Dangerous Magic

by Donna Grant

  With her legs straddling his hips, she rotated her damp sex against him. “I like this.”

  Cade groaned. Her hair had begun to dry in damp waves of red that cascaded down her back to tease his legs. He sat up and plunged his hands into her hair as he took her mouth in a fierce, needful kiss.

  She moaned into his mouth, her nails scraping his back as he deepened the kiss. He reached between them and teased her nipples with his fingers, pinching the tiny buds until her hips rocked against him.

  “Easy, witch,” he murmured into her ear before he took the lobe into his mouth and suckled.

  “Cade, please. I need you.”

  His balls tightened at her words. He most assuredly didn’t deserve his witch, but he would have her as long as he was able.

  His witch.

  Aye, she’s mine.

  Cade had never felt so possessive of a woman before, never wanted to cling to hope and a future he had dreamed of so many years ago. But Francesca made him think it could all be possible again.

  He knew it wasn’t, but she gave him the kernel of hope he hadn’t had in so very long.

  He grasped Francesca by her waist and lifted her until her sex hovered over his raging cock. Instinctively, he knew she would be the only woman who could calm the darkness.

  Her tawny gaze met his, a seductive smile on her swollen lips. “Please.”

  Slowly, he lowered her. She was wet and slid easily over his length until he was seated to the root. Cade wrapped his arms around her and slanted his mouth over hers for another kiss.

  When her arms wound around his neck, he began to rock her hips back and forth with his hands. She gasped and dropped her head back, her lips parted on a moan. Cade had never seen anything so alluring, so erotic in his entire life.

  He shifted, and it took him deeper within her. She moaned his name, her nails sinking into his shoulder, and she took over the rocking motion.

  “Put the soles of your feet together,” he told her. “Then, use your legs to ride me.”

  She bit her bottom lip as she did as he instructed. The first time she moved, Cade groaned low in his throat. With her heat and tight channel around him, he wouldn’t last long. When she quickened her pace, he knew she wasn’t long in peaking. He cupped her head and looked into her eyes. He wanted to see her as she came, wanted to experience a closeness with this witch.

  “Cade,” she whispered before she clenched around him.

  The feel of her tightening around his cock sent him over the edge. Cade stiffened and shuddered as he climaxed, his gaze locked with Francesca’s.

  And for a the barest of moments, he thought he saw the future. A future with him and his witch.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Cade opened his eyes to find the fire dying. He wasn’t sure when he’d fallen asleep, but with Francesca snuggled against him, it had been the best rest he’d had since he’d joined the king’s Royal Guard.

  Anyone, or anything, could have snuck up on him, and he wouldn’t have known it. That frightened Cade much more than he wanted.

  He gradually extracted his arm from beneath the witch and rose to add logs to the fire. With the rain, it was damp and cool in the cave, and he didn’t want Francesca to get sick. Once the fire was blazing, he turned to get another blanket. A heartbeat after he placed the blanket over her, he paused, the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end.

  Cade jerked on his breeches and grasped his knives. He moved to the shadows of the cave near the entrance and waited. Just moments later, a shape moved to enter, much as Francesca had done earlier.

  He brought his blade to the intruder’s throat.

  “Is this how you treat a friend?”

  Cade cursed and lowered his weapon as he recognized Drogan’s voice. “Get out.”

  “Not until I know what you did to Francesca.”

  “The witch is fine.”

  “I want to see her,” Drogan argued, his gold eyes hard.

  Cade gripped his knives. He didn’t want anyone looking at his witch. “I said she’s fine.”

  Drogan took a step toward him. “If you’ve harmed her....”

  “What will you do? Kill me as I asked you to do so long ago?”

  “Cade,” Drogan growled.

  “The witch is fine,” Cade said again. “She’s by the fire.”

  Drogan looked over Cade’s shoulder. Unable to help himself, Cade turned to look at his witch. A slender arm had come out of the blanket. Anger burned within him as he realized Drogan had seen her.

