Bound by Magick 4-in-1 Box Set (Pentacles of Magick) (27 page)

“You’re not going anywhere, Jessie. Not this time. You.
Are. Not. Running. Away.” He rolled over her, tucking her body underneath his,
the look on his face fierce and determined. 

She scissored her legs, doing her best to get her knee to
connect with his groin. “You can’t keep me here. It’s too dangerous. I don’t
want to be here.”

“Bullshit. You’re safer here than out there on your
own.  Tell me what you’re really running from. What are you not telling
me?”

She continued to struggle against his superior strength,
doing her best not to think about the fire beginning to simmer in her body from
his being pressed so tight against hers. Nope, she wasn’t going to think
about the fabric of his shirt rasping against her peaked and aching nipples, or
the throbbing in her sex that was already moistening at the mere thought of him
touching her there.

“It’s not safe here. I can’t stay.”

“It’s safer here, this place is built to take care of us.”

Their struggling together must have turned him on as well,
because she felt his growing hard on pressing down on her. An unbidden image of
his long, thick length stretching her and filling her flooded her mind and a
small whimper escaped her lips.

Magick stirred between them, a slow steady burn. His mostly,
although remnants of hers remained. Her heart thumped an erratic beat in her
chest as she continued to wiggle and fight to get loose. Arousal burned
hot and bright with every move until she couldn’t stand it anymore. Sometimes
being an insatiable half-breed drove her insane.

“Please, Noah.” Her plea was a husky whisper to her own
ears. Their gazes locked, their heads just inches apart. Power, lust, and
control warred between them. 

“What? What do you really want? Be careful what you say
next. My patience has run out.”

The dark edge of control in his voice shivered against the
length of her body, and she ached to give in to it. “You need to let me go.”

“No.” His lips crashed down on hers, hard and rough, his
tongue thrusting its way into her mouth. The taste of magick flooded her
and the tiny shred of control she’d been grasping at broke free. She
pulled her arms loose and grabbed fistfuls of his hair, pulling him tighter
against her mouth, her teeth scraping and biting his lips. Noah bit back
and rolled her to the side, fighting with her for control. Her lips stung
against his assault and her pussy dripped with arousal the rougher Noah’s
movements grew.

The tightness in her chest loosened as the beast in her once
again fought to unfurl. Yes, this was what she needed. Rougher, harder.
Her freed leg wrapped around his hip, opening her to him and angling his cock
right up against her pussy. Even with the fabric of his sweats between
them, his heat and hardness rubbed her clit with delicious friction. She bucked
her hips against him, pushing his back against the floor and leaving her
straddled over him.

She pinned his arms down with her hands and rode his cock,
drenching his pants. Dark laughter rumbled from his chest as the crest of
release grabbed her by surprise and sent her hurtling into the abyss of
pleasure. She cried out and bucked, unable to control her movements.
Before she could recover or utter a coherent word, her body was flipped to the
floor and she found herself being put on all fours by Noah.

“Please, Noah, hurry, I need to—”

“I know, baby. Me, too.”

She heard the rustle of Noah removing his pants and settling
in behind her, thigh to thigh, his hot cock nestled tightly between. She
whimpered when he pulled back and he no longer touched her. Frustrated,
she pushed back to reach him and the head of his cock slipped between her moist
folds and into her tight channel.

“Eager, aren’t you?” His hand grasped her shoulder and he
drove himself forward with a strong, jolting thrust. Jessie’s body burned
as it accommodated him, forcing her to take deep gulps of air. Wanting
even more, she slid forward a few inches and he pulled her back by the
shoulder, again burying himself to the hilt.  She continued her movements
until the give and take became so fast and rough it was difficult to tell who
did what. He pounded into her as she met him thrust for thrust, pushing
him for more, always more. More pain. More pleasure. 

