Crave the Night by Sharon Ashwood, Michele Hauf, Patti O'Shea, Lori Devoti Page B

leaning
in, adding her own soul to the exchange. As they moved, finding new
angles, her long lashes brushed his cheek. The delicacy of the
touch moved him, making him fold her tighter in the circle of his
arms.
    When he finally broke away, they were both
short of breath. Neither spoke.
    Lila stroked his cheek again, her thumb
tracing the sensitive skin of his lips. Then she put one forefinger
to his mouth, silencing him.
    “ Let’s leave it like this. Unspoiled.”
She leaned in, sealing her words with a soft, quick kiss, and left
the room.

Chapter Six
    Since when has it been
the girl who didn’t want to talk about it afterward?
    Rafe’s entire being felt bruised. He’d
kissed her out of need and frustration, but that had only fuelled
his desire for her. He felt like an engine about to burst its
valves.
    He’d spent the rest of the day prowling the
house and avoiding Lila, who was clearly avoiding him. For a time
he’d sat with the sleeping prisoners, but mostly he had to keep
moving, testing every door and window like a dog whining to get
out.
    He adored her. He hated her. She
fascinated him. Eventually he’d settled on a bedroom as far as
possible from
her
corner of
the house. It faced the direction of Wolf Creek.
    This room had a bed and a desk. He sat in
the desk chair and glared out the window, watching the azure sky
turn to an indigo dusk. His watch had stopped since he entered the
fey-built house but, since it was only the end of summer, the hour
had to be late. He hadn’t heard the servants moving around for at
least an hour, though he had no illusions that there wasn’t
something prowling the halls. He’d firmly shut the bedroom door,
jamming a second chair under the handle.
    He’d come to two conclusions in the course
of the day—besides the fact that Lila kissed like a teenaged
wolfboy’s stormiest fantasy. First, he was absolutely a prisoner
and second, Lila’s family history held the key to unlocking this
mess. As the baby of the family, she had gone her own way until
something happened. That mysterious event made her older sisters
sacrifice a lot so that Lila could be here in Wolf Creek. That was
what kept Lila glued to her purpose.
    Family involvement wasn’t entirely
surprising. Few things were stronger motivators. Talking to Lila
about his childhood had sharpened his need to protect his own kin.
If he got out of this mess in one piece, he’d consider his wild
oats sown. Maybe think about starting a family. Be there for when
his Dad was ready to let a few things go.
    Strange how that future—the one he’d
always expected—now felt oddly incomplete. Maybe it was because
he’d kissed a fey. Maybe that would make him crazy for the rest of
his life.
La Belle Dame
and
all that.
    A rapping on the window glass snapped him
out of his broodfest. The room had grown dark. Rafe blinked the
night into focus, only to see Darak’s battle-scarred face floating
in the night sky. He pulled open the window.
    “ Fido’s balls, talk about nightmare
visions.”
    Darak leaned his elbows on the sill, giving
him a fangy smile. He looked perfectly comfortable, clinging to the
wall like a gigantic bat. “That any way to treat your good
fairy?”
    “ Don’t talk to me about
fairies.”
    “ Been having fun, eh?”
    “ There’ve been moments exactly as much
fun as sticking your hand down a live garbage disposal. How’s my
dad?”
    “ Pissed off, but otherwise healthy.
He’s ready to tear off your tail for putting yourself in danger for
his sake.”
    “ Figures. Never could say
thanks.”
    “ He’s talking all-out Pack aggression.
The only question in his mind is how many allies to call
in.”
    Rafe swore softly. “No frackin’ way. Numbers
don’t matter against magic. There’ll be too many casualties. Plus
there are still hostages here.”
    “ You’re his kid. That trumps
everything. He can’t sit on his backside, and he can’t surrender.
It’s just not in him.”
    “ Tell him to