Alec kicked his jeans out of the way. “I’m not coming in that cage, whether he’s here or not.”
That chilled her even as it sparked sharp, hot anger. “I didn’t ask you to.”
The sudden wariness in his eyes faded to confusion, but after a moment he nodded. “Jackson, go upstairs.”
He shoved his hands in his pockets even as he backed away. “Yell if you need me, Alec.”
Carmen waited until his footfalls faded up the stairs and a door slammed to rise and reach for her own shirt. “Tell me what to do. How to find her. The wolf.”
“All right. Can you close your eyes and feel my power?”
She could feel everything, the power of the animal inside him as well as his almost crippling concern. “I can feel you. Stop worrying so hard.”
His rough laughter filled the room. “Oh, honey, we’re way past that. I worry. It’s what I do.”
The last thing she wanted was to be yet another responsibility, a burden no good alpha would set aside. She opened her eyes. “Don’t. Don’t worry about me.”
His hands fisted. His voice dropped to a whisper. “I worry about you more than I should.”
Because he cared. She’d known he wanted her, but this was different. Something closer to what she felt, and insufferably dangerous for someone in his position, who lived the way he lived.
It burned through her anger, and it didn’t matter that he was mostly na**d, that she was half-dressed in her shorts and bra. Carmen dropped her shirt and closed her hands around the bars. “You talk a lot about what you do, what your job is. What do you need, Alec?” She’d give it to him, even if it meant walking out and never looking back.
After a tense, endless moment, he opened his eyes and met her gaze. “I need you to be all right. I need to keep you safe.”
“The only way to do that is to find out what that woman did to me and why.” The possibility of Carmen killing herself had spurred the witch into a mistake, one that had cost her her life. “She needed me to be two things—alive, and a wolf. That means my family has to be behind this. There’s nothing else that makes sense.”
He gave a short nod, then tilted his head. “You’re feeling steadier?”
“I feel—” The vicious bite of magic had already faded. “How long has it been?”
“An hour. Maybe a little more.”
Last time, it had been longer than that before she’d come back to herself enough to recognize her surroundings, much less carry on a conversation. “How bad was it?”
One dark eyebrow swept up. “You’re in a cage, sweetheart.”
Her cheeks heated. “That was a stupid question.”
“A little bit.” But he smiled and brushed his hand over hers. “You were pretty mad at me. I wasn’t sure you were going to forgive me. I didn’t put you in there willingly.”
What he didn’t say made her blush even harder. “I tried to jump you.”
The first hint of true amusement made his eyes dance. “I’m used to it. Women can’t resist a brooding loner.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Do it again some time when you’re not high, and all will be forgiven.”
Will it? Asking seemed like asking for trouble, so she stepped away from the bars. “Show me how it’s done, and we’ll see if you can let me out of here.”
Alec stepped back and hooked a thumb under the edge of his boxers. “I’m about to be really na**d. Watching with your eyes won’t do you much good, but I don’t care if you do.”
Carmen tracked her gaze down his hard body to where he’d dragged the fabric low. For a moment, temptation nearly got the better of her. “I shouldn’t, since I have to keep my hands to myself.” Reluctantly, she turned away and leaned back against the bars. “What about the rest of my clothes? Will I have time to get rid of them if I start to feel like something’s happening?”
“Probably not. It’ll be over before you can count to three. Doesn’t hurt either, so you don’t need to be scared.”
“Right. Are you—?” She swallowed hard, her hands on the waistband of her shorts, and almost glanced over her shoulder. “Are you watching me?”
“Does that bother you?”
“No.” It excited her, feeling the weight of his gaze on her, his interest and arousal spiking every time she moved.
Part of her wanted to put on a show, send that twisting desire of his through the roof, but it didn’t seem fair to tease. Instead, she unhooked her bra and slid the cotton free of her arms. After tossing it across the cot, she pushed her shorts and panties down her legs in one quick, efficient movement.
“All right.” His voice had definitely gotten lower. “Your empathy might help. Close your eyes and kneel, and try to feel what I’m doing.”
She bit her lip and slid to the floor, wincing at the hard bite of concrete on her scraped knees. “I feel…..” Worried. Determined. Turned on.
