by Juniper Hart
“It’s fine, Toby. I’m not mad.” Now it was Toby who didn’t believe her.
“Will you please look at me?” he growled. “I am trying to tell you what happened.”
She didn’t oblige his request, her eyes darting to look at anything but his tautly drawn face. “That was a long time ago, Toby. A lot has changed. I’ve changed.”
The words lacked conviction, and he was not ready to give up so easily, not when he was sure she still had feelings for him.
“You came here to see me,” he said quietly. Sierra slowly turned, her emerald eyes filled with something he could not quite understand. “You missed me, too,” he went on, pulling her closer. “I can tell you did.” She shook her head in denial, but he caught her mouth in mid-swing, pressing his lips against hers.
Three years of pent-up passion bubbled at the surface as the electricity he remembered so well coursed between them. Sierra moaned slightly, her lips parting, and staring at her face, he saw the resolve dissipating.
“It’s okay,” he murmured, pulling back to stroke her face. “I won’t leave you again. I swear.”
Her hands encircled his neck, and she pulled him back toward her, sighing deeply as they locked into another embrace, the heat between them rising. For the first time in years, Toby felt right, his body pressed to hers as she bucked forward to feel his hard form against her.
Her fingers twined into his hair almost painfully, but he was far too caught up in the moment to notice the anger in her grasp, even as she forced his face along the ridge of her chin. She smelled the same and yet different, as if her pheromones had evolved, the scent of her skin driving him wilder, his kisses becoming bullets of lava, splotching along her shoulders.
Sierra pulled him back, her calves contacting the window seat where she fell, pushing his face lower into her bosom.
“You have no idea how long I’ve wanted this,” Toby groaned, his mouth teasing along the flesh of her breasts.
“Show me,” she purred, and he yanked the bodice of her shimmering gown lower to expose her full chest. Not needing to be told again, Toby dropped to his knees, her legs parting as his palms lifted the delicate material of her skirts.
Sierra groaned, her head falling back against the cushions, her legs rising toward his shoulders, and he slid her silk panties around her curvy thighs, casting them aside.
She’s changed, a voice in his head called out, but Toby was far too entranced by her responsiveness to give it any major thought. She had every right to be angry, to feel betrayed. He would just have to make it up to her, starting with that moment.
Sierra cried out, her sensuous frame spasming as she bolted upright. Their eyes met when she released, and Toby saw the naked plaintiveness in her face.
She was trying to play it cool, but she missed me just as much as I missed her, he realized, gently untangling himself from her center. Slowly, he raised his frame to stare at her fully through glazed eyes. While he wanted to mount her, pinning her mercilessly to the seat of the window, there was something about her expression which stopped him cold. He paused to trace the line of her face with his fingertips.
“Hey,” Toby said. “Are you okay?” Sierra smiled and nodded, shifting her eyes away, but not before he could see the look of naked confusion in her face. “Sierra, I swear, I won’t leave you again,” he vowed. “Do you believe me?”
“Yes,” she breathed, looking away. “I do. I just need some time to process all this, Toby. I-I need to talk to you about something, but I need a minute to myself, all right?”
He nodded slowly and rose, adjusting his tux as he did.
“Take all the time you need,” he told her quietly. “Come and find me when you’re ready.” She nodded and tried to smile, but tears had filled her eyes. “Hey, everything is going to be okay now. Whatever you’ve been through these past few years, whatever you need to talk about, I’m here.”
Sierra didn’t respond, though she managed to give him a lopsided smile, and he turned to leave, his heart still pounding. I should have tried harder to find her. She’s been through hell. I can see it in her face.
Making his way into the hallway, closing the door behind him, however, he knew that Sierra had not wanted to be found. She needed to find him on her own terms, and there they were. Fate had brought them together, and it wouldn’t keep them apart now.
She’s in trouble. I can feel it. Whatever it is, we’ll figure it out. She obviously came to me for help, and I’ll be here for her.
