“I’m a werewolf, and it’s one night away from the full moon.” His voice was a little harsher than necessary, and her amusement faded. For that alone he was sorry. “What do we do now?”
She took a deep breath. “Now we must complete the circle. Hold my hands.”
He placed his hands in hers. Energy seemed to surge between them, an electric touch that pulsed in time with the ache in his groin.
“Close your eyes.”
He did. And saw her naked, panting with need for him. Her fingers clenched against his. “Concentrate.”
“I’m trying,” he ground out.
“Then try harder.”
He bit back the urge to swear and forced the image from his mind.
“Breathe deeply. Draw breath until it seems to fill every pore in your body.”
Her voice was a monotone. Soothing. He did as she asked and felt the tension begin to slip.
“Now, I want you to raise your body energy by tightening your muscles. Start at your toes and work your way up. Imagine the energy as a mist … squeeze it up through your body until it reaches our hands.”
He had no idea what she meant, but as he methodically tightened his muscles, the air around him began to crackle with energy. When their fingers clenched against each other, it felt like the air was burning.
“Now, imagine that energy leaving your fingertips and fanning out in a clockwise circle around us. Imagine the two of us encased in an orb of mist. Feel the power of it pulsing through you and out into the night.”
As he imagined that orb, she began murmuring. The air seared his lungs with every intake of breath, and energy vibrated through his limbs.
Then the noise died, the energy died, and an incredible silence wrapped around them. He opened his eyes. The air seemed to shimmer above her head.
“Evil and magic cannot enter this place.” Her gaze met his almost challengingly. “Not for as long as we touch.”
“Touching how?” He edged a little closer so that their knees rubbed and was suddenly glad he still had condoms in his jeans pocket.
“Hands on hands. Hands on body.” A smile touched her lips. “Not sex, if that’s what you’re thinking.”
“Well, damn.”
She raised an eyebrow, her expression amused. “Sex magic raises an altogether different type of power. I don’t think you’re quite ready for that yet.”
He stared at her. “You’re kidding.”
She shook her head. The energy that zipped around them caught her hair, standing strands of it on end. “No. Sex magic raises a very strong energy that can be used in spells, but it’s not particularly reliable when it comes to protection spells.”
“Have you ever tried sex magic?” Even as the question left his mouth, jealousy surged through his veins. The thought of her with another man made him want to hit something, which was totally irrational, especially given her history and the fact that he could lay no claim on her. Not now, and certainly not in the future.
“My history?” Her green eyes narrowed dangerously, and anger touched her voice. “Shall we compare notes when it come to lovers, Ethan?”
He smiled grimly. “No. I’m a werewolf. I have had as many lovers as there have been full moons.”
“Then let’s not talk about my history. I’ve only had as many lovers as I have fingers.”
If she was counting him as one of those lovers, that was still nine too many in his estimation. He frowned at the thought and wondered if in helping her create the protection circle, he’d somehow short-wired his brain.
“So,” he repeated, “have you actually tried this sex magic?”
She hesitated. “Yes. And it was damned amazing.”
He released one hand and touched her mouth, running a finger across the warm lips he ached to kiss, then down the long line of her neck. “As amazing as what we’ve shared?”