Superstitous

Eyes of the Leopard 4: Superstitious Isabella Jordan All rights reserved.

Copyright ©2006 Isabella Jordan

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ISBN (13) 978-1-59596-229-4

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Chapter 1 “It’s about time for your man, Molly.” Didn’t she know it? Molly Turhune had been watching the clock for the last ten minutes while she straightened her station and swept up from her last haircut. Two weeks ago a new UPS guy had picked up their route and he always came by the beauty salon where she worked at the same time each day. He was fine. Molly had always loved tall, muscular men and the new UPS guy was all that and more. There’d been a couple of warm days, even though it was the dead of winter, when he’d worn brown shorts as a part of his uniform. He had really nice legs for a white guy. Nice ass -- thick, dark hair. The man had the most incredible eyes Molly had ever seen. Yeah, they were dark eyes framed in thick black lashes, but that didn’t make them special. What did make them special was the fact that they seemed to see straight into the heart of her. He looked at Molly like he knew her. It didn’t make a damned bit of sense and no one else had ever made her feel that way before. Molly could almost swear that he knew everything from how much milk she liked in her coffee to how she liked her pussy licked. Just from the way he looked at her. It went way beyond bedroom eyes or her jokes with the girls that she was out to get some dick. This guy was special and they needed to hook up. Or Molly was going to lose her fucking mind. “Girl, there ain’t no more hair to sweep up,” Charlee pointed out from where she stood, curling Mrs. Henley’s silver-blue hair. “Why don’t you give it up?” Molly laughed and put the broom back in its corner.

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“Yeah, you’re right.” Molly grinned. “Maybe I’ll run down to the corner for coffee.” Charlee chuckled while she curled another lock of her client’s hair. “Yeah, right. You’re not going anywhere with your big Russian on the way.” Okay, she was thirty-two years old, but she still liked the way the girls referred to him as hers. If Molly had her way, he would be. Unless of course, he turned out to be a total shithead. Then she’d deal with him. She’d dealt with shitheads before, the biggest one being her son’s father. Please don’t let him be a shithead. “Is he really Russian?” Beth asked from her station near the back of the salon, cutting a young blonde woman’s hair. “I refer to myself as Serbian.” His deep, heavily-accented voice had their heads spinning like Linda Blair’s in The Exorcist. There he stood in the doorway of the salon and not a damn one of them had heard him. That never happened. He’s early. There he stood, all dressed in his brown UPS uniform and jacket. Molly knew some women had a thing for guys in uniform. Some women just really dug UPS guys. Neither did much for Molly. She had to admit that the drab uniform he wore emphasized how good looking the man really was. Since he was staring at Molly expectantly, she grinned at him. “How do you know we’re talking about you?” A corner of his mouth twitched. “Intuition.” Charlee snorted as she placed the curling iron back in its holder and began to tease Mrs. Henley’s hair. Molly couldn’t look at her. She’d either laugh with her friend or bitch her out. Either way, she’d look bad in front of him and she couldn’t have that. “You don’t have anything for us today?” Molly couldn’t see a package in his hands. “Nyet. I would like to have my hair cut.”

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Molly nodded. She liked the way this was going. It was the most he’d ever said to her and the prospect of spending a little time with him was just what she wanted. Damn, that accent was sexy as hell. “Do you have an appointment?” One of his dark brows shot up at that. “Do I need one?” Purposefully he glanced over his shoulder at the words painted on the salon window, part of which said “walkins welcome.” When he glanced back at Molly, she didn’t miss the heat in those dark eyes. His gaze moved over her with deliberate slowness. Down every inch of her body and slowly back up to her face. Nervous excitement raced through her blood the entire time, gluing her to the spot. It had been years since someone had been able to immobilize Molly Turhune like that. Damn. “No.” Reaching behind her, Molly grabbed the appointment book from the counter and pretended to ignore him as she scanned the page. Get a grip, girl. Molly wasn’t going to act like some goofy, lovesick bitch for anyone. She had the upper hand. The man was going to work to get to her ass. She just hoped the gray slacks she was wearing today didn’t make her ass look too big. Molly tossed the appointment book onto the counter and turned to meet his gaze. Had the man even blinked? “Do you prefer a certain stylist?” she asked calmly. Now he was looking at her lips. Shit. “I want you.” A quick glance at Charlee revealed her friend could barely contain her amusement at the situation. Damn her. Molly walked to the leather chair at her station and patted one of its arms. This wasn’t a big deal. Yet. It was just a haircut, not a fuck. “You can have a seat right here,” she said nonchalantly. His dark eyes were lit with amusement. He knew he had her worked up. Damn him. “Thank you.”

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Molly watched as he removed his coat and hung it on one of the hooks near Charlee’s station. As he walked past, Charlee made a point of very obviously checking out his ass. “Oh, yeah.” She mouthed the words as he walked to the chair Molly stood behind and sat down. He smelled good. Molly didn’t recognize the scent he wore, and she knew most of them by now. She liked it. It was a wild smell. That’s the only way she knew to describe it. Molly ran her fingers through his hair, trying to give the appearance that she was sizing up her task. Really she just couldn’t wait to touch him. The strands of his thick hair were warm and clean. The slick, silky texture was unlike any she’d ever felt before. The way his eyelids slid down at her touch had crazy bolts of electricity shooting through her limbs. Calm down. “How much would you like taken off?” Molly tried to sound professional as she reached for a cape and towel. Her hands were shaking while she clamped a towel loosely around his neck, then draped the black vinyl cape over him. His gaze met hers in the mirror as she tied the strings on the cape. “What do you think would look good?” Me straddling you in this chair? How about that? “A little long on top, then short on the sides and back?” He nodded at that and then, like many of her clients, his gaze wandered over the counter before him. Every beautician kept at least a few personal items or photos on her counter. Molly kept a lot. Photos of her son and of her grandmother, who lived with them, were scattered about in brightly colored frames. Little California Raisin figures, in their cool sunglasses, stood like all the other plastic and glass characters and figures that she collected. She didn’t collect anything in particular so much as she had trouble throwing anything away. “Your son?” he asked while she pulled out her scissors.

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Well, there hadn’t been anything negative in his tone. That was a good sign. Some men didn’t like a woman with kids. “Yeah, that’s my baby.” Molly smiled, and he studied the picture of Renard taken just a few weeks ago. He looked so handsome in his little suit, all dressed up for grandparents’ day at his school. “He started school this year.” He smiled at the photograph as she lightly grabbed the back of his head. “Look down.” He did as she asked. “He looks like you.” Molly liked to think so. Once she allowed him to look up again, he immediately resumed looking over her station. Molly began working on the left side of his head, leaving his hair a little longer on the top just as she said. “Your name is Molly?” With that accent, he pronounced her name Moley. Holy Moley Batman, I wanna jump your bones. What had he asked? “Molly Turhune?” He was reading from her beautician’s license that she was required to post in a conspicuous place. He didn’t do any better with pronouncing her last name than he did her first, but Molly didn’t mind. At the moment, he could call her just about anything he liked. “That’s me.” Since his hair wasn’t very long to start with, she finished the left side pretty quickly and moved to stand on his right. “What’s your name?” Molly had been dying to know because his name badge said only I. Kolenkov. “Ilia,” he muttered. Nice. “I am wondering if there are any good places to get steak here, Molly.”

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Here we go. Molly hung onto the scissors tightly as she worked, trying not to ruin his hair. It wasn’t a particularly clever start if he was asking her out, but she’d take it. “Hmmm,” Molly started out slowly, thoughtfully. It was no damned good just blurting out her favorite place. “There’s a really good place down the street called JR’s.” Ilia nodded until she grabbed his head to keep it still. “I think I would like a steak for lunch today.” You’re asking me out for lunch? Molly didn’t say anything. She moved to stand in front of him, trimming the long sweep of bangs at his forehead. It put her boobs on his eye level and he was looking. Molly wore a D cup, so it wasn’t like he had a lot of choice. “Do you like steak, Molly?” Do you mean, like tube steak? He was staring at her boobs and it had her nipples beading hard. “Sometimes.” “What do you like at JR’s?” Molly chuckled nervously. She was trying to get his bangs straight and think of what she liked to eat at the steakhouse she really couldn’t afford. All the while, he was staring at her breasts and getting her all hot. No pressure. “When I get to go, I like a big steak,” Molly explained as she snipped his hair. “I can put away one of those little filet mignons in a few bites. I like a nice big prime rib.” “I like a woman with an appetite.” Ilia’s gaze met hers as she stepped back. I’ve got that, and for more than just food. “Okay?” Molly prompted him to take a look at her work. It was a nice cut. Under the circumstances, it was a fucking miracle. Glancing at his reflection briefly, Ilia nodded. “Good.” Giving him a huge hand mirror, she spun him around so he could see the back. “Good.” “Okay, I’ll buzz you. Then we’re done.” “What?”

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That “what the fuck did you just say” element in his tone had her grinning as she reached for the clippers. Immediately, he realized she meant to take off the excess hair at his neck. His smile was downright boyish. Damn he’s hot. It took only a few seconds and she was done. She brushed off his neck and took the cape and towel off with lightning speed. Her mind wasn’t even on it. Was he asking her out or not? “Thank you, Molly.” Ilia rose from the chair, walked around her toward the counter while he reached into his back pocket. He pulled out a pen and started writing as she wadded up the cape and tossed it into the basket. She gave him a minute to finish what he was doing before she walked around to the other side of the counter. “Thanks for telling me about JR’s.” His half-smile had a wicked quality to it. “I will go there right now for a prime rib.” “You’re welcome,” Molly muttered. “That’s fifteen dollars.” He wasn’t asking her out. You son-of-a-bitch! Ilia handed her a twenty dollar bill and turned abruptly to walk out. He plucked his jacket from the wall by Charlee without even breaking his stride. The bells on the door smacked the glass to announce his departure. Shit. However, when Molly went to open the cash register to put the money in, she noticed there was a slip of paper beneath it. Her heart slammed in her chest as she read what was on it. I would rather have steak tonight. With you. I will arrive at your home at six this evening. I know where you live. I.

Chapter 2 There was a knock at Molly’s door at exactly six o’clock. Well, she was as ready as she was going to get. When she’d read Ilia’s note in the beauty salon, she’d been excited. Then Molly had told the girls the whole story and by the time they’d analyzed it to death, she’d decided she was too pissed to go out with his arrogant, assuming ass. If he actually showed up. Molly and her friends were divided on whether they thought he would or not. Deep down, Molly thought he would show up and she was right. She wanted to go out with him after all. He didn’t need to know that, but she did. She’d had just enough time once she’d gotten off work to do her nails, call Charlee to come and watch Renard and Gramma Ruby, and find a bra that halfway matched the panties she wore. Just in case. Yeah, right, she thought, tugging the hem of her purple sweater down and walking to the door. None of that on the first date. Ilia thought he had the upper hand right now. He was going to find out that a man didn’t have the upper hand with Molly Turhune. She wasn’t an easy lay either. Maybe she did want to fuck the man silly but she wasn’t going to just hand it to him. Slowly she opened the door, thinking maybe it was Charlee showing up right on time to mess with her. But there Ilia stood. Black leather jacket, black sweater and some tight-fitting jeans. My, oh my. His dark eyes locked with hers and he grinned that cute grin she remembered from the salon. Sure of himself, huh?

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“Good evening, Molly.” Those dark eyes moved down her body again, catching at her boobs like an elevator making a stop. Pretty damned bold, the way he gave her the once over. Maybe it was something they did where he was from. Molly couldn’t say she really minded at the moment. “You don’t have anything for me?” Molly teased him like she did earlier. Just as he did earlier, he gave a serious answer. “I am off duty.” “Yeah, you are.” Molly grinned. “How did you know where I lived?” “I have delivered packages in the building when you were arriving or leaving.” Ilia shrugged nonchalantly. “Are you going to invite me in?” Well, she could do that. Stepping back so he could walk past her into the apartment, Molly enjoyed the way he brushed lightly against her as he walked into her living room. Sparks of excitement shot all through her body when Molly closed the door behind them. No more than a brief touch and he had her heart racing. There was suddenly so much noise in her living room that Molly could hardly think. Renard sat in front of the television with his toy cars. Ilia had completely drawn her son’s attention away from SpongeBob. Her small son sat gazing up at him curiously. “Baby, turn the TV down,” Molly told Renard, trying to remember where she’d left her coat. And where the hell was Charlee? Renard did as she asked, but it didn’t help. That was because the noise wasn’t coming from the television. It was the bird cage that hung in the corner. Gramma Ruby’s finches were going fucking crazy in there, flapping and screeching. “What’s wrong with the birds, Momma?” Renard’s voice carried just enough for her to understand him. Molly smiled apologetically at Ilia for all the chaos. Well, you wanted me to invite you in. Here you go. “Ilia, this is my son, Renard,” Molly practically yelled over the racket from the birds. “Renard, this is Ilia. Can you say hi?”

