She stood and they fanned out, Galen circling around the back of the house, using his magic to short out the security cameras.
Nell went to the front door and with a wave of her hand, the locks disengaged. Much to the surprise of the two men in the front hallway.
“Why, hello there! I’m Nell Hunter, I expect you probably know my name, but in case not, I’m the hunter for the Owen Clan. As you might imagine, my boss is not pleased you’ve absconded with our money. That makes me very sad, boys.” She gave them an exaggerated pout and then shot her magic at them, knocking them both down.
“Did you think you could just come in here like this?”
Nell looked up, easily sidestepping the sizzle of magic sent her way. The air in the house hung heavy and wrong. “Oh, my. Well, look at you. Ben Healy, I wish I could say it was nice to see you, but I’d be lying. And why yes, I do think I can walk right in here. In fact, I did. Now, hand over your human lackey and our money.” She tossed some magic his way, but he blocked it. Ben Healy had been a member of the Owen Clan. A natural witch with not a whole lot of ability, but quite of bit of ambition, he repudiated all they’d stood for and joined up with the mages.
“Nell Hunter, still a bitch I see.”
She moved up the stairs where he stood, shooting her magic to try and disable him and ducking his. Dimly she heard Galen shout in the background and the sound of breaking glass.
“I’m better than you. I’m cuter than you and darn it, people like me.” Nell huffed as she forwent her magic and threw a solid right hook to Ben’s jaw.
It knocked him back, sending him bouncing off a table. He scrambled to his feet and that’s when Nell saw Leah, cowering in a far corner. Ben ran at her, shoved Leah toward Nell and continued down the stairs.
“Fuck! Galen, get him!” Nell yelled and caught Leah by the upper arm and hauled her down the stairs toward the open front door.
A squeal of tires and the sight of a car racing out of sight greeted her as she got there. Galen came running back.
“You got two of them, I got another. Was that Ben Healy?”
“Yes. Forget it for now. Let’s get Alex in here to clean up. You stay behind and supervise. I’ll be taking this piece of shit back home.”
“I have rights! You can’t just take me like this.” Leah struggled, but she was shorter than Nell, petite and while she might have been good at ripping people off, Nell was better at keeping them in line.
“I can do anything I want and you’d best remember that. I am Owen Clan and you have stolen from us. You’ll face our justice. Now come on and shut up or I’ll have to deal with you in an unpleasant fashion.”
Galen got off the phone and turned back to her. “Alex is on the way. I’ll stay here. The mages are all incapacitated. Get her back.” He paused. “Do you want me to get William back to town?”
She sighed. “I don’t know. Hang on here with her. I’ll be back with the cars in a few.” Nell shoved Leah into Galen’s grasp and jogged back to where she’d jumped the fence.
Chapter Eleven
William made himself try and rein in his impatience as the plane taxied down the runway in Seattle. It’d been two weeks since he’d last seen Nell and he’d been dying without her.
The last time he’d seen her, she’d come around the corner after being gone for forty-five minutes and he’d let out a breath. He’d been terrified, every minute feeling like an hour since she’d walked out of his sight.
It had been harder seeing Leah and not slapping her. But as he told her with some satisfaction, as he’d watched Nell load her into the back of the car, she’d brought Nell into his life and for that, he’d be thankful.
He hadn’t been thankful to stay in Vegas while Nell hightailed it back to Seattle, but he had to get some coverage in place so he could visit her and she had to do whatever the hell she did with Leah. He found he didn’t actually care what happened to Leah. Trusted she’d been brought to whatever justice the Clan had and that she hadn’t been hurt. Nell was a warrior, but she wasn’t a thug.
Finally, they were able to get off the damned plane and he hurried toward baggage claim where she’d be waiting.
Every afternoon before he went into work, he called to check in. It was during those calls when he’d really come to know Nell. Appreciate her sense of humor, which ran toward Monty Python and Lewis Black. He respected her sharp mind and the openness with which she let him poke at this connection they had without being defensive.
