Magic Man

by Stone, Wendy

  Her lips parted and his tongue plunged inside, finding and tangling with her own. Her eyes shut and her hands went around his neck, pulling her up on the tips of her toes to keep the contact. He kissed her until she was dizzy with lack of breath. He kissed her until her heart felt as if it would thump its way from her breast. He kissed her until she couldn’t think of duty or missions, only of him.

  When he lifted his head, her golden gaze was filled with brilliant fire. Her hair was mussed, strands falling to her waist as he pulled out her pins. He stared down at her, lost in her beauty and the ache he felt for her. “We’ll finish this when you get back,” he growled, kissing her once more. “Remember this while you’re lying in you’re lonely hotel bed tonight.”

  Kit yanked herself away, suddenly aware of what he’d done and where they were. “Who says it’ll be lonely?” she gasped.

  His eyes narrowed and for one moment, she swore he was going to throw her to one of the tables and take her right there. For that same moment, she couldn’t help but wonder if she wouldn’t have enjoyed it. Then he walked past her, going to the door and slipping out, raking her with one hot stare before he closed the door behind him. Kit sank down onto the chair at the table where her files still sat, her hand touching her swollen lips gently.

  * * * *

  Gunner turned into his own office, sitting down behind his desk and smiling slightly. He knew that Kit was confused by what she was feeling. He was too.

  That kiss had been enough to set his soul on fire. He could feel tendrils still smoldering in his system. His palms were sweating and his cock throbbing. He shifted uncomfortably in his chair, jerking when his phone rang.

  “Fuck,” he breathed, grabbing the headset. “What!?”

  “Boss?”

  “Arabella,” he said softly. “What’s up?”

  “We found the snitch you were looking for. He was right where you said he’d be. I’ve got him a room in the tombs until you want to question him.”

  “Good job. I’ll be down in a few moments.” He replaced the headset and stared at the desk in front of him. He had his own case to work on, a vampire long thought dead who’d resurfaced and was slowly carving out a hunting ground. It was Gunner’s job to stop him.

  With a shake of his head, he got hold of himself, banishing all thoughts of Kit to the back of his mind, to rehash when he had the time. Grabbing the file on his desk, he patted it against his leg as he left the room, the door slowly closing behind him.

  Chapter Ten

  “Hey Kit,” Drake said when he saw the lithe lioness enter the private jet. “How do you turn a dishwasher into a snow blower?”

  “Don’t Kit, for God’s sake, please don’t indulge him,” Lelia said from where she was sitting next to the Tinman.

  “Aww, come on, you found it funny when I told it to you.” Drake leaned down and kissed Lelia. “You can’t deny that.”

  Maybe it’s your kisses she finds so funny, Mage’s voice said in each of their heads.

  Lelia snorted, covering her mouth as Kit laughed loudly and Drake glared at the tall, thin man.

  “I don’t know, Drake,” Kit said, taking pity on the silver man. “How do you change a dishwasher into a snow blower?”

  “Give the bitch a shovel,” Drake said, laughing at his own joke as Kit shook her head. “Get it?” Drake asked. “Come on, it’s funny, give the bitch a shovel.”

  “You’re getting pathetic if you have to explain your jokes, baby.” Lee leaned back in her chair, pulling her belt over her lap. “The pilot said we can go whenever you’re ready.”

  Kit sat down next to Mage, reaching across him to get the small phone in the wall. It would link her with the cockpit. “We’re ready whenever you are,” she said into the receiver before hanging it back up.

  An attendant, dressed in the tight silver suit of the ASP agency reached out and grabbed the door, swinging it shut and locking it tightly. She came into the main cabin, tall and lithe, a gorgeous brunette with her hair in hundreds of braids.

  “The captain is requesting clearance to take off and we should be taxiing out to the runway in just a few moments,” she said in a clear voice. “If there is anything you need, just push the button in your seat and I will be more than happy to see what I can do. I know your mission is top secret so I shall leave you to it.” She smiled once more and then turned toward the small galley, securing things as the small jet jerked while backing away from the gate.

