Magic After Dark: A Collection of Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance Novels

by Margo Bond Collins

  I nodded. “You were happy.”

  “Huh. I never would have thought.” His gaze caught Mary’s, who had been sheepishly looking in our direction. She quickly averted her eyes.

  Me neither. This date was turning out to be not so bad. Who would have thought I’d be playing matchmaker with my date? “You had a little boy and baby girl.”

  His eyes widened. “Kids? Okay, I think I’ve heard enough.”

  I laughed, relaxing back into my seat and pulled a swig from my near empty pint. The buzz was kicking in, and I was feeling pretty good, Conner nowhere in sight.

  “Do you ever see your own future?”

  I shook my head. “No. I don’t want to know.”

  “Conner? Is he the one you’ve been waiting for?”

  My eyes tapered. “What makes you think I’ve been waiting for anyone?”

  “Because I’ve known you almost our entire lives. Even though you had an abundant of offers, you’ve never been in a serious relationship. There isn’t a guy in Kenmare who wouldn’t want a chance with you, but you always seemed as if you were waiting on someone. I kind of figured you knew something the rest of us didn’t.”

  Maybe I had. One thing was certain. Sean was way too intuitive for his own good. “Thank you for tonight. I really needed a friend.”

  “Anytime, Mirela.”

  Sean insisted on walking me home. Well, after I refused to get on his bike that was. One sweet kiss on the cheek and he left me on my porch to watch the clouds roll in.

  The storm struck without warning, wild and vicious. I leaned my head on a column, content to watch the battle of power in the sky. Lightning and thunder waged against the other, illuminating up the darkness and roaring in the night.

  I shot a glance at the angry clouds as the rain began to hurl down from the sky. It was a helluva storm, reminding me of the night I spent at Conner’s.

  A wolf howled, a long, angry cry that pierced the air, filled with the dark promise of blood and pain. I shivered, and quickly locked the door, shutting myself off from the sound. But it did no good. He’d already gotten in my head, under my skin, and shaken me to my core.

  He was coming. Soon. It was only a matter of time.

  “Conner,” I whispered in the dark, and my heart flipped.

  Chapter 11

  I hugged my arms to my chest as I drank in the soggy view. Night had fully descended, and I couldn’t sleep. Instead I passed the evening with a roaring fire, sitting by the window, watching the magnificent turmoil of Mother Nature.

  Through the drumming of raindrops, I heard the wind sigh my name.

  Conner.

  I would know his voice anywhere. He called to my blood, and I was helpless to do anything but answer. We were connected through dreams, magick, and something more. Fate? Souls? It didn’t really matter. He needed me.

  And the thought alone sent me into action. Jumping off the alcove, I dug out my rain boots, a scarf, and an umbrella. I stepped outside into the drenching rain, a perfect night for magick.

  It wasn’t until I was traipsing through the woods that I thought again of the wolf. What am I doing? Well, I was going to file this under the stupid things I’d done in my life. If he was out here, watching me, stalking me, it wasn’t going to stop me from getting to Conner.

  I couldn’t explain how I knew where to go. It could have been my gift leading me or Conner’s magick, but there was an internal GPS leading me straight to Conner…at least I hoped.

  The closer I got, the stronger the pull became. I could sense him, his excitement, his longing all came to me as I walked through the woods. And it brought me to him.

  To the stone circle.

  He stood in the center, watching me with those unforgettable eyes.

  My hair was plastered to my face. I should have been freezing, but one gaze into his eyes and my body was on fire.

  It was no wonder I never felt about any other man the way I felt about Conner. There was no one else remotely like him in the world. The dimple. The pierced tongue. His scowl. His smirk. The whole package made me sigh like a sixteen-year-old.

  “You’re okay,” I murmured, stepping into the circle with him, the stone circle shadowed by ancient trees. A surge of power danced over my skin. Inside the stones, the storm didn’t touch me, but continued to shower in the woods surrounding the circle.

