Spell Bound (Darkly Enchanted) (6 page)

Walking up a few rows into the mostly empty seats facing the back of the band, Shea sat on the warm stone, heated from below. From her vantage point, she could see the entire club.

Who would ever guess that beneath this city was a perfectly formed amphitheater? Though tiny in comparison to the architectural wonders built by the ancient Romans in Europe, Africa and Asia, just the fact of its existence was amazing.

Ten circular rows of stone seating encompassed the arena where the band played and the audience danced. Some nights, especially during the spring and summer, the arena held the
circensis
, the games. She and Leo had actually attended a couple since moving here.

Though she’d been careful to keep to the fringes of society, only occasionally going to temple and making no friends with the exception of Dilby, she couldn’t resist the
circensis
.

As a kid, she’d loved to listen to her dad talk about the times he’d taken part in the Reading games as a teenager. Right here, on this floor, their dad had won many times, whether he’d fought with his bare knuckles or weapons. He’d lost a few times, too, and Shea thanked the Gods they no longer fought to the death, as they had in ancient times.

Still, the Etruscans maintained their hunger for blood and violence. Shea believed that appetite worked in their favor, gave them an edge to survive.

Even though they’d hidden their culture to protect themselves, the Etruscans worshipped in temple every week. They made sacrifices to their flesh-and-blood deities, like Nortia, Goddess of the Fate, and Tivr, God of the Moon. Those deities lived among them, their existence a carefully guarded secret from the
eteri
.

But as much as the Etruscans liked a good fight, good sex ranked above it.

The band’s
strega
, Gemma, stood on the opposite end of the stage from Leo. Another tiny brunette with pixie features and hair straight to her ass, Gemma chanted in Etruscan, weaving a strong euphoria spell that had enticed a few couples into the stands already. Bodies pressed tight, the couples’ hands roamed, mouths locked. No embarrassment at their public display.

Though Shea had never gotten down and dirty with anyone, she considered sex a natural part of life. Most
eteri
had a skewed sense of sex, considered it dirty or immoral, to be hidden away in dark rooms.

She didn’t understand that, especially as the beat of the music and the spell encouraged her body to move. She was halfway to the arena floor before she realized she’d gotten up.

One dance, she reasoned. If she stayed to the left of the stage, she’d be able to keep an eye on Leo and dance out some of her frustration.

Just as she hit the floor, Dilby and the band lit into “Love to Love You, Baby,” and the trancelike beat seduced her. Since she didn’t want to stand out, she approached a group of single females she’d seen here before. Though she didn’t know their names, they welcomed her into their circle with nods and quick smiles.

But the women’s attentions immediately refocused on the single men watching the action from the perimeter. Waiting. Everyone was looking for a partner tonight, someone to connect with, someone to make magic with.

Behind her, a male body pressed against hers. Hard and hot, he plastered himself to her, hands on her hips as he picked up her rhythm. He was fully aroused, his sex a stiff rod rubbing against her ass.

Goddess, his hands made her blood heat as they cruised from her hips up her sides to her breasts, cupping them, testing their weight. So firm. So hot. He wanted her. She felt his desire in the pulsing of his cock, in the thrust of his hips against her ass.

Damn, it’d be so easy to turn, to wrap her arms around his shoulders and her legs around his waist and let him carry her off into the stands. Let him take her mind off everything and—

The voices buzzed through her mental barrier, making her temples ache with the effort to ignore them. But she lost her rhythm and stepped out of the man’s hold. Damn it, she had to get off the dance floor before she embarrassed herself.

Without saying a word, she stumbled away, back up the risers, sinking into a seat, wanting to sink into the stone and away. Just away from this all.

Not fair. So not fair.

Tears threatened but she’d be damned if she’d let them fall. Couldn’t give in because she was afraid if she started, she wouldn’t stop. The fucking voices. Sure, they provided an early warning system for danger, but obviously they didn’t want her to have any fun. They wanted to keep her alone. A virgin.

With a shiver, she forced her attention back to Leo, still seated at the back, little hands hitting the drums. So small. So vulnerable.

Vaffanculo
, was she nuts? Of course she couldn’t hook up with anyone. Who would protect Leo while she went off and got laid?

She let her gaze travel the room, looking for anyone who might be looking at him a little too long, who paid a little too much attention to him. All she saw were people having a good time.

Several more couples and one, no, two threesomes had joined the others in the stands. Luckily all were still clothed, but she and Leo needed to leave at the next break. The rest of the band would play for at least another hour, possibly two. Until those audience members who’d stayed reached their climaxes.

