Of the Woods

by J A S Bennet

  “I pray to the gods that you felt that too,” he said gruffly.

  “Oh, yeah. I felt it everywhere.” She should have been embarrassed that she said such a thing to a man she barely knew. She didn’t feel anything but heat and him.

  “So, whenever you two decide to stop slobbering all over each other we will head back to the castle?” Ava was so Ava.

  Deaglan took her hand in his and headed toward the castle.

  “Goodnight, sweet woods. Let me know if you need me,” Sheridan whispered into the forest.

  Unbeknownst to any of them, someone had been watching, and had decided he needed to take care of Sheridan. Her friends too, of course, but she was now his goddess and he needed to help take care of her. She was the one who gave him the signal he’d been waiting for his whole life. Her flight pattern had carved a perfect clover shape in the sky. He couldn’t ignore that if he tried.

  He followed the four of them all the way to the castle. Wherever she was would be his home from now on.

  Up the stairs the woman went. The Darkness called to her and she always heeded his call. She opened the door that lead out on the roof. The black cloud was hovering and chose to materialize into something she could talk to as quick as it took her to walk to him.

  “The wood nymph is growing stronger. I have news of her healing a fawn? It took Shawn much longer to develop that skill. The three must be separated.” He moved closer to prove his point.

  “It is my duty to serve you, my master. If you say I must then I will try harder.” She bowed her head to show reverence to the Darkness before her.

  “There is no try! This was put in place before you arrived here to serve me. The power of the three must not strengthen. I have a plan to weaken the wood nymph. Make sure it works. Any way you see to further weaken her, do it. Do you understand?” The Darkness retreated back into its cloud and the man who stood before her seconds ago was gone. She returned to the roof door and walked back down the stairs with shaky knees.

  20

  Auld Triangle Pub

  Training was starting to bore Ava. Day after day they went to the guard house to train and day after day she kicked ass. Boring. It was fun to begin with, but until they found someone to keep up with her inner ninja, it was useless. Gathering in the library, where the girls usually migrated to, Ava huffed out her annoyance with the long days of boredom. Even work didn’t seem to hold her attention any longer. She would look out of her window and wonder when she was going to feel useful around here.

  “Let’s look around the dark corners of this castle and see what we can find.” Jenny was bubbling with excitement, which pissed Ava off.

  “That is not going to happen until I’m sure the bug guy sprays for spiders. I might be a super ninja, but even Bruce Lee had his limits. Spiders are a hard pass for me.”

  Jenny curled up her face as if to say she was disappointed with Ava’s halt of exploration de castle. She turned to Sheridan, who was nose deep in a novel and not paying attention. “Sheridan, what do you want to do tonight?”

  Putting down her book, Sheridan looked Jenny right in the eye and said one powerful word, “Drink.”

  “Just call me thirty-four DD, because that is an idea I can fully support.” Jenny was looking forward to seeing if there would be live music again.

  Ava rolled her eyes at Jenny, but agreed. “Looks like we are going to the pub.”

  Sheridan made no small talk, she headed right to the bar and ordered her normal drink. “Maker’s Mark. Make it a double.” She was used to seeing Deaglan behind the bar, but he had told her he was still working his shift walking the grounds, checking perimeters, and all that jazz. She should be in the woods with him right now, but he made it seem like he didn’t want her there. He shot down her offer of help real quick like. Even the gentle kiss on the tip of her nose didn’t make up for the fact that she would rather be with him instead of here. There was always the lull of a good drink that tended to make even the strongest sulk seem better. Sheridan snatched the drink from the so-called bartender and downed it in one throw back of her head. She raised her hand and motioned for another right away.

  Jenny’s heart was racing. As soon as she entered the pub, she heard the familiar voice of the singer who she couldn’t quite get out of her head. He was sitting on stage all alone with his guitar, singing quietly without a mic. He was totally unaware of the three entering the pub. Jenny positioned herself just out of his line of sight at a table nearby so she could listen without distracting him. It felt like a private concert just for her.

