She sat back and brushed the crumbs from her hands. Hes got a tattoo on his back. Giant unfurled wings in black and gray but theres a tiny bit of color here and there on the feathers. Hes also got a nipple ring and around the other nipple, on his chest above his heart there are protective runes. Hes actually got those in a few places. But theyre not tats. Its as if theyre worked into his skin and muscle. Someone wanted him protected. Probably a good thing too because hes had a broken nose on more than one occasion and hes got some scars on his side and belly that look a lot like knife wounds.
Oh, a bad boy with a heart of gold. Those are like unicorns right? Imaginary?
Meriel laughed. He does appear to be of the bad-boy-with-a-possible-heart-of-gold variety. He touches me like Im precious.
Nells smile softened. Yeah. Thats something else, isnt it? Especially when theyre all reluctant. I am sorry about that last part. Makes it all the more sweet when he finally accepts it though. I dont have a bond-mate like you do, but fate brought William to me. He was meant to be with me. I had to believe in that and do my best to make it happen. Youll do the same.
He does admit to the bond. But hes dubious of it. Untrusting. Even without the bond he and I would have something electric. Hes sexy, successful, gorgeous, funny and really, really inventive in bed. She fanned herself. I like him. I like being around him. I want more and I cant have it because hes at a different place than I am. Hes got a learning curve and while I know thatwhile my brain tells me this is totally normalI want more. But I feel hesitant about asking for it.
She sighed.
Id tell you to be patient, but you already are so thats of no help at all. When do I get to meet him? And I take it you havent told your mother about this.
God, no! Can you imagine? Shed send you out to kidnap Dominic and then glare at him until he agreed to do the ascension. I dont want that. I want it to be his choice, totally. Its not that I think he hates me. Were good together. Its still new, but hes far more comfortable with what we have now than he was even just on Thursday.
She wouldnt understand. Not because she doesnt love you in her own way. But because she never had to face what youre facing right now. Ron grew up knowing what he was. She grew up knowing what she was and what shed be. Shes never had to face this sort of uncertainty before. I get it. But shes going to notice. Even she cant miss that youre practically humming with magick. Nell tipped her head. And love. I like that.
I dont know about love. I love being with him. I love that hes my bond-mate. But love will come. As for the difference in my magick? I know. Thats why I was at work. I wanted to clear some stuff off my desk so I could work from home and stay out of the office this week. That and well because I spent last night through this morning with Dominic. I dont want to get so used to him yet. Hes got to go to New York for most of the week. Maybe we can get together, all four of us at the weekend?
Whens he going?
Hes already on his way. Hed woken her up at four and kept her up until nearly seven when he had to jump in the shower to get to the airport. His plane left at nine.
Stay here tonight. Well get pizza and watch movies.
Thats a fine offer, maam.
ACROSS the country, Dominic had a jones for the lovely, redheaded Ms. Owen. Definitely found himself missing the warm weight of her next to him in his bed.
Funny to be used to something after only having it once. But there he was, sitting in a crowded restaurant as his financial advisor and longtime friend Trey told the table a story about a recent trip to Chicago.
All the while he thought of her.
Wondered what she was up to. The morning before hed tried to let her sleep but failed. Every moment hed lain there in the predawn darkness, giving himself a lecture about how she needed her rest, had been agony. Until hed given in and touched her.
Shed come awake quickly, into his arms without hesitation. Shed even offered to drive him to the airport and reminded him to check the warding on his hotel room.
And now hed be there in New York until Thursday night while she was back in Seattle. His bed would be empty. Damn it.
Simon had cornered him in his office on Saturday night as shed been at the bar, conning his bartenders to show her new recipes. In a cocktail dress.
So whats the story?
Dominic had looked up from the papers he was signing. Story?
Dont be coy, dumbass. Whats the status between you and the lovely Ms. Owen?
You know the story.
So you accept the bond then?
Youre like a dog with a bone. He snorted and Simon flipped him off. I like her. She likes me. Theres a bond, I admit that too.
Are you going to screw this up? Yes, yes, I know youd rather I just stop bugging you over it. But though Id deny it if asked, Ive watched you searching around for something real for years now. Meriel is something real. What you have, no matter how fantastical, is real.
I cant even think with her around. I need some distance and some perspective. Ill be in New York until Thursday. Maybe Ill come back clearer.
Whats she say about that?
I dont have to check all my business dealings through her. Anyway, shes got her own job; I cant imagine why shed be upset.
About your continued hemming and hawing.
