Imprisoned by Desire Page 6

  Of my four brothers, I was the only one who used the old tools of the craft on a regular basis.

  Nino had never been interested enough to learn, Leo’s gifts lay in other areas and Sandro… Well, Sandro had abandoned the old ways when they’d failed him.

  Laying the hair on the surface of the water, I chanted the location spell and watched the liquid give up Sara’s secrets.

  Then I picked up the phone.

  I’d expected to have to leave a message—Leo rarely answered the phone on the weekend—but he picked up on the second ring.

  “Yeah, whaddaya want?”

  If I didn’t know better, I would’ve thought my youngest brother Leone was drunk. But I did know better. Leo never drank to excess. “Up all night again, Leo?”

  “Jeez, Cass, who d’you think you are, my mother? What do you want, ceffo? I just fell asleep…ah, vaffanculo, about an hour ago.”

  “And you’re not gonna get back to bed until I have an address.”

  “No skuche ala gats, Cass. I’m fucking tired.”

  “You kiss our mother with that mouth? Come on, bro. I’ll make it worth your while.”

  “Yeah, yeah, yeah, you always say that. What do you want?”

  I smiled. “I need a location.”

  I gave Leo everything I had on Sara Prescott, including the information I’d gleaned from the moon bowl.

  “I need it immediately, Leo. I believe she’s in danger.”

  Leo paused, the silence brief but telling. “And why do we care? She’s Bonnini’s niece. I thought you were going to use her—”

  “Plans changed. She knows more than she should and I’m afraid Bonnini will hurt her.”

  “Shit, Cass, why the hell would that matter? She doesn’t mean anything to you.”

  My brother’s words made my chest ache. “Yes, she does. She’s mine, Leo. Or she will be as soon as you find her, and I bring her back.”

  Another pause. “Huh. Nino was right. You’ve finally lost it. I’ll be damned. How’d you lose the girl?”

  “When did Nino— No, don’t bother. Knowing Nino, he called you right after I sent him back. And I don’t have time to explain what happened. Just find the address.”

  “If that was nearly an hour ago then, yeah, that’s about right. Give me a few minutes and I’ll call you back. And try not to worry so much, dude.”

  Leo hung up on me before I could come up with a sufficient comeback that didn’t include the word “dude”.

  Hanging the handset back in the cradle, I shook my head. I should’ve known Nino would tell Leo and Sandro. It didn’t matter. I would’ve told them myself anyway, but I didn’t want it getting back to our parents. Not yet.

  Tana and Lucumo Graziano had old-fashioned ideas about who were suitable life partners. Sara’s family would not fit into their parameters but, once they met the woman, I knew they’d love her.

  Unable to sit, I paced while I waited for Leo to call back. My youngest brother was a wiz with computers. Our parents had been horrified at my affinity for modern technology at first but I’d immediately seen the benefits for the business they were in. I’d encouraged me to learn all I could and to use it to fill in the gaps—like the gap in knowledge I had now.

  I’d seen Sara in the moon bowl, but it would’ve taken a more powerful, and potentially detectable, spell to find her exact location. I would chance it if I needed to. But usually Leo could come up with an address by means of the computer in a matter of minutes.

  After ten minutes, I began to worry. After fifteen, I was ready to translocate myself to Leo’s apartment to make him get his ass in gear. But I knew from previous experience that would only piss off Leo and slow him down.

  So I paced some more and found myself back in my bedroom. If I closed my eyes, I could still smell her. I’d stick my nose in the sheets if I thought it would stop this incredible ache in my chest.

  Where the hell was she? She’d left hurt, disappointed, pissed off and confused. Mostly pissed off though—at me. I had to find her and explain my intentions more fully.

  And if she wouldn’t listen then I’d just have to find other ways to make her understand that she was mine.

  Chapter Ten

  Sara

  The next time I saw him, I was going to—

  Wait, there would be no next time. That bastard had better never come around again or… Or what?