  “I hate flying,” Lee groaned, her hands tightly gripping the arms of her chairs.

  “I didn’t know that,” Drake said, wrapping his arm around her and pulling her close. “It’s safer than riding a bike, baby.”

  “If I fall off my bike, it’s only two or three feet to the ground. Can this thing claim the same?” Lee closed her eyes as the jet jerked a bit more, turning and heading out to the runways. The noise of the engines grew louder and she flinched against his shoulder. “Tell me when we’re up, okay?”

  “It’ll be okay, baby,” he said, pressing the side of his face into her hair. “I won’t let anything hurt you, you know that.”

  “Tinman, I don’t think even you could physically survive a plane crash.”

  The engines revved louder, a loud vibration coming from the floor of the plane. Drake watched as the sexy brunette strapped herself into the folding seat by the door. His eyes turned back to Lee just for a second before Kit cleared her throat at him. Shrugging, he gave Kit a small smile.

  Then they were speeding down the runway and off, climbing steadily into the clear blue sky.

  * * * *

  “I don’t think I can let you go,” he said softly, stroking her hair.

  “W-what about Renee?” she stuttered, desperately wanting to go back into his arms and hold him. “You can’t just do this to Renee.”

  “Do what? She spends more time with her therapist than she does me,” he said, sitting up in the bed that they shared, the covers pooling at his waist and leaving his magnificent upper body bare.

  “B-but she loves you and you made her a promise. You can’t just break it, Brady.” Molly didn’t move. Her heart was beating like a runaway train and all she wanted to do was bury her head under a pillow and forget they were having this conversation. If she could forget, she could pretend he’d never offered her the one thing she wanted the most in this world, besides to rid it of Dr. Parnell. She wanted to be his, to make him her mate, to change him so that they could live out the infinitely long lives of the Weres together.

  She hadn’t chosen him to help her thinking she would fall in love with him and she hated that she had. But she couldn’t give up, not now, not when they were so close to finally rescuing all of those Weres that were chained in that compound.

  Molly glanced at the window, noting the first soft pinks of dawn beginning to spread across the sky. She rubbed her arms, watching as he came toward her.

  “Molly, whatever happens or doesn’t happen from now on, I can’t pretend anymore. You have to know how I feel. It isn’t just the sex or the fear. It’s love. I love you and you can’t say you don’t love me. It’s there every time you touch me, every time you look at me. I can see it in your eyes.”

  “No,” she said softly, her head shaking. “Renee...”

  “Renee will find someone for herself. She won’t waste her time crying or pretending it’s otherwise. She’ll shrug her shoulders and go on.” He reached out and took her arms, his palms warm against her cold flesh. “Molly,” he began slowly.

  “No, Brady. I’ve never stolen another woman’s man and I can’t start now. You belong to Renee. I should never have let you touch me.” A sob caught in her throat and she pulled away from him, jerking her hand free when he went to capture it again. “I can’t stay here. I can’t.”

  Molly found her clothes and pulled them on, knowing that Brady watched her with wary eyes. “Where do you think you’re going to go?” he asked

  “I-I don’t know, for a walk or something. I just
can’t stay here any longer. Please,” she said, staring up into the hypnotic color of his eyes, “don’t try to stop me.”

  * * * *

  Brady watched as her stiff backed gait quickly took her out of the parking lot and across to a busy shopping store. She blended in pretty quickly with the crowd but he could see her fiery hair, so much more colorful than the drab blondes and brunettes she walked among. It was almost more than he could handle to let her go but he knew if he wanted to keep her close, he had to give her this time to get away.

  He gave her a few minutes to get in the store before he threw on some clothes and followed her, careful to stay amidst the crowd.

  She was just ahead of him when it happened. He felt more than saw someone come up next to him then felt a sharp pain, like that of a bee’s stinger. The world spun once, then once more and he found he couldn’t stay up on his feet. “Wha...” he tried to ask but the words slurred. The noises that came out of his mouth were unintelligible.