“Boss!” Shane appeared in his face, his squealy voice grating on Toby’s nerves.
“What is it?” he asked, annoyed to have his good mood diminished even slightly.
“Sierra Collingwood, boss,” the minion screeched. “She’s here. You saw her and let her in!”
“I know, Shane. Thank you for the update,” he retorted sarcastically, shoving past his assistant to make his way toward the washroom. He wanted to freshen up before he returned to Sierra to pick up where they had left off.
“Tobias!”
The sound of his full name made him pause mid-step, and he turned to stare at Shane in surprise.
“What?” he demanded with irritation, a peculiar feeling of danger starting in the pit of his stomach. I don’t have time for this right now. Sierra is waiting for me, and I’ve kept her long enough.
“It’s her. She’s the one responsible for all the thefts.”
The words didn’t register immediately, Toby’s mind still on the beautiful woman mere feet from where he stood. “What?”
“It’s her!” Shane insisted excitably. “I need to find her, and quickly.”
Slowly, Toby raised his head and looked at Shane blankly. What nonsense is he touting?
“How can you know that?” Toby snapped. “Don’t be ridiculous.”
“I found security footage of half a dozen heists. I ran her face through the facial recognition software, and that’s why she was flagged here, boss. I’m sorry. Hank said he tried to warn you, but that you brushed him off and said she was allowed to stay…” Shane trailed off awkwardly, knowing his boss would not like to be reminded that he had allowed a security threat into the mansion.
“You’re wrong,” Toby said flatly. Even as the words left his lips, he knew Shane was not mistaken.
“I’m sorry, Toby, but I’m not. The software doesn’t lie. She’s the one we’ve been looking for.”
Disappointment crept through him, although Toby was not as stunned as he should have been. On some level, he had suspected there were ulterior motives for Sierra’s unexpected arrival. She had disappeared for three years. She’d gone out of her way to make herself unknown, and suddenly, she reappeared without warning? It didn’t make a lot of sense unless there was something else going on.
That is what she wanted to talk to me about. She got mixed up in something, and she can’t get out of it, he realized.
“Thank you, Shane. I’ll deal with her.” Toby turned back toward the study, but Shane’s voice stopped him again.
“Boss, it’s worse than that,” he said, and Toby eyed him begrudgingly.
“Worse how?”
Shane inhaled, seeming uncomfortable as he shifted his weight around. “She works for Rowan.”
A mental image of the icy high priestess gave Toby an unpleasant sensation in his gut. He’d had occasion to deal with Rowan over a dozen times over the years, and he was not filled with fond recollections of the cold blonde.
That power-hungry wench. Still, not surprising. Rowan has her tentacles in everything. Sierra was probably manipulated by her. I should have taken care of that witch years ago. Now I have an excuse.
“All right, Shane, I’ll—”
“Boss, Rowan has had a history of supporting Helios. Her ancestors assisted him throughout the years, and she has channeled them. I think Rowan might be in contact with Helios now, helping him. You need to get Sierra Collingwood out of this house, because I think she’s here to steal—”
An al
arm screamed, reverberating through the mansion with fury, and the bears stared at one another, a look of understanding flooding both their faces simultaneously.
“The Chasm of Purity,” Toby choked, whirling back toward the library where he had left Sierra alone with the invaluable book. In less than ten steps, they had sprinted into the room. The den was empty now. Sierra was gone, and a quick investigation proved that she had cracked the safe behind the portrait of Lady Eglington of Cheshire.
Yes, Sierra had vanished, along with the precious artifact, the window leading to the rose garden shattered at the pane. Toby didn’t need to look outside to know she had disappeared into the night already.
He was consumed by rage and humiliation. Sierra had never missed him, never thought about him. She was there on a job. He had been played in the worst way imaginable by a woman he had thought about almost every single day for three years.
Nobody played Tobias Sutton for a fool. There would be blood for this.
