The Second Trinity

by Tracy Cooper-Posey

  “Liar.” Aithan’s voice was very soft. “If there’s no bond, how do you explain your sudden ability to teleport?”

  Cora glared at him.

  Rhys held up a hand. “Stop!”

  Cora pressed her lips together to silence herself. Aithan leaned back against the counter and crossed his arms once more, his leather jacket creaking as the shoulders strained it. There were scuff marks on the bottom of the sleeves from where she had sent him skidding across the parking lot. There was even a small tear, but there were no wounds on his hands or wrists.

  “Aithan, can I drop you somewhere?” Rhys said.

  “You’re leaving?” Cora had been braced for an argument.

  “I think we all need a little time to adjust.”

  “Speak for yourself,” Aithan said.

  Rhys sighed. “Very well, Cora and I need time. So let’s leave the lady’s house, just like she asked. We’ll agree to meet later.” He glanced out the window. “It’s past noon. Let’s meet for dinner. There’s a diner out by the highway that is cheap and good. Agreed?” He looked at them both.

  Aithan seemed amused. “If that’s what you think you need.”

  “I do.”

  Cora held her breath as they both glanced at her then headed to the front door. She didn’t release her breath until she hurried to shut the door behind them and put the chain on it.

  She went back to the kitchen and into the butler’s pantry and pulled out her cleaning supplies. She kept tight control on her thoughts, not allowing anything but the job at hand to enter. She went upstairs and pulled all the towels and mats out of the bathroom and began to scrub it, starting at the ceiling.

  While she was the only person in the house she could move as fast as she wanted to. She was down to scrubbing the floor on her hands and knees when the front door bell chimed, twenty minutes later.

  She dropped the sponge in the bucket and got to her feet. By concentrating on the next step and the one after that, she could block out everything. So she focused on walking downstairs and putting her boots back on so she didn’t answer the door barefoot. She pushed her hair back into place with automatic movements, without bothering to look in a mirror. She went to the door, already listing out the steps after that—getting rid of the caller, then returning to the bathroom and finishing the scrubbing, then washing the mats, then….

  Rhys stood on the concrete step, leaning with one hand against the doorframe. He straightened up as she opened the door.

  Cora drew in an unsteady breath as her concentration broke and all the unwelcome thoughts barreled back into her mind. “I don’t want you here.”

  His blue eyes were grave. “I couldn’t stay away. Let me in, Cora. I don’t like being exposed out here.”

  She couldn’t refute that. So she stepped aside and shut the door after him.

  Rhys didn’t step into the room. He stayed right where he was—in front of her and far too close.

  Cora stepped back out of the way, until her ass came up against the back of the wingchair.

  “I don’t get it,” Rhys said, pushing his jacket aside and propping his fist on his hip, close to the badge on his belt. “I can’t put it together properly.”

  “Put what together?”

  “It makes sense that Aithan would have no objections to this.”

  Her laugh caught her by surprise. “Free sex, forever. Of course he would like it.”

  “It probably isn’t a shock that the idea of being shoved around by some all-powerful and invisible force doesn’t thrill me, either. What I don’t get is why you have such strong objections.”

  Cora dropped her gaze to the carpet as her chest tightened unpleasantly and realized that the movement told Rhys more than she had intended. He was a lawman, used to watching people for tell-tale signs. So she lifted her head again and looked him in the eye.

  “You’re not going to tell me,” he interpreted. “You still don’t trust me. But these are your people, Cora. Your clansmen.”

  “No, they’re not.”

  “Okay, fine. I don’t know much about anything, but at least I know I don’t know. You’re not even trying to figure it out, are you?”

  She thought of the bathroom upstairs. She could smell the cleaning solution from here. “There’s nothing to work out. I won’t go through with this. That’s all I’m gonna say on the matter.”

  Rhys let out a heavy breath. “Very well. But before I go, can I kiss you?”

  Her heart jumped. It was a purely human reaction. She only ever seemed to experience human reactions when Rhys was near.

