by Sariah Skye
“Are you nervous about today?” He asked, after his sparkling eyes looked over me for a moment. He gently brushed his thumb over my cheek and waited my answer.
I made a sour face. “I am. This is going to be hell.”
“Just trust me, babe. After today it won’t be so hard, okay?”
I nodded slowly. “Yeah…you’re right. I hope.”
Bash brushed his lips over mine as he smirked. The feeling of his easy kiss sent shivers down my spine. “I’m always right. Near genius, remember?”
I grinned and sought his mouth again, closing my eyes and winding my arms over his neck, clutching the hair at his nape to bring him closer to me. His kiss wasn’t hungry or demanding; just tender and affectionate, and just as soon as it started it was over. But it already began to make my body feel all sorts of mushy things and I rolled to my side slightly, to give myself better access to him.
“Ah, better not start something we can’t finish,” Bash warned, as I squeezed his strong thigh and moved upward. He placed his over mine and stopped me in my tracks. Worried about magic-zapping, I reached for the Excalibur stone I usually wore around my neck, the one that Bash spelled to help control the Avalon magic from— “Oh shit.” I said suddenly, patting my bare chest.
“What?” Bash asked, raising a brow.
“My necklace! I must have left it in the bathroom when I took a shower yesterday! I didn’t have it when Xander and I—” I stopped.
Bash smirked smugly. “And, did anything happen?”
I started to protest but realized, “No, it didn’t.”
He laughed mischievously. “That’s because I lied. It doesn’t actually do anything. It was a fake all along.”
“You—what!?” I asked incredulously. “You didn’t.” My eyes narrowed.
He shrugged a shoulder casually. “You just needed to believe in yourself, this helped you do it. Classic psychology trick.”
I wasn’t sure if I should be angry or… not. “But—it was all steamy and whatever…” I said, recalling when he pulled it out of the cauldron.
“It was all for show. Just some easy chemistry,” he said, with a wink. “Speaking of chemistry…” He leaned in, eyes sparkling with mischief and tried to kiss me, but I pulled away.
“You—you—” And then I started laughing. “Oh my god, you duped me. You totally fucking played me like a guitar, damn you!”
“Yes I did,” he said proudly. “So it was you all along. Now will you believe it when we say how amazing you are, and start believing in yourself more?”
I rolled my eyes, but begrudgingly agreed. “Yeah… fine. I’ll try.”
“Good.” This time when he leaned in to kiss me, I didn’t pull away. I let myself get swept up in it, the fire inside stoking hotter again, and Bash reluctantly pulled away, touching his kiss-swollen lips.
“I fear that if Xander came in here when we were making out, he’d probably kill me.”
I raised a brow. “Or maybe, he’d just join in.”
Bash snorted, turning his face and laughing into my hair. “I better go get myself dressed. If you want to stop at one of the malls before getting into the Cities, we probably better leave a couple hours earlier.” Bash kissed my cheek and slid out of bed, offering me a sexy smile before he turned to leave.
“Aw,” I protested, flinging myself on the bed, upset that I was now alone. I knew he was right, but my body had other ideas.
He winked at me. “Later, babe. Now get into that shower before I strip you down and take you there myself.”
“Is that supposed to be a deterrent?” I retorted, intrigued with the possibility.
Bash rolled his eyes, pointing towards the bathroom. “Go, Ava.”
Groaning disdainfully, I stumbled out of bed. “Fine. Make sure there is coffee, though.”
“You got it, babe.” He blew me a kiss and flashed me a flirty look before disappearing out of my bedroom. Reluctantly, I stumbled into the bathroom, turned the shower on cold, and stepped inside, hoping the freezing spray would calm my heated body. It never did, but I always tried.
I was surprised when I stumbled downstairs, after taking my shower and dressing to find everything unusually quiet and empty. Being September in Minnesota, the weather was unpredictable and could go either way. We could have ninety-degree weather, or be near freezing in temperature. Until we left for the club, I kept it casual in leggings and long blue socks that went over my calves, a white cami and a black and white flannel shirt, casually buttoned halfway up. My damp hair hung down my back; I was too lazy to dry it.
