“If that’s the case, you’re as much a victim as I am.”
He hadn’t thought of it that way. The idea made him shudder inside.
“No matter,” she said, shrugging those perfect shoulders. “Still, I’d like to know what happened.”
Sebastian opened the door and then followed her out of the office. “So would I, Ms. Cheval. So would I.”
She’d never been so aware of a man in her life. Lily kept her spine straight and her pace steady as she walked ahead of Sebastian Xenakis, leading him back to the reception. Her head pounded in time with each step, and she knew her father was trying to reach her, but she couldn’t relax enough to let him in.
Not while Sebastian followed mere steps behind. His scent tickled her nostrils. She’d almost given herself away as he leaned over her when she went down. Had almost wrapped her fingers around his neck, pulled him closer, and kissed him.
She’d never felt so aroused—not with any man. Her skin prickled with the passage of air as she walked. Her breasts ached, and her nipples had tightened into sensitive peaks against the slick fabric of her gown.
She’d almost skipped wearing panties tonight, with the dress fabric so sheer and clinging so close, but she was thankful now for the tiny scrap of silk and lace she’d chosen. At least they absorbed the moisture of her arousal.
She’d never lost control this way. Lily Cheval epitomized control, even with sex.
Yeah, and if I repeat that a thousand times, I just might make myself believe it.
She really had to get herself together. Pausing just outside the door, she turned to Sebastian. “Do you mind going in ahead of me? I really don’t want to make an entrance that will draw even more attention, and if the two of us walk through that door . . .”
“I understand.” He smiled and her heart thudded even harder in her chest. That smile changed his looks from drop-dead gorgeous to absolutely devastating. “If anyone asks,” he said, “I’ll tell them you wanted to freshen up.”
She nodded. “Thank you. That’s exactly what I’ll do.”
She watched him walk away, mesmerized by the smooth flow of dark fabric over muscular thighs, the way his tuxedo jacket curved over his slim butt.
He was beyond beautiful, and it felt as if she’d gone without for far too long. He went into the ballroom while Lily turned away and found a quiet corner. She needed to connect with her father. He would have sensed whatever it was that knocked her flat. It might have felt intrusive, except she knew he would always worry about her.
She was, after all, his favorite.
I’m okay, Dad, but you’re giving me a headache.
I’m sorry, but I’ve been worried sick. Are you all right? What happened?
I was hoping you could tell me. What did you notice?
You disappeared from my thoughts. I can feel when you block me, and it reassures me of your presence. I could not feel you at all. Do you have any idea what . . . ?
Not really. I’d just arrived at the reception, felt a sharp pain in my head, and the next thing I knew, I was on the floor.
Are you okay?
I’m fine. A very kind man helped me to a quiet office. I’m ready to go back to the reception.
Do you have any idea what caused it?
She did, but Lily wasn’t ready to discuss her suspicions. And she definitely didn’t want to talk about Sebastian Xenakis. Not until she’d spent more time with him, had a better chance to see what he was really like.
There was something about him. Something not entirely human, but she needed to know more. Wanted to know more.
Not yet. I’ll let you know as soon as I have some ideas. Now let me do the job you sent me to do, all right?
She heard his soft chuckle. Then there was only silence.
Miraculously, her headache was gone.
Though she’d lived with the amazing link to her father since before her birth, Lily had never questioned it. She’d learned to block him at an early age, but she really didn’t mind the link. He’d never obsessively interfered with her life, and he’d been a powerful source of strength as she’d grown and matured.
When they were physically closer, his contact never made her head hurt. Something about throwing his thoughts all the way from Montana to San Francisco and having them bounce off her natural shields appeared to cause the pain.
It was better than being totally open with him, and he really did respect her privacy. She only shared what she wanted, and she’d learned to hide things from him. There were some things no daughter wanted to share with her father.
The surging arousal she felt for Sebastian Xenakis most definitely made him one of those things.
Smoothing her dress over her thighs, Lily went back to the ballroom.
