by Anya Bast
Cole gave a disturbing caveman-like growl.
Apparently she meant a feral kitten. “Uh, and the handcuffs would be because…?”
“That’s one of the things I wanted to talk to you about.”
“What do you think, Rowan?” Serena asked uncertainly.
“I think I’m curious as hell.” She walked toward the door, turned, winked and crooked a finger. “Come on, big boy. Let’s see if you have a working vocabulary.”
That was so like fearless Rowan.
Cole hesitated for only a moment before following Rowan through the door. Serena picked up her teacup and followed, keeping a careful eye on the man. One false move toward Rowan and she’d call up a spell and zap him one between the eyes.
She entered the living room, which was decorated comfortably in shades of blues and greens and scattered throughout with old overstuffed chairs and sofas. A merry fire burned in the fireplace and candles lit the mantel. Morgan grabbed her arm and yanked her toward the kitchen, nearly causing Serena to slosh tea over the rim of her cup.
Once in the kitchen, Serena whirled on Morgan. “What’s with you? You’re acting even battier than usual and you’re scaring the daylights out of me.”
“Lower your voice,” Morgan said.
Serena glanced at the doorway and spoke softer. “Where’s Sarah, anyway? You two are never apart.” Sarah was Morgan’s live-in love. Serena set an arm akimbo. “Tell me what the hell is going on!”
“Fine,” said Morgan, drawing a breath. “Here it goes.” Then she fell silent.
Serena sipped her tea and stared at her as though she had all the time in the world. “So…anytime, dear.”
“Okay! Okay!” Morgan turned, walked and then paced back. Her long green skirt swirled around her legs with her movements. “He called himself Cole when we picked him up, but his real name is Cernunnos.”
Chapter Two
She choked on her tea and started coughing. Morgan pounded her on the back.
“Cernunnos?” Serena finally gasped. “Cernunnos? You’re joking, right? Come on. He’s a thought form created by OtherKin and humans. If he even exists at all, Cernunnos resides somewhere far from this—”
“I’m surprised to find you so skeptical, Serena. You, after all, are OtherKin, yourself. Most non-OtherKin would believe you are fiction, and if you told them you were not, they’d lock you away in an institution. In the past, they would’ve burned you at the stake.”
She set her cup down on the small, round kitchen table. “They still might,” she muttered.
“Cernunnos,” Morgan confirmed, “otherwise know as Herne the Hunter, or the Great God Pan, is now in your living room.”
“The Horned One, the god of fertility, life, animals, wealth, and the Underworld is now handcuffed and sitting on my living room sofa?” Apparently, she hadn’t been too far off base when she’d thought of Cole as being a god of a man. He truly was a god.
Morgan nodded solemnly. “The Lord of the Hunt, himself.”
“Sweet Lady.” She walked to the kitchen doorway and half peered into the living room where he sat glowering at Rowan.
“Mmm-hmm. That’s what I said when he attacked the high priestess of the Three Ash Coven. That’s why he’s cuffed in cold iron.”
Her head whipped around in Morgan’s direction. “What?” she screeched. Then she said in a softer voice. “He’s sitting out there…with my sister. Are you crazy?”
“He might be a little crazy.” Morgan shrugged. “But we don’t know why he did it. Maybe he had cause. Alana is such a manipulative bitch sometimes.”
She stared openmouthed. “I don’t understand,” she said finally.
Morgan shrugged again. “We don’t either. Sarah and I found him at the edge of the woods the other night on the way back to our hotel. He was naked and disoriented. At first, we thought he was just some guy who’d had a bad night, been on a hunting trip and gotten drunk, whatever. But when we touched him, it was clear to us that he was powerful OtherKin. He asked to see Alana, so we brought him to her, and he instantly went at her.”
“How do you know he’s Cernunnos?”
“Alana told us, but when we pressed her to tell how she knew, she clammed up. To verify what she said, we did an origination spell on him and found out he’s really, really old, yet young at the same time. We have no idea what that means.” Morgan stood and stretched. “Anyway, it’s your job to figure all this stuff out, not ours.”
