by LJ Swallow
My spirits sink into my shoes. I was sure this man knew secrets the others held back, that as the self-appointed leader he'd know how to use our individual abilities.
"But you knew I'd... explode or whatever when we were at Portia's house."
"Yeah, we know you enhance our powers, but not how. I didn't know what would happen back there, just that you would amplify my power through connecting to me. I've no idea how Heath summons the energy to kill. Or how Ewan’s and Joss’s powers work."
"But you felt stronger with me?"
"Oh yeah, you definitely turned my strength up a notch or ten." He grins. "Maybe the light was the energy—something inside you ‘charging up’. Who the hell knows?"
"I bloody wish I did." I pause. "I felt stronger at that moment though. Angrier."
"Huh. A bit War? Maybe it's a two way thing and you take on some of our individual powers when we connect.”
"That'd be awesome." I voice my thoughts. "All four powers. I'd wreck the world. Every last evil bastard."
Xander gives me a strange look. "You sound like you want to start with someone in particular."
"I need to learn how first."
"Yeah, not sure I can help you with that part. Sorry."
The only way to hide my frustration at his words is to walk away.
"I can teach you other things," he calls as I approach the nearby trees. "If you want."
"What things?" I turn.
"Self-defence."
"I know self-defence. I took classes."
"Against the supernatural?" he asks. "I doubt it. Their weak spots are different to humans, and from race to race."
We study each other for a moment. His attitude to me last night, the semi-proposition as we stood against the wall in the club, pissed me off. But he's the only guy not treating me with kid gloves.
"Unless they use magic," I mutter.
Xander steps forward and frowns down at me. "Did something happen? I sense something's not right. I did last night when we drove home."
I suck my lips together and wait for the "tell the truth" feeling to pass. "Show me some self-defence moves, then."
Xander wrinkles his nose. "I dunno..."
"What? Why? Scared I'll beat you?" I retort.
"Seriously? No. I'm scared I'll hurt you."
"Try me." I beckon him with both hands. "Bring it on, Pony Boy." Portia's nickname for the boys amuses me, mostly because it clearly pissed them off. "But no knives."
In an instant, Xander lunges and seizes me, one arm around my neck. I claw at his arm but his grip tightens. I'm shocked by his sudden move and on the burn spreading through from where our bodies touch.
Again. This reaction to all four men is beyond a joke.
XANDER
Holy hell.
My body courses with an overwhelming energy, fuelled by her mocking implication she could match my combat skills. I fight down how this clouds my head because this is the reason I stay disconnected from Vee, mentally and physically. She’s the centre of us all, and something not yet understood places her inside our hearts and souls too. Seizing hold of Vee has the opposite effect to that I intended—she’s gained control of me by shattering the barrier I attempted to build.
Which means I need to focus on the task, literally, in hand to rebuild this. I push down the awareness of how soft the skin is on her arms, how her warmth fills me with heat, and forge on.
"An assailant would hold you tighter than this. Show me what you'd do."
"I'll hurt you," she says through gritted teeth and jabs an elbow upwards into my neck. I flinch as she collides with my windpipe.
"Good." I release her, and as she faces me, I’m distracted again. Why when I look into Vee’s eyes, I’m distracted by something my soul craves—a missing piece I can’t grasp. Mesmerised, I miss her next move, as she side steps and catches one leg around mine.
I stumble but regain my footing. What the fuck? I trap Vee’s long leg between my thighs. Should I throw her to the ground? Win? "Nice try, Verity."
She drags her leg away and crosses her arms. "Thanks. What next?"
I run my tongue along my teeth. Fine. "Vamps, you go here." I indicate my neck with a slicing motion. "If you have a knife, hold it horizontally against their throat and push. Head gone, dead vamp."
She blinks. "You must carry bloody sharp knives."
"They're silver. Slices through the bastards like butter."
"Okay." Did she just pale?
"Explaining what to do is harder with demons because there're so many varieties. With most, it's a simple kill—to the heart, exactly the way you would with a human. Some are stronger, but holy water in the face slows them down."
