Shadows of Bourbon Street

by Deanna Chase

  “Kane,” I said and pushed him back gently.

  “Yes, love?” He gazed down at me with tender eyes.

  “I don’t think… I mean, I just need a moment to myself.”

  His sweet expression turned concerned and he sat up. “What’s wrong?”

  I turned my head to the side, wanting to cry. But I held the tears back. “I don’t know. I’m having a hard time being touched.” Not wanting to admit the truth even to myself, the words came out in a whisper. This was Kane. I couldn’t remember a time I hadn’t wanted to be close to him. Not even after Camille had taken over my body and I’d felt so incredibly violated.

  “Look at me.” Kane’s quiet voice was like a soft caress over my bare skin.

  I turned and met his gaze.

  “You’re okay. We’ll be okay.” His fingers curled into mine, and he pulled my hand close to his heart. The slightly elevated beat beneath my fingers settled me, grounded me to him. “This thing, this incubus spell caused what you’re feeling here.” He moved his other hand and caressed the left side of my chest right over my heart. “Let me hold you. I can fix this.”

  I wanted him to hold me. But at the same time I wanted to curl into myself and disappear into my own world, where I wouldn’t have to deal with the emptiness inside me. “How do you know?”

  He shook his head. “I don’t know anything. But there’s an instinct in here.” He pointed to his chest. “It’s telling me what to do.”

  “And what is that?” I whispered, feeling more broken than ever.

  Kane scooted down next to me and wrapped his arms around my body. “Just let me hold you for a while.”

  I sensed the sheer desperation churning in him to fix me. To bring me back to myself. And I wanted to let him do it. I didn’t want to feel this way, but I just couldn’t. Not yet. Crossing my arms over my chest, I rolled away from him, facing the wall, and let the tears fall.

  “Oh, Jade.” The words came out strangled, full of emotion, and in that moment his love slammed into me, thick and warm, filling all those empty crevices.

  Still facing the wall, I reached one hand behind me. “Take it.”

  His fingers tentatively slid over mine.

  I tightened my hold and pulled his arm around me. “I think this is okay for now.”

  He let out a long, slow sigh, scooted down onto the bed, and tucked me close to him, my back to his chest. His warm breath tickled my neck as he buried his face against my hair. “Jesus, Jade. I feel like such a dick right now.”

  “No.” I pulled his arm tighter around me. “Those witches did this to us. We’ll be okay.” I said the words but wasn’t quite sure I believed them. My only saving grace was that I could sense his emotions and how much he needed me and ached to be near me. My heart swelled with love. Yet my body still felt distanced from him. Like our last joining had taken every ounce of physical pleasure from me, leaving me with nothing left to hold on to. It was terrifying. “Kane?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Do you feel powerful now?” I couldn’t help but wonder what kind of effect my magic was having on him.

  He laughed, but it was humorless. “I feel incredibly helpless. All I want is for you to be whole again. But I can’t…won’t force myself on you. And this power inside me is worth nothing if it breaks you.”

  I heard what he’d said, appreciated the sentiment more than he could know, but I really wanted to focus on what our joining had done to him. I rolled over and placed my palm on his cheek. “I love you, Kane.”

  “I know, pretty witch.” He closed his eyes. Pain lanced across his features and shot like a jolt through my hand.

  “Stop,” I said gently. “Don’t blame yourself.”

  “How can I not? I stole a part of you.”

  “I gave it to you,” I said with a smile.

  He raised a skeptical eyebrow. “Not exactly. But thank you for trying to make me feel better.”

  The longer we held each other, the more balanced I started to feel. My magic was weak and I could barely call on it, but as long as we were here, safely locked away from the rest of the world, it didn’t seem to matter that much. But as soon as I started to think about leaving, or rejoining the rest of the world, panic set in. I caught my breath and let it out very slowly.

  Kane didn’t say anything. He seemed to understand my struggle, and instead of trying to calm me with words, he caressed my bare back, running his fingers along my spine.

