Coveted (11 page)

When she dragged her
eyes up to his face, any detachment she’d gained collapsed. His hair was
freshly trimmed, a knot of braids rested at his right temple, while the rest of
the strands hung loose about his shoulders. The clean-shaven man was not the
Aiden she knew. This imposing man was hard, all sharp angles and edges.

And so drop dead
gorgeous her mouth went dry.

Something about the
way he held himself apart and motionless made her wonder if he ever smiled. He
was not what anyone would describe as a pretty man, but darkly handsome in a
way that she found incredibly compelling.

He made her think of
hot, rough-and-tumble sex.

And was way out of
her league.

It pissed her off
that life was so unfair. In normal situations, she could hold her own, but he’d
seen her at her worst…disheveled, muddy, her hair matted like a mangy animal,
and smelling like a latrine.

As if he sensed her
presence, Aiden turned and stared at her hiding spot. Self-preservation kicked in,
and she backpedaled. Her mad dash back to her room halted when she heard her
name.

* * *

“Since when do we
start taking hostages?”

Aiden tore his
attention away from the room next door and its ominous silence. He was driving
himself insane, trying to image what she could be doing right that instant.
“This is different. We can’t risk them getting their hands on her.”

Mac’s focus sharpened.
“You think she’s Beloved.”

“Don’t you? You felt
it, just as I did. Our wolves responded to her command. If she’s not a Beloved,
she’s the closest thing we’ve come across in centuries.” Aiden listened for
her, half-afraid that if he didn’t post a guard she would disappear.

Even now, he craved
to be near her. His primitive reactions made no sense. Even if she was Beloved,
that didn’t mean she was his mate. But just the thought of her hands on him got
him hard. He rubbed his chest, the ache of having her gone from his side almost
physical. And instead of fighting the effects, his wolf pushed beneath his
skin, urging him to claim her before the others learned the truth and tried to
woo her away from him.

She couldn’t be
allowed a choice of protector, or he’d lose her.

“They are extinct.”
Mac spoke the words, but he couldn’t suppress the thread of doubt in his voice.

The painful hope
after years of nothing.

“And if you go by
that, we don’t exist either.”

“We could test her.”

 Aiden debated it for
about a second. “We can’t take the chance. If she isn’t, the test could kill
her. I need her help to find my men. She’s mine to do with as I wish. End of
discussion.” The last word ended at a near roar. His wolf peered out through
his eyes, daring his second-in-command to challenge him.

“Aiden—”

Aiden waved his arm,
cutting him off. “She saved my life. I owe her.”

“And you repay her by
keeping her prisoner.” Mac ran a hand down his face, unable to hide his
disbelief.

“She responded to my
wolf’s call for aid. I got her into this mess. Now it’s my job to keep her
safe.”

Aiden grabbed
Shayla’s satchel and dumped the contents across his bed, desperate to learn
anything he could about her. Her citrus scent lingered on the items, and a small
fraction of his anger eased, giving way for worry to worm its way into his
brain. “You saw her. As soon as she entered the yard, she picked out every one
of the
Firsts
.

“You heard the power
in her command. Raw power.” A wave of fear rolled over him, far stronger than anything
he’d felt when imprisoned. The thought of Shayla being taken and tortured by
the men who’d captured him had his wolf clawing up his insides to find her and assure
himself that she was safe. “If they discovered what she can do and got their
hands on her, they would destroy her to get to us.” They’d break her. Twist her
into a weapon and use her to hunt more of his kind. But he couldn’t force
himself to kill her and eliminate the threat. “And she’s on their radar now because
she rescued me.”

“Then you know what
you have to do.”

Aiden whirled,
slamming Mac up against the wall. Everything inside him rebelled at the idea of
setting her free. It would kill him. “No one touches her.”

Mac didn’t protest,
didn’t smile, just held up his hands. “We won’t let her come to harm, but
she’ll cause trouble if she stays.”

If only Mac knew the
truth.

It was already much
too late.

 Chapter Twelve

A
iden had never intended
to release her.

Betrayal lurched in
Shayla’s stomach as she stirred the embers of the fire she’d built. The bed
tempted her to sleep, but she was too paranoid to rest. She needed to remain
alert and ready to move. Old castles were known for their passageways. She was
in the main suite connected to Aiden’s room. All she had to do was wait for him
to fall asleep.

Then she could escape.

She trembled at the thought
of sneaking out and leaving the castle. Aiden obviously believed she was in
danger. After nearly dying more than once in the last few hours, she couldn’t
deny it. Maybe she could trust Aiden, but she had no intention of sticking
around to find out.

Like a noose, she
could feel the danger closing in on her from all sides. If she could just make
it to town, she could haul ass home.