  His eyes closed for a moment, long lashes sweeping over his cheeks, before walking to me. “Mirela Rawlings with the eyes of a gypsy, do you want me to touch you?” His hand released the curl, moving to the slender line of my neck.

  Wow.

  When I came here, I hadn’t been expecting to be seduced, but I could see the hunger in his eyes. “I-I don’t know what I want.” Not true. I’d wanted Conner for so long, I couldn’t remember a time not wanting the man in my dreams. So why wasn’t I jumping at the chance to be with him?

  Something in his eyes warned me, if we were to be together, it would change things forever. There was a full moon tonight. Mystical things happened under the most powerful lunar phase.

  “Don’t you?” His other hand slipped up from my hips, settling under the gentle curve of my breast. Then his fingers spread, circling underneath one slope.

  The smell of damp earth and fresh rain surrounded the stones like a Yankee candle. I couldn’t move, could barely breathe as I stared into his eyes. Get a grip, Mirela. But it was pointless. My body was going to betray my common sense. Consequences be damned.

  My eyes clouded before fluttering closed and I leaned into his touch when his teeth grazed along my jawline.

  “Tell me you want this,” he murmured.

  My lips parted as the memory of kissing him in the dream flashed through my mind. “I want this. Want you.”

  He jerked me against him, and that hot mouth of his took mine, demanding a response. My arms lifted to circle his neck, and in one smooth movement, his hands were under my shirt, impatient to touch me.

  My breath sucked in as his hands skimmed over my belly, setting off little charges where he touched. I shivered.

  “You’re cold.”

  I shook my head, but he waved his hand in the air, materializing a fire. “As long as your lips are on mine, I can’t possibly be cold.”

  “That I can do.” His mouth didn’t merely cover mine, but branded it, while his slightly rough hands tugged my sweater up and off in one quick movement. His lips claimed mine again before I had a chance to catch my breath.

  A gust of wind blew over my flesh, cooling the flush that had taken over my body. His kiss was like having wine running in my blood, potent with a lovely jolt. I craved more. Need simmered inside me as he deepened the kiss, and a sound of pleasure purred in my throat.

  I tugged on the bottom of his shirt. It was only fair. I shouldn’t be the only one half naked in the forest.

  OMG. I was shirtless in the woods. Anyone could see me. Well, not anyone, but if by some off chance someone was taking a stroll in the rain, they might stumble upon quite the show.

  The cool metal on his tongue danced with mine, and I no longer cared if half the town showed up to watch. Conner nibbled, nipped, his hand roaming. My body softened and, pulse quickening, I yielded into him.

  “You better lose the boots.”

  “Just the boots?” I teased.

  “Oh, we’re getting there. I want to savor every inch of you.”

  I wanted that too. Kicking off the boots, Conner hooked a finger in the waist of my pants, unbuttoning them and then sliding them down until they pooled around my feet. Our eyes met, his bright and almost feral.

  He sprang, the movement so quick that both my vision and mind blurred. Two could play this game. My hands surged under his shirt, desperate to feel his flesh, the hard muscles, the ridges that carved out his stomach.

  My mouth was on his throat, teeth grazing at the vein where the blood beat hot. He swept me up, before laying me on the ground. I reveled in the feel of his body pressed down into mine, arching urgently aga
inst him.

  He was touching me, stoking a fire of a different kind, deep in my belly. The blood in my veins swam so fast I could hear the roar of it in my head. “Now,” I whispered. “I need you now.”

  I’d known our first time would be wild and strong. I’d craved it and even feared it, what he could make me feel. But beg? I never thought he would have the power to make me plead, or make me at his mercy.

  “Not yet.” His teeth scraped over my shoulder as his hand possessed my breast, only to be replaced by his mouth. A finger edged into the side of my panties.

  Lust whiplashed within me, raging and slashing as boldly as the storm outside the circle. My nails raked over his back. Body quivering and flushed, I wrapped my legs around him. “Now,” I whimpered.

  This time, he didn’t stall or argue. The energy that burned inside me whipped to a point, ripping a cry from my throat as he drove me to the first climax with his mouth alone.

