Page 37 of Charmed

Goddess, was this him without the filter? The boy underneath who'd never truly achieved liberation from his past? If so, she was screwed. An urge to grab onto him and cling battled with the need to flee.

He sobered a fraction. "At least you weren't wearing makeup." He swiped a droplet from her cheek with the pad of his thumb. "No mascara smudges."

She did her level best to hold onto some form of anger, and failed. "Do you have any idea what chlorine does to hair?"

His gaze skimmed over her, then he reached behind her head and unbound the strands. He tossed the clip over his shoulder where it pinged tile. "A weed-whacker fighting with a chainsaw couldn't damage this." Smoothing her hair from her face, his gaze followed the movement of his hands as they descended. When he reached the ends, he wrapped them around his palms. "The fantasies, Fi. Oh, the fantasies."

"About my hair." Not a question. Because her voice had grown too breathy to inflict an inquisitive tone.

"For starters." After a lazy blink, he let go and eased backward to the opposite side of the pool. "I think we should talk."

Not her first choice, but fine. She leaned against the pool wall and lifted her brows, not sure if the thirty feet between them was a blessing or a hindrance. "Is that why you brought me here? To talk? What happened to the alpha ploys of seduction?"

One corner of his mouth quirked. "I brought you here because it's a place of comfort for me and I wanted to get you out of your environment. Seduction was a means."

"Tease."

"You're a walking, talking, breathing tease, Fi."

"Said the man who reneged on his promise."

Up went the other corner of his mouth in a maddenly adorable smirk. "I believe my two promises on the matter were apparent. One, the next time we shared a bed, I wouldn't keep my hands to myself. And two, if you snapped out of your funk, I'd take you any way you wanted, all night. Neither occurrence has happened yet."

Irritation narrowed her eyes. "I'm not in a funk."

"Keep telling yourself that. Maybe you'll believe the lie."

Oh, he was begging for it. Fury slithered through her bloodstream as she gnashed her molars.

"Pissing you off, am I?" Charming as you please, he smiled. "Good. The only thing sexier than you mad is the breathy noise of arousal you made when I kissed you." He stared at her, unwavering. "I understand that having your gifts stripped threw you for a loop. But you seem to be under the vast misconception your strength is tied to your powers. One has nothing to do with the other. That fight inside you, the sense of right and wrong, the fierceness you possess while protecting those you care about? That's all you, Fi. We can stop this cat and mouse game as soon as you realize that and bring back the woman who drops me to my knees."

Air in short supply, she struggled for regular oxygen exchange. She'd been worried about him digging too deep, burrowing any farther. Somehow, in the past few months, he'd snuck in under the radar. Now he was embedded, seeing beyond the front, and she had no clue how to respond. No one had ever bothered to peek around the curtain. Or try. Scant clothing aside, she felt more exposed than she ever had in her whole existence.

Forcing a swallow, she leveled her voice to neutral. "So, I'm less attractive when I'm not at my best? You'll only bother if I'm in full form?" Disappointment cranked in her belly. This was the exact reason she didn't let people in. Men, especially. If they saw the real her, they wouldn't want her. The passion would evaporate.

His expression flatlined. "Don't insult me by assuming facts not in evidence. I want you day and night, awake or asleep. My desire hasn't faded, no matter what you've said and done, or what state of mind you're in. But I will not claim you for the first time until I know with zero doubt you're right there with me and want me for the right reasons. I'm not an itch to scratch or a whim of your mood."

What little oxygen remained in her lungs vanished. His verbal bitch slap, delivered with a razor's edge, not only punctuated his point, but it gave her a glimpse of the determined alpha male lying in wait. The most frightening aspect was she believed him. He really did want her. Ugly sides and all. And judging by what he'd said, not just in a physical sense.

This wasn't only new territory for her, it was unchartered ground not yet encountered. Warm water lapped at her skin while a cold knot of apprehension formed behind her ribs.

"Since we've got that out of the way, let's talk about the task." He braced his arms on the pool edge as if he hadn't dropped two tons of holy crap on her head. His shoulders and biceps bunched with the movement. "We haven't discussed it much and time's running out. Any idea what we're supposed to do?"

Slowly, she shook her head and glanced away. "No."

"Celeste appeared to Kaida in a dream and gave her some cryptic intel when it was her turn. There's got to be something of value in what she said in your dream."

"Maybe." She glanced at the trinity knot tattoo on her inner wrist. "She said I didn't have to do this alone and anger could cloud my judgment. Hard not to be peeved when she did this to us. Generations of our families have lived in misery, all because she didn't get her way."

"My ancestors dragged her from her home and burned her at the stake, then started a band of hunters to kill your kind. Plenty of blame to go around. None of us are innocent." He studied her a long moment. "Me and my brothers weren't exactly nice to you growing up."

"Neither were we toward you. We were raised not to trust one another." She sighed. "I knew almost from birth that we were the fated. Three-by-three. And still, it took Kaida coming home to breach the gap and unite our bloodlines."

He shrugged. "Regardless of when or how, we're in it now. Trust has been established. Which makes me think the doing it alone part isn't the defining factor to Celeste's remark. Perhaps we should dig into the angry aspect."

"I'm not mad at you or your brothers. You're pawns, same as us. Besides, emotions can't be shut off like a switch."

"No, but they can be picked apart. Are you upset with anyone else? Celeste is obvious, but what about yourself?" He held her gaze across the water. "You tend to put a lot of pressure on your own shoulders."

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