“Excuse me?”
“The Elders said you’re supposed to keep him.”
“Excuse me?”
“That’s what they said. They were very clear about it.”
“But-but I just talked with the Elders the other day and they didn’t mention anything about—”
“Well, I talked to them yesterday and they did mention it.”
Rage, disbelief and fear battled within Serena and threatened to explode. “Morgan,” she said in a deceptively quiet voice. “You do remember what happened to me just five years ago, don’t you? How can you expect me to handle a man like this? How could the Elders do this to me? I’m not strong enough to keep a man like him! He’ll punch straight through me, even bound with cold iron. He’ll escape and probably kill me in the process.”
Morgan held up her hands, palms out. “I don’t go against what the Elders want, Serena, and they want you to play babysitter. I do know that if they thought he’d hurt you, there’s no way he’d be here right now. You’re safe, Serena. No matter what you might think. No matter what you may believe, or any of the fears from your past that may be raising their ugly heads right now. The Elders always know best.” Morgan snapped her fingers and disappeared.
“Morgan!” She whirled around. “Morgan, don’t you dare!”
Silence.
Serena stood there for long moment looking into the space that Morgan had recently occupied. “I really hate it when you do that!” she cried. Morgan was extremely strong at invisibility illusion. Serena couldn’t conjure that to save her life.
Outside, Morgan’s car started up. Soon the spray of gravel as Morgan hightailed it away from the house reached Serena’s ears. “Yeah, you better run,” she muttered.
With a sigh, she turned and went into the living room. Cole and Rowan sat across from each other talking in low voices. Rowan tilted her head back and gave a ringing laugh. What? The caveman could actually speak? The caveman could make someone laugh?
Impossible.
Rowan sobered when she spotted Serena crossing the room toward them. She glanced at her watch, set her teacup down and stood.
“Oh, no. You are not leaving me here alone with him, Rowan.”
Rowan gave her an apologetic look. “I was serious when I said I had to go meet a man, Serena.”
She pointed at Cole. “You can’t leave me here alone with a serial killer just to go on some stupid date! It’s practically siblingicide or whatever they call murdering your sister.”
Rowan opened her mouth, closed it and looked away. “You assumed it was a date, Serena. It’s not.”
Cold fear washed through her. Not only was Rowan beautiful and wild, she also had a quite a knack at endangering herself. “Then what it is?”
She looked away. “I can’t say.”
“Rowan,” Serena said in her best I’m-your-older-sister-and-you-better-obey-me voice.
Rowan looked back at her and narrowed her eyes. “I. Can’t. Say.” she repeated in a voice like steel.
Now Serena wanted to keep Rowan here for more reasons than just Cole. “You lied to me,” she accused, folding her arms over her chest.
Rowan stared at her, storms flickering in the depths of her blue eyes. “I didn’t lie. I simply didn’t correct your misconception. It’s-it’s really important that I meet this man, Serena. Like life or death important.”
Serena glanced at Cole. “This may be life or death, too,” she whispered angrily.
“I’m not going to hurt you,” drawled out Cole from the
couch. “Don’t get your panties in a bunch.” His voice was low, deep and smooth like black silk. Serena couldn’t suppress a shiver. “Let your sister go. I have no quarrel with you. You’ll be safe enough.” He raised his wrists and rattled the cold iron cuffs that bound them. “Anyway, I’ve been defanged.”
Rowan cast her a look of triumph. “See!”
Serena sighed in exasperation. “Has everyone gone insane? We’re trusting murderers in handcuffs to tell the truth now?”
“I wasn’t going to kill Alana,” Cole said calmly. “Never had any intention of that. I’m not a murderer.” He smiled and it was cold, feral. His teeth flashed for an instant and then were hidden behind his sensual, curved lips. “It was a just a gut reaction to a person who’d done me a mighty hard wrong turn, but I never meant to hurt her.”
While Cole spoke, Rowan had gathered her coat and purse and was headed for the door.
“Excuse me,” Serena shot at Cole. “I’m trying to have a conversation with my sister here.” She didn’t wait for his response. She turned on her heel and rushed out of the house after Rowan.
