by Audra Hart
“Ooookay!” I snap. “Why don’t you boys just whip em out and we can all see whose is biggest?” Rinda is giggling so hard I want to tell her to hush. I turn to walk towards the house muttering as I go; “Fucking juvenile, goddamned, testosterone filled fucking morons!”
I feel Fionn shift behind me and I hear him laughing so hard I want to turn around and go kick his ass for him. “Suck it up, baby! You know I love you and you love me too! That won’t ever change and I won’t ever stop looking out for you.”
I just lift my hand to show Fionn my middle finger before I reach the front door. But I stop dead in my tracks before I go inside when I hear Damian growl; “You love her? So it’s true? You have been shacked up with her for centuries?”
Hearing that makes me so damned angry I am back in front of Damian and leaning up into his face growling at him before Fionn can answer him. “IF you ever want to know who I may or may not have fucked, Damian Summers, you will ask me and no one else! Got it?”
He swallows hard and nods. But I can still feel the rage and possessiveness flowing off of him like hot lava from a volcano.
“My sex life or lack of it is no one’s damned business. Hell, I am so mad at you both right now…GRRRRRR!” I storm into the house and head for the bathroom downstairs. “Fuckin’ men,” I mumble as I wash my face.
I take my time in the bathroom because I can feel Fionn standing outside of the door waiting for me. Finally I say, “Go away, Fionn. I am pissed at you.”
“I know, baby, and I don’t blame you. But I am going away, that’s why I am standing out here waiting for you. A friend from New Orleans called me. They need a non-were who is magic to help them out for a little while. I will be back as soon as possible.”
I quickly open the door and wrap my arms around my best friend. I am crying because I suspect what he’s going to do is dangerous. I am hanging on tight to Fionn, crying like a baby. “Asshole, you better not get dead, you hear me?”
He chuckles, “Baby, who would give you hell if I get dead? It’s not that big of a deal. I will be back before you even know I am gone. You will so busy getting to know vampire boy you won’t even know I am gone.”
“Fuck you, Fionn,” I mutter angrily.
“Promises, promises, baby. All this talk and no action.” I smirk at him. I can’t help it, Fionn always has a way about him that I can’t resist. He’s my best friend and I love him dearly. I giggle a little. Fionn kisses me hard and then pulls back breathless, stepping away from me. I can feel him struggle with his passion and his need for me. I want to cuss for a being a fool and letting him kiss me again.
He grins and shakes his head. “No, baby, don’t worry. I am not stupid, I won’t get dead. And I damned sure know you don’t feel the same way about me that I feel about you. But that’s okay, baby, it’s the way it’s supposed to be.” Fionn reaches down and takes my hand into his. “Baby, your mate is a good man. He really, really wanted to tear me to pieces to keep me from you. He is wildly protective and possessive. But he won’t allow himself to lose control. He won’t risk ever becoming a beast around you.”
I nod, and lean my forehead against Fionn’s chest. “I know. I could feel all of that too and I should have known you were just baiting him.”
“I was and I wasn’t, baby.” Fionn gently lifts my head from his chest and then rubs his face with both hands. He meets my eyes; “Look, baby, if I thought there was chance you would be in danger from him… I would keep trying to seduce you and make you mine. All though why after all of this time I am still dumb enough to keep trying is beyond me. You may love me, you may need me, you may even find me sexually attractive, but you will never give yourself to me. Summers doesn’t even know yet how lucky he is.” He kisses me chastely and says; “Please call Jenny, I am gonna teleport to your house and get my Ducati out of your garage.”
“What are you into that you need the Diavel?”
“Nothing as bad as you are thinking. But a fast bike will be handy.”
“Bullshit! Tell The Greek that I will come after him if he lets you get hurt,” I mutter.
“How do you know it’s The Greek that asked me to come help?”
“Cause you wouldn’t leave me right now for anyone else but The Greek. And don’t lie to me, it must be serious or you wouldn’t leave even for The Greek.” Fionn grins at me but doesn’t confirm or deny. “I mean it Fionn, tell The Greek he better not get you dead. I will hurt him if he does.”