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Renard didn’t smile. He looked really unsure as Ilia held out a hand to him. Finally her son shook it. “Hi.” A dull thud in the bird cage drew their attention to the fact that only one of the two goldfinches could be seen there now. The remaining bird continued to beat its wings wildly at the cage, screeching loudly. What the hell? “Charlee from the salon is supposed to be on her way to watch Renard and my grandmother,” Molly explained loudly to Ilia whose expression had turned still and serious. “I’ll call her and let her know you’re here.” And tell her to get her ass down here. Ilia nodded, his eyes darting back to the birdcage while she grabbed the cordless phone from the table by the door and dialed Charlee’s number. Before the first ring, Molly heard the approaching thump of Gramma Ruby’s walker. Two rings. Three rings. No answer. Molly hoped that meant Charlee was on her way down. Especially when she saw her grandmother slowly make her way into the living room in the bathrobe and slippers she’d had since Molly was a child. God knew how old they were. Of course, her grandmother didn’t have her teeth in either. “What’s wrong with m’birds?” Ruby mumbled, glancing up at the cage. Since Charlee wasn’t answering the phone anyway, Molly hung up and put it back in the charger. It was all she had a chance to do before Ruby stretched up to peer into the cage. “Sammie’s dead on the bottom of the cage and Dean’s scared half to death. Why --” Ruby turned to squint at Ilia through her thick glasses. Then, her eyes rounded in fear. Aw, shit. Here we go. “Who’s this man?” Ruby demanded angrily, inching back with her walker. “Renard, come here!”

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Renard looked to Molly as he went to stand with his grandmother. Her fragile looking arm snaked out to wrap around her great-grandson’s neck, pulling him further back as if protecting him from an intruder. “This ain’t even a man, Molly,” Ruby hissed at her. “This is evil, that’s what it is. And you bring it here with your son and your poor old grandmother?” Of all the damned times for this, Molly thought. She loved her grandmother, she really did. Ruby had been a self-proclaimed voodoo priestess in Louisiana before her mind had started to go, so her “senior moments” were different from those of normal people. At the strangest damned times, Ruby had episodes where she claimed she saw demons or devils. Her grandmother would talk to people who weren’t there and yell curses at perfectly nice people like she was battling Satan or something. As soon as Molly left, her grandmother would get out the damned candles and bowls she used for her “spells.” There’d be one hell of a mess to clean up, Molly could count on that. “Gramma Ruby, this is Ilia.” Molly tried to keep her voice as calm as she could while yelling over the racket. “He’s not evil, he’s Russian.” “Serbian,” Ilia corrected. “Yeah, that.” Don’t help me. Ruby’s wide eyes raked over Ilia, her lips pressed into a thin line. “Ain’t even a man.” Ilia watched her grandmother quietly, his expression devoid of emotion. What he thought of the whole scene Molly couldn’t imagine, especially the part about him not being a man. If Ilia was pissed off, he didn’t show it. More points for him. Molly made a mental note to talk to Renard tomorrow. Ruby’d been living with them since Renard was a baby, so he was used to his great-grandmother’s unusual behavior. But Molly liked to keep the line of communication open with her baby anyway, to make sure he wasn’t afraid and answer his questions as best she could.

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A knock at the door announced that Charlee had finally made it. Thank God! Molly dashed to the door to let her friend in. She hated leaving Renard and Charlee with Gramma Ruby going off the deep end, but she knew Charlee could handle it. “Gramma’s having another one of her nights. I’m sorry to leave you with this,” Molly told her friend. Charlee took in the screeching bird, her grandmother who had Renard in a head lock, and Ilia standing stone-faced in the middle of the living room. Then her face split into a wide grin. “You owe me,” Charlee told her.

That was the truth tonight. “Thank you.”

Charlee leaned close to Molly’s ear. “I want details.”

Of course she did. Molly answered her friend with a wink.

Spotting her coat in the kitchen, Molly grabbed it and pulled it on fast while

Charlee and Ilia said hi to one another. “I’ve got to go, Gramma.” Molly ran up to give Ruby a hug before the old woman knew what happened. Her small, brittle body was stiff as a board. “I’ll be home early.” “Take that thing wit’ you.” Ruby’s voice was deep and loud. Hugging Renard, Molly whispered in his ear, “I love you, baby. Sorry about this, but I’ll be home soon. Okay?” Renard smiled up at her when she pulled away. Damn, she loved that kid. He was as strong as Molly considered herself to be. Renard was smart too. She was so proud of him. “I’ll take care of him,” Charlee told her. Molly knew her friend would. She grabbed Ilia’s elbow to lead him out of the madness. Not only did he not resist, he beat her to the door and had it open in a flash. “Thank you,” Molly mouthed to Charlee and out of the apartment they went.

Chapter 3 “I am so sorry for that scene back there.” Ilia nodded, pulling out a chair for Molly at the table the waitress at JR’s had given them. Meeting Molly’s grandmother had been quite an experience. It was the first time Ilia had ever encountered a human who knew what he really was the instant they saw him. He might as well have been standing before Molly’s grandmother in his demon form. The old woman looked at him as if she saw him just that way, in the form of the black leopard. The experience had left him uneasy. He could feel Molly watching him as he sat down in the chair across from her. Her warm brown eyes were filled with so much emotion. Apology. Fascination. Desire. Oh, yes. Ilia could feel her desire. He wanted it desperately. “My grandmother is a great woman and I love her a lot,” Molly explained, folding her hands on the table before her. “But she’s slipping a little now that she’s older.” “Slipping?” A corner of Molly’s beautiful mouth quirked upward. “You know. She’s not all there. A little senile.” Senile? Ilia didn’t think so. The old woman had seemed perfectly cognizant to him. Her grandmother was remarkable in fact, for a human. She knew what most humans would never know. That there was another dimension to the reality they knew and it was filled with darkness and dark creatures, terrifying things that couldn’t be paralleled even in their scary movies or video games. Ilia was part of that dimension,

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the secret undercurrent of the world. He could hear its song as clearly as he heard the murmurs of the people around them in the restaurant. Its melody was the sound of razor sharp claws tearing through flesh. “Your grandmother was interesting,” Ilia said finally. “You’re not upset with her then?” Molly’s gaze held his captive. His Molly was blunt and he liked that. Upset that your grandmother knows that I’m not human? That I’m the result of an attack on my ancestors by a barbaric cult that took place centuries ago in the village I’m from? Upset that she just might know that every time I fuck or feel endangered I turn into a huge, demon leopard? Christ, yes! “Of course not,” Ilia lied with little effort. His entire existence in the human world was a lie after all. “It would be nice if your grandmother liked me. I care more about whether or not you like me.” Molly was the most desirable woman Ilia Kerensky had ever seen. His hunger for her explained everything he’d done. Ilia could only mate with a woman who had the same cursed blood as his running through her veins. There were very few of his kind back in his native Serbia. So there was little chance of him finding a mate as his brother inexplicably had. A mate his brother had shared with Ilia for a time. Though Ilia had known better, he’d foolishly fallen for Nicole anyway. He’d known the arrangement wouldn’t last, that he couldn’t share Vitali’s mate indefinitely. He’d ended up walking away, wounded and alone. The temporary heartache had only strengthened his resolve. He’d returned to New York under an assumed name since his own name was linked to the murders of a zookeeper and a tourist last summer. He hadn’t killed them. Mikhail Turgenev had done that when he’d escaped Ilia and Vitali. They’d held him captive because they’d believed him to be a threat to their sister, Nadia. Ilia hadn’t been in the city long enough for many to know his face. It was a huge city that he could get lost in. It was perfect for what he had in mind.

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Ilia desperately sought for a way to end his curse. If he mated with a human woman, he transformed into his leopard form afterward. Ilia had only bedded two women since he’d come back to New York, both casual situations and very unsatisfying. To return to his human form, he had to kill. With a lack of large animals in this city outside of the zoo, men were his prey. Killing hadn’t posed a huge problem for Ilia so far since the city was teeming with murderers and other human scum. New York City was fertile hunting ground if necessary, but it came with a serious risk. In a society where forensics could tell what color your first shit was thirty years ago, obviously other options had to be explored. Ilia had no desire to live his life in a vicious cycle of casual sex and killing. He had to find a way around this curse so he could find someone to love. A mate. Molly’s lips were painted dark rose. They glistened as her face split into a wide grin. “Why should I like you?” “Because I look good with my new haircut,” Ilia teased. “Because I will buy you a prime rib.” Molly’s laugh was a deep, throaty sound. That combined with her beautiful smile had his cock rock hard beneath the table. The tall, slender waitress who had shown them to the table returned, smiling. “Ready to order?” Ilia nodded to Molly and only half listened as she ordered her prime rib. His gaze moved back and forth between the two women. The waitress with her short, dark hair and willowy frame reminded him more than a little of Nicole, his brother’s mate. The girl was pale, fragile looking. Molly in comparison was dark and beautiful, full-figured and lusty. Compared to Molly, the waitress was a mere shadow of a woman. Nicole couldn’t compare to Molly either. That infatuation was definitely over. The waitress turned to him and asked, “And you, sir?” “I’ll have the same as the lady.”

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“How would you like your steak?” “Rare. Very rare.” The waitress nodded, scribbling on her order pad with her pen. “Really pink then?” “Red and bleeding,” Ilia explained bluntly. “Sir, I’m required to inform you that if we prepare your steak extra rare there is a health risk that could possibly lead to death. The restaurant can’t accept responsibility. Just so you know.” Ilia nodded to her. Raw meat posed a threat to humans, yes. Not for him. As the waitress left their table, Molly’s gaze wandered over his hair. “Your haircut does look nice, if I say so myself.” “It does. Thank you.” Ilia was in no mood for small talk. “Your son is a fine looking boy.” “Yeah, he is.” Molly sipped from a tall glass of tea, watching him warily over the rim. “This is the second time you’ve mentioned him.” Ilia didn’t miss the defensiveness that had crept into her tone. “He is part of your life.” “He is my life.” Molly emphasized each word. “Every decision I make affects him as much as me.” “As it should be.” One didn’t have to know Molly well to see that she was a good mother. All things considered, the fact that she already had a child could prove to be beneficial. Ilia couldn’t mate with a human woman without repercussions. It was his dream to find a way around that. To even hope that he could produce offspring with a human woman… Ilia wouldn’t allow himself to hope. “What of his father?” “Ah.” Molly placed her glass back on the table and folded her hands on the surface in front of her. “He cut out before Renard was even born.” “He didn’t want his own child?” “Apparently not.”

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“Then he is a fool.” Ilia meant it.

So many emotions crossed Molly’s pretty face. Satisfaction. Doubt.

“Do you miss him?” Ilia had to know.

“Shit no!”

The enthusiasm of her reply had him chuckling.

“Would you miss someone who’d left you and your child like that?”

Ilia loved the challenge in her eyes. “I have never been in that situation,” Ilia

answered honestly. “I would likely feel as you do. I asked because I wanted to know if I had competition.” “For what?” “You.” Molly’s eyes locked with his as she leaned toward him in her seat. “Look, I like you, Ilia, but I’m in no rush to get involved in anything serious with anyone. Do you understand?” Ilia nodded. “I’m not in a rush to go to bed with someone either.” As much as he wanted Molly, craved her, he understood her reluctance to jump into a relationship. Ilia was willing to wait. From her point of view, she had to make good choices for herself and her son. She’d made at least one bad choice before, her son’s father, and she didn’t wish to make another. All very understandable. Ilia, however, had made his decision. Molly was his dream. He wanted her for his mate. Waiting to have her in his bed would be hell, but he’d do it. That she had a small son would be an adjustment, but he’d make it. Dealing with her grandmother might prove to be one hell of a trial, but he’d deal with that too. For Molly. Besides, waiting might buy him some time to find a way to be with her regardless of the curse he’d carried all his life. “I won’t deny I want you in my bed, Molly.” Ilia enjoyed the way her dark eyes widened. “But I want more from you. I want to know everything about you. I want to know all about the woman you are.”

