Deadlock

Chapter Seven

After two days of nothing but cooking and waiting, Carmen was jumping out of her skin. «I want to go for a run.»

Alec didn’t seem to find it an odd request. «There are a couple trails through the woods. The run to the lake’s nice too.»

She vaguely remembered it from the day she’d arrived. «Just let me change clothes.»

Several minutes later, she stepped onto the porch and tried in vain to draw in a deep breath. The days were growing hotter quickly, with the sort of humidity she was more apt to associate with midsummer than early spring. «August is going to be miserable if this weather keeps up.»

«This your first summer in New Orleans?» Alec was still wearing jeans, but had tugged on another tight black T-shirt.

«Except for visits,» she confirmed. «But I’ve lived in Atlanta and Nashville for most of my life.»

«Never spent that much time in either. They this muggy?»

«Just about. Georgia especially.» Carmen tilted her head and sighed. «You don’t have to go with me, you know. You must have things to do.»

His sudden smile bordered on roguish. «Plenty. You going to make me do them instead of giving me an excuse to get outdoors?»

He’d told her to back off, and yet he kept flashing her those wicked looks, as if he couldn’t help himself. «I’m not your mother,» she told him. «I’m not going pace myself so you can keep up, either.»

«That so? If you’re going to invite a wolf to a chase, you’d better make sure you can outrun him. Unless getting caught is the point.»

«I think you’re forgetting something.» She stepped off the porch and turned to face him. «I’m not entirely human.»

Her vague memory supplied a general direction, and Carmen dug in her heels and ran.

At first she wasn’t sure he’d followed. A quick glance over her shoulder proved he was following, all right, just keeping his distance. Not to mention checking out her ass.

She ran faster, something instinctive pushing her to push him. A gentle rush of empathy told her he was enjoying the chase and, surprisingly, so was she.

Because you know he’ll catch you. He could deny it, fight it, and it didn’t matter.

Carmen slowed and spun, walking backwards. «How long have you lived here?»

«This house?» He slowed too, to a casual amble. «Bought it…oh, nine or ten years back.»

«And do you do this often?»

«Run? Or chase women through the woods?»

«That’s chivalrous of you, to keep pretending you’re the one doing the chasing here.»

One eyebrow quirked up. «You’re right. If I were really chasing you, you’d be under me already.»

«Now there’s a thought.» She had to get used to the blatant, idle flirtation. She couldn’t get aroused every time he said something like that, or she’d be perpetually horny — and frustrated. «I meant your obvious role as protector and mentor. Do you have a lot of new wolves beating down your door?»

«A few,» he acknowledged with that infuriating little smile. «Someone has to take care of them, and I’m good at it.»

And he needed it. She might never hear the admission from his lips, but she felt it plainly. «Thank you.»

«You’re welcome. You’re going to trip and break your neck if you keep walking backwards on this path.»

She stopped. «I was trying not to be rude.»

He jerked his chin toward the path. «Quarter mile, maybe a little more. There’s a nice clearing. I’ll give you a ten-second head start.»

The predatory glint in his eyes stole her breath and kicked her heart rate into high gear. «Head start for what?»

«Before I chase you. For real.»

She had to be crazy to consider it, even if the thought made her body buzz. «And then what? More dirty talk because you can’t sleep with me, but you can sure the hell torture me with your eyes and muscles and ridiculously hot voice?»

He actually laughed. «Can’t do much to fix any of that. I could back off, I guess, but you’re not going to like that much better.»

«No, I suppose I wouldn’t.» She didn’t feel like a crazed animal, but she’d never been quite so moved by feral instinct, either. «Go easy on me, would you?»

Pacing herself wasn’t a problem, not if it was only a quarter of a mile, so Carmen ran hard, pushing herself almost at a sprint. Soon, the near-echo of trampled brush drifted from behind her, and she smiled through her panting.

He let her get three long strides into the clearing before he tackled her, somehow twisting their bodies as they fell so she sprawled across his chest. His low, delighted laughter curled around her, warm as the arms that circled her waist. «Easy as I get.»

