Taking her by the wrists, Parth shushed her once more before turning her arms so her palms faced up. As he ran his fingers over her bare skin, she knew his concerns and tipped her head to avoid meeting his gaze. “I can’t take it back, Parth.”
“No, you mean you willnae.”
“To do so would mean those I put under my protection would be subject to my uncle’s wrath once more.”
“They are nae children anymore, Gigi. They are grown men who are hundreds of years older than you. You spent their lives trapped in a place where time did not move at the same pace, being subjected to torture and ridicule for choosing humans over yer own kind. They are more than capable of protecting themselves now. They are no longer wee bairns with freshly picked flowers, Gigi. I cannae protect you from all of the dark ones when they find you. No one can. You must be able to protect yerself.”
She stilled. “Do any of the ones under my protection have young children or grandchildren…whatever?”
Parth looked towards Coyle. “Aye.”
“Then my answer is firm. I will not renounce my protection of them.”
He growled. “You will die! If nae by the hands of the enemy then from old age or human sickness. Is that what you want? You have barely lived, Gigi. You have not seen yer thirtieth year yet and yer willing to sacrifice all for men who have seen hundreds of years.”
She swallowed hard. “No. I sacrifice all for the children who have hundreds of years before them, Parth. They will carry on as their fathers and mothers have done, protecting the innocents from evil. My life is my own. Thank you for coming to warn me. I’ll leave immediately to prevent harm befalling the O’Caha family.”
“Are you nae part of the family, Gigi? Are you nae married to one of the O’Caha men?”
It was on the tip of her tongue to deny that she was. To tell Parth the truth. Gigi held back. “I would miss him greatly, Parth. But I can’t put his life in jeopardy.”
His smile was forced. “Yer brogue is gone.”
She nodded. “Much about me has changed.”
Parth was silent a moment. “Do you love him?”
She stared back at Korey. Thoughts of all the times he’d made her laugh over the last few years and the number of occasions he’d sat with her when she wasn’t feeling well filled her mind. Their Friday night ritual was just one of the many things they now did together. She actually went to him more than she did Deri, whom she considered to be her best friend. The notion of leaving Korey and never seeing him again made her stomach clench and her eyes sting as tears threatened to fall.
“Yes, I do. I love how amazingly sweet he is, even though he thinks he’s an arrogant lady’s man. He’s not. I love how much his family means to him. How he’d do anything for any of them. I love the way he looks at me and doesn’t see a goddess to be feared but rather a woman, an equal. And I love how in touch with his heritage he is. I even love the fact he’s covered his body in symbols of our kind, though I’m damn happy he’s not one of us. But mostly, I love Korey because he makes me feel whole. From the moment I walked in out of the pouring rain, needing a job, he’s been a pillar of support for me. I only wish I could have offered him the same in return.”
Gigi wiped the tears from her face, sure she’d just seen Korey move. “Make them forget meeting me, Parth. Wipe every one of their minds clear of me.”
Parth growled as he looked towards the ceiling. “Shit. They’re calling me again. If I ignore the dark ones’ summons, they will search for me. I’ll return soon and wipe the O’Cahas’ memory of you, lass. Make yer peace with them in the meantime.” He disappeared, taking his spell with him, allowing the hustle and bustle of the pub to return.
Chapter Three
Korey rubbed his jawline as tension threatened to make it lock. “I willnae calm down.”
Coyle made another attempt to come towards him and Korey’s power prickled, warning he wasn’t safe to be near. “Dammit, cousin, do you wish to bring the gods to Gigi’s doorstep?”
“No.” What he wanted to do was toss Gigi over his shoulder and run for the hills with her, never allowing anyone to harm her. The moment her precious Parth dropped his spell, Gigi went about her business as if nothing had happened. Korey was impressed with how easily she’d learned to hide who she truly was from everyone but was hurt she chose to do so with him.
You hide from her.
He balked at his inner voice for daring to point out the irony in the situation. He’d spent years pining after a woman he thought wouldn’t understand who and what he was only to find she more than knew of their kind.
