Scarlet Heat (Born to Darkness) by Evangeline Anderson Page A

be sure you’re doing okay.”
    “I just talked to her when I got your address,” I
said as we sat down. “She knows I’m fine.”
    Actually, my conversation with Addison had been a
little one-sided. She seemed sure that Victor was going to abuse me in some way,
though I had assured her otherwise.
    I had wanted to talk to her more about the weird
feelings that had come back even more strongly since I had fed on Victor the
second time but we hadn’t had time. And besides, I was embarrassed . How did I tell my best friend I had a terminal case of
the hots for my new werewolf husband? Even now, after touching myself over and
over, I was still uncomfortably aware of his wild scent and the heat from his
big body radiating against my side. God, what was going on with me?
    “You may be fine now,” Gwendolyn said darkly, pulling me out of my uncomfortable
reflection. “But a vamp and a were being bonded…I don’t know.”
    “What don’t you know?” I asked,
feeling suddenly worried. “What are you talking about?” Did she sense what was
going on with me? Did she know what was happening?
    “Never mind. You’ll find out soon enough, if you
haven’t already.” She shrugged mysteriously, making me want to grab her and
shake her. Damn it, I needed answers! Not evasions and mystical witch sayings.
    “Cut the crap,” Victor growled. “Taylor and I
aren’t here to talk about our bond. We want to find out about this.” He nodded
at the Tupperware container with the silver trap, which he was carrying in a
large plastic shopping bag. Very carefully, he removed the plastic lid and
placed the container, bag and all, on the coffee table.
    Gwendolyn looked in the container and recoiled.
    “How dare you bring a cursed object into my
house?” she demanded, glaring up at him. “This was made in the Shadow Lands—I
don’t want it here.”
    “Well, I don’t want it on my land, either,”
Victor growled. “Which is where I found it when I put my fucking foot in it
last night.”
    “We want to know who put it there and why,” I
said quickly, leaning forward on the faded couch. “And we thought since you’re
a witch, you might be able to tell us.”
    Gwendolyn frowned. “Well, it’s true that an
individual witch’s magic leaves a personal signature behind but I don’t
recognize this one. Whoever did it, though, they’re very strong. And very into
the dark arts.”
    “Do you know anyone like that? Could you give us
a name—someplace to start?” Victor asked.
    “Even if I could, it wouldn’t help you,”
Gwendolyn pointed out. “It’s not the witch you should be looking for, it’s just
a business deal for them. Whoever he or she did the spell for—the one who put
this trap on your land to hurt you— that’s who you ought to be after.”
    “Can you get any kind of a, I don’t know, a
reading on it?” I asked. “Give us a general idea of who’s behind it?”
    Gwendolyn frowned and leaned over the trap again.
Her nose wrinkled.
    “Phew. Well, I can definitely smell were on
it—can’t miss a stink like that.”
    “That’s probably me, though,” Victor pointed out
blandly.
    “I don’t know…” Gwendolyn came around the coffee
table, put her face close to him and inhaled. “Ugh!” She choked and backed off.
“Nope, that’s a whole other odor. Definitely a different were—I can smell your
stink but it’s not just you. I might be able to figure out the identity but
it’s going to take a little while and some fancy spellwork.”
    Victor didn’t seem offended by her little display
but I certainly was.
    “What are you trying to say?” I demanded, glaring
at her. “Why are you making that face? Victor smells wonderful—like fur and
leather and sunshine and…uh…” I trailed off, realizing they were both staring
at me quizzically.
    “I know you haven’t been in the supernatural
scene long,” Victor said. “But witches have a stronger sense of smell than the
rest of us.”
    “Every type