With his tip rasping across her g-spot, he threw her into
orgasm after orgasm until she no longer knew when one stopped or
started. Her hair plastered to her sweat soaked skin as he took her over
and made her his. Relief and satisfaction roiled through her in the
knowledge that this man understood more than any what she really needed and
that he wanted the same for himself. Her sex clenched hard and he groaned
behind her, driving deeper, hurting her more, giving her just what she needed.

“Fuck, Jessie, I can’t stop it, I have to fuck you hard.
Even harder.” He slammed into her.

“Yes, Noah. Oh, Goddess, I need it.”

With Noah’s next hard thrust he tensed and groaned,
splashing her with a new heat, while her own final climax burned over her. She
shook from the intensity of it, collapsing forward onto the floor. Noah
slipped from her body. 

“Jessie.”

She turned her sleepy eyes toward him, her heart beat harder
at the emotion she saw there.

“You are it for me. The one I have to have.”

Before she could respond, piercing alarms sounded from
everywhere in the house. Noah jumped up and pulled his sweats on as he
did. 

“What’s going on? What happened?” she yelled, but she knew
there was no way he heard her over the racket. He punched in a code in a panel
in the wall she didn’t even know was there. With great relief the alarms
silenced and he disappeared into his office. She followed him inside,
staring in amazement at the array of electronic gadgets covering the
room. Multiples screens on the walls, computers covering the desks,
cabinets full of weapons and a gigantic safe in the corner.  This was
obviously the heart of this house and Noah had prepared for any possible
scenario.

She walked up behind him as he scanned the various screens
that showed every corner of his property and parts of the swamp surrounding it.
“What’s going on? Is someone here? Did Scott find us?”

He turned and looked at her, his gaze roaming up and down
her still nude frame. “You might want to get some clothes on, we are about to
have company.”

“Who is it?” She glanced frantically from screen to screen.
“Where are they, I can’t see anyone.”

“Relax, Jessie. It’s my brother Denn, I can feel
him.  And I imagine he won’t be alone. So, unless you plan to greet
them like that…” He smacked her on the ass, surprising her.

“Hey.” She laughed. “I’m going.”

She hustled back to the bathroom and grabbed up her bag and
headed for the bathroom. Surely she had enough time to take a shower before
they got here. She couldn’t wait to see her brother again, and she wanted
to meet Raven, the woman who had captured both Denn and Jake. She’d been a
little surprised when Noah had told her what was up with Jake, but she didn’t
care as long as her brother was happy.

In the shower with the hot water sliding across her skin,
she thought of Noah and what he’d said right before they’d been interrupted.
Her breath hitched at the implications as she realized she was in more trouble
than ever. She needed to tell him, and do it before his family got here.

She hurried out of the shower and threw on some clothes,
putting her hair in a ponytail, and headed back to his office to talk with
him. She found the room empty and Noah nowhere in sight. She looked
at the screens to see if they would tell her anything. Screen after screen
and still nothing until the second to the last. A clear and crisp view of
the back deck and beyond showed Noah standing at the railing looking out over
the water. She hurried from the room, determined to tell him before it was too
late.

She pushed open the back door, “Noah, I have something I
have to tell you.”

“Well, hurry up, you have about thirty seconds before they
hit the dirt.” He motioned to the water behind him, and she stretched and
looked past the railing to see two airboats coming through the cove, headed for
the dock. Her heart sank, it was already too late.  She couldn’t drop
that on him with just seconds before a reunion with his family.

“It’ll keep.” She smiled at him despite the sense of doom
settling over her. Whatever opportunity she might have had just disappeared
with two airboats and a huge group of people walking up the dock to the
cabin.  Her head pounded and her palms sweated, already the energy in the
air thick with magick. When she spied Jake at the back of the pack she took off
running down the dock. Everyone quickly sidestepped them as she ran into
his arms, grateful beyond belief for the security of his strength and presence.

“Oh, Jake.” Tears flooded her eyes that no amount of
blinking would hold back. She’d feared for both their lives for so
long. 