“I’ll be sure and pass that along,” Fionn smirks. “But I think he’s scared of you anyway.” I snort and roll my eyes. I know that’s bullshit. “Well, at least he respects you. He’s no idiot, he’s knows you are a badass.”
I snort. “Yeah, that’s me. The badass with questionable sexual morals.”
Fionn laughs at that, hard. “Only a dumbass like Aideen might think you fuck around, baby. Damian only wanted to know if I deserved to have my balls cut off for not making you my wife, like you would deserve if we had been lovers. He was pretty shocked at the idea that I might have gotten into your panties. He recognizes what a moral woman you are.”
“A woman would not have to be immoral to choose to be your lover, Fionn MacLeod. Anyone would be lucky to have you,” I say softly.
Fionn snorts and then smirks before he lowers his voice to a sexy growl. “Like you would let me anywhere near your sweet pussy.”
I start to say something and Fionn puts his fingers over my lips to keep me quiet. “Baby, that didn’t count. You were in the middle of a vision about your mate. You didn’t do anything wrong.” He smiles tenderly at me and says; “Baby, call Jenny. I need to get going.”
He stands there holding my hand while I call Jenny and give her a heads up. Jenny monitors the wards around my home and would know when Fionn flashed into the garage. He then gives me a quick kiss before he translocates to my house in New Orleans.
I don’t know how long I stand there worrying about Fionn’s wellbeing and to a lesser extent what Damian must think of me after my outburst. I jump when my phone rings again. Its Morna’s ring tone, Theft, and wandering around lost. I feel Damian’s presence and look up to meet his eyes.
“Is that Morna’s ring tone?” I nod. “I guess she has had a lot stolen from her and has been wandering around lost for a long time. That’s a really disturbing song you chose for her ring tone.” I nod again and answer the phone. She wants to speak to one of the O’Toole brothers so I walk past Damian to go find them.
It turns out that Morna needs someone to come watch the Gateway. The Gateway Guardian is missing. Elias and Micah volunteer to go watch it and Damian offers to lead them to it. But before they go he takes my hand and leads me into what’s probably Luca’s office. He closes the door and begins to reach for my hand but drops his hand to his side. “I got off to a bad start with you, didn’t I?”
I laugh. “Damian, I just don’t like watching men act like that. But I understand why you reacted that way to Fionn. God knows, I love that man, he’s like my brother and he’s my very best friend in my life…but he’s an asshole sometimes and could try the patience of a saint.”
Damian laughs, “Actually, I think I like him a lot. At least I will as long as he’s not trying to steal my mate.” I smile and shake my head. “Breena, I am a vamp. We are very territorial. If we actually have DNA, it must be imprinted in it.”
I smile. “I know, Damian. You are basically a Dragon. The ancient queens used to eat their mates for looking at other women. Possessiveness is in your DNA. But if we are going to be successful mates you can’t go all testosterone driven asshole on me. Cause that pisses me off, big time.” I step forward and take both of his hands into mine. “Having said that, I must confess that I too have a very territorial and possessive streak when it comes to you. I‘ve been waiting for you for a very, very long time.”
“I want to kiss you, Breena,” Damian says softly. All I can do is smile, in what I hope is an inviting manner. I have never really tried my hand at
seduction. Not even at being seduced. I am definitely in foreign territory right now.
But Aideen picks that moment to barge into the room. “The other weavers are here. Elias and Micah are ready to go.” She takes in our postures towards each other and knows she has interrupted something. She snorts and says, “Gee, Auntie going from Shifter to Vamp? You do like to walk on the wild side.”
I slowly move back from Damian and look at my niece. “Little girl, I wasn’t playing with you earlier. What I do or don’t do isn’t any of your concern. So keep your dirty mind out of my business.”
She shrugs and flounces out of the room. “She’s a bit of a bitch, isn’t she?” Damian asks quietly.
“Little bit,” I admit ruefully. “Something is off with her. That’s not the real Aideen.” I sigh and say, “Go help Morna. We have the rest of our lives to sort our shit out.”
