She must have realized what she’d done to him, because she freed her hand from his grip and was reaching to touch his forehead. He didn’t know if he wanted to stop her and yet, he really didn’t want those sights, sounds and smells in his head while they were making love, so he let her touch his forehead and take it away from him.
He was free from the emotional baggage she’d inadvertently shared with him. He settled his attention on her once more and gave her what she needed to come away from it satisfied, feeling as if he’d taken and not given anything to her in return.
Her climax rushed over her and she let out a scream that was music to his ears. His lips met hers as he fell into the blissful euphoria of his own release.
* * * * *
The next morning came too soon for Dallas’s tastes. She wanted to stay cuddled in Oliver’s arms forever. When she really thought about it, there wasn’t anything keeping her from doing just that. She could do whatever she needed from Ross Cottage—that was what Oliver wanted it called.
She watched him as he slept. He looked so damn happy, and she hoped she was the reason for that peaceful expression of sheer bliss. She sat up as the ringing noise of her phone filled the air. She’d shoved it into the pocket of her jeans yesterday, which were, at the moment, on the floor somewhere. She didn’t want to get out of bed, and sighed, realizing she would have to or else her ringer was going to wake Oliver and she wanted him to have the luxury of sleeping in. He’d done so much for her in the last two weeks he deserved to have a bit of what he’d given her.
She slipped slowly out of Oliver’s arms, wincing as he made a face as if he knew she’d left him. She reached for a robe hanging on a hook by the door and scanned the floor for her jeans. Once she spotted them, she bent down and searched the pockets for her small communicator. Clicking the button to accept the incoming call, she put it up to her ear. “Hello?” She winced as the voice on the other end roared into her ear. If she hadn’t been awake before, she was certainly wide awake now.
“Where the hell are you, Dallas?”
Her stomach sank. Her hands shook. This was a voice she didn’t want to hear after a night of torrid lovemaking. Why was her life always crashing and burning like this? She glanced over at Oliver. Last night it would seem was one of those nights where she should actually have been at home.
“Where are you?” she asked, attempting to keep her voice calm despite the nervousness coursing through her.
“I’m at Redgrave House and your brother and I have been waiting for you for most of the night. When we finally went to bed, we both believed we’d wake up to find you in the house. Instead you’re not here. Where are you?”
She ignored the rolling anger in his voice. He hadn’t come home for years but took offense at not finding her at home when he wanted her there? How dare everyone believe she should always be where everybody needed her to be. She had a life even if they preferred to believe otherwise. She had a right to live her life the way she decided to live it.
“I’m busy.”
“Well, I took that when I found your bed empty this morning. I don’t care what you’re doing, you get your butt home this instant.”
“I’m sorry, Father, but you seem to be under the impression that I’m still a child. I will come home when I’m good and ready to.”
“You will come home now, missy,” he bellowed. She took the phone away from her ear and looked over at Oliver who was now sitting up in bed, looking drowsily at her.
“Who is that asshole?” he asked. “Tell him to stop yelling. I can him them all the way over here.”
“It’s my father,” she said, putting her hand over the mouthpiece.
“I thought he was traipsing around the universe in his ship and completely ignoring the fact that he has a daughter back on Earth.”
“That’s what I thought as well. Apparently he’s back at Redgrave House and, by the sound of it, wants me there to make his breakfast.”
“Tell him to go pound salt. You are not his slave.”
“You’re right, Oliver,” she muttered, taking her hand away so she could speak to him.
“Dad, listen to me very carefully. There is food in the fridge and if you need anything else, go down to the café. I don’t plan on returning to Redgrave House today.”
“If you don’t come home, I’ll be forced to activate the tracker I placed on your bike years ago. I noticed that wasn’t in the garage.”
She gasped. Her father just took the bloody cake. He was so controlling and wanted to keep tabs on her at all times.
“You haven’t been home in years. You don’t get the right do anything like that to me and besides, that bike will be destroyed shortly.”
