Charisma

by Wendy Stone

  Neither of them noticed the woman who’d seen Charisma’s reactions to the photographer and then had studied the small woman’s features intently. A smile of pure malice came across her face and she picked up her cell phone, dialing a number by heart.

  “I’ve got news that you’re going to enjoy hearing,” she said as soon as the call was answered on the other end. “The girl you’ve been looking for? I think I’ve found her.”

  * * * *

  “I’m sorry,” she whispered a few moments later when she could finally relax. They sat in a clearing, a small stream burbling through and sending the sound of rushing water to her ears.

  Her face was buried in his shirt, her hands digging in to hold herself there. She didn’t want to look at him, she felt like a fool.

  “What was that about, Charisma?” he asked, slowly stroking his hand over her back under her hair.

  “I-I don’t know. I just don’t like cameras.”

  “I’d say it was a bit more than not liking cameras, baby. You don’t know why?”

  “No,” she said shaking her head but still not wanting to look at him.

  He held her for a few moments longer, finally scooting her off his lap and onto the log he’d been sitting on. “One of these days, we’re going to have to do something about those memories you’ve lost,” Charisma. The secret to your fears is there.” He stood in front of her and held out his hand. “Come on, let’s go eat. I’m starving.”

  “Well, we don’t want you getting crabby,” Charisma tried to tease. “You could burn down the tent.”

  “I have better control than that,” he said lightly. “Except when it comes to you.” He moved slightly, adjusting himself and making her laugh.

  “We’ll just have to feed that need, too,” she teased, standing up and brushing off the soft silk.

  “Right now?” he growled, coming up behind her and lifting her skirt so that his hands were filled with the soft skin of her bottom.

  She laughed, moving away before he could get a good hold on her. Running lightly through the clearing, she jumped the small stream. “You’ll have to catch me first.”

  He chased her, running around trees and missing her by inches. She was swift, light on her feet, laughing as she foiled attempt after attempt at his catching her. Finally he stopped, bending at the waist as if winded.

  “Are you okay?” she asked, coming up behind him.

  “Gotcha,” he laughed, grabbing her before she could run again.

  “You don’t play fair,” she grumbled, giggling as he pulled her closer to him.

  “All’s fair in love and war, baby,” he said, lifting her just a bit so he could reach her lips.

  His kiss was soft, loving, mesmerizing to her senses. Her hands lifted, tangling in his slightly too long hair, to pull him down to her. Her moan sent his nerve endings to tingle and his heart to race. “Charisma,” he moaned her name, pulling away from her, though he kept a firm hold on her arm so she couldn’t start running again. “Dinner first,” he said.

  “Yes, dinner first,” she teased.

  * * * *

  Hood sunk his huge bulk into the chair, letting the phone slide back on the hook. A satisfied smile, one full enough to show off every one of his shark-like teeth, spread across his face, giving him the look of being slightly mad. He let his elbows rest against the top of his desk, his fingers pyramiding, the index fingers tapping as he thought of the news he’d just been given.

  It was no wonder he hadn’t been able to find that tiny bitch, he thought. She’d left the city. The idea of her leaving hadn’t crossed his mind, but now that he’d been told where to find her, he couldn’t help but wonder why he hadn’t thought of it before.

  Reaching out, he flipped a couple of toggle switches on the edge of his desk and waited. The knock on his door was swift and he called out for them to enter, pleased with their fast response.

  “I’ve found her,” he said, savoring the flavor of those words. “Getting her back is going to be a bit more difficult than we thought.” He related what he’d been told.

  “ASP is looking for her too, aren’t they?” one of his men said.

  “Yeah, for the murder of my men.” Hood sat back, staring at the man and thinking of what he’d said. The smile grew again. “Who is our contact inside?”

  * * * *

  They snuck in the side entrance of the tent, finding seats on the outskirts of the crowd. The service was excellent, the food not to be believed. The beauty of the inside of the tent took Char’s breath away. She touched the flowers on their table with gentle fingers, feeling the softness of the petals.

