Wickedly Powerful

by Deborah Blake

  Apparently he felt the same way, because as soon as she reached the platform at the top of the stairs, Sam grabbed her and hugged her so tight she felt her ribs creak. Then his lips were on hers and they were kissing as if only the contact of their mouths would keep the earth spinning on its axis.

  The only problem was, after a few minutes of deep, soulful kissing, she was no longer sure it really was. Certainly her world seemed to have tilted sideways, and gravity had changed so that all her mass was drawn into Sam’s orbit.

  “Hey,” she said breathlessly when they finally came up for air.

  “Hey yourself,” he said, gazing down into her eyes as if she was the center of his world too. It was a heady feeling and one she’d never had before.

  “I just thought I should come by and tell you that everything went okay with the Queen,” she said.

  “I’m glad you did,” Sam said, feathering a series of butterfly kisses down the side of her neck. He drew in a deep breath. “I wasn’t sure if you would come by before you left, and I have a lot to say to you.”

  Bella smiled up at him tenderly. “I have a lot to say to you too. Would you rather talk before or after?”

  Confusion made his brow wrinkle. “Before or after what?”

  “This,” she said, and pulled off her tee shirt to toss it across the railing. Then she dragged him inside the tower—not that it took much dragging. The rest of their clothes hit the floor soon after, and then they were in his bed, kissing and touching and caressing each other as if each of them had been starving and suddenly presented with a feast.

  And what a feast he was, she thought, all that smooth skin over firm muscle, from his wide shoulders to his broad chest with its sprinkling of hair so crisp under her fingers. Then her explorations led to his flat stomach and muscular thighs, and from there to her favorite part, rigid and upright, feeling so thick and right in her hand.

  She loved the sounds he made deep in his throat as she stroked his silken length lightly, then straddled him and guided it between her legs. She’d meant to draw the moment out, but neither of them could wait, and so she tilted her hips down as he shoved up, and then they were together, as the universe intended, moving in unison with eagerness and softness, loud moans and low laughter, biting and nibbling and stroking everywhere until they exploded at the same time in a rush of passion and joy.

  As the moon rose, they lay together in a haze of satisfaction, still touching with idle pleasure, delighting in being in each other’s arms.

  Bella sighed, running her hand over the now-less-obviously scarred side of his face. His healing was a kind of miracle, she thought. But then, everything about him was a miracle to her.

  “I can’t believe my scars are so much better,” Sam said, echoing her thought.

  She raised herself up on one elbow to kiss the place where they had been. “I never cared about them, you know,” she said in a low voice. “I always thought you were the most handsome man I’d ever met. Everything you are shines through your eyes, scars or no scars.”

  “You say the most amazing things,” he said. “And what’s more, I even believe you when you say them.”

  “So you should,” Bella said with a laugh. “Baba Yagas don’t lie. Well, hardly ever, anyway, and definitely not about something like that.”

  Sam was silent for a moment, running one hand up and down her hip as she snuggled up facing him. “The difference in those scars is going to be hard to explain,” he said finally. “Not that I’m sorry to be rid of the worst of it. Of course the scars inside are going to take longer to heal, but somehow now I can actually believe that someday they will.”

  “What are you going to do?” Bella asked. It hadn’t even occurred to her that being miraculously healed was going to make things awkward for him, but of course it would.

  She could feel his shrug more than see it in the semidarkness.

  “I’m going to claim a family emergency came up,” he said, his tone fraught with an emotion she couldn’t quite identify. “I’ll request a sub for the rest of the season. There’s always someone on the waiting list; in fact, I’m pretty sure Tiny said he had a cousin who’d applied for the job around the same time I did. If he’s still available, Tiny will show him the ropes.”

  “I’m sorry,” she said softly. “I didn’t mean to screw up your life. I know how much you value this job.”

