Dark Tide (A Mated by Magic Novel)

by Stella Marie Alden

  He sneered and floated toward Jack. “You think you such a big man Fialko? You think no one but Fialko find perfect match?”

  Josh struggled, but the force held him trapped in a small side chapel. He forced his eyelids open a slit. His brother, Jack, tried unsuccessfully to create a new shield. His eyes darted with a panic that Josh had never witnessed. Near the altar, Jace wasn’t moving.

  Gregor chuckled, turned in a circle, and regarded his prey. A cat, playing with a roomful of mice.

  Maya stood on shaky legs stuck against a pink marble column. Blood dripped sidewise from a large gash along her hairline.

  Uragan approached her, sapphire wind spinning off him like a freak fan.

  “So, you want to kill Gregor? I think instead, I kill you.”

  His tornado spun faster. Soon they’d all stop breathing from the pressure. Maya was closest. Her contorted face indicated she’d be first.

  Josh had only seconds. If he didn’t try now, they’d all die.

  He hummed, drowning out the sound of the wind and gathered his inner energy, willing Maya to look at him. ‘We are all made of water’ he mouthed slowly.

  She nodded, and a little of Uragan’s power dropped away.

  This might be their only opportunity. With energy coiled tight within, he let go, not from his hands, but from his navel. Like a laser, fire shot out in a beam, and pierced a hole straight through Gregor’s chest.

  The wind stopped and he fell back, eyes wide, mouth open. The evil man drew his last breath, staring at the cauterized hole that went straight through him.

  It was over.

  Released from the wall, Josh rushed to Maya. “Are you okay?” He knelt over her, brushing her hair back from her face.

  She stared up at him. “It should’ve been me who killed him. You had no right to stop me.”

  He shook his head. “No. You wanted revenge.”

  “And you?”

  “I just wanted to save you. Save us. This,” he glanced down at the dead body, “will live with me forever. He left me no choice.”

  He forced his gaze away from Gregor to where Jack squatted beside the unconscious Jace, index finger to his neck.

  “He’s going to be all right, but we need a healer.” Jack, obviously relieved, picked up his cell phone and dialed.

  Josh helped Maya to stand, then spoke with Gregor’s remaining men who explained their role. Apparently, they either obeyed, or could watch their families be tortured. He took names and ordered them to stay close.

  Two hours later, they were back at their hotel. Exhausted and drained, but alive.

  In a huge common room, wide windows faced the castle at the top of the hill. Josh sat at a game table, covered with felt, sipping on some hideous tea. Jack fingered small colored chips, doing the same.

  Jace lay on the double bed in a room down the hall with a local healer. Maya and Jenny slept in the adjoining room.

  “God awful taste.” Josh finished the last of his drink and put the cup down.

  “Yeah.” Jack stared out the window, sighed, and shook his head. “When did you learn that laser thing?”

  “Just recently. I had a lot of time on my hands and I started collecting ancient texts. I tried to figure out how you and Jace both found a perfect match. Pretty coincidental for something so rare. Y’know? Came across that little gem from a parchment in an old vault in China. Cost me a fortune to figure out what it said. Then took me a couple months to perfect. Wasn’t even sure I could make it work.”

  His brother nodded, face pensive. “Glad it did.”

  “Mmm.”

  Filling the silence, pigeons cooed on the red tiled roof, just beyond the open windows.

  “You were more powerful than me all along. You should’ve been the one to take over the clan.” Jack finally looked up, face laced with guilt.

  Is that what this is all about? Josh exhaled. Like when they were teens, he hit him hard in the shoulder, then mussed his hair. “Ancient history, little bro. I obviously wasn’t ready. Good that you were or we would’ve lost the clan to Gregor two solstice’s ago.”

  Jack nodded, gripped his empty cup, and pondered the leftover tea leaves. “I, uh, shit. I love you, Josh. Damn it. I’ve missed you.”

  Josh’s throat tightened and his eyes watered. He hugged his brother and smacked him hard on the back. “Me too.”

