Seduced and Ensnared (4 page)

Jesus, she was obsessed. Crazy obsessed like…like her mother.

Okay, take a deep breath
, she ordered herself.
Tonight is not the night to go there.

“Stella, you okay?”

Another deep breath then she nodded. “Yes, I’m fine.”

Cam stared at her for a few seconds, those dark eyes assessing but not cold. Despite his hard features, he didn’t look scary, never had to her.

When he held out his hand, she didn’t think twice about taking it. She let him lead her into the hot water, not scalding but more than warm. It was the perfect temperature for a good soak.

She sat on the ledge, the water surrounding her up to her shoulders. Cam sank onto the opposite end of the bench and leaned back against the wall.

“This is paradise,” she murmured, closing her eyes before the look on Cam’s face made her too warm to stay in the water. “I would spend most of my time at home in this tub. You have to tell me the name of your designer. I want one of these in my en suite.”

“Then I guess you’ll have to invite me over some time to take measurements. But you’re welcome here whenever you’d like.”

Her eyes popped open to look at him. “You designed this?”

A smile played around the corners of his mouth. “Yeah, as a matter of fact I did.”

“You do beautiful work, Mr. de Feo. It reminds me of a Roman bathhouse. Is that where you got the idea?”

He shrugged. “My ancestors are from Italy.” As if that explained everything. “I like to create things on paper and see them come to life. Helps keep my stress levels down.”

Wow, he was a true Renaissance man. “So what else do you do for fun, Cam— What
is
that short for anyway?”

He didn’t answer either question right away, simply continued staring at her. What was the big deal about his name? Or was that not his real name? What did she really know about this guy anyway? What—

“It’s Camillus. My parents are into family names. And I like to read mysteries, watch
The Daily Show
and
The Colbert Report
and play basketball with my brothers, because I usually beat the pants off them. What about you? What do you do when you’re not working for your uncle?”

Was that censure in his voice when he mentioned her uncle or was she being paranoid? “Camillus, huh? That sounds really…old. Like ancient Roman.”

He nodded, that half-smile flirting with his lips again. “It’s Etruscan actually. And you didn’t answer my question. What do you do with your free time, Stella?”

God, she loved the way he said her name. It made her stomach flutter. “I read a lot, romance mostly, and I like to do yoga. It helps me de-stress. My uncle converted one of the rooms into a studio for me.”

“Did you teach yourself?”

“No, I took a few semesters for my phys-ed credits in college and continued on my own afterward. I really don’t have the time to go to a regularly scheduled class. I never know when I’m going to be free. And I love being able to roll out of bed in the morning and walk across the hall to my studio.”

“Convenient. Your uncle must dote on you.”

Well, she couldn’t deny that, but why did it sound as if he wasn’t thrilled about it? “I suppose so.”

“Having met you, I understand why.”

The compliment baffled her. How was she supposed to respond to that? The man seemed too good to be true—and way too yummy to sit so far away from. She wanted to touch him. She’d been careful to keep her eyes above water level the entire time they’d been sitting in here but in her peripheral vision, she could see his skin gleaming in the water.

She let her gaze drop to his wet shoulders, her eyes tracing water droplets. Cam had the most beautiful shoulders she’d ever seen. Not too muscled and perfectly proportioned. The same was true for his arms, which he had draped over the sides of the tub. They were firm with muscle and capable of lifting her without effort.

His chest was a work of art all on its own and she couldn’t stop herself from reaching for him. When she was close enough to touch him, she shifted her gaze to his eyes and fell into the fiery depths of his desire.

Cam felt something crack apart in his chest when Stella looked at him.

She was an open book, her pale green eyes shining with the same rampant desire he felt for her.

He realized he was sunk—and not just in the water.

Whatever he’d planned, whatever he’d wanted to use this woman for, it wasn’t going to happen. He couldn’t do it, couldn’t use her like that—because he’d finally found the woman he’d been searching for all these years.
His
woman, the one he’d willingly tie himself to for all eternity, to be blood-bound. At this moment, he’d gladly cut himself and her and mingle their blood so their souls would be tied forever.

How did he know she was the one? Hell if he could figure that out. He just
knew
.

As if Stella sensed his momentary distraction, she stopped just before reaching him. But whatever she saw in his expression must have convinced her to cup his face in her hands and lay her mouth on his.

Her lips were soft and sweet and, dear Goddess, he could kiss her for hours and not be bored.

