She knew this feeling
simply because she’d experienced nothing like it in her life
– that warmth in her lower stomach, that dull ach
e between her legs.
It was one she had managed to avoid for years
but
still
knew instinctively
.
Lust.
It was her soul sin.
She was destined to feel lust for only one being in her lifetime
and until then, she would remain chaste
.
But
when she did feel it –when she saw Madden tonight– she ran
.
Layla was all too aware that
,
as legend told it, lust that came on a night brightened by
a full moon was for her mate.
As a woman born into the
Magdalena Circle
, she was destined to mate within the
Valendite
breed and Layla knew beyond reasonable doubt the man outside her door was her mate.
She absolutely couldn’t believe this.
Layla, the careful one, is the first to be taken.
She knew –all
her sisters
knew– that this would happen to each of them.
Their mother and aunts had explained it all
,
but she
did not
want to be the first.
Damn
.
O
ut of all her sisters
,
she was the one
who was
least certain about mating. Her sisters
would definitely torment her as only sisters could, teasing her that she had fallen first.
“Layla, you get two more minutes before I push this damn door in instead of acting the very gentleman I am.”
Madden’s control must be stretched.
There
was a clear warning
in his tone
,
a
nd she would meet it head on.
After all, it wasn’t like he was wrong.
He was hot and she was horny.
Lust had shown itself tonight and
Layla
couldn’t deny it.
She wanted him.
She lust
ed for him.
B
efore the night
was over, sure as destiny spoke,
Layla
would
belong to
Madden
.
But why not make it a little fun?
Layla
squared her shoulders, lifted her chin and unlocked the large wooden door that gave entry into her family’s sanctum.
As soon as she waved her arm, inviting
Madden
in, he stepped over the threshold.
He placed his hands on his hips and looked down at her.
Madden
was enormous, larger even than he had looked in the bar
, and incredibly intimidating
Layla guessed
his height to be a
full six feet at
the very
least
.
Layla
came just to his chest.
She felt tiny
b
ut
she remembered she was mighty–great things, small packages and all that stuff.
Her eyes scanned upwards, not meeting his glare.
Ooh, she wanted to touch.
But not yet.
She’d just take a look.
His shoulders were like a linebacker
’s
, broad and strong.
Layla had no doubt that the muscles hiding beneath his leather jacket and oxford shirt were corded and rock hard.
When he strode by to
look
around, she
looked
herself
.
Her hands bunched into fists holding back the urge to squeeze
his ass clad in tight
jeans
sweetly snug in the right places
.
H
is long legs
carried him across
the room in just a few quick strides before he turned back to her.
“So this is the elusive Sinster House
.
”
Madden interrupted her perusal, his deep voic
e
seeming out of place in a house so filled by women.
Layla knew her sisters were hiding in the other rooms and listening but there was no way around that. She shrugged off the thought and focused on the
hottie
in from of her.
“This is it.
You know
,
once you come in, we don’t let you go,” Layla teased.
“Oh, I do believe it’s the other way around,” Madden teased right back, tilting his
head to the side to look
down at her through his dark lashes.
His big, beautiful silver eyes sparkled and his dark hair framed his face with just enough length to tug on.
He was smoldering.
She needed to put out the fire.
“Drink?”
Her
voice came out high.
Damn him
.
H
e had her nervous. Now she just needed to figure out a way to make sure it wouldn’t be so obvious.
“Oh yea
h
,” Madden looked at her as if she would be the drink.
He leaned against the table in the foyer and crossed his arms over his chest.
His strength was like an aura surrounding him. So much like her father, she knew Madden manifested breed abilities but wondered just what his unique traits were. Regardless, the
re
would
be a claiming tonight.
It wouldn’t be denied.
“Easy, Madden
.
I think a beer first would be good,” she said but grinned at his disappointment.
With the distance between them now, she noticed
an
other large part of his anatomy and nearly dropped to her knees.
It was big.
No, seriously,
big
—
bigger than anything described even in
the
romance novels she liked to read.
Her heart was thudding
,
and when she
swallowed, she realized she really did need a drink.
Her throat was dry.
