Magical Seclusion

by Jaliza A. Burwell

  “Shut up.” I laughed, unable to focus on what I was doing, too busy listening to him.

  “Don’t distract her,” Venni said, and I sent him a grateful smile as Davies sat down.

  I walked up to the dotted line, trying to remember how to even play. If my memory wasn’t making shit up, I’d last bowled for a school field trip when I was about ten years old.

  The goal was to knock down all the pins. I could do that. I eyed the dots on the lanes and then approached, swinging my arm and letting the ball loose.

  It went right into the gutter.

  The group laughed as the ball inched its way down to the end and disappeared. I scowled.

  “Don’t you know how to bowl?” Davies asked, holding his side. He was laughing that hard.

  “No,” I said.

  The second time I went, it didn’t go any better. I scowled at the ball the entire time it rolled its way down the gutter. It took a while.

  Davies stepped up next to me and rubbed the top of my head, making my light brown hair a mess. I sent a glare his way to let him know I didn’t appreciate him messing my hair up.

  Chuckling, he grabbed his ball and waited for the lane to reset. “If I get a strike, I get a kiss,” he said.

  “I don’t think Venni likes kissing guys,” I said.

  I glanced at Venni just at the right moment to see his lips twitch. He wasn’t big on broadcasting his emotions. He fought with himself daily to hold back. As a wolf shifter, he relied on control. Unfortunately, he took that to a whole new level, rarely giving anything away in his expressions. Most wolf shifters were scruffy, but Venni took care to stay cleanly shaven. Only his bulky size gave him away.

  Even Davies looked like a better wolf shifter than Venni did, which I now found entertaining considering I’d recently learned his shifter blood was from a lion.

  “Venni would be lucky to have a taste of these lips,” Davies said. “And while I’m all for sexual freedom, dicks don’t do it for me.”

  “Kalman, watch what you say,” Alijah growled.

  Davies rolled his eyes. “Dick, dick, dick. I’m a dick, you’re a dick. We’re all dicks with dicks and I know how to wield mine.” He eyed Alijah. “I can’t say the same about you.”

  Alijah’s eyes flashed red, and he stepped toward Davies.

  “Enough,” Venni said. “You’re going too far.”

  “Ruining all my fun,” Davies muttered.

  I frowned and stared at Davies. Something was bothering him, but I didn’t know what, and while he was a playful guy, he was also usually respectful.

  “So, kiss?” Davies said.

  “Fine,” I said. “Just bowl already.”

  Davies grinned as he approached the lane.

  “You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to,” Venni said.

  “Who said I didn’t want to?” I asked, already thinking about the kiss I’d shared with Davies last night and the kiss I was about to give him now. No doubt, he’d get the strike. He was a man on a mission. I also wanted to do it because something was bothering him and I wanted to soothe whatever was plaguing him.

  “Fuck, yeah,” Davies said, breaking me from my thoughts. His arms were in the air in victory, and I noted how all the pins had been knocked down. “And Team One is back in the game,” he said, turning to me.

  Before I could say congratulations, he scooped me up in his arms so I was against his chest and covered my lips with his. My eyes fluttered closed as his hard body pressed against mine, his hands gripping my ass to hold me up. Finally, he pulled away, laughing, and I smiled at him, playing with one of his blond locks. I liked that he kept his hair a few inches long.

  Realizing what was going on, I looked over to see Venni and Alijah staring at us. I couldn’t quite grasp their expressions. I just knew they weren’t upset. If anything, they seemed more turned on than anything else. Something I hadn’t even realized had locked up tight loosened at their acceptance.

  “Good job,” Venni said and grabbed his bowling ball to go next.

  Venni got eight pins, and Alijah got a spare. When my turn came up, I glared at my ball, willing to place blame on it instead of on my lack of skills.

  “Just aim it right down the middle,” Davies said.

  “I thought you weren’t supposed to do that,” I said.