But she was still too far away, even though only inches separated them. Wrapping his arms around her shoulders, he brought her naked body fully against his, groaning at the contact. Before, on the bed, he’d purposefully kept his distance. Some functioning part of his brain must have realized what was happening and had tried to keep his mission intact.

Well, things had changed. The seduction had changed.

This woman was his and he wasn’t going to let a little thing like his former plan to use her against her uncle come back to bite him.

Now he just needed to convince her that he was her mate for life, not just a one-night stand.

He didn’t have his brother Nino’s
bassadone
spell woven into his genes to make women want him. Nino had always considered the spell a curse but Cam, in his misguided youth, had occasionally wondered what it’d be like to have women fall all over him.

That ability would sure come in handy now as he tried to put everything he felt into his kiss. He knew he wasn’t unpleasant to women, some had even fallen in love with him before. But he’d never felt the same.

Now…now would probably be a good time to stop thinking and just kiss Stella.

With his hands splayed across her back, he pulled her even tighter against him, her small breasts flush against his chest. Lowering one hand to her ass, he pressed her forward the last few centimeters until her mound nestled against his erection.

She moaned into his mouth at the contact and he drew her breath into his body like a charmed potion. His already-throbbing cock pounded with lust. The water surrounding them felt like silk, caressing their skins, sensitizing everywhere it touched.

Stella’s legs parted and landed on either side of his thighs on the ledge, spreading her wide, leaving her open for him. Her hips started a slow slide, grinding her mound up and down his shaft.

She continued to kiss him, her hands slipping into the hair at the nape of his neck, winding in the curls made unruly by the humidity in the air. She tugged on them, a tiny pain that added fuel to the fire in his groin…and brought him back to his senses for a few brief seconds. He’d almost forgotten about his ears.

Too long and pointed to be mistaken merely as odd, they were the only part of his body that revealed his secret—that he wasn’t the human he appeared to be.

He was
Fata
, a descendant of a magical Etruscan race. His people came from the mountains and forests of ancient Etruria where they’d lived alongside the gods and goddesses.

Today the
Fata
either blended with the humans or they lived in seclusion. Cam’s family had chosen centuries ago to blend. It’d become second nature to hide his ears. If he forgot and slicked back his wet hair or let Stella get to close, he couldn’t be sure how she’d react.

He needed time to ease her into his world, to make sure she realized he would never hurt her.

Molding one hand to her breast, he played with her nipple until it formed a stiff peak then he did the same to the other. Her breasts were small but responsive. With every caress, he felt her make an answering motion with her lower body, pressing against his erection in maddeningly short strokes. He stopped himself from pulling her against him, didn’t try to contain her. Resting his arms on the rim of the tub, he let her do with him whatever she wanted.

And it seemed that all she wanted to do was torment him. She continued to kiss him, her mouth hot, her tongue silky as it dueled with his.

He tensed for a brief second as her hands released his hair, fearing she might stroke his ears, but she moved them down his neck and onto his shoulders. Her fingers smoothed down to his elbows then back up again, the slow wet friction of skin on skin making his balls tighten even more.

From his shoulders, she moved to his back, lightly scraping her short nails down his spine and over his ass then back up. She did this circuit a few more times until he thought he’d go crazy. Then she moved her hands to his front, scratching down his stomach to just above the root of his cock, careful not to touch anything he was dying for her to touch.

Groaning, he released her mouth to draw in a deep breath. “Stella…”

She moved her mouth to the curve of his neck and shoulder and took a nip out of the skin. Her nails scraped back up his stomach again. “Yes?”

He shuddered like a horse under the whip. “Use those on my cock.”

She licked a path across his collarbone. “I didn’t hear you say please.”

“Please, Stella. Please use your nails on my cock.”

She smiled against his neck, her lips brushing against his skin. “I like the way you beg.”

Without warning, her hands wrapped around his cock and balls. His head fell back against the rim of the tub as she did exactly what he’d asked for. Her nails teased the sensitive skin of his shaft, making flashes of light spark behind his closed eyelids. He felt his orgasm build momentum as she scraped, his nerve endings tingling as if he’d been jolted by a live current.

She continued her torment until he could no longer keep still. When his hips thrust forward, she released him—but only for the second it took for her to move her hips into place and take him inside her body.

She settled on him with a sigh, her sex so wet she slid down to the hilt with little resistance. The sensation took them both by surprise because they gasped in unison.

Wrapping her arms around his shoulders, she rested her head against his neck and didn’t move. He felt the tiny fluctuations of her sheath around his cock, taking it even further inside her body, signaling her oncoming orgasm.

