Taken By Desire (4 page)

And then she’d begged him to take the fear away, to make her forget it, and he’d been powerless to fight her. He couldn’t blame it on her. She’d needed him and had never hidden her desire for him. He’d seen it in her body, in her eyes every time she looked at him. He’d known, and ignored it, for as long as he could, to protect his heart, to protect himself from the ending he knew that he would have. The pain that would rip through him. He hadn’t succeeded. He’d given in to his selfish need to have what he saw every day between his vita and vitasa, between Maddy and Connor too. He wanted his mate, and she was right within his grasp. He’d wanted to forget, for a few hours at least, that she was human and she didn’t know what she was getting into.

What the hell was he going to do?

“A penny for your thoughts?” Connor asked from the passenger seat. He’d gotten up early, as planned, to come with Cirro to search Sasha’s neighborhood for any signs of Ice. He, Cirro was sure, hadn’t wanted to leave his bed and mate.

“Nothing that should concern you, wolf,” Cirro answered, uncharacteristically rude.

“Claimed your mate and pissed that she’s human, huh?” Connor guessed with his uncanny ability to state the obvious even when no one wanted him to open his damn mouth. It must have been a dog thing.

“Go lick you balls, mutt, and let me deal with my mate,” Cirro said.

“Ouch. Touchy. But I don’t have to. Now, you have to get over her being a human. Look at Maddy. So is she and she’s made the transition nicely.”

“You are going to convert her, and she won’t risk dying,” Cirro argued.

“There is that. But why do you want to do something to your mate that you know is dangerous? You only have a problem with it because, deep down, that’s exactly what you want to do—take that risk with her. We live centuries without love. You’ve claimed her. Are you going to spend the rest of her life mourning her death and never really
living
with the gift you’ve been given?”

Of course the wolf would feel philosophical this morning. That was a leader’s trait, no doubt. The katafygio was home to a leap the likes of none out there. They housed a wolf, and soon would have two when Maddy made the switch, odd in itself as cats and wolves often didn’t play nice together. Not to mention that Connor was an alpha, and could have his own pack if he wanted. Perhaps after he turned Maddy they would go in search of wolves. Or maybe they’d make their permanent base here. Who knew? Pietr had made sure they had a permanent home here. Pietr was another problem entirely. Though he still wore the title of vita, he also was a vasilias, like his brother Laius. Pietr was now the second in command of their leap because he chose to be. He had not wanted to leave and create his own leap, and Laius, the leap’s true vasilias, was appreciative of the support. Somehow the three leaders lived well together by not establishing any sort of hierarchy between them. They simple stood as equals, but allowed Laius to make final decisions. It was the loose council between the three of them that helped make the house run smoothly. Cirro had to admit that having the wolf on his side, who was an amazing tracker and strong as hell, definitely helped beef up security.

And the bastard could be right at the moment.

“I hear what you say, but my heart just can’t take it. It knows she will die one day and I can’t just let myself go,” Cirro answered truthfully.

“Then you will lose her much quicker than you could when she dies,” Connor said. Cirro chose not to answer. He didn’t have time for the back and forth with the wolf. For now he needed to focus on making sure his mate was protected. He didn’t need time to figure out what he was going to do with her. He knew. He was going to protect her, provide for her, lie with her, maybe have some cubs, and never give her his heart. If he didn’t give his heart, the pain of her passing wouldn’t drive him crazy. So decided he focused on the first thing on his list.

He slowed the truck down as they approached her street and pulled over on the side of the road. He stared down her street, but didn’t see any odd cars parked in awkward places, or anything out of place. But his senses were bothering him. Something wasn’t right. He put the car in motion again and turned down Sasha’s road. As he grew closer to her house the sense that something was wrong grew. He parked and got out the car, Connor right on his heels. He moved to her front door, taking in scents. One stood out, a harshness to it that smelled of pipe tobacco and aftershave. Her door was slightly ajar, something that hadn’t been visible from the street.

“Smell that?” Connor asked.