  When he turned around, Drogan’s gaze had changed—a look of uncertainty and...optimism flared. “Do you care for her?”

  “Stop looking at her,” Cade said between clenched teeth.

  Drogan held up his hands and turned so that his back was to Francesca. “Answer me, Cade. Do you care for her?”

  “She touches me as no one has.”

  Drogan’s looked at him. “The darkness claimed you, didn’t it?”

  Cade gave a small jerk of his head.

  “And Francesca soothed you?”

  “She gave me peace,” he admitted. “Peace that I haven’t known in years.”

  Drogan blew out a breath. “You came back from the darkness. It’s almost impossible to believe. What was it like?”

  “You don’t want to know.”

  “Yet you didn’t harm Fran.”

  Cade shook his head. “I couldn’t. Despite what the darkness wanted, I couldn’t hurt her.”

  “Does it still have a hold on you?”

  “Not at the moment.”

  Drogan rubbed his chin, a worried expression furrowing his brow. “Cade, as much as I’m happy that you’ve found some peace, I have concerns about Fran.”

  “You mean because of the curse, or because you two grew up like brother and sister?”

  “Both, I guess,” he confessed. “Fran has always kept herself closed off from everyone, including my uncle, whom she considers a father.”

  “I know she needs to stay away from me,” Cade said. “I know it, yet I can’t imagine never seeing her again. Nigel is coming, and I’ve never known such fear, such rage as I do when I think of him touching her.”

  “I know.”

  Cade glanced at the man he had called brother. “There is no future for the witch and me. I plan on killing Nigel.”

  Drogan turned towards him, but Cade held up a hand. “I know what you would say, and I thank you for it. I don’t know what would have become of me if you and Gerard hadn’t been there. I owe you both so much. Ending Nigel is the least I can do.”

  As much as Cade had missed talking to Drogan, all he wanted now was for his friend to leave so he could return to Francesca. He wanted to lie beside her, to feel her soft curves press against him, to have her warm breath fan his skin as she slept.

  He wanted her.

  “What happens now?”

  Cade shrugged. “I don’t know. We wait. I’ve raised Nigel’s ire. He could send another army, he could send another wolf, or he could come himself.”

  “The river has begun to rise over the banks from all the rain.”

  Cade let that information sink in. “Have you gathered all your people inside the castle walls?”

  “Not all. I plan on collecting them on the morrow. Some are near the river and could be flooded.”

  “Don’t go yourself,” Cade cautioned. “You never know what Nigel has planned.”

  Drogan crossed his arms over his chest and raised an auburn brow. “I am lord here, Cade. I will see to my people.”

  “So I’m wasting my time trying to protect you? Nigel let you and Gerard go because he planned to use both of you as bait for me. Don’t make this harder than it is.”

  “Are you saying all these years when I thought I was done with Nigel, he was merely playing with me? Teasing me with freedom?”

  Cade reluctantly nodded.

  “You need to leave here,” Drogan said as he dropped his arms and ran a hand down his face. “Leave.
Return to your home and see your family. Ready your own castle. If you’re right and Nigel wants you, he’ll leave me alone.”

  Cade didn’t respond. How could he, when he knew there was nothing left of his ancestral home? Sure, the stones still stood, at least a majority of them did. His tenants, his people, for the most part had stayed and continued to work the land.

  He’d ensured that he had a trustworthy steward to see to everything for the next lord of Stonelake. Cade had no intentions of ever returning. He had nothing to return for.

  “Cade.”

  He blinked and glanced at Drogan to see his brows drawn together, his voice harsh as if he had called to him many times. “Aye?”

  “My castle is protected with the witches’ magic. I’ll be fine. See to your own people.”

  Cade nodded, knowing Drogan wouldn’t stop arguing the point unless he thought Cade had agreed.

  “Good,” Drogan said with a sigh. “Now, I must return to my wife. She’s worried sick over Francesca.”