The neighboring room
had fallen silent more than an hour ago. If she wanted to leave, it had to be
now, before the sun set. If she saw Aiden again, she feared she wouldn’t be
able to remain strong and unaffected.

She tiptoed to the
wall, growing more resolute with every step. She opened the passageway between
the rooms, but Aiden’s side was a bit trickier. It took her precious minutes to
locate the triggers to open the panel in his closet.

His room was dark. The
dying fire was huddled across the room, its light barely penetrating the shadows,
as if afraid to venture further.

With a deep breath,
Shayla stepped through the connecting door. The tangle of Aiden’s clothes felt alive,
as if trying to convince her to stay, and she nearly tripped on her face as she
struggled to free herself from the closet

She was panting by
the time she fought her way free. A sound rose from the bed. A slight shifting
of the sheets. Shayla froze, one foot on the ground. She held her breath and squinted
at the bed, eyes straining to see if she was about to be discovered.

When no further sounds
emerged, she slowly exhaled. As crazy as it sounded, part of her almost wanted
to be caught. She turned toward the door and ran smack into a very large, very warm
body. A strangled scream escaped as she bounced off the hard chest. She nearly went
sprawling across the floor until someone hauled her up close.

“Aiden.” She’d
recognize his touch anywhere, the way her body came alive.

Shit!

The noise she heard
had been him leaving bed. Shayla squinted up at her captor, her eyes slowly
adjusted to the darkness, hating the way her betraying heart pounded in
excitement and not fear like it should.

“Were you expecting
someone else?”

She swallowed hard at
the ominous question. “No, of course not.”

She was lowered
toward the floor and released. As perverse as it was, she missed his warmth.

“Going somewhere?”

Shayla shook her head,
avoiding his gaze, carefully backing away.
Act casual.
“Oh, you know, just
out for a stroll.”

Aiden stalked after
her on light feet.

Countered her every
move.

She didn’t feel
threatened, exactly, but his nearness did disturbing things to her body. “What
are you doing?”

Aiden pulled up
short. “What do you mean?”

“You’re following
me.” Shayla straightened, refused to retreat.

“Maybe.”

She blinked, not
expecting him to admit it. Shayla stepped back, putting more distance between
them as she scrambled to think up a convincing lie. The back of her thighs
smacked against something solid. She glanced back, then shot forward like her
ass was on fire when she realized she was caged between the devil and…his bed.

Gulp.

Shayla shoved her
hands behind her back, resisting the compulsion to touch his face and test the
stubble against her fingertips. Breathing a bit too fast, she cleared her
throat twice before croaking out her question. “Why?”

Instead of retreating
at her question, he stepped closer. “You were going to leave me.”

The hurt in his voice
gave her pause, until she remembered that she was his prisoner. “You locked me
in that room without a word and vanished.”

“I was giving you
time to recover from your ordeal.”

Shayla snorted. “You
left me to stew in my own worry.”

Anger gave her
courage, and she stormed forward, pleased when he fell back a step. “What did
you expect me to do? Wring my hands and weep while you took your own sweet time
before returning?”

Aiden halted his
retreat. “No harm will come to you while you’re under my care.”

“That’s beside the
point. You left me. Dropped me off like a piece of unwanted luggage. You’re
here. You’re safe. Now it’s time for me to leave.”

A spark lit Aiden’s
eyes. “No.”

Shayla raised both
brows and laughed. “You say that like you have a choice. I—”

“Neither of us can go
anywhere until morning unless you want to break your lovely neck. It’s not safe
outside at night.” Then Aiden ducked his head, invading her space, again,
sucking up all the available air and leaving her breathless. “Let’s not forget
that they saw you. You’ll run right into their waiting arms. What do you think
they will do to a woman?”

“I have a few hours
before nightfall.” Shayla scurried sideways along the bed to avoid getting too
near him. She had wondered about those very things, but bit her tongue to keep from
admitting it. What could she say? That she’d planned to use her gift to avoid
them?

Yeah, that would go
over well.

He’d be more
determined than ever to keep her prisoner.

Aiden made no overt
threats, but he clearly had no intention of relenting.

Shayla did the only
thing she could. She lied through her teeth. “Anyway, it was dark. They saw
only a glimpse of me under the mud. I will be safe enough once I get into
town.” She didn’t mention the man in the dungeon had gotten a very up-close and
personal view of her. A chill slithered down her spine as she remembered the
cold, clinical look in his eyes while he methodically planned how to kill her.

Aiden stalked toward
her, menace pooling around him, his eyes darkening with each step. Going a bit
feral. “You assume you would make it that far.”

Even with her heart
in her throat, Shayla refused to be bullied. She held up her hands to ward him
off, but he didn’t stop until her fingers encountered smooth skin.

