Raphael | Parish by Alexandra Ivy, Laura Wright Page B

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    “Parish told us about him. What he did to you.” Her eyes narrowed. “Sounds like a real jerk.”
    Julia shook her head. “Who the hell is Parish?”
    A low growl sounded, echoed throughout the room. Julia hunched in terror, ready to throw herself off the bed. Find escape. But the voice at the door froze her.
    “I told you to stay out until we spoke with her.” It was the man who’d called Ashe “ ma chère ”.
    “You spoke with her,” came another male voice from outside the door. “I heard it. I refuse to walk the halls another goddamn second.”
    Julia’s heart dropped into her stomach. She knew that voice, had just dreamt of that voice and the man who owned it. The man who had followed her from the hospital, who’d held her close and gazed down at her like he’d wanted to consume her very breath. Or was that part of her dream, too? She eased her hand from Ashe’s and closed her eyes, trying to sort reality from fiction.
    But that voice resumed its assault on her senses.
    “How are you feeling, Julia?”
    Julia couldn’t help herself. She lifted her lids and her gaze shot to the man walking toward her. Holy shit . He was real. Flesh and blood, and if it were possible, even more gorgeous than she remembered. When he’d pulled her close on Gravier Street his hair had been back off his face, but now it hung loose and wild and sexy around his beautiful, scarred face. Like before, he wore jeans, but instead of a T-shirt, he had on a black tank that revealed heavily muscled shoulders and arms.
    Her mouth dropped open as she stared at him.
    “I’m confused,” she managed. What had happened? How had she ended up here? And where exactly was she?
    His dark eyes, eyes that had once been golden, grew concerned as he approached the bed. “I’m sorry for the way I brought you here. I’m not used to asking or discussing.”
    That she believed. Her gaze ran up his body. He was so tall, such a fierce presence beside her bed. “What did you do to me?”
    He winced, looking guilty, and his gaze cut away for a moment. “The speed at which I move was too disorienting for your mind. And my musk, the one I used to try and calm you, is more potent than most Pantera’s. I should’ve known.” His eyes slid back to connect with hers once again. “I apologize.”
    “Musk?” Julia felt suddenly exhausted. It was like they were all speaking another language. “What’s this musk? A drug?”
    “No,” he said, worry etching his expression. “It’s magic we can release—
    “Magic.” There was that word again.
    “—a scent to calm or soothe or arouse. …It’s nothing permanent.”
    She had to be freaking dreaming.
    “You will be able to get up soon, walk—”
    “Walk out of here?” Julia said, her pulse jumping against her neck. “I can leave?”
    His eyes shuttered. “I would not like that.”
    “Okay. Go.” Ashe pointed at Parish, then glanced over her shoulder at the other male. “Leave. Both of you.”
    Parish growled, and the sound penetrated Julia’s skin and vibrated through her. She practically moaned. “God, what was that?”
    “It’s Parish being rude and insensitive,” Ashe said, her tone nearly lethal now. She glared at the man. “You’re scaring her, confusing her. I will explain things, woman to woman.”
    “You heard my female,” said the other man, who continued to remain near the door. “Let’s go, Parish.”
    Parish’s gaze moved down Julia’s body, then back to her face. His nostrils flared. “Fine,” he muttered. “But I’ll be back.”
    He turned and stormed out. The other man gave Ashe a quick, tight smile before turning and walking…
    Julia gasped, her blood suddenly fire hot in her veins. Impossible . She blinked, then stared hard at the empty doorway. The man was now gone, but she swore… No . She shook her head. It was the drugs or the head injury or the story Ashe had just told her. She did not just see the back end of a large cat where the man had