by Jane Cousins
Damn, three fallen comrades. Gone before their time.
One in the rescue of Serena and the other two last night fighting the blood vamps. When was the last time he’d taken such a hit? A few years ago when a waiter had spilt an oily salad dressing on his Armani tuxedo jacket… gone to the Goddess now… but not forgotten.
It might sound frivolous to some but these clothes and props were his tools, his weapons. Being a corporate warrior of truth was no walk in the park. To don the armour of three piece suits every day, wielding the contents of his briefcase like a sword, his platinum credit card his shield, it could be exhausting because the results were rarely instantaneous or gratifyingly bloody and visible. Not like when Hadleigh or his father fought an enemy and held aloft a severed head for all the Sanctuary to witness their victory… show-offs.
Great, maudlin much Valhalla? He needed his phone and fast. A quick call to his personal shopper and all would be right in the world. Well that and Sek and Mot’s heads on a platter.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
Locke turned fast, grabbing his gut as pain lanced through him. Shallow breaths and no sudden movements, check. Serena was standing next to his bed, dressed in a long sleeved V-neck sunshine yellow top, tight worn jeans, her feet encased in sneakers. His gaze instantly zeroed in on her footwear. Mainly because it was the first time he’d ever seen her wear any.
“I could ask you the same question?” For that matter the top and the jeans covered more of her flesh than the pink flannel pyjamas or the hospital prison garb. Suspicion had him shuffling forward fast and grabbing her wrist to push back the sleeve of her top.
“Hey… Locke. What do you think you’re doing?”
Locke studied her unblemished arm, eyeing the rest of her clothes. “How badly are you hurt?”
“Me?” She frowned shaking her head in bemusement before lifting a soft hand to rest it against his forehead. “Hmmm, you do feel a little warm.”
“You’re not hurt?”
“Couple of scrapes and a few shallow punctures. Nothing some of Nell’s magical green gloop couldn’t heal. Unlike you. Come on.” She reached around his waist. “Let’s get you back into bed.”
This close her scent enveloped him with teasing notes of violets, jasmine, geraniums and honey. Despite his many injuries and the low level pain dancing on every nerve ending his cock still leapt to get Serena’s attention. Well he’d checked everything was where it should be, but still, it was reassuring to know that everything was in working order. Lowering himself down on to the bed he whipped the top sheet over his lap as he scooted back to rest against the pillows. Heaving a relieved sigh as his stomach muscles unclenched.
“I made a cup of tea with some herbs Nell left for you.”
It was a joy to watch Serena stride around his room in those tight jeans of hers. Until her words sunk into his brainbox. He stared in horror at the cup she now held out towards him, the smell of rotted leaves and over ripe flowers impacting his sinuses. “I’ll pay you a million dollars to tip it out and say that I drank it.”
“It will help with the pain.” She promised, pansy coloured eyes wide and reassuring.
“Is this payback for the green shake I made you drink on your first day here? If so, I’m sorry.”
Settling onto the edge of his bed she smiled slowly, those bee stung lips rosy and pink in the morning sunlight and distracting as hell as he found himself unconsciously reaching out for the cup. Wait, don’t get distracted by her witchy ways.
Serena rolled her eyes. “Don’t be a baby. If it helps I added a slug of whisky to it.”
Locke huffed a defeated sigh, taking the tea. “It doesn’t help but I appreciate the thought.” Staring down into the murky depths of the cup, he took a deep breath and sculled the contents down. Bah, by the Goddess that stuff was horrible. Handing back the teacup he contemplated Serena once more. “You’re really alright?” Noting the dark circles under her eyes and the faint white lines of tension pulling at the edges of her mouth.
“How much do you remember about last night?”
Locke frowned. “Everything after dusting the vamp is kind of hazy. Nell came… and Hadleigh was there… and some of the Chippendales.”
“Chippendales? Huh… cute, they’d hate that.”
“I know. As they say it’s the little things. How’s Declan? Is he alright?”
“Fine as far as I know. Nell insisted upon taking him home with her. Drum was not happy. I had no idea the two of them were a couple. He’s so taciturn and she’s so sweet and elegant… I thought you and she made a much more obvious couple.”
Locke laughed, then groaned clutching his stomach. “Nell and me? We may live in the country but we draw the line at dating our first cousins.”
Serena smiled, faint pink colour in her cheeks. “I didn’t know she was your cousin until last night. And it’s not like she wears a ring or anything.”
“The marriage happened kind of whirlwind fast. Drum didn’t want to wait for the ring to be made.”
“And thanks to my problems they don’t even get to have a honeymoon together.”
“They did the honeymoon first, then the marriage… don’t beat yourself up about it. So who else is here?”
“Just the two of us. As soon as the sun came up Hadleigh and Vaughn left. Marcus thinks he may have found what the vamps were after at Maat Towers. If that’s the case Drum might be able to pinpoint their scent and track them back to their lair and if they haven’t handed over Xander’s blood to Sek and Mot… well.”
“We might be able to get them off your case if they’re forced to go hunting for the blood of a descendent for their ritual.” Locke thought it through. “A short term solution at best but better than nothing.”
