Mountain Moonlight (8 page)

Yeah, Conner was a stranger. A rich, connected stranger who could give the  Braslieus everything they needed and more. A sanctuary for the wolves. Political  connections to battle their government.

God, he
 
was
 
stupid.

“Please tell me what you’re thinking,” she said, her voice a whisper.

He shot a  look over at  her, his  body reacting  to the sight of her naked breasts, pinktipped nipples jutting high and tight, her mouth swollen from his kisses and her hair in sexy disarray around her shoulders.

She was a seductress. The best he’d ever seen.

Because she’d just seduced his free will right out from  under him. “I’m thinking you set this whole thing up just to entrap me.”

She paled, her eyes wide. “Set you up? How?”

He paced the room, feeling cornered. “After  Peter attacked you and I came in, you realized the only way to protect yourself from  him, and to secure your family’s financial future and the safety of the wolves was to seduce me.”

Her frown wasn’t the least bit  convincing. “You’re insane. I would never do anything like that. Conner, I was barely coherent after the attack. And the brandy. I should have  never had so much to drink. I didn’t know what I was doing.”

“You knew exactly what you were doing. I just didn’t give you credit for being theconniving bitch you really are. I fell for it.  You’re good, I’ll give you that. But if you think I’m going to lie down  and give up my freedom just because you fucked me last night, you’re mistaken, princess. I want nothing more to do with you or your family.”

Katya forced back the tears, the raw, aching pain lancing her heart like an openwound. Conner’s accusations hurt. She understood his anger. She’d have felt the same way if their roles were reversed.  But the fact he thought she deliberately gave up her virginity to  trap him into bonding with her  was ridiculous. And insulting. “ Conner, I would never force someone to do what they didn’t want to  do. Not knowingly, anyway. What happened last night was an accident.”

He smirked. “What  happened last night was a calculated plan concocted by a

coldhearted  bitch.”

She’d heard enough. She stood, grabbing  the discarded blanket from her bed and

wrapping it around herself. “I’m not staying to listen to this.”

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“Good, because I’m not staying either. Find  yourself another mate, sweetheart. And  while you’re at it, another benefactor. Because you won’t see a dime from the Devlin  Foundation for this venture. You played  a high stakes game and gambled your  virginity. Too bad it didn’t pay off  in the big bucks you were looking for.”

Right now she hoped to hell he’d leave. Anger suffused her and she was afraid to say any more or linger any longer. “Obviously what you and I experienced last night  was completely different, Conner. I did what I did because it seemed natural to do so.  Something I’ve never felt with another man.  I thought you felt it, too…  That mating frenzy, that feeling of destiny between us. I was wrong. Dead wrong.”

She turned and stalked out the door, refusing  to stay and see his reaction or listen to him spout more insults about her character.  He could go straight  to hell. She never wanted to see him again.

As far as her virginity and bonding, she’d  have to figure something out. Rules anddynasty be damned. She’d rather be tied up  naked and paraded through Bucharest thanbe mated to  Conner Devlin.

41

Jaci Burton

Chapter Five

Conner paced the cottage, irritated at the  smirk on Noah’s face. “What the fuck doyou find funny about this situation?”

Noah crossed his arms and stretched his legs. “The fact  you haven’t packed up and left yet. It’s  been half a day. Plenty of time to arrange for a car to Bucharest. So what’s holding you back?”

He wished he knew. Possibly the thought of  bursting a blood vessel in mid-flight.  Anger made his pulse jet through his veins,  the one at his temple throbbing incessantly.

“How could I be so fucking stupid?”

“Seems to come naturally to you,” Noah deadpanned.

“Funny.” He had absolutely no  intention  of staying in Romania, no matter what happened with Katya  last night.  He refused to  be forced into a bond that he hadn’tchosen.

Maybe he
 
had
 
felt mated to her last night, but  that was a mistake on his part. He’d gotten his signals confused. His feelings for her had been just some weird aftershock of her trauma. But so much of this debacle didn’t make any fucking sense. No way wouldshe have set herself up to be assaulted like that. The thought occurred to him but he’d immediately discarded it. No woman would put  herself through that. Besides, he’d seengenuine horror and rage on Katya’s face when  he’d found Peter on top of her. That kind of extreme emotion couldn’t be faked.

He truly believed that  after she’d gotten over the situation with Peter, she thought she could entrap him by enticing him into bed. After all, she was gorgeous and it wasobvious he was attracted to her.

Then again, why had she run last  night outside? Why not stay and let him take her

right then?

“Fuck. I’m confused.”

“Well, duh.”

“Quit helping me, Noah. None of this makes sense. Katya doesn’t make sense.”

Noah shrugged. “Either you believe her story or you don’t. You do have some  responsibility here, Conner. You  know damn  well Mom and Dad aren’t going to let you just walk away from this. It was
 
your
 
dick in her last night.”

Conner whirled on him. “If you’d fucked her, what would you do?”

“I wouldn’t have fucked her. I can smell  virginity on a woman and I stay far, far  away from that trap.”

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“Yeah, right. You’d have done the same thing I did, given the circumstances. And  then you’d be faced with the same dilemma.”

“Nah, I’m not as nice as you. As soon as  she said she was okay, I’d have hightailed  it out of her room. But no, you had to go and play hero. Look where that got you. Next  time try my approach—fuck the ones that are experienced. You can tell which ones. Like Elena. Should have chosen her instead. She sure as hell isn’t a virgin.”

Conner shook his head. Despite Noah’s insistence that he was a heartless bastard,  Conner knew better. But arguing what ifs with  his brother wasn’t going to give him the answers he sought. He hadn’t seen Katya since she’d stormed out of his room this morning. For all he knew, she’d checked out.