Then the lust bloomed into something primal, something she recognized on an instinctive level. It was the magic that had always lived in her, just cranked up to an overwhelming intensity.
It called to her, inviting and wild, and she clenched her hands into fists. She wanted to join him, release that sleeping part of her and run—
Nothing.
“Damn it.” The magic that had flared up in reaction to his settled, and Carmen rubbed her hands over her face. “I don’t know, Alec. I just don’t know.”
A quiet yip answered her.
He was right behind her, and she turned to look at him. Dark fur covered his large frame, muzzle to tail, and she smiled in spite of herself. “It’s weird how it’s impossible to predict what shifters will look like, but then they always look like themselves somehow. They look…..right.”
The wolf stretched slowly, then magic shimmered in the air again. It happened so fast it seemed like a blur, the wolf rising on his hind legs before the shimmer became too much. A heartbeat later Alec stood before her—
Aroused.
Her breath caught in a gasp as need washed over her. This time, she couldn’t look away. “Alec.”
“Shh.” He wrapped his hands around the bars of her cage, fingers clenching so tight his knuckles looked white against his dusky skin. “Shifting is….. There’s no high like it.”
She had to get off her knees, so she climbed to her feet. “So I’ve heard.”
“I should leave.”
“I should make you.” The tables had been turned, and now he was the one crazy with magic. But she touched him anyway, sliding her hands over his. “You keep protecting my virtue. What about yours?”
“The only way I’m keeping my virtue is if you stay in that cage.” A rumbling laugh escaped him. “Even that might not save us.”
She felt no confusion, no doubt that this was what he wanted. That she was what he wanted. “You can stay or go. Either way, no regrets.”
Something feral sparked in his eyes. “Turn around.”
It was firm and forceful, and the command weakened her knees. She obeyed, standing so close to the bars that she could feel the heat of his body.
His breath skated across the back of her shoulder. “Lift your hands. Above your head.”
She raised her arms and gripped the cold metal bars, feeling curiously exposed by the position. “It’s as natural as breathing for you, isn’t it?”
“What?” His fingers brushed hers, then started a slow, wicked glide down her arms. “This?” He curled his hands to cup her br**sts, palms abrading her ni**les. “Or this?”
Carmen whimpered at the sudden rush of pleasure. “Dominating your lover.”
“Don’t need a cage for that,” he agreed as one hand swept lower, spreading wide over her abdomen. “The only reason you’re still in there is to keep me from dominating you. Can’t f**k you through the bars…..probably.”
“I think you’re a liar.” She pressed back, reaching through the bars to tangle her hands in his hair. “You could find a way.”
“Maybe.” His fingertips brushed her thighs. “There are people upstairs. You have to keep quiet. Believe me, honey, you wouldn’t be quiet riding my cock.”
He had a dirty mouth, and she had to check a moan. “I don’t think I can be quiet with your hands on me, either.”
“What if I give you something to bite?”
The sensual possibilities left her dizzy. She could sink her teeth into him. She’d have to, because he’d touch her and he’d make her come so hard she’d forget everything, including the people roaming around his house.
Including the dead bodies they’d left outside.
She let go of his hair and pulled away with a ground out curse. “You wouldn’t be doing this if you were in your right mind.”
Alec snarled, but he didn’t disagree with her.
It strengthened her resolve. She bent to gather her clothes, still trembling from his caresses but determined. “Sometime when you’re not high, Alec, and that’s a promise.”
“A promise.” He turned and snatched up his jeans. “I need to go upstairs. I’m going to pop the lock on the cage. Come on up when you’re ready.”
The urge to call him back consumed her, but what would it accomplish? She had nothing to explain, no reason to justify being unwilling to take advantage of his magical arousal when he’d spent the last few days doing the same for her.
And she had done it for him. Because, sooner or later, he’d come back to his senses and find a way to blame himself for losing control.
Carmen dropped her clothes on the cot and pulled on her panties. “I’ll only be a minute or two.”
He didn’t answer, just stopped at a number pad mounted on the wall and typed in a code that resulted in a soft click from the cage door. A moment later he was gone, his feet barely making a sound on the wooden stairs.