The Bend-Bite-Shift Box Set

by Hardin, Olivia

  Roon? Roon, are you around?

  I’m always around, Devvie. Going to look for some lovin’ out on the nature trail?

  Maybe I should leave. I’m becoming a liability.

  I thought you wanted to stop them. You can’t do that by running away.

  She stopped cold, looking to either side at the trees looming around her. Dusk was just beginning to creep into the sky and it would be dark soon. To make matters worse, black clouds were gathering, threatening rain. I’m not running away! Besides, maybe they would be more successful without…baggage?

  It’s your choice, Devvie. I don’t think you want to go, and judging by the way he looks at you, I’d say Kent doesn’t want you to go either.

  Stop insinuating sex into the equation. This is about stopping the Org.

  I can tell you that they will likely never stop the Org without you. I can’t promise you that they will be successful with you, but they have no chance of getting those bastards unless you’re all together.

  But what if they’re hurt–or killed because of me? Can you tell me that they will be all right?

  Devvie, I won’t make assurances I can’t keep. Nothing is absolute.

  “Kent? Kent, where are you?”

  “Here, Dev. I’m here.”

  When she rounded a thick spot of trees, she found him looking down into a little ravine and leaning his hand against the wide trunk of a pine tree.

  “Langston tried to explain to me what’s going on. But he says there are some things only you can tell me.”

  He sighed loudly and she watched him drop his head. “I’m a calculated person, Dev. I knew what I was doing when I signed up for this assignment, and I knew they might not like the tact I’d take. I thought that my track record would speak for itself, that they would trust me to get the job done, but…the Company sees things black and white. It’s how they function, and it’s been a successful way of policing the magical underground for at least a century or more. Still, I couldn’t just go after the Org without trying to save the children if the opportunity presented itself.”

  “This is personal to you, Langston says.”

  When Kent turned his head to look at her, she was mesmerized by the way the fading daylight shadowed his face and made his eyes look bluer, like crystal lights peering into her. “It’s as personal to me as it appears to be to you, Devan. We both have our reasons I suppose.”

  She approached him, carefully stepping along the brush, leaves, and branches until she had come around to stand in front of him. He followed her with his gaze until he had to turn his head to keep eye contact with her. “But I’m an added complexity. The Company might have overlooked the other, if not for the fact that you’ve allowed me to tag along. Am I right?” He didn’t answer so she continued. “What happened this morning, the reason your plans went so wrong today, was because of me. I think I should leave. If you’ll promise me you won’t stop until you get to them, I’ll–”

  “Dammit, Devan, it’s too late for that. You’re not going anywhere!” He combed his hands through his blond hair as he paced a few steps away from her.

  “But you wanted me to go before. I forced you to bring me and look what’s happened. I’m not supposed to be here.”

  “Langston says you are.”

  She shook her head wildly, the little strands of her hair that had worked loose from her ponytail falling into her face. “You said the Company has been at this for centuries, so they must know what they’re doing and they don’t think I should be here.”

  “Langston has been around for a long time too, he says you have a place among us. He believes you’re crucial to what we’re–”

  “He’s wrong!” she cried. “He’s wrong. He could have died today. I won’t be the cause of that. I won’t pay that sort of price for my own recklessness. I’m leaving, Kent. I don’t care what Langston thinks. I have to get out of this–”

  Kent moved so fast she almost didn’t see his steps. He was several paces away one minute and the next he was in front of her, both his hands reaching towards her face, combing his fingers into her hair so that his thumbs were at her cheekbones. He moved closer to her and tenderly pressed her back against a pine tree.

  “You’re not leaving, Dev. Not because you demanded to stay. Not because Langston believes you should. You’re not leaving because I won’t let you. I need you and I won’t let you go.” And then his lips descended on hers. She had been about to speak when he kissed her. Her breath rushed from her mouth and mingled with his, even as his body pinned her against the tree.

