A Cursed Embrace

We shared a nice dinner, and I enjoyed our time together. Misha even succeeded in getting me to laugh. It was a hell of an accomplishment, considering the day I’d had. Still, I couldn’t help feeling sad. A heavy sense of bereavement wouldn’t leave me. It wasn’t until dessert arrived that I realized I mourned the loss of hope that Aric would come back to me.

“I do not understand how someone so lovely can appear so miserable,” Misha said while we waited for his car.

“I’m sorry, Misha. The last few weeks have been horrible. I don’t mean to be such a lousy date.”

Misha pressed me against a wall in the shadows of the building. His large hands held my waist, and his breath was warm against my jaw. “Perhaps what you need is something to occupy your mind,” he murmured.

I trembled when his lips skimmed across my neck. My God, it felt so good to be touched. I hadn’t fathomed the extent of my loneliness until Misha’s caress awakened the sensuality buried deep within my body’s memory.

I shoved away the grief generated from the strokes of unfamiliar hands, and forced myself to feel the tantalizing effect of Misha’s contact. This will end the hurt and numb the pain, I reminded myself. If only for a little while . . .

Misha kissed me. My lips parted as I welcomed him deep into my mouth. He tasted delicious and decadent like the most tempting and sinful of desserts. My body sank into his, my arms linked around his neck, and my fingers tugged his long, gorgeous hair.

Our kisses increased in fervor. His hands wandered up my dress, exploring my body in a rough, seductive massage. But as a long, deep moan escaped my lips, he vanished, except for the strands of his hair entangled between my fingers.

A horrible crash made me lurch to the side. Misha lay sprawled with his body embedded in the building across the street. Crumbling chunks of brick peppered the sidewalk as he stirred. I took a step in his direction, confused as to what happened. “Misha—”

That’s when I smelled him. The scent of water crashing over stones mixed with the smell of fury. Aric stood in the street, facing Misha. The guttural rumble in which he spoke burned me to the core. “Get up, you goddamn leech. I’m going to rip you to pieces. You don’t touch her!”

Misha extracted himself from the building in one hard pull. He dusted off like he’d just rolled in the hay, but calmness had clearly left him. He reminded me of a venomous snake, a pissed-off and hungry venomous snake coiling to strike. “I’ve waited a long time for this, boy.”

Misha launched himself at Aric, but they never made contact. Wolves and vampires surged out of nowhere and grabbed them. Koda, Gemini, Liam, and even Bren were among the wolves trying to stop Aric, yet despite their united effort, they couldn’t hold him back. “Aric, don’t do this,” Koda urged. “We have an agreement.”

Misha’s bodyguards and some of his family also tried unsuccessfully to restrain Misha. “Master, please,” Agnes begged. “Think of the treaty!”

Emme ran to me, her face pale with fright. “Oh my God, Celia. They’re going to kill each other.”

That was all I needed to hear to pull me out of my stupor. I sprinted forward, grabbing Aric and Misha seconds before they connected and shifted them into the road. I surfaced, leaving them embedded from their shoulder blades down. “Enough,” I hissed as they struggled. “That’s enough!”

Ragged breaths filled the quiet street. I ignored the stares the vampires, the wolves, and my sisters trained on me. All I cared about was putting miles between Aric and Misha. Cracks split the street from their struggles and the pounding of their efforts shook my feet. They’d be free soon. And no one would be able to stop them.

I bent forward to face Misha. “I’ll let you up if you promise to walk away.”

The edges of his lips curved with wicked hunger. He looked right at Aric when he answered me. “Only if you walk away with me, kitten.”

I nodded, knowing what he meant. “Yes, I’ll go with you, Misha.”

Aric’s struggles grew more violent. A block of asphalt broke near his right shoulder as he swore at and threatened Misha. We were running out of time. I grabbed Misha’s exposed hand and shifted him up to the street. He immediately snaked his arm around my waist. I placed my arm against his lower back, trying to hurry him toward his awaiting vehicle.

Taran bespelled a bunch of onlookers, convincing them that an earthquake had caused the damage, and imploring them to return to their homes. I didn’t look back after that. I climbed into Misha’s Hummer limo, and we drove away.

Despair squeezed my throat like a vise. My personal life was in an emotional tailspin. I’d emerged from my depressive state only to dive back in again.

Misha put his arm around me and smoothed my hair. He held me with kindness unbefitting a vampire of his caliber and any vampire in general. No. This wasn’t a master capable of murdering a young female. No matter what the wolves believed. “Aric blames you for killing someone he loved,” I said quietly.

A flicker of recognition played briefly in his expression. “He does.”

“But you didn’t kill her.”

Misha leaned back, waiting for me to say more. My comment wasn’t a question. He heard my acceptance of his innocence in my voice.

“What did happen, Misha?”

He patted his knee as if bored, taking his time to answer. “My master, Uri, and I visited the lupines years ago at their sacred Den in Colorado. A young pureblood there demonstrated an interest in me. When I refused to entertain her company following our night together, she took her life.” The hand at his knee clenched into a tight fist. “Had I recognized her fragile state, I wouldn’t have allowed her in my quarters. In his grief, your wolf sought to cast blame. As vampire, I of course became his obvious target.”

I bit back my sorrow, threatening to unravel like a tightly bound cord. “That’s why Aric’s so angry at finding us together. I remind him of his girlfriend who he loved and lost.”

Misha watched me closely. “The she-wolf was a relation of his, Celia. One he regarded like a sister.” His face hardened. “That mongrel has never loved.”

Yeah. Maybe you’re right. Tears streaked down my face, ruining Taran’s cosmetic efforts. Misha didn’t seem to mind. He lifted my chin and wiped my eyes with a silk handkerchief. “You will not join me in bed tonight, will you?”

He knew I was going to refuse him, yet he wasn’t angry or hurtful or proud. He was simply Misha, the man I’d come to know.

I blinked a few times, taking in every ounce of his enticing features, from his godlike face, to the impenetrable wall of muscle surrounding his tall frame. Good Lord, Misha was masculine beauty molded to perfection.

And yet not the one who I desired.

“I’m sorry, Misha. You deserve better than what I can offer.”

“Somehow I doubt that,” he said almost silently. For the second time since I’d met him, Misha’s eyes lost their sting. There was no hint of a wicked smile or of the ruthless master that terrified his keep. At that moment, Misha seemed more human than the day I’d returned his soul.

Instead of taking me to his house, Misha ordered Hank to turn the BYTE ME mobile around. I didn’t know what he planned until the limo pulled up in front of the ice cream parlor we’d frequented. When Hank opened the door, Misha stepped out and offered me his hand. I took it. Then we walked inside to drown my sorrows.

* * *

A strange sense of quiet surrounded my neighborhood and thickened as Misha and I sauntered up the front steps. I didn’t know why until I opened the door. Aric stood in the middle of our family room with his fists clenched, his face red, and his wolf on the verge of attacking. Taran must have placed a silencing charm around the house to contain his growls. He lunged at Misha the moment he saw us. The wolves barely jumped on him in time.

“I’ll kill you! I’ll tear out your goddamn throat!”

Emme tried to help hold Aric with her force. Shayna quickly manipulated the fire poker into restraints. Taran stepped in front of me and gathered her magic to stun him.