  He went down hard, his head slamming on the solid flooring. Molly’s voice called out his name. He heard her and he tried to warn her to get back, to run. Then he was covered in a smothering blackness.

  * * * *

  Brady didn’t know how long he’d been under when he felt himself coming around. He blinked his eyes heavily, trying to find something to focus upon.

  “M-Molly,” he called hesitantly.

  “No, Mr. Knight. Miss Wolfe took your advice and ran before we could get a stun gun to her. But it’s no matter. Without your magical ways, Miss Wolfe will be picked up very soon and then you can watch the tearful family reunion.”

  The man behind the voice stepped into view, reaching out and checking the locks and the straps that held him to the gurney. “You won’t get away with this,” Brady hissed, narrowing his eyes and searching through the man’s mind for something he could use. When all he found was a blank wall and a locked door, he gave up, staring at the man. “Who are you?”

  “I’m Dr. Parnell. You’re little mind tricks won’t work on me or on anyone else here. We’ve found that certain electromagnetic waves,” he said, nodding to the four generators that sat on each wall, “knock out powers and the ability to change that these creatures seem to have.”

  “They aren’t creatures, they’re humans as much as you or I,” Brady growled. “Change that. As much as I. I don’t know what the hell you are but there sure isn’t any humanity in you.”

  “Oh, Mr. Knight, I’m hurt. Don’t tell me you don’t know why I’m trying to harness the powers of these creatures. They have incredibly long lives and their healing capabilities are beyond any that we’ve seen. If we can find the right gene, we can take their longevity and make it our own. People wounded in accidents would heal in a fraction of the time. We’d become so much more than what we are now. You’ve heard of the scientists that are taking human DNA and putting it into the bodies of sheep to make their organs useful for human beings? I’m just taking that a bit further.”

  “And trapping and kidnapping as well. What about the things your men do to these poor people? Did you ever think of that? What of their families, Dr. Parnell? What about their rights?”

  “They are little more than animals, Mr. Knight. They don’t have rights.” He turned and went to a tray, his back to Brady. When he returned, he held up a syringe. “Until we find out for sure what your capabilities are, I think it best you’re sedated.”

  “No!” he shouted, but it was too late. The same sharp pain stabbed him in the upper arm and the blanket of darkness came once more to cover him.

  There was bleakness in that darkness, a helplessness that made him shudder in impotent rage. But even as his eyes fluttered shut, he felt her presence like a light coming through the fog.

  “Brady!”

  He heard his name upon her tongue but try as he might, he couldn’t seem to respond. He struggled to speak to her, struggled to make her hear him.

  Hands held him, cushioned his head against a soft pair of breasts even as she stroked his cheek and called his name. He looked up at her, a mute plea for help in his eyes.

  “It’s Parnell,” she said sadly, staring around into the blackness. “I’ll rescue you, Brady. I promise. I’ll find us help, somehow.” Then she drifted back into the blackness and he was lost again.

  * * * *

  Molly sat up in the bed, her eyes roaming every feature of the familiar room they’d rented the night before. If only she hadn’t been so afraid of her feelings, Brady wouldn’t be in this predicament. Parnell had him, which meant one of two things. He knew that Brady held more magic in his small finger than the Were community as a whole did or he was using him to smoke her out. Either didn’t give her much hope. She had to have help. It was time to call.

  Lifting the receiver to her ear, she dialed a zero and waited for the operator to answer.

  “Yes, I need to make a collect call.” She rattled off the number by memory and waited while the operator put it through. A deep voice answered on the other end and then the operator was back, telling her she could begin her call.

  “Nashe?”

  * * * *

  Lee leaned back in her seat in the jet, her eyes drowsy and closing. She could feel Drake’s hand covering hers and the gentle caress of his thumb across her skin. Ever since they’d defeated Hood, he’d been loving and wonderful and so very different from his usual self. The only thing he hadn’t done was declare his feelings.

