by Eden Rivers
Alec tensed. “No!”
One of the criteria he’d set when he agreed to come back to the States and draw Jaimis out of hiding was that Matt be assigned in Canada for the duration, kept busy safeguarding witches there from the lure of Jaimis’s message. And more importantly, safe, if this whole plan went to shit.
“He’s doing important work for me, and I’ve been able to hold him off. I just thought you should know.”
Alec nodded, never mind Sorren couldn’t see the gesture. Much as he’d insisted Sorren keep his son out of this, after years of estrangement, the knowledge that Matt wanted to help meant the world to him.
“We’ll stay in touch, then. I’ll let the others know you’ve sent more guards.” Wouldn’t do for anyone on their side to catch the wrong end of a defensive spell when they walked into the jittery forest stronghold.
“Stay strong.”
Alec stood looking at the phone after Sorren disconnected, wondering how his life ever strayed so far from the political path he’d crafted with such care and skill. But then Sky made a soft, waking-up noise in the front part of the cabin, and he tossed the phone back onto the pile of candy bars without a second thought, eager to join her.
His bare feet slapped against the cool boards of the rustic wood floor as he walked back to her, and he put his fingers to his lips as she scrambled to her feet. A moment alone?
When Zach woke, there’d be the necessary business of sorting out whether they’d managed to exchange powers in that wild, delicious ritual. But for now, he craved a moment with his honey-sweet, dark-haired witch as the sun rose.
Yes.
Without grabbing either a blanket or her clothes, she stepped over Zach, who was still sleeping like a hibernating bear, and took his hand. With her hair mussed with sleep and her long limbs graceful in the shadowy, predawn light, she looked too blessed tempting, and his morning hard-on twitched in the cool air.
After a warm, wet kiss, they scurried outdoors and headed for the pond. The guards’ tents were set far enough out that he could smell their morning coffee, but could neither see nor hear them by the pond. That meant he and Sky had all the privacy they needed.
Sky waded into the still, deep water, shivering in the morning mist, and set about scrubbing herself with the bar of soap she’d dragged along from the cabin. Taken aback by her beauty in the gray half-light, he dove into the chilly water. After a couple quick laps to get his blood flowing, he swam over to her and washed her hair with the coarse soap, letting the black tendrils spread out around them in the murky depths as he combed out tangles with his fingers.
The world lay quiet around them, with only an occasional birdcall marring the silence, and by unspoken consent, they didn’t disturb the peace with their voices. Sky wrestled the soap away from him, though, and made quick work of washing the remnants of last night’s lovemaking off his skin. Her fingers felt like dragonflies darting over his thighs, light and warm, and her kisses sent a surge of heat direct to his groin.
Before he could pull her close, she managed to deliver a rough but thorough washing to his eager cock, and the effect did nothing to lower his body temperature. The sense of danger ahead only made this sweeter, only added to the honeyed taste of her kisses, the satin touch of her tongue on his skin. A stolen morning, before they had to plan, plot, and in the end, perhaps betray some loyalties.
Tamping that thought down so hard she’d never be able to ferret it out, he wondered how this could possibly unfold. They both knew where to find the dark witch now. And in the end, it would come down to who acted first. With a blood debt sharp on his mind, he swore it would be him.
“Alec?” Sky reached up to touch his cheek, but when he met her gaze, her light blue eyes darted away.
Wary, he wondered if she’d been mulling over her own plans. They’d built a fragile trust, but each knew the other favored opposing tactics when it came to dealing with Jaimis and his followers. Had his introspection alerted her to the fact that he’d pulled away, seeking a moment to plan?
Too quiet to talk. Don’t want to ruin things. Her mind touched his like a kiss.
And wasn’t that the blessed truth? One morning. One more stolen moment of peace. He needed that to stay strong.
The scent of the forest surrounded them, so powerful, he felt as if he were one with the trees, lulled by the familiar smell of damp earth enriched with layers of last fall’s leaves. And through it all, Sky’s berry-fresh scent rose around him, heady and rich.
Alec swallowed hard, losing himself in the sensual heat of being close to her. Fucking irresistible.
