Seduced and Enchanted (6 page)

“Rosie?”

She couldn’t answer him, the pain was too intense.

41

Stephanie Julian

“Jesus, Rosie. You’re burning up.” Rio pressed his hand against her cheek, his skin cool and soothing.

Another pain racked her body, as if someone had injected her with hot lead. Her leg and arm muscles cramped and her stomach felt as if it had folded in on itself. What the hell was going on? And why did the bed feel as if it was shaking?

Christ. This was seriously bad.

Rosie looked as if she was about to melt from fever and Rio could’ve sworn the bed shook—from a force that emanated from Rosie.

She cried out, curling further into herself, and the bed shook again, harder this time.

“Rio,” her voice sounded raspy as if she had a sore throat, “what’s happening?”

“You’re burning up, sweetheart.” He gathered her into his arms. “We need to get you in a cool shower.”

She couldn’t answer as another pain twisted through her—and the piles of books around the bed toppled.

“Oh my God,” Rosie gasped. “What the hell’s going on? Are we having an earthquake?”

This was definitely no earthquake.

Rio couldn’t be sure but it was pretty likely Rosie wasn’t just any
etera
children’s librarian. With her Italian-sounding last name, he bet she was of Etruscan descent. But why hadn’t he sensed any
arus
in her?

There was no time to figure that one out. Right now they needed to get her fever down, fast.

With her shaking body in his arms, he moved into the hall and headed to the upstairs bathroom he’d found earlier.

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Seduced and Enchanted

“Rosie, have you ever had trouble controlling your powers before?” Obviously she had power. He just hadn’t been able to detect it earlier. Usually the
arus
in his blood recognized another magical being. But why hadn’t it recognized her?

Rosie groaned, trying to curl even further into herself. “What are you talking about?

What powers?”

Carefully, he set her on her feet, keeping one arm around her as he turned on the taps. “It’s all right, sweetheart. You can tell me what you are.”

The gaze she turned on him expressed utter confusion. “I don’t have a clue what you’re talking about.”

With the water at the right temperature, he eased her into the shower stall then stepped in behind her. He could have sworn the water sizzled as it hit her skin.

She moaned in relief and tilted her head up to catch the water on her face. “Oh God, that feels good.”

Standing behind her, he wrapped his arms around her so that if her knees buckled, he’d catch her. They stood in silence for a few minutes, letting the water run over them.

The shower must have done the trick, because her fever seemed to fade almost immediately.

“Rio.” Her voice sounded a little better as well.

“What, hon?”

“Sorry to be such a bother.”

“You’re not a bother.” Hell, he
wanted
to take care of her—which didn’t make a damn bit of sense. He’d only known her for a few hours. But deep down, he also knew that this felt right. The two of them together. No matter what was going on. And something was definitely going on.

She had cooled down to a normal temperature when she finally turned and wound her arms around his waist, pressing her chest to his. There was nothing sexual about the gesture and a curious warmth spread in his chest.

43

Stephanie Julian

“Rio, what did you mean earlier? About controlling my powers?”

Her genuinely confused tone rang warning bells in his head. “I mean, have you ever had something like this happen before? Where you lost control and stuff started flying around? I kind of assumed you were Etruscan, because of the name. But I didn’t get that sense from you. So are you
Fey
? Or Norse
Berserkir
?”

She shook her head, rubbing her soft cheek against his pecs. “You think I’m a fairy?

Or a bear?” she joked. Rosie pulled back and lifted her head to look into his eyes, a smile playing on her lips. “I think— Oh my God.”

Her eyes widened until they were saucers and she retreated a step, her back hitting the tile wall of the shower stall.

Rio frowned and reached for her but then pulled back when he realized she looked frightened. “Rosie, what’s wrong?”

“Your
ears
…”

Shit.
His hair was plastered to his head from the water. He hadn’t given a thought to how his ears would be exposed. Reaching up, he tugged on the pointed tips. A
linchetto
ear would never be mistaken for human. The lobe looked exactly like a human lobe but instead of the traditional oval shape at the top, a
linchetto
’s ear was almost triangular, pointing not straight up, but backward.