  My body quaked and my breath caught, but that quick and heavenly release only fueled my hunger for more. Beneath my lips, his pulse beat in frenzy. My skin was damp and slick with the erotic fragrance of lust.

  The moment his mouth reclaimed mine, the kiss was born of pure madness. No room for thought or reason, only the war of tongues as we fed on each other.

  Here was the only man who could make me feel such desperation.

  Breathless and spinning, I didn’t know what came over me. Power filled my veins, and as I stared into Conner’s eyes, they were glowing, bright aqua and beaming with magick. I rose over him, lost in the frenzy of sensation and gave myself over to the feral need to take and be taken.

  I wrapped myself around him, building the pleasure for both of us. Murmurs tumbled from my lips. I don’t know where the words came from. They were just there, compelled to be uttered, ancient Gaelic that came from the heart. “A ghra. A amhain. Ceangailte do gach eternity.” My love. My only. Bound for all eternity.

  A beautiful, cool and green light pulsed from me, outlining my body in a halo.

  “Mirela. Don’t,” Conner warned.

  But I couldn’t stop it. I’d lost all control—over my body, my mind, my power. The green glow shimmered, seeking its mate and demanding an answer in return.

  Conner shut his eyes for a brief moment, and when they opened, his irises were rimmed in gold, darkened and fierce. Moonlight shadowed his face. “I’m sorry, Mirela. I can’t stop.” His breath was ragged as if he was struggling to withhold that part of himself from me.

  I felt him quiver, and I didn’t understand it. Why was he apologizing? Stop? Why the hell would he stop? “Don’t even think about it,” I murmured, tightening my legs and taking a nip at his lip.

  He growled, and echoed the chant. His light, blue and brilliant, glided against mine, swamping my powers with his as they entwined and merged. His lips took possession of mine again.

  Something happened. Something magickal. The ground underneath us trembled, the stones sang, and I never felt such pleasure and hunger all at once. There was a rush of wind in a song, a babbling of water like harpstrings, a crackling of fire, warm and mesmerizing.

  Moonlight bathed over our joined bodies, the stones hummed in unison, shimmering under starlight, and the light of our joined magick danced. Conner and I weren’t the only ones trembling in magick. This whole place was pulsing with it.

  I whispered his name, mindlessly. And offered everything. He moved inside me with long, slow thrusts as he laced our fingers together. Lights and sparks twirled in the darkness, and as we climbed, our magick burned brighter, building toward a flash that exploded.

  Then I was flying a second time. And he was right there with me.

  A wolf howled.

  I felt utterly whole—complete—loved.

  The torch of emotions burned brightly inside me, but as the glow slowly wore off, the depth of what had just transpired between us settled over me.

  I lay on my back, staring up into the canopy of stars strewn in the dark sky sparkling beside the round moon. “What was that?”

  “That was sex.”

  It had been way more than sex, and he knew it. I propped up on my elbow, looking down into his relaxed and satisfied face. “Oh, no. You’re not getting away with this evasive crap. I want answers. I deserve them after what we just shared. You called me here. For this.”

  He nuzzled the top of my shoulder. “Aye. I did.”

  “What changed your mind? Last time we spoke, you wanted me to stay far away from you.”

  He ran a hand through his disheveled hair. “Who’s said I’ve changed my mind?”

  I gave him a pointed look. “I’m naked under moonlight.”

  He sighed. “I don’t know. Something happened when I saw you earlier tonight.”

  “At the pub, when I was with Sean. You were jealous.” It was an easy conclusion, since in the back of my mind it had been the driving factor in my decision to go on a date with Sean in the first place.

  “Maybe.”

  “What did we just do? What did I do?” In all honesty, I was the one who started it. I’d always known I had a wee bit of magick, but what Conner and I had done together…

  It had been spectacular.

  Mind-blowing.

  Goddamn magickal.

  He took my hand. “We need to talk, but not here.”

  I couldn’t agree more. I’d had my fill of nature for the night, and a warm, fluffy bed sounded divine. Gathering my clothes, I slipped into my shirt and stood up. I had one foot into my pant leg when I heard a sound.

