“Do you feel up to a glass of wine?” he asked, and she turned and gave him a full-fledged smile that positively lit up not just her face but her entire being in a way that had his body tingling with awareness.
“That would be amazing.”
He gave her a quick nod and headed down to his wine cellar.
Her eyes followed his movements as he disappeared through the door and down the stairs, thinking that she could really get to like the man. He was just so easy to be around, and he really seemed thoughtful and honest, yet with an air of…danger to him that only made him all that much sexier. He was huge, and intimidating as hell, but in a way that made her feel protected and safe.
She chastised herself for thinking so much about him and set back to rooting around. She found a pack of dried shitake mushrooms and froze.
The glimmer of a memory burst before her eyes, but only for a split second before it was gone. It flashed by so quickly that she was unable to make meaning of it, but she knew that it had something to do with…
Mushrooms?
She squeezed her eyes shut tight, causing little pinpoints of light to dance about behind her closed lids as she tried to bring the memory forward, but there was nothing. As fast as it had appeared, it had dissipated just as quickly. She puffed out a breath of frustration as her mind churned. There had been mushrooms in her backpack with some other herbs that were vaguely familiar...but what exactly could they mean?
This was total bullshit! she silently raged, tossing the package of shitakes on the counter with an audible huff. Just what in the heck did mushrooms have to do with the price of tea in China, anyway?
God! She really hated not knowing who she was!
She nearly jumped out of her skin when Maddox came back through the door, carrying two bottles in his hands.
“Sorry,” he apologized with a chuckle as he set the wine down on the island. “I didn’t mean to startle you. Usually people can hear me coming from a mile away.”
She found that statement extremely odd. Despite his very large stature, the man moved like a freaking panther. Silent. Stealth. Sexy.
Ugh! There she went again! Good Lord! Maybe she was a total pervert and that was why she couldn’t remember a damn thing about herself. Perhaps it was for the best!
“You didn’t,” she lied. “I was just…daydreaming,” she offered pathetically, her face heating.
He seemed to accept her ridicules response and grabbed two glasses from a nearby cupboard, and opened the wine.
“Did you have any luck finding something to help with that pitiful stash my cupboards offered?” he asked, handing her a glass and gracing her an apologetic grin that made him even more handsome, if that were even possible.
“I think I can make it work,” she chuckled as she set to work, taking a sip of the wine and moaning appreciatively as the amazing merlot slid down her throat and warmed her belly in the most delightful and decadent way.
It was liquid Heaven!
Maddox leaned back in his chair and groaned with content. “I’ve got to give it to you, Blondie. That was one damned fine meal,” he laughed, holding up his glass in salute to the beautiful vixen sitting across from him.
He didn’t know how she had done it, but she had taken the few things she had found lying around and had turned them into a dinner that had been delicious.
They had talked easily as they ate, and he began calling her Blondie without even realizing it. It just seemed to fit her. They had laughed and teased each other, and he found himself actually enjoying talking with her. He realized that a very large part of him was wishing her memory would come back just so that he could find out more about her. She was fascinating.
“Why, thank you. But, you’re really being too kind,” she replied with the most adorable little scrunching up of her face, and he felt his body instantly respond to the extraordinary sight. And, he realized with a small smirk that it seemed to be happening quite a bit lately. “You have no idea how happy I am that it was at least edible, and that I didn’t give you food poisoning!” She finished with an angelic little smile.
“Trust me when I say, it was much more than merely edible,” he argued. “It was—” Maddox stopped, his eyes darting to the window as his senses started tingling with awareness.
There was another paranormal being nearby.
Nico slipped through the thick patch of pine trees that circled the edge of the property and watched with rapt interest through the large bay window as Wynter laughed and talked with—
He sniffed at the air, his jaw tensing as the hair at the base of his neck rose, and he felt his rage beginning to bubble up inside him like lava from an active volcano.
A God-damned dragon shifter.
His spit out a string of curses under his breath, his lips pulling back in a vicious sneer. He hated dragons. He hated them with every ounce of his being. The arrogant fools thought they were gods in the supernatural world.
Bigger. Stronger. Superior. Gods.
He forced himself to swallow the growl that was beginning to vibrate in his chest as he took a step back within the cover of the shadows.
Just what in the holy hell was she doing out here?
With him?
He had lost her scent at the edge of the river, and it had taken him hours to pick it up again, finally leading him to this cabin. And now, here she was, drinking and getting cozy with a Goddamned dragon!
Nico clenched his fists at his sides, trying hard to control his rage. The witch was his, and he damn well was not about to share her with anyone.
He realized that had waited much too long, and had been much too patient with her simply to have her taken away from him in an instant by a piece of shit dragon!
He would not allow it. Not by a long shot.
If nothing else, Nico Black got what he wanted.
Always.
He watched as the two of them talked and laughed as if they had known each other for centuries, and he growled low and deep in his throat as his fury mounted.