  Was she being too selfish wanting him to tell her he loved her even when every gesture, every little touch said it?

  No, you aren’t, Mage said, turning his skeletal head over to where he could see her out of his big brown eyes. You deserve the words as well as the touches, Lee. Don’t settle for less. If he really loves you, he’ll understand.

  She sent him her thanks. Then she turned her head, letting it rest on Drake’s shoulder, her other hand falling to his lap to lay palm up against the top of his thigh.

  Drake grabbed the blanket she’d wrapped around herself and covered her more securely, letting the blanket cover his lap as well. As soon as her hand was covered, she turned it over, finding him easily enough through the thin material of the ASP uniform. Her hand covered him, squeezing gently, rhythmically, until he was ready to groan at the sensations she brought him. “Lee,” he hissed urgently, “knock it off.”

  “You don’t want to join the Mile-High Club?” she asked softly, finding his zipper and pulling it down.

  “Lelia Storm,” he ground out through gritted teeth as she reached inside his uniform and slid her open hand down the impressive erection he was sporting. Rubbing her thumb over the soft top of his cock, she gathered the moisture that pooled there, using it to lubricate her palm while she stroked him slowly but firmly. “Lee, God,” he hissed. “You’re going to make me come.”

  “That’s the plan,” she said, her nose nuzzling into his neck, her eyes still closed. She could hear his breathing speeding up and felt him fighting the sensations.

  Drake’s head moved as he looked around at the others occupying the plane. The only one who looked back at him and smiled was Mage. Kit seemed occupied with her files and the brunette attendant had just taken drink orders and was busy in the galley filling them. No one but Mage seemed to be aware of what was going on. While that wasn’t comforting, it was normal.

  He let his head fall back in the seat, Lee’s soft palm surrounding his cock and doing amazing things. His eyes closed as he felt Lee slide further down in her seat, lifting the arm rest between the two of them so she could put her head in his lap. The first touch of her lips on his cock almost sent him out of his seat, but he caught himself, sinking back as she surrounded the head of his cock with the heat of her mouth.

  “Lee,” he groaned, his hand going to the blanket to lift it just a bit, giving him a glimpse of her pretty heart-shaped face, her lips stretched tightly, her hand stroking the flesh that wouldn’t fit. She moaned softly around his cock and he dropped the blanket his h
and going to the one arm rest left and digging his fingers in.

  He exploded into her mouth, a pure jet of come pulsing down her throat. She didn’t gag but rode out his orgasm, swallowing greedily. When he was finished and she’d cleaned him with her tongue, she slid him back into his pants and zipped him up carefully. Sitting back up in her seat, she gave him a look and used two fingers to wipe the corners of her mouth.

  Drake stared at her with his jaw hanging until she reached over and lifted it with the same two fingers. “You’ll let in flies,” she teased.

  “Where did you learn to do that?” he asked finally as the beautiful brunette brought around the drinks.

  Lee took hers and sipped it, smiling as she saw that Drake didn’t even look twice at the woman. “It’s amazing what you can learn on the internet,” she teased.

  “The internet?!” Drake’s head was spinning. He picked up his drink and drained it, coughing a bit as the carbonation tickled his throat.

  Lee just smiled.

  * * * *

  They touched down in Detroit, transferring their equipment and supplies into the Hummer that Shadow had arranged. Leaving the airport, Drake drove while Lee sat in the back with Kit and discussed their course of action.

  “No plan?” she asked, amazed.

  “Nothing until we get there and see what we’re up against. Shadow got us satellite pictures but they don’t give placement of guards or where they’re holding the captives. We need to scope it out a bit more.”

  “Couldn’t we just capture one of the guards and let Mage loose on him?” Drake asked, turning to look at the thin man in the passenger seat.

  “We could, but you know what Mage’s skills do to a nonhuman. Can you imagine the destruction he could do to a human brain?” Kit shuddered.