“No,” I agreed. “You shouldn’t have.”

  “I just needed to make sure you were okay.”

  I cut him a look.

  “Fine, I was being nosy,” he admitted. You’re my sister. What do you expect?”

  “For you to keep the secret,” I said.

  “Silas is one of us. Why does it matter?”

  I stared at him. Hadn’t he been the one trying to warn me away from Silas? And now, here he was, ready to bear our biggest secrets to him instead?

  “I’m not even answering that question.”

  I went back to my food.

  “Look, I know I was a hardass about him before, but it was only to keep you safe,” he said. “Having another wolf around, though… it could be good for you. For us.”

  “For us,” I repeated slowly.

  “Yeah, you know, to teach us about our wolves or whatever.”

  My eyes narrowed. “What exactly do you need to be taught?”

  “Nothing, fine. Just carry on the way we’ve always been doing it, I guess.”

  His words were clipped.

  Somehow, I’d offended him.

  That was rich.

  Part of me wanted to rage at my brother for exposing us. We’d spent our lives keeping this secret together, and in one day, he’d stupidly revealed the truth about both him and me. Ruining everything we’d built. Probably ruining my friendship with Silas along with it.

  Were Silas and I even friends?

  Drew’s coughing brought me out of my brooding. I watched as his shoulders hunched with the force of his cough.

  “You okay?”

  When the coughing stopped, he stood and walked to the sink, his back to me. “Fine.”

  A twinge of worry twisted inside me. He’d been pale lately. And now coughing. I hadn’t thought anything of it; shifters didn’t get sick often. Or, not shifters with a tether to another. But we didn’t have an alpha. Not since my dad. And we didn’t allow our wolves out like we should. The risk was too great, especially when Cohen had been alive.

  At the sink, Drew gripped the counter, his breaths coming in long rasps. Before I could question him, he spoke again.

  “I really am sorry,” he said over his shoulder and then walked out. A moment later, I heard his bedroom door close behind him.

  The thought of following him, demanding he talk to me, was one I brushed away. When Drew was ready, he’d talk. Trying to push him before he was ready was pointless—I’d learned that the hard way with him. Besides, I was the same in that respect. We were too used to keeping secrets from the rest of the world to tell each other everything.

  I finished my food in silence and rinsed my plate. The house was quiet. Too quiet. I needed noise. Distraction. Half tempted to return to my shop, I glanced out the window just as a light flicked on inside the apartment across the yard.

  My heart leaped then plummeted again.

  His return didn’t mean anything except that he didn’t feel like sleeping in the woods tonight.

  It had nothing to do with me.

  And even though I knew that, my heart apparently couldn’t stop itself from thudding loudly against the quiet.

  I bit my lip, staring at the light glowing from the window across the yard.

  “Fuck it.”

  I marched out and straight up to Silas’ front door.

  Hands shaking, I raised a fist and pounded on the door.

  Silas answered, and my eyes flicked over his dripping hair, down to the water droplets still clinging to his bared chest, and landed on the towel fastened around his waist.

  “Chloe.”

  The sound of his voice, the way my name scraped across his tongue, had me whipping my eyes to his.

  The tension between us could have been cut with a knife.

  He pulled the door wide. “Want to come in?”

  I slid through, not trusting my voice. Or my hands.

  I clasped them together to keep from touching his bared skin still wet from the shower.

  His scent hit me as I passed. Soap and Earth and something that was just … Silas. I drank it in, aching at the idea that I might never get closer than I was now.

  But then I turned, and Silas was there, closing the distance and pulling me into his arms, and my senses were overtaken. His touch. His smell. His predator—letting its guard down. For me.

  Every wall I’d built around my heart came down with it.

  Instead of listing all the reasons we couldn’t do this, I did my best to convince him why we should.

  “I’m sorry,” I whispered against his wet hair. “I should have told you. Please don’t leave.”

