Obsession (7 page)

I am different. I have no family, and you do. You have money and a mate and a perfect life.

Jessica recoiled at the bitter thoughts. She’d never felt like this before. What was going on? She smiled at her best friend. “I’m just tired. Long trip.”

“Sure. Let’s get you back to your room. I’ll get Daniel.”

Her room. Peace and quiet. And the belt waited there, the crystals gleaming like a promise. Alexa had J.J. and wealth and a loving family.

Jessica had a brother, hidden somewhere, and a lovely belt that seemed to pulse with power. She couldn’t wait to touch it, hold it. As she walked toward the golf cart, Jessica ruminated over Alexa’s concern. Her best friend was wrong. Alexa was the one who had changed.

Not her.

Chapter 5

Dinner proved painful. With all of Alexa’s family, J.J. and Daniel present, Jessica felt like a total outsider. Oh, they were nice, and tried to include her in the conversation. But they talked about experiences she could not share, future holidays and family gatherings. Their obvious affection and bonds further emphasized her loneliness.

So she excused herself with a yawn and a polite thank you to all, and went into her bedroom. Shutting the door, she pulled out the purple belt from the bureau. The belt was a connection to her real family. Her brother had touched it, and she felt closer to him, knowing it belonged to him. It seemed feminine, too pretty for a man to wear. Maybe it belonged to her mother.

Her heart beat faster and happiness filled her as Jessica imagined her birth mother wearing the belt, perhaps to a special dinner. Maybe her father had bought it for her, or they had picked it out together, marveling at the crystals, her father smiling indulgently and opening his wallet as her mother exclaimed it was expensive,
no, you shouldn’t spend the money…

She had never owned anything so lovely. The stones seemed to glow with a life of their own. She stroked the purple suede, enjoying the smooth leather beneath her caressing fingertips.

Mine.

Jessica sat on the bed and stared into the stones. Suddenly patterns appeared in the crystals. When she placed her palm over them, the stones felt warm.

As if they contained power, the type she’d never had.

For the first time, unease rippled through her. What if this Jules was not her brother, but someone wanting to lure her into his clutches? Why would he find her and send her this gift and then not tell her where he was?

Or more logically, come and introduce himself?

“He’s making me do all the work. What does he want?”

Jessica removed her palm and stared into the stones. If the belt had landed on her foster parents’ doorstep by magick, then surely it could provide answers. Wouldn’t hurt to try.

“So belt, if you do have power, tell me why Jules is being so secretive? Why do I have to find him?”

Nothing. The belt wasn’t an Ouija board.

On impulse, she unbuckled the leather belt threaded through the loops of her black pants, removed it and dropped it to the floor. Then she buckled on the crystal belt.

A rush of power flooded her. Jessica lifted her hands and laughed, uplifted by the amazing feeling.

She stared into the mirror at her reflection. She even looked different, more defiant and confident. The stones glowed a deep purple. Suddenly words appeared in the crystals, so sharp and defined she had no trouble reading them.

Jessica drew back from the mirror. She was a Lupine, but dealt in logic and computers, not this kind of powerful juju. Her heart raced as sweat trickled down her backside.

What the hell was she getting into? This kind of power could be very tempting and very dangerous.

But for too many years she had longed to find a blood relative. Maybe the words had something to do with Jules’ location.

Deep breaths. You can do this.
Jessica unbuckled the belt and then placed it on the bed.

The message was still present in the stones, wavering a little now.

Jules must not reveal himself right now. He has enemies who are dangerous and doesn’t want to endanger you. He wants you to find him and he will protect you.

Suspicion filled her.

What’s he done to warrant such enemies?
No sooner had she formed the question in her mind than the belt provided an answer.

He is a powerful Lupine who longs to connect with the sister who has been denied to him since his birth. All powerful Lupines have enemies.

True.

Then why didn’t he simply give me his address?
She wondered.

Jules is forced to move often to protect himself and his people. By the time you arrived he would have been gone.

This was all fascinating, but annoying, like trying to figure out a riddle. Jessica adored riddles, but this was her brother and she needed to find him!
Fine. Give me a geographic location then, if you are such a powerful belt.

The stones went cold and clear again. Disgusted, she poked at the belt. “Some help you are.”

Jessica frowned. Maybe it could help with other questions.
Why has Alexa changed? She isn’t the same friend I had before she got mated.

The stones remained clear. Evidently, the belt had selective hearing.

Jessica gave up, rolled it, and tucked it back into the drawer. She changed out of her clothing into faded jeans and a turtleneck, opened up her laptop to read through emails, but her mind kept wandering.

After a few minutes, she shut down the laptop, picked up the battered paperback she’d brought with her and began to read. It wasn’t a romance novel, but a science fiction book she’d borrowed from her younger foster brother.

An hour later, she got hungry. Jessica set down the book and went into the kitchen. No one was around. The ingredients for chocolate chip cookies were in the fridge. Dejected, she stared at them.

Fine. If Alexa was too busy to bake with her like they had in the old days, she could bake by herself. Soon she had mixed all the ingredients and set the first batch of cookies into the oven. Jessica set the timer, returned to her room and picked up the book. Soon, she became absorbed in the story and sighed with pleasure. Time to read at last! Such luxury.

A few minutes later, a knock came at her door. Jessica opened it.

Raphael stood outside, his hands jammed into the pockets of his elegant gray trousers. Like Alexa’s family, he had dressed for dinner. The powder blue silk shirt outlined his sleek, athletic body and the gray sports jacket he wore was well-tailored. Though she’d never been able to afford any of her own, Jessica appreciated fine clothing.

“You left the table early. Was not dinner to your liking?”

