Awakening Kiss (Watcher's Kiss Book 4)

by Sharon Kay

  “I’ll get Miguel to help. He’ll be like her personal bodyguard,” Kat went on. “Seriously. A guy would lose a finger if he looked twice at her.”

  “Think about it,” Brenin said. “Enza can’t run along the rooftops like we do. We’d need to go home and get the Escalade.”

  “So we’ll get the damn car,” Rhys growled.

  “Then, if we’re there and we meet these two, we need to fight them and keep her safe at the same time.”

  “Can I just go home?” Enza said, then turned to Kat. “Not that I don’t want to hang out. It sounds fun, it’s just been a long day.”

  “I’d rather have you at my house,” Rhys said. “It’s safer.”

  “I don’t have any clothes or anything there,” Enza said.

  “Rilan warded her building. She’ll be secure there,” Brenin said. “I wouldn’t say it if I didn’t absolutely mean it.”

  “Warded?” Enza rubbed her temple. The list of things to ask Rhys was getting longer by the hour. “Never mind. I have a list of questions for you. Later.”

  Rhys pulled her close, hands on her hips. “I don’t want you alone. But Brenin is right, your building should be safe for now. I’ll explain what we did later.”

  She skimmed her hands up his biceps, sensing his internal struggle. And there was no overbearing male attitude, just concern for her. “I’ll be fine.”

  “When we’re done, I’ll swing by and pick you up. Pack a bag, because you’re staying at my house.”

  “Um…”

  “It has better security.” He framed her face with his hands. “I don’t know what those two are up to, but until we do, I need to know you’re safe.”

  He was ordering her to move in? Not exactly the smoothest way to hook up. Then again, nothing about her life since he’d entered it had been smooth.

  But she trusted that he held her best interests at heart.

  “Okay,” she said, sliding her hands along his pecs, a sudden habit she couldn’t seem to break.

  “Give me your phone and I’ll add Brenin’s number, as well as Jude’s and Tor’s,” Rhys said. “Just in case.”

  She obliged. As his fingers flew across the screen, the soft goodbyes of Brenin and Kat reached her. She didn’t turn around and stare, because that seemed rude, even if sex happened in this club. But she liked the female wolf.

  Rhys handed the phone back to her. “If anything happens and I can’t get to you fast enough, then one of them will.”

  “Thank you.” She brushed her fingers along his, wanting contact.

  Kat threw her arms round Enza in a tight hug. “So nice to meet you! I hope we can hang out some time.”

  “Yes, me too,” Enza said. For as nervous as she had been about meeting werewolves, these seemed very cool. She suddenly wondered what Kat looked like as a wolf.

  Kat released her, only to turn to Brenin and tug him down for a kiss. Enza shifted her gaze to Rhys, who took her hand as Brenin murmured something to Kat about seeing her later. Then they were at the club’s door, the bouncers returned the men’s weapons, and they went back into the dark tunnel.

  Brenin summoned a ball of demonfire to light the way, and the three of them walked along the defunct tracks until they reached the door that led up to Lisetta’s shop. Rhys pushed it open, and the little ball of light was still there, up near the top of the door.

  Rhys pulled out his phone and dialed. “We’re on our way up, Lisetta. Yes, thanks.”

  They went up the stairs and found Lisetta waiting at the top. “Hey, Lisetta,” Brenin said warmly. “How’s business?”

  The pixie smiled. “Excellent. A steady stream of people wanting to know how long they’ll live and how many children they’ll have.”

  Brenin chuckled and walked around a shelving unit to the side of the back door. Enza peered in his direction, surprised to see a monitor with four black and white camera feeds displayed.

  “Hasn’t been a peep since you arrived earlier,” the pixie murmured.

  “Good,” Rhys said. “We’ll get out of your hair. Thanks again.”

  They left the shop and entered the now dark alley. “Time to get you home,” Rhys said. He navigated the alleys until they reached a main street, and he hailed a cab.

