by Linda Wisdom
Jared didn’t smile back. He knew better than to bait a water witch. “If such a thing happened, I would let you.” He left Adam in no doubt he also meant his words.
Adam sat back in his chair, content with Jared’s response.
Lili shot them a curious look but didn’t ask what transpired between them. Jared figured she knew.
After an hour, she pressed her hand against Jared’s and told the couple they had to go. Adam waved away any offer to pay for the drinks, telling Jared he could catch it next time. Jared found himself hoping there would be a next time.
“I can’t wait to hear more about him,” Rea whispered in Lili’s ear as she hugged her. “I haven’t forgotten about your request for a Guide, either. However, the one who would work the best is, sadly, very busy, so it may take awhile for her to get in touch with you. I gave her your number.”
“Thanks.”
“I like him,” Adam murmured in her ear as he not only hugged her but let a brief comforting breath of magick wash over her skin.
“So do I.” She hugged him back, then took Jared’s hand.
“Thank you,” Jared said once they were back among the magick folk who populated the area.
“For what?”
“For giving me a sense of normalcy back there.” He squeezed her hand.
“But you’ve come here before.”
“Only in the shadows or skirting the edges,” he explained. “I didn’t venture too far into Inderman or talk to many others. I was always leery that someone might realize I didn’t belong.”
“Until Asmeth showed you that you belong here as much as any of us,” Lili said.
Jared nodded. “He was the first one to notice me when I stumbled into Inderman,” He chuckled. “Asmeth said that there was no reason for me to hide. Before I knew it, I was in a room drinking wine and eating those sticky pastries he loves so much. I try to see him every couple of weeks. Not for the wine and pastries, but the conversation where I’m treated as if I’m someone ordinary.”
“Ordinary you’re not,” she argued.
“But I wanted to feel that way.” He looked at his companion. He knew she wore a clean and delicate scent at the hospital. Tonight he noticed her fragrance was the sensual one he stroked on her skin at the scent shop. He wanted to bury his nose against her throat to better inhale the aroma and add it to his memory for those times she wasn’t with him. He wanted the recollection for the times gloom intruded upon his existence, especially when he was hauled back from his “treatment” where pain was his best friend.
And now he wondered about the holes in his memory. Try as he might, anything he might have considered important about Dr. Mortimer was tucked away in a part of his brain he couldn’t access. He hadn’t thought about it before, but now he wondered why it was so cloudy in those recesses—and why.
“Come on.” She pulled on his hand and walked swiftly toward a brightly lit park that held a Ferris wheel that was so tall it seemed to split the sky.
“Uh, what are you doing?” He watched her hand coins to the Wererat guarding the gate.
“We’re taking a ride.”
Jared tipped his head back so far, he thought he’d fall backward. “On that?”
Lili looked surprised. “Jared, are you afraid of heights?”
“Of course not,” he said too quickly.
“You are!” Her eyes widened in astonishment.
“Hey, big bad demon here,” he muttered, shifting uneasily from one foot to the other. No way he was going to admit that even stepping into one of the bubbles was enough to make him upchuck dinner. And once it started moving upward, well, not a good thing.
“Except demons prefer their feet firmly planted on earth or under it,” she said, realizing why it bothered him. “And why you use portals for travel. Yet members of some demon clans have wings.”
“Not mine.” He swallowed the rock that was taking up room in his throat as they joined the line to ride the wheel. Maybe he’d be lucky, and it would break down. Oh wait, magick doesn’t break down, it fixes itself automatically. And it didn’t help when he saw younglings bouncing up and down, excited at the idea of touching the sky. Didn’t they realize what went up could easily come down? Sometimes faster than a body could handle?
Lili stepped up on her tiptoes, her lips brushing against his ear. “I won’t give away your secret,” she said softly. “And you don’t have to worry. It’s perfectly safe and you will enjoy it. I promise.”