A familiar confusion crosses Vee’s face. "If you have superpowers, why do you need knives?"
I give an amused snort. "Superpowers?"
"Powers that can kill, then."
"Hand to hand is quicker and easier sometimes. Draws less attention too."
I frown as laughter bubbles from Vee. “How does knifing people or cutting their heads off draw less attention?"
"Demons. Not people. And yes. Look at it this way, using our powers takes energy. If we use that energy up on lowlife, and harder enemies follow, we aren’t at our best to fight them. Okay?" I get Vee’s need to understand her new life, but her incessant questioning of what we’ve done for years annoys me.
"And now I’m here you have more energy."
"Precisely."
"Am I supposed to take a backpack of supplies with me everywhere?" she says, mouth twitching in amusement. "Ask them to stop their nefarious deeds while I select a weapon?"
"This isn't a joke," I growl.
"Sorry. Sarcasm is my superpower." For fuck’s sake. She catches my annoyance. "Xander, sorry, humour is my way of dealing with this headfuck, okay?"
I huff. "Yes, we carry most items in our car and take what we anticipate we'll need when we confront supes.” I hold my jacket to one side, revealing a knife tucked into my coat. "And I anticipate—always."
Vee studies the knife. "What about the fae?"
"We don't kill them. Though my brother needs reminding about that."
"But what if they're trying to kill me? Y'know, like that guy did. Should I attack them?”
I push a hand through my hair. "Just disarm them somehow. Ask a lot of questions. Confuse them. Whatever. Usually fae have demons to do their dirty work. You'll be fine. If you believe your life is under threat, I'm sure your powers will trigger."
"But magic? How do I resist that?"
"Vee, we're not invincible. We're susceptible to some magic."
Her face clouds and she shakes her hands out by her sides, loosening the muscles. "Right, so I should beat the hell out of everything before they get as far as magic."
I curl my mouth in amusement. "I guess you could try, but that might become problematic if you accidentally 'beat the hell' out of a human. I think you'd probably need a bit more practice first, though. You're clearly not capable of one on one, since I beat you that easily."
Her mouth thins as she stares back, chest rising and falling rapidly. I turn my back and prepare to walk away.
"Not up to it?" Vee’s body hits my back as she runs at me and curls an arm around my neck. I stagger forwards due to the force, fighting to steady myself. Vee pushes her knees into the back of mine and my legs give way. This time I can’t stop myself falling as I land on my hands and knees. Autumn leaves crunch beneath my palms as they hit the hard ground and fury blackens my eyes.
Who the fuck does Vee think she’s messing with?
I stare downwards, head bowed, for a few seconds, listening to Vee’s breathing above me as I anticipate her next move. She doesn’t react. Is Vee worried about what she just did and how I’ll react?
Silently, I stand and brush leaves from my knees, eyes remaining down as I watch Vee’s feet to see which way she moves.
She doesn’t.
Playing nice ends now, Verity.
I charge at Vee, knocking her backwards. If this were one of the guys, I’d let him painfully hit the floor, but I manage to rein in enough of my temper to catch her weight before she lands. She lashes out at me, so I allow her to sink to the ground. Hair splayed above her head, Vee looks back in shock as I sit across her hips, pinning her to the damp earth.
My breath picks up, and I deny this is because my legs are either side of Vee’s body’s beneath me. I grip Vee’s wrists in one hand and hold her arms above her head. "I'm not a demon, Vee, I'm War and the chances you'll beat me? Zero."
Challenge remains in her expression, but with an added wariness as her struggle against me stops.
I hold my face closer. "What should you do if you find yourself in this position?"
Her hot breath touches my cool cheek. “Do to you? Or a demon?"
"Me."
"That's easy," she murmurs. "If I kiss you, there's no way you could hold me here. You'd lose the ability to think straight."
She moistens her lips. We're here again. I’m so close to giving in—to her and myself. Curious to see how she’ll react, I close the last few millimetres between our mouths until my lips touch the edge of hers.