Too easy. Too intimate. She wiggled out of his arms and landed on the ground beside him. «You smile like you’re not used to it, did you know that?»

Laughter died, and he twisted his head to stare at her. «It’s been a while. Only other person willing to poke at me until I laugh is Kat. I always figured she did it because she knows I’m not going to kill her, even if I’m glaring like I want to. An empathy thing.»

«Maybe.» She wanted to reassure him with her touch, but she thrummed with a sexual awareness he could surely sense. «Is everyone else so careful with you because they’re scared?»

«Some of them are.» He slid his fingers over hers, his hand a heavy weight. «What do you feel? Beneath the sex, what does my power feel like?»

Dominant. Implacable. «You’re strong, and you’re intense.» All things so wound up in her attraction to him that there could be no separation.

«And I’m a little crazy. Or I act that way enough that everyone thinks it’s true. Better if most of the scary people in town are wary of pissing me off.»

«Makes sense.» His hand was huge, warm and a bit rough. She wanted to feel it on her body, sliding down her back and curling around her hip to hold her still for a hard, demanding thrust.

The mental image formed so quickly that all she could do was bite her lip as she blinked and willed it away.

His fingers tightened around hers. «I hate not knowing what to do. If I’ll hurt you more leaving you alone, or by giving you what you crave. I don’t want to hurt you at all. Do you have any fucking idea how long it’s been since I didn’t know what to do?»

«You’re too hard on yourself,» she admonished. «It isn’t your job to keep me from hurting, and no one knows everything all the time.»

«It’s my job to keep from hurting you.» He lifted his hand and hers with it, sliding it up until they pressed into the grass over her head. Then he released her and rolled to his side, propped up on his elbow so the bulk of his body loomed above her. «It’s all a damn excuse. It’s my job, and I’d be doing it anyway…but that’s not why I’m doing it now.»

It was the most nonsensical thing she’d heard in a while. «Are you saying you want to protect me?»

«I’m saying I want to protect you.» His free hand landed on her stomach, skimming up to skip over her breasts and land on her collarbone. «You’re not scared of me. Even when I’m acting crazy.»

«Because you’re not crazy.» She caught his hand and held it still. «Don’t do this just because you think I need it. It’s not worth it.»

His eyes looked so dark they might as well have been black. «Honey, I thought you were an empath.»

«You know what I mean. If you still think I’m not in my right mind, the guilt would kill you, and I only want you to feel good about this.»

He considered that for a moment, then guided her other hand up above her head. «I’m going to kiss you. Deep. Hard. You okay with that?»

He’d urged her into a position of submission — both hands over her head, her body stretched out beneath his — and it made her shake with anticipation. «More than okay.»

«You want me to stop, you say stop.» One hand curled around both of her wrists, gentle but unyielding. «You want more, ask for it. Okay?»

Carmen pulled against his grasp, not to free herself but to test his strength. He held tight, and her eyes fluttered shut under a wave of need. «Yes.»

His free hand settled at her hip in a possessive grip. Power built in the space between them, a slow, steady rise that mirrored the dark heat in his eyes as he lowered his mouth, lips barely touching hers. «Let me in.»

The command released something inside her, a tension she hadn’t noticed before he eased it, and she closed her eyes again. Honesty was one thing, even a kiss…

Don’t think, Carmen. Feel.

She obeyed, loosening her tight hold on control, gasping when the first waves of empathic feedback echoed off him to heat her own body.

His beard scraped her chin as he closed the distance between them with a shuddering groan. He kissed the way she’d seen him live, reckless arrogance and power and an intensity that bordered on intimidating. Lips and teeth and his tongue stroking her mouth until she parted her lips, then surging forward to taste and take, his hunger and satisfaction twisting between them on the threads of her empathy.

She wasn’t prepared for the depth of her reaction to his satisfaction. Beyond the undeniable physical pleasure of the kiss was a whole world of intimacy, a power she’d flirted with but never really embraced.

She could give him everything.