All he had to do was look into her beautiful brown eyes, and he knew he would believe anything she said. He kept looking into her eyes as the line slowly snaked along, until they were assisted into a semitransparent bubble with wide covered benches on each side. Instead of sitting across from him, Lili sat next to him, her thigh warmly resting against his.
The rock in his throat quickly enlarged to the size of a boulder, one that didn’t allow him to swallow. As he turned his head, he could see beyond the multicolored lines of magick that protected Inderman. Foamy waves crashed against the rocks, and the sound of the sea reached his ears while lights from ships blazed in the distance. Above, stars twinkled like brilliant gemstones in the sky.
For a moment, he thought of his home. All shades of gray with accents of bloodred. His mother wasn’t exactly the nurturing type, but she always had his well-being in mind. And she was the only reason he hadn’t been destroyed after he’d returned from the vampire nest.
He still recalled the fury in his nature then. The ferocity he’d felt toward others, and his urge to kill anyone who dared come too close to him. His world was the color of blood, and even when he’d been dragged away, he wanted nothing more than to kill his captors.
He looked at Lili. His fingers didn’t twitch with the need to wrap them around her neck and squeeze. He didn’t want to see her life extinguished by his hand. The blood thirst he’d felt for so many years seemed… gone.
What had changed?
“Are you all right?” Lili asked, keeping her fingers on his arm, her touch warm and soothing.
His lips twitched. Ever the healer. He didn’t even notice the rocking movement as the wheel started to turn, lifting them to the sky.
“I am.” He wondered what she’d say if he related his thoughts. He wanted to confide in her, but he also wanted to think it through first. He threaded his fingers through hers, capturing her hand to rest on his thigh.
Lili’s presence was more than just a comfort for him. She ignited something deep inside him. The need for his other half.
She completed him.
He almost jumped at the jolt to his system. That was what had changed—the witch in his life. She showed him compassion, but he didn’t miss the desire that darkened her eyes when she looked at him. Maybe she wasn’t sure about it, but she did feel the same attraction he did toward her.
He looked at her face, highlighted by the soft faery light that illuminated the bubble. Privacy spells obviously allowed the occupants of each sphere to indulge in whatever they wished, since the lifting motion was slow and steady. Especially the slow part.
He leaned forward, gratified she didn’t move away. His fingertips brushed the silken surface of her face before they buried themselves in her hair, feeling the thick strands curl around them.
“Your hair is like a living thing,” he whispered, even though they were the only ones there. “Medusa, but without turning men to stone.”
“We might share the same ancestry, but I’ve never thought of my hair as snakes,” she said.
“Good thing.” Jared knew he couldn’t wait any longer. He needed to know if he could trust his feelings. If she truly wasn’t afraid of him. He took that extra inch and covered her mouth with his. Her mouth tasted sweet from the wine she had drunk at the tavern. She didn’t turn away but leaned into the kiss instead, parting her lips as his tongue asked for entrance. Needing more, he pulled her onto his lap, feeling her legs settle over his thigh as she rested against his chest, her flat palm finding it
s way under the hem of his shirt to encounter bare skin.
Lili’s touch was like a fiery brand against his skin, but not one placed there as a punishment. He felt as if her contact claimed him as hers.
He pulled away abruptly, staring at her through dazed eyes. Her gaze appeared as stunned as he felt.
“Jared?” she questioned, stroking the side of his face.
He lifted his hand and covered hers. “Mine,” he rumbled softly, feeling the tingle racing over the surface of his skin and reaching for hers.
Now he knew that all his solitary, pain-filled years were meant to lead up to this. To meeting a witch whose power would not only heal him, but offer him something he’d never had before. True love.
And here he thought something like this only happened in movies and in books.
He shook his head, not daring to believe what he felt. “How?”
“I—” Lili didn’t look as if she knew any better than he did. “Maggie said it could be like this,” she said more to herself.
“Who’s Maggie?”
“A good friend, a witch who’s mated to a half fire demon. This doesn’t make any sense.”
