Blood Lust - Alexandra Ivy Page 0,53
touch, instead recalling the complicated spell that had not only demanded total concentration, but had taken a physical toll.
In the end it’d been worth it.
The fuzzy, too-dark picture had slowly been transformed into an image she hoped would give them a lead on the mysterious high-blood working with the Brotherhood.
She held up the file folder. “Now that I have something to work with, I want to see if Calder can find him in the database.”
“Fine.” He nodded his head toward the door. “Let’s go.”
“There’s no need for you to—”
Her cool dismissal came to an abrupt end as he wrapped a hand around her nape and tugged her against the hard length of his body.
“Don’t press me, Lana,” he warned her in low tones. “I’m very close to carrying you to your rooms and handcuffing you to your bed.”
She stiffened in outrage. Or at least she was telling herself it was outrage.
There was no way in hell she was going to admit there might be a traitorous thrill of excitement at his rough grip.
“You think handcuffs could hold me?” she demanded, allowing a hint of her thunderous magic to flicker through the air.
Despite the promise of pain, his fingers tightened on her nape, his eyes smoldering with a barely concealed hunger.
“There are other ways to keep you there.” His voice softened to a low whisper, his head lowering until his lips hovered just above her mouth. “Do you want me to explain?”
Desire slammed into her with the force of a freight train, nearly sending her to her knees.
God Almighty, she couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt a man’s touch. And even then it’d never been like this.
No man could ever compare to Wolfe.
But while her heart raced and her stomach twisted with need, she forced herself to shake her head in denial.
“Wolfe,” she softly protested.
The air hummed with the awareness that sparked between them.
“Yes?”
She had to force the words past the lump in her throat. “You have to stop this.”
“And if I don’t want to?” he murmured.
Time seemed to halt as they stood poised on a knife’s edge, their gazes entangled. Lana understood the danger. One brush of his lips, one caress of his hand, and she would combust.
Her desire for this male had been churning just below the surface for years.
And if she was honest, she’d admit there was a huge part of her that wanted to give in to the madness. Why not? She was a female with the usual needs, no matter how often she tried to deny them.
But she’d made a promise to herself when she’d accepted the position of Mave. A promise that she couldn’t toss aside just because it was inconvenient.
“This will never be possible,” she whispered.
His fingers tightened, his heat flaring around her. “Never is a long time.”
“Don’t—”
Her protest didn’t have the opportunity to leave her lips before he was abruptly dropping his hand and heading toward the office door.
“Let’s show your picture to Calder,” he said in smooth tones.
Lana swayed at his sudden withdrawal. Then, with a silent chastisement at allowing Wolfe to knock her off balance, she was stiffening her spine and forcing her feet forward.
“Stubborn,” she muttered beneath her breath.
Of course Wolfe heard her. Stupid super-hearing. His lips twitched as he placed his hand on her lower back and urged her out of the office and down the hallway.
“That’s why you hired me.”
She snorted, recalling the day Wolfe had strolled casually into her office. She’d known from the start he was going to be trouble.
“Actually I think you arrived at Valhalla and told me you were taking control of the Sentinels,” she said.
“Someone had to,” he assured her. “The monks were willing to accept the philosophy of Valhalla, but they wanted to make sure their warriors had a voice in the decision-making.” His thumb brushed intimately against her lower back. “And you have to admit I’ve been useful.”
“On occasion.” She sent him a narrow-eyed glare. “You can also be a pain in the ass.”
He flashed a wicked smile. “I try.”
Chapter Eleven
Bas was lying on his side next to Myst, aimlessly stroking his fingers through her hair as he closely monitored her distracted expression.
They’d had a few hours of sleep, but he was in no hurry to leave the bed. Hell, if it was up to him, they might stay there for the next month.
His lips twisted at the irony.
He’d spent three centuries enjoying transitory relationships with the most beautiful women in the world. They came, they went, and while he