  I tried very hard not to think about what I would do if I saw Cass again but I had the uncomfortable feeling that, despite his obvious treachery, I might throw myself at him.

  Last night had been amazing, he’d been right about that. And the more I thought about what he’d said about Uncle Daniel, the more I knew that at least some of it was true.

  Something was going on at BD Enterprises. I’d been ignoring the signs, because I hadn’t wanted to dig too deep for fear I’d discover something I didn’t want to know. How much of a coward did that make me?

  So here I was, sitting in my parents’ cabin hidden in the hills near the Appalachian Trail in northwestern Berks County? My parents had used this rustic, one-room structure on weekends. It had a toilet, sink and shower stall in the back left corner, a small kitchen with a tiny refrigerator in the right corner, a bed to the right of the door, a couch to the left and a fat woodstove in the center.

  My parents had said they used the cabin to escape. Escape from what, I’d never really known.

  Since my parents’ death, I’d only spent a few nights here since graduating from college. My uncle had occasionally asked if I wanted to sell the house and twenty acres, but I couldn’t do it.

  He’d never questioned my attachment to the place, never pressured me to sell. Now I had to wonder why I’d wanted to keep the cabin all these years—considering this was where my parents had died. Well, not in the house but on the property.

  While some people might not have been able to return to the place where their parents had died, I’d always felt close to them here. The rest of the world fell away when I visited.

  Now I found it hard to relax. And it was all his fault. Damn him for invading this once-sacred space.

  I was so pissed at him I could scream. At the same time, I was angry at myself. For being taken in, for falling for him. He hadn’t been slick, he hadn’t bowled me over with charm. Hell, he wasn’t even all that good-looking.

  Grimacing, I took that last observation back. The damn man was gorgeous. Damn him.

  He’d seduced me just by being himself. Which begged the question, was he telling the truth about everything?

  I was so not ready to think about what else I’d seen Cass do. About the other man who’d disappeared before my eyes—right before I’d done the same.

  I’d never discussed my ability to think myself somewhere else, not with anyone. And I’d never used the power if there were other people around.

  “It’s a useless, stupid, deadly gift, sweetheart,” my mother had said on the rare occasions they talked about my power—or curse—just after I’d realized I could make myself invisible.

  It’d been a shock the first time I’d willed myself to disappear. After I’d reappeared, my mom and dad had looked at each other, the fear in their faces enough to let me know this wasn’t a party trick.

  Obviously Cass had a similar gift—which raised all sorts of questions. Where did they get their powers from? Were they born with them? Did others have them? What was I? Was I human? Or something else?

  There was no one to whom I could go for answers. My closest living relative was my uncle. My mother’s parents had died before I’d been born. Only my dad’s mother was alive, but she was in a nursing home in Florida and probably wouldn’t be much help, because the power had come from my mom, who was Uncle Daniel’s sister. Did he also have powers? And why did I believe Cass when he told me not to go to my uncle with questions?

  “Oh, this is stupid. You’re not getting anywhere…and now you’re talking to yourself.”

  Throwing my hands in the
air, I decided I needed a nap. Maybe sleep would help clear my mind. Then I could decide what, if anything, I wanted to do—

  Something crashed into the door, making my jump and startling a cry out of me.

  Running to the front window, I looked to see if a tree had fallen against the house.

  But what I saw made me think that maybe I had gone crazy overnight.

  Chapter Eleven

  Cass

  “You’re sure, Leo?”

  My brother sighed so loudly the phone line crackled. “Yes, I’m sure. Now, for the fifth time, get the hell off my back and go find your little woman. You do know you’re obsessed, right?”

  Yeah, I knew that, but I didn’t need my younger brother to point that out. “Testa di minchia, saccente. I’ll call you later.”

  “Hey, Cass?”

  I sighed. “What?”

  “Be careful. You don’t sound too steady.”

  A “fuck you” was on the tip of my tongue when I realized my brother wasn’t joking. “I’ll be fine, Leo. And thanks.” I hung up before the kid could say anything else.