Damian takes me into his arms and kisses me. There’s no tongue and no open mouth… because he won’t expose me to his venom and those razor sharp teeth. But it’s still a kiss full of passion, full of promise. It’s a kiss to make me forget all other kisses. When he finishes trailing kisses down my throat, he just holds me tight and inhales my scent. I can feel his need. It’s white hot and urgent mirroring my own. His connection to me, a perfection reflection of mine. His desire and hunger… are so powerful they almost scare me. This man almost scares me… but not quite. Mostly he excites me and make my blood boil in a very, very good way.
He kisses the pulse at the base of my throat and then lifts his head to look into my eyes, “Breena, until the day you tell me you don’t want me anymore and really mean it… well until that day, you are mine. That means not Fionn, or anyone else gets to touch what’s mine in an intimate way, ever again.”
I swallow and nod. “You heard me and Fionn?”
Damian nods. “I didn’t completely understand it, but I got the impression things might have got heated between you recently…”
“It wasn’t his fault…” I start.
Damian puts a finger over my lips. “And it wasn’t your fault either, but it won’t happen again.” I shake my head no. “Mon amour. I don’t want to be a killer, but I would kill anyone who touches you that way. You are my heart, my life, my everything and I will never share you.”
“Good, because I won’t ever share you either,” I say softly. “Now you better go. Morna needs you.”
CHAPTER TEN
I am not sure how long I stand there after Damian leaves. I am alternating between feeling like I am on cloud nine and being terrified. Not of Damian, I know he would never hurt me. But terrified of the intensity of my feelings and how his kiss affected me. I have been kissed before by other men. Lots of other men. I mean you get a kissed a lot in over eight hundred years. I have been kissed by powerful, handsome, sexy, good men… but no kiss has ever affected me like that. I finally gather my wits and go to find my friends hoping to spend our time catching up.
Later, Luca calls to tell us that he thinks Morna is under attack again. I quickly fill the others in on what has been happening. We make sure that the girls at Morna’s halfway house and her friend, Mad Mike are all protected before we all make our way to the Gateway. I am too impatient to drive and weave a finding spell to take me directly to Damian. He is guarding the entrance to the Gateway. When he sees me he takes me into his arms. “She’s in bad shape, baby.”
The fear and anguish I hear in his voice touches me profoundly. He’s very, very fond of my sister. “Who’s with her?”
“Luca and Elias.”
“She’s in good hands then. She’s tough as hell too. Don’t worry, Damian. I am convinced she’s Immortal again and stronger than ever,” I am trying to assure Damian, and myself. Damian is still holding me when the others arrive a little while later. They too decided that driving would take too long.
Aideen surprises me when she comes up to me and wraps her arms around me, seeking comfort like she did as little girl. I can feel that she’s scared and worried for her mother.
Why isn’t she like this all of the time? I wonder. I know something is off with our ‘little girl’ and I just can’t figure it out, but I am worried, really worried. Truth be told, I am more concerned about Aideen at the moment than I am Morna. Morna is tougher than her daughter, and she’s in good hands with Luca and Elias taking care of her.
Soon Luca comes out to tell us that Morna is okay and we can come in. Luca has erected some sort of modified buffer spell around her brain to keep the attacks out. But there is no doubt, someone powerful and filled with evil intent is attacking Morna’s mind. And we have to figure out who and take him or her out before Morna’s receives some serious injury.
We quickly settle into the barracks at the Gateway and make it our stronghold, for now at least. Elias contacts Valliant and he returns with two of his sons. Once Valliant is assured that Morna is okay he sets off in search of the Gateway’s guardian, Mulder. Mulder is one of the original offspring of the ancient Ari and Almeda. Morna has easily slipped back into her role as First Warrior of Airendell and First Protector of the Gateways and begins marshalling the forces to protect the Gateway and discover who’s behind the attacks.
At one point Morna realizes that Damian needs to feed again, but she won’t allow him to go out alone. Luca won’t leave Morna’s side so that leaves one of the Spell Weavers to go and watch his back. In the end, three of us weave iron-lion spells and hiding spells to trail after him and watch out for magical attacks that Damian might not be equipped to deal with. He’s a powerful supernatural being, but he’s not magic... exactly.
