Priceless (23 page)

Problem was, being a supernatural myself,
when I
did
get some sort of spell on me
,
I was way more susceptible to
it than others. Almost like an allergy. What made O
’
Shea horny was about to send me over the deep end of whoredom. I was about to make Milly look like the
V
irgin Mary
. Crap. I tried to sidle past him to the bathroom, but all I could think about was how I
’
d kissed him the other day, the sharp tang of mint on his tongue, how his body felt holding me against the wall.

“
This is bad
,
”
I whispered, my hand reaching for his hair as I struggled to make it to the bathroom without pouncing on him.

“
What
’
s your issue now?
”
He grumped at me, the deep bass of his voice giving me chills in a not unpleasant way, his dark eyes glaring at me.
Never in all the years he
’
d tried to pin Berget
’
s death on me had I thought him attractive. Of course, I
’
d hated him with a passion, and it would have been impossible for me to see past that.

I clenched my jaw, pulled my fingers back and
ran the last few steps into the bathroom, slamming the door behind me. My body
shook
with
the
need to feel him against me, skin on skin. I let out a low groan and sat on the edge of the tub, relishing the unfamiliar sensations rippling through me. A sex life was just not something I
’
d engaged in. Too dangerous to get close to people, not to mention messy as hell. But this, as much as it was a spell, was in its own way, safe.

Striping down, I could imagine his hands roving my body as he undressed me, kissing his way down to my navel,
and
then dipping
lower. Again
,
I let out a groan; let my fingers caress the skin of my belly
and
imagined it was his lips.

“
Adamson,
”
the door creak
ed
open.
“
Are you hurt?
”

“
Oh
,
fuck me
,
”
I whispered, meaning it
whole-
heartedly.
I was half
-
naked and he was coming in
, his body filling up the space in the tiny bathroom
. I gripped the edge of the tub, my shirt on the floor, bra undone and pants unzipped. His breath caught
;
I heard it a split second before I lifted my eyes to his.

Tension filled the small room and he shut the door behind him.
“
Put y
our clothes on.
”
There was a definite crack in that voice.

I stood and stepped toward him.
“
What are you going to do if I don
’
t?
Handcuff me?
”

I look
ed
up at him now, brazen with the spell working fast and hard on me
, wishing he
’
d do the same
. Even knowing
it was a spell, my brain screaming at me that I didn
’
t even like O
’
Shea, never mind want to bed him
, I couldn
’
t seem to stop.

Running one finger up
the
damp shirt
clinging
to his ribs
,
I said
,
“
Is that what you
’
re going to do? H
andcuff me?
”

“
The same spell has you, doesn
’
t it?
”

I shrugged and smiled up at him
, running
my tongue over my lips.
“
Maybe.
”

He swallowed hard
.
“
Into the tub.
”

“
Only if you come with me
.
”
I lean
ed
forward. Just a little closer and I could
almost
taste that minty flavour
of
his mouth.
A shiver rippled the length of my body as the heat between us spiked, my skin prickling with anticipation.
“
Touch me
,
please
.
”
I wanted
his hands on me so badly I didn
’
t care if I begg
ed
.

Putting his hands on my shoulders, he started to set me back toward the bath, his mouth a tight li
ne. A smile curved my lips into what I knew was a sultry twist
, one
I
’
d seen Milly turn many a man
’
s head with.

Feeling bold, I slid my hand across his chest
,
my fingers finding their way in past the buttons. Smooth, hard abs trembled under my fingertips
,
and I couldn
’
t stop the sigh that escaped me.
“
Please.
”

His hands slid down my shoulders to my elbows where he tightened his grip, pinning my arms to my sides.
“
In a minute.
”

With one smooth motion he picked me up and dropped me into the tub, the water exploding out all around me. Sputtering and gasping, I sat up, the spell receding
quickly
with the salt water. O
’
Shea stared down at me.

