His Witch To Keep (Keepers of the Veil) (12 page)

Fear skated down her spine. Her heart slammed against her ribs, and as hard as she tried to summon her will to fight him for release, her body melted in response to his aggression, his show of strength, and the raw hunger in his eyes.

He said, “We can’t work together unless there is trust.”

“Trust? This, coming from the guy who would only answer questions when I had my mouth on his cock?”

His cheeks flushed. “Maybe we should not work together anymore.”

“You want me to figure out what’s going on and who threatens me by myself?”

He blew out a frustrated sigh. “No.” His lips thinned, and brows dropped low. He gritted out, “Don’t ever do that again.”

“I’m sorry. How am I supposed to trust you when you obviously don’t trust me? We had sex. I’ll grant you it was good. Beyond that we have no commitment. You said so yourself. You don’t want to share what or who you are with me.” She paused, waiting for him to reply. He said nothing so she pushed onward. “You can rule me in the bedroom, as you’ve proven twice. I’m sure that’s a great turn-on for you. But you don’t own me.”

Softly he asked, “Do you want more from me?”

A dam holding back all prohibited wants burst in her mind. “I want you to admit you’re stalking me because this is personal, not something you were ordered to do or obligated to do because you think I’m some sort of Chosen broodmare for future death reapers.” She added softly, “Have you asked yourself why you protect me? Are you as messed up about all this as I am?”

He closed the distance between their lips and took possession of her mouth. Not with the savagery she expected, but with such tenderness that it nearly wrenched her heart right out of her chest. Tears burned behind her eyelids, but she blinked the moisture away. She kissed him back. She could blame chemistry or exhaustion, but truthfully the moment he touched her, she was his. He owned her. And there was no doubt she wanted him and everything he offered.

He slowly pulled away. “I cannot change what I am.”

She rested her hand against his cheek and said softly, “I’ve got the world’s top assassins competing to execute me for who knows what reason and hired by only God knows who. My life expectancy is short, even with your help. Forget what’s allowed. For me, there’s only now. Besides, whether you want to admit it or not, you’ve been in a relationship with a woman—me—for eleven years. Has your boss ordered you to back off at any point during that time? To leave me alone?”

“He pushes me to do the jobs he needs done. To leave you and do them.”

She traced his cheekbone down to his lips. “But you didn’t listen…so stubborn. I’m sorry I sang to you. I did it to protect you. Charlotte is dangerous and sometimes impulsive.”

“I’m dangerous.” His eyes swirled with challenge.

She smiled. “Exactly. You two would’ve killed each other.”

“I’ve crossed paths with her before. She’s a bitch.”

“A smart bitch, though. She really doesn’t like you.”

“Most people don’t like me.”

“I like you.” She grinned.

Color crept up his neck. “You shouldn’t.”

She curled her arms around his neck so she could play with the hair at his nape. “You ruined my other relationships, you know. They just didn’t…they weren’t you.”

His gaze darkened. “Who were these others?”

“We both have history…what about Camille?”

He rested his forehead on hers. “How about we never talk about history again.”

She loved him jealous. “I don’t like you all the time. You can be a real dictatorial ass.” But she did like him most of the time. She feared her addiction for this man. More than that, she feared him getting hurt, possibly dying. She didn’t want to be in a world without Alexi.

Oh, my. Was this love? She’d never experienced love for a man. She’d had a few transient crushes, like Eli in college, but never this.

He lifted her chin with a finger and claimed her mouth again. He didn’t rush but kissed her thoroughly. When he pulled away he said, “Let me figure out who is trying to kill you. The why isn’t as important as the who. I shall then eliminate the person. After that, we’ll see where we are.” Profound sadness flitted through his gaze as if the ending, their ending, was a foregone conclusion.

“
We
will eliminate the person.
We.
” She had to fight for her independence, cling to her self-worth.

“I think your water’s boiling.” He nodded toward the heavy spiral of steam from the boiling water.

