Destiny Bewitched (11 page)

She blanched but he
didn’t reassure her. She needed a little fear.

“I need you focused and
at your best. Can you do that? Because if not, we’re turning right
back around and going to the portal.” Fuck the blood oath. He’d
find a way out of it.

“I can do that.”

He studied her for a
moment. Her breathing slowed and she appeared to have gained some
control.

“I can do it.” With her
eyes, she pleaded. “Please.”

He released her
shoulders and stepped back. “Alright. But I better not see you
panic like that again. You’ll get us both killed.”

She nodded. “I won’t. I
promise. I just…freaked out a little. It won’t happen again.”

Gods he wanted to
clutch her to him. Every instinct he had screamed to get her out of
there. He sighed deeply. “Good.”

They walked back to the
arena.

“Registration,” the
pale man at the desk said with a glare.

Geo stood at the desk,
Samantha behind him. “Um. Doubles.”

“Names.”

“Geo and –”

Sam tugged on his arm.
He turned. “I’m thinking I need a fighting name. Something
intimidating. Samantha sounds kinda wimpy and I’m not much to look
at.”

He rolled his eyes.

She pursed her lips.
“You want me to take this seriously, don’t you? How about…Samantha
the Wicked Witch of the – no, that’s been done.” Her eyes
brightened. “The Witchinator.”

He opened his mouth to
protest, but she cut him off.

“No, you’re right.
That’s lame. Um.” She chewed on her bottom lip. “Big Red!”

Damn, she was cute. He
bit back a smile.

She patted his arm
excitedly. “Oh! Oh! Sam the Savage. That’ll scare the
competition.”

“Ridiculous,” he
muttered. Ignoring her little pout, he turned back to the
registration desk and gave their names.

The slender man rose
and wrote their names at the bottom of a long list on the
chalkboard behind him.

“Just Sam?” she said
disappointedly.

His heart clenched.
Never make her
sad.

He whispered to the man
at the desk who was getting ready to stamp their names into leather
bracelets.

The man arched a brow
then shrugged. “You fight tomorrow evening,” he said, pressing the
letters on the leather with metal stamps. “Come back an hour before
to see who you’ll be competing against. The rules are written here.
Your room number is forty two, on the second floor.” He handed Geo
a piece of paper with the rules and the two bracelets. With a small
grin that flashed his fangs, his gaze swept over Sam. “Good
luck.”

Geo grabbed the paper
and the bracelets roughly from the vampire’s hands. “Thanks,” he
grated, eager to get Samantha away from his heated gaze.

He corralled her to the
other side of the entrance and lifted her wrist. With a smirk, he
snapped the bracelet into place. She read the inscription while he
fastened his own.

“Red Phoenix?” She
looked up at him and grinned.

Geo’s hand felt warm
and a bit sweaty around hers as they walked the corridor that
circled the ring. The hall was crowded with all kinds of…creatures.
Most of them appeared human – aside from the occasional fang and
pointed ears – but she knew better than to judge a person by their
looks. Other than being bumped here and there, they mostly ignored
her. And she wasn’t the only female, which made her feel a little
better for some reason.

Noxious odors filled
her nostrils and she started breathing through her mouth. But the
air tasted like death. She coughed a few times until she got used
to it. Angry shouting came from her left. On her right, two tall
fae-like creatures spoke in Irish accents. Every once in a while
the crowd erupted in cheers. She tried to tune out the fight.

Geo’s hand tightened
around hers to the point of pain.

She tossed him an
irritated look. “I’m not a toddler. I’m not going to wander
off.”

Hesitantly, he let her
go.

The corridor opened up
a bit and all along the side opposite the ring, peddlers sold
goods. A man yelling gibberish held up meat on a stick. A woman
dressed like an old-fashioned gypsy sold cheap costume jewelry.
Others had weapons and gadgets and clothing.

Clothing!

She moved slightly to
see the mostly leather collection. Damn, she wished she had some
arians
. Maybe
they took Visa card.

Someone grabbed her
upper arm roughly and she yelped. She spun around and bumped into
Geo’s hard chest.