More, he’d take it. There could be no doubt of that, not with his desires laid bare before her, the hot need for her pleasure dwarfed by the steely craving to be the only one who provided it. Nothing tentative there. Nothing tentative about the way he teased his tongue against hers, his pleasure spiking every time she moaned and arched closer.

It had to stop, even if depriving herself of his touch drove her mad. Carmen turned her head to break the kiss. «Oh God.»

«Shh.» He pressed a kiss to her temple. «How’s the wolf instinct feeling now?»

Curiously silent, all things considered. She’d expected that part of her to be feral, riled up and ready for a ride, but everything in her that still strained toward Alec’s touch was entirely human. «Quiet.»

«She knows she’s safe.» The whispered words stirred her hair. «She ran. I caught. Claimed. Won’t be the last time she pushes a challenge, but it might not be so bad next time.»

She bit her lip to hide a smile. «You’re still convinced that’s all it is? That I wouldn’t usually try to get a rise out of you?»

«Maybe not all of it.» He nuzzled her cheek, working his way down until his teeth closed lightly on the line of her jaw. «In a week or two this magic should settle down, if we’re lucky. Or Jackson will find a way to break it sooner.»

«You make it sound so simple.»

«It’s not our first crisis. Don’t think it’ll be our last, either.»

«It’s mine.» Her life hadn’t been easy, but most of the pain she’d had to deal with had been emotional. «Nothing about my family has ever made me feel endangered before.»

His body went tense beside hers, the fingers at her hip digging in for a heartbeat before his hand relaxed. «I’m sorry. I remember what it feels like the first time.»

Pain accompanied the words, an agony that almost sickened her. Her first thought was to shut it out, but that would mean shutting Alec out, and she couldn’t. So she took a deep, shaky breath and watched his face. «What did they do?»

He rolled away from her, landing on his back with his hand still above her head. His fingers curled around hers, an almost compulsive, instinctive movement, and that pain tightened, turned to a free fall of loss. «My cousin killed my wife. Because she was human.»

There was nothing to say, no questions to ask. Prejudice had cost his wife her life, and Alec had been left to deal with an aftermath full of pain and emptiness. That wouldn’t change now, no matter how hard anyone wished.

Nothing to say.

Carmen squeezed his hand. «Tell me about her.»

«Her name was Heidi.» The corner of his mouth quirked up. «Remember how I said my friend Karl fell in love with a cowgirl from South Dakota?»

«I do.»

«Yeah, the cowgirl was on a date with me when that happened. The worst first date in the history of men and women, and Karl stole her out from under my nose. Guess she felt guilty, because a few months later she introduced me to one of her friends from college. An art major who liked to make sculptures with a blowtorch.»

He already looked lighter somehow, less bowed by guilt. «She sounds like a badass.»

It made him laugh a little. «Only if you pissed her off while she was holding the blowtorch.» His smile faded. «She made it easy to walk away from the supernatural world. To just forget it was there.»

Except it always was for someone like him, no matter what, and his renewed guilt proved he knew that. «I’m learning now that you can’t walk away from something that’s part of you.»

«No, you can’t. You can hide from it for a while. You can tell it to fuck off…» His thumb stroked her wrist. «It’s in my blood. It’s in your blood. Maybe I just hate thinking that me and Heidi might not have lasted. Feels too much like saying I didn’t love her enough.»

«You tried,» she said firmly, «and you were happy, right? Beyond that, who knows what would have happened?»

«No one, I guess. No one ever will.» His arm looped around her, as if he needed the comfort of her touch. «My cousin never gave her the chance to walk away from me. He thought I should thank him for that.»

It was barbaric. Unfathomable. She wanted to scream at the injustice of it, but all she could do was stroke her fingers over his skin. I’m sorry. It wasn’t enough, but she murmured the words anyway.

Alec’s voice dropped to a rough whisper. «It was a while ago. My cousin went to ground afterwards — even my family couldn’t condone what he’d done. He was a member of a pretty radical group. They thought changed wolves were making us weak, that no shapeshifter should have the right to squander our precious blood on anyone who wasn’t born to the gift. Humans were a thousand times worse.»

