Phantom Desires by Bianca D'Arc Page A

as her breath steadied and Dmitri regained control by small degrees, she sighed and gazed into his fascinating eyes. She’d learned more about him this time—seen memories of his past that she didn’t fully understand, but she thought she might in time. He’d been around far longer than she’d originally thought. Some of the things she saw in his mind were centuries old.
    “You’re a mysterious man, Dmitri Belakov.”

    “To you, I am an open book, my love. Ask me anything. I will keep no secrets from you. Ever. This I pledge.”
    “Do you really love me?” A demon of doubt made her ask. She’d never had a man say the words, but she felt Dmitri’s love with each new encounter. Still, she wanted to hear it out loud.
    “How can you doubt it?” He stroked her hair away from her face. “I love you, Carmelita Valandro. More than life. More than anything. You are my mate, and I want you to be my wife.”
    “You do?” Shock warred with the warm feeling in the pit of her stomach.
    Dmitri’s smile held the world. “I do.” She heard the echo of those words like the vow they implied.
    “I do too,” she whispered. “Dmitri, I love you so much.”
    He kissed her then, the kiss holding the wonder of their shared love. It was sweet. It was tender. But it was also wild and unfettered, like the love flowing between them.
    She didn’t know how long they’d been caught up in each other when a piercing animal howl sounded through the room, making her jump.
    “What was that?”
    Dmitri shifted away to peer out the nearby window. The howl had sounded very close. Right outside the window, in fact.
    His mouth firmed into a thin line, and his brows drew together in annoyance.
    “What?” she prompted again.
    “Probably an emissary from the local wolf pack. Get dressed and meet me outside. You might as well get to know the neighbors. And they need to know about you.”
    He left before she could even stand. “Wolves?” she said to the empty room. What in the world was going on?
    She arrived on the porch shortly after Dmitri. He’d apparently made a quick stop in her guest bathroom. She could tell by the bright canary yellow bath towel in his hand.
    “Shift.” He threw the towel at the wolf. “And put this on. There’s a lady present.”
    Unbelievably, the creature shimmered and…changed…paws turning to hands and feet as a man’s form appeared where before there had been only the wolf. And the man was gorgeous. Brown hair liberally streaked with gold, expressive eyes and a chiseled face, he was model pretty but muscled like a linebacker.
    Carly watched from the porch, her emotions ranging from fear to awe as she watched the wolf shift shape into man. He bent down to retrieve the towel, then wrapped it around his hips at a jaunty angle, but not before giving her a good look at a most impressive bit of anatomy. The man was built.
    “So I noted through the window. Can’t say I’ve ever known you to be one to play with your food, Belakov.” The stranger pierced her with a challenging, sexy, lopsided grin. She could see his curiosity but also the careful way he acted around Dmitri. This man—wolf—whatever—was wary. He didn’t get too close, but he also wouldn’t allow any show of fear. He was cautious.
    Considering he’d just come to call on the resident vampire, Carly figured that was a wise stance.
    Dmitri held out a hand to her, and she walked down the steps. She did her best to keep the tremble in her stomach from translating to her legs.
    She surmised it wouldn’t do to show fear in front of either of these men.
    “Jason, this is my mate, Carly.”
    Rather than some expression of disbelief or a knowing smile, the half-naked man’s response was surprising. He came forward and sank to one knee directly in front of Carly, shocking her.
    “Be welcome, Carly. My pack extends to you the same agreement we have with your mate.”
    He took her free hand, kissed the back of it, ending with an audacious lick