She looked at Oliver and he nodded. “Done,” he said, snapping his fingers. She smiled broadly at him.
“Have a good day, Father, and please say hello to Adrian for me.” She ended the tense conversation and pitched her phone across the room. She wanted to strangle her father right now. She wanted to turn him into a mouse and find a snake for him.
Shattered, she crossed the short distance to the bed and sank down upon it.
“I take it you’re not going to do his bidding like you’re his little marionette?” Oliver asked.
“No,” she grumbled. “I don’t want to be anywhere near him. He shuns me for years and now decides to come back? Did he hear about Anya coming home with her super-rich husband?”
“Damien is super rich. He’s got more money than I do.”
“Well, I don’t care. My father needs to learn he can’t control people like they are puppets.”
“I can,” Oliver said, giving her a cheekily mischievous smile.
“I know you can, my love,” she said, leaning forward to kiss him. She moaned as he pulled her into his arms and deepened the kiss. She giggled as he rolled her onto her back and they both groaned when her phone started ringing again.
“I don’t think he’s going to give up until you go and see him in person,” Oliver mused.
“Maybe I don’t feel like it,” she said, kissing the tip of his nose.
“Whether you feel like it or not, he sounds pretty determined. And the sooner you get it over with, the sooner we can move on to some more of the good stuff.”
She sighed and rolled her eyes. “Fine, have it your way, Oliver. We’ll both go and see him.”
“Wait a second, where do I fit into this equation? I thought you could go and confront him without me. Because seriously, why would he want to see a warlock who just happens to be your boyfriend? I’m thinking that’s a recipe for disaster.”
“You’re not just any run-of-the-mill boyfriend, Oliver. Technically you could be considered his nephew.”
“I think your definition of technically needs to be redefined. I’m not his nephew since I am not Alexander Redgrave’s son, and thank goodness for that, because if I was, we wouldn’t be able to do what we did all last night.”
She frowned at him. “Why do you always have to point out the obvious? Why not just go along with it. I mean you are my Aunt Angie’s son, and my father loved her more than he loves me, so he’ll be pleased to see you.”
“Or, he’ll want to kill me—either way, what do you intend to do?”
She looked away from him. “First of all, my father couldn’t best you in any sort of a duel. He’s not a warlock.”
“I’m not going to hex your father if that’s what you think.”
“Not even if I asked you to?” she asked hopefully, causing him to erupt in laughter.
“Not even.” He smiled at her. “Maybe we should go pick up some breakfast and then head on to your house.”
“We can’t. You just blew up my bike.”
“I did, and I had my car drive itself here while you were fuming about your father.”
“Your car? You mean the one that was parked at my house? You do know my father is no one’s fool, right?” She looked wildly around her. “I have to get dressed, because if I know hi
m the way I think I know him, he’s going to be knocking on that door in no time flat.” As if her words were sheer prophecy, loud rapping sounded at the door. Her father was going to keep pounding on that door until he bashed it in.
“Wow, your father does move fast when he’s got a fire under his ass,” Oliver mused.
“Look at me. I’m not even dressed and you’re still naked under those sheets.”
“What a clever deduction, darling,” he said. “You’ll have to get that door before he barges his way in.”
She shuffled haltingly out into the living room and moved to the front door. As her hands settled on the doorknob her robe morphed into in a sexy, clingy scarlet-colored dress that formed to her body like a second skin. Oliver had one hell of a twisted sense of humor. “Oliver, I’m going to kill you,” she muttered just as she opened the door and came face-to-face with her glowering father and brother.
“You are coming with me, little girl,” he said, his voice stern, his face mottled with fury. He looked as if he’d had one wild night. His hair was askew, his eyes bloodshot and he literally shook with fury.
Her brother, on the other hand, looked pretty much as she remembered him. Easy-going, fun-loving Adrian. His brown eyes sparkled and his hair was cropped shorter than she remembered him wearing it.
