Toil And Trouble

by H. P. Mallory

  “As far as I’m concerned, we fight with honor or we do not fight at all,” Rand said.

  Odran, Sinjin and I all turned to observe Rand. Christa was too busy with her hair to realize the weight of his statement.

  “What does that mean?” I asked.

  “Yes, Randall, what does that mean?” Sinjin queried, his fingers plying the top of my chair. I could feel his cold breath as it assaulted my neck and a wash of excitement coursed through me, much though I tried to suppress it.

  “It means I will not fight unless we do so morally and honorably. I will not stoop to her level.”

  “And if she attacks us?” Sinjin countered.

  “We will be ready for it,” Rand answered.

  Odran rubbed his chin, as if in deep contemplation. Nigel could only stand there, like Odran’s shadow.

  “How do we prepare for it?” Sinjin demanded, his fingers now digging into the leather chair.

  Rand sighed. “Everyone will camp here, at Pelham Manor. We will notify Bella of when and where we will meet her army. In the meantime, this will be our base. We will train together and live together.”

  “And die together,” Sinjin finished with a scowl.

  Odran started forward, lumbering as if his body weren’t accustomed to its great height and build. “If he will ‘ave it nay oother way…” he started.

  “I will not,” Rand answered. He certainly was stubborn. I could only pray his sense of stubbornness would serve us and not be our death sentence.

  “Very well,” Odran nodded.

  I glanced at Sinjin who smiled at me.

  “The leader has spoken,” he said but I wasn’t sure if he was referring to Odran or Rand.

  “So, we all live together here?” I asked, sounding stupid since I didn’t quite grasp how this would work. “Where?”

  Pelham Manor definitely had the acreage but it wasn’t the ideal place for a bivouac, as far as I could fathom. I mean, there were no large open fields to house hundreds of soldiers. Instead, it was mostly packed with tall pines, a stream, and Rand’s rose garden which was the only open flat land.

  “We’ll have to clear some trees to set up tents,” Rand announced.

  “I willna sleep in ah tent,” Odran contended. “Officers shouldna be relegated to the ootside.”

  Since when was the Fae King appointed an Officer?

  “If you are to sleep in your home,” Sinjin addressed Rand while he glanced at me. “Then so shall we. Odran is correct. Let the minion sleep in tents.”

  I smiled at his reference to the rest of our army as the “minion” but Rand’s expression wiped the smile right off my lips. He was livid and his aura radiated with violet intensity.

  I probably should have mentioned I can see auras. Even though I never thought much of this ability, having been able to see them since I was young, according to Rand, it was one of the first signs he’d had that I was a witch. I’m also psychic but apparently that wasn’t as impressive as the whole aura seeing bit.

  “And do not forget vampires cannot survive in the sun, as you know, Randall. We need a place to shelter us from the daylight.”

  “Then you can bloody well dig yourself a grave and sleep in it,” Rand answered, the words “for all I care” hanging in silence.

  Sinjin laughed derisively. “Excuse me, your honor, but I refuse to sleep in the dirt.”

  Rand began to protest but soon realized it was fruitless as his angry words expired from his lips. I caught Sinjin watching me with a rakish glint in his eye and returned my attention to Rand who was glaring at Odran, who was staring at Christa with undisguised interest.

  “Jolie and Christa are under my protection,” Rand snarled between clenched teeth.

  At the mention of my name, Odran refocused his attention on me, (i.e., my legs) and smiled.

  “Of course they are,” Sinjin agreed. “No need to be a todger, Randall.”

  “If either of you lays one finger on either of them, I will kill you,” Rand continued, dividing his icy glare between Odran and Sinjin. “No questions asked.”

  Sinjin’s gaze didn’t depart from mine. “What if they…wish to be touched?”

  “Hey, I have a boyfriend,” Christa replied but was interrupted by Rand, who suddenly lunged and threw Sinjin into the wall. The entire house shook as Rand wrapped his hands around Sinjin’s throat and suspended him mercilessly, their noses only inches apart.

