CHAPTER SIX

TEREZA

Tereza blew out a breath that ruffled her bangs, and heaved herself into the rolling chair behind the desk. “I forgot how heavy books get when you move a hundred of them.”

Goliath paused his bath and blinked big green eyes at her. “Meow?” His deep-voiced question echoed in the still mostly empty space.

“No. I don’t suppose you would move a hundred books, would you?” She laughed. “Cats don’t believe in work.”

He ignored her in his cat-like way, and rolled across the desk to remain in the sunlight that created a stripe of brightness over the surface.

She scratched under his chin, earning a rumble as a reward.

That elusive pine and make scent from last night wafted in through the open window. It was whoever had been in the shadow! Tereza froze. Run? Stay here?

Everything in her wanted to find out who that scent belonged to, but that could lead down a slippery slope. If she lost control of the beast she’d inherited from her father, who knew what would happen?

Well, she’d probably get kicked out of the sanctuary, for a start.

She must look a mess! Tereza yanked her elastic band from her hair, scraped it all back in what she hoped turned out to be a neat bun, and twisted the band into place. Nothing she could do about the dust covering her clothes. Good thing she hadn’t worn makeup. That would be smeared all over her face. But she hadn’t touched a cosmetic since… She shoved that thought aside and scooped up Goliath, who let out an indignant, puzzled meow.

The door opened behind her.

“Delivery for the library.” The voice was deep and soothing, like waves washing up on a smooth, sandy beach. It warmed her inside, making the beast perk up even before she spun and spotted the newcomer.

Tereza’s stomach flipped. It was him, no doubt about it. She’d found herself looking for him everytime someone new entered the library. There seemed to be a high percentage huge, hot men around here, but this was the only one who stirred her interest.

Tall, and lean-muscled rather than broad-shouldered, he was suntanned, white-blond, and carried himself with a relaxed posture. Most of the others came in the strong-but-silent type, eager to finish their delivery and leave. This man seemed in no hurry whatsoever.

He set a crate on a random table and stepped to Tereza, clear winter-sky blue eyes trapping her in his gaze.

She caught a breath and held it, then gave herself a mental slap. No, no, no! Men were not to be trusted. Not ever again.

Not even this one? a small voice in her heart and soul cried.

Especially not this one! her brain immediately replied. This one is dangerous.

However, the same instinct that sent her fleeing from vampires, urged her to get closer to this man. He was inches away. Big, broad — but not too much of either. Just right. She caught his scent again — more pine on a winter breeze.

Her father’s wild magic tried to rise inside her.

“I’m Sani.” He held out his hand as he introduced himself. “Nascha sent me with the delivery.”

She stared at his hand like she’d never shook hands with anyone before. With her senses already going crazy, touching him was probably a bad idea. The very best kind of bad idea. The kind of bad idea that was hard to resist.

Tereza slid her hand into Sani’s. As his fingers wrapped around her smaller ones, his pine and winter scent engulfed her. Her blood heated and her eyes half closed. She expected the beast inside her to push for freedom and control, but it rubbed itself along her mind, like a cat being stroked in exactly the right way. Her legs shook.

He actually made her weak in the knees! Until that moment, she’d thought that was only a thing that happened to damsels in fairy tales. She pulled herself out of the stupor she was sliding into.

“Tereza.” Thankfully, her voice came out a lot more steady than her legs felt. “Nice to meet you.”

Sani smiled down at her, blue eyes a bit unfocused. That smile was a lethal weapon and could make her forget everything. He lowered his face toward hers.

Was he going to kiss her? Was she going to let him? She was. Her lungs stopped working as her heart beat faster. She didn’t move.

He adjusted the angle of his face, so instead of their lips meeting, his cheek touched hers.

Her eyes closed all the way…until he ran his nose along her neck and inhaled deeply.

Tereza’s eyes flew open and she took a couple of rapid steps back. Smelling someone like that was a shifter thing. Could Sani sense the beast inside her? Was she about to be found out and evicted?

Sani blinked once. A long, slow blink that left his blue eyes focused on her. He cleared his throat. “Where do you want the rest of them?”

“The rest of them?” she echoed stupidly.

He nodded. “Books. The bed of my truck is full.”