Cam didn’t know how long they sat like that, unmoving but for her inner contractions. He didn’t realize he’d started to sweat with the effort to hold still and absorb every sensation without taking over, until a bead of moisture made its way down the side of his face.

His hands gripped the tub rim even tighter and he consciously eased off when he felt the concrete nearly give way beneath his fingers.

He lifted his head and nuzzled his nose into her hair, laying a kiss on her head. “Stella?”

“Yes.” Her soft breath teased his neck, making his skin break out in goose bumps and his cock throb.

“Make love to me, Stella.”

It was her turn to shudder and he knew he’d chosen the right words. The exact right words, because this was no longer about sex.

She didn’t bother to say anything, just shifted her hips into a lazy rhythm. With his heart pounding and his blood boiling, he let her take him, holding off his climax through sheer determination.

The sweet torture became a test of wills—who held out the longest. Since he refused to come until she did and she didn’t seem in any hurry to do so, he finally raised his head and pulled her mouth up to his.

It was just the spark she needed to push her over the edge. She moaned against his lips, opened her mouth to let his tongue in and ground her lower body against his faster. That was all it took to break her self-discipline, to make her come. Her sheath contracted so strongly her whole body shook with the effort.

In a rush, Cam came too. He thrust so deeply inside her he swore he could feel her womb. The thought that someday she might have his child gripped him with the same sense of rightness he’d had when he’d realized she was his.

To hell with going slow.

She wasn’t leaving.

Chapter Four

Stella wasn’t quite sure how they got from the tub back to his bed, or when that happened. But the next time she opened her eyes, the room was bright with sunshine flooding in from the windows at the front of the house.

Cam slouched in an overstuffed leather chair next to the bed, half dressed in a pair of worn jeans—staring at her with his head propped on one hand.

“Hi.” His voice had that great scratchy quality that made her hormones sit up and dance.

She smiled, stretched and watched his eyes follow her movement. “Good morning. At least I hope it’s still morning.”

“It is. Saturday morning.”

She couldn’t decipher his expression. It was almost blank and she wondered if she’d overstayed her welcome. Sitting up, she kept the bedsheet tight around her, which was ridiculous considering what they’d been doing last night.

“Well, I guess I should—”

“Stay the weekend,” he said.

Her mouth shut with a snap and she blinked at him for a few seconds. He looked so damn serious, as if he were asking her something much more…interesting.

“I—”

“Stay. I wa— I’d like you to.”

He looked so intense his gaze glued to hers, so she couldn’t look away.

“You don’t have plans for this weekend?” she asked.

He shook his head. “None I can’t change. Stay. Please.”

A fierce happiness took root and she couldn’t help but grin.

Cam was out of the chair and kissing her before she could say a word. He laid his lips on hers hard and fast then he pulled back and smiled, a full-blown smile that made her heart melt.

“Good,” he said. “Why don’t you take a shower and I’ll get some breakfast together. Unless you want to get some more sleep?”

He was so close she could see how dark his eyes truly were. With his hands planted on either side of her body, his chest only inches from her own, he filled the space around her so all she could see or smell or breathe was him.

She definitely didn’t want to go back to sleep.

The second she thought that, his breathing pattern changed. She heard him take shorter, more shallow breaths and she swore she felt heat rise off his body.

“I’m not really that tired,” she finally managed to say. “And I’m not really that hungry.”

“Then what do you want, Stella?”

“You.”

“Good choice,” he said and kissed her again.

* * * * *

“Nino, we need to talk.”

His brother grumbled something under his breath but the phone line crackled and Cam didn’t have the patience to figure out what he’d said.

“I’m gonna transport you here. I don’t want to leave her alone.”

“Cam, whoa, wait a minute. What the hell are you talking about?” His younger brother was suddenly very alert.

“I need to talk to you right now so I’m going to transport you now. Is Ellie there?”

“No, she’s with her dad—”

“Good. Hold on.”

“Wait—”

Cam couldn’t wait and he didn’t want to have this talk over the landline. Though the line was magically warded against eavesdropping, tapping and government surveillance, the operator who handled all calls on this system was known to butt in with her own opinions every now and then. And Cam was in no mood for interference.

He closed his eyes, visualized his brother and chanted the spell that would shift Antonin from wherever he was to where Cam wanted him to be—which was right here.

“
Vaffanculo
, Cam. You really piss me off when you do that.”

Opening his eyes, Cam had the most ridiculous feeling of relief when he saw his younger brother rematerialize in front of him in his den at the back of the house.