“The tobacco and aftershave? Yeah. How much you want to bet Ice made a visit?” Cirro asked even as he opened the door. The scent was old, signaling that Ice was no longer there. But the evidence of Ice’s time in the house was all over the place. The house was trashed, completely. Pictures were torn from the walls, glass shattered and littering the floor. The couches had been cut up, the filling spilling out in a nasty display. Every picture that featured Sasha had been torn up. Cirro even remembered some of them, taken at the katafygio.

“I know these. There’s one missing,” Connor said then.

“How do you know?” Cirro asked.

“Maddy has brought me here a couple of times when she wanted to visit Sasha and Sasha couldn’t make it out to the house. She had a picture of the girls standing in front of the house on the mantel with the other ones. I don’t see it,” Connor explained, looking around on the floor. Cirro felt a sense of foreboding. The katafygio wasn’t easy to find, but someone with Ice’s kind of connections might be able to. Cirro would have to double the guards and watch the cameras.

“He’s trying to find her. He came to get her last night. It’s a good thing she called. She wouldn’t have made it,” Cirro drawled, the idea making his chest constrict.

“Well we obviously know where he’ll try to come for her next. It’s not like she’s going to be on the street for him to get to, and I know you won’t let her come here.”

“No,” Cirro affirmed.

“I’m sure he wore gloves, and we haven’t touched anything. Let’s call this detective she told us about and report the house vandalism. That, at least, will get some cops looking into what’s going on, and give us some support out here. We can tell him she’s protected,” Connor said then, and Cirro agreed.

He called the police department and got to speak to the detective that helped Sasha. When he told him what happened the cop cursed a blue streak before saying he’d get some men over there. Cirro waited for him, wanting to get more information on this Ice. If he was going to protect his mate, he needed to get all the help he could. Cirro and Connor waited outside and it didn’t take long for police sirens to be heard. Detective Matherson was there first, the older gentleman weary on his feet. He pulled Cirro to the side when the other officers arrived and sectioned off the house. Cirro showed him his human credentials as private security and a commissioned armed guard before the detective would speak to him.

“Is she safe?” the detective asked.

“Safer than she’s ever been,” Cirro answered.

“I don’t want to know where she’s at, just that she’s safe. Ice won’t come back here now that the cops are here and looking into it. Wherever she’s at, keep her there. I’m working on catching the bastard and bringing him in. Another judge has agreed to take the case, in another venue, and it’s been scheduled for a month from now to give the judge time to get caught up. We just need to keep her safe until then.”

“Why is Ice free?” Cirro asked, wondering how such a dangerous man was out.

“He posted his one million dollar bail and turned over his passport and papers. He’s out until the trial commences.”

“Shit,” Cirro said in disgust.

“Agreed.”

“What I want to know is, how deadly is Ice, really?” Cirro asked. His respect for the detective grew. He liked that he hadn’t asked where Sasha was being kept, it meant that he had her safety at heart.

“He killed his own sister for attempting to testify against him, under witness protection’s nose, not provable of course, but we know it was him. Does that answer your question?”

“In a way I wish you never had. We have to get back, thank you for the information. We will keep in touch. Let me know the minute she’s safe to come home,” Cirro said then, giving the man a business card. The number was for a company in Houston and would be rerouted to his cell number, untraceable. He wouldn’t trust anyone with his mate’s safety but his own people. And it seemed a battle might be coming their way.

Chapter Six

“You got busy!” Selene accused, watching and then laughing when Sasha’s face grew hot from a blush. Maddy joined the peals of laughter with no remorse.

“Oh, she’s been waiting for that itch to be scratched for some time,” Maddy added.

“Shut up!” Sasha nearly yelled.

“Your Honor, I’m shocked. Such childish behavior from one such as you,” Selene said, full of drama, her hand across her chest.

“Momma?” Alexios garbled, his little fists swinging in the air as he sat on Selene’s lap. He was a perfect combination of his mother and father. He had taken on Pietr’s lighter eyes, with a tanned complexion between Pietr’s and Selene’s, but he had her spirit. He was a child that seemed to want to explore everything around him and had a penchant for climbing things he very well shouldn’t. Sasha loved the little boy to pieces.

