Operation Saving Daniel (Entangled Covet) (15 page)

“You’re beautiful,” he murmured, and she swayed toward him, giving in to the need, and placing her hand flat on the hot skin of his chest. Beneath her palm, she could feel the rapid thud of his heart, and she slid her hand down, ran her fingers through the hair, then hooked them in the waistband of his jeans.

“So are you, and you’re wearing way too many clothes.” She flicked open the button and lowered the zipper. He was already hot and hard and his erection sprang free. She wrapped her hand around him, soft velvet skin over a core of steel, and squeezed gently. Dropping to her knees, she pushed his jeans down over his thighs, leaned in close, breathing in the musky scent of him. Above her, he’d gone still, and he didn’t move as she kissed the tip of his erection. Taking him in her mouth, she sucked gently, loving the salty, clean taste of him and the way his swollen shaft pulsed against her lips.

He groaned as his hands shifted to her shoulders and he pulled away slightly, tugging her to her feet.

“I want to make love to you.” He stroked her cheek then cupped her face in his hand. His palm was hot. “Can we have tonight and not think about the future?”

“Please.”

He lifted her and carried her to the bed, laying her down on the mattress and stretching out beside her. Leaning over her, he kissed the tips of her breasts, then lower, dipping his tongue into her navel and she squirmed.

“Stay still,” he murmured. “Or I’ll stop.”

She went still, even holding her breath as he blew gently on the curls at the base of her belly. A pulse throbbed insistently between her thighs. Clasping her legs above the knees, he bent them up against her body, opening her to him, parting the folds of her sex with one hand.

“Christ, you are gorgeous, I’ve dreamed of you so many times.” Then he was devouring her, his tongue tasting, probing. His mouth hot, burning where he touched, and the heavy weight of desire built inside her. His tongue licked a long slow swipe across her sex, pushing inside her, teasing her clit with the warm, wet tip, until she was sobbing for release. Finally, he sucked the swollen nub into his mouth, bit down gently, and she came screaming.

“Shhhh,” he whispered. Clamping his hand over her mouth, he suckled her as her back arched, and she came again.

The pleasure was still pulsating through her as he rolled her onto her front. Wrapping a hand around her waist, he pulled her onto her hands and knees, and came up behind her. He nudged her thighs apart and the scalding heat of his shaft pressed against her.

He pushed into her slowly, filling her completely. “Did you know,” he murmured, leaning close to her ear so his breath whispered across her skin, “that werewolves have superhuman strength?” He flexed his hips and pushed into her, filling her again. “And amazing stamina.”

The muscles of her stomach clenched at the words.

“I could keep this up all night if I wanted to.”

“Is that a challenge?” she said and tightened her inner muscles around him until a spasm rippled through his body.

He started to move, keeping the pace erotically slow, leaning down over her, to scatter moist kisses across her shoulders and throat. One hand gripped her hips, holding her steady, the other slid around to cup her breast and tease the nipple, and lower, down over her belly and between her thighs to lightly stroke her clit. She was still sensitive and she came at once, burrowing her face in the pillow, to cut off her screams. The last thing she needed right now was Julia running to the rescue.

She closed her eyes as the waves of pleasure rolled through her body. Then he ground his hips against her, his whole body stiffening as he reached his own orgasm and spilled himself inside her.

…

Daniel did manage to keep it up most of the night—literally. They dozed once or twice, but were awake as the sun came up, bleeding light into the room. The night was over and the future had to be faced.

“Tell me what happened. How you became a werewolf. Everything,” she said.

“You always did want to know everything.” He sat up, leaned back against the wall, and pulled her against his side. “Okay, where to start. I was twenty-four and had just finished my doctorate and been offered my dream job. I’d taken some holiday first and booked myself a flight to Africa—”

Shock hit her in the gut and she straightened and turned so she could see his face. “Why were you going to Africa?”

“I was coming to get you, of course. I’d decided you’d run long enough and if I left it any longer you might run right into someone else and I’d lose you. I even had a ring—”

He was breaking her heart all over again and she took refuge in flippancy. “Not the same one you gave to Sophia, I hope.”