9
Sierra was sure her lungs were going to burst, her body weak and exhausted both physically and emotionally when she arrived back at the house in Hawthorne Hills. Her mind still replayed the night like a movie stuck on rewind, and she couldn’t believe she had made it out without being attacked… or killed.
She had barely made it over the estate walls without being caught, the alarm shrieking at her back as she ran with the book clutched in her hands. In truth, she hadn’t expected to get that far, and even though she made it to her getaway car without issue, she was finding it impossible to catch her breath.
“Were you followed?” Simone demanded when Sierra stumbled into the house, noting her face, and Sierra shook her head, guilt sweeping through her as she stared at her best friend.
I shouldn’t have told her any of this. I’ve only made life more complicated for all of us. Even if she is Theo Veriday’s mate, she can still be punished. Sierra swallowed quickly and looked at Simone.
“Of course I wasn’t followed,” she panted, still trying to find her normal heartrate. She slid the Chasm of Purity onto the table. “Obviously, I wouldn’t have come here if I had been.”
Simone didn’t look convinced, and she peered out of the drawn blinds to ensure that the door to the bungalow was not about to be stormed. What she saw—or didn’t see— seemed to put her mind at ease at least for a moment, and she turned back to Sierra.
“How is Aurora?”
“She’s sleeping. No change,” Simone answered, edging toward her friend, her hands outstretched to look at the book. Sierra held it back, wanting to see what she had risked her life to grab.
It’s worth it. You can’t be taken in by whatever proclamations Tobias made. He’s said the same bullshit before, and he left you then. You’re not going to fall for the same thing twice, and you’re not exposing your child to such a dangerous man.
But as she stood staring at the pages in her hands, a wave of shame and excitement washed over her in unison.
He had seemed so sincere, so contrite. Maybe she had been wrong about him. Maybe she had just been blinded by her anger and hadn’t been thinking clearly.
“Did you see him?” Simone asked, and Sierra realized her friend was reading her thoughts. She blushed and looked away, but it was too late—Simone was onto her.
“Yes, and I don’t want to talk about it, not when we have one of the most valuable books in the universe in front of us.”
Simone studied her warily, and Sierra could see she was debating whether to argue or not, but she seemed to remember they had a much more important matter at hand: Aurora.
“Open it!” Simone urged instead, gesturing toward the book. Sierra did as she was told and cautiously pulled the heavy cover open. They gasped in unison.
Both witches had heard about the mysterious Chasm. It was as well known as the Charter, the book which governed the rules of the Enchanted. But no one Sierra knew had ever claimed to have seen it before, except Rowan, and having the precious pages in her hands was surreal.
“My gods,” Simone breathed, gaping in wonder at the creamy paper within. Indeed, it was a living, breathing creation, one which had been around as long as time itself.
No one knew from where the book had come, exactly. Some believed that it was older than Alaric Aldwin himself and had outlived even the most immortal souls, growing and evolving to accommodate the ways of all beasts. There were rumors that Alaric had created the Enchanted after reading from the Chasm, five thousand years before, and Sierra Collingwood was holding it in her hand.
Yet as she gaped at the miracle that was the Chasm, she had no idea at what she stared. It was not encoded, but to her mind, it was the equivalent of an encrypted computer program. Neither Sierra nor Simone had the know-how to decipher the spells or secrets in its depth. Someone more powerful than them would need to examine it for understanding.
“I have to get this to Rowan,” Sierra muttered, but her friend didn’t seem to hear her, Simone’s eyes fixated on the priceless book. Reluctantly, Sierra left her alone in the living room, pausing to check on Aurora.
Her heart welled with concern as she perched on the edge of the toddler’s bed, reaching forward to straighten the matted red curls around Aurora’s face.
She has his curls, she thought, bittersweetly, her fingers lingering on her child. Suddenly, she could see nothing but Tobias Sutton against the white of the pillows.
The girl’s face was waxen, even in the dim nightlight aura, and Sierra’s mouth pursed together. She was on borrowed time for Aurora.