  “That feels nice,” I said.

  “You sure?”

  I nodded. “Yes, this is okay.”

  Kane continued his gentle exploration and when my body started to relax against him, he increased the pressure, kneading my knotted muscles.

  “Keep doing that,” I murmured against his chest.

  He responded by brushing his lips over my temple. The kiss was soft, tender, loving, and a whisper of a spark manifested from the connection.

  I sucked in a breath and tilted my head up. “Kiss me again.”

  He regarded me with hopeful reluctance. “You’re sure?”

  “Yes,” I said with force.

  His lips twitched and curled into a tiny smile. “If you say so.”

  Slowly he leaned in and brushed his warm lips over mine, giving me plenty of time to change my mind. But when I opened my mouth and flicked my tongue over his lips, he followed my lead and opened his mouth, welcoming me.

  The magic connection flared to life and my body became alive once more. The sweet rush of my power flowed from him into me like a quick shot of adrenaline. “More,” I demanded, desperate to take back what was rightfully mine.

  His kiss turned frenzied and I matched him with fervor. Our bodies pressed together, and I swung my leg over his hip, ready to be joined with him once again. To feel that power sparking all over my tongue and skin, to pool between my legs.

  “Jade,” he said breathlessly.

  “I want you. Need you.” Clutching at him, I jerked my hips against his and moaned when the sweet relief of his hardness pressed against me. “Yes. Make love to me, Kane.”

  I was fully aware I’d gone from zero to sixty in ten seconds flat, but I couldn’t control the desperation consuming me.

  Kane pressed me down on the bed and rolled on top of me, his weight welcome and enticing. I spread my legs, more than ready. But he pulled back and looked down at my naked body, his expression tortured. “I can’t, love.”

  “What?” I placed a hand on his chest, anxious to keep our connection. If he let go, I’d be lost again.

  “If I make love to you, I’ll only drain you again.”

  “But I—”

  “Shh,” he whispered. “Just lie back and let me restore your magic.”

  “How?”

  He answered by kissing my neck. His hot, shocking kisses made my body come alive under his mouth. I could feel my magic coating my skin, but I wasn’t absorbing it. It was as if I had it at my fingertips but couldn’t quite grasp it.

  Then his hands roamed, bringing heat and pleasure everywhere they touched. I could have gladly stayed in the moment for the rest of my days if he’d just keep touching and teasing me with the sensual blend of my power and his incubus caress.

  Heat, fire, pleasure, and pain. It was all present, all fused with the intoxicating spark of my magic. My body was taut, consumed by pure need and desire. I almost whimpered with it. And just when I thought I couldn’t take anymore, Kane’s lips brushed over my nipple. I arched my back, begging for more. And then his hand slid lower, leaving a tantalizing trail of magic in its wake. My body started to tremble uncontrollably.

  And this time when I spread my legs for him, his fingers dipped between my folds and plunged into me.

  “Yes, Kane. Yes,” I cried and bucked against him.

  My excitement overtook me as he pleasured me, taking no
thing for himself. The pressure built quickly and when the waves of release gripped me, he pressed deeper. Then it happened. Power rushed from him to me on a stream of pure bliss. The orgasm hit me hard, harder than any other, making my world spin. I wasn’t sure if I’d passed out or if I was just lost in a cloud of magical energy.

  When I came back to myself, lying still and spent beside Kane, I stared up at him and focused on my magic pulsing peacefully beneath my breastbone the way it usually did. I felt more alive, more ready to take on the world than I had in months.

  “Hey there.” Kane brushed a lock of my hair off my forehead.

  I smiled up at him. “Hi.”

  “Better?”

  “The best.” I couldn’t keep my smile from blossoming into a grin. Then concern hit me. My magic was back completely. “Did I take it all back?”

  “Your magic?”

  I nodded, afraid we hadn’t found the balance we needed to maintain this new partnership.

  “No, love. I have what I need.”

  “You’re sure?” I sat up.