I took advantage of the quiet to grab a cup of coffee, lounge on the living room sofa and relax. Sierra emerged from somewhere and sat in front of me on the floor, nudging me with her nose to pet her. Sipping my coffee with one hand, I absentmindedly stroked behind her ear with the other.
The view outside the living room windows was beautiful; the tops of the tall trees in the woods were turning orange and a handful of sugar maples had already made the autumn transition to a bright, fire-engine red. I shivered slightly at the thought of any red, like the red lights of the room my mother held me in before that ritual but even I couldn’t deny the stunning beauty of fall in Minnesota.
Sierra nosed me in the arm again; I’d not noticed I stopped petting her. Defeated, she lay down at my feet, resting her chin on her front paws.
It was a Friday and normally on a day like today Sierra and I would settle down in front of the TV and binge watch Netflix; even things I didn’t want to see. I’d eat my macaroni and cheese in the blue box I’d manage to barely cook, and probably partake in a bottle of wine and wait for Summer to stumble in at 3 A.M. to listen to her newest girlfriend conquest she met at a bar.
Generally, I was sitting around, feeling sorry for myself as life slowly passed me by. At least now, things were chaotic and a little dangerous, but at least I wasn’t alone. Maybe, as I neared twenty-six years old, I was finally growing up. I wasn’t sure if I liked it.
I leaned over and set my coffee cup on a side end table and sighed quietly, resting my head on the back of the couch, closing my eyes to briefly enjoy the quiet and a moment alone. Yeah, I had my bedroom, but let’s face it; there was always a guy or a dog in there with me. I didn’t mind it—not one bit, but with the Avalon magic inside wreaking its havoc, I needed the brief alone time to take a breath and harness my feelings. It wouldn’t be long before one of the guys would join me wearing one of their delicious, tight shirts that sexily hugged their sculpted muscles—or none at all like Trystan. They’d near me, and I’d inhale their individual musky scents filled of incubus pheromones and they’d eye me flirtatiously—no matter what time of day—and I’d melt into a puddle. All that gorgeousness, and they had eyes for me. Only me.
What. The. Fuck!? I still couldn’t believe it.
Then, one of them would brush his cheek against mine, his rough five o’clock shadow scratching against my skin, or gently touch my arm and, that was it. I’d go from fine to horndog in two point five seconds. And while I wouldn’t blast them anymore— thanks for that, Bash— sometimes I couldn’t think of anything else. Everything is still so new, so that’s probably part of it. Maybe after a hundred years or so it’ll subside… some.
Yeah, I was screwed.
I sighed as something lightly tickled my chin. The scent of ancient earth and sandalwood permeated the air around me as a pair of lips pressed against mine, slowly at first, then more eagerly. The kiss was so sensual and so familiar; one of those that melts into your soul, stamps itself permanently on your heart, and curls your toes it’s so damn hot. I slowly smiled from the side of my mouth but didn’t open my eyes. “Morning, Mathias.”
“How’d you know it was me?” He asked. I opened my eyes; he was still leaning over me, his brown hair normally coifed backward had tumbled into his eyes.
“I’d know your lips anywhere, handsome,” I said, with a flirty wink.
Mathias blushed profusely, tipping his forehead aga
inst mine and brushing a kiss over the tip of my nose. “That pleases me more than you could ever know.” He straightened himself out and ran his hands through his mop of hair that’d fallen in his face to push it back into place. I sat up and turned to face him over the back of the couch. I cocked a brow, admiring how adorably sexy he looked wearing a simple gray t-shirt and a pair of casual black shorts; like he’d just slumped out of bed. Normally, Mathias was dressed up to the nines, and the well over six-foot, broad shoulders, thick chested, exceedingly muscular former gladiator always exuded power and sensuality in his carefully tailored business suits. But sometimes in the early morning you’d catch him after waking up looking casual and it was alluring as hell.
Now it was his turn to raise a brow. “What are you thinking?” He asked, turning to the kitchen to pour himself a cup of coffee.
