The Mammoth Book of Paranormal Romance 2 (58 page)

“I’m fine. A little stirred up. Glad what I did for poor Steve went okay. Being a half-breed, I don’t risk using my magic much.”

“Risk?”

She grimaced. “An empath’s powers are fragile. At the best of times, they’re sort of – well – sometimes they just go sideways.

One time my older sister was dating a vampire, and I kept thinking
Ew, this guy is dead.
Suddenly, he was.”

Jake looked shocked and a little amused. “Dead? You killed a vampire? That’s not exactly empathy.”

“Like I said, my magic is wonky. And I don’t know that
killed
is the right word. I sort of de-lifed him for a while. And there he was, rotting on the kitchen floor, half an hour before prom. I don’t think my sister ever forgave me. I mean, he was supposed to be the hottest guy around, all pale skin and tousled hair. Suddenly he was Mr Stinky in a cummerbund. I was
so
in trouble.”

Jake shook his head, laughing softly.

Selina slouched miserably against the wall. “Hey, it wasn’t like I
meant
to do it.”

“What does your family do?”

“My dad and sisters are sorcerers for hire. My magic wasn’t reliable enough for that.”

“So you struck out in your own direction.” He gave Gary a treat and then slipped the gargoyle a shot when he wasn’t looking. “I did that too. There were four boys in my family, and three of us wanted to be alphas.”

Selina squirmed. It was a strange conversation to be having with a near stranger but Jake listened with the same intensity with which he looked at her. She could tell he was absorbing every word.
It must be something to belong to a wolf pack, if they’re all like this.

She’d never been so very much the centre of attention. She could feel herself craving it, like an instant addict – and the gentle, clever way he handled Gary was mesmerizing.
Whoa, slow down there, kiddo. Don’t make this more than it is.

“Where does your family live?” he asked.

She cleared her throat, drawing herself up.
Distance yourself.
“A long way away. I’ve kept what I am a secret up until now.”

Jake put his medical instruments away. “Don’t worry. I get it. The business world is fey-averse. I won’t tell a soul.”

The way he said it made Selina feel bad about involving him in her lie. “Sorry.”

He snapped the bag shut, his expression suddenly tight. “It’s not just the fey who’ve got a bad rep.”

“But we’re the only ones who can’t join the Chamber of Commerce, or get an import/export licence, or bid on government contracts. Wereanimals aren’t treated that way. Neither are vampires.” Selina heard the heat in her voice, but couldn’t help herself. “Not all fey are leprechauns, you know. Most of us are honest.”

Jake shook his head. “Some humans still think my people carry lycanthropy. I wanted to be a doctor. Only the vet school would accept my application. Of course, to a werewolf, vet and doctor are pretty close to the same thing. Then again, I might have tried to be a cop and ended up the dogcatcher.” He laughed ruefully.

“So you don’t even get the prestige of being an M.D.?”

Jake continued to smile, but something more serious lurked in his eyes. “The prestige I can live without, but I wish I had more resources. There’s a lot of work to be done in supernatural medicine. As you saw first-hand, no one has even discovered an effective sedative for people like Steve.”

Selina swallowed. Her clients could drop a fortune on an antique vase. How much research would those dollars buy? “You’d think people would do the research just for the sake of science.” The moment she said it, she realized how naive that was, coming from a businesswoman.

For a moment, it looked like he struggled with how much to say. “The medical community doesn’t understand us, and doesn’t want to. I even had to fight to get a veterinary licence. The board was seriously afraid I would eat some old lady’s chihuahua. Get serious. One of those things wouldn’t even cover a piece of toast.”

Selina smiled at his jibe, but she could hear his bitterness. She dropped her shields a notch. His emotions were clear: frustrated, passionate, but also relieved to be sharing his feelings. That threw her. He was the perfect listener, but he also needed to be heard.

But why me?
Why was he talking to her, a half-fey recluse?

