Deadly Sins Ch. 05: Lust

If she was lucky, she could probably sway Cullen into aiding her cause without suffering the aftereffect of a splitting headache accompanied by the burn of failure.

"Water." With a slow smile, Adriana added, "Thanks. And thanks for whatever it was you put in it. You got me out of the line of fire."

He regarded her thoughtfully. "You looked like you needed the rest."

"So...where did tall, dark haired and perpetually pissed go?

A reddish, gold eyebrow tented. "Cael?"

"If that's what you like to call him, but I think surly might be a better fit. You should really think about renaming him."

"And I think I like you." A warm, infectious chuckle filled the air. "But Cael hasn't been in here for at least an hour. I'm checking on you in the interim."

"That was you who helped me to the bathroom, then?"

Jesus, no wonder the gesture had been so tender, gentle...so un-Cael like. Although she didn't know Cael, Adriana felt it safe to assume tender was not a trait he made a habit of exhibiting very often. More like a weakness to be rudely, crudely annihilated.

"Surely you didn't think it was he who saved your poor bladder." Cullen adopted a look of feigned hurt. "You wound me, my dear. I play the part of thoughtful gentleman, yet the undeserving gets all the accolades. This is exactly what Soprano was talking about with Meucci."

What who was talking about with who? "What?"

"Soprano and Meucci." Cullen laid back on the bed, knees bent over the edge, bare feet planted on the floor. His attention was directed towards the sparkling lights of the chandelier. "The chance of him helping you was just as good as the chance he would've let you piss your pants."

"Who? Cael?"

"None other."

"Charming."

"Now you understand why I'm so wounded." He patted the lush comforter covering the space on the bed right next to him. "Join me."

"Would really love to," Adriana answered, inflecting just the right amount of remorse into her words. "But I think it's time for me to get going. What must my beau think? I've probably been gone for hours upon hours and I imagine he's worried sick by now."

"Would that beau be Marcus?"

"You, uh, know about him?"

"Cael."

So, not only did the mangy mutt like to hide in dark rooms and eavesdrop on conversations not meant for him, but he also suffered a case of loose lips? "If it's any consolation, Marcus isn't who I was talking about."

"You're lying, luv. Badly. But hey I have a really fun idea." His tone was suspiciously cheerful. "Let me make something absolutely clear to you first. You're never, ever going back to that ass wipe. But I would, however, love the opportunity to meet him. Fist first. Then I'll introduce him to each of my brothers." Peering at her from the corner of an eye, he sighed heavily. "And you're not in any shape to go anywhere."

"Which is why I need your help. Even if you don't take me to him, I still want to go home."

"Only help I'm offering, luv, is getting you back into this bed. Where you belong."

Before Adriana could form a rebuttal, he was off the bed and she found herself once more pressed to a large, muscled chest. As he crossed to the king size, she studied him surreptitiously. He was roughly the same size as Cael. His hair was much longer, though, and currently pulled back in a tight queue, the ends tucked under an elastic band, forming a red, gold loop of silk. And, lord, did he smell fantastic, probably much as Cael-

Okay, she was doing a horrid job at keeping herself out of a Julie Garwood scene.

Gently, he laid her on the bed. Sweeping the hair back off her face and from under her neck, he fanned it on the pillow beside her. "Much better. Now we can resume our conversation."

"Thank you." The response was laced with just a touch of sarcasm.

"My pleasure." He stood next to the bed, grin unrepentant. "Now, where were we?"

Adriana turned onto her side, so she faced him. The motion jarred her broken ribs, making her wince. Hoping he hadn't noticed, through gritted teeth, she said, "Talking about the assistance you're going to provide me with getting home."

Smoothly sidestepping the statement, he countered, "You kinda favor that chick."

"What chick?"

"That first chick off the Sopranos. The one with Chris. Damn, I can't think of her name right now, though."

"Okay, who the hell are the Sopranos? Because I somehow have the impression you're not referring to a group of young boys castrated during puberty."

Incredulity was stamped on Cullen's face. "You don't know who the Sopranos are? Where you been for the last decade, girl? They're only the most feared family in the New Jersey mafia."

Wasn't this a case of irony in its purest form. The mob was probably responsible either directly or indirectly for half of the physical manifestation of sins worldwide, yet the sin murdering werewolves she was trapped with were connected to them. "I see."