  “Positive.” His brow furrowed. “I’m not sure yet how this works. But to me it feels like there’s a give and take. When I get pleasure from you, your power transfers to me, and when I give you pleasure, it transfers back. And if I take too much, that’s when we get into trouble.”

  So that was why he wouldn’t make love to me. He’d get too caught up and I would’ve been left empty again. I tilted my head at him and asked again, “How do you know this?”

  He frowned. “I don’t know. It’s instinct. Not only that, but the joining of our connection comes from me. To some extent, I’m the one with the control over the magic transfer.”

  As in, he could siphon my magic and I wouldn’t have any control. Or would I? I eyed him. “Are you willfully taking my magic when we’re together?”

  “Not exactly. But I feel the pull come from deep inside me.”

  Hmm. Was it possible I could stop him from taking everything? If I didn’t give myself to him completely, I should be able to control how much he took. I smiled a little devilishly. “Next time we’ll try a little test.”

  “A test?”

  “Yeah. To see if we can’t have a little magical tug-of-war.” The idea sent a new shot of desire through me. The addition of that incredible rush of power while we pleasured each other was an added bonus I might have to thank the Coven Pointe witches for. But only if we could keep the connection from draining me.

  Kane gathered me in his arms and held me to his chest. “I’m willing to try anything you want, just as long as you don’t get hurt. I won’t let that happen to you again. I swear it.”

  The love in his eyes brought fresh tears to mine. “We’ll figure it out.”

  “We always do.”

  Chapter 10

  An hour later, after we’d showered, we sat on the bed with a tray of room service between us. I tucked my feet under me and grabbed a croissant. “Any luck?”

  Kane shook his head. Dayla had said he’d be able to track Vaughn with his new incubus status. “No. The only person I can sense is you. It’s almost as if your magic wants to rejoin with you, and now not only do I have our personal connection, but there’s the magical one as well.”

  “That’s kind of…I don’t know, nice?”

  He smiled. “Yes. It is. But it’s not helping us at the moment.”

  “Maybe we should try a locator spell?” I suggested.

  “Can you do that? I thought you needed DNA or the coven behind you for that.”

  I nodded. “Yeah. Probably. But we could try to round up enough witches to give it a shot. I was thinking if we can do a locator spell for angels, we might be able to do one for incubi.”

  Kane tore apart a bear claw. “It’s worth a shot, but we have no idea if this Vaughn guy is even anywhere near New Orleans.”

  I pulled my iPhone out and did a quick Internet search. As suspected, nothing came up outside of a few mismatched social networking hits.

  “If he’s a demon hunter, he’ll cover his tracks better than that,” Kane said.

  “I suspected as much.” I set the phone on the bedside table and sat back. “Had to try, though.”

  “Do you want to call Lailah? Or Bea?”

  Neither was a bad suggestion, but for some reason I was reluctant to share Kane’s incubus status. It just seemed so…personal. Like I was inviting them into our bedroom. Still, I couldn’t leave Matisse in that other dimension just because of my modesty. I grabbed the phone once more. Just as I started to scroll through my contacts, the electric lights we’d left off flickered while the air seemed to get thicker with magic. Then suddenly the door burst open and a tall, black-haired man wearing jeans, boots, and a form-fitting black T-shirt burst into the room. In his left hand he held an ornate medieval-type dagger. He had it half raised as if he was ready to use it, but not really on attack.

  I jumped up, my magic collected at my fingertips. Without even thinking, I let out a blast of power enclosing Kane and me in a protective circle. “Who the hell are you and what are you doing in our hotel room?”

  The man ignored me and focused on Kane. “Hello, brother. Sorry I’m late. I would’ve been here as soon as the witch shared her power, but there was a situation.”

  “Hello.” Kane’s voice seemed to be far away, not right in front of me. I tore my gaze from our guest and looked at Kane. I gasped. His eyes had turned black and he was standing at attention as if he were a military recruit. “Kane?”

  He didn’t acknowledge me. I didn’t think he’d even heard me.

