Part 14 (2/2)
And he bowed his head against her breast and held her tight.
”How's it coming along?” Evie strode into the brightly lit laboratory and traced a finger along the stainless-steel counter. ”Was the hair sufficient?”
Ian Grim glanced up from a grimoire he'd been poring over. His dark hair hung over one pale eye and he licked dry lips.
”Excellent actually. I've almost figured out how to deactivate the protection wards.” ”And the binding spell?”
”I'll need another week for that. Patience, my lady. You've been dreaming of this revenge for decades. Another few weeks will only make the reward much sweeter. I don't understand your goal, though. Why not kill her?”
”Think about it, Grim. Of all the paranormals in this realm, what two species most clash and hate one another?”
”Used to be we witches and the vampires.”
”Yes, but now that the Protection spell has been lifted, I've no fear of your blood. So you know what that leaves.”
”It is an interesting prospect. I wish you the best.”
”I don't need your wishes. I need your spells. Back to work, Grim.”
The studio was small, lined from a mirrored wall to a cement wall with raised hardwood flooring. Off in the corner, a guitarist strummed as a female dancer breezed through a routine of stomping feet and twisting arms and hips.
Tonight was the audition session Bella had told him about. It was important to her, so he'd wanted to be here for her.
Severo wasn't interested in any of the women waiting for their chance to dance. He grew alert only as Bella took the floor, her arms moving out gracefully and twisting above her head to a.s.sume a beginning pose.
The black skirt hugged her legs and the heavy white ruffles fell above her ankles. A fitted black leotard put her b.r.e.a.s.t.s on display and made him jealous that two other men stood in the room.
He lowered his head and observed through his lashes as the music began.
Bella's body, sinuous and sleek, captured the music and spoke to his most feral desires. Below the waist she was forceful and loud. Above, she wove a sorrowful story with her arms and dramatic twists.
And then a man approached her, c.o.c.ky and stiff, as if he were a bull approaching the cape. Which, Severo guessed, was the purpose of the dance.
He didn't like this man. The dark hair that slicked over his ears and the focus he gave to Bella raised Severo's hackles. He stomped out a rapid array of footwork, which stirred the other dancers to a cheering rhythmic clap.
Bella bent backward, one hand clutching her skirt up high, so a half arc of ruffles swirled from wrist to ankle. Fiercely determined, she snapped her wrist to a hip and spun about to mirror the male dancer as he tormented the floor with his heels.
The man charged her with the dominating steps of a bull. Shoulders thrust back and body sleek and straight, the man focused his attention on Bella's face. His feet tortured the wood floor as he stomped about her, claiming, defying. Owning.
Severo exhaled. h.e.l.l, he was jealous of the man wearing dance shoes and a gold-spangled bolero jacket.
But he checked his anger. If he was jealous, that could only be a good thing. That meant he wasn't obsessing about Aby. The realization made him momentarily sad, but he chased the feeling away with a try at the palmas, or hand clapping.
It didn't work. His focus remained on the mere inches of s.p.a.ce between the male dancer and Bella.
The air was charged with pheromones, and the scent of their dance disturbed Severo. And then the man reached up to stroke the side of Bella's face- ”Enough!” With two strides, Severo insinuated himself between the two.
The guitarist stopped. The male dancer swore in Spanish and stomped off. Bella's look cut Severo sharply, but the small pain did not squelch his anger.
”You're leaving now,” he barked.
He tugged Bella from the room and slammed the door behind them.
In the hallway she wrestled her wrist from his grip, then shoved him in the chest.
”You a.s.s! What do you think you just did?”
”I didn't like the way he was touching you.”
”Touching? Touching?”
”He was marking you with his scent.”
”His scent?” She let out a frustrated groan and, grabbing her duffel from the a.s.sortment of bags on the floor, marched away.
”You've embarra.s.sed the h.e.l.l out of me and made d.a.m.n well sure I never dance at this studio again. Marking? Get a clue, wolf boy. We were dancing!”
He rushed after her, but she eluded his grip. ”Don't touch me.”
”Bella, he was being aggressive with you. You may not be able to perceive such subtle cues, but I can. He had more in mind than dancing.”
She spun and swung up a palm. The slap to his face cracked loudly. Severo retaliated with a growl and he clasped her throat with one hand.
”You are an animal,” she said. He dropped his hand then and, turning, she stomped off, the metal on her heels clicking angrily.
”I'm not an animal.” He swallowed. His hand was still clenched and ready to choke anyone, anything. ”Oh h.e.l.l. Am I?”
Chapter 12.
B ella stomped inside her loft and barely took time to unbuckle her dance shoes before kicking them across the rug.
The violet suede shoes were her lucky shoes. ”Lot of good they did. That idiot wolf!”
Heading directly for the shower, she squeezed past the overzealous bamboo plant, shedding her skirt and top on the way. ”He thought Tony was putting his scent on me? What kind of freak is he? Oh right, a werewolf freak.”
It was good to be home. It had been nice at Severo's estate, but after tonight, she wasn't in the mood for his raging alpha hormones.
At least he had taken a hint and had not followed her home.
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