"Greatest show ever, luv. I have the whole first season on DVD. You'll have to come to my quarters and we'll make a long, enjoyable night of watching the assholes kill each other."

Show? He was talking about some stupid show? "Why don't you loan it to me instead and I'll watch it on my own DVD player in the comfort of my own house."

"Can't do that."

"What? You can't loan it to me?"

"No." His expression turned somber. "I can't let you leave."

This was not boding well. "Might I ask why?"

"You just did."

"Then I would greatly appreciate it if provided me with an answer, Cullen."

He closed his eyes for a fleeting moment, murmuring, "I love hearing my name leave your lips. Nourishment to my starving ears."

If she wasn't so busy fearing for her safety, Adriana might've allowed herself to feel flattered. It would've been a welcome diversion from the apathy she'd embraced for so long. "Goddamn it, answer my fucking question."

But anger was another sure deviation from the path of not caring, wasn't it.

One she could not chance treading. Not here.

"My, my, my...feisty, aren't you." He watched her curiously.

Calm, Adriana, you have to remain calm. "I...I just want an answer. Please, Cullen."

"Ahhh, when you ask so nicely, how can I refuse? The reason I can't let you leave is because of wherever you've been for the past decade," he answered. "You've got some kind of evil stamped all over you. It oozes off of you, barely noticeable, but still there. Not only can I feel it, Cael can, too. And Amina."

As realization set in, icy apprehension snaked through her stomach, wrapping her innards tight. Chewing her bottom lip, Adriana nervously asked, "So, um, what do you think is causing it?"

"I think you know the answer." He sat on the bed next to her and picked up a lock of her hair. He fingered the threads, playing with them. Adriana wanted to jerk away from his touch, but made herself hold still instead. "Who is this Marcus? And what is he up to? He's tainted you, baby. His evil is imprinted so deeply into you, I know you've been around him for years. Which means you have to know something about what he's up to."

He's the son of the anti-Christ and he plans on taking over the world. Did I forget to mention, I'm a crucial part of that plan? Rayn, too. "I-I'm sorry. But I really have no idea what you're talking about."

"Don't you?" Skeptical amethysts stared down at her. "The evil I feel may be coming off of you, luv, but far as I can tell it doesn't belong to you."

"Okay, you got me," Adriana said with a forced smile. "I'll admit Marcus is not always the perfect man, he does have somewhat of a bad temper, but evil? Really? Aren't we taking this just a tad bit too far?"

"Marcus has way more than a bad temper."

"I don't know-" Adriana stopped speaking as Cullen vacated his spot on the bed. He moved to stand in the center of the room, pulling his white t-shirt over his head along the way. "What are you doing?"

"Just getting some confirmation." He dropped the shirt to the floor then his hands were at the fly of his jeans. Unfastening, unzipping. Bending, he pulled the jeans down over hips free of any trace of fat and over sinewy legs, then stepped out of them.

"Confirmation of what? And for whom?"

"Me." He straightened.

Whoa, commando. And, damn, his organ was huge, embedded in a nest of vibrant red and rich gold. Adriana couldn't tear her eyes away from it. The only other man she'd ever seen was Marcus, but even while Cullen's manhood lay against his leg, limp, it was plain he put Marcus to shame. Big time.

His organ twitched, showing a sign of life. Adriana gasped, eyes flying up to meet his.

"He always has been a sucker for a pretty face," Cullen said in answer.

Then his form started to blur, almost like a fifties sitcom with static interference from improperly placed antennae. Energy surrounded him, pulsed out from him, and right before her eyes, Adriana watched skin, bones and mass rearrange and transform themselves. It was over so quick if she'd blinked she would've missed his entire transformation...into the huge, beautiful, long haired red wolf with gold tinged ends, gold tipped ears and a golden tail.

Even with her laying on an elevated platform, he was at eye level with her. Taking a step forward, he emitted a low, rumbling growl.

Adriana immediately flopped onto her back, squeezing her eyes shut. Her ribs protested the action, but she didn't pay the throbbing any mind as the rest of her body was about to shortly share in their pain. She was so done for. Over and over, she mumbled, "Oh sweet Jesus...oh sweet Jesus...oh sweet Jesus."