“No. Not the same one. It’s a yellow diamond, the closest I could get to match your eyes.”

She wanted that ring, it was hers, but she held back while Daniel finished his story.

“You were right that night, when you seduced me. Not that I needed much seducing—”

“No, you were definitely easy.”

“You said I was waiting for my princess, and I was, but it was you, always you.”

“I didn’t know. That summer, I’d do increasingly stupid things just to get some reaction from you, but it never worked.”

“I didn’t want to scare you off. You never used to talk about your family, but there was obviously some reason you were wary. Julia was the only person you ever opened up to.”

He was right. If he had come on strong back then, it would have sent her running for cover.

“Anyway,” he continued, “life seemed perfect. Until one night, two days before I was due to fly out, I went out for a drink. On the way home, I was attacked. It was Ethan. He’d targeted me on purpose; apparently he’d read an article about me in a scientific journal. He needed someone to head up some research and decided on me.”

“Did he hurt you?”

“Yes, but strangely, he was almost gentle. He was human, except for his hand—some of the more powerful wolves can change only part of their form—and he drew it down across my chest. It felt like a burn, as though it would sear me to the bone. Then he knocked me out. When I woke up I was locked in a cell, a silver cell. I stayed there for a week until the first full moon when I shifted. Ethan explained what was going to happen—he told me I was privileged.”

“Lucky you.”

“Yeah, you’ve got that right. I didn’t see it that way. From the top of the world to the bottom of a big pile of shit. I went wild, refused to cooperate. I wanted nothing to do with Ethan or the pack. When I threatened to out them to the world, they decided to stop me.”

From the tone of his voice, she knew something bad was about to be said. She wanted to cover her ears, but forced herself to ask. “What did they do?”

“They killed Barbara.”

Shock flashed through her and for a moment, she couldn’t speak. “I don’t understand.”

“What’s there to understand? It’s quite simple. When I was first changed, I refused to do as they asked. So they showed me I really didn’t have a choice. Not if I wanted any of my family to survive.”

She swallowed, the full horror washing over her. “Are you sure?”

“It was Sophia. She had them tie me up and made me watch as they raped her. Afterward, they ripped out her throat—she died screaming, pleading with me to help her. So yes, I’m sure.” Intense pain flashed in his eyes and he closed them briefly. He pressed his fingers to his lids, then ran a hand through his hair. When he opened his eyes, the expression was gone and she wondered how hard it had been to hide his feelings from everyone. For all these years. He must have felt so alone. She reached out and rested her hand on his forearm and he laid his hand on top of hers and squeezed gently.

“And guess what,” he said, his tone bitter, “if I’m a good boy and behave myself, they won’t repeat the exercise with the rest of my family.” He’d been gazing out into the rain, now he glanced back at her. “Or with you.”

“I’m glad Sophia’s dead.”

“So am I. But now they know what you mean to me, so you see why I need you to go.”

She did see, but how could she leave Daniel to face this alone?

“Will you be punished for Sophia?”

“Probably. She was useful to Ethan. He might be an evil bastard but he was never sadistic like Sophia—he used her for punishing pack members.”

“It doesn’t sound like much fun being a werewolf.”

She found it hard to believe that they had murdered Barbara. Daniel had had to watch it and now live with the fear of the same thing happening to his other sisters. How terrible that one wrong move could mean the death of those you love.

“We’re going to stop them,” she said.

“Haven’t you listened to a word I’ve said? I won’t risk it.”

“There has to be a way.” She nibbled on her lower lip while she decided whether she should repeat what Jason had told her. Maybe if Daniel was aware other people were investigating Ethan Stone he might not feel so alone, might think there was some hope of getting free.

“Jason was here today.”

“What did he want?”

“To warn us about you. He said you were dangerous.”

“Perceptive of him.”

“But he also mentioned Ethan Stone. He said there are a lot of people who want to see him put away. That he’s into a whole load of dodgy things.”