  “It’s gorgeous,” she said softly, staring up into Kadian’s eyes.

  “So are you,” he said, reaching out to cover her hand with his own. “I seem to have this problem, I can’t stop touching you.”

  Charisma smiled, lifting her fork in her left hand and taking a bite of the bridal dinner. “You don’t hear me complaining,” she said, turning her hand over to tickle his palm with the tips of her fingers.

  He moaned softly, the touch of her hand sending shivers of passion up his spine.

  “Psst.”

  His brow furled and he stared around for a moment. “Did you spring a leak?” he asked before hearing it again. “Psst!”

  Turning he saw Lukah and Marissa standing hidden by one of the wide poles that held the tent up. Lukah winked as he and his mate changed, the ribbon falling off of their joined hands and to the floor. As a panther, Lukah lifted the ribbon in his teeth and nodded at Charisma, dropping the ribbon so that it hit the floor close to the pole. Then the two panthers turned, and slid under the edge of the tent, disappearing from sight.

  “Come here,” Kadian said to Char, pulling her up with him when he rose.

  “What are you doing?” she asked, going with him as he took her behind one of the tent poles.

  “Do you see it?” he asked.

  “See what?” she asked, staring at him like he’d lost his head.

  “This,” he said softly, leaning over and picking up the still tied ribbon. He handed it to her.

  “Is this one of the ribbons?” she asked, staring at the embroidery on the ribbon. It was gorgeous. Twin panthers gamboled over the cream silk, shown in all manner of play and work. In the center, the female was surrounded by a litter of four, the male bringing her food. “This is beautiful,” she sighed, her fingers tracing over the small figures. “You said it was lucky. What kind of lucky? Like finding a pot of gold or a four-leaf clover?”

  “More like catching the bridal bouquet at a wedding.”

  Charisma inhaled sharply, staring up at him.

  “Lukah and Marissa wanted you to find this one,” he said, taking it from her and letting the ribbon circle her throat, tying it loosely under her hair. “It doesn’t have to mean anything but that they wish us both to be happy.”

  “Your friends love you,” Charisma said. “They want you to find a mate and be happy as well. But how do you know it’s me? I do stupid things and I live on the streets. I have a mad man who wants me for powers I’m not sure how to control. I could cause you more pain than happiness.”

  “Do you remember when you first saw me?” he asked, bringing her back to their table and holding onto her hand.

  “Yeah, in the abandoned building where I slept most of the time. Why?”

  “You asked me how I found you. I don’t think you really believed me when I told you I followed your music.” He reached out and touched her chest, just above her left breast, holding her hand against his. “I’ve shown you the music once, Charisma, but I don’t think you really understood. Listen. Open your heart to mine and really listen.”

  She nodded, closing her eyes. Kadian closed his as well, sending his senses out to her, hearing the song that was hers and hers alone. It was beautiful, but it felt incomplete. Relaxing, he let his own music join with hers. He heard her gasp and knew she heard what he did. Together they created a symphony of joy and
beauty, which rose to a crescendo before becoming a simple melody. The notes seemed to tingle in the air around her, running from her hand to his heart and back through his heart to the hand that covered her heart.

  She opened her eyes slowly, not wanting the music to stop. As long as she touched him, held him in her heart, the music was there. She smiled as she saw his eyes open.

  “Come with me,” he said, leading her out of the tent to the small stage set up for dancing under the stars. The musicians weren’t playing yet, but they made their own music as he pulled her into his arms. Kadian holding her close, they moved around the floor to the rhythm of their song.

  “Is this love?” she whispered, touching his face with her fingers.

  “Yes,” he said, as softly, closing his eyes as her fingers touched his hair. “This is how I feel whenever I’m with you, Charisma.” He dropped his forehead, burying his face in her hair.

  “Would mating make this… better?” she asked, her voice trembling.

  “We’d be connected in an elemental way,” he said. “You’d become Were as well.”

