by Hazel Hunter
He started to say something else, but then they both realized how closely they were holding each other. Her hands were wrapped around his waist. They were snuggled so close that Hailey could feel the heat from Piers’s body surrounding her.
Piers dropped them back to the roof of the Castle, but he didn’t let her go.
“Thank you,” he said softly. “This is something that I’ve wanted for a very long time, and I promise that I will do whatever it takes to make it worth your while. I know there are dangers to you, and I will always do my utmost to keep it safe for you.”
“Don’t be too careful,” Hailey said with a shrug. “Nothing is ever accomplished without a risk, and I know that this project is worth a certain amount of risk. You’re talking about something that can help a lot of people.”
Piers’s face was unexpectedly stern.
“I think you need to remember who is running this project. If I say that something is not safe, if I say that the risks are too high, you are going to listen to me. I am the coven master of the Castle, and you are under my authority, no matter how lovely you are.”
Something about the commanding tone in Piers’s voice made Hailey blush, but she tossed her head.
“So you think I’m lovely?”
“Of course I do. I have since you tried to set me on fire all those weeks ago. You’re changing the subject. I need to make sure that you are going to listen to me when we talk about risks. Otherwise, this is not something that I will do with you. We should get this settled right now.”
Piers was serious, but there was something hot in his gaze that made Hailey lick her lips. All of a sudden, she couldn’t get the thought of that mouth out of her mind. She knew how skilled it was and the utterly filthy things it could say and do to her.
She shook herself firmly, meeting his gaze.
“I will obey you,” she said solemnly. “I understand that I am under your authority, and that I will submit myself to the measures that you deem appropriate and only those measures.”
Piers eyed her suspiciously.
“I really do wonder, but I suppose that will have to be enough for now.”
Hailey thought again about truly submitting to Piers. The idea of it made her want nothing more than to be pressed against him again. It was as if he could read her thoughts.
“Because I’m sure you’re so obedient, I know I could tell you to do something and you would.”
“I would,” Hailey murmured, her voice coming out soft and breathy. “I would take…great…pleasure in doing exactly what you said.”
Piers’s eyes darkened.
“And what orders would you delight in following, little witch?”
Hailey felt her heart beat a little faster. She wanted this man, and the wanting awoke a deep ache inside her. Her body seemed to feel that she had gone long enough without his touch.
“If your hands were cold, I would be happy to warm them,” she offered.
After a moment, Piers offered her his hands. She rubbed them between her own hands. They were quite cold, but when they had warmed up a little, she pressed them under her coat. Piers made a brief surprised noise when he felt the curve of her pale rounded belly. The skin there was extremely warm, and Piers smiled.
“That can’t be comfortable for you,” he whispered, and she shrugged.
“It’s a little chilly, but I like your hands there. You know. It makes me feel submissive to your whims.”
“If you’re feeling submissive to my whims, I think that I wouldn’t just want my hands warmed.”
“Oh?” Hailey’s voice was high and breathy. She coughed a little to hide it, but Piers only grinned.
“I might decide that you didn’t need to wear that hoodie at all.”
“But it’s so cold up here! I would freeze!”
“Maybe you don’t listen that well,” Piers said, his voice silky with menace. “I thought I told you that I needed to make my authority very, very clear.”
Hailey could feel the heat rise to her face. She fiddled with the hem of her hoodie as his hands withdrew from underneath her clothing. They had been cold, but she already missed being that close to him.
“I want you to imagine what that would be like,” he murmured, standing even closer to her. “I want you to think about what it would be like to lift that hem that you’re playing with. I want you to think about how the cold wind would feel on all of that tender, bare, beautiful skin. You’re shivering, and I haven’t even done it yet.”
Hailey could imagine all too clearly what it would be like to strip out of her shirt for this man. With his eyes on her, she would pull her layers over her head, letting them fall to the slick roof beside her. The dawn sun would glint over her pale, pale skin. Her rosy nipples would stand out, inviting Piers’s touch. She could imagine his hands and then his mouth brushing over them. She would be exposed for anyone who glanced up.
The feeling of being stripped in so open a space made her squirm, but it wasn’t shame. There was arousal, but there was pride there as well. She wanted to be the one with Piers, the one he chose to strip and expose as he chose.
She glanced up at him. His dark eyes were nearly black. When he reached out a hand to trail tenderly down her face, she didn’t push him away. Instead, she leaned into his touch, letting it send tremors down her still clothed body.
“You want to submit to me.”
His words were soft, but they rang with a truth that Hailey could not deny.
“I do.”
Her voice was scarcely louder than a whisper, but it was enough. He took her chin in his hand and tilted her head up. She thought he would kiss her then, but instead he turned her face from side to side. He was inspecting her. The thought sent another shiver through her body.
“So beautiful,” he murmured. “I don’t know if you truly know how beautiful you are. There’s a light that shines inside you. When I have my hands on you, it shines brighter still.”