Shrugging, she stared past him. “I wasn’t that hungry and besides, I could stand to skip a few meals. If I finished that chicken, it would have gone straight to my hips.”

He gave her a thorough and quite admiring once-over. “Your hips are perfect, as is the rest of you.”

Wow. She’d merely said that as a jest to deflect his question, but the compliment warmed her. “You have quite a silver tongue, wolf. Say that to all the females?”

Raphael blinked. “When it is the truth, I do.”

“You sure know how to romance a girl.”

“Would you like some flowers and champagne to go with the truth? Would it make it easier to digest, or would you reject it like you did the steak?”

She locked gazes with him. He had a sarcasm she liked, but it had been a long, disturbing day. “What do you want?”

“I came to check on you. You seemed too quiet at dinner and I wanted to ensure you were not ill or upset.”

His consideration warmed her. “That’s very kind of you to care.”

“You are a guest, and a female, and I would not wish anything harmful to happen to you.”

“Are you always that concerned about guests?”

Raphael’s gaze went distant. “When they are females, yes. It’s an alpha trait. Once I was alpha of my own pack.”

Interesting.
“I knew you weren’t a real second-in-command. You have that air about you.”

His nostrils flared. “Air?”

“Of arrogance.”

“Ah. Do you smell smoke?”

She stared at him in dawning horror as tendrils of smoke curled through the air. “Oh damn! I forgot the cookies!”

Jessica ran to the kitchen and opened the oven door. Coughing, she waved away the smoke and pulled out the tray with two oven mitts.

After dumping it on the shining stainless steel range, she shook her head. Raphael’s mouth quirked upward, but he said nothing.

“They’re burnt.” She gave a rueful glance at the mess of chocolate chip cookies. “I’m dumping these.”

Raphael caught her wrist. “Wait.”

He took the tray from her, scraped off the burnt cookies, put them on a platter and carried them outside with a glass of milk he got from the fridge.

Intrigued, she followed.

A cool breeze caressed her cheeks and lifted strands of her long hair. Colorado had a hint of crisp autumn in the air. She loved the change of seasons, but hated the leaden skies of Michigan during winter. Hated feeling trapped inside the office, then at home as Arleen needed her help to bundle all the young into their winter gear.

The only freedom she experienced was while running as a wolf, and that was only during the pack runs every full moon. Once a month just wasn’t enough.

Jessica settled onto a comfortable wicker rocker as Raphael sat beside her and set down the platter and glass of milk on a table between them.

As he picked up a burnt cookie, she cast him a dubious glance. “You sure you want to eat that? Charcoal can be hard on a Lupine’s digestion.”

Raphael bit into the cookie and chewed, staring into the distance. “I know what it is like to starve, so I never turn down food. Nor waste it. Besides, burnt cookies are my favorite. I am not a perfectly baked kind of male.”

Jessica stared at him. It was very sweet of him and she was touched. Raphael had layers, like an onion. She wondered what it would be like to peel them all back, examine them, and find his secrets, like the time when he went hungry.

A tiny, distant thought, like a brief pinch, flickered in her head. Wailing with the pain of an empty stomach…

Her head hurt. Blinking, she concentrated on Raphael. Where had that thought come from? Jessica had never gone hungry. Not enough to eat burnt cookies.

Not a “perfectly baked kind of male?” No, just perfectly put together. Raphael was sharp and handsome, and beneath the urbane exterior lurked the spirit of a bad boy. The type of rebel who liked speeding on motorcycles, eating burnt cookies and seducing innocents…

She watched him take another bite. His full lips encased the cookie, gave it a long, slow lick. “First, you moisten it, like so.”

Jessica clenched her thighs.

“Then you taste it.” He slid the cookie halfway into his mouth, his heated gaze meeting hers.

“Bite. Not too hard, or the cookie will crumble. A quick, hard nip is best.” Raphael’s even, white teeth clamped down.

Her wicked imagination saw her lying naked on the bed, Raphael’s mouth encasing her nipple, his tongue licking slowly, and then ever so gently, a quick bite.

A moan rose in her throat. Gripping the chair’s armrests, Jessica struggled to control her overloaded libido. When she saw his knowing smile, she shrugged.

“I’m not one for quick, hard nips.” Picking up a cookie, she shoved half into her mouth and chomped down, hard. “What’s the point of delicate nips when it feels so much better to take a big bite? Life is like that. If you take it in small pieces, you’ll miss out on the fun times.”

As she chewed, his mouth quirked upward. “You are an enigma, little Red. For one so young, you are quite the cynic. “

She helped herself to another burnt cookie and stole a sip of his milk. Jessica sighed as she examined the result of her baking.

“I had to grow up quicker than other Lupines, living in a big adopted family. It made me a little jaded. Alexa makes perfect cookies. She makes perfect everything. I don’t.” Jessica propped up her sneakers on the railing and gnawed on the cookie.

“There is no such thing as the perfect cookie,” Raphael said. “If they seem perfect, then they are filled with artifice, like some people. Life is messy and sticky and gooey, and sometimes quite burnt. It is the effort and the struggle that makes it worth living.” He held the burnt cookie to the light and gave it a rueful look. “Even if it resembles something that was baked with a blowtorch.”

Jessica laughed. “I
should
bake with a blow torch. Maybe then my baking, and my life would be smoother.”

“Nothing in life is meant to be that smooth. It’s like sex.”

Stealing another sip of milk, she nearly choked. “That’s a strange analogy.”

“Not quite. I am Lupine and we are a sensual people. We think of sex constantly.” He dusted off his hands. “I believe sex is like baking. Messy and sticky, but filled with pleasure and wonder…and satisfaction in the end.”