by Marie Mason
Roark shook his head as he neared the car the woman had claimed as her own. Just his freaking luck. There was no way he was going to chase his brother in a car no bigger than a can opener. He turned toward the truck parked close to it. At this time of night not many people were out and about, which was in his favor. He knew the uproar Rafe would have caused walking down the road butt naked in broad daylight. Maybe, since it was dark out, he would have enough sense to stay in the shadows.
Who was he kidding? Rafe wanted out of the shadows. He wanted to walk in the sunshine, free from the restraints of hell.
For the very first time, Roark thought he understood a little of what Rafe felt. The need to break his bonds. To choose.
His hold tightened on the witch he’d kidnapped and pulled her closer to his side. She was beautiful even with her hair a wild mass around her shoulders and several smudges of soot on her face where Rafe had held her. Her hair was brown, bordering on red and her face was a study in beauty. Classic features of high cheekbones, full pouty lips, and wide-set eyes the color of a rain-laden sky.
“We’re taking this one.” He stopped by the large truck and dropped her hand. For a moment, he wondered if she would take the opportunity and run. A part of him wanted her to — so he could chase her down. He tried the truck’s door on the off chance it would be unlocked. Much to his surprise, it was. This must be a trusting little town, he thought. In hell, you kept what was yours close and behind as many layers of spells you could afford.
“I need to go home.”
Roark ignored the woman’s demand. Over the years, he’d gotten good at ignoring the high-pitched screech of a woman’s voice when she demanded something he couldn’t give her. Ice water. Freedom. Emotion. Not that Kayley’s voice was a screech. No, unfortunately for his peace of mind, it reminded him of a siren’s call.
A call that went straight to his dick.
“Get in.” He pulled her forward and shoved her into the driver’s seat. He tried not to think of the handful of soft flesh as he manhandled her inside. There was no time to waste. He needed to get Rafe back before the powers-that-be realized they were missing. He hadn’t exactly been assigned the job of finding his wayward brother. Technically, both Conroy brothers were now AWOL.
Once behind the wheel, he looked for keys. Since the door was unlocked, it made sense the owner might have left the keys inside. Flipping down the visor, he wasn’t lucky enough for the keys to fall into his lap. He dug through the fast food receipts, candy wrappers, and change in the console. Still nothing. He resigned himself to hotwiring the vehicle and was about to crawl under the dash when he heard a click and then a tinkle.
Kayley watched as the man looked for the keys to the truck. If she wasn’t mistaken, this car belonged to Fred, the butcher, and he usually kept his keys… She popped open the glove compartment and there they were. A smile tugged at her lips when a disgruntled expression appeared on the demon’s face as she waved them in the air. “Looking for these?”
“Yes.” There was no polite thank you, just a swift grab and the truck’s engine roared to life. She shouldn’t have been surprised. There wasn’t very much more to guys than that — a quick grab, roaring of the engine, and they were finished.
He threw the map at her. “Tell me how to get there.”
She studied the map and the small dot of blood. It was near the park. She told him which way to go and watched as he pulled out of the parking lot and turned down the first side street. She rolled down the window to let in some fresh air. As she breathed, her senses filled with the scent of asphalt as it cooled in the autumn evening. Another scent filtered through and Kayley had no way to describe it. It was simply the smell of the man sitting by her side.
I shouldn’t even think of him that way, she told herself firmly. That was a difficult command to follow when he sat right next to her and it was so close to All Hollow’s Eve. She felt the tingle of magic surround them.
He drove slowly down the street, his eyes scanning the area. She wondered if she should tell him he’d kidnapped the wrong witch. She couldn’t scry worth a damn. The chances of his brother actually being at the park were about fifty-fifty. Now Hayley, she would definitely be the better witch for a situation like this. She could scry and find anything or anyone, plus she was known to have visions when she touched something that belonged to a person. Maybe she should take him to see her sister. A sharp bolt of jealousy lanced through her at the thought even though her sister was happily married.
“Do you have a name?”
“My name is Roark.”
Roark rolled his window down and leaned back in the driver’s seat, resisting the urge to lay his arm across the back of the seat and ‘accidentally’ touch the woman by his side. Damn, he felt like an untried teenager. He wanted to reach over, strip her, and lick her entire body. He wanted to pound his hand against the steering wheel in frustration. He figured he had just under twenty-four hours to get his and Rafe’s asses back to hell before, well, all hell broke loose. His erection pressed against the leather of his pants and his body clenched with pure need. Annoyance rose in him at his attraction to this woman. She wasn’t bad looking. She was cute and cuddly. Curvy as hell. He was a tits and ass man and liked the feel of a woman with some meat on her bones beneath him as he pounded his cock inside her. This one would be soft and delicious to savor.
He frowned when he discovered her bunched against the passenger side door, her head bent. More than a faint whiff of fear had invaded her scent.
“I’m not going to hurt you,” he growled.
At his words, her head snapped up. “Like you could.”
He smiled. She had bravado, he’d give her that. “What are you going to do, cast another spell to keep me away? I don’t think that worked out so well last time, baby.”
“Whatever.”