“Jessie, are you all right? What did he do to you? Did
he hurt you?”

She nodded her head against his chest, she didn’t want to
let him go. 

“That part’s over now, I’m just glad that you’re here,” she
whispered.

“What about your power, have you gotten in back? I still
can’t believe the bastard branded you?”

She shook in his arms, all her emotions flooding through
her, spilling out. Her quiet tears turned to hard racking sobs that she
couldn’t control. She heard people shuffling around, but didn’t look. 

“Come on, let’s go inside. I’d feel more secure not being
out in the open like this. We have to be on guard at all times.”

She struggled to compose herself and wiped away her tears as
best she could. She twisted and looked up to see all had gone up to the
house except a dark haired woman—she assumed was Raven—and Noah’s
twin. Despite knowing in advance they were identical twins, seeing him
standing there still took her back. Except for the look in his eyes and
the various tiny scars that Noah had that Denn didn’t, you wouldn’t be able to
tell them apart.

Jake introduced them all and Jessie couldn’t help but
understand why Jake was so enthralled. Between Denn’s gorgeous bad boy
look and the beauty of Raven with the dark spark in her eye, Jake had found his
perfect balance. Magick or no, she could feel it all around her. The
connection between the three of them was palpable.

Jake put his arms around Jessie’s shoulder and led her up
the dock, back to where the others waited, and Noah watched her. He
probably thought he was being subtle, but she felt his gaze slide over her
every time he turned her way. Knowing he kept an eye out for her gave her a
warm secure feeling despite the turmoil they were all about to face.

She took in the other two men she knew by name but not
sight. Graelen and Cash. Another set of beautiful men, one with a more
serious look from his cropped hair to his slacks and pullover, the other total
bad boy all the way. Black t-shirt, tight jeans, combat boots and leather
jacket.

“So, how did you all manage to get here at the same time? I
thought those of you coming in from the north would take at least a day.”

“It’s amazing what you can do with a private jet and an
offer of a cash bonus,” said Cash.

Of course, how could she have forgotten? The Scott family
was one of the wealthiest in the country with holdings and dealings in more
industries than she could keep track of.

They’d barely made it into the house before she was
approached by one of the women.

“I’m Rena, Graelen’s mate, and this is Selene, who is with
Cash.” She pointed to the red headed woman standing near her as she shook
Jessie’s hand.

“It’s good to meet you both, I’ve heard a lot about
you.” Jessie did her best to control her nerves. Under normal
circumstances she didn’t like to be around groups of people, and this certainly
wasn’t a normal situation. When you never know what might trigger your inner
demon, you tended to stay away from innocent people at all costs.

“I have been studying what Noah told me about what happened
to you and I have some theories. If we all want to get comfortable and let
me lay out these documents I brought with me, we can all discuss it.”

“In case no one told you, our Rena here is the brains of the
operation, her being our resident Tarot historian and all,” Selene offered.

Jessie nodded and led them to the large living room where
there were couches and chairs along with a large oak coffee table that Rena
could use as a table for the things she wanted to share with the group. As
much as she wanted to hear what Rena had to say, her skin itched to leave the
room, to get out of the house and back into the open space. She felt like
a ticking time bomb. Noah must have sensed her distress as he crossed to her
with concern in his gaze.

“What’s wrong?” He kept his voice low so that only Jessie
could hear him.

“Nothing, I’m fine.”

“Uh huh. Fine is never a good sign.” He wrapped his arms
around her and pulled her close. “I know it’s a lot of people with a lot
going on, but it’s for your protection, for all of us. We need a plan of
action for whatever comes our way.” His hands stroked her hair as she took deep
calming breaths, but no matter how she tried to convince herself everything
would work out, she knew it wouldn’t. Her sense of dread overwhelmed her.