  “I know you’ve wanted me to, ever since we’ve met. I even know why you wouldn’t let it happen.” His voice was low, curling around the base of her spine and walking along her back. “I think by now you know that I’ve always wanted to, right from day one. So now I want to kiss you before this bonding thing grows any stronger. I want to know what it might have been like.”

  “Perhaps it’s already too late.”

  “I thought you didn’t believe in the bonding?”

  Her pulse jumped, because Rhys was drawing nearer. It was almost sneaky, the way he was gradually moving closer. He was watching her closely.

  Looking at his eyes was a mistake. She could feel how something seemed to grab her attention and hold it—his willpower, the bonding (that didn’t exist, of course), or just plain ol’ horny feelings—and she couldn’t look away. Her breath emerged in a shaky sigh.

  Rhys reached out slowly and put his hands around her face. His flesh was hot against hers. Human hot. His scent was rich, layered. He tilted her head up. His eyes were so blue and from this close, she could see that they were flawless, without fleck or mark.

  She was right back to wanting him again, just like at the casino. This time, though, the feeling didn’t rise up inside her. It burst over her like a shower, saturating her with hot need. Cora leaned forward and met his lips, unable to wait.

  It was heaven. It was everything she thought it might be. Her already roused body tightened with almost painful wanting. It had been so long….

  Then thought faded and the delight the kiss generated turned to a slow, deep torpor, sending liquid heat through her veins and nerves.

  She wound her arms around his neck and clung to him. It wasn’t close enough, even though her breasts were against his chest and her hips against his. His hands pressed against her back, holding her still, holding her against him.

  His lips were warm against hers and tasted…she wasn’t sure what the taste was. She had forgotten so many tastes already. But she could taste him and it was such a pleasure!

  But there was something not quite right.

  The thought intruded despite the thrill of his kiss. Something was wrong. Something was missing. It tapped at her mind persistently, making her focus on it.

  As soon as she examined the thought, she felt the same jolt she had experienced when she had jumped away to the fire tower.

  “Well, hello.”

  Cora tore her lips away from Rhys’ and looked around, horror filtering through the thick, syrupy need, diluting and dispersing it.

  Aithan was sitting up on a bed with a coverlet on it that screamed “hotel”, his back against the headboard. “I see you got things started without me.”

  Cora pushed herself away from Rhys as the horror bloomed into a churning soup of guilt, embarrassment and confusion.

  Rhys turned to face Aithan. “Are you ever going to stop being a dick?”

  “Are you ever going to stop trying to be the hero?”

  Cora closed her eyes and sank onto the single armless chair that sat in front of a table holding a lamp and hotel stationery. Why had she brought them here? How had she even known where to jump them? “I felt your frustration,” she said slowly and looked up at Aithan. “I felt it.”

  Aithan gave a slow nod. “I felt your arousal.” He looked at Rhys. “Both of you.”

  Rhys rubbed the back of his neck. “That’s part of it, then
. Feeling each other.”

  Cora shook her head. “No.”

  Aithan laughed. “You’re both in full-blown denial. It would be laughable, if it wasn’t so pathetic.”

  Rhys’ tone was defensive. “I’m not denying anything.”

  “No?” Aithan leaned back and crossed his arms. “You snuck back to kiss the girl after you delivered me here. Did you even try to go back to your office, like you said you were?”

  Rhys’ gaze flickered toward Cora. “That’s different. I couldn’t stay away.”

  “Not once you had me out of the picture.” Aithan’s smile was drier than the Sahara. It was almost a grimace. “You’re happy enough over the idea of bonding with Cora. What you’re trying to duck, with every fiber of your soul, is the idea of bonding with me.”

  Rhys swallowed. His jaw worked. But he didn’t speak.

  Aithan slid down the length of the bed, then swiveled so his feet were on the floor. It put him almost directly opposite Rhys, where he stood with his back against the wall. “You’re scared,” Aithan said flatly.

  Rhys tried to shake his head, but the movement was stiff.

