Phaedra’s eyes widened just like everyone’s did. The color was nothing more than a glamor. J.C.’s fae magic. He said packaging was everything. It made the uninitiated think the magic at the Golden Taurus was something different, more exotic than what you could get out on the street.
He picked up the silver vial and popped off the tiny black stopper.
“Come closer,” J.C. beckoned. “Sit beside me.”
With fluid grace, Phaedra rose. I studied her, looking for any sign of a lingering spell. I saw nothing more than tiny gooseflesh on her arms. Through the dress, her nipples peaked.
She sat next to J.C. and exposed her right wrist. He smiled.
“Not that,” he said. “Not tonight. Tonight you just get a taste, sweetie. Open wide. Stick out your tongue.”
Phaedra gave me a questioning look, then recovered. Then, she did as she was told. She tilted her head back, exposing her long, slender neck. She parted her lips and stuck out her tongue.
God. The sight of her short-circuited my brain. She let out a little sigh. A vision slammed before my eyes. I wanted to kiss her. I wanted to devour her. I wanted her to use that tongue on me. She stuck her tongue out just a little farther, and it was the most erotic damn thing I’d ever seen.
J.C. held the vial over her mouth and let one glistening silver and gold drop fall. She caught it. She swallowed it.
My vision turned white. If either of them looked at me, they’d see my pure wolf eyes. I knew in my heart if J.C. had touched her then, I would have killed him. Damn the Ring. To hell with the reason I was here. To hell with my personnel file. I would have ripped his neck open, taken that girl in my arms and torn off for the woods with her.
Phaedra licked her lips and moved away from J.C.
“It...it tasted just like honey,” she said. I watched her closely. There. Just a hint of a breeze lifted the tiny hairs around her face. She let out a gasp.
“Whisper of the gods,” she sighed. “I feel it.”
Her eyes clouded over as all of them do. “She’s beautiful,” she cried out. “Oh, God!”
Phaedra looked toward the ceiling, arching her back. She gripped the couch cushions.
“Dance for me,” J.C. commanded. With a flick of his wrist, he let the sounds of the dancefloor through the speakers in the wall.
Phaedra rose to her feet. No. Floated, more like it. She moved to the center of the room and began to gyrate in time to the music. Her hips swayed. She tossed her hair.
God. She was beautiful. Mesmerizing. She locked eyes with me. I don’t remember moving, but she drew me in. Before I knew it, she had her arms snaked around my shoulders and ground her hips against me.
Fuck. Holy fuck. I felt every curve. Her breasts pressed against me. She trailed her fingers over my chest and spun around me as if I were a stripper pole. I stood still as stone, letting her. I squeezed my eyes shut. If J.C. saw them, he’d know how close my wolf had come to the surface.
Phaedra moved away from me, spinning on the tip of her boot. She moved with the skill of a trained ballerina. Was it the borrowed wind magic, or was she a real dancer? It didn’t matter. I couldn’t stop watching her. Until I did.
I chanced a look at J.C. His thoughts were plainly written on his face. He smiled then caught my eye.
Shit.
“Take care of her,” he said. “Don’t let her out of your sight. This one’s special. I knew it.”
Phaedra didn’t seem to hear. She kept dancing. Her hair came down and floated around her. She was brilliant. I knew J.C.’s mind, and it was one more reason to kill him.
Every man in the club would want to fuck this girl. Every woman would want to be her. She would lure them in. This is what the magic of the Golden Taurus can do for you, J.C. would tell them. You can have it all.
He came to me and handed me a keycard. “Put her up in the Marigold Suite,” he said. “Make sure she sleeps this off. Let me know when she does. Tomorrow night we’ll hook her up with something more permanent.”
I knew what that meant and it curdled my blood. He meant to get her hooked fast. So she’d never leave the Taurus again.
“Stay with her,” J.C. said as