  They both cleared their throats and looked off into the distance where white fluffy clouds floated over ancient turrets.

  Jack spoke after a few minutes. “What’re you going to do about Maya?”

  “Honestly? I don’t know.” Josh met his brother’s concerned gaze. That was exactly what he’d been doing. Sitting here and wondering.

  His brother tilted his head with a small frown and stated the obvious. “Don’t take too long to figure it out. She’s too good to let go.”

  “I don’t even know if she wants me. I’ve fucked things up pretty bad.” Josh put his face into his hands and clunked his forehead on the green felt.

  Jack’s tone chilled. “Give her time. Try to remember how you felt just a few months ago. It’s a dark place.”

  Josh nodded. How the hell would he ever live through another heartbreak?

  Chapter 28

  Josh woke up at the sounds of his brothers laughing in the common room and turned to the empty side of the bed. When was it that he had stopped seeing Nicole there and pictured Maya?

  He pulled on a pair of jeans and opened yet another plastic package with a new t-shirt. On the floor lay the last one he wore, shredded beyond recognition. He shuddered, thinking how close they all came to death.

  Descending the dark medieval narrow staircase and into a surprisingly modern kitchen, he found his brothers. He sat down while simultaneously grabbing for something oozing with cream.

  Jace grinned and poured him coffee from a carafe.

  “How’s the girl?” he asked, then took a sip of the strong brew, looking out the window where Jenny sat in the large gardens.

  “Since Alex is still facing charges by the Council, and Jenny doesn’t have any other family back in Australia, she’s decided to finish up the semester here, then try for a college in New Jersey. Mom said she’d look after her.” Jack paused, and glanced at the girl, “She understands her mom may be sanctioned for a while. Maybe even do some time. But if they’re lucky, community service for the Council may suffice.”

  Jack nodded. It didn’t surprise him that his own mom had stepped up and offered to help. Sometimes he forgot how lucky he was to have such loving parents.

  “What time are we scheduled to leave?” Josh asked, placing his mug on the counter.

  “Late afternoon. I’ve booked a flight for Maya back to Australia. Are you sure you want to come back with us?”

  “Yeah.” He rubbed his eyes. “I’ve got some loose ends I need to tie up back home.”

  After breakfast, Josh had his suitcase packed, emotions torn. He was eager to return to Jersey, and see the rest of his family and clan, but it also meant leaving Maya.

  He’d tried to put his feeling for her on pause, holding onto Jack’s patient advice to take it slow, let her heal. But ‘out of sight, out of mind.’ Wasn’t that true as well? Hell, he couldn’t imagine a day without her, let alone an entire lifetime.

  He knocked on her door. “Maya. Please, talk to me. We only have a few hours before our planes leaves.”

  She opened the door slowly, eyes puffy and red. “There isn’t anything else to say.”

  “We need to talk about us.”

  “There is no us. Never was an us. It was just sex, Josh.” She started to shut the door, but he caught it.

  “It started out that way. Lots of couples start out that way. But it’s more now.”

  “Even if that were true, I have to go back to Australia, and your life is in the States.”

  “For now.”

  She shook her head and smiled sadly.

  There was no way he was ever going to let her leave
without showing her how much she meant to him. One thing he’d learned, life was short, and you needed to grasp for every moment of happiness you could.

  “Maya.” He placed his palm on her cheek and forced her to look at him. “I’ll come back. Once I have things sorted out. I won’t be gone forever. And when I return–”

  “Stop. It’s just not going to work out.”

  Despite the knowing pain her words caused, he dipped his head, bushing his lips over hers.

  “God I need you.” He took her hand and led her to the unmade bed. The disheveled covers indicating she hadn’t slept well, either.

  His lips met hers, and green eyes trapped him into a place he knew would never escape.

  “Maya.” Heat vibrated through him, electrifying every nerve ending. “God, what you do to me.”

  She moaned against his lips, arms wrapping around his neck. The connection between them was undeniable. How the hell was he going to leave her?