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Molly recovered quickly from whatever she felt at his words. A corner of her mouth curved up into a sassy half-smile. “Where’d you get that? Dr. Phil?” “Who?” “He’s a therapist on TV,” Molly explained, her expression quickly fading into something more serious. “I do not watch a lot of television,” Ilia admitted. “I do not have time.” “They keep you busy at UPS, huh?” “I work two jobs. I work for UPS at day. Three nights each week I work at the hospital. It is an internship.” Molly’s lovely brows inched up. “You go to school?” “At the hospital.” It was part of his plan. “So you are pursuing a medical career?” Her interest seemed genuine. “Possibly.” If Ilia had to go into a medical career to accomplish his goal of overcoming the curse on his blood, he’d do it. He’d move heaven and hell to make that happen. Molly took another sip from her glass of tea. “I once thought about going back to school. I always thought I’d enjoy being a nurse.” “Why haven’t you?” Ilia wanted to know. “You mean why am I working in a beauty salon, right?” The defensiveness had crept back into her tone. Ilia weighed his words carefully. “There is nothing wrong with cutting hair, Molly. Someone must do it. But if you want to become something else, if there is something you dream of doing, why not? You could become anything you wanted.” Molly’s throat worked as she swallowed. “That’s what everyone says.” “Who am I to judge you? I deliver packages to people. Someone must do that also. But unlike what you do, there is no skill required in delivering boxes. Only a strong back.”

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“Yeah, but it’s easy for you to talk about going back to school. You don’t have a kid and a loveably insane grandmother to support,” Molly pointed out. “I can’t just quit my job to go back to school now. I need the money.” “They offer many classes at night. Otherwise, I could not attend.” Molly nodded, sipped her tea. “Nurses make a lot of money, Molly. It would take time and hard work, but think of doing something you would enjoy and making more money to give your son what he needs.” “I think about it. And I don’t dislike what I’m doing now. I enjoy working in the salon.” “You are good at it. You made me look good.” Molly laughed. “It wasn’t like you needed a lot of help.” She had his libido growing fangs. “Help,” Ilia repeated. “That is the difference. In what you do now, you make people feel better about themselves. If you were a nurse, you could save their lives. You could help them.” Molly seemed to consider his words, her gaze speculative. “I have a new catalog for summer and fall classes,” Ilia offered. “I would be happy to give it to you. If you like, we can stop and get it on the way back to your apartment.” Molly’s grin was tentative. “Okay, I’m game.” Ilia grinned back at her. He hoped that wasn’t the last time he heard her say that.

Chapter 4 Okay, so they were only going to Ilia’s apartment to get the catalog for the courses offered at the hospital. That’s how it started out. However, Ilia insisted on giving Molly a tour of his apartment and so she went along. It wasn’t anything special. It really wasn’t any bigger or nicer than hers, though it was a good deal neater. In her defense, she had a five-year-old messing her place up. Then he’d taken her back to the kitchen. Molly watched from a stool at the small bar as he pulled out a crystal decanter filled with clear liquid and what looked like little yellow cakes or cookies on a worn silver tray. “So what is this?” Molly couldn’t help asking, wondering if it was alcohol in that decanter. Ilia grinned at her, his smile that melted her insides every time. Damn, he was fine. “Where I come from it is rude not to offer refreshments to your guests,” Ilia explained. “We just came from a restaurant,” Molly reminded him as he filled two small glasses with the contents of the decanter. The quiet splash was the only sound in the room. “Remember? The prime ribs? We ate half a cow between us.” “Yes, I remember.” Ilia placed a glass before her and a small plate with two of the yellow cookies or whatever-they-were on it. “You had no dessert.” “I usually try to skip dessert.” That stopped him. His dark eyes met hers. “Why?” “Carbs?” Molly snorted at him. “Why do you think?” Slowly he shook his head. “I honestly do not know. I think you are a beautiful woman, Molly. I hope it is not some concern about your appearance because you are perfect now.”

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Either he didn’t get her sarcasm or he was blunt. Molly suspected it was the latter. And she kind of liked that. “I do not understand the need of everyone to be thin and sickly in appearance,” Ilia said before gulping down the contents of his glass. “Women are meant to be soft, rounded.” “You like that, huh?” “I do.” There was nothing Ilia wouldn’t discuss. And he was so damned honest it was hard to know what to say. Molly firmly believed about ninety-five percent of all conversation was empty bullshit unless it was with someone you knew well and cared about. Then, only cut it in half. In a new relationship, and that’s where this was going, it was all bullshit at first. Usually. Ilia was a whole different story. Molly picked up her glass to see if she could tell what was in it. One sniff told her it was definitely alcohol. “Vodka,” Ilia answered her unspoken question. “It is lemon vodka. It complements the tea cakes.” “Ah.” Molly set the glass down and picked up one of the cakes, munching on the edge of it. It was pretty damned good. “Did you make these?” Ilia nodded. “My sister does a much better job than I do, but they are… adequate.” Adequate, hell. Molly put the first one away in record time and picked up the second. Martha Stewart had nothing on this dude. He bakes too. How about that? “So is this why you don’t mind a full figured gal?” Molly teased him. “You make this stuff and feed it to them to make them that way?” Ilia laughed, a rich, deep sound that had a sinister quality to it. It had the hair standing up on the back of her neck and her panties getting wetter all at the same time.

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The dude sounded like Dracula, looked like a movie star and had manners that would make Gramma Ruby proud if she didn’t think he was a demon. Molly could tell those manners weren’t an act. Yet, she didn’t believe for a minute that he was a “really nice guy” either. No, beneath the surface there was more to Ilia. A lot more. It was the strangest date she’d ever been on. She wondered what he’d be like in bed. Molly wanted him bad. Probably because he wasn’t trying to get her in bed. She wasn’t used to that. Shit. She shouldn’t just go to bed with him on the first date. “Will you not try the vodka?” Ilia’s voice broke into her thoughts. “They are better together.” “I’d better not.” Molly’s inhibitions were already starting to lose this battle. She was ready to jump the man now. She didn’t need to be throwing alcohol on top of it all. “Tomorrow is my day with Renard and I don’t want to be hung over.” “There is not enough there to inebriate you, Molly,” Ilia pointed out. “The purpose of drinking alcohol is not always to get drunk.” “I don’t handle it well.” Ilia nodded and reached for one of the cakes on the silver tray at the same time she did. When their fingers met, an electric charge surged through Molly’s body. She looked up into his eyes and she was pretty sure she wasn’t imagining the desire she saw mirrored in them. Gently, Ilia took her hand in his and urged her off the stool, guiding her to stand in the circle of his arms. Ilia didn’t pull her against his body. His hold was light, but the heat coming off him was incredible. The delicious smell of him pierced Molly’s senses and made her want to burrow into him. Ilia’s nose lifted like he smelled something too. Her? Molly looked up at him, gazed at that sexy mouth.

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“If you kiss me, Molly,” Ilia warned, “I can not promise that I will be able to stop at that. I might demand your absolute surrender here and now.” Molly shuddered at that. Absolute surrender. Damn. Ilia’s arms tightened around her at her body’s reaction. They felt like bands of steel and she got the feeling he’d already decided that they were doing it. Excitement raced through her body like an out-of-control freight train. Molly was accustomed to men who tried to jive her to get into her panties. She could tell this man didn’t want a fuck for the night. Whatever he wanted from her, he was dead serious about it. It scared her a little. It thrilled her a lot more. Well, Molly would deal with his wants as they came. Right now, she’d settle for that fuck. Let’s get it on, Batman. Molly pressed her palms to his chest and slid her hands up a wall of hard, solid muscle. Ilia didn’t move as her fingers slid up the back of his neck and into the thick silk of his hair. His dark eyes burned and his groan was deep when she pressed her body against his. “You do this right and I might surrender here and now because I want to.” Molly didn’t have to pull his mouth down to hers for a kiss as she’d planned. Ilia covered her mouth with his and Molly opened her lips to him easily. His tongue stroked hers with an intimacy she’d never experienced before. Molly inhaled his wild scent, an earthy fragrance that fanned her lust into roaring flames. Her head was spinning as his lips stroked over hers and he hauled her against him so tightly that it almost forced the air from her lungs. His cock was rock hard and hot against her belly. Molly’s panties dampened from the juices flowing freely now. This was going to be good. “The scent of your desire is intoxicating, Molly,” Ilia whispered. With his tongue he traced the outline of her ear, nipping at her lobe with his teeth, making her shiver again. His hands were all over her body and his touch was hot. “It is driving me wild.”

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Ilia bent down and Molly knew he meant to pick her up. Though he was obviously very strong, Molly was a lot of woman and she knew it, but before she could react at all, he’d scooped her up like she weighed nothing and the apartment was rushing by as he headed in the direction of his bedroom. “I want your clothes gone.” His voice was rough now. He easily dumped her on the mattress, climbing on right behind her. Ilia’s hands were wild, pulling her sweater over her head, then working at the fastenings of her bra. Molly always dreaded this part because it kind of slowed things down when you had that many hooks to deal with. But Ilia had the back open as if it were no more than a one hook training bra. This was going to be really good. Cupping her breasts in his hands, Ilia pushed her onto the mattress with his body. His thumbs brushed her nipples in a slow dance, sending surges of pure ecstasy racing toward her pussy. Oh yeah, he knew what he was doing. Molly’s nipples beaded hard beneath his fingers. When he bent down to take her nipple into his mouth, his tongue moved across it with a deliberate slowness that didn’t match the urgency of the rest of his actions. He was getting what he wanted now and he began slowing down. Molly wanted to touch him too, see him. Her hands yanked furiously at the hem of his sweater, wanting it off of him. Ilia’s brow lowered in irritation. He sat up just long enough to pull the sweater over his head and throw it to the floor by the bed. Ilia’s upper body was powerful, cut. Damn. He was beyond fine. Slowly he eased down again to press a kiss against her nipple. This time, he didn’t linger. He gathered her to him and buried his face between the full mounds of her breasts. Ilia’s large hands plumped and squeezed her breasts, lifting one to his lips. He sucked the pouting nipple into his mouth and began to caress her with his tongue and tug at her with his teeth until Molly thought she would go insane. Molly’s hands speared into Ilia’s hair as he suckled her with a passionate hunger that had her twining around his body. She wrapped her legs about his hips so she could rub her cunt against him and try to relieve the incredible, sweet ache building there. When Ilia ground the

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hard, hot ridge of his arousal against her, it only made the desire, already threatening to spiral out of control, worse. Ilia’s hands were a lot steadier than hers when he unfastened her black slacks and carefully pulled them down with her panties, over her hips and thighs. Molly couldn’t breathe, watching his head dip to press a kiss to the soft swell of her tummy. She knew what he meant to do. How long had it been since a man had gone down on her? His dark eyes shone like obsidian in the dim lamp light of the bedroom. It made Molly tremble. “I want to taste you, Molly.” Ilia’s exotic voice was dark and sexy. He inhaled sharply and pulled one of her legs up over his shoulder. Molly’s long nails dug into his shoulders and that was all the permission Ilia needed. Parting her with his fingers, Ilia began to lick her and Molly thought she’d jump out of her skin at the first wet touch. His tongue was soft and a little rough as it roved from her opening to her clit where he lingered, destroying her sanity by flicking against her. Ilia licked her again and again, stopping here and there to suck on her clit and pussy lips. He spent a lot of time on her clit, teasing it with hot kisses and licks, using his lips, tongue and teeth until she was moaning helplessly beneath him. The man knew what he was doing. Damn. The wet sounds of his loving filled the room and it drove Molly higher. Her pussy walls contracted and Ilia must have felt it somehow because his long, rough tongue speared into her entrance and began to fuck her like a cock. In and out it slid. Molly groaned when his fingers took over the task of teasing her clit. The blood was rushing to her pussy, pushing her closer to the edge of a release that was going to be the end all, beat all of all orgasms. “Ilia!” Molly’s release ripped through her like an explosion. Hot sparks and a flood of heat rushed through her body like molten lava. Molly’s cry was high, filling the room. Her vision dimmed, her body shook for long moments while Ilia kept fucking her with that long, rough tongue.