The bastard shifter turned his head and glanced out the window a moment before standing from the table and heading towards the door.
Nico spit out another curse and shifted. Turning, he took off at a steady gait, rushing back towards his pack. He would need to make some plans before taking what was his. And he would take her. He just wouldn’t act rashly. He didn’t get where he was by putting himself at risk. He would bide his time and figure out the best way to handle the situation.
Maddox opened the door and stepped outside onto the back porch, surveying the area carefully, his eyes scanning the darkness with a slow, thorough sweep. He knew there had been someone out here, but it seemed that they had taken off in a hurry.
He scanned the woods carefully, his mouth set in a tight line, but everything was silent. He turned and stepped back inside, telling himself to make sure to stay diligent. It seemed that his lovely little visitor had someone looking for her.
Someone who didn’t want to make their presence known. Someone who was also a paranormal being.
“Is everything all right?” She asked as he made his way back over to the table and sat back down.
He gave her a quick nod. “It’s nothing,” he offered evenly. He wanted to make sure if the being he sensed lurking about was friend or foe before worrying her. With her memory still absent, he didn’t want to frighten her. “I thought I heard an animal outside.” His senses were humming and buzzing, and he was still on high alert, even though he was sure that whoever had been out there was long gone by now. “Out here, you never know what kind of vermin may be wandering about.”
She returned his nod and took a small sip of her wine, her plump lips glistening from the liquid, and he found himself fascinated by the mere sight of it. It was incredibly sensual without meaning to be, and he found himself wondering what her lips would taste like. Would they be as sweet as they looked, or would they have that spicy, tangy taste of the merlot?
It was becom
ing more than obvious to him that the more time he spent with her, the more he was growing to like her, and he wasn’t sure how he felt about that. He usually didn’t like entanglements.
But with this lovely little witch? It seemed as if all bets were off.
She was painfully beautiful, with a quick wit and a delightful sense of humor, and he found himself thinking that he couldn’t remember a time in his very long existence that he had ever wanted to even make the effort to talk with someone of the opposite sex, let alone to actually get to know them.
Especially someone as attractive as she was.
He would have normally just bedded her and moved on, but now he found himself enjoying every moment spent with her. Every single word spoken between them. And, to say that it was throwing him off his game was the understatement of the century.
She had him behaving like someone he didn’t know. Someone who wanted to take the time and get to know what made her tick.
The only problem at the moment? It seemed that there was another paranormal being out there, a male from what he could gather from the pheromones drifting on the air, who was lurking around, not wanting to make their presence known. His jaw tensed as he once again glanced out of the window and into the darkness.
He decided that once she fell asleep for the night, he would check out the area. Just do a quick pass over. He wasn’t going to take any chances. If it was someone looking for her, a mate or even a friend would have shown themselves.
No. His gut was telling him that this someone wanted to stay in the shadows. And that fact was not setting well with him at all.
The shadows never held anything good.
Maddox silently crept down the stairs and through the door of the kitchen. He removed the sweatpants he wore and laid them on one of the chairs before slipping through the back door and disappearing through the trees.
He made his way through to a clearing and stopped, glancing around before shifting into the enormous silver beast.
In dragon form, he gracefully took to the air, the only sound was the rustling of the trees as he moved his mighty wings. He glided above, his silver eyes painstakingly surveying the ground below, looking for any sign of movement. Anything out of the ordinary.
Nothing seemed out of sorts, he observed, as he circled the area. All was quiet. He passed over once more before descending back to the ground.
Shifting back, he headed back to the cabin. He didn’t want to stay away from the house for longer than was absolutely necessary in case Blondie woke. He didn’t think it would be beneficial for her to see a dragon flying above before her memory of being a witch came back. It was anyone’s guess if she knew about the paranormal world she was a part of, but from what he could figure out from talking with her, she didn’t, or else she would have known what the herbs and mushrooms in her bag were for.
He wondered if she did realize but just wasn’t completely sure about him. This was all a very strange and new situation which he hoped would settle itself sooner rather than later.
He entered the kitchen and slipped his sweatpants back on before heading upstairs. He stopped at her bedroom door. His bedroom if he were to be honest, and a smile twitched at his lips as the vision of her sleeping in his bed invaded his thoughts, and he allowed himself a moment to just stand there and listen to her even breathing before heading back to the guest room, knowing full well that sleep was going to be elusive as he lay there in the room next to the gorgeous witch.
He dropped down on the bed with a heavy sigh. And here he thought he was coming to the cabin to relax and find some alone time. He turned over on his side facing the wall between them and a chuckle slipped past his lips.
God help him, but he wasn’t complaining one damn bit.
Chapter Five
Wynter stepped through the French doors leading out onto the small balcony and pulled in a slow, deep breath of the cool night air. She had woken up in a sweat, her dreams filled with strange images that didn’t seem to make any sense to her whatsoever, only to disappear as soon as she had opened her eyes. It was as if they had merely been phantoms flitting around her brain, just on the outer fringe of reality, and she shivered; not quite certain if it was because of the chill in the air or the disjointed memories that were haunting her.