  Pulling a state map from my office desk, I pinpointed the location Leo had found for Sara’s parents’ cabin. It fit the profile for the area I’d seen in the moon bowl. Secluded, wooded. Perfect.

  Before I left, I gathered a few supplies and stuffed them in a backpack. I needed to be prepared if she tried to run again. Then I began the chant that would take me to her.

  When my parents had discovered my unique ability to translocate myself and others to a place I’d never been, they’d had to get a tutor since neither of them had known how to help me control it. The stregone they’d found, Gregory Jozwiak, had been powerful and just this side of dead but he’d known more about this particular talent than anyone else. And he’d taught me everything he knew.

  Transporting myself from my home to a specific place more than twenty miles away was child’s play. Hell, halfway around the world would be easy as long as I had a recent photo of the area and the latitude and longitude. Gotta love Google Earth.

  And being linchetto, I could do this invisible. Sara would never see me coming.

  Chapter Twelve

  Sara

  The creature outside was human-shaped though it only stood about three feet from the ground. And probably male, if the scruffy beard was any indication.

  He wore dark sunglasses, barely visible under long hanks of dirty brown hair, tattered blue jeans, an old flannel shirt and a pair of huge shit-kickers. No way could his feet be that big and no way was I opening the door. Luckily, I hadn’t unlocked it after I’d arrived.

  Lifting his hand, the little man banged on the door again and I slapped a hand over my mouth to muffle my squeal. I hoped if he thought no one was home, he’d go away.

  There was something distinctly odd about this guy—from his huge feet to his huge hands to his… Wow, I must need sleep more than I’d thought, because the guy had a nose that looked like he’d been in some kind of freak accident. It was so long and pointed I could have sworn I saw it twitch side to side like an aardvark’s.

  Okay, now I really was losing it. Today was definitely the weirdest day I’d had in…well, ever. It was almost as if there was a whole world out there I knew nothing about.

  I didn’t know how long I stood there, waiting for that strange little man to leave. I barely took a breath until he finally wandered back into the woods surrounding the cabin.

  Leaning back against the wall facing the front window, I took a deep breath, trying to calm the terrified beating of my heart. Would this day never end? I wanted to go back to yesterday, before I’d met Cass, before he’d turned my life upside down.

  Shaking my head, I nearly missed the slight ripple in the air in the middle of the clearing in front of the house. It looked like heat rising from an asphalt road but since there was no asphalt anywhere on my property, I chalked it up to more unexplained weirdness—until Cass appeared out of thin air.

  My mouth opened as he walked toward the cabin, disappeared and reappeared right in front of me in the room. I should’ve been shocked. I wasn’t.

  He’d changed into worn jeans, a tight black t-shirt and running sneakers and, oh my god, he smelled like sex and musk and male. My stomach flipped at his hot gaze and my hands itched to reach for him.

  I wasn’t surprised when he dropped the backpack he had over one shoulder and reached for me. I wasn’t even surprised that I let him. What surprised me was the slow, sweet time he took kissing me.

  I’d expected an onslaught, fierce and intense, like Cass himself. But this was almost too sweet. And way too controlled, as if he was afraid he’d hurt me or…that I might pull away.

  Without thought, I threw my arms around his shoulders and pressed my body into his, reacting on pure instinct. The man was built like a tank—wide, strong and hard. He seemed to have no give in him, except in his lips. Those were soft and pliable, teasing mine into opening so he could slide his tongue into my mouth.

  His arms encircled my waist and my feet left the ground as he lifted me—still too carefully. My sex already throbbing, I wrapped my legs around his waist and rubbed myself against the stiff erection beneath his jeans.

  Shutting off my brain, I refused to think about what had happened before—his betrayal, my anger. I blocked out everything—except that he’d come for me

  I wanted to rip away his pants, tear at his clothes until he was naked then have him hold me against the door. I wanted to feel him stretch me wide and fuck me until I came. I didn’t want him to kiss me as if he thought I would break. I didn’t want caution or care. I wanted him to be pissed off that I’d run away. Disappeared. Whatever.