“Crap.” She pushed him away to dump the dry spaghetti into the pot. “I hope you like pasta.”

“Yeah,” he grumbled hoarsely.

She glanced his way. “What? I can make something else for you. I’m not a gourmet cook or anything…” His face was a void of shock. She asked, “What’s wrong? I bought fresh French bread, which is actually pretty decent out here in the middle of nowhere. I’ve got sherbet for dessert. Oh, God. You don’t like spaghetti?” She wanted to please him as a way of apology for knocking him out.

He shook his head. “I like spaghetti. I just…no one’s ever cooked for me. And now you’ve done it twice.”

“Oh.” She liked being the first to do this for him. With a wave, she directed him to the nearby kitchen table. “It’s just pasta and marinara. I didn’t know if you have meat restrictions. If not, then maybe next time I’ll add meatballs.”

He remained wide-eyed and frozen.

Maybe the effects of her singing hadn’t entirely worn off or something. “Okay, maybe you should sit. Let me crack open the merlot. And you can watch me finish cooking.”

“Merlot?” he intoned.

“I know. Maybe not the best choice, but I thought it a balance between a white and a heavier red like a cab. I think I’ve got a white in the refrigerator, if you prefer that.”

“Merlot is good.” He sat, but watched her so intently that she fought not to fidget.

She slid the wine bottle his way along with the corkscrew then retrieved two wineglasses. “It’s a pretty good vintage.”

He silently opened the bottle and poured. The ten minutes to ready spaghetti seemed like an hour. Finally, she drained the pasta and loaded plates. “Bread?” She held out the bread to him and sat at the opposite chair.

He broke off a piece.

“Crap,” she muttered.

“What?” he asked, his forkful of pasta inches from his mouth.

“I forgot to buy Parmesan.”

He shook his head. “I don’t mind.” He bit into the spaghetti.

“I do.” She jumped up and riffled through the refrigerator and then the pantry. After a failed search she resumed her seat. “That’s the problem with only being here temporarily. Nothing’s stocked. We always have Parmesan at home. Most of the Sentries are addicted to it. They seem to put it on everything, even cereal.” She screwed up her face. “It’s gross. But I guess I just assumed…bummer.”

He finished chewing and said, “This is good, even if missing the cheese.” His eyes sparkled with laughter.

“Thanks. This is one of the few meals I’m pretty good at, but it’s simple enough that it’s tough to mess up. I wish we had the cheese.”

“How often are you here?”

“Off and on. I come here when I need to get away.” She glanced around at the familiar rooms she’d been reluctant to alter since her parents died.

“Do you only jump when you’re in danger, or do you come here other times?” His gaze darted up to hers and then back to focus on winding pasta against his spoon. His manners and technique were impeccable. She’d never entirely mastered the art of efficiently winding against a spoon.

“Once in a while I need a break. I try not to jump during a mission unless there’s no other option. Miraculous disappearances are tough to explain to superiors.” She focused to wind some pasta, frustrated that it didn’t work as well as his technique. “It’s been in my family for a long time as the safe place for the Pleiades of my lineage. I think my mother brought my father here a lot, since I found so much of his stuff in the house.”

“I like the location.” He glanced out the windows to the view of the water. “Have you tried to find this place in the real world—well, in my real dimension?”

“I looked once, but never had time to follow through. A house exists on the property, although different architecture. It was owned and wasn’t for sale.” She nibbled at the spaghetti, unusually nervous at the intimacy of small talk. She took a swallow of wine. Its acidity burned her throat. If she didn’t eat more, the alcohol would go straight to her head. With a mental shrug she took two more sips of wine.

“Would you want to own the house in both places?” he asked softly. The openness of his tone urged her to answer.

“I’m happy here.” She shrugged. “Maybe it reminds me of my parents and a happier time in my life or something.”

“You’re safe here?” he suggested. “No one tries to kill you here, other than that Charlotte bitch?”

“She’s only a threat to you. We’ve shared tea here several times. We’re not best friends, but she can be cool.”

