TheKnightsDruid (3 page)

“Who are you to break into my home and demand anything from me?”

“I am someone not to trifle with. You would do well to remember that, lass.”

“Are you threatening me?”

His smile never reached his eyes as his gaze raked over her. She shivered at the dark promise his gaze held. Her heart stuttered then picked up speed. Her reaction to this man was unprecedented and scared the hell out of her. Instinct told her to run, the attraction she felt for him made him a clear danger to her. If she could make it to the woods she would be safe, suffused with nature’s pure energy nothing could touch her. She just had to get out of the room and through the front door before he caught her. A whimper caught in her throat as she turned to make her escape only to feel a hand clamp down on her wrist like a steel vise. He pulled her to him, his body close to her own. Only a single breath separated them. The scent of woods and spice wrapped around her and she breathed deeply.

God he smelled so…good.

“Not a wise choice, lass. Tell me what I wish to know and I’ll let you go,” his warm breath brushed over the shell of her ear, his voice a raspy growl sending tendrils of heat through her blood stream.

“I don’t know anything,” she groaned, fighting her body’s reaction to him. “If I did I swear I’d let you know.”

“Ah, you insult me, lass. Do you think I cannot tell when someone lies?” His soft words held a hard note of warning.

She shivered with…excitement? What the hell was wrong with her? Her breath hitched as her gaze caught and held his. The irrational urge to rub herself up against him almost overwhelmed her. She gritted her teeth, fighting for sanity and took a small step back. Not that she could really go far with his hand still clamped tightly on her wrist.

“I have no need to lie to you, Mr. Hennessy. Whatever you thought you saw is in your imagination,” she said coolly.

The sudden pounding on the door startled her. Colin released her putting a finger to his lips, with his other hand he motioned her to the door. She hoped whoever stood on the other side would come to her aid if she asked.

“Don’t even think about calling out for help. It will do no good.” His voice seemed to surround her like a caress.

Another series of hard knocks had her hurrying to answer. Sparing a quick glance over her shoulder she faltered at the sight of the now empty living room. Where the hell did he go? The pounding sounded again.

“All right I’m coming!” she shouted as she hurried to unlock it. The door jerked out of her hand, slamming into her shoulder. Pain radiated through her arm from the impact and she staggered back just in time to see a very large, very hard body barrel into her sending her crashing into the wall. Her head hit with a heavy
thump
and her world tilted crazily for a moment. Pain throbbed through her head, but she refused to go down. Blinking away the double vision she narrowed her gaze on the two men filling her hallway.

Fear clogged her throat as she planted her feet wider apart, preparing for their attack. They were familiar to her and it took a second to recognize them as Vance’s men. She didn’t know their names, but she was damned sure she’d seen them in his army of bodyguards. Both were huge men, massive muscle roped over their frames attesting to way too many days spent pumping iron. The one nearest her gave her a cold smile and a shudder slithered down her spine. His dark blond hair was shorn close to his scalp, dark eyes assessing her with a lecherous sweep over her body. His buddy stood an inch shorter but no less intimidating with dark hair cut short and a crooked nose, broken one too many times.

Great, just what she needed… Buzz-cut and Fugly. They stared hungrily at her like she’d suddenly become a tasty piece of meat. Her instinct told her they planned a very unpleasant evening for her. Well, they had an especially nasty surprise in store for them if they thought she would go along without a fight.

“Whatever Vance ordered you to do…don’t even think about it. Leave now and I’ll forget about this whole thing.” Juliet’s words held more bravado than she actually felt. It would take very little effort on their part to overpower her in a physical fight, but she didn’t plan on fighting on the physical level.

Buzz-cut took a step closer, his every move shadowed by Fugly. “Just what do you think a little thing like you could do?” Buzz-cut laughed.

Juliet pulled hard on the raw power woven through the earth and air. The surge prickled over her skin, crawling over her body like a million ants. Another beat of her heart and an electric buzz raced through her bloodstream making her lightheaded. Building energy this fast was a dangerous thing. It took a great deal of concentration to keep the swelling magic from going wild. Plus the body simply wasn’t built to withstand that much power forced into it. Much like an overloaded circuit board one uncontrolled surge and everything around a ten yard radius fried including the magic user.