She tried closing the door in her father’s face. He stopped her by using his foot to block her from doing so.
“I’m not going anywhere,” she retorted. “And besides, you are no longer the boss of me.”
“As long as I draw breath I will make sure you stay as far away as possible from that man you have hiding in the bedroom. You will obey me, Dallas.”
“I’ll do no such thing. Like I said, you lost any power you had over me when you left me behind to gallivant around the bloody known galaxies. I don’t care what you think of Oliver. I’m in love with him, and that’s that.”
Her father looked as if he’d been slapped in the face. “I sped home when I heard those bastards almost took you. I am not about to leave you at his mercy now. Can’t you see you’re being used?”
She shook her head and crossed her arms defensively over her chest. She could sense Oliver standing directly behind her. She just prayed he’d put on some clothing. She didn’t need him standing there buck-naked in front of her father. That would only feed the fire burning inside him.
“Oliver saved me from those bastards. If it weren’t from him, I’d be dead—or worse. You never cared about my well-being before, so why start now? I wish you’d just disappear. Why don’t you go back to Redgrave House and sleep off that hangover?”
As if her wish had been granted her father disappeared from right in front of her eyes. Shocked, she lost her footing and slammed against Oliver’s rock-hard chest.
He whistled loudly. “It looks as if you’re not that bad of a witch after all, Dallas,” he exclaimed, unmistakable pride filling his voice as he wrapped his arms around her.
Chapter Nine
Dallas was still struck speechless. Accusingly, she looked over at her brother, who promptly flung his hands up in the air.
“Hey, don’t look at me, I didn’t do it,” he brother said.
Oliver looked over at her with a question in his eyes. “You never told me your brother was a warlock.”
“You never asked, honey,” she answered. “Did I actually do that? No fooling, you aren’t trying to put one over me, are you, Adrian?”
Adrian cleared his throat. “I know better than to go all hocus pocus on our father. I have to travel with the guy and he can go on and on and on, so yeah, I didn’t do it. Besides, isn’t there a law against that sort of thing around here?”
“Maybe my powers were dammed up along with my memories… I don’t remember how good of a witch I was before that fateful day.” Her eyes filled with tears.
“So, you finally remembered everything,” Adrian said, sadness tingeing his voice. He stepped into the house. “Dad is a bastard sometimes, Dallas, but he didn’t like hearing from Marion that Oliver released your memories and he’s dead set against him, seeing as he’s the child of Raymond White. As for how good of a witch you were, I can answer that. You were pretty good, not as good as Anya and not as good as little old me—but hey, you were pretty talented. As for you popping Dad back home, he won’t stay there for long. He’s used to living with a witch and he never gave up when it came to Mom so he’s not going to give up when it comes to you.”
“He gave up on me long ago. Why don’t you go home and take our father and keep him as far away from Earth as possible.”
Adrian sighed heavily. “If that’s the way you want it, Dallas, I’ll go. But I’m telling you, nothing is going to make Dad leave now that he knows you’re hanging with a White. He’s going to stick around until Anya returns home to talk some sense into you.”
“Fat lot of luck he’ll have in that case. Anya has accepted Oliver as her brother—in fact, she sent him here to me, so the two of you are the ones with the problem and you need to just get over it.”
Her brother sighed. “It’s not as if Dad has a problem with you having a boyfriend, but you could have chosen a local boy, someone with less baggage.”
“It’s as if I am not even here,” Oliver grumbled.
“Oliver isn’t going anywhere, Adrian, so you and Dad can like it or leave. You haven’t darkened Earth’s atmosphere for almost two decades. You didn’t care about me before, so why now?”
“He was frightened about the witch hunters. He actually does love both of his kids, you know. Feelings are hard for him to talk about and admitting his weakness when it comes to you is equally hard.”
“He hates me for what I did to our mother, and so do you, don’t try denying it.”
