Golden's Rule

by Billi Jean

Sonofabitch. He couldn’t fight his anger and her memories so he latched onto his love, gathering his feelings until they were near to bursting and slowly poured them into her, trying with every fibre of his being to call her back, to break the spell and bring her home. To him.

  Suddenly the pain was gone. The man was gone. Suddenly there was light and blinding relief. Coolness and silence. Wonderful silence to ease her anguish. Wash it away. Replace it with something cool and clear.

  “Don’t let her stay in the silence. Pull her back. Pull her back, Dominic.” Gregory’s voice was harsh, deep with compulsion. He eased the way, giving Beauty a line to walk on, to guide her.

  “Beauty. You promised. Don’t leave. Come to me. Come to me now.”

  “Torque?”

  “Yes. Come. Now. See me? Feel the love I have for you? See the way you brighten my life? I love you, Beauty. Now come to me. Come to me.”

  “How can you say that? Now? You know. Oh, Goddess save me. How can you want me now, Torque?”

  Tears filled her voice, the link between them drowned in her sorrow, her pain so deep he felt it too.

  “It hurts. Hurts so much.”

  “I know. I know and I love you even more. How that’s possible, I don’t know, but I love you. You’re beautiful to me, golden, every part of you precious because you survived. Survive this now. For me. Show me, Beauty. Show me you love me. Never doubt I love you, never doubt it. Show me I don’t have to either. Come to me. My Beauty. Come home to me. To your Bethany, your Samantha, your Star.”

  “Samantha? Bethany? Star?”

  “Yes, safe and here. Samantha is with child, my love. She’s worried for you, she’s searched all these years for you, never giving up on finding you. You can’t leave her now. And me. Do not leave me.”

  He sent all his love, all his pain if she left, to her along with his own demand. Between them, he felt her gasp, then shudder in his arms. Slowly, slowly she relaxed, softened, and cuddled closer, snuggling to his chest and he let out a held breath. His eyes misted with tears but he didn’t care, he burrowed his face in her hair and let the damn tears fall. His heart felt strangled. Too big or too damn full to work properly, but he didn’t give a shit. He had Beauty. All of her.

  She cried against his chest, her tears hurting her and killing him.

  “Gods, you scared the shit out of me.”

  “Oh, Torque, you saved me. You did it. The past. I can remember. Oh, I love you so much. So much, you big beautiful man.”

  “Beautiful man? Crazy woman. Don’t you ever doubt I love you. I don’t damn well deserve you, but I love you. Always. I’m paddling your ass for keeping that doubt still in your thoughts. Never, never doubt my words.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Brat.”

  He choked on a laugh and held her tightly to him, until she murmured something in his chest.

  “I think she might need to breathe, big guy,” a female voice suggested. He sucked in a breath, letting Beauty up enough to meet his hungry gaze. Her eyes were full of love as she tried to smile even though tears spilled down her pale cheeks. Beautiful. She was too damn beautiful.

  “I love you so, Torque,” she murmured softly. “Or is it Dominic?”

  He laughed. “My brothers named me Torque. Susanna?”

  She shook her head. “Then Torque it is, and Beauty.”

  He nodded, and bent to kiss her cheeks, tasting salt. “Beauty, your sisters are here, and Star. And everyone else in the damn place who seems to have known about you being missing but not that it was you missing.”

  “Damn, that is a bad deal, huh? I mean, come on, you don’t look a thing like Sammie or Bethany.” Tabithia sounded put out.

  He nodded. She looked nothing like her darker sisters.

  Beauty smiled and wiped her eyes, blushing a little he noticed. He curled her tighter in his arms for the briefest moment, his heart too heavy to release her just yet.

  “Beauty?” a small voice asked near his elbow. They both glanced over at the child and Beauty gasped then grabbed the poor kid up, probably hugging her too close. “You’re called Beauty now?”

  Beauty laughed and kissed the girl so many times the child started giggling. “Yes, and if you don’t like it too bad, Kitten.”

  “Ah, Gods, she’s just like you,” he heard Derrick grumble teasingly.