«I understand.» Hadn’t Cesar demanded that Carmen’s father abandon her mother for the crime of being a psychic, a human? And what might he have done if Diego had refused?

«The supernatural world is fucked up. All we can do down here is… I don’t even know. Pick up the pieces?»

«I think so.» She was living proof that avoidance only worked for so long, and it certainly never changed anything. «Did you find him? Your cousin?»

«Yeah. With Jackson’s help.» She felt his subtle withdrawal, though his fingers stayed on hers. «I found him, and all the people who’d encouraged him. Who’d been terrorizing other people. And when it was over, I was that crazy bastard no one wanted to piss off.»

Carmen reluctantly slipped her shields back into place, sat up and leaned over him. «And that’s why everyone but Kat tiptoes around you.»

«That’s why.» The corner of his mouth kicked up in a tiny, morbid smile. «Plus all the crazy things I’ve done since.»

«Crazy things?» The urge to kiss him again almost overwhelmed her, so she climbed to her feet and held out her hand. «Surely tackling women and kissing them stupid qualifies, so I won’t argue.»

He accepted her hand, but rocked to his feet with effortless grace without her help. «Nah, that’s on the tame side. Last year I kidnapped a Conclave member’s kid in someone else’s truck.»

Carmen laughed helplessly. «Somehow, the fact that it was someone else’s vehicle makes it sound crazier.»

«He wasn’t thrilled at the time either, as I remember.»

«The owner of said truck, or the person you kidnapped?»

«Neither, I guess.»

«Uh-huh.» She hadn’t released his hand, and now she tugged him toward the path. «Let’s go have a beer.»

«In a second.» He pulled her back and turned her, raising both hands to her shoulders. «You seem steadier today, so I want to try something tonight, after dinner. I want to try to guide you through the change.»

«I told you — I don’t feel that different.»

«Then nothing will happen.» A hint of sadness wreathed the words, perhaps explained by those that followed. «And then you can go home. Get back to your life.»

She would never be the same, even if the magic he spoke of came to nothing. Not after the way he’d kissed her. «I don’t live on another planet, Alec.»

He shrugged and turned back to the path. «I do. A planet where angry shapeshifters kick my doors off their hinges and people need kidnapping and saving and killing. There’s always something.»

In other words, there was no room for her. Unsurprising — and understandable.

And it didn’t matter anyway. It might have been one unforgettable kiss, but his busy, dangerous existence was far from the only reason getting involved with him would be a bad idea. He was inextricably tangled up in the fringes of a world she’d avoided her whole life.

Bad, bad idea.

Carmen caught up with him and slid her hand back into his. «There’s always something — later. Right now, I want that beer.»

She had a day, two at the most, and she wouldn’t waste them.

Jackson had called him five times.

The text on his cell phone’s screen indicated he had four new voicemails, and he’d bet all of them had come from his partner as well. With Carmen happily occupied putting away the groceries he’d had delivered, Alec felt safe enough stepping out on the back porch. Easier than staying in the kitchen with her smiles and her scent and her friendly chatter twisting him up into a confused wreck.

Fucking women was safe. Liking their company was asking for trouble.

He didn’t bother to listen to any of the messages, opting instead to call Jackson back. There was no way the man didn’t plan to yell at him, and he only had patience for one tedious lecture.

Jackson answered the phone with a short, particularly foul curse. «Okay, where the hell have you been?»

«Running.» Mostly the truth, and Jackson wouldn’t be able to tell either way. «She needed to burn off some energy.»

«Her brother’s been here, bitching because he showed up the other morning to quite the domestic-looking little scene.»

The kid should be thanking any God he prayed to that it’d been domestic and not pornographic. «We’re getting along decent enough. Nothing crazy’s happened.»

«Yeah, I told him you’d take care of her. No funny business.»

«That a statement or a question?»

After a moment of uneasy silence, Jackson cleared his throat. «Is there something I need to know?»

