Seduced in Shadow (4 page)

26

Seduced in Shadow

Antonin’s parents had used their considerable magical powers to get the house habitable. His mom, whose powers of translocation nearly rivaled his oldest brother Cam’s, had been gracious enough to redo the house with a few snaps of her fingers, transporting furniture from the basement of their home here. She’d also had the house sparkling within minutes.

His dad had kicked in a sophisticated set of protection wards and new steel garage doors. The doors had appeared out of nowhere but no one in the neighborhood had noticed. Neighbors here didn’t bother to say hello, much less welcome new arrivals with cake and cookies.

He wouldn’t be here long enough to make friends anyway. After this job was over, he would go back to his apartment in Philadelphia—hopefully dating Ellie.

Though the largest Etruscan community in the States lived in and around Reading, Antonin liked being just another face in the crowd in Philly.

Here everyone seemed to know him or know of him. Here he was the second son of Tana and Lucumo de Feo, the brother of Camillus, Teodoro and Valerio. The one born with the
bassadone
spell woven into his genes.

There were only a handful of
bassadone
in the world, only a few male
linchetti
whose very essence was a powerful aphrodisiac to women. A few women were naturally immune for whatever reason. Not many though. Some women had been so susceptible they had tried to tear his clothes off before he could introduce himself. It’d made for some interesting dates when the power had first manifested itself at age seventeen.

Over a hundred years later, he wished it wasn’t so easy sometimes, that a woman would want him for his brains and personality instead of his bred-in-the-bone attraction.

Yeah, someone was going to revoke his guy status someday for thinking that.

Still… Ellie sighed in his arms as he climbed the stairs to the second floor, her soft breath brushing against his neck. Sensation shivered through his body and he tightened his arms around her.

27

Stephanie Julian

Reaching his room, which was still dark due to the drawn shades, Antonin blew a stream of magic at the small light on the bedside table. He had perfect night vision but he didn’t want Ellie to wake up and be terrified because she couldn’t see. Laying her on the king-size bed, he let himself look at her…and looking made him want her.

Her cheeks and chin were softly rounded, her lips full and dusky pink. Strands of hair had loosened from the braid and fell like streams of moonlight over her shoulders.

Antonin reached for them, pulling a few tresses through his fingers. They felt like ribbons of soft silk. His hand drifted to her cheek, touching the warm skin. Then he let his fingertips brush her thick lashes.

Ellie moaned in response, barely a whisper of sound, and twisted on the bed, making his cock harden. His gaze drifted down, taking note of her sweat-dampened clothes. He should wake her so she could change. She’d be much more comfortable without them. Grasping her shoulder, he shook her gently and watched her lids flutter open.

Her beautiful violet eyes looked at him in total confusion.

“Where am I?”

His voice was calm and patient as he phrased his answer. “You’re in my house in Reading, Ellie. I’m Antonin de Feo, remember? I brought you here from Nolde Forest.

I’m a friend of Justin’s. Do you remember what happened?”

He watched her digest his words, watched as she sorted through her memories and came up with the right ones—watched the wariness come back into her eyes as she sat up abruptly.

“That man in the forest,” Ellie said, eyes narrowed at him, “what did he want?”

“To kidnap you.”

He could see her muscles tense. “Justin really sent you here to protect me, didn’t he? From that man?”

Antonin nodded. “And others like him.”

28

Seduced in Shadow

She paused, her eyes assessing him. “And how do I know that for certain?”

He held up one finger. “Hang tight for a minute.”

Ellie watched Antonin—what kind of a name was that anyway?—get up and walk out of the bedroom.

She thought for a brief second about running but knew he’d catch her before she got out of the house. Besides, she didn’t sense any meanness in this man. She sensed only warmth. And strength.

Not like the ranger at Nolde. That one had completely creeped her out.

Still, she didn’t know exactly where she was. Antonin had said they were in Reading and she believed him. But someone had just tried to kidnap her. The evil of that ranger had been almost palpable. What the hell was going on? She started to hyperventilate. The panic fell like a weight on her chest. But she fought against it. When Antonin returned and handed her a piece of paper, she nearly had it under control.