  Beauty released her little sister and launched herself on her pregnant sister. Samantha fell backwards into her mate who grinned from ear to ear and blinked suspiciously while he patted Beauty’s back with a big awkward hand.

  “I love you, Sammie. I love you so much. I am sorry. Sorry I…”

  Derrick groaned. “Dinna say it. Gods, dinna say it.”

  Beauty pulled back and shared a smile with her sister, her twin who looked nothing like her, well except for the smile and shape of her eyes. He cast Eric, the poor kid, a glance and the mage shrugged, mystified no doubt that twins weren’t always identical.

  “Star, I can still cook!” she cried and hugged the vampire so hard the woman just grinned and held her tightly.

  Suddenly all four females were talking at once. The little one, Bethany, touched his arm again and he stared around, suddenly conscious he sat on the floor of the council hallway with every other adult present.

  “You found my sister?”

  He liked this little one. She was calm, soft-spoken and clear-thinking. “Yes, I found her.” He left off the where. “I didn’t know—”

  “No, you wouldn’t know they were twins. But they are.” She tilted her head and gave him a long, calculating look from her blue eyes. He suddenly remembered that first morning with Beauty, when she’d stared just like that at him, asking her questions and demanding his answers.

  Derrick reached down and tousled her hair, making the young one smile up at the wolf. “I guess he saved her, didn’t he?”

  “I guess so.” He dropped his hand and grinned down at Torque. “I knew you could do it, mage. It’s your wolf blood.”

  Through his bond with Beauty, he felt her snort at Derrick’s words.

  “Oh, you don’t think I’m wolf enough?”

  “I think you’re perfect.”

  As soon as she thought it, she jumped back into his arms like she couldn’t be close enough to him. “Torque, this is my twin sister, Samantha, Silver Moon, and my youngest bratling, Bethany, Blood Moon. And this is my foster mother, Star. She taught me how to cook,” she added smiling up at him. “So be nice.”

  Samantha grimaced and laughed. “Uh, well, you see, sis, I met your guy a while back.”

  “You did?” Beauty asked, frowning up at her.

  Samantha grinned and tipped her head to the side. “Yeah, he was going to help us storm the DS stronghold, but I heard he got caught up in something…”

  Beauty sucked in a breath in surprise then alarm. “Oh shit, you went there… I mean…oh no! Torque mentioned some outlandish tale about a wolf storming the Death Stalker compound, but truly, I didn’t know. He said he’d heard about it, but hadn’t gone…”

  Derrick grinned. Samantha laughed. “It’s all good. I’m just glad you’re back. I should never have ignored your call. I should have been—”

  Beauty gave her sister a firm glare. “Samantha, please, if you say you should have been home that night, I’ll have to hit you. Please. I had it all under control.”

  Bethany interrupted them with an impatient sound. “Not just you, I did too. See? My trap spell worked, didn’t it?”

  He couldn’t help it, he laughed. Samantha looked so earnest, and Beauty looked so annoyed and Bethany simply looked pleased with herself. Through their bond, he felt Beauty shifting through her memories and partitioning off the painful ones. He kissed her hair, and sent her a soft caress.

  “Are you doing okay, sweet?”

  “It’s a lot. I don’t want Samantha feeling so guilty. It wasn’t her fault. The attack.”

  She sent him a quick rundown of the night, not letting him see the worst, but he n
odded in her hair.

  “True. She could have done nothing but be taken with you. I love you.”

  “I’m so glad, Torque. So very glad.”

  “Damn it, I think you need to accept that you can’t get rid of me. You’re stuck with me.”

  She giggled through the bond.

  “Silly, silly woman. You’re going to need an ice pack when I’m done with you. And no spankings either, you don’t deserve one for this damn insecurity. I love you. You’re the most important thing in my existence, you need to understand that, damn it.”

  “Oh, Torque.”’ She flooded him with love and warmth then, her doubts slowly easing away until she practically glowed with happiness.

  “There they go again. You know, that mind speech stuff is so not cool in front of company.” Tabithia shook her head and let Aeros pull her up.

  Bethany giggled, her blue eyes dancing with happiness. The child was young, so young she made him a bit uneasy but she jumped up and tossed her dark hair over her shoulder, so much like a smaller, darker Beauty, she made him smile. Damn, the men would be in trouble when she grew of age.