A damp nose pushed against her cheek followed a few moments later by the caress of the back of a hand. But so locked in fear, it barely registered to Adriana that Cullen had switched forms again and was steadily wiping clean the tracks of wetness she couldn't stop her ducts from producing.

"I'd never hurt you, but I had a theory and I needed to test it," Cullen's apologetic voice enveloped her.

She could still hear. There had been no tearing asunder. Followed by acute agony. Which meant...she wasn't dead.

Eyes snapping open, Adriana smacked his hand away. "Next time you decide to transform into a werewolf, give me a warning first."

"You are aware, aren't you, that your reaction since the first word of this conversation has not been the norm. Especially for a person coming face-to-face for the first time with a myth. No screaming. No fainting. None of the usual theatrics." Cullen's amusement was clear.

Wondering if it was too late to tack on a scream, and if he'd buy it, Adriana said, "Let's just say I have an open mind about that kind of stuff."

"I don't doubt that's what you'd like for me to believe. I don't. Believe you, that is. You already knew we existed. And you knew what I was well before I showed you, didn't you?"

What was he getting at? More importantly, what did he know about her? Adriana suspected it was way more than his easy going personality let on.

Her tears petered off and Adriana wiped their last remains away. "Is that what you believe?"

"Yeah, it is." Picking his jeans up from the floor, Cullen extracted something from a back pocket. He tossed the item onto the bed next to her. Her cell phone. "I already know who Marucs is, luv." As an afterthought, he added, "And he didn't sound too pleased when I called him from your phone."

"You lie. You can't know-" Adriana snapped her mouth shut, realizing how damning her denial sounded.

"I can know. And I do. You see, not too long ago I dated a woman who had, shall we say, interests vastly different than my own. But it wasn't always that way."

Wary of the direction he was steering the conversation, Adriana stated, "I don't know why you're telling me this. It doesn't have anything to do with me."

"But that's where you're wrong. It has everything to do with you. Wanna know how?"

"Not really, but you seem to be in the sharing mood so I'm sure you'll tell me anyways."

"Damn, I really do like you, girl." His eyes sparked with undistinguishable emotion as he said, "And I'd sorely miss you if you ever left."

He was just going to have to be one grief filled little puppy, then. "I-"

"You're a part of our pack now."

"What?" He couldn't be serious. "No, I'm-"

"Yes. Alpha's dictate." He dropped his jeans to the floor again and slowly moved closer, drawing Adriana's attention to the fact he was still very much nude. And very much male. A very much nude, aroused male. "Let's get back to my story, shall we. In the beginning, my former love interest was a sweet, innocent creature. That's what attracted me to her, actually. But then she met a mysterious man. And that's when it all started to go downhill. She assured me nothing sexual was going on between them. And I knew she spoke the truth. Because if she had lain with him I would've smelled him on her."

"She-"

"She underwent a slow, subtle transformation. Thorough. When it was all said and done, for all outwardly appearances she was still the same person, but inside...inside she was as dead as if I'd stuck the knife through her black heart myself."

Adriana didn't want to hear another word. "Just because-"

"Evil rolled off of her in droves. Evil of the same source I now feel oozing off of you," he interrupted. He'd made his way to stand right next to the bed. He leaned casually against a post. "I am well aware of who Marcus is as he's been on my radar for quite some time, luv. Does he still fancy himself the leader of The Society of Shaitan?"

Knowing her game was up, Adriana abandoned her pretense of ignorance. "He doesn't fancy himself anything. He is the leader. And if you already know who he is, why bother asking me questions you surely know the answers to?"

"Because I feel that you could be of considerable significance."

"Want revenge for your lost love, huh?" she asked nastily. Her anger wasn't because she'd never had someone care so deeply for her, Adriana told herself. It was not because no one had ever tried to save her from Marcus. "Pissed he took her from you? If she's hooked up with Marcus, then you may as well just cut your losses, Cullen, because she's gone. Never coming back."

"I don't want revenge for anything as petty as him taking her from me," he said quietly, lowering himself to sit on the bed next to her again. "I want revenge because he took her innocence from her. And that's an atrocity I can't let remain unavenged."

He'd stolen her innocence as well, Adriana thought, suddenly feeling very fatigued. But she'd never had a champion to avenge her. "I can't help you, Cullen," she said, just as quietly. "I can't tell you anything about Marcus's plans. I can't tell you what I don't know."

