something I would as soon forget again, but cannot, for my continued freedom depends upon it.”
“What?”
“To begin, I must bed you.”
Katie stifled a gasp of alarm. Or maybe it was a gasp of anticipation. Maybe even anger that he’d said he would rather forget her. Whichever the reason, she’d already lost all claims to sanity. Any other woman would have run screaming for help before he’d finished his last sentence. Bed her, indeed.
Silence stretched between them. With each passing second, she became increasingly aware of his nakedness, of him. She smelled his warm, masculine scent, felt the caress of his gaze over each and every part ofherbodyasif she were naked. Her blood heated, and her hormones raced into overdrive, calling out, “I’ll take you, I’ll take you, and I’ll do anything you want.”
“I won’t discuss bedding you,” she said, cutting through the silence, “but I will tell you that there are no sorcerers.”
For a moment his expression became unguarded, revealing pain and fury, but also desolation, a desolation that tied her stomach in a thousand tiny knots. “We do have psychics,” she added, willing to say anything to wipe away such bleakness.
“Psychics?”
Was he purposefully acting perplexed or did he truly not know? “Psychics are people who claim they can tell the future with supernatural powers. You know, through magic.”
He paused, considering her words. “I seek someone who wields magic, so aye, your psychic will do nicely.” Despite his now amiable tone, cold determination claimed the lines of his jaw. “Now, take off your clothes. When both our bodies are sated, I will allow you to take me to the psychic.”
He would allow her? Gee, thanks. “My answer is no,” she said firmly. “On all counts.”
The blue of his eyes sparkled like ice chips in a winter storm and was the only warning she received about his intentions. Before she had time to blink, he was on her, pinning her back against a statue. She knew she should have been scared, but she wasn’t. She was strangely aroused.
I don’t know anything about this man, she reminded herself. She didn’t know how he liked his coffee, or if he kicked little puppies when no one was watching. Her long-ignored body sprang to life, anyway. Her nipples strained for contact, and her hips arched forward, arched into him. Bedding him didn’t seem like such a bad idea at the moment.
“I did not ask you, katya, I commanded that it be so.” The low timbre of his voice held the steely edge of a sword.
She gulped, unsure whether she was still turned on or if she was deathly afraid. The man oozed power and authority and if she didn’t get his mind out of the gutter, hers would be joining him there. “Uh, about the psychic. All business establishments are closed until tomorrow morning.”
He paused. “When the sun rises, you will take me to see this man of magic. I will have your word on it.” His lips parted as he awaited her answer, giving a hint of the pearly whites beneath. “As for the bedding—”
“If you finish that sentence, I swear to God I’ll never take you to see a psychic.”
His mouth tightly closed, and he remained quiet, though anger seethed just below the surface of his skin.
Wow. She hadn’t expected the threat to work, but now that it had…“I want you to answer some questions for me.”
His expression darkened. He surprised her by barking, “Ask.”
So she did. “How did you make the stone disappear?”
The fine lines around his mouth pulled taut.
She waited, hoping to hear words like new next-door neighbor, trap door and silver paint. Instead, she heard only silence, and as minute after minute dragged by, her sense of unease grew. Finally, she could stand it no longer. “You’re starting to frighten me here. I mean, I know what I’m thinking isn’t possible, and yet…” She peeked up at him through her lashes.
Again, silence. She thought her nerves would completely frazzle before he answered.
“Magic,” he finally snapped, as if she was the meanest woman in the world for making him answer. “The stone disappeared through magic.”
She opened her mouth to question him further, but his arms snaked around her waist, halting the words in her throat. Unbidden, a shiver moved through her, and she leaned into him. Her body was reacting all on its own, heedless of her will. Lusting after a man was natural, expected even, but having sex with a stranger journeyed beyond her realm of acceptable.
That didn’t stop her mind from imagining his hands roaming down her stomach, slipping inside her pants, under her panties, and…another shiver racked her. Damn it, she had to get away from this man, had to think clearly before she did something crazy, like actually throw herself at him and demand he “put her in her place.” But when she tried to dart away, his arms tightened around her, keeping her still.
“Let me go,” she demanded. Her arousal mingled with another spring of fear.
His hold only tightened further.
“I’m warning you. Let me go before I show you the skills of Master Kai’s best student.”
“I know not this Master Kai, but neither he nor his finest student are a match for me.” To prove his point, he brought Katie more snugly into him, hardness to softness. Cotton to flesh.
Far from cowed or charmed, she was now furious. Eyes narrowed, she bit out, “We’ll just see about that, won’t we?” She was just about to knee him in the groin when he squeezed her butt, startling her.
“Allow me to give you a demonstration of my persuasive skills.” He pressed the juncture of her thighs against his growing erection. Despite her best rational intentions, Katie found her blood becoming molten lava, an inferno of need. While his lower body rhythmically brushed against hers, he palmed one of her breasts. So unexpected and new, these touches electrified her, moved across every fiber of her being with the intensity of lightning. Her knees weakened, right along with her will.
She licked her lips and prayed he didn’t notice her mounting desire.
He noticed.
A dark brow rose, taunting her. “Have you, mayhap, changed your mind about the bedding?”
Yes, yes, yes. “No,” she forced out. “I want you to let me go. Now.”
He didn’t look convinced, but he said, “Know that I consent to your will because it is my wish to do so.” With those magical, deft fingers, he kneaded each rounded curve of her buttocks. “Otherwise such a demand would go unheeded.” Then suddenly, he released her.
She darted away. “Touch me again, and you’ll be sorry.”
He gave a husky chuckle that rumbled deep in his chest. “Sweet katya, arousal burns bright in your eyes and your body trembles when I touch you. You could run from me, but do not. When I touch you again, you are the only one who will be sorry…for your denial.”
She gasped at his implication—even though he spoke the
