Jason’s head pounded like the drum line in a subpar marching band. He’d hoped he could work a little, knew that after four days his inbox would be full, but after staring at a single e-mail for the better part of an hour, he conceded he wasn’t ready.

Shuffling from his room, he found Selene curled in the leather chair with one of the few magazines he kept in the apartment, The Economist. Her violet eyes stared past the page with the sort of intense boredom you might see at a daylong insurance seminar.

“How about a movie?” Jason asked.

“Please.” She closed the magazine. “If you’re not too tired. It’s getting late.”

“I’ve spent days in bed.” He grimaced. “I have no desire to go back there. Not yet.”

“What do you want to watch?”

“The DVDs are inside the cabinet to the right of the fireplace. If you don’t see anything you like, we can download something.”

She crossed the room and popped open the cabinet. He watched her sit cross-legged on the floor like a child, perusing each title. What would she pick? He kept a number of romantic titles for his female guests, but there were a few in there he actually liked.

“Here we go.” She pulled a disc from the case and slid it into the machine.

Jason smiled. She’d chosen his favorite. “The Lord of the Rings? A strange choice for an acolyte.”

“What do you think acolytes should watch?”

“The Sound of Music,” Jason responded immediately.

Selene’s mouth dropped open. “You do understand I don’t make my own clothes from my curtains.”

He eyed her jeans and T-shirt combo. “You paid for that?”

“Not everyone needs or can afford monogrammed dress shirts, Prince Jason.” She stood from the floor and flopped onto the oatmeal couch. He crossed the room to sit down beside her.

“You’re a beautiful woman. Maybe I need to make a donation to Sanctuary. Artemis needs to take better care of her acolytes.” Jason sat down beside her.

Her body tensed. Perhaps she was remembering the way he’d thrown her against the wall. Jason was probably like a dark cave to her. Once you’d seen the bear go in, even if you never saw it again, you’d never trust the darkness. You’d assume the bear was in there, hiding in the shadows.

She scooted away from him, closer to the armrest. “How are you feeling?”

Jason leaned his head back and analyzed her body language. Yep, she was afraid. Goddess, he owed her one. “My wolf is still making demands, but he’s not as loud inside my head as he used to be. Actually, when I think about what I did to you, it makes me feel ill. It was uncalled for. It won’t happen again.”

Selene glanced at her fingers tangled in her lap. “Then we accomplished our goal. You’ve seen your vice for what it is.”

“So, that’s it? I’m cured?”

She snorted. “No. Not yet. Your vice will grow stronger with time, but the more you practice pushing it away, the longer it will stay away.”

“What’s next then? To cure me?” he asked.

“I’ll teach you coping techniques—meditation, anchoring—so when it does happen, you’ll be ready. You can do this, Jason. The hardest part is over.”

“Thank you.” His eyes met hers. All he could think was that she was the most beautiful woman he’d ever known. Not sexy, but beautiful, down to her very soul.

“You’re welcome.”

Jason leaned back against the sofa and for the first time in forever, he felt truly with a woman. As he glanced over at her, taking her in while she watched the movie, his chest swelled with respect and admiration. When this was all over, he hoped they’d stay friends, even after she became a priestess.

“Jason?” She turned and his heart leapt when her gaze fell on him.

“Yes?”

“This is the most uncomfortable couch I’ve ever sat on.” She shifted awkwardly.

“Admittedly.” He chuckled.

“It feels like I’m sitting on a burlap bag full of ball bearings.”

“Completely uncomfortable.” He nodded.

She spread her hands in confusion. “Why do you own this?”

He shrugged. “Someone told me it was the best.”

“Someone lied to you.” She started laughing. “Never trust that person again.”

He was laughing with her when his phone rang. “I’ve got to take this.” She nodded as he rose and scrambled from the couch, jogging out onto the balcony for some privacy. As he watched Selene through the glass door, he answered the call.

“Hey, sexy. It’s Thursday night and I haven’t heard from you. Are you stopping by later?”

“Sarah,” Jason said. “No, I can’t make it tonight.”

There was silence on the other end of the line. “Is this because I wouldn’t go to your sister’s wedding?”

“No. I’m just not… well,” he said.

“Do you want me to come to your place?”

“No,” Jason said too loudly. “I’m sorry, Sarah. Not tonight.”

She scoffed. “What’s going on? You have not missed a session with me in two years. What gives?”

Somewhere above him, a bird flapped its wings as it landed on the roof. Jason stared at it, admiring the flight, the freedom. “I’ve just decided you were right. I need more. I am looking for something, and what you and I had… it wasn’t helping either of us.”

The call went quiet except for her shuddering breath.

“Sarah, I…”

“Good luck finding whatever you’re after,” she said. The call ended.

Jason watched Selene through the glass, smiling as she slid from the uncomfortable couch to sit on the floor. For the hundredth time that day, he wished that things could be different, that she wasn’t an acolyte, and that he didn’t have a vice.

His phone call was over but he didn’t rush to go back in. Instead, he rested his head against the window and just watched her.

* * *

Selene was curious about what was taking Jason so long on the phone. She supposed it was work related. He had been unconscious for most of four days. When he finally did return, he didn’t bother with the sofa but sat down beside her on the floor. His hand landed on the carpet mere centimeters from hers, the outside of her pinky warming from the heat coming off his golden flesh. Her pulse should not have quickened, and her attention should not have lingered on the way his dark hair curved along his temple, accentuating the hard angles of his jaw.

No, she should have been afraid, afraid his wolf could smell the arousal she was suppressing. Afraid he’d break his resolve and push her against the arm of the couch the same way he’d pushed her against the wall. But that wasn’t what she was afraid of. Her true fear, the one that lingered deep within, the one she’d toppled the bookcases and furniture of her mind to stop from reaching her, was that she wanted him to do it again. The memory of his body on hers and the thought that he could want only her were ideas so erotic they held a seductive power strong enough to make her temporarily forget her goal to become priestess.

His nostrils flared, but he didn’t look at her. He watched, unblinking, as Frodo pressed his hobbit-back into the dirty nook under the road and closed his eyes against the temptation to put on the ring, even as the Ringwraith hovered over his head.

Selene pulled her hand into her lap.