Insatiable (The Curse of Avalon Book 3)

by Sariah Skye

  “Are they—?” I asked hesitantly.

  “Burned to a crisp.” Bash grinned, with self-satisfaction. I nodded appreciatively.

  “Well, are we going to close? There’s still a room full of people in there,” Link said, motioning to the dance floor. “Most of them are having a good time, but I don’t know how you’re going to explain your little lightning show.”

  “Um, yeah. Everyone saw it,” Summer said, her eyes teary and apologetic. I know what she was thinking, I shouldn’t have left you alone in the bathroom. Now that the guys were subdued, she ran the distance between us, and threw her arms open for a hug. I allowed it, feeling relieved to be in a familiar embrace. “Shit, Ava… I shouldn’t—”

  “It’s okay, Sum. You couldn’t have known.” She couldn’t, but I felt a bit ridiculous having to assuage her guilt.

  “Avie, luv, I’m sorry—I wasn’t fast enough. Damn I wish I had a more active power; I got close the bathroom and got confused,” Trystan hung his handsome head in shame. This was the second time now he’d been enchanted by someone’s magic. “She shoulda been safe here.” Trystan glowered. “If it weren’t for Bash…”

  “How did you know?” Xander asked.

  Bash sighed. Underneath his eyes pooled with purple; his face was stark white. “Ava’s grandmother came to me.”

  I winced. “How is that…? How did you know?”

  Bash smiled fondly. “You have the same smile.”

  Mathias let out a long sigh. He opened and closed his fists a few times at his sides, collecting himself. “Okay, no. We aren’t going to close. Xander, can you get something to block all this off? And Naomi, can you watch the men’s bathroom? We need to split it between everyone now. Make sure the unisex one is open too. There’s only one stall in there but… it’ll have to suffice.”

  Naomi nodded at Summer. “Got it.” Summer followed her off down the hall to the men’s bathroom. That should be interesting.

  “I think there was some construction tape in the office. I’ll just—” Xander motioned down the hall. Before he left, he and Mathias eyed each other carefully, their angry expressions melting off their faces. With polite nods, they seemed to bury the hatchet. He flashed me a concerned, troubled smile as he passed me for the tape but didn’t stop.

  “Sebastian, no offense, but you look like shit.” Mathias said.

  “I feel like it,” Bash agreed.

  “Too bad to drive? Trystan, can you—”

  “No, you’ll need everyone you can here. I’ll be fine to drive,” Bash insisted.

  “Aye, take my car. I’ll ride your bike home,” Trystan said, offering him a manly pat on the back. “Take Ava home. We’ll deal with everything here.”

  “What if Ava doesn’t want to go home?” I did, but I didn’t like being talked about like I wasn’t here.

  Mathias’ face softened briefly. “Ava, I’m sorry. But you really should go. We’ll take care of everything here.”

  I frowned. Bash placed a hand on my shoulder and I jumped lightly, but relaxed. “Please, baby? I could use some company.”

  “Well when you put it that way…” I softened my resolve. After all, I was doing it for him, right? Totally okay. “I’m a little bummed though I didn’t get to dance with anyone,” I said, with a little pouty curl to my lip.

  “Aw luv, it’s your club, you can come here whenever you want,” Trystan said with a grin. “You just have to holler.”

  I nodded appreciatively. Well, I guessed my dreams of making out with Xander on the dance floor again tonight were crushed… but I did play tonsil-hockey with Bash over the bar so, I guessed that was a win.

  Bash scrubbed a hand over his face, composing himself before pulling his keys out of his pocket. “Don’t crash the bike, eagle-boy.”

  “Aye, she’s in good hands with me.” Trystan waggled his eyebrows mischievously and Bash groaned. He held out a hand to me, beckoning me to go with him. “Shall we?”

  I slid my hand into his. Mathias hesitated, walking up to me slowly, tousling a lock of hair that fell out of my updo. “Ride safe, beautiful girl.” He nodded cordially with Bash. Trystan moved towards me for something, stopped, and offered me a smile instead.

  We stopped quick in the office area to grab my purse and Bash’s leather jacket which he draped over my shoulders; my blouse long abandoned. I snuggled into its warmth, comforted by the familiar scent of cinnamon and sandalwood I associated with Bash and he led me out the back way of the club into the chilly September late night air outside to the parking lot, and helped me into Trystan’s yellow Camaro.