Damn it. His own defensiveness had turned a statement into a question. «If she was stuck here for a few more days, maybe. But if I can’t walk her through a change tonight, then I’m sending her back home. Franklin’s practically shacking up with her roommate. He’ll be on hand if anything happens, but I’m starting to think it won’t.»

«The longer it takes, the less likely it is to happen,» his partner admitted. «Julio says there’s no news on the whys-and-wherefores front. You gonna shuffle her off on Franklin and help him out? He tries, but come on. The kid’s a firefighter. He doesn’t think like a cop.»

Long association with Jackson made it easy to follow the path of his thoughts. A cop might have found Alec’s lack of subterfuge reassuring…but Julio Mendoza wasn’t human. And Jackson didn’t think like a shifter. «Wolves aren’t so great at hiding that sort of thing. Especially if someone’s charging into our territory and questioning our right to have someone. The only way I’m going to convince Mendoza that I’m not the latest big bad wolf come to gobble his sister up is to get her the hell out of my house.»

«Then you’re right, you need to do just that. We can’t get down to real business with you stuck babysitting.»

«Yeah.» He was right. Getting Carmen away from him was the only thing that would give him the focus to find out what had happened to her.

Too bad it was the last thing he wanted to do.

«Still, couldn’t hurt to stay in touch after she goes home. Make sure everything’s all right. You can handle that, right?» Jackson’s voice sounded studiously casual.

Meddling bastard. «Since when do you encourage me to stick my nose in other people’s business?»

He could almost hear Jackson’s shrug. «You’ve taken responsibility for her so far. May as well see it through.»

«I take responsibility for everyone. And I always see it through. So butt the hell—»

Magic exploded.

The phone slipped from Alec’s fingers as he staggered under the wave of sheer, undiluted power. It was so overwhelming that he couldn’t even pinpoint a source, not until Carmen’s voice rose in a scream of protest from the front yard.

He faintly heard Jackson’s frantic voice spilling out of the speaker on his phone, but instinct moved his feet before he could stop to think. One hand landed on the railing of his porch and he vaulted it, four feet up and then ten down, enough that he gave into momentum and rolled before springing to his feet again.

Then he ran.

It was the witch. She stood in the yard, chanting, as one of the men from the house in Algiers lifted Carmen off her feet.

The rhythmic chanting paused as the witch turned her head. «Drop the girl. Deal with the shifter.»

Carmen hit the driveway, and the burly man rushed him.

In the second before the huge body crashed into his, Alec caught the scent of blood in the air, distracting enough that he hit the ground, the muscle-bound shifter on top of him.

The man drew back a fist and drove it into Alec’s jaw. Pain splintered the world into overlapping fragments, but at least it drew his attention back to the fight. Alec shook off the blow and used a move he’d seen Zola pull more than once to get a larger opponent off of her. A feint to the left, as if trying to throw the man off him, then a lightning-fast change in direction the second the bulky man started to pull right.

They rolled together and Alec got a knee in the shifter’s gut and smashed his fist into his face. Bone shattered and a hoarse yelp of pain split the air, but it wasn’t loud enough to cover Carmen’s agonized moan as magic lashed through the still evening.

The man cursed over the sound of metal clearing a leather holster. Nickel plating glinted in the fading evening light as he lifted a pistol to Alec’s head.

No time to be flashy. Alec swung a fist and knocked the hand and gun to the side, then smacked it again, sending the weapon flying.

A meaty hand slammed into his face, a strong thumb digging hard into one eye. Alec choked on a curse and reared back, barely keeping the man from gouging out his eye, but he couldn’t escape the painful pressure. The shifter huffed out a short, triumphant laugh, only to draw up short as a gunshot rang out.

The man let go to press his hand to a rapidly welling spot of blood on his shoulder. Alec rolled him, taking advantage of his opponent’s pain and distraction to wrench his head and snap his neck. The man went limp, and Alec came to his knees in time to see Carmen, the shifter’s gun held easily in both hands.

In that moment, she was the hottest thing he’d ever seen.