Wrong move. The soft buzz from the briefest touch electrifies and I jerk back, before this attempt to show my superiority backfires totally. I can’t mock the other three guys. I’m as spellbound as them.
I’m right. This girl has more power over me than I’m prepared to accept. Vee might be the one immobile beneath me, but we both know who has the control in this situation.
The problem is nobody controls me. Ever.
I’ll fulfill my role around Vee, care for her as one of us, make sure she’s safe, but I refuse to yield to this power attempting to take charge of me.
I climb off Vee, and her eyes reflect my surprise. Because I moved or because our mouths touched? I step a few feet away and fold my hands beneath my arms. "I suggest you stand. I'm bored of this now."
She props herself up, hands behind on the ground, and blinks up at me. "Of course you are."
I rub my nose with the back of a hand. "Did I hurt you?"
"No." She knocks dirt from her hands and stands. "I'm fine. I told you I can look after myself." Then she winces and turns to look at her back.
"What’s wrong?" I ask and step forward.
"I think I grazed my back." She holds her shirt up at the back as I bend down to examine the area. A graze the size of my palm mars her pale skin along her lower back.
"You're bleeding."
She touches the spot and screws up her face. "Not much."
I drag a hand down my cheek. "Shit, sorry, Vee. How did that happen?"
"My clothes must’ve bunched up behind when I landed on my back. The ground is covered in stones. It’s only a graze, don’t worry."
"Yeah, but still..." I step closer and pick a stray leaf from her hair. "Sorry."
"Are you apologising to me, Xander?"
"I meant to teach you how not to get hurt, not hurt you. My job is to keep you safe."
"Really, it’s no big deal."
"Come inside, I’ll fix you up." I incline my head to the door. "We have a first aid kit, even Horsemen hurt themselves sometimes."
Is the shocked look on her face because I’m offering to tend to her grazes? Or because she’s still as affected by what just happened as my pounding heart is?
I don’t know how much longer can I fool myself that I’m not as overwhelmed by Vee as the other guys are.
11
VEE
Once inside, Xander heads to the kitchen where he reaches into an overhead cupboard and pulls out an impressive-sized box, containing enough supplies to run a small hospital ward. "Nurse in a former life?" I joke.
"If I was, I'd have better equipment." I eye the sealed packets in the first aid kit as he rummages through. "If you're hurting, I can call Joss. He has anaesthetic properties."
"I'm fine. It’s a graze, Xander. You’re overreacting."
"I’m supposed to keep you safe," he says in a low voice again. "I’m not supposed to injure you."
I agree to lying on the sofa, when that’s clearly not necessary either, confused by his intense insistence. If hurting me is a big no, then why engage in hand-to-hand combat? "You didn’t do anything deliberately."
"My temper took over. I shouldn’t lose control around you." Xander kneels on the floor holding a folded white cloth and small brown bottle. "Let me see your wound.”
I pull my shirt upwards, exposing the side of my back. He sets down the bottle and cloth, then his long fingers move along my skin. He avoids touching the cut, but sets my skin alight.
"That’s a pretty nasty graze. Didn’t you feel it happen?"
"I guess I was oblivious in the heat of the moment. The fight, I mean." His steady look contains the hidden Xander, and I attempt the same while fighting my real thoughts. Oh, you know, because you sitting on top of and almost kissing me phased out everything but the thought of how your lips would feel.
Now, Xander is on his knees in front of me. I laugh to myself.
"What's funny?" he asks.
"You're being friendly."
"I am friendly. When I want to be." He reaches on the floor for the small bottle, unscrews and tips the clear liquid onto a white cloth.
I've heard from the other guys how an innate desire to protect me overrides everything. I'd suspected Xander's personality interfered with that need, and I was merely a necessary link in the demon-killing chain. I'd convinced myself that, to Xander, I wasn't someone to be protected, instead that he wanted me out there, doing whatever I'd been created for, straightaway.
I was wrong.
Xander moves his head closer to my body, and I jerk as he wipes the cloth over the cut.
