Circle of Desire

'I might let Ethan's boss in on the pickup. Might be handy if we can swap the kids into a different car somewhere along the line.'

'Good idea.' She kissed her grandmother again then headed for the door.

'Kat?'

She hesitated and looked over her shoulder. The understanding in her grandmother's green eyes threatened to shatter the wall she was building around her emotions.

'The promises a werewolf makes under the divine light are very rarely false ones.'

'They are if the woman he sees when he's making his promises is not the one he's with,' she said and walked out.

The soft sound of a footstep woke Ethan. He didn't open his eyes, remaining still as he listened. Material scraped against wood then silence fell again. The wind whispered through the trees and thunder rumbled in the distance. The air was crisp, cold and filled with the scent of the storm, the ripeness of the wet ground, and Kat.

Her scent was on his skin, her taste in his mouth. Every intake of air seemed bathed in her essence. Longing stirred his body to life, but right now, it was a need he had to ignore. At least until he found out what had happened and how he'd gotten here.

There was only one thing he was certain of — hours had passed. The storm had eased and dawn had come and gone. But the full moon was closer than ever, and the hunger in his veins would continue to escalate right through the day until the animal in his soul finally took control. Only then would he be free of the burning need.

He looked around. Kat was fully dressed and sitting cross-legged on a log six feet away.

'Gwen dropped them by,' she said before he could ask.

'She also brought some weapons.'

She was lying, though why he was so certain he couldn't say. He pushed away the forest covering him and rose.

Her gaze skated down his body and jumped away, but he could smell her arousal as easily as he could feel his own.

'What happened after the explosion?' he asked.

Her posture suggested wariness, and something churned in his gut. What on earth had he done?

'You don't remember?'

He caught the sweater she tossed him. 'Not a lot after the explosion.' He hesitated. He remembered the power of the moon singing through his veins, through the very air around them. Remembered howling her name to the moon. He brushed his fingers across his jeans pockets as he pulled on the sweater. Most of the condoms were gone, but that didn't really mean he'd used them. 'I remember making love.'

Relief flared briefly in her eyes, but he had a feeling it wasn't because of what he remembered but rather what he didn't. And that only made fear tighten his gut further.

'The explosion blew us and the bathtub well clear of the motel, but the moon had you in its grip. We escaped into this forest.'

'And made love?'

She tossed him his boots and looked away again, but not before he'd seen the sheen of tears in her eyes. What in hell had he done?

'Now that the moon fever has abated — ' 'It hasn't,' he said sharply. 'And it won't now. Not until the change comes.'

Her eyes widened a little, glimmering brightly in the light. 'Can you control it? We need to get back to the cavern. The soul sucker thinks we're dead, and this may be our best chance to grab those kids.'

'I'll control it.' He covered the distance separating them in two steps and placed a finger under her chin, turning her gaze back to his. 'What happened? Did I hurt you?'

God, he hoped not, but with the heat of the moon burning through his veins, anything was possible.

Her smile seemed forced. 'No, you didn't hurt me.'

He frowned. She was still lying, and he wasn't sure why.

'Then what happened? Why are you so upset?'

'It's been a long few days, and I haven't had much sleep.

I tend to get emotional at the stupidest of things when I'm tired. Don't worry about it.' She pulled her chin from his grip and rose. 'We have to move.'

His frown deepened. 'If you're tired it might be better — 'No.'

Her eyes flashed with annoyance and something else.

Something that looked a lot like desperation. It was an emotion that made no sense, though maybe it would if he could just remember what had happened between them.

'We have the advantage right now,' she continued. 'And we have to use it to get those kids back. How good is your sense of direction?'

'Very.' And she was right about getting the kids back.

The nagging sense that he'd stepped beyond some self-

imposed boundary could wait until Janie was safe and in his brother's arms once again. He grabbed the pack out of Kat's hands and slung it over his shoulders. 'Let's go.'

He pushed through the undergrowth, forcing a path where there was none, taking the most direct route back to the cavern. She walked behind him, a silent shadow he was all too aware of.

The totality of that awareness worried him. That he'd be sexually aware of her was natural, given he was a wolf and the moon bloomed almost full. But this went far deeper. He could feel her scent in his pores, feel every breath she took. Her emotions not only swam around him but through him, so that her unhappiness became his. It made him want to turn around, pull her into his arms and simply hold her until all the hurt faded away. Which was something she neither needed nor wanted.

But it was more than just that. He had a feeling he only had to reach out with his thoughts and he would touch hers. Completely. It was almost as if they had become two parts of a whole.

No, he thought. It isn't possible . He cast a troubled glance skyward. Even though dawn had passed by several hours ago and the moon had long faded from the sky, he could feel its presence. Feel its power. The full moon broke tonight, which meant the night just past had been the night of promises. A night when the power of the moon could be raised to bind. A time when soul mates promised eternity.

Kat wasn't his soul mate. He couldn't have performed that ceremony.

But what if he had?

What if, through some vicious quirk of fate, the damn spell had worked?

If it had, he'd bound them together. Heart. Soul. Body.

For as long as they both lived. And while the thought sent an odd thrum of excitement through his veins, she deserved far more than just his lustful visits during the bloom of the moon. Deserved more than just his caring.

The spell couldn't have worked. It took love to initiate that spell. Love to complete it.

He didn't love her. Couldn't love her. Because of Jacinta.

He scrubbed a hand across his jaw and wished his memory would return. But that didn't always happen when the moon fever burned high. He could ask her, but he had a feeling honesty wasn't high on her list of priorities right now.

The slope steepened and his muscles began to burn with effort. Sweat trickled down his back, and he thrust up his sleeves, needing to get some cool air circulating across his skin. The tang of Kat's sweat flamed the sparks of desire, but her breathing was short and sharp, and that concerned him. She needed a break, needed time to recoup her strength. The thought brought a grim smile to his lips.

He'd probably been responsible for sapping a fair amount of her energy during the night. And if he was honest, given half the chance he'd probably waste a whole lot more. But while he wanted her, it wasn't the urgency of the moon thrumming through his veins right now. It was something far more powerful. Something he didn't dare put a name to.

He scanned the trees ahead, listening intently. Above the noise they were making came the sound of trickling water. He angled that way, and they quickly came out on a clearing.