He frowned, thinking of his uncontrollable urge to kiss her. Not that he needed any prompting to drag her in his arms a second time. He didn’t answer her. “You didn’t seem all that surprised to see an abyss in the middle of your local grocery store.”
She shrugged her shoulder. “Technically, it wasn’t an abyss. Just a portal. So where are we going? I do have a life, you know.”
“Right. Why else would you be at a grocery store buying milk and bread on a Friday night?”
“Maybe I was buying it for my husband. A husband who could be very pissed you’ve kidnapped me.”
“I haven’t kidnapped you. I’m just borrowing you for a while.” He turned down another street, following her directions.
“You’re not married.” Another turn, another street.
“How do you know?”
“I don’t smell him on you.” A demon’s sense of smell wasn’t as strong as a shifter’s but it got the job done. She smelled of flowers and something else he was still trying to figure out.
“Oh.”
He smiled to himself. That shut her up.
By the time they found the park where Rafe was hiding, Kayley began to enjoy herself. Opening the door, she hopped down as gracefully as she could from the high cab of the truck. Apparently, chivalry was not a nicety taught in hell. The demon stood on the other side of the truck, looking out over the park and wooded land surrounding it.
Playground equipment dotted the neatly cut grass. Swing sets, slides, a merry-go-round. Kayley smiled, remembering playing here when she was small. She’d brought her nephews here just last week and had to talk them down from the top of the jungle gym, reminding them they were wolves, not monkeys.
She stole a glance at Roark across the hood of the truck. She thought about how handsome his sons would be. Staunch, miniature demons. She smiled thinking he was way too uptight, even for a demon. “He’s probably in there.” She pointed to the thick forest on the west side of the park.
“Get back in the truck.”
“What?”
“Get back in the truck and wait for me.”
Shock made Kayley hold her tongue. He
was ordering her to stay back now? She thought he wanted her with him to help find his brother. “Wait, you’re gonna need me.”
“Why, so you can scry for which tree he’s hiding behind?” Sarcasm coated his deep voice and one of his dark brows rose.
Okay, so maybe he didn’t need her, but why had he kidnapped her if he didn’t want her around now?
When she didn’t move fast enough, he was there, forcing her back inside the cab of the truck. “Now give me your phone.”
“Why?”
“So you can’t make a call while I’m gone.”
Kayley looked at him as if he’d lost his mind. Maybe he had. Why else had he kidnapped a witch?
Because she’s yours.
Roark’s demon side whispered the words, enticing him to make that thought come true. He watched as she dug into the pocket of her jeans. The move pulled the denim tight against her body. His eyes fell to the V of her legs. Damn, he could see her mound, all plump and pretty. Beneath it would be the sweet, spicy slit, just waiting for him to lap up all that womanly nectar.
His cock hardened. The pressure against his zipper made him want to rub himself to relieve the pressure. He held out his hand for the phone.
“I don’t have all day,” he barked. He really needed to get away from her.
With great reluctance, she handed it to him. “What if I need to call for help?”
“You won’t get into trouble; you’ll be locked inside the truck.”
“I wasn’t talking about me, I was thinking about you.” Her look said it was just a matter of time before he got into dire straits. Maybe she was right. He’d had a bad feeling about this from the time he’d stepped out of the abyss and seen her standing there, surprise and shock written all over her pretty face.
It didn’t take much effort to break her phone, making it inoperable. He handed it back to her.
Kayley’s full, red mouth gaped open. “What did you do that for? I thought you were just going to take it with you.”
He didn’t answer, just ordered her to stay in the truck.
“I’m not a dog!” she yelled out the window as he took off across the park. “I’m a witch.” The last she mumbled to herself as she crossed her arms and fumed at the arrogance of the entire male species.
Once Roark left, Kayley quickly grew bored. She looked at the clothes she wore and sighed. Of course, she’d have to be dressed in a pair of tight fitting jeans that made her rolls have rolls on the day she was kidnapped by a red-hot demon. The faded sweater she’d thrown on wasn’t helping either. She’d seen buttoned-up and buttoned-down librarians dressed better, for heaven’s sake. Nothing sexy or seductive about her at all. Why hadn’t she paid more attention when her grandmother had tried to teach her how to conjure things she might need in an emergency? Of course, conjuring clothing to seduce a demon might land more on this side of self-profiting than an emergency.
Her lack of seductive clothing didn’t stop her body from responding to the sexual pheromones Roark emitted. Her nipples made a distinct impression, pushing against the fabric of her blouse. Thankfully, the sweater she wore had hidden most of her body’s telltale signs of arousal. Warmth heated her cheeks as she imagined Roark noticing her body’s reaction to his nearness.
It was a damn fine time for her latent succubus side to kick into high gear. She looked at the smashed piece of plastic that was now her cell phone. If he thought she was just going to sit here and wait for him to meander back, he was one crazy demon. She pulled on the door handle, but it didn’t move. She’d been so distracted by his presence she hadn’t realized he’d attached some kind of spell to the door. Pushing back the sleeves of her sweater, she placed her hands on the door. Concentrating, she felt the magic holding it shut. After several moments, it started to form a pattern. Magic was simple really, if you could find the pattern of the spell. Kayley wasn’t good at puzzles, hence her difficulty. Her grandmother had always said she needed an anchor to bring her powers into focus.