Whoops.

She must’ve wandered
off. His withering glare made her shrink back. He growled once then
took her hand, pulling her along again. This time he wasn’t letting
go.

A stairwell broke off
to the side about halfway around the ring. They climbed it and came
out at another corridor. It also circled the ring but the other
side was lined with doors, each with a number etched into the
wood.

The Underworld version
of Motel 6.

They walked the nearly
empty hallway until he stopped them at number forty two. He looked
back at her. “This should be interesting.” He opened the door.

Motel Underworld wasn’t
too much worse than her trailer growing up. There was a real bed,
though the mattress was bare. Guess it was a bring-your-own-sheets
establishment.

A lantern, already lit,
sat on a small table with a kerosene refill. The floor was clay
bricks, like the rest of the place. The walls were made of what
looked like clay bricks. In the back corner, a pile of junk waited
to be pilfered.
Ah,
just like home.

Geo looked around then
said, “Not so bad, right?”

“Mm. Cozy. Wonder if
they have room service.”

He gave her a puzzled
look then shut the door behind them. After taking the blanket out
of his pack, he laid it on the mattress. The rest of his
belongings, he placed on the table. Samantha stood frozen in the
middle of the room, feeling lost. This was so surreal.

Geo looked at her.
“What’s the matter, dove?”

She shook her head.
“Nothing.” She placed her bag on the bed and rolled her head to
loosen her stiff neck.

A pair of hands landed
on her shoulders and began kneading them gently. She started to
protest – it felt entirely too intimate – but Geo cut her off with
a firm shush. Then his fingers worked magic on her aching body. She
leaned back with a groan. Her muscles melted under his touch.

Her eyes drifted shut.
“That feels so good.”

“Later I’ll do your
whole body.”

Her eyes snapped open.
“Um…”

He chuckled and it
vibrated her body. “Don’t worry,
matia mou
, you have plenty of time to make
up a reason to get out of it.”

She peered at him over
her shoulder. Was he joking?

His lips lifted in a
smirk. “A reason I’ll completely ignore.”

Her cheeks heated and
she turned back to stare at the blank wall, ignoring the tingling
sensation his hands awakened in her body.

“What does
matia mou
mean?” she
asked to change the mood.

“My eyes.”

“Eyes?” How
strange.

“A term of endearment.”
He moved his hands to the back of her neck and kneaded the muscles
there. “Like my sweet or my dear.”

Goose bumps rose on her
arms. The only person who’d ever called her something like that was
her grandmother. “My sweetling,” she’d say, bending down to look
her in the eye. “You are so very strong for such a little girl.
Never forget there’s more to you than being a Blackthorn. We
Chapmans are made of hardy stuff too, you know.”

Tears pricked her eyes.
Her grandma had passed on before she’d been able to say
goodbye.

Geo stopped his massage
and patted her upper arm. “I’m going to see if I can’t trade
something to get you some new clothes.”

She swiped her eyes
then spun around. “Really?”

He grabbed his hunting
knife and slipped it into a sheath on his belt. Then he filled his
pockets with small odds and ends she couldn’t identify from the
table. “Yes, but I want you to stay here.”

“Why?”

“I don’t want them to
get the idea that you might be up for trade.”

“Me? What would –” Her
face paled. “Oh.”

He looked her over with
a stony expression. “I mean it, Samantha. Do not leave the
room.”

“I won’t. The idea of
being considered a piece of meat doesn’t appeal to me.” She crossed
her arms over her chest and shuddered.

Geo nodded then took
something out of the front pocket of his pack. A bone? He placed it
in the corner of the room and whistled.

In seconds, Erebus flew
from a shadow. She was glad to see he wasn’t carrying lifeless body
parts of any kind. Taking the bone from their meal last night in
his mouth, he plopped his big body down on the floor.

Geo stooped and
scratched behind his ears. “Stay here for me, boy. I’ll be back
shortly.”

Sam rolled her eyes.
“Is he here to protect me from what’s out there or make sure I
don’t leave?”