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When the tremors finally began to subside, Ilia worked at the fastenings of his jeans and had them off at a speed that didn’t seem real to Molly. Before she realized it, he was above her again and wild as a storm. His hands and mouth were everywhere on her body. More pleasure enveloped her when she should have been drained from the powerful experience she’d just had. Molly was free with her own hands -- why the hell not -- and she loved the way he literally growled when she touched his cock, his balls, grabbing the firm, hard planes of his ass. “Absolute surrender,” Ilia growled. Ilia pulled Molly flat under him on the bed with a great yank, holding her by the ankles in his firm, powerful grip. Spreading her legs wide apart, Ilia gave her quite a view of his waiting cock and what a damn fine instrument that was. It was a lot longer and wider than anything she’d seen. His cock was so wide, the round head at the end had her squirming in anticipation. Oh, yeah. She wanted that. “Bring it on.” Positioning himself against the soaking flesh of her cunt, Ilia started sinking into her slowly. Her pussy stretched and burned to accommodate him, and Molly thought she’d pass out for sure at how wonderful it felt. She’d never been so filled before and he was only halfway inside her. “God, that’s good,” Molly breathed as he pushed higher. “You surrender to me?” Ilia smiled when he said that. Molly cried out sharply in ecstasy as he continued to push himself in until he reached her very core. Molly was beyond talking now and neither of them could wait anymore. Ilia began to thrust into her and Molly bucked her hips to meet him each time, loving the drag and pull of his hot flesh in her cunt. Molly wrapped her legs around Ilia’s slim waist, hooking her ankles low on his back. Ilia’s strokes continued in a delicious rhythm, hitting all the right spots in her pussy as he thrust in and out. The heavy scent of sex hung in the air all around them and beads of sweat dotted Molly’s forehead, running down her sides from their efforts. Ilia’s lips claimed hers in a hot, branding kiss, taking her cries into his mouth as his thrusts gained power and

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speed. They were all over the bed, moaning, writhing, and crying out at each shot of pleasure. When Molly couldn’t hang on anymore, she came again, and this time the room spun around as Ilia drove more fiercely into her. Molly screamed and bucked beneath him as wave after wave of intense ecstasy overtook her. While she was lost in the powerful orgasm, Ilia’s body tightened inside her, his balls hard as marbles as they met her wet flesh with each thrust. Her pussy clamped around him when he came, throwing back his head and growling in a way that pierced the veil of the sexual high she was on. Molly had never heard a sound like that before, but in that moment, she couldn’t have cared less. Her body milked him as Ilia thrust a few more times, his breath coming fast. Ilia collapsed on top of her which Molly welcomed, enjoying the way their hearts pounded in unison from the most incredible loving she’d ever had. His weight and warmth made her drowsy, it felt that good. “Guess we should have used something,” Molly mumbled sleepily. How responsible was it that she’d just now thought of protection? “Oh, well. I’m on the pill.” Ilia pressed a kiss into her hair from above her. “There is no need to worry, Molly. I do not think I can impregnate you.” Okay, that was something to delve into. Later. Even though she knew she really should get back to her own apartment, she was exhausted. Molly let her eyes slide closed.

Chapter 5 Somehow, Ilia managed to make it off the bed without waking Molly. There wasn’t any use in putting on clothes because he didn’t know what was going to happen next. Would he transform? Or would he be able to fight it? The only thing he was certain of was that he had to get out of the apartment. Ilia felt sick by the time he reached the kitchen. He climbed out the window and had just started up the metal ladder to the roof of the apartment building when his stomach threatened to heave its contents. He had to hurry to the roof before anyone, especially Molly, happened to see him. Faster, faster… He’d left the choice of when they’d make love to Molly and she’d made it. That she’d chosen tonight was pure joy for Ilia. She’d been so full of fire and desire. That had been no surprise at all. Ilia had sensed that about her the first moment he saw her. It was part of the reason he’d wanted her so badly. Ilia had made a point of being ready tonight, no matter what happened. As ready as he could be anyway. Blood was the key to the curse he carried, he was sure of it. It was the reason he was doing his internship in the blood bank at the hospital. For many weeks, Ilia had been draining his own blood and replacing it with fresh human blood donations that came into the bank. Ilia only dealt with the people whose appearance marked them questionable. Maybe a person looked like a drunk or a drug user, just out for the small amount of money they were given for their donation. Sometimes they were exactly what they appeared. But Ilia made sure something came back on the screening results for their blood donations. Drug use, hepatitis -- he tried to be as random as possible with the reasons so no pattern of any kind, including the timing, could be established. Many of these people wouldn’t come back and those

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who questioned the results, well, sometimes glitches happened. The lab always got the blame because Ilia was careful. Then he snuck out the units of blood meant to be destroyed. A detailed and intricate undertaking, but one he hoped would prove to be worthwhile. He’d taken several units of human blood over the last two days in preparation for tonight, for the possibility of being with Molly. If only it would work. Ilia’s feet met with the cold rough surface of the roof at the same time his stomach clenched and overflowed. Most of what forced its way back up his throat to splatter on the roof was bright red blood. Ilia felt no pain at all. So what did this mean? Was his body rejecting the human blood? Though it took several minutes, the signals began coursing through his body. The little pulses of heat and pain let him know that the demon blood was trying to change him into the leopard. But the pulses were sluggish and seemed inconsistent, when normally they grew in intensity until he transformed. The change itself was usually a bit violent. But this reaction was new. The process was greatly slowed. Ilia waited several long moments, but the transformation didn’t come. Maybe it wouldn’t. Perhaps he could get back before Molly found him gone. Perhaps his efforts were paying off. Hope swelled in his chest. Perhaps he was on his way to finding the answer. Perfect timing too, now that Molly had entered his life. Shivering in the cold -- he was naked after all -- Ilia considered going back down to his apartment, to Molly. As much as he would like to love her again, wake her in the most sensual way, he didn’t dare. One more time and he might transform. He couldn’t take the chance. Ilia wanted to see her home safely. See her smile again so he could carry the image of her face into his dreams.

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Peering over the side of the building, Ilia only meant to make sure no one was looking out their window or looking up as they walked down the street so he could get back. Someone was always awake in this city. What he saw had the signals in his blood gaining strength, pounding strong. The same sleek black car he’d first seen a month ago sat parked across the street and several car lengths down. Two men sat in that car, but Ilia had never gotten a close look at their faces. He didn’t know why he’d noticed them that night the month before. He had been walking home from his shift at the hospital. What troubled him were the several occasions, including now, that he’d seen them since. Were they watching him? If so, why exactly? There were several possibilities. The zookeeper and tourist Mikhail had killed last summer. His activities at the blood bank. No, it almost had to be the killings. Surely if he were under suspicion from the hospital about his activities there, they’d simply confront him and fire him. Ilia couldn’t imagine the hospital would send men in a black car to watch him. Ilia felt sick all over again. This could be devastating to his plans. Particularly with Molly finally in his life… Heat and pain flooded his veins, just as anger flooded his mind. Finally he’d found a woman he wanted. A human, but one with a sexual appetite that was well matched to his. She was beautiful, intelligent, quick-witted. Molly was his. He wouldn’t allow anything or anyone to take her away from him now that he’d tasted her. Nothing. Ilia’s anger brought the transformation on in full force. An explosion of pain ripped through his body and his limbs contorted when he shifted into his leopard form, damning those men in that car to hell for following him, making him transform. Snarling at them in his demon form, Ilia raced across the rooftop on great paws. He had to act fast. First, he had to find a way down from the building without those bastards seeing him. Then he had to find a kill so he could get back to Molly quickly and return her to her apartment safely. The last thing he wanted at this crucial early time in their new relationship was for Molly to wake and find him gone.

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***

Molly stretched luxuriously where she lay. Yeah, her body was sore in a lot of places. But it was a good kind of sore from good loving. Molly smiled as she reached across the bed for her sexy new lover. When she felt nothing, she yawned and slowly opened her eyes. Molly was alone in the enormous bed. Where was Ilia? Thinking he probably had to go to the bathroom or something, Molly eased off the bed and gathered her clothes. It was late and she wanted to be home before Renard woke up. Thank God tomorrow was Saturday and she was scheduled off from work. She’d have all day to spend with her son. Well, after she got through cleaning up the mess from Gramma Ruby’s voodoo ritual. Maybe she’d see Ilia too. She’d just pulled her sweater over her head when his deep voice drew her attention to the doorway. “You are awake.” Oh, she loved that smile. That grin made her want to get right back in bed and go another round. “I’m awake.” Molly pushed her arms into the sleeves of her sweater. “And I’m wishing I didn’t have to go back.” “I agree.” Ilia shrugged off the black robe he now wore, treating her to a last look at his gorgeous body before bending down to retrieve his clothes. “But I want to know you are safe in your apartment.” Protectiveness? Molly liked that. Ilia shoved his legs into his jeans and pulled them up over his slim hips. His breath was coming fast and he was sweating, she noticed. He had a light sheen of perspiration glistening on his forehead. Molly didn’t think it was from excitement. “You okay?” Molly asked. Ilia didn’t look at her as he sat down on the foot of the bed and pulled on the black sweater he’d worn earlier. “Yes.”

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Oh, no. Molly knew that tone. Something was up. Please don’t tell me that he’s going to turn into a shithead now. Not when she’d been on the best date she’d ever had. Sex with him had definitely been the best she’d ever had. Molly walked around Ilia and came to a stop in the vee between his legs, stopping him before he could reach to the floor for his shoes. “What’s up?” Molly knew her tone was terse, but it sure got his attention. Ilia’s eyes met hers. At first there was some anxiety there but it disappeared in a flash. His smile was gentle as he took her hands in his. “Molly, I wish I could tell you just what this night has meant to me,” Ilia spoke slowly. “I don’t want to scare you --” Now he was bullshitting her. “Cut the crap, Ilia.” Calmly he lifted a hand to cup her face. The emotion in his dark eyes as they stared up into hers set her heart to hammering. “Molly, have so many men disappointed you in the past?” Ilia asked gently. “Are you expecting me to let you down as well?” Molly swallowed hard. Damn, he had a way of cutting to the chase. All she could do was nod in answer. “Do not assign that expectation to me, Molly. I will never leave you unless you want me to go. I will never hurt you.” It was a crazy damned conversation to be having on their first night together, but they had just clicked on so many levels. Ilia felt right to her. Molly knew there were other things to consider here, most importantly her son. “Just promise me something.” Molly took his handsome face in her hands, her eyes searching his. “Always be honest with me. Okay?” Ilia nodded. Molly felt the muscles of his throat work as he swallowed. She let her hands slide down his neck, startled when she felt something wet just beneath his jaw. Pulling her hand back she found her fingers stained in dark red. “You’re bleeding!”

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Ilia froze as she searched his neck for the source of the blood. Grabbing her hands, Ilia pulled them away. “I am okay, Molly.” Reaching behind him to pull a tissue from the box on the nightstand, he pressed it to his neck and wiped off the blood. “That is why I left you for a few moments. It appears one of my gums is bleeding.” Molly frowned. “That much?”

Ilia nodded nonchalantly. “It has happened before. I thought I had gotten it all.

Sorry.” “Gingivitis?” Ilia chuckled, shook his head. Well, it was strange, but she let it go. Ilia rose before her and wiped the blood from her fingers before pressing them to his lips. “I have had a wonderful time tonight, Molly.” That was more like it. That’s what a girl wanted to hear. Molly grinned up at him. “Me too.” “When can I see you again?” “What are you doing tomorrow?”

Chapter 6 “He is asleep?” Molly nodded as she padded across the living room floor where Ilia sat, waiting on her couch. His dark eyes moved over her appreciatively as she sat down next to him, snuggling against his side. “He had a big day,” Molly pointed out. Wasn’t that the truth? Renard had originally wanted to go to the Central Park Zoo, but Ilia had talked him out of it, suggesting the winter carnival in Long Island instead. Molly couldn’t remember the last time she’d seen Renard enjoy himself so much, and it did her heart good. Normally his days were filled with his stressed out mother, his whacked out great-grandmother and the occasional tense visit from his socalled father. Today, she’d watched her son get away from that routine and laugh like a child should. Ilia was a natural with her son, winning his friendship easily and paying a little more attention to him than he did Molly. Without it being said, Ilia seemed to understand the threat of a mother’s new boyfriend in a young boy’s life. He talked to her son, played with him. When Ilia carried Renard out of the carnival on his shoulders, it damn near brought Molly to tears. “I think he had a good time.” Ilia sipped at the wine she’d given him. “He’s a wonderful child, Molly.” “Damn right he is.” Molly grinned at him. “Thank you for today.” Ilia returned her smile and nodded. If only she could get Gramma Ruby to come around. It hadn’t helped much when her other bird died on Ilia’s second visit.

