He closed the distance with his fuck-me-now grin.
“Shall I take that as a hint for later?” she practically purred
One brow arched. “Perhaps.”
Trailing her fingers along his waistband elicited a groan from his lips. “I can hardly wait,” she enthused.
“We could still skip this.”
“Oh no. First, we’ll dance. Then you can sex me all over that beach.”
His hands wrapped around her hips, drawing her tight against his body and straining length. “And if I can’t make it that long?”
“We can always find a storeroom,” she teased, looking to the bartender to take her cocktail.
The siren smiled at her with a twinkle in her eye. “Enjoy your evening.”
“We will,” Toryn confirmed before pulling Isa to the dance floor.
The music was slow with a driving base. They moved with the rhythm, close, but still sipping their beverages. Once empty, Toryn set the tumblers on the nearest table, never letting her go.
His eyes darted around often, taking everything in. Quietly, she admitted, “Maybe this was a bad idea.”
He froze, his eyes closing briefly. “No. Because if that was true, you would have to live in a bubble. I’m sorry I’m making you anxious.”
“For my protection.” She sighed. “Will it always be this way?”
“Not always, though I suspect often.”
“Great.”
“Relax. My job is to protect you.”
She smiled against his ear and whispered, “My knight.”
Chapter 34
Lisanna gently pulled Isadora from Toryn’s arms with a smirk on her face. “Come on, Reshanta. Get a drink with me.”
Isa pouted back at Toryn as she walked away with the nymph.
Toryn knew what was about to happen. He felt bad for Lisanna, but Leon would help her forget the slight.
“How do you think Reshanta will handle Lisanna’s plea to have all of us at once?” There was an ounce of hope in his expression, which made Toryn grin.
“She’ll turn her down. She’s not ready to share. May never be.” He wasn’t hiding his pleasure in that statement.
“Greedy bastard,” Leon quipped.
Toryn winced. “I’m in love with her, asshole. For as long as she wants me and only me, she can have all of me.”
“She’s not going to stop. I truly do wish she had taken us up on the threesome. My opportunity to have her is over.”
“You never know, old friend. She is unpredictable, and knows how to differentiate sex from something more.”
“Yet, you have no intention of sharing until she asks, and you hope she never will.”
Shrugging, he met Leon’s gaze. “You’re right. Can you blame me? She’s everything, and now that I have her, I can’t live without her.”
Leon squeezed Toryn’s shoulder as he watched Isa with Lisanna at the counter. Isa looked amused but perturbed.
“Toryn,” Leon told him, “you couldn’t live without her from the moment you saw her.”
Isa’s eyes narrowed at the end of the bar. He recognized the man with long dark hair and deep brown eyes. Zamal, one of Remus’ minions. He hadn’t noticed Isadora. His eyes barely passed over her glamoured face.
“Shit,” Toryn huffed.
“Zamal?” Leon’s brow arched. “He’s excellent at spotting glamour, and hasn’t seemed to notice either of you.”
“He will. Sooner or later.” He had enough of a future-glimpse to suspect he would show up and confront them, but didn’t know how their encounter ended.
“I’ve watched your girl sling around earth magic like it was the most natural thing in the world. Don’t stress out.”
“I’m supposed to be protecting her. Not the other way around,” Toryn insisted.
Leon shook his head. “And you have, but you also have to let her protect herself, and maybe even you occasionally. She may say she wants you to slay her dragons, but we both know if you shove her aside to fight her battles, she will resent you for it.”
“I don’t want her to face any battles.”
“You don’t always get that choice. Besides, this way, maybe she can prove you need to relax a bit.”
He nodded as Isadora started back. She kept glancing at Lisanna with an indulgent smile but shaking her head no. The nymph was persistent, but Isa wasn’t budging.
She held out another cocktail, same as before. Her eyes flicked back to the bar briefly with a shrug and then a nod to the dance floor.
Toryn took the drink and drank it down. Isa did the same and set the glass aside.
“Are you sure?” Lisanna pleaded.
“Come now, beautiful,” Leon purred, “I told you they wouldn’t want to play. You can trust I’ll keep you occupied.”
“I know you will,” she answered.
Isa pulled Toryn into the crowd, pressing close to whisper, “Did you see Zamal?”
“Unfortunately. You worried?” He hoped she was. Leaving without a confrontation would be ideal. Knowing Isa, she wasn’t going to leave until she had her fill of dancing.
“Of course not. You aren’t going to drag me off like a caveman yet.”
“You’d likely castrate me. What fun would I be then?” he teased.
Her hand slipped between them to cup his hard length. They hadn’t had a chance to make love yet today, and he was aching for her.
“You’re fun no matter what. However, I have no intention of castrating you.”
“Good to hear, but we’d best dance, unless you want to draw a bigger audience.”
“We already have an audience.”
“If you hadn’t picked such a drop dead gorgeous guise, it wouldn’t be an issue.”
“Aww, but I went for as opposite as I could get, and low maintenance.”
“And yet you still achieved sensual and seductive without even trying.”
“Ditto, but let’s get back to dancing.”
