But that didn’t mean we were all out of danger. I turned to Beck, “The kids?”
“I sent them through Tig’s door. Sandy has them.” I signed in relief, though I could feel my blood still seeping hot and sticky down my legs. With Beck’s help, I hobbled around to look behind us. Rhiannon’s wolf-back was bowed, her hackles standing like spines along her spine. Two creatures as I’d never seen before were taking turns leaping at her back, trying to stab at her with their talons. Fortunately, she was able throw them off and away from her each time. Tig too was in a fight a hoard of lesser demons, though his tactic was to avoid rather than engage. He used his magic to disappear and reappear to keep them occupied.
But it was what I saw in the center of it all that shocked me most.
Prieto whipped his hand in the direction of the master demon, yellow bolts of magic firing off from his fingertips. These knocked the demon back, but he charged again, and the two of them began rolling around on the ground. Black bursts of smoke were churning from the evil one’s nose as he panted with exertion. Prieto drew his head back and then pounded his forehead into the demon’s.
I could see that the force of his blow could have thrown the ugly creature down to the ground, except that Prieto had him by the shoulder. While the demon was temporarily stunned, the fallen angel stabbed his hand into the creature’s chest. He called out some words that might have been Latin, but I couldn’t be sure. I cringed as the nails of his fingers tore into the demon’s skin and straight through to the place where his heart should have been.
With a booming roar that shook the very ground we stood on, the demon lurched in agony, then he seized and turned to stone before our very eyes. Prieto yanked his hand out of the solid chest, sending chunks of demon remains flying. The hoards responded immediately to the death of their master, drawing back in alarm and then retreating into the dark of the forest like dogs with their tails tucked between their legs.
“Well, that’s that.” Tig beamed with pride, smacking his hands together as if brushing away dirt. “Told you guys we could take care of ‘em.”
“Indeed. You certainly took care of them,” Prieto remarked with a cocked eyebrow as he took a few steps away from the stone stature that had formerly been the demon. I noticed he hadn’t looked at me, not even once. That probably wasn’t surprising considering our past. He inclined his head to Tig then bowed a bit at the waist. Within seconds, he orbed away in a little puff of smoke.
I’d had about as much as I could take at that moment, and my legs gave out on me. Beck still had his arm about my waist, so when I became dead weight he carefully helped me to the ground. That was when the others first realized I was injured.
“Shit! You’re hurt,” Rhia cried out, rushing to my side. She was back in human form now and fully dressed, which meant she must have had her clothes stashed in the forest since she usually took them off before transitioning into her wolf form. “Oh my gosh, you’re bleeding like a stuck pig.”
“Yeah, I know. But I really just need something for the pain right now. Aspirin, morphine, a hammer to the head …”
Tig snorted a laugh, though there was concern etched on his face as he stood over us. “Why didn’t you say something, girlie? We didn’t even know you’d been injured.”
“Oh, well, I was too busy dying, I guess.” I flinched and grimaced as Rhiannon prodded my wound. She ripped away some of her shirt and pressed it against the wound.
“Speaking of dying.” Rolayna’s voice sounded from behind the others. “I think this lady is dead.”
I leaned up onto my elbows to get a look. There in the grass lay the leprechaun, Maebe. She was cut through much the same as I was. Her face though was one of contentment and peace.
On the subject of peace, I really needed some.
“Hey, Rolayna …” She glanced at me questioningly. “Good job. You’re going to be a great witch.” Then I drew in a breath, fell towards Beck and immediately passed out.
I was lying on my back in bed, one hand under my night shirt absently running back and forth along the raised and jagged scar across my abdomen. Rhiannon had just taken the staples and stitches out earlier that evening, and as happy as I was about that, the healing tissue seemed to be itching all the more now.