Chapter Seven

As everyone moved around them—finding a seat, getting
drinks, and waiting to hear what Rena said—Noah could only think about
what he’d been about to confess to Jessie before they’d been
interrupted. He loved her and he needed to tell her. He was even tempted
to blurt it out now, but knew how inappropriate that would be. She seemed
skittish already, so he would wait until they were alone again later tonight.
But like it or not, she didn’t get to run this time. She was his and he
had every intention of holding on to her.

He pressed his lips to her silken hair, loving the soft feel
of it against him. Just holding her like this got his body hard and
ready. Would he ever get enough of her? He doubted it.

“Hey, do you two need to get a room?”

Noah shot his twin a look over Jessie’s head and had to
choke back a laugh when he saw the stricken look on Jake’s face. Guess her
big brother wasn’t ready to handle thoughts of his sister having sex with a
Scott twin. Especially considering his own relationship with Denn and
Raven. By now Jake knew exactly what kind of sexual appetites all the
Scott brothers had in common. He’d bet he didn’t know that his sister fit that
appetite just perfectly.

Noah led Jessie to the far corner of the room, far enough
away to give her a small sense of freedom and close enough to see and hear what
Rena had to say.

“As you all know, I’ve been studying the family Tarot for
weeks now, hunting for clues to help us figure out what would come next and
what we could do to prevent anything tragic from happening.” She picked up four
of the cards from the table. “These pentacles cards seem to coincide most with
the pieces of the prophecy that have been found. Yet we still don’t know
exactly how to handle our latest situation.”

“Are you talking about what happened to Jessie?” Jake
questioned.

“Yes, exactly. For a while there we thought that the
Reverend knew exactly what the prophecy said and that he was acting against it
trying to kill one or all of the brothers, but we didn’t have any real proof of
that until now.”

“She’s right, it seems pretty clear that if he knew enough
to take Jessie prisoner and try to keep her from Noah, then he’s known all
along, and his steps have escalated with each attempted failure,” Graelen
interrupted.

“From everything I’ve read and studied, all four have to
connect to their mates, and I’m not sure how well that will work as long as
Jessie is tethered to the Reverend through the branding ritual and the demon
magick,” Rena said.

“Yeah, that demon magick I took out last night was some
pretty powerful stuff. About knocked us both on our asses,” Noah said.

“You got your magick back?” Jake’s face lit up. “That’s
awesome. I don’t see how he could stop you now.”

Jessie’s body went stiff as a board against him and fear
radiated out of her like a radio broadcast. His own body went on high alert,
the hair prickling on his skin. Something wasn’t right. He was missing
something.

Jake smiled broadly. “I mean, not to short the magick of
each one of you, but her demon side is scary powerful. I don’t imagine
there is much she can’t handle.”

Everyone turned to look at them, and even Noah stared down
at the woman in his arms. Instinctively his arms dropped and he took a
step away from her as the shock of Jake’s words fell away, rage wound its way
through him, red hot and burning through his veins. Flames licked at his
skin as the emotion allowed his magick to break free from his control, building
until the heat surrounding him had everyone taking several steps back.

“Noah, you need to calm down. Let’s discuss this.” Denn
moved toward him, steady and controlled, his earth magick tamping down on his
fire.

“It’s true then? You knew?”

Denn opened his mouth to answer but the windows at the front
of the room, overlooking the front yard and water beyond, exploded, sending
thousands of shards flying into the room. Bodies ducked and ran for cover as
total chaos erupted around them. Distracted from his anger and sense of
betrayal, Noah grabbed Jessie’s arm and dragged her into the secure office.

“Noah, what the hell are you doing? We have to get out there
and fight. We don’t know what is happening.”

“Precisely.” He sat in the chair and, one by one, checked
every screen for potential intruders. With no visual confirmations
anywhere on the property he flipped the lights of the room to off and lit up
the screens, with the heat sensing infrared and every warm body within a half a
mile of the property glowed red on the monitors. “That’s better. Now we
know exactly what we’re dealing with.”

