Magical Seclusion

by Jaliza A. Burwell

  “What’s wrong?” I asked.

  “Auntie’s getting old. I can see the difference every time I come here.”

  “She’s human, right?” I asked.

  He nodded. “She should have stopped working years ago, but she keeps going. I’m worried about her. She’s all for dying. At least she’ll be with her husband again.”

  “Bennett?”

  He nodded, his expression darkening. “A dark mage killed him about five years ago.” He shook his head. “I didn’t bring you here to talk about something heavy,” he said.

  “Then why am I here?” I asked, leaning forward.

  “I wanted you to see a piece of me. You only know me at BMS. You don’t know me outside of it.”

  “I have a pretty good idea,” I said, glancing at the older woman. She met my eyes and her expression darkened. “You care, Davies. You care about everyone. You wouldn’t be at BMS if that weren’t true.”

  “I thought I was there because I’m an adrenaline junkie.”

  “Don’t forget your stubbornness too. You have a need to prove a human can be just as good as a supernatural and that’s pretty darn amazing.”

  He chuckled. “Someone has to be there to knock them down a peg when they begin thinking they’re better than everyone else.”

  When our food came out, Auntie brought it over. She dropped mine harder than she should have and it clattered.

  “Oh, sorry,” she said, her eyes cold. She turned and walked off.

  I sighed and fixed my sandwich. Davies didn’t seem to notice, but then again, it was always easier to overlook a loved one doing something bad. People had a need to dismiss the bad when it came down to someone they cared about.

  “She’s prejudiced against magic-users,” I said observantly, not meaning to say it out loud.

  Davies’s head lifted, and he frowned at me, a huge burger in his hands.

  “Auntie? She’s not prejudiced,” he said.

  I smiled. He could only see the good in her. I couldn’t blame him.

  The rest of dinner flew by as we talked. Auntie came by a few times to refill our drinks, but for the most part, she reined in her hatred of me and stayed away. When we left, Davies went over to pay the bill and gave her a big hug. I noticed the way she blinked one too many times, fighting back her tears. When she did that, any negative feelings I had for her disappeared. She was just a woman trying to make do with the life she was given, and it was unfortunate that it was the kind of life where she lost a loved one to magic. If anything, it only cemented my need to create Magic Be Gone.

  The drive to my condo was too quick, and I didn’t want the night to end.

  Davies opening my door, pulling me out of my thoughts as he helped me out. He escorted me to the entrance of my building, the walkway lit up well enough to push all the shadows back into the hedges set up around the property.

  “Thank you for tonight,” I said.

  Davies smiled. “Anytime. I enjoy spending time with you.”

  “Enough to come upstairs?” I asked, desperately hoping he said yes. I wanted to spend more time with him, preferably in my bed, but if he wanted to hang out on the couch, I could do that too. I wasn’t picky where.

  He groaned and stared up at the night sky. “You make dating you so hard.”

  My smile slipped, and I hit his arm. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

  He grinned, a wicked gleam in his eyes. He leaned forward so his lips touched my cheek. “It means, Laila, that I want to ask you to let me walk you up to your condo and maybe I don’t leave until the morning.”

  I pulled away far enough so I could meet his eyes, stepping up to the challenge. “Then why don’t you?”

  His eyes closed briefly. “Believe me, I want to. I’ve wanted to for a while now, but not yet. I want to show you pleasure that you’ve never experienced before, and to do that, you need to have deeper feelings.” His hand pressed against my chest, just above my breasts. So damn close. “You need to feel me in your soul. This isn’t a fling.”

  My core burned for Davies, and he hadn’t done a damn thing to me except make promises that had me wanting to run in the opposite direction and at the same time pull him closer.

  When he saw the conflicting emotions, his smirk turned feral. “Exactly. You’re not there yet. You’re not ready.”

  I drew in a shaky breath, slowly collecting my thoughts into a coherent argument. Fuck the slow. I wanted him hard right now. I wanted to burn under his touch now. “Sex is a good way to learn about each other,” I said breathlessly. “It’s a good way to learn if you’re as fun and goofy in bed as you are in public, if you’ll be controlling, and if you can handle me. I vote now.”

