by Bonnie Vanak
“Dammit, Gabriel, put me down!”
Her protests died as he set her on her feet. She gazed around the camp, her eyes wide.
Every shifter was smiling. They’d all stopped eating their evening meals and looked rapt with joy. All the fear and worry had vanished, leaving only a feeling of peace and hope. Even he sensed it.
Gabriel gently clasped his fingers around Sienna’s wrist and tugged her over to Roger. The hawk shifter’s broken arm was free of the sling, and he moved it around like a baseball pitcher warming up before a big game. Happiness replaced the constant, pinched pain of grief.
“Gabe, it’s healed! I don’t know what happened, but all the sudden this enormous surge of power flowed into the camp and washed over us like a wave.”
Releasing Sienna’s trembling hand, he knelt by the shifter. “Were you scared? Did it hurt you?”
“Hurt?” Roger flexed his right fingers. “No, it felt really good. Warm and peaceful and loving.”
A shadow flickered across his face, but it was fleeting. “For the first time since I lost Ursula, I didn’t feel this horrid emptiness. All I felt was peace, remembering the love we shared. I still miss her like crazy, and I always will, but it’s not the constant, crippling ache crushing my chest. Feels as if I can finally breathe.”
The hawk’s brown gaze searched his. “Did you do this? Thanks, Gabe.”
“Not me.” He nodded at Sienna. “She did.”
Roger stood and bowed formally to the shaken Sienna. “Thank you.”
“I did nothing,” she protested.
“You did this, Sienna. You succeeded where I could not, no matter how I tried. You healed him. Not just here,” Gabriel touched Roger’s once-broken arm and then his heart. “but here as well.”
Her mouth wobbled and sweat glistened on her forehead. Sienna shook her head. “It’s impossible. It must be you, Gabriel. I have nothing but dark power inside me.”
“If I held the power of light, they would have been healed already,” he pointed out.
Roger nodded. “He’s right. Whatever killed my darling Ursula was evil. I feel only good energy radiating from what healed my arm. Thank you, Sienna.”
“Shifters know. Just as animals know a Skin has a good heart. We can feel their vibrations and energy and know if they are harmful people.” Gabriel cupped her chin and raised her face to meet his gaze. “You see the evidence here with your eyes, Sienna. Believe what you see.”
Breathing in her scent of flowers, tangy earth and freshly cut grass, he felt dizzy with need. Sienna had the unique ability to turn him upside down, make him forsake common sense. He must keep his distance, keep his wits about him.
Hell, he’d almost swear she’d cast an enchantment over him. Twenty-five years was a long time, but when he’d seen her in his store, all the old feelings had returned as if she’d never stepped away. He’d never wanted a female as much as he wanted her.
Gabriel stroked a thumb over her wobbling lower lip. “They need you, Sienna. This land needs you and I need you. Don’t deny your true nature.”
She remained silent as they returned to the house. Inside, she headed directly for the guest bedroom, turning to regard him as she put her hand on the doorknob.
“I’m very tired, Gabriel, and I’m going to bed for the night. Please, leave me alone.”
He stepped closer, stroking a hand through her thick blonde hair. “I have no intention of disturbing you for the rest of the night. But know this. Tomorrow is a new day. We’ll leave for the river after breakfast, to see if we can track the dark enchantment that killed Rex.”
“And tomorrow night?”
He studied her, his body tight with longing, his instincts sharpened and alert. “Tomorrow night we will be lovers. You can count on it.”
They would be lovers, but she would leave him again. The thought clenched his guts. Because Elves always left. But maybe he could shower her with so much pleasure she’d stay.
“Sex is the price you’ll make me pay for using the sacred spring. And you think we create some kind of sexual mojo that heals the earth? How very New Age of you. What’s next, telling me giving you a blow job will make the corn grow?”
His mouth quirked. “I don’t grow corn, but it would be an interesting experiment to test on the cucumbers.”
Then he sobered. “I know you’re scared of losing everything familiar to you, everything comfortable. But I won’t let anything bad happen to you, pixie. Count on it.”