I shook myself out of a daze. “Ah, sorry. Just spacing out,” I said with a big smile. Mathias brought his coffee into the living room, stepped carefully around Sierra, and sat next to me on the black sofa. “You kill Rhys? I haven’t seen any sign of him, yet.”
Mathias chuckled into his cup as he took a long drink. “I have spared him so far, he’s very lucky we need him alive. But, Trystan, Bash, and I have debated on putting him in one of the cottages we began building on the opposite side of the property before. He’d be away from the animals and, most importantly, away from us. Not that that’ll stop him from popping in and spying on us, like a damned pervert…”
“Bash hasn’t figured out a way to prevent him from transporting throughout the house?” I asked.
“Not yet, but you know Bash; it’s only a matter of time,” he replied, with a shrug.
Thoughtfully, I drummed my fingers against the side of the mug I held in my hands. “Hmm, you know, he has issues teleporting very far distances. Perhaps instead of wasting all that time and effort putting up one of those new cottages, we could just have him live in my old house; at least for now. It’s empty, and I have no use for it, so…”
Mathias considered this. “Maybe. But as much as I hate to admit it,” he said, with a sour expression, “we need to keep him close. His sorcery is incomparable, and he is perhaps our only factual source on all things Camelot and Avalon. The magic of course, not you.” He flashed me a wink.
“Definitely not me,” I agreed, with a laugh. “Well, that makes sense, I guess. Maybe I’ll talk to him later about the teleporting-unannounced-into-peoples’-bedrooms thing later. Think he’ll listen to me?”
“Probably you, over us. I’m pretty sure he’s determined to torture us all,” Mathias said with a wry laugh. He relaxed his long upper body into the couch, dropping one of his heavy arms into my lap. “What are you doing up so early, anyway?”
I grumbled lightly as I took another sip of coffee. “Xander and his OCD.”
Mathias snorted. “Ah, so that was him that came barreling downstairs with his arms full of blankets and whatnot just a bit ago. I couldn’t tell; was like a big, purple, grumpy tornado.”
“I heard that,” Xander’s voice interrupted. Mathias and I craned our heads toward the kitchen; Xander flashed us a smirk, before opening up the refrigerator and scanning the contents. Mathias and I exchanged a smile while Xander grabbed a container of yogurt and a spoon and joined us in the living room. He paused before the sofa, as if debating on whether or not to sit on the other side of me, seemed to think better of it, and opted for one of the nearby chairs. “Sorry, I was a little hungry, I think.” He pried off the top of the container, dove his spoon in, and proceeded to lick some of the pink cream off the utensil. Suddenly I became fascinated with watching his mouth work, my mind wandering back to last night, and all the things I knew he could do with that tongue. I tensed my thighs together, urging the feeling of desire slowly teasing my core away. All this from him eating yogurt? Jeez…
He caught me watching him after a few moments of silence and cocked a grin, like he knew exactly what I was thinking. “Avie said she wants to go underwear shopping before getting to the club today,” he said, with a challenging look.
A flush spread over Mathias’ cheeks. “Well,” he cleared his throat. “You should probably leave here no later than noon if you’re going to do that. Xander and I have to go check a few things before you get there, so it’ll be up to Bash or Trystan to take you.”
Xander’s smirk fell. “Oh yeah. Shit I forgot about that. Have fun with that then, Trystan is embarrassing as hell in the store. Bash would be your better option.”
I rose a brow. “How is he embarrassing?”
He and Mathias exchanged a look; Mathias grinned into his coffee.
“You’ll see,” Mathias replied.
I was about to ask further questions when a set of footsteps came thundering through the hallways, and down the stairs.
“It’s happening again,” Bash said, almost breathlessly as he joined us in the living room.
“What’s happening?” I asked him.
Bash didn’t have the same reservation as Xander and he plopped himself next to me on the sofa. Xander forced himself not to react, his mouth set in a firm line. Bash paid no attention to him, and he lifted his phone up. I knew it was probably connected to something on the void web. “One missing supe, and one missing human.”
Mathias breathed out a low breath. “Guess that confirms it. Morgaine probably was the one causing it all over the years, more or less.”
“The break was nice while it lasted. We should have left her chained in that basement,” Xander said grumpily.