Unfortunately, her grandmother had never told her what the anchor was, or where she could find it before she passed away. Anger at the demon seemed to be helping this time.
After a moment, she was able to break the spell. Just because he’d busted her cell phone — which he would pay for — didn’t mean she was without resources to contact her family. Letting herself out of the truck, she made her way to a water fountain next to the picnic tables. Most public parks didn’t have those anymore. She was grateful this one did. Digging through the garbage, she found a Styrofoam cup and filled it up with water. She ran her fingers around the rim. A container made of glass would have been better but she’d take what she could get. The movement of her finger on glass would have generated the necessary resonance. Instead, she hummed softly. The water turned cloudy, then slowly cleared, revealing her house. She concentrated harder until the picture revealed her living room. No one was there. Humming louder, she thought of her mother. The water turned bright. Suddenly, she saw her mother and father’s bedroom. She started to speak when she realized exactly what her parents were doing.
“Eww,” she squealed and quickly dumped the water on the ground.
At times, she forgot her parents were still sexual beings. Seeing them in the middle of it… well, some images could never be unseen.
She debated trying to contact her sisters, but knowing her luck, she’d catch them in the middle of doing the horizontal limbo too.
Deciding there was only one thing to do, she set off after Roark.
CHAPTER THREE
IF FIGURED RAFE would run to a place rich with trees and foliage. But a damn park? Roark shook his head, wondering when his brother would come to his sense. His brother had always loved the forest, preferring to hunt the demons hiding high in the mountains and away from civilization.
He continued moving, taking the twists and turns that led deeper and deeper into the trees. He covered the ground in an easy lope, senses flaring outward, noting and cataloguing everything about him. There were no sounds that shouldn’t be here. He heard the rumbling of an engine as a car passed by on the road just out of sight and the sounds of birds calling to each other in warning. Catching the faint whiff of brimstone, he changed directions. He slipped deeper into the woods, avoiding the betraying snap of twigs. From up ahead and to the left came the scent he trailed.
The scent grew fainter as Rafe continued to heal from his injuries.
As Roark followed the trail, he thought of what his brother had done. And why. Rafe was a bounty hunter like himself. All three brothers were. That was the family curse for their ancestor’s transgression, bound in servitude to hell. After his last mission, Rafe had come back different. Their mother swore he was in love and Rafe hadn’t exactly denied it.
Roark and their other brother, Remington, didn’t know what to think. They’d seen the hardship the curse had caused their parents and wanted nothing to do with finding a woman. With love.
Immediately his thoughts went to the witch he’d locked in the cab of his truck.
Kayley knew she should have stayed in the stolen truck, but she hadn’t. Surprise, surprise. When was the last time she’d obeyed anyone?
Picking up a large stick, she said a small chant and immediately fireflies gathered on the end. She held up the makeshift torch and continued further into the dense trees where Roark had disappeared. It was almost completely dark and she didn’t have the night vision of a shifter or a demon. She followed the small path he’d made through the thick undergrowth. The man was striding through the forest like Bigfoot on steroids, leaving broken branches in his wake.
She knew she should have just left. She could have despite the other safeguards he’d put in place. Somehow, he’d spelled the keys and engine with her knowing. Probably while he ordered her to stay and walked away. Thinking of his cleverness, she realized there was more to him than his pretty face and rock hard body.
Catching her foot on an exposed root, she almost went down, face first. She r
egained her balance and continued on, into the dark. Finally, she caught sight of him, just up ahead. The briars and branches that caught on her hair and clothing seemed to bow out of the way as he walked by. She narrowed her eyes trying to see, if indeed, there was some magic involved in his smooth glide through the woods.
Nothing. At least not anything she could see.
She continued to follow behind him, keeping what she hoped was enough distance between them that he couldn’t hear her or sense her. She grudgingly admitted she liked the other man who had emerged from the portal in the grocery store. Even if he had thrown her into Roark’s arms. Or, maybe that’s why she did like him.
His eyes had held a look of resignation that had appealed to Kayley’s soft heart. As if he’d known his actions were futile, but he had to try anyway. She didn’t know why he had risked so much to come to this realm, but she was determined to do what she could for him despite her growing attraction to Roark. Damn, the man had a body too perfect for words. Where did men like him come from?
Oh, wait, yeah. They came from hell. Straight from the bowels of temptation itself.
She shook her head at her foolishness. No way would he go for a klutzy, curvy witch like herself. Not even for a one-night fling. Or one hour. Yep, she’d settle for an hour in the man’s arms at this point. Her body ached to have him.
She tripped on another exposed root, this time placing a header in the damp leaves covering the forest floor. She dropped her makeshift torch and the fireflies took off, swarming toward Roark. She looked up from her prone position and cursed. “Damn it.” Flicking her hand at the runaway bugs, she tried to shoo them away from him.
It didn’t work.
“What the fuck?”