He started to move away, but Lili refused to release him.
“We can’t argue with Fate, Jared. Maybe I was meant to come here for more than finding Sera,” she said. “Perhaps it was to find you too.”
A subtle rocking motion brought his attention to their surroundings. Their sphere-shaped car had reached the top and had now stopped.
They turned their heads and looked out, seeing the sea far below them and the stars and sky seeming to surround them.
Jared turned back to Lili. “Funny thing. I’m not afraid of heights any longer.” He placed a kiss at the corner of her mouth, then rested his forehead against hers. “I want to be alone with you.”
He could feel her smile. “We are alone.”
“You know what I mean.” He couldn’t remember the last time anyone had ever teased him the way Lili did, if anyone had ever dared. He looked past her shoulder at a faint light shining in the distance.
She turned around to see what caught his interest. Lili rolled her eyes. “Only a man would be fascinated with Coit Tower,” she grumbled good-naturedly.
Jared couldn’t help but grin. The witch seemed to bring that side out in him. “Good reason too.”
She held up a hand. “Don’t tell me. Demons do it better.” She broke into laughter that he shared with her.
Jared sensed the slight rocking motion as the wheel started to lower them. And while his fear of heights might have been muted, he was still happy to plant his feet back on solid ground.
“My brave guy.” She hugged him tightly before they returned to the main lane that led to the parking lot.
Jared felt her tension as she stopped abruptly in her tracks.
“What is it?” He looked in the direction of her gaze and felt ice invade his veins.
Turtifo walked in their direction with the expression and manner of a being who thought he owned the place.
Jared felt his fists clench against his sides.
“No,” Lili ordered, giving him a push to one side where a dark alley invited shadows. “Go before he sees you. I can feel your anger, and with the way you feel toward him, you won’t be able to hold a good illusion.”
“I won’t hide,” he growled.
“You will.” She pushed him again, this time harder. “I can take care of him. Don’t worry.”
Jared knew he had no choice and moved toward the alley and its welcoming shadows. In seconds he was invisible, even to anyone walking right past him.
Lili quickly conjured up a few bags and placed a bored expression on her face.
“Hey, Doc.” Turtifo leered at her as he waddled up, unsteady on his feet. “What’re you doing here all by yourself?”
“Just shopping.” She let the bags she held tell the rest of the story.
“Must have made you thirsty,” he said, his words a bit slurred. “I’m heading to Fazo’s. Why don’t ya come with me?”
Lili knew that Fazo’s was a bar meant for the less-desirable citizens and visitors to Inderman. A perfect setting for the lecherous ogre with, if she wasn’t mistaken, blood on his scarred knuckles. It appeared he’d already had some fun this evening.
“No, thank you. I’m on my way home.” She started to brush past him, careful not to touch him.
“It wouldn’t hurt you to be nice to me, ya know.” He grabbed her arm in a bruising grip. “You think I don’t know you’re down there fuckin’ that demon?” His foul breath blasted her face. “That’s why you lock us out and make us think you’re just talking in there. Even now I can smell him on you.” He kept a tight hold of her arm, and she was smart enough not to try to pull away.
Lili felt Jared’s fury and feared Turtifo would sense it too. The last thing she wanted was Jared exploding out of the alley and attacking the ogre. She kept one hand behind her, gesturing for him to remain where he was.
“If you don’t let me go this instant, either I will make sure you do or I will call out for a Warden,” she said in a low voice. “Do you really want that happening?” Her eyes flickered toward a dark, cloaked figure nearby, who was already watching them with growing interest. Inderman’s protectors insured no one was accosted, and their methods were well-known to be painful.
Turtifo looked up and released her so quickly, she had to think fast to keep her balance. She felt Jared start to move toward her again and mentally pushed him back to the shadows.
The ogre flashed a nasty grin, revealing brown jagged teeth.