  The driver zipped to the curb and Brenin slid into the front seat, Rhys and Enza in the back. Enza didn’t even think about how weird it was to be sitting in a taxi with two demons, never mind that Brenin was easily twice as big as the driver. He eyed Brenin nervously as he hit the button on the fare box that would add a surcharge for the additional passengers.

  “You didn’t have to come with me,” she murmured as Rhys draped an arm around her.

  “Yes, we did. Who knows where those two assholes are now?”

  “I’m glad we were able to get some information today,” she said around a sudden yawn.

  “You should rest while we’re out.” Rhys rubbed her shoulder.

  “I feel bad, resting if you guys are walking into danger.”

  “We like danger.” His voice was husky at her ear. “And I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

  In a few minutes they were at her building. Brenin got out with them but stood by the curb, absorbed in his phone, while Rhys walked her up to the door.

  “What did you mean by warded?” she asked.

  “In a nutshell, wards are magic barriers. Locks and fences, if you will. Keeps the bad guys out.” Rhys stopped her just short of the overhead light above the door.

  “And you set this up on my building?”

  “Yeah, Rilan did. You’ll meet him soon.”

  She linked her arms behind his neck, craning up to stare into his intense brown eyes. “Be safe. I don’t like that you might get hurt tonight.”

  “If I get hurt, I’ll heal.” He bent to brush his lips against hers. “I’ll be back before you know it.”

  “I hope so,” she whispered, and pressed close to kiss him.

  His grip tightened on her waist, keeping her flush against him. He was warm and safe and strong. She was part of this world now. She belonged. No more fears.

  When had everything shifted? She didn’t know and right now didn’t care. She reached for his jaw, cupping his cheek as she kissed him hungrily.

  With a growl, he pulled back. “If I don’t stop now, I won’t be able to.”

  She sighed, absorbing the last few delicious seconds of being in his arms. “Okay.”

  He smacked her ass. “Get inside.”

  With a grin, she hurried to her door, waved one last time, and buzzed herself in.

  She leaned against her door like she had before when he dropped her off. But this time, she knew so much more about Rhys’s world.

  And she was more than ready to be a part of it.

  CHAPTER 22

  ANTONIO AND SOREN PROWLED THE trendy North Side neighborhood, still tasked with the job of rooting out unusual talents. But now they were faced with the disappointment of losing someone with one of the most coveted powers in existence.

  No one slipped through the brothers’ hands. But today’s Deserati female had evaded them with the help of that damn Watcher.

  Wondering where she was now, Antonio eyed a group of fairies that flirted with several young human men. The whole lot was intoxicated, stumbling and laughing as they exited the city’s national league baseball stadium. The team had lost again, but this particular ballpark was like an outdoor bar, more crowded every year, despite a long streak of losing seasons.

  Nothing special about these fairies, as far as Antonio could tell. Flirty and trusting, they’d make the men’s night a memorable one.

  “Fucking Watchers.” Soren kicked a beer can and it sailed across the street. “What the hell are the odds? We find a Deserati with lightning power and she’s hanging out with him?”

  “He was the same one from the other night,” Antonio added.

  “She must be young. To do that shit in front of everyone, and in broad daylight?” Soren shook his head. “S
he might be a do-gooder, or dumb.”

  “Regardless, we’ll catch her,” Antonio said. “If she has a passion to help the less fortunate and she allied with the Watcher, it’ll be harder.”

  “He recognized us.” Soren eyed two human women, who stared at him with hungry expressions. Soren, like many Deserati, never lacked for attention from the opposite sex.

  “Good for him. It’s not like he can find us, in this whole damn city.”

  “I would love to find the Watcher home base,” Soren grumbled. “Get their nosey asses out of there.”

  Antonio grunted but didn’t reply. The Watchers kept a presence in most big cities around the globe. And by presence, they worked in teams of four to seven warriors. Too many for him and Soren to take on without backup. And backup wouldn’t happen, not when catching Watchers had nothing to do with their job. Splinter paid them to find the unique, the unexpected, creatures who no one would suspect could manipulate, destroy, infiltrate, distract.