“The house?” he asked again.

She nodded. “I think I’d like to look into that someday. It’s far enough at the end of the road in both dimensions that it could be adequately fortified. It’s just so beautiful here.” She cast a glance out the window, loving the chaos of the ocean waves far below the cliffs. She muttered, “Bet it’d cost a fortune to buy in your dimension.”

In silence they gazed out the window for a few moments. “You think we’ll find my sister alive?”

“I don’t know.”

“You can’t
see
that far into the future?”

He shook his head. “I get an impression of something evil or unexpected. It probably means whomever is involved in this will want to play games.”

“They’ve already been playing games.” Then her tone changed to suggestive. “Games can sometimes be fun.”

He smiled and lifted his wineglass. “A toast.”

She lifted hers.

“To dangerous games.” He smiled.

“To winning.” She clinked her glass against his.

He chuckled. The slant of his eyes suggested his winning had nothing to do with whoever threatened her life or had her sister.

Chapter Thirteen

A
lexi helped her load the dishes into the washer. She turned and glanced up, her breaths turning shallow, moving her chest in a tempting fast tempo. Brushing hair away from her face, he shaped his palm around the back of her neck then slid it to her shoulder. Her skin was like satin, warm and so alive. He was torn between wanting to tear off her clothing and pound into her and to go so slowly that he’d draw her to heights she’d never imagined she could reach. What won was to give her a bit of punishment for knocking him out.

“We should go back. To the other dimension,” she whispered. But the pleading in her eyes begged differently.

He kissed her, swallowing her
oh, yeah
moan and plunging his tongue deep to tangle with hers. He nibbled and took his time, watching arousal deepen the color on her cheeks and bring her nipples to hard peaks. All for him—only him.

His hands slipped over her narrow rib cage to her waist until his fingers curled around the edge of her shirt. He drew it up and over her head. With a flick her bra opened. She gasped and arched closer when his mouth closed over a pointed nipple. He teased back and forth with his tongue and then gently bit. She cried and sagged into him.

“That’s what I want,
ragana
. Burn for me.” He slid a hand down her flat belly, unfastened her jeans and slid two fingers against her wet folds. “So wet for me.” He took her breast back into his mouth and plunged a finger into her, his thumb rubbing against her clit. He loved every frantic cry, every involuntary movement of her hips against his hand as she pressed to get more. She twisted and writhed to get closer to his hand, urging him faster.

“Not yet,” he whispered. He carried her to the kitchen table. Within seconds her pants and underwear were off. At last, free access. He kissed his way from her breasts downward.

“Please, Alexi. I need you.”

“You can wait.” He parted her thighs and positioned her exactly where he wanted, open to his hungry gaze. He stroked her thighs and moved his fingers against her swollen flesh. She shot upward and twisted as if to grab him. To take this where she wanted to go. He frowned. “Stay still or I will tie you.”

“You wouldn’t,” she whispered and arched up to glare at him.

He drew her hands above her head. “Grip the table’s edge and don’t let go,” he ordered.

She tried but couldn’t get a good grip. She shrugged apology.

His gaze narrowed. “Just keep your hands up there.”

“Fine.” She wove her fingers together and held them above her head.

He raised her pelvis, lowered his head, and swirled his tongue along her soft, swollen lips and then stabbed deep.

S
erenity froze. She couldn’t help it. Hell, it wasn’t like a man hadn’t ever gone down on her before; they had once or twice. Just never him. Suddenly she didn’t know what to do. What she wanted to do was grab him and beg him to take her. To force him to let her come with him inside her. His tongue thrust deep inside her over and over. Her pelvis arched toward his tortuous mouth with a groan. He licked and sucked, moving to her clit. A strangled sound emerged from her when he latched on. One hand unlocked and headed toward him.

“Keep your hands up there,” he ordered.

“Alexi?” She stared, suddenly vulnerable.

He stared back with slumberous eyes and a knowing grin. He licked a long swipe that sent white-hot sensation ripping through her body. “You don’t like it?”

