Unquenchable Desire (9 page)

“The wolf who fought by your side
to defeat Valerie’s attacker is my half-brother and also a werewolf. He’s
Valerie’s protector.”
Damon eye-balled him, his stare
piercing.
“Would you like to be her protector, too, and get paid for it?
You can keep your landscaping job. This will be extra. It’ll require that you
move into the mansion, room and board free, and stick with her. Not only when
the moon is full, but anytime
she goes
anywhere alone.
It’s more than a full time job.” He
steepled
his
fingers again, his gaze deadly. “And you have to keep your hands off of my
Valerie.”

“I’m willing to protect her for
free. But I can’t promise not to touch her. And I won’t lie to you.”

Damon strode over to him swiftly,
hand
raised
as though to strike him. Instead he extended
his hand. “I admire an honest man.
Deal.
You’re
hired.”

Brian shook his head in disbelief. “May
I ask a personal question?”

“As long as you
don’t expect an answer.”

“How many years away is the
perfection of the serum that will cure us?”

“Maybe months if we can get a
couple of werewolves to volunteer to get tested.”

Brian laughed without humor. “I was
waiting for you to get back to that.”

“Volunteer is the key word. You
have no worries.”

“What if no one volunteers?”

“We’ll still find the cure; it’ll
just take longer.”

Brian felt like a fish on a hook,
being slowly reeled in.

“Don’t look so devastated. There’s
another possible answer. For instance, our family curse can be broken by true
love. When we love someone enough to sacrifice ourselves for them and then
prove it, we are freed from the curse.”

Brian felt the hook deepen and the
pace of the reeling quicken. “What if my curse doesn’t work that way?”

“Then, testing is probably the only
answer for you. That is, if you’re in a hurry.”

Brian felt a cold sweat break out
on his upper lip.
What the hell have I
gotten myself into?

****

The mid-summer sun slanted low
across the azure-blue sky, into the rose arbor and fell at their feet. Valerie
had the oddest feeling that something had changed between her and Brian. Her
tension grew as the silence extended beyond her comfort zone. “You’re upset,”
she murmured.

Without warning, Brian grabbed her,
then roughly drew her into his arms and kissed her savagely.

She pulled away and stepped back. “What
happened between you and my dad? Did he fire you?”

Brian’s expression lost its
tension. His sardonic laugh snapped the morning air like a whip. “He hired me
to watch over you. I told him I’d do it for free. I couldn’t live with myself
if anything happened to you.”

The fact that Brian felt so
strongly about keeping her safe sent a surge of love to her heart.
 
“So what’s the problem?”

“He ordered me not to touch you.”

“I hope you told him to go to
hell.”

“I didn’t think it was advisable to
use those words with my employer and a man who has the power to send me away.”

“So
it’s
hands off from now on, is it?”

“No. I politely told him that the
hands-off thing couldn’t be part of the deal. And he hesitantly agreed.”

“So exactly what’s
the deal?”

“I get to keep my job and move into
the mansion, room and board free. In addition, he insists upon paying me to be
your bodyguard and constant companion.”

She stepped closer, looked up him
with a flirtatious grin, and toyed with the button on his shirt. “So why are
you so mad?”

“He strongly encouraged, almost to
the point of pressuring me, to volunteer for some tests. It didn’t like it. It
felt like blackmail.”

“Forget it. He’s used to
negotiating. And he likes to win in every deal.”

Brian frowned. The savage intensity
that had glistened in his eyes earlier was gone but his tone was bitter. “We’re
similar that way. But I still don’t like it.”

“There’s more to it. So why are you
really so enraged?”

“I can’t pinpoint a reason. Guarding
you and living in a mansion is a fantastic deal.”

“Right.
And
you don’t have to volunteer, so what’s the real problem?”

“Are you suggesting that the
problem is within me?”

“You said it. I didn’t. But I know
Dad and he no doubt cleverly planted the feeling that if you really cared for
me you’d volunteer immediately. And now you feel guilty as hell for not
stepping up to the plate.”

