Demon's Triad (11 page)

But his brother was already taking care of that for him…

“Let me do a healing spell. I have a little gift for it. I can at least help mend the worst of the tear,” he said, pulling Aleeza onto his lap, her blood staining his pants.

Dressed in khakis and a light blue dress shirt, Dorand looked ready for coven meeting, not hiking, and Ferrin wondered what he’d missed by taking off to chop wood this morning without notifying anyone at the main lodge.

“No, it’s fine. I can take care of it,” she said. A second later, she began to glow, a deep midnight blue that seemed to draw night down into the bright morning sun.

Seconds later, the blood stopped flowing from between her legs while various other scratches and bruises Ferrin hadn’t even realized he’d delivered vanished.

“What a gift,” Dorand murmured, obviously as impressed by the magical display as Ferrin himself. He had felt her power but had no idea she could do something like that, hadn’t even known such instantaneous healing was possible.

“I can do you too,” she said, meeting his eyes as she held out her hand.

“I know you can do me. You did me until I was ready to die with a smile on my face,” Ferrin said, glad that the joke didn’t sound as strained as he felt, and managed to bring a grin to her face. Squatting down by where she and Dorand sat, he reached out and placed his palm over hers.

Shockwaves of energy buzzed across his skin. There was a slight sting and then nothing but heat, a wonderful warm heat that took away every ache and pain. It was like a shot or two of whiskey mixed with an hour in the sauna, and when she pulled her hand away he felt completely relaxed and healthier than he had in ages.

“Impressive,” he said, shifting a bit to conceal the raging erection her touch had also inspired.

“Thanks,” she said, starting to look uncomfortable on Dorand’s lap now that she was healed. “I’m sorry I ruined your pants.”

“I’m just glad you didn’t ruin my brother, or vice versa,” Dorand said while Ferrin went to fetch Aleeza’s clothes from near the rock where he had taken her the first time.

The gods only knew how they’d gotten ten feet away from that rock.

“If she can heal like that, brother, I had no worries. She could have roughed me up all she liked and fixed me up after,” Ferrin said, the look in Aleeza’s eyes as he handed her the clothes revealing she’d just been having the same thoughts—and was just as uncomfortable about having them.

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Whatever they could be to each other, it was something wonderful and terrible, and it seemed they both knew it. But what to do about it? Leaving her the hell alone would probably be the best option for them both. Too bad he had absolutely no intention of swearing off Aleeza or her sweet, dangerous little pussy.

“I don’t think either of you should be allowed to test that theory. The energy was out of control. I thought you were going to kill each other. I didn’t think I could ground that much raw power.” Dorand stood up and politely turned his back as Aleeza began to dress. Ferrin stood there and watched her, meeting her dark eyes with his own as she watched him watching.

They would be trouble together, all right. Big trouble.

“But you did,” Aleeza said, “and I can’t thank you enough. I don’t know what was wrong. I’ve never felt anything like that before.”

“I’m sure you haven’t.” Dorand’s voice was filled with some hidden meaning that Ferrin couldn’t quite discern. But Aleeza evidently did. She hastily pulled her shirt over her head and turned to him.

“Listen Dorand, I know that you—”

“There’s no need to thank me. You and Ferrin both have incredibly strong abilities for power generation. I doubt either have you have met your equal before and weren’t prepared to handle the rush.” Dorand turned back around but not in time to catch the flicker of doubt that passed across Aleeza’s beautiful face. She wasn’t buying that theory any more than he was but seemed grateful for his answer.

“I’m sure you’re right,” she said with a nod and then turned back to smile in Ferrin’s direction.

It appeared she was fine with letting Dorand believe what he would. Good, Ferrin was fine with that too. The truth would be their little secret, a secret that might help whatever was between them grow into something bigger, something even more intense, something like—

“Are you all right, Ferrin?” Dorand asked. “You have the strangest fucking look on your face.”

“I’m fine, just fine.” Ferrin smiled and pretended he had missed his brother’s flash of temper. It seemed Dorand didn’t enjoy standing there and watching him and Aleeza making eyes at each other either. Interesting. For years they’d shared, completely, willingly, even lovingly. Now, a woman they’d each known less than a day was threatening their relationship.