“Fight just a little longer, baby,” she whispered, swallowing the lump in her throat. “Mama will come back for you in a little bit.” Sierra rose and hurried into her bedroom to change, throwing on black leggings and a dark t-shirt. She stuffed her waves under a ballcap and shoved her feet into a pair of running shoes, making her way back toward the front of the house.
“You shouldn’t go alone,” Simone told her, looking up from where she remained staring at the book. “I don’t trust Rowan.”
Sierra scoffed. “You just came up with this now? This entire exercise is one which requires trusting Rowan,” she retorted. “Give me the book.”
Simone’s head cocked to the side, her stylish dark hair falling over her forehead.
“Something’s not right,” she insisted. “I feel like you’re being set up.”
Sierra ignored the tingle of fear sliding through her body.
“What other choice do I have?” she muttered, grabbing the Chasm of Purity and throwing it into a canvas bag. “Aurora’s life is on the line.”
Simone studied her face, her blue eyes shadowing as if something had just occurred to her.
“How did you get it?” she asked curiously, and Sierra’s face flushed crimson.
I really don’t want to do this right now. “I told you, I snuck into the fundraiser.”
“And you just happened upon it while security was milling around?” Simone insisted, sensing the flaw in her story.
“I knew where it was,” Sierra insisted defensively. “It didn’t take me long to find.”
“And you just wandered in and snatched it?”
“What do you want me to say, Simone?” Sierra snapped. “I’m that good.”
The witch’s eyes widened with understanding.
“You seduced him!” she gasped, a sickly amused smile touching her lips. “That’s how you got in and out without being killed.”
It wasn’t a seduction. We’re fated for each other! Sierra wanted to yell, but she wisely kept her thoughts to herself.
“I don’t have time for this,” she said, spinning to leave the house. “I’m taking your car.”
As she left Simone’s words inside the walls of the bungalow, they still reverberated in her mind. The truth was, she had gone there to seduce Tobias, believing that if she saw him again, it would end the ridiculous “what if” scenario which had been playing in her mind.
She had convinced herself that he w
as as cruel as his reputation, someone who could not be trusted. For years, she had kept him purposely in the dark about his daughter, feeling that it was in Aurora’s best interest, but seeing him that night, she was not so sure anymore. She hadn’t read an iota of maliciousness in his face, only the same deep feelings she’d been sure they had shared one night three years prior.
She had just fallen victim to his charms—again. She knew now that he was dangerous and could turn her to putty with a simple look. The best thing she could do was stay far away. Now that she had stolen from him, his true colors would surely show. He must have his minions tearing up Seattle looking for her. Once Aurora was cured, Sierra would get out of the city and go somewhere safe, somewhere he couldn’t find her.
First things first. Sierra needed the Shroud of Protection for her daughter.
As she backed Simone’s Lexus out of the driveway, her friend’s accusation rang in her mind.
“You seduced him!”
Sierra pressed her foot to the gas and zipped up Sand Point Way toward I-5, her heart beating wildly. It was true; she had gone to the charity event with the intention of finding Tobias Sutton and seducing him. She wanted to reclaim the upper hand he seemed to have had over her since the minute they had met.
Her plan had been to get him alone, make love, and walk away with the Chasm in her hand, feeling smug and superior. Instead, she felt more confused than ever, questioning what she was about to do. She didn’t deny that she was ashamed. Maybe he would have just given her the book—to keep, even—if she’d just asked nicely. She would never know.
It’s not too late, she told herself. You can return the Chasm and beg him for forgiveness, and maybe he’ll spare your life. He might even let you use the book, and you can find another priestess to enact the Shroud if Rowan refuses to do it.
Sierra dismissed the weak thought. Tobias had already proven that he couldn’t be trusted, and Rowan was not one to be trifled with. All the excuses in the world would not change the fact that Tobias was a mob lord and out for himself. Begging for forgiveness did not guarantee anything, least of all Aurora’s safety.