Chapter Six

Agitated, she gathered her long, curly hair and plaited it, then twisted it into a knot at her nape. Raul would be here soon. It wouldn’t take him long to find her since she’d made no effort to hide her whereabouts.

Angelica walked to the window and stared out over the backyard at the yellow-tinged moon. Not a full one, but a three-quarter. Raul’s wolf would still be strong in him but not in complete control.

“Oh God, what have I done?” She wiped sweaty palms on her skirt as she continued pacing. When she began panting on the verge of hyperventilating, Angelica stopped and closed her eyes, counted to ten, then twenty, then thirty while taking deep, slow breaths.

Please, God let this work. I don’t want to live without him.

It had to work. They were running out of time. If they didn’t settle this now, there wouldn’t be a later. Her blood ran cold as she considered the consequences if her plan failed.

As she stood there, eyes closed, praying and bargaining with her maker, Angelica felt a change in the atmosphere. Raul. He was here. A sudden calm descended over her. Raul—her lover, her life, her very soul—was here. Now everything would be okay. She would make it be okay. There was no other option.

Her locked door slowly swung open with an ominous creak worthy of any horror movie. Then Raul’s shadowed form stood framed in the doorway. Her lover was tall—a few inches over six feet. A big man with broad shoulders, a huge chest, meaty arms and legs. Right now his angular, ruggedly handsome face wore a forbidding scowl.

“You. Left. Me.” His voice was a deep, rumbling growl.

His rage blasted across her senses, muddied with the underlining tang of pain and…confusion? Angelica nodded her agreement and then voiced it. “I left you.”

“YOU. LEFT. ME.” His voice was louder, the tone sharper. Raul stepped inside, tucked his lock-picking tools into his back pocket, and then slammed the door so hard it closed with a bang that had Angelica jumping.

Watching him warily, she took a single step backward. One should always be cautious with a wounded animal, especially one that was part human.

His golden-eyed gaze dropped to the offending foot before returning to her face. “Don’t. Run.”

Of course she was going to run, silly man. If she didn’t run, he wouldn’t chase her. Tonight was all about making Raul lose that ironclad control of his. Angelica eased her left foot back behind the right and shifted her weight onto it.

Raul went predator still.

She placed her right foot behind her.

His eyes narrowed, and a small snarl filled the air. “Don’t.” A plea. A command.

Because she loved him, Angelica did the only thing she could—turned and ran. Angelica was quick, but in her current form she was no match for a shifter. Unfortunately Raul was still pretending to be human.

She caught movement out of the corner of her eye. Raul vaulted smoothly over the couch and lunged out to grab her by the waist. He missed her by inches. She’d already dropped into the skid of a professional major league baseball player sliding home, bounced up before he realized she’d eluded him, and sprinted toward the dining room.

He was on her heels in moments, still using human speed, human moves.

Angelica opened her senses, all of them, and the game was on. Except she was the only one who knew the rules. For every move Raul made, she was seconds ahead of him. She could feel his frustration at being outmaneuvered growing. More, she could feel that primal part of him straining at the leash.

Come on, big boy. Show me what you’re made of. Show me what you’ve been hiding for the last eighteen months. Show me the real you, so I can finally let down my guard and show you me.

Time to up the ante.

Angelica sprinted for the stairs, shoving chairs, lamps, and any kind of obstacle she could put in his path to slow him down. There was a thud and a curse. Raul let out a bellow. She paused and chanced a quick glance over her shoulder. He’d tangled with the legs of a chair and gone down hard. A chair he’d have easily avoided had he let out the wolf.

On the floor, propped up by both hands, he slowly raised his head. The eyes that stared back at her were no longer human. She smiled and knew it was taunting.

Oh yeah, now we’re playing.