Guardian’s Bond

by Rhenna Morgan

  Despite his calm exterior, Priest’s arms tightened around her. “What’s wrong?”

  “My friend from college just called.”

  “David,” Katy said, prying herself from Priest’s hold. “He said he’d call when he found something.”

  Inside the house, Tate and Jade were ambling down the staircase just as Priest and Katy came through the backdoor. Garrett, who’d become a nearly daily visitor since Katy’s soul quest, stood with his back against the far wall with his arms crossed. As it had been on several occasions the last few days, his position in the room was directly behind Naomi, who was seated in Priest’s oversized club chair. More than once, Katy had considered asking Priest if he’d noted how much time the two of them were spending together, but somehow sex or practicing her new gifts always ended up a conversational distraction.

  “What’s up?” Jade sprawled on the couch and Tate leaned one hip on the arm beside her.

  Alek waited until Katy sat at the other end of the couch and Priest mirrored Garrett’s protective stance behind her. “So, you know Katy called David and shared the lead the seers found about Butte La Rose.”

  “Please say he found someone,” Katy said.

  He glanced at Priest first, then met Katy’s stare. “He found a lead, yeah. A family by the last name of Ralston that ties with some of the historical information we gave him from the old primo families.”

  “The old healer primo family went by Rallion,” Garrett said.

  Katy felt more than saw Priest move in closer behind her. “Close to their old name, but still different enough to hide.”

  “Exactly,” Alek said. “And honestly, we’re lucky, because the only offspring born to the last generation was a woman. Records show she had a kid twenty-three years ago. A daughter named Elise, but the parents don’t appear to have gotten married. Both the mother’s parents are deceased.”

  Twisting to face Priest, Katy found him scowling at Alek. “So, we go talk to her. Introduce ourselves and see if she knows anything about us.”

  “What else did your friend turn up?” Priest said without breaking eye contact with Alek.

  One simple question. But with it the energy in the room shifted. A heightened awareness or alertness that stirred her magic.

  Still standing in the center of the room, Alek held Priest’s stare, the intensity that moved between them thick with unspoken danger and dread. “David went to our house to pick up the mail today.” His gaze slid to Katy. “Our place is trashed.”

  “Draven,” Jade murmured.

  Naomi nodded her head. “He’s looking for something to track you with. Something personal.”

  “Well, he can’t find Alek even if wanted to,” Tate said. “Not with Priest’s marks.”

  “No, but he can find Kateri.” As if he needed the contact to ground him, Priest clamped a firm hand on her shoulder. “When was the last time your friend was there?”

  “Sunday,” Alek said.

  Ever the pragmatic one, Garrett threw the obvious right out in the open. “Four days to track her.”

  The magic inside Katy prickled. Or maybe it was the bond she’d sensed building between her and Priest. Whatever it was, it strained toward Priest with a magnetic pull she couldn’t have ignored even if she’d wanted to. She stood and turned to him, smoothing her hands up along his bunched biceps and tension-riddled shoulders. “He can’t get me here. I’m safe.”

  “I hate to point it out,” Jade said, “but Draven’s not the only one with tracking skills anymore. Katy can just as easily use Draven’s charm to find him as he can use something personal to track her. Let’s just see where he’s at and deal with it.”

  “No.”

  The resounding response came from Garrett, Naomi and Priest simultaneously, but it was Priest who followed up on it. “She’s too new. Too susceptible to his tricks.”

  “Then teach me.” Katy squeezed his shoulders. “I can learn. I’ll work harder.”

  A sadness that pierced her deeper than any physical wound could ever reach moved across his face. “You’re good, Kateri. My light. The Keeper knew that. It’s why she trusted you with so much magic. The last thing I want is to teach you anything remotely close to what stole my brother’s soul.”

  “Sorcerers are bound to the law of ultimate good.” Garrett’s voice was low and respectful, but loaded with the wisdom of years and experience. A man who’d seen firsthand what happened to sorcerers who crossed forbidden lines. “Any act taken not in the best interest of life or the universe—with a genuine heart—draws the person closer to darkness.”

  “Even if you tried,” Naomi added, “there’s a strong possibility Draven bespelled the charm. It’s why I never dared touch it. Without direct contact, you can’t track him.”

  “Fine.” She focused on Priest. “Then we stick with our plan and go visit Elise. If Draven’s this determined, she’s at risk, too. She deserves to know what’s going on. Especially, if she’s like Alek and me and doesn’t know anything about our race.”

  “She hasn’t had her soul quest,” Priest said. “I’d know if she had. That means Draven can’t find her as easy as he can find you. Do you actually think I’d let you leave protected ground knowing he can find you anywhere?”

  And there it was again. The mark. The single act her instincts insisted would solidify their bond. That would make them one cohesive unit instead of two independently beating hearts.

  And what’s wrong with that?

  The thought was whisper soft, but resonated with the impact of a sledgehammer to the gut. For the last five days, she’d felt more balanced than at any other time in her life. Complete and supported in a way that surpassed anything she’d imagined possible.

  The only thing missing was acceptance.

  He’s part of you.