Geo’s eyes twinkled
with humor. “Both.”

She grunted irritably
and sat down on the bed. Geo left and she eyed the junk pile in the
corner, wondering what treasures she could find. Well, she was no
stranger to dumpster diving.

Erebus watched her as
she walked to the corner. He gave a little growl when she went by
the door.

“I’m not going
anywhere,” she told him. “Don’t want to anger the big, bad demon –
er – demigod.”
In
over my head
. “Why are you on his side anyway? After all the
dead treasures you brought me, I thought we’d bonded.”

Erebus huffed then
continued gnawing his bone. She had to admit he was a good guard
dog. He watched her with keen eyes as she sorted through the junk.
A broken mirror, withered old candles, a few torn up books, a bike
tire…

At last, she hit the
jackpot. Her squeal of delight made Erebus lift his head from his
precious bone. Just wait until she showed Geo.

Geo knew Erebus would
guard Samantha but he still didn’t like being away from her.
Because it was dangerous here, he told himself, not because he
craved her company. Though he feared making her smile was quickly
becoming an obsession.

After haggling with a
few peddlers, he anxiously started back to their room, presents
filling his arms. A feeling of pure male satisfaction surged
through him. Protecting, providing – it just felt right. Was this
what it would be like having a woman for himself? If so, he
couldn’t wait to get home and start his search.

A painful tug on his
heart made him rethink that. He couldn’t imagine doing this for any
other woman. Was it the act of protecting and providing that filled
him with pride or was it the witch herself?

He shook his head. It
didn’t matter. She was from a different world. She couldn’t be
his.

The sound of a
particularly brutal win from the ring below focused him. He had one
mission and one mission only. Save Samantha’s sister so he can
return home. Soon he’d have two of Gaia’s daughters to witness for
him. And two witches were better than one.

Yes, if he could manage
to control his irrational feelings for Samantha, he’d be home in no
time and life would go back to normal. He just had to keep
reminding himself of that.

He opened the door to
room forty two and all thoughts were washed away.

Samantha beamed up at
him with a wide smile, her beautiful face lit up like a beacon of
sunlight. “Look what I found!” She sat on the edge of the bed,
fiddling with some gadget that looked to be electronic.

He hated to dampen her
spirits. “Won’t work, dove. No electricity, remember?”

Undeterred, she kept
working at it, picking at it with a pocket knife. “Yeah, but I dug
up some batter – what is that?” She eyed the clothing in his
hands.

“Clothes.” He tossed
them onto the bed. She’d balk at the tight leather but getting rid
of her silly human clothes would make the competition take her more
seriously. Or maybe he should keep her looking harmless. It
would’ve been a good strategy if he was sure she wasn’t. “Will they
fit?”

She put down her
project and lifted the shirt and pants. “Guess I’m going commando
for a while,” she murmured.

His cock jumped
picturing her bare under the leather pants he’d picked out. Now he
wished he’d bought the skirt instead. The thought of her available,
ready for his use at any time had him hissing in a breath. He gave
his head a shake.
Get control of yourself!

“Turn around. I’ll try
them on.”

Reluctantly, he did. He
closed his eyes and tried not to think about her silky body, naked
just a few feet away. After several torturously long moments she
finally sighed loudly and he knew she was done.

“Seriously?” she
said.

He turned around and
breath escaped him.

“I look like Xena
Warrior Slut.”

He almost choked. “You
look sexy.” What an understatement. Gods, he knew the outfit would
look good on her but nothing prepared him for this. The skin-tight
leather pants rode her curves deliciously. The matching top was
little more than a scrap of fabric that zipped in the front leaving
her midriff bare and hugging her breasts, causing her cleaving to
burst out the top. And now he knew how they’d win their matches.
Send her into the ring and slaughter the competition while they
stared.

As he thought it, a
growl started before he could stop himself.
No one should see her like this but
me
. The possessive bite confirmed what he was already
beginning to suspect. He wanted Samantha. Not just any woman.
Her.

“Geo?”

He snapped his gaze
from her breasts and looked her in the eye. “Yes?”