Then again, Noah still had Peter under lock  and key,  waiting to figure out what thehell to do with him. And Noah had spoken  with Elena earlier in the day. So it seemed unlikely that Katya had left.

Right now he needed advice. He put in a  call to his parents in Boston and relayed the situation to  them. But what he heard in response made his blood boil. Noah listened quietly, arching a brow as Conner argued vehemently with his  parents. He couldn’tbelieve what he was hearing!

“What did they say?” Noah asked when Conner ended the call.

“They want me to continue with the  project and not do anything to  disrupt the political and royal structure of the Carpathians.”

“That was it?”

“Dad said if I was going to go around indiscriminately dipping my pen in

unknown inkwells, I had to deal with the consequences.”

“Christ! Painful metaphor there.”

“No shit. That means we stay and I have to  commit to being Katya’s mate if they’re

going to force the issue.”

“Who are
 
they
?”

“Hell if I know. I don’t even know  how their government is set up, or if the Braslieu

principality is self-governing. I guess  we’ll find out when we trek up there.”

Noah tilted his head. “You’re taking all of this amazingly well.”

“I’d like to put a hole through the  fucking  wall with my fist right now.” Frustration  boiled inside him, threatening to  erupt. What  he really wanted to  do was call a halt to this entire mess, grab the next plane back to the States  and forget he ever met Katya.  The prospect of her winning the game of deception she’d so expertly played stuck in his throat like a twenty-pound lobster.

“So where do we start?”

“The last place I want to. We have to  go find Katya and figure all this out.”

43

Jaci Burton

* * * * *

Katya tossed the few things she’d brought along into her small suitcase and gathered up her paperwork. She stopped and stared down at months’ worth of preparation and hope, feeling as  if she’d let her people down.

She stared at the open front door, feeling  out of sorts. The sun was shining on a cool, crisp day. A day to be outside breathing in the fresh air and renewing her spirits.

But that’s not how she felt. She felt abysmal, shattered and dark. Despair settledover her like an angry storm cloud, obliterating the bright light outside.

Without the help of the Devlin Foundation, the Carpathian wolves were in  danger from hunters and those out to destroy them. The Devlins had been  their last hope. And she’d screwed that up.

“I can’t believe Conner thought you’d machinate such a devious scheme. What an arrogant ass.”

Katya allowed a smile at Elena’s diatribe. “I’m not sure I blame him. If the situation were reversed, I might have thought the same thing.”

But it wasn’t true, and Conner hadn’t believed her. He’d  said hurtful things to  her,crushing her heart. But she couldn’t really  blame him.  By Carpathian law, they were mated now. Not by his  choice. And frankly, not by hers, either.

Circumstance had thrown them together. She should have told him last night what would happen if they had sex. If she’d had a  clear thought in her head at the time, she would have told him. But her mind had been  fuzzy, her emotions scrambled after what happened with Peter. Then she’d consumed  way too much brandy. And Conner had been there. A lifeline in a moment of crisis. Warm, comforting, and totally irresistible.

Desire flared and ignited at  the memories of what they’d shared last night. She hadn’t expected sex to be so overpowering,  so all consuming. Once she’d started down that road, the urge to mate had taken over.  Still, she should have  had the presence ofmind to understand the repercussions of  her actions. She should have stopped.

“Now what?” Elena asked.

“I have no idea. Clearly Conner isn’t going to be agreeable to bonding with me.”

Elena’s eyes widened. “He has no choice. It is our law.”

She nodded and crossed her arms. “But it isn’t his law. It’s not even Romanian or

American law.”

“It doesn’t matter. He’s lupine. There’s honor at stake.”

That much was true. At least for the Carpathian packs.  By mating with her, Conner had forged a life bond as written in the laws  of the Braslieu principality. It was legal  and binding.

“Yes, it’s true. I could force him to marry me.”

“Wasn’t that what you were intending all along?”

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Mountain Moonlight

She whirled at the sound of a deep male  voice. Conner and Noah stood in thedoorway. Her heart lurched, her sex moistening as her body recalled his  touch, hisscent, the feel of him moving inside her.

Despite what happened, she still wanted  him. Rather, her body thought it still wanted him. Her mind and her  heart wanted  nothing more to do with Conner. She’d only allow herself to be stupid once. “Why are you still here? I would have thoughtyou’d be on  a plane back to America by now.”

She turned away, refusing to let him see how much he hurt her.

“I’m surprised you didn’t have your pack drag  me  off  in  chains  and  toss  me  in  thecastle dungeon to await the marriage.”

She rolled her eyes, refusing to dignify his  idiotic statement with a comment. But she couldn’t stand the silence and finally turned around, hands on her hips. “Is there something you want?”

The way his gaze lazily roamed over her body should have angered her. Instead, her pussy quaked and her nipples pebbled. She crossed her arms over her chest to hidethe clear outline of the erect  buds, but  could  do nothing to hide the telltale blush that crept up her neck and flamed her face.  The corners of  his mouth lifted. Damn him, he knew exactly the effect he had on  her.

And she’d bet he wasn’t the least bit interested in sex right now. He looked at her

that way to assert dominance.

Two could play at that game. She stared back, looking him over from the top of his  thick black hair, refusing to look away when  he pinned her with  his sharp  blue-green  eyes, lingered at his full lips, then traveled  slowly down over his broad chest, narrow waist and hips, finally settling at  the obvious bulge in  his jeans.

Now it was her turn to smirk. She met his  eyes and said, “Again, is there something  you want?”

“Just trying to figure out what the next step  is here.”

Was he serious? “You don’t really mean to  say that you’re planning to stay, to  honor the mate bond between us.”