Feverish skin.

Concern melted away
her anger. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“You don’t fear me.”
He seemed puzzled, the anger in him simmering down into something much more
dangerous.

And he was so wrong. He
frightened the daylights out of her. He set her heart pounding simply by being
near, and her mind had a nasty way of fragmenting at his slightest touch. No
one should have that much power over another person.

Despite her fears, Shayla
was female enough to admit that she liked the way he made her feel so alive with
one sizzling look.

Aiden bent, nuzzling
the side of her neck, sending delightful shivers down her spine. Muddling her thoughts.
His hands drifted down her body.

Light.

Barely there.

Teasing her into
wanting more.

And all too deftly chasing
away the reason she was there in the first place.

Escape.

She wiggled away from
his roaming hands. “Aiden.”

He inhaled deeply, a little
growl of pleasure rumbling up his chest. “You smell so exquisite I’d swear you
were actually in my arms and not a dream.”

His accent thickened.
Each word tugged at her gut, drawing her further under his seductive spell. She
narrowed her eyes, trying to resist. Until sharp teeth nibbled on her neck,
destroying her will to protest. She trembled at the slight sting, aching for
more.

“Stay with me.”

To stay would be stupid
and dangerous…and tempting as hell. Shayla jerked free as the last thought
crossed her mind. Unbalanced, she went sprawling across his bed, the dress tangling
around her legs.

Trapped.

The light from the
dying fire highlighted the planes and angles of his face, and she gulped at the
raw hunger in his eyes. She almost wanted to pretend she didn’t see the fever.
“You’re not well.”

Aiden placed a knee
on the bed, leaning forward until his hands came to rest on either side of her
hips. Shayla shook her head and quickly turned over and crawled away from him,
dignity be damned.

She couldn’t let him touch
her. Couldn’t let him kiss her. If he did, she couldn’t guarantee she’d be able
to resist.

Not when his touch
set her on fire.

This affectionate
Aiden with roaming hands and charm could easily make her forget why getting
close to anyone was dangerous.

His hands settled on
her hips as he leaned over her. His breath heated the back of her neck, and he
brushed the side of his face against her shoulder. She shivered, terrified that
if she moved it would be toward him.

“You wiggle like that
again, and I’ll take it as an invitation.”

Shayla trembled as
she struggled to remain still when all she wanted to do was invite him to take
whatever he wanted. He trailed his hands over her body as if to soothe her, while
slowly snuggling closer.

Soothed was the very
last thing she felt.

“What are you doing?”
Her voice was muffled from strain.

“Gentling you.
Getting you used to my touch.” He leaned over her, nuzzling the back of her neck.
“Making you crave me.”

Shayla gulped, unable
to speak. And damn him, it was working. She did want him. Wanted him beyond
reason.

A pounding on the
door startled her so badly, she rolled and fell onto the floor with a thump.
The impact knocked some sense into her. She looked up to see Aiden gaze down at
her, his tousled hair making him appear so very touchable.

When the knock came
again, his face hardened into the man she recognized. He stood, stepping over
her, and strode toward the door, looking ready to do murder at the interruption.

Not wanting to be
caught in his room, Shayla rolled under the bed. She didn’t know if she wished
for him to be called away or return to finish what they’d started.

She heard the door click
shut and waited another minute. When she didn’t hear any footsteps, a long sigh
escaped, but she refused to analyze whether it was disappointment or relief.

She didn’t want to
know.

Shayla twisted to get
out from under the bed.

It was now or never
if she wanted to escape.

So why didn’t it seem
so urgent anymore?

* * *

Aiden watched Shayla
wiggle out from under the bed, her adorable backside swinging in the air as she
struggled to manage the long skirts. After staring at her for another few
seconds, he couldn’t look and not touch. For the first time ever, his wolf
growled with lust for a woman, desperate to lay claim and mark her as his mate.

“I told you what
would happen if you shook your ass at me again.”

A little squeak
escaped her, and he watched in bemusement when her hands slid out from
underneath her, and she plopped into a pile of silk. She glared at him over her
shoulder, her face flushed, her eyes flashing a warning to keep his distance.

He couldn’t.

“I thought you’d
left.”

He reached down, grasped
her ankles, and gave a quick tug. The rest of her slid out from under the bed. What
captured his attention was the way her skirts hiked up to her thighs. Lord save
him, but she wasn’t wearing any stockings or even a shift. Inch by slow,
tortuous inch, those gorgeous legs of hers were revealed.

He licked his lips,
the temptation to taste her a compulsion he had no will to resist.

“Hey, watch it.”

“Believe me, I am.” He
glanced up to see her struggling to yank down the skirt, denying him the
pleasure of seeing everything.