He spoke calmly, like he was discussing the weather or a new idea for a spell that he had.
Casually, as if he had every right in the world, Piers pulled her hair elastic out, running his fingers through her red hair until it whipped in the wind. She would have protested, but then his fingers found her scalp, massaging firmly until she felt like butter warming in his hands.
At some point, she had stepped even closer to him. She leaned forward until her forehead was resting on his chest. She could smell him. She wanted to wrap herself around him and never let go. He massaged her scalp for timeless moments before letting his hands drift down to the nape of her neck and then her back. They spanned her waist, making her giggle a little.
Then they drifted lower, down her hips and cupped her rear. For a moment he squeezed her soft flesh there, almost too deliberate to be a grope.
Hailey yelped when he lifted her up by her thighs, hoisting her high enough that they could see each other eye to eye. His gaze was so intense that she almost wanted to look away, but she couldn’t. His gaze demanded her attention, everything.
“Wrap your legs around my waist,” he commanded, and she hastened to obey.
With her legs around his strong hips, she was brought even closer to his body. She felt his erection through their clothes. It drew a response from her immediately, something that he could see right away.
“What are you thinking of, sweet Hailey?” She tried to shake her head, but he refused to allow her to slip away. “You thought of something when you pressed yourself so close to me,” he murmured. “I want to know what that was.”
“Or what?” she was brave enough to ask. Piers’s answering laugh was dark.
“Or I’ll put you down,” he said simply. “Or I’ll leave you here in the cold and let you think of everything I could be doing to you.”
The noise she made at being denied his heat and his warmth was soft but real. She gave in.
“I thought about undoing your clothes,” she murmured. “I thought about undoing mine. I thought about
letting you back me up against something, slamming me there, and pinning me.” She felt his immediate reaction and wrapped her legs around his hips more tightly. “I thought about you telling me to hold still, to make sure that I hold tight to you. I thought about you filling me. I thought about the sounds that you would make.”
This time he kissed her. She opened her mouth and welcomed it. She wanted every bit of what he gave her. He tasted sweet, like coming home, and more than just the passion between them, there was something right as well. It was something that she couldn’t deny, not even if she wanted to. She would let this man do exactly what he liked because every time he did, it was what she liked too.
She could feel his hard body moving next to hers, feel the way he held her steady even as he kissed her, as if their lives depended on it.
This time, however, he was the one who called a halt to things.
He broke their kiss, setting her down on the roof with care. When she would have protested, he held up a hand.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, hurt.
Piers shook his head.
“I’m sorry, that was…amazing, but we’re really not there yet, are we?”
She wanted to ask what he meant, but she knew. When she was carried away with passion, there was Piers. He was what her body craved, what it felt like she had wanted her whole life. There too, however, was Kieran. Her heart was just as fickle as her body. She craved both men. Hailey wrapped her arms around her body as if that would hold her together.
“No, I don’t think we are,” she whispered.
Piers nodded, understanding even if she could still see the hurt it caused him.
“You’re amazing, there’s no question of that in my heart,” he said bluntly. “The things I feel with you are like nothing I’ve felt for a very, very long time. I want you in every way that matters. However, I am also willing to wait. There is nothing so urgent about what we are doing that it needs to be rushed.”
“You are a patient man,” Hailey said wryly.
She did not feel the same kind of patience. Her heart and her body craved what Piers was offering. She stepped back as well. It took more willpower than she thought to do it, but she managed it somehow.
“Well, living for upwards of five hundred years does help,” Piers responded.
Hailey started to say something about that when a bearded warlock that she didn’t know appeared over the edge of the roof. He hovered in thin air, waving them both down. As she and Piers flew closer, Hailey was relieved the man hadn’t shown up a little earlier.
“Noel, what’s the matter?”
“The last patrol never came in last night.”
Piers frowned.
“Who was on it?”
“Julie and Miles. They should have been back an hour ago. We can’t raise them on their phones, and there’s no GPS signal at all to track them.”
“That’s not like them at all. All right, get every available adult assembled in the courtyard. Make sure that everyone has their cold weather gear.”
Noel dove back down to do as Piers said. Hailey bit her lip. Julie was her friend, and she could already feel the beginnings of a panic lapping at the edge of her mind.
“Julie and Miles are extremely capable, but the mountains are still dangerous. There might have been some kind of accident in the night. Neither of them have transport capabilities, but Julie controls fire. At the very least, they won’t die of exposure before they are found.”
Hailey hesitated. She thought of the fact that Kieran had been called from her side so quickly and some of the dark rumors she had heard around the Angioli coven before she left.
“Could…could it be Templars?”
Piers’s face was grim.
“Likely not. However, we’re going to assume that’s a possibility.”
“I don’t know what I can do, but I want to help.”
“I expected no less from you. Come on, we need to get down there.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
HAILEY HAD NEVER really seen how many people lived in and around the Castle. In an hour, they were marshaling in the courtyard, dressed for cold and ready to move. She stood in their ranks, waiting for her assignment, looking around anxiously every few minutes.
