Dimitri (Immortals of New Orleans, Book 6) (2 page)

“Never crossed my mind, cher. Come on now, let me go. I promise to be a good boy…shift and shift back. I can’t imagine they allow pets in this,” he looked around the seedy hotel room, “flea shack.”

“No, I don’t imagine they do. Just please don’t…”

“Dimitri…Dimitri LeBlanc. Rolls right off the tongue.” He gave her a broad smile, attempting to throw her off her game.

“Dimitri, I just can’t be around another wolf. Please, I swear your friends will be here soon,” she said nervously. She plucked a black tank top out of her bag and slipped it over her head.

“You’re telling me you’re not a wolf?” he began.

“Yep.” She offered no information.

“But you saved me from a pack of wolves.”

“Yeah, I guess you could say that.”

“And you’re not going to tell me how you did it or what pack you’ve been hangin’ out with?”

“Um…” She turned to him, smiled, and shook her head. “Nope.”

“And you think that just because you saved me, you get to call the shots.”

“Well, let’s see. I’m here. And you,” she laughed and yanked on her other boot, “you’re indisposed…at least until someone comes for you. Not much you can do about it, huh?”

Dimitri had had enough of her games. The rush of the challenge surged through his body, and his wolf pressed him to take her, to show his majestic presence. He jerked his right arm and tore open the metal clasps of the belts. Quickly releasing his other hand, he leapt off the bed, wearing nothing but his boxers. As quick as lightning, he backed her against the wall, his hands on either side of her head.

His beast unleashed, Dimitri lowered his face, sniffing his prey. The wolf had gone feral, too long kept hidden away in a dungeon of despair. It trusted no one. As he took in the exquisite scent of the female, he drew closer, yet still didn’t touch her body.

“What are you doing?” she breathed against Dimitri. Her palms reached up slowly until they were laid flat on his chest. Gillian didn’t want to stop him; she secretly wished to feel him one more time, to soak in the power of his wolf.

“Your blood,” Dimitri growled. “You’re shifter. But how does one woman take on an entire pack? I sense no wolf…you are something…something special.”

“I…I…I’m not wolf,” she protested breathlessly.

“You smell heavenly,” he breathed. Dimitri reined in his wolf, exhilarated that he’d found the animal within. Taking a deep breath, he slowly raised his head, and stared deep into her amber eyes. A small rectangular section of brown bled up into her irises. Captivated, he drew closer still.

“Your eyes,” he whispered.

“I know.” Flustered, she broke eye contact and looked to the floor.

“No.” Dimitri gently caressed her chin until her gaze once again met his. “Don’t hide from me. Let me see your eyes.”

“Heterochromia, um, that’s the technical term. I was born with…”

“They’re beautiful. Like a cat.” He smiled, pondering her origins.

“Yes,” she agreed, unable to stop the burn that grew in her gut.

“Very pretty eyes. Unique. Tell me your name,” he asked. Unable to resist, he brushed his cheek against hers.

“Gillian…Gilly. My name’s Gilly,” she confessed. A shiver ran through her body as his soft beard brushed her lip.

“Thank you, Gilly.” He smiled, retreating. “I’m grateful you saved me.”

“Well, yes, but you’d better let me go. As I told you, I’ve gotta get out of here. They’re after me,” she said nervously.

“Let me help you, repay you for your kindness,” he told her.
Now, just
what kind of trouble are you in? Tell me why you saved me. How do you know the wolves that attacked me?
Yes, he wanted to help her but this interesting woman was hiding something. His wolf would not rest until he knew everything. It had been his experience that neither humans nor immortals did good deeds with no reward in mind. Whether to relieve their own conscience or get compensation, there was always a reason. “At least let me see you home. If you called someone from my pack, they’ll help us.”

“No, the people after me are going to track us eventually. They’ll know your scent. I’m sorry, but it isn’t safe. Your wolf is weakened. What you need to do is find a witch to help you. I don’t know where you live, but you need to go home…alone. We can’t stay together. You can catch a flight out. The airport’s only about twenty minutes from here. I’ll divert them…I’m going by land,” she rambled.

“Darlin’, I’m the beta of Acadian wolves. You don’t need to worry about me.”

Is she serious? Does she really think I’m going to up and leave her when she has someone chasing her?
Dimitri registered the look of disbelief that crossed her face in response to his previous statement, and grinned.

