Magic Man

by Stone, Wendy

  “Did they...” he paused, taking a deep breath and putting his hand on her arm, “Did they rape you?”

  “No,” she whispered. “But I know they did some of the others. I could hear it. I know I should have tried to help. I’ll never forget the screaming from the cage next to me, the women’s voice growing ragged as the abuse went on and on. I curled up into a ball in the corner, buried my head in my arms and begged God to make it stop.”

  Her body trembled as she described it. He didn’t know if it was from anger, a memory of fear or the shame of having stayed silent. Most likely a combination of all three, he thought.

  “I could hear it,” she repeated. “I did nothing to help, too terrified that they were going to come to me next. It could have been my sister and all I did was cower in the corner of my cage.”

  “Molly, they might have killed you if you did try something. You were lucky to get out.” He squeezed her arm with his hand before getting out of the car, hurrying around to open her door. “Come on, you can get a shower and we can throw your clothes in my washing machine. I think I can come up with something that might not fall off you.”

  Molly stared up at his broad-shouldered, tall form, comparing it to her own petite height. “If you have a tee shirt and maybe some socks”

  ‘We’ll figure it out, Molly.” He gently took her arm and guided her toward the elevator that would take them to his apartment.

  * * * *

  Hot water flowed over her body, easing the tremors that had been shuddering through her since Brady asked her if she’d been raped. She hadn’t but she might as well have been. She’d been poked and prodded, forced to change from human to wolf until her bones ached, and given drugs to keep her pliable. She still felt withdrawals, the cravings for more of whatever they’d given her. It blurred the edges of her world.

  She’d screamed from the pain they’d caused, snarled her fury at her capture as a wolf and prayed in the words of her mother, trying to cleanse her aura, to cast the spells that would release her. But witch or wolf, nothing had worked until they’d gotten sloppy. They thought they had her beaten, thought she would cower with her tail tucked between her legs.

  She’d shown him. Even now, the memory of his flesh in her mouth was almost as sweet as sex. The bastard had deserved everything he’d gotten, including the cattle prod. She’d heard the damage he’d done, the screams of the women; the begging and pleading that had been forced from their proud throats. The clans were nothing if not proud, from the panthers to the rabbits and everything in between.

  There had been something else there as well, a tingling of magic that Molly had never felt before. It felt like burnished gold; it spoke of strength and age, of power. Even as she wondered at the source of that power, a single word had erupted in her mind.

  “Run!”

  She had, hiding when anyone came close. She’d dug under the fences that surrounded the nightmarish compound, ran naked through the night. She’d still been drugged; and collared, a strap of leather around her throat held on with a sturdy lock, too thick for her to break. If it hadn’t been for the bus load of old hippies passing through, they’d have caught her again. Caught her and probably killed her.

  The collar had held a GPS unit. One of the hippies had picked the lock, releasing her from the hated thing. They’d given her food and clothing, including the dress and jewelry. They’d given her money, despite her protests, and had sent her on her way, taking the GPS unit with them to give her a chance to escape.

  She’d come here. Finding Brady had been relatively simple. She’d zeroed in on his powers, for he gave off a white-hot aura easily discernable to a witch of her status. She’d made the appointment, banishing her fear and nervousness and brazenly confronting him. Now if he could help her...

  “Molly?” he called from the other side of the door. “Are you okay?”

  “Yes,” she called back, picking up the soap. “I’ll be out in a moment.”

  It was more like ten minutes. She stood before him wearing a tee shirt and sweatpants that engulfed her tiny frame. Her hair hung in russet curls, pulled back and held away from her face by a rubber band.

  “I’ve given you my room, Molly. There’s a lock on the door that you can use if it will make you feel safer.” He patted the couch. “I’ll be right here.”

  “I can’t take your bed.” She started to protest but he shook his head.

  “You will. I’ve spent many Sunday afternoons crashed on this couch pretending to watch football. Don’t worry, it’s comfortable.” He smiled as he rose. “I’m going to grab a quick shower and get ready for bed. If you’re hungry, the kitchen is through there.” Then he turned and was gone.