“Are they real?” she asked, her tone uncertain.

Jesus, how could she wield that kind of power and not know there were beings other than humans in the world? “I’m
linchetto
, Rosie. Of the Etruscan
Fata
.”

Her brow furrowed and her mouth opened then closed. “Huh?” She looked dumbfounded.

“Rosie…”

She shivered, her arms coming around her chest to hug herself. He saw goose bumps rising on her skin, so he reached behind her to shut off the cool water.

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Seduced and Enchanted

She looked so adorably confused he knew she wasn’t faking. She didn’t have a clue what he was talking about, and that was a big problem. But first things first.

“Let’s get you out of here.” He opened the stall door, grabbed a towel from the rack on the wall and wrapped her in it. “How are you feeling?”

Rosie shook her head and held up one hand—and every bottle of shampoo, conditioner and body wash on the shower shelves rattled. Her eyes widened as she stared at them. “Rio, what’s going on?”

Rosie turned her gaze to Rio. He had asked her how she felt and for a few seconds, all she felt was numb. Then she took stock.

She felt…different. Weird different. Scary different.

As if her body held a force she couldn’t control. As if her blood was boiling and her skin wasn’t thick enough to contain it. Every time she moved, that force got away from her—and something shook, rattled or rolled. The bed, the bottles.

And what the
hell
was up with Rio’s ears?

Nothing made sense.

“I’m not sure what’s going on,” Rio said as he took another towel and dried her hair. “But I think I have a pretty good idea.”

She was too afraid to move. “Does it have something to do with your ears?”

He paused for a few seconds, his features going blank. “You don’t have to be afraid of me. I won’t hurt you, Rosie. Not ever.”

After what they’d done, she knew that. Even though she was scared, even though she had no idea what was going on, she knew, deep down, that she could trust this man…this
linchetto
, whatever that was. But first she had questions, many questions.

“You need to tell me what’s going on. Right now.”

45

Stephanie Julian

Rosie turned slowly, not wanting anything to move. Her mouth fell open as she took in Rio in all his wet naked glory. The man would make a dead woman drool. Lean, sculpted muscle. Chiseled cheekbones. A talented mouth.

But those ears. “Rio?”

He sighed. “I’m not completely sure but I think the sex we had tonight unlocked your latent powers.”

Rosie stared at the gorgeous naked man. He looked sane enough but he obviously wasn’t. “Latent powers?”

He sighed again and ran a hand through his hair, ruffling the strands and making his abs dance. Her mouth watered. How could she be scared, confused and horny all at the same time? “The bed shaking and the bottles moving? That was you.”

Her jaw dropped and her mouth opened and closed a few times before she actually spoke. “What does that mean?”

“It means you now have magical abilities you didn’t have before. Unless you were able to make things move just by thinking about it and waving your hands.”

She lifted her hands from her hips to wrap the towel more tightly around her—and the bottles of lotions and hair products on the bathroom console table shook. She froze, the towel now only partially covering her body.

Rio sighed and finished tucking the towel around her. “Or even by not trying.”

Now she was really too afraid to move. “This is insane. I must be dreaming.”

He pinched her arm, just a gentle squeeze, but enough for her to wince and reach for him. The bottles on the console rattled again.

“Oh my God.” Her voice held a definite squeak. She squeezed her eyes closed, wanting to shut out the world around her. “What’s going on? Why is that happening?”

Placing his hands on her shoulders, Rio said, “Think of it as a force field around your body that you control with your mind.” When her eyes popped open again, he 46

Seduced and Enchanted

sighed. “Yes, I know it sounds nuts. But if you want to be able to leave the house, you’ll have to learn how to control it.”

“Why do I have to leave the house?” Okay, that was a really stupid question.

Rio’s smile returned, a completely natural expression, and it gave her hope that he actually knew what he was talking about. “Well, for one thing, you have a job. For another, I’ve got a friend you’re going to want to meet. He’ll have answers.”

Answers sounded good. But she still had to get out of the house without bringing it down around her.