Look, I dont like the idea of not being in charge of my own destiny. Okay? I didnt grow up in an alternate dimension at the right hand of my dad the king or whatever. You and Meriel both had that experience. He pushed to stand. Shes not like anyone Ive ever met before. I want more. That has to be enough right now until I figure out the rest. Shes giving me the space I need. Every time I push her to finally have sex with me, she reminds me about how itll only make our mutual attraction deeper.
Simon had laughed then. And laughed some more, the sound of it echoing all the way down the hall in his wake after hed left the room.
Hed told Simon that hed hoped the trip would give him some distance and perspective. And it had, only not in the way hed imagined.
Yes, she was on his mind. Yes, he wanted to be with her. But he wasnt debilitated to be so far away. It didnt affect him physically to be apart from her. He was getting work done.
What he did miss, in addition to all the sexy stuff, was her laugh. The way she indulged him and let him be bossy most of the time but pushed back when he got out of hand.
He missed the way she smelled. Hell, he even missed the way she so effortlessly used her magick. Hed learned a lot from her just by watching.
Hed come to really like her. As he sat there pushing his dinner around on his plate, he found himself making notes to tell her about this or that thing hed seen during the day.
His pocket buzzed and he looked down at his phone to see who it was.
I think we should go see the Alien/Aliens double feature on Saturday.
Oh, that was me.
Meriel
He laughed and Evan sent him a questioning glance.
No, no, its fine. I just need to handle this.
Evan shrugged and went back to the conversation.
Charmed, he tried to ignore the warmth in his belly. Shed reached out to him. He knew she was purposely holding back, trying to give him room, which only made him want her more. Her being impulsive and texting meant she missed him just as much as he did her.
All right. Will you hold me if I get scared?
Oh, that was meDominic
He paused, wondering if she laughed. Hoping she had as big a smile as he did.
Only if you try to touch my boob when you put your arm around me.
It was probably right then that he fell in love with her.
I think we both know thats a given. I have a special relationship with your boobs.
He briefly considered asking her for a picture, but that was best left for when they were alone.
It wasnt long before she wrote back. I miss you. Are you having fun?
Right then as he texted with her he was having more fun than he had the whole day.
I am now. Good dinner. Ill bring you here when we visit. I miss you too. What are you up to?
He ordered another drink and waited for her to answer. Ray was talking about how gorgeous the beaches were in Maui in the background and Dominic imagined what it would be like to lay on the beach with her, alone and far away from the troubles of the world.
Spent the night at Nells last night and had so much fun Im back again. Weve ordered Chinese food, looked at lots of great vacation photos, going to watch a movie in a bit.
Dom, were going to head out after this round.
He looked up at his friends, all in various modes of getting ready to leave. Evan, the one who spoke, owned three businesses. A nightclub in Manhattan, a wine bar upstate and the upscale martini-cum-piano bar they were headed to.
Hed told Meriel a little about his first break into nightclub work because of his friend. Evan had been someone hed looked to as an example of how to make a success of yourself. Evan, Ray, Dominic and Trey had gotten up to a lot of trouble together in their early twenties when Dominic had left Oregon and moved to L.A.
Trey was a witch too. Dominic discovered that when theyd been a little, um, light-fingered and theyd been able to break into a door with a quick flick of Treys fingers.
The four had sunk to various levels of lawlessness and one by one, theyd found a way out of the darkness. Evan first, when he bought a pub in Portland and nursed it back to life. Hed taken the profit from that sale and bought the first of his clubs on the East Coast.
It had been enough to convince Dominic that the path he was on was destined for jail. Or worse. Trey showed up on his doorstep, someone hot on his tail for some infraction or other and theyd said fuck it and went to New York.
Evan had hired them both. Trey went to business school and worked the bar at night and Dominic had learned to run a club.
Over three years he scrimped and saved and built up contacts and earned enough to buy the building he and Simon built Heart of Darkness in.
Hang on a minute, he said and then called her instead of texting.
Hey, were getting ready to leave but I wanted to hear your voice. The talk in the background silenced and Dominic knew they all eavesdropped.
Why, hello there, Dominic. He heard the smile in her voice. Its really nice to hear your voice. I suppose you look rather dapper just now.
Sweet witch, how did you know? He did take a glance down at himself, flattered shed noticed. And he happened to have a really nice suit on. Hed just picked it up the week before. He made a note to wear it when he took her out.
See? Youre very charming.
Are you trying to convince me? I believe it. He laughed. Youre having a lovely time then? With your friend?