* * * *
Zamal could sense the glamour but he couldn’t tell from where. He could also scent Isadora’s magic. There was a spicy tang to the sweet. Something altogether unique to her, but she was nowhere in sight.
In fact, there were only two people in the place he didn’t recognize. Both had ebony skin, the man with long dreadlocks, and the woman with a tight cap of curls. So different from Isadora and Toryn, yet they were the only two who could be them.
Finishing his White Russian, he set the glass down and walked toward the pair on the dance floor. They moved as if one, much like Toryn and Isa did in their own forms.
He reached out to grasp the woman’s arm. Dark, narrowed eyes flashed to his, a sneer on her clean face. There wasn’t a single trace of make-up on her clear complexion.
Maybe it’s not them, but her smell, it has to be.
“What do you want?” she practically growled in an accent he couldn’t place, probably because it was fake.
“A dance,” Zamal requested.
“Not interested.” She turned back to the man.
“Wait. I want your name, and what exactly you are.”
The man’s eyebrow arched, but not a single word left his lips.
The woman turned toward him with a scowl. “That’s none of your business. Get out of my face.” The accent didn’t slip.
His eyes narrowed as he focused on her face but there was no ripple, the glamour didn’t waver, though he could feel the magic. He shifted his gaze to the man and did the same. Still nothing.
“Get lost,” the woman snapped and the ground rumbled beneath his feet.
His head tipped to the side. That was distinctly earth magic, and Isadora was known to possess air before the awakening, favoring her mother’s side. So soon after the awakening, she wouldn’t have had a chance to master anything more than the basics. But he felt the glamour.
Zamal channeled his energy at her, trying to strip the magic.
Her nostrils flared as she spun toward him and raised her hands. The floor beneath his fe
et rolled beneath him, knocking him on his ass.
“I’ll be on my way,” he stammered as he stood and made his way to the bar, pulling out his phone. He sent a text to Remus.
Unfamiliar couple in club. Woman has earth magic and smells like Isadora. What would you have me do?
The reply was quick. Use caution, but capture her if you can.
* * * *
“We should go,” Isa whispered.
Toryn nodded, relieved. “Sneaking out would be a good idea.” He gave Leon the signal and pulled Isa toward the dark hallway that led to the bathrooms and a secret exit.
Once they made it to the hidden door, Isa pulled away and turned. “You don’t take a hint, do you?” she snarled, her hands coming up as dust started to gather and swirl above her outstretched fingers. Boulders formed, the size of bowling balls, spinning as her brow arched.
“Isadora Starling, show yourself.”
“I know of no Isadora Starling,” she replied coolly, keeping up the accent. “Last warning, asshole.”
Zamal flicked his hands up, shooting lightning bolts.
Isa laughed out loud, flung the boulders, and brought her arms over her head as a wall of earth rose before them.
Toryn gasped, but opened the hidden door and pulled her through before she could argue. Once the door shut, he spun her toward him. “You okay?”
Nodding, she smirked. “Oh, I’m fine. I’m not sure he is. I heard him scream in pain, but couldn’t see what happened.”
Leon and Lisanna came through another door. Lisanna looked mildly confused, but clearly curious. Leon held his keys out to Isa. “Take my car. Get Drake to safety, Reshanta.”
Her face brightened, a mischievous glint in her eyes. “Gladly, and thank you for an evening to remember.”
“Hmm, perhaps one night, you’ll be interested in a more intimate evening,” he purred.
Her eyes met Toryn’s. “Our night is about to get quite intimate. Drake is everything I crave. Sorry, jaguar.”
Toryn took her arm and pulled her through another door.
“Whatever trouble you’re in,” Lisanna said with a smirk, “I hope it won’t stop our paths from crossing again. I would love to prove a woman’s touch can be as pleasurable as a man’s.”
“Perhaps one day,” Isa replied lightly, but turned to Toryn with a pleading look.
He wrapped his arm around her and took her through another door. She clung to him as time and space expanded and contracted a second before they found themselves in a parking garage near the edge of San Francisco.
* * * *
Zamal whined as he scooted to the wall. The boulders had crushed his hands with the impact, and then broken his shoulder when it sent him flying into the crowd of people.
Whatever that woman was, she couldn’t be Isadora, nor the man Toryn. He would never have stood by to watch an attack on his princess.
The ghoul moved toward him, licking his lips with a dried-out tongue. “I would leave if I were you, faerie. There are many of us who would love a bite, and your blood and raw meat do smell appetizing.”
It took Zamal a moment to stand, the pain coursing through his entire body. Healing himself would be an option if it wasn’t for broken, and crushed, bones. He was going to need a true healer to help with his current state.
He managed to find his feet and get out the door, whimpering the whole way. To top it off, Remus would punish him for causing a scene, likely causing Isa and Toryn to stay in hiding.
Chapter 35
Isa turned to Toryn with wide eyes and scrubbed a hand over her still short, curly hair. Toryn’s glamour was stripped, leaving him the way he usually looked.
Her mouth popped open. “Shit, what the hell was that? And why do I have my glamour, when you don’t?”
He sighed as he grabbed her arm, and started toward a sporty black convertible. “My magic isn’t rooted in all the elements. It doesn’t take as much to strip it. The portal wiped out my glamour.”
