Wickedest Witch (11 page)

“So is he hot?” asked Isobel, twirling in front of a mirror and admiring the flowing line of her cream
-colored wedding gown. At least she’d not gone with a classic white. One thing her sister certainly wasn’t, since meeting the prince of Hell, was a virgin.

“Who is hot?” asked her mother coming from the back.

“No one,” mumbled Evangeline, wishing her sister would take the hint and STFU—shut the fuck up. Not likely.

“Eva’s got the hots for some guy, and he’s coming to the wedding,” tattled Isobel, who stuck out her tongue when Evangeline flashed her the
middle finger.

Her mother’s eyes widened. “A man. Evangeline, are you keeping secrets? Who is he? What class of magic does he dabble in?”

“He’s a pain in my ass and he’s not a wizard or sorcerer, so you can get that matchmaking gleam out of your eye, Mother. We’re doing a job together, and once it’s done, he is out of my life.”

“But if you like him—”

“I do not like him,” yelled Evangeline.

“Then why were you blushing?” taunted her sister.

“I don’t want to talk about it.” Evangeline grumbled under her breath about nosy sisters and interfering mothers as she grabbed the hanger with the pink monstrosity they expected her to wear and headed for the changing rooms.

She stripped out of her clothes and stood in her bra and panties, scowling at the frilly bridesmaid gown. Knowing she only delay
ed the inevitable, she struggled to get into the dress, the filmy layers battling her at every chance.

“Stupid, frilly, ugly, pink.” On and on she cursed the bloody gown.
When she finally wedged it on, she reached and strained, but to no avail. She couldn’t do up the zipper at her back

“Evangeline,” called her mother. “What is taking you so long?”

“I can’t do up the stupid zipper,” she shouted back.

She heard the curtain behind her rustle as someone stepped in, but the electric shock that ran through her at the touch of the calloused fingers at her back let her know it wasn’t her mother or sister in there with her.

Whirling, she gaped at Ryker, not really surprised to see him. Her body had instantly known, and honestly, she’d expected to run into him before this.

“What are you doing here?” she hissed even as a tingling awareness ran through her body.

“Well, you avoided all my calls, so I contacted your mother, who was most helpful in letting me know where you’d be today.”

Her mother who’d just a moment ago acted as if she knew nothing about Ryker. Devious old so
rceress!

“You need to leave now.” Evangeline felt her heart rate speeding up. It had been two days since their last encounter and
apparently, absence made the body hornier. Her knees grew weak and heat suffused her body, especially in the damp spot between her legs.

“I am not going anywhere. As soon as this dress fitting is done, you and I are sitting down and hashing out our plan.
Actually, first, I am going to fuck you until you scream my name. Then I am going to fuck you until you claw my back. Then, over some take out, we’ll hash out our plan.”

Oh, dark lord, did he have to say it in such a demanding way?
“And if I say no?” Evangeline didn’t have it in her to cave so easily.

“
You won’t.” Before she could move, his hands were on her waist and lifting her up. She should have protested, kicked him in the jewels, done something, but all she could do—and really wanted—was to close her eyes and tilt her head up toward his.

The
hard lips crushing hers did not disappoint. Ryker kissed her with an urgency and passion that matched her own sexual frustration. Under his questing tongue, she parted her lips, eagerly meeting his sensuous thrusts with slippery stabs of her own. He tasted just as wild as she recalled. And oh how he fueled her burning desire.

The strength he displayed as h
is hands held her tightly and effortlessly off the floor made her melt and also made her mouth all too easy to plunder. She clutched at his muscled shoulders, wanting to tear the fabric that stood between her and the hot flesh hidden beneath.

“Evangeline, hasn’t your man helped you zip u
p yet? You’ve been in there a long time. What are you two doing?”

“What do you think they’re doing,
Mother?” Isobel said, laughter in her voice.

“What do you mean? Oh.
Oh
!” Her mother’s shrill voice acted like a cold bucket of water. Evangeline froze in Ryker’s embrace. With a sigh, he set her down.

“I’ve really got pick better spots to kiss you,” he said in a mournful tone she totally understood.

Evangeline stepped back, trying to regain some semblance of equilibrium, a difficult task with his body temptingly close. The small cubicle had nowhere to run, though. The bench behind her made her stumble, and she sat down hard on its surface.

Befuddled and aroused, she looked up at his enigmatic face with
his hooded eyes, the gold in them glinting, showing the passion that still simmered just beneath the surface. Down dropped her gaze to his mouth. His wickedly pleasurable mouth, which, only moments ago, possessed hers. She licked her lips. With a soft curse, he dropped to his knees in front of her.

“
Stop starting at me like that.”

“Like how.”

“Like you want me to finish what we started. I can only take so much.”

“Then maybe you shouldn’t have come.”

“I tried. But dammit, I couldn’t stay away.”

He couldn’t? For some reason
, his angry admission created a warm spot inside.

“What do you want from me?” she asked.

“You.”

Such a simple admission. And probably the sexiest confession she’d ever heard.

“We shouldn’t.”

“I don’
t care.”

“Eva, I am still waiting. Are you coming out?”

“I think a better question, Mother, is are you decent?”

“Isobel!”

“What? Did you see the hunk that went in after her?”

“You shouldn’t notice such things. You are getting married.”

“I’m getting married, not going blind.”

Evangeline sighed as her family continued to banter. A wry grin tilted Ryker’s lips. “I guess I should have chosen a better spot to ambush you.
Finish your dress fitting and meet me outside. We’ll go somewhere and
talk.
Okay?”