  He slid into the driver’s seat, put the keys in the ignition but didn’t turn the engine over, sitting silently like he wanted to say something. His gaze traced over to me, his silvery, stormy blue eyes shone with emotion. “I’m sorry, Ava.”

  I lifted a brow. “Sorry? For what? You saved my ass!”

  He let out a single, mirthful laugh. “Your ass wouldn’t have needed saving had I been paying attention. I saw that guy, I should have known what he was capable of.” In frustration, he slammed his fists into the steering wheel, accidentally setting off the horn.

  I frowned; his pain was palpable. “Sebastian…” I reached over and traced a finger along his chin. “You can’t be there all the time. It was just… shit luck. I’m not exactly the easiest person to control, either. Surely you’ve figured that out by now.”

  He gripped my finger and brought it to his lips, quickly kissing the tip. “Yeah, well. I should have known. Even the most remarkable magic can falter in the right circumstances.” He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel thoughtfully. “Tomorrow, or whenever you’re feeling better, we’re going to train you on that stunner. We should have done that long ago, but we didn’t want to pressure you when you were learning to handle your magic.”

  I shrugged indifferently. “Sounds good but really, I feel fine.”

  Bash glanced at me and raised a skeptical brow. “Come on, Ava. You don’t have to hide it.”

  “No, really. I’m fine. Nothing happened, just a little scare. My shoulder hurts but some naproxen or something should take care of that. It already feels better.” I wasn’t sure who I was trying to convince more; him, or me.

  Bash turned the engine over and shook his head. “Okay, Avie. Okay.” We pulled out of the lot and started home, Trystan’s Camaro rumbling loudly down the many one-way streets of downtown Minneapolis, attracting a bit of attention from the people walking the sidewalks. He seemed uneasy until he slowly reached his hand out, seeking mine. I obliged, and he squeezed tightly, driving with my hand in his on the wheel the entire way back to Wild.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Things were startlingly subdued when we arrived home; I half expected Rhys to be dancing through the house on his Zune again, probably naked. But instead he was curled up on the couch in a blanket, Frankie the puppy in his lap, and Lizzie snoozing on his feet. A movie was playing on the large screen across the room; judging by the length of hair on Chris Hemsworth I figured it was Thor: The Dark World, probably borrowed from my personal collection. I was going to give him shit for going into my room, but I wasn’t in the mood for a confrontation.

  He’d been nodding off, head cradled in his hand as his elbow was propped on the armrest but he jerked upright, startled, when we entered.

  “Wow, you must have either partied hard, or not hard enough,” Rhys observed, wrinkling his nose.

  Bash glowered. “Ava was attacked tonight.”

  Rhys jumped up but stopped before he tossed the pup on the floor. Grinning sheepishly, he wrapped his arms around her, and lifted her to his—of course, bare—chest. “How? What happened?”

  I rose my hand, shaking my head dismissively. “Just some asshole incubus. He was pissed I didn’t want to go out with him. No big deal.”

  Bash’s laughter was loud. “No big deal? No big deal!? Ava, goddammit, you were almost raped!” His gaze was penetrative, boring holes into my soul; his chest rising
and falling quickly under his shirt. “How are you so blasé about that?”

  My head hung in shame. “I’m not. I just… just a hurt shoulder is all that happened.” I closed Bash’s leather jacket I was still wearing over my chest, suddenly feeling exposed, blanching at the shooting pain in my shoulder.

  Rhys set the pup down on the sofa and she curled up next to her sister. He lifted his hands and a warm, golden light emanated from them. “Let me.” I lifted a skeptical brow and he rolled his eyes. “I can heal other people from Avalon. You can too, actually; or can once you learn. It’s really simple and doesn’t hurt at all.”

  Reluctantly I nodded, and Rhys hovered his palms over the length of my shoulder. It heated quickly, tingled somewhat as the pain faded away. “See? No big deal.” I smiled at him thankfully.

  “Much better,” I said, rolling out my pain free shoulder. It was still a bit stiff, but no longer hurt. “Thank you.” Rhys grinned with satisfaction.

  “Why didn’t we know you could do that?” Bash demanded.