“But my magic stayed,” she argued.
“Because it’s rooted in all four elements, and then some. Your magic is stronger than mine, always will be.”
She frowned. “Not stronger, only different.”
“Stronger, Isa. You can do anything you imagine. Now get in, so we can get out of town before Zamal comes back for you.”
“Probably a good thing we’re leaving. I heard commotion as the door shut.”
He nodded, but his voice was cold. “I wouldn’t worry too much. There were healers in the crowd. Ones who will heal anyone for a price. And Zamal should have to pay for helping your uncle.”
Swallowing hard, she nodded. “Right, collateral damage, and I have to expect that.” Her stomach knotted at the thought.
“If it comes to you, or the world, I’m going to choose you every time.”
“Ditto. Doesn’t mean I like the idea I may have hurt a few people. I wasn’t thinking.”
“You were saving my ass without letting me give away the fact I don’t possess an ounce of earth magic.”
“Didn’t think I had it in me?” she teased.
His hands squeezed into fists. “I’m supposed to protect you, not the other way around. Now get in the car.”
“Right.” She sighed and threw herself in the seat as Toryn’s image changed back to Drake in the blink of an eye.
Sliding into the driver’s seat, he plucked the keys from her hand, and started Leon’s car. His attention was focused on driving, but he said, “Look, we both have to adjust. I need to let you handle yourself in situations like this, and you need to remember that my only purpose in life is to keep you safe.”
“I only want you to love me,” she answered sadly.
“I do. More than you can imagine. Which is why I have to stop thinking like your protector, and start thinking like your partner, but you’re nuts if you think I can stop worrying about your safety.”
“I can live with that,” she mumbled, staring out the window.
He took her hand. “No matter what changes, you’re all I care about. I will do everything I can to make you happy.”
“That’s easy. Don’t let me go.” She looked over at the same time he did and their eyes locked. “I love you, Toryn.”
“And I love you, Isa.” His gaze swept back to the road, as he drove them out of town and up the coast.
“Where are you taking me?” she inquired, running a finger up his thigh.
“Somewhere secluded, and protected by magic.”
“So, tell me something. Your security firm isn’t exactly normal security, is it?”
He shook his head. “Not exactly. It’s magical security. We do the same type of thing, only for people who need wards and more than what human electronics can offer.”
“Like the wards you put on my place?” She smiled, thinking back to the day she moved in, and how Toryn insisted the guys and he make sure everything was secure.
“Most of the wards are Lonny’s work, though we help. He’s better at it than us.”
Her brow arched. “But it was your idea.”
“Sure, but they jumped on it. None of us want anything to happen to you.”
“I know you think you’re going to get in trouble, but it seems my mother and father are on our side.” Isa tapped her chin. “How do we prove to anyone who matters that you are on my side, and Henroyld and Remus are the assholes who need to pay?”
“I don’t know,” he admitted.
“I’m guessing my word isn’t going to be enough. Who might be someone who has seen it all?”
“Alenathos found you easily. His memory is long and far reaching. I wouldn’t be surprised if he could help. But the price may be too high.”
The tension thickened around her. She knew it came from Toryn, and that worried her. “What do you mean?”
He didn’t look at her when he said, “Like most people, he wants to use you to his advantage. He’ll try to exploit you.”
“Then I won’t help him. If he
wants his freedom, and I’m his only shot, then he needs to give me a reason to help him.”
“He could kill you,” Toryn stated flatly.
“He hasn’t yet. Some of that had to do with my father, some of it to do with you. If he wanted me dead, he could have accomplished that long ago. So, he needs his freedom.”
“Don’t trust the dragon, Isa. He doesn’t think like us. His motives are far-reaching, and they can’t be trusted.”
“Unless you have a better plan, we have to try.”
“Perhaps.” He pulled off the street, onto a wooded dirt road that wound down toward the water. “Now, let’s not worry about the future, and focus on the present.”
“Mmm, I believe you hinted at sex on the beach.” She licked her lips as his eyes swung her way.
“I did.” He gave her a lascivious grin. “I’ll never tire of exploring new ways to make love to you.”
“Neither will I.”
“Hope not,” he whispered as he parked the car and hopped out.
Before he could come around to her door she stepped out. “What would you like?”
“Are you willing to take a suggestion?” he asked with a crooked grin.
“Oh, I’ll do anything for my knight, you know that.”
“Do I?” His voice was low and husky, conjuring up all of her old desires.
Licking her lips, she pulled her dress off and tossed it in the sand as she started to back toward the water, kicking off her shoes.
“Lose the glamour. I want to see you.” His fell away with the clothes he quickly peeled off.
With a smile, she let go of the magic, revealing her true form.
His gaze caressed her skin as he prowled toward her. Once his hands landed on her hips, he nipped her bottom lip. She jumped into his arms, wrapping her legs around him.
“This feels so much better. I like you in the other face, but this feels natural.”
“Perfection.”
He walked into the ocean which was cold at first, but his heat radiated out, warming both her and the water. His hand slid between them, sliding against her heat. “Always so ready for me.”
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