  “I do not want to catch you even glancing at them,” Rand said in an arctic tone.

  Sinjin’s fangs exposed themselves but I could see him holding back, trying not to react. I mentally applauded him when his fangs retracted and his snarl turned into a smile.

  “Of course, Randall, of course.”

  Rand released him and walked back to me. “Jolie needs to rest now. We can discuss all the details tomorrow.”

  “When do ye want yer recruits here?” Odran inquired.

  “Immediately,” Rand answered as he stood in front of the fire, finally quiet for a few seconds. “Odran, I will leave it to you to summon the fairies. By the time they arrive, I will have made arrangements for them. Sinjin, you take care of the vampires. I will handle all the werewolves and the witches.”

  I wanted to suggest I’d provide the pumpkins, carving knives and Butterfingers but didn’t want to be considered a smart ass.

  And, furthermore, it suddenly occurred to me that my sleeping arrangements hadn’t exactly been detailed. Even though I did live on Rand’s property, it wasn’t inside the main house. Instead, my residence had once been the butler’s quarters, almost two miles from Pelham Manor. I sensed maybe Rand intended for me to move back to the main house, but it was something I wasn’t exactly thrilled over. I mean, it sounded good and all but the reason I lived on my own was due to the maddening relationship between Rand and I. And I couldn’t imagine that relationship was now any less complicated.

  “What about me?” I asked as Rand frowned. “Can I continue living in my house?”

  He scratched his chin. “No.”

  “I don’t want…”

  “It’s too far from me. I can’t protect you if you aren’t nearby. And with all the underworld creatures camped here, it won’t be safe.”

  “Won’t be safe?” I echoed.

  “Jolie, while they might be on our side, they are still creatures of the underworld and…male.” He sighed. “I don’t want to take any chances when your safety is concerned.”

  “And who will protect her against your advances, Randall?” Sinjin hissed.

  “I’m not interested in starting a row, Sinjin,” Rand warned.

  “Perhaps you should apply your rules to yourself?” Sinjin persisted.

  “Jolie, you and I can discuss this later,” Rand growled before turning back to Odran and Sinjin. “As for our meeting, it is finished.”

  Sinjin said nothing as he moved toward the door. He grabbed the doorknob and turning it, seemed to remember something and whispered to me.

  “Goodnight, Jolie, I bid you sweet dreams.” The smirk on his lips told me exactly what type of dreams he had in mind.

  #

  Rand packed me into the passenger seat of his black Range Rover. It was late and I was exhausted, the thought of my welcoming bed the only thing bringing me consolation. Rand started the engine and cranked the heat up, pulling out of his driveway and headed for the dirt road that would lead to my house.

  “Working so closely with Sinjin and Odran is hard for you, isn’t it?” I asked.

  Rand’s eyes didn’t leave the road. “Yes, if I had it my way, I wouldn’t interact with any of them, save you and Christa.”

  He was quite the antisocial warlock.

  “When do I need to move into the main house?”

  “Once all the recruits arrive,” he answered and glanced over at me. “I don’t trust them, Jolie, and I want to make sure you’re safe.”

  He smiled as he squeezed my knee playfully. A familiar warmth penetrated me and I clutched his
hand.

  “Every time you touch me, it still feels like a lightning bolt running through my body.”

  He smiled. “Well, it is energy.”

  “Do you feel it when I touch you?”

  “No, you aren’t yet a powerful enough witch. But, in time, your powers will be strong enough for me to feel it.”

  I nodded, silently wondering when that day would come. I relaxed into the luxury of Rand’s heated seats and had to fight the wave of exhaustion that threatened to submerge me.

  “I hope I wasn’t out of line warning Sinjin to keep away from you?” Rand asked, attempting to sound casual.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  Rand was quiet for a few seconds. “He acts as if there’s something between you both.”

  I shrugged. “He’s a vampire…they flirt.”

  Rand nodded and seemed satisfied enough to stop pursuing the subject. A few seconds later, we pulled in front of my house and he turned the car off.