  He pulled back, confusion drawing his brows together. “Why would I leave?”

  “I don’t know. I just thought—I was afraid . . . People I love always leave.”

  I didn’t know the words were coming until they landed between us.

  Silas’ eyes softened; pools of amber liquid drowning me. I let myself sink gladly into their depths. Silas wouldn’t hurt me. It was everyone else I had to protect us from.

  “Where would I go, little witch?”

  His whispered words held something that felt like a promise. One I was too afraid to let myself understand.

  “I should have told you,” I said again.

  He shook his head. “No,” he said, “I don’t deserve to know your secrets.”

  He started to pull away, his eyes hardening with what I was already coming to recognize as a wall. Something to keep others out. Or to keep his own pain in. Either way, panic reared.

  I grabbed his arm, unwilling to let him go again.

  “Maybe you don’t deserve them, but I want to tell you anyway,” I insisted.

  He stilled, and I could feel some sort of tug of war going on inside him. “All right,” he said finally. Still guarded. But willing. “Tell me.”

  So I did.

  “Thirty years ago, things were different between lupins and hexes,” I said, starting at the very beginning. “I’m not sure how much you’ve heard from your pack, but we were friends. Or friendly.” I smiled ruefully. “I’m told the parties were beyond anything we could imagine now. Summer Solstice, Beltane, Samhain. All an excuse to … mingle.”

  He snorted.

  “Over the years, the gatherings began to draw a larger crowd. Some came from other towns. Or even other states. To party with the witches.”

  “I’ve heard the stories,” he said.

  “My father was one of the out-of-towners who came to party. He was from Virginia—a place called Black Moon.”

  Silas’ eyes widened. “Your old man was Black Moon pack?”

  “You know it?”

  “Rumors mostly. They say a curse backfired, and now they’re all half-monster—filled with darkness. As ruthless as they come.”

  I smiled sadly at the memories washing over me in waves. “He was definitely a tough guy to grow up with.”

  “And the hexerei allowed him to be here? Hell, I’m surprised his pack let him leave.”

  “They didn’t,” I admitted, my happiness zapped by the reminder. “He was in my life for eight years before his pack came to re-claim him. But that’s a different story. The point is, my parents met during a time when hybrid relations were a bit more accepted. Having children together was … tolerated. But then Cohen rose to power, and all of that changed. Even if my dad hadn’t been reclaimed by his pack, he wouldn’t have been safe here once Cohen ran things.”

  “But Cohen left you and Drew alone.”

  It wasn’t a statement. It was a question that dared me to say no.

  I shook my head, and instant rage filled his eyes, darkening them until his scent became more animal than human. Vengeance. For a crime he didn’t even fully understand yet.

  “Silas, it’s okay,” I said. When he didn’t respond, I tried again. “I’m okay. See? I’m sitting right here in front of you. Unharmed.”

  He blinked, and slowly, his expression cleared.

  I frowned.

  His protectiveness was flattering, but the way he’d gone from zero to murderous left me a little concerned. Even my own wolf had never done that—and I had good reason.

  “Are you okay?” I asked.

  “I don’t understand,” he admitted. “You’re safe, but they hate me.”

  “I’m safe because they don’t know what I am.”

  “But you said—”

  “My mother gave me herbs for years. Nightshade. It—”

  “Blocks your wolf side.”

  I paused, surprised. “You know herbs?”

  His expression darkened. “Cohen used it on Ash when he held her captive here.”

  I stared at him, stricken. “I didn’t know.”

  He took a deep breath then said, “Not your fault. Back to your story.”

  Right.

  “When I was nine, Cohen came looking for any cubs in our coven. My mother had already begun feeding us herbs to suppress our shifter side. She says it was the only thing that kept us from triggering our wolves.”

  His brows furrowed. “Your wolf wouldn’t show up until puberty.”