She also really need
ed
to get a hold of herself.
She heard her sisters’ giggles.
They could read her thoughts–they all could read each other’s thoughts
courtesy of
a trait passed on from their mother.
All those born into the
Magdalena Circle
could read the thoughts of their blood siblings.
Layla ha
d never wanted that connection to be broken until this very moment when she was faced with this delicious man and
had
no idea what to do with him.
Well, she had ideas
,
but aside from
the
rac
y
romance novels she greedily read, she had no
real
experience.
Flashes in her head of her sisters’ thoughts bombarded her
.
“
Take him.
He’s yours
,” said Amelia.
“
You can do this, little sister
,” said Sadie.
“
Grab what you want
,” said Gemma.
“
Be brave.
Be bold
,” said Paige.
“
Eat him up.
He’s yummy
,” said Gracie.
“
I
so
wish I was you
,” said Eloise.
“…beer?”
Madden was asking something and she only caught the end.
She shook her head, trying to push her sisters out.
“So they’re all talking to you?”
Layla’s head whipped around and she looked him directly in the eyes.
“How do you know?”
“Ah, this will be one of those things you get to learn about me,” he said with a cocky grin that Layla wanted to lick off his face.
Crap
.
S
he meant smack
, smack off his face
.
No,
actually,
she didn’t
,
but she wished she had.
What was wrong with her?
Why was this man driving her so crazy?
More giggles from
her sisters
.
Well, one way or another
,
the claiming would happen–destiny and all that
—
and she was glad for the man
given to her
.
With a wink over her shoulder at the sisters she knew were watching
,
Layla
linked her fingers with
Madden’s
and tugged him behind her towards the library.
His hand was cooler than hers but not cold
,
h
is
skin smooth but firm.
As her skin tingled, she realized she could
sense his
emotions;
gentleness
inside him
swirled
with hunger.
She swallowed when she realized she was sensing his hunger for her.
Would this hurt?
Why
had no one
told her anything?
Her sister
s gathered in the foyer, Layla was sure they knew they wouldn’t be see
ing
anymore.
Giggling
from the foyer
brought a blush to her face; certain Madden could hear it as well
.
How childish could her sisters be?
S
he was the baby of the family, after all.
She closed the door.
She might not be able to stop them from listening
,
but she could certainly block their view.
She was no
exhibitionist
.
Layla turned her attention back to Madden who had gone ahead of her to walk around the room.
The library was her favorite
room
in the house.
D
esigned as her ha
ven
,
s
he spent hours here surrounded by
the
friends she found in
all the
book
s
she read.
It was simple for Layla to live a quiet life
.
S
ome might say she didn’t live a life at all
,
but that’s not how she saw it.
Completely aware of her own reluctance to mate, Layla
guard
ed
herself
against
any potential
sensual cravings.
She was all too aware when the moment came for her to find her mate and her body allowed her to feel lust for the first time, her future would belong to another.
She couldn’t lust without sacrificing her soul
,
and
until she
had
seen
Madden
tonight
,
she
hadn’t been
prepared to
make that
sacrifice.
Even now, she still wasn’t certain.
Layla’s
writing career
, though unconventional for a
member of the
Magdalena Circle
, fit her perfectly. Alone in this room, she created the most amazing adventures, the most wonderful romances and worlds
people typically called fantasy. Only Layla knew better. She wrote of the world she live
d
in. Now
,
most certainly, her stories would take on a different flair.
“Your scent is all over this room.
I don’t smell the others so strongly here,” Madden looked as if he was trying to solve a puzzle.
“This room
was designed for me
.
We each have our favorites and this is mine.
It’s my office.
”
She smiled at the thought of him already knowing her scent.
Her mother used to tell stories of her father being able to discern her in a room filled with
women
by her scent alone.
She craved that kind of love.
She was ready to have her mate
but so terrified of the unknown
.
Why hadn’t she taken more care to learn the history as her mother had tried to teach?
“Ah, you like to read,” he smiled down at her.
“Yes.
And I write,” Layla paused for his reaction but seeing nothing more than a nod, she asked, “
Do you
like to read
?”