“How many?” Already Jessie was reaching for the cabinet of
weapons he had shown her earlier.

“I count only ten.”

“That seem right to you? Your uncle has come to
retrieve me, or worse, kill me, and he only sends a group of ten men against
you and your brothers? He is either incredibly stupid or we are missing
something here.”

“My thoughts exactly.”

The door to Noah’s office shook and the walls around them
buckled. His brothers were gearing up their magick, which left Noah with
an uneasy feeling. 
No magick, not yet
. He grabbed up more of
the weapons that Jessie couldn’t carry and headed for the door, not even
bothering with the lock anymore, just blowing it open with a blast of energy
from his hand. 
Okay, maybe a little
magick
.

He motioned to his brothers, who were all ducked for cover
and covering the women. It wasn’t the first time in his life he wished for
telepathy, it sure would have made things a lot easier.  “We’ve got ten
bogies out there, the closest about twenty meters from the front window and
spread out around the house. Things are about to get messy. Might as well
go out there and get this over with once and for all.”

Noah headed out the back door, trusting that his brothers
would follow. Expecting a firefight, spoiling for one actually, he drew up
short when he came face to face with his uncle standing on the lawn. “Where the
hell did you come from?

“Does it really matter?”

As all three of his brothers spilled onto the deck, each
stopped and stared, just as surprised to see their uncle as the others. 
No one spoke or moved until Jake came out the back door. When he spied the
bastard they called family, he rushed forward before anyone could react and
grab him.

“You son of a bitch. You hurt her. I warned you if you
hurt her there would be no mercy for you. You should have listened.” Jake
hurtled himself towards Scott, looking to tackle him to the
ground. Instead his body slammed into a red energy field they hadn’t seen.
He twisted and turned in mid air, his body bent back, stretching to the point
of breaking.”

A female scream from behind snapped him from the picture in
front of him as he grabbed his hand around Jessie’s slim bicep when she tried
to run past him to get to her brother.

“Let me go. We can’t just let him die.” Her words
lashed out at him as much as the burning hatred in her eyes. Red demon eyes.

He held fast, not letting her get away. “No one dies on my
watch tonight, sweetheart. Get back.” he replied sharply.

Calling the heat and energy he needed took only a second,
yet time seemed to stand still as he flung the flaming ball at Scott. The heat
and fire mixed against the demon wall, weakening it enough to release Jake, who
slammed into the ground lifeless and still.

“You can’t win tonight, Noah. I’ve waited and worked
far too long to not be sure this time.” The surety of his uncle’s words made
him hesitate. Scott might be an asshole of epic proportions and drunk on demon
magick, but one thing was certain: he was not stupid. They were missing
something.

“You’re wrong, Scott. Despite your many attempts to sabotage
us, we’ve managed to piece the true prophecy together and know that you’re too
late.  The four of us are here and we each have our mate, even demon
magick can’t beat the four of us together.” Graelen stepped closer to the wall
as he spoke until, when mere inches away, he stopped and wordlessly dared his
uncle to try it.

“Maybe—maybe not. But I don’t just come with
demon magick.” He gestured behind him, where through the heat and haze of the
unbroken energy, a dark woman stood. Scott turned to his other side and,
from behind the trees, eight cloaked women moved forward. 

“What the hell?”

“My coven,” Raven said.

“And a Voodoo priestess…” Noah’s words trailed off in
thought. A coven of witches he knew how to handle, betrayal by Severina
another thing. Surely the magick of the four could still outdo even a group of
power like this, but not likely without collateral damage.

“Severina, how could you?”

The woman stood stoic and still, not saying a word in
response. Noah forced more betrayal and anger to the side, giving a quick
glance to his brothers before once again standing to face Scott. He’d
known since he was a child this day would come. He would take a stand
against the evil that was Scott Cunningham, but he’d never thought it would be
this complicated or crowded.