“I can’t,” she said, looking haunted. “I can’t count on anyone anymore. Only myself.”
“You don’t have to be alone. I’m here for you,” he said quietly.
“Right. With all this dark magick inside me? What if I infect you? Contaminate you and turn you dark as well?” She shook her head. “No. I won’t sleep with you, Gabriel. No matter how much good mojo you think sex will create.”
“Forget the positive energy and the effect your Elven powers have.” He cupped her face and dropped a kiss on her chilled cheek. “We will be lovers because you want me as much as I want you. There’s no denying it, Sienna.”
Gabriel left her standing in the hallway, staring after him.
The night passed comfortably for Sienna, without any dreams. Oddly enough, she felt energized and refreshed more than she had since being infected with dark magick.
She rose early and showered, enjoying the luxury of a towel heating rack. Then she dressed and headed for the kitchen. Sienna scrambled eggs, and added some bacon to the pan for Gabriel. He padded into the kitchen, yawning and rubbing his tousled hair. Gray sweat pants slung low on his hips, he was bare-chested. Sienna focused on cooking, trying to ignore the surge of heat flaming her body. Sweat trickled down her spine, and not from the cooktop.
He stood behind her, peering over her shoulder as she fried the bacon. “Morning. Smells terrific.”
A smile touched her mouth. “Thought I’d cook for you for a change. I knew you liked bacon.”
“Wasn’t talking about the bacon.” He buried his nose in her hair. “I bet you smell good all over.”
A furious flush ignited her face. She turned down the heat beneath the frying bacon. “Gabriel…”
“I bet you taste real good all over, too.” He nuzzled her neck and gave her skin a long, slow lick. “Mmmmm. Better than bacon.”
The cat had a wicked tongue, and knew how to use it. Sienna grabbed a plate and dished out the eggs and put the bacon to dry on a paper towel. He raised an eyebrow at the eggs. “I thought you were a vegan?”
“Vegetarian. There’s a difference. I eat eggs, and cheese.”
She watched him open the refrigerator door and bring out three cartons of eggs.
“Are you that hungry? I made enough for two.”
A hank of dark gold hair spilled over his forehead. He pushed it back with one hand and set down the carton. Gabriel found a large mixing bowl and set it next to the carton. “Enough for us, but I need to feed the Wyldings in the glen.”
Deeply touched, she watched him crack open a few eggs and begin to mix them. “You do this every morning?”
His broad shoulders lifted. “It’s not a big deal. Least I can do is cook breakfast for them, give them a good start to the day. Many of them used to shift and hunt early in the morning, so breakfast is the toughest meal for them to deal with. Willow helps, but lately she’s been sleeping in and since she works all day at the store, I let her. The Wyldings would help me, but they’re afraid to leave the glen.”
A timid knock came at the sliding glass doors leading to the wide wood deck. Gabriel glanced up, his eyes widening. “I’ll be a son of ….”
Dusting off his hands, he opened the door to Neida, who shyly nodded at Sienna. “I came to cook breakfast. May I come inside?”
Stepping aside, Gabriel gestured for the shifter to enter. “You told me you were afraid to leave the glen.”
“I was until last night. That energy that poured into our campsite… it did something.
Made me realize I can’t go on hiding any longer.” Neida looked sorrowful for a moment, then threw back her shoulders. “Tell me what you need me to do.”
Another knock came at the door. Sienna watched as five more shifters entered the kitchen, led by Roger. “Hope you don’t mind, Gabe. We’re invading your space. It’s about damn time we fended for ourselves in the morning.” He glanced at Sienna. “Go have breakfast with your pretty lady.”
“Don’t mind if I do.” Gabriel rummaged in the cupboards, found two cups and poured coffee for himself, and tea for Sienna.
They went outside and ate at the glass table on the deck overlooking the pond. A dragonfly lazily flitted over the water. Sunlight glittered on its iridescent wings.
“At least the insects don’t seem affected by whatever’s infecting the foliage and the water.” Gabriel sipped his coffee and gave her a thoughtful look. “It would be much worse if that happened. I can ward various areas of my territory against dark magick, but trying to protect it against toxic insects? You’d need a legion of Fae for that.”