The answer wasn’t hard to find. As an empath, she could feel what he felt in her own body. Jake faced the world with squared shoulders, feet firmly planted, his muscles braced to take everyone’s burden. He was the go-to guy for his community, always on call, always ready to answer someone else’s needs. He didn’t get much chance to let his fur down.
An alpha
.

She was isolated by choice, he by responsibility. Suddenly, they had something very important in common.

“Do you want to get a pizza?” she said impulsively. “I know a good place that delivers.”

Selina felt suddenly faint. The impetuous move had taken her breath away.

His eyebrows lifted. “Are you sure? I didn’t think you were into wolves.”

She looked out the window, unable to meet his eyes. “I’m more of a cat person, but I’d feel better if you stuck around for Gary’s sake.”

“I’m happy to be of service but, uh, Gary’s going to be just fine.”

She gave him a sidelong glance. She felt that hot, hard focus again, as if every cell of his being were paying attention only to her. It was unnerving, but there was something incredibly attractive about finally being seen. All at once, she wasn’t the family misfit or just the numbers gal. She was, judging from Jake’s expression, someone wonderful.
Go, me
.

“What do wolves take on their pizzas?”

“This one likes pepperoni. The hotter the better.”

Selina ordered two huge pies, and it was a good thing. Werewolves were bottomless pits. So were baby gargoyles. Gary revived enough to flop off his perch and waddle over to the Victorian-era clawfoot side table, where Selina and Jake had put the pizza boxes while they watched a baseball game on her woefully tiny TV.

Jake, it turned out, had a thing for the Mariners. Gary had a thing for pepperoni, napkins, hand wipes, and anything else that would fit in his beak. Selina was grateful when Gary finally slumped against her side and started to snore. She’d begun to daydream about duct taping him to the perch before he choked on the remote control.

Jake wiped the gargoyle spit from the remote on to his jeans and muted the commercials. “So, I’ve got a question.”

“What?” Selina asked around a mouthful of pizza.

He frowned, lacing his hands behind his head and stretching out his long legs. He was utterly at ease, taking up as much space as he wanted. “I totally understand wanting to hold down a humans-only job, but did you give up magic just for that reason?”

She chewed and swallowed. “My magic’s not very good. I have the family talent but not always the strength to control it.” She could feel her powers now, moving of their own accord, testing the atmosphere. They sometimes did that when her emotions were aroused.

“But you can help people. I don’t just mean like Steve, but you can tell what people really need or want. Doesn’t that apply no matter what you do?”

She stopped and took a swallow of cola, telling her magic to go back to sleep. “I don’t need superpowers to do my job. I’m successful in the human world.”

He pinned her with that hundred-watt stare. “But your non-human talents?”

“Spending my day around beautiful art and antiques makes my fey side happy.”

“Is that enough? Doesn’t it bother you having to hide who you are?”

“I’m fine with things the way they are.” The lie tasted ashy. “Someday I want a gallery of my own. I have to play by the rules.”

“You can partner up with other people. Other supernaturals, maybe. Get them to buy the import licences.”

The idea momentarily stunned her. She’d been so set on living as a human, that this was an option she’d never considered. It flew in the face of the things that made her feel safe: working alone, and hiding who she was.

“I’ve made it this far on my own.”

Jake flashed an amused grin. “You’re very determined. I like that.”

Selina was suddenly breathless again. “And I order a mean pizza, too.”

“I think your pizza is the soul of kindness.” He leaned forward, bringing those intense brown eyes of his closer and closer.

His lips were so soft that she wasn’t certain when the kiss started, but she sure knew when Jake ramped it into high gear. If his gaze was as intense as a searchlight, his kiss was . . . search turned to rescue. Or maybe that was surrender.

She tasted pizza and cola and something darker, the essence of wolf. It spiced his scent, the texture of his dark hair, the way he finally released her mouth only to place feathery nips along the shell of her ear. Her blood rushed with eager desire, suddenly hot with the need to know exactly how well a werewolf played doctor.