“You’re not telling me anything I don’t already know.”

“But don’t you see, it means if you go up against him, you’re not alone.”

“He’ll come after my family.”

“You have to tell everyone, Daniel. Not knowing puts them in more danger.” She added, “If I’d understood what you were, would I have walked into Sophia’s trap last night? No, I would have been on my guard.”

“They’ll think I’m a monster.”

Shock flashed through her at his words. Did he think of himself as a monster? “You’re not a monster. In some ways it will be a relief—they’ve been really worried about you—you were acting so un-Daniel-like, and getting engaged to Sophia…”

He cast her an incredulous look, but tinted with a hint of amusement. “You reckon finding out their brother is a werewolf is better than thinking I’m marrying Sophia.”

“Oh yes. Way better.”

He laughed, a short sharp laugh. Then he ran a hand over his face, pressing his fingers in his scalp. “I don’t know. I just don’t know.”

“I can’t let you go, so if you think I’m going to calmly run away and hide and leave you in danger, you are
so
mistaken.”

“I don’t want you to leave. I don’t like it when you’re not close by.” He glanced at her face as if deciding whether to tell her something he wasn’t sure she would like.

“Come on, Danny boy, spill it. I recognize that expression. You’re hiding something from me.”

He smiled again. “I think you might be my mate.”

“‘Mate’ as in wolves mating?”

“Yeah.” He looked at her warily.

“Er, it may have escaped your notice, but I’m not a wolf.”

“I noticed, and it shouldn’t happen. But it has, and I’m not sure I could let you walk away now, not without a fight.”

She had a flashback to him in wolf form, the huge teeth, the claws. “Not, literally, I hope.”

His eyes widened. “I could never hurt you.”

“Only kidding. I know you would never hurt me. So, where do we go from here? Will you come with me, at least talk to Jason, find out what information he has on Ethan? I’m not saying tell him about the whole werewolf thing, but at least find out what he knows about your boss.”

Daniel was silent, but she didn’t interrupt his thoughts. Finally, he opened his mouth to answer as a tap sounded on the door, and he closed it abruptly.

Lissa didn’t even have time to shout “go away.” The door opened a few inches and Julia peeped around. She grinned at them sitting in bed. “Thank God, you aren’t shagging.”

She nudged the door open the rest of the way with her nose as she carried two mugs of coffee in her hands. Hovering at the bottom of the bed, she stared at them, a satisfied smile on her face. Then she gave a huge sigh. “I always wanted you two to get together. Now you’ll really be my sister. How cute is that?”

“Really cute,” Lissa said drily. “What are you doing up so early?”

“I heard talking and thought it was safe to come in.”

“What were you doing? Listening at the door?”

A faint stain of crimson stole across her cheeks. Lissa wasn’t sure she’d ever seen Julia blush before.

“I sort of came in last night and went out again—real fast. I don’t think the two of you noticed me.” Lissa gave her a narrow-eyed stare. “Well, I heard you scream, and I thought The Evil One might have come back to finish the job. I was rushing to the rescue.”

“Thanks.”

“Obviously, I realized that you weren’t in any danger.” Julia shuddered. “But let me tell you—that was more of my brother than I ever want to see.” She grinned. “Nice ass though.”

Lissa decided to shut the image from her mind as Julia came around the bed and handed them both a coffee. She sat up straighter, tucking the sheet under her breasts as Julia perched on the edge of the bed. It didn’t look as though she was going anywhere.

“So are you two going to tell me what’s going on?” Julia asked.

She glanced across at Daniel, but he gave a slight shake of his head. “No,” he said. “But I’m going to go talk to Lissa’s brother this morning and you’re welcome to come along.”

Lissa felt the tension inside her unwind. At least he was willing to consider help. That was the first step.

Chapter Sixteen

“I’d like to see Jason Jackson, please. I’m his sister.”

Daniel and Julia hung back as Lissa spoke with the receptionist, but his gaze didn’t leave her. He wasn’t sure he would ever let her out of his sight again.

“You really love her, don’t you?”