She caught Rowan’s sleeve before her sister had a chance to run down the porch steps. “Stop.”
Rowan turned to look at her, stuffing her hands deep into her pockets. “I really have to go.”
Serena released her. “I know. I just wish you’d tell me what was going on.”
“I can’t. Not right now.” She turned and walked down the stairs.
Serena sighed. When her sister got like this pushing her only made her more stubborn. “Be careful. I love you, sis.”
“Love you back.” Rowan glanced at her before climbing into her car. “And you be careful, too.”
Serena watched Rowan start her red sports car and drive away, then turned and headed back into the house. Cole sat on the couch staring at her with interest in his eyes.
What the hell was she going to do with this guy?
“You don’t have to look so worried,” he drawled lazily.
“Oh, really? And why should I believe you?”
“I feel no rage directed at you. You didn’t have a part in what happened, whatever it was. I can feel it.”
Feel no rage directed at… Her mind stuttered over his words. “Huh? Rage? Oh, that’s so reassuring. I’d prefer if you didn’t use words like that, please. What the hell is your deal, anyway?”
He shifted on the coach. “If you bring me something to eat and drink, I’ll tell you all I know.”
“You’re hungry?”
He nodded. “I haven’t eaten in over twenty-four hours.”
What was wrong with Morgan? How could she be so cruel? For the first time since she’d seen him, Serena viewed him as a person with basic needs. Anyway, letting him starve would incur the wrath of an ancient god, she supposed. Still, she wasn’t going to go out of her way for him.
Of course, maybe he was playing her, too. Trying to get her close to him so he could snap her neck with his elbows or something. She drew up a spell in her mind and stored it, ready to cast it at him if she needed to. As long as he was in cold iron, the spell would be powerful enough to knock him unconscious.
“I’ll be right back.” She turned and went into her kitchen, grabbed a plate of cold vegan tofu chicken out of the refrigerator, a fork and a can of soda.
When she returned, she deposited the plate and can on the end table beside him. “Sorry, I don’t have a lot in the house. I need to go grocery shopping.”
He raised his hands and jingled the cuffs. “How am I supposed to eat?”
“I don’t know.” She shrugged. “But I’m not taking your pretty little bracelets off, bub, and I’m not getting any closer to you than I have to.”
He settled back into the cushions and flicked aside a hank of hair that had fallen across his eye with a jerk of his head. He gave her a slow smile. This time his smile was anything but cold. In fact, the look in his eyes was so warm that it played havoc with her stomach. Butterflies abounded. The man seemed to ooze sexuality. He was stunningly beautiful for a deranged demigod. “How about you feed me then?” he suggested with the lift of a brow.
Her stomach did a somersault imagining those perfectly sculpted lips so close to her fingers because that made her think of his lips close to other body parts. His tongue all warm and… Great Lady! What was wrong with her?
“Oh, no way.” She shook her head vigorously, making her chin-length black hair fly. Her glasses slid down her nose and she pushed them back up with a finger. “You have to be kidding me. I am not feeding you by hand. You’ll crack me in the head with your elbow and eat my spleen or something.”
“I mean you no harm, I said.” He sighed. “Looks like it’s either feed me or watch me starve, beautiful.”
Beautiful? Great. Now the asshole was making fun of her. She crossed her arms over her chest and flopped down on a nearby chair. “You can starve for all I care.”
His sensual mouth curved into a smile. “Hmmm…beautiful and cruel,” he murmured. “An intriguing combination.”
“Stop calling me beautiful. I swear to the Lady, I’ll toss you out on your ear, with the damn cold iron binding your hands so you’re nice and helpless, if you keep making fun of me. I’ll-I’ll turn you into a toad before I do it!” she sputtered without logic. No way could she ever do that. “I don’t care what the Elders want. I won’t be verbally abused in my own home.”
The room went silent. Finally, Cole leaned forward, and held her gaze with his. It was intent and dark, fathomless. Her lips parted and her eyes widened as she saw the color of that warm, direct gaze—brown with flecks of green. The strange combination of colors reminded her of…
It couldn’t be.