  Rhys’ eyes darted between us. “There’s a lot of things you don’t know. You know, if I’d been allowed to go, I could have teleported you out of there like this,” he said, with a quick snap of his fingers.

  Bash rose one of his blond brows, scowling lightly at the legendary wizard. “Information that would have been helpful to us before.” Rhys shrugged sheepishly.

  “Hey, you all haven’t exactly been very willing to let me talk. Just yell, yell, yell all the time,” Rhys grumbled.

  Bash snorted dismissively. “Oh please. Stop teleporting into our bedrooms and maybe we’d trust you more, ya fuckin’ pervert.”

  Rhys folded his arms over his bare chest, and smirked. “If it weren’t for me, Sebastian, your beloved girlfriend would still be stuck in Camelot.”

  Bash’s handsome face contorted into darkness. “If it weren’t for you, Lachlan would still be here, and Morgaine would still be contained.”

  I sighed loudly, irritated with their bickering. “Enough, guys,” I said quietly. “We don’t need any more reminders about what Ava can’t do. The list is just getting too damned long.”

  Bash’s expression softened. “What are you talking about, babe?”

  My hand rose in a dismissive gesture. “I’m going to get something to eat,” I said, pushing past the two of them and entering the kitchen. I pulled open the pantry and hunted on the bottom shelf for the blue boxes of macaroni and cheese that Trystan always kept around for me, out of Mathias’ sight. Mathias actually knew about it, he just didn’t say anything, allowing us to “keep” our little secret. Grabbing four of them, I slammed them unceremoniously on the counter, and hunted in the cabinets for a large pot. I wasn’t really hungry, but it was something to do. “Anyone want any? I think I can manage to make this without messing it up. I don’t know though, someone might have to save my ass yet again.”

  Rhys let out a low whistle. “You’re gonna get it,” He said tauntingly to Bash, who just shoved him. Hard. Hard enough for Rhys to teleport across the room. “I’m just gonna go—” he pointed to his bedroom down the hallway. “I’ll take some of that stuff though, please?”

  I nodded in acknowledgment, bringing the pot to the sink and filling it with water. Bash stood in the kitchen, hovering hesitantly nearby.

  “You’re not to blame for what happened, babe,” he said softly. He started to reach for me but pulled away last moment, thinking against it. “If anything it’s me. I—”

  Lifting up the heavy pot of water from the sink, my hand slipped and water poured out in a deluge all over the sink, splashing on my cami and skirt. “Are you fucking kidding me? How fucking inept can I be?” Slamming the pot down, I spun around on my heels, tears in my eyes. Over a pot of spilled water. But it wasn’t really, and Bash knew that.

  “Ava…” Bash said quietly. This time he did touch me; he stepped forward, placing a hand on my hip, and the other tipping my chin upward. “What is going on? What’s all this talk about not being able to do anything? You can do so much, you—”

  Sniffling, I shook my head, trying to avoid his penetrative, steely-eyed stare. “But that’s just it, Bash. I can’t. I couldn’t run the club by myself, so you guys did everything. My car won’t start, but you guys tried to fix it. You do all the laundry, Xander cleans, Mathias does his money-making, hot business guy mogul shit, and Trystan cares for the animals. What do I do, but take up space, make life difficult, and cost money? Seriously? I can’t even take care of myself! I barely can use this magic right!” The tears were streaming down my cheeks now; I lifted my hand to brush them away but Bash stopped me, slowly brushing the pad of a thumb over my cheek and under my eyes.

  “You really don’t get it, do you?” He asked softly. “Really? You have no idea what you do for us. You’re everything Ava.”

  I snorted. “Please. Besides a nice fuck buddy, what else?”

  “Do not say that. Do not ever fucking say that, Avalon Dawson!” Bash was rarely forceful or stern, but he cupped my face in his hands, and lowered his gaze to mine. His eyes reminded me of the sky just before the last moments of sunset; I could get lost just staring at them. I wanted to. But…

  I tried to shy away, but he didn’t let me. “Goddammit, you’re more than just someone to warm our beds at night, Ava. We don’t fuck, either. We make love because that’s what it is—an expression of love, not just sex.” My face heated at his words. “Do you not remember me telling you I loved you tonight at the club? I fucking meant it!”