  “I thought you were just dropping me off?” I asked, somewhat surprised by the fact that he hadn’t left the car running.

  He opened his car door and walked around to open mine. He reached around my body and pulled me into his arms, lifting me up and kicking the door closed behind him. When we reached the porch, I fished inside my pocket and found my key. I only opened the door a sliver, trying to make sure my cat, Plum, wasn’t about to sneak through. The coast was clear.

  “I want to make sure everything is in order before I leave you for the night,” Rand said.

  As soon as we stepped inside, the lights came on, courtesy of Rand’s magic. He carried me through the small living room and into my sparse bedroom, reclining me on my bed with the greatest delicacy. That was when I realized he’d have to undress me as I couldn’t do it myself. Even though Christa was currently living with me to assist me with my daily needs, at the moment she was with John but due back any minute.

  “You’ll have to help me with my clothes,” I whispered in a small voice. Ordinarily I could’ve just used magic to put on my jammies. But due to the latest course of events, I didn’t have any magic left. That’s why I felt so damned useless—my magic was in the process of healing.

  Rand seemed taken aback, and I had to wonder why he wasn’t thrilled with the idea of seeing me in the buff. Not like I was thrilled with seeing myself in the buff either…He didn’t say anything, though, and quite matter-of-factly began the task of removing my shoes. He dropped them unceremoniously to the floor next to my bed and peeled off my socks. I could only hope my socks weren’t sweaty. Talk about a turn off…Is there anything worse than foot sweat? Course, I hadn’t done any walking so I was probably okay there.

  “What do you sleep in?”

  “My jammies are in the bottom drawer, far right,” I said in a voice made weak by the toad currently living in my throat.

  He opened the drawer, pulling out a Victoria’s Secret pink cotton nightshirt. “This?” he asked.

  “Yes, thanks.”

  He approached me again and appeared to be avoiding eye contact.

  “You don’t have to do this if you’re uncomfortable, Rand,” I said. “Christa should be here soon.”

  “I gave Christa the night off,” he started. “And I’m not uncomfortable so there’s no reason for you to be in jeans all night,” he added, as if reassuring himself.

  I had to wonder why he would’ve given Christa the night off but was spared the thought when he leaned over me and grabbed hold of the waistline of my jeans, his fingers brushing against my stomach. I fought to keep my eyes open as I relished the heat from his fingers as they undid my button and unzipped the jeans, sliding them down my body. He carelessly tossed them atop my socks and shoes.

  “It might be easier to get my shirt off if you sit me up,” I whispered.

  He nodded and gripping my elbows, pulled me toward him. I tried to raise my arms so he could more easily slide the turtleneck over my head but my arms refused to budge. Instead, he gently pulled each of my sleeves and while running his hand underneath the material, pulled my arms into the square of the shirt. Then he carefully slid the shirt over my head and dropped it on top of the jeans.

  Then he looked at me, somewhat bewildered. “Do you wear your sleepshirt over what you’ve got on now?” he asked, alluding to my bra and panties.

  “No.” I slowly responded.

  He kneeled down in front of me, running his hands over the cotton of my nightshirt. A loose tendril of hair crested my shoulder and he gingerly positioned it behind my ear. His touch sent a ripple of shivers over my body.

  “Rand,” I started but couldn’t finish. He leaned into me and I felt his hot breath against my neck. His hands cupped my face as he delicately brought his lips to mine. He kissed me softly at first, working his fingers through my hair. I moaned and his probing tongue plunged through my lips, eagerly seeking mine.

  Suddenly, he withdrew and he was panting. “It nearly destroyed me when you were here with Trent,” he said, drawing his fingers down my cheek. “I had..nightmares…about him making love to you.”

  I smiled. “And to think all you had to do was ask me.”

  “You must realize my self esteem had already taken too much of a beating.”

  His finger continued down the line of my neck and further down until he outlined my bra strap. He traced it to the mound of my breasts and down to the hollow of my cleavage, his eyes fastened on mine the entire time.

