Part 18 (2/2)

He clutched her arms, lifting her to her tiptoes. ”Promise me you'll not put up a brave front?”

Her mouth tasted like strawberries. Never would he tire of her kisses. He would die fighting an army of vampires for another of Bella's kisses.

”Promise,” she whispered, and he swallowed her sweet strawberry breath. He'd take that part of her into the wilds tonight.

And pray the werewolf did not steal her breath forever.

As the clock struck twelve, Bella sighed. She sat on a wicker chair, dangling her bare feet over the gra.s.s where it met the patio flagstone. Her white silk nightgown did little to protect her from the chill in the air. It was late September, a cool night, instead of the Indian summer she'd wished for. A sweater sounded great, but she hadn't yet brought her winter clothes over from the loft.

She tugged the terry-cloth towel from the chair and wrapped it around her shoulders.

The canine howls in the distance soared across the horizon, as if the animal paced, unsure which way to go. She couldn't know if it was her lover, but her heart sensed that it was.

Was the wolf unsure? Or was Severo so focused on maintaining control that even in wolf form he exerted enough influence to intimidate that part of himself that he referred to as the werewolf? What form was he in right now? Was he the caninelike wolf or the man-wolf creature?

Antic.i.p.ation kept her awake. She wasn't fearful in the least. Okay, maybe a little.

More than a little.

She'd met the wolf. Despite her fear of dogs, she'd handled it remarkably.

But tonight? This was like an introduction to the last part of a man she loved, the one part of him he kept hidden from others. The core of him.

He wanted to share this part with her, to have her know him completely. She understood how difficult it was for Severo to do this.

He couldn't know what his werewolf would do to her.

And how would she react? Would it be as that night when she'd first been chased by vampires? She'd fled out of fear of what she'd seen. And that had merely been fangs. ”Be brave,” she coached. ”He is your lover.”

She would look at Severo, no matter how beastly he appeared. He'd explained to her that all the important parts were still like those of a man, though his head and shoulders sort of wolfed out. She'd not watched many werewolf movies to know what to expect. But then, coming to this with an open mind and no expectations was best.

If he wanted her, she would give herself freely, no matter what it entailed. She trusted him that much.

Standing and pressing her feet into the cool gra.s.s, she closed her eyes. The night surrounded her with clean, heady air and a hint of sap from the maple trees. The last lingering hedge roses released a surprisingly sweet aroma. She spread out her arms, and a breeze tickled her beneath the thin silk, sending s.h.i.+vers across her flesh and raising goose b.u.mps.

And then the world changed.

An animal noise pierced the darkness. Not quite a growl. More a throaty murmur.

Bella stepped out a few paces. The house loomed twenty feet to her left, and the hedgerow six feet behind. Lush gra.s.s blades speared her toes.

Eyes closed, she could feel a presence. Not human. Feral, perhaps. Predatory, yet cautious.

Brisk air cut her cheek. She started but knew better than to make a sudden movement.

She heard the sound of a great weight crus.h.i.+ng the gra.s.s, limbs bending, stretching out, sharp and clear. Were they feet or...

paws?

Breath spilled hotly over her shoulder. Bella turned abruptly.

The dark shadow cringed but did not flee. She couldn't immediately make it out in the shadow of the maple tree, but it was big. It breathed heavily, panting like an animal.

It had to be four heads higher than her, and its shoulders, silhouetted against the pale brick house, were wide. It was not a man, though it stood on its hind legs and long, muscular hands hung near its muscled thighs. The chest was wide yet deep.

It was too dark to make out details and the fur was black, so while she knew it wore no clothes, she couldn't see anything below the waist.

A glint of talon caught her eye as the werewolf approached. It bared its teeth and shook its head, which ruffled the thick dark mane from head to neck. Not like a man there. The face of a wolf peered at her.

When she thought a scream imminent, Bella realized it smelled her. It read her as Severo so often did, trying to figure her out.

Drawing back her shoulders, she closed her eyes and allowed the curiosity. She understood its world was navigated by scent.

Severo had said the werewolf had on only a few occasions encountered humans. He sensed his werewolf had feared them and hadn't gotten too close.

But it seemed at ease now, if that was what she could call the sniffing. Perhaps it simply knew it was at the top of this short food chain.

If it smelled her fear, would that excite it as that did her lover? Or make it aggressive and her position perilous?

She trembled as she stood before the werewolf. And yet, her fear did not prevail. Rather, the atmosphere felt...provocative. And, dare she say, safe?Maybe. She dared to believe it.

The werewolf came closer.

Bella exhaled and her heartbeats slowed. Sudden calm lifted her courage.

Curious, she put out her hand, as she had to the smaller version, to allow it to sniff. Which it did.

Thick black fur covered its head, shoulders and chest. Though the rest of the body was dark, almost black, its torso was lighter. It was colored like the fully furred wolf.

”Severo?” she said softly.

The werewolf opened its jaws to expose teeth. Longer than vampires' teeth, and so many more of them, all sharp.

Severo had said nothing about it biting her. Would it bite?

A reedy moan escaped her, and Bella pressed her fingers to her mouth, holding it back.

She could do this. This was her lover. A man who loved her. This werewolf, this creature, if it had wanted to harm her, would have done so by now.

Suddenly it stretched out its ma.s.sive bulk and howled. The night air echoed with the coa.r.s.e, low-range howl. In the distance a few short yips answered. Was it a real wolf fearing the cry of what it knew was something larger and stronger than itself?

And when it lowered its head to look at her, Bella stared into a fierce gaze. His clear brown eyes. Looking into her. Seeing her.

”I love you,” she said firmly. ”I'm not afraid of you.”

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