“If you do nae calm yerself, cousin, I will be forced to knock you out with my power. I do nae think you wish to be unconscious if the dark sorcerer returns.” Coyle went to his office door and peeked out. “Gigi still acts as if nothing occurred. Can you believe she’s the woman who saved our village? How did we nae recognize her?”
“What?” He gawked at his cousin in disbelief.
Coyle centered an amused look on him. “You do nae remember?” A sly grin spread over Coyle’s face. “Och, Korey, how can you forget the first woman you ever gave flowers to?”
He opened his mouth to protest but stopped the minute he thought back to his childhood. Seven hundred plus years ago there had been a woman—a beautiful one, at that—who had stormed into his village, blanketing them in her power. He had weak memories of exactly what she’d looked like but knew enough to know she was breathtaking.
Korey’s mind drifted to Parth’s behavior when asking Gigi what was so special about the little boy who had given her the flowers.
Had I known giving you flowers would win yer hand in marriage, I would have done so myself.
Suddenly, it felt as if he’d been struck in the midriff. Korey went forward, putting his hands on his knees and breathing hard. Coyle clapped him on the back of the neck, chuckling slightly. “’Tis a bitch when the love bug nae only bites you in the arse, but does so without you knowing the lil’ bastard was there to begin with.”
Korey rubbed his stomach and shook his head. “Gigi cannae be the…Coyle, she…it would mean she’s my…”
Coyle drew upon his power and in a split second was holding a bucket before Korey’s face. “Here, cousin. I’ve no wish to see you throw up on my office floor.”
Pushing the bucket away, Korey narrowed his gaze on Coyle. “How can you joke at a time like this? I just found out the love of my immortally long life was tortured on account of us and is in danger still. Nae only that but she isnae in any hurry to fess up to—”
Coyle tapped Korey’s head. “Nae to interrupt your tangent but you do realize you admitted to loving her, right?”
“I did no such…” He paused and then pulled the bucket back towards his face. “Och. ’Tis a horrible bug indeed.”
His cousin’s laughter grated on his nerves but Korey held his tongue, too worried about the goddess who graced their presence.
“Breathe.” Coyle rubbed Korey’s shoulder. “That’s it. In and out. Are you better now? You know, I felt the verra same way when I realized Deri was my mate. I felt as though someone had run me down and then backed over me for good measure. ’Tis common, I expect, for us to fall hard when we finally do get around to falling.”
The door to the office opened and Gigi entered. She took one look at Korey and arched a brow. “Drink too much again?”
He couldn’t help but smile. “Aye, something like that.”
She closed her eyes a moment. “Coyle, I need to leave early tonight. I’m sorry.”
Leave early?
“No,” Korey said a little too quickly. “I mean—”
Coyle took the bucket from him and stared at Gigi. “It’s a busy night, Gigi. It’d be better if you finished yer shift.”
Korey knew his cousin didn’t care if Gigi finished her shift or not. He wanted her to remain close to them for as long as possible, assuring she was safe.
Gigi averted her gaze. “I know and I’m sorry
but someone I haven’t seen in a long time came in from overseas…unexpectedly.”
Korey fought the urge to go to her, shake her and make her confess the truth. “A friend?”
“No one you know.” She gave a curt nod before turning to leave the office.
Power coated the room and it wasn’t Korey’s or Coyle’s. Korey tensed. If her friend Parth was back, it would mean Gigi would leave. It didn’t matter how many memory spells the dark sorcerer cast, he wouldn’t be able to make the magiks forget having met Gigi.
*
Gigi gasped and spun around fast, paranoia setting in. She was sure she’d sensed someone’s magik running over the office area. Her uncle’s antics, in theory, should have left her powerless. While she had been trapped in the place where time didn’t move in sync with Earth, his binding spell had worked, preventing her from using any magik while there. Once Parth had freed Gigi, her powers began to grow at a slow pace. She was nowhere near as strong as she had once been but she wasn’t completely defenseless either. She also wasn’t someone to be toyed with by anyone other than a fellow god.