Selina subsided, yielding to Jake’s weight. Gary squawked an indignant protest. They’d forgotten he was cuddled between Selina and the arm of the couch. Selina and Jake froze mid-swoon. Selina bit her lip, then cleared her throat.

“I guess not in front of the kids.”

Wordlessly, Jake pulled her to her feet, leaving the gargoyle in possession of the warm couch cushions. Gary waded to the softest spot and curled up into a sleepy ball.

Jake slid his hand down Selina’s back, his touch so slow and precise that she nearly felt every ridge of his fingertips through the silk of her blouse. She wound her arms around his neck, resting her head just under his chin.

Empathy and dating were normally a bad mix. First dates – and who knew at the start of the evening that this would be one? – were sucky enough without brutal truths. But, with the same impulse as squinting through her fingers while watching a horror movie, Selina couldn’t help it. She peeked into Jake’s emotions.

Of course, she could feel his sexual interest. It was all male. But, beneath all that was admiration. He was curious. Intrigued. Fascinated. He saw her as worthy.

And so is he
, her powers whispered. Her mind understood that he was smart, handsome and kind. Her body knew something wild inside him made her heart pound. The knowledge was instant, as immediate as a touch or sound.

Jake popped the top button of her blouse, letting his lips roam. She thrust her fingers into his thick hair, feeling the springy texture of it. He smelled wonderful; his mouth on her throat felt soft and dangerous at once. Dizziness spun her senses. She let them. The pure, strong enjoyment of a new lover was too good to miss.

“I can feel your magic tingle over my hands,” he whispered. “You’ve the taste of the fey, sweet like wildflowers, but you’re also warm and earthy, like a human.”

“All the better to eat me?”

“All the better to keep you close. You can’t hide from me.”

His kiss brought her to her toes. His fingers skimmed the silk of her blouse, lingering over her ribs, then closed over her breasts. Selina made a noise somewhere between a sigh and a cry of protest. He was moving too slow and too fast at once. Her own hands reached downward, finding the rough cloth of his jeans. Her palms felt incredibly sensitive, the denim the most fascinating texture she’d ever touched.

Her magic was riding his desire, multiplying it by her own, and feeding it back to both of them in an ever-stronger loop. She’d opened her shields after that first doozy of a kiss, and now her magic was running amok. Fey power crashed through barriers that would have prolonged the dating ritual for weeks before she’d have allowed this kind of heat.
Oops
.

“Guess what,” she murmured in Jake’s ear.

“Hmm?”

“I think my magic has got us on the fast track.”

“Better than striking me dead on the kitchen floor.”

“I don’t want to take advantage of you.”

He gave her a toothy grin. “Concern duly noted. Now, do you want to play Red Riding Hood or a really twisted version of Three Little Pigs?”

The gallery opening finally came on a clear, moonlit May night. Selina arrived early for two reasons. One was to deal with last-minute details – Janos had resumed complete command of the gallery and everything had to be perfect. The other was that Mrs McAdams had asked to meet Gary, and an antiques collector of her calibre couldn’t be denied. Not when her request was so easily fulfilled.

“Here he is!” said Selina, carrying Gary to where Mrs McAdams was standing by the plinth with her snuff box. Nearby, a waiter hovered with a tray of hors d’oeuvres. Another passed out flutes of champagne.

Gary blinked his big, green eyes and stretched out one of his front paws to the old lady. The appealing gesture melted everyone who saw it.

“Oh, he is adorable!” Mrs McAdams exclaimed, clapping her hands together.

The sound disappeared beneath the low murmur of conversation. It was still early, only half the expected guests present, but the champagne was already causing the sound level to rise. The gallery looked wonderful, its gilded plasterwork lit by candles and artfully concealed track lighting. The space had once been the lobby of an Edwardian hotel and still had the original high, coffered ceiling and marble floors. The rest of the fixtures were spare and modern, showing off the French antiques and artwork with no distractions.