  Naomi’s words. Guidance from a woman who’d experienced what it was like to have a destined mate. Who truly understood the connection. And of all the people in her life, Alek and Naomi were the two who’d always seen her. Who’d always taken time to ask her what she wanted.

  I want my mate.

  “Then mark me,” she blurted on a rush of adrenaline. “He can’t find me if you mark me.”

  He lowered his voice. “Kateri, I’d never offer my magic as anything more than a gift. If you take my mark, I want it to be because you want it. Not because my brother forced it.”

  So much pain in his voice. An uncertainty she’d never felt in him before.

  She’d put that there. All because she feared what her instincts had told her from day one. He was hers. She’d felt it in one touch. Known it on the most fundamental level of her being with one look.

  She smoothed her hand above his heart, her fingers tangling in the black leather that held his charms. “I’m not asking because of Draven. I’m asking because I want you.” Her magic pulsed beneath her palm. A living, breathing current searching for its other half. “I want all of you.”

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  This was it. Whether it was minutes, or mere seconds before Priest walked back through the master bathroom door, Katy’s life was about to irrevocably change.

  She lifted one leg above the water’s surface and traced the curved edge of the porcelain tub with her toe. The lodge décor from the rest of the house was just as present here with rustic stone work accenting the rich wood details. Unlike the standard-size tub she’d had in her room at her parents’ house, or the one in the apartment she shared with Alek, this one was huge. Built to comfortably let a man of Priest’s size stretch and linger when the mood suited him. Or better yet, when he had a mind to linger with someone.

  After tonight, that someone would only be her. From now until who knew when. Oddly, the more she sat with the idea, the less it rattled her. And Priest being who he was, he’d made her wait a full twenty-four hours to give her plenty of time
to change her mind.

  But that wasn’t going to happen. Even with her heart thumping like a panicked rabbit, she wouldn’t divert from the path she’d set for herself. Or more aptly, the path fate had put her on. Priest was hers. Already, the bond was thickening. From the second she’d spoken her truth she’d felt it. Threads that went soul deep weaving impenetrably between them.

  Muted movement sounded through the closed bathroom door, a gentle reminder that her mate would be coming for her. Learning he planned to tattoo her here rather than the shop had been a shock. A testament that tonight meant just as much to him as it did to her.

  He’d run her a bath, scented the water with an exotic oil she couldn’t quite place and then slowly undressed her in reverent silence. The water’s warm embrace had been just what she’d needed. A welcome relief to tight muscles earned through a long day of strenuous training. Although, today she’d been her own taskmaster. Priest had been right to push her. With Draven hunting their primos, they needed every advantage they could get. But more than that, she couldn’t shake his vow.

  You will lead this clan beside me.

  He’d meant it. The truth and want behind his words resonated with a depth that went beyond description. Powerful and yet soft and welcoming.

  The doorknob twisted, the soft metallic click as the latch disengaged almost symbolic in the otherwise silent room.

  And then he was there.

  Prowling toward her with a feline yet masculine grace that made her sex clench. With every move, the candlelight licked his dark skin and the shadows lovingly caressed each defined muscle. “How do you feel?”

  Breathless.

  Weightless.

  Drawn tight and ready to snap.

  And he hadn’t even touched her yet.

  He crouched beside the tub and traced the line of her jaw. “You don’t have to do this. Not if you’re not ready.”

  She covered his hand with hers and tiny droplets sluiced off her hand, trickling a soft song against the water’s surface. “I’m nervous, but I’m not changing my mind. I’m ready.”

  He threaded his fingers with hers and studied her for long seconds. Not that she minded. With other men, such concentrated study might have made her uncomfortable, but with Priest it felt special.

  Whatever answers or insight he sought, he must have found it, because he nodded once, straightened and grabbed the thick towel he’d laid near the edge of the tub. He shook it out and held out one hand. “Then let’s get you ready.”

  Taking his hand was easier than she’d expected. But then, no woman in her right mind would turn away a man like Priest. Least of all her.

  He dried her with painstaking care, wrapped her in the fluffy towel and released the clip that held her hair piled on her head. Before she knew it, he was guiding her to the bedroom.

  The masculine comforter that had once covered his bed was gone, replaced with a single black silk sheet. The nightstands on either side had been cleared of all but a much smaller tattoo machine than what he used at the shop and the inks and other supplies he’d need to work. Candles filled the room and a mix of scents from patchouli to vanilla assailed her senses.

  She paused at the foot of the bed and clenched the towel gathered just above her breasts. “Don’t you need more light?”

  He swept her hair off the back of her neck and kissed the spot she loved at the top of her spine. “What I’m giving you won’t come from my eyes. It’s an extension of me. Everything I want for us. Everything I feel for you.” He covered her hand with his and tugged the towel from her grip. “Nothing about tonight will be like what you’ve seen before because I’ve never given this much to anyone else.”

  The fluffy fabric slipped free and pooled around her feet. With the sliding glass door open to the fading light outside, the room’s temperature was comfortable. Free of the manufactured coolness that came with air-conditioning and yet still crisp enough her nipples pebbled when the air swept across her breasts. “Will it hurt?”