“You should go into mind reading.”

She laughed and sent him a sidelong
glance.
“So now what?”

Before Brian could answer, Kyle
rushed up to them. “Miss Valerie. Your father has summoned you to his office
immediately. It‘s important.”

She touched Brian’s arm. “Guess
it’s my turn to sit in the hot seat. I’ll be back as soon as tell him what I
think of him summoning me like a slave.

Chapter Eight

Damon flinched when Valerie opened the door of his
office with such force that it slammed against the wall. Obviously, her hackles
were up. And were there two reasons?

It depended if Brian had a big mouth.

“What’s the big rush, Dad? You had Kyle order me here
on the double like I’m one of your employees.”

“Maybe because I’d like to hire you, or at least run an
idea by you, and I needed an answer right away.”
Good she was only upset about the manner in which he’d summoned her. Not
the Brian thing.

“Thanks, Dad, but I don’t want to work for you.” She
pushed aside the files he’d carefully laid out, rendering them askew and plunked
down on the edge of his desk. “Besides, I’m swamped with my studies.”

“I doubt that.” She had two more years of college to
get her master’s degree but— “You always find time for things you want to do. So
hear me out, okay?”

She folded her arms. “Okay. Shoot.”

“I really need your help. As you know, your mom is
already the head of two charities and I’ve gotten involved with a third called
New Beginnings. It’s a project to assist the children of recovering addicts and
you’re the perfect choice to head the project.”

“Other than the fact I care about kids, why me?” She
toyed with his crystal paperweight, driving him crazy.

He fought not to grab it away from her.
 
He didn’t think it wise to confess all the
reasons he’d chosen her for the job, for instance now that the full moon was
shrinking and losing its power over her, he wanted to give her somewhere else
to put her passions and something to think about besides satisfying her wolf
lust.

“Your central strength is your sensitivity. For this
project compassion is an imperative quality for the leader. And you have the
second essential as well.” He couldn’t help but laugh before he added, “It’s
your unfailing Lamont determination that you inherited from your mom and me.”

She gave the crystal a big spin. “I thought you didn’t
like that about me.”

He took a deep breath and fought not to grab the
spinning orb. “I like it. It just gets in my way when our determinations clash.
But you have all the important qualities, your intuitiveness about people and
the grit to fight to make things right for the underdog. Will you do it and
help me out?”

She met his gaze with a lupine steely look. “Does this
mean you recognize that I’m twenty-one and capable of such a huge undertaking?”

He loosened his collar.
“Of course.
That’s why I’m asking you.”

“So I’m finally an adult in your eyes?”

Damon felt prickles at his neck, fearing where this line of questioning
was leading. “What are you really asking, Baby?”

“Brian told me you ordered him to keep his hands off
me. Since I’d be such an asset to this charity, why can’t you give me credit
for managing my own relationships?”

“You’ll always be my little girl, and I get all these
protective feelings bursting inside of me. Did he tell you he turned me down?”

She nodded. “We have no secrets.”

“Oh, really?
Since I was hiring him to be
your bodyguard and move into the house, I did more checking on him this
morning. Did he tell you the old woman who raised him from about seven years old
to manhood was considered a bit off and that she taught him her recluse
beliefs? Do you want to give your heart to a guy with no sense of family? Imagine
a man with such strange beliefs raising your children.”

“You’re too late, Dad. I’ve already lost my heart to
him. So, I guess you don’t want a CEO with such questionable judgment to head
up your charity?”

Damon’s stomach knotted. How was he supposed to handle
this new woman his daughter had become? How could he protect her? He had to
try. “You’re wrong. You’re exactly the kind of leader I need.”

“Then I accept. But answer me this—why did you make
Brian my bodyguard and invite him into the house if you thought he was odd.”

“I knew if I fired him, he’d only hang around in the
hills, and I want a guy like that where I can watch him.”