  He took the kiss deeper, desperate to make her understand the depth of his feelings. Then picked her up and laid her on the bed. Red hair spread out haloing her.

  Lying beside her, he prayed it would not be the last time.

  He unbuttoned the tiny buttons of her dress shirt, to find a lacy thing with a bit of a lift built in. He pushed the material aside, cupping her silky skin, then suckled the buds until they pointed hard, straining.

  When she gasped and arched up, he reached around and released the clasp, then took her into his mouth again, showing no mercy.

  She might want to go, but her body spoke a much different story. She was his mate and he knew now that he wouldn’t survive without her.

  Slowly, he kissed every inch of her body, memorizing her neck, her delicate breasts, her navel.

  When she tried to take control, he growled, ripped a length of sheet with his teeth, and tied her wrists to the headboard.

  Her already pert nipples swelled, and she licked her swollen lips, and her legs opened for him.

  He whispered in her ears, “If you’re not into this, just tell me.”

  She blinked and arched. “More.”

  Fuck. She had him so jacked up, he singed the sheets.

  He took a fingertip, heated it, and slid it under the button of her jeans. Then he cooled her with his breath. Goosebumps raised on her stomach and he smiled. Her body was made for him and his for her. He could read even the most subtle response.

  Standing, he ignored her desperate whimper, and pulled his shirt over his head. Pulled his pants down, and his cock bounced free.

  Her eyes widened in appreciation.

  Unzipping her jeans, he pulled them down over her hips, discarding them on the floor. A black lacy thong waited as his prize. Damn. He wasn’t sure whether to tear it off with his teeth, or thrust it aside.

  She whimpered, as he lowered his head between her legs.

  “What do you want?

  “Josh.” Her eyes. She loved him. He knew it even if she didn’t.

  “Answer me.” He tore apart the small triangle held by tiny strings of lace and lowered to taste her. Honey and heaven.

  “You,” she cried out. “I want you.”

  Satisfied, his hands cupped her ass and she lifted her knees up, wrapping her legs around his shoulders.

  He slipped a finger inside her, making her moan. When she jolted at one spot, he stayed there, teasing, caressing. She arched under him, bucking to meet his tongue as it explored the sensitive flesh.

  She cried out, “Enough Josh. Untie me.”

  He rushed up, and fumbled with the makeshift cuffs.

  “Please.”

  “Baby, I’m working on it.”

  Her legs clamped around his waist and her released hands dug her nails into his back.

  With the last of his self-control, he eased in slowly, holding her bucking hips with one hand.

  His body demanded that more, but his heart wanted to savor every moment with her.

  “Oh, Josh.” She wiggled beneath him, arching, moving, until he couldn’t contain the lust that boiled like lava within him.

  He needed her in a way that terrified him.

  His hips rocked against hers, slowly at first, then faster, harder, until they were both breathing hard from the intense pleasure driving them.

  She wrapped her legs tight around his hips, and he was certain he’d never felt anything so good. He could stay inside of her forever. This was heaven.

  A wave of possessiveness washed over him. She was his. How the hell was he going to leave her?

  He drove into, filling her completely. She met every forceful stroke.

  When she screamed his name, he took her orgasm higher, slamming into her, his mind numb with ecstasy.

  With one final thrust, he lost it. “God, Maya.”

  His cock pulsed while she shook, her body pulsating with the final waves of her release. Sweat poured off their bodies.

  Mindless, he fell onto her, her heartbeat one with his.

  When he looked up, giant tears were rolling down her face.

  He swallowed hard. “Did I hurt you?”

  “No, no. It was beautiful. The most beautiful thing I’ll ever have in my life. But you have to go now.”

  She rolled from underneath him, grabbing the sheet and wrapping it around her body.

  Before she disappeared into the bathroom, she whispered, “I’ll never forget you, Josh.”

  Chapter 29

  The clear blue sky over the sparkling ocean held the promise of another beautiful day. So why did she feel so empty?

