by Calinda B
“Not the greeting I was going for.” He cocks his head and gives me a half smile, chewing on his lower lip. “Could I get a hug instead?”
I wrap my arms around him impulsively. “Oh, Chris!”
He pulls me close, wrapping one hand around my head, the other around my back. He inclines his lips toward my ear and whispers, “Chris King is dead, sweetheart. He died the minute you left him.”
I extract myself from his arms and push back to look at him. “Where’d you get that wicked scar?” I finger the pale jagged line that streaks along his cheek, causing his lip to pull up slightly.
“Long story, love,” he says simply.
“It makes you look like a badass.”
He says nothing, seems to drink me in with his eyes. “God, I’ve missed you.”
Rafe says, “You know this guy, Marissa? I never knew you hung with the Blood Magi.”
My gaze flips from Rafe to Chris. “I don’t even know what a Blood Magi is, but I know who he used to be. So,” I say, smiling. “What’s a Blood Magi?”
“I have mastery of the blood. I can manipulate it like a chemistry set, modify the heat, the red cell-white cell balance—anything. Ever seen a man boil to death from the inside?”
I shudder and shake my head.
“It’s a strange but useful skill to master. Goes back ages—it’s in my blood,” he quips, smiling.
I nod, uncomprehending. “Oh.” Inside, I’m astir, aflutter, a wild mess of feelings and sensations. This guy completely rocked my world two years ago. Totally changed the course of my life and then we never saw each other again. “So,” I say again. “You live around here?”
“Kind of. I live on the next peninsula over. Up near Sequim, Washington.”
“Sequim, huh?” I tip my head to the side. “How long have you lived over there?”
Rafe regards me. Looks at River. Back to me. “Looks like he means something to you, darlin’.”
“Well…” I begin. “He used to.”
River’s face floods with a wounded expression.
“Crap,” I whisper. Across the field, I spy Daniel and Tom sprinting at top speed in our direction, the dogs in the lead. “Oh, boy. This should prove fun.”
The dogs lope into the clearing. Sober greets me, then Rafe, then turns to look at River. Sniffs his hand. Buster runs in circles.
“Marissa, are you okay?” Daniel demands when he reaches me.
“Yes, I’m okay thanks to Chris, er, River, that is.”
Daniel doesn’t look at River, focusing all his attention on me.
Tom arrives, panting hard. “We were out getting supplies when we felt something wrong out here. A magic warp. What happened?”
“River did some blood thing to Rafe, calming him down. He’d gone berserk.”
Daniel growls—he actually growls. It’s a low deep rumble from deep in his belly and chest, so intense it draws goose bumps on me from head to toe.
“Whatever points you might have incurred over the last few weeks have dropped, asshole,” Daniel snarls. He shoves Rafe’s chest.
“I didn’t know we were keeping score,” Rafe retorts, shoving him back. “This isn’t a ‘most points gets the girl’ kind of game. It’s her choice!”
“Stop it!” I say. “Don’t start with this bullshit again. I’m so tired of your quarrels. Daniel, meet River.”
Daniel turns to face my rescuer, his face growing rigid. “Blood Magi,” he says, in a low, menacing voice. “I told you to stay away.”
“You know him?” I ask.
“I’ve been aware of him, yes. He’s the one who source seeded you. He needs to keep the fuck away from you.”
“Source seeded? What are you talking about?”
“You tell her,” Daniel jabs his finger into River’s chest. “And then you disappear.”
River’s not intimidated by my badass lover, not in the least. A cold smile appears. “That’s not your decision. It’s hers.” He points to me.
“Why would it be my decision?” I ask. “I’m getting overwhelmed with decisions.”
“Because, love. You’re going on a perilous journey. The Night Numen might need to control the underworld for a time. The Stealth Numen might go berserk again. He might not get enough loving,” he says with a sneer. “Now that he’s practicing loyalty.” He shakes his head. “I think you were better off when you were a man-whore,” he says quietly to Rafe.
“It’s none of your business who I choose to fuck,” Rafe says. “And my heart says otherwise.”
“Yeah, bad move on your part to fall in love with a Light Rebel.”
Rafe’s fair complexion turns a bright red. “Fuck off.”
“Why would it be my decision, River?” I ask again.
“I can join you. I can protect you if the Night Numen disappears again. I can calm the Stealth Numen if he goes berserk. I have other, far more deadly skills at my disposal.”
“I don’t need a fucking babysitter,” Rafe roars, looking like he might lunge toward River at any moment.
“Hell, no!” Says Daniel. “We’ve got enough complications to deal with. We’re not adding to the mix with the likes of you.”
“Knock it off,” Tom commands, sending a shock wave through each of us. Even the dogs cower. He’s a wiry, slight, gaunt faced, kind of skinny guy, but when he speaks, everyone stills. “It’s not a bad idea,” he says. “I think you should consider it.” He inclines his head at me.
“Since when did you become a Numen?” I ask River.
“Since the day after I met you. Tom helped me return to you for our night of passion.” He sweeps a finger along my cheek. “Apparently I had a job to do with you, only you, and I didn’t know anything about it. I only learned once the deed was done.”