  “You’re not, it’ll increase your risk of getting a split. But in your case, aim for the middle and you’ll end up being off center, which should put you right where you want to be,” Davies explained.

  I listened and let the ball fly down the lane. It rolled right where he said it would, off-centered just enough to hit the pins and send them flying.

  “Strike!” I cheered, staring in amazement at all the downed pins. They had no chance.

  Strong arms wrapped around me and swung me around. “Fucking told you,” Davies said and made a whooping noise as he put me back down. “We are going to destroy you all,” he said, pointing at the other two teams. Ami rolled her eyes as she went up to bowl. I glanced at their screen, noting two strikes from the first round. The third group had one strike and high scores.

  “And your reward,” Davies said, leaning down and giving me a quick kiss.

  I grinned back. If we were going to kiss every time one of us got a strike, I needed to up my game.

  The next few rounds flew by quickly and I was right, every time Davies got a strike, he kissed me. I didn’t get another strike, but I managed a spare and got a kiss for all my hard work. It was fun. I was laughing, teasing, and ribbing the other teams as we stayed in the lead, though just barely.

  When the guys showed any affection to me, we did get curious looks, but it seemed like no one cared. Maybe what the guys were trying to build with me was more common than I thought? Ami grinned big every time Davies kissed me and waggled her eyebrows, but other than her teasing, we might as well have been invisible. It was nice.

  I had expected some kind of reaction. Anything.

  “You’re overthinking it,” Davies said as he took the spot next to me.

  “Overthinking what?”

  “Us. Every time I give you a kiss, you stiffen slightly. And when we finish, you glance at the others. No one cares.”

  As if to prove a point, he leaned over and gave me another quick kiss before wandering over to the third group. When his turn came up, he was still distracted. We didn’t mind since we weren’t in a rush. I sat down, glad Alijah had ordered our drinks.

  “How are you holding up?” Venni asked, sitting down next to me. His knee bumped into mine and instead of moving to give him more space, I shifted closer. The energy inside him reached out and brushed against my skin.

  “Checking up on me?” I cocked an eyebrow.

  “Sorry,” he said, drawing his energy back. I regretted saying anything, missing the feel of it against my skin. “You look tired.”

  I shrugged. “Been working more. Not like I had anything better to do.” I said it as nonchalantly as I could as I watched Ami laugh at something Henzie said.

  “Nothing else? Have you gone on any dates?”

  I sighed and glanced at Venni, noting his frown. “Why is everyone asking me that?” I mumbled.

  “None of the guys took you out?” Venni actually looked confused.

  “Let’s not talk about it.” I tried to get up, but Venni stopped me by putting his hand on my thigh.

  “Let’s talk about it,” he said. “Didn’t Davies say he was going to take you out when we got back?”

  “He got busy.”

  “What about Rhett?”

  “Busy.”

  Venni sighed. “And I was busy too. What about the others?”

  “Do they even like me?” I asked, looking away. Davies was still chatting away with one of the guys, I thought his name was Traj. “Other than the three of you telling me your intent, I haven’t even seen anything that tells me you weren’t lying through your teeth. I get it,” I said, now going into a rant, my chest aching as I put it
all out there. I wasn’t one to shy away from confrontation, and I refused to back down now, even as my cheeks warmed with embarrassment. “It was just a spur of the moment thing, or because of all the crap we went through, you thought you did, but then when we came back and everyone had space, I had thought you all changed your mind. I had just wished you guys told me that instead of leaving me confused. And now you’re here again claiming that you’re still interested. I don’t know what any of you are thinking. I don’t even understand why you guys like me.”

  I took in a breath and was about to keep going when Venni gripped my chin and turned it so I faced him. His lips descended on mine, and I gasped, shocked at the suddenness. He took advantage of that and dipped his tongue into my mouth. Waves of energy washed over me, and I could practically taste his need. He wanted me. Hard. But in good old Venni fashion, he was holding himself back. I leaned into him, wanting more, wanting him to let go.

