Sealed With a Curse(26)

“No. I’m a teacher and Chancellor of Students at The Den.”

“Den?”

Aric smiled, allowing his tight grip on the steering wheel to loosen. “It’s a private school for wolves. We just opened one in Squaw Valley. It’s where my kind learns the normal school curriculum and the skills they’ll need to protect the earth.”

I nodded, but it didn’t explain his presence in the alley. “So why were you the one in charge tonight?”

Aric stopped smiling and focused on the road. “My duty as a were obliges me to fight evil. Those in law enforcement will care for the victims and notify their families, but I’ll continue to manage the situation as a Leader of our kind.”

Leader? My throat went dry. “So you’re like…royalty?”

Aric’s face reddened. “I’m a pureblood werewolf, Celia. I come from generations of were-only family members.” He shrugged. “Purebloods are just held in higher regard, that’s all.”

Oh. Is that all? And I was a mutt by supernatural standards. No wonder he’s so guarded.

“Is this your street?”

“Yes.” I pointed toward our house. “It’s the light blue custom Colonial with the white door.”

Aric pulled into our driveway. The moment he put the car in park, I released my seat belt, careful not to let it swing back and hit my right side.

“Celia, wait.” Aric unfastened his seat belt and twisted his body to face me. “Tahoe’s head witch has the power to heal. I’ll call her so she can tend to your injuries.”

We’d had a smackdown with the local witches when we first moved to Tahoe. I didn’t trust them. I didn’t like them. And I sure as hell didn’t want them touching me. I shook my head. “No. That’s okay. I can wait.”

Aric frowned. “I can’t leave you like this. It’s either magic or I take you to the emergency room.”

I nibbled on my bottom lip again, but it still tasted nasty. I so needed a shower. “I’ll be fine, Aric. I know another healer. She’ll take care of me.”

Aric tapped his palm against the steering wheel, his face shadowed with concern. “The head witch is the only healing witch within two states. I don’t think you should trust just anyone to touch you.”

“She’s not a witch. She’s my sister.” I smiled softly. “And I trust her with my life.”

Aric’s brows softened with understanding. “Okay, but don’t get out of the car without my help.”

Aric opened my door in the time it took me to adjust my hips. I thought he would just hold my arm and assist me with my balance. I didn’t expect him to sweep me into his arms, carry me up the drive, and place me on the ground. It happened so fast I barely blinked, yet his divine heat lingered even after my feet touched the cold, soft lawn.

My toes squirmed against the grass. “Uh, thanks for the ride and everything.”

“You’re welcome.” Aric crossed his arms and circled me to examine my shoulder. “I can pop your arm back into place. It will hurt, but at least it will help your sister in healing you.”

Emme could realign bones, but I wasn’t sure she was strong enough to shove my upper arm back into the socket. And I sure didn’t want Taran experimenting. “Have you done this before?”

Aric nodded. “Fairly frequently. Our young wolves like to roughhouse. Learning to realign bones prevents them from mending incorrectly, since our healing ability is so fast.” He shrugged. “Otherwise we’d have to rebreak their bones every time they got hurt.”

I didn’t know Aric. Not really. But for some odd reason, I trusted him. “Okay. Whenever you’re ready.”

And that’s when Aric took off his shirt.

The soft fabric skimmed over perfectly golden skin and rock-hard abdominals tight enough to launch a brick into orbit. A whisper of hair traveled the length of his belly button to where his jeans hung low on his hips.

Holy…

Aric stopped removing his shirt when he pulled it just above his small, erect nipples. This wasn’t real. This was some kind of Hollywood hottie video shoot on TV and all I wanted to do was hit pause.

“What’s wrong, Celia?” he asked.

I whipped around to face Mrs. Mancuso’s house, mortified to be actually gawking and possibly drooling.

I focused hard on Mancuso’s lawn jockey. It was forty freaking degrees and the breeze from the lake had picked up. I should have been cold, but Aric and his eight-pack warmed my core just fine and dandy. “Wha-what are you doing?” I managed to stammer, whereas my tigress insisted I should shut the hell up, turn back around, and enjoy the show.