Yes, yes, I am. She and her husband would like us to have dinner this weekend. Or she says a lunch since you work at nights. William, thats her husband, hes selling half his interest in his club in Vegas and moving up here full-time. Youll like him. He also has good taste in clothes.
There was talking in the background and then Meriel laughed. That twinge of yearning at the sound startled him.
Nell also says, you both have good taste in women.
He wished he was there.
I wish I was there with you right now.
You do say the best things. Makes my knees rubbery. Have fun with your friends and dont let the maidens get too fresh or Ill be forced to not only maim you, but perhaps make your nose five times larger and give you impotence.
You cant do that! He laughed, but he wasnt too sure where she was concerned.
Her laugh made him smile even though he knew hed be interrogated the moment he hung up.
But youll always wonder now. My gift to you.
Ill call you tomorrow. Any new developments in the Rhode Island situation? He knew it was on the other side of the country from her. Knew it probably had nothing to do with her or threatened her just then. But he hated it anyway. Made him worry.
Nothing I can talk about on the phone. But not much more than we already knew.
Well, regardless, take care of yourself. Keep an eye out.
Im with Nell. Shes badass and will kick someones face to protect me. Oh! Foods here and you have to go off and look handsome while I am here in sweats and a ratty T-shirt. Have something sufficiently glamorous in a glass for me.
Next time he came back to New York it would be with her and hed take her to the Met. Shed dress up, he knew after theyd gone to the opera. Shed had her hair done. Her cocktail dress was classic Calvin Klein beauty. It fit her. Clean lines to highlight her body. So beautiful. Regal.
He could probably shuffle his schedule and go home early.
Sweet dreams, Dominic Bright. I miss you.
You too.
He slipped the phone into his pocket, missing her more than he wanted to allow.
Sweet witch? Trey looked him over, one brow raised.
Im seeing someone. Seriously.
Come on, lets go. You can pay for the cab and Ill buy the next round, Evan called out as they left the table. You can tell us about this mystery woman on the way.
Chapter 12
SHE did her work and cleared out by just a little after eight. Edwina showed up at nine exactly and she stayed until seven. So wedded to her schedule was she that Meriel was pretty sure she could avoid her mother for at least the next few days. Maybe the whole week if she played it right.
A court commissioners hearing, two land use committees, a strategy meeting with a few of the attorneys Meriel used for contract work when more came up than she could handle on her own, even a trip to DDES and she found herself free and heading back to her apartment by four thirty that afternoon.
Only, as she stood in the aisle of her favorite local grocery store, unease slithered through her. Someone was watching her. Broad daylight, the place filled with people and the edge of whatever danger lurked was still sharp.
Regular sight showed her nothing. No one out of the ordinary lurking around. No obvious signs of magick being used. Aside from general annoyance and traffic grump, there were no signs of extreme emotion from anyone in the immediate area.
She paid quickly and headed to her car. No one was following her that she could see. No one looked out of the ordinary. Everyone in the lot was human and posed her no threat at all.
And yet
She used her othersight and still saw nothing but a slight smudge at the very corner of her eye. Her personal protection wards were intact and hadnt risen to action so there was no direct magickal attack on her.
Her eyes told her everything was okay. Her magick told her everything was okay. But her gut didnt agree.
She went home, not taking a direct route, watching to see if she was being followed, but she wasnt as far as she could tell.
She locked the door and closed the wards and headed straight to the phone to call Nell.
Nell, I need you to come by when you can, Meriel said as Nell picked up.
What is it?
Meriel gave her a brief rundown. Its probably nothing. But my gutShe shook her head. It feels like its something. I used my othersight, there was nothing there. But its not that, it feels like I was blind to something. There was this thing at the very edge of my vision. Like a smudge. But I get headaches sometimes and that happens. I dont know if Im explaining this well enough. But your eyes will be better.
Ill be over shortly.
She needed to be busy so she began to prepare dinner and listened to her messages.
Uh-oh, one from her mother wanting to meet. Shed have to return that call when Edwina was sure to be out of the office.
More than her concern that Edwina would shove the ascension in her face, Meriel worried that her mother would make Dominic feel small. That shed take his plusses and make them minuses.
She toyed with the idea of going to her father first. Her father did tend to run interference for their mother. He was softer, easier with people. He adored his wife and understood her in a way most everyone else couldnt. Meriel thought it quite sweet.
On the day she graduated from law school, hed taken her aside. Your mother loves you and shes proud of you. I think sometimes shes just terrified of making herself vulnerable enough to say it the way you need to hear it.