  Molly heard the water turn on in the bathroom. Curiosity got to her and she began to look around. A picture on the wall caught her attention. She was blonde, that white-blonde hair only a few can pull off without it looking false. She did. Her wide blue eyes were fixed upon Brady’s face, looking hungry and proprietary at the same time.

  She was beautiful, there was no denying that. Brady looked down at her, an amused placating look upon his face. They made a handsome couple, one that would have the world at their feet.

  Molly wanted to pull her hair out. All of it. One at a time. Slowly.

  She moved away from the picture, disturbed by the evidence of Renee in Brady’s life, though she knew she shouldn’t be. Heading toward his bedroom, she opened the door as she heard the water in the bathroom turn off. She slipped inside and headed for the bed. She was climbing under the covers when there was a soft knock.

  “Y-yes?”

  “Can I come in?” Brady asked from behind the door.

  “Of course, it’s your room,” she answered, huddling under the covers.

  He was wet from his shower, a simple white towel hugging his lean hips. While not as heavily-muscled as the men of her clan, he had a lean build and wide shoulders. Drops of water clung to his skin, and Molly couldn’t help but wonder if they would taste like him, salty but with a hint of the power that made his aura shine. Even the thick shagginess of his hair made her fingers itch to touch him.

  She closed her eyes, pushing a stray curl off her cheek. The urge to change was strong; to turn wolf and celebrate the fact that she was still alive to feel this kind of want, even if wanting him was wrong. She could almost feel the silky sensation of grass under her paws, the scent of him in her nose, the desire for him making her loins heavy and wet. She wanted to expose her back to him, to submit to him in the ways of her clan.

  “Molly?”

  Her eyes opened, piercing and glowing in the dim light of the room. She could make out every tiny hair upon his body, the little opalescent dots of water sparkling to her wolfen sight. Unconsciously, she licked her lips, wanting badly to taste him.

  * * * *

  “Molly?” Brady asked, concerned by the look on her face. She was pale, whether by the fairness of her complexion or because of all she had suffered, he didn’t know. She looked stressed.

  When she opened her eyes, they were wild, larger in her wan face. The color of her irises was unreal, a vibrant green glowing eerily in the half light of his room.

  “Are you okay?” he asked, taking a small step back.

  Her eyes closed and opened again. She was back to normal. “I’m sorry,” she said softly, rising from the bed and taking a step toward him. “It’s hard for me to control since they... well, since they did what they did to me. I hope I didn’t frighten you.”

  “Startled,” Brady said, “not frightened. I don’t think you’d hurt me as a wolf. I don’t think you have it in you.”

  She came within touching range before she stopped walking, her eyes roaming over him in a way that sent a charge of awareness through his limbs. He felt his cock stir, the memory of what she’d done earlier playing in his mind.

  “No, I wouldn’t want to hurt you,” she whispered, reaching out and running her fingers over the drops of water that covered his chest. She b
rought them to her lips, her tongue lapping as she tasted them. “Mmm,” she hummed.

  “Molly,” he breathed. “I can’t do this. I’m engaged to... to...”

  “Renee,” she supplied, stepping closer until the tips of her breasts, thinly covered by the plain white tee shirt, brushed against his chest. “Her name is Renee.”

  “I know her name,” he snapped, his hands coming up to grasp her arms. Whether he meant to thrust her away from him or not, he didn’t know. The instant he touched her, she plastered her body against him.

  “Kiss me,” she begged. “Help me forget.”

  She stared up at him, heat and passion in her gaze. He couldn’t look away, bewitched by the pain he saw in the back of her eyes. Reaching down, he lifted her in his arms, laying her gently on his bed. Then he reached for the covers, tucking her in and sitting beside her. “You’d hate yourself in the morning,” he said.

  She blinked at his words, stunned.

  “Right now, there is nothing I want more then to climb into bed with you and help you forget, Molly,” he sighed, rubbing his hand through wet strands of his hair. “You don’t know how much I’d like to help you, but I can’t. I can sit here with you until you fall to sleep if you want.”