Another trickle of power raced over her spine. It was evil. Pure and simple. She turned slightly, her gaze wild as she tried to gauge who and what would materialize in the back office. As her gaze slid over the O’Caha boys, she breathed in sharply, not wanting to see them caught in the middle of whatever was to come. Before she could utter even a hint of a spell, two men appeared, each rivaling the O’Cahas in size. They looked directly at Korey and Coyle and lifted their hands.
Gigi screamed, drawing their attention to her instead. They turned and, as they did, Korey and Coyle tackled them, each taking a man to the floor with a thud. Her eyes widened as she stared at the sight before her. The dark sorcerers would surely make the O’Caha boys’ deaths painful for daring to interfere. Left no choice, Gigi did something she never thought she would do in front of Korey—she drew upon her power.
The air around her crackled as it lit with raw magik. Her hair lifted of its own accord as her power danced around her. She put her hands out, directing the energy at the dark sorcerers. Coyle and Korey were ripped from the backs of the men in question a second before her power lifted the dark ones into the air. She glared at them. “You would dare to come here and try to harm them?”
The men looked at one another before staring at her with shocked expressions on their face. “Yer nae supposed to have any power.”
The O’Caha boys gasped as they rolled to their feet. She would have to worry about them later. Right now she had bigger concerns, like how long her power would hold out or if she could control it. Without regular use, one tended to grow rusty, and Gigi was as rusty as they came.
Deciding to stop chancing fate, she pulled her power back, leaving only enough to block the new arrivals from being able to call upon their own. If they wanted a fight, it would have to be hand-to-hand. The men wasted no time in trying to charge her, only to find themselves at the mercy of two pissed off Celts.
Gigi stared, wide-eyed, as Korey and Coyle attacked the men with a precision she’d only seen in warriors of the old country. Korey struck out hard, sending one man into the wall and making a picture crash to the floor.
“You willnae touch her!” Korey shouted, his voice so deep it reverberated around her. He punched the man again, this time making the man’s head snap to the side.
Gigi was well aware how much strength the dark sorcerers possessed. To beat one with the ease Korey was showing wasn’t normal. It was her turn to gasp. The sound drew Korey’s attention to her, giving the enemy the opening he needed. He hit Korey hard enough to knock him back and over Coyle’s mahogany desk.
Korey landed on the floor, at her feet. She dropped quickly and touched his split lip. “Korey!”
He batted her hand away and groaned. “Och, woman. I cannae verra well defend you if yer coddling me.”
Ignoring his protest, she touched his lip once more. “Korey, go! They’re not human…”
He glanced to his side, his gaze on his cousin before he touched her hand lightly. “Gigi, I’ll be fine. You stay out of the way. I’ll nae have you harmed.”
He rolled to his side and Gigi knew he was sore. “Korey, no.”
Coyle found himself sucker punched by the second dark sorcerer, who had teamed up with the first. He rubbed his jaw as he staggered backwards. His gaze slid to Korey. “Think you can play with yer woman after we’re done here?”
Korey was up and on his feet in seconds, charging the enemy headfirst. As he barreled into one, Gigi covered her mouth to keep from making a noise and distracting him again. She wasn’t sure how much time had passed before she came to her senses and utilized her powers once more.
Lifting her arms above her head, she whispered a chant, similar to the one her uncle had used on her all those years ago. There was a loud pop and then a gust of wind as the enemies jerked backwards, clutching their stomachs. Gigi remembered the feeling of being on the receiving end of such a spell and hated knowing she’d been left no choice but to bind them and send them to the Otherworld.
They disappeared into thin air and she waited for a barrage of questions to come from the O’Caha boys. None did.
She locked gazes with Korey. “Why aren’t you freaking out?”
He glanced at Coyle, who shrugged with a shit-ass grin on his face. Korey looked back at Gigi and offered a weak smile, putting his fingers to his split lip. “Och, the pain. I do nae think I can go on.”
She lifted a brow and put a hand on her hip. “Now you’re dying? Convenient.”