  “It is good you are here, Golden Moon,” Gregory murmured from the side of the crowd.

  Beauty jerked and tensed in his arms at the sound of Gregory’s low voice. “Golden Moon?”

  “Yes, my sisters and I are called the Sisters of the Moon by the fay. I was…”

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing, sorry, it’s that voice… I know that—”

  Beauty’s eyes widened in surprise as her mind speech cut off. She turned to Gregory and reached out to touch his arm.

  “You! You were the voice. You were the one who—”

  Gregory held up a hand and grimaced. “It was the least I could do. I only wish I could have helped you through the travel spell, but I was not free at the time, not completely.”

  “The spell…” Beauty trailed off then slowly she smiled a bright, dazzling grin and shook her head. “Nope, I’m not. I might not have ended up where you wanted me to—and I’m sorry, Samantha and Derrick—but without that travel spell landing me in a slave market? I’d have never found Torque.”

  Everyone stood there and stared at her, then him, then Gregory.

  Samantha looked shocked.

  Tabithia scrunched her nose up and cleared her throat. “Uh, slave market?”

  Torque laughed and Beauty giggled. “If not for that spell, well, I’d not have been at a slave market, he’d not have come to my rescue—and by the way, I used a sword and magic very well, thank you,” she told him with an impish grin and turned back to Gregory. “So, all in all, Gregory, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.” She grew serious and reached out to grip the Fay’s hand. “Without you I would never have escaped from that place. And without you, I never would have found my bonded.”

  Gregory bowed over her hand. “Then all is well, is it not?”

  Everyone started talking at once, but he simply held Beauty tight. He caught her smile when Derrick picked Samantha up and cradled her gently in his arms. The wolf, one of the toughest men he’d ever seen in battle, seemed to take his small mate’s welfare as the most important thing in the world. And her teasing. Samantha rolled her eyes at him holding her in his arms a bit too long, but kissed him on the jaw when he set her down. They mind spoke, he thought, and then sent Beauty a laugh at realising that was how they must look. Sappy.

  “I like sappy. She’s happy. And with a babe, Torque.”

  “Ah, not for a few more decades, sweet. You’re all mine for a while longer.”

  “Mmmm, good. Does that mean we can work on rule number five?”

  “Rule number five?”

  “Making love to me while feeding me pancakes?”

  “Damn. I like the way you think and all your rules. Shall we call them Golden’s Rules?”

  Beauty grinned up at him, her eyes sparkling with happiness. “Oh, I like that. But don’t forget the Golden Rule.”

  “I love you?”

  “Mmmm…yes, that one!”

  She leaned in and kissed him quickly, sending a surge of warmth and love he knew he’d never be able to live without. “Can they come over? I mean, well, not while we are learning our rule number five, but to our home? Today? Do we need to have this stupid council meeting today?”

  “Hell no, we’re celebrating. You’re free, sweet. No more nightmares. No more pain. No more worry. Fuck the kings.”

  “Uh, no?”

  “You know what I mean, brat. Shall I ask?”

  “Mmm, please? I love it when you take over.”

  “You do, don’t you? Sadly, I will have to wait to order you around. I don’t see any fun for a few hours at least.”

  “We just left fun.”

  “Damn—”

  “Do it. Please. You are due your daily dose…”

  He tightened his control over his body at the teasing hint in that tone. “I am pleased to meet you, all of you. Why not take this to our home? The meeting can wait. The evil scumbags will be there later, I’m sure. I can have Beauty show you the way, if you’d like.”

  “Wow. That was so quick and sweet, too…”

  “Sweet, for a blow job, Agni can come over too.”

  “Ha!”

  “You’ve both done enough for the fight. It will be here, remember, when we are all dust,” Agni said.

  “Huh, well, maybe when you are, but I have no problem with the Kings and Coven heads all taking over for a while,” Tabithia said.

  Aeros nodded. “A break is what we all deserve. For something to celebrate, eh?”

  “Well, since we no longer have a home—” Samantha began until Derrick covered her mouth with a large hand.

