind him. She felt the thud of wood hitting metal all the way to the soles of her feet. He was pissed.
Too bad.
“What the hell was that, Ember?” He scrubbed a hand over his face but it was too late. The second the charm left her palm, it absorbed into the skin and it was balls to the wall from here on out. Let the fun begin.
She mentally cracked her knuckles. Tingles ran along her skin and her mouth grew dry. Deep and dark, she steeled against the shiver that wanted to rack her body. His voice washed over her like a velvety caress.
She rolled her shoulder. The effects of the charm were starting to kick in, but she managed to skirt the full truth. For now.
“A charm.”
Normally, she would have bought some time with an answer of Lust Dust or something equally horny-sounding to make him think she was here only to get into his pants.
Which currently rode low over his hips, as if he’d dressed in a hurry to get here. She raked her gaze over his bare chest, pebbled nipples from the cold before returning her attention to his face.
“Ride like the wind, did you? What’s the hurry, wolfie?”
Without breaking eye contact, Julian reached into the back of his jeans to produce his phone. With a flip of his thumb, a bright red dot flashed on the screen with an intruder warning in a bubble to the side.
“That’s new.”
“It is. Had it installed a week after you skipped.”
“Burn, baby. Why would you want to do that?” She mentally slapped a hand to her forehead. Truth charm, stupid. Don’t ask questions you don’t want answers to.
“To keep meddling little witches out of my house. For good this time.”
“Hmm. Might want to get your money back for that cuz I strolled right in. No bells or warnings of impending doom.”
“It worked just fine. I’m here, aren’t I?”
Wow. He sure as Hades had a way of making a girl feel two inches tall.
She cringed inwardly but held her ground.
Julian edged forward a step, his boots laced halfway. “Why are you here, Ember? Don’t you have some spell to work up or potion to mix?” Or a heart to break? She couldn’t hear the words, but he didn’t need to say them. The tight-lipped and brow pinched expression he wore like a second skin said it for him.
He brushed past her and headed toward the kitchen and all but skidded to a full stop when he spotted her mischief spread over his dining table.
“The spell work is done. Now to see the results.” Her voice low, calm and a complete contrast to the ire she could see tightening his shoulder blades.
“I can feel whatever you dosed me with. What have you done, babe?” He turned to face her, his expression tight with worry.
What was it about him that made her so hot she rivaled the sun? “Do all the other woman I’ve seen you parade around the Matchstick take the edge off, Julian?” She hadn’t planned to rip off the Band-Aid in one pull, but there you go. Deep down, she didn’t want to know his answer, but couldn’t stop the question from slipping out.
“Don’t.”
Warning bells went off in her head for all the wrong reasons. His jaw clenched and unclenched. Was he gritting his mouth closed to keep from answering?
Lips moving soft as butterfly wings, Ember chanted a line from her spell in a hushed whisper.
Bring to me truth this night
With open hearts and secrets revealed
“Tell me, Julian. No secrets, no lies. Not tonight. I just want the truth. Then I’ll be out of your hair for good, wolfie.” She forced out the lie. Her charm took a little longer to work on her. Perks of being the casting witch.
Muscles flexed, bunched. She took a step toward him and his eyes flashed in warning. A deep, guttural growl stopped her cold.
“You can’t fight the lure of the charm, Julian.”
He gave a fierce nod. Out of agreement or frustration, she didn’t know. He rolled back on his heels as he crossed his arms over his bare chest. Small droplets of sweat beaded across his brow as the only sign he felt the pull of her charm. Stock-still, he stood there, laser sharp eyes honed on her. Seconds ticked by before he finally broke the silence. “Truth?” His chest heaved with the single syllable word and he made it sound as though it weighed more than ten boulders. Edgy and dangerous fit the man’s description, but so did patient and cunning. She’d do well to remember that.
“I’m not the one that left without a word. Remember?” He jutted his chin and lowered his lashes. As if that would intimidate her or keep her from finding out what she wanted to know. “Don’t go there, Ember. Don’t use words that mean nothing to you. And sure as hell don’t ask me questions you don’t really want the answers to.”
What was that flaring to life in his irises? Lust? Desire to touch her the way she craved to touch him? Or was that pure, unfiltered hunger she saw? Could she handle him this lit up? She sure as Hades could try!
“Do they lessen the ache?” She’d tried taking a lover once after leaving Sweet Briar, after leaving him. But the thought made her sick and the bond they shared forged a painful ache in her belly until she no longer even thought about wanting anyone else. Was it the same for him?
“They calm the wolf from hunting you down. Barely.” He bit out.