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Her grandmother still insisted that Ilia was some non-human thing. While she’d stopped shrieking and guarding Renard when Ilia came to the apartment, she now locked herself in her room whenever he was there. The sound of her chanting irritated Molly to no end. But what could she do? She couldn’t ask Charlee to come down there every night so she could go with Ilia to his place and get her freak on. Molly had responsibilities and she had to work it out. To her great pleasure, Ilia was infinitely patient, understanding. Sex in Molly’s apartment was a great challenge. There was little to no chance of her grandmother walking in on them. Not when she was so terrified of Ilia. Usually she crashed before ten o’clock anyway. Renard was a heavy sleeper, but his waking up and walking in on them was of great concern to Molly. All she could afford was a two bedroom apartment, and those rooms were her son’s and grandmother’s. Molly’s room was the living room, the sleeper sofa, her bed. Since she’d had no serious boyfriends after Renard’s father had split, her living arrangement hadn’t really posed a problem until now. Setting his wine glass on the coffee table, Ilia pulled her into his arms. Molly giggled, reminiscing about last night when they’d rolled off the couch. “What?” Ilia laughed with her. “The only people we disturbed were your neighbors downstairs who pounded on the floor.” “I know.” Molly smoothed his silky hair off of his forehead. “I’m just sorry about this situation. I know it must be a pain in the ass for you.” Ilia shook his head. “As long as I get to see you, I do not care, Molly.” That had her heart beating in double time. And if that hadn’t done it, the feel of his hands beginning to roam over her body, the hot ridge of his cock pressed to her hip, sure would have. Molly swallowed hard, enjoying each touch of his hands and the pleasure they evoked. “You are so beautiful, Molly.” His hands slid under her sweater. “You are everything a woman should be. Sensuous, soft.”

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Ilia’s words had her pussy aching in need for him. They made her lightheaded, made her feel special in a way she’d never felt before. Molly slid her hand up the rough denim covering his thigh until she reached the hot bulge at the top of his legs, drawing a groan from him when she gently squeezed him. There was so much they had yet to explore sexually. There were so many things she wanted to do to him. The man had a magnificent body and knew how to use it. Molly wanted to worship his body the way he did hers. She wanted to make him feel special too. Ilia had made her feel more alive as a woman than she ever had in her entire life. Shifting to face him, Molly pressed her mouth to his, tasting the sweetness of the red wine on his lips. Twining her tongue with his, she kissed him with everything she had, shivering with desire when he moaned again. Ilia did what he always did and tried to take control. His big hands slid up under the cups of her bra, his fingers finding her nipples and plucking at them gently, just the way she liked. Molly gasped as the powerful sensations shot straight to her pussy. Pulling free of his hands, Molly slipped off the couch and knelt on the floor between his legs. Ilia grinned as her fingers began to pluck at the tab and zipper of his jeans. But he didn’t make a move to stop her. He even helped her pull down the skintight jeans that he wore. “How can you be comfortable in these things?” Molly wanted to know. “They look good but they have to cut into you.” Ilia’s chuckle was deep and all male. “They are only uncomfortable when I am around you.” His intimate scent rose up as Molly pushed the denim down past his knees. Molly breathed him in, loving how he smelled. His cock stood proud and tall against his belly, jerking as she stared at it, signaling her like someone crooking a finger to tell her to “come over here.”

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Wrapping her fingers around his silky, hot shaft, she cradled his balls in her other hand and massaged them lightly. Ilia’s eyes were almost black with lust as he watched her. Tipping her head back so she could see him, Molly pressed the mushroom shaped head of his cock to her lips and sucked him into her mouth. Ilia’s eyes slid closed and his long fingers sank into her hair as she began pumping her mouth up and down on his shaft. “Molly.” His hips rose to meet her each time she slid down on him, slowly feeding her more of his cock. Under his breath, he muttered Russian words she didn’t understand but they always sounded good. Molly had a feeling they might be endearments. Things he wasn’t ready to tell her yet in English. Winding her tongue around the head of his cock, she licked the salty wetness from the tip before taking him deeper. Ilia’s sharp intake of breath made her feel mighty. He groaned and thrust, but Molly was in control. She took her time laving him, tracing every ridge and plane of him with her tongue. Molly enjoyed the unique taste of him filling her mouth. “That is all I can take.” Ilia’s voice was ragged and harsh. “I want to fuck you.” Grinning around his cock, Molly shook her head. She wasn’t ready to give up her control at the moment. “Now,” Ilia growled, his cock sliding from her mouth as he hauled her up and pushed her down on the couch. His hands tore at the button and zipper of her slacks. In the next instant, he savagely yanked them down her body with her panties inside them. Pushing her thighs apart, he probed her entrance with his cock. The head of it slid back and forth on the juices that gathered there. Oh, yeah, she was ready. Ilia pushed the head just inside her and her wetness eased his way. Molly cried out at the slow, sensual invasion. “I love nothing better than to make love to you, Molly.” Ilia teased her by moving the head of his cock in and out of her opening. Her pussy tried in vain to clench

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around him, to hold him inside her. “I love to take you slowly, savor you, but tonight I need to fuck you. I need to take you, Molly. Hard.” A shot of pure lust dove straight to her cunt. Was he asking permission? Shit, yeah, she liked that too. Molly raised her hips, trying to convince her devilish lover to get going. “Fuck me then, Ilia,” Molly whispered. “Do it hard. Do what you want.” Ilia’s weight came down on her, burying her in the soft sofa, while his mouth slanted over hers. His tongue pushed past her lips at the same instant his cock drove up into her center, hard, and he took her cry into his mouth. His thick, long shaft withdrew and pushed in again with the same force, making her want to scream. Fighting the urge, she caught his lower lip in her teeth instead, nipping at it as she pushed her pelvis up to meet each thrust. Her inner walls squeezed him, milked him as he plunged harder, faster. They growled and moaned into each other’s mouths as Ilia continued the demanding rhythm of his cock. They rutted like animals on the sofa, finally breaking the kiss to gasp for air. Ilia’s eyes gleamed with primal lust as he pushed into her hard, pushing her inch by inch along the couch with the force of his loving. Molly hung onto him, wanting it all. When the orgasm burst through her, she sank her teeth into Ilia’s shoulder to keep from crying out. His growl was low, but he rewarded her with a series of sharp thrusts until his body went taut above hers and he threw his head back as he shuddered, shooting his seed deep inside her. Ilia collapsed on top of her, still shuddering from what they’d just shared. But as soon as Molly tried to wrap her arms around him, he pulled away. Almost frantically he pulled his jeans back up. His hands were shaking as he yanked the zipper up. Molly wasn’t surprised to see that his face was dotted with sweat from their loving. But his face was whiter than normal, not flushed the way a man’s face normally was after a satisfying fuck. “You okay, baby?” Ilia looked as if he were about to double over as he scrambled to the door and pulled his coat from the wood peg it hung on.

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“No,” he muttered. “I do not feel well. I have to go.” Molly had hauled up her own pants and was at his side in an instant. “Stay here,” she pleaded with him. His breath was coming fast and he was shaking all over. “I’ll take care of you. You won’t make it far anyway, the way you look.” Ilia grabbed her shoulders hard, halting her efforts to rub his back and hair. His pupils were enormous as he stared down into her face. He was scaring the hell out of her. “I have to go. I am sorry.” Hauling her against him, he took her mouth with a kiss that had her knees threatening to buckle. So much passion in that kiss. He seemed almost… Desperate. “I love you,” he whispered. And like Gramma Ruby’s demons were on his heels, he jerked open the door and ran down the hallway just outside of her apartment. Just like that, he was gone while her heart hammered from the words he’d just whispered.

Chapter 7 Ilia hummed, pulling out the top drawer of the dresser in his bedroom and dumping its contents on his bed. It was a song from his childhood that his mother used to sing to him and his twin sister Nadia. It had been a long time since he’d hummed that tune. It had also been a long time since Ilia could remember being happy. A month had gone by, and when Molly wasn’t in his arms, thoughts of her consumed him. She was in his heart, his soul. Molly was everything he’d ever wanted. Everything in his life was falling into place. He’d found love, he was continuing his education, hoping that one day he’d find the key to unlock his curse. Even the black car and its mysterious occupants seemed to have disappeared for the moment. Things couldn’t stay as they were. Ilia knew that. He loved Molly and wanted her with him all the time. He loved her son. It seemed only natural that his thoughts were moving on to making them a family, uniting them in a single home. Though Molly didn’t know it, Ilia had lots of money tucked away from many years of travel and work. He’d had nothing and no one to spend it on back then. He could afford a nicer apartment with more space, more bedrooms. It would make life simpler. Ilia sifted through the pile of miscellaneous items on his bed. Pens, magnets, books of matches. Things he’d collected over time. Most of it had no meaning to him now. Most of it would go so Molly would have a place to keep her personal items in his apartment when she was there. At least until they could find a bigger place. Ah, but things weren’t so simple and he knew it. Expecting Molly to just bring her son and grandmother to come live with him was asking a lot. He knew how she thought now. His Molly would want more of a guarantee before making such a move. If

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he just suggested they live together, the questions would come at him like machine gun fire. What would happen if they broke up? Who would get the apartment? Ilia smiled as he grabbed the wastebasket from its place next to the nightstand and began throwing items from the bed into it. As if he would ever let Molly go. Molly would want a commitment. Ilia was more than happy to give her anything she wanted. The commitments of the human world and the church meant little to him. The human world denied his existence and his prayers for an end to the hateful curse on his blood had never been answered. Commitments of the heart mattered to Ilia. He loved Molly more than life. If she wanted to get married, they’d get married. Whatever he had to do to keep her in his life, he’d do. A small stack of photographs in a red sleeve on the bed caught Ilia’s eye. Pulling out the photographs, he saw they were of him, his brother Vitali and his brother’s mate, Nicole. Nicole. Things had seemed so easy then. There were so few of their kind in the world that the sharing of mates was common where there was trust. There’d never been any question that Nicole loved Vitali and belonged to him. But Ilia had wanted Nicole, and though she didn’t understand the enhanced carnal nature that came with the curse the three of them shared, she had wanted Ilia too. Vitali allowed it, mostly so that Ilia would have release with someone of his own kind and not have to worry about the transformations. His brother had also enjoyed watching the levels of pleasure that the two of them could bring Nicole to. However, Ilia had lost his head, lost sight of the reasons for the arrangement. He’d foolishly fallen for Nicole. And when the time came for the arrangement to end, when they learned that Nicole carried Vitali’s child, Ilia had been bitter, hurt and angry when he’d really had no right to feel that way.

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The last photograph was of Nicole alone, smiling for the camera, her eyes twinkling with amusement. Ilia remembered taking that photograph and remembered being so damned infatuated with her at the time. Taken as he had been with her, his feelings then were nothing compared to how he felt about Molly. Without another thought, he pushed the photographs back into the sleeve. Yanking open the drawer of his nightstand, he tossed the pictures in there and pushed the drawer shut again. Not too long ago he couldn’t have looked at the photographs from that time in his life. Now they meant little to him. Ilia was happy. He was in love and ready to take the next step, whatever Molly decided that was in this new relationship. That left one last issue to deal with. If their relationship deepened and commitments were made, Ilia had to tell Molly the truth. Early on he told himself that he’d have no problem concealing what he truly was from her. Her grandmother knew exactly what Ilia was, but Molly thought she was crazy. The blood transfusions that Ilia gave himself usually worked, but as time went on, he found that it took more and more blood to keep him from changing. With the exception of the day they’d gone to the carnival and another time, he’d been able to stay with Molly, hold her through the night. Ilia couldn’t hide the truth from her any longer. He loved her too much. If she turned away from him in disgust because of what he was, it was better that she do it before they went any further, than to wait until their relationship was stable and solid and have her learn of his deception. Either scenario would likely destroy him, but he had to remind himself that Molly was strong, open-minded. Just maybe she loved him enough to see past the monster and love the man. Because the man loved her more than anything in the world.

*** “So things are going well with Ilia?” Charlee asked before taking a sip from the steaming cup of coffee she held in her hands. Molly grinned. “Very well.”