Not good.

She would have to use this energy fast before it burned her out, as it stood now the physic backlash was going to be a doozy so she needed to take out both of them before that happened.

“Come and get it, boys,” she gritted out, thrusting her hands out in front of her which pulsed with a blue light.

“What the fuck?” Buzz-cut demanded, an edge of unease sharpened his tone.

“You wanted a piece of me, well you got it,” Juliet snapped, the pulsing light surrounding her hands flared white, the air crackled with static. Without warning the energy shot from her hands in two streams, homing in on her two would be attackers.

It hit them in the chest with a hissing crack, throwing them against the door with such force the frame cracked and the walls shook. Both men slumped to the floor in a boneless heap unconscious, the sharp tang of ozone filled the room as the energy she summoned reverted back to the elements of earth and air.

“Damn, woman, that was unexpected.” The deep accented voice slid over her exposed nerves, heightening her awareness of the man who suddenly appeared so close to her.

Colin.

“They didn’t give me much choice now did they?” Juliet snapped tersely, doing her damnedest to keep the world from tilting and the contents of her stomach from coming up.

“Aye, that they didn’t,” he agreed with a pensive look.

His intense regard kicked her pulse up a notch, clenching her hands into tight fists fighting against the irrational urge to stroke a hand over his strong jaw.

“You’re a bit pale perhaps you should sit for a wee bit?”

“A little help would have been nice,” she groused.

“And if there was a need for intervening I would have. You seemed to handle them quite well by yourself. You’re a powerful little thing, I’ve never seen the like and I’ve seen quite a bit in my life.”

Juliet tilted her head and grimaced against the throbbing pain taking up residence in her skull. Even the slightest movement felt like a hatchet cleaving into her skull. To her horror her knees wobbled, threatening to buckle under her. The backlash she dreaded engulfed her. Colin’s voice came from far off, his words made no sense as her vision fractured into black cracks threatening to pull her into the dark abyss.

Dimly she felt herself being lifted, heard Colin’s deep voice mumble something she thought was a curse. He felt so good, his body hard and warm. She laid her cheek against his chest hearing the beat of his heart and let herself fall into the blackness.

* * * *

Colin swore, scooping her into his arms as her knees buckled beneath her. Now what the hell was he to do with her? He couldn’t leave her here. Not with Vance’s goons sprawled by her front door. They may be out cold, but for how long? The fact that Vance would go to such lengths to get his hands on her only strengthened his certainty that Juliet Boyd was important.

He cradled her light form to his chest, her cheek nuzzled against his chest. The faint rose scent of her hair reached his heightened senses and he drew a deep breath. Her eyes closed, dark lashes fanning over her pale cheeks.

By all the saints, she was beautiful.

A momentary surge of protectiveness coursed through him and was ruthlessly squashed. There was no room in his life for a woman. Not that he was a saint by any stretch of the imagination. He had taken many to his bed, pleasured and been pleasured in turn. At the end of the night he left them all without a backward glance. Relationships were a foreign concept to him and he fully intended to keep it that way.

His mind went back unbidden to his first reincarnation and the only woman he’d ever loved. Ciara with her ebony hair and flashing blue eyes, so full of life and the promise of a home, children and growing old together.

Instead, all was torn from him. Love...hope…happiness… nothing but ashes. His countless incarnations spent in endless searching for the only one who could fill the ever present void where his heart should be. But Ciara never reincarnated and after the countless centuries he accepted the fact she never would be.

And now this…
chit
dares to awaken emotions best kept buried?

No, the very idea filled him with guilt, as if he cheapened Ciara’s memory. Juliet was not Ciara. He would have known if she was.

Wouldn’t he?

He refused to think of it any longer, would bury it deep. He was simply attracted to her the way any man would be to a beautiful woman, nothing more.

If that’s the case, why not ease yourself on her and be done with it?
The voice in his head taunted him. Aye, he liked the thought of that. Once he had her under him, screwing her senseless these unacceptable feelings would disperse.