And he didn’t care one fucking bit.

“Listen. Is there anywhere I could go to clean up a bit? I’m late already, but I don’t want to meet your Chieftan looking like…well what I obviously must look like,” she said, running a hand through her long dark hair. It was tangled but not too badly, and if Ferrin had his way he’d keep her looking like this. Like a wild gypsy, fresh from her bed—no, scratch that, fresh from
his
bed.

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“You can come back to my cabin. I have a shower and a bath. I could scrub your back and you could scrub—”

“I think the main bathhouse would be a better choice. It’s on the way to the lodge and we don’t have much time. Cato was expecting you several hours ago, and he’s not a man who likes to be kept waiting,” Dorand said with a glare in Ferrin’s direction.

“You’re really here on official business?” Ferrin asked, more than a little shocked.

He’d assumed that had been a ruse, an excuse to come looking for him or at least for him and Dorand.

“I’ve been hired by your coven to look into the Fire Festival killings.” Aleeza and Dorand shared a look that let Ferrin know he was definitely still missing something.

“You? Why you? Are you with law enforcement, as well as a witch and a healer?”

“She’s allegedly the best her company has to offer, with a reputation for success unparalleled in her business,” Dorand said, in his “we’ll see” voice. He might like this witch, but he seemed more than a little doubtful that she would be the one to catch Carantha’s killer.

“And what company is that?” Ferrin asked with a dubious laugh of his own.

“Gunera Bounty and Investigations. And I
am
the best—you can both be sure of it,”

she said, the determined set of her chin and the fire in her eyes telling just how little she enjoyed her skill being held in question. “Is the lodge this way?”

Dorand nodded.

“Good, I’ll see you boys at the meeting.” She turned and headed off toward the main building. Ferrin blamed the sight of her ass rolling in her tight jeans for his delayed reaction.

“Did she say Gunera?” he finally asked, turning to catch Dorand staring at him, obviously awaiting this very conclusion.

“She did.”

“You fucked her last night.”

“And you fucked her this morning,” Dorand said, his voice tight, as if he disliked the taste of those particular words in his mouth.

“God damn fucking shit.” Ferrin laughed, a wickedly pleased sound that bubbled up from his very core. “She broke the curse. She’s strong enough to break a two-thousand-year-old fucking curse.”

“Let’s see if she’s powerful enough to find Carantha’s killer. That’s all I care about,”

Dorand said.

“You say that as if you doubt I feel the same, brother,” Ferrin said, letting his hurt, his anger be heard in the words. From the night of her death, Dorand had claimed the right to mourn more than he, more deeply than he. They had both loved her, both lost her, and his assumption that Ferrin didn’t feel that loss was starting to wear on his patience.

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“I’m sure you do. Let’s go.” Dorand turned to stomp after Aleeza, quickly disappearing from view, leaving Ferrin to the stand alone near the roar of the waterfall, and the softer, more sinister roar of the dark power, newly awakened, in his mind.

* * * * *

Aleeza wasn’t sure what she’d expected an Amiantos coven meeting to look like, but this sure as hell wasn’t it. She’d thought maybe they’d all be in long Druid robes, clutching gnarled wooden wands or other ancient, nature-themed symbols of magical practice. They were the hippiest of the hippies, after all, leftovers from a time that made the Amish look positively new wave in their tastes.

Instead, the ten men and three women who sat around the large, mahogany conference table were dressed in business suits or dress pants and shirts. Even Ferrin had apparently stopped off somewhere to change, for when he entered the boardroom, he was dressed in a black dress shirt and pants, with a bright red tie. His newly washed hair looked black in the soft light and was tied back in a low ponytail at the base of his neck.

He looked even sexier in clothes if that was possible, and Aleeza was grateful she hadn’t been the one talking when he strode in and took his seat beside Dorand. She would have stuttered, stopped to stare, lost her train of thought as her pussy let out a primal roar, demanding that she get that man on top of her, behind her, inside her, as soon as humanly possible, no matter that her heart was starting to have other ideas.