“Or the Crimson Wizard. Gideon is far more powerful than an army of Fae. Why don’t you consult with him?”
“The Crimson Wizard rules over your kind and as a Wylding, I’m not permitted to talk with him. Tristan, the Silver Wizard, rules over us shifters. I don’t want to call on Tristan,” he mused.
“Because you don’t want to admit you’re failing?”
Gabriel picked up a piece of bacon and ate it, licking his lips. She tracked the movement of his tongue, her insides clenching as she remembered him stroking his tongue over her naked flesh.
“Because the moment I call upon Tristan, every shifter inside the kitchen cooking breakfast right now will get even more scared, thinking I can’t control this. And Tristan is a sly, tricky wizard. You never know what he’ll do.”
“But you can’t control this, Gabriel,” she said gently. “It’s beyond your reach.”
“As long as I can continue to ward this property, that dark poison isn’t getting to anyone.” He drank more coffee and set down the cup, giving her a pensive look. “And now you’re here and you’ve put a new light on everything. Eat, and then after we wash up, we’ll head to the river where you hiked. I have a shifter buddy who’s a state ranger in that park. He’ll help us assess if the toxic darkness has spread or moved on.”
She finished her eggs and drained her tea, musing over last night’s odd experience. “It was only a kiss.”
Gabriel put a hand over his heart. “Ah, how you wound me. Only a kiss? The earth moved. The trees wept. The birds sang.”
Shaking her head and smiling, she wadded up her napkin and tossed it at him. “You nut.”
“It was more than a kiss and you know it.” Gabriel picked up the napkin and dropped it on the table. Leaning forward, he gazed at her intently. “It was sexual energy that you created, and spread to the earth and the Wyldings who were in great need of healing.”
“I did nothing!”
“Of course you did something. You can’t deny it, pixie.” His gaze turned earnest and boyish with hopefulness. “It was you who brought them peace.”
“I couldn’t have. I’m filled with darkness.” She toyed with her teacup, confused and lost. Everything she’d ever believed in had turned upside down, sending her world spinning out of control.
It had always been so, that dark Elves were bad, light Elves good. Now Gabriel was insisting otherwise; that the dark power inside her had been used for good. How could that be?
He gathered her hands in his, the rugged callouses stroking over her skin. His hands were warm and strong and steady. Such power in those hands. They could topple a 50-foot tree, but were gentle upon a woman’s body…
“You are filled with dark power, but you turned it around, Sienna. When we kissed, all the negative energy and magick was transformed into positive energy and expelled. It spread into the earth and infused the wounded Wyldings with tremendous healing of spirit and body.” He stared at her hands. “It’s the same effect that the spring of Danu has.”
Deeply troubled at this new revelation, she withdrew her hands from his comforting grip. If he was right, and Gabriel had no reason to lie about this, then she’d acquired a new ability. Or perhaps it was an old one she’d never known about.
“I spoke a vow, Gabriel. A sacred oath. It was a promise to the Elven world, beyond the reach of the King. I committed my body and my spirit to serving the King by protecting the earth and excising it of evil in my role as a Shadow Guard. I did not speak those words lightly. They were engraved into my character.”
The vow was solid as cement and she’d already paid the penalty for breaking it. She’d let down more than the king. She’d let herself down as well.
“You pledged to excise evil, not rid yourself of power once acquired. You recited your oath for me years ago.” He cleared his throat.
“I am the king’s Shadow Guard. I am Light and Dark and vow with my blood and bones to be the shield for the earth, and rid it of evil whenever I may. I am the secret right hand of the King and will keep my vow unto my dying day, keeping my spirit and body pure for my duties.”
Hearing her oath spoken in his deep, smoky voice made her insides curl. Sienna met his gaze.
“Purity of body does not necessarily mean chastity. Where in the vow does it say anything about being celibate? What about purity of love?” he asked.
She gave a little laugh. “You know how to twist my words.”