Every night as he’d locked up, the weight of what he felt for her coupled with her absence bore down on him, making it hard to breathe. And she’d be there, a message on his voice mail, the sound of her soothing the ache of her absence.
Her hair was the first thing he saw as she towered over most of the people standing around. And then he noticed the pale blue dress, the long legs and those green, green eyes.
He went straight to her, into her arms, and breathed in deep as he arrived in the place he’d needed to be but had circled aimlessly his whole life.
Her fingers slid into his hair and her mouth pressed the side of his neck. “You’re here.”
“There’s no other place I’d rather be.”
He kissed her, softly, almost chastely as they grabbed his bag and headed to her car.
“It’s beautiful here.” But he only looked at her.
“The mountain is out today. Nice weather. After we have sex for a few hours I figure we might actually do some sightseeing. On the way to my parents’ house for dinner and all.” She chewed her bottom lip as they took a big hill and she pulled into a driveway.
The house was simple. Not overly big. Greenery exploded all over the landscape. Butterfly bushes, flowers of all hues, planters full of all manner of living things hung from the trees and along the pretty front porch. Mount Rainier took up the horizon.
“This is amazing.” He hadn’t imagined her to be a gardener, but she’d talked about doing some planting at some point the week before. “I’ve underestimated you.”
She laughed and opened the front door. “My brother did most of the work. He’s amazing with green stuff. But I like to get out and work in the dirt. It’s a way to relax, I suppose. Our power, my magic, comes from the earth.” A blush bloomed on her cheeks.
“Give me the tour.” He held out a hand, and she took it.
“Are you nervous?” he asked.
She cleared her throat. “I guess I am. I…” She flapped her hands around, not quite knowing how to say she didn’t know if he still loved her, but would break into a thousand pieces if he didn’t.
Instead, she looked at him. Took in his face, the beard stubble she thought was so sexy, the curve of his bottom lip, and sighed, smiling.
“Living room.” Dragging him outside to the deck she paused. It was a gorgeous day, one of those perfect Seattle days that made living in the Northwest such a joy. Warm. The air smelled rich with living things. Bees hummed, birds sang, everything was vibrant with color and the sky was so blue it hurt to look at overlong. “The backyard.”
She showed him the newly remodeled kitchen and her home office and at last came her bedroom where she’d dithered and dithered until Meriel had taken pity on her and shown up with fifteen huge bags of bedding and other decorative crap for the room. She’d stayed the weekend and had helped her make it just right for William.
“I like it in here.” He slowly turned in a circle. “Red and gold, it works for you. Regal, but old-school. Strong.” Reaching to her, he pulled her close. “I’ve missed you. I never imagined I could miss a person as much as I missed you.”
The knot inside her loosened. “Me, too.”
“So tell me what’s wrong and why you’re nervous. Do you…have you changed your mind? About us?”
He looked so lost for a moment she touched his face. “No. I guess I was worried you’d changed your mind or maybe once you got back to your club surrounded by willing and normal women you’d start to think I was a mistake.” She was
n’t used to being anything but totally confident; it was disconcerting.
He smiled. “Ah, yes. I did say that normal thing. But in all fairness it was before I appreciated the spice of unique. And now everything else is bland. You’re all I want, Nell. I don’t know how we’re going to make this work with the distance. But we will because I simply can’t imagine my life without you with me.”
He kissed her and freed of her panic, she ripped at his shirt, pulling it off and kissing down his neck.
“Take your time. I’m here. I’m yours. We have all the time in the world.” He grinned.
“I need you, William. I’ve masturbated so much it’s not funny and nothing helps. I’ve been so lonely without you.”
He groaned. “Way to torment me.”
“I’m not trying to torment you. I’m all about gratification.” She untied the halter of her dress and let it fall to her feet. He bent and picked it up as she stepped out of it, bringing it to his face to inhale deeply. The gesture brought moisture to her pussy, hardened already-peaked nipples and warmed her all at once.
“God, you smell good. Good enough to eat. I’ve missed your scent so damned much.” She closed her eyes a moment at the words, loving them, loving him as she divested him of shoes, socks, pants and underwear.