  “Under normal circumstances, yes. But if there’s danger or pain…” I swallowed the lump that always rose up in my throat when I tried talking about that day. “Drew was fourteen by then. And, well, I guess he figured I was close enough.”

  His mouth flattened. “He tried to trigger you by force.”

  I didn’t answer.

  “What did he do?”

  “Tortured my mother. Made us watch him hurt her.”

  “Fuck, Chloe.”

  “He didn’t kill her. But her injuries broke her body slowly. Maybe that was worse. I don’t know. She died five years ago, but she was never the same after that day.”

  I didn’t look at Silas, too afraid the pain in his eyes would break me.

  For years, I’d kept the words of this story buried. Saying them out loud brought back too much, and my wolf was still learning how to keep it together. But Silas didn’t bother with the same restraint.

  He swore—fiercely—and then before I knew what was happening, he was grabbing me again. He slid over so that he was sitting on the loveseat beside me and then pulled me into his lap, holding me close and squeezing me tight.

  I stiffened, unwilling to let the wall down and risk what lay on the other side, but my resolve melted against the feel of Silas’ arms around my body. It didn’t take long before my resistance drained away, and I curled into him, taking comfort in the safety Silas provided.

  Drew was right; Silas was one of us.

  “That asshole was a fucking monster,” he growled against my ear.

  “Yes,” I agreed. “He was.”

  “And your control is impressive as hell. I don’t think I could have kept my wolf from going for his throat after that.”

  I took a steadying breath, forcing the images from that day out of my head. “He wanted that,” I said, sitting up enough to face him. We were close. Inches apart. And I found my attention split between the pain of my past and the pleasure of this moment.

  Both were excruciating.

  “And you weren’t going to give him the satisfaction,” he murmured.

  I nodded.

  His eyes flicked to my mouth, and I felt the pleasure suddenly eclipse the pain. The wounds of my past winked out, and all that existed was this moment. Silas Hale, a thief, a monster, a killer—and me in his arms. On his lap. Pressing against a hardness that was making it impossible to think of anything except finishing what we’d started at that cabin yesterday.

  I held his gaze, wondering desperately if he was thinking about it too.

  Slowly, he lifted his hand to my face and brushed my hair off my cheek.

  “My little witch warrior,” he murmured.

  The rough pad of his thumb trailed my jaw, and I shivered. He looked at me with a hunger that stirred every nerve inside me. Like he was the Big Bad Wolf. And I wanted nothing more than to be his meal.

  “I’m going to kiss you now.”

  “Are you asking my permission?”

  His lips quirked. Not a smile. Not not a smile.

  “I don’t want to be insensitive to your story, so I’m letting you know what’s coming.”

  “I see.”

  He leaned in, the space between our mouths closing steadily.

  I held my breath.

  This time, I knew, once we started, it would take more than a house fire to make us stop.

  “I’m going to kiss you,” he repeated, “and then I’m going to tell you my secrets, too.”

  I didn’t know which felt more important, but I nodded.

  “Kissing first,” I whispered. “Talking later.”

  This time, he grinned.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Silas loved with his whole body. Maybe that’s what did it for me. His mouth hit mine softly, tender and almost sad, and then his tongue slid between my parted lips, and the only thing I knew was how badly I needed him. My hands slid around his neck, pulling him against me. I couldn’t get enough. His kiss was a spark igniting against my skin over and over again. Explosion after explosion. His hands were wildfire, licking flames until they’d spread over every inch of my desperate body. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to stop; I couldn’t have if I tried.

  “Silas,” I whispered, a plea for more and for mercy.

  At the sound of my voice, his tenderness snapped, and whatever control he’d been clinging to vanished along with it.

  “Mine,” he growled and then grabbed my shirt and ripped it away.

  He kissed my chest, trailing lower until he yanked my bra aside and sucked my nipple into his mouth. He flicked his tongue over the tight bead then let go just so he could do the same with the other one. I gasped, but it wasn’t oxygen I needed. It was Silas.