"Omigod, Xander!" I half shriek as the skin stings.
"Jesus, Xander!" calls a voice, and the lounge door slams shut. "Seriously, you have a bedroom if you're going to be such a hypocrite."
I sit, my shirt falling back down and see a thunderous-faced Heath watching from the other end of the room.
Xander sits back on his haunches. "Huh?"
"I... fell and grazed myself. Xander's fixing me up."
Heath's mouth opens. "Oh. I just heard you and saw him with his head—"
"I have my clothes on, Heath," I interrupt. "You have one hell of an imagination."
"I couldn't see properly from the doorway. Guess I jumped to conclusions."
Xander laughs loudly. "If me and Vee together was even a possibility, do you think we're stupid enough to do that shit where you guys can find us? Surely you and her stick to your bedroom."
I shove Xander in the shoulder. "I haven't been in Heath's bedroom. Only Joss's."
Xander's eyebrows shoot up. "With Joss in the bed?"
"Yes." Crap. "Not like that. Ask Ewan."
"He was there too? Both guys and you in Joss's bed?" Xander mock gasps and places a hand over his mouth. "Verity, you shock me."
I poke my tongue into my cheek and lean forward, my face almost touching his. "Why? Did you want to be there too, Xander?"
"Are you for real? You had a threesome with Joss and Ewan? Man..."
"No! Not even close," I reply.
"Yeah, if it were me I wouldn't be sharing you." He moistens his lips and looks at my mouth. "I'd be enough for you on my own."
"What's he saying, Vee?" asks Heath. "You look pissed off."
I shake my head and stand. "Can I just say something? I get that this is a weird situation between the five of us, but drop the snarky attitude, Xander."
"Honestly, not my problem if you want to share yourself, but leave me off the list. I don't share my girls."
"I'm not being shared," I snap. "I'm not a thing. I make my own decisions."
"So you do want a threesome?" asks Xander. "Or more?"
"No, I do not. But we all know this is complicated. You're the one who’s annoyed with us dancing around subjects. I'm being straight up about
how I feel."
Xander looks over at Heath. "How do you feel about your girlfriend telling you she wants other men?"
"And there I was thinking you weren't an arsehole today. Are you listening to anything I say here? I'm not his girlfriend for a start."
"Oh yeah, I hear you loud and clear." Xander stands too. "But we're not all under your spell, sweetheart."
"No?" I step closer. "Really?"
He leans in to whisper, "I'd happily take you to bed and fuck you, but that's it. Things would be out of my system, but you'll want more."
"Sure," I whisper back with a disbelieving snort.
"Why not try me and see?" he hisses.
His challenge elevates my heart rate as much as his fierce words. "Maybe one day I will."
A slow smile snakes across Xander's face as he steps back. "Maybe if everybody gets this sex bullshit over with, we can drop the tension and get on with our job." He turns to Heath. "Speaking of which, we need to debrief about the activities at The Warehouse last night, and I need full details about what you and Joss found on your hunt."
At the mention of last night, I drop my challenge.
"We didn’t find anything, Xander. I told you," replies Heath.
"Don’t care. Things to discuss. Meeting. Five minutes." He shoves the cloth and bottle at Heath. "You finish helping, Vee. I’ve more important shit to do than this." Xander strides to the door, past his brother, and I blink in confusion as he heads out.
Heath rubs his face. "That escalated quickly."
"War? Escalated quickly? Are you surprised?" I'm stunned by Xander’s whiplash-inducing change in attitude to me. One minute he's concerned and helping me out, the next... this. The man cannot handle anybody disagreeing with him. Talk about attitude.
Heath crosses towards me and cups my cheek. "What happened exactly?"
"Xander was showing me some self-defence and I fell. Hurt my back.“
Heath frowns. "He should be more careful."
"I like that Xander doesn't treat me as if I'm fragile."
"Vee, how many times do I have to say this? I think we're programmed to keep you safe, somehow. Even Xander. I bet he’s feeling like shit right now. Probably why he’s so pissed off."