Edwina loved her, she knew it. They just had trouble getting along. But the foundation was of mother and daughter and Meriel trusted that part would carry them through the rough times.
The sound of Nells knock caught Meriels attention and she opened the wards as Nell unlocked the door with her key and came in.
So theres nothing on your car or in the garage. Gage went to the market; he says theres some odd energy there, but he doesnt recognize it.
Nell interrogated her until Meriel felt like a total wuss and that shed overreacted. She said as much.
We all have magickal abilities. Its what makes us witches. Your magick is intuitive in a way few others possess. If your gut told you to leave, pushed you to go, I have zero doubt there was a threat. Its your internal alarm system and thats why clan leaders stay alive. If it happens again, I want you to get the fuck out of there and call me immediately. Just what you did this time.
Stay for dinner. Call Gage too. Theres plenty.
Cripes, I hope this shit isnt connected to that stuff on the East Coast. Nell hopped up on the stool and accepted a slice of cheese Meriel offered. I spoke with the Rodas hunter today and he was helpful. Weve set up an account where we can input information. Sort of a magickal wiki page. She snorted. This could be something related to those mages. Maybe theyre scouting around and found you because youre powerful. Its not like its a really big secret who the next in line to run Owen is. But I dont want to jump to conclusions. But what theyre facing is scary shit, Meriel. If thats what we have, if these mages have sent out teams or scouts to track and stalk witches theyll target to take and drain, we need to step it up. Im adding some personnel to do some daily sweeps of the area around the building and the residences of all the full-council witches. Well start with that while we work out more info.
Meriels phone rang and she looked at the screen. Dominic.
DOMINIC had been in a meeting with a group of boutique small-batch liquor companies when hed come over feeling quite strange. A flash of energy shot up his spine and brought the hair on the back of his neck to stand.
He didnt quite know what to think at first. He wondered if he was coming down with something or if perhaps the ahi hed had for lunch might have been off. Nervousness brought his knee to bounce until he forced himself to stop.
As he sipped icy vodka served to him on a tray held by a rather ridiculously beautiful woman who leaned enough to give him a glimpse of her body to her belly button, he couldnt relax enough to enjoy it. The pretty woman or the vodka.
It was as hed been eating some delicious caviar that the flush hed felt earlier moved to a full body, electric rush of heat and energy. Meriels magick. He could smell her on the air, a phantom of her citrusy perfume.
He held it together for another few minutes, thinking he was just imagining things, willing the presentation to wrap up so he could call her. But it went on and on until he finally held a hand up.
If youll all excuse me for a few moments.
Is there a problem? Evan looked him over.
I need to check on something. Please do go on. Ill return shortly. He said this all as he was already propelling himself from the room, his phone clearing his pocket.
Hello, Dominic.
The smile she usually had in her voice when she said his name wasnt there. Her cheer was slightly practiced. Thats when he knew something was wrong. Thatd hed felt it across the country was a punch in several ways.
Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson once said that the best thing about science was that it was true whether you believed in it or not. The bond was there and to continue to deny it seemed totally pointless when he could not only feel her upset thousands of miles away but that he wanted to be with her.
Whats wrong?
What do you mean? Are you all right? Dominic heard talking in the background, a male voice and another female voice he recognized from Monday night, Nell.
Im sitting here in a meeting and I feltweird. I hoped it would pass and it did for a while. But then it came back. This thing exploded in me. You. And for a second it was like I was with you, touching you. I could smell you, Meriel. Your magick is on my skin as if Id just held you. What the fuck is going on?
He fisted his free hand a few times to keep from shaking. He should be there with her right then.
Nothing really, I dont think. Im sorry it interrupted your meeting. I should have thought to warn you that we could feel each other sometimes.
He snorted. Dont be sorry. Tell me whats happening.
Youre very bossy.
I am. Now, tell me.
I was at the grocery store and had a feeling. Just a feeling. Something wasnt right. The energy of the place shifted and it was all wrong. I just needed to get out of there. I didnt see anything. I came home and called Nell. You probably felt it because my magick rose in response to my fear. Really, Im all right. Nell and Gage are on it. They couldnt find anything either.
He was leaving that night. Period.
Im coming back to Seattle.
Because of this? Oh why? Dont do that. Im fine. Really. Nell and Gage both are right here. Im not a wuss, you know. I can kick butt when I need to. Take care of your job and see your friends.
I dont want the entire country between us when youre scared. Having Nell there was one thing, but he wasnt going to leave her protection up to anyone else. She was his and hed protect her. Period.