She stared into his challenging gaze. What was she supposed to say? “It’s…good.”

She squirmed to get her pelvis closer to his face as he licked.

“Stay still.” His hands clamped around her hips. “I will tie you if you can’t behave.”

“Like hell.” She struggled to stay still beneath his onslaught. She became desperate. He licked around her clit, teasing it periodically. Then he latched on, and two fingers thrust into her. She exploded with such force that her mind dissolved. Before she managed to come down, before the agonizing shudders had ended, he lifted and had her on the bed down the hall. Super-speed move. Disoriented, she tried to sit up. In a fluid move he looped his shirt around her hands and tied her to the headboard.

“You didn’t,” she gasped.

He slid his hand under her butt, lifted her into the air, and then his hot length tunneled inside her still spasming muscles. Just as the first orgasm finished its final trembles, the second one built with each of his thrusts.

“Alexi…”

“I’m here,
ragana
,” he said hoarsely. “Let go.”

His fingers gripped her sensitive nipple, but he knew how to touch. How to stroke. He didn’t go easy on her, though. Pleasure and pain combined with each deep, hard thrust. Their moans mingled.

She couldn’t stand this. She didn’t know when it happened. When she’d crossed that line, knowing that pleasure and emotion commingled. She couldn’t bear the overwhelming pressure. She wasn’t ready to give in to this again. To give him the power to shatter her soul. She yanked her hands to get them free. Her body tensed, trying to pull away from him, wanting that small measure of protection against the damage he could inflict.

“Oh, no, you won’t. Look at me.”

She shook her head.

“You will not run from this. I will have all of you. Now, look at me.”

“Please.” She shook her head and pulled against the restraints, trying to break free.

“I’ve got you, beautiful.” His accent was thick, his voice heavy with emotion. “I’m right here. I won’t hurt you. Come for me. I’ll catch you.”

She gazed deeply into his green eyes, astonished by the sincerity in their depths. She was helpless to this man. Bound physically and emotionally. She was lost. When the second orgasm came, she screamed at the crash.

She heard his release, felt it. And silently thanked him for remembering to use a condom, not questioning where it came from. The guy was magic. He probably read ahead in time or whatever. It didn’t matter. She wasn’t ready for an instant family.

As he released her hands and rolled her into his arms, she realized she wanted all of him—far more than just sex. She’d wanted more since the moment she met him. Now she wished to weave herself as firmly around his heart and soul as she knew he was firmly in control of hers. Even worse, she realized she’d crossed a line. She barely knew him and yet would allow him to do anything he wanted with her body. Willingly. She wanted anything she could get from him and anything he’d give to her.

Holy crap, she actually wanted it all. She wanted love and forever. From him. Only him. From the death reaper who wasn’t allowed more. She didn’t want it from some druid she had yet to meet, or another guy. Maybe this was just the inadvertent bond talking. But surrounded by the power and strength of him, she knew the truth. She’d been holding out for Alexi for years.

She had to get her head right. She had big responsibilities, like having a baby to carry on her lineage. The concept of a baby terrified her. She never deluded herself into thinking she was mother material. But to combine that fear with the thought of Alexi…a picture flashed into her brain of a little boy with Alexi’s green eyes and dark hair calling her Mommy. Her eyes misted. Even if this was the bond talking, her want for that child with his eyes surpassed every fear and anxiety tormenting her soul. She yearned for that baby for herself, for Liz to have a nephew, and for her future daughter whom that son would protect. She wanted the whole family picture with Alexi.

With that terrifying thought, she slid away from the man she wished could be hers, but who couldn’t be. And out of the bed to shuffle to the bathroom. She cranked on the shower and hopped in. The warm spray did little to halt her whirling mind.

He opened the glass door and stared at her.

She met his turbulent green eyes silently until she finally said, “I can’t do this. Just sex won’t work for me.”

He sighed. “You know I want you.”

“For sex.” She ground her molars and suppressed the need to hit him.