Sex magic fueled the wards that kept DownBelow concealed from the outside world. Harry considered it a fair trade since he charged no admission fee to see the band.

While the band members made decent livings as session musicians for the
eteri
, they were bigger than The Beatles to the Etruscans. She often wondered how they managed to balance those two worlds and keep their sanity and their secrets.

She nearly hadn’t. She’d almost run back to her parents after the first disastrous six months she’d spent on her own. Sneaking away from her home had been easier than she’d expected. After her encounter with the hiker, she’d been determined to see what other secrets the rest of the world held.

Her mom had refused to discuss even the possibility of her leaving. Her dad…well, her dad had stepped up her training. As if he’d known she’d found a way to sneak past the perimeter wards and walk to the town she’d discovered in the neighboring valley. As if he’d known, one night, after a particularly bitter fight with her mom when she was seventeen, she’d pack a bag, steal some money and run.

At the town, she’d gone to the bus depot and bought a ticket, headed for Philadelphia.

She was going to be a ballerina. She would dance on famous stages around the world and fall madly in love with a man who would not want to lock her in a home in a forest.

She would not give up her life to be a member of an ancient
boschetta
dedicated to the Goddess Menrva. Hell, she couldn’t even work a spell without her brother’s help and the constant threat of a migraine.

Heart pounding as she sat in that smelly bus, her eyes had widened as the cities became bigger and dirtier. When she’d finally stepped off the bus in Philadelphia, she’d cowered in the bus station bathroom for an hour. There were too many people, too many cars, too much noise. And in her head, the voices whimpered in fear.

Goddess save her, she’d been an idiot. She should’ve gone home then. Maybe if she had, things would be different. Maybe her parents would be alive.

And she and Leo definitely wouldn’t need the dubious services of the man who’d just walked into the club through the front entrance.

She’d seen Mr. Brown from the stage, but now that he was this close… Damn, he was gorgeous—if you liked guys who looked like they spent the better part of their lives bench-pressing cars.

Obviously she did, because her libido came to life on a wave of heat that flooded her body from scalp to toes and every place in between. Her breasts tightened, the nipples pebbling into hard points, and her sex clenched with a ferocity that shook her.

What was wrong with her? She hadn’t had such a strong reaction to the guy she’d been dancing with earlier. Was this a belated reaction to that? Or a reaction to the euphoria spell Gemma wove to lure the patrons into sex?

Unlike everyone else here, Mr. Brown—she really doubted that was his name—wore jeans and a black t-shirt, though he was barefoot like everyone else. His dark hair hung in thick, layered lengths past wide shoulders. His broad brow, high cheekbones and square jaw covered by a closely trimmed beard proclaimed his Mediterranean heritage.

And those dark eyes constantly scanned the crowd. From his intent expression, she got the sense he never let his guard down. That was a good thing. In that way, Mr. Brown reminded her of her dad.

Still…she wasn’t ready to hand over Leo’s safety to a man she didn’t know enough about. Even if he was
grigori
.

Chapter Three

Someone was watching him and it was getting fucking annoying.

Through his enhanced perception of the environment around him, Gabriel felt the attention like a feather brushing against his skin. But he couldn’t pinpoint where it was coming from.

Gabriel shook his head, trying to think through the euphoria spell Gemma had cast. Combined with the alcohol in his system, it was making him fuzzy.

And that was unacceptable.

His dad would’ve kicked his ass for impairing his senses like this. And he deserved it. But gods damn it to hell, he was still pissed off. He wanted that bastard Dario to bleed before he cut out his black heart and burned what was left of his body.

Just the thought gave him a warm glow inside.

“Hello, Gabriel,” a woman’s husky voice broke through the bloody little daydream he had going. “Haven’t seen you for a few weeks.”

He looked over his shoulder, leveling his gaze on the beautiful woman running her fingers through the ends of his hair. “Connie. How you been?”

Her lithe
versipellis
body swayed to the music as she moved in front of him. “Bored. What about you, Gabe? Wanna make a little magic?”

As she brushed long mahogany hair over her shoulder, he let his gaze drop to her breasts. They were great breasts. He’d held them, tasted them, rubbed his cock between them. Knew he could again tonight.

Yeah, but do you want to?

Hell, even his body was undecided. He was half hard from the combination of her proximity and the euphoria spell. A few minutes with Connie’s talented hand wrapped around him and he’d be ready to perform.

But do you want to?

Connie lifted one perfectly arched eyebrow at him, swinging her hips to the music. But her expression never changed. If he told her no, she’d move on. He was just another body to her. Which is all she’d be to him.