He turned at Julia’s softly spoken question and frowned. “Yes.” Then he returned his attention to Lissa.

Julia shook her head. “The way you were watching her, it was so intense. Like you wanted to devour her whole. But she’s my best friend, so I have to ask you what your intentions are.”

“What?”

“Come on, Daniel. Four days ago, you got engaged to somebody else, and granted that was the biggest error in judgment I have ever seen. But even you have to admit it’s a big turn around.”

He dragged his gaze from Lissa and back to his sister. She was like a gnat, small, persistent, and irritating.

“It’s none of your business.” Yeah, like that answer was going to work with one of his sisters.

“Duh, you’re my brother and she’s my best friend. I think that makes it very much my business. I’m in place of her family; someone’s got to check on your intentions.”

“My intentions?”

“Are they honorable?”

“Hell, no. But if you mean will I marry her—then yes, if she’ll have me and if I get out of the mess I’ve somehow gotten myself into.”

Luckily, Lissa came back at that point and saved him from more awkward questions. As they took the stairs up to the first floor, he slipped his hand into hers. He needed to touch her, not in a sexual way, just to reaffirm the connection between them. Jason was waiting for them outside his office, and Daniel kept a tight grip on Lissa’s hand as they approached her brother.

The other man’s gaze shifted downward, and a frown formed on his face. He came toward them and held out his own hand.

Their gazes locked and Daniel allowed a little of wolf to trickle into his eyes when he took the other man’s hand. But there was no point in getting into some sort of who’s-strongest contest, because he knew he was. So he kept his grip light, which seemed to surprise Jason. Good.

“Come into my office,” Jason said. “And we’ll talk.”

Jason had a big office, nowhere near as large as his of course, but big enough and on the corner of the building so it had windows on two sides. Jason sat behind the desk and indicated they should take the seats opposite. Daniel took the middle chair with Julia and Lissa on either side.

“So what are you doing holding hands with my little sister when according to Julia you got engaged to another woman last weekend?”

Daniel wasn’t used to explaining himself, but he tamped down his irritation. He would have asked the same thing if it had been one of his sisters.

“Sophia is out of the picture,” he said.

“How far out and for how long?”

“All the way and permanently.”

“Good.” Jason studied him and Daniel returned the look, giving nothing away. At least he hoped he was giving nothing away. “So how involved are you in Ethan Stone’s illegal activities?”

The directness of the question took him by surprise, if not the question itself. It must have shown on his face because Jason grinned.

“I’m not at all involved. I think you’ll find that Stone Research is squeaky clean.”

“But you knew of the activities?”

Daniel shrugged. “I suspected.” But when you considered he had also been aware that Ethan Stone was responsible for the murder of at least ten people since they’d first met, a little smuggling and money laundering were hardly likely to shock him.

Jason pursed his lips and thought for a moment. “And are you willing to help put a stop to him?”

Shit, he’d love to put a stop to Ethan, but it wasn’t that easy. Ethan was old—over two hundred years old—and you didn’t get to live that long without learning how to take care of yourself. Ethan had made contacts, bribed people, blackmailed others; he had a huge network of people he could call on. Hell, he wasn’t sure if it was possible to stop Ethan except by killing him and that wasn’t exactly an easy option either.

“You think you can stop him? You’re crazy—you have no idea what you’re up against.”

“And would you like to explain it.”

“No.” He stared out the window. The truth was he didn’t know what to do or who to trust. Lissa’s small hand crept into his, she squeezed tight, and reassurance flowed into him. There
were
people he could trust. But once he spoke the words, he could set in motion events that would see his family slaughtered. Could he protect them? Wolf woke and stretched sleepily. Wolf reckoned yes.

“Tell me what you know,” he said to Jason. He’d listen and afterward, he’d make a decision.

Jason nodded. “There’s someone I’d like to join us. Stella Banks contacted me after I sent out the first searches on Ethan Stone. She’s government and she checks out.”

“The government is investigating Ethan?”

“Yeah, and they have been for a long time.”