“I will always protect you.”

“Of course you will,” she said with a resigned sigh. “We need to stop this—whatever it is between us. I can’t do this the way you want. Sex with no strings attached just…” She shook her head. “Not anymore.”

His brow scrunched up as if he was confused.

She fisted her hand to prevent striking at him. “You really don’t get this, do you? Let me make this clear. Like you, I’ve been screwed by my Greek deity heritage. I have to find my destined man. I can’t check the opt-out box on this. I’ve been running from this for years. I’m not getting younger and…” She lowered her forehead and rested it against the wall of the shower.

“Do you know who this man might be?” he asked.

You
, her mind screamed. She rolled her head toward him but kept it resting against the side of the shower stall. She stared at him.
I want it to be you.
“This is not just about me. This is about my family line…the other Pleiades. I can’t die yet. I’ve got to have a daughter first. This just makes finding my sister even more important. If someone does snipe me, then she’s it.”

He stepped into the shower and pulled her to him, fitting her head against his chest. “No one is going to kill you. I’ll make sure of it. I have never lied to you. There can only be now.”

No kids. No future.
The unsaid hung acridly in the air.

She pushed back to stare into his gaze, hoping to find his unsaid wish that he wanted everything, too, maybe even a little love. Hell, she’d take a smidgen of affection. All she read from him was sadness and determination. That hurt. Anger swirled viciously through her. She wasn’t sure at whom the anger was directed: herself for giving in to her insane and completely wrong attraction to him, him for knowing he shouldn’t do this but using her anyway, or the Greek deities for messing around in their lives.

She crammed all her wants, hopes, and desires when it came to this confusing man into a dark place in her mind and pushed away from him. She snapped a towel from the rack as she exited the shower and wrapped it around her body. She threw a towel at him as he stepped out. She gritted out, “Let’s leave this whatever we’ve got between us here and not do it again. Ever.”

He yanked her to him and tugged on her hair to force her to meet his gaze. “Why are you angry?”

“You really have to ask?” Now she was going to hurt him.

“I don’t get it. I’m giving you everything I can.”

“Which is what?” She bumped into his erection on purpose, taking small satisfaction from his groan. “That? Thank you, but I can find that elsewhere. Plenty of elsewheres.”

A cloud of fury closed in over his face. “What is wrong with you?”

She stomped on his foot, jabbed his abdomen, and whirled out of his grasp. “I forgot that you’re just another bloody alpha who can’t pass up the chance to dominate a female. You assholes like the challenge but lose interest the second you fuck it. I’ve seen it a bazillion times with the Sentry druids. Well, you proved you can win in the bedroom. Congratulations.” She rolled her eyes. “Now it’s time for you to lose interest, because I’m done with us.” With a pivot she stalked toward the closed door.

He pounced, stopping her against the bathroom door. He walled her in, surrounding her. Not hurting, but overwhelming. “Stop it.” The words came out softly.

He turned her toward him and kissed her. It wasn’t an ignition kiss. There was no aggression or dominance. Only reassurance. He whispered, “I’m not done with this…us.”

Was he not done because she’d just thrown down another gauntlet he couldn’t resist, or did he want this to continue? Her eyes glassed up from emotional overload. Tears leaked, which topped off her humiliation nightmare. She’d suppressed the weepies for months after he deserted her. Months.

He rubbed away the tears as they hit her cheeks. “Don’t even think about turning to another. I…” He shook his head.

“You what?” she asked.

“Please stop crying.”

She gazed into his now hard face, not reading anything that she wanted. He wasn’t going to give her what she needed. Ever.

She ducked under his arms and presented him with her back while wiping away the tears. She might feel like a shattered food jar on a grocery store floor, but she’d survive. If she pushed him for any sort of further declaration right now, all she’d get was another
I’m not allowed to do this.
As steady as she could manage, she said, “Let’s dress. We need to figure out who’s trying to kill me, and who took my sister, before it’s too late for all of us.”