“To what? Make sure I never returned?” She knew better to feign fear— he’d smell that. Surprise or shock, well, not so much. Besides, she already knew his answer but wanted to hear him say it.
“To fuck you until you submit to me.” He dropped the truth between them just as she wanted. A bomb loaded with enough explosive power to level both of them wher
e they stood.
He shifted his weight and braced his hands on the back of a kitchen chair. Wide shoulders tapered into a thick waist and long legs that could eat up the distance between them in two strides. Then what would she do? Jump him and ride the bad-ass shifter like her inner vixen caved.
But he didn’t budge and she didn’t get to test her reflexes. Instead, he stood there white-knuckling the poor chair as if he wanted to get his fingers around something. Or someone.
Despite everything, nothing could keep her gaze from zeroing in on his impressive bulge through the wide-spaced wooden slats of the chair or notice how he was already sporting a hard on.
Her body flushed with waves of heat to reach down to the very part Julian affected the most.
His eyes shined and sweat dampened his brow despite the cold weather and the lack of a fire in the hearth.
She stilled her nerves and slipped a soft smile in place. “That must be painful. Let me help.” She forced him to move back or risk her touching him. He took two steps before she had him trapped with his back flat against the tall windows filled with moonlight. She cupped a hand over his thick shaft, the length encased in rough denim against her palm. On her tiptoes she leaned in inch by inch until her nipples rested against his bare chest and turned her lips up to his ear. “Moonlight. I love the way you look wearing a curtain of silver.” She couldn’t hold back the husky lust that coated her words. No need. He could already sense how she felt about him. Or at the very least smell her desire for him. It tainted the air enough even she could feel it twine around them, a life of its own.
Julian sucked back air between clenched teeth and let his head fall back to thud against the pane. “Woman, you have fire in your soul and if I make one false move, I’ll be burned.”
“Don’t you know, Julian, my love... fire starts with the smallest of embers?”
“And ends in ash and destruction,” he added in a gravely pained voice.
She grimaced at his words. “Touché.” Again. She dropped her gaze to the floor. Ash or not, hopefully they still had a chance.
He clamped a hand around hers and tightened his grip until his erection throbbed against her palm. “Now stop with your games. What are you after tonight, because I think you made it clear you want nothing to do with me—or my dick—months ago.” He looked pointedly at their joined hands. She held his a little too snug.
“I thought I could walk away, Julian.” She stepped back half a pace to look into his eyes, her hands now resting on his chest.
Such solid strength. Banked strength.
One kiss. Just one, then she would tell him everything. Collecting a handful of his thick hair in her hand, she angled his mouth close.
Soft yet firm. Her lips grazed over the full length of his bottom lip, but he didn’t move to kiss her back. He didn’t pull away either.
Her tongue snaked out to run along the seam of his mouth.
Cinnamon with a hint of vanilla. And all male. Her male.
She loved the unique combination of his favored chewing gum and the very essence of what made up Julian. It was her favorite drug of choice and she couldn’t get enough.
Electricity shot through her and left her breathless. She pulled back enough to look into his eyes. Her voice pitched low, barely above a whisper. “I thought I would save you the heartache by keeping the truth from you.”
“How you deduced that is beyond me, Ember. Mates don’t run.” His lips glistened with her kiss. She wouldn’t lie, it hurt that he hadn’t kissed her back, but a sliver of hope shined through the tense atmosphere when she saw him suck the flesh of his bottom lip between his teeth.
“I have something to tell you, Julian, and you might hate me for it.” She reached between them and let her fingers trail softly along his jaw. She’d do anything to see him smile her way again. Anything.
“I want to know what you charmed me with. Now, Ember, and no more dodgy answers.”
Including telling him everything she had no right to hold back from him to begin with.
“A truth spell,” she blurted out. Time for all cards to hit the table.
“What do you want to know? The faster I tell you, the faster you can leave.”
Did he mean that? She was here to mend their differences, and all he wanted was for her to leave and the spell made it impossible for him to lie. She hated the catch twenty-two shit of the law of magick. You can ask for it, but it didn’t mean you would like it once you got what you wanted.
“It’s also what I have to tell you, but you’re right. You first.”
Her people acted as if she’d done something wrong by loving Julian in the first place, and it made her heart ache that she’d followed them blindly. Now she saw red and want blood in return for her pain and the pain she caused him. If she’d had parents with enough balls to stand up to the High Council, maybe things between her and Julian would be different.