Every eye in the room seemed to focus on her. Conversations halted. Smiling, she simply held her hands out in a helpless gesture. “I’m fine,” she said, speaking to the room at large. “I’ve had a busy day and must have skipped one too many meals. Please, enjoy yourselves. I’m going to attack the hors d’oeuvres.”
She walked toward the long buffet table, but Sebastian was there ahead of her, filling a plate with a selection of meats and chilled sushi rolls. He held it out to her.
Lily took it from him. “Thank you. How did you know?”
He glanced at the items he’d chosen. “I figured any wolf worth her salt would prefer rare beef and raw fish over broccoli and tomatoes.”
Lily had no control over her laughter. “You figured right,” she said. She took a small slice of crisp sourdough topped with rare tenderloin and nipped the meat neatly off the piece of bread. “Delicious.”
Sebastian’s eyes practically glowed. Such an unusual shade of blue—deep teal like the purest tropical lagoon. He focused them on her until she thought she might drown in those blue-green depths.
“Open.”
Lily blinked and opened her mouth, like a baby bird waiting to be fed. He slipped a bite of raw salmon between her lips. She bit down on the clean, fresh taste of the fish, barely aware that she actually chewed.
Her entire focus was on Sebastian. Never had a man filled her senses the way he filled them now. His hair was crisp and dark, almost black, with a noticeable widow’s peak. He wore a neatly trimmed beard that perfectly framed a mouth she wanted to savor. His skin was tan—not as dark as hers, but definitely not the pale shade of a man who spent his days indoors.
No, Sebastian Xenakis was a creature of nature. She sensed that in him. Sensed his wildness, his love of freedom, his strength.
And something more. Something she’d not expected.
She sensed his magic. It was as much a part of him as Lily’s was of her. He
was
magic. He wore it like a second skin, the inborn magic of a true wizard.
Unlike her father’s magic, or her own, though, Sebastian’s carried a darker edge. A sense of night, of starlit skies, and deep, dark, caverns. It wasn’t unpleasant, just different.
Very, very different.
Not like his father’s, either. When she shook Aldo Xenakis’s hand at the restaurant on Monday, she’d felt his dark magic like a layer of slime over his skin. It repelled her, a force both ugly and unclean and more than a little bit dangerous.
There was nothing at all repellant about Sebastian. He carried that same sense of danger, of darkness—but not.
Why was his different?
Why was he so different?
And why, she wondered, did it matter to her so much?
There was no way to avoid the obvious. Lily Cheval fascinated him every bit as much as she aroused him. Sebastian couldn’t take his eyes off her. When she stood at the podium and thanked the organizers for the event, he felt as if she spoke directly to him. When she talked about the link between the art museum and the community and the importance of the preservation of works both great and small, he was ready to pull out his wallet.
It was obvious that Lily Cheval was beloved by the people here, every bit as much as her absent father. The Chevals had become strong pillars of this dynamic city, supporters of important causes, and popular for their altruism and good works.
He couldn’t help but draw a comparison to his own father, one that was so embarrassingly lacking that he quickly shut down that line of thought.
At the moment, Lily was speaking to a group of women who’d cornered her near the podium. Sebastian watched her, wondering if she would search him out when the conversation ended as she’d done a couple of times this evening.
Already he felt a sense of ownership. She wasn’t his. He barely knew her, and yet he felt as if he’d known her all his life. Felt a connection that had no explanation, but knew it was one he wanted time to explore.
She broke away from the group with smiles and a few soft-spoken comments. Then she was there, beside him, looking up with those beautiful amber eyes, and once again he was lost.
Lost, and loving every second of the mystery.
“It’s been a long day, Sebastian. I’m ready to leave, but I wanted to thank you for your rescue.”
“You’re going home?” He hadn’t thought of the evening ending. Had somehow pictured himself leaving with her, but one didn’t barge in on the life of a princess, and Lily Cheval was the closest he’d ever come to royalty.