“Oh.” Tereza frowned, glad for the return to mundane tasks. “I guess on the tables in the middle. I won’t know where they go on the shelves until I know what genre they are.”

“You got it.” Sani brought in half a dozen crates of books, and they worked companionably, although carefully not touching one another, with her adding the new entries in her fledgling library system, and him lugging books to their new homes.

“Who’s your friend?” Sani inclined his head at the huge cat lazing in the sun.

“That’s Goliath. He’s friendly. Best bookstore cat ever.”

Sani smirked and held his hand out toward Goliath. The cat remained a limp noodle in the sun as Sani scratched under his chin.

Tereza’s heart melted a little as she watched the big man interact with the cat. She couldn’t help feeling drawn to Sani. The beast from her father’s heritage grumbled, wanting to escape its cage and chains. What would it do to Sani? That thought earned her a snarl.

Well, if her beast didn’t want to hurt Sani, there was one other thing it could want. Tereza stepped forward, unsure who was actually in charge of her body at that moment, and put a hand on Sani’s chest. Beneath the soft fabric of his t-shirt, he was solid muscle under suntanned skin that heated at her touch. She tilted her head and imagined his lips brushing over hers.

Like he’d read her mind, his eyes dropped to her mouth.

One kiss. She could indulge in one kiss, couldn’t she? On her next inhale, Tereza took the lead, pressing her lips to his. She molded her body against him and put everything into that kiss — all her joy, sorrow, and hope. It wasn’t passionate, more of a slow, sweet caress that made the beast inside her roll on its back in contentment.

Strong arms circled her waist, and pulled her impossibly closer. She tightened her arms around Sani’s neck. The man was a fireplace on a cold winter’s night, emanating warmth and security. As an Iele, she’d never craved heat before, but she wished she could feel this at home forever.

Home.

A pause. A breath. He was waiting for her.

What should she do? As she pulled back an inch to give herself a buffer, her nape prickled. That was more effective than any cold shower. Was she not protected here? About to bring danger down on everyone’s heads because of her selfish need to feel safe?

Tereza darted her gaze around the library, spotting a fluttering yellow moth perched on a high shelf. She would swear its beady eyes were studying her. Something about the creature seemed…evil.

The marking of a human skull on its stomach didn’t help. She held back a shudder and forced herself into action.

It’s only a moth.

Okay, it was one great big, creepy moth, but she wasn’t going to be jumping at shadows or skull-wearing moths. For a moment, she felt like her old self — in command. The Tereza from before the nightmare.

She lunged, but the creature was too quick, weaving and diving around the shelves.

It grew larger as she watched — five inches across, and it wasn’t done.

Its bright yellow color paled, turning completely white, making the black skull on its abdomen stand out even more.

If, as she suspected, the moth was a puppet for Valo, she couldn’t let it leave. Had all her work laying false trails been for nothing? Or was Valo watching through the moth’s eyes live, like a spy cam? In that case, it was already too late. As long as there was a chance though, she had to catch that moth to protect everyone on the ranch and sanctuary.

Tereza snatched a discarded dustrag from a table, and held it ready to toss over the moth.

Goliath shocked her with an unexpected display of hunter tactics. He rolled to his stomach, gathered his feet under him, and sprang, catching the moth in his jaws. Its wings flapped in a flurry, but the cat didn’t relinquish his prize.

She leaned against the wall, suddenly drained.

Sani stood next to her. “You forgot to mention Goliath’s hunting prowess.”

“I didn’t know he had any.” Tereza stared at the cat. “I’ve never seen him do anything like that before.”

Sani approached the mighty hunter and gently pried the wildly flapping moth from Goliath’s mouth, giving her another devastating smile that threatened to make her forget things she should remember.

 Like the fact that she’d sworn off men. Like the fact that the last man this physically close had nearly killed her.

But that smile combined with those sparkling blue eyes… Yeah. She just might forget the whole world.

With the moth cupped in his palms Sani headed for the door. “Gotta go.” He stopped at the door, looking back at her for a long minute.

“Gotta go,” he repeated, eyes sliding shut.

Seemed to Tereza he’d aimed that whisper at himself. Then he was gone, leaving the room emptier than it felt before he’d brought the first case of books inside.