“Let me clarify that statement. Now that you’ve healed my wolf…I can hold my own.”

“Acadian wolves? New Orleans?” she gasped, trying to break free of the cage he’d built with his arms.

“You’d like to test me?” His eyes fell to her mouth, watching her tongue tease over her bottom lip.
Kiss her,
his wolf demanded
. Fuck no
, he replied. Reason won out and he quickly averted his gaze. Unfortunately, it fell from her lips to her bosom.

“No, please,” she whispered. Gillian followed his line of vision and parted her lips in expectation. “You have to listen to me. This is no joke.”

“Come now, cher. Let me help you. Don’t fight this. Besides, from the looks of things,” he glanced down to his naked chest, and then met her eyes with a wicked smile, “you’ve had your sweet hands all over me. Cleaned me up real nice. Warmed me in your arms. It’s almost like we’re already dating.”

“We’re not dating. I…I…” Gillian stammered.

“Say yes.” Dimitri leaned forward until his breath warmed her lips, and he fought the temptation. Unfortunately weakness took over and he moved to her ear, his tongue darting out to the hollow behind it. His cock hardened, and he pressed a kiss to her skin.

A knock at the door startled them both. Dimitri briefly turned his head toward the noise.

I’ve lost my mind
, Gillian thought.
Goddammit.
The only reason she’d saved the wolf was out of guilt. The pack had been after her that night, not him. They’d chased her down after she’d escaped. When they’d attacked the stranger, she’d shifted, protecting him from certain death. A healer by nature, she couldn’t tolerate the deliberate infliction of torture on another being. At the time, she’d thought the man on the beach was a human, but by the time she’d gotten him back to the room, her beast had recognized his.

Gillian had used every ounce of her power to heal his wolf. With her skin against his, her hands had explored every hard ridge of his abdomen as she gave of herself. She’d indulged, letting her fingertips trace his tattoos while he’d slept. The man was undeniably hot, and she suspected he could be the kind of man who’d make her want to give into a mating.

Gillian had known her whole life that mating wasn’t in the cards for someone like her. Steadfast in her decision, she refused to sacrifice her own beast for a man. The secrets she kept inside were what had almost gotten her killed when the Alpha of Anzober wolves, Chaz Baldwin, discovered what she could do for him.

She should have known coming to San Diego on a too-good-to-be-true photo shoot was a bad idea. She’d been working in New York City, making a bare bones living as a photographer when she’d been contacted by an agent who was willing to pay her top dollar for a high-end magazine spread. When she’d arrived in the desert to check out the location, she’d been confronted with the cold reality that Chaz had deliberately drawn her into his web.

He’d taken her captive to his beachfront home, all the while promising not to hurt her. Chaz had pressed the issue of a mating, knowing that it was impossible. After three days of living in the Alpha’s gilded cage and a brutal assault, she’d summoned the courage to shift and tore apart her guards. But as she took off down the beach, she hadn’t considered the collateral damage she’d leave in the wake of her escape.
Dimitri.

She hadn’t known his full name until he’d told her in bed. When she’d taken his cell phone and called the first three numbers, the men on the other line weren’t forthcoming about his identity, threatening retribution if their friend wasn’t found alive when they arrived. With the knock on the door, she was reminded that not only did she have to fear Chaz; the gorgeous but deadly beta could attack if he shifted. His friends, who’d made it clear to her that he not be harmed, were now on the other side of the paper-thin door. Would they try to kill her? Would they return her to Chaz? What if they’d found out about her background? No, she couldn’t let that happen.

Gillian waited until Dimitri took his hand off the wall. As he turned toward the door, she reached into her backpack and picked up the gun she’d stolen from the pack house.

“Who’s there?” Dimitri yelled.

“Open the fuck up, D,” Jake replied from the hallway. The door flew open and he caught the sight of Dimitri smiling, wearing only his underwear. A woman stood near the dresser, aiming a firearm at him.

“Hey, bro. Thanks for coming.” Dimitri gave him a quick hug. As much as he enjoyed getting to know his prickly but lovely female rescuer, the sight of Jake came as a relief.

“Good to see you, too. What the hell happened to you?” Jake grimaced, taking sight of the fresh scars marking Dimitri’s chest and throat.

“It’s okay, really. I just have to shift.” Dimitri downplayed his injuries. “I almost forgot, this is Gilly…”

“You mean the hot chick pointing the gun at us?”