"You're so pure of heart. Completely uncorrupted. Just like she used to be. And that's why I can't understand why you stayed for so long. How long were you with him exactly, luv? Five years? Ten? Your whole life?" He didn't give her a chance to answer, continuing on, "Do you honestly believe in the bullshit he peddles?"

She did, but that was irrelevant. What mattered was that Cullen didn't seem to think she was anything more than a follower of Marcus's. "I stayed because I didn't have a choice."

"There's always a choice, luv."

Sadly, thinking of the deceased family she'd never known, Adriana said, "Not always."

"Tell me what you are to him."

"Nothing. Not to him. Not to anybody."

"That's where you're wrong. You grossly underestimate your value if you think you're nothing, my dear." His heated gaze raked her body, before he caught her eyes again. "You're a part of our pack now. You're also an unmated female. And I'm an unmated male...see the value of your importance now?" The smile which touched his lips was a slow, erotic tilt. "And despite my good intentions to mate, and eventually mount you, here I am still ignorant of your name."

Adriana felt like a prey caught in the predator's trap. But she no longer felt fear for her life like a prey should. She felt...God help her, desire. It was something she'd never willingly experienced before, but she experienced it now, lord did she experience it now. It was an insistent burn Cullen's closeness dragged out of her in a demand she couldn't fight...didn't want to fight.

She opened her mouth, prepared to give him whatever he wanted. Everything he wanted.

But, damn it, she couldn't remember what he'd asked of her, couldn't focus on anything but the fine specimen of a male deliciously invading her personal space. She just wanted to stare at him, to get lost in his purple pools of lust. Her mouth snapped shut.

"I want your name," he demanded, leaning over her. His warm breath fanned her face.

Her name. He wanted her name. "A-adriana."

"Adriana. That was that girl's name." He placed his lips right above hers, whispering, "She belonged to Chris, but you, luv, you belong to-"

The door from the hallway burst open, another male werewolf striding in, this one blond. "Cullen, time to roll. Thane found Rayn, but she's running again-shit, my brother, clothing is required around guests, not optional."

The newest addition didn't hold Adriana's attention for long. Because the man behind him demanded it.

Cael. A furious Cael. He stormed across the room, flinging Cullen off the bed and away from her. Adriana was surprised he didn't follow through with a few head butts and kicks to the rib cage for added emphasis. But, then again, he was too busy glaring down at her to do anything else.

His ceruleans were filled with such anger and loathing, any traces of desire she'd felt for Cullen withered an instant, painful death. That fear for her life was back, though. Full force.

The relief she felt was immense when he finally turned his attention to Cullen as he picked himself up off the floor. "Get your fucking clothes. Get the fuck out. Then get fucking dressed. In that order. Be ready to leave in five."

The blond was silent for a long moment after Cael departed, before finally asking, "Do we have to do this now?"

"She's not a guest anymore. You heard Thane, she's a part of our pack. She has to get used to our ways, and sooner seems better than later."

"And she's injured. Let her heal some before you start flashing her like a pervert." His gaze flicked from Cullen to her. "Don't play me stupid, Cullen. You know good and damn well that wasn't what I was talking about."

Cullen shrugged nonchalantly. "She's the one."

His eyes jerked to Cullen again. "Damn it, man, you think they're all the one. Think clearly."

"This time is different. She's the one. She's mine." Though still relaxed, the physical stance Cullen assumed made it very obvious his declaration wasn't something he was willing to debate. Or change his mind about.

"For chrissakes, I hope the next stupid brokenhearted witch to cast a curse chokes on it," the blond muttered as he left.

"I'll be back to see you later. You and I still have unfinished business to attend to," Cullen said in parting. He sauntered out, clothes casually slung over a shoulder.

This was no Julie Garwood novel she was in. More like a chapter right out of Guy Endore's The Werewolf of Paris. She really had to find a way out of here. Like yesterday.

Because it was only a matter of time before Cullen discovered her true identity. He was too cunning and shrewd to be fooled by her alias for very long. Hell, with that web of desire he was capable of building around her, it was only a matter of time before she flat out confessed her identity.

And what did they mean Rayn was running? She'd managed to escape? Maybe she'd been too hasty in her dismissal of the girl earlier, Adriana thought. If Rayn was that resourceful, then Adriana could make use of her.