She laughed. “Good answer, Dad. But it spite of all
you’ve said about him, I also think you like him. Maybe you even think you can
mold him into a little replica of yourself like you did with Rick. But Brian
isn’t Rick.”

Damon shook his head. He was already learning that. He
stuck out his hand.

She left it hanging there and looked at the chair in
front of his desk. “You shortened the legs again, Dad, didn’t you? That’s so
retro.”

He couldn’t stop a wry smile. She knew him too well. “Well
is it a deal or not?”

Valerie gave the crystal a third spin. “It’s a deal.” Then
she met his gaze square on and shook his hand firmly.

“There’s one more thing, Honey. I can’t control what
you do with Brian, but please don’t get pregnant. And stay aware at all times
that the threat of the resurrected dead requires you to be extremely careful
and not let your guard down.”

“I get it, Dad. But it isn’t just me in danger. If that
wolf is who you suggested, he wants the whole family dead.”

“I know and I’m trying to figure out what to do about
it.”

She smiled and touched his arm. “We’re all here to
help. You don’t have to do this alone, Dad. Trust us—share with us. Together we
make a pretty good team.” With that she sashayed out of the room.

The family had always worked well together, but Val was
the vulnerable link that Reeves had gone for before and would go after again.
Her humanness and gentle nature made her perfect for the charity CEO position,
but susceptible to evil. He closed his fists. Damn it. What he loved most about
her could get her killed.

****

Brian saw Valerie striding across the grass like she couldn’t put
distance between herself and the house fast enough. She stopped next to him and
beneath lush lashes, she sent him a sidelong glance. “How about that walk now?”
she said in a bitter tone. “I need to get away from here for a while.”

“Great. I think we both need a
change of scenery.” He slipped his warm hand into her cool one, trying to shake
his glum feeling. When he couldn’t, he sank into a silent fretful state until
they’d moved out of the sight of the mansion and the suffocating feeling that
the idea of moving in there gave him. “What can you tell me about those tests?”

“From what I understand they need
lycanthrope cursed blood to mix in the serum.

So far they’ve used moon poppies in
their complicated mix of serum. The mad scientist, Lazar, who worked for my dad
in the past, also used an ingredient he called mud extract X. But before
production, it was proven that the extract had toxic properties that could maim
and kill. The main hang-up now is the absence of a volunteer with lycanthrope
cursed blood. And without someone like that coming forward, they can’t test the
new serum. And without testing, Dad can’t get FDA approval. And he won’t
produce an unapproved serum. Uncle Hugh and I offered to be the guinea pigs but
Dad won’t use it on family until it’s approved.”

Brian tightened his jaw.
But her dad would happily use it on me.
 
Brian caught a glimpse of the backdrop of
rocky, savage hills. The wolf who resided within him was growing to love
them—they had given him a sense of freedom. Now he must give up some of his
non-conformity to move into the mansion. Would the rugged austerity of the land
constantly remind him of what he had given up?

Brian dropped down on a concrete
bench along the path and put his head in his hands, feeling worse than before. Valerie
sat down next to him and gently stroked the hair out of his eyes. Her tenderness
increased his sense of worthlessness. Damn. Damn. Damn. He could be the
salvation to Valerie and everyone with lycanthrope cursed blood. He felt a
trickle of sweat slide down his spine. He ached to grab Valerie and tell her
he’d do it for her. His mouth felt as dry as the
Trona
desert.

He stood again, drew her to her
feet, and started walking. He had to keep moving.
Needing the strength of her touch, he slipped his hand into hers
again. She looked up at him with those silver-flecked, lupine eyes. He lowered
his gaze to her lips. He ached to kiss her deeply, passionately like the steamy
way they’d released their ardor as they morphed from their werewolf state into
one another’s arms. An image flashed in his mind of them together beneath the
light of the moon. He’d never forget her musky, feral scent or her demand for
passion.