  Davies shook his head, but his eyes were so dark. I just needed to push him a bit more.

  “Oh, Babe, I assure you, I’m better than you think. I may be human, but my shifter ancestor at least left us a present when he married into the family tree.” He pulled away, putting distance between us. He chuckled at some thought he wasn’t sharing with me.

  “And what exactly did he give you?” I asked.

  “As a lion, he had gifted his descendants with the ability to go long and go hard. I bounce back fast, Laila. By the end of the night, your voice will be hoarse from screaming my name.”

  Damn…

  My mouth popped open, and I was ready to drag him to my apartment to test him out and see if he spoke the truth. My brain began to overheat with all the dirty images, so I said the one thought I could grasp onto. “I figured your ancestor would have been a wolf since you get along with Venni so well.”

  Davies stared as I effectively destroyed the mood we had built up between us. He broke out into booming laughter and shook his head. I sighed, disappointed with my mouth for speaking without my permission. It was probably for the best since Davies was getting me worked up, and he had no intention of doing anything about it. I’d need my toy tonight, or a really long, cold shower. Most likely both.

  “We haven’t always been like that,” Davies said as he calmed down. “Lombardi tossed the two of us together. And I swear he just did it for the hell of it. Our work ethics are the opposite, and I’m more relaxed than that old wolf. Venni had to learn to accept my awesomeness and just go with it.”

  “Huh,” I said. “You guys are practically inseparable.”

  “The power of teamwork. We balance each other out and challenge each other to be better, but our awesomeness is only from the last year.” He looked me over. “Probably since you joined the company. If you want,” he said, his voice going low and smooth, “we can give you a demonstration of our teamwork.”

  The intensity had me blushing, and I glanced away as I fought through images of being between their hard bodies as they touched me.

  Goddess, save me. I was going to become a very naughty girl if Davies kept this up.

  Davies sighed, looking slightly pained. “Not yet, Laila.” He shifted closer and pulled me into a hug. “But soon.”

  Feeling bold, I tilted my head back. “Do I at least get a goodnight kiss?” I whispered, wanting at least that.

  “Fuck yeah,” he said. “You don’t ever have to ask.”

  He claimed my lips, and I got a taste of how he would be in bed. Davies was a playful kisser, nipping at my lips. I opened my mouth, wanting to taste more of him as my skin blazed at his touch. He teased me before finally giving me what I wanted. I moaned, loving the taste of a mixture him and the lemon tart he ate at the diner. I didn’t need to order one anymore, I could taste it for myself, and it was fucking delicious. He was fucking delicious.

  All too soon, he pulled away, drawing a whimper from me. I hadn’t had enough. “See you tomorrow, Laila,” he whispered, his voice thick with his need.

  “Night.” I wasn’t sure how I was able to even respond.

  He grinned, leaned over, and kissed my forehead.

  His ass, and the way the jeans wrapped around it, kept my attention as he walked away. When h
e got to his car, he leaned against it, arms folded over his chest. I just stared at him.

  “Go inside, Laila,” Davies called out.

  Heat filled my cheeks, and I did as he said. Walking away from him was one of the hardest things I’d had to do in a while. I definitely didn’t like this going slow thing. Why were they all insisting on doing it?

  Chapter Three

  Closing my eyes, I released a breath, and dug deep, collecting all the magic within me. The best way to describe magic was as an electrical current. It flowed through all of me, through every vein, every muscle, every limb. It pushed through my heart, kept my brain turning, and fed each of my cells. Without magic, I’d be a husk, a nobody.

  Magic was home, and I pulled onto that comfort as I collected all I could, thought about what I wanted, how I wanted it to work, and then asked my magic to do it. The Magic Be Gone device sat in front of me and mocked me, calling me a failure, and I was more than ready to prove it wrong. It would bend to my will. It didn’t have a choice.