  The blush started just above her breasts and flowed up and over her cheeks. She closed her eyes again. “I’ll be fine.”

  “Molly, don’t be embarrassed. Trust me, you have nothing to be embarrassed about.” He chuckled, staring down at the bulge that tented out the towel. “I’m the one that should be embarrassed.”

  “I was never like this before,” she breathed, her eyes on that bulge. She licked her lips. His eyes devoured the sight of her pink tongue against her even pinker lips.

  A moan sat in his chest, heavy and heartfelt, but he refused to give it reign. She was too desirable by half and he needed his wits to keep from hopping in bed with her. But it was hard to forget how those lips had looked wrapped around his hard cock, even if that had only been some kind of mind magic.

  “It’s the drugs they gave me,” she said suddenly, sitting up. “They used them to keep me pliant, to keep me from attacking them as soon as they entered my cage. They must have put something else in them, too.”

  “Like what?” he asked dumbly, his eyes dropping to where the white tee shirt had absorbed the water from his chest. The wet fabric clung to her, exposing the dark tips of her breasts to his eyes. That moan crept further into his throat, almost begging to be let loose, and the naughty little imp that had whispered in his ear at lunch was whispering once more, urging him to use his magic.

  “I don’t know, you’re the detective. Detect.” She held her arm out to him. “Can’t you do some kind of spell that would show you if some strange compound or drug was in my system?”

  “Yeah, it’s called a drug test. We’ll have one done in the morning. I know I can con my connection at the crime lab to help us out.” His eyes dropped once more to her chest and without thought, his finger moved against the towel on his thigh, circling once.

  She shivered, her nipple growing taut. But she was distracted by the thought of the drugs. “Cops? They could be looking for me,” she said in a panic.

  “It’s okay, these are scientists, not actual cops. Wendy won’t hurt you.” He used two fingers, twisting them on the towel. He was almost able to feel that hard nipple against his fingers. She took a sudden deep breath, staring down at her chest before grabbing for the sheet quickly.

  “God, I’m sorry,” she said.

  “I’m not,” he said under his breath. “Joseph is right, I’m going to hell.”

  “What?” she asked, her eyes narrowing.

  “Nothing. Go to sleep, Molly. You have nothing to fear here.” He got up, turning quickly to hide his reaction to her and hurriedly found shorts to wear for sleeping. “I’ll see you in the morning.” He went back into the bathroom and got rid of the towel, pulling on the shorts. Grabbing hold of the edge of the sink, he leaned forward and stared at himself in the mirror.

  “She needs your help. Get a grip.”

  He turned the lights out as he walked back through the apartment, checked the locks on the door once more and then grabbed the blanket off the back of the couch. Punching the pillow, he laid back, telling himself to relax.

  The normally comfortable couch seemed to have grown bumps and bulges. He tossed and turned, trying to find a position that would let him sleep. Finally, after an hour of restlessness, his eyes closed and he slept.

  * * * *

  He wasn’t sure what woke him. Whatever it was had him sitting upright on the couch, instantly aware and alert. His eyes scanned the familiar furnishings of his apartment, searching for the cause of his sudden awakening. Then he heard it.

  “Molly,” he growled. She screamed again and he rushed for the bedroom, stumbling as the blanket wrapped around his feet. He kicked free. She was sitting up straight on the bed, her eyes wide open, her mouth locked around a scream of fear that was slowly dwindling into the inaudible.

  She ignored it when he grabbed her shoulders, seemingly unaware of his touch. He shook her softly, trying to break whatever spell had her so terrified. “Molly! Wake up!” he shouted.

  She dissolved into his arms, her shoulders shaking as sobs took her. “They’re coming,” she managed to get out. “They’re using Tallie to track me.”

  “Tallie? Your sister? How can you know?” He gently pushed her back to look into her eyes.