Noah pulled the internal cord that reined his power in and
the energy flooded his system, fire building in his veins. The creep of
dark power became an overwhelming rush. In a connection that could only be
familial, he sensed his brothers do the same. Even Denn had come prepared
for this one, cloaking himself in earth spells so strong he could smell the
musty trace from here. Together they pooled their energy, ready to break down
the barrier that stood between them and the end of a curse that had endured for
centuries and plagued them for decades.

The power they created together sizzled and crackled around
them, raising goose flesh along his arms. Darkness swirled inside him,
rage accompanying the deepest magick he could pull. He’d never unleashed
that level of fury, always afraid of the repercussions of it. He looked at
Jessie next to him where he’d subdued her—she’d removed the shirt that
covered her brand.  The mark Scott had given her glowed deep, dark red and
the look on her face was pure agony. He was ripping her up from the inside
out with his greed.

With a simple thought of directed focus, Noah unleashed a
stream of fire and blue energy directly at his uncle with the sole intention of
burning through that shield, and what ever happened after that, well, he’d
brought it on himself. That kind of karma Noah could live with.

One after another each brother added his brand of magick to
the mix until the power generated glowed white-hot and
unstoppable. Sizzles and pops sounded like cannons in the night air as the
red shimmering wall was blanketed with the white magick. He heard the
coven of witches chanting in the background, which was interrupted when Raven,
the little water witch she was, created her own energy burst from the swamp and
cut them off from Scott.

An unknown female screamed and the energy field exploded in
a burst of orange flames and blue sparks, knocking them all back on their
asses. Noah landed on his back, the air in his lungs expelled
forcefully. His brain pounded inside his skull as he gulped in short,
shallow breaths, trying to get past the pain in his chest and back.

“Is everyone okay?” Denn’s voice questioned, but Noah still
couldn’t slow his heart. “Noah, are you okay?” He wanted to reassure his
brother but he couldn’t. Breathing hurt so much it wasn’t possible to attempt
speech.

“What’s wrong with him?” Graelen stood over him and he still
couldn’t do a damn thing.

* * *

“I tried to tell you,” Scott bellowed. “Your magick isn’t
strong enough to defeat me and never will be. I’ve tolerated you annoying
little brats all these years and I’m done. Tonight it all ends and I
finally get what should have been mine.”

“That’s one thing you’re right about,” snarled Cash.

Scott lashed out with a streak of red-hot magick aimed at
Cash, the most belligerent of all his nephews. Unfortunately he ducked and
had just enough of his own power left to push the magick’s path away from
him. Damn air witch!

Jessie lay on the ground motionless, just like he’d
expected. His lips turned up in a wicked grin. The more they fought him
the more her condition would worsen, until the clock struck twelve and he would
finally receive his birthright from the bastard sons.

With only a few minutes left he turned to the coven. “It’s
time. Begin the ceremony. Our celebration begins now.” The witches stepped
backwards, fear etched in their faces. Severina, too. A sudden black chill
swept through him as he turned to see the twins scrambling, gearing up for a
last ditch effort to save a demon.

Give me a break
.

* * *

“Oh hell, Graelen, help me over here. I’m not sure Jessie is
still—” Rena cried.

“Don’t say it. Words have far too much power.” Denn ordered
her. 

Noah pushed at the pain, pulling on any shred of reserve he
could find just to roll on his side. He spied Jessie lying on the ground
fifteen feet away with Denn and Rena hunched over her. She
wasn’t—she couldn’t be—he could see the glow of the magick in her
arm. Darkness slipped through his veins like oil, threatening to drown him
in it. He watched Denn check on Jessie as Cash and Graelen stood guard in front
of them. 

Why the hell had he let them even half convince him there
was a solution in that fucking prophecy? He’d said from the beginning it
wasn’t possible and no one had listened. Now look at him. He and the
woman he—Jessie—were about to die here in his beloved swamp. Not a
bad place to die, but damn it he wasn’t ready.