  Devan moaned and clutched at Kent’s shoulders, pressing her hips closer to his and feeling the hard evidence of his need for her at the apex of her thighs. She felt one of his hands slide down to clasp her backside, holding her even tighter against him, while his other hand remained clutched within her hair and holding her mouth to his.

  “You don’t know me,” she managed to whisper, trying to separate from him so she could think, but he continued to cover her lips with his again and again, dueling with her tongue over and over. “You don’t–” Another kiss. “–know me. You can’t need–” She felt, tasted, and heard him groan against her lips. “–can’t need me–”

  He released the hand that had held her face captive to his, but only so that both of his hands could clasp her hips, at first easily massaging either side of her pelvis, then slipping his fingers into the waistband of her skirt so that he could lift the silky shell tucked inside.

  When his fingers met her hot skin, tracing their way up her waist and grazing her ribs, she dropped her head back against the tree trunk and closed her eyes. “Kent, what are we doing?” She could feel a tingle within the warmth and wet between her legs each time he touched her.

  “We’re doing what I’ve wanted to do, what I’ve thought of doing since the first time I saw you. You’ve haunted my dreams for months and months, Dev. In my dreams you were mine. I wanted to touch this skin…” He kissed the nape of her neck gently. “I wanted to know these breasts…” He hooked his fingers into the cups of her bra and pulled them down so he could hold both breasts completely in his hands. “I told myself this wouldn’t happen–that it couldn’t–but you’re here.” He clasped her just below her ribs and pulled her close, causing her back to bend and her body to arch into his. “And you feel so damned good, Dev.”

  Then he kissed her again, and without removing his mouth from hers, he unzipped the back of her skirt. His hands slid freely under her clothes and to the bare skin of her backside.

  “Oh, Kent–oh–”

  Devan needed to touch skin too, so she reached up and began unbuttoning his shirt. He’d long since removed his tie and jacket during the drive, and she made quick work of the little buttons so she could rake her hands along his chest and stomach, reaching around to dig her nails into his back.

  “You’re so hot, Dev. Your skin feels so hot.”

  The darkening clouds let loose and rain showered them. At first they barely noticed the tiny droplets, and then it was a complete downpour. It was a cold rain, and the contrast of those icy drops against their heated skin made them both gasp together even as their lips continued moving against one another. They could both taste the rain on each other’s mouths and tongues as their skin became slick and wet.

  “No, no, Dev–I’m sorry.” And Kent suddenly pulled away from her. Like a magnet, her body instinctively tried to follow his, seeking to maintain the contact, but he took several steps away. Resigned, she slouched back against the tree to catch her breath.

  “What’s wrong?”

  Kent chuckled, combing his hands through his wet hair and blinking against the rain falling on his face. “What’s wrong? I had you pinned against a pine tree and was ready to ravish you. Isn’t that wrong enough?”

  She took a few moments, squeezing her eyes closed and letting the rain cool her flushed cheeks. “I didn’t think I was complaining,” she murmured wryly.

  He stepped towards her aga
in, reaching back behind her and pulling the zipper up on her skirt. He gently brushed her hair from her cheeks and traced a thumb from the bridge of her nose across her cheekbone. “I want you, Devan Stowe. I need you. I must have you, but not like this. I’m going to make beautiful, wild love to you, but I’m going to do it properly–in a bed.”

  One corner of Devan’s lips lifted into a lopsided grin. “Okay, but after that, if I want you to take me against a pine tree, can we at least consider it?”

  Kent laughed, a huge boisterous sound, and his face transformed, a lightness emerging in his expression that she’d only seen once or twice since they’d met.

  “You have a wonderful smile, Kent,” she told him, reaching towards him to run her index and middle fingers across his lips. “You should use it more often.”

  A crack of thunder sounded in the distance and Kent’s eyes were drawn towards the sky. “We should get back to the truck. This looks like it could get nasty and we need to decide where we’re going to go.”