  My hands grew hot as they hovered above the device, and once I had what I hoped was enough, I shoved it all into the device. The device ate it up. And then continue to eat it when I tried to stop. The small hairs on my body stood straight up as my skin tingled. Pain shook through my limbs, and I grunted, trying to cut off the source.

  The device didn’t care. It wanted it all, and it was willing to take it all from me.

  “No!” I snapped out, and as a last effort, forced my body backward, slamming into the counter. The hard top bit into my lower back, and I grunted at the slight pain. My lungs screamed for air after the strain of fighting the device, and I had to use short quick breaths. When I stepped forward, my back reminded me of the abuse it had just taken, and I rubbed at the spot, knowing a bruise was already forming.

  That fricken hurt.

  My thoughts were slow, my body sluggish as I sat up. My limbs didn’t want to work right and exhaustion pulled at me. It would be so easy to just lie back down, close my eyes, and get some rest. I was completely drained.

  “Dammit,” I whispered into the empty lab. Frustration clawed at my insides. This should have been the easy part. I wasn’t even trying to activate the device yet. I was trying to add in a layer of protection. I had to do this in rounds, adding layer after layer so that the device would go beyond what I could do. It had to be stronger than me.

  The thing hadn’t even been calibrated to drain me. That only meant it was working, taking more of me each round. Minutes ticked by until I was finally able to lift my arms. Of course, a second later, they were flopping back down at my side. Useless.

  Maybe just a short nap on the floor would be okay.

  My eyes were drawn to a cabinet nearby.

  Or, I could just take an emergency potion. It’d give me the boost I needed to at least move around again. That sounded a lot better than sleeping on the cold, hard floor.

  I shimmied my way to the cabinet, hating how powerless and weak I felt. This wasn’t even my first round, and it seemed every time, a part of me was stripped away. Too much of me was going into the project, and if I were smarter, I’d stop. But then Elliot’s defenseless face flashed through my mind. I didn’t want any more Elliots in the world. They needed this.

  Reminding myself why I was doing this helped, and after a few long minutes had passed, I finally made it to the cabinet. I swung it open, grabbed the small black case tucked off to the side, and pulled it onto my lap.

  This was my emergency case, for when things went to shit. The potion itself was dangerous, not because it had addictive properties, but because if I weren’t careful, I’d use it as my fallback to get me through. I’d done it before. I didn’t want to do it again. There were two ingredients that, in large quantities, was dangerous for the body.

  The vial was about the length and width of my pinky finger. The neon green liquid inside looked as unappetizing as it tasted. “Bottoms up,” I grumbled, and before I could overthink it, I unscrewed the cap, knocked it back, and then swallowed the instant bile that rose up, forcing all of it down. I grimaced as it hit my stomach and went to work instantly flooding my body.

  The best way to describe it was like opening up all my pores and allowing energy to flow inside. I gasped as I recharged in seconds, the deep exhaustion fleeing from my body. I stood up, shaking out my limbs. My lower back still ached, but it’d be fine in about an hour.

  I needed a break. A nice long break to just relax. Carefully packing everything away, I cleaned up the lab, locked it down, and then headed outside. Lombardi had caved and built a massive garden behind the building. Shifters and anyone with an affinity to nature could be found there if they were taking a break. Right now, there weren’t many people out.

  Finding a bench, I claimed it as my own and sat down, tilting my head back to feel the sun on my face. There weren’t many days like this anymore. We were well into November and winter was ready to roll in. The air was crisp and fresh thanks to the rainfall we’d had early in the morning. There were more dark clouds in the sky, but at least the sun found a spot to shine through until it was covered up.

  I closed my eyes and worked on my breathing, doing a simple meditation to clear my head. A soft breeze blew through the area and with it the light fluttering of pixie wings as they prepared for the winter weather. I wasn’t sure how they did it, but the pixies knew how to work their magic, and I had no doubt that the garden would stay just as beautiful through the winter months.