The handwriting on the short note was definitely Justin’s, unless someone had gone to a lot of trouble to forge it.

Ellie, hon.
She smiled as she began to read. Justin started every email to her just like that.
Antonin’s okay. I sent him to watch over you. There’s stuff going down, stuff we’ll need to
talk about. For now listen to Antonin. Stick close to him. He’ll keep you safe and we’ll talk soon.

Ellie looked up to find Antonin staring at her, his gaze warm enough to make her thighs clench. God, he was gorgeous. Apparently the adrenaline rush of almost being kidnapped had passed, though residual fear still made her skin tingle.

She’d never been a particularly brave kid. She didn’t climb trees any higher than she could safely jump to the ground. She didn’t walk by herself after dark. The riskiest thing she’d done lately was start her own business. And really, the only risk in that was to her bank account.

29

Stephanie Julian

Something about that park ranger had scared the crap out of her. And she hated being scared.

With Antonin so near, all her early doubts evaporated. He had saved her from that ranger and he just
felt
safe. Besides, hadn’t Justin said to trust him? Her intuition told her to go along with that.

Sighing, she tried to run her hand through her hair but it got tangled in the braid.

With a huff, she pulled the braid over her shoulder and took off the elastic at the end so she could release the heavy mass. “So how long have you known my brother?”

“For a while,” he hedged and Ellie looked up again—to find him staring at her, lust clearly visible in his expression.
Whoa!

Okay, that really shouldn’t make her sex clench and her heart race. Not after everything that had happened this morning.

But it did! It had been awhile since anyone had looked at her like that, with that amount of desire.

“And Justin wants me to stay with you? And I can call Justin whenever I want to check this out?” Why did her voice sound husky all of a sudden?

“Go ahead and call him.” Antonin looked straight into her eyes, handing her his cell phone. “Justin’s number is saved. You may not be able to reach him right away but leave him a message and I’m sure he’ll get back to you as soon as he can.”

Ellie found the entry, dialed and wasn’t surprised when Antonin was right. Justin’s cell went straight to voice mail. She left a message, feeling better for having made the call.

What now? She took another look at her bodyguard—who just happened to be the epitome of the perfect male, at least the image of the perfect man she had in her head.

The combination of dark hair and light eyes always made her heart beat a little faster. And those freckles—they were adorable, though he probably didn’t want to hear 30

Seduced in Shadow

that. Guys didn’t want to be adorable. They wanted to be handsome, sexy, hot. All of which this guy was. As well as tall and lean and strong.

He’d saved her from a would-be kidnapper and whisked her away to safety. A hero.

And a hero deserved a kiss for his good deed, right? Would it be inappropriate to jump the bones of the man who’d saved her?

From his intent expression, she didn’t think he’d mind…and neither would she.

Trying to rein in her hormones, Ellie reminded herself that he was just her bodyguard, though she still wasn’t quite sure why she needed one. Her brother had sent him to keep her safe, not as her sex toy.

Maybe she could attribute her inappropriate response to Antonin to stress. A naughty little voice in her head whispered,
Didn’t the doctor tell me to get laid to reduce
stress?

With a sigh, she forced herself not to think about sex with Antonin. Instead she let her gaze drop and rolled her shoulders, trying to ease the discomfort of her bra strap cutting into her skin.

“Do you, uh, want to get out of those clothes?” Antonin gestured to the chest of drawers in the room. “I can give you a t-shirt and some shorts.”

Did she want to get out of her clothes? God, did she ever!

But she didn’t want to put on new ones.

Her gaze lifted again and caught the red-hot lust clouding his eyes.

He wanted her too.

Antonin saw desire darken Ellie’s gaze and his own longing rose up to nearly choke him.

Gods, he wanted her. He’d wanted her from the first moment Justin had shown him the picture of her he carried in his wallet, even before he’d seen her in person.

31

Stephanie Julian

Now, here, she wanted him too. And he was pretty sure it wasn’t due to the
bassadone
spell. She didn’t have that telltale glazed look in her eyes women usually got when he turned his full attention on them.