  Cade waited until Drogan disappeared in the rain before he turned back to his witch. Francesca had rolled onto her side to face him, the blanket dipping down so that one pink nipple was visible.

  He hardened instantly. He feared after his taste of her, he would never get enough. Already the thought of her leaving, even if it was only to the castle for more clothes, left him in a cold sweat.

  Her tale of the curse was interesting. He had never given much credence to curses. He believed that the more a person gave stock to the curse, the more power the curse held over you. Husbands died and left. That was the way of the world.

  That it happened within three months of the birth of the children seemed odd, but he was sure not all the witches had been spoken with after their husbands left or died to refute the curse. But Francesca believed in the curse. And by the protective light in Drogan’s eyes, so did he.

  Cade removed his breeches and lifted the blanket lay behind Fran, his body molded hers. He let his arm fall over her waist as he brought her against him. She made a soft mewling sound in her sleep and burrowed closer to him.

  Unable to stop his thoughts, he found himself drifting through memories of his home. Stonelake was picturesque, quiet, and fed his soul. He’d been loath to leave it and his family, but the prospect of honor and glory had been too much of a temptation. Had he known that accepting Nigel’s offer as an assassin would prevent him from ever returning, Cade would never have taken it.

  Drogan and Gerard had tried to warn him, had cautioned him about believing Nigel. But Cade had been naïve. Nigel’s silver tongue had told Cade exactly what he wanted to hear, and Cade had no way of knowing that Nigel was putting evil into his soul.

  If he’d met Francesca before now, before Nigel could sink his claws into him, maybe he would have been able to see what Nigel was about.

  The future Cade had always dreamed of, with a castle full of children and a wife who stood by his side, had disappeared long ago. Or so he thought. Being near Francesca made him think of those long ago hopes and dreams.

  Cade’s family had a good name and plenty of coin. He would have been a good catch for any noble family.

  His eyes closed when he thought of his father. His father had been a wise, patient man, a man who had instilled in Cade the need for family and honor. Cade had wanted to make him proud. Proud was the last thing his father would be now, looking down from heaven.

  Cade wouldn’t even be able to see his family, because once he died, he knew his soul was bound for Hell. Especially after what he had done to his mother and sisters.

  His heart began to race, and he broke out into a cold sweat every time he thought of that dark day. Cade buried his face in Francesca’s hair and inhaled the fragrance of lilacs.

  Almost instantly, he felt a calm descend over him. Was it Francesca’s magic, or the woman herself? Somehow, some way, she held sway over Cade’s soul as no one else, not even Nigel, had been able to.

  * * * * *

  “Well?” Serena demanded when Drogan walked into their chamber.

  He shook his head rapidly, and water went everywhere. Only after he had removed his wet clothing and climbed into bed beside her did he let out a loud sigh.

  Serena drummed her fingers as she watched her husband lie back with his hands behind his head and his gaze on the canopy above them.

  “Drogan,” she urged.

  “She’s with Cade,” he finally answered.

  Serena paused, her heart lurching. “I knew it. I know you’re glad for Cade, but....”

  “You wonder about Fran.”

  “Aye,” she nodded. She turned onto her side and touched her husband’s arm. “If she’s with Cade, does that mean the darkness hadn’t taken him as we feared?”

  Drogan’s gold eyes met hers. “That’s just it, love. It had taken him.”

  “I don’t understand. You told me once it takes hold of him, he’s lost.”

  “So I thought. It seems that Fran has the power to rid Cade of the darkness. He told me the evil wanted him to kill her, urged him to do it. But he couldn’t.”

  “Oh.” Serena thought over his words for a moment. “Did you see Fran? Is she all right?”

  He nodded. “I saw her, though I didn’t speak to her.”

  “Why?”

  “Cade nearly ripped my head from my body every time I looked at her, and as to why, she was asleep. Naked under the blanket.”

  Serena fell back on her pillow. “Oh.”

  “Precisely.”

  “She calmed him?”