You’ve got a way with words, witch. Smiling, she attempted to squirm out of his arms, splashing water up toward his face.
Too hungry to join her games, he pried the soap from her hand, tossed it onto the shore, and then pulled her even closer in the waist-deep water. She hummed a sigh of approval. Lifting her into his arms, he helped her twine her legs around his hips, lifted her to align their bodies, and then buried his aching cock deep inside the warm depths of her body.
Her hair spiraled around them, drifting on the surface of the pond as she threw her head back, her face set in a mask of pure bliss. Bending his knees, he brought their joined bodies deeper into the cool water, feeling weightless and free as he made love to her. The pond reflected shades of shimmering gold as spears of sunlight broke through the trees, and their soft moans mingled with birdsong and whispering leaves.
Rocking together, they clung like longtime lovers, friends who’d shared a lifetime of sacred moments like this. Not for the first time, he wondered how such a strong bond could follow from all the hell they’d shared. Gods, he wished things could be different, without so many loose ends threatening to strangle them.
“Stop thinking…” Sky bucked against him, and her fingernails pricked ever so lightly against his shoulders. “And love me.”
No doubt she’d meant to say, “Make love to me,” but he reveled in the slip. They swayed together like pond weeds in the current, his feet planted firmly on the bottom as he supported her in the chilly water. When he spotted Zach on the bank, leaning against the trunk of a tall pine with his dick in his hand, Alec chuckled and nudged Sky’s shoulder until she turned to look.
Her answering laugh trilled across the water, as light and clear as the sunrise. Having Zach join them upped the heat, and he knew he wouldn’t last long as he watched his friend drag his fist across his cock in long, rough strokes. Zach had left both sling and gauze bandage behind, and from here, Alec couldn’t spot much more than a pink, puckered scar marring the honey-tan skin just below Zach’s shoulder. The glorious hawk tattoo stretched across his other shoulder, a visible manifestation of the side of Zach that was all witch, leaving the rule-abiding cop behind.
As Sky clenched tight around him, close to her climax, he felt both her and Zach’s thoughts swell through his brain like a tidal wave. Raw, overwhelming anticipation rocked through him, stealing his breath as Sky clenched around him. Gasping for air, he felt through her ‑‑ the sensation of his cock burrowed so deep, the heat rocked her, scalding her senses bare despite the caress of cool water. At the same time, he experienced his own hunger, her pussy gripping him like heated honey, so tight his entire being seemed to shrink down to a boiling mass of pleasure, heavy and primed to explode.
Urging him higher, Zach’s desperate plea rocked through his mind. Now! Now! Now! Holding Sky so tight he feared he’d leave bruises, he quickened the pace as he felt through Zach, experienced the mounting desperation as his friend watched them coupling in the water ‑‑ the furious pace as Zach stroked his hand over his swollen dick, gripping so hard it hurt.
Wilder still, he sensed Zach’s awe as he experienced the give-and-take thrusts of coupling through both of them. Sensed Sky’s dizzy bliss as she felt Zach jerking off and reveled in the alien sensations.
And then Sky added her own plea to Zach’s, echoing his words. Now! Now! Now!
Alec came thick and hot in
side her as Zach spilled onto the carpet of pine needles. “So good. Blessed gods, so good!”
When Zach joined them in the water, their morning bath turned into a free-for-all of splashing and laughter, with a large dose of sexual touching thrown in for good measure. One thing about Sky, the witch sure as hell didn’t have a shy streak. She tickled Zach’s balls, grabbed a handful of Alec’s ass, and danced with them in the chilly water. Sated and shivering, Alec felt drunk with pleasure by the time the three of them stumbled onto land, and he wondered if the ability to join with them so easily would leave him permanently off balance.
“Stronger.” Zach’s muscles rippled beneath his skin as he walked naked through the misty, shadowy morning, glints of sunlight painting shiny streaks in his wet, black hair. “The bond leaves us stronger. What we’ll need to survive.”
“Well, that about kills the mood.” Sky sounded more pragmatic than upset.