That was interesting. “Okay, let her join us.”

Jason picked up his phone and spoke quietly, then sat back and studied them, his gaze shifting from Daniel to Lissa. “So what is it with you two?”

Neither of them answered. Eventually Julia spoke. “Lissa took Daniel’s virginity ten years ago, and now she’s going to do the honorable thing and marry him.”

“Thanks, Julia,” Lissa snapped. “Just what I wanted to share with
my
brother.”

Julia shrugged. “It’s the truth.”

“Actually, Daniel hasn’t asked me yet.”

“Well, you ask him then.”

Daniel smiled. It was good to see someone else at the receiving end of his sister’s verbal attacks. A frown had formed between Lissa’s eyes and Daniel waited to hear what she had to say. It was true—he hadn’t asked her to marry him. One—he wasn’t sure he was going to be alive long enough to marry anyone, and two—if he did somehow survive, he presumed they would get married. Did he need to ask her?

He was still trying to work it out when Lissa spoke. “Daniel, will you marry me?”

“Yes, if—”

She held up a hand. “No, don’t spoil it. A simple yes will do.” She flicked her gaze between Julia and Jason. “There? Happy now? Both our intentions are honorable.”

“I’ll tell you whether I’m happy when we find out what his involvement is with Ethan Stone.”

The door opened behind them and Daniel turned as a woman entered the room. She was tall, with pale skin and dark hair pulled back in some sort of bun thing at the back of her head. She wore a charcoal-gray pantsuit, flat shoes, and he knew that beneath the tailored jacket she wore a shoulder holster and a gun. He could smell it.

After introductions, Stella Banks said, “Mr. Melville, Jason says I can trust you. I’m not convinced yet, but I’m willing to take the risk if it will help us stop Ethan Stone.”

Daniel was surprised, because Jason hadn’t given the impression that he trusted him, if anything the opposite.

He took the hand she held out. As they touched, she reacted instantly, her eyes widening as she stared at the point of contact. Then she jerked back, drew her gun, and pointed it straight at Daniel.

“Shit,” she said. “You’re one of them.”

Daniel’s eyes narrowed. He’d never come across a human who could tell what they were. “If you know that, you should also know not to stand so close.” He moved fast, his hand flashing out with inhuman speed to snatch the gun from her grip.

Behind him, he was aware Jason drew a weapon from somewhere, but he concentrated on the woman in front of him.

“Hey, everybody, just calm down,” Jason said.

Daniel’s fingers tightened around the gun, and then he shrugged and tossed it back to her. She caught it lightly and held it aimed at his chest, but she appeared uncertain.

“Are you going to shoot me, Ms. Banks?”

“No, she’s not,” Jason snapped. “Not in my office anyway. Put the gun away, Stella.”

She tore her gaze from Daniel. “Are you aware what he is?”

Julia moved up to stand between her and Daniel. “He’s my brother, that’s what he is.”

Daniel almost smiled.

Stella looked around the room. When her gaze returned to Daniel, the shock was gone but her expression was still wary. All the same, she holstered her weapon and some of the tension drained from the room.

“Do any of you know what he is?” she asked.

“I do,” Lissa said. She came to stand beside him and gripped his hand in hers. “And if you want to shoot Daniel, you’ll have to shoot me first.”

“And me,” Julia said.

“No one’s shooting anyone.” Jason came around his desk to join the group. “Except maybe me, if someone doesn’t tell me what the fuck is going on.”

“Yeah, what’s going on, Lissa?” Julia asked.

“It’s Daniel’s secret not mine.”

“Actually, it doesn’t seem to be a secret at all.” He turned to study Stella, who’d wrapped her composure around her like a cloak. “How did you know?”

“I’m a clairsentient.”

“And that means?”

“I can feel people’s auras.”

He hadn’t even been aware he had an aura. “And what do you feel in mine?”

“You know what I feel—wolf.”

“Wolf?” Julia asked. “Why would you feel wolf?”

“Your brother is a werewolf.”

Julia’s mouth dropped open. Jason seemed less surprised; maybe he’d come across werewolves before.