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Charlee laughed as she set the cup on the table. The sun filtering in through the coffee shop window gleamed off her dark hair as she met Molly’s gaze squarely. “No shit! You smile all the time now, girl. I’m really happy for you.” Molly was happy. If someone had told her a month ago that she’d find a man that treated her as Ilia did, loved her as he loved her, she would have laughed her ass off. Now she knew that all of those romantic movies had some basis in truth and the fairytale really could happen. It had transformed her entire world and that of her son who was coming to love him like a father. “Yeah, things are good,” Molly admitted. “Okay, so we haven’t had a chance to talk much,” Charlee pointed out. “You promised me details. What does Renard think of him?” Molly took a bite of the sprinkle covered donut she’d picked out, gazing at her friend thoughtfully. “Renard thinks the world of him, Charlee.” Molly sipped her coffee, remembering that Ilia had played cars with Renard last night. “And Ilia loves him. It amazes me. He has no children of his own and he accepted Renard just like that. The boy’s own father won’t give him the time of day but Ilia plays with him, talks to him.” “Biology doesn’t make a father, Molly.” Her friend’s smile lost its mischief and became more serious. “The heart makes a father.” Molly knew that to be true. “Sounds like he really loves you, girl.” Well, he did and that had Molly beaming all over again. Molly loved him too. Some of his ways were strange and her grandmother still thought he was the spawn of hell, but he made Molly feel special, loved, and protected. He treated her son like his own, respected her grandmother, though Gramma Ruby detested him. And at night, Ilia proved with his body how much he loved her. Ilia had to do very little to have Molly on fire for him, begging for him in bed when she was once a woman who claimed she’d never beg a man for anything. Ilia had taught her humility, passion unlike anything she’d ever known.

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Trust? Molly wanted to trust him. Deep down she knew she could trust him. She supposed it was the old fears from the past creeping in on her that still made her wary. Renard’s father had abandoned her when she was pregnant and before that another lover had left her for the woman Molly had once called best friend. Deep in her heart, Molly knew that Ilia would never betray her, never leave her. Why then did she feel like she was waiting for the other shoe to drop? “What?” Charlee’s high voice broke into her thoughts. “He does love me, Charlee,” Molly finally said. “But he’s just so perfect. This whole thing is perfect. In the back of my mind, I guess I keep waiting for it to all go bad. You know?” “Stop it.” Charlee waved her hand as if waving Molly’s fears away. “You can’t compare Ilia to the shitheads you’ve been with in the past. You’re a good one to read people, Molly. If you haven’t picked up on any shithead tendencies in the man after a month, then he ain’t got any, babe. Understand?” Molly agreed. But the nagging doubt that something would go wrong stayed around. “I guess it doesn’t help much that Gramma Ruby thinks he’s a demon,” Molly thought out loud. “I’ve gotten her to eat supper with us just once and she wore this god awful string of crap around her neck the entire time.” Charlee snorted. “She’s still on that trip?” “Never been off of it,” Molly explained. “That’s why I’m grateful for the nights you can help me with her and Renard so we can go to his place. Sometimes she sits in that room and chants and chants, and it gets on my last nerve.” “I wish I could help out more than once a week.” Charlee took another drink of coffee. “By the way, are we still on for Friday?” “Yes.” Molly had thought of nothing else than Friday night, alone with Ilia in his apartment. “All right.” Charlee checked her watch. “We’d better get back. I’ll try to get some sleep tonight so maybe me and Renard can stay up and watch a movie.”

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“He’d like that.” Molly gulped down the last of her donut, a last drink of her latte. “So you didn’t sleep well last night?” Charlee shook her head as she stood. “Nah, I stayed up with old Ms. Wickline across the hall. She found that old cat of hers dead on the sidewalk yesterday morning. She was pretty torn up about it.” Oh, Molly didn’t want to hear that. It was the sixth cat death she’d heard about in the last month. All six cats had belonged to neighbors in their building. “What?” Charlee’s eyes searched her face. “Nothing. It’s just that there’s been a lot of that going around the last couple of weeks.” “Dead cats? Don’t I know it? You know about Gus’s cat?” Molly nodded. “You’re not starting that again are you?” Charlee bustled over to the coffee shop’s trash and back. “Tell me you don’t think Ruby has cast some spell that is killing the cats in the building.” The thought crossed Molly’s mind every day now. “I don’t know, Charlee. I told you she made a voodoo doll shaped like a cat. I found it in the bathroom last week.” Molly knew about five cats dying by that time. When she’d found the burlap cat-shaped thing Ruby had left on the sink, she’d felt sick. “What if?” Pulling on her coat, Charlee shook her head. “At least it’s not as bad as the time Ruby helped you babysit that little girl on the seventh floor.” As if Molly needed to be reminded of that. There’d been a family emergency and the girl’s mother was a client of Molly’s. She’d asked Molly to watch the girl so she could rush to the hospital and the little girl had brought Barbie dolls with her. A chill ran up her spine every time she thought about the way her grandmother picked up one of the dolls while the girl was there. Later that week, two young white women in the neighborhood, with long blonde hair like that doll, had dropped dead. Cause of death in both cases was unknown.

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“Your voodoo gramma is not killing cats in the neighborhood, Molly. Now let’s get back to the shop.” Molly hoped she was right, but she wasn’t convinced.

Chapter 8 Molly’s apartment was strangely quiet when Ilia walked in. Her grandmother sat on the couch, still and unmoving, so he didn’t immediately notice her but she definitely noticed him. Her eyes grew round with fear as he walked into the apartment and closed the door. “You stay away from me,” the old woman hissed. With a deep sigh, Ilia slowly approached the couch and sank onto his heels at her feet, forcing him to look up at her. Ruby had to be well into her eighties or nineties judging from the heavy lines of her face, neck and hands. Her dark eyes, however, were full of life and her mind at her age was likely sharper than Ilia’s was now. She lifted the remote control and the TV snapped off behind him. “What do you want from me?” Ruby demanded. Nothing like cutting through the small talk, Ilia thought. He rather liked that method himself. “Acceptance,” he said simply. Ruby’s eyes narrowed at that. “You’re a demon and you’re a liar. I’ll never accept you.” Ilia nodded at her words. Part of it was right anyway. “We see each other, do we not?” Ilia began. “To Molly, you are a senile old woman but I know what you really are. You are a woman who can see the world in its entirety. You know that there are just as many dark things as joys. You know the world’s dark secrets. To me you are a wise old woman.” Ruby’s thin eyebrows inched up slightly.

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“You also see me and know what I am,” Ilia admitted. “I am a demon, but not by choice. The curse on my blood makes me what I am. Believe me, I would give anything to have it be otherwise. All I have ever wanted was to be normal, human, like you.” Her lips pressed into a thin line but she remained silent. “What I am not is a liar,” Ilia stated flatly. “You’re lying now,” Ruby shot back. “Am I?” “You are.” Ruby leaned a little closer, squinting through the thick lenses of her glasses at him. “You haven’t told my granddaughter the truth and that makes you a liar.” “I have not lied to her, Ruby. I just have not told her yet.” The old woman shook her head. “Just as good as a lie.” “I promise you I will tell Molly.” Ilia meant to do it tonight. “Your promise don’t mean shit to me.” “It should.” Ilia refused to back down. “Because I love her. I love Renard. I want us to be a family, if Molly will still have me once she knows.” “You think Molly’s still gonna want you when she knows what you are?” The old woman’s sarcasm knifed through his heart. “I do not know,” Ilia answered honestly. His gaze locked with Ruby’s. “I just know that I will want to die if she does not.” Her features softened the slightest bit. At least Ilia hoped that he hadn’t imagined that. “I mean what I say when I tell you that I would love for us to be a family. All of us, Ruby. If you will give me a chance, I will prove to you that I am worthy. I will never allow harm to come to Molly, Renard, or you. I will be a good mate to your granddaughter. I will be a father to Renard. All I ask for is your acceptance.” For a long time they stared each other down. Neither of them spoke. “Molly had a meeting with Renard’s teacher at school,” Ruby barked, picking up the remote and turning the television back on. “She’ll be home later.”

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Nodding, Ilia rose and headed for the door. At least Molly’s grandmother had spoken with him. A seed of hope took root in his heart. If Ruby was willing to give him a chance, knowing what he was the entire time, perhaps Molly and Renard would too.

*** “I’ve thought about you all day,” Molly whispered in Ilia’s ear when they sat on the couch later. Renard was fast asleep in his room. Even Gramma Ruby was oddly quiet tonight. Molly wanted some love. “I’ve thought about this all day.” Ilia moaned when she slid her hand over the hot bulge at the front of his pants, lingering there with a feather light touch. Damn, he looked wonderful tonight. He was freshly shaved, wearing her favorite cologne. Hell, he was all dressed up in a nice shirt and slacks. Catching her hand in his large one, Ilia pulled it up to his chest. His hand was so cold. “I would like to talk to you first,” he said quietly. Molly’s stomach sank at that. Aw, shit. Here we go. “What’s wrong?” “Nothing is wrong, Molly. I love you. I want you to remember that while you listen to me.” So this was going to be bad. “Molly, I think our relationship is moving in a very serious direction,” Ilia went on. “And I made a promise to you to always be honest. I need to be honest with you about something before this can go any further.” Okay, she liked the moving in a serious direction part. But the thing that he needed to be honest about? Oh, shit. “What do you need to tell me?” Ilia looked into her eyes and the emotion she read there made her pause. Whatever it was, it was really eating at him. For the first time since she’d known him, she saw fear there, doubt. But there was also love for her. That was easy to read and had Molly’s heart swelling. “What is it?” she asked gently. “It is hard to know where to begin, Molly.”

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“Is it something from the past?” Molly offered. Ilia nodded. “In part. But it is also something in our present.” There was one question she had to get out of the way. “Does it have to do with someone else?” “No, Molly. Just me.” While he struggled with what to say, Molly’s mind raced. He sure as hell wasn’t gay. If it wasn’t someone else and had to do with him, was he in trouble of some kind? “Is the law after you?” “Possibly.” “What did you do?” Molly demanded. Reaching behind him, Ilia pulled out a newspaper from several weeks ago. Molly remembered the headline. Mysterious feline killer on the prowl again. Every week or so a gang member or some shady dude turned up dead, and all the police could say was that the victims appeared to be mauled by a large cat of some kind. Crazy thing was that they couldn’t determine what kind of cat from the DNA they took from the crime scenes. Molly nodded impatiently. “Everyone knows about this, Ilia. What’s it got to do with you?” “Do you remember the first killings last summer?” “When that leopard escaped from the zoo and the two zookeepers disappeared with him?” Molly returned. “Yeah, I remember that.” “Two Serbian zookeepers, Molly,” Ilia corrected. Fuck. “You’re one of those zookeepers?” Molly’s blood was running cold. Oh, God. Was he some sort of weird serial killer who used a cat? “I was, yes.” “And that leopard was yours?” “No. He escaped us.”

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Escaped him? That would mean maybe the cat was still on the loose killing and Ilia was running scared, afraid he’d be held responsible. It made perfect damn sense. Three times Ilia had refused to go to Central Park Zoo when Renard had asked and now she knew why. The times he’d left her apartment and seemed all nervous. He was always checking things out carefully wherever they went. It all made sense now. “You scared the shit out of me!” Molly grabbed the front of his expensive white shirt. “I thought you were going to tell me you were some sort of weird serial killer who used a big fucking leopard or something.” Relief flooded through her as she threw herself into Ilia’s arms, slamming her mouth down on his and moving against him. Ilia pulled his mouth away, gasping from her efforts. His hands weren’t cold now as they ran up the back of the silky nightshirt she’d put on to tempt him. The heat of his body, the smell of him, had her pussy clenching as she gazed at him. “Molly, you don’t understand something --” “What don’t I understand?” Molly wanted to know. “Baby, it’s okay. I think I get the picture. And I know there is a lot more to the story. But you have lots of time to tell me about it, okay?” “But --” Molly silenced him with a hot, searing kiss. “As long as we aren’t in any danger from this, we’re all good, Ilia. Now, are we in any danger?” Doubt faded from his eyes, replaced by a ferocity that made her pause. “I swear that you are in no danger from my past. No harm will come to you or your family. I would not allow it.” “All right, then.” Molly straddled him on her couch, rubbing herself, through the wet crotch of her panties, against the hot rod of his cock straining beneath his slacks. Pulling his hands around her body, she brought them up to her breasts, where she wanted them. Her nipples beaded hard in response to his touch. “Molly, please…”

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“I’m not in the mood to talk right now.” Molly nipped at his bottom lip with her teeth. “I’m in the mood for you right now.” Her words dissolved the control he had left. Growling, he hauled her nightshirt up to reveal her breasts, then dove for one of her nipples with his mouth. Molly gasped as he suckled and licked her. When his teeth scraped her tender flesh, lightly bit her, she wanted to howl from the way the delicate pain pushed her higher, had her squirming against his hot lap while her juices flowed. Molly’s hands sank into his hair, holding him to her as his mouth claimed her other nipple and gave it the same treatment as the first. Pulling his head free from her hands, Ilia stretched up to capture her mouth. His slick tongue pushed past her lips, tasting her. Molly’s tongue dueled with his as his fingers slid into the wet folds of her aching pussy. His rough fingers teased her clit relentlessly, traced her weeping opening. “I want it now, Ilia,” Molly begged him. Ilia tore her panties off with one fierce yank. Molly scrambled to undo his slacks and between the two of them, they had his pants pooled around his ankles in record time. Ilia lifted her up and positioned her over his enormous cock. Molly pushed herself down on him, unable to wait any longer, and she enjoyed the way his fingers bit into the flesh of her hips. “I love you, Molly,” Ilia whispered as his cock stretched her cunt, filling her in the way that she craved. Then, he pulled her down hard, thrusting up at the same time, until she enveloped him to his balls. Molly squirmed on him, just enjoying the feeling of having him embedded deep inside her. “I love you too.” Molly groaned and gently kissed his mouth as she began to ride him. She moved slowly at first, wanting to make it last. Ilia moaned and took control from her, slamming up into her with a delicious force that made her pussy walls clench around him and had her fingernails digging into his shoulders through his fine shirt. The harder Ilia thrust, the more she wanted.

