Compelled (29 page)

One would expect the cab driver, or even the gentleman in the suit, to say something, but the woman gave Tessa a rude gesture, grabbed the door, then slammed it shut. Everyone left her standing on the curb gaping.

Just another day in NYC.

The man in the suit shrugged and offered a half-assed apology, then walked away. Wow. Good thing she didn’t do matchmaking for herself.

She glanced at her iPhone. Since she didn’t have much time left, she’d have to walk until she caught another cab. The exercise wouldn’t kill her.

The first stoplight she reached took forever so she checked her cell for any new messages. She got through a few before a strange sensation stirred her stomach. It was that feeling of being watched. A long shadow extended toward hers, showing the profile of someone tall and lean. Long legs. Wide shoulders. Even though he stood a few feet behind her, she could practically sense his heated gaze as it traveled from her high heels up to her calves. Caressed her inner thighs then rested on her ass.

She shifted her weight while the light remained red. Enough time had passed for him to take in her favorite black skirt which showed off her hips. His gaze then tickled the nape of her neck beneath her shoulder-length brown hair. For a moment, she was self-conscious that he could see through her and take in the opening of her shirt.

The desire to lick her dry lips intensified, and the urge to turn around to see the man grew stronger. Was he attractive? Would she be horrified to know he was checking his phone instead of checking
her
out?

Hell, wasn’t she usually spot-on with this kind of thing?

She slowly turned around to see a gorgeous Asian man staring at her. Most of the time—like earlier—she would’ve glanced at his ring finger, but her gaze left his to linger on muscular legs wrapped in jeans before moving up to his intimidating chest. His shadow hadn’t lied. Matter of fact, it had held quite a bit back from her. This dark-haired guy was hot as hell and had bedroom eyes to boot.

A buzzer sounded, the light turned green, and a few pedestrians began to walk across. For a second, she wasn’t sure what to do. Yeah, a shocker. Most men just spoke up and tried to strike up a conversation. This one simply walked around her and strolled across the street and this time, Tessa took in
his
backside. She would’ve watched the view even longer if she hadn’t stared so long the light changed to yellow. She prepared to dart across but gave up since she didn’t want a free ticket to the emergency room.

Now separated from him by a busy street, Tessa lost the mystery man as he disappeared down the street into a parking garage.

Rob Shin rarely used his magic in public—especially for something as childish as messing with stoplights—but he couldn’t help himself. He was practically on the clock with a time limit imposed by his employer: Repossess the vehicle at the 12th Street parking garage by noon. No pit stops, no coffee breaks, and most certainly, he shouldn’t have held up all those humans so he could undress that witch with his eyes. He made a beeline for the elevator. He could practically hear his boss busting his chops. “You keep messing around and sooner or later, the wrong person will see you doing that shit, Rob. If you really want to get paid, play by my rules.”

There really weren’t many rules to be honest. Just one in particular for his line of business:
Don’t get caught.

He couldn’t afford to break the rules right now. Not with others he had to be financially responsible for.

His target, a Honda Coupe Civic, sat between two other smaller cars. Everything was squeezed in nice and tight, but he had more than enough room to work. He opened his worn satchel and reached into the folds.

A whisper, followed by an old man’s chuckle, emerged from the satchel. “I’ve never seen you do that in public before,
Doryeonim
. What was so special about that one?”

Rob sighed. “Oh hush and pass me what I need, Harabeuji.”

Magic brushed against his hand like layers of electrified silk. Between the layers, his hand encountered wands, bolt cutters, and other tools. So many toys to play with—the tools of the trade for a warlock who needed to collect on the debt of others.

The restless spirit woven into the old leather bag harrumphed. “You don’t see me casting spells to charm the Gucci bags off 5th Street.”

Rob chuckled. “Every man has his weakness. Mine happens to involve beautiful women with long legs. You have no room to talk. You almost convinced me to let you spend the night in a leather outlet.”

“The craftsmanship in that place was impeccable. Almost as fine as what you’d find in a
Goryeo
marketplace. Have I ever told you about the time I armed my handler with a grand ice staff? He stood proud against ten fire demons!”

Rob couldn’t help but shake his head with a smile. Harabeuji had constant tales from medieval Korea to tell him, but he had work to do. First things first, he needed to disable the spell protecting the vehicle. A pretty powerful one, but he’d faced stronger ones before. After that, the hardest thing he’d have to face was the parking brake. He tried to focus on the mission at hand, but frowned when he smelled perfume. The scent was probably from the car beside this one.

The feminine perfume filled his nostrils and then settled into his tightening groin. He couldn’t help but think about the woman he had passed on the street. Damn, she was beautiful. She’d satisfied his curiosity easily enough when she peered at him.

Rob had been too long without a woman. He should remedy that when he got some spare time which, unfortunately, he didn’t have much of. Just one month of medical leave and then he’d have to report back to base.

His commanding officer had been kind, yet firm. “You’re too good of a SEAL to stay down for long, Shin. Don’t get too comfortable.”

He returned his attention to the task at hand. Finish the mission and get paid.

Wow, what a ride! It’s been nearly two years since Coveted was released and now Natalya’s journey has reached this point. It’s amazing to think back to when I got the call from my agent Jim McCarthy about the offer from Betsy Mitchell with Del Rey books. The first two books had the best editors in the world. Thank you, Tricia Narwani and also Mike Braff.

I have so many people to thank for helping me with this book. To Sarah Bromley and Wayne Purdin for offering a hand to help me craft the best book. Thank you! To my Magic & Mayhem Writer sisters for their support. Thanks Amanda Bonilla, Amanda Carlson, Nadia Lee, and Sandy Williams!

Additional thanks Amanda Bonilla for reading a few scenes for me. You rock, sister.

The opening of this book has been read by so many people including Missouri RWA’s CORE critique group and my critique partners Amanda Berry and Jeannie Lin. Thanks, ladies!

Additional thanks to Tommi Veijalainen for help with the Finnish language.

To anyone I didn’t mention, thank you for being there to support me. I’m grateful to have you in my life.

OTHER TITLES BY SHAWNTELLE MADISON

COVETED SERIES

Natalya Stravinsky:

Collected (Prequel Novella)

Coveted

Kept

Compelled

Aggie McClure:

Bitter Disenchantment

Best Served Bitter (Coming in 2014)

Tessa Dandridge:

Repossessed: The Warlock Repo Man Chronicles

HADLEY WEREWOLVES

Bitten by Deceit

Bitten by Treachery

Bitten by Vengeance (Coming in 2014)

ABOUT SHAWNTELLE MADISON

Shawntelle Madison is a Web developer who loves to weave words as well as code. She’d be reluctant to admit it, but if pressed, she’d say that she covets and collects source code. After losing her first summer job detasseling corn, Madison performed various jobs, from fast-food clerk to grunt programmer to university webmaster. Writing eccentric characters is her favorite job of all. On any given day when she’s not surgically attached to her computer, she can be found watching cheesy horror movies or the latest action-packed anime. Shawntelle Madison lives in Missouri with her husband and children.

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