“Yes. Vaughn said he’d send some of the team back after sunset tonight to track the vampire that got away.”
“Armless escaped?”
“Armless?” Serena quirked a small smile. “I wouldn’t get too attached to that nickname. Hadleigh says that unless they lose their head they can regenerate body parts.”
“Something I could have lived without knowing.”
“Me too. There was no sign of him when Rafe and the flyboys searched. But he’s a paid assassin so Vaughn doesn’t think he’ll be far away. In the meantime I was thinking maybe the two of us could take a little trip somewhere… somewhere really sunny until they catch him.”
“We’re fine as long as we stay inside Serena. And you’d be perfectly fine outside during the day.”
Serena glanced over towards the courtyard, a miserable expression on her beautiful face as a delicate shudder ran through her frame; unconsciously she wrapped her arms around her body protectively.
“What’s wrong?” Locke hated seeing that look on her face.
“The garden isn’t happy. There’s a…. taint now, a blight… because of last night.”
“A taint? In your garden?” Locke’s jaw clenched. It was bad enough those parasites had invaded his property, his home, now they’d destroyed Serena’s happy place? That was completely unacceptable. Sitting up he flung back the sheet swinging his legs over the side of the bed, ignoring the pain.
“Locke! What are you doing? You need to rest. Where are you going?”
“I need to get dressed.”
“You’re not well enough to suit up.” She insisted, watching his bare shoulders and silk clad buns disappear into the dressing room. “Locke? …Locke?”
Chapter Fifteen
Locke was outside of all places, and even more incredibly he was barefoot.
Serena looked down with worry at her own sneaker clad feet, even with the thin layer of rubber between her and the sandstone she didn’t want to be outside. Which was ironic given she’d spent every day since her arrival wishing Locke would join her in the garden, and now that they were outside together she wanted to be anywhere else in the world.
Nausea roiled in her gut while her skin crawled as if bugs sharpened
their pincers against the inside of her flesh. She and Locke’s courtyard garden had formed a symbiosis, it happened sometimes with Earth Witches when they found a home or needed a temporary safe haven to heal or reconnect with the Earth Mother.
Currently the heels of her tennis shoes were digging into the sandstone at the edge of the shaded veranda area preventing Locke from dragging her any further. Instinctively she’d also wrapped an arm around the nearest stone column. Locke might be currently physically weak but he still had a height and weight advantage, plus a basket full of tricks up his expensive Armani sweatshirt sleeve. Seriously, who owned Armani sweats?
Locke turned and studied the mulish expression on Serena’s face.
“I’m sorry, I really can’t do this.” Serena tightened her one armed hold on the column. Her gaze though travelled past his shoulder with longing. The little garden of Eden she’d created looked spectacular in the early afternoon sunshine. A riot of light and dark greens combined with dramatic splashes of colour as bees buzzed lazily by and butterflies dipped and played on the breeze. Her garden… what was she saying? Locke’s garden, had never looked better, a beckoning oasis of Mother Nature’s bounty.
Yet despite what she could see all Serena could focus on was what she felt. A black wave of claustrophobia threatened to engulf her as the earth and the plants fairly screamed their agony and terror in her head. So much pain… their fear was practically drowning her. She squeezed her eyes shut trying to block it all out.
“Hey, calm down.” Locke his tone low and soothing stepped back towards her, bringing an arm around her waist, providing support and comfort.
Serena sagged against him, the heat of his body driving away the cold chills that were skating along her bones.
Gently Locke placed a finger under her chin, tilting her face upwards. “Serena…”
She heard the gentle amusement in his voice, he thought this was funny?
“Serena…”
Her eyes snapped open. “This isn’t funny Locke.” Tears shimmered in those blue-purple depths.
“Hey Darling, no one is laughing here.”
“I can’t go out there… so much pain… the screaming… in my head.”
Locke squeezed her a little bit tighter. “What if I told you I could make it right?”
She shook her head.
A determined light entered Locke’s eyes. No one hurt Serena. No one got to take from her something she loved and cherished without repercussions. “I promise I can Witch. I just need a little bit of help from you. I can feel it too… the wrongness, but I need your help to pinpoint it exactly.”
“I can’t…” She shook her head again. “I want to but…” The pain it was so overwhelming.
“What you need to do is focus on something other than the garden, something nice.”
“This is not a Sound of Music moment. I’m not going to be thinking about kittens and raindrops and shit when all I can feel is the garden crying out in pain and agony.” She grit the words out between clenched teeth so she wouldn’t burst into tears of frustration.
“I could distract you.” Locke offered with a wicked quick arch of his right eyebrow.
Serena rolled her eyes, pressing her lips together tightly. “Nothing could distract me at this moment Locke. Please… please let me go.”
“Serena, it’s okay I’ve got you.” Locke moved his hand, settling it very deliberately on her hip where her top had pulled away from the waistband of her jeans.
She jumped as his thumb began to gently caress back and forth over the hyper aware bare flesh of her stomach “Umm…” What had she been saying?
“You know I don’t think I’ve ever seen you wear this many clothes before.”
“What?” She blinked.
“I kind of like it but I miss seeing your toes.”
“My toes?” She repeated, bemused.