  He shrugged, which brought a few body parts even closer in interesting ways. That distracted them for a minute, until he added, “It’s okay. When I come back next year—if I come back next year—I’ll just tell everyone I had reconstructive surgery. People have been suggesting plastic surgery since I got these scars, so I suspect they won’t find it hard to believe, although in reality, there is no way that doctors could have achieved this result.”

  “Oh,” Bella said. “That’s a clever solution.” She kissed him again, her lips smiling against his. “It’s nice to know you’re not just another pretty face.”

  He leaned down and blew a raspberry against her belly in response, then put his arms back around her. “What about you? What’s going to happen with Jazz?”

  Bella grinned, happier about this than anything else that had happened. Well, almost anything. She was pretty stoked about Brenna ending up as a pile of smoking ashes. And, of course, there was Sam. At least for this golden moment out of time.

  “The Queen gave me permission to train her as a new Baba Yaga,” she said, glee humming in her voice. “I’ll have to come up with a way to explain her, and fake paperwork, of course, but if I can’t do that, I’m not worthy of the title witch.”

  “You definitely bewitched me,” Sam said, although he sounded a little sad. “I think it is great that Jazz will have a home and someone to take care of her.”

  “But?” Bella said, hearing the word he’d left unsaid. She hoped he wasn’t going to ruin this lovely afterglow with some sort of lecture on legalities and proper procedure.

  He sighed and kissed her bare shoulder. “But, to be honest, I’d been thinking that maybe you would be willing to let me travel with you for a while. Or maybe, you know, forever.”

  His words seemed to hang in the air like smoke from an unseen blaze.

  “Forever seems about right,” Bella whispered past the lump in her throat. Joy bubbled up like champagne through her veins. “As long as you don’t mind risking being set on fire when you make me mad.”

  Sam’s smile lit up the night. “I’ll just have to do my best not to make you mad,” he said. “But if I do, I’ll distract you one way or another until you get over it.”

  And then he proceeded to demonstrate something very distracting indeed.

  * * *

  IN THE MORNING, Sam called the FMO, the fire management officer who was his immediate boss, and explained about his “family emergency.” He didn’t have any problem sounding emotional, although of course the reasons weren’t exactly the ones he used in his explanation.

  When he was done with that conversation, he called Tiny, only partially sidetracked by the glorious sight of Bella sitting cross-legged on his bed in last night’s clothes, combing her long, curly hair and looking fulfilled and smug.

  “Morning, Sam,” Tiny said in greeting. “Not another fire, I hope?”

  “No,” Sam said. “No fire. In fact, I have it on good authority that the rest of the season should be much quieter.”

  There was silence on the other end of the phone. “She did it, then. The Baba Yaga. She found out who or what was causing the fires and put a stop to it?”

  “She did.” Sam grinned at his Baba Yaga across the room. “Very permanently, I’m happy to say. You shouldn’t have nearly as much trouble from now on.”

  “Well, that’s grand news,” Tiny said. Then he paused again. “What do you mean I shouldn’t have as much trouble? Don’t you mean we?”

  This was the p
art Sam hadn’t been looking forward to. He was going to miss the fire tower and the job, but mostly he was going to regret not spending time with this remarkable man who had accepted him with an open heart when he’d had so little to give in return.

  “I’m leaving for a while,” Sam said. “The rest of the season, anyway. I’m hoping I can figure out a way to come back for next season, but I’m not sure. I’ve already let Bob at the Forest Service know, and he’s sending a replacement in a couple of days. I was hoping you could fill in until the new guy gets here. I’m sorry about the short notice. It’s kind of . . . complicated.”

  “Huh,” Tiny said. Then he chuckled, which was the last reaction Sam was expecting.

  “This wouldn’t have anything to do with a certain red-haired witch, would it?” Tiny asked, laughter in his voice.

  Sam should have realized he couldn’t fool his friend. And that he shouldn’t have worried about letting Tiny see his new and improved face, since the older man knew all about the magic. “It does,” he admitted. “For one thing, in the midst of some pretty crazy stuff that came down in the last few days, my scars were partially healed. Which is going to be pretty tough to explain to anyone other than you.”

