Dangerous Magic by Stephanie James, Jayne Ann Krentz Page B

might never resurface.
    “No,” he denied in deep, blighting tones. “It’s not. I’m going to get what I want, too. Even though I’m going to have to reach out and take it for myself instead of having you give it to me. But that’s all right. I’m used to doing things that way. And before you and I are through, Elissa Sheldon, I’
    m going to have everything. Not just the bits and pieces you bestow so sweetly on others, but the part that no one ever even gets close to…”
    “What are you talking about?” she blazed, a strange and curious fear licking down her spine.
    “I’m talking about the part of you that goes into your paintings,” he tossed back with casual ruthlessness.
    Elissa swallowed tightly. “My paintings?” she repeated distantly. No one had ever guessed she was the creator of the unearthly landscapes. No one had even asked if she had painted them. Everyone just assumed she had the idiosyncrasy she claimed to have where art was concerned, and people promptly forgot about the subject as soon as Elissa had gently turned them aside from it. Yet this man who hardly knew her and who had never been in her apartment before tonight had instantly recognized them as her work.
    “Did you think I didn’t know you’d done them?” he asked in some surprise, seeing the bafflement and wariness in her face. “But of course I knew.” He frowned, shaking his head at her obtuseness. A flicker of understanding flashed across the hard planes of his face, and then he smiled very slightly. “But others don’t know, do they? And if they did, they wouldn’t understand. Just as they don’t understand why you have such things hanging in your apartment in the first place. Most people would be floored to know you’d painted them yourself. After all, they’re so unlike you, honey,” he drawled mockingly.
    “What’s that supposed to mean? There’s nothing wrong with those paintings!”
    “Except that they reveal a side of you no one has ever had the sense to see was there,” he whispered huskily. “The side of you I’m going to take, along with all the rest of you!”
    Once more Elissa stepped back, but this time she was too slow and he caught her before she could get out of reach.

    “No!” she snapped, slapping at his hand as he used it to pull her close.
    His arm moved, but only to form a cradle with his other one as he swooped and lifted her off her feet with soft violence. “Wade!” she protested, genuinely alarmed now. “Put me down this instant! I won’t have you treating me as if…as if…”
    “As if I own you?” He grinned daringly, stalking across to the overstuffed sofa and tossing her lightly down into it. Before she could scramble aside, he was sprawling on top of her, anchoring her beneath him. “But that’s the way it’s going to be, little witch,” he went on beguilingly, his rough palms framing her infuriated features. “You wouldn’
    t take me into your world willingly, so I’m going to make a place for myself there.”
    “Not a chance!” she got out between gritted teem. “I’ve got news for you: my job doesn’t mean that much to me! Certainly not enough to convince me to be your mistress!” She could feel the weight of him along the length of her and was vaguely amazed at the latent demand she sensed in that heaviness.
    “You’re not such a coward as to quit merely because you’ve learned the price you’ll pay for holding on to your position,” he taunted, the thumbs of his hands probing the corners of her mouth intimately.
    “It’s not a question of cowardice, damn you!”
    “Are you admitting you don’t have sufficient power to charm me into giving you what you want?” he retorted gently, challengingly. “Come, no, Elissa, just because everything’s been so easy for you up until I appeared on the scene, that’s no reason to quit at the fist sign of trouble.”
    “Don’t you dare make fun of me,” she breathed tightly, aware of her helplessness and