Nino’s familiar face was set in angry lines as he looked down on Cam by a few inches. Though Nino was thinner, he was just as strong, at least physically. Magically, Cam was light-years ahead.

“Keep your voice down. Stella’s still asleep upstairs and I don’t want her to know you’re here.”

Nino’s expression twisted into an almost comic look of bemusement. “I thought we had this all figured out. You kidnap the girl and hold her until Bonnini trades himself for her or makes a move to get her back. What happened?”

What happened? Hell, that was easy. He’d fallen in love. It sounded ridiculous but it was completely true. And it changed everything.

But how the hell would he explain that to Nino?

Maybe he didn’t have to. Not too long ago Nino had explained to him that falling in love with Ellie had been kind of like falling off a cliff you didn’t know was there. Shocking as hell but surprisingly easy.

“I’m in love with her and we need a new plan.”

The dumbstruck look on Nino’s face made Cam laugh so hard he nearly fell off his chair.

* * * * *

The next time Stella woke, she was alone in the bed and Cam was nowhere to be seen.

She had the lingering sense that something had brushed against her in her sleep and that tingle she got in her blood when…well, when that other part of her activated or reacted to something. It kept her from going back to sleep so she stretched.

Muscles she rarely used ached in response, making her smile.

Despite the tingle keeping her awake, she felt…free. Why that was, she had no idea. She’d never felt shackled or bound before, so she didn’t know where that sudden sense of freedom was coming from. But she liked it.

She liked that her muscles ached from making love to Cam all night and this morning. She liked the smell of him on the sheets and on her body. She liked the way she could still feel his body against and inside hers, if she closed her eyes. She liked that a lot.

But she didn’t like the taste in her mouth so she walked, naked and loving it, into the bathroom. A new toothbrush and a tube of toothpaste waited in a glass on the sink.

A plain white t-shirt and a pair of loose boxer shorts sat next to the glass.

If the man showed up with a lunch tray and the
Wall Street Journal
, she’d marry him on the spot. That thought didn’t even give her pause.

After washing her face, brushing her teeth and ruffling her hair back into some shape, she dressed in his underwear and walked back to the bedroom.

Still no Cam.

Okay, she’d just have to go find him. She headed for the stairs, ready to throw herself at him.

But the harsh daylight made her blink and stop in her tracks. Yes, Cam had asked her to stay. For the weekend. He hadn’t gone down on his knee and asked her to live with him forever. And she definitely didn’t want to go too fast and scare him away. What had gotten into her?

No, she would
not
throw herself at him like a lovesick teenager. She’d go downstairs to talk, gauge his reaction first then she’d decide what to do… Or maybe she’d just take a few minutes to observe him unnoticed. Invisible.

This unbelievable ability had manifested itself around her tenth birthday when she’d overheard her parents fighting over her. They had been shouting about her dad taking her somewhere and leaving her mom behind. She’d wished so hard to be invisible so they wouldn’t fight anymore. At least not about her.

She’d closed her eyes and concentrated. She hadn’t realized she’d actually become invisible until her mom turned to say something to her and even though Stella was standing right beside her, hadn’t seen her. Terrified that she wouldn’t be able to bring back her physical body, she’d begun to cry. And just like that, her body had reappeared.

Her crazy unstable mother had called it a gift, though her tone had made it clear it was more like a curse. It had terrified Stella so much she’d never told her mother about her other abilities. She’d never told anyone.

After her parents’ deaths, she’d submerged her powers, had forced herself to push them behind the thick wall of grief in her heart. Her uncle had never suspected anything. But as an adult, she’d occasionally practiced her abilities, honed them. She’d used them sparingly but never to spy on a man she’d spent the night with.

A momentary twinge of guilt hit her. But honestly, if Cam had nothing to hide then no harm, no foul, right?

Closing her eyes, she concentrated on drawing her body in on itself. At least that was how she would have described it had anyone asked. She really didn’t have any idea how it worked scientifically but it felt as if she drew the molecules that comprised her body into a tiny hole inside herself and stored them there. Her body ceased to exist and no one would be able to see her, although she was still there.

Moving down the steps, she stopped near the bottom of the staircase when she saw Cam sitting in a chair at the back of the house. Her power dampened her ability to hear so she had to get closer. She didn’t see the other man until she was almost on top of him. He lay on a couch, head on his arms as if Cam was his psychologist and he was in therapy.

“You gotta tell her.”

“What the fuck am I supposed to say? Your uncle’s a lunatic and I want you to betray him?”