  My hands tugged on his hair, pushing and pulling. My hips ground into his. A demand for more.

  I’d gone my entire life without ever feeling this kind of need, and now, I was terrified it would swallow me whole if I didn’t meet it.

  Silas slid his hands underneath my ass, lifting me so he could lay me on my back against the cushions.

  He paused as he lowered himself against me, looking torn. “The bedroom,” he said, but I pulled him down before he could get up again.

  “Now,” I said. “Here.”

  He grunted, and his mouth crashed against mine.

  Somehow, without breaking our kiss, he managed to get us both out of every single article of clothing between us. The moment his warm, naked body met mine, I sighed.

  Nothing in my entire life had ever felt so right.

  And when he slid into me, the moon and stars could have fallen from the sky, and I wouldn’t have noticed. My body, my heart, my place in the world—it felt complete.

  Need drove us both now as Silas rocked into me. I wrapped my legs around his, unwilling to part our bodies even for a second as he drove himself against me. A rhythm that sent me closer and closer to an edge I knew I’d never, ever come back from once I fell off.

  I wanted that edge.

  That oblivion; careful control be damned.

  When I reached it, I gasped and flung myself over it, feeling free for the first time in my entire life.

  Silas tightened his arms around me, groaning, and I felt him shudder as he came with me. His hair fell around his eyes as he sucked in deep, trembling breaths. I reached up and smoothed his hair back, our eyes locking as we both rode out our climax.

  “You’re so beautiful,” he whispered, dropping a kiss to my forehead.

  For some reason, that, more than anything else that had just happened, undid me. Tears sprang to my eyes. I blinked them back and pulled him against me before he could see them.

  “So are you,” I whispered when I could trust my voice again.

  His chest rumbled with a quiet laughter that shook both our bodies. “Thanks.”

  *.*.*

  I woke to morning sunlight streaming in through the apartment window framed by unfamiliar curtains. Confusion overtook the last remnants of sleep. Slowly, then all at once, awareness dawned. I stilled, barely breathing as I became hyper-conscious of the large male arm currently draped over my still-naked torso. A warm palm was tucked around my stomach and wedged between me and the couch cushion we were both curled up on. A throw blanket had been slung over us, riding low on both our hips. Underneath the thin fabric, I could feel the tangle of legs woven through mine.

  Behind me, Silas breathed steadily in and out.

  Still sleeping.

  Still naked.

  Still here.

  Holy shit. Last night had been amazing.

  I’d been with other guys before, but nothing, and I mean nothing compared to Silas Hale. If I’d thought sex could have been anything like that, I might have abandoned my good girl persona and rules a long time ago.

  The possibility that it wasn’t just sex that had blown my mind but sex with Silas gave me mixed feelings. My heart squeezed—good or bad, I didn’t even know anymore—at the same time, desire sprang to life low in my belly.

  Sex was one thing, though.

  Feelings were another.

  And when it came to Silas, I had a lot of those.

  Now, lying here in the light of day, I realized just how dangerous those feelings could be—for both of us.

  We needed to figure this out before it got complicated.

  “Mm, morning, gorgeous.” Silas moved lazily against me, and I felt the press of a hard length against my thigh.

  “Morning,” I said quietly.

  He stilled, obviously reading the hesitation in my voice. I was possibly an idiot for not letting him jump my bones right here and now—but whatever last night had been, it wasn’t smart to let it happen again.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked, sitting up so he could look down at me.

  “Nothing.”

  “Chloe.” He looked pained. “No more secrets. Talk to me.”

  “I thought you said you were going to tell me your secrets,” I said. “Not ask for more of mine.”

  He nodded. “All right. But first, coffee.”

  He leaned over and dropped a kiss on my forehead before climbing out from under the blanket and disappearing into the tiny kitchen. I couldn’t help staring at his ass until it disappeared with him. The guy had a fine ass, and I wasn’t going to pretend otherwise.