She walked back inside and headed downstairs for a quick glass of water. Her mouth was as dry as cotton and she knew that there we no way in hell she was getting back to sleep any time soon. Her inability to remember anything about herself was really beginning to gnaw at her, and she was feeling restless and edgy.
She descended the stairs, taking great pain to stay as silent as humanly possible. The last thing she wanted was to wake her host in the dead of night.
Maddox Westbrook had taken her in and treated her with nothing but respect and kindness, and she wasn’t about to disturb him at three-thirty in the morning simply because her addled brain decided to suffer from a sudden bout of insomnia.
She slipped into the kitchen and snagged a glass from one of the cupboards, careful not to make a sound. Filling it from the sink, she took a healthy gulp before turning to head back to bed when she ran straight into a solid wall of muscle and let out a shriek of surprise.
How in the ever-loving hell did the man move so quietly?
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you,” he said, his intense slate grey eyes meeting hers in the light of the moon that was filtering in through the window, and it was as if she was suddenly rooted to the spot. “I seem to keep doing that.”
“No, you didn’t, really,” she argued. “I was thirsty and needed a glass of water,” she explained hastily, lifting the glass and taking a quick, jerky step back from his incredible chest.
His incredible bare chest, she noticed with an audible swallow and winced as she silently prayed that it didn’t sound as loud as it did in her head.
“I…I hope I didn’t wake you,” she stuttered helplessly, feeling like she had been caught with her hand in the cookie jar.
He chuckled in response, and that one small, simple sound vibrated straight through her body and right down to the tips of her toes, causing her belly to flutter. It was soft and intimate. Not to mention, melt your butter hot as all hell.
“Not to worry, Blondie,” he replied, leaning forward ever so slightly. As she felt his warm breath caress her cheek, she bit back a sigh. “I was up anyway,” he continued, those eyes of his holding her prisoner. “I really don’t require very much sleep.”
“Why,” she replied with a small smirk, suddenly feeling playful. “Are you a vampire or something?”
“Not even close.” He burst out laughing, his smile widening, which only made him that much more attractive. “Would you like something besides water?” he asked eyeing her glass.
She shook her head, biting her tongue to keep herself from blurting out the completely lecherous reply that had popped into her head as she studied him intently, thinking that he had to be the sexiest man she had ever seen and she just wanted to...
Oh Lord! She really was a perv. She just knew it! The things that kept swirling around in her head when she was near him were not very lady-like.
At all.
She nervously cleared her throat as she made a vain attempt to give him a confident smile, but who was she trying to kid? She knew that she must have looked like some kind of deranged mental patient.
His very presence made her pulse race and sent her senses into overdrive, leaving her to feel flushed and discombobulated. Not to mention what the man did to her libido.
Good God, he was liquid sex!
“No, thank you. The water’s fine.” She finally responded lamely.
She moved to step around him but found that he was blocking the doorway with his massive frame. Not at all in an oppressive or intimidating way whatsoever, but in a way that caused her breath to catch in her throat, and her pulse to flutter around in her chest, almost as if hummingbirds had been set free inside her ribcage.
He took the glass from her hand and set it down on the nearby counter, his gaze not leaving hers for a moment.
And it was freaking electric.
She watched in silence and just the smallest bit of nervous anticipation as he moved closer, leaning down just enough so that his mouth whispered across hers as gently as a summer breeze before moving in more firmly.
His tongue moved sinuously across her lips in silent demand, and she could do nothing but respond to him ten-fold. There was no questioning it…no denying it, and she realized that she had been longing for this moment for what seemed a lifetime.
She returned his kiss, leaning into him, her hands pressing themselves against his steel-wrapped chest, and it felt as if she were touching a Greek God.
Muscular, firm…fantastic.
She heard a moan vibrate deep in his throat as his fingers fanned out against her back and he pulled her as close to his body as was humanly possible, positively kissing her stupid.
At that moment in time, she couldn’t have cared less if she ever remembered who in the hell she was. Just as long as he kept kissing her like he was.
Maddox felt as if every nerve ending in his body had suddenly snapped to life the moment his lips touched this incredible creature’s. He fought every blasted instinct that was screaming at him to just lower her down to the tile floor and take her, right then and there, in the middle of the damn kitchen.
He was hit with a wave of the most fantastic combination of raw need and pulsing desire. It washed over him and slammed into his body like a punch to the gut. Not to mention certain other areas, and it knocked the breath from his lungs in one all-consuming swoop.
Sexual attraction was one thing. That was a given with someone as beautiful as she was, but this was something…different. This was something that went far beyond any of that. This was primal, desperate, mind-blowing, full-throttled demand.
Wynter's Kiss ( A Paranormal Romance) Page 4