  They both fled along through the woods, righting their clothing as they made their way. Finally they reached the truck, and Kent held the door open so she could slide inside. Langston had finished his meal and appeared to be patiently waiting, though his face revealed a knowing look. Devan blushed as she fidgeted with her clothing and her wet hair.

  She was throbbing with power and energy. Her aura was pulsing into and out of her body in a way Langston had never witnessed, and the edges were fragmented and sharp, not smooth and rolling as would be expected. He knew he was the only one who recognized something was not right about her, and for the life of him he couldn’t seem to decipher what it was.

  Kent grabbed his cell phone from the center console and quickly dialed a number. Then with a worried look, he glanced at Langston. “The phone’s no longer working. They’ve cut that off also.”

  “What about mine?” Devan offered, retrieving her cell from her purse and handing it to him.

  Kent dialed the number and his frown deepened. “No, they’ve cut his off too. There’s no way to reach him by phone now.”

  “The Org may have gotten to him. Maybe he went back in?” Langston suggested.

  Kent’s mouth stretched into a tight line. “I don’t think so. Certainly Nicky’s no warm and cuddly personality, but I always sensed…I don’t know. I just don’t think he’d abandon the team. Until I know different, I’ll assume he’s still with us. Can you find him?”

  Langston nodded just slightly. “Certainly I can try. I’ll need a place to meditate in order for scrying to have any chance of success. Where will we go?”

  “I’m not sure. My personal funds are limited and I’d rather stick to more secluded locations, since our planned hideouts are compromised.”

  Devan’s face was serious, etched with lines of concern. “Why are they compromised?”

  Langston spoke before Kent could and his voice was slow, deliberate, and soothing. “If Adriel has gotten to Gerry or Nicky, then he will have information about our secrets. Adriel is what is known as a psychic vampire. Not only does he feed on blood, but he can also feed telepathically on the minds and memories of others. He will know what they know.”

  She accepted his explanation with a nod, although she could think of a hundred questions to ask. “There’s a place. It’s a sort of a lodge and the cabins are fairly far apart,” Devan offered. “And I know–at least I think I can speak to the owner and get a reasonable cost for us.”

  Langston looked at her closely, at how the edges of her aura flickered green. She had been sparking with emotion and energy since she’d returned from the woods with Kent, and he’d worked to extend a calming hand towards her mind. She had cooled a bit, though he now suspected she was hiding something. “Where is this lodge?”

  “Danville off Highway 10. Not far from the airport.”

  “Let’s go. The sooner we find Nicky, the better,” Kent said, already turning the ignition on the truck.

  As she snapped the seatbelt across her waist, Devan looked back at Langston with narrowed eyes. “Now what the hell is scrying? I mean, you two have got to stop talking witchy crap without giving me at least a clue!”

  Devvie, you’re so funny! “Witchy crap.” Hahahaha!

  Feeling Roon’s laughter echo in her head provided a final source of comfort to set her mind temporarily at ease. It reminded her of the time before the reality of life had put a vise around her heart.

  On the drive, Devan listened intently as Langston patiently explained scrying, a process witches sometimes use to locate an answer to some question—or in this case, to locate a person. This was different from the track that had been put on her, he explained. The one discussion lead to any number of other questions she had, and when he could, Langston provided as thorough and as pointed an answer as possible.

  Kent found himself internally pleased to see Devan so interested, and more importantly, so open-minded. It seemed she now was able to make the leap from someone who didn’t believe in magic at all to someone who possessed and embraced her powers.

  True to her word, when they arrived at the Ridge Road Lodge, Devan procured them a nice cabin as far away from the main area of tourists as possible. Despite Kent’s attempt to give her his credit card, she insisted on taking care of the tab herself.

  Again, Langston gave her a strong look, examining the nuances of her aura and storing the information he detected from her for later use. Everyone was entitled to have secrets, he reasoned, as he later worked at posting protections around their cabin.