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The entire sofa shook from the force of their sensual dance and Ilia’s low, deep growls told her that he was close to coming. Molly squeezed him with her cunt, grabbing at his shaft with her slick inner walls. Ilia’s sharp intake of breath pleased her, brought her closer to her own release, which was coming on fast. Harder and faster Ilia pounded into her until fire began racing through her blood and setting off a myriad of explosions throughout her body. Pure ecstasy overpowered her as her pussy tightened on him like a fist and she hung on to him, riding out his punishing rhythm until she felt his seed shooting within her. Ilia slid out of her sore flesh and just held her against him, the strong pounding of his heart filling her ears as she snuggled. His powerful hands were so gentle in her hair, on her back. He knew how to really make her feel cherished. And sleepy. Molly wanted to talk to him about his concerns and fears. Probably should’ve listened before she’d jumped his ass, but she’d wanted him that bad. Molly would listen to him. First, she wanted to rest.

Chapter 9 Ilia’s last delivery of the day was at a seedy apartment building several blocks away from his own. He could have delivered it much earlier in the day, but he hadn’t paid attention to the last minute packages when they’d been given to him. Ilia was unable to think of anything but yesterday. Molly only had part of the truth when he’d intended to tell her everything last night. She now knew he was one of the zookeepers who had disappeared last summer, when he and Vitali had fled back to their native Serbia to protect their sister. Yet she also thought he was worried because the leopard was on the loose killing people and that the police would be looking for him and hold him responsible. She’d wanted to make love and they had. Then she’d fallen asleep before he could tell her more. It was worse than her knowing nothing. How could Ilia ever tell her that aside from the first couple of killings, he was the leopard the newspapers wrote of, the one who committed the majority of the killings? Ilia was going to lose Molly. Carrying the small box up the stairs of the apartment building, Ilia was lost in his thoughts. It took him two passes to recognize the number and he wasn’t paying attention at all as he waited with the box and his clipboard for someone to answer the door. The door opened just a fraction, still secured by a chain on the other side. Very intent green eyes peered out at him. “I have a package for you,” Ilia told the man behind the door. “Ilia Kerensky?”

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Ilia’s heart slammed in his chest. How did this man know his real name? Was he one of the men from the black car? “Who are you?” Ilia growled, feeling sorry for him indeed if he was one of the men who’d been watching him. The door closed, the chain rattled. When the door reopened a second later, the man literally yanked Ilia into the dark apartment and slammed the door behind him. “Who are you?” Ilia demanded again, sizing the other man up. The man before him was comparable to him in size. The dirty t-shirt and sweatpants he wore revealed the fact that he was heavily muscled. His hair was dark, unkempt, his skin pale. He had to be in his twenties if Ilia had to guess his age. A quick glance and anyone would think him to be a college student or a member of a progressive rock band. But two things about him were striking to Ilia. The man’s green eyes were familiar somehow. He knew he’d never seen the man before but his eyes reminded him of someone. Then there was the scent of him. Ilia took another step closer to him, sniffing the air. The man was his kind. He had the demon blood. “That’s right,” the man’s voice was quiet. “I’m the same thing you are.” “Who are you?” Ilia asked again. “Call me Alex.” “Alex what?” “They never gave me a last name.” Ilia’s blood turned to ice in his veins at those words. He started to ask who “they” were, but he had a sinking feeling that he knew who the other man referred to already. “Listen carefully. We don’t have much time.” Alex’s voice shook as he spoke. “They’ve been watching you. You know who I’m talking about.” “Who the hell are they?” Ilia wanted to know.

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“Maybe government, maybe independent gene splicers. I don’t know,” Alex explained. “I only know what they’ve told me. They’ve had me my entire life.” Ilia felt sick. “Why?” “They are studying us. What we are.” “They have kept you like a lab animal?” Ilia bit out, fury making his blood boil and his skin tingle dangerously. Alex’s green eyes looked haunted as they met Ilia’s. He nodded. “And they want me now?” “No, it’s not you they are after, Ilia.” Alex’s hand trembled as it fished in the pocket of his shirt. He pulled out a photograph and handed it to Ilia. “They are looking for her.” Ilia’s heart lurched in his chest. It was Nicole. “We have to help each other.” The desperation in Alex’s voice drew his attention back to the young man. “I’ve finally managed to escape them. They’ll be coming after all of us now. I wanted to warn you. You have to take your pretty girlfriend and her family and get away from here. They’re coming.” If he knew about Molly, her son and her grandmother, then they were in danger. If anything happened to them, Ilia wouldn’t want to go on. “I must go,” Ilia muttered, rushing toward the door. “Wait!” The other man’s hand on his arm stopped Ilia with his hand on the doorknob. “I can not,” Ilia barked. “I can help you,” Alex offered, his expression one of pleading. “If you will help me.” “How can I help you?” Ilia wanted to know. Alex yanked the photograph of Nicole out of Ilia’s fingers. “I need to find her,” Alex whispered. Ilia scowled at him. “She is my brother’s mate.”

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“She’s my sister,” Alex explained. “She’s all I have. I have to find her. Warn her about them. Please.” What the hell was going on? Who was this man really? “Nicole has no siblings,” Ilia threw out cautiously. “There were six of us that they produced, but the other four didn’t survive infancy.” The other man’s eyes searched Ilia’s face. “They split us up as babies, Nicole and I. They selected a family to adopt her and watched her develop in the outside world. Nicole knows nothing of this. She doesn’t know where she came from or that men have watched her all her life on monitors and computers.” Ilia’s heart raced in his chest. “She doesn’t know about me.” Crazy fears and memories bombarded Ilia as he stood there staring at Alex. Vitali and he had often talked about Nicole’s mysterious background. She’d had as much of the demon blood as they, pure-blooded, but she was American with no known ties to their country. And she’d known nothing of her true heritage. More puzzling, she hadn’t been a virgin when she’d begun her relationship with his brother Vitali. How had that been possible? The one sexual experience she’d claimed she’d had should have transformed her into the demon leopard but it hadn’t. It was impossible. Nicole should have known before she ever met Vitali what she really was… Reaching again into the pocket of his dirty shirt, Alex pulled out a small plastic bag and pressed it into Ilia’s hand. “Take this.” Ilia pulled himself from the shock of the situation long enough to hold up the bag and see it contained five large white pills. “What is this?” “This is what I offer to you.” Alex’s voice shook. “They’re yours if you help me find Nicole. They’re what you’re looking for.” Ilia stared at him. “How do you know what I am looking for?” “They’ve been watching you.” The other man’s control seemed fragile. “Don’t you get it? They watched you night and day on monitors. Everything. In your

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apartment, at the hospital. I was allowed to watch the monitors at times. It was my reward for cooperating with them. It was all I knew of the outside.” Did that mean they watched him with Molly too? Sick bastards. “You said I was not the one they were after,” Ilia reminded him. “You’re not. But they know you were with Nicole when they lost track of her last year. They just found out she’s back in the city. They’ve been hoping you’d lead them to her.” “Christ,” Ilia muttered. He felt like puking. “The way they see it, she belongs to them,” Alex went on. “They didn’t like it that she disappeared, but they’re very interested now in the fact that she has a baby.” They were all in great danger from these men. Molly and her family, his brother, Nicole and their child. And… “What of my sister?” Ilia demanded. “Nadia is her name. Do you know her?” The man’s expression was blank. “No.” He shook his head. “I’ve never seen her. I’ve never heard that name mentioned.” At least there was a chance that Nadia and her son were safe. Mikhail could still go to hell as far as Ilia was concerned. As long as his sister and her son were safe, fine. “Those pills stop the change,” Alex explained. “It took them years to develop them. They used me to test the results. Take those once a day and you’ll remain human. I promise.” Ilia stared at the pills again. Could it be? “How do I know they will not kill me?” Ilia wanted to know. “You don’t. You have to trust me. Please, tell me how to find my sister and they’re yours. You can take them and find someone, somewhere, who can reproduce them for you. You can be free for the rest of your life.” “Do you have others for yourself?” Ilia asked. Alex nodded.

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Ilia took a step closer to Alex. “If I tell you where you will find Nicole,” Ilia warned, “and find out that you are lying to me, if she or my brother are harmed in any way, I will track you down and rip you apart. That is if Vitali doesn’t get to you first.” Alex said nothing, just stared at him mutely. Ilia could sense his intimidation. Ilia’s head spun. The man knew too many things for his story to be completely without truth. He knew about the men in the black car, the blood bank. He knew about Nicole and her background. Christ, he had the exact same eyes as her. And he knew about Molly and her family. If anything happened to them… Ripping a piece of invoicing from his clipboard, Ilia hastily wrote directions to where his brother and Nicole lived. Shoving the bag with the pills into his pocket, he ripped open the door of the apartment and ran. Molly was to meet him at his apartment tonight when he got off work.

Chapter 10 “You’re right on time, Kerensky.” Ilia’s heart slammed in his chest at the sound of that unfamiliar male voice coming out of the darkness of his apartment. When he flipped on the light at the door, a nightmare scene greeted him. Four men in dark suits and coats waited. Two of them sat on either side of his Molly on the couch. Her coat was still on and tears glistened on her beautiful dark cheeks. The signals in his blood had already been coursing on his run across the city. Now they came on strong. Not so much because he felt in danger, but because he was furious. How dare these people follow him? Watch him? How dare they come into his apartment and terrify the woman he loved? Fighting his anger, Ilia quickly thought the situation through. If what Alex told him was true, they’d be prepared for Ilia. They were probably very practiced in how to bring down one of his kind. His first job was to get Molly out of there. Then he’d show them what a natural born Serbian leopard was like. “Let her go,” Ilia demanded. “She has no part in your plans, whatever they are. Release her.” One of the men stepped from behind the sofa, the oldest of them judging from his silver hair and the age markings on his face. “She is indeed vital to our plans.” The man’s voice was very calm. It was obvious he believed he had the upper hand. “Without her, what reason do you have to tell us what we want to know?” “Let her go and we will talk.” Ilia remained just as calm. Walking slowly closer to the couch, his eyes locked with Molly’s. I am so sorry for this, my love. Ilia had promised to tell her the truth. He’d

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tried but he’d let her down. He’d also promised to keep her safe and he’d burn in hell before he’d go back on that one. The men next to Molly pulled out guns, stopping Ilia before he could reach her. Her gasp was the only sound in the room. “Molly, do not be afraid,” he told her. Confusion crossed her face. “What?” “They would not want to kill me.” Ilia’s eyes locked with the older man’s, the leader. “I am much too useful to them alive.” “Ilia,” Molly’s voice was broken from her tears, “they’ve told me awful things. They said --” Ilia glanced back at Molly and his heart ached. He loved her so much. This was the point of no return. They’d told her what he couldn’t bring himself to explain. “I can imagine what they have said to you, Molly,” Ilia said quietly. “But you know me. You love me. You do not know them. So do not judge me too harshly.” “Oh, my God,” she muttered, her face a mask of fear. “Kerensky,” the leader’s voice held a note of impatience. “We don’t want to hurt this lovely lady, so pay attention. We need you to help us find someone.” “Let her go and I will think about it.” The man to Molly’s left turned the gun so that it pointed at Molly’s temple. Her eyes slid closed, her breathing harsh. “I don’t think you understand the seriousness of this situation, my friend.” Ilia glanced one last time at Molly. She seemed to sense this, for her eyes opened that instant. “I love you,” he whispered. Turning back to the leader, Ilia stopped fighting the impulses racing through his body. He invited them, stoked them. This needed to be the fastest transformation of his entire life because it would only take them a second to stick a dart in him and knock him out. He had to change fast and act fast. For Molly. “It is you who does not understand the seriousness of this situation,” Ilia growled at the man in Russian.