  “It’s time for truth. The other trinities must have reached this same conclusion. Whatever happens between us, whatever is said, whatever vulnerability is exposed, it must stay between us, or the trinity will be weaker through exposure.”

  Cora silently agreed with him. Aithan had put his finger on the very core of the problem.

  “So now we can luxuriate in the prickly truth,” Aithan said. “You’re afraid of what I represent.”

  “You’re a demon.” Rhys’ voice was hoarse.

  “Of a sort. But your mother was fae and witches like her have been given worse names throughout history. It’s just a name. That’s not what you fear.” He got to his feet, which put him bare inches away from Rhys. “You’re recoiling from the idea of sex with a man.”

  Rhys flinched. His throat worked. “I…I’ve never….”

  Aithan nodded, but this time, there was empathy in his eyes. “I know.” He moved a half inch closer and Cora’s heart gave a heavy lurch as she realized how close he was to Rhys. Aithan wasn’t quite as tall as Rhys, but he was bigger in build. “But no one outside this room need ever know what goes on between us.” He was looking Rhys in the eye and Rhys wasn’t moving a muscle. He was watching every move Aithan made. There was a pulse in the side of his neck, throbbing heavily.

  Cora shifted on her chair, tension heavy in her limbs, stirring the embers of her need back to life.

  Aithan’s voice was low. Soft. “You couldn’t stay away from Cora. Was that the bond?”

  “I think…yes,” Rhys whispered.

  “Then you agree that it is powerful, already?”

  Rhys nodded.

  “Let me show you something,” Aithan said. “Close your eyes.”

  Rhys stared at him. “Why?”

  “You know why. Close your eyes. Let the bond do its work.”

  Cora gripped her hands together, her fingers pressing in on each other and digging into the backs of her hands. Her breathing had stopped, but her heart was racing as she watched the two of them standing eye to eye, their bodies almost touching. She didn’t want this to work. She didn’t want Aithan to be right. But a lethargy kept her in her seat, to see what would happen. Then she realized that it wasn’t lethargy at all. It was anticipation.

  As Rhys closed his eyes and Aithan leaned forward, she drew in a sharp breath, excitement spilling through her.

  Aithan didn’t draw him closer. He didn’t touch Rhys at all, except for his mouth, which he pressed against Rhys’ with growing firmness.

  Cora held her knees together as her clit throbbed and gripped her hands even tighter.

  Then Rhys gave out a deep groan. He curled his hand around the back of Aithan’s head and their bodies met, from chest to knee. Rhys was kissing Aithan now. His eyes were still closed but the lines of his body were taut with excitement.

  Rhys pulled his lips from Aithan’s. He was almost gasping for breath as he studied Aithan with a slightly puzzled air. His hand was still cupping the back of his head and his fingers moved restlessly in his hair. “Damn,” he said, almost soundlessly. He sounded dazed.

  Aithan smiled. “Agreed.”

  Cora shot to her feet and moved fast, heading for the door. But Aithan was just as fast. He lunged forward and grabbed her wrist, anchoring her. “No.” His hand was warm against her skin.

  Cora tugged. Uselessly. “You don’t understand. I don’t want this.”

  “You’ve made that abundantly clear,” Aithan replied.

  Rhys moved around him, until he was between the two of them. “You’ve always lived alone. You’ve always been alone. I thought that was because you were afraid that close relationships would reveal who you were. But that’s not it, is it?”

  Cora tried to pull her wrist free again. “Let me go.”

  Aithan’s dark eyes were drilling into her. Through her. Seeing everything. “You don’t want to belong, do you?”

  Everything inside her seemed to seize up in shock. She stared at him.

  Aithan tilted his head, his eyes not letting her go. “You don’t even want to belong to your clan. They’re in Toronto, you’re here in Erie, Pennsylvania, with a whole international border between you and them. You won’t suffer another supernatural in your town. You don’t even want to be a vampire.”