  Within moments of finishing the song he was playing, his eyes found hers. He smiled and a dimple formed on his cheek. Somehow it made the brown of his eyes stand out even more. Their depth made her want to dive right in. Her imagination had her running a hand through his dirty-blond curls. She blushed at the thought of being so close and intimate with him. His name was still a mystery to her, his almost everything was.

  “I’m Tadhg.”

  “Did you say Tiger?” Jenny was sure she hadn’t heard him correctly.

  “Well, no R, but they sound the same, yes. Tadhg.” He moved his guitar to his left hand and reached out his right one.

  A spark flew between their fingers when she shook his hand. Literally and figuratively. Two billion questions were stirring in her mind and she didn’t know which to ask first. The silence hanging between them was filling her with anxiety. This was a high-stress situation for her. She had to say something. Anything. And now.

  “Who’s your daddy?” Oh, no. Of all the questions. She turned beet red. “No!” she cried, then she took a necessary breath. “No, I mean, did your dad teach you how to play guitar?”

  It was too late, the damage had already been done. Tadhg’s dimple was showing and his brown eyes danced as he laughed at her. Even worse, she couldn’t blame him. But he was gracious and didn’t comment on it. “Aye, he did. Until he had nothing left to teach me, and I was forced to learn from YouTube videos and some things I had to teach meself.”

  “How does someone teach themselves to play guitar?” Jenny’s blush was fading slowly, but she still felt a lot of pressure to say the right thing. This strong, thoughtful man was causing a reaction. A potentially dangerous and/or explosive one, but definitely a reaction.

  “Well, for me, I just needed to practice certain finger movements so that a song would sound right for me.” He adjusted his guitar in his lap and repositioned the strap over his shoulder, so he could play quietly while they talked.

  “Do you know all the different ways to finger now? Can you show me?”

  First, there was silence. His gentle strumming ceased. Then his eyes grew wide. Jenny’s heart deflated when she replayed what she had said. She needed someone to step in and stop this madness. Her hand flew up to cover her mouth to keep it from saying anything else uber embarrassing.

  “There are lots of things I could show you,” Tadhg said flirtatiously. “But it’s probably too soon for us to dive right into that. How about I play you a song I started writing today?”

  His kindness filled her heart back up and the excess blood drained from her face. He had shown her twice that he could handle her awkwardness like a gentleman. All thoughts left her brain when he began playing again. There were no questions left in there or anything logical at all.

  The song. It was the one she’d had in her heart since the last time they were here. She’d been humming this melody at her happiest moments for more than a week. The words though, they were new. His lyrics were a romantic love note that would make any man-lover swoon. She knew this feeling swelling in her chest. She was falling for this guy and she barely knew his name.

  Ava realized it was earlier than the last time they came to the bar. Most of the guardians who worked here every Saturday night were still doing patrols around the grounds. Whatever that meant. Why didn’t they call it what it actually was? They were all strolling around the grounds with their dicks in their hands having pissing contes
ts over who was the baddest of the bad. All they had to do was show up here right this minute to find out, because Ava had already kicked most of their asses. Cian was one of the few guardians she’d met who hadn’t gotten to spar with her yet. Ava was sure it was because he was scared. Well maybe not scared, but he was always staring at her while she fought. She knew his eyes were watching her every move. It was fucking hot how she felt his eyes on her.

  She shook the feeling away and looked around to make sure no one was looking at her while her panties melted off from thinking of Cian. Heading to the bar to get something to put the flames out, she was stopped in her tracks. To her surprise, “sexy on the dance floor” Liam walked up to her as she sat down on a stool.

  “What can I get ye?” Ava thought of all the things he could give her that she really needed, like an orgasm and a back rub, in that order.