His smile broadened and the tiniest bit of blood seeped from his lip as the split widened. “I thought so myself.”
Shocked, she stared between the men, waiting for someone to shed light on how it was they were so calm in the face of what they’d just witnessed. Coyle smiled and motioned to Gigi. “Cousin, you best be holdin’ yer woman now.”
“Aye,” Korey said, coming to her and wrapping his arms around her.
Gigi felt the presence of safe, somewhat familiar, magik all around her. “Do nae do anything I wouldnae,” Coyle said, laughing as the room seemed to spin all around Gigi.
She clung to Korey and when the sensation finally stopped, she opened her eyes to find they were no longer in the back office of the pub. Gigi looked around at the rows upon rows of trees and rolling hills. “Korey?”
“Look familiar?”
It did. She nodded.
He put one finger up and motioned for her to remain in place as he ran off behind a line of trees. He was gone for a few moments before returning with a handful of freshly picked flowers. A sheepish grin spread over his face as he held them out to her. “I can say yer name now if you’d prefer I call you it in place of Gigi.”
What?
As his words sunk in, she drew in a deep breath. Korey was the little boy from long ago? No. He couldn’t be. That would mean he was a druid sorcerer.
“Korey?”
He rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand, stepping closer to her. “Aye?”
“You’re a…” Gigi found herself at a loss for words. So many times she’d wanted to tell him the truth about herself but kept her secret guarded, fearful he’d never understand. Tears welled and she reached up to touch his face. As she made contact with his skin, he closed his eyes and tipped his head into the palm of her hand.
His size dwarfed her and seeing his complete surrender was something Gigi would never forget. She went to her tiptoes and pressed her lips to his.
*
Korey had her swept up in his arms in seconds, smashing the flowers between their bodies. The very taste of her sweet mouth drove him onward, leaving him eating at her lips and yanking at her clothing. He’d waited too long to sample her flesh and would be damned if he wasted another moment without her.
He forgot his own strength, ripping her shirt from her body with ease. As he slid his hands over her exposed back, he growled, walking her towards the nearest tre
e. Her tongue danced artfully around his and Korey gave in to the desire for her he’d held locked away for so long. He’d always imagined taking her, exploring every inch of her before sinking his cock into her silken depths. The reality of it was that his control was gone. He needed her and nothing would stop him from taking her.
He’d drawn on his power, and that of his cousin, in order to transport her to the grove where he’d first laid eyes on her all those years ago. Korey took a deep breath, savoring the scents of nature and Gigi’s arousal.
Reaching down between them, he tugged at her pants only to find her stopping him. Korey feared she’d end their encounter. When he felt cool, powerful magik ease over him, he knew better. He looked down and noticed she’d taken care of what clothing remained between them. Smashed flowers fell to the ground as he pulled back far enough to take hold of his cock with one hand while lifting her up and off the ground with the other.
Gigi wrapped her legs around his waist and Korey captured her mouth with his, lining up with her wet core in the process. As their tongues touched, he thrust his cock in to the hilt, not bothering with anything beyond being in her.
She cried out, digging her nails into his back as he pumped the length of himself in and out of her tight cunt. Never had he felt anything as glorious as being in Gigi. She bit at his jawline as he continued penetrating her, each thrust long, deep, hard. Her body barely accommodated him but Korey couldn’t stop to worry about that now. No. He fucked her like a depraved man—a man denied far too long.
Gigi pushed at his face, scratching his neck as she cried out, wrapping her legs tighter around his waist. The sex was raw, carnal and nothing like he’d wanted their first time joining to be. Still, he couldn’t stop himself as he drilled into her body, pressing her to the unyielding tree.
The sounds of their joining sexes drove him mad with lust. Blinded by need, he tapped into his supernatural strength as he thrust into her, pummeling her to culmination. She bucked against him, panting and clawing at him as her pussy constricted around his cock. His balls drew up and he rooted himself deep within her as seed shot forth, filling her womb. Her body continued to milk him, leaving Korey shaking with each twitch of his cock.
Goddess of the Grove Page 3