  “Brought him peace, he said. The few times I’ve glimpsed Cade since he left Gerard and me, his gaze was haunted. Yet, tonight, he did appear at peace. Not quite the boy I first met with such grand hopes and dreams, but a man who knew what he’d done and was planning a future.”

  Serena moved to lay her head on Drogan’s chest, his hand absently caressing her bare back. “I’ve always gotten the sense from Fran that she doesn’t plan to have a future.”

  “Cade said they didn’t have a future, that he planned to kill Nigel, which would in turn kill him.”

  “Fran isn’t going to like that.”

  Drogan’s shoulder moved in a shrug. “Maybe she knows.”

  “She’s been here every day, no matter the weather, ever since Nigel’s last attack. She’s fortified the castle with magic, and I’ve even seen her in the armory protecting those weapons.”

  “She just wants to make sure we’re protected.”

  Serena let out a breath. “Maybe. Yet, I could easily have protected the castle and weapons with my magic, and I have. I just feel...I don’t know, that maybe she’s hiding something from us.”

  “Her power is dreams. Do you think she saw something?”

  “Nay. If she had, she would tell us. I’m sure of it.”

  “Then what?”

  Serena caressed his abdomen. “I tried to see her death the other day. She didn’t even know I had done it, she was so preoccupied in looking for Cade.”

  “What did you see?”

  “I couldn’t.”

  He shifted so that he leaned on his elbow and stared down at her. “You couldn’t?”

  “There was nothing but never ending blackness.”

  “Death is something that comes to us all, love. Don’t look again. It always hurts your soft heart, and I cannot stand to see you upset.”

  Serena smiled. It still surprised her that she had beaten the curse, that she not only had her son, but she had Drogan. A strong, powerful man who gave love like she had only dreamed about.

  “I know,” she admitted. “I just had to look. Fran seems different lately, almost like she’s closing herself off.”

  “She’s always been like that. You’ve only known her a little over a year, love. I’ve known her nearly my entire life. Though I was gone a lot from Wolfglynn, Phineas wrote me often. He was ever worried about Francesca.”

  “I would never have thought she would be interested in Cade.”


  Drogan gathered her into his arms and kissed her forehead. “No one knows what the future holds. All we can do is hope for the best. As for Cade and Fran, I didn’t expect it either, but I’m happy for both of them. They were both alone. Now they have each other.”

  Serena snuggled against him. Drogan was right, but she couldn’t stop worrying. For Fran, for Cade, for everyone. Evil was coming, and it intended to kill them all.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Francesca came awake slowly, her body sated in a way she had never experienced before. She smiled as images of Cade flashed in her mind. She opened her eyes to find the rain had begun to slow, which made her sad.

  She wasn’t ready to leave Cade. Not now, possibly not ever. Even when she’d had the new dream about Nigel, it hadn’t frightened her as it had in past nights, because she’d been in Cade’s arms.

  One of his arms was beneath her head, and her back was pressed against his side. She rolled over, surprised to find him still asleep. He had said he rarely slept, yet to look at him now, he looked serene and almost boyish.

  The fire had all but died, though the coals still glowed. The sun tried to break through the thick clouds of the storm, which gave her enough light in which to see Cade.

  She ran her finger down his cheek, the stubble of his beard scratching her skin. Her gaze raked freely over his body. She marveled at his sculpted muscles, the strength of body and mind evident just by looking at him.

  Her hand skimmed his chest and over his flat belly to the line of golden hair that ran to his flaccid rod. He had kicked the blanket off one leg that was dusted with more of his golden hair.

  She felt the soreness betwixt her legs and smiled. Cade had touched her as no other man ever had, but he’d done more than make love to her. She had opened herself fully to him, given everything.

  And in return, she had seen a part of him she hadn’t expected.

  For just a moment last night, as they had made love and he’d held her gaze, she had glimpsed the boy he once was. It had stirred her heart. And when he’d asked about the curse, she hadn’t hesitated in telling him. Which was odd. She never spoke of it. It wasn’t as if she tried to ignore it—she just didn’t want to think of it.