Page 27

She licked her lips, moistening her slightly parted mouth, and the banked fires in his belly roared into life. He knew she was taunting him; it didn’t make any difference. He rose to his feet, and before she could react, he moved in close against her, pushing her farther onto the desk, nudging her legs apart with one knee, so he could step into the V formed by her thighs.

His arms went around her, his hands sliding down over her back to grip the firm cheeks of her bottom and pull her tightly to him. His cock had been hard since she’d entered the room; now he pressed himself against her.

“Does that answer your question?”

He didn’t wait for an answer. His head swooped down, and he took her lips, thrusting his tongue into her mouth and tasting her as he’d been starving to do since the last time. Her hands came up to grip his shoulders, one sinking into his hair, to pull him down harder against her.

Without breaking the kiss, he skimmed his palms over her thighs, then lifted them so she wrapped her long legs around him, and he ground his hard cock against her core. She whimpered words of need against his lips, and his mouth slid from hers, to drop kisses over her cheek. He burrowed his head against her throat, breathed in the warm, spicy scent of her and knew he would never get enough. The thought made him go still. He concentrated on his breathing, counting each breath until he had the will to release his hold on her. He reached behind, loosened her legs from around him, and stepped back from between her thighs.

“Please,” she whispered, the need clear in her face, and satisfaction rushed through him. If he was somehow enthralled, then she wasn’t free of the spell. This was no one-sided attraction.

His balls ached, and his pants felt too tight. He wanted her, but he had to prove, if only to himself, that he could control this.

She reached out a hand to him. He looked at it for a moment and then turned away. Crossing the room, he poured them both a drink, placed hers on the desk next to her, and swallowed his in one mouthful.

He put the glass down, proud that his hand was steady, then sank into his seat, watching as the sanity returned to her face.

Hopping down from the desk, she picked up her glass and retreated to the other side. She sat in one of the chairs facing him, sipped her scotch, and studied him.

Caleb had a sudden, unexpected need to explain himself. “I just want to be left alone to live a normal life.”

She stared at him, her expression one of incredulous disbelief. “Normal? You? How do you expect to do that?”

He scowled. “I’ve done alright so far.”

Shaking her head, she looked him up and down. “Do the words “in denial” mean anything to you?”

“I am not in denial.” He shifted in his chair. “I’m half-human. I’ve every right to this life. The human side of me has always been dominant. I was never like the others in the pack—I can control my wolf. I’ve never wanted anything to do with your world—”

“Until now,” she interrupted. “Because you do want me, don’t you, Caleb? And you hate that.”

She paused as if waiting for him to deny it but, how could he? Something flashed across her face and her expression hardened.

“There’s something between us,” she continued. “I’ve felt it too. My wolf senses it. And I’m sure that’s all it is. A bond between our wolves. Not between us.”

“Does that make it better? We still need to find a way to make it go away.”

“Catrin is searching for a spell to counteract the wolf bite. Once she finds that, I’ll be normal again—well, as normal as I’ll ever be. Hopefully, the bond will disappear, and we won’t ever need to see each other again. You can go back to pretending you have a normal life and forget I ever existed.”

Her voice was laced with bitterness, and he frowned. “Don’t tell me you want this any more than I do?”

“Why would I want a bond with some sniveling fool who won’t even accept what he is?”

Anger rose in him at that. He stood up abruptly and turned away without answering.

She came up to stand beside him. “So, are you going to tell me how to find your father?”

For a moment, he actually considered it. It would serve them both right.

But he didn’t want Regan anywhere near Ethan. Caleb had no clue why his father had targeted her, but it was unlikely to be for something good. He turned to face her. “No.”

She smiled with saccharin sweetness. “Tell me, and I’ll go away.”

“Tempting as the offer is—still no.”

She regarded him through narrowed eyes, her lips pursed as she considered her next move. “Are you going to tell me why?”

“Ethan is dangerous to you. He changed you—he can control your wolf.”