“Not me, pixie. Cael did. Your vow is ancient and sincere, but not binding you to anything other than using your magick to aid the earth, and its creatures. In any language, those words mean you can have sex all you want. Upside down, inside out, toe-licking and curling sex.”
Her mouth went dry. “That’s your interpretation? And how do you know so much about us?”
“I’ve studied your people. Had my reasons,” he murmured.
“And Lana, the king’s Enforcer, punished me for violating my vow last time you and I had sex.”
Gabriel leaned close. “Perhaps she punished you not because you had sex, but because you were no longer pure in your duties. Confess, pixie. I never left your mind, even when you were back in the king’s court. You kept thinking of me, how deep I was inside you, how much pleasure you felt, how utterly possessed you felt and how you only wanted to turn around, and run back into my arms.”
He tapped her nose. “Confess.”
Sienna flushed. There was truth in his words. And when Lana had questioned her on losing her virginity, the Enforcer had remarked on the flush on Sienna’s face, the sparkle in her eye.
“You must rid yourself of lust and thoughts of the beast shifter to be the king’s Shadow Guard to carry on your duties.”
And then Lana had ordered her flogged, to rid her of all memories of lingering pleasure, replacing it with only pain…
A frown touched his face. “With the Enforcer, there is no mercy. But your vow says nothing about sex.”
She found it hard to comprehend. Surely he was wrong. “I can have sex with you right now?”
“Not right now. Later. This morning we have work to do.” Picking up his plate, he winked at her as he carried it inside.
Chapter 6
Gabriel’s silver pickup truck was shiny and had wide leather seats. It made for a comfortable ride during the hour-long drive from his home to Jonathan Dickenson State Park. Dressed in jeans and a green long-sleeved shirt, Sienna had pulled her hair back into a ponytail and wore her worn, but sturdy boots. Her backpack sat on the rear seat of the cab. She looked like a girl ready for a fun day of hiking.
Except for the twin stilettos, one strapped to each thigh.
“Nice truck.”
His gaze flicked to her legs. “Nice knives. You won’t be needing those.”
“Why? You have a shotgun I can use?” She jerked a thumb backward at the empty gun rack. “Whoops. Someone forgot to pack.”
“Don’t need a gun. No
t when I have these.” He held up his right hand and claws emerged from his fingertips. “And you don’t need blades. You’ve got me to watch your six.”
“Thank you very much, Mr. Tall, Slightly Dark and Clawed, but I’d rather watch my own six.”
Gabriel sheathed his claws and gave her a level look. “You’re very stubborn, Elf. But this is my territory and I know what lurks in the bushes. You don’t. And your blades are ineffective against dark enchantment. What are you going to do, chop the spell to pieces?”
The words stung with truth. Sienna touched a knife hilt. “I won’t go back on that path without a weapon.”
“You have a weapon. Your powers.”
“Not going there.” She thought of the dark magick still burning inside her, itching for release. “I won’t use it and chance hurting innocents.”
“It’s not in your nature to hurt innocents, Sienna. Your powers, dark and light, can be used to aid them. How many times must I tell you?” Gabriel shook his head. “You are one stubborn Elf.”
“And the consequences are on my shoulders if I do hurt someone. Not yours.”
“I’ll be with you all the way. You can trust me,” he said gently.
Trust him? Trusting him wasn’t the issue, but trusting her instincts. She hated this, hated being out of her element and not knowing if the next step meant moving forward or falling into an abyss. Gabriel was like that. He was a hike into the unknown, without a map or GPS. Oh, some might call it an exciting adventure, but she liked having her feet firmly planted on good old Terra Firma.
And yet the intoxicating musk of him wound around her senses within the truck’s closed cab. He’d worn a long-sleeved blue shirt with the sleeves rolled up to display tanned, muscled forearms. Tight jeans encased his strong thighs and outlined his very fine rear. She’d watched him climb into the truck, fabric stretching smoothly over his butt, and her mind flashed back to Gabriel on top of her, thrusting hard and deep inside her as she’d gripped his ass, feeling the tensile strength of muscles rippling beneath smooth skin.