“Give me my nephew and leave me alone,” Sasha said to not answer her friends, who continued to poke fun at her as she played with Alexios. She wondered if she would ever have children. She and Cirro hadn’t thought of protection the night before. The thought, oddly, didn’t scare Selene the way that it should have. She wondered what their little one would look like. Would it be a boy with his father’s eyes and her features, or a little girl with her mother’s eyes but her father’s quiet mien? She cocked her head to the side, watching Alexios with pleasure.

“Oh my God. He marked you,” Maddy said urgently. All laughter suddenly quieted.

“What?” Sasha asked, coming out of her thoughts.

“Your neck.” Selene pointed at Sasha’s neck with an accusatory glare.

“Oh.” Sasha covered the area with her hand. “If you mean bit me, then yes.”

“He bit you?” Selene questioned.

“Yes. His teeth looked a little sharper than normal, but that was it,” Sasha returned. For some reason she didn’t want to tell them what Cirro had really looked like the night before. It had been their moment, and it had been beautiful. Sasha hadn’t understood what all of it meant, but she hadn’t felt threatened. She would ask Cirro about it later, not have it as a discussion between her and her friends.

“Pietr!” Selene yelled and Maddy took Alexios out of the room. Pietr, along with Beth, Adelis, Drea, and Lauren, came running from different sides of the second floor. When they saw Sasha they slowed down in wonder, starring at her neck.

“Well, I’ll be dammed,” Pietr whispered.

“Problem,” Selene hissed.
Did she just freaking hiss?
Sasha thought, but was too wigged out to ask.

“What is it? He’s mated her, things will settle down,” Pietr answered as he came to sit next to his fiancé.

“Mated?” Sasha asked.

“Oh shit,” Pietr said.

“Yeah, like I said. Problem,” Selene reiterated.

“Would someone like to tell me what the hell is going on?” Sasha questioned.

“You had sex with Cirro last night,” Pietr stated.

“I don’t think that’s any of your damn business,” Sasha argued.

“I’m afraid it is. Did he ask you to be his mate? Tell you anything?”

“I am not answering these questions,” Sasha said belligerently.

“Sasha, please. This is important. Tell us what happened last night,” Selene begged. Maddy came back into the room, finishing her call on her cell phone.

“They’re heading back,” she said to Pietr.

“Please,” Selene urged.

“Fine. I had a bad dream, Cirro came in, we made love, he bit me, end of story. Happy now?”

“No. What did he say before he bit you?” Pietr asked.

“Nothing. He asked me if I was sure before we had sex…He said…something about ‘as his mate wishes.’ Is that what you guys are talking about?”

“He didn’t tell her.” Selene nearly screeched.

“Be calm, my love.”

“Fuck that. Screw his hang-ups about a human mate. She deserves to know. He should have told her
before
he bit her!”

“You didn’t have an easy entrance into our life either. Cirro has always struggled with the possibility of having a human as a mate. He didn’t want that to happen. But if his mate needed him last night, he would have been helpless to deny her, or deny the instincts that told him to claim her. He’ll be taking this hard too.” Pietr tried to placate Selene.

“I don’t give a rat’s ass, P. He should have made time. You told me before we slept together.”

“We didn’t have much choice. You almost died.”

“Died?” Sasha cried, her mind a whirl. They were talking about humans like they weren’t
human
. Mates like they were animals. She stood slowly from the couch, nearly stumbling over her own feet. Cirro’s face had changed, his eyes going golden right before he bit her. She hadn’t thought about the canine-like teeth at the time. They’d been, well, a turn-on. She’d wanted to feel his bite, take in his savagery. She needed it hard and rough. She’d wanted it. But she didn’t understand what was happening.

“Lauren,” Selene said.

“I’m on it,” the blond returned, and moved, quicker than Sasha ever thought possible. She was near Selene one minute, and then the next right behind Sasha and holding her by the arms in a viselike grip.

“Let me go,” Sasha cried, struggling.

“Selene,” Pietr said in a warning tone.

“No, Pietr. She deserves to know. It’s her choice. Beth,” Selene ordered and Beth nodded. Right before Sasha’s eyes Beth melted. Her body shifted and remolded, the slight sound of bones popping until a large leopard stood before Sasha. Sasha could feel herself screaming but no sound emerged and she struggled to get away from Lauren. But Lauren was too strong, holding her in place with ease.