  “And I love you,” I said in a tiny voice. “But,” I fixed my gaze on him. “I can’t contribute a thing. I feel so…helpless.”

  Bash sighed, his shoulders slumping. “Oh babe, you contribute so much. Just by being here and making life worthwhile again is enough, you have no idea. We like doing this stuff for you. And you’ll find your place. Hell, you put up with all our shit, isn’t that enough?” He said, with a laugh. “I don’t know how you handle four guys pawing at you, interrupting your sleep and your showers and tearing up your underwear.”

  I tipped my head back and laughed. “When you put it that way…”

  He leaned his forehead to mine until our noses touched. “You make us happy, and that is enough,” he said with all the seriousness in the world. “You make me happy.”

  Sighing gently, I melted into him. “Bash…” My lips parted as I aimed to kiss him, but a sudden vibration jolted between us. We both jumped, startled.

  “Shit,” he said, with a nervous laugh. “Fucking phone.” He stepped back, releasing me and produced his cell from his pocket. His face darkened.

  “What?” I asked, worried.

  “Missing supe and a missing human. Fuck.” His eyes scanned the screen quickly, and he let out a low growl. “I need to check this really quick. And, you should get out of those clothes,” he said, raising a brow and smirking as his eyes roved my body. He held out his hand. “Come on.”

  I slid my hand into his and let him lead me to his bedroom on the second floor, leaving the pot of water and the boxes of macaroni and cheese forgotten on the counter. Rhys was just going to have to fend for himself.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Bash’s room lit up immediately upon entry; all his electronics and lights and bells and whistles coming to life, illuminating all the movie and comic posters all over the walls. I chuckled to myself, glancing at him briefly. It was hard to believe that this sexy, adorable, logical man was into such frivolous things like comics and ‘80s teen movies—and played mad scientist in a complicated lab, rode a damn motorcycle and looked hot in leather. He was an enigma, that much was sure.

  He moved to a tall dresser and pulled out some cotton pants and a blue V-neck t-shirt. I eyed them carefully as he handed them to me.

  “Well, they’re not much but they should be comfortable. Should I go back down to the car and get your new underwear and things?” he asked with a playful smile.

  I wrinkled my nose. “Maybe later. Besides they’ll
be all stiff and—” Bash raised a brow and glanced down towards the vicinity of his crotch. I rolled my eyes. “I’m not sure I can…” I trailed off, looking away. I’m not sure I can have sex tonight, is what I wanted to say, but I wasn’t sure. Trystan tried touching me, and I freaked. Bash had been okay, but…

  “It’s okay, babe.” He said comfortingly. “Really. I’ll just let you—” He set the clothing at the foot of his bed and turned for his computer desk.

  Sighing, I shimmied out of his jacket, setting it down on a nearby chair. I rose my arms over my head to strip off my cami but I cringed audibly. Bash swiveled around. “What’s wrong?”

  “Eh, shoulder is still a little stiff. It doesn’t hurt, but…” He stepped forward cautiously.

  “May I?” He asked, and I nodded. He grasped the hem of my top, and slowly pulled it over my torso to my neck, exposing my stomach and breasts to the air, gooseflesh forming in the draft… or perhaps it was due to his hungry gaze roving over my half naked body. Most of me was pleased at how he looked at me, with desire; a tiny part of me was just a little hesitant. I breathed in and closed my eyes, forcing myself to relax. This is Sebastian; not the creepy douche. The douche is dead, he can’t hurt you. Sebastian loves you.

  He loves you. He’d never hurt you.

  “You okay?” He asked softly.

  I nodded, and he proceeded to pull the top slowly over one arm I raised over my head, and peeled it gently down the other, tossing it into a tall hamper across the room. “I’ll get that later,” he said with a laugh. I grinned as he reached for the t-shirt.

  “Um, before you do that…” my cheeks flushed. “Can you, um, help me with the bra? It’s hard to reach around and…”

  His lower lip caught in between his teeth. “Yeah. Of course.” He closed the distance between us and wrapped his arms around my upper body. I sucked in a breath at his nearness, as he brushed his stubbled chin on my bare shoulders and fumbled with the clasp. After a moment it slipped off, and with a gentle touch he pulled the straps down, careful to not jar my injured shoulder, and tossed it with the cami; my bare breasts exposed and on display.