“Unfortunately, you know why we couldn’t do that.” Bash’s glance flicked to me briefly. “We needed her spell in order to…” he trailed off, not wanting to regale the events of two weeks ago.
“Do you think it’s her?” I asked fearfully. “Really?”
Bash’s eyes scanned the phone. “Yeah. It says two men—one human, one supe—went missing from Minneapolis.”
“What kind of supe?” Xander inquired, and Bash held up a hand as he searched the phone.
“Sounds like some kind of sorcerer,” Bash replied.
“Sorcerer? You mean like you-know-who?” Xander nodded towards the back bedroom, where Merlin was probably still sleeping.
Bash nodded. “Just a guess though. Maybe if she doesn’t have access to Merlin—because he wouldn’t, I don’t think—maybe she’s after another.”
“Why are there so many supes in Minnesota, anyway?” I asked. “I mean, I know why you were brought here—because your friend or whatever, Xan, had ties here. But what about everyone else? Minnesota is not really something you think of when you think hot-spot supernatural shit. Not like New Orleans or Salem or something.” Bash flinched briefly at the mention of Salem. Guiltily, I reached out and patted his leg, and he smiled appreciatively in reply.
“There’s a lot of open space here, and the weather is cool,” Mathias offered. “I really don’t know.” He sighed, thinking thoughtfully. After another long drink of his coffee, he leaned over to set it on an end table and rose to his feet. “Just in case, we better make sure you’re not alone in public.”
I frowned. “You don’t really think Morgaine would come after me again?”
“Not necessarily Morgaine, Avie,” Bash said. “If for any reason she’s let it slip that Avalon is out there…” he let out a low whistle. “It’s dangerous magic, Ava. A lot of people could find a way to exploit that.”
I grumbled at the thought of being followed, but the guys’ hearts were in the right place. “I guess I’m going shopping with Trystan after all, huh?”
Bash snorted. “I’ll come too but… I’ll keep a distance,” he said with a wink. “And laugh from afar.”
A frown slowly spread across my mouth. “This isn’t making me feel better.”
He grinned devilishly. “It’s not supposed to.”
I drained the rest of my coffee, set the empty mug on the end table and groaned, scrubbing a hand over my face; anxious about what I was getting myself int
o.
Chapter Seven
“Seventeen bucks!? For one pair of panties?” Trystan’s reaction upon walking into the lingerie store of the mall was a mix of boisterous and incredulous. The Scot’s voice was insanely out of place in the pink, frilly, heavily-perfumed store, but he had no reservations searching through drawers, poking at tags, or generally giving an opinion whatsoever.
He turned to me, with a black lace thong in his hand, shaking it wildly. “They’re aff the’ heids!”
I folded my arms over my chest while I struggled to contain my laughter. “They’re…what now?” I stammered, afraid that if I opened my mouth I’d start cackling like a hyena. But I did swipe the lacy underwear from him before he hurt himself with it.
“They’re crazy! How can they charge so much for something so little!?” Trystan exclaimed, his voice increasing in volume with every syllable. A heavily made-upped woman, wearing all black with a pink tape measure around her neck slowly crept around nearby, watching him with equal amounts of amusement and horror. I was actually thankful for that, because that meant she wasn’t fawning over the sexy, stacked, masculine Scot that was standing in her store, looking all out of place. “Och, shite! It’s just fabric that holds yer honeypot!”
Eyes widening, I pressed my fingers against my lips to hold in my squeak; I was about to lose it, especially at the term “honeypot”. I wasn’t exactly sure what it was, but I had a good idea.
“Shite for that price, I’ll walk around holding it for you all day!” Trystan shot me a playful glance. “Actually, I rather like that option.”
“Can I help you, sir?” The woman in black who was lingering finally decided to come up to Trystan, who was definitely making a scene. Her eyes slowly languished over his body, pausing momentarily at the wide expanse of his chest and her vision became somewhat glassy. I rolled my eyes, as she began touching her neck and smiling coyly.
I grumbled. Grasping Trystan by the forearms I pulled him away. “He’s with me, thanks.” I shot her a warning glare that hopefully said stay away from my man.