I’d been virtually homebound for more than a week now. It probably concerned Rhiannon more than anyone, because she knew how quickly my magical healing generally worked. I reminded her that even though I had super-quick healing powers, I’d in fact been dead, and that must take a even a witch’s body a long time to recover from. Still, even though I’d been quick to assure her, I was just about to go stir crazy. And because of that, I was constantly pushing myself to get up and go. I would inevitably end up on the couch for hours, unable to move after that.
There was a little snoring sound from beside me in the bed, and I glanced at my sleeping boyfriend. Rolling over, I rested my head in my hand so that I could watch him. Beck had been an amazing trooper about the incidents of the last few weeks. And he’d made himself consistently available during my recovery. I say available because I was not a very pleasant patient, and a good part of the time I just wanted to be left alone to pout. Somehow he knew that and gave me just what I needed.
He twitched his nose, and then brought his hand up to scratch at his face. That movement hiked his shirt up just enough for me to get a delightful view of his abdomen. I reached out and skimmed my fingers along his skin softly, flicking my eyes up to see if I’d disturbed him. Satisfied that he was still asleep, I touched him again, this time with the entire palm of my hand.
Desire coiled in my center, and I felt my cheeks turn hot almost instantly. And when I watched a bulge pulse to life between Beck’s legs a little moan sounded in the back of my throat. As I turned my gaze up to his face, I licked my lips. His eyes were open, their dark depths staring at me in a way that fanned the ember just sparking to life inside me.
“Hello, gorgeous.”
“I’m hardly gorgeous these days,” I told him, and it was true. My complexion still hadn’t recovered entirely, and there were dark circles under my eyes. I was also looking a tad bit gaunt, as an appetite was hard to come by when one’s gut had been ripped apart.
“You’re gorgeous to me.” As if to prove it, he reached out and cupped my cheek, running his thumb along my lower lip. “How are you feeling?”
“Hungry …”
I didn’t have to clarify. He knew exactly what I meant and leaned up to capture my mouth with his. It was an easy kiss, soft and sensual. Gradually our bodies leaned into one another and steady build of need turned into near desperation.
Since I was only wearing a night shirt, Beck easily reached down between us to cup my sex. He traced a finger along my slit over the top of my panties, the material wet with my need to have him. While he worked them off, I took time to pepper kisses along his shoulder, some of them light and tender and others nipping. I decided his growling response was one of intense appreciation.
“God, I missed you,” he murmured, leaning over to suck one of my nipples into his mouth at the same time he teased my clit.
“Mmm, me too,” was all I could manage. I was panting now and a voice in the back of my mind wondered if it were only my passion, or if I were working myself up more than I could manage with my injury.
I told that voice to shut the hell up when Beck’s finger slid deep inside me. My hips arched into him, and I whimpered like a kitten as he teased me.
My mouth sought out his, tongue plunging deep as I reached down to wrap my fingers around his erection. He was hard and hot and velvety smooth, and I knew there was nothing as exquisite as the feel of my man beneath my fingers. We worked each other in unison as the kiss turned deep and bruising.
When Beck wrenched his mouth from mine I wanted to cry, but his lips and teeth found my neck instead, and he whispered in a voice rough with desire, “I want to touch every inch of you. I want to taste every part of your body. I want to go down on yo
u and lick you until you’re shaking in my arms. And I plan to do that, but right now I need you so badly that I just have to take you. I can’t wait …”
My hands found his hips, digging my nails into his backside. “Don’t wait. I don’t want you to wait.”
And so he didn’t, positioning himself between my legs and driving in hard and deep. I hissed with a mixture of pleasure and pain, but certainly more of the former. All of my muscles were taut with building pleasure, the newly repaired sinews of my stomach complaining a bit. But any discomfort didn’t matter.
I needed this more than I could have imagined. Just a week ago, I’d been in the afterlife, expecting never to be here again in Beck’s arms. By chance, fate or maybe even a gift of God, I was back, and I intended to appreciate what I had. For each thrust of his hips, I met him and together we moved, our breaths and our murmurs and the rocking of the bed a beautiful cacophony of sounds.