  There was heat curling through her, but it wasn’t pleasure. It wasn’t even anticipation. It reached the base of her throat and seemed to spread and congeal into a hard, painful knot. “You don’t understand.” The words came out in a choked whisper, working around the knot.

  “Try us,” Rhys said quietly.

  She shook her head. Once she started down this path—once she started talking, she knew that would be the end of it, that she would not stop talking, that they would know everything and somehow, they would make it work. But she didn’t want it to work.

  She wanted to be alone.

  “Cora.” Aithan touched her cheek. It was a gentle touch and felt completely natural. Nice.

  Tears welled in her eyes, like hot slivers of diamond. They rolled down her cheeks, shocking her. She hadn’t been able to cry for five years. Not since they had made her. She put her fingers to her wet cheek.

  “Tears,” Aithan breathed.

  “And you’re warm to touch.” She shook her head. “I can’t belong. I won’t stand it.” She wrenched her hand out of Aithan’s loosened grip and moved, regardless of any humans that might be in the hotel corridor. She used the first fire escape she found and ran down the stairs and out into the parking lot before she slowed to draw breath.

  Then she realized she could jump back to her apartment.

  “No,” she told the air and anyone who might be listening. She wiped her face of tears. “I’m damn well gonna walk there.” She moved fast, but not beyond human speed, until she was a good block away from the hotel. Then she slowed to a more sustainable and human-like pace and hurried home. She was on the other side of town from the complex, but that was good. That was just fine and dandy. The idea of standing or sitting still was repulsive.

  Chapter Eight

  Cora saw Meta just ahead on the sidewalk, walking slowly. Meta was wearing her jogging shorts and running shoes, but as it was sundown and not sunrise, this had to be a gentle walk for her. Meta always did her serious training as the sun came up.

  Cora felt a touch of relief. “Meta!” she called out and waved when Meta turned to look behind her. The dark-haired woman was only just over five feet, which made nearly a foot difference between the two of them, but there were far more things they had in common, including being confirmed bachelors. Meta liked living on her own. She had confessed to Cora that she had spent years making her home suit her exactly and anyone who intruded, including the occasional man, tended to make her grumpy and out of sorts.

  Meta was one of Cora’s favorite humans and she seemed pleased to see Cora
, too. “Day off?” she asked.

  “Thank the heavens, yes,” Cora said. “Heading home?”

  “It’s such a beautiful day. I wanted to catch the last of it, so I jogged down to the river and walked back.” She turned and walked alongside Cora. Cora adjusted her stride to match Meta’s short one. They angled around the side of the complex to head for the back of their building.

  “Was it my imagination, or did you have a gentleman caller earlier?” Meta asked, glancing up at her.

  Cora sighed. “It’s complicated.”

  “That’s not like you. You’re supposed to boot ’em out the door the next morning before ten. Didn’t I teach you right?”

  Cora gave her a small smile. “I tried.”

  “He came back?” Meta looked up again, a little smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. “He might be a keeper, honey.”

  They moved into the service area behind their building. Faceless garage doors lined the long, narrow area. Tucked between each were covered walkways leading to each back door. The lane was heavily shadowed, for the sun only reached into the access area when it was high overhead.

  “More complicated than that,” Cora said.

  “He’s married?”

  She shook her head.

  “Gay?”

  Cora rolled her eyes. “There’s two of them.”

  Meta pressed her fingertip to her lips, holding back a smile. “When you fall, you do it with gusto, don’t you?” She stepped around a garbage can sitting on the sidewalk. “Pick the best guy.” She shrugged.

  “They’re a package deal.”

  Meta halted and Cora turned back.

  Meta was looking at her with her hands on her hips and her head tilted. “And you kicked them out? What, are you nuts?”

  Cora laughed. It was a shaky sound, but it felt nice to be able to laugh even a little bit.

  Because she was looking over Meta’s short head, she saw the creature sooner than it might have intended. In the gloaming she caught a glimpse of something very tall with a ghostly, drawn face. It was moving toward them. Black cloth fluttered around it, disguising its body.