  Shadows moved over my eyelids and I shot them open to see Ami hovering over me with a grin. Her look clearly said I wasn’t going to like what she had to say.

  “What now?” I moaned and straightened.

  I was surrounded by Ami, Henzie, and a handful of other employees, half of them other labbies. Ami’s smile widened as she stepped back and Henzie sent me a sultry smile, his incubus coming out to play.

  BMS employed nineteen lab technicians, or as I liked to call them, labbies. There used to be twenty but one of them was a pixie who thought it’d be fun to break into labs and steal for fun. Lombardi ran the little guy not only out of BMS, but out of Springer City too. Last I knew, he was down south, trying to find another company, but no one wanted anything to do with a thief. Lombardi’s influence was far. Henzie was another researcher and also one of my competitors. While I came in as the top labbie, he came in close behind as number two. We weren’t able to outdo one another because while I played with gadgets, Henzie specialized in technology.

  He took his job seriously, but by the black-lit fire in his brown eyes, his incubus was looking for trouble.

  “No,” I said, staring at Henzie. The handsome devil had curly dark brown hair framing a masculine face. Everything about him was intense as he pulled at the very existence of those around him, demanding they pay attention to him.

  “I didn’t say anything,” he said.

  I narrowed my eyes. “And you don’t need to. I can see it all over your expression. You’re on the hunt.”

  He shrugged. “What’s wrong with wanting the perfect bowling partner?”

  “Huh?” I stared after him, feeling like he was talking in tongues.

  “Bowling,” Ami said. “We’re all going and so are you.”

  “Pass,” I said, preferring to go back to my lab. The rest of the group was smiling with amusement. I recognized Anaria, number three labbie. She was a shy one, and I refused to go into her lab, or my need for organization would take over, and I’d clean up the room. She called it organized chaos, I called it a death trap in waiting.

  “It’s cute how you think you have a choice,” Ami said. “It’s Friday, you’ve been working too much, and we need to get going. The others are waiting, so come on.”

  And just like that, I was dragged out to go bowling with a group of people. I didn’t do large groups. I was pretty sure I also didn’t do bowling.

  The destination wasn’t far, the bowling alley just a couple blocks down from BMS. Another group waited ou
tside for us, putting us at ten people. I grinned when I recognized the shaggy blond hair of the man standing taller than the others around him.

  “Babe,” Davies called out and pushed through the crowd. My grin widened even more when Venni followed with Alijah. I hadn’t seen Alijah in a while. The tiger shifter was a real predator with orange eyes, dark skin, and a scowly personality. He had helped a lot when I needed to upgrade BMS’s security for Shanton’s visit, patiently showing me the ins and outs of the property.

  “You got dragged here too?” I asked Alijah.

  He nodded and jerked his head at Davies. “Bombarded me while I was in the bathroom.”

  I laughed. Davies would do that.

  We headed inside and took over three lanes. I got my guys in my lane. Ami, Henzie, and Anaria took the next lane and the other three people who worked with Ami took the last lane. I managed to find a bowling ball with swirls of purple and blue that was light enough for me to throw. The other guys grabbed balls I couldn’t even lift.

  I snorted to myself.

  “What’s so funny?” Venni asked.

  “Nothing,” I said. “Did you find the right ball?” I snickered again.

  He nodded. My eyes met Ami’s and then we both broke out laughing; the others looked between the two of us, confused. I shook my head trying to calm down.

  “So, competition between the lanes,” Davies said, his competitiveness coming out.

  Ami eyed Davies. “You’re on, human.”

  “Oh, ouch, that really hurts,” he said, mocking being shot in the chest. Ami rolled her eyes.

  “Okay, Laila’s up,” Davies commented. He even held his fist to his mouth as if holding a microphone. “Who will the beauty be going up against? Who will take on the challenge of beating her on the other two teams? Oh, and Michael steps up to the plate on Team Three. And Team Two sends out Anaria. The talent is so thick in the air you can taste it. Who will be victorious and who will be the first to introduce themselves to the gutter.”