“Gun?” Dimitri’s eyes widened. Surprised that she’d pulled a weapon, he held up his hands in a defensive posture and slowly approached her. “What’ve ya got there, cher? You can put that down. This is Jake. He won’t hurt you. He’s a good friend of mine. Acadian Wolves.”

“Jake.” Gillian tilted her head and then nodded at the handsome man who’d come to save his beta. “Nice to meet you. Now that we have all of the pleasantries out of the way, it’s time for me to leave.”

“But I just got here,” Jake protested.

“Sorry, but I’ve gotta run. As I explained to your beta here, I’ve got some nasty folks after me. Same ones who attacked him, as a matter of fact. The good news is, that if you get your asses on a plane and out of here, I’m pretty sure that’ll be the end of your troubles. The bad news is that they are going to find me soon. They’ve got my scent and his. My plan is to high-tail it out of here to Vegas. I’ll lead them away from you. This is my mess, not yours.”

“It may be your mess but I told you that we’re not leaving you,” Dimitri said, his voice serious.

“That’s where we’re going to have to agree to disagree. You need to shift and heal. If you go up against the pack, who knows what will happen? The evil you carry is only temporarily suppressed by my magic. It won’t last and I won’t have your death on my hands…I can’t do that to you.” Gillian fought the emotion that welled up in her chest. The truth was that she was scared shitless to go it alone, but the beta wouldn’t be strong enough in his current condition to survive another wolf attack.

“What the fuck is wrong with your wolf?” Jake exclaimed. He’d been suspicious that something had been off with his friend.

“Goddammit.” Dimitri turned and pounded the wall with his fist out of frustration.

“How long, D?”

“A couple of weeks. I don’t know. Too fucking long.”

“Your girl here says it’s evil. Now the only place I know you could’ve picked up something like that is that hell-infested demon pit you jumped in with Leo.”

“I don’t want to talk about it.” Three weeks before, Dimitri had followed his friend Léopold into a netherworld to help him save his girlfriend and ever since, he’d had difficulty shifting.

“Well, you should’ve fucking told me.”

“I didn’t know how bad it was. That night on the beach…I couldn’t shift,” Dimitri confessed. He raked his fingers through his hair and glanced over to Gilly, who was hoisting her bag onto her shoulders.

Jake blew out a deep breath and his lips formed a tight line. Things were going to be all fucked up to the tenth degree if his beta couldn’t shift. It was kind of a requirement that if you were a member of a pack, you actually could shift. He had to know for certain how badly his friend was still affected by whatever the hell had attacked him.

“Shift.”

“What?” Dimitri asked, incredulous at the demand.

“Just hold it right there!” Gillian yelled. No fucking way did she want to be in the room when two wolves fought or shifted. Her beast would be called to the surface, and she’d have little control to stop it.

“What’s the issue?” Jake began to approach her but quickly stopped as she raised the weapon again.

“No shifting until I’m gone. And lucky for you, I’m outta here.”

“Gilly, please. You can’t fight an entire wolf pack on your own. I’m not letting you go,” Dimitri said.

“See, that’s the thing. I’m not asking for permission. Follow me and I’ll shoot you in the leg. I know you can shift but are you willing to chance it?” Gillian kept her eyes trained on both men, moving slowly to the entrance. She wrapped her fingers around the doorknob and twisted it open. “Yeah, I didn’t think so. Okay, then, well, be safe. Go home to New Orleans. Find a witch and have a Bloody Mary for me. Just remember that this is my problem, not yours.”

Neither wolf moved to stop her as she gave them a wink, slamming the door shut. Jesus Christ almighty, she prayed that she was doing the right thing as she ran toward the rental car. Fear coursed through her, but she continued on, clicking the car locks open on the Audi she’d had delivered.

Gillian swallowed the hard lump in her throat and threw her bag into the car. There was nothing in the world she would have liked more than to go with Dimitri to the airport and hop a plane to the east coast. But her paranoia was stronger than her desire to get to know the handsome beta. Aware that she was putting her own life at risk in order to divert attention away from him, she sucked a breath and told herself it was for his own good. It was her fault he’d been attacked. It was her who Chaz sought. It wasn’t fair to Dimitri or his friend to let them help her. At the end of the day, she could die in peace if she got caught. Putting Dimitri in danger again was simply not an option.