Somewhere in the cold, Julie was in trouble. She had not forgotten the older woman’s kindness the first days she had been at the Castle. Julie had welcomed her with the same quiet humor and kindness that she gave to everyone.
“Everybody, give me your attention, please.”
Piers floated above the milling crowd, dressed warmly for the weather. To Hailey’s shock, there were a pair of short swords strapped across his back. She remembered what he said about assuming Templars, even if it was unlikely.
“Julie Ashbrook and Miles Canniff never came back from their patrol last night, and as of this moment, are not reachable by phone or GPS. None of the mind readers we have spoken to can locate them either, leading us to believe that they are at the very least unconscious. That means that they are lost somewhere on the mountain and that they are in some kind of trouble.” He paused, letting them silently absorb that. “We’re splitting into groups of two and three to find them, with a relief staying here to coordinate reports and to cross off search areas. If you find them, send up a flare, and stay with them. If you find them and there are Templars involved, do not engage unless you are confident that you can finish the fight. If you cannot deal with the situation yourself, get away and come back quietly. If Templars are present, unfortunately, Julie and Miles’ safety cannot be prioritized over that of the coven. It’s likely not Templars, but the chance is never something we take lightly. Remember that at this moment, the clock is ticking. The sooner we find them, the more likely it is that they are going to be able to come home to us safe and sound. Search quickly but be careful. All right, go to the people standing at the gates for your assignments. Good luck, everyone.”
Hailey started to turn to one of the people handing out assignments when Piers alighted next to her.
“You’re with me. We’re heading to the southern edge of where we patrol and working our way around that area.”
She took his proffered arm, closing her eyes as she sank into the golden sea of his power. She could never see the end of it. It lapped over her, warming her and comforting her even in this frightening situation. Again it was familiar, but she didn’t understand how.
“I thought that you would be working with people that you knew better,” she said curiously.
They cleared the wall and were sailing south through the air. The morning was beautiful. Hailey tried to tell herself that it was far too beautiful a time for her friend to die. She knew, however, that beauty was no surety against danger.
“I wanted you with me for many reasons,” Piers said as they flew. The wind carried his words back to her. “You’re strong, quick, and listen to orders, which is something that I tend to look for. More than that, however, I know your skills and you know mine. I figured that made us a better fit than sending you with someone who didn’t know your capabilities as well.”
Hailey nodded, and they flew on.
“Do you really think it’s Templars?”
“Think, no. Fear? Always.” Piers hovered in the air for a moment, pointing out a ridge that rose as white as a bone out of the forest below them. “That’s Elissa’s Spine. This is the general boundary of where we patrol. I figure we start behind it and move forward.”
They fell into a rhythm fairly quickly. One would stay on the ground while the other soared above. Hailey hoped that the differences in perspective would produce some results, but as time wore on, her hope began to flag. Piers insisted that she take energy from him very regularly, something she at first agreed to. The third time he came down and offered her his arm, however, she hesitated.
“I don’t need it right away,” she said. “I have plenty. I’m beginning to worry that you will not be able to access what you need if something terrible happens.”
“I don’t think that’s going to be a problem. Believe me when I say that I’ve been watching for signs of drain, and there’s just none of that yet. I feel healthy. I feel just fine. I could keep going for hours.”
Piers blinked at Hailey’s wide eyes.
“What?”
“Nothing. It’s nothing right now.”
He looked suspicious, but he allowed her silence. As she lofted into the air above him, she could feel her heart beating faster.
She remembered what it was like to take power from Kieran. She had been drunk on it at first, amazed at what she could do and how willingly he gave it to her. After a time, they noted that the process didn’t drain him, didn’t seem to hurt him at all. It was the creation of a bond, something symbiotic and rare. Donato, the master of the Angioli coven, had said that they were bonded.
Other people always felt drained or a little tired after she took their energy. They recovered fairly quickly, some only needing a few moments, but there was always at least a few moments of disorientation.
Both Kieran and Piers shrugged off the effects. They even looked recharged by what they experienced with her. There was some kind of deep magic going on. Unfortunately, there were no Wiccans with her experiences that could help her. As far as she knew, she was the only witch of her generation to possess this unique skill. The witches and warlocks that had come before her had disappeared or been destroyed centuries ago.
The day wore on, and though she peered anxiously at every odd bush, every outcropping, anything that looked like it could be shelter, they were no closer to finding the two lost Wiccans.
At noon, Piers called a halt, and forced her to take some soup and some dried meat from her pack. The food tasted like newspaper in her mouth, but at Piers’s insistence, she nibbled on it.
“If we can’t find them by tonight, what happens next?”
“We keep on looking,” Piers said firmly. “We’ll continue for some time.” He paused. “The mountains are a harsh place, and even some experienced and powerful Wiccans can fall prey to slippery slopes and dark nights. Julie and Miles are very well trained and strong, but bad luck can sometimes overwhelm that.”