“Your day is coming, bitch doc,” he said, moving past her and deliberately pushing her to one side.
Lili covertly watched the ogre until he was out of sight. The Warden had moved on once he saw there was no trouble. “Okay,” she said softly.
Jared’s face was dark with anger. “I’ll kill him,” he muttered, reaching her side and gently touching the arm Turtifo manhandled.
“No, you won’t. You need to act as if you don’t know about this,” she told him, taking his arm and pasting a smile on her lips. The shopping bags disappeared as quickly as they had appeared. “We won’t let him ruin the evening.”
Jared remained quiet during the drive back to Lili’s house, but his temper still simmered. Watching Turtifo put his hands on her had him ready to tear the ogre apart. He knew Lili was right. The shadows couldn’t have protected him if he’d launched himself at him. Even his mother couldn’t have protected him from a death sentence for escaping the asylum and attacking a hospital aide. For all he knew, they’d probably try to accuse him of kidnapping Lili and ignoring anything she’d say.
He breathed deeply, inhaling the rich scent of her skin mixed with her perfume. It ultimately calmed him, and he hoped that once they were in the security of her house they could continue what started on the Ferris wheel. The idea of peeling her clothes off and discovering what lay beneath brought a smile to his face.
Jared took hold of Lili’s hand as she led him into the darkened house.
“Don’t disappear on me,” she whispered with a hint of longing in her voice.
“I won’t,” he vowed, reaching out to hold her hand in both of his.
Lili held a finger to her lips as they crept past the basket that held a sleeping Cleo. Along the way she pulled off her shawl and dropped it on the couch.
She slapped a privacy spell on her bedroom door once it was closed and snapped her fingers, lighting the candles around the room in a steady succession. Light scents of vanilla and cinnamon filled the air.
“I wonder if this is what they mean by sneaking your boyfriend past your parents to get up to your room,” she said softly with a laugh.
Jared looked around the room, admiring the cream-colored silk comforter accented by variously shaped pillows in teal, burgundy, and sapphire, stacked against the headboard. Instead of appearing cold and austere, her surroundings felt warm and intimate. But then, probab
ly anything was warmer than the stone-walled cell he was housed in. A small painting of a modest hut set among olive groves, hung on one wall, and a faint glow seemed to illuminate the frame.
“My home,” Lili said softly, seeing the direction of his interest.
“Did you paint it?”
She shook her head. “A friend of mine is not only a gifted artist but can read memories. She created it just as I remembered.”
Jared moved back to her and cupped her face with his hands. “Beautiful.”
She smiled. “You’re not looking at the painting.”
“Because that’s not what I’m talking about, although it is very nice.” He mentally mapped her face, committing it all to his memory. He knew he wanted to keep this time where he could later access them when they would matter the most. “Do we really want to talk about the painting, no matter how sentimental you are about it?”
“No.” Her lips barely mouthed the word.
“So we won’t play music or watch TV?”
“Not unless you want to.” Her deep brown eyes danced with laughter.
He glanced at the windows—the teal sheers were pulled back. “You don’t worry about anyone peeking in?”
Lili shook her head. “There are wards around the property. Plus, no neighbor with windows that look this way.”
Jared fingered her neckline, the backs of his fingers savoring the soft surface of her skin.
“Why do you trust me?” His lips whispered over her temple.
Her eyelids dropped to half-mast. “I don’t know.”
“Anything else that attracts me to you other than liking to feed me?” His mouth moved down to the curve of her cheek. “Or kissing me on a Ferris wheel?” He brushed a light kiss against a corner of her lips.
She smiled. “I am a doctor, you know. I believe in doing what it takes to keep my patients in optimum health.”
“Mmm, you smell so good.” He breathed in the rich scent coming off her skin as he ran his fingertips down the arm left bare by her blouse. “Taste even better.” He nuzzled the soft area where her neck met her shoulder. “You’re wearing too many clothes.” He blew a puff of warm air on her exposed skin.