Adrian grimaced. “How can I hate you for something I might have done had I been cursed with your particular gift? Mom always stressed that our powers could zonk out on us one day and that if we lost control over them it wouldn’t be our fault. She made that quite clear to Dad.
“I think she always knew what you were capable of, even though none of us dreamt it was possible. He wasn’t angry at you for doing it. He was angry at himself for letting it happen. He thought he jinxed you and Mom because he’s not a warlock and he can’t properly protect you—not the way you need to be protected.”
“Well that solves it, then. Since you all think I’m a damsel in distress and that I need my own witch knight, I have him. Oliver can deal with any threat that comes to my doorstep without even breaking a sweat. He’s twice the warlock that you are.”
Adrian looked as if she’d stabbed him straight through the heart. “I guess I deserve that wickedly accurate strike to my ego. I’ll let him have it since he is a Ross and I know the Whites are no slouches when it comes to supernatural talent.” He glanced around the house. “I think I should probably go. I haven’t had my second cup of coffee and I’m starving. I’ll have to go and make sure that Dad hasn’t done something stupid. If you could bring yourself to coming and seeing him, he’d like to see you before we leave again for the far distant regions of space. Dad can’t stick around here for long. Earth reminds him too much of Mom.”
She snorted. “Of course he can’t stay, and that’s the way it should be. The farther he is from Oliver and me, the better off we shall all be. I’ll see you later, Adrian.”
He pulled her into an awkward hug, patted her on the back and then left.
“Some family,” Oliver muttered as she turned back to look at him.
“We’re a complicated bunch. My relationship with Anya is much closer and we can actually hug each other without looking like we’re sucking on sour lemons.”
He laughed. “Well, some men do have issues with expressing themselves emotionally.”
“I’ve often wondered if my brother and father have that or if they just have no emotions,” she said, sighing. “At any rate, I probably should go and see them so we can get rid of them faster. Anya will be arriving any day now, and onc
e he gets to see her he will want to leave. He likes Anya more than he likes me—I think she was the daughter he wanted.”
Oliver’s electric-blue eyes filled with concern. “I am sorry to hear that. He just doesn’t realize what he has, that’s all. And if he’s like that, he’s more fool than father,” he said, touching her lightly on her cheek. She leaned into his gentle caress then walked back into the bedroom. She took off her dress and looked around to see him eyeing her hungrily. She shivered beneath his carnal stare.
“I like the way you look now,” he said, raking his gaze over her body, scantily clad in the barely there panties he’d conjured for her and the sexy bra that had showed more than it covered.
She smiled lovingly at him and thrilled at his touch when he gently caressed a trail from her chin down to her cleavage. Her nipples hardened in anticipation. He deftly undid the clasp on the bra and let it fall to the floor. Dropping to his knees, he reached up and cupped her breast with one hand while he used the other to slowly inch her panties down around her ankles. Grasping her ass with his hands, he pulled her against him and gave her a hot kiss on her nether regions. She sucked in a lungful of air as electric shivers of delight started to thrum through her. She was already wet and ready for him to pleasure her, but he seemed intent on taking her to new heights with his mouth first.
His tongue had a slight roughness to it, which only intensified her want for him as he slowly started to torture her with it. When he added his fingers to the mix, her world tilted on its axis. Her breathing ragged, she clutched at his hair. She wasn’t going to make it out of this lovemaking session without being totally shattered—in a good way. Her orgasm rushed over her in a crashing wave that made her see white. “By the Gods, Oliver, I adore you.”
He smiled devilishly up at her and got to his feet. She wanted to give him the kind of pleasure he’d just bestowed on her but he seemed to have other ideas. He took her over to the bed and put her on the edge. Lifting her legs, he placed them on his shoulders and drove into her as deeply as he could. She groaned as he set a slow rhythm at first and kept his gaze pinned on her face. She blushed hotly, wishing that they could do this in the dark as she felt so self-conscious in this vulnerable state.
WarlocksAngel Page 10