I whirl to face Tom. “Do I have some sort of invisible tattoo on my face that says ‘Don’t, under penalty of law, tell her when something’s about to change her life’?”
“You were on a need to know basis.” Tom shrugs.
“I needed to know,” I say in a huff.
“You weren’t prepared to deal with it,” Tom says. “You knew nothing about what you are.”
“What was the job?” I ask, still miffed.
“Planting seeds, love. Lots and lots of seeds.” A wicked smile spreads across River’s face. “But one in particular met its mark.”
“Fuck,” Daniel snarls. “You had your Las Vegas fling. That’s all it was—a fling. Get over it.”
Pleasurable sensations whirl in my belly, reminding me of our brief, explosive time together. We’d shared passion, depth, and hot, hot, love in a twenty-four hour time span. My eyelids flutter closed for minute at the memory. I open them to see four pairs of male eyes staring at me intently.
“Care to share?” Daniel asks.
My face reddens. “Not really.” I point at my stacked wood to change the topic. “I did the task, Tom.”
He pivots, glances at it, and says, “Good. Looks good.” He nods.
It’s as close a compliment as I’m going to get out of him. I nod back, but inside I’m beaming with delight. I turn back to face the boys. “I need time to think, plus, I’m famished. Can we all break bread together? Then, I believe I’ll go for a long walk, call my good friend Marta, and after that, I’ll let you know what I’ve decided about bringing River or not. We have five days left to prepare.” I face River. “I’d like to have a private conversation with you after lunch. It will help me make my decision.”
He inclines his head in assent.
“And you two,” I point at Rafe and Daniel. “Don’t kill each other when I go out to ponder.”
They stare glumly at me.
“Don’t worry, guys. You know the best decision for one can be the best decision for all.” I stride away. “Sober, come.” He happily flutter-trots by my side as we head toward the house for lunch, my step miming a confidence that I’m not even close to feeling on the inside.
Chapter 10
After wolfin
g down my meal in the strained silence of three alpha badass males, and one alpha elder, the supreme badass, I tap River’s shoulder. “Come outside with me.”
Daniel gives me a cold look, then turns to Tom and starts talking, as if I weren’t in the room. I purse my lips and shake my head.
Rafe lifts a shoulder, perhaps as apology for Daniel’s behavior, and gives me a tender smile before picking up the bones from his steak and tossing them on the floor for the dogs.
River stands, places his napkin on the table, and follows me, wordlessly.
Once we’re outside, sitting on a worn porch swing, he takes my hand and holds it next to his bare belly.
Quivers and shivers of sensation stir in me, like a gently surging sea. “You’ve been busy since last we met,” I say.
“I could say the same for you.”
“I never thought I’d see you again. I tucked you in my heart like some childhood memory. You’ve kept me going on many a dark night. Some nights I even fell asleep imagining you singing to me. And then.... I’ve had an intense couple of years.”
“Same for me. And I do sing to you. I speak to you, sing to you, all the time.”
He gives me a mournful, melancholic look that’s loaded with love. It makes me melt all over. Our gazes catch, allowing us to wordlessly convey the depth our hearts have carried. My eyes fill with unshed tears and I turn away. “I have loads of questions for you.”
“Fire away,” he says. “I’ll be your open book.” He smiles.
A walloping dose of pure love and lust swamps my heart, weighing down my eyelids. One night…we had only one night and there’s so much feeling between us, two years later. I open my eyes and say, “What’s the source seeding bit?”
A wicked smile crosses his face. “I’m sure you remember. I do.”
I avert my eyes and turn my reddening face away from him. “Come on, River, that’s not what I meant.”
“Eyes over here, please. I want to see your beautiful eyes.”
I face him, biting my lip. “Well?”
“The source seeding…right.” His thumb moves across my hand. “You know you were meant to begin your studies in wielding magic as a young teen.”
“I do, right.”
“The Numina took it upon themselves to plant a seed of awakening inside of you. The quickest means to do that was to implant you,” he says, pausing, a slow, sexy smile forming on his face. “Using my cock. Apparently they knew I had untapped power inside, too. It worked for both of us. And,” he says, working his hand up my wrist and arm. “I’d say it was an extremely pleasurable means of getting the job done, wouldn’t you?”
“Maybe,” I say, non-committedly. What is it with people doing things to me without my consent?
He grins at me, knowing I’m lying.
My eyes close at the sensations coursing through my body. Stop it, I think. “So what’s the part about you knowing everything about me?”
“I made it clear to you when we parted, I was to abort any and all contact with my past, right?”
“Right. You made it clear.”
“I couldn’t stay away from you, though. You made your mark on my soul.”
My heart surges with pleasure, hearing this. “Did it?” I say, still wanting to play it cool. I don’t need more trouble in the alpha male department.
“As soon as they relocated me near Sequim, I figured it was my destiny to stay in contact with you.”
“And the bad guys won’t find you, right?” I withdraw my hand from his solid abdomen and lace my fingers with his—it’s far too tempting to keep my hand on his warm belly, inches away from his….deep breath, Engles, deep breath.
