Circle of Fire (Damask Circle 1)

She frowned and carefully wiped the blood from his face. As she suspected, the cut wasn’t deep. Had Eleanor attacked him with a knife? Or had something else happened … something in the heat of passion, perhaps? Maddie licked her lips. He was a shapeshifter, after all. Who knew what their mating habits were …

“Thank you,” he said softly when she’d finished.

She nodded. Avoiding his gaze, she tossed the cloth into the bathroom and retreated to the middle of the room, as far away from the beds and any suggestion of intimacy as was practical.

“Did you find anything out about Evan? Or the cabin?” She crossed her arms and leaned against the back of the sofa, watching him warily.

“No.”

His answer seemed edged with an incredible amount of anger. She frowned. “Why not? What happened?”

He rubbed a hand across the stubble on his chin. Lines of weariness etched his face, and his smile held a slightly bitter edge. “Nothing happened. Absolutely nothing.”

Again the anger was heavy in his voice. She raised an eyebrow in surprise. It almost sounded as if he were somehow blaming her for whatever it was that didn’t happen.

“What do you mean?”

His gaze clashed with hers. His blue eyes were bright and fired with some emotion she couldn’t define. “I mean I couldn’t go through with my efforts to seduce her, damn it.”

Relief and surprise rippled through her. She looked away. While she was intensely glad he hadn’t been able to go through with his seduction, she knew it was wrong to feel that way. She barely knew this man—why should she care if he slept with another woman, especially if it provided information to find Evan?

Besides, he’d already warned her not to expect anything more than a partnership from him. He was a loner. He wanted a woman to keep him company at night, nothing more.

And as much as she wanted Jon to hold her and kiss her and make love to her, she knew one night with him would never be enough. He’d shown her a tenderness, a caring that she’d never thought to see from a man. Because of that, she was beginning to realize that she didn’t want to spend the rest of her life alone. She needed someone like Jon in her life. Only he’d already made it clear he wasn’t available for anything more than friendship.

She returned her gaze to his. His arms were crossed, and his mouth was set into a grim line. She wondered why. “What went wrong?”

He grimaced. Annoyance ran across his face, thundercloud dark. “You.”

“Me?” She raised her eyebrows in surprise. “How the hell did I stop you? I wasn’t even there.”

He ran a hand roughly through the sweat-darkened tangle of his hair. “You were everywhere.”

His words whispered through her heart. She looked away from the sudden intensity of his gaze. If she wasn’t very careful, she could find herself believing that he actually cared for her.

Then she frowned. Something weird was going on here. He wouldn’t willingly say something like that, not after warning her so often not to get involved. So why had he said it? And why was he answering every one of her questions? “Why are you acting so strangely?”

He grimaced. “Eleanor slipped me some sort of drug.”

“Is it dangerous?” She quickly pushed away from the sofa. “Do you need a doctor?”

“I don’t think so.” Again his answer seemed reluctant. “It’s just screwing up my ability to see and walk properly and making me tell you things you have no right to know. And it’s really pissing me off, Maddie.”

She tried to ignore the accusation in his eyes. Evan was her nephew. She had every right, and every intention, of finding out all she could about the woman who’d taken him. And about the man who was helping her find him.

“So how did you escape if the drug is affecting you so badly?”

His smile was

grim. “Hit her before the drug took hold.”

He hit her? Images of Brian flickered through her mind, and she closed her eyes against them. Jon was no Brian. He didn’t hit women for pleasure—of that much she was certain.

Still … “Is she okay?”

“Of course she is. I just hit her once to knock her out.” He frowned at her suddenly. “Why the hell should you care? The woman probably sent those sylphs to attack you, and she sure as hell tried to kill me with that white-ash arrow. She probably would have finished the job tonight if I hadn’t escaped.”

“I know, it’s just that I—” She hesitated and shook her head. What on earth was she thinking? Jon had no need, and probably no desire, to learn about her violent history with Brian. “Are you sure you don’t need to see a doctor?”