“Fine.” Rosie took a deep breath. “Show me what I have to do.”

Rio lifted Rosie in his arms and carried her back to the bedroom. He had her stand perfectly still while he dried her again and dressed her in the robe he found thrown over a chair in the corner.

Then he picked her up again and sat her on the bed. Her body was so stiff he was afraid she’d break, but her eyes followed his every movement, occasionally slipping to his ears, as if checking to see if they’d changed into normal ears while she wasn’t looking.

Pushing that thought aside, he said, “Okay, let’s do a little experiment first.” He stood in front of her, staring straight into her eyes. “I want you to clear your mind. Try to think about nothing. Then I want you to move your foot as if you’re kicking a ball.”

Her head cocked to the side out of habit. She didn’t seem to notice and nothing moved. “My foot?”

He nodded. “Let’s just see what happens.”

She inhaled deeply and closed her eyes. It took her at least thirty seconds but then she opened them, firmed her mouth and kicked out with her left foot.

Nothing moved, shook, rattled or even trembled.

“Anything?” she asked, staring straight at him, as if afraid to look around.

47

Stephanie Julian

He smiled easily, shaking his head. “No. All right, now I want you to move your hands. Slowly, okay.” If he was right then—

Rosie lifted her right arm, fingers outstretched as if she were reaching for something.

And the pictures on the wall directly across from her rattled. Her eyes widened again, fear replacing the determination.

“Hey, it’s okay, babe.” He reached out to clasp her shoulders and squeezed gently.

“Slowly put your hand down and move your head.”

Again it took her a few seconds, her gaze glued to his, but finally she lowered her hand and tilted her head to the side. Nothing happened.

Her eyes narrowed as her brain worked. “It’s just my hands?”

He nodded. “Yeah, that’s my guess.”

She frowned. “That doesn’t make any sense.”

“Actually it does. Most Etruscans use their hands to direct the flow of magic.

You’ve never had this happen before?”

She shook her head, slipping her hands under her legs so she wouldn’t use them to gesture. “I’m the most boring person in the world. Nothing ever happens to me. I mean, I lost my parents when I was really young but that was just a freak accident.”

Rio’s eyebrows rose. “What happened to your parents?”

“I told you. It was an accident. They were electrocuted.”

“How?”

“An electrical wire fell on them during a summer storm. I was only six months. I was in the house, taking a nap. They were outside working in the garden. It was a one-in-a-million accident. My godmother Lora was visiting us at the time and she brought me to live here.” Her eyes widened. “Oh my God, do you think I killed my parents?”

“Whoa, no, Rosie.” Sliding onto the bed next to her, he wrapped his arms around her and settled her against his body. She didn’t reach for him but he knew that was 48

Seduced and Enchanted

because she didn’t want to move her hands. “That’s not why I asked. Besides, most
Fata
don’t come into their full powers until they’re teenagers.”

“Then what’s happening to me? I’m definitely not a teenager. And I’m not Etruscan or
Fata
, whatever that is. I mean, my dad’s parents were from Italy, but that doesn’t make them Etruscan. The Etruscan civilization has been extinct for thousands of years.”

He didn’t want to get into that discussion just yet. Better she meet Sal first and then they could answer all her questions together—after she fainted. “I don’t know, Rosie.

But I do know someone who might have some answers.”

She took a deep breath, her body crowding just a little further into his. “Then let’s go.”

49

Stephanie Julian

Rosie got dressed in silence, trying not to move too much.

After she turned down Rio’s offer to help her get dressed, he’d taken his clothing from downstairs into the bathroom. She’d almost called him back but she didn’t want to be too needy. She was already embarrassed by her earlier actions. Jeez, she’d clung to him like a baby, as if he were her only hope.

She tried to make sense of the situation. They’d had sex—great sex, mind-blowing sex—and then she’d gained some weird freaking powers. That must be the worst possible consequence of a one-night stand ever. They should use her as an example in an after-school special.

Her mind almost exploded with questions, but she did know one thing for sure. Rio could have hauled ass out of here at the first sign of trouble. He hadn’t.