“We’ll see what the cabin has to offer in terms of canned goods, start a campfire, have some breakfast, and then talk through the rest of our business.” Something in Zach’s voice hinted that he planned on reading them his own special version of the riot act.
Alec shrouded his thoughts behind a wall of white static, hiding from them as he worried things through. He might be able to slip away with Sky none the wiser, if he used his concealing spell, but Zach knew him too damn well by half. And was gung ho on seeing this through as a trio, besides.
Come what may, Alec would just as soon chew off his own hand before he let Sky anywhere near the rogue witch again. And he and Jaimis had a deadly dance to finish. One that would end with the dark witch’s blood spilling on barren soil and Alec walking away free and whole.
* * * * *
Canned ravioli heated over a campfire might not be a breakfast designed for queens, but Sky didn’t have any complaints. Her stomach growled as she worked on a second bowl. She hadn’t even realized how blessed hungry she’d been until Zach dumped a few cans of the savory mess into a pan over the campfire Laura had built near the cabin, the aroma mingling with the scent of bitter coffee and burning wood.
Laura fussed over Zach’s arm as he ate, smoothing thick salve over the pink scars. The ripple of healing magic stirred up Sky’s own power. She glanced from Alec to Zach, wondering how they could convince Laura to return to the guards so they could figure out if their little experiment last night had worked. Despite her high hopes, Sky didn’t feel any different. No sign that she may have managed to heal her own powers, let alone picked up anyone else’s.
“That’ll be Sorren’s reinforcements.” Zach tilted his head toward the west, where a rough road, really no more than an old hunters’ path, wound through the forest.
Sky couldn’t hear anything, but Laura stood and wiped her hands on a cloth. Alec poked at the fire with a long stick, rearranging the embers, and his shoulders rippled under his tight, black T-shirt. With her hair still damp from the pond, Sky snuggled into her sweatshirt and wondered when she and Alec would have a chance to swap body heat next. Not a good line of inquiry for someone who should be focused on when the next attack might come, but he presented a heady distraction.
In a sudden imbalance, the world seemed to tip off center, and Sky put her hands to her face, startled by the sudden sense of vertigo. Something drew her attention inward ‑‑ listening. Alert. Her psychic senses seemed to be running on overdrive.
“Tired?” Alec’s voice reflected concern, and she nodded.
“You’ll want to watch that arm. Rub more salve on it at least once an hour. As long as you take it easy, normal movement’s fine.” Laura turned away from Zach, dumped her supplies into a simple black bag, and piled her breakfast dishes beside the fire. “Skyler?”
The healer’s puzzled expression dragged Sky back from the uneasy inner world that demanded her psychic attention. “I’m sorry, what?” She felt uneven and vague, and the world tilted out of kilter again, but she couldn’t identify the source of her disquiet.
Alec moved closer, and Zach scrambled around to her side of the fire and rested an arm across her back. Laura’s brows knit into tight lines of concern, and Sky tried to brush the healer’s hand away as she tried to feel her forehead.
“…the unusual events…being shot at. Perhaps…stressors…magic.” The voice belonged to Laura, but Sky couldn’t sort out what the words meant.
Alec held her in his arms, tight and secure, as the odd sense of unease exploded into a series of horrific images, the vision so real, she felt as if she were there. The three rogue witches swooped down so fast; the unsuspecting couple hardly had a chance to summon a flicker of defensive magic before they met their end. With a flash of silver and a swell of blood, screams, and the stench of death magic, the dark-haired man and the petite woman coughed out their last breaths.
Sky thought she recognized the woman, but couldn’t say from where. A child screamed, calling for his parents from the next room. The small voice, terrified and insistent, rattled through her brain, no matter how hard she tried to shore up her shields.
Mommy! Daddy! Stop ‑‑ don’t hurt Mommy and Daddy! Stop! Let me go! Let me go! Let me go! The child’s psychic screams hit her with the force of an avalanche.
“They have the child! Goddess help him, they have the boy.”
“Who? Sky, tell us. What child?” Zach rubbed her wrists, fear showing in his dark brown eyes. “Alec and I saw it too, just now through our link with you, but we need you to help us understand your connection to what’s happening.”