  “Well for starters, let’s have a martini, dry.” He nodded his head and moved to the other end of the bar. Her eyes followed his movements until she made eye contact with Sheridan. The little nymph was well into her third drink, judging by the number of shot glasses in front of her. She appeared to be sipping on something clear, which could have been water or Sprite. She just hoped if it was the latter, that this Sprite didn’t throw rocks at people’s heads. Sheridan dipped her head and raised her glass of mysteriously clear liquid and took a huge gulp.

  Rosin plopped down beside Ava at the bar while she waited for the drink that seemed to take forever. “Hey, what are you guys doing here? No training?”

  “Since it’s a Saturday we are taking a day off and Sheridan wanted a drink, so here we are.” Ava had been wanting to talk to Rosin and this seemed like the perfect time. “I caught that caretaker woman messing with my computer and I was wondering if you could do a few things for me.” That caught Rosin’s interest. She answered Ava’s question with a nod, so Ava continued, “Can you do some type of keystroke history search to see if she did anything?”

  “Sure, I can check search engines and everything. Even without using the web she can search the computer for specific documents and such. What she looked at, I can see. There really isn’t much damage she could do without internet. While I’m at it I will put in some security software and make it password protected. That should stop the snooping. I will go ahead and work on the computer I already have and then when we exchange Monday morning I will work on the computer you have now. Is there anything else you can think of?”

  Ava was pleased with how that went. Rosin was completely on top of everything—not just handling the situation but preventing similar issues in the future. Where had Rosin been her whole life? Just as Ava’s drink arrived, Rosin stood to leave. The girls shook hands and said their goodbyes.

  As soon as Liam handed Ava her drink, she put her mouth on the rim and took a sip. “Mmmm, this is good, Liam. It’s Liam, right?” The voice that she was going for was sexy and sultry, but Liam gave her a confused doggie look.

  “No, lassie, remember? My name is simply Liam. Ye got mad at me the last time we talked because ye said I lied.” Ava closed her eyes and prayed for strength.

  “Well, Liam, I’m beginning to think that you’re playing games with me.” Her mind was spinning, wondering if he just kept his mouth closed for the entirety of the sexcapade, could she have some fun with the fair Liam?

  “Excuse me?” Oh dear God in Heaven, make the idiocy stop.

  “Never mind.” Ava turned to jump off the stool she had perched on and took a look around the room. There was hardly anyone here yet. She took a complete 360-degree turn around the entire bar and saw Jenny talking to the lead singer of the band, who was clearly off-limits to Ava, judging by the googly eyes they were giving one another, and Eoghan sitting by the bathrooms. Ava wasn’t happy. At least give her something to work with besides brainless hotties and old farts.

  Finishing her drink, she walked the empty glass over to the bar and made sure she was walking away when Liam came over to take it to wash up. He had a mindless grin on his face that infuriated her. She meandered to the ladies’ room in hopes of avoiding his babbling. When she reached the door and was going to push it open she saw the old man look her way from the corner of her eye. She glanced over and gave him a small smile and a little wave. She guessed she needed to be friendly and that’s as good as she got.

  She put pressure on the door when the man spoke. “Come back to kick some more arse? Make sure I’m sitting close when it starts, will ye?” Ava stopped in her tracks and let the door be. There was something about this man that made her calm. She trusted no man, but this guy had a way about him that made her want to know him.

  “Maybe you should just follow me around all day. I never know when the bullshit will fly.” She walked over to his table and he motioned for her to take a seat. She wanted to take the seat, she had to. When her ass hit the chair, she stuck out her hand to shake his. “I’m Ava.”

  He returned the gesture and quickly took her hand in his. “I’m guessing ye be the new keepers at yonder castle from all of the talk around this place. I hear there be three of ye this time. Good sign ‘tis that.” Ava was surprised at how easy it felt to sit with this man. She didn’t take to people quickly, especially stupid men. “I be guessing that Ava isn’t your true name, now is it, lassie?” The stunned look on her face made him chuckle.