  A low growl.

  I lifted my head. “Um, Conner. We have guests.”

  The circle was surrounded by a pack of wolves. And they didn’t look friendly.

  Chapter 12

  “What the hell is going on?” I muttered, taking a step back.

  Conner stiffened beside me. His hand was in mine, and a surge of power trembled from his fingers. “We need to go.”

  “You think? And just how do you suggest we get out of here without them feeding on our flesh?”

  “I got this covered.”

  I turned my head toward him, and the retort died on my lips.

  His eyes.

  The amber glow around the edges of his irises slowly began to meld into the aqua part, overtaking it completely until his eyes were glowing gold. A rumble started deep in his chest, building and building. The volume and sound that came from him pierced my ears and had the wolves bowing at his feet in surrender.

  It was easy for me to forget Conner also had wolf blood. I’d only seen the druid, but it was evident he was more than a man with magick. That part of him was as powerful, maybe even more so than the druid.

  “Why didn’t you tell me you could do that?” I mumbled, the eerie silence in the woods starting to get awkward.

  “There’s a lot you don’t know about me.”

  “I’m just figuring that out.”

  I sat on one end of my couch, Conner on the opposite with as much space as possible between us. In the safety of home, far from the circle of stones and the pack of wolves, my head cleared and the aftereffects of the night came to a halt.

  I’d slept with Conner.

  I did whole lot more than slept with. We had shared magick. Who would have thought that possible?

  Apparently, I did. Even though I didn’t know what we had done.

  I could smell the trees and the rain on him. But that was all. He was feet away, watching me carefully, yet I could sense him…inside me. There was no other way to explain it. He was like an itch I couldn’t scratch.

  “Are you going to tell me what just happened between us?” Like why the hell I was so energized and ready to go round two with Conner under the sheets, preferably my thousand thread count Egyptian cotton upstairs. “The stones…what we did there, it means something, doesn’t it?”

  “I thought I could resist you, thought to give you more time, but I underestimated the feelings you entice from me. I didn’t expect them to be so stro
ng, so swift. I didn’t expect to feel so protective. I told you we were linked. Our magick recognizes what we are to each other.”

  “And what is that?”

  The tilt of his lips spread. “Our souls are entwined and will always be able to find the other. We’re drawn together now by more than just magick.”

  I sighed. “So we’re…?”

  “Soul mates? Aye, Mirela.”

  I lost the ability to breathe.

  “I can feel your magick inside me. It’s a part of me now.”

  My pulse quickened. It was exactly how I felt, but unlike Conner, I wasn’t entirely sure how I felt about this change in my life. “Is it permanent?”

  His eyes danced. “Aye. We’re stuck with each other.”

  “Forever?”

  “In this realm and the next.”

  “You’re talking about eternity?”

  “My heart, soul, and flesh will only belong to you.”

  His words left me breathless. Conner…all mine for eternity. My brain worked around what that could mean. Mind-blowing sex. Life-altering sex. Literally. “Did you know?”

  “Since I can remember. Your name whispered in the wind. Your face appeared in the mist. Your magick summoning me.”

  In a way, it had been the same for me—in dreams.

  “How did I know to do that?”

  He made use of the space between us, stretching out his tall frame. “Some things are instinctual.”

  I gave him a dry glare.

  The grin stayed on his lips for a few seconds before slowly fading. “Okay, your memories were probably blocked.”

  “Why would you think that?” I asked.

  “It doesn’t matter.”

  “Oh my God. It was you, wasn’t it?”

  Exhaling sharply, he stared at the blank TV screen that rarely got any use. “Depends. Are you going to lose your temper?”

  “Probably. I’m halfway there.” An annoyed feeling descended upon me.

  Conner tipped his head back against the couch. “I can tell.”

  “Not fair.” This whole being linked mojo was inconvenient when it seemed to be only one-sided. Either that, or I didn’t know what I was doing. Occasionally, I got little bursts of emotions, but they could have very well have been mine. “Why would you take something like that from me?”