A Tangled Web - R.G. Alexander Page 0,36

like that didn’t actually happen in real life.

“I’m very real, Dani.”

He took a step forward and she stumbled back, holding on to her towel for dear life. “Don’t come any closer.”

He stopped immediately and she allowed herself to breathe. And babble.

“I believe in what Kaya and Will can do. And I know Sedona is special. You can’t throw a rock in this town without hitting someone who’s claimed to have had an experience at a vortex or been magically healed by some unseen force. Oh, and aliens. People talk about aliens all the time. And the power of the ancestors, who might also be aliens, I don’t know, it can get confusing.”

Stax lifted an eyebrow as she took another step back. “I’ve felt things too,” she assured him shakily. “Just this week there was a giant spider, shooting stars, Kaya’s dream and Liam and I…” She paused for a breath. “But I think coyotes turning into sexy men in my backyard is one crazy bridge too far, Stax.”

“I’m glad you think I’m sexy.”

There it was again. That smell. Desert rain and sandalwood. Fantasy inducing pheromones. It was him. He was the reason she’d been aroused all day. Had he planted a suggestion when she’d given him a ride? “Are you into hypnosis?”

“You two really do think exactly alike, don’t you?” He sounded amused by that. “I’m not controlling anything. I’m a guide, not a god. I’m merely here to lead you in a direction you already wanted to go. And if I enjoy myself with you both in the process, so be it.”

“You’re a guide.” She frowned cynically. “Are spiritual guides usually this hands-on?”

And sexual?

Did he say with you both?

Stax glanced toward the patio door and raised his finger to his lips as it opened.

But as soon as Dani saw Liam it all came pouring out. “Thank goodness. Liam, Stax is—”

“Just who I wanted to see. I was trying to get a hold of Nick to find you.” Liam had thrown on a pair of shorts. When had he done that?

She frowned at him. “What’s going on?”

Stax smiled and lifted his walking stick. “I only came back for this.”

“Forget it again?” Liam didn’t sound surprised.

“I see you’ve already made a decision. How far are you willing to go with it?”

“Pretty damn far, apparently. But I still have rules. You’ll only do what I allow. Nothing more.”

“Of course.” Stax nodded cheerfully. “But I warn you, I will do my best to find a loophole. It’s an instinct I know you understand.”

What were they talking about? Didn’t Liam know he was talking to a coyote? “Stax is a—I saw him come in the gate and then he—”

“I invited him.” Liam cut her off. Again. “At least, I was planning to. He’s going to help me give you what you want tonight.”

“What would that be?” Excitement mingled with her irritation. “The chance to speak in complete sentences without being interrupted?”

Stax snorted, but Liam’s expression was still enigmatic. “Your fantasy. One night. Two men. Me. You. Stax.”

Dani’s knees wanted to buckle. Maybe it was peyote. Or she was having another sex dream. All the elements to prove it were there. Naked? Check. Coyote man-cum-sexy stranger? Check. A hot, commanding lover willing to fulfill her every dark and naughty daydream? Liam was all that and more.

But this felt real. Maybe she should pinch something.

“I think she’s speechless, my friend.”

“She says yes or this isn’t happening.” Liam moved closer to Dani, cupping her bare shoulders with his hands. He tried to smile, but she could see the tension in his body, something tightly reined in fighting to be set free. “Come on, Shortbread. You said you wouldn’t run tonight. So say yes. Give me one night with no regrets.”

“You’re serious?”

“Were you serious about wanting two men?”

“Be honest,” Stax advised her, and she felt a wave of heat roll through her body.

“Yes.” She lifted her chin, forcing the part of her squealing in prudish shock to shut the heck up. “I want you. I want all of it.”

His lips curved in relief and he pulled her close. “There’s my girl.”

“She’s not shivering for the right reasons, Liam. Why don’t we take her inside?”

At those words, Liam lifted her easily in his arms, clinging towel and all.

Dani glanced over his shoulder to see Stax following behind with a secretive smile.

Magic. That had to be what this was. The continuous arousal, the fact that she wasn’t shaking Liam and warning him about the coyote man they were about to