When Dorand had pulled her onto his lap in the woods and touched her with such aching tenderness, a piece of her had melted. Somewhere in the recesses of her mind, she’d started to wonder what it might be like to have those strong arms and those kind eyes on her side on a more permanent basis. He was a magnetic man who brought her body to life even as he calmed the ragged pieces of her soul, making her feel inexplicably safe even before she’d realized he wasn’t going to divulge her secret.

“I apologize, Cato, but I must respectfully disagree. It’s true we’ve never let an outsider reside on Amiantos lands, even on a temporary basis. But then, we’ve never had a situation this dire on our hands,” Ferrin said.

His eyes were glued to his chieftain, but Aleeza could feel his attention upon her, feel his magic curling around her ankles, reaching up for a naughty caress beneath the large table. No matter that Dorand might be able to claim her heart, Ferrin still claimed her pussy. Dorand was no slouch in the sack, but if forced to choose between the two of them, she wasn’t sure she’d make the wisest decision.

“She’ll have run of the land, freedom to come and go as she pleases. I don’t see what difference it would make for her to have a cabin at her disposal.” The woman’s name was Freya, and she wasn’t the only one of the thirteen who seemed to resent Aleeza’s presence.

“It could mean the difference between another life lost or a member of our coven saved,” Dorand spoke from the end of the table.

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“And her father was coven, right? She’s at least half “undefiled”, Freya, which truthfully gives her more right to be here than yours truly.” Ferrin grinned his wicked, dimpled grin after he said the words, but the bite was still there. The look Freya gave him in return was positively arctic, leaving little doubt that the animosity between the two was completely mutual.

“The brothers are right. Aleeza will have a place to stay if she chooses to spend the night here during her investigation. And I expect the full support of all of our coven members. The decision passed to approach the Gunera coven for aid in this matter.

Whether you were one who voted for or against that decision, I know all of you will put forth your best effort to ensure the mission is a success.” Cato let his eyes linger on each of the coven members at the table as he spoke. The smile on his face was kind and the look in his pale blue eyes gentle, but there was still something intimidating about the leader of the Amiantos coven.

He was handsome in a middle-aged sort of way, the light brown of his closely cropped hair streaked with gray and his tanned face creased with smile lines. His well-muscled shoulders filled out his suit nicely, but he was barrel-chested rather than possessed of flat, six-pack abs. He looked strong, solid and friendly, like a retired athlete, but his energy was strong enough to slice through skin at ten feet.

Aleeza had considered asking the man about her father on the walk up to the lodge, but had rethought the decision within seconds of meeting him. If Cato had something to share with her, he would share it. If not, she wasn’t going to do anything to attract his attention. She was absolutely sure none of the people in the room were blood relatives, and that would have to be enough…for now.

“Thank you, chieftain. The cooperation of the coven will be vital and extremely appreciated,” Aleeza said, using her most formal voice, hoping to make up for the fact that she was hideously underdressed. At least she’d taken the time to clean up a bit before heading up to the main lodge and was quite a bit tidier than she’d been half an hour ago.

Cato nodded and shot her a wide smile that should have been super-friendly but wasn’t. It was a heavy look, in which Aleeza imagined she read all the myriad consequences she would suffer if she were to fail this man. “Of course, Aleeza. It’s wonderful to have you here. Anything you need, I’ll be available in my office, or you can reach me via the yellow phones located throughout the coven grounds. In the meantime, I’ll leave you to Jillian. She’ll show you to your cabin and give you full access to any files related to the investigation as it has been conducted thus far.”

The second Cato stood, every other person at the table, male and female, shot to his or her feet. The room cleared with amazing swiftness, as if every Amiantos were in a desperate hurry. Must have a lot of tree-hugging to do…or maybe they were just eager to get out of their dress clothes. Dorand and Ferrin did pass her way as they exited, however.

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“We’ll be seeing you soon, Aleeza. Let us know if there is anything we can do to help.” Dorand reached down and squeezed her hand in a friendly caress that she never would have imagined could send such a rush of heat straight between her legs.