  He pulled away, and I closed my eyes, holding myself still. If I saw his expression right now, I was going to jump him. “Don’t even think for a second that we don’t care. I spent months with the guys talking about you. We care. So get rid of those thoughts.”

  Venni got up and stalked over to the carousel to grab his ball.

  “Hey, it’s my turn,” Davies said, running over. As the two of them bickered, my eyes met orange ones.

  Alijah tilted his head to the side as he considered something. Once he had an answer, he got up and came over.

  “I overheard,” he said.

  “Ugh, great.” Just kill me now.

  His lip twitched. “Just know, he’s right. We do care.”

  My heart jumped with hope. “So you too?”

  “Yes, me too.”

  “I don’t get it,” I said. “What did I do that got all of you interested in me?” I narrowed my eyes. “Or do you guys just want to use me?”

  “For me, it was when you put yourself between a crazy lizard man and a family.”

  I frowned. “What? My idiocy caught your attention?”

  “You weren’t an idiot, you were reacting. You ignored your own safety to protect a little girl and her two daddies. Not many people can do that and it caught my attention.”

  “That memory still scares me.” I shake out my hands. “That was the first time I did something like that.”

  I remembered that day and the first time I met someone from Biomystic. There was this grotesque lizard-like guy who could use magic. He was trying to get to a little girl. I didn’t even think, I just reacted, doing what I could to keep him away. That day scared the crap out of me, and I had nightmares for weeks after that.

  “Alijah the tiger shifter.” I smirked.

  Alijah smiled and nodded. “Since that moment, I was curious about you, but I never saw you again until you began working at BMS. And the way you composed yourself at the company. I find myself watching you, making sure you’re okay. I can’t not watch you.”

  I glanced at Davies as he teased Venni. Venni took it all in stride, used to his partner’s antics. He said something back to Davies that got the human worked up.

  “Did seeing Venni kiss me bother you?” I asked. “Or Davies.”

  “I was jealous,” he said. He waved his hand to cut me off before I could even respond. “I was jealous that I hadn’t gotten to kiss you yet.”

  “We can kiss,” I said, moving closer to him.

  He smiled and shook his head. “Tempting, but not yet. I won’t kiss you just because I haven’t. I want to kiss you for the first time knowing it means something, knowing it gets your heart rate up.” He reached up and touched my chin. He ran his thumb over my lips, and I gasped at the intimacy behind the touch. “I want your lips red and plump because of me alone.”

  “Alijah, your turn,” Davies called out.

  The shifter sent a smile my way before getting up.

  The rest of the night flew by as we bowled. We won the first game, the third team won the second game and then we had to call it a night. It was fun teasing Ami and Henzie since their team didn’t win any. They came close the first game, losing by only two points.

  I walked back to work with everyone, and then we split ways.

  The rest of the night, I kept thinking about what Alijah, Venni, and Davies had said about our relationships. The thought of not having to choose, of going on dates with all of them, warmed me to the core. I had never been in a relationship. Hell, I’d barely dated. We would meet up and then hook up. There was nothing reoccurring about it. I never even got phone numbers from my hook-ups. It wasn’t worth the hassle.

  But now, the guys at BMS were changing that. They wanted to date me and only me.

  I couldn’t wrap my head around it, and I was beginning to feel like a hussy, dating more than one person. I had my fair share of men, but my time with them never overlapped.

  Chapter Four

  I cursed myself as I dressed, pulling on running clothes. I even took a moment to tie my shoelaces, making sure to tuck them in to keep them from flapping around. It had been one of the tips I read in an article about running.

  Why did I think running would be a good idea? After my experience in the caves, with the fighting and even surviving a real battlefield, a new type of desperation burned inside of me. No way would I continue to be weak like that. Never again. The least I could do was to not freeze up and be able to run really fast. That seemed fair. Venni didn’t need to get hurt attempting to carry me on his back through chaos and leaving his team behind.

