by Nicole Hall
“Those are good points, but I still say he deserves a bite in the ass.” He brushed a kiss against her temple, then released her to sit at the table. “Not that I mind, you’re always welcome, but what are you doing here?”
“I…” Sera could feel herself blushing. There was no way she was going to tell him that she’d gotten spooked by an invisible watcher, followed some sprites, and come running. “I went by Maddie’s place.”
“And…”
Sera sat opposite him and picked up her tea. “And have you been inside her place?”
He shrugged. “Once, right after she moved in. I helped her put together a bunch of bookshelves.”
“Has she ever shown any signs of power?”
Jake’s face closed down. “No. Why? What happened at Maddie’s?”
“First of all, don’t give me that look. I went because I was worried about her. Janet cornered me at the coffee shop and mentioned that she’d missed a bunch of shifts.”
Jake sighed. “Dammit. Does Janet plan to fire her? She’s barely scraping by as it is, and I can’t get her to understand that she can’t keep using this place as a safety net.”
“No, actually. Weirdly enough, Janet was fine with the missed shifts. She just wanted me to ask Maddie to come in when she has the chance because she needed some help with something. Apparently, Maddie gave her the impression we were friends.”
“Aren’t you?”
“I mean, we were, but not for a while now, and I got a little bit of a hostile vibe the last time I saw her.”
Jake grinned. “When I had you under me on the couch.”
There went the blush again. Sera wasn’t normally a blusher, so this was obviously somehow Jake’s fault. “Yeah. Anyway, Janet happened, Maddie and I are apparently besties again, and I’ve had no luck lurking around town looking for random signs that someone is using their power for evil.”
“So you went for coffee?”
“Coffee always comes first, don’t be stupid. After coffee and Janet, I went to Maddie’s.” This was the part she was unsure about. Jake was protective of his sister, and she didn’t want to get him all agitated. Talk about hostile vibes. “There was a shield around her house.”
Jake leaned forward. “A shield? Like the one in your head or the one you can’t do?”
“The one I can’t do. I bounced off of it when I saw the wolf and tried to go through the door.”
He held up a hand. “Back up. The wolf was there?”
Sera fiddled with the mug. “I was on her porch. She didn’t seem to be home, when I turned around the wolf was watching me from the edge of the woods. The strange part is he was sitting there like he was waiting to be pet. It wasn’t aggressive.”
“Sera, that wolf is not a dog. Do not try to pet him.”
“I know. That’s why I tried to go into Maddie’s house. It was closer than my car, and I didn’t want to take any chances. No one around here locks their doors, but I hit a solid wall of invisible power.”
“I’m glad the wolf left you alone long enough for you to get to your car. Next time call me and I’ll go with you. Who do you think did the shield?”
Sera was tempted to take the out he was unwittingly offering. He assumed she hadn’t been able to get in, not a bad assumption considering her luck with shields thus far, but she wasn’t going to get any answers keeping everything to herself. Even if Jake shut down, he deserved to know what Maddie was doing. “I don’t know who made the shield, and also we sort of skipped a part.”
“What part?”
“The part where I figured out how to get past the shield and invaded Maddie’s privacy.”
9
SERA
She waited for the cold anger, but none came. Jake crossed his arms and leaned back.
“You were trying to get away from the wolf. Not exactly nefarious motives.”
His belief in her better side warmed her, but he hadn’t heard the rest of it yet. “Yeah, but I wasn’t hiding once I got inside. There’s magic all over Maddie’s place, not only the shield. Those bookshelves are full of books on magic and the Fae and one on orienteering that doesn’t seem like her, but whatever. And stuff. Magical stuff.”
“What does that mean?”
“Other people’s magic imbued into items that Maddie seems to be collecting in her house. Does Maddie know about Zee?”
He ran his hand through his hair. “I didn’t think so, but she’s also never shown much interest in anything magical. The Fae keep a pretty low profile, so unless you’re looking for magic, you usually can’t find it.”
“Well, Maddie found it all right. That shield was strong.” Sera didn’t know what to think, but she was glad Jake hadn’t immediately discounted her.
“There’s something else bothering you.”
Sera stared down at her hands. “She had one of Evie’s pendants, one I know Evie loved. It was full to the brim with her magic.”
“After you left, Evie was pretty down. Maddie started spending a lot of time over there. I thought she was being nice, but it was also around that time that she started strutting around all confident, like she had a secret.”
Sera sat back. “You think Evie was training her? But you said Maddie doesn’t have any power.”
“I don’t think she does, but that doesn’t mean she can’t learn. Maddie can be cunning and resourceful when she wants something, but she’s got a good heart. If Evie was teaching her, she had to have seen that.”
Sera reached over and put her hand on Jake’s. “Don’t get upset, but should we look at her more closely.”
“No.” Jake shook her off. “No. Torix needs someone with power, and Maddie doesn’t have it. Did you sense any of her own magic anywhere in her house?”
“No… but—”
“You’d know. You’d know if it was her magic.”
Sera blew out a breath. She could feel him getting worked up again through the bond. “I’d know, and there wasn’t any of Maddie’s there. What’s bothering me is how did the wolf know where I’d be?”