Suddenly Beck lifted his chest to look down at me, still plunging in and pulling out with steady rhythm. “Don’t leave me again. I can’t lose you.”
Then his back bowed, and he closed his eyes as he came inside me. The beautiful contortions of his face as he climaxed were almost satisfying enough for me, but when he reached a hand between us and flicked my clit a few times I crumpled in his arms.
He was holding me close, my chin against his neck. I kissed his sweaty skin. “I promise. I won’t leave you.”
And I was fairly certain it was a promise I could keep.
~oOo~
A few days later, Beck was packed to head back out to finish up his contract job. Surprisingly, after our lovemaking that night I seemed to have a surge of renewed energy. We’d even gone out to dinner together the night before as a family. Now Patch and I were in the kitchen as I washed up the dishes.
Out the window I could see Beck, Justin and Jilly playing a game of hide-and-seek before he left. Justin, as usual, was near the shed and his dad was pretending to search high and low for him. I chuckled and shook my head. There was a knock on the front door, and Patch bolted up from her half-dozed position and ran full-tilt to examine things.
I frowned as I wiped my hands and went that way. If a vehicle had approached I would have expected Beck and the kids to hear it. When I opened the door, I found a small package there on the floor of the deck. It glittered in a way that told me it was magical. Without thinking, I scratched at my scar before stepping forward to pick it up.
“Were you expecting anything?” I asked Patch as we made our way inside. She just panted with excitement and followed me like … well, like a puppy dog.
I tore away the plain brown wrapping and opened the box. Inside was an iridescent slip of paper that said RECEIPT. The signature at the bottom was Maebe’s. My brow furrowed in thought as I sucked one side of my lips between my teeth.
“Hmmm …”
Further inside there was a note.
My Dear Miss Lincoln,
You may consider our transaction paid in full. I hope you will accept my apologies for my secrecy. If I’d told you I was intent on taking your ticket to the afterlife, it might have changed the outcome of your death. I was counting on the knowledge I had of your death vision to ensure I could take it without being thwarted by the Reaper.
I have been seeking a ticket for nearly eighty-nine years. Mine was taken a few centuries ago. In the beginning, you will be glad for the loss of your ticket, but after you’ve lived a certain period of time, lost all those you care for, you will seek death and the only way to find it is to find another one.
So enjoy your life, Miss Lincoln. I shall, for all eternity, enjoy my afterlife.
Sincerely,
Maube
Months later…
Beck, Justin, Jilly and I all orbed to the home that had at one time been Grammie Charley’s. Just as used to happen when she was in my charge, we appeared inside a little mudroom within the house.
Rolayna peeked around the corner from the kitchen and waved to us. “Hey, just in time. I pulled some cookies out of the oven a few moments ago and they’re just about ready to eat.”
The kids looked over at us questioningly, and Beck nodded.
I’d been back and forth to the house more than a few times in the last several months as I’d transferred everything over the Rolayna. Even though Charley had left her possessions to me, I knew that she would have wanted them to go to her family if she’d known they existed. Today was Rolayna’s housewarming party, so we’d all arrived to celebrate the transition of her new life.
“Everyone else is in the living area, but Beck and Lynlee, I’d like you to meet my dad, Dean.” Her father stepped forward to shake our hands. He was a tall man with salt and pepper hair that somehow made him quite attractive. His grip was firm, and I was pleased that despite what I knew Rolayna had revealed to him about her family heritage and the existence of magic, he didn’t seem repelled at all.
“Thank you so much, Lynlee for what you’ve done for my daughter,” he said with an enormous smile on his mustached lips. “I knew she had something special in store for her, but I never expected it would be magic. Still, just look at the excitement in her eyes. This is what she was meant to find.”
He was right about Rolayna, I noticed, as she beamed while handing each of the kids a plate of warm cookies. I nodded to Dean, but ducked my head, a bit embarrassed that he would give me credit for that. “I think we have more to thank Rolayna for considering she helped save my life and break the curse. The rest is just as it should be.”