Sky shook her head. “I have no idea. Never seen… Never met them before. Shouldn’t be linking to the boy.” Somehow, she stumbled along with Alec and Laura as they helped her into the cabin. “Not nearby. No obvious connection to him.”
By the time she settled on a pile of blankets with her face clutched in her hands, the images had disappeared. But somewhere at the back of her brain, the small voice remained, commanding her attention. Can you hear me? She lowered her shields, trying to reach out toward the desperate spark of will.
“I can’t reach him. Goddess help me, I can’t reach him.” Nausea left her weak as Laura pressed a cup of coffee into her hands. “A little boy, no more than six. Don’t know why I can hear him. His parents…”
She shook her head, blocking out the horror.
“We were attempting to exchange powers…foresight…maybe…” Alec’s words pulled her in, gave her a thread of focus as Laura barked back at him, scolding against unnecessary risks and irresponsible actions.
And then, as quickly as it had begun, the rage, fear, and confusion left her. Save for the soft whisper at the back of her mind, the ever-present calling of the boy.
“I think I’m all right now. Mostly.”
Laura managed to get in Alec’s face every time she moved in to check on Sky. Zach looked done in with worry, and Alec held enough of a thread of power that Sky had a hunch Laura was going to find herself on the wrong end of a spell if she didn’t back off and give him some room.
“Everyone okay in here?” Adding to the general sense of chaos, a guard pounded on the thick wooden door, and Laura excused herself to go speak with him.
“What happened just now…” Skyler shivered and spoke softly, for the men’s ears only. “It wasn’t foresight. I know that’s what we were trying to do last night, swap tricks, but whatever sucked me in just now did so as the raid unfolded. I felt the ill intent first.” Sky took a swig of coffee and tried to catch her breath. “Then the scene unfolded. Two witches murdered, a boy taken, and the dark lords right at the center of it all.”
She couldn’t figure why in the world she’d been pulled into the fray. She’d never met anyone involved, and her shields had been set firm at the time. Unless the scrying rite last night had somehow made her privy to Jaimis’s plans. With a shudder, she quickly rejected that theory. The link seemed to be with the child himself and his parents before they died, not the perpetrators of the horrific scene.
But how ‑‑
and why ‑‑ would she have linked with a boy she didn't know?
“Look…” Alec paced the length of the room, a bundle of dangerous energy in frayed jeans and a black cotton tee. “Whatever just happened ‑‑ and even though I viewed it through the link the three of us share, it made no sense to me, either ‑‑ we need to assess what may have changed in terms of our powers after last night. If the rite even worked.”
Sky felt sick at the prospect of trying to sort out whether she’d made any gains with her damaged skills, and Zach shook his head.
“Let’s leave Sky out of this until she has a chance to get her feet under her again.” Zach got up from his perch on the arm of the tattered sofa and walked over to join Alec. He hadn’t bothered to pull a shirt on after their swim, and he looked more than a little dangerous in his denim cut-offs, with the hawk tat on one arm and fresh scars on the other. “We know each other’s strongest talents ‑‑ Sky’s psychic abilities, your concealing spell, and my gift of foreknowledge. Let’s do a quick inventory to see if we’ve picked up anything new from each other.”
Half focused on Zach’s voice, Sky shivered. The boy called out to her at frequent intervals, powerful enough to cut through her defenses with the force of a scalpel blade. Help me! I’m Eric. They’ve got me. Please, help. Always, at the end of his plea, after he clamored for her attention, his thoughts trailed off, replaced with incoherent sobs.
She’d never been around kids much, and didn’t relate to them terribly well, but goddess, the child was breaking her heart. His pleas would undermine her sanity if she didn’t find a way to help him soon.
If it weren’t for the small, terrified voice yammering at the back of her mind, Sky would have been tempted to laugh as Alec and Zach tried to use each other’s gifts. In the end, Zach ended up kicking the sofa in frustration, unable to summon so much as a hint of silver mist to mask his presence. And Alec failed eighteen times out of twenty to predict what card she pulled from an old deck they’d unearthed at the bottom of a tackle box. When she played with Zach, he called out correct predictions with uncanny accuracy.