  “I’d be a dragon?” she asked, excited. “I’d be able to fly?”

  Kadian laughed. “Yep, and breathe fire.”

  “We’d be together forever?” she asked, her hand sliding up his chest to wrap around his neck.

  “You’d think you’d get tired of me?” he asked, half-joking.

  “I could ask you the same thing,” she said.

  A violin sounded from out of the darkness, its poignant tone like a sweet cry in the dark. Kadian glanced up as a piano joined it, following the rhythm of their dancing. “Baby,” he said under the sound of the music. “I will never ever grow tired of you.”

  Charisma smiled brightly at him. “Then I think we should do it. I mean, I love you, you love me, right?”

  “Definitely,” he said, pushing her hair away from her face.

  He almost tripped when she suddenly stopped dancing, grabbing his hand and pulling him toward the house. “Ah, Char? Where are we going?”

  She gave him a look that could have burned the clothes off his body and then continued to tug on him, until he moved faster and scooped her up from behind, running with her in his arms back into the house.

  * * * *

  Sam took the last load of dishes and set the box on the floor, pushing so it rested against the others. After dinner was complete, she’d started cleaning and putting things away, anxious to be away from here tonight. Not that she wasn’t happy for the two couples, she was. But seeing their happiness made her own problems seem so much bigger.

  The rest of the food, finger food for snacking on later as well as desserts, was already set up. She’d given the rest of the crew who would do cleanup her final orders and now she could leave. Taking the keys out of the lock on the back of the van, she went to the driver’s side and unlocked it. She was just about to climb in when a figure in the other seat sat forward and held out his hand to her.

  “You definitely shouldn’t be working this late and this hard. Does Nashe care so little for his employees that he would allow a woman in your condition to haul boxes and such?” Dimitri waited for her to grab his hand, starting at her expectantly.

  “Nashe doesn’t know of my condition,” she said angrily, glaring at him. “How the hell did you get into my van, especially since it was locked?”

  “Baby, nothing can keep us separated. It’s fate. You and I are destiny.” He smiled at her and held his hand to her once more.

  “Fine,” she snapped. “I’m too tired to deal with you tonight. You can stay in the van.” She climbed up and turned the key in the ignition, pulling on her seatbelt. Ignoring him as best as she could, she drove out of the estate, driving the ten minutes to Abstracts and pulling the truck into its usual spot behind the restaurant. She got out of the van, slipping her keys into her purse and pulling her other set out. Her little car was the only one in the lot.

  Dimitri got out and watched Sam, seeing how tired she actually was. He came up behind her, pulled her keys out of her hand and wrapped an arm around her waist. “Come on,” he said softly. “Tell me where you live and I’ll drive you home.”

  Sam was stumbling on her feet, having been up and going since four a.m. She argued a bit but finally agreed. “Fine, but then you call a cab and go home.”

  She was so tired she didn’t notice his noncommittal answer. She gave him her address, sitting in the passenger side and leaning the seat back. Before he made it around the car, she was asleep.

  Chapter Ten

  Sam woke as her alarm went off the next morning. She was so warm and cozy that even opening her eyes seemed difficult. She forced her eyes open, staring across an expanse of wide, muscled, naked chest. For a moment, she was confused and she moved quickly, slipping out of the warmth of her bed and onto the cold floor of her bedroom.

  “Who…What?” she muttered, realizing at the last moment that she was as naked as her bedmate seemed to be.

  Turning, she grabbed her bathrobe from the chair where she’d left it, twirling it around her and slipping her arms in the sleeves.

  “You didn’t have to do that on my account,” Dimitri said, sitting up in the bed and speaking above the annoying sound of the alarm clock.

  “What are you doing here?” she gasped, her eyes drawn to the beauty that his sleekly muscled body held.

  “Samantha, darling, do you think that you could rid us of that annoying noise? I’ll answer anything you want to know then.” He held his hand up to the ear closest to the alarm clock.