“Much better.” She grinned. “You really are too gorgeous for your own good.”
“Thank you. I think. Now,” he said, pushing her back on the bed. “I mentioned something about you smelling good enough to eat. I’d like to test that theory.” He smiled at her lazily and knelt between her thighs. The heat from his skin rose in waves along with his scent and she sighed, contented and aroused, stretching like a cat.
“Two weeks, Nell. Two weeks of sleeping alone and wishing like hell you were beside me.” He raised one leg, kissing her ankle and moving his lips down, bending both legs at the knee and holding her wide open. It left her breathless and feeling vulnerable and yet, totally adored as he looked for long moments at her pussy.
“Talk about being too beautiful for her own good.” His gaze shifted from her cunt to her face. “Arms above your head and hang on.”
An involuntary moan escaped as she followed his directions. Her eyes never left him as he settled and opened her up as widely as possible and then bent his head to taste her. Shards of pleasure broke through her at the contact.
His mouth was soft against her, tongue pressing hard over her clit, alternating quick flicks with swirls around it to draw the flesh of the clitoral hood to caress it. She wasn’t far away from coming. Just the sight of him walking into baggage claim had made her wet. His mouth on her, working her up, hands holding her open, she was helpless as pleasure, sharp and intense, burst through her, blinding her to everything but him.
Her pussy was still fluttering from climax when he flipped her over and put a pillow beneath her hips.
“I do love you like this,” he murmured and licked the line of her spine from the small of her back to her shoulders, delivering a sharp nip to her shoulder.
A crinkle of foil and then the press of the blunt, wide head of his cock at her entrance, pausing just a moment before he thrust deep with one movement.
She groaned into the pillows and scooted back to take more. The windows were open and a breeze blew the curtains gently, the sound of summer layering over his grunts each time he pressed home fully.
“Since you can’t reach your clit, let me help.”
She dug her fingers into the coverlet when his middle finger danced ever so lightly over her clit as he fucked into her body.
“I want to see your face,” she managed to gasp out.
He’d pulled out, flipped her over, tossing the pillow aside and thrust back in before she could take another breath. “Better? Now you can play with your clit yourself while I watch and I can see those gorgeous tits, too. I’m a lucky man.”
“I’m the lucky one,” she said softly as she touched his chest over his heart with one hand and her clit with the other. She wrapped her thighs around his waist to angle herself higher. His cock stretched her, making her clit hypersensitive and she gasped as he sped his pace.
“I need to come.”
She saw the flash of need in his eyes, saw the anticipation and she squeezed his cock with her inner muscles as she let go and embraced her second orgasm with a soft cry of his name.
“Christ,” he whispered and thrust into her hard, a feral intensity etched into his features that brought an edge of delight in her. That glimpse of the uncontrolled man just beneath the suave veneer he wore, that glimpse she brought on, swelled her pride and made her smile.
His eyes lost that intense focus and blurred as he thrust once more and came deep within her.
After rolling out of bed and coming back shortly, she’d brought iced tea for them both and he’d gulped it down and settled back, holding her against his body.
“I’m apparently going to be opening up another Dollhouse up here and you’ll have to get used to the drive south or load up on frequent flier miles.”
She craned her neck to look at him, her skin still pinked with a post-orgasmic glow. “Oh, yeah?”
“You’re home to me. I’ve lived in several states, I’ve thought I’ve loved a time or two, but I’ve never been home, not really. And you give me that. I know this is new, but I just feel it’s right.”
She laughed. “I’ve known since about ten minutes after I met you. Each time you acted like a prick to push me away I knew somehow or other we’d end up back with each other because we’re meant to be. I have to travel for my job, but most of it is West Coast oriented so we can see each other frequently. I don’t expect you to just move up here and I can’t totally move down there.”
He kissed her, enjoying the knowledge that they had several days to spend like this. “We’ll meet halfway. I’ll take over part of your closet, you can have half of mine and we’ll do it. Because I love you. I’m not even scared to tell you that.” He snorted.