She shrugged and glanced to both sides. “Actually, I’m headed across the bridge to Mount Tam. I really need to run tonight.”
“Would you care for company?” He took her empty glass from her hand and set it on the table beside him.
She smiled. “I wish, but I plan to shift. My wolf hasn’t had nearly enough freedom this week.”
“That works for me.”
There,
he thought.
Let’s see what she makes of that.
Lily frowned. “Are you Chanku? I don’t sense it in you.”
He shook his head. “Not Chanku, but I have other skills. I’ve mastered a trick or two.”
Her eyes went wide for a moment. “I see.” Narrowed, as if she judged him more carefully than she had earlier. “Then yes. I would love to have company. Please. Will you join me?”
His heart thundered in his chest, but he merely nodded. “Did you bring a car?”
She shook her head. “No. I came in the company limo. We can take that, or . . .”
“I brought my car. Do you have a wrap?”
She nodded, and he wondered if she regretted accepting his invitation. They waited while one of the staff retrieved a dark, glistening shawl that wrapped her in russet and gold fire.
Her aura spiked. The reds were back. Darker, deeper, flashing true crimson, more brilliant than before. Did she have any idea how openly she broadcast her own arousal?
Then he wondered if she saw auras as well. If she knew he was hanging on to polite behavior by a thread.
He touched her back lightly with his fingers, guiding her toward the door. More than a few noted the fact they left together, and he wondered how long it would be before his father got word.
Wondered if he already knew.
They waited in front of the museum while the valet retrieved his vehicle from the large lot. Lily dismissed her car and driver, but her thoughts were hidden behind strong shields. Sebastian wondered what Lily was thinking, why the easy communication between them had ended so suddenly.
He opened her door, and she climbed in, every move graceful and composed. Had she been born with grace or did she have to learn it? Had she always known her place in the world or, like him, had she ever wondered where she belonged?
No. Not Lily. She knew who she was. Why she was.
He tipped the valet, got behind the wheel, and headed north toward the Golden Gate Bridge. They traveled in silence through light traffic. This late at night, the bridge was almost empty of vehicles. A gibbous moon, almost full, cast a soft glow across the water flowing beneath the bridge on the incoming tide.
Mount Tamalpais was a dark shadow against a glimmering sky when Sebastian pulled into the lot overlooking the Golden Gate. He shut off the engine and glanced toward Lily. She studied him with eyes gone dark in the night.
“Do you shift magically?”
He nodded. “I do. I’m still learning. At home, in Montana, I pull energy from an ancient oak. Sometimes I think the damned oak is sentient, it has such rich power. I’m hoping I can do it here without my favorite tree.” Chuckling softly, he added, “I’ve got this terrible fear I’ll be left standing in the dark, bare assed and buck naked, unable to shift.”
She laughed and grabbed his hand. Squeezed it like an old friend. “That would totally ruin your image, wouldn’t it? C’mon. I’ve had enough of fancy clothes and high heels. Let’s hunt.”
The parking lot was empty when they both got out of the car. He’d parked toward the back of the lot, in shadows cast by a windblown cypress. This was nothing like the tree he called on at home, but he sensed a similar power in the tree, in the air, in the mountain behind him.
It would have to do. Turning his back to give Lily privacy, he quickly shed his jacket, tie, and shirt. Kicked off his shoes and stripped out of his pants. Almost laughed as he realized this was one of the oddest first dates he’d ever been on.
Then he sobered, as he thought of what lay ahead. Fear of failing lay like a lump of stone in his chest. He hoped like hell he’d be able to shift. Hoped Lily wouldn’t stand witness to an embarrassing failure.
His father’s critical words filled his head, the man’s absolute inability to accept his son’s occasional mistakes. Then Sebastian forced his mind in more pleasant directions. He thought of the evening ahead, of the chance to run beside the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen.
He wondered if her wolf was as beautiful as the woman. His heartbeat thundered in his ears as his body tightened, giving him yet another thing to worry about.