  “Move back to the main house, Jolie, I want you near me.”

  “You know where that led us before,” I protested weakly.

  “I know there are issues between us but I don’t want you so far from me.” He reached around with his other hand and unhooked my bra, dropping it carelessly to the ground.

  His eyes were riveted to my breasts and I felt my nipples harden under his scrutiny. He drew one finger around my torrid nipple, teasing the knob with his thumb and forefinger. I closed my eyes and sighed at the ecstasy erupting from deep within me.

  “We always seem to end up in the same situation,” I said as I remembered Rand‘s inability to commit to me wholeheartedly.

  “It’s something that haunts me constantly,” he sighed.

  Any relationship between us could never be casual—it would have to be a permanent bonding of our souls. Hundreds of times more permanent than a human marriage. And that wasn’t me just being dramatic—that’s the way it was between witches—all or nothing.

  “Rand,” I interjected, quickly snapping my attention from the lazy circles he was drawing around my breasts.

  “Hmm?” he responded continuing to loop his fingers around my nipples, intermittently giving them a gentle squeeze to enhance their rigidity.

  “Why did you tell me that love between witches was all consuming and that a witch can die if their lover dies?”

  He stopped outlining my breasts and looked at me intently, his eyes not really seeing me but seeing through me as if into another time.

  “I’ve seen witches die from losing lovers,” he said in a voice fraught with pain.

  It was a reaction you would expect from someone who knew this information from personal experience and even though Rand had told me he’d never dated a witch for this exact reason, I couldn’t help but wonder if he hadn’t been exactly truthful.

  “Is this coming from your own personal experiences?” I asked, almost regretting the question as soon as it fell off my lips. Did I really want to know Rand’s past where relationships were concerned?

  He was quiet while his fingers traced the elastic line of my panties. He ran a finger across my stomach, from one side to the other.

  “Yes,” he said simply.

  He lifted me up then and placed my butt atop the pillows at the head of the bed, arranging me sideways across the bed while he pulled himself next to me, lying on his side. He resumed painting the outline of my underwear, his eyes studying me as if he were an artist.

  “Can you talk about it?�
�� I cautiously inquired, just as Plum jumped up on the bed. Rand picked her up, gave her a kiss on the head and promptly deposited her outside the door, closing it after her.

  He faced me again with a slight smile and laid back down next to me. “Yes, I think we should.”

  I felt his finger follow my panty line down my groin, to the inside of my thigh, and shuddered as it disappeared into the hollow between my legs. I dropped my head back into the pillows, relishing the feel of his finger as it traced up and over the other side of my panty line, up my inner thigh and over my stomach.

  “Tease,” I whispered.

  He chuckled and turned my face toward him, outlining my cheekbones. “I was deeply in love once,” he said and his eyes suddenly became sad and faraway.

  The idea that Rand had been in love with someone hit me like a freight train. But the thought that he still hadn’t gotten over her was something even harder to accept.

  “I was so bonded with her that when she was killed, it nearly killed me. I was sick for months and probably would’ve died if not for Mathilda.”

  Mathilda was a fairy. She was also my teacher for many of the lessons I’d learned about magic. What I hadn’t counted on was that she would be the reason Rand had survived the death of his…wife for lack of a better word.

  “Mathilda nursed me back to health,” Rand continued. “She fed me and cared for me as if I were an infant. At the time, I suppose I was.”

  “You must have found the strength within yourself to have been able to survive such a loss, though?” I asked.

  He cocked his head, as if he were pondering it for the first time. “I believe my survival was every bit due to Mathilda’s strength, not my own. She was able to make me forget, able to take away the pain little by little. She erased it from my mind.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Just that, she erased my lover little by little until I couldn’t remember her face or her name. I don’t remember any of the details about her. All I feel now is an emptiness, a void. And I know that emptiness is due to the fact that I lost her.”

  “Do you remember how you lost her?”

  He shook his head. “All of it’s gone as if it had never been.”