  Black T-shirt tried to hold his hand out to Kane, but the circle was still active and his hand bounced off the wall. That got his attention. He turned to me. “You can lose the circle now.”

  I shook my head. “We have some negotiating to do first.”

  He snorted. “I don’t think so. Now drop the circle before things get ugly.”

  It was my turn to snort. “No doubt, but I’m willing to risk it. What did you mean ‘as soon as the witch shared her power’?”

  He squinted as he raised an eyebrow in irritation. “Your power. Once you shared it with him, he was ready to join our organization. Don’t make this harder than it has to be. I can’t leave here without this man. It’s too dangerous. Now step aside—”

  “No,” I said. “You don’t seem to understand. I’m not letting him go anywhere without me.”

  “Witches aren’t welcome. Especially sex witches.”

  Anger flared deep in my gut and rose to the back of my throat. “First of all, incubus, I am not a sex witch. Not that the title should cause such disdain. But I am a white witch and his fiancée. And due to circumstances beyond our control, our wedding was interrupted in favor of this.” I waved a hand at him. “So if you think I’m leaving his side now, you’ve lost your mind.”

  He opened his mouth to speak, but I cut him off. “And furthermore, I have experience in fighting demons and winning. I’ve even shared a soul with a demon. I think I have some knowledge you might be interested in.”

  “You…uh, shared a soul with a demon?”

  I nodded. Sort of, but he didn’t need to know the gritty details. “It’s been resolved.”

  “I can tell.” He eyed me hungrily, as if he wanted to study every inch of me.

  “Really? How?”

  “I’d be able to smell demon on you a mile away.”

  “Oh, lovely.” That was disturbing, to say the least. I glanced at Kane, but he still stood at attention, focusing entirely on our guest. I waved a hand in front of his face. “Kane?”

  “He’ll be nonresponsive until initiation.”

  “What?” I cried. “When will that be? And why is he like this?”

  He cocked his head and side-eyed me. “That’s to combat resistance as we bring them into the fold.�
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  My anger ratcheted up to the point of boiling. “New incubi aren’t given a choice?”

  “No.” He widened his stance in a show of dominance. “They are who they are and they either join or they fall.”

  My heart dropped to my feet. “Fall? As in turn into a full-blown demon?” I knew angels could fall if they abused their power, but witches couldn’t. If we succumbed to black magic, it could destroy us, but we couldn’t fall. “Does this mean Kane could turn demon?”

  “Afraid so. Not at first, but eventually they all lose the battle. Going it alone never lasts long. Will you remove the barrier now?”

  My body went cold as ice. Dayla had done this to him—put his soul in danger to save her niece without even explaining the consequences to us. Son of a bitch! I waved my arms and dropped the circle. “I’m going with you. And if you try to stop me, we’re going to have one hell of a fight.”

  “No worries, white witch,” he said. “Anyone who can fight off a demon possession is someone Maximus is going to want to meet.” With one wave of his hand, the world tilted, and when it righted again, we stood in front of a large white antebellum home.

  I glanced around at the lush greenery and concluded we were somewhere in the Garden District. No one else was on the street, which was odd, considering I could hear the roar of the crowd and the music from the parades a few blocks away. But as I took a step forward, I felt a small resistance. The nudge to turn around and go somewhere else. It was a repellent spell designed to keep those uninvited from invading this private sanctuary. I fought the urge and trailed after Kane and his recruiter.

  The black wrought iron gate swung open with a light squeak, and although every instinct inside me demanded I turn around and go somewhere else—hell, anywhere else—I kept putting one foot in front of the other.

  That was, until the front door opened and half a dozen incubi spilled out, their ornate knives raised and ready to attack.

  “Whoa.” I held up my hands.

  “Witch,” one of them said in a hushed whisper.

  They moved closer, tightening around us, and I was sure from the tension sparking between them if I made one wrong move, one of those knives was going to find a home in my chest. For some reason they really did not want me here.