The voice in his head laughed derisively,
Just keep telling yourself that, boyo.

He ignored the voice and concentrated on just what in nine hells he was to do with the lass? He couldn’t just leave her here. There was nothing for it, he would take her to Arthur’s compound and then find out all she knew. But he would do it at his leisure. His lips curled into a smile at the thought. Aye, it looked like he would be enjoying the company of Ms. Boyd for a bit of time.

Chapter Four

Arthur stared out of the massive bay window, his gaze on the view of the Pacific Ocean, but not seeing it. His mind played over the confrontation with Vance, pulling out every memory, examining it from all sides. Looking for…hell, he didn’t have a clue. But there was something, he could feel it just under the surface of Vance’s words. A dark omen that something big, bad and unavoidable was coming.

The sound of someone clearing his throat intruded into his musings, yanking him back to the present. With a deep sigh, he turned his back on the view and gave his attention to the men who stood casually around the cavernous living space. The room was a study in masculinity. Large bay windows surrounded three sides, reaching high above meeting the arched ceiling. A mammoth fireplace dominated the room from the remaining wall the black stone hearth was bare of any mementos. Two crossed swords hung above, the steel glinting in the rays of the sunlight streaming through the windows.

Chairs, large and plush in shades from deep burgundy to sable sat around a circular white, oblong marble table. More chairs clustered around a large screen television complete with several different gaming consoles shoved haphazardly into a maple entertainment center.

Arthur let his gaze sweep over his men, Sir Lamorak aka Simon Leary, Darius Roark once known as Sir Percival and Sir Bors now Neil Calder. All three were strong, capable men, the best any leader could wish for. Neil and Darius were the same lean body type, both around six foot one. Simon flanked Darius, a constant shadow that towered over the other two men. Standing six foot five of solid muscle, Simon made the other two seem almost short in comparison.

Arthur noted the deep friendship between Simon and Darius, whatever was between them he had to admit they made a formidable fighting unit because of their bond. His eyes swept to Neil, who had held the singular distinction of being the only one of his men married. That is until Drake tied the knot with Merci. Thinking about his two dearest friends brought a stab of envy. He buried that particular emotion. He learned his lesson in his last reincarnation. Never would he put his trust in any woman. Between Morgan Le Fey’s treachery, and Guinevere’s betrayal he would live his life the way
he
wished. Uncomplicated, simple and alone. He ignored the hollowness lying in the center of his chest. He chose his path and come what may he would not stray from his path. He pushed those thoughts deep, pulling the mantle of his leadership around him like armor and settled his gaze on his men.

“Any news from Colin?”

Neil sat down in one of the chairs with a tired sigh. “We just got a message on our secured line. He’s on his way in and he has a guest with him.” He smiled wide, victory shone in his blue eyes. “He’s bringing in Juliet Boyd, the socialite who’s been linked with Vance as a possible love interest, or so the tabloids speculate.”

“Well then, we better prepare a room for her.”

Neil shook his head. “Colin is putting her in
his
rooms. He will be here within the hour to brief you on what he knows so far.”

At least something was going in their favor, Arthur thought. “Then I guess we will just have to wait for Colin. Now, what are our chances of getting into Vance’s compound?”

Simon’s voice was laced with frustration. “We checked every way in and out of Dragonwick Enterprises. It’s tight as a drum. Infiltrating will be a very tricky proposition.”

“Then we will have to be more creative. We need to exploit any means available to terminate Vance.” Arthur sighed, Gods he was so tired. All he wanted was to live his life without worrying when the next attack would come. Or worse, who he may have to bury next.

“I’ll see if I can tap into a vision,” Darius offered. “Perhaps I will see the way to infiltrate their defenses.”

Hope leapt unbidden in Arthur for a split second. He ground it down to nothing mercilessly. He needed more than hope to lead his men safely past this particular enemy.

“That may be very helpful, thank you, Darius I know what a toll it takes on you having these visions. If we can glean any information from your effort, it will be worth it.”