The call went quiet except for the sound of her breath.
“Samantha?”
“Good luck finding whatever you’re after.” The call ended.
Jason watched Selene through the glass, smiling as she slid from the uncomfortable couch to sit on the floor. For the hundredth time that day, he wished that things could be different, that she wasn’t an acolyte and that he didn’t have a vice.
His phone call was over, but he didn’t rush to go back in. Instead, he rested his head against the window and just watched her.
* * *
Selene wascurious about what was taking Jason so long on the phone. She supposed it was work related. He had been unconscious for most of four days. When he finally did return, he didn’t bother with the sofa but sat down beside her on the floor. His hand landed on the carpet mere centimeters from hers, the outside of her pinky warming from the heat coming off his golden flesh. Her pulse should not have quickened, and her attention should not have lingered on the way his dark hair curved along his temple, accentuating the hard angles of his face.
No, she should have been afraid, afraid his wolf could smell the arousal she was suppressing. Afraid he’d break his resolve and push her against the couch the same way he’d pushed her against the wall. But that wasn’t what she was afraid of. Her true fear, the one that lingered deep within, the one she’d toppled the bookcases and furniture of her mind to stop from reaching her, was that she wanted him to do it again. The memory of his body on hers and the thought that hecouldwant only her were ideas so erotic they held a seductive power strong enough to make her temporarily forget her goal to become priestess.
His nostrils flared, but he didn’t look at her. He watched, unblinking, as Frodo pressed his hobbit-back into the dirty nook under the road and closed his eyes against the temptation to put on the ring even as the Ringwraith hovered over his head.
Selene pulled her hand into her lap.
ChapterSeventeen
“Stop fidgeting,” Selene said, glancing at Jason. The east-facing balcony was bathed in the warming light of sunrise, but the calming effect of the blue skies and singing birds above seemed lost on him. His face gleamed with fresh sweat, and he squirmed on the yoga mat as if he were sitting on a bed of nails.
A few days had passed since she’d found his trigger. He was stronger now. He could handle more. But the wolf was back this morning with a vengeance.
They’d been experimenting with intense exercise to work off the extra physical energy related to his vice, making use of his home gym several hours a day. But all the push-ups and miles on the treadmill hadn’t seemed to placate Jason’s wolf today. Clearly he wanted sex. His entire body seemed to protest for it. Selene needed to find another way to help him.
“How is this supposed to work again?” he asked.
“Take a deep breath, close your eyes, and begin the mantra I taught you. Let it pull you down into deep meditation. It will help with your withdrawal symptoms.”
His shoulders slumped, his presence heavy beside her. “Every time I close my eyes, I see…”
“You see what?”
“I see myself attacking you, grabbing you by the throat, pushing you against the wall.”
Selene glanced toward the door. “Now? You’re fantasizing about this now?”
“No! I’m not fantasizing, I’m remembering. That night, when I forced you to let me go to the bordello… I realize now, you don’t want to be here any more than I do. You certainly don’t want my disgusting hands all over your body.Fuck.” He scrubbed his face, turning slightly away from her. “I couldn’t help myself, Selene, and how I felt then, I feel that now. You should leave before my wolf makes me do something we’d both regret.”
There was a long stretch of silence. “Jason… Jason, look at me.” She reached over and tugged his chin so that he faced her, although his gaze remained focused on a segment of the balcony railing over her right shoulder. “When I took this assignment, I expected that your vice would take control at some point. I was prepared. You’re dealing with intense withdrawal. It’s to be expected.”
“No.” He shook his head. “I’m dangerous. You don’t understand, I liked the feel of you against me. My skin is crawling for want of it.” He pushed off the mat and paced to the other side of the balcony. “What if it happens again and I can’t stop? After what you’ve been through in your past…” He shook his head.
“My past is in my past. You are not responsible for what happened to me.” It was true that part of her still feared Jason on some level, and on an even deeper level, another part of her had enjoyed his touch. Saying either of those things out loud, however, wouldn’t help him get better or earn her a promotion toPreotka. She had to stay objective. “You know firsthand that I can defend myself. I knocked you on your ass for four days.”
“Yes.”
“Literally knocked you into tomorrow.”
“Yes.”
“I can do it again.”
“Please don’t.”
“The important thing is you didn’t try to slit my throat when you woke up. You were barely angry with me.”