  “We have had a wee bit of trouble with Death Stalkers,” Derrick grumbled.

  For some reason everyone laughed. Samantha rolled her eyes.

  “Ah, and that’s a good thing, is it?” Torque said only to feel a sharp elbow in his stomach. Grinning, he kissed the top of Beauty’s golden head.

  She was truly his.

  “You are so busted for that! I should paddle your ass, Torque.”

  “But, sweetheart, that’s my line.”

  A bit miffed by her stealing his favourite warning, he hid a groan as a soft, hot, and wet mental caress encased his cock to full arousal. Holy shit.

  “Beauty! Holy hell, don’t do that!”

  “Babe, I think you need to accept that you can’t get rid of me. You’re stuck with me.”

  “Holy hel…damn right. Now let up before I blow in front of your family.”

  Soft laughter and one more, harder tug by an invisible mouth and he tightened his hold on her and his control. He loved her mouth, even when she used it to throw his words back at him. But still, they were in a hallway full of people and he had an erection that wasn’t going down. He grinned into her hair and kissed her on the top of the head again. He loved all of her, mouth, body, mind, spirit, all that made Beauty, beautiful.

  “Damn right, mister. You’re mine now.”

  He sent her a soft wicked touch of his own. Her brilliant eyes met his and a shiver of anticipation raced up his spine.

  “Forever, babe. Forever.”

  The promise echoed between them, deep and strong, promising them that their hopes and dreams would come true. He’d make them come true, he thought, pulling her tight and watching her family and friends—now his family and friends—talking all at once. Yeah, he had his beauty, and more, a life with her that would last forever.

  “I love you, Torque.”

  “I love you, too, Beauty.”

  Also available from Total-E-Bound Publishing:

  Sisterhood of Jade: A Spartan’s Kiss

  Billi Jean

  Excerpt

  Chapter One

  The silence of the night settled over Tabithia as she waited.

  The witching hour could hide almost anything. Things a person couldn’t obscure in the harsh light of day.

 
She was good at hiding. Had to be. None of her close friends knew what she concealed beneath the surface of her adrenaline-junkie escapades. Not even her aunts knew that, beneath her skin, she hid the revulsion clawing at her. Why should they? People had burdens. Burdens they managed alone. Hers were no different. And they were easier to hide in the dimness of the midnight hours. Night allowed the edges of darkness within her to melt into forgetfulness. Black was, in fact, her favourite colour.

  She should have been born a vampire, not a witch.

  Sadly, no. She was one of the Wiccan, a Daughter of the Three. She wasn’t one of those goodie-two-shoes, can’t-hurt-anyone witches. Oh, no. Her ancient coven believed in survival. Survival meant being so badass no one messed with you. She had the badass down to a T.

  For all the good it did her.

  Tabithia hunkered further down in her crouch, as a runner glittering with reflectors, ran by with her music blaring. She winced. Clearly, the runner had no regard for her ears. Or herself. Aged buildings, paint peeling and splashed with colourful graffiti, lined a street full of potholes and trash, yet a woman ran by with her ear buds blocking out any sound other than her music? Humans. Tab never would understand them.

  She really wanted to curse her aunt, Circerran, nicknamed Trouble, for getting her out here. By now, Tabithia could be drinking at One Eye’s immortal tavern or racing her way-too-expensive but fantastic Ecosse road bike with other immortals. Instead, she waited until the jogger disappeared before craning her neck around the building’s brick corner to peer down the murky street. Cursing wasn’t her thing, anyway. Too many people just didn’t get that a curse could come back and bite you in the ass. She did. Oh, yeah, she got that, so no cursing for her.

  Several minutes passed, and no one else appeared. Not surprising since even a stray cat wouldn’t wander through this neighbourhood so late at night. The runner lacked common sense. Still, Tabithia didn’t trust her eyesight alone. Magic could flow beneath the surface of almost anything from a poisoned apple to a slum neighbourhood street. With one more glance behind and to both sides of her, she leaned a hand on the rough brick wall and focused her inner eye, which revealed nothing more than the shadows of the cars she’d already spotted parked along both sides of the street.