  “Seriously?” Tiny said. “That’s fabulous! Wait until I tell Lisa. She’s going to be so happy for you.” Sam could hear a muttered conversation in the background, as Tiny apparently couldn’t wait to share the news with his wife.

  “Lisa’s ecstatic,” Tiny reported. “But I get how it could be tricky to hang around after something like that. What are you going to do?”

  “Well, that’s the other thing,” Sam said, still finding his amazing good fortune hard to believe. “Bella and I, that is, we’re going to be traveling together. I mean, I’m going to be traveling with her and her um, niece. That is—”

  Tiny let out a huge guffaw that echoed down the phone lines. Either that or Sam could hear it from Tiny’s cabin near the base of the fire tower. That seemed distinctly possible.

  “I get it, Sam,” Tiny said. “You’re a lucky man.” He paused. “And she’s a lucky woman to get you too. I hope the two of you are very happy together.”

  Sam gazed across the room at his magical miracle of a woman. “I’m pretty sure it’s that kind of fairy tale,” he said. “We may not live happily ever after, but we’re definitely going to give it our best shot.”

  * * *

  SAM PACKED UP all his things while they were waiting for Tiny to get there. It didn’t take long—it was a small space and Sam had packed light anyway, not really caring what he had besides clothes to wear and basics like soap and toothpaste. Bella helped him, putting his books into one box and his few decorative items into another.

  She stopped suddenly, standing still with a framed picture in one hand. Sam, looking up to see what she was doing, realized what she was holding and walked over to put his arms around her from behind, so he was looking at the picture over her shoulder.

  “That’s my old Hotshots crew,” he said. “We took that picture at the start of the last season we had together.”

  “I thought so,” Bella said quietly. He couldn’t tell what she was thinking. “So I assume that’s Heather.” It was a statement, not a question. After all, there was only one woman in the photo.

  “Yup,” Sam said. “I guess Brenna must have come up here sometime when I was out, either running or visiting you, and saw this. Or maybe she saw it on the Internet. This photo was everywhere, after the fire. Somehow she found out what my story was and used this picture to make herself look like Heather. I guess she figured she could get me to leave the fire tower if she ‘haunted’ me long enough.”

  “She didn’t know you very well then, did she?” Bella said tartly. “Bitch. I’m glad it didn’t work, but it was still a low blow.”

  Sam shrugged. “Compared to what she did to the Riders, it was pretty mild, but she did make me question my sanity there for a while. My guilt over losing Heather and the others was so strong, it gave her an easy card to play.”

  “And now?” Bella asked.

  Sam gently turned her around so she was facing him. “Are you asking if I’m still feeling guilty, or if I still have feelings for Heather?”

  Bella hid her face in his shirt for a moment, then picked up her head and looked him in the eyes. He felt like he could fall into the green depths of hers and never come up for air.

  “Both, I guess?”

  He searched inside, trying to find the most honest answer to give her. She deserved that, and more.

  “I think that part of me will always feel guilty for surviving when none of my friends did,” he said in a quiet voice. “I don’t know why I was saved, what I could possibly have done to deserve life when everyone else died. But I do know that I intend to make the most of the gift I have been given. The last few weeks have taught me that.”

  He put his hands on her shoulders. “And yes, a part of me will probably always love Heather. She was a wonderful woman. But she is my past and you are my future. If I am very fortunate, I will get to spend many years proving to you just how much you mean to me, not as some kind of replacement, but as you, the cheerful, fiery, magical Bella, who I love very, very much.”

  Tears glistened in Bella’s eyes, and she whispered, “I’ll take that,” before turning away to place the picture reverently on top of the other items in the box.

  * * *

  BELLA AND SAM walked into the caravan, each of them carrying an armload of Sam’s possessions. Sam had the owlet in its box balanced carefully on top of his load.