Ill be getting in long after your bedtime so Ill call you in the morning.
Are you even listening to me?
Of course I am. But listening is not the same as agreeing. I appreciate your concern for my business, but Im coming back tonight. And that is that. Dont open your door to anyone. If you get hurt, I will be pissed off.
She sighed, but when she spoke again, the smile was in her words. All right. Call me when you get in. Orcome to me. Ill be here.
Chapter 13
FIVE in the morning and she stood before him, light from the nearby fireplace on her skin. He should have gone home and called her at a decent hour but shed told him to come to her, hadnt she?
He came in and dropped his bags to the side before sweeping her into his arms. And he needed her so much it made him blind to everything but the weight of her against his body.
He struggled from his coat as she closed the wards and in a step he was on her again.
That sweet ass of hers in his hands, he picked her up and sat her on a nearby table. Perfect height. He drew a fingertip over the swell of her bottom lip, down her chin and the long line of her neck.
Her skin was warm and soft as he continued down the slice of creamy skin revealed at the front of her robe. Naked for him beneath the silk.
He halted at the belt, sliding his finger back and forth over her belly button.
Youre not wearing anything under this.
Nothing but my skin. Her mouth tipped up at the corner and he dipped his head to capture it.
This is all Ive thought about since the plane took off to go to New York on Sunday. Just days before but it had felt like a week hed been away.
Im sorry. Her breath caught when he untied the belt and parted the silk, exposing her beauty to his gaze.
Dont be. Nothing anywhere near as good as this in New York. He ran the backs of his knuckles across her nipples and watched as they tightened in response. He bent his head and kissed the curve of her shoulder and across her collarbone.
As he did that, her nimble fingers attacked his shirt buttons as she left a trail of kisses where she could reach on his shoulder, her hands sliding all over his chest and arms.
Heat seeped into him, need scorching his insides. She pushed him back just a little, enough to get his pants unbuttoned and unzipped.
Now, she said right before she scraped her teeth over his nipple and it shot straight to his cock.
She shoved his boxers down and grabbed him, pumping him a few times in her fist to underline just what it was she wanted.
Hang on a sec, he murmured as he bent to pull a condom from his pocket. But he paused to press a kiss to the seam at the back of her knee. The sound she made drove him crazy, a deep, hoarse moan.
Pushing her thighs wider, he kissed up her leg, licking along the seam where it met her body. Her grasp tightened, pulling his hair just this side of painful. He nipped the inner part of her thigh, pausing to breathe her in.
He pressed his palms against her hips to hold her just so, angle her so that he could taste every part of her. His thumbs spread all that beauty to his touch, to his mouth and his tongue.
She shivered delicately as he breathed against that hot, slick flesh. Her nails dug into his shoulder as she urged him on, the other hand still in his hair.
It seemed impossible for that elegant and ruthlessly controlled woman he knew to also be this wanton. This lush, sexy female so unabashedly taking her pleasure.
He drove her, knowing just what she needed, and it wasnt too very long before she arched hard, her muscles tightening as she came.
I hear Portishead when your mouth is on me, she whispered, shivering as he brushed his lips against the heart of her before standing again and rolling a condom on.
He brushed the head of his cock against her and they both groaned at how good it felt. Is this a good thing?
He flexed his hips and pressed inside.
Yes. Her voice is like sex. The lazy afternoon of fucking kind.
Yes, that is a compliment. And perhaps even a mandate.
She laughed and he was so glad hed come back.
And then he forgot about everything but the way it felt to be buried in her as deep as he could get. Wanting to come battled with his desire to never end this moment.
But she had plans, wrapping her legs around him and pulling him in deeper. She arched to sit more fully, her nipples sliding over his chest. Her nails dug into his shoulders.
But it wasnt until she licked up the side of his neck to bite his ear, tugging and whispering, More, that the driving need to fuck her, to be in her as she wrapped around him took over.
He had to have her. He stood up straighter, adjusting her as he began to thrust just like shed begged for. He swiveled his hips as he met her body and she gasped, her inner walls gripping him even tighter.
Harder and harder as the table thumped against her wall over and over. He pulled back a little and her eyes snapped open. What? Why? She writhed.
The table
She pulled him with her calves. Dont stop. She canted her hips up and he slid in deeper and gave over to it again.
This time he didnt hold back and she held on, giving as good as she got. Something fell somewhere and it didnt matter.
She was wet and hot when he worked a hand between them. She tightened around him. You should give me another, he suggested, lips against her throat.