  It was the one question she’d been afraid of asking. Which was insane given the intimacies they’d shared already. But the last thing she wanted to be in his eyes was fragile. Wimpy or fearful.

  He smoothed his hands up her arms. “I can take your pain if that’s what you want.” He skimmed his lips from her shoulder to her neck. “But the more you feel—the more you embrace the pain—the more potent the magic will be.”

  “Then I’ll take it.” Brave words considering she had no clue what she was signing up for, but with his hands and lips lulling her and the heat of his body, she would have agreed to anything. Would have committed murder if he asked.

  “We’ll work you up to it,” he said. “You don’t have to take it all at first. Only as much as you want.” He nipped her earlobe and his warm breath tickled the skin on her neck. “But you might find you like the pain.”

  A shiver snaked through her, anticipation and the dark thrill that always came with his touch and his words heightening every sensation. The soft sounds from nature outside. The candlelight. The warmth of his skin and his intoxicating, manly scent.

  He slipped one hand around her throat and murmured against her ear. “Are you ready?”

  More than ready. And yet terrified as well. Still, she swallowed and managed a shaky, “Yes.”

  He released her, but the lingering touch as his hands slipped away was a temptation in and of itself. “Then lay down on the bed. Facedown.”

  Facedown. Right. Easy enough to do as a starting point. Except that as she crawled across the bed, it felt a bit as if she was laying herself on an altar with nothing but the unknown stretched out before her.

  The silk sheet slicked across her skin in a welcoming stroke, the coolness of it a stark contrast to the fire building inside her.

  Priest gathered his things from the nightstand onto a small stainless steel tray, slid them on the bed beside her head, then moved out of sight. Rustling sounded behind her and the bed dipped. “You’re not breathing, mihara.”

  As if they realized they’d been caught falling down on the job, her lungs expanded on a huge inhale. “It’s not because I don’t want this.”

  He braced his knees on either side of her hips and gently gave her some of his weight, sitting astride her ass. Not enough to cause any discomfort. Only enough to make it one hundred percent clear he was naked. His skin was a hot brand. The heavy press of his sac along the seam of her ass and the hint of his hard cock an erotic promise of what would come after the pain.

  “I understand you’re nervous.” Leaning forward, he carefully gathered her hair and twisted it out of his way. The angle gave her more of his thick shaft low on her spine and her cat urged her to lift her hips and offer herself. “Just talk to me. Breathe and tell me if it’s too much.” Rather than reach for the machine, he traced a pattern with his finger along her nape and lowered his voice. “Focus on my touch. On me and what you’re feeling. Nothing else.”

  For long, quiet minutes, the simple contact was all he gave her. A slow, hypnotic path that unwound her tension and lulled her toward a deep and peaceful place.

  And then Priest shifted. Metal clicked against metal, but the safe and soft cocoon he’d helped her build in her mind stayed strangely detached. Disconnected and yet still present on a level thick with an almost spiritual awareness.

  “Take what I offer. Accept my gift. All that I am.” The tattoo machine buzzed once. Twice. And then a pressure registered at the base of her neck. Nothing painful. Just a presence.

  She went with it, hovering in the pleasant subspace. Back and forth, the pattern built. The steady buzz of the tattoo iron and murmured words from Priest she couldn’t understand but sounded like some kind of chant.

  Slowly, the pain crept in. A delicate pinprick at first, then increasing to a fiery sting. But she took it. Breathed through the rapid stabs from the needles and surre
ndered to the process. To the mix of pleasure and pain that zigzagged through her body. By the time the buzz ceased and Priest set his iron aside, a wide swath at least two inches wide scorched along the base of her neck and shoulders, and she’d entirely lost contact with time.

  With gentle swipes, Priest wiped away the excess ink then leaned in and kissed her tender flesh. “Talk to me, mihara. Tell me how you feel.”

  Raw.

  Exposed.

  Teetering on the edge of something so big it was well past her understanding.

  She pulled in a long, slow breath, the adrenaline coursing through her body adding a subtle tremor to the soft sound. “It hurts, but...” How could she describe it? Every word that came to mind, came up short. Lacking the power of the experience. “But it’s arousing, too.”

  And that was the part her brain couldn’t wrap itself around. How anything that produced pain could equally build a pulsing need with no relief in sight.

  As if he understood even without her thoughts spoken aloud, he planted both fists on either side of her head and traced the line of her jaw with his lips. “Turn over, kitten. Let me take you the rest of the way there.”

  One second stretched to another. And another.

  He waited, seemingly content to let her take all the time she needed. Which was good because she needed this moment. This tiny pause to savor and remember it. To etch it deep inside her memory and call on it in the days and years to come.

  Finally, she shifted, rolling beneath him until she stared up into his stern face.

  Mine.

  Whether it was her own mind staking the claim, or the projection of his own thoughts through sheer will, the word was all consuming in her head. Calming even as it consumed her.

  He kissed her. While the contact was light, it seethed with a barely banked compulsion that crackled and snapped with delicious sparks. His hair fell around them in a dark curtain, blanketing them both from everything but the moment. When he lifted his head, his gray eyes sparked with the same splendor as the Otherworld. Mystical and riddled with power.