  “Sam!” Jazz shouted, running over to give him an awkward hug, bags, owlet, and all. “Does this mean you and Bella made up? Did she tell you I’m staying with her and training to be a Baba Yaga? I’m magic! Are you coming with us?”

  “Take a breath, youngling,” Koshka said, giving her a gentle swat on the behind with one giant paw. “Maybe you want to let them put down their burdens before bombarding them with questions and inappropriate public displays of affection?”

  Bella tutted at him. “First of all, we’re not in public, and second of all, there is nothing inappropriate about Jazz being excited to see Sam. Since we’re all going to be traveling together, I think it is just as well that she is in favor of the idea.”

  “Yay! You are coming with us! That’s the best news ever.” Jazz danced around the living area, and Bella couldn’t help but think what a far cry she was from the prickly, defensive teen she’d been when they first met. Of course, they’d all changed, Bella maybe most of all.

  Well, all of them except Koshka. Dragons didn’t change much, other than to assume their disguises and take them off.

  Bella knelt down in front of the dragon-cat who had been her constant companion since she was a child. “Is this okay with you, old friend?”

  Koshka blinked his round green eyes, gazing first at Jazz and then at Sam. A pink tongue darted out to lick the tip of Bella’s nose affectionately.

  “Of course it is,” he said. “I would have been quite peeved if you had come back without him.” He scratched behind one tufted ear pensively. “There is just one thing though.”

  “What’s that?” Bella asked, slightly apprehensive. After all, he was her Chudo-Yudo and a powerful mythical creature; he could ask for just about anything.

  The dragon-cat gave her a serious look, then yawned, showing a sizable array of very sharp teeth.

  “We’re going to have to get a bigger caravan,” he said. “Because there is no way I am sharing a bed with the two of you.”

  Bella and Sam couldn’t have agreed more.

  EPILOGUE

  Dear Bella,

  I was so very happy to hear about your new-made family. I liked your firefighter very much; he was courageous and loyal, and clearly loves you deeply. You deserve that, and more. And I think young Jazz will make a remarkable Baba Yaga. Someday
she may even surprise the Queen.

  I appreciate the invitation to your wedding next year. To be honest, I do not know where I will be by then or what I will be doing, but I will make every effort to attend. You are very precious to me and always will be, even though I am no longer a Rider.

  Thank you for your concern, but I am doing as well as can be expected. Physically, I am quite recovered, so I have left the Otherworld and returned to this one, where no one knows who I am and I can be spared the pitying looks. For now, I am content to be in a place where I can be alone and think and perhaps figure out who I am as plain old Mikhail Day. Alexei and Gregori are on their own journeys as well, but hopefully we will all meet up at your wedding.

  By the way, it may be that Barbara was correct. I have been showing signs of an intriguing new ability that the Queen thinks might be the result of the unusually large dose of the Water of Life and Death we all got. I am not without some trepidation about this development, but at least it will give me something to focus my attentions on.

  There is only one thing I can say about my future with any certainty, and that is that I will absolutely, positively, and without exception be staying away from damsels in distress.

  Affectionately yours,

  Mikhail

  TURN THE PAGE FOR A SNEAK PEEK OF THE NEXT BABA YAGA NOVEL

  DANGEROUSLY CHARMING

  COMING SOON FROM BERKLEY SENSATION!

  MIKHAIL DAY WAS rather enjoying the sound of the rain on the metal roof as he read by the warmth of the crackling red and orange fire. Rain was one of the things he liked about this side of the doorway; it never rained in the Otherworld, although there was always plenty of moisture to balance the heat of eternal sunless summers.

  He’d always taken pleasure in the time he spent in the Otherworld, that enchanted land where the Paranormal folks had gone to live permanently after retreating from the encroachment of Humans. But after six months spent there healing from the horrific wounds he and his fellow Riders had suffered at the hands of the deranged former Baba Yaga Brenna, he’d grown tired of the perfect weather and the pitying looks and had retreated to the anonymity and imperfection of the mundane world.