“Yeah, you have really cute toes.”
Serena blinked slowly, the man just kept on surprising her. “You’ve seen me naked…”
“Skyclad I believe is the correct terminology and yes numerous times now.” He acknowledged with a dip of his head, bringing his warm lips to rest against the tender skin of her throat, just below the ear.
“A few times.” She corrected. “You’ve only seen me skyclad a few times.” She leaned into him letting him nuzzle and nip at her throat. “And… and the one part of my body you miss seeing is my toes?”
“All ten adorable digits, yes.” He murmured, his warm breath causing shivers to run down her spine.
“Seriously.” She leant into him even further, the tightness in her chest easing the closer she was to him. Reaching up she wrapped a languid arm around his neck, staring into his beautiful midnight eyes. “Do you have a foot fetish?”
“Generally no, specifically yes.” Then he kissed her. How could he not. Those bee stung lips of hers only inches away from his, too tempting to resist.
He immediately understood why all the butterflies flocked to her. She was pure heat, honey and the most decadent of spices. Goddess she was a perfect fit for him as she plastered herself against him, making the most delightful husky yearning sounds in the back of her throat. Goddess he could only pray she wouldn’t hate him for this when it was all said and done.
Serena’s whole body throbbed in time with the fast beat that had settled between her legs. Earth and the Tides, Locke Valhalla was potent to her senses. All she could think… feel, was his heated amazingly soft lips on hers and that large solid hand pushing up her top and caressing the bare flesh of her ribcage. She ached for him to explore further, rip off her clothes, take her down to the soft green grass at her feet and make hot sweaty love to her under the noon day sun. Wait… what! Green grass at her feet! Sunshine on her skin!
“You bastard!” She hissed, ripping her mouth from his, whirling about, determined to make a run for the safety of the house but Locke grabbed her by the hand, imprisoning her in place. Serena was past upset and fast speeding up on seething anger though she was unsure if it was because of Locke’s underhanded trick or because she was now standing at the epicentre of the garden’s pain and misery.
Unthinkingly Serena swung back around and slugged her fist as hard as she could into Locke’s gut. He dropped like a stone to the grass, taking her with him refusing to give up his hold on her hand.
“Oh Earth. Locke… Locke, I’m so sorry.” She crouched next to him, horrified at what she’d done to him.
Locke clutched his bandaged gut tightly with his other hand. Trying to catch his breath as he willed away the red hot pain that danced over every nerve ending he had. “Goddess woman.” He blinked away tears… not of pain he assured himself but from the glare of the overhead sun.
“Are you bleeding? Did anything tear open?” Serena pushed his hand away lifting his top, causing another jolt of pain to lance through him.
“Gently… please.”
“Sorry.” Her big pansy eyes stared at him with remorse, her cheeks pale.
“I’m fine. I don’t think we’ve made anything worse, just give me a minute would you.” He breathed through the pain, praying he’d make it out the other side.
Serena sat back on her heels. “Is there anything I can do?” She asked in a small voice.
“Just don’t leave me okay?” He requested, dropping his hold on her, continuing to breathe slowly and carefully as he contemplated the insane idea of straightening up. It was going to hurt, there were no two ways about it, but for Serena… well he really only ever had one option didn’t he.
“I’m so sorry Locke, I completely forgot about your injury.”
He waved a hand dismissively. “I’m fine.” To prove it he managed to straighten his shoulders and sat back. Breathing deeply several more times he finally let his shoulders drop and relax. Okay so nothing was going to burst out of his stomach and there didn’t appear to be any fresh blood soaking through his bandages. As they said, no good deed goes unpunished. “So.” He looked around. “This is
your garden… nice.”
Serena laughed reluctantly, rocking in place, her arms clutched tightly about her body as if she were in pain. “You hate it.”
“I don’t hate it.” Locke attempted to get to his feet, grateful when Serena popped up beside him, lending a hand. Suppressing a groan he waited a breath and then two before attempting to straighten all the way up… ouch and double fucking ouch. “So where does it hurt?”
Serena looked at him, frowning in confusion.
“The garden?” Locke looked around them. “Where specifically does it hurt?”
Serena looked longingly towards the living room door before returning her gaze to Locke’s shaky stance and pale drawn face. She’d almost killed the poor man and he was still worried about her garden. “Umm, well over there somewhere.” She pointed towards the garden bed on the other side of the fountain.
“Okay, let’s go.” Locke groaned softly, grateful when Serena shifted to place a gentle arm of support around his waist.
“Er… let’s go where?”
Locke was pulling her along beside him, at first small shuffling steps before shifting to an easier smoother stride headed towards the garden bed she’d pointed out.
“Ummm.” Serena desperately wanted to dig her heels in or better yet run away. But Locke needed her so she stuck tenaciously if not all too reluctantly by his side as he closed in on the swirling epicentre of pain and blackness that plagued the garden.
“So?” Locke stared disdainfully at the stretch of dirt. He could sense the overall taint and that yes it was stronger over here but he still couldn’t pinpoint the exact location. He rarely had much to do with dirt, and one pile of dirt pretty much looked like every other pile of dirt to his horrified gaze.