“Was he there when you got there?”
“Not that I noticed, but I wasn’t looking toward the woods. I was trying to see if Maddie was home.”
“You think Torix is tracking you somehow?”
“Maybe? The wolf was at Maddie’s damn near the same time I arrived, then he was here a few minutes after I got into the house.”
“It’s not far from Maddie’s to here if you cut through the woods. A wolf could run it easily. I have no idea if a demon wolf is faster than a normal wolf. Honestly, I’m making some assumptions here about how fast a normal wolf is.”
“You mean you admit you don’t know everything?”
“I admit no such thing. Since we’re in a sharing mood, I have some questions about Will.”
Sera groaned. “Not this again. He’s a terrible person, and I’m doing my best to cut him out of my life.”
“I’m glad to hear that. Did you ever talk to him about your grandmother’s house?”
The question made her pause. Had she mentioned Evie to Will? She remembered a couple of occasions, but there were always more pressing things happening. Like a critique of how she chewed or a demand for a different color scheme in the sitting room.
“Sera?”
“Yeah, sometimes, but he mostly didn’t listen when I talked. It seemed like I was meant to be an easily controlled trophy wife, and trophy wives aren’t supposed to have personalities or thoughts, just a large collection of designer heels.”
Jake blinked at her a few times. “There’s a lot to unpack there, and I’m looking forward to you telling me all about how much of an asshole your ex is, but is it possible he knew about this place? That maybe he’s been here before?” He looked distinctly cagey. What does he know?
“Here in Mulligan? No way. He’d eat his favorite golf shoes before he’d come here without an ulterior motive.”
“What if he had an ulterior motive?”
“L
ike what? Stealing Evie’s secret sugar cookie recipe? Trust me, there’s nothing here that would tempt him to leave his cushy nest in California.” Jake was silent, and Sera started to get suspicious. “Why do you ask?”
“He stopped by the site today.”
That got her attention. “He did what now?”
“He came to my newest jobsite on Magnolia Street, the one where we had the problems last week, and got in my face about you.”
Sera gritted her teeth. She’d divorced his ass and moved halfway across the country. What else did she have to do to be free of him? She kept her voice and her face calm, but inside she was seething. “What did you do?”
Jake smiled. “I told him he’d lost his chance and that he was trespassing. He could leave on his own or I’d call the police.”
She highly doubted that was all Jake had said. “I assume he blustered around until you pulled out your phone.”
“Yep. Then he turned tail and ran like a gazelle. He’s surprisingly graceful.”
That surprised a laugh out of her. “Yeah, like a praying mantis.”
“The interesting part came after he peeled out of the dirt in his little car. Rodriguez recognized him.”
Sera deflated a little. “That’s not unusual. He’s a news anchor for a big station in California. Sometimes his broadcasts are shown nationwide.”
“Nope. I asked about that. Rodriguez saw him in town. He’s lived here his whole life and knows everyone. A stranger stands out. He said Will was skulking around about two and a half years ago. There was some tussle over a parking spot in front of the courthouse. Different car, same attitude.”
“You’re telling me Will was in Mulligan right before our wedding?”
Sera had thought Will couldn’t surprise her any more with his lies, but she’d been wrong. They’d gotten married a little over two years ago. He’d been a paragon of support and caring then. Her first inkling that things weren’t what they seemed was when he insisted they get married right away. Even her mom had balked at that one, but in the end, he’d gotten his way. They’d gone to the JP and signed the papers, then a few months later they’d had the lavish wedding her mom had wanted.
With all the bullshit that had followed, she’d forgotten about the rush. In hindsight, Will had always had a selfish reason for his unreasonable demands. How did that connect to her grandmother and Mulligan?
Jake looked smug. “Yes, and I found out what he wanted at the courthouse. Evie is worth a hell of a lot more than the trust she left you.”
“What? How much more?”
“She owned the land adjacent to town where the developers keep wanting to build.”
Sera’s brow furrowed. “That swampy area?”
“No, the pastures on the other side.”
“I thought those were part of a ranch or something.”
“They were, but the ranch went under and Evie was able to buy a bunch of their land.”
“Who owns it now?”
“You.”
It was news to her. Her mom had acted as Evie’s lawyer, and Sera had trusted that she’d been honest. She may have been misguided when it came to Sera, but her mom lived and breathed the law. She was absolute in her devotion, more so than in her devotion to her daughter. Maybe Jake was wrong? “How’d you get this information?”
“I went to the courthouse and asked.”
“And they told you?”
“I know the county clerk. She used to tutor me in English sophomore year.”
Sera shook her head. “Right. I keep forgetting about the small-town thing.”
“You didn’t live here long enough for it to affect you. Everyone knows everything, but when you need help you can get it. You take the good with the bad.”
“So you sauntered into the courthouse, smiled at the clerk, and talked about the good old days two years ago when a stranger came in asking questions.”
“I don’t know that sauntered is the right word.”
“Will’s digging led to you digging, and now I have the potential to be filthy rich but no one bothered to inform me.”