  “My birth name was Aoife Mahoney, but I don’t use that.” She hated the name, in fact.

  “I’ll be a using it, lassie. ‘Tis the only true name that belongs to ye. So, Aoife, how is the castle treating ye?” How does a castle treat you? Ava was beginning to believe that this guy was drunk already.

  “Castles don’t treat people any which way. Are you suffering from Alzheimer’s?” Eoghan laughed so hard she was sure he had to have wet himself. She checked under the table just in case she needed to move away.

  “What are ye looking for, lassie? Did ye lose something?” He looked under the table in search of what she was looking at.

  “Yep, I’ve lost my mind.” He gave her a smile that made her feel warm and friendly. What. Was. Happening?

  “‘Tis a slippery thing to happen, losing one’s mind. I don’t recommend it.” Eoghan seemed to fold into himself and had a look of distance in his eyes as if he might be remembering something that he would rather not. Ava took that as a sign she needed to leave the table. She didn’t know shit about dealing with people’s problems. Feelings in general scared the shit out of her. Perhaps it would just be better to exit stage left.

  Ava stood up and gave her usual “It was great talking to you” speech to Eoghan. He tilted his Irish-looking hat to her as she backed out of the situation that made her feel super uncomfortable. A few escape steps back and she ran into a hard body. One whiff of the air had her still wondering which exact spice he smelled like and she closed her eyes while leaning into him just a little. What was it about man smells that made women go weak in the knees? Dammit. She quickly returned to her own feet completely and turned to look at him.

  “Eoghan. Always a pleasure to see you, good man.” Cian gave his typical guardian bow and Ava was confused as to why Eoghan got such formal treatment. Wasn’t that reserved for us important folk?

  Cian turned to Ava. “Good evening, Aoife.” It was the first time she ever heard him say her name. Her first instant reaction was to wrap herself around him like a howler monkey, only it wasn’t her name.

  “That’s not my name, boyo.” She looked down at Eoghan before walking into the bathroom.

  The last noise she heard was Eoghan laughing, “Ye gonna have to do better if ye want to get a taste of that, mate.” With more of his laughter reaching her ears, she decided to wait until Cian was gone before she left the bathroom. She didn’t trust herself around him. Especially when his simple utterance of her birthname lit her panties on fire.

  21

  Storm

  Sheridan’s mood lifted greatly when she saw Deaglan enter the bar in the mirror. She turned to greet him, t
oo quickly, and fell off the stool. The ground was much harder and farther away than she thought it was. Maybe the sixth double shot was a bad idea after all. A hand was reaching out to help her off the floor. He hadn’t caught her. At that realization, she sobered a little bit.

  “You didn’t catch me?” Her vision was still a bit blurry, so it took a couple tries to capture his hand in hers. “You let me fall.”

  “Yes, well—” he helped her to her feet and then let go “—it wasn’t the easiest thing I’ve ever had to do. But your wish is my command.”

  Her heart skipped a beat, like the weight of her gratitude was sobering her. “Thank you.” She clambered back onto her stool. Liam set another drink in front of her. Deaglan shoved it back, giving Liam a hard look that allowed for no discussion.

  “There is a storm rolling in, I’d better get ye lasses back home before it hits. Are you ready to go?” Deaglan wanted so badly to pick her up and carry her out. But he respected her, and her wants. He didn’t want to risk pushing her away again by attempting to make decisions for her. Internally, he was a fucking mess. Letting her fall to the ground when he could have caught her was easily the hardest thing he’d had to do since admitting his feelings for her. His teeth ground together in impatience while he waited for her response. This storm was bound to be a nasty one and it was rolling in fast.

  Maybe to spite him, and maybe because her ass hurt and she wanted it to be numb, she grabbed the drink he had pushed away and threw it back immediately. “Yes, let’s go.” Liam put his hands up and backed away.

  Deaglan whistled. Cian met them at the bar. Tadhg stopped his playing while Cian asked, “What’s up, boss?”