“
Better?
”

I took quick stock. My brain function
ed fine,
and while I still ach
ed
with some serious hormones, I knew it wouldn
’
t have mattered who it
’
d been, I would have thrown myself at them.

“
Nothing personal
,
”
I said, slicking my hair back.
“
Damn, that was a potent one for it to stick to you and then still have enough juice left to hit me.
”

O
’
Shea nodded.
“
Does that sort of thing happen often?
”

“
No.
”
I dunked down under the water, held my body under for ten seconds
,
and
re
surfaced, letting my body float in the salt water. My bra and jeans would survive the dunking, but I
’
d have to wipe down all my leather
jacket
with salt water and condition it right away. Shit, what a pain in the ass. But it wasn
’
t as bad as it could have been.

If only O
’
Shea knew what we
’
d just avoided.

As if reading my mind, he asked the one question I
’
d hoped he wouldn
’
t.

“
What would have happened if you hadn
’
t known how to break that . . .
spell?
”
He leaned against the bathroom counter, cool as could be. Like nothing had happened. Good, if he could ignore the
blood-
pounding moments, so could I.

I st
ood
,
and he handed me a towel. Stripping off my bra behind the towel
,
I wrapped my body with the fluffy white material.
“
W
e would be going at it hot and heavy right now.
”

He nodded.
“
I got that much. But who
really
cares who you knock boots with?
”

Blinking
,
I realized this was going to be a steep learning curve for the agent
—
strike that, former agent. I shimmied out of my wet jeans and left them in the water.
“
How easy would we have been to find if we couldn
’
t stay out of each other
’
s pants? And if no one was looking for us, we
’
d have just banged the life out of each other. Literally.
”

It was only a slight shift of his body, but I saw him recoil as the implications set in
;
in fact, I
saw
the very moment he got it. His eyes widened and his jaw actually dropped.
“
You mean we would have fucked each other to death?
”

“
Yup. Eventually. I suppose it wouldn
’
t be a bad way to go, and it certainly would be hard to pin on anyone
.
”
I held my hand out.
“
Another towel
,
please.
”

He handed me a smaller towel
,
which I wrapped my hair in.
“
As soon as we dry out, we
’
ve got to move. The
Coven
who has India are the ones who attacked you and tried to kill me,
and they
will no doubt make another attempt to stop me.
”

“
Why
’
s that?
”’

“
Because I have a reputation
for being stubborn
,
”
I said.
“
And they know it.
”

He snorted
.

I glared at him.

Putting his hands back on his hips he nodded
, the hint of a smile flicking across his lips
.
“
It doesn
’
t take supernatural ability to know that.
”

18

In less than an hour we were on the road. I wanted to check out the
mineshaft
while there was still daylight
and we were less likely to run into any uglies.

“
Uglies?
”
Alex barked from the back seat.

O
’
Shea cringed. It would take him some time to get used to the werewolf.

“
Yup, uglies. What are they, Alex?
”
I want
ed
him to keep talking. Things had gotten awkward as we
’
d piled into the Jeep, my hand brushing against O
’
Shea
’
s thigh by accident
, the heat flaring between us
.

“
Demons.
”
Alex whispered and crouched low in the seat, his tail no longer wagging.

“
You have got to be kidding me.
”

I glanced over at O
’
Shea.
“
No. YOU have
got to stop saying that. This is reality.
”
I debat
ed
whether or not to mention the Arcane division of the FBI. They might welcome him with open arms
,
but then,
as
I glanced over at him, they might not. Most likely
,
nobody was supposed to know about it
.
C
ertainly not me and
definitely
not someone who was on the lam for killing his partner.

“
If I can prove this exists, this supernatural side of things, they might re-instate me
,
”
he
said.

We pull
ed
off the main road onto a barely
discernible
track that had at one point been the main drag into the mine. Now it was filled with potholes and washouts. Just one more reason I had a serious love for my Jeep. I threw it into
four-
wheel drive and hit the gas
, ignoring O
’
Shea
’
s statement
.