for her smelled wonderful.
Once again, she felt as if she’d been caught in a surrealistic dream, a feeling that wasn’t lessened a bit when he handed her the financial section of the local newspaper after she sat down across the small table from him.
Sipping at coffee, reading the paper…it could have been any morning in any kitchen anywhere in America. Except, when she glanced up, the amber eyes of a wolfman watched her.
“You haven’t told me your name,” she said, sipping her coffee. “I’m Alexandria Olanet. Xandi, for short.” She smiled, waiting.
He stared at her a moment longer, took a sip of his own coffee. “I know,” he said. “I must apologize. As you’ve probably noticed, I kept your purse. I read your driver’s license, found you on the Internet. You are a very successful young woman. A partner already in your company. You’ve worked very hard for someone so young. Which reminds me. Do you need to let anyone know where you are? Will people be looking for you?”
“No,” she answered without thinking. “I left yesterday for a two-week va—Oh!” She looked up at him, aware she shouldn’t give him such knowledge…suddenly afraid.
He shook his head. “You need not fear me. I won’t hold you against your will, Ms. Olanet. Oliver will take you home whenever you like. You only need to ask.” He looked away, as if thinking of something pleasant, then turned back to her. “Spend your two weeks with me. Here, at my home.”
“Oh, I can’t possibly….”
“Because of what I am.” His voice was flat, no longer the rich baritone she’d found so full of life.
“No,” she said. “That’s not the reason at all. I was going to say I couldn’t possibly intrude, even though I want to stay. More than you can imagine I want to stay. Please, tell me your name. I can’t keep thinking of you as my rescuer, can I?”
She smiled and, without thinking, reached across the small table and placed her hand over his forearm. He didn’t pull away this time, though she felt his muscles tense. He merely stared at her fingers, was still staring when Oliver came into the kitchen with a bag of sweet rolls from a bakery in Portland whose name Xandi recognized.
“Morning, Miss. Sir.” He set the bag in front of them, turned and opened the oven door and drew out a warmed quiche and a platter of sausages and bacon. After quickly setting out silverware and placing the food in front of the two of them, the small man turned to leave. “If you don’t mind, sir, I’ll be leaving now. I’ll return in the morning.”
“Enjoy your visit with your family, Oliver. And thank you. We’ll be fine.”
Xandi watched as Oliver left the room, then turned back and faced her host. “Okay. You’ve sidestepped my only question long enough…my only question for now, that is. Your name is…You can fill in the blank any time you’d like.”
“My name is not so mysterious.” He turned his hand and actually grasped her fingers in his. “My name is Stefan. Stefan Aragat.”
“Aragat? That name’s familiar. Wasn’t there a—?”
“A magician. Yes, a very famous, very powerful magician. An extremely egotistical, misanthropic fool of a magician.”
Xandi looked from their linked hands to his face. He was actually smiling, his lip curled back, his sharp canines unable to disguise the self-deprecating humor. “Unfortunately, he pissed off an even more powerful purveyor of the black arts. A wizard, actually. A very old, very potent wizard. Aragat didn’t have the patience to learn control of the powers he hoped to gain. Without control, one often makes mistakes. Very. Serious. Mistakes.”
He released her hand, picked up the plate with the quiche and offered it to Xandi. “Please. Help yourself. Don’t let the meal grow cold.”
“You did this to yourself?” She took the quiche without even looking, loaded her plate with bacon and sausage, even grabbed one of the warm sweet rolls.
“Unfortunately, I have only myself to blame.” He filled his plate as well, then took another swallow of coffee. “It was not a pleasant experience, especially at first, when I was limited to life on four legs and an appetite for uncooked, very fresh meat. Really pissed off some of the local farmers and just about got me shot on more than one occasion. I’ve tried reversing the spell, but obviously my success has been limited. At least I regained a mostly human body. Thank goodness I got my hands back. It was damnably hard to zip trousers with paws. Not to mention brush my teeth.”
Xandi almost spewed her coffee. She grabbed the linen napkin and jammed it over her mouth. “I’m sorry, it’s just…I’m sorry. I shouldn’t laugh.”
He chuckled, sighed, then took a bite of sausage. “Actually, it feels good. To laugh. I haven’t had much to laugh about for the past five years.”
“Five years? It’s been that long? Ya know, I think I remember an announcement that you’d decided to retire. I thought you were moving to Europe—Liechtenstein or some other little country where rich people like to go.”
“That’s the announcement I had Oliver put out. Then I came home to lick my wounds, literally. Oliver has been with me since I was very young, just starting out in the business, in fact. Thank goodness he stays, as I’m not quite fit for public viewing. For a long time I actually worried that if I were captured, I’d end up in a zoo. I had trouble speaking at first. It wasn’t easy until I was able to shift some of the more wolfen parts through a number of spells.
“You’re the first person who’s been in my home since my…mishap. You are the only person besides Oliver who has seen me.” He stared at her, long and hard. Xandi felt her nipples tighten, knew they raised the soft fabric of her gown.
She lowered her head, unwilling to let him see the unbridled lust that must be quite visible on her face. Once again, she wondered if he sensed her arousal, if his animal instincts were finely honed enough to scent the liquid even now pooling between her legs.
Quietly, she finished her meal. Stefan did the same. She wondered what he was thinking, if he felt the same rush of desire as she did, experienced the deep, gut-churning need that thrummed through her veins.
She hoped so. She wanted him. Wanted him in the light of day, face to face, filling her. Loving her. She wanted domination by the beast as much as by the man. Again…and again. And again.
He snarled, a wolfen sound, a low growl that started deep in his throat and leaked slowly, menacingly, to his lips. Xandi immediately jerked upright, looked into his amber eyes.
Saw the need she felt reflected in their depths. She carefully wiped her mouth, folded her napkin and placed it beside her knife. Then she stood up and held her hand out to him.
Without a word, Stefan rose as well. He took her hand and led her down the long, sun-bright hallway.
Her fingers were slim yet very strong, clasping his hand tightly even as he led her. He heard the blood rushing in his veins, smelled the rich, lush scent of her desire, knew her vagina was beginning to pulse, the lips at its gate to swell. His cock stretched, grew in girth and length, until he was aware of its restricted position down the left leg of his pants. The fabric brushed against his erection with every step he took. His heightened senses felt each thread, each tiny imperfection in the material, almost as pain.
His room was only at the end of the hallway, a mere fifty feet from the kitchen. He almost didn’t make it, so strong was his need. When he finally opened the door and led her into his bedroom—his den—his sanctuary, she was trembling, reassuring him with her physical reaction that her need was every bit as strong as his.
He started to tilt the blinds, to darken the room, but she stopped him. “No. I want to see you. I want to know who takes me so high, who loves me so well.”
He almost cried. He’d wondered if any woman would ever want him, would ever desire him. He’d been celibate since the change, unwilling to risk discovery—or