  I wanted Cass to want me so much he couldn’t wait to rip my clothes… well, his clothes off my body. And I wanted it fast and hard and so hot I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t move. Couldn’t think.

  For that, I’d have to take matters into my own hands.

  I nipped hard at his lip and felt him wince. But it didn’t encourage him to move any faster. His hands stayed at my waist, though instead of kissing my again, he pressed his lips against my neck.

  Sliding my hands along his shoulders, I moved them to his neck and into his hair, lacing my fingers through the strands and tugging hard. He froze for a split second before opening his mouth over the sensitive skin beneath my ear and licking. Shivers racked my body at the delicate sensation, more powerful than if he’d bitten me.

  Still, it was unfulfilling. I needed his cock inside me while he squeezed my breast with one hand and my ass with the other. I needed him so out of his mind with desire for me he couldn’t think.

  Unwrapping my legs, I let them dangle then kicked him in the shins. Again. Hard.

  His hands tightened, and I thought maybe he’d gotten the message. Then he set me on my feet.

  Stupid man. Time for drastic measures.

  Dropping my hands to the button-fly of his jeans, I ripped it open then shoved them to his knees. He wasn’t wearing underwear. Maybe he wasn’t so stupid after all.

  His groan echoed in the room, but his hands curled into fists at his sides. Even when I dropped to my knees, he kept them clenched.

  “Sara—” His voice cut off when I held up the forefinger of my right hand. Using that same finger, I ran it down the length of his cock. It bobbed with every desperate breath he took.

  Wrapping one hand around the base, I used the other to pull him down so I could take him inside my mouth.

  Velvet-soft skin shifted over the hard, hot core. I took him in deep right away, heard him mutter something in another language then finally, finally, he took my head in his hands and held my tight, as if he wouldn’t let me go, even if I tried to get away.

  Not that I was going anywhere. This was exactly what I wanted—a slip in his composure.

  I pulled back, letting my teeth graze his cock in the process. His entire body shook. My hands now free, I reached around to grab his ass and knead the strong muscles. My t
ongue swirled around the fat tip of his shaft, dipping into the slit at the end then pulling away so I could take him back in. The contrast of hard and soft delighted me and made me want more of him.

  I slid back to the tip and sucked hard as his hands caught my rhythm and moved my head back and forth.

  Soon he was the one setting the tempo and I was following his lead. I could barely catch my breath and every one I drew was laced with his scent, raw and male. His skin grew slick and the ache in my sex was almost too much to bear. My pussy begged to be filled but I wouldn’t ask for it. He had to want it so badly he’d break his own damn restraint to get it.

  I worked him with my teeth, tongue and lips, giving myself over to the motion until I felt his cock jerk in my mouth.

  “No.” Cass pulled away before he could come, pushing me back with so much force I landed on my ass. I expected to see him spurt in the air but he ringed the base of his cock with his thumb and forefinger and squeezed hard.

  Screw that, I thought as I scrambled to my feet. I wasn’t going to let him—

  I didn’t get to finish that thought, because I finally got what I wanted.

  Eyes heavy-lidded and mouth pressed into a thin straight line, Cass grabbed the boxer shorts I wore and ripped them in two. Then he grabbed me around the waist again but this time his fingers bit into my skin. My feet left the ground and he turned so he could hold me against the wood door. He pinned me there and shoved his cock inside me to the hilt in one fluid motion.

  I was so wet, my juice ran down my thighs. Before he could thrust into me again, I came, my sheath contracting around him so strongly he groaned. Then all motion stopped.

  “Sara…”

  “Fuck me, Cass.” I turned and bit his neck then licked a path up to his earlobe and bit that too. “Come on, just do it. Fuck me. Fuck me. Fuck me.”

  With an incoherent growl, he drew back and pinned me to the wall. He thrust. Again and again and again. My nails scored his back, my fingers tugged at his hair and my hips flowed with his rhythm.