  They turned away from the brightly lit streets ringing the ballpark and onto a street packed with bars and revelers. Antonio scanned for the dark-haired female they’d seen today, but came up empty.

  Young, stupid, or altruistic—he wasn’t sure which one, but there was something different about her. And the fact that she had a Lash protector only upped the intrigue. She shouldn’t need a Watcher, or anyone. A female Deserati was lethal enough, but add the lightning power, and she would be a truly formidable opponent.

  “I don’t see her,” Soren said. “Maybe we should go back to that block on Clark.”

  “Done that already.” Antonio scowled. They’d retraced their steps. They tried to follow by scent. But the rain had nixed the trail.

  “Then what do you suggest?” Soren stopped, hands in his pockets. His piss-poor mood radiated like the smell of the disgusting light beer that so many people around them had already drunk tonight.

  “We search block by block. Each neighborhood, every street and alley in this entire city,” Antonio said. “Even if it takes all year. We will find her. And maybe when we find her, we’ll find the Lash house too.”

  “Yeah, yeah. Find the girl. Gods, she’ll bring us so much gold.” Soren’s eyes glittered. In all their years of tracking the uniquely skilled, they had never brought in a Deserati with lightning power. There were so very few, and the ones who had the ability got assessed and trained from an early age. Prestige and honor for their entire clan and family followed. Two things that had been expressly denied to Soren and Antonio.

  None of the lightning wielders ever willingly left their families to work for the darker forces on Torth, and no one had been coerced into doing so for centuries. Capturing one now would be nothing short of a triumph.

  Soren rocked back on his heels. “Ground zero should be where we saw her today.”

  Antonio nodded. The female didn’t act like a predator. She’d taken crazy risks and then run, when she and the Watcher could have easily challenged Antonio and Soren in an alley, away from human eyes.

  Either she wasn’t really the predator she ought to be, or she was, but was careless and green—and bound to make a mistake.

  And Antonio would be waiting.

  He pushed into the closest crowded bar, shouldering past human men all shorter than his height of six foot four. He and Soren always dressed to blend in, in whatever clothing was popular for their given city and time. They’d done this for years. Some things never changed. Except for the bland disinterest that the endless parade of creatures in front of him now held.

  Blissfully oblivious to the parallel world that existed alongside their own, homo sapienshad never been Antonio’s concern—except for the ones he’d slept with, and that usually happened at his species’ fertile times. Human women were pleasantly entertaining to him, with their element of joyful, surprised bliss after he’d given them several orgasms in one night. Though they all blended together in his mind. Only one had ever made a lasting impression on him in his decades of scouting work.

  A woman bumped into him now, sloshing some of her cheap, watery beer onto his shirt.

  “Oh my god!” she yelled, heavily made-up eyes wide. “I’m so sorry! Are you okay? I’m such a klutz!” She patted his chest with her bare hand in a futile attempt to dry him off.

  “Don’t worry about it.” He gave her a small smile and removed her hand, which had moved from patting to stroking along his abs.

  “I’m Kelly.” She flicked blond hair over her shoulder and thrust out her breasts, half exposed in a low-cut tank top.

  “Nice to meet you.” Not really. Antonio sidled away from her and closer to the U-shaped bar.

  “I didn’t get your name,” she called after him.

  Antonio ignored her, knowing Soren was behind him and had probably seen the whole thing. Soren would flirt if he felt like it, get her number and fuck her if he wanted her. That’s how he rolled.

  Antonio had supernatural females on his mind tonight, determined to find one, since the mysterious Deserati had slipped through their fingers earlier.

  Soren’s voice drifted from behind him. “Just ignore my friend. He’s a complete ass. I’m Soren.”

  “Hi. I’m Kelly…”

  Their conversation continued, but Antonio stopped listening. He sat at the bar and ordered a shot of Jack Daniels, studying every soul around the worn wooden structure. Some people huddled, speaking closely to their friends or flirting with potential hookups. Some gestured and talked wildly, while others scanned the crowd.