“Good. Because you working with all those damned gorgeous dancers all the time without your admitting you loved me was really getting on my nerves. I love you, too. Now, I think we can fit in another orgasm and a shower before you meet my parents. And by the way, your mother called me earlier today. She’s, um, quite a character.”
He cringed. “Sorry. She means well most of the time and she lives in Boston so there’s a whole country between her and us.” He laughed. “My brother married one of my dancers who’s now a CEO and I am going to marry a witch bounty hunter. She’ll be so pleased.”
“Marry?”
“Yeah. We live in Vegas, I’m pretty sure we can find a way to plan a wedding of some kind. I’ve got a ring in my carry-on. I’ll give it to you.” He paused and she laughed. “After you know, I give it to you.”
“Mmmm, yes to both.”
DIVINE DESIRES
Kit Tunstall
Chapter One
Malkiel Nixa exited the astral portal in a flash of light, marveling that a little less than two hours had passed since he had received the frantic call from his elder brother, Eli. Mal had been in bed with a stunning blonde whose name he had already forgotten in the time it took for her to approach him at the nightclub where his band had just finished their performance, proposition him, and take him back to her apartment. She had been upset when he’d answered his cell phone, but the blonde had been extremely angry when he rolled out of the bed and threw on his clothes. In his need to get to the ancestral home and the center of the Nixa Coven, he hadn’t been tactful in prying himself away.
With a rueful shrug, Mal pushed the woman from his thoughts, knowing there would be an endless number of others just like her, parading through his life night after night. However, he had only one father, and that thought focused him sharply on the task at hand. He pushed back the sense of helplessness that assailed him, knowing it would do no good to give in to the emotion. It was up to Mal to acquire the only antidote to whatever poison some cunning bastard had us
ed on his father. That task had led him to Las Vegas, and he set out through the desert just beyond the Strip, his leather boots stomping through the loose sand. He dodged an occasional palm tree and wished it had been possible to materialize right on the Strip. He daren’t risk that, since people would notice the flash of light and his sudden appearance through an astral doorway. Las Vegas was a city where just about anything could happen without anyone blinking an eye, but someone would have noticed his dramatic entrance.
By the time he traversed the few miles to the Strip, the sun had set long ago, and sand had seeped into his boots. Mal cursed the annoyance, but didn’t pause to empty his boots when the flashing neon finally bathed him in its garish glow. Without moving, he stood where he had entered the Strip, orienting himself and allowing the invisible tug of the spell that he had performed in L.A. to lead him to the antidote. After a second, the cord binding him to the object of his mission tugged him south, and he joined the crowd of people strolling the Strip. Though only a Thursday night, there was a bustling crowd, and he was inconspicuous among them.
As he neared the nightclub for paranormals, Darkness, the hairs on Mal’s neck rose, and his gut tightened in response to the feeling of the pressure dropping. The vortex of various powers mingling in one location was almost strong enough to break the connection of his spell, but he focused on maintaining and strengthening the link. Once he was past the club, the connection returned with nearly enough force to knock him off his feet. Mal stumbled and might have fallen if not for a friendly hand bracing his shoulder.
“Bit too much to drink?” drawled a cowboy type with a knowing grin.
Mal nodded, said a word of thanks, and waited for the man and his companion to pass before turning to cross Las Vegas Boulevard. There were no crosswalks leading from Darkness to the Liege casino, but he walked between the cars as they waited impatiently for the light to change. When Mal stepped onto the curb in front of the Liege casino, the cord pulsed, urging him to rush inside at a pace that earned a few askew looks. Caught as he was in the grip of the locating spell, he was powerless to resist the compulsion to break into an almost-run. Just as Mal was afraid he would have to dash recklessly through the promenade of shops, he skidded to a halt, drawn to an abrupt stop by an invisible string. He stood outside the door of a tattoo shop. A purple-and-gold sign labeled the shop as Divine Inspirations. With a deep breath, he walked inside. The woman behind the desk failed to register any reaction or tug of the cord, so he knew she wasn’t whom he sought. “I’d like a tattoo.”
What Happens in Vegas…After Dark Page 16