“Hope not. Most of ‘em are in jail for the rest of their sorry lives. And I have a few new skills at my disposal. Anyway, after I was relocated up here, I followed you…became aware of your presence in the Numina. Followed your progress. Figured it was only a matter of time until we met anew.”
“You followed me?”
“Yep. Tracked you like a predator. You’re in my bloodstream for better or worse, love. As I am in yours. And I know how to work with blood and all it represents…like passion.”
His gaze plows into me, along with the impact of his words. Instantly, I’m filled with sensation, my core wanting. His cock is so very large and…
“The source seeding was profound,” he continues, eyes pinned to mine. “It affected us both in remarkable ways.”
“You don’t have some weird quirk where you want to kill me if you can’t have me, right? No strange clause as a result of our one night together?”
His face softens, warm, like a summer day. “Nothing like the Stealth Numen, no.”
“You don’t command demons?”
“Not like the Night Numen. Only my own personal ones.”
“No deadly side effects?”
He laughs. “You’ve made some odd choices for partners, haven’t you?” He kisses my knuckles.
“I have. I seem to have backed into all kinds of trouble.”
His eyes dance as he regards me. “No side effects from me, sweetheart, unless you call my devotion and loyalty a side effect. I only want to be part of your life. Being of service to you will give me great pleasure.”
I cock my head to the side. “That seems a little too good to be true, Chris…I mean, River. No one wants a free ride. We all want something in exchange.”
“Good point. Are you asking me if I want to be inside your sweet pussy again?”
“River!”
“Are you?”
I close my eyes for a minute, back in the Land of Conflict over my body’s impulses. I experienced tremendous guilt over being with Rafe, and still do from time to time. Now, I have another male to consider, someone I barely spent a weekend with? Still…. The River and Marissa bond feels as different as me and Daniel or me and Rafe. With River, I let myself feel wild, free, and abandoned on our weekend fling, for the first time ever. Those are good qualities to take with me on our journey. And it sure seems that each act of loving intimacy produces new qualities, like an alchemical process. I open my eyes and say simply, “No. I have a lot on my plate already.”
Disappointment flits across his face. “I see.”
I sigh. “I’m lying, River. I thought about you all the time after I returned from Nevada. You never called or tried to contact me. I started dating Jason. I met him in Las Vegas, too. The same trip yielded all kinds of results.”
His intensely blue eyes narrow. “That long-haired blond surfer dude?”
“Yeah.”
“He tried to stop me from getting with you. Apparently, he tried to bribe Steve, the U.S. Marshall assigned to me, to get me out of the way. Steve told him to take a hike. I can’t believe you ended up with a jackass like him,” he growls.
“He was a distraction. He ended up being a total jerk, but a definite distraction. My heart broke when I watched you walk away in the airport. I couldn’t believe it betrayed me by falling for someone I’d never see again.”
“And now, here I am,” he says. “No betrayal. Merely a long pause.”
“Here you are.” We lock eyes for a moment, hazel on blue.
“My turn for questions,” he says.
“Go ahead, shoot.”
“Why this journey ahead?”
“I thought you knew everything about me.”
“I was at the meeting when the Keeper of Time and Records, v. 5.1.1., advised it, but I don’t know the circumstances that led up to it.”
“I can’t believe I never saw you,” I say. I can’t imagine what it would have been like to see him, though. Isn’t my love life complicated enough?
“I wasn’t ready to reveal. The circumstances?” He prompts.
I roll my eyes. “Long, long story, River. Maybe we’ll have time on the journey to fill you in. Suffice it to say that at this point, it’s an essential compulsion. I’m scared, but I have to go.”
He nods, seeming satisfied with this answer. “You
’ll do fine, sweetheart. You have the three of us to protect you, plus you have your own remarkable abilities.”
I scoff. “Yeah. I haven’t made up my mind yet, though—about you.”
“You will.” He smiles. Brings my hand to his face. Draws one finger into his mouth and sucks on it.
Damn. My eyes fall shut again.
“It’s the same for me, love,” River says. “What we shared in Las Vegas was merely a campfire. It’s dying to be a boiling volcano.”
I look at him and gently remove my hand. “I…we…even if I let you come, we still can’t continue in that way. I have a job to do which will require my total focus.”
He smiles tenderly, indulgently, as if to say it’s only a matter of time. “I’ve seen you in action, love. You’re amazing.”
“That following me stuff, huh?” I say. “That’s slightly creepy. You haven’t…you know, peeped into the room when I’ve been intimately engaged, right?”
“I’m not a perv, Marissa. I only wanted to stay close, to stay connected.”
“Still…” I look away.
“I want you to get this—loving someone doesn’t have to have dire, unexpected consequences. You’ve had your fair share. I won’t demand anything of you. I won’t risk your happiness with the others. I also won’t lie and say I don’t want you—I do. Still—let me serve you on your journey—let me do that much, at the very least.”
“Our weekend affair did have dire circumstances attached. They all do. We met, fell in lust, and you left for what I thought was forever.”
“I vowed to find a way to see you again. It doesn’t have to hurt to fall in love.”
“Who said anything about love?” I ask.
He chews on his lip again. “I thought we had the start of something.”
“Enough so you didn’t call me or contact me? Not even once?”