Julia turned to Daniel, her eyes wide. “She’s shitting us, right?”

“Wrong,” he said. It was almost worth being a werewolf to see one of his sisters struck dumb.

Julia whirled around to face Lissa. “And you knew this and didn’t tell me?”

“Only the night before last.”

Julia’s eyes widened as something occurred to her. “Oh my God, Sophia is a werewolf as well—now that makes perfect sense.”

“
Was
a werewolf,” Daniel corrected.

“She’s dead?” Jason asked.

“She tried to kill Lissa.”

“Did you kill this Sophia, Mr. Melville?” Stella asked.

“No, but I would have. She was evil.”

“And aren’t you evil? Aren’t all your kind evil?”

“No!” Lissa and Julia spoke in unison and Daniel smiled—at least he had people who believed in him.

“It’s not Daniel’s fault,” Lissa said. “Your Ethan Stone bit him.”

But Daniel considered the question. Did he think all werewolves were evil? At first he had believed that, but while Wolf was untamed, primal, and often acted on instinct rather than reason, he wasn’t evil. But maybe Ethan had started out believing the same. Maybe as time passed, the wolf became stronger, more dominant, finally shedding its human inhibitions altogether. And Daniel had accelerated that process by taking the drug he’d developed, each dose making his wolf stronger and him a little less human. He would push that even further if he had to. Though he would only go that route as a last resort. The thought that he could ultimately become like Ethan, maybe worse than Ethan, filled him with terror. And he was so close. He’d recognized that when he’d attacked Sophia with no regrets.

“I don’t know if we’re all evil,” he answered Stella’s question.

Julia cast him little sideways glances, and Daniel bared his teeth at her and growled.

She scowled. “I still don’t believe it.”

Daniel raised his free arm—the one Lissa wasn’t gripping—flexed his fingers, and willed them to shift; the change surged through him like magic, fur flowed over his skin and claws popped out from his fingertips. Tonight was a full moon and Wolf paced just beneath the surface. When the moon rose, he would run free.

Julia’s hand trembled as she reached out, but he drew back before she could touch him. “Don’t—if you get a scratch while I’m in this form, you’ll change.”

“Or she’ll die,” Stella said. “Many don’t become wolves. They can’t shift, and it tears their bodies apart.”

“You sound like you have experience of this,” Daniel said.

Stella rubbed her arms as though she could feel the magic. “I had a sister; she was a year younger than me, her gift stronger. I guess Ethan Stone thought it would be amusing or useful to have a clairsentient in his pack. He had her attacked and she died. She was seventeen years old.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Are you?”

“Ethan had my sister killed as well. He didn’t do it personally, but he gave the order.” He turned to Julia. “I’m sorry.”

“Babs?” Julia stared at him, eyes filled with horror. Lissa tugged free of his hand, crossed to her, and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. She led her over to a leather sofa against the far wall and they huddled together, Lissa talking softly, presumably telling Julia what had happened.

Daniel dragged his attention back to Stella. “At first, I refused to cooperate. They killed Barbara and threatened to kill the rest of my family one by one if I didn’t do as I was told. So I did.”

“Until now,” Jason said softly “Where are the rest of your family?”

“Still in Spain. I’ve employed a security company—they’re keeping guard on the villa.”

“That should be enough.” Jason sat down and pulled a bottle of whiskey from his bottom drawer followed by a bunch of glasses. “I think we’re due a drink. It’s not often you discover the fairy-tale monsters are real.”

“Thanks,” Daniel said drily. He sank into his chair and concentrated on his hand until he had fingers again. “The claws are great for ripping people’s throats out, not so good for holding glasses.”

Jason grinned and pushed a half-full glass toward him. Daniel swallowed it in one go. He was feeling strangely light. He’d shouldered this on his own for so long and the thought that he was not alone touched him somewhere deep inside. Maybe Ethan wasn’t invincible; maybe there was a way to bring him down. Surely even Ethan couldn’t stand against the government. He turned to Stella.