“Dean! Beck! Stop yapping with the girls and get in here with the men.”
Tig was in the living area, rolling his arm to get the guys moving in his direction. I tossed him an annoyed frown but watched a bit fascinated as he, Sandy, Beck and Dean all started chatting amongst themselves.
Beck and Tig’s relationship was a surprise to me. Looking back now, I realized their friendship had been growing for a while, ever since my possession by the fallen angel last winter. In some weird way that seemed completely normal for my life. Tig was a sort of father figure to me, and the fact that he and my lover were bonded was strangely comforting. As if things were really falling into place the way they did for ordinary people.
“Hey, you made it. Now you can give Rolayna your big news,” Rhiannon said, as she came out of the hall bathroom.
“New? What news?”
I rolled my eyes but grinned anyway. “Might as well let you tell her. You’re almost more excited about it than I am.”
Rhiannon grabbed Rolayna’s arm in enthusiasm, and I saw the witch flinch just a teeny bit. My werevamp BFF never realized her own strength. “They finally set a date. You’ll be getting an invitation to the wedding soon.”
Rolayna’s mouth dropped open in surprise. “When?”
“November 28th! It’s the Saturday after Thanksgiving, but it’s the anniversary of the day they first met years and years ago. Isn’t that awesome?”
I wasn’t even sure why I needed to be a part of the conversation. Rhiannon certainly wasn’t going to let me speak.
Before I knew what was happening, I was wrapped up in a huge bear hug by both women, and they were muttering congratulations. I thought I might have better appreciated the words sans the touching. I extricated myself after a few seconds and stood there awkwardly and unsure what to say.
In an effort to drive the attention away from me, I pulled out my wand and tapped the counter with it. A wrapped package appeared, and I handed it to Rolayna, “Sort of a housewarming, new life, new adventure gift, I guess.”
The witch made a big to-do about pulling the wrapping away carefully. Inside the box were two items carefully secured in shipping foam. One, a small hand mirror and the other an amulet on a gold chain.
Rolayna took the necklace first, slipping it around her neck. “Since you’ve agreed to let me be your Neutralizer, you’ll need this to get in touch with me. Just tap the stone and think of me, and we’ll be able to communicate magically.
”
“Wow.” She gazed at the stone in awe, watching the light reflect off its facets. “And it’s beautiful, too.”
Indeed, it was. All colors of the rainbow glinted off the crystal as she twisted it back and forth.
“So what’s this all about?” Rhiannon asked, tapping the box near the mirror but not touching the glass.
“Ah, well, this is sort of from Grammie Charley and me. You see, she didn’t think she had an heir, so she destroyed the mirror by which she could have communicated with you from the afterlife. But she and my Granny were able to come up with a potion and a spell to make a new one. It’s been curing for all these months, but I think it will work.”
“You think? Didn’t you test it?” Rhia’s face curled into a frown.
“Well, a magical mirror will only work between the two people it’s designed to communicate. It will be up to Rolayna to reach out to Charley through the mirror.”
“How?” Rolayna’s voice was barely a whisper when she spoke, holding the mirror in her hands as if it were a priceless charm. And in a way, it was.
“You’ll just have to figure that out for yourself. This is a personal thing. Grammie Charley will be there when you find the words to open the mirror’s portal.”
The woman clutched the mirror to her chest, a smile of adoration on her face. After a few moments, she tucked the glass safely into its box and then disappeared into a back room for a time. I figured she was finding just the right place to hide it.
Rhiannon started chattering about magic and weddings and other nonsense, but my gaze was drawn into the living area again. Beck’s head fell back as he laughed in guffaws. I figured Tig was telling some sort of joke and probably a lewd one at that. Just watching my man did funny things to my insides, but for once, I wasn’t complaining. Trouble didn’t seem to be standing over my shoulder for the first time in a long time. Maybe successfully returning from the afterlife was an omen of better things to come.
Reaping Trouble (The Lynlee Lincoln Series Book 4) Page 9