«Alec.» Carmen’s hand shook, and her relieved expression turned to one of horror as her arm moved, jerkily at first and then more smoothly. Her fingers twitched as if she wanted to drop the gun but couldn’t, and she raised her hand, lifting the barrel to her temple.

Alec froze, both hands held out at his side. He didn’t dare move, not even to turn his head and face the witch head on. «What do you want?»

«To finish my job.» The witch’s voice held a gentle, almost cajoling edge. «Ten minutes, and everything will be done.»

«Everything what? What are you trying to do?»

The woman snorted, and the beads in her hair clicked as she shook her head. «If you don’t understand, you shouldn’t interfere.»

His wolf battered against his self-control, frantic to break free and eliminate the threat. Alec choked it back hard. «No one’s interfering.»

«I am,» Carmen said angrily. Her trembling ceased as she rose and took a step back. «I’m saying no. No more magic, no more spells. I’d rather pull the trigger.»

His heart damn near stopped in his chest. «Carmen—»

The witch spoke over him, her dark eyes narrowing in her pale face. «You’re bluffing.»

«Am I?»

For an eternity, the two women stared at each other. Finally, the older woman whispered something and magic snapped through the air. The gun flew out of Carmen’s hand, and the witch turned to Alec, one hand raised as she whispered an incantation.

An incantation she’d never finish. Adrenaline gave him speed. The need to shake Carmen until she promised never to bluff again — and dear God, she had better have been bluffing — gave him a vicious edge.

Alec crossed the space between them before the woman got three words out. On the fourth he pounced, flying through the air separating them.

She never got out the fifth word. She threw up both hands and Alec knocked them aside and caught his fingers in her braids. His palm slammed into her chin. One twist, one snap, and she hit the ground in a lifeless heap.

Carmen sucked in a harsh breath and fell to her knees. For a moment, everything was silent. Still.

Then she screamed.

Alec’s heart tried to climb into his throat. He scrambled to his knees and lurched to his feet, covering the space between them in a few ragged steps. He hit the grass and skidded toward her. «Carmen, Carmen, it’s okay, sweetheart. You’re okay—»

Her hands clenched, fingers digging into the grass. She growled and lifted her head, her entire body trembling and wary.

Wild. She was wild. His instincts said feral, and he kept his body rigid. Ready to stop her from hurting herself. «Take a breath,» he coaxed. «You’re okay.»

She growled again, part question and part warning, and moved closer. One hand hovered near his chest, and she pressed her cheek close to his and inhaled sharply.

Carmen turned her head and bit his jaw.

Lust burned through him, wiping away everything human and leaving the wolf in its wake, hungry and curious. Alec’s hands swept up her back before he could stop them, curling in her hair so he could guide her head back.

He was supposed to guide her head back. He just couldn’t remember why.

She released him, only to brush her lips and tongue soothingly over his skin. Her hand flattened against his chest, slid down past his stomach.

Alec caught her wrist when her fingers reached his fly. «Oh, no you don’t, lady. This is not you.»

She didn’t snap or snarl. Instead, she made a soft, coaxing noise and nuzzled his ear.

Christ. If he let go of her hand she’d find his dick rock-hard and willing, but the rest of him couldn’t be. Not with her clearly out of her mind and a body on the ground.

Two bodies. Christ. «Carmen.»

She went rigid and jerked her hand free of his. Her eyes narrowed in confusion, and she rocked back, moving away from him slowly.

If she bolted, he’d have to chase her down. He only had so much self-control. He held out a hand, stopping just short of touching her arm. «Honey, let’s go inside».

Carmen slapped at his hand and scrambled out of reach. She opened her mouth as if to speak — then turned and sprang into a dead run.

He chased her because he had to. Because she was beautiful and wild, because she was hurting and he had to make it stop.

Magic must have been at work, because she was damn fast. She nearly hit the tree line before Alec caught her around the waist, dragging her body back against his chest. «Be still.»

She fought, her nails digging painful furrows into his arm, and she kicked. One blow bounced her heel off his shin and his knee, and she threw back her head and howled with rage and pain.