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In the next instant, the leopard burst from his body like an explosion. Ilia screamed in rage and pain, springing viciously at the man who held the gun on Molly. The man only had time to turn the gun toward him before Ilia sliced open his throat with his claws. Savagely he pounced on the man on the other side of Molly before leaping wildly around the room like an animal gone mad. The men fumbled with their guns as they tried to take aim at him. Molly saw an opportunity to run and she took it. Ilia kept pouncing around the room, lunging at the three bastards left, until she was out the door and several seconds had passed. When Ilia finally stopped, he found the three men watching him wildly. Ilia could hear the sirens in the distance, knew the human authorities were coming. “Temple, knock him out and leave him for the cops,” the leader barked. “We’ve got to abort.” Ilia growled at them fiercely as he watched one of the other two men pull out the tranquilizer gun. No, they weren’t going to abort, Ilia thought. They were going to die.

*** Ilia arrived at Molly’s door in his demon form, using the strength of his curse to force open her door before shifting back to his human form. Molly was terrified enough. He didn’t want to add to that by having her watch him transform again. Her eyes were haunted and large, staring at him when he walked naked into her living room. Renard’s eyes were just as fearful from where he stood, shoving his favorite teddy bear into the open suitcase on the couch. It broke Ilia’s heart to see fear in their eyes. Knowing they had little time, he jerked open the door of the closet next to him and grabbed the change of clothing he kept there. He would dress and then he was taking them all out of this apartment, out of the city. Once they found a safe place,

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Molly was free to leave him. But regardless of what happened, Ilia would know they were safe. “Ilia --” “We have to leave, Molly,” he cut her off. “Get Ruby. We are going now.” Molly hesitated where she stood. Ilia knew she had to be afraid to go with him. Maybe she wanted to refuse to go with him, but was afraid to. Not that he would let her go anywhere without him. Ilia pulled the sweater over his head, fastened his jeans. Because they had no time, he darted across the room to take her arms in his hands, forcing her to look up at him. Molly cringed. Renard’s eyes widened. Tears stung the backs of his eyes as he fought for control. “Molly, I am so sorry that this happened,” he whispered. “I wanted to tell you. I tried, but…” Molly’s dark eyes searched his face as the sirens began screaming outside. “I will get you all to safety,” Ilia promised her. “Whatever happens then will be your decision.” “Well, I hope she decides to get away from your sorry ass,” Ruby mumbled as she plodded into the living room with a cane in one hand and an enormous garment bag in the other. “Let’s go.”

Chapter 11 It had been a week since they’d arrived in Minneapolis and Molly’s entire life, and that of her son, was one big fucking wreck. Gramma Ruby managed to bring all of her voodoo gear along. So at least her life wasn’t in total limbo. Just as she’d explained to Charlee in the coffee shop, she’d sensed that something was coming. Somehow, she always knew when the bad shit was coming. Maybe it was a little something passed down to her from Gramma Ruby. She didn’t know. Molly only knew that she was miserable at the moment. If that something had turned out to be a pissed off ex-girlfriend or a child he hadn’t told her about, well, she could have dealt with that. But finding out that the man you love and have slept with can change into a big fucking cat? Fuck. They’d been living in a hotel since they’d arrived in the city. Ilia had rented one room for the three of them and he was in another room right next door. Molly had her purse among the few meager belongings she’d brought but she hadn’t paid for a thing. Ilia brought them groceries every day, hot meals from restaurants. Toys for Renard. After the first couple of days, Renard had started smiling at Ilia again, wanting Ilia to play with him. Molly had allowed it a couple of times as long as Ilia didn’t stay too long and they stayed where Molly could see them. She didn’t want to entirely freak Renard out after everything that had happened. And Gramma Ruby? Now that this had gone down, she went about her normal routine without paying Ilia much attention at all. Normal routine. What the hell was Molly supposed to do now? Her apartment in New York, her job, her friends, Renard’s school, all of it gone. She was afraid to go back there. The men who’d caught her in Ilia’s apartment hadn’t been the cops after all, and

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they’d known her name. Since they’d tried to use Molly to get Ilia, they could try to use people she knew and cared about to find her again. She wouldn’t endanger her friends by trying to contact them. She didn’t want her son in any danger either. Molly didn’t want to start over but what choice did she have? Regardless of what happened between her and Ilia, she couldn’t go back to New York. She had to begin again. She had to find work, get Renard in school, and find them a place to live. She would have to come up with a reason for their move that didn’t include what really happened. But for some reason, Molly couldn’t get herself together enough to start thinking practically about the things she had to do. She knew why. It was Ilia. Molly had been putting it off for days now but she knew she had to talk to him. She had to knit all the loose ends with him before she could move on. She didn’t want to talk to him because she was scared of what he was. She was pissed at him for being so wonderful and then springing this shit on her. She also missed him. She missed his smile and his laughter. She missed him in her bed. What the fuck was she going to do? “Why is that bird doing that?” Renard looked intently out the window of their room at something. Ruby was just coming back from the bathroom and made her way over to the boy. “That bird’s eating,” Ruby explained. “Eating that dead dog?” Renard asked. “I thought birds ate only worms and birdseed.” “He’s a scavenger. He lives off carcasses.” Renard’s deep sigh filled the room. “That’s sad. Doesn’t he know he shouldn’t do that, Gramma Ruby? You know like you’re always saying to respect the dead?” “It’s the bird’s nature, boy. That’s what he does and what he is. He can’t help what he is.” He can’t help what he is.

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“I’ll be back in a few minutes.” Molly was out of the chair. She was going to talk to Ilia right now. “I’m just going next door.” Ruby eyed her knowingly from where she stood at the window. She said nothing, so Molly rushed from the room.

*** The hope Molly read in Ilia’s eyes when he answered the door had her heart pounding. Without saying anything, he stepped back to allow her into his hotel room and closed the door behind her. “Ilia, we have to talk,” she started out and hated that because that’s what people always said. Taking a seat in one of the stuffed chairs by the window, Ilia nodded and said nothing. “Those men in your apartment told me some strange shit,” Molly explained. “The strangest thing they told me was that you could morph into a big leopard and I know that’s true because I saw you do it.” Ilia’s dark eyes met hers, never wavered. “How?” she wanted to know. Ilia motioned for Molly to sit in the other chair a few feet away from his. She listened as he talked about a curse, an attack on the village he was from. He told her that he changed into the leopard when he felt threatened or he had sex with someone who wasn’t like him. It was like The X-Files. Molly’s mind raced. When he told her he had to kill to return to his human form, her anxiety grew by leaps and bounds. “So you killed those people?” she wanted to know. “Not the first two,” Ilia answered. “The others, yes.” Well, he was being honest. Ilia made no attempts to defend himself or justify his actions. Molly remembered talking with Charlee a couple of times about the killings. Most of the victims had been criminals anyway. There’d been a murderer, a rapist. One of the guys that was nailed did time for child molestation. Ilia had chosen them on

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purpose, she guessed, but that didn’t necessarily make it right. “So you’re going to have to keep killing?” “I don’t want to.” More of the story came out. The blood transfusions he used to be with Molly. He told her about a young man he’d met who claimed to have escaped the men in Ilia’s apartment. He’d given Ilia pills that were supposed to keep him from turning into the leopard. It was a hell of a lot to take in. It was also pretty fucking hard to believe. When Ilia was done talking, Molly knew that everything was out in the open now. What little she knew matched up to his explanations. There was just one question left to ask. Did she accept him for what he was? Or did she tell him to fuck off? Ilia watched her silently, his dark eyes a witch’s brew of so many emotions. So much pain. “If all this hadn’t happened,” Molly wanted to know, “were you ever going to tell me?” “I tried that one night, Molly. I tried. But I should have forced the issue.” She knew the night he was talking about. In his defense, she had pretty much cut him off so she could jump his bones. Still, he could’ve tried harder. “Yeah, you should have.” “I had to,” Ilia explained. “I loved you too much to keep that from you. I wanted everything out in the open so we could all be together. I wanted us to be a family.” “You don’t love me any more?” Ilia ran an agitated hand over his mouth. “Of course I love you, Molly. I love you more than I have ever loved anything or anyone. I had never known happiness until I found you.” Molly’s heart squeezed at that. Regardless of everything that had happened, she still loved him. “And I did not get that from your Dr. Bill,” Ilia emphasized. “Dr. Phil,” Molly corrected him. “I know that.”

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Ilia nodded but his expression was still grave. “You were going to ask me to marry you?” “I was… am willing to do whatever you want. I will marry you. I will do whatever you ask, but I want you to be with me.” What’s it going to be, Molly? She had to start over anyway. She loved him, even knowing what he was, and she couldn’t deny that. Her son loved him, though she had no idea how she was going to be able to explain this shit to him one day. Ilia would be a good father to him. He’d be a wonderful husband and lover to her. He’d proven that. “There’s no other shit you haven’t told me?” Molly wanted to make sure. “No, Molly.” Molly rose from the chair and walked toward him, coming to a stop at the side of his chair. “Then we’ll go from here,” Molly whispered. Ilia was out of the chair and hauling her against him with a speed that left her dizzy. His big, warm hands framed her face as he bent his head and claimed her mouth with a passionate kiss. His hands slid up into her hair when Molly touched his lips with her tongue. “Love me, Ilia,” Molly whispered. “Like you did before.” Ilia went wild, pushing his tongue into her mouth and grinding his hips against her belly as his hands worked to pull her sweater over her head. His fingers literally ripped the fastenings of her bra apart in his haste to remove it from her body. Her breasts spilled out and Ilia dipped his head and caught one nipple in his mouth, sucking it hard. His tongue laved her and his arms tightened around her to hold her against his chest. Molly’s arms were trapped, so she felt for his ass, grabbed it. Ilia’s low moan made her pussy spasm in the way she loved. His greedy mouth moved to the other breast and he released her, his hands getting busy on the tab of her slacks. They were down around her ankles with her panties in a heartbeat. “Part your legs,” he commanded. Even as Molly did what he wanted, he dropped to his knees and pressed his mouth into her pussy, licking her with abandon. Molly’s hands clutched his hair while

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he devoured her with his mouth. Ilia was sucking on her clit, flicking against it with his tongue. Molly wobbled a moment before her knees gave way. Ilia seemed to realize that might happen and eased her down onto the floor, holding her ass in his hands as they lay on the plush carpeting of the room. His mouth never left her pussy, never quit. A finger slid into her, wriggling deep and fast inside her walls while his tongue laved her clit. Molly was on the edge of coming, her pussy walls tightening on his finger like a fist, when he stopped, pulling his body back to furiously work at the opening of his jeans and shove them down his hips. His cock was big and ready, sliding in to the hilt with the aid of her juices. His cock filled and stretched her. She’d missed that. Ilia quickly established a hard possessive rhythm that had her coming hard, hauling him down to her body and digging her nails into his back as her cream bathed his shaft. Ilia pushed on above her, making love to her like a man possessed and Molly wrapped herself around him. The force of his thrusts moved them across the carpet and Molly cried out. His rough approach only made her want him more. Like a storm, he loved her. Like a storm, he’d entered her life and taken everything. Including her heart. They came together, their cries of pleasure blending in the darkening hotel room. Ilia rolled onto his back and took Molly with him, cradling her against his chest. Molly loved the feel of his hands smoothing her hair. “I do not know what the future holds, Molly, but I will always love you.” Molly snuggled against the damp heat of his chest. It was good to be back home.

The End… for now.

Isabella Jordan Isabella Jordan is a lucky lady who spends her days with her family, doing volunteer work and writing. She loves creating new stories of all kinds and chatting with readers and friends. Isabella would love to hear from readers! Visit her on the web at http://isabellajordan.com.