“Will knew about Evie and the land when he left town.”
It would really be great if Sera could stop finding ways that people had betrayed her. She got up from the table to pace. “Okay, if this is all true—”
“If?”
She sent him an icy look. “I just found out my ex-husband most likely married me, and subsequently made my life hell, because he was hoping to get to my grandmother, the land baron, which I also didn’t know about because reasons. Can I have a few minutes to process before I jump in with both feet?”
He held up both palms and leaned back.
“Will never showed any signs of power. Not that I knew what to look for, but I wasn’t drugged out of my mind the whole time. When weird stuff happened, his go to was to get another pill to calm me down.” Her fists clenched, and she was quickly approaching the part where she thought violence sounded like a delightful answer. Her therapist would be thrilled. “He certainly had the motive, working with an evil force of nature sounds right up his alley, and apparently the opportunity, but I think he would have used that power on me if he’d had any. He spent over a year trying to convince me I was unstable. A little glamour would have gone a long way to sell that.”
When she looked over at Jake, he was leaning back in the chair with his arms behind his head, but his jaw was twitching. Probably not the best time to go into that. She approached him and squatted next to his chair. “There is definitely something fishy going on with Will, but I still don’t think it’s him. I’ll keep him on the list though, okay?”
“Don’t do me any favors. By all means, keep protecting your ex. It’s not like I’ll be much help. Let me know when you need me to stand around being useless, oh powerful one.”
Her anger rushed up out of nowhere at the stubborn, pig-headed, and annoyingly calm man in front of her. “I’m not protecting him. Does it bother you, me being powerful? Men can’t stand a woman they can’t control, after all.”
She spit out the words still crouched next to his chair, so she had to look up to meet his eyes, which pissed her off a little more. Thunder crashed in the distance, and she realized the kitchen was getting progressively darker. A storm must be rolling in.
Jake took his time and leaned down close to her face. “Don’t put that on me. I don’t want to see you get hurt. You could pull gold bars out of your ass for all I care. Everyone has power in some form. There’s even power in this.” And he kissed her.
The bond roared to life, and her anger drained out of her. Unlike the previous times, his lips weren’t gentle. This was staking a claim, a possession. He cupped her cheek, holding her head in place, but she had no intention of pulling away after a week of deprivation.
Sera kissed him back, putting her own claim on him. In one movement, she rose from her crouch and straddled him in the chair without breaking contact. He leaned back to give her space, but she followed, flattening herself against him.
His other hand tangled in her hair while his mouth demanded a response. She opened for him and couldn’t help a moan when his tongue swept inside. All the little touches, the smiles, the brushes and the breaths had built up inside her. In her mind, the bond pulsed with golden light. He was right. There was power in their connection. She could sense his need, it flooded her system and flowed back into him.
She ran her hands under his shirt, desperate to feel his skin against her palms. Delighted at the sharp intake of breath when her fingers splayed across his chest. He ran his hands down her sides and around her back, pushing her shirt out of the way. The fabric stopped him halfway up, and he laughed against her mouth at the tangled mess they were making with their clothes.
She arched into him and his laugh cut off with a groan. His tongue found her collarbone, and he left open-mouthed kisses up her neck until he nipped at the sensitive skin under her ear. It was a spot she’d forgotten, but he’d remembered. The la
st of her reservations fell away. This was her Jake, and she was done waiting. He was hard under his jeans, and Sera wanted them off. Her fingers slipped under his waistband, but he grabbed her wrists.
“Wait—” He closed his eyes and sucked in another breath when she wiggled against him. A pause, then he met her eyes. “Wait. I want you naked more than I want air, but this chair won’t work for what I’ve got in mind.”
Sera raised a brow. “What’ve you got in mind?”
He released her wrists and suddenly stood with his hands on her butt to hold her against him. She wrapped her legs around his waist and marveled at how they always seemed to end up in the same position.
“We’re going upstairs where I can lock the door and take my time with no interruptions. Last chance to back out,” he said.
She’d already made her decision. Sera slid down his body real slow until she was standing in front of him. He released her with a pained look on his face. She smiled.
“Good idea. Race you to the top,” she said and took off running.
Sera laughed all the way up the stairs with Jake at her heels. She edged him out coming around the corner at the landing, but he caught up to her at the bedroom door. His arms came around her from behind, and she squealed as he lifted her off her feet and spun her around.
Somewhere in that maneuver he kicked the door closed, and Sera ended up with her back against it and Jake pressed against her where she wanted him. Her body was on fire with need. She was breathing hard, and it was from more than the mad dash up the stairs.
She couldn’t help one more comment. “I won, what’s my prize?”
The lock clicked behind her. “Me,” Jake growled just before he took her mouth.
Sera broke the kiss for a second to pull her top over her head, then shoved frantically at Jake’s until he yanked it off. His chest really was impressive. She ran her hands down toned muscles and warm skin to his waistband and nipped at his bottom lip.
The bond pulsed with feeling, almost more than Sera could decipher, but the predominant one was the fierce need to protect. It was intertwined with triumph and admiration and joy, and a strong desire to see her naked.