  With Devan inside, Kent approached his friend to help him secure the building.

  “You make a good match. I am pleased with it,” Langston said, not looking up from his work.

  “I hear a ‘but’ in there,” remarked his young friend, but the smile on his face could be heard in the joyful tone of his voice.

  “I cannot explain it and you cannot sense it, but you must be careful. There is some interaction between the two of you. And it seems to set her off balance. I found the same disturbance within her that night I came upon you in the hotel room. I would presume there was some intimacy between you at that time?”

  Kent shrugged, though tension became evident in his shoulders. He didn’t want to hear Langston’s words, but he knew better than to discount anything the man said.

  “I would like to begin her training immediately.”

  “I don’t know if that’s a good idea,” Kent demurred.

  Langston stood and looked down at his companion, his eyes resolute. “We are endeavoring on a pivotal conflict and now we are without the Company for assistance. I presume we will not give up the quest we’ve undertaken, and now she has become an integral part of it. She deserves the chance to protect herself and to be prepared for what may occur. We owe her that.”

  Kent’s back was straight, his expression stoic. “And I will threaten her chance to do that? Is that what you’re saying?”

  The giant sighed and placed a hand on Kent’s shoulder. “I have not yet learned what it is that occurs between the two of you. I am just as certain that you two are good for each other as I am that you in some way unhinge her powers. I think we must consider all of this carefully and tread lightly.”

  Kent coughed to clear the tightening in his throat. “We all need sleep tonight. Let’s finish everything so we can hit the sack.”

  Langston followed him with his eyes as his friend walked stiffly away.

  Devan tucked her blanket tight around her as she stepped carefully out towards the clearing where she knew Langston and Kent would be found. Her pink flannel pajama bottoms might have provided some warmth, but the silky chemise top didn’t do much to keep her upper half protected in the least.

  It was just after sunrise, and for the past three days they’d been attempting, without success, to locate Nicky. Kent glanced up at her as she approached, twigs snapping under her feet. He was crouched down, one knee touching the ground and his hand resting on the other. His e
xpression was tense, hard, and cold.

  It was the coldness that bothered her. Since they’d arrived at the lodge, his unbreakable demeanor had returned, and he’d not so much as brushed her shoulder when passing her in the hallway. The longer they went without locating Nicky, the fouler his temper became. She’d tried to speak to him, to get time alone with him, but he’d rebuffed her. She was too proud to beg for his attentions. When he showed disinterest, she immediately mirrored the same, turning off her desire for him and becoming distant as well.

  Langston was holding his hands over a small pool of water. She’d watched him days ago dig this little hole two feet in diameter. He’d lined the bottom with sandy soil from the shoreline of the nearby creek before he’d circled it with stones. Each stone had been selected carefully by the three of them. Langston wanted the rocks to be of a particular size, approximately that of a fist, and completely smooth with no sharp edges. He’d filled the hole with water and insisted that it be covered with a sheet so it wouldn’t be disturbed and the detritus could settle to the bottom.

  Now Langston was peering closely at the water, searching with as much intensity and concentration as she’d seen him use each time. She could feel, literally feel, the strength of his attempts, but each time there was nothing. Nicky seemed to have disappeared and so apparently had Gerry. The air was cold, a front having come through the day before, and Devan shivered as she pulled her blanket tighter around her shoulders.

  Just as Langston had been doing, Kent placed his hands over the pool, trying to match his friend’s intensity. A moment passed and then Devan marveled as the pool rapidly became cloudy and murky, swirling just a bit.

  The giant looked up at Kent with a serious frown. “You must find some way to discharge what is agitating you. It’s leaching into everything around you.”

  Kent grunted as he stood, and Devan couldn’t help but notice that he seemed to take great care to step away from her. He stared down at the pool for a long moment before turning and walking away. His movements were less graceful, lacking the rhythm and cadence of muscles that had so entranced her when she first met him.