It shredded his heart, but he couldn’t let her go. So he kept his arm locked around her body and summoned all the power inside him, setting it loose in a soothing rush that should have dropped her to the ground in a submissive heap.

She whimpered and fell still. He could taste her fear and confusion, but she didn’t struggle anymore.

«That’s it.» Keeping up the press of power would drain the hell out of him, but he had a sinking feeling she’d start struggling the second he stopped. «I’m gonna pick you up, sweetheart, and get you inside. Then we’ll make you feel better.»

Her arms slid around his neck, and her breath blew hot over his cheek and ear as she nuzzled him again, more hesitantly this time.

He was going to hell. He was going to the lowest fucking layer of the darkest fucking hell, and she’d send him there personally when she came back to herself and realized what he’d done.

What he was about to do.

«That’s right…» Slow. Soothing. No lies, just nonsensical murmurs as he bit the edge of her jaw. «Let’s go inside, honey.»

Carmen’s whimpers melted into a moan, and she curved one hand around his cheek, petting him.

Forget her. His own damn dick was going to want him to go to hell by the time this was over. He slid his arm under her knees and lifted her, holding her tight against his chest. «You’re safe, Carmen. I’ve got you.»

Her breathing roughened, and she whispered something unintelligible, her voice shot through with lust and longing.

Alec walked faster.

By the time he reached his front steps, she’d begun trailing kisses over his jaw. He staggered up the steps and barely got the door open. «Hold on a second, sweetheart. Just — slow down. A little.»

The caresses subsided, and she lay still in his arms, eyes closed, as he opened the basement door and walked down the stairs.

Hell was too good for him.

He eased the door to the cage open with his foot and froze, hating the fact that the scent of Kat’s attacker lingered, thick with the stench of fear. As wild as Carmen was, she’d be sensitive to it. He was sensitive to it, even with most of his energy devoted to keeping her calm.

Her eyes flew open and her hand shot out, curling tight around the bars on the door.

No betrayal in her eyes, not yet. She trusted him. He made a soothing sound and kissed her, parting her lips with his tongue and driving deep, kissing her like it was going to be the last time — because it might be.

She shuddered and let go of the door to hold him tight, her fingers clenching in his hair. A soft growl vibrated in the back of her throat, and she wiggled in his arms.

The scent of her arousal hit him, and his resolve wavered. She wanted him. She liked him. A good hard fucking would make them both feel better about life. He could imagine the way she’d look, bent over, fingers tearing up his sheets in her eagerness, legs spread wide, begging for him—

And if she’d been drunk on tequila instead of magic, he would have thrown her under a cold shower instead of sticking his dick somewhere it might not be welcome.

Carmen trusted him, and that made it so easy to betray her.

She was still panting for him when he dropped her onto the cot in the corner of the cage. The fact that it was a bed of sorts seemed to distract her long enough for him to get out of arm’s reach. The metal doors clanged shut and Mari’s spells activated, apparently no worse for the wear even with Andrew’s earlier abuse.

It took her a moment to sit up, and another to realize they were on opposite sides of the bars. She shot off the cot and grabbed the door, rattling it loudly. It held, of course, and she turned a disbelieving stare on Alec.

Leaving her there was going to break his damn heart. «I can’t let you run off into the woods, and I won’t fuck you when you don’t have the wits to say no.»

She stumbled back, her hurt melting into obvious anger, and she turned away to stalk the cage.

«Carmen.»

She ignored him, and it hurt. It hurt more than it should, more than he’d thought possible. The ache in his chest made it that much more important to get his ass upstairs and call in backup, because it meant his judgment was seriously fucking compromised.

Compromised judgment would get them all killed, sooner or later.

He made a list of the people he had to call as he climbed the stairs. Jackson first, then Carmen’s brother. No need to worry about Julio getting the wrong idea now — the hurt in Carmen’s eyes had killed his hard-on and the silent treatment wasn’t liable to bring it back anytime soon.

He should have been a lot more grateful.