  “She warned me. She’s trying to throw them off but if she doesn’t find me, they’ll kill her. They’ll kill her or they’ll kill me,” she grimaced. “I’ve got to go.” She pushed him away with a strength born of her desperation. “I’m sorry to have involved you.”

  Brady watched her gather her things, putting her jewelry and everything else she had into one big bag. “You can’t just go,” he said. “Where will you head?”

  “Its better you don’t know. That way you can’t lie to them.” She grabbed his brush off the dresser and pulled it through her hair. She began bundling her tresses on top of her head and grabbed an old hat of his. “Can I borrow this?”

  “Molly, stop. You’ve got to think this through. You aren’t making any sense.”

  She turned, stuffing stray curls under the brim of the baseball cap. Walking over, she bent and kissed his cheek. “Thank you for believing me. I’ve got to go. I can’t put you in danger with them.”

  “Wait a minute. Have you forgotten who I am?” He stood and put his hands on her shoulders. “What was it you called me? Oh yeah, I’m the Magic Man, remember?” He smiled down at her. “I even know where we can go. They won’t dare try to take you from there. Let me get dressed.”

  Chapter Four

  Molly gasped as Brady pulled into a parking lot. Her eyes moved over the high steepled roofs and the huge cross towering above the beautiful building. Gorgeous stained-glass windows and tall wooden doors decorated the front above six concrete steps.

  “We’re going to a church?!”

  “Yeah,” Brady said, grinning over at her. “You got a problem with churches?”

  “You ever read the part in the bible where it says, Thou shall not suffer a witch to live?” Molly glared at him, crossing her arms over her breasts. “We won’t even get into the church’s views on werewolves.”

  “Joe’s going to love you,” Brady laughed, pulling his car into the church rectory’s driveway and putting it into park. “I’ve known Joseph since we were ten. He’s my best friend and knows all about me. All about me.”

  “I don’t know,” she said slowly, staring at the darkened house behind them. “What’s he going to say when you come knocking on his door at two a.m. with a strange woman looking for shelter?”

  “Come in,” Brady said, shrugging his shoulders. “He’s my friend, Molly. He won’t turn us away.” He pulled the keys out of the ignition, nudging her with his hand. “Come on. I promise, he won’t get out his crucifix and try to do an exorcism on you.”

/>   “I just hope he doesn’t decide to melt down some silver candlesticks,” she muttered. Molly opened the car door, scenting the wind with her wolf nose and the surrounding aura with her witchy powers searching for any sign of Tallie or any other kind of danger. She could smell fresh dirt. She turned her head and spotted the cemetery behind the church. A sudden urge to change took her, a smile coming to her lips as she wondered what Brady would do if she took off, howling through the moonlit cemetery.

  “What’s so funny?” he said, grabbing her hand and pulling her along with him.

  “Nothing,” she said quietly, a strange sensation emanating from where he held her hand. It was silvery, tingling like wind blowing gently through wind chimes. Her eyes grew wide, her breath caught in her chest and she turned her head, staring up at him.

  “Yeah, well, let’s hope Joe has learned how to wake up in a better mood than he did when he was a kid. Otherwise, we both might be getting scolded.” He chuckled at the thought of one of Father Joseph’s lectures, and then pulled her onto the long porch that ran around the side of the building. Reaching out, he pushed the small doorbell button.

  It pealed through the building, echoing in the dark.

  Brady waited a moment before hitting the button again, this time holding it in longer. A sound came from deep inside the house, like someone stumbling over something. Then the outside light came on above them and the locks on the door turned.

  “Dammit Brady, do you have any idea what time it is?” Father Joseph bent over, leaning against the door jam and rubbing his shin. “You could have called first.”

  “Oh, and ruin the surprise. Where’s the fun in that? Now behave Joe, I have someone I want to introduce you to.”

  Joseph looked up, his eyes lighting on Molly. He smiled at first, but it faded, turning into a tentative frown. “What are you?” he asked, standing up straight to look down at her.

  Molly shook her head, her eyes going from the handsome priest to Brady. “I told you. I’m not welcome here.”