She doubted they’d get much talking done, unless you counted his dick saying hello to her pussy
, which at this point was the only conversation she wanted to have. She nodded in silent assent and watched, as with one last cocky smile, he left through the curtain.

What am I going to do about him? I’ve never wanted a man like this. I turn positively stupid when he’s around. Figures the one man who makes me lose my wits is an obnoxious shifter.
A passionate animal who could handle her dark side.

When Evangeline knew she could stand without collapsing in a puddle on the floor—that man packed a whopper of a kiss—she exited the change room and immediately faced her smirking sister.

“You’re right,” Isobel said. “He is too hot for his own good.”

Yes, he is, and I want to burn up in his embrace.

Ryker sat in the coffee shop across the street from the bridal store, and watched the door, still aroused, definitely befuddled, and impatient as hell.

What the hell just happened?
Other than the most passionate embrace of his life. He’d simply intended to track her down, since she wouldn’t take his calls, and hash out their next plan of action. Instead, at the sight of her looking like a delectable bonbon, he’d kissed her, something both the man and beast had greatly enjoyed. Something she enjoyed. A kiss he intended to finish once she met up with him and he’d gotten her somewhere private. No more interruptions.

It had taken great will power to walk away; something his beast still hadn’t calmed down about. The big
feline paced the edges of his mind, agitated and growling.

A
t this point, Ryker didn’t know what to do or think. Fighting his attraction to the witch seemed a lost cause. And honestly, the moments of bliss he’d experienced so far with her made him wonder why he even bothered trying. Heck, he’d technically stalked her by phone for the past few days, leaving message after message, trying to demand, entice, beg for a response. She’d not answered. He’d taken to lurking outside her place, but she avoided capture, taking to the air on her damnable broom. In the end, he’d swallowed his pride and cheated by calling her family. Yes, he’d ambushed her. He had to. He could no longer fight his attraction.

He’d gone through the reasons to stay away countless times.

She’s not a shifter. Mother will never approve.
But then again, he’d tried doing it his mother’s way before and look how that turned out. His brothers had done their duty to the clan; they didn’t need Ryker to carry on the bloodline. So why couldn’t he do what his beast—and the man—wanted?

Was falling for a witch really that bad?
He’d always been different from his brothers—bigger, more aggressive, and a hell of a lot more sarcastic. So why shouldn’t he be different in his choice of a bedmate too? Sating his desires on her luscious body might put his pacing kitty to rest, not to mention relieve the aching tension in his blue balls. He didn’t need to make her his mate. He’d keep it to sex only.

If she didn’t change her mind.
Oh fuck. He hoped she didn’t. He didn’t think he could last another day without sinking into her sinfully sexy body.

Ryker must have made a noise or winced
because the voice of Evangeline’s mother came from in front of him asking, “Is something wrong, dear? You look like you swallowed something sour.”

Ryker
glanced up with assessing eyes as the woman who looked like Evangeline’s older sister sat down.
It seems witches age just as well as shifters do.

“You’re
Evangeline’s mother, aren’t you? The one I spoke to on the phone.”

“Yes, my name is Marya Rasputin, but you may call me Mary. So you are the hot man who has my daughter throwing a tantrum?”

Straight and to the point, just like her daughter. Ryker didn’t even try to withhold his grin of masculine pleasure at knowing he had Evangeline in a frenzy. “Funny, I wouldn’t have thought tantrums unusual given what I’ve seen of her.”

Mary laughed. “Yes
, my Eva can be somewhat controlling and temperamental. She needs a strong man to rein her in. Someone who will not fear her little mood swings.”

“Fear her?” It was Ryker’s turn to laugh. “She’s too cute to be scary.”

His words rendered Mary speechless for a moment, and Ryker had to wonder what idiots his witch had dated in the past. He really needed to kill them for touching her.

“I’m Ryker Pantero, by the way. A shifter, in case you didn’t already know.”

A dark brow arched and she smiled. “A
Pantero
, and I’ll bet you’re an alpha too. Interesting. No wonder Eva won’t talk about you. She has this misguided notion about species not mixing.”

“Funny, I was going to say my clan has that same notion.”

Mary stared at him intently. “And will that stop you from pursuing what your beast wants?”

Her words startled him. “How do you know about what my beast wants?”

“I am Rasputin’s daughter, I know many things. But you did not answer my question. Will you claim my daughter?”

His beast stirred and snarled a reply, a reply he echoed. “Yes.” Funny, he hadn’t even known his answer until he spoke it aloud.

“And if she says no?”

Ryker turned from the window, the one he kept peering through so he’d catch his witch when she emerged from the salon. He regarded the woman with the odd questions. “Then I will
convince
her.” Even if he had to tie her down and tongue her until she screamed
“Yes!”

Satisfied
apparently with his answer, Mary nodded her head and smiled. “So be it. Now you’d better hurry before she runs off on you again.”

A quick look out the window showed his witch looking up and down the street, her lower lip clamped between her pearly teeth.
Oh no you don’t.

With a quick “Bye,” Ryker dashed outside and hailed Evangeline. She
stared at him, her eyes full of such erotic longing that he, the graceful one in the clan, stumbled.

His beast just chuffed—
Mine.
Ryker didn’t disagree.
Yes, ours. Ours at last.

“
Where do you want to go so we can
talk
?”

She understood what he meant
, and lucky him, she’d come toa decision inside the dress shop, one that would see them naked and doing the horizontal tango in less than ten minute
s—
if he made all the lights between here and her place.
Why fight what my body wants? It’s not as if I love him or something. It’s just sex.