  Sam stormed over and slapped her hand down on the button that would shut off the noise. It was mercifully quiet when it was off and he smiled, holding his hands out to her. “Come back to bed where we can… talk more comfortably.”

  Instead, she growled, turning away from him and the temptation. “How did you get in here?”

  “You were so out of it, I didn’t feel comfortable leaving you alone,” he said softly, forcing her to move closer to him to hear him.

  “So you thought you’d strip me and yourself and climb into my bed?” Her eyes kept straying to that chest. Her hands went slick at the thought of touching him, of feeling those rock hard abs against her body.

  “Why do you fight it, Samantha? We are meant for each other.”

  “You are…are…incorrigible,” she almost screamed at him, throwing her hands up in the air and moving toward the bathroom.

  “Where are you going?” he asked, making a move to get out of the bed.

  “Whoa,” she said, holding her hand out to stop him from moving. “You stay where you are until I’m out of the room.” His long legs were exposed as he sat on the side of the bed, a thin bit of blanket covering his groin and hips.

  As she watched, Dimitri grabbed the blanket and stood, his naked body outlined by the golden rays of the sun coming in her window. For a second, all she could do was stand and stare. He seemed more like a golden Adonis, not a stranger determined to make her life overwhelmingly more difficult than it already was.

  He took a step toward her and she held her breath, unable to move. “Dimitri,” she said breathlessly. “What are you going to do?”

  His body was warm as he pulled her against him, his arms wrapping around her waist. “Say good morning,” he said, his head dipping. She could do nothing but watch as his face got closer and closer, until he felt her lips against hers.

  There was never an ounce of hesitation. He took control, his lips twisting hers open so that his tongue could dip inside.

  Heat slammed into her, more than she’d ever felt before. She couldn’t move except to edge closer to him. Her arms wrapped around his neck, a low moan of need coming from her throat.

  He heard that soft sound and smiled against her lips, lifting his head and waiting for her to open her eyes. “Good morning, my beautiful Samantha.”

  “G-good morning,” she stuttered, rising to her toes to bring herself closer to him. Her hands pulled at his hair, dra
wing him down until she could find his lips again.

  Dimitri smiled, his lips covering hers again, his hand sneaking up and undoing the bathrobe tie, pulling it open so that he could feel her against him. Then he lifted her in his arms, carrying her back to the bed and following her down upon it. “Yes, Samantha,” he growled as she moved her mouth to his neck.

  Her hands moved over his body, inciting sensations that had him panting, wanting her more than he thought possible. Finally, he grabbed them, trapping both her wrists in one of his hands, which he then held over her head. His lips began to form their own trail, dipping lower until he could take one of her hard nipples into the heat of his mouth.

  She tasted salty but sweet, her pebbled nipple growing harder as he suckled upon her. His knee was between her thighs and he pressed it against her sex, feeling her hips move as she tried to rub against him. Without thinking, he flipped her so that she lay upon her flat belly, the lush roundness of her bottom pressing up against his hips.

  He brushed the softness of her hair aside, nibbling delicately at her nape and feeling her shiver under him. He could almost taste the passion coming off of her skin like a fragile wisp. His nose twitched as he scented her, his beast growling with desire. God, she had him hot and almost begging, feeling things no other woman had ever made him feel.

  She was his mate, he knew it deep inside. Holding her like this, his free hand moving over the slender muscles of her back, sent the panther inside of him surging, wanting to take control, wanting her to change so that he wouldn’t be alone anymore.

  Before he could stop himself, Dimitri was kneeling behind her, forcing her up on her knees. She moaned like a cat in heat, rubbing against him. His cock caught in the wet folds of flesh between her thighs. “Samantha,” he groaned, holding on to her hips to keep her from pushing back against him. “I need you.”

  She was too far gone to care. There was a tiny voice that tried to give warning, but it was lost in the clamoring of her senses as he slowly pushed inside of her, stretching her, filling her, fucking her with a power and intent that was so far beyond what any other man had made her feel. She heard his hips slapping her bottom as he yanked her back on his cock. A cry came from her lips.