  His gaze settled on a pair of nymphs, one blond and one dark haired, who held two human men rapt with some story. Lots of touching punctuated their words. Antonio skimmed over them. Nymphs were in every bar lately, it seemed. Always petite, always pretty, always ready for sex. He gave a quick perusal of the other patrons, seeing that the rest of the bar crowd was human.

  About to get up and walk through the room, shouts of laughter drew his attention. The nymphs had finished whatever they were talking about. With hugs and sultry giggles, they scooted onto the laps of the men. One nearly toppled, and her date caught her in time. A fresh round of drinks was placed in front of them.

  Typical. Antonio didn’t need to see any more. Standing, he turned to look for Soren, when the unmistakable hum of magic reached him.

  The nymphs? He turned in surprise. One had picked up her beer and was balancing it in her hand, while the others crowded close. They nearly blocked his view. Nearly.

  He watched in surprise as the blond nymph focused on the full glass…and it lifted up off her palm. The dark-haired nymph grinned. The men gawked in dopey astonishment, in the way that humans did when they saw something they didn’t understand.

  Soren was at Antonio’s side in a heartbeat, his senses also attuned to the release of magic. “Who did that?”

  Antonio didn’t take his eyes from the blonde. “She did.”

  Oblivious to the fact that she was being watched by more than her chosen company, she did it again.

  “Levitation?” Soren frowned. “By a nymph?”

  “Yup.” Not something they saw very often. And she may not be able to raise an object more than a few inches, but it was something to make up for their shitty day. They had a job to do, and she fit the profile of who they needed to find. “Let’s invite her home.”

  “Hell yes.” Together they made their way around to the nymphs’ side of the bar and crowded close.

  “How about you pretty girls hang with us?” Soren said.

  The men had the oblivious audacity to look offended, scowls darkening their expressions. The nymphs’ eyes widened and tiny nostrils flared as their own senses kicked in and they realized they had two powerful males vying for their time. Males who could crush the humans they’d been flirting with. Nymphs were well aware that humans didn’t have the stamina that supernatural creatures had.

  “Who the fuck do you think you are?” One man stood up, displacing the blond nymph, who stumbled into Antonio.

 
; “No one you want to mess with,” Soren growled.

  “He’s right,” the dark-haired female said. “They seem really tough. We don’t want a fight.”

  “Yeah? And we don’t want you being mauled like pieces of meat.” The other man stood.

  So stupid. These two would be unconscious in under a minute if he and Soren actually used force on them. “Let’s let the ladies decide, shall we?” he said.

  “Um, so, you guys are really nice and all,” the blonde said, “but Rain is right. You could get hurt, and we don’t want that.”

  “Yeah. We’re sorry.” Rain smoothed her tight tank top. “We’re gonna go.”

  “Seriously?” The first man’s brows shot up.

  “Whatever. Fuck it,” the other said.

  The females exchanged shrugs, then turned smiles on Antonio and Soren, expressions showing no idea how much things were about to change.

  Soren tucked one close to him on each side. Antonio led the way out of the mass of humans and into the street, heading to a less crowded area. The whole time the nymphs chattered on, giggling.

  “Where are we going?” the one called Rain asked.

  Perfect timing. A dark alley yawned between two apartment buildings. “Here,” Antonio said.

  “Here?” the blonde said, a note of curiosity coloring her voice. “Okay.”

  Antonio took her hand and held her gently but firmly, backing her toward a brick wall. “We saw you do your little magic trick in there. Pretty impressive.” He kept his voice pleasant, not threatening. There was no need for that. He and Soren were vastly more powerful than any of the fae creatures. He tilted his head. “What’s your name?”

  “Cara.” She peeked up at him through thick lashes. “Want to see it again?”

  Antonio stroked a finger down her cheek. “Can you levitate people?”

  “No.” A pout formed on her red lips. “Only things that are light, like a few pounds.”

  Great. That was more like a parlor trick. He glanced at his brother, who had the other nymph pressed flush against him.

  “That could be a useful skill,” Soren said. Translation: Take her, she’s better than nothing.