Oh God. No, no, no.
Stella’s heart contracted into a tight, painful ball. This couldn’t be happening.

“Well, I suggest you stop lying at least, Cam. You’re just gonna dig yourself in deeper.”

“I’m already in deep enough. Shit, Nino, what the hell am I going to do?”

Cam hung his head in his hands, as if he was truly upset about what he planned to do.

Stella stared at him in disbelief.
That bastard.
He was using her. For what, she didn’t know yet. Something to do with her uncle. She should have known he was too good to be true. No man had ever wanted her only for herself. They all wanted what she could do for them. What her uncle could do for them.

And she’d
slept
with him. More than that, she’d fallen in— Double damn his black soul.

Her anger intensified to the point where it was getting harder to hear the men and harder to hold on to her invisibility. She wanted to hit him but she needed her body to do it.

When she couldn’t restrain herself any longer, she flashed back into visibility, stomping her feet in frustration.

“You son of a bitch!”

Cam shot out of his chair, mouth dropping open. The other man fell off the couch in surprise before getting to his feet.

“Stella, what—”

“I should have known.” She pointed a shaking finger at him. “You bastard, what the hell do you want from me? It won’t matter, whatever it is. You’ll get nothing. I’m going to crucify you, Camillus de Feo.”

Drawing himself straighter, Cam set his steady gaze on her, obviously regaining his equilibrium. He reached for her but she couldn’t stand to have him touch her and flinched away.

His gaze faltered for a brief second before he took a deep breath “Stella, wait. I don’t know what you heard but whatever you’re thinking, you’re wrong.” He shot a quick look at the other guy. “Let me explain. But first tell me…how did you get down here without me seeing you?”

She froze for a second, her brain stuck on exactly how to explain that. Then she realized she didn’t have to give him an answer. He was the scum bucket here, not her.

“Oh no you don’t. Don’t even think to turn this around. I’m getting out of here right now.” Where had she put her keys last night? Oh yeah, she’d stashed them in her purse—which was where?

“Stella, please. Just listen, okay?” Cam held his hands out in front of him, as if surrendering to the cops.

Stella ignored the gesture, her eyes darting around the room as if the walls were closing in. She needed to leave this place
now
. If she couldn’t find her purse and her keys, she would just have to call her uncle and have him pick her up. Of course that would probably engender one of his lectures about trusting the wrong people. But he would be right in Cam’s case. God, how could she have been so stupid?

“Hi, Stella.” The other guy finally spoke up, offering his hand as if he honestly thought she would shake it. “I’m Antonin de Feo. I have to confess that this idiot is my oldest and supposedly smartest brother. I know he really doesn’t seem like it at the moment but he’s really not a bad guy.”

His voice had a calming effect and she stared at him. Damn, he was gorgeous—and hot. Almost irresistible. At least she thought he was.

But that couldn’t be right. Stella shook her head, trying to set her internal radar back on course. She shouldn’t even
like
either of these men.

“
Saccente
.” Cam sounded disgusted. “Nino, you’re not helping things.”

“I bet she could block the
bassadone
spell if she tried, dude. I think your information was wrong. She’s definitely got some power.”

Stella had walked backward toward the phone she’d seen in the kitchen but that last sentence stopped her in her tracks. They spoke as if they understood what she could do, as if they would actually believe she could make herself appear and disappear at will.

She spun around, hands on hips, so furious she could scream. “Who
are
you?” she asked. “And don’t repeat that bullshit you gave me last night. I want to know who you really are.”

When neither man said a word, she flung her hands in the air with a frustrated shriek and stomped away to the phone.

“So you gonna go after her or just let her get more pissed off?”

Nino’s tone held a teasing mockery but Cam ignored him as he watched Stella storm away. She was headed toward the kitchen, probably for the phone. Since it was connected to a magically warded system, he wasn’t worried about her figuring out how to use it. Of course Phil the operator could be a pain in the ass and decide to redirect her call. That woman really could be spiteful.

But one thing he knew for sure. “Stella’s not
Mal
. She may have power but she’s not one of them.”

The smirk on his brother’s face didn’t do much for his blood pressure. “Didn’t say she was, man. But hey, you want to defend her honor, be my guest. But I think you better go kiss and make up first because she’s about to throw your phone through the window.”

Cam looked at Stella, who was glaring at the black plastic receiver beeping in her hand. She wasn’t exactly ripping the phone out of the wall yet but she looked furious enough to do it. Her pale skin was flushed pink, her green eyes blazed and she looked so fucking sexy in his underwear that if his brother hadn’t been here—