No, she simply looked at him as if she wanted him.

And that was its own aphrodisiac.

Antonin swallowed and let his eyes slide down her body. Her chest rose and fell in a faster rhythm. His own lungs expanded, trying to suck in more oxygen.

She lifted her arms and stripped her purple tank top over her head, leaving only her black bra. His mouth opened and he tried to say something, anything.

“Ellie…”

His feet moved him closer to the bed until he found himself standing next to her, close enough to touch. He reached out and eased his fingers through a few strands of her hair, soft and silky.

Sitting next to her, he kept his eyes on hers. When her mouth curved in a gentle smile, Antonin knew he’d just lost the battle.

He lowered his lips and sealed his mouth over hers.

Just one kiss. Just a taste and then he’d pull back. Cool down.

But her mouth was so warm and so pliant beneath his. She kissed him back as her hands settled on his shoulders, drawing him in, moving him closer until her breasts nestled against his chest. When she sighed, he released the inner leash he’d been holding on his lust.

His hands splayed across her back, soaking in the heat of her body for a few brief seconds before he reached for the clasp of her bra. The damn thing was tight, almost as tight as a corset, but with only three hooks. When it finally gave up the fight, Ellie pulled back, did some little shimmy with her upper body and the bra slid down her arms.

32

Seduced in Shadow

Her breasts spilled out, her pale coral nipples hard and pointed. Antonin bent to lick a path from the rounded side of her breast to the tip. Salty from her sweat, her taste twisted around his gut and yanked at his balls.

Covering her breasts with his hands, he kneaded the firm mounds as he watched her eyes. They fluttered closed and she moaned, the sound turning him on even more.

His cock tightened so hard he was afraid he’d come in his pants. And he definitely didn’t want to do that. He wanted to be buried deep between those gorgeous thighs when he came. Hopefully while she did the same.

Ellie let her head fall back as Antonin brought his mouth to her breasts again, nipping at the hard tips with his teeth. The sensation was sharp. Just the way she liked it. She wanted more, needed more.

Her hands reached for the hem of his t-shirt and slid beneath to find hot firm skin, silky smooth. She wanted to feel it against hers.

She yanked the shirt over his head, forcing him to release her breasts.

God, the man’s chest was a work of art. Lightly covered with dark hair, perfectly molded with muscle. His abs were a perfect six-pack, his stomach flat with a thin line of hair leading straight into the low waistband of his jeans.

Without thought, she reached for the top button and worked her way down to the last, her breath coming harder with each release. His hands tightened on her shoulders as she pushed the jeans and his cotton boxers down his legs, revealing his cock, ramrod straight and perfectly formed, the tip a pulsing deep red.

He wanted her. How long had it been since someone wanted her?

His hands released her shoulders and for a split second she thought he was pulling away…until he tweaked one nipple between his thumb and forefinger, making her gasp. She closed her eyes and arched her back, pressing herself into his hands.

Maddening heat shot from her breast to her sex, moistening her.

33

Stephanie Julian

“Gods, Ellie, you’re so beautiful. I want to please you.” His husky voice was filled with passion.

His words touched her, warmed her as much as his hands as they slid from her breasts to her stomach, smoothing along her skin. When they reached her shorts, he opened the button and unzipped them. His hand moved underneath her panties. Then, as if he couldn’t stop himself, he yanked at the clothes until she was naked.

Lifting her hands, Ellie wrapped one hand around his cock and cupped his balls with the other. It was his turn to groan and her stomach flipped at the sound. It made her feel powerful, in control.

Raising her gaze, she stared at Antonin’s face. With his eyes closed and his head thrown back, she read desire in the sharp angles of his cheeks and the taut line of his jaw. Desire for her. This gorgeous man wanted her. Her womb tightened at the thought, her sex clenching.

With one steady motion, she pumped her hand from the base of his cock to the tip and back again, marveling at the silky texture of his shaft, at the heat beneath the skin and at the steadily increasing beat of his pulsing member. Her fingers barely reached around the base and she had one of those “Oh wow” moments women talked about but that she’d never experienced before herself.