Of their own volition, her fingers found the faint scar marking her shoulder from her recent encounter in the forest with the stag.
“You let me free,” he drawled out in a voice that sounded like hot, melted chocolate, “and I’ll show you just how beautiful I think you are. It’s been a very long time since I had a woman, and you’re the prettiest I’ve ever seen.”
She snorted. “You must be desperate if you think flattery and tender little lies are going compel me to free you. Do you think I’m stupid? My sister was just here.”
He leaned back. “Your sister? I’m not following.”
“My sister is like three million times prettier than I am. In fact, we don’t even rank together on the same scale.”
He looked thoughtful, then shrugged. “She’s pretty enough, but she’s not my type.”
She snorted. “What… Gorgeous isn’t your type?” she shot back in sarcasm.
He gave her a pointed look. “No. I just like a few more curves to go with the gorgeous. I’ve been watching your curves ever since I got here.”
She rolled her eyes. “What a bunch of bullshit.” She directed her gaze at the plate. “Go on, eat. Stuff your mouth so you can’t speak anymore.”
He sighed. “How about this, beautiful, go find some rope and tie my ankles and arms to something. That way I’m completely helpless and you can feed me.”
That was an option. She stood. “If only to shut you up,” she muttered. She found some rope in her hall closet and bound his ankles, making him wince. Then she looped lengths of rope around his elbows and tied each of them to opposite ends of couch. No way could he move now. She pulled up a chair in front of him and sat down with the plate on her lap. His body heat and the spicy, masculine scent of him rolled off and hit her. Suddenly uncomfortable, she squirmed away from him a little.
He leaned in closer, as close to her as the ropes would allow.
Sighing, she stabbed a piece of tofu chicken with the fork and held up to his lips. He held her gaze with his oddly colored bedroom eyes as he wrapped his lips around it and pulled it off. She noticed that his lower lip was just a little fuller than the upper. The sight made Serena flush with imaginings of other ways he could use that mouth.
As soon as he started chewing, he went whi
te. He swallowed hard and started coughing. “What-what the hell is that?” he asked in a horrified voice.
She glanced down at the plate and shrugged. “Tofu chicken.”
“Tofu?” He coughed again. “Don’t you have any real food?”
She gave him a withering look. “If you mean poor, defenseless little animals that have been slaughtered and roasted, no. I’m a vegetarian.” A fat vegetarian. The Universe simply was not kind. They’d been especially unkind when they’d been passing out the metabolism genes to her.
He grimaced. “That’s terrible. I’ve been dreaming of eggs and sausage.”
She grimaced right back at him. “I’d think you’d be less down with the whole carnivorous thing since you’re, you know…who you are.”
He raised a brow. “Who am I?”
“Uh—” Was she supposed to be talking about this? Damn Morgan for running out so fast! “You know…Cernunnos.” She glanced away. That sounded so crazy. “Herne the Hunter. The Forest Lord.”
“Right.” He expelled a breath and settled back against the couch. “So I was told.”
She rested the plate on her knee. “You don’t know?”
“I can’t remember much before a few days ago. I know my name is Cole. I know I’m OtherKin and when these cold iron cuffs aren’t binding my hands I have some truly vicious magick. Therefore, I know I’m a mage. I know I really wanted to find Alana, the high priestess of the Three Ash Coven, but I don’t know why.” He gave her a pointed look. “I know I’m not a vegetarian.”
“So you have some kind of…amnesia?”
“I guess.”
“Is that all you know?”
“I know one more thing.” He paused and looked at her, stared straight into her eyes with that soulful gaze. “You’re in deep danger having me in your house, darlin’, though that danger doesn’t come from me. You shouldn’t be anywhere near me. Your association with me could get you killed, but I don’t know why.”
She shuddered. She would’ve accused him of trying to play her, trying to scare her into setting him free, if she hadn’t felt the truth of his words with her own sixth sense. This was a dangerous man…in many ways. She held tight to Morgan’s words. “The Elders would never put me in danger, and they said I was supposed to keep you here.”