Witnessing the pain Ambrosia was in tonight because of someone trying to dictate the right and wrong in the matters of the heart was her last straw. No one had that right over her, and in the end, if the price was the magick she was born into, they could have it. “I’m done running. Fearing what might happen for what should have happened. I’ve hidden out, not wanting to mess up the witch’s brew, so to speak, and tick off the Council. “She threw her hands up and waved her fingers. “Scared of some antiquated fucking laws.” She stifled a laugh. “And they call you the animals.”
His lips lifted in a half-smile.
She took another step back and leaned a hip against the table. “No more, Julian. You have two choices. Walk me out that door and leave me on the other side or walk over fire with me and let’s burn the rule book. The world, the High Council, the laws and all the controlling factions of my people... Be. Fucking. Damned.” She would have smiled at the complete and utter look of shock on his face, but so much as a twitch would ruin the seriousness of her words.
His eyes narrowed and his gaze landed on her right hand. He moved, reaching out, but she was faster. Fist closed, she pulled her hand back where he couldn’t reach the pack ring she’d slipped on her thumb earlier. He cocked a brow in answer. She shrugged. “The choices are rather simple, don’t you think?”
“That’s a lot to ask, Ember. You ever stop and think laws are in place for a reason? Or are you bent on breaking them all for the hell of it? Come to think of it, maybe it was a good thing you left. Now that I’ve had a good amount of time to think it over, a witch and a shifter aren’t the best mix. Besides,” Julian gestured to the ring on her thumb, “when you sent that back to me I think you were pretty fucking clear about which side of the law you stood on.”
Burn! The spell forced him to speak his mind, and he had no plans to let her actions slide. He dragged his gaze up, and her heart stumbled over several beats. Hurt. She could read it in his eyes as if he’d said it out loud.
Pride had a way of choking a girl up, but she managed to force it back down. Just as with magick, all actions had consequences. Royal status didn’t give her any buffer from reality. “Sure, rules and laws have their place. Stop lights can save a life and in general are good to follow, but as of late, I haven’t found a law I’m not willing to break... so you got me there,” she amended. “But this law, the one that states no witch of the Ruling Families can marry outside his or her station, the law that tore a rift in my family and me away from you, is nothing more than a way to control the masses.” She pushed a step closer, pleading for him to understand. “It might have been necessary or even a good measure two hundred years ago during the Witches and Weres war, but I’d say that’s in the past with little to no hold over us now.”
“So, why should the present be tainted by the past?” His question was more of a statement and she saw his angle a mile away. Bright sapphire eyes turned from stoic to withdrawn between one blink and the next. He turned away from her, obviously preferring the inky black view of his property highlighted by faint moonlight.
Boy,
if that wasn’t a loaded statement she didn’t know what was.
With an elbow propped on one side of the window, his attention focused out over his property, she got a good viewing of all six feet of well-defined alpha. She bit down on her lip to hold back the groan. The jeans did nothing to hide the man she loved. He was a damned sight to behold from any angle. Hard muscles shifted and rippled along his back with the slightest movement. And his tousled brown hair never quite managed to stay put. Her fingers worked over the corded gold design of his pack ring a little faster.
With his back to her, the air between them grew colder with every passing second. How could she make him see how grief and hurt left her chest empty like a black hole? Coming here was a bad idea. Damn her soft, unprotected heart. The one time she unhooked the chain-link fence long enough to see what was on the outside she got stabbed. A direct shot of reality to the heart. That shit was deadlier than pure snake venom in the vein.
“I’ll go, but remember this, Julian. I only loved you.”
CHAPTER FIVE
“Loved?” He spun on his heel so fast she almost got whiplash. Moonbeams crashed down on him, the light giving the fire in his eyes an otherworldly glow. No. Wait. That was his wolf. She knew damn well what red in a wolf’s eyes meant. “Whoa, there boy, down.” She held her hands up.
“You joke? Keep it up, Ember, and you won’t like what the wolf is howling for. What he’s craving to sink his teeth into.” She could imagine. He stalked forward. Slowly. As if the wolf were hungry for a witch hunt. “Keep pushing me. I dare you.”
That made her pause for half a heartbeat. Julian all riled up was better than the dismissive Julian that froze her out. She’d take the red eyes and the anger. That she knew how to handle.
He was good, but she saw through his game. Little did he know buying time until the charm wore off wouldn’t get him anywhere. “Aww. Poor wolfie.” She planted her hands on her hips and let the grin she wanted to hold back take center stage. “Is the charm making the ache burn just a little too much in all the right places?” The drop of dragon’s blood made the charm three times as strong and foolproof when it came to a shifters high-octane metabolism. Without it, Julian would have burned through her charm two seconds after dusting, and she’d be the only one under the wand and dosed with magick.
Bewitching The Alpha (Hex My Heart, #3) Page 3