  Trying to get myself worked up for the run, I downed a bottle of water and moved around, swinging my limbs. Maybe that would warm up the muscles. When I felt loose enough, and before I accidentally pulled a muscle, I headed out, but I only made it through the front door before hitting a wall.

  Literally.

  Okay. Not literally. I managed to come up short before smacking into a hard chest.

  “What?” I pulled back and looked up, my dark green eyes meeting hazel ones. “Davies, what are you doing here? How did you get up here?”

  Movement caught my attention, and I leaned a little to see past Davies. Venni was a few feet away.

  How the hell did they get past my security? I wasn’t even alerted. Davies grinned and pulled out a small black bag. I stared at it with a frown.

  “Transport charm? Where the hell did you get those?” I asked.

  “Shanton is supplying them to the company,” Venni said. “One bag can transport up to three people. These are just the first shipment for a trial run.”

  “And I got to see your apartment once before so I knew exactly where I wanted to go,” Davies said. “I tried to get it to bring us into your bedroom, but it dumped us out here instead.”

  “One, you never saw my bedroom,” I said. “And two, that is really neat.”

  I held my hand out, and he placed the small bag into my palm. It was lightweight, and I pulled it open to peek inside, my curiosity getting the best of me. “This is a big concoction,” I said, taking in the scent of the different herbs. My nose tickled from the sage, rosemary, and sweetgrass.

  “Would you be able to make it?” Davies asked.

  I shook my head. “I don’t recognize half the herbs used.” I sent in just a small dose of magic and it responded back with a little zing, jolting my body.

  “Laila?” Venni said, his voice dotted with concern as he came closer.

  “I’m fine.” I licked my lips. “This isn’t my kind of magic.” I handed it back to Davies and rubbed my hands on my thighs, hating the feel.

  “What do you mean?” Davies asked.

  “I rely on the elements. There are slivers of unnatural metals in there that can only be crafted by magic. I can’t make metal. I can probably pull it from the earth, but I can only deal with raw materials and the magic is based off of that. I may be able to infuse items with magic, but I can’t make those items do anything special, it’s the magic I put into it that does the work. In this case, the metal is fueling the
magic, boosting it, and in a way, controlling it. I can’t do that.”

  Davies blinked a few times. “I have no fucking idea what you just said.”

  I sighed and shook my head. “Doesn’t matter. Even though I like to think I’m all powerful, I have my limits too. So?” My eyes flickered between the two men. “What are you two doing here?”

  “Taking you running. Ami mentioned you picked up running, and we want to join you,” Davies answered. I looked them over again, understanding why they wore black shorts and dark blue tanks that were plastered to their wide chests. The shirt had the BMS logo on top, another marketing ploy to get the company out there. I even had a coffee cup in my lab with the new logo on it.

  “It’s good that you’re taking care of yourself now,” Venni said.

  I rolled my eyes.

  “What’s your route?” Venni asked.

  “Down to the park and around,” I said.

  “About three miles, that’s a good start,” Davies said.

  My eyes widened. “A good start?” I said. “I’m nearly dead when I finish.”

  “You’ll be doing six in no time. You’re just starting to build up your stamina now.”

  “You’re insane.”

  Davies grinned. “I know. Now get that pretty ass running.”

  I rolled my eyes and called the elevator. “How many of those pouches are going around?” I asked.

  “It’s exclusive to our company right now,” Davies said.

  “I’m keeping one. I need to look into it.”

  “Why?” he asked.

  “Because if it can get you into this building then it can get you into BMS. At least my personal wards were enough to block you from getting inside my condo.”

  Davies’s eyes widened when he realized the implications. Venni scowled.

  I nodded. “Exactly. I’ll talk to Lombardi too. This is great, but now he needs to be prepared for them to be used against us. We’ll need to figure out how to ward BMS.” When the elevator arrived, I hopped on, the other two crowding me. “Unfortunately, I can’t use all the same wards that I use on my place. BMS is too big for it, and a couple of them are too personal. We can do some experiments to determine how much we need to add to the current wards though.”