  Maya whistled for Willy, and the dog bounded down the island’s dock toward her. She could almost picture Josh there on the deck. Instead, she waved goodbye to the newest renters, a honeymooning couple.

  Her heart ached, the pain familiar and unrelenting.

  “Good boy.” She scratched behind his ear when Willy nuzzled her leg, sensing her mood.

  The past month had been hard, but she’d gotten through it. Her family was still recovering from the loss of her dad, but her transition to clan leader had been easier than she’d expected.

  But with solstice approaching, she knew there were expectations that she take a mate.

  “Not happening,” she muttered, jumping into the speed boat, and untying the rope.

  She doubted she’d ever take a mate, not now, not ever.

  As it always did when she was alone, her thoughts drifted to Josh. He hadn’t called once since Romania. Not that she’d expected him to, she was the one who left. But it still hurt. He’d left a bigger hole in her heart than she’d ever imagined.

  Willy jumped up on the seat beside her and woofed. He pawed at her with his tongue hanging from the side of his mouth.

  “Okay. I’m going, boy.” The boat idled, she put it into gear when it turned, then raced out of the small harbor.

  A familiar sadness encompassed her and she tried to push it away. No point dwelling on something that could never be.

  Steering the boat toward the mainland, Maya pushed her sunglasses up her nose, and pulled the elastic out that held her braid, letting her hair whip behind her. She sucked in the salty air, finding strength in the ocean.

  Her youngest sister was waiting on the end of the deck for her when she pulled into her family’s hotel marina. Mari waved her hands above her head, a huge grin spread across her pretty face.

  “You’re finally back,” she said breathlessly. “What took you so long?”

  Maya frowned up at her, handing her the rope to secure. “I had work to do.”

  “Well hurry up. You have a guest.”

  Maya sighed. Since her initiation ceremony she’d been bombarded with visitors. Mostly other clan leaders and their families coming to meet her, some coming to thank her for her part in stopping Gregor. It had been overwhelming, especially for someone like her who preferred the solitude of the sea.

  Despite her irritation, she straightened her shoulders and took a deep breath, ready to entertain her new guests.
>
  Like a child, Mari laughed and tugged on Maya’s arm when she didn’t walk fast enough. “Come on, he’s waiting.”

  “He?” A tingling on the back of her neck started.

  “You’ll see.”

  Maya shook off the hope that blossomed in her chest. Josh wasn’t ever coming back. The sooner she realized it, the better.

  She caught a quick glance of her reflection in the dark glass door. Her red hair was wild, untamed, and she was dressed more for the beach then for meeting Council members.

  “I should go up and change first.”

  “You look great.” Mari pulled on her hand. “Come on.”

  With an exaggerated sigh, she followed her into the large conference room that overlooked the harbor.

  Her breath caught in her throat the second she entered.

  Josh.

  Even with his back to her, she knew instantly that it was him. He stood staring out of the floor to ceiling windows. The contrast of his silhouette against the blue of the ocean was breathtaking. Broad shoulders, narrow hips, even under his dark suit she could see the outline of defined muscles.

  “Josh.” His name, once so familiar, sounded foreign on her lips.

  He turned slowly, and her pulse sped up when his gaze locked on her. His hair was cropped short, the dark scruff on his chin, shaven.

  She had to stop herself from running into his arms.

  “What’re you doing here?”

  “God, you’re beautiful,” he said, his face far too serious for the words he spoke.

  Every cell in her body came awake with need, and she realized how close solstice was. Tomorrow was the beginning. No wonder her body was acting the way it was.

  “You shouldn’t be here.”

  “You want me to leave?” He narrowed his eyes, his hands opened, and he started toward her.

  “No. Yes.” She shook her head and took a step back as he approached.

  “Which is it?”

  “I don’t know.” Her legs turned to jelly when he reached out and stroked his thumb across her jaw. The heat of his touch singed her. “You didn’t call.”

  “I was giving you time.”

  “Time for what?”

  “To heal.”