Page 4 of Aleko
She was leaving a blood trail—she’d cut one of her feet somewhere. The smell was driving Alex insane. It was like pinwheels of color in his brain, short-circuiting coherent thought.
She turned to face him, and he took another step forward. The smell of her fear hit him like a slap in the face. Alex hesitated.She was right fucking there, and he needed her, but he hadn’t meant to terrify her. She took a step back, breath coming in hard gasps. She took another step and was at the edge of the dock. She was out of places to run. He had won.
He held out his hand. “You took something.”
She shook her head in mute rebuttal. He didn’t care about the damn stick. He just needed her to… He needed her. Her head was down, trying to look around him—avoiding eye contact. He wanted her to look up. He wanted to see her eyes again. Once again, his wolf was clawing to get out. He could feel that the teeth in his mouth had become longer and more pointed. His blood was pounding in his ears, and everything felt sharper and more immediate, like it did before shifting. He tried to push the feeling back down, but the wolf wanted her.
He edged forward again, and she started slightly. She took a few steps forward, angling away from him, and he shot forward, cutting her off. Now that they were face to face, he could smell her breath—it was sweet from her drink that had clearly contained maraschino cherries but oddly contained no hint of alcohol. He could feel the heat of her body and see that she wasn’t wearing a bra. The round curve of her breasts and press of her nipples pulled the fabric of the dress taut. Her tongue darted out, licking her lips, and he growled at the sight.
She wouldn’t meet his gaze. Alex ducked his head, trying to catch her eye, the growl in his chest deepening to a steady inhuman rumble. Her eyes flashed up to his, and he saw that they were a pale hazel green against her tan face. He leaned in, intent on those eyes.
She lifted her eyes, and it was as though the world had been silenced. There was only one sound—her heartbeat. It was too fast. He put his hand out, pressing his palm to the soft, exposed skin above the line of her dress, and the rapid flutter slowed. Her eyes were wide as he moved closer. He wanted to press all ofhimself to her in the same way, but he would start with her lips. It was the softest kiss. Gentle, sweet, and tender, but it burned like fire.
She took an unsteady breath and a step back. His hand shot out of its own accord, curling around the back of her neck. He knew immediately that he’d pushed her too far. Her expression changed to anger, and her hand shot out, aiming at his face, but even as he blocked, he felt her shift down, ducking and rolling out from under the hand around her neck. He was both annoyed that he’d fallen for her feint and excited at her ability. But now they were back where they’d started—she was at the edge of the dock with nowhere to run.
“Alex!” The call was faint, but he could still hear Sebastian further down the promenade. There was the hard pop of gunfire, and Alex turned toward the sound, growling in real anger this time.
She flinched backward at the sound. He modified the growl opening his mouth and biting the air in frustration. He needed her, but he had to help Sebastian. She held still as if he had offered a real explanation instead of wolf huffiness.
“Come,” he said, holding out his hand. She shook her head. Somewhere a speed boat motor was adding an insistent, urgent buzz of urgency to the moment. Sebastian yelled again, and Alex growled angrily.
She let out a sharp breath that held the faintest squeak of fear and jumped back, wobbling on the edge of the dock. There was the chug of a motor, and an antique speed boat swung toward the pier.
“Bes mésa!”yelled the driver, waving at the girl.
Even as he reached out for her, the girl leaped, his fingers missing her by inches. Her pale legs flashed in contrast to the black water, and then she landed, bouncing off the padded seat and onto the floor of the boat. The driver accelerated, and thecraft curved off into the dark waters of the port. Alex let out a furious roar.
He would rip that boat and driver to pieces. The girl was his. He would find them…
Sebastian yelled again, and Alex inhaled sharply, feeling the tang of salt water in his nose like a punch. Then he wheeled around and ran to help his beta.
Episode 4
The Kavala Museum
Eliandra
Lia clutched the cracked vinyl of the boat bench. Tears slipped out of her eyes, and she pretended it was just the cold night wind in her face, not terror. She closed her eyes and found Alekos Ash imprinted against the inside of her eyelids. His intense blue eyes boring into hers. His hands, a burning fire across her skin. His lips had felt like air, barely brushing against hers, but more vivid than any kiss she’d ever experienced. She opened her eyes as the boat slowed down. The driver was an old Greek fisherman. She vaguely remembered him from a few months ago when she’d helped him decipher some English paperwork. She’d only earned the price of breakfast for her work, but no one else had seemed willing to help him, and it wasn’t as if she could afford to turn work away.
“Stupid girl,” he said in Greek as the boat slowed to a more usual putter. “What are you doing with Alekos Ash?”
“Running away,” she said honestly.
He snorted. “Run faster. Alekos Ash is a devil.”
“I tried, but I ran out of dock,” she said.
He shook his head in exasperation. “I’ll take you down to the breakwater. Then you’ll get out.”
“Yes,” she agreed instantly. “Thank you.” If she’d learned anything in the last six months, it was to respect people’s boundaries. Anything more, and she burned too much goodwill. By respecting their boundaries, she might be able to get more later. She hated herself for making that calculation, but that didn’t make it less accurate.
She looked over her shoulder at the dock, a distant bright spoton the shore. He had wanted her to come with him. Why? For the stick? What the hell was that thing?
“Is he really a devil?” she asked.
“I’m fifty-eight,” said the fisherman. “He’s lived here as long as I’ve been alive. My father said he came here after the war. We all pretend not to notice, but Alekos Ash hasn’t aged a day in all that time. You tell me, little translator girl, does that sound human to you?”
Lia’s first thought was to dismiss that story, but she thought of the way Ash had growled at her and shivered.