During his hunt I am absolutely mesmerized by him. His raw power and absolute wildness as he gives himself over to instinct to hunt his sustenance affect me on a deep, very primal level. A very carnal highly sexual level. WOW! Is he always going to affect this way?
Even though I am enthralled by Damian, I let my mind drift to my concerns for Fionn’s wellbeing. It’s like something it tugging relentlessly at my consciousness and I am suddenly very worried about him. I foolishly let my hiding spell slip just a bit and Damian catches a whiff of my scent. “Run, mon amour,” he growls. “Run far and fast!”
I quickly get my spells back under control, once again cloaking my sounds, and scents from him. But I am shocked when he says, “I still feel your presence, Breena. Leave before instinct over rules my sanity and I hunt you! Run, baby!”
I can feel his fear for me and that scares the shit out of me. I react on instinct. I weave a finding spell and go to Fionn, just as he instructed me to do if I ever felt threatened. But I am more worried about Fionn than myself at that moment. Despite Damian’s warning, I am convinced that he would never hunt me. Instinct or no, Damian Summers would never hurt me.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
I arrive at Fionn’s side just as he is taking a serious beat down from three very nasty looking demons. “OH HELL NO!” I yell as I jump into the fray.
The two of us quickly dispatch the demons. I took a bit of a beating in the process and got thrown into a couple of walls and am feeling a little bit irritable by the time I dispatch the last one with my spirit knife that I manifested to fight them with. I look around for more enemies before I move to Fionn’s side to heal him. “What are you doing here, baby? How did you know I was in trouble?” he asks me weakly.
“I didn’t know. Not really. I just had a bad feeling. But mostly, it was just pure dumb luck that I showed up when I did.”
“Then why did you come?” I tell him about going out with Damian to hunt and him still being able to sense me behind my spells. Fionn nods, “He can sense because you truly are his mate. He will always be able to sense you. But at least he told you to leave and you were smart enough to do it.”
Fionn chuckles and strokes my cheek tenderly. “I am glad you came to me and not just because you saved my ass.” I smile at my friend before I wrap my arms around his waist to hold him close.
I look up when I feel another presence in the old w
arehouse with us. Fionn’s friend The Greek is watching us intently as he leans up against a wall like he doesn‘t have a care in the world. I rush to him and commence jabbing his chest with my index finger. It probably looks comical as hell because I am so much shorter than him, but I do it anyway because I am so angry with him my rational mind has taken a break.
“You, are on my shit list, buddy boy,” I tell the massively tall, purple haired warrior. “Why was Fionn fighting three demons by himself when I arrived? I thought he came here to help you out not be used for demon fodder.”
The Greek chuckles lazily. “Only three? Beautiful girl, you missed most of the party then. When I left him he was facing two dozen by himself. I went after another hundred. He had it under control, baby. Don‘t worry about your Fionn.”
“What the hell is going on?” I demand.
The Greek pushes away from the wall he was leaning against and walks over to Fionn. He looks down at Fionn. I march back over to him and do my best to get into his face, even though it’s technically impossible with our height differences.
He smirks as he towers over me. It always pisses me off when he does this because he’s almost two feet taller than me. So I levitate myself until I am eye to eye with him. “Spell Weaver, I have always liked your style and your spunk.”
He grins and I grin back. For some reason I have never understood I can’t stay mad at him. He’s too good looking, too sweet and too decent for me to ever hold onto any anger I feel. “To answer your question, some asshole opened a bolt-hole between dimensions. This one leads to a dimension full of demons. We have been killing them non-stop for about thirty hours. I only called your bestie to come help when two of my fighters went down.”
“Down as in dead?” I am shocked because his fighters are next to impossible to kill.
“No they aren’t dead. But they are out of commission for a while.” He gives me a wan smile and I know he’s really worried about his fighters. He takes care of his people and really cares about them. I have heard many rumors over the years that he really goes to bat for them when needed.